Mobile Phone Radiation Deflects Brain Energy Homeostasis and Prompts Human Food Ingestion

Obesity and mobile phone usage have simultaneously spread worldwide. Radio frequency-modulated electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs) emitted by mobile phones are largely absorbed by the head of the user, influence cerebral glucose metabolism, and modulate neuronal excitability. Body weight adjustment, in turn, is one of the main brain functions as food intake behavior and appetite perception underlie hypothalamic regulation. Against this background, we questioned if mobile phone radiation and food intake may be related. In a single-blind, sham-controlled, randomized crossover comparison, 15 normal-weight young men (23.47 ± 0.68 years) were exposed to 25 min of RF-EMFs emitted by two different mobile phone types vs. sham radiation under fasting conditions. Spontaneous food intake was assessed by an ad libitum standard buffet test and cerebral energy homeostasis was monitored by 31phosphorus-magnetic resonance spectroscopy measurements. Exposure to both mobile phones strikingly increased overall caloric intake by 22–27% compared with the sham condition. Differential analyses of macronutrient ingestion revealed that higher calorie consumption was mainly due to enhanced carbohydrate intake. Measurements of the cerebral energy content, i.e., adenosine triphosphate and phosphocreatine ratios to inorganic phosphate, displayed an increase upon mobile phone radiation. Our results identify RF-EMFs as a potential contributing factor to overeating, which underlies the obesity epidemic. Beyond that, the observed RF-EMFs-induced alterations of the brain energy homeostasis may put our data into a broader context because a balanced brain energy homeostasis is of fundamental importance for all brain functions. Potential disturbances by electromagnetic fields may therefore exert some generalized neurobiological effects, which are not yet foreseeable.

Environmental Impact of Meals: How Big Is the Carbon Footprint in the School Canteens?

The inhabitants of the world are expected to grow by two billion in the next two decades; as population increases, food demand rises too, leading to more intensive resource exploitation and greater negative externalities related to food production. In this paper the environmental impact of meals provided in school canteens are analysed through the Life Cycle Assessment methodology, in order to evaluate the GHGs emissions released by food production. Meals, and not just individual foods, have been considered so as to include in the analysis the nutritional aspects on which meals are based. Results shows that meat, fish and dairy products are the most impacting in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, with values that shift from 31.7 and 24.1 kg CO2 eq for butter and veal, to 2.37 kg CO2 eq for the octopus, while vegetables, legumes, fruit and cereals are less carbon intensive (average of 3.71 kg CO2 eq for the considered vegetables). When the environmental impact is related to the food energy, the best option are first courses because they combine a low carbon footprint with a high energy content. The results of the work can be used both by the consumer, who can base the meal choice on environmental impact information, and by food services, who can adjust menus to achieve a more sustainable production.

Formulation of Polyherbal Carbonated Beverage Based on Halalan Thoyyiban Principle

Herbal products usually have less palatability on their taste even though they are healthy and nutritious. Thus, this study aims to formulate polyherbal carbonated beverages, followed by the evaluation of sensory, physicochemical properties and their compliances with the halalan thoyyiban principle. Five formulations were prepared by varying the amount of water and polyherbal extracts that were designated using Design Expert 6.0.4 software. The most accepted formulation was formulation 1 (F1), containing 12.50% polyherbal extract and 87.50% water. F1 was characterised for its physicochemical properties, including carbon dioxide volume, pH, and total acidity, with 3.0 g/L, 4.5, and 1.7 %, respectively, and these findings have complied with the halalan thoyyiban principle. The antioxidant properties were evaluated by using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), ferric reducing antioxidant potential (FRAP), as well as total phenolic content (TPC), and it exhibited 1.25 mg GAE/mL,1.08 mM Fe (II) and 0.39 mg GAE/mL respectively. Eight Halal Control Point (HCP) were identified along with the production. Moreover, the beverage was found to have antioxidant properties and nutritional content (carbohydrate (0.3%) and energy content (2.0 kcal/100g)), which can give health benefits to the consumer and proven safe for consumption (LC50 =1066.60 μg/ mL). To conclude, the formulated polyherbal carbonated beverage is accepted by the consumer and complies with the halalan thoyyiban principle.

NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF GRAIN VARIETIES OF SPRING BARLEY OF TATAR RESEARCH INSTITUTE SELECTION

Four varieties and 3 promising lines of spring barley breeding by Tatar Research Institute of Agriculture were studied for grain nutrition to identify the most promising ones. The work was conducted in 2015-2017 in Predkamye Republic of Tatarstan. Grey forest soil, humus content 3.35-3.52 % (GOST 26213-91), alkaline-hydrolyzable nitrogen 85.0...94.0 mg/kg (by A.H. Kornfield), mobile phosphorus 251...287 and exchangeable potassium 149...167 mg/kg (by Kirsanov; GOST 26207-91). The predecessor is winter rye, the repetition is fourfold, the standard grade is Raushan. It was found that line k-295-12, on average over 3 years, significantly exceeded the standard by 27.77 g in crude protein content; by 20.0 g in digestible protein content and by 7.35 g in digestible protein content per feeding unit. The variability of sugar content in varieties was 30.67 ... 47.0 g, significantly exceeded the standard by 13.33 g variety Tevkech (47.0 g) and by 13.0 g line k-23-13 (46.67 g). The fat content was formed in the standard 19.03 g, varieties Kamashevsky, Endan and lines k-23-23, k-561-13 and k-295-12 exceeded it by 7.47; 5.77; 11.47; 9.84 and 5.67 g, respectively. The exchange energy content in grain ranged from 14.42 MJ of the variety Raushan, to 14.72 MJ of the line k-295-12, with no significant differences between genotypes. In the dry year of 2015, the crude and digestible protein content was 148.0...165.0 and 110.74...118.8 g, respectively, and in 2016 it was 129.00...164.4 and 92.88...118.37 g, respectively. In favorable 2017, the content of crude and digestible protein were lower, the varieties Raushan and Tevkech were characterized by the greatest decrease in crude and digestible protein (65.7 and 67.4 % to the level of 2015). On average over 3 years, the best line was k-295-12 for the set of indicators of grain nutrition

Face Validity of Observed Meal Patterns Reported with 7-Day Diet Diaries in a Large Population-Based Cohort Using Diurnal Variation in Concentration Biomarkers of Dietary Intake

In a cross-sectional analysis of a population-based cohort (United Kingdom, N = 21,318, 1993–1998), we studied how associations between meal patterns and non-fasting triglyceride and glucose concentrations were influenced by the hour of day at which the blood sample was collected to ascertain face validity of reported meal patterns, as well as the influence of reporting bias (assessed using formula of energy expenditure) on this association. Meal size (i.e., reported energy content), mealtime and meal frequency were reported using pre-structured 7-day diet diaries. In ANCOVA, sex-specific means of biomarker concentrations were calculated by hour of blood sample collection for quartiles of reported energy intake at breakfast, lunch and dinner (meal size). Significant interactions were observed between breakfast size, sampling time and triglyceride concentrations and between lunch size, sampling time and triglyceride, as well as glucose concentrations. Those skipping breakfast had the lowest triglyceride concentrations in the morning and those skipping lunch had the lowest triglyceride and glucose concentrations in the afternoon, especially among acceptable energy reporters. Eating and drinking occasion frequency was weakly associated with glucose concentrations in women and positively associated with triglyceride concentrations in both sexes; stronger associations were observed for larger vs. smaller meals and among acceptable energy reporters. Associations between meal patterns and concentration biomarkers can be observed when accounting for diurnal variation and underreporting. These findings support the use of 7-day diet diaries for studying associations between meal patterns and health.

Process Design for Biohydrogen Production from Waste Materials and Its Application

Biohydrogen is regarded as an attractive future clean energy carrier due to its high energy content and environmentally friendly conversion. Biohydrogen reactor is widely used in studies concerning the anaerobic co-digestion of food waste, sewage sludge, wastewater and other organic solids. Anaerobic digestion is a series of biological processes in which microorganisms break down biodegradable material (biomass or waste feedstock) in the absence of oxygen to produce biogas, which may generate electricity and heat, or can be processed into renewable natural gas and transportation fuels. This review article explains the scientific processes of anaerobic digestion process such as hydrolysis, acidogenesis, acetogenesis and hydrogenesis as well as methods to produce biohydrogen gas such as fermentation and biophotolysis for the waste management technology and sources of renewable energy and concludes with solutions that may allow anaerobic digestion to become more widely adopted throughout the developing countries to control the waste management system.

