A comparative study of two advanced spraying techniques for the deposition of biologically active enzyme coatings onto bone-substituting implants

Surface modification of implant materials with biomolecule coatings is of high importance to improve implant fixation in bone tissue. In the current study, we present two techniques for the deposition of biologically active enzyme coatings onto implant materials. The well-established thin film ElectroSpray Deposition (ESD) technique was compared with the SAW-ED technique that combines high-frequency Surface Acoustic Wave atomization with Electrostatic Deposition. By immobilizing the enzyme alkaline phosphatase (ALP) onto implant surfaces, the influence of both SAW-ED and ESD deposition parameters on ALP deposition efficiency and ALP biological activity was investigated. ALP coatings with preserved enzyme activity were deposited by means of both the SAW-ED and ESD technique. The advantages of SAW-ED over ESD include the possibility to spray highly conductive protein solutions, and the 60-times faster deposition rate. Furthermore, significantly higher deposition efficiencies were observed for the SAW-ED technique compared to ESD. Generally, it was shown that protein inactivation is highly dependent on both droplet dehydration and the applied electrical field strength. The current study shows that SAW-ED is a versatile and flexible technique for the fabrication of functionally active biomolecule coatings.     

Children’s liking and intake of vegetables: A school-based intervention study

This study investigated effects on vegetable liking and intake gained from exposing children to snack vegetables of different liking levels. In total, 345 9–11-year-old children participated. The intervention consisted of two exposure periods. First, children were either exposed to a neutrally liked vegetable (cauliflower), a mixture of a neutrally liked and a liked (sugar snap peas) vegetable, or a mixture of a neutrally liked and a disliked (celery) vegetable. In the second, period all children were served all vegetables. Intake of individual vegetables was measured daily. Liking was assessed before and after exposures and at a subsequent follow-up. Liking for most vegetables decreased during the exposure periods but tended to recover somewhat during follow-up. Intake of all vegetables was either stable or decreased during the intervention, no increases were observed. Intake levels depended on type of vegetable servings: When served with a liked vegetable, children consumed more of a neutrally liked vegetable than when served alone (p = 0.0005) or together with a disliked vegetable (p = 0.005).     

Tip-of-the-tongue states reveal age differences in the syllable frequency effect.

Syllable frequency has been shown to facilitate production in some languages but has yielded inconsistent results in English and has never been examined in older adults. Tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) states represent a unique type of production failure where the phonology of a word is unable to be retrieved, suggesting that the frequency of phonological forms, like syllables, may influence the occurrence of TOT states. In the current study, we investigated the role of first-syllable frequency on TOT incidence and resolution in young (18–26 years of age), young-old (60–74 years of age), and old-old (75–89 years of age) adults. Data from 3 published studies were compiled, where TOTs were elicited by presenting definition-like questions and asking participants to respond with “Know,” “Don't Know,” or “TOT.” Young-old and old-old adults, but not young adults, experienced more TOTs for words beginning with low-frequency first syllables relative to high-frequency first syllables. Furthermore, age differences in TOT incidence occurred only for words with low-frequency first syllables. In contrast, when a prime word with the same first syllable as the target was presented during TOT states, all age groups resolved more TOTs for words beginning with low-frequency syllables. These findings support speech production models that allow for bidirectional activation between conceptual, lexical, and phonological forms of words. Furthermore, the age-specific effects of syllable frequency provide insight into the progression of age-linked changes to phonological processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The stability and degradation of dietary DNA in the gastrointestinal tract of mammals: implications for horizontal gene transfer and the biosafety of GMOs

The fate of dietary DNA in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of animals has gained renewed interest after the commercial introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMO). Among the concerns regarding GM food, are the possible consequences of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) of recombinant dietary DNA to bacteria or animal cells. The exposure of the GIT to dietary DNA is related to the extent of food processing, food composition, and to the level of intake. Animal feeding studies have demonstrated that a minor amount of fragmented dietary DNA may resist the digestive process. Mammals have been shown to take up dietary DNA from the GIT, but stable integration and expression of internalized DNA has not been demonstrated. Despite the ability of several bacterial species to acquire external DNA by natural transformation, in vivo transfer of dietary DNA to bacteria in the intestine has not been detected in the few experimental studies conducted so far. However, major methodological limitations and knowledge gaps of the mechanistic aspects of HGT calls for methodological improvements and further studies to understand the fate of various types of dietary DNA in the GIT.     

