Prevalence and distribution of mastitis pathogens in subclinically infected dairy cows in Flanders, Belgium

The main objective was to determine the prevalence of intramammary infections (IMI) in dairy cows in Flanders, Belgium. Data were obtained from quarter milk samples of dairy herds subjected to a mandatory yearly screening of all lactating cows. A total of 178,668 quarter milk samples were collected at 1087 cross-sectional dairy herd screenings performed in three consecutive years. Of the dairy cows, 40% had at least one culture-positive quarter. More than 50% of all IMI were caused by non-aureus staphylococci. Streptococcus agalactiae is almost eradicated in Flanders, whereas Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from 18% of the culture-positive quarters. In addition, the distribution of mastitis pathogens in quarter milk samples from selected dairy cows with an elevated somatic cell count (SCC) is described. From 6390 cows with a geometric mean composite SCC 250,000 cells/ml, nearly 65% had at least one culture-positive quarter. The majority of the IMI were caused by non-aureus staphylococci (41.1%), whereas Staph. aureus and aesculin-positive cocci were found in respectively 25% and 18% of the culture-positive milk samples. We conclude that more efforts are needed in the prevention and control of subclinical mastitis in Flanders. Non-aureus staphylococci are the predominant cause of IMI, warranting more research regarding the epidemiology and pathogenicity of those species.     

Effects of malting on β‐glucanase and phytase activity in barley grain

The effects of malting on β‐glucan and phytate were investigated in one naked and one covered barley by a full factorial experiment with three factors (steeping temperature, moisture content and germination temperature) each with two levels. Analysis of total content of β‐glucan in the malted samples showed small changes after steeping at the high temperature (48 °C), while steeping at the lower temperature (15 °C) gave a significantly lower content. This trend was even stronger for β‐glucan unextractable at 38 °C. Analysis of the activity of β‐glucanase for the samples steeped at 15 °C showed a strong increase over the time of germination, while those steeped at 48 °C had a much slower development. The other two factors influenced the outcome to a small extent, mainly because the steeping temperature was the most important factor overall where any changes in β‐glucan and β‐glucanase were observed. When β‐glucan was extracted at 100 °C, a larger yield was obtained, and this was influenced by the steeping temperature in a much stronger way than for β‐glucan extracted at 38 °C. Determination of average molecular weight for β‐glucan extracted at 100 °C gave a lower value for samples steeped at 15 than at 48 °C. The design did not have any large effects on phytate degradation and phytase activity. However, it indicated that selective control of the enzymes might be possible, since phytase activity was barely affected by the parameters studied, while β‐glucanase was heavily affected. © 2002 Society of Chemical Industry     

Dephytinisation of Sangak and Barbari bread made from different extraction rate flours increases iron and zinc bioaccessibility in Caco‐2 cells

Bread is a staple food in many countries and an important source of iron and zinc. The bioavailability of these minerals is generally low because of the content of phytic acid. Traditional Iranian breads were prepared with flours of different extraction rates, Sangak at 93% and Barbari at 82%. Breads were dephytinised by addition of Aspergillus niger phytase during in vitro digestion. The effect upon iron and zinc bioaccessibility in the Caco‐2 cell model was investigated. The cellular uptake of iron and zinc was lower from Sangak, compared to Barbari, despite higher mineral content in Sangak. Dephytinisation of both breads increased iron uptake in the Caco‐2 cells (0.65 vs. 1.64 in Sangak and 0.77 vs. 1.97 ng mg^?1 protein in Barbari). Zinc uptake increased from 0.98 to 2.8 in Sangak and from 1.4 to 2.9 ng mg^?1 protein in Barbari. Thus, dephytinisation substantially improves iron and zinc bioaccessibility.     

