Effect of dietary linseed on the nutritional value and quality of pork and pork products: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Nutritional quality of pork is a significant factor for consumers' health. Feeding n-3 PUFA to pigs, using linseed, improves pork nutritional quality. A meta-analysis involving 1006 pigs reported in 24 publications was carried out to assess the effects of dietary linseed on alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) content in muscle and adipose tissue. Data showed positive effects of n-3 PUFA on muscle fatty acid composition: ALA + 137%, EPA + 188%, DPA + 51% and DHA + 12%. Same results were observed in adipose tissue: ALA + 297%, EPA + 149%, DPA + 88% and DHA + 18%. A positive correlation between dietary treatment and ALA and EPA content in muscle (P < 0.001) and adipose tissue (P = 0.036) was observed. A significant association between DPA (P = 0.04) and DHA (P = 0.011) and live weight in muscle was observed. Feeding linseed to pig improves the nutritional pork quality, raising the n-3 PUFA content in muscle and adipose tissue.     

Mechanism of lustre formation in scheelite-based glazes

This work elucidates the mechanism responsible for the lustre effect of scheelite-based glazes for single-firing wall tiles. The surface decoration is obtained with a thin film composed of a Si–Ca–Zn–Al–K–B frit and 10 wt% WO₃ on zircon-engobed substrates for single-firing wall tiles (maximum temperature of 1130 °C for 50 min). The observed lustre effect is sub-adamantine and pearlescent. It is sub-adamantine because scheelite nanocrystals at the surface, with a relatively high refractive index (n = 1.93), cause considerable reflection of light. The lustre is also weakly pearlescent because the nano-crystals oriented with the (004) plane parallel to the surface give interference with the underlying glassy layer (n ≈ 1.5), where randomly dispersed scheelite crystals occur. This model apparently applies to the glazes decorated with ceria, although the latter exhibits iridescence due to the high refractive index of ceria (n = 2.05) which yields stronger interference effect with the underlying glassy substrate.     

DTN performance analysis of multi-asset Mars-Earth communications

The delay-/disruption-tolerant networking (DTN) architecture is considered the key enabling technology for future space communications, as confirmed by the current standardization within CCSDS and the experiments carried out onboard the International Space Station. Despite the scientific community efforts to analyze DTN architecture performance, most of the studies have focused on individual protocols, or have considered simple test cases, thus missing a whole system view. To bridge these research gaps, this paper presents a comprehensive analysis of DTN performance in Mars-Earth communications, considering a realistic and complex end-to-end scenario, where multiple assets and multiple data flows are involved, as envisioned for future space missions. To this end, a virtualized testbed based on ION software was used for an extensive emulation campaign, focusing particularly on Bundle and Licklider Protocol interaction with the CGR routing algorithm.     

Influence of chemically synthesized powder addition on K0.5Na0.5NbO3 ceramic’s properties

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics - A new strategy to produce lead-free K0.5Na0.5NbO3 (KNN) piezoceramics with reliable and improved piezoelectric performance is presented for...     

Endorectal coil MR imaging findings in hemospermia

The purpose of this study was to illustrate the spectrum of abnormalities found at endorectal coil magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in patients with hemospermia. Ninety patients aged between 23 and 71 years (mean age 41 years) presenting with hemospermia underwent evaluation with endorectal coil MR imaging at 1.5 T. Duration of hemospermia ranged between 5 days and 4 years (mean 15 months). MR examination protocol included T1-weighted spin-echo (SE) and T2-weighted fast SE MR images obtained in the sagittal, coronal, and axial planes. Abnormalities were observed on endorectal-coil MR images in 49 of 90 patients (54%). Blood within the seminal vesicle or the ejaculatory duct was recognized in 23 of 90 patients (25%). Dilatation of the seminal vesicles or the ejaculatory duct was observed in 31 of 90 patients (34%). Cystic lesions were identified in 14 cases, eight of which involved the utriculus and six the ejaculatory duct. Calculi within the seminal vesicles were depicted in seven patients. No malignant disease was demonstrated. In conclusion, despite the evidence that hemospermia is most often a benign and self-limiting condition, we found that endorectal coil MR imaging can detect abnormal findings in more than half of the patients, and may be helpful in assessing the level at which hemorrhage occurred and in defining the cause of the disease. Presented as Category I Scientific Exhibit at the 1996 Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.     

