Postharvest quality of Lepisanthes alata (Blume) Leenh. fruit harvested at three maturity stages

Lepisanthes alata or locally known as ceri Terengganu is one of tropical exotic fruits and native to Malaysia. The discovery of this fruit is relatively new thus there is lack of reports available on the physicochemical characteristics of the fruit. A study was conducted to investigate fruit quality harvested at three maturity stages, i.e. green, half green-red and red. Changes in peel colour were observed where values of L* (lightness) and h° (hue) decreased significantly whereas C* (chroma) increased significantly as ripening progressed. Fruit firmness decreased significantly from 79.33 to 28.76 N as fruit ripened from green to red. Soluble solids concentration (SSC) of fruits increased from 11.28 to 13.61% while titratable acidity decreased as fruit matured and ripened. As the pH of ceri Terengganu fruit increased, the ascorbic acid content decreased significantly upon maturation and red stage contained the lowest ascorbic acid content at 5.36 mg 100 g-1. In conclusion, red stage ceri Terengganu fruit is palatable with soft texture and soluble solids concentration

Fit Into College II: Physical Activity and Nutrition Behavior Effectiveness and Programming Recommendations

Purpose: To determine whether residency (living on campus versus off campus) was related to the effects of Fit into College on students’ health behaviors, and to understand interns’ perceptions of their roles in mentoring their trainees. Design: Pre-experimental, one-group, pretest-posttest design and a posttest focus group interview. Setting: University-offered health and internship courses. Subjects: Twenty-four students (trainees) participated in the intervention, nine of whom lived on campus. Five student-interns served as their mentors. Intervention: Fit into College was a 14-week intervention in which trainees teamed up with an intern to improve and/or maintain healthy nutrition and physical activity behaviors. Measures: Trainees’ nutrition and physical activity behaviors and perceptions were quantitatively assessed through surveys at preintervention and postintervention. Interns’ mentoring perceptions were qualitatively assessed through a focus group interview after the intervention. Analysis: Two-factor repeated measure ANOVAs and qualitative theme identification. Results: Regardless of their residency location, the trainees’ perceptions of the health benefits of eating fruits and vegetables improved during the intervention. However, for trainees living on campus, the intervention was not effective in increasing the number of fruits and vegetables consumed or the planning for food preparation. The interns perceived that they did not have adequate access to healthy foods, the knowledge or skills to prepare healthy foods, or the competency to teach food preparation strategies to their trainees. For trainees living on campus, the intervention was more effective in decreasing perceived exercise barriers than trainees living off campus. Conclusion: Future iterations of Fit into College may focus on 1) improving college students’ planning and preparation of healthy foods, 2) segmenting trainees into more homogeneous groups for the interns to tailor their areas of expertise (campus vs. off-campus and/or freshman vs. upperclass students), and 3) collaborating with university-partners to improve environmental conditions to promote physical activity and healthy nutrition

Is clopidogrel better than aspirin following breakthrough strokes while on aspirin? A retrospective cohort study.

ObjectiveThere is insufficient evidence on which to base a recommendation for optimal antiplatelet therapy following a stroke while on aspirin. The objective was to compare clopidogrel initiation vs aspirin reinitiation for vascular risk reduction among patients with ischaemic stroke on aspirin at the time of their index stroke.DesignRetrospective.SettingWe conducted a nationwide cohort study by retrieving all hospitalised patients (≥18 years) with a primary diagnosis of ischaemic stroke between 2003 and 2009 from Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database.ParticipantsAmong 3862 patients receiving aspirin before the index ischaemic stroke and receiving either aspirin or clopidogrel after index stroke during follow-up period, 1623 were excluded due to a medication possession ratio <80%. Also, 355 were excluded due to history of atrial fibrillation, valvular heart disease or coagulopathy. Therefore, 1884 patients were included in our final analysis.InterventionsPatients were categorised into two groups based on whether clopidogrel or aspirin was prescribed during the follow-up period. Follow-up was from time of the index stroke to admission for recurrent stroke or myocardial infarction, death or the end of 2010.Primary and secondary outcome measuresThe primary end point was hospitalisation due to a new-onset major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE: composite of any stroke or myocardial infarction). The leading secondary end point was any recurrent stroke.ResultsCompared to aspirin, clopidogrel was associated with a lower occurrence of future MACE (HR=0.54, 95% CI 0.43 to 0.68, p<0.001, number needed to treat: 8) and recurrent stroke (HR=0.54, 95% CI 0.42 to 0.69, p<0.001, number needed to treat: 9) after adjustment of relevant covariates.ConclusionsAmong patients with an ischaemic stroke while taking aspirin, clopidogrel initiation was associated with fewer recurrent vascular events than aspirin reinitiation

Effects of remote limb ischemic conditioning on muscle strength in healthy young adults: A randomized controlled trial

