Physicochemical,carbohydrate and sensory characteristics of highbush and rabbiteye blueberry cultivars

The chemical composition, colour and texture of fresh berries from three rabbiteye (‘Climax’, ‘Premier’ and ‘Tifblue’) and two highbush (‘Bluecrop’ and ‘Jersey’) blueberry cultivars were measured. Shear (482 vs 290 N), compression (6.50 vs 3.96 N) and puncture forces (1.48 and 0.85 vs 0.81 and 0.43 N) were higher (P ≤ 0.05) for rabbiteye than for highbush cultivars. Shear for ‘Bluecrop’ blueberries averaged 254 N, whereas for ‘Climax’ it was 565 N. The puncture force required to penetrate the skin was lower for ‘Bluecrop’ (0.78 N) and ‘Jersey’ (0.83 N) and higher for ‘Climax’ (1.71 N). However, sensory panellists found no differences (P > 0.05) in colour, flavour or skin toughness among the five cultivars. ‘Climax’ was rated lower in seediness. Rabbiteye cultivars contained more fibre and complex polysaccharides than highbush cultivars. These differences in complex carbohydrates that make up the cell wall layers may contribute to the toughness of rabbiteye cultivars and their possible longer fresh shelf‐life, though taste panellists did not find this toughness objectionable. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

Synthesis and characterization of the SBA-15/carbon cryogel nanocomposites

The ordered mesoporous silica SBA-15 materials were synthesized using Pluronic P123 (non-ionic triblock copolymer, EO₂₀PO₇₀O₂₀), under acidic conditions. SBA-15/carbon cryogel composites were obtained by sol–gel polycondensation of resorcinol and formaldehyde followed by freeze drying, and subsequent pyrolysis, in the presence of different amounts of SBA-15. For comparison purpose, SBA-15/carbon composite was also prepared using sucrose as carbon source. These materials were characterized by room temperature nitrogen adsorption–desorption measurement, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. It was revealed that the samples have amorphous structure, high specific surface area (350–520 m² g^?1) and developed meso- as well as microporosity. The porosity of structure depends on the carbon source and Si/C ratio which can be easily controlled by varying concentration of starting solution.     

Geodetic method of the fuel tank form inspection

Fuel tanks are usually built of metal and have got a cylindrical form. Due to permanent exposition to different weather conditions, they change their form in time. However, the calculation of fuel volume is calculated using the original tank dimensions, which yields to huge differences in the actual volume. Dimensions of the tank shall be calculated with the measurement uncertainty of 1 mm, according to requested accuracy of the tank volume. A geodetic method of tank dimensions determination is presented in the paper. We estimated the measurement accuracy of geometrical quantities in order to reach the requested measurement uncertainty of tank dimensions. The method is tested with a real example.     

Association of toxic and essential metals with atopy markers and ventilatory lung function in women and men

The association of age, smoking, alcohol, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), blood lead (BPb) and cadmium (BCd) levels, and serum levels of copper (SCu), zinc (SZn) and selenium (SSe) with atopic status and ventilatory function was examined in the groups of 166 women and 50 men with no occupational exposure to metals or other xenobiotics. Markers of atopy included serum total IgE, skin prick test (SPT) to common inhalatory allergens, non-specific nasal reactivity (NNR) and non-specific bronchial reactivity (NBR). Parameters of ventilatory function included forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV(1)). Significantly higher BPb, SZn, IgE and prevalence of positive SPT, and lower SCu and NNR was found in men than in women. Fifteen women taking female sex hormones (HT) had significantly higher SCu than women without HT. Regression models showed significant inverse associations between IgE and SCu (P=0.021) and NNR and SCu (P=0.044) in women. When excluding women with HT, the association of SCu and total IgE became of borderline significance (P=0.051), association between SCu and NNR disappeared, and significant positive association between total IgE and BPb emerged (P=0.046). In men, significant inverse association was found between positive SPT and SSe, and between NBR and SSe. A decrease in FVC% and FEV(1)% was associated with an increase in smoking intensity (P<0.001) and a decrease in SZn (P=0.043 and P=0.053, respectively). These results were observed at the levels of the metals comparable to those in general populations worldwide. The observed differences between men and women may partly be explained by different levels of relevant toxic and essential metals, and their combination. The role of female HT in associations of atopy markers and SCu should be further investigated.     

