Microstructure and Rheological Properties of Composites of Potato Starch Granules and Amylose: A Comparison of Observed and Predicted Structures

Potato starch granules were gelatinised in amylose solution to study the effect of adding amylose to a highswelling granular starch system. The effects of varying the amount of potato starch from 1-10% , added to a solution of 2% amylose, were studied by means of dynamic viscoelastic measurements and light microscopy. The granules gelatinised in amylose solution had a lower degree of swelling than those gelatinised in water. The restricted swelling in amylose was reflected in a decrease in the complex shear modulus (G*) at 75\u27C. GeJatinisation in 2% amylopectin also caused a decrease in G*, but gelatinisation in 2% 0-glucose did not affect the rheological behaviour. Microstructural analysis showed that the added amylose was present outside the granules after swelling, whereas the inherent amylose from the potato starch seemed to have diffused main] y to the inner aqueous centre of the granules. The mixed potato starch/amylose systems showed a fast gelation comparable to that of cereal starch. The results were analysed by a model predicting the shear modulus of aqueous biphasic gels. When the system is regarded as a continuous network of added amylose with dispersed potato starch granules, the results from both microscopy and rheology are in excellent agreement with the model at potato starch concentrations below 6%. As the potato starch concentration was raised, the high swelling potential of the potato starch granules led to partial disruption of the continuous amylose network. The results imply that the inherent amylose from potato starch did not contribute to the gel strength caused by the added solubilised amylose

Microstructural Changes in Wheat Starch Dispersions During Heating and Cooling

Microstructural changes in 8-11% wheat starch dispersions during heating, cooling and cold storage have been evaluated by light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Heat treatment of wheat starch dispersions gives rise to two stages of swelling and solubilization. During the first phase of swelling, solubilized amylose was observed ln the centre of the granules and, to some extent, outside the granules. Further swelling deformed the granules and more amylose was released. When the temperature treatment took place under shear, the outer layer of the swo llen granules fra ctured at 94°C and above, and amylopectin fragments were dispersed into the cont inuous amylose phase. Fragmentation of amylopectin was not observed when samples were heated with a minimum of mechanical action. There were also differences in the final gel structure between samples due to the mechanical treatment during preparation. Aggregation of amylose took place on cooling and could be observed as irregularities in the gel structure. When the amount of released amylose was limited during the initial phase of swelling and below the critical concentration for gel formation, cooling resulted in deposition of amylose at the surface of the granules. This was expected to have an impact on the behaviour of the granules on further processing

Hydroxylation Structure and Proton Transfer Reactivity at the Zinc Oxide-Water Interface

The hydroxylation structural features of the first adsorption layer and its connection to proton transfer reactivity have been studied for the ZnO-liquid water interface at room temperature. Molecular dynamics simulations employing the ReaxFF forcefield were performed for water on seven ZnO surfaces with varying step concentrations. At higher water coverage a higher level of hydroxylation was found, in agreement with previous experimental results. We have also calculated the free energy barrier for transferring a proton to the surface, showing that stepped surfaces stabilize the hydroxylated state and decrease the water dissociation barrier. On highly stepped surfaces the barrier is only 2 kJ/mol or smaller. Outside the first adsorption layer no dissociation events were found during almost 100 ns of simulation time; this indicates that these reactions are much more likely if catalyzed by the metal oxide surface. Also, when exposed to a vacuum, the less stepped surfaces stabilize adsorption beyond monolayer coverage

Hypothesis : Chemical activity regulates and coordinates the processes maintaining glycerophospholipid homeostasis in mammalian cells

Mammalian cells maintain the complex glycerophospholipid (GPL) class compositions of their various membranes within close limits because this is essential to their well-being or viability. Surprisingly, however, it is still not understood how those compositions are maintained except that GPL synthesis and degradation are closely coordinated. Here, we hypothesize that abrupt changes in the chemical activity of the individual GPL classes coordinate synthesis and degradation as well other the homeostatic processes. We have previously proposed that only a limited number of “allowed” or “optimal” GPL class compositions exist in cellular membranes because those compositions are energetically more favorable than others, that is, they represent local free energy minima (Somerharju et al 2009, Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1788, 12-23). This model, however, could not satisfactorily explain how the “optimal” compositions are sensed by the key homeostatic enzymes, that is, rate-limiting synthetizing enzymes and homeostatic phospholipases. We now hypothesize that when the mole fraction of a GPL class exceeds an optimal value, its chemical activity abruptly increases which (a) increases its propensity to efflux from the membrane thus making it susceptible for hydrolysis by homeostatic phospholipases; (b) increases its potency to inhibit its own biosynthesis via a feedback mechanism; (c) enhances its conversion to another glycerophospholipid class via a novel process termed “head group remodeling” or (d) enhances its translocation to other subcellular membranes. In summary, abrupt change in the chemical activity of the individual GPL classes is proposed to regulate and coordinate those four processes maintaining GPL class homeostasis in mammalian cells.Peer reviewe

