Nurses' perceptions of factors influencing the use of a pain program

Factors that, according to nurse participants, influenced the application of what was learned in a pain program were explored by means of qualitative interviews. Participants indicated that the correspondence between the program and their personal view on pain management, attitudes toward the program and innovations in general, self-efficacy perceptions, and (un)familiarity and taboos with respect to program items influenced what they put into practice. In addition, participants indicated that interactions with colleagues, nursing managers, patients, and physicians affected their application of the program. Furthermore, organizational factors, such as limited time and lack of formal program implementation, were mentioned as influential.     

Formation of a long-lived P+BA- state in plant pheophytin-exchanged reaction centers of Rhodobacter sphaeroides R26 at low temperature

Femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy in the range of 500-1040 nm was used to study electron transfer at 5 K in reaction centers of Rhodobacter sphaeroides R26 in which the bacteriopheophytins (BPhe) were replaced by plant pheophytin a (Phe). Primary charge separation took place with a time constant of 1.6 ps, similar to that found in native RCs. Spectral changes around 1020 nm indicated the formation of reduced bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) with the same time constant, and its subsequent decay in 620 ps. This observation identifies the accessory BChl as the primary electron acceptor. No evidence was found for electron transfer to Phe, indicating that electron transfer from BA- occurs directly to the quinone (QA) through superexchange. The results are explained by a model in which the free energy level of P+Phe- lies above that of P+BA-, which itself is below P*. Assuming that the pigment exchange does not affect the energy levels of P* and P+BA-, our results strongly support a two-step model for primary electron transfer in the native bacterial RC, with no, or very little, admixture of superexchange.     

Apolar growth of Neurospora crassa leads to increased secretion of extracellular proteins

Protein secretion in filamentous fungi has been shown to be restricted to actively growing hyphal tips. To determine whether an increase in the amount f growing surface area of a fungus can lead to an increase in the amount of protein secretion, we examined secretion in a temperature-sensitive Neurospora crassa mcb mutant that shows a loss of growth polarity when incubated at restrictive temperature. Incubation of the mcb mutant at restrictive temperature results in a three- to fivefold increase in the level of extracellular protein and a 20-fold increase in carboxymethyl cellulase activity relative to a wild-type strain. A mutation in the cr-1 gene has been shown previously to suppress the apolar growth phenotype of the mcb mutant, and we find that the level of extracellular protein produced by a mcb; cr-1 double mutant was reduced to that of the wild-type control. Immunolocalization of a secreted endoglucanase revealed that proteins are secreted mainly at hyphal tips in hyphae exhibiting polar growth and over the entire surface area of bulbous regions of hyphae that are produced after a shift of the mcb mutant to restrictive temperature. These results support the hypothesis that secretion of extracellular protein by a filamentous fungus can be significantly increased by mutations that alter growth polarity.     

Influence of pilot scale in pack pasteurization and sterilization treatments on nutritional and textural characteristics of carrot pieces

The current work presents a pilot scale study in which the effect of in pack thermal preservation processes in a retort system on particular carrot quality aspects, more specifically nutritional and textural characteristics, was investigated. Pasteurization as well as sterilization processes with different intensities were included. The carrot hardness, analyzed by a compression test, and the β-carotene bio-accessibility, analyzed by an in vitro digestion method, were the main quality markers. As a main conclusion, it can be stated that the results of this pilot scale study are a good validation of results obtained during previous laboratory scale experiments on carrot nutritional and textural characteristics. The processes applied in this study only resulted in limited conversion of all-trans-β-carotene to its cis-isomers. Furthermore, it was shown that intense thermal processing is required to observe a significant increase in the β-carotene bio-accessibility. However, this was accompanied with a clear degradation of the hardness. When thermal processing was preceded by low temperature blanching, a technique to improve texture retention of thermally processed plant-based foods, a lower β-carotene bio-accessibility was observed. Both observations clearly illustrated the inverse correlation between textural and nutritional characteristics of (processed) carrots. Statistical analyses confirmed the trends observed. For process design, the choice of the process intensity was identified to be crucial: the required product safety needs to be achieved, while still reaching an acceptable structural and nutritional quality. Exploring strategies to enhance the β-carotene bio-accessibility while ensuring an acceptable carrot texture can therefore be useful.     

