Determining the effect of consuming fermented milk drinks on the incidence of constipation, diarrhoea and resistance to respiratory illness

Background. At present, there are many types of milk fermented drinks/beverages on the market that often contain added probiotic microflora. Numerous studies indicate that such products are frequently consumed by adolescents. Within this group, symptoms of respiratory illness feature prominently as well as various and frequent disorders of the gastro-intestinal system that give rise to either constipation or diarrhoea. Objectives. To determine the effect of consuming fermented milk drinks on the immune systems in teenagers aged 13-16 years through analysing their intakes in relation to how often respiratory illness, constipation and diarrhoea had occurred. Material and methods. A survey was performed on 150 middle-school pupils aged 13-16 years. Correlation coefficients were determined between the frequency of consuming fermented drinks with the incidences of respiratory disease, constipation or diarrhoea. Results. Most subjects declared that their state of health was satisfactory and that they regularly ate meals. Those consuming fermented milk drinks for over a year constituted 88%. It was found that 56% of all subjects drank such beverages at least once daily or several times a week. The decrease observed in consuming these drinks resulted in increasing problems of bowel evacuation ranging from 3% in those drinking daily to 26% that drank less than once monthly. The incidence of respiratory tract illness was seen to rise whenever fewer fermented milk beverages were consumed. Analogous findings were seen also in the incidence of diarrhoea. Subjects also considered that such drinks improved health and yoghurts were the most frequent type of these drinks consumed. Conclusions. Gastro-intestinal function may be enhanced by regular consumption of fermented milk drinks together with a decreased incidence of respiratory tract illness. However, the effect of how often such drinks are consumed on the aforementioned conditions remains unresolved.Wprowadzenie. Obecnie na rynku dostępnych jest szereg mlecznych napojów fermentowanych. Wiele z nich zawiera dodatkowo mikroflorę probiotyczną. Liczne badania pokazują, że młodzi ludzie chętnie spożywają tego typu napoje. Choroby dróg oddechowych są bardzo częste wśród młodzieży. Spośród dolegliwości układu pokarmowego nierzadkim problemem są zaparcia oraz biegunki. Cel badań. Celem pracy było ocena wpływu spożywania mlecznych napojów fermentowanych na odporność organizmu nastolatków w wieku 13-16 lat poprzez analizę zależności pomiędzy częstotliwością spożywania napojów fermentowanych a występowaniem biegunek, zaparć oraz chorób dróg oddechowych. Materiał i metoda. Analiz dokonywano na podstawie badań ankietowych przeprowadzonych wśród 150 uczniów gimnazjów w wieku 13-16 lat. W pracy wyliczano współczynniki korelacji pomiędzy spożywaniem mlecznych napojów fermentowanych a występowaniem biegunek, zaparć oraz chorób dróg oddechowych. Wyniki. Badana grupa młodzieży w większości deklarowała dobry stan zdrowia oraz regularnie się odżywiała. Udział osób deklarujących spożywanie mlecznych napojów fermentowanych dłużej niż rok wyniósł 88 %. 56 % badanych gimnazjalistów spożywało mleczne napoje fermentowane codziennie lub kilka razy w tygodniu. Spadek częstotliwości spożycia napojów fermentowanych wśród gimnazjalistów spowodował zwiększenie udziału procentowego osób deklarujących problemy z wypróżnianiem z 3 %, dla osób spożywających napoje fermentowane codziennie, do 26 % dla spożywających je rzadziej niż raz w miesiącu. Procentowy udział osób z często występującymi infekcjami dróg oddechowych wzrastał wraz ze spadkiem częstotliwości spożywania mlecznych napojów fermentowanych. Podobne zależności stwierdzono w przypadku występowania biegunek. Ankietowani sądzą, że mleczne napoje fermentowane mogą przyczyniać się do wzmocnienia organizmu. Respondenci spośród mlecznych napojów fermentowanych najczęściej wybierali jogurty. Wnioski. Regularne spożywanie mlecznych napojów fermentowanych może korzystnie wpływać na regulację pracy przewodu pokarmowego oraz rzadsze występowanie infekcji układu oddechowego. Nie wykazano jednoznacznego wpływu długości okresu spożywania mlecznych napojów fermentowanych na oceniane przypadłości

