Characterisation of volatile compounds of farmed soft‐shelled turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis) by solid‐phase microextraction and the influence of matrix pH on the release of volatiles

Although farming and consuming of soft‐shelled turtle has been practised for centuries, the aroma‐impact compounds in the meat have not been determined. Furthermore, matrix pH, usually changing during processing and storage stage, was rarely investigated for the influence on volatile profiles. To these aims, soft‐shelled turtle meat was subjected to different pH conditions and the potential volatile compounds were analysed under different extraction conditions by headspace solid‐phase microextraction (HS‐SPME). A total of forty‐three volatiles were identified; in which, nonanal, (E, E)‐2, 4‐heptadienal, octanal, decanal, hexanal, (E)‐2‐nonenal, heptanal, 1‐octen‐3‐ol and o‐xylene were assigned as aroma‐impact compounds by high relative odour activity value (ROAV). Overly basic or acidic pH significantly (P < 0.05) facilitated the release of volatiles under moderate extraction conditions. The total volatilisation increased by 30.1% to 298% in pH‐shifted samples, while the highest one was found in pH 2 or pH 11. However, the results of principal components analysis (PCA) demonstrated that increased extraction time or temperature hindered the pH enhancement.     

一种CO2/pH双重调控变粘聚合物的合成及性能研究

将丙烯酰胺（AM）与甲基丙烯二甲胺基乙酯（DMAEMA）进行自由基共聚,制备出一种粘度可调控变化的新型聚合物P（DMAEMA-AM）。聚合物分子结构采用红外光谱进行表征;通过溶液电导率证实其具有可逆调控性能;同时对聚合物热敏性、CO2/pH调控粘度变化规律及其变粘机理进行了研究。结果表明,通过CO2/pH刺激调控,P（DMAEMA-AM）水溶液粘度能够发生可逆变化。     

Initial pH influences microbial communities composition in dark fermentation of scotta permeate

This study addresses for the first time the influence of initial pH on the evolution of microbial consortia in dark fermentation of scotta permeate, using a high-throughput sequencing approach. Three fermentation phases could be detected: 1) a lag phase with no substantial differences in microbial composition at different initial pH values; 2) an exponential H₂ production phase, accompanied by a general increase of Clostridium genus components and higher incidence of Trichococcus genus at neutral and alkaline pH; 3) a final stationary phase, characterized by a general increase of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus genera in all reactors. The initial pH value influenced the relative abundance of Trichococcus at 16–48 h of incubation. The metabolic activity of this genus increased the amount of metabolic precursors of H₂ so that, when pH lowered to 5.4, clostridia in the reactors with initial alkaline pH become more active H₂-producers than those in the others.     

Flocculation and mechanism of self-flocculating lipid producer microalga Scenedesmus quadricauda for biomass harvesting

In this study, the extracellular polymeric substance of Scenedesmus quadricauda called EPS-S.q and its bioflocculatoin mechanism were investigated. Results showed EPS-S.q was successfully used as bioflocculating agent for S. quadricauda biomass harvesting and flocculation efficiency of up to 86.7% to S. quadricauda cells could be achieved in presence of Zn²⁺. EPS-S.q was the flocculating agent for self-flocculating microalga S. quadricauda and bioflocculation mechanism was polymer bridging. The sugar and protein mass fraction of dry EPS-S.q was sugar 56.7% and protein 41%. The infrared spectrum further indicated the presence of hydroxyl, carboxyl and amino groups. Moreover, pH decrease induced the flocculation of S. quadricauda and 78.4% of flocculation efficiency was the highest at pH 3. In addition, chemical flocculant FeCl₃ was efficiently used for S. quadricauda harvesting and up to 96.8% of flocculation efficiency could be achieved for S. quadricauda culture with biomass concentration 0.21–0.39 g L⁻¹ at pH 7.     

Bioleaching of chalcopyrite by Acidianus manzaensis under different constant pH

The bioleaching of pure chalcopyrite by thermophilic Archaea strain Acidianus manzaensis YN-25 under different constant pH was first comparatively investigated. Then the relevant sulfur speciation was analyzed by synchrotron radiation based X-ray diffraction (SR-XRD) and S K-edge X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy. The acidity of the leaching solution was monitored at 3-h intervals to make it steady at pH 1.25, 1.50, 1.75, 2.00, 2.25 and 2.50, respectively. Leaching results showed that the copper ion extraction increased during chemical leaching but decreased during bioleaching when pH value decreased from 2.50 to 1.25. SR-XRD analysis showed that, during bioleaching, new elemental sulfur (S⁰) phase was detected at all tested pH cases; new jarosite phase was detected at cases of pH 1.50 to 2.50; and jarosite gradually became a major phase when pH value increased. XANES analysis further showed that covellite was detected during bioleaching at cases of pH 1.25 to 2.00 at higher redox potential (ORP) value, while chalcocite and bornite were detected at cases of pH 2.25 and 2.50 at lower ORP value. These results suggested that the formation of S⁰ was mainly accounting for hindering the dissolution of chalcopyrite while the formation of bornite could accelerate the dissolution of chalcopyrite by A. manzaensis.     

