Umami plays an important role in the flavor of many cheese varieties. The purpose of this study was to identify the compound(s) responsible for umami taste in Cheddar and Swiss cheeses. Four Cheddar ...and 4 Swiss cheeses (two with low umami intensity and two with high umami intensity from each type) were selected using a trained sensory panel. Monosodium glutamate (MSG), disodium 5'-inosine monophosphate (IMP), disodium 5'-guanosine monophosphate (GMP), sodium chloride, lactic acid, propionic acid, and succinic acid were quantified in the cheeses instrumentally. Taste thresholds (best estimate thresholds, BETs) were determined for each compound in water. Subsequently, a trained descriptive sensory analysis panel evaluated each compound in odor-free water across threshold concentrations to confirm that the thresholds were based on umami and not some other stimuli. Model system studies with trained panelists were then conducted with each compound individually or all compounds together. Comparison of analytical data and sensory thresholds indicated that IMP and GMP thresholds were 100-fold higher than their concentrations in cheese. All other compounds contributed some umami taste within their concentration range in umami cheeses. Sensory analysis of model cheeses revealed that glutamic acid played the largest role in umami taste of both Cheddar and Swiss cheeses while succinic and propionic acids contributed to umami taste in Swiss cheeses. Knowledge of the key compounds associated with umami taste in cheeses will aid in the identification of procedures to enhance formation of this taste in cheese.
B7-H3 (CD276), part of the B7 superfamily of immune checkpoint molecules, has been shown to have an immunomodulatory role. Its regulation, receptor and mechanism of action remain unclear. B7-H3 ...protein expression correlates with prostate cancer outcomes, and humanized monoclonal antibodies (that is, enoblituzumab) are currently being investigated for therapeutic use. Here we used genomic expression data to examine the relationship between B7-H3 mRNA expression and prostate cancer.
Prostatectomy tissue from 2781 patients were profiled using the Affymetrix HuEx 1.0 ST microarray. Pairwise comparisons were used to identify significant associations between B7-H3 expression and clinicopathologic variables, and survival analyses were used to evaluate the prognostic significance of B7-H3. Pearson's correlation analyses were performed to assess the relationship of B7-H3 expression with molecular subtypes and individual transcripts. Androgen receptor (AR) occupancy at the B7-H3 locus was determined using chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), and androgen-dependent expression changes in B7-H3 was evaluated by quantitative reverse transcription PCR in LNCaP cell lines. Oncomine was queried to evaluate B7-H3 expression in metastatic disease.
B7-H3 mRNA expression was positively associated with higher Gleason score (P<0.001), tumor stage (P<0.001), and castrate resistant metastatic disease (P<0.0001). High B7-H3 expression correlated with the development of metastasis and prostate cancer specific mortality, but this was not significant on multi-variable analysis. B7-H3 expression correlated with ERG-positive disease (r=0.99) and AR expression (r=0.36). ChIP revealed an AR-binding site upstream of B7-H3, and the presence of androgens decreased B7-H3 expression in LNCaP suggesting potential direct AR regulation. Gene set enrichment analysis demonstrated an association of B7-H3 with androgen signaling as well as immune regulatory pathways.
Higher B7-H3 expression correlates with Gleason grade, prostate cancer stage and poor oncologic outcomes in prostatectomy cohorts. B7-H3 expression appears to be related to androgen signaling as well as the immune reactome.
We report observations from the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) satellites of a large guide field magnetic reconnection event. The observations suggest that two of the four MMS spacecraft sampled the ...electron diffusion region, whereas the other two spacecraft detected the exhaust jet from the event. The guide magnetic field amplitude is approximately 4 times that of the reconnecting field. The event is accompanied by a significant parallel electric field (E(sub parallel lines) that is larger than predicted by simulations. The high-speed (approximately 300 km/s) crossing of the electron diffusion region limited the data set to one complete electron distribution inside of the electron diffusion region, which shows significant parallel heating. The data suggest that E(sub parallel lines) is balanced by a combination of electron inertia and a parallel gradient of the gyrotropic electron pressure.
