The missing component in rail charging modeling—access charges principle selection

The motive of this research is the fact that until now no universal model of access charges (AC) has been defined. In the process of modeling, the AC principle is one of the key elements for defining the AC. In this paper, a model for the AC principle selection based on the analytic network process (ANP) approach is proposed. The developed model presents the objectives of the identified stakeholders through the established criteria from three different perspectives: the government influence, railway market environment, and efficiency of network use. Based on the results of a research, network structure of the ANP method can successfully resolve the dependence and conflicts among evaluation criteria for the AC principle selection. The proposed ANP‐based model can become a tool for evaluation and ranking of the AC principle as shown in the case study of the Serbian Railways. This paper is based on real data.     

Gel Strength and Sensory Attributes of Fig (Ficus carica) Jams and Preserves as Influenced by Ripeness

ABSTRACT: In this article, gel strength and sensory attributes of jams and preserves made from figs at different stages of ripeness were investigated. Special emphasis was put on investigating the relationship of these attributes and pectin composition during ripening. Jams were produced with the addition of sugars and commercial pectin. In the production of preserves, no additional sugars or commercial pectin were used. Basic physicochemical properties (total solids, sugars, pH, total acidity) of figs were determined at all stages of ripeness. Total solids, sugars, and pH value increased in figs during ripening. To better understand the role of fig pectin in gel formation, the amount of 3 pectin fractions, soluble in water (PFW), soluble in oxalate (PFO), and soluble in alkali (PFA), as well as their gel-forming abilities were determined. The most abundant pectin fraction in figs was found to be PFO. Its amount was not influenced by the stage of ripeness. The amount of PFW and PFA decreased with increased ripeness of the fruit. Strength of gels formed with PFW and PFA isolated at different stages of ripeness followed the same trend. Gels made with PFO were remarkably softer in comparison with other gels. While strength of jams was not influenced by the ripeness of fig fruits, the strength of preserves decreased with increased ripeness of the fruit. The stage of ripeness did not have a significant influence on sensory attributes of jams or preserves. However, the type of product had a significant influence on taste, firmness, and color. Jams scored higher than preserves when these 3 attributes were evaluated.     

The New Therapeutic Approaches in the Treatment of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most prevalent chronic liver disease which is characterized by extremely complex pathogenetic mechanisms and multifactorial etiology. Some of the many pathophysiological mechanisms involved in the development of NAFLD include oxidative stress, impaired mitochondrial metabolism, inflammation, gut microbiota, and interaction between the brain-liver-axis and the regulation of hepatic lipid metabolism. The new therapeutic approaches in the treatment of NAFLD are targeting some of these milestones along the pathophysiological pathway and include drugs like agonists of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs), glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonists, sodium/glucose transport protein 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, farnesoid X receptor (FXR) agonists, probiotics, and symbiotics. Further efforts in biomedical sciences should focus on the investigation of the relationship between the microbiome, liver metabolism, and response to inflammation, systemic consequences of metabolic syndrome.     

Activity of antioxidants in solution and in irradiated heterogeneous system

The efficiency of some common antioxidants, α-tocopherol, butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), was studied relative to β-carotene in a homogeneous solution and in a model system of an irradiated solid food. Relative reactivities in homogeneous solution covered a range of three orders of magnitude, α-tocopherol being the best and BHT the poorest antioxidant of the three. In irradiated systems consisting of oleic acid coated on a solid support (egg white), the range of reactivities was much narrower within one order of magnitude. In solution, there was a parallelism of the relative reactivities with oxidizing alkoxyl radicals derived from oleic acid hydroperoxides andtert-butyl hydroperoxide. On the solid support the relative reactivities of α-tocopherol and BHA with oleic acid radiation-induced oxidizing radicals were reversed, BHA appearing the best. Efficient antioxidants do not retain their great antioxidant activity in comparison with the moderate ones on transition from a homogeneous solution to a heterogeneous system. Relative efficiencies of antioxidants do not critically depend on the nature of oxidizing radicals in heterogeneous media.     

