Nutritional and physicochemical evaluations of tahina (sesame butter) prepared from heat‐treated sesame seeds

Dehulled sesame seeds were roasted using different heat treatments. The effects of roasting treatments on the nutritive value, physicochemical properties and sensory properties of produced tahina were studied. Resultant tahina contained 586–594 g kg⁻¹ crude oil, 219–226 g kg⁻¹ crude protein and <30 g kg⁻¹ crude fibre and ash. Crude protein, crude fibre, ash and N‐free extract in tahina samples were not affected by roasting treatments. However, crude oil was decreased by steam roasting and hot plate roasting. Hot plate roasting was more effective in reducing raffinose content than other roasting treatments, whereas vacuum roasting was less effective in reducing raffinose content than other roasting treatments. Tahinas were good sources of essential amino acids, especially sulphur‐containing amino acids, aromatic amino acids and tryptophan. Hot air roasted tahina followed by vacuum roasted tahina had higher total essential amino acid contents than steam roasted and hot plate roasted tahinas. Lysine was the first limiting amino acid in tahinas. Tahinas had a relatively high in vitro protein digestibility (over 83%). Tahina is a good source of niacin. Hot air roasted tahina had the highest content of B group vitamins compared with other tahina samples. Resultant tahinas had relatively high amounts of Na, Mg, K, Cu, Zn and Fe and a low amount of Ca. Roasting treatments did not affect the mineral contents. All roasted samples had a typical protein spectrum with a maximum absorption at 280 nm and minimum at 260 nm. However, the spectrum of hot air roasted tahina proteins was sharper than the spectra of other tahina proteins. Size exclusion HPLC fractionated tahina proteins into two fractions for hot roasted and vacuum roasted tahinas and three fractions for steam roasted and hot plate roasted tahinas. The gel filtration pattern of tahina proteins contained four peaks with identical elution volumes but different proportions. Hot air roasted and vacuum roasted tahinas had higher panel scores than steam roasted and hot plate roasted tahinas for all tested sensory properties. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry     

Rheological properties of biopolymers drilling fluids

Drilling muds are complex fluids, generally used to clean the well, maintain hole integrity, transport the rock cuttings, lubricate the drill bit and control formation pressures. Two basic types of drilling fluids are used, water based muds (WBM) and oil based muds (OBM). OBM are very effective but polluting, and environmental regulations continue to restrict the use of oil based muds in many areas of the world. In order to reduce the mud toxicity, we developed water based mud systems using two biopolymers, which are xanthan gum and scleroglucan, generally proposed for high permeability reservoirs or for complex geometries such as horizontal wells. In this study, we evaluated the rheological behaviour of different samples and we determined the effect of components such as clay, calcium carbonate and potassium chloride. This formulations exhibit non-Newtonian rheological behaviour which can be described well by the tree parameter in Herschel–Bulkley rheological model.     

An intelligent hybrid optimistic/pessimistic concurrency control algorithm for centralized database systems using modified GSA-optimized ART neural model

Concurrency control is the activity of synchronizing operations issued by concurrent executing transactions on a shared database. The aim of this control is to provide an execution that has the same effect as a serial (non-interleaved) one. The optimistic concurrency control technique allows the transactions to execute without synchronization, relying on commit-time validation to ensure serializability. Effectiveness of the optimistic techniques depends on the conflict rate of transactions. Since different systems have various patterns of conflict and the patterns may also change over time, so applying the optimistic scheme to the entire system results in degradation of performance. In this paper, a novel algorithm is proposed that dynamically selects the optimistic or pessimistic approach based on the value of conflict rate. The proposed algorithm uses an adaptive resonance theory–based neural network in making decision for granting a lock or detection of the winner transaction. In addition, the parameters of this neural network are optimized by a modified gravitational search algorithm. On the other hand, in the real operational environments we know the writeset (WS) and readset (RS) only for a fraction of transactions set before execution. So, the proposed algorithm is designed based on optional knowledge about WS and RS of transactions. Experimental results show that the proposed hybrid concurrency control algorithm results in more than 35 % reduction in the number of aborts in high-transaction rates as compared to strict two-phase locking algorithm that is used in many commercial database systems. This improvement is 13 % as compared to pure-pessimistic approach and is more than 31 % as compared to pure-optimistic approach.     

