Separation of Oligosaccharides from Lotus Seeds via Medium-pressure Liquid Chromatography Coupled with ELSD and DAD

peer-reviewedLotus seeds were identified by the Ministry of Public Health of China as both food and medicine. One general function of lotus seeds is to improve intestinal health. However, to date, studies evaluating the relationship between bioactive compounds in lotus seeds and the physiological activity of the intestine are limited. In the present study, by using medium pressure liquid chromatography coupled with evaporative light-scattering detector and diode-array detector, five oligosaccharides were isolated and their structures were further characterized by electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. In vitro testing determined that LOS3-1 and LOS4 elicited relatively good proliferative effects on Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus. These results indicated a structure-function relationship between the physiological activity of oligosaccharides in lotus seeds and the number of probiotics applied, thus providing room for improvement of this particular feature. Intestinal probiotics may potentially become a new effective drug target for the regulation of immunity

Assessing survival in widowers, and controls -A nationwide, six- to nine-year follow-up

To access full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink "View/open" at the bottom of this pageThe aim of this study was to assess if widowers had an increased mortality rate during the first 6 to 9 years after the death of their wife, compared initially to an age-matched control group and also compared to the general population of Iceland. The study base was comprised of all 371 men born in 1924-1969 who were widowed in Iceland in 1999-2001 and 357 controls, married men, who were matched by age and residence.The widowers and controls were followed through the years 2002-2007 using information from Statistics Iceland. Mortality rates were compared between the groups and also with the general population. The mortality rate comparisons were: study group vs. control group, on the one hand, and study group vs. general population on the other. Causes of death were also compared between widowers and their wives. A statistically significant increase in mortality in the widowers' group, compared to controls, was observed.Lifestyle-related factors could not be excluded as contributing to cause of death in these cases. Being a widower was related to an increased risk of death for at least 9 years after the death of their wife.Landspitali - National University Hospital in Reykjavik Iceland, Rannis, the Icelandic Centre for Research (provides assistance to Icelandic science & technology, Reykjavik, Iceland), Utfararstofa Islands (a funeral home, Reykjavik, Iceland), Swedish Cancer Society (Cancerfonden), Styrktarsjodur Lifsins samtaka um liknarmedferd (Palliative Care Association, Iceland), Utfarastofa Kirkjugardanna (a funeral home, Reykjavik, Iceland

Hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC)—a powerful separation technique

Hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) provides an alternative approach to effectively separate small polar compounds on polar stationary phases. The purpose of this work was to review the options for the characterization of HILIC stationary phases and their applications for separations of polar compounds in complex matrices. The characteristics of the hydrophilic stationary phase may affect and in some cases limit the choices of mobile phase composition, ion strength or buffer pH value available, since mechanisms other than hydrophilic partitioning could potentially occur. Enhancing our understanding of retention behavior in HILIC increases the scope of possible applications of liquid chromatography. One interesting option may also be to use HILIC in orthogonal and/or two-dimensional separations. Bioapplications of HILIC systems are also presented

Monitoring of trends in socioeconomic inequalities in mortality: experiences from a European project

Background. Studies from several countries reported that the relative mortality gap between low and high socioeconomic groups widened during the 1970s and 1980s. While this wellknown finding has important policy implications and prompted research on underlying causes, it also calls for more a detailed and accurate monitoring of past and current trends. Objectives. The aim of this paper is to present new estimates of changes in socioeconomic inequalities in mortality between the 1980s and the 1990s in different European countries. The estimates are given with the specific aim to illustrate (i) large variations, both within and between countries, in the pace by which socioeconomic inequalities in mortality changed over time, and (ii) the considerable degree to which the observed trends may be sensitive to data problems and to the methodological choices made. Data and methods. The paper is based on a EU sponsored project on monitoring of socio-economic inequalities in mortality and morbidity. Data were obtained on all-cause mortality by occupational class and educational level in nine western European countries both in the early 1980s and in early 1990s. Trends in mortality were analysed by assessing trends in (a) group-specific standardised mortality rates and (b) summary measures of the magnitude of mortality differences between socioeconomic groups. Results. The weight of evidence from all countries points towards a widening of relative inequalities in mortality between the early 1980s and early 1990s, while the absolute gap remains about the same. However, important variations were observed in the pace of change, both between countries, and within countries (between men and women, and between age groups). In addition, a widening of relative inequalities was found to concur with decreasing life expectancies of the disadvantaged groups in some cases, but increasing life expectancies in many other cases. A second series of analyses illustrate that, even though there may be little doubt that relative inequalities in mortality widened in many countries, data problems can often impede an accurate assessment of the precise rate of change. For example, trends in mortality differences between occupational classes can strongly depend on (a) the social class scheme used and (b) whether or not economically inactive persons are included in the analysis. The use of "unlinked" cross-sectional studies may suffer from subtle but influential biases. Conclusion. Monitoring of trends in inequalities in mortality should go beyond the simple assessment such as "the gap is widening", and monitor in detail the pace of change, both for the national populations at large and for sub-populations such as specific age-sex groups. This monitoring needs to evaluate carefully the potential effects of data problems as well as the choice for specific methods and indicators

