Physicochemical Characterization of Wheat Straw during a Continuous Pretreatment Process

The changes occurring during the depolymerization of lignocellulosic biomasses are not yet fully understood. Synchrotron micro‐Fourier transform infrared (µ‐FTIR), Raman spectroscopy (RS), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), and X‐ray fluorescence (XRF) were applied for better characterization of wheat straw fibers during a continuous pretreatment process in terms of conditioning (C), extrusion (E), steam explosion (SE), and enzymatic hydrolysis (EH). µ‐FTIR revealed functional groups as phenylpropanoid polymers, ethers, and aliphatic alcohol. RS detected acetoacetate, methyl and phenol groups after SE. The crystallinity index and silica content were also determined.     

Structural property of soybean lunasin and development of a method to quantify lunasin in plasma using an optimized immunoassay protocol

Lunasin is a 43-amino acid naturally occurring chemopreventive peptide with demonstrated anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties. The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of temperature on the secondary structure of lunasin, to develop a method of isolating lunasin from human plasma using an ion-exchange microspin column and to quantify the amount of lunasin using an optimized enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Lunasin was purified using a combination of ion-exchange chromatography, ultrafiltration and gel filtration chromatography. Circular dichroism showed that increased in temperature from 25 to 100 °C resulted in changes on the secondary structure of lunasin and its capability to interact with rabbit polyclonal antibody. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay showed that lunasin rabbit polyclonal antibody has a titer of 250 and a specific activity of 0.05 mL/μg. A linear response was detected between 16 to 48 ng lunasin per mL (y = 0.03x − 0.38, R² = 0.96). The use of diethylaminoethyl microspin column to isolate spiked lunasin in human plasma showed that most lunasin (37.8–46.5%) bound to the column eluted with Tris–HCl buffer, pH 7.5 with a yield up to 76.6%. In conclusion, lunasin can be isolated from human plasma by a simple DEAE microspin column technique and can be quantified using a validated and optimized immunoassay procedure. This method can be used directly to quantify lunasin from plasma in different human and animal studies aiming to determine its bioavailability.     

Sensory and chemical evaluation of winey-vinegary defect in virgin olive oils

Winey-vinegary sensory defect was evaluated in virgin olive oil samples from a sensory and chemical point of view. Qualitative and quantitative differences were found in the profile of volatiles of extra-virgin olive oil samples without sensory defects and samples with high intensities of winey-vinegary sensory attribute. Several volatile compounds were found to be correlated to winey-vinegary sensory defect in virgin olive oils, acetic acid and ethyl acetate having correlation coefficients of 0.98 and 0.94 respectively. A synthetic sample was obtained with the sensory characteristics of the winey defect. Samples with low values of winey sensory defect were also studied and the evaluation of the presence of the defect using the content of four volatile compounds only was demonstrated. Received: 5 August 1999 / Revised version: 22 October 1999     

Synthesis and characterisation of magnetite nanoparticles using gelatin and starch as capping agents

Nanoparticles of magnetite passivated with gelatin and starch were synthesised using a co‐precipitation technique. The nanoparticles were characterised using ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis), dynamic light scattering (DLS), Zeta potential, transmission electron microscope (TEM), X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The UV–vis spectra showed characteristic surface plasmon resonance of magnetite nanoparticles. The DLS results showed the nanoparticles to have average hydrodynamic diameters of 138 ± 2 and 283 ± 21 nm for particles passivated with gelatin and starch, respectively. The stability in a colloidal solution was greater in nanoparticles passivated with gelatin than nanoparticles obtained with starch, as can be seen by their Zeta potential value (−31 ± 2 and −16 ± 0.5 mV, respectively). According to the TEM evaluation, the use of gelatin allowed to obtain nanoparticles with a spherical morphology and an average size of 10 ± 2 nm. However, when using starch the nanoparticles exhibited diverse morphologies with an average size of 25 ± 7 nm. The XRD results confirmed the crystalline structure of the samples, which showed crystallite sizes of 14.90 and 24.43 nm for nanoparticles passivated with gelatin and starch, respectively. FTIR analysis proved the establishment of interactions between functional groups of biopolymers and magnetite nanoparticles.Inspec keywords: crystallites, nanofabrication, ultraviolet spectra, gelatin, surface plasmon resonance, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, visible spectra, X‐ray diffraction, iron compounds, electrokinetic effects, particle size, colloids, nanoparticles, nanomedicine, precipitation (physical chemistry), light scattering, magnetic particles, Fourier transform infrared spectra, nanomagnetics, filled polymers, nanocompositesOther keywords: magnetite nanoparticles, gelatin, starch, characteristic surface plasmon resonance, capping agents, passivation, co‐precipitation technique, ultraviolet–visible spectra, zeta potential value, dynamic light scattering, DLS, transmission electron microscopy, TEM, X‐ray diffraction, XRD, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, FTIR, surface plasmon resonance, hydrodynamic diameters, colloidal solution, spherical morphology, crystalline structure, crystallite size, biopolymers, Fe₂ O₃      

