Changes in cocoa properties induced by the alkalization process: A review

[EN] Alkalization, also known as "Dutching," is an optional, but very useful, step taken in the production chain of cocoa to darken its color, modify its taste, and increase natural cocoa solubility. Over the years, various attempts have been made to design new and more effective alkalization methods. Moreover, different authors have attempted to elucidate the impact of alkalization on the physicochemical, nutritional, functional, microbiological, and sensory characteristics of alkalized cocoa. The aim of this review is to provide a clear guide about not only the conditions that can be applied to alkalize cocoa, but also the reported effects of alkalization on the nutritional, functional, microbiological, and sensory characteristics of cocoa. The first part of this review describes different cocoa alkalization systems and how they can be tuned to induce specific changes in cocoa properties. 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Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy Modulates the Inflammatory Response in Experimental Traumatic Brain Injury

Therapy with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) has showed to be promising due to its immunomodulatory function. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) triggers immune response and release of inflammatory mediators, mainly cytokines, by glial cells creating a hostile microenvironment for endogenous neural stem cells (NSCs). We investigated the effects of factors secreted by MSCs on NSC in vitro and analyzed cytokines expression in vitro in a TBI model. Our in vitro results show that MSC-secreted factors increase NSC proliferation and induce higher expression of GFAP, indicating a tendency toward differentiation into astrocytes. In vivo experiments showed that MSC injection at an acute model of brain injury diminishes a broad profile of cytokines in the tissue, suggesting that MSC-secreted factors may modulate the inflammation at the injury site, which may be of interest to the development of a favorable microenvironment for endogenous NSC and consequently to repair the injured tissue

Multiproxy analysis of permafrost preserved faeces provides an unprecedented insight into the diets and habitats of extinct and extant megafauna

The study of faecal samples to reconstruct the diets and habitats of extinct megafauna has traditionally relied on pollen and macrofossil analysis. DNA metabarcoding has emerged as a valuable tool to complement and refine these proxies. While published studies have compared the results of these three proxies for sediments, this comparison is currently lacking for permafrost preserved mammal faeces. Moreover, most metabarcoding studies have focused on a single plant-specific DNA marker region. In this study, we target both the commonly used chloroplast trnL P6 loop as well as nuclear ribosomal ITS (nrITS). The latter can increase taxonomic resolution of plant identifications but requires DNA to be relatively well preserved because of the target length (∼300–500 bp). We compare DNA results to pollen and macrofossil analyses from permafrost and ice-preserved faeces of Pleistocene and Holocene megafauna. Samples include woolly mammoth, horse, steppe bison as well as Holocene and extant caribou. Most plant identifications were found using DNA, likely because the studied faeces contained many vegetative remains that could not be identified using macrofossils or pollen. Several taxa were, however, identified to lower taxonomic levels uniquely with macrofossil and pollen analysis. The nrITS marker provides species level taxonomic resolution for commonly encountered plant families that are hard to distinguish using the other proxies (e.g. Asteraceae, Cyperaceae and Poaceae). Integrating the results from all proxies, we are able to accurately reconstruct known diets and habitats of the extant caribou. Applying this approach to the extinct mammals, we find that the Holocene horse and steppe bison were not strict grazers but mixed feeders living in a marshy wetland environment. The mammoths showed highly varying diets from different non-analogous habitats. This confirms the presence of a mosaic of habitats in the Pleistocene ‘mammoth steppe’ that mammoths could fully exploit due to their flexibility in food choice

Prototyping of petalets for the Phase-II Upgrade of the silicon strip tracking detector of the ATLAS Experiment

In the high luminosity era of the Large Hadron Collider, the HL-LHC, the instantaneous luminosity is expected to reach unprecedented values, resulting in about 200 proton-proton interactions in a typical bunch crossing. To cope with the resultant increase in occupancy, bandwidth and radiation damage, the ATLAS Inner Detector will be replaced by an all-silicon system, the Inner Tracker (ITk). The ITk consists of a silicon pixel and a strip detector and exploits the concept of modularity. Prototyping and testing of various strip detector components has been carried out. This paper presents the developments and results obtained with reduced-size structures equivalent to those foreseen to be used in the forward region of the silicon strip detector. Referred to as petalets, these structures are built around a composite sandwich with embedded cooling pipes and electrical tapes for routing the signals and power. Detector modules built using electronic flex boards and silicon strip sensors are glued on both the front and back side surfaces of the carbon structure. Details are given on the assembly, testing and evaluation of several petalets. Measurement results of both mechanical and electrical quantities are shown. Moreover, an outlook is given for improved prototyping plans for large structures.Comment: 22 pages for submission for Journal of Instrumentatio

Iron bioavailability in two commercial cultivars of wheat: a comparison between wholegrain and white flour and the effects of nicotianamine and 2'-deoxymugineic acid on iron uptake into Caco-2 cells

Iron bioavailability in unleavened white and wholegrain bread made from two commercial wheat varieties was assessed by measuring ferritin production in Caco-2 cells. The breads were subjected to simulated gastrointestinal digestion and the digests applied to the Caco-2 cells. Although Riband grain contained a lower iron concentration than Rialto, iron bioavailability was higher. No iron was taken up by the cells from white bread made from Rialto flour or from wholegrain bread from either variety, but Riband white bread produced a small ferritin response. The results probably relate to differences in phytate content of the breads, although iron in soluble monoferric phytate was demonstrated to be bioavailable in the cell model. Nicotianamine, an iron chelator in plants involved in iron transport, was a more potent enhancer of iron uptake into Caco-2 cells than ascorbic acid or 2'-deoxymugineic acid, another metal chelator present in plants

Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials in the Treatment of Human Brucellosis

