High‐intensity sweeteners in espresso coffee: ideal and equivalent sweetness and time–intensity analysis

The efficient substitution of sucrose by a sweetener in beverages requires the application of some sensory techniques. First, one must determine the concentrations of the sweeteners under study, equivalent in sweetness to the ideal sucrose concentration. In addition, it is fundamental to determine which is most similar to sucrose. The objectives of this study were to determine the ideal sweetness for espresso coffee and the equivalent concentrations in sweetness of different sweeteners, as well as characterise the time–intensity profile of each sweetener in relation to sweetness. The sweeteners evaluated were sucralose, aspartame, neotame, a cyclamate/saccharin mixture (2:1) and stevia. The sucrose concentration considered ideal by consumers was 12.5% (w/v), and the equivalent concentrations of the sweeteners were 0.0159% for sucralose, 0.0549% for aspartame, 0.0016% for neotame, 0.0359% for the cyclamate/saccharin mixture and 0.0998% for stevia. The time–intensity analysis indicated that possibly the sweeteners neotame, aspartame and sucralose would be the best substitutes for sucrose.     

Physical Stability of Octenyl Succinate–Modified Polysaccharides and Whey Proteins for Potential Use as Bioactive Carriers in Food Systems

The high cost and potential toxicity of biodegradable polymers like poly(lactic‐co‐glycolic)acid (PLGA) has increased the interest in natural and modified biopolymers as bioactive carriers. This study characterized the physical stability (water sorption and state transition behavior) of selected starch and proteins: octenyl succinate–modified depolymerized waxy corn starch (DWxCn), waxy rice starch (DWxRc), phytoglycogen, whey protein concentrate (80%, WPC), whey protein isolate (WPI), and α‐lactalbumin (α‐L) to determine their potential as carriers of bioactive compounds under different environmental conditions. After enzyme modification and particle size characterization, glass transition temperature and moisture isotherms were used to characterize the systems. DWxCn and DWxRc had increased water sorption compared to native starch. The level of octenyl succinate anhydrate (OSA) modification (3% and 7%) did not reduce the water sorption of the DWxCn and phytoglycogen samples. The Guggenheim–Andersen–de Boer model indicated that native waxy corn had significantly (P < 0.05) higher water monolayer capacity followed by 3%‐OSA‐modified DWxCn, WPI, 3%‐OSA‐modified DWxRc, α‐L, and native phytoglycogen. WPC had significantly lower water monolayer capacity. All Tg values matched with the solid‐like appearance of the biopolymers. Native polysaccharides and whey proteins had higher glass transition temperature (Tg) values. On the other hand, depolymerized waxy starches at 7%‐OSA modification had a “melted” appearance when exposed to environments with high relative humidity (above 70%) after 10 days at 23 °C. The use of depolymerized and OSA‐modified polysaccharides blended with proteins created more stable blends of biopolymers. Hence, this biopolymer would be suitable for materials exposed to high humidity environments in food applications.     

A Giant Frequency Shift in the Raman Spectrum of Water Adsorbed on a Metallic Silver Surface

The Raman spectrum of water adsorbed on a metallic silver surface reveals an anomalously large shift of the vibrational frequency as compared to that in the bulk. The results are compared to data reported by other researchers, and possible interpretations of the observed phenomenon are discussed.     

Fulde–Ferrell State in Spin–Orbit-Coupled Superconductor: Application to Dresselhaus SOC

We show that in the presence of magnetic field, two superconducting phases with the center-of-mass momentum of Cooper pair parallel to the magnetic field are induced in Dresselhaus spin–orbit-coupled superconductor. Specifically, at small magnetic field, the center-of-mass momentum is induced due to the energy-spectrum distortion and no unpairing region with vanishing singlet correlation appears. We refer to this superconducting state as the drift-BCS state. By further increasing the magnetic field, the superconducting state falls into the Fulde–Ferrell state with the emergence of the unpairing regions. The observed abrupt enhancement of the center-of-mass momenta and suppression on the order parameters during the transition indicate the occurrence of a first-order phase transition. Enhanced Pauli limit and hence enlarged magnetic-field regime of the Fulde–Ferrell state, due to the spin-flip terms of the spin–orbit coupling, are revealed. We also address the triplet correlations induced by the spin–orbit coupling, and show that the Cooper-pair spin polarizations, generated by the magnetic field and center-of-mass momentum with the triplet correlations exhibit totally different magnetic-field dependences between the drift-BCS and Fulde–Ferrell states.