F.M. click rates: a simple derivation

A firm foundation is given to Roberts's simple calculation of Rice's results that account for the effect of modulation on the click rate in f.m. reception.     

Explaining tolerance for bitterness in chocolate ice cream using solid chocolate preferences

Chocolate ice cream is commonly formulated with higher sugar levels than nonchocolate flavors to compensate for the inherent bitterness of cocoa. Bitterness, however, is an integral part of the complex flavor of chocolate. In light of the global obesity epidemic, many consumers and health professionals are concerned about the levels of added sugars in foods. Once a strategy for balancing undesirable bitterness and health concerns regarding added sugars has been developed, the task becomes determining whether that product will be acceptable to the consumer. Thus, the purpose of this research was to manipulate the bitterness of chocolate ice cream to examine how this influences consumer preferences. The main goal of this study was to estimate group rejection thresholds for bitterness in chocolate ice cream, and to see if solid chocolate preferences (dark vs. milk) generalized to ice cream. A food-safe bitter ingredient, sucrose octaacetate, was added to chocolate ice cream to alter bitterness without disturbing other the sensory qualities of the ice cream samples, including texture. Untrained chocolate ice cream consumers participated in a large-scale sensory test by indicating their preferences for blinded pairs of unspiked and spiked samples, where the spiked sample had increasing levels of the added bitterant. As anticipated, the group containing individuals who prefer milk chocolate had a much lower tolerance for bitterness in their chocolate ice cream compared with the group of individuals who prefer dark chocolate; indeed, the dark chocolate group tolerated almost twice as much added bitterant in the ice cream before indicating a significant preference for the unspiked (control) ice cream. This work demonstrates the successful application of the rejection threshold method to a complex dairy food. Estimating rejection thresholds could prove to be an effective tool for determining acceptable formulations or quality limits when considering attributes that become objectionable at high intensities.     

Rice field geochemistry and hydrology: an explanation for why groundwater irrigated fields in Bangladesh are net sinks of arsenic from groundwater

Irrigation of rice fields in Bangladesh with arsenic-contaminated groundwater transfers tens of cubic kilometers of water and thousands of tons of arsenic from aquifers to rice fields each year. Here we combine observations of infiltration patterns with measurements of porewater chemical composition from our field site in Munshiganj Bangladesh to characterize the mobility of arsenic in soils beneath rice fields. We find that very little arsenic delivered by irrigation returns to the aquifer, and that recharging water mobilizes little, if any, arsenic from rice field subsoils. Arsenic from irrigation water is deposited on surface soils and sequestered along flow paths that pass through bunds, the raised soil boundaries around fields. Additionally, timing of flow into bunds limits the transport of biologically available organic carbon from rice fields into the subsurface where it could stimulate reduction processes that mobilize arsenic from soils and sediments. Together, these results explain why groundwater irrigated rice fields act as net sinks of arsenic from groundwater.     

精炼工艺对椰子油品质的影响

研究了精炼工艺对椰子油品质的影响。分析了毛椰油、碱炼油、脱色油、脱臭油的理化指标、脂肪酸、甘油酯组成和脂肪伴随物(甾醇、生育酚、多酚)的变化情况。结果表明:精炼工艺使椰子油的酸值、过氧化值显著降低,脂肪酸和甘油酯组成无显著变化;总甾醇、总生育酚和多酚含量显著降低,损失率分别为63.77%、68.03%、71.20%。综上表明,精炼能够显著影响油脂品质,需注重油脂适度加工技术的应用。     

Production of an exopolysaccharide-containing whey protein concentrate by fermentation of whey

Using whey as a fermentation medium presents the opportunity to create value-added products. Conditions were developed to partially hydrolyze whey proteins and then ferment partially hydrolyzed whey with Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus RR (RR; an EPS-producing bacterium). In preliminary experiments, pasteurized Cheddar cheese whey was treated with Flavourzyme to partially hydrolyze the protein (2 to 13% hydrolyzed). Fermentation (2 L, 38 degrees C, pH 5.0) with RR resulted in EPS levels ranging from 95 to 110 mg of EPS per liter of hydrolyzed whey. There were no significant differences in the amount of EPS produced during fermentations of whey hydrolyzed to varying degrees. Since a high level of hydrolysis was not necessary for increased EPS production, a low level of hydrolysis (2 to 4%) was selected for future work. In scale up experiments, whey was separated and pasteurized, then treated with Flavourzyme to hydrolyze 2 to 4% of the protein. Following protease inactivation, 60 L of partially hydrolyzed whey was fermented at 38 degrees C and pH 5.0. After fermentation, the broth was pasteurized, and bacterial cells were removed using a Sharples continuous centrifuge. The whey was then ultrafiltered and diafiltered to remove lactose and salts, freeze-dried, and milled to a powder. Unfermented hydrolyzed and unhydrolyzed whey controls were processed in the same manner. The EPS-WPC ingredients contained approximately 72% protein and 6% EPS, but they exhibited low protein solubility (65%, pH 7.0; 58%, pH 3.0).     

