Physicochemical properties of soy protein hydrolysate and its formulation and stability with encapsulated probiotic under in vitro gastrointestinal environment.

The objective of this study was to prepare protein isolate from defatted soybean and identify an optimal hydrolysis protocol to create improved hydrolysates and ascertain the optimum encapsulation technique for probiotics. Soy protein isolate (SPI) was prepared using an alkaline extraction procedure for solubility within a neutral, beverage-specific pH range. The soy protein hydrolysate (SPH) was prepared from aqueous extracted SPI using pepsin. The physicochemical properties of the SPH were investigated by solubility, degree of hydrolysis (DH), surface hydrophobicity, and electrophoresis. Hydrolysates from 2, 2.5, and 3 hr of hydrolysis time achieved the suitable DH between 2.5% to 5.0%. The 2.5 to 3 hr hydrolysates were also significantly more soluble than SPI at all pH levels from 85% to 95% solubility. Surface hydrophobicity of the hydrolysates ranged from 15 to 20 S0 values. Alginate (1%), resistant starch (2%), and probiotic culture (0.1%) were used as an encapsulation agent to protect probiotics. Alginate microcapsules were observed to be 1 mm in size using environmental scanning electron microscopy. The dried SPH and encapsulated probiotics with alginate in a dry powder formulation were tested for its gastrointestinal resistance and probiotic viability under in vitro simulated digestion. Approximately 1-log decrease was observed for all experimental groups after simulated digestion (final log colony forming units [CFU]/mL range: 6.55 to 6.19) with free probiotics having the lowest log CFU/mL (6.10 ± 0.10) value. No significant difference was observed among experimental groups for probiotic viability (P = 0.445). The findings of this research will provide an understanding of formulation for easily digestible protein and encapsulated probiotics. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The findings of this research provide an understanding of improved formulation for more suitable soy protein hydrolysate and viability of encapsulated probiotics in gastrointestinal environment. Probiotics with the prebiotics in an encapsulated environment provide a technology for the enhancement of probiotics viability and for applications in suitable products for health and wellness.

What do patients value in the hospital meal experience?

A number of previous studies have reported on the aspects of hospital food service that patients value, but usually as a secondary finding, and not generally based upon patient-centred approaches. This study employed a questionnaire produced ab initio from interviews with patients and hospital staff, the data from which were subjected to factor and cluster analysis, in order to identify and prioritise the factors that contribute to the meal experience empirically. The most important factors, food and service were as identified by other authors. In decreasing order of importance were social, personal and situational factors. The results confirm that improving the quality of the food and the efficiency with which it reaches the patients remain the most important objectives of hospital food service.

Hungry in hospital, well-fed in prison? A comparative analysis of food service systems.

Meals served in prisons and hospitals are produced in similar ways and have similar characteristics, yet hospital patients are often at risk of being undernourished, while prisoners typically are not. This article examines field notes collected during nutritional studies of prison and hospital food service, which confirmed the difference in nutrient intake claimed by other authors. A comparison of food service processes and systems showed that the production of meals and the quality leaving the kitchen was similar in both types of institution. However, the delivery and service system was found to be much less coherent in hospital than in prison. Transport and service of hospital food were subject to delays and disruptions from a number of sources, including poor communication and the demands of medical professionals. These meant that meals reached hospital patients in a poorer, less appetising condition than those received by prisoners. The findings are discussed in the light of previous work and in terms of hospital food service practice.

The relationship between emotions and food consumption (macronutrient) in a foodservice college setting - a preliminary study.

Many aspects of eating out have been studied, yet emotions remain an under-researched area, despite having been shown to play a significant role in food consumption. The aim of this research is to critically evaluate the relationship between emotions and food consumption (macronutrient) in a realistic eating environment, a college cafeteria. Subjects (n = 408), diners using a cafeteria, completed an emotions questionnaire before and after freely choosing, paying for and consuming a hot main meal. The results demonstrated a greater feeling of contentment with a high fat, high energy meal, whereas with a low carbohydrate meal, participants felt unfulfilled. In addition, a high protein meal also leads to a feeling of contentment. These results are rather counter-intuitive to public health nutrition policy but indicate the importance of inclusion of a protein or high carbohydrate item in any dish design in a foodservice setting.

