Steep Time Research Articles

Influence of steeping time on biological activity of black mulberry leaves tea

Black mulberry leaves teas (BMLTs) were prepared using boiled water and different steeping time (5 10, 20, 35 and 45 minutes). In order to establish the connection between steeping time and tea quality, total phenolics content (TPC), total flavonoids content TFC contents were measured, as well as two antioxidant assays (DPPH and reducing power assays), alone with antimicrobial and cytotoxic tests. The obtained results showed that TPC, TFC, IC50 and EC50 values increased with the increase in steeping time, while antimicrobial and cytotoxic activity exhibited different tendency. Based on the obtained results, the 10-minute steeping time was the optimum for tea preparation and this tea was used for the determination of polyphenolic profile using HPLC-MS technique. The results showed that the main compounds in BMLT were chlorogenic and caffeic acids with the contents of 7226.00 and 537.52 ?g/g, respectively.

Temperature and Time of Steeping Affect the Antioxidant Properties of White, Green, and Black Tea Infusions.

Tea (Camellia sinensis) is the most highly consumed beverage in the world next to water. The common way of preparation is steeping in hot water which is varying for different type of tea. We investigated the antioxidant properties of 6 type of tea leaves under different time and temperatures of extraction method used. In general, all samples tested in this study demonstrated high levels of antioxidant capacity and antioxidant activity. The results indicate that the antioxidants activity is significantly affected by time and temperature of steeping and the highest was depending on the variety. White state values, green and black teas showed different levels of antioxidants under different extraction conditions. Overall, the highest activity for white tea was in prolonged hot and in some assays prolonged hot and cold extracts, whereas for green tea the highest activity observed in prolonged cold steeping while, for black tea was in short hot water infusion. The results of this study showed the antioxidant capacity of white and green tea was greater than black tea.

도정도에 따른 쌀의 침지 특성 및 쌀입국의 발효 특성

본 논문의 목적은 청주의 원료인 쌀의 도정도가 고두밥 및 쌀입국 발효주에 미치는 영향을 조사하는데 있다. 연구방법으로는 쌀도정에 따른 수분흡수량 및 입국특성 등을 분석하였고 연구기간은 8개월 소요되었다. 도정을 많이 할수록 도정미의 단백질 성분구성은 지속적으로 감소되었으며 지질 및 회분 성분은 20% 도정시까지는 급격히 감소하다 그 이상 도정시는 서서히 감소하였다. 도정미의 침지시 도정도가 높을수록 수분흡수 속도가 빨랐으며 최대 수분흡수율도 높았고, 침지 초기에는 수온이 높을 때 수분흡수가 빨랐으나 일정시간 경과후에는 수온이 낮을 때 수분흡수가 지속적으로 이루어져 최대흡수율도 높아졌다. 입국 발효 술덧의 알코올 함량은 도정도10% 입국시료가 16.3-16.9%(v/v)으로 다른 도정도 입국시료의 17.1-17.5%(v/v)인 것에 비해 낮은 알코올함량을 보였고 침지시간은 영향이 없었다. pH는 도정도 10% 입국이 다소 높았으며 그 외엔 유사하였다. 총산함량은 도정도 10%가 0.71-0.76%로 다른 도정도보다 낮은 결과를 보였고 도정도 30%인 시료가 0.93-0.99%로 가장 높게 나타났다. 결론적으로 쌀의 도정도는 쌀의 물리화학적 특성 및 고두밥 상태에 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. We investigated the effects of milling degrees of rice on characteristics of the steamed rice and fermentation of rice koji as a raw material of cheongju. It was studied for 8 months about ratio of water absorption and koji charateristics according to milling degrees. The The more increasing rice milling, the less the protein contents of milled rice was continuously decreased and the lipid and ash contents were sharply decreased to until the milling degrees 20%, and then gradually decreased. When steeping the milled rice, higher milling degrees raised rapid water asorption and higher maximum water asorption, lower water temperature raised gradual water absorption and higher maximum absorption. The longer steeping time, the steamed rice milling degrees 40% showed significantly lower hardness and springness than others. Alcohol contents of the fermented mash with rice koji milling degrees 10% was lower with 16.3-16.9%(v/v) than other sample's 17.1-17.5% (v/v). The total acid contents showed that the milling degrees 10% indicated the lowest content(0.71-0.76%) and the milling degrees 30% indicated highest content(0.93-0.99%). Within the same milling degrees, As the steeping time increases, the total acid contents imcrease. In conclusion, the milling degrees influenced on physicochemical chatacteristics of rice and steamed rice condition.

