Omega Munch doesn’t just provide great nutrition—it also tastes great! Unlike other seed snacks, Omega Munch has a chewy yet crunchy texture and a nutty, fruity flavor. The final formulation for Omega Munch was optimized by a team of Ohio State University food science students.   The team was recently a finalist in the Product Development Competition at the 2011 meeting of the Institute of Food Technologists.

Nutritional Information

A serving size of Omega Munch (5 pieces) contains 120 calories, 8 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 4 g dietary fiber, 4 g sugar, 3 g protein, and 5 mg sodium.

Ingredients

Organic Thompson Raisins, Organic Brown Flax Seeds, Organic Sesame Seeds (Roasted), Organic Sunflower Seeds (Roasted), Organic Red Quinoa, Water, Cornstarch, Blueberry Fiber, Organic Cayenne Pepper, Organic Ancho Chili Pepper, Organic Garlic Powder, Organic Chipotle Pepper, Sea Salt and Organic Black Pepper.

Sensory Testing

Sensory testing was performed to optimize the level of spiciness or for the product and to evaluate the attributes of the final product.

Shelf Life

Shelf life study revealed that Omega Munch maintains microbiological and oxidative stability for a long period of time. Pathogen testing of the production facilities and the product will still be conducted periodically. Based upon initial observations and the product  is shelf stable.  No noticeable changes in flavor were perceived after more than 30 days of storage.

*Additional nutritional information, sensory testing data, cost analyses, packaging, storage, and processing information are available upon request.  *

Researchers at The Ohio State University have developed a system for automated seed vigor assessment that is objective, economical and easy to perform. Seed vigor testing provides valuable information for assessing seed lot quality. Vigor testing is very critical because it ranks the performance of a seed lot against other seed lots when planted in the field. However, most vigor tests have not experienced widespread use because of their subjectivity, time consuming nature, high cost and inconsistent test results in various laboratories. In the newly-invented system, images are scanned and processed by the computer to generate numerical values that collectively represent the quality of a seed lot (vigor index) based on sample mean of various statistics acquired from morphological features of the imaged seedlings.

Potential Applications:

• Seed and Cop production
• Plant genetics

Advantages:

A reliable, efficient, objective, cost-effective method of assessing seed vigor.

Frequency counters typically count a frequency of a periodic signal by setting a set gate level. Each time the periodic signal crosses the gate level an event is generated. After calculating the number of events per second, the frequency is then calculated from the periodic signal. Unfortunately, this universal method has not demonstrated stability for frequency measurements. At The Ohio State University, we have created a reliable digital real-time method that detects frequency of a force signal from a microcantilever sensor in Magnetic Resonance Force Microscopy. Additionally, this method demonstrates sensitivity limited only by the displacement noise of a cantilever. Our high precision evaluation of the frequency of a periodic signal can be used as an extra option for any currently available digital signal processing hardware. A prototype is available for testing and evaluation under a confidentiality agreement.

Potential Applications:

• Detection of biohazards at sensitive immigration and import/export points and at transportation sites
• Counter intelligence and eavesdropping
• Breathalizers
• Any SFM system, MRFM, MRI, and microwave signals

Advantages:

• Measures frequency shifts of resonator cantilever quickly thus offering increased sensitivity.
• Continuously measures rather than sampling because it measures in small forces that are 6-7 magnitudes larger than what needs to be measured.
• Accurately and directly calculates the frequency from the amplitude and the phase of an input signal.
• The frequency signal is based upon a number of points less than the period of a signal.
• Enables higher force sensitivity for force microscopy systems and for noise where force is detected through its influence upon the frequency of the oscillating mechanical force detector (microcantilever).
• Solves the problem of limited bandwidth of amplitude detection.
• Most effective sound frequency range is DC-1MHz.
• One can resynchronize by re-inputing data that was taken out of the probe sequence so one can probe the system with the probe sequence.
• Allows one to create a full MRFM measurement system including a self excitation circuit, a frequency detector, and RF modulation circuits and capable of generating modulation signals whose phase is locked to the cantilever signal.
• Existing computers already use digital computers.
• Digital read-out of frequency output time is 4 milliseconds; as computer boards improve, this technique’s speed improves.

