Music Teacher Education at a Liberal Arts College

In 2012, a committee at a small Midwestern liberal arts college, Lake Forest College, embarked on a journey to create a music education teacher licensure major. Drawing from narrative inquiry, this article reports how the dean of faculty, education department chair, music department chair, and assistant professor of music/music education coordinator collaborated on a curricular creation. Findings from this process included (a) the created music education major, (b) each participant’s rationale for wanting the new music education major, (c) valued components of the music education major, and (d) unique elements of a music education major at a liberal arts college. Implications from this experience could be valuable for music education programs at small liberal arts colleges, those involved in university/school partnerships such as professional development schools, and those looking to advocate for their music education programs across campus

Behind the Scenes of Anthocyanins-From the Health Benefits to Potential Applications in Food, Pharmaceutical and Cosmetic Fields

Anthocyanins are widespread and biologically active water-soluble phenolic pigments responsible for a wide range of vivid colours, from red (acidic conditions) to purplish blue (basic conditions), present in fruits, vegetables, and coloured grains. The pigments' stability and colours are influenced mainly by pH but also by structure, temperature, and light. The colour-stabilizing mechanisms of plants are determined by inter- and intramolecular co-pigmentation and metal complexation, driven by van der Waals, π-π stacking, hydrogen bonding, and metal-ligand interactions. This group of flavonoids is well-known to have potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, which explains the biological effects associated with them. Therefore, this review provides an overview of the role of anthocyanins as natural colorants, showing they are less harmful than conventional colorants, with several technological potential applications in different industrial fields, namely in the textile and food industries, as well as in the development of photosensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells, as new photosensitizers in photodynamic therapy, pharmaceuticals, and in the cosmetic industry, mainly on the formulation of skin care formulations, sunscreen filters, nail colorants, skin & hair cleansing products, amongst others. In addition, we will unveil some of the latest studies about the health benefits of anthocyanins, mainly focusing on the protection against the most prevalent human diseases mediated by oxidative stress, namely cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, and diabetes. The contribution of anthocyanins to visual health is also very relevant and will be briefly explored

Characterisation of Diospyros kaki (persimmon) vinegars produced with different microorganisms

The aim of this work was to evaluate the characteristics of nine kaki vinegars produced using different yeasts and bacteria traditionally involved in wine production, and to evaluate their acidity, density, total phenolic content, and antioxidant activity. Furthermore, the study characterized the volatile fingerprinting by headspace-gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS) and by two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GCxGC-TOF-MS). Finally, individual carotenoids were characterized using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). More than a thousand distinguishing molecules were found. It was discovered that vinegars fermented with S. cerevisiae produced a larger number of volatile chemicals. Among the three vinegars produced with this strain, the one fermented with Acetobacter_vino seemed to have a more elaborate flavour profile than all the other samples. The vinegar produced utilizing the mixture of T. delbruekii and Acetobacter was the only kind to have a high concentration of carotenoids

Antitumor activity against murine lymphoma L5178Y model of proteins from cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) seeds in relation with in vitro antioxidant activity

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Recently, proteins and peptides have become an added value to foodstuffs due to new knowledge about its structural analyses as related to antioxidant and anticancer activity. Our goal was to evaluate if protein fractions from cacao seeds show antitumor activity on lymphoma murine L5178Y model. The antioxidant activity of these fractions was also evaluated with the aim of finding a correlation with the antitumor activity.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Differential extraction of proteins from unfermented and semi-fermented-dry cacao seeds was performed and characterized by SDS-PAGE and FPLC size-exclusion chromatography. Antitumor activity was evaluated against murine lymphoma L5178Y in BALB/c mice (6 × 10⁴cells i.p.), with a treatment oral dose of 25 mg/kg/day of each protein fraction, over a period of 15 days. Antioxidant activity was evaluated by the ABTS⁺and ORAC-FL assays.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Albumin, globulin and glutelin fractions from both cacao seed type were obtained by differential solubility extraction. Glutelins were the predominant fraction. In the albumin fraction, polypeptides of 42.3 and 8.5 kDa were found in native conditions, presumably in the form of two peptide chains of 21.5 kDa each one. The globulin fraction presented polypeptides of 86 and 57 kDa in unfermented cacao seed that produced the specific-cacao aroma precursors, and after fermentation the polypeptides were of 45 and 39 kDa. The glutelin fraction presented proteins >200 kDa and globulins components <100 KDa in lesser proportion. Regarding the semifermented-dry cacao seed, it was observed that the albumin fraction showed antitumoral activity, since it caused significant decreases (p < 0.05) in the ascetic fluid volume and packed cell volume, inhibiting cell growth in 59.98 ± 13.6% at 60% of the population; while the greatest antioxidant capacity due to free radical scavenging capacity was showed by the albumin and glutelin fraction in both methods assayed.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study is the first report on the biological activity of semifermented-dry cacao protein fractions with their identification, supporting the traditional use of the plant. The albumin fraction showed antitumor and free radical scavenging capacity, however both activities were not correlated. The protein fractions could be considered as source of potential antitumor peptides.</p

Composition of unfermented, unroasted, roasted cocoa beans and cocoa shells from Peninsular Malaysia

Composition of cocoa beans depends on origin and cocoa processing such as fermentation, drying and roasting. However, less research has been conducted to analyse the composition of Peninsular Malaysia cocoa bean at different processing stages. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine the proximate, phytosterol level, antioxidant content and activity of Peninsular Malaysia unfermented, unroasted, roasted cocoa beans and cocoa shells. Analysis involved was proximate analysis, total phenolic compound (Folin–Ciocalteu reagent assay), antioxidant activity (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl scavenging assay) and phytosterol composition. Results show that the crude fiber of unroasted cocoa beans and cocoa shells increased from 17.19 to 28.45% and 13.86 to 16.06% respectively after roasting process. The roasting process is suspected to increase the dietary fiber content of cocoa products due to the interaction between polysaccharides, protein, polyphenolic and Maillard products at high temperature. The total phenolic content in cocoa bean and cocoa shells ranged from 2.42 to 10.82 µg GAE/ml. The unfermented cocoa beans contain significantly (p < 0.05) higher antioxidant activity (92.3%) compared to other samples. This study shows that cholesterol, stigmasterol and β-sitosterol were present in roasted cocoa beans and cocoa shells. Hence, the information on the composition of Malaysia unfermented, unroasted, roasted cocoa beans and cocoa shells are needed to enrich the databases composition as a reference for the cocoa industry