Foldover Plans for Resolution IV Designs with 11 to 16 Factors

When there is a concern about the best way to apply the foldover technique to a Resolution IV fraction, it is often helpful to consult the literature available. Unfortunately, foldover plans for Resolution IV designs with 11 ≤ k factors are not provided. This article shows a methodology for the selection and classification of foldover plans for two‐level fractional factorial designs with 11 to 16 factors based on an exhaustive search and computer programming. The recommended foldovers are presented. This research extends the current foldover plans available for Resolution IV designs. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Human Factors Assessment Technique for the Chemical Process Industry

This paper outlines the development of a new human factors assessment tool for the chemical process industry. The approach considers the whole human factors spectrum as the basis for determining the overall quality of human factors in the plant under assessment. The output of the technique is a qualitative report and of quantitative value. From the detailed report, the weak areas in a plant can be detected. The actions to improve these areas can be derived and this not only leads to higher safety but also to higher operation efficiency. The developed computer interface makes the technique especially easy to use, even for non‐human factors experts.     

In vitro gastrointestinal digestion of mango by-product snacks: Potential absorption of polyphenols and antioxidant capacity

Mango by-products are considered cheap sources of valuable foods and nutraceutical ingredients. In this work, antioxidant capacity (AOX), and potential absorption ability (PAA) of extractable polyphenols (EP) from mango by-product snacks (MB-S) were evaluated at different stages of in vitro gastrointestinal digestion. A wheat and oat-based control snack and three MB-S formulations (F1, F2 and F3) were prepared. Mango by-products were added at the expense of wheat in MB-S (paste-peel-seed): F1 (70-30-0), F2 (70-15-15), F3 (70-7.5-22.5). The highest release of polyphenols was observed after the gastric digestion. In the intestinal stage, MB-SF1 was the snack with the highest EP content (23.39 mg GAE/g db), two times greater than the control. Gallic acid and mangiferin were the main polyphenols identified in MB-S. The incorporation of mango seed in the MB-S reduced the polyphenols PAA by 10.29%. However, compared with the control snack, consumption of 30 g MB-SF1 provided additional 45 mg polyphenols.     

Self‐assembled nanostructures: preparation,characterization, thermal,optical and morphological characteristics of amphiphilic diblock copolymers based on poly(2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate‐block‐N‐phenylmaleimide)

A series of well‐defined amphiphilic poly[(2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate)‐block‐(N‐phenylmaleimide)] diblock copolymers containing hydrophilic and hydrophobic blocks of different lengths were synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization. The properties of the diblock copolymers and their ability to form large compound spherical micelles are described. Their optical, morphological and thermal properties and self‐assembled structure were also investigated. The chemical structure and composition of these copolymers have been characterized by elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared, ¹H NMR, UV–visible and fluorescence spectroscopy, and size exclusion chromatography. Furthermore, the self‐assembly behavior of these copolymers was investigated by transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering, which indicated that the amphiphilic diblock copolymer can self‐assemble into micelles, depending on the length of both blocks in the copolymers. These diblock copolymers gave rise to a variety of microstructures, from spherical micelles, hexagonal cylinders to lamellar phases. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry