Development of a multiplex real-time PCR assay for the detection of ruminant DNA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has previously validated a real-time PCR-based assay that is currently being used by the FDA and several state laboratories as the official screening method. Due to several shortcomings to the assay, a multiplex real-time PCR assay (MRTA) to detect three ruminant species (bovine, caprine, and ovine) was developed using a lyophilized bead design. The assay contained two primer or probe sets: a "ruminant" set to detect bovine-, caprine-, and ovine-derived materials and a second set to serve as an internal PCR control, formatted using a lyophilized bead design. Performance of the assay was evaluated against stringent acceptance criteria developed by the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine's Office of Research. The MRTA for the detection of ruminant DNA passed the stringent acceptance criteria for specificity, sensitivity, and selectivity. The assay met sensitivity and reproducibility requirements by detecting 30 of 30 complete feed samples fortified with meals at 0.1 % (wt/wt) rendered material from each of the three ruminant species. The MRTA demonstrated 100 % selectivity (0.0 % false positives) for negative controls throughout the assessment period. The assay showed ruggedness in both sample selection and reagent preparation. Second and third analyst trials confirmed the quality of the written standard operating procedure with consistency of results. An external laboratory participating in a peer-verification trial demonstrated 100 % specificity in identifying bovine meat and bone meal, while exhibiting a 0.03 % rate of false positives. The assay demonstrated equal levels of sensitivity and reproducibility compared with the FDA's current validated real-time PCR assay. The assay detected three prohibited species in less than 1.5 h of total assay time, a significant improvement over the current real-time assay. These results demonstrated this assay's suitability for routine regulatory use both as a primary screening tool and as a confirmatory test.     

Effects of Ultrasound on Mass Transfer Kinetics,Structure, Carotenoid and Vitamin C Content of Osmodehydrated Sweet Potato (Ipomea Batatas)

The effects of ultrasound pretreatments on mass transfer kinetics, microstructure, carotenoid and vitamin C contents of sweet potato were investigated. Sweet potato samples were treated in distilled water with ultrasound (DWU), osmotic dehydration without ultrasound (OD) and ultrasound-assisted osmotic dehydration (UOD). Samples were subjected to ultrasound probe of 2 cm diameter, frequency of 28 kHz at 300 W maximum power at different pretreatment times of 20, 30, 45 and 60 min. The Azuara model used in this study fitted the experimental data well with high coefficient of correlation ranging from 0.92 to 0.98, low values of chi-square (<0.6), root mean square error (<0.9) and percent mean relative deviation (<10%). The results showed that UOD significantly (p < 0.05) had the highest mass transfer coefficient and equilibrium value for water loss and solid gain, compared to DWU and OD. DWU had no significant effect on the structure of sweet potato samples, while UOD had the highest effect on the structure. The samples treated in OD had the highest carotenoid retention compared to DWU and UOD at all pretreatment times. However, ultrasound enhanced the retention of vitamin C (>70%) in sweet potato samples treated in DWU and UOD.     

Modification of insoluble dietary fiber from garlic straw with ultrasonic treatment

The aim of this study was to investigate modification of insoluble dietary fiber (IDF) from garlic straw with ultrasonic processing technology. The functional, physicochemical, and structural properties were evaluated. Based on the uniform design (UD) method, initial temperature of 45 °C, ultrasonic power of 535 W, and time of 41 min were considered as the optimum ultrasonic conditions for preparation of IDF with good in vitro hypolipidemic ability. Ultrasonic‐treated IDF exhibited better functional and physicochemical properties than untreated IDF with significant difference (p < .05). Structural analysis from scanning electron microscope and Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy indicated that ultrasonic treatment destroyed the microstructures of IDF from garlic straw, resulted in the honey‐comb network structure and increased hydrophilic groups, which illustrated the good functional and physicochemical properties.

