Conditioned facilitation of brain reward function after repeated cocaine administration.

Cocaine lowers brain reward thresholds, reflecting increased brain reward function. The authors investigated whether, similar to acute cocaine administration, cocaine-predictive conditioned stimuli would lower intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) thresholds. Rats received a saline injection for 5 days, a cocaine injection (10 mg/kg) for 20 consecutive days, then saline for 5 additional days. Thresholds were measured immediately before and 10 min after each injection. The initial 5 saline injections had no effect on thresholds, whereas cocaine significantly lowered thresholds for 20 days. There was no tolerance or sensitization to this effect of cocaine over days. During the last 5 days when cocaine administration was substituted with saline, rats demonstrated a conditioned lowering of thresholds during the 2nd daily ICSS session. These data demonstrate that cocaine-predictive conditioned stimuli induce a conditioned facilitation of brain reward function. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hierarchical Reliable Multicast: Performance Analysis and Optimal Placement of Proxies

This paper studies the use of multicast together with proxy nodes for reliably disseminating data from a single source to a large number of receivers. In order to achieve reliability, data must be retransmitted in case of loss either by the source or by special network nodes, called proxies. Each proxy is responsible for reliably delivering the data to a subgroup it is assigned. The multicast tree is partitioned into subgroups that form a hierarchy rooted at the source, hence the term hierarchical reliable multicast. The performance of this approach strongly depends on the topology and the loss characteristics of the underlying tree and the location of proxies. In the first part of the paper, we study the processing and bandwidth performance of such a reliable multicast dissemination given the tree and the placement of proxies. In the second part of the paper, we develop dynamic programming algorithms that give a placement of a fixed number of proxies on an arbitrary tree that minimizes the bandwidth used for reliable transfer. The first algorithm provides an optimal solution to the multicast proxies location problem in polynomial time, in the number of nodes and proxies. The second is an approximation algorithm that gives a solution with cost within a chosen precision from the optimal, in an improved running time. An optimal and an approximate solution are also provided for the proxies location problem if unicast is used for transmissions. Applications of this dynamic programming approach to related problems are discussed.     

Migration of bisphenol A from polycarbonate baby bottles under real use conditions

Migration of the potential endocrine disrupter, bisphenol A (BPA), from 31 polycarbonate (PC) baby bottles into aqueous food simulants was studied under real repetitive use, using a sensitive and fully validated liquid chromatographic method with fluorescence detection. Confirmation of the presence of BPA was performed by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS). The effects of cleaning in a dishwasher or with a brush, sterilization with boiling water and the temperature of migration were examined. It was shown that temperature was the crucial factor for the migration of BPA from the plastic bottles to water. All samples released BPA in the concentration range 2.4–14.3 µg kg^?1 when filled with boiled water and left at ambient temperature for 45 min. The decrease of BPA release in the sterilization water and in the food simulant over 12 cycles of use indicated that the hypothesis of polymer degradation in water is dubious. Estimated infantile dietary exposure, regarding the use of PC baby bottles, ranged between 0.2 and 2.2 µg kg^?1 bw day^?1, which is below the Tolerable Daily Intake of 50 µg kg^?1 bw recently established by EFSA.     

Data collection and analysis of the building stock and its energy performance—An example for Hellenic buildings

The process of building labeling and certification in accordance to the provisions of the European Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings (EPBD) constitutes a unique opportunity for collecting information on the characteristics of the building stock and its energy performance on a national and European level. Thus, there is a need to handle data from a large stock of buildings and to be able to analyse information and extract practical trends and benchmarks. Stakeholders and technical managers who oversee a number of buildings experience similar needs in order to collect, organize and monitor the energy performance of a large pool of buildings. To facilitate these efforts, a common evaluation database and complimentary software for its exploitation have been developed in the frame of a European project.This paper presents an overview of the database and its available tools, and the main results from a case study on Hellenic buildings that reveals relevant characteristics. The Hellenic database included a sample of 250 buildings from different regions in Greece, with a breakdown that is representative of the national building stock. The main results focus on the buildings’ energy performance, thermal envelope characteristics and the exploitation of solar thermal energy.     

