Heat Transfer in Confined Forced-Flow Boiling

Remarkably different behaviors are found when comparing micro-scale flow boiling heat transfer data by distinct authors, even under similar experimental conditions. Such differences are almost certainly related to the complexity of confined forced-flow boiling. Certain aspects of the phenomenon, which are negligible in the macro-scale, become surprisingly relevant when the system size becomes small. From the results reported in the literature on the thermal-fluid features of evaporating flows in small channels, the following study presents a discussion concerning convective boiling heat transfer, highlighting the aspects that are characteristic to confined two-phase flows.     

Detection of low‐quality extra virgin olive oils by fatty acid alkyl esters evaluation: a preliminary and fast mid‐infrared spectroscopy discrimination by a chemometric approach

A set of eighty‐one extra virgin olive oils (EVOOs) was analysed according to the new quality parameters relative to the total amount of methyl and ethyl esters of fatty acids [Σ (FAMEs + FAEEs)] and the ratio between ethyl and methyl esters [ratio of FAEEs/FAMEs (RFF)]. Acquisition of the mid‐infrared spectra was also performed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT‐IR). Chemical and spectroscopy data were chemometrically elaborated, and FT‐IR coupled by Partial Least Square (PLS) methodology was developed. Results were statistically similar to official procedure in terms of analytical performance for Σ (FAMEs + FAEEs) and RFF in EVOOs: a good agreement between predicted and actual values on calibration data sets was found (0.98 and 0.83, respectively) and the limit of quantification was low enough (29.3 mg kg^?1) considering the actual limits for Σ (FAMEs+ FAEEs). This new approach, time‐saving and environmentally friendly, can be considered as a useful tool for screening procedures.     

Application of a spectroscopic method to estimate the olive oil oxidative status

A rapid Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) attenuated total reflectance (ATR) spectroscopic method coupled with partial least squares (PLS), was developed to estimate the oxidation degree of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). The reference values of EVOO oxidation for the FTIR calibration were obtained by the specific absorptions at 232 and 270 nm, due to the presence of conjugated diene (CD) and conjugated triene (CT) groups, as monitored by the UV spectrophotometric determination. Specific washing procedures were applied to the EVOO to obtain EVOOP and EVOOTP samples, without phenolic compounds and without tocopherols and phenols, respectively. To obtain different oxidation degrees covering wide CD and CT ranges, EVOO, EVOOP, and EVOOTP samples were subjected to a forced oxidation at 60°C for 20 days and aliquots of the oils were daily analyzed. Regression of the FTIR/PLS‐predicted CD and CT of individual oxidized oils EVOO, EVOOP, EVOOTP, and all combined oils (EVOOALL) against UV–Visible reference values demonstrated the good quality of the models in terms of R² and RMSECV values. The results of the study indicated that a strong correlation existed between FTIR and UV–Visible peak intensities. Practical applications: The FTIR‐ATR method coupled with PLS elaboration was developed and applied to predict the oxidation degree of EVOO samples with considerable advantages in terms of simplicity, analysis time, and solvent consumption as compared to the standard method. Moreover, suitable adjustments of the equipment could permit a rapid control at‐line in oil sector.     

Pull-through performance of carbon fibre epoxy composites

An investigation of the through-thickness properties of carbon fibre prepreg laminates, Non-Crimp Fabric laminates and non-crimp 3D orthogonal woven composites by pull-through testing was performed. Influence of matrix system and curing temperature on the performance of the 3D woven composites was investigated.     

Numerical analysis of the influence of the channel cross-section aspect ratio on the performance of a PEM fuel cell with serpentine flow field design

This work numerically investigates the influence of the channel cross-section aspect ratio (defined as the ratio height/width) on the performance of a PEM fuel cell with serpentine flow field (SFF) design. The local current densities, velocity distributions, liquid water concentration in the membrane, hydrogen and oxygen concentrations and temperature were analyzed in the PEM fuel cell for 10 different aspect ratios, varying between 0.07 and 15, to understand the channel cross-section aspect ratio effect. The area of the channel cross section (1.06 mm²) and the total effective reactive area of the PEM fuel cell (256 mm²) were maintained constant in all cases. The obtained results show that at low operating voltages the cell performance is independent of the channel cross-section aspect ratio. At high operating voltages, where the influence of mass transporting velocity is predominant, as the channel cross-section aspect ratio increases the cell performance is improved. The models with high aspect ratio show, in general, more uniform current distributions, with the higher maximum and minimum intensity values, temperature distributions with smaller gradients and a superior contain of water in the membrane, which allows to obtain a higher performance. From these models the 10/06 and 12/05 aspect ratio present the best combination of variables, as shown by their polarization curves.     

