A study was conducted to determine the effect of sugarcane maturation on the contents of chlorophyll, tannin, and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity and on color change of sugarcane juice. The maturation period of the cane studied was between 3 and 10 months after planting. Different parts of the cane, namely, the top, middle, and bottom portions, were analyzed. Results obtained indicated that there were significant (P < 0.01) decreases in total chlorophyll a and b and tannin contents during maturity followed by slower rates of decrease of both parameters at the end of maturity stages. There were no significant differences (P > 0.05) in chlorophyll and tannin contents between the middle and bottom portions. On the other hand, the top portion of the stem had a significantly (P < 0.01) lower concentration of chlorophyll and a significantly (P < 0.01) higher content of tannin. PPO activity of sugarcane juice was determined using chlorogenic acid as a substrate. There was a highly significant difference (P < 0.01) in PPO activity of cane juice during maturity. PPO activity was high at the early development stage, decreased during maturation, and then remained relatively constant at the end of maturity. PPO activity was higher when chlorogenic acid was used as substrate. There were also significant differences (P < 0.01) in juice color (L*, a*, b* values) from different portions at different maturity stages. At the early stages, the color of extracted juice was dark, and then the juice turned to yellowish green during maturity. The decrease in green color or the increase in the yellow color could be associated with the decline in chlorophyll. The overall color change (DeltaE) at maturity indicated that the color of the middle and bottom portions was lower than that of the top portion.
1829 school-boys of Singapore comprised of 849 Chinese, 469 Malays and 511 Indians were investigated for the incidence of red-green colour-blindness with Ishihara's plates. The incidence of red-green colour-blindness was found to be 3.8%, 4.5% and 4.5%, respectively in Chinese, Malay and Indian boys. The incidence among the different dialect groups was variable with the highest incidence of red-green colour-blindness among Mandarin speaking group (14.3%), followed by Hainanese speaking (6.7%) and other dialect groups of Chinese (2.8% to 4.5%). The incidence of red-green colour-blindness was higher in the older boys compared with the younger boys when all the three ethnic groups are combined.
Matched MeSH terms: Color Vision Defects/epidemiology*
BACKGROUND: This prospective study was undertaken to investigate whether spectral sensitivity can be useful in determining the prognosis of fellow eyes of eyes with macular holes.
METHODS: Spectral sensitivity measurements using a one degree test spot presented at a rate of 1 Hz and 25 Hz on a bright (1000 td) white background were carried out on 10 patients aged between 67 and 74 years (mean age 70.3 +/- 2.6 years). Each patient had a full thickness macular hole in one eye and a normal contralateral fellow eye. The spectral sensitivity measurements were made with eccentric fixation in the eyes with macular holes and with central fixation in the normal fellow eye. A year later, the patient files were reviewed to look at the patient's ocular condition. Another 10 subjects between the ages of 50 and 80 years (mean age 69.5 +/- 4.2 years) were also seen. These control group subjects had visual acuities of 6/9 or better with minimal ocular media changes and no ocular or systemic pathology that could affect colour vision.
RESULTS: The 1 Hz and 25 Hz spectral sensitivities of all patients were reduced for both eyes. Despite the good eye without a macular hole having a VA of 6/6, the spectral sensitivity was similar to that of the eye with the macular hole and markedly reduced visual acuity.
CONCLUSION: The present investigation enabled us to examine the chromatic and achromatic mechanisms by testing spectral sensitivity at 1 Hz and 25 Hz, respectively. The data revealed that both chromatic and achromatic processing could be damaged in the eye with a macular hole. Surprisingly, the spectral sensitivities of both 1 Hz and 25 Hz are equally reduced in the good fellow eye with no macular hole. A one-year follow-up showed that two of the 10 patients (20 per cent) did eventually develop a macular hole in the normal fellow eye. This indicates that there is some subclinical foveal dysfunction in the normal fellow eye, the nature of which is unclear.
Study site: Manchester Royal Eye Hospital (MREH), United Kingdom
PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of poor visual acuity, colour blindness and visual field defect of new Malaysian drivers.
METHODS: A total of 3717 new drivers (50.2% males and 49.8% females) age 19±6 years, voluntarily participated in this study. Standard optometric apparatus such as LogMAR Charts, Ishihara plates and HandHeld Bernell Perimeter were used and standard procedures were applied.