Inactivation of Endogenous Rice Flour β-Glucanase by Microwave Radiation and Impact on Physico-chemical Properties of the Treated Flour

The apparent reduction of β-glucan (BG) molecular weight in rice-based gluten-free (GF) breads fortified with cereal BG concentrates reveals the presence of β-glucanase activity in rice flour. Inactivation of endogenous β-glucanase in rice flour thus seems to be a necessary step when developing GF breads enriched with BG of high molecular weight. The aim of this work was to study the thermal inactivation of endogenous β-glucanase in rice flour by means of microwave (MW) processing; rice flours preconditioned at four different moisture levels (13, 16, 19, 25 %) were treated by MW radiation at 900 W and five MW treatment times (ranging from 40 s to 8 min, applied stepwise at 20-s intervals). The effects of microwaves on starch crystallinity, pasting, and thermal properties of MW-treated rice flours were also explored. The β-glucanase activity in rice flours was assessed by the rate of decrease in specific viscosity of a dilute solution of a purified β-glucan preparation, upon addition of flour extracts. MW proved to be a useful alternative for thermal inactivation of endogenous β-glucanase in rice flours when applied to moistened samples. The inactivation process followed a first-order kinetic response and the apparent rate constant of thermal inactivation increased exponentially with the moisture content of the flour, M, according to the equation 0.0146·exp (0.212·M) (R ²?=?0.97). The MW time required for complete β-glucanase inactivation was only 4 min when the initial flour moisture increased to 25 %. Following MW treatment, the starch crystallinity was unaffected (p?>?0.05) and the side effects of the treatment on flour pasting and thermal properties were rather negligible.     

Neutrinos from photo-hadronic interactions in Pks2155-304

The high-peaked BL Lac object Pks2155-304 shows high variability at multiwavelengths, i.e. from optical up to TeV energies. A giant flare of around 1 h at X-ray and TeV energies was observed in 2006 [1]. In this context, it is essential to understand the physical processes in terms of the primary spectrum and the radiation emitted, since high-energy emission can arise in both leptonic and hadronic processes. In this contribution, we investigate the possibility of neutrino production in photo-hadronic interactions. In particular, we predict a direct correlation between optical and TeV energies at sufficiently high optical radiation fields. We show that in the blazar Pks2155-304, the optical emission in the low-state is sufficient to lead to photo-hadronic interactions and therefore to the production of high-energy photons.     

Energy‐efficient management using a traffic‐oriented routing scheme for cognitive radio networks

This paper elaborates on a traffic manipulation routing scheme that associates the moments of the traffic, targeting the maximization of the energy conservation, as well as the effective resource management of the network nodes. The energy conservation is achieved through the data flow coordination, in association with the data traffic volume and the resource exchange, between the nodes that exploit radio spectrum access in cognitive radio networking architectures. The routing scheme that is proposed in this paper interrelates the backward difference of traffic moments for each node based on a series model, together with the sleep‐time period, towards reflecting this measurement to the minimization of the nodes activity durations to achieve energy conservation. The effective operation of the routing scheme is achieved by exploiting a signalling mechanism that was adopted for the proper communication of the nodes over the available radio spectrum parts, such as the television white spaces. Simulation tests were conducted towards examining the validity of the proposed routing scheme via multiple performance evaluation experiments. Simulation results have shown the offered reliability and the efficiency of the proposed traffic‐aware scheme, in reference to the efficient energy consumption of the networking nodes and the minimization of the delays. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Combined natural antimicrobial treatments (EDTA,lysozyme, rosemary and oregano oil) on semi cooked coated chicken meat stored in vacuum packages at 4 °C: Microbiological and sensory evaluation

