Folate content of various Nigerian foods

Various raw and processed food items commonly consumed in three selected communities around Zaria, in northern Nigeria, have been examined for their folate contents using Lactobacillus casei. The folate levels of most of the foodstuffs were low. The estimated folate intake by individuals consuming these foodstuffs, calculated on a normal three-meals-a-day basis, was less than recommended daily intake levels.     

Qualitative mapping of structurally different dipeptide nanotubes

Biological self-assembled structures are receiving increasing focus within micro- and nanotechnology, for example, as sensing devices, due to the fact that they are cheap to produce and easy to functionalize. Therefore, methods for the characterization of these structures are much needed. In this paper, electrostatic force microscopy (EFM) was used to distinguish between hollow nanotubes formed by self-assembly by a simple aromatic dipeptide, L-phenylalanine, silver-filled peptide-based nanotubes, and silver wires placed on prefabricated SiO2 surfaces with a backgate. The investigation shows that it is possible to distinguish between these three types of structures using this method. Further, an agreement between the detected signal and the structure of the hollow peptide was demonstrated; however only qualitative agreement with the mathematical expressing of the tubes is shown.     

Open Experimental Data-Sets to Reveal Behavioural Insights of High-Deck Coach Evacuations

Fire Technology - Numerous evacuation performance data for the utilization in evacuation modelling and simulations have been established for the conventional/widely studied scenarios, such as...     

Chemical characterization and redox potential of coarse and fine particulate matter (PM) in underground and ground-level rail systems of the Los Angeles Metro

A campaign was conducted to assess personal exposure of coarse (2.5 μm < d(p) < 10 μm) and fine (d(p) < 2.5 μm) PM for two lines of the L.A. Metro-a subway (red) and light-rail (gold) line. Concurrent measurements were taken at University of Southern California (USC) to represent ambient conditions. A comprehensive chemical analysis was performed including total and water-soluble metals, inorganic ions, elemental and organic carbon, and organic compounds. Mass balance showed that in coarse PM, iron makes up 27%, 6%, and 2% of gravimetric mass for the red line, the gold line, and USC, respectively; in fine PM, iron makes up 32%, 3%, and 1%. Ambient air is the primary source of inorganic ions and organic compounds for both lines. Noncrustal metals, particularly Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Mo, Cd, and Eu, were elevated for the red line and, to a lesser degree, the gold line. Mo exhibited the greatest crustal enrichment factors. The enriched species were less water-soluble on the red line than corresponding species on the gold line. Bivariate analysis showed that reactive oxygen species (ROS) activity is strongly correlated with water-soluble Fe (R(2) = 0.77), Ni (R(2 )= 0.95), and OC (R(2 )= 0.92). A multiple linear regression model (R(2) = 0.94, p < 0.001) using water-soluble Fe and OC as predictor variables was developed to explain the variance in ROS. In addition, PM from the red line generates 65% and 55% more ROS activity per m(3) of air than PM from USC and the gold line, respectively; however, one unit of PM mass from the gold line may be as intrinsically toxic as one unit of PM from the red line.     

Seeking professional help: Etiology beliefs about mental illness across cultures.

In the present study, the authors examined the contributions of cultural beliefs about the etiology of mental illness to the seeking of help from mental health professionals among college students in 4 cultural groups, European Americans, Chinese Americans, Hong Kong Chinese, and Mainland Chinese. Group differences were found in help-seeking history and likelihood, with European and Chinese Americans being more likely to seek help than Hong Kong and Mainland Chinese. Multiple-group path analysis showed that lay beliefs about causes of mental illness and prior help-seeking history significantly predicted help-seeking likelihood, which was related positively to environmental/hereditary causes but negatively to social-personal causes. Our findings demonstrate the importance of understanding help-seeking patterns within specific cultural contexts and the effects of Western influences on shaping help-seeking propensities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Atherogenic Indices as a Predictor of Aortic Calcification in Prostate Cancer Patients Assessed Using 18F-Sodium Fluoride PET/CT