RESULTS: The visual examination showed 6.7% (n=250) of subjects achieved less than 0.3 LogMAR with better eye whilst 2.2% (n=83) had failed the Ishihara Test (2.1% males and 0.1% females). Most of the affected drivers were deutranopia. Only 2094 subjects had their visual field using a mobile Handheld Bernell Perimeter. 1.72% (n=36) subjects have less than 120 degrees of peripheral field of vision.
CONCLUSIONS: The visual status among new Malaysian drivers needs to be taken seriously to ensure safe driving. Other factors such as colour vision and visual field screening have to be considered seriously when evaluating the visual performance of a driver. Good visual performance is indispensible for safe driving.
Matched MeSH terms: Color Vision Defects; Color Vision
Kenaf seed oil has been suggested to be used as nutritious edible oil due to its unique fatty acid composition and nutritional value. The objective of this study was to optimize the bleaching parameters of the chemical refining process for kenaf seed oil, namely concentration of bleaching earth (0.5 to 2.5% w/w), temperature (30 to 110 °C) and time (5 to 65 min) based on the responses of total oxidation value (TOTOX) and color reduction using response surface methodology. The results indicated that the corresponding response surface models were highly statistical significant (P < 0.0001) and sufficient to describe and predict TOTOX value and color reduction with R2 of 0.9713 and 0.9388, respectively. The optimal parameters in the bleaching stage of kenaf seed oil were: 1.5% w/w of the concentration of bleaching earth, temperature of 70 °C, and time of 40 min. These optimum parameters produced bleached kenaf seed oil with TOTOX value of 8.09 and color reduction of 32.95%. There were no significant differences (P > 0.05) between experimental and predicted values, indicating the adequacy of the fitted models.
Everyday language reveals how stimuli encoded in one sensory feature domain can possess qualities normally associated with a different domain (e.g., higher pitch sounds are bright, light in weight, sharp, and thin). Such cross-sensory associations appear to reflect crosstalk among aligned (corresponding) feature dimensions, including brightness, heaviness, and sharpness. Evidence for heaviness being one such dimension is very limited, with heaviness appearing primarily as a verbal associate of other feature contrasts (e.g., darker objects and lower pitch sounds are heavier than their opposites). Given the presumed bidirectionality of the crosstalk between corresponding dimensions, heaviness should itself induce the cross-sensory associations observed elsewhere, including with brightness and pitch. Taking care to dissociate effects arising from the size and mass of an object, this is confirmed. When hidden objects varying independently in size and mass are lifted, objects that feel heavier are judged to be darker and to make lower pitch sounds than objects feeling less heavy. These judgements track the changes in perceived heaviness induced by the size-weight illusion. The potential involvement of language, natural scene statistics, and Bayesian processes in correspondences, and the effects they induce, is considered.
In a range of non-human primate, bird and fish species, the intensity of red coloration in males is associated with social dominance, testosterone levels and mate selection. In humans too, skin redness is associated with health, but it is not known whether--as in non-human species--it is also associated with dominance and links to attractiveness have not been thoroughly investigated. Here we allow female participants to manipulate the CIELab a* value (red-green axis) of skin to maximize the perceived aggression, dominance and attractiveness of photographs of men's faces, and make two findings. First, participants increased a* (increasing redness) to enhance each attribute, suggesting that facial redness is perceived as conveying similar information about a male's qualities in humans as it does in non-human species. Second, there were significant differences between trial types: the highest levels of red were associated with aggression, an intermediate level with dominance, and the least with attractiveness. These differences may reflect a trade-off between the benefits of selecting a healthy, dominant partner and the negative consequences of aggression.
We report a cross-cultural study designed to investigate crossmodal correspondences between a variety of visual features (11 colors, 15 shapes, and 2 textures) and the five basic taste terms (bitter, salty, sour, sweet, and umami). A total of 452 participants from China, India, Malaysia, and the USA viewed color patches, shapes, and textures online and had to choose the taste term that best matched the image and then rate their confidence in their choice. Across the four groups of participants, the results revealed a number of crossmodal correspondences between certain colors/shapes and bitter, sour, and sweet tastes. Crossmodal correspondences were also documented between the color white and smooth/rough textures on the one hand and the salt taste on the other. Cross-cultural differences were observed in the correspondences between certain colors, shapes, and one of the textures and the taste terms. The taste-patterns shown by the participants from the four countries tested in the present study are quite different from one another, and these differences cannot easily be attributed merely to whether a country is Eastern or Western. These findings therefore highlight the impact of cultural background on crossmodal correspondences. As such, they raise a number of interesting questions regarding the neural mechanisms underlying crossmodal correspondences.
