Only Slight Changes (only + slight_change)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Properties of nisin-incorporated polymer coatings as antimicrobial packaging materials

PACKAGING TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE, Issue 5 2002
Young-Min Kim
Abstract Nisin was incorporated into binder solutions of acrylic polymer and vinyl acetate-ethylene co-polymer, and then coated on to paper. Diffusive migration of incorporated nisin and the antimicrobial activity of the polymer coatings were investigated in order to understand the way of controlling nisin migration and the extent of microbial suppression by the coated paper. Vinyl acetate,ethylene co-polymer exhibited a faster rate and higher degree of migration into aqueous food simulant solutions compared to acrylic polymer, and also exhibited a higher degree of suppression against Micrococcus flavus ATCC 10240 inoculated into the microbial medium. Addition of NaCl, sugar and citric acid to water significantly reduced the rate of diffusion of nisin in the case of acrylic polymer, while only slight change was observed due to the additive for vinyl acetate-ethylene co-polymer. The simulant type slightly affected the equilibrated migration level of nisin. When the nisin-incorporated coatings were in contact with pasteurized milk and orange juice at 10°C, significant suppression of total aerobic bacteria and yeasts was observed without any noticeable difference between the two types of coatings. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Localized transmeningeal muscimol prevents neocortical seizures in rats and nonhuman primates: Therapeutic implications

EPILEPSIA, Issue 4 2009
Nandor Ludvig
Summary Purpose:, To determine whether muscimol delivered epidurally or into the subarachnoid space can prevent and/or terminate acetylcholine (Ach),induced focal neocortical seizures at concentrations not affecting behavior and background electroencephalography (EEG) activity. Methods:, Rats (n = 12) and squirrel monkeys (n = 3) were chronically implanted with an epidural or subarachnoid drug delivery device, respectively, over the right frontal/parietal cortex, with adjacent EEG electrodes. Recordings were performed in behaving rats and chaired monkeys. Via the implants, either a control solution (artificial cerebrospinal fluid, ACSF) or muscimol (0.25,12.5 mm) was delivered locally as a "pretreatment," followed by the similar delivery of a seizure-inducing concentration of Ach. In five additional rats, the quantities of food-pellets consumed during epidural ACSF and muscimol (2.5 mm) exposures were measured. In a last group of four rats, muscimol (0.8,2.5 mm) was delivered epidurally during the ongoing, Ach-induced EEG seizure. Results:, In contrast to ACSF pretreatments, epidural muscimol pretreatment in rats completely prevented the seizures at and above 2.5 mm. In the monkeys, subarachnoid muscimol pretreatments at 2.5 mm completely prevented the focal-seizure,inducing effect of Ach, whereas similar deliveries of ACSF did not affect the seizures. Furthermore, 2.5 mm epidural muscimol left the eating behavior of rats intact and caused only slight changes in the EEG power spectra. Finally, muscimol delivery during Ach-induced EEG seizures terminated the seizure activity within 1,3 min. Conclusions:, The results of this study suggest that muscimol is a viable candidate for the transmeningeal pharmacotherapy of intractable focal epilepsy. [source]


Dietary intake of differently fed salmon: a preliminary study on contaminants

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CLINICAL INVESTIGATION, Issue 3 2006
C. Bethune
Abstract Background, In a previous study, a group of coronary heart disease (CHD) patients exhibited positive cardioprotective effects of fatty acids derived from a diet of farmed Atlantic salmon fed fish oil (Seierstad et al. 2005). This follow-up study examines these patients for plasma exposure to selected organic and inorganic contaminants found in seafood that may detract from the benefits of eating oily fish. Methods, The study design was from Seierstad et al. (2005), where 58 patients were allocated into three groups consuming 700 g week,1 of differently fed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) fillets for 6 weeks: 100% fish oil (FO), 100% rapeseed oil (RO), or 50% of each (FO/RO). Results, Different fillets showed graded levels (FO > FO/RO > RO) of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DLPCBs), indicator PCBs, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and arsenic (As). Mercury (Hg) and lead (Pb) levels were similar across the three types of fillets. After 6 weeks of consumption, patient levels of PCDDs, DLPCBs, and PCBs in plasma decreased as the dietary intake of these contaminants increased. Plasma PBDEs only showed increases for the FO patients. Levels of inorganic contaminants in plasma showed only slight changes over the study period. Conclusions, These results show a reduction in the use of marine oils in fish feed reduces organic contaminant levels in farmed salmon while still providing a good dietary source of marine fatty acids. [source]


