Some issues in the practice of correctional psychology in the context of security.

Discusses danger of correctional psychologists' losing sight of their proper role as they practice in the context of the pervasive influence of security in the correctional setting. The issues of inmate as client, confidentiality, positive responses, consent and free choice, and punishment as therapy are addressed. Suggestions are offered for reconciling apparent psychology–security conflicts. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Key role of microbial characteristics on the performance of VOC biodegradation in two-liquid phase bioreactors

Despite being studied for over 20 years, little is known about the mechanisms underlying the treatment of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from industrial off-gases in two-liquid phase bioreactors (TLPBs). Recent reports have highlighted a significant mismatch between the high abiotic mass transfer capacity of TLPBs and the low VOC biodegradation rates sometimes recorded, which suggests that a process limitation might also be found in the microbiology of the process. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the key role of microbial characteristics on the performance of VOC biodegradation in a TLPB using three different hexane degrading consortia. When silicone oil 200 cSt (SO200) was added to the systems, the steady state hexane elimination capacities (ECs) increased by a factor of 8.7 and 16.3 for Consortium A (hydrophilic microorganisms) and B (100% hydrophobic microorganisms), respectively. In the presence of SO200, Consortium C supported a first steady state with a 2-fold increase in ECs followed by a 16-fold EC increase after a hydrophobicity shift (to 100% hydrophobic microorganisms), compared to the system deprived of SO200. This work revealed that cell hydrophobicity can play a key role in the successful performance of TLPBs, and to the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on hydrophobic VOC treatment with exclusive VOC uptake within a nonbioavailable non aqueous phase. Finally, an independent set of experiments showed that metabolite accumulation can also severely inhibit TLPB performance despite the presence of SO200.     

Halotolerance and Survival Kinetics of Lactic Acid Bacteria Isolated from Jalapeño Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) Fermentation

The microbiota associated with spontaneous fermentation of vegetables in a saline substrate may represent an important group of bacteria in the food industry. In this work, the lactic acid bacteria (LAB) Weissella cibaria, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus paraplantarum, and Leuconostoc citreum were identified by partial 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. In addition, entophytic bacteria such as Pantoea eucalypti, Pantoea anthophila, Enterobacter cowanii, and Enterobacter asburiae were detected, but they were irrelevant for the fermentation process and were inhibited after 12 h of fermentation when the pH decreased from 6.5 to 4.9. Moreover, 2 species of yeast were isolated and identified as Hanseniaspora pseudoguilliermondii and Kodamaea ohmeri by their partial 26S rRNA gene sequence. The growth of LAB was evaluated at different sodium chloride contents. L. citreum was the most halotolerant species followed by L. plantarum and W. cibaria with a concentration index to obtain a 50% population reduction (IC₅₀) of 7.2%, 6.6%, and 5.2%, respectively. Furthermore, the growth of LAB and Escherichia coli O157:H7 was evaluated in the presence of the main phenylpropanoids from chilli peppers such as p‐coumaric and ferulic acid. It was determined that LAB can grow in both acids at 4 mM, unlike E. coli O157:H7, whose growth is inhibited in the presence of these acids.     

Probiotics and prebiotics--perspectives and challenges

Owing to their health benefits, probiotics and prebiotics are nowadays widely used in yogurts and fermented milks, which are leader products of functional foods worldwide. The world market for functional foods has grown rapidly in the last three decades, with an estimated size in 2003 of ca US$ 33 billion, while the European market estimation exceeded US$ 2 billion in the same year. However, the production of probiotics and prebiotics at industrial scale faces several challenges, including the search for economical and abundant raw materials for prebiotic production, the low-cost production of probiotics and the improvement of probiotic viability after storage or during the manufacturing process of the functional food. In this review, functional foods based on probiotics and prebiotics are introduced as a key biotechnological field with tremendous potential for innovation. A concise state of the art addressing the fundamentals and challenges for the development of new probiotic- and prebiotic-based foods is presented, the niches for future research being clearly identified and discussed.     

Study of the flow behavior of polymer-natural fiber suspensions in the power law validity range

The melt flow properties of PVC suspensions with henequen, coconut and bovine leather, in their raw condition, and after extraction of all their low molecular weight substances were studied. The experimental results show that, at the strain rates employed, the behavior of the suspensions is described by a power law (η = mγ^n–1). It is important to mention that in the present work we do not restrict our analysis to the evolution of the suspension Newtonian viscosity with the fiber concentration (as commonly is reported in the literature), but a more complete analysis is performed by describing the evolution of the consistency (m) and the power law (n) indices with the fiber concentration. Both indices were evaluated using a technique previously developed. The flow index (n) presents an anomalous behavior, it increases when the fibers are incorporated into the melted matrix at low fiber concentrations. This unexpected behavior is very different from that commonly reported in the literature and is apparently due to the flexibility of fibers. Moreover, the influence of the fiber extractable materials on the behavior of these suspensions was also evaluated. It was found that these latter materials apparently influence the value of the consistency index (m) of suspensions, at fiber concentrations above the critical pigment volume fraction; however, they do not have a significant effect on the power law index (n). Concerning the mechanical behavior of composites molded from the previous suspensions, it was found that when the fiber content augments, their elastic modulus increases, but their tensile strength falls. This behavior, however, could be improved by increasing the adhesion between the fibers and matrix.