Flush Volume Research Articles

Sa1458 Nicevis - Results of a Randomised Controlled Trial of Simeticone and N-Acetylcysteine As a Pre-Procedure Drink to Improve Mucosal Visibility During Diagnostic Gastroscopy

Introduction Despite advances in endoscope technology there is still a significant miss rate of neoplastic lesions during gastroscopy. Mucosal views are frequently impaired by residual bubbles and mucus. Method We conducted an RCT in 126 patients attending for routine gastroscopy. Subjects were randomised in a 1:1:1 ratio to receive a pre-procedure drink of water, simeticone and n-acetylcysteine (Group A), water alone (Group B) or no preparation (Group C). Study endoscopists were blinded to group allocation. 4 digital images were taken at pre-defined locations during the procedure – lower oesophagus, upper body, antrum and fundus. Images were rated for mucosal visibility (MV) using a 4 point scale (1 = best, 4 = worst) by 4 blinded experienced endoscopists. Primary outcome measure was mean MV score. Secondary outcome measures were procedure duration and volume of flush required to achieve adequate mucosal views. Results Groups were well matched for age, gender or indication for endoscopy. Mean MV score for group A was significantly better than for group B and group C (p Subgroup analysis of MV scores at each location demonstrated significantly better mucosal visibility in group A compared to group B and group C at all locations (p Conclusion A pre-procedure drink containing simeticone and n-acetlycysteine significantly improves mucosal visibility during routine gastroscopy and reduces the need for flushes during the procedure. This may improve detection of early neoplasia and other pathology during gastroscopy. Subanalysis of separate locations demonstrates significant benefit in the lower oesophagus, demonstrating potential benefit in Barrett’s surveillance procedures. Disclosure of interest None Declared.

Illustrative neonatal cases regarding drug delivery issues.

Illustrative neonatal cases regarding drug delivery issues.

Application of Accelerated Solvent Extraction for Simultaneous Isolation and Pre-cleaning Up Procedure During Determination of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Smoked Meat Products

A simplified method, following European Commission legislation, for the determination of four polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH4)—benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), benzo[a]anthracene (B[a]A), chrysene (CHR) and benzo[b]fluoranthene (B[b]F)—in smoked meat products is elaborated. The novelty of the method is in the simultaneous extraction and pre-separation of PAH4 fractions using accelerated solvent extraction equipment (ASE 350), in which the sample was mixed with the same amount of the drying material poly(acrylic acid), partial sodium salt-graft-poly(ethylene oxide), applied a on silica gel bed (optimum sample fat/silica gel ratio = 0.05) and extracted in an ASE cell using n-hexane at 100 °C and 10 MPa at a static time of 10 min. The flush volume was 60 %, the purge time was 120 s and this static cycle was repeated three times. Then, the extract was evaporated in a water bath to dryness (40 °C) using a nitrogen stream, dissolved in acetonitrile and determined by HPLC in isocratic regime using mobile phase acetonitrile/water 70:30 (v/v). A fluorescence detector operated at excitation/emission wavelength 260/410 nm for B[a]P, 275/385 nm for B[a]A and CHR, and 256/446 nm for B[b]F, respectively. The method passed through an in-house validation procedure and met all set out criteria of European Commission Regulation No. 836/2011 such as limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ), linearity, repeatability, intermediate precision and recovery. This method is more operative and consumes less time, solvents and materials in comparison with current methods composed of sole ASE extraction and additional pre-separation procedures. Finally, the suitability of the method was tested on Food Analysis Performance Assessment Scheme (FAPAS)-certified material (smoked meat products) and the results confirmed accordance of measured data with the declared PAH content.

