Drying of Red Chili Pepper ( L.): Process Kinetics, Color Changes, Carotenoid Content and Phenolic Profile.

Studies were conducted focusing on the drying of chili pepper fruits ( L.), cultivar Cyklon, using convective (AD), convective-microwave (AMD), vacuum (VD), and freeze-drying (FD) methods. The influence of the drying method and temperature on the kinetics of the process and selected quality attributes of the dried product were evaluated.

Impact of Drying Process on Grindability and Physicochemical Properties of Celery.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of various drying methods: freeze drying, vacuum drying, convection drying, and convection-microwave drying at microwave powers of 50 W and 100 W, along with process temperatures (40 °C, 60 °C, and 80 °C), on the drying kinetics, selected physicochemical properties of dried celery stems, and their grindability. The Page model was employed to mathematically describe the drying kinetics across the entire measurement range. Convection-microwave drying significantly reduced the drying time compared to the other methods.

A primordial DNA store and compute engine.

Any modern information system is expected to feature a set of primordial features and functions: a substrate stably carrying data; the ability to repeatedly write, read, erase, reload and compute on specific data from that substrate; and the overall ability to execute such functions in a seamless and programmable manner. For nascent molecular information technologies, proof-of-principle realization of this set of primordial capabilities would advance the vision for their continued development. Here we present a DNA-based store and compute engine that captures these primordial capabilities.

Cancer organoids 2.0: modelling the complexity of the tumour immune microenvironment.

The development of neoplasia involves a complex and continuous interplay between malignantly transformed cells and the tumour microenvironment (TME). Cancer immunotherapies targeting the immune TME have been increasingly validated in clinical trials but response rates vary substantially between tumour histologies and are often transient, idiosyncratic and confounded by resistance. Faithful experimental models of the patient-specific tumour immune microenvironment, capable of recapitulating tumour biology and immunotherapy effects, would greatly improve patient selection, target identification and definition of resistance mechanisms for immuno-oncology therapeutics.

Engineered CD47 protects T cells for enhanced antitumour immunity.

Adoptively transferred T cells and agents designed to block the CD47-SIRPα axis are promising cancer therapeutics that activate distinct arms of the immune system. Here we administered anti-CD47 antibodies in combination with adoptively transferred T cells with the goal of enhancing antitumour efficacy but observed abrogated therapeutic benefit due to rapid macrophage-mediated clearance of T cells expressing chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) or engineered T cell receptors. Anti-CD47-antibody-mediated CAR T cell clearance was potent and rapid enough to serve as an effective safety switch.

Expectations from a Home Cooking Program: Qualitative Analyses of Perceptions from Participants in "Action" and "Contemplation" Stages of Change, before Entering a Bi-Center Randomized Controlled Trial.

Home cooking is an emerging strategy to improve nutrition; however, the literature lacks reports about patient expectations from culinary interventions. Personalized medicine utilizes knowledge about a person's genes; yet, behavioral factors, such as participant "readiness" to make a change, may also impact treatment preferences and outcomes. The purpose is to explore the expectations of participants in different stages of change from a home cooking intervention.

A molecular assessment of the practical potential of DNA-based computation.

The immense information density of DNA and its potential for massively parallelized computations, paired with rapidly expanding data production and storage needs, have fueled a renewed interest in DNA-based computation. Since the construction of the first DNA computing systems in the 1990s, the field has grown to encompass a diverse array of configurations. Simple enzymatic and hybridization reactions to solve small combinatorial problems transitioned to synthetic circuits mimicking gene regulatory networks and DNA-only logic circuits based on strand displacement cascades.

Air gun injury to the pericardium in a 9-year-old boy.

The authors present the case of a 9-year-old boy who sustained a gunshot injury to the pericardium by an air gun. The penetrative wound to the pericardium was, according to the performed pre-operative diagnostic methods, initially believed to be a penetrative wound into the cardiophrenic angle of the left pleural cavity. The stabilized patient was indicated for an extraction of the projectile through a left anterior minithoracotomy, during which the projectile was found and successfully removed from the pericardium.

Allosteric inhibitors targeting the calmodulin-PIP2 interface of SK4 K channels for atrial fibrillation treatment.

The Ca-activated SK4 K channel is gated by Ca-calmodulin (CaM) and is expressed in immune cells, brain, and heart. A cryoelectron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of the human SK4 K channel recently revealed four CaM molecules per channel tetramer, where the apo CaM C-lobe and the holo CaM -lobe interact with the proximal carboxyl terminus and the linker S4-S5, respectively, to gate the channel. Here, we show that phosphatidylinositol 4-5 bisphosphate (PIP2) potently activates SK4 channels by docking to the boundary of the CaM-binding domain.

Aesthetics of musical timing: Culture and expertise affect preferences for isochrony but not synchrony.

Expressive communication in the arts often involves deviations from stylistic norms, which can increase the aesthetic evaluation of an artwork or performance. The detection and appreciation of such expressive deviations may be amplified by cultural familiarity and expertise of the observer. One form of expressive communication in music is playing "out of time," including asynchrony (deviations from synchrony between different instruments) and non-isochrony (deviations from equal spacing between subsequent note onsets or metric units).

