Validation of a One-Step Method for Extracting Fatty Acids from Salmon, Chicken and Beef Samples.

PubMed

Zhang, Zhichao; Richardson, Christine E; Hennebelle, Marie; Taha, Ameer Y

2017-10-01

Fatty acid extraction methods are time-consuming and expensive because they involve multiple steps and copious amounts of extraction solvents. In an effort to streamline the fatty acid extraction process, this study compared the standard Folch lipid extraction method to a one-step method involving a column that selectively elutes the lipid phase. The methods were tested on raw beef, salmon, and chicken. Compared to the standard Folch method, the one-step extraction process generally yielded statistically insignificant differences in chicken and salmon fatty acid concentrations, percent composition and weight percent. Initial testing showed that beef stearic, oleic and total fatty acid concentrations were significantly lower by 9-11% with the one-step method as compared to the Folch method, but retesting on a different batch of samples showed a significant 4-8% increase in several omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid concentrations with the one-step method relative to the Folch. Overall, the findings reflect the utility of a one-step extraction method for routine and rapid monitoring of fatty acids in chicken and salmon. Inconsistencies in beef concentrations, although minor (within 11%), may be due to matrix effects. A one-step fatty acid extraction method has broad applications for rapidly and routinely monitoring fatty acids in the food supply and formulating controlled dietary interventions. © 2017 Institute of Food Technologists®.

Low extractable wipers for cleaning space flight hardware

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tijerina, Veronica; Gross, Frederick C.

1986-01-01

There is a need for low extractable wipers for solvent cleaning of space flight hardware. Soxhlet extraction is the method utilized today by most NASA subcontractors, but there may be alternate methods to achieve the same results. The need for low non-volatile residue materials, the history of soxhlet extraction, and proposed alternate methods are discussed, as well as different types of wipers, test methods, and current standards.

SW-846 Test Method 3200: Mercury Species Fractionation and Quantification by Microwave Assisted Extraction, Selective Solvent Extraction and/or Solid Phase Extraction

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

a sequential extraction and separation procedure that maybe used in conjunction with a determinative method to differentiate mercury species that arepresent in soils and sediments. provides information on both total mercury andvarious mercury species.

Interlaboratory comparison of mutagenesis testing of coal fly ash derived from differenct coal conversion technologies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chrisp, C.; Hobbs, C.; Clark, R.

1979-01-01

This experiment showed that mutagenicity of fly ash derived from different coal conversion technologies, as determined by the Ames plate incorporation test, was similar in all three laboratories. The differences in mutagenic activity of each fly ash between laboratories with different solvent extraction methods were no greater than one order of magnitude. In addition, there were much smaller, but still significant differences in mutagenic activity between laboratories when the same solvent extract of a particular fly ash was tested in each laboratory. There were also significant differences in mutagenicity of the positive control mutagen (maximum of fivefold) between laboratories. Becausemore » of this difference in Ames test sensitivity between laboratories, the influence of the solvent extraction methods on differences in mutagenicity was not clear. However, the data suggested that either there were significant differences in the degree of sensitivity of Ames tests for different complex mixtures within each laboratory, or else there were differences in mutagen extraction efficiency between different solvent extraction methods. Both Ames test sensitivity and solvent extraction may be important. Further work would be necessary to separate the contribution of these two factors. An important aspect of further work would be to separate the contribution of the innate sensitivity of substrains of Ames tester strains in each laboratory from the possible effects of differences in Ames testing methodology. This could be done by testing the same extracts of fly ash and positive control mutagens with substrains of tester strains exchanged between laboratories. This work also implies that caution should be exercised in assuming that the same solvent would have the same efficiency for extraction of mutagens from different fly ashes even within the same laboratory.« less

Screening for acetylcholinesterase inhibition and antioxidant activity of selected plants from Croatia.

PubMed

Jukic, Mila; Burcul, Franko; Carev, Ivana; Politeo, Olivera; Milos, Mladen

2012-01-01

The methanol, ethyl acetate and chloroform extracts of selected Croatian plants were tested for their acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition and antioxidant activity. Assessment of AChE inhibition was carried out using microplate reader at 1 mg mL⁻¹. Antioxidant capacities were determined by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging test and ferric reducing/antioxidant power assay (FRAP). Total phenol content (TPC) of extracts were determined using Folin-Ciocalteu colorimetric method. Out of 48 extracts, only methanolic extract of the Salix alba L. cortex exerted modest activity towards AChE, reaching 50.80% inhibition at concentration of 1 mg mL⁻¹. All the other samples tested had activity below 20%. The same extract performed the best antioxidative activity using DPPH and FRAP method, too. In essence, among all extracts used in the screening, methanolic extracts showed the best antioxidative activity as well as highest TPC.

Hydrometallurgical recovery of germanium from coal gasification fly ash: pilot plant scale evaluation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Arroyo, F.; Fernandez-Pereira, C.; Olivares, J.

2009-04-15

In this article, a hydrometallurgical method for the selective recovery of germanium from fly ash (FA) has been tested at pilot plant scale. The pilot plant flowsheet comprised a first stage of water leaching of FA, and a subsequent selective recovery of the germanium from the leachate by solvent extraction method. The solvent extraction method was based on Ge complexation with catechol in an aqueous solution followed by the extraction of the Ge-catechol complex (Ge(C{sub 6}H{sub 4}O{sub 2}){sub 3}{sup 2-}) with an extracting organic reagent (trioctylamine) diluted in an organic solvent (kerosene), followed by the subsequent stripping of the organicmore » extract. The process has been tested on a FA generated in an integrated gasification with combined cycle (IGCC) process. The paper describes the designed 5 kg/h pilot plant and the tests performed on it. Under the operational conditions tested, approximately 50% of germanium could be recovered from FA after a water extraction at room temperature. Regarding the solvent extraction method, the best operational conditions for obtaining a concentrated germanium-bearing solution practically free of impurities were as follows: extraction time equal to 20 min; aqueous phase/organic phase volumetric ratio equal to 5; stripping with 1 M NaOH, stripping time equal to 30 min, and stripping phase/organic phase volumetric ratio equal to 5. 95% of germanium were recovered from water leachates using those conditions.« less

Antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of Cortex Magnoliae Officinalis and some other medicinal plants commonly used in South-East Asia

PubMed Central

Chan, Lai Wah; Cheah, Emily LC; Saw, Constance LL; Weng, Wanyu; Heng, Paul WS

2008-01-01

Background Eight medicinal plants were tested for their antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. Different extraction methods were also tested for their effects on the bioactivities of the medicinal plants. Methods Eight plants, namely Herba Polygonis Hydropiperis (Laliaocao), Folium Murraya Koenigii (Jialiye), Rhizoma Arachis Hypogea (Huashenggen), Herba Houttuyniae (Yuxingcao), Epipremnum pinnatum (Pashulong), Rhizoma Typhonium Flagelliforme (Laoshuyu), Cortex Magnoliae Officinalis (Houpo) and Rhizoma Imperatae (Baimaogen) were investigated for their potential antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. Results Extracts of Cortex Magnoliae Officinalis had the strongest activities against M. Smegmatis, C. albicans, B. subtilis and S. aureus. Boiled extracts of Cortex Magnoliae Officinalis, Folium Murraya Koenigii, Herba Polygonis Hydropiperis and Herba Houttuyniae demonstrated greater antioxidant activities than other tested medicinal plants. Conclusion Among the eight tested medicinal plants, Cortex Magnoliae Officinalis showed the highest antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. Different methods of extraction yield different spectra of bioactivities. PMID:19038060

Wide-Scope Screening Method for Multiclass Veterinary Drug Residues in Fish, Shrimp, and Eel Using Liquid Chromatography-Quadrupole High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry.

PubMed

Turnipseed, Sherri B; Storey, Joseph M; Lohne, Jack J; Andersen, Wendy C; Burger, Robert; Johnson, Aaron S; Madson, Mark R

2017-08-30

A screening method for veterinary drug residues in fish, shrimp, and eel using LC with a high-resolution MS instrument has been developed and validated. The method was optimized for over 70 test compounds representing a variety of veterinary drug classes. Tissues were extracted by vortex mixing with acetonitrile acidified with 2% acetic acid and 0.2% p-toluenesulfonic acid. A centrifuged portion of the extract was passed through a novel solid phase extraction cartridge designed to remove interfering matrix components from tissue extracts. The eluent was then evaporated and reconstituted for analysis. Data were collected with a quadrupole-Orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometer using both nontargeted and targeted acquisition methods. Residues were detected on the basis of the exact mass of the precursor and a product ion along with isotope pattern and retention time matching. Semiquantitative data analysis compared MS 1 signal to a one-point extracted matrix standard at a target testing level. The test compounds were detected and identified in salmon, tilapia, catfish, shrimp, and eel extracts fortified at the target testing levels. Fish dosed with selected analytes and aquaculture samples previously found to contain residues were also analyzed. The screening method can be expanded to monitor for an additional >260 veterinary drugs on the basis of exact mass measurements and retention times.

The Use of TOC Reconciliation as a Means of Establishing the Degree to Which Chromatographic Screening of Plastic Material Extracts for Organic Extractables Is Complete.

PubMed

Jenke, Dennis; Couch, Thomas R; Robinson, Sarah J; Volz, Trent J; Colton, Raymond H

2014-01-01

Extracts of plastic packaging, manufacturing, and delivery systems (or their materials of construction) are analyzed by chromatographic methods to establish the system's extractables profile. The testing strategy consists of multiple orthogonal chromatographic methods, for example, gas and liquid chromatography with multiple detection strategies. Although this orthogonal testing strategy is comprehensive, it is not necessarily complete and members of the extractables profile can elude detection and/or accurate identification/quantification. Because the chromatographic methods rarely indicate that some extractables have been missed, another means of assessing the completeness of the profiling activity must be established. If the extracts are aqueous and contain no organic additives (e.g., pH buffers), then they can be analyzed for their total organic carbon content (TOC). Additionally, the TOC of an extract can be calculated based on the extractables revealed by the screening analyses. The measured and calculated TOC can be reconciled to establish the completeness and accuracy of the extractables profile. If the reconciliation is poor, then the profile is either incomplete or inaccurate and additional testing is needed to establish the complete and accurate profile. Ten test materials and components of systems were extracted and their extracts characterized for organic extractables using typical screening procedures. Measured and calculated TOC was reconciled to establish the completeness of the revealed extractables profile. When the TOC reconciliation was incomplete, the profiling was augmented with additional analytical testing to reveal the missing members of the organic extractables profile. This process is illustrated via two case studies involving aqueous extracts of sterile filters. Plastic materials and systems used to manufacture, contain, store, and deliver pharmaceutical products are extracted and the extracts analyzed to establish the materials' (or systems') organic extractables profile. Such testing typically consists of multiple chromatographic approaches whose differences help to ensure that all organic extractables are revealed, measured, and identified. Nevertheless, this rigorous screening process is not infallible and certain organic extractables may elude detection. If the extraction medium is aqueous, the process of total organic carbon (TOC) reconciliation is proposed as a means of establishing when some organic extractables elude detection. In the reconciliation, the TOC of the extracts is both directly measured and calculated from the chromatographic data. The measured and calculated TOC is compared (or reconciled), and the degree of reconciliation is an indication of the completeness and accuracy of the organic extractables profiling. If the reconciliation is poor, then the extractables profile is either incomplete or inaccurate and additional testing must be performed to establish the complete and accurate profile. This article demonstrates the TOC reconciliation process by considering aqueous extracts of 10 different test articles. Incomplete reconciliations were augmented with additional testing to produce a more complete TOC reconciliation. © PDA, Inc. 2014.

In-vitro Antimicrobial Activities of Some Iranian Conifers

PubMed Central

Afsharzadeh, Maryam; Naderinasab, Mahboobe; Tayarani Najaran, Zahra; Barzin, Mohammad; Emami, Seyed Ahmad

2013-01-01

Male and female leaves and fruits of eleven different taxons of Iranian conifers (Cupressus sempervirens var. horizontalis, C. sempervirens var. sempervirens, C. sempervirens cv. Cereifeormis, Juniperus communis subsp. hemisphaerica, J. excelsa subsp. excelsa, J. excelsa subsp. polycarpos, J. foetidissima, J. oblonga, J. sabina, Platycladus orientalis and Taxus baccata) were collected from different localities of Iran, dried and extracted with methanol. The extracts were tested for their antimicrobial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Candida albicans. The extracts were screened qualitatively using four different methods, the disc diffusion, hole plate, cylinder agar diffusion and agar dilution methods, whereas the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of each extract were determined by the agar dilution method. The best result was obtained by means of hole plate method in qualitative determination of antimicrobial activities of extracts and the greatest activity was found against S. aureus in all tested methods. PMID:24250573

Microbiological Assessment of Moringa Oleifera Extracts and Its Incorporation in Novel Dental Remedies against Some Oral Pathogens

PubMed Central

Elgamily, Hanaa; Moussa, Amani; Elboraey, Asmaa; EL-Sayed, Hoda; Al-Moghazy, Marwa; Abdalla, Aboelfetoh

2016-01-01

AIM: To assess the antibacterial and antifungal potentials of different parts of Moringa oleifera plant using different extraction methods in attempts to formulate natural dental remedies from this plant. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Three solvents extracts (Ethanol, acetone, and ethyl acetate) of different parts of Egyptian Moringa tree were prepared and tested against oral pathogens: Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus mutans, and Candida albicans using disc diffusion method; As well as to incorporate the plant extract to formulate experimental toothpaste and mouthwash. The two dental remedies were assessed against the same microbial strains. Statistical analysis was performed using One-Way ANOVA test to compare the inhibition zone diameter and t-test. RESULTS: Ethanol extracts as well as leaves extracts demonstrated the highest significant mean inhibition zone values (P ≤ 0.05) against Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus mutans growth. However, all extracts revealed no inhibition zone against Candida albicans. For dental remedies, experimental toothpaste exhibited higher mean inhibition than the mouthwash against Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus mutans and only the toothpaste revealed antifungal effect against Candida albicans. CONCLUSION: The different extracts of different parts of Moringa showed an antibacterial effect against Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus mutans growth. The novel toothpaste of ethanolic leaves extract has antimicrobial and antifungal potential effects all selected strains. PMID:28028395

[Comparison study of different methods for extracting volatile oil from bergamot].

PubMed

Chen, Fei; Li, Qun-li; Sheng, Liu-qing; Qiu, Jiao-ying

2008-08-01

To test different methods for extracting volatile oil from bergamot. The determination of bergapten was carried out by RP-HPLC. Four different ways of organic solvent extraction, steam-input distillation, distillation of the material mixed with water and press extraction were compared. Bergapten wasnt extracted by ways of steam-input distillation and distillation of the material mixed with water. The steam distillation extraction can be taken to extract volatile oil from bergamot for protecting humans' skins.

Methods for pore water extraction from unsaturated zone tuff, Yucca Mountain, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Scofield, K.M.

2006-01-01

Assessing the performance of the proposed high-level radioactive waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, requires an understanding of the chemistry of the water that moves through the host rock. The uniaxial compression method used to extract pore water from samples of tuffaceous borehole core was successful only for nonwelded tuff. An ultracentrifugation method was adopted to extract pore water from samples of the densely welded tuff of the proposed repository horizon. Tests were performed using both methods to determine the efficiency of pore water extraction and the potential effects on pore water chemistry. Test results indicate that uniaxial compression is most efficient for extracting pore water from nonwelded tuff, while ultracentrifugation is more successful in extracting pore water from densely welded tuff. Pore water splits collected from a single nonwelded tuff core during uniaxial compression tests have shown changes in pore water chemistry with increasing pressure for calcium, chloride, sulfate, and nitrate. Pore water samples collected from the intermediate pressure ranges should prevent the influence of re-dissolved, evaporative salts and the addition of ion-deficient water from clays and zeolites. Chemistry of pore water splits from welded and nonwelded tuffs using ultracentrifugation indicates that there is no substantial fractionation of solutes.

Sensing cocaine in saliva with attenuated total reflection infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy combined with a one-step extraction method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hans, Kerstin M.-C.; Gianella, Michele; Sigrist, Markus W.

2012-03-01

On-site drug tests have gained importance, e.g., for protecting the society from impaired drivers. Since today's drug tests are majorly only positive/negative, there is a great need for a reliable, portable and preferentially quantitative drug test. In the project IrSens we aim to bridge this gap with the development of an optical sensor platform based on infrared spectroscopy and focus on cocaine detection in saliva. We combine a one-step extraction method, a sample drying technique and infrared attenuated total reflection (ATR) spectroscopy. As a first step we have developed an extraction technique that allows us to extract cocaine from saliva to an almost infrared-transparent solvent and to record ATR spectra with a commercially available Fourier Transform-infrared spectrometer. To the best of our knowledge this is the first time that such a simple and easy-to-use one-step extraction method is used to transfer cocaine from saliva into an organic solvent and detect it quantitatively. With this new method we are able to reach a current limit of detection around 10 μg/ml. This new extraction method could also be applied to waste water monitoring and controlling caffeine content in beverages.

Dynamic leaching and fractionation of trace elements from environmental solids exploiting a novel circulating-flow platform.

PubMed

Mori, Masanobu; Nakano, Koji; Sasaki, Masaya; Shinozaki, Haruka; Suzuki, Shiho; Okawara, Chitose; Miró, Manuel; Itabashi, Hideyuki

2016-02-01

A dynamic flow-through microcolumn extraction system based on extractant re-circulation is herein proposed as a novel analytical approach for simplification of bioaccessibility tests of trace elements in sediments. On-line metal leaching is undertaken in the format of all injection (AI) analysis, which is a sequel of flow injection analysis, but involving extraction under steady-state conditions. The minimum circulation times and flow rates required to determine the maximum bioaccessible pools of target metals (viz., Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb) from lake and river sediment samples were estimated using Tessier's sequential extraction scheme and an acid single extraction test. The on-line AIA method was successfully validated by mass balance studies of CRM and real sediment samples. Tessier's test in on-line AI format demonstrated to be carried out by one third of extraction time (6h against more than 17 h by the conventional method), with better analytical precision (<9.2% against >15% by the conventional method) and significant decrease in blank readouts as compared with the manual batch counterpart. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of Urtica dioica leaf extract in animal models

PubMed Central

Hajhashemi, Valiollah; Klooshani, Vahid

2013-01-01

Objective: This study was aimed to examine the antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of Urtica dioica leaf extract in animal models. Materials and Methods: Hydroalcoholic extract of the plant leaves was prepared by percolation method. Male Swiss mice (25-35 g) and male Wistar rats (180-200 g) were randomly distributed in control, standard drug, and three experimental groups (n=6 in each group). Acetic acid-induced writhing, formalin test, and carrageenan-induced paw edema were used to assess the antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects. Results: The extract dose-dependently reduced acetic acid-induced abdominal twitches. In formalin test, the extract at any of applied doses (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg) could not suppress the licking behavior of first phase while doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg significantly inhibited the second phase of formalin test. In carrageenan test, the extract at a dose of 400 mg/kg significantly inhibited the paw edema by 26%. Conclusion: The results confirm the folkloric use of the plant extract in painful and inflammatory conditions. Further studies are needed to characterize the active constituents and the mechanism of action of the plant extract. PMID:25050274

Screening antimicrobial activity of various extracts of Urtica dioica.

PubMed

Modarresi-Chahardehi, Amir; Ibrahim, Darah; Fariza-Sulaiman, Shaida; Mousavi, Leila

2012-12-01

Urtica dioica or stinging nettle is traditionally used as an herbal medicine in Western Asia. The current study represents the investigation of antimicrobial activity of U. dioica from nine crude extracts that were prepared using different organic solvents, obtained from two extraction methods: the Soxhlet extractor (Method I), which included the use of four solvents with ethyl acetate and hexane, or the sequential partitions (Method II) with a five solvent system (butanol). The antibacterial and antifungal activities of crude extracts were tested against 28 bacteria, three yeast strains and seven fungal isolates by the disc diffusion and broth dilution methods. Amoxicillin was used as positive control for bacteria strains, vancomycin for Streptococcus sp., miconazole nitrate (30 microg/mL) as positive control for fungi and yeast, and pure methanol (v/v) as negative control. The disc diffusion assay was used to determine the sensitivity of the samples, whilst the broth dilution method was used for the determination of the minimal inhibition concentration (MIC). The ethyl acetate and hexane extract from extraction method I (EA I and HE I) exhibited highest inhibition against some pathogenic bacteria such as Bacillus cereus, MRSA and Vibrio parahaemolyticus. A selection of extracts that showed some activity was further tested for the MIC and minimal bactericidal concentrations (MBC). MIC values of Bacillus subtilis and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) using butanol extract of extraction method II (BE II) were 8.33 and 16.33mg/mL, respectively; while the MIC value using ethyl acetate extract of extraction method II (EAE II) for Vibrio parahaemolyticus was 0.13mg/mL. Our study showed that 47.06% of extracts inhibited Gram-negative (8 out of 17), and 63.63% of extracts also inhibited Gram-positive bacteria (7 out of 11); besides, statistically the frequency of antimicrobial activity was 13.45% (35 out of 342) which in this among 21.71% belongs to antimicrobial activity extracts from extraction method I (33 out of 152 of crude extracts) and 6.82% from extraction method II (13 out of 190 of crude extracts). However, crude extracts from method I exhibited better antimicrobial activity against the Gram-positive bacteria than the Gram-negative bacteria. The positive results on medicinal plants screening for antibacterial activity constitutes primary information for further phytochemical and pharmacological studies. Therefore, the extracts could be suitable as antimicrobial agents in pharmaceutical and food industry.

Extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and organochlorine pesticides from soils: a comparison between Soxhlet extraction, microwave-assisted extraction and accelerated solvent extraction techniques.

PubMed

Wang, Wentao; Meng, Bingjun; Lu, Xiaoxia; Liu, Yu; Tao, Shu

2007-10-29

The methods of simultaneous extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) from soils using Soxhlet extraction, microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) and accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) were established, and the extraction efficiencies using the three methods were systemically compared from procedural blank, limits of detection and quantification, method recovery and reproducibility, method chromatogram and other factors. In addition, soils with different total organic carbon contents were used to test the extraction efficiencies of the three methods. The results showed that the values obtained in this study were comparable with the values reported by other studies. In some respects such as method recovery and reproducibility, there were no significant differences among the three methods for the extraction of PAHs and OCPs. In some respects such as procedural blank and limits of detection and quantification, there were significant differences among the three methods. Overall, ASE had the best extraction efficiency compared to MAE and Soxhlet extraction, and the extraction efficiencies of MAE and Soxhlet extraction were comparable to each other depending on the property such as TOC content of the studied soil. Considering other factors such as solvent consumption and extraction time, ASE and MAE are preferable to Soxhlet extraction.

A Method for Extracting Important Segments from Documents Using Support Vector Machines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suzuki, Daisuke; Utsumi, Akira

In this paper we propose an extraction-based method for automatic summarization. The proposed method consists of two processes: important segment extraction and sentence compaction. The process of important segment extraction classifies each segment in a document as important or not by Support Vector Machines (SVMs). The process of sentence compaction then determines grammatically appropriate portions of a sentence for a summary according to its dependency structure and the classification result by SVMs. To test the performance of our method, we conducted an evaluation experiment using the Text Summarization Challenge (TSC-1) corpus of human-prepared summaries. The result was that our method achieved better performance than a segment-extraction-only method and the Lead method, especially for sentences only a part of which was included in human summaries. Further analysis of the experimental results suggests that a hybrid method that integrates sentence extraction with segment extraction may generate better summaries.

Chemical composition and antioxidant activity of Lippia alba essential oil obtained by supercritical CO2 and hydrodistillation

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Lippia alba extracts from Mexico were obtained by hydrodistillation (HD) and supercritical fluid (SFE) extraction methods. The extracts were analyzed by gas chromatography using flame ionization and mass spectrometric detections. Antioxidant activity was tested by two methods (DPPH and ABTS) and tot...

Faecal indicator bacteria enumeration in beach sand: a comparison study of extraction methods in medium to coarse sands.

PubMed

Boehm, A B; Griffith, J; McGee, C; Edge, T A; Solo-Gabriele, H M; Whitman, R; Cao, Y; Getrich, M; Jay, J A; Ferguson, D; Goodwin, K D; Lee, C M; Madison, M; Weisberg, S B

2009-11-01

The absence of standardized methods for quantifying faecal indicator bacteria (FIB) in sand hinders comparison of results across studies. The purpose of the study was to compare methods for extraction of faecal bacteria from sands and recommend a standardized extraction technique. Twenty-two methods of extracting enterococci and Escherichia coli from sand were evaluated, including multiple permutations of hand shaking, mechanical shaking, blending, sonication, number of rinses, settling time, eluant-to-sand ratio, eluant composition, prefiltration and type of decantation. Tests were performed on sands from California, Florida and Lake Michigan. Most extraction parameters did not significantly affect bacterial enumeration. anova revealed significant effects of eluant composition and blending; with both sodium metaphosphate buffer and blending producing reduced counts. The simplest extraction method that produced the highest FIB recoveries consisted of 2 min of hand shaking in phosphate-buffered saline or deionized water, a 30-s settling time, one-rinse step and a 10 : 1 eluant volume to sand weight ratio. This result was consistent across the sand compositions tested in this study but could vary for other sand types. Method standardization will improve the understanding of how sands affect surface water quality.

Extraction of multi-scale landslide morphological features based on local Gi* using airborne LiDAR-derived DEM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Wenzhong; Deng, Susu; Xu, Wenbing

2018-02-01

For automatic landslide detection, landslide morphological features should be quantitatively expressed and extracted. High-resolution Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) derived from airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data allow fine-scale morphological features to be extracted, but noise in DEMs influences morphological feature extraction, and the multi-scale nature of landslide features should be considered. This paper proposes a method to extract landslide morphological features characterized by homogeneous spatial patterns. Both profile and tangential curvature are utilized to quantify land surface morphology, and a local Gi* statistic is calculated for each cell to identify significant patterns of clustering of similar morphometric values. The method was tested on both synthetic surfaces simulating natural terrain and airborne LiDAR data acquired over an area dominated by shallow debris slides and flows. The test results of the synthetic data indicate that the concave and convex morphologies of the simulated terrain features at different scales and distinctness could be recognized using the proposed method, even when random noise was added to the synthetic data. In the test area, cells with large local Gi* values were extracted at a specified significance level from the profile and the tangential curvature image generated from the LiDAR-derived 1-m DEM. The morphologies of landslide main scarps, source areas and trails were clearly indicated, and the morphological features were represented by clusters of extracted cells. A comparison with the morphological feature extraction method based on curvature thresholds proved the proposed method's robustness to DEM noise. When verified against a landslide inventory, the morphological features of almost all recent (< 5 years) landslides and approximately 35% of historical (> 10 years) landslides were extracted. This finding indicates that the proposed method can facilitate landslide detection, although the cell clusters extracted from curvature images should be filtered using a filtering strategy based on supplementary information provided by expert knowledge or other data sources.

Study of pharmacological activities of methanol extract of Jatropha gossypifolia fruits

PubMed Central

Apu, Apurba Sarker; Hossain, Faruq; Rizwan, Farhana; Bhuyan, Shakhawat Hossan; Matin, Maima; Jamaluddin, A.T.M

2012-01-01

Objective: The present study was carried out to investigate the possible in vivo analgesic, neuropharmacological and anti-diarrheal activities of the methanol extract of Jatropha gossypifolia fruits. Materials and Methods: The analgesic activity was measured by acetic acid induced writhing inhibition test. The neuropharmacological activities were evaluated by hole cross, hole-board, and elevated plus-maze (EPM) tests and the anti-diarrheal activity was assessed by castor oil induced diarrhea inhibition method. Findings: The extract showed highly significant (P < 0.001) analgesic activity with % inhibitions of writhing response at doses 200 and 400 mg/kg body weight were 77.86% and 71.25%, respectively. The extract at both doses showed significant (P < 0.05) sedative effect in-hole cross test. In-hole board test, the extract showed highly significant (P < 0.001) anxiolytic activity at lower dose whereas this activity was observed at higher dose in EPM test. The extract also showed highly significant (P < 0.001) anti-diarrheal activity. Conclusion: The findings of the study clearly indicate the presence of significant analgesic, neuropharmacological and anti-diarrheal properties of the plant, which demands further investigation including, compound isolation. PMID:24808665

Comparison of different methods for extraction and purification of human Papillomavirus (HPV) DNA from serum samples

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Azizah, N.; Hashim, U.; Nadzirah, Sh.; Arshad, M. K. Md; Ruslinda, A. R.; Gopinath, Subash C. B.

2017-03-01

The affectability and unwavering quality of PCR for indicative and research purposes require effective fair systems of extraction and sanitization of nucleic acids. One of the real impediments of PCR-based tests is the hindrance of the enhancement procedure by substances exhibit in clinical examples. This examination considers distinctive techniques for extraction and cleaning of viral DNA from serum tests in view of recuperation productivity as far as yield of DNA and rate recouped immaculateness of removed DNA, and rate of restraint. The best extraction strategies were the phenol/chloroform strategy and the silica gel extraction methodology for serum tests, individually. Considering DNA immaculateness, extraction technique by utilizing the phenol/chloroform strategy delivered the most tasteful results in serum tests contrasted with the silica gel, separately. The nearness of inhibitors was overcome by all DNA extraction strategies in serum tests, as confirm by semiquantitative PCR enhancement.

Analytical study to define a helicopter stability derivative extraction method, volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Molusis, J. A.

1973-01-01

A method is developed for extracting six degree-of-freedom stability and control derivatives from helicopter flight data. Different combinations of filtering and derivative estimate are investigated and used with a Bayesian approach for derivative identification. The combination of filtering and estimate found to yield the most accurate time response match to flight test data is determined and applied to CH-53A and CH-54B flight data. The method found to be most accurate consists of (1) filtering flight test data with a digital filter, followed by an extended Kalman filter (2) identifying a derivative estimate with a least square estimator, and (3) obtaining derivatives with the Bayesian derivative extraction method.

Comparing Standard and Selective Degradation DNA Extraction Methods: Results from a Field Experiment with Sexual Assault Kits^.

PubMed

Campbell, Rebecca; Pierce, Steven J; Sharma, Dhruv B; Shaw, Jessica; Feeney, Hannah; Nye, Jeffrey; Schelling, Kristin; Fehler-Cabral, Giannina

2017-01-01

A growing number of U.S. cities have large numbers of untested sexual assault kits (SAKs) in police property facilities. Testing older kits and maintaining current case work will be challenging for forensic laboratories, creating a need for more efficient testing methods. We evaluated selective degradation methods for DNA extraction using actual case work from a sample of previously unsubmitted SAKs in Detroit, Michigan. We randomly assigned 350 kits to either standard or selective degradation testing methods and then compared DNA testing rates and CODIS entry rates between the two groups. Continuation-ratio modeling showed no significant differences, indicating that the selective degradation method had no decrement in performance relative to customary methods. Follow-up equivalence tests indicated that CODIS entry rates for the two methods could differ by more than ±5%. Selective degradation methods required less personnel time for testing and scientific review than standard testing. © 2016 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Electrogeochemical sampling with NEOCHIM - results of tests over buried gold deposits

USGS Publications Warehouse

Leinz, R.W.; Hoover, D.B.; Fey, D.L.; Smith, D.B.; Patterson, T.

1998-01-01

Electrogeochemical extraction methods are based on the migration of ions in an electric field. Ions present in soil moisture are transported by an applied current into fluids contained in special electrodes placed on the soil. The fluids are then collected and analyzed. Extractions are governed by Faraday's and Ohm's laws and are modeled by the operation of a simple Hittord transference apparatus. Calculations show that the volume of soil sampled in an ideal electrogeochemical extraction can be orders of magnitude greater than the volumes used in more popular geochemical extraction methods, although this has not been verified experimentally. CHIM is a method of in-situ electrogeochemical extraction that was developed in the former Soviet Union and has been tested and applied internationally to exploration for buried mineral deposits. Tests carried out at the US Geological Survey (USGS) indicated that there were problems inherent in the use of CHIM technology. The cause of the problems was determined to be the diffusion of acid from the conventional electrode into the soil. The NEOCHIM electrode incorporates two compartments and a salt bridge in a design that inhibits diffusion of acid and enables the collection of anions or cations. Tests over a gold-enriched vein in Colorado and over buried, Carlin-type, disseminated gold deposits in northern Nevada show that there are similarities and differences between NEOCHIM results and those by partial extractions of soils which include simple extractions with water, dilute acids and solutions of salts used as collector fluids in the electrodes. Results of both differ from the results obtained by total chemical digestion. The results indicate that NEOCHIM responds to mineralized faults associated with disseminated gold deposits whereas partial and total chemical extraction methods do not. This suggests that faults are favored channels for the upward migration of metals and that NEOCHIM may be more effective in exploration for the deposits. It defines anomalies that are often narrow and intense, an observation previously made by CHIM researchers. The field tests show that NEOCHIM is less affected by surface contamination. A test over the Mike disseminated gold deposit indicates that the method may not be effective for locating deposits with impermeable cover. Faradaic extraction efficiencies of 20-30%, or more, are frequently achieved with NEOCHIM and the method generally shows good reproducibility, especially in extraction of major cations. However, ions of other metals that are useful in exploration, including Au and As, may be collected in low and temporally variable concentrations. The reason for this variability is unclear and requires further investigation.CHIM is a method of in-situ electrogeochemical extraction developed for the exploration of buried mineral deposits. However, electrode problems like diffusion of acid into the soil were encountered during the use of CHIM. The NEOCHIM electrode was developed to inhibit the diffusion of acid and enable collection of anions or cations. Tests over buried gold deposits showed that NEOCHIM responds to mineralized faults associated with disseminated gold deposits whereas partial and total chemical extraction methods do not. This suggests that faults are favored channels for the upward migration of metals and NEOCHIM may be effective in exploration for the deposits. But ions of metals may be collected in low and variable concentration.

Faecal indicator bacteria enumeration in beach sand: A comparison study of extraction methods in medium to coarse sands

USGS Publications Warehouse

Boehm, A.B.; Griffith, J.; McGee, C.; Edge, T.A.; Solo-Gabriele, H. M.; Whitman, R.; Cao, Y.; Getrich, M.; Jay, J.A.; Ferguson, D.; Goodwin, K.D.; Lee, C.M.; Madison, M.; Weisberg, S.B.

2009-01-01

Aims: The absence of standardized methods for quantifying faecal indicator bacteria (FIB) in sand hinders comparison of results across studies. The purpose of the study was to compare methods for extraction of faecal bacteria from sands and recommend a standardized extraction technique. Methods and Results: Twenty-two methods of extracting enterococci and Escherichia coli from sand were evaluated, including multiple permutations of hand shaking, mechanical shaking, blending, sonication, number of rinses, settling time, eluant-to-sand ratio, eluant composition, prefiltration and type of decantation. Tests were performed on sands from California, Florida and Lake Michigan. Most extraction parameters did not significantly affect bacterial enumeration. anova revealed significant effects of eluant composition and blending; with both sodium metaphosphate buffer and blending producing reduced counts. Conclusions: The simplest extraction method that produced the highest FIB recoveries consisted of 2 min of hand shaking in phosphate-buffered saline or deionized water, a 30-s settling time, one-rinse step and a 10 : 1 eluant volume to sand weight ratio. This result was consistent across the sand compositions tested in this study but could vary for other sand types. Significance and Impact of the Study: Method standardization will improve the understanding of how sands affect surface water quality. ?? 2009 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

Establishing a novel automated magnetic bead-based method for the extraction of DNA from a variety of forensic samples.

PubMed

Witt, Sebastian; Neumann, Jan; Zierdt, Holger; Gébel, Gabriella; Röscheisen, Christiane

2012-09-01

Automated systems have been increasingly utilized for DNA extraction by many forensic laboratories to handle growing numbers of forensic casework samples while minimizing the risk of human errors and assuring high reproducibility. The step towards automation however is not easy: The automated extraction method has to be very versatile to reliably prepare high yields of pure genomic DNA from a broad variety of sample types on different carrier materials. To prevent possible cross-contamination of samples or the loss of DNA, the components of the kit have to be designed in a way that allows for the automated handling of the samples with no manual intervention necessary. DNA extraction using paramagnetic particles coated with a DNA-binding surface is predestined for an automated approach. For this study, we tested different DNA extraction kits using DNA-binding paramagnetic particles with regard to DNA yield and handling by a Freedom EVO(®)150 extraction robot (Tecan) equipped with a Te-MagS magnetic separator. Among others, the extraction kits tested were the ChargeSwitch(®)Forensic DNA Purification Kit (Invitrogen), the PrepFiler™Automated Forensic DNA Extraction Kit (Applied Biosystems) and NucleoMag™96 Trace (Macherey-Nagel). After an extensive test phase, we established a novel magnetic bead extraction method based upon the NucleoMag™ extraction kit (Macherey-Nagel). The new method is readily automatable and produces high yields of DNA from different sample types (blood, saliva, sperm, contact stains) on various substrates (filter paper, swabs, cigarette butts) with no evidence of a loss of magnetic beads or sample cross-contamination. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Design, Formulation and Evaluation of an Oral Gel from Punica Granatum Flower Extract for the Treatment of Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis

PubMed Central

Aslani, Abolfazl; Zolfaghari, Behzad; Davoodvandi, Fatemeh

2016-01-01

Purpose: Recurrent aphthous stomatitis is a disease with unknown etiology that’s mostly treated symptomatically and has no definite cure. Pomegranate (Punica granatum) flowers have been used as medicinal herb that due to its antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, analgesic and healing effects, has been useful in treatment of oral aphthous. Therefore, we decided to formulate a mucoadhesive gel with pomegranate flower extract to reduce the need for corticosteroid therapy in patients. Methods: Pomegranate flowers are extracted by percolation method. Several formulations with different amounts of carbomer 934, sodium carboxymethylcellulose (SCMC) and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose K4M were prepared and the condensed extract was dispersed in polyethyleneglycol (PEG) 400 and added to gel bases. Then the formulations underwent macroscopic and microscopic studies. The formulations that passed these tests successfully were studied through assay tests using spectrophotometry in 765 nm, drug release from mucoadhesive gel using cell diffusion method, viscosity test, mucoadhesion test and accelerated stability test. Results: The phenolic content of pomegranate flower dried extract was found to be 212.3±1.4 mg/g in dried extract. The F4–F6 formulations contains carbomer 934, SCMC, pomegranate flower extract, PEG 400, potassium sorbate and purified water passed all above tests. Conclusion: The F4 formulation had higher viscosity and mucoadhesion values due to its higher carbomer 934 and SCMC content. Since F4, F5 and F6 had no significant variation in drug release, the F4 formulation was chosen as the superior formulation because of proper appearance and uniformity, acceptable viscosity, mucoadhesion and stability in different temperatures. PMID:27766223

Determination of Total Biotin by Liquid Chromatography Coupled with Immunoaffinity Column Cleanup Extraction: Multilaboratory Testing, Final Action 2016.02.

PubMed

Joseph, George; Devi, Ranjani; Marley, Elaine C; Leeman, David

2018-05-01

Single- and multilaboratory testing data have provided systematic scientific evidence that a simple, selective, accurate, and precise method can be used as a potential candidate reference method for dispute resolution in determining total biotin in all forms of infant, adult, and/or pediatric formula. Using LC coupled with immunoaffinity column cleanup extraction, the method fully meets the intended purpose and applicability statement in AOAC Standard Method Performance Requirement 2014.005. The method was applied to a cross-section of infant formula and adult nutritional matrixes, and acceptable precision and accuracy were established. The analytical platform is inexpensive, and the method can be used in almost any laboratory worldwide with basic facilities. The immunoaffinity column cleanup extraction is the key step to successful analysis.

A photometric method for the estimation of the oil yield of oil shale

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cuttitta, Frank

1951-01-01

A method is presented for the distillation and photometric estimation of the oil yield of oil-bearing shales. The oil shale is distilled in a closed test tube and the oil extracted with toluene. The optical density of the toluene extract is used in the estimation of oil content and is converted to percentage of oil by reference to a standard curve. This curve is obtained by relating the oil yields determined by the Fischer assay method to the optical density of the toluene extract of the oil evolved by the new procedure. The new method gives results similar to those obtained by the Fischer assay method in a much shorter time. The applicability of the new method to oil-bearing shale and phosphatic shale has been tested.

In-vitro antimicrobial activity of marine actinobacteria against multidrug resistance Staphylococcus aureus

PubMed Central

Sathish, Kumar SR; Kokati, Venkata Bhaskara Rao

2012-01-01

Objective To investigate the antibacterial activity of marine actinobacteria against multidrug resistance Staphylococcus aureus (MDRSA). Methods Fifty one actinobacterial strains were isolated from salt pans soil, costal area in Kothapattanam, Ongole, Andhra Pradesh. Primary screening was done using cross-streak method against MDRSA. The bioactive compounds are extracted from efficient actinobacteria using solvent extraction. The antimicrobial activity of crude and solvent extracts was performed using Kirby-Bauer method. MIC for ethyl acetate extract was determined by modified agar well diffusion method. The potent actinobacteria are identified using Nonomura key, Shirling and Gottlieb 1966 with Bergey's manual of determinative bacteriology. Results Among the fifty one isolates screened for antibacterial activity, SRB25 were found efficient against MDRSA. The ethyl acetate extracts showed high inhibition against test organism. MIC test was performed with the ethyl acetate extract against MDRSA and found to be 1 000 µg/mL. The isolated actinobacteria are identified as Streptomyces sp with the help of Nonomura key. Conclusions The current investigation reveals that the marine actinobacteria from salt pan environment can be able to produce new drug molecules against drug resistant microorganisms. PMID:23569848

Ringer tablet-based ionic liquid phase microextraction: Application in extraction and preconcentration of neonicotinoid insecticides from fruit juice and vegetable samples.

PubMed

Farajzadeh, Mir Ali; Bamorowat, Mahdi; Mogaddam, Mohammad Reza Afshar

2016-11-01

An efficient, reliable, sensitive, rapid, and green analytical method for the extraction and determination of neonicotinoid insecticides in aqueous samples has been developed using ionic liquid phase microextraction coupled with high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector. In this method, a few microliters of 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (as an extractant) is added onto a ringer tablet and it is transferred into a conical test tube containing aqueous phase of the analytes. By manually shaking, the ringer tablet is dissolved and the extractant is released into the aqueous phase as very tiny droplets to provide a cloudy solution. After centrifuging the extracted analytes into ionic liquid are collected at the bottom of a conical test tube. Under the optimum extraction conditions, the method showed low limits of detection and quantification between 0.12 and 0.33 and 0.41 and 1.11ngmL(-1), respectively. Extraction recoveries and enrichment factors were from 66% to 84% and 655% to 843%, respectively. Finally different aqueous samples were successfully analyzed using the proposed method. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Rigging Test Bed Development for Validation of Multi-Stage Decelerator Extractions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kenig, Sivan J.; Gallon, John C.; Adams, Douglas S.; Rivellini, Tommaso P.

2013-01-01

The Low Density Supersonic Decelerator project is developing new decelerator systems for Mars entry which would include testing with a Supersonic Flight Dynamics Test Vehicle. One of the decelerator systems being developed is a large supersonic ringsail parachute. Due to the configuration of the vehicle it is not possible to deploy the parachute with a mortar which would be the preferred method for a spacecraft in a supersonic flow. Alternatively, a multi-stage extraction process using a ballute as a pilot is being developed for the test vehicle. The Rigging Test Bed is a test venue being constructed to perform verification and validation of this extraction process. The test bed consists of a long pneumatic piston device capable of providing a constant force simulating the ballute drag force during the extraction events. The extraction tests will take place both inside a high-bay for frequent tests of individual extraction stages and outdoors using a mobile hydraulic crane for complete deployment tests from initial pack pull out to canopy extraction. These tests will measure line tensions and use photogrammetry to track motion of the elements involved. The resulting data will be used to verify packing and rigging as well, as validate models and identify potential failure modes in order to finalize the design of the extraction system.

Application of solid/liquid extraction for the gravimetric determination of lipids in royal jelly.

PubMed

Antinelli, Jean-François; Davico, Renée; Rognone, Catherine; Faucon, Jean-Paul; Lizzani-Cuvelier, Louisette

2002-04-10

Gravimetric lipid determination is a major parameter for the characterization and the authentication of royal jelly quality. A solid/liquid extraction was compared to the reference method, which is based on liquid/liquid extraction. The amount of royal jelly and the time of the extraction were optimized in comparison to the reference method. Boiling/rinsing ratio and spread of royal jelly onto the extraction thimble were identified as critical parameters, resulting in good accuracy and precision for the alternative method. Comparison of reproducibility and repeatability of both methods associated with gas chromatographic analysis of the composition of the extracted lipids showed no differences between the two methods. As the intra-laboratory validation tests were comparable to the reference method, while offering rapidity and a decrease in amount of solvent used, it was concluded that the proposed method should be used with no modification of quality criteria and norms established for royal jelly characterization.

LC-MS determination of steroidal glycosides from Dioscorea deltoidea Wall cell suspension culture: Optimization of pre-LC-MS procedure parameters by Latin Square design.

PubMed

Sarvin, Boris; Fedorova, Elizaveta; Shpigun, Oleg; Titova, Maria; Nikitin, Mikhail; Kochkin, Dmitry; Rodin, Igor; Stavrianidi, Andrey

2018-03-30

In this paper, the ultrasound assisted extraction method for isolation of steroidal glycosides from D. deltoidea plant cell suspension culture with a subsequent HPLC-MS determination was developed. After the organic solvent was selected via a two-factor experiment the optimization via Latin Square 4 × 4 experimental design was carried out for the following parameters: extraction time, organic solvent concentration in extraction solution and the ratio of solvent to sample. It was also shown that the ultrasound assisted extraction method is not suitable for isolation of steroidal glycosides from the D. deltoidea plant material. The results were double-checked using the multiple successive extraction method and refluxing extraction. Optimal conditions for the extraction of steroidal glycosides by the ultrasound assisted extraction method were: extraction time, 60 min; acetonitrile (water) concentration in extraction solution, 50%; the ratio of solvent to sample, 400 mL/g. Also, the developed method was tested on D. deltoidea cell suspension cultures of different terms and conditions of cultivation. The completeness of the extraction was confirmed using the multiple successive extraction method. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Object-oriented classification of drumlins from digital elevation models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saha, Kakoli

Drumlins are common elements of glaciated landscapes which are easily identified by their distinct morphometric characteristics including shape, length/width ratio, elongation ratio, and uniform direction. To date, most researchers have mapped drumlins by tracing contours on maps, or through on-screen digitization directly on top of hillshaded digital elevation models (DEMs). This paper seeks to utilize the unique morphometric characteristics of drumlins and investigates automated extraction of the landforms as objects from DEMs by Definiens Developer software (V.7), using the 30 m United States Geological Survey National Elevation Dataset DEM as input. The Chautauqua drumlin field in Pennsylvania and upstate New York, USA was chosen as a study area. As the study area is huge (approximately covers 2500 sq.km. of area), small test areas were selected for initial testing of the method. Individual polygons representing the drumlins were extracted from the elevation data set by automated recognition, using Definiens' Multiresolution Segmentation tool, followed by rule-based classification. Subsequently parameters such as length, width and length-width ratio, perimeter and area were measured automatically. To test the accuracy of the method, a second base map was produced by manual on-screen digitization of drumlins from topographic maps and the same morphometric parameters were extracted from the mapped landforms using Definiens Developer. Statistical comparison showed a high agreement between the two methods confirming that object-oriented classification for extraction of drumlins can be used for mapping these landforms. The proposed method represents an attempt to solve the problem by providing a generalized rule-set for mass extraction of drumlins. To check that the automated extraction process was next applied to a larger area. Results showed that the proposed method is as successful for the bigger area as it was for the smaller test areas.

Selected physical and chemical properties of Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium) extracts important for formulated product quality and performance.

PubMed

Jin, Ping; Madieh, Shadi; Augsburger, Larry L

2008-01-01

The objectives of this research are: (1) to assess selected formulation-relevant physical properties of several commercial Feverfew extracts, including flowability, hygroscopicity, compressibility and compactibility (2) to develop and validate a suitable extraction method and HPLC assay, and (3) to determine the parthenolide content of several commercial Feverfew extracts. Carr's index, minimum orifice diameter and particle-particle interaction were used to evaluate powder flowability. Hygroscopicity was evaluated by determining the equilibrium moisture content (EMC) after storage at various % relative humidities. Heckle analysis and compression pressure-radial tensile strength relationship were used to represent compression and compaction properties of feverfew extracts. An adapted analytical method was developed based on literature methods and then validated for the determination of parthenolide in feverfew. The commercial extracts tested exhibited poor to very poor flowability. The comparatively low mean yield pressure suggested that feverfew extracts deformed mainly plastically. Hygroscopicity and compactibility varied greatly with source. No commercial feverfew extracts tested contained the label claimed parthenolide. Even different batches from the same manufacturer showed significantly different parthenolide content. Therefore, extract manufactures should commit to proper quality control procedures that ensure accurate label claims, and supplement manufacturers should take into account possible differences in physico-chemical properties when using extracts from multiple suppliers.

Stability Test and Quantitative and Qualitative Analyses of the Amino Acids in Pharmacopuncture Extracted from Scolopendra subspinipes mutilans

PubMed Central

Cho, GyeYoon; Han, KyuChul; Yoon, JinYoung

2015-01-01

Objectives: Scolopendra subspinipes mutilans (S. subspinipes mutilans) is known as a traditional medicine and includes various amino acids, peptides and proteins. The amino acids in the pharmacopuncture extracted from S. subspinipes mutilans by using derivatization methods were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively by using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) over a 12 month period to confirm its stability. Methods: Amino acids of pharmacopuncture extracted from S. subspinipes mutilans were derived by using O-phthaldialdehyde (OPA) & 9-fluorenyl methoxy carbonyl chloride (FMOC) reagent and were analyzed using HPLC. The amino acids were detected by using a diode array detector (DAD) and a fluorescence detector (FLD) to compare a mixed amino acid standard (STD) to the pharmacopuncture from centipedes. The stability tests on the pharmacopuncture from centipedes were done using HPLC for three conditions: a room temperature test chamber, an acceleration test chamber, and a cold test chamber. Results: The pharmacopuncture from centipedes was prepared by using the method of the Korean Pharmacopuncture Institute (KPI) and through quantitative analyses was shown to contain 9 amino acids of the 16 amino acids in the mixed amino acid STD. The amounts of the amino acids in the pharmacopuncture from centipedes were 34.37 ppm of aspartate, 123.72 ppm of arginine, 170.63 ppm of alanine, 59.55 ppm of leucine and 57 ppm of lysine. The relative standard deviation (RSD %) results for the pharmacopuncture from centipedes had a maximum value of 14.95% and minimum value of 1.795% on the room temperature test chamber, the acceleration test chamber and the cold test chamber stability tests. Conclusion: Stability tests on and quantitative and qualitative analyses of the amino acids in the pharmacopuncture extracted from centipedes by using derivatization methods were performed by using HPLC. Through research, we hope to determine the relationship between time and the concentrations of the amino acids in the pharmacopuncture extracted from centipedes. PMID:25830058

Parachute Compartment Drop Test Vehicle for Testing the Crew Exploration Vehicle's Parachute Assembly System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lubey, Daniel P.; Thiele, Sara R.; Gruseck, Madelyn L.; Evans, Carol T.

2010-01-01

Though getting astronauts safely into orbit and beyond has long been one of NASA?s chief goals, their safe return has always been equally as important. The Crew Exploration Vehicle?s (CEV) Parachute Assembly System (CPAS) is designed to safely return astronauts to Earth on the next-generation manned spacecraft Orion. As one means for validating this system?s requirements and testing its functionality, a test article known as the Parachute Compartment Drop Test Vehicle (PC-DTV) will carry a fully-loaded yet truncated CPAS Parachute Compartment (PC) in a series of drop tests. Two aerodynamic profiles for the PC-DTV currently exist, though both share the same interior structure, and both have an Orion-representative weight of 20,800 lbf. Two extraction methods have been developed as well. The first (Cradle Monorail System 2 - CMS2) uses a sliding rail technique to release the PC-DTV midair, and the second (Modified DTV Sled; MDS) features a much less constrained separation method though slightly more complex. The decision as to which aerodynamic profile and extraction method to use is still not finalized. Additional CFD and stress analysis must be undertaken in order to determine the more desirable options, though at present the "boat tail" profile and the CMS2 extraction method seem to be the favored options in their respective categories. Fabrication of the PC-DTV and the selected extraction sled is set to begin in early October 2010 with an anticipated first drop test in mid-March 2011.

Screening of analgesic activity of Tunisian Urtica dioica and analysis of its major bioactive compounds by GCMS.

PubMed

Dhouibi, Raouia; Moalla, Dorsaf; Ksouda, Kamilia; Ben Salem, Maryem; Hammami, Serria; Sahnoun, Zouheir; Zeghal, Khaled Mounir; Affes, Hanen

2017-11-20

The present study was aimed to evaluate the analgesic properties of Urtica dioica (UD) and to profile phytochemicals by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The ethanolic extracts were prepared by maceration method and extraction using rotary evaporator. The analgesic activity was analysed by hot plate method, formalin test, acetic acid-induced writhing test and the tail-flick test with different doses of the ethanolic extract. In all tests, the leaf's ethanolic extract exhibited significant analgesic activity (p < .001) at a dose of 400 mg/kg. Even with a low dose, we noticed an analgesic activity with many tests. The GC-MS analysis of the ethanol extract of leaf revealed many compounds; 2-methyltetradecane dodecane, 2,6,11-trimethyl-; 2,6,11-trimethyldodecane, and trimethylhexane which are pharmaceutically the most important. These findings justify that UD can be a valuable natural analgesic source which seemed to provide potential phototherapeutics against various ailments. The analysis of ethanolic extract of UD by GCMS revealed the presence of several compounds including polyphenols, flavonoids, triterpenes which can explain the analgesic effect of UD and its mechanism of action. Hence, UD could be another therapeutic alternative for relieving pain and for minimising the use of drugs that have long-term secondary effects.

The inhibitory effect of Thymus vulgaris extracts on the planktonic form and biofilm structures of six human pathogenic bacteria

PubMed Central

Mohsenipour, Zeinab; Hassanshahian, Mehdi

2015-01-01

Objective: Microorganisms are responsible for many problems in industry and medicine because of biofilm formation. Therefore, this study was aimed to examine the effect of Thymus vulgaris (T. vulgaris) extracts on the planktonic form and biofilm structures of six pathogenic bacteria. Materials and methods: Antimicrobial activities of the plant extracts against the planktonic form of the bacteria were determined using the disc diffusion method. MIC and MBC values were evaluated using macrobroth dilution technique. Anti-biofilm effects were assessed by microtiter plate method. Results: According to disc diffusion test (MIC and MBC), the ability of Thymus vulgaris (T. vulgaris ) extracts for inhibition of bacteria in planktonic form was confirmed. In dealing with biofilm structures, the inhibitory effect of the extracts was directly correlated to their concentration. Except for the inhibition of biofilm formation, efficacy of each extract was independent from type of solvent. Conclusion: According to the potential of Thymus vulgaris (T. vulgaris) extracts to inhibit the test bacteria in planktonic and biofilm form, it can be suggested that Thymus vulgaris (T. vulgaris) extracts can be applied as antimicrobial agents against the pathogenic bacteria particularly in biofilm forms. PMID:26442753

Forest Roadidentification and Extractionof Through Advanced Log Matching Techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, W.; Hu, B.; Quist, L.

2017-10-01

A novel algorithm for forest road identification and extraction was developed. The algorithm utilized Laplacian of Gaussian (LoG) filter and slope calculation on high resolution multispectral imagery and LiDAR data respectively to extract both primary road and secondary road segments in the forest area. The proposed method used road shape feature to extract the road segments, which have been further processed as objects with orientation preserved. The road network was generated after post processing with tensor voting. The proposed method was tested on Hearst forest, located in central Ontario, Canada. Based on visual examination against manually digitized roads, the majority of roads from the test area have been identified and extracted from the process.

Antioxidant, genotoxic and antigenotoxic activities of daphne gnidium leaf extracts

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Plants play a significant role in maintaining human health and improving the quality of human life. They serve humans well as valuable components of food, as well as in cosmetics, dyes, and medicines. In fact, many plant extracts prepared from plants have been shown to exert biological activity in vitro and in vivo. The present study explored antioxidant and antigenotoxic effects of Daphne gnidium leaf extracts. Methods The genotoxic potential of petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate, methanol and total oligomer flavonoid (TOF) enriched extracts from leaves of Daphne gnidium, was assessed using Escherichia coli PQ37. Likewise, the antigenotoxicity of the same extracts was tested using the “SOS chromotest test”. Antioxidant activities were studied using non enzymatic and enzymatic method: NBT/Riboflavine and xantine oxidase. Results None of the different extracts produced a genotoxic effect, except TOF extract at the lowest tested dose. Our results showed that D. gnidium leaf extracts possess an antigenotoxic effect against the nitrofurantoin a mutagen of reference. Ethyl acetate and TOF extracts were the most effective in inhibiting xanthine oxidase activity. While, methanol extract was the most potent superoxide scavenger when tested with the NBT/Riboflavine assay. Conclusions The present study has demonstrated that D. gnidium leaf extract possess antioxidant and antigenotoxic effects. These activities could be ascribed to compounds like polyphenols and flavonoid. Further studies are required to isolate the active molecules. PMID:22974481

Antioxidant Capacity of the Leaf Extract Obtained from Arrabidaea chica Cultivated in Southern Brazil

PubMed Central

Siraichi, Jackeline Tiemy Guinoza; Felipe, Daniele Fernanda; Brambilla, Lara Zampar Serra; Gatto, Melissa Junqueira; Terra, Vânia Aparecida; Cecchini, Alessandra Lourenco; Cortez, Lucia Elaine Ranieri; Rodrigues-Filho, Edson; Cortez, Diógenes Aparício Garcia

2013-01-01

Arrabidaea chica leaf extract has been used by people as an anti-inflammatory and astringent agent as well as a remedy for intestinal colic, diarrhea, leucorrhea, anemia, and leukemia. A. chica is known to be a good producer of phenolics. Therefore, in the present study, we investigated its antioxidant activity. The phenolic composition of A. chica leaves was studied by liquid chromatography coupled to diode array detection (LC–DAD) and liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (LC–ESI-MS/MS), and isoscutellarein, 6-hydroxyluteolin, hispidulin, scutellarein, luteolin, and apigenin were identified. The extract from leaves of A. chica was tested for antioxidant activity using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method, β-carotene bleaching test, and total reactive antioxidant potential (TRAP) method. The crude extract quenched DPPH free radicals in a dose-dependent manner, and the IC50 of the extract was 13.51 µg/mL. The β-carotene bleaching test showed that the addition of the A. chica extract in different concentrations (200 and 500 µg/mL) prevented the bleaching of β-carotene at different degrees (51.2% ±3.38% and 94% ±4.61%, respectively). The TRAP test showed dose-dependent correlation between the increasing concentrations of A. chica extract (0.1, 0.5, and 1.0 µg/mL) and the TRAP values obtained by trolox (hydro-soluble vitamin E) 0.4738±0.0466, 1.981±0.1603, and 6.877±1.445 µM, respectively. The 2 main flavonoids, scutellarein and apigenin, were separated, and their antioxidant activity was found to be the same as that of the plant extract. These 2 flavonoids were quantified in the plant extract by using a validated HPLC-UV method. The results of these tests showed that the extract of A. chica had a significant antioxidant activity, which could be attributed to the presence of the mixture of flavonoids in the plant extract, with the main contribution of scutellarein and apigenin. PMID:24009700

Antioxidant and potential anti-inflammatory activity of extracts and formulations of white tea, rose, and witch hazel on primary human dermal fibroblast cells

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Numerous reports have identified therapeutic roles for plants and their extracts and constituents. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacies of three plant extracts for their potential antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity in primary human skin fibroblasts. Methods Aqueous extracts and formulations of white tea, witch hazel and rose were subjected to assays to measure anti-collagenase, anti-elastase, trolox equivalent and catalase activities. Skin fibroblast cells were employed to determine the effect of each extract/formulation on IL-8 release induced by the addition of hydrogen peroxide. Microscopic examination along with Neutral Red viability testing was employed to ascertain the effects of hydrogen peroxide directly on cell viability. Results Considerable anti-collagenase, anti-elastase, and antioxidant activities were measured for all extracts apart from the witch hazel distillate which showed no activity in the collagenase assay or in the trolox equivalence assay. All of the extracts and products tested elicited a significant decrease in the amount of IL-8 produced by fibroblast cells compared to the control (p < 0.05). None of the test samples exhibited catalase activity or had a significant effect on the spontaneous secretion of IL-8 in the control cells which was further corroborated with the microscopy results and the Neutral Red viability test. Conclusions These data show that the extracts and products tested have a protective effect on fibroblast cells against hydrogen peroxide induced damage. This approach provides a potential method to evaluate the claims made for plant extracts and the products in which these extracts are found. PMID:21995704

Analysis of separation test for automatic brake adjuster based on linear radon transformation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Zai; Jiang, Wensong; Guo, Bin; Fan, Weijun; Lu, Yi

2015-01-01

The linear Radon transformation is applied to extract inflection points for online test system under the noise conditions. The linear Radon transformation has a strong ability of anti-noise and anti-interference by fitting the online test curve in several parts, which makes it easy to handle consecutive inflection points. We applied the linear Radon transformation to the separation test system to solve the separating clearance of automatic brake adjuster. The experimental results show that the feature point extraction error of the gradient maximum optimal method is approximately equal to ±0.100, while the feature point extraction error of linear Radon transformation method can reach to ±0.010, which has a lower error than the former one. In addition, the linear Radon transformation is robust.

Combining polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) with toxicity testing to evaluate pesticide mixture effects on natural phototrophic biofilms.

PubMed

Pesce, Stéphane; Morin, Soizic; Lissalde, Sophie; Montuelle, Bernard; Mazzella, Nicolas

2011-03-01

Polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) are valuable tools in passive sampling methods for monitoring polar organic pesticides in freshwaters. Pesticides extracted from the environment using such methods can be used to toxicity tests. This study evaluated the acute effects of POCIS extracts on natural phototrophic biofilm communities. Our results demonstrate an effect of POCIS pesticide mixtures on chlorophyll a fluorescence, photosynthetic efficiency and community structure. Nevertheless, the range of biofilm responses differs according to origin of the biofilms tested, revealing spatial variations in the sensitivity of natural communities in the studied stream. Combining passive sampler extracts with community-level toxicity tests offers promising perspectives for ecological risk assessment. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Extraction and quantitative analysis of iodine in solid and solution matrixes.

PubMed

Brown, Christopher F; Geiszler, Keith N; Vickerman, Tanya S

2005-11-01

129I is a contaminant of interest in the vadose zone and groundwater at numerous federal and privately owned facilities. Several techniques have been utilized to extract iodine from solid matrixes; however, all of them rely on two fundamental approaches: liquid extraction or chemical/heat-facilitated volatilization. While these methods are typically chosen for their ease of implementation, they do not totally dissolve the solid. We defined a method that produces complete solid dissolution and conducted laboratory tests to assess its efficacy to extract iodine from solid matrixes. Testing consisted of potassium nitrate/potassium hydroxide fusion of the sample, followed by sample dissolution in a mixture of sulfuric acid and sodium bisulfite. The fusion extraction method resulted in complete sample dissolution of all solid matrixes tested. Quantitative analysis of 127I and 129I via inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry showed better than +/-10% accuracy for certified reference standards, with the linear operating range extending more than 3 orders of magnitude (0.005-5 microg/L). Extraction and analysis of four replicates of standard reference material containing 5 microg/g 127I resulted in an average recovery of 98% with a relative deviation of 6%. This simple and cost-effective technique can be applied to solid samples of varying matrixes with little or no adaptation.

[Investigation on Spray Drying Technology of Auricularia auricular Extract].

PubMed

Zhou, Rong; Chen, Hui; Xie, Yuan; Chen, Peng; Wang, Luo-lin

2015-07-01

To investigate the feasibility of spray drying technology of Auricularia auricular extract and its optimum process. On the basis of single factor test, with the yield of dry extract and the content of polysaccharide as indexes, orthogonal test method was used to optimize the spray drying technology on the inlet air temperature, injection speed and crude drug content. Using ultraviolet spectrophotometry, thin layer chromatography(TLC) and pharmacodynamics as indicators, extracts prepared by traditional alcohol precipitation drying process and spray drying process were compared. Compared with the traditional preparation method, the extract prepared by spray drying had little differences from the polysaccharide content, TLC and the function of reducing TG and TC, and its optimum technology condition were as follows: The inlet air temperature was 180 °C, injection speed was 10 ml/min and crude drugs content was 0. 4 g/mL. Auricularia auricular extract by spray drying technology is stable and feasible with high economic benefit.

Antimicrobial activity of bark extracts of Syzygium jambos (L.) alston (Myrtaceae).

PubMed

Djipa, C D; Delmée, M; Quetin-Leclercq, J

2000-07-01

Syzygium jambos (L.) Alston (Myrtaceae) is a widespread medicinal plant traditionally used in sub-Saharan Africa to treat infectious diseases. Acetone and aqueous extracts from the bark of S. jambos were tested for antimicrobial activity in vitro by the agar dilution method in petri dishes. Both extracts showed some activity against the tested micro-organisms. They proved to be particularly effective on Staphylococcus aureus, Yersinia enterocolitica and coagulase negative staphylococci among which Staphylococcus hominis, Staphylococcus cohnii and Staphylococcus warneri. These properties seem to be related to the high tannin content of S. jambos extracts (77 and 83% for the aqueous and acetone extracts, respectively, determined according to the European Pharmacopoeia method) which were generally more active than Hamamelis virginiana, Krameria triandra, Alchemilla vulgaris and Rubus fruticosus extracts containing 48, 44, 46 and 28% tannins, respectively. Furthermore, elimination of tannins totally suppressed these antimicrobial activities.

Larvicidal activity of essential oil and methanol extract of Nepeta menthoides against malaria vector Anopheles stephensi.

PubMed

Mahnaz, Khanavi; Alireza, Fallah; Hassan, Vatandoost; Mahdi, Sedaghat; Reza, Abai Mohammad; Abbas, Hadjiakhoondi

2012-12-01

To investigate the larvicidal activity of essential oil and methanol extract of the Nepeta menthoides (N. menthoides) against main malaria vector, Anopheles stephensi (An. stephensi). The essential oil of plant was obtained by Clevenger type apparatus and the methanol extract was supplied with Percolation method. Larvicidal activity was tested by WHO method. Twenty five fourth-instar larvae of An. stephensi were used in the larvicidal assay and four replicates were tested for each concentration. Five different concentrations of the oil and extract were tested for calculation of LC(50) and LC(90) values. The LC(50) and LC(90) values were determined by probit analysis. LC(50) was 69.5 and 234.3 ppm and LC(90) was 175.5 and 419.9 ppm for the extract and essential oil respectively. According to the results of this study methanolic extract of plant exhibited more larvicidal activity than essential oil. This could be useful for investigation of new natural larvicidal compounds. Copyright © 2012 Hainan Medical College. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kleinheinz, G.T.; St. John, W.P.

A study was conducted to develop a rapid and reliable method for the collection and incorporation of biofiltration air samples containing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the Microtox toxicity testing system. To date, no method exists for this type of assay. A constant stream of VOCs was generated by air stripping compounds from a complex mixture of petroleum hydrocarbons (PHCs). Samples were collected on coconut charcoal ORBO tubes and the VOCs extracted with methylene chloride. The compounds extracted were then solvent exchanged into dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) under gaseous nitrogen. The resulting DMSO extract was directly incorporated into the Microtox toxicitymore » testing system. In order to determine the efficiency of the solvent exchange, the VOCs in the DMSO extract were then extracted into hexane and subsequently analyzed using gas chromatography (GC) with a flame ionization detector (FID). It was determined that all but the most volatile VOCs could be effectively transferred from the ORBO tubes to DMSO for Microtox testing. Potential trace amounts of residual methylene chloride in the DMSO extracts showed no adverse effects in the Microtox system when compared to control samples.« less

Smoke regions extraction based on two steps segmentation and motion detection in early fire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jian, Wenlin; Wu, Kaizhi; Yu, Zirong; Chen, Lijuan

2018-03-01

Aiming at the early problems of video-based smoke detection in fire video, this paper proposes a method to extract smoke suspected regions by combining two steps segmentation and motion characteristics. Early smoldering smoke can be seen as gray or gray-white regions. In the first stage, regions of interests (ROIs) with smoke are obtained by using two step segmentation methods. Then, suspected smoke regions are detected by combining the two step segmentation and motion detection. Finally, morphological processing is used for smoke regions extracting. The Otsu algorithm is used as segmentation method and the ViBe algorithm is used to detect the motion of smoke. The proposed method was tested on 6 test videos with smoke. The experimental results show the effectiveness of our proposed method over visual observation.

Pore-water extraction from unsaturated tuff by triaxial and one-dimensional compression methods, Nevada Test Site, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mower, Timothy E.; Higgins, Jerry D.; Yang, In C.; Peters, Charles A.

1994-01-01

Study of the hydrologic system at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, requires the extraction of pore-water samples from welded and nonwelded, unsaturated tuffs. Two compression methods (triaxial compression and one-dimensional compression) were examined to develop a repeatable extraction technique and to investigate the effects of the extraction method on the original pore-fluid composition. A commercially available triaxial cell was modified to collect pore water expelled from tuff cores. The triaxial cell applied a maximum axial stress of 193 MPa and a maximum confining stress of 68 MPa. Results obtained from triaxial compression testing indicated that pore-water samples could be obtained from nonwelded tuff cores that had initial moisture contents as small as 13 percent (by weight of dry soil). Injection of nitrogen gas while the test core was held at the maximum axial stress caused expulsion of additional pore water and reduced the required initial moisture content from 13 to 11 percent. Experimental calculations, together with experience gained from testing moderately welded tuff cores, indicated that the triaxial cell used in this study could not apply adequate axial or confining stress to expel pore water from cores of densely welded tuffs. This concern led to the design, fabrication, and testing of a one-dimensional compression cell. The one-dimensional compression cell used in this study was constructed from hardened 4340-alloy and nickel-alloy steels and could apply a maximum axial stress of 552 MPa. The major components of the device include a corpus ring and sample sleeve to confine the sample, a piston and base platen to apply axial load, and drainage plates to transmit expelled water from the test core out of the cell. One-dimensional compression extracted pore water from nonwelded tuff cores that had initial moisture contents as small as 7.6 percent; pore water was expelled from densely welded tuff cores that had initial moisture contents as small as 7.7 percent. Injection of nitrogen gas at the maximum axial stress did not produce additional pore water from nonwelded tuff cores, but was critical to recovery of pore water from densely welded tuff cores. Gas injection reduced the required initial moisture content in welded tuff cores from 7.7 to 6.5 percent. Based on the mechanical ability of a pore-water extraction method to remove water from welded and nonwelded tuff cores, one-dimensional compression is a more effective extraction method than triaxial compression. However, because the effects that one-dimensional compression has on pore-water chemistry are not completely understood, additional testing will be needed to verify that this method is suitable for pore-water extraction from Yucca Mountain tuffs.

Evaluation by latent class analysis of a magnetic capture based DNA extraction followed by real-time qPCR as a new diagnostic method for detection of Echinococcus multilocularis in definitive hosts.

PubMed

Maas, Miriam; van Roon, Annika; Dam-Deisz, Cecile; Opsteegh, Marieke; Massolo, Alessandro; Deksne, Gunita; Teunis, Peter; van der Giessen, Joke

2016-10-30

A new method, based on a magnetic capture based DNA extraction followed by qPCR, was developed for the detection of the zoonotic parasite Echinococcus multilocularis in definitive hosts. Latent class analysis was used to compare this new method with the currently used phenol-chloroform DNA extraction followed by single tube nested PCR. In total, 60 red foxes and coyotes from three different locations were tested with both molecular methods and the sedimentation and counting technique (SCT) or intestinal scraping technique (IST). Though based on a limited number of samples, it could be established that the magnetic capture based DNA extraction followed by qPCR showed similar sensitivity and specificity as the currently used phenol-chloroform DNA extraction followed by single tube nested PCR. All methods have a high specificity as shown by Bayesian latent class analysis. Both molecular assays have higher sensitivities than the combined SCT and IST, though the uncertainties in sensitivity estimates were wide for all assays tested. The magnetic capture based DNA extraction followed by qPCR has the advantage of not requiring hazardous chemicals like the phenol-chloroform DNA extraction followed by single tube nested PCR. This supports the replacement of the phenol-chloroform DNA extraction followed by single tube nested PCR by the magnetic capture based DNA extraction followed by qPCR for molecular detection of E. multilocularis in definitive hosts. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

In-vitro antimicrobial activity of marine actinobacteria against multidrug resistance Staphylococcus aureus.

PubMed

Sathish, Kumar S R; Kokati, Venkata Bhaskara Rao

2012-10-01

To investigate the antibacterial activity of marine actinobacteria against multidrug resistance Staphylococcus aureus (MDRSA). Fifty one actinobacterial strains were isolated from salt pans soil, costal area in Kothapattanam, Ongole, Andhra Pradesh. Primary screening was done using cross-streak method against MDRSA. The bioactive compounds are extracted from efficient actinobacteria using solvent extraction. The antimicrobial activity of crude and solvent extracts was performed using Kirby-Bauer method. MIC for ethyl acetate extract was determined by modified agar well diffusion method. The potent actinobacteria are identified using Nonomura key, Shirling and Gottlieb 1966 with Bergey's manual of determinative bacteriology. Among the fifty one isolates screened for antibacterial activity, SRB25 were found efficient against MDRSA. The ethyl acetate extracts showed high inhibition against test organism. MIC test was performed with the ethyl acetate extract against MDRSA and found to be 1 000 µg/mL. The isolated actinobacteria are identified as Streptomyces sp with the help of Nonomura key. The current investigation reveals that the marine actinobacteria from salt pan environment can be able to produce new drug molecules against drug resistant microorganisms.

Extraction and determination of total flavonoids in jujube by alcohol extraction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ji, Y. B.; Ru, X.; Yu, M.; Wang, S. W.; Lu, L.; Qiao, A. N.; Guo, A. Z.

2017-12-01

Jujube is a ripe fruit of Rhamnaceae. Its main active component is flavonoids, so the extraction and determination of total flavonoids in jujube will help to develop and utilize the medicinal value of jujube. In this study, the total flavonoids were extracted from jujube by alcohol extraction method. Through single factor investigation and orthogonal test, it was found that the total flavonoids content in jujube was the highest under the condition of 70°C, material ratio of 1:40, and extraction of 30 min by 70% ethanol. The content of total flavonoids in the extract of jujube was 1.57% at the wavelength of 510 nm by UV and rutin as the standard. The method was evaluated by methodological study, and it was determined that this method could be used as the detection of total flavonoids in jujube extraction.

[Study on extraction of the total saponins of Chinese yam].

PubMed

Zhang, Min; Du, Lin; Huang, Gui-dong; Zhong, Xian-feng

2007-07-01

A method for the determination of total saponins of Chinese yam was established. The dioscin was used as a standard compound, the vanillin-perchloric acid as chromogenic agent and glacial acetic acid as solvent. The extraction technique of asponins from Chinese yam was studied by spectrometric method. Extracting temperature, extracting time, ethanol concentration and the ratio of raw material and water were selected as four factors to design the orthogonal test, and the optical condition of extraction was obtained. The results showed that the optical condition of extraction was as following: extracting temperature 60 degrees C, extracting time 6 h, ethanol concetration 80%, and the ratio of raw material and water 1:8.

Inhibitory Effects of Pterodon emarginatus Bean Oil and Extract on Staphylococcus aureus

PubMed Central

Mendes, V. S.; Sant'Anna, J. B.; Oliveira, S. C. C.; Maldonade, Iriani Rodrigues; Machado, Eleuza Rodrigues

2017-01-01

Background: Pterodon emarginatus is a tree of the Brazilian Savannah. The beans of this tree are used in folk medicine as anti-inflammatory preparations, especially for infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus. These bacteria can cause simple infections or serious illnesses such as pneumonia, meningitis, endocarditis, toxic shock syndrome, septicemia, and others. Objective: This study had the goal of verifying the effect of the essential oil (OE) from P. emarginatus on the inhibition of S. aureus in culture medium, i.e., “ in vitro” tests. Materials and Methods: The vegetable material was cut and crushed with a press. The OE was obtained by extraction using hexane, alcohol, and water. The P. emarginatus extracts obtained were used to evaluate the antimicrobial effect on S. aureus (ATCC 25923) by tests of well diffusion, disc diffusion, and microdilution. The strain used in the assays was maintained in brain heart infusion broth and nutrient agar until testing. Afterward, the bacteria were spread on agar plates with Mueller-Hinton agar medium. In the wells and on the paper discs, the OE suspensions were placed in the following volumes: 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, and 80 μL and subsequently they were incubated at 35°C ± 2°C. After 24 h, the number of colony-forming unit was determined. Results: Pure OE and hydroalcoholic extract inhibited the growth of S. aureus, while aqueous extract had no effect on bacterial growth in all microbial methods used. Conclusion: Thus, the present study showed the potential of sucupira-based extracts against S. aureus growth, opening new perspectives for the evaluation of these bioactive compounds as phytopharmaceutical products. SUMMARY Plant extract act as antimicrobials to prevent and reduce bacterial contaminationBeans of Pterodon emarginatus has antibacterial propertiesExtraction with different solvents might implicate on the rate of bacterial deathThe effect of different microbiological methods (well diffusion, disc diffusion and microdilution) was evaluated on reducing CFUThe results showed by MBC that concentrations superior to 10% (v/v) using AC and 7.5% (v/v) using OE were necessary to eliminate colonies formedAccording to data of MIC, at 2.5% of AC and OE was enough to kill S. aureusThe well diffusion technique demonstrated better performance than disc diffusion test for OE and AC extractsHydroalcoholic and oil extracts of sucupira beans had highest effect against Staphylococcus aureusAqueous extract had no effect on bacterial growth in all microbial methods testedThe sucupira-based extracts is a promising source as herbal drug due to therapeutic value Abbreviations Used: OE: Essencial oil; AC: Hydroalcoholic oil extract; AQ: Aqueous extracts; MIC: Minimum inhibitory concentration; MBC: Minimum bactericidal concentration; CFU: Colony formed unit. PMID:29263627

Extraction of Structural Extracellular Polymeric Substances from Aerobic Granular Sludge

PubMed Central

Felz, Simon; Al-Zuhairy, Salah; Aarstad, Olav Andreas; van Loosdrecht, Mark C.M.; Lin, Yue Mei

2016-01-01

To evaluate and develop methodologies for the extraction of gel-forming extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), EPS from aerobic granular sludge (AGS) was extracted using six different methods (centrifugation, sonication, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), formamide with sodium hydroxide (NaOH), formaldehyde with NaOH and sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) with heat and constant mixing). AGS was collected from a pilot wastewater treatment reactor. The ionic gel-forming property of the extracted EPS of the six different extraction methods was tested with calcium ions (Ca2+). From the six extraction methods used, only the Na2CO3 extraction could solubilize the hydrogel matrix of AGS. The alginate-like extracellular polymers (ALE) recovered with this method formed ionic gel beads with Ca2+. The Ca2+-ALE beads were stable in EDTA, formamide with NaOH and formaldehyde with NaOH, indicating that ALE are one part of the structural polymers in EPS. It is recommended to use an extraction method that combines physical and chemical treatment to solubilize AGS and extract structural EPS. PMID:27768085

Investigation of Time Series Representations and Similarity Measures for Structural Damage Pattern Recognition

PubMed Central

Swartz, R. Andrew

2013-01-01

This paper investigates the time series representation methods and similarity measures for sensor data feature extraction and structural damage pattern recognition. Both model-based time series representation and dimensionality reduction methods are studied to compare the effectiveness of feature extraction for damage pattern recognition. The evaluation of feature extraction methods is performed by examining the separation of feature vectors among different damage patterns and the pattern recognition success rate. In addition, the impact of similarity measures on the pattern recognition success rate and the metrics for damage localization are also investigated. The test data used in this study are from the System Identification to Monitor Civil Engineering Structures (SIMCES) Z24 Bridge damage detection tests, a rigorous instrumentation campaign that recorded the dynamic performance of a concrete box-girder bridge under progressively increasing damage scenarios. A number of progressive damage test case datasets and damage test data with different damage modalities are used. The simulation results show that both time series representation methods and similarity measures have significant impact on the pattern recognition success rate. PMID:24191136

Preliminary Tests For Development Of A Non-Pertechnetate Analysis Method

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Diprete, D.; McCabe, D.

