Quality of cocoa beans dried using a direct solar dryer at different loadings

In this study fermented cocoa beans were dried in a direct solar dryer at three levels of loading (20, 30 and 60 kg). Surface mouldiness was found to be heavy in the 60 kg treatment, with beans appearing blackish. All the dried beans were reasonably acceptable in terms of vinegary odour and weak in alcohol odour. Weak odour was also detected for the faecal, rancid and cheesy odours. The 60 kg treatment was rated strong for wet sock odour due to poor drying condition. A significant difference (P < 0.05) was found between the 60 kg treatment and the lower loading treatments for pH and titratable acidity. A cut test showed that the lower loading treatments resulted in a higher percentage of brown beans. The 20 kg treatment showed the highest cut test score, which is significantly different (P < 0.05) from the 60 kg treatment. Fermentation index also showed a tendency for lower loading treatments to have a higher index. No significant difference (P > 0.05) was found among the treatments in terms of cocoa, astringency, bitterness and sourness flavour notes. However, better flavour was observed for beans from the 20 kg treatment. No mouldy off flavour was found in any of the dried beans. Overall quality assessment showed that the 20 kg treatment was able to produce reasonably good‐quality beans as compared to other loadings and therefore is recommended for the direct solar dryer. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry     

Enzymatic synthesis of structured lipids using a novel cold-active lipase from Pichia lynferdii NRRL Y-7723

Structured lipids (SL) were synthesized by the acidolysis of borage oil with caprylic acid using lipases. Six commercial lipases from different sources and a novel lipase from Pichia lynferdii NRRL Y-7723 were screened for their acidolysis activities and Lipozyme RM IM and NRRL Y-7723 lipase were selected to synthesize symmetrical SL since recently NRRL Y-7723 lipase was identified as a novel cold-active lipase. Both lipases showed 1,3-regiospecifity toward the glycerol backbone of borage oil. The effects of enzyme loading and temperature on caprylic acid incorporation into the borage oil were investigated. For Lipozyme RM IM and NRRL Y-7723 lipase, the incorporation of caprylic acid increased as enzyme loading increased up to 4% of total weight of the substrate, but significant increases were not observed when enzyme loading was further increased. The activity of NRRL Y-7723 lipase was higher than that of Lipozyme RM IM in the temperature range between 10 and 20 °C.     

Isolation and characterization of Candida kefyr orotidine‐5′‐phosphate decarboxylase (URA3) gene

Candida kefyr is a common yeast species that can be found in fermented milk and cheeses. As a first step to developing a gene transfer system for C. kefyr, the orotidine‐5′‐phosphate decarboxylase (URA3) gene was cloned, using degenerate PCR and genome walking. The uninterrupted open reading frame of the C. kefyr URA3 gene spans 801 bp, corresponding to 267 amino acid residues. The functionality of the gene was confirmed by complementation of ura3 auxotrophs of C. albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Phylogenetic analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence indicated that it shares a high degree of homology with other Candida URA3 homologues. The GenBank Accession No. of the C. kefyr URA3 gene is FJ914763. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Screening of medium composition for the free radical‐scavenging properties by Antrodia cinnamomea

The effects of nutritional conditions on the scavenging capacity on superoxide anion radical and 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical of ethanolic extracts from filtrates of Antrodia cinnamomea were investigated in shake‐flask cultures. Culture medium significantly affected inhibition of superoxide anion generation and DPPH free radical scavenging activity. In contrast, both scavenging capabilities on superoxide anion radical and DPPH free radical were found to be greatly affected by varying the carbon source, the nitrogen source, the growth factors or the trace elements. The maximal inhibition of superoxide anion generation could be obtained when the culture medium compositions were: xylose, ammonium oxalate, nicotinic acid, NaH₂PO₄ and CuSO₄; while a maximal DPPH free radical scavenging activity could be achieved when the medium composition setting as: fructose, peptone, nicotinic acid, KH₂PO₄ and CaCl₂ (the scavenging effects on superoxide anion radical and DPPH free radical were increased to 96.3 ± 0.3% and 29.0 ± 1.0%, respectively). We proved that controlling the culturing conditions and modifying the composition of the medium can dramatically enhance the scavenging ability on superoxide anion radical and DPPH free radical of A. cinnamomea.     

