Anterior Tongue Shows Greater Fine Roughness Acuity than Finger

Biological and Biomedical SciencesWhile the system for texture perception on the dermis has been well researched, there is not much information about texture perception on oral surfaces. This study seeks to understand how these two systems may compare. We chose to focus on lingual roughness sensitivity. In order to compare fine scale roughness perception on the anterior tongue versus on the fingertip, we used a simple discrimination task. We hypothesized that the tongue would be better at detecting roughness since this ability plays a vital role in chewing, swallowing and speech. We had different metal coupons mechanically roughened to different levels from 0.10 to 0.44 micrometers. The experiment was divided into two parts in which they would assess two of the metal stimuli and tell us which one they perceived as rougher. They were presented with two stimuli and asked to lick them in a circular motion with the anterior one third of their tongue. The process was repeated with their fingertip. The detection threshold was the mean of eight reversals along the ladder. The detection threshold was found to be 0.216 ± 0.004 µm for the tongue and 0.289 ± 0.018 µm for the finger. This difference was significant (p<0.001). Additionally, binomial statistics conclude that a significant majority of people are more accurate with their tongue than with their fingers (p = .021). This supports our hypothesis and confirms that the tongue has a greater ability to perceive fine scale roughness. In the future we will be investigating tactile sensitivities of the mouth by using different stimuli and different surfaces of the mouth. This will help us build a better picture of the mechanisms of texture perception of oral tissues.Academic Major: Food Science and Technolog

Micropalaeontological dating of the Prémontré mammal fauna (MP10, Prémontré Sands, EECO, early late Ypresian, Paris Basin)

At their type locality the Prémontré Sands contain fairly well-diversified organic-walled microfossil assemblages attributable to the lower part of dinoflagellate cyst Zone D9 and indicating a transition from an estuarine to a lagoonal depositional regime, up-section as well as laterally. Identical assemblages have been recorded in the inner to mid-neritic Merelbeke Clay Member in Belgium, allowing the Prémontré Sands to be positioned within lower NP13 and early Chron C22r. The deposition of the MP10 Prémontré mammal fauna is estimated to postdate the onset of both NP13 and Chron C22r, which are nearly coincident, by about 200 to 300 kyr. The biostratigraphic dating refers this deposit to the early late Ypresian and to the final phase of the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO) at about 50.4 to 50.3 million years ago. The Prémontré Sands, as well as their distal equivalent the Merelbeke Clay Member, were deposited following a major sea-level rise, the highest of the late Ypresian in the southern North Sea Basin s.l. (including the Paris Basin). They are separated from the overlying “Glauconie grossière” (zone NP14; middle part of zone D9) by a hiatus of approximately 2.5 myr

Re-assessment of the new geological map of Belgium: earliest Oligocene dinoflagellate cyst-based ages in the Leuven area (sheet 24 Aarschot)

The dinoflagellate cyst (dinocyst) assemblages of two samples from a temporary outcrop in the vicinity of Haacht (Leuven) have been analysed. The co-occurrence of Areosphaeridium diktyoplokum, Cerebrocysta bartonensis, Glaphyrocysta semitecta, Rombodinium perforatum and Thalassiphora reticulata allows correlation with the North Sea Oligocene-1 zone. As a consequence, the considered unit has a latest Eocene to earliest Oligocene age, equivalent to the age of the marine Tongrian. Comparison of the studied area with the recent 1:50 000 geological map (sheet 24 Aarschot) shows that the current lithostratigraphic interpretation of the analysed section, i.e. the Middle Eocene Maldegem Formation, can no longer be uphold

Examining Environmental and Genetic Influences on the Brewing Performance of Hops (Humulus lupulus) and Barley (Horduem vulgare)

In short, the brewing process uses hot water to extract fermentable sugars from malt to make a wort that is bittered by hops and finally fermented by yeast to produce beer. The four key ingredients in brewing are malt, water, hops, and yeast. Malt is perhaps the key ingredient, as it contains starches and protein as well as the enzymes required to break them down and is the source of fermentable extract that is ultimately converted to beer during an alcoholic fermentation. Hops, the cones of the female Humulus lupulus plant, are used for both bittering beer and providing aromatic qualities. Hops are grown in various regions globally and differences in soil, weather, climate, disease pressure, and grower practices provide inherent variation among them. This variation in hop growing conditions leads to differences in final hop quality, which growers have begun to focus on in recent years. This relationship, called terroir or regional identity, examines how the quality of agricultural products relate to their place of origin. It encompasses the soil, weather and climate, topography of the growing location, and to a certain degree the influences of grower management in response to these influences. Specified growing regions have been established for other agricultural products, such as wine grapes, coffee, cocoa, and tea. Anecdotal knowledge and published research show early evidence of regional identity affecting hops. Several studies have shown differences in hop chemistry and sensory qualities among samples grown in different locations. However, more work is needed to understand the extent of regional variation and to determine which factors drives differences among hops grown in different locations. To assess the potential effect of regional identity on hops, three varieties were harvested from a total of eleven commercial fields managed by a single hop grower within the Oregon Willamette Valley. Weather, climate, management practices, and soil data were collected for each site. Multiple Factor Analysis of these data sets showed evidence of a location effect. As expected, chemical analysis showed sample groupings by variety but variation within each variety demonstrated the effect of growing location. Sensory evaluation showed significant differences between samples within the same variety. Variation within field and between fields of the same variety provide early evidence of regional influences on hop qualities. Seeds from the barley plant, Hordeum vulgare, are unsuitable for brewing until they are transformed via controlled germination and kilning during the malting process. While malting is a significant driver of malt flavor, recent work shows that other factors, such as genetics, may also influence flavor. To evaluate the contributions of barley genotype to beer flavor, two independent sets of barley germplasm were evaluated. Pedigree, quality of malt and beer, and beer metabolomic profiles were compared within and between the two sets. Sensory attributes of malt hot steeps and lager beers were evaluated, and distinct but subtle differences were reported. Distinct metabolomic profiles, attributable to barley genotype, were detected. In conclusion, metabolite variation observed is a direct result of genetic differences that lead to differential chemical responses within the malting and brewing processes, thus affecting flavor

