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The issue of consumer acceptance of food technologies, and their applications, needs to be addressed early in technology development. However, whether extensive assessment of consumer acceptance is necessary for all food-related technologies a priori is uncertain. A review of studies of seven food-related technologies associated with different levels of public acceptance suggests that those characterised as being ‘bioactive’ raise particular concerns - related to unpredictable effects, uncontrolled use, and ethical concerns. Perceptions of ‘unnaturalness’ alone are unlikely to raise a food technology to high levels of public rejection. Trust in regulation and effective labelling are also important considerations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The concept of gradation of materials leads to a continuous variation of mechanical properties by changing the microstructure. This can be obtained by suitable local thermal treatment promising the production of tailored mechanical properties. In this study, the dynamical behaviour in terms of damping and resonance frequency of gear shafts as system response to excitation is investigated. The shafts are made of CrNiMo-cementation steel. They will be used for evaluation if the functional gradation by local thermal treatment is accomplishable and effective with respect to the reduction of noise or vibration. Damping was received as the damping ratio estimated by the transfer function using the half-power bandwidth method. All measurements were carried out at room temperature. Micrographs were taken and showed the successful manipulation of the local microstructure of the shafts by heat treatment. A measurable influence on the damping ratio and resonance frequency was identified. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The recent discovery of transporters in the intestinal mucosa and the canalicular membrane has given new insights into the regulation of intestinal absorption as well as the biliary output of cholesterol and plant sterols. The 2 adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-binding cassette (ABC) half-transporters ABCG5 and ABCG8 are expressed in the mucosa cells and the canalicular membrane, and they resecrete sterols, especially absorbed plant sterols, back into the intestinal lumen and from the liver into bile. Defects of either of these cotransporters lead to the rare inherited disease of phytosterolemia, which is clinically defined by hyperabsorption and diminished biliary excretion of plant sterols. Furthermore, it has been recently demonstrated that the Niemann-Pick C1-Like 1 (NPC1L1) transporter is most likely responsible for the transport of cholesterol and plant sterols from the brush border membrane into the intestinal mucosa. Ezetimibe interferes with NPC1L1, reducing the intestinal uptake of cholesterol and plant sterols. These new findings contribute to our understanding of cholesterol and plant sterol concentrations in serum, and the effect of dietary and drug intervention to reduce serum concentrations of sterols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Frequency shifted feedback (FSF) lasers have been demonstrated to have interesting and useful features when used for optical ranging. The use of a phase-modulated seed to the FSF laser dramatically improves the signal-to-noise ratio, enabling distance measurements with the accuracy expected of optical interferometry. We present here an intuitively accessible description of the physics that underlies this dramatic enhancement of optical ranging signals. Unlike a free-running FSF laser, each one of the many equidistant frequency components of the seeded FSF laser spectrum (typically >104) has a definite amplitude, and a phase which varies with component number and modulation frequency of the seed radiation. Suitable adjustment of gives all components a common phase; the resulting constructive interference enhances the signal by orders of magnitude. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We present a detailed theoretical analysis, using correlation functions, of the coherence properties of the output from a frequency shifted feedback (FSF) laser seeded simultaneously by an external seed laser and by spontaneous emission (SE). We show that the output of a FSF laser is a cyclostationary process, for which the second-order correlation function is not stationary, but periodic. However, a period-averaged correlation function can be used to analyze the optical spectrum. From the fourth-order correlation function of the output of a Michelson interferometer we obtain the essential characteristics of the radio-frequency (RF) spectrum, needed for describing the use of the FSF laser for optical-ranging metrology. We show that, even for a FSF laser seeded by SE, the RF spectrum comprises a sequence of doublets, whose separation gives directly a measure of the length difference between the interferometer arms. This doublet structure is a result of the correlation of interference terms of individual components of the cyclostationary stochastic process. It is not seen in the optical spectrum of the FSF laser but is observable in the RF spectrum. We analyze the competition between SE and continuous wave (CW) seeding to obtain an analytical expression for the ratio of power in the discrete CW signal to the background continuum spectrum from SE. We show that, unlike mode competition in conventional lasers, where there occurs exponential selectivity, here there is a balance between the two fields; the power in the fields is related linearly, rather than exponentially, to the control parameters. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The potential advantages of chirped pulses for very precise measurement of distance, through frequency-domain ranging, has prompted consideration of frequency shifted feedback (FSF) lasers as sources of interferometer light. We here derive theoretical limitations to the spatial accuracy one can expect in such applications, by considering analytical expressions for the electric field emerging from a frequency shifted feedback (FSF) laser seeded by a CW laser whose finite bandwidth originates in phase fluctuations. We also consider consequences of fluctuations in cavity size. We show that, for surfaces flat within the laser footprint, such a system can provide the subwavelength accuracy of conventional interferometry but without dependence on material-dependent phase shifts. Although noise has been important for previous uses of FSF lasers in optical ranging and interferometry, we here show that a frequency modulated seeding laser can be used to better advantage than noise. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We present a new approach to the description of the output from a frequency-shifted feedback (FSF) laser seeded by a phase-fluctuating but stationary continuous-wave (CW) laser. We illustrate the new analysis by showing how short frequency-chirped pulses arise for appropriate operating conditions. We show the equivalence of two common viewpoints of the FSF laser output as either a moving comb of equidistant frequencies or as a fixed set of discrete frequencies. We also consider operation of a FSF laser when there is no external seeding laser, and instead the cavity radiation originates with spontaneous emission. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) probably involves several pathobiochemical mechanisms and this may be reflected by changes in different serum components. The present study investigated whether the combined analysis of serum molecules related to different mechanisms improves the discrimination of AD patients from healthy controls.Serum of patients with AD was analyzed for a broad spectrum of marker molecules, including 11 inflammatory proteins, 12 sterol intermediates and phytosterols, 2 brain-specific proteins and 4 constituents involved in homocysteine homeostasis. The serum molecule concentrations were combined in a logistic regression model, using a forward stepwise inclusion mode.The results showed that the combination of interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor, protein α1 fraction, cysteine and cholesterol concentrations improved the discrimination between AD patients and healthy controls compared to the single markers.In conclusion, the results of this study have shown that the complex pathology in AD is reflected in a pattern of altered serum concentrations of several marker molecules related to several pathobiochemical mechanisms. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The present study investigated if a causal relation exists between serum concentrations of precursors and metabolites of cholesterol and cognitive performance in a healthy aging population.Cognitive function addressing four domains of 144 individuals (30–80 years) was tested at baseline and after 6 years of follow-up. Serum concentrations of different sterols related to cholesterol were measured.Serum levels of lathosterol and lanosterol correlated negatively with cognitive performance on the Word Learning tests for verbal learning and memory. This was observed at baseline and follow-up and was independent of age, sex and educational level. Furthermore, the levels of lathosterol and lanosterol at baseline correlated with performance on the Stroop test and Word Learning tests over the 6-year follow-up period. Serum levels of 27-hydroxycholesterol and 24S-hydroxycholesterol showed inconsistent correlations, while cholesterol, desmosterol, sitosterol and campesterol were not related to cognitive performance.Thus, relative high serum ratios of the cholesterol precursors lanosterol and lathosterol, indicative for a high rate of endogenous cholesterol synthesis, are associated with relatively low memory performance in this aging population. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]