Enhancement of electric properties of polypyrrole by copper electrodeposition

Polypyrrole films (0.2–1.0 μm thick) were electrosynthetized in organic media by potentiodynamic electropolymerization on silicon surfaces. To improve the electronic conductivity of the polypyrrole films, elemental copper was electrodeposited directly on the film surface by simple electrolysis from a copper chloride bath. Copper electrodeposited onto the surface of the polypyrrole film was characterized by X‐ray diffraction and consisted only of Cufcc phase. The presence of copper on the PPy surface did not greatly affect the overall electronic conductivity of the material. However, immersion of polypyrrole films in Cu2+ solution for a period of time caused Cu2+ ions to enter the polypyrrole matrix. The reduction of the Cu2+after insertion into the polypyrrole template formed a polypyrrole/Cu composite with high electrical conductivity; this conductivity was higher for longer steeping (immersion) time. Raman spectroscopy shows much greater peak intensities when copper was present in the polypyrrole matrix. Scanning electron microscopy and cross‐sectional analysis showed clear differences in the appearance of the films with copper deposited onto the polypyrrole surface and copper inserted into the polypyrrole matrix.

Determination of nicotine in tea (Camellia sinensis) by LC–ESI–MS/MS using a modified QuEChERS method

In this work, a method for qualification and quantification of nicotine in dry tea and tea infusions with LC–ESI–MS/MS has been developed. Sample preparation is based on QuEChERS. Nicotine-d4 served as internal standard. This simple and fast method leads to recoveries of 95–104 % and good repeatability. Coefficients of variation are 3.7 % for intra-day precision and 4.6 % for inter-day precision. Limit of quantification (5.9 µg kg−1) is below the requested value of 10 µg kg−1. For some samples, it was superior to use a HILIC column compared with the originally used RP-18. Application to real samples (n = 87) showed nicotine concentrations in dry tea from <0.01 to 1.95 mg kg−1. In brewing studies of green teas and black teas, it was confirmed that the extraction of nicotine into tea brews was between 49 and 52 % for a steeping time of 5 min.

Highmark and Allegheny Health Network: Partners in Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI) measures automation reporting.

41 Background: ASCO’s QOPI Participation and Certification processes pose a daunting operational task for oncology practices nation-wide. The standardization and quality improvement initiatives required for Certification involve multiple constituents and often a longitudinal approach to quality and operations management. The human resources required for biannual abstraction can be burdensome given strained resources in an increasingly complex reimbursement environment. Allocating staff for retrospective medical record review requires a steep QOPI learning curve and time away from the clinic. The Allegheny Health Network and Highmark, the Nation’s tenth largest insurer, have partnered to create a monthly QOPI measures automation report which alleviates the burden of a purely human resource-based abstraction methodology. Additionally, 100% of Highmark insured, Allegheny Health Network QOPI qualifying patients are included in a monthly report to allow for near real-time clinical decision support. Methods: A multidisciplinary team was assembled with clinical and administrative representatives from Highmark and Allegheny Health Network. The team worked together in phase I of the project for over eight months to review and select specific QOPI measures that could be tracked through a custom-built, claims processing algorithm. Results: Initial data analysis included over seventy-five automated QOPI measures that would be able to be tracked and trended on a monthly basis – populated from Highmark claims data. The monthly report allows for a larger sample size with data tracking across all QOPI domains and disease sites. The multidisciplinary team has moved on to phase II of the project which will include sensitivity analyses and data refinement. Conclusions: QOPI measures automation is possible through an evolving relationship demonstrated through this unprecedented payer/provider initiative. While some of the QOPI reporting measures could be automated, human resources will still be required for annual abstraction in the on-going QOPI Certification phase. Once refined, automated measures will need to be verified to note changes in claims data and clinical documentation.

