Analysis of ethanol in soy sauce using electronic nose for halal food certification

The purpose of this study was to analyze ethanol content in soy sauce using mass spectrometry (MS) with electronic nose (e-nose) to determine if MS e-nose can replace gas chromatographic analysis for halal certification. Gas chromatography–flame ionization detector (GC-FID), the standard method of ethanol content, was used to analyze 24 different kinds of soy sauce. Ethanol was detected from 13 soy sauce samples in the concentration range of 0.0004–1.7wt%. The MS e-nose data were analyzed by discriminant function analysis (DFA). Based on an addition method, the results were more than 96.6% accurate when the ethanol concentrations were greater than 0.5%. A high correlation between the first score of the DFA plot and the ethanol concentration was observed. Thus, mass spectrometry based on e-nose is an efficient method for determining ethanol as a primary screening tool for halal certification.     

Comparison of the antioxidant activities of roasted and explosive puffed coffees

We investigated the explosive process effect on antioxidant activities of coffee bean. The total polyphenol contents of powdered extract of explosive puffing coffee bean at 0.75 MPa (PEP 7.5) and powdered extract of explosive puffing coffee bean at 0.9 MPa (PEP 9.0) were at a significantly higher than that of the powdered extract of roasting coffee bean (PER) (P < 0.05). PEP 7.5 showed the highest levels of 3‐CQA (86.23 μg mg^?1), 4‐CQA (43.71 μg mg^?1), and 5‐CQA (31.66 μg mg^?1), and PEP 9.0 had also similar levels of chlorogenic acids, with 3‐CQA (77.99 μg mg^?1), 4‐CQA (43.71 μg mg^?1), and 5‐CQA (30.32 μg mg^?1). PEP 7.5 and PEP 9.0 showed relatively higher antioxidant capacities in DPPH, ABTS, taurine, FRAP, and β‐carotene/linoleic acid assays. PEPs partly recovered the HepG2 cell damage induced by t‐BOOH. These results suggest that puffed coffee has beneficial health effects, and could be used for the development of novel processed coffee products.     

Development of a new automatic fault diagnosis system for fine pattern transmission lines

International Journal of Control, Automation and Systems - This paper presents a new automatic fault diagnosis and detection system for fine pattern interconnects. It is verified by performance of...     

Temperature Distribution of a Low Temperature Heat Pipe with Multiple Heaters for Electronic Cooling

A numerical study has been performed to predict the characteristics on the transient operation of the heat pipe with multiple heaters for electronic cooling. The model of the heat pipe was composed of the evaporator section with four heaters, insulated transport section, and the condensor section with a conductor which is cooled with uniform heat flux condition to surrounding. The governing equations and the boundary conditions were solved by the generalized PHOENICS computational code employing the finite volume method. Two test cases are investigated in present study; Case 1 indicates that the 1st and 2nd heaters among four heating sources are heated off, while the 3rd and 4th heaters are heated on. Case 2 is the inverse situation switched from heating location of Case 1. The results show that the transient time to reach the steady state is shorter for Case 1 than for Case 2. Especially, the temperature difference of the heater during switching operation is relatively small compared to the maximum all- owable operating temperature difference in electronic system. Hence, it is predicted that the heat pipe in present study operates with thermally good reliability even for switching the heaters.     

The synthesis of crown ether-appended dichlorofluoresceins and their selective Cu2+ chemosensing

Dichlorofluorescein derivatives with two aza-crown ether binding units were prepared by the Mannich reaction and their chemosensing behaviors toward transition metal ions were investigated. An 18-crown-6 ether derivative exhibited pronounced Cu²⁺-selective fluorescence signaling, with selectivity over other common physiologically important alkali, alkaline earth and transition metal ions. The compound also displayed 1:1 complex formation with Cu²⁺ ion, with a detection limit of 2.9 × 10^?6 M in an aqueous 50% DMSO solution at pH 7, showing that it may offer potential as a chemosensor for the detection of submillimolar Cu²⁺ ions in physiological environments. A 15-Crown-5 ether analogue also revealed selective Cu²⁺ signaling, although with somewhat diminished selectivity compared with its 18-crown-6 counterpart.     

