1,418 research outputs found
Rheological Properties of Dough and the Bread Quality
Funding Information: This research was funded by the Argentinean Agency for the Scientific and Technological Promotion (ANPCyT; Projects PICT-2018-0647, PICT-2016-3047). Argentinean Research Council (CONICET), and the Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP), MINCYT (Argentina) and FCT (Portugal) for the financial support (MYNCYT-FCT-PO-0928-2009). This work was also supported by FCT, Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology through the R&D Unit, UIDB/04551/2020 (GREEN-IT, Bioresources for Sustainability) and the project UIDB/04033/2020. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.Protein-based foods based on sweet lupine are gaining the attention of industry and consumers on account of their being one of the legumes with the highest content of proteins (28â48%). Our objective was to study the thermal properties of two lupine flours (Misak and Rumbo) and the influence of different amounts of lupine flour (0, 10, 20 and 30%) incorporations on the hydration and rheological properties of dough and bread quality. The thermograms of both lupine flours showed three peaks at 77â78 °C, 88â89 °C and 104â105 °C, corresponding to 2S, 7S and 11S globulins, respectively. For Misak flour, higher energy was needed to denature proteins in contrast to Rumbo flour, which may be due to its higher protein amount (50.7% vs. 34.2%). The water absorption of dough with 10% lupine flour was lower than the control, while higher values were obtained for dough with 20% and 30% lupine flour. In contrast, the hardness and adhesiveness of the dough were higher with 10 and 20% lupine flour, but for 30%, these values were lower than the control. However, no differences were observed for GâČ, Gâł and tan ÎŽ parameters between dough. In breads, the protein content increased ~46% with the maximum level of lupine flour, from 7.27% in wheat bread to 13.55% in bread with 30% Rumbo flour. Analyzing texture parameters, the chewiness and firmness increased with incorporations of lupine flour with respect to the control sample while the elasticity decreased, and no differences were observed for specific volume. It can be concluded that breads of good technological quality and high protein content could be obtained by the inclusion of lupine flours in wheat flour. Therefore, our study highlights the great technological aptitude and the high nutritional value of lupine flours as ingredients for the breadmaking food industry.publishersversionpublishe
MiRNAs and snoRNAs in bone metastasis: functional roles and clinical potential
Bone is a frequent site of metastasis. Bone metastasis is associated with a short-term prognosis in cancer patients, and current treatments aim to slow its growth, but are rarely curative. Thus, revealing molecular mechanisms that explain why metastatic cells are attracted to the bone micro-environment, and how they successfully settle in the bone marrowâtaking advantage over bone resident cellsâand grow into macro-metastasis, is essential to propose new therapeutic approaches. MicroRNAs and snoRNAs are two classes of small non-coding RNAs that post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression. Recently, microRNAs and snoRNAs have been pointed out as important players in bone metastasis by (i) preparing the pre-metastatic niche, directly and indirectly affecting the activities of osteoclasts and osteoblasts, (ii) promoting metastatic properties within cancer cells, and (iii) acting as mediators within cells to support cancer cell growth in bone. This review aims to highlight the importance of microRNAs and snoRNAs in metastasis, specifically in bone, and how their roles can be linked together. We then discuss how microRNAs and snoRNAs are secreted by cancer cells and be found as extracellular vesicle cargo. Finally, we provide evidence of how microRNAs and snoRNAs can be potential therapeutic targets, at least in pre-clinical settings, and how their detection in liquid biopsies can be a useful diagnostic and/or prognostic biomarker to predict the risk of relapse in cancer patients
Displacement power spectrum measurement of a macroscopic optomechanical system at thermal equilibrium
The mirror relative motion of a suspended Fabry-Perot cavity is studied in
the frequency range 3-10 Hz. The experimental measurements presented in this
paper, have been performed at the Low Frequency Facility, a high finesse
optical cavity 1 cm long suspended to a mechanical seismic isolation system
identical to that one used in the VIRGO experiment. The measured relative
displacement power spectrum is compatible with a system at thermal equilibrium
within its environmental. In the frequency region above 3 Hz, where seismic
noise contamination is negligible, the measurement distribution is stationary
and Gaussian, as expected for a system at thermal equilibrium. Through a simple
mechanical model it is shown that: applying the fluctuation dissipation theorem
the measured power spectrum is reproduced below 90 Hz and noise induced by
external sources are below the measurement.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, 2 tables, to be submitte
Molecular epidemiology and case-control approaches for management of an outbreak of hepatitis A in Liguria, Italy
Introduction and methods. Hepatitis A remains an important
public health problem in low endemicity areas, because of the
social and economic high burden of cyclical outbreaks. In this
study we described an outbreak of HAV infection occurred in the
city of Genoa and in its proximity and the viral circulation in the
post-epidemic period. In order to identify risk factors associated to
the illness and to determine the source of infection and the dynamics
of virus evolution, we conducted an epidemiological and molecular
investigation by a case-control study and by sequence analysis of
high variable regions of the genome.