Mosquitoes and other arthropod macro fauna associated with tank bromeliads in a Peruvian cloud forest.

Mosquitoes and other macro arthropods were collected in September 2008 from bucket bromeliads in the vicinity of the Wayqecha Cloud Forest Research Center in southeastern Peru, an area for which there are no published data. Range extensions of culicid species are reported.

Plate versus bulk trolley food service in a hospital: comparison of patients' satisfaction.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this research was to compare plate with bulk trolley food service in hospitals in terms of patient satisfaction. Key factors distinguishing satisfaction with each system would also be identified. METHODS: A consumer opinion card (n = 180), concentrating on the quality indicators of core foods, was used to measure patient satisfaction and compare two systems of delivery, plate and trolley. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to build a model that would predict food service style on the basis of the food attributes measured. Further investigation used multinomial logistic regression to predict opinion for the assessment of each food attribute within food service style. RESULTS: Results showed that the bulk trolley method of food distribution enables all foods to have a more acceptable texture, and for some foods (potato, P = 0.007; poached fish, P = 0.001; and minced beef, P < or = 0.0005) temperature, and for other foods (broccoli, P < or = 0.0005; carrots, P < or = 0.0005; and poached fish, P = 0.001) flavor, than the plate system of delivery, where flavor is associated with bad opinion or dissatisfaction. A model was built indicating patient satisfaction with the two service systems. CONCLUSION: This research confirms that patient satisfaction is enhanced by choice at the point of consumption (trolley system); however, portion size was not the controlling dimension. Temperature and texture were the most important attributes that measure patient satisfaction with food, thus defining the focus for hospital food service managers. To date, a model predicting patient satisfaction with the quality of food as served has not been proposed, and as such this work adds to the body of knowledge in this field. This report brings new information about the service style of dishes for improving the quality of food and thus enhancing patient satisfaction.

The projection of neuroendocrine fibers (NCC I and II) in the brains of three orthopteroid insects.

Neuronal projections from neuroendocrine tracts (nervi corpori cordiaci I and II) in the brains of the locust (Schistocerca vaga), cricket (Acheta domesticus), and cockroach (Periplaneta americana) were studied using reconstructions of silver-intensified cobalt chloride preparations. Collaterals from the NCC I in these species branch extensively in the dorsal protocerebral neuropile, anterior to the stalk of the corpora pedunculata and ventral to its calyces. Other fibers project from the NCC I bilaterally into the medial protocerebral neuropile, anterior to the central body, and posterior to the beta lobes. NCC II collaterals arborize in the medial, dorsal, and lateral protocerebral neuropile, their region of projection partially overlapping with that of the NCC I. Several NCC II fibers terminate in the superior arch of the central body in Acheta but not in the other two species. Tritocerebral cells filled through the NCC I branch in the medial tritocerebral neuropile in all three species, but most extensively in Schistocerca. No NCC fibers were seen to penetrate any part of the corpora pedunculata, protocerebral bridge, olfactory glomeruli, ocellar tracts, or optic lobes. These neuronal projections from the NCC I and II lie anterior to regions of branching of second-order ocellar fibers and thus provide no anatomical basis for direct ocellar input to neurosecretory cells, contrary to previous reports for orthopteroid species (Brousse-Gaury, '71a, b). However, interneurons filled from the optic lobes were found to terminate in the same region of dorsal protocerebral neuropile as NCC I and II fibers in Acheta, thus providing a possible pathway for optic input to the cerebral neuroendocrine system.

Tracheation of abdominal ganglia and cerci in the house cricket Acheta domesticus (Orthoptera, Gryllidae).

Patterns of tracheation in the abdominal central nervous system and the cerci of Acheta domesticus are described from whole mounts, and light and electron microscopy. The tracheal supply of the ganglia is derived from ventral longitudinal tracheal trunks which have segmental connections to the spiracels. Each abdominal ganglion is served by a single pair of tracheal trunks, except the terminal ganglion, which has two pairs. Within the ganglia, tracheoles occur principally in association with glia-rich areas of the neuropile. We suggest that the respiratory exchange may be concentrated in the cell bodies of neurons and glia. Each cercus has a tracheal supply in paralle with a large air sac which, it is suggested, serves to lighten the cercus, functions as a resonator for sound reception, or facilitates tidal flow of hemolymph and postecdysial expansion of the cercus. No tracheae run continuously between ganglia or between the terminal ganglion and the cerci, and they do not appear to have a potential role as a contact guidance pathway for cercal nerve growth.