Certification of apheresis nurses in Indonesia

25/31 (81%) had a diagnosis of oncological malignancy, four (13%) with immunological conditions, and two (6%) with acute leukaemia. The most common mobilisation protocol used was chemotherapy/G-CSF in 24/31 (77%) patients, supplemented with plerixafor in three cases, and G-CSF alone in 7/31 (23%), five cases with addition of plerixafor. Spectra Optia settings; total blood volumes processed – 2.5, Whole Blood:AC ratio – 12:1, maximum AC rate 0.9ml/min/L TBV, initial flush volume of 16ml, and chase volume of 4ml. Custom prime recommendation was triggered if extracorporeal volume >10% of either total blood volume or red blood cell volume. Final flush volume was increased to 26ml in all procedures. For the first 10 procedures at least 2 chamber flushes were performed, and for the subsequent 40 at least 3. For children below 25kg a blood volume of 80ml/kg was used. In very small children the procedure ran in caution mode, as the AC rate was >1.2ml/min/ /L TBV. Prophylactic calcium gluconate infusions were given throughout procedures running in caution mode. There were no patient adverse events due the apheresis procedure. Data were collected to validate the efficiency of the machine to collect CD34 cells, red cell, platelet and neutrophil contamination, and changes to patient haemoglobin, platelet count, and serum electrolyte levels. CD34 doses, median (range) 4.8×106/kg (0.54–75.1×106/kg), and collection efficiency per blood volume processed (CE2) median (range) 47.4% (24.0–88.6%) were calculated. More than 2.0×106/kg CD34 cells were obtained in 43/50 (86%) procedures, and a CD34 dose of >3.0×106/kg was obtained in 29/31 (94%) children. Changes to patient haemoglobin and platelet counts were recorded. Due to custom prime requirements in 42/50 (84%) procedures, haemoglobin increased, median (range) +11% (−4% to +24%). Platelets were reduced, median (range) −39% (−66% to +26%). No significant changes to serum electrolyte levels were noted.

G458(P) UK Paediatric Intensive Care units overestimate central venous catheter fill volumes. Fill volumes are proportional to trimmed central venous catheter length

Aims200,000 central venous catheters (CVCs) are inserted annually in the NHS. CVCs are regularly flushed before and after use, and also “locked” with anticoagulants or antibiotics. Manufacturers publish fill volumes...

Simultaneous determination of drugs of abuse and their main metabolites using pressurized liquid extraction and liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

An analytical method based on pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) and liquid chromatography–(electrospray)−tandem mass spectrometry was developed for the simultaneous determination of nicotine, four drugs of abuse (opiates and alkaloids) and four of their main metabolites in sewage sludge. The optimum PLE conditions were: cell volume 11mL, dichloromethane as extraction solvent, 5min preheating time, 100°C temperature, 1500psi pressure, 60% flush volume, 1 cycle, 15min static extraction time, 120s purge time and sample weight 1g. Absolute recoveries for all compounds were between 25% and 65%. Data acquisition was done by selective reaction monitoring and the two most abundant product ions were used for confirmation. Limits of detection were lower than 10μg/kg dry weight (d.w.) and limits of quantification were between 2.5 and 25μg/kg (d.w.).The highest concentrations found in sludge samples from two sewage treatment plants were for nicotine and cocaine in the range of 23–173μg/kg (d.w.) and 9–232μg/kg (d.w.) respectively.

Problems in seawater industrial desalination processes and potential sustainable solutions: a review

Seawater desalination has significantly developed towards membrane technology than phase change process during last decade. Seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) in general is the most familiar process due to higher water recovery and lower energy consumption compared to other available desalination processes. Despite major advancements in SWRO technology, desalination industry is still facing significant amount of practical issues. Therefore, the potentials and problems faced by current SWRO industries and essential study areas are discussed in this review for the benefit of desalination industry. It is important to consider all the following five components in SWRO process i.e. (1) intake (2) pre-treatment (3) high pressure pumping (4) membrane separation (performance of membranes and brine disposal) and (5) product quality. Development of higher corrosion resistant piping materials or coating materials, valves, and pumps is believed to be in higher research demand. Furthermore, brine management, that includes brine disposal and resource recovery need further attention. Pre-treatment sludge management and reduced cleaning in place flush volume will reduce the capital costs associated with evaporation ponds and the maintenance costs associated with disposal and transportation reducing the unit cost of water.

A high-throughput method for the simultaneous determination of multiple mycotoxins in human and laboratory animal biological fluids and tissues by PLE and HPLC–MS/MS

A high-throughput method for the determination of 28 mycotoxins involving pressurised liquid extraction (PLE) coupled with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) has been optimised and validated for determination in various biological fluids and tissues of human and laboratory animals. High-throughput analysis was achieved using PLE pre-treatment and without the need for any cleanup. The extraction solvent was acetonitrile/water/acetic acid (80/19/1, v/v/v). The static extraction time was 5min. The extraction pressure and temperature were 1500psi and 140°C, respectively. The flush volume was 60%. The limits of detection, which were defined as CCα, varied from 0.01μg/kg (μg/L) to 0.69μg/kg (μg/L). The recoveries of spiked samples from 0.20μg/kg (μg/L) to 2μg/kg (μg/L) ranged from 71% to 100.5% with relative standard deviations of less than 17.5%, except FB1 and FB2 recoveries, which were lower than 60%. The method was successfully applied in real samples, and the data indicate that this technique is a useful analytical method for the determination of mycotoxins from humans and animals. To the best of our knowledge, this method is the first for the large-scale testing of multi-class mycotoxins in all types of biological fluids and tissues that uses PLE and HPLC-MS/MS.

