Characterisation of chickpea flour‐based gluten‐free batters and muffins with added biopolymers: rheological,physical and sensory properties

Chickpea flour (CF)‐based muffin formulations were made with CF alone and with added biopolymers [whey protein (WP), xanthan gum (XG) and inulin (INL)] to evaluate their suitability to be a wheat flour (WF) substitute in muffins. Structural characteristics of the batters and muffins were studied by means of rheometry, microscopy, physicochemical properties, and texture and sensory analysis. Partial replacement of CF with XG, alone (at 0.5 and 1%) or blended with either WP or INL, significantly increased the batter viscoelasticity as denser matrices developed; moreover, the muffins with XG added at 1% had similar hardness to wheat gluten muffins. The replacement of WF decreased the springiness, cohesiveness, chewiness, resilience and specific volume of the muffin. However, baked muffins with added XG also showed higher sensory sponginess and moisture associated with numerous air bubbles in the batter and were perceived to be easier to swallow and to have better general appearance.     

Pleurotusostreatus and Agaricus subrufescens: investigation of chemical composition and antioxidant properties of these mushrooms cultivated with different handmade and commercial supplements

In this study, the chemical composition, total phenolic content and antioxidant activity (DPPH, ORAC and FRAP assays) of A. subrufescens and P. ostreatus, cultivated with handmade and commercials supplements, were compared. Additionally, the compounds ergosterol, saccharopine, and hexitol were identified in A. subrufescens by HPLC-MS/MS. The antioxidant compound p-coumaric acid and dihexoses was found in both mushroom species. A. subrufescens presented higher total phenolic content (73.8 ± 0.6 mg GAE 100 g⁻¹) and antioxidant activity than P. ostreatus (16.6 ± 0.5 mg GAE 100 g⁻¹). The handmade supplement based on the waste of noble grains presented statistically similar phenolic content to the mushrooms cultivated with commercial ones Spawn Mate II SE (86.1 ± 1.4 and 92.9 ± 0.3 mg GAE 100 g⁻¹, respectively). Therefore, the results support the use of handmade supplements based on agro-wastes as a viable alternative to the use of high-cost commercial ones.     

The interplay of electronic structure,molecular orientation and charge transport in organic semiconductors: Poly(thiophene) and poly(bithiophene)

Ultrathin films of poly(thiophene) (PT) and poly(bithiophene) (PBT) were prepared by electrochemical route using ionic liquid (BFEE) as medium and electrolyte. Distinct morphologies and electrical properties were observed in these materials. To evaluate its response in photovoltaics, these films were used as active layer in bilayer geometry solar cells with the electron acceptor molecule C₆₀. The best performance was observed for PT films. In order to probe the differences in molecular dynamics and structural order, ultrafast electron dynamics in the low-femtosecond regime was evaluated by resonant Auger spectroscopy using the core–hole clock method at the sulfur K absorption edge. Electron delocalization times for the different polymeric films were derived as a function of the excitation energy. Photoabsorption measurements were conducted and molecular orientation derived. These results corroborated with the morphology found for these films and thus the performance of PT and PBT in the devices, and with the proposed conduction mechanism.     

Intra- and interspecific mineral composition variability of commercial instant coffees and coffee substitutes: Contribution to mineral intake

The present paper reports the amount and estimated daily mineral intake of nine elements (Ca, Mg, K, Na, P, Fe, Mn, Cr and Ni) in commercial instant coffees and coffee substitutes (n = 49). Elements were quantified by high-resolution continuum source flame (HR-CS-FAAS) and graphite furnace (HR-CS-GFAAS) atomic absorption spectrometry, while phosphorous was evaluated by a standard vanadomolybdophosphoric acid colorimetric method.Instant coffees and coffee substitutes are rich in K, Mg and P (>100 mg/100 g dw), contain Na, Ca and Fe in moderate amounts (>1 mg/100 g), and trace levels of Cr and Ni. Among the samples analysed, plain instant coffees are richer in minerals (p < 0.001), except for Na and Cr. Blends of coffee substitutes (barley, malt, chicory and rye) with coffee (20–66%) present intermediate amounts, while lower quantities are found in substitutes without coffee, particularly in barley.From a nutritional point of view the results indicate that the mean ingestion of two instant beverages per day (total of 4 g instant powder), either with or without coffee, cannot be regarded as important sources of minerals to the human diet, although providing a supplementation of some minerals, particularly Mg and Mn in instant coffees. Additionally, and for authentication purposes, the correlations observed between some elements and the coffee percentage in the blends, with particular significance for Mg amounts, provides a potential tool for the estimation of coffee in substitute blends.     