Socio-economic inequalities in mortality. Methodological problems illustrated with three examples from Europe

BACKGROUND: Studies from most European countries have been able to demonstrate that lower socioeconomic groups have higher risks of disease, disability and premature death. Uncertain is, however, whether these studies have also been able to estimate the precise magnitude of these inequalities, their patterns and their trends over time. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the extent to which results of descriptive studies can be biased due to problems with the data that are commonly available to European countries. METHODS: Three illustrations are presented from a project on socio-economic inequalities in premature morbidity and mortality in Europe. These illustrations concern three problems often encountered in data on social class differences in mortality among middle aged men: the numerator/denominator bias in cross-sectional studies (illustrated for France), the exclusion of economically inactive men (illustrated for 4 countries), and the use of approximate social class schemes (illustrated for Sweden). RESULTS: In each illustration, inequalities in mortality among middle aged men could be demonstrated, but data problems appeared to bias estimates of the precise magnitude of inequalities in mortality, their patterns by social class and cause of death, and their trends over time. The bias was substantial in most cases. Usually, it was difficult to predict in which ways and to what extent inequality estimates would have been biased. CONCLUSIONS: When the aim of a study is to determine the precise magnitude, patterns or time trends of health inequalities, the results should be evaluated carefully against a number of potential data problems. Investments are needed, e.g. in data sources and in the measurement of socio-economic status, to secure that future studies can describe socio-economic inequalities in health in Europe in more detail and with more reliabilit

Near wall effects in the plug flow of pulp suspensions

Experimental data by the authors are further analysed to gain a more detailed understanding of the mechanisms of the plug flow and near-wall behaviour in the pipe flow of pulp suspensions at concentrations up to 4.7% by weight. The results indicate two-phase flow effects near the wall, one being that the apparent viscosity is higher than that of water. Another is that the wall shear stress estimated with the pressure drop data and a force balance is much higher than the one obtained with the measured velocity profile, indicating the presence of mechanical friction forces

The social gradient in work and health: a cross-sectional study exploring the relationship between working conditions and health inequalities

BACKGROUND: Social inequalities in health are widely examined. But the reasons behind this phenomenon still remain unclear in parts. It is undisputed that the work environment plays a crucial role in this regard. However, the contribution of psychosocial factors at work is unclear and inconsistent, and most studies are limited with regard to work factors and health outcomes. This study, therefore, aimed to explore the role and contribution of various physical and psychosocial working conditions to explaining social inequalities in different self-reported health outcomes. METHODS: Data from a postal survey among the workforces of four medium-sized and large companies from diverse industries of the secondary sector in Switzerland were used and analysed. The study sample covered 1,846 employees aged 20 and 64 and included significant proportions of unskilled manual workers and highly qualified non-manual workers. Cross tabulations and logistic regression analyses were performed to study multiple associations between social status, work factors and health outcomes. Combinations of educational level and occupational position wee used as a measure of social status or class. RESULTS: Clear social gradients were observed for almost all adverse working conditions and poor health outcomes studied, but in different directions. While physical workloads and other typical blue-collar job characteristics not suprisingly, were found to be much more common among the lower classes, most psychosocial work demands and job resources were more prevalent in the higher classes. Furthermore, workers in lower classes, i.e. with lower educational and occupational status, were more likely to report poor self-rated health, limited physical functioning and long sickness absence, but at the same time were less likely to experience increased stress feelings and burnout symptoms showing a reversed health gradient. Finally, blue-collar job characteristics contributed substantially to the social gradient found in general and physical health outcomes. In contrast, white-collar job characteristics made no contribution to explaining the gradient in these health outcomes, but instead largely explained the reversed social gradient observed for the mental health outcomes. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest a more differentiated pattern of the commonly found social gradient in health and the differential role of work in this respect