Apparent mental causation: Sources of the experience of will.

The experience of willing an act arises from interpreting one's thought as the cause of the act. Conscious will is thus experienced as a function of the priority, consistency, and exclusivity of the thought about the action. The thought must occur before the action, be consistent with the action, and not be accompanied by other causes. An experiment illustrating the role of priority found that people can arrive at the mistaken belief that they have intentionally caused an action that in fact they were forced to perform when they are simply led to think about the action just before its occurrence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Full Characterisation of Crambe abyssinica Hochst. Seed Oil

This work was dedicated to reporting the full chemical and physical characterisation of Crambe abyssinica Hochst. seed oil. The oil from the seeds was extracted using n-hexane. The seeds contain about 30?% oil. Density, refractive index, colour, smoke point, viscosity, acidity, saponification value, iodine value, fatty acid methyl esters, the relative position of fatty acids in C₁ and C₃ carbon glycerol, sterols, tocopherols, peroxide value, $ \mathop E\nolimits_{{1{\text{cm}}}}^{1\,\% } $ at 232?nm, and the susceptibility to oxidation measured by the Rancimat method were determined. The oil was found to contain high levels of unsaturated fatty acids, especially C22:1 (63.77?%). The dominant saturated acid was C22:0 (2.14?%). The oil was also found to contain high levels of β-sitosterol (51.93?%), campestanol (21.98?%), and brassicasterol (12.35?%). α-, γ-, and δ-Tocopherols were detected up to levels of 7.67, 125.04, and 3.99?mg/kg, respectively. The induction period (at 110?°C and 20?l/h) of the oil was 8.83?h. The relative position of fatty acids in C₁ and C₃ position was as follows: linoleic 0.45?%, oleic 8.84?%, and erucic 90.72?%. The thermal profile of the oil presented a single peak at ?20.94?°C.     

Detection of olive oil adulteration using principal component analysis applied on total and regio FA content

Principal component analysis (PCA) has been used to establish a new method for the detection of olive oil adulteration. The data set, composed of values obtained from the determination of the mole percentage of total FA and their regiospecific distribution in positions 1 and 3 in TG of oils (pure or mixtures) by GC analysis, was subjected to PCA. 3-D scatter plots showed clearly that it is possible to distinguish the pure oils from the mixtures. Moreover it is possible to discriminate the different types of seed oil used for the adulteration.     

Recovery of Natural Antioxidants from Olive Mill Wastewater Using Genapol-X080

The possibility of applying cloud point extraction (CPE) using Genapol X-080 as surfactant for the separation of phenolic compounds from olive mill wastewater was examined. The ability of the surfactant to recover individual and mixtures of polyphenols and tocopherols in various concentrations from aqueous solutions was tested before its application for the recovery of phenols from olive mill wastewater. Many of the examined individual polyphenols were recovered at high percentage. Especially, in the case of Luteolin, low surfactant concentrations were sufficient for quantitative removal. The recovery appeared proportional to the surfactant concentration. The complete recovery of tocopherols was also possible. Total phenol recovery by simple and successive CPE of olive mill wastewater with various concentrations (2, 5 and 20%, v/v) of Genapol X-080 was up to 89.5%.     

Qualitative and Quantitative Detection of Protein and Genetic Traits in Genetically Modified Food

Due to the market introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in crops, foods, and ingredients, legislation worldwide came face to face with the question of the use and labeling requirements on GMO crops and their derivatives. In this review, protein- and DNA-based methods, such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, western blots, and qualitative and quantitative polymerase chain reaction PCR (Q-PCR) are reviewed. Qualitative detection methods for genetically modified (GM) sequences in foods have evolved rapidly during the past years. The sensitivity of these systems is extremely high, even for processed foodstuffs. However, the availability of quantitative detection methods for GMO analysis is an important prerequisite for the introduction of threshold limits for GMOs in food. The recently introduced labeling threshold for GMOs in food ingredients by the European Union has forced official food control laboratories to apply quantitative PCR methods. Taking the precision of quantitative PCR detection methods into account, suitable sample plans and sample sizes for GMO analysis are discussed. As quantitative GMO detection methods measure GMO contents of samples in relation to reference material, priority must be given to international agreements and standardization on certified reference materials. The rapidly increasing number of GM foods on the market demands the development of more advanced multidetection systems, such as microarray technology. Challenges and problems arising from the inability to detect GM foods for which the modified sequence is unknown, the lengthy standardization procedures, and the need to continuously update databases comprising commercially available GM foods and the respective detection strategies are also discussed.     

Urine Metabolomic Profile of Breast- versus Formula-Fed Neonates Using a Synbiotic-Enriched Formula

The aim of this study was to compare the urine metabolic fingerprint of healthy neonates exclusively breastfed with that of neonates fed with a synbiotic-enriched formula (Rontamil^® Complete 1) at four time points (the 3rd and 15th days of life and the 2nd and 3rd months). The determination of urine metabolic fingerprint was performed using NMR metabolomics. Multivariate data analyses were performed with SIMCA-P 15.0 software and R language. Non-distinct profiles for both groups (breastfeeding and synbiotic formula) for the two first time points (3rd and 15th days of life) were detected, whereas after the 2nd month of life, a discrimination trend was observed between the two groups, which was further confirmed at the 3rd month of life. A clear discrimination of the synbiotic formula samples was evident when comparing the metabolites taken in the first days of life (3rd day) with those taken in the 2nd and 3rd months of life. In both cases, OPLS-DA models explained more than 75% of the metabolic variance. Non-distinct metabolomic profiles were obtained between breastfed and synbiotic-formula-fed neonates up to the 15th day of life. Discrimination trends were observed only after the 2nd month of the study, which could be attributed to breastfeeding variations and the consequent dynamic profile of urine metabolites compared to the stable ingredients of the synbiotic formula.     

Wine produced by immobilized cells on dried raisin berries in sensory evaluation comparison with commercial products

Comparative sensory evaluation of wines produced by immobilized cells of Uvaferme 299 on dried raisin berries and free cells using the Saint Denis grape variety and of commercial Greek products (‘Biblia Chora’ rosé wine produced from the Syrah grape variety, ‘Palivos’ and ‘Strofilia’ rosé wines both produced from the Agiorgitiko grape variety) was carried out. Sensory evaluation was conducted twice by 11 tasters previously trained and a method for panel validation was proposed. Subsequently, the wines were evaluated for their aroma intension, aroma complexity, aroma elegance and overall quality. Duncan's multiple range test clearly showed that there were statistically significant differences between wines produced using different grape varieties and fermentation conditions. Linear regression analysis of the results was performed in order to investigate which sensory parameter had a significant effect on the overall quality and it revealed that only aroma elegance affected significantly the overall quality. Wine produced by immobilized cells scored a statistically higher value for its overall quality than the wine produced by free cells. Finally, discriminant sensory evaluation revealed a gooseberry, cherry, mint aroma for ‘Biblia Chora’ wine and a citrus, rose aroma for ‘Strofilia’ and ‘Palivos’ wines. Wines produced using immobilized and free cells were characterized by a fruity, banana‐like aroma, and a herbaceous note was predominant. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry