Hydroperoxide generation in irradiation-sterilized SUS and potential risks of protein oxidation

Oxidation in polymeric medical implants sterilized by ionizing radiation is by now a well-studied phenomenon. One byproduct of the multitude of oxidative pathways initiated during irradiation of polymers is the generation of hydroperoxide groups bound to polymer chains or fragments (see Figure 1 and reference below). We have discovered that exposure to irradiation-sterilized SUS containers has the potential to induce measurable amounts of oxidation in some protein therapeutics, especially in the context of stability studies having high surface area to volume conditions and/or low protein concentration formulations. This presentation will discuss efforts in our laboratories to quantify the oxidizing species (e.g. hydroperoxides) in SUS containers and explore the parameters that could lead to variability in the amounts present and available to react with product molecules. Using the information gained, we provide a strategy to assess potential risk of protein oxidation in commercial manufacturing operations. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Medicaid expansion and the U.S. secular boom : the crowding out of religion's social insurance function

1 online resource (52 p.) : col. ill.Includes abstract and appendix.Includes bibliographical references (p. 41-50).Since 1990 the share of the U.S. population claiming no religion has more than doubled. This paper analyzes the causes of this “secular boom” using the conception of religious organizations as informal insurance providers. Applying panel estimation techniques to data from the General Social Survey and Religious Congregations & Membership Study, my results consistently demonstrate that the growth in the non-religious population was caused by the massive expansion of public assistance medical benefits, principally Medicaid, in the early 90’s. Transmission mechanisms are discussed, including the role of religious public hospitals

Impact of Parental Involvement on Pre-Tertiary Learners’ Academic Development and Performance in Ghana.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of parental involvement on pre-tertiary learners’ academic performance and development in some selected pre-tertiary schools in the Ada East District of Greater Accra Region of Ghana. The study adopted the sequential explanatory mixed method approach. That is, quantitative data were initially gathered through a 3-point Likert Scale response set structured questionnaire followed by a qualitative interview data. The study made use of fifty (50) respondents who were randomly and judgmentally sampled. Both questionnaire and interview guide were developed to collect data on two formulated research questions after which they were descriptively and thematically analysed respectively. The study revealed that learners’ academic development and performance move along with parents’ financial commitment and other socioeconomic related characteristics, parents’ level of training, education and other sociocultural related characteristics as well as parents’ relationship and communication with teachers, school community and the community outside. It was concluded therefore that both socioeconomic and sociocultural statuses of parents affect academic development and performance of learners in pre-tertiary schools to a large extent. Conclusion was also drawn on how parents’ relationship and communication with the school community, teachers and the community outside contribute to pre-tertiary school learners’ development and performance. The study strongly recommended full parental, community and stakeholders’ commitment in all academic related activities of learners

‘Decarbonising’ UK industry: towards a cleaner economy

Reducing industrial energy demand and improving resource efficiency could make a substantial contribution towards the UK government's goal of achieving 80% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, while simultaneously improving productivity and creating employment opportunities. In this context, the government released its ‘Clean Growth Strategy’ in October 2017, although it has a number of limitations. The associated technology roadmaps exhibit quite large uncertainties, and reducing carbon dioxide emissions over the long term will depend critically on the adoption of a small number of key technologies, alongside the ‘decarbonisation’ of electricity supply. ‘Circular economy’ interventions have the potential to make significant energy savings that are complementary to other energy-efficiency measures. However, the task for both industrial and policy decision makers will still be challenging. </jats:p

Evaluation of the Labeled Hedonic Scale (LHS): Obtaining higher level data in consumer testing for product development research

Among sensory and food scientists, the 9-point hedonic scale has been the most commonly used scale for measuring liking and disliking of products. Recently, the Labeled Hedonic Scale (LHS) was developed to overcome some recognized limitations of the 9-point hedonic scale. One of the claimed advantages of the LHS is the ability to provide ratio-level data, which can be extremely useful when making product comparisons. The current study was aimed to confirm that the LHS can produce ratiolevel data in a product development setting, where samples only differ slightly, by comparing it with magnitude estimation (ME), which yields ratio-level data. Subjects (N= 40, 12 M, 28 F, Age range: 19-32) attended two separate testing sessions. During each session, they used one of the two scaling methods (i.e., LHS, ME) to rate their liking and disliking of two product systems (cherry flavored Kool-Aid and vanilla custard) with varying sucrose concentrations (0.14, 0.20, 0.28, 0.40, 0.56 M). The results indicated that the LHS yielded data that were not significantly different to that obtained using ME for both product systems (repeated measures ANOVA, p>0.05), implying that the LHS, in fact, produced ratio-level data. The results also indicated that the LHS offered slightly better discrimination power than ME. The present study demonstrates the potential utility of the LHS as a tool in food development that enables sensory scientists to make statements about proportional (ratio) differences in liking and disliking among samples

A Comparison of the Nutritional Quality of Food Products Advertised in Grocery Store Circulars of High- versus Low-Income New York City Zip Codes

Grocery stores can be an important resource for health and nutrition with the variety and economic value of foods offered. Weekly circulars are a means of promoting foods at a sale price. To date, little is known about the extent that nutritious foods are advertised and prominently placed in circulars. This study’s aim was to compare the nutritional quality of products advertised on the front page of online circulars from grocery stores in high- versus low-income neighborhoods in New York City (NYC). Circulars from grocery stores in the five highest and five lowest median household income NYC zip codes were analyzed. Nutrition information for food products was collected over a two-month period with a total of 805 products coded. The study found no significant difference between the nutritional quality of products advertised on the front page of online circulars from grocery stores in high- versus low-income neighborhoods in New York City (NYC). In both groups, almost two-thirds of the products advertised were processed, one-quarter were high in carbohydrates, and few to no products were low-sodium, high-fiber, or reduced-, low- or zero fat. Through innovative partnerships with health professionals, grocery stores are increasingly implementing in-store and online health promotion strategies. Weekly circulars can be used as a means to regularly advertise and prominently place more healthful and seasonal foods at an affordable price, particularly for populations at higher risk for nutrition-related chronic disease

Potential of Demand Side Management to Reduce Carbon Dioxide Emissions Associated with the Operation of Heat Pumps

This work considers the potential reduction in the carbon dioxide emissions associated with the operation of Air Source Heat Pump which could be achieved by using demand side management. In order to achieve significant reductions in carbon dioxide emissions, it is widely envisioned that electrification of the heating sector will need to be combined with decarbonisation of the electrical supply. By influencing the times at when electric heat pumps operate such that they coincide more with electricity generation which has a low marginal carbon emissions factor, it has been suggested that these emissions could be reduced further. In order to investigate this possibility, models of the UK electrical grid based on scenarios for 2020 to 2050 have been combined with a dynamic model of an air source heat pump unit and thermal models of a population of dwellings. The performance and carbon dioxide emissions associated with the heat pumps are compared both with and without demand side management interventions intended to give preference to operation when the marginal emissions factor of the electricity being generated is low. It is found that these interventions are unlikely to be effective at achieving further reductions in emissions. A reduction of around 3% was observed in scenarios based around 2035 but in other scenarios the reduction was insignificant. In the scenarios with high wind generation (2050), the DSM scheme considered here tends to improve thermal comfort (with minimal increases in emissions) rather than achieving a decrease in emissions. The reasons for this are discussed and further recommendations are made