Effects of alkylresorcinols on volume and structure of yeast-leavened bread

BACKGROUND: Alkylresorcinols (AR) are amphiphilic phenolic compounds found in high amounts in wheat, durum wheat and rye, with different homologue composition for each cereal. The effect of different amounts of added AR from these cereals on bread volume, height, porosity and microstructure was studied. Breads with added rye bran (with high levels of AR) or acetone‐extracted rye bran (with low levels of AR) were also baked, as well as breads with finely milled forms of each of these brans. RESULTS: Breads with high amounts of added AR, irrespective of AR homologue composition, had a lower volume, a more compact structure and an adverse microstructure compared with breads with no or low levels of added AR. AR were also shown to inhibit the activity of baker's yeast. There was no difference in bread volume and porosity between bread baked with rye bran and acetone‐extracted rye bran or with brans of different particle size. CONCLUSION: Irrespective of homologue composition, AR had a negative effect on wheat bread properties when added in high amounts as purified extracts from wheat, durum wheat and rye. Natural levels of AR in rye bran, however, did not affect the volume and porosity of yeast‐leavened wheat breads. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry     

Direct Evidence of Cation Disorder in Thermoelectric Lead Chalcogenides PbTe and PbS

The extraordinary thermoelectric properties of lead chalcogenides have attracted huge interest in part due to their unexpected low thermal conductivity. Here, it is shown that anharmonicity and large cation disorder are present in both PbTe and PbS, based on elaborate charge density visualization using synchrotron powder X‐ray diffraction (SPXRD) data analyzed with the maximum entropy method (MEM). In both systems, the cation disorder increases with increasing temperature, whereas the Te/S anions appear to be centered on the expected lattice positions. Even at the lowest temperatures of 105 K, the lead ion is on average displaced by ≈0.2 Å from the rock‐salt lattice position, creating a strong phonon scattering mechanism. These findings provide a clue to understanding the excellent thermoelectric performance of crystals with atomic disorder. The SPXRD–MEM approach can be applied in general opening up for widespread characterization of subtle structural features in crystals with unusual properties.     

Quantitation of resveratrol in red wines by means of stable isotope dilution analysis-ultra-performance liquid chromatography-Quan-time-of-flight mass spectrometry and cross validation

A stable isotope dilution analysis (SIDA) was developed for the quantitative analysis of the health-promoting phytoalexin (E)-resveratrol in red wines by means of UPLC-QuanTOF-MS. After hemisynthetic preparation of (E)-3,5,4'-trihydroxy-2,4,6-trideuterostilbene ((E)-[(2)H(3)]-resveratrol) as the stable isotope labeled internal standard, validation experiments revealed recovery rate of 96.2 ± 0.8% RSD, thus demonstrating the robustness and accuracy of the SIDA-UPLC-QuanTOF-MS method. Repeatability and reproducibility expressed as RSD showed excellent values of 3.0% and 4.0% for (E)-[(2)H(3)]-resveratrol. Cross validation against a SIDA-HPLC-MS/MS analysis using a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer revealed comparable data, but the SIDA-UPLC-QuanTOF-MS was four times faster, thus making the latter method preferential for an accurate high-throughput analysis of wine samples. Comparison of the SIDA data to those obtained by quantitation using a standard addition method and external calibration, respectively, revealed 97.7% and 32.4% of the resveratrol concentration determined by means of SIDA-UPLC-QuanTOF-MS and 101.0% and 12.7% of the resveratrol levels found by using SIDA-HPLC-MS/MS.     

Development of electrosprayed artesunate-loaded core–shell nanoparticles

Objective: Artesunate (ART) is proven to have potential anti-proliferative activities, but its instability and poor aqueous solubility limit its application as an anti-cancer drug. The present study was undertaken to develop coaxial electrospraying as a novel technique for fabricating nanoscale drug delivery systems of ART as the core–shell nanostructures.

Methods: The core–shell nanoparticles (NPs) were fabricated with coaxial electrospraying and the formation mechanisms of NPs were examined. The physical solid state and drug–polymer interactions of NPs were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The effects of materials and electrospraying process on the particle size and surface morphology of NPs were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The drug release from NPs was determined in vitro by a dialysis method.

Results: The ART/poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) chitosan (CS) NPs exhibited the mean particle size of 303?±?93?nm and relatively high entrapment efficiency (80.5%). The release pattern showed an initial rapid release within two hours followed by very slow extended release. The release pattern approached the Korsmeyer–Peppas model.