Results. From May to October 2005, 58 HAV hepatitis cases were
notified. The case-control study showed that beach establishment
attending is strongly associated with HAV hepatitis (OR = 24.5,
p-value inf. 0.01), at multivariate analysis. The profile of epidemic
curve, the clinical onset of primary cases who occurred in few
weeks and the geographic distribution of cases clearly indicated
a common exposure to a point source: the outbreak can be probably
associated with a contaminated food product dispensed in
the affected area.
The outbreak has been mainly caused by a single variant, confirming
the common exposure to a point source; this variant previously circulated
within homosexual man (MSM) network in Northern Europe.
During the outbreak and in the following months, different variants
originating from Southeast Asia, Southern America and Northern
Africa, have co-circulated: all these cases were related to international
travel and none of these had determined secondary cases.
Discussion. The epidemiological picture of hepatitis A in Liguria is
characterized by a wide heterogeneity of circulating HAV strains.
This pattern could be associated with the increase of imported
cases and transmission within network of persons with similar risk
factors. Molecular approach coupled to descriptive and analytical
epidemiological studies appeared un-replaceable tools for management
and control of HAV outbreaks, because of their capacity
to recognize infection origin, transmission patterns and dynamics
of virus evolution
Changes in Dry State Hemoglobin over Time Do Not Increase the Potential for Oxidative DNA Damage in Dried Blood
BACKGROUND: Hemoglobin (Hb) is the iron-containing oxygen transport protein present in the red blood cells of vertebrates. Ancient DNA and forensic scientists are particularly interested in Hb reactions in the dry state because both regularly encounter aged, dried bloodstains. The DNA in such stains may be oxidatively damaged and, in theory, may be deteriorated by the presence of Hb. To understand the nature of the oxidative systems potentially available to degrade DNA in the presence of dried Hb, we need to determine what molecular species Hb forms over time. These species will determine what type of iron (i.e. Fe(2+)/Fe(3+)/Fe(4+)) is available to participate in further chemical reactions. The availability of "free" iron will affect the ability of the system to undergo Fenton-type reactions which generate the highly reactive hydroxyl radical (OH*). The OH* can directly damage DNA. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Oxygenated Hb (oxyHb) converts over time to oxidized Hb (metHb), but this happens more quickly in the dry state than in the hydrated state, as shown by monitoring stabilized oxyHb. In addition, dry state oxyHb converts into at least one other unknown species other than metHb. Although "free" iron was detectable as both Fe(2+) and Fe(3+) in dry and hydrated oxyHb and metHb, the amount of ions detected did not increase over time. There was no evidence that Hb becomes more prone to generating OH* as it ages in either the hydrated or dry states. CONCLUSIONS: The Hb molecule in the dried state undergoes oxidative changes and releases reactive Fe(II) cations. These changes, however, do not appear to increase the ability of Hb to act as a more aggressive Fenton reagent over time. Nevertheless, the presence of Hb in the vicinity of DNA in dried bloodstains creates the opportunity for OH*-induced oxidative damage to the deoxyribose sugar and the DNA nucleobases
Reconstruction of the gravitational wave signal during the Virgo science runs and independent validation with a photon calibrator
The Virgo detector is a kilometer-scale interferometer for gravitational wave
detection located near Pisa (Italy). About 13 months of data were accumulated
during four science runs (VSR1, VSR2, VSR3 and VSR4) between May 2007 and
September 2011, with increasing sensitivity.
In this paper, the method used to reconstruct, in the range 10 Hz-10 kHz, the
gravitational wave strain time series from the detector signals is
described. The standard consistency checks of the reconstruction are discussed
and used to estimate the systematic uncertainties of the signal as a
function of frequency. Finally, an independent setup, the photon calibrator, is
described and used to validate the reconstructed signal and the
associated uncertainties.
The uncertainties of the time series are estimated to be 8% in
amplitude. The uncertainty of the phase of is 50 mrad at 10 Hz with a
frequency dependence following a delay of 8 s at high frequency. A bias
lower than and depending on the sky direction of the GW is
also present.Comment: 35 pages, 16 figures. Accepted by CQ
Cholesterol metabolism after bariatric surgery in grade 3 obesity : differences between malabsorptive and restrictive procedures
OBJECTIVEdMalabsorptive bariatric surgery (biliopancreatic diversion and biliointestinal
bypass [BIBP]) reduces serum cholesterol levels more than restrictive surgery (adjustable gastric
banding [AGB]), and this is thought to be due to greater weight loss. Our aim was to evaluate the
changes of cholesterol metabolism induced by malabsorptive and restrictive surgery independent
of weight loss.
