The changes in the proteolysis activity and the accumulation of free amino acids during chinese traditional dry-cured loins processing

Chang-Yu Zhou,Ying Wang,Dao-Dong Pan,Jin-Xuan Cao,Yin-Ji Chen,Yuan Liu,Yang-Ying Sun,Chang-Rong Ou 한국식품과학회 2017 Food Science and Biotechnology Vol.26 No.3

Twelve pieces of longissimus dorsi were processed into Chinese traditional dry-cured loins. The changes in the proteolylic enzymes activities, myofibrillar proteins degradation, and free amino acids content were investigated during processing. Compared with fresh piece (0 day), the cathepsin B ? L and calpains activities decreased after dry-curing and maintained potential activities values of 23.25 and 15.04% in the final products, respectively. The myosin heavy chain (MHC) and C protein were intensely degraded at the dry-ripened stage; the 50 kDa desmin increased at day 2 and then disappeared at day 11. The total free amino acids content increased from 333.18 mg/100 g in the raw to 1096.54 mg/100 g at the end of the dry-ripening. This work provided a mechanism for the accumulation of free amino acids and predicted the proteolysis extent of myofibrillar proteins by monitoring the changes of three marker proteins (MHC, C protein and 50 kDa desmin) during Chinese traditional dry-cured loins processing. Keywords

Multiple model approach to evaluation of accelerated carbonation for steelmaking slag in a slurry reactor

Pan, S.Y.,Liu, H.L.,Chang, E.E.,Kim, H.,Chen, Y.H.,Chiang, P.C. Pergamon Press 2016 CHEMOSPHERE - Vol.154 No.-

Basic oxygen furnace slag (BOFS) exhibits highly alkaline properties due to its high calcium content, which is beneficial to carbonation reaction. In this study, accelerated carbonation of BOFS was evaluated under different reaction times, temperatures, and liquid-to-solid (L/S) ratios in a slurry reactor. CO<SUB>2</SUB> mass balance within the slurry reactor was carried out to validate the technical feasibility of fixing gaseous CO<SUB>2</SUB> into solid precipitates. After that, a multiple model approach, i.e., theoretical kinetics and empirical surface model, for carbonation reaction was presented to determine the maximal carbonation conversion of BOFS in a slurry reactor. On one hand, the reaction kinetics of BOFS carbonation was evaluated by the shrinking core model (SCM). Calcite (CaCO<SUB>3</SUB>) was identified as a reaction product through the scanning electronic microscopy and X-ray diffraction analyses, which provided the rationale of applying the SCM in this study. The rate-limiting step of carbonation was found to be ash-diffusion controlled, and the effective diffusivity for carbonation of BOFS in a slurry reactor were determined accordingly. On the other hand, the carbonation conversion of BOFS was predicted by the response surface methodology (RSM) via a nonlinear mathematical programming. According to the experimental data, the highest carbonation conversion of BOFS achieved was 57% under an L/S ratio of 20 mL g<SUP>-1</SUP>, a CO<SUB>2</SUB> flow rate of 0.1 L min<SUP>-1</SUP>, and a pressure of 101.3 kPa at 50 <SUP>o</SUP>C for 120 min. Furthermore, the applications and limitations of SCM and RSM were examined and exemplified by the carbonation of steelmaking slags.

The mitochondrial genome of the Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus (Charadriiformes: Charadriidae) and phylogenetic analysis of Charadrii

Wan Chen,Chenling Zhang,Tao Pan,Wei Liu,Kexin Li,Chaochao Hu,Qing Chang 한국유전학회 2018 Genes & Genomics Vol.40 No.9

The suborder Charadrii (Aves: Charadriiformes), one of the most species-rich radiations within shorebirds, which contains good source for studies of ecology, behaviour and evolution. The resources of mitogenome have rapidly accumulated in recent years due to the advanced genomic sequencing, while suborder Charadrii’s mitogenome has not been well studied. The primary objective of this study was to determine the complete mitogenome sequence of Charadrius alexandrinus, and investigated the evolutionary relationship within Charadrii. The mitogenome of C. alexandrinus were generated by amplification of overlapping Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) fragments. In this study, we determined the complete mitogenome sequence of the Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus, and comparative analysed 11 species to illustrate mitogenomes structure and investigated their evolutionary relationship within Charadrii. The Charadrii mitogenomes displayed moderate size variation, the mean size was 16,944 bp (SD = 182, n = 11), and most of the size variation due to mutations in the control region (CR). Nucleotide composition was consistently biased towards AT rich, and the A+T content also varies for each protein-coding genes. The variation in ATP8 and COIII was the highest and lowest respectively. The GC skew was always negative, with the ATP8 had higher value than other regions. The average uncorrected pairwise distances revealed heterogeneity of evolutionary rate for each gene, the COIII, COI and COII have slow evolutionary rate, whereas the gene of ATP8 has the relative fast rate. The highest value of Ks and Ka were ND1 and ATP8, and the ratios of Ka/Ks are lower than 0.27, indicating that they were under purifying selection. Phylogenomic analysis based on the complete mitochondrial genomes strongly supported the monophyly of the suborder Charadrii. This study improves our understanding of mitogenome structure and evolution, and providing further insights into phylogeny and taxonomy in Charadrii. In future, sequencing more mitogenomes from various taxonomic levels will significantly improve our understanding of phylogenetic relationships within Charadrii.