Robust decentralized PID-based power system stabilizer design using an ILMI approach

Thanks to its essential functionality and structure simplicity, proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controllers are commonly used by industrial utilities. A robust PID-based power system stabilizer (PSS) is proposed to properly function over a wide range of operating conditions. Uncertainties in plant parameters, due to variation in generation and load patterns, are expressed in the form of a polytopic model. The PID control problem is firstly reduced to a generalized static output feedback (SOF) synthesis. The derivative action is designed and implemented as a high-pass filter based on a low-pass block to reduce its sensitivity to sensor noise. The proposed design algorithm adopts a quadratic Lyapunov approach to guarantee α-decay rate for the entire polytope. A constrained structure of Lyapunov function and SOF gain matrix is considered to enforce a decentralized scheme. Setting of controller parameters is carried out via an iterative linear matrix inequality (ILMI). Simulation results, based on a benchmark model of a two-area four-machine test system, are presented to compare the proposed design to a well-tuned conventional PSS and to the standard IEEE-PSS4B stabilizer.     

A NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR THE CRYSTALLIZATION OF DEAD SEA POTASSIUM CHLORIDE

The aim of this article is to introduce a new technology for the production of Dead Sea potassium chloride. The new technology depends on using the power of ultrasound waves during a crystallization process to enhance potassium chloride precipitation and to improve the end-use properties of the produced crystals. This environmentally clean technology, which is called sonocrystallization, has received very intensive research in the past few years. It was used in this study to modify the crystallization process of potassium chloride from the decomposition of Dead Sea carnallite. Two crystallization runs were done; the first was performed without the application of ultrasound waves and the second was performed with this application. The effect of sonication on the crystallization process time and on crystal size distribution as well as on the purity of the crystals was studied. It was found that the required time for the un-sonicated process was about 150 min. This time was reduced to about 50 min when sonication was applied. The produced crystals were sieved, and the crystal size distribution (CSD) was determined for the two runs. For the sonicated process, finer but more uniform crystals were obtained with a mean average size of 0.2643 mm in comparison with 0.5727 mm for the un-sonicated process. The produced crystals were found to be of 96.07% KCl for the un-sonicated process and this purity was improved to 97.31% KCl by the application of ultrasound waves. Based on the results of this study, it seems to be feasible and economical to scale up the proposed technology for industrial applications.     

Co-immobilization of chitosan and dermatan sulfate from Raja montagui skin on polyethylene terephthalate surfaces: Characterization and antibiofilm activity

In this work, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was chemically modified by covalent co-immobilization of two separate layers of bioactive polymers composed of chitosan and a new dermatan sulfate isolated from Raja montagui skin. The new materials obtained were characterized by determination of carboxyl groups, ATR-FTIR spectroscopy, drop water contact angle, SEM, and TGA measurements. The different immobilizations modified the surface characteristics; especially when the first layer was dermatan sulfate (PET–DS–Chito) which presented the best surface wettability (71?±?3°). It also reduced the ability of Staphylococcus epidermidis to form biofilm on PET surfaces which could decrease the virulence of vascular prosthesis infections.     

In Vitro Antiprotozoal Activity of Abietane Diterpenoids Isolated from Plectranthus barbatus Andr.

Chromatographic separation of the n-hexane extract of the aerial part of Plectranthus barbatus led to the isolation of five abietane-type diterpenes: dehydroabietane (1); 5,6-didehydro-7-hydroxy-taxodone (2); taxodione (3); 20-deoxocarnosol (4) and 6α,11,12,-trihydroxy-7β,20-epoxy-8,11,13-abietatriene (5). The structures were determined using spectroscopic methods including one- and two-dimensional NMR methods. Compounds (1)–(3) and (5) are isolated here for the first time from the genus Plectranthus. The isolated abietane-type diterpenes tested in vitro for their antiprotozoal activity against erythrocytic schizonts of Plasmodium falciparum, intracellular amastigotes of Leishmania infantum and Trypanosoma cruzi and free trypomastigotes of T. brucei. Cytotoxicity was determined against fibroblast cell line MRC-5. Compound (2) 5,6-didehydro-7-hydroxy-taxodone showed remarkable activity with acceptable selectivity against P. falciparum (IC₅₀ 9.2 μM, SI 10.4) and T. brucei (IC₅₀ 1.9 μM, SI 50.5). Compounds (3)–(5) exhibited non-specific antiprotozoal activity due to high cytotoxicity. Compound (1) dehydroabietane showed no antiprotozoal potential.     

Modern Template Design and Biological Evaluation of Cephradine-loaded Magnesium Calcium Silicate Nanocomposites as an Inhibitor for Nosocomial Bacteria in Biomedical Applications

Silicon - Magnesium calcium silicate nanostructures (MCSNS) loaded with (0.0, 0.6, 0.9, and 1.2 wt%) of Cephradine-drug consisting of mesoporous particles were functionally prepared by sol-gel...