Effect of potato presence on the degradation of extra virgin olive oil during frying

This work investigates the effect of potato presence on the degradation of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) during repeated frying. For this reason the performance of EVOO during frying was compared with its performance during heating at frying temperatures. In order to make meaningful comparisons the temperature profiles obtained during the frying experiments were replicated during the heating experiments by means of a high energy exchange rate cooling/heating system. The effects of potato‐to‐oil ratio (1/7 and 1/35 kg_potatoes/L_oil) and number (N) of batches (N = 0, 1, 0, 20, 30, 40) were examined. EVOO was analysed using high performance size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC). It was found that polymerisation products increased linearly during frying and heating and that they were not affected by potatoes presence at low ratio. The effect of potato presence became statistically significant (yet not remarkable) at the high ratio. Decomposition products increased during frying whereas they decreased during heating.     

Bioenergy in Greece: Policies,diffusion framework and stakeholder interactions

The paper provides a high-level scene setting analysis to understand the policy context in which the diffusion of bioenergy takes place in Greece and analysis of the perceptions of the key stakeholders at local and national levels. It is divided into six sections. Firstly the framework conditions for biomass heat and electricity generation in Greece are presented.     

Biomass supply in EU27 from 2010 to 2030

With biomass staying high in the EU political agenda and most of the recent documents acknowledging that it has the potential to make a very significant contribution to reaching the 20% target [7 and 6], the issue of supply in terms of feedstock types, availability constraints and costs in different Member States is set to determine the future technology uptake and market deployment prospects.     

Angiogenesis-Related Pathways in the Pathogenesis of Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian Cancer represents the most fatal type of gynecological malignancies. A number of processes are involved in the pathogenesis of ovarian cancer, especially within the tumor microenvironment. Angiogenesis represents a hallmark phenomenon in cancer, and it is responsible for tumor spread and metastasis in ovarian cancer, among other tumor types, as it leads to new blood vessel formation. In recent years angiogenesis has been given considerable attention in order to identify targets for developing effective anti-tumor therapies. Growth factors have been identified to play key roles in driving angiogenesis and, thus, the formation of new blood vessels that assist in “feeding” cancer. Such molecules include the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), the platelet derived growth factor (PDGF), the fibroblast growth factor (FGF), and the angiopoietin/Tie2 receptor complex. These proteins are key players in complex molecular pathways within the tumor cell and they have been in the spotlight of the development of anti-angiogenic molecules that may act as stand-alone therapeutics, or in concert with standard treatment regimes such as chemotherapy. The pathways involved in angiogenesis and molecules that have been developed in order to combat angiogenesis are described in this paper.     

Development of a rapid method for the determination of frying oil quality based on capillary penetration

A novel rapid method and apparatus for the determination of frying oil quality based on capillary penetration is presented. The method measures the rate (or time vs. distance) of penetration of the oil in a substrate. Several porous media made of different materials (glass, cellulose, polyethylene) having different pore sizes were examined as potential substrates. A polyethylene substrate was selected as the most appropriate. This substrate was used for measurements with olive and sunflower oil at different levels of degradation (at 170 °C for up to 32 h). The fresh and degraded oil polymer and polar compounds were measured using HPSEC. The results of the method were linearly related to the oil degradation time (R² = 0.95) and the concentration of polymer (R² = 0.95) and polar (R² = 0.91) compounds. The results of this work suggest that the capillary penetration method is a promising novel method that merits further investigation and development.     

Developing a sustainability framework for the assessment of bioenergy systems

The potential for biomass to contribute to energy supply in a low-carbon economy is well recognised. However, for the sector to contribute fully to sustainable development in the UK, specific exploitation routes must meet the three sets of criteria usually recognised as representing the tests for sustainability: economic viability in the market and fiscal framework within which the supply chain operates; environmental performance, including, but not limited to, low carbon dioxide emissions over the complete fuel cycle; and social acceptability, with the benefits of using biomass recognised as outweighing any negative social impacts. This paper describes an approach to developing a methodology to establish a sustainability framework for the assessment of bioenergy systems to provide practical advice for policy makers, planners and the bioenergy industry, and thus to support policy development and bioenergy deployment at different scales. The approach uses multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) and decision-conferencing, to explore how such a process is able to integrate and reconcile the interests and concerns of diverse stakeholder groups.     