Removal of phenol from gas streams via combined plasma catalysis

Kuan Lun Pan,Dai Ling Chen,Guan Ting Pan,Siewhui Chong,Moo Been Chang 한국공업화학회 2017 Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Vol.52 No.-

A hybrid system consisting of non-thermal plasma and perovskite-like catalyst is developed andevaluated for the effectiveness in removing phenol from gas streams. For thermal catalysis,La0.8Sr0.2Mn0.8Cu0.2O3 shows high activity for phenol removal. Further, La0.8Sr0.2Mn0.8Cu0.2O3 is appliedfor combined plasma catalysis (CPC). The results indicate that phenol removal efficiency with CPCremains 100% at applied voltage range of 13–16 kV. Importantly, secondary pollutants (O3 and NOx) andenergy efficiency can be inhibited and increased, respectively, as CPC is applied. Overall, this studydemonstrates that combining non-thermal plasma with perovskite-like catalyst is effective in removingphenol from gas streams.

Parameter Optimization of Micromilling Brass Mold Inserts for Microchannels with Taguchi Method

Pin-Chuan Chen,Yu-Chieh Chen,Chang-Wei Pan,Kuan-Ming Li 한국정밀공학회 2015 International Journal of Precision Engineering and Vol. No.

Achieving excellent quality of micromilled surfaces usually requires additional efforts and cost, and Taguchi methodology is anefficient tool in the parameter optimization process. The aim of this study is to explore the optimal cutting parameters for minimalsurface roughness of a micromilled brass mold inset, and the controlling parameters included coolant, spindle speed, feed rate, depthof cut, and the stepover. An orthogonal array and factor analysis were carried out to identify the optimal cutting combination, andthis combination included air coolant, spindle speed of 45,000 rpm, feed rate of 100 mm/min, stepover of 10% of milling bit diameter,and the depth of cut of 5 μm. To further confirm the analysis, multiple confirmation runs were realized and the averagely measuredsurface roughness was 0.03 μm with a stand deviation of 0.004 μm.

Knowledge of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Infection, Cervical Cancer, and HPV Vaccine and its Correlates among Medical Students in Southwest China: a Multi-center Cross-sectional Survey

Wen, Ying,Pan, Xiong-Fei,Zhao, Zhi-Mei,Chen, Feng,Fu, Chun-Jing,Li, Si-Qi,Zhao, Yun,Chang, Hong,Xue, Qing-Ping,Yang, Chun-Xia Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.14

Background: Since cervical cancer can be prevented and controlled through human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, it is important to train health care providers and provide them with appropriate knowledge. This study aimed to understand the level of HPV related knowledge among medical students and correlates in Southwest China in order to address any potential gap in their knowledge base. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey among medical students in six selected universities across Southwest China based on a pretested questionnaire regarding HPV infection, cervical cancer, and HPV vaccines. Results: We successfully surveyed 1, 878 medical students, of whom 32.1% were males and 67.9% were females. Their mean age was 20.8 (standard deviation: 1.3) years. 91.8% of them were ethnic Han Chinese, and 43.8% were students in clinical medicine. While 76.5% had heard of HPV only 48.8% knew that the prevention of cervical cancer was possible through HPV vaccination. Only 42.9% of the male and 49.2% of the female students correctly answered over 10 out of 22 questions on HPV related knowledge. Female students appeared to know more about HPV and HPV vaccination (OR: 1.39; 95% CI: 1.11-1.75). In addition, the student knowledge improved with the grade (p<0.001). University courses were the most selected source of knowledge about HPV vaccination (66.4%). 83.6% of males and 91.4% of females were willing to have more HPV related education by experts (p<0.001). Only 10.1% of the students acknowledged that people had asked for their advice regarding HPV vaccination. Conclusions: Our survey indicates that medical students from Southwest China have poor knowledge of HPV and HPV vaccination, but are willing to receive more relevant information. Targeted education should be incorporated into school courses to inform these future health care providers and ensure success of programs for cervical cancer control and prevention.

