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Background: Data from mechanistic studies suggest flavonoids may benefit glucose metabolism, but their associations with type 2 diabetes (T2D) remain unclear. This study examined the prospective associations of dietary intake of total, classes, and individual flavonoids, as well as their source foods, with T2D in the CArdioVascular disease Association Study (CAVAS). Methods: A total of 16,666 Korean men and women were enrolled at baseline, and 953 were newly diagnosed with T2D over a median follow-up of 5.96 years. Intake of flavonoids was cumulatively averaged using all food frequency questionnaires before the censoring events. A Poisson regression model was used to estimate incidence rate ratios (IRRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: Women with higher total flavonoid, flavonol, isoflavone, and proanthocyanidin intake had a lower risk of T2D (fourth vs. first quartile, IRR 0.62; 95% CI 0.44–0.89; P for linearity and non-linearity < 0.05 for total flavonoids), while in men, flavanones, anthocyanins, and proanthocyanidins, but not total flavonoids, were inversely associated with T2D risk (all P interaction for sex > 0.05). The key source foods contributing to flavonoid intake were also different between men and women, except for apples: tangerines and strawberries in men and green leafy vegetables and soy products in women. Conclusions: A higher intake of total flavonoids, particularly from vegetables, soybeans, and apples, may be associated with lower risk of T2D in women. However, flavonoids from fruits, rather than total flavonoids, may be inversely associated in men. The association between flavonoid intake and the risk of T2D may be contingent upon the dietary sources of flavonoids consumed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In recognition of the distinct clinical challenges and research gaps in young breast cancer (YBC) patients, we established the Comprehensive Young Age Breast Cancer (CHARM) registry to collect prospective data. Methods: This prospective cohort included patients who were newly diagnosed with histologically confirmed breast cancer without prior treatment at the Samsung Medical Center (SMC) in April 2013. We included patients who were either 40 years old or younger at the time of diagnosis, pregnant at breast cancer diagnosis or diagnosed with breast cancer within 1 year of delivery. All data were collected using Medidata's Rave Electronic Data. Clinical data were obtained from electronic medical records. Two experienced pathologists reviewed the pathologic data. Bone mineral densitometry tests have been conducted annually. To obtain multi-omics data, tumor tissues and blood samples were prospectively collected from consenting patients in the registry during surgery. The fertility-related factor also collected collaborated with the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Anti-Müllerian hormone, estradiol, follicle-stimulating hormone, and luteinizing hormone levels were measured using an additional blood sample from baseline to last follow-up. Patient-reported outcomes were assessed using mobile questionnaires. Results: A total of 1868 participants were included in the SMC YBC study. The average (standard deviation) age was 35.57 (3.79) and 99.8% of the participants were premenopausal. Among them, 1062 participants completed the PRO questionnaires. Conclusions: The SMC YBC cohort serves as a comprehensive registry for YBC to optimize care and improve knowledge regarding the management of YBC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to formulate a stable water-in-oil-in-water (W1/O/W2) double emulsion using different types of oils and electrolytes. W1/O was formulated with different electrolyte solutions (W1) dispersed in various oils (O) using polyglycerol polyricinoleate as a stabilizer. External aqueous phase was Tween-80 (W2), and W1/O dispersed in W2 was used. The emulsion containing NaCl or MgCl2 exhibited high encapsulation efficiency (EE) and maintained particle size. Regarding the oil type, the emulsion with MCT oil showed a small droplet size and a high viscosity and EE, presenting a stable droplet distribution in optical observation. The stability of emulsion containing NaCl was maintained during the in vitro digestion experiments. MCT oil, NaCl and MgCl2 have the potential to produce stable double emulsions for storage stability and in vitro digestion studies. The findings would be useful for preparing stable double emulsions used in the food and cosmetic industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The addition of various oils to meat analog has been an important topic to improving its juiciness and tenderness. However, this causes a concern about oil leaching from the meat analog during long-term storage. Here, we aimed to assess the storage stability of vegetable-oil-supplemented meat analogs and analyze the effects of temperature and storage period on their physiochemical characteristics. The meat analogs were prepared by adding 30 g castor oil, orange oil, palm oil, shortening, or margarine vegetable oil based on 100 g of textured vegetable protein. They were then stored at −18 or −60 °C for 6 months and analyzed at one-month intervals. The meat analog supplemented with orange oil had the highest water content (64.85%; 66.07%), hardness (35.48 N; 34.05 N), and DPPH-radical-scavenging activity (30.01%; 30.87%) under −18 and −60 °C, respectively, as well as the highest liquid-holding capacity in different conditions. During frozen storage, temperature barely affected the meat quality. The storage stability of all meat analog samples was maintained for 6 months, although the quality was slightly reduced with an increase in storage duration. Coliform group bacteria were not detected regardless of the storage condition. In conclusion, all results supposed that orange oil can be a promising candidate for improving the juiciness and tenderness of meat analogs, and the quality of samples was maintained for at least 6 months under frozen storage. The findings of this study are relevant to the development and promotion of meat analog as an alternative to animal meat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the tenderizing and flavor-enhancing effects of koji, a fermented grain cultured with a single microorganism, on chicken breasts during curing. Chicken breasts were cured with different ingredients, including 4% (w/w) curing agent (GC), 5% (w/w) Aspergillus oryzae with rice (FR), A. oryzae with soybean (FS), and Bacillus subtilis with soybean (BS) for 4 h at 4 °C prior to cooking. After the superheated steam procedure, all samples were cooked in a convection oven, and their physicochemical properties were analyzed. Koji-treated samples exhibited significantly higher expressible moisture due to the degradation of the protein matrix (p < 0.05). Texture profile analysis showed that the tenderness of koji-treated samples was significantly higher than that of GC (p < 0.05). Furthermore, koji-treated samples were regarded as tenderer, and they were preferred over GC (p < 0.05) in the sensory evaluation. Principal attributes analysis revealed that the overall preference for koji-treated samples was highly correlated with umami, juiciness, and tenderness (p < 0.05). Overall, this study provides insights into applying koji as a potential curing treatment to improve the eating quality of chicken breasts. Koji can be used as a novel technology in the food industry to improve taste and tenderness simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the effect of entrepreneurial orientation (EO; one of the most broadly acknowledged firm-level constructs) on the performance of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Furthermore, we analyze the moderator effect of creating shared value (CSV) on firm performance. Our analysis was conducted using a structural equation model on a stratified sampling method of 294 manufacturing and service SMEs in Korea. The results show that an SME's efforts in some variables in EO constructs are statistically positively related to both its financial (economic benefits) and non-financial performance (social benefits). Our study results also reveal that there is a significant positive moderator effect of CSV on the EO-performance relationship. This implies that CSV, when bundled with EO, can boost firm performance and provide SMEs with not only a competitive and sustainable advantage but also reduces their risk. This research contributes to the extant literature by investigating the interactive effect of CSV on the relationship between EO and firm performance in the context of SMEs, which has received scant attention in the extant literature. In the last section, the limitations and future research agenda of this study are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study determined the effects of physicochemical and microbial properties of emulsion as a fat replacer in meat analogs during freezing storage. Meat analogs were prepared with different fat replacers: vegetable oil (O) for control, oil in water emulsion (E), and non-emulsified oil in water emulsion (EC) for emulsion control. After that, meat analogs were stored for 0.5, one, three, and six months at −18 °C and −60 °C. The results showed that the drip loss of all samples was not significantly different (p > 0.05). However, the liquid holding capacity of EC and E was significantly higher than that of O (p < 0.05). Additionally, the microstructures of meat analogs of E and EC were smaller with denser pore sizes than O. This explains the significantly lower hardness of E and EC compared to O (p < 0.05). Overall, E showed superior physiochemical and sensory quality. During the storage, the stability of chemical properties, such as volatile basic nitrogen and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, showed no significant changes (p > 0.05). Moreover, the microbial studies (total viable counts and Escherichia coli count) suggested that meat analogs did not deteriorate during the preparation and storage. Thus, this study suggests that emulsion-type fat replacers influence meat analogs' physicochemical and sensorial properties. However, these properties are not influenced by the storage temperature and duration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to growing interest in health and sustainability, the demand for replacing animal-based ingredients with more sustainable alternatives has increased. Many studies have been conducted on plant-based meat, but only a few have investigated the effect of adding a suitable binder to plant-based meat to enhance meat texture. Thus, this study investigated the effects of the addition of transglutaminase (TG) and glucono-δ-lactone (GdL) on the physicochemical, textural, and sensory characteristics