Number and size of lupulin glands,glandular trichomes of hop (Humulus lupulus L.), play a key role in contents of bitter acids and polyphenols in hop cone

Hop (Humulus lupulus L.) inflorescence, commonly known as ‘hop cone’, is valuable for contents of bitter acids, essential oils and polyphenols, used in brewing industry and biomedical application. These compounds are predominantly formed in glandular trichomes, known as ‘lupulin glands’. In this study, we investigated chemical and morphological characteristics of lupulin glands by microscopy and HPLC analyses. Even though no significant correlations were found between lupulin glands and hop cones for contents of alpha and beta bitter acids, polyphenols, all ratios between individual metabolites (alpha/beta acids, X/alpha acids, X/DMX) were highly and significantly correlated. The average number of lupulin glands on bract/bracteole ranged from 115 to 713 with 28.5% of variability. Linear regression analyses confirmed that total volume of lupulin glands and total lupulin glands area on bract/bracteole surface highly correlated with contents of bitter acids and polyphenols in hop cone. Therefore, lupulin glands are unique and exclusive organs responsible for contents of bitter acids and polyphenols in hop cone.     

Safety effects of section control - An empirical Bayes evaluation

The safety effects of section control were investigated at 14 sites in Norway. A before–after study was conducted with the empirical Bayes method in order to control for regression to the mean (RTM). Effects of trend, volumes, speed limit changes and speed cameras at some of the sites in the before period are controlled for as well. For injury crashes a non-significant reduction by 12% was found. The number of killed or severely injured was found to be significantly reduced by 49% at the section control sites. The results indicate that the crash reductions in tunnels (most of which are undersea tunnels with section control on steep downhill segments) are at least of the same magnitude as on open roads. The results are consistent with findings from speed measurements, although the crash reductions are larger than one would expect as a result from the speed reductions. Downstream of the section control sites (up to 3 km in each direction) injury crashes were found to be significantly reduced by 46%. The number of KSI downstream of the section control sites is too small for drawing any conclusions. It is concluded that section control is effective in reducing both speed and crashes, especially serious crashes, and that spillover effects (crash reductions at non-enforcement sites) are more likely to occur than crash migration. The size of the effects that were found should be interpreted with caution because of the relatively short after periods for some of the sites and the sensitivity of the results to the outcomes of individual crashes.     

Können, sollen, müssen? Public Health-Politik und libertärer Paternalismus

Definition of the problem Due to the epidemiological transition that has occurred over the last few decades, diseases caused by behaviour have become one of the most important challenges for modern public health practice and policy. However, assigning responsibility for health and modifying behaviour are fraught with ethical problems. As of now, there is still the need for a theoretical model which manages to solve these issues successfully. Arguments Recently, libertarian paternalism has been heralded as a theoretical model which can inform policy making in public health and other areas of social policy. This article describes the account and discusses some of its problematic features. Conclusions To satisfy requirements of a fully argued normative account, libertarian paternalism lacks central elements of justification. However, it serves very well as a pragmatic tool providing original ideas for designing acceptable public health policy.     

The Influence of Drug Solubility and Particle Size on the Pellet Formulation in a Rotoprocessor

ABSTRACT

Pellets containing drugs of different properties were prepared in a Rotoprocessor in order to study changes in the formulation process and resulting pellet characteristics. Diltiazem hydrochloride, diclofenac sodium, and theophylline were chosen as model drugs. Pellet size distribution, sphericity, density, hardness, friability, and repose angle were determined using standard methods. The amount of water as a wetting agent necessary for successful pellet formulation was observed for each sample and changed depending on drug solubility, concentration, and particle size. The pelletization of freely soluble diltiazem hydrochloride required 24.8–23.1% of the wetting agent and its amount decreased as the drug concentration increased. The demand for water in the formulation of theophylline pellets was 31.0–34.4% and it increased with increasing drug concentration. The pellet samples containing both drugs were easy to prepare. However, the cohesion of micronized diclofenac sodium particles negatively influenced both the pellet size distribution and the formulation process itself. When the drug concentration exceeded 40%, it was not possible to produce pellets of an appropriate size and the process was not reproducible.     

