Effect of fortification on physico-chemical and microbiological stability of whole wheat flour

Stability of fortified whole wheat flour (WWF) was evaluated using NaFeEDTA, elemental iron, ZnSO₄ and ZnO as fortificants. Fortified WWF was stored in tin boxes and polypropylene bags for 60 days under ambient storage condition (ASC) and controlled storage condition (CSC). Fortification significantly (p ? 0.05) decreased moisture and protein content and increased ash content to 5.44%, 6% and 23%, as compared to control. Fortified WWF, assayed periodically for mould contamination manifested a significant inhibition (∼1 log reduction) in flours containing elemental iron. Low storage temperature and relative humidity (RH) indicated lower level of mould count during extended storage time. Tin boxes, as storage material, exhibited a better protection against mould attack, acting as an effective barrier for moisture. Fortificants exerted a slight deteriorative effect on texture characteristics of the chapattis made of these flours but chapattis were still accepted by the judges. Zinc fortificants seemed like having little or no effect on the quality of the flours and chapattis, made of such flours. Shelf life of fortified flour may be extended by using elemental iron as fortificant and storing the product in tin boxes under relatively low temperature and RH.     

Isolation and identification of lipase producing thermophilic Geobacillus sp. SBS-4S: cloning and characterization of the lipase

A thermophilic microorganism, SBS-4S, was isolated from a hot spring located in Gilgit, Northern Areas of Pakistan. It was found to be an aerobic, gram-positive, rod-shaped, thermophilic bacterium that grew on various sugars, carboxylic acids and hydrocarbons at temperatures between 45°C and 75°C. Complete 16S rRNA gene sequence of the microorganism exhibited homology to various species of genus Geobacillus. A highest homology of 99.8% was found with Geobacillus kaustophilus. A partial (0.7 kbp) chaperonin gene sequence also showed a highest homology of 99.4% to that of G. kaustophilus whereas biochemical characteristics of the microorganism were similar to Geobacillus uzenensis. Based on biochemical characterization, 16S rRNA and chaperonin gene sequences, we identified SBS-4S as a strain of genus Geobacillus. Strain SBS-4S produced several extracellular enzymes including amylase, protease and lipase. The lipase encoding gene was cloned, expressed in Escherichia coli and the gene product was characterized. The recombinant lipase was optimally active at 60°C with stability at wide pH range (6-12). The enzyme activity was enhanced remarkably in the presence of Ca(+2). The K(m) and the V(max) for the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl acetate were 3.8mM and 2273 μmol min(-1)mg(-1), respectively. The ability of the recombinant enzyme to be stable at a wide pH range makes it a potential candidate for use in industry.     

Significance of char active surface area for appraising the reactivity of low- and high-temperature chars

Contemporary char reactivity studies have focussed primarily on coal chars prepared under severe (high-temperature) conditions. In this study, the reactivity of chars prepared under mild (low-temperature) conditions has been addressed. A thermogravimetric analysis system (TGA) was used to determine the reactivity of chars in oxidizing atmosphere using isothermal or non-isothermal techniques. Coal chars were prepared in a TGA or in a slow heating rate organic devolatilization reactor (SHRODR) at a temperature range between 500 ° and 950 °C. The chars prepared by mild pyrolysis of coal at 500 °C are shown to be highly reactive. Comparison of reactivities of low- and high-temperature chars shows that the low-temperature chars exhibit higher reactivity than either the parent coals or the high-temperature chars. Correlation between isothermal reactivity results (e.g. time) and non-isothermal reactivity data (e.g. temperature) has been obtained. Hydrogen contents of chars correlate well with the reactivity of the chars. The study confirms the importance of oxygen chemisorption capacity as a significant reactivity parameter for both low- and high-temperature chars. A new approach has been used for calculating the oxygen chemisorption capacity of chars by accounting for the carbon surface sites occupied by hydrogen (and, therefore, these sites were unavailable for oxygen chemisorption). The occupied sites are readily freed during reactivity measurements and thus were available for participation in carbon-oxygen reactions.     

Effects of partial replacement of commercial fillers by recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate) powder on the properties of natural rubber composites

