Effects of infrared heating as an emerging thermal technology on physicochemical properties of foods.

Infrared (IR) radiation is part of an electromagnetic spectrum between the ultraviolet and microwave regions. IR radiation impacts the surface of the food, generating heat that can be used as an efficient drying technique. Apart from drying, IR heating is an emerging food processing technology with applications in baking, roasting, microbial inactivation, insect control, extraction for antioxidant recovery, peeling, and blanching. Physicochemical properties such as texture, color, hardness, total phenols, and antioxidants capability of foods are essential quality attributes that affect the food quality. In this regard, the main objective of this review study was to highlight and discuss the effects of IR heating on food quality to expand its food applications and commercial adoption. The fundamental mechanisms, type of emitters, and IR processing parameters are discussed in this review to explore their impacts on food quality. Infrared heating has been shown that the appropriate operating conditions (distance, exposure time, IR power, and temperature) with high heat transfer, thus leading to a shorter drying time. Besides, IR heating used in food processing to improve food-surface color and flavor, it also enhances hardness, firmness, shrinkage, crispiness, and viscosity. Meanwhile, antioxidant activity is enhanced, and some nutrients are retained.

Effect of zero-point motion on properties of quantum particles adsorbed on a substrate.

We qualitatively investigate the effect of zero-point motion (ZPM) on the structure and properties of a film composed of quantum particles adsorbed on a graphite substrate. The amplitude of ZPM is controlled by a change of the particle mass while keeping the interactions fixed. In that sense it is assumed that the interactions can be controlled by future doping methods. The worm-algorithm path integral Monte Carlo (WAPIMC) method is applied to simulate this system in the grand-canonical ensemble, where particles can be exchanged with the external particle reservoir. Another method, namely the multiconfigurational time-dependent Hartree method for bosons is additionally applied to verify some of the WAPIMC results and to provide further information on the entropy and the condensate fraction. Several important findings are reported. It is found that ZPM plays an important role in defining order and disorder in the crystalline structure of the adsorbed film. The total energy of the film drops with a reduction in the amplitude of ZPM, that is, it becomes more negative which is an indication to stronger adsorption. For a few particle numbers, a significant condensate fraction is detected that however drops sharply at critical values of the ZPM amplitude. Most importantly, a connection is established between chaos, in coordinate as well as momentum space, and the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. The importance of the present study lies in the fact that adsorbed two-dimensional films serve as an excellent experimental testbed for demonstrating low-dimensional quantum phenomena in the ground state. The present examination contributes also to a further understanding of the properties of heavy quantum particles adsorbed on substrates.

Exploring the Power of Thermosonication: A Comprehensive Review of Its Applications and Impact in the Food Industry.

Thermosonication (TS) has been identified as a smart remedy for the shortcomings of heat treatment, which typically requires prolonged exposure to high temperatures. This technique combines moderate heat treatment with acoustic energy to eliminate harmful microorganisms and enzymes in food products. Unlike conventional heat treatment, thermosonication utilizes short holding times, allowing for the preservation of food products' phytochemical compounds and sensory characteristics. The benefits and challenges of this emerging technology, such as equipment cost, limited availability of data, inconsistent results, high energy consumption, and scale-up challenges, have been assessed, and the design process for using ultrasound in combination with mild thermal treatment has been discussed. TS has proven to be a promising technique for eliminating microorganisms and enzymes without compromising the nutritional or sensory quality of food products. Utilizing natural antimicrobial agents such as ascorbic acid, Nisin, and ε-polylysine (ε-PL) in combination with thermosonication is a promising approach to enhancing the safety and shelf life of food products. Further research is required to enhance the utilization of natural antimicrobial agents and to acquire a more comprehensive comprehension of their impact on the safety and quality of food products.

Polyamine metabolism impacts T cell dysfunction in the oral mucosa of people living with HIV.

