Effects of various roasting conditions on acrylamide,acrolein, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons content in cocoa bean and the derived chocolates

The effect of roasting parameters such as the temperature (135 and 150°C) and relative humidity of air (RH of 0.3 and 5.0%) on acrylamide, acrolein, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) levels in whole and crushed cocoa beans and chocolates derived from these beans was studied. Acrylamide was identified in all tested samples of roasted cocoa beans, irrespective of process conditions. Its contents in chocolates produced from these beans were similar. The highest acrylamide concentration was found in whole cocoa beans roasted at 135°C and RH of 5.0%. Small amounts of acrolein were present only in the roasted whole cocoa beans while neither the roasted crushed cocoa beans nor chocolates contained this aldehyde. Roasting conditions significantly affected the profile and content of PAHs in whole and crushed cocoa beans and the richest in PAHs were crushed cocoa beans roasted at 150°C and RH of 5.0%. The chocolates obtained in this study contained significantly higher concentrations of PAHs than the roasted cocoa beans used for their production. The results of the study demonstrate that optimization of roasting conditions may reduce levels of all these harmful substances in cocoa beans.     

Multimodal Optically Nonlinear Nanoparticles Exhibiting Simultaneous Higher Harmonics Generation and Upconversion Luminescence for Anticounterfeiting and 8-bit Optical Coding

Nonlinear optical materials are essential in areas such as nanophotonics, optical information processing, and biomedical imaging. However, nanomaterials employed for these diverse applications to date are efficient only for one type of nonlinear optical activity. Herein, the first multimodal nonlinear optically active class of nanomaterials based on lanthanide-doped lithium niobate nanoparticles, which simultaneously exhibit unprecedentedly efficient second and third harmonic generation, as well as up-conversion photoluminescence, is reported. These dielectric nanoparticles retain their high nonlinear optical conversion efficiency both as powder and as aqueous colloidal solution. The high stability also allows for the fabrication of optically active biocompatible micron-sized fibers and polymer-based 3D-printable objects, as well as for fingerprint detection. Finally, the first 8-bit coding platform purely based on multimodal nonlinear optical activity originating from different parametric and nonparametric processes is demonstrated, showcasing the technological potential of these materials for both anti-counterfeiting and advanced optical information processing.     

Dithizone modified gold nanoparticles films for potentiometric sensing

For the first time, application of a membrane composed of gold nanoparticles decorated with complexing ligand for potentiometric sensing is shown. Gold nanoparticles drop cast from a solution form a porous structure on a substrate electrode surface. Sample cations can penetrate the gold nanoparticles layer and interact with ligand acting as a charged ionophore, resulting in Nernstian potentiometric responses. Anchoring of complexing ligand on the gold surface abolishes the necessity of ionophore application. Moreover, it opens the possibility of preparation of potentiometric sensors using chelators of significantly different selectivity patterns further enhanced by the absence of polymeric membrane matrix. This was clearly seen, for example, for gold nanoparticles stabilizing the applied ligand-dithizone-thiol conformation leading to a high potentiometric selectivity toward copper ions, much higher than that of ionophores typically used to induce selectivity for polymeric ion-selective membranes.     

Wollastonite‐reinforced polypropylene composites modified with novel metallocene EPR copolymers. II. Mechanical properties and adhesion

Mechanical properties and adhesion phenomena of isotactic polypropylene/wollastonite/metallocene propylene‐ethylene copolymers (iPP/W/EPR) composites were studied as a function of metallocene propylene‐based copolymers content from 0 to 20 vol%. The composites with different surface treated wollastonites and two types of EPR have shown similar behavior of most mechanical properties except elongation at break and impact strength respective of the difference in some characteristics of used EPR elastomers. The increase and the difference in elongation at break could be explained by renewed spherulitic morphology of the iPP matrix. Stronger interactions between EPR‐1 and two used types of wollastonites than between EPR‐2 and corresponding wollastonites concluded from the surface properties led to the difference in impact strength behavior. The determined mechanical properties confirm the assumption coming out of structural investigations that metallocene EPR elastomers are rather efficient impact modifiers than encapsulation compatibilizers for the iPP/wollastonite composites. POLYM. COMPOS., 2009. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Heat Transfer and Pressure Drop Measurements During Boiling in Vertical Tubes with Coiled-Wire Inserts

