In public discourse, the sense of smell is typically characterized as the least important of the five senses. However, there are very little empirical data on this topic. Recently, much more attention has been brought to the sense of smell since olfactory dysfunction is a primary and often long-term symptom of COVID-19 infection. It was therefore of interest to expand research on the perceived value of olfaction in the current cultural condition. We developed a survey that directly compared the value of the senses of smell, hearing, and vision with each other and in relation to nine common items representing digital, material, personal, and physical commodities of varying social and emotional meaningfulness (phone, $10,000, favorite social media, online shopping, favorite streaming service, dream vacation, pet, hair, little left toe). In total, four hundred and seven female and male respondents comprising two life-stage groups (college students, general public adults) participated in our online survey study during winter–spring of 2021. The results reveal that the sense of smell was perceived as vastly less important than vision and hearing and much less valuable than various common commodities. We also found that life-stage and gender mediated our findings. For example, one-quarter of the college student respondents would give up their sense of smell in order to keep their phone and nearly half of all women would give up their sense of smell to keep their hair. Our data further illustrate that the senses of vision and hearing are valued relatively similarly. A number of questions arise from the present data and suggestions for ways in which our survey can be expanded and altered to address further research are discussed.

This paper investigates the potential of the enzymatic management of high pH in white juice and wine using a combination of enzymes-glucose oxidase coupled with catalase. Catazyme^® 25 L, a commercially available blend of the two enzymes, was added at different doses (0.2 g/L, 0.6 g/L, and 1g/L) to white grape juice and various parameters (glucose, gluconic acid, pH) were monitored over 24 h of treatment. Treated wines were fermented to dryness without any difficulty and the wines were chemically and sensorially evaluated. At the highest dose (1 g/L), pH was reduced from 3.9 to 3.2, with 20.5 g of gluconic acid produced, while at the lowest dose (0.2 g/L), pH decreased from 4.0 to 3.5 and 8.8 g of gluconic acid was produced. Flash profiling indicated that treated wines were lighter in color than the control and were described using terms such as floral, fruit, citrus, and sour while the control wine was described as being fermented, medicinal, pungent, and oxidized. In conclusion, glucose oxidase coupled with catalase was shown to be effective at significantly reducing juice and wine pH in a short amount of time and with a positive impact on the organoleptic profiles of the treated wines.

First identified as the cytosolic component that restored intra‐Golgi vesicle trafficking following N‐ethylmaleimide poisoning, N‐ethylmaleimide‐sensitive factor (NSF) was later shown to be an ATPase that participates in many vesicular trafficking events. Current models hold that NSF disassembles postfusion SNARE protein complexes, allowing them to participate in further rounds of vesicle cycling. To further understand the role of NSF in neural function, we have embarked on genetic studies of Drosophila NSF2. In one approach, we employed transgenic flies that carry a dominant‐negative form of NSF2 (NSF^E/Q). When expressed in neurons this construct suppresses synaptic transmission, increases activity‐dependent fatigue of transmitter release, and reduces the functional size of the pool of vesicles available for release. Unexpectedly, it also induced pronounced overgrowth of the neuromuscular junction. The aim of the present study was twofold. First, we sought to determine if the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) overgrowth phenotype is present throughout development. Second, we examined NSF2^E/Q larval synapses by serial section electron microscopy in order to determine if there are ultrastructural correlates to the observed physiological and morphological phenotypes. We indeed found that the NMJ overgrowth phenotype is present at the embryonic neuromuscular synapse. Likewise, at the ultrastructural level, we found considerable alterations in the number and distribution of synapses and active zones, whereas the number of vesicles present was not changed. From these data we conclude that a primary phenotype of the NSF2^E/Q transgene is a developmental one and that alteration in the number and distribution of active zones contributes to the NSF2^E/Q physiological phenotype. J. Comp. Neurol. 487:101–111, 2005.

Background and goals High grape pH directly influences the quality of the subsequent wines. Acidulation of grape juice and grape must by tartaric acid is a common practice but can leave a wine’s flavor unbalanced. Commercially available Catazyme® 25L, which contains the enzymes Glucose Oxidase (GOx) and Catalase, was investigated as a valid way to lower high pH in red grape juice/must while simultaneously lowering glucose, lowering potential alcohol, and increasing acidity. Methods and key findings Tempranillo must and juice were treated with Catazyme® 25L at two levels of dosage (0.5 g/L and 1g/L) over a 24 hrs period under continuous aeration. Chemical and sensory analyses were performed on the resulting wines. Results indicated that the pH of Tempranillo juice was lowered by 0.84 units when using Catazyme® 25L at a rate of 1.0g/L. Similarly, addition of Catazyme® 25L at 0.5g/L decreased pH from must and juice, from 4.6 to 4.0 and 3.8, respectively. Lower alcohol wines were produced when using Catazyme® 25 L due to glucose being converted into gluconic acid. Sensory evaluation of the wines indicated a positive impact of the enzyme on color, aroma, and in-mouth flavor. Conclusions and significance GOx in conjunction with catalase is an effective pH management system and of particular value in hot climate winemaking, where it can also help lower alcohol concentration, while positively impacting the sensory profiles of the wines.

