Non-invasive and transdermal measurement of blood uric acid level in human by electroporation and reverse iontophoresis

The aim of this study was to find out the optimum combination of electroporation (EP) and reverse iontophoresis (RI) on noninvasive and transdermal determination of blood uric acid level in humans. EP is the use of high-voltage electric pulse to create nano-channels on the stratum corneum, temporarily and reversibly. RI is the use of small current to facilitate both charged and uncharged molecule transportation across the skin. It is believed that the combination of these two techniques has additional benefits on the molecules’ extraction across the human skin. In vitro studies using porcine skin and diffusion cell have indicated that the optimum mode for transdermal uric acid extraction is the combination of RI with symmetrical biphasic direct current (current density = 0.3 mA/cm2; phase duration = 180 s) and EP with 10 pulses per second (voltage = 100 V/cm2; pulse width = 1 ms). This optimum mode was applied to six human subjects. Uric acid was successfully extracted through the subjects’ skin into the collection solution. A good correlation (r2 = 0.88) between the subject’s blood uric acid level and uric acid concentrations in collection solutions was observed. The results suggest that it may be possible to noninvasively and transdermally determine blood uric acid levels

Synthetic Applications of Ketene Cycloadditions Lactams and Coumarins

The objective of this study was to develop new synthetical routes to natural and industrial products utilizing ketene cycioaddition reactions. The cycioaddition of diphenylketene with α,β-unsaturated imines yields (2+2) cycioaddition products, g-lactams. However, electron donating groups, such as dimethylamine, in the 4-position of the α,β-unsaturated imines result in (4+2) cycloaddition products, ∂-lactams. Dichloroketene reacted with α,β-unsaturated imines to yield (4+2) cycloaddition products, g-lactams. Large substituents in the 4-position of a, ^-unsaturated imines resulted in a (2+2) cycioaddition product, β-lactam. The ∂-lactams derived from dichloroketene are easily dehydrochlorinated to the corresponding 2-pyridornes

Data Analysis of Medical Records in Veterinary Hospital Using Clustering Method and Association Rule

Since pets have been promoted from working livestock to family companions, pet industry is also progressing with the development of nowadays? society. To reduce the negligence of the diagnostic process, the correlations between the symptoms and treatments of sick pets are collected. Medical records of a veterinary hospital are used as the input dataset. The clustering algorithms and association rules use two methods to investigate the practice. The result indicates that urology, dermatology or internal medicines are highly correlated with possible symptoms. The conclusion could assist doctors to find the association rules between diseases and symptoms of pets. In this paper, the medical records of pets are analyzed using the data mining method of Clustering Algorithm based on Histogram Threshold (HTCA). HTCA is composed of hierarchical clustering method and Otsu?s method. Two steps are applied in the experiments. First, we find the proper clustering by applying HTCA clustering method, and then apply the association rule to find the impact of divisions of property. Experiment shows that, the attributes of impacting factors and to efficiently find medical records in veterinary hospitals

Pet Trade as Sources of Introduced Bird Species in Taiwan

Pet trade has dominated in contributing to exotic bird introductions into Taiwan. At least 290 exotic species of pet birds have been imported to Taiwan since 1994, of which 93 species have escaped from captivity and become introduced species, and 28 species have been found to breed in the wild. An estimated 32.1% of overall escaping rate was significantly higher than that suggested by Tens rule. Among 11 bird families which have at least one species breeding in the wild, the escaping rate was significantly higher for four families: Sturnidae, Timaliidae, Cacatuidae, and Pycnonotidae; and the breeding rate was significantly higher for only one family – Estrildidae. We suggest that these five families should be focused on, in future monitoring programs for risk assessment of invasive species

Comparison of Artificial Neural Networks and Response Surface Methodology towards an Efficient Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction of Chlorogenic Acid from Lonicera japonica

Chlorogenic acid (CGA), a bioactive compound commonly found in plants, has been demonstrated possessing nutraceutical potential in recent years. However, the more critical issue concerning how to improve production efficacy of CGA is still limited. It is a challenge to harvest a large amount of CGA without prolonging extraction time. In this study, the feasibility of using ultrasound for CGA extraction from Lonicera japonica was investigated. A central composite design (CCD) was employed to evaluate the effects of the operation parameters, including temperature, ethanol concentration, liquid to solid ratio, and ultrasound power on CGA yields. Meanwhile, the process of ultrasound-assisted extraction was optimized through modeling response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural network (ANN). The data indicated that CGA was efficiently extracted from the flower of Lonicera japonica by ultrasound assistance. The optimal conditions for the maximum extraction of CGA were as follows: The temperature at 33.56 °C, ethanol concentration at 65.88%, L/S ratio at 46:1 mL/g and ultrasound power at 150 W. ANN possessed greater optimization capacity than RSM for fitting experimental data and predicting the extraction process to obtain a maximum CGA yield. In conclusion, the process of ultrasound-assisted extraction can be well established by a methodological approach using either RSM or ANN, but it is worth mentioning that the ANN model used here showed the superiority over RSM for predicting and optimizing

