Dielectric behavior of beef meat in the 1-1500kHz range: Simulation with the Fricke/Cole-Cole model

The electrical properties of biological tissues have been researched for many years. Impedance measurements observed with increasing frequencies are mainly attributed to changes in membrane conductivity and ion and charged-molecule mobility (mainly Na⁺, K⁺, CL⁻ ions). Equivalent circuits with passive electrical components are frequently used as a support model for presentation and analyses of the behavior of tissues submitted to electrical fields. Fricke proposed an electrical model where the elements are resistive and capacitive. The model is composed of a resistive element (Rp) representing extracellular fluids (ECF) placed in parallel with a capacitive element (Cs) representing insulating membranes in series and a resistive element (Rs) representing intracellular fluids (ICF). This model is able to describe impedance measurements: at lower frequencies, most of the current flows around the cells without being able to penetrate them, while at higher frequencies the membranes lose their insulating properties and the current flows through both the extracellular and intracellular compartments. Since meat ageing induces structural change, particularly in membrane integrity, the insulating properties of membranes decrease, and intracellular and extracellular electrolytes mix, thus driving changes in their electrical properties. We report a method combining the Fricke and Cole–Cole models that was developed to monitor and explain tissues conductivity changes in preferential directions during beef meat ageing.     

Modulation of Glycerol and Ethanol Yields During Alcoholic Fermentation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Strains Overexpressed or Disrupted for GPD1 Encoding Glycerol 3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase

The possibility of the diversion of carbon flux from ethanol towards glycerol in Saccharomyces cerevisiae during alcoholic fermentation was investigated. Variations in the glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) level and similar trends for alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), pyruvate decarboxylase and glycerol-3-phosphatase were found when low and high glycerol-forming wine yeast strains were compared. GPDH is thus a limiting enzyme for glycerol production. Wine yeast strains with modulated GPD1 (encoding one of the two GPDH isoenzymes) expression were constructed and characterized during fermentation on glucose-rich medium. Engineered strains fermented glucose with a strongly modified [glycerol] : [ethanol] ratio. gpd1Δ mutants exhibited a 50% decrease in glycerol production and increased ethanol yield. Overexpression of GPD1 on synthetic must (200 g/l glucose) resulted in a substantial increase in glycerol production (×4) at the expense of ethanol. Acetaldehyde accumulated through the competitive regeneration of NADH via GPDH. Accumulation of by-products such as pyruvate, acetate, acetoin, 2,3 butane-diol and succinate was observed, with a marked increase in acetoin production. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Customizable and Reconfigurable Surface Properties of Printed Micro-objects by 3D Direct Laser Writing via Nitroxide Mediated Photopolymerization

Photoactivated Reversible Deactivation Radical Polymerization (RDRP) technologies have emerged very recently in the field of 3D printing systems especially at the macroscale in vat-photopolymerization-based processes such as digital light processing (DLP). Contrary to conventional free radical photopolymerization, photoRDRP in 3D printing leads to 3D objects with living character and thus confers them the unique ability to be post-modified after fabrication. While 3D direct laser writing (3D DLW) by two photon polymerization has become a standard for fabrication of complex 3D micro-objects, the use of RDRP and its associated benefits has so far been under-investigated at that scale. Herein, a photoresist suitable for 3D DLW based on nitroxide mediated photopolymerization (NMP2) is developed. The photopolymerization efficiency for fabrication of micro-structures and their subsequent post-modification are investigated regarding the laser power and the wavelength of excitation. Moreover, highly tunable, precise, and successive surface patterning of 2D and 3D multi-material microstructures are demonstrated thanks to the spatial and temporal control offered by the photo-induced post-modification. This work highlights new directions to be explored in order to accelerate the adoption of RDRP in 3D printing based on photopolymerization.