This study was carried out to investigate physicochemical properties of different concentrations (0.1%, 0.3%, and 0.5%) of red ginseng hydrolyzates (RGH)- or red ginseng extract (RGE)-added Asiago cheeses (AC) during ripening at 14°C for 4 months. The moisture content significantly increased with increasing concentrations of both RGH- and RGE- added AC (p<0.05). While RGHAC and RGEAC were more yellow and darker with increasing concentrations than that of control (p<0.05), the color was not influenced from the hydrolysis. In texture analysis, hardness, cohesiveness, and chewiness of RGHAC and RGEAC significantly decreased compared to the control during the ripening (p<0.05). In sensory analysis, bitterness and ginseng flavor and taste scores increased significantly with increasing the concentrations of RGH and RGE during ripening (p<0.05). In conclusion, the addition of RGH and RGE into cheese slightly influenced the properties of Asiago cheese, and similarities were observed between RGHAC and RGEAC. Thus, the lower concentrations (0.1% to 0.3%) of RGH and RGE added to AC were preferred for color, texture, and sensory during the ripening, therefore, these cheeses would be worth developing commercially.
In video analytics, robust observation detection is very important as the content of the videos varies a lot, especially for tracking implementation. Contrary to the image processing field, the problems of blurring, moderate deformation, low illumination surroundings, illumination change and homogenous texture are normally encountered in video analytics. Patch-Based Observation Detection (PBOD) is developed to improve detection robustness to complex scenes by fusing both feature- and template-based recognition methods. While we believe that feature-based detectors are more distinctive,however, for finding the matching between the frames are best achieved by a collection of points as in template-based detectors. Two methods of PBOD-the deterministic and probabilistic approaches-have been tested to find the best mode of detection. Both algorithms start by building comparison vectors at each detected points of interest. The vectors are matched to build candidate patches based on their respective coordination. For the deterministic method, patch matching is done in 2-level test where threshold-based position and size smoothing are applied to the patch with the highest correlation value. Forthe second approach, patch matching is done probabilistically by modelling the histograms of the patches by Poisson distributions for both RGB and HSV colour models. Then,maximum likelihood is applied for position smoothing while a Bayesian approach is appliedfor size smoothing. The result showed that probabilistic PBOD outperforms the deterministic approach with average distance error of 10.03% compared with 21.03%. This algorithm is best implemented as a complement to other simpler detection methods due to heavy processing requirement.
The genus Antheromorpha is redefined and shown to comprise 11 valid species: Antheromorpha miranda (Pocock, 1895), Antheromorpha bistriata (Pocock, 1895), Antheromorpha comotti (Pocock, 1895), Antheromorpha festiva (Brölemann, 1896), Antheromorpha harpaga (Attems, 1937), Antheromorpha mediovirgata (Carl, 1941), Antheromorpha minlana (Pocock, 1895), Antheromorpha pardalis (Pocock, 1895), Antheromorpha paviei (Brölemann, 1896), comb. n., Antheromorpha rosea Golovatch, 2013 and Antheromorpha uncinata (Attems, 1931). Three new synonymies are proposed: Antheromorpha bivittata (Pocock, 1895) and Antheromorpha melanopleuris (Pocock, 1895) are synonymized under Antheromorpha miranda (Pocock, 1895), and Antheromorpha orophila (Carl, 1941) under Antheromorpha comotti (Pocock, 1895). Detailed descriptions and illustrations of fresh material from Thailand and Malaysia are given, especially regarding colour patterns which appear to be crucial for accurate species identifications. Two Antheromorpha species proposed by Attems are redescribed, based on type material. The genus is rediagnosed and a key and a distribution map are also provided. At least in Thailand, adult Antheromorpha rosea have been found to occur every year only for one or two weeks in September or October, disappearing thereafter.
A study was carried out to compare the cookie dough properties and cookie quality made out
of pink guava oil-palm stearin blends and lard (LD). Since LD is prohibited under religious
restrictions, plant shortenings were prepared by mixing pink guava seed oil with palm stearin
(PGO/PS) in different ratios: PGO-1, 40:60; PGO-2, 45:55; PGO-3, 50:50; PGO-4; 55:45 as
replacement. The effect of these formulated plant-based shortenings and LD shortening were
compared on dough rheological properties and cookie quality. Rheology and hardness of the
cookie dough were evaluated using Texture Analyser (TA). Cookie hardness was evaluated
with TA while cookie surface colors were measured using the CIE L*a*b* colorimetric system.
