Surface hydrophobicity and functional properties of myofibrillar proteins of mantle from frozen-stored squid (Illex argentinus) caught either jigging machine or trawling

The surface hydrophobicity and functional properties of actomyosin from the mantle of frozen squid caught either by jigging machines (AME1) or by trawl (AME2) were investigated. Two components of 155 and 55 kDa were present in the gels at zero time of storage. Degradation of the myosin heavy chain and increase in the 155 kDa component occur earlier in AME2. Irrespective of the catch method used, no significant (P>0.05) changes in protein solubility were observed. The reduced viscosity of both AME1 and AME2 decreased up to months 3 and 5 of frozen storage, respectively. At the beginning of storage, the superficial hydrophobicity of AME2 was 30% higher than that of AME1. So 1-anilino-8-naphthalene sulfonic acid of AME2 significantly increased during 3-5 months of storage period and that of AME1 at the end of storage. The emulsion activity index (EAI) of AME2 significantly (P<0.05) increased during the first month and decreased after 3 months of storage. EAI of AME1 decreased at month 3 and remained unchanged thereafter. Emulsion stability (ES) of AME2 showed a behavior that was similar to its IAE and that of AME1 remained unchanged.     

Fortified food made by the extrusion of a mixture of chickpea,corn and bovine lung controls iron-deficiency anaemia in preschool children

A fortified food that was rich in protein, vitamins and iron made of chickpea, bovine lung and corn was developed with the aim of controlling iron-deficiency anaemia in children from poorer areas. It was tested in Teresina, State of Piauí, Northeastern Brazil, on a population with high anaemia prevalence. Two local daycare units with similar characteristics were selected and the children at one of them received a 30 g pack three times a week, representing a total iron daily intake of 6.96 mg. The other daycare unit was followed as a control. The capillary haemoglobin concentration was determined for the children at both daycare units, at the beginning of the study and after a two-month intervention period. The mean haemoglobin concentration in the test group at the beginning of the intervention was 11.8 g/dL, which increased to 13.1 g/dL at the end of the intervention. In the control group these figures remained practically constant (11.6–11.8 g/dL). These represented a dramatic and significant drop in anaemia prevalence, from 61.5% to 11.5% in the test group, and an insignificant reduction (63.1–57.7%) in the control group. The acceptance of the fortified snack was excellent and no undesirable effects were observed.     

Variation of the chemical composition of tomato cultivars (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) according to resistance against the tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV)

BACKGROUND: Tomato producers are looking for alternatives to protect their crops against the tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV), including replacement of cultivars with other more resistant ones. Major chemical components, sugars, mineral composition, organic acids, lycopene, total phenols and hydroxycinnamic acids were determined in six tomato cultivars, three of them (Boludo, Dorothy and Tyna) resistant, and the other three (Daniela, Dominique and Thomas), non‐resistant against TYLCV. RESULTS: The Daniela cultivar showed the greatest difference with respect to the others, mostly due to the higher content of soluble solids. The major significant differences between the mean values according to the cultivar and resistance against the TYLCV were observed for total soluble solids, pH, ascorbic acid, total phenols and hydroxycinnamic acids. High coefficients of correlation were found between glucose and fructose, and among ferulic, caffeic and p‐coumaric acids. CONCLUSION: Linear discriminant analysis made it possible to differentiate tomato samples according to the cultivar. A clear varietal influence on the chemical composition was observed; however, resistance or non‐resistance against TYLCV does not seem to influence the chemical composition. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

Diffuse conditions for efficient solution of multislab radiation transport problems

In this article, we make use of recently developed spectral nodal methods for anisotropically scattering media and we derive mathematical conditions for the diffuse reflection and transmission of radiation in the discrete ordinates formulation of particle transport theory for plane-parallel applications. The conditions arise from a suitable reformulation of spatially discretized equations defined on the boundary layers of a multislab domain. As a result, the boundary layers can be removed from the radiation transport calculations and replaced with exact and numerically stable equivalent conditions. In order to illustrate the applicability and computational merit of our discrete ordinates conditions for diffuse reflection and transmission in radiation transport calculations, we perform numerical experiments with atmospheric radiative transfer and nuclear reactor core models.     

