3,807 research outputs found
Heat-induced alterations in cashew allergen solubility and IgE binding
AbstractCashew nuts are an increasingly common cause of food allergy. We compare the soluble protein profile of cashew nuts following heating. SDS-PAGE indicate that heating can alter the solubility of cashew nut proteins. The 11S legumin, Ana o 2, dominates the soluble protein content in ready to eat and mildly heated cashew nuts. However, we found that in dark-roasted cashew nuts, the soluble protein profile shifts and the 2S albumin Ana o 3 composes up to 40% of the soluble protein. Analysis of trypsin-treated extracts by LC/MS/MS indicate changes in the relative number and intensity of peptides. The relative cumulative intensity of the 5 most commonly observed Ana o 1 and 2 peptides are altered by heating, while those of the 5 most commonly observed Ana o 3 peptides remaine relatively constant. ELISA experiments indicate that there is a decrease in rabbit IgG and human serum IgE binding to soluble cashew proteins following heating. Our findings indicate that heating can alter the solubility of cashew allergens, resulting in altered IgE binding. Our results support the use of both Ana o 2 and Ana o 3 as potential cashew allergen diagnostic targets
Performance data of US Naval Observatory VLG-11 hydrogen masers since September, 1983
In 1983, two VLC-11 masers were delivered to the U.S. Naval Observatory by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Last year the short-term stability of these masers was reported and the effect of this short-term stability on timekeeping performance was examined. Since the date of installation, 13 September 1983, data on the masers' long-term performance have been accumulated. The Allan variance, agma(tau), of the relative frequency between the masers reaches a minimum of about 4 parts in 10 to the 16th power at averaging times 5,000 seconds and rises at longer averaging times due, at least partly, to systematic frequency drift. The systematic frequency drifts, expressed in units of fractional frequency difference per day are discussed
Effects of industrial cashew nut processing on anacardic acid content and allergen recognition by IgE.
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An exploration of the experiences and utility of functional electrical stimulation for foot drop in people with multiple sclerosis
Purpose: Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is effective in improving walking in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) with foot drop. There is limited research exploring people’s experiences of using this device. This study aims to explore the utility, efficacy, acceptability, and impact on daily life of the device in people with MS.
Methods: An interpretative phenomenological approach was employed. Ten participants who had used FES for 12 months were interviewed. Transcripts were analysed, and emergent themes identified.
Results: Nine participants continued to use the device. Three relevant super-ordinate themes were identified; impact of functional electrical stimulation, sticking with functional electrical stimulation, and autonomy and control. Participants reported challenges using the device; however, all reported positive physical and psychological benefits. Intrinsic and external influences such as; access to professional help, the influence of others, an individual’s ability to adapt, and experiences using the device, influenced their decisions to continue with the device. A thematic model of these factors was developed.
Conclusions: This study has contributed to our understanding of people with MS experiences of using the device and will help inform prescribing decisions and support the continued, appropriate use of FES over the longer term
The new biology of ageing
Human life expectancy in developed countries has increased steadily for over 150 years, through improvements in public health and lifestyle. More people are hence living long enough to suffer age-related loss of function and disease, and there is a need to improve the health of older people. Ageing is a complex process of damage accumulation, and has been viewed as experimentally and medically intractable. This view has been reinforced by the realization that ageing is a disadvantageous trait that evolves as a side effect of mutation accumulation or a benefit to the young, because of the decline in the force of natural selection at later ages. However, important recent discoveries are that mutations in single genes can extend lifespan of laboratory model organisms and that the mechanisms involved are conserved across large evolutionary distances, including to mammals. These mutations keep the animals functional and pathology-free to later ages, and they can protect against specific ageing-related diseases, including neurodegenerative disease and cancer. Preliminary indications suggest that these new findings from the laboratory may well also apply to humans. Translating these discoveries into medical treatments poses new challenges, including changing clinical thinking towards broad-spectrum, preventative medicine and finding novel routes to drug development
Characterization of the Soluble Nanoparticles Formed through Coulombic Interaction of Bovine Serum Albumin with Anionic Graft Copolymers at Low pH
A static light scattering (SLS) study of bovine serum albumin (BSA) mixtures
with two anionic graft copolymers of poly (sodium acrylate-co-sodium
2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulphonate)-graft-poly (N,
N-dimethylacrylamide), with a high composition in poly (N,
N-dimethylacrylamide) (PDMAM) side chains, revealed the formation of oppositely
charged complexes, at pH lower than 4.9, the isoelectric point of BSA. The
core-corona nanoparticles formed at pH = 3.00, were characterized. Their
molecular weight and radius of gyration were determined by SLS, while their
hydrodynamic radius was determined by dynamic light scattering. Small angle
neutron scattering measurements were used to determine the radius of the
insoluble complexes, comprising the core of the particles. The values obtained
indicated that their size and aggregation number of the nanoparticles, were
smaller when the content of the graft copolymers in neutral PDMAM side chains
was higher. Such particles should be interesting drug delivery candidates, if
the gastrointestinal tract was to be used
Identification and support of autistic individuals within the UK Criminal Justice System: a practical approach based upon professional consensus with input from lived experience.
