Dark Ash Research Articles

Effect of ph on Emulsifying Activity of Protein Isolates from Two Varieties (DAS and BS) of Nigerian Cultivated Solojo Cowpea (Vigna Unguiculata L. Walp)

The increasing world population has led to shortage in protein supply which necessitated the quest for new protein sources, particularly from legume. Legumes, naturally do not possess suitable functionality for application in food industry. To improve functionality, different methods of modification (physical, chemical, enzymatic) have been utilized by researchers though with some limitations. However, the use of germination has not been fully explored especially for underutilized Solojo cowpea. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of germination in improving the nutritional and functional properties of flours and proteins isolated from Solojo cowpea and the corresponding effect of pH on its Emulsifying Activity as well as the stability of the isolates. The protein isolates were obtained as whole cowpea flour (WCF), full fat dark ash solojo (FFDAS) and defatted dark ash solojo (DFDAS) flours from dehalled defatted cowpea flour (DDCF) by isoelectric (CPIA) and micellization (CPIB) precipitation were studied. The emulsifying activity as well as stability were affected by pH as shown in Figures [1-12]. All the flours of DAS and BS showed lowest EA between pH 4 – pH 6. The EA decreased as the H+ increased up to the IEP increased with pH to the alkaline region. The DAS isolates had its minimum EA at pH 2- pH 4, while the BS isolate had its minimum EA at pH 2 for all treatment except 6h and 36h, which both had their minimum EA at pH 8. The value ranged between 43.34% and 50.00%; 44.44% and 51.52%; 43.28% and 49.37%; 43.99% and 49.34%; 43.80% and 52.55%; 44.81 and 60.18% for FFDAS, DFDAS, FFBS, DFBS, DAS and BS respectively. ES followed an arrangement comparable to the EA. The lowest ES was reported at pH 4 for most of the flour samples, except for, FFDAS Raw at pH 8 and DFDAS Raw at pH 6. The protein isolates of DAS and BS also had most of the ES minimum at pH 4, except DAS 72h and BS Raw with minimum at pH 2; DAS 36 h, 48 h, BS 6 h and 36 h had their minimum at pH 6; only DAS Raw had minimum ES at pH 8. The ES values ranged between 43.33% and 51.65%; 44.44% and 51.52%; 44.80% and 50.01%; 43.52% and 50.21%. 80.72% and 110.70% 80.66% and 108.82%, for FFDAS, DFDAS, FFBS, DFBS, DAS and BS respectively. There was no marked difference between the ES of the two varieties.

Identification Test of Medicinal Chemicals (BKO) in Uric Acid Herbal Preparations Circulating in Bantaeng District Using the Densitometric KLT Method

Medicinal Chemicals (BKO) in herbal medicine will be bad for health. Some of the BKOs commonly added to uric acid herbs such as piroxicam, piroxicam is a drug used for the treatment of gout. But the reality is that in the market there are still many that contain BKO. Added medicinal chemicals can have harmful side effects for consumers. In this study, the identification of piroxicam in uric acid herbal medicine has been carried out. Identification was carried out by preliminary tests in the form of organoleptic / macroscopic and microscopic tests. Qualitative test in the form of thin layer chromatography (KLT), and quantitative test in the form of densitometry. The organoleptic test results showed that the samples had powder and capsule dosage forms with dark ash, white, yellow and pale yellow colors. It has a bitter taste and aromatic odor. Microscopic test results showed plant fragments from each ingredient contained in the composition of slimming herbs. In the KLT test with the mobile phase acetone: chlorophom: n-hexan (7: 2: 1) obtained the Rf value of piroxicam comparator which is 0.8. Analysis of the five samples showed the same Rf value as the piroxicam comparator. Densitometry test on the samples showed that samples 1, 2 and 4 were positive for piroxicam.

