Effect of processing techniques on yield and quality of Western Australian olive oil

Many studies have shown that regular consumption of olive oil lowers the risk of cardiovascular diseases, breast, ovarian and prostate cancers. These benefits are thought to be due primarily to the high level of monounsaturated fatty acids and bioactive phenolic compounds in the olive oil. An increased awareness of these health benefits has led to a significant increase in the demand for olive oil around the world. However, the current production volume of olive oil is unable to meet the increasing demand. The techniques currently used by the industry extract less than 60 % of oil and 10 % of bioactive phenolic compounds from the olive fruits. There is therefore a need to not only increase the yield of oil extraction but also the extent of recovery of bioactive phenolic compounds.The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of extending the length of olive paste mixing period to 60 minutes and addition of processing aids to the olive paste (citric acid, Viscozymes and Pectolyase) on the extraction and quality of olive oil. The study was conducted over a 2 year period on Frantoio olives harvested from Gingin, Swan Valley and Margaret River in Western Australia at various maturity levels. The effects of these processing techniques were assessed on the yield of oil extraction, oil recovery, concentration of total phenolic compounds, antiradical activity, peroxides value, acidity level, fatty acid composition in terms of palmitic acid (C16:0), stearic acid (C18:0), oleic acid (C18:1) and linoleic acid (C18:2), level of conjugated diene (K232) and conjugated triene (K270), variation of specific extinction (AK), colour in terms of brightness (L*), greenness (a*) and yellowness (b*) as well as the sensory properties of the extracted olive oil samples. The oil samples extracted were also compared to the commercial olive oil samples in terms of these parameters. Significant differences between the quality of the extracted olive oil samples were detected at C=0.05 level on the estimated marginal means value as generated by the Univariate ANOVA procedure.The results from this study indicate that the interaction between the processing techniques and maturity levels did not significantly affect the quality of extracted oil. However, the interaction between the processing techniques and the olive growing sites did significantly affect the quality of the extracted oil. In addition, the quality of the olive oil samples varied in relation to the different processing techniques applied.Among the processing techniques investigated, addition of 0.15 g/mL of citric acid or Viscozymes were both effective in increasing the yield of oil extraction to around 12 % and the oil recovery to above 60 %. However, they were not effective at improving the extraction of phenolic compounds to the oil. Addition of citric acid at the higher concentration of 0.30 g/mL was the most effective technique in increasing the concentration of total phenolic compounds in the extracted oil. The concentration of total phenolic compounds was increased to 266.32 mg/kg oil when compared to the control sample (113.09 mg/kg oil). The antiradical activity of the extracted oil (47.61 % inhibition of DPPH radicals) was also higher than that of the control sample (32.49 % inhibition of DPPH radicals). Addition of 0.30 g/mL citric acid to olive paste lowered the percentage of saturated palmitic acid and increased the monounsaturated fatty acids: polyunsaturated fatty acids ratio. The addition of citric acid at 0.30 g/mL to the olive paste was beneficial in protecting the extracted olive oil against oxidation, as the peroxides value was significantly reduced. The olive oil extracted by addition of 0.30 g/mL citric acid also has comparable colour compared to the control olive oil sample. In addition, the quality of olive oil extracted by addition of 0.30 g/mL citric acid has comparable sensory profile to the commercial EVOO samples

Lifestyles and Migraine Attack

Problem statement: Migraine is a headache disorder of serious public health concerns as many sufferers are permanently disabled and incapable of carrying out simple daily routines. Migraine is contributed by biological and lifestyle factors. Understanding the association between these factors and migraine, particularly the modifiable lifestyle factors, can reduce the prevalence of this chronic disease and ease the burden on the health care system. Approach: Unilabiate and multivariate logistic regression methods were used to analyse the prevalence of migraine among the participants who completed the Australian National Health Survey during the 2007-2008 period. Demographical and lifestyle factors including age, gender, Body Mass Index (BMI), social marital status, equivalent household income, remoteness of residence, daily fruits and vegetables intake, participation in physical activities, alcohol use, tobacco smoking and distress level were investigated in this study.Results: The prevalence of migraine is on average 1.27 times higher among those who aged between 35-44 years old (95% CI = 1.03, 1.57) compared to the other age groups, 2.24 times higher among females (95% CI = 1.89, 2.67) compared to the males and 2.70 times higher among those who reported high to very high stress level (95% CI = 2.23, 3.27) compared to those who reported low to medium stress level. The prevalence of migraine of those participating in the recommended level of physical activity is 0.69 times of those who did not meet the recommended level (95% CI = 0.57, 0.84). The prevalence of migraine among the medium risk drinker and high risk drinker is 0.68 times (95% CI = 0.49, 0.92) and 0.42 times (95% CI = 0.27, 0.68), respectively, of the low risk drinker. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggested that engaging in physical activity and reduce the level of stress may reduce the risk of migraine attack