Among the samples, cookies made out of PGO-2 with the ratio 45:55 (PGO:PS) performed the
best substitute for LD to be used as shortening in cookies. PGO-2 also displayed the closest
similarity to LD in cookies for hardness, size and thickness, cracking size as well as colour.
As PGO-2 was a shortening formulated with plant-based ingredients, it could comply with the
halal and toyyiban requirements.
This work aimed to evaluate the effect of Atmospheric Cold Plasma (ACP) on the quality of mango flour noodles (NMF). ACP treatment of 5 minutes duration on the surface of the noodles strands were performed and evaluated during three days of storage by monitoring parameters related to colour, water activity, antioxidant activity and total phenolic content. The lightness value (L*) was higher for untreated samples (NMF (U)) than for treated samples (NMF (T)), while a greater increased in the redness (a*) and yellowness (b*) values were observed for the NMF (T). The changes in aw, antioxidant activity and total phenolic content (TPC) were negligible. However the NMF (T) showed significant different (p
Several parameters on the oviposition site preference of Aedes albopictus were studied, including color, container type, salinity, and water type. Dark-colored glass jars, especially black, blue, and red ones were preferred over light-colored jars. The black-colored ovitrap with a paper strip performed better than other types of containers. Seasoned tap water had the highest egg count when compared with a saline water series. In addition, water that had previously been used for the culture of Ae. albopictus was the most preferred for oviposition. The significance of this study in conjunction with the present Aedes mosquito surveillance and monitoring program is discussed.
This study compares the real-time dosimetric performance of a bpw34 photodiode (PD) and cold white light-emitting diodes (LEDs) based on diagnostic X-ray-induced signals. Signals were extracted when both the transducers were under identical exposure settings, including source-to-detector distance (SDD), tube voltage (kVp), and current-time product (mAs). The transducers were in a photovoltaic configuration, and black vinyl tape was applied on transducer active areas as a form of optical shielding. X-ray beam spectra and energies were simulated using Matlab-based Spektr functions. Transducer performance analysis was based on signal linearity to mAs and air kerma, and sensitivity dependence on absorbed dose, energy, and dose rate. Bpw34 PD and cold white LED output signals were 84.8% and 85.5% precise, respectively. PD signals were 94.7% linear to mAs, whereas LED signals were 91.9%. PD and LED signal linearity to dose coefficients were 0.9397 and 0.9128, respectively. Both transducers exhibited similar dose and energy dependence. However, cold white LEDs were 0.73% less dose rate dependent than the bpw34 PD. Cold white LEDs demonstrated potential in detecting diagnostic X-rays because their performance was similar to that of the bpw34 PD. Moreover, the cold white LED array's dosimetric response was independent of the heel effect. Although cold white LED signals were lower than bpw34 PD signals, they were quantifiable and electronically amplifiable.
Developing a bioactive brew is a novel track for revalorization of palm date byproducts. The effect of roasting temperature (160, 180 and 200 °C ) and roasting time (10, 20 and 30 min) on the hardness of the roasted date seeds, moisture content of the defatted roasted date seed powder (DRDSP), bulk density of the DRDSP, color parameters of DRDSP, quality attributes (extraction yield, pH and browning index), the chemical properties (antioxidants and total phenolic content) and the sensory attributes (color, aroma, taste and overall preference) of the brew prepared from DRDSP was studied. The physicochemical, quality, and sensory attributes were found to be significantly influenced by the roasting temperature and time. Additionally, the models proposed could satisfactorily describe the changes in the different properties during the roasting process. The optimum conditions of the roasting process obtained using the superimposed contour plot were 199.9 °C and 21.5 min. In the longer term, the results of this study would be beneficial for the manufacturers of the date seeds powder and brew.
