Influence of barley varieties on wort quality and performance.

Wort from the barley varieties (Hordeum vulgare) Pallas, Fero, and Archer grown on the same location were investigated for their influence on oxidative stability and volatile profile during wort processing. Barley varieties had a small influence on radical formation, thiol-removing capacity, and volatile profile. Wort boiling with and without hops had a large influence on these same parameters. Potentially antioxidative thiols were oxidized in sweet wort, but reduction of thiols using tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine hydrochloride revealed that Archer wort had a significantly larger content of total thiols than Pallas and Fero. Oxidized thiols resulted in gel proteins and longer filtration time for Archer wort. Our study shows that wort processing to a large extent will eliminate variations in volatile profile and thiol levels in wort which otherwise might arise from different barley varieties.

Neuromuscular function during a forward lunge in meniscectomized patients.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate differences in knee joint kinematics, ground reaction force kinetics and neuromuscular activity including muscle coactivation, and medial versus lateral muscle activity during a forward lunge between the operated and contralateral legs of meniscectomized patients. Such differences may represent early changes in neuromuscular function potentially contributing to the development of knee osteoarthritis. METHODS: Twenty-two unilaterally meniscectomized patients (15 men and 7 women; age = 45.4 ± 5.1 yr, height = 174.3 ± 7.1 cm, weight = 77.3 ± 15.4 kg (mean ± SD)) were investigated on their operated and contralateral legs during a forward lunge using synchronous goniometer, force plate, and EMG recording (vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, biceps femoris, and semitendinosus). RESULTS: During impact loading, an increased level of muscle coactivation (38.0% (29.8%-46.3%) vs 30.1% (23.6%-36.6%), P = 0.02; mean (95% confidence interval)), reduced range of motion (59.4° (54.5°-64.2°) vs 64.9 (60.8°-70.0°), P = 0.01), and increased loading rate (985% BW·s(-1) (653-1317% BW·s(-1)) vs 696% BW·s(-1) (525-868% BW·s(-1)), P = 0.01) were observed in the operated leg compared with the contralateral leg. In addition, different patterns of medial versus lateral neuromuscular activity were observed in the operated and contralateral legs, along with minor differences during the other phases of the forward lunge. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of increased muscle coactivation, reduced range of motion, and increased loading rate in the operated compared with the contralateral leg support the hypothesis that meniscectomized patients demonstrate modulations in kinetics, kinematics, and neuromuscular activity, which may represent early changes in neuromuscular function that precede and affect development of knee osteoarthritis. The results also indicate that the forward lunge test is a sensitive measure to identify leg-to-leg differences in neuromuscular function after surgical interventions.