Background: Food adulteration is a global concern, whether it takes place intentionally or incidentally. In Canada, maple syrup is susceptible to being adulterated with cheaper syrups such as corn, beet, cane syrups, and many more due to its high price and economic importance.
Results: In this study, the use of attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy was investigated to detect maple syrups adulterated with 15 different sugar syrups at different concentration levels.
In contrast with classic bench-top hyperspectral (multispectral)-sensor-based instruments (spectrophotometers), the portable ones are rugged, relatively inexpensive, and simple to use; therefore, they are suitable for field implementation to more closely examine various soil properties on the spot. The purpose of this study was to evaluate two portable spectrophotometers to predict key soil properties such as texture and soil organic carbon (SOC) in 282 soil samples collected from proportional fields in four Canadian provinces. Of the two instruments, one was the first of its kind (prototype) and was a mid-infrared (mid-IR) spectrophotometer operating between ~5500 and ~11,000 nm.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiabetic neuropathy is a chronic condition that affects a significant number of individuals with diabetes. Streptozotocin injection intraperitoneally to rodents produces pancreatic islet β-cell destruction causing hyperglycemia, which affect the brain leading to memory and cognition impairment. Dapagliflozin may be able to reverse beta-cell injury and alleviate this impairment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy has demonstrated applicability as a reagent-free whole-organism fingerprinting technique for both microbial identification and strain typing. For routine application of this technique in microbiology laboratories, acquisition of FTIR spectra in the attenuated total reflectance (ATR) mode simplifies the FTIR spectroscopy workflow, providing results within minutes after initial culture without prior sample preparation. In our previous central work, 99.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDespite the significance of surface absorbed proteins in determining the biological identity of nanoparticles (NPs) entering the human body, little is known about the surface corona and factors that shape their formation on dietary particles used as food additives. In this study, food grade NPs of silica and titania and their food additive counterparts (E551 and E171) were interacted with milk proteins or with skimmed milk and the levels of protein adsorption were quantified. Characteristics of proteins correlating with their level of adsorption to NPs were determined using partial least squares regression analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFour methods were tested for enumerating bacteria present in the absorbent pads (AP) used in packaging chicken and other meats. Viable counts were ascertained at day 0 and day 7 (d0 and d7, respectively). Sampling bacterial cells from AP were carried out using a countertop blender, Stomacher, sonication, and blender in combination to sonication.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEssential oils (EOs) have potential utility as clean-label food preservatives due to their antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. In this study, various EOs were screened for their antimicrobial activities against Listeria grayi in vitro. The susceptibility of L.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnimal welfare status is assessed today through visual evaluations requiring an on-farm visit. A convenient alternative would be to detect cow welfare status directly in milk samples, already routinely collected for milk recording. The objective of this study was to propose a novel approach to demonstrate that Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy can detect changes in milk composition related to cows subjected to movement restriction at the tie stall with four tie-rail configurations varying in height and position (TR1, TR2, TR3 and TR4).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMore than 10 million tons of textile waste are disposed through landfill every year in North America. The disposal of textile waste via landfill or incineration causes environmental problems and represents a waste of useful resources. In this work, we explored the possibility to directly extract cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) from untreated textile waste through two methods, namely sulfuric acid hydrolysis and three-step oxidization.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOne of the great challenges in identifying effective therapy in many neurodegenerative diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), is the lack of reliable biomarkers. In this study, we applied infrared imaging microspectroscopy, a valuable technique to investigate biomolecule fingerprints and secondary structure of proteins within biological tissue. We hypothesized that, since skin and CNS have the same embryonic origin, spectral differences associated with ALS-specific pathological events will be readily detectable through skin testing using this technique.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWhile silica particles are used extensively in food products, different grades and temperature variants of silica particles have not been compared for their physiochemical and biological properties. Different grades of silica (food-grade nanoparticles (FG-NPs), nonfood-grade nanoparticles (NFG-NPs), and food-grade micron particles (FG-MPs)) and the temperature variants generated by exposing FG-NPs to wet heating, dry heating, and refrigeration were compared for their physicochemical properties and interaction with trypsin. FG-NPs were similar to NFG-NPs and FG-MPs in their elemental composition and amorphous nature but had relatively less branched and ring siloxane groups than the latter ones.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe incidence of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) in Egypt is considered one of the highest in the world. Metformin and Sulfonylureas are usually prescribed together due to their efficacy and their relatively low cost. Organic cation transport 1, encoded by gene, is the main transporter of metformin into hepatocytes, which is considered metformin site of action.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInvasive fungal infections by opportunistic yeasts have increased concomitantly with the growth of an immunocompromised patient population. Misidentification of yeasts can lead to inappropriate antifungal treatment and complications. Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy is a promising method for rapid and accurate identification of microorganisms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe eco-toxicological indicators used to evaluate soil quality complement the physico-chemical criteria employed in contaminated site remediation, but their cost, time, sophisticated analytical methods and in-situ inapplicability pose a major challenge to rapidly detect and map the extent of soil contamination. This paper describes a sensor-based approach for measuring potential (substrate-induced) microbial respiration in diesel-contaminated and non-contaminated soil and hence, indirectly evaluates their microbial activity. A simple CO2 sensing system was developed using an inexpensive non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) CO2 sensor and was successfully deployed to differentiate the control and diesel-contaminated soils in terms of CO2 emission after glucose addition.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To review the literature on quality of life (QoL) in borderline personality disorder (BPD) by examining the use of QoL instruments, the extent of QoL impairments in BPD, and the impact of treatment on QoL in BPD.
