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Human milk (HM) of healthy, well-nourished, lactating mothers is a unique and ideal source of nutritive factors, like hormones, cytokines, chemokines, growth factors that ensures the proper growth and development of infants. Among the main components of HM, fat is an important energy source and a regulatory factor. The quality of milk fat depends on its fatty acid (FA) composition. Gas chromatography coupled with flame ionisation detection is one of the most common methods for analysis of the FA profile of HM. The aim of this study was to evaluate the FA composition of HM, collected from mothers with different health conditions (normal Body Mass Index (nBMI); overweight and obese) using GC-FID method. The results showed that saturated FAs were present in the highest amount in the HM samples, of which palmitic acid was the main representative. The major monounsaturated FA was oleic acid, while linoleic acid was the most abundant of the polyunsaturated FAs (PUFA). Overweight and obese women have lower levels of PUFA in their breast milk. The data were subjected to principal component and quadratic discriminant analysis (QDA). QDA classified nBMI and overweight and obese mother milk samples with 88.24% accuracy. Significant differences were found between normal and overweight and obese HM samples in case of C10:0 and C18:3 FAs. Higher maternal BMI was associated with a higher n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel general-purpose online measurement system for the resonant piezoelectric bulk-acoustic-wave sensors is presented. The system supports the various sensor types for the different physical measurands, such as the temperature, humidity, the viscosity, density, and speed of sound of liquids, and the film thickness. The measurement principle is based on the determination of the locus of the admittance curves of the respective sensors for one or several resonances (fundamental and/or overtones). The measurement results are calculated from the measured resonance frequencies or quality factors by applying the appropriate sensor function or calibration data for each sensor. The system covers sensors with resonance frequencies ranging from 30 kHz to 30 MHz. Special electronics have been developed to transform the sensor-admittance values (real and imaginary parts) to voltage signals that are acquired by the computer system. The disturbing effects caused by the capacitance of the sensor connecting cable are minimized by a special electronic circuitry. System performance was tested successfully in combination with two different types of temperature sensors (30-MHz quartz crystal and 6-MHz GaPO4 crystal) and two different types of viscosity sensors (56-kHz torsional mode and 2.8-MHz thickness-shear-mode quartz crystals) [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A technique of using an adaptive pulse repetition frequency (PRF) to operate an ultrasonic contrapropagation transit-time gas flowmeter (UFM) is introduced. This adaptive PRF technique allows transient measurements of hot (up to 450 degC) and pulsating (up to 1.5 kHz) gas flows. Such conditions occur in the exhaust gas of a combustion engine. Here, a UFM with the widely used fixed PRF technique is not applicable, because the large gas temperature variations would prevent a reliable detection of ultrasonic pulse arrival times. Coherently reflected waves are generated within the gas because of the unavoidable acoustic impedance mismatch between the gas and the transducers, and, depending on the gas temperatures, these echoes overlap with the main signal. The adaptive PRF technique overcomes this problem and allows correct pulse detection over the whole temperature range required. The UFM utilizes special high-temperature-resistant capacitance ultrasonic transducers (CUTs) to meet the requirements in terms of operating temperature range and dynamic response. Results, which are obtained with a preliminary laboratory prototype, are presented for the exhaust gas mass flow rate in a otimes 50-mm pipe measured at gas temperatures of up to 450 degC and at PRFs of up to 5.5 kHz, which is an increase in frequency response of one order of magnitude in comparison to existing measurement systems [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A novel high-temperature resistant capacitance ultrasonic transducer is presented. It is designed for an ultrasonic transit-time gas flowmeter and meets two main requirements not fulfilled by common piezoelectric transducers: First, a special construction based on an oxidized and patterned silicon backplate combined with a metallic membrane enables transducer operation at elevated gas temperatures of up to 600 degC. Second, the geometry and material parameters were chosen to obtain a broadband device that allows high signal slew rates and pulse repetition rates. As proven by measurements in an automotive combustion engine test bed environment, this new transducer suits for internal combustion engine exhaust flow measurements in between the catalytic converter and the end of the exhaust pipe. Preliminary results for the exhaust mass flow (up to 160 kg/h) of a typical automotive engine measured with these novel transducers are given and compared with the mass flow calculated from fuel consumption and air/fuel ratio (lambda) [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Petunia hybrida cell suspension cultures were exposed to ultrasonic standing wave fields at 2.43 MHz for 40 min with mean sound pressures (within homogenous sound fields) varying from 0 (control) to ca. 1.1 MPa. Mean (± s.d.; n = 6-9) cell viability was reduced to 87±10% at 0.6 MPa and to 59±23% at 1.1 MPa, compared to an initial control value of 92 ± 6% (P < 0.05). Mean (n = 3) cell alkaline phosphatase concentration increased linearly with sound pressure from a control value of 0.006±0.001 to 0.02±0.01 Sigma-Units µg[sup -1] protein at 1.1 MPa (P<0.05). Similarly, mean cell catalase activity increased from a control value of 0.020 ± 0.003 to 0.026 ± 0.008 arbitrary units at 1.1 MPa. In contrast, mean cellular lactate dehydrogenase concentration was unchanged. These observations indicate that cellular repair processes associated with increased alkaline phosphatase activity might be triggered by physical cell damage caused by ultrasound. The observed increase in catalase activity suggests increasing production of free radicals and other sonochemicals, which warrants further study. The absence of changes in lactate dehydrogenase indicates that there was no major damage to respiratory pathways or to overall cellular integrity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Layered piezoelectric resonators exhibit a complex spectrum of eigenfrequencies, which can be understood better if the associated vibration patterns are examined. For a closer insight into such a system, planoconvex AT-cut quartz crystals with a thick layer of copper on one side are investigated experimentally. Since presently no comprehensive three-dimensional theory of layered resonators is available, the experimental results can be compared only with one-dimensional descriptions of layered resonators or with theoretical models for unloaded contoured quartz crystals. The anharmonic spectrum of the crystals is used to find a formula by which the eigenfrequency of the corresponding infinite plate can be determined from measured frequencies of planoconvex crystals. If this correction is applied to experimental frequency spectra of composite quartz-film resonators, excellent agreement with the one-dimensional model is found.

