GC–MS metabolomics revealed protocatechuic acid as a cytotoxic and apoptosis-inducing compound from black rice brans

Food Science and Biotechnology - GC–MS metabolomics was used to discriminate the phytochemicals profile of Indonesian white, red, and black rice brans, and Japanese white rice brans. This...     

Progress and prospects of the human–robot collaboration

Recent technological advances in hardware design of the robotic platforms enabled the implementation of various control modalities for improved interactions with humans and unstructured environments. An important application area for the integration of robots with such advanced interaction capabilities is human–robot collaboration. This aspect represents high socio-economic impacts and maintains the sense of purpose of the involved people, as the robots do not completely replace the humans from the work process. The research community’s recent surge of interest in this area has been devoted to the implementation of various methodologies to achieve intuitive and seamless human–robot-environment interactions by incorporating the collaborative partners’ superior capabilities, e.g. human’s cognitive and robot’s physical power generation capacity. In fact, the main purpose of this paper is to review the state-of-the-art on intermediate human–robot interfaces (bi-directional), robot control modalities, system stability, benchmarking and relevant use cases, and to extend views on the required future developments in the realm of human–robot collaboration.     

Modelling and simulation of Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cell with serpentine bipolar plate using MATLAB

This report presents experimental results derived from a Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cell with a serpentine flow plate design. The investigation seeks to explore the effects of some parameters like cell operational temperature, humidification and atmospheric pressure on the general performance and efficiency of PEM fuel cell using MATLAB. A number of codes were written to generate the polarization curve for a single stack and five (5) cell stack fuel cell at various operating conditions. Detailed information of hydrogen and oxygen consumption and the effect they have on the fuel cell performance were critically analysed. The investigation concluded that the open circuit voltage generated was less than the theoretical voltage predicted in the literature. It was also noticed that an increase in current or current density reduced the voltage derived from the fuel cell stack. The experiment also clearly confirmed that when more current is being drawn from the fuel cell, more water will also be generated at the cathode section of the cell hence the need for an effective water management to improve the performance of the fuel cell. Other parameters like the stack efficiency and power density were also analysed using the experimental results obtained.     

Strength and durability of concrete incorporating crushed limestone sand

In recent years, there is a growing interest in the use of crushed sand obtained from limestone quarries in some countries where river sand is not widely available. The fines content is usually high in crushed sand which can adversely affect concrete properties. The influence of fines in crushed sand on physical and mechanical properties of concrete has been widely investigated. The results proved that up to 15% of fines content in crushed sand could be used without adversely affecting concrete strength. However, little work has been done so far on the effect of fines in crushed sand on the durability of concrete. This paper examines the influence of limestone fines in crushed sand on concrete properties. Properties include strength, water, gas and chloride-ion permeability and capillary water absorption. Four different cement types were used while maintaining a constant water/cement ratio. The results show that concrete containing 15% of limestone fines as replacement of crushed sand reduces the water permeability and increases the gas and chloride-ion permeability.     

Association between milk protein gene variants and protein composition traits in dairy cattle

The objective of this study was to identify DNA markers in the 4 casein genes (CSN1S1, CSN1S2, CSN2, and CSN3) and the 2 major whey protein genes (LALBA and LGB) that show associations with milk protein profile measured by reverse-phase HPLC. Fifty-three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) were genotyped for cows in a unique resource population consisting of purebred Holstein and (Holstein × Jersey) × Holstein crossbred animals. Seven traits were analyzed, including concentrations of α(S)-casein (CN), β-CN, κ-CN, α-lactalbumin, β-lactoglobulin, and 2 additional secondary traits, the total concentration of the above 5 milk proteins and the α(S)-CN to β-CN ratio. A substantial fraction of phenotypic variation could be explained by the additive genetic component for the 7 milk protein composition traits studied. Moreover, several SNP were significantly associated with all examined traits at an experiment-wise error rate of 0.05, except for α-lactalbumin. Importantly, the significant SNP explained a large proportion of the phenotypic variation of milk protein composition. Our findings could be used for selecting animals that produce milk with desired composition or desired processing and manufacturing properties.     

The Influence of Deep Frying Using Various Vegetable Oils on Acrylamide Formation in Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas L. Lam) Chips

The objective of this study was to evaluate the precursors of acrylamide formation in sweet potato (SP) (Ipomoea batatas L. Lam) chips and to determine the effect of different types of vegetable oils (VOs), that is, palm olein, coconut oil, canola oil, and soya bean oil, on acrylamide formation. The reducing sugars and amino acids in the SP slices were analyzed, and the acrylamide concentrations of SP chips were measured. SP chips that were fried in a lower degree of unsaturation oils contained a lower acrylamide concentration (1443 μg/kg), whereas those fried with higher degree of unsaturated oils contained a higher acrylamide concentration (2019 μg/kg). SP roots were found to contain acrylamide precursors, that is, 4.17 mg/g glucose and 5.05 mg/g fructose, and 1.63 mg/g free asparagine. The type of VO and condition used for frying, significantly influenced acrylamide formation. This study clearly indicates that the contribution of lipids in the formation of acrylamide should not be neglected.     

Changes in conception rate, calving performance, and calf health and survival from the use of crossbred Jersey x Holstein sires as mates for Holstein dams

Differences in conception rates in matings of Holstein sires or F₁ Jersey × Holstein sires to Holstein dams in the University of Wisconsin-Madison experimental herd were evaluated, as were differences in birth weight, dystocia, serum protein, serum IgG, fecal consistency, respiratory disease, and perinatal and pre-weaning mortality among the resulting calves. When mated to randomly chosen, lactating Holstein cows, Holstein sires (n = 74) and crossbred sires (n = 7) did not differ in male fertility. Calves from Holstein sires and multiparous Holstein dams (n = 99) were 1.9 kg heavier than calves from crossbred sires and multiparous Holstein dams (n = 211), leading to greater likelihood (odds ratio of 1.24) of dystocia. Furthermore, calves from crossbred sires and multiparous Holstein dams had higher serum protein and serum IgG levels between 24 and 72 h of age, as well as lower rates of perinatal and preweaning morality than calves from Holstein sires and multiparous or primiparous Holstein dams. Mean fecal consistency scores from birth to 7 d of age and number of days with scours also tended to be lower among calves from crossbred sires, compared with calves from Holstein sires. No differences were observed in the incidence or severity of respiratory disease. Results of this study suggest that introduction of Jersey genes via crossbreeding may lead to a reduction in dystocia and improvements in calf health and survival in Holstein herds. Future studies should address other traits related to dairy farm profitability, including milk composition, female fertility, longevity, feed efficiency, and resistance to infectious and metabolic diseases.