Biomedical subjects

S Nicklaus

Publications and source records attributed to S Nicklaus.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

[Gustatory perceptions in children].

As soon as the end of gestation, the gustatory system is stimulated by the taste-active compounds carried by the amniotic fluid and its maturation continues until mid-childhood. Facial expressions and relative ingestion methods show that the newborn can discriminate the various taste qualities (bitter, salty, sour, sweet and umami). The range of individual responses is wide. Neonatal reactions to sweet and umami are generally considered to express pleasure. The bitter and sour stimulations lead to hedonically negative reactions. The response to salt taste is less characteristic. Overall, the attraction towards sweet and the rejection of bitter and sour tastes become more pronounced during childhood but tend to decrease in adult life. The early attraction to sweetness is reinforced by exposure to sweet stimulations. With age, the response to salt evolves towards attraction which intensity is dependent on the context and on postnatal exposures to salt. The link between gustatory sensitivity to sweet, salty and sour stimuli and food preferences is far from being clear; the sensitivity to bitter taste better explains the rejection of bitter foods, such as vegetables for instance. The development of gustatory perceptions partly depends upon experience. A better knowledge of the role of experience could help to improve the orientation and the efficacy of nutritionally-oriented food education strategies.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

[Clinical experience with percutaneus large-core needle biopsies of the breast and evaluation of cytopathological and histopathological results].

OBJECTIVE: Core needle biopsy (CNB) allows a microinvasive diagnosis of breast lesions. We investigated whether imprint cytology of CNB specimens is a useful method of rapidly obtaining additional diagnostic information. MATERIAL AND METHOD: During five years 46 218 breast examinations for 23 300 patients were performed. 563 patients were examined by CNB. The results of imprint cytology were compared with the histopathological results. Statistical analysis was done for all patients who underwent subsequent surgery. RESULTS: 195 of 563 patients were treated surgically. 155 patients exhibited malign lesions. 40 patients showed benign breast lesions. Four patients with malign findings in imprint cytology and histopathology of CNB were treated conservatively. Imprint cytology had a sensitivity of 0.89, specificity of 0.88, positive predictive value of 0.96 and negative predictive value of 0.67. Histopathology revealed a sensitivity of 0.90, specificity of 0.95, positive predictive value of 0.98 and negative predictive value of 0.70. 364 patients with benign findings in imprint cytology and histopathology were controlled subsequently. One of these patients developed five month later an invasive ductal tumor. CONCLUSION: Imprint cytology of CNB is a reliable method to obtain additional diagnostic information. Inadequate and suspicious cases should be evaluated based on complementary diagnostic procedures for breast lesions.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Evolution of the taste of a bitter Camembert cheese during ripening: characterization of a matrix effect.

The objective of this study was to characterize the effect of ripening on the taste of a typically bitter Camembert cheese. The first step was to select a typically bitter cheese among several products obtained by different processes supposed to enhance this taste defect. Second, the evolution of cheese taste during ripening was characterized from a sensory point of view. Finally, the relative impact of fat, proteins, and water-soluble molecules on cheese taste was determined by using omission tests performed on a reconstituted cheese. These omission tests showed that cheese taste resulted mainly from the gustatory properties of water-soluble molecules but was modulated by a matrix effect due to fat, proteins, and cheese structure. The evolution of this matrix effect during ripening was discussed for each taste characteristic.

Cheese↗

PubMed2000

Taste active compounds in a goat cheese water-soluble extract. 1. Development and sensory validation of a model water-soluble extract.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the components of a goat cheese water-soluble extract (WSE) on its flavor by both physicochemical and sensory techniques with special emphasis on taste. After characterization of the organoleptic properties of the cheese, the WSE was extracted with pure water and submitted to successive tangential ultrafiltrations and nanofiltration. The physicochemical assessment of these fractions led to the constitution of a model mixture (MWSE) compared by sensory evaluation to the crude WSE, using a panel of 16 trained members. The results of both sensory profile and triangular tests indicate no significant difference, therefore proving that the reconstitution of the WSE was correct, thereby showing the sensory neutrality of lipids and peptides smaller than 500 Da, which had not been included in the MWSE. Moreover, the cheese gustatory characteristics are comparable to those of the WSE despite weaker levels of sharpness and astringency in the extract, the respective origins of which are discussed.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

Taste active compounds in a goat cheese water-soluble extract. 2. Determination of the relative impact of water-soluble extract components on its taste using omission tests.

The aim of this work was to determine the relative impact of water-soluble compounds on the gustatory properties of a goat cheese water-soluble extract (WSE). Using a semisynthetic model mixture (MWSE) previously elaborated in physicochemical and gustatory accordance with the cheese WSE (see part 1, Engel et al. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2000, 48, 4252-4259), omission tests were performed. Among the main taste characteristics of the WSE (salty, sour, and bitter), saltiness was explained by an additive contribution of sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium cations, whereas sourness was mainly due to a synergistic effect involving sodium chloride, phosphates, and lactic acid and bitterness was found to result from calcium and magnesium chlorides, the impact of which was partially masked by sodium chloride. In contrast, amino acids, lactose, and peptides did not have any significant impact on WSE taste properties. To quantify the contribution of the taste active compounds to bitterness and saltiness, stepwise multiple linear regressions were performed. Those contributions were expressed as a percentage of the considered taste characteristic intensity in the WSE. The model obtained allowed up to 97.4% of the perceived saltiness to be described and approximately 85% of the bitterness.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Semiautomated monolayer preparation of bronchial secretions using AutoCyte PREP.

OBJECTIVE: Development of a method for semiautomated preparation of purified, representative and conventionally stained monolayer smears from bronchial secretions suitable for subjective and/or automated cytodiagnosis. STUDY DESIGN: Bronchial secretions from 50 patients with and 48 without carcinoma cells of different types were collected in Saccomanno's fixative. After routine pick-and-smear processing, residual material was subjected to a mucolytic agent (ammonium thioglycolate). Separation of cells was performed by differential centrifugation through aqueous sucrose. The pellet was automatically processed by the AutoCyte PREP system. RESULTS: Slides revealed well-preserved, slightly shrunken, homogeneously distributed cells devoid of mucus, cellular debris and bacteria in monolayer arrangement nearly without overlap. Granulocytes were eliminated to a large extent. Comparison with pick-and-smear specimens showed more tumor cells per square centimeter of slide surface in 100% of AutoCyte PREP slides. The number of tumor cells per AutoCyte PREP slide was higher in 46% and lower in 54%. Selecting slides at random and requiring at least 10 abnormal cells to establish a tumor diagnosis were achieved in 82.7% if only one, in 88.0% if two and 94.0% if seven or eight AutoCyte PREP slides were investigated. CONCLUSION: The semiautomated method yielded conventionally stained, purified monolayer smears from bronchial secretions with cellular morphology suitable for evaluation by cytologists and screening machines. Representativity of AutoCyte PREP monolayers was superior to that of pick-and-smear slides.

Adenocarcinoma↗