Influence of cocoa components on the PCR detection of soy lecithin DNA

The labelling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is mandatory in the EU. To comply with this regulation, the International Standardisation Organisation recently published standards for the extraction of DNA and PCR detection of GMOs. The PCR detection of (GM) soy lecithin in chocolate however is not an easy assignment. For the most part this is due to inhibitors such as polyphenols resulting from the cocoa mass and the low level of soy lecithin present. Many factors however, such as the choice of extraction method, sample size and PCR protocol influence the PCR end result. Therefore, preconditions regarding the quality, quantity and purity of the extracted DNA should be carefully determined to guarantee a successful GMO analysis.     

Comparison of RSG-MOSFET and capacitive MEMS resonator detection

A simulation comparison of MOSFET and double-metal-plate capacitive techniques for vibration detection of MEMS resonator and sensor applications is reported. A novel resonant suspended-gate MOSFET (RSG-MOSFET) analytical model is developed and used for simulating the mechanical and electrical behaviour of the resonant device under electrostatic actuation. It is demonstrated that a MOS-based detection offers signal amplification advantages over conventional capacitive detection especially for narrow beam resonators.     

Automatic access to object identity: Attention to global information, not to particular physical dimensions, is important.

The authors examined whether, by attending to physical properties of objects, participants can prevent the activation of semantic information. Participants received a reference object followed by a display containing both a matching target and a distractor. In Experiments 1 and 2, participants attended to motion and to surface texture, respectively. Some evidence for the processing of semantic information occurred. This result contrasted with a previous study in which no evidence for semantic information processing was apparent in a color matching task (M. Boucart & G. W. Humphreys, 1994). In Experiment 3, pictures were used with outline contours composed of randomly distributed red and green dots, 1 color being overrepresented. Participants matched pictures according to the dominant color. Evidence for semantic processing emerged. The authors suggest that these results cannot be explained in terms of attention operating differently on separate physiological channels. Instead it is proposed that what is crucial in activating stored object representations is whether the global configuration of the picture is processed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

From stigma to demolition: Australian debates about housing and social exclusion

Although the concept of social exclusion is well established in the UK and wider Europe, as an alternative to the use of poverty and inequality, it only recently entered Australian housing and urban policy debates. This paper explores the dominant debates that emerged about housing and inequality in two major reports, which investigated future options for East Fairfield (Villawood) public housing estate in New South Wales prior to its demolition. In conceptualising the debates, the analysis draws on the framework devised by Watt and Jacobs (2000, Housing, theory and society, 17(1), 14–26), which identified three different discourses of social exclusion in British housing and urban policy. It is concluded that the dominant debate at East Fairfield estate drew extensively on a moral underclass discourse that implicated public housing tenure as a major cause of inequality. Whilst there is little doubt that serious problems existed on the estate, questions are raised about the utility of this moral underclass depiction and the rationale it provided for adopting demolition as the definitive solution. The experience of East Fairfield demonstrates that demolition is not a low-cost solution in financial or social terms.     

Designing Language Models for Voice Portal Applications

At HeyAnita we use statistical language models to improve speech recognition performance in a number of our portal applications, including driving directions, traffic, weather, stocks, sports, movies and restaurants. In this paper, language modeling implementations in different recognition environments and some real world data are reviewed.     

Femur fractures in relatively low speed frontal crashes: the possible role of muscle forces.

