The Food Industry’s Perception of Economically Motivated Adulteration and Related Risk Factors

The United States of America has numerous safeguards in place to protect our food supply, including federal regulations and the food and beverage industry’s dedication to food safety. One of the issues that the food and beverage industry continuously battles is the prevalence of intentional adulteration. The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) specifically addresses intentional adulteration and its sub-category of economically motivated adulteration (EMA) by requiring all facilities that supply food to the US to assess the vulnerabilities within their operation in order to prevent events that could cause public harm. The purposes of this study are threefold: (1) to better understand industry’s perception of EMA (2) to assess how industry determines ingredients at risk for EMA and (3) to determine the extent to which a tool that assesses ingredient vulnerability would be useful to industry. This study surveyed individuals working for food and beverage companies in departments associated with the selection, purchase, or processing of ingredients. Questionnaire items assessed their companies’ view of EMA, FSMA’s impact on their companies’ view on EMA, and examined their perception of EMA and ingredient safety. The data was analyzed for major themes. Participants (n=36) overwhelmingly agreed, 88.9%, that some ingredients are at higher risk for EMA. Results show 37% of participants say that their operation is “somewhat vulnerable” to “very vulnerable” to EMA and 55.6% rank EMA as one of their company’s top 5 food safety and quality assurance concerns. Specific ingredients such as “honey”, “seafood”, “olive oil”, and “spices” were mentioned as higher risk ingredients. Other participants explained ingredients “supplied from China” and “high value and high demand raw materials” as well as “changes in the market” inflate the risk of EMA. The most common factors that impacted the perception of risk of EMA included the originating location of the ingredient (80.6%), supplier reliability (88.9%), historic instance of EMA (88.9%), and the value of the ingredient (86.1%). EMA is a large concern for those who completed this questionnaire. Most respondents noting that even when they feel their operation is secure against EMA, it is still a top 5 priority

Men with intellectual disabilities with a history of sexual offending: empathy for victims of sexual and non-sexual crimes

Background: The objectives were (a) to compare the general empathy abilities of men with intellectual disabilities (IDs) who had a history of sexual offending to men with IDs who had no known history of illegal behaviour, and (b) to determine whether men with IDs who had a history of sexual offending had different levels of specific victim empathy towards their own victim, in comparison to an unknown victim of sexual crime, and a victim of non-sexual crime, and make comparison to non-offenders. Methods: Men with mild IDs (N = 35) were asked to complete a measure of general empathy and a measure of specific victim empathy. All participants completed the victim empathy measure in relation to a hypothetical victim of a sexual offence, and a non-sexual crime, while additionally, men with a history of sexual offending were asked to complete this measure in relation to their own most recent victim. Results: Men with a history of sexual offending had significantly lower general empathy, and specific victim empathy towards an unknown sexual offence victim, than men with no known history of illegal behaviour. Men with a history of sexual offending had significantly lower victim empathy for their own victim than for an unknown sexual offence victim. Victim empathy towards an unknown victim of a non-sexual crime did not differ significantly between the two groups. Conclusions: The findings suggest that it is important include interventions within treatment programmes that attempt to improve empathy and perspective-taking

From Open Educational Resources to College Credit: The Approaches of Saylor Academy

Over the past decade great progress has been made in improving the availability of Open Educational Resources (OER). However, one area in which OER has been deficient is in its ability to lead to college or university credit, something that many users of OER may desire. This article describes the work done by the Saylor Academy in amalgamating OER in such a format that college credit is more easily attainable. We describe not only the theory behind what Saylor has done, but also provide details about the initial stages of their program implementation within specific accredited institutions

Foam-on-Tile Damage Model

An impact model was developed to predict how three specific foam types would damage the Space Shuttle Orbiter insulating tiles. The inputs needed for the model are the foam type, the foam mass, the foam impact velocity, the foam impact incident angle, the type being impacted, and whether the tile is new or aged (has flown at least one mission). The model will determine if the foam impact will cause damage to the tile. If it can cause damage, the model will output the damage cavity dimensions (length, depth, entry angle, exit angle, and sidewall angles). It makes the calculations as soon as the inputs are entered (less than 1 second). The model allows for the rapid calculation of numerous scenarios in a short time. The model was developed from engineering principles coupled with significant impact testing (over 800 foam impact tests). This model is applicable to masses ranging from 0.0002 up to 0.4 pound (0.09 up to 181 g). A prior tool performed a similar function, but was limited to the assessment of a small range of masses and did not have the large test database for verification. In addition, the prior model did not provide outputs of the cavity damage length, entry angle, exit angle, or sidewall angles

