No abstract

The possibility of near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy to measure the amount of bacterial contamination in shredded cabbage was investigated. NIR measurements in the short wavelength region from 700 to 1100 nm were done using two types of saline solutions: one was used to stomach with the samples as the conventional method and the other was used to wash the outer surface of the sample to examine the possibility of a nondestructive method. Partial least squares regression (PLS) was used to develop the equations for bacterial amount. Spectra from the stomacher solution and the washing solution produced similar results. Sufficiently accurate results could be obtained with the bias-corrected standard error of prediction (SEPs) of 0.46 log CFU g )1 for the stomacher solution and 0.44 log CFU g )1 for the washing solution. NIR spectroscopy was clarified to be a rapid and non-destructive method for prediction of bacterial contamination in shredded cabbage.

Microfluidic electrochemical sensing has been considered to be highly efficient. In this study, we showed, by using numerical simulations, that a planar electrode formed on the bottom of a microchannel is exposed to only a small fraction of analytes in amperometric detection. We also showed that three-dimensional (3D) micropillar electrodes significantly improve the detection current. The practical performance was evaluated using 3D micropillar electrodes fabricated by photolithography. The output current increased as the diameters of the micropillars decreased, as predicted by the simulations. It is noteworthy that the current enhancements obtained with the 3D electrodes were larger than those expected from an increase in the surface area. Further increase in current was achieved by electrical deposition of nanoporous gold-black onto the surface of the 3D electrode: when a 3D electrode with micropillars 30 µm in diameter was used, the output current was approximately 20 times that obtained with a 2D electrode without modification. The applicability of the micropillar electrodes was demonstrated in electrochemical enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) of bone metabolic marker proteins. Although an increase in the surface area of the electrode leads to more noise in general, there is no significant difference in the signal-to-noise ratio between the modified 3D electrode and the 2D electrode without modification in the ELISA experiments. This nanoporous micropillar electrode could potentially be a useful component for the development of on-site diagnosis systems.

Modification with gold black considerably increased the detection current of protruding micropillar electrodes in microfluidic electrochemical enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). There has been a growing interest in the miniaturization of analytical systems for biochemical sensing applications because miniaturized systems could offer many potential advantages over the conventional assay platforms. Owing to their simplicity

Bone problems have been a key issue that perilously affects broilers' health and welfare, resulting in severe economic loss. The present study was aimed at investigating the influence of dietary rice hull silicon (RHS) on the performance, meat quality, and bone-breaking strength of broilers. One hundred 10-day-old Arbor Acres chicks were used in the study. The birds were divided into 5 groups: one group was kept as the control, and other groups were provided with 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, and 10.0 mg/kg dietary RHS along with their basal diets. Results showed that diets containing various levels of dietary RHS did not adversely affect ( P > 0.05) the body weight, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio. Drip loss of thigh meat showed a reduced value in the group supplemented with 7.5 mg/kg dietary RHS compared with other groups ( P < 0.05), and the lowest thawing loss was observed in the same group; however, it showed no significant difference among other groups. Similarly, thawing loss of breast meat tended to decrease in the dietary RHS groups and significantly decreased ( P < 0.05) in the 7.5 mg/kg RHS group. The shear force of breast meat was higher in all RHS groups, and the highest was in the 7.5 mg/kg RHS group ( P < 0.05). Although tibia breaking strength increased significantly ( P < 0.05) in the 7.5 mg/kg RHS group ( P < 0.05), but a significant difference in femur breaking strength was not found among groups. In conclusion, dietary RHS can be used as a natural mineral supplement for improving bone-breaking strength and reducing drip and thawing loss of breast and thigh muscles, particularly RHS at a level of 7.5 mg/kg in broiler diets.