Cross-national differences in consumer responses to savoury crackers containing blackcurrant pomace

Juice-pressing residues, among them blackcurrant pomace, are valuable materials for being upgraded in food products. Their excellent nutritional profiles in line with their functional properties allow a wide range of applications. The current study was performed to evaluate the overall liking of a pomace-enriched thin crispy-baked bread product in five European countries, and to obtain suggestions for improvements. Moreover, data on the frequency of snack consumption, openness to new foods and an opinion on residues in food applications were acquired. Four hundred and sixty-six consumers from United Kingdom, Spain, Sweden, Italy and Germany were involved. On a 9-point hedonic scale, the pomace cracker was rated towards the direction of liking with 5.94 ± 1.90 on average. Contingency tables showed that the overall-liking correlated highly significant (p < 0.01) with the country of origin and sex of the respondents and their openness to new products. Significantly higher liking scores were provided by British and Spanish consumers and, among these respondents, savoury snacks were stated to be consumed most frequently. Therefore, the snack consumption frequency also appeared to be a driver for cross-national differences in hedonic responses. The consent for using pomace in food products was remarkably high (>90%) in all countries and stresses consumer awareness in terms of healthy longevity and sustainability.     

Gastrointestinal transit survival of an Enterococcus faecium probiotic strain administered with or without vancomycin

The primary aim of this study was to evaluate if an ingested probiotic, containing viable Enterococcus faecium could survive gastrointestinal transit and if so, correlate the amount of the recovered probiotic strain with the host's own enterococci. The second aim was to investigate if simultaneous vancomycin intake influenced the survival and persistence of the probiotic strain and the stability of endogenous enterococci strains. Twenty healthy volunteers were given the probiotic product once daily for 10 days. Half of the subjects were simultaneously given vancomycin. Isolates of E. faecium strains were genotypically or phenotypically analysed with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and the PhenePlate system, respectively. In eight of the ten volunteers given only the probiotic, the ingested E. faecium could be detected on day 10, while in none on day 31. From subjects given both probiotic and vancomycin no ingested E. faecium could be detected on day 10 or day 31. The estimated amount of ingested E. faecium recovered from faeces on day 10 ranged from 1.2 x 10(3) to 4.2 x 10(6) colony forming units per gram faeces, which in several cases were a substantial part of the total amount of E. faecium. The E. faecium isolated before probiotic plus vancomycin administration showed no close relationship to the ones isolated 3 weeks after ceased intake in any subjects. In conclusion, the ingested E. faecium strain can survive gastrointestinal transit. After intake, the E. faecium probiotic strain might become a large part of the total E. faecium population. The occurrence of the probiotic strain in the human gut seems to be transient after intake stop. Re-colonization of E. faecium after simultaneous probiotic plus vancomycin intake occurs mainly with strains without close genetic relationship to the strains harboured before treatment or to the ingested E. faecium strain.     

Characterisation of a pre-cell hit detector to be used in single cell irradiation experiments at the Lund Nuclear Microprobe

This paper describes the characterisation of an ultra-thin silicon semiconductor ΔE detector to be used as a pre-cell ion hit detector in single ion experiments on individual, living cells. The characteristics of interest for this specific application are the hit detection efficiency, which has to be close to 100% to enable bombardment with either a single ion or a counted number of ions, the beam spreading, which should be as small as possible to maintain the targeting accuracy, and the vacuum tightness, since the detector is intended, if possible, to be used simultaneously as vacuum window. The hit detection efficiency was shown to be above 99% when detecting alpha particles or 2 MeV protons, the increase in beam size was about 1 μm and the vacuum tightness was comparable to that of the Si₃N₄ wafer which is normally used as vacuum window, thus the ΔE detector fulfils the main criteria to function properly as a single ion hit detector.     

Theory, explanation, and a third generation of theoretical development in social gerontology

Efforts at cumulative knowledge building in social gerontology have been lax, judging from research articles published in journals between 1990 and 1994. Too little attention has been paid to the cumulative development of theory; readers are left with many empirical generalizations but underdeveloped explanations by which to interpret findings and build upon them in subsequent research. To assist future theory development in social gerontology, we review seven theoretical perspectives referenced most frequently in recent journals: (1) social constructionist, (2) social exchange, (3) life course, (4) feminist, (5) age stratification (age and society), (6) political economy of aging, and (7) critical theory. We suggest that, taken together, these represent a "third generation" of explanation in social gerontology, noting their debt to older and more established traditions in social science theory. We argue that authors and journal reviewers should place more emphasis on theory development - which means, most simply, the construction of explicit explanations in accounting for empirical findings - if knowledge development about social aspects of aging is to be cumulative, systematic, and incremental.     