2016-09-28

The objective of this task was to develop a non-pertechnetate analysis method that 222-S lab could easily implement. The initial scope involved working with 222-S laboratory personnel to adapt the existing Tc analytical method to fractionate the non-pertechnetate and pertechnetate. SRNL then developed and tested a method using commercial sorbents containing Aliquat ® 336 to extract the pertechnetate (thereby separating it from non-pertechnetate), followed by oxidation, extraction, and stripping steps, and finally analysis by beta counting and Mass Spectroscopy. Several additional items were partially investigated, including impacts of a 137Cs removal step. The method was initially tested on SRS tankmore » waste samples to determine its viability. Although SRS tank waste does not contain non-pertechnetate, testing with it was useful to investigate the compatibility, separation efficiency, interference removal efficacy, and method sensitivity.« less

Literature mining of protein-residue associations with graph rules learned through distant supervision.

PubMed

Ravikumar, Ke; Liu, Haibin; Cohn, Judith D; Wall, Michael E; Verspoor, Karin

2012-10-05

We propose a method for automatic extraction of protein-specific residue mentions from the biomedical literature. The method searches text for mentions of amino acids at specific sequence positions and attempts to correctly associate each mention with a protein also named in the text. The methods presented in this work will enable improved protein functional site extraction from articles, ultimately supporting protein function prediction. Our method made use of linguistic patterns for identifying the amino acid residue mentions in text. Further, we applied an automated graph-based method to learn syntactic patterns corresponding to protein-residue pairs mentioned in the text. We finally present an approach to automated construction of relevant training and test data using the distant supervision model. The performance of the method was assessed by extracting protein-residue relations from a new automatically generated test set of sentences containing high confidence examples found using distant supervision. It achieved a F-measure of 0.84 on automatically created silver corpus and 0.79 on a manually annotated gold data set for this task, outperforming previous methods. The primary contributions of this work are to (1) demonstrate the effectiveness of distant supervision for automatic creation of training data for protein-residue relation extraction, substantially reducing the effort and time involved in manual annotation of a data set and (2) show that the graph-based relation extraction approach we used generalizes well to the problem of protein-residue association extraction. This work paves the way towards effective extraction of protein functional residues from the literature.

Comparative analysis of feature extraction methods in satellite imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karim, Shahid; Zhang, Ye; Asif, Muhammad Rizwan; Ali, Saad

2017-10-01

Feature extraction techniques are extensively being used in satellite imagery and getting impressive attention for remote sensing applications. The state-of-the-art feature extraction methods are appropriate according to the categories and structures of the objects to be detected. Based on distinctive computations of each feature extraction method, different types of images are selected to evaluate the performance of the methods, such as binary robust invariant scalable keypoints (BRISK), scale-invariant feature transform, speeded-up robust features (SURF), features from accelerated segment test (FAST), histogram of oriented gradients, and local binary patterns. Total computational time is calculated to evaluate the speed of each feature extraction method. The extracted features are counted under shadow regions and preprocessed shadow regions to compare the functioning of each method. We have studied the combination of SURF with FAST and BRISK individually and found very promising results with an increased number of features and less computational time. Finally, feature matching is conferred for all methods.

Research on the feature extraction and pattern recognition of the distributed optical fiber sensing signal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Bingjie; Sun, Qi; Pi, Shaohua; Wu, Hongyan

2014-09-01

In this paper, feature extraction and pattern recognition of the distributed optical fiber sensing signal have been studied. We adopt Mel-Frequency Cepstral Coefficient (MFCC) feature extraction, wavelet packet energy feature extraction and wavelet packet Shannon entropy feature extraction methods to obtain sensing signals (such as speak, wind, thunder and rain signals, etc.) characteristic vectors respectively, and then perform pattern recognition via RBF neural network. Performances of these three feature extraction methods are compared according to the results. We choose MFCC characteristic vector to be 12-dimensional. For wavelet packet feature extraction, signals are decomposed into six layers by Daubechies wavelet packet transform, in which 64 frequency constituents as characteristic vector are respectively extracted. In the process of pattern recognition, the value of diffusion coefficient is introduced to increase the recognition accuracy, while keeping the samples for testing algorithm the same. Recognition results show that wavelet packet Shannon entropy feature extraction method yields the best recognition accuracy which is up to 97%; the performance of 12-dimensional MFCC feature extraction method is less satisfactory; the performance of wavelet packet energy feature extraction method is the worst.

[Optimization study on extraction technology of the seed of Ziziphus jujuba var. spinosa by orthogonal design with multi-targets].

PubMed

Wang, Xiao-liang; Zhang, Yu-jie; Chen, Ming-xia; Wang, Ze-feng

2005-05-01

To optimize extraction technology of the seed of Ziziphus jujuba var. spinosa with the targets of the total saponin, total jujuboside A and B and total flavonoids. In the method of one-way and orthogonal tests, ethanol concentration, amount of ethanol, extraction time and extraction times were the factors in orthogonal test, and each factor with three levels. Ethanol concentration and extraction times had significant effect on all the targets, other factors should be selected in accordance with production practice. The best extraction technology is to extract for three times with 8 fold ethanol solution (60%), and 1.5 h each time.

Comparison of antibacterial activity of Talok (Muntingia calabura L) leaves ethanolic and n-hexane extracts on Propionibacterium acnes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Desrini, Sufi; Ghiffary, Hifzhan Maulana

2018-04-01

Muntingia calabura L., also known locally as Talok or Kersen, is a plant which has been widely used as traditional medicine in Indonesia. In this study, we evaluated the antibacterial activity of Muntingia calabura L. Leaves ethanolic and n-hexane extract extract on Propionibacterium acnes. Antibacterial activity was determined in the extracts using agar well diffusion method. The antibacterial activities of each extract (2 mg/mL, 8 mg/ml, 20 mg/mL 30 mg/mL, and 40 mg/mL) were tested against to Propionibacterium acnes. Zone of inhibition of ethanolic extract and n-hexane extract was measured, compared, and analyzed by using a statistical programme. The phytochemical analyses of the plants were carried out using thin chromatography layer (TLC). The average diameter zone of inhibition at the concentration of 2 mg/mL of the ethanolic extract is 9,97 mm while n-Hexane extract at the same concentration showed 0 mm. Statistical test used was non-parametric test using Kruskal Wallis test which was continued to the Mann-Whitney to see the magnitude of the difference between concentration among groups. Kruskal-Wallis test revealed a significant value 0,000. Based on the result of Post Hoc test using Mann - Whitney test, there is the statistically significant difference between each concentration of ethanolic extract and n-hexane as well as positive control group (p-value < 0,05). Both extracts have antibacterial activity on P.acne. However, ethanolic extract of Muntingia calabura L. is better in inhibiting Propionibacterium acnes growth than n-hexane extract.

Results of the first provisional technical secretariat interlaboratory comparison test

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stuff, J.R.; Hoffland, L.

1995-06-01

The principal task of this laboratory in the first Provisional Technical Secretariat (PTS) Interlaboratory Comparison Test was to verify and test the extraction and preparation procedures outlined in the Recommended Operating Procedures for Sampling and Analysis in the Verification of Chemical Disarmament in addition to our laboratory extraction methods and our laboratory analysis methods. Sample preparation began on 16 May 1994 and analysis was completed on 12 June 1994. The analytical methods used included NMR ({sup 1}H and {sup 31}P) GC/AED, GC/MS (EI and methane CI), GC/IRD, HPLC/IC, HPLC/TSP/MS, MS/MS(Electrospray), and CZE.

Evaluation of anti-inflammatory potential of leaf extracts of Skimmia anquetilia

PubMed Central

Kumar, Vijender; Bhat, Zulfiqar Ali; Kumar, Dinesh; Khan, NA; Chashoo, IA

2012-01-01

Objective To evaluate anti-inflammatory potential of leaf extract of Skimmia anquetilia by in-vitro and in-vivo anti-inflammatory models. Methods Acute toxicity study was carried out to determine the toxicity level of different extract using acute toxic class method as described in Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development Guidelines No.423. Carrageenan (1% w/w) was administered and inflammation was induced in rat paw. The leaf extracts of Skimmia anquetilia were evaluated for anti-inflammatory activity by in-vitro human red blood cell (HRBC) membrane stabilization method and in-vivo carrangeenan-induced rat paw edema method. Results The in-vitro membrane stabilizing test showed petroleum ether (PE), chloroform (CE), ethyl acetate (EE), methanol (ME) and aqueous extracts (AE) showed 49.44%, 59.39%, 60.15%, 68.40% and 52.18 % protection, respectively as compared to control groups. The in-vivo results of CE, EE and ME showed 58.20%, 60.17% and 67.53% inhibition of inflammation after 6h administration of test drugs in albino rats. The potency of the leaf extracts of Skimmia anquetilia were compared with standard diclofenac (10 mg/kg) which showed 74.18% protection in in-vitro HRBC membrane stabilization test and 71.64% inhibition in in-vivo carrangeenan-induced rat paw edema model. The ME showed a dose dependent significant (P< 0.01) anti-inflammatory activity in human red blood cell membrane stabilization test and reduction of edema in carrageenan induced rat paw edema. Conclusions The present investigation has confirmed the anti-inflammatory activity of Skimmia anquetilia due to presence of bioactive phytoconstitutes for the first time and provide the pharmacological evidence in favor of traditional claim of Skimmia anquetilia as an anti- inflammatory agent. PMID:23569983

Determination of bentazone, dichlorprop, and MCPA in different soils by sodium hydroxide extraction in combination with solid-phase preconcentration.

PubMed

Thorstensen, C W; Christiansen, A

2001-09-01

A method for the extraction of bentazone, dichlorprop, and MCPA in three selected Norwegian soils of different textures is described. Initially three different extraction methods were tested on one soil type. All methods gave recoveries >80% for the pesticide mixture, but extraction with sodium hydroxide in combination with solid-phase preconcentration was used for further recovery tests with soils of different properties spiked at four herbicide concentration levels (0.001-10 microg/g of wet soil). The method was rapid and easy and required a minimum of organic solvents. The recoveries were in the range of 82-109, 80-123, and 45-91% for the soils containing 1.4 (Hole), 2.5 (Kroer), and 37.8% (Froland) organic carbon, respectively. Limits of quantification using GC-MS were 0.0003 microg/g of wet soil for bentazone and 0.0001 microg/g of wet soil for both dichlorprop and MCPA.

GPR-Based Water Leak Models in Water Distribution Systems

PubMed Central

Ayala-Cabrera, David; Herrera, Manuel; Izquierdo, Joaquín; Ocaña-Levario, Silvia J.; Pérez-García, Rafael

2013-01-01

This paper addresses the problem of leakage in water distribution systems through the use of ground penetrating radar (GPR) as a nondestructive method. Laboratory tests are performed to extract features of water leakage from the obtained GPR images. Moreover, a test in a real-world urban system under real conditions is performed. Feature extraction is performed by interpreting GPR images with the support of a pre-processing methodology based on an appropriate combination of statistical methods and multi-agent systems. The results of these tests are presented, interpreted, analyzed and discussed in this paper.

Bubble structure evaluation method of sponge cake by using image morphology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kato, Kunihito; Yamamoto, Kazuhiko; Nonaka, Masahiko; Katsuta, Yukiyo; Kasamatsu, Chinatsu

2007-01-01

Nowadays, many evaluation methods for food industry by using image processing are proposed. These methods are becoming new evaluation method besides the sensory test and the solid-state measurement that have been used for the quality evaluation recently. The goal of our research is structure evaluation of sponge cake by using the image processing. In this paper, we propose a feature extraction method of the bobble structure in the sponge cake. Analysis of the bubble structure is one of the important properties to understand characteristics of the cake from the image. In order to take the cake image, first we cut cakes and measured that's surface by using the CIS scanner, because the depth of field of this type scanner is very shallow. Therefore the bubble region of the surface has low gray scale value, and it has a feature that is blur. We extracted bubble regions from the surface images based on these features. The input image is binarized, and the feature of bubble is extracted by the morphology analysis. In order to evaluate the result of feature extraction, we compared correlation with "Size of the bubble" of the sensory test result. From a result, the bubble extraction by using morphology analysis gives good correlation. It is shown that our method is as well as the subjectivity evaluation.

Bayesian convolutional neural network based MRI brain extraction on nonhuman primates.

PubMed

Zhao, Gengyan; Liu, Fang; Oler, Jonathan A; Meyerand, Mary E; Kalin, Ned H; Birn, Rasmus M

2018-07-15

Brain extraction or skull stripping of magnetic resonance images (MRI) is an essential step in neuroimaging studies, the accuracy of which can severely affect subsequent image processing procedures. Current automatic brain extraction methods demonstrate good results on human brains, but are often far from satisfactory on nonhuman primates, which are a necessary part of neuroscience research. To overcome the challenges of brain extraction in nonhuman primates, we propose a fully-automated brain extraction pipeline combining deep Bayesian convolutional neural network (CNN) and fully connected three-dimensional (3D) conditional random field (CRF). The deep Bayesian CNN, Bayesian SegNet, is used as the core segmentation engine. As a probabilistic network, it is not only able to perform accurate high-resolution pixel-wise brain segmentation, but also capable of measuring the model uncertainty by Monte Carlo sampling with dropout in the testing stage. Then, fully connected 3D CRF is used to refine the probability result from Bayesian SegNet in the whole 3D context of the brain volume. The proposed method was evaluated with a manually brain-extracted dataset comprising T1w images of 100 nonhuman primates. Our method outperforms six popular publicly available brain extraction packages and three well-established deep learning based methods with a mean Dice coefficient of 0.985 and a mean average symmetric surface distance of 0.220 mm. A better performance against all the compared methods was verified by statistical tests (all p-values < 10 -4 , two-sided, Bonferroni corrected). The maximum uncertainty of the model on nonhuman primate brain extraction has a mean value of 0.116 across all the 100 subjects. The behavior of the uncertainty was also studied, which shows the uncertainty increases as the training set size decreases, the number of inconsistent labels in the training set increases, or the inconsistency between the training set and the testing set increases. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Comparison of four extraction/methylation analytical methods to measure fatty acid composition by gas chromatography in meat.

PubMed

Juárez, M; Polvillo, O; Contò, M; Ficco, A; Ballico, S; Failla, S

2008-05-09

Four different extraction-derivatization methods commonly used for fatty acid analysis in meat (in situ or one-step method, saponification method, classic method and a combination of classic extraction and saponification derivatization) were tested. The in situ method had low recovery and variation. The saponification method showed the best balance between recovery, precision, repeatability and reproducibility. The classic method had high recovery and acceptable variation values, except for the polyunsaturated fatty acids, showing higher variation than the former methods. The combination of extraction and methylation steps had great recovery values, but the precision, repeatability and reproducibility were not acceptable. Therefore the saponification method would be more convenient for polyunsaturated fatty acid analysis, whereas the in situ method would be an alternative for fast analysis. However the classic method would be the method of choice for the determination of the different lipid classes.

Electrochemical corrosion testing of fasteners in extracts of treated wood

Treesearch

Samuel L. Zelinka; Douglas R. Rammer; Donald S. Stone

2008-01-01

A recent change in wood preservatives has highlighted the need for a rapid, quantitative test to measure the corrosion rates of metals in contact with treated wood that could be used to evaluate new fasteners or new wood preservatives. A new method was developed where polarisation resistance tests were conducted on fasteners exposed to a water extract of wood treated...

DNA recovery from soils of diverse composition.

PubMed

Zhou, J; Bruns, M A; Tiedje, J M

1996-02-01

A simple, rapid method for bacterial lysis and direct extraction of DNA from soils with minimal shearing was developed to address the risk of chimera formation from small template DNA during subsequent PCR. The method was based on lysis with a high-salt extraction buffer (1.5 M NaCl) and extended heating (2 to 3 h) of the soil suspension in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide, and proteinase K. The extraction method required 6 h and was tested on eight soils differing in organic carbon, clay content, and pH, including ones from which DNA extraction is difficult. The DNA fragment size in crude extracts from all soils was > 23 kb. Preliminary trials indicated that DNA recovery from two soils seeded with gram-negative bacteria was 92 to 99%. When the method was tested on all eight unseeded soils, microscopic examination of indigenous bacteria in soil pellets before and after extraction showed variable cell lysis efficiency (26 to 92%). Crude DNA yields from the eight soils ranged from 2.5 to 26.9 micrograms of DNA g-1, and these were positively correlated with the organic carbon content in the soil (r = 0.73). DNA yields from gram-positive bacteria from pure cultures were two to six times higher when the high-salt-SDS-heat method was combined with mortar-and-pestle grinding and freeze-thawing, and most DNA recovered was of high molecular weight. Four methods for purifying crude DNA were also evaluated for percent recovery, fragment size, speed, enzyme restriction, PCR amplification, and DNA-DNA hybridization. In general, all methods produced DNA pure enough for PCR amplification. Since soil type and microbial community characteristics will influence DNA recovery, this study provides guidance for choosing appropriate extraction and purification methods on the basis of experimental goals.

Field and laboratory determination of a poly(vinyl/vinylidene chloride) additive in brick mortar.

PubMed

Law, S L; Newman, J H; Ptak, F L

1990-02-01

A polymerized vinyl/vinylidene chloride additive, used in brick mortar during the 60s and 70s, is detected at the building site by the field method, which employs a commercially available chloride test strip. The field test results can then be verified by the laboratory methods. In one method, total chlorine in the mortar is determined by an oxygen-bomb method and the additive chloride is determined by difference after water-soluble chlorides have been determined on a separate sample. In the second method, the polymerized additive is extracted directly from the mortar with tetrahydrofuran (THF). The difference in weight before and after extraction of the additive gives the weight of additive in the mortar. Evaporation of the THF from the extract leaves a thin film of the polymer, which gives an infrared "fingerprint" spectrum characteristic of the additive polymer.

Application of FT-IR Classification Method in Silica-Plant Extracts Composites Quality Testing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bicu, A.; Drumea, V.; Mihaiescu, D. E.; Purcareanu, B.; Florea, M. A.; Trică, B.; Vasilievici, G.; Draga, S.; Buse, E.; Olariu, L.

2018-06-01

Our present work is concerned with the validation and quality testing efforts of mesoporous silica - plant extracts composites, in order to sustain the standardization process of plant-based pharmaceutical products. The synthesis of the silica support were performed by using a TEOS based synthetic route and CTAB as a template, at room temperature and normal pressure. The silica support was analyzed by advanced characterization methods (SEM, TEM, BET, DLS and FT-IR), and loaded with Calendula officinalis and Salvia officinalis standardized extracts. Further desorption studies were performed in order to prove the sustained release properties of the final materials. Intermediate and final product identification was performed by a FT-IR classification method, using the MID-range of the IR spectra, and statistical representative samples from repetitive synthetic stages. The obtained results recommend this analytical method as a fast and cost effective alternative to the classic identification methods.

Antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of bitter and sweet apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) kernels.

PubMed

Yiğit, D; Yiğit, N; Mavi, A

2009-04-01

The present study describes the in vitro antimicrobial and antioxidant activity of methanol and water extracts of sweet and bitter apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) kernels. The antioxidant properties of apricot kernels were evaluated by determining radical scavenging power, lipid peroxidation inhibition activity and total phenol content measured with a DPPH test, the thiocyanate method and the Folin method, respectively. In contrast to extracts of the bitter kernels, both the water and methanol extracts of sweet kernels have antioxidant potential. The highest percent inhibition of lipid peroxidation (69%) and total phenolic content (7.9 +/- 0.2 microg/mL) were detected in the methanol extract of sweet kernels (Hasanbey) and in the water extract of the same cultivar, respectively. The antimicrobial activities of the above extracts were also tested against human pathogenic microorganisms using a disc-diffusion method, and the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of each active extract were determined. The most effective antibacterial activity was observed in the methanol and water extracts of bitter kernels and in the methanol extract of sweet kernels against the Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus. Additionally, the methanol extracts of the bitter kernels were very potent against the Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli (0.312 mg/mL MIC value). Significant anti-candida activity was also observed with the methanol extract of bitter apricot kernels against Candida albicans, consisting of a 14 mm in diameter of inhibition zone and a 0.625 mg/mL MIC value.

Automated prediction of protein function and detection of functional sites from structure.

PubMed

Pazos, Florencio; Sternberg, Michael J E

2004-10-12

Current structural genomics projects are yielding structures for proteins whose functions are unknown. Accordingly, there is a pressing requirement for computational methods for function prediction. Here we present PHUNCTIONER, an automatic method for structure-based function prediction using automatically extracted functional sites (residues associated to functions). The method relates proteins with the same function through structural alignments and extracts 3D profiles of conserved residues. Functional features to train the method are extracted from the Gene Ontology (GO) database. The method extracts these features from the entire GO hierarchy and hence is applicable across the whole range of function specificity. 3D profiles associated with 121 GO annotations were extracted. We tested the power of the method both for the prediction of function and for the extraction of functional sites. The success of function prediction by our method was compared with the standard homology-based method. In the zone of low sequence similarity (approximately 15%), our method assigns the correct GO annotation in 90% of the protein structures considered, approximately 20% higher than inheritance of function from the closest homologue.

Stability and potency of raw and boiled shrimp extracts for skin prick test.

PubMed

Pariyaprasert, Wipada; Piboonpocanun, Surapon; Jirapongsananuruk, Orathai; Visitsunthorn, Nualanong

2015-06-01

The difference of stability between raw and boiled shrimp extracts used in prick tests has never been investigated despite its potential consequences in tests development. The aim of this study was to compare the raw and boiled shrimp extracts of two species; Macrobrachium rosenbergii (freshwater shrimp) and Penaeus monodon (seawater shrimp) held at 4 ?C for different periods of time for their stability and potency in vivo by using the skin prick test (SPT) method. Raw and boiled M. rosenbergii and P. monodon extracts were prepared and stored at 4 ?C for 1, 7, 14 and 30 days. Thirty patients were pricked with raw and boiled shrimp extracts at all storage times, as well as prick to prick skin test (PTP) to fresh raw and boiled shrimps of both species. The mean wheal diameter (MWD) resulting from prick tests for all shrimp extracts was measured and compared. The shrimp extracts of all storage times yielded positive skin test results in the range of 90% - 100%. Raw P. monodon extracts induced larger wheals than boiled extracts at all storage times. There was no significant difference of MWD between raw and boiled M. rosenbergii extracts on day 1, 7, and 14. Significant correlations between MWD of PTP to fresh shrimps and SPT to all shrimp extracts were observed. All shrimp extracts were sterile at all storage times. Raw and boiled M. rosenbergii and P. monodon extracts were stable and sterile at 4 ?C for at most 30 days. SPT with these extracts induced more than 10 mm in shrimp allergy patients and the results were comparable with PTP to fresh shrimps.

Antibacterial activities of the methanol extracts of ten Cameroonian vegetables against Gram-negative multidrug-resistant bacteria

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Many edible plants are used in Cameroon since ancient time to control microbial infections. This study was designed at evaluating the antibacterial activities of the methanol extracts of ten Cameroonian vegetables against a panel of twenty nine Gram negative bacteria including multi-drug resistant (MDR) strains. Methods The broth microdilution method was used to determine the Minimal Inhibitory Concentrations (MIC) and the Minimal Bactericidal Concentrations (MBC) of the studied extracts. When chloramphenicol was used as a reference antibiotic, the MICs were also determined in the presence of Phenylalanine-Arginine β-Naphtylamide (PAβN), an efflux pumps inhibitor (EPI). The phytochemical screening of the extracts was performed using standard methods. Results All tested extracts exhibited antibacterial activities, with the MIC values varying from 128 to 1024 mg/L. The studied extracts showed large spectra of action, those from L. sativa, S. edule, C. pepo and S. nigrum being active on all the 29 bacterial strains tested meanwhile those from Amaranthus hybridus, Vernonia hymenolepsis, Lactuca.carpensis and Manihot esculenta were active on 96.55% of the strains used. The plant extracts were assessed for the presence of large classes of secondary metabolites: alkaloids, anthocyanins, anthraquinones, flavonoids, phenols, saponins, steroids, tannins and triterpenes. Each studied plant extract was found to contain compounds belonging to at least two of the above mentioned classes. Conclusion These results confirm the traditional claims and provide promising baseline information for the potential use of the tested vegetables in the fight against bacterial infections involving MDR phenotypes. PMID:23368430

The function of digestive enzymes on Cu, Zn, and Pb release from soil in in vitro digestion tests.

PubMed

Li, Yi; Demisie, Walelign; Zhang, Ming-kui

2013-07-01

The bioaccessibility of soil heavy metals is the solubility of soil heavy metals in synthetic human digestive juice, which is usually determined using in vitro digestion test. To reveal the effects of digestive enzymes on soil heavy metals bioaccessibility, three representative in vitro digestion tests, Simple Bioaccessibility Extraction Test (SBET), Physiologically Based Extraction Test (PBET), and Simple Gastrointestinal Extraction Test (SGET), were chosen. The bioaccessibility of soil Cu, Zn, and Pb in each method were respectively evaluated with and without digestive enzymes, and the differences were compared. The results showed that the effects of digestive enzymes varied with different methods and elements. Because of digestive enzymes addition, the environmental change from acid gastric phase to neutral intestinal phase of PBET did not result in apparently decrease of the bioaccessibility of soil Cu. However, the solubility of soil Zn and Pb were pH-dependent. For SGET, when digestive enzymes were added, its results reflected more variations resulting from soil and element types. The impacts of digestive enzymes on heavy metal dissolution are mostly seen in the intestinal phase. Therefore, digestive enzyme addition is indispensable to the gastrointestinal digestion methods (PBET and SGET), while the pepsin addition is not important for the methods only comprised of gastric digestion (SBET).

Organophilic clays as a tracer to determine Erosion processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mentler, A.; Strauss, P.; Schomakers, J.; Hann, S.; Köllensberger, G.; Ottner, F.

2009-04-01

In recent years the use of new tracing techniques to measure soil erosion has gained attention. Beside long time existing isotopic methods the use of rare earth elements has been reported. We wanted to contribute to the efforts of obtaining better methods for determination surface soil movement and tested a novel method using organophilic clays as a tracer for erosion related studies. At present tests to extract organophilic clays from soil have been performed successfully using an Industrial produced organophilic bentonite (Tixogel TVZ, Süd-Chemie) treated with quaternary ammonium surfactants. A liquid extraction method with barium ions (Ba2+) and methanol was used to extract the n-alkyl ammonium compounds from the inter crystal layers of the modified Bentonite. To increase extraction efficiency, an ultrasound device was used (UW 2200 Bandelin, 10.000 cycles per second, vibration amplitude 54 µm, sonification time of one minute). This procedure lead to a recovery rate of about 85% for the organophilic bentonite. This was clearly superior to alternative extraction methods such as acetonitrile in different mixing ratios. Quantification of the extracted surfactants was performed via high performance liquid chromatography - mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS, Agilent 1200 SL HPLC and 6220 time-of-flight MS). The mass spectra of this industrial produced organophilic clay mineral showed four different molecular masses (M+H+ of 304.30, 332.33, 360.36 and 388.39. The four substances could be separated by HPLC (20 x 2 mm Zorbax C18 reversed phase column, 0.5 mL/min isocratic flow with 90% acetonitrile and 0.1% formic acid in water, run time of 7 minutes). The linear working range of the method was 5 to 1000 µg/L, with a limit of quantification of 1 µg/L n-alkyl ammonium compound. All four compounds of the Tixogel were extracted with identical extraction efficiencies and are hence suitable for accurate quantification procedures. Next steps of the methodology to develop are the application of the organophilic clays in an indoor rainfall simulation experiment at a small scale of 2 m². At present the methodology has been tested only for one particular soil. Future tests will be performed to see if the chosen methodology needs soil specific treatment when applied to more soils of different textural composition.

EVALUATION OF DIFFERENT METHODS FOR THE EXTRACTION OF DNA FROM FUNGAL CONIDIA BY QUANTITATIVE COMPETITIVE PCR ANALYSIS

EPA Science Inventory

Five different DNA extraction methods were evaluated for their effectiveness in recovering PCR templates from the conidia of a series of fungal species often encountered in indoor air. The test organisms were Aspergillus versicolor, Penicillium chrysogenum, Stachybotrys chartaru...

Critical Evaluation of Soil Pore Water Extraction Methods on a Natural Soil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orlowski, Natalie; Pratt, Dyan; Breuer, Lutz; McDonnell, Jeffrey

2017-04-01

Soil pore water extraction is an important component in ecohydrological studies for the measurement of δ2H and δ18O. The effect of pore water extraction technique on resultant isotopic signature is poorly understood. Here we present results of an intercomparison of commonly applied lab-based soil water extraction techniques on a natural soil: high pressure mechanical squeezing, centrifugation, direct vapor equilibration, microwave extraction, and two types of cryogenic extraction systems. We applied these extraction methods to a natural summer-dry (gravimetric water contents ranging from 8% to 15%) glacio-lacustrine, moderately fine textured clayey soil; excavated in 10 cm sampling increments to a depth of 1 meter. Isotope results were analyzed via OA-ICOS and compared for each extraction technique that produced liquid water. From our previous intercomparison study among the same extraction techniques but with standard soils, we discovered that extraction methods are not comparable. We therefore tested the null hypothesis that all extraction techniques would be able to replicate the natural evaporation front in a comparable manner occurring in a summer-dry soil. Our results showed that the extraction technique utilized had a significant effect on the soil water isotopic composition. High pressure mechanical squeezing and vapor equilibration techniques produced similar results with similarly sloped evaporation lines. Due to the nature of soil properties and dryness, centrifugation was unsuccessful in obtaining pore water for isotopic analysis. Cryogenic extraction on both tested techniques produced similar results to each other on a similar sloping evaporation line, but dissimilar with depth.

[Optimization of extraction process for tannins from Geranium orientali-tibeticum by supercritical CO2 method].

PubMed

Xie, Song; Tong, Zhi-Ping; Tan, Rui; Liu, Xiao-Zhen

2014-08-01

In order to optimize extraction process conditions of tannins from Geranium orientali-tibeticum by supercritical CO2, the content of tannins was determined by phosphomolybdium tungsten acid-casein reaction, with extraction pressure, extraction temper- ature and extraction time as factors, the content of tannins from extract of G. orientali-tibeticum as index, technology conditions were optimized by orthogonal test. Optimum technology conditions were as follows: extraction pressure was 25 MPa, extraction temperature was 50 °C, extracted 1.5 h. The content of tannins in extract was 12.91 mg x g(-1), extract rate was 3.67%. The method established could be used for assay the contents of tannin in G. orientali-tibeticum. The circulated extraction was an effective extraction process that was stable and feasible, and that provides a way of the extraction process conditions of tannin from G. orientali-tibeticum.

[Studies on technology optimization for extracting triterpenoid saponins from Picria felterrae by multi-target grading method].

PubMed

Fang, Hong; Ning, De-sheng; Liang, Xiao-yan

2009-12-01

To study the optimum extraction conditions of triterpenoid saponins from Picria felterrae. The optimum extraction conditions were investigated by the contents of the total glycosides and picfeltarraenine I A and I B, using orthogonal test. The optimum extraction conditions were as follows: using 70% alcohol of 19 times than the amount of original material soaking 3 hours, extracting twice with hot reflux method at 80 degrees C, 3h the first time, 1 h the second time. The selected extraction conditions are convenient and practical with high accuracy, and could be used as a reference for industrial production.

[A Simultaneous Determination Method with Acetonitrile-n-Hexane Partitioning and Solid-Phase Extraction for Pesticide Residues in Livestock and Marine Products by GC-MS].

PubMed

Yoshizaki, Mayuko; Kobayashi, Yukari; Shimizu, Masanori; Maruyama, Kouichi

2015-01-01

A simultaneous determination method was examined for 312 pesticides (including isomers) in muscle of livestock and marine products by GC-MS. The pesticide residues extracted from samples with acetone and n-hexane were purified by acetonitrile-n-hexane partitioning, and C18 and SAX/PSA solid-phase extraction without using GPC. Matrix components such as cholesterol were effectively removed. In recovery tests performed by this method using pork, beef, chicken and shrimp, 237-257 pesticides showed recoveries within the range of 70-120% in each sample. Validity was confirmed for 214 of the target pesticides by means of a validation test using pork. In comparison with the Japanese official method using GPC, the treatment time of samples and the quantity of solvent were reduced substantially.

Plant constituents interfering with human sex hormone-binding globulin. Evaluation of a test method and its application to Urtica dioica root extracts.

PubMed

Gansser, D; Spiteller, G

1995-01-01

A test system is described, which allows the search for compounds interfering with human sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) even in complex plant extracts. The method has been evaluated and applied to Urtica dioica root extracts. The lignan secoisolariciresinol (5) as well as a mixture of isomeric (11 E)-9,10,13-trihydroxy-11-octadecenoic and (10 E)-9,12,13-trihydroxy-10-octadecenoic acids (3 and 4, resp.) were demonstrated to reduce binding activity of human SHBG. Methylation of the mixture of 3 and 4 increased its activity about 10-fold.

In Vitro antibacterial and antibiotic-potentiation activities of four edible plants against multidrug-resistant gram-negative species

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background The present study was designed to investigate the antibacterial activities of the methanol extracts of four Cameroonian edible plants, locally used to treat microbial infections, and their synergistic effects with antibiotics against a panel of twenty nine Gram-negative bacteria including Multi-drug resistant (MDR) phenotypes expressing active efflux pumps. Methods The broth microdilution method was used to determine the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of the extracts [alone and in the presence of the efflux pumps inhibitor (EPI) Phenylalanine-Arginine β-Naphtylamide (PAβN)], and those of antibiotics in association with the two of the most active ones, Piper nigrum and Telfairia occidentalis. The preliminary phytochemical screening of the extracts was conducted according to the standard phytochemical methods. Results Phytochemical analysis showed the presence of alkaloids and flavonoids in all studied extracts. Other chemical classes of secondary metabolites were selectively present in the extracts. The results of the MIC determination indicated that the crude extracts from P. nigrum and V. amygdalina were able to inhibit the growth of all the twenty nine studied bacteria within a concentration range of 32 to 1024 μg/mL. At a similar concentration range (32 to 1024 μg/mL) the extract from T. occidentalis inhibited the growth of 93.1% of the tested microorganisms. At MIC/2 and MIC/5, synergistic effects were noted between the extracts from P. nigrum and T. occidentalis and seven of the tested antibiotics on more than 70% of the tested bacteria. Conclusion The overall results of the present study provide information for the possible use of the studied edible plants extracts in the control of bacterial infections including MDR phenotypes. PMID:23885762

Reference Proteome Extracts for Mass Spec Instrument Performance Validation and Method Development

PubMed Central

Rosenblatt, Mike; Urh, Marjeta; Saveliev, Sergei

2014-01-01

Biological samples of high complexity are required to test protein mass spec sample preparation procedures and validate mass spec instrument performance. Total cell protein extracts provide the needed sample complexity. However, to be compatible with mass spec applications, such extracts should meet a number of design requirements: compatibility with LC/MS (free of detergents, etc.)high protein integrity (minimal level of protein degradation and non-biological PTMs)compatibility with common sample preparation methods such as proteolysis, PTM enrichment and mass-tag labelingLot-to-lot reproducibility Here we describe total protein extracts from yeast and human cells that meet the above criteria. Two extract formats have been developed: Intact protein extracts with primary use for sample preparation method development and optimizationPre-digested extracts (peptides) with primary use for instrument validation and performance monitoring

A comparison of DNA extraction procedures for the detection of Mycobacterium ulcerans, the causative agent of Buruli ulcer, in clinical and environmental specimens.

PubMed

Durnez, Lies; Stragier, Pieter; Roebben, Karen; Ablordey, Anthony; Leirs, Herwig; Portaels, Françoise

2009-02-01

Mycobacterium ulcerans is the causative agent of Buruli ulcer, the third most common mycobacterial disease in humans after tuberculosis and leprosy. Although the disease is associated with aquatic ecosystems, cultivation of the bacillus from the environment is difficult to achieve. Therefore, at the moment, research is based on the detection by PCR of the insertion sequence IS2404 present in M. ulcerans and some closely related mycobacteria. In the present study, we compared four DNA extraction methods for detection of M. ulcerans DNA, namely the one tube cell lysis and DNA extraction procedure (OT), the FastPrep procedure (FP), the modified Boom procedure (MB), and the Maxwell 16 Procedure (M16). The methods were performed on serial dilutions of M. ulcerans, followed by PCR analysis with different PCR targets in M. ulcerans to determine the detection limit (DL) of each method. The purity of the extracted DNA and the time and effort needed were compared as well. All methods were performed on environmental specimens and the two best methods (MB and M16) were tested on clinical specimens for detection of M. ulcerans DNA. When comparing the DLs of the DNA extraction methods, the MB and M16 had a significantly lower DL than the OT and FP. For the different PCR targets, IS2404 showed a significantly lower DL than mlsA, MIRU1, MIRU5 and VNTR6. The FP and M16 were considerably faster than the MB and OT, while the purity of the DNA extracted with the MB was significantly higher than the DNA extracted with the other methods. The MB performed best on the environmental and clinical specimens. This comparative study shows that the modified Boom procedure, although lengthy, provides a better method of DNA extraction than the other methods tested for detection and identification of M. ulcerans in both clinical and environmental specimens.

Deep liquid-chromatographic purification of uranium extract from technetium

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Volk, V.; Dvoeglazov, K; Podrezova, L.

The recycling of uranium in the nuclear fuel cycle requires the removal of a number of radioactive and stable impurities like {sup 99}Tc from spent fuels. In order to improve the grade of uranium extract purification from technetium the method of liquid chromatography and the apparatus for its performance have been developed. Process of technetium extraction and concentrating in aqueous solution containing reducing agent has been studied on simulated solutions (U-Tc-HNO{sub 3}-30% TBP-isoparM). The dynamic tests of the method have been carried out on the laboratory unit. Solution of diformyl-hydrazine in nitric acid was used as a stationary phase. Silicamore » gel with specific surface of 186 m{sup 2}/g was used as a carrier of the stationary phase. It is shown that the volume of purified extract increases as the solution temperature increases, concentration of reducing agent increases and extract flow rate decreases. It is established that the technetium content in uranium by this method could achieve a value below 0.3 ppm. Some variants of overload and composition of the stationary phase containing the extracted technetium have been offered and tested. It is defined that the method provides reduction of processing medium-active wastes by more than 10 times during finish refining process. (authors)« less

Antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of Urtica dioica leaf extract in animal models.

PubMed

Hajhashemi, Valiollah; Klooshani, Vahid

2013-01-01

This study was aimed to examine the antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of Urtica dioica leaf extract in animal models. Hydroalcoholic extract of the plant leaves was prepared by percolation method. Male Swiss mice (25-35 g) and male Wistar rats (180-200 g) were randomly distributed in control, standard drug, and three experimental groups (n=6 in each group). Acetic acid-induced writhing, formalin test, and carrageenan-induced paw edema were used to assess the antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects. The extract dose-dependently reduced acetic acid-induced abdominal twitches. In formalin test, the extract at any of applied doses (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg) could not suppress the licking behavior of first phase while doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg significantly inhibited the second phase of formalin test. In carrageenan test, the extract at a dose of 400 mg/kg significantly inhibited the paw edema by 26%. The results confirm the folkloric use of the plant extract in painful and inflammatory conditions. Further studies are needed to characterize the active constituents and the mechanism of action of the plant extract.

Pediatric Brain Extraction Using Learning-based Meta-algorithm

PubMed Central

Shi, Feng; Wang, Li; Dai, Yakang; Gilmore, John H.; Lin, Weili; Shen, Dinggang

2012-01-01

Magnetic resonance imaging of pediatric brain provides valuable information for early brain development studies. Automated brain extraction is challenging due to the small brain size and dynamic change of tissue contrast in the developing brains. In this paper, we propose a novel Learning Algorithm for Brain Extraction and Labeling (LABEL) specially for the pediatric MR brain images. The idea is to perform multiple complementary brain extractions on a given testing image by using a meta-algorithm, including BET and BSE, where the parameters of each run of the meta-algorithm are effectively learned from the training data. Also, the representative subjects are selected as exemplars and used to guide brain extraction of new subjects in different age groups. We further develop a level-set based fusion method to combine multiple brain extractions together with a closed smooth surface for obtaining the final extraction. The proposed method has been extensively evaluated in subjects of three representative age groups, such as neonate (less than 2 months), infant (1–2 years), and child (5–18 years). Experimental results show that, with 45 subjects for training (15 neonates, 15 infant, and 15 children), the proposed method can produce more accurate brain extraction results on 246 testing subjects (75 neonates, 126 infants, and 45 children), i.e., at average Jaccard Index of 0.953, compared to those by BET (0.918), BSE (0.902), ROBEX (0.901), GCUT (0.856), and other fusion methods such as Majority Voting (0.919) and STAPLE (0.941). Along with the largely-improved computational efficiency, the proposed method demonstrates its ability of automated brain extraction for pediatric MR images in a large age range. PMID:22634859

[Multi-residue method for screening of pesticides in crops by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry].

PubMed

Tanizawa, Haruna; Shima, Mikie; Ikehara, Chieko; Kobata, Masakazu; Sato, Motoaki

2005-10-01

A simple and rapid method was developed for the screening of 82 pesticides/metabolites in a wide variety of crops, using solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). After extraction with methanol, the filtered extracts were made up to 100 mL and a 2 mL aliquot was subjected to solid-phase extraction. Co-extractives were removed with a C18 mini-column, while pesticides were retained on 3 kinds of mini-columns (HLB, SAX, activated carbon), and then eluted with acetonitrile. Analysis was performed by LC/MS/MS, and MS acquisition parameters were established in positive and negative ESI modes. The utility of the method was demonstrated by the analysis of 6 crops (carrot, cabbage, onion, spinach, lemon, brown rice) and one mixed vegetable juice. Of 82 compounds tested, 75 in carrot and 62 in lemon were obtained with recoveries ranging from 70-120%. For all samples tested, 75 compounds could be obtained with recoveries of over 50%, and the detection limits of most compounds were lower than 0.01 microg/g. This method provides acceptable performance for analysis of these 75 compounds. Further, by using aliquots of the extracts with small-scale mini-columns, purified samples could be obtained. This proposed method with small matrix effects, is effective and suitable for screening of multiple residual pesticides by using LC/MS/MS.

Feature Extraction and Selection Strategies for Automated Target Recognition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Greene, W. Nicholas; Zhang, Yuhan; Lu, Thomas T.; Chao, Tien-Hsin

2010-01-01

Several feature extraction and selection methods for an existing automatic target recognition (ATR) system using JPLs Grayscale Optical Correlator (GOC) and Optimal Trade-Off Maximum Average Correlation Height (OT-MACH) filter were tested using MATLAB. The ATR system is composed of three stages: a cursory region of-interest (ROI) search using the GOC and OT-MACH filter, a feature extraction and selection stage, and a final classification stage. Feature extraction and selection concerns transforming potential target data into more useful forms as well as selecting important subsets of that data which may aide in detection and classification. The strategies tested were built around two popular extraction methods: Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Independent Component Analysis (ICA). Performance was measured based on the classification accuracy and free-response receiver operating characteristic (FROC) output of a support vector machine(SVM) and a neural net (NN) classifier.

Feature extraction and selection strategies for automated target recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greene, W. Nicholas; Zhang, Yuhan; Lu, Thomas T.; Chao, Tien-Hsin

2010-04-01

Several feature extraction and selection methods for an existing automatic target recognition (ATR) system using JPLs Grayscale Optical Correlator (GOC) and Optimal Trade-Off Maximum Average Correlation Height (OT-MACH) filter were tested using MATLAB. The ATR system is composed of three stages: a cursory regionof- interest (ROI) search using the GOC and OT-MACH filter, a feature extraction and selection stage, and a final classification stage. Feature extraction and selection concerns transforming potential target data into more useful forms as well as selecting important subsets of that data which may aide in detection and classification. The strategies tested were built around two popular extraction methods: Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Independent Component Analysis (ICA). Performance was measured based on the classification accuracy and free-response receiver operating characteristic (FROC) output of a support vector machine(SVM) and a neural net (NN) classifier.

Bioactive molecules in Kalanchoe pinnata leaves: extraction, purification, and identification.

PubMed

El Abdellaoui, Saïda; Destandau, Emilie; Toribio, Alix; Elfakir, Claire; Lafosse, Michel; Renimel, Isabelle; André, Patrice; Cancellieri, Perrine; Landemarre, Ludovic

2010-10-01

Kalanchoe pinnata (Lam.) Pers. (syn. Bryophyllum pinnatum; family Crassulaceae) is a popular plant used in traditional medicine in many temperate regions of the world and particularly in South America. In Guyana, the leaves are traditionally used as an anti-inflammatory and antiseptic to treat coughs, ulcers, and sores. The purpose of this study was to implement a method for targeting and identifying molecules with antimicrobial activity, which could replace chemical preservatives in cosmetic applications. The leaves were extracted by a method based on pressurized liquid extraction (PLE), using different solvents. A study of antimicrobial activity and cytotoxicity tests were performed to select the most interesting extract. To isolate one or more active molecules, the selected crude extract was fractionated by centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC) and then antimicrobial activity and cytotoxicity of each fraction were tested under the same procedure. The last step consisted of identifying the main compounds in the most active fraction by LC-MS/MS.

Phytopharmacological evaluation of ethanol extract of Sida cordifolia L. roots

PubMed Central

Momin, Mohammad Abdul Motalib; Bellah, Sm Faysal; Rahman, Sarder Mohammad Raussel; Rahman, Ahmed Ayedur; Murshid, Gazi Mohammad Monjur; Emran, Talha Bin

2014-01-01

Objective To investigate the phytochemical screening (group determination) and selected pharmacological activities (antioxidant, antimicrobial and analgesic activity) of the plant Sida cordifolia Linn (S. cordifolia). Methods Eighty percent concentrated ethanol extract of the roots was used. To identify the chemical constituents of plant extract standard procedures were followed. In phytochemical screening the crude extract was tested for the presence of different chemical groups like reducing sugar, tannins, saponins, steroids, flavonoids, gums, alkaloids and glycosides. The antioxidant property of ethanolic extract of S. cordifolia was assessed by DPPH free radical scavenging activity. Analgesic activity of the extract was tested using the model of acetic acid induced writhing in mice. Diclofenac sodium is used as reference standard drug for the analgesic activity test. Antibacterial activity of plant extract was carried out using disc diffusion method with five pathogenic bacteria comparison with kanamycin as a standard. Results Phytochemical analysis of the ethanolic extract of the roots of S. cordifolia indicated the presence of reducing sugar, alkaloids, steroids and saponins. In DPPH scavenging assay the IC50 value was found to be 50 µg/mL which was not comparable to the standard ascorbic acid. The crude extract produced 44.30% inhibition of writhing at the dose of 500 mg/kg body weight which is statistically significant (P>0.001). The in vitro antimicrobial activity of the ethanol extract of the roots of S. cordifolia showed no antimicrobial activity against five types of microorganisms. The experiment was conducted only with five species of bacteria as test species, which do not at all indicate the total inactivity against micro-organisms. Conclusions The obtained results provide a support for the use of this plant in traditional medicine but further pharmacological studies are required. PMID:24144125

Stability Test and Quantitative and Qualitative Analyses of the Amino Acids in Pharmacopuncture Extracted from Scolopendra subspinipes mutilans.

PubMed

Cho, GyeYoon; Han, KyuChul; Yoon, JinYoung

2015-03-01

Scolopendra subspinipes mutilans (S. subspinipes mutilans) is known as a traditional medicine and includes various amino acids, peptides and proteins. The amino acids in the pharmacopuncture extracted from S. subspinipes mutilans by using derivatization methods were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively by using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) over a 12 month period to confirm its stability. Amino acids of pharmacopuncture extracted from S. subspinipes mutilans were derived by using O-phthaldialdehyde (OPA) & 9-fluorenyl methoxy carbonyl chloride (FMOC) reagent and were analyzed using HPLC. The amino acids were detected by using a diode array detector (DAD) and a fluorescence detector (FLD) to compare a mixed amino acid standard (STD) to the pharmacopuncture from centipedes. The stability tests on the pharmacopuncture from centipedes were done using HPLC for three conditions: a room temperature test chamber, an acceleration test chamber, and a cold test chamber. The pharmacopuncture from centipedes was prepared by using the method of the Korean Pharmacopuncture Institute (KPI) and through quantitative analyses was shown to contain 9 amino acids of the 16 amino acids in the mixed amino acid STD. The amounts of the amino acids in the pharmacopuncture from centipedes were 34.37 ppm of aspartate, 123.72 ppm of arginine, 170.63 ppm of alanine, 59.55 ppm of leucine and 57 ppm of lysine. The relative standard deviation (RSD %) results for the pharmacopuncture from centipedes had a maximum value of 14.95% and minimum value of 1.795% on the room temperature test chamber, the acceleration test chamber and the cold test chamber stability tests. Stability tests on and quantitative and qualitative analyses of the amino acids in the pharmacopuncture extracted from centipedes by using derivatization methods were performed by using HPLC. Through research, we hope to determine the relationship between time and the concentrations of the amino acids in the pharmacopuncture extracted from centipedes.

Antioxidant Activity of Leaves and Fruits of Iranian Conifers

PubMed Central

Emami, S. A.; Asili, J.; Mohagheghi, Z.

2007-01-01

Cupressus semipervirens var. horizontalis, Cupressus semipervirens var. semipervirens, Cupressus semipervirens cv. Cereifeormis, Juniperus communis subsp. hemisphaerica, Juniperus excelsa subsp. excelsa, Juniperus excelsa subsp. polycarpos, Juniperus foetidissima, Juniperus oblonga, Juniperus sabina, Platycladus orientalis and Taxus baccata are Iranian conifers. The antioxidant activity of leaves and fruits of these 11 different taxons were evaluated. The leaves of both male and female, and fruits of these plants were collected from different areas of the country. Methanol extract of leaves and fruits of these taxons were prepared. Antioxidant activity of each extracts was measured using two different tests of the ferric thiocyanate method and thiobarbituric acid. Results indicated that the methanol extracts of leaves, of male and female, and fruits of all these species (27 samples) possessed antioxidant activity when tested with both methods. The antioxidant activity was then compared with those of α-tocopherol (a natural antioxidant) and butylated hydroxytoluene (a synthetic antioxidant). Methanol extract of fruits of C. semipervirens cv. Cereifeormis showed the highest antioxidant activity while the methanol extract of leaves of C. semipervirens var. semipervirens possessed the lowest antioxidant activity. However, our finding showed that most of the tested extracts were showing strong antioxidant activity even higher than α-tocopherol. PMID:17965761

Differences among heat-treated, raw, and commercial peanut extracts by skin testing and immunoblotting.

PubMed

Maleki, Soheila J; Casillas, Adrian M; Kaza, Ujwala; Wilson, Brian A; Nesbit, Jacqueline B; Reimoneqnue, Chantrel; Cheng, Hsiaopo; Bahna, Sami L

2010-12-01

Peanut allergenicity has been reported to be influenced by heat treatment, yet the commonly available extracts for skin prick testing (SPT) are derived from raw extracts. To assess the effect of heat treatment on the SPT reactivity and specific IgE binding to peanut. Three commercial extracts and 3 laboratory-prepared extracts, including raw, roasted, and boiled, were used for SPT in 19 patients with suspected peanut allergy and in 4 individuals who eat peanut without any symptoms. Serum samples were obtained to measure total IgE in addition to specific IgE binding to the study extracts by immunoblotting. Peanut allergy was confirmed with challenge test unless the individual had a convincing history of a severe reaction. Eleven study participants were considered peanut allergic based on a strong history or positive challenge test result. SPT with the prepared and commercial reagents showed that the boiled extract had the highest specificity (67% vs 42%-63% for the other extracts). The prepared extracts showed similar SPT sensitivity (81%). Three patients with a history of severe reaction and elevated specific IgE levels to peanut to the 3 study extracts had variable SPT reactivity to 1 or more of the commercial extracts. IgE binding to Ara h 2 was found in nearly all patients, regardless of their clinical reactivity. None of the extracts tested showed optimal diagnostic reliability regarding both sensitivity and specificity. Perhaps testing should be performed with multiple individual extracts prepared by different methods. Copyright © 2010 American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Two alternative DNA extraction methods to improve the detection of Mycobacterium-tuberculosis-complex members in cattle and red deer tissue samples.

PubMed

Fell, Shari; Bröckl, Stephanie; Büttner, Mathias; Rettinger, Anna; Zimmermann, Pia; Straubinger, Reinhard K

2016-09-15

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB), which is caused by Mycobacterium bovis and M. caprae, is a notifiable animal disease in Germany. Diagnostic procedure is based on a prescribed protocol that is published in the framework of German bTB legislation. In this protocol small sample volumes are used for DNA extraction followed by real-time PCR analyses. As mycobacteria tend to concentrate in granuloma and the infected tissue in early stages of infection does not necessarily show any visible lesions, it is likely that DNA extraction from only small tissue samples (20-40 mg) of a randomly chosen spot from the organ and following PCR testing may result in false negative results. In this study two DNA extraction methods were developed to process larger sample volumes to increase the detection sensitivity of mycobacterial DNA in animal tissue. The first extraction method is based on magnetic capture, in which specific capture oligonucleotides were utilized. These nucleotides are linked to magnetic particles and capture Mycobacterium-tuberculosis-complex (MTC) DNA released from 10 to 15 g of tissue material. In a second approach remaining sediments from the magnetic capture protocol were further processed with a less complex extraction protocol that can be used in daily routine diagnostics. A total number of 100 tissue samples from 34 cattle (n = 74) and 18 red deer (n = 26) were analyzed with the developed protocols and results were compared to the prescribed protocol. All three extraction methods yield reliable results by the real-time PCR analysis. The use of larger sample volume led to a sensitivity increase of DNA detection which was shown by the decrease of Ct-values. Furthermore five samples which were tested negative or questionable by the official extraction protocol were detected positive by real time PCR when the alternative extraction methods were used. By calculating the kappa index, the three extraction protocols resulted in a moderate (0.52; protocol 1 vs 3) to almost perfect agreement (1.00; red deer sample testing with all protocols). Both new methods yielded increased detection rates for MTC DNA detection in large sample volumes and consequently improve the official diagnostic protocol.

Optimization of microwave-assisted enzymatic extraction of polysaccharides from the fruit of Schisandra chinensis Baill.

PubMed

Cheng, Zhenyu; Song, Haiyan; Yang, Yingjie; Liu, Yan; Liu, Zhigang; Hu, Haobin; Zhang, Yang

2015-05-01

A microwave-assisted enzymatic extraction (MAEE) method had been developed, which was optimized by response surface methodology (RSM) and orthogonal test design, to enhance the extraction of crude polysaccharides (CPS) from the fruit of Schisandra chinensis Baill. The optimum conditions were as follows: microwave irradiation time of 10 min, extraction pH of 4.21, extraction temperature of 47.58°C, extraction time of 3h and enzyme concentration of 1.5% (wt% of S. chinensis powder) for cellulase, papain and pectinase, respectively. Under these conditions, the extraction yield of CPS was 7.38 ± 0.21%, which was well in close agreement with the value predicted by the model. The three methods including heat-refluxing extraction (HRE), ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE) and enzyme-assisted extraction (EAE) for extracting CPS by RSM were further compared. Results indicated MAEE method had the highest extraction yields of CPS at lower temperature. It was indicated that the proposed approach in this study was a simple and efficient technique for extraction of CPS in S. chinensis Baill. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The effect of temperature and bacterial growth phase on protein extraction by means of electroporation.

PubMed

Haberl-Meglič, Saša; Levičnik, Eva; Luengo, Elisa; Raso, Javier; Miklavčič, Damijan

2016-12-01

Different chemical and physical methods are used for extraction of proteins from bacteria, which are used in variety of fields. But on a large scale, many methods have severe drawbacks. Recently, extraction by means of electroporation showed a great potential to quickly obtain proteins from bacteria. Since many parameters are affecting the yield of extracted proteins, our aim was to investigate the effect of temperature and bacterial growth phase on the yield of extracted proteins. At the same time bacterial viability was tested. Our results showed that the temperature has a great effect on protein extraction, the best temperature post treatment being 4°C. No effect on bacterial viability was observed for all temperatures tested. Also bacterial growth phase did not affect the yield of extracted proteins or bacterial viability. Nevertheless, further experiments may need to be performed to confirm this observation, since only one incubation temperature (4°C) and one incubation time before and after electroporation (0.5 and 1h) were tested for bacterial growth phase. Based on our results we conclude that temperature is a key element for bacterial membrane to stay in a permeabilized state, so more proteins flow out of bacteria into surrounding media. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

METHOD FOR TESTING THE AQUATIC TOXICITY OF SEDIMENT EXTRACTS FOR USE IN IDENTIFYING ORGANIC TOXICANTS IN SEDIMENTS

EPA Science Inventory

Biologically-directed fractionation techniques are a fundamental tool for identifying the cause of toxicity in environmental samples, but few are available for studying mixtures of organic chemicals in aquatic sediments. This paper describes a method for extracting organic chemic...

Protective effects of different marigold (Calendula officinalis L.) and rosemary cream preparations against sodium-lauryl-sulfate-induced irritant contact dermatitis.

PubMed

Fuchs, S M; Schliemann-Willers, S; Fischer, T W; Elsner, P

2005-01-01

In the present study, we evaluated the protective action of cream preparations containing seven different types of marigold and rosemary extracts in vivo in healthy volunteers with experimentally induced irritant contact dermatitis (ICD). Marigold and rosemary extracts in base cream DAC (Deutscher Arzneimittel-Codex = German Pharmaceutical Codex) were tested in a 4-day repetitive irritation test using sodium lauryl sulfate. The effect was evaluated visually and quantified by noninvasive bioengineering methods, namely chromametry and tewametry. When the test products were applied parallel to the induction period of ICD, a statistically significant protective effect of all cream preparations was observed by all methods. This effect, although not statistically significant, was superior to control by undyed marigold und faradiol ester-enriched extracts in chromametry and by dyed and undyed rosemary extracts in tewametry. The sequential treatment (postirritation) once a day for 5 days was without any effect. Thus, a protective effect of some marigold and rosemary extracts against ICD could be shown in the elicitation phase. Copyright (c) 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Automatic Centerline Extraction of Coverd Roads by Surrounding Objects from High Resolution Satellite Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kamangir, H.; Momeni, M.; Satari, M.

2017-09-01

This paper presents an automatic method to extract road centerline networks from high and very high resolution satellite images. The present paper addresses the automated extraction roads covered with multiple natural and artificial objects such as trees, vehicles and either shadows of buildings or trees. In order to have a precise road extraction, this method implements three stages including: classification of images based on maximum likelihood algorithm to categorize images into interested classes, modification process on classified images by connected component and morphological operators to extract pixels of desired objects by removing undesirable pixels of each class, and finally line extraction based on RANSAC algorithm. In order to evaluate performance of the proposed method, the generated results are compared with ground truth road map as a reference. The evaluation performance of the proposed method using representative test images show completeness values ranging between 77% and 93%.

Influence of extraction methods on antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of essential oil from Thymua danesis subsp. Lancifolius.

PubMed

Tavakolpour, Yousef; Moosavi-Nasab, Marzieh; Niakousari, Mehrdad; Haghighi-Manesh, Soroush

2016-03-01

The essential oil (EO) from dried ground powder leaves and stems of Thymua danesis was extracted using hydrodistillation (HD), ohmic extraction (OE), ultrasound-assisted HD and ultrasound-assisted OE methods. Then, the antioxidant, antimicrobial, and sensory properties of the EO were investigated both in vitro and in food systems. Thyme EO extracted by ultrasound-assisted HD method had promising antibacterial activities against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus and had the best antioxidant properties when tested in vitro. In food systems, higher concentrations of the EO were needed to exert similar antibacterial and antioxidant effects. Furthermore, thyme EO added yogurt and drink yogurt revealed better sensory properties than the control and fresh samples. Essential oil from Thymua danesis has a good potential to be used as an antioxidant, antimicrobial, and flavoring agent in food systems and the extraction method effects on the antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of the thyme extract.

A new standardized method for quantification of humic and fulvic acids in humic ores and commercial products.

PubMed

Lamar, Richard T; Olk, Daniel C; Mayhew, Lawrence; Bloom, Paul R

2014-01-01

Increased use of humic substances in agriculture has generated intense interest among producers, consumers, and regulators for an accurate and reliable method to quantify humic acid (HA) and fulvic acid (FA) in raw ores and products. Here we present a thoroughly validated method, the new standardized method for determination of HA and FA contents in raw humate ores and in solid and liquid products produced from them. The methods used for preparation of HA and FA were adapted according to the guidelines of the International Humic Substances Society involving alkaline extraction followed by acidification to separate HA from the fulvic fraction. This is followed by separation of FA from the fulvic fraction by adsorption on a nonionic macroporous acrylic ester resin at acid pH. It differs from previous methods in that it determines HA and FA concentrations gravimetrically on an ash-free basis. Critical steps in the method, e.g., initial test portion mass, test portion to extract volume ratio, extraction time, and acidification of alkaline extract, were optimized for maximum and consistent recovery of HA and FA. The method detection limits for HA and FA were 4.62 and 4.8 mg/L, respectively. The method quantitation limits for HA and FA were 14.7 and 15.3 mg/L, respectively.

Comparison of the free and bound phenolic profiles and cellular antioxidant activities of litchi pulp extracts from different solvents

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background The phenolic contents and antioxidant activities of fruits could be underestimated if the bound phenolic compounds are not considered. In the present study, the extraction efficiencies of various solvents were investigated in terms of the total content of the free and bound phenolic compounds, as well as the phenolic profiles and antioxidant activities of the extracts. Methods Five different solvent mixtures were used to extract the free phenolic compounds from litchi pulp. Alkaline and acidic hydrolysis methods were compared for the hydrolysis of bound phenolic compounds from litchi pulp residue. The phenolic compositions of the free and bound fractions from the litchi pulp were identified using HPLC-DAD. The antioxidant activities of the litchi pulp extracts were determined by oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) and cellular antioxidant activity (CAA) assays. Results Of the solvents tested, aqueous acetone extracted the largest amount of total free phenolic compounds (210.7 mg GAE/100 g FW) from litchi pulp, followed sequentially by aqueous mixtures of methanol, ethanol and ethyl acetate, and water itself. The acid hydrolysis method released twice as many bound phenolic compounds as the alkaline hydrolysis method. Nine phenolic compounds were detected in the aqueous acetone extract. In contrast, not all of these compounds were found in the other four extracts. The classification and content of the bound phenolic compounds released by the acid hydrolysis method were higher than those achieved by the alkaline hydrolysis. The aqueous acetone extract showing the highest ORAC value (3406.9 μmol TE/100 g FW) for the free phenolic extracts. For the CAA method, however, the aqueous acetone and methanol extracts (56.7 and 55.1 μmol QE/100 g FW) showed the highest levels of activity of the five extracts tested. The ORAC and CAA values of the bound phenolic compounds obtained by acid hydrolysis were 2.6- and 1.9-fold higher than those obtained using the alkaline hydrolysis method. Conclusions The free and bound phenolic contents and profiles and antioxidant activities of the extracts were found to be dependent on the extraction solvent used. Litchi exhibited good cellular antioxidant activity and could be a potentially useful natural source of antioxidants. PMID:24405977

Comparison of leaching characteristics of heavy metals in APC residue from an MSW incinerator using various extraction methods.

PubMed

Chiang, Kung-Yuh; Tsai, Chen-Chiu; Wang, Kuen-Sheng

2009-01-01

This study investigates four extraction methods (water extraction, toxicity characteristics leaching procedure (TCLP), modified TCLP with pH control, and sequential chemical extraction (SCE)), each representing different liquid-to-solid (L/S) ratios, pH controls, and types of leachant, and their effects on the leaching concentration of heavy metals in municipal solid waste (MSW) incinerator air pollution control (APC) residue. The results indicated that for extraction with distilled water, the heavy metal leaching concentration (mg/l) decreased with L/S ratio, but the amount of heavy metal released (AHMR), defined as the leached amount of heavy metals to the weight of the tested sample (mg/kg), increased with an increase in L/S ratio, in the range of 2-100. The results also showed that both the leaching concentration and the amount of released metals were strongly pH-dependent in the TCLP and modified TCLP tests. In the case of pHs lower than 6.5, the leaching concentrations of Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn, and Cr decreased with an increase in pH. As pH increased higher than 6.5, Cr and Zn were almost insoluble. Meanwhile, Cd and Cu also showed a similar trend but at pHs of 8.5 and 7.5, respectively. Due to the nature of amphoteric elements, in the case of pHs higher than 7, the Pb leaching concentration increased with increasing pH. In modified TCLP tests with the pH value controlled at the same level as in the SCE test, the heavy metal speciation approached the extractable carbonate bound fraction by the SCE. Both amounts of targeted metals leached from the SCE and modified TCLP tests were much higher than those for the regular TCLP and water extraction tests.

Sterile Reverse Osmosis Water Combined with Friction Are Optimal for Channel and Lever Cavity Sample Collection of Flexible Duodenoscopes.

PubMed

Alfa, Michelle J; Singh, Harminder; Nugent, Zoann; Duerksen, Donald; Schultz, Gale; Reidy, Carol; DeGagne, Patricia; Olson, Nancy

2017-01-01

Simulated-use buildup biofilm (BBF) model was used to assess various extraction fluids and friction methods to determine the optimal sample collection method for polytetrafluorethylene channels. In addition, simulated-use testing was performed for the channel and lever cavity of duodenoscopes. BBF was formed in polytetrafluorethylene channels using Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli , and Pseudomonas aeruginosa . Sterile reverse osmosis (RO) water, and phosphate-buffered saline with and without Tween80 as well as two neutralizing broths (Letheen and Dey-Engley) were each assessed with and without friction. Neutralizer was added immediately after sample collection and samples concentrated using centrifugation. Simulated-use testing was done using TJF-Q180V and JF-140F Olympus duodenoscopes. Despite variability in the bacterial CFU in the BBF model, none of the extraction fluids tested were significantly better than RO. Borescope examination showed far less residual material when friction was part of the extraction protocol. The RO for flush-brush-flush (FBF) extraction provided significantly better recovery of E. coli ( p  = 0.02) from duodenoscope lever cavities compared to the CDC flush method. We recommend RO with friction for FBF extraction of the channel and lever cavity of duodenoscopes. Neutralizer and sample concentration optimize recovery of viable bacteria on culture.

Plant Growth Biostimulants Based on Different Methods of Seaweed Extraction with Water.

PubMed

Godlewska, Katarzyna; Michalak, Izabela; Tuhy, Łukasz; Chojnacka, Katarzyna

2016-01-01

We explored two methods for obtaining aqueous extracts: boiling and soaking of Baltic seaweeds (EB and ES, resp.). Algal extracts were characterized in terms of polyphenols, micro- and macroelements, lipids content, and antibacterial properties. The utilitarian properties were examined in the germination tests on Lepidium sativum for three extract dilutions (0.5, 2.5, and 10%). It was found that the extracts were similar in micro- and macroelement concentrations. Water was proved to be a good solvent to extract phenolic compounds. The algal extract produced by soaking biomass did not show inhibitory effect on Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Only the boiled extract had an inhibitory activity against E. coli. Germination tests revealed a positive influence of the bioproducts on the cultivated plants. In the group treated with 10% EB, plants were 13% longer than in the control group; the content of elements B, Mo, Zn, and Na in the group treated with 10% ES was higher by 76%, 48%, 31%, and 59% than in the control group, respectively; the content of chlorophyll was 2.5 times higher in 0.5% ES than in the control group. Extracts showed the slight impact on the morphology of plants.

Plant Growth Biostimulants Based on Different Methods of Seaweed Extraction with Water

PubMed Central

Godlewska, Katarzyna; Tuhy, Łukasz; Chojnacka, Katarzyna

2016-01-01

We explored two methods for obtaining aqueous extracts: boiling and soaking of Baltic seaweeds (EB and ES, resp.). Algal extracts were characterized in terms of polyphenols, micro- and macroelements, lipids content, and antibacterial properties. The utilitarian properties were examined in the germination tests on Lepidium sativum for three extract dilutions (0.5, 2.5, and 10%). It was found that the extracts were similar in micro- and macroelement concentrations. Water was proved to be a good solvent to extract phenolic compounds. The algal extract produced by soaking biomass did not show inhibitory effect on Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Only the boiled extract had an inhibitory activity against E. coli. Germination tests revealed a positive influence of the bioproducts on the cultivated plants. In the group treated with 10% EB, plants were 13% longer than in the control group; the content of elements B, Mo, Zn, and Na in the group treated with 10% ES was higher by 76%, 48%, 31%, and 59% than in the control group, respectively; the content of chlorophyll was 2.5 times higher in 0.5% ES than in the control group. Extracts showed the slight impact on the morphology of plants. PMID:27366749

Quantification of Sesquiterpene Lactones in Asteraceae Plant Extracts: Evaluation of their Allergenic Potential

PubMed Central

Salapovic, Helena; Geier, Johannes; Reznicek, Gottfried

2013-01-01

Sesquiterpene lactones (SLs), mainly those with an activated exocyclic methylene group, are important allergens in Asteraceae (Compositae) plants. As a screening tool, the Compositae mix, consisting of five Asteraceae plant extracts with allergenic potential (feverfew, tansy, arnica, yarrow, and German chamomile) is part of several national patch test baseline series. However, the SL content of the Compositae mix may vary due to the source material. Therefore, a simple spectrophotometric method for the quantitative measurement of SLs with the α-methylene-γ-butyrolactone moiety was developed, giving the percentage of allergenic compounds in plant extracts. The method has been validated and five Asteraceae extracts, namely feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium L.), tansy (Tanacetum vulgare L.), arnica (Arnica montana L.), yarrow (Achillea millefolium L.), and German chamomile (Chamomilla recutita L. Rauschert) that have been used in routine patch test screening were evaluated. A good correlation could be found between the results obtained using the proposed spectrophotometric method and the corresponding clinical results. Thus, the introduced method is a valuable tool for evaluating the allergenic potential and for the simple and efficient quality control of plant extracts with allergenic potential. PMID:24106675

Phytochemical Screening and Antimicrobial Properties of a Common Brand of Black Tea (Camellia sinensis) Marketed in Nigerian Environment.

PubMed

Olosunde, O Funmilayo; Abu-Saeed, Kamaldeen; Abu-Saeed, Muhammad Buhari

2012-01-01

This study is aimed at determining chemical constituents and antimicrobial activities of a common brand of black tea (Lipton®) in Nigeria. Standard methods were employed for testing carbohydrates, tannins, saponins, flavonoids, alkaloids, steroids and terpenes in the tea. Antimicrobial activities of methanolic and aqueous extracts of the tea on four standard strains of organisms: Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis were also determined by standard methods. RESULTs showed that the tea contains tannin and reducing sugar. Concentrations of 1%, 2%, 4%, 6%, 8% and 10% aqueous and methanolic extract of black tea were prepared and their zones of inhibition determined against the four test organisms using the cup plate method. This was compared with zones for standard disc Gentamicin (10 µg) and Erythromycin (15 µg). Pseudomonas aeruginosa was sensitive to 2% to 10% aqueous extracts and intermediate to 6%, 8% and 10% methanolic extracts. E. coli was intermediately sensitive to 6%, 8% and 10% aqueous extract and 2% to 10% methanolic extracts. B. subtilis was intermediately sensitive to 4%, 6% and 8% aqueous extract and 4% to 10% methanolic extract but sensitive to 10% aqueous extract. Staph.aureus was intermediately sensitive to 4% to 10% aqueous extracts and 2% to 10% methanolic extracts. B. subtilis had the lowest MIC values of both aqueous and methanolic extracts. In conclusion, this study has shown that Lipton® has antimicrobial properties on E.coli, Staph.aureus, B.subtilis and Ps.aeruginosa and contains tannin and reducing sugar.

Validation of a standardized extraction method for formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue samples.

PubMed

Lagheden, Camilla; Eklund, Carina; Kleppe, Sara Nordqvist; Unger, Elizabeth R; Dillner, Joakim; Sundström, Karin

2016-07-01

Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples can be DNA-extracted and used for human papillomavirus (HPV) genotyping. The xylene-based gold standard for extracting FFPE samples is laborious, suboptimal and involves health hazards for the personnel involved. To compare extraction with the standard xylene method to a xylene-free method used in an HPV LabNet Global Reference Laboratory at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC); based on a commercial method with an extra heating step. Fifty FFPE samples were randomly selected from a national audit of all cervical cancer cases diagnosed in Sweden during 10 years. For each case-block, a blank-block was sectioned, as a control for contamination. For xylene extraction, the standard WHO Laboratory Manual protocol was used. For the CDC method, the manufacturers' protocol was followed except for an extra heating step, 120°C for 20min. Samples were extracted and tested in parallel with β-globin real-time PCR, HPV16 real-time PCR and HPV typing using modified general primers (MGP)-PCR and Luminex assays. For a valid result the blank-block had to be betaglobin-negative in all tests and the case-block positive for beta-globin. Overall, detection was improved with the heating method and the amount of HPV-positive samples increased from 70% to 86% (p=0.039). For all samples where HPV type concordance could be evaluated, there was 100% type concordance. A xylene-free and robust extraction method for HPV-DNA typing in FFPE material is currently in great demand. Our proposed standardized protocol appears to be generally useful. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

PCR Testing of IVC Filter Tops as a Method for Detecting Murine Pinworms and Fur Mites.

PubMed

Gerwin, Philip M; Ricart Arbona, Rodolfo J; Riedel, Elyn R; Henderson, Kenneth S; Lipman, Neil S

2017-11-01

We evaluated PCR testing of filter tops from cages maintained on an IVC system through which exhaust air is filtered at the cage level as a method for detecting parasite-infected and -infested cages. Cages containing 4 naïve Swiss Webster mice received 360 mL of uncontaminated aspen chip or α-cellulose bedding (n = 18 cages each) and 60 mL of the same type of bedding weekly from each of the following 4 groups of cages housing mice infected or infested with Syphacia obvelata (SO), Aspiculuris tetraptera (AT), Myocoptes musculinus (MC), or Myobia musculi (MB) and Radfordia affinis (RA; 240 mL bedding total). Detection rates were compared at 30, 60, and 90 d after initiating bedding exposure, by using PCR analysis of filter tops (media extract and swabs) and testing of mouse samples (fur swab [direct] PCR testing, fecal flotation, anal tape test, direct examination of intestinal contents, and skin scrape). PCR testing of filter media extract detected 100% of all parasites at 30 d (both bedding types) except for AT (α-cellulose bedding, 67% detection rate); identified more cages with fur mites (MB and MC) than direct PCR when cellulose bedding was used; and was better at detecting parasites than all nonmolecular methods evaluated. PCR analysis of filter media extract was superior to swab and direct PCR for all parasites cumulatively for each bedding type. Direct PCR more effectively detected MC and all parasites combined for aspen chip compared with cellulose bedding. PCR analysis of filter media extract for IVC systems in which exhaust air is filtered at the cage level was shown to be a highly effective environmental testing method.

PCR Testing of IVC Filter Tops as a Method for Detecting Murine Pinworms and Fur Mites

PubMed Central

Gerwin, Philip M; Arbona, Rodolfo J Ricart; Riedel, Elyn R; Henderson, Kenneth S; Lipman, Neil S

2017-01-01

We evaluated PCR testing of filter tops from cages maintained on an IVC system through which exhaust air is filtered at the cage level as a method for detecting parasite- infected and -infested cages. Cages containing 4 naïve Swiss Webster mice received 360 mL of uncontaminated aspen chip or α-cellulose bedding (n = 18 cages each) and 60 mL of the same type of bedding weekly from each of the following 4 groups of cages housing mice infected or infested with Syphacia obvelata (SO), Aspiculuris tetraptera (AT), Myocoptes musculinus (MC), or Myobia musculi (MB) and Radfordia affinis (RA; 240 mL bedding total). Detection rates were compared at 30, 60, and 90 d after initiating bedding exposure, by using PCR analysis of filter tops (media extract and swabs) and testing of mouse samples (fur swab [direct] PCR testing, fecal flotation, anal tape test, direct examination of intestinal contents, and skin scrape). PCR testing of filter media extract detected 100% of all parasites at 30 d (both bedding types) except for AT (α-cellulose bedding, 67% detection rate); identified more cages with fur mites (MB and MC) than direct PCR when cellulose bedding was used; and was better at detecting parasites than all nonmolecular methods evaluated. PCR analysis of filter media extract was superior to swab and direct PCR for all parasites cumulatively for each bedding type. Direct PCR more effectively detected MC and all parasites combined for aspen chip compared with cellulose bedding. PCR analysis of filter media extract for IVC systems in which exhaust air is filtered at the cage level was shown to be a highly effective environmental testing method. PMID:29256370

40 CFR 98.224 - Monitoring and QA/QC requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... Inorganic Emissions by Extractive Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy. (2) ASTM D6348-03 Standard Test Method for Determination of Gaseous Compounds by Extractive Direct Interface Fourier Transform...

40 CFR 98.224 - Monitoring and QA/QC requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... Inorganic Emissions by Extractive Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy. (2) ASTM D6348-03 Standard Test Method for Determination of Gaseous Compounds by Extractive Direct Interface Fourier Transform...