Conversion efficiency of glucose/xylose mixtures for ethanol production using Saccharomyces cerevisiae ITV01 and Pichia stipitis NRRL Y‐7124

BACKGROUND: Efficient conversion of glucose/xylose mixtures from lignocellulose is necessary for commercially viable ethanol production. Oxygen and carbon sources are of paramount importance for ethanol yield. The aim of this work was to evaluate different glucose/xylose mixtures for ethanol production using S. cerevisiae ITV‐01 (wild type yeast) and P. stipitis NRRL Y‐7124 and the effect of supplying oxygen in separate and co‐culture processes. RESULTS: The complete conversion of a glucose/xylose mixture (75/30 g L^?1) was obtained using P. stipitis NRRL Y‐7124 under aerobic conditions (0.6 vvm), the highest yield production being Y_p/s = 0.46 g g^?1, volumetric ethanol productivity Q_pmax = 0.24 g L^?1 h^?1 and maximum ethanol concentration P_max = 34.5 g L^?1. In the co‐culture process and under aerobic conditions, incomplete conversion of glucose/xylose mixture was observed (20.4% residual xylose), with a maximum ethanol production of 30.3 g L^?1, ethanol yield of 0.4 g g^?1 and Q_pmax = 1.26 g L^?1 h^?1. CONCLUSIONS: The oxygen present in the glucose/xylose mixture promotes complete sugar consumption by P. stipitis NRRL Y‐7124 resulting in ethanol production. However, in co‐culture with S. cerevisiae ITV‐01 under aerobic conditions, incomplete fermentation occurs that could be caused by oxygen limitation and ethanol inhibition by P. stipitis NRRL Y‐7124; nevertheless the volumetric ethanol productivity increases fivefold compared with separate culture. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Advances and Perspectives in Dental Pulp Stem Cell Based Neuroregeneration Therapies

Human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) are some of the most promising stem cell types for regenerative therapies given their ability to grow in the absence of serum and their realistic possibility to be used in autologous grafts. In this review, we describe the particular advantages of hDPSCs for neuroregenerative cell therapies. We thoroughly discuss the knowledge about their embryonic origin and characteristics of their postnatal niche, as well as the current status of cell culture protocols to maximize their multilineage differentiation potential, highlighting some common issues when assessing neuronal differentiation fates of hDPSCs. We also review the recent progress on neuroprotective and immunomodulatory capacity of hDPSCs and their secreted extracellular vesicles, as well as their combination with scaffold materials to improve their functional integration on the injured central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS). Finally, we offer some perspectives on the current and possible future applications of hDPSCs in neuroregenerative cell therapies.     

Natural dyes extraction from cochineal (Dactylopius coccus). New extraction methods

Carminic acid is a natural colourant that can be obtained from the dried bodies of females of the Dactylopius coccus Costa insect species (cochineal). Carminic acid is the main pigment that can be extracted from the cochineal insect. Its main use is with cosmetics, foods and pharmaceutical applications and it can also have textile and plastic applications. The traditional extraction methods employed to obtain this dye involve several drawbacks, e.g. high extraction time, low selectivity and low extraction efficiency. Moreover, these conventional techniques need toxic solvents. In this work, new extraction methods have been studied in order to avoid the disadvantages mentioned above. Pressurised liquid extraction (PLE) and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) techniques provide high selectivity and short extraction times.     

A Low-Power Wakeup Radio for Application in WSN-Based Indoor Location Systems

This paper presents a low-power wakeup radio (WUR) for application in indoor location systems. The presented radio has a better performance than the state-of-the-art radios, since it has low-power consumption, only 10 μW and it is perfectly integrated into a wireless sensor network based on ZigBee, which is used for location purposes. This performance was achieved due to an optimised radio frequency design of the WUR, which was embedded with a low-cost/low-power processor, and due to an enhanced control algorithm. Moreover, a software defined radio approach has been used to implement the WUR protocol. The WUR was designed and integrated in an existing WSN-based indoor location system which was originally based on a periodic sleep-wake up duty-cycled protocol. In the WUR protocol the location sensor is kept in deep sleep mode until it receives an external wake-up order. According to estimates, with this scheme, the battery lifetime can be increased from 200 days (using conventional duty-cycle protocol) up to almost 8000 days (sensor waken-up few times per day).