Extrinsic attributes that drive consumer purchase of block mozzarella.

Consumer demand for cheese continues to increase with mozzarella being one of the primary cheeses in the US The objective of this study was to understand the impact of extrinsic attributes on consumer desires for block mozzarella cheese. An online survey was conducted with mozzarella consumers (n = 437). Adaptive Choice-Based Conjoint (ACBC) and Kano modeling were utilized to determine the importance of attributes applicable to block mozzarella.

Consumer Acceptance of Protein Beverage Ingredients: Less is More.

An array of ingredients are added to protein beverage formulations. These ingredients may not be desirable to consumers. Our objective was to determine consumer perception of ingredients in protein beverages.

Consumer perception of sweeteners in yogurt.

Consumers are interested in products with reduced sugar, a trend which has been attributed to consumers associating high-sugar foods with obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. The objective of this study was to evaluate consumer perception of sugar reduction in yogurt-both conceptually and for liking of actual products. An online survey (n = 1,290) was conducted to evaluate consumer perception of sweeteners available in commercial yogurts.

A Timely Application-Temporal methods, past, present, and future.

Eating is a dynamic experience, and temporal sensory methods have been proposed to document how products change over the course of consumption or use (nonfood). A search of online databases yielded approximately 170 sources related to temporal evaluation of food products that were compiled and reviewed. This review summarizes the evolution of temporal methodologies (past), offers guidance in selecting appropriate methods (present), and provides insights into the future of temporal methodologies in the sensory space.

Studying the Emotional Response to Insects Food Products.

Insects have been proposed as a sustainable food solution due to their environmental, nutritional, and socioeconomic value; however, in the western world, insects are viewed as disgusting. This research aimed to understand the acceptance of insect-based products in the US market by studying the emotional response to such. A survey of 826 consumers was conducted using (1) a modified version of the EsSense Profile questionnaire to capture the emotional response to pictures of different kinds of foods, (2) images to evaluate the influence of the presence or absence of non-visible insects in food products, (3) information about the environmental value of insects, and (4) socioeconomic demographics.

Study of manganese binding to the ferroxidase centre of human H-type ferritin.

Ferritins are ubiquitous and conserved proteins endowed with enzymatic ferroxidase activity, that oxidize Fe(II) ions at the dimetal ferroxidase centre to form a mineralized Fe(III) oxide core deposited within the apo-protein shell. Herein, the in vitro formation of a heterodimetal cofactor constituted by Fe and Mn ions has been investigated in human H ferritin (hHFt). Namely, Mn and Fe binding at the hHFt ferroxidase centre and its effects on Fe(II) oxidation have been investigated by UV-Vis ferroxidation kinetics, fluorimetric titrations, multifrequency EPR, and preliminary Mössbauer spectroscopy.

Low-Temperature Magnetic Force Microscopy on Single Molecule Magnet-Based Microarrays.

The magnetic properties of some single molecule magnets (SMM) on surfaces can be strongly modified by the molecular packing in nanometric films/aggregates or by interactions with the substrate, which affect the molecular orientation and geometry. Detailed investigations of the magnetism of thin SMM films and nanostructures are necessary for the development of spin-based molecular devices, however this task is challenged by the limited sensitivity of laboratory-based magnetometric techniques and often requires access to synchrotron light sources to perform surface sensitive X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) investigations. Here we show that low-temperature magnetic force microscopy is an alternative powerful laboratory tool able to extract the field dependence of the magnetization and to identify areas of in-plane and perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in microarrays of the SMM terbium(III) bis-phthalocyaninato (TbPc) neutral complex grown as nanosized films on SiO and perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA), and this is in agreement with data extracted from nonlocal XMCD measurements performed on homogeneous TbPc/PTCDA films.

Molecular Order in Buried Layers of TbPc2 Single-Molecule Magnets Detected by Torque Magnetometry.

Cantilever torque magnetometry is used to elucidate the orientation of magnetic molecules in thin films. The technique allows depth-resolved investigations by intercalating a layer of anisotropic magnetic molecules in a film of its isotropic analogues. The proof-of-concept is here demonstrated with the single-molecule magnet TbPc2 evidencing also an exceptional long-range templating effect on substrates coated by the organic molecule perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic dianhydride.

Multicentre multi-device hybrid imaging study of coronary artery disease: results from the EValuation of INtegrated Cardiac Imaging for the Detection and Characterization of Ischaemic Heart Disease (EVINCI) hybrid imaging population.

Aims: Hybrid imaging provides a non-invasive assessment of coronary anatomy and myocardial perfusion. We sought to evaluate the added clinical value of hybrid imaging in a multi-centre multi-vendor setting.

Methods And Results: Fourteen centres enrolled 252 patients with stable angina and intermediate (20-90%) pre-test likelihood of coronary artery disease (CAD) who underwent myocardial perfusion scintigraphy (MPS), CT coronary angiography (CTCA), and quantitative coronary angiography (QCA) with fractional flow reserve (FFR).

Effect of Coronary Atherosclerosis and Myocardial Ischemia on Plasma Levels of High-Sensitivity Troponin T and NT-proBNP in Patients With Stable Angina.

Objective: Circulating levels of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) and N terminal pro brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) are predictors of prognosis in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). We aimed at evaluating the effect of coronary atherosclerosis and myocardial ischemia on cardiac release of hs-cTnT and NT-proBNP in patients with suspected CAD.

Approach And Results: Hs-cTnT and NT-proBNP were measured in 378 patients (60.

T wave abnormalities identify patients with previous lateral wall myocardial infarction and circumflex artery disease.

Background: The diagnosis of previous lateral myocardial infarction is based on QRS morphology.

Objectives: To explore the diagnostic role of T wave abnormalities.

Methods: We studied 166 patients with known or suspected ischemic heart disease who underwent a 12-lead electrocardiogram, myocardial perfusion scintigraphy, and coronary arteriography within 90days.

Limitations of Chest Pain Categorization Models to Predict Coronary Artery Disease.

We aimed to evaluate how chest pain categorization, currently used to assess the pretest probability of coronary artery disease (CAD), predicts the actual presence of CAD in a population of patients with stable symptoms. We studied 475 consecutive patients enrolled in the Evaluation of Integrated Cardiac Imaging for the Detection and Characterization of Ischemic Heart Disease study based on possible symptoms of CAD. Chest pain or discomfort was categorized as typical angina, atypical angina, or as nonanginal according to the guidelines.

A New Integrated Clinical-Biohumoral Model to Predict Functionally Significant Coronary Artery Disease in Patients With Chronic Chest Pain.

Background: In patients with chronic angina-like chest pain, the probability of coronary artery disease (CAD) is estimated by symptoms, age, and sex according to the Genders clinical model. We investigated the incremental value of circulating biomarkers over the Genders model to predict functionally significant CAD in patients with chronic chest pain.

Methods: In 527 patients (60.

HDL cholesterol, leptin and interleukin-6 predict high risk coronary anatomy assessed by CT angiography in patients with stable chest pain.

Objectives: Coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) describes several features of coronary plaques, i.e. location, severity, and composition.

Prominent T wave in V2 with respect to V6 as a sign of lateral myocardial infarction.

Background: In the absence of confounding electrocardiographic features, a prominent R wave in leads V1-V2 reflects a lateral myocardial infarction (MI). We hypothesized that repolarization abnormalities in V1-V2 could also reflect a lateral MI.

Methods: We retrospectively selected a group of 57 patients with a recent or previous first Q-wave MI involving left ventricular (LV) inferior and/or lateral wall at contrast-enhanced cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR).

Detection of significant coronary artery disease by noninvasive anatomical and functional imaging.

Background: The choice of imaging techniques in patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) varies between countries, regions, and hospitals. This prospective, multicenter, comparative effectiveness study was designed to assess the relative accuracy of commonly used imaging techniques for identifying patients with significant CAD.

Methods And Results: A total of 475 patients with stable chest pain and intermediate likelihood of CAD underwent coronary computed tomographic angiography and stress myocardial perfusion imaging by single photon emission computed tomography or positron emission tomography, and ventricular wall motion imaging by stress echocardiography or cardiac magnetic resonance.

Myocardial bridging: a review with emphasis on electrocardiographic findings.

Background: Myocardial bridging (MB) occurs when a segment of an epicardial coronary artery takes an intra- myocardial course, thus leading to systolic compression. Most myocardial bridges involve the left anterior descending artery and are observed in 14-35% of patients. Different pathophysiological mechanisms can induce symptoms secondary to myocardial ischemia: systolic coronary compression, diastolic dysfunction associated with aging and coronary atherosclerosis, LV hypertrophy, vasospasm, microvascular and endothelial dysfunction, plaque development proximal to the bridge.

Right ventricular dysfunction: an independent and incremental predictor of cardiac deaths late after acute myocardial infarction.

Prognostic implication of right ventricular dysfunction and infarction scar in the chronic phase of the myocardial infarction has been little analyzed. In 299 consecutive patients (age 63 ± 11 years) with >3 months old myocardial infarction, we quantified right and left ventricular volumes and ejection fractions by cine cardiac magnetic resonance, and right and left ventricular scar tissue by late gadolinium enhancement. During follow-up (median, 2.

Trichinellosis outbreak caused by meat from a wild boar hunted in an Italian region considered to be at negligible risk for Trichinella.

The wild boar is an important source of trichinellosis for people in European countries as a large number of hunted animals escape veterinary control. In November 2012, uncooked sausages made with meat from wild boar were consumed by 38 persons in a village of the Lucca province (Tuscany region, Italy). Of them, 34 were serologically positive, 32 developed clinical signs and symptoms of trichinellosis, and two were asymptomatic.

Mind injuries after cardiac surgery.

After cardiac surgery, delirium, cognitive dysfunction, depression, or anxiety disorders frequently occur, and profoundly affect patients' prognosis and quality of life. This narrative review focuses on the main clinical presentations of cognitive and psychological problems ('mind injuries') that occur postoperatively in absence of ascertainable focal neurologic deficits, exploring their pathophysiological mechanisms and possible strategies for prevention and treatment. Postoperative cognitive dysfunction is a potentially devastating complication that can involve several mechanisms and several predisposing, intraoperative, and postoperative risk factors, which can result in or be associated to cerebral microvascular damage.