40 CFR 98.224 - Monitoring and QA/QC requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Inorganic Emissions by Extractive Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy. (2) ASTM D6348-03 Standard Test Method for Determination of Gaseous Compounds by Extractive Direct Interface Fourier Transform...

40 CFR 98.224 - Monitoring and QA/QC requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... Inorganic Emissions by Extractive Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy. (2) ASTM D6348-03 Standard Test Method for Determination of Gaseous Compounds by Extractive Direct Interface Fourier Transform...

Antioxidant and antibacterial activities on foodborne pathogens of Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam. (Moraceae) leaves extracts.

PubMed

Loizzo, M R; Tundis, R; Chandrika, U G; Abeysekera, A M; Menichini, F; Frega, N G

2010-06-01

Total water extract, ethyl acetate, and aqueous fractions from the leaves of Artocarpus heterophyllus were evaluated for phenolic content, antioxidant, and antibacterial activities against some foodborne pathogens such as E. coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella typhimurium, Salmonella enterica, Bacillus cereus, Enterococcus faecalis, and Staphylococcus aureus. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MICs) of extract and fractions determined by the agar dilution method were ranged from 221.9 microg/mL for ethyl acetate fraction to 488.1 microg/mL for total extract. In the agar diffusion method the diameters of inhibition were 12.2 for the total extract, 10.7 and 11.5 for ethyl acetate and aqueous fractions, respectively. A. heterophyllus showed significant antioxidant activity tested in different in vitro systems (DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, and Fe(2+) chelating activity assay). In particular, in DPPH assay A. heterophyllus total extract exhibited a strong antiradical activity with an IC(50) value of 73.5 microg/mL while aqueous fraction exerted the highest activity in FRAP assay (IC(50) value of 72.0 microg/mL). The total phenols content by Folin-Ciocalteau method was determined with the purpose of testing its relationship with the antioxidant and antibacterial activities.

Testing single extraction methods and in vitro tests to assess the geochemical reactivity and human bioaccessibility of silver in urban soils amended with silver nanoparticles.

PubMed

Cruz, N; Rodrigues, S M; Tavares, D; Monteiro, R J R; Carvalho, L; Trindade, T; Duarte, A C; Pereira, E; Römkens, Paul F A M

2015-09-01

To assess if the geochemical reactivity and human bioaccessibility of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in soils can be determined by routine soil tests commonly applied to other metals in soil, colloidal Ag was introduced to five pots containing urban soils (equivalent to 6.8 mg Ag kg(-1) soil). Following a 45 days stabilization period, the geochemical reactivity was determined by extraction using 0.43 M and 2 M HNO3. The bioaccessibility of AgNPs was evaluated using the Simplified Bioaccessibility Extraction Test (SBET) the "Unified BARGE Method" (UBM), and two simulated lung fluids (modified Gamble's solution (MGS) and artificial lysosomal fluid (ALF)). The amount of Ag extracted by 0.43 M and 2 M HNO3 soil tests was <8% and <50%, respectively of the total amount of Ag added to soils suggesting that the reactivity of Ag present in the soil can be relatively low. The bioaccessibility of Ag as determined by the four in vitro tests ranged from 17% (ALF extraction) to 99% (SBET) indicating that almost all Ag can be released from soil due to specific interactions with the organic ligands present in the simulated body fluids. This study shows that to develop sound soil risk evaluations regarding soil contamination with AgNPs, aspects of Ag biochemistry need to be considered, particularly when linking commonly applied soil tests to human risk assessment. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influence of cultivation conditions, season of collection and extraction method on the content of antileishmanial flavonoids from Kalanchoe pinnata.

PubMed

Muzitano, Michelle F; Bergonzi, Maria Camilla; De Melo, Giany O; Lage, Celso L S; Bilia, Anna Rita; Vincieri, Franco F; Rossi-Bergmann, Bartira; Costa, Sônia S

2011-01-07

Leaves from Kalanchoe pinnata (Lamarck) Persoon (Crassulaceae) are popularly used for healing wounds. Its antileishmanial properties are established in experimental animals, and its active flavonoid components have been identified. In this study, we attempted to standardize the extract from K. pinnata leaves by evaluating the influence of season of harvest, sunlight exposure and method of extraction on antileishmanial flavonoids content. HPLC-DAD-MS was used to identify and quantify the active antileishmanial flavonoids in different extracts. ANOVA test for analyses of variance followed by the Tukey test of multiple comparisons were used in the statistical analysis. The antileishmanial potential was assessed by the activation of nitric oxide production by murine macrophage using the Griess method. We demonstrated that active flavonoids were significantly more abundant when the leaves were collected in the summer, and that aqueous extraction at 50°C allowed the highest flavonoid extraction. The benefit of sunlight exposure was confirmed in plants cultivated under direct sunlight when compared with those that grown under shade. Under sunny conditions the yield of the most active antileishmanial favonoid quercitrin was increased by 7-fold. All aqueous extracts tested were capable to enhance the macrophage nitric oxide production. However, hot aqueous extract from leaves collected in summer exhibited the higher activity, in agreement with HPLC-DAD-MS analysis tendency. In addition, with the aim of reducing the individual chemical variations of the plant constituents and optimizing the production of the active extract, it was obtained in vitro monoclonal KP specimens that were easily adapted to field conditions and were able to produce antileishmanial flavonoids. Our study reports the better conditions of cultivation, harvest and extraction protocol for obtaining a K. pinnata extract exhibiting the highest antileishmanial activity. Additionally, we propose the flavonoids quercetin 3-O-α-L-arabinopyranosyl (1→2)-α-L-rhamnopyranoside and quercitrin, as satisfactory chemical markers for standardization purposes. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

40 CFR Appendix Ix to Part 268 - Extraction Procedure (EP) Toxicity Test Method and Structural Integrity Test (Method 1310B)

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) SOLID WASTES (CONTINUED) LAND DISPOSAL RESTRICTIONS Pt... Waste, Physical/Chemical Methods,” EPA Publication SW-846, as incorporated by reference in § 260.11 of...

40 CFR Appendix Ix to Part 268 - Extraction Procedure (EP) Toxicity Test Method and Structural Integrity Test (Method 1310B)

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) SOLID WASTES (CONTINUED) LAND DISPOSAL RESTRICTIONS Pt... Waste, Physical/Chemical Methods,” EPA Publication SW-846, as incorporated by reference in § 260.11 of...

40 CFR Appendix Ix to Part 268 - Extraction Procedure (EP) Toxicity Test Method and Structural Integrity Test (Method 1310B)

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) SOLID WASTES (CONTINUED) LAND DISPOSAL RESTRICTIONS Pt... Waste, Physical/Chemical Methods,” EPA Publication SW-846, as incorporated by reference in § 260.11 of...

40 CFR Appendix Ix to Part 268 - Extraction Procedure (EP) Toxicity Test Method and Structural Integrity Test (Method 1310B)

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) SOLID WASTES (CONTINUED) LAND DISPOSAL RESTRICTIONS Pt... Waste, Physical/Chemical Methods,” EPA Publication SW-846, as incorporated by reference in § 260.11 of...

40 CFR Appendix Ix to Part 268 - Extraction Procedure (EP) Toxicity Test Method and Structural Integrity Test (Method 1310B)

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) SOLID WASTES (CONTINUED) LAND DISPOSAL RESTRICTIONS Pt... Waste, Physical/Chemical Methods,” EPA Publication SW-846, as incorporated by reference in § 260.11 of...

Learning-based meta-algorithm for MRI brain extraction.

PubMed

Shi, Feng; Wang, Li; Gilmore, John H; Lin, Weili; Shen, Dinggang

2011-01-01

Multiple-segmentation-and-fusion method has been widely used for brain extraction, tissue segmentation, and region of interest (ROI) localization. However, such studies are hindered in practice by their computational complexity, mainly coming from the steps of template selection and template-to-subject nonlinear registration. In this study, we address these two issues and propose a novel learning-based meta-algorithm for MRI brain extraction. Specifically, we first use exemplars to represent the entire template library, and assign the most similar exemplar to the test subject. Second, a meta-algorithm combining two existing brain extraction algorithms (BET and BSE) is proposed to conduct multiple extractions directly on test subject. Effective parameter settings for the meta-algorithm are learned from the training data and propagated to subject through exemplars. We further develop a level-set based fusion method to combine multiple candidate extractions together with a closed smooth surface, for obtaining the final result. Experimental results show that, with only a small portion of subjects for training, the proposed method is able to produce more accurate and robust brain extraction results, at Jaccard Index of 0.956 +/- 0.010 on total 340 subjects under 6-fold cross validation, compared to those by the BET and BSE even using their best parameter combinations.

Valx: A system for extracting and structuring numeric lab test comparison statements from text

PubMed Central

Hao, Tianyong; Liu, Hongfang; Weng, Chunhua

2017-01-01

Objectives To develop an automated method for extracting and structuring numeric lab test comparison statements from text and evaluate the method using clinical trial eligibility criteria text. Methods Leveraging semantic knowledge from the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) and domain knowledge acquired from the Internet, Valx takes 7 steps to extract and normalize numeric lab test expressions: 1) text preprocessing, 2) numeric, unit, and comparison operator extraction, 3) variable identification using hybrid knowledge, 4) variable - numeric association, 5) context-based association filtering, 6) measurement unit normalization, and 7) heuristic rule-based comparison statements verification. Our reference standard was the consensus-based annotation among three raters for all comparison statements for two variables, i.e., HbA1c and glucose, identified from all of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes trials in ClinicalTrials.gov. Results The precision, recall, and F-measure for structuring HbA1c comparison statements were 99.6%, 98.1%, 98.8% for Type 1 diabetes trials, and 98.8%, 96.9%, 97.8% for Type 2 Diabetes trials, respectively. The precision, recall, and F-measure for structuring glucose comparison statements were 97.3%, 94.8%, 96.1% for Type 1 diabetes trials, and 92.3%, 92.3%, 92.3% for Type 2 diabetes trials, respectively. Conclusions Valx is effective at extracting and structuring free-text lab test comparison statements in clinical trial summaries. Future studies are warranted to test its generalizability beyond eligibility criteria text. The open-source Valx enables its further evaluation and continued improvement among the collaborative scientific community. PMID:26940748

Environmentally friendly and cost-efficient analysis of aflatoxins in corn

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The extraction procedure adds a significant cost to the overall expense of aflatoxin analysis in agricultural commodities. An inexpensive and low-waste extraction method using a household espresso coffee maker was tested. This appliance was used for the high-temperature /high-pressure extraction of ...

Inverse finite element methods for extracting elastic-poroviscoelastic properties of cartilage and other soft tissues from indentation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Namani, Ravi

Mechanical properties are essential for understanding diseases that afflict various soft tissues, such as osteoarthritic cartilage and hypertension which alters cardiovascular arteries. Although the linear elastic modulus is routinely measured for hard materials, standard methods are not available for extracting the nonlinear elastic, linear elastic and time-dependent properties of soft tissues. Consequently, the focus of this work is to develop indentation methods for soft biological tissues; since analytical solutions are not available for the general context, finite element simulations are used. First, parametric studies of finite indentation of hyperelastic layers are performed to examine if indentation has the potential to identify nonlinear elastic behavior. To answer this, spherical, flat-ended conical and cylindrical tips are examined and the influence of thickness is exploited. Also the influence of the specimen/substrate boundary condition (slip or non-slip) is clarified. Second, a new inverse method---the hyperelastic extraction algorithm (HPE)---was developed to extract two nonlinear elastic parameters from the indentation force-depth data, which is the basic measurement in an indentation test. The accuracy of the extracted parameters and the influence of noise in measurements on this accuracy were obtained. This showed that the standard Berkovitch tip could only extract one parameter with sufficient accuracy, since the indentation force-depth curve has limited sensitivity to both nonlinear elastic parameters. Third, indentation methods for testing tissues from small animals were explored. New methods for flat-ended conical tips are derived. These account for practical test issues like the difficulty in locating the surface or soft specimens. Also, finite element simulations are explored to elucidate the influence of specimen curvature on the indentation force-depth curve. Fourth, the influence of inhomogeneity and material anisotropy on the extracted "average" linear elastic modulus was studied. The focus here is on murine tibial cartilage, since recent experiments have shown that the modulus measured by a 15 mum tip is considerably larger than that obtained from a 90 mum tip. It is shown that a depth-dependent modulus could give rise to such a size effect. Lastly, parametric studies were performed within the small strain setting to understand the influence of permeability and viscoelastic properties on the indentation stress-relaxation response. The focus here is on cartilage, and specific test protocols (single-step vs. multi-step stress relaxation) are explored. An inverse algorithm was developed to extract the poroviscoelastic parameters. A sensitivity study using this algorithm shows that the instantaneous elastic modulus (which is a measure of the viscous relaxation) can be extracted with very good accuracy, but the permeability and long-time relaxation constant cannot be extracted with good accuracy. The thesis concludes with implications of these studies. The potential and limitations of indentation tests for studying cartilage and other soft tissues is discussed.

Frequency of orthodontic extraction

PubMed Central

Dardengo, Camila de S.; Fernandes, Luciana Q. P.; Capelli, Jonas

2016-01-01

Introduction: The option of dental extraction for orthodontic purposes has been debated for more than 100 years, including periods when it was widely used in treatment, including the present, during which other methods are used to avoid dental extractions. The objective was to analyze the frequency of tooth extraction treatment performed between 1980 and 2011 at the Orthodontic Clinic of Universidade Estadual do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ). Material and Methods: The clinical records of 1484 patients undergoing orthodontic treatment were evaluated. The frequency of extractions was evaluated with regard to sex, Angle's classification, the different combinations of extractions and the period when orthodontic treatment began. Chi-square test was used to determine correlations between variables, while the chi-square test for trends was used to assess the frequency of extractions over the years. Results: There was a reduction of approximately 20% in the frequency of cases treated with tooth extraction over the last 32 years. The most frequently extracted teeth were first premolars. Patients with Class I malocclusion showed fewer extractions, while Class II patients underwent a higher number of extraction treatment. There were no statistically significant differences with regard to sex. Conclusion: New features introduced into the orthodontic clinic and new esthetic concepts contributed to reducing the number of cases treated with dental extractions. However, dental extractions for orthodontic purposes are still well indicated in certain cases. PMID:27007762

Determination of 129I in environmental samples by AMS and NAA using an anion exchange resin disk

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suzuki, Takashi; Banba, Shigeru; Kitamura, Toshikatsu; Kabuto, Shoji; Isogai, Keisuke; Amano, Hikaru

2007-06-01

We have developed a new extraction method for the measurement of 129I by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) utilizing an anion exchange resin disk. In comparison to traditional methods such as solvent extraction and ion exchange, this method provides for simple and quick sample handling. This extraction method was tested on soil, seaweed and milk samples, but because of disk clogging, the milk samples and some of the seaweed could not be applied successfully. Using this new extraction method to prepare samples for AMS analysis produced isotope ratios of iodine in good agreement with neutron activation analysis (NAA). The disk extraction method which take half an hour is faster than previous techniques, such as solvent extraction or ion exchange which take a few hours. The combination of the disk method and the AMS measurement is a powerful tool for the determination of 129I. Furthermore, these data will be available for the environmental monitoring before and during the operation of a new nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in Japan.

A study of extraction process and in vitro antioxidant activity of total phenols from Rhizoma Imperatae.

PubMed

Zhou, Xian-rong; Wang, Jian-hua; Jiang, Bo; Shang, Jin; Zhao, Chang-qiong

2013-01-01

The study investigated the extraction method of Rhizoma Imperatae and its antioxidant activity, and provided a basis for its rational development. The extraction method of Rhizoma Imperatae was determined using orthogonal design test and by total phenol content, its hydroxyl radical scavenging ability was measured by Fenton reaction, and potassium ferricyanide reduction method was used to determine its reducing power. The results showed that the optimum extraction process of Rhizoma Imperatae was a 50-fold volume of water, 30 °C, three times of extraction with 2 h each. Its IC50 for scavenging of hydroxyl radicals was 0.0948 mg/mL, while IC50 of ascorbic acid was 0.1096 mg/mL; in the ferricyanide considerable reduction method, the extract exhibited reducing power comparable to that of the ascorbic acid. The study concluded that Rhizoma Imperatae extract contains relatively large amount of polyphenols, and has a good anti-oxidation ability.

Analgesic and Anti-Inflammatory Effects of 80% Methanol Extract of Leonotis ocymifolia (Burm.f.) Iwarsson Leaves in Rodent Models

PubMed Central

Alemu, Asnakech

2018-01-01

Background Pain and inflammation are the major health problems commonly treated with traditional remedies mainly using medicinal plants. Leonotis ocymifolia is one of such medicinal plants used in folkloric medicine of Ethiopia. However, the plant has not been scientifically evaluated. The aim of this study was to evaluate analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects of the 80% methanol leaves extract of Leonotis ocymifolia using rodent models. Method The central and peripheral analgesic effect of the extract at 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg dose levels was evaluated using hot plate and acetic acid induced writhing rodent models, whereas carrageenan induced paw edema and cotton pellet granuloma methods were used to screen anti-inflammatory effect of the extract at the same dose levels. Acute toxicity test was also done. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's post hoc test and p < 0.05 was considered significant. Results The extract did not produce mortality up to 2000 mg/kg. All tested doses of the extract showed significant analgesic effect with maximum latency response of 62.8% and inhibition of acetic acid induced writhing. Maximum anti-inflammatory effect was recorded at 6 h after induction, with 75.88% reduction in carrageenan induced paw edema. Moreover, all tested doses of extract significantly inhibited the formation of inflammatory exudates and granuloma formation (p < 0.001). Conclusion The study indicated that the extract was safe in mice and it has both analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect in rodent models. PMID:29675050

Isolation and characterization of potential antibiotic producing actinomycetes from water and sediments of Lake Tana, Ethiopia

PubMed Central

Gebreyohannes, Gebreselema; Moges, Feleke; Sahile, Samuel; Raja, Nagappan

2013-01-01

Objective To isolate, evaluate and characterize potential antibiotic producing actinomycetes from water and sediments of Lake Tana, Ethiopia. Methods A total of 31 strains of actinomycetes were isolated and tested against Gram positive and Gram negative bacterial strains by primary screening. In the primary screening, 11 promising isolates were identified and subjected to solid state and submerged state fermentation methods to produce crude extracts. The fermented biomass was extracted by organic solvent extraction method and tested against bacterial strains by disc and agar well diffusion methods. The isolates were characterized by using morphological, physiological and biochemical methods. Results The result obtained from agar well diffusion method was better than disc diffusion method. The crude extract showed higher inhibition zone against Gram positive bacteria than Gram negative bacteria. One-way analysis of variance confirmed most of the crude extracts were statistically significant at 95% confidence interval. The minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration of crude extracts were 1.65 mg/mL and 3.30 mg/mL against Staphylococcus aureus, and 1.84 mg/mL and 3.80 mg/mL against Escherichia coli respectively. The growth of aerial and substrate mycelium varied in different culture media used. Most of the isolates were able to hydrolysis starch and urea; able to survive at 5% concentration of sodium chloride; optimum temperature for their growth was 30 °C. Conclusions The results of the present study revealed that freshwater actinomycetes of Lake Tana appear to have immense potential as a source of antibacterial compounds. PMID:23730554

Use of Embryos Extracted from Individual Cannabis sativa Seeds for Genetic Studies and Forensic Applications.

PubMed

Soler, Salvador; Borràs, Dionís; Vilanova, Santiago; Sifres, Alicia; Andújar, Isabel; Figàs, Maria R; Llosa, Ernesto R; Prohens, Jaime

2016-03-01

Legal limits on the psychoactive tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content in Cannabis sativa plants have complicated genetic and forensic studies in this species. However, Cannabis seeds present very low THC levels. We developed a method for embryo extraction from seeds and an improved protocol for DNA extraction and tested this method in four hemp and six marijuana varieties. This embryo extraction method enabled the recovery of diploid embryos from individual seeds. An improved DNA extraction protocol (CTAB3) was used to obtain DNA from individual embryos at a concentration and quality similar to DNA extracted from leaves. DNA extracted from embryos was used for SSR molecular characterization in individuals from the 10 varieties. A unique molecular profile for each individual was obtained, and a clear differentiation between hemp and marijuana varieties was observed. The combined embryo extraction-DNA extraction methodology and the new highly polymorphic SSR markers facilitate genetic and forensic studies in Cannabis. © 2015 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Fleas as an allergen in Egyptian asthmatic patients.

PubMed

el Okbi, L M; Morsy, T A; el-Shayeb, F A; Salama, M M; Abou Gamrah, M M

1991-12-01

Fleas are widely distributed and partially host specific ectoparasites of man and animal. The aim of this work was to study the role of fleas as one of the causative allergens of bronchial asthma in Egyptian patients. Two flea extract antigens were locally prepared. The first from the head and the salivary glands and the second from the abdomen. The sensitivity of the first antigen (head and salivary glands) was evaluated among a known group of flea bite allergic individuals and normal control group using two dilutions 1/50 and 1/100, and proved to be sensitive. Regarding bronchial asthma and fleas, two groups of individuals were examined, asthmatic patients and control ones, using flea extract antigen and common inhalant antigens as skin test as well as precipitin test using flea extract antigen. This test was done by prick method using the routine allergens (house dust, cotton dust, mixed mould, mixed pollens, cat hair, dog hair, wool, feather) and also with locally prepared two flea extracts: one was prepared from the head and salivary glands, the second was prepared from the abdomen. Out of these sixty asthmatic patients, only six (10%) gave positive skin reactions to the antigens of fleas extract. All the control gave negative skin reaction. The precipitin test using the double immuno diffusion method gave positive results with one case who showed reaction to flea extract skin antigen.

Crude Extract from Ziziphus Jujuba Fruits, a Weapon against Pediatric Infectious Disease

PubMed Central

Daneshmand, F; Zare-Zardini, H; Tolueinia, B; Hasani, Z; Ghanbari, T

2013-01-01

Background Pediatric infectious disease is one of the main problems in cancerous children that treat by chemotherapy drugs. Thus, study in this regard is necessary. The aim of this study was to evaluate antimicrobial properties of ethanolic extract of Ziziphus Jujuba fruits against different infectious pathogens. Materials and Methods This study is descriptive. In vitro antimicrobial activity of extract was assessed on gram negative and gram positive bacteria as well as fungi. The antimicrobial activity was tested by Radial Diffusion Assay (RDA) and Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) methods. Results The results showed a wide antimicrobial activity of the extract against the microbes studied. Escherichia coli was the most susceptible to the extracts among tested microorganisms for which the MIC was 0.65±0.22 mg/ml. Amongst the bacterial strains investigated, Staphylococcus aureus was the most resistant strain with MIC of 2.26±0.68 mg/ml. The ethanolic extract also showed antimicrobial activity on the fungi studied as no growth was observed in 2.35±0.38 and 2.86±0.7 mg/ml concentration for Candida albicans and Aspergillus fumigatus, respectively. The results of qualitive and quantitative test are well indicative of the extract effective activity against the microbes mentioned. Conclusion Confirming the potential antimicrobial activities of crude extract of Ziziphus Jujuba fruits, this study suggested that ethanolic extracts of this plant is appropriate candidate for treatment of microbial infections, especially pediatric infectious diseases. PMID:24575267

Pharmacological activities of the organic extracts and fatty acid composition of the petroleum ether extract from Haplophyllum tuberculatum leaves.

PubMed

Hamdi, Assia; Majouli, Kaouther; Abdelhamid, Amal; Marzouk, Belsem; Belghith, Hèla; Chraief, Imed; Bouraoui, Abderrahman; Marzouk, Zohra; Heyden, Yvan Vander

2018-04-24

Haplophyllum tuberculatum is used in traditional medicine to treat many disorders including inflammation and pain. The aim of this study is to investigate the organic extracts from H. tuberculatum leaves against inflammation, gastric ulcer and pain. Acute toxicity was studied in vivo to determine the toxic doses of the organic extracts. Anti-inflammatory activity was also evaluated in vivo using carrageenan-induced paw edema in Wistar rats. Gastroprotective activity was tested using the HCl/ethanol-induced gastric ulcer test in rats. Peripheral and central analgesic activities were assessed using the acetic acid-induced writhing test and the hot-plate method, respectively. The chemical composition of the fatty acids in the petroleum ether (PE) extract was determined with GC-MS. At 25, 50 and 100mg/kg PE extract was the most active against inflammation. Percentages inhibition 5h after carrageenan-injection were 51.12; 86.71% and 96.92%, respectively. The same extract at 100mg/kg showed good analgesic activities using the acetic acid-induced writhing test and the hot-plate method. The chloroform, ethyl acetate (EtOAc) and butanolic (n-BuOH) extracts exhibited strong anti-inflammatory, gastroprotective and analgesic activities at 100mg/kg. The GC-FID analysis revealed that the PE extract was rich in γ-linolenic acid (45.50%) followed by palmitic acid (18.48%), linoleic acid (10.73%), erucic acid (4.72), stearic acid (3.96%) and oleic acid (2.57%). The results of the present study support the traditional use of the leaves of H. tuberculatum and may possibly serve as prospective material for further development of safe new phytochemical anti-inflammatory, gastroprotective and/or analgesic agents. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Topical Treatment of Dermatophytic Lesion on Mice (Mus musculus) Model.

PubMed

Sharma, Bindu; Kumar, Padma; Joshi, Suresh Chandra

2011-06-01

Antidermatophytic potential of three weed plants viz. Tridax procumbens L., Capparis decidua (forsk) Edgew and Lantana camara L. were explored and experimentally induced dermatophytic lesion was topically treated in mice. Microbroth dilution method was carried out for determination of MIC and MFC of different extracts of selected plants. In animal studies, mice were experimentally inoculated with Trichophyton mentagrophytes and infected animals were topically treated with 5 mg/g terbinafine and two concentrations, i.e., 5 and 10 mg/g of test extract ointment. Complete recovery from the infection was observed on 12th day of treatment for reference drug terbinafine (5 mg/g) and 10 mg/g concentration of test extract ointment whereas 5 mg/g concentration of test extract ointment showed complete cure on 16th day of treatment. Fungal burden was also calculated by culturing skin scrapings from infected animals of different groups. Test extract ointment successfully treated induced dermatophytosis in mice without any disease recurrence incidences, thereby indicating efficacy of test extract as an excellent topical antifungal agent for the cure of dermatophytosis.

Study of pharmacological activities of methanol extract of Jatropha gossypifolia fruits.

PubMed

Apu, Apurba Sarker; Hossain, Faruq; Rizwan, Farhana; Bhuyan, Shakhawat Hossan; Matin, Maima; Jamaluddin, A T M

2012-12-01

The present study was carried out to investigate the possible in vivo analgesic, neuropharmacological and anti-diarrheal activities of the methanol extract of Jatropha gossypifolia fruits. The analgesic activity was measured by acetic acid induced writhing inhibition test. The neuropharmacological activities were evaluated by hole cross, hole-board, and elevated plus-maze (EPM) tests and the anti-diarrheal activity was assessed by castor oil induced diarrhea inhibition method. The extract showed highly significant (P < 0.001) analgesic activity with % inhibitions of writhing response at doses 200 and 400 mg/kg body weight were 77.86% and 71.25%, respectively. The extract at both doses showed significant (P < 0.05) sedative effect in-hole cross test. In-hole board test, the extract showed highly significant (P < 0.001) anxiolytic activity at lower dose whereas this activity was observed at higher dose in EPM test. The extract also showed highly significant (P < 0.001) anti-diarrheal activity. The findings of the study clearly indicate the presence of significant analgesic, neuropharmacological and anti-diarrheal properties of the plant, which demands further investigation including, compound isolation.

Quantitative evaluation method of the bubble structure of sponge cake by using morphology image processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tatebe, Hironobu; Kato, Kunihito; Yamamoto, Kazuhiko; Katsuta, Yukio; Nonaka, Masahiko

2005-12-01

Now a day, many evaluation methods for the food industry by using image processing are proposed. These methods are becoming new evaluation method besides the sensory test and the solid-state measurement that are using for the quality evaluation. An advantage of the image processing is to be able to evaluate objectively. The goal of our research is structure evaluation of sponge cake by using image processing. In this paper, we propose a feature extraction method of the bobble structure in the sponge cake. Analysis of the bubble structure is one of the important properties to understand characteristics of the cake from the image. In order to take the cake image, first we cut cakes and measured that's surface by using the CIS scanner. Because the depth of field of this type scanner is very shallow, the bubble region of the surface has low gray scale values, and it has a feature that is blur. We extracted bubble regions from the surface images based on these features. First, input image is binarized, and the feature of bubble is extracted by the morphology analysis. In order to evaluate the result of feature extraction, we compared correlation with "Size of the bubble" of the sensory test result. From a result, the bubble extraction by using morphology analysis gives good correlation. It is shown that our method is as well as the subjectivity evaluation.

Study of anticancer and antibacterial activities of Foeniculum vulgare, Justicia adhatoda and Urtica dioica as natural curatives.

PubMed

Batool, R; Salahuddin, H; Mahmood, T; Ismail, M

2017-09-30

High-throughput technologies, such as synthetic biology and genomics have paved new paths for discovery and utility of medicinally beneficial plants. Bioactive molecules isolated from different plants have significantly higher biological activities. The present study was done to analyze antibacterial potential of some medicinal plants against multi drug resistant (MDR) pathogens and anticancer effect against MCF-7 cell line. Methanolic and ethanolic extracts were tested for their antibacterial activity by disc diffusion method against six MDR bacterial strains and for cytotoxicity evaluation by MTT assay. Ethanolic extracts of the three tested plants exhibited growth inhibitory effect against Klebsiella pneumonia, Serratia marcescens and Methicillin-resistant S. aureus. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was more resistant to all extracts as its growth was least inhibited by the extracts of all tested plants. Ethanol extract of Foeniculum vulgare exhibited significant inhibition of cancer cells proliferation. Methanol extract of Justicia adhatoda also showed considerable inhibition of cancer cells. Future studies must converge on detailed investigation of modes of action of extracts of tested plants.

Extraction of model performance from wall data in a 2-dimensional transonic flexible walled test section

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goodyer, M. J.

1982-01-01

Data obtained from the boundary of a test section provides information on the model contained within it. A method for extracting some of this data in two dimensional testing is described. Examples of model data are included on lift, pitching moment and wake displacement thickness. A FORTRAN listing is also described, having a form suitable for incorporation into the software package used in the running of such a test section.

Phytochemical Constituents and Antimicrobial Activity of the Ethanol and Chloroform Crude Leaf Extracts of Spathiphyllum cannifolium (Dryand. ex Sims) Schott.

PubMed

Dhayalan, Arunachalam; Gracilla, Daniel E; Dela Peña, Renato A; Malison, Marilyn T; Pangilinan, Christian R

2018-01-01

The study investigated the medicinal properties of Spathiphyllum cannifolium (Dryand. ex Sims) Schott as a possible source of antimicrobial compounds. The phytochemical constituents were screened using qualitative methods and the antibacterial and antifungal activities were determined using agar well diffusion method. One-way analysis of variance and Fisher's least significant difference test were used. The phytochemical screening showed the presence of sterols, flavonoids, alkaloids, saponins, glycosides, and tannins in both ethanol and chloroform leaf extracts, but triterpenes were detected only in the ethanol leaf extract. The antimicrobial assay revealed that the chloroform leaf extract inhibited Candida albicans, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa , whereas the ethanol leaf extract inhibited E. coli , S. aureus , and B. subtilis only. The ethanol and chloroform leaf extracts exhibited the highest zone of inhibition against B. subtilis . The antifungal assay showed that both the leaf extracts have no bioactivity against Aspergillus niger and C. albicans . Results suggest that chloroform is the better solvent for the extraction of antimicrobial compounds against the test organisms used in this study. Findings of this research will add new knowledge in advancing drug discovery and development in the Philippines.

On the problem of nonsense correlations in allergological tests after routine extraction.

PubMed

Rijckaert, G

1981-01-01

The influence of extraction procedures and culturing methods of material used for the preparation of allergenic extracts on correlation patterns found in allergological testing (skin test and RAST) was investigated. In our laboratory a short extraction procedure performed at O degrees C was used for Aspergillus repens. A. penicilloides, Wallemia sebi, their rearing media and non-inoculated medium. For the commercially available extracts from house dust, house-dust mite, pollen of Dactylus glomerata and A. penicilloides a longer procedure (several days) performed at room temperature was used. Statistical analysis showed a separation of all test results into two clusters, each cluster being composed of correlations between extracts from only one the manufacturers did not show any correlation. The correlations found between the short time incubated extracts of the xerophilic fungi and their rearing media could be explained by genetical and biochemical relationships between these fungi depending on ecological conditions. However, while the correlation found between house dust and house-dust mite is understandable, correlations found between long time incubated extracts from house-dust mite and D. glomerata or A. penicilloides may be nonsense correlations, that do not adequately describe the in vivo situation. The similarity of these extracts is presumably artificially created during extraction.

Analgesic, neuropharmacological, anti-diarrheal, and cytotoxic activities of the extract of Solanum sisymbriifolium (Lam.) leaves

PubMed Central

Apu, Apurba Sarker; Bhuyan, Shakhawat Hossan; Matin, Maima; Hossain, Faruq; Khatun, Farjana; Taiab, Abu; Jamaluddin

2013-01-01

Objective: The present study was undertaken to evaluate the possible analgesic, neuropharmacological, anti-diarrheal, and cytotoxic activities of the ethanol extract of leaves of Solanum sisymbriifolium Lam. (Family: Solanaceae). Materials and Methods: The analgesic activity was measured by acetic acid-induced writhing inhibition test. The neuropharmacological activities were evaluated using hole cross, hole board, and elevated plus-maze test and the anti-diarrheal activity was assessed using castor oil-induced diarrhea inhibition method. Brine shrimp lethality bioassay was carried out for assessing the cytotoxicity of the ethanol extract of the leaves. Except cytotoxic activity, all the tests were conducted on mice. Results: The extract at oral doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg body weight showed highly significant (p<0.001) decrease in number of writhing, 52.1±0.66 and 4.4±0.64 compared with the control (78.6±0.29) with the percentage of inhibitions of writhing response were found to be 33.72% and 94.40%, respectively. Compare with the control, the extract at both doses showed significant sedative effect in hole cross test. In hole board test, the extract exhibited highly significant (p<0.001) anxiolytic activity at dose of (200 mg/kg), while the same activity was observed at dose of 400 mg/kg in elevated plus-maze test. The extract showed highly significant (p<0.001) anti-diarrheal activity in a dose-dependent manner. With the extract, significant lethality to brine shrimp was found with LC50 value of 61.66±0.9 μg/ml, which was comparable with the positive control (LC50: 11.89±0.8 µg/ml). Conclusion: The results from the present studies support the traditional uses of this plant part and could form the basis of further investigation including compound isolation. PMID:25050287

A comparison of recovery of virus from wastewaters by beef extract-Celite, ferric chloride, and filter concentration procedures.

PubMed

Dahling, D R; Wright, B A

1988-12-01

An improved concentration method using sample volumes as large as 1500 ml has been developed to monitor for viruses in wastewaters. Non-precipitating dry beef extract powder is added to wastewater samples to give a 3% concentration and mixed until dissolved. This is followed by the addition of Celite as a virus adsorbent. By manipulating pH, viruses are eluted from the Celite in small volumes of phosphate buffer. This procedure was further tested without the aid of the Celite additives using a precipitating beef extract powder and substituting FeCl3 as an alternate reagent for the Celite. Comparison testing was also made with the currently recommended cartridge and disc filter procedures. In all cases, the non-precipitating beef extract-Celite method gave higher recovery rates in highly polluted waters.

Speech-Message Extraction from Interference Introduced by External Distributed Sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanakov, V. A.; Mironov, N. A.

2017-08-01

The problem of this study involves the extraction of a speech signal originating from a certain spatial point and calculation of the intelligibility of the extracted voice message. It is solved by the method of decreasing the influence of interference from the speech-message sources on the extracted signal. This method is based on introducing the time delays, which depend on the spatial coordinates, to the recording channels. Audio records of the voices of eight different people were used as test objects during the studies. It is proved that an increase in the number of microphones improves intelligibility of the speech message which is extracted from interference.

Development of an efficient fungal DNA extraction method to be used in random amplified polymorphic DNA-PCR analysis to differentiate cyclopiazonic acid mold producers.

PubMed

Sánchez, Beatriz; Rodríguez, Mar; Casado, Eva M; Martín, Alberto; Córdoba, Juan J

2008-12-01

A variety of previously established mechanical and chemical treatments to achieve fungal cell lysis combined with a semiautomatic system operated by a vacuum pump were tested to obtain DNA extract to be directly used in randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD)-PCR to differentiate cyclopiazonic acid-producing and -nonproducing mold strains. A DNA extraction method that includes digestion with proteinase K and lyticase prior to using a mortar and pestle grinding and a semiautomatic vacuum system yielded DNA of high quality in all the fungal strains and species tested, at concentrations ranging from 17 to 89 ng/microl in 150 microl of the final DNA extract. Two microliters of DNA extracted with this method was directly used for RAPD-PCR using primer (GACA)4. Reproducible RAPD fingerprints showing high differences between producer and nonproducer strains were observed. These differences in the RAPD patterns did not differentiate all the strains tested in clusters by cyclopiazonic acid production but may be very useful to distinguish cyclopiazonic acid producer strains from nonproducer strains by a simple RAPD analysis. Thus, the DNA extracts obtained could be used directly without previous purification and quantification for RAPD analysis to differentiate cyclopiazonic acid producer from nonproducer mold strains. This combined analysis could be adaptable to other toxigenic fungal species to enable differentiation of toxigenic and non-toxigenic molds, a procedure of great interest in food safety.

Comparative Efficiency of the Fenwick Can and Schuiling Centrifuge in Extracting Nematode Cysts from Different Soil Types

PubMed Central

Bellvert, Joaquim; Crombie, Kieran; Horgan, Finbarr G.

2008-01-01

The Fenwick can and Schuiling centrifuge are widely used to extract nematode cysts from soil samples. The comparative efficiencies of these two methods during cyst extraction have not been determined for different soil types under different cyst densities. Such information is vital for statutory laboratories that must choose a method for routine, high-throughput soil monitoring. In this study, samples of different soil types seeded with varying densities of potato cyst nematode (Globodera rostochiensis) cysts were processed using both methods. In one experiment, with 200 ml samples, recovery was similar between methods. In a second experiment with 500 ml samples, cyst recovery was higher using the Schuiling centrifuge. For each method and soil type, cyst extraction efficiency was similar across all densities tested. Extraction was efficient from pure sand (Fenwick 72%, Schuiling 84%) and naturally sandy soils (Fenwick 62%, Schuiling 73%), but was significantly less efficient from clay-soil (Fenwick 42%, Schuiling 44%) and peat-soil with high organic matter content (Fenwick 35%, Schuiling 33%). Residual moisture (<10% w/w) in samples prior to analyses reduced extraction efficiency, particularly for sand and sandy soils. For each soil type and method, there were significant linear relationships between the number of cysts extracted and the numbers of cysts in the samples. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each extraction method for cyst extraction in statutory soil laboratories. PMID:19259516

Antimicrobial Activities of Methanol, Ethanol and Supercritical CO2 Extracts of Philippine Piper betle L. on Clinical Isolates of Gram Positive and Gram Negative Bacteria with Transferable Multiple Drug Resistance

PubMed Central

Valle, Demetrio L.; Cabrera, Esperanza C.; Puzon, Juliana Janet M.; Rivera, Windell L.

2016-01-01

Piper betle L. has traditionally been used in alternative medicine in different countries for various therapeutic purposes, including as an anti-infective agent. However, studies reported in the literature are mainly on its activities on drug susceptible bacterial strains. This study determined the antimicrobial activities of its ethanol, methanol, and supercritical CO2 extracts on clinical isolates of multiple drug resistant bacteria which have been identified by the Infectious Disease Society of America as among the currently more challenging strains in clinical management. Assay methods included the standard disc diffusion method and the broth microdilution method for the determination of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBC) of the extracts for the test microorganisms. This study revealed the bactericidal activities of all the P. betle leaf crude extracts on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE), extended spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae, carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, and metallo-β-lactamase-producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii, with minimum bactericidal concentrations that ranged from 19μg/ml to 1250 μg/ml. The extracts proved to be more potent against the Gram positive MRSA and VRE than for the Gram negative test bacteria. VRE isolates were more susceptible to all the extracts than the MRSA isolates. Generally, the ethanol extracts proved to be more potent than the methanol extracts and supercritical CO2 extracts as shown by their lower MICs for both the Gram positive and Gram negative MDRs. MTT cytotoxicity assay showed that the highest concentration (100 μg/ml) of P. betle ethanol extract tested was not toxic to normal human dermal fibroblasts (HDFn). Data from the study firmly established P. betle as an alternative source of anti-infectives against multiple drug resistant bacteria. PMID:26741962

Antimicrobial Activities of Methanol, Ethanol and Supercritical CO2 Extracts of Philippine Piper betle L. on Clinical Isolates of Gram Positive and Gram Negative Bacteria with Transferable Multiple Drug Resistance.

PubMed

Valle, Demetrio L; Cabrera, Esperanza C; Puzon, Juliana Janet M; Rivera, Windell L

2016-01-01

Piper betle L. has traditionally been used in alternative medicine in different countries for various therapeutic purposes, including as an anti-infective agent. However, studies reported in the literature are mainly on its activities on drug susceptible bacterial strains. This study determined the antimicrobial activities of its ethanol, methanol, and supercritical CO2 extracts on clinical isolates of multiple drug resistant bacteria which have been identified by the Infectious Disease Society of America as among the currently more challenging strains in clinical management. Assay methods included the standard disc diffusion method and the broth microdilution method for the determination of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBC) of the extracts for the test microorganisms. This study revealed the bactericidal activities of all the P. betle leaf crude extracts on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE), extended spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae, carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, and metallo-β-lactamase-producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii, with minimum bactericidal concentrations that ranged from 19μg/ml to 1250 μg/ml. The extracts proved to be more potent against the Gram positive MRSA and VRE than for the Gram negative test bacteria. VRE isolates were more susceptible to all the extracts than the MRSA isolates. Generally, the ethanol extracts proved to be more potent than the methanol extracts and supercritical CO2 extracts as shown by their lower MICs for both the Gram positive and Gram negative MDRs. MTT cytotoxicity assay showed that the highest concentration (100 μg/ml) of P. betle ethanol extract tested was not toxic to normal human dermal fibroblasts (HDFn). Data from the study firmly established P. betle as an alternative source of anti-infectives against multiple drug resistant bacteria.

Evalution of DNA extraction methods in order to monitor genetically modified materials in soy foodstuffs and feeds commercialised in Turkey by multiplex real-time PCR.

PubMed

Turkec, Aydin; Kazan, Hande; Baykut, Aykut; Lucas, Stuart J

2015-01-01

Soybean is one of the most important biotech crops, widely used as an ingredient in both foodstuffs and feed. DNA extraction methods have been evaluated to detect the presence of genetically modified (GM) materials in soya-containing food and feed products commercialised in Turkey. All extraction methods performed well for the majority of soya foods and feed products analysed. However, the most successful method varied between different products; the Foodproof, Genespin and the cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) methods each produced the highest DNA yield and purity for different soya foodstuffs and feeds. Of the samples tested, 20% were positive for the presence of at least two GM elements (35S/NOS) while 11% contained an additional GM element (35S/NOS/FMV). Of the tested products, animal feeds showed a larger prevalence of GM material (50%) than the soya-containing foodstuffs (13%). The best performing extraction methods proved to be the Foodproof, Genespin and CTAB methods for soya-containing food and feed products. The results obtained herein clearly demonstrate the presence of GM soybean in the Turkish market, and that the Foodproof GMO Screening Kit provides reliable screening of soy-containing food and feed products. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.

The Extraction of Post-Earthquake Building Damage Informatiom Based on Convolutional Neural Network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, M.; Wang, X.; Dou, A.; Wu, X.

2018-04-01

The seismic damage information of buildings extracted from remote sensing (RS) imagery is meaningful for supporting relief and effective reduction of losses caused by earthquake. Both traditional pixel-based and object-oriented methods have some shortcoming in extracting information of object. Pixel-based method can't make fully use of contextual information of objects. Object-oriented method faces problem that segmentation of image is not ideal, and the choice of feature space is difficult. In this paper, a new stratage is proposed which combines Convolution Neural Network (CNN) with imagery segmentation to extract building damage information from remote sensing imagery. the key idea of this method includes two steps. First to use CNN to predicate the probability of each pixel and then integrate the probability within each segmentation spot. The method is tested through extracting the collapsed building and uncollapsed building from the aerial image which is acquired in Longtoushan Town after Ms 6.5 Ludian County, Yunnan Province earthquake. The results show that the proposed method indicates its effectiveness in extracting damage information of buildings after earthquake.

In vitro antibacterial and antifungal activities of Cassia fistula Linn. fruit pulp extracts

PubMed Central

Bhalodia, N. R.; Nariya, P. B.; Acharya, R. N.; Shukla, V. J.

2012-01-01

Aim of the study is to assess the antimicrobial activity Cassia fistula fruit pulp extracts on some bacterial and fungal strains. Hydro alcohol and chloroform extracts of Cassia fistula fruit pulp were evaluated for the potential antimicrobial activity. The antimicrobial activity was determined in both the extracts using the agar disc diffusion method. Extracts were effective on tested microorganisms. The antibacterial and antifungal activities of solvent extracts (5, 25, 50, 100, 250 μg/mL) of C. fistula were tested against two gram positive, two gram negative human pathogenic bacteria and three fungi, respectively. Crude extracts of C. fistula exhibited moderate to strong activity against most of the bacteria tested. The tested bacterial strains were Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Escherichia coil, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and fungal strains were Aspergillus. niger, Aspergillus. clavatus, Candida albicans. The antibacterial potential of the extracts were found to be dose dependent. The antibacterial activities of the C. fistula were due to the presence of various secondary metabolites. Hence, these plants can be used to discover bioactive natural products that may serve as leads in the development of new pharmaceuticals research activities. PMID:23049197

Antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiparasitic, and cytotoxic properties of various Brazilian propolis extracts

PubMed Central

Barreto, Gabriele de Abreu; Costa, Samantha Serra; Andrade, Luciana Nalone; Amaral, Ricardo Guimarães; Carvalho, Adriana Andrade; Padilha, Francine Ferreira; Barbosa, Josiane Dantas Viana

2017-01-01

Propolis is known for its biological properties and its preparations have been continuously investigated in an attempt to solve the problem of their standardization, an issue that limits the use of propolis in food and pharmaceutical industries. The aim of this study was to evaluate in vitro antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiparasitic, and cytotoxic effects of extracts of red, green, and brown propolis from different regions of Brazil, obtained by ethanolic and supercritical extraction methods. We found that propolis extracts obtained by both these methods showed concentration-dependent antioxidant activity. The extracts obtained by ethanolic extraction showed higher antioxidant activity than that shown by the extracts obtained by supercritical extraction. Ethanolic extracts of red propolis exhibited up to 98% of the maximum antioxidant activity at the highest extract concentration. Red propolis extracts obtained by ethanolic and supercritical methods showed the highest levels of antimicrobial activity against several bacteria. Most extracts demonstrated antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus. None of the extracts analyzed showed activity against Escherichia coli or Candida albicans. An inhibitory effect of all tested ethanolic extracts on the growth of Trypanosoma cruzi Y strain epimastigotes was observed in the first 24 h. However, after 96 h, a persistent inhibitory effect was detected only for red propolis samples. Only ethanolic extracts of red propolis samples R01Et.B2 and R02Et.B2 showed a cytotoxic effect against all four cancer cell lines tested (HL-60, HCT-116, OVCAR-8, and SF-295), indicating that red propolis extracts have great cytotoxic potential. The biological effects of ethanolic extracts of red propolis revealed in the present study suggest that red propolis can be a potential alternative therapeutic treatment against Chagas disease and some types of cancer, although high activity of red propolis in vitro needs to be confirmed by future in vivo investigations. PMID:28358806

Antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiparasitic, and cytotoxic properties of various Brazilian propolis extracts.

PubMed

Dantas Silva, Rejane Pina; Machado, Bruna Aparecida Souza; Barreto, Gabriele de Abreu; Costa, Samantha Serra; Andrade, Luciana Nalone; Amaral, Ricardo Guimarães; Carvalho, Adriana Andrade; Padilha, Francine Ferreira; Barbosa, Josiane Dantas Viana; Umsza-Guez, Marcelo Andres

2017-01-01

Propolis is known for its biological properties and its preparations have been continuously investigated in an attempt to solve the problem of their standardization, an issue that limits the use of propolis in food and pharmaceutical industries. The aim of this study was to evaluate in vitro antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiparasitic, and cytotoxic effects of extracts of red, green, and brown propolis from different regions of Brazil, obtained by ethanolic and supercritical extraction methods. We found that propolis extracts obtained by both these methods showed concentration-dependent antioxidant activity. The extracts obtained by ethanolic extraction showed higher antioxidant activity than that shown by the extracts obtained by supercritical extraction. Ethanolic extracts of red propolis exhibited up to 98% of the maximum antioxidant activity at the highest extract concentration. Red propolis extracts obtained by ethanolic and supercritical methods showed the highest levels of antimicrobial activity against several bacteria. Most extracts demonstrated antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus. None of the extracts analyzed showed activity against Escherichia coli or Candida albicans. An inhibitory effect of all tested ethanolic extracts on the growth of Trypanosoma cruzi Y strain epimastigotes was observed in the first 24 h. However, after 96 h, a persistent inhibitory effect was detected only for red propolis samples. Only ethanolic extracts of red propolis samples R01Et.B2 and R02Et.B2 showed a cytotoxic effect against all four cancer cell lines tested (HL-60, HCT-116, OVCAR-8, and SF-295), indicating that red propolis extracts have great cytotoxic potential. The biological effects of ethanolic extracts of red propolis revealed in the present study suggest that red propolis can be a potential alternative therapeutic treatment against Chagas disease and some types of cancer, although high activity of red propolis in vitro needs to be confirmed by future in vivo investigations.

Inhibitory Effects of Pterodon emarginatus Bean Oil and Extract on Staphylococcus aureus.

PubMed

Mendes, V S; Sant'Anna, J B; Oliveira, S C C; Maldonade, Iriani Rodrigues; Machado, Eleuza Rodrigues

2017-01-01

Pterodon emarginatus is a tree of the Brazilian Savannah. The beans of this tree are used in folk medicine as anti-inflammatory preparations, especially for infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus . These bacteria can cause simple infections or serious illnesses such as pneumonia, meningitis, endocarditis, toxic shock syndrome, septicemia, and others. This study had the goal of verifying the effect of the essential oil (OE) from P. emarginatus on the inhibition of S. aureus in culture medium, i.e., " in vitro " tests. The vegetable material was cut and crushed with a press. The OE was obtained by extraction using hexane, alcohol, and water. The P. emarginatus extracts obtained were used to evaluate the antimicrobial effect on S. aureus (ATCC 25923) by tests of well diffusion, disc diffusion, and microdilution. The strain used in the assays was maintained in brain heart infusion broth and nutrient agar until testing. Afterward, the bacteria were spread on agar plates with Mueller-Hinton agar medium. In the wells and on the paper discs, the OE suspensions were placed in the following volumes: 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, and 80 μL and subsequently they were incubated at 35°C ± 2°C. After 24 h, the number of colony-forming unit was determined. Pure OE and hydroalcoholic extract inhibited the growth of S. aureus , while aqueous extract had no effect on bacterial growth in all microbial methods used. Thus, the present study showed the potential of sucupira-based extracts against S. aureus growth, opening new perspectives for the evaluation of these bioactive compounds as phytopharmaceutical products. Plant extract act as antimicrobials to prevent and reduce bacterial contaminationBeans of Pterodon emarginatus has antibacterial propertiesExtraction with different solvents might implicate on the rate of bacterial deathThe effect of different microbiological methods (well diffusion, disc diffusion and microdilution) was evaluated on reducing CFUThe results showed by MBC that concentrations superior to 10% (v/v) using AC and 7.5% (v/v) using OE were necessary to eliminate colonies formedAccording to data of MIC, at 2.5% of AC and OE was enough to kill S. aureus The well diffusion technique demonstrated better performance than disc diffusion test for OE and AC extractsHydroalcoholic and oil extracts of sucupira beans had highest effect against Staphylococcus aureus Aqueous extract had no effect on bacterial growth in all microbial methods testedThe sucupira-based extracts is a promising source as herbal drug due to therapeutic value Abbreviations Used: OE: Essencial oil; AC: Hydroalcoholic oil extract; AQ: Aqueous extracts; MIC: Minimum inhibitory concentration; MBC: Minimum bactericidal concentration; CFU: Colony formed unit.

Synergistic antibacterial activity of Salvia officinalis and Cichorium intybus extracts and antibiotics.

PubMed

Stefanović, Olgica D; Stanojević, Dragana D; Comić, Ljiljana R

2012-01-01

Synergistic activity of Salvia officinalis and Cichorium intybus extracts and commonly used antibiotics, amoxicillin and chloramphenicol, were evaluated. Interactions between plant extracts and antibiotics were tested by checkerboard method and interpreted as FIC index. Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853 and clinical isolates Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Enterobacter cloacae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli and Proteus mirabilis were used. Salvia officinalis showed better synergistic capacity than Cichorium intybus. Synergistic interactions were observed between amoxicillin and acetone or ethyl acetate extract of Salvia officinalis and between chloramphenicol and ethyl acetate extract of Salvia officinalis. In the presence of sub-inhibitory concentration (1/4 MIC to 1/32 MIC) of sage extracts, the MIC values of antibiotics were decreased by 2- to 10-fold. Synergism was observed against all test bacteria, except Escherichia coli. The combinations of acetone and ethyl acetate extract from Cichorium intybus and antibiotics resulted in additive and indifferent effects against tested bacteria.

3D Face Modeling Using the Multi-Deformable Method

PubMed Central

Hwang, Jinkyu; Yu, Sunjin; Kim, Joongrock; Lee, Sangyoun

2012-01-01

In this paper, we focus on the problem of the accuracy performance of 3D face modeling techniques using corresponding features in multiple views, which is quite sensitive to feature extraction errors. To solve the problem, we adopt a statistical model-based 3D face modeling approach in a mirror system consisting of two mirrors and a camera. The overall procedure of our 3D facial modeling method has two primary steps: 3D facial shape estimation using a multiple 3D face deformable model and texture mapping using seamless cloning that is a type of gradient-domain blending. To evaluate our method's performance, we generate 3D faces of 30 individuals and then carry out two tests: accuracy test and robustness test. Our method shows not only highly accurate 3D face shape results when compared with the ground truth, but also robustness to feature extraction errors. Moreover, 3D face rendering results intuitively show that our method is more robust to feature extraction errors than other 3D face modeling methods. An additional contribution of our method is that a wide range of face textures can be acquired by the mirror system. By using this texture map, we generate realistic 3D face for individuals at the end of the paper. PMID:23201976

ENVIROMENTALLY BENIGN MITIGATION OF MICROBIOLOGICALLY INFLUENCED CORROSION (MIC)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

J. Robert Paterek; Gemma Husmillo; Amrutha Daram

The overall program objective is to develop and evaluate environmentally benign agents or products that are effective in the prevention, inhibition, and mitigation of microbially influenced corrosion (MIC) in the internal surfaces of metallic natural gas pipelines. The goal is to develop one or more environmentally benign (a.k.a. ''green'') products that can be applied to maintain the structure and dependability of the natural gas infrastructure. The technical approach for this quarter includes the application of the method of fractionation of the extracts by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC); determination of antimicrobial activities of the new extracts and fractions using amore » growth inhibition assay, and evaluation of the extracts' ability to inhibit biofilm formation. We initiated the delivery system for these new biocides in the test cell and in mixtures of foam components and biocides/anti-biofilms. A total of 51 fractions collected by HPLC from crude extracts that were obtained from three varieties of Capsicum sp. (Serrano, Habanero, Chile de Arbol) were subjected to growth inhibition tests against two SRB strains, D. vulgaris and D. desulfuricans. Five fractions showed growth inhibition against both strains while seven inhibited D. desulfuricans only. The crude extracts did not show growth inhibition on both strains but were proven to be potent in preventing the formation of biofilm. Growth inhibition tests of the same set of crude extracts against Comamonas denitrificans did not show positive results. The fractions will be subjected to biofilm inhibition and dissociation assay as well. The delivery system to be evaluated first was foam. The ''foam pig'' components of surfactants and water were tested with the biocide addition. The first chemical and physical parameters to be tested were pH and surfactants. Tests using the fractionated pepper extracts are progressing rapidly. Gas chromatographic analysis on a number of fractions is underway. Involvement of other microorganisms in the tests will be extended. The foam application method has been initiated and is being developed.« less

Swab Protocol for Rapid Laboratory Diagnosis of Cutaneous Anthrax

PubMed Central

Marston, Chung K.; Bhullar, Vinod; Baker, Daniel; Rahman, Mahmudur; Hossain, M. Jahangir; Chakraborty, Apurba; Khan, Salah Uddin; Hoffmaster, Alex R.

2012-01-01

The clinical laboratory diagnosis of cutaneous anthrax is generally established by conventional microbiological methods, such as culture and directly straining smears of clinical specimens. However, these methods rely on recovery of viable Bacillus anthracis cells from swabs of cutaneous lesions and often yield negative results. This study developed a rapid protocol for detection of B. anthracis on clinical swabs. Three types of swabs, flocked-nylon, rayon, and polyester, were evaluated by 3 extraction methods, the swab extraction tube system (SETS), sonication, and vortex. Swabs were spiked with virulent B. anthracis cells, and the methods were compared for their efficiency over time by culture and real-time PCR. Viability testing indicated that the SETS yielded greater recovery of B. anthracis from 1-day-old swabs; however, reduced viability was consistent for the 3 extraction methods after 7 days and nonviability was consistent by 28 days. Real-time PCR analysis showed that the PCR amplification was not impacted by time for any swab extraction method and that the SETS method provided the lowest limit of detection. When evaluated using lesion swabs from cutaneous anthrax outbreaks, the SETS yielded culture-negative, PCR-positive results. This study demonstrated that swab extraction methods differ in their efficiency of recovery of viable B. anthracis cells. Furthermore, the results indicated that culture is not reliable for isolation of B. anthracis from swabs at ≥7 days. Thus, we recommend the use of the SETS method with subsequent testing by culture and real-time PCR for diagnosis of cutaneous anthrax from clinical swabs of cutaneous lesions. PMID:23035192

Antibacterial and Antibiotic-Modifying Activity of Methanol Extracts from Six Cameroonian Food Plants against Multidrug-Resistant Enteric Bacteria

PubMed Central

Dzotam, Joachim K.

2017-01-01

The present work was designed to investigate the antibacterial activities of methanol extracts from six Cameroonian edible plants and their synergistic effects with some commonly used antibiotics against multidrug-resistant (MDR) Gram-negative bacteria expressing active efflux pumps. The extracts were subjected to qualitative phytochemical screening and the microdilution broth method was used for antibacterial assays. The results of phytochemical tests indicate that all tested crude extracts contained polyphenols, flavonoids, triterpenes, and steroids. Extracts displayed selective antibacterial activities with the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranging from 32 to 1024 μg/mL. The lowest MIC value (32 μg/mL) was recorded with Coula edulis extract against E. coli AG102 and K. pneumoniae K2 and with Mangifera indica bark extract against P. aeruginosa PA01 and Citrus sinensis extract against E. coli W3110 which also displayed the best MBC (256 μg/mL) value against E. coli ATCC8739. In combination with antibiotics, extracts from M. indica leaves showed synergistic effects with 75% (6/8) of the tested antibiotics against more than 80% of the tested bacteria. The findings of the present work indicate that the tested plants may be used alone or in combination in the treatment of bacterial infections including the multidrug-resistant bacteria. PMID:28904944

Antibacterial and Antibiotic-Modifying Activity of Methanol Extracts from Six Cameroonian Food Plants against Multidrug-Resistant Enteric Bacteria.

PubMed

Dzotam, Joachim K; Kuete, Victor

2017-01-01

The present work was designed to investigate the antibacterial activities of methanol extracts from six Cameroonian edible plants and their synergistic effects with some commonly used antibiotics against multidrug-resistant (MDR) Gram-negative bacteria expressing active efflux pumps. The extracts were subjected to qualitative phytochemical screening and the microdilution broth method was used for antibacterial assays. The results of phytochemical tests indicate that all tested crude extracts contained polyphenols, flavonoids, triterpenes, and steroids. Extracts displayed selective antibacterial activities with the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranging from 32 to 1024  μ g/mL. The lowest MIC value (32  μ g/mL) was recorded with Coula edulis extract against E. coli AG102 and K. pneumoniae K2 and with Mangifera indica bark extract against P. aeruginosa PA01 and Citrus sinensis extract against E. coli W3110 which also displayed the best MBC (256  μ g/mL) value against E. coli ATCC8739. In combination with antibiotics, extracts from M. indica leaves showed synergistic effects with 75% (6/8) of the tested antibiotics against more than 80% of the tested bacteria. The findings of the present work indicate that the tested plants may be used alone or in combination in the treatment of bacterial infections including the multidrug-resistant bacteria.

A simple, rapid atmospheric pressure chemical ionization liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method for the determination of 25-hydroxyvitamin D2 and D3.

PubMed

Garg, Uttam; Munar, Ada; Frazee, Clinton; Scott, David

2012-09-01

Vitamin D plays a vital role not only in bone health but also in pathophysiology of many other body functions. In recent years, there has been significant increase in testing of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OH vitamin D), a marker of vitamin D deficiency. The most commonly used methods for the measurement of 25-OH vitamin D are immunoassays and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS). Since immunoassays suffer from inaccuracies and interferences, LC-MS-MS is a preferred method. In LC-MS-MS methods, 25-OH vitamin D is extracted from serum or plasma by solid-phase or liquid-phase extraction. Because these extraction methods are time consuming, we developed an easy method that uses simple protein precipitation followed by injection of the supernatant to LC-MS-MS. Several mass-to-charge (m/z) ratio transitions, including commonly used transitions based on water loss, were evaluated and several tube types were tested. The optimal transitions for 25-OH vitamin D2 and D3 were 395.5 > 269.5 and 383.4 > 257.3, respectively. The reportable range of the method was 1-100 ng/mL, and repeatability (within-run) and within-laboratory imprecision were <4% and <6%, respectively. The method agreed well with the solid-phase extraction methods. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

In vitro antifungal activity of three geophytic plant extracts against three post-harvest pathogenic fungi.

PubMed

Maswada, Hanafey F; Abdallah, Sabry A

2013-12-01

Plant extracts appear to be one of the most effective alternative methods of plant diseases control which are less harmful to human beings and environment. In vitro antifungal activity of methanolic extracts of three promising wild geophytic plants against three post-harvest pathogenic fungi using radial growth technique was conducted. These extracts included the shoot system (S) and underground parts (R) of Asparagus stipularis, Cyperus capitatus and Stipagrostis lanata. The tested fungi were Alternaria solani, Aspergillus niger and Rhizopus stolonifer. The results exhibited that, all plant extracts had antifungal activity against the tested fungi. The antifungal activity greatly varied depending on plant parts and/or plant species. R. stolonifer was the most susceptible fungus to the tested plant extracts followed by A. niger and then A. solani. On the other hand, the most effective plant extracts against tested fungi were S. lanata (S) and A. stipularis (R). The most effective plant extracts against R. stolonifer were S. lanata (R) and C. capitatus (S). While, the extracts of A. stipularis (R) and S. lanata (S) were the most effective against A. niger. The extracts of C. capitatus (S) and S. lanata (S) exhibited the highest antifungal activity against A. solani. The results demonstrated that, the methanolic extracts of A. stipularis, C. capitatus and S. lanata had potential antifungal activity against A. solani, A. niger and R. stolonifer.

Extraction of memory colors for preferred color correction in digital TVs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ryu, Byong Tae; Yeom, Jee Young; Kim, Choon-Woo; Ahn, Ji-Young; Kang, Dong-Woo; Shin, Hyun-Ho

2009-01-01

Subjective image quality is one of the most important performance indicators for digital TVs. In order to improve subjective image quality, preferred color correction is often employed. More specifically, areas of memory colors such as skin, grass, and sky are modified to generate pleasing impression to viewers. Before applying the preferred color correction, tendency of preference for memory colors should be identified. It is often accomplished by off-line human visual tests. Areas containing the memory colors should be extracted then color correction is applied to the extracted areas. These processes should be performed on-line. This paper presents a new method for area extraction of three types of memory colors. Performance of the proposed method is evaluated by calculating the correct and false detection ratios. Experimental results indicate that proposed method outperform previous methods proposed for the memory color extraction.

Extraction of diatoms from (cotton) clothing for forensic comparisons.

PubMed

Uitdehaag, Stefan; Dragutinovic, Aleksandar; Kuiper, Irene

2010-07-15

Diatoms in clothing can be used to determine contact with surface water and contact with a specific water source, which can help link suspects to crime scenes. However, for the study of diatoms it is imperative that they are first extracted from the clothing under investigation. In this study we tested three methods for extracting diatoms from cotton clothing: rinsing with water (RW), rinsing with ethanol (RE) and the dissolution of cotton with nitric and sulphuric acid (DI). The DI method produced the highest average yield and can be used to determine contact with water. The RE method extracted reproducible numbers of diatoms from two different T-shirts and the resulting species compositions were similar to their relevant reference water samples. Therefore, we present rinsing with ethanol as an effective extraction method for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of diatoms in (cotton) clothing. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Phenolic content and antioxidant activity of Pereskia grandifolia Haw. (Cactaceae) extracts

PubMed Central

Sim, K. S.; Nurestri, A. M. Sri; Norhanom, A. W.

2010-01-01

The leaves of Pereskia grandifolia Haw. (Cactaceae), commonly known as “Jarum Tujuh Bilah” in Malaysia, have been traditionally used as natural remedy in folk medicine by the locals. In the present study, the antioxidant potential of P. grandifolia crude methanol and its fractionated extracts (hexane, ethyl acetate and water) have been investigated, employing three different established testing systems, such as scavenging activity on 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals, reducing power assay and β-carotene method. The total phenolic content of the P. grandifolia extracts was also assessed by the Folin-Ciocalteau’s method. The ethyl acetate extract showed significantly the highest total phenolic content, DPPH scavenging ability and antioxidant activity in β-carotene bleaching assay while the hexane extract possessed significantly strongest reducing power. The data obtained in these testing systems clearly establish the antioxidant potency of P. grandifolia. As such, this is the first report on the antioxidant activities of P. grandifolia. PMID:20931088

Driver drowsiness classification using fuzzy wavelet-packet-based feature-extraction algorithm.

PubMed

Khushaba, Rami N; Kodagoda, Sarath; Lal, Sara; Dissanayake, Gamini

2011-01-01

Driver drowsiness and loss of vigilance are a major cause of road accidents. Monitoring physiological signals while driving provides the possibility of detecting and warning of drowsiness and fatigue. The aim of this paper is to maximize the amount of drowsiness-related information extracted from a set of electroencephalogram (EEG), electrooculogram (EOG), and electrocardiogram (ECG) signals during a simulation driving test. Specifically, we develop an efficient fuzzy mutual-information (MI)- based wavelet packet transform (FMIWPT) feature-extraction method for classifying the driver drowsiness state into one of predefined drowsiness levels. The proposed method estimates the required MI using a novel approach based on fuzzy memberships providing an accurate-information content-estimation measure. The quality of the extracted features was assessed on datasets collected from 31 drivers on a simulation test. The experimental results proved the significance of FMIWPT in extracting features that highly correlate with the different drowsiness levels achieving a classification accuracy of 95%-- 97% on an average across all subjects.

Lateral stability and control derivatives of a jet fighter airplane extracted from flight test data by utilizing maximum likelihood estimation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parrish, R. V.; Steinmetz, G. G.

1972-01-01

A method of parameter extraction for stability and control derivatives of aircraft from flight test data, implementing maximum likelihood estimation, has been developed and successfully applied to actual lateral flight test data from a modern sophisticated jet fighter. This application demonstrates the important role played by the analyst in combining engineering judgment and estimator statistics to yield meaningful results. During the analysis, the problems of uniqueness of the extracted set of parameters and of longitudinal coupling effects were encountered and resolved. The results for all flight runs are presented in tabular form and as time history comparisons between the estimated states and the actual flight test data.

Antibacterial activity of some selected medicinal plants of Pakistan

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Screening of the ethnobotenical plants is a pre-requisite to evaluate their therapeutic potential and it can lead to the isolation of new bioactive compounds. Methods The crude extracts and fractions of six medicinal important plants (Arisaema flavum, Debregeasia salicifolia, Carissa opaca, Pistacia integerrima, Aesculus indica, and Toona ciliata) were tested against three Gram positive and two Gram negative ATCC bacterial species using the agar well diffusion method. Results The crude extract of P. integerrima and A. indica were active against all tested bacterial strains (12-23 mm zone of inhibition). Other four plant's crude extracts (Arisaema flavum, Debregeasia salicifolia, Carissa opaca, and Toona ciliata) were active against different bacterial strains. The crude extracts showed varying level of bactericidal activity. The aqueous fractions of A. indica and P. integerrima crude extract showed maximum activity (19.66 and 16 mm, respectively) against B. subtilis, while the chloroform fractions of T. ciliata and D. salicifolia presented good antibacterial activities (13-17 mm zone of inhibition) against all the bacterial cultures tested. Conclusion The methanol fraction of Pistacia integerrima, chloroform fractions of Debregeasia salicifolia &Toona ciliata and aqueous fraction of Aesculus indica are suitable candidates for the development of novel antibacterial compounds. PMID:21718504

Rice hull smoke extract inactivates Salmonella Typhimurium in laboratory media and protects infected mice against mortality

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A recently discovered and characterized rice hull liquid smoke extract was tested for bactericidal activity against Salmonella Typhimurium using the disc-agar method. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) value of rice hull smoke extract was found to be 0.822% (v/v). The in vivo antibacterial a...

[A preliminary study on bioactivity of orange and tangerine peel extracts against aphis and mites].

PubMed

Fan, Y; Ding, Z; Yang, L; Xu, L; Zhang, G; Li, K

1995-07-01

An assay was made on the bioactivity of the extracts of tangerine peel from Cinocitrus tangerina, orange peel from Citrus sinensis and mixed tangerine peel from Cinocitrus sp. against aphis Semia phis heraclei, Aphis craccivora, Uroleucon gobonis and Myzus persicae using residual film or topical method, and against mites Tetranychus viennensis and T. trancatus using slide-dip or immersion method. Test results show that these extracts have strong bioactivity against aphids and mites. The corrected mortality regression equations and LC50 (or LD50) of these extracts to pests are presented.

An Efficient Method for Genomic DNA Extraction from Different Molluscs Species

PubMed Central

Pereira, Jorge C.; Chaves, Raquel; Bastos, Estela; Leitão, Alexandra; Guedes-Pinto, Henrique

2011-01-01

The selection of a DNA extraction method is a critical step when subsequent analysis depends on the DNA quality and quantity. Unlike mammals, for which several capable DNA extraction methods have been developed, for molluscs the availability of optimized genomic DNA extraction protocols is clearly insufficient. Several aspects such as animal physiology, the type (e.g., adductor muscle or gills) or quantity of tissue, can explain the lack of efficiency (quality and yield) in molluscs genomic DNA extraction procedure. In an attempt to overcome these aspects, this work describes an efficient method for molluscs genomic DNA extraction that was tested in several species from different orders: Veneridae, Ostreidae, Anomiidae, Cardiidae (Bivalvia) and Muricidae (Gastropoda), with different weight sample tissues. The isolated DNA was of high molecular weight with high yield and purity, even with reduced quantities of tissue. Moreover, the genomic DNA isolated, demonstrated to be suitable for several downstream molecular techniques, such as PCR sequencing among others. PMID:22174651

ENVIRONMENTALLY BENIGN MITIGATION OF MICROBIOLOGICALLY INFLUENCED CORROSION (MIC)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

J. Robert Paterek; Gemma Husmillo; Amrutha Daram

The overall program objective is to develop and evaluate environmentally benign agents or products that are effective in the prevention, inhibition, and mitigation of microbially influenced corrosion (MIC) in the internal surfaces of metallic natural gas pipelines. The goal is to develop one or more environmentally benign (a.k.a. ''green'') products that can be applied to maintain the structure and dependability of the natural gas infrastructure. The technical approach for this quarter includes the application of new methods of Capsicum sp. (pepper) extraction by soxhlet method and analysis of a new set of extracts by thin layer chromatography (TLC) and highmore » performance liquid chromatography (HPLC); isolation and cultivation of MIC-causing microorganisms from corroded pipeline samples; and evaluation of antimicrobial activities of the old set of pepper extracts in comparison with major components of known biocides and corrosion inhibitors. Twelve new extracts from three varieties of Capsicum sp. (Serrano, Habanero, and Chile de Arbol) were obtained by soxhlet extraction using 4 different solvents. Results of TLC done on these extracts showed the presence of capsaicin and some phenolic compounds, while that of HPLC detected capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin peaks. More tests will be done to determine specific components. Additional isolates from the group of heterotrophic, acid-producing, denitrifying and sulfate-reducing bacteria were obtained from the pipeline samples submitted by gas companies. Isolates of interest will be used in subsequent antimicrobial testing and test-loop simulation system experiments. Results of antimicrobial screening of Capsicum sp. extracts and components of known commercial biocides showed comparable activities when tested against two strains of sulfate-reducing bacteria.« less

Development of an Efficient Protein Extraction Method Compatible with LC-MS/MS for Proteome Mapping in Two Australian Seagrasses Zostera muelleri and Posidonia australis

PubMed Central

Jiang, Zhijian; Kumar, Manoj; Padula, Matthew P.; Pernice, Mathieu; Kahlke, Tim; Kim, Mikael; Ralph, Peter J.

2017-01-01

The availability of the first complete genome sequence of the marine flowering plant Zostera marina (commonly known as seagrass) in early 2016, is expected to significantly raise the impact of seagrass proteomics. Seagrasses are marine ecosystem engineers that are currently declining worldwide at an alarming rate due to both natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Seagrasses (especially species of the genus Zostera) are compromised for proteomic studies primarily due to the lack of efficient protein extraction methods because of their recalcitrant cell wall which is rich in complex polysaccharides and a high abundance of secondary metabolites in their cells. In the present study, three protein extraction methods that are commonly used in plant proteomics i.e., phenol (P); trichloroacetic acid/acetone/SDS/phenol (TASP); and borax/polyvinyl-polypyrrolidone/phenol (BPP) extraction, were evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively based on two dimensional isoelectric focusing (2D-IEF) maps and LC-MS/MS analysis using the two most abundant Australian seagrass species, namely Zostera muelleri and Posidonia australis. All three tested methods produced high quality protein extracts with excellent 2D-IEF maps in P. australis. However, the BPP method produces better results in Z. muelleri compared to TASP and P. Therefore, we further modified the BPP method (M-BPP) by homogenizing the tissue in a modified protein extraction buffer containing both ionic and non-ionic detergents (0.5% SDS; 1.5% Triton X-100), 2% PVPP and protease inhibitors. Further, the extracted proteins were solubilized in 0.5% of zwitterionic detergent (C7BzO) instead of 4% CHAPS. This slight modification to the BPP method resulted in a higher protein yield, and good quality 2-DE maps with a higher number of protein spots in both the tested seagrasses. Further, the M-BPP method was successfully utilized in western-blot analysis of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC—a key enzyme for carbon metabolism). This optimized protein extraction method will be a significant stride toward seagrass proteome mining and identifying the protein biomarkers to stress response of seagrasses under the scenario of global climate change and anthropogenic perturbations. PMID:28861098

Development of an Efficient Protein Extraction Method Compatible with LC-MS/MS for Proteome Mapping in Two Australian Seagrasses Zostera muelleri and Posidonia australis.

PubMed

Jiang, Zhijian; Kumar, Manoj; Padula, Matthew P; Pernice, Mathieu; Kahlke, Tim; Kim, Mikael; Ralph, Peter J

2017-01-01

The availability of the first complete genome sequence of the marine flowering plant Zostera marina (commonly known as seagrass) in early 2016, is expected to significantly raise the impact of seagrass proteomics. Seagrasses are marine ecosystem engineers that are currently declining worldwide at an alarming rate due to both natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Seagrasses (especially species of the genus Zostera ) are compromised for proteomic studies primarily due to the lack of efficient protein extraction methods because of their recalcitrant cell wall which is rich in complex polysaccharides and a high abundance of secondary metabolites in their cells. In the present study, three protein extraction methods that are commonly used in plant proteomics i.e., phenol (P); trichloroacetic acid/acetone/SDS/phenol (TASP); and borax/polyvinyl-polypyrrolidone/phenol (BPP) extraction, were evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively based on two dimensional isoelectric focusing (2D-IEF) maps and LC-MS/MS analysis using the two most abundant Australian seagrass species, namely Zostera muelleri and Posidonia australis . All three tested methods produced high quality protein extracts with excellent 2D-IEF maps in P. australis . However, the BPP method produces better results in Z. muelleri compared to TASP and P. Therefore, we further modified the BPP method (M-BPP) by homogenizing the tissue in a modified protein extraction buffer containing both ionic and non-ionic detergents (0.5% SDS; 1.5% Triton X-100), 2% PVPP and protease inhibitors. Further, the extracted proteins were solubilized in 0.5% of zwitterionic detergent (C7BzO) instead of 4% CHAPS. This slight modification to the BPP method resulted in a higher protein yield, and good quality 2-DE maps with a higher number of protein spots in both the tested seagrasses. Further, the M-BPP method was successfully utilized in western-blot analysis of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC-a key enzyme for carbon metabolism). This optimized protein extraction method will be a significant stride toward seagrass proteome mining and identifying the protein biomarkers to stress response of seagrasses under the scenario of global climate change and anthropogenic perturbations.

Design of experiments for amino acid extraction from tobacco leaves and their subsequent determination by capillary zone electrophoresis.

PubMed

Hodek, Ondřej; Křížek, Tomáš; Coufal, Pavel; Ryšlavá, Helena

2017-03-01

In this study, we optimized a method for the determination of free amino acids in Nicotiana tabacum leaves. Capillary electrophoresis with contactless conductivity detector was used for the separation of 20 proteinogenic amino acids in acidic background electrolyte. Subsequently, the conditions of extraction with HCl were optimized for the highest extraction yield of the amino acids because sample treatment of plant materials brings some specific challenges. Central composite face-centered design with fractional factorial design was used in order to evaluate the significance of selected factors (HCl volume, HCl concentration, sonication, shaking) on the extraction process. In addition, the composite design helped us to find the optimal values for each factor using the response surface method. The limits of detection and limits of quantification for the 20 proteinogenic amino acids were found to be in the order of 10 -5 and 10 -4  mol l -1 , respectively. Addition of acetonitrile to the sample was tested as a method commonly used to decrease limits of detection. Ambiguous results of this experiment pointed out some features of plant extract samples, which often required specific approaches. Suitability of the method for metabolomic studies was tested by analysis of a real sample, in which all amino acids, except for L-methionine and L-cysteine, were successfully detected. The optimized extraction process together with the capillary electrophoresis method can be used for the determination of proteinogenic amino acids in plant materials. The resulting inexpensive, simple, and robust method is well suited for various metabolomic studies in plants. As such, the method represents a valuable tool for research and practical application in the fields of biology, biochemistry, and agriculture.

