Fermented milk supplemented with probiotics and prebiotics can effectively alter the intestinal microbiota and immunity of host animals

Fermented milk supplemented with 2 probiotic strains, Bifidobacterium lactis Bi-07 and Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM, and a prebiotic, isomaltooligosaccharide, was orally administered to 100 healthy adults at 480g/d for 2 wk in a randomized controlled trial. The fecal bacterial compositions of these subjects were examined by culture before and after the intervention. The same fermented milk was also orally fed to BALB/c mice, and immune as well as fecal bacteria analyses were conducted using the same culturing methods. After the intervention, increases in fecal bifidobacteria and lactobacilli were observed among the subjects compared with the subjects in the control group. In contrast, after the intervention, fecal enterobacilli were significantly decreased in the test group compared with the control group. The same effects on the composition of the intestinal microbiota were observed in mice. Furthermore, the tested mice were found to have significantly increased delayed-type hypersensitivity, plaque-forming cells, and half-hemolysis values after the intervention with the fermented milk. In summary, the synbiotic fermented milk containing probiotics and a prebiotic may contribute to improve intestinal health and may have a positive effect on the humoral and cell-mediated immunity of host animals.     

Multi-residue method for determination of seven neonicotinoid insecticides in grains using dispersive solid-phase extraction and dispersive liquid–liquid micro-extraction by high performance liquid chromatography

A method using dispersive solid-phase extraction and dispersive liquid–liquid micro-extraction cleanup followed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) has been established for determination of seven neonicotinoid insecticides residues in grains including brown rice, maize, millet and oat. Based on an appraisal of the characteristics of HPLC, validation experiments were conducted for seven neonicotinoid insecticides. In the method, dispersive solid-phase extraction was carried out using PSA and bonded C₁₈ coupled with graphitised carbon black with acetonitrile as the eluted solvent. In the linear range of each pesticide, the correlation coefficient was R² ? 0.99. At the low, medium and high three fortification levels of 0.05–0.8 mg kg⁻¹, recoveries fell within 76–123%. The relative standard deviation was between 0.9% and 12.6% for seven neonicotinoid pesticides. Low limits of detection (0.002–0.005 mg kg⁻¹) and quantification (0.007–0.018 mg kg⁻¹) were readily achieved with this method for all tested pesticides.     

Anaerobic digestion of dairy manure influenced by the waste milk from milking operations

It is not uncommon that a significant amount of milk from milking operations is discharged to manure digesters on dairy farms. To understand the effect of milk on the digester performance, experiments using batch digesters (500-mL flasks) were carried out in this study to co-digest milk and dairy manure at different milk levels for biogas production and pollutant reduction, and a total of 8 treatments were examined [i.e., control (without milk) and 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 14, and 19% milk additions]. The temperature for all digesters was maintained at 37 ± 0.5°C throughout the experimental period, which was 28 d. The results showed that co-digesting milk with dairy manure could increase biogas productivity, with the percent cumulative biogas volume increased by 5.6, 16.3, 26.5, 40.8, 50.2, 79.9, and 103.8%, as compared with the control, for milk addition of 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 14, and 19% (vol/vol), respectively. However, the CH₄ content in the biogas decreased slightly as the milk content increased (from 66.5% for the control to 63.5% for 19% milk treatment), implying that the added milk could promote CO₂ production. To avoid that, the milk content in the manure should be controlled below 3%. A linear relationship for the total biogas volume produced with the milk content in the manure was revealed, with a correlation coefficient of 0.99. An improved removal efficiency of chemical oxygen demand was observed for milk-treated digesters. Good linear regressions between the total biogas production and the percent chemical oxygen demand decrease and the substrate carbon/nitrogen ratio were also obtained (correlation coefficients: 0.93 and 0.99, respectively). Besides, co-digestion of dairy manure and milk was found to improve substrate solids breakdown, but had little effect on percent volatile fatty acid decrease. In summary, the waste milk co-digested with dairy manure may not cause negative effects on anaerobic digester performance.     

