Effect of processing on antinutrients and in vitro protein digestibility of kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) varieties grown in East Africa

The effects of hydration, autoclaving, germination, cooking and their combinations, on the reduction/elimination of antinutrients, flatus-producing compounds and the improvement of in vitro protein digestibility of three selected Phaseolus vulgaris varieties were investigated. Reduction in the amount of total α-galactosides was attained by employing hydration process and was due to the differential solubility of the individual oligosaccharides and their diffusion rates. Due to their heat-sensitive nature, saponins, trypsin inhibitors and phytohaemagglutinins, diminished drastically to undetectable amounts when heating processes (cooking and autoclaving) were employed. Hydration and germination processes were less effective in reducing trypsin inhibitors, saponins and phytohaemagglutinins as compared with cooking/autoclaving processes. Germination process reduced stachyose, raffinose, phytic acid and tannins which was due to metabolic activity. The combination of germination followed by autoclaving processes yielded the most promising result in this study. The bean variety Roba exhibited better protein digestibility on processing and thus has high potential to be used as a raw material for the manufacturing of value-added products.     

Kinetics of heavy metal uptake by vegetation immobilized in a polysulfone or polycarbonate polymeric matrix

The ability of four common vegetations - wood, grass, compost, and peat moss - to remove cadmium, chromium, and lead from dilute aqueous solutions is investigated. Dried ground vegetations are immobilized in polysulfone, and poly (bisphenyl A) carbonate to form spherical beads through a phase inversion process. The beads are contacted with a dilute aqueous solution containing metal ions of interest. The removal of metal ions from the solution is monitored over the course of the experiment and the first-order kinetics parameters estimated. The rates of removal as well as the equilibrium bead loadings are shown to be affected by both the choice of vegetation and the choice of polymer.     

Assessment of protein nutritional quality and effects of traditional processes: a comparison between Ethiopian quality protein maize and five Ethiopian adapted normal maize cultivars

The present study was designed to quantitatively measure and compare the levels and variations of total protein, individual amino acids, and computed protein efficiency ratio (C-PER) in raw and traditionally processed products of one recently released quality protein maize (QPM BH542) with four high-yield maize hybrids, namely flint BH660, semi-dent BH140, Pioneer 30H83, and Pioneer 30G97, as well as one local maize cultivar. The total protein content was variable among the cultivars ranging from 7% for BH660 to 8.6% for Pioneer 30H83, 8.9% for BH140, 9.8% for QPM BH542, 10.1% for local maize cultivar, and 11.8% for Pioneer 30G97, respectively. However, the QPM BH542 maize protein proved to be higher in nutritional quality than common maize proteins because it contained 30% to 82% more lysine, higher levels of arginine, tryptophan, histidine, threonine, cysteine, and valine. As a result, the QPM BH542 amino acid profile gives a good balance of total essential amino acids, limited only in lysine, and has a C-PER ratio of 2.2 compared to 1.14, 1.2, 1.4, 1.66, and 1.67 for Pioneer 30G97, local, BH-140, BH660, and Pioneer 30H83, respectively. The various traditional processes of maize have no significant effect on the protein nutritional quality of the new quality protein maize. Hence, the widely dissemination of it in agricultural cultivation as well as consumption by the general population is recommended.     

A distributed digital rights management model for secure information-distribution systems

There is a need to protect digital information content and the associated usage rights from unauthorized access, use, and dissemination. The protection mechanisms should meet the requirements for the correct management of fine-grained access and usage controls and the protection of user privacy. Digital rights management (DRM) solutions have significant relevance in this context. This paper describes a distributed DRM model for a secure information-distribution system consisting of six trust-building blocks. These are (i) the user application, (ii) the authentication and authorization module, (iii) Rights-Carrying and Self-Enforcing Objects (SEOs), (iv) the privacy enforcement module, (v) theUsage Tracking and Monitoring Proxy (UTMP), and (vi) thesecurity infrastructure. SEOs are information objects that carry access and usage rights and are responsible for the fine-grained enforcement of these rights. The security infrastructure plays a pivotal role in the creation, distribution, storage, manipulation, and communication of information objects across organizational boundaries with the required level of security. Our model was originally developed for an Internet-based learning project in Norwegian schools and meets most of the aforementioned requirements.     

