Variation in the Vitamin and Mineral Content of Raw and Cooked Commercial Phaseolus Vulgaris Classes

Raw and cooked samples of nine different commercial classes of the Phaseolus vulgaris L. species were analyzed for their contents of five water-soluble vitamins and nine minerals. On a 100g dry weight basis, the mean vitamin and mineral values of the raw bean samples amounted to the following: thiamin 0.99 mg, riboflavin 0.20 mg, niacin 1.99 mg, vitamin B₆ 0.49 mg, folic acid 0.30 mg, phosphorus 0.46g, sodium 10.3 mg, potassium 1.54g, calcium 0.15g, magnesium 0.20g, zinc 3.2 mg, manganese 1.4 mg, copper 0.91 mg, and iron 5.84 mg. With a few exceptions variabilities of these nutrients between bean classes exceeded those within classes. Nutrient variabilities in cooked samples, again with a few exceptions, were higher than in the corresponding uncooked material. Retention values of water-soluble vitamins during cooking between bean classes averaged between 70 and 75%. Retention of minerals during cooking ranged from a low of 38.5% for sodium to total retention for calcium, with the majority of the minerals falling into the 80–90% level.     

EFFECT OF HARVESTING SEASON AND POSTHARVEST TREATMENTS ON STORAGE LIFE OF MEXICAN LIMES (Citrus aurantifolia Swingle)

Changes in susceptibility to chilling of citrus fruits vary with the low temperature applied, storage period, growing area, season, time of harvest and postharvest treatments. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of low temperatures on the quality of Mexican limes coated with wax applied through spraying or dipping, and treated with thiabendazole (TBZ) at 500 ppm and gibberellic acid (GA3) at 250 ppm. Weight loss, % of juice, degrees Brix, titratable acidity, color development and severity of chilling injury were examined weekly during storage. The results, obtained from fruit collected in two harvest periods, demonstrated that limes during the maximum production period of harvest in July, in contrast to those harvested in September, retained 90.6% of their fruit marketability. The conditions under which the best quality was obtained were the following: waxing by dipping + TBZ at 500 ppm + GA₃ at 250 ppm and 10C storage temperature with RH at 85–90%.     

Surface Energy of Uranium Dioxide

Using the method of interfacial angle equilibrium in the system UO₂-Ni, a surface energy of 754±150 ergs/cm² was determined for UO_2.01 at 1500°C in high-purity Ar. The absolute interfacial energies in the system UO₂-Ni at 1500°C were also determined.     

The identification and adaptive prediction of urban sewer flows

The input raw material to a waste-water treatment plant exhibits large, and generally poorly quantified, variations with time. In particular, rainfall run-off can cause gross overloading of the treatment processes of the plant. For a proper operational control of the plant, and hence the quality of the receiving river's water, it would be extremely useful to have advance (short-term) estimates of the effluent flow from the sewer network, i.e. the influent to the plant. This paper studies the feasibility of using an on-line adaptive predictor in such a capacity. The procedure is divided into two steps : (i) the parameters of a multiple input/single output time-series model are recursively estimated at each time-step by the method of least squares ; (ii) a forecast of the plant influent flow is then made on the basis of the newly updated prediction model. Results are presented for data from a treatment plant in Stockholm, Sweden. These demonstrate the adaptability of the predictor to unknown changes in the process dynamics when no information is assumed to be available for rainfall events occurring over the urban land surface,     

Brief note: Differences in intracellular localization of corn stunt spiroplasmas in magnesium treated maize.

