Estimation of interfacial concentration of extractants from interfacial tension measurements

The use of the spline function, logarithmic polynomial, Szyszkowski and Temkin equations to estimate the extractant interfacial concentration are discussed. The distribution of the experimental data and its nonlinearity upon the approximation errors and the surface concentration are presented. The error of the interfacial tension isotherm estimation depends upon the equation considered. The Temkin isotherm deviates significantly from the experimental data. The distribution of experimental data affects both the matching of the interfacial tension isotherm with the logarithmic polynomial and the surface excess isotherm. The best approximations (low approximation errors and lack of sensitivity upon experimental data distribution) are obtained with the use of the Szyszkowski equation and the spline function.     

The surface excess and the rate of copper extraction by hydroxyoximes

The interfacial tension is determined for some model 2-hydroxy-5-alkylbenzophenone E-oximes, and the surface excess is calculated according to the different adsorption isotherms. The relationship between the rate of copper extraction and the surface excess is discussed. It is shown that, depending upon the adsorption isotherm used to calculate the surface excess, different relations both between the extraction rate and the surface excess and between the surface excess and the oxime concentration are obtained. The interfacial activity of hydroxyoximes is only a qualitative parameter suggesting the interfacial mechanism for copper extraction, and it cannot give strong evidence quantitatively supporting this mechanism. The predicted reaction orders against oxime demonstrate that the reaction between the oxime molecules from the sublayer and the absorbed intermediate complex is probably the limiting step.     

Ecological models of human performance based on affordance,emotion and intuition

This paper proposes a complementary approach to Rasmussen's taxonomy of the human skill-, rule-, and knowledge-based performance models by combining the ecological concept of affordances with the neural concepts of human emotion and intuition. The classical cognitive engineering framework is extended through the neuro-ecological approach, including personal human attributes important in exercising control over the work environment. The proposed affordance-, emotion-, and intuition-based models correspond to the three types of human performance, namely: learning, adaptive and tuning control, respectively. The new framework is not a predictive model of the operator behaviour, but rather it describes the processes of neuro-ecological control of the human environment.     

Quality assessment of corn snacks enriched with soybean ferritin among young healthy people and patient with Crohn’s disease: the effect of extrusion conditions

Fortified extruded snacks are convenient products to supplement malnourished patients’ diet, e.g. suffering from Crohn’s disease. The snacks were extruded with different additions of iron-biofortified sprouts under varying process conditions (temperature and humidity). The sensory profiling showed the correlation between extrusion temperature and snack stickiness (R = 0.835), crispiness (R = 0.727), hardness (R=−0.485), as well as the intensity of corn (R = 0.888), powder (R=−0.795), metallic (R=−0.606) and bitter (R=−0.901) tastes. The sprouts addition affected metallic taste (R = 0.606) and aroma (R = 0.666) intensity. The product desirability was compared between healthy people (HP) and Crohn’s patients (CP). Overall desirability positively correlated with taste desirability in both groups. In the HP group, taste desirability was associated with metallic taste (R=−0.857) and Fe(III) content (R=−0.717). Also, aroma desirability (connected with pyrazines) was more significant to HP. Higher tolerance of CP to metallic and bitter flavours was observed. This confirms that the taste and aroma preferences of CP and HP are different.     

Mechanical characteristics of artificial cell walls

Artificial plant cell walls were produced from bacterial cellulose and cell wall constituents. The artificial cell walls were stored at low, medium and high relative humidity, and then subjected to micro-mechanical tests. From chemical composition and microstructure analysis it was found that, among all artificial cell wall materials produced, the most representative analogue of natural apple cell wall was based on bacterial cellulose supplemented with xyloglucan and pectin. Uniaxial tensile tests revealed that the different cell wall materials differed in their mechanical properties; increasing the humidity during storage resulted in a decrease in the value of the secant modulus. The cell wall model material obtained may be used for the simulation of the effect of external factors on the physical and chemical properties of cell walls.     

Starch Content in Various Types of Cane Sugars as a Criterion of Quality and Authenticity

Contrary to beet sugar, which on the market is used practically only as white sugar, cane sugar is used in a wide range of products for direct consumption. This article presents results of determination of starch content in different types of cane sugars: raw cane sugar, refined white cane sugar, plantation white sugar, and commercial “unrefined” brown and yellow sugars. The content of starch in various “brown” cane sugars ranged from 74 to 415 mg/kg, while in white sugars its content ranged from 51 to 214 mg/kg. The starch content in cane sugars should be an important criterion for the quality of cane sugars, which allowed to differentiate cane sugars from beet sugar containing no starch.     

Antimicrobial susceptibilities of Listeria monocytogenes strains isolated from food and food processing environment in Poland

A total of 471 Listeria monocytogenes isolates from different types of food and food-related sources in Poland during 2004-2010 were examined. This number includes 200 isolates from fish, 144 from fresh and frozen vegetables, 43 ready-to-eat products (deli foods, cold cuts), 13 from dairy products, 16 from raw meats, 15 from confectionery products and 40 directly from processing plants. All isolates were subjected to serotyping and lineage assays using PCR, and antimicrobial susceptibility using E-test and a broth microdilution method. Of all isolates, 256 (54.4%), 120 (25.5%), 59 (12.5%), 36 (7.6%) were identified as serotypes 1/2a (or 3a), 1/2c (or 3c), 1/2b (or 3b or 7), and 4b (or 4d or 4e), respectively. A direct correlation between the most common serotypes and three L. monocytogenes lineages was also observed. All L. monocytogenes isolates belonged to lineages I (20.2%) and II (79.8%). All strains were sensitive to ampicillin, amoxicillin, gentamicin, erythromycin, trimethoprim, rifampicin, vancomycin, chloramphenicol and sulfamethoxazol. Two of the L. monocytogenes strains (0.42%) showed phenotypic resistance. One strain was resistant to tetracycline and minocycline due to the presence of tet(M). It did not carry gene int, which may indicate that the tet(M) gene in this strain was not integrated in the transposon Tn916-Tn1545 family. The resistance of the second strain to ciprofloxacin and norfloxacin was attributed to active efflux associated with overexpression of gene lde. Our data indicate the low prevalence of antimicrobial resistance among L. monocytogenes isolates from food and food-related sources in Poland.     

Pseudoephedrine—Benefits and Risks

Pseudoephedrine (PSE) is a drug with a long history of medical use; it is helpful in treating symptoms of the common cold and flu, sinusitis, asthma, and bronchitis. Due to its central nervous system (CNS) stimulant properties and structural similarity to amphetamine, it is also used for non-medical purposes. The substance is taken as an appetite reducer, an agent which eliminates drowsiness and fatigue, to improve concentration and as a doping agent. Due to its easier availability, it is sometimes used as a substitute for amphetamine or methamphetamine. Pseudoephedrine is also a substrate (precursor) used in the production of these drugs. Time will tell whether legal restrictions on the sale of this drug will reduce the scale of the problem associated with its misuse.     

Changes of Relative Crystallinity of Potato Starch Under Gamma Irradiation

Indices of relative crystallinity of starch samples after gamma irradiation in dry form or in potatoes have been determined by differential and integral methods and compared with those calculated for corresponding reference samples. In the case of dry samples, the diminution of relative crystallinity was observed after gamma ray irradiation. In the case of starch samples extracted from irradiated potatoes, the influence of drying conditions was additionally observed. The diminution of relative crystallinity seems to be accompanied by destruction of long-range ordering as observed by SAXS experiment.