The physicochemical parameters during dry heating strongly influence the gelling properties of whey proteins

In this study we determined the composition (proportion of native proteins, soluble and insoluble aggregates) and quantified the gelling properties (gel strength and water holding capacity) of pre-texturized whey proteins by dry heating under controlled physicochemical conditions. For this purpose, a commercial whey protein isolate was dry heated at 80 °C (up to 6 days), 100 °C (up to 24 h) and 120 °C (up to 3 h) under controlled pH (2.5, 4.5 or 6.5) and water activity (0.23, 0.32, or 0.52). Gelling properties were quantified on heat-set gels prepared from reconstituted pre-texturized proteins at 10% and pH 7.0. The formation of dry-heat soluble aggregates enhanced the gelling properties of whey proteins. The maximal gelling properties was achieved earlier by increasing pH and water activity of powders subjected to dry heating. An optimized combination of the dry heating parameters will help to achieve better gelling properties for dry heated whey proteins.     

Multilayer emulsions as delivery systems for controlled release of volatile compounds using pH and salt triggers

Multilayer oil-in-water (M-O/W) emulsions were compared to primary oil-in-water (P-O/W) emulsions as carriers for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) under various environmental conditions (pH and salt). The M-O/W emulsion consisted of soy oil coated with β-lactoglobulin (βLG) and pectin layers. The release of VOCs with different physiochemical properties from aqueous solutions and emulsion systems was measured using static and dynamic headspace methods. The partition coefficients (K) calculated by the phase ratio variation (PRV) method, showed different volatile release profiles between the emulsion types. An increase in VOC release was found for the unstable P-O/W emulsion at pH 5, whereas M-O/W emulsions were stable at the same pH and retained the hydrophobic VOCs. Hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonds with the secondary dense layer of pectin may be responsible for the improved retention. Increasing pH and ionic strength acts as a VOC release trigger to detach the pectin from the interface. The release rates from initial dynamic curves support the results under equilibrium conditions. The results of this study demonstrate the capability of using M-O/W emulsions for controlled release of VOCs, as well as an alternative system to create stable emulsions with similar VOC release profiles.     

Imaging of Extracellular pH Using Hyperpolarized Molecules

Many diseases can overrule natural pH regulatory mechanisms and alter the extracellular pH (pH_e). A non-invasive method that resolves pH_e in vivo with high spatial and temporal resolution could therefore improve diagnosis and monitoring of diseases, contributing to the concept of precision medicine. During the last decades, several techniques have been proposed to image pH_e non-invasively. The majority of these methods rely on magnetic resonance because of its good spatial resolution, high penetration depth, non-ionizing radiation and excellent complimentary soft tissue contrast. Dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) is an emerging concept to enhance nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signals by more than four orders of magnitude, making it possible to observe in vivo metabolic processes in real-time. Here, we summarize and review recent developments in pH_e imaging techniques based on hyperpolarization methods and give an overview of recently discovered hyperpolarized pH sensor molecules that have been applied in vitro and in vivo.     

Microbial growth,communities and sensory characteristics of vacuum and modified atmosphere packaged lamb shoulders

Packaging fresh lamb in a vacuum (VAC) versus a 100% CO₂ modified atmosphere (MAP) may influence product shelf-life and the bacterial communities. While VAC is a common packing method and 100% CO₂ MAP is used in some countries, there is little information about how these different techniques affect the growth of spoilage bacteria and sensory attributes of lamb. The aim of this study was to assess changes in microbiological and organoleptic properties, and determine differences in microbial communities by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP) and 454 pyrosequencing, in bone-in (BI) and bone-out (BO) MAP- and VAC-packed lamb shoulders stored at −0.3 °C over 12 wk. VAC and MAP lamb shoulders were acceptable in sensory test scores over 12 wk of storage at −0.3 °C, despite total viable count (TVC) and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) levels increasing to 8 log₁₀ CFU/cm² for VAC lamb and 4–6 log₁₀ CFU/cm² for MAP lamb. Similar to the sensory results, there were no significant differences in microbial communities between BI and BO product. However, types of bacteria were different between VAC and MAP packaging. Specifically, while VAC shoulder became dominated by Carnobacterium spp. in the middle of the storage period, the MAP shoulder microbial population remained similar from the start until later storage times.