Evaluation of residual cross-linking caused by self-heating effect in epoxy-based fibrous composites Rusing Raman spectroscopy

Mechaniczne obciążenia cykliczne struktur polimerowych wywołuje procesy dyssypacji energii mechanicznej, które prowadzą do powstania efektu samorozgrzania, tj. lokalnego wzrostu temperatury, odpowiadającemu gradientowi naprężeń. W szczególnych przypadkach obciążania zmęczeniowego, efekt samorozgrzania staje się procesem dominującym i nasila degradację strukturalną. Wcześniejsze badania w tym zakresie wykazują, że efekt samorozgrzania związany jest z sieciowaniem resztkowym grup epoksydowych (EP) w kompozytach włóknistych. Celem prezentowanych badań jest ocena stopnia sieciowania resztkowego oparta na analizie widm Ramana, profili temperaturowych oraz charakterystycznych temperatur w kompozytach poddawanych obciążeniom zmęczeniowym z występowaniem efektu samorozgrzania. Analizie poddano charakterystyczne pasma w widmach Ramana, a także charakterystyczne krzywe temperaturowe i ich zależność od częstotliwości wymuszenia. Uzyskane wyniki pozwalają na charakterystykę mechanizmów degradacji włóknistych kompozytów epoksydowych poddawanych zmęczeniu cieplnemu.Mechanical cyclic loading of polymeric structures causes dissipation processes, which introduce the self-heating effect, i.e. the local temperature increase equivalent to the stress gradient. In some specific cases of fatigue loading the self-heating effect dominates the process and intensifies the structural degradation. Previous studies in this area show that the heating-up is connected with residual cross-linking of epoxy groups (EP) in the fibrous composites. The purpose of the presented study is an evaluation of degree of residual cross-linking and an analysis of Raman spectra with temperature profiles and characteristic temperatures of EP-based fibrous composites subjected to the fatigue loading with occurrence of the self-heating effect. The characteristic bands in Raman spectra as well as characteristic temperature history curves and their dependence on the excitation frequency were investigated. Obtained results allow for the characterization of degradation mechanisms of EPbased fibrous composites under thermal fatigue

Thermally Induced Vibrations of the Hubble Space Telescope's Solar Array 3 in a Test Simulated Space Environment

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the European Space Agency (ESA) conducted a disturbance verification test on a flight Solar Array 3 (SA3) for the Hubble Space Telescope using the ESA Large Space Simulator (LSS) in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. The LSS cyclically illuminated the SA3 to simulate orbital temperature changes in a vacuum environment. Data acquisition systems measured signals from force transducers and accelerometers resulting from thermally induced vibrations of the SAI The LSS with its seismic mass boundary provided an excellent background environment for this test. This paper discusses the analysis performed on the measured transient SA3 responses and provides a summary of the results

Synthesis and characterization of chalcogenophene-based monomers with pyridine acceptor unit.

2,4,6-Trisubstituted pyridine derivatives with different electropolymerizable groups were investigated. It was shown that steric hindrance caused by bichalcogenophene substituents in the 2,6-positions of pyridine enables successful electropolymerization whereas previous studies on 3,5-substituted pyridines shown difficulties caused by the presence of the pyridine nitrogen lone electron pair. Cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry techniques were used to determine the electronic properties of the studied compounds and obtained polymers. UV-Vis-NIR and EPR spectroelectrochemistry were used to determinate the behavior of the polymers in the doping-dedoping cycles. The polymers were found to have coloration efficiency up to 245 cm(2) C-1 and exhibit sufficient stability for application and highlighting their possible use as electroactive layers in electrochromic devices. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Significance of Omega-3 Fatty Acids in the Prophylaxis and Treatment after Spinal Cord Injury in Rodent Models

