Authenticity green coffee bean species and geographical origin using near-infrared spectroscopy combined with chemometrics

To prevent the adulteration of agricultural resources and provide a solution to enhance the green coffee bean supply chain, authentication using the near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) technique was investigated. Partial least square with discrimination analysis (PLS-DA) models combined with various preprocessing methods were built from NIR spectra of 153 Vietnamese green coffee samples. The model combined with the standard normal variate and the first order of derivative yielded excellent performance in predicting coffee species with the error cross-validation of 0.0261. PLS-DA model of mean centre and first-order derivative spectra also yielded good performance in verifying geographical indication of green coffee with the error of 0.0656. By contrast, the predicting abilities of post-harvest methods were poor. The overall results showed a high potential of the NIRS in online authentication practices.     

First Harmonic (2f) Characterisation of Resonant Frequency and Q-Factor of Micromechanical Transducers

In this paper, the response to the first harmonic component (2f) of the electrostatic force in single terminal driven electrostatic comb-drive and parallel-plate drive was used as a signal to extract device parameters, namely, the Q-factor and resonant frequency instead of the fundamental (1f) resonance response. It is shown that the difficulty in motional measurement due to electrical cross-talk (parasitics) using 1f measurement can be overcome with a higher signal-to-noise ratio of the 2f signal. Both atmospheric (low-Q) and reduced pressure environment were investigated using off-chip electronics and lock-in amplifier. The measurements were done on the electrostatic comb-drive and capacitive parallel plate sensing plates that form the two core modules of a yaw rate sensor (dual-axis resonator). The effects of AC and DC bias voltages on the measured response have been investigated. Experimental amplitude and phase response data have been analysed using the Lorentzian curve-fit, Resonance Curve Area (RCA) method, the half-power bandwidth method (3 dB) and the Nyquist plot for data fitting and determination of the Q-factor and resonance frequency.     

Effects of acetylcholine and glutamate on isolated neurons of locomotory network of Clione

In Clione limacina, locomotory rhythm is produced in the central pattern generator by reciprocal activity of two groups of interneurons. Dorsal (D) and ventral (V) phase interneurons activate neurons of the same phase and inhibit neurons of the opposite phase. Which neurotransmitters are used by these interneurons is not clear. In this study, identified follower neurons to V and D interneurons were isolated, and their responses to the local application of potential neurotransmitters were examined. Acetylcholine exerted inhibitory action on the isolated D-phase neurons and excitatory action on V-phase neurons. Glutamate produced excitation in D-phase neurons, and inhibition in V-phase neurons. These results suggest that acetylcholine is the neurotransmitter of D-phase interneurons, while glutamate might be the neurotransmitter of V-phase interneurons.     

Efficient fine granularity scalability using adaptive leaky factor

Fine Granularity Scalability (FGS) video coding has been adopted by the MPEG-4 standard for video streaming applications. In this paper, we propose a novel FGS coding scheme, which applied adaptive leaky factors for the enhancement layer prediction to further improve the coding efficiency of FGS. A flexible method that can dynamically determine the leaky factors according to the network conditions is also presented. With the proposed method, a better trade-off between the coding efficiency and drifting reduction can be achieved, and the coding performance is further improved compared with using a fixed leaky factor. Experimental results show that the proposed method can further improve the coding efficiency over a wide range of bitrate and packet loss ratio, and still keep the original characteristics, such as fine granularity, and bandwidth adaptation.     

Routine use of ultrasound 24 hours before laparoscopic cholecystectomy can predict the need for intraoperative cholangiogram: results of a 12-month prospective audit

Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a progressive degenerative extrapyramidal disease that often masquerades as Parkinson's disease (PD). Similar to PD, dysphagia frequently complicates the course of PSP. Because there is only one published report characterizing dysphagia in PSP, we reviewed the neurologic features and dynamic videofluoroscopic swallowing function study results in 10 dysphagic PSP patients. Abnormalities during multiple stages of ingestion were recorded in each patient. Uncoordinated lingual movements, absent velar retraction or elevation, impaired posterior lingual displacement, and copious pharyngeal secretions were noted in all patients. Tongue-assisted mastication, noncohesive lingual transfer, excessive oral bolus lingual leakage to the pharynx prior to active transfer, vallecular bolus retention, abnormal epiglottic positioning, and hiatal hernias were noted in at least half of the cohort. Although ingestion abnormalities in PSP are similar to those previously reported in PD, the number of studied patients and observed differences were too few to clearly differentiate the two diseases.     

Allelic polymorphism of the DNA-loci met and D7S23, linked to the mucoviscidosis gene in human populations of the Volga-Ural region

Data on allelic polymorphism of MET and D7S23 DNA loci linked to the human cystic fibrosis gene studied in three Bashkir ethnic groups and some Volga-Ural populations (Tartars, Maris, Mordovians, Udmurts, Chuvashs, and Komis) are presented. Udmurts were found to be substantially different from Bashkirs, Tartars, Mordovians, and Chuvashs by the allele frequency distribution observed for MET, while Komis and Bashkirs differed by this parameter from Mordovians and Maris. Comparative analysis of restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) at the D7S23 locus revealed statistically significant differences in genotype frequencies between Bashkirs of the Arkhangel' skii region and populations of Mordva and Udmurtia. In this respect, the Mordovian population appeared to be notably different from the populations of Bashkortostan, Tatarstan, Marii-El, Udmurtiya, Chuvashiya, and Komis. Genetic distances were calculated and corresponding dendrograms were constructed on the basis of data on Met-H, CS.7, and the ApoB locus hypervariable region allelic frequencies. Three ethnogeographic Bashkir groups belonging to one tree branch were found to be closely related to the populations of Tartars, Maris, Udmurts, and Chuvashs and substantially different from Komis and Mordovians. Thus, the position of Volga-Ural populations on the dendrogram corresponds to the degree of relationship between the Finno-Ugric and Turkic populations, confirming the usefulness of DNA polymorphism analysis for the study of the genetic structure of populations.