Development of gluten-free fresh egg pasta analogues containing buckwheat

To improve the use of common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum), characterized by interesting nutritional properties, it could be used in pasta formulations. In particular, as buckwheat is devoid of the gluten-forming proteins, it might be an ingredient for celiac patient food. The aim of this study was to develop both fresh egg pastas integrated with buckwheat and fresh egg pasta analogues classifiable as gluten-free, based on buckwheat and rice flours. Matter loss in the cooking water and weight increase during cooking of buckwheat pasta were higher than those of a reference sample made of common wheat flour. As buckwheat integration increased, sample break strain was significantly lower, as a result of the progressive reduction in gluten content. In the production of gluten-free pasta analogues, wheat flour was substituted with rice flour, precooked rice flour or pregelatinized rice starch. Since samples containing precooked rice flour gave the best results, in terms of workability, break strain and weight increase during cooking, they were also produced on an industrial scale. Industrial gluten-free fresh egg pasta analogues were tougher and less deformable in comparison with the laboratory-produced samples. These results were determined by the presence of the double thermal pasteurisation treatment, which allows to obtain a better structure of the product, showing also a lower matter loss during cooking.     

Effects of housing system and age of laying hens on egg performance in fresh pasta production: pasta cooking behaviour

BACKGROUND: Very few studies concern the effects of layer housing systems and age on egg technological properties. Thus the aim of this work was to study the influence of these two factors on egg performance in fresh pasta production, focusing on pasta cooking behaviour. Samples of pasta subjected to analysis were prepared with eggs laid by Hy‐Line Brown hens (from 27 to 68 weeks old) housed in cage, barn and organic systems. RESULTS: Higher average values of weight increase and matter loss during pasta cooking were observed for samples prepared with eggs laid by older hens. Such cooking behaviour indicated the development of a weaker pasta protein network, resulting from a decrease in the quantity of albumen protein and an increase in fat content, which is due to the reduction in albumen/yolk ratio during hen aging. The housing system had a significant effect only on matter loss in cooking water, but differences between samples were so small as to be unlikely perceived by consumers. CONCLUSION: Both hen age and housing system significantly affected pasta cooking behaviour, but the greatest effect was exerted by the hen age. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry     

Foaming,gelling and rheological properties of egg albumen as affected by the housing system and the age of laying hens

The aim of this work was to study the foaming, gelling and rheological properties of albumen as simultaneously affected by the housing system (i.e. conventional cage, organic and barn) and the age of layers (27, 30, 35, 43, 53 and 68 weeks). Significant effects of the two considered factors and of their interactions were found for almost all the studied properties. In particular, with the increasing of the hen age, a loss in albumen consistency and a weakening of the albumen gel structure were observed. As regards the housing system, differences observed, even if statistically significant, were little and unlikely to have a real effect on technological performances of the eggs when used as food ingredients. Significant correlations amongst technological properties of albumen and its pH and protein content were also found.     

Outer loop power control in CDMA satellite systems with on-board power constraints

This paper aims at clarifying the role of the outer loop power control for CDMA satellite systems with on-board power constraints. If the inner loop of the power control is perfect, the channel turns into a AWGN channel and there is no need of the outer loop. In satellite CDMA systems, due to the longer propagation delay with respect to a terrestrial system, the inner loop of power control is only partly able to track power variations due to fast fading. Moreover, the Rice factor, which characterizes the channel statistics, can widely vary even if the user does not move but just because of the change of the elevation angle. Because of that, a wide range of target SNIR (and larger than in typical terrestrial systems) may be necessary to get the same BER performance. Therefore, the outer loop power control turns out to be essential to minimize the dynamic of the power link margins and avoid capacity degradations induced by the systematic use of static link margins. A semi-analytical model for the capacity evaluation has been developed, which is specifically intended for the power-limited satellite-to-mobile link with multi satellite reception. We found that the capacity gain with respect to a pure SNIR-based strategy (i.e., only inner loop) can reach the 40% of the total capacity in a single reception scheme. A smaller, but still noticeable capacity gain of the order of 20 - 30% is observed in presence of satellite diversity. Therefore, any dimensioning of CDMA satellite systems should not neglect this component of the power control.     