Laparoscopic magnetic sphincter augmentation device placement for patients with medically-refractory gastroesophageal reflux after sleeve gastrectomy.

Background: The use of the magnetic sphincter augmentation (MSA) in patients with de novo or persistent gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) after sleeve gastrectomy has not been thoroughly investigated.

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of MSA device placement in improving GERD symptoms and reducing anti-reflux medication usage in patients with persistent or de novo GERD after sleeve gastrectomy.

Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of patients who underwent laparoscopic MSA device placement between January 2018 and July 2020 after sleeve gastrectomy.

Properties and Strength Prediction Modeling of Green Mortar with Brick Powder Subjected to a Short-Term Thermal Shock at Elevated Temperatures.

The cement industry is responsible for 8% of global CO production. Therefore, a clear trend has been observed recently to replace to some extent the main binder of cement composites with environmentally friendly or recycled materials with a lower carbon footprint. This paper presents the effect of brick powder (BP) on the physico-chemical and mechanical properties of cement mortars.

Music as a trait in evolutionary theory: A musicological perspective.

Although it can be straightforward to define the features of physical traits, complex cultural categories tend to elude widely accepted definitions that transcend cultural and historical context. Addressing papers by Mehr et al. and Savage et al.

Extreme precision in rhythmic interaction is enabled by role-optimized sensorimotor coupling: analysis and modelling of West African drum ensemble music.

Human social interactions often involve carefully synchronized behaviours. Musical performance in particular features precise timing and depends on the differentiation and coordination of musical/social roles. Here, we study the influence of musical/social roles, individual musicians and different ensembles on rhythmic synchronization in Malian drum ensemble music, which features synchronization accuracy near the limits of human performance.

The Vienna Protocol and Reflections on Nazi Medicine: Murder à la Carte.

An historian of World War II Germany was asked, about whether there was a single ideological notion that proved to be the most influential in allowing the horrific evils of the Holocaust to take place. It is the very idea, derived from the Romantics, he wrote, that artists are entitled to live outside of morality. Hitler and others unquestionably saw themselves in this way.

The Vienna Protocol: Recommendations/Guidelines for the Handling of Future Discoveries of Remains of Human Victims of Nazi Terror "Vienna Protocol" for when Jewish or Possibly-Jewish Human Remains are Discovered.

(Reprinted with permission from Special Symposium Hosted by Yad Vashem: May 14, 2017).

The Impact of a Culinary Coaching Telemedicine Program on Home Cooking and Emotional Well-Being during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The coronavirus pandemic enforced social restrictions with abrupt impacts on mental health and changes to health behaviors. From a randomized clinical trial, we assessed the impact of culinary education on home cooking practices, coping strategies and resiliency during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (March/April 2020). Participants ( = 28) were aged 25-70 years with a BMI of 27.

Reinforcement of Colonic Anastomosis with Improved Ultrafine Nanofibrous Patch: Experiment on Pig.

Anastomotic leakage is a dreadful complication in colorectal surgery. It has a negative impact on postoperative mortality, long term life quality and oncological results. Nanofibrous polycaprolactone materials have shown pro-healing properties in various applications before.

A new implantable tool for repeated assessment of supraventricular electrophysiology and atrial fibrillation susceptibility in freely moving rats.

The complex pathophysiology of atrial fibrillation (AF) is governed by multiple risk factors in ways that are still elusive. Basic electrophysiological properties, including atrial effective refractory period (AERP) and conduction velocity, are major factors determining the susceptibility of the atrial myocardium to AF. Although there is a great need for affordable animal models in this field of research, in vivo rodent studies are limited by technical challenges.

A nationwide assessment of lifestyle medicine counseling: knowledge, attitudes, and confidence of Israeli senior family medicine residents.

Background: Non-communicable diseases are the leading causes of death, largely due to the last century's often-unhealthy lifestyles. Family medicine (FM) and other physicians can improve patients' lifestyle behaviors, yet FM residency programs in Israel and other countries do not uniformly deliver lifestyle medicine (LM) training. The readiness of FM residents to counsel on lifestyle issues is not known.

Long-term Results of Surgery for Colorectal Liver Metastases in Terms of Primary Tumour Location and Clinical Risk Factors.

Background/aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of primary tumour location and clinical risk factors for long-term results of surgery for colorectal liver metastases (CLMs).

Patients And Methods: Overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) were evaluated in 636 patients. Patients were divided by tumour location (right-/left-sided colorectal cancer: RCRC/LCRC; rectal cancer), and age, gender, number and size of CLMs, type of liver surgery and interval from primary operation were evaluated.

Cross-Cultural Work in Music Cognition: Challenges, Insights, and Recommendations.

psychology of music require cross-cultural approaches, yet the vast majority of work in the field to date has been conducted with Western participants and Western music. For cross-cultural research to thrive, it will require collaboration between people from different disciplinary backgrounds, as well as strategies for overcoming differences in assumptions, methods, and terminology. This position paper surveys the current state of the field and offers a number of concrete recommendations focused on issues involving ethics, empirical methods, and definitions of "music" and "culture.