Effects of Lysine and Methionine Fortification on Dough and Bread Characteristics

Wheat flour from the Hermosillo Hard Red Spring cultivar in Sonora, Mexico was fortified with various levels of lysine and methionine. The effects of added amino acids on the rheological properties were measured by the Brabender Farinograph and the Chopin Alveograph. Nutritional characteristics were measured by Protein Efficiency Ratio (PER). Dough development and stability times were not significantly different between control and fortified flours. Water absorption and Alveograph results indicated differences between samples. PERs were significantly improved by fortification. Overall bread acceptability was not significantly different from unfortified samples.     

Determination of flavonoids in a Citrus fruit extract by LC–DAD and LC–MS

Flavonoids are a group of polyphenolic compounds with health-related properties. Citrus fruits are rich in flavonoids and their extracts are being used as functional ingredients for several industrial products. A new high performance liquid chromatography technique with an UV photodiode-array detector was used to analyze flavonoids of an extract of Citrus species. To our knowledge this is the first study that reports isoquercitrin presence at a level of 77.3 mg/100 g in a sample made of Citrus fruits; four other flavonoids were quantified as rutin (326.59 mg/100 g), naringin (338.36 mg/100 g), quercetin (96.35 mg/100 g) and naringenin (2.35 mg/100 g). Identification was confirmed by a liquid chromatography mass spectrometer system. Method validation was achieved, providing an analytical technique that can be used to detect trace amounts of these compounds in Citrus extracts with an extremely rapid sample preparation.     

Chemical stability of some poly(amide imide) type polymers

The stability of some heterocyclic poly(amide imide)s in acidic and alkaline medium was compared to the structurally related polyimide and poly(amide imide)s without other heterocyclic groups. All the polymers have high stability in acidic medium. The introduction of additional heterocycles such as 1,3,4-0xadiazole or phenylquinoxaline into the macromolecular chain of a poly(amide imide) increases substantially the resistance to alkaline medium. Polyamides containing imide rings only in the side chain are more stable to hydrolysis than related polyamide having imide units in the main chain.     

Relation among taste-related compounds (phenolics and caffeine) and sensory profile of erva-mate (Ilex paraguariensis)

Erva-mate (Ilex paraguariensis St. Hil.) is a native species from temperate regions of South America, such as Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina, that is consumed as a beverage known as mate. The objective of this research was to determine the content of caffeic acid, catechin, chlorogenic acid, caffeine, and gallic acid in mate to explain their influence in beverage taste and sensory differences between native and reforested plants, as well as between beverages from plants of different regions of Brazil (Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul states). Compounds were determined by HPLC and results were related to a sensory evaluation performed by trained tasters. Tasters considered the beverage from reforested plants to be more bitter than the beverage from native plants. Beverages from reforested plants had significantly higher caffeic acid and lower catechin, chlorogenic acid, caffeine, and gallic acid content than native plants. Beverages from plants of Santa Catarina state had significantly higher catechin, caffeine, and gallic acid content than plants from Rio Grande do Sul state.     

Comparative evaluation of the olive oil given by a new processing system

To evaluate the level of quality of the olive oil given by a new processing system we compared it with the percolation oil, which is known to be of high quality. The new product was characterized by the following: (i) higher contents of tocopherols, tyrosol- and hydroxytyrosol-aglycones, volatile aromatic substances, sterols, triterpene alcohols and lipochromes, and higher values of 1,2-diglycerides/1,3-diglycerides and campesterol/stigmasterol ratios, colour indices and turbidity; (ii) lower contents of waxes and triterpene dialcohols, and lower values for spectrophotometric indices, carbonyl index, Wolff's ratio (K₂₃₂/K₂₇₀), acidity, and peroxide number; (iii) similar contents of phenols, o- diphenols, free tyrosol, free hydroxytyrosol, triglycerides, stigmastadienes, and aliphatic alcohols, similar sensory score, and similar value of resistance to autoxidation, alcohol index, overall quality indices, and fatty acid composition.     

Synthesis of macroporous ZrO2–Al2O3 mixed oxides with mesoporous walls, using polystyrene spheres as template

Macroporous ZrO₂–Al₂O₃ mixed oxides with mesoporous walls were synthesized. The three-dimensional interconnected macroporous structures, of inorganic zirconia–alumina mixed oxides containing different alumina compositions (25, 50, 100 wt%), were prepared by sol–gel method from inorganic precursors and using polystyrene microspheres with diameters of 685 and 1520 nm as templates. The final porous arrays with controllable pore size in the submicrometer range could be obtained by calcination of the organic template. The structural characteristics are discussed. The physicochemical characterization of the samples was carried out by N₂ physisorption (S_BET), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The shrinkage of pore diameter was approximately 35%, and the wall thickness of inorganic framework varied between 135 and 154 nm. The specific surface areas, of the samples, were between 123 and 287 m²/g, obtaining the largest surface area with the highest alumina contents and the smallest templates.     

