Characterization of an antioxidant polylactic acid (PLA) film prepared with α-tocopherol,BHT and polyethylene glycol using film cast extruder

Polylactic acid (PLA) films were prepared with α-tocopherol, buthylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), and polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG 400) using a cast film extruder in an effort to create an antioxidant film. Film properties were characterized by radical scavenging activity and thermal, physical, and gas barrier properties. Final resin compounding and pelletization was achieved by a twin screw extruder and a pelletizator to permit the homogenization of all resin components prior to film casting. Three different PLA films were fabricated for this study: pure PLA film, PLA film with BHT and PEG 400 (BP-PLA film), PLA film with α-tocopherol, BHT, and PEG 400 (ABP-PLA film). The addition of PEG 400 into the pure PLA film decreased the glass transition temperature (T_g) of the film. The BP-PLA and ABP-PLA film had around 51 °C of T_g while pure PLA film had 66 °C. Due to the decreased T_g of both the BP-PLA and ABP-PLA film, both films had an increased elongation at break (%E). The addition of plasticizer into the pure PLA film also caused increased water vapor permeability (WVP) and decreased oxygen permeability (OP). The ABP-PLA film had highest DPPH radical scavenging activity, 90%, while pure PLA and BP-PLA film had only 0 and 14%, respectively.     

A fast full search motion estimation algorithm using sequentialrejection of candidates from hierarchical decision structure

We propose a new as well as fast full search (FS) motion estimation algorithm for video coding. The computational reduction comes from sequential rejection of impossible candidates with derived formula and subblock norms. Our algorithm reduces more the computations than the FS motion estimation algorithms previously developed     

A simple and cost-effective method to prepare template DNAs for cell-free protein synthesis

The scale-up of cell-free protein synthesis reactions involves the preparation of large amounts of template DNA. While ion-exchange column chromatography methods have commonly been used to obtain purified plasmid DNA for cell-free protein synthesis reactions, these methods are costly and difficult to expand to a large scale. In this work, we report that the routine isopropyl alcohol (IPA) precipitation method can be used to prepare cell-free-expressible DNA when the co-precipitated proteins are removed. Compared to column-purification procedures, the IPA-precipitation offers obvious advantages with respect to the cost and scaling-up of template preparation, and we believe that our finding will contribute to making cell-free protein synthesis system more practical for the rapid production of preparative amounts of recombinant proteins.     

The improvement of color and shelf life of ham by gamma irradiation.

This study was undertaken to determine if gamma irradiation can circumvent the need for sodium nitrite to obtain and maintain the desired color of pork loin ham. A dose of 5 kGy was observed to be as effective as the use of 200 ppm of sodium nitrite to provide and maintain the desired color of the product for 30 days. Peroxidation of the product was reduced with addition of sodium nitrite but increased with irradiation. However, organoleptic quality of the irradiated ham without added sodium nitrite was acceptable.     

Determination of trace isoflavone phytoestrogens in biological materials by capillary electrochromatography

Capillary electrochromatography using a specialty monolithic matrix was utilized in developing a rapid and highly efficient separation of isoflavones in biological materials. Without a preconcentration technique, it is relatively easy to reach ppm-ppb concentrations of these compounds in soy-based foods and verify them structurally using a photodiode array detector. With on-column preconcentration, we were able to measure low-ppb levels in human serum. Using blood samples from human volunteers, whose diet was supplemented by a soy-based product, the method has been validated for high-throughput screening of isoflavones in clinical studies.     

Benign solitary fibrous tumour of the pre-sacral space: MRI findings

Benign solitary fibrous tumour, a rare mesenchymal tumour of adults, usually arises from the pleura. Only a few cases have been reported in the retroperitoneum and, to our knowledge, there has been no report of its imaging features. We describe the MRI features of benign solitary fibrous tumour arising from the pre-sacral space.     

Expression of interleukin-6 in polymorphic reticulosis--immunohistochemical study of 5 cases

Peripheral T cell lymphoma encompasses lymphomas with a variety of histologic appearances and clinical patterns. Recently, it has been suggested that almost all of the histologic features described under the name of polymorphic reticulosis(PR), lethal midline granuloma, and midline malignant reticulosis can be included in those generally described for malignant lymphomas of peripheral T cell origin(PTCL). There have been few studies of pathogenesis or tissue damage mechanism in PR patients. The need for a precise mechanism for tissue damage has important therapeutic implications. Using immunohistochemical methods with polyclonal anti IL-6 antibody, the authors describe 5 cases of PR with clinically and pathologically typical PR demonstrating a high expression of IL-6. According to classification, 2 cases of grade 1 PR showed the highest expressions, and 2 cases of grade 2 PR with atypical lymphoid cells showed moderate activity, but one case progressed into frank lymphoma(grade 3) and lost IL-6 expression. This strongly implies that some cases of PR have a different mechanism of tissue damage from frank PTCL, despite the one disease spectrum. Further studies on more cases may help clarify the pathogenesis.     

A Constraint-Elimination Technique for Linearly Constrained Array Processing

A new technique is presented for the problem of linearly constrained multi-channel-array processing. The purpose of the array processing is to reject undesired noise, in the minimum-mean-squared-error sense, while responding to any signal coming from a particular direction with a preset, constrained frequency response. In the constraint-elimination technique proposed in this paper, the original constrained-array-processing problem is transformed to the simple unconstrained-Wiener-filtering problem. Transformation of the problem is achieved by introducing a ?compensating? channel to the multichannel processor. Input to the compensating channel is the channel-averaged input. The constraint is then eliminated by expressing the filter weights of the compensating channel in terms of those of the original processor. An adaptive algorithm is derived by applying the stochastic approximation to the simplified Wiener-filtering problem. Simulation experiments verify that the constrained-array-processing problem is properly transformed to the unconstrained one by the proposed technique. Additional experiments show that the adaptive algorithm generally reduces output power while maintaining the constrained frequency response to the desired signal.