Remote limb ischemic conditioning (RLIC) is a clinically feasible method in which brief, sub-lethal bouts of ischemia protects remote organs or tissues from subsequent ischemic injury. A single session of RLIC can improve exercise performance and increase muscle activation. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to assess the effects of a brief, two-week protocol of repeated RLIC combined with strength training on strength gain and neural adaptation in healthy young adults. Participants age 18-40 years were randomized to receive either RLIC plus strength training (n = 15) or sham conditioning plus strength training (n = 15). Participants received RLIC or sham conditioning over 8 visits using a blood pressure cuff on the dominant arm with 5 cycles of 5 minutes each alternating inflation and deflation. Visits 3-8 paired conditioning with wrist extensors strength training on the non-dominant (non-conditioned) arm using standard guidelines. Changes in one repetition maximum (1 RM) and electromyography (EMG) amplitude were compared between groups. Both groups were trained at a similar workload. While both groups gained strength over time (P = 0.001), the RLIC group had greater strength gains (9.38 ± 1.01 lbs) than the sham group (6.3 ± 1.08 lbs, P = 0.035). There was not a significant group x time interaction in EMG amplitude (P = 0.231). The RLIC group had larger percent changes in 1 RM (43.8% vs. 26.1%, P = 0.003) and EMG amplitudes (31.0% vs. 8.6%, P = 0.023) compared to sham conditioning. RLIC holds promise for enhancing muscle strength in healthy young and older adults, as well as clinical populations that could benefit from strength training

Comment on "Two Phase Transitions in the Fully frustrated XY Model"

The conclusions of a recent paper by Olsson (Phys. Rev. Lett. 75, 2758 (1995), cond-mat/9506082) about the fully frustrated XY model in two dimensions are questioned. In particular, the evidence presented for having two separate chiral and U(1) phase transitions are critically considered.Comment: One page one table, to Appear in Physical Review Letter

(2 Z )-3-Hydroxy-1-(pyridin-2-yl)-3-(pyridin-3-yl)prop-2-en-1one: crystal structure and Hirshfeld surface analysis

The title compound, C13H10N2O2 [also called 1-(pyridin-2-yl)-3-(pyridin-3-yl)propane-1,3-dione], features an almost planar (r.m.s. deviation = 0.0095 Å) central C3O2 core consolidated by an intra­molecular hy­droxy-O-H...O(carbon­yl) hydrogen bond. Twists are evident in the mol­ecule, as seen in the dihedral angles between the central core and the 2- and pyridin-3-yl rings of 8.91 (7) and 15.88 (6)°, respectively. The conformation about the C=C bond [1.3931 (17) Å] is Z, and the N atoms lie to the same side of the mol­ecule. In the mol­ecular packing, supra­molecular chains along the a axis are mediated by [pi](pyridin-2-yl)-[pi](pyridin-3-yl) inter­actions [inter-centroid distance = 3.7662 (9) Å]. The observation that chains pack with no directional inter­actions between them is consistent with the calculated electrostatic potential, which indicates that repulsive inter­actions dominate

Robust pinning of magnetic moments in pyrochlore iridates

Pyrochlore iridates A2Ir2O7 (A = rare earth elements, Y or Bi) hold great promise for realizing novel electronic and magnetic states owing to the interplay of spin-orbit coupling, electron correlation and geometrical frustration. A prominent example is the formation of all-in/all-out (AIAO)antiferromagnetic order in the Ir4+ sublattice that comprises of corner-sharing tetrahedra. Here we report on an unusual magnetic phenomenon, namely a cooling-field induced shift of magnetic hysteresis loop along magnetization axis, and its possible origin in pyrochlore iridates with non-magnetic Ir defects (e.g. Ir3+). In a simple model, we attribute the magnetic hysteresis loop to the formation of ferromagnetic droplets in the AIAO antiferromagnetic background. The weak ferromagnetism originates from canted antiferromagnetic order of the Ir4+ moments surrounding each non-magnetic Ir defect. The shift of hysteresis loop can be understood quantitatively based on an exchange-bias like effect in which the moments at the shell of the FM droplets are pinned by the AIAO AFM background via mainly the Heisenberg (J) and Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya (D) interactions. The magnetic pinning is stable and robust against the sweeping cycle and sweeping field up to 35 T, which is possibly related to the magnetic octupolar nature of the AIAO order.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure

Observational Constraints on Exponential Gravity

We study the observational constraints on the exponential gravity model of f(R)=-beta*Rs(1-e^(-R/Rs)). We use the latest observational data including Supernova Cosmology Project (SCP) Union2 compilation, Two-Degree Field Galaxy Redshift Survey (2dFGRS), Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 (SDSS DR7) and Seven-Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP7) in our analysis. From these observations, we obtain a lower bound on the model parameter beta at 1.27 (95% CL) but no appreciable upper bound. The constraint on the present matter density parameter is 0.245< Omega_m^0<0.311 (95% CL). We also find out the best-fit value of model parameters on several cases.Comment: 14pages, 3 figures, accepted by PR

Exploring Baba and Nyonya culture via multiple image lenses : food travellers’ perspective / Jason M. S. Lam...[et al.]

This study applies a multidimensional approach in the context of Baba and Nyonya cuisine. A total of 209 international food tourists were surveyed in Malacca, Malaysia. The results derived from structural equation modelling empirically confirmed that the cognitive image dimensions of safety, uniqueness and family-oriented significantly and positively influenced both affective and conative images. However, the cognitive image dimension of variety only partially influenced affective image, but not a conative image, while the cognitive image of cooking methods did not show any significant effects on the affective nor conative image. Finally, affective image dimensions significantly and positively influenced the conative image. Relevant implications, limitations, and suggestions for future studies for Baba and Nyonya cuisine also discussed