Groundwater resources assessment using integrated geophysical techniques in the southwestern region of Peninsular Malaysia.

Combined geophysical techniques such as multi-electrode resistivity, induced polarization, and borehole geophysical techniques were carried out on volcano-sedimentary rocks in the north of Gemas as part of the groundwater resource’s investigations. The result identifies four resistivity units: the tuffaceous mudstone, tuffaceous sandstone, the tuff bed, and the shale layer. Two types of aquifer systems in terms of storage were identified within the area: one within a fracture system (tuff), which is the leaky area through which vertical flow of groundwater occurs, and an intergranular property of the sandy material of the aquifer which includes sandstone and tuffaceous sandstone. The result also reveals that the aquifer occupies a surface area of about 3,250,555 m2 with a mean depth of 43.71 m and a net volume of 9.798 × 107 m3. From the approximate volume of the porous zone (28 %) and the total aquifer volume, a usable capacity of (274.339 ± 30.177) × 107 m3 of water in the study area can be deduced. This study provides useful information that can be used to develop a much broader understanding of the nature of groundwater potential in the area and their relationship with the local geology

A standardised static in vitro digestion method suitable for food – an international consensus

peer-reviewedSimulated gastro-intestinal digestion is widely employed in many fields of food and nutritional sciences, as conducting human trials are often costly, resource intensive, and ethically disputable. As a consequence, in vitro alternatives that determine endpoints such as the bioaccessibility of nutrients and non-nutrients or the digestibility of macronutrients (e.g. lipids, proteins and carbohydrates) are used for screening and building new hypotheses. Various digestion models have been proposed, often impeding the possibility to compare results across research teams. For example, a large variety of enzymes from different sources such as of porcine, rabbit or human origin have been used, differing in their activity and characterization. Differences in pH, mineral type, ionic strength and digestion time, which alter enzyme activity and other phenomena, may also considerably alter results. Other parameters such as the presence of phospholipids, individual enzymes such as gastric lipase and digestive emulsifiers vs. their mixtures (e.g. pancreatin and bile salts), and the ratio of food bolus to digestive fluids, have also been discussed at length. In the present consensus paper, within the COST Infogest network, we propose a general standardised and practical static digestion method based on physiologically relevant conditions that can be applied for various endpoints, which may be amended to accommodate further specific requirements. A frameset of parameters including the oral, gastric and small intestinal digestion are outlined and their relevance discussed in relation to available in vivo data and enzymes. This consensus paper will give a detailed protocol and a line-by-line, guidance, recommendations and justifications but also limitation of the proposed model. This harmonised static, in vitro digestion method for food should aid the production of more comparable data in the future.COST action FA1005 Infogest22 (http://www.cost-infogest.eu/) is acknowledged for providing funding for travel, meetings and conferences

A922 Sequential measurement of 1 hour creatinine clearance (1-CRCL) in critically ill patients at risk of acute kidney injury (AKI)

Meeting abstrac

Erratum to: 36th International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s13054-016-1208-6.]

Nurses' perceptions of aids and obstacles to the provision of optimal end of life care in ICU

Contains fulltext : 172380.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Fabrication and characterization of filled hydrogel particles based on sequential segregative and aggregative biopolymer phase separation

In this study, filled hydrogel particles were created based on the ability of proteins and ionic polysaccharides to phase separate through both aggregative (complexation) and segregative (incompatibility) mechanisms. At pH 7, a mixture of 3% (w/w) high-methoxy pectin and 3% (w/w) sodium caseinate phase separated through a segregative mechanism. Following centrifugation, the phase separated system consisted of an upper pectin-rich phase and a lower casein-rich phase. Casein-coated lipid droplets added to the phase separated pectin/caseinate system partitioning into the lower casein-rich phase. This was attributed to a reduction in the unfavorable osmotic stress in this phase associated with biopolymer depletion. When shear was applied this system formed an oil-in-water-in-water (O/W1/W2) emulsion consisting of oil droplets (O) contained within a casein-rich watery dispersed phase (W1) suspended in a pectin-rich watery continuous phase (W2). Acidification of the O/W1/W2 system from pH 7–5 promoted adsorption of pectin around the casein-rich W1 droplets, resulting in the formation of filled hydrogel particles (d = 3–4 μm) that remained stable to aggregation or dissociation when stored for 24 h at ambient temperature. These particles may be useful as encapsulation and delivery systems for lipophilic components in the food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries

Characterization of oil-in-water emulsions stabilized by tyrosinase-crosslinked soy glycinin

The effect of crosslinked soy glycinin with tyrosinase from Bacillus megaterium (TyrBm) on o/w emulsion properties was studied. The ability of TyrBm to crosslink soy glycinin was evaluated in the presence or absence of three phenolic mediators. It was observed that crosslinking of glycinin is facilitated by a phenolic mediator and is negligible in its absence. Subsequently, the glycinin-stabilized emulsions were evaluated in two systems: (i) homogenization after crosslinking in the presence of a mediator, caffeic acid, and (ii) homogenization prior to crosslinking in the absence of caffeic acid. Emulsions were prepared using a high-pressure homogenizer and their particle size, creaming resistance, viscosity and microstructure were measured. Results indicate that the method of emulsion preparation affected the emulsion physical stability, thus, the first system led to a decrease in emulsion stability against creaming while the second system resulted with improved properties after the enzymatic treatment; Crosslinking after homogenization eliminated the need for a phenolic mediator and led to a lower creaming velocity and higher viscosity. In addition, fluorescence microscopy observations demonstrated that the crosslinking reaction of TyrBm after homogenization led to the formation of cold-set gel-like structures of small droplets linked by covalent bonds

Characterization of oil-in-water emulsions stabilized by tyrosinase-crosslinked soy glycinin

The effect of crosslinked soy glycinin with tyrosinase from Bacillus megaterium (TyrBm) on o/w emulsion properties was studied. The ability of TyrBm to crosslink soy glycinin was evaluated in the presence or absence of three phenolic mediators. It was observed that crosslinking of glycinin is facilitated by a phenolic mediator and is negligible in its absence. Subsequently, the glycinin-stabilized emulsions were evaluated in two systems: (i) homogenization after crosslinking in the presence of a mediator, caffeic acid, and (ii) homogenization prior to crosslinking in the absence of caffeic acid. Emulsions were prepared using a high-pressure homogenizer and their particle size, creaming resistance, viscosity and microstructure were measured. Results indicate that the method of emulsion preparation affected the emulsion physical stability, thus, the first system led to a decrease in emulsion stability against creaming while the second system resulted with improved properties after the enzymatic treatment; Crosslinking after homogenization eliminated the need for a phenolic mediator and led to a lower creaming velocity and higher viscosity. In addition, fluorescence microscopy observations demonstrated that the crosslinking reaction of TyrBm after homogenization led to the formation of cold-set gel-like structures of small droplets linked by covalent bonds

Effects of resistant starch type III polymorphs on human colon microbiota and short chain fatty acids in human gut models

This study probed the possible effects of type III resistant starch (RS) crystalline polymorphism on RS fermentability by human gut microbiota and the short chain fatty acids production in vitro. Human fecal pH-controlled batch cultures showed RS induces an ecological shift in the colonic microbiota with polymorph B inducing Bifidobacterium spp. and polymorph A inducing Atopobium spp. Interestingly, polymorph B also induced higher butyrate production to levels of 0.79 mM. In addition, human gut simulation demonstrated that polymorph B promotes the growth of bifidobacteria in the proximal part of the colon and double their relative proportion in the microbiota in the distal colon. These findings suggest that RS polymorph B may promote large bowel health. While the findings are limited by study constraints, they do raise the possibility of using different thermal processing to delineate differences in the prebiotic capabilities of RS, especially its butryrogenicity in the human colon