Efficient isolation of lupin protein

The increasing demand for low cost and non-genetically modified vegetable proteins has pushed the food industry to explore alternate sources of protein. Lupin has been found to have similar protein content and amino acid profile to that of soy. In particular, the Australian Sweet Lupin (Lupinus angustifolius), a low alkaloid variety of lupin, is high in protein and fibre and low in fat, making it an ideal food ingredient for health and well being. Concentrated form of lupin protein with protein content of 90% was prepared by alkaline extraction at pH 9.0 followed by acidic precipitation at eight different pH levels (4.0, 4.2, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.8, 5.0 and 5.5). The range of pH employed covered the isoelectric points of major legume proteins. The results revealed that there was no significant difference in protein content and yield of lupin protein isolates precipitated at pH 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.8 and 5.0. The finding indicated that instead of using pH 4.5 for lupin protein precipitation, a higher pH such as 5.0 can be used that would result in decreased acid usage, thus providing a more economical approach to protein isolate production

Breastfeeding Knowledge, Attitude, And Practices and Its Association with Food Insecurity During COVID-19

Introduction: Child hunger commonly occurs in families with household food insecurity when mothers fail to continue breastfeeding due to stress and inability to produce sufficient breastmilk. This study aimed to investigate the association of breastfeeding KAP with food insecurity during the pandemic of COVID-19. Method: An online self-administered questionnaire related to the study was used to obtain data from 444 Malaysian Result: Findings showed that majority of the mothers have moderate to good KAP of breastfeeding. However, food insecurity and child hunger still occur. Conclusion: These findings may be helpful for healthcare professionals in developing effective strategies for efficient breastfeeding during the pandemic. Keywords: Breastfeeding knowledge; breastfeeding attitude; breastfeeding practices; food insecurity; COVID-19. eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2022. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open-access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under the responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians), and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v7i21.368

Predictors of Breastfeeding Intention in Malaysia

Breastfeeding is linked to a number of health related benefits among infants. Breastfeeding provides the ideal nutrition for infants, by promoting a higher IQ and protecting against childhood and adult diseases. Despite these health benefits, the rates of exclusive breastfeeding are still low in Malaysia. Intention to breastfeed is closely related to early initiation to breastfeed and could also be a predictor of longer duration of breastfeeding. The objectives of this study are to provide a descriptive analysis of the sociodemographic characteristics, breastfeeding intention and breastfeeding attitudes and determine predictors affecting breastfeeding intention among low-to-middle income women.  A prospective cohort study was undertaken of mothers attending eight antenatal clinics run by the Ministry of Health in Selangor, Malaysia.  Mothers were recruited during the antenatal period and followed up until six months postpartum to document breastfeeding outcomes.  Among 652 mothers in our study, exclusive breastfeeding, mixed feeding, and exclusive formula feeding intentions were 49.6%, 46.3%, and 9.0%, respectively.  Age, maternal employment, maternal education, parity, pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), breastfeeding attitude, spouse’s preference, grandmother’s preference and breastfeeding experience had significant relationship with breastfeeding intention (p< 0.05). However, further analysis showed that breastfeeding intention was associated with positive breastfeeding attitudes, older age, greater years of education, being housewives, having partner and family support for breastfeeding and grandmothers’ breastfeeding experience. These findings suggest that by providing breastfeeding initiatives towards less educated, young mothers who lack breastfeeding support from their loved ones may improve breastfeeding rates.Keywords: Exclusive breastfeeding; Maternal obesity; Breastfeeding intention; Breastfeeding attitudeISSN: 2398-4287© 2017. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia

