Impact of spatial distribution on the sensory properties of multiphase 3D-printed food configurations

The rise of 3D-printing technology is opening up new possibilities for arranging two or more sensorily distinct phases in a specific manner, and thus potentially creating new sensory experiences. Particularly interesting is the spatial configuration of multiple phases for adjusting flavor and texture perception without changing the overall composition, as such configuration would represent a step towards individualization. In the present study, different 3D configurations of two rheologically and texturally very distinct phases were investigated as to their effect on mechanical properties and sensory perception. Chocolate and cream cheese masses were arranged three-dimensionally (cube-in-cube; layered) by additive manufacturing and characterized by measuring penetration resistance as well as by hedonic, descriptive, and temporal dominance of sensation (TDS) methodologies. By comparing samples with identical phase ratios, three characteristic texture profiles could be generated. How much the samples were liked depended significantly on perceived mouthfeel/texture and product hardness. The mouthfeel was in turn determined by the 3D configuration of the phases. TDS characterization showed either two or three dominance areas of one of the phases, depending on whether chocolate or cream cheese was perceived initially. While the dominance time of chocolate increased with increasing chocolate fraction in samples with chocolate as the external phase, the dominance time of cream cheese in samples with cream cheese as the external phase hardly changed with increasing phase fraction. This was mainly attributed to the very different rheological phase properties of cream cheese and chocolate. Based on the TDS evolution at the later stages of consumption that is rather independent of the initial configuration, the renewal of the relevant interface in the oral cavity was mainly determined by the mixing kinetics of both phases, and secondarily by what phase was perceived to be dominant before a phase dominance change took place. This study shows that in defining the 3D configuration of phases with differing rheological properties, there is considerable potential for adjusting the sensory properties. This is a step towards broader coverage of consumer needs through 3D product design without the need for formulation adjustments

Myocardial aging as a T-cell–mediated phenomenon

In recent years, the myocardium has been rediscovered under the lenses of immunology, and lymphocytes have been implicated in the pathogenesis of cardiomyopathies with different etiologies. Aging is an important risk factor for heart diseases, and it also has impact on the immune system. Thus, we sought to determine whether immunological activity would influence myocardial structure and function in elderly mice. Morphological, functional, and molecular analyses revealed that the age-related myocardial impairment occurs in parallel with shifts in the composition of tissue-resident leukocytes and with an accumulation of activated CD4+ Foxp3- (forkhead box P3) IFN-γ+ T cells in the heart-draining lymph nodes. A comprehensive characterization of different aged immune-deficient mouse strains revealed that T cells significantly contribute to age-related myocardial inflammation and functional decline. Upon adoptive cell transfer, the T cells isolated from the mediastinal lymph node (med-LN) of aged animals exhibited increased cardiotropism, compared with cells purified from young donors or from other irrelevant sites. Nevertheless, these cells caused rather mild effects on cardiac functionality, indicating that myocardial aging might stem from a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic (immunological) factors. Taken together, the data herein presented indicate that heart-directed immune responses may spontaneously arise in the elderly, even in the absence of a clear tissue damage or concomitant infection. These observations might shed new light on the emerging role of T cells in myocardial diseases, which primarily affect the elderly population.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Sign of inverse spin Hall voltages generated by ferromagnetic resonance and temperature gradients in yttrium iron garnet|platinum bilayers

We carried out a concerted effort to determine the absolute sign of the inverse spin Hall effect voltage generated by spin currents injected into a normal metal. We focus on yttrium iron garnet (YIG)|platinum bilayers at room temperature, generating spin currents by microwaves and temperature gradients. We find consistent results for different samples and measurement setups that agree with theory. We suggest a right-hand-rule to define a positive spin Hall angle corresponding to with the voltage expected for the simple case of scattering of free electrons from repulsive Coulomb charges.Comment: incorporated additions from the published versio