Extraction procedure optimization for perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoic acid in food packaging determination by LC-MS/MS

This research aimed to optimize the extraction method parameters for sample pretreatment and determine the levels of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) contamination in food packaging made of paper. Techniques used were pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) followed by liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Influence parameters of PLE were carefully evaluated for extracted concentration of samples in low level (ng g−1). The study found that the optimal conditions for PLE were 30 min static extraction time with a flush volume of 100% cell volume and one extraction cycle at 80°C and 1,000 psi. The extraction technique validated the absolute recovery from PFOS and PFOA fortified control samples at three different levels (5, 50, and 200 ng g−1), with seven repeats at each fortification level. The average recoveries were 79% or higher, with relative standard deviation (RSD) less than 11%. Optimization of the PLE method was established based on recovery data, accuracy, precision, and repeatability of the method. Using optimal PLE technique, PFOS and PFOA were extracted from 34 food-packaging samples collected in Thailand. PFOS and PFOA were detected in all kinds of collected samples, with average concentrations of 4.89 and 2.87 ng g−1, respectively. The concentrations of PFOS and PFOA were highest in fast-food container samples: 36.99 and 9.99 ng g−1, respectively.

Aerosol Generation by Modern Flush Toilets.

A microbe-contaminated toilet will produce bioaerosols when flushed. We assessed toilet plume aerosol from high efficiency (HET), pressure-assisted high efficiency (PAT), and flushometer (FOM) toilets with similar bowl water and flush volumes. Total and droplet nuclei "bioaerosols" were assessed. Monodisperse 0.25-1.9- μ m fluorescent microspheres served as microbe surrogates in separate trials in a mockup 5 m3 water closet (WC). Bowl water seeding was approximately 1012 particles/mL. Droplet nuclei were sampled onto 0.2- μ m pore size mixed cellulose ester filters beginning 15 min after the flush using open-face cassettes mounted on the WC walls. Pre- and postflush bowl water concentrations were measured. Filter particle counts were analyzed via fluorescent microscopy. Bowl headspace droplet count size distributions were bimodal and similar for all toilet types and flush conditions, with 95% of droplets <2μm diameter and>99%<5μ m. Up to 145,000 droplets were produced per flush, with the high-energy flushometer producing over three times as many as the lower energy PAT and over 12 times as many as the lowest energy HET despite similar flush volumes. The mean numbers of fluorescent droplet nuclei particles aerosolized and remaining airborne also increased with flush energy. Fluorescent droplet nuclei per flush decreased with increasing particle size. These findings suggest two concurrent aerosolization mechanisms-splashing for large droplets and bubble bursting for the fine droplets that form droplet nuclei.

Isolation by pressurised fluid extraction (PFE) and identification using CPC and HPLC/ESI/MS of phenolic compounds from Brazilian cherry seeds (Eugenia uniflora L.)

Brazilian cherry seeds are a waste product from juice and frozen pulp production and, the seeds composition was investigated to valorize this by-product. Compounds separation was performed with ethanol by pressurised fluid extraction (PFE). Here we determine the effect of temperature (T), static time (ST), number of cycles (C), and flush volume (VF) on the yield, composition and total phenolic content (TPC) of the seed extracts. T, ST and their interaction positively influenced yield and TPC. Extracts were fractionated by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC). The collected fractions characterizations were made by electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (ESI/MS) and high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) indicated the presence of ellagic acid pentoside and deoxyhexose, quercitrin and kaempferol pentoside. All of these compounds have antioxidant properties and normally are found in plant extracts. These results confirm that Brazilian cherry seed extract is a potentially valuable source of antioxidants.

