Biochemical Profiling of Smokeless Tobacco Product Kiwam at Different Processing Steps

Introduction: Kiwam (qiwam) is a partially fermented tobacco product consumed with betel quid (paan). The major constituents of this product are tobacco, saffron (zaffrani) and some other additives. It contains tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNA) which is considered as a cancer causing agent. To elucidate the carcinogenic property of kiwam, biochemical profiling of its constituents at different stages of processing is needed. The major processing steps involved in the formation of kiwam and biochemical profiling/changes at each processing step is still unknown. Aim: To describe the major processing steps and biochemical changes that occur at each processing step during the preparation of kiwam. Methods: Tobacco leaves and stems were washed with Millipore water so as to remove the dirt particles from the leaves and stems. It is then boiled in water followed by filtering of the constituents to remove the leaves and stem residues. The filtrate was again boiled to form a thick paste residue. The resultant paste was partially fermented through sun curing, and lastly, saffron along with specific additives was added. The samples from each step were analyzed for biochemical profiling through Continuous Flow Autoanalyzer using Flow View Solution 3700 Analyzer (version 1.2.2) software. Results: The biochemical changes at TSNA levels were observed at each processing steps. The detailed chemical profiling will be presented during the meeting. Conclusion: Kiwam is rich in TSNA and hence its use should be avoided.

Dialysis Pretreatment for Dissolved Organic Nitrogen Analysis in Freshwaters

Total dissolved nitrogen (TDN), including dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), plays an important role in numerous environmental processes, such as nutrient cycling and lake and estuary eutrophication. The impact of DIN on environmental processes has been extensively studied. However, the understanding on DON in the environment is largely unknown, as there is no direct method for DON measurement. In practice, DON was determined by subtracting DIN from TDN. Large measurement errors could be induced when DIN becomes dominant in sample. This study was to investigate the impact of two pretreatments of dialysis, dialysis against Millipore water and dialysis against phosphate buffer (4.7 mM H3PO4-5.3 mM KH2PO4, pH 2.2) using a cellulose ester (CE) membrane (100–500 Da molecular weight cutoff), on DON measurement in a broad DIN range from various aquatic ecosystems. Results showed that the removal of NH4-N and NO3-N by both dialysis approaches was highly effective (>80%), but the DON loss by the former was significantly lower than by the latter. This study demonstrated that dialysis against Millipore water with the membrane would be more effective as a sample pretreatment for DIN removal, leading to a reliable and accurate DON measurement.

Egg attachment of the asparagus beetle Crioceris asparagi to the crystalline waxy surface of Asparagus officinalis

Plant surfaces covered with crystalline epicuticular waxes are known to be anti-adhesive, hardly wettable and preventing insect attachment. But there are insects that are capable of gluing their eggs to these surfaces by means of proteinaceous secretions. In this study, we analysed the bonding region between the eggs of Crioceris asparagi and the plant surface of Asparagus officinalis using light and cryo-scanning electron microscopy. The wettability of the plant surface by egg secretion was compared with that by Aqua Millipore water, aqueous sugar solution and chicken egg white. Furthermore, the force required to remove C. asparagi eggs from the plant surface was measured, in order to evaluate the egg's bonding strength. Mean pull-off force was 14.7 mN, which is about 8650 times higher than the egg weight. Egg glue was observed spreading over the wax crystal arrays on the plant cladophyll and wetting them. Similar wetting behaviour on the A. officinalis surface was observed for chicken egg white. Our results support the hypothesis that the mechanism of insect egg adhesion on micro- and nanostructured hydrophobic plant surfaces is related to the proteinaceous nature of adhesive secretions of insect eggs. The secretion wets superhydrophobic surfaces and after solidifying builds up a composite, consisting of the solidified glue and wax crystals, at the interface between the egg and plant cuticle.

Dissolution of a Carbon Dioxide Bubble in a Vertical Pipe

Dissolution of single carbon dioxide (CO2) bubbles in a vertical pipe of 25 mm in diameter are measured to examine the effects of the ratio λ of sphere–volume equivalent bubble diameter d to pipe diameter D, liquid Reynolds number ReL and surfactants on mass transfer. The bubble diameter d and Reynolds number ReL are varied from 5.0 to 26 mm (λ = 0.20 − 1.0) and from 0 to 3100, respectively. Millipore water, tap water and water contaminated with Triton X–100 are used for the liquid phase. Mass transfer coefficients kL are evaluated from changes in d. The kL decreases with increasing λ for bubbles in stagnant millipore water because of the decrease in bubble rising velocity due to the wall effect. Measured Sherwood numbers Sh do not depend on ReL because a turbulent fluctuation velocity in bulk liquid flow is much smaller than a relative velocity between a bubble and liquid. The mass transfer correlation for a bubble in a stagnant liquid proposed by Johnson et al. is applicable to a bubble in pipe flow, provided that a correct relative velocity between a bubble and liquid is substituted in the correlation. Due to the retardation of capillary wave, mass transfer coefficients for bubbles in contaminated water becomes smaller than those in millipore and tap waters.

Determination of Tilmicosin in Swine Feeds by Liquid Chromatography

This method determines tilmicosin in feeds over a concentration range of 100 to 600 mg/kg. Tilmicosin is extracted from swine feeds by adding 200 mL of a swine feed extractant (20 + 80, acetonitrile–Millipore water, pH 2.5, with 25 mM dibutylammonium phosphate) to 20 g feed and placing on a shaker table for 1 h. This extractant is filtered and analyzed by liquid chromatography (LC). A gradient LC method is used to separate ilmicosin from the feed matrix in 30 min of run time. The recovery of tilmicosin from fortified feeds ranged from 96.7 to 112%, with the coefficients of variation (CVs) ranging from 1.4 to 3.9%. The determination of tilmicosin in medicated feeds resulted in an average recovery of 92.7% of labeled claim for pelleted feeds at 200 mg/kg and 99.1% of labeled claim for mash feeds at 400 mg/kg. Determination of tilmicosin in medicated feeds resulted in CVs ranging from 2.6 to 3.8%. The method has shown no interference with 18 other drugs.