Influence of addition of green tea and green coffee extracts on the properties of fine yeast pastry fried products

This study investigated the influence of antioxidants of green tea aqueous extract (GTE) and green coffee aqueous extract (GCE) in concentrations of 0.25, 0.5 and 1 g·100 g^? 1 on the nutritional properties of fine yeast pastry fried products such as donuts. Yeast donuts were made according to the traditional processing technology. In fried donuts physical properties (water activity, pH, hardness and color with the use of instrumental methods) as well as sensory properties were established. Moreover, quality of fat extracted from donuts (composition of fatty acids and peroxide value), content of acrylamide, composition of polyphenols and antioxidant activity were analyzed. Obtained extracts of GTE and GCE contained 26 and 41% of polyphenols, respectively, and the degree of polyphenol degradation during production of donuts was less when the dilution in dough was greater. Both tests indicated that the highest antioxidant activity had donuts with the highest analyzed addition of extract, however depending on the applied test or GTE or GCE had better antioxidant properties. Fatty acid composition was the most beneficial when the addition of GTE and GCE was on a level of 0.25 and 0.5 g·100 g^? 1, respectively. In fried donuts relatively low amounts of acrylamide were obtained, amounting to 18–46 μg·kg^? 1. Only the lowest addition of GTE and the highest addition of GCE caused an increase of acrylamide content in donuts, while all other levels of added extracts caused a decrease in the content of formed acrylamide.     

Optimizing Grid-Based Workflow Execution

Large-scale applications can be expressed as a set of tasks with data dependencies between them, also known as application workflows. Due to the scale and data processing requirements of these applications, they require Grid computing and storage resources. So far, the focus has been on developing easy to use interfaces for composing these workflows and finding an optimal mapping of tasks in the workflow to the Grid resources in order to minimize the completion time of the application. After this mapping is done, a workflow execution engine is required to run the workflow over the mapped resources. In this paper, we show that the performance of the workflow execution engine in executing the workflow can also be a critical factor in determining the workflow completion time. Using Condor as the workflow execution engine, we examine the various factors that affect the completion time of a fine granularity astronomy workflow. We show that changing the system parameters that influence these factors and restructuring the workflow can drastically reduce the completion time of this class of workflows. We also examine the effect on the optimizations developed for the astronomy application on a coarser granularity biology application. We were able to reduce the completion time of the Montage and the Tomography application workflows by 90% and 50%, respectively.     

Defect depth profiling after sphere indentation and blasting in aluminum and aluminum alloy detected by positron annihilation

The paper presents the experimental results of positron annihilation measurements of the subsurface zones in aluminum and aluminum alloy exposed to the indentation of the small steel ball or blasting by the silicon carbide particles. The measurements of the Doppler broadening of the annihilation line and positron lifetime (PL) enabled the depth profile of open volume defects induced by indentation and blasting processes to be obtained. The coincidence of the von Mises criterion for yield with the onset of the increase of the defect concentration at certain depth was detected. It was established that the defects created in the pure aluminum and the aluminum alloy detected by positrons are different. However, the kinds of induced defects do not change with depth. The PL measurements indicate the presence of vacancy clusters in samples exposed to blasting. The vacancy clusters created in the aluminum alloy are larger than in the pure aluminum.     

Quantification of Protein‐Induced Membrane Remodeling Kinetics In Vitro with Lipid Multilayer Gratings

The dynamic self‐organization of lipids in biological systems is a highly regulated process that enables the compartmentalization of living systems at micro‐ and nanoscopic scales. Consequently, quantitative methods for assaying the kinetics of supramolecular remodeling such as vesicle formation from planar lipid bilayers or multilayers are needed to understand cellular self‐organization. Here, a new nanotechnology‐based method for quantitative measurements of lipid–protein interactions is presented and its suitability for quantifying the membrane binding, inflation, and budding activity of the membrane‐remodeling protein Sar1 is demonstrated. Lipid multilayer gratings are printed onto surfaces using nanointaglio and exposed to Sar1, resulting in the inflation of lipid multilayers into unilamellar structures, which can be observed in a label‐free manner by monitoring the diffracted light. Local variations in lipid multilayer volume on the surface is used to vary substrate availability in a microarray format. A quantitative model is developed that allows quantification of binding affinity (K _D) and kinetics (k_on and k_off). Importantly, this assay is uniquely capable of quantifying membrane remodeling. Upon Sar1‐induced inflation of single bilayers from surface supported multilayers, the semicylindrical grating lines are observed to remodel into semispherical buds when a critical radius of curvature is reached.     

Time dependence of bioactive compounds and antioxidant capacity during germination of different cultivars of broccoli and radish seeds

Optimisation of the germination process of different cultivars of broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica cv. Lucky, cv. Tiburon and cv. Belstar) and radish (Raphanus sativus cv. Rebel and cv. Bolide) seeds in relation to the content of glucosinolates (GLS), vitamin C and total antioxidant capacity was carried out in order to maximise the health-promoting properties of Brassica sprouts. The content of total and individual GLS varied between species, among cultivars, and germination time. Glucoraphanin in broccoli and glucoraphenin in radish were the predominant GLS in raw seeds (61–77 and 63–129 μmol/g DM, respectively) and, although their content decreased during germination, they were maintained in rather large proportions in sprouts. Vitamin C was not detected in raw seeds and its content increased sharply in broccoli and radish sprouts (162–350 and 84–113 mg/100 g DM, respectively). Raw brassica seeds are an excellent source of antioxidant capacity (64–90 and 103–162 μmol Trolox/g DM in broccoli and radish, respectively) and germination led to a sharp increase. Germination of broccoli cv. Belstar and radish cv. Rebel for 4 days provided the largest glucoraphanin and glucoraphenin content, respectively, and also brought about large amounts of vitamin C and antioxidant capacity.     

