Fish availability in supermarkets and fish markets in New Jersey

There is considerable interest in fish consumption, contaminant loads in edible fish, and the risk from consuming fish. Both the benefits and the risks from eating fish are publicized. Most of this attention has focused on recreational anglers and self-caught fish, although the vast majority of fish that people eat are purchased from commercial sources: fish markets and supermarkets. We examined the availability of fish in supermarkets and specialty fish markets in New Jersey, including three regions of the state in communities with high and low per capita incomes (upscale vs. downscale neighborhoods). We were particularly interested in examining whether consumers could determine what type of fish they were buying and whether it was farm-raised or wild. Flounder and salmon were the most commonly available fish, followed by bluefish and tilapia. There were few significant differences in the availability of fish as a function of region. Fish were equally available in fish markets and supermarkets, although snappers were more available in fish markets. The most common fish (found in over 60% of stores) were equally available in upscale and downscale neighborhood stores. However, there were some significant differences in less common fish; butterfish, croaker, monkfish, porgy, and whiting were more available in downscale markets, and halibut, sole, and swordfish were more available in upscale markets. Information available to consumers on labels varied markedly: (1) most labels were generic but some indicated species (e.g., Spanish vs. Boston mackerel, Chilean vs. Black sea bass, mako vs. black-tip shark, rainbow vs. steelhead trout); (2) in many cases, labels indicated whether catfish or salmon were farmed or wild, but usually that information was lacking; (3) sometimes, the labels indicated the location where fish were caught (salmon); and (4) sometimes, there was information on both species and type (e.g., farm/wild for salmon). In most cases, labels gave only a fish name and price. Consumers would be able to make more informed choices if the provenance of fish was clearly stated. State agencies might improve information available to consumers by providing distributors and markets with guidelines about the types of information necessary for consumers to make informed decisions about the fish they eat. When asked, counter staff often could not answer where fish originated from. Finally, there should be partnerships between government agencies responsible for public health, risk assessors, and consumers to ascertain the types of information consumers want and to provide the best available information to consumers.     

Room temperature hydrogen gas sensitivity of nanocrystalline pure tin oxide

Nanocrystalline (6-8 nm) tin oxide (SnO2) thin film (100-150 nm) sensor is synthesized via sol-gel dip-coating process. The thin film is characterized using focused ion-beam microscopy (FIB) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) techniques to determine the film thickness and the nanocrystallite size. The utilization of nanocrystalline pure-SnO2 thin film to sense a typical reducing gas such as hydrogen, at room temperature, is demonstrated in this investigation. The grain growth behavior of nanocrystalline pure-SnO2 is analyzed, which shows very low activation energy (9 kJ/mol) for the grain growth within the nanocrystallite size range of 3-20 nm. This low activation energy value is correlated, via excess oxygen-ion vacancy concentration, with the room temperature hydrogen gas sensitivity of the nanocrystalline pure-SnO2 thin film sensor.     

Biotransformation of benzaldehyde to L‐phenylacetylcarbinol (L‐PAC) by Torulaspora delbrueckii and conversion to ephedrine by microwave radiation

In a 5 dm³ stirred tank reactor, bioconversion of 30 g benzaldehyde by cells of Torulaspora delbrueckii yielded 22.9 g of pure L ‐phenylacetylcarbinol (L ‐PAC). Facile functional group transformation of 4.5 g of L ‐PAC to 2‐(methylimino)‐1‐phenyl‐1‐propanol by exposure to microwave irradiation for 9 min resulted in 2.48 g of product. Conversion of 4.8 g of 2‐(methylimino)‐1‐phenyl‐1‐propanol to 3.11 g of ephedrine was achieved by exposure to microwaves in a reaction time of 10 min. The identity of all the products was confirmed by ¹H NMR and FT‐IR analysis. © 2002 Society of Chemical Industry     

Surfactants & detergents

The critical micelle concentration, degree of ionization, and ionization constant of samarium caproate in alcohols (methanol, ethanol, propanol-1, butanol-1 and pentanol-1) were determined by using conductometric measurements. The results show that the soap behaves as simple electrolyte in dilute solutions below the CMC. The viscosity results of samarium soap have been explained in terms of equations proposed by Einstein, Vand, Moulik and Jones-Dole. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) was found to decrease with increasing dielectric constant of the solvent.     

Cost-benefit analysis of a 2-unit priority-standby system withpatience-time for repair

The cost of a one-server two-unit (one priority and the other ordinary) cold-standby system with two modes-normal and total failure-is analysed. Whenever the repair time of a failed priority unit exceeds some given maximum time, it is rejected and an order is placed for a new unit. Failure and delivery time distributions are negative exponentials, whereas repair and replacement time distributions are arbitrary. An analysis of the system is made to determine the reliability measures (MTSF (meantime to system failure), steady-state availability, busy period analysis of repairman, etc.) by using the regenerative point technique     

Micellar behavior of neodymium soaps in methanol

Neodymium butyrate, valerate, and caproate behave as simple electrolytes in dilute solutions and the CMC was found to decrease with increasing chain length of fatty acid constituent of the soap molecule. The CMC, degree of dissociation, and dissociation constant of neodymium soaps in methanol have been determined by conductometric measurements. The viscosity results have been explained on the basis of the equations proposed by Einstein, Vand, Moulik, and Jones and Dole. The values of the molar volume calculated by Einstein's and Vand's equations are in agreement with each other.     

Critical current studies on metal clad R1Ba2Cu3O7−x wires

Silver clad wires of R₁Ba₂Cu₃O_7−x (R=Y, Gd, Sm, Dy and Ho) have been fabricated following the powder-in-tube method and cold-rolling. The critical current densityJ _c at 77 K and zero magnetic field is restricted to 66 A.cm⁻². In a separate experiment we have studied the effect of silver sheath thickness onJ _c of the Y₁Ba₂Cu₃O_7−x wires. Interestingly,J _c is higher for larger sheath thickness indicating that large sheath thickness prevents oxygen loss during sintering. Uniaxial pressing of the wires into flat tapes results in an increase of theJ _c . MaximumJ _x is, however, limited to 169 A.cm⁻². No grain alignment is found in the core material of our wires which is essential for highJ _c . Several options are being tried.     

A Simple and Direct Procedure for the Evaluation of Triglyceride Composition of Cocoa Butters by High Performance Liquid Chromatography - A Comparison with the Existing TLC-GC Method

A high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for the separation of triglycerides in cocoa butters at nanogram sensitivity is described. This procedure is based on UV detection at 220 nm. This study demonstrates the feasibility of using UV detection system for the quantitation of triglycerides employing a chromatographic separation system coupled with stop flow technique. HPLC analysis of triglycerides from various cocoa butters compared well with values obtained by existing TLC-GC method. This appears to represent the first report to describe the quantitative analysis of triglycerides employing short wavelength UV detection. The rapid quantitative analysis of triglycerides by HPL C holds promise in the qualitative evaluation of cocoa butters.     

Ultraviolet radiation-induced graft copolymerization of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate onto polypropylene

Polypropylene staple fibers were grafted with 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) using ultraviolet radiation in the presence of three different photoinitiators, uranyl nitrate (UN), ceric ammonium nitrate (CAN), and benzoin ethyl ether (BEE), separately. The parameters of grafting were optimized for obtaining maximum graft add-on. BEE appeared to be a better photoinitiator than the other two, giving maximum possible graft add-on. CAN, as a chemical initiator, did not show significant improvement in grafting. The moisture regain of the grafted polypropylene increased in proportion with the graft add-on. Dyeing with reactive dye could give only light color to the grafted fiber. Possible explanations have been given. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.