Anti-inflammatory effect of aqueous extracts of roasted and green Coffea arabica L.

Green coffee contains a large quantity and variety of polyphenols and flavonoids. The roasting affects the composition of the polyphenols in coffee, due to the formation of compounds generated by Maillard reaction, which can have anti-inflammatory or antioxidant potential. The anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of aqueous extracts of green (AGCa) and roasted (ARCa) coffee beans were investigated in animal models and using a DPPH radical scavenging test. In the formalin test the extracts reduced licking activity only in the late phase. The inhibitory values of oedema at 3 h post-carrageenan were 53% and 74% for 100 and 300 mg/kg of the AGCa extract and 36% for ARCa (300 mg/kg). Leukocyte recruitment into the peritoneal cavity was inhibited by the extracts. The antioxidant activities of the extracts were higher than the reference antioxidants, ascorbic acid and butylated hydroxytoluene. These results indicate that coffee extracts exhibit anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.     

Mycotoxicological quality evaluation of corn samples used by processing industries in the Northern region of Paraná State,Brazil

Based on fungal and fumonisin contamination of 870 freshly harvested samples, the quality of corn used by processing industries in the Northern region of Paraná State, Brazil (2003 and 2004 crop-year) was evaluated. Sampling was carried out for each crop at two points in the production chain, i.e. at reception by the processors and at the pre-drying step. Corn samples were more frequently contaminated with Fusarium sp. (100%) and Penicillium sp. (84.1–95.3%) than Aspergillus sp. (5.6–19.8%). Fumonisin B₁ (FB₁) was detected in all samples from the two points in both crop-years. FB₁ levels ranged 0.02–11.83 µg g^?1 in the reception and 0.02–10.98 µg g^?1 in the pre-drying samples of the 2003 crop. Samples from the 2004 crop showed FB₁ levels ranging 0.03–12.04 µg g^?1 in the reception and 0.06–7.74 µg g^?1 in the pre-drying samples. FB₂ levels ranged 0.02–5.25 µg g^?1 in the reception and 0.01–7.89 µg g^?1 in the pre-drying samples (2003 crop-year). In samples from the 2004 crop, FB₂ levels ranged 0.02–6.12 µg g^?1 in the reception and 0.05–3.47 µg g^?1 in the pre-drying samples. Low fumonisin levels were detected in most corn samples used by processors in the Northern region of Paraná State, showing a decreasing trend in fumonisin contamination over the years.     

Femtosecond-laser selective printing of graphene oxide and PPV on polymeric microstructures

Direct laser writing techniques are suitable for the high precision-patterning of 2D and 3D micro/nanostructures, featuring a variety of geometries and materials. Here, we demonstrated the use of laser-induced forward transfer with fs-pulses (fs-LIFT) to selectively transfer graphene oxide and poly(p-phenylene vinylene) patterns onto polymeric microstructures, fabricated by two-photon polymerization. The influence of different fs-LIFT experimental parameters on the width and height of the printed patterns was investigated. Upon optimum fs-LIFT parameters, we achieved homogeneous printed areas of both materials onto specific regions of the microstructures. Raman spectroscopy confirmed that fs-LIFT does not change the donor material upon transfer. Overall, this work demonstrates a promising strategy with precise printing capabilities, thus opening new opportunities for the development of photonic and optoelectronic devices.

     

A comparative study of two proposed CCC-r charts for high quality processes and their application to an injection molding process

High-quality industrial processes, characterized by a low fraction of non-conforming items, require paying special attention to the statistical control methods employed since traditional Shewhart's control charts are no longer suitable. In this article, CCC-r charts are considered based on the cumulative count of conforming items inspected until r non-conforming items are observed. However, even though these charts have shown to be useful for high-quality processes, they are characterized by a biased average run length (ARL). In order to help engineers interested in this control methodology to select the best option, a computational study of statistical validation was performed to compare the two most outstanding procedures for the cases r = 2, 3, and 4. The performance was evaluated based on the ARL under control. The application of the CCC-r chart to a real process is shown with data from an automobile parts plant. Finally, analysis and discussion of the results are presented.     

