Floral Odors of Silene otites: Their Variability and Attractiveness to Mosquitoes

Inflorescence scent samples from nine populations of dioecious Silene otites, a plant pollinated by moths and mosquitoes, were collected by dynamic headspace extraction. Sixty-three scent samples were analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Out of 38 found, 35 compounds were identified, most of which were monoterpenoids, fatty acid derivatives, and benzenoids. Phenyl acetaldehyde was the most dominant compound in the majority of samples. The variability in scent composition was high, and population and sex differences were found. Nevertheless, wind tunnel experiments proved similar attraction of Culex pipiens pipiens biotype molestus mosquitoes to the inflorescence odor of S. otites of different populations, indicating that different blends are similarly attractive to mosquitoes. The electrophysiological responses of mosquitoes to the 12 most common and abundant odor compounds of S. otites differed. Linalool oxide (furanoid) and linalool evoked the strongest responses in male and female mosquitoes, and (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate was strongly active in females. Medium responses were evoked in males by (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate, in females by benzaldehyde and methyl salicylate, and in both sexes by lilac aldehyde, lilac alcohol, and linalool oxide (pyranoid).     

Influence of processing method and holding time on the physical and sensory qualities of cooked marinated chicken breast fillets

The effects of different processing methods and marinating times on the physical and sensory properties of cooked Chinese-style marinated chicken breast fillets were investigated. Factors including marinade treatment (CM = coarse + mixing; CMH = coarse + mixing + homogenizing; FM = fine + mixing; FMH = fine + mixing + homogenizing) marinating method (immersion only, injection and immersion, tumbling) and holding time (0, 18 h) were applied to samples before cooking under simulated commercial conditions. Marinade absorption, cooking loss, maximum force and surface colour (L*, a*, b* values) were measured. Sensory properties including colour, colour penetration, aroma, toughness, flavour acceptability, saltiness, sourness, sweetness, juiciness and overall acceptability were also evaluated using 20 naïve assessors. Homogenized marinades, CMH and FMH increased surface CIE a* (redness) and b* (yellowness) values. Conversely, CM had the lowest colour penetration. Employing a tumbling method and an 18 h holding period was found to be positively correlated with most sensory attributes measured; surface colour, colour penetration, aroma, saltiness and sweetness. The individual effect of tumbling produced a significantly (P < 0.05) higher overall acceptability, whereas samples held for 18 h were least preferred by the assessors due to lower flavour and overall acceptability scores.     

Biofunctionalization of Metal–Organic Framework Nanoparticles via Combined Nitroxide-Mediated Polymerization and Nitroxide Exchange Reaction

Surface engineering of metal–organic framework nanoparticles (MOF NPs), and enabling their post-synthetic modulation that facilitates the formation of bio-interfaces has tremendous potential for diverse applications including therapeutics, imaging, biosensing, and drug-delivery systems. Despite the progress in MOF NPs synthesis, colloidal stability and homogeneous dispersity—a desirable property for biotechnological applications, stands as a critical obstacle and remains a challenging task. In this report, dynamic surfaces modification of MOF NPs with polyethylene glycol (PEG) polymer is described using grafting-from PEGylation by employing nitroxide-mediated polymerization (NMP) and inserting arginylglycylaspartic acid (RGD) peptides on the surface via a nitroxide exchange reaction (NER). The dynamic modification strategy enables tailoring PEG-grafted MOF NPs of the type UiO-66-NH₂ with improved colloidal stability, and high dispersity, while the morphology and lattice crystallinity are strictly preserved. The interaction of PEG-grafted MOF NPs with human serum albumin (HSA) protein under physiological conditions is studied. The PEG-grafted colloidal MOF NPs adsorb less HSA protein than the uncoated ones. Therefore, the described approach increases the scope of bio-relevant applications of colloidal MOF NPs by reducing nonspecific interactions using NMP based PEGylation, while preserving the possibility to introduce targeting moieties via NER for specific interactions.     

Cold plasma treatment advancements in food processing and impact on the physiochemical characteristics of food products

Food Science and Biotechnology - Cold plasma processing is a nonthermal approach that maintains food quality while minimizing the effects of heat on its nutritious qualities. Utilizing activated,...     

The effects of decision timing for pricing and marketing efforts in a supply chain with competing manufacturers

This paper investigates the impact of decision timing for pricing and marketing efforts in a supply chain led by competing manufacturers. We develop and solve six games to consider the scenarios (games) where prices and marketing efforts (ME) are decided simultaneously, and when they are not (i.e., ME is set either before or after prices). We examine these three scenarios for the benchmark case of a bilateral monopolistic channel, then extend the analysis to a supply chain with competing manufacturers. We identify the optimal decision timing by comparing equilibrium profits and strategies across games in each supply chain setup. We find that a monopolistic manufacturer always prefers that prices and ME be decided simultaneously. However, this result does not hold when product competition is taken into account. The optimal decision timing for competing manufacturers depends on the retailer's and manufacturers' ME effectiveness levels as well as on competition intensity. Specifically, when ME are not very effective, a simultaneous decision scenario is preferred because it provides the advantage of higher profit margins or sales. However, for highly effective ME, manufacturers prefer to decouple ME and pricing decisions. The retailer's optimal scenario is either to make all decisions simultaneously or to choose prices prior to ME. This means that supply chain firms can face conflict due to the decision timing for prices and ME.