Effects of Salt Concentration on the Physicochemical Properties and Microbial Safety of Spontaneously Fermented Cabbage

Fermented foods, including sauerkraut, have gained consumer popularity due to an increased awareness of reported health benefits associated with probiotics. Sauerkraut is typically produced at 2−3% salt concentrations or higher, which helps to reduce the growth of pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms. The FDA has recently issued guidance to the food industry to voluntarily reduce sodium in products due to health concerns associated with high sodium consumption. Therefore, interest in lower salt fermented foods may increase. However, information on quality and safety of lower sodium sauerkraut is limited. Two separate studies were conducted to evaluate the physicochemical properties and quality of spontaneously fermented cabbage at four salt concentrations: 1.0%, 1.5%, 2.0% and 2.5% NaCl (w/w) and to investigate the microbial safety of these sauerkrauts when inoculated with foodborne pathogens

A narrative review of yoga and mindfulness as complementary therapies for addiction.

This paper reviews the philosophical origins, current scientific evidence, and clinical promise of yoga and mindfulness as complementary therapies for addiction. Historically, there are eight elements of yoga that, together, comprise ethical principles and practices for living a meaningful, purposeful, moral and self-disciplined life. Traditional yoga practices, including postures and meditation, direct attention toward one\u27s health, while acknowledging the spiritual aspects of one\u27s nature. Mindfulness derives from ancient Buddhist philosophy, and mindfulness meditation practices, such as gentle Hatha yoga and mindful breathing, are increasingly integrated into secular health care settings. Current theoretical models suggest that the skills, insights, and self-awareness learned through yoga and mindfulness practice can target multiple psychological, neural, physiological, and behavioral processes implicated in addiction and relapse. A small but growing number of well-designed clinical trials and experimental laboratory studies on smoking, alcohol dependence, and illicit substance use support the clinical effectiveness and hypothesized mechanisms of action underlying mindfulness-based interventions for treating addiction. Because very few studies have been conducted on the specific role of yoga in treating or preventing addiction, we propose a conceptual model to inform future studies on outcomes and possible mechanisms. Additional research is also needed to better understand what types of yoga and mindfulness-based interventions work best for what types of addiction, what types of patients, and under what conditions. Overall, current findings increasingly support yoga and mindfulness as promising complementary therapies for treating and preventing addictive behaviors

Analytical Approach for Loss Minimization in Distribution Systems by Optimum Placement and Sizing of Distributed Generation

Distributed Generation has drawn the attention of industrialists and researchers for quite a time now due to the advantages it brings loads. In addition to cost-effective and environmentally friendly, but also brings higher reliability coefficient power system. The DG unit is placed close to the load, rather than increasing the capacity of main generator. This methodology brings many benefits, but has to address some of the challenges. The main is to find the optimal location and size of DG units between them. The purpose of this paper is distributed generation by adding an additional means to reduce losses on the line. This paper attempts to optimize the technology to solve the problem of optimal location and size through the development of multi-objective particle swarm. The problem has been reduced to a mathematical optimization problem by developing a fitness function considering losses and voltage distribution line. Fitness function by using the optimal value of the size and location of this algorithm was found to be minimized. IEEE-14 bus system is being considered, in order to test the proposed algorithm and the results show improved performance in terms of accuracy and convergence rate

Analytical Approach for Loss Minimization in Distribution Systems by Optimum Placement and Sizing of Distributed Generation

Distributed Generation has drawn the attention of industrialists and researchers for quite a time now due to the advantages it brings loads. In addition to cost-effective and environmentally friendly, but also brings higher reliability coefficient power system. The DG unit is placed close to the load, rather than increasing the capacity of main generator. This methodology brings many benefits, but has to address some of the challenges. The main is to find the optimal location and size of DG units between them. The purpose of this paper is distributed generation by adding an additional means to reduce losses on the line. This paper attempts to optimize the technology to solve the problem of optimal location and size through the development of multi-objective particle swarm. The problem has been reduced to a mathematical optimization problem by developing a fitness function considering losses and voltage distribution line. Fitness function by using the optimal value of the size and location of this algorithm was found to be minimized. IEEE-14 bus system is being considered, in order to test the proposed algorithm and the results show improved performance in terms of accuracy and convergence rate

Shapley-Value-Based Hybrid Metaheuristic Multi-Objective Optimization for Energy Efficiency in an Energy-Harvesting Cognitive Radio Network

Energy efficiency and throughput are concerns for energy-harvesting cognitive radio networks. However, attaining the maximum level of both requires optimization of sensing duration, harvested energy, and transmission time. To obtain the optimal values of these multiple parameters and to maximize the average throughput and energy efficiency, a new hybrid technique for multi-objective optimization is proposed. This hybrid optimization algorithm incorporates a Shapley value and a game theoretic concept into metaheuristics. Here, particle swarm optimization grey wolf optimization (PSOGWO) is selected as the source for the advanced hybrid algorithm. The concept of the unbiased nature of wolves is also added to PSOGWO to make it more efficient. Multi-objective optimization is formulated by taking a deep look into combined spectrum sensing and energy harvesting in a cognitive radio network (CSSEH). The Pareto optimal solutions for the multi-objective optimization problem of energy efficiency and throughput can be obtained using PSOGWO by updating the velocity with the weights. In the proposed Shapley hybrid multi-objective optimization algorithm, we used Shapley values to set up the weights that, in turn, updated the velocities of the particles. This updated velocity increased the ability of particles to reach a global optimum rather than becoming trapped in local optima. The solution obtained with this hybrid algorithm is the Shapley–Pareto optimal solution. The proposed algorithm is also compared with state-of-the-art PSOGWO, unbiased PSOGWO, and GWO. The results show a significant level of improvement in terms of energy efficiency by 3.56% while reducing the sensing duration and increasing the average throughput by 21.83% in comparison with standard GWO

Impact of Coping and Communication Skills Program on Physician Burnout, Quality of Life, and Emotional Flooding

Background: Physician behaviors that undermine a culture of safety have gained increasing attention as health-care organizations strive to create a culture of safety and reduce medical errors. We developed, implemented, and assessed a course to teach physicians skills regarding effective coping and interpersonal communication skills and present our results regarding outcomes. Methods: We examined a professional development program specifically designed to address unprofessional or distressed behaviors of physicians, and we evaluated the impact on burnout, quality of life, and emotional flooding scores of the physicians. Assessments of burnout, quality of life, and emotional flooding were assessed preintervention and postintervention. Results: Results demonstrated statistically significant reductions over time in physicians' emotional flooding and emotional exhaustion (EE). Specifically, using a Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test, results revealed that flooding scores at follow-up were statistically significantly lower than at baseline, V = 590, p < 0.05, and EE and personal accomplishment distributions were found to significantly deviate from normal as indicated by Shapiro–Wilks tests (p < 0.05). A Wilcoxon signed-rank test indicated that EE scores were significantly higher at baseline compared to follow-up 1, V = 285, p < 0.05. Conclusion: We conclude that the physician participants who enrolled in the educational skills training program improved scores on emotional flooding and EE and that this may be indicative of improved skills related to their experiences and learning in the program. These improved skills in physicians may have a positive impact on the overall culture of safety in the health system setting. Keywords: Coping skills, Communication, Professional burnout, Physician