Phenolic acids composition and antioxidant activity of canola extracts in cooked beef,chicken and pork

Crude polyphenol extracts (15 or 100 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/kg meat) from canola meal reduced the formation of 2-thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) in pre-cooked beef (66–92%), pork (43–75%) and chicken (36–70%). The canola extract contained sinapic (99.7%), ferulic (0.28%) and p-hydroxybenzoic acids (0.07%).     

Asymmetric Flexible Supercapacitor Stack

Electrical double layer supercapacitor is very significant in the field of electrical energy storage which can be the solution for the current revolution in the electronic devices like mobile phones, camera flashes which needs flexible and miniaturized energy storage device with all non-aqueous components. The multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) have been synthesized by catalytic chemical vapor deposition technique over hydrogen decrepitated Mischmetal (Mm) based AB₃ alloy hydride. The polymer dispersed MWNTs have been obtained by insitu polymerization and the metal oxide/MWNTs were synthesized by sol-gel method. Morphological characterizations of polymer dispersed MWNTs have been carried out using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM and HRTEM). An assymetric double supercapacitor stack has been fabricated using polymer/MWNTs and metal oxide/MWNTs coated over flexible carbon fabric as electrodes and nafion^® membrane as a solid electrolyte. Electrochemical performance of the supercapacitor stack has been investigated using cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge-discharge, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.     

Anticancer activity of Carica papaya: A review

Carica papaya is widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical countries and is used as food as well as traditional medicine to treat a range of diseases. Increasing anecdotal reports of its effects in cancer treatment and prevention, with many successful cases, have warranted that these pharmacological properties be scientifically validated. A bibliographic search was conducted using the key words “papaya”, “anticancer”, and “antitumor” along with cross‐referencing. No clinical or animal cancer studies were identified and only seven in vitro cell‐culture‐based studies were reported; these indicate that C. papaya extracts may alter the growth of several types of cancer cell lines. However, many studies focused on specific compounds in papaya and reported bioactivity including anticancer effects. This review summarizes the results of extract‐based or specific compound‐based investigations and emphasizes the aspects that warrant future research to explore the bioactives in C. papaya for their anticancer activities.     

Effect of Surface Treatment on Bio-corrosion in Aluminum Alloy 2024-T3

Bio-corrosion is one of the major problems faced in any engineering/aerospace industry. The present study focuses on understanding the effect of surface treatment on AA2024-T3 on bio-corrosion in aircraft fuel tanks. The microbial attack on aluminum alloy (2024-T3) in aircraft fuel tanks by Pseudomonas aeruginosa was studied. Substrates with (1) chromate-free surface treatment (anodization; 2) Ormosil coatings doped with inhibitors/derivatives known for antimicrobial properties were evaluated for their bio-corrosion protection efficiency as compared to bare coupons. The coupons were immersed in aviation fuel spiked with the test culture. The changes in chemical parameters of test solution like pH were monitored periodically. A probable relationship between number of organisms, changes in pH and the extracellular protein (hypothesized to be produced by organisms) were evaluated. Our studies indicated that pH did not appear to play a crucial role in biofilm formation. Surface morphology of bare and anodized AA2024-T3 coupons before and after electrochemical impedance studies (EIS) was analyzed using FE-SEM. Anodized samples with least i_corr value of (0.075?×?10^?6 A cm^?2) and corrosion rate of (0.12?×?10^?2 mm/y) after 60 days showed distinct corrosion protection than bare and the coated samples. Additional evidence in support of corrosion protection efficiency of anodized was obtained by the biofilm barrier efficiency of 98.94%.     

Bioactivity of mango flesh and peel extracts on peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ [PPARγ] activation and MCF-7 cell proliferation: fraction and fruit variability

Mangos are a source of bioactive compounds with potential health promoting activity. Biological activities associated with mango fractions were assessed in cell-based assays to develop effective extraction and fractionation methodologies and to define sources of variability. Two techniques were developed for extraction and fractionation of mango fruit peel and flesh. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) was used to assess compositional differences between mango fractions in flesh extracts. Many of the extracts were effective in inhibiting the proliferation of human breast cancer cells in vitro. All fractions showed bioactivity in PPAR activation assays, but quantitative responses showed marked fruit-to-fruit variability, highlighting the need to bulk fruit prior to extraction for activity-guided fractionation of bioactive components. This study also suggests that combinations of diverse molecular components may be responsible for cell-level bioactivities from mango fractions, and that purification and activity profiling of individual components may be difficult to relate to whole fruit effects. Practical Application: Although the health benefits of fruits are strongly indicated from studies of diet and disease, it is not known what role individual fruit types can play, particularly for tropical fruits. This study shows that there is a diversity of potentially beneficial bioactivities within the flesh and peel of mango fruit, although fruit-to-fruit variation can be large. The results add to the evidence that the food approach of eating all components of fruits is likely to be more beneficial to health than consuming refined extracts, as the purification process would inevitably remove components with beneficial bioactivities.     