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω-3 acids, PUFAs) are essential components of cell membranes in all mammals. A multifactorial beneficial influence of ω-3 fatty acids on the health of humans and other mammals has been observed for many years. Therefore, ω-3 fatty acids and their function in the prophylaxis and treatment of various pathologies have been subjected to numerous studies. Regarding the documented therapeutic influence of ω-3 fatty acids on the nervous and immune systems, the aim of this paper is to present the current state of knowledge and the critical assessment of the role of ω-3 fatty acids in the prophylaxis and treatment of spinal cord injury (SCI) in rodent models. The prophylactic properties (pre-SCI) include the stabilization of neuron cell membranes, the reduction of the expression of inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6, and KC/GRO/CINC), the improvement of local blood flow, reduced eicosanoid production, activation of protective intracellular transcription pathways (dependent on RXR, PPAR-α, Akt, and CREB), and increased concentration of lipids, glycogen, and oligosaccharides by neurons. On the other hand, the therapeutic properties (post-SCI) include the increased production of endogenous antioxidants such as carnosine and homocarnosine, the maintenance of elevated GSH concentrations at the site of injury, reduced concentrations of oxidative stress marker (MDA), autophagy improvement (via increasing the expression of LC3-II), and p38 MAPK expression reduction in the superficial dorsal horns (limiting the sensation of neuropathic pain). Paradoxically, despite the well-documented protective activity of ω-3 acids in rodents with SCI, the research does not offer an answer to the principal question of the optimal dose and treatment duration. Therefore, it is worth emphasizing the role of multicenter rodent studies with the implementation of standards which initially may even be based on arbitrary criteria. Additionally, basing on available research data, the authors of this paper make a careful attempt at referring some of the conclusions to the human population

Lipid pattern in middle-aged inhabitants of the Lower Silesian region of Poland. The PURE Poland sub-study

Introduction. A decreased serum high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) is a strong predictor of cardiovascular risk. However, total HDL is a very dynamic, changeable fraction, and does not perform the function of atherosclerosis markers. In the presented study, the pattern of serum lipids, including HDL-C subclasses (HDL2- and HDL3-cholesterol), in a middleaged Polish Lower Silesia population was defined. Materials and method. A group of 746 males and 1,298 females, aged 35–70, were investigated. All subjects were participants in the PURE study. Mean serum lipid levels were determined for groups selected on the basis of gender, age, cigarette smoking, drinking alcohol and place of residence (urban/rural area). The data were analyzed using STATISTICA 6.0 PL. Results. In multiple linear regression models, age was the most important independent and consistent predictor of total cholesterol (TC) and LDL cholesterol (LDL-C). The prevalence of low HDL-C (threshold 40 mg/dL in males, 50 mg/dL in females) was 16.5% for males and 22.6% for females. This gender-conditioned difference in the prevalence of low HDL-C was greater in rural (20.0% vs. 30.9%, respectively, in males and females) in comparison to urban (14.4% vs. 17.1%) areas. The lipid pattern was significantly worse in rural than in urban females. Female rural inhabitants showed higher triglycerides (TG) and lower HDL cholesterol (total and contained in subclasses HDL2 and HDL3). Simultaneously, a higher BMI, higher percent of smokers and drinkers and lower age of smoking female rural inhabitants in comparison to urban females were estimated. In the total population, cigarette smoking or drinking alcohol were associated with significant increases in TC, LDL-C and TG, also with decreased HDL-C (smoking) or HDL2-C (drinking). Two-way analysis of variance showed the existence of interaction between these risk factors in their influence on HDL-C and HDL3-C. Conclusion. In the middle-aged population of the Lower Silesian region in Poland the place of residence (urban/rural area) had a significant impact on the lipid pattern. This pattern is more atherogenic in rural women than in urban women