Chest Film Demonstrating Reverse Batwing Pulmonary Opacities in a Patient with COVID-19 Pneumonia

Sheng-Wei Pan,Chih-Jung Chang,Yuh-Min Chen 대한결핵및호흡기학회 2022 Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases Vol.85 No.1

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Optimization of Micromilling Microchannels on a Polycarbonate Substrate

Pin-Chuan Chen,Chang-Wei Pan,Wei-Chen Lee,Kuan-Ming Li 한국정밀공학회 2014 International Journal of Precision Engineering and Vol. No.

Rapidly prototyping a polymer microfluidic device is a growing interest for various applications and micromilling is one of the common approaches to manufacture polymer microfluidic devices. The advantages of using micromilling for polymer microfluidic devices include shorter fabrication process, lower cost, easier user interface, and being capable of fabricating complicated structures, which make micromilling a perfect tool in research idea testing and validation. The aim of this study is to understand the impact of each micromilling parameter to the surface roughness on a polycarbonate substrate, followed by the factor analysis to determine the optimal cutting conditions. The parameters included spindle speed, feed rate, and the depth of cut, and the roughness was measured by a stylus profilemeter. The smallest roughness achieved was 0.127 µm with the spindle speed of 20,000 rpm, feed rate of 300 mm/min, and the depth of cut of 10 µm. Factor analysis was used to determine that the spindle speed has the largest impact while the depth of cut has the minimized impact to the surface quality. To further confirm the optimal cutting conditions, twelve reservoirs were micromilled with the optimal cutting conditions and the average roughness is 0.14 µm with a stand deviation of 0.08 µm.

Strategy for Fabricating Wafer-Scale Platinum Disulfide

Xu, Hongjun,Huang, Hsin-Pan,Fei, HaiFeng,Feng, Jiafeng,Fuh, Huei-Ru,Cho, Jiung,Choi, Miri,Chen, Yanhui,Zhang, Lei,Chen, Dengyun,Zhang, Duan,Coileá,in, Cormac Ó,Han, Xiufeng,Chang, Ching-Ra American Chemical Society 2019 ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES Vol.11 No.8

<P>PtS<SUB>2</SUB> is a newly developed group 10 2D layered material with high carrier mobility, wide band gap tunability, strongly bound excitons, symmetrical metallic and magnetic edge states, and ambient stability, making it attractive in nanoelectronic, optoelectronic, and spintronic fields. To the aim of application, a large-scale synthesis is necessary. For transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMD) compounds, a thermally assisted conversion method has been widely used to fabricate wafer-scale thin films. However, PtS<SUB>2</SUB> cannot be easily synthesized using the method, as the tetragonal PtS phase is more stable. Here, we use a specified quartz part to locally increase the vapor pressure of sulfur in a chemical vapor deposition furnace and successfully extend this method for the synthesis of PtS<SUB>2</SUB> thin films in a scalable and controllable manner. Moreover, the PtS and PtS<SUB>2</SUB> phases can be interchangeably converted through a proposed strategy. Field-effect transistor characterization and photocurrent measurements suggest that PtS<SUB>2</SUB> is an ambipolar semiconductor with a narrow band gap. Moreover, PtS<SUB>2</SUB> also shows excellent gas-sensing performance with a detection limit of ∼0.4 ppb for NO<SUB>2</SUB>. Our work presents a relatively simple way of synthesizing PtS<SUB>2</SUB> thin films and demonstrates their promise for high-performance ultrasensitive gas sensing, broadband optoelectronics, and nanoelectronics in a scalable manner. Furthermore, the proposed strategy is applicable for making other PtX<SUB>2</SUB> compounds and TMDs which are compatible with modern silicon technologies.</P> [FIG OMISSION]</BR>

Dark current suppression of amorphous selenium based photosensors by the ZnO hole blocking layer

Tung-Yuan Yu,Fu-Ming Pan,Cheng-Yi Chang,Tien Hu,Jenn-Fang Chen,Jia-Feng Wang,Jia-Feng Wang,Cheng-Lu Lin,Te-Ming Chen 한국물리학회 2014 Current Applied Physics Vol.14 No.5

To study the influence of defects in the hole blocking layer (HBL) on the dark current of amorphous selenium (a-Se) based photosensors, we prepared ZnO thin films by reactive sputter deposition (RSD) for the use as the HBL of the photosensors. The ZnO HBL layers prepared with different oxygen flow rates were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman scattering analysis and photoluminescence, indicating that the density of oxygen vacancies in the ZnO thin films is significantly affected by the oxygen flow rate. The deep level transient spectroscopy measurement reveals two hole trap levels present in the RSD deposited ZnO thin films; one is at 0.94 eV and the other at 0.24 eV above the valence band edge. The electrical performance of the a-Se photosensor is largely influenced by the amount of oxygen vacancies in the ZnO thin film. The a-Se photosensor with the ZnO HBL of the most oxygen vacancies has the lowest dark current and demonstrates the highest breakdown field.