Modification to the AOAC Sporicidal Activity of Disinfectants Test (Method 966.04): collaborative study.

PubMed

Tomasino, Stephen F; Hamilton, Martin A

2006-01-01

In an effort to improve AOAC Method 966.04, the Sporicidal Activity of Disinfectants Test, selected modifications to the procedure were evaluated in a collaborative study. Method 966.04 is used to generate efficacy data to support the product registration of sporicides and sterilants. The method is a carrier-based test that provides a qualitative measure of product efficacy against spores of Bacillus subtilis and Clostridium sporogenes. The use of garden soil extract and the lack of standard procedures for the enumeration of spores and neutralization of the test chemicals have been considered problematic for many years. The proposed modifications were limited to the B. subtilis and hard surface carrier (porcelain penicylinder) components of the method. The study included the evaluation of a replacement for soil extract nutrient broth and an establishment of a minimum spore titer per carrier, both considered crucial for the improvement and utilization of the method. Additionally, an alternative hard surface material and a neutralization confirmation procedure were evaluated. To determine the equivalence of the proposed alternatives to the standard method, 3 medium/carrier combinations, (1) soil extract nutrient broth/porcelain carrier (current method), (2) nutrient agar amended with 5 microg/mL manganese sulfate/porcelain carrier, and (3) nutrient agar amended with 5 microg/mL manganese sulfate/stainless steel carrier were analyzed for carrier counts, HCI resistance, efficacy, quantitative efficacy, and spore wash-off. The test chemicals used in the study represent 3 chemical classes and are commercially available antimicrobial liquid products: sodium hypochlorite (bleach), glutaraldehyde, and a combination of peracetic acid and hydrogen peroxide. Four laboratories participated in the study. The results of the spore titer per carrier, HCI resistance, efficacy, and wash-off studies demonstrate that amended nutrient agar in conjunction with the porcelain is comparable to the current method, soil extract nutrient broth/porcelain. The nutrient agar method is simple, inexpensive, reproducible, and provides an ample supply of high quality spores. Due to the current use of porcelain carriers for testing C. sporogenes, it is advisable to retain the use of porcelain carriers until stainless steel can be evaluated as a replacement carrier material for Clostridium. The evaluation of stainless steel for Clostridium has been initiated by the Study Director. Study Director recommendations for First Action revisions are provided in a modified method.

Antinociceptive activity of fruits extracts and "arrope" of Geoffroea decorticans (chañar).

PubMed

Reynoso, M A; Vera, N; Aristimuño, M E; Daud, A; Sánchez Riera, A

2013-01-09

Geoffroea decorticans (chañar) fruits and their derivate product (arrope) have been traditionally used as food and a folk medicine for the treatment of a wide variety of diseases including bronchopulmonary disorders and to relieve dolorous process. In order to evaluate the pharmacology action of this plant, studies were performed of antinociceptive and antioxidant activities. The aqueous and ethanolic extracts and arrope of chañar were evaluated in various established pain models, including chemical nociception induced by subplantar formalin and intraperitoneal acetic acid and thermal nociception method, such as tail immersion test in rats. To examine the possible connection of the opioid receptor to the antinociceptive activity of extracts and arrope it was performed a combination test with naloxone, a non-selective opioid receptor antagonist. The aqueous extract and arrope (1000 mg/kg) caused an inhibition of the pain in formalin test in the first phase, similar to morphine and decrease in the second phase. In a combination test using naloxone, diminished analgesic activity of aqueous extract and arrope were observed, indicating that antinociceptive activity is connected with the opioid receptor. The aqueous extract and arrope, caused an inhibition of the writhing response induced by acetic acid. Central involvement in analgesic profile was confirmed by the tail immersion test, in which the aqueous extract and arrope showed a significant analgesic activity by increasing latency time. The aqueous extract showed higher antioxidant activity than the arrope, it may be due to the cooking process. This study has shown that the aqueous extract and arrope of Geoffroea decorticans (chañar) fruits, does possess significant antinociceptive effects. It is further concluded that aqueous extract with maximum inhibition of free radical is the most potent extract amount tested extracts. At the oral doses tested the aqueous extract and arrope were non-toxic. The present results justifies their popular use and constitutes the first validation study of the antinociceptive action. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Extraction methods and test techniques for detection of vegetable proteins in meat products. I. Qualitative detection of soya derivatives.

PubMed

Hyslop, N S

1976-06-01

Extracts of 3 soya bean preparations, used commercially in certain countries to replace part of the meat in popular meat products, were made by treatment with (i) sodium dodecyl sulphate, (ii) Triton-X100 or (iii) n-Butanol. Similar extracts were made from beef and pork. All extracts were examined by electrophoretic and immunological techniques. Stained polyacrylamide gels revealed distinctive protein bands after electrophoresis. The migration rates of corresponding bands differed between beef and pork extracts. However, the migration rates of vegetable bands revealed certain similarities, but differed very greatly from those of animal origin. Characteristic fast-migrating S-bands were distinguishable only in extracts of vegetable protein. Immunodiffusion tests, using antisera produced in rabbits against each extract, revealed varying degrees of similarity between extracts of vegetable origin, but the antisera were specific for either vegetable or animal protein.

Extraction methods and test techniques for detection of vegetable proteins in meat products. I. Qualitative detection of soya derivatives.

PubMed Central

Hyslop, N. S.

1976-01-01

Extracts of 3 soya bean preparations, used commercially in certain countries to replace part of the meat in popular meat products, were made by treatment with (i) sodium dodecyl sulphate, (ii) Triton-X100 or (iii) n-Butanol. Similar extracts were made from beef and pork. All extracts were examined by electrophoretic and immunological techniques. Stained polyacrylamide gels revealed distinctive protein bands after electrophoresis. The migration rates of corresponding bands differed between beef and pork extracts. However, the migration rates of vegetable bands revealed certain similarities, but differed very greatly from those of animal origin. Characteristic fast-migrating S-bands were distinguishable only in extracts of vegetable protein. Immunodiffusion tests, using antisera produced in rabbits against each extract, revealed varying degrees of similarity between extracts of vegetable origin, but the antisera were specific for either vegetable or animal protein. Images Plate 1 Plate 2 PMID:819572

Anti-bacterial activity and brine shrimp lethality bioassay of methanolic extracts of fourteen different edible vegetables from Bangladesh

PubMed Central

Ullah, M. Obayed; Haque, Mahmuda; Urmi, Kaniz Fatima; Zulfiker, Abu Hasanat Md.; Anita, Elichea Synthi; Begum, Momtaj; Hamid, Kaiser

2013-01-01

Objective To investigate the antibacterial and cytotoxic activity of fourteen different edible vegetables methanolic extract from Bangladesh. Methods The antibacterial activity was evaluated using disc diffusion assay method against 12 bacteria (both gram positive and gram negative). The plant extracts were also screened for cytotoxic activity using the brine shrimp lethality bioassay method and the lethal concentrations (LC50) were determined at 95% confidence intervals by analyzing the data on a computer loaded with “Finney Programme”. Results All the vegetable extracts showed low to elevated levels of antibacterial activity against most of the tested strains (zone of inhibition=5-28 mm). The most active extract against all bacterial strains was from Xanthium indicum which showed remarkable antibacterial activity having the diameter of growth inhibition zone ranging from 12 to 28 mm followed by Alternanthera sessilis (zone of inhibition=6-21 mm). All extracts exhibited considerable general toxicity towards brine shrimps. The LC50 value of the tested extracts was within the range of 8.447 to 60.323 µg/mL with respect to the positive control (vincristine sulphate) which was 0.91 µg/mL. Among all studied extracts, Xanthium indicum displayed the highest cytotoxic effect with LC50 value of 8.447 µg/mL. Conclusions The results of the present investigation suggest that most of the studied plants are potentially good source of antibacterial and anticancer agents. PMID:23570009

Evaluation of metal concentration and antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anticancer potentials of two edible mushrooms Lactarius deliciosus and Macrolepiota procera.

PubMed

Kosanić, Marijana; Ranković, Branislav; Rančić, Aleksandar; Stanojković, Tatjana

2016-07-01

This study is designed for the determination of metal concentrations, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anticancer potential of two edible mushrooms Lactarius deliciosus and Macrolepiota procera. Concentrations of nine metals are determined and all metals are present in the allowable concentrations in the tested mushrooms except Cd in M. procera. Antioxidant activity was evaluated by free radical scavenging and reducing power. M. procera extract had more potent free radical scavenging activity (IC 50 =311.40 μg/mL) than L. deliciosus extract. Moreover, the tested extracts had effective reducing power. The total content of phenol in the extracts was examined using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent and obtained values expressed as pyrocatechol equivalents. Further, the antimicrobial potential was determined with a microdilution method on 15 microorganisms. Among the tested species, extract of L. deliciosus showed a better antimicrobial activity with minimum inhibitory concentration values ranging from 2.5 mg/mL to 20 mg/mL. Finally, the cytotoxic activity was tested using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide method on human epithelial carcinoma HeLa cells, human lung carcinoma A549 cells, and human colon carcinoma LS174 cells. Extract of both mushrooms expressed similar cytotoxic activity with IC 50 values ranging from 19.01 μg/mL to 80.27 μg/mL. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Evaluation of a rapid method for the detection of streptococcal group A antigen directly from throat swabs.

PubMed Central

Venezia, R A; Ryan, A; Alward, S; Kostun, W A

1985-01-01

Throat swabs from 196 pediatric patients were processed by a direct extraction-latex agglutination method (Group A Strep Direct Antigen Identification Test [DAI]) that detects group A streptococci in the specimen. The method requires a 45-min enzymatic extraction period at 37 degrees C and a 4-min reaction period with antibody-linked latex particles. The results were compared with those of the culture and fluorescent antibody methods and the clinical presentation of the patient for pharyngitis. Ninety-three percent of the specimens resulted in agreement by all tests, and 28% were culture positive for group A streptococci. Compared with the culture method, the DAI had a sensitivity and a specificity of 83% and 99%, respectively. The positive predictive values were 98% versus the culture method and 93% versus the fluorescent antibody method, whereas the negative predictive values were 94% versus both other methods. Of the 14 discrepant results when both clinical presentation of an acute pharyngitis and the test results were compared, the culture method provided the best correlation. An additional 64 specimens were processed by the DAI and another direct extraction-latex agglutination method (Culturette Ten-Minute Group A Strep ID Test), and the results were compared with those of the culture method. This group had a 40.6% culture isolation rate for group A streptococci. The sensitivity and specificity of the DAI and Strep ID methods versus the culture method were 81 and 100%, and 77 and 97%, respectively. These results indicate that the DAI is accurate for diagnosing group A streptococcal pharyngitis directly from throat swabs. However, negative results in the presence of a symptomatic patient must be confirmed by standard culture techniques. PMID:3884656

A simple and rapid DNA extraction method for Chlamydia trachomatis detection from urogenital swabs.

PubMed

Butzler, Matthew A; Reed, Jennifer L; McFall, Sally M

2017-11-01

A highly sensitive and specific Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) diagnostic test was developed by combining filtration isolation of nucleic acid (FINA) extraction with quantitative polymerase chain reaction including an internal control to identify test inhibition. A pilot study of 40 clinical specimens yielded 100% sensitivity and specificity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Research on oral test modeling based on multi-feature fusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Yuliang; Tao, Yiyue; Lei, Jun

2018-04-01

In this paper, the spectrum of speech signal is taken as an input of feature extraction. The advantage of PCNN in image segmentation and other processing is used to process the speech spectrum and extract features. And a new method combining speech signal processing and image processing is explored. At the same time of using the features of the speech map, adding the MFCC to establish the spectral features and integrating them with the features of the spectrogram to further improve the accuracy of the spoken language recognition. Considering that the input features are more complicated and distinguishable, we use Support Vector Machine (SVM) to construct the classifier, and then compare the extracted test voice features with the standard voice features to achieve the spoken standard detection. Experiments show that the method of extracting features from spectrograms using PCNN is feasible, and the fusion of image features and spectral features can improve the detection accuracy.

Manipulation of the micro and macro-structure of beams extracted from cyclotrons

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Laxdal, R.E.

1995-09-01

It is standard practice in cyclotrons to alter the extracted micro-pulse width by using center-region slits and/or by chopping the beam before injection. The macro-structure can also be varied by means of pulsed or sinusoidal deflection devices before injection and/or after extraction. All above methods, however, involve cutting away the unwanted beam, thus reducing the time-averaged intensity. This paper will focus on some methods used to alter the time structure of extracted beams without significant beam loss. For example radial gradients in the accelerating fields from rf cavities can be utilized to compress, expand or even split longitudinally the circulatingmore » particle bunches. The macro-structure of the extracted beam can be altered by employing resonant extraction methods and replacing the static magnetic bump with either a pulsed or a sinusoidal transverse perturbation. The methods are most suitable for H cyclotrons but may also be considered in a limited scope for cyclotrons using direct extraction. Results of computer simulations and beam tests on the TRIUMF 500 MeV H{sup {minus}} cyclotron will be presented.« less

Inorganic arsenic in seafood: does the extraction method matter?

PubMed

Pétursdóttir, Ásta H; Gunnlaugsdóttir, Helga; Krupp, Eva M; Feldmann, Jörg

2014-05-01

Nine different extraction methods were evaluated for three seafood samples to test whether the concentration of inorganic arsenic (iAs) determined in seafood is dependent on the extraction method. Certified reference materials (CRM) DOLT-4 (Dogfish Liver) and TORT-2 (Lobster Hepatopancreas), and a commercial herring fish meal were evaluated. All experimental work described here was carried out by the same operator using the same instrumentation, thus eliminating possible differences in results caused by laboratory related factors. Low concentrations of iAs were found in CRM DOLT-4 (0.012±0.003mgkg(-1)) and the herring fish meal sample (0.007±0.002mgkg(-1)) for all extraction methods. When comparing the concentration of iAs in CRM TORT-2 found in this study and in the literature dilute acids, HNO3 and HCl, showed the highest extracted iAs wheras dilute NaOH (in 50% ethanol) showed significantly lower extracted iAs. However, most other extraction solvents were not statistically different from one another. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparison of DNA extraction methods for meat analysis.

PubMed

Yalçınkaya, Burhanettin; Yumbul, Eylem; Mozioğlu, Erkan; Akgoz, Muslum

2017-04-15

Preventing adulteration of meat and meat products with less desirable or objectionable meat species is important not only for economical, religious and health reasons, but also, it is important for fair trade practices, therefore, several methods for identification of meat and meat products have been developed. In the present study, ten different DNA extraction methods, including Tris-EDTA Method, a modified Cetyltrimethylammonium Bromide (CTAB) Method, Alkaline Method, Urea Method, Salt Method, Guanidinium Isothiocyanate (GuSCN) Method, Wizard Method, Qiagen Method, Zymogen Method and Genespin Method were examined to determine their relative effectiveness for extracting DNA from meat samples. The results show that the salt method is easy to perform, inexpensive and environmentally friendly. Additionally, it has the highest yield among all the isolation methods tested. We suggest this method as an alternative method for DNA isolation from meat and meat products. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Systematic Assessment of Seven Solvent and Solid-Phase Extraction Methods for Metabolomics Analysis of Human Plasma by LC-MS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sitnikov, Dmitri G.; Monnin, Cian S.; Vuckovic, Dajana

2016-12-01

The comparison of extraction methods for global metabolomics is usually executed in biofluids only and focuses on metabolite coverage and method repeatability. This limits our detailed understanding of extraction parameters such as recovery and matrix effects and prevents side-by-side comparison of different sample preparation strategies. To address this gap in knowledge, seven solvent-based and solid-phase extraction methods were systematically evaluated using standard analytes spiked into both buffer and human plasma. We compared recovery, coverage, repeatability, matrix effects, selectivity and orthogonality of all methods tested for non-lipid metabolome in combination with reversed-phased and mixed-mode liquid chromatography mass spectrometry analysis (LC-MS). Our results confirmed wide selectivity and excellent precision of solvent precipitations, but revealed their high susceptibility to matrix effects. The use of all seven methods showed high overlap and redundancy which resulted in metabolite coverage increases of 34-80% depending on LC-MS method employed as compared to the best single extraction protocol (methanol/ethanol precipitation) despite 7x increase in MS analysis time and sample consumption. The most orthogonal methods to methanol-based precipitation were ion-exchange solid-phase extraction and liquid-liquid extraction using methyl-tertbutyl ether. Our results help facilitate rational design and selection of sample preparation methods and internal standards for global metabolomics.

Systematic Assessment of Seven Solvent and Solid-Phase Extraction Methods for Metabolomics Analysis of Human Plasma by LC-MS

PubMed Central

Sitnikov, Dmitri G.; Monnin, Cian S.; Vuckovic, Dajana

2016-01-01

The comparison of extraction methods for global metabolomics is usually executed in biofluids only and focuses on metabolite coverage and method repeatability. This limits our detailed understanding of extraction parameters such as recovery and matrix effects and prevents side-by-side comparison of different sample preparation strategies. To address this gap in knowledge, seven solvent-based and solid-phase extraction methods were systematically evaluated using standard analytes spiked into both buffer and human plasma. We compared recovery, coverage, repeatability, matrix effects, selectivity and orthogonality of all methods tested for non-lipid metabolome in combination with reversed-phased and mixed-mode liquid chromatography mass spectrometry analysis (LC-MS). Our results confirmed wide selectivity and excellent precision of solvent precipitations, but revealed their high susceptibility to matrix effects. The use of all seven methods showed high overlap and redundancy which resulted in metabolite coverage increases of 34–80% depending on LC-MS method employed as compared to the best single extraction protocol (methanol/ethanol precipitation) despite 7x increase in MS analysis time and sample consumption. The most orthogonal methods to methanol-based precipitation were ion-exchange solid-phase extraction and liquid-liquid extraction using methyl-tertbutyl ether. Our results help facilitate rational design and selection of sample preparation methods and internal standards for global metabolomics. PMID:28000704

A method for automatically extracting infectious disease-related primers and probes from the literature

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Primer and probe sequences are the main components of nucleic acid-based detection systems. Biologists use primers and probes for different tasks, some related to the diagnosis and prescription of infectious diseases. The biological literature is the main information source for empirically validated primer and probe sequences. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly important for researchers to navigate this important information. In this paper, we present a four-phase method for extracting and annotating primer/probe sequences from the literature. These phases are: (1) convert each document into a tree of paper sections, (2) detect the candidate sequences using a set of finite state machine-based recognizers, (3) refine problem sequences using a rule-based expert system, and (4) annotate the extracted sequences with their related organism/gene information. Results We tested our approach using a test set composed of 297 manuscripts. The extracted sequences and their organism/gene annotations were manually evaluated by a panel of molecular biologists. The results of the evaluation show that our approach is suitable for automatically extracting DNA sequences, achieving precision/recall rates of 97.98% and 95.77%, respectively. In addition, 76.66% of the detected sequences were correctly annotated with their organism name. The system also provided correct gene-related information for 46.18% of the sequences assigned a correct organism name. Conclusions We believe that the proposed method can facilitate routine tasks for biomedical researchers using molecular methods to diagnose and prescribe different infectious diseases. In addition, the proposed method can be expanded to detect and extract other biological sequences from the literature. The extracted information can also be used to readily update available primer/probe databases or to create new databases from scratch. PMID:20682041

Comparative evaluation of total RNA extraction methods in Theobroma cacao using shoot apical meristems.

PubMed

Silva, D V; Branco, S M J; Holanda, I S A; Royaert, S; Motamayor, J C; Marelli, J P; Corrêa, R X

2016-03-04

Theobroma cacao is a species of great economic importance with its beans used for chocolate production. The tree has been a target of various molecular studies. It contains many polyphenols, which complicate the extraction of nucleic acids with the extraction protocols requiring a large amount of plant material. These issues, therefore, necessitate the optimization of the protocols. The aim of the present study was to evaluate different methods for extraction of total RNA from shoot apical meristems of T. cacao 'CCN 51' and to assess the influence of storage conditions for the meristems on the extraction. The study also aimed to identify the most efficient protocol for RNA extraction using a small amount of plant material. Four different protocols were evaluated for RNA extraction using one shoot apical meristem per sample. Among these protocols, one that was more efficient was then tested to extract RNA using four different numbers of shoot apical meristems, subjected to three different storage conditions. The best protocol was tested for cDNA amplification using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction; the cDNA quality was determined to be satisfactory for molecular analyses. The study revealed that with the best RNA extraction protocol, one shoot apical meristem was sufficient for extraction of high-quality total RNA. The results obtained might enable advances in genetic analyses and molecular studies using reduced amount of plant material.

Antibacterial and Antimetastatic Potential of Diospyros lycioides Extract on Cervical Cancer Cells and Associated Pathogens

PubMed Central

Bagla, V. P.; Lubisi, V. Z.; Ndiitwani, T.; Mokgotho, M. P.; Mampuru, L.; Mbazima, V.

2016-01-01

Cervical cancer is among the most prevalent forms of cancer in women worldwide. Diospyros lycioides was extracted using hexane, ethyl acetate, acetone, and methanol and finger print profiles were determined. The leaf material was tested for the presence of flavonoids, tannins, saponins, terpenoids, and cardiac glycosides using standard chemical methods and the presence of flavonoids and phenolics using thin layer chromatography. The total phenolic content was determined using Folin-Ciocalteu procedure. The four extracts were tested for antibacterial activity using bioautography against Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli. The acetone extract with the highest number of antibacterial and antioxidant compounds was assessed for its cytotoxicity on BUD-8 cells using the real-time xCELLigence system and its potential effects on metastatic cervical cancer (HeLa) cell migration and invasion were assessed using wound healing migration and invasion assays. The leaf extract tested positive for flavonoids, tannins, and terpenoids while the four different extracts tested in the antimicrobial assay contained constituents active against one or more of the organisms tested, except E. coli. The cytotoxicity of the acetone extract in real-time was concentration-dependent with potent ability to suppress the migration and invasion of HeLa cells. The finding demonstrates the acetone extract to contain constituents with antibacterial and antimetastatic effects on cervical cancer cells. PMID:27239210

Sponge-associated actinobacterial diversity: validation of the methods of actinobacterial DNA extraction and optimization of 16S rRNA gene amplification.

PubMed

Yang, Qi; Franco, Christopher M M; Zhang, Wei

2015-10-01

Experiments were designed to validate the two common DNA extraction protocols (CTAB-based method and DNeasy Blood & Tissue Kit) used to effectively recover actinobacterial DNA from sponge samples in order to study the sponge-associated actinobacterial diversity. This was done by artificially spiking sponge samples with actinobacteria (spores, mycelia and a combination of the two). Our results demonstrated that both DNA extraction methods were effective in obtaining DNA from the sponge samples as well as the sponge samples spiked with different amounts of actinobacteria. However, it was noted that in the presence of the sponge, the bacterial 16S rRNA gene could not be amplified unless the combined DNA template was diluted. To test the hypothesis that the extracted sponge DNA contained inhibitors, dilutions of the DNA extracts were tested for six sponge species representing five orders. The results suggested that the inhibitors were co-extracted with the sponge DNA, and a high dilution of this DNA was required for the successful PCR amplification for most of the samples. The optimized PCR conditions, including primer selection, PCR reaction system and program optimization, further improved the PCR performance. However, no single PCR condition was found to be suitable for the diverse sponge samples using various primer sets. These results highlight for the first time that the DNA extraction methods used are effective in obtaining actinobacterial DNA and that the presence of inhibitors in the sponge DNA requires high dilution coupled with fine tuning of the PCR conditions to achieve success in the study of sponge-associated actinobacterial diversity.

Development and stability of semisolid preparations based on a supercritical CO2 Arnica extract.

PubMed

Bilia, Anna Rita; Bergonzi, Maria Camilla; Mazzi, Giovanni; Vincieri, Franco Francesco

2006-05-03

Conventional herbal drug preparations (HDP) based on Arnica montana L. have a low content of the active principles, sesquiterpene lactones, which show poor stability and low physical compatibility in semisolid formulations. Recently, an innovative supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2) extract with high sesquiterpene content has been marketed. Development of six semisolid preparations (cetomacrogol, polysorbate 60, polawax, anphyphil, natrosol and sepigel) based on this innovative CO2 extract is discussed. Stability of these preparations was investigated according to ICH guidelines. The evaluation of in vitro release of active constituents was performed using the cell method reported in the European Pharmacopoeia. Preliminary data on in vivo permeation of three selected formulations is demonstrated using the "skin stripping" test, according to the FDA, in healthy subjects. Analysis of sesquiterpene lactones within the extract and in vitro and in vivo studies was performed by RP-HPLC-DAD-MS method. The cetomacrogol showed the best release profile in the in vitro test, while in the in vivo test the best preparation resulted polysorbate 60 and polawax.

Hot-Alkaline DNA Extraction Method for Deep-Subseafloor Archaeal Communities

PubMed Central

Terada, Takeshi; Hoshino, Tatsuhiko; Inagaki, Fumio

2014-01-01

A prerequisite for DNA-based microbial community analysis is even and effective cell disruption for DNA extraction. With a commonly used DNA extraction kit, roughly two-thirds of subseafloor sediment microbial cells remain intact on average (i.e., the cells are not disrupted), indicating that microbial community analyses may be biased at the DNA extraction step, prior to subsequent molecular analyses. To address this issue, we standardized a new DNA extraction method using alkaline treatment and heating. Upon treatment with 1 M NaOH at 98°C for 20 min, over 98% of microbial cells in subseafloor sediment samples collected at different depths were disrupted. However, DNA integrity tests showed that such strong alkaline and heat treatment also cleaved DNA molecules into short fragments that could not be amplified by PCR. Subsequently, we optimized the alkaline and temperature conditions to minimize DNA fragmentation and retain high cell disruption efficiency. The best conditions produced a cell disruption rate of 50 to 80% in subseafloor sediment samples from various depths and retained sufficient DNA integrity for amplification of the complete 16S rRNA gene (i.e., ∼1,500 bp). The optimized method also yielded higher DNA concentrations in all samples tested compared with extractions using a conventional kit-based approach. Comparative molecular analysis using real-time PCR and pyrosequencing of bacterial and archaeal 16S rRNA genes showed that the new method produced an increase in archaeal DNA and its diversity, suggesting that it provides better analytical coverage of subseafloor microbial communities than conventional methods. PMID:24441163

Standardization of Weed Pollen Extracts, Japanese Hop and Mugwort, in Korea

PubMed Central

Jeong, Kyoung Yong; Son, Mina; Choi, Soo-Young; Park, Kyung Hee; Park, Hye Jung; Hong, Chein-Soo; Lee, Jae-Hyun

2016-01-01

Purpose Japanese hop (Humulus spp.) and mugwort (Artemisia spp.) are notable causes of autumn pollinosis in East Asia. However, Japanese hop and mugwort pollen extracts, which are widely used for the diagnosis, have not been standardized. This study was performed to standardize Japanese hop and mugwort pollen extracts. Materials and Methods Allergen extracts were prepared in a standardized way using locally collected Humulus japonicus and purchased Artemisia vulgaris pollens. The immunoglobulin E (IgE) reactivities of prepared extracts were compared with commercial extracts via IgE immunoblotting and inhibition analyses. Intradermal skin tests were performed to determine the bioequivalent allergy unit (BAU). Results The IgE reactive components of the extracts via IgE immunoblotting were similar to those of commercial extracts. A 11-kDa allergen showed the strongest IgE reactivity in Japanese hop, as did a 28-kDa allergen in mugwort pollen extracts. Allergenic potencies of the investigatory Japanese hop and mugwort extracts were essentially indistinguishable from the commercial ones. Sums of erythema of 50 mm by the intradermal skin test (ΣED50) were calculated to be 14.4th and 13.6th three-fold dilutions for Japanese hop and mugwort extracts, respectively. Therefore, the allergenic activity of the prepared extracts was 90827.4 BAU/mg for Japanese hop and 34412 BAU/mg for mugwort. Conclusion We produced Japanese hop and mugwort pollen extracts using a standardized method. Standardized Japanese hop and mugwort pollen extracts will facilitate the production of improved diagnostic and immunotherapeutic reagents. PMID:26847293

A Comparison of DNA Extraction Methods using Petunia hybrida Tissues

PubMed Central

Tamari, Farshad; Hinkley, Craig S.; Ramprashad, Naderia

2013-01-01

Extraction of DNA from plant tissue is often problematic, as many plants contain high levels of secondary metabolites that can interfere with downstream applications, such as the PCR. Removal of these secondary metabolites usually requires further purification of the DNA using organic solvents or other toxic substances. In this study, we have compared two methods of DNA purification: the cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) method that uses the ionic detergent hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide and chloroform-isoamyl alcohol and the Edwards method that uses the anionic detergent SDS and isopropyl alcohol. Our results show that the Edwards method works better than the CTAB method for extracting DNA from tissues of Petunia hybrida. For six of the eight tissues, the Edwards method yielded more DNA than the CTAB method. In four of the tissues, this difference was statistically significant, and the Edwards method yielded 27–80% more DNA than the CTAB method. Among the different tissues tested, we found that buds, 4 days before anthesis, had the highest DNA concentrations and that buds and reproductive tissue, in general, yielded higher DNA concentrations than other tissues. In addition, DNA extracted using the Edwards method was more consistently PCR-amplified than that of CTAB-extracted DNA. Based on these results, we recommend using the Edwards method to extract DNA from plant tissues and to use buds and reproductive structures for highest DNA yields. PMID:23997658

Antimicrobial Activity of Emilia sonchifolia DC., Tridax procumbens L. and Vernonia cinerea L. of Asteracea Family: Potential as Food Preservatives.

PubMed

Yoga Latha, L; Darah, I; Sasidharan, S; Jain, K

2009-09-01

Chemical preservatives have been used in the food industry for many years. However, with increased health concerns, consumers prefer additive-free products or food preservatives based on natural products. This study evaluated antimicrobial activities of extracts from Emilia sonchifolia L. (Common name: lilac tassel flower), Tridax procumbens L. (Common name: tridax daisy) and Vernonia cinerea L. (Common name: Sahadevi), belonging to the Asteracea family, to explore their potential for use against general food spoilage and human pathogens so that new food preservatives may be developed. Three methanol extracts of these plants were tested in vitro against 20 bacterial species, 3 yeast species, and 12 filamentous fungi by the agar diffusion and broth dilution methods. The V. cinerea extract was found to be most effective against all of the tested organisms and the methanol fraction showed the most significant (p < 0.05) antimicrobial activity among all the soluble fractions tested. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of extracts determined by the broth dilution method ranged from 1.56 to 100.00mg/mL. The MIC of methanol fraction was the lowest in comparison to the other four extracts. The study findings indicate that bioactive natural products from these plants may be isolated for further testing as leads in the development of new pharmaceuticals in food preservation as well as natural plant-based medicine.

Antidepressant-like effects of methanol extract of Hibiscus tiliaceus flowers in mice

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Hibiscus tiliaceus L. (Malvaceae) is used in postpartum disorders. Our purpose was to examine the antidepressant, anxiolytic and sedative actions of the methanol extract of H. tiliaceus flowers using animal models. Methods Adult male Swiss albino mice were treated with saline, standard drugs or methanol extract of H. tiliaceus and then subjected to behavioral tests. The forced swimming and tail suspension tests were used as predictive animal models of antidepressant activity, where the time of immobility was considered. The animals were submitted to the elevated plus-maze and ketamine-induced sleeping time to assess anxiolytic and sedative activities, respectively. Results Methanol extract of H. tiliaceus significantly decreased the duration of immobility in both animal models of antidepressant activity, forced swimming and tail suspension tests. This extract did not potentiate the effect of ketamine-induced hypnosis, as determined by the time to onset and duration of sleeping time. Conclusion Our results indicate an antidepressant-like profile of action for the extract of Hibiscus tiliaceus without sedative side effect. PMID:22494845

Rapid Automated Sample Preparation for Biological Assays

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shusteff, M

Our technology utilizes acoustic, thermal, and electric fields to separate out contaminants such as debris or pollen from environmental samples, lyse open cells, and extract the DNA from the lysate. The objective of the project is to optimize the system described for a forensic sample, and demonstrate its performance for integration with downstream assay platforms (e.g. MIT-LL's ANDE). We intend to increase the quantity of DNA recovered from the sample beyond the current {approx}80% achieved using solid phase extraction methods. Task 1: Develop and test an acoustic filter for cell extraction. Task 2: Develop and test lysis chip. Task 3:more » Develop and test DNA extraction chip. All chips have been fabricated based on the designs laid out in last month's report.« less

Comparison of microcrystalline characterization results from oil palm midrib alpha cellulose using different delignization method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuliasmi, S.; Pardede, T. R.; Nerdy; Syahputra, H.

2017-03-01

Oil palm midrib is one of the waste generated by palm plants containing 34.89% cellulose. Cellulose has the potential to produce microcrystalline cellulose can be used as an excipient in tablet formulations by direct compression. Microcrystalline cellulose is the result of a controlled hydrolysis of alpha cellulose, so the alpha cellulose extraction process of oil palm midrib greatly affect the quality of the resulting microcrystalline cellulose. The purpose of this study was to compare the microcrystalline cellulose produced from alpha cellulose extracted from oil palm midrib by two different methods. Fisrt delignization method uses sodium hydroxide. Second method uses a mixture of nitric acid and sodium nitrite, and continued with sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfite. Microcrystalline cellulose obtained by both method was characterized separately, including organoleptic test, color reagents test, dissolution test, pH test and determination of functional groups by FTIR. The results was compared with microcrystalline cellulose which has been available on the market. The characterization results showed that microcrystalline cellulose obtained by first method has the most similar characteristics to the microcrystalline cellulose available in the market.

Assessing DNA recovery from chewing gum.

PubMed

Eychner, Alison M; Schott, Kelly M; Elkins, Kelly M

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate which DNA extraction method yields the highest quantity of DNA from chewing gum. In this study, several popular extraction methods were tested, including Chelex-100, phenol-chloroform-isoamyl alcohol (PCIA), DNA IQ, PrepFiler, and QIAamp Investigator, and the quantity of DNA recovered from chewing gum was determined using real-time polymerase chain reaction with Quantifiler. Chewed gum control samples were submitted by anonymous healthy adult donors, and discarded environmental chewing gum samples simulating forensic evidence were collected from outside public areas (e.g., campus bus stops, streets, and sidewalks). As expected, results indicate that all methods tested yielded sufficient amplifiable human DNA from chewing gum using the wet-swab method. The QIAamp performed best when DNA was extracted from whole pieces of control gum (142.7 ng on average), and the DNA IQ method performed best on the environmental whole gum samples (29.0 ng on average). On average, the QIAamp kit also recovered the most DNA from saliva swabs. The PCIA method demonstrated the highest yield with wet swabs of the environmental gum (26.4 ng of DNA on average). However, this method should be avoided with whole gum samples (no DNA yield) due to the action of the organic reagents in dissolving and softening the gum and inhibiting DNA recovery during the extraction.

Antibacterial efficacy of the seed extracts of Melia azedarach against some hospital isolated human pathogenic bacterial strains

PubMed Central

Khan, Abdul Viqar; Ahmed, Qamar Uddin; Mir, M Ramzan; Shukla, Indu; Khan, Athar Ali

2011-01-01

Objective To investigate the antibacterial potential of the polar and non-polar extracts of the seeds of Melia azedarach (M. azedarach) L. (Meliaceae) against eighteen hospital isolated human pathogenic bacterial strains. Methods Petrol, benzene, ethyl acetate, methanol, and aqueous extracts at five different concentrations (1, 2, 5, 10 and 15 mg/mL) were evaluated. Disk diffusion method was followed to evaluate the antibacterial efficacy. Results All extracts of the seeds demonstrated significant antibacterial activity against tested pathogens. Among all extracts, ethyl acetate extract revealed the highest inhibition comparatively. The present study also favored the traditional uses reported earlier. Conclusions Results of this study strongly confirm that the seed extracts of M. azedarach could be effective antibiotics, both in controlling gram-positive and gram-negative human pathogenic infections. PMID:23569812

Macroalgae Extracts From Antarctica Have Antimicrobial and Anticancer Potential

PubMed Central

Martins, Rosiane M.; Nedel, Fernanda; Guimarães, Victoria B. S.; da Silva, Adriana F.; Colepicolo, Pio; de Pereira, Claudio M. P.; Lund, Rafael G.

2018-01-01

Background: Macroalgae are sources of bioactive compounds due to the large number of secondary metabolites they synthesize. The Antarctica region is characterized by extreme weather conditions and abundant aggregations of macroalgae. However, current knowledge on their biodiversity and their potential for bio-prospecting is still fledging. This study evaluates the antimicrobial and cytotoxic activity of different extracts of four macroalgae (Cystosphaera jacquinotii, Iridaea cordata, Himantothallus grandifolius, and Pyropia endiviifolia) from the Antarctic region against cancer and non-cancer cell lines. Methods: The antimicrobial activity of macroalgae was evaluated by the broth microdilution method. Extracts were assessed against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 19095, Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 4083, Escherichia coli ATCC29214, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 9027, Candida albicans ATCC 62342, and the clinical isolates from the human oral cavity, namely, C. albicans (3), C. parapsilosis, C. glabrata, C. lipolytica, and C. famata. Cytotoxicity against human epidermoid carcinoma (A-431) and mouse embryonic fibroblast (NIH/3T3) cell lines was evaluated with MTT colorimetric assay. Results: An ethyl acetate extract of H. grandifolius showed noticeable antifungal activity against all fungal strains tested, including fluconazole-resistant samples. Cytotoxicity investigation with a cancer cell line revealed that the ethyl acetate extract of I. cordata was highly cytotoxic against A-431 cancer cell line, increasing the inhibitory ratio to 91.1 and 95.6% after 24 and 48 h exposure, respectively, for a concentration of 500 μg mL−1. Most of the algal extracts tested showed little or no cytotoxicity against fibroblasts. Conclusion: Data suggest that macroalgae extracts from Antarctica may represent a source of therapeutic agents. HIGHLIGHTS Different macroalgae samples from Antarctica were collected and the lyophilized biomass of each macroalgae was extracted sequentially with different solventsThe antimicrobial and anticancer potential of macroalgae extracts were evaluatedEthyl acetate extract of H. grandifolius showed noticeable antifungal activity against all the fungal strains tested, including fluconazole-resistant samplesEthyl acetate extract of I. cordata was highly cytotoxic against the A-431 cancer cell lineMost of the algal extracts tested showed little or no cytotoxicity against normal cell lines PMID:29568291

LC-NMR Technique in the Analysis of Phytosterols in Natural Extracts

PubMed Central

Horník, Štěpán; Sajfrtová, Marie; Sýkora, Jan; Březinová, Anna; Wimmer, Zdeněk

2013-01-01

The ability of LC-NMR to detect simultaneously free and conjugated phytosterols in natural extracts was tested. The advantages and disadvantages of a gradient HPLC-NMR method were compared to the fast composition screening using SEC-NMR method. Fractions of free and conjugated phytosterols were isolated and analyzed by isocratic HPLC-NMR methods. The results of qualitative and quantitative analyses were in a good agreement with the literature data. PMID:24455424

Discriminatory Analysis II. Factor Analysis and Discrimination

DTIC Science & Technology

1950-10-01

present In a given-’test. The last phase of factor ana2lysis is concerned -- -kv’-~ ’psyc Ig hological-siLr ifi-cance to the rectors, extract -, aed*-hee...tests. However, as IHotelling t s procedu~re is an iterative ~ one,.it can be stopped after the extraction of’ any nuLmber of coiuponenta if., one -deems...need not extract 22 ’l p factors and that one can factior R1 by this method as well as R, However, the fact remains that the coomrponents do not have

Rapid and reliable high-throughput methods of DNA extraction for use in barcoding and molecular systematics of mushrooms.

PubMed

Dentinger, Bryn T M; Margaritescu, Simona; Moncalvo, Jean-Marc

2010-07-01

We present two methods for DNA extraction from fresh and dried mushrooms that are adaptable to high-throughput sequencing initiatives, such as DNA barcoding. Our results show that these protocols yield ∼85% sequencing success from recently collected materials. Tests with both recent (<2 year) and older (>100 years) specimens reveal that older collections have low success rates and may be an inefficient resource for populating a barcode database. However, our method of extracting DNA from herbarium samples using small amount of tissue is reliable and could be used for important historical specimens. The application of these protocols greatly reduces time, and therefore cost, of generating DNA sequences from mushrooms and other fungi vs. traditional extraction methods. The efficiency of these methods illustrates that standardization and streamlining of sample processing should be shifted from the laboratory to the field. © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

A novel method for rapid determination of total solid content in viscous liquids by multiple headspace extraction gas chromatography.

PubMed

Xin, Li-Ping; Chai, Xin-Sheng; Hu, Hui-Chao; Barnes, Donald G

2014-09-05

This work demonstrates a novel method for rapid determination of total solid content in viscous liquid (polymer-enriched) samples. The method is based multiple headspace extraction gas chromatography (MHE-GC) on a headspace vial at a temperature above boiling point of water. Thus, the trend of water loss from the tested liquid due to evaporation can be followed. With the limited MHE-GC testing (e.g., 5 extractions) and a one-point calibration procedure (i.e., recording the weight difference before and after analysis), the total amount of water in the sample can be determined, from which the total solid contents in the liquid can be calculated. A number of black liquors were analyzed by the new method which yielded results that closely matched those of the reference method; i.e., the results of these two methods differed by no more than 2.3%. Compared with the reference method, the MHE-GC method is much simpler and more practical. Therefore, it is suitable for the rapid determination of the solid content in many polymer-containing liquid samples. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Protocol for the use of a rapid real-time PCR method for the detection of HIV-1 proviral DNA using double-stranded primer.

PubMed

Pau, Chou-Pong; Wells, Susan K; Granade, Timothy C

2012-01-01

This chapter describes a real-time PCR method for the detection of HIV-1 proviral DNA in whole blood samples using a novel double-stranded primer system. The assay utilizes a simple commercially available DNA extraction method and a rapid and easy-to-perform real-time PCR protocol to consistently detect a minimum of four copies of HIV-1 group M proviral DNA in as little as 90 min after sample (whole blood) collection. Co-amplification of the human RNase P gene serves as an internal control to monitor the efficiency of both the DNA extraction and amplification. Once the assay is validated properly, it may be suitable as an alternative confirmation test for HIV-1 infections in a variety of HIV testing venues including the mother-to-child transmission testing sites, clinics, and diagnostic testing centers.

Genotoxicity assessment of Pyungwi-san (PWS), a traditional herbal prescription.

PubMed

Shin, In Sik; Seo, Chang Seob; Ha, Hye Kyung; Lee, Mee Young; Huang, Dae Sun; Huh, Jung Im; Shin, Hyeun-Kyoo

2011-01-27

Pyungwi-san (PWS, Heii-san in Japanese) is a mixture of six herbs and is traditionally used in Northeast Asia (especially Korea and Japan) for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorder, such as dyspepsia and inappetance induced by gastric dilatation and gastrointestinal catarrh. Although PWS is a widely used herbal prescription in Korea and Japan, little information is available in the literature on the safety and toxicity of PWS. As part of a safety evaluation of PWS, the present study evaluated the potential genotoxicity of PWS using a standard battery of test. We prepared PWS using a water extraction method and simultaneously extracted three compounds from PWS using high performance liquid chromatography. The PWS extract that was obtained was assayed for genotoxicity using the standard three tests recommended by the Korea Food and Drug Administration. These tests included the bacterial reverse mutation test (Ames test), the chromosomal aberration test using China hamster lung cells, and the micronucleus test using ICR mice. The Ames test showed that the PWS extract did not induce an increase in the number of revertant colonies compared with vehicle control at any dose in all of tester strains. In the micronucleus test, no significant increase was observed in micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes (MNPCEs) at any dose of PWS extract compared with vehicle control. Conversely, chromosomal aberration test showed that the PWS extract at a dosage of 4500 μg/mL induced an increase in the number of chromosomal aberrations in the 6 h group with metabolic activation compared with the vehicle control. PWS extract exhibits genotoxicity, based on the results of the chromosomal aberration test. Thus, further detailed experiments will be needed to identify the ingredient responsible for inducing this genotoxicity and to determine its mechanism. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Phytochemical Screening and Antimicrobial Activity of Some Medicinal Plants Against Multi-drug Resistant Bacteria from Clinical Isolates

PubMed Central

Dahiya, Praveen; Purkayastha, Sharmishtha

2012-01-01

The in vitro antibacterial activity of various solvents and water extracts of aloe vera, neem, bryophyllum, lemongrass, tulsi, oregano, rosemary and thyme was assessed on 10 multi-drug resistant clinical isolates from both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and two standard strains including Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 and Escherichia coli ATCC 25922. The zone of inhibition as determined by agar well diffusion method varied with the plant extract, the solvent used for extraction, and the organism tested. Klebsiella pneumoniae 2, Escherichia coli 3 and Staphylococcus aureus 3 were resistant to the plant extracts tested. Moreover, water extracts did not restrain the growth of any tested bacteria. Ethanol and methanol extracts were found to be more potent being capable of exerting significant inhibitory activities against majority of the bacteria investigated. Staphylococcus aureus 1 was the most inhibited bacterial isolate with 24 extracts (60%) inhibiting its growth whereas Escherichia coli 2 exhibited strong resistance being inhibited by only 11 extracts (28%). The results obtained in the agar diffusion plates were in fair correlation with that obtained in the minimum inhibitory concentration tests. The minimum inhibitory concentration of tulsi, oregano, rosemary and aloe vera extracts was found in the range of 1.56-6.25 mg/ml for the multi-drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates tested whereas higher values (6.25-25 mg/ml) were obtained against the multi-drug resistant isolates Klebsiella pneumoniae 1 and Escherichia coli 1 and 2. Qualitative phytochemical analysis demonstrated the presence of tannins and saponins in all plants tested. Thin layer chromatography and bioautography agar overlay assay of ethanol extracts of neem, tulsi and aloe vera indicated flavonoids and tannins as major active compounds against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. PMID:23716873

Intercomparison of Lab-Based Soil Water Extraction Methods for Stable Water Isotope Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pratt, D.; Orlowski, N.; McDonnell, J.

2016-12-01

The effect of pore water extraction technique on resultant isotopic signature is poorly understood. Here we present results of an intercomparison of five common lab-based soil water extraction techniques: high pressure mechanical squeezing, centrifugation, direct vapor equilibration, microwave extraction, and cryogenic extraction. We applied five extraction methods to two physicochemically different standard soil types (silty sand and clayey loam) that were oven-dried and rewetted with water of known isotopic composition at three different gravimetric water contents (8, 20, and 30%). We tested the null hypothisis that all extraction techniques would provide the same isotopic result independent from soil type and water content. Our results showed that the extraction technique had a significant effect on the soil water isotopic composition. Each method exhibited deviations from spiked reference water, with soil type and water content showing a secondary effect. Cryogenic extraction showed the largest deviations from the reference water, whereas mechanical squeezing and centrifugation provided the closest match to the reference water for both soil types. We also compared results for each extraction technique that produced liquid water on both an OA-ICOS and IRMS; differences between them were negligible.

Liquid-liquid and solid-phase extractions of phenols from virgin olive oil and their separation by chromatographic and electrophoretic methods.

PubMed

Bendini, Alessandra; Bonoli, Matteo; Cerretani, Lorenzo; Biguzzi, Barbara; Lercker, Giovanni; Toschi, Tullia Gallina

2003-01-24

The high oxidative stability of virgin olive oil is related to its high monounsaturated/polyunsaturated ratio and to the presence of antioxidant compounds, such as tocopherols and phenols. In this paper, the isolation of phenolic compounds from virgin olive oil, by different methods, was tested and discussed. Particularly liquid-liquid and solid-phase extraction methods were compared, assaying, for the latter, three stationary phases (C8, C18 and Diol) and several elution mixtures. Quantification of phenolic and o-diphenolic substances in the extracts was performed by the traditional Folin-Ciocalteau method and the sodium molybdate reaction, respectively. Furthermore, the quantification of phenolic compounds in the extracts and in a standard mixture was carried out both with diode array and mass spectrometric detection and capillary zone electrophoresis.

Color image definition evaluation method based on deep learning method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Di; Li, YingChun

2018-01-01

In order to evaluate different blurring levels of color image and improve the method of image definition evaluation, this paper proposed a method based on the depth learning framework and BP neural network classification model, and presents a non-reference color image clarity evaluation method. Firstly, using VGG16 net as the feature extractor to extract 4,096 dimensions features of the images, then the extracted features and labeled images are employed in BP neural network to train. And finally achieve the color image definition evaluation. The method in this paper are experimented by using images from the CSIQ database. The images are blurred at different levels. There are 4,000 images after the processing. Dividing the 4,000 images into three categories, each category represents a blur level. 300 out of 400 high-dimensional features are trained in VGG16 net and BP neural network, and the rest of 100 samples are tested. The experimental results show that the method can take full advantage of the learning and characterization capability of deep learning. Referring to the current shortcomings of the major existing image clarity evaluation methods, which manually design and extract features. The method in this paper can extract the images features automatically, and has got excellent image quality classification accuracy for the test data set. The accuracy rate is 96%. Moreover, the predicted quality levels of original color images are similar to the perception of the human visual system.

Sensitivity limits and EC50 values of the Vibrio fischeri test for organic micropollutants in natural and spiked extracts from sediments

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Salizzato, M.; Bertato, V.; Pavoni, B.

1998-04-01

Chemical analyses and bioassays were used in conjunction to assess the quality of sediments of the Venice lagoon. Organic micropollutants (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons [PAHs] polychlorinated biphenyls [PCBs], and chlorinated pesticides) were extracted from sediment samples and analyzed by gas chromatography after fractionation into classes of compounds. The Vibrio fischeri test was used to assess the acute toxicity of sediment extracts. The test was applied to organic extracts before cleanup and to extracts purified from sulfur and fractionated into single classes of compounds. Extracts before purification were much more toxic than single fractions. In particular, sulfur was toxic to V. fischeri.more » For PAHs and PCBs the 50% effective concentration (EC50) and EC20 values were determined using natural and spiked extracts. Sensitivity limits of the method for these compounds were also estimated as was in EC50 value of elemental sulfur dissolved in ethanol. A mathematical model was used to fit the concentration-response data to a sigmoid curve.« less

Ridge extraction from the time-frequency representation (TFR) of signals based on an image processing approach: application to the analysis of uterine electromyogram AR TFR.

PubMed

Terrien, Jérémy; Marque, Catherine; Germain, Guy

2008-05-01

Time-frequency representations (TFRs) of signals are increasingly being used in biomedical research. Analysis of such representations is sometimes difficult, however, and is often reduced to the extraction of ridges, or local energy maxima. In this paper, we describe a new ridge extraction method based on the image processing technique of active contours or snakes. We have tested our method on several synthetic signals and for the analysis of uterine electromyogram or electrohysterogram (EHG) recorded during gestation in monkeys. We have also evaluated a postprocessing algorithm that is especially suited for EHG analysis. Parameters are evaluated on real EHG signals in different gestational periods. The presented method gives good results when applied to synthetic as well as EHG signals. We have been able to obtain smaller ridge extraction errors when compared to two other methods specially developed for EHG. The gradient vector flow (GVF) snake method, or GVF-snake method, appears to be a good ridge extraction tool, which could be used on TFR of mono or multicomponent signals with good results.

Toxicity assessment and analgesic activity investigation of aqueous acetone extracts of Sida acuta Burn f . and Sida cordifolia L. (Malvaceae), medicinal plants of Burkina Faso

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Sida acuta Burn f. and Sida cordifolia L. (Malvaceae) are traditionally used in Burkina Faso to treat several ailments, mainly pains, including abdominal infections and associated diseases. Despite the extensive use of these plants in traditional health care, literature provides little information regarding their toxicity and the pharmacology. This work was therefore designed to investigate the toxicological effects of aqueous acetone extracts of Sida acuta Burn f. and Sida cordifolia L. Furthermore, their analgesic capacity was assessed, in order to assess the efficiency of the traditional use of these two medicinal plants from Burkina Faso. Method For acute toxicity test, mice were injected different doses of each extract by intraperitoneal route and the LD50 values were determined. For the subchronic toxicity evaluation, Wistar albinos rats were treated by gavage during 28 days at different doses of aqueous acetone extracts and then haematological and biochemical parameters were determined. The analgesic effect was evaluated in mice by the acetic-acid writhing test and by the formalin test. Results For the acute toxicity test, the LD50 values of 3.2 g/kg and 3.4 g/kg respectively for S. acuta Burn f. and S. cordifolia L. were obtained. Concerning the haematological and biochemical parameters, data varied widely (increase or decrease) according to dose of extracts and weight of rats and did not show clinical correlations. The extracts have produced significant analgesic effects by the acetic acid writhing test and by the hot plate method (p <0.05) and a dose-dependent inhibition was observed. Conclusion The overall results of this study may justify the traditional uses of S. acuta and S. cordifolia . PMID:22883637

A novel feature extraction approach for microarray data based on multi-algorithm fusion

PubMed Central

Jiang, Zhu; Xu, Rong

2015-01-01

Feature extraction is one of the most important and effective method to reduce dimension in data mining, with emerging of high dimensional data such as microarray gene expression data. Feature extraction for gene selection, mainly serves two purposes. One is to identify certain disease-related genes. The other is to find a compact set of discriminative genes to build a pattern classifier with reduced complexity and improved generalization capabilities. Depending on the purpose of gene selection, two types of feature extraction algorithms including ranking-based feature extraction and set-based feature extraction are employed in microarray gene expression data analysis. In ranking-based feature extraction, features are evaluated on an individual basis, without considering inter-relationship between features in general, while set-based feature extraction evaluates features based on their role in a feature set by taking into account dependency between features. Just as learning methods, feature extraction has a problem in its generalization ability, which is robustness. However, the issue of robustness is often overlooked in feature extraction. In order to improve the accuracy and robustness of feature extraction for microarray data, a novel approach based on multi-algorithm fusion is proposed. By fusing different types of feature extraction algorithms to select the feature from the samples set, the proposed approach is able to improve feature extraction performance. The new approach is tested against gene expression dataset including Colon cancer data, CNS data, DLBCL data, and Leukemia data. The testing results show that the performance of this algorithm is better than existing solutions. PMID:25780277

A novel feature extraction approach for microarray data based on multi-algorithm fusion.

PubMed

Jiang, Zhu; Xu, Rong

2015-01-01

Feature extraction is one of the most important and effective method to reduce dimension in data mining, with emerging of high dimensional data such as microarray gene expression data. Feature extraction for gene selection, mainly serves two purposes. One is to identify certain disease-related genes. The other is to find a compact set of discriminative genes to build a pattern classifier with reduced complexity and improved generalization capabilities. Depending on the purpose of gene selection, two types of feature extraction algorithms including ranking-based feature extraction and set-based feature extraction are employed in microarray gene expression data analysis. In ranking-based feature extraction, features are evaluated on an individual basis, without considering inter-relationship between features in general, while set-based feature extraction evaluates features based on their role in a feature set by taking into account dependency between features. Just as learning methods, feature extraction has a problem in its generalization ability, which is robustness. However, the issue of robustness is often overlooked in feature extraction. In order to improve the accuracy and robustness of feature extraction for microarray data, a novel approach based on multi-algorithm fusion is proposed. By fusing different types of feature extraction algorithms to select the feature from the samples set, the proposed approach is able to improve feature extraction performance. The new approach is tested against gene expression dataset including Colon cancer data, CNS data, DLBCL data, and Leukemia data. The testing results show that the performance of this algorithm is better than existing solutions.

Final report of the amended safety assessment of Dioscorea Villosa (Wild Yam) root extract.

PubMed

2004-01-01

Dioscorea Villosa (Wild Yam) Root Extract is an extract of the rhizomes of the wild yam, D. villosa. A manufacturing process was described in which cut up and ground rhizomes are combined with an eluant (e.g., oleyl alcohol), the plant material precipitated with addition of a miscible solvent, washed, and redissolved in the original eluant. The extract contains glycoside and steroidal saponins (< or =0.4%), diosgenin (< or =3.5%), alkaloids, tannins, phytosterols, and starch. Levels of heavy metals, 1,4-dioxane, chloroform, methylene chloride, trichloroethylene, and benzene are reported to be below limits of detection. Although only one use was reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (in a body and hand preparation), industry reported uses in body and hand creams, lotions, powders, and sprays at a concentration of 0.00001% (equivalent to 0.000002% plant solids), and in moisturizing creams, lotions, powders, and sprays at concentrations up to 15% (equivalent to 0.5% plant solids). Preparations fromD. villosaare used in herbal medicine for treatment of a variety of ailments and by the pharmaceutical industry in the preparation of steroids. Using Dioscorea Villosa (Wild Yam) Root Extract prepared via a specified process, it is possible to produce a stable extract with a narrow range of diosgenin content. The extract produced using this methodology was tested in acute and short-term toxicity tests, dermal irritation tests, a sensitization test, an ocular irritation test, a rat uterotropic assay, and genotoxicity tests. An acute oral toxicity test produced hypoactivity, piloerection, and dyspnea and a death in 1 of 10 rats at 2 g/kg using the specified extract, but no toxicity in rats given 0.5 g/kg. A dermal toxicity test using the specified extract demonstrated no acute toxicity in rats. Both a 7-day local tolerance test and a 28-day dermal toxicity test in rats produced no significant adverse effects at the maximum tested concentration of 10%. A single application of undiluted extract to the intact and abraded skin of rabbits produced sufficient irritation for the test material to be rated"irritant,"but a 10% dilution was not irritating. Undiluted extract was only mildly irritating to the conjuctiva of the rabbit eye; irritation in the iris and cornea was mild and transient. Undiluted extract was not irritating during the induction phase of a guinea pig sensitization study, nor did challenge with a 25% dilution elicit any sensitization. The specified extract at concentrations up to 500 mg/kg/day did not have any estrogenic activity in the juvenile rat uterotrophic assay. Genotoxicity assays in bacterial and mammalian systems were negative, except that Ames test strain TA 1537 was positive at one dose level using the plate incorporation method, but not using a preincubation method. Although the concentration at which the actual plant extract is used in cosmetic products is low, one of the primary safety concerns with this plant extract is the possible metabolic/endocrine activity, e.g., estrogen-like or progesterone-like activity as a result of the presence of small amounts of plant phytosterols such as diosgenin. Extracts prepared as described in this safety assessment, with an upper limit of 3.5% diosgenin, did not have any estrogenic activity, demonstrating that it is possible to produce material that does not present this specific safety concern. Although extracts from pesticide-free plants were not considered genotoxic and it was the view of the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Expert Panel that there do not appear to be any components that could be carcinogenic, pesticide residues could raise this issue. It was urged that manufacturers limit pesticide residues to the limit previously used for lanolin of not more than 40 ppm (with not more than 10 ppm for any one residue). Based on these data, it was concluded that Dioscorea Villosa (Wild Yam) Root Extract is safe as used in cosmetic formulations. This conclusion regarding safety, however, is valid only for extracts prepared in a manner that produces a similar chemical profile as that described in this report, particularly as regards diosgenin. Extracts not prepared in a manner that produces a similar chemical profile would be considered safe if they have a similar safety test profile.

Conventional and unconventional extraction methods applied to the plant, Thymus serpyllum L

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Đukić, D.; Mašković, P.; Vesković Moračanin, S.; Kurćubić, V.; Milijašević, M.; Babić, J.

2017-09-01

This study deals with the application of two conventional and three non-conventional extraction approaches for isolation of bioactive compounds from the plant Thymus serpyllum L. The extracts obtained were tested regarding their chemical profile (content of phenolics, flavonoids, condensed tannins, gallotannins and anthocyanins) and antioxidant activities. Subcritical water extract of Thymus serpyllum L. generally had the highest concentrations of the chemical bioactive compounds examined and the best antioxidant properties.

Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity of polyphenolic extracts from Lactuca sativa (var. Maravilla de Verano) under different farming methods.

PubMed

Adesso, Simona; Pepe, Giacomo; Sommella, Eduardo; Manfra, Michele; Scopa, Antonio; Sofo, Adriano; Tenore, Gian Carlo; Russo, Mariateresa; Di Gaudio, Francesca; Autore, Giuseppina; Campiglia, Pietro; Marzocco, Stefania

2016-09-01

Besides their nutritional value, vegetables are a source of health-promoting compounds, such as polyphenols, and their content can be influenced by the particular farming method. In this study polyphenolic extracts from Lactuca sativa (var. Maravilla de verano) plants cultivated with different farming methods were chemically characterised and tested in vitro and ex vivo inflammation models. The tested extacts (250-2.5 µg mL(-1) ) were able to reduce both the inflammatory and oxidative stress in LPS-stimulated J774A.1 murine monocyte macrophage cells, by lowering the release of nitric oxide (NO) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) and promoting nuclear translocation of nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2; (Nrf2) and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB). In this regard, quantitative profiles revealed different amounts of polyphenols, in particular quercetin levels were higher in plants under mineral fertilised treatment. Those extract showed an enhanced anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity. Our data showed the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant potential of Maravilla de Verano polyphenolic extracts. The effect of farming methods on polyphenolic levels was highlighted. The higher reduction of inflammatory mediators release in extracts from plants cultivated under mineral fertilisation treatment was correlated to the higher amount of quercetin. These results can be useful for both nutraceutical or agronomic purposes. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

Short term spatio-temporal variability of soil water-extractable calcium and magnesium after a low severity grassland fire in Lithuania.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pereira, Paulo; Martin, David

2014-05-01

Fire has important impacts on soil nutrient spatio-temporal distribution (Outeiro et al., 2008). This impact depends on fire severity, topography of the burned area, type of soil and vegetation affected, and the meteorological conditions post-fire. Fire produces a complex mosaic of impacts in soil that can be extremely variable at small plot scale in the space and time. In order to assess and map such a heterogeneous distribution, the test of interpolation methods is fundamental to identify the best estimator and to have a better understanding of soil nutrients spatial distribution. The objective of this work is to identify the short-term spatial variability of water-extractable calcium and magnesium after a low severity grassland fire. The studied area is located near Vilnius (Lithuania) at 54° 42' N, 25° 08 E, 158 masl. Four days after the fire, it was designed in a burned area a plot with 400 m2 (20 x 20 m with 5 m space between sampling points). Twenty five samples from top soil (0-5 cm) were collected immediately after the fire (IAF), 2, 5, 7 and 9 months after the fire (a total of 125 in all sampling dates). The original data of water-extractable calcium and magnesium did not respected the Gaussian distribution, thus a neperian logarithm (ln) was applied in order to normalize data. Significant differences of water-extractable calcium and magnesium among sampling dates were carried out with the Anova One-way test using the ln data. In order to assess the spatial variability of water-extractable calcium and magnesium, we tested several interpolation methods as Ordinary Kriging (OK), Inverse Distance to a Weight (IDW) with the power of 1, 2, 3 and 4, Radial Basis Functions (RBF) - Inverse Multiquadratic (IMT), Multilog (MTG), Multiquadratic (MTQ) Natural Cubic Spline (NCS) and Thin Plate Spline (TPS) - and Local Polynomial (LP) with the power of 1 and 2. Interpolation tests were carried out with Ln data. The best interpolation method was assessed using the cross validation method. Cross-validation was obtained by taking each observation in turn out of the sample pool and estimating from the remaining ones. The errors produced (observed-predicted) are used to evaluate the performance of each method. With these data, the mean error (ME) and root mean square error (RMSE) were calculated. The best method was the one which had the lower RMSE (Pereira et al. in press). The results shown significant differences among sampling dates in the water-extractable calcium (F= 138.78, p< 0.001) and extractable magnesium (F= 160.66; p< 0.001). Water-extractable calcium and magnesium was high IAF decreasing until 7 months after the fire, rising in the last sampling date. Among the tested methods, the most accurate to interpolate the water-extractable calcium were: IAF-IDW1; 2 Months-IDW1; 5 months-OK; 7 Months-IDW4 and 9 Months-IDW3. In relation to water-extractable magnesium the best interpolation techniques were: IAF-IDW2; 2 Months-IDW1; 5 months- IDW3; 7 Months-TPS and 9 Months-IDW1. These results suggested that the spatial variability of these water-extractable is variable with the time. The causes of this variability will be discussed during the presentation. References Outeiro, L., Aspero, F., Ubeda, X. (2008) Geostatistical methods to study spatial variability of soil cation after a prescribed fire and rainfall. Catena, 74: 310-320. Pereira, P., Cerdà, A., Úbeda, X., Mataix-Solera, J. Arcenegui, V., Zavala, L. Modelling the impacts of wildfire on ash thickness in a short-term period, Land Degradation and Development, (In Press), DOI: 10.1002/ldr.2195

In vitro testing of Nd:YAG laser processed calcium phosphate coatings.

PubMed

De Carlos, A; Lusquiños, F; Pou, J; León, B; Pérez-Amor, M; Driessens, F C M; Hing, K; Best, S; Bonfield, W

2006-11-01

Nd:YAG laser cladding is a new method for deposition of a calcium phosphate onto metallic surfaces of interest in implantology. The aim of this study was to compare the biologic response of MG-63 human osteoblast-like cells grown on Ti-6Al-4V substrates coated with a calcium phosphate layer applied using different methods: plasma spraying as reference material and Nd:YAG laser cladding as test material. Tissue culture polystyrene was used as negative control. The Nd:YAG laser clad material showed a behaviour similar to the reference material, plasma spray, respective to cell morphology (SEM observations), cell proliferation (AlamarBlue assay) and cytotoxicity of extracts (MTT assay). Proliferation, as measured by the AlamarBlue assay, showed little difference in the metabolic activity of the cells on the materials over an 18 day culture period. There were no significant differences in the cellular growth response on the test material when compared to the ones exhibited by the reference material. In the solvent extraction test all the extracts had some detrimental effect on cellular activity at 100% concentration, although cells incubated in the test material extract showed a proliferation rate similar to that of the reference material. To better understand the scope of these results it should be taken into account that the Nd:YAG clad coating has recently been developed. The fact that its in vitro performance is comparable to that produced by plasma spray, a material commercially available for more than ten years, indicates that this new laser based method could be of commercial interest in the near future.

Feature Vector Construction Method for IRIS Recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Odinokikh, G.; Fartukov, A.; Korobkin, M.; Yoo, J.

2017-05-01

One of the basic stages of iris recognition pipeline is iris feature vector construction procedure. The procedure represents the extraction of iris texture information relevant to its subsequent comparison. Thorough investigation of feature vectors obtained from iris showed that not all the vector elements are equally relevant. There are two characteristics which determine the vector element utility: fragility and discriminability. Conventional iris feature extraction methods consider the concept of fragility as the feature vector instability without respect to the nature of such instability appearance. This work separates sources of the instability into natural and encodinginduced which helps deeply investigate each source of instability independently. According to the separation concept, a novel approach of iris feature vector construction is proposed. The approach consists of two steps: iris feature extraction using Gabor filtering with optimal parameters and quantization with separated preliminary optimized fragility thresholds. The proposed method has been tested on two different datasets of iris images captured under changing environmental conditions. The testing results show that the proposed method surpasses all the methods considered as a prior art by recognition accuracy on both datasets.

High Throughput Method of Extracting and Counting Strontium-90 in Urine

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shkrob, I.; Kaminski, M.; Mertz, C.

2016-03-01

A method has been developed for the rapid extraction of Sr-90 from the urine of individuals exposed to radiation in a terrorist attack. The method employs two chromatographic ion-exchange materials: Diphonix resin and Sr resin, both of which are commercially available. The Diphonix resin reduces the alkali ion concentrations below 10 mM, and the Sr resin concentrates and decontaminates strontium-90. Experimental and calculational data are given for a variety of test conditions. On the basis of these results, a flowsheet has been developed for the rapid concentration and extraction of Sr-90 from human urine samples for subsequent beta-counting.

Assessment of anti-oxidant activity of plant extracts using microbial test systems.

PubMed

Oktyabrsky, O; Vysochina, G; Muzyka, N; Samoilova, Z; Kukushkina, T; Smirnova, G

2009-04-01

To evaluate the anti-oxidant properties of extracts from 20 medicinal herbs growing in western Siberia using microbial test systems and different in vitro methods. In vivo anti-oxidant activity of extracts was evaluated for their capacity to protect bacteria, Escherichia coli, against bacteriostatic and bactericidal effects of H(2)O(2) and menadione, and action on anti-oxidant gene expression. In vitro anti-oxidant activity has been examined by a number of methods including: the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH(*))-scavenging assay, chelating activity and capacity to protect plasmid DNA against oxidative damage. In addition, total polyphenol content was determined. The extracts of Fragaria vesca, Rosa majalis, Pentaphylloides fruticosa, Alchemilla vulgaris and Pulmonaria mollis possessed the highest levels of anti-oxidant activity in vivo and in vitro. The protective properties were more closely related to the DPPH(*) radical-scavenging activity, tannin content and action on anti-oxidant gene expression than to other parameters. The extracts of medicinal plants may have anti-oxidant effects on bacteria simultaneously through several different pathways, including direct inhibition of reactive oxygen species, iron chelation and anti-oxidant genes induction. Using microbial test systems, we revealed herbs that may be used as potential sources of natural anti-oxidants.

Evaluation of sampling methods for Bacillus spore-contaminated HVAC filters

PubMed Central

Calfee, M. Worth; Rose, Laura J.; Tufts, Jenia; Morse, Stephen; Clayton, Matt; Touati, Abderrahmane; Griffin-Gatchalian, Nicole; Slone, Christina; McSweeney, Neal

2016-01-01

The objective of this study was to compare an extraction-based sampling method to two vacuum-based sampling methods (vacuum sock and 37 mm cassette filter) with regards to their ability to recover Bacillus atrophaeus spores (surrogate for Bacillus anthracis) from pleated heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) filters that are typically found in commercial and residential buildings. Electrostatic and mechanical HVAC filters were tested, both without and after loading with dust to 50% of their total holding capacity. The results were analyzed by one-way ANOVA across material types, presence or absence of dust, and sampling device. The extraction method gave higher relative recoveries than the two vacuum methods evaluated (p ≤ 0.001). On average, recoveries obtained by the vacuum methods were about 30% of those achieved by the extraction method. Relative recoveries between the two vacuum methods were not significantly different (p > 0.05). Although extraction methods yielded higher recoveries than vacuum methods, either HVAC filter sampling approach may provide a rapid and inexpensive mechanism for understanding the extent of contamination following a wide-area biological release incident. PMID:24184312

Evaluation of sampling methods for Bacillus spore-contaminated HVAC filters.

PubMed

Calfee, M Worth; Rose, Laura J; Tufts, Jenia; Morse, Stephen; Clayton, Matt; Touati, Abderrahmane; Griffin-Gatchalian, Nicole; Slone, Christina; McSweeney, Neal

2014-01-01

The objective of this study was to compare an extraction-based sampling method to two vacuum-based sampling methods (vacuum sock and 37mm cassette filter) with regards to their ability to recover Bacillus atrophaeus spores (surrogate for Bacillus anthracis) from pleated heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) filters that are typically found in commercial and residential buildings. Electrostatic and mechanical HVAC filters were tested, both without and after loading with dust to 50% of their total holding capacity. The results were analyzed by one-way ANOVA across material types, presence or absence of dust, and sampling device. The extraction method gave higher relative recoveries than the two vacuum methods evaluated (p≤0.001). On average, recoveries obtained by the vacuum methods were about 30% of those achieved by the extraction method. Relative recoveries between the two vacuum methods were not significantly different (p>0.05). Although extraction methods yielded higher recoveries than vacuum methods, either HVAC filter sampling approach may provide a rapid and inexpensive mechanism for understanding the extent of contamination following a wide-area biological release incident. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Total lipid extraction of homogenized and intact lean fish muscles using pressurized fluid extraction and batch extraction techniques.

PubMed

Isaac, Giorgis; Waldebäck, Monica; Eriksson, Ulla; Odham, Göran; Markides, Karin E

2005-07-13

The reliability and efficiency of pressurized fluid extraction (PFE) technique for the extraction of total lipid content from cod and the effect of sample treatment on the extraction efficiency have been evaluated. The results were compared with two liquid-liquid extraction methods, traditional and modified methods according to Jensen. Optimum conditions were found to be with 2-propanol/n-hexane (65:35, v/v) as a first and n-hexane/diethyl ether (90:10, v/v) as a second solvent, 115 degrees C, and 10 min of static time. PFE extracts were cleaned up using the same procedure as in the methods according to Jensen. When total lipid yields obtained from homogenized cod muscle using PFE were compared yields obtained with original and modified Jensen methods, PFE gave significantly higher yields, approximately 10% higher (t test, P < 0.05). Infrared and NMR spectroscopy suggested that the additional material that inflates the gravimetric results is rather homogeneous and is primarily consists of phospholipid with headgroups of inositidic and/or glycosidic nature. The comparative study demonstrated that PFE is an alternative suitable technique to extract total lipid content from homogenized cod (lean fish) and herring (fat fish) muscle showing a precision comparable to that obtained with the traditional and modified Jensen methods. Despite the necessary cleanup step, PFE showed important advantages in the solvent consumption was cut by approximately 50% and automated extraction was possible.

Gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric determination of alkylphosphonic acids from aqueous samples by ion-pair solid-phase extraction on activated charcoal and methylation.

PubMed

Vijaya Saradhi, U V R; Prabhakar, S; Jagadeshwar Reddy, T; Murty, M R V S

2007-07-20

In the present paper, we report an improved ion-pair solid-phase extraction (IP-SPE) method for the analysis of alkylphosphonic acids, namely, methyl, ethyl and propylphosphonic acids, present in the aqueous sample. The aqueous sample was mixed with an ion-pair reagent, phenyltrimethylammonium hydroxide (PTMAH) and passed through activated charcoal SPE cartridge. The retained chemicals in the cartridge were extracted with methanol and analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) under the electron impact ionization (EI) mode. The analytes were converted to their methyl esters by pyrolytic methylation in the hot GC injection port. The recoveries of alkylphosphonic acids were above 95% and the minimum detection limits were as low as 10 ng/mL. The recovery of the test chemicals was tested with solvents, dichloromethane, n-hexane, ethyl acetate, acetone, acetonitrile and methanol. The chemicals could be efficiently extracted by the hydrophilic solvents. The method did not work at the highly acidic pH (when acidified with dilute HCl) but worked well from pH 4.0 to 14.0. The present method was also tested with other tetra-(methyl, ethyl, propyl and n-butyl)ammonium hydroxides. The test chemicals were not converted to their methyl and ethyl esters with tetramethyl and tetraethylammonium hydroxides, whereas they were converted to their corresponding propyl and n-butyl esters with tetrapropyl and tetra(n-butyl)ammonium hydroxides. The method was also applied to two highly cross-linked polymeric sorbents DSC-6S and Oasis HLB. The recovery of the chemicals on these sorbents was observed to be poor. Methylation using phenyltrimethylammonium hydroxide is non-hazardous and advantageous over methylation using diazomethane. The method was applied to the analysis of aqueous samples given in one of the official proficiency tests conducted by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and all the spiked chemicals were identified as methyl esters.

Comparison of DNA extraction methods for human gut microbial community profiling.

PubMed

Lim, Mi Young; Song, Eun-Ji; Kim, Sang Ho; Lee, Jangwon; Nam, Young-Do

2018-03-01

The human gut harbors a vast range of microbes that have significant impact on health and disease. Therefore, gut microbiome profiling holds promise for use in early diagnosis and precision medicine development. Accurate profiling of the highly complex gut microbiome requires DNA extraction methods that provide sufficient coverage of the original community as well as adequate quality and quantity. We tested nine different DNA extraction methods using three commercial kits (TianLong Stool DNA/RNA Extraction Kit (TS), QIAamp DNA Stool Mini Kit (QS), and QIAamp PowerFecal DNA Kit (QP)) with or without additional bead-beating step using manual or automated methods and compared them in terms of DNA extraction ability from human fecal sample. All methods produced DNA in sufficient concentration and quality for use in sequencing, and the samples were clustered according to the DNA extraction method. Inclusion of bead-beating step especially resulted in higher degrees of microbial diversity and had the greatest effect on gut microbiome composition. Among the samples subjected to bead-beating method, TS kit samples were more similar to QP kit samples than QS kit samples. Our results emphasize the importance of mechanical disruption step for a more comprehensive profiling of the human gut microbiome. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier GmbH.. All rights reserved.

Background information for the Leaching environmental Assessment Framework (LEAF) test methods

EPA Science Inventory

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery has initiated the review and validation process for four leaching tests under consideration for inclusion into SW-846: Method 1313 "Liquid-Solid Partitioning as a Function of Extract pH for Co...

Antimicrobial activity of Miconia species (Melastomataceae).

PubMed

Rodrigues, Juliana; Michelin, Danielle Carvalho; Rinaldo, Daniel; Zocolo, Guilherme Julião; dos Santos, Lourdes Campaner; Vilegas, Wagner; Salgado, Hérida Regina Nunes

2008-03-01

This work evaluated the antimicrobial activity of the methanol and chloroform extracts of the leaves of Miconia cabucu, Miconia rubiginosa, and Miconia stenostachya using the disc-diffusion method. The results obtained showed that the methanol extracts of the leaves of M. rubiginosa and M. stenostachya and the chloroform extract of the leaves of M. cabucu presented antimicrobial activity against the tested microorganisms.

Quantitative determination of 5-hydroxy-N-methylpyrrolidone in urine for biological monitoring of N-methylpyrrolidone exposure.

PubMed

Ligocka, D; Lison, D; Haufroid, V

2002-10-05

The aim of this work was to validate a sensitive method for quantitative analysis of 5-hydroxy-N-methylpyrrolidone (5-HNMP) in urine. This compound has been recommended as a marker for biological monitoring of N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) exposure. Different solvents and alternative methods of extraction including liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) on Chem Elut and solid-phase extraction (SPE) on Oasis HLB columns were tested. The most efficient extraction of 5-HNMP in urine was LLE with Chem Elut columns and dichloromethane as a solvent (consistently 22% of recovery). The urinary extracts were derivatized by bis(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide and analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) with tetradeutered 5-HNMP as an internal standard. The detection limit of this method is 0.017 mg/l urine with an intraassay precision of 1.6-2.6%. The proposed method of extraction is simple and reproducible. Four different m/z signal ratios of TMS-5-HNMP and tetralabelled TMS-5-HNMP have been validated and could be indifferently used in case of unexpected impurities from urine matrix. Copyright 2002 Elsevier Science B.V.

DNA extraction methods for detecting genetically modified foods: A comparative study.

