The effect of trehalose, sucrose and maltodextrin addition on physicochemical and sensory aspects of freeze - dried strawberry puree

Use of trehalose as a novel drying aid to produce freeze-dried strawberry puree was studied and compared with conventional drying aids for fruit purees, namely sucrose and maltodextrin (MD). Glass transition temperature ( T _g), colour, sensory profile and consumer preference were determined. Purees dried with MD and/or trehalose presented higher T _g values as compared to sucrose. Sensory evaluation indicated that samples dried with trehalose retained fresh strawberry aroma and flavour, keeping a good sweetness/sourness balance, while puree dried with sucrose was mostly sweet. Addition of MD caused an increase in products visual viscosity and sourness, attributes which were negatively correlated to preference. Trehalose presented several advantages for increasing the quality of freeze dried fruit purees. It raised T _g, gave an adequate sweetness/sourness balance, and allowed a better perception of fresh strawberry flavour.     

Reconciling findings of emotion-induced memory enhancement and impairment of preceding items.

A large body of work has revealed that people remember emotionally arousing information better than neutral information. However, previous research has revealed contradictory effects of emotional events on memory for neutral events that precede or follow them: In some studies, emotionally arousing items have impaired memory for immediately preceding or following items, and in others arousing items enhanced memory for preceding items. By demonstrating both emotion-induced enhancement and impairment, Experiments 1 and 2 clarified the conditions under which these effects are likely to occur. The results suggest that emotion-induced enhancement is most likely to occur for neutral items that (a) precede (and so are poised to predict the onset of) emotionally arousing items, (b) have high attentional weights at encoding, and (c) are tested after a delay period of a week rather than within the same experimental session. In contrast, emotion-induced impairment is most likely to occur for neutral items near the onset of emotional arousal that are overshadowed by highly activated competing items during encoding. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Determination of interfacial energies of solid Sn solution in the In–Bi–Sn ternary alloy

The equilibrated grain boundary groove shapes of solid Sn solution (Sn-40.14 at.% In-16.11 at.% Bi) in equilibrium with the In–Bi–Sn liquid (In-21.23 at.% Bi-19.04 at.% Sn) were observed from the quenched sample at 59 °C. Gibbs–Thomson coefficient, solid–liquid interfacial energy and grain boundary energy of the solid Sn solution have been determined from the observed grain boundary groove shapes. The thermal conductivity of solid phase for In-21.23 at.% Bi-19.04 at.% Sn alloy and the thermal conductivity ratio of liquid phase to solid phase at the melting temperature have also been measured with radial heat flow apparatus and Bridgman type growth apparatus, respectively.     

Melatonin content in grape: myth or panacea?

Melatonin (N‐acetyl‐5‐methoxytryptamine) was detected by a modified HPLC method and ELISA tests in extracts of eight different Vitis vinifera cultivars, namely Nebbiolo, Croatina, Sangiovese, Merlot, Marzemino, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Barbera. Its concentration varied greatly among the cultivars, being the highest in Nebbiolo (0.965 ng g^?1) and Croatina (0. 870 ng g^?1). Field treatments of grapevine with the plant defence activator benzothiadiazole, greatly improved the melatonin content in berry skin extracts, indicating a possible strategy to raise the content of this important pharmaconutrient in plants, while inducing resistance to pathogens. The finding of this compound in grape suggests that the well‐established pharmaconutritional properties of this fruit are due not only to the presence of polyphenolic nutraceuticals, such as resveratrol, anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins, but also to the powerful antioxidant activity of melatonin. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry     

Processability of revulcanizable SBR compositions

The problem of vulcanized rubber scraps is of high importance nowadays, and the revulcanization of these scraps is an alternative to reutilize them. This work concerns the investigation of the processability of new compositions made from revulcanizable rubber scraps, through data from the Haake torque rheometer and the Rubber Process Analyzer (RPA). By varying cure system and oil addition, powdered butadiene-styrene rubber compositions (SBR-r) scraps were used in the preparation of six formulations. A control composition of identical formulation as the scraps was supplied by the industry and analyzed in all situations. Data reveal that new products can be produced by the reutilization of these industrial scraps.     

Effect of hydrated fillers and red phosphorus on the limiting oxygen index of poly(ethylene‐co‐vinyl actate)‐poly(vinyl butyral) and low density polyethylene‐poly(ethylene‐co‐vinyl alcohol) blends

The limiting oxygen index (LOI) values of EVA‐PVB and low density polyethylene (LDPE)‐poly(ethylene‐co‐vinyl alcohol) (EVOH) polymer blends containing hydrated filler‐type flame retardants and red phosphorus were measured. When used as the sole flame retardant, magnesium hydroxide [Mg(OH)₂] and alumina trihydrate (ATH) performed best in EVA and PVB, respectively. Magnesium hydroxide addition had a limited effect on the LOI of plasticized PVB, and addition of red phosphorus made little difference. This result is attributed to a mismatch between the decomposition temperature of Mg(OH)₂ and the temperature at which the PVB plasticizer vaporizes. Otherwise, low‐level addition of red phosphorus significantly improved LOI values. The presence of hydroxyl groups on the polymer backbone had a beneficial effect with respect to LOI values in ATH‐filled blends. An LOI value of 30 was achieved in EVOH with as little as 32% of ATH and 3% of red phosphorus. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 2008. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Metabolomic Profiling of Phloem Sap from Different Pine Species and Implications on Black Capuchin

Journal of Chemical Ecology - In most commercial pine farms in southern Brazil, black capuchin causes damage to wood and financial losses when it removes bark from some pine species to feed upon...     

Photoluminescent and antimicrobial properties of silver-doped indium hydroxide synthesized by one-step microwave-assisted hydrothermal method

Silver-doped indium hydroxide In_(1-x)(OH)₃:_xAg (with x = 0, 1, 2, 4, and 8 mol%) of Ag nanoparticles were synthesized by the microwave-assisted hydrothermal (MAH) method at 140°C for 30 minutes. These nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), fourier transformed infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and optical diffuse reflectance. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra were acquired with a 350 nm beam of a krypton ion laser as an excitation source. The antibacterial activities of the samples were evaluated against gram negative Escherichia coli bacteria and gram positive Staphylococcus aureus bacteria using the disc diffusion method. The results showed that all diffraction peaks present in XRD patterns could be indexed to the cubic lattice related to the In(OH)₃ phase. Broadband photoluminescence behavior in visible range spectra was observed for all samples with a maximum peak centered in the blue and green regions. The antibacterial activities showed that In_(1-x)(OH)₃: _xAg nanoparticles have a promising bactericide that can be used for deactivating microbes.