Effects of high hydrostatic pressure on the structure and retrogradation inhibition of oat starch

As a non-thermal processing technology, high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) can be used for starch modification without affecting the quality and flavour constituents. The effect of HHP on starch is closely related to the treatment pressure of HHP. In this paper, we investigated the impacts of HHP treatment pressure (0, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600 MPa) on the microstructure and retrogradation characteristics of oat starch, established the retrogradation kinetic model and elaborated the mechanism of HHP treatment inhibiting the retrogradation of oat starch. Results show that HHP treatment caused the microstructure of oat starch experienced crystallisation perfection (100–300 MPa), crystallisation destruction (400 MPa), crystallisation disintegration and gelatinisation (500–600 MPa). Results of oat starch retrogradation showed that, after treated at 500 MPa for 15 min, the recrystallisation rate of oat starch was reduced, the formation of nuclei at the early stage of oat starch retrogradation suppressed and its nucleation mode was changed from instantaneous to spontaneous, otherwise, the mobility of water in oat starch gel system reduced. Therefore, 500 MPa treated for 15 min can inhibits the retrogradation of oat starch. This study provides theoretical guidance for the application of HHP technology in starch modification and food processing.     

Lactobacillus plantarum ZLC-18 fermentation improve tyrosinase inhibition activity and antioxidant capacity in soybean hulls

Soybean hulls, the main byproduct in soybean processing, have many biological activities. However, the value of this byproduct is still far from being fully exploited. In this study, we investigated the anti-tyrosinase and antioxidant capacities in soybean hulls fermented by Lactobacillus plantarum ZLC-18 (L. plantarum ZLC-18). We found that L. plantarum ZLC-18 fermentation could markedly improve the anti-tyrosinase and antioxidant activities of soybean hulls. The anti-tyrosinase and antioxidant activities were positively correlated with the total phenolic and flavonoid contents. UPLC–MS analysis suggested that phenolic compounds (daidzin, genistin, vanillic acid and so on) were increased in soybean hulls after fermentation, and some of these compounds were shown to have anti-tyrosinase and antioxidant activities. Our study demonstrates that fermentation is an efficient strategy to enhance the bioactive function of soybean hulls. Moreover, this study provides evidence that soybean hulls can be used as a kind of functional food ingredient, thereby improving their economic benefits.     

Mechanism in chlorine-enhanced Pd catalyst for H2O2 in situ synthesis in electro-Fenton system

Palladium-based catalysts have been widely employed in the electro-Fenton process for in situ generation of H₂O₂. However, the process is still far from being practical on a large scale. In this work, a series of Cl_xFePd/γ-Al₂O₃/Al catalysts were prepared by a three-step-impregnation method. They exhibited excellent activity in H₂O₂ in situ synthesis and high efficiency in phenol degradation. The characterization results showed that Cl could assist in increasing the content of Pd⁰ and reducing the isoelectric point of catalysts, which led to the drastic promotion in the synthesis of H₂O₂. Theoretical calculations further demonstrated that Cl doping could facilitate the main reaction in H₂O₂ synthesis, as well as inhibit side reactions such as dissociation of the O O bond. Furthermore, kinetic models were proposed and fitted. A plausible reaction mechanism as well as degradation pathways were elaborated based on electron spin resonance and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry results. These findings illustrate the value of palladium-based Cl_xFePd/γ-Al₂O₃/Al catalysts for their application in the electro-Fenton process.     

A Hybrid Model Integrating Elman Neural Network with Variational Mode Decomposition and Box–Cox Transformation for Monthly Runoff Time Series Prediction

Water Resources Management - Precise and reliable monthly runoff prediction plays a vital role in the optimal management of water resources, but the nonstationarity and skewness of monthly runoff...     

The physicochemical and fire extinguishing performance of aqueous film-forming foams based on a class of short-chain fluorinated surfactants

Aqueous film-forming foams (AFFFs) are an important for fire extinguishing, and their key ingredient is fluorinated surfactant. In recent years, traditional long-chain fluorinated surfactants have been banned by most countries because of their persistence, bio-accumulation and toxicity. Therefore, increased attention has been paid to the research and development of short-chain fluorinated surfactants. As is well known, the introduction of hydrophilic or hydrophobic groups in a surfactant affects its surface activity, and therefore, the fire extinguishing performance of AFFFs. In this work, a series of short-chain fluorosurfactant-based AFFFs with different hydrophobic chain lengths were prepared. The physicochemical performance of mixed systems (fluorinated surfactant plus sodium hexanesulfonate), including surface activity, spreading ability, foam expansion, drainage time, and the fire extinguishing and burn-back performance of AFFFs were studied. The results show that the critical micelle concentration (CMC) and the surface tension (γ_CMC) at the CMC of mixed systems at 25°C are lower than 7.68 mmol/L and 16.51 mN/m, respectively. For mixed systems, the average spreading rate is more than 1.09 cm/s, the foam expansion is over 7.1, and the drainage time is greater than 3.28 min. The fire extinguishing time of AFFFs on fuels is less than 51 s while the burn-back time is more than 15.18 min. The results imply a potential application prospect of the short-chain fluorinated surfactants in AFFFs.     

Pattern design and optimization of yarn-dyed plaid fabric using isolation niche genetic algorithm and rough set theory

Under the circumstance of perceptual consumption, it is still challenging to grasp consumer's emotions and demands due to the large search space, diversified preferences, and easy fatigue of consumers. To reduce user fatigue and enlarge search space, a novel method was presented to design and optimize the pattern of yarn-dyed plaid fabric using the isolation niche genetic algorithm and rough set theory. Each pattern was encoded as a chromosome based on the real number code. The population was initialized and evolved using INGA to maintain the diversity. The rough set theory was adopted as the fitness function of isolation niche genetic algorithm to extract the consumer's demands. After multiple evolutions, a large set of practical patterns of the yarn-dyed plaid fabric are obtained. Experiments were carried out by 24 testers of different ages and genders. The results prove that the proposed method based on the isolation niche genetic algorithm and rough set theory is feasible and effective, supplying references to the designer.