Enzymes Action on Wheat–Soy Dough Properties and Bread Quality

High levels of soy flour added to wheat bread produce negative effects on gluten network formation, dough properties, and on bread final quality. The objective of this study was to assess the influence of three enzymes, transglutaminase (TG), glucose oxidase (GOX), and endoxylanase (XYL), on dough properties and final quality of high-protein breads. The addition of TG and GOX increased the mixing stability and maximum resistance of dough, decreased its extensibility, and produced stronger and more consistent dough samples. XYL incorporation produced opposite results. XYL addition and the lowest GOX dose increased bread volume significantly and decreased initial crumb firmness, while high doses of TG (0.3%) produced detrimental effects on bread volume and crumb firmness. In conclusion, XYL and GOX 0.001% addition improved the final quality of soy-fortified breads, but XYL was the best additive to improve dough properties, bread volume, and quality.     

TaqMan real-time PCR for the detection and quantitation of pork in meat mixtures

A rapid and highly specific real-time quantitative PCR, based on the amplification of a fragment of the mitochondrial 12S ribosomal RNA gene (rRNA), has been developed for the quantitation of pork (Sus scrofa) in binary pork/beef muscle mixtures. The method combines the use of pork-specific primers, that amplify a 411bp fragment from pork DNA, and mammalian-specific primers amplifying a 425-428bp fragment from mammalian species DNA, which are used as endogenous control. An internal fluorogenic probe (TaqMan), that hybridizes in the "pork-specific" and also in the "mammalian" DNA fragments is used to monitor the amplification of the target gene. A comparison of the cycle number (C(t)) at which mammalian and pork-specific PCR products are first detected, in combination with the use of reference standards of known pork content, allows the determination of the percentage of pork in a mixed sample. Analysis of experimental pork/beef muscle binary mixtures demonstrated the specificity and sensitivity of the assay for detection and quantitation of pork in the range 0.5-5%.     

Effect of freezing treatments and yeast amount on sensory and physical properties of sweet bakery products

The frozen bakery market has grown significantly in developed countries over the past decade.     

Analysis of the changes in quality in mandarin fruit,produced by deficit irrigation treatments

‘Clemenules’ mandarin citrus trees, grafted on Cleopatra and Carrizo rootstocks, were subjected to three irrigation treatments: the control (100% ETc), and phases II and III treatments (non-irrigation during phases II and III, respectively). The two deficit irrigation (DI) treatments affected in different ways some fruit quality parameters and these effects were also dependent on the rootstock. Although phase II treatment increased total soluble solids (TSS) and titratable acidity (TA), it delayed the maturation process. Phase II-stressed fruits on Carrizo had more fructose and glucose but less sucrose in relation to control fruits, thus increasing the reducing sugars. Phase II-stressed fruits on Cleopatra had more glucose, fructose and sucrose, for osmotic adjustment, also increasing the reducing sugars in these fruits. Phase III-stressed fruits had greater acidity, TSS, total phenolics, lycopene, glucose and sucrose than control fruits, but the same maturation state. In conclusion, DI in phase III improved fruit quality, by increasing the values of important quality parameters related to taste, flavour and nutritional benefits, but DI in phase II produced a drastic delay in the maturation process that made fruits non-commercial.     

Single-Cell Proteomics: The Critical Role of Nanotechnology

In single-cell analysis, biological variability can be attributed to individual cells, their specific state, and the ability to respond to external stimuli, which are determined by protein abundance and their relative alterations. Mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics (e.g., SCoPE-MS and SCoPE2) can be used as a non-targeted method to detect molecules across hundreds of individual cells. To achieve high-throughput investigation, novel approaches in Single-Cell Proteomics (SCP) are needed to identify and quantify proteins as accurately as possible. Controlling sample preparation prior to LC-MS analysis is critical, as it influences sensitivity, robustness, and reproducibility. Several nanotechnological approaches have been developed for the removal of cellular debris, salts, and detergents, and to facilitate systematic sample processing at the nano- and microfluidic scale. In addition, nanotechnology has enabled high-throughput proteomics analysis, which have required the improvement of software tools, such as DART-ID or DO-MS, which are also fundamental for addressing key biological questions. Single-cell proteomics has many applications in nanomedicine and biomedical research, including advanced cancer immunotherapies or biomarker characterization, among others; and novel methods allow the quantification of more than a thousand proteins while analyzing hundreds of single cells.     

