A study on the effects of different gums on dielectric properties and quality of breads baked in infrared-microwave combination oven

In this study, the effects of different gums on dielectric properties of doughs and breads baked in infrared-microwave combination oven were investigated. In addition, the quality parameters of breads formulated with different gums baked in infrared-microwave combination oven were determined. The gums used were xanthan, guar, xanthan-guar blend and κ-carrageenan. The gums were added to the formulation at 0.5% concentration. The dielectric properties and quality parameters of breads baked in infrared-microwave combination oven were found to be dependent on gum type. κ-carrageenan resulted in undesirable final bread quality, while xanthan-guar blend addition improved bread quality (high specific volume and porosity, low hardness values). The dielectric properties of bread samples formulated with κ-carrageenan were found to be the highest among the other gum types.     

Packing of sidechains in low-resolution models for proteins

BACKGROUND: Atomic level rotamer libraries for sidechains in proteins have been proposed by several groups. Conformations of side groups in coarse-grained models, on the other hand, have not yet been analyzed, although low resolution approaches are the only efficient way to explore global structural features. RESULTS: A residue-specific backbone-dependent library for sidechain isomers, compatible with a coarse-grained model, is proposed. The isomeric states are utilized in packing sidechains of known backbone structures. Sidechain positions are predicted with a root-mean-square deviation (r.m.s.d.) of 2.40 A with respect to crystal structure for 50 test proteins. The rmsd for core residues is 1.60 A and decreases to 1.35 A when conformational correlations and directional effects in inter-residue couplings are considered. CONCLUSIONS: An automated method for assigning sidechain positions in coarse-grained model proteins is proposed and made available on the internet; the method accounts satisfactorily for sidechain packing, particularly in the core.     

Viscous co‐current downward Taylor flow in a square mini‐channel

This article presents a computational study of the co‐current downward Taylor flow of gas bubbles in a viscous liquid within a square channel of 1 mm hydraulic diameter. The three‐dimensional numerical simulations are performed with an in‐house computer code, which is based on the volume‐of‐fluid method with interface reconstruction. The computed (always axi‐symmetric) bubble shapes are validated by experimental flow visualizations for varying capillary number. The evaluation of the numerical results for a series of simulations reveals the dependence of the bubble diameter and the interfacial area per unit volume on the capillary number. Correlations between bubble velocity and total superficial velocity are also provided. The present results are useful to estimate the values of the bubble diameter, the liquid film thickness and the interfacial area per unit volume from given values of the gas and liquid superficial velocities. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2010     

Antioxidant α‐tocopherol/γ‐cyclodextrin–inclusion complex encapsulated poly(lactic acid) electrospun nanofibrous web for food packaging

α‐Tocopherol (α‐TC) and α‐TC/cyclodextrin (CD)–inclusion complex (IC) incorporated electrospun poly(lactic acid) (PLA) nanofibers (NF) were developed via electrospinning (PLA/α‐TC–NF and PLA/α‐TC/γ‐CD–IC–NF). The release of α‐TC into 95% ethanol (fatty food simulant) was much greater from PLA/α‐TC/γ‐CD–IC–NF than from PLA/α‐TC–NF because of the solubility increase in α‐TC; this was confirmed by a phase‐solubility diagram. 2,2‐Diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl radical‐scavenging assay shows that PLA/α‐TC–NF and PLA/α‐TC/γ‐CD–IC–NF had 97% antioxidant activities; this value was expected to be high enough to inhibit lipid oxidation. PLA/α‐TC–NF and PLA/α‐TC/γ‐CD–IC–NF were tested directly on beef with the thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) method, and the nanofibers displayed a lower TBARS content than the unpackaged meat sample. Thus, active packaging significantly enhanced the oxidative stability of the meat samples at 4 °C. In conclusion, PLA/α‐TC/γ‐CD–IC–NF was shown to be promising as an active food‐packaging material for prolonging the shelf life of foods. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 44858.     

