Effect of conventional and organic production systems on the yield and quality of field tomato cultivars grown in Tunisia

BACKGROUND: The agricultural production system and cultivation practices are critical factors in determining yield and food nutritional quality. Controversy remains regarding whether or not organic foods have a nutritional advantage when compared with their conventionally produced counterparts. In this study the effect of conventional and organic production systems on yield, physicochemical and nutritional properties of four field tomato cultivars (Perfectpeel, Rio Grande, Hypeel 108 and Firenze) was determined. In the organic system, different fertiliser combination treatments were used. RESULTS: When production system data were combined, marketable yield was not affected by cultivar. When averaged across cultivars, organic yield was about 63% of conventional yield. The production system affected fruit soluble solids, pH, titratable acidity and firmness only in some cultivars. However, no effect was found on lycopene and total phenolics in all cultivars. In the organic system, fertiliser combination treatments affected tomato yield of Rio Grande and fruit quality of Firenze and Hypeel 108. A general trend of higher quality data was obtained by using mixed compost C2 combined with its extract and codahumus 20. CONCLUSION: The production system affects tomato yield and some fruit quality attributes. The effect on fruit quality varies among cultivars, thus highlighting the need to use a range of varieties in this kind of study. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

Enhanced Optimal and Heuristic Solutions of the Routing Problem in Light-Trail Networks

Light-trail is an efficient and feasible technology for IP transport over all-optical networks. The proposition of light-trails for all-optical networks has demonstrated a number of advantages over other paradigms such as Wavelength Routing (WR), Optical Burst Switching (OBS) and Optical Packet Switching (OPS). This article tackles the routing problem of light-trails with the solution objective of minimizing the number of needed light-trails to accommodate an offered traffic matrix. We present two enhancements to the Integer Linear Programming (ILP) formulation of the routing problem. We also propose a computationally efficient routing heuristic for use with static and incremental traffic models. The heuristic is based on routing flows one-by-one. This is done by assigning a set of attributes to each flow and to each network path. The flow attributes are used to determine the order in which flows are presented to the routing algorithm. The path attributes are used to determine which path is selected to route the flow at hand. The efficiency of the proposed heuristic is confirmed using example problems of different network topologies.     

Pasting properties of starch and protein in selected cereals and quality of their food products

In an attempt to improve intake of dietary fibre and antioxidants and quality of whole grain products, whole grain meals from barley, millet, rye and sorghum were evaluated individually and in blends with wheat flour in terms of starch pasting properties and protein heat damage, during cycles of heating and cooling in RVA tests. The whole grain meals were blended with either hard or soft wheat flour and processed into bread, cake, cookie or snack products. The products were then evaluated with regard to physical properties and acceptability. Significant differences were observed between cereals in starch peak, breakdown and setback viscosities as well as in protein peak viscosity. The results showed that RVA could be used to help formulate cereal blends with certain pasting properties. Substitution of wheat flour, with 15% of barley, rye, millet or sorghum whole grain, did not have significant detrimental effects on physical properties or acceptability of pita bread. Additionally, replacement of wheat flour with up to 30% of barley, rye, millet or sorghum whole grain meal had no significant effects on quality of cakes or cookies. A multigrain snack-like food was also developed as a healthy product and was highly acceptable in a sensory test. The developed product would help enhance consumption of whole grain foods, resulting in improved intake of fibre and health-enhancing components.     

New electroplated aluminum bipolar plate for PEM fuel cell

Further improvement in the performance of the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells as a power source for automotive applications may be achieved by the use of a new material in the manufacture of the bipolar plate. Several nickel alloys were applied on the aluminum substrate, the use of aluminum as a bipolar plate instead of graphite is to reduce the bipolar plate cost and weight and the ease of machining. The electroplated nickel alloys on aluminum substrate produced a new metallic bipolar plate for PEM fuel cell with a higher efficiency and longer lifetime than the graphite bipolar plate due to its higher electrical conductivity and its lower corrosion rate. Different pretreatment methods were tested; the optimum method for pretreatment consists of dipping the specimen in a 12.5% NaOH for 3 min followed by electroless zinc plating for 2 min, then the specimen is dipped quickly in the electroplating bath after rinsing with distilled water. The produced electroplate was tested with different measurement techniques, chosen based on the requirement for a PEM fuel cell bipolar plate, including X-ray diffraction, EDAX, SEM, corrosion resistance, thickness measurement, microhardness, and electrical conductivity.     

Quantitative risk assessment of human listeriosis from consumption of soft cheese made from raw milk

Microbial hazards have been identified in soft cheese made from raw milk. Quantification of the resulting risk for public health was attempted within the frame of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, 1995 approach to quantitative risk assessment, using Monte Carlo simulation software. Quantitative data could only be found for Listeria monocytogenes. The complete process of cheese making was modeled, from milking to consumption. Using data published on the different sources of milk contamination (environment and mastitis) and bacterial growth, distributions were assumed for parameters of the model. Equations of Farber, J.M., Ross, W.H., Harwing, J. (1996) for general and at-risk populations were used to link the ingested dose of L. monocytogenes to the occurrence of listeriosis. The probability of milk contamination was estimated to be 67% with concentration ranging from 0 to 33 CFU ml-1. The percentage of cheese with a predicted concentration of L. monocytogenes greater than 100 CFU g-1 was low (1.4%). The probability of consuming a contaminated cheese serving was 65.3%. Individual annual cumulative risk of listeriosis, in a population each consuming 50 servings of 31 g, ranged from 1.97 x 10(-9) to 6.4 x 10(-8) in a low-risk sub-population and 1.04 10(-6) to 7.19 10(-5) in a high-risk sub-population. The average number of expected cases of listeriosis per year was 57 for a high-risk sub-population and one for a low-risk healthy sub-population. When the frequency of environmental milk contamination was reduced in the model and L. monocytogenes mastitis was eliminated, the expected incidence of listeriosis decreased substantially; the average number of expected cases was reduced by a factor of 5. Thus the usefulness of simulation to demonstrate the efficiency of various management options could be demonstrated, even if results should be interpreted with care (as many assumptions had to be made on data and their distributions.     

The Impact of Milling and Thermal Processing on Phenolic Compounds in Cereal Grains

Consumption of wholegrain foods has been recommended for healthy diets. The beneficial health properties of wholegrain products have been associated with the presence of higher amounts of dietary fiber and antioxidants and lower calories as compared to their respective refined ones. Phenolic compounds are mainly attributed to antioxidant properties of wholegrain foods. This review article provides a single comprehensive source that describes effects of milling and thermal processing on phenolic compounds and antioxidant properties in cereals. In general, milling and pearling processes affect the distribution of phenolic, compounds and thus antioxidant properties vary among the milling fractions. Thermal processes such as baking and extrusion could cause negative or positive effects on phenolic compounds and antioxidant properties of the end product subject to grain type and processing conditions. Thus factors that enhance health benefits of wholegrain cereal products have been discussed.