Pengaruh Penambahan Pati Ganyong (Canna Edulis K.) Termodifikasi Secara Heat Moisture Treatment (HMT) Terhadap Karakteristik Bakso Ayam


 
 
 Chicken meatballs are commonly made of chicken meat and flour with various seasonings. This study aimed to determine the effect of heat-moisture treatment (HMT) modified canna starch addition on the characteristics of chicken meatballs and also to determine the right amount of heat-moisture treatment (HMT) modified starch addition to produce chicken meatballs with the best characteristics. A Completely Randomized Design (CRD) were used, with HMT addition treatment consisting of 6 types: P0: control (tapioca 25%), P1:5%, P2:10%, P3:15%, P4:20%, P5:25%. The treatment was repeated 3 times, so 15 experimental units were obtained. The obtained data were analyzed by analyzed of varian (ANOVA) on the SPSS program which was followed by Duncan’s Multiple Range Test (DMRT). The observed parameters in this study are water absorption content, elasticity level, water content, ash content, protein content, fat content, carbohydrate content, sensory test (hedonic and scoring), and resistant starch content. The result showed that the addition of HMT-modified canna starch had a significant effect on water absorption content, elasticity level, water content, protein content, fat content, carbohydrate content, color (hedonic and scoring), and resistant content. Chicken meatballs with the best characteristics were obtained from the addition of modified canna starch by heat moisture treatment (HMT) 25% with water absorption capacity of 33.82%, elasticity 7.57 N, moisture content 64.33%, ash content 0.79% , protein content 13.36%, fat content 5.24%, carbohydrate content 16.25%, and resistant starch content 3.00% as well as sensory assessment of color, namely dark ash and preferred, ordinary aroma, slightly chewy texture and preferred, ordinary taste and overall acceptance is preferred.
 
 

Clear and Present Dangers: The Multiple Health Hazards of Volcanic Eruptions.

Clear and Present Dangers: The Multiple Health Hazards of Volcanic Eruptions.

Rapid Scan Visible Imagery from the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) at 2.5-Minute Intervals

AbstractThe Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) is an instrument designed to continuously monitor lightning. It is on the GOES-16 and GOES-17 satellites, viewing much of the Western Hemisphere equatorward of 55°. Besides recording lightning-flash information, it transmits background visible-band images of its field of view every 2.5 min. The background images are not calibrated or geolocated, and they only have ~10-km grid spacing, but their 2.5-min sampling can potentially fill temporal gaps between full-disk imagery from the GOES satellites’ Advanced Baseline Imager. This paper applies an initial calibration and geolocation of the GLM background images and focuses on animations for two cases: a volcanic eruption in Guatemala and a severe thunderstorm complex in Argentina. Those locations typically have 10-min intervals between full-disk scans. Prior to April 2019, the interval was 15 min. Despite coarse horizontal resolution, the rapid updates from GLM background images appear to be useful in these cases. The 3 June 2018 eruption of Fuego Volcano appears in the GLM background imagery as an initial darkening of the pixels very near the volcano and then an outward expansion of the dark ash cloud. The GLM background imagery lacks horizontal textural detail but compensates for this lack with temporal detail. The ash cloud resembles a dark blob steadily expanding from frame to frame. Animation of the severe thunderstorm scene reveals vertical wind shear, with northerly low-level flow across a growing cumulus field and west-northwesterly upper-level flow at anvil level. Convective initiation is seen, as are propagating outflow boundaries and overshooting convective cloud tops.

After fire, the roles of rabbits and wildflowers

The dark ash left by a chaparral fire is rich in ammonium nitrogen; can the ecosystem absorb it before winter rains wash it away?

“To Make Something Out of the Dying in This War”: The Civil War and the Rise of American Medical Science