Commercial fillers, including carbon black (N550), halloysite nanotubes (HNTs), and precipitated silica, were replaced by recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate) powder (R‐PET) in natural rubber (NR) composites. Five different compositions of NR/N550/R‐PET, NR/HNTs/R‐PET, and NR/silica/R‐PET compounds, i.e., 100/20/0, 100/15/5, 100/10/10, 100/5/15, and 100/0/20 parts per hundred rubber (phr), were prepared on a two‐roll mill. The curing behavior, tensile properties, and morphological characteristics of the natural rubber composites were investigated. The results indicated that the replacement of carbon black, HNTs, and silica by R‐PET decreased the tensile strength and tensile modulus, such that NR/silica/R‐PET composites showed the lowest effect, followed by NR/HNTs/R‐PET and NR/N550/R‐PET composites. The negative effect on these properties can be explained by the decrease of crosslink density. The curing results revealed that with the replacement of carbon black by R‐PET, the scorch time and cure time decreased, but that the NR/HNTs/R‐PET and NR/silica/R‐PET composites exhibited the opposite trend. Scanning electron microscopy investigation of tensile fracture surfaces confirmed that the co‐incorporation of N550/R‐PET improved the dispersion of R‐PET and enhanced the interaction between the fillers and NR matrix more than R‐PET and silica/R‐PET hybrid fillers. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 2012. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Multiway independent component analysis mixture model and mutual information based fault detection and diagnosis approach of multiphase batch processes

Batch process monitoring is a challenging task, because conventional methods are not well suited to handle the inherent multiphase operation. In this study, a novel multiway independent component analysis (MICA) mixture model and mutual information based fault detection and diagnosis approach is proposed. The multiple operating phases in batch processes are characterized by non‐Gaussian independent component mixture models. Then, the posterior probability of the monitored sample is maximized to identify the operating phase that the sample belongs to, and, thus, the localized MICA model is developed for process fault detection. Moreover, the detected faulty samples are projected onto the residual subspace, and the mutual information based non‐Gaussian contribution index is established to evaluate the statistical dependency between the projection and the measurement along each process variable. Such contribution index is used to diagnose the major faulty variables responsible for process abnormalities. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is demonstrated using the fed‐batch penicillin fermentation process, and the results are compared to those of the multiway principal component analysis mixture model and regular MICA method. The case study demonstrates that the proposed approach is able to detect the abnormal events over different phases as well as diagnose the faulty variables with high accuracy. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 59: 2761–2779, 2013     

乌兹别克斯坦水资源变化及其对供给压力的影响

梳理文献资料,结合农业、遥感和气象水文产品数据,分析乌兹别克斯坦水资源变化及水资源供给压力。分析表明:自1980年以来,乌兹别克斯坦年平均取水量由59亿m~3增至102亿m~3,灌溉农业消耗了90%以上的水资源;尽管1992年以来耕地面积总体呈下降态势(200km~2/a),且高耗水作物种植比重下降(-3.24%),但受气候变暖的影响(0.31℃/(10a)),单位面积作物需水量持续增加(3.27mm/a),导致总的需水量仍呈增加态势(2.75亿m~3/a);与此同时,上游来水量减少以及上游国家用水的增加,将进一步加剧区域水资源短缺及供给压力。为应对水资源问题,乌兹别克斯坦需加强水管理,改进灌溉技术,提高用水效率,同时,需寻求完善跨境河流水资源分配与管理的途径。该研究有助于增进对乌兹别克斯坦水资源问题的认识,并为应对该问题提供科学依据,以及为"一带一路"合作发展提供支撑。     

The Carboxyl Terminal Regions of P0 Protein Are Required for Systemic Infections of Poleroviruses

P0 proteins encoded by poleroviruses Brassica yellows virus (BrYV) and Potato leafroll virus (PLRV) are viral suppressors of RNA silencing (VSR) involved in abolishing host RNA silencing to assist viral infection. However, other roles that P0 proteins play in virus infection remain unclear. Here, we found that C-terminal truncation of P0 resulted in compromised systemic infection of BrYV and PLRV. C-terminal truncation affected systemic but not local VSR activities of P0 proteins, but neither transient nor ectopic stably expressed VSR proteins could rescue the systemic infection of BrYV and PLRV mutants. Moreover, BrYV mutant failed to establish systemic infection in DCL2/4 RNAi or RDR6 RNAi plants, indicating that systemic infection might be independent of the VSR activity of P0. Partially rescued infection of BrYV mutant by the co-infected PLRV implied the functional conservation of P0 proteins within genus. However, although C-terminal truncation mutant of BrYV P0 showed weaker interaction with its movement protein (MP) when compared to wild-type P0, wild-type and mutant PLRV P0 showed similar interaction with its MP. In sum, our findings revealed the role of P0 in virus systemic infection and the requirement of P0 carboxyl terminal region for the infection.     

Antidiarrheal Effect of Food Fermented by Various Strains of Lactobacillus

Various Lactobacillus species possess antidiarrheal properties due to their probiotic effects and could be utilized in the form of fermented foods for the treatment of diarrheal disease. Diarrhea is the condition of having 3 or more loose or watery bowel movements per day. This disease is a global problem causing several million deaths each year, and the major victims are children. So its prevention and control is crucial. For the treatment of diarrheal disease, antibiotics and oral rehydration solutions are used, but these therapies are not always effective to reduce the duration and frequency of diarrhea and of increase consistency. Recent studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of the natural mode (fermented food) of disease management because of its easy availability, low cost, and efficacy against diarrhea.