The analysis of 2′-fucosyllactose concentration in Korean maternal milk using LC–MS/MS

Food Science and Biotechnology - Despite health benefits reported recently, 2′-fucosyllactose (2′-FL) concentration in maternal milk was not conclusively reported because it varies...     

Effects of pretreatment and air drying temperature on Noni fruit powder

Food Science and Biotechnology - The plant Morinda citrifolia L. (Noni) has been the subject of several recent research due to its positive impact on the treatment and prevention of a variety of...     

Authentication of berries and berry-based food products

Berries represent one of the most important and high-valued group of modern-day health-beneficial “superfoods” whose dietary consumption has been recognized to be beneficial for human health for a long time. In addition to being delicious, berries are rich in nutrients, vitamins, and several bioactive compounds, including carotenoids, flavonoids, phenolic acids, and hydrolysable tannins. However, due to their high value, berries and berry-based products are often subject to fraudulent adulteration, commonly for economical gain, but also unintentionally due to misidentification of species. Deliberate adulteration often comprises the substitution of high-value berries with lower value counterparts and mislabeling of product contents. As adulteration is deceptive toward customers and presents a risk for public health, food authentication through different methods is applied as a countermeasure. Although many authentication methods have been developed in terms of fast, sensitive, reliable, and low-cost analysis and have been applied in the authentication of a myriad of food products and species, their application on berries and berry-based products is still limited. The present review provides an overview of the development and application of analytical chemistry methods, such as isotope ratio analysis, liquid and gas chromatography, spectroscopy, as well as DNA-based methods and electronic sensors, for the authentication of berries and berry-based food products. We provide an overview of the earlier use and recent advances of these methods, as well as discuss the advances and drawbacks related to their application.     

Tobacco use in India: prevalence and predictors of smoking and chewing in a national cross sectional household survey

Objective: To estimate the prevalence and the socioeconomic and demographic correlates of tobacco consumption in India.

Design: Cross sectional, nationally representative population based household survey.

Subjects: 315 598 individuals 15 years or older from 91 196 households were sampled in National Family Health Survey-2 (1998–99). Data on tobacco consumption were elicited from household informants.

Measures and methods: Prevalence of current smoking and current chewing of tobacco were used as outcome measures. Simple and two way cross tabulations and multivariate logistic regression analysis were the main analytical methods.

Results: Thirty per cent of the population 15 years or older—47% men and 14% of women—either smoked or chewed tobacco, which translates to almost 195 million people—154 million men and 41million women in India. However, the prevalence may be underestimated by almost 11% and 1.5% for chewing tobacco among men and women, respectively, and by 5% and 0.5% for smoking among men and women, respectively, because of use of household informants. Tobacco consumption was significantly higher in poor, less educated, scheduled castes and scheduled tribe populations. The prevalence of tobacco consumption increased up to the age of 50 years and then levelled or declined. The prevalence of smoking and chewing also varied widely between different states and had a strong association with individual's sociocultural characteristics.

Conclusion: The findings of the study highlight that an agenda to improve health outcomes among the poor in India must include effective interventions to control tobacco use. Failure to do so would most likely result in doubling the burden of diseases—both communicable and non-communicable—among India's teeming poor. There is a need for periodical surveys using more consistent definitions of tobacco use and eliciting information on different types of tobacco consumed. The study also suggests a need to adjust the prevalence estimates based on household informants

     

Novel regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene)-based polycationic block copolymers

Regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) has been successfully incorporated into various poly(N,N-dimethylamino-2-ethyl methacrylate)-based block copolymers, i.e., P3HT-b-PDMAEMA, via Grignard metathesis (GRIM) method and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) reactions. The structure of the diblock copolymers was fully confirmed by FT-IR, ¹H NMR spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV–vis). The recovered copolymers could be treated by protonation of the pending tertiary amine functions and depending on the relative content in PDMAEMA, the copolymers could be solubilized in more polar solvents where P3HT alone proved to be totally insoluble.     

Molecular quantum spintronics: supramolecular spin valves based on single-molecule magnets and carbon nanotubes

We built new hybrid devices consisting of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) grown carbon nanotube (CNT) transistors, decorated with TbPc(2) (Pc = phthalocyanine) rare-earth based single-molecule magnets (SMMs). The drafting was achieved by tailoring supramolecular π-π interactions between CNTs and SMMs. The magnetoresistance hysteresis loop measurements revealed steep steps, which we can relate to the magnetization reversal of individual SMMs. Indeed, we established that the electronic transport properties of these devices depend strongly on the relative magnetization orientations of the grafted SMMs. The SMMs are playing the role of localized spin polarizer and analyzer on the CNT electronic conducting channel. As a result, we measured magneto-resistance ratios up to several hundred percent. We used this spin valve effect to confirm the strong uniaxial anisotropy and the superparamagnetic blocking temperature (T(B) ~ 1 K) of isolated TbPc(2) SMMs. For the first time, the strength of exchange interaction between the different SMMs of the molecular spin valve geometry could be determined. Our results introduce a new design for operable molecular spintronic devices using the quantum effects of individual SMMs.     

High solids concentration agitation for minerals process intensification

By using mixing intensification involving high solids concentration as a means to achieve process intensification for the mineral process industry is discussed here. Improving agitator energy efficiency is essential for operating at high solids concentrations. It is shown that improved agitator energy efficiency can be achieved by removing baffles and using higher power number impellers at high solids loadings. Power consumption (50–80%) reductions were demonstrated in the experiments. It is also suggested that slurry stratification in tanks can be used to boost either solids residence time or slurry mass flow. Basic equations related to solids residence time and solids throughput are presented for guidance toward minerals process intensification. An example on doubling throughput via intensification is presented. © 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2011     

Corrosion of Cr2AlC in Ar/1%SO2 Gas Between 900 and 1200?��C

Cr₂AlC compounds were synthesized by a powder metallurgical route and corrosion tested at 900, 1000, 1100 and 1200 °C for up to 150 h under an Ar/1% SO₂ gas atmosphere. The compounds were resistant to corrosion because a thin ??-Al₂O₃ barrier layer quickly formed on the surface which suppressed sulfidation. Virtually no sulfur was detected inside the scale except during the initial corrosion stage. The superior corrosion resistance of Cr₂AlC originated from the high affinity of Al for oxygen to form the thermodynamically stable Al₂O₃. Unlike Al, Cr was not active because Cr was strongly bound to carbon as Cr₂C layers in Cr₂AlC. The small amount of Cr₂O₃ that had formed was dissolved in the Al₂O₃ layer. The corrosion of Cr₂AlC resulted in the formation of an ??-Al₂O₃ layer and an underlying Cr₇C₃ layer.