A general transfer matrix description of arbitrarily oriented layered piezoelectric structures is presented. Except for the restriction to two electrodes, it is the most general one-dimensional treatment possible. The description is derived as an exact solution of the fundamental differential equations and the boundary conditions at the terminating surfaces and at the electrical port. It allows the calculation of the electrical admittance appearing between the electrodes for any frequency, as well as the determination of the entire resonance frequency spectrum using only simple matrix multiplications. The general case of multimode excitations and its coupling results is covered.

The three-dimensional equations of linear piezoelectricity are used to compute the mechanical vibration amplitude distributions, as well as the resonance frequencies of plano-convex circular AT-cut quartz crystal resonators. These computations are compared with vibration amplitude measurements employing a new technique that utilizes the speckle effect. Very good agreement has been found between the measured and the computed vibration amplitude distributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on gene expression in space. Effects of gravity on gene expression; Differentiation of cells in culture.

Fat, sugar, theobromine, and caffeine are important compounds in chocolates that influence the physico-chemical and sensory characteristics of the products. These parameters commonly are determined with conventional, time-consuming, environmentally pollutant methods. In this study, near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) coupled with partial least square regression (PLSR) was used to predict the quantity of these compounds. Fat-free cocoa content was calculated based on the alkaloid concentration, while measured fat content was also used for the cocoa content. Prediction models have also been developed for these parameters. The determination coefficient (R 2 ) of the models were as follows: R 2 cv fat 0.98, theobromine 0.94, caffeine 0.76, sucrose 0.92, cocoa 0.98. The root mean square error (RMSE) was found to be relatively low compared to the determined values (RMSECV fat 1.08 %, theobromine 0.42 mg/g, caffeine 0.1 mg/g, sucrose 3.42 %, cocoa content 1.93 %). Therefore, NIRS can be suitable for the analysis of the quality of dark chocolate., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Marietta Fodor reports administrative support and statistical analysis were provided by Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Marietta Fodor reports a relationship with Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences that includes: employment. Marietta Fodor has patent - licensed to -. - If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. Founding This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