“To Make Something Out of the Dying in This War”The Civil War and the Rise of American Medical Science Shauna Devine (bio) editor’s note: The following represents the acceptance speech for the Watson Brown Prize for the best book published on the Civil War era in the calendar year 2014. Tad Brown, president of the Watson-Brown Foundation, awarded the prize to Shauna Devine for her book Learning from the Wounded, published by the University of North Carolina Press. These remarks were given at the annual banquet of the Society of Civil War Historians (SCWH), held during the Southern Historian Association annual meeting on November 13, 2015, in Little Rock, Arkansas. The SCWH judges and administers the book prize. Dr. Devine’s address employs a variety of medical terms; these are explained in a glossary at the end of this article. On July 10, 1863, Pvt. Charles McElroy of Connecticut was transferred from the Eleventh Army Corps Hospital to the Jarvis USA General Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. He was suffering from a wound to the left leg, received during the Battle of Gettysburg. The case report noted that the whole belly of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles had been carried away by the fragment of a shell and that the limb presented a “frightful appearance,” its vitality having been destroyed far beyond the seat of the injury, “terminating in extensive suppurative inflammation and sloughing.” For the next few weeks, the doctors at the Jarvis General Hospital monitored the patient daily and treated the inflammation in the hope that the wound would granulate. But on September 3, the case file noted that the patient was suddenly seized with violent constitutional disturbance, a high grade of fever; pains in his head, back, and limbs; and frequent chills. The doctors studied the abnormal inflammation, diagnosed gangrene, and quickly got to work. They opened the entire wound, moving the skin back, which revealed a pulpous slough, described as dark ash in color, which [End Page 149] seemed to liquefy the flesh every hour as it progressed. The discharge worried the doctors; it was described as a thin saneous liquid with an odor so pungent and offensive that the nurses and others in attendance could scarcely remain a moment without experiencing sickness of the stomach. The patient sank rapidly as the disease progressed, and he was monitored every hour, night and day. Hoping to stimulate the patient’s tissues and help counter the poisons, the doctor prescribed cold-water dressings, poultices, stimulants, tonics, and a nutritious diet. In deciding how to proceed, the doctor had some resources to consult. A year earlier, U.S. Surgeon General William Hammond had sponsored a series of investigations in which physicians at field and general hospitals were ordered to study the causes, transmission, pathology and treatment of hospital gangrene.1 In these investigations, physicians were asked to submit their case histories to the new Army Medical Museum. Some case reports were also submitted for debate and discussion to local medical societies and medical schools, and a number of findings were published in medical journals. The approaches to the study of gangrene were highly individualistic, and the directive to study the diseases produced an epistemological innovation. Some physicians advocated studying bodily fluids and the products of disease with a microscope; others engaged in clinical trials that tested new methods and remedies; still others suggested studying the chemical processes of these diseases; and yet more engaged in new experimental methods trying to prove contagion. Many doctors concentrated on active prevention—using disinfectants to avoid the disease erupting in the first place, which added a new element to the practitioners’ clinical responsibility. There was a developing consensus that bromine appeared the most promising prophylactic and therapeutic remedy.2 The findings of these investigations were widely disseminated during the war. They were not only reported through the medical schools, societies and journals but also to medical inspectors and medical directors who then passed along the findings and recommendations, sometimes in the form of direct orders, to doctors in the general hospitals. In treating Private McElroy, the physician had a variety of options. Though he had never looked through a microscope before...

Seismoacoustic investigations of paroxysmal activity at Mt. Etna volcano: New insights into the 16 November 2006 eruption

[1] On 16 November 2006, a 1 day long paroxysmal eruption occurred at the summit craters of Mt. Etna volcano. A multiparametric approach, consisting of analyzing infrasonic, seismic, and video camera recordings, was carried out to follow its evolution. Volcanological and geophysical observations identified three eruptive phases. In the first phase, infrasonic and seismic characteristics reflected the highly explosive nature of the activity. Waveform characterization of infrasound events confirmed the activity of the several explosive vents at the summit of Southeast Crater (SEC). During the second phase, results highlighted the decoupling between seismic and infrasonic sources, which was due to the decrease in explosive activity and the reactivation of effusive vents located south of Bocca Nuova and on the saddle between Bocca Nuova and SEC. The third phase was the most intense and was characterized by various volcanic phenomena (pyroclastic flows, jets of dark ash, and white steam). The very high radiated infrasonic energy, together with infrasound event features, led us to infer a gas enrichment of the shallow magma column, preceding by a few minutes and likely related to the pyroclastic flows in the SEC area. After the eruption at SEC, variations in infrasound events related to the activity of Northeast Crater (NEC) were found. The observed spectral changes and the source mechanism modeling of the NEC infrasound events suggest the existence of a link in the plumbing system feeding the two craters.

