Application of ergothioneine-rich extract from an edible mushroom Flammulina velutipes for melanosis prevention in shrimp,Penaeus monodon and Litopenaeus vannamei

This report investigated the melanosis-inhibiting properties of crude water soluble extract from the base and fruiting body waste of an edible mushroom (Flammulina velutipes) containing 9.13 ± 2.03 mg/mL 2-thiol-l-histidine-betaine (ergothioneine, ESH). Immersion of live full-grown black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) and Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) in a 0.5% w/v solution of mushroom extract for 1 h significantly decreased polyphenoloxidase (PPO) activity in shrimp hemolymph and expression of the prophenoloxidase (proPO) gene in hemocytes. Consequently, the development of melanosis in the treated shrimp during ice storage was prevented. Treatment with a 0.05% w/v solution of sodium sulfite and 4-hexyl-1,3-benzenediol had a similar effect. Enzyme assays showed that ESH is a non-competitive inhibitor. It is proposed that ESH possibly interacts directly with Cu²⁺ at the putative binding sites of PPO and proPO, based on copper-chelating activity analyses, thus preventing melanosis in the shrimp. This study indicated that application of ESH-rich F. velutipes mushroom extract from trimming waste is an effective natural alternative to synthetic melanosis-inhibiting agents to prevent postmortem melanosis in shrimp.     

Properties of encapsulated wasabi flavour and its application in canned food

The encapsulated wasabi flavour prepared from 100% modified starch (HICAP^? 100), HICAP^? 100: maltodextrin (1:1), HICAP^? 100:CAPSUL (1:1) at various flavouring agent concentrations (10, 15 or 20% w/w) was determined for physicochemical properties. All encapsulated treatments were stored at various relative humidity (RH) levels (11%, 33% and 52% RH) and intervally evaluated for encapsulation efficiency (EE) during 60 days of storage. Microcapsules of 20% wasabi flavour derived from the mixture of HICAP^? 100 with maltodextrin and HICAP^? 100 with CAPSUL demonstrated excellent properties including low moisture content, acceptable flowing properties, surface appearance and EE. The release rate of encapsulated flavour increased as the RH increased for most encapsulated treatments. A difference‐from‐control test was conducted to evaluate the magnitude of wasabi‐flavour retention added in the canned tuna spread. The intensity of wasabi‐flavour retention in the canned tuna spread with encapsulated flavour agents added was higher than that of the samples without flavour encapsulation.     

Thai and American perspectives on over- and undercontrolled child behavior problems: Exploring the threshold model among parents, teachers, and psychologists.

When a child has psychological problems, what determines whether adults will consider the problems serious or whether they will seek professional help? One determinant may be cultural: Prevailing social values may help set adult thresholds for concern over child problems. We explored this possibility, comparing adults in Thailand and the United States, two countries where social values and perspectives on childhood differ markedly. Thai and American parents, teachers, and clinical psychologists made judgments about two children, one with overcontrolled problems (e.g., shyness, fear) and one with undercontrolled problems (e.g., disobedience, fighting). Consistent with some of the literature on Thai Buddhist values, Thais (compared with Americans) rated problems of both types as less serious, less worrisome, less likely to reflect personality traits, and more likely to improve with time. Cross-national differences in perceived seriousness were more pronounced for parents and teachers than for psychologists, suggesting that professional culture may mitigate the effects of national culture. Evidently, adults' judgments about child clinical problems can differ markedly as a function of their cultural context. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Extraction of flavonoids and carotenoids from Thai silk waste and antioxidant activity of extracts

Extraction of carotenoids and flavonoids from yellow Thai silk waste was investigated. The total recovery of 0.7 mg carotenoids and 5.1 mg flavonoids/g dry weight was obtained by ethanol extraction. Different methods for extractions of these pigments were carried out using two benign solvents: ethanol and subcritical water (SW) to determine the extraction efficiency of the solvents in various extraction conditions. For extraction of carotenoids, ethanol was suitable as extraction solvent and the amount of carotenoids increased with increasing temperature and extraction time. For flavonoids, SW extraction was suitable but the amount of flavonoids decreased with increasing SW temperature and extraction time due to decomposition at such conditions. In addition, the silk extracts were found to have low IC₅₀ values (15.6–23.3 μg/ml), the concentrations of the silk extracts that exhibit 50% reduction in 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid), (ABTS) free radicals, thus indicating high antioxidant activities.     

Influence of elasticity on dispersed‐phase droplet size in immiscible polymer blends in simple shearing flow

The influence of elasticity of the blend constituent components on the size and size distribution of dispersed‐phase droplets is investigated for blends of polystyrene and high density polyethylene in a simple shearing flow. The elasticities of the blend components are characterized by their first normal stress differences. The role played by the ratio of drop to matrix elasticity at fixed viscosity ratio was examined by using high molecular weight polymer melts, high density polyethylene and polystyrene, at temperatures at which the viscosity ratios roughly equaled each of three different values: 0.5, 1, and 2. The experiments were conducted by using a cone‐and‐plate rheometer, and the steady‐state number and volume‐mean averages of droplet diameters were determined by optical microscopy. After steady‐state shearing, the viscoelastic drops were larger than the Newtonian drops at the same shearing stress. From the steady‐state dispersed‐phase droplet diameters, the steady‐state capillary number, Ca, defined as the ratio of the viscous shearing stress over the interfacial tension stress, was calculated as a function of the ratio of the first normal stress differences in the droplet and matrix phases. For the blend systems with viscosity ratio 0.5, 1 and 2, the values of steady‐state capillary number were found to increase with the first normal stress difference ratio and followed a power law with scaling exponents between 1.7 and 1.9.     

