Incorporation of Chlorella vulgaris and Spirulina maxima biomass in pasta products. Part 1: Preparation and evaluation

BACKGROUND: Microalgae are able to enhance the nutritional content of conventional foods and hence to positively affect human health, due to their original chemical composition. The aim of the present study was to prepare fresh spaghetti enriched with different amounts of microalgae biomass (Chlorella vulgaris and Spirulina maxima) and to compare the quality parameters (optimal cooking time, cooking losses, swelling index and water absorption), chemical composition, instrumental texture and colour of the raw and cooked pasta enriched with microalgae biomass with standard semolina spaghetti. RESULTS: The incorporation of microalgae results in an increase of quality parameters when compared to the control sample. The colour of microalgae pastas remained relatively stable after cooking. The addition of microalgae resulted in an increase in the raw pasta firmness when compared to the control sample. Of all the microalgae studied, an increase in the biomass concentration (0.5–2.0%) resulted in a general tendency of an increase in the pasta firmness. Sensory analysis revealed that microalgae pastas had higher acceptance scores by the panellists than the control pasta. CONCLUSION: Microalgae pastas presented very appellative colours, such as orange and green, similar to pastas produced with vegetables, with nutritional advantages, showing energetic values similar to commercial pastas. The use of microalgae biomass can enhance the nutritional and sensorial quality of pasta, without affecting its cooking and textural properties. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry     

Surface evaluation of whey protein films by atomic force microscopy and water vapour permeability analysis

The atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique is a powerful tool for studying surfaces and has been used to provide qualitative and quantitative information about nanometer‐scale matter properties that are often inaccessible by any other experimental technique. In this work AFM was used to evaluate the surfaces of edible films produced with whey protein concentrate (WPC). The morphology and the roughness of the films were analysed. The effects of WPC and plasticizer concentration were characterized in terms of water vapour permeability (WVP) and roughness parameters. Roughness was calculated through the images captured with AFM. AFM can be useful to identify structural changes of the film resulting from sample preparation. The results showed a relation between water vapour permeability and area roughness, through different sample preparation. The analyses of topography through roughness obtained with AFM, demonstrated the correlation between the morphology of the film, obtained with nanometer resolution and WVP. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Recent Advances in Nanoparticle-Mediated Diagnosis and the Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer (PC), one of the most lethal solid tumors in humans, has a five-year survival rate of only 4%. Surgical treatment is the only accepted therapy with curative intent because the vast majority of these tumors are chemoresistant. Unfortunately, due to the aggressive nature of these tumors, fewer than 20% are resectable when the first symptoms occur. Novel therapies are required to overcome all these therapeutic issues, and the development of active nanocarriers represents an exciting opportunity to improve PC outcomes. The present review focuses on recent advances in the field of nanotechnology with application in PC treatment.     

A kinetic model for bleaching vegetable oils

Very little data and very few kinetic models are available describing and evaluating the performance of bleaching processes, earths, and equipment. This work presents a general kinetic model for the adsorption of pigments by adsorbent earths in several edible oils. It reports the kinetic parameters found for two bleaching earths (one developed in the laboratory and one commercial) for the clarification of soybean oil, as well as their activation energies. The proposed kinetic model is second order in the dimensionless pigment concentration and is in good agreement with our experimental data. A very simple mechanistic explanation based on adsorption/deactivation is offered to justify its application. We also present mathematical modeling based on balance equations to show how the kinetic parameters can be used for bleaching earths and for industrial equipment evaluation and design, such as for the transient fed-batch stirred bleaching vessel. The model seems appropriate to represent data under different operating conditions such as temperature and adsorbent load. The simulation shows that startup procedures are very important in the bleaching process—at least as important as the batch step, in which the oil color reaches its desired standard.     

Theoretical evaluation of the influence of geometric parameters and materials on the behavior of the airflow in a solar chimney

An analytical and numerical study of the unsteady airflow inside a solar chimney was performed. The conservation and transport equations that describe the flow were modeled and solved numerically using the finite volumes technique in generalized coordinates. The numerical results were physically validated through comparison with the experimental data. The developed model was used for airflow simulation in solar chimneys with operational and geometric configurations different from those found in the experimental prototype. Analysis showed that the height and diameter of the tower are the most important physical variables for solar chimney design.     

Thermal cis-trans isomerization and photofading of some azo dyes in poly(ethylene terephthalate) matrices: A kinetic study

The thermal cis-trans isomerization of azo dyes XC₆H₄N=NC₆H₄N(C₂H₅)₂ (where X is H, OCH₃, CN, and NO₂) in poly(ethylene terephthalate) matrices, below the glass transition temperature, and in dibutylphthalate solutions has been studied kinetically in the temperature range 20–60°C. Kinetic behavior in the polymer is characterized by two or three simultaneous first-order processes with similar activation enthalpies. These processes reflect an unequal distribution of “tie-molecules,” “folds,” and “cilia” in the amorphous region of the polymer. Lightfastness of the dyes in poly(ethylene terephthalate) films has been investigated. Polymer morphology strongly affected the photofading, but no significant influence was observed in the kinetic experiments.