Anthocyanin degradation kinetics during thermal and high pressure treatments of raspberries

The effect of combined high temperature and high pressure on the degradation of the four main cyanidin-3-glycosides in raspberries was investigated. Anthocyanin degradation accelerated with increasing temperature as well as with increasing pressure, revealing a synergistic effect of both process variables. Degradation rate constants were estimated using a first order kinetic model. Temperature and pressure dependence of the degradation rate constants were expressed as activation energies and activation volumes according to Arrhenius and Eyring equations, respectively. In search of statistical differences between the E_a-k_ref- and V_a-k_ref-parameters estimated simultaneously, 90% joint confidence regions were constructed. A combined Arrhenius-Eyring model was found suitable to describe the combined temperature-pressure dependence of the degradation rate constants. Cyanidin-3-glucorutinoside showed the slowest degradation in comparison to the other cyanidins. Cyanidin-3-rutinoside experienced the smallest effect of temperature and the strongest effect of pressure compared to the others.     

étude des composantes dépressives chez des adolescents à tendances suicidaires.

Studied symptoms of depression in adolescents with suicidal tendencies. Ss were 2,850 secondary school students (aged 12–18 yrs). Ss completed a questionnaire assessing sociodemographic variables, symptoms of depression, and suicidality. Results from the following subsamples were compared: (1) 105 Ss with suicidal ideation; (2) 206 Ss with suicidal ideation who had contemplated specific means of suicide; (3) 94 Ss who had attempted suicide; (4) 62 Ss with depression but without suicidal ideation; and (5) 336 age-, gender-, and grade-matched comparison Ss without suicidal ideation. The Dysphoria Scale by L. S. Radloff (1977) was used. (English abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Corpus d'extraits musicaux: indices relatifs à la familiarité, à l'age d'acquisition et aux évocations verbales.

Studied the degree of familiarity, the age of acquisition, and verbal associations with regard to 144 musical excerpts drawn from the repertory of tunes that is expected to be shared by all French-speaking Quebec university students. Human Ss: 60 normal male and female Canadian adults (aged 21–45 yrs) (university students) (Group 1). 60 normal male and female Canadian adults (aged 19–43 yrs) (university students) (Group 2). The excerpts were presented to all Ss in synthesized, monophonic recordings. Ss in Group 1 were asked to indicate their degree of familiarity with each excerpt and the age at which they learned the excerpt. Ss in Group 2 were asked to indicate whether the original tune was vocal or instrumental and to provide verbal associations for the excerpts. The degree of familiarity, developmental period of acquisition, frequency of verbal associations, and dominant verbal association were determined for each excerpt. (English abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relative deprivation theory and the Quebec nationalist movement: The cognition–emotion distinction and the personal–group deprivation issue.

Investigated the effect of unfavorable intergroup comparisons on feelings of group discontent and the importance of various types of relative deprivation (RD) to explain militant sociopolitical attitudes (nationalism). 80 22–50 yr old Francophones answered a questionnaire that either informed them that according to several studies, Francophones have a lower average annual income than Anglophones or did not inform them at all. Results reveal that informed Ss perceived a wider economic difference between groups than uninformed Ss, but this manipulation had no effect on other variables including fraternal RD (group discontent). The feeling of fraternal RD was as strongly related to a global index of nationalism as the perceived economic gap between the groups. In contrast, measures of egoistic RD (personal discontent) were not related to this index. Results support theories that conceptualize RD as being more than simply a cognition or a perception of deprivation and imply that fraternal RD, rather than egoistic RD as current theories suggest, is an important factor in the explanation of protest movements. (50 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)