A Review on 3D Printing for Customized Food Fabrication

AbstractThis study introduces the first generation food printer concept designs and workable prototypes that target to revolutionize customized food fabrication by 3D printing (3DP). Different from robotics-based food manufacturing technologies designed to automate manual processes for mass production, 3D food printing integrates 3DP and digital gastronomy technique to manufacture food products with customization in shape, colour, flavor, texture and even nutrition. This introduces artistic capabilities to fine dining, and extend customization capabilities to industrial culinary sector.The selected prototypes are reviewed based on fabrication platforms and printing materials. A detailed discussion on specific 3DP technologies and their associate dispensing/printing process for 3D customized food fabrication are reported for single and multi-material applications. Eventually, impacts of food printing on personalized nutrition, on-demand food fabrication, food processing technologies and process design are reported. Their applications in domestic cooking or catering services can not only provide an engineering solution for customized food design and personalized nutrition control, but also a potential machine to reconfigure a customized food supply chain

Immunolocalization of chloride transporters to gill epithelia of euryhaline teleosts with opposite salinity-induced Na+/K+-ATPase responses

Opposite patterns of branchial Na+/K+-ATPase (NKA) responses were found in euryhaline milkfish (Chanos chanos) and pufferfish (Tetraodon nigroviridis) upon salinity challenge. Because the electrochemical gradient established by NKA is thought to be the driving force for transcellular Cl- transport in fish gills, the aim of this study was to explore whether the differential patterns of NKA responses found in milkfish and pufferfish would lead to distinct distribution of Cl- transporters in their gill epithelial cells indicating different Cl- transport mechanisms. In this study, immunolocalization of various Cl- transport proteins, including Na+/K+/2Cl(-) cotransporter (NKCC), cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), anion exchanger 1 (AE1), and chloride channel 3 (ClC-3), were double stained with NKA, the basolateral marker of branchial mitochondrion-rich cells (MRCs), to reveal the localization of these transporter proteins in gill MRC of FW- or SW-acclimated milkfish and pufferfish. Confocal microscopic observations showed that the localization of these transport proteins in the gill MRCs of the two studied species were similar. However, the number of gill NKA-immunoreactive (IR) cells in milkfish and pufferfish exhibited to vary with environmental salinities. An increase in the number of NKA-IR cells should lead to the elevation of NKA activity in FW milkfish and SW pufferfish. Taken together, the opposite branchial NKA responses observed in milkfish and pufferfish upon salinity challenge could be attributed to alterations in the number of NKA-IR cells. Furthermore, the localization of these Cl- transporters in gill MRCs of the two studied species was identical. It depicted the two studied euryhaline species possess the similar Cl- transport mechanisms in gills

Capturing a c2 daisy chain using the threading-followed-by-swelling approach

We have used the "threading-followed-by-swelling'' approach to fix a daisy chain structure in solution, leading to the isolation of a captured [c2] daisy chain in 77% yield

Using a Threading-Followed-by-Swelling Approach to Synthesize 2 Rotaxanes

We have developed a "threading-followed-by-swelling" protocol to synthesize [2]rotaxanes efficiently and atom economically. Our protocol employs cis-1-[(Z)-alk-1'enyl]-2-vinylcyclopropane units as the termini of the threadlike components; these end groups are converted into more-sizable cycloheptadiene motifs, which function as stopper units, through Cope rearrangements at elevated temperature. We used this approach to synthesize [2]rotaxanes in good yield from [2]pseudorotaxanes featuring either one or two swellable termini to interlock three different types of macrocycle. The chiral centers created by the swelling process were "erased" by hydrogenating the cycloheptadiene termini into the corresponding cycloheptane units, affording achiral molecular [2]rotaxanes as the only final products

A 2 rotaxane-based H-1 NMR spectroscopic probe for the simultaneous identification of physiologically important metal ions in solution

We describe a [ 2] rotaxane molecule that exhibits distinct signals in its H-1 NMR spectra upon the complexation of physiologically important Li+, Na+, Mg2+ and Ca2+ ions; thus, the identification of these metal ions in solution is possible from the analysis of a single H-1 NMR spectrum of a single molecular sensor

Baculovirus Transduction of Mesenchymal Stem Cells: In Vitro Responses and In Vivo Immune Responses After Cell Transplantation

