Olive oil increases the number of triacylglycerol-rich chylomicron particles compared with other oils: an effect retained when a second standard meal is fed

Background: Compared with the postprandial events after a single meal, different events occur when a second meal is ingested 4–6 h after a first meal. There is a rapid appearance of chylomicrons in the circulation carrying fat ingested with the first meal, with a peak 1 h after the second meal. Objective: Our goal was to examine whether different dietary oils have effects on the storage of triacylglycerol as a result of differences in their digestion, absorption, and incorporation into chylomicrons. Design: A single-blind, randomized, within-subject crossover design was used to study the effects of palm oil, safflower oil, a mixture of fish and safflower oil, and olive oil on postprandial apolipoprotein (apo) B-48, retinyl ester, and triacylglycerol in the Sf > 400 fraction with the use of a sequential meal protocol. Results: For triacylglycerol, retinyl ester, and apo B-48, the time to reach peak concentration was significantly earlier after the second meal than after the first meal (P < 0.005). This was apparent with each of the dietary oils. The pattern of the apo B-48 response differed significantly among the dietary oils, with olive oil resulting in higher concentrations after both meals (P = 0.003). The ratio of triacylglycerol to apo B-48 was significantly lower after olive oil feeding than after feeding with the other oils (P = 0.02). Conclusions: The rapid entry of chylomicrons after the ingestion of a second meal 5 h after a first meal was seen with all of the oils investigated. The short-term ingestion of olive oil produced more chylomicrons than did the other dietary oils, which may have been due to differences in the metabolic handling of olive oil within the gut.

Influence of end-capping on the self-assembly of model amyloid peptide fragments

The influence of charge and aromatic stacking interactions on the self-assembly of a series of four model amyloid peptides has been examined. The four model peptides are based on the KLVFF motif from the amyloid Beta peptide, ABeta(16-20) extended at the N terminus with two Beta-alanine residues. We have studied NH2-BetaABetaAKLVFF-COOH (FF), NH2-BetaABetaAKLVFCOOH (F), CH3CONH-BetaABetaAKLVFF-CONH2 (CapF), and CH3CONH-BetaABetaAKLVFFCONH2 (CapFF). The former two are uncapped (net charge plus 2) and differ by one hydrophobic phenylalanine residue; the latter two are the analogous capped peptides (net charge plus 1). The self-assembly characteristics of these peptides are remarkably different and strongly dependent on concentration. NMR shows a shift from carboxylate to carboxylic acid forms upon increasing concentration. Saturation transfer measurements of solvent molecules indicate selective involvement of phenylalanine residues in driving the self-assembly process of CapFF due presumably to the effect of aromatic stacking interactions. FTIR spectroscopy reveals beta-sheet features for the two peptides containing two phenylalanine residues but not the single phenylalanine residue, pointing again to the driving force for self-assembly. Circular dichroism (CD) in dilute solution reveals the polyproline II conformation, except for F which is disordered. We discuss the relationship of this observation to the significant pH shift observed for this peptide when compared the calculated value. Atomic force microscopy and cryogenic-TEM reveals the formation of twisted fibrils for CapFF, as previously also observed for FF. The influence of salt on the self-assembly of the model beta-sheet forming capped peptide CapFF was investigated by FTIR. Cryo-TEM reveals that the extent of twisting decreases with increased salt concentration, leading to the formation of flat ribbon structures. These results highlight the important role of aggregation-induced pKa shifts in the self-assembly of model beta-sheet peptides.

Information sources and advice used by small business tenants when leasing commercial property

Many small businesses lease commercial premises. The terms of a lease can affect the ability of the business to grow and adapt and have an impact on cashflow. Ensuring that they have the information with which to negotiate terms is part of the UK government policy focus on small businesses. Such information is most effectively disseminated through the sources of advice that small businesses use during the leasing process. Therefore these sources of advice need identifying. An interview survey of small business tenants who have recently taken leases provides initial results that suggest small businesses do not seek out advice during the leasing process or see the need to be better informed. The only formal professional input is from solicitors but this is not until after the main commercial terms have been agreed. The landlords’ letting agents play a key, but ambiguous, role in providing information as well as advice. These results suggest that the most effective way of disseminating information by government could be via the letting agents, the very people with whom the tenants are negotiating.

Diversification when it hurts? The joint distributions of real estate and equity markets

Much of the literature on the construction of mixed asset portfolios and the case for property as a risk diversifier rests on correlations measured over the whole of a given time series. Recent developments in finance, however, focuses on dependence in the tails of the distribution. Does property offer diversification from equity markets when it is most needed - when equity returns are poor. The paper uses an empirical copula approach to test tail dependence between property and equity for the UK and for a global portfolio. Results show strong tail dependence: in the UK, the dependence in the lower tail is stronger than in the upper tail, casting doubt on the defensive properties of real estate stocks.