Future developments in assisted reproduction in humans

The advent of human in vitro fertilization (IVF) over 30 years ago has made the oocyte and preimplantation embryo uniquely accessible. This accessibility has given rise to new micromanipulation techniques, such as intracytoplasmic sperm injection for treatment of male infertility, as well as embryo biopsy for preimplantation diagnosis of both genetic disease and aneuploidy, a major cause of early embryo demise and miscarriage. In the UK, average pregnancy rates after IVF and embryo transfer are < 25%, even after transfer of several embryos. Unfortunately, a third of these pregnancies involve multiple gestations. Research is currently focusing on methods to improve IVF success rates while reducing twin and triplet pregnancies and their associated increased morbidity and mortality. One approach is to develop screening methods to identify the most viable embryos, so that transfer of fewer healthy embryos will result in a higher proportion of singleton pregnancies. Screening methods include optimizing culture conditions for prolonged culture and selection of viable blastocysts for transfer, or embryo biopsy and aneuploidy screening. Assisted reproduction is also increasingly important in other branches of medicine: survival rates for cancer sufferers are improving continually and there is now a significant need for approaches to preserve fertility after sterilizing chemo-and radiotherapy treatment. Techniques for cryopreserving male and female gametes or gonadal tissue are being developed, although systems to grow and mature these gametes are in their infancy. Finally, there are also concerns regarding the safety of these new assisted reproductive technologies.     

Low-temperature pyrolysis of Texas lignite,basic extracts and some related model compounds

Low-temperature (400 °C) pyrolysis of Texas lignite produced volatile products typical of coal tars, with tar evolution beginning at about 300 °C. n-Alkanes up to about C₃₀ were observed among the products and these were accompanied by smaller but significant amounts of 1 -alkenes. Similar pyrolyses were performed on pyridine extracts and sodium hydroxide extracts of lignite. The alkanes and alkenes were seen among the pyrolysis products from the pyridine extracts and from the residual lignite from both types of extractions, but they were not seen among the pyrolysis products from the sodium hydroxide extracts. Pyrolyses of some model compounds suggested that dealkylation of alkyl-substituted arenes can be significant at 400 °C and can account for the production of the alkanes and alkenes from the lignite.     

Arsenic removal with iron(II) and iron(III) in waters with high silicate and phosphate concentrations

Arsenic removal by passive treatment, in which naturally present Fe(II) is oxidized by aeration and the forming iron(III) (hydr)oxides precipitate with adsorbed arsenic, is the simplest conceivable water treatment option. However, competing anions and low iron concentrations often require additional iron. Application of Fe(II) instead of the usually applied Fe(III) is shown to be advantageous, as oxidation of Fe(II) by dissolved oxygen causes partial oxidation of As(III) and iron(III) (hydr)oxides formed from Fe(II) have higher sorption capacities. In simulated groundwater (8.2 mM HCO3(-), 2.5 mM Ca2+, 1.6 mM Mg2+, 30 mg/L Si, 3 mg/L P, 500 ppb As(III), or As(V), pH 7.0 +/- 0.1), addition of Fe(II) clearly leads to better As removal than Fe(III). Multiple additions of Fe(II) further improved the removal of As(II). A competitive coprecipitation model that considers As(III) oxidation explains the observed results and allows the estimation of arsenic removal under different conditions. Lowering 500 microg/L As(III) to below 50 microg/L As(tot) in filtered water required > 80 mg/L Fe(III), 50-55 mg/L Fe(II) in one single addition, and 20-25 mg/L in multiple additions. With As(V), 10-12 mg/L Fe(II) and 15-18 mg/L Fe(III) was required. In the absence of Si and P, removal efficiencies for Fe(II) and Fe(III) were similar: 30-40 mg/L was required for As(II), and 2.0-2.5 mg/L was required for As(V). In a field study with 22 tubewells in Bangladesh, passive treatment efficiently removed phosphate, but iron contents were generally too low for efficient arsenic removal.