Comparison of Artificial Neural Networks and Response Surface Methodology towards an Efficient Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction of Chlorogenic Acid from Lonicera japonica

Chlorogenic acid (CGA), a bioactive compound commonly found in plants, has been demonstrated possessing nutraceutical potential in recent years. However, the more critical issue concerning how to improve production efficacy of CGA is still limited. It is a challenge to harvest a large amount of CGA without prolonging extraction time. In this study, the feasibility of using ultrasound for CGA extraction from Lonicera japonica was investigated. A central composite design (CCD) was employed to evaluate the effects of the operation parameters, including temperature, ethanol concentration, liquid to solid ratio, and ultrasound power on CGA yields. Meanwhile, the process of ultrasound-assisted extraction was optimized through modeling response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural network (ANN). The data indicated that CGA was efficiently extracted from the flower of Lonicera japonica by ultrasound assistance. The optimal conditions for the maximum extraction of CGA were as follows: The temperature at 33.56 °C, ethanol concentration at 65.88%, L/S ratio at 46:1 mL/g and ultrasound power at 150 W. ANN possessed greater optimization capacity than RSM for fitting experimental data and predicting the extraction process to obtain a maximum CGA yield. In conclusion, the process of ultrasound-assisted extraction can be well established by a methodological approach using either RSM or ANN, but it is worth mentioning that the ANN model used here showed the superiority over RSM for predicting and optimizing

The effect of extrusion puffing on the physicochemical properties of brown rice used for saccharification and Chinese rice wine fermentation

Chinese rice wine (CRW), with its high nutritional value and unique flavor, has been popular in China for thousands of years. The traditional steps of immersion and steam cooking during the brewing of rice wine have several drawbacks, including the long production time, large energy consumption, generation of wastewater and the large production area it occupies. Extrusion puffing has the potential to overcome these drawbacks. In this study, the physicochemical properties of extruded-puffed brown rice obtained under different conditions were analyzed. The puffed extrudates exhibited low bulk density, high water solubility index and higher surface area than the steam-cooked brown rice. Extrusion puffing operates at high temperatures, high pressure and provides mechanical shearing forces, resulting in the puffed extrudates having a higher degree of gelatinization, as determined by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy with attenuated total reflection (FTIR-ATR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), revealed the disruption of the native crystalline structure. The effect of extrusion on enzymatic hydrolysis was evaluated using amylase digestion. The results indicated that puffed extrudates significantly improved the enzymatic hydrolysis rate and yield. Moreover, the catalytic efficiency was evaluated by kinetic constants, with extrusion puffing treatment demonstrating an efficiency18-fold higher than steam-cooked brown rice. Finally, extruded-puffed blown rice was used for Chinese rice wine fermentation. The extruded-puffed blown rice improved alcohol yield during the fermentation process, which increased the wine yield by 12.4% compared to traditional cooking methods

Hydrolysis of Orange Peel with Cellulase and Pectinase to Produce Bacterial Cellulose using Gluconacetobacter xylinus

Oranges (Citrus sinensis) are the world’s most processed fruit. The waste from processing is rich in soluble sugars, cellulose, hemicelluloses and pectin and therefore has potential as feedstock for bacterial cellulose (BC) production. In this study, cellulase and pectinase were used to hydrolyze orange peel in order to increase the amount of fermentable sugars. Response surface methodology was used to evaluate the effects of reaction parameters, and 80.99 g/L reducing sugar was obtained with cellulase of 1589.41 U/g, pectinase of 31.75 U/g and a reaction time of 5.28 h. Besides, the orange peel fluid and orange peel hydrolysate were used as the culture media for Gluconacetobacter xylinus during BC production. The orange peel media have no significant inhibiting effect on the fermentation activity of G. xylinus for BC production. As an acetic acid buffer was used or nitrogen source was added to the orange peel media, BC production was 4.2–6.32 times higher than that in traditional Hestrin and Schramm (HS) medium. The SEM and IR spectra showed that the BC produced was not much different than that produced in HS medium. These results demonstrate that orange peel not only can be used as a low cost feedstock to produce BC, but it also provides a solution to the waste disposal problem of the orange juice industry