An experimental evaluation of cross-layer routing in a wireless mesh backbone

Over the latest few years, cross-layer design in wireless networks has drawn great attention from the research community. One of the main arguments in favor of such techniques is that the hop-count metric alone is not enough to capture the specificities of wireless links (e.g., interferences, collisions, fading). In this paper, we address a simple yet fundamental question: What are the real improvements that cross-layering can bring to routing performance when compared to the simple hop-count metric? In our experiments, we consider the backbone of a real wireless mesh network composed of 12 routers deployed in an office building. We focus on the stability of routes and their persistence. In spite of the nature of cross-layer metrics that take into account information from different layers, lets them be very reactive to changes, we observe that using these metrics, pairs of nodes tend to mainly use the same set of two or three routes between them.     

Damage Model and Progressive Failure Analyses for Filament Wound Composite Laminates

Recent improvements in manufacturing processes and materials properties associated with excellent mechanical characteristics and low weight have made composite materials very attractive for application on civil aircraft structures. However, even new designs are still very conservative, because the composite failure phenomenon is very complex. Several failure criteria and theories have been developed to describe the damage process and how it evolves, but the solution of the problem is still open. Moreover, modern filament winding techniques have been used to produce a wide variety of structural shapes not only cylindrical parts, but also “flat” laminates. Therefore, this work presents the development of a damage model and its application to simulate the progressive failure of flat composite laminates made using a filament winding process. The damage model was implemented as a UMAT (User Material Subroutine), in ABAQUS^TM Finite Element (FE) framework. Progressive failure analyses were carried out using FE simulation in order to simulate the failure of flat filament wound composite structures under different loading conditions. In addition, experimental tests were performed in order to identify parameters related to the material model, as well as to evaluate both the potential and the limitations of the model. The difference between numerical and the average experimental results in a four point bending set-up is only 1.6 % at maximum load amplitude. Another important issue is that the model parameters are not so complicated to be identified. This characteristic makes this model very attractive to be applied in an industrial environment.     

葡萄籽超微粉添加对曲奇饼干香气的影响

将葡萄籽超微粉碎并添到曲奇饼干中,探究其对曲奇饼干香气成分及感官品质的影响。采用气相色谱-质谱联用仪分别检测了普通葡萄籽粉、葡萄籽超微粉及添加超微粉前后曲奇饼干的香气成分,并结合偏最小二乘判别分析法研究葡萄籽超微粉对曲奇饼干香气成分的影响。结果显示,超微粉碎后香气物质的种类虽未发生明显的改变,但香气成分的相对含量显著增加。葡萄籽超微粉添加比例为5%时,烘烤香比较浓郁。当添加比例达到10%时,曲奇饼干整体风味较为复杂,包括苦杏仁味、香蕉味、水果味/青草味、面包味以及坚果味。采用9点享乐法感官品评结果可以看出,葡萄籽的添加可以为饼干带来可感知的变化,添加比例为5%时,香气得分最高。葡萄籽超微粉会给曲奇饼干香气带来积极的影响,添加比例在10%以内均可被消费者接受。     

Edible mushrooms: a potential source of essential amino acids,glucans and minerals

The main chemical and biochemical constituents of nine edible mushrooms were evaluated in this study. An enzymatic method was used to determine the α‐ and β‐glucan contents, and the amino acid (AA) profiles were evaluated by RP‐HPLC‐DAD. The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of the nutrients was evaluated. Finally, principal component analysis (PCA) was used to group the mushrooms according to their AA, glucans and chemical composition. All mushrooms evaluated can be considered as a potential and alternative source of dietary fibre (24.4–46.62%) and protein (16.47–36.96%) in a diet, with low contents of fat (1.40–2.08%). Phosphorus, potassium, iron, copper and zinc were the main minerals found in the mushrooms, whereas sodium concentration was negligible. All essential AA were detected in the mushrooms, with Pleurotus ostreatus (black oyster) representing the main source of essential amino acids among the samples. The contents of β‐glucan ranged from 1.58 to 16.91 mg g^?1 of dry matter among the mushrooms and Pleurotus eryngii presented the highest amount of this component. Pleurotus ostreatus (black oyster) and P. eryngii were also grouped together due to similarities in their phosphorous and arginine contents. Among the main results, it can highlight the high concentration of dietary fibre and essential amino acids of the edible mushrooms.