Dehalogenation of iodinated X-ray contrast media in a bioelectrochemical system

Iodinated X-ray contrast media (ICM) are only to a limited extent removed from conventional wastewater treatment plants, due to their high recalcitrance. This work reports on the cathodic dehalogenation of the ICM iopromide in a bioelectrochemical system (BES), fed with acetate at the anode and iopromide at the cathode. When the granular graphite cathode potential was decreased from -500 to -850 mV vs standard hydrogen electrode (SHE), the iopromide removal and the iodide release rates increased from 0 to 4.62 ± 0.01 mmol m(-3) TCC d(-1) and 0 to 13.4 ± 0.16 mmol m(-3) TCC d(-1) (Total Cathodic Compartment, TCC) respectively. Correspondingly, the power consumption increased from 0.4 ± 1 to 20.5 ± 3.3 W m(-3) TCC. The Coulombic efficiency of the iopromide dehalogenation at the cathode was less than 1%, while the Coulombic efficiency of the acetate oxidation at the anode was lower than 50% at various granular graphite cathode potentials. The results suggest that iopromide could be completely dehalogenated in BESs when the granular graphite cathode potential was controlled at -800 mV vs SHE or lower. This finding was further confirmed using mass spectrometry to identify the dehalogenated intermediates and products of iopromide in BESs. Kinetic analysis indicates that iopromide dehalogenation in batch experiments can be described by a first-order model at various cathode potentials. This work demonstrates that the BESs have a potential for efficient dehalogenation of ICM from wastewater or environmental streams.     

Powdered barley sprouts: composition,functionality and polyphenol digestibility

This study was performed to evaluate the phytochemical composition, in vitro antioxidant capacity, antihyperglycaemic and anti‐inflammatory activities, and simulated gastrointestinal digestion of 7‐day‐old freeze‐dried barley sprouts (BS), one hybrid and one nonhybrid variety: ‘NS565’ (BSNS) and ‘Golozrni’ (BSG), respectively. BSNS expressed significantly higher (P ≤ 0.05) content of total phenols, chlorophyll and carotenoids. Phenolic compounds were the most dominant bioactives in both BSNS and BSG (713.25 and 479.02 mg GAE 100 g^?1 DW, respectively). BSNS possessed significantly higher (P ≤ 0.05) antioxidant capacity, evaluated by DPPH and ABTS assays, and reducing power ( = 0.54 mg mL^?1; IC₅₀^ABTS = 0.79 mg mL^?1; RP_0.5 = 9.35 mg mL^?1). Antihyperglycaemic and anti‐inflammatory activities of BSNS ( = 1.43 mg mL^?1;  = 1.86 mg mL^?1) were also significantly higher (P ≤ 0.05) than BSG ( = 1.97 mg mL^?1;  = 4.40 mg mL^?1). In vitro simulation of gastrointestinal digestion showed higher release of phenolic compounds in intestinal fluid than in gastric fluid.     

Influence of winemaking techniques on the resveratrol content, total phenolic content and antioxidant potential of red wines

In this paper, the influence of winemaking techniques and cultivars on the resveratrol content, total phenolic content and antioxidant potential of red wines was studied. Wines were made from the cultivars Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Prokupac. Applied winemaking technologies included thermovinification and separation of must from pomace. The analysis of trans- and cis-resveratrol in wines was performed by HPLC, while the total phenolic content and antioxidant potential was determined by spectrophotometric methods. The total resveratrol content in analysed samples ranged from 0.35 to 4.85 mg/l; Merlot wines had the highest average resveratrol content, while the lowest was found for native cultivar Prokupac. Although the resveratrol content depended on grape variety, correlation between the winemaking technology applied and the resveratrol level in wines was not observed. The total phenolic content (TPC) varied from 544.4 to 1410.4 mg/l expressed as gallic acid equivalents, and the antioxidant potential, assayed by DPPH in terms of SC₅₀ (mean scavenging concentration), ranged from 0.58 to 2.91 μl/ml. Obtained results showed that thermovinificated wine samples had higher amount of phenolic compounds. Significant negative correlation was observed (p < 0.05) between the total phenolic content and SC₅₀, but there was no significant correlation (p > 0.05) between the resveratrol content and SC₅₀ or TPC. This study could contribute to the establishment of optimal conditions for producing red wines which contain more beneficial phenolic compounds.     

