Impact of Enzymatic Hydrolysis and Microfluidization on the Techno-Functionality of Oat Bran in Suspension and Acid Milk Gel Models

Oat bran is a nutritionally rich ingredient, but it is underutilized in semi-moist and liquid foods due to technological issues such as high viscosity and sliminess. The aim of this work was to improve the technological properties of oat bran concentrate (OBC) in high-moisture food applications by enzymatic and mechanical treatments. OBC was hydrolyzed with β-glucanase (OBC-Hyd) and the water-soluble fraction (OBC-Sol) was separated. OBC, OBC-Hyd and OBC-Sol were further microfluidized at 5% dry matter content. Enzymatic treatment and microfluidization of OBC reduced the molecular weight (Mw) of β-glucan from 2748 kDa to 893 and 350 kDa, respectively, as well as the average particle size of OBC (3.4 and 35 times, respectively). Both treatments increased the extractability of the soluble compounds from the OBC samples (up to 80%) and affected their water retention capacity. OBC in suspension had very high viscosity (969 mPa·s) when heated, which decreased after both enzyme and microfluidization treatments. The colloidal stability of the OBC in suspension was improved, especially after microfluidization. The addition of OBC samples to acid milk gels decreased syneresis, improved the water holding capacity and softened the texture. The changes in the suspension and gel characteristics were linked with reduced β-glucan Mw and OBC particle size

The price of tumor control: an analysis of rare side effects of anti-CTLA-4 therapy in metastatic melanoma from the ipilimumab network

Background: Ipilimumab, a cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4) blocking antibody, has been approved for the treatment of metastatic melanoma and induces adverse events (AE) in up to 64% of patients. Treatment algorithms for the management of common ipilimumab-induced AEs have lead to a reduction of morbidity, e.g. due to bowel perforations. However, the spectrum of less common AEs is expanding as ipilimumab is increasingly applied. Stringent recognition and management of AEs will reduce drug-induced morbidity and costs, and thus, positively impact the cost-benefit ratio of the drug. To facilitate timely identification and adequate management data on rare AEs were analyzed at 19 skin cancer centers. Methods and Findings: Patient files (n = 752) were screened for rare ipilimumab-associated AEs. A total of 120 AEs, some of which were life-threatening or even fatal, were reported and summarized by organ system describing the most instructive cases in detail. Previously unreported AEs like drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS), granulomatous inflammation of the central nervous system, and aseptic meningitis, were documented. Obstacles included patientś delay in reporting symptoms and the differentiation of steroid-induced from ipilimumab-induced AEs under steroid treatment. Importantly, response rate was high in this patient population with tumor regression in 30.9% and a tumor control rate of 61.8% in stage IV melanoma patients despite the fact that some patients received only two of four recommended ipilimumab infusions. This suggests that ipilimumab-induced antitumor responses can have an early onset and that severe autoimmune reactions may reflect overtreatment. Conclusion: The wide spectrum of ipilimumab-induced AEs demands doctor and patient awareness to reduce morbidity and treatment costs and true ipilimumab success is dictated by both objective tumor responses and controlling severe side effects

Targeted Surface Doping with Reversible Local Environment Improves Oxygen Stability at the Electrochemical Interfaces of Nickel-Rich Cathode Materials.

Elemental doping represents a prominent strategy to improve interfacial chemistry in battery materials. Manipulating the dopant spatial distribution and understanding the dynamic evolution of the dopants at the atomic scale can inform better design of the doping chemistry for batteries. In this work, we create a targeted hierarchical distribution of Ti4+, a popular doping element for oxide cathode materials, in LiNi0.8Mn0.1Co0.1O2 primary particles. We apply multiscale synchrotron/electron spectroscopy and imaging techniques as well as theoretical calculations to investigate the dynamic evolution of the doping chemical environment. The Ti4+ dopant is fully incorporated into the TMO6 octahedral coordination and is targeted to be enriched at the surface. Ti4+ in the TMO6 octahedral coordination increases the TM-O bond length and reduces the covalency between (Ni, Mn, Co) and O. The excellent reversibility of Ti4+ chemical environment gives rise to superior oxygen reversibility at the cathode-electrolyte interphase and in the bulk particles, leading to improved stability in capacity, energy, and voltage. Our work directly probes the chemical environment of doping elements and helps rationalize the doping strategy for high-voltage layered cathodes

ARIA digital anamorphosis : Digital transformation of health and care in airway diseases from research to practice