Coordinating sustained coastal and ocean observing efforts in Germany

Germany’s national ocean observing activities are carried out by multiple actors including governmental bodies, research institutions, and universities, and miss central coordination and governance. A particular strategic approach to coordinate and facilitate ocean research has formed in Germany under the umbrella of the German Marine Research Consortium (KDM). KDM aims at bringing together the marine science expertise of its member institutions and collectively presents them to policy makers, research funding organizations, and to the general public. Within KDM, several strategic groups (SGs), composed of national experts, have been established in order to strengthen different scientific and technological aspects of German Marine Research. Here we present the SG for sustained open ocean observing and the SG for sustained coastal observing. The coordination effort of the SG’s include (1) Representing German efforts in ocean observations, providing information about past, ongoing and planned activities and forwarding meta-information to data centers (e.g., JCOMMOPS), (2) Facilitating the integration of national observations into European and international observing programs (e.g. GCOS, GOOS, BluePlanet, GEOSS), (3) Supporting innovation in observing techniques and the development of scientific topics on observing strategies, (4) Developing strategies to expand and optimize national observing systems in consideration of the needs of stakeholders and conventions, (5) Contributing to agenda processes and roadmaps in science strategy and funding, and (6) Compiling recommendations for improved data collection and data handling, to better connect to the global data centers adhering to quality standards

Coordinating sustained coastal and ocean observing systems in Germany

The strategic approach to coordinate coastal and open ocean observations in Germany is introduced. The German Marine Research Consortium (KDM) aims at bringing together the marine science expertise of its member institutions and collectively presents them to policy makers, research funding organizations, and to the general public. Several strategic groups (SGs), composed by national experts, have been established under the KDM umbrella in order to coordinate scientific and technological aspects of German Marine Research. Two of these groups, namely the SG for sustained ocean observing systems and the SG for coastal observing systems aim at coordinating on a national level the variety of marine observing efforts. The activities of the SGs address technological challenges and solutions for observations, the current and future observing needs and the seamless integration of Germanys observing efforts into the European and global observing initiatives. The presented poster will introduce the members of the working group and their observing systems, as well as the goals of KDM

The Coastal Observing System for Northern and Arctic Seas (COSYNA)

The Coastal Observing System for Northern and Arctic Seas (COSYNA) was established in order to better understand the complex interdisciplinary processes of northern seas and the Arctic coasts in a changing environment. Particular focus is given to the German Bight in the North Sea as a prime example of a heavily used coastal area, and Svalbard as an example of an Arctic coast that is under strong pressure due to global change. The COSYNA automated observing and modelling system is designed to monitor real-time conditions and provide short-term forecasts, data, and data products to help assess the impact of anthropogenically induced change. Observations are carried out by combining satellite and radar remote sensing with various in situ platforms. Novel sensors, instruments, and algorithms are developed to further improve the understanding of the interdisciplinary interactions between physics, biogeochemistry, and the ecology of coastal seas. New modelling and data assimilation techniques are used to integrate observations and models in a quasi-operational system providing descriptions and forecasts of key hydrographic variables. Data and data products are publicly available free of charge and in real time. They are used by multiple interest groups in science, agencies, politics, industry, and the public

From self-organization in relativistic electron bunches to coherent synchrotron light: observation using a photonic time-stretch digitizer

In recent and future synchrotron radiation facilities, relativistic electron bunches with increasingly high charge density are needed for producing brilliant light at various wavelengths, from X-rays to terahertz. In such conditions, interaction of electrons bunches with their own emitted electromagnetic fields leads to instabilities and spontaneous formation of complex spatial structures. Understanding these instabilities is therefore key in most electron accelerators. However, investigations suffer from the lack of non-destructive recording tools for electron bunch shapes. In storage rings, most studies thus focus on the resulting emitted radiation. Here, we present measurements of the electric field in the immediate vicinity of the electron bunch in a storage ring, over many turns. For recording the ultrafast electric field, we designed a photonic time-stretch analog-to-digital converter with terasamples/second acquisition rate. We could thus observe the predicted link between spontaneous pattern formation and giant bursts of coherent synchrotron radiation in a storage ring.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure

Eddy Study to Understand Physical-Chemical-Biological Coupling and the Biological Carbon Pump as a Function of Eddy Type off West Africa, Cruise No. M160, 23.11.2019 - 20.12.2019, Mindelo (Cabo Verde) - Mindelo (Cabo Verde)

