Missing data methods in longitudinal studies: a review

Incomplete data are quite common in biomedical and other types of research, especially in longitudinal studies. During the last three decades, a vast amount of work has been done in the area. This has led, on the one hand, to a rich taxonomy of missing-data concepts, issues, and methods and, on the other hand, to a variety of data-analytic tools. Elements of taxonomy include: missing data patterns, mechanisms, and modeling frameworks; inferential paradigms; and sensitivity analysis frameworks. These are described in detail. A variety of concrete modeling devices is presented. To make matters concrete, two case studies are considered. The first one concerns quality of life among breast cancer patients, while the second one examines data from the Muscatine children’s obesity study.     

Biofuel developments in Sweden and the Netherlands: Protection and socio-technical change in a long-term perspective

This paper reviews long-term development of biofuels in Sweden and the Netherlands. In particular this paper explores the social dynamics of ‘niche protection’. The Swedish and Dutch cases are analyzed by means of the Strategic Niche Management (SNM) perspective extended with insights from political science. Our main argument is that the development of biofuels and the way this development is protected relies on a variety of actor strategies and (local and global) discourses. This case therefore suggests that policy making for biofuels is a complex and non-linear process that can only partly be managed by policy actors.     

Reducing drying energy and costs by process alterations at aggregate stockpiles

In the field of bulk solids, handling knowledge on moisture behaviour in aggregate stockpiles can be useful for process optimisation in terms of energy consumption. In the asphalt industry, an increase in moisture content leads to a significant increase in energy consumption. To determine the characteristics of moisture behaviour, correlations are investigated between theory on soil–water movements and moisture in aggregates. With column drainage experiments with porous bottom, similarities between theory and practice are found. This allows the use of theoretical hydrologic models to determine and predict the moisture behaviour in drained piles. The effect of process alterations within the system of piles on energy consumption was investigated, and a significant reduction of energy consumption was found.     

Parameter identification and modeling of the biochemical methane potential of waste activated sludge

Anaerobic digestion is widely used in waste activated sludge treatment. In this paper, partial least-squares (PLS) is employed to identify the parameters that are determining the biochemical methane potential (BMP) of waste activated sludge. Moreover, a model is developed for the prediction of the BMP. A strong positive correlation is observed between the BMP and volatile fatty acids and carbohydrate concentrations in the sludge. A somewhat weaker correlation with COD is also present. Soluble organics (sCOD, soluble carbohydrates and soluble proteins) were shown not to influence the BMP in the observed region. This finding could be most-valuable in the context of application of sludge pretreatment methods. The obtained model was able to satisfactory predict the BMP.     

Multilayer emulsions as delivery systems for controlled release of volatile compounds using pH and salt triggers

Multilayer oil-in-water (M-O/W) emulsions were compared to primary oil-in-water (P-O/W) emulsions as carriers for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) under various environmental conditions (pH and salt). The M-O/W emulsion consisted of soy oil coated with β-lactoglobulin (βLG) and pectin layers. The release of VOCs with different physiochemical properties from aqueous solutions and emulsion systems was measured using static and dynamic headspace methods. The partition coefficients (K) calculated by the phase ratio variation (PRV) method, showed different volatile release profiles between the emulsion types. An increase in VOC release was found for the unstable P-O/W emulsion at pH 5, whereas M-O/W emulsions were stable at the same pH and retained the hydrophobic VOCs. Hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonds with the secondary dense layer of pectin may be responsible for the improved retention. Increasing pH and ionic strength acts as a VOC release trigger to detach the pectin from the interface. The release rates from initial dynamic curves support the results under equilibrium conditions. The results of this study demonstrate the capability of using M-O/W emulsions for controlled release of VOCs, as well as an alternative system to create stable emulsions with similar VOC release profiles.     

