Copelandstevens3492

Consumption of underutilised ancient crops has huge benefits for our society. It improves food security by diversifying our staple foods and makes our agriculture more adaptable to climate change. The Philippines has a rich biodiversity and many plant species used as staple foods are native to the Philippines. An example of ancient Philippine crops is the kabog millet, an ecotype of Panicum miliaceum. There is a dearth of information about its uses and properties; hence, in this study, the nutritional quality of kabog millet was evaluated. The total starch, % amylose, ash, dietary fibre, proteins, essential amino acid profile, phenolic acids, carotenoids, tocopherols, and the antioxidant properties of its total phenolic acid extracts were compared to four types of rice (white, brown, red, and black) and a reference millet, purchased from local Swiss supermarkets. see more Our analyses showed that kabog millet has higher total dietary fibre, total protein, total phenolic acids, tocopherols, and carotenoids content than white rice. It also performed well in antioxidant assays. Our results indicate that kabog millet is a good alternative to rice. It is hoped that the results of this study will encourage consumers and farmers to diversify their food palette and address food insecurity.Water-foamed asphalt is capable of improving the workability of asphalt mixture. It has been extensively used for its energy-saving and emission-reducing features. Water plays an essential part in improving the workability of water-foamed asphalt mixture. However, there is still lack in profound studies of moisture dissipation of the water-foamed asphalt over time and its influence on workability. In this study, the evolutions of residual water content and rotational viscosity of the water-foamed asphalt with time were respectively measured by the analytical balance and modified rotational viscometer (RV). The atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis was conducted to discuss the mechanism of viscosity reduction of water-foamed asphalt. The results showed that moisture evaporation is significantly influenced by the foaming water content and ambient temperature, which results in the different stabilizing time of water-foamed asphalt. When water-foamed asphalt was stabilized, the residual water inside the asphalt was less than 0.01% relative to the asphalt mass. link2 The AFM analysis showed that the foaming process changed the distribution of wax in the water-foamed asphalt resulting in reduction of viscosity. The viscosity reduction of asphalt is highly related to the initial foaming water content. After the foaming process, the viscosity keeps stable and is independent of moisture dissipation.Small biomolecules, such as coenzyme A (CoA) and acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA), play vital roles in the regulation of cellular energy metabolism. In this paper, we evaluated the delayed effect of the potent hepatotoxin thioacetamide (TAA) on the concentrations of CoA and acetyl-CoA in plasma and in different rat tissues. Administration of TAA negatively affects liver function and leads to the development of hepatic encephalopathy (HE). In our experiments, rats were administered a single intraperitoneal injection of TAA at doses of 200, 400, or 600 mg/kg. Plasma, liver, kidney, and brain samples were collected six days after the TAA administration, a period that has been suggested to allow for restoration of liver function. The concentrations of CoA and acetyl-CoA in the group of rats exposed to different doses of TAA were compared to those observed in healthy rats. The results obtained indicate that even a single administration of TAA to rats is sufficient to alter the physiological balance of CoA and acetyl-CoA in the plasma and tissues of rats for an extended period of time. The initial concentrations of CoA and acetyl-CoA were not restored even after the completion of the liver regeneration process.The present paper deals with the electrochemical behavior of three types of sensors based on modified screen-printed electrodes (SPEs) a sensor based on carbon nanofibers (CNF/SPE), a sensor based on nanofibers of carbon modified with gold nanoparticles (CNF-GNP/SPE) and a biosensor based on nanofibers of carbon modified with gold nanoparticles and tyrosinase (CNF-GNP-Ty/SPE). To prepare the biosensor, the tyrosinase (Ty) was immobilized on the surface of the electrode already modified with carbon nanofibers and gold nanoparticles, by the drop-and-dry technique. The electrochemical properties of the three electrodes were studied by cyclic voltammetry in electroactive solutions, and the position and shape of the active redox peaks are according to the nature of the materials modifying the electrodes. In the case of ferulic acid, a series of characteristic peaks were observed, the processes being more intense for the biosensor, with the higher sensitivity and selectivity being due to the immobilization of tyrosinase, a specific enzyme for phenolic compounds. The calibration curve was subsequently created using CNF-GNP-Ty/SPE in ferulic acid solutions of various concentrations in the range 0.1-129.6 μM. This new biosensor allowed low values of the detection threshold and quantification limit, 2.89 × 10-9 mol·L-1 and 9.64 × 10-9 mol·L-1, respectively, which shows that the electroanalytical method is feasible for quantifying ferulic acid in real samples. The ferulic acid was quantitatively determined in three cosmetic products by means of the CNF-GNP-Ty/SPE biosensor. The results obtained were validated by means of the spectrometric method in the infrared range, the differences between the values of the ferulic acid concentrations obtained by the two methods being under 5%.Highly efficient training is a must in professional sports. Presently, this means doing exercises in high number and quality with some sort of data logging. In American football many things are logged, but there is no