Policy networks and market opening: Telecommunications liberalization in Spain

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL RESEARCH, Issue 4 2005
JACINT JORDANA
In this article we analyze the consequences of these far-reaching policies for the policy process itself. We ask whether the policy changes significantly altered the characteristics of policy processes by considering the timing and extent of the changes in policy networks during those years. More concretely, we discuss the extent to which policy networks changed as a result of market opening, considering the case of the telecommunications policy network in Spain. Using data from two successive surveys, we compare the network structure before and after market opening. Our findings show that only slight changes occurred during this period, making the network denser but not more open. Thus, we suggest that a more successful liberalization probably would have required a network that was more open to new entrants and in which power was less centralized and so able to guarantee a competitive environment. [source]


Long-term snow climate trends of the Swiss Alps (1931,99)

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 7 2003
Martin Laternser
Abstract The mean snow depth, the duration of continuous snow cover and the number of snowfall days in the Swiss Alps all show very similar trends during the observation period 1931,99: a gradual increase until the early 1980s (with insignificant interruptions during the late 1950s and early 1970s) followed by a statistically significant decrease towards the end of the century. Regional and altitudinal variations are large; high altitudes show only slight changes, and the trends become more pronounced at mid and low altitudes. At any particular time the southern part of the Alps often has different conditions than the north. Shorter snow duration is mainly caused by earlier snow melting in spring than by later first snowfalls in autumn. Trends for heavy snowfall events are somewhat different: at elevations above 1300 m a.s.l. a very weak increasing trend towards heavier snowfalls has persisted since the 1960s, and only low altitudes below 650 m a.s.l. show a marked drop since the early 1980s, indicating that heavy winter precipitation to an increasing degree falls in the form of rain instead of snow. A literature review confirms that, throughout the temperate and subpolar Northern Hemisphere, a similar general pattern of temporal snow variations occurred during the 20th century. Copyright © 2003 Royal Meteorological Society [source]


The use of acetone as a substitute for acetonitrile in analysis of peptides by liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

RAPID COMMUNICATIONS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY, Issue 1 2010
Theodore R. Keppel
The recent worldwide shortage of acetonitrile has prompted interest in alternative solvents for liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS). In this work, acetone was substituted for acetonitrile in the separation of a peptide mixture by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) and in the positive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) of individual peptides. On both C12 and C18 stationary phases, the substitution of acetone for acetonitrile as the organic component of the mobile phase did not alter the gradient elution order of a five-peptide retention standard, but did increase peak width, shorten retention times, and increase peak tailing. Positive ESI mass spectra were obtained for angiotensin I, bradykinin, [Leu5]-enkephalin, and somatostatin 14 dissolved in both acetonitrile/water/formic acid (25%/75%/0.1%) and acetone/water/formic acid (25%/75%/0.1%). Under optimized ESI-MS conditions, the mass spectral response of [Leu5]-enkephalin was increased two-fold when the solvent contained acetone. The substitution of acetone for acetonitrile resulted in only slight changes in the responses of the remaining peptides. A higher capillary voltage was required for optimum response when acetone was used. Compared with acetonitrile/water/formic acid (50/50/0.1%), more interfering species below m/z,=,140 were found in the ESI-MS spectra of acetone/water/formic acid (50/50/0.1%). Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Macronutrient and energy contents of human milk fractions during the first six months of lactation

ACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 9 2005
Timo Saarela
Abstract Aim: To study the macronutrient and energy contents of human milk fractions during the first 6 mo of lactation. Study design: A total of 483 milk samples, including 52 pairs of fore- and hindmilk samples from 20 mothers, 253 samples from 53 donor mothers and 126 samples from 36 mothers of preterm infants, were collected longitudinally, starting at 1 wk postpartum and continuing monthly up to 6 mo. Protein, lactose and fat contents were measured and energy density estimated. Results: The protein content was significantly lower in fore- and hindmilk than in donor or preterm milk during the first months of lactation. In donor and preterm milk, the protein content declined consistently from 2.0 g/100 ml at 1 wk to half of that at 6 mo, and a similar trend was observed in fore- and hindmilk. Lactose content showed no significant changes between the groups or in the course of lactation. The fat content was highest in hindmilk, being approximately two- to threefold that of foremilk. Accordingly, hindmilk included 25,35 kcal/100 ml more energy on average than foremilk. Conclusions: The fat content of human milk increases in relation to breast emptying, while the other macronutritients of milk show only slight changes. When enteral feeding with high-energy human milk is preferred, as in the case of very preterm infants, hind milk, with its higher fat content, would be a natural choice. [source]