Mortadella sausage manufactured with Caiman yacare (Caiman crocodilus yacare) meat,pork backfat,and soybean oil

Mortadellas manufactured using Caiman yacare meat (70%) and pork fat (30%) were reformulated by substituting pork fat with increasing amounts of soybean oil (25%, 50%, and 100%) and evaluated 7, 30, and 60 days post-manufacture. The substitutions resulted in an increase in fat content and in the percentage of polyunsaturated fatty acids (total PUFA; 18:2 n − 6 and 18:3 n − 3), and a reduction in saturated fatty acids (total SFA; 14:0 and 16:0). These alterations reduced (P < 0.01) the indices of atherogenicity and thrombogenicity by 4- to 5-fold in the formulation with 100% soybean oil compared to the original formulation. The levels of TBARS obtained at day 7 were positively correlated (P < 0.01) with 18:2 n − 6 and 18:3 n − 3 (r = 0.83 and 0.84, respectively) and negatively correlated with 17:0 and 17:1 (r = − 0.91 and − 0.89, respectively). All formulations received favourable overall acceptability by the sensory panel.     

TEMPERATURE AND CONCENTRATION EFFECTS OF OSMOTIC MEDIA ON OD PROFILES OF SWEET POTATO CUBES

A study was conducted to evaluate the effects of temperature and sucrose osmotic solution concentrations on osmotic dehydration profiles of sweet potato (Ipomea batata) cubes (3.5 cm sides). Two temperatures (26 and 50°C) and three concentrations (30:100, 50:100 and 70:100 w/w) were studied for various exposition times, up to 168 hours. Main influence was observed at higher temperature (50°C) due the fact that water loss (WL) and solids gains (SG) are faster and more intense. At 26°C no appreciable change in solids concentration was observed at distances deeper than 0.5 cm from the cubes surfaces even at 168 hours. At 50°C all the layers are affected even at shorter times (8 hours).     

Surface modification of natural substrates by atom transfer radical polymerization

Surface modification of various solid polysaccharide substrates was conducted by grafting methyl acrylate (MA) and styrene via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) to produce well‐defined polymer grafts. The hydroxyl groups on the surfaces of the substrates were reacted with 2‐bromoisobutyryl bromide followed by graft copolymerization under ATRP conditions. The studied substrates were filter paper, microcrystalline cellulose, Lyocell fibers, dialysis tubing, and chitosan films. The modified substrates were analyzed by FT‐IR, water contact angle measurements, TGA, and SEM. FT‐IR characterization of the grafted substrates showed significant differences between the different substrates in the amount of grafted polymer. Higher amounts of polymer seem to be possible to graft from native cellulose substrates than from regenerated cellulose substrates. To investigate whether the grafted polymers were “living” after a longer time period, a second layer of polystyrene was grafted from a filter paper modified with PMA one year ago. FT‐IR characterization of the filter paper showed a peak corresponding to styrene, indicating that a block copolymer had been formed on the surface. Graft copolymerization can be used to change and tailor the surface properties of the polysaccharide substrates. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 4155–4162, 2006     

Environmental Factors and Beta2‐Adrenergic Receptor Polymorphism: Influence on the Energy Expenditure and Nutritional Status of Obese Women

Our aim was to evaluate the influence of the Gln27Glu polymorphism of the β₂‐adrenergic receptor (ADRβ₂) gene, fat intake and physical activity on the energy expenditure (EE) and nutritional status of obese women. Sixty obese women (30–46 years) participated in the study and were assigned to three groups depending on the genotypes: Gln27Gln, Gln27Glu and Glu27Glu. At baseline and after nutritional intervention, the anthropometric and body composition (bioelectrical impedance), dietary, EE (indirect calorimetry) and biochemical variables were measured. All women received a high‐fat test meal to determine the postprandial EE (short‐term) and an energy‐restricted diet for 10 weeks (long term). The frequencies of Gln27Gln, Gln27Glu and Glu27Glu were 36.67, 40.0 and 23.33 %, respectively. Anthropometric and biochemical variables and EE did not differ between groups, although women who had no polymorphism demonstrated decreased carbohydrate oxidation. On the other hand, the Glu27Glu genotype showed a positive relation with EE in physical activity and fat oxidation. The environmental factors and Gln27Glu polymorphism did not influence the nutritional status and EE of obese women, but physical activity in obese women with the polymorphism in the ADRβ₂ gene can promote fat oxidation. The results suggest that encouraging the practice of physical exercise is important considering the high frequency of this polymorphism in obese subjects.     

Preparation and structural characterisation of a Cd(II) complex with unusual geometry

Reaction of Cd(NO₃)₂ · 4H₂O with ethyl-2-pyridinecarboxylate yields [Cd(NO₃)₂(C₅H₄NCOOEt)₂]. Elemental analyses, conductivity measurements, infrared, ¹H and ¹³C{¹H} NMR spectroscopies and single-crystal X-ray diffraction enabled us to characterise this complex. The crystal structure consists of monomeric units in which the cadmium atom is eight-coordinated.     

