Cocoa Butter Substitute (CBS) Produced from Palm Mid-fraction/Palm Kernel Oil/Palm Stearin for Confectionery Fillings

This study investigated the physicochemical properties of ternary mixtures of palm mid-fraction (PMF):refined bleached deodorized palm kernel oil (RBDPKO):refined bleached deodorized palm stearin (RBDPS) for cocoa butter substitute (CBS). Fatty acid constituents, triacylglycerol constituents, solid fat contents (SFCs), melting behavior, polymorphism and crystal morphology were determined using gas chromatography (GC), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance (p-NMR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and polarized light microscopy (PLM), respectively. Eight blends of various ratios of ternary mixtures were investigated based on the previously studied binary fat mixtures. The composition of palmitic (P) and oleic (O), POP, and crystal morphology (size and shape) of the PMF/RBDPKO/RBDPS [14.9/59.6/25.5 (%w/w)] mixture were comparable to cocoa butter (CB), while its melting profile (18.5 and 37 °C), SFC at 20 °C and polymorphism were different from CB. The iso-solid diagrams of the mixture displayed a monotectic effect at 20–25 °C. Therefore, the 14.9/59.6/25.5 PMF/RBDPKO/RBDPS mixture could be used as a CBS in confectionery fillings because of the crystal morphology and monotectic behaviors comparable to those of CB.     

Ultrawideband Radar Measurements of Thickness of Snow Over Sea Ice

An accurate knowledge of snow thickness and its variability over sea ice is crucial in determining the overall polar heat and freshwater budget, which influences the global climate. Recently, algorithms have been developed to extract snow thicknesses from satellite passive microwave data. However, validation of these data over the large footprint of the passive microwave sensor has been a challenge. The only method used thus far has been with meter sticks during ship cruises. To address this problem, we developed an ultrawideband frequency-modulated continuous-wave radar to measure the snow thickness over sea ice. We synthesized a very linear chirp signal by using a phase-locked loop with a digitally generated chirp signal as a reference to obtain a fine-range resolution. The radar operates over the frequency range from 2-8 GHz. We made snow-thickness measurements over the Antarctic sea ice by operating the radar from a sled in September and October 2003. We performed radar measurements over 11 stations with varying snow thicknesses between 4 and 85 cm. We observed an excellent agreement between radar estimates of snow thickness with physical measurements, achieving a correlation coefficient of 0.95 and a vertical resolution of about 3 cm. Comparison of simulated radar waveforms using a simple transmission line model with the measurements confirms our expectations that echoes from snow-covered sea ice are dominated by reflections from air-snow and snow-ice interfaces.     

Model multiple antigenic and homopolymeric peptides from non-repetitive sequences of malaria merozoite proteins elicit biologically irrelevant antibodies

We describe here a new type of mitochondrial mutation (dum24; for dark uniparental minus inheritance) of the unicellular photosynthetic alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. The mutant fails to grow under heterotrophic conditions and displays reduced growth under both photoautotrophic and mixotrophic conditions. In reciprocal crosses between mutant and wild-type cells, the meiotic progeny only inherit the phenotype of the mating-type minus parent, indicating that the dum24 mutation exclusively affects the mitochondrial genome. Digestion with various restriction enzymes followed by DNA gel blot hybridizations with specific probes demonstrated that dum24 cells contain four types of altered mitochondrial genomes: deleted monomers lacking cob, nd4, and the 3' end of the nd5 gene; deleted monomers deprived of cob, nd4, nd5, and the 5' end of the cox1 coding sequence; and two types of dimers produced by end-to-end fusions between monomers similarly or differently deleted. Due to these mitochondrial DNA alterations, complex I activity, the cytochrome pathway of respiration, and presumably, the three phosphorylation sites associated with these enzyme activities are lacking in the mutant. The low respiratory rate of the dum24 cells results from the activities of rotenone-resistant NADH dehydrogenase, complex II, and alternative oxidase, with none of these enzymes being coupled to ATP production. To our knowledge, this type of mitochondrial mutation has never been described for photosynthetic organisms or more generally for obligate aerobes.     

Physician's working diagnosis compared to the Euricterus Real Life Data Diagnostic Tool Trial in three jaundice databases: Euricterus Dutch, independent prospective and independent retrospective