RESEARCH DESIGNANDMETHODSdIn a nonrandomized, self-selected, unblinded,
active-comparator, bicenter, 6-month study, glucose metabolism (blood glucose and serum insulin
levels and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance [HOMA-IR] index) and
cholesterol metabolism (absorption: serum campesterol and sitosterol levels; synthesis: serum
lathosterol levels; catabolism: rate of appearance and serum concentrations of serum 7-a- and
serum 27-OH-cholesterol after infusions of deuterated 7-a- and 27-OH-cholesterol in sequence)
were assessed in grade 3 obesity subjects undergoing BIBP (n = 10) and AGB (n = 10). Evaluations
were performed before and 6 months after surgery.
RESULTSdSubjects had similar values at baseline.Weight loss was similar in the two groups
of subjects, and blood glucose, insulin levels, HOMA-IR, and triglycerides decreased in a similar
way. In contrast, serumcholesterol, LDL cholesterol, non-HDL cholesterol, serum sitosterol, and
campesterol levels decreased and lathosterol levels increased only in BIBP subjects, not in AGB
subjects. A significant increase in 7-a-OH-cholesterol occurred only with BIBP; serum 27-OHcholesterol
decreased in both groups.
CONCLUSIONSdMalabsorptive surgery specifically affects cholesterol levels, independent
of weight loss and independent of glucose metabolism and insulin resistance. Decreased sterol
absorption leads to decreased cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels, accompanied by enhanced
cholesterol synthesis and enhanced cholesterol catabolism. Compared with AGB, BIBP provides
greater cholesterol lowering
Molecular subtypes, metastatic pattern and patient age in breast cancer: An analysis of italian network of cancer registries (airtum) data
Breast cancer stage at diagnosis, patient age and molecular tumor subtype influence disease progression. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationships between these factors and survival in breast cancer patients among the Italian population using data from the AIRTUM national database. We enrolled women with primary breast cancer from 17 populationâbased cancer registries. Patients were subdivided into older (>69 years), middle (50â69 years) and younger age groups (<50 years) and their primary tumors categorized into four molecular subtypes based on hormone receptor (HR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status. There were 8831 patients diagnosed between 2010 and 2012 included. The most represented age group was 50â 69 years (41.7%). In 5735 cases the molecular subtype was identified: HER2â/HR+ was the most frequent (66.2%) and HER2+/HRâ the least (6.2%). Of the 390 women with metastases at diagnosis, 38% had simultaneous involvement of multiple sites, independent of age and molecular profile. In women with a single metastatic site, bone (20% of cases), liver (11%), lung (7%) and brain (3%) were the most frequent. In the studied age groups with different receptor expression profiles, the tumor metastasized to target organs with differing frequencies, affecting survival. Fiveâyear survival was lowest in women with tripleânegative (HER2â/HRâ) tumors and women with brain metastases at diagnosis
The variable finesse locking technique
Virgo is a power recycled Michelson interferometer, with 3 km long Fabry-Perot cavities in the arms. The locking of the interferometer has been obtained with an original lock acquisition technique. The main idea is to lock the instrument away from its working point. Lock is obtained by misaligning the power recycling mirror and detuning the Michelson from the dark fringe. In this way, a good fraction of light escapes through the antisymmetric port and the power build-up inside the recycling cavity is extremely low. The benefit is that all the degrees of freedom are controlled when they are almost decoupled, and the linewidth of the recycling cavity is large. The interferometer is then adiabatically brought on to the dark fringe. This technique is referred to as variable finesse, since the recycling cavity is considered as a variable finesse Fabry-Perot. This technique has been widely tested and allows us to reach the dark fringe in few minutes, in an essentially deterministic way
Calibration and sensitivity of the Virgo detector during its second science run
The Virgo detector is a kilometer-length interferometer for gravitational
wave detection located near Pisa (Italy). During its second science run (VSR2)
in 2009, six months of data were accumulated with a sensitivity close to its
design. In this paper, the methods used to determine the parameters for
sensitivity estimation and gravitational wave reconstruction are described. The
main quantities to be calibrated are the frequency response of the mirror
actuation and the sensing of the output power. Focus is also put on their
absolute timing. The monitoring of the calibration data as well as the
parameter estimation with independent techniques are discussed to provide an
estimation of the calibration uncertainties. Finally, the estimation of the
Virgo sensitivity in the frequency-domain is described and typical
sensitivities measured during VSR2 are shown.Comment: 30 pages, 23 figures, 1 table. Published in Classical and Quantum
Gravity (CQG), Corrigendum include
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