of plant-based ground meat products. The addition of a high quantity of GdL(G10T0) had an effect on the decrease in lightness (L* 58.98) and the increase in redness (a* 3.62). TG and GdL also decreased in terms of cooking loss (CL) and water holding capacity (WHC) of PBMPs. G5T5 showed the lowest CL (3.8%), while G3T7 showed the lowest WHC (86.02%). The mechanical properties also confirmed that G3T7-added patties have significantly high hardness (25.49 N), springiness (3.7 mm), gumminess (15.99 N), and chewiness (57.76 mJ). The improved textural properties can compensate for the chewability of PBMPs. Although the overall preference for improved hardness was not high compared to the control in the sensory test, these results provide a new direction for improving the textural properties of plant-based meat by using binders and forming fibrous structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the association between micronutrient intake and breast cancer risk in South Korean adult women. This association was stratified according to body mass index (BMI) categories. Data from the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES) and the Health Examinee Study were analyzed. Altogether, 63,337 individuals (aged ≥40 years) completed the baseline and first follow-up surveys; 40,432 women without a history of cancer at baseline were included in this study. The association between micronutrient intake and breast cancer was determined by estimating the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) using the Cox proportional hazard regression model. A stratified analysis by BMI (<25 kg/m2 and ≥25 kg/m2) was performed. The an analysis of 15 micronutrients and breast cancer risk revealed that none of the micronutrients were associated with breast cancer risk after adjusting for covariates. In obese women, the risk of breast cancer was significantly reduced in the group that consumed vitamin C more than the recommended level (HR = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.31–0.93) and vitamin B6 levels above the recommended level (HR = 0.48, 95% CI: 0.25–0.89). In obese women, exceeding the recommended daily intake levels of vitamin C and vitamin B6 was associated with a lower risk of breast cancer. However, other micronutrients were not associated with breast cancer risk in these women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aging is accompanied by many changes in brain and contributes to progressive cognitive decline. In contrast to pathological changes in brain, normal aging brain changes have relatively mild but important changes in structural, biochemical and molecular level. Representatively, aging associated brain changes include atrophy of tissues, alteration in neurotransmitters and damage accumulation in cellular environment. These effects have causative link with age associated changes which ultimately results in cognitive decline. Although several evidences were found in normal aging changes of brain, it is not clearly integrated. Figuring out aging related changes in brain is important as aging is the process that everyone goes through, and comprehensive understanding may help to progress further studies. This review clarifies normal aging brain changes in an asymptotic and comprehensive manner, from a gross level to a microscopic and molecular level, and discusses potential approaches to seek the changes with cognitive decline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal‐free and environmentally friendly synthesis of morpholin‐3‐one and 1,4‐oxazepan‐3‐one skeletons was achieved by the cycloaddition reaction of alcohol‐tethered enones and α‐halohydroxamates. This transformation was proposed to proceed through the addition of the hydroxyl group in the enone to an in‐situ generated azaoxyallyl cation followed by intramolecular aza‐Michael‐type trapping. Accordingly, morpholin‐3‐ones and 1,4‐oxazepan‐3‐ones could be generated from γ‐hydroxy and δ‐hydroxy enones, respectively, in a highly diastereoselective manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The saltiness enhancer effect of hydrolyzed animal protein (HAP) and the quality characteristics of white pan bread were evaluated through physicochemical and sensory analyses. HAP was efficiently hydrolyzed using commercial enzymes (0.20% w/w Alcalase® 2.4 L FG and 1.00% w/w FlavourzymeTM 500 MG) under high pressurization (100 MPa) and confirmed by molecular weight distribution and amino acid composition analysis. Most HAP molecules (94.18%) comprised low molecular weight peptides < 1300 Da, or free amino acids. Amino acid composition analysis of HAP also detected highly increased glutamic acid concentration. Compared with the control, the fermentation rates of doughs and loaf volumes of breads were maintained over 89.27% and 100%, respectively, with an exception of samples containing 11.70 HAP. In sensory testing, HAP concentration increases led to concomitant saltiness increases. These results suggest promising technological options for reducing salt intake from white pan bread consumption by utilizing HAP, although further study is necessary to improve bread quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights from the article: In contrast, the asymmetric catalytic Friedel-Crafts reactions of furans has been less extensively studied than those of indole and its derivatives. Herein, we demonstrate the first enantioselective aza-Friedel-Crafts