PubMed

Elsanhoty, Rafaat M; Ramadan, Mohamed Fawzy; Jany, Klaus Dieter

2011-06-15

The work presented in this manuscript was achieved to compare six different methods for extracting DNA from raw maize and its derived products. The methods that gave higher yield and quality of DNA were chosen to detect the genetic modification in the samples collected from the Egyptian market. The different methods used were evaluated for extracting DNA from maize kernels (without treatment), maize flour (mechanical treatment), canned maize (sweet corn), frozen maize (sweet corn), maize starch, extruded maize, popcorn, corn flacks, maize snacks, and bread made from corn flour (mechanical and thermal treatments). The quality and quantity of the DNA extracted from the standards, containing known percentages of GMO material and from the different food products were evaluated. For qualitative detection of the GMO varieties in foods, the GMOScreen 35S/NOS test kit was used, to screen the genetic modification in the samples. The positive samples for the 35S promoter and/or the NOS terminator were identified by the standard methods adopted by EU. All of the used methods extracted yielded good DNA quality. However, we noted that the purest DNA extract were obtained using the DNA extraction kit (Roche) and this generally was the best method for extracting DNA from most of the maize-derived foods. We have noted that the yield of DNA extracted from maize-derived foods was generally lower in the processed products. The results indicated that 17 samples were positive for the presence of 35S promoter, while 34% from the samples were positive for the genetically modified maize line Bt-176. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of analgesic, antipyretic and anti-inflammatory activity on Cordia dichotoma G. Forst. Leaf

PubMed Central

Gupta, Richa; Kaur, Jagjit

2015-01-01

Background: Cordia dichotoma G. Forst. is an important medicinal plant of family Boraginaceae. Traditionally, its leaves are used to treat fever, headache, and joint pain but its medicinal activities have not been proven by research. Objective: To evaluate the analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and antipyretic activity of C. dichotoma G. Forst. leaf extract. Material and Methods: The various extracts of leaf powder were prepared by using soxhlet apparatus. The methanol extract was selected for pharmacological study. To evaluate analgesic activity, Eddy's hot plate method, to study anti-inflammatory activity, carageenan-induced rat paw edema method, and to study antipyretic activity, yeast-induced pyrexia method was used. SD female rats (180-200 g) were used for the study. Results: In all three tests, the methanol extract high dose (400 mg/kg) was found to be highly significant as compared to standard drug. Conclusion: This study proved the traditional uses of plant leaves and concluded the analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and antipyretic activity of the leaf methanol extract. PMID:25598647

Survey of the Methods and Reporting Practices in Published Meta-analyses of Test Performance: 1987 to 2009

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dahabreh, Issa J.; Chung, Mei; Kitsios, Georgios D.; Terasawa, Teruhiko; Raman, Gowri; Tatsioni, Athina; Tobar, Annette; Lau, Joseph; Trikalinos, Thomas A.; Schmid, Christopher H.

2013-01-01

We performed a survey of meta-analyses of test performance to describe the evolution in their methods and reporting. Studies were identified through MEDLINE (1966-2009), reference lists, and relevant reviews. We extracted information on clinical topics, literature review methods, quality assessment, and statistical analyses. We reviewed 760…

The t-CWT: a new ERP detection and quantification method based on the continuous wavelet transform and Student's t-statistics.

PubMed

Bostanov, Vladimir; Kotchoubey, Boris

2006-12-01

This study was aimed at developing a method for extraction and assessment of event-related brain potentials (ERP) from single-trials. This method should be applicable in the assessment of single persons' ERPs and should be able to handle both single ERP components and whole waveforms. We adopted a recently developed ERP feature extraction method, the t-CWT, for the purposes of hypothesis testing in the statistical assessment of ERPs. The t-CWT is based on the continuous wavelet transform (CWT) and Student's t-statistics. The method was tested in two ERP paradigms, oddball and semantic priming, by assessing individual-participant data on a single-trial basis, and testing the significance of selected ERP components, P300 and N400, as well as of whole ERP waveforms. The t-CWT was also compared to other univariate and multivariate ERP assessment methods: peak picking, area computation, discrete wavelet transform (DWT) and principal component analysis (PCA). The t-CWT produced better results than all of the other assessment methods it was compared with. The t-CWT can be used as a reliable and powerful method for ERP-component detection and testing of statistical hypotheses concerning both single ERP components and whole waveforms extracted from either single persons' or group data. The t-CWT is the first such method based explicitly on the criteria of maximal statistical difference between two average ERPs in the time-frequency domain and is particularly suitable for ERP assessment of individual data (e.g. in clinical settings), but also for the investigation of small and/or novel ERP effects from group data.

Effect of ultrasonic treatment on the polyphenol content and antioxidant capacity of extract from defatted hemp, flax and canola seed cakes.

PubMed

Teh, Sue-Siang; Birch, Edward John

2014-01-01

The effectiveness of ultrasonic extraction of phenolics and flavonoids from defatted hemp, flax and canola seed cakes was compared to the conventional extraction method. Ultrasonic treatment at room temperature showed increased polyphenol extraction yield and antioxidant capacity by two-fold over the conventional extraction method. Different combinations of ultrasonic treatment parameters consisting of solvent volume (25, 50, 75 and 100 mL), extraction time (20, 30 and 40 min) and temperature (40, 50, 60 and 70 °C) were selected for polyphenol extractions from the seed cakes. The chosen parameters had a significant effect (p<0.05) on the polyphenol extraction yield and subsequent antioxidant capacity from the seed cakes. Application of heat during ultrasonic extraction yielded higher polyphenol content in extracts compared to the non-heated extraction. From an orthogonal design test, the best combination of parameters was 50 mL of solvent volume, 20 min of extraction time and 70 °C of ultrasonic temperature. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Antimicrobial effects of Citrus sinensis peel extracts against dental caries bacteria: An in vitro study

PubMed Central

Shetty, Sapna B.; Mahin-Syed-Ismail, Prabu; Varghese, Shaji; Thomas-George, Bibin; Kandathil- Thajuraj, Pathinettam; Baby, Deepak; Haleem, Shaista; Sreedhar, Sreeja

2016-01-01

Background Ethnomedicine is gaining admiration since years but still there is abundant medicinal flora which is unrevealed through research. The study was conducted to assess the in vitro antimicrobial potential and also determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of Citrus sinensis peel extracts with a view of searching a novel extract as a remedy for dental caries pathogens. Material and Methods Aqueous and ethanol (cold and hot) extracts prepared from peel of Citrus sinensis were screened for in vitro antimicrobial activity against Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus acidophilus, using agar well diffusion method. The lowest concentration of every extract considered as the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values were determined for both test organisms. One way ANOVA with Post Hoc Bonferroni test was applied for statistical analysis. Confidence level and level of significance were set at 95% and 5% respectively. Results Dental caries pathogens were inhibited most by hot ethanolic extract of Citrus sinensispeel followed by cold ethanolic extract. Aqueous extracts were effective at very high concentrations. Minimum inhibitory concentration of hot and cold ethanolic extracts of Citrus sinensis peel ranged between 12-15 mg/ml against both the dental caries pathogens. Conclusions Citrus sinensispeels extract was found to be effective against dental caries pathogens and contain compounds with therapeutic potential. Nevertheless, clinical trials on the effect of these plants are essential before advocating large-scale therapy. Key words:Agar well diffusion, antimicrobial activity, dental caries, Streptococcus mutans, Lactobacillus acidophilus. PMID:26855710

Phytochemical screening and antioxidant activity of ethanolic extract and ethyl acetate fraction from basil leaf (Ocimum basilicum L.) by DPPH radical scavenging method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Warsi; Sholichah, A. R.

2017-11-01

Basil leaf (Ocimum basilicum L.) contains various compounds such as flavonoid, alkaloid, phenol and essential oil, so it needs to be fractionated to find out the flavonoid compound with the greatest potential as an antioxidant. This research was aimed to know the chemical compound, antioxidant potential of ethanolic extract and ethyl acetate fraction from basil leaf. The basil leaf was extracted by maceration using ethanol 70 %. The crude extract was fractionated with ethyl acetate. The ethanolic extract and ethyl acetate fraction were screened of phytochemical content including identification of flavonoids, alkaloids and polyphenolics. The antioxidant activity of the ethanolic extract and ethyl acetate fraction were tested qualitatively with 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and phosphomolybdate. Its antioxidant activity was determined quantitatively using DPPH radical scavenging method. Phytochemical screening test showed that ethanolic extract and ethyl acetate fraction from basil leaf contain flavonoids, polyphenolics, and alkaloids. The qualitative analysis of antioxidant activity of ethanolic extract and ethyl acetate fraction from basil leaf showed an antioxidant activity. The IC50 value of ethanolic extract, ethyl acetate fraction and quercetin were 1,374.00±6.20 389.00±1.00 2.10±0.01μg/mL, respectively. The research showed that antioxidant activity of the ethyl acetate fraction more potential than the ethanol extract of the basil leaf, but less than quercetin.

Ammonium chloride salting out extraction/cleanup for trace-level quantitative analysis in food and biological matrices by flow injection tandem mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Nanita, Sergio C; Padivitage, Nilusha L T

2013-03-20

A sample extraction and purification procedure that uses ammonium-salt-induced acetonitrile/water phase separation was developed and demonstrated to be compatible with the recently reported method for pesticide residue analysis based on fast extraction and dilution flow injection mass spectrometry (FED-FI-MS). The ammonium salts evaluated were chloride, acetate, formate, carbonate, and sulfate. A mixture of NaCl and MgSO4, salts used in the well-known QuEChERS method, was also tested for comparison. With thermal decomposition/evaporation temperature of <350°C, ammonium salts resulted in negligible ion source residual under typical electrospray conditions, leading to consistent method performance and less instrument cleaning. Although all ammonium salts tested induced acetonitrile/water phase separation, NH4Cl yielded the best performance, thus it was the preferred salting out agent. The NH4Cl salting out method was successfully coupled with FI/MS/MS and tested for fourteen pesticide active ingredients: chlorantraniliprole, cyantraniliprole, chlorimuron ethyl, oxamyl, methomyl, sulfometuron methyl, chlorsulfuron, triflusulfuron methyl, azimsulfuron, flupyrsulfuron methyl, aminocyclopyrachlor, aminocyclopyrachlor methyl, diuron and hexazinone. A validation study was conducted with nine complex matrices: sorghum, rice, grapefruit, canola, milk, eggs, beef, urine and blood plasma. The method is applicable to all analytes, except aminocyclopyrachlor. The method was deemed appropriate for quantitative analysis in 114 out of 126 analyte/matrix cases tested (applicability rate=0.90). The NH4Cl salting out extraction/cleanup allowed expansion of FI/MS/MS for analysis in food of plant and animal origin, and body fluids with increased ruggedness and sensitivity, while maintaining high-throughput (run time=30s/sample). Limits of quantitation (LOQs) of 0.01mgkg(-1) (ppm), the 'well-accepted standard' in pesticide residue analysis, were achieved in >80% of cases tested; while limits of detection (LODs) were typically in the range of 0.001-0.01mgkg(-1) (ppm). A comparison to a well-established HPLC/MS/MS method was also conducted, yielding comparable results, thus confirming the suitability of NH4Cl salting out FI/MS/MS for pesticide residue analysis. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Choice of solvent extraction technique affects fatty acid composition of pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) oil.

PubMed

Abdolshahi, Anna; Majd, Mojtaba Heydari; Rad, Javad Sharifi; Taheri, Mehrdad; Shabani, Aliakbar; Teixeira da Silva, Jaime A

2015-04-01

Pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) oil has important nutritional and therapeutic properties because of its high concentration of essential fatty acids. The extraction method used to obtain natural compounds from raw material is critical for product quality, in particular to protect nutritional value. This study compared the fatty acid composition of pistachio oil extracted by two conventional procedures, Soxhlet extraction and maceration, analyzed by a gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID). Four solvents with different polarities were tested: n-hexane (Hx), dichloromethane (DCM), ethyl acetate (EtAc) and ethanol (EtOH). The highest unsaturated fatty acid content (88.493 %) was obtained by Soxhlet extraction with EtAc. The Soxhlet method extracted the most oleic and linolenic acids (51.99 % and 0.385 %, respectively) although a higher concentration (36.32 %) of linoleic acid was extracted by maceration.

A rapid and simple method for estimating sulfate reduction activity and quantifying inorganic sulfides

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ulrich, G.A.; Krumholz, L.R.; Suflita, J.M.

1997-01-01

A simplified passive extraction procedure for quantifying reduced inorganic sulfur compounds from sediments and water is presented. This method may also be used for the estimation of sulfate reduction rates. Efficient extraction of FeS, FeS(inf2), and S(sup2-) was obtained with this procedure; however, the efficiency for S(sup0) depended on the form that was tested. Passive extraction can be used with samples containing up to 20 mg of reduced sulfur. We demonstrated the utility of this technique in a determination of both sulfate reduction rates and reduced inorganic sulfur pools in marine and freshwater sediments. A side-by-side comparison of the passive extraction method with the established single-step distillation technique yielded comparable results with a fraction of the effort.

Determination of free fatty acids in beer.

PubMed

Bravi, Elisabetta; Marconi, Ombretta; Sileoni, Valeria; Perretti, Giuseppe

2017-01-15

Free fatty acids (FFA) content of beer affects the ability to form a stable head of foam and plays an important role in beer staling. Moreover, the presence of saturated FAs is related sometimes to gushing problems in beer. The aim of this research was to validate an analytical method for the determination of FFAs in beer. The extraction of FFAs in beer was achieved via Liquid-Liquid Cartridge Extraction (LLCE), the FFAs extract was purified by Solid Phase Extraction (SPE), methylated by boron trifluoride in methanol, and injected into GC-FID system. The performance criteria demonstrate that this method is suitable for the analysis of medium and long chain FFAs in beer. The proposed method was tested on four experimental beers. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pressurized liquid extracts from Spirulina platensis microalga. Determination of their antioxidant activity and preliminary analysis by micellar electrokinetic chromatography.

PubMed

Herrero, Miguel; Ibáñez, Elena; Cifuentes, Alejandro; Señoráns, Javier

2004-08-27

In this work, different extracts from the microalga Spirulina platensis are obtained using pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) and four different solvents (hexane, light petroleum, ethanol and water). Different extraction temperatures (115 and 170 degrees C) were tested using extraction times ranging from 9 to 15 min. The antioxidant activity of the different extracts is determined by means of an in vitro assay using a free radical method. Moreover, a new and fast method is developed using micellar electrokinetic chromatography with diode array detection (MEKC-DAD) to provide a preliminary analysis on the composition of the extracts. This combined application (i.e., in vitro assays plus MEKC-DAD) allowed the fast characterization of the extracts based on their antioxidant activity and the UV-vis spectra of the different compounds found in the extracts. To our knowledge, this work shows for the first time the great possibilities of the combined use of PLE-in vitro assay-MEKC-DAD to investigate natural sources of antioxidants.

Variability of protein content in calcium oxalate monohydrate stones.

PubMed

Williams, James C; Zarse, Chad A; Jackson, Molly E; Witzmann, Frank A; McAteer, James A

2006-08-01

Urinary stones are heterogeneous in their fragility to lithotripter shockwaves. As a first step in gaining a better understanding of the role of matrix in stone fragility, we measured extractible protein in calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM) stones that were extensively characterized by micro-computed tomography (micro CT). Stones were scanned using micro CT (Scanco mCT20, 34 microm). They were ground, and the protein extracted using four methods: 0.25M EDTA, 2% SDS reducing buffer, 9M urea buffer, and 10% acetic acid. Protein was measured using NanoOrange. The SDS extracts were also examined using polyacrylamide electrophoresis (PAGE). Extracted protein was highest with the SDS or urea methods (0.28% +/- 0.13% and 0.24% +/- 0.11%, respectively) and lower using the EDTA method (0.17% +/- 0.05%; P < 0.02). Acetic acid extracted little protein (0.006 +/- 0.002%; P < 0.001). Individual stones were significantly different in extractability of protein by the different methods, and SDS-PAGE revealed different protein patterns for individual stones. Extracted protein did not correlate with X-ray-lucent void percentage, which ranged from 0.06% to 2.8% of stone volume, or with apatite content. Extractible stone-matrix protein differs for individual COM stones, and yield is dependent on the extraction method. The presence of X-ray-lucent voids or minor amounts of apatite in stones did not correlate with protein content. The amounts of protein recovered were much lower than reported by Boyce, showing that these methods extracted only a fraction of the protein bound up in the stones. The results suggest that none of the methods tested will be useful for helping to answer the question of whether matrix content differs among stones of differing fragility to lithotripter shockwaves.

Anxiolytic activity of Nymphaea alba Linn. in mice as experimental models of anxiety

PubMed Central

Thippeswamy, B.S.; Mishra, Brijesh; Veerapur, V.P.; Gupta, Gourav

2011-01-01

Objective: The aim of the present work was to evaluate the anxiolytic effect of an ethanolic extract of Nymphaea alba Linn. in mice. Materials and Methods: The elevated plus maze test (EPMT), light and dark test (L and DT) and open field test (OFT) were used to assess the anxiolytic activity of the ethanolic extract of N. alba Linn. in mice. In addition, aggressive behavior and motor coordination was also assessed by foot shock induced aggression test (FSIAT) and rota rod test (RRT). Diazepam 1 mg/kg served as a standard anxiolytic drug, administered orally. Results: The ethanolic extract of N. alba (100 and 200 mg/kg, p.o.) significantly increased the percentage of time spent and number of entries in open arm in EPMT. In L and DT, the extract produced significant increase in time spent, number of crossing and decrease in the duration of immobility in light box. In OFT, the extract showed significant increase in number of rearings, assisted rearings and number of square crossed, all of which are demonstrations of exploratory behavior. In FSIAT, N. alba extract attenuated aggressive behavior related to anxiolytic activity, such as number of vocalization, leaps, rearing, biting/attacks and facing each other in paired mice. Furthermore, the extract produced skeletal muscle relaxant effect assessed by RRT. Conclusion: The results of the present study suggest that an ethanolic extract of N. alba may possess anxiolytic activity and provide a scientific evidence for its traditional claim. PMID:21455422

Analysis of phytochemical profile of Terminalia arjuna bark extract with antioxidative and antimicrobial properties

PubMed Central

Mandal, Shreya; Patra, Arpita; Samanta, Animesh; Roy, Suchismita; Mandal, Arpita; Mahapatra, Tapasi Das; Pradhan, Shrabani; Das, Koushik; Nandi, Dilip Kumar

2013-01-01

Objective To investigate phytochemical screening, antimicrobial activity and qualitative thin layer chromatographic separation of flavonoid components, antioxidant activity and total flavonoid compound of Terminalia arjuna. Methods For phytochemical screening, some common and available standard tests were done. Antimicrobial bioassay was done through agar well diffusion method. Detection of antioxidant activity and flavonoid compounds were done through thin layer chromatography. Total antioxidant activity was measured by 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) in colorimetric method. Aluminum chloride colorimetric method was used for total flavonoid determination. Results Phytochemical screening showed the active compounds presence in high concentration, such as phytosterol, lactones, flavonoids, phenolic compounds and tannins and glycosides. The antimicrobial activity of extract showed that greater inhibition zone against Gram negative bacteria than Gram positive bacteria. This methanolic extract showed a promising antioxidant activity, as absorption of DPPH redicles decreased in DPPH free radical scavenging assay. Flavonoids components having antioxidant property present in the methanol extract at a level of 199.00 mg quercetin equivalent/g of dried methanol extract in colorimetric method. Conclusions The Terminalia arjuna bark extract revealed the presence of bio-active constituents which are known to exhibit medicinal as well as physiological activities. PMID:24093787

BMAA extraction of cyanobacteria samples: which method to choose?

PubMed

Lage, Sandra; Burian, Alfred; Rasmussen, Ulla; Costa, Pedro Reis; Annadotter, Heléne; Godhe, Anna; Rydberg, Sara

2016-01-01

β-N-Methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA), a neurotoxin reportedly produced by cyanobacteria, diatoms and dinoflagellates, is proposed to be linked to the development of neurological diseases. BMAA has been found in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems worldwide, both in its phytoplankton producers and in several invertebrate and vertebrate organisms that bioaccumulate it. LC-MS/MS is the most frequently used analytical technique in BMAA research due to its high selectivity, though consensus is lacking as to the best extraction method to apply. This study accordingly surveys the efficiency of three extraction methods regularly used in BMAA research to extract BMAA from cyanobacteria samples. The results obtained provide insights into possible reasons for the BMAA concentration discrepancies in previous publications. In addition and according to the method validation guidelines for analysing cyanotoxins, the TCA protein precipitation method, followed by AQC derivatization and LC-MS/MS analysis, is now validated for extracting protein-bound (after protein hydrolysis) and free BMAA from cyanobacteria matrix. BMAA biological variability was also tested through the extraction of diatom and cyanobacteria species, revealing a high variance in BMAA levels (0.0080-2.5797 μg g(-1) DW).

Comparison study of two procedures for the determination of emamectin benzoate in medicated fish feed.

PubMed

Farer, Leslie J; Hayes, John M

2005-01-01

A new method has been developed for the determination of emamectin benzoate in fish feed. The method uses a wet extraction, cleanup by solid-phase extraction, and quantitation and separation by liquid chromatography (LC). In this paper, we compare the performance of this method with that of a previously reported LC assay for the determination of emamectin benzoate in fish feed. Although similar to the previous method, the new procedure uses a different sample pretreatment, wet extraction, and quantitation method. The performance of the new method was compared with that of the previously reported method by analyses of 22 medicated feed samples from various commercial sources. A comparison of the results presented here reveals slightly lower assay values obtained with the new method. Although a paired sample t-test indicates the difference in results is significant, this difference is within the method precision of either procedure.

Phytochemical screening and antibacterial activity of Cyclamen persicum Mill tuber extracts.

PubMed

Alkowni, Raed; Jodeh, Shehdeh; Hussein, Fatima; Jaradat, Nidal

2018-01-01

The emerging drug resistance bacteria increased the demand on the discovery of antibiotics from natural sources. This research was aimed to study the antibacterial reactivity; as well as the phytochemicals, of the wild type of Cyclamen persicum, using nine different extraction methods where four solvents (Methanol, Ethanol, Hexane; and Water) were involved with varied extraction periods ranged from 2 up to 10 hours. The antibacterial activity of crude methanol extract (CME) was found as the best method of extraction, with particular emphasis on the method with prolonged extraction time of (10 hrs). The antibacterial activities of produced CME were determined by using agar diffusion method against two of gram-positive bacteria and two gram-negative ones. The CME treated Mueller-Hinton-Agar plates, were exhibited antibacterial effects against the gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis) by showing of inhibition zone after overnight incubation, while nothing was noticed on those of gram negative ones (Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli). These results that proved the antibacterial activity of the Cyclamen persicum tubers were positively tested the Saponin glycosides from plant. In addition to that, methanol solvent could be the useful method for extractions of Cyclamen and can be used in any developing drugs against pathogenic gram positive bacteria.

Anticandidal, antibacterial, cytotoxic and antioxidant activities of Calendula arvensis flowers.

PubMed

Abudunia, A-M; Marmouzi, I; Faouzi, M E A; Ramli, Y; Taoufik, J; El Madani, N; Essassi, E M; Salama, A; Khedid, K; Ansar, M; Ibrahimi, A

2017-03-01

Calendula arvensis (CA) is one of the important plants used in traditional medicine in Morocco, due to its interesting chemical composition. The present study aimed to determine the anticandidal, antioxidant and antibacterial activities, and the effects of extracts of CA flowers on the growth of myeloid cancer cells. Also, to characterize the chemical composition of the plant. Flowers of CA were collected based on ethnopharmacological information from the villages around the region Rabat-Khemisset, Moroccco. The hexane and methanol extracts were obtained by soxhlet extraction, while aqueous extracts was obtained by maceration in cold water. CA extracts were assessed for antioxidant activity using four different methods (DPPH, FRAP, TEAC, β-carotene bleaching test). Furthermore, the phenolic and flavonoid contents were measured, also the antimicrobial activity has been evaluated by the well diffusion method using several bacterial and fungal strains. Finally, extracts cytotoxicity was assessed using MTT test. Phytochemical quantification of the methanolic and aqueous extracts revealed that they were rich with flavonoid and phenolic content and were found to possess considerable antioxidant activities. MIC values of methanolic extracts were 12.5-25μg/mL. While MIC values of hexanolic extracts were between 6.25-12.5μg/mL and were bacteriostatic for all bacteria while methanolic and aqueous extracts were bactericidal. In addition, the extracts exhibited no activity on Candida species except the methanolic extract, which showed antifungal activity onCandida tropicalis 1 and Candida famata 1. The methanolic and aqueous extracts also exhibited antimyeloid cancer activity (IC 50 of 31μg/mL). In our study, we conclude that the methanolic and aqueous extracts were a promising source of antioxidant, antimicrobial and cytotoxic agents. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Determination of saponins and flavonoids in ivy leaf extracts using HPLC-DAD.

PubMed

Yu, Miao; Shin, Young June; Kim, Nanyoung; Yoo, Guijae; Park, SeonJu; Kim, Seung Hyun

2015-04-01

A new method for the determination of six compounds, chlorogenic acid, rutin, nicotiflorin, hederacoside C, hederasaponin B and α-hederin, in ivy leaf extracts using high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detector was developed. The chromatographic separation was performed on a YMC Hydrosphere C18 analytical column using a gradient elution of 0.1% phosphoric acid and acetonitrile. The method was validated in terms of specificity, linearity (r(2) > 0.9999), precision [relative standard deviation (RSD) < 0.36%] and accuracy (97.4-103.8%). The limit of detection and limit of quantification were <20.32 and 61.56 ng for all analytes, respectively. The tested compounds were found to be stable in the ivy leaf extract from 0 to 48 h, and the RSD value for each compound was <0.90%. The validated method was successfully applied to quantify all six compounds in a 30% ethanol ivy leaf extract and 13 ivy leaf extract products. The results showed that all the tested products satisfied the minimum requirement for the content of hederacoside C. However, there were some differences between the contents of other constituents. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Isolation and identification of Salmonella from curry samples and its sensitivity to commercial antibiotics and aqueous extracts of Camelia sinensis (L.) and Trachyspermum ammi (L.)

PubMed Central

Gunasegaran, Thanes; Rathinam, Xavier; Kasi, Marimuthu; Sathasivam, Kathiresan; Sreenivasan, Sasidharan; Subramaniam, Sreeramanan

2011-01-01

Objective To isolate Salmonella from curry samples and to evaluate the drug sensitivity of the food-borne Salmonella and its susceptibility to specific plant extracts. Methods Salmonella was isolated from the curry samples by standard microbiological methods and was confirmed by biochemical tests. The antibiotic susceptibility test was conducted by disc diffusion method using commercially available antibiotics such as ampicillin, tetracycline, chloramphenicol, kanamycin, and penicillin. In addition, the susceptibility of the food-borne Salmonella was also evaluated against the aqueous extracts of Camelia sinensis (L.) Theaceae (tea leaves) and the Trachyspermum ammi (L.) Apiaceae ( ajwain or omum seeds). Results Out of fifty curry samples, only seven samples were identified to have Salmonella contamination. The Salmonella isolates showed a significant drug resistance pattern except for kanamycin. The plant extracts showed a considerable antibacterial activity against the isolates, indicating the presence of antimicrobial principle which can be exploited after complete pharmacological investigations. Conclusions The present study demonstrates the occurrence of Salmonella in the curry samples, and shows significant drug resistance against most of the commercially available antibiotics, except kanamycin. Antimicrobial effect of the plant extracts against the food-bone Salmonella suggests that dietary including medicinal herbs would be one strategy to manage food borne pathogens. PMID:23569772

[Extraction method suitable for detection of unheated crustaceans including cephalothorax by ELISA].

PubMed

Shibahara, Yusuke; Yamada, Itta; Uesaka, Yoshihiko; Uneo, Noriko; Abe, Akihisa; Ohashi, Eiji; Shiomi, Kazuo

2009-08-01

When unheated whole samples of crustaceans (shrimp, prawn and crab) were analyzed with our ELISA kit (FA test EIA-Crustacean 'Nissui') using anti-tropomyosin antibodies, a remarkable reduction in reactivity was recognized. This reduction in activity was found to be due to the digestion of tropomyosin during the extraction process by proteases contained in cephalothorax. To avoid the digestion of tropomyosin by proteases, we developed an extraction method (heating method) suitable for the detection of tropomyosin in unheated crustaceans including cephalothorax. Experiments with unheated whole samples of various species of crustaceans confirmed that the heating method greatly improved the low reactivity in the standard method; the heating method gave extraction efficiencies of as high as 93-107%. Various processed crustaceans with cephalothorax, such as dry products (unheated or weakly heated products) and pickles in soy sauce (unheated products), that showed low reactivity with the standard method were confirmed to give superior results with the heating method. These results indicated that the developed heating method is suitable for detecting unheated crustaceans with cephalothorax by means of the ELISA kit.

Study on analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties of Cordia myxa fruit hydro-alcoholic extract.

PubMed

Ranjbar, Mohammadmehdi; Varzi, Hossein Najafzadeh; Sabbagh, Atefeh; Bolooki, Adeleh; Sazmand, Alireza

2013-12-15

Cordia myxa is a plant which is used in tropical regions of the world. Analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect of fruit of this medicinal plant was investigated in mice. Hydro-alcoholic extract of it was prepared by maceration method. Formalin test was conducted in six groups of mice (6 animals in each group) and acetic acid test in another six groups (6 mice). Groups one to six in each test were administered normal saline, oral indomethacin, intraperitoneal tramadol, 100 mg kg(-1) oral extract, 200 mg kg(-1) oral extract and 100 mg kg(-1) intraperitoneal extract, respectively. The duration of foot lickings were calculated in formalin- administered (1st) group within min 0 to 5 (acute phase) and 15 to 25 (chronic phase). Acetic acid-induced writhings were counted within 10 min in the 2nd group. The results showed that hydro-alcoholic extract of Cordia myxa fruit was considerably effective in formalin test. Also, analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties of this plant's fruit in both acute and chronic phase are somewhat similar to these properties in the study on animal model of experimental colitis.

Validated liquid chromatographic method and analysis of content of tilianin on several extracts obtained from Agastache mexicana and its correlation with vasorelaxant effect.

PubMed

Hernández-Abreu, Oswaldo; Durán-Gómez, Liliana; Best-Brown, Roberto; Villalobos-Molina, Rafael; Rivera-Leyva, Julio; Estrada-Soto, Samuel

2011-11-18

To optimize the obtention of tilianin, an antihypertensive flavonoid isolated from Agastache mexicana (Lamiaceae), a medicinal plant used in Mexico for the treatment of hypertension. Also, a validated HPLC method to quantify tilianin from different extracts, obtained by several extraction methods, was developed. The aerial parts of Agastache mexicana were dried at different temperatures (22, 40, 50, 90, 100 and 180°C) and the dry material was extracted with methanol by maceration to compare the content of the active constituent tilianin in the samples. Furthermore, EtOH:H(2)O (7:3), infusion and decoction extracts were prepared from air-dried samples at room temperature to compare the content and composition of the different extraction methods. Moreover, an ex vivo vasorelaxant test on endothelium-intact aortic rat rings was conducted, in order to correlate the presence of tilianin with the activity of each extract. Higher concentration and amounts of tilianin were determined from chromatograms in the obtained methanolic extracts from plant material dried at 90, 50, 40 and 22°C, followed by 100°C; however, lower concentrations were observed in dried at 180°C and EtOH:H(2)O (7:3). It is worth to notice that methanolic extracts with higher amount of tilianin were the most potent vasorelaxant extracts, even though these extracts were less potent than carbachol, a positive control used. Finally, decoction, infusion and EtOH:H(2)O (7:3) extracts did not show any vasorelaxant effect. Results suggest that extracts with higher concentration of tilianin possess the best vasorelaxant activity, which allowed us to have a HPLC method for future quality control for this medicinal plant. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Extraction optimization and UHPLC method development for determination of the 20-hydroxyecdysone in Sida tuberculata leaves.

PubMed

da Rosa, Hemerson S; Koetz, Mariana; Santos, Marí Castro; Jandrey, Elisa Helena Farias; Folmer, Vanderlei; Henriques, Amélia Teresinha; Mendez, Andreas Sebastian Loureiro

2018-04-01

Sida tuberculata (ST) is a Malvaceae species widely distributed in Southern Brazil. In traditional medicine, ST has been employed as hypoglycemic, hypocholesterolemic, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial. Additionally, this species is chemically characterized by flavonoids, alkaloids and phytoecdysteroids mainly. The present work aimed to optimize the extractive technique and to validate an UHPLC method for the determination of 20-hydroxyecdsone (20HE) in the ST leaves. Box-Behnken Design (BBD) was used in method optimization. The extractive methods tested were: static and dynamic maceration, ultrasound, ultra-turrax and reflux. In the Box-Behnken three parameters were evaluated in three levels (-1, 0, +1), particle size, time and plant:solvent ratio. In validation method, the parameters of selectivity, specificity, linearity, limits of detection and quantification (LOD, LOQ), precision, accuracy and robustness were evaluated. The results indicate static maceration as better technique to obtain 20HE peak area in ST extract. The optimal extraction from surface response methodology was achieved with the parameters granulometry of 710 nm, 9 days of maceration and plant:solvent ratio 1:54 (w/v). The UHPLC-PDA analytical developed method showed full viability of performance, proving to be selective, linear, precise, accurate and robust for 20HE detection in ST leaves. The average content of 20HE was 0.56% per dry extract. Thus, the optimization of extractive method in ST leaves increased the concentration of 20HE in crude extract, and a reliable method was successfully developed according to validation requirements and in agreement with current legislation. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Valx: A System for Extracting and Structuring Numeric Lab Test Comparison Statements from Text.

PubMed

Hao, Tianyong; Liu, Hongfang; Weng, Chunhua

2016-05-17

To develop an automated method for extracting and structuring numeric lab test comparison statements from text and evaluate the method using clinical trial eligibility criteria text. Leveraging semantic knowledge from the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) and domain knowledge acquired from the Internet, Valx takes seven steps to extract and normalize numeric lab test expressions: 1) text preprocessing, 2) numeric, unit, and comparison operator extraction, 3) variable identification using hybrid knowledge, 4) variable - numeric association, 5) context-based association filtering, 6) measurement unit normalization, and 7) heuristic rule-based comparison statements verification. Our reference standard was the consensus-based annotation among three raters for all comparison statements for two variables, i.e., HbA1c and glucose, identified from all of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes trials in ClinicalTrials.gov. The precision, recall, and F-measure for structuring HbA1c comparison statements were 99.6%, 98.1%, 98.8% for Type 1 diabetes trials, and 98.8%, 96.9%, 97.8% for Type 2 diabetes trials, respectively. The precision, recall, and F-measure for structuring glucose comparison statements were 97.3%, 94.8%, 96.1% for Type 1 diabetes trials, and 92.3%, 92.3%, 92.3% for Type 2 diabetes trials, respectively. Valx is effective at extracting and structuring free-text lab test comparison statements in clinical trial summaries. Future studies are warranted to test its generalizability beyond eligibility criteria text. The open-source Valx enables its further evaluation and continued improvement among the collaborative scientific community.

Extraction of aucubin from seeds of Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. using supercritical carbon dioxide.

PubMed

Li, Hui; Hu, Jiangyu; Ouyang, Hui; Li, Yanan; Shi, Hui; Ma, Chengjin; Zhang, Yongkang

2009-01-01

Supercritical CO2 was used as solvent for the extraction of aucubin from the seeds of Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. The co-solvent composition was tested and extraction conditions were optimized. Results showed that the best co-solvent was a water-ethanol mixture (1 + 3, v/v), and the highest yield was obtained when the extraction was performed under 26 MPa at extraction and separation temperatures of 55 and 30 degrees C for 120 min, using 6 mL co-solvent/g material at a CO2 flow rate of 20 L/h. In a comparison of the supercritical CO2 and Soxhlet extraction methods, the Soxhlet method needed 3 h to extract 10 g material, whereas the supercritical CO2 extraction technique needed only 2 h to extract 100 g material, thus showing a high extraction capability. The supercritical CO2 extraction produced a higher yield, with a lower cost for the extraction. Owing to the advantages of low extraction temperature, high yield, and ease of separating the product from the solvent, supercritical CO2 extraction is likely to be developed into an ideal technique for the extraction of aucubin, a compound with thermal instability, from the seeds of this plant.

Alternative and Efficient Extraction Methods for Marine-Derived Compounds

PubMed Central

Grosso, Clara; Valentão, Patrícia; Ferreres, Federico; Andrade, Paula B.

2015-01-01

Marine ecosystems cover more than 70% of the globe’s surface. These habitats are occupied by a great diversity of marine organisms that produce highly structural diverse metabolites as a defense mechanism. In the last decades, these metabolites have been extracted and isolated in order to test them in different bioassays and assess their potential to fight human diseases. Since traditional extraction techniques are both solvent- and time-consuming, this review emphasizes alternative extraction techniques, such as supercritical fluid extraction, pressurized solvent extraction, microwave-assisted extraction, ultrasound-assisted extraction, pulsed electric field-assisted extraction, enzyme-assisted extraction, and extraction with switchable solvents and ionic liquids, applied in the search for marine compounds. Only studies published in the 21st century are considered. PMID:26006714

Deep Eutectic Solvent-Based Microwave-Assisted Method for Extraction of Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Components from Radix Salviae miltiorrhizae.

PubMed

Chen, Jue; Liu, Mengjun; Wang, Qi; Du, Huizhi; Zhang, Liwei

2016-10-17

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have attracted significant attention as a promising green media. In this work, twenty-five kinds of benign choline chloride-based DESs with microwave-assisted methods were applied to quickly extract active components from Radix Salviae miltiorrhizae . The extraction factors, including temperature, time, power of microwave, and solid/liquid ratio, were investigated systematically by response surface methodology. The hydrophilic and hydrophobic ingredients were extracted simultaneously under the optimized conditions: 20 vol% of water in choline chloride/1,2-propanediol (1:1, molar ratio) as solvent, microwave power of 800 W, temperature at 70 °C, time at 11.11 min, and solid/liquid ratio of 0.007 g·mL -1 . The extraction yield was comparable to, or even better than, conventional methods with organic solvents. The microstructure alteration of samples before and after extraction was also investigated. The method validation was tested as the linearity of analytes ( r ² > 0.9997 over two orders of magnitude), precision (intra-day relative standard deviation (RSD) < 2.49 and inter-day RSD < 2.96), and accuracy (recoveries ranging from 95.04% to 99.93%). The proposed DESs combined with the microwave-assisted method provided a prominent advantage for fast and efficient extraction of active components, and DESs could be extended as solvents to extract and analyze complex environmental and pharmaceutical samples.

Assessment of metal(loid)s phytoavailability in intensive agricultural soils by the application of single extractions to rhizosphere soil.

PubMed

Pinto, Edgar; Almeida, Agostinho A; Ferreira, Isabel M P L V O

2015-03-01

The influence of soil properties on the phytoavailability of metal(loid)s in a soil-plant system was evaluated. The content of extractable metal(loid)s obtained by using different extraction methods was also compared. To perform this study, a test plant (Lactuca sativa) and rhizosphere soil were sampled at 5 different time points (2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 weeks of plant growth). Four extraction methods (Mehlich 3, DTPA, NH4NO3 and CaCl2) were used. Significant positive correlations between the soil extractable content and lettuce shoot content were obtained for several metal(loid)s. The extraction with NH4NO3 showed the higher number of strong positive correlations indicating the suitability of this method to estimate metal(loid)s phytoavailability. The soil CEC, OM, pH, texture and oxides content significantly influenced the distribution of metal(loid)s between the phytoavailable and non-phytoavailable fractions. A reliable prediction model for Cr, V, Ni, As, Pb, Co, Cd, and Sb phytoavailability was obtained considering the amount of metal(loid) extracted by the NH4NO3 method and the main soil properties. This work shows that the analysis of rhizosphere soil by single extractions methods is a reliable approach to estimate metal(loid)s phytoavailability. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A new blood vessel extraction technique using edge enhancement and object classification.

PubMed

Badsha, Shahriar; Reza, Ahmed Wasif; Tan, Kim Geok; Dimyati, Kaharudin

2013-12-01

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is increasing progressively pushing the demand of automatic extraction and classification of severity of diseases. Blood vessel extraction from the fundus image is a vital and challenging task. Therefore, this paper presents a new, computationally simple, and automatic method to extract the retinal blood vessel. The proposed method comprises several basic image processing techniques, namely edge enhancement by standard template, noise removal, thresholding, morphological operation, and object classification. The proposed method has been tested on a set of retinal images. The retinal images were collected from the DRIVE database and we have employed robust performance analysis to evaluate the accuracy. The results obtained from this study reveal that the proposed method offers an average accuracy of about 97 %, sensitivity of 99 %, specificity of 86 %, and predictive value of 98 %, which is superior to various well-known techniques.

Evaluation of Photoprotective Potential and Percutaneous Penetration by Photoacoustic Spectroscopy of the Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi Extract.

PubMed

Bulla, Milena K; Hernandes, Luzmarina; Baesso, Mauro L; Nogueira, Ana C; Bento, Antonio C; Bortoluzzi, Bruno B; Serra, Lara Z; Cortez, Diogenes A G

2015-01-01

Schinus terebinthifolius is a plant rich in phenolic compounds, which have antioxidant properties and can provide new opportunities for treatment and prevention of diseases mediated by ultraviolet radiation like photoaging and skin cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the photoprotective potential and ex vivo percutaneous penetration of the crude extract of Schinus terebinthifolius leaves. The extract was tested for antioxidant activity using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method and β-carotene bleaching test. The sun protection factor was also evaluated. The ex vivo skin permeation of the emulsion and gel formulations were assayed. Fractionation of the extract resulted in gallic acid, ethyl gallate and a mixture of flavonoids, suggesting derivatives of quercetin and myricetin. The phenolic content of the extract was 384.64 ± 2.60 mg GAE g(-1) extract. The antioxidant activity was superior to butylated hydroxytoluene, in DPPH method, and ascorbic acid and rutin, in β-carotene bleaching assay. The extract showed UV absorption with photoprotector potential in the UVB region. The photoacoustic spectroscopy measurements confirmed absorption in the UV region and topical application of the formulations caused no histological changes in the rats' skin. These results suggest that the crude extract of Schinus terebinthifolius leaves may be a promising natural sunscreen product. © 2015 The American Society of Photobiology.

a Framework of Change Detection Based on Combined Morphologica Features and Multi-Index Classification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, S.; Zhang, S.; Yang, D.

2017-09-01

Remote sensing images are particularly well suited for analysis of land cover change. In this paper, we present a new framework for detection of changing land cover using satellite imagery. Morphological features and a multi-index are used to extract typical objects from the imagery, including vegetation, water, bare land, buildings, and roads. Our method, based on connected domains, is different from traditional methods; it uses image segmentation to extract morphological features, while the enhanced vegetation index (EVI), the differential water index (NDWI) are used to extract vegetation and water, and a fragmentation index is used to the correct extraction results of water. HSV transformation and threshold segmentation extract and remove the effects of shadows on extraction results. Change detection is performed on these results. One of the advantages of the proposed framework is that semantic information is extracted automatically using low-level morphological features and indexes. Another advantage is that the proposed method detects specific types of change without any training samples. A test on ZY-3 images demonstrates that our framework has a promising capability to detect change.

Combination of QuEChERS and DLLME for GC-MS determination of pesticide residues in orange samples.

PubMed

Andraščíková, Mária; Hrouzková, Svetlana; Cunha, Sara C

2013-01-01

A new method combining QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe) and DLLME (dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction) followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with selected ion monitoring (SIM) was developed for the simultaneous determination of 19 pesticides from nine chemical groups exhibiting or suspected to exhibit endocrine-disrupting properties in orange samples. Acetonitrile extract obtained from QuEChERS extraction was used for DLLME as dispersive solvent and carbon tetrachloride as extractive solvent to increase the enrichment factor of the extraction procedure. The effect of several extraction parameters, such as volume extract achieved by the QuEChERS method and subsequently used for DLLME, selection of extractive solvent and its volume, was tested. Under optimum conditions, good linearity, satisfactory recoveries and repeatability were obtained. Limits of quantification (LOQs) achieved (ranging from 0.02 to 47 ng/g) were below the maximum residue limits established by the European Union. The proposed method was applied to the monitoring of pesticide residue levels in oranges commercialised in Portugal.

Point Cloud Oriented Shoulder Line Extraction in Loess Hilly Area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Min, Li; Xin, Yang; Liyang, Xiong

2016-06-01

Shoulder line is the significant line in hilly area of Loess Plateau in China, dividing the surface into positive and negative terrain (P-N terrains). Due to the point cloud vegetation removal methods of P-N terrains are different, there is an imperative need for shoulder line extraction. In this paper, we proposed an automatic shoulder line extraction method based on point cloud. The workflow is as below: (i) ground points were selected by using a grid filter in order to remove most of noisy points. (ii) Based on DEM interpolated by those ground points, slope was mapped and classified into two classes (P-N terrains), using Natural Break Classified method. (iii) The common boundary between two slopes is extracted as shoulder line candidate. (iv) Adjust the filter gird size and repeat step i-iii until the shoulder line candidate matches its real location. (v) Generate shoulder line of the whole area. Test area locates in Madigou, Jingbian County of Shaanxi Province, China. A total of 600 million points are acquired in the test area of 0.23km2, using Riegl VZ400 3D Laser Scanner in August 2014. Due to the limit Granted computing performance, the test area is divided into 60 blocks and 13 of them around the shoulder line were selected for filter grid size optimizing. The experiment result shows that the optimal filter grid size varies in diverse sample area, and a power function relation exists between filter grid size and point density. The optimal grid size was determined by above relation and shoulder lines of 60 blocks were then extracted. Comparing with the manual interpretation results, the accuracy of the whole result reaches 85%. This method can be applied to shoulder line extraction in hilly area, which is crucial for point cloud denoising and high accuracy DEM generation.

Screening of medicinal plants from Trinidad and Tobago for antimicrobial and insecticidal properties.

PubMed

Chariandy, C M; Seaforth, C E; Phelps, R H; Pollard, G V; Khambay, B P

1999-03-01

Antibacterial activity in 51 extracts from 29 plant species currently used in traditional medicine in Trinidad and the neighbouring Caribbean islands was tested for by the agar dilution streak method using six bacteria: Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Salmonella tophimurium, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Enterococcus faecalis. The extracts from eight of the plants tested showed significant activity against one or more micro-organisms and the most susceptible bacterium was Staphylococcus aureus. In the bioassays for toxicity towards the Aedes aegypti mosquito the most effective plant extracts were from Justicia pectoralis, Manihot utilissima and Stachytarpheta jamaicensis.

Antioxidant and anticholinesterase activities of five wild mushroom species with total bioactive contents.

PubMed

Tel, Gulsen; Ozturk, Mehmet; Duru, Mehmet E; Turkoglu, Aziz

2015-06-01

Recently, mushrooms are interesting natural products to be investigated due to exhibiting various bioactivities. This study determines the antioxidant and anticholinesterase activities of various extracts of five wild mushroom species. In addition, the total bioactive contents, namely, ascorbic acid, β-carotene, and lycopene along with phenolic and flavonoid contents were also determined spectrophotometrically. Antioxidant activity was tested by using five complementary tests; namely, β-carotene-linoleic acid, DPPH(•) scavenging, ABTS(•+) scavenging, cupric-reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC), and metal chelating assays. The in vitro anticholinesterase activity was tested against acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) enzymes using the Ellman method. The spectrophotometric methods were used to determine the total phenolic, flavonoid, ascorbic acid, β-carotene, and lycopene contents. The current study has shown that ethyl acetate extracts of Ganoderma lucidum (Curtis) P. Karst (IC50: 1.55 ± 0.05 µg/mL) and Funalia trogii (Berk.) Bondartsev & Singer (IC50: 4.31 ± 0.18 µg/mL) exhibited good lipid peroxidation inhibitory activity. The DPPH, ABTS, and CUPRAC assays supported this activity. The ethyl acetate and methanol extracts of Funalia trogii and Ganoderma lucidum indicated good anticholinesterase activity. Ganoderma lucidum had rich phenolic and flavonoid contents, indicating 98.67 ± 0.32 mg PEs/g extract and 160.38 ± 1.25 mg QEs/g extract, respectively. The results demonstrate that some of the mushroom species tested herein could be used in food and pharmaceutical industries as natural antioxidants.

Improvement of the ESR detection of irradiated food containing cellulose employing a simple extraction method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delincée, Henry; Soika, Christiane

2002-03-01

Fruit may be irradiated at rather low doses, below 1 kGy in combination treatments or for quarantine purposes. To improve the ESR detection sensitivity of irradiated fruit de Jesus et al. (Int. J. Food Sci. Technol. 34 (1999) 173.) proposed extracting the fruit pulp with 80% ethanol and measuring the residue with ESR using low power (0.25 mW) for detection of 'cellulosic' radicals. An improvement in ESR sensitivity using the extraction procedure could be confirmed in this paper for strawberries and papayas. In most cases, a radiation dose of 0.5 kGy could be detected in both fruits even after 2-3 weeks storage. In addition, some herbs and spices were also tested, but only for a few of them the ESR detection of the 'cellulosic' signal was improved by previous alcoholic extraction. As an alternative to ESR measurements, other detection methods like DNA Comet Assay and thermoluminescence were also tested.

Preparative separation and purification of steroidal saponins in Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis by macroporous adsorption resins.

PubMed

Liu, Zhen; Wang, Jieyin; Gao, Wenyuan; Man, Shuli; Wang, Ying; Liu, Changxiao

2013-07-01

Saponins are active compounds in natural products. Many researchers have tried to find the method for knowing their concentration in herbs. Some methods, such as solid-liquid extraction and solvent extraction, have been developed. However, the extraction methods of the steroidal saponins from Paris polyphylla Smith var. yunnanensis (Liliaceae) are not fully researched. To establish a simple extraction method for the separation of steroidal saponins from the rhizomes of P. polyphylla Smith var. yunnanensis. Macroporous adsorption resins were used for the separation of steroidal saponins. To select the most suitable resins, seven kinds of macroporous resins were selected in this study. The static adsorption and desorption tests on macroporous resins were determined. Also, we optimized the temperature and the ethanol concentration in the extraction method by the contents of five kinds of saponins. Then, we compared the extraction method with two other methods. D101 resin demonstrated the best adsorption and desorption properties for steroidal saponins. Its adsorption data fits best to the Freundlich adsorption model. The contents of steroidal saponins in the product were 4.83-fold increased with recovery yields of 85.47%. The process achieved simple and effective enrichment and separation for steroidal saponins. The method provides a scientific basis for large-scale preparation of steroidal saponins from the Rhizoma Paridis and other plants.

Determination of betulinic acid, oleanolic acid and ursolic acid from Achyranthes aspera L. using RP-UFLC-DAD analysis and evaluation of various parameters for their optimum yield.

PubMed

Pai, Sandeep R; Upadhya, Vinayak; Hegde, Harsha V; Joshi, Rajesh K; Kholkute, Sanjiva D

2016-03-01

Achyranthes aspera L. is a well known herb commonly used in traditional system of Indian medicine to treat various disorders, such as cough, dysentery, gonorrhea, piles, kidney stone, pneumonia, renal dropsy, skin eruptions, snake bite, etc. Here, we used RP-UFLC-DAD method for determining triterpenoids betulinic acid (BA), oleanolic acid (OA) and ursolic acid (UA) from A. aspera. Optimum yield of these compounds were studied and evaluated using parameters viz., method of extraction, time of extraction, age of plant and plant parts (leaves, stem and roots). Linear relationships in RP-UFLC-DAD analysis were obtained in the range 0.05-100 µg/mL with 0.035, 0.042 and 0.033 µg/mL LOD for BA, OA and UA, respectively. Of the variables tested, extraction method and parts used significantly affected content yield. Continuous shaking extraction (CSE) at ambient temperature gave better extraction efficiency than exposure to ultra sonic extraction (USE) or microwave assisted extraction (MAE) methods. The highest content of BA, OA and UA were determined individually in leaf, stem and root extracts with CSE. Collective yield of these triterpenoids were higher in leaf part exposed to 15 min USE method. To best of our knowledge, the study newly reports UA from A. aspera and the same was confirmed using ATR-FT-IR studies. This study explains the distribution pattern of these major triterpenoids and optimum extraction parameters in detail.

Interactions of antibiotics and extracts of Helichrysum pedunculatum against bacteria implicated in wound infections.

PubMed

Aiyegoro, O A; Afolayan, A J; Okoh, A I

2010-03-01

The effect of combinations of the crude acetone and aqueous extracts of Helichrysum pedunculatum leaves and eight antibiotics was determined by means of checkerboard and time-kill methods. In the checkerboard method, synergy of 45.8% was observed, being independent of Gram reaction, with combinations in the aqueous extract yielding largely (18.8%) antagonistic interactions. The time-kill assay detected synergy (45.8%) that was also independent of Gram reaction with a potentiation of more than 3 orders of the bactericidal activity of the test antibiotics. The crude leaf extracts of H. pedunculatum could thus be considered to be potential source of a broad-spectrum antibiotic-resistance-modifying compounds.

Screening of some Palestinian medicinal plants for antibacterial activity.

PubMed

Essawi, T; Srour, M

2000-06-01

Antibacterial activity of organic and aqueous extracts of 15 Palestinian medicinal plants were carried against eight different species of bacteria: Bacillus subtilis, two Escherichia coli species, Staphylococcus aureus (methicillin resistant), two S. aureus (methicillin sensitive) species, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterococcus fecalis. Of the 15 plants tested, eight showed antibacterial activity. Each plant species has unique against different bacteria. The most active antibacterial plants against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria were Thymus vulgaris and Thymus origanium. The organic and aqueous extract from the same plants showed different activities; the organic extract showed the same or greater activity than the aqueous extract. Finally, the hole-plate diffusion method showed larger activity than the disc diffusion method.

THERAPEUTIC POTENTIALS OF ETHANOLIC EXTRACT OF LEAVES OF HOLARRHENA FLORIBUNDA (G. DON) DUR. AND SCHINZ (APOCYNACEAE)

PubMed Central

Hoekou, Yao Patrick; Tchacondo, Tchadjobo; Karou, Simplice Damintoti; Yerbanga, Rakiswende Serge; Achoribo, Elom; Da, Ollo; Atakpama, Wouyo; Batawila, Komlan

2017-01-01

Background: Holarrhena floribunda is a plant of wide usage in the Togolese folk medicine. A previous ethnobotanical survey on the latex plants of the Maritime region of the country revealed that this plant was included in several recipes curing malaria and microbial infections. Therefore, this study aimed to seek for the effectiveness of the ethanolic extract of the plant in the treatment of these diseases. Methods: The antimicrobial test was performed using the agar well-diffusion and the NCCLS broth microdilution methods, while the in vivo antimalarial activity was evaluated following the four-day suppressive test of Peters. The acute toxic effects of the extract were monitored after a single oral dose (5,000 mg/kg body weight) administration in NMRI mice. Results: The results indicated that the ethanolic extract of leaves of H. floribunda was active on Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213 and clinical strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi and Klebsiella pneumoniae with MICs ranging from 0.62 to 1.25 mg/mL. The extract also showed significant parasitaemia suppression in a dose-dependent manner. In the acute toxicity assay, the oral administration of the extract to the mice did not affect the relative weight of vital organs, and there were no signs of toxicity or death during the study period. The LD50 of the tested extract was found to be greater than 5,000 mg/kg, indicating its safety. Conclusion: This study demonstrates the antibacterial and antimalarial activities of leaves of H. floribunda and then, supports its medicinal use in the treatment of microbial infections. PMID:28573239

An open-source framework for stress-testing non-invasive foetal ECG extraction algorithms.

PubMed

Andreotti, Fernando; Behar, Joachim; Zaunseder, Sebastian; Oster, Julien; Clifford, Gari D

2016-05-01

Over the past decades, many studies have been published on the extraction of non-invasive foetal electrocardiogram (NI-FECG) from abdominal recordings. Most of these contributions claim to obtain excellent results in detecting foetal QRS (FQRS) complexes in terms of location. A small subset of authors have investigated the extraction of morphological features from the NI-FECG. However, due to the shortage of available public databases, the large variety of performance measures employed and the lack of open-source reference algorithms, most contributions cannot be meaningfully assessed. This article attempts to address these issues by presenting a standardised methodology for stress testing NI-FECG algorithms, including absolute data, as well as extraction and evaluation routines. To that end, a large database of realistic artificial signals was created, totaling 145.8 h of multichannel data and over one million FQRS complexes. An important characteristic of this dataset is the inclusion of several non-stationary events (e.g. foetal movements, uterine contractions and heart rate fluctuations) that are critical for evaluating extraction routines. To demonstrate our testing methodology, three classes of NI-FECG extraction algorithms were evaluated: blind source separation (BSS), template subtraction (TS) and adaptive methods (AM). Experiments were conducted to benchmark the performance of eight NI-FECG extraction algorithms on the artificial database focusing on: FQRS detection and morphological analysis (foetal QT and T/QRS ratio). The overall median FQRS detection accuracies (i.e. considering all non-stationary events) for the best performing methods in each group were 99.9% for BSS, 97.9% for AM and 96.0% for TS. Both FQRS detections and morphological parameters were shown to heavily depend on the extraction techniques and signal-to-noise ratio. Particularly, it is shown that their evaluation in the source domain, obtained after using a BSS technique, should be avoided. Data, extraction algorithms and evaluation routines were released as part of the fecgsyn toolbox on Physionet under an GNU GPL open-source license. This contribution provides a standard framework for benchmarking and regulatory testing of NI-FECG extraction algorithms.

Activity of the aqueous extract of Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi on strains of the Candida genus.

PubMed

Torres, Kátia Andrea de Menezes; Lima, Sônia Maria Rolim Rosa; Ueda, Suely Mitoi Ykko

2016-12-01

Objectives  To evaluate the antifungal susceptibility profile of the aqueous extract of the bark of Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi against the strains of the genus Candida . Methods  By using the disk diffusion method, 50 samples of the genus Candida ( Candida albicans ; Candida krusei ; Candida glabrata ; and Candida tropicalis ), isolated from patients receiving treatment at Hospital Santa Casa de Misericórdia de São Paulo, and 1 American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) sample of each species were tested against: the isolated aqueous extract of the bark of Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi, isolated nystatin, and the association of nystatin and the aqueous extract of Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi. Results  There were no significant differences regarding the different strains of Candida tested. In the presence of the aqueous extract of Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi, no inhibition halo was visible. Isolated nystatin formed an inhibition halo measuring respectively 18.50 mm and 19.50 mm for the Candida albicans species and the others referred to as non- Candida albicans ( Candida krusei ; Candida glabrata ; and Candida tropicalis ). The association of nystatin and the aqueous extract of Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi resulted in inhibition halos measuring 14.25 mm and 16.50 mm respectively. The comparisons of these results are statistically significant ( p  < 0,001). Conclusion  The aqueous extract of Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi showed no antifungal activity in vitro against the strains tested, whereas the association of nystatin and the aqueous extract of Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi caused a decrease in the inhibition halo when compared with isolated nystatin. Thieme-Revinter Publicações Ltda Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Antibacterial, antioxidant and tyrosinase-inhibition activities of pomegranate fruit peel methanolic extract

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background This study evaluated, using in vitro assays, the antibacterial, antioxidant, and tyrosinase-inhibition activities of methanolic extracts from peels of seven commercially grown pomegranate cultivars. Methods Antibacterial activity was tested on Gram-positive (Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonia) using a microdilution method. Several potential antioxidant activities, including radical-scavenging ability (RSA), ferrous ion chelating (FIC) and ferric ion reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), were evaluated. Tyrosinase enzyme inhibition was investigated against monophenolase (tyrosine) and diphenolase (DOPA), with arbutin and kojic acid as positive controls. Furthermore, phenolic contents including total flavonoid content (TFC), gallotannin content (GTC) and total anthocyanin content (TAC) were determined using colourimetric methods. HPLC-ESI/MSn analysis of phenolic composition of methanolic extracts was also performed. Results Methanolic peel extracts showed strong broad-spectrum activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, with the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) ranging from 0.2 to 0.78 mg/ml. At the highest concentration tested (1000 μg/ml), radical scavenging activities were significantly higher in Arakta (83.54%), Ganesh (83.56%), and Ruby (83.34%) cultivars (P< 0.05). Dose dependent FIC and FRAP activities were exhibited by all the peel extracts. All extracts also exhibited high inhibition (>50%) against monophenolase and diphenolase activities at the highest screening concentration. The most active peel extract was the Bhagwa cultivar against monophenolase and the Arakta cultivar against diphenolase with IC50 values of 3.66 μg/ml and 15.88 μg/ml, respectively. High amounts of phenolic compounds were found in peel extracts with the highest and lowest total phenolic contents of 295.5 (Ganesh) and 179.3 mg/g dry extract (Molla de Elche), respectively. Catechin, epicatechin, ellagic acid and gallic acid were found in all cultivars, of which ellagic acid was the most abundant comprising of more than 50% of total phenolic compounds detected in each cultivar. Conclusions The present study showed that the tested pomegranate peels exhibited strong antibacterial, antioxidant and tyrosinase-inhibition activities. These results suggest that pomegranate fruit peel could be exploited as a potential source of natural antimicrobial and antioxidant agents as well as tyrosinase inhibitors. PMID:23110485

[Inflammatory ointment from shea butter and hydro-alcoholic extract of Khaya senegalensis barks (Cailcederat)].

PubMed

Thioune, O; Ahodikpe, D; Dieng, M; Diop, A B; Ngom, S; Lo, I

2000-01-01

In a former study, it was proved that the alcoholic solution of hydro-alcoholic extract of Khaya senegalensis barks had an anti-inflammatory activity on animals after a local application. In this work, ointments made from the same extract and three different excipients (vaseline, lanoline and shea butter (crude and refined)) have been prepared and tested by the method of the croton oil inhibited ear oedema. Results showed inhibition percentages of the ear oedema of 58.8%, 66.7% and 75.4% when the hydro-alcoholic extract was tested at respective doses of 1%, 2% and 3% in shea butter. The two other excipients, (vaceline and Lanoline) tested at the dose of 3% showed between 52% and 58% of inhibitions. The interest of this study was to demonstrate the possibility to maintain the anti-inflammatory activity of Khaya senegalensis barks by using them in a galenic form, easy to prepare and which is, in addition, more adapted than the extract to possible clinical trials.

Change Detection in High-Resolution Remote Sensing Images Using Levene-Test and Fuzzy Evaluation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, G. H.; Wang, H. B.; Fan, W. F.; Liu, Y.; Liu, H. J.

2018-04-01

High-resolution remote sensing images possess complex spatial structure and rich texture information, according to these, this paper presents a new method of change detection based on Levene-Test and Fuzzy Evaluation. It first got map-spots by segmenting two overlapping images which had been pretreated, extracted features such as spectrum and texture. Then, changed information of all map-spots which had been treated by the Levene-Test were counted to obtain the candidate changed regions, hue information (H component) was extracted through the IHS Transform and conducted change vector analysis combined with the texture information. Eventually, the threshold was confirmed by an iteration method, the subject degrees of candidate changed regions were calculated, and final change regions were determined. In this paper experimental results on multi-temporal ZY-3 high-resolution images of some area in Jiangsu Province show that: Through extracting map-spots of larger difference as the candidate changed regions, Levene-Test decreases the computing load, improves the precision of change detection, and shows better fault-tolerant capacity for those unchanged regions which are of relatively large differences. The combination of Hue-texture features and fuzzy evaluation method can effectively decrease omissions and deficiencies, improve the precision of change detection.

Evaluation of antimicrobial activity and bronchodialator effect of a polyherbal drug-Shrishadi

PubMed Central

Kajaria, Divya Kumari; Gangwar, Mayank; Kumar, Dharmendra; Kumar Sharma, Amit; Tilak, Ragini; Nath, Gopal; Tripathi, Yamini Bhusan; Tripathi, JS; Tiwari, SK

2012-01-01

Objective To investigate antimicrobial and bronchodialator effect of hydroalcholic extract of polyherbal drug Shirishadi containing Shirisha (Albezzia lebbeck), Nagarmotha (Cyprus rotandus) & Kantakari (Solanum xanthocarpum). Methods Antimicrobial activity was evaluated by disc diffusion method and MIC, MBC, MFC were calculated by micro dilution method. Hydroalcholic extract of this preparation was investigated for its phytochemical analysis, phenol and flavonoid were determined by spectrophotometric method and in vivo bronchodilator effect was analysed by convulsion time. Results The phytochemical tests revealed presence of alkaloids, anthraquinones, carbohydrates, flavonoids, saponins and tannins. The antimicrobial result showed the MIC of 6.25 mg/mL against Staphylococcus aureus and 12.5 mg/mL for Escherichia coli and 12.5 mg/mL against remaining bacteria tested, with strong antifungal activity. The maximum inhibition zone is found against Pseudomonas aeruginosa with MIC 16 mg/mL. Drug showed significant bronchodilator effect with 27.86% & 36.13% increase in preconvulsion time of guinea pigs pretreated with 100 & 200 mg/kg body weight of extract. Conclusions The study reveals that the extracts possess antibacterial activity and antifungal activity in a dose dependent manner. This antimicrobial property may be due to presence of several saponins, further studies are highly needed for the drug development. PMID:23569869

In vitro antioxidant potential of medicinal plant extracts and their activities against oral bacteria based on Brazilian folk medicine.

PubMed

Alviano, Wagner S; Alviano, Daniela S; Diniz, Cláudio G; Antoniolli, Angelo R; Alviano, Celuta S; Farias, Luiz M; Carvalho, Maria Auxiliadora R; Souza, Margareth M G; Bolognese, Ana Maria

2008-06-01

This study aims to determine antibacterial activities of Cocos nucifera (husk fiber), Ziziphus joazeiro (inner bark), Caesalpinia pyramidalis (leaves), aqueous extracts and Aristolochia cymbifera (rhizomes) alcoholic extract against Prevotella intermedia, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus casei. The antioxidant activity and acute toxicity of these extracts were also evaluated. The plant extracts antibacterial activity was evaluated in vitro and the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined by the broth micro-dilution assay. The bacterial killing kinetic was also evaluated for all extracts. In addition, the antibacterial effect of the extracts was tested in vitro on artificial oral biofilms. The acute toxicity of each extract was determined in according to Lorke [Lorke D. A new approach to practical acute toxicity testing. Arch Toxicol 1983;54:275-87] and the antioxidant activity was evaluated by DPPH photometric assay [Mensor LL, Menezes FS, Leitão GG, Reis AS, Santos TC, Coube CS, et al. Screening of Brazilian plants extract for antioxidant activity by the use of DPPH free radical method. Phytother Res 2001;15:127-30]. MIC and the bactericidal concentrations were identical, for each evaluated extract. However, microbes of artificial biofilms were less sensitive to the extracts than the planktonic strains. A. cymbifera extract induced the highest bactericidal effect against all tested bacteria, followed by C. nucifera, Z. joazeiro and C. pyramidalis extracts, respectively. All extracts showed good antioxidant potential, being C. nucifera and C. pyramidalis aqueous extracts the most active ones. In conclusion, all oral bacteria tested (planktonic or in artificial biofilms) were more susceptible to, and rapidly killed in presence of A. cymbifera, C. pyramidalis and C. nucifera than Z. joazeiro extracts, respectively. Thus, these extracts may be of great interest for future studies about treatment of oral diseases, considering their potent antioxidant activity and low toxicity.

Anxiolytic and Hypnotic Effects of Aqueous and Ethanolic Extracts of Aerial Parts of Echium italicum L. in Mice

PubMed Central

Hosseinzadeh, Hossein; Shahandeh, Shabnam; Shahsavand, Shabnam

2012-01-01

Background Research in the area of herbal psychopharmacology has clearly improved in recent decades. Self-administration of herbal medicines has been the most popular therapeutic alternative to standard medicine. Objectives Since the extract of Echium amoenum exhibits an anxiolytic effect, the aim of this study is to evaluate the anxiolytic and hypnotic effects in mice of the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of aerial parts of E. italicum, a member of the Boraginaceae family. Materials and Methods Mice were administered the agents intraperitoneally before the start of the experiments for evaluation of hypnotic activity (induced by sodium pentobarbital, 30 mg/kg, i.p.), anxiolytic activity (elevated plus-maze [EPM] test), locomotor activity (open field test), and motor coordination (rotarod test). Result The ethanolic and aqueous extracts of E. italicum, at doses of 1.2 and 2.1 g/kg, increased the percentage of time-spent and the percentage of arm entries in the open arms of the EPM and decreased the percentage of time-spent in the closed arms of the EPM. Moreover, both extracts decreased the pentobarbital-induced latency to sleep and significantly increased the total sleeping time induced by pentobarbital. In addition, locomotor activity was affected by aqueous extracts and ethanolic extract (at higher doses). Both extracts showed no effect in the rotarod test. Conclusions These results suggest that both ethanolic and aqueous extracts of E. italicum may have anxiolytic effects and sedative activity but no effect on muscle relaxation. PMID:24624158

A multiplex PCR method for detection of Aspergillus spp. and Mycobacterium tuberculosis in BAL specimens.

PubMed

Amini, F; Kachuei, R; Noorbakhsh, F; Imani Fooladi, A A

2015-06-01

The aim of this study was the detection of Aspergillus species and Mycobacterium tuberculosis together in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) using of multiplex PCR. In this study, from September 2012 until June 2013, 100 bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) specimens were collected from patients suspected of tuberculosis (TB). After the direct and culture test, multiplex PCR were utilized in order to diagnose Aspergillus species and M. tuberculosis. Phenol-chloroform manual method was used in order to extract DNA from these microorganisms. Aspergillus specific primers, M. tuberculosis designed primers and beta actin primers were used for multiplex PCR. In this study, by multiplex PCR method, Aspergillus species were identified in 12 samples (12%), positive samples in direct and culture test were respectively 11% and 10%. Sensitivity and specificity of this method in comparison to direct test were respectively 100% and 98.8%, also sensitivity and specificity of this method in comparison to culture test were respectively 100% and 97.7%. In this assay, M. tuberculosis was identified in 8 samples (8%). Mycobacterium-positive samples in molecular method, direct and culture test were respectively 6%, 5% and 7%. Sensitivity and specificity of PCR method in comparison to direct test were 80% and 97.8% also sensitivity and specificity of this method in comparison to culture test was 71.4% and 98.9%. In the present study, multiplex PCR method had higher sensitivity than direct and culture test in order to identify and detect Aspergillus, also this method had lower sensitivity for identification of M. tuberculosis, suggesting that the method of DNA extraction was not suitable. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Antimicrobial activity of methanolic extracts of Sambucus ebulus and Urtica dioica against clinical isolates of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

PubMed

Salehzadeh, Ali; Asadpour, Leila; Naeemi, Akram Sadat; Houshmand, Elham

2014-01-01

Increase in the emergence of drug -resistant pathogens led to the development of natural antimicrobials. In this study the antimicrobial effect of methanolic extracts of Sambucus ebulus and Urtica dioica on 16 skin and wound infections isolates of methicillin resistant S. aureus have been studied. Solvent extraction procedure was done using soxhlet apparatus for extracting antimicrobial agents from freeze dried plants. Antibacterial activity was measured using agar well diffusion method. The MIC of Sambucus ebulus and Urtica dioica extracts against the standard strain of S. aureus ATCC 6538 were determined using the micro dilution method at 15 mg and 20 mg respectively. All the test bacteria were found sensitive to the Sambucus ebulus extract and only one isolate was resistant to Urtica dioica extract. Extracts of Sambucus ebulus and Urtica dioica possess antibacterial potency against MRSA isolates and may be used as a natural antiseptics and antimicrobial agents in medicine.

Conventional and Accelerated-Solvent Extractions of Green Tea (Camellia sinensis) for Metabolomics-based Chemometrics

PubMed Central

Kellogg, Joshua J.; Wallace, Emily D.; Graf, Tyler N.; Oberlies, Nicholas H.; Cech, Nadja B.

2018-01-01

Metabolomics has emerged as an important analytical technique for multiple applications. The value of information obtained from metabolomics analysis depends on the degree to which the entire metabolome is present and the reliability of sample treatment to ensure reproducibility across the study. The purpose of this study was to compare methods of preparing complex botanical extract samples prior to metabolomics profiling. Two extraction methodologies, accelerated solvent extraction and a conventional solvent maceration, were compared using commercial green tea [Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze (Theaceae)] products as a test case. The accelerated solvent protocol was first evaluated to ascertain critical factors influencing extraction using a D-optimal experimental design study. The accelerated solvent and conventional extraction methods yielded similar metabolite profiles for the green tea samples studied. The accelerated solvent extraction yielded higher total amounts of extracted catechins, was more reproducible, and required less active bench time to prepare the samples. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of accelerated solvent as an efficient methodology for metabolomics studies. PMID:28787673

40 CFR 53.63 - Test procedure: Wind tunnel inlet aspiration test.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 5 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Test procedure: Wind tunnel inlet... Testing Performance Characteristics of Class II Equivalent Methods for PM2.5 § 53.63 Test procedure: Wind... extracts an ambient aerosol at elevated wind speeds. This wind tunnel test uses a single-sized, liquid...

Mass extraction container closure integrity physical testing method development for parenteral container closure systems.

PubMed

Yoon, Seung-Yil; Sagi, Hemi; Goldhammer, Craig; Li, Lei

2012-01-01

Container closure integrity (CCI) is a critical factor to ensure that product sterility is maintained over its entire shelf life. Assuring the CCI during container closure (C/C) system qualification, routine manufacturing and stability is important. FDA guidance also encourages industry to develop a CCI physical testing method in lieu of sterility testing in a stability program. A mass extraction system has been developed to check CCI for a variety of container closure systems such as vials, syringes, and cartridges. Various types of defects (e.g., glass micropipette, laser drill, wire) were created and used to demonstrate a detection limit. Leakage, detected as mass flow in this study, changes as a function of defect length and diameter. Therefore, the morphology of defects has been examined in detail with fluid theories. This study demonstrated that a mass extraction system was able to distinguish between intact samples and samples with 2 μm defects reliably when the defect was exposed to air, water, placebo, or drug product (3 mg/mL concentration) solution. Also, it has been verified that the method was robust, and capable of determining the acceptance limit using 3σ for syringes and 6σ for vials. Sterile products must maintain their sterility over their entire shelf life. Container closure systems such as those found in syringes and vials provide a seal between rubber and glass containers. This seal must be ensured to maintain product sterility. A mass extraction system has been developed to check container closure integrity for a variety of container closure systems such as vials, syringes, and cartridges. In order to demonstrate the method's capability, various types of defects (e.g., glass micropipette, laser drill, wire) were created in syringes and vials and were tested. This study demonstrated that a mass extraction system was able to distinguish between intact samples and samples with 2 μm defects reliably when the defect was exposed to air, water, placebo, or drug product (3 mg/mL concentration) solution. Also, it was verified that the method showed consistent results, and was able to determine the acceptance limit using 3σ for syringes and 6σ for vials.

Microbiological and toxicological effects of Perla black bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) extracts: in vitro and in vivo studies.

PubMed

Lara-Díaz, Víctor Javier; Gaytán-Ramos, Angel A; Dávalos-Balderas, Alfredo José; Santos-Guzmán, Jesús; Mata-Cárdenas, Benito David; Vargas-Villarreal, Javier; Barbosa-Quintana, Alvaro; Sanson, Misu; López-Reyes, Alberto Gabriel; Moreno-Cuevas, Jorge E

2009-02-01

We investigated the microbiological and toxicological effects of three Perla black bean extracts on the growth and culture of selected pathogenic microorganisms, the toxicity over Vero cell lines and an in vivo rat model. Three different solvents were used to obtain Perla black bean extracts. All three Perla black bean extracts were tested for antibacterial and antiparasitic activity and further analysed for intrinsic cytotoxicity (IC(50)). Methanol Perla black bean extract was used for acute toxicity test in rats, with the up-and-down doping method. All Perla black bean extracts inhibited bacterial growth. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus vulgaris, Klebsiella oxytoca, Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Listeria monocytogenes showed inhibition, while Escherichia coli and Enterobacter aerogenes did not. Acidified water and acetic acid Perla black bean extract were tested in parasites. The best IC(50) was observed for Giardia lamblia, while higher concentrations were active against Entamoeba histolytica and Trichomonas vaginalis. The Vero cells toxicity levels (IC(50)) for methanol, acidified water and acetic acid Perla black bean extract were [mean +/- S.D. (95% CI)]: 275 +/- 6.2 (267.9-282.0), 390 +/- 4.6 (384.8-395.2) and 209 +/- 3.39 (205.6-212.4) microg/ml, respectively. In vivo acute toxicity assays did not show changes in absolute organ weights, gross and histological examinations of selected tissues or functional tests. The acetic acid and methanol Perla black bean extract proved to exhibit strong antibacterial activity and the acidified water Perla black bean extract exerted parasiticidal effects against Giardia lamblia, Entamoeba hystolitica and Trichomonas vaginalis. The three Perla black bean extracts assayed over Vero cells showed very low toxicity and the methanol Perla black bean extract in vivo did not cause toxicity.

Exploring the sensitivity of the zone of inhibition test for leachable biocides from paper and board food contact materials, and improvements thereof.

PubMed

Castle, L; Kelly, J; Jickells, S M; Johns, S M; Mountfort, K A

2012-01-01

The zone of inhibition method to test the release of biocides from paper and board food contact materials was evaluated. The method tests the paper by placing a small specimen directly onto culture plates of Bacillus subtilis and Aspergillus niger. The principle is that any extractable biocide will diffuse from the paper into the surrounding nutrient medium and so inhibit growth of the microorganism in the vicinity. The test was found to have insufficient sensitivity for assuring food safety, where detection limits for migration at or below the mg l(-1) (parts per million) level are needed. Also, the test does not mimic the actual or foreseeable conditions of use since most paper/board materials are not intended for direct contact with an aqueous medium for up to 3 days at 30°C (B. subtilis) or 25°C (A. niger), which are the incubation conditions used. The sensitivity of the test was increased approximately 100-fold by preparing a concentrated extract of the paper to be tested and applying this extract to the assay via a blank paper carrier. This was done using methanol as a good solvent for most biocides, as a proof of principle. Other solvents or food simulants could be used to mimic the conditions of use intended for the particular paper/board samples under examination, e.g. contact with dry, fatty, aqueous or acidic foods, hot or cold. Twenty-four plain (unconverted) paper and board samples and 100 food packaging samples were evaluated using the modified procedure. The results revealed that the method has been developed to the stage where background cytotoxic action of normal paper constituents gives a weak response. Unlike the original method, therefore, the modified method with its improved sensitivity and the facility to link with the intended food contact conditions may be considered a suitable bioassay screening test to complement chemical analysis of paper/board for composition and migration.

