Proposing Novel Encapsulating Matrices for Spray-Dried Ginger Essential Oil from the Whey Protein Isolate-Inulin/Maltodextrin Blends

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the blending of whey protein isolate (WPI) with maltodextrin (MD) and inulin (IN) biopolymers as encapsulating matrices for spray-dried ginger essential oil. Encapsulation was performed by ultrasound-assisted emulsification and using spray drying, and the stability parameters of the emulsion (with or without ultrasound-assisted) were evaluated. The influence of these different wall material systems was investigated based on various functional properties of microparticles such as stability of the emulsion, encapsulation efficiency, reconstitution properties, chemical profile, microparticle stability, morphology, particle size distribution, and crystallinity. Higher viscosity values were obtained for the emulsions prepared with WPI and IN which had the apparent viscosity increased by the ultrasound-assisted emulsification process. Creaming index values indicated that ultrasound-assisted emulsions had higher stability. The composition of the wall materials did not affect the solubility and the moisture content of the particles. The wettability property of the powders was improved by the addition of IN. The lowest level of water adsorption under conditions of high relative humidity was also observed in microparticles containing IN. The partial replacement of WPI by MD significantly affected the efficiency of encapsulation. Moreover, MD led to high thermal microparticle stability. Larger particles were observed in the powders prepared with WPI. The powders obtained from WPI, WPI:IN, and WPI:MD treatments exhibited amorphous structures and did not have any cracks on the surface. The findings of this study indicate that IN and MD together with WPI proved to be good alternative secondary wall materials for spray-dried ginger oil.     

High‐fat diet based on trienantin has no adverse metabolic effects in rats

The present study was designed to evaluate the metabolic effects of a high‐fat diet based on trienantin, an uncommon medium‐odd‐chain triacylglycerol. Male Wistar rats (33.37 ± 5.69 g) (n = 3×10) were maintained for 6 weeks on a control diet (7 g soya oil/100 g) or a high‐fat diet based on trienantin (40 g margarine, 4 g soya oil and 25.79 g trienantin/100 g), or a high‐fat diet based on soya oil (40 g margarine and 29.79 g soya oil/100 g). The serum lipid profile, hepatic function and injury markers, and renal function and injury markers were determined. Samples of liver, stomach, kidney and small intestine were collected for histological analysis. The animals fed the high‐fat diet based on trienantin exhibited a lower body weight gain in relation to the control group, between the second and fifth week of the experiment. There were no differences amongst the biochemical markers of the three groups (p ≥0.05). Lipid infiltration of the hepatocytes was detected in a similar manner in all groups (p ≥0.05). These data demonstrate that the high‐fat diet based on trienantin did not promote adverse metabolic effects under the conditions of this study. This could serve as a reference parameter in the evaluation of the safety of its therapeutic application.     

Drying of Lentil Including Shrinkage: A Numerical Simulation

Abstract

This article presents a theoretical study about drying of lentil including shrinkage. The two-dimensional unsteady-state diffusion modeling written in the oblate spheroidal coordinates system considers the volume variation effect, convective boundary condition at the surface of the solid, and variable thermo-physical properties. The governing equation was discretized using the finite-volume method and the linear equations system was solved by Gauss-Siedel iterative method. To validate the model, numerical results of the average moisture content were compared with experimental data from eight experiments and a good agreement was obtained. The diffusion coefficients for all drying experiments are determined using the least square error technique.     