The reduction of nitrogen oxides in lean combustion exhaust streams suffers from significant challenges with regard to reducing agent choice. Hydrocarbons are the ideal reducing agent as they are present in the exhaust stream of many applications. We have developed a two-stage catalytic approach, which offers significant improvements in nitric oxide reduction activity for lean exhaust.

Potential Applications:

• Catalytic aftertreatment of nitric oxide for lean-burn natural gas engines.
• While the system has been tested using methane as the reducing agent the principles could also be used in other lean combustion applications such as diesel engines.

Advantages:

• The two-stage approach to nitric oxide reduction allows for a more fundamental understanding of the catalytic phenomena associated with nitric oxide reduction.
• An improved understanding potentially allows for more customization and improvements to the catalytic system.
• The use of hydrocarbons present in the exhaust stream completely eliminates fuel penalties associated with nitric oxide reduction.

Devices that exhibit a phenomenon known as negative differential resistance (NDR) have tremendous potential to deliver the kind of low-power circuitry needed in a variety of electronics applications. To understand NDR, it is instructive to recall Ohm’s Law, V=IR. For a fixed resistance (R), as voltage (V) increases, current (I) increases in a linear fashion. In NDR, there is a voltage range where increasing voltage actually results in a decreasing current. This behavior has many beneficial design properties, one of which is the design of low power memory and logic or even energy scavenging from the environment, eliminating the need for a self-contained battery.

Until now, successful demonstrations of NDR have been limited to rigid, inflexible semiconductor-based devices that are unsuitable for certain applications. Researchers at The Ohio State University have developed a polymer-based device that exhibits NDR and has the flexibility needed for advanced applications such as smartcards and wearable electronics. These devices enjoy very fast operation, which leads to high performance while consuming very little power. Furthermore, these devices can be manufactured in a very cost-effective manner using simple printing techniques.

Potential Applications:

• Smartcards
• Energy Scavenging
• Development of advanced logic and memory circuits on flexible substrates

Advantages:

• Large and reproducible NDR, at room temperature, in a flexible polymer device!
• Low cost and simple solution processing
• Fast operation at low power

Cancers of the breast and prostate are the second leading causes of cancer-related deaths among women and men, respectively. Together, these cancers were responsible for more than 360,000 new cases and 73,000 deaths in the U.S. during the year 2000. Few therapeutic compounds increase long-term survival or reduce morbidity. Human prolactin is a hormone produced by the pituitary gland and the placenta (among other tissues such as the breast and prostate). Receptors for this hormone are found in many tissues of the body including the breast and prostate. This hormone is important for lactation (breast milk production) and normal prostate development. However, prolactin also appears to promote tumor growth in the breast and prostate because these tissues have prolactin receptors, thereby setting up a feed-back loop that stimulates abnormal tissue growth.

Researchers at Ohio State have discovered how prolactin interacts with its receptor leading to a biological response. This knowledge has allowed them to develop variants of mammalian prolactin that interfere with an abnormal response to interaction between this hormone and its receptor in certain diseases. These prolactin antagonists work in humans as well as other mammals.

These agents will be useful for treatment of conditions where it is desirable to inhibit or decrease the action of prolactin especially but not restricted to:

• Cancers that depend on prolactin for growth and survival such as some cancers of the breast, prostate and lymph system
• Suppression of milk production in females after giving birth for women who do not plan to breast-feed
• Suppression of prolactin secretion in patients that produce too much prolactin
• Prevention of tumor formation in at-risk individuals
• Prevention or reduction of cancer cell metastasis in the patient

An important feature of these compounds is that they can be administered in many different ways (oral, intravenous, intranasal or intratumor). With regard to treatment of cancer, the prolactin antagonists may be especially effective when used in combination with currently prescribed treatments for cancer.

Potential Applications:

Potential treatment for and/or prevention of breast and prostate cancers, as well as suppression of milk production in women after giving birth.

Advantages:

• May be administered in a variety of manners including: oral, intravenous, intranasal or intratumor

Dr. Eric Walton of the ElectroScience Laboratory at The Ohio State University has developed a way to connect an on-glass antenna to a transmission cable that overcomes impedance matching problems in the AM and FM bands. Impedance matching for on-glass antennas is a challenge since in the FM frequency band coaxial cable impedance is often 50 ohms, and in the much lower AM frequency band the antenna and the receiver input impedance is much closer to 6,000 ohms. This invention results in a wide bandwidth and a transformation from the coaxial cable impedance to the antenna impedance. The matching circuit is especially designed to be imbedded in a small window attachment clip. This invention would be particularly suited for use in automobiles where the rear window heater grid can also function as an antenna, and consequently is essential along with another of Dr. Walton’s inventions which is described in U.S. Patent #5,781,160 (OSU Reference #94048). It should be noted, however, that this method is applicable in other on-glass wideband antenna configurations where impedance matching in the AM and FM bands must be achieved.

