Wet basis moisture content (MCwb) is an important quality parameter of green coffee as it affects the coffee's physical, chemical, and sensory characteristics. Accurate estimation of green coffee ...MCwb after dry hulling, long-term storage, and transportation is imperative to prevent quantitative and qualitative losses. Thus, this study aimed to design, develop, calibrate and validate a prototype inline system capable of accurately measuring the MCwb of green coffee beans, using a commercially available time-domain reflectometry (TDR) probe. The TDR probe was calibrated and validated with green coffee within a MCwb range of 9–21%. A calibration linear regression model correlating the TDR probe output (dielectric constant) to reference MCwb measurements obtained by a halogen moisture analyzer, yielded a high coefficient of correlation (R2 = 0.99). Model validation yielded a high R2, and a low Root Mean Squared Error equal to 0.93, and 0.9% MCwb, subsequently. Results indicate that the TDR inline green coffee moisture estimation system has the potential to be applied in real-time, industrial-scale operations.
•An inline unit was built to measure green coffee moisture by time-domain reflectometry.•The system was calibrated and validated with reference to a halogen moisture analyzer.•Model validation yielded a high correlation (R2 = 0.93) with accuracy up to 91%.•The system performance is comparable to existing methods of moisture measurement.•The system has the potential to be applied in real-time, industrial-scale operations.
The objective of this randomized controlled trial was to test whether a commercially available, mindfulness meditation mobile app, (i.e., Calm app), was effective in reducing fatigue (primary ...outcome), pre-sleep arousal, and daytime sleepiness (secondary outcomes) in adults with sleep disturbance (Insomnia Severity Index Score >10) as compared to a wait-list control group. Associations between the use of the Calm app (i.e., adherence to the intervention) and changes in sleep quality was also explored in the intervention group only. Adults with sleep disturbance were recruited (N = 640). Eligible and consenting participants (N = 263) were randomly assigned to the intervention (n = 124) or a wait-list control (n = 139) group. Intervention participants were asked to meditate using the Calm app ≥10 minutes/day for eight weeks. Fatigue, daytime sleepiness, and pre-sleep arousal were assessed at baseline, mid- (4-weeks) and post-intervention (8-weeks) in both groups, whereas sleep quality was evaluated only in the intervention group. Findings from intent-to-treat analyses suggest the use of the Calm app for eight weeks significantly decreased daytime fatigue (p = .018) as well as daytime sleepiness (p = .003) and cognitive (p = .005) and somatic (p < .001) pre-sleep arousal as compared to the wait-list control group. Within the intervention group, use of the Calm app was associated with improvements in sleep quality (p < .001). This randomized controlled trial demonstrates that the Calm app can be used to treat fatigue, daytime sleepiness, and pre-sleep arousal in adults with sleep disturbance. Given that the Calm app is affordable and widely accessible, these data have implications for community level dissemination of a mobile app to improve sleep-related symptoms associated with sleep disturbance. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04045275.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Abstract Background Yoga is a popular mind–body therapy that has demonstrated beneficial effects on psychological, behavioral, and functional outcomes. However, few studies have investigated effects ...on inflammatory processes. This study tested the hypothesis that an Iyengar yoga intervention specifically designed for fatigued breast cancer survivors would lead to decreases in inflammation-related gene expression and circulating markers of proinflammatory cytokine activity. Methods Breast cancer survivors with persistent cancer-related fatigue were randomized to a 12-week Iyengar yoga intervention ( n = 16) or a 12-week health education control condition ( n = 15). Blood samples were collected at baseline, post-intervention, and at a 3-month follow-up for genome-wide transcriptional profiling and bioinformatic analyses. Plasma inflammatory markers and salivary cortisol were also assessed. Results In promoter-based bioinformatics analyses, the yoga group showed reduced activity of the pro-inflammatory transcription factor nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), increased activity of the anti-inflammatory glucocorticoid receptor, and reduced activity of cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) family transcription factors relative to controls (all p s < .05). There was also a significant intervention effect on the soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor type II (sTNF-RII), a marker of TNF activity; plasma levels of sTNF-RII remained stable in the yoga group, whereas levels of this marker increased in the health education group ( p = .028). A similar, non-significant trend was observed for the interleukin 1 receptor antagonist ( p = .16). No significant changes in C reactive protein (CRP), interleukin 6 (IL-6), or diurnal cortisol measures were observed. Conclusions A 12-week restorative Iyengar yoga intervention reduced inflammation-related gene expression in breast cancer survivors with persistent fatigue. These findings suggest that a targeted yoga program may have beneficial effects on inflammatory activity in this patient population, with potential relevance for behavioral and physical health.