Identification of functional elements of p18INK4C essential for binding and inhibition of cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4 and CDK6

An indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) was used to identify patients with antibodies reactive to the human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE) agent. Serum samples collected from clinically ill individuals were submitted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by physicians via state health departments from throughout the United States and tested against a panel of ehrlichial and rickettsial pathogens. Antibodies reactive to the HGE agent were detected in 142 (8.9%) of 1,602 individuals tested. There were 19 confirmed and 59 probable (n = 78) cases of HGE as defined by seroconversion or a fourfold or higher titer to the HGE agent than to the Ehrlichia chaffeensis antigens. The average age of patients with HGE was 57 years, and males accounted for 53 (68%) of the patients. Cases of HGE occurred in 21 states; 47 (60%) of the cases occurred in Connecticut (n = 14), New York (n = 18), and Wisconsin (n = 15). Onset of HGE was identified from April through December, with cases peaking in June and July. The earliest confirmed cases of HGE occurred in 1987 in Wisconsin and 1988 in Florida. No fatalities were reported among the 78 patients with confirmed or probable HGE. Reactivity to the HGE agent and to either Coxiella burnetii, Rickettsia rickettsii, or Rickettsia typhi was infrequent; however, 74 (52%) of the 142 individuals who were positive for HGE had at least one serum sample that also reacted to the E. chaffeensis antigen. Thirty-four persons with confirmed or probable human monocytic ehrlichiosis due to E. chaffeensis also had antibodies to the HGE agent in at least one serum sample. The specific etiologic agent for 30 patients was not ascribed because of similarity of titers to both ehrlichial antigens. The use of both antigens may be required to correctly diagnose most cases of human ehrlichiosis, especially in geographic regions where both the HGE agent and E. chaffeensis occur.     

Design and analysis of TX/RX dual microstrip antenna using FDTD at Ku-band

A TX/RX dual microstrip 8/spl times/4 array antenna for satellite communication is designed, fabricated and measured and its element characteristics are analysed using finite difference time domain (FDTD) method. TX/RX frequency ranges are 14.0-14.5 GHz, 11.7-12.75 GHz, respectively, and vertical and horizontal polarisations are used for TX and RX. This antenna uses microstrip direct feeding for RX and aperture coupled stripline feeding for TX and accommodates stacked elements for a high directivity and wide impedance bandwidth. FDTD gives more accurate results because of the consideration of finite structure and two imperfect ground planes. This element has a return loss below -8 and -14 dB over the TX and RX frequency ranges and a gain of 7.5 and 8.3 dBi at the centre frequency of TX and RX. Return loss below -10 and -14 dB and a gain of 21.4 and 20.0 dBi were achieved for the TX and RX array, respectively.     

Design of ultra-broadband on-glass antenna with a 250 /spl Omega/ system impedance for automobiles

The design of a very simple, ultra-broadband, on-glass antenna for automobiles is described. A 250 /spl Omega/ impedance system is proposed and a loop-based antenna structure with tuning arms is optimised by a genetic algorithm. The measured results on a prototype antenna show an average VSWR of 1.61 in the UHF and L bands.     

The effects of amine additives and flow rate on the performance of mixed-bed ion exchange at ultralow concentrations

Experimental data were obtained to evaluate the effects of amine additives for pH control of solution and the volumetric flow rate of feed solution on the performance of mixed-bed ion exchange for the removal of ionic impurities in solution. The experiments were performed under various temperatures and cation resin ratios by using a continuous column system with NaCl solution. The breakthrough curves of ions, plotted as the ratio of the effluent to influent concentration versus run time or treated solution volume, give detailed results about the effects of the existence of the pH controller, such as ammonia and morpholine, and the variable flow rate on the fate of each ion in the units. The experimental results show that the morpholine breakthrough occurs earlier than the ammonia breakthrough and that the effect of ammonia on both sodium and chloride exchange rates is more significant than that of morpholine. The addition of ammonia in solution results in the decrease of cation resin capacity for the sodium removal much more than the addition of morpholine. The step changes in the flow rate affect significantly the shapes of sodium and chloride breakthrough curves. The effluent concentrations of sodium and chloride change according to the flow rate. However, the effect increases with decreasing operation capacity of cation resin, while it becomes serious around the breakthrough time of chloride and negligible after the time.