The potential for self-sanitisation of faecal sludge by intrinsic ammonia

Faecal sludge has the potential to be used as a sustainable fertiliser in agriculture, but the sludge must be sanitised due to its content of pathogenic microorganisms. The intrinsic ammonia from the urine may be sufficient for sanitisation of the sludge if it is not too diluted by flush water or lost by ventilation. To evaluate the potential for this sanitisation method, inactivation of Enterococcus faecalis, Salmonella typhimurium and Ascaris suum eggs during treatment were assessed. The inactivation was studied at different storage temperatures (10–28 °C) and in several sludge mixes with different contents of urine, faeces and flush water, and with ammonia concentrations from 40 to 400 mM. All pathogens were inactivated by the ammonia, and ascaris eggs were the most persistent. Lower flush water volume and higher urine content favoured inactivation, mainly due to increased uncharged ammonia (NH3) concentration. The lag phase in ascaris inactivation was shortened by increasing temperature and NH3 concentration, while post-lag phase inactivation was not influenced by NH3 concentration. Faecal sludge can be sanitised by airtight storage without the use of additives when flush water volumes are sufficiently low. For temperatures of 23–28 °C, a 3 log reduction of ascaris egg viability can be achieved within 1–6 months depending on ammonia concentration and temperature.

Premedication with N-acetylcysteine and simethicone improves mucosal visualization during gastroscopy

Diagnostic gastroscopy provides a unique opportunity to diagnose early oesophagogastric neoplasia; however, intraluminal mucus and bile can obscure mucosal visualization. The aim of this study was to determine whether the use of a premedication solution containing the mucolytic agent N-acetylcysteine and the surfactant simethicone improves mucosal visualization within a UK diagnostic gastroscopy service. A total of 75 consecutive patients were recruited from a single (S.J.) endoscopist's diagnostic gastroscopy list. They were randomized into three treatment groups: (a) standard control=clear fluids only for 6 h, nil by mouth for 2 h; (b) water control=standard control+100 ml sterile water (given 20 min before gastroscopy); and (c) solution=standard control+100 ml investigated solution (20 min before gastroscopy). The endoscopist was blinded to patient preparation. Inadequate mucosal visualization was defined as fluid/mucus during gastroscopy that could not be suctioned and required flushing with water. The volume of flush, the site at which it was used and the total procedure times were recorded. All three groups showed no statistical difference for age, sex ratio, procedure priority or indication. The mean volume of flush required to obtain clear mucosa was significantly less in the solution group compared with the other groups. The mean overall procedure time was also less in the solution group compared with the other groups. Premedication with N-acetylcysteine and simethicone markedly improves mucosal visibility during gastroscopy. It also reduces the time taken for the procedure. This low-cost and well-tolerated intervention may improve detection of early neoplasia.

Educational Exhibit Abstract No. 244 - The smallest arteries - angiography in the neonate

Learning Objectives To understand the indications for performing angiography in the neonate. To appreciate the risks and dangers of performing angiography in the neonate To learn about the equipment, techniques and approaches available to overcome these obstacles. Background Although non-invasive angiographic techniques are well established catheter angiography is still often needed to be performed in neonates by interventional radiologists. This is often as a primary step in the endovascular management of conditions including Vein of Galen abnormalities and congenital haemangioma. Angiography in neonates can be a very daunting task due to the small size of the patient. Difficulties can arise from vascular access, contrast and flush volume, differences in body surface area, risk of vascular thrombosis and the inherent differences in the neonatal vasculature. Children are also more sensitive to radiation effects. Care and attention must be used to ensure complications are avoided. This poster describes how to successfully and safely perform angiography in the neonate with illustrated examples. Clinical Findings/Procedure Details We present a pictorial “how to guide” on performing angiography in the neonate with emphasis on: • The crucial differences in performing angiography in a neonate compared to an older child or adult including ensuring coagulation, body temperature and positioning are optimized. • The importance of dose reduction techniques, contrast volume sparing techniques and the equipment that is available to make things easier. • Tips and tricks for arterial access in the neonate including choices of access needles, wires and sheaths. • Doses of commonly used drugs in neonatal angiography. • Access site complications, how to avoid them and how to manage them. Conclusion and/or Teaching Points The fundamental differences between the neonate and older patient mean that the correct choice and application of technique, approach and equipment is imperative to ensure safe angiography is performed. Difficulties with vascular access and patient size can be overcome to allow neonatal angiography to aid the diagnosis and treatment of the youngest patients that we see.