Antioxidant activity, phenolic compounds and anthocyanins content of eighteen strains of Mexican maize

Free-radical scavenging, reducing activity and some phytochemical content (total phenolic, anthocyanin and ferulic acid) of eighteen Mexican maize phenotypes were determined. Total phenolic contents ranged from 215.8 to 3400.1 mg gallic acid/100 g of whole grain flour and total anthocyanins ranged from 1.54 to 850.9 mg cyanidin-glucoside equivalents/100 g of whole grain flour. Most of the phenolics in grain were in the bound form (ca. 85%), while anthocyanins were the major free phenolic compounds. Among the different samples, bound phenolic extracts of corn appeared to have greater anti-radical and reducing activities than free phenolic extracts from the same grain samples when tested at a normalized phenolic concentration. The phenotypes Veracruz 42 and AREQ516540TL exhibited the greatest activities and these purple-colored strains were most enriched in anthocyanins. Extracts from a red-colored phenotype Pinto were also among the most effective at exhibiting anti-radical activities. Differences in free-radical scavenging and reducing activities appeared to be dependent on the unique profile of anthocyanins and other phenolics in each phenotype.     

Investigation of a Novel Catalyst Coated Membrane Method to Prepare Low‐Platinum‐Loading Membrane Electrode Assemblies for PEMFCs

In this work, a novel catalyst coated membrane (CCM) approach–a catalyst‐sprayed membrane under irradiation (CSMUI)–was developed to prepare MEAs for proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) application. Catalyst ink was sprayed directly onto the membrane and an infrared light was used simultaneously to evaporate the solvents. The resultant MEAs prepared by this method yielded very high performance. Based on this approach, the preparation of low‐platinum‐content MEAs was investigated. It was found that for the anode, even if the platinum loading was decreased from 0.2 to 0.03 mg cm^–2, only a very small performance decrease was observed; for the cathode, when the platinum loading was decreased from 0.3 to 0.15 mg cm^–2, just a 5% decrease was detected at 0.7 V, but a 35% decrease was observed when the loading was decreased from 0.15 to 0.06 mg cm^–2. These results indicate that this approach is much better than the catalyst coated gas diffusion layer (GDL) method, especially for the preparation of low‐platinum‐content MEAs. SEM and EIS measurements indicated ample interfacial contact between the catalyst layer and the membrane.     

A Pumpless Methanol Feeding Method for Application in Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Systems

This paper presents a simple and reliable pumpless methanol feeding (PLMF) method for application in direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) systems. The primary feature and advantage of the PLMF is as follows: it employs an approach that allows the cathode gas pressure to be connected with a fuel container for supplying the methanol fuel into the anode fuel loop, instead of using any feeding pump or other specially designed apparatuses. The PLMF has been used in a portable 25 W DMFC system and realised feeding methanol in real time for meeting the requirements of the system. The PLMF method not only is suitable for the DMFC system, but also can be used in other liquid‐feeding fuel cell systems.     

Formation and characterization of iron oxide nanoparticles loaded on self-organized TiO2 nanotubes

The iron oxide nanoparticles were loaded onto self-organized TiO₂ nanotube layers grown by anodization of Ti in fluoride containing electrolytes. The nanoparticles were obtained by electrodepositing method in glycerol/water/FeCl₃·6H₂O electrolytes at room temperature. The X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements showed that the nanoparticles consisted of iron nanocrystalline (Fe) and magnetite (Fe₃O₄). The hematite (α-Fe₂O₃) structure was obtained by annealing in air at 450 °C. The growth mechanism of the nanoparticles and their morphology were also described. Furthermore, the nanoparticles exhibited good ferromagnetic properties at room temperature.     

HIGH TEMPERATURE CRACK PROPAGATION AND FRACTUREOF SUPERALLOYS

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EXPERIMENTAL TESTING OF DRAW—BEAD RESTRAINING FORCE IN SHEET METAL FORMING

Due to complexities of draw-bead restraining force calculated according to theory and depending on sheet metal forming properties experiment testing system, a simplified method to calculate draw-bead restraining force is put forward by experimental method in cup-shaped drawing process. The experimental results were compared with numerical results and proved agreement. It shows the method is effective.     

The Sulfidation/Oxidation Resistance of Two Ni-Cr-Al-Y Alloys at 700℃

The high temperature corrosion resistance of Ni-25.9Cr-13.5Al-1.2Y-0.6Si and Ni-10.2Co-12.4Cr-16.0Al-0.5Y-0.2Hf alloys was assessed in sulfidation/oxidation environments.In the environment with a sulfur partial pressure of 1Pa. and an oxygen partial pressure of 10^-19Pα,both these alloys exhibited three distinct stages in the weight gain-time curve when tested at 700℃.In the initial stage, selective sulfidation of Cr suppressed the formation of the other metal sulfides,resulting in lower weight gains.In the transient stage, breakdown and cracking of Cr sulfides and insufficient concentration of Cr at the outer zone led to the rapid formation of Ni sulfides and a rapid increase in weight.In the steady-state stage, corrosion was controlled by the diffusion of anions and/or cations, which led to a parabolic rate law.