Effects of plasma treatments applied to fresh ricotta cheese

The aim of this study was to test two different innovative plasma assisted approaches to prolong ricotta shelf life. In one test the ricotta cheese is directly exposed to the plasma effects, and in the other one the plasma is indirectly applied (i.e. blowing the plasma effluents on the substrate). This last approach is innovative and very promising because in this way, plasma treatment can be assured at moments or at places where no plasma source can be used or is available. To the aim, treated and untreated samples were stored at 4 °C for a period of 8 days, during which microbiological, sensory analyses and pH measurements were carried out. Tests were repeated more times to also taken into account product variability. Results highlighted that both treatments in all tests were effective to control microbial proliferation and preserve sensory quality. Specifically, a significant shelf life prolongation was recorded, ranging between 50% and 100%, depending to the type of treatment and on the initial microbial contamination.Industrial relevanceBoth direct and indirect plasma treatments tested have led to a shelf life increase of up 2 days, which is a very promising result for a fresh product such as artisanal ricotta. The current paper offers the first example in literature of “gentle” and efficacious treatment of fresh perishable products by gas effluents plasma-enriched by reactive oxygen or nitrogen species. The easy implementation of the proposed indirect approach and the easily customizable CAP system at room temperature could gain great attention from fresh dairy sector, with economic advantages and benefits also for the environment.     

Taste matters most: Effects of package design on the dynamics of implicit and explicit product evaluations over repeated in-home consumption

Package design influences consumers’ expectations of a product’s sensory properties and expected healthiness and/or tastiness, and potentially also changes actual product perception during consumption. The robustness of these effects is far from clear, however. This study investigated the influence of package cues signalling either hedonic or healthy product properties on expectations and subsequent product evaluation over repeated consumption.In a between-subjects design, 92 participants evaluated product expectations and taste perceptions of a chocolate-sesame flavoured biscuit with a package emphasizing either its healthy (n = 44) or hedonic (n = 48) aspects, both at a central location (CLT) and during six home use tests (HUT), using both explicit (questionnaires) and implicit (IAT) measures.Package design significantly affected (p < 0.05) consumers’ expectations of the product. They expected the biscuit to be tastier, less attractive and less healthy in the hedonic package condition, and less tasty, more attractive and healthier in the healthy package condition. However, these effects did not transfer to actual product evaluations upon tasting, either blind or tasting in combination with viewing the package during the HUTs. Implicit attitudes did change as a result of repeated exposures, depending on the package consumers were provided with, indicating product-package interactions over time (p < 0.05).In conclusion, package design influences product expectations and associations with its healthiness and attractiveness, which is of relevance in product choice and purchase settings. However, at the stage of (repeated) consumption, intrinsic (sensory) properties become the dominant drivers of products’ sensory and hedonic evaluations, and the impact of package cues seems less potent.     

Emotions elicited while drinking coffee: A cross-cultural comparison between Korean and Chinese consumers

Consumers assess products not only based on their physical aspects but also on their emotion-evoking components. Many methods, such as EsSense Profile^®, GEOS, and ScentMove, have been developed for evaluating various kinds of products. Research has suggested the need for developing a specialized lexicon for specific food or beverage categories. The English emotion lexicon, the Coffee Drinking Experience¹(CDE), was developed specifically for coffee. However, while emotions can be expressed by words, they can also be affected by culture and context. Thus, our objectives are 1) to develop coffee emotion lexicons in Korean and Chinese, 2) to compare the differences of emotions evoked while consuming different kinds of coffee, and 3) to compare the differences between Chinese and Korean consumers while consuming the same coffee samples. To address these aims, we conducted two studies. First, we conducted a consumer-led translation of 86 emotion terms from the CDE into Korean and Chinese. Second, consumers checked the intensity of emotion terms while drinking six commercial coffee samples. The order of the Chinese and Korean consumers’ overall preferences was the same: all-in-one coffee received higher scores than black coffee. Finally, using a logistic stepwise regression analysis, the Chinese and Korean lexicons were reduced to 53 and 29 terms, respectively.     

The influence of the carrier addition and spray drying temperatures on physicochemical properties of microencapsulated carrot juice powder

The objective of this study was to determinate the influence of carrier addition and spray drying temperatures (160 or 200°C) on physicochemical properties of spray-dried carrot juice powder. As carriers, maltodextrin and gum Arabic in different proportions were used. In powders were determined the following: moisture content, water activity, apparent density, size of particles, colour and carotenoids content. The content of carotenoids in powders prepared from solutions with juice to carrier ratio 2:3 was 324.3–406.6 mg/kg d.m., while in powders with a J:C = 3:2 values ranged from 576.7 to 637.7 mg/kg d.m. The highest content of carotenoids and the most yellow colour were observed in powders with 1:3 gum Arabic to maltodextrin ratio. Powders with the highest amount of gum Arabic have the highest diameter and the lowest water activity. High inlet temperature caused brighter colour of powders, higher dry matter content, lower water activity and apparent density of powders.     

