1,804 research outputs found
THE FOOD SERVICE INDUSTRY: TRENDS AND CHANGING STRUCTURE IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM
By 2010, foodservice establishments are projected to capture 53 percent of consumers' food expenditures, whereas in 1980, foodservice captured less than 40 percent. The foodservice industry accounts for approximately 4 percent of the Gross Domestic Product and about 11 million jobs. It has been rapidly changing due to economic factors, technological advances, and labor matters.1 This overview covers many of the issues and trends affecting the different segments of the foodservice supply chain including the foodservice operators, distributors and food manufacturers. Changing customer demographics are a driving force in the evolution of the foodservice industry. As the baby boomers reach middle age, they do not seem to have time to cook and their children and grandchildren do not seem to have the interest, or talent. The U.S. population in 2000 had over double (3,109) 2 and, with a high value for recreation and pleasure they are pulled out of the kitchen and into the restaurants. An ever-shrinking world also brings variety to menus as cultures and cuisines converge, introducing new flavors and textures. A tight labor market has affected the foodservice industry from top to bottom leading to a derived demand for convenience products from manufacturers. At all links in the chain, companies are experiencing mergers and acquisitions. Operators, manufacturers, and distributors are all fighting for a share of the profits as competition continues to intensify. This review of the foodservice industry incorporates interviews with industry professionals, current information from leading foodservice associations, and predictions from the top industry research firms and consultants.Agribusiness, Industrial Organization,
L-Arginine promotes gut hormone release and reduces food intake in rodents
Aims: To investigate the anorectic effect of Lâarginine (LâArg) in rodents.
Methods: We investigated the effects of LâArg on food intake, and the role of the anorectic gut hormones glucagonâlike peptideâ1 (GLPâ1) and peptide YY (PYY), the Gâproteinâcoupled receptor family C group 6 member A (GPRC6A) and the vagus nerve in mediating these effects in rodents.
Results: Oral gavage of LâArg reduced food intake in rodents, and chronically reduced cumulative food intake in dietâinduced obese mice. Lack of the GPRC6A in mice and subdiaphragmatic vagal deafferentation in rats did not influence these anorectic effects. LâArg stimulated GLPâ1 and PYY release in vitro and in vivo. Pharmacological blockade of GLPâ1 and PYY receptors did not influence the anorectic effect of LâArg. LâArgâmediated PYY release modulated net ion transport across the gut mucosa. Intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) and intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of LâArg suppressed food intake in rats.
Conclusions: LâArg reduced food intake and stimulated gut hormone release in rodents. The anorectic effect of LâArg is unlikely to be mediated by GLPâ1 and PYY, does not require GPRC6A signalling and is not mediated via the vagus. I.c.v. and i.p. administration of LâArg suppressed food intake in rats, suggesting that LâArg may act on the brain to influence food intake. Further work is required to determine the mechanisms by which LâArg suppresses food intake and its utility in the treatment of obesity
On a learning curve for shared decision making: interviews with clinicians using the knee osteoarthritis Option Grid
Rational: Tools used in clinical encounters to illustrate to patients the risks and benefits of treatment options have been shown to increase shared decision making. However, we do not have good information about how these tools are viewed by clinicians, and how clinicians think patients would react to their use.
Objective: Our aim was to examine cliniciansâ views about the possible and actual use of tools designed to support patients and clinicians to collaborate and deliberate about treatment options, namely Option Grid TM decision aids.
Method: We conducted a thematic analysis of qualitative interviews embedded in the intervention phase of a trial of an Option Grid decision aid for Osteoarthritis of the knee. Interviews were conducted with six participating clinicians before they used the tool, and again after clinicians had used the tool with six patients.
Results: In the first interview, clinicians voiced concern that the tool would lead to an increase in encounter duration, to patient resistance regarding involvement in decision making, and potential information overload. At the second interview, after minimal training, the clinicians reported that the tool had changed their usual way of communicating, and it was generally acceptable and helpful integrate it into practice.