Modelling the effects of on-site greywater reuse and low flush toilets on municipal sewer systems

On-site greywater reuse (GWR) and installation of water-efficient toilets (WET) reduce urban freshwater demand. Research on GWR and WET has generally overlooked the effects that GWR may have on municipal sewer systems. This paper discusses and quantifies these effects. The effects of GWR and WET, positive and negative, were studied by modelling a representative urban sewer system. GWR scenarios were modelled and analysed using the SIMBA simulation system. The results show that, as expected, the flow, velocity and proportional depth decrease as GWR increases. Nevertheless, the reduction is not evenly distributed throughout the day but mainly occurs during the morning and evening peaks. Examination of the effects of reduced toilet flush volumes revealed that in some of the GWR scenarios flows, velocities and proportional depths in the sewer were reduced, while in other GWR scenarios discharge volumes, velocities and proportional depths did not change. Further, it is indicated that as a result of GWR and installation of WET, sewer blockage rates are not expected to increase significantly. The results support the option to construct new sewer systems with smaller pipe diameters. The analysis shows that as the penetration of GWR systems increase, and with the installation of WET, concentrations of pollutants also increase. In GWR scenarios (when toilet flush volume is not reduced) the increase in pollutant concentrations is lower than the proportional reduction of sewage flow. Moreover, the results show that the spatial distribution of houses reusing GW does not significantly affect the parameters examined.

Speciation of Organoarsenic Species in Food of Animal Origin Using Accelerated Solvent Extraction (ASE) with Determination by HPLC-Hydride Generation-Atomic Fluorescence Spectrometry (HG-AFS)

Concerning the residual organoarsenical feed additives, an effective method has been developed for the separation and determination of organoarsenic species including p-arsanilic acid (ASA), nitarsone (NIT) and roxarsone (ROX) in the food of animal tissue origin by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to ultraviolet oxidation hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry using a C18 column with 50 mM KH2PO4, 0.1 % v/v trifluoroacetic acid at pH 2.43 as the mobile phase. Accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) as an effective sample preparation method was used to deal with animal meat to extract organoarsenic species. The ASE conditions, including extraction solvent, temperature, static extraction time, flush volume and cycle time, were investigated in terms of extraction yield and species stability. In this paper, aimed to separate these species efficiently, the conditions of the mobile phase and HG system were also investigated. The methodology developed allows us limits of detection and quantification of 0.24, 0.74, 0.41 and 0.72, 2.24, 1.24 ng mL−1 for ASA, NIT and ROX, respectively. This method was used to separate and determine three organoarsenic species in porcine and chicken liver samples that were purchased at a supermarket in China. At the optimized conditions, the ranges of concentrations of the three arsenic species were found to be varied from 3 to 9 ng mL−1. The results of recovery rates and RSDs, which were higher than 94 % and lower than 5 %, respectively, approved it to be a convenient, fast and efficient method for the determination of organoarsenic species in animal tissue.

Arsenic species determination in human scalp hair by pressurized hot water extraction and high performance liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry

Analytical methods for the determination of total arsenic and arsenic species (mainly As(III) and As(V)) in human scalp hair have been developed. Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to ICP-MS have been used for total arsenic and arsenic species determination, respectively. The proposed methods include a “green”, fast, high efficient and automated species leaching procedure by pressurized hot water extraction (PHWE). The operating parameters for PHWE including modifier concentration, extraction temperature, static time, extraction steps, pressure, mean particle size, diatomaceous earth (DE) mass/sample mass ratio and flush volume were studied using design of experiments (Plackett–Burman design PBD). Optimum condition implies a modifier concentration (acetic acid) of 150mM and powdered hair samples fully mixed with diatomaceous earth (DE) as a dispersing agent at a DE mass/sample mass ratio of 5. The extraction has been carried out at 100°C and at an extraction pressure of 1500psi for 5min in four extraction step. Under optimised conditions, limits of quantification of 7.0, 6.3 and 50.3ngg−1 for total As, As(III) and As(V), respectively were achieved. Repeatability of the overall procedure (4.4, 7.2 and 2.1% for total As, As(III) and As(V), respectively) was achieved. The analysis of GBW-07601 (human hair) certified reference material was used for validation. The optimised method has been finally applied to several human scalp hair samples.

Determination of musk fragrances in sewage sludge by pressurized liquid extraction coupled to automated ionic liquid‐based headspace single‐drop microextraction followed by GC‐MS/MS

