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Consumer preferences are changing, resulting in an increased demand for both organic milk and raw milk due to their perceived higher nutritional value and positive contribution to animal welfare. To compare the advantages and disadvantages of these products with conventional pasteurised milk, a sustainability assessment was performed incorporating social, environmental and economic factors. The assessment showed that raw organic milk gave the highest overall sustainability score. This is due to, for example, a high score for animal welfare and a high score for the environmental factors due to the omission of the pasteurisation step compared with conventional milk. The latter may pose human health risks due to the possible presence of pathogens in raw milk. As the approach followed is transparent, it allows policy makers to discuss the outcome of the sustainability assessment both with stakeholders and the general public, which will facilitate the decision making process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of recipe and temperature–time on the formation of acrylamide and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) during biscuit baking. Baking experiments were performed with biscuits of two different recipes, with and without NaCl, at 180°C, 190°C and 200°C. Acrylamide and HMF reached highest concentrations at 200°C for both recipes. The presence of NaCl in the biscuit formulation lowered acrylamide concentrations at 180°C and 190°C but not at 200°C, and led to higher concentrations of HMF at all the tested temperatures. Sucrose hydrolysis was a key step in acrylamide and HMF formation during biscuit baking, even though a significant amount of acrylamide already had formed before the onset of sucrose hydrolysis. A lag phase was observed before sucrose hydrolysis occurred, which might depend on the melting of crystalline sucrose occurring at approximately 180°C. A mathematical model based on the chemical reaction pathways was developed for the recipe with NaCl baked at 200°C. The model described the chemical evolution during the last part of biscuit baking, and accurately predicted acrylamide and HMF content at the end of baking. The model showed the significant contribution of the reducing sugars to the formation of both acrylamide and HMF. The model could not be extended to the entire baking period because it was not possible to incorporate the lag phase observed before sucrose hydrolysis. The results reported in this study confirm that the kinetics of acrylamide and HMF formation in real food and dry systems may depend on the physical state of their precursors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Anderson-Fabry disease is a multisystem X linked disorder of lipid metabolism frequently associated with cardiac symptoms, including left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy gradually impairing cardiac function. Evidence showing that enzyme-replacement therapy (ERT) can be effective in reducing LV hypertrophy and improving myocardial function in the long term is limited.Objective: This study aimed to assess the long-term effects of ERT with recombinant alpha-galactosidase A (agalsidase beta, Fabrazyme) on LV function and myocardial signal intensity in 11 patients with Anderson-Fabry disease.Patients: Eleven patients (eight males, three females) with varying stages of genetically confirmed Anderson-Fabry disease were examined by means of physical examination and magnetic resonance imaging before ERT with agalsidase beta at 1 mg/kg every other week (study 1) and after a mean treatment duration of 45 months (study 2).Results: At 45 months of treatment, LV mass and LV wall thickness had significantly reduced: 188 (SD 60) g versus 153 (47) g, and 16 (4) mm versus 14 (4) mm, respectively. Furthermore, a significant reduction in myocardial T2 relaxation times was noted in all myocardial regions, that is, interventricular septum 80 (5) ms versus 66 (8) ms, apex 79 (10) ms versus 64 (10) ms, and lateral wall 80 (8) ms versus 65 (16) ms. Changes in LV ejection fraction were not significant. Amelioration of clinical symptoms was observed in all patients.Conclusions: Long-term therapy with agalsidase beta at 1 mg/kg every 2 weeks was effective in significantly reducing LV hypertrophy, improving overall cardiac performance and ameliorating clinical symptoms in patients with Anderson-Fabry disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• SECO is the most abundant lignan in the tested products. • Fermentation and germination enrich the tested foods in lignans. • Prolonged brewing increased the lignan content of tea. This research assessed the influence of pickling, fermentation, germination, and tea brewing on lignan content of a variety of food highly consumed in Malaysia. Lignans have been measured by a validated LC-MS/MS method. Secoisolariciresinol (SECO) was the most abundant compound in fermented and germinated samples. Pickling significantly decreased larisiresinol content by approximately 86 %. Fermentation increased lignan content in a mixture of flaxseed and mung beans (799.9 ± 67.4 mg/100 g DW) compared to the unfermented counterpart (501.4 ± 134.6 mg/100 g DW), whereas the fermentation of soybeans and mung beans did not significantly affect the SECO content. Germination increased lignan content, which reached its peak on day 6 of germination for all the tested matrixes. In tea brew, lignans concentration increased with brewing time reaching its highest concentration at 10 min of brewing. The results of this study expand the knowledge on the effect of processing on lignan content in food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Anderson-Fabry disease is a multisystem X linked disorder of lipid metabolism frequently associated with cardiac symptoms, including left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy gradually impairing cardiac function. Evidence showing that enzyme-replacement therapy (ERT) can be effective in reducing LV hypertrophy and improving myocardial function in the long term is limited. Objective: This study aimed to assess the long-term effects of ERT with recombinant α-galactosidase A (agalsidase beta, Fabrazyme) on LV function and myocardial signal intensity in 11 patients with Anderson-Fabry disease. Patients: Eleven patients (eight males, three females) with varying stages of genetically confirmed Anderson-Fabry disease were examined by means of physical examination and magnetic resonance imaging before ERT with agalsidase beta at 1 mg/kg every other week (study 1) and after a mean treatment duration of 45 months (study 2). Results: At 45 months of treatment, LV mass and LV wall thickness had significantly reduced: 188 (SD 60) g versus 153 (47) g, and 16 (4) mm versus 14 (4) mm, respectively. Furthermore, a significant reduction in myocardial T2 relaxation times was noted in all myocardial regions, that is, interventricular septum 80 (5) ms versus 66 (8) ms, apex 79 (10) ms versus 64 (10) ms, and lateral wall 80 (8) ms versus 65 (16) ms. Changes in LV ejection fraction were not significant. Amelioration of clinical symptoms was observed in all patients. Conclusions: Long-term therapy with agalsidase beta at 1 mg/kg every 2 weeks was effective in significantly reducing LV hypertrophy, improving overall cardiac performance and ameliorating clinical symptoms in patients with Anderson-Fabry disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]