A survey of phytoestrogenic activity in Kansas flint hills pastures

The botanical composition and basal cover of three Kansas Flint Hills pastures located in Butler and Chase counties was surveyed to estimate the incidence of plant species that contain appreciable levels of estrogenic activity. Many-flowered scurfpea and Ladino clover were the only plant species classified as high in estrogenic activity. Although significant estrogenic activity existed in specific species, the willingness of livestock to consume those species is unclear

A workshop on ‘Dietary Sweetness—Is It an Issue?’

This report summarises a workshop convened by ILSI Europe on 3 and 4 April 2017 to discuss the issue of dietary sweetness. The objectives were to understand the roles of sweetness in the diet, establish whether exposure to sweetness affects diet quality and energy intake, and consider whether sweetness per se affects health. Although there may be evidence for tracking of intake of some sweet components of the diet through childhood, evidence for tracking of whole diet sweetness, or through other stages of maturity are lacking. The evidence to date does not support adverse effects of sweetness on diet quality or energy intake, except where sweet food choices increase intake of free sugars. There is some evidence for improvements in diet quality and reduced energy intake where sweetness without calories replaces sweetness with calories. There is a need to understand the physiological and metabolic relevance of sweet taste receptors on the tongue, in the gut and elsewhere in the body, as well as possible differentiation in the effects of sustained consumption of individual sweeteners. Despite a plethora of studies, there is no consistent evidence for an association of sweetness sensitivity/preference with obesity or type 2 diabetes. A multifaceted integrated approach, characterising nutritive and sensory aspects of the whole diet or dietary patterns, may be more valuable in providing contextual insight. The outcomes of the workshop could be used as a scientific basis to inform the expert community and create more useful dialogue among health care professionals

Limits on the production of scalar leptoquarks from Z (0) decays at LEP

A search has been made for pairs and for single production of scalar leptoquarks of the first and second generations using a data sample of 392000 Z0 decays from the DELPHI detector at LEP 1. No signal was found and limits on the leptoquark mass, production cross section and branching ratio were set. A mass limit at 95% confidence level of 45.5 GeV/c2 was obtained for leptoquark pair production. The search for the production of a single leptoquark probed the mass region above this limit and its results exclude first and second generation leptoquarks D0 with masses below 65 GeV/c2 and 73 GeV/c2 respectively, at 95% confidence level, assuming that the D0lq Yukawa coupling alpha(lambda) is equal to the electromagnetic one. An upper limit is also given on the coupling alpha(lambda) as a function of the leptoquark mass m(D0)

Hydrolysis of cellulose using HCl: A comparison between liquid phase and gaseous phase processes

Cellulose constitutes a significant portion of a large amount of agricultural and forest residues, as well as urban waste derived from forest products (e.g. waste paper), and represents a potential for the production of ethanol, a liquid fuel. To realise this potential it is necessary to hydrolyse the cellulose to fermentable sugars. Hydrolysis using HCl in solution and as a gas was investigated using α-cellulose, newspaper, wheat straw and wheat hulls as substrates, at room temperature and also when the reaction was heated. It was found that the use of HCl gas resulted in a more rapid hydrolysis of crystalline cellulose and a significant increase was observed in the hydrolysis rate when the reaction, which had proceeded at room temperature, was heated to 50°C, when either HCl acid or gas was used. Similar results were obtained with whole newspaper and wheat straw as substrates

Series solutions for seepage in three dimensional aquifers

Most models of seepage in homogeneous aquifers assume a two dimensional flow regime. We present a series method that can be used to provide three dimensional solutions for saturated seepage problems in real time. The aquifer lies on a horizontal aquiclude and can have arbitrary soil surface geometry. We show that exponential convergence can be achieved for the correct choice of soil surface representation. The series solutions obtained are used to generate velocity profiles and streamline solutions, once again in real time. These solutions demonstrate the significant differences between two and three dimensional models of seepage

Differential recognition and hydrolysis of host carbohydrate-antigens by Streptococcus pneumoniae family 98 glycoside hydrolases

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Dialogue, Knowledge Work and Tabletops: Lessons from Preservice Teacher Education

This pilot study is concerned with the exploration of tabletops in preservice teacher education, through the lens of sociocultural theories. An educational tabletop application designed to facilitate dialog and collaborative decision making, so called IdeasMapping, was enacted in the context of proposing a solution plan for a case study classroom problem. Students’ responses to a questionnaire showed that they positively endorsed the technology for this type of collaborative activity. Moreover, analysis of video recordings of groups’ discussions and interactions showed that the technology enhanced students’ communication as they took turns in sharing their ideas, and provided structure and organization of these ideas linked to possible solutions on the problems embedded in the case