Power correlation for vertical axis wind turbines with varying geometries

In this paper, a new predictive model that can forecast the performance of a vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) is presented. The new model includes four primary variables (rotor velocity, wind velocity, air density, and turbine power output) as well as five geometrical variables (rotor radius, turbine height, turbine width, stator spacing, and stator angle). These variables are reduced to include the power coefficient (C_p) and tip speed ratio (TSR). A power coefficient correlation for a novel VAWT (called a Zephyr Vertical axis Wind Turbine (ZVWT)) is developed. The turbine is an adaptation of the Savonius design. The new correlation can predict the turbine's performance for altered stator geometry and varying operating conditions. Numerical simulations with a rotating reference frame are used to predict the operating performance for various turbine geometries. The case study includes 16 different geometries for three different wind directions. The resulting 48 data points provide detailed insight into the turbine performance to develop a general correlation. The model was able to predict the power coefficient with changes in TSR, rotor length, stator spacing, and stator angle, to within 4.4% of the numerical prediction. Furthermore, the power coefficient was predicted with changes in rotor length, stator spacing, and stator angle, to within 3.0% of the numerical simulations. This correlation provides a useful new design tool for improving the ZVWT in the specific conditions and operating requirements specific to this type of wind turbine. Also, the new model can be extended to other conditions that include different VAWT designs. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Strong,Compressible, and Ultrafast Self-Recovery Organogel with In Situ Electrical Conductivity Improvement

Coordination complexes are widely used to tune the mechanical behaviors of polymer materials, including tensile strength, stretchability, self-healing, and toughness. However, integrating multivalent functions into one material system via solely coordination complexes is challenging, even using combinations of metal ions and polymer ligands. Herein, a single-step process is described using silver-based coordination complexes as cross-linkers to enable high compressibility (>85%). The resultant organogel displays a high compressive strength (>1 MPa) with a low energy loss coefficient (<0.1 at 50% strain). Remarkably, it demonstrates an instant self-recovery at room temperature with a speed >1200 mm s⁻¹, potentially being utilized for designing high-frequency-responsive soft materials (>100 Hz). Importantly, in situ silver nanoparticles are formed, effectively endowing the organogel with high conductivity (550 S cm⁻¹). Given the synthetic simplification to achieve multi-valued properties in a single material system using metal-based coordination complexes, such organogels hold significant potential for wearable electronics, tissue-device interfaces, and soft robot applications.     

Artificial Visual Systems With Tunable Photoconductivity Based on Organic Molecule-Nanowire Heterojunctions

The visual system, one of the most crucial units of the human perception system, combines the functions of multi-wavelength signal detection and data processing. Herein, the large-scale artificial synaptic device arrays based on the organic molecule-nanowire heterojunctions with tunable photoconductivity are proposed and demonstrated. The organic thin films of p-type 2,7-dioctyl[1]benzothieno[3,2-b][1] benzothiophene (C8-BTBT) or n-type phenyl-C₆₁-butyric acid methyl ester (PC₆₁BM) are used to wrap the InGaAs nanowire parallel arrays to configure two different type-I heterojunctions, respectively. Due to the difference in carrier injection, persistent negative photoconductivity (NPC) or positive photoconductivity (PPC) are achieved in these heterojunctions. The irradiation with different wavelengths (solar-blind to visible ranges) can stimulate the heterojunction devices, effectively mimicking the synaptic behaviors with two different photoconductivities. The long-term and multi-state light memory are also realized through synergistic photoelectric modulation. Notably, the arrays with different photoconductivities are adopted to build the hardware kernel for the visual system. Due to the tunable photoconductivity and response to multiple wavelengths, the recognition rate of neural networks can reach 100% with lower complexity and power consumption. Evidently, these photosynaptic devices are illustrated with retina-like behaviors and capabilities for large-area integration, which reveals their promising potential for artificial visual systems.     

Analog Circuit Applications Based on All‐2D Ambipolar ReSe2 Field‐Effect Transistors

Complementary circuits based on 2D materials show great promise for next‐generation electronics. An ambipolar all‐2D ReSe₂ field‐effect transistor (FET) with a hexagonal boron nitride gate dielectric is fabricated and its electronic characteristics are comprehensively studied by temperature dependence and noise measurements. Ambipolar transfer characteristics are achieved owing to the tunable Fermi level of the graphene contact and negligible and 30 meV Schottky barrier heights for the n‐ and p‐channel regimes, respectively. An inverter is also fabricated to demonstrate ambipolar ReSe₂ FET operation in a logic circuit. Furthermore, a p/n switchable unipolar FET is designed and shows potential for building complimentary circuits from a signal device. This work demonstrates the potential of all‐2D ReSe₂ FETs and makes available new approaches for designing next‐generation devices.