Design of a quality index for the objective evaluation of bread quality: Application to wheat breads using selected bake off technology for bread making

6 pages, 2 figures, 4 tables.Bread quality index was established using the instrumental analysis of bread parameters that influencethe consumers’ acceptability. The instrumental methods that describe bread appearance, structure and texture have been chosen in order to enable the identification and quantification of main discrepancies of wheat bread produced by different processes such as fully baked frozen bread (FBF), partially baked frozen (PBF) and bread from unfermented frozen dough (UFD) in comparison to bread baked conventionally (CON). The significant influence of bread making technology on bread texture, crust appearance and specific volume was proven at p = 0.01. The quality index was calculated as a sum of grouped linearly normalized variables multiplied by group factor of significance and relatively to the CON bread. The presented quality index could be very useful in the bakery products development especially when innovative production process is applied.This study has been carried out with financial support from the Commission of the European Communities, FP6, Thematic Area “Food Quality and Safety”, FOOD-2006-36302 EU-FRESH BAKE.Peer reviewe

Static and dynamic measurement and computer simulation of diabetic mellitus foot biomechanics

The objective of this study was to evaluate static and dynamic results on the foot pressure measurement and computer simulation for diabetes mellitus patients. The finite element analysis was used to compare with pressure foot measurement. The foot and ankle model consisted of 28 bony segments is created from DICOM CT slice from specific patient with diabetes mellitus diagnosis. All material properties are considered as homogeneous, isotropic and linearly elastic. Foot pressure measurement for both static and dynamic condition gave topographic distribution of high pressure points which is in correlation with clinical tests results. The result for maximum pressure measurement of the left foot 124.74 kPa is in good comparison with finite element results for 121 kPa. It looks that numerical simulation in combination with foot pressure measurement device can be efficient and inexpensive screening tool, which could go in direction for prevention of the diabetic foot complications, associated with high mortality and morbidity that has significant economic impact on healthcare system

Correlations between clinical parameters and health related quality of life in postmenopausal osteoporotic women

© 2016, University of Kragujevac, Faculty of Science. All rights reserved. e purpose of this study was to assess the correlation between health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and clinically relevant osteodensitometric and biochemical parameters in postmenopausal osteoporotic women. Bone mineral density (BMD) and T scores of the lumbar vertebrae and femoral neck were assessed in 100 osteoporotic women (56 without previous fractures and 44 with previous fractures) using dual x-ray absorptiometry. e Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (FRAX) index for major osteoporotic and hip fractures was calculated based on demographic data and hip BMD. Venous blood samples were taken from each subject for biochemical analysis (serum calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase and vitamin D levels). HRQoL was assessed using the QUALEFFO-41 questionnaire (domains: Health perception, Pain, and Physical, Social and Mental function). Basic participant characteristics (age, menopause length, body mass index, smoking habits, hereditary tendency towards fracture, fracture history) correlated with some of the QUALEFFO-41 domains, but the correlation coefficients were low (r<0.3), except in the case of the correlation between Pain and fracture history (r=0.638). Of the six variables included in the multiple regression model, fracture history was shown to be the most significant predictor with respect to the following three QUALEFFO-41 domains: Pain (b=20.511), Social function (b=2.548) and Health perception (b=3.185). Correlation analysis showed that after adjustment for basic characteristics, BMD and T score of the femoral neck and Pain (r=0.331 and r=0.449, respectively), Social function (r=0.422 and r=0.419) and Health perception (r=0.434 for T score of the femoral neck) exhibited the strongest correlations. Vitamin D was negatively correlated with Mental function, while the other biochemical parameters exhibited variable correlations with the QUALEFFO- 41 domains (r 0.2-0.5). Our study confirmed the previously established relationship between BMD of the femoral neck and HRQoL in patients with osteoporosis and demonstrated correlations between various blood bone metabolism parameters and HRQoL that have not been previously investigated