Non-linear optimization technique for partial solution of generalized eigenvalue problems

This paper presents an alternative to the subspace iteration and Lanczos techniques, both of which are now used to solve partial eigenvalues and eigenvectors of large generalized linear first order symmetric matrix systems. It is based on non-linear optimization of a modified Rayleigh quotient. The elements of the eigenvector are the decision variables. Orthogonality constraints with respect to the two matrices are incorporated in the sequential unconstrained optimization scheme. By imposing normality with respect to one of the matrices, the Hessian matrix reduces to a much simpler form for which the Woodburry transformation may be used. This, in combination with the fact that the banded structure of the matrices is maintained, results in a number of operations of the same order as the two standard methods. Shifting is readily integrated. Numerical comparison with existing techniques demonstrate the practicality of this method.     

Ignition and Burning of Fibreboard Exposed to Transient Irradiation

Fire Technology - Natural materials like wood are increasingly used in the construction industry, making the understanding of their ignition and burning behaviour in fires crucial. The state of the...     

Simulating the variability of dispersed large PV plants

A model to simulate the fluctuations generated by a fleet of dispersed photovoltaic (PV) plants solely based on irradiance data measured at one single location is proposed. This simple model has been satisfactorily tested to quantify the power variability of a generic PV fleet, simply by defining two parameters: mean PV plant size and the number of plants in the PV fleet. Specifically, the model provides series of simulated power outputs that may be used in the grid operator simulation programmes, reproducing critical parameters, such as daily maximum fluctuation or the reserves required to offset these fluctuations. The model is created and validated against experimental 1‐s data collected throughout 2013 at six PV plants in Spain dispersed over 1100 km², totaling 17 MWp. Likewise, the model has been succesfully tested against another irradiance dataset, four sites across the state of Colorado, USA, and spread over 2400 km². Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

DNA damage induction by two halogenated acetaldehydes, byproducts of water disinfection

Drinking water contains disinfection byproducts, generated by the interaction of chlorine (or other disinfecting chemicals) with organic matter, anthropogenic contaminants, and bromide/iodide naturally present in most source waters. One class of these chemicals is the halogenated acetaldehydes (HAs), identified in high quantities when ozone is used as primary or secondary disinfectant. In this study, an analysis of the genotoxic potential of two HAs, namely tribromoacetaldehyde (TBA) and chloral hydrate (CH) has been conducted in human cells (TK6 cultured cells and peripheral blood lymphocytes). The comet assay was used to 1) measure the induction of single and double-strand DNA breaks, 2) evaluate the capacity of inducing oxidative DNA damage, and 3) determine the DNA repair kinetics of the induced primary genetic damage. In addition, chromosome damage, as a measure of fixed damage, was evaluated by means of the micronucleus test. The results of the comet assay show that both compounds are clearly genotoxic, inducing high levels of DNA breaks, TBA being more effective than CH. According to the comet results, both HAs produce high levels of oxidized bases, and the induced DNA damage is rapidly repaired over time. Contrarily, the results obtained in the micronucleus test, which measures the capacity of genotoxic agents to induce clastogenic and aneugenic effects, are negative for the two HAs tested, either using TK6 cells or human peripheral blood lymphocytes. This would indicate that the primary damage induced by the two HAs is not fixed as chromosome damage, possibly due to an efficient repair or the death of damaged cells, which is an important point in terms of risk assessment of DBPs exposure.     

Noise emission evolution on construction sites. Measurement for controlling and assessing its impact on the people and on the environment

The noise produced by the construction activities is one of the main acoustic polluting elements in society. However, there is no specific regulation for this activity, which shows its own emission features that make it remarkably different from other activities.     

Chain extension reaction in solid‐state polymerization of recycled PET: The influence of 2,2′‐bis‐2‐oxazoline and pyromellitic anhydride

Conventional and chain extended‐modified solid‐state polymerization (SSP) of postconsumer poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) from beverage bottles was investigated. SSP was carried out at several temperatures, reaction times, and 2,2′‐bis‐2‐oxazoline (OXZ) or pyromellitic anhydride (ANP) concentrations. The OXZ was added by impregnation with chloroform or acetone solution. Higher molecular weights were reached when the reaction was carried out with OXZ, resulting in bimodal distribution. The molecular weights of the flakes reacted at 230°C for 4 h were 85,000, 95,000, and 100,000 for samples impregnated with 0, 0.5, and 1.25 wt % OXZ solution, respectively. In the case of reactions with ANP, branched chains were obtained. The thermal and thermal‐mechanical‐dynamic properties of these high‐molecular‐weight recycled PET were determined. For OXZ‐reacted samples, the reduction of crystallinity was observed as the reaction time was increased, becoming evident the destruction of the crystalline phase. The chain extended samples did not show changes in thermal relaxations or thermal degradation behavior. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010