Global FKRP Registry: observations in more than 300 patients with Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy R9

OBJECTIVE: The Global FKRP Registry is a database for individuals with conditions caused by mutations in the Fukutin-Related Protein (FKRP) gene: limb girdle muscular dystrophy R9 (LGMDR9, formerly LGMD2I) and congenital muscular dystrophies MDC1C, Muscle-Eye-Brain Disease and Walker-Warburg Syndrome. The registry seeks to further understand the natural history and prevalence of FKRP-related conditions; aid the rapid identification of eligible patients for clinical studies; and provide a source of information to clinical and academic communities. METHODS: Registration is patient-initiated through a secure online portal. Data, reported by both patients and their clinicians, include: age of onset, presenting symptoms, family history, motor function and muscle strength, respiratory and cardiac function, medication, quality of life and pain. RESULTS: Of 663 registered participants, 305 were genetically confirmed LGMDR9 patients from 23 countries. A majority of LGMDR9 patients carried the common mutation c.826C \u3e A on one or both alleles; 67.9% were homozygous and 28.5% were compound heterozygous for this mutation. The mean ages of symptom onset and disease diagnosis were higher in individuals homozygous for c.826C \u3e A compared with individuals heterozygous for c.826C \u3e A. This divergence was replicated in ages of loss of running ability, wheelchair-dependence and ventilation assistance; consistent with the milder phenotype associated with individuals homozygous for c.826C \u3e A. In LGMDR9 patients, 75.1% were currently ambulant and 24.6%, nonambulant (unreported in 0.3%). Cardiac impairment was reported in 23.2% (30/129). INTERPRETATION: The Global FKRP Registry enables the collection of patient natural history data, which informs academics, healthcare professionals and industry. It represents a trial-ready cohort of individuals and is centrally placed to facilitate recruitment to clinical studies

Absorption Efficiencies of Forsterite. I: DDA Explorations in Grain Shape and Size

We compute the absorption efficiency (Qabs) of forsterite using the discrete dipole approximation (DDA) in order to identify and describe what characteristics of crystal grain shape and size are important to the shape, peak location, and relative strength of spectral features in the 8-40 {\mu}m wavelength range. Using the DDSCAT code, we compute Qabs for non-spherical polyhedral grain shapes with a_eff = 0.1 {\mu}m. The shape characteristics identified are: 1) elongation/reduction along one of three crystallographic axes; 2) asymmetry, such that all three crystallographic axes are of different lengths; and 3) the presence of crystalline faces that are not parallel to a specific crystallographic axis, e.g., non-rectangular prisms and (di)pyramids. Elongation/reduction dominates the locations and shapes of spectral features near 10, 11, 16, 23.5, 27, and 33.5 {\mu}m, while asymmetry and tips are secondary shape effects. Increasing grain sizes (0.1-1.0 {\mu}m) shifts the 10, 11 {\mu}m features systematically towards longer wavelengths and relative to the 11 {\mu}m feature increases the strengths and slightly broadens the longer wavelength features. Seven spectral shape classes are established for crystallographic a-, b-, and c-axes and include columnar and platelet shapes plus non-elongated or equant grain shapes. The spectral shape classes and the effects of grain size have practical application in identifying or excluding columnar, platelet or equant forsterite grain shapes in astrophysical environs. Identification of the shape characteristics of forsterite from 8-40 {\mu}m spectra provides a potential means to probe the temperatures at which forsterite formed.Comment: 55 pages, 15 figure

Localisation of the RNA-Binding Domain on the Respiratory Syncytial Virus Nucleocapsid Protein