Describing the sorption characteristics of a ternary system of benzene (1) and alcohol (2) in a nonporous polymer membrane (3) by the Flory–Huggins model

The Flory–Huggins equation was used to describe results of total and preferential sorption measurements for the binary liquid mixture of benzene (1) and alcohol (2) in one of two nonporous polymer membranes (3), low‐density polyethylene (LDPE) and Nafion membrane. The concentration dependence of binary and ternary interaction parameters was determined. The interaction parameters for the benzene – methanol binary mixture were obtained from binary vapor‐liquid equilibrium data in the literature to decrease the number of adjusted parameters. The results show that use of a ternary interaction parameter is necessary. Data treatment was performed assuming either no crystallinity or an average crystallinity typical for the studied membranes. Subsequently, the limiting activity coefficients of solutes in LDPE were calculated from the values of the interaction parameters and their values compared to values of the limiting activity coefficients of benzene and methanol in hypothetical liquid alkane with the same density as LDPE obtained by the UNIFAC method. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 55:1187–1195, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Leg stiffness of sprinters using running-specific prostheses

Running-specific prostheses (RSF) are designed to replicate the spring-like nature of biological legs (bioL) during running. However, it is not clear how these devices affect whole leg stiffness characteristics or running dynamics over a range of speeds. We used a simple spring–mass model to examine running mechanics across a range of speeds, in unilateral and bilateral transtibial amputees and performance-matched controls. We found significant differences between the affected leg (AL) of unilateral amputees and both ALs of bilateral amputees compared with the bioL of non-amputees for nearly every variable measured. Leg stiffness remained constant or increased with speed in bioL, but decreased with speed in legs with RSPs. The decrease in leg stiffness in legs with RSPs was mainly owing to a combination of lower peak ground reaction forces and increased leg compression with increasing speeds. Leg stiffness is an important parameter affecting contact time and the force exerted on the ground. It is likely that the fixed stiffness of the prosthesis coupled with differences in the limb posture required to run with the prosthesis limits the ability to modulate whole leg stiffness and the ability to apply high vertical ground reaction forces during sprinting.     

Tocols of selected spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), einkorn wheat (Triticum monococcum L.) and wild emmer (Triticum dicoccum Schuebl [Schrank]) varieties

Wheat contributes significantly worldwide to antioxidant income with beneficial healthy effects. Two varieties of einkorn wheat (Triticum monococcum L. – Escana and Schwedisches Einkorn), two varieties of wild emmer [Triticum dicoccum Schuebl (Schrank)] (Rudico and Kahler Emmer) and three varieties of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L. – Granny, Kärtner Früher and SW Kadrilj) were evaluated for tocols – tocopherols and tocotrienols by high performance liquid chromatography – electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC–ESI/MS/MS). Investigated emmer and einkorn wheat varieties have shown minor lower total tocols content in comparison with spring varieties, however significant typical levels of tocopherols and tocotrienols were found in these groups. In einkorn wheat varieties the major abundance of total tocols is represented by tocotrienols (Schwedisches Einkorn 65.0%, Escana 54.9%), in emmer wheat varieties the abundance of tocotrienols and tocopherols were similar (Rudico 48.9% of tocotrienols, Kahler Emmer 47.6%), whereas in spring bread wheat higher tocopherols (SW Kadrilj 54.5%, Kärtner Früher 60.2%, Granny 55.0%) were recorded.     

Surface properties of poly(ethylene terephthalate) foils of different thicknesses

Surface properties of commercially available poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) foils of different thicknesses (3, 13, 23, 50, and 100 μm) were characterized using different analytical methods. Surface roughness and morphology were determined by atomic force microscopy, goniometry was used for determination of contact angle (wettability of surface) and electrokinetical analysis (zeta potential) for characterization of surface polarity and conductivity. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used for characterization of PET surface chemistry. Infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were used for determination of crystallinity portion. By DSC analysis, it was confirmed that the crystallinity portion depends on the foil thickness. Most important result of this study is that the surface properties of PET foils depend not only on the foil thickness but also on the foil side under study. This finding may be of importance for future experiments performed on PET foils and for their application in tissue engineering or microelectronics.