Evaluation of Antioxidant Capacity (ABTS and CUPRAC) and Total Phenolic Content (Folin-Ciocalteu) Assays of Selected Fruit, Vegetables, and Spices

Antioxidant (AOX) capacity assays are important analytical tools, used worldwide to measure the AOX capacities of various food commodities. Although numerous protocols have been published to ascertain AOX capacities, there are increasing concerns about the reliability of many of these assays. Poor correlation of results between various assays, as well as problems with reproducibility, consistency, and accuracy, is to blame. Published AOX assays also differ markedly from each other by employing different reaction conditions, using different extracting solvents, and applying dissimilar quantification methods. In this study, AOX capacities of a range of fruit, vegetables, and spices, commonly consumed and of commercial importance in Australia and worldwide, were measured in both hydrophilic and lipophilic solvents by using two different assay systems. As the polyphenolic compounds present in any sample matrix are the main contributors to its AOX properties, the commodities were also analysed for total phenolic content (TPC), again using both solvent systems. Analysis of the results from the current study with values from the published literature exposed the challenges that make direct comparison of any quantitative results difficult. However, a strong mutual correlation of our assay results facilitated a meaningful comparison of the data within the laboratory. Concurrent use of lipophilic and hydrophilic solvents made the results more reliable and understandable. Findings from this study will aid to address the existing challenges and bring a more rational basis to the AOX capacities. This unique analytical approach also provided a platform to build an internal reference database for the commonly consumed and commercially important food commodities with the potential to broaden the scope into a database for similar food matrices

Transition and the Troubled Giant: Opportunities for Colleges and Universities to Invest in Veterans

eterans are entering higher education in large numbers. Some colleges have prepared a welcoming, supportive environment, while others have not. A recent national study asked veterans who are enrolled in college and service members who are in the process of transitioning from the military about the critical factors that influence their decisions about post-secondary education. Researchers interviewed 69 veterans and service members about their decisions to enroll in post-secondary education. During the interview, the participants drew cognitive maps showing the resources and supports most important for them to reach their goals. This interactive process invited participants to apply directional and weighted numerical values that quantify the relationship between various supports and resources. The research team computed the weight and direction and used the data to test possible scenarios for higher education to better support veterans who are students, especially those pursuing STEM degrees and careers. </p

Mechanisms of barrier layer formation and erosion from in situ observations in the Bay of Bengal

During the Bay of Bengal (BoB) Boundary Layer Experiment (BoBBLE) in the southern BoB, time series of microstructure measurements were obtained at 8N, 89E from 4-14 July, 2016. These observations captured events of barrier layer (BL) erosion and re-formation. Initially, a three-layer structure was observed: a fresh surface mixed layer (ML) of thickness 10-20 m; a BL below of 30-40 m thickness with similar temperature but higher salinity; a high salinity core layer, associated with Summer Monsoon Current. Each of these three layers was in relative motion to the others, leading to regions of high shear at the interfaces. However, haline stratification overcame the destabilising influence of the shear regions, and preserved the three-layer structure. A salinity budget using in situ observations suggested that during the BL erosioni, high salinity surface waters (34.5 PSU) with weak stratification were advected to the time series location and replaced the three-layer structure with a deep ML (~60 m). Weakened stratification at the time series location also allowed atmospheric wind forcing to penetrate deeper. Turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate and eddy diffusivity showed elevated values above 10-7 W kg-1 and 10-4 m2 s-1, respectively, in the upper 60 m. Later, the surface salinity decreased again (33.8 PSU) through horizontal advection, stratification became stronger and elevated mixing rates were confined to the upper 20 m, and the BL reformed. A 1-D model analysis suggests that in the study region, advection of temperature-salinity characteristics is essential for the maintenance of the BL and to the extent to which mixing penetrates the water column

BoBBLE: ocean-atmosphere interaction and its impact on the South Asian monsoon

The Bay of Bengal (BoB) plays a fundamental role in controlling the weather systems that make up the South Asian summer monsoon system. In particular,the southern BoB has cooler sea surface temperature (SST) that influence ocean-atmosphere interaction and impact on the monsoon. Compared to the southeast, the southwestern BoB is cooler, more saline, receives much less rain, and is influenced by the Summer Monsoon Current(SMC). To examine the impact of these features on the monsoon, the BoB Boundary Layer Experiment (BoBBLE) was jointly undertaken by India and the UK during June–July 2016. Physical and bio-geochemical observations were made using a CTD, five ocean gliders, a uCTD, a VMP, two ADCPs, Argo floats, drifting buoys, meteorological sensors and upper air radiosonde balloons. The observations were made along a zonal section at 8◦N between 85.3◦E and 89◦E with a 10-day time series at 89◦E, 8◦N. This paper presents the new observed features of the southern BoB from the BoBBLE field program, supported by satellite data. Key results from the BoBBLE field campaign show the Sri Lanka Dome and the SMC in different stages of their seasonal evolution and two freshening events during which salinity decreased in the upper layer leading to the formation of thick barrier layers. BoBBLE observations were taken during a suppressed phase of the intraseasonal oscillation; they captured in detail the warming of the ocean mixed layer and preconditioning of the atmosphere to convection

The SelfSTarT intervention for low back pain patients presenting to first contact physiotherapists: A mixed methods service evaluationfor low back pain patients presenting to first contact physiotherapists: A mixed methods service evaluation

