Effect of subcritical water flash release processing on buckwheat flour properties.

Background: Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) is rich in bioactive components. However, many of these components are trapped within cellular structures, making them inaccessible. Buckwheat flour was hydrothermally modified using subcritical water coupled with a flash pressure release (SCWF).

A dog's dinner: an interesting case presenting as gastroenteritis.

We report a case of a 60-year-old Caucasian man with a history of alcohol excess who presented to the emergency department with a 72-hour history of abdominal pain, profuse diarrhoea and vomiting. He was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) 12 hours later in extremis with severe sepsis and multiorgan failure. Collateral history from the patient on admission to ICU identified that he had been bitten by a dog 3 days prior to his symptom onset.

Physical, Rheological, Functional, and Film Properties of a Novel Emulsifier: Frost Grape Polysaccharide from Vitis riparia Michx.

A novel emulsifier, Frost grape polysaccharide (FGP), isolated from natural exudate of the species Vitis riparia Michx, was physically and rheologically characterized. The determination of the physical, structural, thermodynamic, emulsification, film, and rheological properties of FGP provide essential details for the commercial adoption of this novel plant polysaccharide. FGP is capable of producing exceptionally stable emulsions when compared with the industrially ubiquitous gum arabic (GA).

Rheological characterization of solutions and thin films made from amylose-hexadecylammonium chloride inclusion complexes and polyvinyl alcohol.

The rheological properties of aqueous solutions and films made from blends of polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) and amylose-hexadecylammonium chloride inclusion complexes (Hex-Am) were investigated to better understand the polymer interactions and processing parameters. Aqueous solutions of Hex-Am displayed non-Newtonian shear thinning characteristics, becoming highly viscous at 4.2% solids and forming a strong mechanical gel at 10% solids.

Navy Bean Flour Particle Size and Protein Content Affect Cake Baking and Batter Quality(1).

Whole navy bean flour and its fine and coarse particle size fractions were used to completely replace wheat flour in cakes. Replacement of wheat flour with whole bean flour significantly increased the protein content. The protein content was adjusted to 3 levels with navy bean starch.

Amylose-potassium oleate inclusion complex in plain set-style yogurt.

Health and wellness aspirations of U.S. consumers continue to drive the demand for lower fat from inherently beneficial foods such as yogurt.

Multi-color quantum dot tracking using a high-speed hyperspectral line-scanning microscope.

Many cellular signaling processes are initiated by dimerization or oligomerization of membrane proteins. However, since the spatial scale of these interactions is below the diffraction limit of the light microscope, the dynamics of these interactions have been difficult to study on living cells. We have developed a novel high-speed hyperspectral microscope (HSM) to perform single particle tracking of up to 8 spectrally distinct species of quantum dots (QDs) at 27 frames per second.

Dual-color superresolution microscopy reveals nanoscale organization of mechanosensory podosomes.

Podosomes are multimolecular mechanosensory assemblies that coordinate mesenchymal migration of tissue-resident dendritic cells. They have a protrusive actin core and an adhesive ring of integrins and adaptor proteins, such as talin and vinculin. We recently demonstrated that core actin oscillations correlate with intensity fluctuations of vinculin but not talin, suggesting different molecular rearrangements for these components.

Effect of amylopectin on the rheological properties of aqueous dispersions of starch-sodium palmitate complexes.

Aqueous dispersions of normal and high-amylose corn starch were steam jet cooked and blended with aqueous solutions of sodium palmitate to give starch containing amylose-sodium palmitate inclusion complexes. Partial conversion of complexed sodium palmitate to palmitic acid by addition of acetic acid led to the formation of gels. Blends of inclusion complexes prepared from normal and high-amylose corn starch were used to vary the amylose:amylopectin ratio of the gels, and the linear viscoelastic moduli were found to decrease with decreasing amylose:amylopectin ratio.

Preparation of starch-stabilized silver nanoparticles from amylose-sodium palmitate inclusion complexes.

Starch-stabilized silver nanoparticles (AgNP) were prepared from amylose-sodium palmitate helical inclusion complexes by first converting sodium palmitate within the amylose helix to silver palmitate by an ion-exchange reaction with silver nitrate, and then reducing the complexed silver palmitate salt with NaBH(4). This process yielded stable aqueous solutions that could be dried and then re-dispersed in water for end-use applications. Reaction products were characterized by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES), UV-VIS spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, TEM, SEM and light microscopy.

Jet-cooked high amylose corn starch and shortening composites for use in cake icings.

Butter cream is an all-purpose icing that is used to both ice and decorate cakes. Cream icings contain up to 40% shortening. As consumers become aware of the need to reduce fat in their diet, the demand for healthy, flavorful, and low-fat food increases.

Substance abuse may be a risk factor for earlier onset of Huntington disease.

Environmental factors may contribute as much as one-third of the variance in Huntington disease (HD) age of onset. Substance abuse is a risk factor for other neurodegenerative disorders; however, whether substance abuse influences HD age of onset is not well established. This study investigated the relationships between alcohol, drug, and tobacco abuse and HD age of onset in 136 participants with symptomatic HD.