Digital anamorphosis is used to define a distorted image of health and care that may be viewed correctly using digital tools and strategies. MASK digital anamorphosis represents the process used by MASK to develop the digital transformation of health and care in rhinitis. It strengthens the ARIA change management strategy in the prevention and management of airway disease. The MASK strategy is based on validated digital tools. Using the MASK digital tool and the CARAT online enhanced clinical framework, solutions for practical steps of digital enhancement of care are proposed.Peer reviewe

Blue Carbon Storage Capacity of Temperate Eelgrass (Zostera marina) Meadows

Despite the importance of coastal ecosystems for the global carbon budgets, knowledge of their carbon storage capacity and the factors driving variability in storage capacity is still limited. Here we provide an estimate on the magnitude and variability of carbon stocks within a widely distributed marine foundation species throughout its distribution area in temperate Northern Hemisphere. We sampled 54 eelgrass (Zostera marina) meadows, spread across eight ocean margins and 36° of latitude, to determine abiotic and biotic factors influencing organic carbon (Corg) stocks in Zostera marina sediments. The Corg stocks (integrated over 25‐cm depth) showed a large variability and ranged from 318 to 26,523 g C/m2 with an average of 2,721 g C/m2. The projected Corg stocks obtained by extrapolating over the top 1 m of sediment ranged between 23.1 and 351.7 Mg C/ha, which is in line with estimates for other seagrasses and other blue carbon ecosystems. Most of the variation in Corg stocks was explained by five environmental variables (sediment mud content, dry density and degree of sorting, and salinity and water depth), while plant attributes such as biomass and shoot density were less important to Corg stocks. Carbon isotopic signatures indicated that at most sites <50% of the sediment carbon is derived from seagrass, which is lower than reported previously for seagrass meadows. The high spatial carbon storage variability urges caution in extrapolating carbon storage capacity between geographical areas as well as within and between seagrass species

ARIA digital anamorphosis: Digital transformation of health and care in airway diseases from research to practice

Digital anamorphosis is used to define a distorted image of health and care that may be viewed correctly using digital tools and strategies. MASK digital anamorphosis represents the process used by MASK to develop the digital transformation of health and care in rhinitis. It strengthens the ARIA change management strategy in the prevention and management of airway disease. The MASK strategy is based on validated digital tools. Using the MASK digital tool and the CARAT online enhanced clinical framework, solutions for practical steps of digital enhancement of care are proposed

Biokolets potential i Örebro kommun : som kolsänka och jordförbättrare

Örebro kommun, sett till kommunkoncernen, har som mål att till 2030 bli en klimatneutral kommun. För att de ska kunna klara sitt mål krävs hållbara åtgärder. Ett förslag på det kan vara att implementera biokol vid plantering av träd i kommunen och därmed skapa en stabil och långvarig kolsänka. Övergödning är också ett allvarligt problem för miljön. Örebro kommun har i sin vattenplan presenterat att de, för att uppfylla de nationella kvalitetsmålen, ska titta på åtgärder kring övergödning. Eftersom biokol har en förmåga att reducera näringsläckage kan även biokol vara lösningen till detta problem. I denna studie har biokolets potential i Örebro kommun undersökts. Biokolets positiva egenskaper gör att det är en mångsidig produkt. Det beror på dess porositet och även dess stora specifika yta. Biokolet har även mycket goda fukthållande och näringshållande egenskaper. Kolinlagring är också en positiv egenskap som biokolet har på grund av sitt höga innehåll av stabilt kol. Målet med arbetet var att beräkna potentiell lagring av CO2 för Örebro kommun, undersöka biokolets potential att bespara näringsämnen samt undersöka effekten av att odla med biokol. Metoderna som användes var experimentella lakningsförsök, odlingsförsök samt en beräkningsmodell för att uppskatta potentiell lagring av CO2. Lakningsförsöken analyserade ammoniumjoner, fosfatjoner, pH och konduktivitet. Odlingsförsöken genomfördes på zucchiniplantor som drevs upp i ett växthus tillhörande Örebro kommun. Beräkningsmodellen för beräkning av kolsänkan gjordes i Excel med indata från litteraturen och Örebro kommun.  Lakningsförsöken visade att med 5 vol% biokol minskade läckaget med 23%. Med 20 respektive 50 vol% biokol minskade läckaget med 33 respektive 63%. Det går även att se att biokol bidrar till en pH ökning, vilket även det påverkar jordens förmåga positivt att absorbera näring. Konduktiviteten på samtliga torvblandningar visade sig minska allt eftersom ökat antal lakningsförsök. Utlakningen av fosfatjoner visade sig öka, i liten mängd i takt med en ökad volymvikt biokol.  En låg dos av hönsgödsel i kombination med biokol gav sämre tillväxt av zucchini jämfört med hönsgödsel utan biokol. Biogödseln gav däremot en positiv effekt för zucchiniplantan. De plantor som drevs upp med biogödsel och biokol blev lite större jämfört med de som drevs upp med biogödsel utan biokol.  Beräkningarna av kolsänkan visade att genom användning av biokol vid plantering av träd skulle Örebro kommun kunna lagra ca 5 ton CO2 eq/år. 2020 mättes kommunkoncernens CO2 utsläpp till 141 440 ton vilket innebär att en kolsänka 5 ton motsvarar en reducering på 0,004 %. Räknat till 2030 blir den sammanlagda kolsänkan 44 ton CO2 eq.