Effect of the Presence and Absence of Potatoes under Repeated Frying Conditions on the Composition of Palm Oil

The effect of repeated deep frying of potatoes versus repeated heating/quenching on the chemical profile of palm oil was investigated. The novelty of the work is that the frying and heating/quenching experiments were conducted under similar time-temperature profiles. The effects of the frying load (potato-to-oil ratio: 1/7 and 1/35 kg_potatoes/l_oil) and of the time-temperature profile were examined. Whole palm oil and its polar fraction were analyzed using high pressure size exclusion chromatography. Both repeated frying and repeated heating/quenching generated polar and polymerization products in palm oil. Interestingly, no hydrolysis or other decomposition products were generated under any of the examined conditions. The presence of potatoes during frying in palm oil increased the concentration of polymerization products and polar compounds compared to oils without potatoes significantly. The effects of frying load on oil quality depended on frying time. No significant effect of frying load was observed up to frying times of 13 h (or 10 frying batches). However, frying oil quality was affected by frying load once frying times exceeded 24 h (or 20 batches).     

Analysis of privacy in mobile telephony systems

We present a thorough experimental and formal analysis of users’ privacy in mobile telephony systems. In particular, we experimentally analyse the use of pseudonyms and point out weak deployed policies leading to some critical scenarios which make it possible to violate a user’s privacy. We also expose some protocol’s vulnerabilities resulting in breaches of the anonymity and/or user unlinkability. We show these breaches translate in actual attacks which are feasible to implement on real networks and discuss our prototype implementation. In order to countermeasure these attacks, we propose realistic solutions. Finally, we provide the theoretical framework for the automatic verification of the unlinkability and anonymity of the fixed 2G/3G procedures and automatically verify them using the ProVerif tool.     

Rapid Methods for Frying Oil Quality Determination: Evaluation with Respect to Legislation Criteria

This work focuses on the evaluation of commercially available rapid methods for determining frying oil quality. Five rapid methods differing in principle were selected: FOM320 (Ebro), PCT120 (3M), LRSM (3M), Fritest (Merck) and Viscofrit (Viscofrit). The performance of the methods was examined by use of 184 oil samples produced by controlled frying experiments. Twelve series of frying experiments (45 batches each) were performed in which the oil type (palm, sunflower and olive) and the food type (potatoes, zucchini and minced beef meat) varied. Control thermal oxidation experiments with the same oil types were also performed. Results of the rapid methods were compared to results of analytical methods determining legislation criteria. Namely, the total polar compounds and total polymer compounds were determined using High Pressure Size Exclusion Chromatography with and without prior separation of the polar fraction. Furthermore, determination of the free fatty acid concentration, acidity, viscosity and level of oxidation of the oils using UV spectroscopy were carried out. Principal component analysis and linear regression analysis were used in order to assess the obtained results. Comparison of the results of the rapid methods with the analytical ones showed differences in most examined cases. For many of the examined rapid methods the agreement of the results versus those of analytical methods depended on the food-oil combination used in the frying experiments.     

Reconciling bio-energy policy and delivery in the UK: Will UK policy initiatives lead to increased deployment?

In 2003 the UK Government introduced the reduction of CO₂ emissions as a core objective of domestic energy policy. This initiated a policy process intended to realise a major expansion in the supply and use of biomass in the UK. Evidence of an expansion in the use of biomass is slight, and historically the UK has shown limited response to policy initiatives. This paper describes the policy context in the UK and EU, and presents a structured framework for analysing the policy debate including best practice criteria for policy formation. This framework is then used to assess whether the current debate is likely to affect the rate of implementation. We conclude that increased deployment will be driven by EU policy rather than domestic initiatives, and that the UK policy process falls short of best practice in that it fails to make a causal link between policy objectives and anticipated outcomes.