ABSTRACT

The paper presents thermal and flow analyses of the boiling process of R507, R410 and R407 C refrigerants inside vertical tubes (21 mm) with coiled-wire inserts and various coil diameters (20; 20.5 mm), coil pitches (26; 44 mm) and wire diameters (1.5; 2 mm). The study differs from other publications as regards the conditions under which the experiment was conducted. It focuses on the boiling process in two long vertical tube sections (2 m), paired in an in-line arrangement. The study was conducted within a moderate range of mass flux densities 80–240 kgm^?2s^?1 and at low heat flux densities 5–11 kWm^?2, corresponding to the operating conditions of air coolers. The study examined the influence of vapour quality, mass flux density, geometrical parameters of the inserts and the impact of temperature glide on heat transfer coefficient and flow resistance increases as compared with a plain tube. The obtained increase ratios of heat transfer coefficients amounted to 1.1-1.7 for an azeotropic agent and to 1.1-1.3 for zeotropic agents, with the relative increase in flow resistances amounting to 1.8-4.5. New equations are proposed in the paper for the calculation of heat transfer coefficient and flow resistance values for boiling inside vertical tubes with spiral inserts.     

Phase-decomposition-related short-range ordering in an Fe–Cr alloy

A redistribution of Cr atoms related to a phase decomposition (PD) caused by an isothermal annealing at 415 °C in a 15.15 at.% Cr Fe–Cr alloy was studied in an ex situ way by the conversion electrons Mössbauer spectroscopy. Analysis of the spectra in terms of a two-shell model enabled the determination of probabilities of 17 different atomic configurations and average numbers of Cr atoms within the first (1NN) and the second (2NN) neighbor shells vs. annealing time, separately. The annealing-time evolution of these numbers, expressed in terms of the Cowley–Warren short-range order (SRO) parameters, was shown to follow the Johnson–Mehl–Avrami–Kolgomorov equation. The SRO parameter averaged over the 1NN–2NN shells was revealed to be linearly correlated with the average hyperfine field. Signatures in favor of the nucleation and growth mechanisms responsible for PD are also discussed.     

Characterization of fatigued Al lines by means of SThM and XRD: Analysis using fast Fourier transform

Longitudinal performance and reliability of microelectronic structures is strongly influenced by the condition of interconnects. Degradation processes invoke changes, progressive in time, on the surface, in the body of interconnect layer, in the boundary between interconnect and the Si/SiO₂ substrate, and in the area of substrate near Al line. Geometrical scale of these changes may vary in wide range, reaching nanometers. The authors investigate the condition of Al path of a fatigued commercial electronic circuit (memory), using in-house developed scanning thermal microscope (SThM) and commercial high resolution X-ray diffractometer (XRD). Series of SThM images were obtained for varying temperature of Wollaston probe working in active mode. The images, after processing by 2-dimensional spatial FFT, reveal various ingredients of the surface and internal structure of the Al line. FFT power spectrum dispersion is proposed as a measure of the amount of information available from the scan image. This measure may be used to determine the most efficient temperature of Wollaston probe. The result is a preliminary analysis of feasibility of the SThM approach for characterization of degradation process. In general SThM shall be perceived as a new technique for reliability analysis.     

Application of various methods for determination of the color of cocoa beans roasted under variable process parameters

Cocoa beans of Forastero variety from Togo were subjected to roasting under either constant or variable process parameters. The variable process parameters were roasting air flow rate, temperature and relative humidity. The color of roasted cocoa beans was determined by pigment extraction under various conditions followed by either their spectrophotometric assays or CIE L*a*b measurements. Also the Maillard compounds index and total polyphenols content correlated with progress of the browning of beans were determined. It was found that an increase in the roasting air relative humidity stimulated formation of brown pigments, while elevated temperature caused worsening of color parameters of roasted cocoa beans. The most suitable method of color characterization of roasted cocoa beans was found to be pigments extraction combined with either separation of their fractions or CIE L*a*b measurements. These assays revealed that cocoa beans roasted under variable roasting air flow rate were characterized by improved color parameters. The relatively simple and inexpensive CIE L*a*b measurements ensured fast analysis of color parameters, while total polyphenols in roasted cocoa beans were quickly estimated by using F–C reagent. Furthermore, quantification of melanoid pigments in roasted cocoa beans can be based on determination of the index of nonenzymatic browning products content, which is relatively simple and inexpensive.