BACKGROUND/AIMS: In the European Union Euricterus Project on (sub)Icterus proforma, the history and physical examination items were to be used for the physician's working diagnosis (PWD) and 'among others, for the development of the real life data electronic diagnostic tool, Trial. Trial delivers diagnosis probabilities based on Bayes' Theorem (B), completed by Trial Algorithm (TA). We wanted to compare the diagnostic accuracies (PWD and Trial probabilities as a percentage of the final diagnosis (FD) in a patient population) in 3 Dutch databases. METHODOLOGY: The inclusion criteria for both Euricterus and Trial were age > or = 16 and bilirubin > or = 20 mmol/l. Euricterus data gathering took place at the bedside on a proforma with (among other questions) 79 questions on history and physical examination as well as the diagnosis levels for the PWD (1 alternative possible) and FD (17 disease categories, dc). Trial was developed on the data of 7,104 Euricterus patients and its data-entry Demo has the same questions. It calculates the probability of each diagnosis of the 17 dc as a percentage, as each significant finding is encountered (BO, Bayesian Overall). It can simultaneously calculate the resemblance of the patient's signs and symptoms to each disease concomitantly (BV, Bayesian Vertical), and to any subset of a disease. Any probability is further tested for compatibility using TA, a subset of BV, delivering TA-PWD, TA-BO and TA-BV. The Trial test patients came from 3 databases: a Euricterus Dutch Patients Random Sample EDRS (n = 184, internal database) and 2 independent databases: prospective P (n = 80) and retrospective R (n = 152), totalling 416 patients. RESULTS: The accuracies of PWD and Trial showed no differences between the databases, and the results are therefore pooled (n = 416). With testing on the highest probability found, the PWD accuracy was 78%, TA-PWD 81%, TA-BO 74% and TA-BV 72%. The true FD's were mentioned (at any probability) in the PWD in 86%, TA-PWD in 92%, TA-BO in 94% and TA-BV in 91% of the patients. Testing only patients whose FD was "certain" or whose data were without omissions did not improve accuracy. Testing on probability > 95% improved BO and BV accuracy, but not TA-BO or TA-BV. CONCLUSIONS: The Physician's Working Diagnosis accuracy was approximately 80% and did not greatly improve after TA. The Trial TA-BO and TA-BV accuracies were only slightly less than the PWD. For well-trained physicians, Trial strengthens the physician's judgment, and for those less trained (or those to be trained), it delivers a (sub)icterus diagnostic disease probability at nearly consultant level.     

Development of a Coconut- and Palm-Based Fat Blend for a Cookie Filler

Thirteen fat blends intended for cookie filler (CF) production that consist of 20–70 % palm mid-fraction (PMF), 20–70 % virgin coconut oil (VCO), and 0–10 % palm stearin (POs) were developed based on the solid fat contents (SFC) of the fat portions extracted from five commercial CF samples: A, B, C, D, and E. A mixture design was applied for fat blend optimization, and the combination that best approached the target SFC values was composed of 70 % PMF, 20 % VCO, and 10 % POs. The optimized coconut- and palm-based fat blend (O-CP) exhibited a steeper SFC profile, with 8.2 % (±0.2) SFC at 25 °C (room temperature) and 0.2 % (±0.2) SFC at 37 °C (body temperature); lower slip melting point of 34.0 °C (±0.0); and a lower iodine value (IV) of 40.25 g/100 g (±1.04). In addition, O-CP contained higher proportions of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA) and lauric acid (C12:0) of 3.2 % (±0.18) and 9.7 % (±0.43), respectively. In terms of its thermal profile, O-CP showed no significant difference in terms of its crystallization range, 49.7 °C (±2.66) with the exception of sample C, but it exhibited a smaller melting range, 65.8 °C (±1.47), compared to the fat portions of the commercial samples. The ranges represented the span between the onset and offset temperatures of both crystallization and melting profiles as determined by differential scanning calorimetry.     

A wideband radar for high-resolution mapping of near-surface internal layers in glacial ice

Snow accumulation rate is an important parameter in determining the mass balance of polar ice sheets. Accumulation rate is currently determined by analyzing ice cores and snow pits. Inadequate sampling of the spatial variations in the ice sheet accumulation has resulted in accumulation rate uncertainties as large as 24%. We designed and developed a 600-900-MHz airborne radar system for high-resolution mapping of the near-surface internal layers for estimating the accumulation rate of polar ice sheets. Our radar system can provide improved spatial and temporal coverage by mapping a continuous profile of the isochronous layers in the ice sheet. During the 2002 field season in Greenland, we successfully mapped the near-surface layers to a depth of 200 m in the dry-snow zone, 120 m in the percolation zone, and 20 m in the melt zone. We determined the water equivalent accumulation rate at the NASA-U/spl I.bar/1 site to be 34.9/spl plusmn/5.1 cm/year from 1964 to 1992. This is in close agreement with the ice-core derived accumulation rate of 34.6 cm/year for the same period.     

Triacylglycerols responsible for the onset of nucleation during clouding of palm olein

This paper discusses the results of an investigation to identify triacylglycerols that induce clouding of refined bleached deodorized (RBD) palm olein, which occurred within 24 h after fractionation. The experiments were conducted in a jacketed glass vessel in which the liquid sample was cooled from 70 to 23°C at a predetermined rate. Clouding began at around 28.5°C. The presence of three different types of saturated triglycerides, namely tripalmitin, dipalmitoyl-myristoylglycerol and dipalmitoyl-stearoyl-rac-glycerol, is critical in the formation of nuclei and thus clouding of the RBD palm olein. This conclusion is based on the significant increase in the relative concentration of these components in the nuclei as compared to the mother oil.     

Investigating the effect of deforming temperature on the oil-binding capacity of palm oil based shortening

This study investigated the effect of deforming temperature on the oil binding capacity (OBC) of a palm oil-based shortening (melting point 40 °C). The shortening was treated with three different temperature conditions namely, Set A at 25 °C for 8 h, Set B at 40 °C for 8 h and Set C at 70 °C for 2 h. Stability analyzer (LUMiFuge, Germany) that applies centrifugal force with an in-built near infrared (NIR) detector was used to measure the amount of free oil released from the shortenings. Other characteristics such as crystal size, solid fat content (SFC), hardness and aerating ability were also studied. The stability analyzer successfully measured the OBC, with the highest in Set A (99%) followed by Set B (94%) and Set C (89%). The increase of deforming temperature resulted in the increase of crystal size that decreased the OBC, which consequently decreased the SFC, hardness and aerating ability of the shortening.