Integument and sensory nerve differentiation ofDrosophila leg and wing imaginal discs in vitro.

An ultrastructural analysis is presented of the cuticular and neural structures formed by the prothoracic leg and wing imaginal discs of maleDrosophila melanogaster larvae during culture in vitro with 0.2 µg/ml of ß-ecdysone. A pupal cuticle, and subsequently an imaginal cuticle with a well-defined epicuticle and a laminated endocuticle is formed. The ultrastructure of the epidermis and of cuticular structures such as bristles, trichomes, apodemes, and tracheoles is very similar to that found in situ. Dendrites and nerve cell bodies are formed in vitro, and sensory axons form nerve bundles similar to those of normal appendages in situ, despite their isolation from the central nervous system. It is concluded that at the ultrastructural level, differentiation in vitro closely parallels the normal course of development.

Postembryonic brain development in the monarch butterfly,Danaus plexippus plexippus, L. : I. Cellular events during brain morphogenesis.

1. Cellular morphogenesis during postembryonic brain development inDanaus plexippus plexippus L. was examined using histological techniques including radioautography. 2. The production of new neurones is continuous throughout larval and pupal stages and shows no fluctuations corresponding to ecdysis. Glial cell production, on the other hand, occurs at the time of molting. 3. New ganglion cells are formed by the division of neuroblasts found in aggregates or isolated among larval ganglion cells. Asymmetrical neuroblast divisions yield one neuroblast and one ganglion-mother cell which then divides at least once to form the new ganglion cells. Such divisions begin earlier inDanaus than in other investigated Lepidoptera. Symmetrical divisions yielding two neuroblasts also occur, but only among aggregated neuroblasts. 4. Radioautographs of brains fixed at progressive intervals after Tritiated Thymidine (H3TdR) injection have permitted description of the basic pattern by which cells of the adult brain cortex are laid out and progressive changes in the relationship of new ganglion cells derived from a single neuroblast. Ganglion-mother cells are deposited between the neuroblast and the neuropile, thus forming a row of cells which move the neuroblast progressively farther from the neuropile. New ganglion cells produced by ganglion-mother cell mitoses, which usually are oriented at 45° angles to the neuropile, expand the cell cluster. Differentiating fibers of these cells are apparent within a few days of their production and seem to enter the neuropile in one bundle. Later with increased neuropile volume and further cell differentiation the cells are no longer clumped and thus are not recognizable as offspring of a single neuroblast. 5. Neuroblasts found scattered among the larval ganglion cells arise from cells near the neuropile. These cells, at first indistinguishable from their neighbors, gradually assume the size and ready stainability of neuroblasts and subsequently divide according to the pattern described above. 6. Scattered neuroblasts degenerate beginning shortly after pupation and have completely disappeared by the end of the fourth day. 7. Except in the developing optic lobe, glial cell numbers increase through the proliferation of already existing glial cells. All glial cells show H3TdR uptake during a 12 hour period surrounding each larval-larval molt and for a somewhat longer period after pupation. However, in the larval stages mitotic figures were seen only among glial I, II, and IV. Glial I cells divide through the entire last larval stage and for two days following pupation. Large irregular mitoses seen among glial III cells at pupation indicate that these cells are probably polyploid. 8. In the newly forming adult optic lobe glial II, III, and IV cells appear to develop from preganglion cells or cells indistinguishable from them. These cells gradually stain more and more darkly, segregate into the normal glial positions, and subsequently divide in accord with other glial cells. 9. At the end of the fifth instar the perineurium (glial I cells), which begins to thicken during the third larval instar, is multilayered and contains many vacuolar cells. Just prior to pupation the neurilemma begins to disintegrate and during the next five days all but the cells closest to the brain disappear. Hemocytes are seen to engulf portions of the disintegrating neurilemma and already degenerating perineurial cells, but do not seem to engulf live cells. The glial I cells remaining adjacent to the brain secrete a new neurilemma. 10. There is no evidence for mass destruction of larval ganglion cells by either autolysis or phagocytosis, and only in the antennal center is there evidence of degeneration of larval cells (NORDLANDER andEDWARDS, in press).