Application of higher order SVD to vibration-based system identification and damage detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chao, Shu-Hsien; Loh, Chin-Hsiung; Weng, Jian-Huang

2012-04-01

Singular value decomposition (SVD) is a powerful linear algebra tool. It is widely used in many different signal processing methods, such principal component analysis (PCA), singular spectrum analysis (SSA), frequency domain decomposition (FDD), subspace identification and stochastic subspace identification method ( SI and SSI ). In each case, the data is arranged appropriately in matrix form and SVD is used to extract the feature of the data set. In this study three different algorithms on signal processing and system identification are proposed: SSA, SSI-COV and SSI-DATA. Based on the extracted subspace and null-space from SVD of data matrix, damage detection algorithms can be developed. The proposed algorithm is used to process the shaking table test data of the 6-story steel frame. Features contained in the vibration data are extracted by the proposed method. Damage detection can then be investigated from the test data of the frame structure through subspace-based and nullspace-based damage indices.

DNA extraction techniques compared for accurate detection of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in maize food and feed products.

PubMed

Turkec, Aydin; Kazan, Hande; Karacanli, Burçin; Lucas, Stuart J

2015-08-01

In this paper, DNA extraction methods have been evaluated to detect the presence of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in maize food and feed products commercialised in Turkey. All the extraction methods tested performed well for the majority of maize foods and feed products analysed. However, the highest DNA content was achieved by the Wizard, Genespin or the CTAB method, all of which produced optimal DNA yield and purity for different maize food and feed products. The samples were then screened for the presence of GM elements, along with certified reference materials. Of the food and feed samples, 8 % tested positive for the presence of one GM element (NOS terminator), of which half (4 % of the total) also contained a second element (the Cauliflower Mosaic Virus 35S promoter). The results obtained herein clearly demonstrate the presence of GM maize in the Turkish market, and that the Foodproof GMO Screening Kit provides reliable screening of maize food and feed products.

Statistical evaluation of fatty acid profile and cholesterol content in fish (common carp) lipids obtained by different sample preparation procedures.

PubMed

Spiric, Aurelija; Trbovic, Dejana; Vranic, Danijela; Djinovic, Jasna; Petronijevic, Radivoj; Matekalo-Sverak, Vesna

2010-07-05

Studies performed on lipid extraction from animal and fish tissues do not provide information on its influence on fatty acid composition of the extracted lipids as well as on cholesterol content. Data presented in this paper indicate the impact of extraction procedures on fatty acid profile of fish lipids extracted by the modified Soxhlet and ASE (accelerated solvent extraction) procedure. Cholesterol was also determined by direct saponification method, too. Student's paired t-test used for comparison of the total fat content in carp fish population obtained by two extraction methods shows that differences between values of the total fat content determined by ASE and modified Soxhlet method are not statistically significant. Values obtained by three different methods (direct saponification, ASE and modified Soxhlet method), used for determination of cholesterol content in carp, were compared by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The obtained results show that modified Soxhlet method gives results which differ significantly from the results obtained by direct saponification and ASE method. However the results obtained by direct saponification and ASE method do not differ significantly from each other. The highest quantities for cholesterol (37.65 to 65.44 mg/100 g) in the analyzed fish muscle were obtained by applying direct saponification method, as less destructive one, followed by ASE (34.16 to 52.60 mg/100 g) and modified Soxhlet extraction method (10.73 to 30.83 mg/100 g). Modified Soxhlet method for extraction of fish lipids gives higher values for n-6 fatty acids than ASE method (t(paired)=3.22 t(c)=2.36), while there is no statistically significant difference in the n-3 content levels between the methods (t(paired)=1.31). The UNSFA/SFA ratio obtained by using modified Soxhlet method is also higher than the ratio obtained using ASE method (t(paired)=4.88 t(c)=2.36). Results of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) showed that the highest positive impact to the second principal component (PC2) is recorded by C18:3 n-3, and C20:3 n-6, being present in a higher amount in the samples treated by the modified Soxhlet extraction, while C22:5 n-3, C20:3 n-3, C22:1 and C20:4, C16 and C18 negatively influence the score values of the PC2, showing significantly increased level in the samples treated by ASE method. Hotelling's paired T-square test used on the first three principal components for confirmation of differences in individual fatty acid content obtained by ASE and Soxhlet method in carp muscle showed statistically significant difference between these two data sets (T(2)=161.308, p<0.001). Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Usefulness of component resolved analysis of cat allergy in routine clinical practice.

PubMed

Eder, Katharina; Becker, Sven; San Nicoló, Marion; Berghaus, Alexander; Gröger, Moritz

2016-01-01

Cat allergy is of great importance, and its prevalence is increasing worldwide. Cat allergens and house dust mite allergens represent the major indoor allergens; however, they are ubiquitous. Cat sensitization and allergy are known risk factors for rhinitis, bronchial hyperreactivity and asthma. Thus, the diagnosis of sensitization to cats is important for any allergist. 70 patients with positive skin prick tests for cats were retrospectively compared regarding their skin prick test results, as well as their specific immunoglobulin E antibody profiles with regard to their responses to the native cat extract, rFel d 1, nFel d 2 and rFel d 4. 35 patients were allergic to cats, as determined by positive anamnesis and/or nasal provocation with cat allergens, and 35 patients exhibited clinically non-relevant sensitization, as indicated by negative anamnesis and/or a negative nasal allergen challenge. Native cat extract serology testing detected 100% of patients who were allergic to cats but missed eight patients who showed sensitization in the skin prick test and did not have allergic symptoms. The median values of the skin prick test, as well as those of the specific immunoglobulin E antibodies against the native cat extract, were significantly higher for allergic patients than for patients with clinically non-relevant sensitization. Component based diagnostic testing to rFel d 1 was not as reliable. Sensitization to nFel d 2 and rFel d 4 was seen only in individual patients. Extract based diagnostic methods for identifying cat allergy and sensitization, such as the skin prick test and native cat extract serology, remain crucial in routine clinical practice. In our study, component based diagnostic testing could not replace these methods with regard to the detection of sensitization to cats and differentiation between allergy and sensitization without clinical relevance. However, component resolved allergy diagnostic tools have individual implications, and future studies may facilitate a better understanding of its use and subsequently may improve the clinical management of allergic patients.

Health Risk Assessment of Lead Ingestion Exposure by Particle Sizes in Crumb Rubber on Artificial Turf Considering Bioavailability

PubMed Central

Kim, Sunduk; Yang, Ji-Yeon; Kim, Ho-Hyun; Yeo, In-Young; Shin, Dong-Chun

2012-01-01

Objectives The purpose of this study was to assess the risk of ingestion exposure of lead by particle sizes of crumb rubber in artificial turf filling material with consideration of bioavailability. Methods This study estimated the ingestion exposure by particle sizes (more than 250 um or less than 250 um) focusing on recyclable ethylene propylene diene monomer crumb rubber being used as artificial turf filling. Analysis on crumb rubber was conducted using body ingestion exposure estimate method in which total content test method, acid extraction method and digestion extraction method are reflected. Bioavailability which is a calibrating factor was reflected in ingestion exposure estimate method and applied in exposure assessment and risk assessment. Two methods using acid extraction and digestion extraction concentration were compared and evaluated. Results As a result of the ingestion exposure of crumb rubber material, the average lead exposure amount to the digestion extraction result among crumb rubber was calculated to be 1.56×10-4 mg/kg-day for low grade elementary school students and 4.87×10-5 mg/kg-day for middle and high school students in 250 um or less particle size, and that to the acid extraction result was higher than the digestion extraction result. Results of digestion extraction and acid extraction showed that the hazard quotient was estimated by about over 2 times more in particle size of lower than 250 um than in higher than 250 um. There was a case of an elementary school student in which the hazard quotient exceeded 0.1. Conclusions Results of this study confirm that the exposure of lead ingestion and risk level increases as the particle size of crumb rubber gets smaller. PMID:22355803

A method of extracting impervious surface based on rule algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Shuangyun; Hong, Liang; Xu, Quanli

2018-02-01

The impervious surface has become an important index to evaluate the urban environmental quality and measure the development level of urbanization. At present, the use of remote sensing technology to extract impervious surface has become the main way. In this paper, a method to extract impervious surface based on rule algorithm is proposed. The main ideas of the method is to use the rule-based algorithm to extract impermeable surface based on the characteristics and the difference which is between the impervious surface and the other three types of objects (water, soil and vegetation) in the seven original bands, NDWI and NDVI. The steps can be divided into three steps: 1) Firstly, the vegetation is extracted according to the principle that the vegetation is higher in the near-infrared band than the other bands; 2) Then, the water is extracted according to the characteristic of the water with the highest NDWI and the lowest NDVI; 3) Finally, the impermeable surface is extracted based on the fact that the impervious surface has a higher NDWI value and the lowest NDVI value than the soil.In order to test the accuracy of the rule algorithm, this paper uses the linear spectral mixed decomposition algorithm, the CART algorithm, the NDII index algorithm for extracting the impervious surface based on six remote sensing image of the Dianchi Lake Basin from 1999 to 2014. Then, the accuracy of the above three methods is compared with the accuracy of the rule algorithm by using the overall classification accuracy method. It is found that the extraction method based on the rule algorithm is obviously higher than the above three methods.

A new carbon-based magnetic material for the dispersive solid-phase extraction of UV filters from water samples before liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis.

PubMed

Piovesana, Susy; Capriotti, Anna Laura; Cavaliere, Chiara; La Barbera, Giorgia; Samperi, Roberto; Zenezini Chiozzi, Riccardo; Laganà, Aldo

2017-07-01

Magnetic solid-phase extraction is one of the most promising new extraction methods for liquid samples before ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) analysis. Several types of materials, including carbonaceous ones, have been prepared for this purpose. In this paper, for the first time, the preparation, characterization, and sorption capability of Fe 3 O 4 -graphitized carbon black (mGCB) composite toward some compounds of environmental interest were investigated. The synthesized mGCB consisted of micrometric GCB particles with 55 m 2  g -1 surface area bearing some carbonyl and hydroxyl functionalities and the surface partially decorated by Fe 3 O 4 microparticles. The prepared mGCB was firstly tested as an adsorbent for the extraction from surface water of 50 pollutants, including estrogens, perfluoroalkyl compounds, UV filters, and quinolones. The material showed good affinity to many of the tested compounds, except carboxylates and glucoronates; however, some compounds were difficult to desorb. Ten UV filters belonging to the chemical classes of benzophenones and p-aminobenzoates were selected, and parameters were optimized for the extraction of these compounds from surface water before UHPLC-MS/MS determination. Then, the method was validated in terms of linearity, trueness, intra-laboratory precision, and detection and quantification limits. In summary, the method performance (trueness, expressed as analytical recovery, 85-114%; RSD 5-15%) appears suitable for the determination of the selected compounds at the level of 10-100 ng L -1 , with detection limits in the range of 1-5 ng L -1 . Finally, the new method was compared with a published one, based on conventional solid-phase extraction with GCB, showing similar performance in real sample analysis. Graphical Abstract Workflow of the analytical method based on magnetic solid-phase extraction followed by LC-MS/MS determination.

Methods of Analysis - Determination of Pyrethroid Insecticides in Water and Sediment Using Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hladik, Michelle; Smalling, Kelly L.; Kuivila, Kathryn

2009-01-01

A method for the determination of 14 pyrethroid insecticides in environmental water and sediment samples is described. The method was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey in response to increasing concern over the effects of pyrethroids on aquatic organisms. The pyrethroids included in this method are ones that are applied to many agricultural and urban areas. Filtered water samples are extracted for pyrethroids using solid-phase extraction (SPE) with no additional cleanup steps. Sediment and soil samples are extracted using a microwave-assisted extraction system, and the pyrethroids of interest are separated from co-extracted matrix interferences by passing the extracts through stacked graphitized carbon and alumina SPE cartridges, along with the use of high-performance liquid chromatography and gel-permeation chromatography (HPLC/GPC). Quantification of the pyrethroids from the extracted water and sediment samples is done using gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) or gas chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (GC/MS/MS). Recoveries in test water samples fortified at 10 ng/L ranged from 83 to 107 percent, and recoveries in test sediment samples fortified at 10 ug/kg ranged from 82 to 101 percent; relative standard deviations ranged from 5 to 9 percent in the water samples and 3 to 9 percent in the sediment samples. Method detection limits (MDLs), calculated using U.S. Environmental Protection Agency procedures (40 CFR 136, Appendix B), in water ranged from 2.0 to 6.0 ng/L using GC/MS and 0.5 to 1.0 ng/L using GC/MS/MS. For sediment, the MDLs ranged from 1.0 to 2.6 ug/kg dry weight using GC/MS and 0.2 to 0.5 ug/kg dry weight using GC/MS/MS. The matrix-spike recoveries for each compound, when averaged for 12 environmental water samples, ranged from 84 to 96 percent, and when averaged for 27 environmental sediment samples, ranged from 88 to 100 percent.

Acute toxicity assessment of explosive-contaminated soil extracting solution by luminescent bacteria assays.

PubMed

Xu, Wenjie; Jiang, Zhenming; Zhao, Quanlin; Zhang, Zhenzhong; Su, Hongping; Gao, Xuewen; Ye, Zhengfang

2016-11-01

Explosive-contaminated soil is harmful to people's health and the local ecosystem. The acute toxicity of its extracting solution was tested by bacterial luminescence assay using three kinds of luminescent bacteria to characterize the toxicity of the soil. An orthogonal test L 16 (4 5 ) was designed to optimize the soil extracting conditions. The optimum extracting conditions were obtained when the ultrasonic extraction time, ultrasonic extraction temperature, and the extraction repeat times were 6 h, 40 °C, and three, respectively. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) results showed that the main components of the contaminated soil's extracting solution were 2,4-dinitrotoluene-3-sulfonate (2,4-DNT-3-SO 3 - ); 2,4-dinitrotoluene-5-sulfonate (2,4-DNT-5-SO 3 - ); and 2,6-dinitrotoluene (2,6-DNT). Compared with Photobacterium phosphoreum and Vibrio fischeri, Vibrio qinghaiensis sp. Nov. is more suitable for assessing the soil extracting solution's acute toxicity. Soil washing can remove most of the contaminants toxic to luminescent bacterium Vibrio qinghaiensis sp. Nov., suggesting that it may be a potential effective remediation method for explosive-contaminated soil.

Anti-microbial Efficacy of Soursop Leaf Extract (Annona muricata) on Oral Pathogens: An In-vitro Study

PubMed Central

Rajesh, Gururagavendra; Shenoy, Ramya; Rao, Ashwini

2016-01-01

Introduction Annona muricata also called as Soursop is a, flowering evergreen tree native to Mexico, Cuba, Central America and parts of India. The miracle tree as it is widely known as a natural cancer killer that is 10,000 times stronger than chemotherapy. Based on these miraculous claims, the leaves of these plants were used as an extract at varying concentrations as an antibacterial agent against oral pathogens. Aim The aim of the study was to assess antimicrobial efficacy of Soursop leaf extarct (Annona muricata) on Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus mitis, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia and Candida albicans using disc diffusion method. Materials and Methods Extracts of Annona muricata leaves of concentrations of 1%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% were prepared. The anti-microbial efficacy was evaluated using disc diffusion method against Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus mitis, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia and Candida albicans on agar plates. Results All concentrations of extracts were effective on the microbiota except for the P. Intermedia. The Soursop extract was highly effective on Candida species, with all concentrations exhibiting bactericidal and fungicidal property. The extracts at different concentration were effective when compared to the gold standard controls and the effect was statistically significant (p<0.05). Data obtained was analysed using one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey’s post-hoc test. Conclusion The Soursop extracts were efficient for all test organisms expect P. intermedia. The present study demonstrated the in-vitro efficacy of Soursop was highest against S. mutans followed by C. albicans and least on P. intermedia. Hence, this study proves to an extent that the Soursop extract when used against oral microbiota has sufficient anti-microbial and fungicidal property. PMID:28050493

[Selective removal of tannins from Polygonum cuspidatum extracts using collagen fiber adsorbent].

PubMed

Li, Juan; Liao, Xuepin; Shu, Xingxu; Shi, Bi

2010-03-01

To investigate the selective removal of tannins from Polygonum cuspidatum extracts by using collagen fiber adsorbent, and to evaluate the adsorption and desorption performances of collagen fiber adsorbent to tannins. The adsorbent was prepared from bovine skin collagen fiber through crosslinking reaction of glutaraldehyde, and then used for the selective removal of tannins from P. cuspidatum extracts. Gelatin-turbidity method, gelatin-ultraviolet spectrometry method and HPLC were used for detection of tannins in the solutions. Ethanol-water solutions with varying concentration were used to test their desorption ability of tannins in order to choose proper desorption solution. On the basis of batch experimental results, the column adsorption and desorption tests were carried out, by using gelatin-turbidity method for detection of tannins. The collagen fiber adsorbent exhibited excellent adsorption selectivity to tannins. It was found that tannins of P. cuspidatum were completely removed, while nearly no adsorption of active components (resveratrol as representative) was found. Moreover, the collagen fiber adsorbent could be regenerated by using 30% ethanol-water solution and then reused. The collagen fiber adsorbent can be considered as a promising material for selective removal of tannins from P. cuspidatum extracts.

Evaluation of antimicrobial activity and bronchodialator effect of a polyherbal drug-Shrishadi.

PubMed

Kajaria, Divya Kumari; Gangwar, Mayank; Kumar, Dharmendra; Kumar Sharma, Amit; Tilak, Ragini; Nath, Gopal; Tripathi, Yamini Bhusan; Tripathi, J S; Tiwari, S K

2012-11-01

To investigate antimicrobial and bronchodialator effect of hydroalcholic extract of polyherbal drug Shirishadi containing Shirisha (Albezzia lebbeck), Nagarmotha (Cyprus rotandus) & Kantakari (Solanum xanthocarpum). Antimicrobial activity was evaluated by disc diffusion method and MIC, MBC, MFC were calculated by micro dilution method. Hydroalcholic extract of this preparation was investigated for its phytochemical analysis, phenol and flavonoid were determined by spectrophotometric method and in vivo bronchodilator effect was analysed by convulsion time. The phytochemical tests revealed presence of alkaloids, anthraquinones, carbohydrates, flavonoids, saponins and tannins. The antimicrobial result showed the MIC of 6.25 mg/mL against Staphylococcus aureus and 12.5 mg/mL for Escherichia coli and 12.5 mg/mL against remaining bacteria tested, with strong antifungal activity. The maximum inhibition zone is found against Pseudomonas aeruginosa with MIC 16 mg/mL. Drug showed significant bronchodilator effect with 27.86% & 36.13% increase in preconvulsion time of guinea pigs pretreated with 100 & 200 mg/kg body weight of extract. The study reveals that the extracts possess antibacterial activity and antifungal activity in a dose dependent manner. This antimicrobial property may be due to presence of several saponins, further studies are highly needed for the drug development.

Immunochemical-based method for detection of hazelnut proteins in processed foods.

PubMed

Ben Rejeb, Samuel; Abbott, Michael; Davies, David; Querry, Jessica; Cléroux, Chantal; Streng, Christine; Delahaut, Philippe; Yeung, Jupiter M

2003-01-01

A competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed to detect hazelnut by using polyclonal antibodies generated against a protein extract of roasted hazelnut. No cross-reactivity was observed in tests against 39 commodities, including many common allergens, tree nuts, and legumes. Hazelnut protein standard solutions at 0.45 ng/mL [inhibition concentration (IC80) of the competitive test] were clearly identified by the ELISA. An extraction and quantification method was developed and optimized for chocolate, cookies, breakfast cereals, and ice cream, major food commodities likely to be cross-contaminated with undeclared hazelnut during food processing. No sample cleanup was required when extracts were diluted 10-fold. Recovery results were generated with blank matrixes spiked at 4 levels from 1 to 10 microg/g hazelnut protein. With the developed extraction and sample handling procedure, hazelnut proteins were recovered at 64-83% from chocolate and at 78-97% from other matrixes. A confirmatory technique was developed with sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Western transfer. The developed methods were applied to a small market survey of chocolate products and allowed the identification of undeclared hazelnut in these products.

A simple and rapid DNA extraction method from whole blood for highly sensitive detection and quantitation of HIV-1 proviral DNA by real-time PCR.

PubMed

McFall, Sally M; Wagner, Robin L; Jangam, Sujit R; Yamada, Douglas H; Hardie, Diana; Kelso, David M

2015-03-01

Early diagnosis and access to treatment for infants with human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) is critical to reduce infant mortality. The lack of simple point-of-care tests impedes the timely initiation of antiretroviral therapy. The development of FINA, filtration isolation of nucleic acids, a novel DNA extraction method that can be performed by clinic personnel in less than 2 min has been reported previously. In this report, significant improvements in the DNA extraction and amplification methods are detailed that allow sensitive quantitation of as little as 10 copies of HIV-1 proviral DNA and detection of 3 copies extracted from 100 μl of whole blood. An internal control to detect PCR inhibition was also incorporated. In a preliminary field evaluation of 61 South African infants, the FINA test demonstrated 100% sensitivity and specificity. The proviral copy number of the infant specimens was quantified, and it was established that 100 microliters of whole blood is required for sensitive diagnosis of infants. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Triaxial- and uniaxial-compression testing methods developed for extraction of pore water from unsaturated tuff, Yucca Mountain, Nevada

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mower, T.E.; Higgins, J.D.; Yang, I.C.

1989-12-31

To support the study of hydrologic system in the unsaturated zone at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, two extraction methods were examined to obtain representative, uncontaminated pore-water samples from unsaturated tuff. Results indicate that triaxial compression, which uses a standard cell, can remove pore water from nonwelded tuff that has an initial moisture content greater than 11% by weight; uniaxial compression, which uses a specifically fabricated cell, can extract pore water from nonwelded tuff that has an initial moisture content greater than 8% and from welded tuff that has an initial moisture content greater than 6.5%. For the ambient moisture conditions ofmore » Yucca Mountain tuffs, uniaxial compression is the most efficient method of pore-water extraction. 12 refs., 7 figs., 2 tabs.« less

Rule Extracting based on MCG with its Application in Helicopter Power Train Fault Diagnosis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, M.; Hu, N. Q.; Qin, G. J.

2011-07-01

In order to extract decision rules for fault diagnosis from incomplete historical test records for knowledge-based damage assessment of helicopter power train structure. A method that can directly extract the optimal generalized decision rules from incomplete information based on GrC was proposed. Based on semantic analysis of unknown attribute value, the granule was extended to handle incomplete information. Maximum characteristic granule (MCG) was defined based on characteristic relation, and MCG was used to construct the resolution function matrix. The optimal general decision rule was introduced, with the basic equivalent forms of propositional logic, the rules were extracted and reduction from incomplete information table. Combined with a fault diagnosis example of power train, the application approach of the method was present, and the validity of this method in knowledge acquisition was proved.

The optional selection of micro-motion feature based on Support Vector Machine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Bo; Ren, Hongmei; Xiao, Zhi-he; Sheng, Jing

2017-11-01

Micro-motion form of target is multiple, different micro-motion forms are apt to be modulated, which makes it difficult for feature extraction and recognition. Aiming at feature extraction of cone-shaped objects with different micro-motion forms, this paper proposes the best selection method of micro-motion feature based on support vector machine. After the time-frequency distribution of radar echoes, comparing the time-frequency spectrum of objects with different micro-motion forms, features are extracted based on the differences between the instantaneous frequency variations of different micro-motions. According to the methods based on SVM (Support Vector Machine) features are extracted, then the best features are acquired. Finally, the result shows the method proposed in this paper is feasible under the test condition of certain signal-to-noise ratio(SNR).

Multidrug resistant bacteria are sensitive to Euphorbia prostrata and six others Cameroonian medicinal plants extracts.

PubMed

Voukeng, Igor K; Beng, Veronique P; Kuete, Victor

2017-07-25

Multidrug resistant (MDR) bacteria are responsible for therapeutic failure and there is an urgent need for novels compounds efficient on them. Eleven methanol extracts from seven Cameroonian medicinal plants were tested for their antibacterial activity using broth micro-dilution method against 36 MDR bacterial strains including Escherichia coli, Enterobacter aerogenes, Enterobacter cloacae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Providencia stuartii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. Euphorbia prostrata extract was found active against all the 36 tested bacteria including Gram-negative phenotypes over-expressing efflux pumps such as P. aeruginosa PA124, E. aerogenes CM64 and E. coli AG102. E. prostrata had minimal inhibitory concentrations values between 128 and 256 µg/mL on 55.55% of the studied microorganisms. Other plants extract displayed selective antibacterial activity. Results obtained in this study highlight the antibacterial potential of the tested plants and the possible use of E. prostrata to combat bacterial infections including MDR phenotypes.

Atom based grain extraction and measurement of geometric properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martine La Boissonière, Gabriel; Choksi, Rustum

2018-04-01

We introduce an accurate, self-contained and automatic atom based numerical algorithm to characterize grain distributions in two dimensional Phase Field Crystal (PFC) simulations. We compare the method with hand segmented and known test grain distributions to show that the algorithm is able to extract grains and measure their area, perimeter and other geometric properties with high accuracy. Four input parameters must be set by the user and their influence on the results is described. The method is currently tuned to extract data from PFC simulations in the hexagonal lattice regime but the framework may be extended to more general problems.

Validation of ethnopharmacology of ayurvedic sarasvata ghrita and comparative evaluation of its neuroprotective effect with modern alcoholic and lipid based extracts in β-amyloid induced memory impairment.

PubMed

Shelar, Madhuri; Nanaware, Sadhana; Arulmozhi, S; Lohidasan, Sathiyanarayanan; Mahadik, Kakasaheb

2018-06-12

Sarasvata ghrita (SG), a polyherbal formulation from ayurveda, an ancient medicinal system of India, has been used to improve intelligence and memory, treat speech delay, speaking difficulties and low digestion power in children. Study aimed to validate the ethno use of SG in memory enhancement through systematic scientific protocol. The effect of SG and modern extracts of ingredients of SG was compared on cognitive function and neuroprotection in amyloid-β peptide 25-35(Aβ25-35) induced memory impairment in wistar rats. Further the underlying mechanism for neuroprotective activity was investigated. SG was prepared as per traditional method, ethanolic extract (EE) was prepared by conventional method and lipid based extract was prepared by modern extraction method. All extracts were standardised by newly developed HPLC method with respect to marker compounds. SG, EE and LE were administered orally to male Wistar rats at doses of 100,200 and 400 mg/kg Body Weight by feeding needle for a period of 21 days after the intracerebroventricular administration of Aβ25-35 bilaterally. Spatial memory of rats was tested using Morris water maze (MWM) and Radial arm maze (RAM) test. The possible underlying mechanisms for the cognitive improvement exhibited by SG, EE and LE was investigated through ex-vivo brain antioxidant effect, monoamine level estimation, acetylcholine esterase (AchE) inhibitory effect and Brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) levels estimation. SG, EE and LE were analyzed by HPLC method, results showed that EE extract has high percent of selected phytoconstituents as compared with SG and LE. SG and LE decrease escape latency and searching distance in a dose dependant manner during MWM test. In case of RAM significant decrease in number of errors and increase in number of correct choices indicate an elevation in retention and recall aspects of learning and memory after administration of SG an LE. SG and LE extract can efficiently prevent accumulation of β-amyloid plaque in hippocampus region. There was increase in SOD, GSH, CAT and NO level and decrease in MDA levels in SG and LE administered animals. SG and LE have found to exhibit AchE inhibitiory activity and significant dose-dependant increase in BDNF level in the plasma. SG and LE significantly increased the levels of noradrenaline, dopamine and 5-hydroxytryptamine in the brain. The study validated the neuroprotective activity of SG. The study concludes the extraction efficiency of SG for selected phytoconstituents is less than modern methods. However the neuroprotective activity of SG and LE was found to be greater than EE. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Optimal DNA Isolation Method for Detection of Nontuberculous Mycobacteria by Polymerase Chain Reaction.

PubMed

Mohammadi, Samira; Esfahani, Bahram Nasr; Moghim, Sharareh; Mirhendi, Hossein; Zaniani, Fatemeh Riyahi; Safaei, Hajieh Ghasemian; Fazeli, Hossein; Salehi, Mahshid

2017-01-01

Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are a group of opportunistic pathogens and these are widely dispersed in water and soil resources. Identification of mycobacteria isolates by conventional methods including biochemical tests, growth rates, colony pigmentation, and presence of acid-fast bacilli is widely used, but these methods are time-consuming, labor-intensive, and may sometimes remain inconclusive. The DNA was extracted from NTM cultures using CTAB, Chelex, Chelex + Nonidet P-40, FTA ® Elute card, and boiling The quantity and quality of the DNA extracted via these methods were determined using UV-photometer at 260 and 280 nm, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of the heat-shock protein 65 gene with serially diluted DNA samples. The CTAB method showed more positive results at 1:10-1:100,000 at which the DNA amount was substantial. With the Chelex method of DNA extraction, PCR amplification was detected at 1:10 and 1:1000 dilutions. According to the electrophoresis results, the CTAB and Chelex DNA extraction methods were more successful in comparison with the others as regard producing suitable concentrations of DNA with the minimum use of PCR inhibitor.

Systematic screening of plant extracts from the Brazilian Pantanal with antimicrobial activity against bacteria with cariogenic relevance.

PubMed

Brighenti, F L; Salvador, M J; Delbem, Alberto Carlos Botazzo; Delbem, Ádina Cleia Bottazzo; Oliveira, M A C; Soares, C P; Freitas, L S F; Koga-Ito, C Y

2014-01-01

This study proposes a bioprospection methodology regarding the antimicrobial potential of plant extracts against bacteria with cariogenic relevance. Sixty extracts were obtained from ten plants--(1) Jatropha weddelliana, (2) Attalea phalerata, (3) Buchenavia tomentosa, (4) Croton doctoris, (5) Mouriri elliptica, (6) Mascagnia benthamiana, (7) Senna aculeata, (8) Unonopsis guatterioides, (9) Allagoptera leucocalyx and (10) Bactris glaucescens--using different extraction methods - (A) 70° ethanol 72 h/25°C, (B) water 5 min/100°C, (C) water 1 h/55°C, (D) water 72 h/25°C, (E) hexane 72 h/25°C and (F) 90° ethanol 72 h/25°C. The plants were screened for antibacterial activity at 50 mg/ml using the agar well diffusion test against Actinomyces naeslundii ATCC 19039, Lactobacillus acidophilus ATCC 4356, Streptococcus gordonii ATCC 10558, Streptococcus mutans ATCC 35688, Streptococcus sanguinis ATCC 10556, Streptococcus sobrinus ATCC 33478 and Streptococcus mitis ATCC 9811. The active extracts were tested to determine their minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC), cytotoxicity and chemical characterization. Forty-seven extracts (78%) were active against at least one microorganism. Extract 4A demonstrated the lowest MIC and MBC for all microorganisms except S. gordonii and the extract at MIC concentration was non-cytotoxic. The concentrated extracts were slightly cytotoxic. Electrospray ionization with tandem mass spectrometry analyses demonstrated that the extract constituents coincided with the mass of the terpenoids and phenolics. Overall, the best results were obtained for extraction methods A, B and C. The present work proved the antimicrobial activity of several plants. Particularly, extracts from C. doctoris were the most active against bacteria involved in dental caries disease. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Iridology: A systematic review.

PubMed

Ernst, E

1999-02-01

Iridologists claim to be able to diagnose medical conditions through abnormalities of pigmentation in the iris. This technique is popular in many countries. Therefore it is relevant to ask whether it is valid. To systematically review all interpretable tests of the validity of iridology as a diagnostic tool. DATA SOURCE AND EXTRACTION: Three independent literature searches were performed to identify all blinded tests. Data were extracted in a predefined, standardized fashion. Four case control studies were found. The majority of these investigations suggests that iridology is not a valid diagnostic method. The validity of iridology as a diagnostic tool is not supported by scientific evaluations. Patients and therapists should be discouraged from using this method.

Phytochemical screening and in-vitro evaluation of pharmacological activities of peels of Musa sapientum and Carica papaya fruit.

PubMed

Siddique, Sarmad; Nawaz, Shamsa; Muhammad, Faqir; Akhtar, Bushra; Aslam, Bilal

2018-06-01

Aqueous, absolute and 80% ethanolic extract of fruit peels of Musa sapientum and Carica papaya were investigated for their antibacterial activity, measured by disc diffusion method and antioxidant activity, measured by four different methods. Papaya and banana peels were found to contain terpenoids, tannins, alkaloids, saponins steroid, phenols, fixed oils and fats. 80% ethanolic extract of banana peel was found to contain highest total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC) and antioxidant activity but in papaya peel, highest TPC and reducing activity was shown by water extract while, TFC and radical scavenging activity was given by 80% ethanolic extract. In banana, water extract showed highest antibacterial activity against tested bacteria while in case of papaya, absolute ethanolic extract showed highest antibacterial activity. The present study revealed that peels of banana and papaya fruits are potentially good source of antioxidant and antibacterial agents.

Qualitative and quantitative determination of extractives in heartwood of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) by gas chromatography.

PubMed

Ekeberg, Dag; Flaete, Per-Otto; Eikenes, Morten; Fongen, Monica; Naess-Andresen, Carl Fredrik

2006-03-24

A method for quantitative determination of extractives from heartwood of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) using gas chromatography (GC) with flame ionization detection (FID) was developed. The limit of detection (LOD) was 0.03 mg/g wood and the linear range (r = 0.9994) was up to 10 mg/g with accuracy within +/- 10% and precision of 18% relative standard deviation. The identification of the extractives was performed using gas chromatography combined with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The yields of extraction by Soxhlet were tested for solid wood, small particles and fine powder. Small particles were chosen for further analysis. This treatment gave good yields of the most important extractives: pinosylvin, pinosylvin monomethyl ether, resin acids and free fatty acids. The method is used to demonstrate the variation of these extractives across stems and differences in north-south direction.

[PREPARATION OF HUMAN TISSUE PROTEIN EXTRACTS ENRICHED WITH THE SPHINGOMYELIN SYNTHASE 1].

PubMed

Sudarkina, O Yu; Dergunova, L V

2015-01-01

Sphingomyelin synthase 1 (SMS 1) catalyzes sphingomyelin biosynthesis in eukaryotic cells. We previously studied the structure of the human SGMS1 gene, which encodes the enzyme and its numerous transcripts. The tissue-specific expression of the transcripts was also described. Analysis of the SMS1 protein expression in human tissues using immunoblotting of tissue extracts prepared in the RIPA (Radio Immuno-Precipitation Assay) buffer revealed a weak signal in renal cortex, testis, lung, and no signal in placenta and lymphatic node. In this work, a new method of preparation of the tissue protein extracts enriched with SMS1 was suggested. The method based on the consecutive extraction with a buffer containing 0.05 and 1 mg/ml of the Quillaja saponaria saponin allowed SMS1 to be detected in all tissues tested. The SMS1 content in the saponin extract of kidney cortex is about 12-fold higher compared to the RIPA extraction procedure.

Analgesic, neuropharmacological, anti-diarrheal, and cytotoxic activities of the extract of Solanum sisymbriifolium (Lam.) leaves.

PubMed

Apu, Apurba Sarker; Bhuyan, Shakhawat Hossan; Matin, Maima; Hossain, Faruq; Khatun, Farjana; Taiab, Abu; Jamaluddin

2013-01-01

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the possible analgesic, neuropharmacological, anti-diarrheal, and cytotoxic activities of the ethanol extract of leaves of Solanum sisymbriifolium Lam. (Family: Solanaceae). The analgesic activity was measured by acetic acid-induced writhing inhibition test. The neuropharmacological activities were evaluated using hole cross, hole board, and elevated plus-maze test and the anti-diarrheal activity was assessed using castor oil-induced diarrhea inhibition method. Brine shrimp lethality bioassay was carried out for assessing the cytotoxicity of the ethanol extract of the leaves. Except cytotoxic activity, all the tests were conducted on mice. The extract at oral doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg body weight showed highly significant (p<0.001) decrease in number of writhing, 52.1±0.66 and 4.4±0.64 compared with the control (78.6±0.29) with the percentage of inhibitions of writhing response were found to be 33.72% and 94.40%, respectively. Compare with the control, the extract at both doses showed significant sedative effect in hole cross test. In hole board test, the extract exhibited highly significant (p<0.001) anxiolytic activity at dose of (200 mg/kg), while the same activity was observed at dose of 400 mg/kg in elevated plus-maze test. The extract showed highly significant (p<0.001) anti-diarrheal activity in a dose-dependent manner. With the extract, significant lethality to brine shrimp was found with LC50 value of 61.66±0.9 μg/ml, which was comparable with the positive control (LC50: 11.89±0.8 µg/ml). The results from the present studies support the traditional uses of this plant part and could form the basis of further investigation including compound isolation.

Preparation of demipermanent and semipermanent hair dyes gels from ethanol extract of Caesalpinia sappan L. using carbomer as gelling agent

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Indrawati, T.; Syahrin, A.; Irpan

2017-07-01

Caesalpinia sappan L. (Cs L) contains of essential oils, saponin, brazilin, brazilein, alkaloids, flavonoids and tannins that have a function as cationic natural dyes. The aim of this research was to prepare the ethanol extract of Cs L wood and to prepare demi-permanent and semi-permanent of hair dye gels by using Carbomer of 2 % and 1.5 % as gelling agent and Cs L extract as cationic dyes. The Extract of Cs L was macerated by using ethanol of 96 % as the solvent, and then thickened. Three formula of demi-permanent hair dye gels were made by using Cs L extract of 3 %, 6% and 9 %. Three formula of semi-permanent hair dye gels were made by using Cs L extract of 2.50 %, 7.00 % and 10.50 %. Those hair dyes gels were prepared by swelling and mixing methods. All products of hair dyes gels were evaluated with organoleptic test, homogeneity test, pH test, consistency test, rheological properties test and dyeing effect test. The demi-permanent hair dye gels products had brown to brown dark black colors, pH of 5.05-5.43, homogeny, specific Cs L odor, and had pseudoplastic thixotropic flow characteristic. The semi-permanent hair dye gels products had red color pH of 6.5-6.25, homogeny, Cs L odor, and have pseudoplastic thixotropic flow characteristics. The optimum formula of demi-permanent was formula gel that contained of 6 % extract of Cs L and the optimum formula of permanent hair dyes gel was formula that contained of 10.50 % extract of Cs L.

Towards more ecological relevance in sediment toxicity testing with fish: Evaluation of multiple bioassays with embryos of the benthic weatherfish (Misgurnus fossilis).

PubMed

Schreiber, Benjamin; Fischer, Jonas; Schiwy, Sabrina; Hollert, Henner; Schulz, Ralf

2018-04-01

The effects of sediment contamination on fish are of high significance for the protection of ecosystems, human health and economy. However, standardized sediment bioassays with benthic fish species, that mimic bioavailability of potentially toxic compounds and comply with the requirements of alternative test methods, are still scarce. In order to address this issue, embryos of the benthic European weatherfish (Misgurnus fossilis) were exposed to freeze-dried sediment (via sediment contact assays (SCA)) and sediment extracts (via acute fish embryo toxicity tests) varying in contamination level. The extracts were gained by accelerated solvent extraction with (i) acetone and (ii) pressurized hot water (PHWE) and subsequently analyzed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated dibenzodioxins and dibenzofurans. Furthermore, embryos of the predominately used zebrafish (Danio rerio) were exposed to extracts from the two most contaminated sediments. Results indicated sufficient robustness of weatherfish embryos towards varying test conditions and sensitivity towards relevant sediment-bound compounds. Furthermore, a compliance of effect concentrations derived from weatherfish embryos exposed to sediment extracts (96h-LC 50 ) with both measured gradient of sediment contamination and previously published results was observed. In comparison to zebrafish, weatherfish embryos showed higher sensitivity to the bioavailability-mimicking extracts from PHWE but lower sensitivity to extracts gained with acetone. SCAs conducted with weatherfish embryos revealed practical difficulties that prevented an implementation with three of four sediments tested. In summary, an application of weatherfish embryos, using bioassays with sediment extracts from PHWE might increase the ecological relevance of sediment toxicity testing: it allows investigations using benthic and temperate fish species considering both bioavailable contaminants and animal welfare concerns. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Rapid extraction from and direct identification in clinical samples of methicillin-resistant staphylococci using the PCR.

PubMed

Jaffe, R I; Lane, J D; Albury, S V; Niemeyer, D M

2000-09-01

Methicillin-resistant staphylococci (MRS) are one of the most common causes of nosocomial infections and bacteremia. Standard bacterial identification and susceptibility testing frequently require as long as 72 h to report results, and there may be difficulty in rapidly and accurately identifying methicillin resistance. The use of the PCR is a rapid and simple process for the amplification of target DNA sequences, which can be used to identify and test bacteria for antimicrobial resistance. However, many sample preparation methods are unsuitable for PCR utilization in the clinical laboratory because they either are not cost-effective, take too long to perform, or do not provide a satisfactory DNA template for PCR. Our goal was to provide same-day results to facilitate rapid diagnosis and therapy. In this report, we describe a rapid method for extraction of bacterial DNA directly from blood culture bottles that gave quality DNA for PCR in as little as 20 min. We compared this extraction method to the standard QIAGEN method for turnaround time (TAT), cost, purity, and use of template in PCR. Specific identification of MRS was determined using intragenic primer sets for bacterial and Staphylococcus 16S rRNA and mecA gene sequences. The PCR primer sets were validated with 416 isolates of staphylococci, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (n = 106), methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (n = 134), and coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (n = 176). The total supply cost of our extraction method and PCR was $2.15 per sample with a result TAT of less than 4 h. The methods described herein represent a rapid and accurate DNA extraction and PCR-based identification system, which makes the system an ideal candidate for use under austere field conditions and one that may have utility in the clinical laboratory.

Mushrooms as possible antioxidant and antimicrobial agents.

PubMed

Kosanić, Marijana; Ranković, Branislav; Dašić, Marko

2012-01-01

The aim of the study is to examine in-vitro antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of the acetonic and methanolic extracts of the mushrooms Boletus aestivalis, Boletus edulis and Leccinum carpini. Antioxidant activity was evaluated by using free radical scavenging activity and reducing power. In addition, total content of phenol and flavonoid in extracts were determined as pyrocatechol equivalent, and as rutin equivalent, respectively. As a result of the study acetonic extracts from Boletus edulis was more powerful antioxidant activity with IC50 value of 4.72 μg/mL which was similar or greater than the standard antioxidants, ascorbic acid (IC50 = 4.22 μg/mL), BHA (IC50 = 6.42 μg/mL) and α-tocopherol (IC50 = 62.43 μg/mL). Moreover, the tested extracts had effective reducing power. A significant relationship between total phenolic and flavonoid contents and their antioxidative activities was significantly observed. The antimicrobial activity of each extract was estimated by determination of the minimum inhibitory concentration by using microdilution plate method against five species of bacteria and five species of fungi. Generally, the tested mushroom extracts had relatively strong antimicrobial activity against the tested microorganisms. The minimum inhibitory concentration for both extracts related to the tested bacteria and fungi were 1.25 - 10 mg/ mL. The present study shows that tested mushroom species demonstrated a strong antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. It suggests that mushroom may be used as good sources of natural antioxidants and for pharmaceutical purposes in treating of various deseases.

Antibacterial properties of Chinese herbal medicines against nosocomial antibiotic resistant strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Taiwan.

PubMed

Liu, Ching-Shen; Cham, Thau-Ming; Yang, Cheng-Hong; Chang, Hsueh-Wei; Chen, Chia-Hong; Chuang, Li-Yeh

2007-01-01

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is well-recognized as a nosocomial pathogen, which exhibits inherent drug resistance. In this study, the antibacterial activity of ethanol extracts of 58 Chinese herbal medicines used in Taiwan were tested against 89 nosocomial antibiotic resistant strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The results gathered by the disc diffusion method showed that 26 out of the 58 herbal extracts exhibited antibacterial activity. Among the 26 herbal extracts, 10 extracts showed broad-spectrum antibacterial activities and were selected for further antibacterial property assay. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of the active partition fractions ranged from 0.25 to 11.0 mg/L. The presence of flavonoid compounds in the active fractions of test herbal extracts was observed by the TLC-bioautography. The results from the time-kill assay revealed that most of the herbal extracts completely killed the test organisms within 4 hours. Exposure of the test strains to a sub-MIC level of the herbal extracts for 10 consecutive subcultures did not induce resistance to the active components. A combination of the active herbal fractions with antibiotics showed that one of the herbal medicines, the hexane fraction of Ramulus Cinnamomi, possessed a synergistic effect with tetracycline, gentamycin, and streptomycin. In conclusion, the tested Chinese medical herbs have the potential to be developed into natural antibiotics. This is the first evaluation for screening large amounts of medical plants against nosocomial antibiotic resistant bacteria in Taiwan.

Analysis of coffee for the presence of acrylamide by LC-MS/MS.

PubMed

Andrzejewski, Denis; Roach, John A G; Gay, Martha L; Musser, Steven M

2004-04-07

A variety of popular instant, ground, and brewed coffees were analyzed using a modified liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method specifically developed for the determination of acrylamide in foods. Coffee test portions were spiked with 13C3-labeled acrylamide as an internal standard prior to their extraction and cleanup. Ground coffees (1 g) and instant coffees (0.5 g) were extracted by shaking with 9 mL of water for 20 min. Brewed coffee test portions (9 mL) were taken through the cleanup procedure without further dilution with extraction solvent. Coffee test portions were cleaned up by passing 1.5 mL first through an Oasis HLB (hydrophilic/lipophilic copolymer sorbent) solid phase extraction (SPE) cartridge and then a Bond Elut-Accucat (cation and anion exchange sorbent) SPE cartridge. The cleaned up extracts were analyzed by positive ion electrospray LC-MS/MS. The MS/MS data was used to detect, confirm, and quantitate acrylamide. The limit of quantitation of the method was 10 ng/g for ground and instant coffees and 1.0 ng/mL for brewed coffee. The levels of acrylamide ranged from 45 to 374 ng/g in unbrewed coffee grounds, from 172 to 539 ng/g in instant coffee crystals, and from 6 to 16 ng/mL in brewed coffee.

Transference of bioactive compounds from support plants to the termites Constrictotermes cyphergaster (Isoptera).

PubMed

Policarpo, Iamara Silva; Vasconcellos, Alexandre; Chaves, Thiago Pereira; Raimundo, Joanda Paolla; Medeiros, Ana Cláudia D; Coutinho, Henrique D M; Alves, Rômulo Romeu Nóbrega

2018-10-15

This study aims to investigate the microbiological potential of the termite species Constrictotermes cyphergaster (Silvestri, 1901) and its support plants. We collected five C. cyphergaster nests from three different support plant species. Microbiological assays were performed on these extracts using the serial microdilution method in triplicate to measure the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of each microorganism for the analysed extract. The ethanol extracts of the termite C. cyphergaster showed no significant activity against strains of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, with an MIC >1000 μg mL-1. Only the extracts of the nests and termites with the nest had the same MICs. These results were in contrast to the extracts of Spondias tuberosa (Umbuzeiro), Poincianella pyramidalis (Catingueira), and Amburana cearensis (Cumaru), which demonstrated significant activity against S. aureus with MICs <1000 μg mL-1. The modulating activity of the extracts tested in the present study demonstrated potentiation of most antibiotics across the bacterial strains tested when combined with the extracts for both S. aureus and E. coli. These results indicate that the extracts tested in the present study may be composed of animal and vegetable origins with the potential to modify the activity of antibiotics and thus may aid in antimicrobial therapy. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Inhibitory Effect of Black and Red Pepper and Thyme Extracts and Essential Oils on Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli and DNase Activity of Staphylococcus aureus.

PubMed

Zarringhalam, Maryam; Zaringhalam, Jalal; Shadnoush, Mehdi; Safaeyan, Firouzeh; Tekieh, Elaheh

2013-01-01

In this study, extracts and essential oils of Black and Red pepper and Thyme were tested for antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli O157: H7 and Staphylococcus aureus. Black and Red pepper and Thyme were provided from Iranian agricultural researches center. 2 g of each plant powder was added to 10 cc ethanol 96°. After 24 h, the crude extract was separated as an alcoholic extract and concentrated by distillation method. Plants were examined for determining their major component and essential oils were separated. Phytochemical analyses were done for detection of some effective substances in extracts. The antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli O157: H7 and Staphylococcus aureus was tested and the results showed that all extracts and essential oils were effective and essential oils were more active. The extracts and oils that showed antimicrobial activity were later tested to determine the Minimum Inhibitory Dilution (MID) for those bacteria. They were also effective on the inhibition of DNase activity. This study was indicated that extracts and essential oils of Black and Red pepper and Thyme can play a significant role in inhibition of Escherichia coli O157: H7 and Staphylococcus aureus.

Inhibitory Effect of Black and Red Pepper and Thyme Extracts and Essential Oils on Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli and DNase Activity of Staphylococcus aureus

PubMed Central

Zarringhalam, Maryam; Zaringhalam, Jalal; Shadnoush, Mehdi; Safaeyan, Firouzeh; Tekieh, Elaheh

2013-01-01

In this study, extracts and essential oils of Black and Red pepper and Thyme were tested for antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli O157: H7 and Staphylococcus aureus. Black and Red pepper and Thyme were provided from Iranian agricultural researches center. 2 g of each plant powder was added to 10 cc ethanol 96°. After 24 h, the crude extract was separated as an alcoholic extract and concentrated by distillation method. Plants were examined for determining their major component and essential oils were separated. Phytochemical analyses were done for detection of some effective substances in extracts. The antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli O157: H7 and Staphylococcus aureus was tested and the results showed that all extracts and essential oils were effective and essential oils were more active. The extracts and oils that showed antimicrobial activity were later tested to determine the Minimum Inhibitory Dilution (MID) for those bacteria. They were also effective on the inhibition of DNase activity. This study was indicated that extracts and essential oils of Black and Red pepper and Thyme can play a significant role in inhibition of Escherichia coli O157: H7 and Staphylococcus aureus. PMID:24250643

Novel Features for Brain-Computer Interfaces

PubMed Central

Woon, W. L.; Cichocki, A.

2007-01-01

While conventional approaches of BCI feature extraction are based on the power spectrum, we have tried using nonlinear features for classifying BCI data. In this paper, we report our test results and findings, which indicate that the proposed method is a potentially useful addition to current feature extraction techniques. PMID:18364991

The Use of Tooth Particles as a Biomaterial in Post-Extraction Sockets. Experimental Study in Dogs.

PubMed

Calvo-Guirado, José Luis; Maté-Sánchez de Val, José Eduardo; Ramos-Oltra, María Luisa; Pérez-Albacete Martínez, Carlos; Ramírez-Fernández, María Piedad; Maiquez-Gosálvez, Manuel; Gehrke, Sergio A; Fernández-Domínguez, Manuel; Romanos, Georgios E; Delgado-Ruiz, Rafael Arcesio

2018-05-06

Objectives : The objective of this study was to evaluate new bone formation derived from freshly crushed extracted teeth, grafted immediately in post-extraction sites in an animal model, compared with sites without graft filling, evaluated at 30 and 90 days. Material and Methods : The bilateral premolars P2, P3, P4 and the first mandibular molar were extracted atraumatically from six Beagle dogs. The clean, dry teeth were ground immediately using the Smart Dentin Grinder. The tooth particles obtained were subsequently sieved through a special sorting filter into two compartments; the upper container isolating particles over 1200 μm, the lower container isolated particles over 300 μm. The crushed teeth were grafted into the post-extraction sockets at P3, P4 and M1 (test group) (larger and smaller post-extraction alveoli), while P2 sites were left unfilled and acted as a control group. Tissue healing and bone formation were evaluated by histological and histomorphometric analysis after 30 and 90 days. Results : At 30 days, test site bone formation was greater in the test group than the control group ( p < 0.05); less immature bone was observed in the test group (25.71%) than the control group (55.98%). At 90 days, significant differences in bone formation were found with more in the test group than the control group. No significant differences were found in new bone formation when comparing the small and large alveoli post-extraction sites. Conclusions : Tooth particles extracted from dog’s teeth, grafted immediately after extractions can be considered a suitable biomaterial for socket preservation.

Comparative anthelmintic activity investigation of selected ethno-medicinal weeds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pueblos, Kirstin Rhys S.; Bajalla, Mark; Pacheco, Dixie; Ganot, Sheila; Paig, Daisy; Tapales, Radyn; Lagare, Jeanne; Quimque, Mark Tristan J.

2017-01-01

Helminth infections are one of the seriously neglected potent diseases in many parts of the world. The problems of parasitic helminthes becoming resistant to currently available anthelmintic drugs pose a challenge for the search - relying on natural products - for new and better anthelmintics. In this paper, four abundant Philippine weeds: Chrysopogon aciculatus Trin. Cyperus brevifolius Rottb., Ruellia tuberosa Linn. and Saccharum spontaneum Linn. were investigated for their anthelmintic activities to establish basis of their folkloric claim. The hexane-soluble and chloroform-soluble extracts were obtained through sequential solvent partitioning of the crude ethanolic extract of the air-dried aerial part of each plant sample. Meanwhile, the decoction was obtained from fresh aerial part of the plant samples. All extracts were then subjected to in vitro anthelmintic screening at different concentration as per method of Ghosh, et al. against African nightcrawler earthworms (Eudrillus euginiae) in which the activity of the extracts was determined by correlation with time. The anthelmintic bioassay results revealed a dose-dependent toxicity relationship. It indicated relatively low anthelmintic activities of the decoction of the four plant samples as compared to their corresponding crude ethanol extracts. Among the crude ethanol extracts, C. brevifolius (CBE) gave fastest time to bring about paralysis and death to the test organisms at all concentrations tested. For the hexane extracts, R. tuberosa (RTH) gave better activity among other plant samples. Lastly, among the chloroform-soluble extracts, both that of C. brevifolius (CBC) and R. tuberosa (RTC) comparably showed strongest anthelmintic activities at all tested concentrations, thus, exhibited best anthelmintic activity that is remarkably comparable to the positive control, Mebendazole at the highest concentration tested. In fact, CBC and RTC showed highest anthelmintic potential compared to all extracts tested in this study.

Analgesic principle from Curcuma amada.

PubMed

Faiz Hossain, Chowdhury; Al-Amin, Mohammad; Rahman, Kazi Md Mahabubur; Sarker, Aurin; Alam, Md Mahamudul; Chowdhury, Mahmudul Hasan; Khan, Shamsun Nahar; Sultana, Gazi Nurun Nahar

2015-04-02

The rhizome of Curcuma amada has been used as a folk medicine for the treatment of rheumatic disorders in the northern part of Bangladesh and has also used for the treatment of inflammation and fever in the Ayurvedic and Unani systems of medicine. Aim of the study was to investigate the analgesic principle of the MeOH extract of the rhizome of Curcuma amada by an in vivo bioassay guided chromatographic separation and purification, and the structure elucidation of the purified compound by spectroscopic methods. Dried powder of Curcuma amada rhizomes was extracted with MeOH. The analgesic activity of the crude extract and its chromatographic fractions as well as the purified compound itself was evaluated by the acetic acid induced writhing method and the formalin induced licking test in Swiss albino mice. The MeOH extract was separated by chromatographic methods and the pure active compound was purified by crystallization in hexanes. The structure of the pure compound was then elucidated by spectroscopic methods. The MeOH extract of Curcuma amada exhibited 41.63% and 45.53% inhibitions in the acetic acid induced writhing method at doses of 200mg/kg and 400mg/kg, respectively. It also exerted 20.43% and 28.50% inhibitions in early phase at doses of 200mg/kg and 400mg/kg, respectively, and 30.41% and 42.95% inhibitions in late phase at doses of 200mg/kg and 400mg/kg, respectively in the formalin induced licking test. Vacuum Liquid Chromatography (VLC) of crude extract yielded five fractions and Fr. 1 was found to have the most potent analgesic activity with inhibitions of 36.96% in the acetic acid induced writhing method and 47.51% (early phase), 39.50% (late phase) in the formalin induced licking test at a dose of 200mg/kg. Column chromatography of Fr. 1 on silica gel generated seven fractions (SF. 1-SF. 7). SF. 2 showed the most potent activity with inhibition of 49.81% in the acetic acid induced writhing method at a dose of 100mg/kg. Crystallization of SF. 2 yielded (1) (zederone, 520mg). It showed statistically significant inhibitions of 38.91% and 52.14% in the acetic acid induced writhing method at doses of 20mg/kg and 40mg/kg, respectively. Moreover, it also showed statistically significant inhibitions of 27.79% and 29.93% (early phase) and of 38.24% and 46.08% (late phase) in the formalin induced licking test at doses of 20mg/kg and 40mg/kg, respectively. Isolation and characterization of zederone (1) as analgesic principle of Curcuma amada corroborate its use in Ayurvedic, Unani and folk medicines for the treatment of rheumatic disorders and also contributing to its pharmacological validation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Note: extraction of temperature-dependent interfacial resistance of thermoelectric modules.

PubMed

Chen, Min

2011-11-01

This article discusses an approach for extracting the temperature dependency of the electrical interfacial resistance associated with thermoelectric devices. The method combines a traditional module-level test rig and a nonlinear numerical model of thermoelectricity to minimize measurement errors on the interfacial resistance. The extracted results represent useful data to investigating the characteristics of thermoelectric module resistance and comparing performance of various modules. © 2011 American Institute of Physics

Efficient method of protein extraction from Theobroma cacao L. roots for two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry analyses.

PubMed

Bertolde, F Z; Almeida, A-A F; Silva, F A C; Oliveira, T M; Pirovani, C P

2014-07-04

Theobroma cacao is a woody and recalcitrant plant with a very high level of interfering compounds. Standard protocols for protein extraction were proposed for various types of samples, but the presence of interfering compounds in many samples prevented the isolation of proteins suitable for two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE). An efficient method to extract root proteins for 2-DE was established to overcome these problems. The main features of this protocol are: i) precipitation with trichloroacetic acid/acetone overnight to prepare the acetone dry powder (ADP), ii) several additional steps of sonication in the ADP preparation and extractions with dense sodium dodecyl sulfate and phenol, and iii) adding two stages of phenol extractions. Proteins were extracted from roots using this new protocol (Method B) and a protocol described in the literature for T. cacao leaves and meristems (Method A). Using these methods, we obtained a protein yield of about 0.7 and 2.5 mg per 1.0 g lyophilized root, and a total of 60 and 400 spots could be separated, respectively. Through Method B, it was possible to isolate high-quality protein and a high yield of roots from T. cacao for high-quality 2-DE gels. To demonstrate the quality of the extracted proteins from roots of T. cacao using Method B, several protein spots were cut from the 2-DE gels, analyzed by tandem mass spectrometry, and identified. Method B was further tested on Citrus roots, with a protein yield of about 2.7 mg per 1.0 g lyophilized root and 800 detected spots.

Effective and easy to use extraction method shows low numbers of microplastics in offshore planktivorous fish from the northern Baltic Sea.

PubMed

Budimir, Stjepan; Setälä, Outi; Lehtiniemi, Maiju

2018-02-01

Although the presence of microplastics in marine biota has been widely recorded, extraction methods, method validation and approaches to monitoring are not standardized. In this study a method for microplastic extraction from fish guts based on a chemical alkaline digestion is presented. The average particle retrieval rate from spiked fish guts, used for method validation, was 84%. The weight and shape of the test particles (PET, PC, HD-PE) were also analysed with no noticeable changes in any particle shapes and only minor weight change in PET (2.63%). Microplastics were found in 1.8% of herrings (n=164) and in 0.9% of sprat (n=154). None of the three-spined sticklebacks (n=355) contained microplastic particles. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Final report on the safety assessment of Juniperus communis Extract, Juniperus oxycedrus Extract, Juniperus oxycedrus Tar, Juniperus phoenicea extract, and Juniperus virginiana Extract.

PubMed

2001-01-01

The common juniper is a tree that grows in Europe, Asia, and North America. The ripe fruit of Juniperus communis and Juniperus oxycedrus is alcohol extracted to produce Juniperus Communis Extract and Juniperus Oxycedrus Extract, respectively. Juniperus Oxycedrus Tar is the volatile oil from the wood of J. oxycedrus. Juniperus Phoenicea Extract comes from the gum of Juniperus phoenicea, and Juniperus Virginiana Extract is extracted from the wood of Juniperus virginiana. Although Juniperus Oxycedrus Tar is produced as a by-product of distillation, no information was available on the manufacturing process for any of the Extracts. Oils derived from these varieties of juniper are used solely as fragrance ingredients; they are commonly produced using steam distillation of the source material, but it is not known if that procedure is used to produce extracts. One report does state that the chemical composition of Juniper Communis Oil and Juniperus Communis Extract is similar, each containing a wide variety of terpenoids and aromatic compounds, with the occasional aliphatic alcohols and aldehydes, and, more rarely, alkanes. The principle component of Juniperus Oxycedrus Tar is cadinene, a sesquiterpene, but cresol and guaiacol are also found. No data were available, however, indicating the extent to which there would be variations in composition that may occur as a result of extraction differences or any other factor such as plant growth conditions. Information on the composition of the other ingredients was not available. All of the Extracts function as biological additives in cosmetic formulations, and Juniperus Oxycedrus Tar is used as a hair-conditioning agent and a fragrance component. Most of the available safety test data are from studies using oils derived from the various varieties of juniper. Because of the expected similarity in composition to the extract, these data were considered. Acute studies using animals show little toxicity of the oil or tar. The oils derived from J. communis and J. virginiana and Juniperus Oxycedrus Tar were not skin irritants in animals. The oil from J. virginiana was not a sensitizer, and the oil from J. communis was not phototoxic in animal tests. Juniperus Oxycedrus Tar was genotoxic in several assays. No genotoxicity data were available for any of the extracts. Juniperus Communis Extract did affect fertility and was abortifacient in studies using albino rats. Clinical tests showed no evidence of irritation or sensitization with any of the tested oils, but some evidence of sensitization to the tar. These data were not considered sufficient to assess the safety of these ingredients. Additional data needs include current concentration of use data; function in cosmetics; methods of manufacturing and impurities data, especially pesticides; ultraviolet (UV) absorption data; if absorption occurs in the UVA or UVB range, photosensitization data are needed; dermal reproductive/developmental toxicity data (to include determination of a no-effect level); two genotoxicity assays (one in a mammalian system) for each extract; if positive, a 2-year dermal carcinogenicity assay performed using National Toxicology Program (NTP) methods is needed; a 2-year dermal carcinogenicity assay performed using NTP methods on Juniperus Oxycedrus Tar; and irritation and sensitization data on each extract and the tar (these data are needed because the available data on the oils cannot be extrapolated). Until these data are available, it is concluded that the available data are insufficient to support the safety of these ingredients in cosmetic formulations.

Antimicrobial and antimalarial properties of medicinal plants used by the indigenous tribes of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India.

PubMed

Chander, M Punnam; Pillai, C R; Sunish, I P; Vijayachari, P

2016-07-01

In this study, methanol extracts of six medicinal plants (Alstonia macrophylla, Claoxylon indicum, Dillenia andamanica, Jasminum syringifolium, Miliusia andamanica and Pedilanthus tithymaloides) traditionally used by Nicobarese tribes of Andaman and Nicobar Islands were studied for antimicrobial and antimalarial activities as well as preliminary photochemical analysis. Plants were collected from Car Nicobar of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the ethnobotanical data were gathered from traditional healers who inhabit the study area. The methanol extracts were obtained by cold percolation method and the antimicrobial activity was found using agar well diffusion method. Among the plants tested, J. syringifolium, D. andamanica, C. indicum were most active. The antimalarial activity was evaluated against Plasmodium falciparum chloroquine-sensitive MRC-2 isolate. The crude extract of M. andamanica showed excellent antimalarial activity followed by extracts of P. tithymaloides, J. syringifolium and D. andamanica. The chemical injury to erythrocytes was also carried out and it showed that, there were no morphological changes in erythrocytes by the methanol crude extracts. The in vitro antimicrobial and antimalarial activity might be due to the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, triterpenes, sterols, tannins and saponins in the methanol extracts of tested plants. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ethnoveterinary study for antidermatophytic activity of Piper betle, Alpinia galanga and Allium ascalonicum extracts in vitro.

PubMed

Trakranrungsie, N; Chatchawanchonteera, A; Khunkitti, W

2008-02-01

Crude ethanolic extracts of Piper betle leaves (Piperaceae), Alpinia galanga rhizomes (Zingiberaceae) and Allium ascalonicum bulbs (Liliaceae) were tested against selected zoonotic dermatophytes (Microsporum canis, Microsporum gypseum and Trichophyton mentagrophyte) and the yeast-like Candida albicans. A broth dilution method was employed to determine the inhibitory effect of the extracts and compared to those of ketoconazole and griseofulvin. All extracts suppressed the growth of the fungi in a concentration-dependent manner. Among the extracts tested, P. betle exhibited more effective antifungal properties with average IC(50) values ranging from 110.44 to 119.00 microg/ml. Subsequently, 10% Piper betle (Pb) cream was formulated, subjected to physical and microbial limit test and evaluated for antifungal effect. The disc diffusion assay revealed comparable zones of inhibition between discs of Pb cream containing 80 microg P. betle extract and 80 microg ketoconazole against tested fungi at 96 h after incubation. Thereafter, the inhibitory effect of Pb cream markedly decreased and completely lost effectiveness by day 7. In summary, the results supported the traditional wisdom of herbal remedy use and suggested a potential value-addition to agricultural products. It was suggested that the Pb cream has potential therapeutic value for treatment of dermatophytosis. However, clinical testing as well as improving the Pb cream formulation with greater efficacy and duration of action would be of interest and awaits further investigation.

Evaluation of an alternative extraction procedure for enterotoxin determination in dairy products.

PubMed

Meyrand, A; Atrache, V; Bavai, C; Montet, M P; Vernozy-Rozand, C

1999-06-01

A concentration protocol based on trichloroacetic acid precipitation was evaluated and compared with the reference method using dialysis concentration. Different quantities of purified staphylococcal enterotoxins were added to pasteurized Camembert-type cheeses. Detection of enterotoxins in these cheeses was performed using an automated detection system. Raw goat milk Camembert-type cheeses involved in a staphylococcal food poisoning were also tested. Both enterotoxin extraction methods allowed detection of the lowest enterotoxin concentration level used in this study (0.5 ng g-1). Compared with the dialysis concentration method, TCA precipitation of staphylococcal enterotoxins was 'user-friendly' and less time-consuming. These results suggest that TCA precipitation is a rapid (1 h), simple and reliable method of extracting enterotoxin from food which gives excellent recovery from dairy products.

An Efficient Method for Automatic Road Extraction Based on Multiple Features from LiDAR Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Y.; Hu, X.; Guan, H.; Liu, P.

2016-06-01

The road extraction in urban areas is difficult task due to the complicated patterns and many contextual objects. LiDAR data directly provides three dimensional (3D) points with less occlusions and smaller shadows. The elevation information and surface roughness are distinguishing features to separate roads. However, LiDAR data has some disadvantages are not beneficial to object extraction, such as the irregular distribution of point clouds and lack of clear edges of roads. For these problems, this paper proposes an automatic road centerlines extraction method which has three major steps: (1) road center point detection based on multiple feature spatial clustering for separating road points from ground points, (2) local principal component analysis with least squares fitting for extracting the primitives of road centerlines, and (3) hierarchical grouping for connecting primitives into complete roads network. Compared with MTH (consist of Mean shift algorithm, Tensor voting, and Hough transform) proposed in our previous article, this method greatly reduced the computational cost. To evaluate the proposed method, the Vaihingen data set, a benchmark testing data provided by ISPRS for "Urban Classification and 3D Building Reconstruction" project, was selected. The experimental results show that our method achieve the same performance by less time in road extraction using LiDAR data.

Algebraic method for parameter identification of circuit models for batteries under non-zero initial condition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Devarakonda, Lalitha; Hu, Tingshu

2014-12-01

This paper presents an algebraic method for parameter identification of Thevenin's equivalent circuit models for batteries under non-zero initial condition. In traditional methods, it was assumed that all capacitor voltages have zero initial conditions at the beginning of each charging/discharging test. This would require a long rest time between two tests, leading to very lengthy tests for a charging/discharging cycle. In this paper, we propose an algebraic method which can extract the circuit parameters together with initial conditions. This would theoretically reduce the rest time to 0 and substantially accelerate the testing cycles.

Built-up Areas Extraction in High Resolution SAR Imagery based on the method of Multiple Feature Weighted Fusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, X.; Zhang, J. X.; Zhao, Z.; Ma, A. D.

2015-06-01

Synthetic aperture radar in the application of remote sensing technology is becoming more and more widely because of its all-time and all-weather operation, feature extraction research in high resolution SAR image has become a hot topic of concern. In particular, with the continuous improvement of airborne SAR image resolution, image texture information become more abundant. It's of great significance to classification and extraction. In this paper, a novel method for built-up areas extraction using both statistical and structural features is proposed according to the built-up texture features. First of all, statistical texture features and structural features are respectively extracted by classical method of gray level co-occurrence matrix and method of variogram function, and the direction information is considered in this process. Next, feature weights are calculated innovatively according to the Bhattacharyya distance. Then, all features are weighted fusion. At last, the fused image is classified with K-means classification method and the built-up areas are extracted after post classification process. The proposed method has been tested by domestic airborne P band polarization SAR images, at the same time, two groups of experiments based on the method of statistical texture and the method of structural texture were carried out respectively. On the basis of qualitative analysis, quantitative analysis based on the built-up area selected artificially is enforced, in the relatively simple experimentation area, detection rate is more than 90%, in the relatively complex experimentation area, detection rate is also higher than the other two methods. In the study-area, the results show that this method can effectively and accurately extract built-up areas in high resolution airborne SAR imagery.

A comparative profile of methanol extracts of Allium cepa and Allium sativum in diabetic neuropathy in mice

PubMed Central

Bhanot, Abhishek; Shri, Richa

2010-01-01

Introduction: Diabetic Neuropathy (DN) is a major microvascular complication of uncontrolled diabetes. This may result from increased oxidative stress that accompanies diabetes. Hence plants with antioxidant action play an important role in management of diabetes and its complications. Materials and Methods: This study was designed to evaluate preventive as well as curative effect of methanol extracts of outer scales and edible portions of two plants with established antioxidant action - Allium cepa and Allium sativum, in induced DN in albino mice. Mice were divided into control, diabetic and test extracts treated groups. Test extracts were administered daily at a dose of 200 mg/kg p.o. for 21 days, in the preventive group prior to onset of DN, and in the curative group after the onset of DN. Hyperalgesia and oxidative stress markers were assessed. STZ-diabetic mice showed a significant thermal hyperalgesia (as assessed by the tail-flick test), indicating development of DN. Results: Treatment with test extracts prevented loss in body weight, decreased plasma glucose level, and significantly ameliorated the hyperalgesia, TBARS, serum nitrite and GSH levels in diabetic mice. Conclusion: Methanol extract of outer scales of onion has shown most significant improvement; may be due to higher content of phenolic compounds in outer scales of A. cepa. PMID:21713142

Automated ancillary cancer history classification for mesothelioma patients from free-text clinical reports

PubMed Central

Wilson, Richard A.; Chapman, Wendy W.; DeFries, Shawn J.; Becich, Michael J.; Chapman, Brian E.

2010-01-01

Background: Clinical records are often unstructured, free-text documents that create information extraction challenges and costs. Healthcare delivery and research organizations, such as the National Mesothelioma Virtual Bank, require the aggregation of both structured and unstructured data types. Natural language processing offers techniques for automatically extracting information from unstructured, free-text documents. Methods: Five hundred and eight history and physical reports from mesothelioma patients were split into development (208) and test sets (300). A reference standard was developed and each report was annotated by experts with regard to the patient’s personal history of ancillary cancer and family history of any cancer. The Hx application was developed to process reports, extract relevant features, perform reference resolution and classify them with regard to cancer history. Two methods, Dynamic-Window and ConText, for extracting information were evaluated. Hx’s classification responses using each of the two methods were measured against the reference standard. The average Cohen’s weighted kappa served as the human benchmark in evaluating the system. Results: Hx had a high overall accuracy, with each method, scoring 96.2%. F-measures using the Dynamic-Window and ConText methods were 91.8% and 91.6%, which were comparable to the human benchmark of 92.8%. For the personal history classification, Dynamic-Window scored highest with 89.2% and for the family history classification, ConText scored highest with 97.6%, in which both methods were comparable to the human benchmark of 88.3% and 97.2%, respectively. Conclusion: We evaluated an automated application’s performance in classifying a mesothelioma patient’s personal and family history of cancer from clinical reports. To do so, the Hx application must process reports, identify cancer concepts, distinguish the known mesothelioma from ancillary cancers, recognize negation, perform reference resolution and determine the experiencer. Results indicated that both information extraction methods tested were dependant on the domain-specific lexicon and negation extraction. We showed that the more general method, ConText, performed as well as our task-specific method. Although Dynamic- Window could be modified to retrieve other concepts, ConText is more robust and performs better on inconclusive concepts. Hx could greatly improve and expedite the process of extracting data from free-text, clinical records for a variety of research or healthcare delivery organizations. PMID:21031012

Novel sample preparation technique with needle-type micro-extraction device for volatile organic compounds in indoor air samples.

PubMed

Ueta, Ikuo; Mizuguchi, Ayako; Fujimura, Koji; Kawakubo, Susumu; Saito, Yoshihiro

2012-10-09

A novel needle-type sample preparation device was developed for the effective preconcentration of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in indoor air before gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. To develop a device for extracting a wide range of VOCs typically found in indoor air, several types of particulate sorbents were tested as the extraction medium in the needle-type extraction device. To determine the content of these VOCs, air samples were collected for 30min with the packed sorbent(s) in the extraction needle, and the extracted VOCs were thermally desorbed in a GC injection port by the direct insertion of the needle. A double-bed sorbent consisting of a needle packed with divinylbenzene and activated carbon particles exhibited excellent extraction and desorption performance and adequate extraction capacity for all the investigated VOCs. The results also clearly demonstrated that the proposed sample preparation method is a more rapid, simpler extraction/desorption technique than traditional sample preparation methods. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Validated Test Method 5030C: Purge-and-Trap for Aqueous Samples

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This method describes a purge-and-trap procedure for the analysis of volatile organic compoundsin aqueous samples & water miscible liquid samples. It also describes the analysis of high concentration soil and waste sample extracts prepared in Method 5035.

Evaluation of extraction methods for hexavalent chromium determination in dusts, ashes, and soils

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wolf, Ruth E.; Wilson, Stephen A.

2010-01-01

One of the difficulties in performing speciation analyses on solid samples is finding a suitable extraction method. Traditional methods for extraction of hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), in soils, such as SW846 Method 3060A, can be tedious and are not always compatible with some determination methods. For example, the phosphate and high levels of carbonate and magnesium present in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Method 3060A digestion for Cr(VI) were found to be incompatible with the High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-ICP-MS) detection method used by our laboratory. Modification of Method 3060A by eliminating the use of the phosphate buffer provided improved performance with the detection method, however dilutions are still necessary to achieve good chromatographic separation and detection of Cr(VI). An ultrasonic extraction method using a 1 mM Na2CO3 - 9 mM NaHCO3 buffer solution, adapted from Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Method ID215, has been used with good results for the determination of Cr(VI) in air filters. The average recovery obtained for BCR-545 - Welding Dust Loaded on Filter (IRMM, Belgium) using this method was 99 percent (1.2 percent relative standard deviation) with no conversion of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) during the extraction process. This ultrasonic method has the potential for use with other sample matrices, such as ashes and soils. Preliminary investigations using NIST 2701 (Hexavalent Chromium in Contaminated Soil) loaded onto quartz filters showed promising results with approximately 90 percent recovery of the certified Cr(VI) value. Additional testing has been done using NIST 2701 and NIST 2700 using different presentation methods. Extraction efficiency of bulk presentation, where small portions of the sample are added to the bottom of the extraction vessel, will be compared with supported presentation, where small portions of the sample are loaded onto a quartz filter prior to extraction. In addition, results obtained from the standard grinding preparation of NIST 2701 and NIST 2700 will be compared with micronizing to reduce particle size before extraction.

Antibacterial and antioxidant activities of Musa sp. leaf extracts against multidrug resistant clinical pathogens causing nosocomial infection

PubMed Central

Karuppiah, Ponmurugan; Mustaffa, Muhammed

2013-01-01

Objective To investigate different Musa sp. leave extracts of hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol were evaluated for antibacterial activity against multi-drug resistant pathogens causing nosocomial infection by agar well diffusion method and also antioxidant activities. Methods The four different Musa species leaves were extracted with hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol. Antibacterial susceptibility test, minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum inhibitory bacterial concentration were determined by agar well diffusion method. Total phenolic content and in vitro antioxidant activity was determined. Results All the Musa sp. extracts showed moderate antibacterial activities expect Musa paradisiaca with the inhibition zone ranging from 8.0 to 18.6 mm. Among four species ethyl acetate extracts of Musa paradisiaca showed highest activity against tested pathogens particularly E. coli, P. aeruginosa and Citrobacter sp. The minimum inhibitory concentrations were within the value of 15.63- 250 µg/mL and minimum bactericidal concentrations were ranging from 31.25- 250 µg/mL. Antioxidant activity of Musa acuminate exhibited maximum activity among other three Musa species. Conclusions The present study concluded that among the different Musa species, Musa paradisiaca displayed efficient antibacterial activity followed by Musa acuminata against multi-drug resistant nosocomial infection causing pathogens. Further, an extensive study is needed to identify the bioactive compounds, mode of action and toxic effect in vivo of Musa sp. PMID:23998016

Gastroprotective and ulcer healing effects of hydroethanolic extract of leaves of Caryocar coriaceum: Mechanisms involved in the gastroprotective activity.

PubMed

de Lacerda Neto, Luis Jardelino; Ramos, Andreza Guedes Barbosa; Santos Sales, Valterlucio; de Souza, Severino Denicio Gonçalves; Dos Santos, Antonia Thassya Lucas; de Oliveira, Larissa Rolim; Kerntopf, Marta Regina; de Albuquerque, Thais Rodrigues; Coutinho, Henrique Douglas Melo; Quintans-Júnior, Lucindo Jose; Wanderley, Almir Gonçalves; de Menezes, Irwin Rose Alencar

2017-01-05

This work aimed to determine the chemical fingerprint of hydroethanolic extract of leaves of Caryocar coriaceum (HELCC) and the gastroprotective activity. The chemical fingerprint of HELCC was analyzed by HPLC-DAD, to quantify total phenols and flavonoids were carried out by Folin-Ciocalteu reagent and aluminum chloride assay, while in vitro antioxidant activity was evaluated by the DPPH method. The methods used to determine pharmacological activity were: gastroprotective screening test in classical models of induced acute and chronic gastric lesions and physical barrier test. Further assays were performed to demonstrate the involvement of NO, prostaglandins, ATP-dependent potassium channels, TRPV, noradrenergic α2 receptors, histamines, and opioids. The DPPH method demonstrated the antioxidant activity of the extract, in vitro, explained by the presence of polyphenols and flavonoids. Oral administration of the extract, previously dissolved in deionized water, at a dose of 100 mg/kg decreased the lesions induced by indomethacin, acidified ethanol, ethanol and acetic acid by 75.0, 72.8, 69.4 and 86.2% respectively. It was demonstrated that opioid receptors, α 2 -adrenergic receptors and primary afferent neurons sensitive to capsaicin were involved in the mechanism of gastric protection, in addition to the contribution of NO and prostaglandins. The results show that extract is a promising candidate for the treatment of gastric ulcers. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

An In vitro Comparison and Evaluation of Sealing Ability of Newly Introduced C-point System, Cold Lateral Condensation, and Thermoplasticized Gutta-Percha Obturating Technique: A Dye Extraction Study.