Cruise M160 is part of concerted MOSES/REEBUS Eddy Study featuring three major research expeditions (M156, M160, MSM104). It aims to develop both a qualitative and quantitative understanding of the role of physical-chemical-biological coupling in eddies for the biological pump. The study is part of the MOSES “Ocean Eddies” event chain, which follows three major hypotheses to be addressed by the MOSES/REEBUS field campaigns: (1) Mesoscale and sub-mesoscale eddies play an important role in transferring energy along the energy cascade from the large-scale circulation to dissipation at the molecular level. (2) Mesoscale and sub-mesoscale eddies are important drivers in determining onset, magnitude and characteristics of biological productivity in the ocean and contribute significantly to global primary production and particle export and transfer to the deep ocean. (3) Mesoscale and sub-mesoscale eddies are important for shaping extreme biogeochemical environments (e.g., pH, oxygen) in the oceans, thus acting as a source/sink function for greenhouse gases. In contrast to the other two legs, MOSES Eddy Study II during M160 did not include any benthic work but focused entirely on the pelagic dynamics within eddies. It accomplished a multi-disciplinary, multi-parameter and multi-platform study of two discrete cyclonic eddies in an unprecedented complexity. The pre-cruise search for discrete eddies suitable for detailed study during M160 had already started a few months prior to the cruise. Remote sensing data products (sea surface height, sea surface temperature, ocean color/chlorophyll a) were used in combination with eddy detection algorithms and numerical modelling to identify and track eddies in the entire eddy field off West Africa. In addition, 2 gliders and 1 waveglider had been set out from Mindelo/Cabo Verde for pre-cruise mapping of the potential working area north of the Cabo Verdean archipelago. At the start of M160, a few suitable eddies – mostly of cyclonic type – had been identified, some of which were outside the safe operation range of the motorglider plane. As technical problems delayed the flight operations, the first eddy (center at 14.5°N/25°W) for detailed study was chosen to the southwest of the island of Fogo. It was decided to carry out a first hydrographic survey there followed by the deployment of a suite of instruments (gliders, waveglider, floats, drifter short-term mooring). Such instrumented, we left this first eddy and transited – via a strong anticyclonic feature southwest of the island of Santiago – to the region northeast of the island of Sal, i.e. in the working range of the glider plane. During the transit, a full suite of underway measurements as well as CTD/RO section along 22°W (16°-18.5°N) were carried in search for sub-surface expressions of anticyclonic eddy features. In the northeast, we had identified the second strong cyclonic eddy (center at 18°N/22.5°W) which was chosen for detailed study starting with a complete hydrographic survey (ADCP, CTD/RO, other routine station work). After completion of the mesoscale work program, we identified a strong frontal region at the southwestern rim of the cyclonic eddy, which was chosen for the first sub-mesoscale study with aerial observation component. There, the first dye release experiment was carried out which consisted of the dye release itself followed by an intense multi-platforms study of the vertical and horizontal spreading of the initial dye streak. This work was METEOR-Berichte, Cruise M160, Mindelo – Mindelo, 23.11.2019 4 – 20.12.2019 supported and partly guided by aerial observation of the research motorglider Stemme, which was still somewhat compromised by technical issues and meteorological conditions (high cloud cover, Saharan dust event). Nevertheless, this first dye release experiment was successful and showed rapid movement of the dynamic meandering front. After completion of work on this second eddy and execution of a focused sampling program at the Cape Verde Ocean Observation, RV METEOR returned to the first eddy for continuation of the work started there in the beginning of the cruise. This was accompanied by a relocation of the airbase of Stemme from the international airport of Sal to the domestic airport of Fogo. The further execution of the eddy study at this first eddy, which again included a complete hydrographic survey followed by a mesoscale eddy study with dye release, was therefore possible with aerial observations providing important guidance for work on RV METEOR. Overall, M160 accomplished an extremely intense and complex work program with 212 instrument deployments during station work, 137 h of observation with towed instruments and a wide range of underway measurements throughout the cruise. Up to about 30 individually tracked platforms (Seadrones, glider, wavegliders, drifters, floats) were in the water at the same time providing unprecedented and orchestrated observation capabilities in an eddy. All planned work components were achieved and all working groups acquired the expected numbers of instrument deployments and sampling opportunities