Assessment of antimicrobial activity of coffee brewed in three different ways from different origins

The antimicrobial effect against pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus, Enterecoccus faecalis, Listeria monocytogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Salmonella choleraesius was determined in four types of coffee (Coffea arabica L. cv. Colombia, decaffeinated cv. Colombia, cv. Ethiopia and cv. Kenya). Coffee was seen to have significant activity against the growth of food spoilage bacteria. Among the Gram-positive bacteria, coffee was strongly active against S. aureus, moderately active against L. monocytogenes and had a slightly inhibitory effect against E. faecalis. However, coffee samples were found to be less active against Gram-negative bacteria. The results show that espresso Colombia coffee has better antimicrobial activity than filter and Italian coffee with significant differences (p?<?0.05). Taking into account the origin, there were significant differences (p?<?0.05) between Kenya and decaffeinated Colombia, on the one hand, and Ethiopia and Colombia coffee, on the other, the two last showing the highest antimicrobial activity. The antimicrobial activity of the coffee from different origins studied in this paper increased with concentration. Typical coffee compounds were also analysed, and only caffeic and chlorogenic acids showed any inhibitory effect against the growth of all the analysed bacteria. The antibacterial properties of coffee means that it has a promising potential as natural food ingredient to extend the shelf life of foods such as cake, cookies or biscuits, coffee flavoured with shakes, yoghurt.     

Microbial Fuel Cell Application for Azoic Dye Decolorization with Simultaneous Bioenergy Production Using Stenotrophomonas sp.

A single‐chamber air‐cathode microbial fuel cell (MFC) was successfully applied for decolorization of the diazoic dye Reactive Black 5 (RB5) with simultaneous production of electricity. An innovative low‐cost medium, the marine water‐glucose‐yeast extract medium (MWGY), was developed which appears as a textile marine effluent in terms of salinity. The anode compartment containing a single bacterial strain of Stenotrophomonas sp. showed almost complete dye decolorization with different RB5 concentrations after seven days of treatment. For the four dye concentrations used, a correlation between dye removal and production of electrical energy was found. The comparison of the decolorization process in the MFC with that in a batch reactor as control experiment highlights the efficiency of the single‐chamber air‐cathode MFC technology which improved the dye removal by the same bacterial strain.     

Potenziale und Grenzen der Sekundärrohstoffgewinnung – Ergebnisse der r4-Begleitforschung

The socio-economic and ecological impacts of selected projects of the BMBF funding program “r⁴ – Innovative Technologies for Resource Efficiency – Research for the Provision of Raw Materials of Strategic Economic Importance” are presented. Many, but not all, research projects indicate a potential improvement of the supply situation in Germany. In some cases, the provision of secondary raw materials is unprofitable or ecologically detrimental. These cases require a balancing between security of supply and other economic and ecological objectives.     

A note on the Gamma test

This note describes a simple technique, the Gamma (or Near Neighbour) test, which in many cases can be used to considerably simplify the design process of constructing a smooth data model such as a neural network. The Gamma test is a data analysis routine, that (in an optimal implementation) runs in time O(MlogM)as M,where Mis the number of sample data points, and which aims to estimate the best Mean Squared Error (MSError) that can be achieved by any continuous or smooth (bounded first partial derivatives) data model constructed using the data.First presented at NCAF seminar, Portsmouth, UK on 20 September 1995     

Complex‐Shaped Cellulose Composites Made by Wet Densification of 3D Printed Scaffolds

Cellulose is an attractive material resource for the fabrication of sustainable functional products, but its processing into structures with complex architecture and high cellulose content remains challenging. Such limitation has prevented cellulose‐based synthetic materials from reaching the level of structural control and mechanical properties observed in their biological counterparts, such as wood and plant tissues. To address this issue, a simple approach is reported to manufacture complex‐shaped cellulose‐based composites, in which the shaping capabilities of 3D printing technologies are combined with a wet densification process that increases the concentration of cellulose in the final printed material. Densification is achieved by exchanging the liquid of the wet printed material with a poor solvent mixture that induces attractive interactions between cellulose particles. The effect of the solvent mixture on the final cellulose concentration is rationalized using solubility parameters that quantify the attractive interparticle interactions. Using X‐ray diffraction analysis and mechanical tests, 3D printed composites obtained through this process are shown to exhibit highly aligned microstructures and mechanical properties significantly higher than those obtained by earlier additively manufactured cellulose‐based materials. These features enable the fabrication of cellulose‐rich synthetic structures that more closely resemble the exquisite designs found in biological materials grown by plants in nature.     

Implementation of Clinical Proteomics: A Step Closer to Personalized Medicine?

The success of clinical proteomics, per definition, is ultimately defined by the clinical implementation of proteomics findings. Extensive research activity in the field, targeting especially biomarker discovery, has been conducted in the past decades, with several studies suggesting a benefit from proteome‐based application in patient management. This viewpoint article discusses the current status in clinical proteomics with respect to implementation (as evidenced by the use of protein findings in drug labeling and patient stratification), and proposes specific action points for accelerating the biomarker validation process, placing special emphasis on the importance of data and resource sharing.     

Policies regarding public availability of published research data in pediatrics journals

Scientometrics - Sharing research data is an increasingly necessary requirement for the advancement of science. The goal of this paper is twofold. First, to analyze the policies on openness in...