The FT-NIR technique was used for rapid and non-destructive determination of plum ripeness. The dry matter (DM), titratable acidity (TA), total soluble solids (TSS) and calculated maturity index (MI: TSS/TA) were used as reference values. The PLS correlations were validated via five-fold cross-validation (RMSECV for different parameters: DM: 0.66%, w / w ; TA = 0.07%, w / w ; TSS = 0.72%, w / w ; MI = 1.39) and test set validation (RMSEP for different parameters: DM: 0.65%, w / w TA = 0.07%, w / w ; TSS = 0.61%, w / w ; MI = 1.50). Different classification algorithms were performed for TA, TSS and MI. Linear, quadratic and Mahalanobis discriminant analysis (LDA, QDA, MDA) were found to be the best sample detection methods. The accuracy of the classification methods was 100% for all investigated parameters and cultivars.

Multilayer piezoelectric transducers and resonators are widely used for generating propagating and standing acoustic waves as well as for sensor devices. More recently, layered piezoelectric structures based on thin film technology became increasingly important for electromechanical filters used in mobile phones. As a consequence, analytical mathematical modeling of such structures is of high interest. In this paper, a general rigorous transfer matrix description for one-dimensional (1D) layered structures consisting of piezoelectric, visco-elastic, and dielectric layers of arbitrary number is introduced to characterize the electrical and mechanical behavior of a general piezoelectric transducer or resonator with two electrodes and arbitrary acoustic termination impedances (Rig-1D-model). This model is the most general 1D analytical description of layered piezoelectric structures available and can be used for the characterization of various composite transducer and resonant sensor applications. Considered in detail are layered structures with the technically important cases of only one electromechanically coupled mode, and the structure at one or both outer surfaces is in contact with semi-infinite media. For such devices, it is shown how the frequency dependence of the total electrical admittance and spatial dependence of the displacements can be calculated.

Gestation and the neonatal period are crucial periods in infant development. Many components of breast milk, including fatty acids, play an important role in strengthening the immune system. The aim of our research was to evaluate the fatty acid profiles of milk from 69 mothers, including subjects having a normal weight, obesity, or gestational diabetes. For the analyses, we used gas chromatography (GC) with flame ionization detection (FID) and GC coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The main fatty acids found in breast milk were palmitic acid (C16:0; 26-28%), linoleic acid (C18:2; 23-28%), and α-linolenic acid linoleic acid (C18:3; 15-17%), followed by myristic acid (C14:0; 5-8%), lauric acid (C12:0; 4-6%) and stearic acid (C18:0; 4-5%). The average breakdown of fatty acids was 50% saturated, 44% polyunsaturated, and 6% monounsaturated. Breast milk samples were classified using principal component analysis and linear discriminant analysis. Results showed that milk from the two major groups of obese and normal body mass index (BMI) could be distinguished with an accuracy of 89.66%. Breast milk samples of Hungarian and Ukrainian mothers showed significant differences based on the fatty acid composition, which variations are attributable to the mothers' dietary habits.

Insects are gaining more and more space in food and feed sectors, creating an intense scientific interest towards insects as food ingredients. Several papers deal with cereal-based products complemented by insect powder in the past few years. However, adulteration and quality control of such products present some hot topics for researchers, e.g. , how can we justify the amounts and/or species of the insects used in the given products? Our paper aims to answer such questions by analysing seven edible insect powders of different species independently. The mixtures with wheat flour were analysed using near infrared spectroscopy and chemometric methods. Not only powders of different species were clearly differentiated, but also mixtures created by different amounts of wheat flour. Prediction of insect content showed 0.65% cross-validated error. The proposed methodology gives an excellent tool for quality control of insect-based cereal food products., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2022 The Authors.)

