Successful disinfection of trumpet mouthpieces using domestic steam disinfection

There have been numerous reports in the literature describing the diversity of microbial flora isolated from woodwind and brass instruments, with potential infection risks for players, especially when such instruments are shared. Steam disinfection has become established as a trusted method of decontamination; however, there have been no reports on the employment of this technology to disinfect parts of musical instruments, hence it was the aim of this study to examine the fate of bacterial and yeast pathogens on artificially contaminated trumpet mouthpieces and to evaluate whether such disinfection is an effective method of disinfection for such instrument parts. Trumpet mouthpieces were artificially contaminated with 18 microbial strains (17 bacteria from four genera (Enterococcus, Escherichia, Staphylococcus and Streptococcus) and one yeast (Candida)), each at an inoculum density of approximately 1·5 × 10⁷ colony forming units and subjected to a disinfection cycle. The experiment was repeated including 50% (v/v) sterile sputum as soil. No bacteria or yeast organisms were recovered post disinfection, including following recovery and with nonselective cultural enrichment techniques.     

Alcohol fermentation of enzymatic hydrolysate of exploded rice straw by Pichia stipitis

The xylose in an enzymatic hydrolysate of steam-exploded rice straw was not consumed by Pichia stipitis until the glucose was almost exhausted. A diauxic lag of 2 to 3 h in both cell growth and ethanol production occurred as metabolism switched from glucose to xylose utilization. Ethanol production was maximal [6 g ethano/l from 15 g reducing sugars/l (78% theoretical yield)] at an aeration rate of 0.2 vol/vol. min.The author was with the Department of Chemical Engineering, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa 920, Japan, but is now with the Engineering Biosciences Research Center, Cater-Mattil Hall, The Texas A&M University System, College Station, Texas 77843-2476, USA.     

Recent Findings in the Chemistry of Odorants from Four Baccharis Species and Their Impact as Chemical Markers

Baccharis is a widespread genus belonging to the Asteraceae family that includes almost 400 species exclusively from the Americas. Even when studied in detail, the taxonomic classification among species from this genus is not yet fully defined. Within the framework of our study of the volatile composition of the Baccharis genus, four species (B. trimera, B. milleflora, B. tridentata, and B. uncinella) were collected from the ‘Campos de Cima da Serra’ highlands of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The aerial parts were dried and extracted by the simultaneous distillation extraction (SDE) procedure. This is the first time that SDE has been applied to obtain and compare the volatile‐extract composition in the Baccharis genus. Characterization of the volatile extracts allowed the identification of 180 peaks with many coeluting components; these latter being detailed for the first time for this genus. The multivariate statistical analyses allowed separating the volatile extracts of the four populations of Baccharis into two separate groups. The first one included the B. milleflora, B. trimera, and B. uncinella volatile extracts. The three species showed a high degree of similarity in their volatile composition, which was characterized by the presence of high contents of sesquiterpene compounds, in particular of spathulenol. The second group comprised the extract of B. tridentata, which contained α‐pinene, β‐pinene, limonene, and (E)‐β‐ocimene in high amounts.     

Contribution of microwave accelerated distillation in the extraction of the essential oil of Zygophyllum album L.

Introduction – The aerial parts of Zygophyllum album L. are used in folk medicine as an antidiabetic agent and as a drug active against several pathologies. In this work we present the chemical composition of Algerian essential oils obtained by microwave accelerated distillation (MAD) extraction, a solventless method assisted by microwave. Objective – Under the same analytical conditions and using GC‐FID and GC‐MS, the chemical composition of the essential oil of Zygophyllum album L. extracted by MAD was compared with that achieved using hydrodistillation (HD). Methodology – The extracted compounds were hydrosoluble, and they were removed from the aqueous solution by a liquid extraction with an organic solvent. Results – Employing MAD (100°C, 30 min), the essential oil contained mainly oxygenated monoterpenes with major constituents: carvone and α‐terpineol. However, most of the compounds present in the hydrodistilled volatile fraction were not terpene species, with β‐damascenone as a major constituent. Conclusion – The MAD method appears to be more efficient than HD: after 30 min extraction time, the obtained yields (i.e. 0.002%) were comparable to those provided by HD after 3 h extraction. MAD seems to be more convenient since the volatile fraction is richer in oxygenated monoterpenes, species that are recognised for their olfactory value and their contribution to the fragrance of the essential oil. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