Technique, muscle activity and kinematic differences in young adults texting on mobile phones

The aim of this study was to investigate whether there are differences in technique between young adults with and without musculoskeletal symptoms when using a mobile phone for texting and whether there are differences in muscle activity and kinematics between different texting techniques. A total of 56 young adults performed a standardised texting task on a mobile phone. Their texting techniques were registered using an observation protocol. The muscular activity in six muscles in the right forearm/hand and both shoulders were registered by surface electromyography and the thumb abduction/adduction and flexion/extension were registered using a biaxial electrogoniometer. Differences in texting techniques were found between the symptomatic and the asymptomatic group, with a higher proportion of sitting with back support and forearm support and with a neutral head position in the asymptomatic group. Differences in muscle activity and kinematics were also found between different texting techniques. The differences in texting technique between symptomatic and asymptomatic subjects cannot be explained by them having symptoms but may be a possible contribution to their symptoms. STATEMENT OF RELEVANCE: There has been a dramatically increased use of mobile phones for texting especially among young people during the last years. A better understanding of the physical exposure associated with the intensive use is important in order to prevent the development of musculoskeletal disorders and decreased work ability related to this use.     

Characteristics of Polypeptide/Phospholipid Monolayers on Water and the Plasma-Activated Polyetheretherketone Support

Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is a highly biocompatible polymer widely used in medicine as an implant production material. In this article, the PEEK surface was characterized in terms of its wettabillity properties after the physicochemical modifications by treatment with the low-temperature air plasma and covering with the Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) monolayers of polypeptide (cyclosporine A, CsA) and/or phospholipid (1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, DPPC). The LB deposition was preceded by the analysis of miscibility and morphology of monolayers at the air/water interface by means of the Langmuir technique and Brewster angle microscopy (BAM). Then, wettability of the polymer-supported films was evaluated by the contact angle measurements of three probe liquids of different characters (two polar—water and formamide, one apolar—diiodomethane). The measured contact angles allowed for determination of the surface free energy and its components based on the Lifshitz-van der Waals/acid–base (LWAB) approach. Some relations between the kind and magnitude of interactions within the model membranes on the water subphase and those of the PEEK-supported membranes with the liquids were found out. The results allowed obtaining the interesting models of biological coatings with potential applications.     

Calcium Phosphate Materials Prepared from Precipitates with Various Calcium:Phosphorus Molar Ratios

Depending on the calcium:phosphorus molar ratio of the initial precipitates determined by precipitation conditions (calcium:phosphorus molar ratio of reactants and pH of reaction environment), after sintering at 1250°C, monophase, biphase, or triphase ceramics consisting of hydroxyapatite, β-tricalcium phosphate, α-tricalcium phosphate, and calcium oxide were obtained. The phase composition and properties—i.e., density, shrinkage, hardness, bending strength, and roughness—of the fractured surfaces of the isostatically re-pressed sinters were determined.     

Application of new oligomeric plasticizers based on waste poly(ethylene terephthalate) for poly(vinyl chloride) compositions

In this study, chemical recycling products of waste poly(ethylene terephthalate) with oligoesters were used as new plasticizers for poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC). The preparation conditions of the dry blend mixtures of the suspension PVC containing synthesised plasticizers were similar to the conditions of the preparing mixtures with commercial plasticizers. The plasticization efficiency of PVC plasticizers was then examined by analysis of the mechanical, physical and chemical properties, as well as the thermal resistance and migration of plasticizer molecules from polymer matrix. Test results proved that compositions with synthesised oligomeric plasticizers possessed similar or better properties than those containing commercial oligomeric plasticizers and much better properties than those having monomeric plasticizers. Thermal stabilities of the proposed plasticizers were higher than those of the commercial plasticizers either monomeric (bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate) or oligomeric, despite the fact that the synthesised oligoesters did not contain any antioxidant. The best properties, especially low volatility, very good mechanical properties, low migration were resulted of the transesterification of the waste PET with oligoesters based on adipic acid, triethylene glycol and 2-ethylhexanol which were selected as plasticizers synthesised on the technical scale. The tested plasticized PVC compositions possessed very good tear resistance, tensile strength, decrease of weight loss after 168 h at 80 °C and low migration. Processing properties of PVC compositions containing these synthesised plasticizers confirmed their effectiveness in these compositions for extrusion process.     

Functional Properties and Oxidative Stability of Flaxseed Oil Microencapsulated by Spray Drying Using Legume Proteins in Combination with Soluble Fiber or Trehalose

The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of double wall material combinations, using legume protein (soy protein isolate and pea protein isolate) in combination with wheat dextrin soluble fiber or trehalose, as alternative materials for microencapsulation of flaxseed oil by spray drying. The obtained preparations, with oil content of 35%, were fine and difficult flowing powders, regardless of their composition. The 1% addition of silica to the powders significantly reduced their cohesiveness and improved their flowability. The efficiency of microencapsulation, calculated based on oil fat content, ranged from 62 to 98% and was higher in the powders with trehalose and in the powders containing soy protein. Effective protection against oxidation of microencapsulated oil was achieved in the protein-trehalose matrix, especially in the case of the vacuum-packed powders with pea protein during storage at refrigeration temperature. Replacing trehalose with soluble fiber enabled formation of powders less susceptible to caking under conditions of increased humidity, but it resulted in decreased microencapsulation efficiency. The combination of pea protein/carbohydrate resulted in the formation of microcapsules with porous structure, especially in the system with soluble fiber. With time, the structure of the primary emulsions and those reconstituted from powders containing pea protein changed from liquid to greasy and paste-like.