We present a direct measurement of the speed of sound in a three-dimensional complex plasma -a room-temperature plasma that contains micrometer-sized particles as fourth component. In order to obtain an undisturbed system, the setup was placed under microgravity conditions on board the International Space Station. The speed of sound was measured with the help of Mach cones excited by a supersonic probe particle moving through the extended particle cloud at Mach numbers M 3. We use the Mach cone relation to infer the particle charge and compare with that predicted by standard theories. In addition, we compare our results with a numerical simulation. In both experiment and simulation, we observe a double Mach cone structure.

A total of seven Kudingcha genotypes from three plant species (Ilex kudingcha, Ilex cornuta, and Ligustrum robustum) with different geographic origins in China were investigated for their major phenolic compounds, individual and total phenolics contents, and in vitro antioxidant properties (ABTS, DPPH, FRAP, and OH assays). LC-PDA-APCI-MS analysis showed that Kudingcha genotypes from Ilex and Ligustrum had entirely different phenolic profiles. Major phenolics in Kudingcha genotypes from two Ilex species were mono- and dicaffeoylquinic acids, whereas those in a Kudingcha genotype from Ligustrum were phenylethanoid and monoterpenoid glycosides. All Kudingcha genotypes of Ilex exhibited significantly stronger antioxidant capacities than that of Ligustrum. Within six Ilex genotypes, great variation existed in their composition of individual phenolic compounds and their antioxidant properties. The comparative data and LC fingerprints obtained in this study may provide useful information for screening and breeding of better Kudingcha genotypes and also for their authentication and quality control.

Anthocyanins and hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives in the crude extracts of peel, flesh, and whole roots of 10 Chinese purple-fleshed sweetpotato genotypes were simultaneously characterized by liquid chromatography-photodiode array detector-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-mass spectrometry (LC-PDA-APCI-MS), as well as their antioxidant activities were systematically investigated and compared. Major anthocyanins were identified as peonidin or cyanidin 3-sophoroside-5-glucoside and their acylated derivatives, e.g., peonidin 3-sophoroside-5-glucoside, peonidin 3-(6''-p-feruloylsophoroside)-5-glucoside, and cyanidin 3-(6''-p-feruloylsophoroside)-5-glucoside, and main hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives were identified as mono- and dicaffeoylquinic acids (e.g., 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid and 3,5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid) and caffeoyl-hexoside. These main phenolic compounds identified were important contributors to the total antioxidant capacity of the tested sweetpotato samples. Additionally, great variations in contents of both total and individual phenolic compounds as well as antioxidant activities between different genotypes and among various parts of the roots were observed. This study may provide value information for breeding new lines of Chinese purple-fleshed sweetpotato and also for quality control of bioactive components during production and processing.

BACKGROUND: Acrylamide has been found in various foods. Many studies have been conducted to mitigate acrylamide formation during the Maillard reaction. In this study, the effects of 35 crude aqueous extracts from dietary plants (spices, fruits, tea, beans and herbs) and 11 phenolic compounds on the mitigation of acrylamide in an asparagine/glucose model system were investigated. A simple method using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with 100% water as mobile phase was developed for acrylamide quantification.

Careful selection of potato varieties with lower levels of fructose, glucose and asparagine and higher levels of phenolic compounds may mitigate acrylamide formation during thermal processing of potato products.

In the present work, the measured cetane numbers (CN) of pure fatty acid methyl esters (FAME), as well as the FAME compositions and the reported CN of 59 kinds of biodiesels collected from literature were used to develop a simple model involving as more FAME component as possible for predicting CN of biodiesel from its FAME composition. Two different regression equations correlating the CN of pure FAME with the carbon number of fatty acid chain were obtained by regression analysis, which shows that the dependence of the CN on the carbon number varies with the unsaturated degree of fatty acid chain. The 59 biodiesels were divided into two categories and used, respectively to develop and test a multiple linear regression model (MLRM) correlating the CN of biodiesel with its FAME composition. A simple and convenient regression equation with a high accuracy and a good reproducibility (average absolute error of 0.49 CN for testing set and 1.52 CN for all data) were developed, showing excellent correlation (R 2 : 0.9904 for testing set). The model developed in the present work can be used conveniently to give a satisfactory predicted CN of biodiesel from the FAME composition.

This study investigated the aerobic and anoxic biodegradation of four estrogens [estrone (E1), estradiol (E2), estriol (E3), and the synthetic 17 alpha-ethinylestradiol (EE2)] in microcosms constructed with marine sand and ulftrafiltered (UF) secondary effluent. Three estrogen-degrading bacteria, LHJ1, LHJ3, and CYH, were isolated. Based on gram-stain morphology and 16S rRNA sequence homology, LHJ1 and LHJ3 belong to the genus Acinetobacter and Agromyces, respectively; CYH matched to 95% with the genus Sphingomonas. Aerobically LHJ3 degrades E3, CYH degrades E1, and all three isolates oxidize E2 to E1. Under anoxic conditions, CYH degrades E1 and LHJ3 degrades E2, whereas E3 and EE2 were not degraded by the three isolates; EE2 was transformed in microcosms incubated with site ground water. The degradation kinetics of E1 and E2 by CYH and E2 by LHJ3 under aerobic conditions was linearly correlated with the initial concentration, which ranged from 50 to 2,000 microg/l. The degradation of E1 by CYH under anoxic conditions followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics. 16 alpha-Hydroxyestrone was found to be a transient transformation product of E3 under aerobic conditions.

A three-dimensional hydrodynamic model has been applied to study the Mach cones in a three-dimensional complex plasma. Numerical results for the velocity distribution of dust particles showed the presence of compressional-wave Mach cones. The compressional Mach cones were excited when subjected to supersonic excitations. It was found that multi-cone structures became a single cone when the discharge pressure was increased. The experiment of Mach cones in a three-dimensional complex plasma under microgravity conditions on board the International Space Station was also reported. A single compressional-wave Mach cone in a three-dimensional complex plasma was observed and could also be obtained from our hydrodynamic model.