We report observations from the Magnetospheric Multiscale satellites of large-amplitude, parallel, electrostatic waves associated with magnetic reconnection at the Earth's magnetopause. The observed ...waves have parallel electric fields (E(sub parallel)) with amplitudes on the order of 100 mV/m and display nonlinear characteristics that suggest a possible net E(sub parallel). These waves are observed within the ion diffusion region and adjacent to (within several electron skin depths) the electron diffusion region. They are in or near the magnetosphere side current layer. Simulation results support that the strong electrostatic linear and nonlinear wave activities appear to be driven by a two stream instability, which is a consequence of mixing cold (less than 10eV) plasma in the magnetosphere with warm (approximately 100eV) plasma from the magnetosheath on a freshly reconnected magnetic field line. The frequent observation of these waves suggests that cold plasma is often present near the magnetopause.
Sensory science is a multidisciplinary field that encompasses a wide variety of established and newly developed tests to document human responses to stimuli. Sensory tests are not limited to the area ...of food science but they find wide application within the diverse areas of the food science arena. Sensory tests can be divided into two basic groups: analytical tests and affective tests. Analytical tests are generally product-focused, and affective tests are generally consumer-focused. Selection of the appropriate test is critical for actionable results. This review addresses an overview of sensory tests and best practices.
ABSTRACT
A comprehensive multiwavelength campaign has been carried out to probe stellar activity and variability in the young Sun-like star ι-Horologii. We present the results from long-term ...spectropolarimetric monitoring of the system by using the ultra-stable spectropolarimeter/velocimeter HARPS at the ESO 3.6-m telescope. Additionally, we included high-precision photometry from the NASA Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and observations in the far- and near-ultraviolet spectral regions using the STIS instrument on the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The high-quality data set allows a robust characterization of the star’s rotation period, as well as a probe of the variability using a range of spectroscopic and photometric activity proxies. By analysing the gradient of the power spectra (GPS) in the TESS light curves, we constrained the faculae-to-spot driver ratio ($\rm S_{fac}/S_{spot}$) to 0.510 ± 0.023, which indicates that the stellar surface is spot dominated during the time of the observations. We compared the photospheric activity properties derived from the GPS method with a magnetic field map of the star derived using Zeeman–Doppler imaging (ZDI) from simultaneous spectropolarimetric data for the first time. Different stellar activity proxies enable a more complete interpretation of the observed variability. For example, we observed enhanced emission in the HST transition line diagnostics C iv and C iii, suggesting a flaring event. From the analysis of TESS data acquired simultaneously with the HST data, we investigate the photometric variability at the precise moment that the emission increased and derive correlations between different observables, probing the star from its photosphere to its corona.
The mechanisms of coral calcification at the molecular, cellular and tissue levels are poorly understood. In this study, we examine calcium carbonate precipitation using novel coral tissue cultures ...that aggregate to form "proto-polyps". Our goal is to establish an experimental system in which calcification is facilitated at the cellular level, while simultaneously allowing in vitro manipulations of the calcifying fluid. This novel coral culturing technique enables us to study the mechanisms of biomineralization and their implications for geochemical proxies. Viable cell cultures of the hermatypic, zooxanthellate coral, Stylophora pistillata, have been maintained for 6 to 8 weeks. Using an enriched seawater medium with aragonite saturation state similar to open ocean surface waters (Ω(arag)~4), the primary cell cultures assemble into "proto-polyps" which form an extracellular organic matrix (ECM) and precipitate aragonite crystals. These extracellular aragonite crystals, about 10 µm in length, are formed on the external face of the proto-polyps and are identified by their distinctive elongated crystallography and X-ray diffraction pattern. The precipitation of aragonite is independent of photosynthesis by the zooxanthellae, and does not occur in control experiments lacking coral cells or when the coral cells are poisoned with sodium azide. Our results demonstrate that proto-polyps, aggregated from primary coral tissue culture, function (from a biomineralization perspective) similarly to whole corals. This approach provides a novel tool for investigating the biophysical mechanism of calcification in these organisms.
