The effect of rice bran on physicochemical,textural and glycaemic properties of ready-to-eat extruded corn snacks

In this work, corn extruded snack products were enriched with rice bran (RB) at 10% and 15%. A co-rotating twin-screw extruder was used with a feed moisture content of 16 g 100 g⁻¹, a screw speed of 240 r.p.m. and four heating sections of the barrel (100, 140, 150 and 150 °C). The impact of RB inclusion on nutritional profile, starch digestion, physicochemical and textural properties of snack products was evaluated. RB-enriched extrudates showed a lower specific volume and hardness and higher crispness than control. RB at 15% gave a water-holding capacity lower than control. Rheology of extrudate dispersions indicated an increase in elastic interactions and solid-like behaviour with RB supplementation. Differences in rheological properties resulted in attenuation of predictive glycaemic response for RB-enriched snacks.     

sInfluence of starch and protein molecular interactions on the in vitro digestion characteristics of biscuits partially substituted with pulse flours

Recent research has shown that pulse-derived ingredients present a technological alternative to cereals, higher protein and fibre content, and differentiated starch characteristics. In this work, the partial substitution of pulse flours with and without heat moisture treatment (HMT) was evaluated in a biscuit model. The digestion residues at 20 and 120 min that correspond to rapidly, slowly and resistant starch from the Englyst methodology were analysed by DSC, X-Ray and ATR-FTIR. The use of pulse flours in biscuits improved their thermal stability (ΔH = 3.01 and 4.99 J/g for control and Lentil + HMT), preserving a fraction of particularly ling glucans, that influenced the decreasing in the rapidly available starch from 55.26 to 24.11 % (Control and Faba bean + HMT), and enhanced its protein's digestibility from 75.26 to 87.43 % for the same sources. Among pulses, there were similarities regarding their resistance to enzymatic hydrolysis that may help select those with better organoleptic attributes.     

In-situ methane enrichment of biogas from anaerobic digestion of palm oil mill effluent by addition of zero valent iron (ZVI)

Palm oil mill effluent (POME) is a wastewater effluent that is generated from palm oil milling. Treatment of POME, especially using biological treatment methods, is a challenge as it contains high amounts of organic and sulfur compounds, and it is highly acidic. In this research, the effects of zero-valent iron (ZVI) on the enhancement of methane production from POME via anaerobic digestion were investigated. Furthermore, to identify the reactor operation modes that were suitable for the addition of ZVI, anaerobic digestion of POME was tested in three reaction configurations: batch reactor, fed-batch reactor, and continuous stirred-tank reactor (CSTR). In the batch mode, where acidic POME was fed with 16 g/L of ZVI dose just once, methane production increased by 74%. However, as the oxidation of ZVI under anaerobic conditions led to the production of hydroxyl ions, the pH of the medium continuously increased from approximately 7 to 9, which is not suitable for methanogenesis. In the fed-batch mode that involved intermittent feeding of acidic POME, the pH of the culture media was maintained at 6.8. This is because the extra hydroxyl ions generated from the oxidation reaction of ZVI tended to neutralize the acids in the feeding substrate. In addition, ZVI promoted the production of methane from POME and increased the average methane content in biogas from 62% to 76%. In the CSTR mode, which involved continuous feeding of acidic POME, ZVI increased methane production by 86% (from 1.79 to 3.32 L/day), methane content in biogas from 60 to 75%, and total chemical oxygen demand (tCOD) removal efficiency from 78 to 89 to 88–95%. Thus, the addition of ZVI can be a potential strategy for in-situ methane enrichment of biogas by anaerobic digestion of POME. This is because ZVI acts as a buffer for acid generation and provides extra electrons, ferrous ions, and ferric ions, which promote key microbial activities in the anaerobic digestion process.     

Biohythane production from organic waste: Recent advancements,technical bottlenecks and prospects

The availability of fossil fuels is a major factor that determines the economy of a country. However, possible exhaustion of fossil fuel deposits as well as increased pollution, and other adverse effects on the environment has prompted us to search for alternative fuels. This resulted in the development of hythane, a blend of hydrogen with methane, at concentrations of 10%–30%. The breakdown of organic substrates using sequential dark fermentation (DF) and anaerobic digestion (AD) leads to biohythane production. The quality and quantity of biohythane can be improved by altering the following aspects: selection, development, and/or genetic engineering of suitable microbial consortium; the use of cheap, appropriate substrates; improved design of bioreactors; and the implementation of two-stage fermentation system. This review focusses on the mechanism of biohythane production and the different aspects involved in increasing both its production rate and quality. A comparative study has also been done to demonstrate the superiority of biohythane over other biofuels.     

基于多特定决策类的不完备决策系统正域约简

现有的属性约简方法大部分关注决策系统中的所有决策类，而在实际决策过程中决策者往往仅关注决策系统中的一种或几种决策类。针对上述问题，提出基于多特定决策类的不完备决策系统正域约简的理论框架。首先，给出不完备决策系统单特定决策类正域约简的概念；第二，将单特定决策类正域约简推广到多特定决策类，构造了相应的差别矩阵及区分函数；第三，分析并证明了相关定理，提出基于差别矩阵的不完备决策系统多特定决策类正域约简算法（PRMDM）；最后，选取4组UCI数据集进行实验。在数据集Teaching-assistant-evaluation、House、Connectionist-bench和Cardiotocography上，基于差别矩阵的不完备决策系正域约简算法（PRDM）的平均约简长度分别为4.00、13.00、9.00和20.00，PRMDM算法（多特定决策类中决策类数目为2）的平均约简长度分别为3.00、8.00、8.00和18.00。实验结果验证了PRMDM算法的有效性。     

