Stability of R-phycoerythrin from Furcellaria lumbricalis - Dependence on purification strategies and purity.

R-phycoerythrin (R-PE) is the most abundant, naturally occurring phycobiliproteins found in red algae. The spectroscopic and structural properties of phycobiliproteins exhibit unique absorption characteristics with two significant absorption maxima at 498 and 565 nm, indicating two different chromophores of R-PE, phycourobilin and phycoerythrobilin respectively. This study aimed to clarify how the stability of R-PE purified from F.

First experience with the Hugo™ robot-assisted surgery system for endometriosis: A descriptive study.

Introduction: The Medtronic Hugo™ Robot-assisted Surgery (RAS) system was recently approved for clinical use. We explored the safety and feasibility of this system for endometriosis surgery. The primary outcome was safe case completion without major surgical complications (Clavien-Dindo grade ≤2) and no conversion to open surgery or laparoscopy.

In vitro post-ovulatory oocyte ageing in grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella affects H4K12 acetylation pattern and histone acetyltransferase activity.

Delayed fertilization leads to the ageing of post-ovulatory oocytes and reduces the developmental competence of arising embryos. Little information is available about the molecular processes during fish oocyte ageing. The current study investigated the functional consequences of oocyte ageing in grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella embryos.

In vitro protein digestibility of RuBisCO from alfalfa obtained from different processing histories: Insights from free N-terminal and mass spectrometry study.

Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate-carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO) from alfalfa is a potentially climate-friendly alternative protein with a promising amino acid composition. The balance between yield and purity is a challenge for alternative plant proteins, partly due to the naturally occurring antinutrients. Therefore, measuring the in vitro protein digestibility (IVPD) of RuBisCO with various purity levels is of interest.

Haptic Magnetism.

New interactions are often developed by mimicking the real world. Therefore, many researchers in haptics have focused on creating a realistic experience of contact between users and objects. However, dispensing with mimicry may allow us to develop novel haptic interactions.

Using Virtual Reality Head-Mounted Displays to Assess Skills in Emergency Medicine: Validity Study.

Background: Many junior doctors must prepare to manage acutely ill patients in the emergency department. The setting is often stressful, and urgent treatment decisions are needed. Overlooking symptoms and making wrong choices may lead to substantial patient morbidity or death, and it is essential to ensure that junior doctors are competent.

A multi-centre peptidomics investigation of food digesta: current state of the art in mass spectrometry analysis and data visualisation.

Mass spectrometry has become the technique of choice for the assessment of a high variety of molecules in complex food matrices. It is best suited for monitoring the evolution of digestive processes in vivo and in vitro. However, considering the variety of equipment available in different laboratories and the diversity of sample preparation methods, instrumental settings for data acquisition, statistical evaluations, and interpretations of results, it is difficult to predict a priori the ideal parameters for optimal results.

Preparing for Reality: A Randomized Trial on Immersive Virtual Reality for Bronchoscopy Training.

Background: Bronchoscopy is an essential procedure in the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary diseases. However, the literature suggests that distractions affect the quality of bronchoscopy and affect inexperienced doctors more than experienced.

Objectives: The objective of the study was as follows: does simulation-based bronchoscopy training with immersive virtual reality (iVR) improve the doctors' ability to handle distractions and thereby increase the quality, measured in procedure time, structured progression score, diagnostic completeness (%), and hand motor movements of a diagnostic bronchoscopy in a simulated scenario.

Influence of food matrix delivery system on the bioavailability of vitamin D: A randomized crossover trial in postmenopausal women.

Objectives: Vitamin D insufficiency (blood 25-hydroxyvitamin D <50 nmol/L) is a global health problem. Vitamin D food fortification might be a solution, but knowledge is sparse on which food matrices yield the highest bioavailability. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of different food matrices including complex formations with whey proteins on the human bioavailability of vitamin D.

Glacial meltwater determines the balance between autotrophic and heterotrophic processes in a Greenland fjord.

Global warming accelerates melting of glaciers and increases the supply of meltwater and associated inorganic particles, nutrients, and organic matter to adjacent coastal seas, but the ecosystem impact is poorly resolved and quantified. When meltwater is delivered by glacial rivers, the potential impact could be a reduction in light and nutrient availability for primary producers while supplying allochthonous carbon for heterotrophic processes, thereby tipping the net community metabolism toward heterotrophy. To test this hypothesis, we determined physical and biogeochemical parameters along a 110-km fjord transect in NE Greenland fjord, impacted by glacial meltwater from the Greenland Ice Sheet.

Administration of whey protein complexed vitamin D to vitamin D-deficient growing Sprague-Dawley rats.

Vitamin D deficiency is a global health issue with consequences for bone health. Complexation of vitamin D with specific whey proteins might increase the bioavailability and enhance the effect of dietary supplementation on health outcomes. The current rat study was set up to investigate if complexation of vitamin D with whey protein isolate (WPI) or β-lactoglobulin (B-LG) increases bioavailability of the vitamin and how it impacts markers of bone turnover and bone structure.

Impact of frozen thawed embryo transfer in hormone substituted cycles on thrombotic risk markers.

Introduction: Fertility treatment with frozen thawed embryo transfer (FET) is widely used. Women treated in artificial cycles (AC-FET) receive high doses of estrogen in contrast to natural cycles (NC-FET), where no estrogen is administered. Estrogen substitution may be associated with increased risk of thromboembolism.

Biorefinery of Green Biomass─How to Extract and Evaluate High Quality Leaf Protein for Food?

There is a growing need for protein for both feed and food in order to meet future demands. It is imperative to explore and utilize novel protein sources such as protein from leafy plant material, which contains high amounts of the enzyme ribulose-1,5-biphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCo). Leafy crops such as grasses and legumes can in humid climate produce high protein yields in a sustainable way when compared with many traditional seed protein crops.