A SAT approach to query optimization in mediator systems

Mediator systems integrate distributed, heterogeneous and autonomous data sources, but their effective use requires the solution of hard query optimization problems. This is usually done in two phases: the selection of a set of data sources is similar to a set covering problem, and their ordering into a feasible and efficient query is a capability restricted join order problem. However, a two-phase approach is unlikely to find optimum queries. We describe a new single-phase approach that, under a simple cost model, can be encoded and solved as a SAT problem. Results on artificial benchmarks indicate that this is an interesting problem from the encoding and search viewpoints, and we use them to address three of the ten SAT challenges posed by Selman, Kautz and McAllester in 1997.     

A new boundary integral approach to the determination of theresonant modes of arbitrarily shaped cavities

We present an efficient algorithm to determine the resonant frequencies and the normalized modal fields of arbitrarily shaped cavity resonators filled with a lossless, isotropic, and homogeneous medium. The algorithm is based on the boundary integral method (BIM). The unknown current flowing on the cavity wall is considered inside a spherical resonator, rather than in free-space, as it is usual in the standard BIM. The electric field is expressed using the Green's function of the spherical resonator, approximated by a real rational function of the frequency. Consequently, the discretized problem can be cast into the form of a real matrix linear eigenvalue problem, whose eigenvalues and eigenvectors yield the resonant frequencies and the associated modal currents. Since the algorithm does not require any frequency-by-frequency recalculation of the system matrices, computing time is much shorter than in the standard BIM, especially when many resonances must be found     

Morphologic and nanomechanical characterization of bone tissue growth around bioactive sol-gel coatings containing wollastonite particles applied on stainless steel implants

Metals are the most widely used materials in orthopaedic and dental implants due to their excellent mechanical properties. However, they do not bond naturally with mineralized bone. Further, they can release metallic particles that may finally result in the removal of the implant. There are two strategies to avoid these drawbacks: one is to protect the metallic implant with a biocompatible coating and the other is to add bioactive particles to enhance implant fixation to the existing bone. In this work, surgical grade stainless steel implants coated with tetraethoxysilane (TEOS)-methyltriethoxysilane (MTES) and 10 wt.% of commercial wollastonite particles were implanted in the Hokkaido femur rats. Transversal sections of the tibia samples were examined with SEM, AFM, histological analysis and nanoindentation experiments in air and under physiological conditions to characterize the hydroxyapatite deposits and the composition of the newly formed tissue around the implant. The results showed no presence of harmful ions or metallic particles in the surrounding tissues and that the coating promoted formation and growth of new bone in the periphery of the implant, both in contact with the old bone (remodellation zone) and the marrow (new bone). The relative mechanical behavior of old, remodeled and new bone tissues obtained in air cannot be directly extrapolated to live or in vivo-physiological response. This may be caused by the different degree of hydration and SBF/structure interaction among the three types of bones but these values are near the normal hydrated bone response.     

Metabolic responses to high glycemic index and low glycemic index meals: a controlled crossover clinical trial

Background  

The consumption of low glycemic index (LGI) foods before exercise results in slower and more stable glycemic increases. Besides maintaining an adequate supply of energy during exercise, this response may favor an increase in fat oxidation in the postprandial period before the exercise compared to high glycemic index (HGI) foods. The majority of the studies that evaluated the effect of foods differing in glycemic index on substrate oxidation during the postprandial period before the exercise are acute studies in which a single meal is consumed right before the exercise. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of consuming two daily HGI or LGI meals for five consecutive days on substrate oxidation before the exercise and in the concentrations of glucose, insulin and free fatty acids before and during a high intensity exercise.     

Arsenic(V) removal with polymer inclusion membranes from sulfuric acid media using DBBP as carrier

Polymer inclusion membranes (PIMs) based on cellulose triacetate (CTA) and dibutyl butyl phosphonate (DBBP) were tested for arsenic(V) separation from H2SO4 for its recovery from copper electrolytes. Solvent extraction experiments allowed the determination of the As(V)-DBBP and H2SO4-DBBP complexes formed in the organic phase. Application of a transient model to membrane transport experiments in solutions containing only arsenic or H2SO4 indicated that it occurred under a kinetically controlled regime by formation of H3AsO4[DBBP]2 and H2SO4[DBBP] species, respectively. When arsenic and H2SO4 are simultaneously present, the existence of a third species, H3AsO4[DBBP][H2SO4], explains well the fact that As(V) flux decreases and that H2SO4 flux increases. In both cases, a limiting 50% recovery value was obtained. However, active arsenic transport (>50%) is achieved if the H2SO4 concentration gradient is assured (e.g., using a triple-cell configuration). In this way, high arsenic recovery factors (90% in 800 min) were obtained with initial concentrations of 5000 mg/L As(V) and 220 g/L H2SO4. In all membrane systems tested, good As(V) selectivity over copper (up to 30000 mg/L) was attained.