Surface properties of phenolic compounds and their influence on the dispersion degree and oxidative stability of olive oil O/W emulsions

The surface and interfacial properties of gallic acid, catechin and quercetin, and their effect on the dispersion degree and the oxidative stability of olive oil oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions prepared using β-lactoglobulin and Tween 20 were studied.Gallic acid showed no effect on the surface properties while catechin was proven to be able to accumulate at the air/water interface, decreasing the surface tension values with increasing its concentration. All the phenolic antioxidants caused a decrease in the interfacial tension at the oil/water interface, even though only catechin and quercetin showed a concentration dependent behaviour.In emulsions, gallic acid did not affect the droplet size of the systems, catechin caused the formation of oil droplets bigger than those of the control, whilst quercetin improved the dispersion state of the emulsions with the increasing of its concentration. Gallic acid, despite its partitioning in the water phase due to its polarity, delayed the formation of both the hydroperoxides and TBARs and limited their accumulation. Catechin did not affect the formation of oxidation products whilst quercetin, among the tested antioxidants, caused the lowest formation of both hydroperoxides and TBARs through 33 days of storage.     

WTO — a deterministic approach to 4-fermion physics

The program WTO, which is designed for computing cross sections and other relevant observables in the e⁺e⁻ annihilation into four fermions, is described. The various quantities are computed over both a completely inclusive experimental set-up and a realistic one, i.e. with cuts on the final state energies, final state angles, scattering angles and final state invariant masses. Initial state QED corrections are included by means of the structure function approach while final state QCD corrections are applicable in their naive formulation. A gauge restoring mechanism is included according to the Fermion-Loop scheme. The program structure is highly modular and particular care has been devoted to computing efficiency and speed.     

How to Strip a Model to Its Essential Elements

Econometric models can be considered as a quantified representation of current economic theory. The paper suggests a procedure to check the correspondence between theory and practice. After an introduction about methodological aspects, a model of the Canadian economy is reduced by appropriate aggregation of the variables. Its condensed structure is then analysed, in order to investigate especially some noteworthy economic circuits such as financial flows and investment. The whole approach is strictly qualitative, based exclusively on the causal structure of the model. The results remain therefore consistent with any quantification of the model.     

Penalised regression splines: theory and application to medical research

Generalised additive models (GAMs) allow for flexible functional dependence of a response variable on covariates. The aim of this article is to provide an accessible overview of GAMs based on the penalised likelihood approach with regression splines. In contrast to the classical backfitting, the penalised likelihood framework taken here provides researchers with an efficient computational method for automatic multiple smoothing parameter selection, which can determine the functional form of any relationship from the data. We illustrate through an example how the use of this methodology can help to gain insights into medical research.     

IgA antibodies to tissue transglutaminase: An effective diagnostic test for celiac disease

OBJECTIVE: Tissue transglutaminase (tTG) is the main autoantigen recognized by endomysial antibodies. The aim of this study was to assess sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value of IgA and IgG antibodies to tTG in the diagnosis of celiac disease compared with endomysial antibodies. STUDY DESIGN: We established enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay procedures to measure IgA and IgG antibodies to tTG in sera from 48 untreated and 33 treated patients with celiac disease and from 63 patients with gastrointestinal disease who were in a control group. Sera from 10 patients with celiac disease were examined at various times after gluten was reintroduced into the patients' diet. RESULTS: Both IgA and IgG to tTG were significantly (P <.001) higher in serum of untreated patients with celiac disease versus those in the control group; IgA but not IgG was significantly (P <.001) higher in untreated versus treated patients with celiac disease. IgA and IgG antitissue tTG had a diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value of 92% and 21%, 98% and 97%, and 98% and 83%, respectively. The concordance rate of IgA anti-tTG with IgA antiendomysial antibodies was 95%. In 5 of the 10 patients undergoing gluten challenge, IgA antiendomysium antibodies were detected earlier than IgA anti-tTG antibodies. CONCLUSIONS: tTG-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay is an effective diagnostic test, although immunofluorescent-based assays are more sensitive, particularly during gluten challenge.     

Materials decay and environmental attack in the Pio Palace at Carpi: A holistic approach for historical architectural surfaces conservation

Since the XIV century the Pio Palace in Carpi (MO, Italy) has been subjected to many additions and rearrangements and, in the last decades, to wide restoration works. Nevertheless the XVII century main portal has not been restored yet, due to its complex and peculiar surface alteration forms in comparison with the other parts of the building, and still suffers a deep decay and degradation by complex chemical-physical processes.     

Release of the mitogen lysophosphatidylinositol from H-Ras-transformed fibroblasts; a possible mechanism of autocrine control of cell proliferation

Lysophosphatidylinositol (LysoPtdIns) is formed by a constitutively-active phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase A2 in Ras-transformed cells and can stimulate cell proliferation. To evaluate whether LysoPtdIns could function as an autocrine modulator of cell growth, we examined whether LysoPtdIns can be released in the medium of Ras-transformed FRT-Fibro fibroblasts and thyroid cells. Here, we report that LysoPtdIns accumulates in the extracellular space of these lines and reaches levels up to tenfold higher than in the case of normal cells. Moreover, the ionophore A23187 increased the levels of the lysolipid in the extracellular medium. Extracellular LysoPtdIns was rapidly hydrolyzed to inositol 1:2-cyclic phosphate. LysoPtdIns induced thymidine incorporation in FRT-Fibro Ha-Ras fibroblasts, whereas inositol cyclic 1:2-cyclic phosphate did not affect cell growth per se, nor did it interfere with the LysoPtdIns mitogenic activity. We hypothesize that in Ras-transformed fibroblasts the formation and release of LysoPtdIns may function as an autocrine mechanism that participates in the Ras-dependent stimulation of cell growth.