Methods: Studies were identified through PubMed and PsycINFO searches for articles from 1980 to 2011 using the following keywords: quality of life OR health-related quality of life OR QOL OR HRQOL AND borderline personality disorder. We focused our search on studies that actually measured QoL.
Aim: Evaluation of the laparoscopic assisted revision of the ventriculoperitoneal shunt as an alternative technique to the traditional laparotomy.
Material And Methods: Out of 1181 elective neurosurgical procedures have been done from January 2009 to December 2010. There are 98 (8.
The emergence of community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) carrying Panton-Valentine leukocidin is a worldwide problem. Their identification is based currently on costly and complicated molecular methods. This article describes a simple method for differentiating CA-MRSA from hospital-associated (HA) epidemic MRSA pulsed-field gel electrophoresis types using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe effects of dissolved oxygen tension during bacterial growth and acclimation on the cell surface properties and biochemical composition of the bacterial pathogens Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Yersinia enterocolitica are characterized. Three experimental techniques are used in an effort to understand the influence of bacterial growth and acclimation conditions on cell surface charge and the composition of the bacterial cell: (i) electrophoretic mobility measurements; (ii) potentiometric titration; and (iii) ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. Potentiometric titration data analyzed using chemical speciation software are related to measured electrophoretic mobilities at the pH of interest.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: To evaluate Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy as a rapid method for distinguishing glycopeptide-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (GISA) from glycopeptide-susceptible methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and to compare three data analysis methods.
Methods: First-derivative normalized spectra of dried films of bacterial growth on Que-Bact Universal Medium No.
A rapid and simple typing system is needed for controlling the spread of epidemic methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), currently one of the most widespread multi-resistant nosocomial pathogens in Canadian hospitals. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was used to subtype 85 isolates representing five strains of epidemic Canadian MRSA (CMRSA). Spectral fingerprints of whole cells grown on Que-Bact(R) Universal Medium No.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA method was developed for whole-organism fingerprinting of Clostridium botulinum isolates by focal plane array Fourier transform infrared (FPA-FTIR) spectroscopy. A database of 150,000 infrared spectra of 44 strains of C. botulinum was acquired using a FPA-FTIR imaging spectrometer equipped with a 16 x 16 array detector to evaluate the ability of FTIR spectroscopy to differentiate the 44 strains.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCoagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS), frequently associated with both community-acquired and nosocomial bloodstream infections, must be distinguished from Staphylococcus aureus for clinical purposes. Conventional methods are too laborious and time-consuming and often lack sensitivity to CNS. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy combined with the use of a universal growth medium (Que-Bact Universal Medium No.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe mid- and near-infrared (mid-IR and NIR) spectra of aqueous solutions of glucose and fructose, fructose and galactose, and glucose and galactose were recorded and analyzed by heterospectral two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (H2D-CS) to determine characteristic NIR wavelengths for each sugar. Fourier self-deconvolution (FSD) was applied to the NIR spectra prior to H2D-CS analysis to help resolve the strongly overlapping sugar absorptions. Examination of the H2D-CS data gave characteristic absorption wavelengths for glucose, fructose, and galactose.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe secondary structure of commercially purified soybean lipoxygenase (EC 1.13.11.
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