Association of oral frailty with falls in long-term care residents.

Purpose: We investigated the relationship between oral frailty (OFr) and falls among long-term care residents.

Methods: Residents (N = 254, mean age 84 y, 79% women) participated in this longitudinal cohort study in 2018-2021. OFr was defined by six signs.

Relationship between oral frailty, health-related quality of life, and survival among long-term care residents.

Purpose: We evaluated oral frailty (OFr) and its association with health-related quality of life (HRQoL), energy and protein intake, and survival among older long-term care residents.

Methods: This cross-sectional study with a 3-year follow-up for survival assessed 349 residents in long-term care facilities (73% female, mean age 82 years). We defined OFr with six signs (dry mouth, food residue on oral surfaces, unclear speech, inability to keep mouth open or pain expression during the clinical oral examination, diet pureed/soft) and OFr severity was categorized as Group 1, (mild) = 0-1 signs, Group 2 (moderate) = 2-4 signs, and Group 3 (severe) = 5-6 signs.

UV-visible absorption spectroscopy for in-line API concentration measurement in nanoparticle production process using controlled expansion of supercritical solutions (CESS®).

Most new small drug molecules in pharmaceutical development require improvement of solubility. The controlled expansion of supercritical solutions (CESS®) process is a nanoparticle production technology, dedicated to enhancing the dissolution rate of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) suffering from poor solubility and enabling novel drug delivery opportunities. In this process, the API is dissolved in supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO) and nanoparticles are formed through controlled pressure reduction.

Ultrasonic actuation of a fine-needle improves biopsy yield.

Despite the ubiquitous use over the past 150 years, the functions of the current medical needle are facilitated only by mechanical shear and cutting by the needle tip, i.e. the lancet.

Controlling oleogel crystallization using ultrasonic standing waves.

Oleogels are lipid-based soft materials composed of large fractions of oil (> 85%) developed as saturated and hydrogenated fat substitutes to reduce cardiovascular diseases caused by obesity. Promising oleogels are unstable during storage, and to improve their stability careful control of the crystalline network is necessary. However, this is unattainable with state-of-the-art technologies.

Practical realization of a sub-λ/2 acoustic jet.

Studies in optics and acoustics have employed metamaterial lenses to achieve sub-wavelength localization, e.g. a recently introduced concept called 'acoustojet' which in simulations localizes acoustic energy to a spot smaller than λ/2.

High Intake of Nonmilk Extrinsic Sugars Is Associated With Protein and Micronutrient Dilution in Home-Dwelling and Institutionalized Older People.

Background: High dietary sugar intake may compromise protein and micronutrient intakes in people with low energy intakes. The results of micronutrient dilution studies in older people have been few and conflicting. We examined the nutritional status and nutrient intakes associated with nonmilk extrinsic sugars (NMES) intakes in older people representing a broad spectrum of both healthy and vulnerable older populations.

High proportions of older people with normal nutritional status have poor protein intake and low diet quality.

Introduction: The Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) is a well-validated instrument examining the nutritional status of older people. The aim of this study was to examine how older people's energy and nutrient intakes are associated with the MNA and to determine how sensitive and specific MNA is in identifying those having low energy and protein intakes.

Materials And Methods: This cross-sectional study combined data from five nutritional studies (N=900): both home-dwelling and institutionalized older people without and with disabilities.

Nutritional Guidance Improves Nutrient Intake and Quality of Life, and May Prevent Falls in Aged Persons with Alzheimer Disease Living with a Spouse (NuAD Trial).

Objective: The aim was to examine the effect of tailored nutritional guidance on nutrition, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and falls in persons with Alzheimer disease (AD).

Design: Randomised controlled trial.

Setting And Participants: Persons with AD living with a spouse.

Low protein and micronutrient intakes in heterogeneous older population samples.

Background: Malnutrition is associated with comorbidities and functional decline among older people. Less is known about nutrient intakes across heterogeneous older populations.

Objective: We examined nutritional status and nutrient intakes in different samples of older people representing broad spectrum of healthy and frail populations.

Tailored nutritional guidance for home-dwelling AD families: the Feasibility of and Elements Promoting Positive Changes in Diet (NuAD-Trial).

Objectives: To describe the process and feasibility of our randomised, controlled intervention study (NuAD trial) that positively affected the nutrition and quality of life, and prevented falls of home-dwelling persons with Alzheimer disease (AD).

Design, Setting, Participants: This qualitative study comprised 40 persons with AD and spousal caregivers of our trial. Our intervention during one year involved tailored nutritional guidance for these couples.

Caregivers' male gender is associated with poor nutrient intake in AD families (NuAD-trial).

Objective: Alzheimer patients (AD) are known to be at risk for malnutrition and their older spouses may also have nutritional problems. The aim of our study was to clarify the association of caregivers' sex on the nutrient intake of AD couples.

Setting: Our study uses the baseline data of a randomized nutritional trial exploring the effectiveness of nutrition intervention among home-dwelling AD patients.

Hydrolysis and composition of recovered fibres fractionated from solid recovered fuel.