Evaluation of DNA extraction methods for Bacillus anthracis spores spiked to food and feed matrices at biosafety level 3 conditions

The DNA extraction efficiency from milk, whey, soy, corn gluten meal, wheat powders and heat-treated corn grain that were spiked with Bacillus anthracis and Bacillus thuringiensis spores was determined. Two steps were critical: lysis of the spores and binding of the free DNA to the DNA binding magnetic beads in the presence of the interfering powders. For the guanidine-thiocyanate based Nuclisens lysis buffer from Biomerieux we found that between 15 and 30% of the spores survived the lysis step. As most lysis buffers in DNA/RNA extraction kits are guanidine based it is likely that other lysis buffers will show a similar partial lysis of the Bacillus spores. Our results show that soybean flour and wheat flour inhibited the DNA extraction process strongest, leading to unreliable DNA extractions when using too much of the matrix. For corn gluten meal, heat-treated corn grain and milk powders, DNA extraction efficiencies in the presence of 100mg and 10mg of powder resulted in 70%-95% reduced DNA recoveries. The inhibition was, however, reliable and intermediate compared to the inhibition by soy and wheat. Whey powder had the lowest inhibitory effect on DNA-extraction efficiency and recoveries of 70-100% could be reached when using 10mg of powder. The results show that reducing the amount of matrix leads to better DNA-extraction efficiencies, particularly for strongly inhibiting powders such as soy and wheat. Based on these results, a standard protocol to directly isolate DNA from micro-organisms present in complex matrixes such as food and feed powders was designed.     

Removal of some elements from washed and cooked rice studied by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and synchrotron based confocal micro-X-ray fluorescence

Extraction of As, Cd, Cu, Mn, Ni and Ti from two white as well as from one brown rice samples was studied by inductively coupled plasma sector field mass spectrometry (ICP-SF-MS). Samples were subjected to cold and hot water extraction (rice mass to deionised water volume ratio = 1:6, and 1:3, respectively). The discarded liquids were freeze-dried and digested by microwave-assisted digestion. About 50% of the content of the investigated elements could be extracted from the white rice. In case of the brown rice, the boiling water contained As, Cd, Ni and Ti in significant percentages. Elemental distributions in the rice grains determined by synchrotron radiation confocal micro-X-ray fluorescence analysis revealed that a surface layer having a thickness of about 80 μm is the richest region in elements. Ti was detectable only in this so-called skin region. Good correlation was observed for the extraction of As, Mn, Ni and Ti by the above-mentioned two techniques. Thus, in regions affected by heavy metal and other toxic element contamination, those rice dishes would be preferred whose preparation should need abundant amounts of water for washing and cooking, which later should be discarded.     

Microbes versus microbes: control of pathogens in the food chain

Foodborne illness continues as a considerable threat to public health. Despite improved hygiene management systems and increased regulation, pathogenic bacteria still contaminate food, causing sporadic cases of illness and disease outbreaks worldwide. For many centuries, microbial antagonism has been used in food processing to improve food safety. An understanding of the mode of action of this microbial antagonism has been gained in recent years and potential applications in food and feed safety are now being explored. This review focuses on the potential opportunities presented, and the limitations, of using microbial antagonism as a biocontrol mechanism to reduce contamination along the food chain; including animal feed as its first link. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry     

Masked mycotoxins: A review

The aim of this review is to give a comprehensive overview of the current knowledge on plant metabolites of mycotoxins, also called masked mycotoxins. Mycotoxins are secondary fungal metabolites, toxic to human and animals. Toxigenic fungi often grow on edible plants, thus contaminating food and feed. Plants, as living organisms, can alter the chemical structure of mycotoxins as part of their defence against xenobiotics. The extractable conjugated or non‐extractable bound mycotoxins formed remain present in the plant tissue but are currently neither routinely screened for in food nor regulated by legislation, thus they may be considered masked. Fusarium mycotoxins (deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, fumonisins, nivalenol, fusarenon‐X, T‐2 toxin, HT‐2 toxin, fusaric acid) are prone to metabolisation or binding by plants, but transformation of other mycotoxins by plants (ochratoxin A, patulin, destruxins) has also been described. Toxicological data are scarce, but several studies highlight the potential threat to consumer safety from these substances. In particular, the possible hydrolysis of masked mycotoxins back to their toxic parents during mammalian digestion raises concerns. Dedicated chapters of this article address plant metabolism as well as the occurrence of masked mycotoxins in food, analytical aspects for their determination, toxicology and their impact on stakeholders.