The present study focused on investigating the storage stability of oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions with high oil volume fractions prepared with palm olein-based diacylglycerol oil (POL-DAG)/soybean oil (SBO) blends at 25 °C. The incorporation of different ratios of oil blends significantly influenced (p < 0.05) the texture, color, droplet size distribution, and rheological parameters of the emulsions. Only emulsions incorporated with 10% to 20% POL-DAG in oil phase exhibited pseudoplastic behavior that fitted the Power Law model well. Furthermore, the O/W emulsions prepared with POL-DAG/SBO blends exhibited elastic properties, with G' higher than G". During storage, the emulsion was found to be less solid-like with the increase in tan δ values. All emulsions produced with POL-DAG/SBO blends also showed thixotropic behavior. Optical microscopy revealed that the POL-DAG incorporation above 40% caused aggregated droplets to coalesce and flocculate and, thus, larger droplet sizes were observed. The current results demonstrated that the 20% POL-DAG substituted emulsion was more stable than the control emulsion. The valuable insights gained from this study would be able to generate a lot more possible applications using POL-DAG, which could further sustain the competitiveness of the palm oil industry.
This manuscript describes the reuse of biowaste for the biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and their applications. In particular, we hypothesized that the phytochemicals in the onion peels could act as reductant for silver nanoparticles syntheses. AgNO3 solution (1 mmol) was added dropwise to an aqueous solution of onion peel extract in 3:7 ratio. The reaction mixture was subjected to heating at 90 °C for about 30 min. During the synthesis of the AgNPs, the change of the colour of solution was observed. The AgNPs solution was centrifuged to obtain the two layers, which consists of clear solution and solid layers at 12000 rpm for 30 min. The precipitate was filtered and was re-dispersed in deionised water (25 mL). The solution was centrifuged again to obtain the purified AgNPs. Subsequently, this solution was freeze dried for 48 h to afford the powdered AgNPs. In this work, the structure of the AgNPs were synthesized in spherical shape, with an average size of 12.5 nm observed in the Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis. For catalytic application, the synthesized AgNPs could be applied as green catalyst to promote Knoevenagel and Hantzsch reactions. In most cases, the desired products were obtained in satisfactory yields. In addition, the AgNPs were found to be recyclable for the subsequent reactions. After five successive runs, the average isolated yields for both transformations were recorded to be 91% (Knoevenagel condensation) and 94% (Hantzsch reaction), which indicated that the existing AgNPs could apply as green catalyst in the field of organic synthesis. Furthermore, the AgNPs also showed satisfactory result in antioxidant activity. The current results indicate that the AgNPs can act as alternative antioxidant agent and green catalyst in mediating organic transformations.
Lime juice is in high demand due to a sour taste. Commercial thermal pasteurization extends juice shelf-life; however, fruit juice subjected to thermal pasteurization tends to change color and lose vitamin content. Lime juice was irradiated with ultraviolet-C (UVC) at dosages of 22.76, 30.19, and 44.24 mJ/cm2 to investigate effects on the physicochemical properties of lime juice. pH values of lime juice did not change while total soluble solids, turbidity, titratable acidity, sweetness, and color values of lime juice did change after UV treatments. Changes in quality index indicators were prominent at the highest UV dosage of 44.24 mJ/cm2. A low UVC dosage was effective for treatment of lime juice with minimal changes in juice properties.
Five luminescent polymorphic aggregates of trinuclear Cu(i)-pyrazolate, namely [anti-Cu3L3]2 (1), [syn-Cu3L3·C2H5OH]2 (2), [anti-Cu3L3·C2H5OH]n (3), [anti-Cu3L3·0.5C7H8]n (4) and [syn-Cu3L3·C8H10]n (5) (HL = 4-(pyridin-4-ylthio)-3,5-dimethyl-1H-pyrazole), were reported. The trimeric Cu3L3 fragments present syn- and anti-conformations dependent on the dangled direction of 4-pyridyl groups on the two sides of the Cu3Pz3 plane (Pz = pyrazolate). Intertrimeric NPyCu weak coordination bonds associate these Cu3L3 fragments together to form dimeric or polymeric structures, which are further stabilized by crystallized solvent molecules or intertrimeric CuCu interactions. The solvated complexes (3-5) may be transformed into the unsolvated complex 1 by evacuation of the crystallized solvents upon heating. All these complexes emit from green to yellow under UV irradiation, which originated from the triplet excited states of metal to ligand charge transfer (3MLCT) mixed with intertrimeric CuCu interactions. This work provides a novel kind of supramolecular aggregate based on Cu3Pz3 beyond the classical π-acidbase adducts and metallophilicity-dependent dimers/oligomers.