Postembryonic brain development in the monarch butterfly,Danaus plexippus plexippus L. : II. The optic lobes.

1. Temporal and spatial aspects of postembryonic optic lobe development in a Lepidopteran,Danaus plexippus plexippus L., were analyzed using serial section reconstructions and H3-thymidine radioautography to display loci of cell production and progressive movements of populations of cells. 2. Optic lobe development begins early in larval life and is continuous without perceptible fluctuations corresponding to molting. The production of new cells begins during the first larval stages and is completed within a few days after pupation. 3. Development of adult optic centers appears to be independent of the larval optic center and also of adult eye development which does not get underway until pupation. At pupation the larval stemmata migrate toward the brain along the stemmatal nerve which persists and later serves as the framework by which ommatidial neurones reach the brain. 4. Ganglion cells of the adult optic lobe are produced by two coiled rod-like aggregates of neuroblasts, the inner and outer optic lobe anlagen, which lie lateral to the protocerebrum and are already present in the brain of the newly hatched larva. Neuroblasts of the anlagen divide both symetrically to produce more neuroblasts and asymmetrically to yield one neuroblast and one smaller cell, the ganglion-mother cell. Subsequent ganglion-mother cell divisions produce the new ganglion cells which are continuously displaced from the anlage by additional cells. Following pupation mitotic activity in the anlagen diminishes and neuroblasts degenerate. By the fourth day after pupation the anlagen have disappeared. 5. Fiber differentiation begins within a few days of cell formation. Fibers travel in bundles usually toward the center of the coiled anlagen where they form the neuropile masses. With contributions from a growing population of ganglion cells, fibermasses grow rapidly in size and complexity. 6. The geometric arrangement of anlagen, cortices, and neuropile is dynamic and interdependent. Progressive changes in anlagen configuration result from the combined effects of an increasing neuroblast population, growing optic cortices, and expanding fibermasses between the arms of the anlagen. In turn, the cortices and fibermasses which follow anlagen contours also change form. The complex of these parts, initially small and coiled, gradually enlarges and uncoils until at the time of anlagen degeneration the three optic fibermasses and their cortices are in approximately their final arrangement. 7. The outer anlage forms cells of the lamina cortex at its lateral rim and cells of the medulla at its medial rim. Cells of the lobula cortex are produced by strands of inner anlage neuroblasts extending laterally between the arms of the coiled outer anlage. 8. Cells of the medulla cortex are first seen during the second larval instar and several days later the medulla fibermass is discernible. Cortex and fibermass lie medial to the outer anlage which is moved progressively more laterally as more cells are produced. Cells labelled with H3-Td R at the beginning of the third instar become the tangential cells of the adult optic lobe. Those labelled at the fourth and fith stages occupy positions near the tangential cells, and those labelled at pupation ultimately lie at the lateral edge of the cortex. 9. Production of the lamina cortex begins later and procedes more slowly. Cells here are first apparent during the fourth instar and form a cellular cap covering the lateral part of the optic lobe. Labelling studies show that the earliest formed cells finally occupy the most posterior region of the lamina cortex. The lamina fibermass is first seen in the mid-fifth instar brain. 10. For most of larval life the lobula cortex forms a plug of cells just inside the lamina. While the anlage remains coiled, the first-formed cells are at the center of the plug, but ultimately they lie at the most medial part of the cortex. Production of lobula cells begins during the third instar and by the mid-fourth instar the lobula neuropile can be seen medial to them. 11. As a result of these studies with H3-Td R injection and fixation after varying intervals it has been possible to estimate the age of cells at a particular developmental stage. Because this material offers an organized arrangement of cells of a wide range of identifiable ages and levels of maturation within a single individual, it provides an excellent model for the study of progressive neurone differentiation.