Iron oxide induced bagasse nanoparticles for the sequestration of Cr6+ ions from tannery effluent using a modified batch reactor

The emphasis of the present study is to investigate the potential of magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles synthesized using bagasse from sugarcane (M‐NIOB). M‐NIOB was infused onto the modified batch reactor (M‐BR) stirrers using mesh structures for the adsorption of Cr⁶⁺ contained in effluent from the leather industry. M‐NIOB exhibited supermagnetic properties under an external magnetic field with a saturation magnetization value of 9.192 emu/g at room temperature. M‐NIOB nanoparticles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X‐ray diffraction, vibrating sample magnetometer, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis. The size of the M‐NIOB particles ranged from 50 to 200 nm. The most favorable time, pH, and temperature for the application of M‐NIOB to Cr⁶⁺ removal from tannery effluent was found to be 180 min, 5, and 318 K, respectively. M‐NIOB adsorbent performed its best at an adsorbent dosage of 800 mg/150 mL with a particle size of 150 nm. Kinetic and thermodynamic studies have been conducted. The applicability of various adsorption models for the Cr⁶⁺ adsorption data was tested. Moreover, the desorption studies carried out at 60 °C proved the capability of M‐NIOB for regeneration and reuse. Hence, M‐NIOB could be potentially applied for the treatment of effluent that has Cr⁶⁺ as a major constituent. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 46683.     

Body-Patchable,Antimicrobial, Encodable TENGs with Ultrathin,Free-Standing,Translucent Chitosan/Alginate/Silver Nanocomposite Multilayers

Harvesting sustainable energy opens new avenues for powering portable electronic devices using triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs). Synthetic metals and polymers are used to construct most of the TENGs. Hence, ultrathin, free-standing, translucent, and chemically bonded chitosan (CH)- and alginate (AL)-based biopolymeric films are introduced here. These films are fabricated using a low-cost and environmentally friendly layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly method and impregnated with AgNO₃ (S) in the final fabrication step (denoted as [(CH/AL)_n:(CHS/AL)₁]_n+1). The LbL-assembled film displays remarkable antimicrobial and triboelectric properties, demonstrating a new type of TENG that is implantable in the body. By varying the number of CH and AL depositions, the dependence of TENG behaviors on thickness is investigated. It is demonstrated that a 0.87-µm-thick [CH/AL]₈ TENG resulted in the highest electrical output performance of 474 V and 36.9 mA m⁻² due to the highest surface potential and the lowest work function of 239.4 mV and 4.2 eV, respectively. A free-standing [(CH/AL)₄₉:(CHS/AL)₁]₅₀ TENG is designed for antimicrobial skin-patchable shape-adaptive nanogenerators, displaying ultrahigh translucency, long-term mechanical stability, and exceptional versatility. It is then attached to the arm to detect external stimuli, and the feasibility of its use as an encodable skin-touch sensor is demonstrated.     

Feasibility of using natural fishbone apatite as a substitute for hydroxyapatite in remediating aqueous heavy metals.

Fishbone, a natural, apatite rich substance, was examined for suitability as a substitute for hydroxyapatite in the sequestering of aqueous divalent heavy metal ions. The fishbone exhibited lower metal removal capacity than pure hydroxyapatite, due primarily to its purity ( approximately 70% apatite equivalent). In other ways the fishbone behaves in a similar manner as pure hydroxyapatite in the sequestration process. It was observed that it can remove all Pb(2+), Cu(2+), Cd(2+) and Ni(2+) to below detectable levels as measured by inductively coupled plasma atomic absorption, and the rate of reaction with either Zn(2+), Ni(2+), or Pb(2+) was also found to be similar to hydroxyapatite. Also, a two level, three variable full factorial design was performed for the Pb/apatite reaction and both apatites performed similarly. The main difference, besides capacity, was on exposure to high (2.4 mM) Pb concentrations. The fishbone removed less of the Pb(2+) than capacity correction predicted.