Shelf life of cashew nut kernels packed in banana starch-based nanocomposites

Starch-based films incorporated with cellulose nanofibres (CNFs) were tested as packaging to improve the stability of cashew nut kernels (CNKs). CNKs were conditioned in four packings: commercial polyethylene film (PEF), starch film (CF), nanocomposite CHF (starch + CNFs from chemical hydrolysis) and nanocomposite EHF (starch + CNFs from enzymatic hydrolysis). Effect of the packaging methods on peroxides value (POV), acidity value (AV), weight gain (WG), water activity (Aw), hardness and colour properties of the CNKs was investigated. CNKs packed with CHF and EHF showed lower POV (0.91 and 0.92 meq_peroxide/kg_sample, respectively) after 21 days of storage than other packed (1.07–1.13 meq_peroxide/kg_sample) and unpacked samples (1.32 meq_peroxide/kg_sample). CNKs packaged with nanocomposites presented similar WG to samples packaged with PEF and lower values than unpackaged CNKs. Biodegradable nanocomposites films showed potential to be used as packaging for food product, being an effective material for extending oilseeds shelf life.     

Manufacturing porous ceramic materials by tape casting—A review

Tape casting is a well-established technique to fabricate ceramic tapes. This technique has been usually applied to produce dense substrates for electronic applications, but recently there are increasing efforts regarding the production of porous cast tapes. The aim of this paper is to present the latest strategies and achievements to manufacture porous ceramic materials by tape casting. The pores morphology can be manipulated by adjusting particle size, sacrificial pore formers, sintering conditions, and combined techniques (phase inversion and freeze casting). Moreover, tape casting enables adjusting the thickness of the product, which is a key property in separation applications using membranes and/or support materials with tailorable structure.     

Osthol Ameliorates Kidney Damage and Metabolic Syndrome Induced by a High-Fat/High-Sugar Diet

Excessive intake of fructose results in metabolic syndrome (MS) and kidney damage, partly mediated by its metabolism by fructokinase-C or ketohexokinase-C (KHK-C). Osthol has antioxidant properties, is capable of regulating adipogenesis, and inhibits KHK-C activity. Here, we examined the potential protective role of osthol in the development of kidney disease induced by a Western (high-fat/high-sugar) diet. Control rats fed with a high-fat/high-sugar diet were compared with two groups that also received two different doses of osthol (30 mg/kg/d or 40 mg/kg/d body weight BW). A fourth group served as a normal control and received regular chow. At the end of the follow-up, kidney function, metabolic markers, oxidative stress, and lipogenic enzymes were evaluated. The Western diet induced MS (hypertension, hyperglycemia, hypertriglyceridemia, obesity, hyperuricemia), a fall in the glomerular filtration rate, renal tubular damage, and increased oxidative stress in the kidney cortex, with increased expression of lipogenic enzymes and increased kidney KHK expression. Osthol treatment prevented the development of MS and ameliorated kidney damage by inhibiting KHK activity, preventing oxidative stress via nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor (Nrf2) activation, and reducing renal lipotoxicity. These data suggest that the nutraceutical osthol might be an ancillary therapy to slow the progression of MS and kidney damage induced by a Western diet.     

Benefits management in university-industry collaboration programs

Current knowledge of benefits management is mostly limited to single organisations. This paper investigates benefits management applicable to large university-industry collaboration programs – a particular form of inter-organisational relationship. It presents a holistic, structured and customisable framework for how benefits can be managed, using the structured analysis and design technique. The research has been informed and validated in a major case study. The case study involved a R&D collaboration between a university and a large industry in Portugal over a six-year period with a total investment of more than 70 million Euros. The paper discusses the challenges of implementing benefits management among two organisations who have distinct and sometimes competing long-term benefits. This empirical research corroborates current theoretical approaches to benefits management and presents a number of new insights on how challenges may be effectively managed from a technical and social perspective, for example, the ownership of benefits realisation should change overtime, from Program Mangers to Line Managers of each organisation partner. Finally, the proposed BM.UIC framework can be used as starting point for development of a systematic benefit management process in any major project and program.     

Cerium-doped hydroxyapatite/collagen coatings on titanium for bone implants

The novelty of the present research consists in the possibility of obtaining cerium-doped hydroxyapatite/collagen coatings on the titanium support, to improve the performance of the bone implants. These coatings were deposited on the titanium surface by biomimetic method using a modified supersaturated calcification solution (SCS) additionally containing a cerium source and collagen. Prior to the deposition of the apatite layer, an alkali ÷ thermal oxidation pretreatment has been applied to ensure an increase in the bioactivity of the titanium surface. The coatings were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The EDX and XRD investigations of the coatings indicated that cerium was incorporated in the hydroxyapatite lattice. The collagen presence in the coatings was confirmed by FTIR analysis. The cerium-doped hydroxyapatite/collagen coatings showed good antibacterial efficacy against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, being more effective against Escherichia coli. These coatings have a significant potential to be used in the dental and orthopedic implants, as the osseointegration depends on much more factors than simple formation of hydroxyapatite.     

Poly(propylene)-based Films Modified with a Tetracationic Phthalocyanine with Applications in Photodynamic Inactivation of Candida albicans

Photoactive films based on polymer-like poly(propylene) were generated and utilized as support of zinc(II)tetramethyltetrapyridino[2,3-b:2′,3′-g:2″,3″-l:2″′,3″′-q]porphyrazinium salt (ZnTM2,3PyPz). Using a photograft polymerization of acrylic acid, the poly(propylene) film was functionalized with carboxyl groups (PP-g-PAAc), which attached ZnTM2,3PyPz by electrostatic bond to form PP-g-PAAc-Pc films. In vitro investigations indicated that PP-g-PAAc-Pc films produced photodynamic inactivation of Candida albicans cells, mainly mediated by a contribution of type II process. According to the results, the photodynamic activity produced by the PP-g-PAAc-Pc film and visible light irradiation can successfully inactivate C. albicans deposited on the surface of the films.     

Comparison of ZnO and Ti-doped ZnO sensing membrane applied in electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor structure

In this paper, we demonstrate electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor devices for biochemical sensing applications prepared from ZnO and Ti-doped ZnO sensing membranes deposited on Si substrates by radio frequency sputtering. The structural, morphological, and compositional features of these deposited films with multitemperature annealing were studied using X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. Sensitivity, linearity, hysteresis, and drift rate were measured to determine the sensing and reliability performance of all fabricated devices. Compared to the ZnO electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor (EIS), the Ti-doped ZnO EIS sensor annealed at 700 °C exhibits a higher sensitivity of 57.56 mV/pH, lower hysteresis of 2.79 mV, and lower drift rate of 0.29 mV/h. For Ti-doped ZnO, sensitivities of 3.62 mV/mM and 6.42 mV/mM were obtained for urea and glucose sensing, respectively. The improvements are owing to Ti-doping, which produces a rougher sensing surface, a well-crystallized grain structure, and thinner silicate and SiO₂ at the silicon-oxide interface.     

Editorial: Special Issue on Deep Learning for Face Analysis

International Journal of Computer Vision -