Variations of iridoid oleuropein in Italian olive varieties during growth and maturation

This research paper reports on the concentrations of oleuropein in fruits of seven Italian olive cultivars. These oleuropein levels, during fruit growth and maturation, were monitored by taking olive samples from the same olive trees grown in Middle Italy. A novel high‐resolution gas chromatography (HRGC) oleuropein quantification method and a new high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method were developed. The olive fruits showed high contents of oleuropein, which were greatly influenced by the olive cultivar (genetic store) factor. The stage of fruit growth and maturation was another factor strongly affecting the contents of iridoid oleuropein in olive drupes, whatever the olive cultivar considered. Green olives had much higher concentrations of this biofunctional glucoside, which decreased regularly during fruit growth and ripeness. No differences were observed between the two developed oleuropein quantification methods, which gave, for all the olive cultivars, average values of fruit oleuropein contents that were not statistically different. These two reliable repetitive methods, noticeably the HPLC one (which also showed a lower running time), could be used for routine determination of oleuropein in olive drupes. We observed that, in general, olive cultivars having high oleuropein concentrations in the fruits were also characterized by marked oleuropein contents in the leaves.     

Liquid-crystallization induced reactions. Microstructure and morphology of copolyesters synthesized by transesterification of PET with some LCP monomers

The transesterification of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) with a mixture of sebacic acid (S), 4,4′-diacetoxybiphenyl (B) and 4-acetoxybenzoic acid (H), carried out under conditions expectedly favoring the formation of a p(ET-SBH) random copolyester, produces biphasic materials with an isotropic matrix and a highly fibrous, liquid-crystalline dispersed phase. Spectroscopic, calorimetric, microscopic and diffractometric characterization of the fractions separated by solvent extraction has shown that the two phases consist of practically random copolyesters having different average composition. Interestingly, the degree of aromaticity of the matrix is even lower than that of PET, whereas that of the minor phase is appreciably higher than that calculated for the SBH copolyester that would be produced from the monomer mixture in the absence of PET. This unexpected result is interpreted on the basis of an enthalpy-driven progressive diffusion of aromatic-rich material toward the mesophase which segregates at an early stage of the polycondensation within the isotropic mixture of low molar mass oligomers initially produced by the PET acidolysis. Thus, an increasing differentiation, rather than an equilibration, of the composition of the two phases takes place. It is noteworthy that, despite the strong compositional difference, the two phases of these products show fairly good compatibility and interfacial adhesion.     

Rule compliance and peer sociability: A study of family process, school-focused parent–child interactions, and children's classroom behavior.

This study examined the associations among family processes (cohesion, control, and conflict), school-focused parent–child interactions (support and pressure about achievement), and the child's own characteristics (assertiveness, frustration tolerance, intellectual effectiveness, and self-esteem) as correlates of rule compliance and peer sociability in the classroom. The sample consisted of 161 Grade 4 and 151 Grade 7 children. Family processes and parent-child interactions about school issues were associated with children's personal characteristics, which, in turn, predicted children's rule compliance and peer sociability. Some differences were found between the 4th- and 7th-grade samples; however, many variables consistently predicted the same outcomes across grades. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fatty acid profiles in meat from Caiman yacare (Caiman crocodilus yacare) raised in the wild or in captivity

Chemical composition and fatty acid profiles were determined in Caiman yacare meat originating from the neck and tail cuts of animals raised in the wild (n = 6) or in captivity (n = 6), slaughtered at a live weight of approximately 6 kg. All experimental methods were approved by the appropriate environmental protection agencies. Most chemical components were affected by the origin-cut interaction, with the tail cut of wild animals having the highest amount of intramuscular fat (19.2% of DM) and the lowest of moisture (71.8%) and protein (77.0% of DM). Yacare meat had low amounts of SFA (35.1%), which were similar (P > 0.05) in the cuts and origins studied. The total amount of PUFA was higher (P < 0.05) in wild (31.0%) than in captive animals (23.6%), and n − 3 fatty acids had means of about 5% and 2% for the same groups, respectively (P < 0.05). In general, the FA profile of intramuscular fat in yacare meat had a desirable PUFA/SFA ratio above 0.4.