PubMed

Sinhal, Tapati Manohar; Shah, Ruchi Rani Purvesh; Jais, Pratik Subhas; Shah, Nimisha Chinmay; Hadwani, Krupali Dhirubhai; Rothe, Tushar; Sinhal, Neha Nilesh

2018-01-01

The aim of this study is to compare and to evaluate sealing ability of newly introduced C-point system, cold lateral condensation, and thermoplasticized gutta-percha obturating technique using a dye extraction method. Sixty extracted maxillary central incisors were decoronated below the cementoenamel junction. Working length was established, and biomechanical preparation was done using K3 rotary files with standard irrigation protocol. Teeth were divided into three groups according to the obturation protocol; Group I-Cold lateral condensation, Group II-Thermoplasticized gutta-percha, and Group III-C-Point obturating system. After obturation all samples were subjected to microleakage assessment using dye extraction method. Obtained scores will be statistical analyzed using ANOVA test and post hoc Tukey's test. One-way analysis of variance revealed that there is significant difference among the three groups with P value (0.000 < 0.05). Tukey's HSD post hoc tests for multiple comparisons test shows that the Group II and III perform significantly better than Group I. Group III performs better than Group II with no significant difference. All the obturating technique showed some degree of microleakage. Root canals filled with C-point system showed least microleakage followed by thermoplasticized obturating technique with no significant difference among them. C-point obturation system could be an alternative to the cold lateral condensation technique.

Quantitative determination of methamphetamine in oral fluid by liquid-liquid extraction and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Bahmanabadi, L; Akhgari, M; Jokar, F; Sadeghi, H B

2017-02-01

Methamphetamine abuse is one of the most medical and social problems many countries face. In spite of the ban on the use of methamphetamine, it is widely available in Iran's drug black market. There are many analytical methods for the detection of methamphetamine in biological specimen. Oral fluid has become a popular specimen to test for the presence of methamphetamine. The purpose of the present study was to develop a method for the extraction and detection of methamphetamine in oral fluid samples using liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) methods. An analytical study was designed in that blank and 50 authentic oral fluid samples were collected to be first extracted by LLE and subsequently analysed by GC/MS. The method was fully validated and showed an excellent intra- and inter-assay precision (reflex sympathetic dystrophy ˂ 10%) for external quality control samples. Recovery with LLE methods was 96%. Limit of detection and limit of quantitation were 5 and 15 ng/mL, respectively. The method showed high selectivity, no additional peak due to interfering substances in samples was observed. The introduced method was sensitive, accurate and precise enough for the extraction of methamphetamine from oral fluid samples in forensic toxicology laboratories.

Transparent DNA/RNA Co-extraction Workflow Protocol Suitable for Inhibitor-Rich Environmental Samples That Focuses on Complete DNA Removal for Transcriptomic Analyses

PubMed Central

Lim, Natalie Y. N.; Roco, Constance A.; Frostegård, Åsa

2016-01-01

Adequate comparisons of DNA and cDNA libraries from complex environments require methods for co-extraction of DNA and RNA due to the inherent heterogeneity of such samples, or risk bias caused by variations in lysis and extraction efficiencies. Still, there are few methods and kits allowing simultaneous extraction of DNA and RNA from the same sample, and the existing ones generally require optimization. The proprietary nature of kit components, however, makes modifications of individual steps in the manufacturer’s recommended procedure difficult. Surprisingly, enzymatic treatments are often performed before purification procedures are complete, which we have identified here as a major problem when seeking efficient genomic DNA removal from RNA extracts. Here, we tested several DNA/RNA co-extraction commercial kits on inhibitor-rich soils, and compared them to a commonly used phenol-chloroform co-extraction method. Since none of the kits/methods co-extracted high-quality nucleic acid material, we optimized the extraction workflow by introducing small but important improvements. In particular, we illustrate the need for extensive purification prior to all enzymatic procedures, with special focus on the DNase digestion step in RNA extraction. These adjustments led to the removal of enzymatic inhibition in RNA extracts and made it possible to reduce genomic DNA to below detectable levels as determined by quantitative PCR. Notably, we confirmed that DNase digestion may not be uniform in replicate extraction reactions, thus the analysis of “representative samples” is insufficient. The modular nature of our workflow protocol allows optimization of individual steps. It also increases focus on additional purification procedures prior to enzymatic processes, in particular DNases, yielding genomic DNA-free RNA extracts suitable for metatranscriptomic analysis. PMID:27803690

Detection of soy proteins in processed foods: literature overview and new experimental work.

PubMed

Koppelman, Stef J; Lakemond, Catriona M M; Vlooswijk, Riek; Hefle, Susan L

2004-01-01

Several tests for the detection of soy proteins in foods have been described in the literature, and some are commercially available. This article gives an overview of these methods and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of each individual method. Based on the conclusions of this inventory, an experimental approach was designed to improve the sensitivity of measuring soy protein in processed foods. The aimed sensitivity is 10 ppm (10 microg soy protein in 1 g solid sample), which is over 100-fold lower than presently available tests. The aimed sensitivity is this low because levels of food allergens at 10 ppm and above may provoke reactions in food allergic persons. Native soybean meal, soy protein isolate, soy protein concentrate, and textured soy flakes were used as test materials. Several extraction procedures were compared and a new method using high pH was selected. Polyclonal antibodies were raised in rabbits and goats, and immunopurified antibodies were used in sandwich and inhibition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Extraction at pH 12 resulted in good yields for all tested samples, both quantitatively (Bradford) and qualitatively by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Immunopurified rabbit antibodies against this extract used in a competition ELISA format resulted in a sensitive test with a detection limit of 0.02 microg/mL, corresponding to 0.4 microg/g (0.4 ppm) in food samples. Cross-reactivity with some main food ingredients was measured and appeared to be negative in all cases. The presently developed test is applicable for soy ingredients and soy-containing foods that are processed in different ways. The limit of quantitation is 1 ppm, which is an enormous improvement over earlier described methods.

Evaluation Of A Powder-Free DNA Extraction Method For Skeletal Remains.

PubMed

Harrel, Michelle; Mayes, Carrie; Gangitano, David; Hughes-Stamm, Sheree

2018-02-07

Bones are often recovered in forensic investigations, including missing persons and mass disasters. While traditional DNA extraction methods rely on grinding bone into powder prior to DNA purification, the TBone Ex buffer (DNA Chip Research Inc.) digests bone chips without powdering. In this study, six bones were extracted using the TBone Ex kit in conjunction with the PrepFiler ® BTA™ DNA extraction kit (Thermo Fisher Scientific) both manually and via an automated platform. Comparable amounts of DNA were recovered from a 50 mg bone chip using the TBone Ex kit and 50 mg of powdered bone with the PrepFiler ® BTA™ kit. However, automated DNA purification decreased DNA yield (p < 0.05). Nevertheless, short tandem repeat (STR) success was comparable across all methods tested. This study demonstrates that digestion of whole bone fragments is an efficient alternative to powdering bones for DNA extraction without compromising downstream STR profile quality. © 2018 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Lipid extraction methods from microalgal biomass harvested by two different paths: screening studies toward biodiesel production.

PubMed

Ríos, Sergio D; Castañeda, Joandiet; Torras, Carles; Farriol, Xavier; Salvadó, Joan

2013-04-01

Microalgae can grow rapidly and capture CO2 from the atmosphere to convert it into complex organic molecules such as lipids (biodiesel feedstock). High scale economically feasible microalgae based oil depends on optimizing the entire process production. This process can be divided in three very different but directly related steps (production, concentration, lipid extraction and transesterification). The aim of this study is to identify the best method of lipid extraction to undergo the potentiality of some microalgal biomass obtained from two different harvesting paths. The first path used all physicals concentration steps, and the second path was a combination of chemical and physical concentration steps. Three microalgae species were tested: Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Nannochloropsis gaditana, and Chaetoceros calcitrans One step lipid extraction-transesterification reached the same fatty acid methyl ester yield as the Bligh and Dyer and soxhlet extraction with n-hexane methods with the corresponding time, cost and solvent saving. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of analgesic, antipyretic and anti-inflammatory activity on Cordia dichotoma G. Forst. Leaf.

PubMed

Gupta, Richa; Kaur, Jagjit

2015-01-01

Cordia dichotoma G. Forst. is an important medicinal plant of family Boraginaceae. Traditionally, its leaves are used to treat fever, headache, and joint pain but its medicinal activities have not been proven by research. To evaluate the analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and antipyretic activity of C. dichotoma G. Forst. leaf extract. The various extracts of leaf powder were prepared by using soxhlet apparatus. The methanol extract was selected for pharmacological study. To evaluate analgesic activity, Eddy's hot plate method, to study anti-inflammatory activity, carageenan-induced rat paw edema method, and to study antipyretic activity, yeast-induced pyrexia method was used. SD female rats (180-200 g) were used for the study. In all three tests, the methanol extract high dose (400 mg/kg) was found to be highly significant as compared to standard drug. This study proved the traditional uses of plant leaves and concluded the analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and antipyretic activity of the leaf methanol extract.

Convenient Detection of the Citrus Greening (Huanglongbing) Bacterium ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’ by Direct PCR from the Midrib Extract

PubMed Central

Fujikawa, Takashi; Miyata, Shin-Ichi; Iwanami, Toru

2013-01-01

A phloem-limited bacterium, ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’ (Las) is a major pathogen of citrus greening (huanglongbing), one of the most destructive citrus diseases worldwide. The rapid identification and culling of infected trees and budwoods in quarantine are the most important control measures. DNA amplification including conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has commonly been used for rapid detection and identification. However, long and laborious procedures for DNA extraction have greatly reduced the applicability of this method. In this study, we found that the Las bacterial cells in the midribs of infected leaves were extracted rapidly and easily by pulverization and centrifugation with mini homogenization tubes. We also found that the Las bacterial cells in the midrib extract were suitable for highly sensitive direct PCR. The performance of direct PCR using this extraction method was not inferior to that of conventional PCR. Thus, the direct PCR method described herein is characterized by its simplicity, sensitivity, and robustness, and is applicable to quarantine testing. PMID:23437295

The ethanolic extract of ashitaba stem (Angelica keskei [Miq.] Koidz) as future antituberculosis

PubMed Central

Kusuma, Sri Agung Fitri; Iskandar, Yoppi; Dewanti, Mutiara Ayu

2018-01-01

Considering the easy contagion of tuberculosis (TB) disease spread and the emergence of multidrug-resistant TB, which directly impacts the failure of therapeutic goals and mortality rates increasing, TB disease control remains to be the main concern of continuous health development effort. Therefore, the discovery of new TB drug is needed. This research assessed the new natural anti-TB drug from the ethanolic extract of Angelica keiskei stem obtained from Lombok, Indonesia. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the sensitivity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) H37Rv strain to A. keiskei stem extract and to determine its minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). The extraction methods of A. keiskei stem were done using a maceration method. In addition to phytochemical screening and water content analysis using standard method, the phytochemical parameters were analyzed by thin-layer chromatography. Ethanolic extract of A. keiskei stem was assayed for their Mtb inhibitory activity using the proportion method. The phytochemical analysis result showed that the secondary metabolites contain in the extract were flavonoid, polyphenol, tannin, monoterpenoid and sesquiterpen, quinon, and saponin. The anti-TB test result showed the active activity of ethanolic extract of A. keiskei against Mtb H37Rv strain with MIC ranging from 6% to 8% w/v. In conclusion, ethanolic extract of A. keiskei is a prospective natural anti-TB for the future. PMID:29441323

Effect of solvent on the extraction of phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity of hazelnut kernel.

PubMed

Fanali, Chiara; Tripodo, Giusy; Russo, Marina; Della Posta, Susanna; Pasqualetti, Valentina; De Gara, Laura

2018-03-22

Hazelnut kernel phenolic compounds were recovered applying two different extraction approaches, namely ultrasound-assisted solid/liquid extraction (UA-SLE) and solid-phase extraction (SPE). Different solvents were tested evaluating total phenolic compounds and total flavonoids contents together to antioxidant activity. The optimum extraction conditions, in terms of the highest value of total phenolic compounds extracted together to other parameters like simplicity and cost were selected for method validation and individual phenolic compounds analysis. The UA-SLE protocol performed using 0.1 g of defatted sample and 15 mL of extraction solvent (1 mL methanol/1 mL water/8 mL methanol 0.1% formic acid/5 mL acetonitrile) was selected. The analysis of hazelnut kernel individual phenolic compounds was obtained by HPLC coupled with DAD and MS detections. Quantitative analysis was performed using a mixture of six phenolic compounds belonging to phenolic classes' representative of hazelnut. Then, the method was fully validated and the resulting RSD% values for retention time repeatability were below 1%. A good linearity was obtained giving R 2 no lower than 0.997.The accuracy of the extraction method was also assessed. Finally, the method was applied to the analysis of phenolic compounds in three different hazelnut kernel varieties observing a similar qualitative profile with differences in the quantity of detected compounds. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Extraction of endoscopic images for biomedical figure classification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xue, Zhiyun; You, Daekeun; Chachra, Suchet; Antani, Sameer; Long, L. R.; Demner-Fushman, Dina; Thoma, George R.

2015-03-01

Modality filtering is an important feature in biomedical image searching systems and may significantly improve the retrieval performance of the system. This paper presents a new method for extracting endoscopic image figures from photograph images in biomedical literature, which are found to have highly diverse content and large variability in appearance. Our proposed method consists of three main stages: tissue image extraction, endoscopic image candidate extraction, and ophthalmic image filtering. For tissue image extraction we use image patch level clustering and MRF relabeling to detect images containing skin/tissue regions. Next, we find candidate endoscopic images by exploiting the round shape characteristics that commonly appear in these images. However, this step needs to compensate for images where endoscopic regions are not entirely round. In the third step we filter out the ophthalmic images which have shape characteristics very similar to the endoscopic images. We do this by using text information, specifically, anatomy terms, extracted from the figure caption. We tested and evaluated our method on a dataset of 115,370 photograph figures, and achieved promising precision and recall rates of 87% and 84%, respectively.

[Research of the essential oil of Plumeria rubra var. actifolia from Laos by supercritical carbon dioxide extraction].

PubMed

Xiao, Xin-Yu; Cui, Long-Hai; Zhou, Xin-Xin; Wu, Yan; Ge, Fa-Huan

2011-05-01

The orthogonal test and the supercritical carbon dioxide fluid extraction were used for optimizing the extraction of the essential oil from Plumeria rubra var. actifolia for the first time. Compared with the steam distillation, the optimal operation parameter of extraction was as follows: extraction pressure 25 MPa, extraction temperature 45 degrees C; separator I pressure 12 MPa, separator I temperature 55 degrees C; separator II pressure 6 MPa, separator II temperature 30 degrees C. Under this condition the yield of the essential oil was 5.8927%. The components were separated and identified by GC-MS. 53 components of Plumeria rubra var. actifolia measured by SFE method were identified and determined by normalization method. The main components were 1, 6, 10-dodecatrien-3-ol, 3, 7, 11-trimethyl, benzoic acid, 2-hydroxy-, phenylmethyl ester, 1, 2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, bis(2-methylpropyl) ester,etc.. 1, 2-Benzenedicarboxylic acid, bis (2-methylpropyl) este. took up 66.11% of the total amount, and there was much difference of the results from SD method.

Immortelle (Xeranthemum annuum L.) as a natural source of biologically active substances

PubMed Central

Stankovic, Milan S.; Radojevic, Ivana D.; Stefanovic, Olgica D.; Topuzovic, Marina D.; Comic, Ljiljana R.; Brankovic, Snežana R.

2011-01-01

Antioxidant and antimicrobial effects, total phenolic content and flavonoid concentrations of methanolic, acetone and ethyl acetate extracts from Xeranthemum annuum L. were investigated in this study. The total phenolic content was determined using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent and ranged between 101.33 to 159.48 mg GA/g. The concentration of flavonoids in various X. annuum extracts was determined using spectrophotometric method with aluminum chloride and the results varied from 22.25 to 62.42 mg RU/g. Antioxidant activity was monitored spectrophotometrically using DPPH reagent and expressed in terms of IC50 (µg/ml), and it ranged from 59.25 to 956.81 µg/ml. The highest phenolic content and capacity to neutralize DPPH radicals were found in the acetone extract. In vitro antimicrobial activity was determined by microdilution method. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum microbicidal concentration (MMC) have been determined. Testing was conducted against 24 microorganisms, including 15 strains of bacteria (standard and clinical strains) and 9 species of fungi. Statistically significant difference in activity between the extracts of X. annuum L. was observed and the acetone extract was found most active. The activity of acetone extract was in accordance with total phenol content and flavonoid concentration measured in this extract. The tested extracts showed significant antibacterial activity against G+ bacteria and weak to moderate activity against other microorganisms. Based on the obtained results, X. annuum can be considered as a rich natural source of polyphenolic compounds with very good antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. PMID:27857677

Influence of high-pressure homogenization, ultrasonication, and supercritical fluid on free astaxanthin extraction from β-glucanase-treated Phaffia rhodozyma cells.

PubMed

Hasan, Mojeer; Azhar, Mohd; Nangia, Hina; Bhatt, Prakash Chandra; Panda, Bibhu Prasad

2016-01-01

In this study astaxanthin production by Phaffia rhodozyma was enhanced by chemical mutation using ethyl methane sulfonate. The mutant produces a higher amount of astaxanthin than the wild yeast strain. In comparison to supercritical fluid technique, high-pressure homogenization is better for extracting astaxanthin from yeast cells. Ultrasonication of dimethyl sulfoxide, hexane, and acetone-treated cells yielded less astaxanthin than β-glucanase enzyme-treated cells. The combination of ultrasonication with β-glucanase enzyme is found to be the most efficient method of extraction among all the tested physical and chemical extraction methods. It gives a maximum yield of 435.71 ± 6.55 µg free astaxanthin per gram of yeast cell mass.

Extracting 5m Shorelines From Multi-Temporal Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kapadia, A.; Jordahl, K. A.; Kington, J. D., IV

2016-12-01

Planet operates the largest Earth observing constellation of satellites, collecting imagery at an unprecedented temporal resolution. While daily cadence is expected in early 2017, Planet has already imaged the majority of landmass several dozen times over the past year. The current dataset provides enough value to build and test algorithms to automatically extract information. Here we demonstrate the extraction of shorelines across California using image stacks. The method implemented uses as input an uncalibrated RGB data product and limited NIR combined with the National Land Cover Database 2011 (NLCD2011) and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) to extract shorelines at 5 meter resolution. In the near future these methods along with daily cadence of imagery will allow for temporal monitoring of shorelines on a global scale.

A scan statistic to extract causal gene clusters from case-control genome-wide rare CNV data.

PubMed

Nishiyama, Takeshi; Takahashi, Kunihiko; Tango, Toshiro; Pinto, Dalila; Scherer, Stephen W; Takami, Satoshi; Kishino, Hirohisa

2011-05-26

Several statistical tests have been developed for analyzing genome-wide association data by incorporating gene pathway information in terms of gene sets. Using these methods, hundreds of gene sets are typically tested, and the tested gene sets often overlap. This overlapping greatly increases the probability of generating false positives, and the results obtained are difficult to interpret, particularly when many gene sets show statistical significance. We propose a flexible statistical framework to circumvent these problems. Inspired by spatial scan statistics for detecting clustering of disease occurrence in the field of epidemiology, we developed a scan statistic to extract disease-associated gene clusters from a whole gene pathway. Extracting one or a few significant gene clusters from a global pathway limits the overall false positive probability, which results in increased statistical power, and facilitates the interpretation of test results. In the present study, we applied our method to genome-wide association data for rare copy-number variations, which have been strongly implicated in common diseases. Application of our method to a simulated dataset demonstrated the high accuracy of this method in detecting disease-associated gene clusters in a whole gene pathway. The scan statistic approach proposed here shows a high level of accuracy in detecting gene clusters in a whole gene pathway. This study has provided a sound statistical framework for analyzing genome-wide rare CNV data by incorporating topological information on the gene pathway.

Antibacterial and Antiadhesive Activities of Extracts from Edible Plants against Soft Drink Spoilage by Asaia spp.

PubMed

Antolak, Hubert; Czyzowska, Agata; Kregiel, Dorota

2017-01-01

This study was conducted to investigate the antibacterial and antiadhesive activities of ethanol extracts from five edible plant parts: cinnamon bark ( Cinnamomum zeylanicum ), licorice root ( Glycyrrhiza radix ), nettle leaves ( Urtica dioica ), green tea leaves ( Camellia sinensis ), and elderberry flowers ( Sambucus nigra ). The chemical constituents of the extracts were identified using high-performance liquid chromatography and liquid chromatography plus mass spectrometry. Six strains of Asaia lannensis and Asaia bogorensis bacteria isolated from spoiled commercial fruit-flavored noncarbonated mineral water were used. Bacterial adhesion to polystyrene as an attachment substrate in culture media supplemented with 10% plant extract was evaluated using luminometric measurement of the ATP extracted from adhered cells. The viability of the adhered and planktonic cells was assessed using the plate count method, and the relative adhesion coefficient was calculated. All tested crude extracts contained flavonols (kaempferol, quercetin, and their derivatives), flavanols (catechin and derivatives), flavanones (glabrol, licorice glycoside A, and liquiritin), and phenolic acids (gallic, quinic, chlorogenic, neochlorogenic, caffeic, coumaric, and ferulic). The culture medium with 10% elderberry extract provided the least favorable environment for all tested bacterial strains. Extracts from green tea, cinnamon, and licorice also had significant inhibitory effects on the adhesion of the tested bacterial strains. This research suggests that the addition of selected edible plant extracts could improve the microbial stability of noncarbonated soft drinks.

Densitometric thin-layer chromatographic determination of aescin in a herbal medicinal product containing Aesculus and Vitis dry extracts.

PubMed

Apers, Sandra; Naessens, Tania; Pieters, Luc; Vlietinck, Arnold

2006-04-21

A thin-layer chromatographic (TLC) method is developed to analyze the total saponin content, also referred to as the aescin content, in a herbal medicinal product (HMP) containing two dry extracts in capsules. The capsules contain 250 mg of Aesculus hippocastanum dry extract, 120 mg of Vitis vinifera dry extract and 50mg of excipients. After a purification step using C(18) solid phase extraction (SPE) cartridges, the samples are analyzed on a silica-gel HPTLC plate with the upper layer of a mixture of acetic acid/water/butanol (10/40/50 v/v/v) as the mobile phase. Spots are visualized by spraying with anisaldehyde reagent and heating the plate for 5-10 min (100-105 degrees C) and measured at a wavelength of 535 nm. This method, applicable for the quality control and stability investigation of both the Aesculus dry extract and HMP capsules thereof containing Vitis dry extract in combination with the Aesculus dry extract, is validated according to the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines. The proposed assay method is specific for aescin in the presence of Vitis dry extract and formulation excipients. Analysis of stressed samples in forced degradation tests proves the method to be applicable for stability evaluation. The standard aescin curve is linear (r > 0.99) over a concentration range of 0.16-0.80 microg/spot. Recovery from the HMP capsules is statistically equal to 100%. The precision of the method with respect to time and concentration is acceptable, with relative standard deviation (RSD) values of 1.28 and 1.49%, respectively.

Evaluation of different extraction methods from pomegranate whole fruit or peels and the antioxidant and antiproliferative activity of the polyphenolic fraction.

PubMed

Masci, Alessandra; Coccia, Andrea; Lendaro, Eugenio; Mosca, Luciana; Paolicelli, Patrizia; Cesa, Stefania

2016-07-01

Pomegranate is a functional food of great interest, due to its multiple beneficial effects on human health. This fruit is rich in anthocyanins and ellagitannins, which exert a protective role towards degenerative diseases. The aim of the present work was to optimize the extraction procedure, from different parts of the fruit, to obtain extracts enriched in selected polyphenols while retaining biological activity. Whole fruits or peels of pomegranate cultivars, with different geographic origin, were subjected to several extraction methods. The obtained extracts were analyzed for polyphenolic content, evaluated for antioxidant capacity and tested for antiproliferative activity on human bladder cancer T24 cells. Two different extraction procedures, employing ethyl acetate as a solvent, were useful in obtaining extracts enriched in ellagic acid and/or punicalagins. Antioxidative and antiproliferative assays demonstrated that the antioxidant capability is directly related to the phenolic content, whereas the antiproliferative activity is to be mainly attributed to ellagic acid. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Harman-Ware, Anne E.; Sykes, Robert; Peter, Gary F.

Terpenoids, naturally occurring compounds derived from isoprene units present in pine oleoresin, are a valuable source of chemicals used in solvents, fragrances, flavors, and have shown potential use as a biofuel. This paper describes a method to extract and analyze the terpenoids present in loblolly pine saplings and pine lighter wood. Various extraction solvents were tested over different times and temperatures. Samples were analyzed by pyrolysis-molecular beam mass spectrometry before and after extractions to monitor the extraction efficiency. The pyrolysis studies indicated that the optimal extraction method used a 1:1 hexane/acetone solvent system at 22°C for 1 h. Extracts frommore » the hexane/acetone experiments were analyzed using a low thermal mass modular accelerated column heater for fast-GC/FID analysis. The most abundant terpenoids from the pine samples were quantified, using standard curves, and included the monoterpenes, α- and β-pinene, camphene, and δ-carene. Sesquiterpenes analyzed included caryophyllene, humulene, and α-bisabolene. In conclusion, diterpenoid resin acids were quantified in derivatized extractions, including pimaric, isopimaric, levopimaric, palustric, dehydroabietic, abietic, and neoabietic acids.« less

Preliminary phytochemical screening and in vitro antioxidant activities of Parkinsonia aculeata Linn.

PubMed

Sharma, Sonia; Vig, Adarsh Pal

2014-01-01

Butanol and hexane leaves extracts of Parkinsonia aculeata L. (Fabaceae) were assessed for its antioxidant potential by in vitro methods. Phytochemical analysis and antioxidant activity of plant extracts were studied using different in vitro assays. UPLC analysis of extracts was carried out for the identification of chemical constituents. The total phenolic contents of the butanol and hexane leaf extract were 42 mgGAE/g and 34 mgGAE/g whereas flavonoid contents of these extracts were found to be 0.044 mgRE/g and 0.005 mgRE/g, respectively. Among both extracts, butanol extract shows maximum inhibition (%) of 93.88%, 80.02%, 52.06%, 94.68%, and 69.37% in DPPH, non-site-specific and site-specific, FTC, and TBA assays and absorbance of 0.852 and 0.522 in reducing power and CUPRAC assay at the highest concentration tested. The FRAP and TAC values of butanol extract were found to be 678 μM Fe(II)/g and 36 mgAAE/100 mg. UPLC analysis of extracts revealed the presence of various polyphenols. The tested plant extracts were found to possess potent antioxidant and free radical scavenging activity which may be due to the presence of flavonoids and polyphenols.

Electroencephalogram-based decoding cognitive states using convolutional neural network and likelihood ratio based score fusion.

PubMed

Zafar, Raheel; Dass, Sarat C; Malik, Aamir Saeed

2017-01-01

Electroencephalogram (EEG)-based decoding human brain activity is challenging, owing to the low spatial resolution of EEG. However, EEG is an important technique, especially for brain-computer interface applications. In this study, a novel algorithm is proposed to decode brain activity associated with different types of images. In this hybrid algorithm, convolutional neural network is modified for the extraction of features, a t-test is used for the selection of significant features and likelihood ratio-based score fusion is used for the prediction of brain activity. The proposed algorithm takes input data from multichannel EEG time-series, which is also known as multivariate pattern analysis. Comprehensive analysis was conducted using data from 30 participants. The results from the proposed method are compared with current recognized feature extraction and classification/prediction techniques. The wavelet transform-support vector machine method is the most popular currently used feature extraction and prediction method. This method showed an accuracy of 65.7%. However, the proposed method predicts the novel data with improved accuracy of 79.9%. In conclusion, the proposed algorithm outperformed the current feature extraction and prediction method.

Comparison of Two Simplification Methods for Shoreline Extraction from Digital Orthophoto Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bayram, B.; Sen, A.; Selbesoglu, M. O.; Vārna, I.; Petersons, P.; Aykut, N. O.; Seker, D. Z.

2017-11-01

The coastal ecosystems are very sensitive to external influences. Coastal resources such as sand dunes, coral reefs and mangroves has vital importance to prevent coastal erosion. Human based effects also threats the coastal areas. Therefore, the change of coastal areas should be monitored. Up-to-date, accurate shoreline information is indispensable for coastal managers and decision makers. Remote sensing and image processing techniques give a big opportunity to obtain reliable shoreline information. In the presented study, NIR bands of seven 1:5000 scaled digital orthophoto images of Riga Bay-Latvia have been used. The Object-oriented Simple Linear Clustering method has been utilized to extract shoreline of Riga Bay. Bend and Douglas-Peucker methods have been used to simplify the extracted shoreline to test the effect of both methods. Photogrammetrically digitized shoreline has been taken as reference data to compare obtained results. The accuracy assessment has been realised by Digital Shoreline Analysis tool. As a result, the achieved shoreline by the Bend method has been found closer to the extracted shoreline with Simple Linear Clustering method.

Simulation-based Extraction of Key Material Parameters from Atomic Force Microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alsafi, Huseen; Peninngton, Gray

Models for the atomic force microscopy (AFM) tip and sample interaction contain numerous material parameters that are often poorly known. This is especially true when dealing with novel material systems or when imaging samples that are exposed to complicated interactions with the local environment. In this work we use Monte Carlo methods to extract sample material parameters from the experimental AFM analysis of a test sample. The parameterized theoretical model that we use is based on the Virtual Environment for Dynamic AFM (VEDA) [1]. The extracted material parameters are then compared with the accepted values for our test sample. Using this procedure, we suggest a method that can be used to successfully determine unknown material properties in novel and complicated material systems. We acknowledge Fisher Endowment Grant support from the Jess and Mildred Fisher College of Science and Mathematics,Towson University.

Antidiarrheal, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities of the Musa sapientum Seed.

PubMed

Hossain, M Sarowar; Alam, M Badrul; Asadujjaman, M; Zahan, Ronok; Islam, M Monirul; Mazumder, M Ehsanul H; Haque, Md Ekramul

2011-04-01

Musa sapientum (M.sapientum) commonly known as 'banana' is widely used in Bangladeshi folk medicine for the treatment of various ailments including diarrhea. Hence, the present study was designed to investigate antidiarrheal, antioxidant and antibacterial potential of the methanolic extract of M.sapientum seed (MMSS). The extract was studied for antidiarrheal property using castor oil and magnesium sulfate induced diarrheal model and charcoal induced gastrointestinal motility test in mice. Total phenolic and flavonoids content, total antioxidant activity, scavenging of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical, as well as nitric oxide (NO) and assessment of reducing power were used to evaluate antioxidant potential of MMSS. In addition, disc diffusion methods were used for antibacterial assay using various diarrheal induced bacterial strains. At the doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg body weight, the extract reduced the frequency and severity of diarrhea in test animals throughout the study period. At the same doses, the extracts significantly (p<0.001) delayed the intestinal transit of charcoal meal in test animals as compared to the control. In DPPH and NO scavenging method, MMSS showed good antioxidant potentiality in a dose dependent manner with the IC(50) value of 12.32±0.33 µg/ml and 18.96±1.01 µg/ml, respectively with a significant (p<0.001) good reducing power. The extract also displayed strong anti-bacterial effect against when tested against Escherichia coli, Shigella dysenteriae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Altogether, these results suggest that the MMSS could be used as a potential antidiarrheal agent along with its antioxidant and antibacterial potentiality.

Antidiarrheal, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities of the Musa sapientum Seed

PubMed Central

Hossain, M. Sarowar; Alam, M. Badrul; Asadujjaman, M.; Zahan, Ronok; Islam, M. Monirul; Mazumder, M. Ehsanul H.; Haque, Md. Ekramul

2011-01-01

Musa sapientum (M.sapientum) commonly known as ‘banana’ is widely used in Bangladeshi folk medicine for the treatment of various ailments including diarrhea. Hence, the present study was designed to investigate antidiarrheal, antioxidant and antibacterial potential of the methanolic extract of M.sapientum seed (MMSS). The extract was studied for antidiarrheal property using castor oil and magnesium sulfate induced diarrheal model and charcoal induced gastrointestinal motility test in mice. Total phenolic and flavonoids content, total antioxidant activity, scavenging of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical, as well as nitric oxide (NO) and assessment of reducing power were used to evaluate antioxidant potential of MMSS. In addition, disc diffusion methods were used for antibacterial assay using various diarrheal induced bacterial strains. At the doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg body weight, the extract reduced the frequency and severity of diarrhea in test animals throughout the study period. At the same doses, the extracts significantly (p<0.001) delayed the intestinal transit of charcoal meal in test animals as compared to the control. In DPPH and NO scavenging method, MMSS showed good antioxidant potentiality in a dose dependent manner with the IC50 value of 12.32±0.33 µg/ml and 18.96±1.01 µg/ml, respectively with a significant (p<0.001) good reducing power. The extract also displayed strong anti-bacterial effect against when tested against Escherichia coli, Shigella dysenteriae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Altogether, these results suggest that the MMSS could be used as a potential antidiarrheal agent along with its antioxidant and antibacterial potentiality. PMID:23407989

Component spectra extraction from terahertz measurements of unknown mixtures.

PubMed

Li, Xian; Hou, D B; Huang, P J; Cai, J H; Zhang, G X

2015-10-20

The aim of this work is to extract component spectra from unknown mixtures in the terahertz region. To that end, a method, hard modeling factor analysis (HMFA), was applied to resolve terahertz spectral matrices collected from the unknown mixtures. This method does not require any expertise of the user and allows the consideration of nonlinear effects such as peak variations or peak shifts. It describes the spectra using a peak-based nonlinear mathematic model and builds the component spectra automatically by recombination of the resolved peaks through correlation analysis. Meanwhile, modifications on the method were made to take the features of terahertz spectra into account and to deal with the artificial baseline problem that troubles the extraction process of some terahertz spectra. In order to validate the proposed method, simulated wideband terahertz spectra of binary and ternary systems and experimental terahertz absorption spectra of amino acids mixtures were tested. In each test, not only the number of pure components could be correctly predicted but also the identified pure spectra had a good similarity with the true spectra. Moreover, the proposed method associated the molecular motions with the component extraction, making the identification process more physically meaningful and interpretable compared to other methods. The results indicate that the HMFA method with the modifications can be a practical tool for identifying component terahertz spectra in completely unknown mixtures. This work reports the solution to this kind of problem in the terahertz region for the first time, to the best of the authors' knowledge, and represents a significant advance toward exploring physical or chemical mechanisms of unknown complex systems by terahertz spectroscopy.

Improved Methods for Capture, Extraction, and Quantitative Assay of Environmental DNA from Asian Bigheaded Carp (Hypophthalmichthys spp.)

PubMed Central

Turner, Cameron R.; Miller, Derryl J.; Coyne, Kathryn J.; Corush, Joel

2014-01-01

Indirect, non-invasive detection of rare aquatic macrofauna using aqueous environmental DNA (eDNA) is a relatively new approach to population and biodiversity monitoring. As such, the sensitivity of monitoring results to different methods of eDNA capture, extraction, and detection is being investigated in many ecosystems and species. One of the first and largest conservation programs with eDNA-based monitoring as a central instrument focuses on Asian bigheaded carp (Hypophthalmichthys spp.), an invasive fish spreading toward the Laurentian Great Lakes. However, the standard eDNA methods of this program have not advanced since their development in 2010. We developed new, quantitative, and more cost-effective methods and tested them against the standard protocols. In laboratory testing, our new quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay for bigheaded carp eDNA was one to two orders of magnitude more sensitive than the existing endpoint PCR assays. When applied to eDNA samples from an experimental pond containing bigheaded carp, the qPCR assay produced a detection probability of 94.8% compared to 4.2% for the endpoint PCR assays. Also, the eDNA capture and extraction method we adapted from aquatic microbiology yielded five times more bigheaded carp eDNA from the experimental pond than the standard method, at a per sample cost over forty times lower. Our new, more sensitive assay provides a quantitative tool for eDNA-based monitoring of bigheaded carp, and the higher-yielding eDNA capture and extraction method we describe can be used for eDNA-based monitoring of any aquatic species. PMID:25474207

Improved methods for capture, extraction, and quantitative assay of environmental DNA from Asian bigheaded carp (Hypophthalmichthys spp.).

PubMed

Turner, Cameron R; Miller, Derryl J; Coyne, Kathryn J; Corush, Joel

2014-01-01

Indirect, non-invasive detection of rare aquatic macrofauna using aqueous environmental DNA (eDNA) is a relatively new approach to population and biodiversity monitoring. As such, the sensitivity of monitoring results to different methods of eDNA capture, extraction, and detection is being investigated in many ecosystems and species. One of the first and largest conservation programs with eDNA-based monitoring as a central instrument focuses on Asian bigheaded carp (Hypophthalmichthys spp.), an invasive fish spreading toward the Laurentian Great Lakes. However, the standard eDNA methods of this program have not advanced since their development in 2010. We developed new, quantitative, and more cost-effective methods and tested them against the standard protocols. In laboratory testing, our new quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay for bigheaded carp eDNA was one to two orders of magnitude more sensitive than the existing endpoint PCR assays. When applied to eDNA samples from an experimental pond containing bigheaded carp, the qPCR assay produced a detection probability of 94.8% compared to 4.2% for the endpoint PCR assays. Also, the eDNA capture and extraction method we adapted from aquatic microbiology yielded five times more bigheaded carp eDNA from the experimental pond than the standard method, at a per sample cost over forty times lower. Our new, more sensitive assay provides a quantitative tool for eDNA-based monitoring of bigheaded carp, and the higher-yielding eDNA capture and extraction method we describe can be used for eDNA-based monitoring of any aquatic species.

Antiplasmodial activity and cytotoxicity of ethanol extract of Zea mays root

PubMed Central

Okokon, Jude Efiom; Antia, Bassey Sunday; Azare, Bala Adamu; Okokon, Patience Jude

2017-01-01

Objective: Zea mays root decoction that has been traditionally used for the treatment of malaria by various tribes in Nigeria, was evaluated for antimalarial potential against malaria parasites using in vivo and in vitro models. Materials and Methods: The root extract of Zea mays was investigated for antimalarial activity against Plasmodium berghei in mice using rodent malaria models; suppressive, prophylactic and curative tests and in vitro antiplasmodial activity against chloroquine-sensitive (Pf 3D7) and resistant (Pf INDO) strains of Plasmodium falciparum using SYBR green assay method. Median lethal dose and cytotoxic activity against HeLa and HEKS cells were assessed and phytochemical screening was also carried out using standard procedures. Results: The LD50 value of root extract was found to be 474.34 mg/kg. The crude extract (45-135 mg/kg, p.o) showed significant (p<0.05-0.001) antimalarial activity against P. berghei infection in suppressive, prophylactic and curative tests with a prolonged survival time. The crude extract also showed moderate activity against both chloroquine-sensitive (Pf 3D7) and resistant (Pf INDO) strains of P. falciparum with an IC50 value of 71.62±3.38 μg/ml (for Pf 3D7) and 63.76±4.12 μg/ml (for Pf INDO). The crude extract was not cytotoxic to the two cell lines tested with TC50 of >100 μg/ml against both HeLa and HEKS cell lines. Conclusion: These results suggest that the root extract of Zea mays possesses antimalarial activity against both chloroquine-sensitive and resistant malaria and these data justify its use in ethnomedicine to treat malaria infections. PMID:28748174

Assessment of MagNA pure LC extraction system for detection of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA in PreservCyt samples by the Roche AMPLICOR and LINEAR ARRAY HPV tests.

PubMed

Stevens, Matthew P; Rudland, Elice; Garland, Suzanne M; Tabrizi, Sepehr N

2006-07-01

Roche Molecular Systems recently released two PCR-based assays, AMPLICOR and LINEAR ARRAY (LA), for the detection and genotyping, respectively, of human papillomaviruses (HPVs). The manual specimen processing method recommended for use with both assays, AmpliLute, can be time-consuming and labor-intensive and is open to potential specimen cross-contamination. We evaluated the Roche MagNA Pure LC (MP) as an alternative for specimen processing prior to use with either assay. DNA was extracted from cervical brushings, collected in PreservCyt media, by AmpliLute and MP using DNA-I and Total Nucleic Acid (TNA) kits, from 150 patients with histologically confirmed cervical abnormalities. DNA was amplified and detected by AMPLICOR and the LA HPV test. Concordances of 96.5% (139 of 144) (kappa=0.93) and 95.1% (135 of 142) (kappa=0.90) were generated by AMPLICOR when we compared DNA extracts from AmpliLute to MP DNA-I and TNA, respectively. The HPV genotype profiles were identical in 78.7 and 74.7% of samples between AmpliLute and DNA-I or TNA, respectively. To improve LA concordance, all 150 specimens were extracted by MP DNA-I protocol after the centrifugation of 1-ml PreservCyt samples. This modified approach improved HPV genotype concordance levels between AmpliLute and MP DNA-I to 88.0% (P=0.043) without affecting AMPLICOR sensitivity. Laboratories that have an automated MP extraction system would find this procedure more feasible and easier to handle than the recommended manual extraction method and could substitute such extractions for AMPLICOR and LA HPV tests once internally validated.

Antibacterial and antibiotic resistance modifying activity of the extracts from Allanblackia gabonensis, Combretum molle and Gladiolus quartinianus against Gram-negative bacteria including multi-drug resistant phenotypes.

PubMed

Fankam, Aimé G; Kuiate, Jules R; Kuete, Victor

2015-06-30

Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is becoming a serious problem worldwide. The discovery of new and effective antimicrobials and/or resistance modulators is necessary to tackle the spread of resistance or to reverse the multi-drug resistance. We investigated the antibacterial and antibiotic-resistance modifying activities of the methanol extracts from Allanblackia gabonensis, Gladiolus quartinianus and Combretum molle against 29 Gram-negative bacteria including multi-drug resistant (MDR) phenotypes. The broth microdilution method was used to determine the minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and minimal bactericidal concentrations (MBC) of the samples meanwhile the standard phytochemical methods were used for the preliminary phytochemical screening of the plant extracts. Phytochemical analysis showed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, phenols and tannins in all studied extracts. Other chemical classes of secondary metabolites were selectively presents. Extracts from A. gabonensis and C. molle displayed a broad spectrum of activity with MICs varying from 16 to 1024 μg/mL against about 72.41% of the tested bacteria. The extract from the fruits of A. gabonensis had the best activity, with MIC values below 100 μg/mL on 37.9% of tested bacteria. Percentages of antibiotic-modulating effects ranging from 67 to 100% were observed against tested MDR bacteria when combining the leaves extract from C. molle (at MIC/2 and MIC/4) with chloramphenicol, kanamycin, streptomycin and tetracycline. The overall results of the present study provide information for the possible use of the studied plant, especially Allanblackia gabonensis and Combretum molle in the control of Gram-negative bacterial infections including MDR species as antibacterials as well as resistance modulators.

Methods of analysis-Determination of pesticides in sediment using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hladik, Michelle; McWayne, Megan M.

2012-01-01

A method for the determination of 119 pesticides in environmental sediment samples is described. The method was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in support of the National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. The pesticides included in this method were chosen through prior prioritization. Herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides along with degradates are included in this method and span a variety of chemical classes including, but not limited to, chloroacetanilides, organochlorines, organophosphates, pyrethroids, triazines, and triazoles. Sediment samples are extracted by using an accelerated solvent extraction system (ASE®, and the compounds of interest are separated from co-extracted matrix interferences (including sulfur) by passing the extracts through high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with gel-permeation chromatography (GPC) along with the use of either stacked graphitized carbon and alumina solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridges or packed Florisil®. Chromatographic separation, detection, and quantification of the pesticides from the sediment-sample extracts are done by using gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Recoveries in test sediment samples fortified at 10 micrograms per kilogram (μg/kg) dry weight ranged from 75 to 102 percent; relative standard deviations ranged from 3 to 13 percent. Method detection limits (MDLs), calculated by using U.S. Environmental Protection Agency procedures (40 CFR 136, Appendix B), ranged from 0.6 to 3.4 μg/kg dry weight.

Antimutagenic and free radical scavenger effects of leaf extracts from Accacia salicina

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Three extracts were prepared from the leaves of Accacia salicina; ethyl acetate (EA), chloroform (Chl) and petroleum ether (PE) extracts and was designed to examine antimutagenic, antioxidant potenty and oxidative DNA damage protecting activity. Methods Antioxidant activity of A. salicina extracts was determined by the ability of each extract to protect against plasmid DNA strand scission induced by hydroxyl radicals. An assay for the ability of these extracts to prevent mutations induced by various oxidants in Salmonella typhimurium TA102 and TA 104 strains was conducted. In addition, nonenzymatic methods were employed to evaluate anti-oxidative effects of tested extracts. Results These extracts from leaf parts of A. salicina showed no mutagenicity either with or without the metabolic enzyme preparation (S9). The highest protections against methylmethanesulfonate induced mutagenicity were observed with all extracts and especially chloroform extract. This extract exhibited the highest inhibitiory level of the Ames response induced by the indirect mutagen 2- aminoanthracene. All extracts exhibited the highest ability to protect plasmid DNA against hydroxyl radicals induced DNA damages. The ethyl acetate (EA) and chloroform (Chl) extracts showed with high TEAC values radical of 0.95 and 0.81 mM respectively, against the ABTS.+. Conclusion The present study revealed the antimutagenic and antioxidant potenty of plant extract from Accacia salicina leaves. PMID:22132863

A modular method for the extraction of DNA and RNA, and the separation of DNA pools from diverse environmental sample types

PubMed Central

Lever, Mark A.; Torti, Andrea; Eickenbusch, Philip; Michaud, Alexander B.; Šantl-Temkiv, Tina; Jørgensen, Bo Barker

2015-01-01

A method for the extraction of nucleic acids from a wide range of environmental samples was developed. This method consists of several modules, which can be individually modified to maximize yields in extractions of DNA and RNA or separations of DNA pools. Modules were designed based on elaborate tests, in which permutations of all nucleic acid extraction steps were compared. The final modular protocol is suitable for extractions from igneous rock, air, water, and sediments. Sediments range from high-biomass, organic rich coastal samples to samples from the most oligotrophic region of the world's oceans and the deepest borehole ever studied by scientific ocean drilling. Extraction yields of DNA and RNA are higher than with widely used commercial kits, indicating an advantage to optimizing extraction procedures to match specific sample characteristics. The ability to separate soluble extracellular DNA pools without cell lysis from intracellular and particle-complexed DNA pools may enable new insights into the cycling and preservation of DNA in environmental samples in the future. A general protocol is outlined, along with recommendations for optimizing this general protocol for specific sample types and research goals. PMID:26042110

Procedures of determining organic trace compounds in municipal sewage sludge-a review.

PubMed

Lindholm-Lehto, Petra C; Ahkola, Heidi S J; Knuutinen, Juha S

2017-02-01

Sewage sludge is the largest by-product generated during the wastewater treatment process. Since large amounts of sludge are being produced, different ways of disposal have been introduced. One tempting option is to use it as fertilizer in agricultural fields due to its high contents of inorganic nutrients. This, however, can be limited by the amount of trace contaminants in the sewage sludge, containing a variety of microbiological pollutants and pathogens but also inorganic and organic contaminants. The bioavailability and the effects of trace contaminants on the microorganisms of soil are still largely unknown as well as their mixture effects. Therefore, there is a need to analyze the sludge to test its suitability before further use. In this article, a variety of sampling, pretreatment, extraction, and analysis methods have been reviewed. Additionally, different organic trace compounds often found in the sewage sludge and their methods of analysis have been compiled. In addition to traditional Soxhlet extraction, the most common extraction methods of organic contaminants in sludge include ultrasonic extraction (USE), supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), and pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) followed by instrumental analysis based on gas or liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry.

Momentum distributions for H 2 ( e , e ' p )

DOE PAGES

Ford, William P.; Jeschonnek, Sabine; Van Orden, J. W.

2014-12-29

[Background] A primary goal of deuteron electrodisintegration is the possibility of extracting the deuteron momentum distribution. This extraction is inherently fraught with difficulty, as the momentum distribution is not an observable and the extraction relies on theoretical models dependent on other models as input. [Purpose] We present a new method for extracting the momentum distribution which takes into account a wide variety of model inputs thus providing a theoretical uncertainty due to the various model constituents. [Method] The calculations presented here are using a Bethe-Salpeter like formalism with a wide variety of bound state wave functions, form factors, and finalmore » state interactions. We present a method to extract the momentum distributions from experimental cross sections, which takes into account the theoretical uncertainty from the various model constituents entering the calculation. [Results] In order to test the extraction pseudo-data was generated, and the extracted "experimental'' distribution, which has theoretical uncertainty from the various model inputs, was compared with the theoretical distribution used to generate the pseudo-data. [Conclusions] In the examples we compared the original distribution was typically within the error band of the extracted distribution. The input wave functions do contain some outliers which are discussed in the text, but at least this process can provide an upper bound on the deuteron momentum distribution. Due to the reliance on the theoretical calculation to obtain this quantity any extraction method should account for the theoretical error inherent in these calculations due to model inputs.« less

A novel strategy for isolation and determination of sugars and sugar alcohols from conifers.

PubMed

Sarvin, B A; Seregin, A P; Shpigun, O A; Rodin, I A; Stavrianidi, A N

2018-06-02

The ultrasound-assisted extraction method for isolation of 17 sugars and sugar alcohols from conifers with a subsequent hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for their determination is proposed. The optimization of extraction parameters was carried out using Taguchi - L 9 (3 4 ) orthogonal array experimental design for the following parameters-a methanol concentration in the extraction solution, an extraction time, a type of plant sample and an extraction temperature. The optimal ultrasound-assisted extraction conditions were-MeOH concentration - 30% (water - 70%), extraction time - 30 min, type of plant sample - II (grinded leaves 2-4 mm long), extraction temperature - 60 °C. Pure water and acetonitrile were used as eluents in gradient elution mode to separate the analytes. Direct determination of multiple sugars and sugar alcohols was carried out using a mass spectrometric detector operated in a multiple reaction monitoring mode, providing detection limits in the range between 0.1 and 20 ng/mL and good analytical characteristics of the method without derivatization. The developed approach was validated by multiple successive extraction method applied to test its performance on a series of 10 samples, i.e. 2 samples per each of 5 genera: Abies, Larix, Picea, Pinus (Pinaceae) and Juniperus (Cupressaceae), widely distributed in the boreal conifer forests of Eurasia. The novel strategy can be used for profiling of sugars and sugar alcohols in a wide range of plant species. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Stir bar sorptive extraction of diclofenac from liquid formulations: a proof of concept study.

PubMed

Kole, Prashant Laxman; Millership, Jeff; McElnay, James C

2011-03-25

A new stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) technique coupled with HPLC-UV method for quantification of diclofenac in pharmaceutical formulations has been developed and validated as a proof of concept study. Commercially available polydimethylsiloxane stir bars (Twister™) were used for method development and SBSE extraction (pH, phase ratio, stirring speed, temperature, ionic strength and time) and liquid desorption (solvents, desorption method, stirring time etc) procedures were optimised. The method was validated as per ICH guidelines and was successfully applied for the estimation of diclofenac from three liquid formulations viz. Voltarol(®) Optha single dose eye drops, Voltarol(®) Ophtha multidose eye drops and Voltarol(®) ampoules. The developed method was found to be linear (r=0.9999) over 100-2000ng/ml concentration range with acceptable accuracy and precision (tested over three QC concentrations). The SBSE extraction recovery of the diclofenac was found to be 70% and the LOD and LOQ of the validated method were found to be 16.06 and 48.68ng/ml, respectively. Furthermore, a forced degradation study of a diclofenac formulation leading to the formation of structurally similar cyclic impurity (indolinone) was carried out. The developed extraction method showed comparable results to that of the reference method, i.e. method was capable of selectively extracting the indolinone and diclofenac from the liquid matrix. Data on inter and intra stir bar accuracy and precision further confirmed robustness of the method, supporting the multiple re-use of the stir bars. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Antimicrobial activities of four Tunisian Chrysanthemum species.

PubMed

Sassi, Ahlem Ben; Harzallah-Skhiri, Fethia; Bourgougnon, Nathalie; Aouni, Mahjoub

2008-02-01

Tunisian Chrysanthemum species are known to have medicinal activity and some of the species are used in traditional medicine. We have earlier shown the use of C. trifurcatum flowerheads in Tunisian traditional medicine to treat constipation. In the present study we investigated the anti microbiol activity of four Tunision Chrysanthemum species. Different parts (flowers, leaves, stems, roots, leaves and flowers and leaves and stems) of four Tunisian Chrysanthemum species, were extracted with solvents of increasing polarity to obtain aqueous and organic extracts. These extracts were tested in vitro for their antimicrobial activity against 14 bacteria and four yeasts, using agar diffusion and microdilution methods. Activity was evaluated by measuring the zones of inhibition against the tested organisms and minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were determined from the lowest concentrations of extracts to inhibit the growth of microorganisms. Cytotoxity and antiviral activities against Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), were evaluated using the neutral red incorporation method. Extracts of the 4 Chrysanthemum species showed some degree of activity against one or more of the microbial strains with MIC ranging from 0.625 to 1.25 mg/ml. Most of the extracts were well tolerated by Vero cells with CC(50) > 500 microg/ml. The petroleum ether extract of C. trifurcatum stems and leaves protected infected cells with EC(50) of 100 microg/ml. Our findings showed that some Chrysanthemum extracts exhibited antimicrobial and/or anti-HSV-1 activities. Further studies aimed to the isolation and identification of active substances from the extracts which exhibited interest activities, need to be done.

A method for the solvent extraction of low-boiling-point plant volatiles.

PubMed

Xu, Ning; Gruber, Margaret; Westcott, Neil; Soroka, Julie; Parkin, Isobel; Hegedus, Dwayne

2005-01-01

A new method has been developed for the extraction of volatiles from plant materials and tested on seedling tissue and mature leaves of Arabidopsis thaliana, pine needles and commercial mixtures of plant volatiles. Volatiles were extracted with n-pentane and then subjected to quick distillation at a moderate temperature. Under these conditions, compounds such as pigments, waxes and non-volatile compounds remained undistilled, while short-chain volatile compounds were distilled into a receiving flask using a high-efficiency condenser. Removal of the n-pentane and concentration of the volatiles in the receiving flask was carried out using a Vigreux column condenser prior to GC-MS. The method is ideal for the rapid extraction of low-boiling-point volatiles from small amounts of plant material, such as is required when conducting metabolic profiling or defining biological properties of volatile components from large numbers of mutant lines.

Building Area Extraction from Polarimetric SAR Data via Stationarity Detection and Circular-Pol Correlation Coefficient

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiang, Deliang; Su, Yi; Ban, Yifeng

2015-04-01

Since the buildings have complex geometries and may be misclassified as forests or mountains with volume scattering due to the significant cross-pol backscatter and lack reflection symmetry, especially the slant-oriented buildings, building area extraction is a challenging problem. In this paper, the time-frequency decomposition technique is adopted to acquire subaperture images, which correspond to the same scene responses under different azimuthal look angles. Stationarity detection approach with polarimetric G0 distribution is proposed to extract ortho-orientedbuildings and the circular polarization correlation coefficient is optimal in characterizing slant-oriented buildings. We test the aforementioned method using ESAR image with L-band. The results demonstrate that the proposed method can effectively extract both ortho-oriented and slant-oriented buildings and the overall detection accuracy as well as kappa value is 10%-20% higher than the compared methods.

Accurate Modeling Method for Cu Interconnect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamada, Kenta; Kitahara, Hiroshi; Asai, Yoshihiko; Sakamoto, Hideo; Okada, Norio; Yasuda, Makoto; Oda, Noriaki; Sakurai, Michio; Hiroi, Masayuki; Takewaki, Toshiyuki; Ohnishi, Sadayuki; Iguchi, Manabu; Minda, Hiroyasu; Suzuki, Mieko

This paper proposes an accurate modeling method of the copper interconnect cross-section in which the width and thickness dependence on layout patterns and density caused by processes (CMP, etching, sputtering, lithography, and so on) are fully, incorporated and universally expressed. In addition, we have developed specific test patterns for the model parameters extraction, and an efficient extraction flow. We have extracted the model parameters for 0.15μm CMOS using this method and confirmed that 10%τpd error normally observed with conventional LPE (Layout Parameters Extraction) was completely dissolved. Moreover, it is verified that the model can be applied to more advanced technologies (90nm, 65nm and 55nm CMOS). Since the interconnect delay variations due to the processes constitute a significant part of what have conventionally been treated as random variations, use of the proposed model could enable one to greatly narrow the guardbands required to guarantee a desired yield, thereby facilitating design closure.

DNA extraction from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues: protein digestion as a limiting step for retrieval of high-quality DNA.

PubMed

Díaz-Cano, S J; Brady, S P

1997-12-01

Several DNA extraction methods have been used for formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues, with variable results being reported regarding the suitability of DNA obtained from such sources to serve as template in polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based genetic analyses. We present a method routinely used for archival material in our laboratory that reliably yields DNA of sufficient quality for PCR studies. This method is based on extended proteinase K digestion (250 micrograms/ml in an EDTA-free calcium-containing buffer supplemented with mussel glycogen) followed by phenol-chloroform extraction. Agarose gel electrophoresis of both digestion buffer aliquots and PCR amplification of the beta-globin gene tested the suitability of the retrieved DNA for PCR amplification.

A new artefacts resistant method for automatic lineament extraction using Multi-Hillshade Hierarchic Clustering (MHHC)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Šilhavý, Jakub; Minár, Jozef; Mentlík, Pavel; Sládek, Ján

2016-07-01

This paper presents a new method of automatic lineament extraction which includes the removal of the 'artefacts effect' which is associated with the process of raster based analysis. The core of the proposed Multi-Hillshade Hierarchic Clustering (MHHC) method incorporates a set of variously illuminated and rotated hillshades in combination with hierarchic clustering of derived 'protolineaments'. The algorithm also includes classification into positive and negative lineaments. MHHC was tested in two different territories in Bohemian Forest and Central Western Carpathians. The original vector-based algorithm was developed for comparison of the individual lineaments proximity. Its use confirms the compatibility of manual and automatic extraction and their similar relationships to structural data in the study areas.

Modulatory effects of garlic extract against the cyclophosphamide induced genotoxicity in human lymphocytes in vitro.

PubMed

Sowjanya, B Lakshmi; Devi, K Rudrama; Madhavi, D

2009-09-01

Cyclophosphamide (CP) is a commonly used chemotherapeutic and immunosuppressive agent which is used in the treatment of wide range of cancers and autoimmune diseases. Besides that it is a well known carcinogen. In this study by using chromosomal aberrations (CA) and sister chromatid exchanges (SCE) assays method, the modulatory effects exerted by the extract of garlic against the CP induced genotoxicity in the human lymphocyte cultures in vitro were tested. Three different doses of garlic extract were tested for their modulatory capacity on the mutagenecity exerted by 100 microg ml(-1) of CR The results indicate a significant decrease in the frequency of CA and SCE suggesting that the garlic extract modulates the CP induced genotoxicity in a dose dependent manner. These findings provide the future directions for the research on design and development of possible modulatory drugs containing garlic extract.

Effects of oxidizing adulterants on detection of 11-nor-delta9-THC-9-carboxylic acid in urine.

PubMed

Paul, Buddha D; Jacobs, Aaron

2002-10-01

Bleach, nitrite, chromate, and hydrogen peroxide-peroxidase are effective urine adulterants used by the illicit drug users to conceal marijuana-positive results. Methods for detecting nitrite and chromate are available. Effects of other oxidizing agents that could possibly be used as adulterants and are difficult to detect or measure are presented in this report. Urine samples containing 40 ng/mL of 11-nor-delta9-THC-9-carboxylic acid (THC-acid) were treated with 10 mmol/L of commonly available oxidizing agents. Effects of horseradish peroxidase of activity 10 unit/mL and extracts from 2.5 g of red radish (Raphanus sativus, Radicula group), horseradish (Armoracia rusticana), Japanese radish (Raphanus sativus, Daikon group), and black mustard seeds (Brassica nigra), all with 10 mmol/L of hydrogen peroxide, were also examined. After 5 min, 16 h and 48 h of exposure at room temperature (23 degrees C) the specimens were tested by a gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric method for THC-acid. A control group treated with sodium hydrosulfite to reduce the oxidants, was also tested to investigate the effect of oxidizing agents on THC-acid in the extraction method. THC-acid was lost completely in the extraction method when treated with chromate, nitrite, oxone, and hydrogen peroxide/ferrous ammonium sulfate (Fenton's reagent). Some losses were also observed with persulfate and periodate (up to 25%). These oxidants, and other oxidizing agents like permanganate, periodate, peroxidase, and extracts from red radish, horseradish, Japanese radish and black mustard seeds destroyed most of the THC-acid (> 94%) within 48 h of exposure. Chlorate, perchlorate, iodate, and oxychloride under these conditions showed little or no effect. Complete loss was observed when THC-acid was exposed to 50 mmol/L of oxychloride for 48 h. Several oxidizing adulterants that are difficult to test by the present urine adulterant testing methods showed considerable effects on the destruction of THC-acid. The time and temperature for these effects were similar to those used by most laboratories to collect and test specimens. In several cases, the loss of THC-acid was > 94%.

Quantification of polyphenols and evaluation of antimicrobial, analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of aqueous and acetone-water extracts of Libidibia ferrea, Parapiptadenia rigida and Psidium guajava.

PubMed

de Araújo, Aurigena Antunes; Soares, Luiz Alberto Lira; Assunção Ferreira, Magda Rhayanny; de Souza Neto, Manoel André; da Silva, Giselle Ribeiro; de Araújo, Raimundo Fernandes; Guerra, Gerlane Coelho Bernardo; de Melo, Maria Celeste Nunes

2014-10-28

Vast numbers of plant species from northeastern Brazil have not yet been phytochemically or biologically evaluated. The goal of this work was to obtain, characterize and show the antimicrobial, analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of aqueous and acetone-water extracts of Libidibia ferrea, Parapiptadenia rigida and Psidium guajava. The plant material (100g) was dried, and the crude extracts were obtained by using turbo-extraction (10%; w/v) with water or acetone:water (7:3, v/v) as the extraction solvent. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods were used to screen the crude extracts for hydrolysable tannins (gallic acid) and condensed tannins (catechins). The antibacterial activity was evaluated by agar-diffusion and microdilution methods against Gram-positive strains (Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Staphylococcus epidermidis INCQS 00016, Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212 and a clinical isolate of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) as well as Gram-negative strains (Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Salmonella enteritidis INCQS 00258, Shigella flexneri and Klebsiella pneumoniae). To evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity, a leukocyte migration model was used. Analgesic activity was determined by the hot plate test and the acetic acid-induced abdominal writhing test. Data were analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) at a significance level of 5%. Parapiptadenia rigida presented the highest amount of total polyphenols (35.82 ± 0.20%), while the greatest catechin content was found in the acetone-water extract of Psidium guajava (EAWPg; 1.04 μg/g). The largest amounts of catechins were found in the aqueous extract of Libidibia ferrea (EALf; 1.07 μg/g) and the acetone-water extract of Parapiptadenia rigida (EAWPr; 1.0 μg/g). All extracts showed activity against Gram-positive bacteria. The aqueous and acetone-water extracts of Psidium guajava showed the greatest inhibition zones in the agar diffusion tests. In the evaluation of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), the most susceptible Gram-positive bacterium was Staphylococcus epidermidis and the most susceptible Gram-negative bacterium was Shigella flexneri. EAPg and EAWPg showed the greatest MIC values. All extracts were significant inhibitors of leukocyte migration (p<0.05). Using the writhing test, significant analgesic activity was found for EAPr (50 mg/kg), EAWPr (100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg) and EAWPg (50 mg/kg) (p<0.05). Thus, the appropriate extraction procedure preserves the chemical components such as gallic acid and catechin, and showed antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Optimal DNA Isolation Method for Detection of Nontuberculous Mycobacteria by Polymerase Chain Reaction

PubMed Central

Mohammadi, Samira; Esfahani, Bahram Nasr; Moghim, Sharareh; Mirhendi, Hossein; Zaniani, Fatemeh Riyahi; Safaei, Hajieh Ghasemian; Fazeli, Hossein; Salehi, Mahshid

2017-01-01

Background: Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are a group of opportunistic pathogens and these are widely dispersed in water and soil resources. Identification of mycobacteria isolates by conventional methods including biochemical tests, growth rates, colony pigmentation, and presence of acid-fast bacilli is widely used, but these methods are time-consuming, labor-intensive, and may sometimes remain inconclusive. Materials and Methods: The DNA was extracted from NTM cultures using CTAB, Chelex, Chelex + Nonidet P-40, FTA® Elute card, and boiling The quantity and quality of the DNA extracted via these methods were determined using UV-photometer at 260 and 280 nm, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of the heat-shock protein 65 gene with serially diluted DNA samples. Results: The CTAB method showed more positive results at 1:10–1:100,000 at which the DNA amount was substantial. With the Chelex method of DNA extraction, PCR amplification was detected at 1:10 and 1:1000 dilutions. Conclusions: According to the electrophoresis results, the CTAB and Chelex DNA extraction methods were more successful in comparison with the others as regard producing suitable concentrations of DNA with the minimum use of PCR inhibitor. PMID:29279831

International Study to Evaluate PCR Methods for Detection of Trypanosoma cruzi DNA in Blood Samples from Chagas Disease Patients

PubMed Central

Schijman, Alejandro G.; Bisio, Margarita; Orellana, Liliana; Sued, Mariela; Duffy, Tomás; Mejia Jaramillo, Ana M.; Cura, Carolina; Auter, Frederic; Veron, Vincent; Qvarnstrom, Yvonne; Deborggraeve, Stijn; Hijar, Gisely; Zulantay, Inés; Lucero, Raúl Horacio; Velazquez, Elsa; Tellez, Tatiana; Sanchez Leon, Zunilda; Galvão, Lucia; Nolder, Debbie; Monje Rumi, María; Levi, José E.; Ramirez, Juan D.; Zorrilla, Pilar; Flores, María; Jercic, Maria I.; Crisante, Gladys; Añez, Néstor; De Castro, Ana M.; Gonzalez, Clara I.; Acosta Viana, Karla; Yachelini, Pedro; Torrico, Faustino; Robello, Carlos; Diosque, Patricio; Triana Chavez, Omar; Aznar, Christine; Russomando, Graciela; Büscher, Philippe; Assal, Azzedine; Guhl, Felipe; Sosa Estani, Sergio; DaSilva, Alexandre; Britto, Constança; Luquetti, Alejandro; Ladzins, Janis

2011-01-01

Background A century after its discovery, Chagas disease still represents a major neglected tropical threat. Accurate diagnostics tools as well as surrogate markers of parasitological response to treatment are research priorities in the field. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of PCR methods in detection of Trypanosoma cruzi DNA by an external quality evaluation. Methodology/Findings An international collaborative study was launched by expert PCR laboratories from 16 countries. Currently used strategies were challenged against serial dilutions of purified DNA from stocks representing T. cruzi discrete typing units (DTU) I, IV and VI (set A), human blood spiked with parasite cells (set B) and Guanidine Hidrochloride-EDTA blood samples from 32 seropositive and 10 seronegative patients from Southern Cone countries (set C). Forty eight PCR tests were reported for set A and 44 for sets B and C; 28 targeted minicircle DNA (kDNA), 13 satellite DNA (Sat-DNA) and the remainder low copy number sequences. In set A, commercial master mixes and Sat-DNA Real Time PCR showed better specificity, but kDNA-PCR was more sensitive to detect DTU I DNA. In set B, commercial DNA extraction kits presented better specificity than solvent extraction protocols. Sat-DNA PCR tests had higher specificity, with sensitivities of 0.05–0.5 parasites/mL whereas specific kDNA tests detected 5.10−3 par/mL. Sixteen specific and coherent methods had a Good Performance in both sets A and B (10 fg/µl of DNA from all stocks, 5 par/mL spiked blood). The median values of sensitivities, specificities and accuracies obtained in testing the Set C samples with the 16 tests determined to be good performing by analyzing Sets A and B samples varied considerably. Out of them, four methods depicted the best performing parameters in all three sets of samples, detecting at least 10 fg/µl for each DNA stock, 0.5 par/mL and a sensitivity between 83.3–94.4%, specificity of 85–95%, accuracy of 86.8–89.5% and kappa index of 0.7–0.8 compared to consensus PCR reports of the 16 good performing tests and 63–69%, 100%, 71.4–76.2% and 0.4–0.5, respectively compared to serodiagnosis. Method LbD2 used solvent extraction followed by Sybr-Green based Real time PCR targeted to Sat-DNA; method LbD3 used solvent DNA extraction followed by conventional PCR targeted to Sat-DNA. The third method (LbF1) used glass fiber column based DNA extraction followed by TaqMan Real Time PCR targeted to Sat-DNA (cruzi 1/cruzi 2 and cruzi 3 TaqMan probe) and the fourth method (LbQ) used solvent DNA extraction followed by conventional hot-start PCR targeted to kDNA (primer pairs 121/122). These four methods were further evaluated at the coordinating laboratory in a subset of human blood samples, confirming the performance obtained by the participating laboratories. Conclusion/Significance This study represents a first crucial step towards international validation of PCR procedures for detection of T. cruzi in human blood samples. PMID:21264349

Inhibition of Serratia marcescens Smj-11 biofilm formation by Alcaligenes faecalis STN17 crude extract

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lutfi, Zainal; Ahmad, Asmat; Usup, Gires

Serratia marcescens biofilms are formed when they are bound to surfaces in aqueous environments. S. marcescens utilizes N-acylhomoserine lactone (AHL) as its quorum sensing signal molecule. The accumulation of AHL indicates the bacteria to produce matrices to form biofilms. Prodigiosin (2-methyl-3-pentyl-6-methoxyprodigiosin), which causes red pigmentation in the colonies, are also produced when the AHL reaches a certain threshold. The Alcaligenes faecalis STN17 crude extract is believed to inhibit quorum sensing in the S. marcescens Smj-11 and, thus, impedes its biofilm formation ability. A. faecalis STN17 was grown in marine broth, and ethyl acetate extraction was carried out. The crude compoundmore » of A. faecalis STN17 was diluted at high concentration (0.2-6.4 mg/mL) and was taken to confirm anti-biofilm activity through the crystal violet method in 96-wells plate. Then, the crude extract underwent purification using simple solvents partitioning test to discern the respective compounds that had the anti-biofilm activity under the crystal violet method. The crystal violet test showed that the crude did have anti-biofilm activity on S. marcescens Smj-11, but did not kill the cells. This finding signifies that the suppression of biofilm formation in S. marcescens by A. faecalis STN17 has a strong correlation. The partitioning test showed that A. faecalis STN17 crude extract has several compounds and only the compound(s) in chloroform showed activities. In conclusion, the crude extract of A. faecalis STN17 has the ability to inhibit S. marcescens Smj-11 biofilm formation.« less

Antibacterial activity of selected medicinal plants against multiple antibiotic resistant uropathogens: a study from Kolli Hills, Tamil Nadu, India.

PubMed

Narayanan, A S; Raja, S S S; Ponmurugan, K; Kandekar, S C; Natarajaseenivasan, K; Maripandi, A; Mandeel, Q A

2011-09-01

The increasing incidence of antibiotic resistance among bacterial pathogens necessitates medicinal plants as an alternate therapy in restricting the resistant infectious organisms. In this primitive study, the antibiotic resistance of organisms isolated from urinary tract infected patients was evaluated using the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS) method and Multiple Antibiotic Resistance (MAR) index values, and the MAR values was also calculated for plant extracts. The 10 common medicinal plants collected from Kolli hills, Namakkal, south India were extracted using the chloroform, methanol, acetone, ethanol and saponification procedure. The efficacy of the extracts on the uropathogens was tested by agar disc diffusion method in order to analyse the inhibitory activity of plant extract on the organisms. Azadiracta indica A. Juss., Tinospora cordifolia (Wild.) and Euphorbia hirta Linn. exhibited high inhibitory activity against most of the 11 tested organisms followed by Cassia javanica Linn. and Phyllanthus niruri Linn. The maximum zone size of 46.3 mm was exhibited by methanol extract of P. niruri Linn. against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Asparagus racemosus Willd. and Eupatorium triplinerve Vahl had the least activity against resistant pathogens. Saponified lipids of most of the plants exhibited maximum antibacterial activity. Among the tested organisms, P. aeruginosa and Staphylococcus epidermidis were the most susceptible and Serratia marcescens, Enterobacter cloaceae, Citrobacter koseri, and Citrobacter freundii were the least inhibited by most of the extracts of medicinal plants. It is concluded that revised antibiotic policies and more importantly the development of herbal medicine as an alternative may be incorporated in urological practice.

Inhibition of Serratia marcescens Smj-11 biofilm formation by Alcaligenes faecalis STN17 crude extract

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lutfi, Zainal; Usup, Gires; Ahmad, Asmat

2014-09-01

Serratia marcescens biofilms are formed when they are bound to surfaces in aqueous environments. S. marcescens utilizes N-acylhomoserine lactone (AHL) as its quorum sensing signal molecule. The accumulation of AHL indicates the bacteria to produce matrices to form biofilms. Prodigiosin (2-methyl-3-pentyl-6-methoxyprodigiosin), which causes red pigmentation in the colonies, are also produced when the AHL reaches a certain threshold. The Alcaligenes faecalis STN17 crude extract is believed to inhibit quorum sensing in the S. marcescens Smj-11 and, thus, impedes its biofilm formation ability. A. faecalis STN17 was grown in marine broth, and ethyl acetate extraction was carried out. The crude compound of A. faecalis STN17 was diluted at high concentration (0.2-6.4 mg/mL) and was taken to confirm anti-biofilm activity through the crystal violet method in 96-wells plate. Then, the crude extract underwent purification using simple solvents partitioning test to discern the respective compounds that had the anti-biofilm activity under the crystal violet method. The crystal violet test showed that the crude did have anti-biofilm activity on S. marcescens Smj-11, but did not kill the cells. This finding signifies that the suppression of biofilm formation in S. marcescens by A. faecalis STN17 has a strong correlation. The partitioning test showed that A. faecalis STN17 crude extract has several compounds and only the compound(s) in chloroform showed activities. In conclusion, the crude extract of A. faecalis STN17 has the ability to inhibit S. marcescens Smj-11 biofilm formation.

Methods for extracting social network data from chatroom logs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Osesina, O. Isaac; McIntire, John P.; Havig, Paul R.; Geiselman, Eric E.; Bartley, Cecilia; Tudoreanu, M. Eduard

2012-06-01

Identifying social network (SN) links within computer-mediated communication platforms without explicit relations among users poses challenges to researchers. Our research aims to extract SN links in internet chat with multiple users engaging in synchronous overlapping conversations all displayed in a single stream. We approached this problem using three methods which build on previous research. Response-time analysis builds on temporal proximity of chat messages; word context usage builds on keywords analysis and direct addressing which infers links by identifying the intended message recipient from the screen name (nickname) referenced in the message [1]. Our analysis of word usage within the chat stream also provides contexts for the extracted SN links. To test the capability of our methods, we used publicly available data from Internet Relay Chat (IRC), a real-time computer-mediated communication (CMC) tool used by millions of people around the world. The extraction performances of individual methods and their hybrids were assessed relative to a ground truth (determined a priori via manual scoring).

Research of infrared laser based pavement imaging and crack detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hong, Hanyu; Wang, Shu; Zhang, Xiuhua; Jing, Genqiang

2013-08-01

Road crack detection is seriously affected by many factors in actual applications, such as some shadows, road signs, oil stains, high frequency noise and so on. Due to these factors, the current crack detection methods can not distinguish the cracks in complex scenes. In order to solve this problem, a novel method based on infrared laser pavement imaging is proposed. Firstly, single sensor laser pavement imaging system is adopted to obtain pavement images, high power laser line projector is well used to resist various shadows. Secondly, the crack extraction algorithm which has merged multiple features intelligently is proposed to extract crack information. In this step, the non-negative feature and contrast feature are used to extract the basic crack information, and circular projection based on linearity feature is applied to enhance the crack area and eliminate noise. A series of experiments have been performed to test the proposed method, which shows that the proposed automatic extraction method is effective and advanced.

Technique for quantitative RT-PCR analysis directly from single muscle fibers.

PubMed

Wacker, Michael J; Tehel, Michelle M; Gallagher, Philip M

2008-07-01

The use of single-cell quantitative RT-PCR has greatly aided the study of gene expression in fields such as muscle physiology. For this study, we hypothesized that single muscle fibers from a biopsy can be placed directly into the reverse transcription buffer and that gene expression data can be obtained without having to first extract the RNA. To test this hypothesis, biopsies were taken from the vastus lateralis of five male subjects. Single muscle fibers were isolated and underwent RNA isolation (technique 1) or placed directly into reverse transcription buffer (technique 2). After cDNA conversion, individual fiber cDNA was pooled and quantitative PCR was performed using primer-probes for beta(2)-microglobulin, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, insulin-like growth factor I receptor, and glucose transporter subtype 4. The no RNA extraction method provided similar quantitative PCR data as that of the RNA extraction method. A third technique was also tested in which we used one-quarter of an individual fiber's cDNA for PCR (not pooled) and the average coefficient of variation between fibers was <8% (cycle threshold value) for all genes studied. The no RNA extraction technique was tested on isolated muscle fibers using a gene known to increase after exercise (pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4). We observed a 13.9-fold change in expression after resistance exercise, which is consistent with what has been previously observed. These results demonstrate a successful method for gene expression analysis directly from single muscle fibers.

