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BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: The study was carried out to assess the relationship between nut consumption and lipid profile among Iranian adults. SUBJECT/METHODS: The study was based on data from the Isfahan Healthy Heart Program across three counties in central Iran in 2007. A cross-sectional survey of 9660 randomly selected adults aged [greater than or equal to] 19 years were chosen based on sex, age and settlement distributions in each community. Nutritional behaviors were assessed by validated qualitative 48-item food frequency questionnaires, which covered regular intakes of four types of nuts: walnuts, almonds, pistachios and hazelnuts. Analysis of covariance and logistic regression tests were utilized to determine odds ratio (OR) 95% confidence interval of hyperlipidemia according to nut consumption patterns in unadjusted and three-adjusted models. RESULTS: The results showed a significant link between high nut consumption and lower total cholesterol, triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels and apo B/apo A ratio (P CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that frequent consumption of nuts, particularly ≥ 4 times a week, may result in lower dyslipidemia occurrences and may exert cardioprotective effects. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2013) 67, 385-389; doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2013.21; published online 20 February 2013 Keywords: nut; serum lipids; cardiovascular disease; adult, INTRODUCTION Non-communicable diseases, particularly cardiovascular diseases rapidly increasing in developing countries, are the leading causes of disability and death worldwide. (1) To prevent or reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, [...]

Since the microwave technology is well considered in food processing due to the speed and mechanism, in this study, cupcake was baked at different levels of MicroWave (MW) power (150, 300, 450 and 600W) and the effects of different kinds of operational time (3.5, 5, 8, 16 minutes) and power on physical properties (density, porosity, colour and height) and textural properties (crispness, hardness, cohesiveness, springiness, resilience, gumminess and chewiness) of cupcake were investigated. Results showed that the MW baking time to obtain desirable baking properties was affected by MW power. The obtained results showed that the total differences in colour from the reference batter (ΔE) and colour intensity increased with increasing of MW power. Moreover, the MW cupcake baked at a power of 600W had the least hardness, density, chewiness, gumminess values, the shortest baking time, and the highest values of cohesiveness, resilience, porosity, height, and browning index. Also, it had the highest cohesiveness, resilience, porosity, height and browning index, compared to the other powers. Therefore, the best operational power for desirable quality obtained during baking was 600W. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the fixed point method, we prove the stability and the hyperstability of generalized orthogonally quadratic ternary homomorphisms in non-Archimedean ternary Banach algebras. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The anti-androgenic role of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) among patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) has recently been proposed. The present study aimed to systematically review clinical trials assessing the effects of n-3 PUFAs consumption on androgen status among adult females with PCOS. PubMed, ISI Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Scopus were searched up to December 2015. Clinical investigations assessing the effect of n-3 PUFAs on adult females with PCOS were included. Mean ± standard deviation of change in serum total testosterone, sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), and dehydroepiandrostrone sulfate (DHEAS) were extracted. Eight clinical trials with 298 participants were eligible. Meta-analysis showed that n-3 PUFAs supplementation marginally reduces total testosterone (mean difference [MD]: - 0.19 nmol/l; 95 % CI: - 0.39 to 0.00; p = 0.054), but not SHBG (MD: 1.75 nmol/l; 95 % CI: - 0.51 to 4.01; p = 0.129) or serum DHEAS levels (Hedes' g: - 0.11 nmol/l; 95 % CI: - 0.29 to 0.06; p = 0.19) among adult females with PCOS. Subgroup analyses showed that only before-after studies (Hedges' g: 0.15; 95 % CI: - 0.27 to - 0.04; p = 0.01) and long-term interventions ( > 6 weeks) (Hedges' g: - 0.17; 95 % CI, - 0.29 to - 0.05; p = 0.004) had reducing effects on serum DHEAS levels. The majority of long-term trials utilized a single group design (no control group). It does not appear that n-3 PUFAs supplementation significantly affects the androgenic profile of females with PCOS; however, some before-after and long-term intervention studies show reduced DHEAS levels. Future studies incorporating double blinded placebo controlled clinical trials with long follow-up periods are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, a fast, adaptive and user friendly segmentation methodology is developed for highly speckled SAR images. The developed region based centroidal Voronoi tessellation (R-BCVT) algorithm is a kind of polygon-based clustering approach in which the algorithm attempts to (1) split the image domain into j numbers of centroidal Voronoi polygons (2) assign each polygon