Wet-milling of buckwheat with hull and dehulled – The properties of the obtained starch fraction

The buckwheat with or without hull were used for the laboratory wet-milling. Starchy materials obtained was characterised by determining starch extraction efficiency, particle size distribution and microstructure. The pasting (RVA) and thermal properties (DSC) were also analysed. The starch extraction efficiency was higher for total starch isolated from buckwheat with hull compared to dehulled. The mean particle diameter of the pure starch isolated from both buckwheats was about 18 μm. The longer time of steeping of buckwheat with hull caused a decrease in temperature of gelatinization compared to the dehulled ones. Significantly higher enthalpy values for both pure starches compared to the other samples were noticed. The increasing of gelatinisation enthalpy with increasing of the steeping time and the higher protein amount was observed. The used wet-milling method did not change significantly the properties of the obtained starchy materials compared to raw material.

Influence of Liquid Nitrogen Steeping on Mechanical Properties of a Unidirectional Carbon Fiber Reinforced Bismaleimide Composite

The influence of cryogenic environment on mechanical properties of a unidirectional carbon fiber reinforced bismaleimide composite (T700/6421BMI composite) has been investigated in this study. Cryogenic treatment was performed by steeping the T700/6421BMI composite specimens in liquid nitrogen for 0,24,240,480,1200, 1920 and 2400 hours, respectively. After liquid nitrogen steeping treatment, the transverse tension test, three-point bending test, short beam shear test and impact test were carried out to evaluate the effect of steeping time on mechanical properties of the T700/6421BMI composite. The fracture surface morphology of typical specimens was examined by SEM while the chemical variation and interface damage of the composite were characterized by FTIR and DMA. The results indicate that mechanical properties of the T700/6421BMI composite are affected by liquid nitrogen steeping. The bending strength displays a tendency of decreasing firstly then rising with increase in steeping time, and the shear strength exhibits on the contrary. The total impact energy and crack propagation energy of the T700/6421BMI composite increases rapidly in the initial stage and increases slightly as increases LN2 steeping time. It is suggested that the mechanical properties of the T700/6421BMI composite after liquid nitrogen steeping might be dominated by interface state related to steeping time. With the increase in steeping time, the stress concentration in the surface of matrix and fiber induced by coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) difference increases and might cause interface debonding.

The influence of starch pasting properties and grain protein content on water uptake in barley

Steeping is the first operation of malting and its purpose is to increase the water content of the grain up to 43–46%; however, such a simple step encompasses several metabolic processes that affect germination and the final malt quality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of initial grain protein (GP) content and starch pasting properties, measured using the Rapid Visco Analyser (RVA) on water uptake in different barley varieties. The partial least squares (PLS2) regression algorithm was used to compare the two data matrices, the independent block of variables X (RVA data and GP) and the dependent block Y (water uptake at different steeping times). The first two PLS2 loadings explained 65 and 23% of the total variation in water uptake in the barley samples. Water uptake at 1 and 2 h was poorly explained by the PLS2 models, while after 5 h the models explained more than 40% of the variability. The results from this study showed that, although a relationship between GP and water uptake exists, it is not universal for all the varieties, indicating that the relationship between GP and water uptake is varietal dependent. Copyright © 2014 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling

Flocculating Activity Optimization of &lt;i&gt;Lactobacillus paracasei subsp.paracasei&lt;/i&gt; L1 in Corn Liquid

In order to improve the production process of corn starch and accelerate the separation of corn starch, flocculating activity of lactobacillus paracasei subsp.paracasei L1 isolated from natural fermentation of sweet potato acid liquor in corn liquid was optimized. The main influencing factors were determined by Plackett-Burman experimental design and the flocculating activity was optimized by response surface analysis method. The optimum culture conditions was: inoculum concentration 18%, lactose addition 0.2%, corn steeping time 0h, culture temperature 30°C, initial pH of the culture medium pH 6.5, culture time 36h, yeast extract addition 1%,concentration of corn thick liquid 1:3(w/v).The theoretical value of the flocculating activity was 0.1906 mg/ml and the verified value was 0.1854 mg/ml.

