Physico-chemical stability and in vitro digestibility of beta-carotene-loaded lipid nanoparticles of cupuacu butter (Theobroma grandiflorum) produced by the phase inversion temperature (PIT) method

Beta-carotene is a carotenoid with a wide spectrum of biological activities (e.g., anti-cancer, anti-hypertensive, and anti-inflammatory). However, because of its extremely high hydrophobicity, it is difficult to incorporate in food formulations and its bioavailability is fairly low. Lipid-based encapsulation colloidal systems such as lipid nanoparticles can help overcome these issues. In this study, beta-carotene-loaded lipid nanoparticles were produced by the phase inversion temperature (PIT) method from 10% cupuacu butter and 20% surfactant (Cremophor RH40 and Span 80). The inversion temperature of the nanoparticles was 74 °C and their average diameter was 35 nm. After 100 days of storage, 85% of the initial amount of beta-carotene remained in the nanoparticles; alpha-tocopherol was found to be essential for carotenoid preservation. Comparison of the results of in vitro digestion between static and dynamic systems was performed, and the characteristics of each digestion system led to diverse results in terms of average particle size and beta-carotene bioaccessibility. Although the static system was much simpler than the dynamic system, it could not provide reliable data of the digestibility of the lipid nanoparticles. The bioaccessibility of beta-carotene in the static system was 92%, very similar to the results found in the literature; by comparison, the dynamic system revealed a beta-carotene bioaccessibility of nearly 20%. Despite this discrepancy, the highly realistic conditions of digestion simulated by the dynamic in vitro system indicate that the results of this system are more reliable than those obtained from the simplified static system applied in this research.The authors thank FAPESP (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo, Brazil) for the fellowships (grants 2010/20523-0, 2011/01260-0 and 2012/18495-3, authors Graziela V.L. Gomes and Mirella R. Sola). The author Ana C. Pinheiro is recipient of a fellowship from the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal) through grant SFRH/BPD/101181/2014

The internet as an information source vs. level of satisfaction: Users' learning styles, perceptions, emotions and regression model at National Institutes of Technology in India

An attempt has been made to promote and optimize the use of the Internet as an information Source among engineering faculty and research scholars of National Institutes of Technology (NITs) in India. A total of 850 questionnaires and interview schedules were distributed to the faculty and research scholars of NITs in India, 665 questionnaires were duly obtained with a response rate of 78.24%. An attempt has been made to develop an instrument of acceptance of Internet technology known as Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) among faculty and Research scholars of National Institutes of Technology (NITs) in India using the original constructs i.e. Perceived Usefulness as â the degree to which a person believes that using a particular system would enhance his or her job performanceâ , and Perceived Ease of Use as â the degree to which a person believes that using a particular system would be free of effortâ . Thus, the Perceived Usefulness of Internet Technology, Perceived Ease of use, Experience of using Internet, attitude towards using Internet, Behavioral Intention to use Internet, Perceived Complexity and actual System use using the Internet has been determined and thereby reflecting the Learning Style, Per-ceptions and Emotions of the focus groups. Further the research study encompasses independent vari-ables mainly Designation, Age, Qualification, Teaching and Research Experience and Formal Training of respondents. In this paper, efforts were made to examine the relationship between the variables Use of Internet (UOI) and Level of Satisfaction (LOS), as a two major dependent variables of the research study. The various dimensions included are quantification of these two variables. To evaluate multiple effects, a set of four variables i.e. age, teaching and research experience and level of satisfaction were put to Regression Analysis to see the multiple effects on variable Use of Internet. The variable LOS has emerged as the most affecting the dependent variable that means affecting the dependent variables i.e. Use of Internet. Thus, there is very high correlation between variables, Use of Internet and Level of satis-faction. The co-efficient of correlation is also statistically significant showing high positive correlation, which implies that higher the level of satisfaction, higher will be the use of Internet. This has resulted in coming out with a mathematical â regression model in which the results of regression analysis shows that, the four variables age, teaching and research experience and level of satisfaction put together explains 39 per cent of variance in variable Use of Internet (UOI)