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.     

Solid state reactions between SiC and Ir

Reactivity between SiC and Ir as a function of SiC-crystallinity was investigated by diffusion bonding technique under a vacuum and over the temperature range of 1200–1450 °C. As reaction products, various Ir-silicides and free unreacted-C were detected. Reactivity is strongly affected by the temperature and SiC-crystallinity involving a series of interactions, from “no reaction” to “massive exothermic reactions”. In particular, interfacial phenomena are more pronounced by the presence of defects and grain boundaries.Solid state reactions result in formation of fine C-precipitates rearranged in a quasi-periodic microstructure. On the contrary, clustering of highly ordered C-precipitates (C-graphitized) occurs after “massive reactions” take place.A relationship between the degree of graphitization (from 1 to multi-layers of graphene), temperature and SiC crystallinity was found by Raman spectroscopy. 2D-layering phenomenon is enhanced in polycrystalline SiC at high temperature.     

Mo–Si–B alloys for ultra-high-temperature space and ground applications: liquid-assisted fabrication under various temperature and time conditions

Journal of Materials Science - Boron-doped molybdenum silicides have been already recognized as attractive candidates for space and ground ultra-high-temperature applications far beyond limits of...     

A new approach to evaluating the toxicity and genotoxicity of disinfected drinking water

The aim of this study was to evaluate the formation of toxic and genotoxic compounds in surface drinking waters treated with two widely used disinfectants, sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) and chlorine dioxide (ClO(2)), and a new disinfectant, peracetic acid (PAA). For this purpose a pilot plant was set up to add these biocides continuously to pre-filtered lake water flowing into three different basins. During three seasonal experiments, short-term in vivo tests (with plant, fish and molluscs) and in vitro tests (with bacteria, yeast and human cells) were carried out to evaluate the formation of genotoxic disinfection by-products (DBPs). Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was used to identify DBPs produced during the different treatments, microbiological analyses were performed to test the biocidal activity of the disinfectants, and chemical analyses were carried out to evaluate the quality of the water. The pilot drinking water plant under study was useful in studying the toxicity and genotoxicity of disinfected drinking water with this combined chemical/biotoxicological approach. This paper describes the setting up of the pilot plant and sets out/reports the results of the microbiological and chemical analyses.     

Multidrug Idebenone/Naproxen Co-loaded Aspasomes for Significant in vivo Anti-inflammatory Activity

The use of proper nanocarriers for dermal and transdermal delivery of anti-inflammatory drugs recently gained several attentions in the scientific community because they pass intact and accumulate payloads in the deepest layers of skin tissue. Ascorbyl palmitate-based vesicles (aspasomes) can be considered a promising nanocarrier for dermal and transdermal delivery due to their skin whitening properties and suitable delivery of payloads through the skin. The aim of this study was the synthesis of multidrug Idebenone/naproxen co-loaded aspasomes for the development of an effective anti-inflammatory nanomedicine. Aspasomes had suitable physicochemical properties and were safe in vivo if topically applied on human healthy volunteers. Idebenone/naproxen co-loaded aspasomes demonstrated an increased therapeutic efficacy of payloads compared to the commercially available Naprosyn® gel, with a rapid decrease of chemical-induced erythema on human volunteers. These promising results strongly suggested a potential application of Idebenone/naproxen multidrug aspasomes for the development of an effective skin anti-inflammatory therapy.     

Synthesis and Antiplasmodial Activity of Novel Chloroquine Analogues with Bulky Basic Side Chains

Chloroquine is commonly used in the treatment and prevention of malaria, but Plasmodium falciparum, the main species responsible for malaria‐related deaths, has developed resistance against this drug. Twenty‐seven novel chloroquine (CQ) analogues characterized by a side chain terminated with a bulky basic head group, i.e., octahydro‐2H‐quinolizine and 1,2,3,4,5,6‐hexahydro‐1,5‐methano‐8H‐pyrido[1,2‐a][1,5]diazocin‐8‐one, were synthesized and tested for activity against D‐10 (CQ‐susceptible) and W‐2 (CQ‐resistant) strains of P. falciparum. Most compounds were found to be active against both strains with nanomolar or sub‐micromolar IC₅₀ values. Eleven compounds were found to be 2.7‐ to 13.4‐fold more potent than CQ against the W‐2 strain; among them, four cytisine derivatives appear to be of particular interest, as they combine high potency with low cytotoxicity against two human cell lines (HMEC‐1 and HepG2) along with easier synthetic accessibility. Replacement of the 4‐NH group with a sulfur bridge maintained antiplasmodial activity at a lower level, but produced an improvement in the resistance factor. These compounds warrant further investigation as potential drugs for use in the fight against malaria.     

Autochthonous white grape pomaces as bioactive source for functional jams

Seeds and skins from grape pomaces of Pecorello and Mantonico cv underwent extraction (ultrasound–assisted or maceration), in order to obtain added-value ingredients for the production of a functional pear jam. The antioxidant features of the extracts were tested by in vitro colorimetric assays. Among seeds, Mantonico by maceration (MSC) showed the best results, as well as Mantonico by ultrasound-assisted extraction (MBs) among skin extracts. The selected extracts were fully characterised by NMR and MS techniques, confirming the presence of many polyphenols, flavonoids and tannins among others. Pectin was then derivatised by the grafting procedure with the active molecules of MBs and MSC. The latter produced the best antioxidant polymer also without toxicity evaluated using Caco-2 cells and was used for the jam preparation. The functional pear jam showed improved antioxidant performances in comparison with its non-functional counterparts as well as its maintenance over time (15 days).     

Water soluble trehalose-derived oligoamides

A new family of oligotrehaluronamides was synthesized through the polycondensation of α,α-trehaluronic acid dimethyl ester and different diamines or polyamines. In particular, diamines with different molecular structure (1,n-alkylene diamines, aromatic diamine, and alkyleneoxydiamine) were used in order to modulate the molecular weights and the physical characteristics of the products, such as T_g, hydrophilic or hydrophobic properties, and solubility. α,α-Trehaluronic acid was obtained from a renewable source as α,α-trehalose. The syntheses of oligotrehaluronamides were carried out in different solvents such as ethanol, methanol, THF and DMSO, using triethylamine as catalyst. All the compounds obtained in this study were characterized through FT-IR and NMR spectroscopy. The molecular weights were evaluated by ¹H-NMR and in some cases compared with those obtained from ESI-MS spectrometry. Glass transition temperatures and melting points were detected by differential scanning calorimetry. Low molecular weight oligoamides, containing several hydroxyl groups, are water-soluble and could be used in water-based formulations.