The purpose of the study presented herein was to investigate the RNA-binding properties of the nucleocapsid (N) protein of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The position of the RNA binding-site within the protein was investigated. In addition, the ability of N protein to assemble into nucleocapsid-like structures was studied, thus determining whether these facets were distinguishable. The sequence specificity of RNA-binding by the N protein was investigated using several RNA probes, one of which represented the RSV leader sequence. Various in vitro assays, such as the yeast three-hybrid system, gel mobility shift assay and northwestern blots, were employed to this end. In the absence of other viral proteins, N possessed no sequence preference in the manner of its association with RNA. The locale of the RNA-binding site within the N protein was addressed by employing two methodologies. The first approach employed a UV crosslinking assay with subsequent analysis by mass spectrometry. A single N-derived peptide was identified within the carboxy-domain of N (amino acids 352 to 358) as being potentially modified by RNA-binding. Secondly, the use of carboxy-terminal deletion mutants of the N protein demonstrated the presence of an RNA-binding domain within the first 92 amino acids of the N protein. The two individual binding regions identified demonstrate the conformational nature of the RNA-binding domain. However, the role of the carboxy terminus was shown to be minimal, as deletion of this region did not prevent RNA- binding. Concurrent with the binding of RNA is the formation of nucleocapsids, helical structures formed from N proteins encapsulating the viral genomic RNA. The ability of recombinant N to assemble into such structures was investigated by EM. Histidine-tag N demonstrated the capacity to form nucleocapsid-like structures and N:RNA rings, the latter representing a single turn of the nucleocapsid helix. The rings were shown to consist of 10 N protein monomers, a situation different from Sendai virus (13 monomers) and more similar to that of rabies virus (10 monomers). A mutant representing amino acids 1 to 92 of the RSV N protein formed RNase-resistant structures that were nucleocapsid-like in appearance. This suggests that characteristics of RNA-binding and nucleocapsid assembly are situated within the same domain. A potential map of the domain structure of RSV N protein, derived from this work and from studies on-going in the laboratory, is presented

Morphological investigation of AFR-PEPA-N imide oligomers and their cured polyimides and the remodification of AFR-PEPA-N to achieve liquid-crystalline behavior

The morphological investigation of AFR-PEPA-N and the development of a new polyimide have been established herein. AFR-PEPA-N is an imide oligomer that was created out of the need to attain a high temperature polyimide that is also resistant to hygrothermal and thermooxidative degradation. Previously, AFR700B was implemented in aerospace applications, but it was found to be hygrothermally unstable. It experienced a severe drop in its glass transition temperature and composite blistering. AFR700B was improved upon, by altering the chemical structure of the polyimide. The nadic end-cap was removed and replaced by a more hydrolytically stable end-cap. However this phenylethynyl-terminated end-group could possibly create semi-crystallinity or liquid-crystalline characteristics within the polymer. Previous research suggests further study of the relationships between AFR-PEPA-N's oligomer crystallinity and the properties of phenylethynyl-terminated polyimides. This understanding is valuable in processing AFR-PEPA-N by resin transfer molding (RTM) to obtain its optimum properties. The investigation included the identification of a processing window, temperature overlap between the melting of residual crystals and crosslinking reactions, and liquid crystallinity behavior. These reactions were investigated primarily through birefringence. The residual crystals were found to be innate in the oligomer powder and not created by preliminary thermal processing. Therefore a reasonable processing window was found based upon the reduction of crystal size by appropriate dissolution techniques. Possible nematic liquid-crystalline characteristics were found to be present at 360oC. A new imide oligomer, which was based upon AFR-PEPA-N's original structure, was synthesized. The non-linear, flourinated backbone of AFR-PEPA-N was replaced with a co-linear backbone, pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA). These modifications were made in hopes to improve upon the network structure by it becoming more regular and resistance to nano-sized defects in the final crosslinked structure. The initial characterization found that the new polyimide, AFR-P3, displayed a cure temperature at 350oC. The degree of cure reaches about 80 to 90 percent complete based upon the consumption of the carbon-triple bond. AFR-P3 did not show signs of liquid-crystalline behavior. However, there will be future work in creating a more rigid-rod, self-assembling oligomer that can attain optimum thermal and mechanical properties