Conclusions: The present results suggest that the core–shell NPs containing PLGA and CS have a potential as carriers in the anticancer drug therapy of ART.     

Impact of carbon nanotube additives on carbide-derived carbon-based electroactive polymer actuators

The effects of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) on the properties of carbide-derived carbon (CDC)-based electroactive polymer (EAP) actuators were studied. SWCNTs were used as an additive to increase the mesoporosity and electrical conductivity of the electrodes, and also to support the CDC matrix. EAP actuators with various ratios of SWCNTs to CDC in the electrodes were fabricated and their electromechanical and electrochemical characteristics were examined. The addition of SWCNTs to CDC-based electrodes significantly increased the bending strain and stress (bending force) of the actuators. The actuator assembled with electrodes containing SWCNTs and CDC in the ratio 50/50 (wt.%/wt.%) showed the highest strain output among the samples at lower frequencies (<0.1 Hz). The increase in maximum strain was more than twice that of pure CDC-based EAPs (0.85% vs. 0.35% at an applied voltage of ±2 V). Also, the high frequency (5–50 Hz) response of the combined SWCNT/CDC-based actuators was considerably improved.     

Integration and electrical characterization of carbon nanotube via interconnects

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are considered a promising material for interconnects in the future generations of microchips because of their low electrical resistance and excellent mechanical stability. In particular, CNT-based contacts appear advantageous when compared with current tungsten or copper technologies and could therefore find an application as metal contacts interconnecting the transistors with the back end of line of the microchip. In this work, the integration of vertical CNT bundles in sub-micron contact holes is evaluated at wafer scale and the major integration challenges encountered in the practical realization of the process are discussed. Nickel PVD films were used to selectively grow CNT into the contact holes at temperatures as low as 400 °C, which is the thermal budget available for contacts. The height of the contacts and the length of the CNT are controlled by a chemical mechanical polishing step (CMP) after embedding the CNT into SiO₂. Ti/Au metal pads are then formed onto the CNT bundles by PVD and lift-off. The integrated CNT are electrically characterized and an annealing treatment was found to improve the CNT-via resistance. As the electrical properties of the CNT can be evaluated, the structure and the process presented constitute a test vehicle for the development of high-quality CNT-contacts.     

Serum Corticosterone and Insulin Resistance as Early Biomarkers in the hAPP23 Overexpressing Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease

Increasing epidemiological evidence highlights the association between systemic insulin resistance and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). As insulin resistance can be caused by high-stress hormone levels and since hypercortisolism appears to be an important risk factor of AD, we aimed to investigate the systemic insulin functionality and circulating stress hormone levels in a mutant humanized amyloid precursor protein (APP) overexpressing (hAPP23+/−) AD mouse model. Memory and spatial learning of male hAPP23+/− and C57BL/6 (wild type, WT) mice were assessed by a Morris Water Maze (MWM) test at the age of 4 and 12 months. The systemic metabolism was examined by intraperitoneal glucose and insulin tolerance tests (GTT, ITT). Insulin and corticosterone levels were determined in serum. In the hippocampus, parietal and occipital cortex of hAPP23+/− brains, amyloid-beta (Aβ) deposits were present at 12 months of age. MWM demonstrated a cognitive decline in hAPP23+/− mice at 12 but not at 4 months, evidenced by increasing total path lengths and deteriorating probe trials compared to WT mice. hAPP23+/− animals presented increased serum corticosterone levels compared to WT mice at both 4 and 12 months. hAPP23+/− mice exhibited peripheral insulin resistance compared to WT mice at 4 months, which stabilized at 12 months of age. Serum insulin levels were similar between genotypes at 4 months of age but were significantly higher in hAPP23+/− mice at 12 months of age. Peripheral glucose homeostasis remained unchanged. These results indicate that peripheral insulin resistance combined with elevated circulating stress hormone levels could be potential biomarkers of the pre-symptomatic phase of AD.