Efficient Integration of IP-Based Terrestrial and Satellite Systems: ARQ Techniques and Inter-Segment Handover

A satellite communication system is an excellent candidate toprovide broadband integrated Internet services to globallyscattered users. The inter-operation between a satellite systemand the existing terrestrial Internet infrastructure introducesnew challenges at different layers. Automatic Repeat reQuest (ARQ)techniques have been introduced at radio link layer to improve theperformance of Transport Control Protocol (TCP)/IP over wirelessterrestrial links, but these techniques are usually dismissed inpresence of high latency links such as satellite links. In thispaper, we will show that a truncated power control can effectivelyimprove the trade-off delay-residual error after retransmissionsand makes ARQ techniques a feasible solution for error control insatellite links. Furthermore, mobility management issues inpresence of satellite diversity are addressed. Performance of anInter-Segment Hand-Over (ISHO) procedure, in terms of propagationdelay, will be carried out through simulation for different spacesegment configurations.     

Behavior of azo dyes dispersed in fluid polymeric matrices with different rheological properties. A kinetic study of the cis-trans isomerization of 3′-nitro-4-diethylamino azobenzene in polyethylenoxides

The thermal cis-trans isomerization of 3′-nitro-4-diethylaminoazobenzene in seven polyethyleneoxides at different molecular weight has been studied kinetically in the temperature range 35–70°C. The dependence of the reaction rate on the polymer polarity and viscosity is discussed. The kinetics of the isomerization of the dye dispersed in the fluid polymeric matrix was found to be a useful probe of the structural features of the polymer.     

A cost model to estimate the effort of data mining projects (DMCoMo)

CRISP-DM is the standard to develop Data Mining projects. CRISP-DM proposes processes and tasks that you have to carry out to develop a Data Mining project. A task proposed by CRISP-DM is the cost estimation of the Data Mining project.     

Thermal cis–trans isomerization of azo dye chrysophenine in cellulose matrices: Effect of morphology

Films obtained from native cellulose synthesized by Acetobacter xylinum and from cellulose obtained from cuproammoniacal solutions (cellulose II) were morphologically characterized by studying the cis-trans isomerization of azo dye Chrysophenine dispersed in their amorphous region. The kinetic measurements of the reaction showed that both films behave as glassy polymers in the temperature range explored (36–66°C). In going from native cellulose to cuproammoniacal cellulose, an increase of the isomerization rate was observed, revealing a more homogeneous distribution and likely larger extent of free volume in the amorphous phase of cellulose II.     

Characterization of Native Cellulose/Poly(ethylene glycol) Films

Water molecules retained in native cellulose gels obtained from Acetobacter xylinum (AX) were displaced by poly(ethylene glycol)s (PEG) of different molecular weight. The so obtained native cellulose/PEG material, characterized in film form by differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis and wide angle X‐ray scattering, revealed that strong interactions occur between PEG and cellulose and that the polymer mixture is in the rubbery state at ambient temperature. Moreover, it could be dyed in supercritical carbon dioxide by disperse dyes, thus exhibiting typically lipophilic properties and suitability to be employed as a biocompatible support for lipophilic active species.     

Systemic Administration of Recombinant Irisin Accelerates Fracture Healing in Mice

To date, pharmacological strategies designed to accelerate bone fracture healing are lacking. We subjected 8-week-old C57BL/6 male mice to closed, transverse, mid-diaphyseal tibial fractures and treated them with intraperitoneal injection of a vehicle or r-irisin (100 µg/kg/weekly) immediately following fracture for 10 days or 28 days. Histological analysis of the cartilaginous callus at 10 days showed a threefold increase in Collagen Type X (p = 0.0012) and a reduced content of proteoglycans (40%; p = 0.0018). Osteoclast count within the callus showed a 2.4-fold increase compared with untreated mice (p = 0.026), indicating a more advanced stage of endochondral ossification of the callus during the early stage of fracture repair. Further evidence that irisin induced the transition of cartilage callus into bony callus was provided by a twofold reduction in the expression of SOX9 (p = 0.0058) and a 2.2-fold increase in RUNX2 (p = 0.0137). Twenty-eight days post-fracture, microCT analyses showed that total callus volume and bone volume were increased by 68% (p = 0.0003) and 67% (p = 0.0093), respectively, and bone mineral content was 74% higher (p = 0.0012) in irisin-treated mice than in controls. Our findings suggest that irisin promotes bone formation in the bony callus and accelerates the fracture repair process, suggesting a possible use as a novel pharmacologic modulator of fracture healing.