Background: Autism Spectrum Disorder (hereafter referred to as autism) is characterised by difficulties with (i) social communication, social interaction, and (ii) restricted and repetitive interests and behaviours. Estimates of autism prevalence within the criminal justice system (CJS) vary considerably, but there is evidence to suggest that the condition can be missed or misidentified within this population. Autism has implications for an individual’s journey through the CJS, from police questioning and engagement in court proceedings through to risk assessment, formulation, therapeutic approaches, engagement with support services, and long-term social and legal outcomes. Methods: This consensus based on professional opinion with input from lived experience aims to provide general principles for consideration by United Kingdom (UK) CJS personnel when working with autistic individuals, focusing on autistic offenders and those suspected of offences. Principles may be transferable to countries beyond the UK. Multidisciplinary professionals and two service users were approached for their input to address the effective identification and support strategies for autistic individuals within the CJS. Results: The authors provide a consensus statement including recommendations on the general principles of effective identification, and support strategies for autistic individuals across different levels of the CJS. Conclusion: Greater attention needs to be given to this population as they navigate the CJS
Shadowing, Binding and Off-Shell Effects in Nuclear Deep Inelastic Scattering
We present a unified description of nuclear deep inelastic scattering (DIS)
over the whole region of the Bjorken variable. Our approach is based on
a relativistically covariant formalism which uses analytical properties of
quark correlators. In the laboratory frame it naturally incorporates two
mechanisms of DIS: (I) scattering from quarks and antiquarks in the target and
(II) production of quark-antiquark pairs followed by interactions with the
target. We first calculate structure functions of the free nucleon and develop
a model for the quark spectral functions. We show that mechanism (II) is
responsible for the sea quark content of the nucleon while mechanism (I)
governs the valence part of the nucleon structure functions. We find that the
coherent interaction of pairs with nucleons in the nucleus leads to
shadowing at small and discuss this effect in detail. In the large
region DIS takes place mainly on a single nucleon. There we focus on the
derivation of the convolution model. We point out that the off-shell properties
of the bound nucleon structure function give rise to sizable nuclear effects.Comment: 29 pages (and 10 figures available as hard copies from Authors),
REVTE
Leptoproduction of Heavy Quarks II -- A Unified QCD Formulation of Charged and Neutral Current Processes from Fixed-target to Collider Energies
A unified QCD formulation of leptoproduction of massive quarks in charged
current and neutral current processes is described. This involves adopting
consistent factorization and renormalization schemes which encompass both
vector-boson-gluon-fusion (flavor creation) and
vector-boson-massive-quark-scattering (flavor excitation) production
mechanisms. It provides a framework which is valid from the threshold for
producing the massive quark (where gluon-fusion is dominant) to the very high
energy regime when the typical energy scale \mu is much larger than the quark
mass m_Q (where the quark-scattering should be prevalent). This approach
effectively resums all large logarithms of the type (alpha_s(mu)
log(mu^2/m_Q^2)^n which limit the validity of existing fixed-order calculations
to the region mu ~ O(m_Q). We show that the (massive) quark-scattering
contribution (after subtraction of overlaps) is important in most parts of the
(x, Q) plane except near the threshold region. We demonstrate that the
factorization scale dependence of the structure functions calculated in this
approach is substantially less than those obtained in the fixed-order
calculations, as one would expect from a more consistent formulation.Comment: LaTeX format, 29 pages, 11 figures. Revised to make auto-TeX-abl
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