Physicochemical, morphological, and pasting properties of nixtamalized flours from quality protein maize and its particle distribution

Physicochemical, morphological, and apparent viscosity changes of nixtamalized flours from quality protein maize (NFQM) were determined in regard to differing particle sizes distribution, the flours were passed through different sizes of screens namely: 30 (590 μm), 40 (420 μm), 60 (250 μm), 80 (177 μm), and 100 (149 μm) U.S. meshes as a function of the steeping time. The NFQM were prepared by means of traditional nixtamalization process that is reflected in different functionalities of the final products. The calcium content in the different particle size does not follow a linear relationship with the steeping time. The SEM study demonstrates the morphological changes, and the starch granules for different steeping times. An analysis of pasting characteristic based on the profile curves was done in order to study the apparent viscosity of these samples, and it was also found particle size dependence.

Diffusion Profiles of Health Beneficial Components from Goji Berry (Lyceum barbarum) Marinated in Alcohol and Their Antioxidant Capacities as Affected by Alcohol Concentration and Steeping Time.

The fruit (goji berry) of Lycium barbarum, a traditional Chinese medicine, has been widely used in health diets due to its potential role in the prevention of chronic diseases. One of the most popular applications of goji berry is to make goji wine in China by steeping goji berry in grain liquor. However, how the steeping process affects antioxidant capacities and phytochemicals of goji berry is not yet fully understood. Therefore, to provide scientific data for the utilization of goji berry in the nutraceutical industry, the diffusion rate of betaine, β-carotene, phenolic compounds in goji berry and their antioxidant capacities affected by alcohol concentration and steeping time were determined by UV-Visible spectrophotometer. The results showed that low alcohol concentration (15% or 25%) would promote the diffusion of betaine and increase antioxidant activity, while high concentration (55% or 65%) would generally increase the diffusion of flavonoids and reduce antioxidant activity. The steeping time had no significant effect on the diffusion of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activities. However, all goji berry wine steeped for 14 days with different alcohol concentrations exhibited the highest betaine concentration. Current findings provide useful information for the nutraceutical industries to choose proper steeping time and alcohol concentration to yield desired health promotion components from goji.

Oil Oxidation in Corn Flour from Grains Processed with Alkaline Cooking by Use of Peroxide Value, UV and FTIR

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of alkaline cooking on the oxidative stability of oil in corn flour. A central composite design was used to study the combined effect of lime concentration (%) and steep time (h) on peroxide value (PV); specific extinction coefficients at 232and 270nm (K232 and K270); and FTIR absorbance at 3009cm(-1), 3444cm(-1), and 3530cm(-1) in oils from corn flour obtained by alkaline cooking. The results indicate that lime concentration and steep time affected the PV, K232, and K270. A decrease of 2.56% was observed in the IR absorption bands, corresponding to the polyunsaturated fatty acids. The FTIR spectra also showed absorption bands related to the secondary oil oxidation products.

슈퍼자미의 이화학적 특성 및 항산화 활성

This study attempted to investigate the characteristics of Superjami, which had a high C3G (cyandin-3-glucoside) content by comparing it with common rice (Ilpum) and black rice (Heougjinju, Suwon 415) for their components and physio-chemical characteristics. There were no significant differences in the water content, however there were significant differences in crude protein and crude fat in the order of Ilpum and , the longer the time steeping, the more increased the pigment elution became. The values are bigger with Heougjinju and Superjami than with Ilpum. As for the elution pH after rice steeping, the longer the time of steeping, the lower pH all the assays tended to have. As a result of the analysis of the total polyphenol contents of Ilpum, Heougjinju, and Superjami, it had turned out that the total polyphenol contents of Heougjinju and Superjami are 1.2 times as high as Ilpum, a common rice, and that Superjami is significantly higher than Heougjinju. As a result of the experiment of DPPH radical scavenging ability, there are significant differences among the assays in the order of Superjami > Heougjinju > Ilpum. Futher, it has turned out that Superjami has a higher DPPH radical scavenging ability than Heougjinju. Consequently, it can be stated that Superjami has a strong anti-oxidative ability. Thus, we should more precisely grasp the cooking characteristics of Superjami, which is in the state of brown rice, via comparing it with a common brown rice, and also provide opportunities to apply Superjamii to more foods by studying its starch characteristics in addition to its grain and flour properties.