Abstract
We present observations of ≳10–100 keV nucleon
−1
suprathermal (ST) H, He, O, and Fe ions associated with crossings of the heliospheric current sheet (HCS) at radial distances of <0.1 au ...from the Sun. Our key findings are as follows: (1) very few heavy ions are detected during the first full crossing, the heavy-ion intensities are reduced during the second partial crossing and peak just after the second crossing; (2) ion arrival times exhibit no velocity dispersion; (3) He pitch-angle distributions track the magnetic field polarity reversal and show up to ∼10:1 anti-sunward, field-aligned flows and beams closer to the HCS that become nearly isotropic farther from the HCS; (4) the He spectrum steepens either side of the HCS, and the He, O, and Fe spectra exhibit power laws of the form ∼
E
−4
–
E
6
; and (5) maximum energies
E
X
increase with the ion’s charge-to-mass (
Q
/
M
) ratio as
E
X
/
E
H
∝
(
Q
X
/
M
X
)
δ
, where
δ
∼ 0.65–0.76, assuming that the average
Q
states are similar to those measured in gradual and impulsive solar energetic particle events at 1 au. The absence of velocity dispersion in combination with strong field-aligned anisotropies closer to the HCS appears to rule out solar flares and near-Sun coronal-mass-ejection-driven shocks. These new observations present challenges not only for mechanisms that employ direct parallel electric fields and organize maximum energies according to
E
/
Q
but also for local diffusive and magnetic-reconnection-driven acceleration models. Reevaluation of our current understanding of the production and transport of energetic ions is necessary to understand this near-solar, current-sheet-associated population of ST ions.
The flavor of whey protein concentrates (WPC 80) and whey protein isolates (WPI) was studied using instrumental and sensory techniques. Four WPC 80 and 4 WPI, less than 3 mo old, were collected in ...duplicate from 6 manufacturers in the United States. Samples were rehydrated and evaluated in duplicate by descriptive sensory analysis. Duplicate samples with internal standards were extracted with diethyl ether. Extracts were then distilled to remove nonvolatile material using high vacuum distillation. Volatile extracts were analyzed using gas chromatography/olfactometry with post peak intensity analysis and aroma extract dilution analysis. Compounds were identified by comparison of retention indices, odor properties, and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry against reference standards. Whey proteins exhibited sweet aromatic, cardboard/wet paper, animal/wet dog, soapy, brothy, cucumber, and cooked/milky flavors, along with the basic taste bitter, and the feeling factor astringency. Key volatile flavor compounds in WPC 80 and WPI were butanoic acid (cheesy), 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn), 2-methyl-3-furanthiol (brothy/burnt), 2,5-dimethyl-4-hydroxy-3-(2H)-furanone (maple/spicy), 2-nonenal (fatty/old books), (E,Z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber), and (E,Z)-2,4-decadienal (fatty/oxidized). This baseline data on flavor and flavor sources in whey proteins will aid ongoing and future research and will help to identify the most appropriate whey ingredients to use to control or minimize flavor variability in whey enhanced products.
Background
Technological advances have led to the generation of large amounts of data, both in surgical research and practice. Despite this, it is unclear how much originates in low‐ and ...middle‐income countries (LMICs) and what barriers exist to the use of such data in improving surgical care. The aim of this review was to capture the extent and impact of programmes that use large volumes of patient data on surgical care in LMICs.
Methods
A PRISMA‐compliant systematic literature review of PubMed, Embase and Google Scholar was performed in August 2018. Prospective studies collecting large volumes of patient‐level data within LMIC settings were included and evaluated qualitatively.
Results
A total of 68 studies were included from 71 LMICs, involving 708 032 patients. The number of patients in included studies varied widely (from 335 to 428 346), with 25 reporting data on 3000 or more LMIC patients. Patient inclusion in large‐data studies in LMICs has increased dramatically since 2015. Studies predominantly involved Brazil, China, India and Thailand, with low patient numbers from Africa and Latin America. Outcomes after surgery were commonly the focus (33 studies); very few large studies looked at access to surgical care or patient expenditure. The use of large data sets specifically to improve surgical outcomes in LMICs is currently limited.
Conclusion
Large volumes of data are becoming more common and provide a strong foundation for continuing investigation. Future studies should address questions more specific to surgery.
The use of ‘big data’ is becoming increasingly common in surgical research and practice. This study shows that patient inclusion in large‐data studies in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs) has increased dramatically since 2015; however, future studies would benefit from asking research questions that are more specific to surgery in LMIC settings.
Growing access to big data
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