Airborne-particle abrasion with niobium phosphate bioactive glass on caries-affected dentin: effect on the microtensile bond strength

This study evaluated the effect of airborne-particle abrasion with niobium phosphate bioglass (NbG) microparticles on the bond strength (μTBS) and longevity of an adhesive system to different dentin substrates. In this study, 18 Caries-free molars were used, of which 12 were microbiologically processed for caries induction. The dentin surfaces were evaluated in three groups: (1) Control – Healthy Dentin; (2) Partial removal of carious tissue; (3) complete removal of carious tissue. Half the teeth in each group were submitted to airborne-particle abrasion with NbG microparticles (15 s/1 cm/5 bar). After this, the adhesive Clearfil S³ was applied and composite buildups were constructed incrementally; and specimens were longitudinally sectioned to obtain bonded sticks (1.0 mm²) to be tested in tension (0.5 mm/min) immediately or after 6 months of storage in water. The fracture patterns were evaluated by stereomicroscope (40×) and then by scanning electron microscopy. The data were analyzed by the Kruskal-Wallis (post hoc Dunn) and Mann-Whitney tests (α = 0.05). Healthy dentin showed the highest bond strength (μTBS). Airborne-particle abrasion with NbG increased the μTBS values in the Group with complete caries removal. The bond strength values in the 24-h period were higher than those at 6 months. In the majority of the specimens the fracture mode was adhesive/mixed. The authors concluded that airborne-particle abrasion on dentin with NbG particles increased the μTBS in the group in which carious dentin was completely removed.     

Sorption of phenanthrene by reference smectites

Fate and behavior of nonionic hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) in the environment is mainly controlled by their interactions with various components of soils and sediments. Due to their large surface area and abundance in many soils, smectites may greatly influence the fate and transport of HOCs in the environment. We used phenanthrene as a probe to explore the potential of reference smectites to sorb HOCs from aqueous solution. Batch experiments were used to construct phenanthrene sorption isotherms, and possible sorption mechanisms were inferred from the shape of the isotherms. Our results demonstrate that smectites can retain large amounts of phenanthrene from water. Phenanthrene sorption capacities of the reference smectites investigated in this study were comparable to those of soil clays containing a considerable amount of organic matter. Hectorite exhibited the highest sorption affinity and capacity followed by Panther Creek montmorillonite. The lack of correlation between Freundlich sorption constants (K'f) and indices of charge or hydrophobicity suggests that sorption of phenanthrene by smectites is primarily a physical phenomenon. Capillary condensation into a network of nanoor micropores created by quasicrystals is likely to be a dominant mechanism of phenanthrene retention by smectites.     

A Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane (POSS) Doped with Cerium(III) / Fe(II) and its Application as an Electrochemical Sensor for L-dopamine

Silicon - A Polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) doped with cerium (III) was synthesized and reacted with potassium hexacyanoferrate (SCeH). The vibrational, structural, morphological and...     

Comparison of the catalytic performance of YIG garnets and Fe-containing oxides catalysts for oxidation of ethylbenzene

Iron-containing garnets (YIG) were used as catalysts for selective oxidation of ethylbenzene (EB) in the presence of H₂O₂ as oxidant. The catalysts comprising of two series of garnets e.g., Y₃(Fe_1–xZn_x)₅O₁₂ and Y₃(Fe_1–xNi_x)₅O₁₂ had distinct Zn and Ni contents (x = 0.00 0.01, 0.03, and 0.05). XRD, Raman and FTIR spectroscopies revealed that the cubic structure of Y₃Fe₅O₁₂ garnet was present for x = 0.00 and 0.01. For higher contents, the garnets had the Y₃Fe₅O₁₂ phase besides hematite (α-Fe₂O₃). The catalytic activity was dependent on the contents of metals in the garnets with Y₃Fe_4·97Ni_0·03O_12-γ and Y₃Fe_4·95Zn_0·05O_12-γ catalysts achieving better results. The influence of the reaction conditions such as reaction time, reaction temperature and effect of the solvents as well as the substrates to H₂O₂ molar ratios were studied. SEM-EDS, XPS and EPR results demonstrated the affinity of the Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺ pairs with Ni²⁺ species for the ethylbenzene molecule, which gave an EB conversion of 77% with a good production of acetophenone over the Y₃Fe_4·97Ni_0·03O_12-γ catalyst compared to other binary and ternary solids.