Production of Hypoallergenic Foods from Apricots

ABSTRACT: Food allergy is a growing problem because more and more people are suffering from this kind of illness. Besides allergies to staple foods such as milk, fish, and eggs, many fruits are known to cause allergy; those of the family of Rosaceae , such as peaches and apricots, are prominent among them, especially in the Mediterranean area. In this work, we report on the results obtained when preparing hypoallergenic and anallergenic derivatives starting from fresh apricots. Protein extracts from 9 cultivars of apricot, either unpeeled or chemically peeled, were prepared and analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and immunoblotting, to evaluate the presence of the allergen Pru ar 3, the main protein responsible for causing the oral allergy syndrome (OAS). The chemical peeling of fruits proved determinant for our aim and allowed us to develop a new production process for some hypoallergenic and anallergenic derivatives starting out from apricot purée, such as nectar, limpid juice, jam, and fruit jelly, which can be consumed as they are or used as fillings in yogurt, snacks, and so on.     

Prospective memory functioning in mild cognitive impairment.

Objective: The present study aimed to investigate prospective memory (PM) in persons with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Method: Twenty individuals with MCI (10 with an amnestic profile and 10 with a dysexecutive profile of cognitive impairment) and 20 control subjects (CS) were recruited. In the PM tasks, subjects had to execute three actions after 20 min had elapsed (time-based condition) or after a timer rang (event-based condition). Separate scores were computed for correct recall of the intention to perform the actions (prospective component) and for correct execution of the actions (retrospective component). Results: Although individuals with MCI were less accurate than CS in both prospective (Cohen's d ranged from 1.04 to 2.23) and retrospective (Cohen's d ranged from 0.81 to 1.06) components of the experimental task, they were significantly more impaired in the former than the latter component (Cohen's d = 0.42). Moreover, the deficit in the prospective component of the time-based task was particularly evident in MCI participants presenting with a dysexecutive impairment in respect to amnestic MCI individuals (Cohen's d = 0.99). Conclusions: Results of the present study show that the ability of subjects with MCI to comply effectively with a planned delayed intention is impaired and suggest that dysexecutive disorders are likely responsible for this deficit. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Mixed Convex/Nonconvex Distributed Localization Approach for the Deployment of Indoor Positioning Services

In this paper the indoor wireless localization problem is addressed both from the theoretical and application standpoints. The main result of the paper is on the theoretical side: the topological definition of regular and irregular nodes is introduced, and formal results are presented to support regularity as a desirable network property for the attainment of precise node localization. In force of this definition, a mixed convex/non—convex optimization approach has been derived for the solution of the positioning problem. The two procedures, suitably combined, allow the achievement of better convergence towards the best positioning of a multitude of blind wireless nodes. A completely decentralized, partially asynchronous algorithm is presented, which proceeds locally on each node based on the sole knowledge of the distances measured from, and of the estimated positions of the connected nodes only. Its repeated asynchronous application on each nodes guarantees the convergence of the algorithm to the positioning of the whole network, even in presence of a limited number of peripheral reference points. Indeed, no global information is required for the proper functioning of the algorithm. Simulations of relevant case studies have been performed to qualify the proposed scheme in realistic conditions, and the results are presented.     

Nanoporous materials: Porous Graphene as an Atmospheric Nanofilter (Small 20/2010)

The fabrication of nanoscale membranes exhibiting high selectivity is an emerging field of research. The possibility to use bottom‐up approaches to fabricate a filter with porous graphene and analyze its functionality with first principle calculations is investigated. Here, the porous network is produced by self‐assembly of the hexaiodo‐substituted macrocycle cyclohexa‐m‐phenylene (CHP). The resulting porous network exhibits an extremely high selectivity in favor of H₂ and He among other atmospheric gases, such as Ne, O₂, N₂, CO, CO₂, NH₃, and Ar. The presented membrane is superior to traditional filters using polymers or silica and could have great potential for further technological applications such as gas sensors or fuel cells.