Distribution planning with reliability options for distributed generation

The promotion of electricity generation from renewable energy sources (RES) and combined heat and power (CHP) has resulted in increasing penetration levels of distributed generation (DG). However, large-scale connection of DG involves profound changes in the operation and planning of electricity distribution networks. Distribution System Operators (DSOs) play a key role since these agents have to provide flexibility to their networks in order to integrate DG. Article 14.7 of EU Electricity Directive states that DSOs should consider DG as an alternative to new network investments. This is a challenging task, particularly under the current regulatory framework where DSOs must be legally and functionally unbundled from other activities in the electricity sector. This paper proposes a market mechanism, referred to as reliability options for distributed generation (RODG), which provides DSOs with an alternative to the investment in new distribution facilities. The mechanism proposed allocates the firm capacity required to DG embedded in the distribution network through a competitive auction. Additionally, RODG make DG partly responsible for reliability and provide DG with incentives for a more efficient operation taking into account the network conditions.     

Shot boundary detection using Zernike moments in multi-GPU multi-CPU architectures

This paper presents an analysis of a Multi-GPU Multi-CPU environment, along with the different possible hybrid combinations. The analysis has been performed for a shot boundary detection application, based on Zernike moments, although it is general enough to be applied to many different application areas. A deep study of the performance, bottlenecks and design challenges is carried out showing the validity of this approach and achieving very high frame per second rates. In this paper, Zernike calculations are carried out on GPUs, taking advantage of a packing strategy proposed to minimize host-device communication time.     

Market opportunity recognition in the Chilean wine industry: traditional versus relational marketing approaches

The aim of this paper is to examine how wine firms implement their marketing strategies based on the recognition of market opportunities by their Chief Executive Officers (CEOs). Firstly, we describe the marketing activities in 69 traditional Chilean wine firms. Then, in-depth interviews with CEOs of two wineries are analysed using cognitive maps to uncover the cognitive processes responsible for recognizing and executing market activities. Our findings indicate that there is a similar set of strategic resources across the wineries, but the CEOs’ different perceptions of the usefulness of these resources in the implementation of marketing strategies have led them to select diverse strategies to increasing both the price per bottle and wine sales. This paper makes two contributions. Firstly, we compare the benefit of implementing traditional and relational marketing strategies in the Chilean wine industry. Secondly, we show that the CEOs’ perception of feedback processes among the available resources affects the recognition of market opportunities and the marketing strategy in wine firms.     

Allocating reforestation areas for sediment flow minimization: an?integer programming formulation and?a?heuristic solution method

Policy and decision makers dealing with environmental conservation and land use planning often require identifying potential sites for contributing to minimize sediment flow reaching riverbeds. This is the case of reforestation initiatives, which can have sediment flow minimization among their objectives. This paper proposes an Integer Programming (IP) formulation and a Heuristic solution method for selecting a predefined number of locations to be reforested in order to minimize sediment load at a given outlet in a watershed. Although the core structure of both methods can be applied for different sorts of flow, the formulations are targeted to minimization of sediment delivery. The proposed approaches make use of a Single Flow Direction (SFD) raster map covering the watershed in order to construct a tree structure so that the outlet cell corresponds to the root node in the tree. The results obtained with both approaches are in agreement with expert assessments of erosion levels, slopes and distances to the riverbeds, which in turn allows concluding that this approach is suitable for minimizing sediment flow. Since the results obtained with the IP formulation are the same as the ones obtained with the Heuristic approach, an optimality proof is included in the present work. Taking into consideration that the heuristic requires much less computation time, this solution method is more suitable to be applied in large sized problems.     

City logistics in Spain: Why it might never work

Urban freight deliveries depend strongly on local regulations and policies to guarantee a tidy and efficient flow of goods towards commercial premises. However, the urban freight delivery system in Spain, which is even more complicated due to the urban morphology and driving behavior, also suffers from a combination of negative factors, including uneven regulations, lack of enforcement and obsolete policies. We present the picture of the current scenario and the typical regulation schemes, analyzing the reasons for failure of the system and the possible efforts, relatively cheap and easy to implement, that could be undertaken towards improvement.