Detecting the adulteration in apple vinegar using olfactory machine coupled PCA and ANN methods

Nowadays, the number of food adulteration cases is increasing sharply for reasons such as population growth, increasing demand and profitability of suppliers. Mixing apple vinegar with white vinegar and acetic acid are the most common methods of cheating on the market in Iran. In this study, an electrical olfactory system was used to detect pure apple vinegar from acetic acid and white vinegar. The data obtained from the sensors were analyzed by PCA and ANN methods after preprocessing. Based on the results, TGS822 and MQ136 sensors showed the highest response to odor of samples of vinegar mixed with acetic acid and white vinegar, respectively. Also, the confusion matrix obtained from ANN analysis for different levels of adulteration with acetic acid and white vinegar showed correct classification rate of 93.3% and 94.7%, respectively

Potential of Acid-Activated Bentonite and SO3H-Functionalized MWCNTs for Biodiesel Production From Residual Olive Oil Under Biorefinery Scheme

Application of acid-activated bentonite and SO3H-functionlized multiwall carbon nanotubes (SO3H-MWCNTs) for lowering free fatty acids (FFAs) content of low-quality residual olive oil, prior to alkali-catalyzed transesterification was investigated. The used bentonite was first characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Inductively Coupled Plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and was subsequently activated by different concentrations of H2SO4 (3, 5, and 10 N). Specific surface area of the original bentonite was measured by Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller (BET) method at 45 m2/g and was best improved after 5 N-acid activation (95–98°C, 2 h) reaching 68 m2/g. MWCNTs was synthesized through methane decomposition (Co-Mo/MgO catalyst, 900°C) during the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process. After two acid-purification (HCl, HNO3) and two deionized-water-neutralization steps, SO3H was grafted on MWCNTs (concentrated H2SO4, 110°C for 3 h) and again neutralized with deionized water and then dried. The synthesized SO3H-MWCNTs were analyzed using Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The activated bentonite and SO3H-MWCNTs were utilized (5 wt.% and 3 wt.%, respectively), as solid catalysts in esterification reaction (62°C, 450 rpm; 15:1 and 12:1 methanol-to-oil molar ratio, 27 h and 8 h, respectively), to convert FFAs to their corresponding methyl esters. The results obtained revealed an FFA to methyl ester conversion of about 67% for the activated bentonite and 65% for the SO3H-MWCNTs. More specifically, the acid value of the residual olive oil was decreased significantly from 2.5 to 0.85 and 0.89 mg KOH/g using activated bentonite and SO3H-MWCNTs, respectively. The total FFAs in the residual olive oil after esterification was below 0.5%, which was appropriate for efficient alkaline-transesterification reaction. Both catalysts can effectively pretreat low-quality oil feedstock for sustainable biodiesel production under a biorefinery scheme. Overall, the acid-activate bentonite was found more convenient, cost-effective, and environment-friendly than the SO3H-MWCNTs

Comparison of Ultrasound-Guided Percutaneous and Open Surgery Approaches in The Animal Model of Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha-Induced Disc Degeneration

