Comparison of the Influence of Silica‐rich Supplementary Cementitious Materials on Cement Mortar Composites: Mechanical and Microstructural Assessment

Silicon - The silica-rich supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) are the key components of mechanical and microstructural properties. The use of SCMs results in improving the mechanical and...     

Enrichment of probiotic ice cream with different dietary fibers: Structural characteristics and culture viability

This study evaluated the effect of 5 dietary fibers (apple, orange, oat, bamboo, and wheat) on the physicochemical, rheological, and textural characteristics; sensory properties; and culture viability of probiotic ice cream stored at ?18°C for 180 d. The presence of orange and apple fibers increased the titratable acidity, decreased the lightness (color) value of the ice creams, and enhanced the red and yellow coloration. Compared with the control sample, the consistency indices and apparent viscosities of the experimental samples increased with the addition of all dietary fibers except oat fiber. The highest viscosity was obtained in the sample fortified with apple fiber, whereas the ice cream containing orange fiber showed the highest hardness after d 60 of storage. The addition of orange and apple fibers significantly increased melting resistance; however, panelists did not generally like these samples in terms of taste-flavor. All ice creams had viable counts of Lactobacillus acidophilus of ≥7 log cfu/g during storage except the samples with orange and bamboo fiber. Bifidobacterium lactis counts were also found to be >6 log cfu/g in those samples until d 150 of storage.     

Inactivation of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes inoculated on raw salmon fillets by pulsed UV-light treatment

The efficacy of pulsed UV‐light to inactivate of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes Scott A on salmon fillets was investigated in this study by evaluating the effects of treatment times and distance from the UV strobe. The sterilization system generated 5.6 J cm^?2 per pulse at the lamp surface for an input voltage of 3800 V and three pulses per second. Skin or muscle side inoculated salmon fillet (8 cm × 1.5 cm) in a Petri dish was placed on shelf at three different distances from the UV strobe; 3, 5, and 8 cm. At each distance, the pulsed UV‐light treatment was performed for 15, 30, 45, and 60 s. For E. coli O157:H7, maximum log₁₀ reduction was 1.09 log₁₀ CFU g^?1 on muscle side at 8 cm for 60‐s treatment, whereas 0.86 log₁₀ CFU g^?1 reduction on skin at 5 cm for 30‐s treatment. For L. monocytogenes Scott A, maximum reduction was 1.02 log₁₀ CFU g^?1 at 8 cm for 60‐s treatment on skin side, whereas 0.74 log₁₀ CFU g^?1 reduction on muscle at 8 cm for 60‐s treatment. The fillet's surface temperature increased up to 100degrC within 60‐s treatment time. Therefore, some fish samples were overheated after 30 and 45 s at 3‐ and 5‐cm distances from light source, respectively, which resulted in visual colour and quality changes. Overall, this study demonstrated that about one log reduction (c. 90%) of E. coli O157:H7 or L. monocytogenes could be achieved at 60‐s treatment at 8 cm distance without affecting the quality.     

Defects in the ubiquitin pathway induce caspase-independent apoptosis blocked by Bcl-2

Apoptosis requires the activation of caspases (formerly interleukin 1beta-converting enzyme-like proteases), in particular those related to the caspase-3/7/6 subfamily. Recent data, however, revealed that, although caspase-specific inhibitors delay apoptosis, they are often incapable of preventing it. To obtain evidence for caspase-independent steps of apoptosis, we artificially created a high amount of short-lived or aberrant proteins by blocking the ubiquitin degradation pathway. A temperature-sensitive defect in the ubiquitin-activating enzyme E1 induced apoptosis independent of the activation of caspase-3 and -6 and the cleavage of their respective substrates poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase and lamin A. In addition, neither the caspase 3/7-specific inhibitor N-benzyloxycarbonyl-Asp-Glu-Val-Asp-fluoromethylketone nor the general caspase inhibitor N-benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-Asp-fluoromethylketone were capable of blocking this type of cell death. By contrast, Bcl-2 overexpression effectively protected cells from apoptosis induced by a defect in the E1 enzyme at the nonpermissive temperature. Bcl-2 acted downstream of the accumulation of short-lived or aberrant proteins because it did not prevent the overexpression of the short-lived proteins p53, p27(kip1), and cyclins D1 and B1 under conditions of decreased ubiquitination. These results suggest the existence of short-lived proteins that may serve the role of caspase-independent effectors of apoptosis and attractive targets of the death-protective action of Bcl-2.     