Simultaneous multiple-emitter fitting for single molecule super-resolution imaging.

Single molecule localization based super-resolution imaging techniques require repeated localization of many single emitters. We describe a method that uses the maximum likelihood estimator to localize multiple emitters simultaneously within a single, two-dimensional fitting sub-region, yielding an order of magnitude improvement in the tolerance of the analysis routine with regards to the single-frame active emitter density. Multiple-emitter fitting enables the overall performance of single-molecule super-resolution to be improved in one or more of several metrics that result in higher single-frame density of localized active emitters.

Estimating premorbid functioning in huntington's disease: the relationship between disease progression and the wide range achievement test reading subtest.

The estimation of premorbid abilities is an essential part of a neuropsychological evaluation, especially in neurodegenerative conditions. Although word pronunciation tests are one standard method for estimating the premorbid level, research suggests that these tests may not be valid in neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, the current study sought to examine two estimates of premorbid intellect, the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT) Reading subtest and the Barona formula, in 93 patients with mild to moderate Huntington's disease (HD) to determine their utility and to investigate how these measures relate to signs and symptoms of disease progression.

The effects of spherical aberration on multiphoton fluorescence excitation microscopy.

Multiphoton fluorescence excitation microscopy is almost invariably conducted with samples whose refractive index differ from that of the objective immersion medium, conditions that cause spherical aberration. Due to the quadratic nature of multiphoton fluorescence excitation, spherical aberration is expected to profoundly affect the depth dependence of fluorescence excitation. In order to determine the effect of refractive index mismatch in multiphoton fluorescence excitation microscopy, we measured signal attenuation, photobleaching rates and resolution degradation with depth in homogeneous samples with minimal light scattering and absorption over a range of refractive indices.

The effects of refractive index heterogeneity within kidney tissue on multiphoton fluorescence excitation microscopy.

Although multiphoton fluorescence excitation microscopy has improved the depth at which useful fluorescence images can be collected in biological tissues, the reach of multiphoton fluorescence excitation microscopy is nonetheless limited by tissue scattering and spherical aberration. Scattering can be reduced in fixed samples by mounting in a medium whose refractive index closely matches that of the fixed material. Using optical 'clearing', the effects of refractive index heterogeneity on signal attenuation with depth are investigated.

Quality of Life and Symptomatology Before and After Nissen Fundoplication.

Background: Post surgical quality of life (QOL) plays an important role in the decision making process for patients. This study evaluated the subjective opinion of those that underwent Nissen fundoplication to correct their symptoms of hiatus hernia. This study was to evaluate the quality of life and symptomatology before and after in those patients that underwent Nissen fundoplication over an 8-year period.

Chemistry and physical properties of melt-processed and solution-cross-linked corn zein.

Corn zein was cross-linked with glutaraldehyde (GDA) using glacial acetic acid (HAc) as catalyst. The objectives are to evaluate the swelling characteristics of GDA cross-linked zein gels in water, ethanol, and their combinations. Similar formulations, upon solvent evaporation, form films.

Diabetic myonecrosis in an orthotopic heart transplant recipient.

Diabetic myonecrosis or muscle infarction (DMI) is a rare cause of lower extremity pain that usually occurs in patients with poorly controlled diabetes. Although most patients recover with opiate analgesics and anti-inflammatory medications, this type of myonecrosis is associated with the presence of serious vascular disease. Consideration of this diagnosis and use of soft-tissue imaging are especially important in diabetic organ transplant recipients to prevent erroneous treatment for presumed infection.

Prevalence of low bone-mineral density among mentally retarded and developmentally disabled residents in intermediate care.

Objective: To explore the prevalence of low bone-mineral density (BMD) and related fractures among mentally retarded and developmentally disabled residents in intermediate care settings.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Intermediate care facilities for mentally retarded and developmentally disabled (< 16 beds) and group homes (> or = 16 beds) in the mid-western United States.

Image processing software for 3D light microscopy.

Advances in microscopy now enable researchers to easily acquire multi-channel three-dimensional (3D) images and 3D time series (4D). However, processing, analyzing, and displaying this data can often be difficult and time- consuming. We discuss some of the software tools and techniques that are available to accomplish these tasks.

Panic and fear induced by deep brain stimulation.

Background: Mood, cognitive, and behavioural changes have been reported with deep brain stimulation (DBS) in the thalamus, globus pallidus interna, and anterior limb of the internal capsule/nucleus accumbens region.

Objective: To investigate panic and fear resulting from DBS.

Methods: Intraoperative DBS in the region of the right and then left anterior limb of the internal capsule and nucleus accumbens region was undertaken to treat a 52 year old man with treatment refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Short-term atorvastatin treatment enhances specific antibody production following tetanus toxoid vaccination in healthy volunteers.

Statins possess anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties beyond their cholesterol-lowering effects. To determine whether short-term atorvastatin treatment affects the acute phase and humoral immune responses to tetanus toxoid (TT) in normal healthy volunteers, we conducted a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled trial. Twenty healthy volunteers were assigned a 10-day treatment with atorvastatin (40 mg) or placebo.