Maize plants infected with Spiroplasma kunkelii show symptoms similar to that of plants in a magnesium-deficient soil, and it has been shown that the spiroplasma alters the plants’ magnesium absorption. In the current study we compared changes associated to either spiroplasma infection, two soil magnesium levels and their combinations. Plant symptoms were recorded and correlated with transmission electron microscopy observations. Plants grown on a high magnesium treatment showed no macroscopical alterations nor organelle ultrastructural alterations, while plants on a low magnesium treatment showed macroscopical vein yellowing and, ultrastructurally, they had most chloroplasts and mitochondrial membranes altered. Infected plants on a low magnesium treatment had an ageing aspect, ultrastructurally showed chloroplasts and mitochondrial alterations similar to those non-infected and grown on a low magnesium treatment, and spiroplasma cells were found in phloem cells, but outside their cytoplasm. Infected plants on a high magnesium treatment showed similar symptoms and ultrastructural alterations as either non-infected plants on the low magnesium treatment or in infected plants on the low magnesium treatment, but differ from them in that the spiroplasma cells were located inside the cytoplasm. Results suggest that magnesium is involved in the plant-pathogen interaction.     

Comparison of multi-temporal NOAA-AVHRR and SPOT-XS satellite data for mapping land-cover dynamics in the west African Sahel

Abstract

Multi-resolution and multi-temporal remote sensing data (SPOT-XS and AVHRR) were evaluated for mapping local land cover dynamics in the Sahel of West Africa. The aim of this research was to evaluate the agricultural information that could be derived from both high and low spatial resolution data in areas where there is very often limited ground information. A combination of raster-based image processing and vector-based geographical information system mapping was found to be effective for understanding both spatial and spectral land-cover dynamics. The SPOT data proved useful for mapping local land-cover classes in a dominantly recessive agricultural region. The AVHRR-LAC data could be used to map the dynamics of riparian vegetation, but not the changes associated with recession agriculture. In areas where there was a complex mixture of recession and irrigated agriculture, as well as riparian vegetation, the AVHRR data did not provide an accurate temporal assessment of vegetation dynamics.     

KINETICS OF ACRYLAMIDE FORMATION DURING TRADITIONAL AND VACUUM FRYING OF POTATO CHIPS

Acrylamide is considered a carcinogen in animals and a possible carcinogen in humans. It has been found in starch‐rich foods cooked at high temperatures. Vacuum frying (10 Torr) was investigated as a possible alternative to reduce acrylamide formation in potato chips. The cultivar Atlantic was used to determine the kinetics of acrylamide formation during traditional and vacuum frying at different temperatures. There was a 94% decrease in acrylamide content when potatoes were fried to the same final moisture content (1.5% ± 0.3% w.b.) under vacuum compared to those fried under atmospheric conditions. Acrylamide accumulation under vacuum frying was modeled using first‐order kinetics (during traditional frying, the logistic kinetic model was used). The behavior of the kinetics of acrylamide content in potato chips fried under the two processes was different mainly because of the different temperatures used. During traditional frying, higher temperatures are used (150 to 180C) and acrylamide after some time is produced but starts degrading, producing a constant level of acrylamide content at longer times. During vacuum frying (10 Torr), acrylamide increased exponentially (but at lower levels) for all frying times.     

EVALUATION OF ISOMALT AND HYDROGENATED STARCH HYDROLYSATE IN SUGARLESS CARAMEL POPCORN1

Five formulations of sugarless caramel popcorn sweetened with different proportions of hydrogenated starch hydrolysate and isomalt were developed. Control and test products were evaluated for changes in physical, chemical and sensory properties over a 3‐month storage period at 33C and 50% humidity. Moisture content and water activity values increased for all products, but color values did not change with time. Texture compressibility measurements were highly correlated with liking of texture values gathered from a consumer study. The fonnula with 100percnt; isomalt was liked significantly more by consumers than the other formulas.     

A linear dynamic system approach for cattle herd optimal shaping

The time evolution of a herd of cattle is modelled as a linear dynamic system with slow time variation in model parameters. From this model, the optimal policy for the herd shaping is established, allowing the minimal initial cost with cattle acquisition and the maximal farm resources utilization in the steady state. The same methodology can be employed in several different production schemes, with different constraints and different objective functions. The optimization problem is formulated as a convex programming one, being solved with efficient algorithms, while keeping guaranteed convergence to the global optimum. This methodology is simpler than the dynamic programming optimization method.