Quantitative analysis of phenolic compounds in Chinese hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) fruits by high performance liquid chromatography–electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry

Eleven major phenolic compounds (hyperoside, isoquercitrin, chlorogenic acid, ideain, epicatechin, two procyanidin (PA) dimers, three PA trimers and a PA dimer-hexoside) were quantified in the fruits of 22 cultivars/origins of three species of the Chinese hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) by HPLC–ESI-MS-SIR. Hyperoside (0.1–0.8 mg/g dry mass [DM]), isoquercitrin (0.1–0.3 mg/g DM), chlorogenic acid (0.2–1.6 mg/g DM), epicatechin (0.9–11.7 mg/g DM), PA B2 (0.7–12.4 mg/g DM), PA dimer II (0.1–1.5 mg/g DM), PA trimer I (0.1–2.7 mg/g DM), PA trimer II (0.7–6.9 mg/g DM), PA trimer III (0.01–1.2 mg/g DM) and a PA dimer-hexoside (trace–1.1 mg/g DM) were detected in all the samples. Ideain (0.0–0.7 mg/g DM) was found in all the samples except Crataegus scabrifolia. Significant correlations between the contents of individual PA aglycons were observed (r > 0.9, P < 0.01). A strong correlation between flavonols was also shown (r = 0.71, P < 0.01). Fruits of Crataegus pinnatifida var. major had higher contents of PAs but lower contents of flavonols compared with Crataegus brettschneideri. The fruits of C. scabrifolia contained the highest level of PA dimer-hexoside, which was present in trace amounts in the fruits of C. pinnatifida.     

COMPARISON OF METHODS FOR THE DETERMINATION OF CELL VIABILITY IN STORED BAKER'S YEAST

The classical plate method for discriminating between viable and nonviable yeast cells in stored baker's yeast was compared with dead cell staining techniques using methylene blue and three fluorochrome stains. The increase of dead yeast cells during storage of baker's yeast for up to 16 days at 5°C, 20°C and 35°C was determined. During prolonged storage, especially at 35°C, the death rate increased rapidly and the yeast cake began to soften because of autolysis. In these conditions the choice of method for determining the proportion of dead cells proved to be of great importance. Useful results for yeast stored for some time at 35°C could be obtained only by the fluorochrome technique using primuline, acridine orange or acriflavine as fluorochromes.     

Biological effects of casein-derived tripeptide powders are not affected by fermentation process

Milk casein-derived biologically active tripeptides isoleucine–proline–proline and valine–proline–proline have shown antihypertensive effects both in animal and clinical studies. Contradictory findings from clinical intervention studies may be related to different manufacturing processes. The present study aimed to compare cardiovascular effects of two different tripeptide powders in spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR). Rats received tripeptide powders produced either by Lactobacillus helveticus fermentation (A) or Lb. helveticus plus proline specific endoprotease (B) in drinking fluid for 8 weeks. Systolic blood pressure was recorded weekly. At the end, blood and tissue samples were collected and arterial responses studied. Blood pressure was 13.6 and 14.2 mmHg lower in the groups A and B, respectively, versus the water group (P < 0.01). Vascular responses of aorta and mesenteric artery did not differ between the groups. Both tripeptide products increased urinary cGMP (P < 0.001) and decreased albumin (P < 0.05). The fermentation process did not influence the cardiovascular effects of the tripeptide powders.     

Testing activity‐based costing to large‐scale combined heat and power plant using bioenergy

This paper deals with the energy production and economics of a large‐scale biomass‐based combined heat and power (CHP) plant. An activity‐based costing model was developed for estimating the production costs of the heat and power of the bio‐CHP. A 100 MW plant (58 MW heat, 29 MW electricity) was used as reference. The production process was divided into four stages: fuel handling, fluidized bed boiler, turbine plant, and flue gas cleaning. The boiler accounted for close to 50% of the production costs. The interest rates and the utilization rate of the CHP had a significant effect on the profitability. We found that below 4000–4500 h per year utilization, the electricity production turned unprofitable. However, the heat production remained profitable with high interest rate (10%) and a low utilization rate (4000 h). The profitability also depended on the type of biomass used. We found that, e.g. with moderate interest rates and high utilization rate of the plant, the bio‐CHP plant could afford wood and Reed canary grass as fuel sources. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

3‐Heterocycle‐Phenyl N‐Alkylcarbamates as FAAH Inhibitors: Design,Synthesis and 3D‐QSAR Studies

Carbamates are a well‐established class of fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) inhibitors. Here we describe the synthesis of meta‐substituted phenolic N‐alkyl/aryl carbamates and their in vitro FAAH inhibitory activities. The most potent compound, 3‐(oxazol‐2yl)phenyl cyclohexylcarbamate ( 2 a ), inhibited FAAH with a sub‐nanomolar IC₅₀ value (IC₅₀=0.74 nM ). Additionally, we developed and validated three‐dimensional quantitative structure–activity relationships (QSAR) models of FAAH inhibition combining the newly disclosed carbamates with our previously published inhibitors to give a total set of 99 compounds. Prior to 3D‐QSAR modeling, the degree of correlation between FAAH inhibition and in silico reactivity was also established. Both 3D‐QSAR methods used, CoMSIA and GRID/GOLPE, produced statistically significant models with coefficient of correlation for external prediction (R²_PRED) values of 0.732 and 0.760, respectively. These models could be of high value in further FAAH inhibitor design.     