Impact of Cereal Seed Sprouting on Its Nutritional and Technological Properties: A Critical Review

Sprouting induces activation and de novo synthesis of hydrolytic enzymes that make nutrients available for plant growth and development. Consumption of sprouted grains is suggested to be beneficial for human health. Positive consumer perceptions about sprouted cereals have resulted in new food and beverage product launches. However, because there is no generally accepted definition of “sprouting,” it is unclear when grains are to be called sprouted. Moreover, guidelines about how much sprouted grain material food products should contain to exert health benefits are currently lacking. Accordingly, there is no regulatory base to develop appropriate food labeling for “sprouted foods.” This review describes the nutritional and technological properties of sprouted grains in relation to processing conditions and provides guidelines to optimize sprouting practices in order to maximize nutritive value. Relatively long sprouting times (3 to 5 days) and/or high processing temperatures (25 to 35 °C) are needed to maximize the de novo synthesis and/or release of plant bioactive compounds. Nutrient compositional changes resulting from sprouting are often associated with health benefits. However, supportive data from clinical studies are very scarce, and at present it is impossible to draw any conclusion on health benefits of sprouted cereals. Finally, grains sprouted under the above‐mentioned conditions are generally unfit for use in traditional food processing and it is challenging to use sprouted grains as ingredients without compromising their nutrient content. The present review provides a basis for better defining what “sprouting” is, and to help further research and development efforts in this field as well as future food regulations development.     

Development of a quantitative, competitive polymerase chain reaction--enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of Wuchereria bancrofti DNA

A quantitative, competitive polymerase chain reaction (QC-PCR) assay for the sensitive detection of Wuchereria bancrofti DNA was developed. A competitor sequence was constructed by an exchange of nucleotides in the Wuchereria-specific Ssp I repeat. The PCR products were hybridized to specific DNA probes and their amounts, determined by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In laboratory-prepared samples the QC-PCR-ELISA assay was capable of detecting the amount of DNA equivalent to 0.1 microfilaria (mf) added to 200 microl of blood lysate. The assay was also tested on 78 blood samples collected in endemic areas in Egypt. All 28 samples that were positive both for mf and for circulating antigen were also QC-PCR-ELISA-positive. In addition, one mf-negative but antigen-positive sample was also positive as determined by QC-PCR-ELISA. A positive correlation of mf density with the QC-PCR-ELISA was observed. Samples containing 10 or fewer mf/ml had a mean relative amount of Ssp I PCR product of 19.7 units, whereas samples with 11-100 mf/ml had a mean of 36.3 units and those with more than 100 mf/ml had a mean of 84.6 units. Because of the high standard deviation within each group, estimates of worm burdens in infected individuals using the QC-PCR-ELISA are not recommended. However, we present data indicating that the W. bancrofti QC-PCR-ELISA is a powerful new tool for evaluation of parasitic loads for community-based diagnosis of bancroftian filariasis.     

Adenosine 5'-phosphosulfate (APS) kinase: diagnosing the mechanism of substrate inhibition

Adenosine 5'-phosphosulfate (APS) kinase is subject to strong substrate inhibition by APS. The inhibition has been variously reported to be uncompetitive with respect to MgATP (resulting from the formation of a dead-end E. APS. MgADP complex) or competitive with MgATP (resulting from the formation of a dead-end E. APS complex). It is shown that these two types of substrate inhibition can be differentiated for ordered kinetic mechanisms by simple inspection of the v versus [APS] plots at different fixed concentrations of MgATP. Linear diagnostic plots are unnecessary. One diagnostic feature is the changing position of [APS]opt, the concentration of APS that yields the peak velocity. In the uncompetitive system, [APS]opt decreases asymptotically to a limit as the fixed [MgATP] is increased, while in the competitive system, [APS]opt increases continuously as the fixed [MgATP] is increased. A second (and more easily discerned) diagnostic feature is that, at any given inhibitory level of APS, enzyme activity relative to the velocity at [APS]opt (v/vopt) decreases as the fixed [MgATP] is increased in the uncompetitive system, while in the competitive system the relative activity increases as the fixed [MgATP] is increased. Normalized plots of v/vopt versus [APS] clearly display these distinguishing characteristics. The method confirmed that Penicillium chrysogenum APS kinase exhibits uncompetitive inhibition by APS.