Stratigraphic architecture of the Upper Cretaceous and Cenozoic along the southern border of the North Sea Basin in Belgium

The Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic sedimentary record in the Campine Basin along the southern border of the North Sea Basin is analysed in terms of sequence stratigraphy. All available biostratigraphic, and in some cases, magnetostratigraphic data are used to constrain the sequence chronostratigraphy. The relative geographic extent of the strata is used as an indication of the relative sea level.Tectonic and eustatic components could be distinguished in several cases using regional geological information. Generally, sequences consist of transgressive and highstand systems tracts only and have flat, abrasiontype lower boundaries. Lowstand deposits are only identified as infill of erosional space, which generally implies marked tectonic uplift. Several eustatic and tectonic events can be correlated with similar events known elsewhere in the North Sea Basin. The time intervals spanned by the different sequences vary considerably, pointing out different control mechanisms

Study of the Molecular Recognition of Aptamers Selected through Ovarian Cancer Cell-SELEX

Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecological malignancy, and the ovarian clear cell carcinoma subtype (OCCA) demonstrates a particularly poor response to standard treatment. Improvements in ovarian cancer outcomes, especially for OCCA, could be expected from a clearer understanding of the molecular pathology that might guide strategies for earlier diagnosis and more effective treatment.Cell-SELEX technology was employed to develop new molecular probes for ovarian cancer cell surface markers. A total of thirteen aptamers with K(d)'s to ovarian cancer cells in the pico- to nanomolar range were obtained. Preliminary investigation of the targets of these aptamers and their binding characteristics was also performed.We have selected a series of aptamers that bind to different types of ovarian cancer, but not cervical cancer. Though binding to other cancer cell lines was observed, these aptamers could lead to identification of biomarkers that are related to cancer

Feeding and Stocking Up: Radio-Labelled Food Reveals Exchange Patterns in Ants

e5919info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Selection of Aptamers Specific for Adipose Tissue

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions, affecting more than one tenth of the world's population. As such, adipose tissue is being increasingly recognized as an important therapeutic target for obesity and related metabolic disorders. While many potential targets of adipose tissue have been established and drugs developed, very few of those drugs specifically target adipose tissue without affecting other tissue. This results from a limited knowledge of both cell-surface markers and physicochemical traits specific to adipocytes that might otherwise be exploited by circulating drugs.Here we report the use of cell-SELEX technology to select two aptamers that can specifically recognize mature adipocytes: adipo-1 and adipo-8. Adipo-8 shows high affinity for differentiated, mature 3T3-L1 adipocytes with a K(d) value of 17.8±5.1 nM. The binding was sustained upon incubation at 37°C and insulin stimulation, but was lost upon trypsin treatment. The binding ability was also verified on frozen tissue slides with low background fluorescence and isolated adipocytes.Aptamer adipo-8 selected from a random library appears to bind to mature differentiated adipocytes specifically. This aptamer holds great promise as a molecular recognition tool for adipocyte biomarker discovery or for targeted delivery of molecules to adipocytes

The Zemst borehole, first record of the EECO in the North Sea Basin and implications for Belgian Ypresian - Lutetian stratigraphy

Integration of new data in sedimentology, micropalaeontology and organic carbon isotopeanalysis of upper Ypresian strata in central Belgium (Zemst hole) enables differentiationof a series of biotic events and carbon isotope trends, which are believed to be associated with the 1.5-million-year-long period of global warming, known as the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO). The relatively low values in δ13Corg(-26.5‰ to -27.1‰) in the interval from the Panisel Sand to the Merelbeke Clay Members (upper NP12-lower NP13) are shown to be coinciding with a fairly high frequency in Apectodinium (&gt;3%, up to 14%) and a Discoaster-bloom (16%-50%, essentially D. kuepperi). This is quite analogous, although less prominent, to what has been observed during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM: Apectodinium abundance of 75% at middle and high latitudes and Discoaster blooms in tropical areas). The abrupt positive shift of up to 1‰ in δ13Corg values at the base of the overlying Pittem Clay Member (mid-NP13, mid-chron C22r), which is coincident with the virtual disappearances of Apectodinium (&lt;0.1%) and Discoaster (&lt;0.5%) seems to mark the end of the EECO in the southern North Sea Basin. The Zemst data allow the identification of the NP12/NP13 boundary, virtually coinciding with chron C23n/C22r boundary, at the depositional break between the Panisel Sand Member and the overlying Kwatrecht Member. The new data also allow to substantially refine the calcareous nannofossil stratigraphy during Biochron NP15 (mid-Lutetian) at middle latitudes. This is corroborated by additional data from Belgium, which furthermore reveal that the primary criterion for identifying the base of the Lutetian (LO of Blackites inflatus), as adopted in the Gorrondatxe GSSP (Spain), cannot be applied in the North Sea Basin s.s. (excluding the Paris Basin) and that there is an urgent need for defining appropriate substitutes for this boundary at these latitudes

Modulation instability, Akhmediev Breathers and continuous wave supercontinuum generation

Numerical simulations of the onset phase of continuous wave supercontinuum generation from modulation instability show that the structure of the field as it develops can be interpreted in terms of the properties of Akhmediev Breathers. Numerical and analytical results are compared with experimental measurements of spectral broadening in photonic crystal fiber using nanosecond pulsesComment: 22 pages, 6 figure