Immunohistochemical Techniques Applied to Raw and Mildly Heat Treated Meat Systems

Immunohistology was performed with six commercially available antibodies directed against myosins, actins and collagens. The corresponding antigens, appearing on the surface of cryo-sections from meat and meat products heat treated to different end temperatures, were visualized using these antibodies. The meat and meat products were heated from 20 °C to 80 °C. At 80 °C the meat systems were devoid of thermal transitions as judged from differential scanning calorimetric measurements. Our results showed that although reduced binding was the case for systems heated above 60 °C, the signals from the antibody labelling was still sufficiently strong to provide information about specific antigens in meat systems heated to 70-80 °C. Antibodies with a high initial affinity bound to the their respective antigens after the latter had been heated to a few degrees above their denaturation temperature as detected in a scanning calorimeter. This investigation points to the possibility of fmding sufficiently good commercial antibodies to perform immunohistology on meat products heated to temperatures between 70-80 °C. This is important as many commercial meat products are heated to end temperatures in this range. Several examples of the labelling intensity obtained on heated meat and meat products are given. In addition, an example using double labelling with antibodies to collagen III and an antibody to slow myosin in a food product heated to 75 °C is given. Problems related to non-specific staining and to non-specific effects of heat treatment are also briefly discussed

Oxygen for breathlessness in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who do not qualify for home oxygen therapy

© 2016 The Cochrane Collaboration. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Background: Breathlessness is a cardinal symptom of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) is given to improve survival time in people with COPD and severe chronic hypoxaemia at rest. The efficacy of oxygen therapy for breathlessness and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in people with COPD and mild or no hypoxaemia who do not meet the criteria for LTOT has not been established. Objectives: To determine the efficacy of oxygen versus air in mildly hypoxaemic or non-hypoxaemic patients with COPD in terms of (1) breathlessness; (2) HRQOL; (3) patient preference whether to continue therapy; and (4) oxygen-related adverse events. Search methods: We searched the Cochrane Airways Group Register, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE and Embase, to 12 July 2016, for randomised controlled trials (RCTs). We handsearched the reference lists of included articles. Selection criteria: We included RCTs of the effects of non-invasive oxygen versus air on breathlessness, HRQOL or patient preference to continue therapy among people with COPD and mild or no hypoxaemia (partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2) > 7.3 kPa) who were not already receiving LTOT. Two review authors independently assessed articles for inclusion in the review. Data collection and analysis: Two review authors independently collected and analysed data. We assessed risk of bias by using the Cochrane 'Risk of bias tool'. We pooled effects recorded on different scales as standardised mean differences (SMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using random-effects models. Lower SMDs indicated decreased breathlessness and reduced HRQOL. We performed subanalyses and sensitivity analyses and assessed the quality of evidence according to the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) approach. Main results: Compared with the previous review, which was published in 2011, we included 14 additional studies (493 participants), excluded one study and included data for meta-analysis of HRQOL. In total, we included in this review 44 studies including 1195 participants, and we included 33 of these (901 participants)in the meta-analysis. We found that breathlessness during exercise or daily activities was reduced by oxygen compared with air (32 studies; 865 participants; SMD -0.34, 95% CI -0.48 to -0.21; I2 = 37%; low-quality evidence). This translates to a decrease in breathlessness of about 0.7 points on a 0 to 10 numerical rating scale. In contrast, we found no effect of short-burst oxygen given before exercise (four studies; 90 participants; SMD 0.01, 95% CI -0.26 to 0.28; I2 = 0%; low-quality evidence). Oxygen reduced breathlessness measured during exercise tests (25 studies; 442 participants; SMD -0.34, 95% CI -0.46 to -0.22; I2 = 29%; moderate-quality evidence), whereas evidence of an effect on breathlessness measured in daily life was limited (two studies; 274 participants; SMD -0.13, 95% CI, -0.37 to 0.11; I2 = 0%; low-quality evidence). Oxygen did not clearly affect HRQOL (five studies; 267 participants; SMD 0.10, 95% CI -0.06 to 0.26; I2 = 0%; low-quality evidence). Patient preference and adverse events could not be analysed owing to insufficient data. Authors' conclusions: We are moderately confident that oxygen can relieve breathlessness when given during exercise to mildly hypoxaemic and non-hypoxaemic people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who would not otherwise qualify for home oxygen therapy. Most evidence pertains to acute effects during exercise tests, and no evidence indicates that oxygen decreases breathlessness in the daily life setting. Findings show that oxygen does not affect health-related quality of life