The effects of wheat sourdough on glutenin patterns, dough rheology and bread properties

Sourdough was prepared with cellular suspension containing 10⁹ cfu of each strain mL⁻¹ and incubated at 28 °C for 24 h and at 37 °C for 4 h. Two different sourdough levels (20 and 40%) were used in bread dough preparation. The bread doughs were proofed at 30 °C and 85% relative humidity for 60/120/180 min. When glutenin changes that occurred in samples 17, 18, 19, and 20 (40% SD 28) are compared with those that appeared in controls, it is obvious that, the relative intensities of some of the protein bands slightly decreased and a few fainter protein bands appeared (which did not exist in controls). A few fainter protein bands corresponding to the MM ≈ 25 kDa (high-mobility region) and the MM ≈ 66 kDa (low-mobility region) were appeared in the same samples. In the samples prepared with 20% sourdoughs incubated at 28 or 37 °C, the bands were still evident after 180 min of proof. This can be explained that glutenin fractions were not hydrolysed in these applications due to the delay in pH drop. The use of 40% sourdough incubated at 28 °C for 24 h resulted in sticky doughs and breads with lower volume, harder texture, unsatisfactory crumb grain and unpleasant flavour than the rest of the samples. The use of sourdoughs incubated at 37 °C for 4 h caused positive effect on loaf volumes, specific loaf volumes and crumb structure.     

Effects of vitamin E supplementation on performance and meat quality traits of Morkaraman male lambs

This research was carried out to determine the effects of vitamin E supplementation on meat quality traits of approximate 8 months of age Morkaraman male lambs. The lambs were divided into two groups-control (CG, n=7) and experimental (VG, n=6)-at the beginning of fattening period. The diet given to the CG and VG consisted of concentrate and grass hay. In addition, the VG received a supplement of 45 mg vitamin E per lamb in a day during a 75-day fattening period. At the end of the study, average daily weight gain and feed conversion efficiency values as to feed basis were found to be 208 g and 6.3 for CG and 223 g and 6.0 for VG groups, respectively. Vitamin E supplementation resulted in 8.8% improvement in feed conversion efficiency. In the same way, vitamin E supplementation resulted in 6.7% increase in daily weight gain. Slaughter and carcass characteristics of lambs were also determined, but fattening performance, slaughter and carcass characteristics were not significantly different between groups. The effects of vitamin E on meat characteristics, meat colour (L*, a* and b*), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances content (TBARS), drip loss and pH were determined using m. longissimus dorsi (LD) muscles obtained from CG and VG. Though the effect of vitamin E supplementation on most of the meat quality traits was not statistically significant (P>0.05), L* and a* values in LD muscle from VG were preserved for a period of 12 days of maturation. In addition, a* (redness) tended to increase slightly. TBARS values in samples from CG were found to be higher than those of vitamin E treatment group. In this study, it was also concluded that drip loss was relatively preserved by vitamin E supplementation. In conclusion, vitamin E supplementation of Morkaraman male lambs at an inclusion rate over the amount of nutritional recommendations, significantly reduced lipid oxidation, drip loss and tended to maintain meat redness.     

Temporary vocal cord paralysis following hemodialysis catheter placement

We report a case of temporary right vocal cord paralysis manifesting as hoarseness after hemodialysis, beginning several hours after placement of a non‐cuffed hemodialysis catheter into the right internal jugular vein using prilocaine local anesthesia. Diagnosis of right vocal cord paralysis was confirmed by laryngoscopy. Hoarseness completely resolved that same day, and subsequent laryngoscopy showed normal vocal cord movement, suggesting that the most likely cause of the initial vocal cord paralysis was diffusion of the local anesthetic agent injected during catheter insertion.     

Plasma fibroblast growth factor-23 levels are independently associated with carotid artery atherosclerosis in maintenance hemodialysis patients

Fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF-23) has been suggested to play a role in vascular calcification in chronic kidney disease. Common carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT) assessment and common carotid artery (CCA) plaque identification using ultrasound are well-recognized tools for identification and monitoring of atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to test that elevated FGF-23 levels might be associated with carotid artery atherosclerosis in maintenance hemodialysis (HD) patients. In this cross-sectional study, plasma FGF-23 concentrations were measured using a C-terminal human enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. Carotid artery intima-media thickness was measured and CCA plaques were identified by B-Mode Doppler ultrasound. One hundred twenty-eight maintenance HD patients (65 women and 63 men, mean age: 55.5 ± 13 years, mean HD vintage: 52 ± 10 months, all patients are on HD thrice a week) were involved. The mean CIMT were higher with increasing tertiles of plasma FGF-23 levels (0.66 ± 0.14 vs. 0.75 ± 0.05 vs. 0.86 ± 0.20 mm, P<0.0001). Log plasma FGF-23 were higher in patients with plaques in CCA than patients free of plaques (3.0 ± 0.17 vs. 2.7 ± 0.23, P<0.0001). Significant correlation was recorded between log plasma FGF-23 and CIMT (r=0,497, P=0.0001). In multiple regression analysis, a high log FGF-23 concentration was a significant independent risk factor of an increased CIMT. Further studies are needed to clarify whether an increased plasma FGF-23 level is a marker or a potential mechanism for atherosclerosis in patients with end-stage renal disease.     