reaction of furans with cyclic I N i -sulfimines catalyzed by a chiral Brønsted phosphoric acid ( B PA b ). Based on our previous asymmetric catalytic aza-Friedel-Crafts reaction of cyclic I N i -sulfimines,[5] SP c,d sp we first evaluated a chiral BINOL-derived phosphoric acid (Figure)[7] as a catalyst for the asymmetric Friedel-Crafts reaction of benzoxathiazine 2,2-dioxide B 1a b with 2-methoxyfuran B 2 b . In conclusion, we have developed an asymmetric aza-Friedel-Crafts alkylation reaction between cyclic I N i -sulfimines and 2-methoxyfuran B . b Chiral BINOL-derived phosphoric acid was used as an organocatalyst and the reactions were tolerant to various cyclic I N i -sulfimines, providing access to methoxyfuran-2-yl sulfamidate derivatives in good yields with moderate to high enantioselectivities (up to 94:6 er).

A volcanic eruption is one of the most critical natural hazards in air transportation. In the European region, the Eyjafjallajökull eruption in 2010 triggered extensive discussions and efforts to adopt a risk-based volcanic contingency management plan in civil aviation. However, there has been relative lack of such efforts in the Asia–Pacific region. In this paper, a hypothetical eruption scenario of Mt. Paektu is studied to evaluate its impact on international air traffic using South Korean airspace. Mt. Paektu is an active volcano, and man-made earthquakes caused by North Korea's recent nuclear weapons tests have elevated concerns about the possibility of an eruption. Based on multiple route closure tolerance criteria, direct and indirect losses including system serviceability, cancellation cost and passenger losses were evaluated, utilizing air route network data set and six-day ash dispersal scenario. Under the zero tolerance, system serviceability ranged between 3 and 60%. System serviceability ranged between 51 and 100% under the most lenient tolerance of 50%. Flight cancellation costs were $231 M and $68 M under the zero and 50% tolerance criteria. More than 80% of flights and 77% of cancellation costs were associated with the Asian region, especially China and Japan. In summary, impact on international air traffic was significant, and the gaps according to variation in tolerance were evident. Decisions on tolerance criteria are critical and must consider trade-offs between aircraft damage and system serviceability. Moreover, airspaces of China and Japan need to be considered in conjunction with Korea to assess the volcanic hazards in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A full-duplex radio allows packets to be transmitted and received simultaneously using self-interference cancellation technologies. Thus, it can double the channel capacity compared with the half-duplex radio. Since conventional medium access control (MAC) protocols were designed for the half-duplex radio, the potential capacity of the full-duplex radio cannot be utilized. In this letter, we propose a full-duplex MAC protocol using frequency domain coordination to fully utilize the full-duplex radio and to increase coordination efficiency. The proposed MAC protocol uses subchannels to efficiently collect transmission requests from stations and to schedule packet transmissions without competition. Our evaluation results show that the throughput of the proposed MAC protocol significantly outperforms previous studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new hybrid multiple access coordination scheme (HMAC) that increases channel utilization for orthogonal frequency-division multiple access wireless local area network is presented. This scheme is based on a mixture of centralized access control and distributed random access to maximize channel utilization. Remarkably, HMAC allows two schemes to function at the same time, not alternatively. Performance evaluation results show notable improvement on channel utilization, which is mainly based on the efficient way how we handle uplink traffic. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Cognitive radio has attracted considerable attention as an enabling technology for addressing the problem of radio frequency shortages. In cognitive radio networks (CRNs), secondary users (SUs) are allowed to opportunistically utilize the licensed spectrum bands of primary users (PUs) when these bands are temporarily unused. Thus, SUs should monitor the licensed spectrum bands to detect any PU signal. According to the sensing outcomes, SUs should vacate the spectrum bands or may use them. Generally, the spectrum sensing accuracy depends on the sensing time which influences the overall throughput of SUs. That is, there is a fundamental tradeoff between the spectrum sensing time and the achievable throughput of SUs. To determine the optimal sensing time and improve the throughput of SUs, considerable efforts have been expended under the saturated traffic and ideal channel assumptions. However, these assumptions are hardly valid in practical CRNs. In this paper, we provide the framework of an 802.11-based medium access control for CRNs, and we analyze this framework to find the optimal spectrum sensing time under the saturated and unsaturated traffic condition. Through simulation, the proposed analytic model is verified and the fundamental problem of the sensing-throughput tradeoff for CRNs is investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to evaluate an experiential learning project with BSW