Punch Extracts

Spirits or liquors are alcoholic beverages in which the high alcohol concentration is achieved by distillation of a fermented sugar-containing liquid. Examples are distilled wines (brandies), liqueurs, punch extracts and alcohol-containing mixed drinks. Table 20.27 compares the alcohol consumption with respect to spirits, wine and beer in selected countries. 

Punch extracts or punch syraps, known simply as punch, are concentrates which are diluted before they are drunk. Rum or arrack punches contain 5% rum or 10% arrack, calculated relative to the total alcohol content. Aromatization with artificial rum or arrack essences, or with fruit ethers or esters, is not commonly done. 

The residue is removed from the leaf surface by shaking the leaf punch sample in an aqueous surfactant solution. This allows for removal of test substance residue from the leaf surface. It does not remove residue absorbed on the plant matrix that extraction and maceration in organic solvents would release. Generally, the extraction with aqueous surfactant is performed using a mechanical shaker for a 10-min interval and is repeated to increase transfer efficiency. 

Acylcarnitine analysis of dried blood or bile spots is very similar to the analysis of plasma. A small disk (diameter typically 5 mm or less) is punched out of the blood spot and the acylcarnitines extracted by the addition of methanol and known concentrations of isotopically labeled acylcarnitines, which function as internal standards. The extract is dried under a stream of nitrogen, and derivatized by the addition of either n-butanol HC1 or n-methanol HC1. The acylcarnitines are measured as their butyl or methyl esters by MS-MS. The concentrations of the analytes are established by computerized comparison of ion intensities of these analytes to that of the internal standards. 

One 5-mm blood or bile spot is punched out and placed into a labeled Eppendorf tube, together with 300 pi internal standard/extraction solution. Following agitation for 30 min on a plate rotator, the liquid is transferred to clean Reacti-Vials and dried under a gentle stream of warm nitrogen. Butylesters are then formed and the analysis performed as described for plasma samples (see 3.2.4, subheading Sample Preparation ). 

For the color, tannin, and aroma compounds to be transferred from the skins to the fermenting wine it is necessary to mix the floating skins with the wine. This punching down the cap should be done about every 6-8 hrs with a wooden or stainless steel plunger. The less color in the grapes, the more frequently the juice and skins should be punched so there be maximum color extraction. 

For one to five leaf punches per replicate, the water content coming from the plant tissue will account for <1% to 2% of the final 5 ml extract (step 6) and can be neglected. Perform extraction as described below and use the equations for 100% acetone (UNIT F4.3). 

In order to study the radial distribution of the six analytes on dried blood spots, smaller DBS punches (1 mm. i.d.) were extracted and quantified against blood standards. Six DBS 1 mm punches were taken from the centers of six separate spots and combined into one well of a 96-well plate. The next DBS punch was taken adjacent to the center one and each subsequent punch was taken adjacent to the previous one radially moving outward towards the edge as shown in Fig. 4. Additional punch was taken from just outside of the visual edge of the blood spot as a control sample to verify that analytes are not moving outside of the visual spot. All results from the control samples confirmed the absence of the tested compounds outside of the visual border of spots. Three types of paper/card and six compounds were used to evaluate the paper impact on the analyte distribution, but only FTA Elute and VWR 237 cards are presented here. 

The identification of inks in handwritten signatures can be important in the field of questioned documents. Since ink formulations are periodically changed by manufacturers, it is at times possible to date the handwritten signature. Current practice involves punching out a small spot of the signature, followed by extraction and thin layer chromatographic (TLC) development (5). Use of modern LC can lead to better resolution, more sensitive detection, and where necessary, better quantitation than TLC. We have developed a simple gradient system for the separa-... 

Shapes with a uniform section in the pressing direction are the easiest to produce by dry pressing. Pieces that vary in section require very careful powder preparation and may need special press facilities such as floating dies, i.e. dies free to move relative to the punches, or dies that split open to allow easy extraction of the compact. The time taken by a pressing on an automatic machine varies from 0.2 s for pieces of diameter around 1mm to 5 s for large complex shapes. 

Care has to be taken in selecting materials for the die and punches. Metals are of little use above 1000 °C because they become ductile, and the die bulges under pressure so that the compact can only be extracted by destroying the die. However, zinc sulphide (an infrared-transparent material) has been hot pressed at 700 °C in stainless steel moulds. Special alloys, mostly based on molybdenum, can be used up to 1000 °C at pressures of about 80 MPa (5 ton in-2). Alumina, silicon carbide and silicon nitride can be used up to about 1400 °C at similar pressures and are widely applied in the production of transparent electro-optical ceramics based on lead lanthanum zirconate as discussed in Section 8.2.1. 

Although the (3-glucosidase assay can be performed on any tissue, the tissues of choice are peripheral blood leukocytes or cultured fibroblasts grown from a punch biopsy of the skin. Antenatal diagnosis can be made using extracts of cultured amniotic cells obtained from amniocentesis. There are several different (3-glucoside substrates that can be used in the assay the natural substrate glucocerebroside or structurally similar, artificial substrates. 

Treatments favouring contact between solid and liquid phases such as pumping over or punching down are traditionally used to enhance extraction. Alternative processes have been proposed more recently. These include physical processes such as thermoviniflcation and flash release (in which the grapes are heated quickly at high temperature (> 95°C) and then placed under vacuum, to produce instant vaporization and cooling) and the use of pectinolytic enzymes. 

However, on account of the cork-like character of the flow in the channel the error of the design scheme is great, whilst the reproducibility of the results may unsatisfactory because of friction losses in the punch-and-die mating in the chamber. Other shortcomings of this method are due to difficulties of extracting the specimen, a long preparatory period prior to testing. 

Dust Extraction. Adequate dust extraction is necessary to maintain high-speed operation for extended periods of time. The entire compression area should be shrouded to minimize dust infiltration into other press areas. Effective dust extraction minimizes dust and oil contamination on the surface of the tablets, which could produce black specs. Insufficient dust extraction results in excessive material build-up on the lower and upper punches leading to tight punches. However, the proper balance of dust extraction without high levels of material loss must be determined. If the dust extraction level is too high material could be extracted from the die cavities and the recirculation channel. Furthermore, the dust extraction systems preferentially removes the fine particles. Therefore, if the granulation is a direct-compression blend where the active constituent is of fine particle size, minimum dust extraction levels combined with minimal recirculation may be necessary to prevent a loss of active constituents (resulting in possible low assay). 

Two methods have been devised for the detection of the dispersion patterns of sulphide anions and compounds in soil (a) the shallow hole method and (b) the container method. In the first method, a 18 mm diameter steel rod is driven into the soil to make a hole that acts as the sample container. After the rod has punched a hole in the soil, it is removed and a device comprising an acid sprayer and gas extraction tube is inserted. (Fig. 9-3). The spray head must be at least 40 cm below the surface and the mouth of the hole must be thoroughly sealed by the spray device. Then the outlet tap of the spray reservoir is opened to allow 8 ml of 30% HCl to reach the spray head and to spray onto the walls of the hole below 40 cm... 

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