Metabolic changes in immune cells contribute to both physiological and pathophysiological outcomes of immune reactions. Here, by comparing protein expression, transcriptome, and salivary metabolome profiles of uninfected and HIV+ individuals, we found perturbations of polyamine metabolism in the oral mucosa of HIV+ patients. Mechanistic studies using an in vitro human tonsil organoid infection model revealed that HIV infection of T cells also resulted in increased polyamine synthesis, which was dependent on the activities of caspase-1, IL-1ß, and ornithine decarboxylase-1. HIV-1 also led to a heightened expression of polyamine synthesis intermediates including ornithine decarboxylase-1 as well as an elevated dysfunctional regulatory T cell (TregDys)/T helper 17 (Th17) cell ratios. Blockade of caspase-1 and polyamine synthesis intermediates reversed the TregDys phenotype showing the direct role of polyamine pathway in altering T cell functions during HIV-1 infection. Lastly, oral mucosal TregDys/Th17 ratios and CD4 hyperactivation positively correlated with salivary putrescine levels, which were found to be elevated in the saliva of HIV+ patients. Thus, by revealing the role of aberrantly increased polyamine synthesis during HIV infection, our study unveils a mechanism by which chronic viral infections could drive distinct T cell effector programs and Treg dysfunction.

Innovative date syrup processing with ohmic heating technology: Physiochemical characteristics, yield optimization, and sensory attributes.

The present study aimed to investigate the application of the ohmic heating (OH) technique in the production of date syrup from the date fruit of the Sukkary variety at different electric field strengths (EFS) (9, 10, and 11 V/cm). The results were compared to the conventional heating method (CH). The response surface methodology was used to optimize yield. The results showed that the time to reach the boiling point of dates and water mixture using OH was less than the CH by 80% for extracting and 900% for evaporation. In addition, the productivity of date syrup using OH at EFS of 11 V/cm was higher than the CH by 86.11%. There is no significant effect between OH at EFS of 11 V/cm and CH in moisture content, refractive index, density, TSS, and viscosity. The optimum level of EFS was 11.5 V/cm, which gave a higher yield (64.93%). OH, save consumed power and cost. The OH gave the highest scores of sensory characteristics compared to CH. Total sugars, monosaccharides, and ketone monosaccharides were detected in the date syrup, and the result was positive, while the quintuple sugars and multiple sugars were negative for all treatments. The OH reduced the cost by 85.78% compared with CH.

Unpredictable condensate-depletion dynamics in one-dimensional power-law traps.

The dynamic depletion of a trapped one-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) that is driven by laser stirring is numerically explored using beyond mean-field methods. For this purpose, the multi-configurational time-dependent Hartree method for bosons (Alonet al2008Phys. Rev.A77033613) is applied. In order to induce the depletion, the BEC is excited by a negative Gaussian potential (dimple) whose depth is modulated with time. The BEC is examined in various trapping geometries, with different interactions, and the condensate depletion is recorded as a function of time. A general power-law trap is considered that can be experimentally generated and shaped by the holographic methods of Bruceet al(2011Phys. Rev.A84053410). The chief goal is to explore the interplay between trapping geometry and interactions in defining the depletion dynamics. It is chiefly found, that the details of these depletion dynamics are unpredictable and determined by a combination of the principle dimple depth, trap, and interactions. One significant feature of this work is that quite a number of plateaus is reached in the aforementioned dynamics.

Oral immune dysfunction is associated with the expansion of FOXP3+PD-1+Amphiregulin+ T cells during HIV infection.

Residual systemic inflammation and mucosal immune dysfunction persist in people living with HIV, despite treatment with combined anti-retroviral therapy, but the underlying immune mechanisms are poorly understood. Here we report that the altered immune landscape of the oral mucosa of HIV-positive patients on therapy involves increased TLR and inflammasome signaling, localized CD4+ T cell hyperactivation, and, counterintuitively, enrichment of FOXP3+ T cells. HIV infection of oral tonsil cultures in vitro causes an increase in FOXP3+ T cells expressing PD-1, IFN-γ, Amphiregulin and IL-10. These cells persist even in the presence of anti-retroviral drugs, and further expand when stimulated by TLR2 ligands and IL-1ß. Mechanistically, IL-1ß upregulates PD-1 expression via AKT signaling, and PD-1 stabilizes FOXP3 and Amphiregulin through a mechanism involving asparaginyl endopeptidase, resulting in FOXP3+ cells that are incapable of suppressing CD4+ T cells in vitro. The FOXP3+ T cells that are abundant in HIV-positive patients are phenotypically similar to the in vitro cultured, HIV-responsive FOXP3+ T cells, and their presence strongly correlates with CD4+ T cell hyper-activation. This suggests that FOXP3+ T cell dysregulation might play a role in the mucosal immune dysfunction of HIV patients on therapy.