A major pathophysiological cause of cardiovascular disease is vascular plaque calcification. Fluorine 18–Sodium Fluoride (18F-NaF) PET/CT can be used as a sensitive imaging modality for detection of vascular calcification. The aim of this study was to find a non-invasive, cost-efficient, and readily available metric for predicting vascular calcification severity. This retrospective study was performed on 36 participants who underwent 18F-NaF fused PET/CT scans. The mean standard uptake values (SUVs) were calculated from manually sectioned axial sections over the aortic arch and thoracic aorta. Correlation analyses were performed between SUVs and calculated atherogenic indices (AIs). Castelli’s Risk Index I (r = 0.63, p < 0.0001), Castelli’s Risk Index II (r = 0.64, p < 0.0001), Atherogenic Coefficient (r = 0.63, p < 0.0001), Atherogenic Index of Plasma (r = 0.51, p = 0.00152), and standalone high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (r = −0.53, p = 0.000786) were associated with aortic calcification. AIs show strong association with aortic arch and thoracic aorta calcifications. AIs are better predictors of vascular calcification compared to standalone lipid metrics, with the exception of HDL cholesterol. Clinical application of AIs provides a holistic metric beneficial for enhancing screening and treatment protocols.     

Fractionation of whey protein isolate with supercritical carbon dioxide-process modeling and cost estimation

An economical and environmentally friendly whey protein fractionation process was developed using supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO₂) as an acid to produce enriched fractions of α-lactalbumin (α-LA) and β-lactoglobulin (β-LG) from a commercial whey protein isolate (WPI) containing 20% α-LA and 55% β-LG, through selective precipitation of α-LA. Pilot-scale experiments were performed around the optimal parameter range (T = 60 to 65 °C, P = 8 to 31 MPa, C = 5 to 15% (w/w) WPI) to quantify the recovery rates of the individual proteins and the compositions of both fractions as a function of processing conditions. Mass balances were calculated in a process flow-sheet to design a large-scale, semi-continuous process model using SuperproDesigner® software. Total startup and production costs were estimated as a function of processing parameters, product yield and purity. Temperature, T, pressure, P, and concentration, C, showed conflicting effects on equipment costs and the individual precipitation rates of the two proteins, affecting the quantity, quality, and production cost of the fractions considerably. The highest α-LA purity, 61%, with 80% α-LA recovery in the solid fraction, was obtained at T = 60 °C, C = 5% WPI, P = 8.3 MPa, with a production cost of $8.65 per kilogram of WPI treated. The most profitable conditions resulted in 57%-pure α-LA, with 71% α-LA recovery in the solid fraction and 89% β-LG recovery in the soluble fraction, and production cost of $5.43 per kilogram of WPI treated at T = 62 °C, C = 10% WPI and P = 5.5 MPa. The two fractions are ready-to-use, new food ingredients with a pH of 6.7 and contain no residual acid or chemical contaminants.     

Stability of diphenylalanine peptide nanotubes in solution

Over the last couple of years, self-organizing nanotubes based on the dipeptide diphenylalanine have received much attention, mainly as possible building blocks for the next generation of biosensors and as drug delivery systems. One of the main reasons for this large interest is that these peptide nanotubes are believed to be very stable both thermally and chemically. Previously, the chemical and thermal stability of self-organizing structures has been investigated after the evaporation of the solvent. However, it was recently discovered that the stability of the structures differed significantly when the tubes were in solution. It has been shown that, in solution, the peptide nanotubes can easily be dissolved in several solvents including water. It is therefore of critical importance that the stability of the nanotubes in solution and not after solvent evaporation be investigated prior to applications in which the nanotube will be submerged in liquid. The present article reports results demonstrating the instability and suggests a possible approach to a stabilization procedure, which drastically improves the stability of the formed structures. The results presented herein provide new information regarding the stability of self-organizing diphenylalanine nanotubes in solution.     

Study of thermal–mechanical properties of polyurethane foam and the three-dimensional shape of molded bra cups

Molded bras nowadays are dominating the overall bra market place, while the bra cups are mostly made of polyurethane foam sheets. The smooth and seamless inner surface of a molded bra cup gives three-dimensional nice fit to the wearer and provides unlimited designs for different softness and thickness. However, it has been a difficult question to determine the optimum molding conditions for various types of foam and there was no reliable method to measure the cup shape conformity. In this study, the properties of five polyurethane foams were investigated by thermal–mechanical analysis (TMA) and their 3D shapes formed in various molding conditions were measured by a Steinbichler Comet scanner and a new parameterization-based remesh algorithm method. The results revealed that the optimal temperature and dwell time for molding bra cups were greatly affected by the thermal–mechanical properties of polyurethane foams. The softening temperature and deformation properties of the foams tested by TMA can facilitate the determination of optimal molding temperature for the desirable cup shape and thickness. This study provides an effective and quantitative approach to eliminate the time-consuming “trial-and-error” in the molding tests traditionally being used in the industry.