Corrosion–microstructure interrelations in new low-lead and lead-free brass alloys

ABSTRACT

Stress-relieving heat treatment has been reported to deplete the corrosion resistance of new low-lead and lead-free brass alloys. How the heat treatment, processing and material composition relates to the microstructure and corrosion performance is not well understood. The present study aims to fill this knowledge gap by mapping stress-relieving annealing conditions and different standardised compositions to their respective microstructures and dezincification performance. It was found that loss of corrosion resistance was only the most severe for alloys with higher aluminium and iron content. These alloys displayed significant precipitation of intermetallic aluminium arsenide particles on grain boundaries, twins and lead particles, as well as the formation of β-phase along grain boundaries.

This paper is part of a Thematic Issue on Copper and its Alloys.     

Pre-formulation studies of resveratrol

Context: Resveratrol, a natural compound found in grapes, has potential chemotherapy effects but very low oral bioavailability in humans.

Objective: To evaluate the solubility, pH stability profile, plasma protein binding (PPB) and stability in plasma for resveratrol.

Methods: Solubility of resveratrol was measured in 10 common solvents at 25?°C using HPLC. The solution state pH stability of resveratrol was assessed in various United States Pharmacopeia buffers ranging from pH 2 to 10 for 24?h at 37?°C. Samples were analyzed up to 24?h. Human PPB was determined using ultracentrifugation technique. Standard solutions of drug were spiked to blank human plasma to yield final concentrations of 5, 12.5 or 25?μg/mL for determination. Finally, stability of resveratrol in human and rat plasma was also assessed at 37?°C. Aliquots of blank plasma were spiked with a standard drug concentration to yield final plasma concentration of 50?μg/mL. Samples were analyzed for resveratrol concentration up to 96?h.

Results: Resveratrol has wide solubility ranging from 0.05?mg/mL in water to 374?mg/mL in polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG-400). Resveratrol is relatively stable above pH 6 and has maximum degradation at pH 9. The mean PPB of resveratrol is 98.3%. Resveratrol degrades in human and rat plasma in a first-order process with mean half lives of 54 and 25?h, respectively.

Conclusion: Resveratrol is more soluble in alcohol and PEG-400 and stable in acidic pH. It binds highly to plasma proteins and degrades slower in human then rat plasma.     

Asymmetry, Potential Penetration and Supersonic Speeds in MBX Experiment at High Voltage and Medium Power

In MBX, a small mirror machine with a radial electric field creates a rotating plasma that is expected to evolve, under certain conditions, into a self-organizing, detached toroidal plasma ring, a magnetofluid state. In the present stage of the experiment a low density plasma generated by microwaves (1 kW at 2.54 GHz) has been successfully rotated at supersonic speeds using a 1 kV–80 mF capacitor bank with currents ∼5 amps. Under these conditions the plasma presents high asymmetry in the current, plasma potential and consequently rotation with the voltage applied. A simple model is presented to account for these features. Research supported in part by DOE grant # DOE-FG02-03ER54697.     

Neutrophil and macrophage activation and anaphylatoxin formation in orthotopic liver transplantation without the use of veno-venous bypass

BACKGROUND: Activation of neutrophils and activation of complement may be an aetiologic factor behind circulatory insufficiency in association with reperfusion of the grafted liver. METHODS: Neutrophil and macrophage activation (determined as PMN elastase and neopterin release) and complement activation were evaluated in 15 consecutive patients undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation without the use of veno-venous bypass. RESULTS: The PMN elastase concentrations were increased at the end of the anhepatic phase, 2, 5 and 30 min after start of reperfusion and 6 and 24 h postoperatively. There were significantly higher PMN elastase concentrations in patients with circulatory instability (postreperfusion syndrome) compared with those without postreperfusion syndrome. The neopterin concentration was increased 2 min after the start of reperfusion and remained elevated until 6 h postoperatively. The plasma complement C3a concentrations were increased at the end of the anhepatic phase and 2, 5 and 30 min after the start of reperfusion. The plasma C3a levels were higher in patients with postreperfusion syndrome compared to those without. CONCLUSIONS: Activation of neutrophils and macrophages and of the complement cascade with the formation of biologically active substances may be one explanation for the circulatory instability often seen in patients undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation.