Bevölkerungsgruppe 65+ - die vergessene Generation der Nahrungs- und Genussmittelindustrie?

Ziel der Arbeit war es, dass Einkaufs- und Ernährungsverhalten der stark wachsenden Generation der ab 65-Jährigen zu untersuchen und dabei besonders die Rolle bzw. die Bedeutung von Fertiggerichten herauszuarbeiten. Gestützt sind die empirischen Ergebnisse auf einer Untersuchung mittels standardisiertem Fragebogen an 90 Probanden, davon 61 Frauen und 29 Männer im Alter von 65 – 96 Jahren, wohnhaft in den Bundesländern Wien, Niederösterreich und Oberösterreich. Die Erhebung erfolgte in den Monaten März und April 2012, wobei folgende Befragungsorte ausgewählt wurden: Parkanlagen, Seniorentreffen, Seniorenmesse, Pfarren und Arztpraxen. Es kann festgestellt werden, dass das Studienkollektiv Fertiggerichte nur sehr zurückhaltend verwendet - nur rund ¼ der Befragten verwenden demnach unregelmäßig Fertiggerichte, während bei den restlichen ¾ der Befragten Fertiggerichte überhaupt nicht zum Einsatz kommen. Die Ursachen für die zaghafte Nutzung beim Studienkollektiv liegen dabei hauptsächlich am Wunsch, selbst kochen zu wollen, an den intransparenten Verpackungen, die keinen Blick auf die Fertiggerichte selbst zulassen, an vermeintlich verwendeten Konservierungsstoffen und an der mangelnden Kenntnis der verschiedenen Fertiggerichte an sich. Kurz gesagt: Fertiggerichte werden vom Studienkollektiv in großer Zahl gleichgesetzt mit „ungesund“ und „schmecken nicht“. Diese Verallgemeinerung steht jedoch im Gegensatz zum vorherrschenden Bemühen der Nahrungsmittelhersteller, den Konsumentenwünschen nach gesunden und qualitativ hochwertigen Fertiggerichten verstärkt nachzukommen. Offensichtlich werden diese Bestrebungen von dieser Generation der über 65-Jährigen nicht oder nur in geringem Ausmaß wahrgenommen. Ohne die Motive der Zurückhaltung beim Kauf von Fertiggerichten, speziell bei der Generation der ab 65-Jährigen, besser verstehen zu lernen und beispielsweise mit zielgruppengerechter Produktentwicklung und Kommunikation Überzeugungsarbeit zu leisten, wird es nicht gelingen, diese kaufkraftstarke Zielgruppe zum Kauf von Fertiggerichten zu bewegen. Gleichzeitig könnte durch den Einsatz ernährungsphysiologisch optimaler Fertiggerichte die Ernährungssituation von Senioren verbessert werden

How to speed up the polymerase chain reaction

Reducing the time taken to run qPCR assays on today’s qPCR cyclers is rather straightforward and requires no specialised reagents or instruments. As the first article in a new series of short technical reports, I demonstrate that it is possible to reduce significantly both denaturation temperatures and cycling times, whilst retaining sensitivity and specificity of the original qPCR conditions

The morphology and biochemistry of nanostructures provide evidence for synthesis and signaling functions in human cerebrospinal fluid

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) contacts many brain regions and may mediate humoral signaling distinct from synaptic neurotransmission. However, synthesis and transport mechanisms for such signaling are not defined. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether human CSF contains discrete structures that may enable the regulation of humoral transmission.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Lumbar CSF was collected prospectively from 17 participants: with no neurological or psychiatric disease, with Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, or migraine; and ventricular CSF from two cognitively healthy participants with long-standing shunts for congenital hydrocephalus. Cell-free CSF was subjected to ultracentrifugation to yield supernatants and pellets that were examined by transmission electron microscopy, shotgun protein sequencing, electrophoresis, western blotting, lipid analysis, enzymatic activity assay, and immuno-electron microscopy.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Over 3,600 CSF proteins were identified from repeated shotgun sequencing of cell-free CSF from two individuals with Alzheimer's disease: 25% of these proteins are normally present in membranes. Abundant nanometer-scaled structures were observed in ultracentrifuged pellets of CSF from all 16 participants examined. The most common structures included synaptic vesicle and exosome components in 30-200 nm spheres and irregular blobs. Much less abundant nanostructures were present that derived from cellular debris. Nanostructure fractions had a unique composition compared to CSF supernatant, richer in omega-3 and phosphoinositide lipids, active prostanoid enzymes, and fibronectin.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Unique morphology and biochemistry features of abundant and discrete membrane-bound CSF nanostructures are described. Prostaglandin H synthase activity, essential for prostanoid production and previously unknown in CSF, is localized to nanospheres. Considering CSF bulk flow and its circulatory dynamics, we propose that these nanostructures provide signaling mechanisms <it>via </it>volume transmission within the nervous system that are for slower, more diffuse, and of longer duration than synaptic transmission.</p

