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Non-invasive potato defects detection has been demanded for sorting and grading purpose. Researches on the classification of the defects has been available, however, investigation on the severity level calculation is limited. For the detection of the common scab, it has been found that imaging in the infrared region provide an interesting characteristic that could distinguish defected area to normal area. Thus, investigations on this wavelength range is interesting to add more knowledge and for applications. In this research, the multispectral image has been obtained and investigated especially at three wavelengths (950, 1 150, 1 600 nm). Image pre-processing and pseudo-color conversion techniques were explored to enhance the contrast between defects, normal background skin area and soil deposits. Results show that external defects, such as common scab and some mechanical damage types, appear brighter in the near infrared region, especially at 1 600 nm against the normal skin background. It has been found that pseudo-color images conversion provides more information regarding type if surface characteristics compared to grayscale single imaging. Image segmentation using pseudo-color images after multiplication operation pre-processing could be used for common scab and mechanical damage detection excluding soil deposits with a Dice Sorensen coefficient of 0.64. In addition, image segmentation using single image at 1 600 nm shown relatively better results with Dice Sorensen coefficient of 0.72 with note that thick soil deposits will also be segmented. Defect severity level evaluation had an R2 correlation of 0.84 against standard measurements of severity.

In this study, we attempted to prepare an amylose-oligo[(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate] (ORHB) inclusion complex using a vine-twining polymerization approach. Our previous studies indicated that glucan phosphorylase (GP)-catalyzed enzymatic polymerization in the presence of appropriate hydrophobic guest polymers produces the corresponding amylose–polymer inclusion complexes, a process named vine-twining polymerization. When vine-twining polymerization was conducted in the presence of ORHB under general enzymatic polymerization conditions (45 °C), the enzymatically produced amylose did not undergo complexation with ORHB. However, using a maltotriose primer in the same polymerization system at 70 °C for 48 h to obtain water-soluble amylose, called single amylose, followed by cooling the system over 7 h to 45 °C, successfully induced the formation of the inclusion complex. Furthermore, enzymatic polymerization initiated from a longer primer under the same conditions induced the partial formation of the inclusion complex. The structures of the different products were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, 1H-NMR, and IR measurements. The mechanism of formation of the inclusion complexes discussed in the study is proposed based on the additional experimental results.

The factors shaping the development of infants' gut microbiota are poorly understood. Here, the authors show that alterations in gut microbiota development in infants are associated with the presence of bifidobacteria having a gene for utilisation of human milk oligosaccharides.

A machine vision system to evaluate harvested paddy grain quality during harvesting using double lighting was developed. The prototype consisted of a low-cost web camera and two lighting systems: a ring white LED for front lighting, and a flat dome white LED light for backlighting. Both lighting systems were arranged in a coaxial axis, making the system simple, compact and easy to handle. The aim of the system is to analyse the captured images and determine the amount of unwanted materials (rachis branch, grass and leaves, and stems) and damaged grain (brown and crack rice) present in the paddy as it is being harvested. In this paper, we introduce the first step in the development of the system: the design and selection of components to optimize the performance of the system to monitor harvested paddy grain quality. The idea would be to mount the system on top of the inlet channel of the grain tank of a combine harvester to provide real-time assessment of harvesting operational parameters.

Surface-initiated graft atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of methyl methacrylate (MMA) from self-assembled chitin nanofibers (CNFs) was performed under dispersion conditions. Self-assembled CNFs were initially prepared by regeneration from a chitin ion gel with 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide using methanol; the product was then converted into the chitin nanofiber macroinitiator by reaction with α-bromoisobutyryl bromide in a dispersion containing N,N-dimethylformamide. Surface-initiated graft ATRP of MMA from the initiating sites on the CNFs was subsequently carried out under dispersion conditions, followed by filtration to obtain the CNF-graft-polyMMA film. Analysis of the product confirmed the occurrence of the graft ATRP on the surface of the CNFs.

In this paper, we report the formation of hierarchically self-assembled nanofiber films from amylose-grafted sodium carboxymethyl celluloses (NaCMCs) that were synthesized by a chemoenzymatic approach. First, maltooligosaccharide primer-grafted NaCMCs were prepared by a chemical reaction using two kinds of NaCMCs with different degrees of polymerization (DPs) from Avicel and cotton sources. Then, phosphorylase-catalyzed enzymatic polymerization of α-d-glucose 1-phosphate from the nonreducing ends of the primer chains on the products was conducted to produce the prescribed amylose-grafted NaCMCs. The films were obtained by drying aqueous alkaline solutions of the amylose-grafted NaCMCs. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image of the film fabricated from the material with the higher DP from the cotton source showed a clear, self-assembled, highly condensed tangle of nanofibers. The SEM image of the material with the lower DP from the Avicel source, on the other hand, showed an unclear nanofiber morphology. These results indicate that the DPs of the main chains in the materials strongly affected the hierarchically self-assembled nanofiber formation. The SEM images of the films after washing out the alkali, furthermore, showed that the fibers partially merged with each other at the interfacial area owing to the double helix formation between the amylose-grafted chains. The mechanical properties of the films under tensile mode also depended on the self-assembled morphologies of the amylose-grafted NaCMCs from the different sources.

We previously reported the preparation of a self-assembled chitin nanofiber (CNF) film via regeneration from an ion gel with an ionic liquid, followed by sonication and filtration. Based on the finding that CNFs were redispersed in a mixture of the film with ammonia aqueous solution (aq.), in this study, CNF-natural rubber (NR) composite sheets were fabricated by mixing redispersed CNF with NR latex stabilized by ammonia, followed by drying under reduced pressure. Tensile testing of the sheets indicated the reinforcing effect of CNFs. Further, CNF-NR composite porous materials were fabricated by evaporating ammonia from the CNF-NR dispersion, followed by lyophilization. The mechanism for the formation of porous structures was evaluated.

This paper describes the evaluation of the stability of amylose–polymer inclusion complexes under solution state in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) depending on guest polymers. The three complexes were prepared by the vine-twining polymerization method using polytetrahydrofuran (PTHF), poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL), and poly(l-lactide) (PLLA) as guest polymers. The stability investigation was conducted at desired temperatures (25, 30, 40, 60 °C) in DMSO solutions of the complexes. Consequently, the amylose–PTHF inclusion complex was dissociated at 25 °C, while the other complexes were stable under the same conditions. When the temperatures were elevated, the amylose–PCL and amylose–PLLA complexes were dissociated at 40 and 60 °C, respectively. We also found that amylose inclusion supramolecular polymers which were prepared by the vine-twining polymerization using primer-guest conjugates formed films by the acetylation of amylose segments. The film from acetylated amylose–PLLA supramolecular polymer had higher storage modulus than that from acetylated amylose–PTHF supramolecular polymer, as a function of temperature.

The contents of a meal may affect postprandial performance, e.g., by causing drowsiness. Therefore, we investigated the effects of a low-carbohydrate meal (LCM) on drowsiness and performance. We evaluated postprandial drowsiness, wakefulness, and concentration level by eye tracking analysis, monitored blood glucose levels over time, and measured autonomic nervous system activity and cognitive function before and after the meal. In addition, participants subjectively evaluated their condition with a visual analogue scale. We found that the postprandial rise in blood glucose level was significantly lower after an LCM than after a high-carbohydrate meal (HCM), but the results of the eye tracking test showed no statistically significant differences between the LCM and HCM. However, it tended to decrease blink duration and increase pupil diameter and fixed gaze duration after the LCM compared to HCM. The findings suggest that postprandial blood glucose levels and the eye tracking indices were possibly related. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]