GAMMA-RAY BURST AFTERGLOW SCALING RELATIONS FOR THE FULL BLAST WAVE EVOLUTION

We demonstrate that gamma-ray burst afterglow spectra and light curves can be calculated for arbitrary explosion and radiation parameters by scaling the peak flux and the critical frequencies connecting different spectral regimes. Only one baseline calculation needs to be done for each jet opening angle and observer angle. These calculations are done numerically using high-resolution relativistic hydrodynamical afterglow blast wave simulations which include the two-dimensional dynamical features of expanding and decelerating afterglow blast waves. Any light curve can then be generated by applying scaling relations to the baseline calculations. As a result, it is now possible to fully fit for the shape of the jet break, e.g. at early time X-ray and optical frequencies. In addition, late-time radio calorimetry can be improved since the general shape of the transition into the Sedov-Taylor regime is now known for arbitrary explosion parameters so the exact moment when the Sedov-Taylor asymptote is reached in the light curve is no longer relevant. When calculating the baselines, we find that the synchrotron critical frequency and the cooling break frequency are strongly affected by the jet break. The synchrotron break temporal slope quickly drops to the steep late time Sedov-Taylor slope, while the cooling break first steepens then rises to meet the level of its shallow late time asymptote.

Wet Classification in the Fines Range &lt; 10 μm

AbstractNowadays, fine and narrow particle size distributions in the range &lt; 10 μm are frequently required to obtain desired product application properties in many different areas. Apart from the possibility of operating stirred media mills under conditions favoring steep residence time distributions, which are directly coupled with the steepness of the particle size distribution, wet classification is used as a tool to achieve this task in a mill/classification circuit or in a stand‐alone operation. This study initially provides a short survey of classification apparatuses in the fines range between 10–100 μm including gravity‐sedimentation classifiers, sieves and filters. Classification in the fines ranges &lt; 10 μm is shown to require the use of centrifugal field classifiers. Some fundamentals that are necessary to understand wet classification in the centrifugal field are discussed. Following this, several fines classification apparatuses are introduced. Finally, the operation behavior, advantages and disadvantages of a stirred media mill/classifier circuit are described.

Dealing with uncertainty: an analysis of the severe weather events over Italy in 2006

Abstract. Forecast verification is a long-standing issue of the whole meteorologists' community. A common definition of a truly satisfying prediction skill has not been achieved so far. Even the definition of "event", due to its spatio-temporal discontinuity, is highly affected by uncertainty. Moreover, decision-making demands numerical weather prediction modellers to provide information about the "inner" uncertainty, i.e. the degree of uncertainty related to the choice of a specific setting of the model (microphysics, turbulence scheme, convective closure, etc.). Most European Mediterranean countries, due to dense development, steep coastal orography and short hydrological response time of the drainage basins, have to deal very frequently with flash floods and sudden shallow land sliding impacting on urban areas. Civil protection organizations are in place to issue early warnings in order to allow local authorities and population to take precautionary measures. To do so in Mediterranean catchments, hydrologists are required to use numerical rainfall predictions in place of rainfall observations on large European catchments. Estimating the measure of uncertainty is for this reason crucial. The goal of this work is to propose an objective evaluation of the performance of the currently operational weather prediction model COSMO-I7 over quite a long time period and to check forecast verification at different space-time scales by the comparison of predictions with observations. Due to large investments in the last years, in fact, Italy has built up one of the most dense hourly-reporting network of rain gauges. The network has a mean space density of about 1/100 km2, very similar to the horizontal resolution of currently operating limited area models. An objective procedure to identify and compare the extreme events of precipitation has been applied to the full set of rainfall observations and over the severe events forecast by COSMO-I7 and announced in official warnings by Italian Civil Protection Department. The procedure allows to classify rainfall events as long-lived and spatially distributed or as having a shorter duration and a minor spatial extent. We show that long-lived events are less affected by overall uncertainty than short-lived ones, yet the inner uncertainty of the event affects both.