Rostrocaudal Dynamics of CSF Biomarkers

The rostrocaudal gradient (RCG) of markers present in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) has not been studied adequately due to lack of appropriate control populations and ethical restrictions. The aim of this study is to understand the rostrocaudal gradient of CSF biomarkers. We contacted a study comparing CSF levels of seven biomarkers from cisternal (rostral) and lumbar (caudal) CSF obtained from patients with trigeminal neuralgia and tension-type headache. The RCGs of CSF/serum albumin ratio, 8-isoprostane. GFAP, total tau and beta amyloid protein were higher than one. The RCGs of lactate, VEGF and the heavy chain of neurofilament protein were lower than one. The study provides new values for several commonly examined markers of cisternal CSF. Knowledge of the RCG gradient of different CSF markers is important in interpreting studies reporting ventricular CSF values. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010

Protein Analysis in Human Cerebrospinal Fluid: Physiological Aspects, Current Progress and Future Challenges

The introduction of lumbar puncture into clinical medicine over 100 years ago marks the beginning of the study of central nervous system diseases using the human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Ever since, CSF has been analyzed extensively to elucidate the physiological and biochemical bases of neurological disease. The proximity of CSF to the brain makes it a good target for studying the pathophysiology of brain functions, but the barrier function of the CSF also impedes its diagnostic value. Today, measurements to determine alterations in the composition of CSF are central in the differential diagnosis of specific diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). In particular, the analysis of the CSF protein composition provides crucial information in the diagnosis of CNS diseases. This enables the assessment of the physiology of the blood-CSF barrier and of the immunology of intrathecial responses. Besides those routine measurements, protein compositional studies of CSF have been extended recently to many other proteins in the expectation that comprehensive analysis of lower abundance CSF proteins will lead to the discovery of new disease markers. Disease marker discovery by molecular profiling of the CSF tissue has the enormous potential of providing many new disease relevant molecules. New developments in protein profiling techniques hold promise for the discovery and validation of relevant disease markers. In this review, we summarize the current efforts and progress in CSF protein profiling measurements using conventional and current protein analysis tools. We also discuss necessary development in methodology in order to have the highest impact on the study of the molecular composition of CSF proteins

Prostaglandin D Synthase Isoforms from Cerebrospinal Fluid Vary with Brain Pathology

Glutathione independent prostaglandin D synthase (Swissprot P41222, PTGDS) has been identified in human cerebrospinal fluid and some changes in PTGDS in relation to disease have been reported. However, little is known of the extent that PTGDS isoforms fluctuate across a large range of congenital and acquired diseases. The purpose of this study was to examine changes in PTGDS isoforms in such a population. Spinal fluid from 22 healthy study participants (normal controls) with no classifiable neurological or psychiatric diagnosis was obtained and PTGDS isoforms were identified by specific immunostaining and mass spectrometry after denaturing 2D gel electrophoresis. The PTGDS isoforms in controls consisted of five charge isoforms that were always present and a small number of occasional, low abundance isoforms. A qualitative survey of 98 different people with a wide range of congenital and acquired diseases revealed striking changes. Loss of the control isoforms occurred in congenital malformations of the nervous system. Gain of additional isoforms occurred in some degenerative, most demyelinating and vasculitic diseases, as well as in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. A retrospective analysis of published data that quantified relative amounts of PTGDS in multiple sclerosis, schizophrenia and Parkinson’s disease compared to controls revealed significant dysregulation. It is concluded that qualitative and quantitative fluctuations of cerebrospinal fluid PTGDS isoforms reflect both major and subtle brain pathophysiology