Physiological relevance of food grade microcapsules: Impact of milk protein based microcapsules on inflammation in mouse models for inflammatory bowel diseases

In order to increase beneficial effects of bioactive compounds in functional food and dietary supplements, enormous efforts are put in the technological development of microcapsules. Although these products are often tailor‐made for disease susceptible consumer, the physiological impact of microcapsule uptake on the respective target consumer has never been addressed. The present study aimed to assess the relevance of this aspect by analyzing the impact of milk protein based microcapsules on experimental inflammatory bowel disease. Long‐term feeding of sodium caseinate or rennet gel microcapsules resulted in significant alterations in the intestinal microbiota of healthy mice. In TNFΔARE/wt mice, a model for chronic ileal inflammation, rennet gel microcapsules resulted in further increased splenomegaly, whereas ileal inflammation was unchanged. In IL10^?/? mice, a model for chronic colitis, both types of microcapsules induced a local increase of the intestinal inflammation. The present study is the first to demonstrate that, independent of their cargo, microcapsules have the potential to affect the intestinal microbiota and to exert unprecedented detrimental effects on disease‐susceptible individuals. In conclusion, the impact of microcapsule uptake on the respective target consumer groups should be thoroughly investigated in advance to their commercial use in functional food or dietary supplements.     

Protection mechanisms of sugars during different stages of preparation process of dried lactic acid starter cultures

Sugars are recognized protectants used in the preparation of dried starter cultures for fermented food industries, particularly as additives for the drying media. They increase viability of the starter cultures during drying and storage. This review intends to summarize and discuss their roles in each step of the preparation process. The main topics cover the role of sugars in the induction of compatible solutes and alteration of fermentation metabolites during growing of cells, the reduction of cryo- and thermal injuries and membrane damage during drying, as well as the formation of sugar glass matrices and the prevention of oxidation during storage. In some topics, proposed protective mechanisms together with corresponding inactivation mechanisms have been discussed. The protective hypotheses as such are preferential exclusion, water replacement, hydration force explanation, and vitrification of sugars.     

Effects of skim milk concentrate dry matter and spray drying air temperature on formation of capsules with varying particle size and the survival microbial cultures in a microcapsule matrix

The impact of total solid (TS) content in combination with the feed rate and air inlet temperature on the survival of Lactobacillus paracasei ssp. paracasei F19 after spray drying in a skim milk matrix has been investigated and correlated with the capsule size. Depending on the experimental conditions, the survival rates ranged from 64 to 0.2%. The higher the air inlet temperature, the lower was the survival rate and an inversely correlation between the TS content and particle size has been determined. These results clearly indicate that process stress analyses and product-related characteristics must not be regarded separately.     

Effect of particle-wall interaction on triboelectric separation of fine particles in a turbulent flow

Triboelectric separation is an effective way to separate fine powders with particle sizes and densities in the same order of magnitude. Many relevant process variables influence the charging behaviour; however, the corresponding effects on the subsequent separation of particles remain unknown. To utilize triboelectric separation as a powerful tool for fine powder separation, process parameters such as the choice of contact wall materials in the charging region have to be investigated. We report for the first time the influence of the tube’s wall material, in which particle charging took place, on triboelectric separation of fine protein-starch mixtures. Different electrically insulating materials along the triboelectric series were tested. No significant influence of the wall material on the separation selectivity and efficiency was found. In addition, particle-wall interaction was inhibited using an experimental setup which allows to control the flow boundary-layer by blowing out air through the tube wall. Also the results obtained by this novel setup showed no significant differences compared to the setup with particle-wall interactions. Additionally, CFD simulations were used to confirm the absence of particle-wall interactions in the boundary-layer control setup. A variation of the boundary-layer thickness leads to a constriction of the particle-containing flow region in the centre of the pipe. Experiments show that this compression of the particle flow zone results in no further increase in selectivity and efficiency of separation. Thus, particle-particle interaction is the prevalent triboelectric charging mechanism of fine powders charged in a turbulent flow regime.     

Applicability,potential and limitations of staff-centred energy conservation initiatives in English hospitals

Increasing energy costs and climate change legislation have prompted efforts to reduce energy consumption in UK hospitals. In addition to technological conservation strategies focussing on buildings and building services, staff-centred initiatives such as energy awareness campaigns are increasingly being considered by National Health Service (NHS) trusts due to their potential cost-effectiveness. However, hospitals are complex buildings with unique energy requirements, and it is unclear to what extent these requirements are influenced by clinical staff. This paper combines a review of staff-centred energy conservation initiatives in organisations in general and in hospitals in particular with the results of a survey-based study among NHS energy managers (N?=?70). The study findings highlight that staff-centred energy conservation initiatives are currently of interest to a majority of NHS trusts in England and may become an increasingly important part of carbon reduction strategies in hospitals in the future. Policy assumptions regarding their savings potential, however, appear to be undifferentiated, and it seems advisable to relate behavioural efforts more closely to the physical context of the respective hospital building and its service infrastructure as well as the health care processes relevant to different departments.     

