Opportunities for plant-derived enhancers for iron,zinc, and calcium bioavailability: A review

Understanding of the mechanism of interactions between dietary elements, their salts, and complexing/binding ligands is vital to manage both deficiency and toxicity associated with essential element bioavailability. Numerous mineral ligands are found in both animal and plant foods and are known to exert bioactivity via element chelation resulting in modulation of antioxidant capacity or micobiome metabolism among other physiological outcomes. However, little is explored in the context of dietary mineral ligands and element bioavailability enhancement, particularly with respect to ligands from plant-derived food sources. This review highlights a novel perspective to consider various plant macro/micronutrients as prospective bioavailability enhancing ligands of three essential elements (Fe, Zn, and Ca). We also delineate the molecular mechanisms of the ligand-binding interactions underlying mineral bioaccessibility at the luminal level. We conclude that despite current understandings of some of the structure–activity relationships associated with strong mineral–ligand binding, the physiological links between ligands as element carriers and uptake at targeted sites throughout the gastrointestinal (GI) tract still require more research. The binding behavior of potential ligands in the human diet should be further elucidated and validated using pharmacokinetic approaches and GI models.     

Source identification of plant-wide faults based on k nearest neighbor time delay estimation

The identification of plant-wide faults is a very important topic as it enables plant operators to decrease rejections or to increase the product quality. This paper shows a fault propagation approach for this field of interest based on time delay estimation. Due to the fact that the estimation of time delays in multiple-input single-output systems or nonlinear systems is either impossible or very difficult with known methods, a new method based on k nearest neighbor imputation was developed and is validated in this paper theoretically. The effectiveness of the identification algorithm is demonstrated on several simulations and on an industrial hydrocracker plant.     

CAEv–A program for computer aided evaluation

The evaluation of new reagents and instruments in clinical chemistry leads to complex studies with large volumes of data, which are difficult to handle. This paper presents the design and development of a program that supports an evaluator in the definition of a study, the generation of data structures, communication with the instrument (analyser), online and offline data capture and in the processing of the results. The program is called CAEv, and it runs on a standard PC under MS-DOS. Version 1 of the program was tested in a multicentre instrument evaluation. The concept and the necessary hardware and software are discussed. In addition, requirements for instrument/host communication are given. The application of the laboratory part of CAEv is described from the user''s point of view. The design of the program allows users a high degree of flexibility in defining their own standards with regard to study protocol, and/or experiments, without loss of performance. CAEv''s main advantages are a pre-programmed study protocol, easy handling of large volumes of data, an immediate validation of the experimental results and the statistical evaluation of the data.     

Differential Strain Gauge: A Sensor Device for Macro‐ and Microsystems

Abstract: The paper describes an operating principle for the electrical measurement of mechanical strain states. This principle gives up the idea of measuring the strain‐induced resistance change of single wire conductors and passes on to determining the strain‐induced deformation of the electrical field in area conductors. The basic operating principle, sensitivity considerations and the design of a functional prototype are described. Several experimental results in the application fields of transducer technology and strain analysis demonstrate the high capability of this method. The compact design allows simplification of the production process. An interesting additional advantage is the use of science‐based temperature compensation, i.e. the conventional, difficult process of foil treatment to attain temperature self‐compensation and suitability of each strain gauge for different component materials is superseded.     

A role of sea buckthorn on Alzheimer’s disease

Evidence suggests that diets rich in antioxidants reduce the risk factors of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Hippophae rhamnoides, commonly known as sea buckthorn (SB), is rich in antioxidants which could have direct effects on amyloid-beta (Aβ) levels and consequently influence AD pathogenesis. In this study, sea buckthorn powder (SBP) was administered at varying concentrations (0.6, 0.9, 1.2, 1.5 and 1.8 µg mL⁻¹) to cell cultures (BE(2)-M17) with 20 mm Aβ for 72 h. MTS test indicated that SB significantly increased cell viability in Aβ-induced cells up to 95%. Results of Western blot showed maximum 38% inhibition of Aβ compared to the control (Aβ only). ELISA demonstrated significantly lower amyloid-β level (6672 pg mL⁻¹) than the control (10189 pg mL⁻¹). Images of AFM further confirmed the presence of low quantity of amyloid beta in SBP-treated cells. These findings suggest that SB warrants further investigation as potential therapeutic agent in the treatment of AD.     

Schrifttumsberichte

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Schrifttumsberichte

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Experimentelle Ermittlung der Dehnungen im Probenquerschnitt bei Biegebelastung von Holzpartikelwerkstoffen

The distribution of strain in the cross section of wood-based materials (OSB, fibre boards, MDF) was determined by means of Moiré technique with variable bending stress. For comparison, the strain of the outer fibre on the tensile and pressure side of the samples was measured simultaneously by using strain gauges. No displacement of the neutral layer in direction of the tensile side, as can be seen on solid wood, was noticed. This is because of the tensile and compression strength, which are of the same level for these materials. Concerning the strain of the outer fibre, good correspondence was observed between Moiré technique and strain gauges.