Fibres fractionated from solid recovered fuel (SRF), a standardised market combustion fuel produced from sorted waste, were considered as a source of lignocellulosic fermentable sugars. The fibre yield from four samples of SRF was 25-45%, and the separated material consisted of 52-54% carbohydrates, mainly glucan, with a high content of ash (12-17%). The enzymatic digestibility of recovered fibres was studied at low and high solids loading and compared with model substrates containing only chemical and mechanical pulps.

Mixtures of thermostable enzymes show high performance in biomass saccharification.

Optimal enzyme mixtures of six Trichoderma reesei enzymes and five thermostable enzyme components were developed for the hydrolysis of hydrothermally pretreated wheat straw, alkaline oxidised sugar cane bagasse and steam-exploded bagasse by statistically designed experiments. Preliminary studies to narrow down the optimization parameters showed that a cellobiohydrolase/endoglucanase (CBH/EG) ratio of 4:1 or higher of thermostable enzymes gave the maximal CBH-EG synergy in the hydrolysis of hydrothermally pretreated wheat straw. The composition of optimal enzyme mixtures depended clearly on the substrate and on the enzyme system studied.

Cellulases without carbohydrate-binding modules in high consistency ethanol production process.

Background: Enzymes still comprise a major part of ethanol production costs from lignocellulose raw materials. Irreversible binding of enzymes to the residual substrate prevents their reuse and no efficient methods for recycling of enzymes have so far been presented. Cellulases without a carbohydrate-binding module (CBM) have been found to act efficiently at high substrate consistencies and to remain non-bound after the hydrolysis.

Cellulase-lignin interactions-the role of carbohydrate-binding module and pH in non-productive binding.

Non-productive cellulase adsorption onto lignin is a major inhibitory mechanism preventing enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic feedstocks. Therefore, understanding of enzyme-lignin interactions is essential for the development of enzyme mixtures and processes for lignocellulose hydrolysis. We have studied cellulase-lignin interactions using model enzymes, Melanocarpus albomyces Cel45A endoglucanase (MaCel45A) and its fusions with native and mutated carbohydrate-binding modules (CBMs) from Trichoderma reesei Cel7A.

The role of carbohydrate binding module (CBM) at high substrate consistency: comparison of Trichoderma reesei and Thermoascus aurantiacus Cel7A (CBHI) and Cel5A (EGII).

The role of CBM in two fungal model cellulase systems, consisting of Cel7A and Cel5A, from Trichoderma reesei and Thermoascus aurantiacus, were compared in the hydrolysis of various substrates. For comparison, family-1 CBM's were introduced to the T. aurantiacus and removed from the T.

Nutritional Intervention Via Videoconferencing for Older Adults Receiving Home Care - A Pilot Study.

Background: Malnutrition is common in aged home care clients and that affects negatively the health of aged people. Nutritional screening is recommended for early detection of malnutrition.

Objectives: The aim was to assess the nutritional status and food intake of home care receivers and improve their nutrient intake with tailored nutritional advice administered via videoconferencing.

Nutritional treatment of aged individuals with Alzheimer disease living at home with their spouses: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Nutritional status often deteriorates in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Less is known about whether nutritional care reverses malnutrition and its harmful consequences in AD. The aim of this study is to examine whether individualized nutritional care has an effect on weight, nutrition, health, physical functioning, and quality of life in older individuals with AD and their spouses living at home.

Thermostable recombinant xylanases from Nonomuraea flexuosa and Thermoascus aurantiacus show distinct properties in the hydrolysis of xylans and pretreated wheat straw.

Background: In the hydrolysis of lignocellulosic materials, thermostable enzymes decrease the amount of enzyme needed due to higher specific activity and elongate the hydrolysis time due to improved stability. For cost-efficient use of enzymes in large-scale industrial applications, high-level expression of enzymes in recombinant hosts is usually a prerequisite. The main aim of the present study was to compare the biochemical and hydrolytic properties of two thermostable recombinant glycosyl hydrolase families 10 and 11 (GH10 and GH11, respectively) xylanases with respect to their potential application in the hydrolysis of lignocellulosic substrates.

Thermostable endoglucanases in the liquefaction of hydrothermally pretreated wheat straw.

Background: Thermostable enzymes have several benefits in lignocellulose processing. In particular, they potentially allow the use of increased substrate concentrations (because the substrate viscosity decreases as the temperature increases), resulting in improved product yields and reduced capital and processing costs. A short pre-hydrolysis step at an elevated temperature using thermostable enzymes aimed at rapid liquefaction of the feedstock is seen as an attractive way to overcome the technical problems (such as poor mixing and mass transfer properties) connected with high initial solid loadings in the lignocellulose to ethanol process.

Cloning, expression, and characterization of novel thermostable family 7 cellobiohydrolases.

As part of the effort to find better cellulases for bioethanol production processes, we were looking for novel GH-7 family cellobiohydrolases, which would be particularly active on insoluble polymeric substrates and participate in the rate-limiting step in the hydrolysis of cellulose. The enzymatic properties were studied and are reported here for family 7 cellobiohydrolases from the thermophilic fungi Acremonium thermophilum, Thermoascus aurantiacus, and Chaetomium thermophilum. The Trichoderma reesei Cel7A enzyme was used as a reference in the experiments.