When does direct real estate improve portfolio performance?

For over twenty years researchers have been recommending that investors diversify their portfolios by adding direct real estate. Based on the tenets of modern portfolio theory (MPT) investors are told that the primary reason they should include direct real estate is that they will enjoy decreased volatility (risk) through increased diversification. However, the MPT methodology hides where this reduction in risk originates. To over come this deficiency we use a four-quadrant approach to break down the co-movement between direct real estate and equities and bonds into negative and positive periods. Then using data for the last 25-years we show that for about 70% of the time a holding in direct real estate would have hurt portfolio returns, i.e. when the other assets showed positive performance. In other words, for only about 30% of the time would a holding in direct real estate lead to improvements in portfolio returns. However, this increase in performance occurs when the alternative asset showed negative returns. In addition, adding direct real estate always leads to reductions in portfolio risk, especially on the downside. In other words, although adding direct real estate helps the investor to avoid large losses it also reduces the potential for large gains. Thus, if the goal of the investor is offsetting losses, then the results show that direct real estate would have been of some benefit. So in answer to the question when does direct real estate improve portfolio performance the answer is on the downside, i.e. when it is most needed.

When's your birthday? The self-reference effect in retrieval of dates

Material encoded with reference to the self is better remembered. One interpretation of this effect is that the self operates to organise retrieval of memories. We were motivated to find out whether this organisational principle extended to everyday information and for material not explicitly related to the self. Participants generated friends' birthdays from memory and then gave their own birthday. We found that participants were particularly likely to recall birthdays from on or around the date of their own birthday. Thus, memory for birthdays clusters around self-relevant information, even when there is no specific attempt to recall self-related material. Birthdays clustered somewhat around the time of testing, important dates in the calendar, and for a close other, but not to the extent of the participants' birthdays. We suggest this is a demonstration of the organisational structure of the self in memory. Copyright (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Improved process topology for membrane distillation

In membrane distillation in a conventional membrane module, the enthalpies of vaporisation and condensation are supplied and removed by changes in the temperatures of the feed and permeate streams, respectively. Less than 5% of the feed can be distilled in a single pass, because the potential changes in the enthalpies of the liquid streams are much smaller than the enthalpy of vaporisation. Furthermore, the driving force for mass transfer reduces as the feed stream temperature and vapour pressure fall during distillation. These restrictions can be avoided if the enthalpy of vaporisation is uncoupled from the heat capacities of the feed and permeate streams. A specified distillation can then be effected continuously in a single module. Calculations are presented which estimate the performance of a flat plate unit in which the enthalpy of distillation is supplied and removed by the condensing and boiling of thermal fluids in separate circuits, and the imposed temperature difference is independent of position. Because the mass flux through the membrane is dependent on vapour pressure, membrane distillation is suited to applications with a high membrane temperature. The maximum mass flux in the proposed module geometry is predicted to be 30 kg/m2 per h at atmospheric pressure when the membrane temperature is 65°C. Operation at higher membrane temperatures is predicted to raise the mass flux, for example to 85 kg/m2 per h at a membrane temperature of 100°C. This would require pressurisation to 20 bar to prevent boiling at the heating plate of the feed channel. Pre-pressurisation of the membrane pores and control of the dissolved gas concentrations in the feed and the recyled permeate should be investigated as a means to achieve high temperature membrane distillation without pore penetration and wetting.

Decreased accommodation during decompensation of distance exotropia

Objective. Disparity cues can be a major drive to accommodation via the CA/C (convergence accommodation to convergence) linkage but, on decompensation of exotropia, disparity cues are extinguished by suppression, so this drive is lost. This study investigated accommodation and vergence responses to disparity, blur and proximal cues in a group of distance exotropes aged between 4-11 years both during decompensation and when exotropic. Methods. 19 participants with distance exotropia were tested using a PlusoptiXSO4 photorefractor set in a remote haploscopic device which assessed simultaneous vergence and accommodation to a range of targets incorporating different combinations of blur, disparity and proximal cues at four fixation distances between 2m and 33cm. Responses on decompensation were compared to those from the same children when their deviation was controlled. Results. Manifest exotropia was more common in the more impoverished cue conditions. When decompensated for near, mean accommodation gain for the all-cue (naturalistic) target reduced significantly (p<0.0001), with resultant mean under-accommodation of 2.33D at 33cm. The profile of near cues usage changed after decompensation, with blur and proximity driving residual responses, but these remaining cues did not compensate for loss of accommodation caused by the removal of disparity. Conclusions. Accommodation often reduces on decompensation of distance exotropia as the drive from convergence is extinguished, providing a further reason to try to prevent decompensation for near.

The budget and the WTO: driving forces behind the ‘Health Check’?

The chapter examines the evidence for budget concerns or external (WTO) pressures being the drivers for the 'Health Check' reform of the European Union's common agricultural policy.