In response to the suggestion that an increase in the incidence of celiac disease might be attributable to an increase in the gluten content of wheat resulting from wheat breeding, a survey of data from the 20th and 21st centuries for the United States was carried out. The results do not support the likelihood that wheat breeding has increased the protein content (proportional to gluten content...

This historical review takes a few selected issues from the rheological studies of extensional flow that fill the literature, starting with extracts from the seminal papers of Trouton (Proc. Roy. Soc. A77 (1906) 426-440) and Fano (Archivio di fisiologio, 5 (1908) 365-370). Work in the first half of the twentieth century on spinnability and extensional viscosity measurement is highlighted, follo...

Introduction: Placebo and nocebo phenomena in pharmacology are very important, but controversial issues from the perspective of evidence-based medicine (EBM) in many ways. Topic: Glorifi cation and vilifi cation of placebo controlled studies are the two opposite sides of the prevailing misunderstanding placebo and nocebo phenomena in medicine and pharmacology. This misunderstanding is an essent...

The maintenance of good health demands that food should not only be nutritious but also safe and of good quality. There has been growing concern regarding environmental contamination of food and excessive use of chemicals in food production and processing in the country in recent times. The growth of the food processing industry in India has consequently been very rapid, about 24 per cent in 19...

Researchers from a diverse array of scientific disciplines have focused and continue to focus on opportunities and areas for responsible clinical research involving the possible beneficial health effects of "probiotics." Investigators and researchers should be aware that not all clinical research involving probiotics reasonably falls within the requirements of the "investigational new drug" (IN...

Food manufacturers and policy makers have been tailoring food product ingredient information to consumers' self-reported preference for natural products and concerns over food additives. Yet, the influence of this ingredient information on consumers remains inconclusive. The current study aimed at examining the first step in such influence, which is consumers' attention to ingredient informatio...

This in vitro study evaluated the antibacterial effect of copper additives in silicone implants. Specimens of a standard silicone material used in breast augmentation and modified copper-loaded silicone specimens were prepared and incubated in a Staphylococcus epidermidis suspension (2 h, 37 degrees C). After the quantification of adhering staphylococci using a biofluorescence assay (Resazurin)...

Characterization of the effects of aircraft deicer and anti-icer fluid (ADAF) runoff on aquatic organisms in receiving streams is a complex issue because the identities of numerous toxic additives are proprietary and not publicly available. Most potentially toxic and endocrine disrupting effects caused by ADAF are due to the numerous additive package ingredients which vary among manufacturers a...