Antioxidant and antimicrobial potentials of Serbian red wines produced from international Vitis vinifera grape varieties

BACKGROUND: Antioxidant and antimicrobial potentials of Serbian red wines produced from different international Vitis vinifera grape varieties and their correlation with contents of phenolic compounds were studied by spectrophotometric and chromatographic methods. The antioxidant activity of red wines was estimated through their ability to scavenge 2,2′‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl free radical (DPPH^?). The red wines, gallic acid, (+)‐catechin and quercetin were screened in vitro for antimicrobial activity against Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative strains using microdilution and disc diffusion techniques. RESULTS: Excellent correlations between the contents of quercetin‐3‐glucoside (R² = 0.9463) and quercetin (R² = 0.9337) and DPPH^?‐scavenging ability of the red wines were found. Serbian red wines exhibited significant activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria inocua, Micrococcus flavus, Sarcina lutea, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella enteritidis and Shigella sonnei strains, which was in correlation with their phenolic composition and antioxidant activity. The compounds gallic acid, quercetin and (+)‐catechin showed high activity against B. subtilis, S. aureus, S. lutea and M. flavus Gram‐positive and S. enteritidis and P. aeruginosa Gram‐negative strains. CONCLUSION: The results show that quercetin‐3‐glucoside and quercetin concentrations can be used as markers for the determination of antioxidant and antimicrobial potentials of red wines. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Performance of Dual Branch SSC Receiver in Correlated <Emphasis Type="Italic">α</Emphasis>-<Emphasis Type="Italic">μ</Emphasis> Fading Channels

In this paper, the performance analysis of dual branch switch and stay combining (SSC) receivers operating over correlated and identically distributed (i.d.) α-μ fading channels is presented. Assuming this diversity technique, infinite series expressions with fast converging properties are derived for the probability density function (pdf), cumulative distribution function (cdf) and the moments of the output envelope. The proposed analysis is used for evaluating the important performance criteria, such as the outage probability, the mean square output envelope, the amount of fading and the average bit error probability (ABEP). The effects of fading severity, branch correlation and optimum choice of switching threshold are considered and numerically presented. Monte Carlo simulations confirm the validity and accuracy of the derived analytical expressions.     

Ultrasound-assisted production of bioethanol by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of corn meal

An ultrasound-assisted liquefaction as a pretreatment for bioethanol production by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) of corn meal using Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. ellipsoideus yeast in a batch system was studied. Ultrasound pretreatment (at a frequency of 40 kHz) was performed at different sonication times and temperatures, before addition of liquefying enzyme. An optimal duration of the treatment of 5 min and sonication temperature of 60 °C were selected, taking into account glucose concentration after the liquefaction step. Under the optimum conditions an increase of glucose concentration of 6.82% over untreated control sample was achieved. Furthermore, the SSF process kinetics was assessed and determined, and the effect of ultrasound pretreatment on an increase of ethanol productivity was investigated. The obtained results indicated that the ultrasound pretreatment could increase the ethanol concentration by 11.15% (compared to the control sample) as well as other significant process parameters. In this case, the maximum ethanol concentration of 9.67% w/w (which corresponded to percentage of the theoretical ethanol yield of 88.96%) was achieved after 32 h of the SSF process. A comparison of scanning electron micrographs of the ultrasound-pretreated and untreated samples of corn meal suspensions showed that the ultrasound stimulated degradation of starch granules and release of glucose, and thereby accelerated the starch hydrolysis due to the cavitation and acoustic streaming caused by the ultrasonic action.