Surface, Thermal and Antimicrobial Release Properties of Plasma-Treated Zein Films

The effects of dielectric barrier discharge plasma treatment on zein film containing thymol as an active ingredient were evaluated. The plasma discharge was optically characterized to identify the reactive species. A significant increase in the film roughness (p < 0.05) was observed due to the etching effect of DBD plasma, which was correlated with the increase in the diffusion rate of thymol in the food simulant. The diffusion of thymol from the zein film was measured in aqueous solution. The kinetics of thymol release followed the Fick’s law of diffusion as shown by the high correlation coefficients between experimental and theoretical data. No significant change (p > 0.05) was observed for the thermal properties of the antimicrobial films after DBD plasma treatment.

The effect of smoking on visceral fat accumulation in Czech men and women

Many studies indicate that smoking is one of risk factors influencing the accumulation of visceral fat (VFA). The mechanism by which smoking contributes to the accumulation of visceral fat is not yet fully understood, but it is assumed that smoking increases the level of plasma cortisol, causes imbalance between male and female sex hormones in women, and decreases testosterone levels in men (Chiolero et al., 2008). The objection of this study was to evaluate the effect of smoking on the accumulation of VFA in the population of the Czech Republic. The research included 1,412 individuals of both genders divided into categories of smokers vs nonsmokers and physically active vs. physically inactive. VFA was measured by the device InBody 720 and information about physical activity and smoking was collected via a questionnaire. We supposed that smokers would have a higher percentage of VFA than non-smokers. The results showed that smokers had a higher amount of VFA, but the difference was not statistically significant. In contrast, statistically significant differences were found in the waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and total % body fat. Physically active individuals had a much more favourable results than physically inactive individuals. Remarkably, the amount of VFA, WHR and % body fat tended to be smaller in smoking men than in non-smoking men, but higher in smoking women than in non-smoking women.