Sugar brews in bread improvement

The use of a partly fermented sugar brew instead of the dough water and compressed yeast improved the specific volume, texture and softness of bread made by a mechanical development process without oxidising improver and intermediate proof. The improving effect of the brew was due entirely to its residual sugar, ethyl alcohol content and the active state of the yeast, and none of these factors could be omitted without reducing bread quality. Because these factors vary simultaneously in a fermenting brew there was an optimum duration of brew fermentation. The use of such a brew also reduced the work input requirement during dough mixing and final proof time.     

Morinda revisited: changes in nutritional well-being and gender differences after 30 years of rapid economic growth in rural Punjab, India

A follow-up study of malnutrition and its determinants among children 6 to 24 months of age was carried out in rural areas of Punjab State in India 30 years after the original study, and following a period of rapid economic growth. The original 1971 study had found a high prevalence of mortality and malnutrition and the worst gender difference in nutritional status ever recorded in an Indian study. The 2001 follow-up study found dramatic reductions in child mortality, child malnutrition, gender-based imbalances in child well-being and care, and family size, the result of participatory economic growth coupled with broad-based educational, health, and family-planning services. Despite overall improvements in caloric intake, however, 40% of lower-class children in 2001 were still consuming less than 50% of their caloric allowance. With minimal gender-based abortion and significantly reduced neglect and mortality offemale children, gender balance among children in this area of rural Punjab improved markedly over the 30-year period.     

HYBRIDIZATION OF NON-SPORULATING AND WEAKLY SPORULATING STRAINS OF BREWER'S AND DISTILLER'S YEASTS

A method for hybridization of strains of industrial yeasts with auxotrophically marked haploid and diploid strains was developed, using the RD-auxotrophic technique of Gunge & Nakatomi. Brewing and distilling strains were hybridized with aα or αα diploids and sporulating, near-tetraploid strains were obtained which could be further subjected to genetic analysis and hybridized by conventional methods. Hybrids could also be obtained between the industrial strains and auxotrophically marked haploid strains, but the viability of the spores obtained from these hybrids was low, and they were probably near-triploids. This method makes possible the genetic analysis of brewing yeast strains and others which do not sporulate, and allows the mapping of characters which are important in industrial practice, so that new yeast strains having extended ranges of desirable characteristics can be obtained by standard genetic techniques.     

Scanning tunneling microscope excited cathodoluminescence from ZnS nanowires

The electronic excitation spectrum of ZnS nanowires (NWs) is characterized by cathodoluminescence (CL) excited using the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope as a highly localized and bright source of low-energy (150-350 eV) electrons with impinging power densities in the range of up to 60 kW/cm(2) or more. The CL spectra reveal significant differences when compared with the photoluminescence spectra of ZnS NWs. The differences can be associated with the properties of the surface region of the NWs, which are preferentially emphasized in the CL spectra owing to the small probing depth of low-energy electrons.     

The effects of place meanings and social capital on desired forest management outcomes: A stated preference experiment

Planners and managers responsible for public-trust resources are often faced with making difficult value-laden decisions requiring trade offs between alternative, and often competing, outcomes. To make more informed decisions within volatile socio-political climates, resource managers and planners need an understanding of the benefits local community members would like the resource to produce, and an understanding of the social and psychological factors that influence those preferences. In this research, we focused on two increasingly important factors – social capital and place-based social–psychological attachments – that influence public preferences for management outcomes. We conducted a stated preference field experiment on residents living in three forest related communities within Southern Appalachia in the Southeastern United States. The experiment elucidated responses to hypothetical management plans designed to produce distinctly different outcomes. The results reveal ecologically focused management plans were the most preferred, much more so than plans designed to produce aesthetic, recreational, or economic outcomes. The data also reveal both individuals’ stocks of social capital as well as their place-based social–psychological attachments influence evaluation of competing management outcomes. Our methodological approach and empirical findings advance both the analytical approaches used to study multiple use public resources and existing knowledge regarding how social and psychological factors influence individuals’ decision-making processes.     

Choosing and Using Tools: Capuchins (Cebus apella) Use a Different Metric Than Tamarins (Saguinus oedipus).

Cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) selected canes positioned so that a straight inward pull brought food within reach (M. D. Hauser, 1997; see also record 1997-41347-003). Tamarins failed to retrieve food with canes in other positions, and they did not reposition these canes. In this study, tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) preferred canes they could pull straight in when these were present, but they also repositioned canes in individually variable ways, and their success at obtaining food with repositioned canes improved with practice. In accord with predictions drawn from ecological psychology, capuchins discovered affordances of canes through exploratory actions with these objects, whereas tamarins did not. Ecological theory predicts these differences on the basis of species-typical manipulative activity, and it provides a useful approach for the study of species differences in tool-using behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pushing the Boundaries of Structural Heterogeneity with the Lipid A of Marine Bacteria Cellulophaga

Marine bacteria, which are often described as chemical gold, are considered an exceptional source of new therapeutics. Considerable research interest has been given to lipopolysaccharides (LPSs), the main components of the Gram-negative outer membrane. LPS and its lipid A portion from marine bacteria are known to exhibit a tricky chemistry that has been often associated with intriguing properties such as behaving as immune adjuvants or anti-sepsis molecules. In this scenario, we report the structural determination of the lipid A from three marine bacteria within the Cellulophaga genus, which showed to produce an extremely heterogenous blend of tetra- to hexa-acylated lipid A species, mostly carrying one phosphate and one D-mannose on the glucosamine disaccharide backbone. The ability of the three LPSs in activating TLR4 signaling revealed a weaker immunopotential by C. baltica NNO 15840^T and C. tyrosinoxydans EM41^T, while C. algicola ACAM 630^T behaved as a more potent TLR4 activator.     

Application of cellulose- and chitosan-based edible coatings for quality and safety of deep-fried foods

Excessive oil uptake and formation of carcinogens, such as acrylamide (AA), heterocyclic amines (HCAs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), during deep-frying are a potential threat for food quality and safety. Cellulose- and chitosan-based edible coatings have been widely applied to deep-fried foods for reduction of oil uptake because of their barrier property to limit oil ingress, and their apparent inhibition of AA formation. Cellulose- and chitosan-based edible coatings have low negative impacts on sensory attributes of fried foods and are low cost, nontoxic, and nonallergenic. They also show great potential for reducing HCAs and PAHs in fried foods. The incorporation of nanoparticles improves mechanical and barrier properties of cellulose and chitosan coatings, which may also contribute to reducing carcinogens derived from deep-frying. Considering the potential for positive health outcomes, cellulose- and chitosan-based edible coatings could be a valuable method for the food industry to improve the quality and safety of deep-fried foods.