Cyclodextrins are cyclic oligosaccharides that are able to form water-soluble inclusion complexes with small molecules. Because of their complexing ability, they are widely applied in food, pharmaceutical and chemical industries. In this paper we describe the development of a free web-service, Cyclodextrin KnowledgeBase: ( http://www.cyclodextrin.net ). The database contains four modules: the Publication, Interaction, Chirality and Analysis Modules. In the Publication Module, almost 50,000 publication details are collected that can be retrieved by text search. In the Interaction and Chirality Modules relevant literature data on cyclodextrin complexation and chiral recognition are collected that can be retrieved by both text and structural searches. Moreover, in the Analysis Module, the geometries of small molecule-cyclodextrin complexes can be predicted using molecular docking tools in order to explore the structures and interaction energies of the inclusion complexes. Complex geometry prediction is made possible by the built-in database of 95 cyclodextrin derivatives, where the 3D structures as well as the partial charges are calculated and stored for further utilization. The use of the database is demonstrated by several examples.

Background and Purpose: Recently, 3 clinical trials revealed encouraging results in recanalization and clinical outcome in acute stroke patients when 2-MHz transcranial Doppler monitoring was applied. This study investigated whether a 1.8-MHz commercial diagnostic ultrasound device has the potential to facilitate thrombolysis using an in vitro stroke model., Methods: Duplex-Doppler, continuous wave-Doppler, and pulsed wave (PW)-Doppler were compared on their impact on recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA)-mediated thrombolysis. Blood clots were transtemporally sonicated in a human stroke model. Furthermore, ultrasound attenuation of 5 temporal bones of different thickness was determined., Results: In comparison, only PW-Doppler accelerated rtPA-mediated thrombolysis significantly. Without temporal bone, PW-Doppler plus rtPA showed a significant enhancement in relative clot weight loss of 23.7% when compared with clots treated with rtPA only (33.9+/-5.5% versus 27.4+/-5.2%; P<0.0005). Ultrasound attenuation measurements revealed decreases of the output intensity of 86.8% (8.8 dB) up to 99.2% (21.2 dB), depending on temporal bone thickness (1.91 to 5.01 mm)., Conclusions: Without temporal bone, PW-Doppler significantly enhanced thrombolysis. However, because of a high attenuation of ultrasound by temporal bone, no thrombolytic effect was observed in our in vitro model, although Doppler imaging through the same temporal bone was still possible.

Ultrasound of 2 MHz frequency and 1.2 W/cm(2) acoustic intensity was applied to examine the effect of sonication on recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator (rt-PA)-induced thrombolysis as well as on the distribution of plasminogen and t-PA within whole blood clots in vitro. Thrombolysis was evaluated quantitatively by measuring clot weight reduction and the level of fibrin degradation product D-dimer (FDP-DD) in the supernatant. Weight reduction in the group of clots treated both with ultrasound and rt-PA was 35.2% +/-6.9% which is significantly higher (p<0.0001) than in the group of clots treated with rt-PA only (19.9% +/-4.3%). FDP-DD level in the supernatants of the group treated with ultrasound and rt-PA increased sevenfold compared to the group treated with rt-PA alone, (14895 +/-2513 ng/ml vs. 2364 +/-725 ng/ml). Localization of fibrinolytic components within the clots was accomplished by using gel-entrapping technique and immunohistochemistry. Spatial distributions of t-PA and plasminogen showed clearly that ultrasound promoted the penetration of rt-PA into thrombi significantly (p<0.0001), and broadened the zone of lysis from 8.9 +/-2.6 microm to 21.2 +/-7.2 microm. We speculate that ultrasound enhances thrombolysis by affecting the distribution of rt-PA within the clot.