wearable sensor that logs a catch or a drop. Therefore, the goal of this paper was to develop and verify a sensor that is able to do exactly that. In a first step a sensor platform was used to gather nine degrees of freedom motion and audio data of both hands in 759 attempts to catch a pass. After preprocessing, the gathered data was used to train a neural network to classify all attempts, resulting in a classification accuracy of 93%. Additionally, the significance of each sensor signal was analysed. It turned out that the network relies most on acceleration and magnetometer data, neglecting most of the audio and gyroscope data. Besides the results, the paper introduces a new type of dataset and the possibility of autonomous training in American football to the research community.This research introduces a numerical design of an air-core vortex polymer optical fiber in cyclic transparent optical polymer (CYTOP) that propagates 32 orbital angular momentum (OAM) modes, i.e., it may support up to 64 stable OAM-states considering left- and right-handed circular polarizations. This fiber seeks to be an alternative to increase the capacity of short-range optical communication systems multiplexed by modes, in agreement with the high demand of low-cost, insensitive-to-bending and easy-to-handle fibers similar to others optical fibers fabricated in polymers. This novel fiber possesses unique characteristics a diameter of 50 µm that would allow a high mechanical compatibility with commercially available polymer optical fibers, a difference of effective index between neighbor OAM modes of around 10-4 over a bandwidth from 1 to 1.6 µm, propagation losses of approximately 15 × 10-3 dB/m for all OAM modes, and a very low dispersion for OAM higher order modes (±l = 16) of up to +2.5 ps/km-nm compared with OAM lower order modes at a telecom wavelength of 1.3 µm, in which the CYTOP exhibits a minimal attenuation. The spectra of mutual coupling coefficients between modes are computed considering small bends of up to 3 cm of radius and slight ellipticity in the ring of up to 5%. Results show lower-charge weights for higher order OAM modes.Stress and mental health at work are the leading causes of long-term sickness absence in the UK, with chronically poor working conditions impacting employee physiological and psychological health. Social workers play a significant part in the fabric of UK society, but have one of the most stressful occupations in the country. The aim of this project was to work with UK social workers to co-develop, implement, and evaluate a series of smartphone-based mental health initiatives. A Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach, consisting of semi-structured interviews and focus group and steering group discussions, was utilized to design the mental health and well-being interventions. Study efficacy was evaluated via a pre- and post-intervention survey and post-intervention semi-structured interviews. Interventions developed were psycho-educational, improved top-down and bottom-up communication, and provided access to a Vocational Rehabilitation Assistant for those struggling and at risk of sickness absence. Six months following dissemination, surveys demonstrated significant improvements in communication, and mean score improvements in four other working conditions. This project, therefore, demonstrates that co-developed initiatives can be positively impactful, despite post-intervention data collection being impacted by COVID-19. Future studies should build upon these findings and broaden the PAR approach nationally while taking a robust approach to evaluation.Wide field Raman imaging using the integral field spectroscopy approach was used as a fast, one shot imaging method for the simultaneous collection of all spectra composing a Raman image. For the suppression of autofluorescence and background signals such as room light, shifted excitation Raman difference spectroscopy (SERDS) was applied to remove background artifacts in Raman spectra. To reduce acquisition times in wide field SERDS imaging, we adapted the nod and shuffle technique from astrophysics and implemented it into a wide field SERDS imaging setup. In our adapted version, the nod corresponds to the change in excitation wavelength, whereas the shuffle corresponds to the shifting of charges up and down on a Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) chip synchronous to the change in excitation wavelength. We coupled this improved wide field SERDS imaging setup to diode lasers with 784.4/785.5 and 457.7/458.9 nm excitation and applied it to samples such as paracetamol and aspirin tablets, polystyrene and polymethyl methacrylate beads, as well as pork meat using multiple accumulations with acquisition times in the range of 50 to 200 ms. The results tackle two main challenges of SERDS imaging gradual photobleaching changes the autofluorescence background, and multiple readouts of CCD detector prolong the acquisition time.With the expanding use of polymers in modern our lives, there is an increasing need to manufacture advanced engineering polymeric parts in a systematic and inexpensive way. Herein, we developed an organic inorganic hybrid composite material with excellent mechanical properties by enhancing the dispersion and moldability of fillers. For this, we prepared and analyzed the physical properties of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)/aluminum nanoparticle composites. Al nanoparticles of various sizes (20 nm and 40 nm) and concentrations (3, 6, 9, and 12 wt.%) were employed. The mechanical properties of the prepared composites were measured using a universal testing machine. link3 Rheological and thermal analyses for the composites were carried out with use of a rheometer and a differential thermal calorimeter (DSC). We also conducted optical, chemical, electrical, and morphological property studies of the samples in order to help design and produce high-performance engineering products.