The Code Design of the Space-time Trellis Codes with Dynamic Transmit Power Allocation

Space-time trellis codes (STTCs) have been shown to efficiently use transmit diversity to improve the error performance. In existing space-time trellis codes, the transmit power is equally distributed across all transmit antennas. However, this power allocation strategy is not optimum regarding the error performance. In this paper, we propose a design of space-time trellis codes with dynamic transmit power allocation (STTCs/DTPA), when partial channel state information (CSI) is available at the transmitter side. It is demonstrated that this new scheme can achieve a full diversity order and have much better error performance than the standard STTCs scheme, the existing STTCs/DTPA, and some other closed-loop transmit diversity schemes with partial CSI.     

Biomimetic Thiyl Radical Chemistry by γ-Irradiation of Micelles and Vesicles Containing Unsaturated Fatty Acids

Different types of lipid aggregations, such as micelles and liposomes, can be used as biomimetic models. The uses of γ-irradiation as a valid methodology for simulating the biological generation of thiyl radicals in these models are summarized and, in particular, thiyl radical catalyzed cis trans isomerization of unsaturated lipids is underlined. The efficiency of antioxidants against lipid isomerization assayed by biomimetic models and the importance of trans lipids as novel biomarkers of radical stress are also described.     

Antitumor Mechanisms of Amino Acid Hydroxyurea Derivatives in the Metastatic Colon Cancer Model

The paper presents a detailed study of the biological effects of two amino acid hydroxyurea derivatives that showed selective antiproliferative effects in vitro on the growth of human tumor cell line SW620. Tested compounds induced cell cycle perturbations and apoptosis. Proteins were identified by proteomics analyses using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis coupled to mass spectrometry, which provided a complete insight into the most probable mechanism of action on the protein level. Molecular targets for tested compounds were analyzed by cheminformatics tools. Zinc-dependent histone deacetylases were identified as potential targets responsible for the observed antiproliferative effect.     

Anthocyanins and hydroxycinnamic acids of Lambert Compact cherries (Prunus avium L.) after cold storage and 1-methylcyclopropene treatment

Sweet cherries cv. Lambert Compact were treated with 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) at 0, 180 and 360 nL/L for 2 h at 25 °C and then stored at 2–4 °C in refrigerator. Their quality was measured after 12 days of storage in terms of the contents of total and individual anthocyanins and hydroxycinnamic acids, occurrence of rot, and colour change. Colour change was monitored at three day intervals during storage in the CIE L*, a*, b* colour space. 1-MCP did not retard colour change. The contents of total and individual anthocyanins and hydroxycinnamic acids showed no correlation with the colour behaviour of the cherries. All cherries lost their initial shiny red colour on storage, regardless of the treatment. 1-MCP reduced sweet cherry rot at the highest concentration used (360 nL/L) – only 6% were rotten after 12 days in the refrigerator. This differed significantly (P < 0.05) from untreated fruits and those treated with 180 nL/L 1-MCP which resulted on average in 14 and 20% rot (not statistically different P < 0.05), respectively. The occurrence of rot was shown to be correlated with anthocyanin accumulation, (R = 0.62, P < 0.10). The profile of individual anthocyanins and hydroxycinnamic acids in sweet cherry was not affected neither by cold storage nor 1-MCP treatment.     

Proteomic profile of dry-cured ham relative to PRKAG3 or CAST genotype, level of salt and pastiness

Two-dimensional electrophoresis was used to compare dry-cured biceps femoris insoluble protein fraction according to genotype (PRKAG3Ile199Val and CASTLys249Arg/Ser638Arg) as well as salt and pastiness level. The PRKAG3 affected mainly muscle metabolic enzymes, indicating its possible influence on muscle metabolism with heterozygotes Ile/Val appearing different from both homozygous genotypes. The effect of CAST was smaller, affecting the quantity of one actin fragment. Dry-cured ham salt and pastiness level affected a wide variety of protein spots including metabolic enzymes, plasma proteins, chaperones and myofibrillar proteins, including protein fragments, indicating the connection with proteolysis. Pastiness was associated with salt content, reflected also by the fact that many spots were affected by both factors. Despite the absence of extreme pastiness (or low salt samples), some protein spots (actin, MHC fragment, desmin fragment) exhibited important differences in intensity according to pastiness (and salt level) suggesting they could be used as potential quality markers.