Perceptions of the health and convenience characteristics of fresh and dried fruits

Dried fruits consumption has not received much research attention, although these foods are associated with potential health benefits. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare fresh fruits and dried fruits on measures of health, convenience and consumer feelings.An on-line questionnaire that measured consumers' perceptions of the health benefits and convenience characteristics and their feelings about the consumption of both fresh fruits (apples and plums) and dried fruits (e.g., raisins, dates, and apricots) was completed by 693 respondents (Polish, French, and Dutch).Generally, fresh fruits were perceived to be healthier and less convenient than dried fruits. Consumers also reported more positive feelings about the consumption of fresh fruits compared to dried fruits. The more that the respondents were willing to sacrifice for their health, the more positively they rated the health aspects of both fresh and dried fruits, as well as several perceptions of convenience of both fresh and dried fruits. Health preoccupation was unrelated to most of the convenience perceptions and was associated with lower scores on several perceptions of healthiness. Recommendations for the consumer-oriented development of dried fruits are also provided.     

Influence of addition of green tea and green coffee extracts on the properties of fine yeast pastry fried products

This study investigated the influence of antioxidants of green tea aqueous extract (GTE) and green coffee aqueous extract (GCE) in concentrations of 0.25, 0.5 and 1 g·100 g^? 1 on the nutritional properties of fine yeast pastry fried products such as donuts. Yeast donuts were made according to the traditional processing technology. In fried donuts physical properties (water activity, pH, hardness and color with the use of instrumental methods) as well as sensory properties were established. Moreover, quality of fat extracted from donuts (composition of fatty acids and peroxide value), content of acrylamide, composition of polyphenols and antioxidant activity were analyzed. Obtained extracts of GTE and GCE contained 26 and 41% of polyphenols, respectively, and the degree of polyphenol degradation during production of donuts was less when the dilution in dough was greater. Both tests indicated that the highest antioxidant activity had donuts with the highest analyzed addition of extract, however depending on the applied test or GTE or GCE had better antioxidant properties. Fatty acid composition was the most beneficial when the addition of GTE and GCE was on a level of 0.25 and 0.5 g·100 g^? 1, respectively. In fried donuts relatively low amounts of acrylamide were obtained, amounting to 18–46 μg·kg^? 1. Only the lowest addition of GTE and the highest addition of GCE caused an increase of acrylamide content in donuts, while all other levels of added extracts caused a decrease in the content of formed acrylamide.     

Occurrence of Campylobacter spp. in poultry and poultry products for sale on the Polish retail market

In 2007 and 2008, a monitoring study was carried out in Poland to examine the occurrence of thermotolerant Campylobacter spp. in raw and cooked chicken products available on the retail market. A total of 912 samples were tested: 443 samples of raw chicken meat, 146 samples of giblets, and 323 ready-to-eat poultry products (150 samples of spit-roasted chicken, 56 samples of smoked chicken, and 117 samples of paté and cold meats). A high level of contamination of raw chicken meat (51.7% of samples) and chicken giblets (47.3% of samples) was detected. However, thermotolerant Campylobacter spp. were found in only 1.2% of the ready-to-eat poultry products.     

Bulk nanocomposite made of ZnO lamellae embedded in the ZnWO4 matrix: growth from the melt

Journal of Materials Science - Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures exhibiting high exciton binding energy and efficient radiative recombination, even at the room temperature, are of increasing interest...     

Microwave-assisted synthesis of anion-exchange resins for sorption of noble metals: how to boost sorption capacity using a proper reaction environment

In the present studies a series of anion-exchange resins was synthesized in a microwave field. The 1,6-diaminohexane functionalized resins were obtained in presence of selected organic solvents, N,N-dimethyl formamide, dimethyl sulfoxide and 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidone. The resins were employed in batch and dynamic processes of Au(III), Pt(IV) and Pd(II) sorption from tricomponent systems in 0.1 M HCl. The experiment was designed in a way that allowed to determine the use of a specific solvent in the microwave field and how it impacts on properties of the anion exchangers. An influence of a reaction environment was discussed taking into account i.e., dielectric characteristics of the specific solvent, efficiency of the syntheses processes as well as the maximum sorption capacity of the resins. Ultimately the application of a specific reaction environment was set together with sorption of noble metals ability and evaluated using infrared spectroscopy. The proceeded analyzes allowed to determine which organic solvent from the selected ones is the most suitable for microwave-assisted synthesis of the anion-exchange resins.     

The Effect of Leptin on the Blood Hormonal Profile (Cortisol,Insulin, Thyroid Hormones) of the Ewe in Acute Inflammation in Two Different Photoperiodical Conditions

As a day animal with sensitivity to inflammation similar to that of humans, the sheep may highly outperform the rodent model in inflammation studies. Additionally, seasonality makes sheep an interesting model in endocrinology research. Although there are studies concerning inflammation’s influence on leptin secretion and vice versa, a ewe model, with its possible ‘long-day leptin resistance’, is still not examined enough. The present study aimed to examine whether leptin may modulate an acute inflammation influence on plasma hormones in two photoperiodical conditions. The experiment was conducted on 48 ewes divided into four groups (control, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), leptin, LPS + leptin) during short and long days. Blood sampling started 1 hour before and continued 3 h after LPS/saline administration for further hormonal analysis. The results showed that the photoperiod is one of the main factors influencing the basal concentrations of several hormones with higher values of leptin, insulin and thyroid hormones during long days. Additionally, the acute inflammation effect on cortisol, insulin and thyroid hormones was photoperiod-dependent. The endotoxemia may also exert an influence on leptin concentration regardless of season. The effects of leptin alone on hormone blood concentrations are rather limited; however, leptin can modulate the LPS influence on insulin or thyroxine in a photoperiod-dependent way.     

Suppression of Water as a Nucleophile in Candida antarctica Lipase B Catalysis

A water tunnel in Candida antarctica lipase B that provides the active site with substrate water is hypothesized. A small, focused library created in order to prevent water from entering the active site through the tunnel was screened for increased transacylation over hydrolysis activity. A single mutant, S47L, in which the inner part of the tunnel was blocked, catalysed the transacylation of vinyl butyrate to 20 mM butanol 14 times faster than hydrolysis. The single mutant Q46A, which has a more open outer end of the tunnel, showed an increased hydrolysis rate and a decreased hydrolysis to transacylation ratio compared to the wild‐type lipase. Mutants with a blocked tunnel could be very useful in applications in which hydrolysis is unwanted, such as the acylation of highly hydrophilic compounds in the presence of water.     

The Influence of Structural Parameters on the Reactivity of Model Complexes for Compound II: A Mini Review

The present brief review aims at elucidation of the parameters affecting the properties and reactivity of high valent iron(IV) oxo porphyrin complexes, being models of compound II reactive intermediate known from biochemistry of cytochromes and peroxidases. The stress is put on the influence of the axial ligand and porphyrin ring substituents, with special attention on implications for their catalytic activity.     

Impedance analysis of a phosphatidylcholine-phosphatidylethanolamine system in bilayer lipid membranes

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was used for the study of two-component lipid membranes. Phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) were to be investigated, because of their presence in biological membranes. Capacitance values of pure components are 0.62 and 0.32 μF cm⁻², respectively. The 1:1 complex was formed during formation of the PC-PE lipid membrane. Formation of the complex can explain the deviation from the additivity rule. This equilibrium was described by mathematical equations and was further verified experimentally. Adequate equations let us calculate such parameters as: capacitance of the complex molecule, area occupied by the complex molecule as well as the stability constant of the complex.