Development of color density concept with color difference formulas in respect to human vision system

The aims of this study are to develop the color density concept and to propose the color density based color difference formulas. The color density is defined using the metric coefficients that are based on the discrimination ellipses and the locations of the colors in the color space. The ellipse sets are the MacAdam ellipses in the CIE 1931 xy-chromaticity diagram and the chromaticity-discrimination ellipses in the CIELAB space. The latter set was originally used to develop the CIEDE2000 color difference formula. The color difference can be calculated from the color density for the two colors under consideration. As a result, the color density represents the perceived color difference more accurately, and it could be used to characterize a color by a quantity attribute matching better to the perceived color difference from this color. Resulting from this, the color density concept provides simply a correction term for the estimation of the color differences. In the experiments, the line element formula and the CIEDE2000 color difference formula performed better than the color density based difference measures. The reason behind this is in the current modeling of the color density concept. The discrimination ellipses are typically described with three-dimensional data consisting of two axes, the major and the minor, and the inclination angle. The proposed color density is only a one-dimensional corrector for color differences; thus, it cannot capture all the details of the ellipse information. Still, the color density gives clearly more correct estimations to perceived color differences than Euclidean distances using directly the coordinates of the color space.     

Interpersonal violations,speeding violations and their relation to accident involvement in Finland

The aim of the present study was to replicate the distinction between errors, lapses and violations, and to identify aggressive violations from normal or highway code violations. Furthermore, the relationship of these behaviours with road traffic accidents was examined. A total number of 1126 Finnish drivers completed a questionnaire containing the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ) with extended violations scale, and questions regarding background information, such as age, gender and mileage. Also, questions about previous accidents and fines were asked. Factor analysis showed that a four-factor structure seemed more appropriate than the earlier established three-factor structure. The four factors were errors, lapses, speeding violations and interpersonal violations. The two types of violations result from different motives, and seem to be associated with different kinds of affect. Both interpersonal and speeding violations were reported most by young males, which was consistent with earlier findings. Logistic regression analyses indicated that errors predicted active accident involvement after partialling out the effects of demographic variables, whereas interpersonal violations were positively related to involvement in passive accidents. This was presumably due to different reporting tendencies of respondents. Speeding tickets were predicted by speeding and interpersonal violations and lapses and penalties for speeding by both kinds of violations and errors. Penalties for speeding, parking and other offences were predicted by interpersonal violations. The implications of these results are discussed.     

Stable SOI micromachined electrostatic AC voltage reference

We have designed and manufactured a micromachined moving plate capacitor to be used as an AC voltage reference in electrical metrology. The reference is based on the characteristic AC current–voltage curve of the component having a maximum, the value of which ideally depends only on the geometry of the component and material properties of single crystalline silicon. The electrode surface stability is essential in this application and hence a new fabrication process has been developed to metallize both surfaces of an electrostatically actuated micromachined structure. The stability of the AC reference voltage at a frequency of 100 kHz and an RMS voltage value 6.4 V was measured to be ±60 ppm over 14 h.     

Component-based development of DSP software for mobile communication terminals

DSP software development has been tied down by extreme computational requirements. Furthermore, the DSP development tools available today are less advanced than in other embedded software design. This has lead to DSP software architectures that have not taken into account future expansion needs. Therefore, DSP software architectures have been inherently closed. Now, as system complexity increases, this design methodology becomes more of a burden, since it does not support component-based DSP software development that requires open interfaces.

In this paper, mobile-communications DSP software architectures are studied as cases, and key areas for improvements towards more open DSP software development are identified. Proposed solutions are judged against the limited resources of mobile communication terminals and the characteristics of communication DSPs.     

Using informal notes for sharing corporate technology know-how

Corporate and academic communities have focused a great deal of attention on formalized approaches for creating, capturing, and propagating knowledge. Far less attention has been paid to the informal mechanisms that individuals share and employ to help them navigate complex processes in order to ‘get things done.’ In this paper, we examine the creation, use, and content of informal documents for supporting users of an enterprise resource planning system in a Fortune 500 company. We contend that such notes, which are commonly used for supporting information systems-related work, are an overlooked source of knowledgeability about organizational practices. This study is a first but necessary step in analyzing the types of information that can be derived from informal notes so that organizations can more fully utilize this largely untapped resource.