Experimental study of the adaptive gain feature for improved position-sensitive ion spectroscopy with Timepix2

In the present work, we study the Timepix2 pixels’ high energy response in the so-called adaptive gain mode. Therefore, Timepix2 with a 500 μm thick silicon sensor was irradiated with protons of energies in the range from 400 keV to 2 MeV and α-particles of 5.5 MeV from 241Am. A novel method was developed to determine the energy deposit in single pixels of particle imprints, which are spread out over a set of neighbor pixels (cluster). We show that each pixel is capable of measuring the deposited energy from 4 keV up to ∼3.2 MeV. Reconstructing the full energy content of the clusters, we found relative energy resolutions ( σ E ) better than 2.7% and better than 4% for proton and α-particle data, respectively. In a simple experiment with a 5.5 MeV α-particle source, we demonstrate that energy losses in thin (organic) specimen can be spatially resolved, mapping out sample thickness variations, with a resolution around 1–2 μm, across the sensor area. The inherent spatial resolution of the device was determined to be 350 nm in the best case.

Challenges and performance evaluation of livestock waste energy content

The global increase of the population has generated more and more requirement of the animal-based food. In order to provide this requirement, it was necessary to increase considerably the actual numbers of animals. This has led to both numerous positive and negative effects brought both to people and animals. Creating agro-touristic farms, ensuring fresh food, creating workplaces are just a part of the factors which have beneficial effects on the human beings. Yet, a major problem, which should not be ignored and neglected, is represented by the wastes resulted from animal breeding. These superficially treated wastes can cause numerous negative effects on the whole ecosystem. The animal dejections, the water resulted from the meat processing, the animal corpses, and all represent biodegradable wastes, which might be used, by transforming their energy content into electrical and thermal energy. This can be possible, for example, by using these wastes as raw material for producing biogas. To prove their efficiency in producing the biogases there have been done thermal analysis. In this article are analysed, from a thermal point of view, 3 different samples. In the first part of the experiment were analysed the swine dejections, in the second part were analysed the poultry dejections, and the third experiment consisted in the analysis of the cow stable waste. The analysis of these samples was done with the help of the Netzsch 449 C Jupiter device. The results obtained from the analysis prove the fact that all the three raw materials can be used as raw materials in producing the biogas.

Thermo-economic analysis of the potential for electricity generation by integrating a Rankine cycle with municipal solid waste incineration

Municipal Solid Wastes generated by human activities increase as the population grows; in Ocaña city, Norte de Santander, Colombia, these wastes reach a monthly production of about 2660 tons, made up of 65.6% waste food, 15.3% plastics, 9.9% toilet paper, 3.6% paperboard, 2.6% textile residues, 1.6% paper, 0.8% wood wastes, and 0.1% rubber. This work estimates the energy potential from municipal solid wastes for electricity generation and their production costs. A multicriteria decision analysis allowed selecting the best technology for the wastes processing based on their energy content. For the evaluated criteria, the incineration process showed priority. A model developed in the engineering equation solver software allowed calculating the electrical energy potential by integrating the incineration process with a Rankine cycle. By implementing a thermo-economic assessment, the electricity generation costs were determined, where the inversion, installation, operation, and maintenance costs were considered. 1974 KW of electrical power with generation costs of $300/KWh and a payback period of 2.5 years show the feasibility of this process.

Effect of germination on yield, physico-chemical properties, nutritional composition and GABA content in germinated brown rice

Germinated brown rice (GBR) is an emerging health food that has received attention due to its nutritional composition, especially Gamma Amino Butyric Acid (GABA). The objective of this research was to germinate two brown rice varieties MTU 1010 and KNM 118 at various germination hours (0, 12, 24, 36, 48, 72 hours) to determine the best yield and correlate with the nutritional composition and GABA content. Brown rice soaked in water for 12 hours at 28 ± 2ºC followed by 24 to 36 hours germination was found to have optimum yield (85%) with good nutritional and GABA content. Protein, fat, crude fiber, carbohydrate content and energy content among all samples were highest at 24 hours and 36 hours of germination. Pearson correlation coefficient performed between yield, germination hours and nutritional parameters of both varieties, indicated a positive correlation between germination hours and GABA content in both varieties.