Rapid detection and quantification of soya bean oil and common sugar in bovine milk using attenuated total reflectance–fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

Attenuated total reflectance–Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, along with chemometrics, were used to detect and quantify soya bean oil (SO) and sugar (CS) adulteration in milk. Bovine milk was artificially adulterated with SO (0.2–2.0%; v/v) and CS (1–10%; w/v) separately. Spectra revealed significant differences in specific wavenumber regions (SO: 1450–1250 cm^?1; CS: 1200–900 cm^?1). Soya bean oil adulteration was best predicted in wavenumber range of 1262–1164 cm^?1, using partial least square regression (coefficient of determination (R²: 0.90 and 0.88 for calibration and validation, respectively). Common sugar adulteration was best predicted in wavenumber range of 1010–910 cm^?1 (R²: 0.99 for calibration and validation) using partial least square.     

Probiotic properties of folate producing Streptococcus thermophilus strains

This study aimed at assessing the probiotic potential of two high folate producing Streptococcus thermophilus strains (RD102 and RD104) isolated from Indian fermented milk products by both in vitro and in vivo tests. These strains were able to survive at pH 2.5 and 2% bile with a good bile salt hydrolase activity, cell surface hydrophobicity and sensitivity to most of the clinically important antibiotics. On evaluation for gastrointestinal transit tolerance these showed a viable count of 5 log cfu mL^?1 and 7 log cfu mL^?1, respectively in simulated gastrointestinal juice of pH 2.0 and 2% bile. During the in vivo feeding trial in mice the strains showed a viable count of about 7 log cfu g^?1 faeces and 6 log cfu g^?1 of large intestine, respectively. These strains were hence observed to possess favorable strain specific probiotic properties and have the potential to be a source of novel probiotics.     

Time‐dependent dosing of Fe2+ for improved lipopeptide production by marine Bacillus megaterium

BACKGROUND: Lipopeptide production is strongly influenced by trace metals. The availability of free Fe²⁺ in the media throughout the process of fermentation was found to be very critical. Since free Fe²⁺ was reported to be sequestered by the lipopeptide as it was produced, intermittent feeding of Fe²⁺ was strategized and optimized for enhanced lipopeptide production by marine Bacillus megaterium in glucose mineral salts medium (GMSM). RESULTS: Studies with the single‐dose Fe²⁺ (0.48 mmol L^?1) supplementation after 8 h of fermentation resulted in lipopeptide concentration of 3.3 ± 0.1 g L^?1. Lipopeptide production was further enhanced to 4.2 ± 0.15 g L^?1 by adopting a multi‐dose Fe²⁺ feeding strategy. The maximum product yield (Y_P/S) of 0.24 ± 0.02 g g^?1 with specific product formation rate (q_p) of 0.124 ± 0.01 g g^?1 h^?1 was achieved when 0.48 mmol L^?1 Fe²⁺ was fed intermittently at different times as per the designed strategy. CONCLUSION: Lipopeptide concentration was improved 4.7‐fold by single‐dosing and 5.8‐fold by multiple dosing of Fe²⁺, when compared with GMSM without Fe²⁺ supplementation. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Emergence of Gold‐Mesoporous Silica Hybrid Nanotheranostics: Dox‐Encoded,Folate Targeted Chemotherapy with Modulation of SERS Fingerprinting for Apoptosis Toward Tumor Eradication

Strategically fabricated theranostic nanocarrier delivery system is an unmet need in personalized medicine. Herein, this study reports a versatile folate receptor (FR) targeted nanoenvelope delivery system (TNEDS) fabricated with gold core silica shell followed by chitosan–folic acid conjugate surface functionalization by for precise loading of doxorubicin (Dox), resembled as Au@SiO₂‐Dox‐CS‐FA. TNEDS possesses up to 90% Dox loading efficiency and internalized through endocytosis pathway leading to pH and redox‐sensitive release kinetics. The superior FR‐targeted cytotoxicity is evaluated by the nanocarrier in comparison with US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)‐approved liposomal Dox conjugate, Lipodox. Moreover, TNEDS exhibits theranostic features through caspase‐mediated apoptosis and envisages high surface plasmon resonance enabling the nanoconstruct as a promising surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) nanotag. Minuscule changes in the biochemical components inside cells exerted by the TNEDS along with the Dox release are evaluated explicitly in a time‐dependent fashion using bimodal SERS/fluorescence nanoprobe. Finally, TNEDS displays superior antitumor response in FR‐positive ascites as well as solid tumor syngraft mouse models. Therefore, this futuristic TNEDS is expected to be a potential alternative as a clinically relevant theranostic nanomedicine to effectively combat neoplasia.     