Characterization of local chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) in Shelleng and Song Local Government Areas of Adamawa State, Nigeria

This study was conducted in Song and Shelleng local government areas of Adamawa State, between January 2004 and December 2006, to determine some characteristics of local chickens. A total of 451 chickens of both sexes were examined. About 49% of the birds observed were males while 51% were females. The comb type was mostly single (96.45%). Eye colours were either dark brown (37.92%), light brown (28.82%), dark red (28.60%), light green (2.00%), pink (1.33%) or dark ash (1.33%). For plumage colour, 17.07% of the chickens were classified as black and mottled, 14.41% as dark red/golden, 13.97% as dark brown, 12.64% as brown and mottled while 9.76, 6.85, 6.86 and 6.21 were classified as ash, white, white and mottled, and black, respectively. Most chickens (38.8%) had pink shanks, while 23.28%, 16.63% and 12.42% had dark ash, ash ,and light yellow shanks, respectively. The remaining birds (8.87%) had either milky, red, light pink or ash and yellow shanks. Average live weight, body girth, body length and shank length were 1.3 kg, 27.59 cm, 18.23 cm and 8.72 cm ,respectively. About 40.47% of the eggs observed were light brown. The average clutch size, egg weight, egg length, egg width, shell weight and shell thickness were 7.86, 39.03g, 4.52cm, 3.16cm, 3.80g and 0.53mm respectively. Generally, the local chickens in the study area were mostly black and mottled with dark brown eyes and pink shanks, and mostly lay light brown eggs. There were also distinctive differences in almost all the measurable parameters. These distinctions provide the basis for which they could be classified into breeds.

Eruption of Alaska Volcano Breaks Historic Pattern

In the late morning of 12 July 2008, the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) received an unexpected call from the U.S. Coast Guard, reporting an explosive volcanic eruption in the central Aleutians in the vicinity of Okmok volcano, a relatively young (∼2000‐year‐old) caldera. The Coast Guard had received an emergency call requesting assistance from a family living at a cattle ranch on the flanks of the volcano, who reported loud “thunder,” lightning, and noontime darkness due to ashfall. AVO staff immediately confirmed the report by observing a strong eruption signal recorded on the Okmok seismic network and the presence of a large dark ash cloud above Okmok in satellite imagery. Within 5 minutes of the call, AVO declared the volcano at aviation code red, signifying that a highly explosive, ash‐rich eruption was under way.

Glaciers and Climate in the Andes between the Equator and 30° S: What is Recorded under Extreme Environmental Conditions?

Sublimation and melt disturb the environmental information obtained from ice core records in the Andes. In two case studies we demonstrate to what extent these post-depositional processes may remove major parts of the accumulated snow cover. Dark ash layers from the Tungurahua eruption changed the albedo of surface snow on Chimborazo glacier (6268 m, 1°30′ S,78°36′ W, Ecuador) between two ice core drilling campaigns and forced substantial melt. Re-distribution and washout of the chemical constituents shifted the concentration profiles obtained in December 1999 as compared to an equivalent core drilled in December 2000. The stable isotope records showed that approximately the water equivalent (weq) of an annual layer had melted, and that the percolating melt water penetrated within the firn layer to a depth of at least 16.5 m without refreezing. In the second example, from a site on the dry axis between the tropical and extra-tropical precipitation belts, significant loss of accumulated snow layers occurred by sublimation. A surface experiment at Cerro Tapado glacier (5536 m, 30°08′ S,69°55′ W, Chile) revealed that losses of ≈2 mm weq (≈5 mm snow) per day occurred during the dry period following the 1997/98 El Niño. This loss generally included the entire surface layer enriched in stable isotopes, and thus caused minimal disturbance of the isotopic signature (and hence climatic information) of the net accumulation, yet chemical constituents again experienced considerable changes in concentration. From annual layer counting and direct dating it is obvious that the major part of the accumulated ice on both glaciers is younger than 100 years; however, isotopic and chemical variations at least in the basal ice from Cerro Tapado clearly point to climate conditions different from the recent centuries. This evidence is supported by mass balance considerations derived from a glacier-climate model. The possibility of a third type of disturbance aside from sublimation and melting – in this case a significant hiatus in the environmental chronology – also deserves consideration for other icecore records from this region. Potential disruptions or discontinuities need to be carefully evaluated given the profound changes in climatic and glaciological conditions since the Last Glacial Maximum throughout Holocene times.