Practical applications

With the trend toward increased consumption of garlic bulb, millions of tons of straw are generally discarded every year. The productive use of such by‐products as garlic straw could offer substantial economic benefits. In this work, ultrasonic technology was chosen for the modification of insoluble dietary fiber (IDF) from garlic straw. Uniform design technique helped us to get the optimum ultrasonic conditions for preparation of IDF with good in vitro hypolipidemic ability. The functional and physicochemical properties of garlic IDF were significantly influenced by ultrasonic pretreatment. The positive effect of ultrasound and application of the statistical model may be useful for functional modification and utilization of dietary fiber from garlic straw.     

Detection and Semi-Quantification of Lipids on High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatography Plate Using Ceric Ammonium Molybdate Staining

It is desirable to quickly check the composition of lipids in small size samples, but achieving this is challenging using the existing staining methods. Herein, a highly sensitive and semi-quantitative method is developed for analysis of lipid samples with ceric ammonium molybdate (CAM) staining. The CAM detection method is systematically evaluated with a wide range of lipid classes including phospholipids, sphingolipids, glycerolipids, fatty acids (FA), and sterols, demonstrating high sensitivity, stability, and overall efficiency. Additionally, CAM staining provides a clean yellow background in high performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) which facilitates quantification of lipids using image processing software. Lipids can be stained with CAM reagent regardless of their head group types, position of the carbon–carbon double bonds, geometric isomerism, and the variation in the length of FA chain, but staining is mostly affected by the degree of unsaturation of the FA backbone. The mechanism of the CAM staining of lipids is proposed on principles of the reduction–oxidation reaction, in which Mo(VI) oxidizes the unsaturated lipids into carbonyl compounds on the HPTLC plate upon heating, while itself being reduced to Mo(IV). This method is applied for the separation, identification, and quantification of lipid extracts from porcine brain. Practical applications: The CAM staining method that is developed in this work shows a high sensitivity for diverse lipid classes following HPTLC separation. HPTLC with CAM staining is a promising method for quick assessment of the identity and quantity of diverse lipid classes in lipid extracts of small size biological samples.     

A review of prospects and challenges of photocatalytic decomposition of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) under humid environment

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are harmful for humans and the surrounding ecosystem. Emissions from these pollutants have caused a significant reduction in air quality, which has an effect on people's health. Alkanes, alkenes, alcohols, aromatics, and other VOC pollutants have all been broken down by TiO₂ photocatalytic processes. Due to several operating inefficiencies and deactivation issues in humid environments, the practical application of photocatalysis has not been realized on a broader scale. The effectiveness of photo-oxidation of VOCs is impacted by a variety of environmental conditions. In the photocatalytic oxidation of the VOCs, relative humidity (RH) is critical. Therefore, it is important to review the recent findings on how humidity affects the photocatalytic breakdown of VOCs in air. To satisfy this need, this work provides a critical review of the related literature with focus on the fundamentals of photocatalysis, photocatalytic degradation of air pollutants, and the influence of humidity on the photocatalytic process degradation for selected air pollutants. It also highlights the kinetic models and typical photocatalytic reactor and supports for VOC removal.     

实用缆线在线检测电路

文中主要介绍缆线生产过程中的断线在线检测电路，该电路接收到电容传感器的电容变化量，将其转变成电压变化量，并进行放大、整形后送到PLC控制电路。     

Ultrasonic washing as an abiotic elicitor to increase the phenolic content in fruits and vegetables: A review

Ultrasonic washing has been widely applied to the postharvest storage of fruits and vegetables as a residue-free physical washing technology, which plays an important role in improving shelf-life, safety, and nutritional value. Phenolics are a large group of phytochemicals widespread in fruits and vegetables, and they have been considered potential protective factors against some diseases because of potent antioxidative properties. Previous studies have shown that ultrasonic washing can increase the phenolic content of fruits and vegetables immediately or during storage through the induction of plant stress responses, which is of great significance for improving the functional and nutritional value of fruits and vegetables. However, the mechanisms of ultrasound as an elicitor to improve the phenolic content remain controversial. Therefore, this review summarizes the applications of ultrasonic washing to increase the phenolic content in fruits and vegetables. Meanwhile, the corresponding physiological stress response mechanisms of the phenolic accumulation in terms of immediate stress responses (i.e., higher extractability of phenolics) and late stress responses (i.e., metabolism of phenolics) are expounded. Moreover, a hypothetical model is proposed to explain phenolic biosynthesis triggered by signaling molecules produced under ultrasound stress, including primary signal (i.e., extracellular adenosine triphosphate) and secondary signals (e.g., reactive oxygen species, Ca²⁺, NO, jasmonates, and ethylene). Additionally, the techno-economic feasibility of ultrasonic washing technology is also discussed. Further, challenges and trends for further development of ultrasonic washing as an abiotic elicitor applied to the postharvest storage of fruits and vegetables are presented.     

