Seasonal variation in phytochemicals and antioxidant activities in different tissues of various Broccoli cultivars

Florets, leaves, and stems of twelve commercial broccoli cultivars grown in the spring and fall seasons at the National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science (NIHHS), Rural Development Administration (RDA), Suwon, South Korea were evaluated for glucosinolates, vitamin C, total phenol, and total flavonoid contents and antioxidant activity. The levels of all phytochemicals and antioxidant activity were significantly influenced by cultivar (C), plant part (P), and growing season (S). Among the glucosinolates, glucoraphanin and glucobrassicin were the major constituents. The highest total glucosinolate content was found in the florets of plants grown in both seasons. Phenols and flavonoids were highest levels in leaves, while vitamin C was highest in stems, suggesting that broccoli leaves and stems may be good sources of such phytochemicals. The levels of all phytochemicals were generally higher in florets in the spring than in the fall, but were higher in leaves and stems during the fall than the spring. Furthermore, higher cultivar-dependent and tissue-dependent variation was observed in the spring than in the fall. Total phenol content exhibited a strong positive correlation (r = 0.674**) with antioxidant activity, followed by total flavonoid content (r = 0.497**), indicating their significant contribution to total antioxidant activity.Keywords: Antioxidant activity, broccoli, glucosinolate, seasonal variation, total phenol, vitamin CAfrican Journal of Biotechnology, Vol. 13(4), pp. 604-615, 22 January, 201

Comparison of Physicochemical and Sensory Properties between Cholesterol-removed Gouda Cheese and Gouda Cheese during Ripening

This study was performed to compare physicochemical and sensory properties of cholesterol-removed Gouda cheese (CRGC) and Gouda cheese made in the laboratory during ripening. Composition, short-chain free fatty acids (SCFFA), texture, color, and sensory properties were measured. In chemical composition analyses, moistures were significantly different between control cheeses (42.86%) and sample cheese (48.32%) (p0.05). The amount of cholesterol in control was 82.52 mg/100 g and the percentage of cholesterol removal was 90.7%. SCFFA increased gradually during ripening and its level of CRGC increased and significantly different from that of control (p0.05). In comparison of the control and sample cheeses, hardness, and springiness were not significantly different, but cohesiveness, gumminess, and chewiness were different (p0.05). However, L* value decreased, while a* and b* values tended to increase significantly (p0.05). Therefore, this study suggests that the quality of cholesterol-removed Gouda cheese is not different from the control cheese

Review of the Screening Tool for Child Abuse by Health Care Provider

The recent report regarding the death of children due to child abuse brought on an implementation of an Act on special cases concerning the punishment, etc. of crimes of child abuse in September 2014. According to the report in 2013 by the National Child Protectin Agency, there were 10,000 suspected child abuse cases, with about 6,000 confirmed cases. While health care providers are obligated to report suspected child abuse, the rate of report was only less than 1%. Several studies suggest that the ease of screening process for child abuse in hospitals could increase the insight and reporting rate. With regard to the improvement in the perception for child abuse by health care providers in Korea, the authors reviewed the health care provider's roles for the protection of child abuse victims, various kinds of screening tools for child abuse in hospitals, and clinical processes for the evaluation of child abuse by a child protection team

Interfacility transport of critically ill children

Interfacility transport of critically ill children (transport) is a challenging component of pediatric critical care. The risk associated with the transport may be reduced by a specialized pediatric transport team, a screening tool for critically ill children, and a standardized handover between referring and referred physicians. Further research is necessary in Korea regarding the above measures for the safe and effective transport

Strengthening the role of pediatric emergency centers in Korea

Since 2016, the pediatric emergency centers (PECs) have been selected by the Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare, but there are still many problems in their designation and operation. The authors, affiliated with the policy research team in the Korean Society of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, sought to identify the current status and plans for improvement of PECs in Korea. The problems in the designation and operation are the disproportionate regional distribution of the PECs, financial difficulties in meeting the designation criteria, and recruitment of dedicated pediatric emergency specialists. To improve this, it is necessary to designate additional PECs and analyze the appropriateness of insurance cost, to strengthen the role other than the community practice, and to reinforce back-up treatment by pediatric sub-specialists in PECs

Variation of quercetin glycoside derivatives in three onion (Allium cepa L.) varieties