Application and Effects of Ohmic-Vacuum Combination Heating on the Quality Factors of Tomato Paste.

Ohmic-vacuum combination heating is a common method used in the food industry as a concentration process. In the present study, an OH-VC combination heating system was developed for producing tomato paste at temperatures of 70, 80, and 90 °C and pressure of 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7 bar and electric field of 1.82, 2.73, and 3.64 V/cm using a central composite design. The effects of heating conditions on the quality and sensory evaluation of tomato paste were also evaluated. Each combination of temperature, pressure, and the electric field was quantified for specific energy consumption, energy efficiency, and productivity. A decrease of 35.08% in the amount of acid ascorbic and lycopene content 19.01%, using conventional heating compared to ohmic-vacuum heating under optimized conditions, was attained. The results also highlighted an increase in the amount of HMF (69.79%) and PME (24.33%) using conventional heating compared to ohmic-vacuum heating under optimized conditions. Ascorbic acid, lycopene, titratable acidity, productivity, energy efficiency was higher than conventional heating; on the other hand, HMF, PME, pH, SEC were lower than conventional heating at the applied OH-VC process. No significant effects between OH-VC and conventional heating on the TSS were observed. In addition, OH-VC heating was highly efficient in the inhibition of bacterial growth. Further, a minor effect on the sensory properties of tomato paste with OH-VC heating compared to the conventional treatment. The obtained results indicate a strong potential for an OH-VC combination heating system as a rapid-heating, high-efficiency alternative for saving electrical energy consumption and preserving nutritional value.

Effect of trapping geometry on the parametric resonances in a disordered Bose-Einstein condensate driven by an oscillating potential.

We report parametric resonances (PRs) in a numerical investigation of a driven one-dimensional, interacting, and disordered Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) confined in different traps. The BEC is excited by an oscillating Gaussian obstacle along a broad range of driving frequencies Ω. The PRs are detected via a quantity that is closely related to the time-average of the kinetic energy. The significant result of this work is that the trapping geometry plays a major role in defining the values of Ω at which PRs arise and controls their response to disorder. As such, it reveals the interplay of trapping geometry and disorder in these resonances. The dynamics of the modal coefficient C 0(t) as well as that of the phase-mismatch δ(t) between the C 0(t) and C 1(t) are examined at and away from PR. At PR, |C 0(t)| is generally found to be lower in magnitude than away from it, demonstrating that the atoms leave the n = 0 ground state towards higher states. In the harmonic oscillator trap, the dynamic pattern of δ(t) is found to be quite robust against changes in the disorder strength contrary to the box potential. This is because in the box the ratio of the random-potential and kinetic energies is higher than in the harmonic trap signaling that the influence of disorder is weaker in the latter.

Ultrasound applications in poultry meat processing: A systematic review.

Ultrasound (US) is classified as a nonthermal treatment and it is used in food processing at a frequency range between 20 kHz and 1 MHz. Cavitation bubbles occur when the US strength is high enough to generate rarefaction that exceeds the intermolecular attraction forces in the medium. Currently, US is widely used in meat industries to enhance procedures, such as meat tenderization, emulsification mass transfer, marination, freezing, homogenization, crystallization, drying, and microorganism inactivation. In addition, combining ultrasonic energy with a sanitizing agent has a synergistic effect on microbial reduction. When poultry meat is treated using US, the expected quality is often better than the traditional methods, such as sanitization and freezing. US can be considered as a novel green technology for tenderizing and decontamination of poultry meat since both Escherichia coli and Salmonella are sensible to US. US improves the physical and chemical properties of meat proteins and can lead to a decrease in the α-helix in intramuscular protease complex in addition to a reduction in the viscosity coefficients. Therefore, ultrasonic treatment can be applied to enhance the textural properties of chicken meat. US can also be used to improve the drying rate when used under vacuum, compared with other traditional techniques. This review focuses on the potential of US applications in the management of poultry industries as the demand for good quality meat proteins is increasing worldwide.

