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The use of nanocellulose (NC) has increased significantly in the food industry, as subtypes such as cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) or bacterial cellulose (BC) have been demonstrated to be a source of insoluble fiber with important benefits for human health. Despite these advantages, and due to its nanoscale size, NC must be assessed from a safety perspective that considers its exposure, fate, and biological effects in order to help more accurately estimate its potential hazards. The exposure routes of humans to NC include (i) ingestion during consumption of foods that contain cellulose as a food ingredient or (ii) contact of food with cellulose-containing materials, such as its packaging. That is why it is important to understand the potentially toxic effects that nanomaterials can have on human health, understanding that the different types of NC behave differently in terms of their ingestion, absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion. By analysing both in vitro and in vivo studies, the purpose of this paper is to present the most recent findings on the different types of NC and their safety when used in food. In addition, it provides an overview of relevant studies into NC and its health benefits when used as a food additive. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We study the planar equivalence of orbifold field theories on a small three-torus with twisted boundary conditions, generalizing the analysis of [J.L.F. Barbón, C. Hayos, JHEP 0601 (2006) 114, hep-th/0507267]. The non-supersymmetric orbifold models exhibit different large N dynamics from their supersymmetric “parent” counterparts. In particular, a moduli space of Abelian zero modes is lifted by an potential in the “daughter” theories. We also find disagreement between the number of discrete vacua of both theories, due to fermionic zero modes in the parent theory, as well as the values of semiclassical tunneling contributions to fermionic correlation functions, induced by fractional instantons. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract Cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) were incorporated into low-fat and standard ice cream formulations (5 wt % and 10 wt %) at two different concentrations each (0.15 and 0.3 wt %) to determine the impact of the CNFs on the structural elements and performance variables of both the pre-frozen mix and the final frozen product. Rheological properties of the aged mixes and fat destabilization, melting rate, hardness, thermo-rheology and ice crystal size of the frozen product were assessed; sensory properties were analyzed for selected formulations. Results indicate that the effects of nanocellulose are related to its adsorption on the fat structure, therefore it varies between 5 and 10 wt % formulations. Sensory properties of low-fat samples were improved after the addition of nanocellulose, even after heat shocking the specimens. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) were incorporated in standard and low-fat ice creams. • CNFs increased ice cream mix viscosity and affected fat destabilization. • Ice crystal growth and ice cream hardness were not affected by CNFs. • CNFs improved textural perception of low-fat formulations, even after heat shocking. • CNFs affected the colloidal phase of structure more than the aqueous phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Planktonic cyanobacteria primarily develop in lentic water bodies, such as lakes and water reservoirs. In certain instances, toxin-producing cyanobacterial populations might dominate the phytoplankton community. Satellite remote sensing is a useful tool for large spatial scale monitoring of cyanobacteria, and the MERIS sensor from the Envisat satellite has taken worldwide images at a high frequency for over 10 years. This short time lapse image collection has provided an extensive record of images for the analysis of variation in the cyanobacterial communities in water reservoirs for management and scientific purposes. The objective of this work is to determine the relationship between measured cyanobacterial biomass as biovolume and the estimations derived from MERIS imagery. This study encompasses two independent studies relying on data from 23 water reservoirs. First, a long-term global limnological research study was conducted that provided a field data collection that included cyanobacterial biovolume, among other variables. Second, a survey was conducted that applied the processed images derived from the Envisat MERIS sensor. The chlorophyll-a (Chl a) content and phycocyanin concentration (PC) were estimated from the MERIS images. The PC estimated by remote sensing and total cyanobacterial biovolume measured from the field samples were found to be significantly correlated (R² = 0.6219; p < 0.001). No relevant differences were found among the taxonomical groups, which indicated that this tool provides accurate estimations irrespective of the cyanobacterial group. For validation, the algorithm derived from the entire dataset was applied to the MERIS image dataset of the Rosarito reservoir. An estimated cyanobacterial biovolume time series was performed and compared to the biovolume data collected in an extensive sampling schedule spanning 4 years. The results indicated a strong correlation (R² = 0.72; p < 0.001) between the measured and estimated data acquired on the same day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]