How meaty? Detection and quantification of adulterants,foreign proteins and food additives in meat products

The worldwide consumption of meat is increasing, especially in developing countries. Many studies have correlated a diet characterised by high intake of processed red meats with a risk of colorectal cancer, stroke, coronary heart diseases and diabetes. Moreover, the quality and safety of meat products may be compromised by several admitted and not admitted procedures (i.e. addition of food additives and/or foreign proteins). For these reasons, the topic ‘meat products’ quality and safety’ has gained much in importance during last few years. In this review, the recent advances in the field of analytical methods for the evaluation of meat adulteration due to the addition of foreign proteins and food additives are reported, compared and critically evaluated. Moreover, the most representative monitoring practices, developed worldwide, related to meats adulteration are described and discussed.     

Antioxidant activity of phenolic and phenylethanoid glycosides from Teucrium polium L

In the present study, the chemical composition and antioxidant activities of Teucrium polium L. (Lamiaceae) were assessed. Fractionation of methanol extract obtained from the aerial parts of T. polium yielded one new phenylethanoid glycoside, named poliumoside B, together with four known flavonoids, two iridoid glycosides and a known poliumoside. The structures of all of these compounds were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic data from 1D and 2D NMR experiments and MS spectral analyses. The antioxidant activities of the crude extracts and of the isolated compounds were evaluated through tests such as DPPH radical-scavenging capability, reducing power, xanthine oxidase inhibitory effect and inhibition of linoleic acid peroxidation. The highest antioxidant activity was found in the n-butanol extract, which also contained active polyphenols, thus suggesting that this plant could be used as a source of natural molecules, to provide safe antioxidant additives and nutraceuticals. The structure–activity relationships of the isolated compounds are also discussed.     

Ozonated Mineral Oil: Preparation,Characterization and Evaluation of the Microbicidal Activity

The ozonation of vegetable oils has been studied, since the produced ointments have antibacterial and fungicidal activities. However, the ozonation of mineral oils has not been reported in the literature yet, opening an interesting field for examination. In this work, we have shown the ozonation of a commercial mineral oil (Nujol). The main goal was to produce oils containing free ozone, so that this gas could act as antimicrobial agent. It was found that in Nujol, ozone remains for at least 40 days and in the sample ozonized for 15 h its concentration was 7.5 mg mL^?1. Neat Nujol showed no antimicrobial activity against the tested microorganisms, however, when ozonated it showed antimicrobial activity against Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli.     

On the influence of the shear deformation and boundary conditions on the transverse vibration of multi-walled carbon nanotubes

The vibrational properties of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are studied, especially the influence of the shear deformation and the boundary conditions on the non-coaxial frequencies. A high order continuum beam model is proposed, which can be applied to study the transverse vibrations of MWCNTs, including those that could have initial deformations due to defects or external actions. Using the model it was found that the non-coaxial intertube frequencies are independent of the shear deformation and the boundary conditions. This result is important considering that the concentric structure of MWCNTs is a crucial geometrical characteristic and a non-coaxial vibration would affect their electronic and optical properties.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Allyl Fatty Acid Derivatives as Reactive Coalescing Agents for Latexes

This work evaluated the use of allyl fatty acid esters derived from vegetable oil (palmitic acid, soybean and sunflower oils) as reactive coalescing agents in a waterborne latex system. Allyl fatty acid derivatives (AFAD) from vegetable oils were synthesized by two different processes. The synthesis was monitored by IR-spectroscopy and the final product characterized by FT-IR, GC–MS, ¹H and ¹³C NMR. The presence of conjugated double bonds in the aliphatic chain was confirmed, which is a determinant for the proposed autoxidative latexes drying mechanism. Each of the AFAD were subsequently added to a standard acrylic emulsion, in order to study its potential as reactive coalescing agent. The minimum film-forming temperature (MFT), glass transition temperature (T _g), drying time and rubbing resistance to solvents were evaluated. The results showed that, when added to water-borne acrylic resins, an AFAD acts as a non-volatile plasticizer capable of autoxidative crosslinking with itself.     

Energy storage and control optimization for an electric vehicle

Two big issues involving electric vehicles are energy supply and power management control. To deal with the energy supply problem, this paper proposes the application of a hybrid energy source system, composed of battery pack and ultracapacitor bank. The power management control between the energy supplies was defined by a fuzzy logic with inference rules optimized through genetic algorithm. The genetic algorithm optimizes lower and upper limits of membership functions aiming to reduce the hybrid energy source system total mass while maximizing the electric vehicle drive range and performance. Through the Pareto frontier, we found the best trade‐off solution.     

Optimization of Lithium Extraction from Lepidolite by Roasting Using Sodium and Calcium Sulfates

The lithium extraction from a lepidolite concentrate using roasting, followed by water leaching, was studied. Several alternative additives were initially tested. The use of sodium and calcium sulfates as additives was evaluated in more detail. The influence of some process variables, namely the roasting time, roasting temperature and the additive/concentrate mass ratio, was studied applying a design of experiments. The lithium extraction was modelled and the fitted and validated model was used to optimize the process response. The increase in the additive/concentrate mass ratio, roasting time and temperature seems to result in solid state reactions and transformations that lead to phase, morphological and particle size distribution modifications, which were assessed by XRPD, SEM, and particle size analyses. In this process, lithium sodium sulfate formation constitutes a crucial step enabling the Li water leaching. High lithium extractions were estimated for several combinations of factors. At 850°C, lithium extractions over 90% are obtained when the roasting time is above 1.90 hour and the additive/concentrate mass ratios are over 0.77. An increase in the temperature to 875°C also leads to lithium extractions over 90% for a roasting time of 1 hour and an additive/concentrate mass ratio of 0.60.     

Metallopolymers based on a polyazomethine ligand containing rigid oxadiazole and flexible tetramethyldisiloxane units

Soluble, easily processable polymer–metal complexes with improved optical and dielectric properties for optoelectronic functional materials were obtained. For this, a new polyazomethine (PAZ2) was prepared by the reaction of a siloxane dialdehyde and bis(formyl‐p‐phenoxymethyl) tetramethyldisiloxane with 2,5‐bis(p‐aminophenyl)‐1,3,4‐oxadiazole, and it was used as a ligand for Cu(II), Co(II), and Zn(II) ions on the basis of the presence of the electron‐donor nitrogen atoms from the azomethine group and oxadiazole ring. The structure of the PAZ2 was determined by spectral [Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and ¹H‐NMR spectroscopy] techniques. The metal complexation was proven by FTIR spectroscopy, and the silicon‐to‐metal ratios in the complexes were established by energy‐dispersive X‐ray fluorescence. The new materials were characterized by gel permeation chromatography, thermogravimetric analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry. The optical properties of PAZ2 and the derived metal complexes were studied by ultraviolet–visible and fluorescence spectroscopies. PAZ2 shows fluorescence emission, and it was significantly enhanced by metal complexation. The emission was enhanced by protonation; this behavior is useful, especially for sensors. The electrical properties were investigated by dielectric spectroscopy at various frequencies and temperatures, and this emphasized the existence of dipolar relaxations. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41631.