HIV coinfection impairs CD28-mediated costimulation of hepatitis C virus-specific CD8 cells.

BACKGROUND: During human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, reduced proportions of CD8 cells express CD28, the key costimulatory molecule for lymphocyte activation. However, it is unclear whether reduced CD28 expression affects immune responses to non-HIV antigens, potentially contributing to susceptibility to opportunistic infection. METHODS: We measured CD4- and CD8-specific interferon- gamma responses to hepatitis C virus (HCV) peptide pools in subjects with chronic HCV monoinfection (n=14), in subjects with chronic HCV/HIV coinfection (n=15), and in healthy control subjects (n=10) by enzyme-linked immunospot assay in the presence and absence of CD28 costimulation. RESULTS: Anti-CD28 agonist increased the cumulative frequency of HCV-specific CD4 cell responses in the subjects with HCV monoinfection and in those with HCV/HIV coinfection. In contrast, anti-CD28 agonist increased the breadth and cumulative frequency of HCV-specific CD8 cell responses only in the subjects with HCV monoinfection. Additionally, in the presence of anti-CD28 agonist, the proportion of subjects responding, the cumulative frequency, and the breadth of reactive CD8 cells were greater among the subjects with HCV monoinfection than among those with HCV/HIV coinfection. Finally, the HCV/HIV-coinfected subjects had lower proportions of CD8 cells that expressed CD28. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that, during HCV/HIV coinfection, memory-effector CD8 cells have reduced responsiveness to CD28 costimulation. This appears to reflect a global effect that HIV has on the activation or differentiation state of CD8 cells that are responsive to other microbial pathogens. This functional defect has implications for the pathogenesis of HCV/HIV coinfection.

Immune responses to hepatitis C and non-hepatitis C antigens in hepatitis C virus infected and HIV-1 coinfected patients.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize immune phenotype and function in hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in the presence and absence of HIV-1 infection. DESIGN: Cross-sectional comparison among controls (group A), patients with HCV infection (group B), HCV-HIV-1 coinfected patients (group C), coinfected patients receiving treatment for HIV-1 (group D), and untreated HIV-1 infected patients (group E). METHODS: Flow cytometric analysis for lymphocyte phenotypes, lymphocyte proliferation and cytokine production by ELISPOT. RESULTS: HCV infected patients tended to have an increased percentage of activated (CD38, HLA-DR) CD8 cells (group A, 2+/-1.4%; group B, 6+/-3.9%; P=0.08). Proliferative responses to non-HCV antigens were comparable in group A and group B subjects. A greater proportion of group B patients had stimulation indices (SI) > 3 to the HCV protein NS3 compared to group C and D patients (67%, 0%, and 11% respectively; P < 0.003), but only two patients in group B had SI > or = 5. The SI to NS3 was significantly higher in group B patients [median, 4; interquartile range (IQR), 3-9) than in group C (median, 2; IQR, 1-3; P < 0.04) or group D (median, 1; IQR, 1-4; P < 0.009) patients. Plasma HCV RNA levels correlated directly with alanine aminotransferase levels (p, 0.52; P < 0.05) and inversely with the number of CD4 lymphocytes (rho, -0.55; P < 0.009) and proliferation to NS3 (p, -0.55; P < 0.009). CONCLUSIONS: Lymphocytes of HCV infected patients show weak proliferative responses to HCV antigens while responses to other antigens are preserved. Infection with HIV-1 potentiates this deficiency. Poor CD4 T cell responses to HCV are associated with and may determine the failure to control HCV propagation.