Analysis of dissolved microcystins in surface water samples from Kovada Lake, Turkey

Dissolved (extracellular) microcystin (MC) concentrations were determined at 3 sampling stations on Lake Kovada, Turkey. The dominant species of cyanobacteria found in August and September of 2006 were Microcystis aeruginosa, Synechococcus sp., Phormidium limosum, Phormidium formosa and Planktothrix limnetica. MC concentrations in water were measured by ELISA and MC variants were examined by HPLC-PDA. Quantitative analysis by HPLC indicated that five MC variants (MC-LR, -RR, -LA, -LW, -LF) were identified in water samples from Kovada Lake. The maximum concentration of dissolved MC-LW was 98.9 µg l^− 1 in October. MC-LR was only detected in May at a concentration of 0.5 µg l^− 1. The cross reactivity of the antibody (MC10E7) to variants such as MC-LA MC-LW & MC-LF was low. Hence the results determined by ELISA were lower than those determined by HPLC in September and October samples due to differences in the specificity of the antibody to MC variants. Total extraceullar MCs was quantified by ELISA and ranged from 0.73 to 48.5 µg MC-LR equivalents l^− 1, which in some cases exceeded the WHO provisional Guideline Value for MC-LR in drinking water. This study confirms that the lakes of Turkey should be monitored for toxic cyanobacteria and for MCs to avoid or reduce the potential exposure of people to these health hazards.     

Growth and survival of Escherichia coli O157:H7 on fresh-cut apples in modified atmospheres at abusive temperatures

The effects of reduced-O2 and elevated-CO2 modified atmospheres (MAs) and abusive temperatures on the growth and survival of E. coli O157:H7, yeast, and molds and on changes in the visual quality of fresh-cut apples were evaluated. High-CO1 and low-O2 (> or = 15% and < 1%, respectively) atmospheres inhibited the growth of the pathogen on apple slices at 15 and 20 degrees C. However, the population of the pathogen increased by 1 log cycle after 2 weeks of storage in air. The high-CO2 MA resulted in the inhibition of yeast and mold growth, less browning, and better visual quality than did air and ambient-CO2 atmospheres. The results of this study confirm that E. coli O157:H7 can grow on apple slices in air. These results also show that these organisms survive but are inhibited in MAs with high CO2 levels at abusive temperatures. An MA can increase the shelf life of fresh-cut apples by improving retention of visual quality and inhibiting yeast and molds. Thus, contamination of minimally processed apples with E. coli O157:H7 can be a safety issue for both air- and MA-packaged cut apples.     

Estimating the channel capacity of multi-hop IEEE 802.11 wireless networks

In IEEE 802.11 wireless networks, the residual capacity of the wireless links should be accurately estimated to realize advanced network services such as flow admission control or load balancing. In this paper, we propose an algorithm that estimates the packet delivery failure probability by collecting transmission statistics from nearby nodes, and by using a basic collision detection mechanism. This probability is then used in an analytical model to calculate the maximum allowable traffic needed to reach the saturation condition. We show by simulations that estimation error is within 0.5–5.0%, which is significantly lower than the best performance of prior estimation methods. We also demonstrate that the flow admission control is successfully achieved in a realistic wireless network scenario by the help of accurate link residual bandwidth estimation, where the unsatisfied traffic demand remain bounded at a negligibly low level. A routing algorithm that finds max–min residual bandwidth path between source and destination nodes is also implemented, and simulation results show that the network throughput achieved by this algorithm significantly exceeds that of other popular mesh routing protocols. Finally, we provide test results from the real implementation of our algorithm on 802.11 wireless equipment, which are consistent with the simulations.     

Cross-layer enhanced time scheduling for multi-band OFDM UWB networks

Multi-band Orthogonal Frequency Division multiplexing based Ultra Wide-band (MB-OFDM UWB) technology is one of the strong alternatives for high data rate wireless personal area networks (WPANs) with low power consumption. The capacity of such systems is degraded by multi-path fading, shadowing, multi-user interference and noise. To improve system capacity under these adverse effects, in this paper, we devise cross-layer time scheduling methods, Proportional Time Scheduling with Modiano Algorithm (PTS-MA) and Proportional Time Scheduling with Channel State Information (PTS-CSI), in which scheduling and link adaptation are performed using instantaneous bit error probability (IBEP) estimates obtained through Modiano’s algorithm and our novel estimation technique, respectively. We evaluate the performance of the PTS schemes by using numerical experiments. Simulation results suggest PTS-CSI scheduler as the most promising candidate for practical MB-OFDM UWB WPANs with high capacity and fair throughput distribution.