Background: Numerous smoke-free tobacco or nicotine-containing product (TNP) alternatives have been introduced to support individual- and population-level harm reduction relative to continued cigarette smoking. This article details the nationwide prevalence and patterns of TNP use between 2016 and 2019 in Japan following the commercialization of IQOS™, a smoke-free heated tobacco product (HTP). Methods: Cross-sectional surveys were conducted over a period of three study years (2016/2017, 2017/2018, and 2018/2019) in representative samples of the Japanese general adult population and samples of Japanese adult IQOS users registered in the IQOS owner database of Philip Morris International’s affiliate in Japan. Results: Across the three study years (Y1-Y3), the prevalence of overall current TNP use (Y1-Y3: 18.5%, 18.9%, and 18.2%) and overall TNP use by age and sex remained similar. However, there was a growing shift from cigarette smoking to smoke-free TNP use across the three study years. While the cigarette smoking prevalence (Y1-Y3: 17.6%, 17.3%, and 16.0%) decreased, the use prevalence of smoke-free TNPs, including the HTP IQOS ™ (Y1-Y3: 1.8%, 3.2%, and 3.3%) and e-cigarettes (Y1-Y3, 0.7%, 1.6%, and 2.0%) increased. At the same time, TNP initiation, TNP relapse, and TNP reinitiation with IQOS were all very low across the three study years. Across Y1-Y3, exclusive use of only one type of TNP (Y1-Y3: 82.3%, 75.0%, and 70.4%) decreased, while dual use of two types of TNPs (Y1-Y3: 14.3%, 17.2%, and 16.7%) increased, and poly-TNP use (Y1-Y3: 2.1%, 6.1%, and 10.0%) increased markedly. Moreover, the majority of adult IQOS users were exclusive IQOS users. Conclusions: These trends in IQOS use behavior suggest that IQOS™ has the potential to switch adult smokers from cigarettes to smoke-free tobacco products, which presents a harm reduction opportunity, and that HTPs are effective tools for complementing current tobacco control measures.

Background: Numerous smoke-free tobacco or nicotine-containing product (TNP) alternatives have been introduced to support individual- and population-level harm reduction relative to continued cigarette smoking. This article details the nationwide prevalence and patterns of TNP use between 2016 and 2019 in Japan following the commercialization of IQOS TM , a smoke-free heated tobacco product (HTP). Methods: Cross-sectional surveys were conducted over a period of three study years (2016/2017, 2017/2018, and 2018/2019) in representative samples of the Japanese general adult population and samples of Japanese adult IQOS users registered in the IQOS owner database of Philip Morris International’s affiliate in Japan. Results: Across the three study years (Y1-Y3), the prevalence of overall current TNP use (Y1-Y3: 18.5%, 18.9%, and 18.2%) and overall TNP use by age and sex remained similar. However, there was a growing shift from cigarette smoking to smoke-free TNP use across the three study years. While the cigarette smoking prevalence (Y1-Y3: 17.6%, 17.3%, and 16.0%) decreased, the use prevalence of smoke-free TNPs, including the HTP IQOS (Y1-Y3: 1.8%, 3.2%, and 3.3%) and e-cigarettes (Y1-Y3, 0.7%, 1.6%, and 2.0%) increased. At the same time, TNP initiation, TNP relapse, and TNP reinitiation with IQOS were all very low across the three study years. Across Y1-Y3, exclusive use of only one type of TNP (Y1-Y3: 82.3%, 75.0%, and 70.4%) decreased, while dual use of two types of TNPs (Y1-Y3: 14.3%, 17.2%, and 16.7%) increased, and poly-TNP use (Y1-Y3: 2.1%, 6.1%, and 10.0%) increased markedly. Moreover, the majority of adult IQOS users were exclusive IQOS users. Conclusions: These findings suggest that current IQOS use behavior trends are in line with the principles of tobacco harm reduction and that HTPs are effective tools for complementing current tobacco control measures.