Placebo-controlled trial of prednisone in advanced HIV-1 infection.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the safety and the immunologic and virologic consequences of corticosteroid use in HIV-1 infection. METHODS: A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial of corticosteroid administration in 41 patients with advanced HIV-1 infection. Patients had a baseline median CD4 cell count of 131 x 10(6) cells/l at enrollment and 85% had a history of opportunistic infection. All but one of the patients had been taking stable antiretroviral regimen, including a protease inhibitor in 36, for a median duration of 158 days. Patients were randomized to 8 weeks of prednisone 0.5 mg/kg daily or placebo. RESULTS: No AIDS-defining events occurred; two patients in each group developed oral candidiasis, and two patients on prednisone developed mild herpes simplex flares. None who developed oral candidiasis or herpes simplex was receiving prophylaxis and each responded promptly to therapy. In the prednisone group, two patients developed hyperglycemia and one diabetic increased insulin requirements. CD4 cell counts and plasma HIV-1 RNA levels did not change, but plasma tumor necrosis factor alpha levels and CD38+ CD8+ cells decreased significantly in those taking prednisone. CONCLUSION: Short-term prednisone administration is well tolerated and reasonably safe in advanced HIV-1 disease and decreases immune activation without effects on HIV-1 RNA levels or CD4 cell counts. These results suggest that, in stable HIV-1 disease, these immune activation markers are more likely consequences of but not inducers of HIV-1 replication.

Poor CD4 T cell restoration after suppression of HIV-1 replication may reflect lower thymic function.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize immune phenotype and thymic function in HIV-1-infected adults with excellent virologic and poor immunologic responses to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). METHODS: Cross-sectional study of patients with CD4 T cell rises of > or = 200 x 10(6) cells/l (CD4 responders; n = 10) or < 100 x 10(6) cells/l (poor responders; n = 12) in the first year of therapy. RESULTS: Poor responders were older than CD4 responders (46 versus 38 years; P < 0.01) and, before HAART, had higher CD4 cell counts (170 versus 35 x 106 cells/l; P = 0.11) and CD8 cell counts (780 versus 536 x 10(6) cells/l; P = 0.02). After a median of 160 weeks of therapy, CD4 responders had more circulating naive phenotype (CD45+CD62L+) CD4 cells (227 versus 44 x 10(6) cells/l; P = 0.001) and naive phenotype CD8 cells (487 versus 174 x 10(6) cells/l; P = 0.004) than did poor responders (after 130 weeks). Computed tomographic scans showed minimal thymic tissue in 11/12 poor responders and abundant tissue in 7/10 responders (P = 0.006). Poor responders had fewer CD4 cells containing T cell receptor excision circles (TREC) compared with CD4 responders (2.12 versus 27.5 x 10(6) cells/l; P = 0.004) and had shorter telomeres in CD4 cells (3.8 versus 5.3 kb; P = 0.05). Metabolic labeling studies with deuterated glucose indicated that the lower frequency of TREC-containing lymphocytes in poor responders was not caused by accelerated proliferation kinetics. CONCLUSION: Poor CD4 T cell increases observed in some patients with good virologic response to HAART may be caused by failure of thymic T cell production.

Granzyme B ELISPOT assay for ex vivo measurements of T cell immunity.

A major goal in immunodiagnostics has been the development of assay systems that can measure CD8(+) T cell immunity in humans, directly ex vivo, at high resolution, and with high throughput. We established granzyme B (grB) enzyme-linked immunospot assay (ELISPOT) in conjunction with image analysis to this end. Using grB transfected and untransfected Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells and T cell lines, we show that the antibody pair utilized was grB-specific and that only activated T cells secrete grB. GrB release began within 4 h after antigen stimulation and stopped within 40 h. Side-by-side comparison showed grB ELISPOT assays to have a higher resolution than classic chromium-release assays in terms of signal-to-noise ratio. The linearity of the relation of the number of CD8(+) effector T cells plated to grB spots detected suggests that grB ELISPOT assays measure the frequencies of grB-secreting cells directly. Reactivity to HIV peptides was seen in grB ELISPOT assays of freshly isolated PBMC from HIV patients, consistent with the detection of peptide-specific memory cells. The higher resolution and lower labor and material investment should make grB ELISPOT assays an attractive alternative to chromium-release assays in monitoring the clonal sizes of specific CD8 memory cells in vivo.