Room-Temperature Hydrogen Sensor with High Sensitivity and Selectivity using Chemically Immobilized Monolayer Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Although semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (sc-SWNTs) exhibit excellent sensing properties for various gases, commercialization is hampered by several obstacles. Among these, the difficulty in reproducibly fabricating sc-SWNT films with uniform density and thickness is the main one. Here, a facile fabrication method for sc-SWNT-based hydrogen (H₂) sensors with excellent reproducibility, high sensitivity, and selectivity against CO, CO₂, and CH₄ is reported. Uniform-density and monolayer sc-SWNT films are fabricated using chemical immobilized through the click reaction between azide-functionalized polymer-wrapped sc-SWNTs and immobilized alkyne polymer on a substrate before decorating with Pd nanoparticles (0.5–3.0 nm). The optimized sc-SWNT sensor has a high room-temperature response of 285 with the response and recovery times of 10 and 3 s, respectively, under 1% H₂ gas in air. In particular, this sensor demonstrates highly selective H₂ detection at room temperature (25 °C), compared to other gases and humidity. Therefore, the chemical immobilization of the monolayer SWNT films with reproducible and uniform density has the potential for large-scale fabrication of robust room-temperature H₂ sensors.     

Molecular Resolution Nanostructure and Dynamics of the Deep Eutectic Solvent—Graphite Interface as a Function of Potential

Interest in deep eutectic solvents (DESs), particularly for electrochemical applications, has boomed in the past decade because they are more versatile than conventional electrolyte solutions and are low cost, renewable, and non-toxic. The molecular scale lateral nanostructures as a function of potential at the solid–liquid interface—critical design parameters for the use of DESs as electrochemical solvents—are yet to be revealed. In this work, in situ amplitude modulated atomic force microscopy complemented by molecular dynamics simulations is used to probe the Stern and near-surface layers of the archetypal and by far most studied DES, 1:2 choline chloride:urea (reline), at the highly orientated pyrolytic graphite surface as a function of potential, to reveal highly ordered lateral nanostructures with unprecedented molecular resolution. This detail allows identification of choline, chloride, and urea in the Stern layer on graphite, and in some cases their orientations. Images obtained after the potential is switched from negative to positive show the dynamics of the Stern layer response, revealing that several minutes are required to reach equilibrium. These results provide valuable insight into the nanostructure and dynamics of DESs at the solid–liquid interface, with implications for the rational design of DESs for interfacial applications.     

多模式超声波预处理促进克氏原螯虾酶解效果的优化

为了探寻一种多模式超声高效促进克氏原螯虾酶解效果的方法，分别采用双频探头式超声波和三频发散式超声波对克氏原螯虾进行预处理，对比研究了多模式超声预处理对克氏原螯虾酶解效果的促进作用。通过单因素实验得到探头式双频超声设备的最佳频率模式为20/28 kHz双频顺序超声，三频发散式超声波设备的最佳频率为20/40 kHz双频顺序超声。在此基础上，通过三因素三水平的响应面实验对超声预处理条件进行改进，并建立相应回归方程，优化试验以获得最佳的超声预处理条件。结果表明：双频探头式超声设备的最佳处理条件为：超声功率为250 W，时间为10 min，温度为35 ℃，此时克氏原螯虾的水解度为38.98%；三频超声波设备的最佳处理条件为：超声功率为250 W，时间为40 min，温度为40 ℃，此时克氏原螯虾的水解度为46.12%。实验结果表明多模式超声可以有效提高克氏原螯虾酶解效果。