This paper introduces a novel ultrasonic capacitance transducer for operation at elevated gas temperatures of several hundred degrees Celsius. The transducer design is based on a metallic membrane foil and a backplate made of an electrically conducting substrate coated with an insulation layer. Guidelines are given for selecting suitable materials for the membrane foil, the backplate substrate, and the coating. Manufacturing techniques applied for fabrication of different transducer types are described in detail. Transducers tested were composed of titanium substrates with insulation layers of silicon nitride or of silicon substrates with silicon oxide coatings. Experimental setup and test procedures are described. Results of transducer characterization and performance tests at elevated temperatures are presented and discussed. Transducer functionality is proven for air temperatures of up to 500 degrees C.

A novel, h-shaped ultrasonic resonator was used to separate biological particulates. The effectiveness of the resonator was demonstrated using suspensions of the cyanobacterium, Spirulina platensis. The key advantages of this approach were improved acoustic field homogeneity, flow characteristics, and overall separation efficiency (sigma = 1 - ratio of concentration in cleared phase to input), monitored using a turbidity sensor. The novel separation concept was also effective under microgravity conditions; gravitational forces influenced overall efficiency. Separation of Spirulina at cleared flow rates of 14 to 58 L/day, as assessed by remote video recording, was evaluated under both microgravity (

Angiotensin II has been shown to exert complex effects on proximal tubular cell function and growth. To assess some of the direct effects on proximal tubular cells, changes in gene expression of selected cellular pathways were determined after exposure to angiotensin II. We used DNA microarrays to analyze multiple gene expression responses to increasing angiotensin II concentrations. Human proximal tubular cells were grown in flasks, and the presence of angiotensin type 1 receptor was confirmed by Western blot analysis. At passages 4-6, these cells were exposed to angiotensin II and harvested 4 h later and mRNA of the cells was extracted; 2 microg of mRNA was fluorescently conjugated for cDNA microarray hybridization. A custom-made DNA microarray was designed by selecting 300 human genes from 10 different functional systems and amplifying clones using polymerase chain reaction. Cells were subjected to 10 and 100 nM angiotensin II with paired untreated cells as controls. RNA was isolated, reverse transcribed, labeled and hybridized to the arrays and the ratios calculated. Ratios of > or =2.0 and < or =0.5 were considered significant. Coordinated changes were observed in genes of the hepatocyte nuclear factor 3 family (NHF3; HNF3A, HNF3B and HNF3G), in the E2F genes (E2F1, E2F3) and the interferon regulatory factors IRF1 and IRF5. Induction of the expression of transcription factors points towards complex regulation of gene expression upon angiotensin II exposure. Three genes involved in the dampening of oxidative stress were enhanced. Taken together, brief exposure of human tubular epithelial cells to angiotensin II elicited a marked induction of nuclear factors, antioxidant genes and hormones and hormone receptor genes. The quick activation of transcription factors by angiotensin II indicates that angiotensin II can directly initiate a cascade of expressional events in proximal tubular cells.

In addition to fibrinolytic enzymes, ultrasound has the potential to enhance thrombolysis. High frequency ultrasound has the advantage that a combination of diagnostic and therapeutic ultrasound with only one device is possible. Therefore, we investigated the optimal high frequency (2 MHz) ultrasound field characteristics and application mode in vitro. Continuous ultrasound significantly enhanced rt-PA mediated thrombolysis: in a travelling wave field thrombolysis was augmented by 49.0 +/- 14.7% and in a standing wave field by 34.8 +/- 7.3%. In an intermittent application mode (1Hz, 10Hz, 100Hz, 1kHz) most efficient results were obtained for both wave fields using 1 Hz (46.4 +/- 10.7% and 39.1 +/- 6.6%, respectively). Referring to a possible in vivo application our in vitro data suggests that an intermittent application of a 2 MHz high frequency ultrasound using a travelling wave field would be the most potent application for lysing blood clots.