Potential Applications:

• An elegant and cost-effective impedance matching solution in the AM and FM bands for automotive antenna manufacturers
• When coupled with U.S. Patent #5,781,160, a complete AM/FM on-glass automotive heater grid/antenna system can be realized

Advantages:

• Allows for easy, convenient impedance matching for printed on-glass AM/FM antennas

Thyroid cancer has the fastest rising incidence of all organ sites. There are 250,000 preoperative biopsies of thyroid nodules each year in the United States to determine whether the nodule is malignant. The current gold standard for diagnostic purposes is fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology. Of the 250,000 undergoing FNA cytology, 50,000 are inconclusive, i.e., malignancy cannot be excluded. All of these cases proceed to surgery for conclusive diagnostic purposes. Of these 50,000 that go to surgery, only 20% have a true follicular malignancy (FTC). 80% undergo needless surgery that requires them to take thyroid replacement therapy.

Researchers at The Ohio State University have developed a three gene diagnostic test that can differentiate benign from malignant follicular neoplasias of the thyroid. Results have shown a 97% level of accuracy in diagnosis.

Advantages:

• Elimination of surgery for 80% of the current inconclusive patients.
• Test is highly sensitive and specific, superior to other alternatives.

IP Status:

Patent pending

An understanding of a plant’s response to the environment is important for the prediction of its growth and development. Researchers at Ohio State have developed a new method for measuring whole canopy CO2 exchange rates in plants. Whole plant carbon exchange rate measurements provide an integral assessment of how an entire plant responds to biotic and abiotic factors. This method provides more accurate measurements of plant response to environmental stimuli and provides a method for more easily predicting final yields.

Potential Applications:

• Commercial planting strategies and yield improvement practices
• Commercial plant variety selection
• Ecosystems research

Advantages:

• Increased ability to predict final yield
• Increased measurement of short term plant response to stimuli
• Ability to perform high temporal resolution studies of plant responses to their environmental stimuli

Researchers at The Ohio State University recently created a dramatically powerful “one-pot” kit for protein biomarker identification and discovery. Using frozen clinical biopsies of any size, the kit provides highly efficient, highly sensitive protein retrieval from laser capture microdissected cells for reproducible and quantitative protein identification and discovery.

The One-Pot Protein Identification Kit requires less than 10,000 laser capture microdissected cells – quantities found in a needle biopsy – to retrieve, identify, and quantify hundreds of proteins from frozen and archived clinical specimens. Using the kit, the typical yield from a LC-MS/MS mass spectrometry analysis of peptides from the retrieved protein trypsin digest provides over 600 unique protein identifications from less than 10,000 cells. In one study using 6,000 cells collected from a frozen punch biopsy, more than 500 proteins were identified, of which 255 proteins were discovered to be differentially expressed when compared to normal, healthy cells.

The One-Pot Protein Identification Kit relies on a carefully designed protocol developed by proteomics researchers in the Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics at The Ohio State University. Results from the One-Pot Protein Identification Kit are available in less than 12 hours. To our knowledge, this simple to use kit provides far more quantifiable protein identifications than any method currently in use or under development in the scientific community.

The One-Pot Protein Identification Kit has already been used to identify novel protein biomarkers. In a proof-of-concept application, the One-Pot Protein Identification Kit allowed a clinical pathologist to diagnose a patient’s rare kidney glomerulopathy. The applications of the Kit continue to expand as researchers at Ohio State demonstrate that the Kit has utility in far-reaching research and clinical settings, including diagnosis of DCIS breast cancer and investigation of brain isolates from Alzheimers samples. Data obtained with this kit are opening avenues to personalized medicine for ultimate patient care.

Potential Applications:

•Protein biomarker identification and discovery
•Molecular diagnostics and prognostics

Advantages:

•Simple, one-pot approach
•Very small quantity of cell sample needed for analysis
•High number of proteins able to be identified
•Readily obtainable, clear protein expression profile