Investigation on Ochratoxin A stability using different extraction techniques

The stability of Ochratoxin A during its extraction using different extraction techniques has been evaluated. Microwave-assisted extraction and pressurised liquid extraction, in addition to two other reference methods of extraction, i.e. ultrasound-assisted and magnetic stirring-assisted extraction, were evaluated. The effect of extraction temperature using the cited techniques was checked.The results show that Ochratoxin A can be extracted using microwave-assisted extraction at temperatures up to 150 °C without degradation. Pressurised liquid extraction can be used at temperatures up to 100 °C, for extraction times of less than 30 min. Further, both ultrasound-assisted extraction and magnetic stirring extraction can be applied at temperatures up to 65 °C.High-performance liquid chromatography combined with fluorescence detection using a Chromolith RP-18e column at a flow rate of 5 mL min⁻¹ was used to quantify the Ochratoxin A. The retention time for the Ochratoxin A was 1.3 min. The limits of detection (LOD) and of quantification (LOQ) were 0.03 and 0.10 μg L⁻¹, respectively.     

Large deviations for random walks in a mixing random environment and other (non‐Markov) random walks

We extend a recent work by S. R. S. Varadhan [8] on large deviations for random walks in a product random environment to include more general random walks on the lattice. In particular, some reinforced random walks and several classes of random walks in Gibbs fields are included. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The convex hull property and topology of hypersurfaces with nonnegative curvature

We prove that, in Euclidean space, any nonnegatively curved, compact, smoothly immersed hypersurface lies outside the convex hull of its boundary, provided the boundary satisfies certain required conditions. This gives a convex hull property, dual to the classical one for surfaces with nonpositive curvature. A version of this result in the nonsmooth category is obtained as well. We show that our boundary conditions determine the topology of the surface up to at most two choices. The proof is based on uniform estimates for radii of convexity of these surfaces under a clipping procedure, a noncollapsing convergence theorem, and a gluing procedure.     

Synthesis and Photochemistry of Novel 3,5-Diacetyl-1,4-dihydropyridines. II [1]

In continuation of previous work some novel 3,5-diacetyl-1,4-dihydropyridine derivatives were synthesized and their photochemical behavior was studied under oxygen and argon atmosphere. Oxidation of the dihydropyridine ring and formation of pyridine derivatives was the result of the reaction. The presence of oxygen affects not only on the rate of oxidation, but also the formation of some unidentified by-products was observed on irradiation under this atmosphere.     

Vibsanin O, a novel diterpenoid from Viburnum awabuki

Vibsanin O, isolated from the leaves and twigs of Viburnum awabuki, is an unprecedented bicyclic diterpenoid. The structures of vibsanin O was established by extensive analysis of spectroscopic data.     

Embedded diagonally implicit Runge–Kutta–Nystrom 4(3) pair for solving special second-order IVPs

In this paper, third-order 3-stage diagonally implicit Runge–Kutta–Nystrom method embedded in fourth-order 4-stage for solving special second-order initial value problems is constructed. The method has the property of minimized local truncation error as well as the last row of the coefficient matrix is equal to the vector output. The stability of the method is investigated and a standard set of test problems are tested upon and comparisons on the numerical results are made when the same set of test problems are reduced to first-order system and solved using existing Runge–Kutta method. The results clearly shown the advantage and the efficiency of the new method.     

Current distribution, resistance, and inductance forsuperconducting strip transmission lines

A method for the calculation of the current distribution, resistance, and inductance matrices for a system of coupled superconducting transmission lines having finite rectangular cross-section is presented. These calculations allow accurate characterization of both high-T_c and low-T _c superconducting strip transmission lines. For a single stripline geometry with finite ground planes, the current distribution, resistance, inductance, and kinetic inductance are calculated as functions of the penetration depth for various film thicknesses. These calculations are then used to determine the penetration depth for Nb, NbN, and YBa₂Cu₃O_7-x superconducting thin films from the measured temperature dependence of the resonant frequency of a stripline resonator. The calculations are also used to convert measured temperature dependence of the quality factor to the intrinsic surface resistance as a function of temperature for an Nb stripline resonator     

Handover signalling for microcellular environments

A new strategy for routing handover signalling in microcellular environments is proposed. Simulation results show that time delay for handover packets travelling across the fixed network could be reduced by diverting the signalling through the air interface between the serving and the candidate base station (BS)     

Highly selective PVC-membrane electrodes based on Co(II)-Salen for determination of nitrite ion.

A cobalt(II) derivative was used as a suitable ionophore for the preparation of a polymeric membrane nitrite-selective electrode. The electrode reveals a Nemstian behavior over a very wide NO2- ion concentration range (1.0 x 10(-6)-1.0 x 10(-1) M) and a very low detection limit (5.0 x 10(-7) M). The potentiometric response is independent of the pH of solution in the pH range 4.0-9.5. The electrode shows advantages such as low resistance, fast response and, most importantly, good selectivity relative to a wide variety of inorganic and organic anions. In fact, the selectivity behavior of the proposed NO2- ion-selective electrode shows great improvements compared to the previously reported electrodes for nitrite ion. The proposed electrodes could be used for at least 2 months without any significant changes in potentials. The electrode was successfully applied to the determination of nitrate ion concentrations in sausage and milk samples.