Antimicrobial performance of alkaline ionic fluid (GC-100X) and its ability to remove Escherichia coli O157:H7 from the surface of tomatoes

An efficacy test of GC-100X, a noncorrosive alkaline ionic fluid (pH 12) composed of free radicals and supplemented with xylitol, was carried out against six major foodborne pathogens-Staphylococcus aureus FRI 913, Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis ATCC 13076, S. enterica serovar Typhimurium DT104 Korean isolate, Vibrio parahaemolyticus ATCC 17803, Escherichia coli O157:H7 ATCC 43894, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa KCTC 1637-at three different temperatures (4, 25, and 36 degrees C) with or without organic load (2% yeast extract). Results revealed a more than 4-log10 (CFU/ml) reduction (1.0 x 10(4) CFU/ml reduction) against all pathogens reacted at 37 degrees C for 3 h in the absence of organic material. GC-100X solution diluted with an equal volume of distilled or standard hard water (300 ppm CaCO3) showed effective bactericidal activity, particularly against gram-negative bacteria. Washing efficacy of GC-100X solution was compared against E. coli O157:H7 on cherry tomato surfaces with those of a commercially used detergent and chlorine water (100 ppm). Viable cell counts of E. coli O157:H7 that had penetrated to the cores of tomatoes after sanitizing treatment revealed that GC-100X stock and its 5% diluted solutions had similar washing effects to 100-ppm chlorine water and were more effective than the other kitchen detergent. These results indicate that GC-100X has good bactericidal and sanitizing activities and is useful as a new sanitizer for food safety and kitchen hygiene.     

ACE-Asia intercomparison of a thermal-optical method for the determination of particle-phase organic and elemental carbon

A laboratory intercomparison of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) measurements of atmospheric particulate matter samples collected on quartz filters was conducted among eight participants of the ACE-Asia field experiment The intercomparison took place in two stages: the first round of the intercomparison was conducted when filter samples collected during the ACE-Asia experiment were being analyzed for OC and EC, and the second round was conducted after the ACE-Asia experiment and included selected samples from the ACE-Asia experiment Each participant operated ECOC analyzers from the same manufacturer and utilized the same analysis protocol for their measurements. The precision of OC measurements of quartz fiber filters was a function of the filter's carbon loading but was found to be in the range of 4-13% for OC loadings of 1.0-25 microg of C cm(-2). For measurements of EC, the precision was found to be in the range of 6-21% for EC loadings in the range of 0.7-8.4 microg of C cm(-2). It was demonstrated for three ambient samples, four source samples, and three complex mixtures of organic compounds that the relative amount of total evolved carbon allocated as OC and EC (i.e., the ECOC split) is sensitive to the temperature program used for analysis, and the magnitude of the sensitivity is dependent on the types of aerosol particles collected. The fraction of elemental carbon measured in wood smoke and an extract of organic compounds from a wood smoke sample were sensitive to the temperature program used for the ECOC analysis. The ECOC split for the three ambient samples and a coal fly ash sample showed moderate sensitivity to temperature program, while a carbon black sample and a sample of secondary organic aerosol were measured to have the same split of OC and EC with all temperature programs that were examined.     

Effect of the degree of sulfation on the physicochemical and biological properties of Pleurotus eryngii polysaccharides

Polysaccharides extracted from Pleurotus eryngii were chemically modified by sulfation and the effects on the structural and biological properties of the polysaccharides were investigated as a function of the degree of sulfation. ¹³C NMR spectroscopy demonstrated that polysaccharides from P. eryngii were mainly composed of β-(1 → 3)-glucans with β-(1 → 6) branches. The structure of the sulfated polysaccharides was confirmed by FT-IR and their degree of substitution (DS) was determined to be 0.12–0.92. When P. eryngii polysaccharides were sulfated they were shown to be effective in inhibiting cancer cell growth in a dose-dependent way. Furthermore, their DPPH radical quenching effects were improved with increasing degree of sulfation. Thus, it seemed that the chemical modification of P. eryngii polysaccharides by sulfation effectively enhanced their potential biological properties.     

Antioxidant activities of five different mulberry cultivars in Korea

Five major mulberry [Pachungsipyung (M-1), Whazosipmunja (M-2), Suwonnosang (M-3), Jasan (M-4) and Mocksang (M-5)] cultivated in Korea were assessed for their polyphenolic composition using spectrophotometric methodology, and tested for antioxidant potential by some different assays. The total polyphenol (TP) was found from 2235 to 2570 μg/g gallic acid equivalents, total anthocyanin (TA) content to vary from 1229 to 2057 μg/g, coloured anthocyanins (CA) from 126 to 190 μg/g, and total flavanol (TF) from 16.4 to 65.4 μg/g catechin equivalents except Mocksang (M-5). The ethanolic extract from mulberry fruit shows a rapid and concentration-dependent increase of antioxidant activity. Especially, the antioxidant activities of M-2 and M-4 are higher than those of the others in a hemoglobin-induced linoleic acid system. The reducing power compared with BHT was observed to high value in M-2, M-3 and M-4 extracts. Effectiveness in reducing powers was in a descending order of M-4>M-2>M-3>M-1>M-1. The DPPH-scavenging ability of the ethanolic extract from mulberry fruit was 60.0% at 200 and 212 μg of M-2 and M-4, respectively. M-2 and M-4 also showed sharply increase of hydroxyl scavenging ability with concentration of the extracts. IC₅₀ values in scavenging abilities on hydroxyl radicals were 30 mg and in a descending order of M-5>M-3>M-1>M-4>M-2. Superoxide anion-sacavenging activities of M-2, M-3 and M-4 showed 17.1, 14.5 and 14.8 SOD unit/mg, respectively.     

