Diminution of quinolizidine alkaloids,oligosaccharides and phenolic compounds from two species of Lupinus and soybean seeds by the effect of Rhizopus oligosporus

Lupinus, like Glycine max (soybean), is an ancient leguminous plant. It has been used as a food by people living around the Mediterranean Sea and in the Andean Highlands. This legume contains quinolizidine alkaloids (Qas), oligosaccharides (OGS) and phenolic compounds (PC). The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the growth of Rhizopus oligosporus on the levels of Qas, OGS and PC from L. mutabilis, L. campestris and G. max through tempeh elaboration. The results showed that the soaking and cooking processes of legume seeds diminished the Qas content of L. mutabilis and L. campestris by 50%, and after 48 h of fermentation these compounds decreased by more than 90% in total. OGS diminished by more than 90% in the lupin seeds. The PC content of the three seed species subjected to these processes increased their absorbance value, probably due to the enzymatic action of a fungal tannase. These results suggested that the L. mutabilis, L. campestris and G. max fermentation with R. oligosporus is an efficient method for diminishing antinutritional factors and for obtaining a product with optimal nutritional value. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry     

Correlation between polyethylene topology and melt flow instabilities by determining in-situ pressure fluctuations and applying advanced data analysis

Using three high sensitive pressure transducers located inside a slit-die of a capillary rheometer and applying a set of advanced mathematical tools to process the acquired time dependent pressure signals, we are able to detect in-situ pressure fluctuations associated with sharkskin instabilities. Other distortions, as spurt and gross melt fracture, can also be in-situ detected. This originates from a factor of 10³ and 10² improvement in terms of time and pressure resolution achieved using the new set-up and data analysis that it will be described in detail in this article. Our approach quantifies the effect of polymer topology and shear rate on the characteristic frequency and amplitude of these pressure fluctuations inside the die. Depending on the polymer structure and the shear rate, different instabilities with large deviation in their main properties at melt-state, can be determined. Based on our results, a polymer-independent power law relationship between the characteristic frequency of the instability and the apparent shear stress has been found. Combining this new technique with the advanced mathematical analysis used, clear evidences concerning the origin and location of these instabilities, could be established. According to our analysis, the spurt instability starts in the entrance of the die and it propagates downstream while increasing its velocity along the die. This was confirmed by non-zero-time-lags in the cross-correlation function between the transducers located inside the slit-die. In case of sharkskin instability, pressure fluctuations inside the die indicate that its origin could also be already inside the die instead of being exclusively located at the die-exit region, as stated in earlier investigations.     

SUPERCRITICAL EXTRACTION OF LINSEED OIL: ECONOMICAL VIABILITY AND MODELING EXTRACTION CURVES

The aim of the present study was to use supercritical technology to recover linseed oil (Linum usitatissimum L.) using carbon dioxide (alone or modified with ethanol as solvent) to determine the influence of the technique on the chemical composition of the oil obtained, model the kinetic curves of extraction, and estimate the manufacturing cost of the process. The experiments were conducted at 323 K, pressure of 25 MPa, constant solvent flow of 1.7 × 10^?5 kg/s, and extraction time of 5 h. The highest yield was obtained with the addition of cosolvent (28.8%). The SFE process of linseed oil manufacture proved to be economically viable, resulting in a product with a specific cost of 13.21 US$/kg_oil. As to oil composition, the main fatty acids detected were linolenic and oleic acid.     

A modified consensus approach to mutagenesis inverts the cofactor specificity of Bacillus stearothermophilus lactate dehydrogenase

Lactate dehydrogenase from Bacillus stearothermophilus is specific for NAD+. There have been several attempts to alter the cofactor specificity of this enzyme, but these have yielded enzymes with relatively low activities that still largely prefer NAD+. A modified consensus approach was used to create a library of phylogenetically preferred amino acids situated near the cofactor binding site, and variants were screened for their ability to utilize NMN+. A triple mutant (Mut31) was discovered that proved to be more catalytically efficient than wild-type. Mut31 was also better at utilizing NAD+ than the wild-type enzyme and was weakly active with NADP+ and NMN+. An analysis of single amino acid substitutions suggested that all three mutations worked in a concerted fashion to yield robust cofactor utilization. When two previously identified amino acid substitutions were introduced into the Mut31 background, the resultant quintuply substituted enzyme not only utilized NADP+ far better than the wild-type enzyme, it actually inverted its preference for NAD+ and NADP+.     

