Influence of functional information on consumer liking and consumer perception related to health claims for blueberry functional beverages

The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of functional labelling on the consumers acceptability and purchase intentions of blueberry functional beverages (BFB). A 2‐day consumer acceptance test was conducted independently with functional information (n = 60) and without any information (n = 80). The presence of functional labelling did not influence the liking attributes of BFBs (P > 0.05). However, functional information positively affected consumer perception of health‐related perceptions associated with BFBs, such as ‘aiding eye health improvement’ and ‘eye fatigue relief’. Subjects perceived more health‐related perceptions when informed test was conducted. The first‐order effect was observed, in which the degree of the first‐order effect was greater for BFBs that had a thicker mouthfeel. Findings from the results can practically guide product developers and marketers in the functional drink industry by providing the strategy for how to evaluate reformulated functional beverages for the consumer acceptance test by warning a counter‐balanced sample presentation.     

Lycopene-rich cream obtained via high-pressure homogenisation of tomato processing residues in a water–oil mixture

Tomato processing residues are still rich in bioactive compounds that may be recovered and reused, with environmental and economic benefits. This short communication discloses for the first time that the high-pressure homogenisation (HPH) treatment of tomato residues in the presence of water and sunflower oil is able to promote the extraction of bioactive compounds concurrently to the formation of an oil-in-water emulsion stabilised by the micronized residues. The mechanical disruption effect of HPH improved the mass transfer of lycopene into the oil phase, and formed fine fibrous debris, improving stabilisation and visual appearance of the emulsion. Results showed a progressive increase of lycopene concentration in the cream phase up to 5 HPH passes and a concurrent reduction of its content in the pellet. Total polyphenols content and antioxidant activity in the aqueous phase gradually decreased when increasing the number of passes, suggesting their progressive transfer in the cream phase. The proposed process that relies on a purely physical treatment and uses only water/sunflower oil as extraction media resulted in the production of a lycopene-rich cream of potential use as a functional food ingredient.     

Tailoring Wetting Properties at Extremes States to Obtain Antifogging Functionality

Fog formation decreases light transmission of optically clear materials. A promising approach to address this problem is to control the wetting properties of the material at extremes states, which requires imparting micro and nano morphology features on the surface. However, such features may affect the optical properties of the surface. In this work, superhydrophobic and superhydrophilic surfaces, with different morphology characteristics ranging from nanoscale to hierarchical micro-nanoscale are fabricated and evaluated in order to investigate which wetting extreme and surface morphology is more suitable to preserve the light-transmitting properties and exhibit antifogging functionalities. The performance of the aforementioned surfaces is compared for the first time in two different testing modes: under intense fog flow and no surface cooling, and under no-flow and surface cooling, which enhances dew condensation on the surfaces. It is demonstrated that superhydrophilic surfaces with nanoscale morphology maintain their optical transmittance under fog flow for more than 20 min. This duration is one of the longest reported in the literature revealing the long-term antifogging functionality of the proposed surfaces. Finally, by tailoring the morphology and the surface wetting properties, an optically switching surface (initially “milky” which becomes “clear”) when exposed to humidity is demonstrated.     

Direct Growth of Germanene at Interfaces between Van der Waals Materials and Ag(111)

Germanene, a 2D honeycomb germanium crystal, is grown at graphene/Ag(111) and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN)/Ag(111) interfaces by segregating germanium atoms. A simple annealing process in N₂ or H₂/Ar at ambient pressure leads to the formation of germanene, indicating that an ultrahigh-vacuum condition is not necessary. The grown germanene is stable in air and uniform over the entire area covered with a van der Waals (vdW) material. As an important finding, it is necessary to use a vdW material as a cap layer for the present germanene growth method since the use of an Al₂O₃ cap layer results in no germanene formation. The present study also proves that Raman spectroscopy in air is a powerful tool for characterizing germanene at the interfaces, which is concluded by multiple analyses including first-principles density functional theory calculations. The direct growth of h-BN-capped germanene on Ag(111), which is demonstrated in the present study, is considered to be a promising technique for the fabrication of future germanene-based electronic devices.     

Amaranth functional cookies exert potential antithrombotic and antihypertensive activities

In this study, amaranth flour was used as an ingredient to prepare gluten-free cookies. The production process and attributes of amaranth cookies were characterised, and the potential use of amaranth flour as a functional ingredient was analysed. Cookies exhibited a non-uniform reddish brown colour and a cookie factor ratio of 4.5 ± 0.6. Storage studies indicated that after 3 weeks at room temperature cookies presented slight variations in the texture. Simulated gastrointestinal digestion of this product was able to release peptides capable of exerting potential antithrombotic and antihypertensive activities, IC₅₀ values of 0.22 ± 0.04 and 0.23 ± 0.03 mg mL⁻¹ protein, respectively. This work demonstrates for the first time that food made with amaranth flour exerts potential antithrombotic and antihypertensive activity. In conclusion, these amaranth cookies could be an alternative way of incorporating potentially health beneficial products for people who choose a conscious diet, including coeliac or vegan consumers.     

Improving the homogeneity and properties of ferrous powder mixes by a novel powder mixing process

Fe-2Cu-0.8C powder mixes were prepared by a wet mixing and spray-drying process using iron, copper, graphite and zinc stearate as main raw materials, and stearic acid, alcohol wax and amide wax as binders. The properties of the as-prepared binder treated powder mixes were investigated. The bonding efficiency of the binders was tested by measure the retention of graphite and copper in the powder mixes after dusting resistance test. The test results show that the wet mixing and spray-drying process can realise the bonding of different particles and improve processing properties of the powder mixes. A flow rate of 30.6?s/50?g and an apparent density of 3.18?g/cm³ were obtained for powder mixes with alcohol wax as binder. The results of dusting resistance test demonstrated that alcohol wax and amide wax have better bonding effect for Cu and graphite powders, respectively, which was reflected by the difference value of electronegativity between Fe, Cu, C elements and functional groups. Compared with mechanically mixing powder mixes, using binder treated powder mixes can also reduce the friction coefficient during compaction by 0.012–0.026. The addition of different binders also has a great influence on the properties of sintered parts.     

基于滑模变结构控制的路径跟踪研究

为解决锅炉水冷壁磨损检测机器人的路径跟踪问题,提出了一种基于指数趋近律的滑模变结构控制的机器人路径跟踪方法。在水冷壁磨损检测机器人运动模型的基础上,进行路径跟踪误差分析,设计一种基于指数趋近律的滑模变结构控制器,再利用Lyapunov定理验证其收敛性,最后通过MATLAB软件模拟仿真,仿真结果表明该控制器可以克服误差,使位姿误差收敛至零。