A study of antimicrobial activity, acute toxicity and cytoprotective effect of a polyherbal extract in a rat ethanol-HCl gastric ulcer model

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background The decoction of the aerial parts of Rhynchosia recinosa (A.Rich.) Bak. [Fabaceae] is used in combination with the stem barks of Ozoroa insignis Del. (Anacardiaceae), Maytenus senegalensis (Lam.) Excell. [Celastraceae] Entada abyssinica Steud. ex A.Rich [Fabaceae] and Lannea schimperi (Hochst.)Engl. [Anacardiaceae] as a traditional remedy for managing peptic ulcers. However, the safety and efficacy of this polyherbal preparation has not been evaluated. This study reports on the phytochemical profile and some biological activities of the individual plant extracts and a combination of extracts of the five plants. Methods A mixture of 80% ethanol extracts of R. recinosa, O. insignis, M. senegalensis, E. abyssinica and L. schimperi at doses of 100, 200, 400 and 800 mg/kg body wt were evaluated for ability to protect Sprague Dawley rats from gastric ulceration by an ethanol-HCl mixture. Cytoprotective effect was assessed by comparison with a negative control group given 1% tween 80 in normal saline and a positive control group given 40 mg/kg body wt pantoprazole. The individual extracts and their combinations were also tested for antibacterial activity against four Gram negative bacteria; Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), Salmonella typhi (NCTC 8385), Vibrio cholerae (clinical isolate), and Klebsiella pneumoniae (clinical isolate) using the microdilution method. In addition the extracts were evaluated for brine shrimp toxicity and acute toxicity in mice. Phytochemical tests were done using standard methods to determine the presence of tannins, saponins, steroids, cardiac glycosides, flavonoids, alkaloids and terpenoids in the individual plant extracts and in the mixed extract of the five plants. Results The combined ethanolic extracts of the 5 plants caused a dose-dependent protection against ethanol/HCl induced ulceration of rat gastric mucosa, reaching 81.7% mean protection as compared to 87.5% protection by 40 mg/kg body wt pantoprazole. Both the individual plant extracts and the mixed extracts of 5 plants exhibited weak to moderate antibacterial activity against four G-ve bacteria. Despite Ozoroa insignis being toxic to mice at doses above 1000 mg/kg body wt, the other plant extracts and the combined extract of the 5 plants were tolerated by mice up to 5000 mg/kg body wt. The brine shrimp test results showed the same pattern of toxicity with Ozoroa insignis being the most toxic (LC50 = 10.63 μg/ml). Phytochemical tests showed that the combined extract of the five plants contained tannins, saponins, steroids, cardiac glycosides, flavonoids and terpenoids. Flavonoids, tannins and terpenoids are known to have antioxidant activity. Conclusion The combined extract of the five plants exhibited a dose-dependent protective activity in the rat ethanol-HCl gastric ulcer model. The extracts also exhibited weak antibacterial activity against four Gram negative bacteria and low acute toxicity in mice and brine shrimps. Although the results support claims by traditional healers who use a decoction of the five plants for treatment of peptic ulcers, more models of gastric ulceration and proper animal toxicity studies are needed to validate possible clinical use of the polyherbal extract. It is also evident that the doses of the crude extracts showing protection of the gastric mucosa are too large for realistic translation to direct clinical application, but further studies using bioassay guided fractionation are important to either identify more practical fractions or active compound/s. PMID:23031266

Phytopharmacological evaluation of ethanol extract of Sida cordifolia L. roots.

PubMed

Momin, Mohammad Abdul Motalib; Bellah, Sm Faysal; Rahman, Sarder Mohammad Raussel; Rahman, Ahmed Ayedur; Murshid, Gazi Mohammad Monjur; Emran, Talha Bin

2014-01-01

To investigate the phytochemical screening (group determination) and selected pharmacological activities (antioxidant, antimicrobial and analgesic activity) of the plant Sida cordifolia Linn (S. cordifolia). Eighty percent concentrated ethanol extract of the roots was used. To identify the chemical constituents of plant extract standard procedures were followed. In phytochemical screening the crude extract was tested for the presence of different chemical groups like reducing sugar, tannins, saponins, steroids, flavonoids, gums, alkaloids and glycosides. The antioxidant property of ethanolic extract of S. cordifolia was assessed by DPPH free radical scavenging activity. Analgesic activity of the extract was tested using the model of acetic acid induced writhing in mice. Diclofenac sodium is used as reference standard drug for the analgesic activity test. Antibacterial activity of plant extract was carried out using disc diffusion method with five pathogenic bacteria comparison with kanamycin as a standard. Phytochemical analysis of the ethanolic extract of the roots of S. cordifolia indicated the presence of reducing sugar, alkaloids, steroids and saponins. In DPPH scavenging assay the IC50 value was found to be 50 μg/mL which was not comparable to the standard ascorbic acid. The crude extract produced 44.30% inhibition of writhing at the dose of 500 mg/kg body weight which is statistically significant (P>0.001). The in vitro antimicrobial activity of the ethanol extract of the roots of S. cordifolia showed no antimicrobial activity against five types of microorganisms. The experiment was conducted only with five species of bacteria as test species, which do not at all indicate the total inactivity against micro-organisms. The obtained results provide a support for the use of this plant in traditional medicine but further pharmacological studies are required. Copyright © 2014 Asian Pacific Tropical Biomedical Magazine. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Biological activities and chemical composition of lichens from Serbia

PubMed Central

Kosanic, Marijana; Rankovic, Branislav; Stanojkovic, Tatjana; Vasiljevic, Perica; Manojlovic, Nedeljko

2014-01-01

The aim of this study is to investigate chemical composition of acetone extracts of the lichens Parmelia arseneana and Acarospora fuscata and in vitro antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anticancer activities of these extracts and gyrophoric acid isolated from A. fuscata. The HPLC-UV method was used for the identification of secondary metabolites. Stictic acid, norstictic acid, gyrophoric acid, usnic acid, atranorin and chloroatranorin were identified in the A. fuscata. In P. arseneana, we detected stictic acid, norstictic acid, usnic acid and atranorin, while gyrophoric acid was not identified. Antioxidant activity was evaluated by measuring the scavenging capacity of tested samples on DPPH and superoxide anion radicals, reducing the power of samples and determination of total phenolic compounds in extracts. As a result of the study, gyrophoric acid was found to have the largest DPPH radical scavenging activity with an IC50 value of 105.75 µg/ml. Moreover, the tested samples had an effective superoxide anion radical scavenging and reducing power. The total content of phenol in extracts was determined as pyrocatechol equivalent. The antimicrobial activity was estimated by determination of the minimal inhibitory concentration by the broth microdilution method. The most active was also gyrophoric acid, with minimum inhibitory concentration values ranging from 0.019 to 1.25 mg/ml. Anticancer activity was tested against LS174 (human colon carcinoma cell line), A549 (human lung carcinoma cell line), Fem-x (malignant melanoma cell line), and a chronic myelogeneous leukaemia K562 cell line using the MTT method. Extract of P. arseneana expressed the strongest anticancer activity against all cell lines with IC50 values ranging from 11.61 to 47.06 µg/ml. PMID:26417336

Development of a nested polymerase chain reaction for amplification of a sequence of the p57 gene of Renibacterium salmoninarum that provides a highly sensitive method for detection of the bacterium in salmonid kidney

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chase, D.M.; Pascho, R.J.

1998-01-01

Nucleic acid-based assays have shown promise for diagnosing Renibacterium salmoninarum in tissues and body fluids of salmonids. DeVelopment of a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method to detect a 320 bp DNA segment of the gene encoding the p57 protein of R. salmoninarum is described. Whereas a conventional PCR for a 383 bp segment of the p57 gene reliably detected 1000 R. salmoninarum cells per reaction in kidney tissue, the nested PCR detected as few as 10 R. salmoninarum per reaction in kidney tissue. Two DNA extraction methods for the nested PCR were compared and the correlation between replicate samples was generally higher in samples extracted by the QIAamp system compared with those extracted by the phenol/chloroform method. The specificity of the nested PCR was confirmed by testing DNA extracts of common bacterial fish pathogens and a panel of bacterial species reported to cause false-positive reactions in the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and the fluorescent antibody test (FAT) for R. salmoninarum. Kidney samples from 74 naturally infected chinook Salmon were examined by the nested PCR, the ELISA, and the FAT, and the detected prevalences of R. salmoninarum were 61, 47, and 43%, respectively.

Comparison of three DNA extraction methods for the detection and quantification of GMO in Ecuadorian manufactured food.

PubMed

Pacheco Coello, Ricardo; Pestana Justo, Jorge; Factos Mendoza, Andrés; Santos Ordoñez, Efrén

2017-12-20

In Ecuador, food products need to be labeled if exceeded 0.9% of transgenic content in whole products. For the detection of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), three DNA extraction methods were tested in 35 food products commercialized in Ecuador. Samples with positive amplification of endogenous genes were screened for the presence of the Cauliflower mosaic virus 35S-promoter (P35S) and the nopaline synthase-terminator (Tnos). TaqMan™ probes were used for determination of transgenic content of the GTS 40-3-2 and MON810 events through quantitative PCR (qPCR). Twenty-six processed food samples were positive for the P35S alone and eight samples for the Tnos and P35S. Absolute qPCR results indicated that eleven samples were positive for GTS 40-3-2 specific event and two for MON810 specific event. A total of nine samples for events GTS 40-3-2 and MON810 exceeded the umbral allowed of transgenic content in the whole food product with the specific events. Different food products may require different DNA extraction protocols for GMO detection through PCR. Among the three methods tested, the DNeasy mericon food kit DNA extraction method obtained higher proportion of amplified endogenous genes through PCR. Finally, event-specific GMOs were detected in food products in Ecuador.

Antibacterial activity of Aquilaria crassna leaf extract against Staphylococcus epidermidis by disruption of cell wall

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Aquilaria crassna Pierre ex Lecomte has been traditionally used in Thailand for treatment of infectious diseases such as diarrhoea and skin diseases for a long time. The main objectives of this study were to examine antibacterial activity of the Aquilaria crassna leaf extract against Staphylococcus epidermidis and its underlying mechanism. The antioxidant activity and acute toxicity were studied as well. Methods Antioxidant activities were examined by FRAP, ABTS and DPPH scavenging methods. Antibacterial activity was conducted using disc diffusion assay and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined by dilution method. The minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) was reported as the lowest concentration producing no growth of microbes in the subcultures. Morphological changes of the microbe were observed by scanning electron microscopy, while an inhibitory effect on biofilm formation was evaluated by phase contrast microscopic analysis. Bacterial cell wall integrity was assessed by transmission electron microscopy. Acute toxicity was conducted in accordance with the OECD for Testing of Chemicals (2001) guidelines. Results The extract exhibited considerable antioxidant activity. Staphylococcus epidermidis was susceptible to the extract with the MIC and MBC of 6 and 12 mg/ml, respectively. The extract caused swelling and distortion of bacterial cells and inhibited bacterial biofilm formation. Rupture of bacterial cell wall occurred after treated with the extract for 24 h. Acute toxicity test in mice showed no sign of toxicity or death at the doses of 2,000 and 15,000 mg/kg body weight. Conclusion The aqueous extract of Aquilaria crassna leaves possesses an in vitro antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus epidermidis, with no sign of acute oral toxicity in mice, probably by interfering with bacterial cell wall synthesis and inhibiting biofilm formation. PMID:23962360

Analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of Piper nigrum L.

PubMed

Tasleem, Farhana; Azhar, Iqbal; Ali, Syed Nawazish; Perveen, Shaista; Mahmood, Zafar Alam

2014-09-01

To evaluate and compare the analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity of pure compound, piperine along with hexane and ethanol extracts of Piper nigrum L. fruit in mice and rats. The analgesic activity was determined by tail immersion method, analgesy-meter, hot plate and acetic acid induced writhing test. While the anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated by carrageenan-induced paw inflammation in rats. Piperine at a dose of 5 mg/kg and ethanol extract at a dose of 15 mg/kg after 120 min and hexane extract at a dose of 10 mg/kg after 60 min exhibited significant (P<0.05) analgesic activity by tail immersion method, in comparison to ethanol extract at a dose of 10 mg/kg using analgesy-meter in rats. However, with hotplate method, piperine produced significant (P<0.05) analgesic activity at lower doses (5 and 10 mg/kg) after 120 min. A similar analgesic activity was noted with hexane extract at 15 mg/kg. However, in writhing test, ethanol extract significantly (P<0.05) stopped the number of writhes at a dose of 15 mg/kg, while piperine at a dose of 10 mg/kg completely terminated the writhes in mice. In the evaluation of anti-inflammatory effect using plethysmometer, piperine at doses of 10 and 15 mg/kg started producing anti-inflammatory effect after 30 min, which lasted till 60 min, whereas hexane and ethanol extracts also produced a similar activity at a slightly low dose (10 mg/kg) but lasted for 120 min. It is concluded from the present study that Piper nigrum L possesses potent analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities. Copyright © 2014 Hainan Medical College. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Activity of Kaempferia pandurata (Roxb.) rhizome ethanol extract against MRSA, MRCNS, MSSA, Bacillus subtilis and Salmonella typhi.

PubMed

Sukandar, Elin Yulinah; Sunderam, Nethiyakalyani; Fidrianny, Irda

2014-01-01

Temu kunci (Kaempferia pandurata (Roxb.)) has a number of benefits and one of these is antibacterial. The rhizome is said to have antibacterial activity against Streptococcus mutans, Lactocillus sp. and Candida albicans. The aim of the study is to test the antibacterial activity of Kaempferia pandurata (Roxb.) rhizome ethanol extract on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), methicillin-resistant coagulase negative Staphylococci (MRCNS), methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA), Bacillus subtilis and Salmonella typhi. Antimicrobial activity of the extract was assayed by the microdilution method using Mueller Hinton Broth with sterilized 96 round-bottomed microwells to determine the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) as well as to determine the time-kill activity. The MIC of the extract was 16 ppm for both Bacillus subtilis and MRSA; 8 ppm for both MSSA and Salmonella typhi and 4 ppm for MRCNS. Ethanol extract of Kaempferia pandurata (Roxb.) showed antibacterial activity against all the tested bacteria and was the most potent against MRCNS, with MIC 4 ppm. The killing profile test of the extract displayed bactericidal activity at 8-16 ppm against MRSA, MSSA, Bacillus subtilis and Salmonella typhi and bacteriostatic activity at 4 ppm towards MRCNS.

Isolation, identification, and antibacterial activity of chemical compounds from ethanolic extract of suji leaf (Pleomele angusifolia NE Brown)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faridah; Natalia; Lina, Maria; W, Hendig

2014-03-01

Suji (Pleomele angustifolia NE Brown) is one of the medicinal plants of the tribe of Liliaceae, empirically useful to treat coughs and respiratory diseases such as tuberculosis (TB) and pneumonia. In this study, ethanolic extract of suji leaves was tested its activity against bacteria that attacks the respiratory organs, namely Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Streptococcus pneumoniae, using a paper disc diffusion and dilution agar method. These extracts have activity in inhibiting the growth of M. tuberculosis at a concentration of 8 mg and against S. pneumoniae at a concentration of 4 mg. The fractions were tested their antibacterial activity against Streptococcus pneumoniae using paper disc diffusion method. The most active fraction was chosen based on the inhibition diameter. The fractions contained flavonoids, steroids, and essential oils. The precipitate isolated from the extraction process shows needle-shaped, white, cold and tasteless crystals. Moreover, the HPLC analysis of isolate revealed a single peak with a retention time of 7.183 minutes. The exact compounds in the isolate could not be determined but it was known the compounds contained the functional groups of alkene, alkane, C=O, -OH. Test results obtained from UV-Vis spectrophotometer provides maximum absorption at a wavelength of 203.0 nm.

Antimicrobial activity of Bryum argenteum.

PubMed

Sabovljevic, Aneta; Sokovic, Marina; Sabovljevic, Marko; Grubisic, Dragoljub

2006-02-01

The antimicrobial activity of Bryum argenteum ethanol extracts was evaluated by microdilution method against four bacterial (Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Micrococcus luteus and Staphilococcus aureus) and four fungal species (Aspergillus niger, Penicillium ochrochloron, Candida albicans and Trichophyton mentagrophyes). All the investigated ethanol extracts have been proved to be active against all bacteria and fungi tested.

An optimized protocol for DNA extraction in plants with a high content of secondary metabolites, based on leaves of Mimosa tenuiflora (Willd.) Poir. (Leguminosae).

PubMed

Arruda, S R; Pereira, D G; Silva-Castro, M M; Brito, M G; Waldschmidt, A M

2017-07-06

Some species are characterized by a high content of tannins, alkaloids, and phenols in their leaves. These secondary metabolites are released during DNA extraction and might hinder molecular studies based on PCR (polymerase chain reaction). To provide an efficient method to extract DNA, Mimosa tenuiflora, an important leguminous plant from Brazilian semiarid region used in popular medicine and as a source of fuelwood or forage, was used. Eight procedures previously reported for plants were tested and adapted from leaf tissues of M. tenuiflora stored at -20°C. The optimized procedure in this study encompassed the utilization of phenol during deproteinization, increased concentrations of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and sodium chloride, and a shorter period and lower temperature of incubation concerning other methods. The extracted DNA did not present degradation, and amplification via PCR was successful using ISSR, trnL, ITS, and ETS primers. Besides M. tenuiflora, this procedure was also tested and proved to be efficient in genetic studies of other plant species.

Method for testing earth samples for contamination by organic contaminants

DOEpatents

Schabron, John F.

1996-01-01

Provided is a method for testing earth samples for contamination by organic contaminants, and particularly for aromatic compounds such as those found in diesel fuel and other heavy fuel oils, kerosene, creosote, coal oil, tars and asphalts. A drying step is provided in which a drying agent is contacted with either the earth sample or a liquid extract phase to reduce to possibility of false indications of contamination that could occur when humic material is present in the earth sample. This is particularly a problem when using relatively safe, non-toxic and inexpensive polar solvents such as isopropyl alcohol since the humic material tends to be very soluble in those solvents when water is present. Also provided is an ultraviolet spectroscopic measuring technique for obtaining an indication as to whether a liquid extract phase contains aromatic organic contaminants. In one embodiment, the liquid extract phase is subjected to a narrow and discrete band of radiation including a desired wave length and the ability of the liquid extract phase to absorb that wavelength of ultraviolet radiation is measured to provide an indication of the presence of aromatic organic contaminants.

Low-Frequency Error Extraction and Compensation for Attitude Measurements from STECE Star Tracker

PubMed Central

Lai, Yuwang; Gu, Defeng; Liu, Junhong; Li, Wenping; Yi, Dongyun

2016-01-01

The low frequency errors (LFE) of star trackers are the most penalizing errors for high-accuracy satellite attitude determination. Two test star trackers- have been mounted on the Space Technology Experiment and Climate Exploration (STECE) satellite, a small satellite mission developed by China. To extract and compensate the LFE of the attitude measurements for the two test star trackers, a new approach, called Fourier analysis, combined with the Vondrak filter method (FAVF) is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the LFE of the two test star trackers’ attitude measurements are analyzed and extracted by the FAVF method. The remarkable orbital reproducibility features are found in both of the two test star trackers’ attitude measurements. Then, by using the reproducibility feature of the LFE, the two star trackers’ LFE patterns are estimated effectively. Finally, based on the actual LFE pattern results, this paper presents a new LFE compensation strategy. The validity and effectiveness of the proposed LFE compensation algorithm is demonstrated by the significant improvement in the consistency between the two test star trackers. The root mean square (RMS) of the relative Euler angle residuals are reduced from [27.95′′, 25.14′′, 82.43′′], 3σ to [16.12′′, 15.89′′, 53.27′′], 3σ. PMID:27754320

Low-Frequency Error Extraction and Compensation for Attitude Measurements from STECE Star Tracker.

PubMed

Lai, Yuwang; Gu, Defeng; Liu, Junhong; Li, Wenping; Yi, Dongyun

2016-10-12

The low frequency errors (LFE) of star trackers are the most penalizing errors for high-accuracy satellite attitude determination. Two test star trackers- have been mounted on the Space Technology Experiment and Climate Exploration (STECE) satellite, a small satellite mission developed by China. To extract and compensate the LFE of the attitude measurements for the two test star trackers, a new approach, called Fourier analysis, combined with the Vondrak filter method (FAVF) is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the LFE of the two test star trackers' attitude measurements are analyzed and extracted by the FAVF method. The remarkable orbital reproducibility features are found in both of the two test star trackers' attitude measurements. Then, by using the reproducibility feature of the LFE, the two star trackers' LFE patterns are estimated effectively. Finally, based on the actual LFE pattern results, this paper presents a new LFE compensation strategy. The validity and effectiveness of the proposed LFE compensation algorithm is demonstrated by the significant improvement in the consistency between the two test star trackers. The root mean square (RMS) of the relative Euler angle residuals are reduced from [27.95'', 25.14'', 82.43''], 3σ to [16.12'', 15.89'', 53.27''], 3σ.

Development of the extraction method for the simultaneous determination of butyl-, phenyl- and octyltin compounds in sewage sludge.

PubMed

Zuliani, Tea; Lespes, Gaetane; Milacic, Radmila; Scancar, Janez

2010-03-15

The toxicity and bioaccumulation of organotin compounds (OTCs) led to the development of sensitive and selective analytical methods for their determination. In the past much attention was assigned to the study of OTCs in biological samples, water and sediments, coming mostly from marine environment. Little information about OTCs pollution of terrestrial ecosystems is available. In order to optimise the extraction method for simultaneous determination of butyl-, phenyl- and octyltin compounds in sewage sludge five different extractants (tetramethylammonium hydroxide, HCl in methanol, glacial acetic acid, mixture of acetic acid and methanol (3:1), and mixture of acetic acid, methanol and water (1:1:1)), the presence or not of a complexing agent (tropolone), and the use of different modes of extraction (mechanical stirring, microwave and ultrasonic assisted extraction) were tested. Extracted OTCs were derivatised with sodium tetraethylborate and determined by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometer. Quantitative extraction of butyl-, phenyl- and octyltin compounds was obtained by the use of glacial acetic acid as extractant and mechanical stirring for 16h or sonication for 30 min. The limits of detection and quantification for OTCs investigated in sewage sludge were in the ng S ng(-1) range. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

In Vitro Evaluation of Antimicrobial Activity of Alimentary Canal Extracts from the Red Palm Weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus Olivier Larvae.

PubMed

Sewify, Gamal H; Hamada, Hanan M; Alhadrami, Hani A

2017-01-01

The invasive red palm weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus Olivier (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is considered one of the world's most devastating insect pests to palm trees. It was observed that larvae of this pest are able to inhibit microbial growth on the rearing media when they start feeding and this observation has led us to study the effect of red palm weevils on various microbial species. The antimicrobial effect of extracts from different parts of the alimentary canal on Gram positive bacteria ( Enterococcus faecalis and Staphylococcus aureus ), Gram negative bacteria ( Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp.), Candida albicans, and Penicillium sp. was tested using the agar well diffusion method. All extracts inhibited the tested microbial species. Foregut extracts had the greatest zones of growth inhibition. Enterococcus faecalis , Staphylococcus aureus, and Penicillium sp. were significantly sensitive to the extracts and had the largest growth inhibition zones. It is concluded that the gut extracts contain potent antimicrobial activity and may provide a new source of antimicrobial peptides.

Identification of volatile organic compounds emitted by a naturally aged book using solid-phase microextraction/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Lattuati-Derieux, Agnès; Bonnassies-Termes, Sylvette; Lavédrine, Bertrand

2004-02-13

Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) coupled to gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) has been applied to the analysis of volatile organic compounds emitted from a naturally aged groundwood pulp paper originating from an old book in order to access the products produced through the decomposition reactions occurring in paper upon ageing. Two different extraction methods were developed and compared: headspace SPME and contact SPME. The influence of few extraction parameters were tested in order to define the best extraction conditions. An optimised non-destructive contact SPME method was elaborated and allowed the characterisation of more than 50 individual constituents.

Use of bioassays for testing soils and/or sediments contaminated by mining activities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pérez-Sirvent, C.; Martínez-Sánchez, M. J.; García-Lorenzo, M. L.; Molina, J.

2009-04-01

Ecotoxicity tests measure the bioavailability of the contaminants and the effects of the chemically not measured toxic compounds on the members of the soil community. Therefore, ecotoxicological testing may be a useful approach for assessing the toxicity as a complement to chemical analysis. They are solid phase tests based on terrestrial methods and tests performed on water extracts using aquatic test protocols. The extent and degree of heavy metal contamination around mines may vary depending on geochemical characteristics, the mineralization of tailings, physico-chemical conditions and the processes used to extract metals. Portman Bay was subject to mining from the time of the Roman Empire to 1991 when the activity ceased. Since 1957, the wastes from mining operations were discharged directly into the sea. These wastes mainly consisted of clay, quartz, siderite, magnetite, remains of sphalerite, pyrite and galena and residues of the chemical reagents used in floatation. In our study two methods of environmental toxicological tests were compared and applied to sediments of the Portman Bay (SE, Spain): the standardized toxicological test based on inhibition of luminescence employing Microtox

In vitro antitumor actions of extracts from endemic plant Helichrysum zivojinii

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background The aim of this research was to determine the intensity and mechanisms of the cytotoxic actions of five extracts isolated from the endemic plant species Helichrysum zivojinii Černjavski & Soška (family Asteraceae) against specific cancer cell lines. In order to evaluate the sensitivity of normal immunocompetent cells implicated in the antitumor immune response, the cytotoxicity of extracts was also tested against healthy peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Methods The aerial parts of the plants were air-dried, powdered, and successively extracted with solvents of increasing polarity to obtain hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl-acetate, n-butanol and methanol extracts. The cytotoxic activities of the extracts against human cervix adenocarcinoma HeLa, human melanoma Fem-x, human myelogenous leukemia K562, human breast adenocarcinoma MDA-MB-361 cells and PBMC were evaluated by the MTT test. The mode of HeLa cell death was investigated by morphological analysis. Changes in the cell cycle of HeLa cells treated with the extracts were analyzed by flow cytometry. The apoptotic mechanisms induced by the tested extracts were determined using specific caspase inhibitors. Results The investigated Helichrysum zivojinii extracts exerted selective dose-dependent cytotoxic actions against selected cancer cell lines and healthy immunocompetent PBMC stimulated to proliferate, while the cytotoxic actions exerted on unstimulated PBMC were less pronounced. The tested extracts exhibited considerably stronger cytotoxic activities towards HeLa, Fem-x and K562 cells in comparison to resting and stimulated PBMC. It is worth noting that the cytotoxicity of the extracts was weaker against unstimulated PBMC in comparison to stimulated PBMC. Furthermore, each of the five extracts induced apoptosis in HeLa cells, through the activation of both intrinsic and extrinsic signaling pathways. Conclusion Extracts obtained from the endemic plant Helichrysum zivojinii may represent an important source of novel potential antitumor agents due to their pronounced and selective cytotoxic actions towards malignant cells. PMID:23414290

Antioxidant and anticholinesterase activities of eleven edible plants.

PubMed

Boğa, Mehmet; Hacıbekiroğlu, Işıl; Kolak, Ufuk

2011-03-01

Consumers have become more interested in beneficial effects of vegetables, fruits, and tea to protect their health. The antioxidant potential and anticholinesterase activity of eleven edible plants were investigated. The dichloromethane, ethanol and water extracts prepared from celery [Apium graveolens L. (Umbelliferae)], Jerusalem artichoke [Helianthus tuberosus L. (Compositae)], spinach [Spinacia oleracea L. (Chenopodiaceae)], chard [Beta vulgaris L. var. cicla (Chenopodiaceae)], purslane [Portulaca oleracea L. (Portulacaceae)], ispit, or borage [Trachystemon orientale (L.) G. Don (Boraginaceae)], garden rocket [Eruca sativa Mill. (Brassicaceae)], red cabbage [Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata f. rubra DC. (Cruciferae)], lime flower [Tilia tomentosa Moench (Tiliaceae)], cinnamon [Cinnamomum cassia Presl. (Lauraceae)], and rosehip [Rosa canina L. (Rosaceae)], were tested to determine their antioxidant and anticholinesterase activities by using CUPRAC (cupric reducing antioxidant capacity) and Ellman methods, respectively, for the first time. As a result, the dichloromethane, ethanol and water extracts of cinnamon showed the best antioxidant effect among the extracts of the tested plants. The ethanol extract of cinnamon exhibited 63.02% inhibition against acetylcholinesterase and 85.11% inhibition against butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) at 200 µg/mL concentration while the dichloromethane extract of garden rocket possessed the highest inhibition (91.27%) against BChE among all the tested extracts. This study indicated that the ethanol extract of cinnamon may be a new potential resource of natural antioxidant and anticholinesterase compounds.

Speciation of mercury in sludge solids: washed sludge

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bannochie, C. J.; Lourie, A. P.

2017-10-24

The objective of this applied research task was to study the type and concentration of mercury compounds found within the contaminated Savannah River Site Liquid Waste System (SRS LWS). A method of selective sequential extraction (SSE), developed by Eurofins Frontier Global Sciences1,2 and adapted by SRNL, utilizes an extraction procedure divided into seven separate tests for different species of mercury. In the SRNL’s modified procedure four of these tests were applied to a washed sample of high level radioactive waste sludge.

Method Development for Comprehensive Extraction and Analysis of Marine Toxins: Liquid-Liquid Extraction and Tandem Liquid Chromatography Separations Coupled to Electrospray Tandem Mass Spectrometry

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wunschel, David S.; Valenzuela, Blandina R.; Kaiser, Brooke L. Deatherage

A variety of toxins are produced by marine and freshwater microorganisms that present a threat to human health. These toxins have diverse chemical properties and specifically, a range of hydrophobicity. Methods for extraction and identification of these toxins are often geared toward specific classes of toxin depending on the sample type. There is a need for a general method of toxin extraction and identification for screening samples where the likely toxin content is not known a priori. Here, we have applied a general method for metabolite extraction to toxin containing samples. This method was coupled with a simple dual liquidmore » chromatography approach for separating a broad range of toxins. This liquid chromatography approach was coupled to triple quadrupole and quadrupole time-of-flight MS/MS platforms. The method was testing on a fish matrix for recovery of palytoxin as well as marine corals for detection of natural mixtures of palytoxin analogues. The recovery of palytoxin was found to produce a linear response (R 2 of 0.95) when spiked into the fish matrix with a limit of quantitation of 2.5 ng/μL and recovery efficiency of 73% +/- 9%. The screening of corals revealed varying amount of palytoxin, and in one case, different palytoxin structural analogues. This demonstration illustrates the potential utility of this method for toxin extraction and detection.« less

Method Development for Comprehensive Extraction and Analysis of Marine Toxins: Liquid-Liquid Extraction and Tandem Liquid Chromatography Separations Coupled to Electrospray Tandem Mass Spectrometry

DOE PAGES

Wunschel, David S.; Valenzuela, Blandina R.; Kaiser, Brooke L. Deatherage; ...

2018-05-09

A variety of toxins are produced by marine and freshwater microorganisms that present a threat to human health. These toxins have diverse chemical properties and specifically, a range of hydrophobicity. Methods for extraction and identification of these toxins are often geared toward specific classes of toxin depending on the sample type. There is a need for a general method of toxin extraction and identification for screening samples where the likely toxin content is not known a priori. Here, we have applied a general method for metabolite extraction to toxin containing samples. This method was coupled with a simple dual liquidmore » chromatography approach for separating a broad range of toxins. This liquid chromatography approach was coupled to triple quadrupole and quadrupole time-of-flight MS/MS platforms. The method was testing on a fish matrix for recovery of palytoxin as well as marine corals for detection of natural mixtures of palytoxin analogues. The recovery of palytoxin was found to produce a linear response (R 2 of 0.95) when spiked into the fish matrix with a limit of quantitation of 2.5 ng/μL and recovery efficiency of 73% +/- 9%. The screening of corals revealed varying amount of palytoxin, and in one case, different palytoxin structural analogues. This demonstration illustrates the potential utility of this method for toxin extraction and detection.« less

Evaluation of extraction methods for ochratoxin A detection in cocoa beans employing HPLC.

PubMed

Mishra, Rupesh K; Catanante, Gaëlle; Hayat, Akhtar; Marty, Jean-Louis

2016-01-01

Cocoa is an important ingredient for the chocolate industry and for many food products. However, it is prone to contamination by ochratoxin A (OTA), which is highly toxic and potentially carcinogenic to humans. In this work, four different extraction methods were tested and compared based on their recoveries. The best protocol was established which involves an organic solvent-free extraction method for the detection of OTA in cocoa beans using 1% sodium hydrogen carbonate (NaHCO3) in water within 30 min. The extraction method is rapid (as compared with existing methods), simple, reliable and practical to perform without complex experimental set-ups. The cocoa samples were freshly extracted and cleaned-up using immunoaffinity column (IAC) for HPLC analysis using a fluorescence detector. Under the optimised condition, the limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) for OTA were 0.62 and 1.25 ng ml(-1) respectively in standard solutions. The method could successfully quantify OTA in naturally contaminated samples. Moreover, good recoveries of OTA were obtained up to 86.5% in artificially spiked cocoa samples, with a maximum relative standard deviation (RSD) of 2.7%. The proposed extraction method could determine OTA at the level 1.5 µg kg(-)(1), which surpassed the standards set by the European Union for cocoa (2 µg kg(-1)). In addition, an efficiency comparison of IAC and molecular imprinted polymer (MIP) column was also performed and evaluated.

Evaluation of analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anti-depressant and anti-coagulant properties of Lactuca sativa (CV. Grand Rapids) plant tissues and cell suspension in rats.

PubMed

Ismail, Hammad; Mirza, Bushra

2015-06-27

Lactuca sativa (lettuce) has been traditionally used for relieving pain, inflammation, stomach problems including indigestion and lack of appetite. Moreover, the therapeutic significance of L. sativa includes its anticonvulsant, sedative-hypnotic and antioxidant properties. In the present study, the MC (methanol and chloroform; 1:1) and aqueous extracts of seed and leaf along with cell suspension exudate were prepared. These extracts were explored for their analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antidepressant and anticoagulant effects by hot plate analgesic assay; carrageenan induced hind paw edema test, forced swimming test and capillary method for blood clotting respectively in a rat model. The results were analyzed using one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) followed by Turkey multiple comparison test. Interestingly, the extracts and the cell suspension exudate showed dual inhibition by reducing pain and inflammation. The results indicated that the aqueous extracts of leaf exhibited highest analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities followed by leaf MC, cell suspension exudate, seed aqueous and seed MC extracts. The current findings show that aqueous and MC extracts of seed have the least immobility time in the forced swimming test, which could act as an anti-depressant on the central nervous system. The leaf extracts and cell suspension exudate also expressed moderate anti-depressant activities. In anticoagulant assay, the coagulation time of aspirin (positive control) and MC extract of leaf was comparable, suggesting strong anti-coagulant effect. Additionally, no abnormal behavior or lethality was observed in any animal tested. Taken together, L. sativa can potentially act as a strong herbal drug due to its multiple pharmaceutical effects and is therefore of interest in drug discovery and development of formulations.

The anomaly in a breakthrough curve of a single well "push-pull" tracer test: A density driven effect?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeilfelder, Sarah; Hebig, Klaus; Ito, Narimitsu; Machida, Isao; Scheytt, Traugott; Marui, Atsunao

2013-04-01

What method is appropriate to investigate an aquifer when there is only one well available? A single well "push-pull" tracer test (PP Test) may be a suitable method in order to characterize an aquifer and to obtain information about the hydraulic and chemical properties when only one well is available for the investigations. In a PP test, a test solution that contains a known amount of solutes and a conservative tracer is injected into the aquifer ("push") and extracted afterwards ("pull"). Optionally, the test solution is flushed out of the well and the casing with untreated test solution with a so called "chaser" before being extracted. Also between the injection and the extraction phase a drifting time may be included. The breakthrough of the tracer during the extraction phase is measured and used for analyses and interpretation. In the last three years, several PP Test campaigns were conducted at two different test sites in Japan (Hebig et al. 2011, Zeilfelder et al. 2012). The aim was to investigate the applicability of the PP Test method in different geological settings and in different types of aquifers. The latest field campaign thus focussed on the question how variations of the setup are influencing the breakthrough curve of the PP Test in order to develop and enhance this method. Also the standardization of the PP Test was an aim of this study. During the campaign, a total of seven PP Tests were performed, while only single aspects of the setup were varied from test to test. The tests differed in injection and extraction rate, in the salinity of the injected test solution and in the use of a chaser solution. The general shapes of the breakthrough curves were similar and conclusions about the repeatability of the PP Test could be drawn. However, a sharp anomaly was observed in the breakthrough curve of one specific setup type. By repeating this PP test under the same boundary conditions, we were able to recreate the anomaly and could exclude any technical aspects as a source. In this version of the PP test higher salinized test solution was injected into the aquifer. There are several hypotheses that could explain the behavior of the breakthrough curves of the tracer in this test design. Of all the possibilities (like sorption processes, unexpected tracer reactions, inhomogeneities in the aquifer, influence of the well design), we assume that ion exchange processes and density driven flow are the main reasons for the repeatedly observed anomaly. References: Hebig, K.H., Ito, N., Scheytt, T.J. & Marui, A. (2011). Hydraulic and hydrochemical characterization of deep coastal sedimentary basins by single-well Push-Pull tests. GSA Annual Meeting, 9-12 October 2011, Minneapolis, USA. Zeilfelder, S., Ito, N., Marui, A., Hebig, K. & Scheytt, T. (2012). Push-Pull-Test und Tracer-Test in einem tiefen Grundwasserleiter in Kameoka, Japan. Kurzfassung in: Liedl, R., Burghardt, D., Simon, E., Reimann, T. & Kaufmann-Knoke (Hg.). Grundwasserschutz und Grundwassernutzung. Tagung der Fachsektion Hydrogeologie in der DGG (FH-DGG). 16. - 20. Mai 2012, Dresden. Kurfassungen der Vorträge und Poster. Schriftenreihe der DGG, Heft 78, S. 192.

In vitro antioxidant evaluation and total phenolics of methanolic leaf extracts of Nyctanthes arbor-tristis L.

PubMed

Michael, J Savarimuthu; Kalirajan, A; Padmalatha, C; Singh, A J A Ranjit

2013-09-01

To investigate the in vitro antioxidant activity and total phenolic content of the methanolic leaf extract of Nyctanthes arbor-tristis L. (NA). The sample was tested using five in vitro antioxidant methods (1, 1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazine radical scavenging activity (DPPH), hydroxyl radical-scavenging activity (-OH), nitric oxide scavenging activity (NO), superoxide radical-scavenging activity, and total antioxidant activity) to evaluate the in vitro antioxidant potential of NA and the total phenolic content (Folin-Ciocalteu method). The extract showed good free radical scavenging property which was calculated as an IC50 value. IC50 (Half maximal inhibitory concentration) of the methanolic extract was found to be 57.93 μg·mL(-1) for DPPH, 98.61 μg·mL(-1) for -OH, 91.74 μg·mL(-1) for NO, and 196.07 μg·mL(-1) for superoxide radical scavenging activity. Total antioxidant capacity of the extract was found to be (1198 ± 24.05) mg ascorbic acid for the methanolic extract. Free radical scavenging activity observed in the extracts of NA showed a concentration-dependent reaction. The in vitro scavenging tested for free radicals was reported to be due to high phenolic content in the leaf extract. The leaf extract of NA showed the highest total phenolic content with a value of 78.48 ± 4.2 equivalent mg TAE/g (tannic acid equivalent). N. arbor-tristis leaf extract exhibited potent free radical scavenging activity. The finding suggests that N. arbor-tristis leaves could be a potential source of natural antioxidant. Copyright © 2013 China Pharmaceutical University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Conventional and accelerated-solvent extractions of green tea (camellia sinensis) for metabolomics-based chemometrics.

PubMed

Kellogg, Joshua J; Wallace, Emily D; Graf, Tyler N; Oberlies, Nicholas H; Cech, Nadja B

2017-10-25

Metabolomics has emerged as an important analytical technique for multiple applications. The value of information obtained from metabolomics analysis depends on the degree to which the entire metabolome is present and the reliability of sample treatment to ensure reproducibility across the study. The purpose of this study was to compare methods of preparing complex botanical extract samples prior to metabolomics profiling. Two extraction methodologies, accelerated solvent extraction and a conventional solvent maceration, were compared using commercial green tea [Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze (Theaceae)] products as a test case. The accelerated solvent protocol was first evaluated to ascertain critical factors influencing extraction using a D-optimal experimental design study. The accelerated solvent and conventional extraction methods yielded similar metabolite profiles for the green tea samples studied. The accelerated solvent extraction yielded higher total amounts of extracted catechins, was more reproducible, and required less active bench time to prepare the samples. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of accelerated solvent as an efficient methodology for metabolomics studies. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Determination of terpenoid content in pine by organic solvent extraction and fast-GC analysis

DOE PAGES

Harman-Ware, Anne E.; Sykes, Robert; Peter, Gary F.; ...

2016-01-25

Terpenoids, naturally occurring compounds derived from isoprene units present in pine oleoresin, are a valuable source of chemicals used in solvents, fragrances, flavors, and have shown potential use as a biofuel. This paper describes a method to extract and analyze the terpenoids present in loblolly pine saplings and pine lighter wood. Various extraction solvents were tested over different times and temperatures. Samples were analyzed by pyrolysis-molecular beam mass spectrometry before and after extractions to monitor the extraction efficiency. The pyrolysis studies indicated that the optimal extraction method used a 1:1 hexane/acetone solvent system at 22°C for 1 h. Extracts frommore » the hexane/acetone experiments were analyzed using a low thermal mass modular accelerated column heater for fast-GC/FID analysis. The most abundant terpenoids from the pine samples were quantified, using standard curves, and included the monoterpenes, α- and β-pinene, camphene, and δ-carene. Sesquiterpenes analyzed included caryophyllene, humulene, and α-bisabolene. In conclusion, diterpenoid resin acids were quantified in derivatized extractions, including pimaric, isopimaric, levopimaric, palustric, dehydroabietic, abietic, and neoabietic acids.« less

Antimicrobial potential of selected brown seaweeds from Vedalai coastal waters, Gulf of Mannar

PubMed Central

Manivannan, K; Karthikai devi, G; Anantharaman, P; Balasubramanian, T

2011-01-01

Objective To evaluate the antimicrobial activity of Turbinaria conoides (T. conoides), Padina gymnospora (P. gymnospora) and Sargassum tenerrimum against human bacterial and fungal pathogens. Methods The antimicrobial activities of the extracts against various organisms were tested by using disc diffusion method. Results The methanol extract showed the better result than the other extracts. Whereas, the strong antibacterial inhibition was noted in methanol extracts of P. gymnospora against Bacillus subtilus (26.33±1.86) and the mild inhibition of ethanol extracts from T. conoides against Klebsiella pneumoniae (2.33±0.51). Acetone extraction of P. gymnospora had strong antifungal inhibition against Cryptococcus neoformans (23.00±1.78), and acetone extract of T. conoides had mild inhibition against Aspergillus niger (3.00±0.89). Conclusions The seven different solvent extracts of seaweeds used in the present study have shown significant bacterial action. Further, a detailed study on the principle compound in the seaweeds which is responsible for antimicrobial activity is still needed and it can be achieved by using advanced separation techniques. PMID:23569739

Systems and methods for laser assisted sample transfer to solution for chemical analysis

DOEpatents

Van Berkel, Gary J.; Kertesz, Vilmos; Ovchinnikova, Olga S.

2014-06-03

Systems and methods are described for laser ablation of an analyte from a specimen and capturing of the analyte in a dispensed solvent to form a testing solution. A solvent dispensing and extraction system can form a liquid microjunction with the specimen. The solvent dispensing and extraction system can include a surface sampling probe. The laser beam can be directed through the surface sampling probe. The surface sampling probe can also serve as an atomic force microscopy probe. The surface sampling probe can form a seal with the specimen. The testing solution including the analyte can then be analyzed using an analytical instrument or undergo further processing.

Systems and methods for laser assisted sample transfer to solution for chemical analysis

DOEpatents

Van Berkel, Gary J.; Kertesz, Vilmos; Ovchinnikova, Olga S.

2015-09-29

Systems and methods are described for laser ablation of an analyte from a specimen and capturing of the analyte in a dispensed solvent to form a testing solution. A solvent dispensing and extraction system can form a liquid microjunction with the specimen. The solvent dispensing and extraction system can include a surface sampling probe. The laser beam can be directed through the surface sampling probe. The surface sampling probe can also serve as an atomic force microscopy probe. The surface sampling probe can form a seal with the specimen. The testing solution including the analyte can then be analyzed using an analytical instrument or undergo further processing.

Systems and methods for laser assisted sample transfer to solution for chemical analysis

DOEpatents

Van Berkel, Gary J; Kertesz, Vilmos; Ovchinnikova, Olga S

2013-08-27

Systems and methods are described for laser ablation of an analyte from a specimen and capturing of the analyte in a dispensed solvent to form a testing solution. A solvent dispensing and extraction system can form a liquid microjunction with the specimen. The solvent dispensing and extraction system can include a surface sampling probe. The laser beam can be directed through the surface sampling probe. The surface sampling probe can also serve as an atomic force microscopy probe. The surface sampling probe can form a seal with the specimen. The testing solution including the analyte can then be analyzed using an analytical instrument or undergo further processing.

Antimicrobial and free radical scavenging activities of five Palestinian medicinal plants.

PubMed

Qabaha, Khaled Ibraheem

2013-01-01

Extracts from five indigenous Palestinian medicinal plants including Rosmarinus officinalis, Pisidium guajava, Punica granatum peel, grape seeds and Teucrium polium were investigated for antimicrobial and free radical scavenging activities against eight microorganisms, using well diffusion method. The microorganisms included six bacterial isolates (i.e. Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginos, Klebsiella pneumonia, Bacillus subtilis and Micrococcus luteus) and two fungal isolates (i.e. Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger). A standard antioxidant assay was performed on the plant extracts to assess their capability in scavenging 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). Of the five tested plant extract, only Rosmarinus offcinalis extract contained significant antimicrobial activity against all eight microbial isolates including Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Extracts from other four plants exhibited a variable antimicrobial activity against all microorganisms, except Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Significant antioxidant activity was detected in all plant extracts. However, extracts from Pisidium guajava leaves contained significantly higher antioxidant activity compared to the other extracts tested. The antimicrobial and scavenging activities detected in this in vitro study in extracts from the five Palestinian medicinal plants suggest that further study is needed to identify active compounds to target diseases caused by a wide-spectrum pathogens.

Anti-fungal activity of cold and hot water extracts of spices against fungal pathogens of Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) in vitro.

PubMed

Touba, Eslaminejad Parizi; Zakaria, Maziah; Tahereh, Eslaminejad

2012-02-01

Crude extracts of seven spices, viz. cardamom, chilli, coriander, onion, garlic, ginger, and galangale were made using cold water and hot water extraction and they were tested for their anti-fungal effects against the three Roselle pathogens i.e. Phoma exigua, Fusarium nygamai and Rhizoctonia solani using the 'poisoned food technique'. All seven spices studied showed significant anti-fungal activity at three concentrations (10, 20 and 30% of the crude extract) in-vitro. The cold water extract of garlic exhibited good anti-fungal activity against all three tested fungi. In the case of the hot water extracts, garlic and ginger showed the best anti-fungal activity. Of the two extraction methods, cold water extraction was generally more effective than hot water extraction in controlling the pathogens. Against P. exigua, the 10% cold water extracts of galangale, ginger, coriander and cardamom achieved total (100%) inhibition of pathogen mycelial growth. Total inhibition of F. nygamai mycelial growth was similarly achieved with the 10% cold water extracts garlic. Against R. solani, the 10% cold water extract of galangale was effective in imposing 100% inhibition. Accordingly, the 10% galangale extract effectively controlled both P. exigua and R. solani in vitro. None of the hot water extracts of the spices succeeded in achieving 100% inhibition of the pathogen mycelial growth. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mushrooms as Possible Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Agents

PubMed Central

Kosanić, Marijana; Ranković, Branislav; Dašić, Marko

2012-01-01

The aim of the study is to examine in-vitro antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of the acetonic and methanolic extracts of the mushrooms Boletus aestivalis, Boletus edulis and Leccinum carpini. Antioxidant activity was evaluated by using free radical scavenging activity and reducing power. In addition, total content of phenol and flavonoid in extracts were determined as pyrocatechol equivalent, and as rutin equivalent, respectively. As a result of the study acetonic extracts from Boletus edulis was more powerful antioxidant activity with IC50 value of 4.72 μg/mL which was similar or greater than the standard antioxidants, ascorbic acid (IC50 = 4.22 μg/mL), BHA (IC50 = 6.42 μg/mL) and α-tocopherol (IC50 = 62.43 μg/mL). Moreover, the tested extracts had effective reducing power. A significant relationship between total phenolic and flavonoid contents and their antioxidative activities was significantly observed. The antimicrobial activity of each extract was estimated by determination of the minimum inhibitory concentration by using microdilution plate method against five species of bacteria and five species of fungi. Generally, the tested mushroom extracts had relatively strong antimicrobial activity against the tested microorganisms. The minimum inhibitory concentration for both extracts related to the tested bacteria and fungi were 1.25 - 10 mg/ mL. The present study shows that tested mushroom species demonstrated a strong antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. It suggests that mushroom may be used as good sources of natural antioxidants and for pharmaceutical purposes in treating of various deseases. PMID:24250542

Determination of Antimicrobial Potential of Five Herbs used in Ayurveda Practices against Candida albicans, Candida parapsilosis and Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

PubMed Central

Gunasekara, TDCP; Radhika, NDM; Ragunathan, KK; Gunathilaka, DPP; Weerasekera, MM; Hewageegana, HGSP; Arawwawala, L A D M; Fernando, SSN

2017-01-01

Background: Medicinal plants are an important source of novel antimicrobial agents. Ayurvedic treatment involves the use of a variety of medicinal plants that merit investigation. Aims: To investigate the antimicrobial activity of bark of Pongamia pinnata (L.) Pierre, stem of Rubia cordifolia Linn, leaves of Jasminum officinale Linn, stem of Berberis ceylanica C.K. Schneid. and fruit of Garcina zeylanica Roxb. Subjects and Methods: Aqueous and ethanolic extracts of dried bark of Pongamia pinnata (Magul karanda), dried stem of Rubia cordifolia Linn (Welmadata), tender leaves of Jasminum officinale Linn (Jasmine) and dried stem of Berberis ceylanica (Dāruharidrā) were prepared according to standard protocols and tested for antimicrobial activity against five clinical isolates and one standard strain each of Candida albicans (ATCC 10231), Candida parapsilosis (ATCC 22019) and six Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) clinical isolates using the well diffusion method. Experiments were done in triplicates using well diffusion method. The plant extracts which gave a zone of inhibition in the well diffusion assay were further tested for Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations (MIC). Results: Aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Berberis ceylanica and ethanolic extract of Rubia cordifolia had antimicrobial activity against Candida albicans and Candida parapsilosis. Aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Garcinia zeylanica, and the ethanolic extracts of Jasminum officinale, Rubia cordifolia and Pongamia pinnata had antimicrobial activity against MRSA. Conclusions: Berberis ceylanica and Rubia crodifolia had antimicrobial activity against Candida species while Garcinia zeylanica, Jasminum officinale, Rubia crodifolia and Pongamia pinnata had antimicrobial activity against MRSA. PMID:29269969

The reliability of WorkWell Systems Functional Capacity Evaluation: a systematic review

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Functional capacity evaluation (FCE) determines a person’s ability to perform work-related tasks and is a major component of the rehabilitation process. The WorkWell Systems (WWS) FCE (formerly known as Isernhagen Work Systems FCE) is currently the most commonly used FCE tool in German rehabilitation centres. Our systematic review investigated the inter-rater, intra-rater and test-retest reliability of the WWS FCE. Methods We performed a systematic literature search of studies on the reliability of the WWS FCE and extracted item-specific measures of inter-rater, intra-rater and test-retest reliability from the identified studies. Intraclass correlation coefficients ≥ 0.75, percentages of agreement ≥ 80%, and kappa coefficients ≥ 0.60 were categorised as acceptable, otherwise they were considered non-acceptable. The extracted values were summarised for the five performance categories of the WWS FCE, and the results were classified as either consistent or inconsistent. Results From 11 identified studies, 150 item-specific reliability measures were extracted. 89% of the extracted inter-rater reliability measures, all of the intra-rater reliability measures and 96% of the test-retest reliability measures of the weight handling and strength tests had an acceptable level of reliability, compared to only 67% of the test-retest reliability measures of the posture/mobility tests and 56% of the test-retest reliability measures of the locomotion tests. Both of the extracted test-retest reliability measures of the balance test were acceptable. Conclusions Weight handling and strength tests were found to have consistently acceptable reliability. Further research is needed to explore the reliability of the other tests as inconsistent findings or a lack of data prevented definitive conclusions. PMID:24674029

Sensitivity and specificity of normality tests and consequences on reference interval accuracy at small sample size: a computer-simulation study.

PubMed

Le Boedec, Kevin

2016-12-01

According to international guidelines, parametric methods must be chosen for RI construction when the sample size is small and the distribution is Gaussian. However, normality tests may not be accurate at small sample size. The purpose of the study was to evaluate normality test performance to properly identify samples extracted from a Gaussian population at small sample sizes, and assess the consequences on RI accuracy of applying parametric methods to samples that falsely identified the parent population as Gaussian. Samples of n = 60 and n = 30 values were randomly selected 100 times from simulated Gaussian, lognormal, and asymmetric populations of 10,000 values. The sensitivity and specificity of 4 normality tests were compared. Reference intervals were calculated using 6 different statistical methods from samples that falsely identified the parent population as Gaussian, and their accuracy was compared. Shapiro-Wilk and D'Agostino-Pearson tests were the best performing normality tests. However, their specificity was poor at sample size n = 30 (specificity for P < .05: .51 and .50, respectively). The best significance levels identified when n = 30 were 0.19 for Shapiro-Wilk test and 0.18 for D'Agostino-Pearson test. Using parametric methods on samples extracted from a lognormal population but falsely identified as Gaussian led to clinically relevant inaccuracies. At small sample size, normality tests may lead to erroneous use of parametric methods to build RI. Using nonparametric methods (or alternatively Box-Cox transformation) on all samples regardless of their distribution or adjusting, the significance level of normality tests depending on sample size would limit the risk of constructing inaccurate RI. © 2016 American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology.

Optimization of microwave-assisted extraction of hydrocarbons in marine sediments: comparison with the Soxhlet extraction method.

PubMed

Vázquez Blanco, E; López Mahía, P; Muniategui Lorenzo, S; Prada Rodríguez, D; Fernández Fernández, E

2000-02-01

Microwave energy was applied to extract polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and linear aliphatic hydrocarbons (LAHs) from marine sediments. The influence of experimental conditions, such as different extracting solvents and mixtures, microwave power, irradiation time and number of samples extracted per run has been tested using real marine sediment samples; volume of the solvent, sample quantity and matrix effects were also evaluated. The yield of extracted compounds obtained by microwave irradiation was compared with that obtained using the traditional Soxhlet extraction. The best results were achieved with a mixture of acetone and hexane (1:1), and recoveries ranged from 92 to 106%. The extraction time is dependent on the irradiation power and the number of samples extracted per run, so when the irradiation power was set to 500 W, the extraction times varied from 6 min for 1 sample to 18 min for 8 samples. Analytical determinations were carried out by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with an ultraviolet-visible photodiode-array detector for PAHs and gas chromatography (GC) using a FID detector for LAHs. To test the accuracy of the microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) technique, optimized methodology was applied to the analysis of standard reference material (SRM 1941), obtaining acceptable results.

Plant tissue analysis for explosive compounds in phytoremediation and phytoforensics.

PubMed

Karnjanapiboonwong, Adcharee; Mu, Ruipu; Yuan, Yuan; Shi, Honglan; Ma, Yinfa; Burken, Joel G

2012-01-01

Plant tissue analysis methods were evaluated for six explosive compounds to assess uptake and phytoforensic methods development to quantify explosives in plant to obtain the plant data for the evaluation of explosive contamination in soil and groundwater. Four different solvent mixtures containing acetonitrile or methanol were tested at variable extraction ratios to compare the extraction efficiency for six explosive compounds: 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), pentaerythritoltetranitrate (PETN), hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX), octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (HMX), 2-amino-4,6-dinitrotoluene (2ADNT), and 2,4-Dinitroanisole (DNAN), in Laurel Willow (Salix pentandra) stem and range grass Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) using LC-MS/MS. Plant tissues were spiked with 500 ng/g of explosives and extracted using ultrasonically-assisted solvent extraction. With the ratio of fresh plant mass to solvent volume of 1:20 for willow and 1:40 for big bluestem grass, results indicated that all explosives in willow except HMX were extracted at higher than 73.3% by using 20 mL of methanol, 50:50 (v/v) methanol:water, or acetonitrile, whereas HMX was extracted with the highest recovery of 61.3% by 20 mL of acetonitrile. In big bluestem grass, the most effective solvents were 20 mL of either methanol or 50:50 (v/v) methanol:water for PETN extraction with a recovery of higher than 101.2% and 20 mL of 50:50 (v/v) methanol:water for HMX, RDX, TNT, 2ADNT, and DNAN extraction with a recovery of 83.8%, 104.4%, 97.5%, 80.7%, and 108.2%, respectively. However, unlike methanol and acetonitrile, 50:50 (v/v) methanol:water provided no problem of leading or split peak in chromatogram; therefore, it was preferred in the test and performed a method validation. Results indicated that 50:50 (v/v) methanol:water provided good repeatability and recovery and method detection limits at 0.5-20 ng/g fresh weight or 8.8-61.3 ng/g dry weight. Overall, results suggested that solvent extraction efficiency of explosives in plant was influenced by plant species and solvent used, and method presented here was believed to provide the preliminary data with respect to the analysis of simultaneous explosives in plants with LC-MS/MS.

Comparisons of Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daniel, Larry G.

Historically, most researchers conducting factor analysis have used exploratory methods. However, more recently, confirmatory factor analytic methods have been developed that can directly test theory either during factor rotation using "best fit" rotation methods or during factor extraction, as with the LISREL computer programs developed…

Developing a laboratory protocol for asphalt binder recovery.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-10-01

Asphalt binder extraction and recovery are common laboratory procedures used to provide material for research and quality : assurance testing. The most common methods of recovery performed today include the Abson method and the rotary evaporator : (o...

Validation Study on a Rapid Method for Simultaneous Determination of Pesticide Residues in Vegetables and Fruits by LC-MS/MS.

PubMed

Sato, Tamaki; Miyamoto, Iori; Uemura, Masako; Nakatani, Tadashi; Kakutani, Naoya; Yamano, Tetsuo

2016-01-01

A validation study was carried out on a rapid method for the simultaneous determination of pesticide residues in vegetables and fruits by LC-MS/MS. Preparation of the test solution was performed by a solid-phase extraction technique with QuEChERS (STQ method). Pesticide residues were extracted with acetonitrile using a homogenizer, followed by salting-out and dehydration at the same time. The acetonitrile layer was purified with C18 and PSA mini-columns. The method was assessed for 130 pesticide residues in 14 kinds of vegetables and fruits at the concentration level of 0.01 μg/g according to the method validation guideline of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan. As a result 75 to 120 pesticide residues were determined satisfactorily in the tested samples. Thus, this method could be useful for a rapid and simultaneous determination of multi-class pesticide residues in various vegetables and fruits.

Antioxidant kinetics of plant-derived substances and extracts.

PubMed

Silva, A R; Menezes, P F C; Martinello, T; Novakovich, G F L; Praes, C E O; Feferman, I H S

2010-02-01

The antioxidant activity (AA) of substances present in several plant species has been widely studied which reflects their fundamental role in the protection of skin tissue against the harmful action of reactive oxygen species. Given the importance of effective and long-lasting protection against ultraviolet radiation, we studied the AA of several plant derivatives and extracts over time. Several chemical in vitro methods may be used to evaluate antioxidant capability, among which the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method stands out, despite its unspecificity, as the most cited and described method in the literature. In this work the AA was evaluated by measuring their capacity to reduce DPPH in 30 min, which is suggested in the literature, and additionally at different times up to 8 h from the baseline reading. The methodology used to evaluate the AA over time was validated. It is important to emphasize that this study proposes to modify the conventional DPPH method, although considered to be non-specific, to be used to test new antioxidant agents. This represents a considerable advantage because some substances show no significant activity during the first 30 min of reaction. Among other plant products, we tested a proantocyanidin-rich grapeseed extract, a hesperidin derivative, a rutin-containing ginkgo extract, a polyphenol-containing yerba maté extract and tocopheryl acetate, all of which were properly standardized. As they have different antioxidant profiles, each ingredient showed a specific behaviour over time, which may promote the selection of anti-radical compounds capable of offering protection against external agents. Combining extracts and plant derivatives that present fast, medium and slow antioxidant kinetic it is possible to create complexes capable of offering an effective protection from the moment of application up to several hours later. It is a perfectly feasible method, and such combinations prove to be more effective and have more durable effect.

In-vitro assessment of antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of methanol extracts and essential oil of Thymus hirtus sp. algeriensis

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Owing to the complexity of the antioxidant materials and their mechanism of actions, it is obvious that no single testing method is capable of providing a comprehensive picture of the antioxidant profile. The essential oil of the Thymus specie may still possess other important activities in traditional medicine, it can be used in the treatment of fever and cough. This essential oil may also have an anticancer activity. Methods The essential oils aerial parts hydrodistilled from Thymus hirtus sp. algeriensis, were characterised by GC/MS analysis and the methanolic extracts were chemically characterized by HPLC method. The essence of thyme was evaluated for its antioxidant and antibacterial activity. Result The Terpinen-4-ol are the principal class of metabolites (33.34%) among which 1.8-cineole (19.96%) and camphor (19.20%) predominate. In this study, quantitative values of antioxidant activity of crude methanolic extracts of Thymus hirtus sp. algeriensis were investigated. The essential oils was screened for their antibacterial activity against six common pathogenic microorganisms (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella enteridis, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis and Listeria monocytogenes) by well diffusion method and agar dilution method (MIC). All the essences were found to inhibit the growth of both gram (+) and gram (−) bacteria organisms tested. These activities were correlated with the presence of phenolic compounds in active fractions. HPLC confirmed presence of phenolic compounds in methanol extracts. Conclusion Methanol extracts and essential oils from aerial parts of Thymus hirtus sp. algeriensis, were examined for their potential as antioxidants. The technique for measuring antioxidant activity, which was developed using DPPH, ABTS and β-carotene bleaching, produced results as found in established literatures. The present results indicate clearly that methanol extracts and essential oils from Thymus hirtus sp. algeriensis possess antioxidant properties and could serve as free radical inhibitors or scavengers, acting possibly as primary antioxidants, also their essential oil have an antibacterial effect. PMID:25022197

Protective Effect of Hydroalcoholic Extract of Tribulus Terrestris on Cisplatin Induced Renal Tissue Damage in Male Mice

PubMed Central

Raoofi, Amir; Khazaei, Mozafar; Ghanbari, Ali

2015-01-01

Background: According beneficial effects of Tribulus terrestris (TT) extract on tissue damage, the present study investigated the influence of hydroalcoholic extract of TT plant on cisplatin (CIS) (EBEWE Pharma, Unterach, Austria) induced renal tissue damage in male mice. Methods: Thirty mice were divided into five groups (n = 6). The first group (control) was treated with normal saline (0.9% NaCl) and experimental groups with CIS (E1), CIS + 100 mg/kg extract of TT (E2), CIS + 300 mg/kg extract of TT (E3), CIS + 500 mg/kg extract of TT (E4) intraperitoneally. The kidneys were removed after 4 days of injections, and histological evaluations were performed. Results: The data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance followed by Tukey's post-hoc test, paired-sample t-test, Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney tests. In the CIS treated group, the whole kidney tissue showed an increased dilatation of Bowman's capsule, medullar congestion, and dilatation of collecting tubules and a decreased in the body weight and kidney weight. These parameters reached to the normal range after administration of fruit extracts of TT for 4 days. Conclusions: The results suggested that the oral administration of TT fruit extract at dose 100, 300 and 500 mg/kg body weight provided protection against the CIS induced toxicity in the mice. PMID:25789143

Foreground extraction for moving RGBD cameras

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Junejo, Imran N.; Ahmed, Naveed

2017-02-01

In this paper, we propose a simple method to perform foreground extraction for a moving RGBD camera. These cameras have now been available for quite some time. Their popularity is primarily due to their low cost and ease of availability. Although the field of foreground extraction or background subtraction has been explored by the computer vision researchers since a long time, the depth-based subtraction is relatively new and has not been extensively addressed as of yet. Most of the current methods make heavy use of geometric reconstruction, making the solutions quite restrictive. In this paper, we make a novel use RGB and RGBD data: from the RGB frame, we extract corner features (FAST) and then represent these features with the histogram of oriented gradients (HoG) descriptor. We train a non-linear SVM on these descriptors. During the test phase, we make used of the fact that the foreground object has distinct depth ordering with respect to the rest of the scene. That is, we use the positively classified FAST features on the test frame to initiate a region growing to obtain the accurate segmentation of the foreground object from just the RGBD data. We demonstrate the proposed method of a synthetic datasets, and demonstrate encouraging quantitative and qualitative results.

Direct quantification of lipopeptide biosurfactants in biological samples via HPLC and UPLC-MS requires sample modification with an organic solvent.

PubMed

Biniarz, Piotr; Łukaszewicz, Marcin

2017-06-01

The rapid and accurate quantification of biosurfactants in biological samples is challenging. In contrast to the orcinol method for rhamnolipids, no simple biochemical method is available for the rapid quantification of lipopeptides. Various liquid chromatography (LC) methods are promising tools for relatively fast and exact quantification of lipopeptides. Here, we report strategies for the quantification of the lipopeptides pseudofactin and surfactin in bacterial cultures using different high- (HPLC) and ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) systems. We tested three strategies for sample pretreatment prior to LC analysis. In direct analysis (DA), bacterial cultures were injected directly and analyzed via LC. As a modification, we diluted the samples with methanol and detected an increase in lipopeptide recovery in the presence of methanol. Therefore, we suggest this simple modification as a tool for increasing the accuracy of LC methods. We also tested freeze-drying followed by solvent extraction (FDSE) as an alternative for the analysis of "heavy" samples. In FDSE, the bacterial cultures were freeze-dried, and the resulting powder was extracted with different solvents. Then, the organic extracts were analyzed via LC. Here, we determined the influence of the extracting solvent on lipopeptide recovery. HPLC methods allowed us to quantify pseudofactin and surfactin with run times of 15 and 20 min per sample, respectively, whereas UPLC quantification was as fast as 4 and 5.5 min per sample, respectively. Our methods provide highly accurate measurements and high recovery levels for lipopeptides. At the same time, UPLC-MS provides the possibility to identify lipopeptides and their structural isoforms.

Endmember extraction from hyperspectral image based on discrete firefly algorithm (EE-DFA)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Chengye; Qin, Qiming; Zhang, Tianyuan; Sun, Yuanheng; Chen, Chao

2017-04-01

This study proposed a novel method to extract endmembers from hyperspectral image based on discrete firefly algorithm (EE-DFA). Endmembers are the input of many spectral unmixing algorithms. Hence, in this paper, endmember extraction from hyperspectral image is regarded as a combinational optimization problem to get best spectral unmixing results, which can be solved by the discrete firefly algorithm. Two series of experiments were conducted on the synthetic hyperspectral datasets with different SNR and the AVIRIS Cuprite dataset, respectively. The experimental results were compared with the endmembers extracted by four popular methods: the sequential maximum angle convex cone (SMACC), N-FINDR, Vertex Component Analysis (VCA), and Minimum Volume Constrained Nonnegative Matrix Factorization (MVC-NMF). What's more, the effect of the parameters in the proposed method was tested on both synthetic hyperspectral datasets and AVIRIS Cuprite dataset, and the recommended parameters setting was proposed. The results in this study demonstrated that the proposed EE-DFA method showed better performance than the existing popular methods. Moreover, EE-DFA is robust under different SNR conditions.

Extractive sampling and optical remote sensing of F100 aircraft engine emissions.

PubMed

Cowen, Kenneth; Goodwin, Bradley; Joseph, Darrell; Tefend, Matthew; Satola, Jan; Kagann, Robert; Hashmonay, Ram; Spicer, Chester; Holdren, Michael; Mayfield, Howard

2009-05-01

The Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) has initiated several programs to develop and evaluate techniques to characterize emissions from military aircraft to meet increasingly stringent regulatory requirements. This paper describes the results of a recent field study using extractive and optical remote sensing (ORS) techniques to measure emissions from six F-15 fighter aircraft. Testing was performed between November 14 and 16, 2006 on the trim-pad facility at Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City, FL. Measurements were made on eight different F100 engines, and the engines were tested on-wing of in-use aircraft. A total of 39 test runs were performed at engine power levels that ranged from idle to military power. The approach adopted for these tests involved extractive sampling with collocated ORS measurements at a distance of approximately 20-25 nozzle diameters downstream of the engine exit plane. The emission indices calculated for carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitric oxide, and several volatile organic compounds showed very good agreement when comparing the extractive and ORS sampling methods.

Optimization of Microwave-Assisted Extraction Conditions for Five Major Bioactive Compounds from Flos Sophorae Immaturus (Cultivars of Sophora japonica L.) Using Response Surface Methodology.

PubMed

Liu, Jin-Liang; Li, Long-Yun; He, Guang-Hua

2016-03-02

Microwave-assisted extraction was applied to extract rutin; quercetin; genistein; kaempferol; and isorhamnetin from Flos Sophorae Immaturus. Six independent variables; namely; solvent type; particle size; extraction frequency; liquid-to-solid ratio; microwave power; and extraction time were examined. Response surface methodology using a central composite design was employed to optimize experimental conditions (liquid-to-solid ratio; microwave power; and extraction time) based on the results of single factor tests to extract the five major components in Flos Sophorae Immaturus. Experimental data were fitted to a second-order polynomial equation using multiple regression analysis. Data were also analyzed using appropriate statistical methods. Optimal extraction conditions were as follows: extraction solvent; 100% methanol; particle size; 100 mesh; extraction frequency; 1; liquid-to-solid ratio; 50:1; microwave power; 287 W; and extraction time; 80 s. A rapid and sensitive ultra-high performance liquid chromatography method coupled with electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (EIS-Q-TOF MS/MS) was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of rutin; quercetin; genistein; kaempferol; and isorhamnetin in Flos Sophorae Immaturus. Chromatographic separation was accomplished on a Kinetex C18 column (100 mm × 2.1 mm; 2.6 μm) at 40 °C within 5 min. The mobile phase consisted of 0.1% aqueous formic acid and acetonitrile (71:29; v/v). Isocratic elution was carried out at a flow rate of 0.35 mL/min. The constituents of Flos Sophorae Immaturus were simultaneously identified by EIS-Q-TOF MS/MS in multiple reaction monitoring mode. During quantitative analysis; all of the calibration curves showed good linear relationships (R² > 0.999) within the tested ranges; and mean recoveries ranged from 96.0216% to 101.0601%. The precision determined through intra- and inter-day studies showed an RSD% of <2.833%. These results demonstrate that the developed method is accurate and effective and could be readily utilized for the comprehensive quality control of Flos Sophorae Immaturus.

Determination of etoxazole residues in fruits and vegetables by SPE clean-up and HPLC-DAD.

PubMed

Malhat, Farag; Badawy, Hany; Barakat, Dalia; Saber, Ayman

2013-01-01

A method for determination of etoxazole residues in apples, strawberries and green beans was developed and validated. The analyte was extracted with acetonitrile from foodstuff and a charcoal-celite cartridge was used for clean-up of raw extracts. Reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array detector (HPLC-DAD) was used for the determination and quantification of etoxazole residues in the studied samples. The calibration graphs of etoxazole in a solvent or three blank matrixes were linear within the tested intervals 0.01-2 mg L(-1), with correlation coefficient of determination >0.999. The combined solid phase extraction (SPE) clean-up and the chromatographic method steps were sensitive and reliable for simultaneous determination of etoxazole residues in the studied samples. The average recoveries of etoxazole in the tested foodstuffs were between 93.4 to 102% at spiking levels of 0.01, 0.10, and 0.50 mg kg(-1), with relative standard deviations ranging from 2.8 to 4.7%, in agreement with directives for method validation in residue analyses. The limit of detection (LOD) of the HPLC-DAD system was 100 pg. The limit of quantification of the entire method was 0.01 mg kg(-1).

Liquid-liquid extraction assisted by a carbon nanoparticles interface. Electrophoretic determination of atrazine in environmental samples.

PubMed

Caballero-Díaz, Encarnación; Simonet, Bartolomé; Valcárcel, Miguel

2013-10-21

A novel method for the determination of atrazine, using liquid-liquid extraction assisted by a nanoparticles film formed in situ and composed of organic solvent stabilized-carbon nanoparticles, is described. The presence of nanoparticles located at the liquid-liquid interface reinforced the extraction of analyte from matrix prior to capillary electrophoresis (CE) analysis. Some influential experimental variables were optimized in order to enhance the extraction efficiency. The developed procedure confirmed that carbon nanoparticles, especially multi-walled carbon nanotubes, are suitable to be used in sample treatment processes introducing new mechanisms of interaction with the analyte. The application of the proposed preconcentration method followed by CE detection enabled the determination of atrazine in spiked river water providing acceptable RSD values (11.6%) and good recoveries (about 87.0-92.0%). Additionally, a similar extraction scheme was tested in soil matrices with a view to further applications in real soil samples.

Development and Application of a Novel SPE-Method for Bioassay-Guided Fractionation of Marine Extracts

PubMed Central

Cutignano, Adele; Nuzzo, Genoveffa; Ianora, Adrianna; Luongo, Elvira; Romano, Giovanna; Gallo, Carmela; Sansone, Clementina; Aprea, Susanna; Mancini, Francesca; D’Oro, Ugo; Fontana, Angelo

2015-01-01

The biological diversity of marine habitats is a unique source of chemical compounds with potential use as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and dietary supplements. However, biological screening and chemical analysis of marine extracts pose specific technical constraints and require adequate sample preparation. Here we report an improved method on Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) to fractionate organic extracts containing high concentration of salt that hampers the recovery of secondary metabolites. The procedure uses a water suspension to load the extracts on a poly(styrene-divynylbenzene)-based support and a stepwise organic solvent elution to effectively desalt and fractionate the organic components. The novel protocol has been tested on MeOH-soluble material from three model organisms (Reniera sarai, Dendrilla membranosa and Amphidinium carterae) and was validated on a small panel of 47 marine samples, including sponges and protists, within discovery programs for identification of immuno-stimulatory and anti-infective natural products. PMID:26378547

A novel method of genomic DNA extraction for Cactaceae1

PubMed Central

Fehlberg, Shannon D.; Allen, Jessica M.; Church, Kathleen

2013-01-01

• Premise of the study: Genetic studies of Cactaceae can at times be impeded by difficult sampling logistics and/or high mucilage content in tissues. Simplifying sampling and DNA isolation through the use of cactus spines has not previously been investigated. • Methods and Results: Several protocols for extracting DNA from spines were tested and modified to maximize yield, amplification, and sequencing. Sampling of and extraction from spines resulted in a simplified protocol overall and complete avoidance of mucilage as compared to typical tissue extractions. Sequences from one nuclear and three plastid regions were obtained across eight genera and 20 species of cacti using DNA extracted from spines. • Conclusions: Genomic DNA useful for amplification and sequencing can be obtained from cactus spines. The protocols described here are valuable for any cactus species, but are particularly useful for investigators interested in sampling living collections, extensive field sampling, and/or conservation genetic studies. PMID:25202521

Physically incorporated extraction phase of solid-phase microextraction by sol-gel technology.

PubMed

Liu, Wenmin; Hu, Yuan; Zhao, Jinghong; Xu, Yuan; Guan, Yafeng

2006-01-13

A sol-gel method for the preparation of solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fiber was described and evaluated. The extraction phase of poly(dimethysiloxane) (PDMS) containing 3% vinyl group was physically incorporated into the sol-gel network without chemical bonding. The extraction phase itself is then partly crosslinked at 320 degrees C, forming an independent polymer network and can withstand desorption temperature of 290 degrees C. The headspace extraction of BTX by the fiber SPME was evaluated and the detection limit of o-xylene was down to 0.26 ng/l. Extraction and determination of organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs) in water, orange juice and red wine by the SPME-GC thermionic specified detector (TSD) was validated. Limits of detection of the method for OPPs were below 10 ng/l except methidathion. Relative standard deviations (RSDs) were in the range of 1-20% for pesticides being tested.

IN VITRO AND IN VIVO EVALUATION OF ANTIMICROBIAL AND ANTIOXIDANT POTENTIAL OF STEVIA EXTRACT.

PubMed Central

Moselhy, Said S.; Ghoneim, Magdy A.; Khan, Jehan A.

2016-01-01

Background: The current trend globally is the utilization of natural products as therapeutic agents given its minimum side effects. The leaves of Stevia contain several active ingredient compounds such as rebaudioside. Stevia extract have been used for many purposes. Active oxygen radicals can induce base modifications, DNA breakage, and intracellular protein crosslink’s. This study was done to evaluate the potential of stevia extract as antibacterial and antioxidants actions. Materials and methods: Antibacterial activity of different extracts of stevia was tested in vitro against different species of bacteria and hepato-protective efficacy was testes in rats injected with CCl4 as hepatotoxic. Results: Acetone extract exhibited antibacterial activity against selected five bacteria species. The acetone extract suppressed the elevation of serum ALT (p <0.05) and AST (p <0.001) activities induced by CCl4. Animals given stevia extract showed prevention against deleterious effects of CCl4 by lowering lipid peroxidation and enhancement of antioxidant activities as SOD and CAT. The protection trial is better than treatment trial. Total phenolic content of aqueous and acetone extracts were found 30 mg and 85 mg gallic /gm extract respectively. While the total flavonoids were 40 mg and 80 mg quercetin/g respectively. The GC-MS analysis showed that monoterpene and indole are the main components. Aqueous extract don’t show any antibacterial activity against the tested strains. The antioxidant properties were attributable to its phenolic content to scavenge free radicals. Conclusion: Acetone extract possess a potent antimicrobial and activity against deleterious effect of CCl4-caused liver damage. PMID:28480355

Antimicrobial and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Pterygota macrocarpa and Cola gigantea (Sterculiaceae)

PubMed Central

Agyare, Christian; Koffuor, George Asumeng; Boamah, Vivian Etsiapa; Adu, Francis; Mensah, Kwesi Boadu; Adu-Amoah, Louis

2012-01-01

Pterygota macrocarpa and Cola gigantea are African medicinal plants used in traditional medicine for the treatment of sores, skin infections, and other inflammatory conditions including pains. This study therefore aims at investigating the antimicrobial properties of ethanol leaf and stem bark extracts of P. macrocarpa and C. gigantea using the agar diffusion and the micro-dilution techniques and also determining the anti-inflammatory properties of the extracts of these plants in carrageenan-induced foot edema in seven-day old chicks. The minimum inhibitory concentration of both ethanol leaf and bark extracts of P. macrocarpa against the test organisms was from 0.125 to 2.55 mg/mL and that of C. gigantea extracts was 0.125 to 2.75 mg/mL. Extracts with concentration of 50 mg/mL were most active against the test organisms according to the agar diffusion method. All the extracts of P. macrocarpa and C. gigantea at 30, 100, and 300 mg/kg body weight except ethanol leaf extract of C. gigantea exhibited significant anti-inflammatory effects (P ≤ 0.001). PMID:22690251