Development of low-alcohol isotonic beer by interrupted fermentation

Alcohol-free beer with isotonic properties is getting more popular and its production can be carried out by different production strategies; however, interrupted fermentation is still a challenge. Therefore, the objective of this study was to develop a low-alcohol isotonic beer (<0.5% v/v) by interrupted fermentation. Moreover, the major objective is to compare the developed product to commercial beverages (sports drinks, ‘Pilsen' regular beer, alcohol-free beers and low-alcohol isotonic beer). The beverages were evaluated based on pH, alcohol content (% v/v), total titratable acidity (mEq L⁻¹), osmolality (mOsmol kg⁻¹), bitterness International Bitterness Units, colour European Brewery Convention, total phenolic compounds (mg L⁻¹ gallic acid), reducing and total sugars (%) and Na and K contents (mg L⁻¹). The developed low-alcohol isotonic beer presented characteristics similar to sports drinks, with the advantage of being richer in phenolic compounds and suitable osmolality. Despite salts were added in its formulation, the grades attributed to all beers employed in the sensory evaluation, as well as the purchase intention did not present significant differences.     

Microtubule Destabilizing Sulfonamides as an Alternative to Taxane-Based Chemotherapy

Pan-Gyn cancers entail 1 in 5 cancer cases worldwide, breast cancer being the most commonly diagnosed and responsible for most cancer deaths in women. The high incidence and mortality of these malignancies, together with the handicaps of taxanes—first-line treatments—turn the development of alternative therapeutics into an urgency. Taxanes exhibit low water solubility that require formulations that involve side effects. These drugs are often associated with dose-limiting toxicities and with the appearance of multi-drug resistance (MDR). Here, we propose targeting tubulin with compounds directed to the colchicine site, as their smaller size offer pharmacokinetic advantages and make them less prone to MDR efflux. We have prepared 52 new Microtubule Destabilizing Sulfonamides (MDS) that mostly avoid MDR-mediated resistance and with improved aqueous solubility. The most potent compounds, N-methyl-N-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl-4-methylaminobenzenesulfonamide 38, N-methyl-N-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl-4-methoxy-3-aminobenzenesulfonamide 42, and N-benzyl-N-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl-4-methoxy-3-aminobenzenesulfonamide 45 show nanomolar antiproliferative potencies against ovarian, breast, and cervix carcinoma cells, similar or even better than paclitaxel. Compounds behave as tubulin-binding agents, causing an evident disruption of the microtubule network, in vitro Tubulin Polymerization Inhibition (TPI), and mitotic catastrophe followed by apoptosis. Our results suggest that these novel MDS may be promising alternatives to taxane-based chemotherapy in chemoresistant Pan-Gyn cancers.     

Hybrid ARQ scheme employing TCM and packet combining

A new hybrid automatic repeat request scheme employing packet combining based on the Viterbi decoder is presented. It is shown that the proposed form of combining, together with a rearrangement of the signal constellation, can outperform similar forms of packet combining such as average diversity combining     

Business climate attitudes and company relocation decisions.

A total of 438 manufacturing firms reported their business relocation activity, their overall attitude toward the business climate in Michigan, and their assessment of 34 business climate dimensions. Using a lens model paradigm, we explored reasons for a lack of relation between actual relocation decisions and overall business climate attitudes. Location decisions were most highly correlated with distance and labor considerations, whereas overall business climate was most highly correlated with tax considerations, and secondarily correlated with labor problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of the Twisting Motion on the Nonunifornities of Transmyocardial Fiber Mechanics and Energy Demand A Theoretical Study

The contraction of the left ventricle (LV) is manifested by a distribution of strains and strain rates throughout the muscle thickness. Using a nested shell spheroidal model of the LV, which accounts for a fiber angle distribution from + 60°at the endocardium to ?60° at the epicardium, and the radial electrical activation pattern from the endocardium to the epicardium, it can be shown that endocardial layers undergo higher strains than the epicardial layers throughout the cardiac cycle, and higher length changes characterize the endocardial sarcomeres relative to the epicardial sarcomeres. However, the calculated nonuniformities in the sarcomeres' shortening are significantly moderated when the physiological twisting motion of the LV around the longitudinal axis is accounted for. Thus, the twisting motion of the heart is a basic mechanism by which the sarcomere function is maintained within its physiological range.     

Impact of Elaboration on Socially Desirable Responding and the Validity of Biodata Measures.

The current study investigated the impact of requiring respondents to elaborate on their answers to a biodata measure on mean scores, the validity of the biodata item composites, subgroup mean differences, and correlations with social desirability. Results of this study indicate that elaborated responses result in scores that are much lower than nonelaborated responses to the same items by an independent sample. Despite the lower mean score on elaborated items, it does not appear that elaboration affects the size of the correlation between social desirability and responses to biodata items or that it affects criterion-related validity or subgroup mean differences in a practically significant way. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Peripheral nerve stimulation by time-varying magnetic fields

PURPOSE: A study was performed to assess the stimulation threshold for healthy adults using sinusoidally oscillating gradients. METHOD: One hundred thirteen healthy adults were examined in the study. ECG and physiological parameters were measured. All measurements were performed of both the head and the abdomen. The subjects were measured in the supine position with the region of interest positioned in the center of the gradient coils. The measurement was performed for three orthogonal, four oblique, and double oblique orientations. RESULTS: No volunteer reported painful, severe stimulation. The mean thresholds for peripheral stimulation in head and body measurement were similar: 85.5% of stimulation during examination of the head and 87.6% during measurements of the abdomen were reported when the y-gradient was used. CONCLUSION: The greatest frequency of reported stimulations occurs when the y-gradient is used. This was confirmed by the results and supports the hypothesis that orthogonal to the y-axis the body has its largest conductive loop, resulting in the strongest peripheral stimulation.