Mechanisms behind protein-protein interactions in a β-lg-legumin co-precipitate.

Interactions between pea protein and whey protein isolates in co-precipitates and blends consist of a combination of disulphide bonds, hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions. The present study aims to clarify if the two proteins with free thiols, β-lactoglobulin (β-lg) and legumin, played a significant role for these interactions. This study used different reagents to modify the conditions of interactions: N-ethylmaleimide (NEM) was used to block reactive thiols, while NaCl and SDS were used to prevent electrostatic or hydrophobic interactions, respectively.

Histone Acetylation Dynamics during In Vivo and In Vitro Oocyte Aging in Common Carp .

Aging is the most critical factor that influences the quality of post-ovulatory oocytes. Age-related molecular pathways remain poorly understood in fish oocytes. In this study, we examined the effect of oocyte aging on specific histone acetylation in common carp .

A fast SALLE GC-MS/MS multi-analyte method for the determination of 75 food packaging substances in food simulants.

A simple and fast method was developed for the simultaneous determination of 75 plastic food contact material (FCM) in liquid food simulants, at levels of a few ng g. The method employs an optimised salt-assisted liquid-liquid extraction for all EU-regulated ethanol/HO food simulants, in the presence of 10% NaCl (simulants A and C) or 5% NaCl (simulant D1), and dichloromethane as the extracting solvent. Gas chromatography with triple-quad MS operating in multiple reaction monitoring acquisition was used, applying isotope dilution with selected deuterated compounds.

Biodegradation of expanded polystyrene by mealworm larvae under different feeding strategies evaluated by metabolic profiling using GC-TOF-MS.

The present study investigated the biodegradation of polystyrene (PS) plastic by mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) on different diets followed by untargeted screening of larvae gut intestine tissue and frass (manure and feed residuals) to investigate the existence of polymer-generated organic residues. Three different diets, consisting of PS, rolled barley and water were tested. PS degradation rates ranged from 16% to 23% within 15 days, with no statistical differences in survival rates.

Potential of Unconventional Seed Oils and Fats from West African Trees: A Review of Fatty Acid Composition and Perspectives.

Seed oils sourced from West Africa are generally not well-characterized, but likely to have an untapped potential. This review aims to make an overview of fatty acid (FA) composition of unconventional seed oils from semi-arid West African trees and evaluate potential for new and enhanced uses and for improving local livelihoods and biodiversity conservation. A total of 111 studies on FA composition were found, covering 31 species.

Correction: Milk protein complexation enhances post prandial vitamin D absorption in rats.

Correction for 'Milk protein complexation enhances post prandial vitamin D3 absorption in rats' by Ida Emilie I. Lindahl et al., Food Funct.

Surgery, gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist downregulation and in vitro fertilisation in women with infertility and endometriomas.

Introduction: Tonsillectomy is one of the most common procedures in the field of ear, nose and throat procedures. In 2012, the annual incidence in Denmark was 129.4 per 100,000 inhabitants.

Design and validation of a cross-specialty simulation-based training course in basic robotic surgical skills.

Background: The aim of this study was to design and validate a cross-specialty basic robotic surgical skills training program on the RobotiX Mentor virtual reality simulator.

Methods: A Delphi panel reached consensus on six modules to include in the training program. Validity evidence was collected according to Messick's framework with three performances in each simulator module by 11 experienced robotic surgeons and 11 residents without robotic surgical experience.

Milk protein complexation enhances post prandial vitamin D absorption in rats.

This study investigated the effect of complexation with whey and casein protein, respectively, on post prandial absorption of vitamin D3. For this purpose, Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 78) were administered 840 IU vitamin D3 dissolved in ethanol and either (i) complexed with whey protein isolate (protein : vitamin ration 2 : 1), (ii) complexed with caseinate (protein : vitamin ration 2 : 1), or (iii) provided in a water solution. Serum concentrations of vitamin D3, 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 and 24,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 were measured before and 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10 hours after administration of vitamin D3.

Circulating Levels of Muscle-Related Metabolites Increase in Response to a Daily Moderately High Dose of a Vitamin D3 Supplement in Women with Vitamin D Insufficiency-Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial.

Recently, we demonstrated negative effects of vitamin D supplementation on muscle strength and physical performance in women with vitamin D insufficiency. The underlying mechanism behind these findings remains unknown. In a secondary analysis of the randomized placebo-controlled trial designed to investigate cardiovascular and musculoskeletal health, we employed NMR-based metabolomics to assess the effect of a daily supplement of vitamin D3 (70 µg) or an identically administered placebo, during wintertime.

Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry Quantification of α-solanine, α-chaconine, and Solanidine in Potato Protein Isolates.

For potato proteins to be used as a food ingredient, the level of natural potato defense substances, the glycoalkaloids (GAs), should be limited. In this work, a method is developed for quantification of the two major potato GAs, α-solanine and α-chaconine, as well as for their aglycon form, solanidine, using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry single quadrupole in single ion monitoring mode. Standard solutions of GA and a food-grade potato protein powder was used to validate the method.

Simultaneous Determination of L- and D-Amino Acids in Proteins: A Sensitive Method Using Hydrolysis in Deuterated Acid and Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry Analysis.

Determination of the L- and D-amino acid composition in proteins is important for monitoring process-induced racemization, and thereby protein quality loss, in food and feed. Such analysis has so far been challenging due to the need for sample hydrolysis, which generates racemization, thereby leading to an overestimation of D-amino acids. Here, validation of an LC-MS/MS-based method for the simultaneous determination of L- and D-amino acids in complex biological matrixes, like food and feed, was performed in combination with deuterated HCl hydrolysis.