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The aroma volatile compounds in tomatoes are strongly linked to taste and flavor. Commercial tomato varieties, however, generally lack flavor. Tomato breeding programs have therefore started to focus on increasing the flavor-enhancing volatiles, which can be more easily altered than the sugar content. Analytical efforts that identify key flavor volatiles are therefore an important part of tomato improvement programs. Based on this real-world goal, an upper-level undergraduate analytical laboratory exercise has been developed that utilizes solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to characterize tomato volatiles. Students adsorb volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and a spiked internal standard onto SPME fibers, and these volatiles are thermally desorbed in a gas chromatograph--mass spectrometer (GC-MS) for identification and quantification. VOCs from hybrid heirloom tomatoes (open-pollinated, older cultivars not bred for industrial agriculture) and store-bought tomatoes are compared and normalized to the internal standard, and students determine which volatiles contribute to positive (and negative) taste perceptions. The laboratory exercise has been employed successfully in our Instrumental Analysis course over three years. Using previously obtained data, the exercise was also modified for remote (Zoom) laboratory learning. The experimental protocol is robust with few technical issues, and students produce replicable data. Because students can relate easily to the subject matter of the research, engagement is high. A large, complex data set is produced in this exercise, and students learn to draw conclusions from this data set that mimic real-world, authentic research.

The aim of this dossier is to examine how the charge of treason is made. Why label an individual a traitor, or describe an act as treason? What are the benefits? And under what conditions can the operation of disqualification succeed? Treason can take place on an interpersonal level, in the form of a breach of informal norms, or as a judicial qualification. Each time, it fulfils a function: it reconfigures the contours of a group or the modalities of a social relationship by sanctioning a defection, reclassified as a sin, crime or fault. Certain agents profit from this reclassification. From the betrayed word to the breach of state security, and from the sixteenth to the twentieth century, this dossier endeavours to offer a common reading of treason as an observatory of social configurations and normative regimes over time

Structural inequities in graduate education perpetuate inequity for students with historically minoritized identities. This paper reviews previous reports of inequities faced by students with minoritized identities and suggests a path forward for improving equitable access to doctoral study. Specifically, this paper suggests investing in the scholarship of teaching and learning while using Gardner’s model of doctoral student development to provide targeted support at different levels of operation: the institution, the department, and the individual. Evidence for suggested supports is also provided and a call for further research on the effects of such programs for recruitment, retention, and graduation of minoritized students is made.

IntroductionPrevious efforts to increase fiber intake in the general population were disappointing despite growing awareness of the multiple benefits of a high fiber intake. Aim of the study was to investigate the acceptance and consumption of fiber-enriched foods.MethodsOne hundred and fifteen middle-aged healthy individuals with and without elevated waist circumference (> 102 cm in males and > 88 cm in females) were recruited and randomized to an intervention or an age- and sex-matched control group. Subjects assigned to the intervention group were invited to select fiber-enriched foods from a broad portfolio of products to increase fiber intake by 10 g/day. Control subjects could choose items from the same food basket without fiber enrichment. The primary outcome was the increase in dietary fiber intake, and secondary outcomes were changes in cardiometabolic risk factors, microbiota composition, food choices, and consumer acceptance of the fiber-enriched foods.ResultsCompared to baseline, daily fiber intake increased from 22.5 ± 8.0 to 34.0 ± 9.6 g/day after 4 weeks (p < 0.001) and to 36.0 ± 8.9 g/day after 12 weeks (p < 0.001) in the intervention group, whereas fiber intake remained unchanged in the control group. Participants rated the taste of the food products as pleasant without group differences. In both groups, the most liked foods included popular convenience foods such as pretzel breadstick, pizza salami, and pizza vegetarian. After 12 weeks of intervention, there were minor improvements in plasma lipids and parameters of glucose metabolism in both the intervention and control group compared to baseline, but no differences between the two groups. Increased fiber consumption resulted in an increased (p < 0.001) relative abundance of Tannerellaceae.ConclusionsFiber-enrichment of popular foods increases fiber intake in a middle-aged population with and without cardiometabolic risk and may provide a simple, novel strategy to increase fiber intake in the population.

Introduction: Nutritional habits and requirements are changing over the lifespan, but the dynamics of nutritional issues and the diet-health relationship in the major stages of the human life cycle are not sufficiently understood. A human phenotyping research platform for nutrition studies was established to recruit and phenotype selected population groups across different stages of life. The project is the backbone of the highly interdisciplinary enable competence cluster of nutrition research aiming to identify dietary determinants of a healthy life throughout the lifespan and to develop healthier and tasty convenience foods with high consumer acceptance.Methods: The phenotyping program included anthropometry, body composition analysis, assessment of energy metabolism, health and functional status, multisensory perception, metabolic phenotyping, lifestyle, sociodemography, chronobiology, and assessment of dietary intake including food preferences and aversions.Results: In total, 503 healthy volunteers at four defined phases of life including 3–5-year old children (n = 44), young adults aged 18–25 years (n = 94), adults aged 40–65 years (“middle agers,” n = 205), and older adults aged 75–85 years (n = 160) were recruited and comprehensively phenotyped. Plasma, serum, buffy coat, urine, feces and saliva samples were collected and stored at −80°C. Significant differences in anthropometric and metabolic parameters between the four groups were found. A major finding was the decrease in fat-free mass and the concomitant increase in % body fat in both sexes across the adult lifespan.Conclusions: The dataset will provide novel information on differences in diet-related parameters over the lifespan and is available for targeted analyses. We expect that this novel platform approach will have implications for the development of innovative food products tailored to promote healthy eating throughout life.Trial registration: DRKS, DRKS00009797. Registered on 20 January 2016, https://www.drks.de/drks_web/navigate.do?navigationId=trial.HTML&_ID=DRKS00009797.

Rotational vertebral artery (VA) occlusion is a possible cause of reduced blood flow through the posterior circulation of the brain due to compression of the VA on head turning when blood flow from the contralateral VA is compromised. When compression occurs in the V2 segment of the VA, it is usually due to compression from the longus colli muscle or cervical osteophytes. We present a unique case of a patient with a completely extraosseous course of the V2 segment of her dominant right VA that resulted in symptomatic rotational VA occlusion. Keywords: Vertebral artery, Compression, Vertebrobasilar insufficiency, Syncope

Objective To assess the quality and accuracy of the voice assistants (VAs), Amazon Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant, in answering consumer health questions about vaccine safety and use.Methods Responses of each VA to 54 questions related to vaccination were scored using a rubric designed to assess the accuracy of each answer provided through audio output and the quality of the source supporting each answer.Results Out of a total of 6 possible points, Siri averaged 5.16 points, Google Assistant averaged 5.10 points and Alexa averaged 0.98 points. Google Assistant and Siri understood voice queries accurately and provided users with links to authoritative sources about vaccination. Alexa understood fewer voice queries and did not draw answers from the same sources that were used by Google Assistant and Siri.Conclusions Those involved in patient education should be aware of the high variability of results between VAs. Developers and health technology experts should also push for greater usability and transparency about information partnerships as the health information delivery capabilities of these devices expand in the future.

The Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program provides higher education institutions with federal funds to increase the doctoral attainment for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. We conducted a meta-analysis of the impact of the McNair program on graduate program enrollment. After an exhaustive literature search, we found 7 publications containing 13 studies that met the inclusion criteria. From these studies, we found that McNair program students were almost six times as likely to enroll in a graduate program as the comparison group. Nonetheless, there was much unexplained variability in effects across studies.