Discussion and Conclusions: After experiencing the use of Option Grids, clinicians became more willing to use the tools in their clinical encounters with patients. How best to introduce Option Grids to clinicians and adopt their use into practice will need careful consideration of context, workflow and clinical pathways
Patients' views on the use of an Option Grid for knee osteoarthritis in physiotherapy clinical encounters: an interview study
Background: Patient decision support tools have been developed as a means of providing
accurate and accessible information in order for patients to make informed decisions about
their care. Option GridsTM are a type of decision support tool specifically designed to be used
during clinical encounters.
Objective: To explore patientsâ views of the Option Grid encounter tool used in clinical
consultations with physiotherapists, in comparison to usual care, within a patient population
who are likely to be disadvantaged by age and low health literacy.
Methods: Semi-structured interviews with 72 patients (36 who had been given an Option Grid in
their consultation and 36 who had not). Thematic analysis explored patientsâ understanding of
treatment options, perceptions of involvement, and readability and utility of the Option Grid.
Results: Interviews suggested that the Option Grids facilitated more detailed discussion about
the risks and benefits of a wider range of treatment options for osteoarthritis of the knee.
Participants indicated that the Option Grid was clear and aided their understanding of a
structured progression of the options as their condition advanced, although it was not clear
whether the option grid facilitated greater engagement in shared decision making.
Discussion and Conclusion: The Option Grid for osteoarthritis of the knee was well received by
patient participants who reported that it helped them to understand their options, and made
the notion of choice explicit. Use of Option Grids should be considered within routine
consultations
Andreev conductance of a domain wall
At low temperatures, the transport through a superconductor-ferromagnet
tunnel interface is due to tunneling of electrons in pairs. Exchange field of a
monodomain ferromagnet aligns electron spins and suppresses the two electron
tunneling. The presence of the domain walls at the SF interface strongly
enhances the subgap current. The Andreev conductance is proven to be
proportional to the total length of domain walls at the SF interface.Comment: 4 pages and 1 figur
Structure and Mobility of Lactose in Lactose/Sodium Montmorillonite Nanocomposites
This study aims at investigating the molecular level organization and molecular mobility in montmorillonite nanocomposites with the uncharged organic low-molecular-weight compound lactose commonly used in pharmaceutical drug delivery, food technology, and flavoring. Nanocomposites were prepared under slow and fast drying conditions, attained by drying at ambient conditions and by spray-drying, respectively. A detailed structural investigation was performed with modulated differential scanning calorimetry, powder X-ray diffraction, solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance, scanning electron microscopy, microcalorimetry, and molecular dynamic simulations. The lactose was intercalated in the sodium montmorillonite interlayer space regardless of the clay content, drying rate, or humidity exposure. Although, the spray-drying resulted in higher proportion of intercalated lactose compared with the drying under ambient conditions, non-intercalated lactose was present at 20 wt% lactose content. This indicates limitations in maximum load capacity of nonionic organic substances into the montmorillonite interlayer space. Furthermore, a fraction of the intercalated lactose in the co-spray-dried nanocomposites diffused out from the clay interlayer space upon humidity exposure. Also, the lactose in the nanocomposites demonstrated higher molecular mobility than that of neat amorphous lactose. This study provides a foundation for understanding functional properties of nanocomposites, such as loading capacity and physical stability
Controlling hybrid nonlinearities in transparent conducting oxides via two-colour excitation
Nanophotonics and metamaterials have revolutionised the way we think about
optical space (epsilon, mu), enabling us to engineer the refractive index
almost at will, to confine light to the smallest of the volumes, and to
manipulate optical signals with extremely small footprints and energy
requirements. Significant efforts are now devoted to finding suitable materials
and strategies for the dynamic control of the optical properties. Transparent
conductive oxides exhibit large ultrafast nonlinearities under both interband
and intraband excitations. Here, we show that combining these two effects in
aluminium-doped zinc oxide via a two colour laser field discloses new material
functionalities. Owing to the independence of the two nonlinearities the
ultrafast temporal dynamics of the material permittivity can be designed by
acting on the amplitude and delay of the two fields. We demonstrate the
potential applications of this novel degree of freedom by dynamically
addressing the modulation bandwidth and optical spectral tuning of a probe
optical pulse
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