a label randomly, then (3) classify the image into k cluster iteratively to satisfy optimum segmentation, and finally a k-mean clustering method refine the detected boundaries of homogeneous regions. The advantages of the novel method arise from adaptively, simplicity and rapidity as well as low sensitivity of the model to speckle noise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, a pilot scale microwave assisted fluidized-bed dryer was designed and used to dry apple cubes. A model was developed to describe heat and mass transfer in apple cubes during drying in a combined microwave-assisted fluidized-bed dryer. A numerical solution based on the finite difference method was used to develop the model for moisture distribution and temperature variation of samples. The model was validated using experimental data, including average moisture content, center and surface temperature at various air temperatures and microwave power densities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hot air and microwave-assisted hot air drying of apples (Golden delicious), strawberries (Fragaria vesca cv. Elsanta), tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentom var. Roma), and mushrooms (A. bisporus) were performed in a commercial microwave oven that had been modified to incorporate a hot air dryer. The same microwave power intensity was used in all experiments. We investigated the effect of the above-stated methods on the structural, optical, mechanical, and rehydration characteristics of dried samples. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to evaluate the structural damage associated with two drying methods. The drying rate was significantly affected by microwave energy; therefore, drying time was reduced by 80, 70, 74, and 66%, respectively for apples, strawberries, tomatoes, and mushrooms, respectively. Specific volume, particle density, and porosity variation were estimated using models proposed in the literature. Some structural damage occurred, as observed in SEM micrographs. Optical, mechanical, and rehydration parameters were enhanced by microwave treatment for apples, strawberries, and tomatoes. However, negative effects were observed in the case of mushrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this work was to study the changes of optical properties of apple (Golden Delicious) slices during drying. The optical parameters compared on the basis of Hunter values (L, a, b) changes as well as total color difference (ΔE) and browning index (BI). The effect of coating materials including carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), starch, and pectin as well as microwave treatment on optical properties and microstructure of dried samples were investigated. To analyze the effects of these processes on microstructure, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was employed. Results showed that optical properties as well as microstructure of apple were affected by coating material and drying condition. Coated samples by CMC had a lower L and higher BI, but different results in the presence of starch were obtained. Microwave treatment in the presence of appropriate coating materials could improve the optical properties of dried apple slices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of coating, hot-air and microwave drying on the texture, microstructure and rehydration characteristics of Golden Delicious apple slices (22 mm diameter, 4 mm thickness) was investigated. Blanching was carried out in hot water (80°C, 1 min) to prevent undesirable enzymatic reactions. To induce a porous structure during microwave treatment, coating with a starch (suspension), pectin and carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) solution (20 g/L) with and without CaCI2 (10 g/L) was carried out. A puncture test and a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) technique were used to analyse the effects of these processes on texture and microstructure. Rehydration in distilled water was also studied. Coating, air-drying (70°C, 1.5 m/s) and microwave treatment (300 W, 10s) resulted in the production of puffed and porous products. Microstructure of samples mated by starch and pectin with CaCI2 improved. Coating had a beneficial effect on the microstructure of samples after microwave treatment. In addition, microstructural studies showed that mating with pectin had a significant effect on the thickness of the cell wall whereas those treated with starch or CMC did not exhibit such an effect. Adding CaCI2 to the coating solution improved the microstructural properties and prevented central heating phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The acknowledgment in the original article is incomplete. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently Eshaghi et al. introduced orthogonal sets and proved the real generalization of the Banach fixed point theorem on these sets. In this paper, we prove the real generalization of Diaz–Margolis fixed point theorem on orthogonal sets. By using this fixed point theorem, we study the stability of orthogonally ∗ -m-homomorphisms on Lie C ∗ -algebras associated with the following functional equation: f (2 x + y) + f (2 x - y) + (m - 1) (m - 2) (m - 3) f (y) = 2 m - 2 [ f (x + y) + f (x - y) + 6 f (x) ]. for each m = 1 , 2 , 3 , 4. . Moreover, we establish the hyperstability of these functional equations by suitable control functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]