Abstract Although research has established links between feelings of social isolation and inflammation, the direction of these effects is unclear. Based on the role that proinflammatory cytokines ...play in initiating “sickness behavior,” which includes symptoms such as social withdrawal, it is possible that inflammatory processes heighten feelings of ‘social disconnection.’ Here, we examined whether exposure to an inflammatory challenge increased self-reported feelings of social disconnection. In addition, because both inflammatory processes and feelings of social disconnection contribute to depressive symptoms, we also explored whether increases in feelings of social disconnection played a role in the link between inflammation and depressed mood. Participants were randomly assigned to either receive endotoxin, an inflammatory challenge, or placebo. Proinflammatory cytokines (IL-6, TNF-α) were collected at baseline and then hourly for 6 h. Participants completed self-reports of sickness symptoms (“fatigue”), social disconnection (“I feel disconnected from others”), and depressed mood (“unhappy”) hourly. Results revealed that endotoxin led to significant increases (from baseline) in IL-6 and TNF-α levels as well as feelings of social disconnection and depressed mood. Moreover, controlling for increases in social disconnection eliminated the relationship between exposure to inflammatory challenge and depressed mood. This study demonstrates that inflammation can have social psychological consequences, which may play a role in cytokine-related depressive symptoms.
Patients with cancer experience a host of behavioral alterations that include depression, fatigue, sleep disturbances, and cognitive dysfunction. These behavioral comorbidities are apparent ...throughout the process of diagnosis and treatment for cancer and can persist well into the survivorship period. There is a rich literature describing potential consequences of behavioral comorbidities in patients with cancer including impaired quality of life, reduced treatment adherence, and increased disease-related morbidity and mortality. Medical complications of cancer and its treatment such as anemia, thyroid dysfunction, and the neurotoxicity of cancer chemotherapeutic agents account in part for these behavioral changes. Nevertheless, recent advances in the neurosciences and immunology/oncology have revealed novel insights into additional pathophysiologic mechanisms that may significantly contribute to the development of cancer-related behavioral changes. Special attention has been focused on immunologic processes, specifically activation of innate immune inflammatory responses and their regulation by neuroendocrine pathways, which, in turn, influence CNS functions including neurotransmitter metabolism, neuropeptide function, sleep-wake cycles, regional brain activity, and, ultimately, behavior. Further understanding of these immunologic influences on the brain provides a novel conceptual framework for integrating the wide spectrum of behavioral alterations that occur in cancer patients and may reveal a more focused array of translational targets for therapeutic interventions and future research. Such developments warrant complementary advances in identification of cancer patients at risk as well as those currently suffering, including an increased emphasis on the status of behavior as a "sixth vital sign" to be assessed in all cancer patients throughout their disease encounter.
Postharvest blanching and drying of industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) by infrared (IR) and hot air (HA) heating was studied. Experiments were conducted at different IR heating times (1 and 2 min) ...and HA temperatures (65 and 85 °C) and compared with conventional indoor drying. Drying time was decreased from 3366 min (conventional) to as low as 222 min (85 °C HA). IR and HA processing reduced the total aerobic bacteria, and total yeast/mold levels by up to 0.81 and 1.85 log CFU/g, respectively from their initial levels of 4.63 and 4.75 log CFU/g, meanwhile reduced the activities of polyphenol oxidase and peroxidase by up to 91.7% and 66.7%, respectively. More than 96.1% total cannabidiol was preserved by thermal processing. Total terpene retention ranged from 18.3% to 71.1% under tested conditions with distinct terpene profiles. The results provide important information on the microbial safety and a timely solution to improve the postharvest processes of hemp.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
BFBNIB, DOBA, GIS, IJS, KISLJ, NUK, PNG, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
An in-depth understanding of food structural breakdown during gastric digestion is paramount for development of health-promoting foods. This study presents a novel application of nondestructive ...time-series micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) to study structural breakdown during in vitro gastric digestion of apples (var. Granny Smith). Data collected from micro-CT images were compared with results from destructive analyses of apple tissue hardness (texture analysis) and moisture uptake during soaking in gastric juice or deionized water. Apples in gastric juice showed similar trends in intensity change (from micro-CT images) and hardness decrease (from texture analysis) over time compared with apples in water (p < 0.001). Apples in gastric juice or water exhibited similar changes in porosity and showed similar moisture uptake (p > 0.05). Overall, micro-CT imaging allows for assessment of changes along with detailed structural characterization of solid foods during in vitro gastric digestion.