BACKGROUND: Brucellosis is a persistent health problem in many developing countries throughout the world, and the search for simple and effective treatment continues to be of great importance. METHODS AND FINDINGS: A search was conducted in MEDLINE and in the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL). Clinical trials published from 1985 to present that assess different antimicrobial regimens in cases of documented acute uncomplicated human brucellosis were included. The primary outcomes were relapse, therapeutic failure, combined variable of relapse and therapeutic failure, and adverse effect rates. A meta-analysis with a fixed effect model was performed and odds ratio with 95% confidence intervals were calculated. A random effect model was used when significant heterogeneity between studies was verified. Comparison of combined doxycycline and rifampicin with a combination of doxycycline and streptomycin favors the latter regimen (OR = 3.17; CI95% = 2.05-4.91). There were no significant differences between combined doxycycline-streptomycin and combined doxycycline-gentamicin (OR = 1.89; CI95% = 0.81-4.39). Treatment with rifampicin and quinolones was similar to combined doxycycline-rifampicin (OR = 1.23; CI95% = 0.63-2.40). Only one study assessed triple therapy with aminoglycoside-doxycycline-rifampicin and only included patients with uncomplicated brucellosis. Thus this approach cannot be considered the therapy of choice until further studies have been performed. Combined doxycycline/co-trimoxazole or doxycycline monotherapy could represent a cost-effective alternative in certain patient groups, and further studies are needed in the future. CONCLUSIONS: Although the preferred treatment in uncomplicated human brucellosis is doxycycline-aminoglycoside combination, other treatments based on oral regimens or monotherapy should not be rejected until they are better studied. Triple therapy should not be considered the current treatment of choice

Taking the strain? Impact of glaucoma on patients' informal caregivers

Purpose: To estimate informal caregiver (ICG) strain in people from a glaucoma clinic. Methods: Patients with glaucoma were consecutively identified from a single clinic in England for a cross-sectional postal survey. The sample was deliberately enriched with a number of patients designated as having advanced glaucoma (visual field [VF] mean deviation worse than -12 dB in both eyes). Patients were asked to identify an ICG who recorded a Modified Caregiver Strain Index (MCSI), a validated 13 item instrument scored on a scale of 0-26. Previous research has indicated mean MCSI to be >10 in Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease. All participants gave a self-reported measure of general health (EQ5D). Results: Responses from 105 patients (43% of those invited) were analysed; only 38 of the 105 named an ICG. Mean (95% confidence interval [CI]) MCSI was 2.4 (1.3, 3.6) and only three ICGs recorded a MCSI > 7. The percentage of patients with an ICG was much higher in patients with advanced VF loss (82%; 9/11) when compared to those with non-advanced VF loss (31%; 29/94; p=0.001). Mean (standard deviation) MCSI was considerably inflated in the advanced patients (5.6 [4.9] vs 1.5 [2.2] for non-advanced; p=0.040). Worsening VF and poorer self-reported general health (EQ5D) of the patient were associated with worsening MCSI. Conclusion: ICG strain, as measured by MCSI, for patients with non-advanced glaucoma is negligible, compared to other chronic disease. ICG strain increases moderately with worsening VFs but this could be partly explained by worse general health in our sample of patients

Control of Tungiasis through Intermittent Application of a Plant-Based Repellent: An Intervention Study in a Resource-Poor Community in Brazil

Tungiasis is a parasitic skin disease caused by the female sand flea Tunga penetrans. The disease is frequent in resource-poor communities in South America and sub-Saharan Africa and affects the poorest of the poor. Sand flea disease is associated with a considerable morbidity and may lead to tetanus in non-vaccinated individuals. The degree of morbidity depends on the intensity of infestation, i.e., the number of embedded sand fleas a person has. Since tungiasis is a zoonosis involving a host of animal reservoirs, and because an effective treatment is not at hand, in resource-poor settings elimination is not feasible. Preventing morbidity to develop is therefore the only means to protect exposed individuals from sand flea disease. Similar to other arthropods, sand fleas can be repelled before they penetrate into the skin. In this study we show that the intermittent application of a plant-based repellent, of which the major component is coconut oil, reduces the intensity of infestation dramatically during the whole transmission season and prevents tungiasis-associated morbidity from developing. The prevention can be performed at the household level by the affected individuals themselves with minimal input from the health sector

Defining strawberry shape uniformity using 3D imaging and genetic mapping

Strawberry shape uniformity is a complex trait, influenced by multiple genetic and environmental components. To complicate matters further, the phenotypic assessment of strawberry uniformity is confounded by the difficulty of quantifying geometric parameters ‘by eye’ and variation between assessors. An in-depth genetic analysis of strawberry uniformity has not been undertaken to date, due to the lack of accurate and objective data. Nonetheless, uniformity remains one of the most important fruit quality selection criteria for the development of a new variety. In this study, a 3D-imaging approach was developed to characterise berry shape uniformity. We show that circularity of the maximum circumference had the closest predictive relationship with the manual uniformity score. Combining five or six automated metrics provided the best predictive model, indicating that human assessment of uniformity is highly complex. Furthermore, visual assessment of strawberry fruit quality in a multi-parental QTL mapping population has allowed the identification of genetic components controlling uniformity. A “regular shape” QTL was identified and found to be associated with three uniformity metrics. The QTL was present across a wide array of germplasm, indicating a potential candidate for marker-assisted breeding, while the potential to implement genomic selection is explored. A greater understanding of berry uniformity has been achieved through the study of the relative impact of automated metrics on human perceived uniformity. Furthermore, the comprehensive definition of strawberry shape uniformity using 3D imaging tools has allowed precision phenotyping, which has improved the accuracy of trait quantification and unlocked the ability to accurately select for uniform berries