Multispecies distribution modelling: using integrative methods to project assemblages of small mammal tick hosts of Lyme Disease

The bacterium that causes Lyme disease (Borrelia burgdorferi) resides in tick vectors (Ixodes scapularis) that feed on and are carried by vertebrate hosts. For my thesis, I designed an integrative modeling framework to predict the distributions of these North American tick-hosts and assess Lyme disease risk from these projected community assemblages. I used species distribution modeling (SDM) to predict the current distributions of 11 small mammal reservoir species across North America using abiotic predictors. Species distributions were modelled at the single-species and community-level. However, models over-predicted the distributions of certain species. Traditionally, SDMs fail to incorporate interspecific interactions that influence species’ distributions. My framework accounts for biotic interactions indirectly by modeling assemblages in terms of community size structures, using species’ skull size data from museum collections. Size ratios were calculated from species’ size distributions to infer the influence of competition on community structure. Integrating these biotic factors resulted in more accurate predictions of host distributions. These results were used to quantify human risk of Lyme disease within the modeled regions. Thus, over predictive performance of these models was likely due to the omission of biotic variables that would otherwise constrain these species’ distributions. In conclusion, this framework demonstrates that applying trait-based proxies for species’ interactions can improve predictions of species assembly at large spatial scales. This research contributes to ongoing efforts of improving SDMs while predicting Lyme disease risk, accounting for community dynamics of its small mammal tick-hosts.La bactérie qui cause la maladie de Lyme (Borrelia burgdorferi) réside dans les vecteurs tiques (Ixodes scapularis) qui se nourrissent sur et sont transportés par des hôtes vertébrés. Pour mon projet de thèse, j'ai conçu un cadre de modélisation intégratif pour prédire la répartition de ces hôtes de tiques nord-américains. De plus, j’ai évalué le risque de maladie de Lyme à partir de ces assemblages projetés. J'ai utilisé la modélisation de la distribution des espèces (species distribution modelling, SDM) pour prédire les distributions actuelles de 11 espèces réservoirs de la maladie en Amérique du Nord utilisant des prédicteurs abiotiques. Les distributions d'espèces ont été modélisées à l'échelle de l’espèce et des communautés. Cependant, les modèles ont surévalué les distributions de certaines espèces. Traditionnellement, les SDM échouent à incorporer des interactions interspécifiques qui influencent les distributions des espèces. Le cadre de modélisation proposé ici intègre les interactions biotiques en modélisant les assemblages en termes de structures de taille de la communauté. Pour ce faire, j’ai utilisé des données de taille de crâne provenant des collections de musées. Par la suite, des ratios de taille ont été calculés à partir des distributions de taille des espèces pour estimer l'influence de la compétition sur la structure de la communauté. L'intégration de ces facteurs biotiques a permis des prédictions plus précises des distributions d'hôtes. Ces résultats ont été utilisés pour quantifier le risque humain de la maladie de Lyme dans les régions modélisées. Ainsi, la performance prédictive (c’est à dire les surévaluations) de ces modèles était probablement due à l'omission de variables biotiques qui contraindraient les distributions de ces espèces. En conclusion, ce cadre de modélisation démontre que l'application de proxis basés sur des caractères fonctionnels, qui représentent les interactions des espèces, peuvent améliorer les prédictions de l'assemblage à une grande échelle spatiale. Cette recherche contribue aux efforts continus visant à améliorer les SDM, tout en prévoyant le risque de la maladie de Lyme selon la dynamique des communautés de ses hôtes petits mammifères