Milk fat adulteration is a common issue in Central Asia. To assess the current situation in the commercial milk market, 17 milk samples were checked for fatty acid (FA) and sterol profiles to detect potential adulteration using multivariate analysis. Analysis of FA and sterols was performed using gas chromatography with flame ionization detection and gas chromatography with mass-spectrometric detection, respectively. Cluster analysis of FA profiles revealed 3 types of milk samples: (1) samples containing a higher proportion of short-chain FA, (2) samples containing a higher proportion of long-chain FA, and (3) samples with significant amounts of C18 FA. Analysis of sterols showed that samples included (1) milk fat containing 100% cholesterol, sometimes with traces of phytosterols, (2) milk fat with high proportions of β-sitosterol and campesterol, and (3) milk fat containing high proportions of brassicasterol. We found significant relationships between FA profiles and sterol profiles. The profiles were compared with vegetable oil patterns reported in the literature. More than 50% of the samples appeared to be counterfeited. We conclude that identification of adulteration in milk can be based solely on determination of sterol patterns.
Air pollution is one of the primary sources of risk to human health in the world. In this study, seasonal and spatial variations of multiple volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were measured at six sampling sites in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The seasonal and spatial variations of 19 VOCs were evaluated in 2020, including the periods before and after COVID-19 lockdown. The concentrations of 9 out of 19 VOCs had been changed significantly (p < 0.01) during 2020. The maximum concentrations of total VOCs (TVOCs) were observed on 15, 17, and 19 January and ranged from 233 to 420 µg m−3. The spatial distribution of TVOCs concentrations in the air during sampling seasons correlated with the elevation and increased from southern to northern part of Almaty, where Combined Heat and Power Plants are located. The sources of air pollution by VOCs were studied by correlations analysis and BTEX ratios. The ranges of toluene to benzene ratio and benzene, toluene, and ethylbenzene demonstrated two primary sources of BTEX in 2020: traffic emissions and biomass/biofuel/coal burning. Most of m-, p-xylenes to ethylbenzene ratios in this study were lower than 3 in all sampling periods, evidencing the presence of aged air masses at studied sampling sites from remote sources.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.