Industrial manufacture of sugar-free chocolates: applicability of alternative sweeteners and carbohydrate polymers as raw materials in product development

Chocolate is dense suspension of solid particles comprising 60-70% sugar and non-fat cocoa solids. Until recently, it was rarely produced as a sugar-free product due to the multi-functional properties of sweetness, bulkiness and textural characteristics that sugar offers to products. Today's consumers are concerned about the high sugar levels, calories and cariogenicity effects in confectionery products, hence increasing popularity of 'light' and 'sugar-free' products. Development of sugar-free chocolates is most challenging since all sugar needs to be replaced. In-depth understanding of the applicability of alternative sweeteners and carbohydrate polymers as ingredients in sugar-free chocolate manufacture would therefore have significant industrial applications

Coating quality as affected by core particle segregation in fluidized bed processing

[EN] Fluidized bed coating is an important technique in the food powder industry, where often particles of a wide size distribution are dealt with. In this paper, glass beads of different particle size distribution were coated with sodium caseinate in a top-spray fluid bed unit. Positron Emission Particle Tracking (PEPT) was used to visualize and quantify the particle motion in the fluidized bed. Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy combined with image analysis were used to investigate the effect of core particle size and its distribution on the thickness and quality of the coating. Particle size significantly affected the thickness and quality of the coating, due to differences in the corresponding fluidization patterns, as corroborated by PEPT observations. As the particle size distribution becomes narrower, segregation is less likely to occur. This results in a thicker coating which is, however, less uniform compared to when cores of a wider particle size distribution are spray coated. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.The authors wish to thank the financial support received from the Fund for Scientific Research-Flanders (Belgium) (F.W.O.-Vlaanderen), as well as from the Programa de Apoyo a la Investigacion y Desarrollo from the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia.Atarés Huerta, LM.; Depypere, F.; Pieters, J.; Dewettinck, K. (2012). Coating quality as affected by core particle segregation in fluidized bed processing. Journal of Food Engineering. 113(3):415-421. doi:10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2012.06.012S415421113

Shaping the Breast in Aesthetic and Reconstructive Breast Surgery: An Easy Three-Step Principle. Part II - Breast Reconstruction after Total Mastectomy

This is Part II of four parts describing the three-step principle being applied in reconstructive and aesthetic breast surgery. Part I explains how to analyze a problematic breast by understanding the main anatomical features of a breast and how they interact: the footprint, the conus of the breast, and the skin envelope. This part describes how one can optimize results with breast reconstructions after complete mastectomy. For both primary and secondary reconstructions, the authors explain how to analyze the mastectomized breast and the deformed chest wall, before giving step-by-step guidelines for rebuilding the entire breast with either autologous tissue or implants. The differences in shaping unilateral or bilateral breast reconstructions with autologous tissue are clarified. Regardless of timing or method of reconstruction, it is shown that by breaking down the surgical strategy into three easy (anatomical) steps, the reconstructive surgeon will be able to provide more aesthetically pleasing and reproducible results. Throughout these four parts, the three-step principle will be the red line on which to fall back to define the problem and to propose a solution

Cellular uptake of soy-derived phytoestrogens in vitro and in human whole blood

Epidemiological studies comparing typical Western and traditional Eastern lifestyles indicate that dietary intake of soyderived phytoestrogens, including genistein, daidzein, and equol, may have significant health protective effects on hormone-dependent cancers, osteoporosis and cardiovascular diseases. Phytoestrogens have been demonstrated to exert varying effects depending on tissue, endogenous hormone concentrations, and receptor types. Thus, a detailed understanding of the biodistribution and bioavailability of specific phytoestrogens is required in order to predict the subsequent biologic activities. In this study we aimed to investigate the cellular uptake of these soy-derived phytoestrogens in different cell types, including the mammary MCF-7/6 and MDAB-MB 231 cell lines, the ovarian Ishikawa Var-I cell lines and in murine adipocyte clusters. Furthermore, the biodistribution between serum and cell fraction was also investigated in human whole blood. Equol generally shows a higher cellular uptake when compared with genistein and daidzein. Therefore, equol may be more potent with respect to its relative bioactivity, which is corroborated by the observations of specific health effects associated with the equol-producer phenotype

RNA-based liquid biopsies for better clinical management of Barrett’s esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma

In the past decades the incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) has increased dramatically in most Western populations. Due to the lack of symptoms EAC is often detected in a late stage, contributing to a poor 5-year survival rate. The potential of RNA (coding and miRNA) as circulating biomarker in blood has already been shown for many cancer entities but requires further investigation for EAC. In this study we will explore several RNA types in blood, including microRNA, messenger RNA, long non-coding RNA and circular RNA as a potential liquid biomarker to facilitate early diagnosis, prognosis and monitoring of esophageal adenocarcinoma We have been collecting blood and tissue samples from patients with non-dysplastic Barrett’s esophagus (NDBE), high-grade dysplasia (HGD) and EAC. Currently, our biobank includes >5000 samples from 120 patients. A proof-of-concept study was conducted including 17 patients from three groups (EAC, HGD and NDBE). For each patient, biopsies from diseased tissue and healthy tissue as well as blood were collected and analyzed using small RNA and total RNA sequencing. Gene expression analysis was performed to identify differentially expressed genes across the three groups. The highest number of significantly differentially expressed m(i)RNAs were present in the tissues of EAC versus NDBE patients, while these differences were much lower or even absent in the plasma samples. Moreover, we have identified between 1500 and 7500 unique circular RNAs in individual EAC cancer patients’ plasma, indicating promising opportunities for a blood-based liquid biomarker for BE and EAC. Currently, we are collecting additional samples to significantly increase the power of the differential expression study as well as to verify the results of our proof-of-concept study

20 years of DIEAP flap breast reconstruction : a big data analysis

With every hospital admission, a vast amount of data is collected from every patient. Big data can help in data mining and processing of this volume of data. The goal of this study is to investigate the potential of big data analyses by analyzing clinically relevant data from the immediate postoperative phase using big data mining techniques. A second aim is to understand the importance of different postoperative parameters. We analyzed all data generated during the admission of 739 women undergoing a free DIEAP flap breast reconstruction. The patients' complete midcare nursing report, laboratory data, operative reports and drug schedule were examined (7,405,359 data points). The duration of anesthesia does not predict the need for revision. Low Red Blood cell Counts (3.53 x 10(6)/mu L versus 3.79 x 10(6)/mu L, p < 0.001) and a low MAP (MAP = 73.37 versus 76.62; p < 0.001) postoperatively are correlated with significantly more revisions. Different drugs (asthma/COPD medication, Butyrophenones) can also play a significant role in the success of the free flap. In a world that is becoming more data driven, there is a clear need for electronic medical records which are easy to use for the practitioner, nursing staff, and the researcher. Very large datasets can be used, and big data analysis allows a relatively easy and fast interpretation all this information