students to see if their perceptions of older adults have changed. The project consisted of an oral history project and presentation that matched BSW students with older adults from diverse ethnic backgrounds to gather their immigration narratives. The study used a single group pretest posttest design with 17 BSW students enrolled in an integrative field seminar class. Using a series of inferential analyses, BSW students’ attitudes towards older adults, future career plans, confidence with working with older adults from diverse backgrounds, and geriatric competencies were examined. Overall, a significant increase in BSW students who had varying levels of participation in project perceptions of geriatric social work competencies between pretest and posttest were found. Students who both conducted and presented the oral histories of older adults also were significantly more likely to report future plans to work with older adults compared to students who did not. Exposing BSW students to aging and diversity content has important implications towards fostering student interest in pursuing social work practice with older adults and preparing them for culturally competent social work. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Among modified Poly(propylene)s (PPs) grafted with polar monomers, PP grafted with maleic anhydride (PP- g-MAH) is known to be the most efficient compatibilizer for PP/clay nanocomposites, since it provides well-dispersed nanostructures and yields optimal physical properties of the nanocomposites. One drawback of this material, however, is that it becomes brittle and its viscosity decreases drastically, leading to nanocomposites with low toughness as the graft degree of MAH increases. Therefore, there is a limitation to increasing both stiffness and toughness of PP/clay nanocomposites with PP- g-MAH. In this study, we investigated the performance of a PP grafted with maleic anhydride and styrene (PP- g-MAH-St) as compatibilizers in PP/clay nanocomposites. It was found that the incorporation of styrene as a comonomer prevents molecular weight reduction of the PP main chain upon high loading of a radical initiator for high graft degree of MAH. The compatibilizers (PP- g-MAH-St) thus obtained show good compatibilizing performance in PP/clay nanocomposites. The PP/clay nanocomposites compatibilized by PP- g-MAH-St show both high stiffness and toughness, which is accomplished by using a compatibilizer of higher viscosity compared with PP- g-MAH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to Healthy People 2010, health communication is an important tool to reduce health disparities. Communication channels in which people prefer to receive health information may differ by race/ethnicity. One of the main challenges in designing an effective health communication program is to identify the most trusted and most often used channels of health information by Asian older adults. The aim of this study is to determine which health communication channels can be used to promote healthy lifestyles among older adults. A non-probability, convenience-sampling technique was used to recruit Korean (n = 9) and Asian Indian (n = 9) older adults from two senior centers in New York City. The findings from the two focus groups identified three distinct channels used by Asian older adults when obtaining health information: interpersonal (i.e., health care providers, word of mouth), mass media (i.e., ethnic mass media sources), and community specific (i.e., religious organizations, community centers). Health communication is an important area for prevention. Increased efforts are needed to develop culturally appropriate health messages and equally important to deliver these messages in the context in which Asian older adults trust and use the most. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Probiotic extracts have various positive attributes, such as antioxidant, tyrosinase inhibitory, and antimicrobial activity. Lactobacillus curvatus produces bacteriocin, which activates the lipid membrane structure and has potential as a natural preservative for cosmetic emulsions. In this study, L. curvatus extract was encapsulated in liposomes and formulated as an oil-in-water (O/W) emulsion. Radical scavenging activity, tyrosinase inhibition, and challenge tests were conducted to confirm the liposome activity and the activity of the applied lotion emulsion. The liposome-encapsulated extract had a relatively high absolute ζ-potential (52.53 > 35.43), indicating its stability, and 96% permeability, which indicates its potential as an active agent in lotion emulsions. Characterization of emulsions containing the liposomes also indicated a stable state. The liposome-encapsulated extract exhibited a higher radical scavenging activity than samples without the extract and non-encapsulated samples, and the functionality was preserved in the lotion emulsion. The tyrosinase inhibition activity of the lotion emulsion with the liposome-encapsulated extract was similar to that of the non-treated extract. Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger were also inhibited in the challenge test with the lotion emulsions during storage. Collectively, these findings indicate that the liposome-encapsulated extract and the lotion containing the encapsulated extract have potential applicability as natural preservatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]