Effect of Ionising Irradiation on Wheat Flour

Radiation processing suppresses the development of microorganisms and pests in food products. This method is safe and does not affect nutritional value; however, it may change the properties of starch and proteins. The research objective was to define the effect of ionization on the baking properties and safety indicators of wheat flour. The study featured wheat flour subjected to gamma irradiation at 0–47.52 kGy, as well as dough and bread made from this flour. The flour samples were tested for the radioactivity of radionuclides; a set of experiments revealed their microbiological indicators and falling-number values. The dough samples were studied on an Alveograph and a Mixolab analyzer to define their structural and mechanical properties. The quality of bread was evaluated by its specific volume, shape stability, and sensory profile. The flour proved safe in terms of residual gamma radiation after 24 and 72 h. At the maximal dose of gamma radiation, the total viable count of mesophyll aerobic and optional-anaerobic microorganisms decreased by fifteen times, whereas the amount of mold decreased by five times. The total strain energy, elastic properties, and elasticity index of the dough declined by more than 50%. The dough had a lower stability during kneading. Its gelatinization onset started earlier by 2.3–3.3°C. The falling number decreased by more than four times, probably, due to the changes in the state of wheat starch. The bread samples had a smaller specific volume and a lower dimensional stability. They also demonstrated signs of darkening, stickiness, and crumb crushing at the maximal irradiation dose (47.52 kGy). The microbiological safety indicators of wheat flour increased at the maximal irradiation dose. However, the baking properties of flour decreased. The sensory and physicochemical parameters of bread quality started to deteriorate at ≥ 23 kGy. Therefore, ionization cannot be recommended as a disinfection method for baking wheat flour production

Wearable Light-and-Motion Dataloggers for Sleep/Wake Research: A Review

Long-term recording of a person’s activity (actimetry or actigraphy) using devices typically worn on the wrist is increasingly applied in sleep/wake, chronobiological, and clinical research to estimate parameters of sleep and sleep-wake cycles. With the recognition of the importance of light in influencing these parameters and with the development of technological capabilities, light sensors have been introduced into devices to correlate physiological and environmental changes. Over the past two decades, many such new devices have appeared from different manufacturers. One of the aims of this review is to help researchers and clinicians choose the data logger that best fits their research goals. Seventeen currently available light-and-motion recorders entered the analysis. They were reviewed for appearance, dimensions, weight, mounting, battery, sensors, features, communication interface, and software. We found that all devices differed from each other in several features. In particular, six devices are equipped with a light sensor that can measure blue light. It is noteworthy that blue light most profoundly influences the physiology and behavior of mammals. As the wearables market is growing rapidly, this review helps guide future developments and needs to be updated every few years

Wearable Light-and-Motion Dataloggers for Sleep/Wake Research: A Review

Long-term recording of a person’s activity (actimetry or actigraphy) using devices typically worn on the wrist is increasingly applied in sleep/wake, chronobiological, and clinical research to estimate parameters of sleep and sleep-wake cycles. With the recognition of the importance of light in influencing these parameters and with the development of technological capabilities, light sensors have been introduced into devices to correlate physiological and environmental changes. Over the past two decades, many such new devices have appeared from different manufacturers. One of the aims of this review is to help researchers and clinicians choose the data logger that best fits their research goals. Seventeen currently available light-and-motion recorders entered the analysis. They were reviewed for appearance, dimensions, weight, mounting, battery, sensors, features, communication interface, and software. We found that all devices differed from each other in several features. In particular, six devices are equipped with a light sensor that can measure blue light. It is noteworthy that blue light most profoundly influences the physiology and behavior of mammals. As the wearables market is growing rapidly, this review helps guide future developments and needs to be updated every few years

Structural changes of erythrocyte membrane revealed by 3D confocal optical profilometer

Abstract We examined hematological changes influenced by the experimental hypervitaminosis A. The 3D confocal optical profilometer was applied for assessment of the erythrocytes’ membrane structural changes influenced by an overdose of vitamin A. The blood smears were evaluated in terms of alterations of geometrical and optical parameters of erythrocytes for two groups of animals: oil base and retinol palmitate (n = 9 animals for each group). The results demonstrate that an overdose of retinol palmitate causes changes in the torus curvature and pallor of discocytes, their surface area and volume. The observed structural malformations of the shape of red blood cells become visible at the earlier preclinical stage of changes in animal state and behavior. With this in mind, the results of the study open a new area of research in the certain dysfunction diagnosis of red blood cells and have a great potential in the further development of new curative protocols

Measurement of the proton spin structure at long distances

Measuring the spin structure of protons and neutrons tests our understanding of how they arise from quarks and gluons, the fundamental building blocks of nuclear matter. At long distances, the coupling constant of the strong interaction becomes large, requiring non-perturbative methods to calculate quantum chromodynamics processes, such as lattice gauge theory or effective field theories. Here we report proton spin structure measurements from scattering a polarized electron beam off polarized protons. The spin-dependent cross-sections were measured at large distances, corresponding to the region of low momentum transfer squared between 0.012 and 1.0 GeV2. This kinematic range provides unique tests of chiral effective field theory predictions. Our results show that a complete description of the nucleon spin remains elusive, and call for further theoretical works, for example, in lattice quantum chromodynamics. Finally, our data extrapolated to the photon point agree with the Gerasimov–Drell–Hearn sum rule, a fundamental prediction of quantum field theory that relates the anomalous magnetic moment of the proton to its integrated spin-dependent cross-sections

Improved Λ p Elastic Scattering Cross Sections between 0.9 and 2.0 GeV/c as a Main Ingredient of the Neutron Star Equation of State

Strange matter is believed to exist in the cores of neutron stars based on simple kinematics. If this is true, then hyperon-nucleon interactions will play a significant part in the neutron star equation of state. Yet, compared to other elastic scattering processes, there is very little data on Λ−N scattering. This experiment utilized the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) detector to study the Λp→Λp elastic scattering cross section in the incident Λ momentum range 0.9–2.0  GeV/c. These are the first data on this reaction since the 1970s. The new cross sections have significantly better accuracy and precision than the existing world data, and the techniques developed here can also be used in future experiments