Combined effects of wheat gluten and carboxymethylcellulose on dough rheological behaviours and gluten network of potato–wheat flour-based bread

Incorporating high level of potato flour into wheat flour enhances nutritional values of bread but induces a series of problems that lead to the decline of the bread quality. To overcome the barrier, wheat gluten and carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) were added into potato–wheat composite flour to improve dough machinability and bread quality. The rheological properties, thermo-mechanical properties and microstructures of dough were investigated. The results showed that the interaction between gluten and CMC mitigated the discontinuity of gluten matrix and gluten protein aggregation caused by the addition of potato flour, which yielded a more branched and compact gluten network. The compact three-dimensional viscoelastic structure induced improvements of gas retention capacity and dough stability, making it mimic the machinability properties of wheat flour dough. Bread qualities were apparently improved with the combined use of 4% gluten and 6% CMC, of which specific volume increased by 42.86%, and simultaneously, hardness reduced by 75.93%.     

An experimental approach towards increasing mechanical durability of extruded fish feed in the drying process

Mechanical durability of extruded fish feed must be optimized to lower economic losses as well as emission of organic matter to aquatic environments. The glass transition hypothesis for viscoelastic biopolymers is demonstrated and confirmed experimentally to be valid for extruded fish feed pellets. It is proposed and demonstrated that it is important to avoid early glass transition onset, to optimize the obtained mechanical durability. From the proposed glass transition hypothesis, immediate process relevance to the pre-drying transport mechanism is demonstrated. Furthermore, measured mechanical durability is found to range from 1.5 to 5.0% loss, for different combinations of drying parameters.     

Synergistic effect of co-alloying elements on site preferences and elastic properties of Ni3Al: A first-principles study

The site preferences of co-alloying elements (Mo–Ta, Mo–Re, Mo–Cr) in Ni₃Al are studied using first-principles calculations, and the effects of these alloying elements on the elastic properties of Ni₃Al are evaluated by elastic property calculations. The results show that the Mo–Ta, Mo–Re and Mo–Cr atom pairs all prefer Al–Al sites and the spatial neighbor relation of substitution sites almost has no influence on the site preference results. Furthermore, the Young's modulus of Ni₃Al increases much higher by substituting Al–Al sites with co-alloying atoms, among which Mo–Re has the best strengthening effect. The enhanced chemical bondings between alloying atoms and their neighbor host atoms are considered to be the main strengthening mechanism of the alloying elements in Ni₃Al.     

The influence of MWCNT and hybrid (MWCNT/nanoclay) fillers on performance of EPDM-CIIR blends in nuclear applications: Mechanical,hydrocarbon transport,and gamma-radiation aging characteristics

Blends of EPDM and chlorobutyl (CIIR) rubbers are used in nuclear plants where they have to withstand the combined effect of radiation and hydrocarbon aging. To improve their mechanical properties as well as hydrocarbon and gamma radiation resistance, the blends are reinforced with 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2 phr of MWCNT. The increase in mechanical properties was highest for 1.5 phr MWCNT with 69% increase in tensile strength. The improvement in properties was correlated to MWCNT dispersion and filler–polymer interactions, which were confirmed by TEM and FTIR analysis. Hydrocarbon transport coefficients decreased on addition of MWCNT. The nanocomposites were exposed to 0.5, 1, and 2 MGy cumulative doses of gamma radiation. Depending on the radiation dose, crosslinking and/or chain scission occurred causes changes in physical properties. MWCNT reinforcement reduced the magnitude of changes in mechanical and transport properties after γ-irradiation. ESR and FTIR spectra provided qualitative information on free radical formation and chemical changes due to γ-rays exposure. To further enhance the properties, hybrid nanocomposites with 1.5 phr MWCNT and varying nanoclay contents (0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, and 5 phr) were prepared. Due to synergism between MWCNT and nanoclay, the hybrid composites had superior properties with hybrid containing 5 phr nanoclay giving 98% increase in tensile strength.     

Diffuse color patterning using blended electrochromic polymers for proof‐of‐concept adaptive camouflage plaques

A study using three different pairs of electrochromic polymers (ECPs) synthesized onto plaques by means of a modified vapor phase polymerization (VPP) technique is presented. Restriction of the respective polymerization times, allowed both faster and slower polymerizing monomers to be controlled, and produced blended plaques with visually diffuse interfaces. The ECPs within the blended plaques retain their individual electrochromic behavior and when encapsulated into an electrochromic device, show outstanding optical switching performance with little degradation evident over 10,000 cycles, coupled with a switching time of the order of 1 second. Blends also allow multiple diffuse color changes within an electrochromic device, due to the difference in oxidation potentials of the individual ECPs, making them candidates for adaptive camouflage use. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 42158.     

Core–shell NTC materials with low thermal constant and high resistivity for wide-temperature thermistor ceramics

Core–shell structures have been proposed to improve the electrical properties of negative-temperature coefficient (NTC) thermistor ceramics. In this work, Al₂O₃-modified Co_1.5Mn_1.2Ni_0.3O₄ NTC thermistor ceramics with adjustable electrical properties were prepared through citrate-chelation followed by conventional sintering. Co_1.5Mn_1.2Ni_0.3O₄ powder was coated with a thin Al₂O₃ shell layer to form a core–shell structure. Resistivity (ρ) increased rapidly with increasing thickness of the Al₂O₃ layer, and the thermal constant (B) varied moderately between 3706 and 3846 K. In particular, Co_1.5Mn_1.2Ni_0.3O₄@Al₂O₃ ceramic with 0.08 wt% Al₂O₃ showed the increase of ρ double, and the change in its B was less than 140 K. The Co_1.5Mn_1.2Ni_0.3O₄@Al₂O₃ NTC ceramics showed high stability, and their grain size was relatively uniform due to the protection offered by the shell. The aging coefficient of the ceramic was less than 0.2% after aging for 500 hours at 125°C. Taken together, the results indicate that as-prepared Co_1.5Mn_1.2Ni_0.3O₄@Al₂O₃ NTC ceramics with a core–shell structure may be promising candidates for application as wide-temperature NTC thermistor ceramics.     