In a sample of relatively low speed frontal collisions (mean collision speed change of 40.7 kph) the only major injury suffered by the partly or fully restrained occupant was a femur fracture. However, femur load measurements from standardized barrier crash tests for similar vehicles at a greater speed change (mean of 56.3 kph) showed that in almost all the cases, the occupant's femur would not have fractured because the loads were below fracture threshold. In order to address this discrepancy, the load in the femurs of the occupants in the crash sample were estimated and compared with the femur fracture threshold. Femur load was estimated by inspecting the scene and measuring deformations in each vehicle, defining occupant points of contact and interior surface intrusion, and calculating crash change in velocity and deceleration. From this data, the measured femoral loads from standardized crash test data in a comparable vehicle were scaled to the actual crash by considering crash deceleration, occupant weight, and restraint use. All the occupants (7 males, average age 26.7 years, 13 females, average age 36 years) sustained at least a transverse midshaft fracture of the femur with comminution, which is characteristic of axial compressive impact, causing bending and impaction of the femur. However, the estimated average maximum axial load was 8187 N (S.D. = 4343N), and the average probability for fracture was only 19% (based on the femur fracture risk criteria). In 13 crashes the fracture probability was less than 10%. Two factors were considered to explain the discrepancy. The occupant's femur was out of position (typically the driver's right front leg on the brake) and did not impact the knee bolster, instead hitting stiffer regions of the dashboard. Also, since most victims were drivers with their foot on the brake to avoid the collision, additional compressive force on the femur probably resulted from muscle contraction due to bracing for impact. Adding the estimated muscle load on the femur to the estimated external load increased the femur loads beyond threshold, explaining the fracture in all but one case. Since crash tests using dummies cannot simulate out of position occupants or muscle contraction loading, they may underestimate the total load acting on the femur during actual impacts where the driver is bracing for the crash. These results may have implications for altering knee bolster design to accommodate out of position occupants and the additional load caused by muscle forces during bracing.     

Effect of Tocopherols on the Anti-Polymerization Activity of Oryzanol and Corn Steryl Ferulates in Soybean Oil

Steryl ferulates (SFs) are ferulic acid esters of phytosterols and/or triterpene alcohols which have potential as frying oil antioxidants. The objective of this study was to evaluate the anti-polymerization and antioxidant activity at frying temperatures of corn steryl ferulates (CSFs), rice steryl ferulates (oryzanol), and a mixture of CSFs with oryzanol, alone and with tocopherols. Antioxidant activity was measured by the reduction of polymerized triacylglycerol formation, and loss of olefinic and bisallylic protons from fatty acid double bonds by ¹H NMR. CSFs and oryzanol slowed the oxidation and polymerization of soybean oil triacylglycerols heated to 180 °C more effectively than a mixture of alpha and gamma tocopherols. CSFs were more effective at preventing polymerization than oryzanol, but when oryzanol was combined with tocopherols, they all had similar antioxidant activity. In addition, tocopherols had a protective effect on SFs. Corn SFs were degraded more quickly during heating than oryzanol, however, the phytosterol constituents of corn SFs, sitostanol and campestanol, were actually more resistant to degradation compared to the phytosterol constituents of rice SFs. Results demonstrate that corn and rice SFs may be effective antioxidants for use in frying oils, and that their activity is enhanced in the presence of tocopherols.     

SUPERCRITICAL EXTRACTION OF ORGANOSULFUR FROM COAL USING ACETONE-VATER MIXTURES

Abstract

Binary mixtures of acetone and water at their supercritical conditions have been investigated for their ability to remove organic sulfur from high sulfur Midwestern coals. The reduction of organic sulfur from Ohio 5/6 and Indiana 5 coals has been as high as 61% (based on a BTU basis) The experiments have been carried out following a statistical experimental design and the optimal process conditions and discerning characteristics of the process have been identified. The solvent composition and the extraction conditions can be tailored in such a way as to selectively remove sulfur and further increase the calorific value of the treated coal.     

CHARACTERIZATION OF DESULFURESATION EXTRACTS FROM MIDWESTERN U.S. COALS

ABSTRACT

Coals from Midwestern States were extracted using two different processes, viz., a supercritical extraction process and a perchloroethylene coal refining process. The objectives of these processes are the selective removal of sulfur and nitrogen compounds from high-sulfur coals. The solvent extracts were analyzed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry as well as wet chemical analysis. The extracted organosulfur compounds varied, depending upon the extraction process, extraction conditions, type of solvent, type of coal, and degree of weathering. The experimental results are compared among the types of coal as well as among the different processes, from viewpoints of chemical and molecular interaction.