Scratch Cell Test: A Simple,Cost Effective Screening Tool to Evaluate Self-Healing in Anti-Corrosion Coatings

A quick and simple scratch cell set up to evaluate the self-healing of an hybrid sol-gel (ormosil) coating was fabricated. This methacrylate-based anti-corrosion coating was applied on the aerospace aluminium alloy AA2024-T3, and cured at room temperature. This technique of evaluation requires minimum instrumentation. The inhibitors cerium nitrate, benzotriazole and 8-hydroxy quinoline (8-HQ) were used in the study. The self-healing ability of the inhibitors decreased in the following order: 8-HQ, BTZ and Ce. 8-HQ showed the highest self-healing ability and was comparable to the commercial hexavalent chromium conversion coating—Alodine. Spectroscopic analysis of the electrolyte and EDX of the coatings indicated the movement of the inhibitor from the coating to the site of damage, thereby effecting self-healing. It was observed that an increased inhibitor concentration in the coatings did not accelerate the healing process. Inhibitor release was slower in the coatings doped with inhibitor-loaded nano-containers, when compared to inhibitor-spiked coatings. This property of controlled release is desirable in self-healing coatings. Electro impedance studies further confirmed self-healing efficiency of the coatings. The scratch cell study reported here is the first of its kind with the ormosil under study on AA2024-T3 aluminium alloy. The results are encouraging and warranty a quick and simple qualitative screening of the self-healing potential of the inhibitors with minimum instrumentation.     

A novel technique to assess chromatin texture using pixel optical densitometry in oral squamous cell carcinoma

Background: The early detection of neoplasia is the prime aim of a diagnostician. Altered chromatin distribution is the earliest microscopic change observed in malignant transformation making it a valuable morphometric parameter. This study was aimed to assess and correlate the progressive changes in chromatin texture from normal to varying grades of premalignancies to malignancy of the oral cavity. Methods: Thirty‐four archival tissue specimens categorized as normal buccal mucosa (5), low‐grade epithelial dysplasia (11), high‐grade epithelial dysplasia (7), and squamous cell carcinoma (11) were stained with Feulgen reaction. Pixel optical densitometry histograms were obtained from analysis of an average of 300 cells/case using ImageJ software. Nine histogram curve characteristics (including area under the curve, area integer percentage, center, centroid) were then analyzed statistically for differences between the four groups. Results: Area integer percentage (P = 0.002), center (P = 0.038), and centroid (P = 0.021) were statistically significant within the four groups The parameters showed a dip in their value from normal to low‐grade dysplasia but showed a steady increase in high‐grade dysplasia and carcinoma. Conclusion: The optical density characteristics had the ability to differentiate the progression of neoplastic changes by extracting information of the chromatin distribution not quantifiable by routine microscopy. The early clumping of chromatin in the periphery in low‐grade dysplasia followed by progressively increasing chromatin aggregates in high‐grade dysplasia and carcinoma correlated well with the shift observed in the histogram center and centroid. The novel pixel optical densitometry technique efficiently predicted malignant transformation. Microsc. Res. Tech. 75:1119–1123, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Functional,digestibility, and antioxidant properties of brown and polished rice flour from traditional and new‐improved varieties grown in Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan traditional and improved rice varieties were processed into brown and polished rice flours. Samples were analyzed for AM, protein, lipid, total phenolic content, and antioxidant activity. Gelatinization and retrogradation properties were observed in the Rapid Visco Analyzer (RVA) and DSC. The AM content of the samples was high to intermediate (20 to 26%) except for one which was low (17%). Brown rice flour (BRF) samples had lower swelling power, lower RVA viscoamylograph profile, lower gel hardness, lower gelatinization enthalpy but higher gelatinization peak temperature and lower melting enthalpies of its retrograded AP relative to its corresponding polished rice flour (PRF) samples. The BRF showed a lower decrease in peak viscosity in the RVA viscoamylograph as compared to its PRF when treated with α‐amylase indicating inhibition potential. The traditional rice varieties had 68 to 86% higher total phenolic content (TPC) and 86 to 90% antioxidant activity in the BRF samples as compared to the improved varieties. A study on the antioxidant profile of the brown rice of the traditional rice varieties is being undertaken to explore their value as functional foods.