Color and COD retention by nanofiltration membranes

In the present study the application of the nanofiltration process was investigated mainly in the retention ofcolor and chemical oxygen demand (COD) present in textile industry wastewater. Nanofiltration experiments were carried out in a pilot unit, operating in crossflow. Three different types of spiral wound membranes, DK 1073, NF 45 and MPS 31 were used simultaneously in the same unit. The results of the tests showed that for color retention, the values were around 99% for the DK 1073 and NF 45 membranes and the 87% for COD retention for the DK 1073. The permeate flux for the different wastewaters varied from 30.5 to 70 L/h.m². Fouling was observed in all membranes due to the accumulation of molecular species close to the filtering surface. The process was efficient and promising for the reuse of wastewater from this type of industry.     

Proximal composition, lipid and cholesterol content of meat from pigs fed peach-palm meal (Bactris gasipaes Kunth) and synthetic lysine

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the proximal composition, lipids and cholesterol content of meat from pigs fed diets with peach-palm meal (PPM), with or without addition of synthetic lysine (LYS). In experiment 1, 24 pigs were randomly allotted into six treatments with three levels of PPM (0.16 and 32%) and two levels of LYS (0 and 0.27%). In experiment II, 16 finishing pigs were fed with two levels of PPM (0 and 17.50%) and two levels of LYS (0 and 0.27%). At the end of each experiment (42 and 35 d, respectively), pigs were slaughtered and loin samples were obtained to determine crude protein, dry matter, moisture, ash, total lipids, and cholesterol content. In experiment I, pork loin from 16% PPM had more dry matter (26.45 g/100 g) and less moisture (73.49 g/100g) than pork loin from 32% PPM (25.11 y 75.03 g/100g, respectively). Meat samples from pigs without LYS had higher (p < 0.05) content of lipids (2.11 g/100 g) than meat from pigs that consumed LYS (1.72 g/100 g). In experiment II, the proximal, lipids and cholesterol content were similar among treatments. The PPM addition to pig diets did not affect the proximal composition of pork, while LYS addition indicated a reduction of total lipids, which could result as an alternative to obtain leaner meat.     

Imazalil Degradation upon Applying Ozone—Transformation Products,Kinetics, and Toxicity of Treated Aqueous Solutions

The elimination of the pesticide imazalil (IMZ) spiked into ultrapure water as well as into wastewater applying ozone (O₃) and the identification of transformation products was investigated. O₃ under hydroxyl radical suppression conditions reacted rapidly with the aliphatic double bond or the imidazole ring in IMZ, yielding several transformation products by partial oxidation. The structures of four oxidation products not yet described were characterized and identified after liquid chromatography coupled with high resolution, high mass accuracy, mass and tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS and -MSⁿ) in ultrapure water. For two identified transformation products, generated via direct ozone attack on IMZ, formation pathways were proposed. In wastewater, only two of those transformation products were observed. Kinetics studies for the reaction of IMZ with O₃, evaluated by the competition kinetic method, resulted in a second-order rate constant k_O3,IMZ ～ (1.02 ± 0.03)?×?10⁵ M^?1 s^?1 at pH 6.6 ± 0.2, indicating that IMZ is completely transformed during the ozonation process. Tests of acute toxicity were performed applying a solution of IMZ in ultrapure water or treated wastewater to Daphnia magna. In both cases the decrease of toxicity was observed after ozone treatment.     

An improved algorithm for the three‐fluid‐phase VLLE flash calculation

The VLLE flash is important in water and hydrocarbons mixtures, hydrocarbon and CO₂ rich mixtures, and hydrocarbon methane rich mixtures that are encountered in reservoir performance and recovery studies. A robust VLLE flash algorithm is proposed. The equilibrium and mass balance equations are solved as a constrained minimization problem. An inverse barrier function is used to handle the inequality constrains to solve for the phase fractions. It warrants always arriving to the solution. The challenging cases analyzed showed that the initialization procedure proposed, together with successive substitution iteration in the outer loop, is a good method for a stable VLLE flash algorithm, even near critical points. Whenever the result is in the region outside the three‐phase physical domain, the solution suggests that the system has fewer phases. In one of the cases analyzed, a region with three liquid phases was encountered and the algorithm found two different solutions with positive phase fractions. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 61: 3081–3093, 2015