Aluminum Content in Foods and Beverages Consumed in the Spanish Diet

A reliable and rapid method for determining aluminum content in foods and beverages was developed using electrothermal atomization-atomic absorption spectrometry (ETA-AAS) using previous optimization of the time-temperature program for the graphite furnace. The samples were subjected to acid mineralization with HNO₃ and V₂O₅. The technique used slurries for assay in samples of dairy products. The detection limit was 4.0 pg. The mean recovery obtained ranged from 98.5% to 99.0%. The variation coefficient ranged from 3.2% to 5.2%. The results obtained ranged from 1.362 to 6.610 μg/g in seafood, 0.171 to 29.688 μg/g in vegetables, 19.560 to 70.100 μg/g in olive oil, 0.424 to 6.430 μg/g in dairy products and 25.600 to 58.057 μg/g in stimulant drinks and infusions. This study contributes new data on the Al content of a variety of foods and beverages in Spain and such data are important for composition tables. The higher presence corresponded to seafood, vegetables and dairy products. Their contribution to Al dietary intake were estimated.     

Polygalacturonase-inhibiting proteins (PGIPs) with different specificities are expressed in Phaseolus vulgaris

The pgip-1 gene of Phaseolus vulgaris, encoding a polygalacturonase-inhibiting protein (PGIP), PGIP-1 (P. Toubart, A. Desiderio, G. Salvi, F. Cervone, L. Daroda, G. De Lorenzo, C. Bergmann, A. G. Darvill, and P. Albersheim, Plant J. 2:367-373, 1992), was expressed under control of the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter in tomato plants via Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. Transgenic tomato plants with different expression levels of PGIP-1 were used in infection experiments with the pathogenic fungi Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, Botrytis cinerea, and Alternaria solani. No evident enhanced resistance, compared with the resistance of untransformed plants, was observed. The pgip-1 gene was also transiently expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana with potato virus X (PVX) as a vector. PGIP-1 purified from transgenic tomatoes and PGIP-1 in crude protein extracts of PVX-infected N. benthamiana plants were tested with several fungal polygalacturonases (PGs). PGIP-1 from both plant sources exhibited a specificity different from that of PGIP purified from P. vulgaris (bulk bean PGIP). Notably, PGIP-1 was unable to interact with a homogeneous PG from Fusarium moniliforme, as determined by surface plasmon resonance analysis, while the bulk bean PGIP interacted with and inhibited this enzyme. Moreover, PGIP-1 expressed in tomato and N. benthamiana had only a limited capacity to inhibit crude PG preparations from F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, B. cinerea, and A. solani. Differential affinity chromatography was used to separate PGIP proteins present in P. vulgaris extracts. A PGIP-A with specificity similar to that of PGIP-1 was separated from a PGIP-B able to interact with both Aspergillus niger and F. moniliforme PGs. Our data show that PGIPs with different specificities are expressed in P. vulgaris and that the high-level expression of one member (pgip-1) of the PGIP gene family in transgenic plants is not sufficient to confer general, enhanced resistance to fungi.     

Phenolic content and antioxidant capacity versus consumer acceptance of soaked and vacuum impregnated frozen nectarines

Nectarines (Prunus persica L. cv. Maria Laura) were manually selected, cut in slices and divided into four groups: fresh, untreated frozen, soaked in osmotic solution and subsequently frozen, and vacuum impregnated (VI) and subsequently frozen. This investigation was focused on evaluation of consumer acceptance with respect to treated versus untreated frozen nectarine slices. In a preliminary acceptance test of untreated frozen nectarine slices, fruits were generally rejected on the basis of a darkened appearance and “oxidized” taste. These negative attributes were probably linked to the activity of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and depletion of phenols due to cell rupture during freeze–thaw procedures. For these reasons, in order to evaluate the tendency of fruit to oxidation, several analyses were performed: the antioxidant capacity of phenolic fraction and the o-diphenol content were estimated by spectrophotometric assays, whereas the hydroxycinnamic acid (chlorogenic and neochlorogenic acids) composition was evaluated by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Phenolic content and antioxidant capacity were found to correlate well with the acceptance level of frozen nectarine slices. In this regard a higher phenolic content associated with a higher acceptance level of nectarine samples.