Germination Conditions Affect Physicochemical Properties of Germinated Brown Rice Flour

Germinated brown rice has been reported to be nutritious due to increased free gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). The physicochemical properties of brown rice (BR) and glutinous brown rice (GNBR) after germination as affected by different steeping times (24, 36, 48, and 72 h depending on the rice variety) and pHs of steeping water (3, 5, 7, and as-is) were determined and compared to those of the nongerminated one (control). As the steeping time increased or pH of steeping water decreased, germinated brown rice flours (GBRF) from both BR and GNBR had greater reducing sugar, free GABA and alpha-amylase activity; while the total starch and viscosity were lower than their respective controls. GBRFs from both BR and GNBR prepared after 24-h steeping time at pH 3 contained a high content of free GABA at 32.70 and 30.69 mg/100 g flour, respectively. The peak viscosity of GBRF obtained from both BR and GNBR (7.42 to 228.22 and 4.42 to 58.67 RVU, respectively) was significantly lower than that of their controls (255.46 and 190.17 RVU, respectively). The principal component analysis indicated that the important variables for discriminating among GBRFs, explained by the first 2 components at 89.82% of total explained variance, were the pasting profiles, alpha-amylase activity, and free GABA.

Rheological characterization of corn starch isolated by alkali method

The pasting properties of alkali-isolated corn starches obtained from corn grits, as well as the rheological behaviour of their 8% gels were investigated. The alkali isolation was performed using different conditions concerning alkali concentration (0.15% and 0.30%), steeping time (30 min and 90 min) and temperature (25 °C and 50 °C). Alkali-isolated starches exhibited lower pasting temperatures and higher peak viscosities than the wet-milled starch. With respect to the steady shear measurements, alkali starch gels showed higher viscosities and greater extent of thixotropy. Changes in alkali isolation conditions did not influence the changes in gelatinization and peak temperature values. On contrary, peak viscosity was significantly influenced by these factors. Steady shear, as well as dynamic shear tests, showed that gels formed from starch isolated using higher alkali concentration were stronger than those obtained from starch isolated at lower alkali concentration. However, isolation at higher steeping temperature and longer steeping time resulted in starch with weak gel-like behaviour.

Effect of Temperature and Steeping Time on Calcium and Phosphorus Content in Nixtamalized Corn Flours Obtained by Traditional Nixtamalization Process

ABSTRACTThis report shows the effect of temperature (72, 82, and 92°C) during the cooking stage and steeping time (0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, and 15 hr) on calcium and phosphorus contents in nixtamalized corn flours obtained by the traditional nixtamalization process (NCF). In addition, calcium and phosphorus contents in industrial nixtamalized corn flours were analyzed for comparative purposes. Atomic absorption spectroscopy and UV‐vis spectroscopy methods were used to study the calcium and phosphorus contents as well as the Ca2+/P ratio in NCF and industrial nixtamalized corn flours. Additionally, deposition and identification of calcium compounds in the nixtamalized corn pericarp were analyzed by low‐vacuum scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectrometry, and X‐ray diffraction techniques. Dry matter loss in NCF is also reported. As the temperature increased, Ca2+ content was enhanced, while the phosphorus content decreased with statistical differences (P ≤ 0.05) between thermal treatments. Ca2+ content in industrial nixtamalized corn flours was significantly lower (P ≤ 0.05) than that of NCF. On the other hand, no statistical differences (P ≤ 0.05) were found between phosphorus content in commercial nixtamalized corn flours and NCF. Calcium compounds, identified as calcite, were detected in corn pericarp. Statistical differences (P ≤ 0.05) were observed in phosphorous content in NCF obtained at different cooking temperatures. In addition, a decrease in phosphorus levels significantly correlated with the steeping time at 92°C (r = –0.91). At 72, 82, and 92°C, the average Ca2+/P ratio in NCF was 0.45 ± 0.03, 0.61 ± 0.05, and 0.82 ± 0.05, respectively, indicating a correlation between this parameter and the cooking temperature. However, no correlation was found between the Ca2+/P ratio and the steeping time. This behavior is attributed to calcium attached to corn kernel. In commercial nixtamalized corn flours, the Ca2+/P ratio was significantly lower (P ≤ 0.05) than that of NCF. There was a significant correlation (P ≤ 0.01) between dry matter loss and steeping time (r = 0.99) in NCF, this fact influenced the Ca2+/P ratio due to the calcium attached to pericarp. At 82 and 92°C, maximum values of Ca2+/P ratio were detected in NCF at 7 hr of steeping time and at 9 hr at 72°C. These results can be used with industrial purposes to assess a maximum calcium‐to‐phosphorus ratio, and at the same time, to avoid the loss of pericarp to increase the functional properties of NCF.