Vesuvius 1906: a case study of a paroxysmal eruption and its relation to eruption cycles

The April 1906 effusive and explosive paroxysm of Vesuvius concluded a 34-year-long cycle, characterized by prevalent effusive activity. The eruption began on 4 April 1906 with limited summit explosions that preceded the lava effusion from vents between 1200 and 600 m a.s.l. on the southern flank of the cone. In the late evening of April 7 the explosive strombolian activity evolved to the paroxysmal phase with the formation of two-km-high lava fountains that continued with varying intensity for about 4 hours. This phase generated a moderately dispersed tephra-fall deposit consisting of strongly vesiculated black scoriae and rare lithic clasts. When the lava fountaining ended, the subterminal effusive activity increased On 8 April, at 12:37 a.m. a violent earthquake preceded a change in the eruptive style with the ejection of both strongly fragmented, incandescent, vesiculated juvenile material and lithic fragments generated from the violent cone demolition During this phase the eruptive columns progressively drifted toward the north-northeast causing severe damage to the town of Ottaviano. At 4 p.m. another drastic change in the eruptive style occurred, with the formation of a giant sustained gas jet with a low concentration of dense blocky hydrated glass (the intermediate gas phase reported by Perret). This phase was generated by a powerful interaction of phreatic water with a small amount of degassed magma. The paroxysmal eruption ended with a low column generated by the degassing of the hydrothermal system (dark ash phase of Perret). This last episode deposited only a thin ash layer constituted by non-vesiculated ash particles.

Palisa catena: Small volcano chains in the western part of the central highlands

The morphology of a series of highland volcanoes found on the floor of the crater Palisa is similar to that of mare volcanoes. The superposition of the cones and craters indicate that this volcano complex had a complex, multiphase history of development. A blanket of relatively dark ash, which is between 4 and 13 km wide, is observed surrounding these volcanoes.

Effect of ashfall on snowmelt rate at paradise, Mount Rainier, Washington

Snowpack data and temperature information in the form of degree‐day calculations are analyzed for Paradise, Mt. Rainier, for the weeks following the May 18, 1980, eruption of Mt. St. Helens. The figures are compared with similar computations for the preceding 25 years. The results show that the dark ash layer increased the snowmelt rate by some 40% over what would have been expected from ambient temperatures.

Composition of the Mount St. Helens Ashfall in the Moscow-Pullman Area on 18 May 1980

Mineralogical and chemical analyses of the ashfall from Mount St. Helens on 18 May 1980 indicate that there were two distinct ashes. The early dark ash is composed principally of plagioclase and lithic fragments of plagioclase and glass with titanium-rich magnetite and some basaltic hornblende and orthopyroxene. The later pale ash, four-fifths by weight of the whole fallout, is 80 percent glass with plagioclase as the principal crystalline phase. Quartz and potassium feldspar are rare to absent in both ashes. Chemical analyses of nine ash fractions and of the glass in each type emphasize the differences between the two ash types and their chemical homogeneity.

SEAN Report

The following geophysical and meteoritic events were reported by the Scientific Event Alert Network (SEAN) , Smithsonian Institution, NHB Stop 129, Washington, D.C. 20560.Volcanic EventsTwo lava flows at Fuego (Guatemala), the first at this volcano since 1966, were initially seen from the air on February 9. The flows were extruded from two new 30‐m‐diameter vents near the summit crater, site of intermittent pyroclastic activity since September 11. Hot debris slides from the toes of the lava flows traveled more than 3 km down the southwest flank. On February 24 the rate of lava flow extrusion appeared to be increasing, and all three vents were observed in simultaneous activity. Lava fountaining was interspersed with dark ash explosions at the two new vents while a continuous stream of fine ash and gases was emitted from the summit crater.