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Although addition of antioxidant improved the solubility, it was still significantly lower compared to those FPHs not added pro-oxidants. The FPH with decreased solubility also had higher levels of carbonyl groups which indicate protein oxidation. However, the oxidative state of raw material did not affect fatty acid composition in oil fraction or the amino acid composition in the FPH.Short chain fructo-oligosaccharides (scFOS) are well-recognized prebiotic fibers. Fossence™ (FOSS) is a scFOS that has been produced from sucrose via a proprietary fermentation process and has not been tested for its digestibility or glucose/insulin response (GR and IR, respectively). The present randomized, controlled, cross-over study was conducted in 3 phases to explore GR and IR to ingestion of FOSS, when replaced by/added to available-carbohydrates (avCHO) among 25 healthy adults (40 ± 14years). In each phase GR and IR elicited by 3-4 test-meals were measured among the fasted recruited subjects. The interventional test meals were as follows Phase-1, water alone or 10g FOSS or 10g Dextrose in 250ml water; Phase-2, 250ml water containing DextroseFOSS (gg) in the content as 500 or 5015 or 350 or 3515; Phase-3 portions of white-bread (WB) containing avCHOFOSS (gg) in the content as 500 or 5015 or 350 or 3515. Blood samples (finger prick method) were collected at fasting and 15, 30, 45, 60, 90 and 120 min after start of test meal ingestion. Plasma glucose and serum insulin were analyzed utilizing standard methods. The primary endpoint was differences in glucose IAUC. All subjects provided their written consent to participate in the study (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03755232). The results demonstrated that FOSS, when consumed alone, showed no raise in glycaemia or insulinemia and was statistically equivalent to response of water alone. GR and IR elicited by dextroseFOSS and WBFOSS test-meals of Phase 2 and Phase 3, were statistically equivalent to the respective test-meals without FOSS. Result of the 3 phases support the hypothesis that FOSS is resistant to breakdown and is indigestible in the human small-intestine, and therefore can be classified as an unavailable carbohydrate that does not raise post prandial blood glucose or insulin. FOSS, being sweet to taste, may be an acceptable sugar replacer in beverages without compromising their taste and sensory qualities.[This corrects the article DOI 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06373.].To study the feasibility of 16S rRNA metagenomics using next generation sequencing (NGS) along with broad range PCR assay for 762 bp region of 16S rRNA gene with Sanger’s sequencing, in microbial diagnosis of culture negative endophthalmitis. Vitreous fluid from 16 culture negative and one culture positive endophthalmitis patients, admitted to a tertiary care hospital were processed for targeted metagenomics. NGS of 7 variable regions of 16S rRNA gene was done using Ion Torrent Personal Genome Machine (PGM). Sequence data were analyzed using Ion Reporter software using QIIME and BLSATN tools and Greengenes and NCBI-Genbank databases. Bacterial genome sequences were detected in 15 culture negative and culture positive vitreous specimens. The sequence reads varied between 25,245-540,916 with read length between 142bp-228bp and coverage depth was 41.0X and 81.2X. Operational taxonomic unit (OTUs) of multiple bacterial genera and species were detected in 13 culture negative vitreous specimens and OTUs of a single bacterial species were detected in 2 culture negative and 1 culture positive specimens; one negative specimen had no bacterial DNA. Maximum numbers of OTUs detected by NGS for a bacterial species from any vitreous specimen was the one which was detected and identified by Sanger’s sequencing in broad range PCR. All the bacteria were belonging to clinically relevant species. Broad range PCR with sequencing failed to identify bacteria from 5 of the 16 (31.25%) culture negative vitreous specimens. Metagenomics could detect and identify bacterial pathogens in 15 of the 16 culture negative vitreous specimen’s up to species level. With rapidly decreasing cost, metagenomics has a potential to be used widely in endophthalmitis diagnosis, in which culture negativity is usually high.Soil erosion is one of the main threats facing the agriculture and natural resources sector all over the world, and the same is true for Syria. Several empirical and physically based tools have been proposed to assess erosion induced soil losses and runoff driving the processes, from plot to regional spatial scales. The main goal of this research is to evaluate the performance of the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model in predicting runoff in comparison with field experiments in the Al-Sabahia region of Western Syria in three ecosystems agricultural lands (AG), burned forest (BF) and forest (FO). To achieve this, field experimental plots (2∗1.65∗0.5 m) were prepared to obtain runoff observation data between September 2012 and December 2013. In addition, the input data (atmospheric forcing, soil, slope, land management) were prepared to run the WEPP model to estimate the runoff. The results indicate that the average observed runoffs in the AG, BF and FO were 12.54 ± 1.17, 4.81 ± 0.97 and 1.72 ± 0.16 mm/event, respectively, while the simulated runoffs in the AG, BF and FO were 15.15 ± 0.89, 9.23 ± 1.48 and 2.61 ± 0.47mm/event, respectively. The statistical evaluation of the model’s performance showed an unsatisfactory performance of the WEPP model for predicting the run-offs in the study area. This may be caused by the structural flaws in the model, and/or the insufficient site-specific input parameters. So, to achieve good performance and reliable results of the WEPP model, more observation data is required from different ecosystems in Syria. selleck chemicals llc These findings can provide guidance to planners and environmental engineers for proposing environmental protection and water resources management plans in the Coastal Region in Syria.The increasing demand for water occasioned by harsh climatic conditions, population explosion, and increasing urbanization has necessitated more attention and reliance on groundwater resources, particularly in water-limited regions. Thus, judicious management of available groundwater resources becomes crucial to meet the freshwater requirements in such zones. In this study, remote sensing and geographic information system were deployed to delineate groundwater recharge zones in semi-arid geological transition zones of Bauchi, northeastern Nigeria. Seven thematic layers comprising elevation, slope, land use/land cover, drainage density, lithology, magnetic lineament density, and hydraulic head were integrated based on their degree of influence in groundwater recharge. Normalization of the weights was achieved through the analytical hierarchical process (AHP), while the overall integration of the thematic maps was actualized by overlay analysis in ArcGIS 10.3.1 environment to generate a final groundwater recharge zone map of the area.