Introduction: Globally, back pain is the leading cause of years of disability. In the United Kingdom, over 20 million people live with musculoskeletal (MSK) pain, with low back pain being one of the most common causes. National strategies promote self‐management and the use of digital technologies to empower populations. Aims: To evaluate the uptake and impact of providing the SelfSTart approach (STarT Back and SelfBACK App) when delivered by a First Contact Physiotherapist (FCP) to people presenting with low back pain in primary care. Methods: Patients presenting with a new episode of low back pain underwent routine assessment and completion of a STarT Back questionnaire. Patients with low/medium scores were offered the SelfBACK App. A control population was provided by the MIDAS‐GP study. Patient Experience, outcome measures, healthcare utilisation and retention were captured through the app and clinical systems (EMIS). Interviews with five FCPs explored the experiences of using the SelfSTart approach. Results: SelfSTarT was taken up by almost half (48%) of those to whom it was offered. Compared to MIDAS‐GP, users were more likely to be younger, male, in work, and with higher health literacy. SelfSTarT users reported significant improved experiences relating to receiving an agreed care plan and receiving sufficient information. There were no significant differences in treatments offered. FCPs were positive about the app and felt it had value but wanted feedback on patient progress. They recognised that a digital solution would not be suitable for all. Conclusion: This approach offers an opportunity to empower and support self‐management, using robustly evaluated digital technology

Tropical fruit - using key aroma components as predictors of sensory quality

Pineapple (Ananas comosus) is one of the most popular tropical fruits consumed worldwide. The flavourful fruit is known to contain a large number of aroma volatile compounds in varying levels. Though, hundreds of volatile compounds have been identified so far, only several of them (known as key aroma compounds) are reported to contribute to the unique flavour of pineapple. Huge attention has been applied to the deeper and specific understanding of the aroma profile of pineapples that play a significant role in the sensory notes of the fruit. The Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI) - Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (QDAF) joint research project, funded by the Hort Innovation Australia, titled as Genetics of fruit sensory preferences, aims to identify and characterise key quality-determining flavour compounds in Queensland grown pineapple from the DAF breeding program, and to develop high-throughput analytical methods [based on stable isotope dilution assay (SIDA) – headspace (HS) - Solid phase microextraction (SPME) - gas chromatography - mass spectrometry (GCMS)] to measure those key components accurately and precisely. This knowledge will be applied to profile key parent and progeny lines to support identification of molecular markers and support marker-assisted breeding. Results of the work are essential for the improvements in genetic studies, plant breeding, resistance research, nutritional science to develop superior fruit varieties with high consumer appeal and improved characteristics for producers. The presentation aims to discuss the available published information of the aroma of pineapple, analytical methods, associated challenges, and strategies

Post-War Class Struggle and the Crisis of Left Politics

The mass labour movement is in disarray throughout the advanced capitalist world. Its utopias, generations-old visions of a better social future, have ceased to mobilise. Its organisations-unions and parties-are in retreat. Its social base is more and more fragmented. Its erstwhile allies look in new directions. Its politics range from dogged defensiveness of past victories against powerful new capitalist opponents to 'reformulated' positions which, in fact, promise to do much of what these opponents desire. What has happened? The argument presented in this essay is meant to provide a very general answer to this question based on an analysis of the development of class conflict in recent times. In the period immediately following World War II a new class compromise was reached in capitalist societies, one which reconciled many of the pre-war goals of social democracy, broadly construed, with capital's determined pursuit of a new accumulation strategy. During the extraordinarily long period of post-war economic growth the dynamics of this compromise mutually modified the character and behaviour of capital, labour and the state. Part I shows how class structures and the cutting edge of class conflict were reshaped in important ways. When economic and social crisis finally broke the back of the postwar boom, it did its work not on any abstract situation of class division, but on these specific structures and relations of class conflict. What came apart in crisis for the labour movement were the very things which had been created in the post-war compromise, as Part II discusses. The results of this have been devastating. To the degree to which the post-war boom exhausted social democracy's stock of programmes the present crisis of the post-war compromise has left the mass labour movement bereft of creative perspectives. Part III reviews the political options which exist in this unprecedented situation

Strategy and Contradiction in the Victory of French Socialism

Francois Mitterrand's victory in May, 1981 Presidential elections, the overwhelming triumph of the Left (primarily the renascent French Socialists) in the June legislative elections which followed, and the sub-sequent inclusion of four Communists in the government constitute, together, an extraordinary success for the Left in France and in Europe. After 23 years of consecutive power, manipulating institutions specifically designed to perpetuate its rule, the French Right had come to regard France as its personal property. After nearly two decades of struggle the Left broke this stranglehold in 1981 and used these same institutions to its own advantage. The result is that the Left is now solidly established with a workable majority for at least five years in Parliament, while the Presidential term of Mitterrand will continue for seven. From what most observers considered to be extreme weakness the French Left has, almost overnight, come to control the country. Henceforth the Left will be responsible for the policy destiny of France

Conflicting Currents in the PCF

The defeat of the left in the 1978 French legislative elections marked the end of an era for the Parti Communiste Francais. The most extensive experiment into United Front politics in the PCF's history and fifteen years of strategic continuity had led to failure. The party's turn toward profound self-examination after the elections was therefore not surprising. What has come as a surprise, however, is the way-contradictory, confusing, often opaque, and sometimes brutal-in which the PCF has tried to re-evaluate its position. Basic aspects of the PCF's identity have been at stake. What should its strategy be? What should its relationship to socialist countries be? What kind of internal life will it have? Will it continue down the road of Eurocommunism? More than a year after the defeat of 1978, none of these questions have been answered. But the party's inability to chart its own future has simultaneously provided invaluable sources of understanding of what the PCF is now