Improved biogas yield from organic fraction of municipal solid waste as preliminary step for fuel cell technology and hydrogen generation

Biogas utilization in fuel cell technology and hydrogen generation is a modern and economically viable approach. A pretreatment step prior to anaerobic digestion (AD) is obligatory to increase the hydrolysis, solubilize the complex matter present in organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) and to achieve higher yield of biogas. This study was intended to find out the effects of thermal, chemical and thermochemical pretreatments on the properties and structure of OFMSW and also on biogas production. There was an increase in chemical oxygen demand of 6.87, 1.61 and 11.60% for thermal, chemical and thermochemical pretreatments, respectively. Also, the content of volatile solids was reduced by 2.36% by thermochemical pretreatment. FTIR, XRD and SEM analysis revealed that these pretreatments also caused chemical and morphological changes on the substrate, as a result reduced its crystallinity and enhanced the rate of hydrolysis. A significant increase of 54% in biogas yield was achieved after thermochemical pretreatment in comparison to untreated OFMSW sample.     

Bioaccessibility and antioxidant activity of phenolic compounds in cooked pulses

The aim of this study was to evaluate the bioaccessibility of polyphenols and antioxidant activity in cooked pulses and to study the effect of cooking on their total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant capacity. Cooked faba beans showed the highest TPC, followed by soybeans and lentils or peas. TPC ranged from 10.4 ± 0.2 to 52.9 ± 0.3 mg/100 g and was positively correlated with antioxidant activity. Cooking resulted in increased TPC and antioxidant activity of the methanolic extracts, caused by cell disruption and improved extraction of polyphenols. Although polyphenols were lost in the cooking water, boiled legumes had more polyphenols than those resulting cooking broths. In vitro gastrointestinal digestion resulted in increased TPC and antioxidant capacity of the extracts. Soybeans showed the highest amount of bioaccessible polyphenols. The release of phenolics from cooked legumes was mainly achieved during the intestinal phase. Literature data may underestimate the TPC and antioxidant capacity of pulses.     

电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱法测定土壤中8种组分

为满足土地质量调查的需求,实现土壤中多组分的同时消解及准确测定,提高大批量样品的分析效率,建立了土壤样品经高压密闭消解后,采用电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱法(ICP-AES)测定K₂O、Na₂O、CaO、MgO、Ba、Mn、Cu、Zn的方法。通过对消解体系、酸用量、消解温度等方面的考察,确定最佳实验条件;并对待测液中共存元素Al、Fe的干扰进行探讨,两者均不干扰测定。各组分校准曲线线性相关系数均大于0.999;检出限为0.01~10μg/g。实验方法用于测定土壤标准样品GBW07385、GBW07386、GBW07388中K₂O、Na₂O、CaO、MgO、Ba、Mn、Cu、Zn,测定结果的相对标准偏差(RSD,n=12)为1.1%~4.3%,相对误差RE为-4.0%~4.6%。采用实验方法对土壤实际样品中K₂O、Na₂O、CaO、MgO、Ba、Mn、Cu、Zn进行测定,结果的RSD(n=6)为1.2%~4.6%;并与地矿行业标准方法DZ/T 0279.2—2016测定结果进行比对,测得结果基本一致。     

Enhancing saccharification of Agave tequilana bagasse by oxidative delignification and enzymatic synergism for the production of hydrogen and methane

Agave tequilana bagasse is a suitable lignocellulosic residue for energy production. However, the presence of lignin and the heterogeneous structure of hemicellulose may hinder the availability of polysaccharides. In this work, the pretreatment of A. tequilana bagasse with alkaline hydrogen peroxide (AHP) followed by enzymatic saccharification with hemicellulases and cellulases was assessed for the removal of lignin and extraction of fermentable sugars, respectively. Results of the AHP pretreatment indicated that it is possible to attain up to 97% delignification and recover 88% of cellulose and hemicellulose after only 1.5 h of treatment. Regarding the saccharification process, the total sugar yield and productivity were both increased by 2-fold using an enzymatic mixture (cellulases + hemicellulases) compared to single enzyme hydrolysis (cellulases), evidencing synergism. Further evaluation of the hydrolyzates as substrate for hydrogen and methane production, resulted in yields 1.5 and 3.6-times (215.14 ± 13 L H₂ and 393.4 ± 13 L CH₄ per kg bagasse, respectively) superior to those obtained with hydrolyzates of non-pretreated bagasse processed with a single enzyme. Overall, using AHP pretreatment and subsequent hydrolysis with enzymatic mixtures improves the saccharification of A. tequilana bagasse enhancing the production of hydrogen and methane.     

Protein quality and antioxidant properties of soymilk derived from black soybean after in vitro simulated gastrointestinal digestion

Protein quality and antioxidant properties of soymilk derived from black soybean (eight varieties) in China were analysed following in vitro simulated gastrointestinal digestion (including dialysis). Soymilk from black soybean possessed high okara weight but low yield, protein content and sensory scores. The in vitro digestibility of protein in all black soymilk samples was higher than 60%, and the Shenmu black soybean exhibited the highest digestibility. Non-digested milk from the black soybean exhibited significantly high total phenolic content (TPC) (127.15–173.04 mg/100 mL), ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) (272.18–366.27 μmol L⁻¹) and DPPH free radical-scavenging activity (61.20–83.81%). These parameters were significantly lower in the non-digested soymilk than those in soymilk after gastric digestion but higher than those of soymilk in the dialysed fraction. Gastric digestion significantly increased bioactive compound levels released from black soymilk, and the bioaccessibility of phenolic compounds was 24.37–36.05%. Hence, black soymilk was sufficiently available for human absorption.