Workplace psychosocial stressors experienced by migrant workers in Australia: A cross-sectional study

Objective: To explore work-related psychosocial stressors among people of Chinese, Vietnamese and Arabic-speaking backgrounds currently working in Australia. Methods: In 2015, a telephone survey of 585 Vietnamese, Chinese and Arabic-speaking workers asked about workplace bullying, ethnic discrimination, job complexity, degree of control, security and fairness of payment along with demographic and employment information. Estimates of job-related psychosocial stressors were derived and regression analyses used to identify significant associations. Results: At least one workplace stressor was reported by 83% of the workers in the study. Education was significantly associated with experiencing any psychosocial stressor and also with the total number of stressors. Workers aged 45 years and older were more likely to be bullied or experience racial discrimination compared with younger workers of any ethnicity. There was a greater likelihood of reporting low control over a job when the interview was conducted in a language other than English and the workers were either Chinese or Arabic. Workers on a fixed-term contract, independent of ethnicity were more likely to report a job with low security. Overall psychosocial job quality decreased with education and was associated with occupation type which interacted with ethnicity and gender. Conclusions: The results suggest that job-related psychosocial stressors are widespread but not uniform across ethnic groups. Further research into what drives differences in work experience for migrant groups would provide information to guide both employers and migrants in ways to reduce workplace psychosocial stressors

Randomised placebo-controlled cross-over study examining the role of anamorelin in mesothelioma (The ANTHEM study): Rationale and protocol

Introduction Cachexia is common in malignant mesothelioma (MM); half of patients have malnutrition and low skeletal muscle mass. Malnourished patients have worse quality of life (QoL). Weight loss is strongly associated with poor survival. Anamorelin is an oral ghrelin receptor agonist that improves appetite, body weight and QoL in advanced cancer. The aim of this study is to examine the efficacy of anamorelin in improving appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM) and patient-reported outcomes in patients with MM with cachexia. Methods and analysis A single-centre, phase II, randomised, placebo-controlled cross-over pilot study with 28-day treatment periods and 3-day washout. Forty patients will be randomised. Primary outcome is change in ASM relative to height measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry at end of period 1. Secondary outcomes include cancer-specific and cachexia-related QoL, objective physical activity, dietary intake and adverse events. Eligible patients will have confirmed MM, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group 0-2, expected survival \u3e 3 months and cachexia (defined as \u3e 5% weight loss in 6 months or body mass index \u3c 20 kg/m 2 with weight loss \u3e2%). Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval has been granted. Results will be reported in peer-reviewed publications. Trial registration number Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (U1111-1240-6828). © © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ

Shear stress regulation of miR-93 and miR-484 maturation through nucleolin.

Pulsatile shear (PS) and oscillatory shear (OS) elicit distinct mechanotransduction signals that maintain endothelial homeostasis or induce endothelial dysfunction, respectively. A subset of microRNAs (miRs) in vascular endothelial cells (ECs) are differentially regulated by PS and OS, but the regulation of the miR processing and its implications in EC biology by shear stress are poorly understood. From a systematic in silico analysis for RNA binding proteins that regulate miR processing, we found that nucleolin (NCL) is a major regulator of miR processing in response to OS and essential for the maturation of miR-93 and miR-484 that target mRNAs encoding Krüppel-like factor 2 (KLF2) and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS). Additionally, anti-miR-93 and anti-miR-484 restore KLF2 and eNOS expression and NO bioavailability in ECs under OS. Analysis of posttranslational modifications of NCL identified that serine 328 (S328) phosphorylation by AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) was a major PS-activated event. AMPK phosphorylation of NCL sequesters it in the nucleus, thereby inhibiting miR-93 and miR-484 processing and their subsequent targeting of KLF2 and eNOS mRNA. Elevated levels of miR-93 and miR-484 were found in sera collected from individuals afflicted with coronary artery disease in two cohorts. These findings provide translational relevance of the AMPK-NCL-miR-93/miR-484 axis in miRNA processing in EC health and coronary artery disease