Fabrication of halloysite nanotubes embedded thin film nanocomposite membranes for dye removal

Environmental friendly Halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) are used to fabricate novel nanofiltration membranes by in situ interfacial polymerization of piperazine and trimesoyl chloride. The removal of excess amine solution from the porous support membrane surface is a critical step to obtain defect free active layer. Hereby, two main removal tools for the excess aqueous amine solution; a rubber roll or air knife are compared to fabricate a defect free thin film nanocomposite (TFN) nanofiltration (NF) membrane. Removal by the rubber roll is eventuated more favorable than air knife in terms of the reproducibility of NF membranes by comparing salt rejections. By determining the removal step of excess amines, various HNTs concentrations are used to fabricate NF membranes and, these membranes are tested with salt and dye solutions at various pH and temperature ranges. R2 membrane (containing 0.02% [w/v] HNTs) performs the best flux results beside higher rejections of MgSO₄ (93.0%) and dye (99.5%). To evaluate the extreme conditionals, further performance tests such as pH and temperature resistance are also performed for R2 membrane. Considering the performances of R2 membrane, HNTs can be demonstrated for tailoring the balance between flux and separation performance of NF membranes.     

Sunflower Oil–Beeswax Oleogels Are Promising Frying Medium for Potato Strips

Sunflower oil–beeswax oleogels at 3% (BWO-3) and 8% (BWO-8) organogelator concentration are prepared to evaluate oleogels as frying medium for potato strip frying against commercial sunflower oil (SO). Rheological and thermal analyses of oleogels prove that the samples are fully solid (20±3 °C) and totally liquid (180 °C), and thermoreversible. Fresh and used (after frying) fat analyses show that free fatty acidity (FFA), peroxide value (PV) and total polar materials (TPM) are enhanced in all samples at the 7th h, but the relative enhancement levels are lower in oleogel samples. Potato strips fried in oleogels absorb significantly less oil (11.97% and 12.07%) than the control sample (15.20%). Potatoes fried in oleogels are also more bright and yellower than the control sample. Textural profile of the fried potatoes indicates that the samples fried in oleogels are harder, springier, and gummier than that of the control sample. Sensory analysis shows that oleogel fried potatoes get higher sensory scores. Also, overall acceptability of potatoes fried in BWO-8 sample is the highest (8.50) among all. The prepared oleogels are found quite promising frying medium in this study. Further studies with other types of oleogels in extended period frying of various foods are suggested. Practical applications: The development of innovative frying techniques to produce healthier products with lower fat and calorie values are still a remarkable research area. Oleogelation is an emerging strategy used for solid-like oil designing and based on the formation of 3D networks by the addition of organogelators. Oleogelation is accepted as a healthy strategy to structure liquid oils into solid consistency, and oleogels have great edible applications in processed foods, and can be used as a frying medium. This work can guide the use of sunflower oil–beeswax oleogels as a frying medium and allow the development of more healthy fried snacks.     

Abrasion resistances of cellulosic,synthetic, polyurethane,waterborne and acidhardening varnishes used woods

This study was performed to determine the abrasion resistances of some varnishes used on wood materials. For this purpose, test samples prepared from Scots pine, Oriental beech, European oak, Black poplar, Basswood and Black walnut woods, which met the requirements of ASTM D 358, were coated according to ASTM D 3023 standards with cellulosic (C), synthetic (Sn), polyurethane (Pu), waterborne (Wb) and acidhardening (Ah) varnishes. The abrasion resistance of samples after the varnishing process was determined in accordance with TS 4755. It was observed that, according to wood samples, the highest abrasion resistance was obtained in Black walnut (168.9 rpm), and the lowest abrasion resistance was obtained in Scots pine (50.63 rpm); according to varnish types, the highest abrasion resistance was obtained in acidhardening (213.4 rpm), and the lowest abrasion resistance was obtained in waterborne (45.44 rpm). In accordance with the interaction of the factors wood type, varnish type and layer type, the highest abrasion resistance was found at interaction of Black walnut + acidhardening + 3 layers (578.0 rpm), and the lowest abrasion resistance was found at interaction of Oriental beech + waterborne + 1 layer (11.50 rpm). Furthermore, it was found that interactions according to the varnish type and amount of layer thickness display differences; varnish types are efficient to the first degree and layer thickness to the second degree for abrasion resistance. In this respect, it can be stated that in wooden parquets and place floorings, in which the abrasion resistance is considerably important, the varnish application with three layers of acidhardening can provide an advantage.