Volatile distribution in garlic (Allium sativum L.) by solid phase microextraction (SPME) with different processing conditions

Treatments of autoclaving, high temperature aging (aged-black garlic), crushing, and roasting at 100, 150, and 200°C were applied to alter the volatile profiles of garlic (Allium sativum L.). Headspace volatiles in samples were analyzed by a solid phase microextraction (SPME)-GC/MS. Total peak areas of crushed-raw garlic were the highest and those of aged-black garlic clove were the lowest. Crushing effects were clearly observed in raw garlic, aged-black garlic, and roasted garlic at 200°C for 60 min. Sulfur-containing volatiles including diallyl disulfide and diallyl trisulfide were major volatiles. Generally, peak areas of diallyl disulfide decreased when garlic received autoclaving and roasting treatment while diallyl trisulfide and allyl methyl trisulfide increased during heat treatment compared to raw garlic. Roasting at 200°C for 60 min caused the formation of pyrazines greatly in garlic. Principal component analysis (PCA) for the volatile profiles by SPME-GC/MS could discriminate types of processed garlic successfully.     

Development of surimi gel from king oyster mushroom and cuttlefish meat paste

Effect of king oyster mushroom on the physicochemical and textural properties of cuttlefish surimi gel was investigated. Surimi gels containing 20, 30, 40, and 50%(w/w) king oyster mushroom were analyzed for color, rheological properties, and sensory attributes. Texture profile analysis of fish paste added with king oyster mushroom paste showed significant decrease on hardness, cohesiveness, and gumminess. Springiness of cuttlefish paste increased with the addition of king oyster mushroom paste. The results of the sensory evaluation showed that cuttlefish paste added with 30, 40, and 50% king oyster mushroom had higher overall acceptability compared with that of the control. However, flavor, softness, chewiness, and overall quality tended to decrease in 50% king oyster mushroom paste group. Therefore, this study suggests that king oyster mushroom paste and cuttlefish were suitable for surimi gel production and could be effective in improving the nutritional properties and functionality of surimi gel.     

The potential reuse of biodegradable municipal solid wastes (MSW) as feedstocks in vermicomposting

There is an urgent need globally to find alternative sustainable steps to treat municipal solid wastes (MSW) originated from mismanagement of urban wastes with increasing disposal cost. Furthermore, a conglomeration of ever‐increasing population and consumerist lifestyle is contributing towards the generation of more MSW. In this context, vermicomposting offers excellent potential to promote safe, hygienic and sustainable management of biodegradable MSW. It has been demonstrated that, through vermicomposting, MSW such as city garbage, household and kitchen wastes, vegetable wastes, paper wastes, human faeces and others could be sustainably transformed into organic fertiliser or vermicompost that provides great benefits to agricultural soil and plants. Generally, earthworms are sensitive to their environment and require temperature, moisture content, pH and sometimes ventilation at proper levels for the optimum vermicomposting process. Apart from setting the optimum operational conditions for the vermicomposting process, other approaches such as pre‐composting, inoculating micro‐organisms into MSW and redesigning the conventional vermireactor could be introduced to further enhance the vermicomposting of MSW. Thus the present mini‐review discusses the potential of introducing vermicomposting in MSW management, the benefits of vermicomposted MSW to plants, suggestions on how to enhance the vermicomposting of MSW as well as risk management in the vermicomposting of MSW. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry     

Function and Application of Flavonoids in the Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is one of the top causes of death, particularly among women, and it affects many women. Cancer can also be caused by various factors, including acquiring genetic alteration. Doctors use radiation to detect and treat breast cancer. As a result, breast cancer becomes radiation-resistant, necessitating a new strategy for its treatment. The approach discovered by the researchers is a flavonoid, which is being researched to see if it might help treat radiation-resistant breast cancer more safely than an approved medicine already being used in the field. As a result, this study focuses on the role of flavonoids in breast cancer suppression, breast cancer gene anomalies, and the resulting apoptotic mechanism.     

Concept for Type-Local Instance–Global Instance Object Modeling and Application to Structural Design of Buildings

Rational data modeling is prerequisite to the computerization of design, and the use of design information in the subsequent work, in areas such as cost estimation and construction. In particular, the structural design of buildings consists of a long series of unit steps and is nonprocedural and data intensive compared with structural analysis problems that are procedural and computation intensive. Hence, there is a need to investigate the characteristics of the problem and to structure design information properly to effectively manage it in the structural design process. This paper discusses modeling concepts for managing design information efficiently and supporting the design process effectively. Type-local instance–global instance object modeling is the conceptual backbone of the model in this study and provides consistent modeling of structural components including not only primitive members such as beams and columns, but also composite elements such as floors, frames, and even whole buildings. This paper also provides core and extended object concepts for classifying structural design information into an overall design and for processing dependent temporary stages in the design. Foundational and application object concepts are introduced for extending the model to various types of structures. An integrated structural design system for buildings is developed based on these modeling concepts, and finally a brief discussion of the application of the object model throughout the entire structural design process in the integrated structural design system is given. It is expected that the modeling concepts proposed in this research can be applied to a range of other engineering applications.     

Parallel Density-Based Spatial Clustering with Dual-Functional Memristive Crossbar Array

Analog and digital switching performances in a Ta/HfO₂/RuO₂ (THR) memristor are studied to implement a density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (DBSCAN) algorithm in a low-power, parallel-computing memristor crossbar structure. In the analog mode THR memristor, more than 256 states can be stored through a fine-tuning process with a denoising scheme. The analog mode crossbar array facilitates Euclidean distance calculation between any points in the given graphic dataset. In the digital mode, the on/off ratio of more than three orders of magnitude between the binary states is achieved, providing functionality to cluster the data points with a reduced number of operations. The parallel computing capacity of the adopted crossbar decreases the time complexity of the original DBSCAN from O(n²) to O(n). Through array-level simulations, the effectiveness of hardware functionality is validated using representative synthetic datasets and single-cell RNA sequences datasets.     

Copper‐Catalyzed Monoborylation of Silylalkynes; Regio‐ and Stereoselective Synthesis of (Z)‐β‐(Borylvinyl)silanes

The selective copper‐catalyzed borylation of silylalkynes in the presence of a diboron reagent and methanol produced a variety of (Z)‐β‐(borylvinyl)silanes. The appropriate use of a selective ligand for copper allows the chemo‐, regio‐, and stereoselective monoborylation of silylalkynes. The β‐regioselectivity of an N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC)‐copper catalyst was investigated by DFT calculations.

     

Design Principles to Maximize Non-Bonding States for Highly Tribopositive Behavior

The development of highly tribopositive materials is crucial for realizing high-performance triboelectric nanogenerators. In this study, a novel protocol to maximize the number of non-bonding electrons with local dipoles for designing highly tribopositive materials is introduced, and nitrogen-based dimethylol urea, diazolidinyl urea, and imidazolidinyl urea as promising tribopositive materials are suggested. The mechanism by which nitrogen-based materials provide highly tribopositive properties is investigated using calculations based on density functional theory. Highly electronegative atoms, such as nitrogen and oxygen, attract electrons from neighboring atoms, resulting in the formation of negative local dipoles in the highest occupied molecular orbital band composed of non-bonding electrons, thereby creating an electron-donating environment. The proposed design protocol is confirmed by quantitatively investigating the triboelectric properties of nitrogen-based materials, and analyzing the charge transfer characteristics of dimethylol urea based on dipole interactions.