Objective: Animal models provide a deeper understanding about various complications and better demonstratethe effect of therapeutic approaches. One of the issues in the low back pain (LBP) model is the invasiveness ofthe procedure and it does not mimic actual disease conditions in humans. The purpose of the present study wasto compare the ultrasound-guided (US-guided) percutaneous approach with the open-surgery method in the tumornecrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α)-induced disc degeneration model for the first time to showcase the advantages of thisrecently developed, minimally invasive method.Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, eight male rabbits were divided into two groups (open-surgery andUS-guided). Relevant discs were punctured by two approaches and TNF-α was injected into them. Magnetic resonanceimaging (MRI) was performed to assess the disc height index (DHI) at all stages. Also morphological changes (annulusfibrosus, nucleus pulposus) were evaluated by assessing Pfirrmann grade and histological evaluation (Hematoxylin &Eosin).Results: The findings indicated targeted discs became degenerated after six weeks. DHI in both groups was significantlyreduced (P<0.0001), however the difference was not significant between the two groups. In the open-surgery group,osteophyte formation was seen at six and eighteen weeks after the puncture. Pfirrmann grading revealed significantdifferences between injured and adjacent uninjured discs (P<0.0001). The US-guided method indicated significantlyfewer signs of degeneration after six (P=0.0110) and eighteen (P=0.0328) weeks. Histological scoring showedsignificantly lower degeneration in the US-guided group (P=0.0039).Conclusion: The US-guided method developed a milder grade condition and such a model better mimics the chroniccharacteristics of LBP and the procedure is more ethically accepted. Therefore, the US-guided method could be a meritapproach for future research in this domain as a safe, practical and low-cost method

Overall Survival Prediction in Renal Cell Carcinoma Patients Using Computed Tomography Radiomic and Clinical Information

The aim of this work is to investigate the applicability of radiomic features alone and in combination with clinical information for the prediction of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) patients' overall survival after partial or radical nephrectomy. Clinical studies of 210 RCC patients from The Cancer Imaging Archive (TCIA) who underwent either partial or radical nephrectomy were included in this study. Regions of interest (ROIs) were manually defined on CT images. A total of 225 radiomic features were extracted and analyzed along with the 59 clinical features. An elastic net penalized Cox regression was used for feature selection. Accelerated failure time (AFT) with the shared frailty model was used to determine the effects of the selected features on the overall survival time. Eleven radiomic and twelve clinical features were selected based on their non-zero coefficients. Tumor grade, tumor malignancy, and pathology t-stage were the most significant predictors of overall survival (OS) among the clinical features (p < 0.002, < 0.02, and < 0.018, respectively). The most significant predictors of OS among the selected radiomic features were flatness, area density, and median (p < 0.02, < 0.02, and < 0.05, respectively). Along with important clinical features, such as tumor heterogeneity and tumor grade, imaging biomarkers such as tumor flatness, area density, and median are significantly correlated with OS of RCC patients

The effect of yogurt co-fortified with probiotic and vitamin D on lipid profile, anthropometric indices and serum 25-hydroxi vitamin D in obese adult: A Double-Blind Randomized- Controlled Trial

Vitamin D deficiency can be regarded as one of the overgrowing health problem in all of the world. Evidence from a clinical trial suggested a role for probiotic bacteria in increasing vitamin D. However, probiotic's effect is strain specific and this effect should be confirmed about different strains. The objective was to determine if yogurt fortification with probiotic bacteria, Lactobillus acidophilus La-B5, Bifidobacterium lactis Bb-12 either alone or in combination with vitamin D can be a complementary treatment for vitamin D deficiency. The end-points were vitamin D, cardio metabolic lipid profile, anthropometric indices (weight, height, waist, hip, fat mass, lean body mass) and dietary intake. A 10-week parallel-group, double-blind, randomized and controlled trial was conducted on 140 obese men and women. The participants were randomly allocated to receive 100 grams either 1) plain low-fat yogurt or 2) probiotic yogurt or 3) vitamin D-fortified yogurt or 4) probiotic and vitamin D cofortified yogurt. All groups received low-calorie diet. Vitamin D increased significantly in group 4 (p = .008), group 3 (p = .001) and group 1 (p = .012 with no difference between groups. Vitamin D-fortified yogurt had the most effect size and showed a significant difference versus plain (p = .018) and probiotic yogurt (p = .002). Regarding lipid profile, there were no significant differences between groups. Data from this study does not support the hypothesis that yogurt fortified with probiotic bacteria, Lactobillus acidophilus La-5 and Bifidobacterium lactis Bb-12 either alone or in combination with vitamin D might impose any increasing effect on serum level of vitamin D in comparison with vitamin D-fortified yogurt