Effectiveness of the statistical potential in the description of fermions in a worm-algorithm path-integral Monte Carlo simulation of 3He atoms placed on a 4He layer adsorbed on graphite.

We demonstrate the effectiveness of a statistical potential (SP) in the description of fermions in a worm-algorithm path-integral Monte Carlo simulation of a few 3He atoms floating on a 4He layer adsorbed on graphite. The SP in this work yields successful results, as manifested by the clusterization of 3He, and by the observation that the 3He atoms float on the surface of 4He. We display the positions of the particles in 3D coordinate space, which reveal clusterization of the 3He component. The correlation functions are also presented, which give further evidence for the clusterization.

Direct visualization of cytokine-producing recall antigen-specific CD4 memory T cells in healthy individuals and HIV patients.

We have used computer-assisted cytokine ELISA spot analysis to measure the frequencies, the type of cytokine, and the amount of cytokine produced by individual recall Ag-specific CD4 memory cells in freshly isolated blood. We studied the memory cells specific for tetanus toxoid and purified protein derivative in 18 healthy individuals and in 22 HIV-infected patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). In healthy individuals, the frequency, cytokine signature, and cytokine production per cell of these memory cells were stable over time. Although it is presently unclear whether the maintenance of the memory T cell pool depends upon Ag persistence, cross-reactive Ag stimulation, or cytokine-driven bystander stimulations and expansions, our data strongly argue for a stable memory cell pool in healthy individuals. In HIV patients, however, the frequency of these memory cells was a function of the viral load. The decreased numbers of functional memory cells in patients with high viral loads might provide one mechanism behind the immunodeficient state. Although the cytokine output per cell was unaffected in most patients (20 of 24), in some patients (4 of 24) it was >100-fold reduced, which might provide an additional mechanism to account for the reduced immunocompetence of these patients. The ability to visualize directly and quantify the cytokine produced by the low frequency memory cells in freshly isolated blood that have been physiologically stimulated by Ag should aid comprehensive studies of the Ag-specific memory cell pool in vivo, in health and disease.

Levels of proinflammatory cytokines in plasma after pneumoccoccal immunization in human immunodeficiency virus type 1-infected patients.

To ascertain if immunization with pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine is associated with rises in the levels of proinflammatory cytokines in the plasma of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected patients, the levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were measured serially after immunization. IL-6 levels rose an average of 2.2- and 2.1-fold 6 and 8 h after immunization, respectively, but TNF-alpha levels remained unchanged. The levels of these cytokines were stable in unimmunized controls. Immunization with pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine induces increases in the levels of IL-6 in the plasma of persons with HIV-1 infection.

Changing spectrum of mortality due to human immunodeficiency virus: analysis of 260 deaths during 1995--1999.

We analyzed the deaths in an outpatient human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) care clinic at University Hospitals in Cleveland from January 1995 through December 1999. The number of annual deaths decreased progressively, from 112 in 1995 to 32 in 1999. The median final CD4(+) cell count before death increased progressively from 10 cells/microL in 1995 to 90 cells/microL in 1999 (P<.01); 20%--25% of patients who died from 1997 through 1999 had plasma HIV RNA levels below detection limits. From 1995 through 1998, deaths due to infection, to end-stage acquired immune deficiency syndrome, and to malignancies decreased, whereas the proportion of deaths due to end-organ failures and of uncertain relationship to HIV infection increased. The spectrum of mortality in HIV disease has changed recently; although opportunistic infections cause death less frequently, deaths are occurring in people who have control of HIV replication and with some preservation of immune function. These observations underscore the need to monitor the etiologies of HIV-associated mortality and to better our understanding of the relationships among immune defenses, treatment-related toxicities, and end-organ failure in patients with HIV disease.