Inorganic-organic hybrid molecular architectures of cyanometalate host and organic guest systems: specific behavior of the guests

Molecular architectures built of inorganic cyanometalate building blocks provide variegated host structures with several organic guest molecules. The strategies to derive novel structures are presented briefly. The formation of a charge-transfer (CT) complex as the guest inside the cavity and the photochemistry of the CT complexes are discussed. The chemical pressure that the guest experiences inside the cavity is also discussed based on the vibrational spectroscopic results.     

Rheological flow models of banana peel pectin jellies as affected by sugar concentration

In the present study, peel pectin jellies (PPJ) were isolated from banana peel Musa acuminata Colla (AAA, cv ‘Berangan’) varieties using water bath extraction; five jellies were produced, namely, PPJ_68%, PPJ_70%, PPJ_71%, PPJ_72%, and PPJ_76%. The effect of sugar content on the rheology of the PPJ and commercial fruit jelly was conducted at 25°C within 0.05–100 s^?1 shear rate. Flow behaviour was evaluated on the test dispersions while frequency sweeps (E_a) to obtain the viscoelastic (G’ and G”) were performed on the jellies. PPJ dispersion showed shear thinning flow behaviour, a good fit to the Casson model. Sugar concentration does not affect Casson parameters (K_c, K_oc, ?_ca, and σ_oc). Frequency sweep decreased as viscosity increased which revealed high dependence for both G’ and G”. Tan δ for PPJ was more than unity which showed that jelly has less elastic properties. PPJ with the lowest sugar concentration, PPJ_68%, conducted at a high shear rate showed it was compatible with validation of the Cox–Merz rule.     

Relationship among collagen amount, distribution and architecture in the M. longissimus thoracis and M. pectoralis profundus from pigs

The relative distribution of types I and III collagens and collagen fibre architecture in the perimysium and endomysium were compared to the longissimus thoracis (LT) and pectoralis profundus (PP) muscles in pigs. The LT muscle was composed of type I myofibres 16.8%, IIA 12.9% and IIB 70.2%, and the PP muscle was 25.4, 23.1 and 51.5%, respectively. The total collagen amount differed significantly between the LT (2.66 mg/g) and PP (4.13 mg/g) muscle (P<0.001). On image analysis of the immunohistochemical preparations for types I and III collagens, the percentage area of the perimysium to the total collagen area showed significant differences between the muscles, where perimysial type I collagen occupied 25.4% of the total area in the LT muscle and 45.7% in the PP and perimysial type III 37.6 and 54.5%, respectively (P<0.001). In scanning electron microscopic photographs of the macerated preparation, very thick collagen layers composed of several fibre bands were observed in the perimysia of the PP muscle and appeared differently from the thinner perimysia with a few bands in the LT. Similar architecture of endomysial collagen fibres were observed around every myofibre type in the PP muscle and also in the LT. The fine surface cover of reticular collagen fibres around an adipocyte was shown as a global cast. These results suggested that the total collagen amount of the PP muscle was related mainly to the well developed perimysia composed of several collagen bands, indicating tougher meat compared with the LT muscle.