A method for the quantitative determination of ten musk fragrances extensively used in personal care products from sewage sludge was developed by using a pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) followed by an automated ionic liquid-based headspace single-drop microextraction and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The influence of main factors on the efficiency of PLE was studied. For all musks, the highest recovery values were achieved using 1 g of pretreated sewage sludge, H(2) O/methanol (1:1) as an extraction solvent, a temperature of 80°C, a pressure of 1500 psi, an extraction time of 5 min, 2 cycles, a 100% flush volume, a purge time of 120 s, and 1 g Florisil as in-cell clean-up extraction sorbent. The use and optimization of an in-cell clean-up sorbent was necessary to remove fatty interferents of the PLE extract that make the subsequent ionic liquid-based headspace single-drop microextraction difficult. Validation parameters, namely LODs and LOQs, ranged from 0.5-1.5 to 2.5-5 ng/g, respectively. Good levels of intra- and interday repeatabilities were obtained analyzing sewage sludge samples spiked at 10 ng/g (n = 3, RSDs < 10%). The method applicability was tested with sewage sludge from different wastewater treatment plants. The analysis revealed the presence of all the polycyclic musks studied at concentrations higher than the LOQs, ranging from 6 to 530 ng/g. However, the nitro musk concentrations were below the LOQs or, in the case of musk xylene, was not detected.

Effects of In Vivo Knockdown of Translation of Arginine-Associated Gene Transcripts in Conceptus Trophectoderm on Growth, Development, and Gene Expression by Ovine Conceptuses.

Arginine (Arg), a nutritionally essential amino acid for conceptus development, can be metabolized to nitric oxide (NO) and polyamines. Arg increases 13-fold in the ovine uterine lumen between Days 10 and 15 of pregnancy and activates mechanistic target of rapamycin cell signaling. This study tested the hypothesis that knockdown of translation of Arg-associated gene transcripts inhibits ovine conceptus development. Morpholino antisense oligonucleotides (MAOs) were designed to inhibit translation of mRNAs for: 1) SLC7A1, Arg transporter; 2) NOS3, an enzyme for NO synthesis; 3) ODC1, an enzyme for polyamine synthesis; and 4) mismatch morpholino as MAO-control. On Day 8 post-mating, the uterine horn of ewes (n=7 or 8 /MAO type) ipsilateral to the CL was ligated and MAO injected into the uterine lumen. On Day 16, ewes were hysterectomized to obtain conceptuses, uterine flushings, and uterine tissues from the treatment groups: 1) MAO-SLC7A1 (n=8); 2) MAO-NOS3 (n=7); 3) MAO-ODC1 (n=8); and 4) MAO-control (n=7). Conceptuses in the control uterine horn were healthy, elongated and intact. Conceptuses exposed to the SLC7A1-MAO were small, thin, fragile and fragmented. Conceptuses exposed to the NOS3-MAO were thin and small, but elongated and healthy. In the ODC1-MAO group, half of the conceptus were small, fragile and fragmented, but half were healthy and elongated. Compared to protein concentration (2.1 + 0.5 mg/ml), uterine flush volume recovered (8.2 + 0.8 ml) and total protein in uterine flushing (15.7±3.5 mg) for MAO-control ewes, values did not differ (P>0.05) for treatment MAOs. Slot blot analysis did not detect effects of treatment (P>0.05) on interferon-tau (IFNT) in uterine flushings. However, radioimmunoassay data revealed an increase (P<0.05) in IFNT in MAO-NOS3 (15,057±2,538 ng) compared to MAO-control (9,353±1,768 ng) ewes. Pregnancy rates were not affected by treatment (P>0.2). Thus, knockdown of SLC7A1 protein attenuated conceptus development. Knockdown of NOS3 and ODC1 proteins partially suppressed conceptus development likely due to compensatory effects of NOS1/NOS2, other cationic amino acid transporters and production of putrescine via the arginine decarboxylase and agmatinase pathway. This research was supported by Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant no. 2011-67015-20028 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Optimization of extraction of phenolic acids from a vegetable waste product using a pressurized liquid extractor

This study identified the phenolic acids in potato peels, tuber, and developed an optimized method for extraction of phenolic acids from potato peels using a pressurized liquid extractor (PLE). Caffeoylquinic acid isomers were the predominant phenolic acids present in potato peels as identified by HPLC and LC–MS analysis. The phenolic acids extracted from potato peels were over tenfold higher than that of the tubers. A variety of PLE parameters were investigated to optimize the extraction conditions. The results indicated that the optimum yields of phenolic acids from the potato peels were extracted with methanol/water (90:10,v/v) at 160°C with a solid-to-solvent ratio of 250mg with 20mL of solvent using a pressurized liquid extractor. Although static time variations (5–15min), pressure (500–2000psi), and flush volume (10–100%) variations did not significantly improve the extraction yields of phenolic acids, optimization of the above three parameters will result in significant reduction of the resources used and waste generated, thereby impacting the overall operation cost. The results presented in this manuscript suggest that optimization of extraction parameters is critical for accurate quantification of phytochemicals present in foods and other plant based products.