Quantitation of milk proteins in thermally treated milk samples and commercial food products by ELISA test kits.

This study evaluated four ELISA kits for quantitation of milk proteins in thermally treated milk samples and food products. How reference materials may be used for comparison of kit performance was examined. Protein contents determined by Veratox Total Milk generally reflected those determined by the 660 nm total protein assay. BioKits BLG Kit was less affected by thermal treatment but resulted in overestimation of protein contents in samples that were boiled, autoclaved or dry-heated at ≤149 °C, while ELISA Systems Casein (ES Casein) and Beta-Lactoglobulin (ES BLG) assays underestimated protein levels in these samples. The four kits gave similar results for ice cream. Veratox registered higher concentrations in all products tested but its sensitivity was greatly lowered in retorted products. ES Casein underperformed Veratox for baked and retorted products. BioKits BLG maintained a better sensitivity towards fried, baked and retorted products while ES BLG exhibited reduced sensitivity for these products.

[Under Goals of Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality: Status, Problems, and Suggestions of CCUS in China].

Under the background of global warming and climate change, carbon capture, utilization, and storage(CCUS) technology has gradually been recognized by countries around the world as one of the carbon reduction technologies with the most potential. This study described the origin, concept, positioning, and evolution process of CCUS technology in detail and compared the policies, regulations, demonstration projects, and development status of the carbon trading system of CCUS technology at home and abroad. Simultaneously, we systematically summarized the great efforts made by China to promote the development of CCUS technology since China joined the Paris Agreement in 2016, combined with the construction of ecological civilization and the objectives of "carbon peak" and "carbon neutralization." In addition, this study analyzed the existing problems of CCUS technology in China and put forward relevant development suggestions for further promoting the discovery of this technology.

Simultaneous quantification of hepatitis A virus and norovirus genogroup I and II by triplex droplet digital PCR.

The representative enteric viruses responsible for global foodborne outbreaks that have become an essential concern for health authorities are Norovirus (NoV) and Hepatitis A virus (HAV). Droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) has recently emerged as an alternative platform for virus quantification due to its high precision, ultra-sensitivity, and lack of a standard curve need. Using a ratio-based probe-mixing strategy, we established a triplex ddPCR method to detect norovirus genogroup I (GI), genogroup II (GII), and HAV in food, drinking water, and faecal samples. The probe concentration, annealing temperature, and annealing/extension time were all tuned in the PCR amplification program. The detection limit for NoV GI, NoV GII, and HAV was 7.5, 5.0, and 5.0 copies/reaction, respectively. Furthermore, the suggested approach was validated on 114 samples, demonstrating greater sensitivity, accuracy, and anti-interference performance features than RT-qPCR.

Simultaneous determination of four phenolic acids in traditional Chinese medicine by capillary electrophoresis-chemiluminescence.

Chlorogenic, ferulic, vanillic, and caffeic acids are phenolic acids found in natural drugs. They possess the biological activities of scavenging free radicals and inhibiting thrombus formation. Phenolic acids can inhibit the oxidation of low-density lipoprotein, as well as have anti-inflammatory effects. This paper reports for the first time a capillary electrophoresis-chemiluminescence (CE-CL) method for the simultaneous determination of the four phenolic acids found in traditional and proprietary Chinese medicine, including Lycium chinense Miller, Shuanghuanglian oral liquid, and Taraxacum mongolicum granules. Capillary electrophoretic separation was performed on a self-assembled CE-CL device with an uncoated fused-silica capillary (66 cm effective length, 50 µm i.d.), and the background electrolyte was composed of 3.0 × 10-5 M Ag(iii) (pH = 12.01), 3.0 mM luminol (pH = 9.20), and 10 mM sodium tetraborate solution. The injection time was 12 s (under gravity) and the separation voltage was 22 kV. The combination of solid-phase extraction (SPE) and CE-CL improves the sensitivity. Under optimal conditions, calibration graphs displayed a linear range between 0.625 and 20.0, 1.000 and 30.0, 0.150 and 1.50, and 0.045 and 1.00 µg mL-1 for chlorogenic, ferulic, vanillic, and caffeic acid, respectively. The detection limit ranged from 0.014 to 0.300 µg mL-1. The practicality of using the proposed method to determine the four target analytes in traditional Chinese medicine was also validated, in which recoveries ranged from 90.9% to 119.8%. Taken together, these results indicate that the developed method is sensitive and reliable. Furthermore, the method was successfully applied to real traditional Chinese medicine samples.

Detection of caffeine and its main metabolites for early diagnosis of Parkinson's disease using micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography.

Caffeine (CA) is a common xanthine alkaloid found in tea leaves, coffee beans, and other natural plants, and is the most widely used psychotropic substance in the world. Accumulating evidence suggests that low plasma levels of CA and its metabolites may serve as reliable diagnostic markers for early Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. In this study, we demonstrated a new MEKC method for determining CA and its three main downstream metabolites, paraxanthine (PX), theobromine (TB), and theophylline (TP), in human plasma. Plasma samples were collected, and analyzed using MEKC, after SPE. The running buffer was composed of 35 mM phosphate, pH of 10.5, and 25 mM SDS. The separation voltage was 15 kV and the detection wavelength was at 210 nm. Under the optimum conditions, four distinct analytes were completely separated and detected in less than 12 min. Method limits of detection were as low as 7.5 ng/mL for CA, 5.0 ng/mL for TB, and 4.0 ng/mL for both PX and TP. The recoveries were between 88.0% and 105.9%. This method was successfully applied to 27 human plasma samples. The results indicate that the plasma concentrations of the four analytes are significantly lower in patients with early PD than in control subjects (p < 0.05). The area under curve was improved to 0.839 when CA and its three main metabolites were included, suggesting that MEKC testing of CA, TP, TB, and PX may serve as a potential method for early diagnosis of PD.