pH Sensing Properties of Flexible,Bias‐Free Graphene Microelectrodes in Complex Fluids: From Phosphate Buffer Solution to Human Serum

Advances in techniques for monitoring pH in complex fluids can have a significant impact on analytical and biomedical applications. This study develops flexible graphene microelectrodes (GEs) for rapid (<5 s), very‐low‐power (femtowatt) detection of the pH of complex biofluids by measuring real‐time Faradaic charge transfer between the GE and a solution at zero electrical bias. For an idealized sample of phosphate buffer solution (PBS), the Faradaic current is varied monotonically and systematically with the pH, with a resolution of ≈0.2 pH unit. The current–pH dependence is well described by a hybrid analytical–computational model, where the electric double layer derives from an intrinsic, pH‐independent (positive) charge associated with the graphene–water interface and ionizable (negative) charged groups. For ferritin solution, the relative Faradaic current, defined as the difference between the measured current response and a baseline response due to PBS, shows a strong signal associated with ferritin disassembly and the release of ferric ions at pH ≈2.0. For samples of human serum, the Faradaic current shows a reproducible rapid (<20 s) response to pH. By combining the Faradaic current and real‐time current variation, the methodology is potentially suitable for use to detect tumor‐induced changes in extracellular pH.     

Poly(phenylene oxide)‐based polymer electrolyte membranes for fuel‐cell applications

Poly(phenylene oxide)s were synthesized by the oxidative polymerization of 2‐phenyl phenol (PP) and 2‐allyl phenol (AP). The copolymers were also synthesized with 80 mol % PP and 20 mol % AP and with equimolar monomers. The polymers were characterized. Blends of these polymers with poly(vinylidene fluoride) were prepared. These blend membranes were sulfonated, and their suitability for applications in fuel cells was evaluated. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 88: 307–311, 2003     

Noncontact measurement of breathing function.

This paper aims to open a new line of research by demonstrating the feasibility of monitoring breathing function in a highly automated and noncontact fashion. The method is based on the statistical modeling of dynamic thermal data captured through a highly sensitive infrared imaging system. This method achieved an accuracy of 96.43% on a small set of subjects during rest and after brief exercise. It has the potential to provide a unique capability for sustained monitoring of chronic or acute breathing problems and in sleep studies by overcoming the deficiencies of the existing measurement modalities. The method also opens the way for the next generation contact-free polygraphy that will not affect the subject's psychophysiology.     

Outage probability of multiple-input single-output (MISO) systems with delayed feedback

We investigate the effect of feedback delay on the outage probability of multiple-input single-output (MISO) fading channels. Channel state information at the transmitter (CSIT) is a delayed version of the channel state information available at the receiver (CSIR). We consider two cases of CSIR: (a) perfect CSIR and (b) CSI estimated at the receiver using training symbols. With perfect CSIR, under a short-term power constraint, we determine: (a) the outage probability for beamforming with imperfect CSIT (BF-IC) analytically, and (b) the optimal spatial power allocation (OSPA) scheme that minimizes outage numerically. Results show that, for delayed CSIT, BF-IC is close to optimal for low SNR and uniform spatial power allocation (USPA) is close to optimal at high SNR. Similarly, under a longterm power constraint, we show that BF-IC is better for low SNR and USPA is better at high SNR. With imperfect CSIR, we obtain an upper bound on the outage probability with USPA and BF-IC. Results show that the loss in performance due to imperfection in CSIR is not significant, if the training power is chosen appropriately.