土茯苓挥发性成分研究

目的:研究土茯苓中的挥发性成分。方法:利用水蒸气蒸馏法提取土茯苓(Smilax glabraRoxb.)挥发油,用GC-MS进行测定,结合计算机检索技术对分离的化合物进行结构鉴定,应用色谱峰面积归一化法计算各成分的相对百分含量。结果:分离了40个化合物,鉴定出22个化学成分,占总挥发性成分的47.88%,其中相对百分含量大于1%的分别确定为棕榈酸17.87%,萜品烯-4-醇7.533%,亚油酸6.775%,正壬烷4.509%,8,11-十八碳二烯酸甲酯2.215%,α-雪松醇1.81%,甲基棕榈酯1.293%。结论:22个挥发性成分均为首次从该植物中得到。     

贯叶连翘挥发性化学成分研究

采用水蒸气蒸馏法提取中草药贯叶连翘(全草)挥发油。通过气相色谱/质谱联用技术测定了挥发油的化学成分,从中鉴定出75种化合物,其中百里香酚、桉油精、丁香油酚等酚类物质为首次检出。结果表明,贯叶连翘因产地不同、部位不同,其挥发油的成分有较大的差别。     

Improving the fermentation performance of saccharomyces cerevisiae by laccase during ethanol production from steam‐exploded wheat straw at high‐substrate loadings

Operating the saccharification and fermentation processes at high‐substrate loadings is a key factor for making ethanol production from lignocellulosic biomass economically viable. However, increasing the substrate loading presents some disadvantages, including a higher concentration of inhibitors (furan derivatives, weak acids, and phenolic compounds) in the media, which negatively affect the fermentation performance. One strategy to eliminate soluble inhibitors is filtering and washing the pretreated material. In this study, it was observed that even if the material was previously washed, inhibitory compounds were released during the enzymatic hydrolysis step. Laccase enzymatic treatment was evaluated as a method to reduce these inhibitory effects. The laccase efficiency was analyzed in a presaccharification and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation process at high‐substrate loadings. Water‐insoluble solids fraction from steam‐exploded wheat straw was used as substrate and Saccharomyces cerevisiae as fermenting microorganism. Laccase supplementation reduced strongly the phenolic content in the media, without affecting weak acids and furan derivatives. This strategy resulted in an improved yeast performance during simultaneous saccharification and fermentation process, increasing significantly ethanol productivity. © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2013     

马尾松松针挥发油提取工艺研究

本文研究水蒸气蒸馏法提取马尾松松针挥发油的工艺。通过单因素试验考察液固比、提取时间、松针长度、浸泡时间4个因素对马尾松松针挥发油得率的影响,运用L9(34)正交试验探索最佳工艺条件。结果表明,浸泡时间对挥发油提取有显著影响(P=0.045),最佳时间为7 h;液固比、提取时间、松针长度无显著影响(P>0.05)。最佳工艺条件为液固比9∶1、提取时间3 h、松针长度5 mm、浸泡时间7 h,通过验证实验验证此工艺稳定可行。     

花椒挥发油的化学成分分析

在实验室条件下,采用常压水蒸气蒸馏法提取花椒中的挥发油并用气相色谱．质谱连用仪分析了挥发油的化学成分及其百分含量,通过测定,从挥发油中分离出了100余种化合物,共鉴定出52种,占挥发油总量的61．47％,其中绝大多数为萜类化合物及其衍生物,萜烯醇含量高达20．03％,桉油精为5．57％,胡椒酮为4．6％。