E-business technologies for xRM: Exploring the readiness of public broadcasters

This paper examines the possibilities of enhancing relationship management between public service broadcasters and their stakeholders by harnessing the potential of newest e-business technologies and concepts, such as: social media, digital and interactive TV, and mobile computing. In order to facilitate adoption of relationship management strategy, a framework for leveraging relationship management is proposed. Evaluation was performed within the e-business system of a public broadcaster. This empirical study explored the readiness and expected benefits of relationship management implementation. The research results have indicated that a public broadcaster could achieve a higher level of social responsibility, improve business sustainability, and empower communication and collaboration with all the stakeholders by using emerging technologies for relationship management activities.     

Prediction of traditionally utilised wheat dough technological quality parameters from Mixolab values: development and evaluation of regression models

The research was conducted with the aim to investigate the possibility of Farinograph, Extensograph and Amylograph values prediction with linear and/or multiple Mixolab regression models. In total, 163 flour samples were divided based on Machalanobis distances into three sets: prediction, validation and external sample set. Determination coefficients ranged from 0.145 to 0.640 for linear regression models and from 0.279 to 0.739 for multiple regression models. Internal and external validation of developed regression models was conducted. Testing of developed models resulted in a high share of samples for which predicted values were out of the ranges of method official reproducibility and a high share of samples for which predicted values were out of the quality level range obtained by analytical measurement. It was concluded that it is impossible to develop applicable regression models for prediction of Farinograph, Extensograph and Amylograph parameters on the basis of Mixolab values from standard protocol.     

Proteomic Analysis of Embryogenesis and the Acquisition of Seed Dormancy in Norway Maple (Acer platanoides L.)

The proteome of zygotic embryos of Acer platanoides L. was analyzed via high-resolution 2D-SDS-PAGE and MS/MS in order to: (1) identify significant physiological processes associated with embryo development; and (2) identify changes in the proteome of the embryo associated with the acquisition of seed dormancy. Seventeen spots were identified as associated with morphogenesis at 10 to 13 weeks after flowering (WAF). Thirty-three spots were associated with maturation of the embryo at 14 to 22 WAF. The greatest changes in protein abundance occurred at 22 WAF, when seeds become fully mature. Overall, the stage of morphogenesis was characterized by changes in the abundance of proteins (tubulins and actin) associated with the growth and development of the embryo. Enzymes related to energy supply were especially elevated, most likely due to the energy demand associated with rapid growth and cell division. The stage of maturation is crucial to the establishment of seed dormancy and is associated with a higher abundance of proteins involved in genetic information processing, energy and carbon metabolism and cellular and antioxidant processes. Results indicated that a glycine-rich RNA-binding protein and proteasome proteins may be directly involved in dormancy acquisition control, and future studies are warranted to verify this association.     

Safety assessment and antimicrobial properties of the lactic acid bacteria strains isolated from polish raw fermented meat products

Twenty-one strains of the genus Lactobacillus and the genus Pediococcus, isolated from Polish raw fermented meat products, were examined for the potential probiotic properties: resistance to simulated gastric and intestine conditions, safety assessment, and antimicrobial properties. Strains were resistant to gastric enzymes and low pH (3–6 log CFU/mL decrease) and intestinal enzymes and bile salts (1–3 log CFU/mL decrease). Most strains were resistant to gentamycin, streptomycin, vancomycin, tetracycline, ciprofloxacin, and kanamycin. Three of them (Lb. brevis BAL1, BAL10, and KL5) produced β-glucuronidase, which excludes them from qualifying as safe. Seven strains had the ability to produce bacteriocins or bacteriocin-like substances. Overall, strains Lb. brevis SCH6, Pd. pentosaceus BAL6, and KL14 revealed selected superior characteristics (resistance to the gastrointestinal conditions, safety assessment, and antimicrobial properties) as compared to the other LAB strains investigated, which made them a viable bioprotective culture that can be inoculated in raw fermented meat products as starter cultures.     

Outage performance of dual‐hop relaying systems over extended generalized‐K fading channels

The outage performance of the amplify‐and‐forward relaying strategies over mutually uncorrelated extended generalized‐K fading channels is addressed in this paper. The attention is dedicated to the analyses of the noise‐limited and also interference‐limited environment. The new analytical expression for outage probability of observed relaying system in the presence of thermal noise is derived using the method for approximating equivalent signal‐to‐noise ratio. In addition, the outage performance is studied for the dual‐hop system when only the single dominant co‐channel interference is inherent at the relay and destination node. The correctness of the proposed mathematical derivations is verified by simulations. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Viscoelastic properties of poly(ε‐caprolactone)/clay nanocomposites in solid and in melt state

Viscoelastic properties in solid and in melt state of poly(ε‐caprolactone), PCL, nanocomposites with organomodified clays (Cloisite30B and Cloisite15A) are thoroughly investigated. Although WAXD is insensitive to the difference in the nanocomposites structure, the melt rheology reveals pronounced differences between the two series. Melt yield stress values, obtained from fittings by the Carreau–Yasuda model, are used as a measure of partial exfoliation of the clay. Temperature dependence of the shift factors, used for time–temperature superposition of the modulus curves, yields similar values of the flow activation energies for all the samples. Temperature dependences of the dynamic modulus and loss factor of solid nanocomposites were correlated to the structural differences deduced from the melt rheology. The increase in the storage modulus is compared to the theoretical predictions from the Halpin–Tsai model. The effective aspect ratio obtained from this comparison agrees reasonably with the value estimated from the melt rheology. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 42896.     

Synthesis,spectroscopic characterisation,and potential application of dyes containing a carbostyril skeleton as sensors for thiols

Several dyes based on a carbostyril skeleton were synthesised and characterised using proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and electron ionisation mass spectrometry. Their basic spectroscopic properties, such as absorption and emission spectra, were also measured. The behaviour of the obtained dyes in the absence and presence of thiol amino acids and other compounds under various conditions were studied. These dyes contain various moieties in the structure, acting as Michael acceptors. Results show that the studied compounds have the potential to act as colorimetric sensors for thiols, but the benzothioazolium dyes are less effective than dicyanoethylene derivatives.     

Functional Properties of Gelatin/Polyvinyl Alcohol Films Containing Black Cumin Cake Extract and Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Produced via Casting Technique

This study aimed to develop and characterize gelatin/polyvinyl alcohol (G/PVA) films loaded with black cumin cake extract (BCCE) and zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs). The BCCE was also applied for the green synthesis of ZnONPs with an average size of less than 100 nm. The active films were produced by a solvent-casting technique, and their physicochemical and antibacterial properties were investigated. Supplementation of G/PVA film in ZnONPs decreased the tensile strength (TS) from 2.97 MPa to 1.69 MPa. The addition of BCCE and ZnONPs increased the elongation at the break (EAB) of the enriched film by about 3%. The G/PVA/BCCE/ZnONPs film revealed the lowest water vapor permeability (WVP = 1.14 × 10⁻⁹ g·mm·Pa⁻¹·h⁻¹·mm⁻²) and the highest opacity (3.41 mm⁻¹). The QUick, Easy, New, CHEap and Reproducible (QUENCHER) methodologies using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6- sulfonic acid) (ABTS) and cupric ion reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC) were applied to measure antioxidant capacity (AC) of the prepared films. The incorporation of BCCE and ZnONPs into G/PVA films enhanced the AC by 8–144%. The films containing ZnONPs and a mixture of BCCE and ZnONPs inhibited the growth of three Gram-positive bacterial strains. These nanocomposite films with desired functional properties can be recommended to inhibit microbial spoilage and oxidative rancidity of packaged food.