TAS2R38 bitter taste genotype is associated with complementary feeding behavior in infants

Background: Genetically mediated sensitivity to bitter taste has been associated with food preferences and eating behavior in adults and children. The aim of this study was to assess the association between TAS2R38 bitter taste genotype and the first complementary food acceptance in infants. Parents of healthy, breastfed, term-born infants were instructed, at discharge from the nursery, to feed their baby with a first complementary meal of 150 mL at 4 to 6 months of age. They recorded the day when the child ate the whole meal in a questionnaire. Additional data included food composition, breastfeeding duration, feeding practices, and growth at 6 months. Infants' TAS2R38 genotypes were determined at birth, and infants were classified as "bitter-insensitive" (genotype AVI/AVI) and "bitter-sensitive" (genotypes AVI/PAV or PAV/PAV). Results: One hundred seventy-six infants and their mothers were enrolled; completed data were available for 131/176 (74.4%) infants (gestational age 39.3 \ub1 1.1 weeks, birth weight 3390 \ub1 430 g). Bitter-insensitive were 45/131 (34.3%), and bitter-sensitive were 86/131 (65.6%). Thirty-one percent of bitter-insensitive infants consumed the whole complementary meal at first attempt, versus 13% of bitter-sensitive ones (p = 0.006). This difference was significant independently of confounding variables such as sex, breastfeeding, or foods used in the meal. Growth at 6 months did not differ between the two groups. Conclusions: Differences in TAS2R38 bitter taste gene were associated with acceptance of the first complementary food in infants, suggesting a possible involvement in eating behavior at weaning

Interferometric rail roughness measurement at train operational speed

Measuring rail roughness in view of reducing rolling noise emission is a challenge for field instrumentation. Direct measurements can be carried Out with contacting relative displacement measuring systems. However, the rail length that can be covered is limited and surveying a wide network turns out not to be practical. On the other hand, indirect methods based on acceleration measurements may be used for monitoring purposes. In this paper, the feasibility of roughness measurements based on interferometric techniques is discussed. Such a measurement could be carried out at normal train operation speed. The problems of optical measurements in real-time conditions are taken in due consideration. A key point of the discussion is the use of a system for vibration attenuation to be mounted under a vehicle to suspend the optical sensing device. The structure for a complete measurement device is proposed together with the expected performance. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Hydrogen production by formic acid decomposition over ca promoted Ni/SiO2 Catalysts: effect of the calcium content

© The Author(s).Formic acid, a major product of biomass processing, is regarded as a potential liquid carrier for hydrogen storage and delivery. The catalytic dehydrogenation of FA to generate hydrogen using heterogeneous catalysts is of great interest. Ni based catalysts supported on silica were synthesized by incipient wet impregnation. The effect of doping with an alkaline earth metal (calcium) was studied, and the solids were tested in the formic acid decomposition reaction to produce hydrogen. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and programmed temperature surface reaction (TPSR). The catalyst doped with 19.3 wt.% of Ca showed 100% conversion of formic acid at 160 °C, with a 92% of selectivity to hydrogen. In addition, all the tested materials were promising for their application, since they showed catalytic behaviors (conversion and selectivity to hydrogen) comparable to those of noble metals reported in the literature.This research was supported by the Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) under project CTQ-2017-89443-C3-3-R. CONICET Postdoctoral External Scholarship awarded to B. Faroldi is acknowledged.Peer reviewe

A range camera collecting multi-spectral texture for architecture applications

This work proposes a system for the automatic construction of multi-spectral 3D models of architecture. Besides the specific application which concerns the interactive visualization and the restoration of historical buildings, the interest of the proposed techniques lays in the multi-spectral nature of the textures which allow rendering with faithful colors and in the automatism of 3D model construction. The proposed system is an effective tool for producing 3D content amenable to a great number of applications. 1

Xiphidiocercariae from naturally infected Lymnaea columella (Mollusca, Gastropoda) in urban area: morphology and ultrastructure of the larvae and histological changes in the mollusc host

Abstract Urban agriculture is very common in the cities, as Rio de Janeiro and adjacencies, being important as economic activity. However, this practice can create appropriate conditions for establishment and maintenance of life cycle of many parasites. Lymneid snails can act as intermediate hosts of many trematodes species, including those that infect humans and wild and domestic. In the present study, the snail Lymnaea columella was collected from an urban watercress plantations and the morphology of cercariae released by them was analyzed by light and scanning electron microscopy. The specimens were identified as xiphidiocercariae, belonging to the Cercariae Ornatae group, of the order Plagiorchiiformes. Histological examination of the digestive gland of the infected snails revealed the presence of developing sporocysts, with hemocitary infiltration and metaplasia in the epithelial tissue