Baculovirus holds great promise for the genetic modification of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). However, whether baculovirus transduction provokes undesired MSCs responses that might compromise their in vivo applications has yet to be examined. Hereby, we unraveled that baculovirus transduction of human MSCs upregulated the transcription of interleukin (IL)-1 beta, interferon (IFN)-alpha and IL-6, but not tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and IFN-gamma. However, only IL-6 secretion was detectable by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Baculovirus transduction also stimulated transient, low level upregulation of human leukocyte antigen I (HLA-I) on the human MSCs surface, yet it did not either altered the HLA-II expression or impaired the MSCs ability to inhibit lymphocyte proliferation. After transplantation into allogeneic rats, the transduced rat MSCs elicited transient, mild macrophage responses, but the cells remained tolerant as judged by the persistence of transplanted cells and absence of CD8(+) T cells infiltration. Besides, transplantation of the transduced MSCs did not provoke systemic induction of monocytes and CD8(+) T cells. This study, for the first time, explores the responses of MSCs to virus transduction and confirms the safety of transplanting baculovirus-engineered MSCs into immunocompetent animals for cell-based gene therapy

Selecting Resort Locations

[[abstract]]This study examines a comprehensive and objective three-stage method for selecting resort location in Taiwan that maximize competitive advantage. The factors and criteria used in the evaluation model are obtained from an exhaustive literature review and interviews with 16 experts. In the first stage, for which the modified Delphi method is used to identify the evaluation criteria, a survey is performed to rank the relative importance of the 22 criteria identified in the interviews. In the second stage, 19 experts evaluate potential resort locations using a subjective multi-criteria model, the analytical hierarchy process (AHP). The analytical results yield rankings of resorts of the following types: casino resorts, seaside resorts, health/spa resorts and lakeside resorts. In the final stage, a sensitivity analysis is performed to clarify the strength of the various influences on resort selection. The analytical results are used to develop and examine a potential solution.[[journaltype]]國外[[incitationindex]]SSCI[[booktype]]紙本[[countrycodes]]GB

Alternative splicing and genetic diversity of the white collar-1 (wc-1) gene in cereal Phaeosphaeria pathogens

The white collar-1 (wc-1) gene encodes an important light-responsive protein (wc-1) that maintains circadian clocks and controls numerous light-dependent reactions including sporulation in ascomycete fungi. The structure and expression of the wc-1 gene in wheat-biotype Phaeosphaeria nodorum (PN-w) was studied. It was shown that the full-size (3,353 bp in length) wc-1 gene in PN-w contained 4 introns in which introns 1 and 2 were flanked by GC-AG splice borders and were spliced constitutively. However, introns 3 and 4 of the wc-1 gene were alternatively spliced. As the result of alternative splicing (AS), six transcript variants were identified, encoding different lengths of deduced polypeptides (from 1,044 to 1,065aa). Ratios of the wc-1 gene transcript variants in the RNA population were the same in the sporulated and non-sporulated PN-w isolate Sn37-1 and the sporulated PN-w isolate S-79-1, grown under light/dark conditions. The AS of the wc-1 gene may control various light-dependent reactions in PN-w, which leads to diverse morphological, physiological and pathological characters for pathogen infection and spread. Based on the nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences, the wc-1 gene in cereal Phaeosphaeria pathogens was diverse. It appeared that the deduced wc-1 polypeptide sequences of P. avenaria f. sp. avenaria (Paa), P. avenaria f. sp. triticea (Pat1 and Pat3) and barley biotype P. nodorum (PN-b) were more closely related than PN-w and Phaeosphaeeria sp. (P-rye) from Poland. Based on the wc-1 deduced polypeptide sequences, P. avenaria f. sp. triticea (Pat2) from foxtail barley (Hordeum jubatum L.) was evolutionary well separated from the other cereal Phaeosphaeria pathogens

Association of endothelial to mesenchymal transition and cellular senescence with fibrosis in skin biopsies of systemic sclerosis patients: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES:Fibrosis is the dominant hallmark of systemic sclerosis (SSc). Several mechanisms have been proposed to drive the disease process, but how these relate to skin fibrosis is poorly understood.METHODS:We performed a cross-sectional study on archival skin biopsies from 18 SSc patients and four controls. Dermal fibrosis and inflammatory cell infiltration were scored in HE and Masson’s Trichrome-stained sections. The presence of senescence was defined by P21 and/or P16 positivity in Ki-67 negative cells. Endothelial to mesenchymal transition (EndMT) was identified by co-localisation of CD31 and α-SMA in immunofluorescent double-stained sections, and by an enclosure of ERG positive endothelial cell nuclei by α-SMA stained cytoplasm in immunohistochemical double staining.RESULTS:The histological dermal fibrosis score of SSc skin biopsies was correlated with the modified Rodnan skin score (rho 0.55, p=0.042). Staining for markers of cellular senescence on fibroblasts was correlated with fibrosis score, inflammatory score, and CCN2 staining on fibroblasts. Moreover, EndMT was more abundant in skin from patients with SSc (pCONCLUSIONS:EndMT and fibroblast senescence were more abundant in skin biopsies from SSc patients. This finding indicates that both senescence and EndMT are involved in the pathway leading to skin fibrosis and might be valuable biomarkers and/or possible targets for novel therapeutic interventions. Pathophysiology and treatment of rheumatic disease