Robert Moreschi

Pomegranates are loaded with antioxidants and millions of people turn to pomegranate juice for its many health benefits, but every time you take a sip from a bottle of the popular juice, how much of the actual fruit are you consuming?

Scientists from the University of California have begun a series of studies using GC–MS to determine how much pomegranate is actually contained within in carton of retail pomegranate juice.

To identify the quantity of the fruit within the juice, the team of scientists looked for certain trace elements characteristic of the pomegranate, such as antioxidants unique to the fruit, as well as pigments, sugars, organic acids and amino acids.

“We’re looking at whether or not our molecular fingerprint method can be used to identify products claiming to contain pomegranate juice when they don’t,” said Dr. Cynthia Larive, professor of chemistry at the University of California.

Larive leads the team of graduate students, which uses GC–MS, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to identify issues and solve problems.

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How Much Pomegranate Is In Pomegranate Juice?

Scientists from the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IPC PAS) have been undergoing a series of studies to learn more about the creation of thin layers of highly ordered polymers and how spectroscopy and HPLC can be used to create organic and elastic electronics.

These thin organic materials, which will enable our future electronic devices to be made even thinner and lighter than they are now, are the future of electronics and will completely change the process of producing organic electronic systems.

“We have examined how the organization of molecules changes within layers, depending on the length of molecules. Thanks to this we understand why shorter molecules form ordered two-dimensional structures, while their long analogues create chaotic aggregates,” said Robert Nowakowski, the head of IPC PAS. “We can sometimes eliminate this last effect completely,” he added.

This new research into the production of organic materials will not only create thinner and lighter devices in the future, but will also cut down on the production costs of organic electronic systems, thus greatly reducing the price of such devices. Organic materials will allow electronic devices of the future to gain unprecedented properties such as the ability to be rolled into a tube or to produce it from transparent elements to be placed directly on surfaces such as car windows.

The production process currently being studied by the Microscopy and Spectroscopy Research Group at IPC PAS will hopefully open the doors for elastic electronics to hit the mass market sometime in the near future.

HPLC and the Future of Elastic Electronics

A team from the University of Calgary and the National Research Council Plant Biotechnology Institute has been studying the alkaloid metabolism process that commonly takes place in opium poppy cell cultures, using liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry (LC-MS).

The team published their findings in BMC Plant Biology, an open-access publication, where they explained how using LC-MS enabled them to analyze protein extracts within cell cultures that had been treated using a fungal elicitor.

The poppy flower, from which several different pharmacological solutions like codeine and morphine are commonly derived from, contains 1,004 different proteins, identified and analyzed using LC-MS.

The scientists were able to compile an opium poppy-specific expressed sequence tag database, allowing them to greatly improve their identification of the different proteins.

A team from the University of Calgary and the National Research Council Plant Biotechnology Institute has been studying the alkaloid metabolism process that commonly takes place in opium poppy cell cultures, using liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry (LC-MS)

LC-MS Used to Analyze Poppy Alkaloid Metabolism

Scientists from the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University (Atlanta, Georgia) have developed a new estimation model for the analysis of biological samples through liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.

The new statistical method, created by Tianwei Yu and Hesen Peng, demonstrates that peak modeling represents a core component in processing data for LC-MS studies.

“To accurately quantify partially overlapping peaks, we developed a deconvolution method using the bi-Gaussian mixture model combined with statistical model selection,” they write in their report.

This new method allows LC-MS a way to quantify metabolites, which in turn enables more complex biological samples to be analyzed. The model created by Yu and Peng was developed by carrying out an extensive series of simulations, along with the testing of real-world samples.

New Estimation Model for the Analysis of Biological Samples

It might sound like something from straight out of a science-fiction novel, but apparently a group of researchers from the University of Texas at Arlington and the University of Texas at Dallas have created a hairbrush that is capable of monitoring brain function.

Typically, brain activity is monitored using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), which is a noninvasive optical technique that records neurological activity by measuring oxygen levels in the brain. However, this method is often impaired because of the subject’s hair getting in the way.

With the new research being done at the University of Texas, the device that has been developed, which is called a brush optrode, contains fiber tips that are designed to thread through hair, thus enhancing scalp contact and providing increased sensitivity.

"Using light to measure a person's thinking pattern has numerous advantages over EEGs, including ease of use, reliability, cost, portability and MRI compatibility," said Duncan McFarlane, a member of the research team at the University of Texas at Dallas.

"The conventional fibers used in fNIRS systems terminate in a large, flat bundle, and it is easy for a patient's hair to get in the way and block the signal. So we developed a new tip for the fNIRS fibers-a brush optrode that slides the fibers between the hair follicles. Signal levels increase 3- to 5-fold, and patients report that the brush optrode is considerably more comfortable than the conventional fiber ends. And the brush optrode is easier to set up, which saves time and money," said McFarlane.

A group of researchers from the University of Texas at Arlington and the University of Texas at Dallas have created a hairbrush that is capable of monitoring brain function.

Can a Hairbrush Read Your Mind?

A Japanese research group, led by Professor Ryusuke Kakigi and Dr. Emi Nakato (National Institute for Physiological Sciences) and Professor Masami K. Yamaguchi (Chuo University) have released a study that finds hemispheric differences in the temporal area overlying superior temporal sulcus (STS) when processing positive and negative facial expressions in infants using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS).

NIRS, an optimal imaging technique that measures changes in the concentrations of oxyhemoglobin, deoxyhemoglobin and total hemoglobin as an index of neural activation, has recently been used to reveal the brain activity in infants that are awake.

The study, which examined whether the STS is in fact responsible for the perception of facial expressions in infants, showed that the hemodynamic responses elicited by the perception of positive imagery continued to increase even after the happy face stimuli had disappeared, whereas the neural response to negative imagery tended to decrease at a more rapid rate with the presentation of angry face stimuli was halted.

According to the research group, "the different hemodynamic responses between the perception of positive and negative expressions in infants is related to the different biological meanings of positive and negative facial expressions; a positive facial expression can convey a pleasant meaning, while a negative facial expression can be unpleasant or convey danger. The hemispheric lateralization of neural responses to facial expressions develops by the age of 6 months."

A Japanese research group have released a study that finds hemispheric differences in the temporal area overlying superior temporal sulcus (STS) when processing positive and negative facial expressions in infants using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS).

Spectroscopy Study Reveals Hemodynamic Responses for Infant's Facial Expressions

Researchers at McGill University in conjunction with Agriculture Canada and the pork industry have unveiled a new sophisticated new technique to determine which pieces of pork are the best in terms of quality, texture and how moist they are – information that has evaded even the best butchers up until now.

The revolutionary technique, which uses spectroscopy to measure the wavelengths of reflected light that is released by certain individual pork cuts, was discovered by researchers to accurately determine the color, texture and water release of the meat. 

“This is about giving industry workers better tools to do their job,” said Michael Ngadi, a member of the research team at McGill’s Department of Bioresource Engineering. “Computer-aided analysis of meat will result in higher-quality jobs, optimal production and exports that fit more closely with the target markets.”

According to Ngadi, although this research is new, it won’t be long before it leaves the laboratory and enters factories around the world. In addition, researchers also hope to be able to use this method to evaluate other aspects of meat quality which include marbling as well as fat content.

“We are currently looking for partners who will work with us to build a ready-to-use device for a commercial production line,” said Ngati.

Researchers at McGill University in conjunction with Agriculture Canada and the pork industry have unveiled a new sophisticated new technique to determine which pieces of pork are the best in terms of quality.