The effects of brine concentration and scalding on survival of some pathogens in urfa cheese: a traditional white-brined turkish cheese

The survival of Staphylococcus aureus (St. aureus), Bacillus cereus, Yersinia enterocolitica, Eschericia coli O157:H7, Shigella flexneri (Sh. flexneri) and Salmonella enteritidis (Sa. enteritidis) in urfa cheese (a traditional white‐brined Turkish cheese) which was stored in brine concentrations varying from 12.5 to 17.5% (wt/v) was tested. Two sets of cheeses were made, namely scalded and unscalded cheeses (scalding was done by heating at 95 °C for 3 min). The variations in the counts of pathogenic colonies were monitored throughout a 90‐day storage period at <10 °C. Results indicated that scalding caused statistically significant reductions in the colony counts of Y. enterocolitica, E. coli O157:H7, Sh. flexneri and Sa. enteritidis during the early periods of storage. In contrast, St. aureus and B. cereus were not generally affected by scalding and brine concentrations, although B. cereus in 17.5% (wt/v) brine was affected. In the unscalded cheeses, 12.5 and 15.0% (wt/v) brine concentrations seemed to be insufficient to eradicate the pathogenic organisms examined.     

Mechanisms governing empowerment effects: A self-efficacy analysis.

This experiment tested the hypotheses that perceived coping and cognitive control self-efficacy govern the effects of personal empowerment over physical threats. Women participated in a mastery modeling program in which they mastered the physical skills to defend themselves successfully against unarmed sexual assailants. Multifaceted measures of theoretically relevant variables were administered within a staggered intragroup control design to test the immediate and long-term effects of the empowerment program and the mechanisms through which it produced its effects. Mastery modeling enhanced perceived coping and cognitive control efficacy, decreased perceived vulnerability to assault, and reduced the incidence of intrusive negative thinking and anxiety arousal. These changes were accompanied by increased freedom of action and decreased avoidant behavior. Path analyses of causal structures revealed a dual path of regulation of behavior by perceived coping self-efficacy, one mediated through perceived vulnerability and risk discernment and the other through perceived cognitive control self-efficacy and intrusive negative thinking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neutropenia and neoplasia: an overview of the pharmacoeconomics of sargramostim in cancer therapy

Sargramostim is a myeloid growth factor that is widely used as adjunctive support in patients with neutropenia. Sargramostim enhances neutrophil recovery and myeloid engraftment, reduces infectious complications, and shortens the duration of hospitalization in selected patients. The high cost of sargramostim and other myeloid growth factors and their ability to reduce infections and days of hospitalization have generated interest in their pharmacoeconomic impact. Cost minimization studies in patients receiving chemotherapy for acute myelogenous leukemia and in recipients of autologous bone marrow transplantation (BMT) show estimated cost savings with sargramostim of 1996 US$12,513 and 1994 US$14,500, respectively. These data are consistent with cost savings of 1989 US$16,000 using molgramostim in autologous BMT recipients. Although no pharmacoeconomic data have been published in patients with other conditions, clinical outcomes research demonstrates a clear benefit for sargramostim administration in recipients of peripheral blood progenitor cell and allogeneic BMT and in patients who experience graft delay or failure. Because of reductions in the duration of hospitalization and infectious complications, economic outcomes of these conditions would probably also support sargramostim use. More data regarding the use of sargramostim for chemotherapy-induced neutropenia are required to properly assess the pharmacoeconomic impact in these patients.     

The shrouded aerogenerator

Experimental studies have been performed on a shrouded aerogenerator. The device tested will produce about twice the output power obtainable from an ideal wind turbine working under the same freestream conditions but without a duct. The aerogenerator does not require a driving mechanism that will keep it parallel to the free-stream direction. A simple, two-stage turbine with fixed blade geometry will provide the expected power output over a fairly wide range of free-stream velocities and rotational speeds.