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The demand for vegetable proteins increases globally and seaweeds are considered novel and promising protein sources. However, the tough polysaccharide-rich cell walls and the abundance of polyphenols reduce the extractability and digestibility of seaweed proteins. Therefore, food grade, scalable, and environmentally friendly protein extraction techniques are required. To date, little work has been carried out on developing such methods taking into consideration the structural differences between seaweed species. In this work, three different protein extraction methods were applied to three Swedish seaweeds (Porphyra umbilicalis, Ulva lactuca, and Saccharina latissima). These methods included (I) a traditional method using sonication in water and subsequent ammonium sulfate-induced protein precipitation, (II) the pH-shift protein extraction method using alkaline protein solubilization followed by isoelectric precipitation, and (III) the accelerated solvent extraction (ASE®) method where proteins are extracted after pre-removal of lipids and phlorotannins. The highest protein yields were achieved using the pH-shift method applied to P. umbilicalis (22.6 ± 7.3%) and S. latissima (25.1 ± 0.9%). The traditional method resulted in the greatest protein yield when applied to U. lactuca (19.6 ± 0.8%). However, the protein concentration in the produced extracts was highest for all three species using the pH-shift method (71.0 ± 3.7%, 51.2 ± 2.1%, and 40.7 ± 0.5% for P. umbilicalis, U. lactuca, and S. latissima, respectively). In addition, the pH-shift method was found to concentrate the fatty acids in U. lactuca and S. latissima by 2.2 and 1.6 times, respectively. The pH-shift method can therefore be considered a promising strategy for producing seaweed protein ingredients for use in food and feed.

Background Transpulmonary pressure, calculated as the difference between airway pressure (Paw) and esophageal pressure (Pes), is an important monitoring parameter during assisted mechanical ventilation, provided Pes is measured via a correctly placed and filled esophageal pressure probe. The reference method to verify Pes accuracy in spontaneously breathing patients requires calculating the ratio of changes in Pes and Paw (ΔPes/ΔPaw) during an inspiratory effort against an occluded airway. We hypothesized that the P0.1 maneuver, a brief and repeatable test, could provide an alternative means to assess ΔPes/ΔPaw during assisted mechanical ventilation. Methods We performed an exploratory secondary analysis of data from a multicenter prospective observational study (ICEBERG study; NCT05203536). In 35 patients receiving assisted mechanical ventilation, ΔPes/ΔPaw obtained during P0.1 maneuvers (Ratio P0.1 , experimental method) was compared with ΔPes/ΔPaw from prolonged expiratory occlusion maneuvers (Ratio occ , reference method) using linear regression and Bland–Altman analysis. Results Among 25 patients with 65 evaluable measurements, Ratio P0.1 showed a moderate correlation ( R 2 :0.647, p  < 0.0001) with Ratio occ . Bland–Altman analysis demonstrated minimal bias and acceptable agreement between methods. Using the occlusion maneuver as reference, Ratio P0.1 identified incorrect Pes measurement with a sensitivity of 93% and a specificity for identifying correct Pes measurement of 71%. Results were consistent across patient subgroups. Conclusions Our exploratory analysis suggests that the P0.1 maneuver may support semi-continuous screening of esophageal pressure signal validity during assisted ventilation. While abnormal P0.1 values should prompt confirmatory occlusion testing, values within the expected range may help rule out major measurement errors. These findings provide a rationale for prospective validation studies including different ventilator types. Trial registration : clinicaltrials.gov, NCT05203536. Registered 24. January 2022—Retrospectively registered, https://classic.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05203536

Stimuli presented below the threshold of awareness can systematically influence choice responses determined by the instructed stimulus-response (S-R) mapping (task set). In this study, we investigated whether such stimuli will also bias a free choice between two response alternatives under conditions in which this choice subjectively appears to be internally generated and free. Participants had to respond to targets preceded by masked arrow primes. Left-pointing and right-pointing arrow targets required left or right responses, whereas randomly interspersed \"free-choice\" targets indicated that the participants were free to choose either response. Although masked primes could not be consciously discriminated, they systematically affected not only performance to arrow targets, but also the free choice between response alternatives. This demonstrates that apparently \"free\" choices are not immune to nonconsciously triggered biases. However, in blocks in which no specific S-R mapping was imposed, masked primes did not affect free-choice performance, indicating that these effects are not automatic but are determined by currently active task sets.

Masked prime stimuli presented immediately before target stimuli in a choice reaction task give rise to behavioral costs when the primes and the target stimuli are mapped to the same response and result in benefits when they are mapped to opposite responses. Researchers assume that this negative compatibility effect reflects inhibitory processes in the control of perceptuomotor links. The authors investigated whether the inhibition operates at the level of abstract central codes or at effector-specific motor stages. In 2 experiments (N = 8 participants in each), left or right hand or foot responses were required to target stimuli that were preceded by masked arrow primes mapped to the same response side as the target stimuli in compatible trials and to the opposite response side in incompatible trials; the primes were irrelevant in neutral trials. In Experiment 1, when the masked primes determined both response side and modality, there was no transfer of negative compatibility effects across response modalities. That finding is inconsistent with a central abstract locus of inhibition and suggests that inhibition operates at effector-specific motor stages. In Experiment 2, primes conveyed only response side information but left response modality uncertain, and negative compatibility effects were elicited for both hand and foot responses, suggesting that partially informative masked primes can trigger a parallel activation and subsequent inhibition of response processes within separate effector systems.

In 2 experiments (N = 10, Experiment 1; N = 16, Experiment 2), the authors investigated whether evidence for response facilitation and subsequent inhibition elicited by masked prime stimuli can be observed for output modalities other than manual responding. Masked primes were followed by target stimuli that required a 2-choice manual, saccadic, or vocal response. Performance was measured for compatible trials in which primes and targets were identical and for incompatible trials in which they were mapped to opposite responses. When primes were presented centrally, performance benefits were obtained for incompatible trials; whereas for peripherally presented primes, performance benefits were found in compatible trials. That pattern of results was obtained for manual responses and for saccadic eye movements (Experiment 1), demonstrating that those effects are not mediated by specialized dorsal pathways involved in visuomanual control. An analogous pattern of effects was found when manual and vocal responses were compared (Experiment 2). Because vocal responding is controlled by the inferotemporal cortex, that result shows that prime-target compatibility effects are not primarily mediated by the dorsal stream, but appear to reflect modality-unspecific visuomotor links that allow rapid activation of motor responses that may later be subject to inhibition.