An Approach for Assessment of Compaction Curves of Fine Grained Soils at Various Energies Using a One Point Test

Compaction curves of soils are essential for establishing practical and reliable criteria for an effective control of field compaction. This paper deals with the development of a practical method of assessing laboratory compaction curves of fine-grained soils. It is found that for a given fine-grained soil compacted at a particular compaction energy, the relationships between water content (w) and degree of saturation (S) are represented by power function, which are w=A_dS^B_d and w=A_wS^B_w for the dry and the wet sides of optimum, respectively (where A_d, A_w, B_d and B_w are constant). The B_d and B_w values and optimum degree of saturation (ODS) are mainly dependent upon soil type irrespective of compaction energy. The A_d and A_w values decrease with the logarithm of compaction energy and the decrease rates are practically the same for any compacted fine-grained soil. This leads to a simple and rational method to assess the compaction curve wherein the compaction energy varies over a wide range using a one point test (a single test). Assuming that fine-grained soils compacted under standard Proctor energy behave in agreement with Ohio's curves, the modified Ohio's curves for the other three compaction energy levels (296.3, 1346.6 and 2693.3 kJ/m³) are developed based on the proposed method. These curves can be used to assess the entire compaction curves at the required compaction energy based on a single set data of dry unit weight and water content.     

A Case History on Underpinning for a Distressed Building on Hard Residual Soil Underneath Non-Uniform Loose Sand

This paper presents a case history on the failure of Suranivet 9, a student dormitory in the campus of Suranaree University of Technology (SUT), Thailand. The dormitory encountered excessive differential settlement due to the variation in soil profile. Part of the building was underlain by very stiff to hard SUT silty clay and part by loose clayey sand. Underpinning to extend the foundations down to stable stratum was employed to strengthen bearing capacity and minimize settlement. The underpinning design and procedure were summarized. In practice, the static formula was used for the preliminary micro-pile design (selection of pile section and length for different loads and soil profiles). The undrained shear strength (S_u) of SUT silty clay was approximated using the Stress History and Normalized Soil Engineering Properties (SHANSEP) technique and standard penetration number (N). The finite element method was employed to predict the load-settlement curve of the micro-pile. Modified cam clay model was proved as a suitable model for this prediction. The measured settlements of the underpinned foundations after one year service were less than 0.5 mm. This small settlement guarantees the stability of the underpinned structure. It is also found that the settlement ratio (ratio of the measured settlement of underpinned foundations to the predicted settlement of single micro-pile) varied from 0.7 to 3.0.     

Glycerol and esterified products of palmitic acid as a mixed plasticizer for thermoplastic tapioca starch

In this work, a mixture of glycerol (Gly) and derivatives of pentaerythritol or α,α′‐diglycerol is used as a plasticizer for preparing a thermoplastic starch (TPS). A coplasticizer containing both hydroxyl group and a long aliphatic chain was synthesized by esterification reaction between pentaerythritol or α,α′‐diglycerol and palmitoyl chloride in two different molar ratios, that is, 1:1 (PT1 and DG1), 1:2 (PT2 and DG2). The esterification products were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ¹H, and ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The starch and the mixed plasticizer were blended in an internal mixer. The morphology and miscibility of the blends were investigated by scanning electron microscope. The mechanical properties, moisture adsorption, and retrogradation phenomenon of the TPS specimens were studied. The results indicated that the TPS specimen containing a mixed plasticizer in a weight ratio of 80% Gly: 20% PT1 showed the highest values of Young's modulus and tensile strength, because this mixed plasticizer system could form stronger hydrogen bonds with starch molecules. Moreover, thermoplastic starch with higher content of pentaerythritol or α,α′‐diglycerol derivatives as a coplasticizer showed lower moisture adsorption, because its long aliphatic chain (hydrophobic part) of pentaerythritol derivatives may prevent starch molecules to reform hydrogen bonding and to recrystallize. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2013. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers     

An analysis technique to increase testability of object‐oriented components

Object‐oriented component engineering is increasingly used for system development, partly because it emphasizes portability and reusability. Each time a component is used, it must be retested in the new environment. Unfortunately, the data abstraction that components usually use results in low testability. First, internal variables cannot be directly set. Second, even though a test input may trigger a fault, the failure does not propagate to the output. This paper presents a technique to increase object‐oriented component testability, thereby making it easier to detect faults. Components are often sealed so that source code is not available. The program analysis is performed at the Java component bytecode level. A component's bytecode is analysed to create a control and data flow graph, which is then used to increase component testability by increasing both controllability and observability. We have implemented this technique and applied it to several components. Experimental results reveal that fault detection can be increased by using our increasing testability process. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.