The present study examined the effect of natural antimicrobials: Ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA), lysozyme, rosemary and oregano oil and their combinations, on the shelf-life of semi cooked coated chicken fillets stored under vacuum packaging (VP), at 4 ± 0.5 °C for a period of 18 days. The treatments of semi cooked coated chicken fillets examined in the present study were the following: Air-packaged (A, control samples), vacuum-packaged (VP), VP with EDTA–lysozyme solution 1.50% w/w, (VP + EL), VP with rosemary oil 0.20% v/w, (VP + R), VP with oregano oil 0.20% v/w, (VP + O), VP with EDTA–lysozyme solution and rosemary oil (VP + EL + R) and finally VP with EDTA–lysozyme and oregano oil (VP + EL + O). The shelf-life of the samples was determined using both microbiological and sensory analyses. Among the antimicrobial combinations examined in the present study, the treatments VP + EL + R and VP + EL + O were the most effective against the growth of Gram-negative, Gram-positive bacteria, and to a lesser extent on yeasts. Based on both microbiological (TVC data) and sensory (taste attribute) analyses, treatments: VP and VP + O gave a shelf life extension of 6 days, whereas treatments VP + EL + R and VP + EL + O produced a shelf-life extension of 7–8 days, as compared to the control samples.Industrial RelevanceThe present research has highlighted the use of natural antimicrobial treatment combinations, including: EDTA, lysozyme, rosemary and oregano oil and their combinations, in the extension of shelf-life of semi cooked coated chicken fillets stored under vacuum packaging at 4 °C for a period of 18 days. Establishing, the determination of the shelf-life of fresh poultry and products represents a challenge for food companies as poultry meat has a short shelf-life, which causes substantial practical problems for its distribution. Therefore, knowledge of natural preservatives, that can be used as alternatives to chemical additives, that could extend the products' shelf life can have an important economic feedback by reducing losses attributed to spoilage and by allowing the products to reach distant and new markets. This study has shown that combinations of natural antimicrobials can extend the shelf-life of the product.     

Assessment of chromium biostabilization in contaminated soils using standard leaching and sequential extraction techniques

The iron reducing microorganism Desulfuromonas palmitatis was evaluated as potential biostabilization agent for the remediation of chromate contaminated soils. D. palmitatis were used for the treatment of soil samples artificially contaminated with Cr(VI) at two levels, i.e. 200 and 500 mg kg^− 1. The efficiency of the treatment was evaluated by applying several standard extraction techniques on the soil samples before and after treatment, such as the EN12457 standard leaching test, the US EPA 3060A alkaline digestion method and the BCR sequential extraction procedure. The water soluble chromium as evaluated with the EN leaching test, was found to decrease after the biostabilization treatment from 13 to less than 0.5 mg kg^− 1 and from 120 to 5.6 mg kg^− 1 for the soil samples contaminated with 200 and 500 mg Cr(VI) per kg soil respectively. The BCR sequential extraction scheme, although not providing accurate estimates about the initial chromium speciation in contaminated soils, proved to be a useful tool for monitoring the relative changes in element partitioning, as a consequence of the stabilization treatment. After bioreduction, the percentage of chromium retained in the two least soluble BCR fractions, i.e. the “oxidizable” and “residual” fractions, increased from 54 and 73% to more than 96% in both soils.     

Indoor environmental quality in Hellenic hospital operating rooms

Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in hospital operating rooms (ORs) constitutes a major challenge for the proper design and operation of an energy efficient hospital. A subjective assessment of the indoor environment along with a short monitoring campaign was performed during the audits of 18 ORs at nine major Hellenic hospitals. A total of 557 medical personnel participated in an occupational survey, providing data for a subjective assessment of IEQ in the audited ORs. The OR personnel reported work related health symptoms and an assessment of indoor conditions (thermal, visual and acoustical comfort, and air quality). Overall, personnel reported an average of 2.24 work-related symptoms each, and 67.2% of respondents reported at least one. Women suffer more health symptoms than men. Special dispositions, such as smoking and allergies, increase the number of reported symptoms for male and female personnel. Personnel that perceive satisfactory indoor comfort conditions (temperature, humidity, ventilation, light, and noise) average 1.18 symptoms per person, while for satisfactory indoor air quality the average complaints are 0.99. The perception of satisfactory IEQ (satisfactory comfort conditions and air quality) reduces the average number of health complaints to 0.64 symptoms per person and improves working conditions, even in a demanding OR environment.