Aggregation Behavior,Antibacterial Activity and Biocompatibility of Catanionic Assemblies Based on Amino Acid-Derived Surfactants

The surface activity, aggregates morphology, size and charge characteristics of binary catanionic mixtures containing a cationic amino acid-derived surfactant N(π), N(τ)-bis(methyl)-L-Histidine tetradecyl amide (DMHNHC₁₄) and an anionic surfactant (the lysine-based surfactant N^α-lauroyl-N^εacetyl lysine (C₁₂C₃L) or sodium myristate) were investigated for the first time. The cationic surfactant has an acid proton which shows a strong pK_a shift irrespective of aggregation. The resulting catanionic mixtures exhibited high surface activity and low critical aggregation concentration as compared with the pure constituents. Catanionic vesicles based on DMHNHC₁₄/sodium myristate showed a monodisperse population of medium-size aggregates and good storage stability. According to Small-Angle X-Ray Scattering (SAXS), the characteristics of the bilayers did not depend strongly on the system composition for the positively charged vesicles. Negatively charged vesicles (cationic surfactant:myristate ratio below 1:2) had similar bilayer composition but tended to aggregate. The DMHNHC₁₄-rich vesicles exhibited good antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria and their bactericidal effectivity declined with the decrease of the cationic surfactant content in the mixtures. The hemolytic activity and cytotoxicity of these catanionic formulations against non-tumoral (3T3, HaCaT) and tumoral (HeLa, A431) cell lines also improved by increasing the ratio of cationic surfactant in the mixture. These results indicate that the biological activity of these systems is mainly governed by the cationic charge density, which can be modulated by changing the cationic/anionic surfactant ratio in the mixtures. Remarkably, the incorporation of cholesterol in those catanionic vesicles reduces their cytotoxicity and increases the safety of future biomedical applications of these systems.     

A novel multiscale approach to brittle fracture of nano/micro‐sized components

Principles and advantages of a new concept based on the ab initio aided strain gradient elasticity theory are shown in comparison with the classical Barenblatt cohesive model. The method is applied to the theoretical prediction of the critical energy release rate and the crack tip opening displacement at the crack instability in nanopanels made of germanium and molybdenum crystals. The necessary length scale parameter l₁ is determined for germanium and molybdenum by the best gradient elasticity fits of ab initio computed screw dislocation displacements and phonon dispersions. Values of ab initio computed critical energy release rates and crack opening profiles revealed that the length l₁ is related to inflexion points of profiles. A novel ab initio method in combination with continuum mechanics was successfully tested to replace molecular statics dependent of availability of interatomic potentials. The asymptotic strain gradient elasticity solution for displacement components near the crack tip in materials with cubic lattice was also derived.     

Comparison of structural,spectral and magnetic properties of NiO nanofibers obtained by sol–gel electrospinning from two different polymeric binders

NiO is a p-type semiconductor with wide band gap energy. In this study, nickel oxide nanofibers were fabricated by sol–gel electrospinning followed by high temperature calcination, using two sacrificial polymeric binders. Poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) (PEtOx) in water and styrene-acrylonitrile random copolymer (SAN) in N,N- dimethylformamide (DMF) along with nickel (II) acetate tetrahydrate (NATH), as metal oxide precursor, were the two distinct polymeric systems used in this study. The morphological and structural properties of NiO fibers obtained from the aforementioned systems were compared with each other. The degradation behavior of the sacrificial polymeric binder imparted a significant effect on the properties of the obtained NiO fibers. The grain sizes and the activation energies for grain growth of NiO fibers from two systems were different. The non-stoichiometric NiO fibers obtained from the SAN/NATH system had a better ferromagnetic behavior as compared with that produced from the PEtOx/NATH system. This non-stoichiometry made a difference also in the optical band gap energies of the NiO nanofibers.     

Significant population structure in Australian Cryptolestes ferrugineus and interpreting the potential spread of phosphine resistance

An analysis of the population genetics of Cryptolestes ferrugineus, across all major regions in Australia where grain is grown and stored in bulk, provides an initial step in investigating the movement of these insects and implications for the spread of phosphine resistance. Microsatellite data revealed two levels of genetic structure. Across Australia, two clusters were detected, one in eastern Australia (Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania) and Western Australia (Cluster 1) and one in South Australia (Cluster 2). Intermediate between them, in eastern South Australia, are a couple of populations that are equally admixed for the two clusters. Populations in Western Australia and western SA belong to different clusters suggesting that the extensive and arid Nullarbor Plain restricts the natural dispersal of these beetles. Isolation-by-distance and the detection of clustering among local populations suggests there is considerable gene flow at a local scale in C. ferrugineus, and we infer this is by flight. Limited natural gene flow between eastern and western Australia might, in part, explain why extremely high resistance has not been detected in Western Australia.