•Micro-CT is an effective tool for imaging solid food during in vitro digestion.•Changes to apple tissue were influenced by soaking in gastric juice or water.•Increasing image intensity from micro-CT aligned with decreasing sample hardness.•Moisture uptake and porosity change was similar between gastric juice and water.
An almond stockpile heated and ambient air dryer (SHAD) without an air distributor, did not adequately distribute air throughout the stockpile. Therefore, this project evaluated the effect of adding ...an air distributor within the SHAD A-frame as an alternative method to conventional windrow drying. Three stockpile drying tests were performed using ‘Nonpareil’, ‘Winter’, and ‘Monterey’ almond varieties with different initial (fresh) weights and kernel dry-basis moisture contents (MC) equal to 4763 kg and 11.8%, 2585 kg, and 11.5%, and 6849 kg and 21.5%, respectively. All tests were directly compared to conventional windrow drying. Almond quality parameters, including kernel MC, color, lipid oxidative stability, peroxide value, free fatty acid content, internal cavities, and insect injury were measured before and after drying. The SHAD with the air distributor properly maintained almond quality, while uniformly dehydrating almonds to the desired MC of ≤6 % within 7 days. Conventional windrow drying took up to 13.6 days, and the desired final MC was only achieved with the ‘Monterey’ variety. Thus, the SHAD fitted with a well-designed air distributor can be used to dehydrate almonds in a stockpile as an alternative to conventional windrow drying.
•The effect of using an air distributor with SHAD was evaluated.•Three stockpile drying trials were conducted and compared with windrow drying.•SHAD with air distributor dried almonds faster than windrow drying.•Desirable quality parameters were achieved when using SHAD and air distributor.•SHAD and air distributor can replace conventional windrow drying of almonds.
Summary Sleep and pain are critical homeostatic systems that interact in a bidirectional manner. Complaints of sleep disturbance are ubiquitous among patients with chronic pain disorders, and ...conversely, patients with persistent insomnia symptoms commonly report suffering from chronic pain. Sleep deprivation paradigms demonstrate that partial or complete sleep loss induce hyperalgesia, possibly due to shared mechanistic pathways including neuroanatomic and molecular substrates. Further, chronic pain conditions and sleep disturbances are intertwined through comorbidities, which together cause detrimental psychological and physical consequences. This critical review examines 29 polysomnography studies to evaluate whether nonmalignant chronic pain patients, as compared to controls, show differences in objective measures of sleep continuity and sleep architecture. Whereas these controlled studies did not reveal a consistent pattern of objective sleep disturbances, alterations of sleep continuity were commonly reported. Alterations of sleep architecture such as increases in light sleep or decreases in slow-wave sleep were less commonly reported and findings were mixed and also inconsistent. Methodological flaws were identified, which complicated interpretation and limited conclusions; hence, recommendations for future research are suggested. Knowledge of abnormalities in the sleep process has implications for understanding the pathophysiology of chronic pain conditions, which might also direct the development of novel intervention strategies.
This research was designed to develop and test an automatic image analysis method (algorithm) to classify CT images obtained from 1233 carrot (Daucus carota L.) sections (samples), collected during ...the 2013 and 2014 harvesting seasons. Classification accuracy was evaluated by comparing the classes obtained using eighteen CT images per carrot section to their undesirable fibrous tissue class, based on the industry-simulated invasive quality assessment (% of fiber). Class-0 represents fibrous-free samples, and class-1 denotes samples containing fibrous tissue.
After CT image preprocessing, cropping, and segmentation, 3762 grayscale intensity and textural features were extracted from the eighteen CT images per sample. A 4-fold cross-validation linear discriminant classifier with a performance accuracy of 87.9% was developed using 95 relevant features, which were selected using a sequential forward selection algorithm with the Fisher discriminant objective function. This objective method is accurate in determining the presence of undesirable fibrous tissue in pre-processed carrots.
•Computed Tomography (CT) is examined as a tool to classify fresh in-vivo carrots.•CT detection of the presence of fibrous tissue classification accuracy is 87.9%.•CT is able to detect internal fibrous tissue in carrots, reducing this safety concern.•Algorithms classifying carrot internal quality may be suitable for inline CT systems.
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