Effects of transglutaminase-induced cross-linking on properties of fish gelatin–nanoclay composite film

A nanoclay composite film was produced using warm water fish gelatin as a base material and its physical, mechanical, and molecular weight change properties were observed after treatment with microbial transglutaminase. The viscosity of the MTGase-treated gelatin solution (2% w/w) increased from 86.25 ± 1.77 (0 min) to 243 ± 12.37 cp (80 min). SDS–PAGE results indicated that the molecular weight of fish gelatin solutions increased after treatment with microbial transglutaminase. Tensile strength decreased from 61.60 ± 1.77 (0 min) to 56.42 ± 2.40 MPa (30 min), while E% increased from 13.94 ± 5.09 (0 min) to 15.78 ± 5.97% (30 min) at 2% (w/w) MTGase concentration. The oxygen permeability and water vapour permeability did not change as a function of treatment time at 2% (w/w) MTGase concentration. The incorporation of nanoclay inhibited the increase of oxygen permeability. Film colour values (L, a, and b) did not change, but haze values increased from 5.24 ± 0.40 (0 min) to 6.44 ± 0.94 (50 min). XRD and TEM results suggested that the nanoclay was exfoliated in fish gelatin film.     

A facile synthesis, in vitro and in vivo MR studies of d-glucuronic acid-coated ultrasmall Ln₂O₃ (Ln = Eu, Gd, Dy, Ho, and Er) nanoparticles as a new potential MRI contrast agent

A facile one-pot synthesis of d-glucuronic acid-coated ultrasmall Ln(2)O(3) (Ln = Eu, Gd, Dy, Ho, and Er) nanoparticles is presented. Their water proton relaxivities were studied to address their possibility as a new potential MRI contrast agent. We focused on the d-glucuronic acid-coated ultrasmall Dy(2)O(3) nanoparticle because it showed the highest r(2) relaxivity among studied nanoparticles. Its performance as a T(2) MRI contrast agent was for the first time proved in vivo through its 3 T T(2) MR images of a mouse, showing that it can be further exploited for the rational design of a new T(2) MRI contrast agent at high MR fields.     

pH-sensitive photocatalytic activities of TiO2/poly(vinyl alcohol)/poly(acrylic acid) composite hydrogels

The pH-sensitive photocatalytic system was prepared by embedding TiO₂ into poly(vinyl alcohol)/poly(acrylic acid) hydrogel. Two different type TiO₂/hydrogel composites, such as matrix and nanofiber, were prepared to investigate the morphological effects on the photocatalytic activity. TiO₂ was distributed uniformly in the composite hydrogel and kept the original anatase structure without any structural change. The photocatalytic activity of TiO₂ was evaluated based on the efficiency of photobleaching of dye. The photobleaching of dye was improved greatly as the pH was changed into basic condition and the larger surface area of hydrogel was available for TiO₂ by using nanofiber supports.     

Nanoscale Joule heating, Peltier cooling and current crowding at graphene-metal contacts

The performance and scaling of graphene-based electronics is limited by the quality of contacts between the graphene and metal electrodes. However, the nature of graphene-metal contacts remains incompletely understood. Here, we use atomic force microscopy to measure the temperature distributions at the contacts of working graphene transistors with a spatial resolution of ~ 10 nm (refs 5-8), allowing us to identify the presence of Joule heating, current crowding and thermoelectric heating and cooling. Comparison with simulation enables extraction of the contact resistivity (150-200 Ω μm2) and transfer length (0.2-0.5 μm) in our devices; these generally limit performance and must be minimized. Our data indicate that thermoelectric effects account for up to one-third of the contact temperature changes, and that current crowding accounts for most of the remainder. Modelling predicts that the role of current crowding will diminish and the role of thermoelectric effects will increase as contacts improve.     

Effect of Mn precursors on benzene oxidation with ozone over MnOx/MCM-41 at low temperature

Low temperature benzene oxidation in the presence of ozone on MnOx/MCM-41 catalysts has been studied. MnOx/MCM-41 catalysts were prepared from two different precursors, Mn(NO3)2 and Mn(CH3COO)2, and these samples were characterized by N2 sorption, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and temperature programmed reduction. The characterization results showed that the MnOx/MCM-41 prepared from Mn(CH3COO)2 had higher oxygen mobility and dispersion than the MnOx/MCM-41 from Mn(NO3)2. As a result, the MnOx/MCM-41 obtained from Mn(CH3COO)2 showed higher catalytic activity for the oxidation of benzene using ozone; however, without ozone, the catalytic activity was negligible.     

Design and manufacture of a toroidal-type SMES for combination with real-time digital simulator (RTDS)

The authors designed and manufactured a toroidal-type superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) system. The toroidal-type SMES was designed using a 3D CAD program. The toroidal-type magnet consists of 30 double pancake coils (DPCs). The single pancake coils (SPCs), which constitute the double pancake coils, are arranged at an angle of 6° from each other, based on the central axis of the toroidal-type magnet. The cooling method used for the toroidal-type SMES is the conduction cooling type. When the cooling method for the toroidal-type SMES was designed, the two-stage Gifford–McMahon (GM) refrigerator was considered. The Bi-2223 HTS wire, which was made by soldering brass on both sides of the superconductor, is used for the magnet winding. Finally, the authors connected the toroidal-type SMES to a real-time digital simulator (RSCAD/RTDS) to simulate voltage sag compensation in a power utility.