A review of the impact of processing on nutrient bioaccessibility and digestion of almonds

Almond kernels contain phytochemicals and nutrients that potentially have positive health benefits in relation to heart disease, diabetes and obesity. One important mechanism associated with these benefits is an imposed limit on bioaccessibility (release) of nutrients, such as lipids, from almond tissue during mastication and digestion. Recent studies have demonstrated the importance of food structure during the digestion of plant foods. In particular, in the almond kernel, depending on its structure and degree of processing, the amount of lipid released from the almond tissue matrix and the fatty acids produced from lipolysis has been found to vary substantially. This review aims at discussing the commercial methods of almond processing and the different almond forms produced for human consumption, mainly with respect to their impact on nutrient composition, digestion and metabolism.     

Modelling the long-term feed-to-fillet transfer of leuco crystal violet and leuco malachite green in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

Leuco crystal violet (LCV) and leuco malachite green (LMG) are the main metabolites of two dyes that are forbidden for use in food production, but can be present at low background concentration in novel Atlantic salmon feed ingredients such as processed animal proteins (animal by-product [ABP]). In this study, the potential transfer of dietary LCV or LMG to the fillet of farmed Atlantic salmon was investigated. The uptake and elimination rate kinetics were determined in seawater-adapted Atlantic salmon (initial weight 587 ± 148 g) fed two levels of either LCV- or LMG-enriched diets (~500 and 4000 µg kg^?1, respectively) for 40 days, followed by a 90-day depuration period with feeding on control diets (<0.15 μg kg^?1 LCV and LMG). A three-compartmental model was developed, based on a fillet fat, fillet muscle and a central body compartment comprising all other tissues. Model calibrations showed a good fit with measured values during overall uptake and elimination period; however, the model poorly predicted the short-term (days) peak measured values at the end of the exposure period. The model was used to simulate the long-term (>16 months) LCV and LMG feed-to-fillet transfer in Atlantic salmon under realistic farming conditions such as the seasonal fluctuations in feed intake, growth and fillet fat deposition. The model predictions gave highest expected LCV and LMG fillet concentrations of approximately 0.12 and 0.45 μg kg^?1, depending on the dietary levels of ABP and background level of LCV and LMG contamination. These levels are under the reference point for action of 2 µg kg^?1 for the sum of MG and LMG that EFSA assessed as adequate to protect public health. However, for LCV, the predicted highest levels exceed the analytical decision limit (CCα) of 0.15 µg kg^?1 for the method used in this paper.     

Differential Scanning Calorimetry Analysis of the Effects of Heat and Pressure on Protein Denaturation in Soy Flour Mixed with Various Types of Plasticizers

The effects of heat and pressure on protein denaturation in soy flour were explored by an experimental design that used pressure (atmospheric to 600 MPa), temperature (room to 90 °C), time (1 to 60 min), and type of aqueous plasticizer (NaCl, sucrose, betaine, and lactobionic acid (LBA)) as factors. When 50% (w/w) soy flour‐water paste was high hydrostatic pressure (HHP)‐treated for 20 min at 25 °C, the treatment at 200 MPa showed a small effect on denaturation of only the 7S soy globulin, but the treatment at 600 MPa showed a significant effect on denaturation of both the 7S and 11S soy globulins. The treatment at 60 °C showed a less‐pronounced effect on denaturation of the 11S globulin, even at 600 MPa, but that at 90 °C showed a similar extent of denaturation of the 11S globulin at 600 MPa to that at 25 °C. Chaotropic 2N NaCl, 50% sucrose‐, 50% betaine‐, or 50% LBA‐water solutions showed protective effects on protein denaturation during HHP treatment at 25 °C. Although LBA enhanced the extent of thermostability of soy protein less than did 2N NaCl, LBA exhibited better stabilization against pressure. The results from DSC analysis demonstrated that thermostable soy proteins were not always barostable.     

Early warning signals of infectious disease transitions: a review

Early warning signals (EWSs) are a group of statistical time-series signals which could be used to anticipate a critical transition before it is reached. EWSs are model-independent methods that have grown in popularity to support evidence of disease emergence and disease elimination. Theoretical work has demonstrated their capability of detecting disease transitions in simple epidemic models, where elimination is reached through vaccination, to more complex vector transmission, age-structured and metapopulation models. However, the exact time evolution of EWSs depends on the transition; here we review the literature to provide guidance on what trends to expect and when. Recent advances include methods which detect when an EWS becomes significant; the earlier an upcoming disease transition is detected, the more valuable an EWS will be in practice. We suggest that future work should firstly validate detection methods with synthetic and historical datasets, before addressing their performance with real-time data which is accruing. A major challenge to overcome for the use of EWSs with disease transitions is to maintain the accuracy of EWSs in data-poor settings. We demonstrate how EWSs behave on reported cases for pertussis in the USA, to highlight some limitations when detecting disease transitions with real-world data.     

Microcystin analysis in single filaments of Planktothrix spp. in laboratory cultures and environmental blooms

Single filaments of Planktothrix spp. were isolated from laboratory cultures of P. agardhii (NIES 595) and P. rubescens (SL 03) and from four freshwater lakes in England and Turkey. Filament lengths were measured and microcystins were extracted by freeze-thawing and boiling. Microcystin analysis of the isolated single filaments was performed by ELISA using antibodies raised against microcystin-LR with a minimum detection limit (MDL) of 11 pg filament(-1). In some cases a high percentage of the filaments from the environmental samples and laboratory cultures were below the MDL of the assay. Based on the filaments with detectable microcystin contents, P. agardhii from Bassenthwaite Lake (England) had the lowest mean microcystin concentration (0.7 fg microm(-3)), and the highest microcystin concentration (2.9 fg microm(-3)) was measured in P. rubescens from Iznik Lake (Turkey). We investigated the relationship for filaments with microcystin contents above MDL and their biovolume. Relationships varied widely although P. agardhii from Bassenthwaite showed a better (positive) relationship between filament biovolume and microcystin content than P. rubescens from environmental samples. Under culture conditions, P. rubescens showed a good relationship between filament biovolume and toxin content.     

Evaluation of a mutual help network for the elderly residents of planned housing.

We set up a mutual help network among the elderly residents of a government-subsidized apartment building and evaluated its impact on their social ties, social support satisfaction, and depression. A quasi-experimental design was used, with the residents of a similar building located in the same neighborhood serving as the control group. A total of 230 individual services were exchanged, and 28 group activities were organized during the study period. There was almost no difference between experimental and control groups with respect to the change over the study period in the number of social ties with other residents of the building. Support satisfaction decreased in both groups, but the decrease was larger in the experimental group. The control group had a slight decrease in the frequency of their depressive symptoms, whereas the experimental group had a moderate increase. More research is needed on the ability of social support interventions to produce beneficial effects on mental health among individuals who are not experiencing a particular life stress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)