Investigation of structural,optical, electrical,and magnetic properties of Fe-doped La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 manganites

In this work, the physical properties of nanocrystalline samples of La_0.7Sr_0.3Mn_1−xFe_xO₃ (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.20) perovskite manganites synthesized by the reverse micelle (RM) technique were explored in detail. The phase purity, crystal structure, and crystallite size of the samples were determined using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. All the samples had rhombohedral crystal structure and crystallite size increased with increase in Fe content in La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃. The scanning electron micrographs (SEMs) exhibited smooth surface morphology and nonuniform shape of the particles. The optical properties studied using UV-visible absorption spectroscopy revealed a decrease in the absorbance and optical band gap with an increase in Fe content in La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ compound. The temperature-dependent resistivity measurements revealed semiconducting nature of x = 0 and 0.1 samples up to the studied temperature range, while a metal-to-insulator transition was observed at higher Fe doping. Magnetic studies revealed weak ferromagnetism in all the samples and a reduction in the maximum magnetization with an increase in Fe content. A close correlation between electrical transport and magnetic properties was observed with the doping of Fe ion in La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ at Mn site. These results advocate strong interactions associated with the double exchange mechanism among Fe³⁺ and Mn³⁺ ions.     

Viscoelastic Behavior of Synthesized Liquid Soaps and Surface Activity Properties of Surfactants

In the present work, a rheological study of liquid soaps prepared from different mixture of surfactants as a function of surfactant type and concentration was performed. The curves of shear stress vs. shear rate and viscosity vs. shear rate were recorded at constant temperature, 294 ± 0.1 K. The surface activity properties were also studied. The results of the study showed that values of surface tension, γ, were in the range 31–40 mN m⁻¹ and the critical micelle concentration (CMC), was of the order 10⁻⁴ mol L⁻¹. The calculated maximum surface excess, Γ_max, varied from 2.40 to 3.66 μmol m⁻², while minimum area per molecule, A_min, varied from 41.1 (for amphoterics) to 81.4 Ų (for nonionic surfactants). The standard free energy of micellization, −29.8 and −29.3 kJ mol⁻¹ for anionic and amphoteric surfactants, respectively, were while values for nonionic surfactants varied between −31.8 and − 30.3 kJ mol⁻¹. The free energy of adsorption, was the lowest for amphoteric surfactants (−37.9 kJ mol⁻¹), followed by anionics (−40.4 kJ mol⁻¹) and nonionics (−43.34 to −46.84 kJ mol⁻¹), indicating that micellization process is spontaneous in the examined medium. The synthetized liquid soaps show pseudoplastic behavior and they achieved pipe flow. The results of this research indicate that flow behavior was affected significantly by the ionic charge of the surfactant and the ionic strength of the formulation, suggesting that the flow behavior could be changed by manipulating the choice of the surfactant and salinity. The pH value of all liquid soaps examined were weakly acidic, in the range of 5.0–6.4.     

Crystallization and spectroscopic properties in Er3+ doped oxyfluorogermanate glass ceramics containing Na

The Er³⁺ doped oxyfluorogermanate glasses, with a composition containing Na element, were synthesized by the conventional melting–quenching technique. When Na element was introduced into the composition of oxyfluorogermanate glass, the crystals behavior was investigated in details. Depending on the annealing procedure supplied, thermal annealing of precursor glasses in the system GeO₂/BaF₂/AlF₃/Na₂O/NaF/ZnO/GdF₃/ErF₃ led to the precipitation of different crystal phase nanocrystals. It was confirmed the nanocrystals in GC600 is orthorhombic NaBaAlF₆ which led to enhance obviously in the UC luminescence of Er³⁺. However, the nanocrystals in G585 led to decrease in the UC luminescence, which indicated few Er ions enter into the lattice of this nanocrystal phase. The reason of the decrease in UC emission intensity of GC585 was analyzed.     

Thermal and transport properties of as-grown Ni-rich TiNi shape memory alloys

Electrical resistivity, Seebeck coefficient, specific heat and thermal conductivity measurements on the Ti_50−xNi_50+x (x = 0.0–1.6 at.%) shape memory alloys are performed to investigate their thermal and transport properties. In this study, anomalous features are observed in both cooling and heating cycles in all measured physical properties of the slightly Ni-rich TiNi alloys (x ≤ 1.0), corresponds to the transformation between the B19′ martensite and B2 austenite phases. Besides, the transition temperature is found to decrease gradually with increasing Ni content, and the driving force for the transition is also found to diminish slowly with the addition of excess Ni, as revealed by specific heat measurements. While the signature of martensitic transformation vanishes for the Ni-rich TiNi alloys with x ≥ 1.3, the characteristics of strain glass transition start to appear. The Seebeck coefficients of these TiNi alloys were found to be positive, suggesting the hole-type carriers dominate the thermoelectric transport. From the high-temperature Seebeck coefficients, the estimated value of Fermi energy ranges from ∼1.5 eV (Ti_48.4Ni_51.6) to ∼2.1 eV (Ti₅₀Ni₅₀), indicating the metallic nature of these alloys. In addition, the thermal conductivity of the slightly Ni-rich TiNi alloys with x ≤ 1.0 shows a distinct anomalous feature at the B19′ → B2 transition, likely due to the variation in lattice thermal conductivity.