Role of glassy state on stabilities of freeze-dried probiotics

High viability of dried probiotics is of great importance for immediate recovery of activity in fermented foods and for health-promoting effects of nutraceuticals. The conventional process for the production of dried probiotics is freeze-drying. However, loss of viability occurs during the drying and storage of the dried powder. It is believed that achieving the "glassy state" is necessary for survival, and the glassy state should be retained during freezing, drying, and storage of cells. Insight into the role of glassy state has been largely adopted from studies conducted with proteins and foods. However, studies on the role of glassy state particularly with probiotic cells are on the increase, and both common and explicit findings have been reported. Current understanding of the role of the glassy state on viability of probiotics is not only valuable for the production of fermented foods and nutraceuticals but also for the development of nonfermented functional foods that use the dried powder as an adjunct. Therefore, the aim of this review is to bring together recent findings on the role of glassy state on survival of probiotics during each step of production and storage. The prevailing state of knowledge and recent finding are discussed. The major gaps of knowledge have been identified and the perspective of ongoing and future research is addressed.     

Bacterial flora of liver paté in 3 stages of processing

Liver paté is a boiled sausage that, due to its nature and composition, has an appropriate environment for bacterial development. In order to determine the variation in the bacterial development during the processing of this sausage, bacteriological examinations were carried out in three stages of preparation. This involved, first, the fresh product, then, after boiling it, and finally on the 6th day, after cold storage at 0 degrees C. Of the bacterial counts obtained it was determined that boiling greatly reduces the number of bacteria, especially the Gram negative ones, a situation which lasts through the storage period studied. The relationship between initial and final bacterial content of liver paté, clearly shows the influence of contamination of the raw materials employed, on the microbiological quality of the marketed product.     

Improving the characteristics of rectangular waveguide branchingsby cylindrical obstacles

The scattering matrix of a transition between one or two parallel rectangular waveguides and a larger rectangular waveguide which contains two metallic or dielectric cylinders is investigated by means of the orthogonal expansion method. Mathematical programming is applied in order to improve the characteristics of the branchings. Reflection at a rectangular step discontinuity can be reduced by 30 dB using metallic or dielectric obstacles. Using Teflon cylinders, coupling of a transition can be reduced by 40 dB without debasing reflection. Physical interpretations are given with the help of field patterns     

Transformation of the wave equation solution between parallel displaced cylindrical coordinate systems

Contents With regard to the revolution condition the solution of the wave equation in cylindrical coordinates can be considered as a linear combination of numerable infinite partial solutions. By means of the addition theorems for Bessel functions each of these partial solutions is transformed into a parallel displaced cylindrical coordinate system where it is represented again as a linear combination of partial solutions of the wave equation. The transformation matrices are formulated and combine the vectors of amplitudes of these linear combinations in both parallel displaced cylindrical coordinate systems.

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Transformation der Lösung der Wellengleichung zwischen parallelverschobenen Zylinderkoordinatensystemen

Übersicht Die Lösung der Wellengleichung in Zylinderkoordinaten stellt sich unter Berücksichtigung der Umlaufbedingung als Linearkombination abzählbar unendlich vieler Partiallösungen dar. Mit Hilfe der Additionstheoreme für Zylinderfunktionen wird jede dieser Partiallösungen in ein parallelverschobenes Zylinderkoordinatensystem transformiert und dort wieder als Linearkombination von Partiallösungen der Wellengleichung dargestellt. Es werden Transformationsmatrizen angegeben, welche die Amplitudenvektoren dieser Linearkombinationen in den beiden parallel-verschobenen Zylinderkoordinatensystemen miteinander verknüpfen.

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Report from the Fachgebiet Theoretische Elektrotechnik, Technische Hochschule Darmstadt     

Synthesis and Micellization Properties of New Anionic Reactive Surfactants Based on Hydrogenated Cardanol

We report the synthesis, characterization and micellization properties of two anionic reactive surfactants based on 3-pentadecyl phenol obtainable from a renewable resource, cardanol. The synthesis is achieved through simple chemical transformations, first converting the phenol to the acrylate that is sulfonated in a second step. The products were characterized by elemental analysis and spectroscopic techniques. The surfactant properties of the sulfonated acrylates were measured and compared with the standard non-reactive anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfonate. The micellization behavior of aqueous solutions was studied using conductivity, surface tension measurements, and the fluorescence probe technique based on diphenyl hexatriene. Characterization by surface tension measurements facilitated the determination of basic surfactant properties like the critical micelle concentration (CMC), the surface tension at the CMC, surface excess and area per surfactant molecule. The Gibbs free energy of micellization showed a negative value suggesting spontaneous micellization in aqueous solution. The micellization of the surfmer with an ethylene spacer between the phenyl ring and the acrylate group seems to be enhanced as indicated by the lower surface excess and lower free energy. Its CMC was also lower.