AbstractThe aim of this study was to quantify the contents of individual quercetin glycosides in red, yellow and chartreuse onion by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis. Acid hydrolysis of individual quercetin glycosides using 6M hydrochloric acid guided to identify and separate quercetin 7,4′-diglucoside, quercetin 3-glucoside, quercetin 4′-glucoside, and quercetin. The contents of total quercetin glycosides varied extensively among three varieties (ranged from 16.10 to 103.93mg/g DW). Quercetin was the predominant compound that accounted mean 32.21mg/g DW in red onion (43.6% of the total) and 127.92mg/g DW in chartreuse onion (78.3% of the total) followed by quercetin 3-glucoside (28.83 and 24.16mg/g DW) respectively. Quercetin 3-glucoside levels were much higher in yellow onion (43.85mg/g DW) followed by quercetin 30.08mg/g DW. Quercetin 4′-glucoside documented the lowest amount that documented mean 2.4% of the total glycosides. The varied contents of glycosides present in the different onion varieties were significant

Effect of Crystallization Modes in TIPS-Pentacene/Insulating Polymer Blends on the Gas Sensing Properties of Organic Field-Effect Transistors

Blending organic semiconductors with insulating polymers has been known to be an effective way to overcome the disadvantages of single-component organic semiconductors for high-performance organic field-effect transistors (OFETs). We show that when a solution processable organic semiconductor (6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)pentacene, TIPS-pentacene) is blended with an insulating polymer (PS), morphological and structural characteristics of the blend films could be significantly influenced by the processing conditions like the spin coating time. Although vertical phase-separated structures (TIPS-pentacene-top/PS-bottom) were formed on the substrate regardless of the spin coating time, the spin time governed the growth mode of the TIPS-pentacene molecules that phase-separated and crystallized on the insulating polymer. Excess residual solvent in samples spun for a short duration induces a convective flow in the drying droplet, thereby leading to one-dimensional (1D) growth mode of TIPS-pentacene crystals. In contrast, after an appropriate spin-coating time, an optimum amount of the residual solvent in the film led to two-dimensional (2D) growth mode of TIPS-pentacene crystals. The 2D spherulites of TIPS-pentacene are extremely advantageous for improving the field-effect mobility of FETs compared to needle-like 1D structures, because of the high surface coverage of crystals with a unique continuous film structure. In addition, the porous structure observed in the 2D crystalline film allows gas molecules to easily penetrate into the channel region, thereby improving the gas sensing properties

Efficacy of early immunomodulator therapy on the outcomes of Crohn’s disease

BACKGROUND: The natural course of Crohn’s disease (CD), with continuing relapses and remissions, leads to irreversible intestinal damage. Early adoption of immunomodulator therapy has been proposed in order to address this; however, it is still uncertain whether early immunomodulator therapy could affect the natural course of the disease in real practice. We evaluated the efficacy of such therapy on the prognosis of newly diagnosed patients with CD. METHODS: This retrospective study included 168 patients who were newly diagnosed with CD and who started treatment at Severance Hospital, Seoul, Korea between January 2006 and March 2013. The short- and long-term outcomes were compared between patients treated with early immunomodulator therapy and those treated with conventional therapy. RESULTS: A Kaplan-Meier analysis identified that administration of immunomodulators within 6 months after diagnosis of CD was superior to conventional therapy in terms of clinical remission and corticosteroid-free remission rates (P=0.043 and P=0.035). However, P=0.827). Patients with a baseline elevated CRP level were more likely to relapse (P<0.005). Drug-related adverse events were more frequent in the early immunomodulator therapy group than in the conventional therapy group P=0.029). CONCLUSIONS: Early immunomodulator therapy was more effective than conventional therapy in inducing remission, but not in preventing relapse. Baseline high CRP level was a significant indicator of relapse

The elbow is the load-bearing joint during arm swing

Background Arm swing plays a role in gait by accommodating forward movement through trunk balance. This study evaluates the biomechanical characteristics of arm swing during gait. Methods The study performed computational musculoskeletal modeling based on motion tracking in 15 participants without musculoskeletal or gait disorder. A three-dimensional (3D) motion tracking system using three Azure Kinect (Microsoft) modules was used to obtain information in the 3D location of shoulder and elbow joints. Computational modeling using AnyBody Modeling System was performed to calculate the joint moment and range of motion (ROM) during arm swing. Results Mean ROM of the dominant elbow was 29.7°±10.2° and 14.2°±3.2° in flexion–extension and pronation–supination, respectively. Mean joint moment of the dominant elbow was 56.4±12.7 Nm, 25.6±5.2 Nm, and 19.8±4.6 Nm in flexion–extension, rotation, and abduction–adduction, respectively. Conclusions The elbow bears the load created by gravity and muscle contracture in dynamic arm swing movement. Level of evidenceLevel IV