The Effect of Storage, Processing and Enzyme Treatment on the Microstructure of Cloudy Spartan Apple Juice Particulate

The effect of blanching, post-harvest refrigerated (4C) storage and enzyme treatment with poly-galacturonase on the microstructure of Spartan apple juice was examined by thin sectioning and negative staining transmission electron microscopy. Particles were categrized as granules (3-54 nm), spheres (20-368 nm) and aggregates (12-2519 nm). Enzyme treatment with polygalacturonase significantly decreased granule size (P \u3c 0.01). Storage of apples significantly decreased both granule size (p \u3c 0.01) and aggregate length (p \u3c 0.05) and also resulted in a web-like aspect in the microscopic appearance of juice particulate. The web-like aspect of the particulate was removed either through enzyme treatment with polygalacturonase or by blanching. Blanching of puree significantly increased granule (p \u3c 0.05) and sphere size (p \u3c 0.01) while significantly decreasing aggregate length (p \u3c 0.01). In addition, blanching stabilized suspended particulate by what appeared to be the formation of a protective colloid which prevented particle aggregation through electrostatic repulsion

Stranded Structure Development in Thermally Produced Protein Concentrate Gel

Scanning electron micrographs of thermally induced whey protein concentrate gels were taken. Sample preparation was accomplished by glutaraldehyde fixation, osmium tetroxide post fixation and critical point dehydration. Stranded or beaded gel structures were observed on the external surface of a gas bubble, suggesting that a string-of-beads gel microstructure may result from bubble formation during thermal treatment

Mortality Differences Between Traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage: A Risk-Adjusted Assessment Using Claims Data.

Medicare Advantage (MA) has grown rapidly since the Affordable Care Act; nearly one-third of Medicare beneficiaries now choose MA. An assessment of the comparative value of the 2 options is confounded by an apparent selection bias favoring MA, as reflected in mortality differences. Previous assessments have been hampered by lack of access to claims diagnosis data for the MA population. An indirect comparison of mortality as an outcome variable was conducted by modeling mortality on a traditional fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare data set, applying the model to an MA data set, and then evaluating the ratio of actual-to-predicted mortality in the MA data set. The mortality model adjusted for clinical conditions and demographic factors. Model development considered the effect of potentially greater coding intensity in the MA population. Further analysis calculated ratios for subpopulations. Predicted, risk-adjusted mortality was lower in the MA population than in FFS Medicare. However, the ratio of actual-to-predicted mortality (0.80) suggested that the individuals in the MA data set were less likely to die than would be predicted had those individuals been enrolled in FFS Medicare. Differences between actual and predicted mortality were particularly pronounced in low income (dual eligibility), nonwhite race, high morbidity, and Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) subgroups. After controlling for baseline clinical risk as represented by claims diagnosis data, mortality differences favoring MA over FFS Medicare persisted, particularly in vulnerable subgroups and HMO plans. These findings suggest that differences in morbidity do not fully explain differences in mortality between the 2 programs

SOCIAL CAPITAL AND HOUSEHOLD INCOME DISTRIBUTIONS: EVIDENCE FROM MICHIGAN AND ILLINOIS

Social capital is a resource increasingly recognized as having important economic and social consequences. Robison and Siles (1999) examined some of these consequences at the U.S. state level and this study extends their efforts. Their 1999 study found important connections between the distributions of social capital and the distributions of household incomes. This study asks if the relationships between social capital and household incomes discovered at the state level are also present at the community level.Consumer/Household Economics, Institutional and Behavioral Economics,

A Survey of High School Seniors\u27 Career Choices: Implications for Allied Health

This paper describes a research study conducted using a survey instrument to determine what factors influence high school seniors when making decisions related to future careers and college education. Students were asked to indicate what careers they intended to pursue, what people and factors influenced their careers choices, and their familiarity with and impressions of the allied health professions. The majority indicated that personal satisfaction, employment opportunities, and income were the most important factors influencing their career choices. Although 76.5% of the respondents had a favorable impression of allied health, only 15% indicated that they were very familiar with the allied health professions. The results here and in other studies point to lack of knowledge rather than lack of interest as the leading cause of enrollment vacancies in allied health curricula

Cryogenic and room temperature strength of sapphire jointed by hydroxide-catalysis bonding

Hydroxide-catalysis bonding is a precision technique used for jointing components in opto-mechanical systems and has been implemented in the construction of quasi-monolithic silica suspensions in gravitational wave detectors. Future detectors are likely to operate at cryogenic temperatures which will lead to a change in test mass and suspension material. One candidate material is mono-crystalline sapphire. Here results are presented showing the influence of various bonding solutions on the strength of the hydroxide-catalysis bonds formed between sapphire samples, measured both at room temperature and at 77 K, and it is demonstrated that sodium silicate solution is the most promising in terms of strength, producing bonds with a mean strength of 63 MPa. In addition the results show that the strengths of bonds were undiminished when tested at cryogenic temperatures

UAV mapping of rhizoctonia bare patch for targeted treatment

Rhizoctonia patches can be easily identified on both normal (RGB) and NDVI images captured by UAV. Mapping shows the pattern of patch distribution across a paddock, highlighting areas of crop with high and low levels of rhizoctonia patches