Physicochemical and Sensory Properties of Soymilk-incorporated Bulgur

ABSTRACT Bulgur cooked in soymilk of 6% and 9% solid content had significantly ( P < 0.05) higher bulk density compared with bulgur cooked in soymilk of 3% solid content and control bulgur cooked in water. As the soymilk solid content increased, pilav bulgur yield increased whereas fine bulgur yield decreased. The SDS-extractability of bulgur proteins increases with the increase in soymilk solid content. Water absorption capacity of fine bulgur samples was affected by soymilk incorporation, and variations in oil absorption capacity were not significant ( P > 0.05). Soymilk incorporation improved color and sensory properties of pilav and fine bulgur. The results of this study suggest that soymilk can be successfully applied to bulgur production.     

UTILIZATION OF APRICOT KERNEL FLOUR AS FAT REPLACER IN COOKIES

In this study, shortening content in a wire-cut cookie formulation was reduced at 10, 20, 30 and 40% and replaced with apricot kernel flour (AKF). The effects of increased concentrations of AKF on the properties of cookies were investigated. Protein, fat and total dietary fiber (TDF) contents of the apricot kernels were determined as 21.8%, 40.2% and 35.8%, respectively, which confirmed that the apricot kernel is an important source of dietary protein as well as oil and fiber. Addition of AKF decreased the spread ratio and increased the hardness of the cookies ( P ≤  0.01). However, sensory evaluation revealed that the cookies containing AKF were acceptable to the panelists at all concentrations ( P ≤  0.01). TDF contents of the cookies increased significantly ( P ≤  0.01) as the AKF supplemention increased. AKF is a suitable replacer of shortening in cookies at 10 and 20%.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Province of Malatya (Turkey) is one of the major apricot and apricot kernel producing regions in the world. Apricot kernels are generally exported and the importing countries use it especially in the production of oil, benzaldehyde, cosmetics, active carbon and aroma. Apricot kernels are also utilized in retail bakeries and consumed as appetizers. Cookies are one of the most popular bakery products and textural characteristics of cookies are highly influenced by their fat content. Health specialists recommend that daily fat consumption should not exceed 30% of the total calories in a diet.
In this study, the preparation of apricot kernel flour (AKF), which does not require much processing and has the advantage of including other nutrients, was achieved. With the production of high-fiber and low-fat cookies by the usage of AKF, an exciting new potential as a food ingredient, especially in cereal products, is offered.     

Crystallization kinetics of fluorophosphate glasses: Part I Effect of composition and heating rate

Crystallization behaviour of glasses from the system AlF3-MF2-Ba(PO3)2 (M=Ca, Mg, Sr, Ba) have been studied using differential thermal analysis as a function of Ba(PO3)2. The kinetic parameters for crystallization, namely, the activation energy, E, frequency factor, ν, and Avrami exponent, n, were determined. E, ν and n decreased with increasing Ba(PO3)2. Crystallization commenced at higher temperatures and the crystal growth mechanism changed from bulk to surface with increasing Ba(PO3)2. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that CaAlF5, SrAlF5, CaAlF7 and CaSrAlF7 crystallize from these glasses when heated. The infrared transmission spectra indicated that AlF6, PO3F and Ba(Ca,Mg,Sr)P2O7 groups were present in these glasses. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITIES OF ENDEMIC SIDERITIS LEPTOCLADA AND MENTHA DUMETORUM AQUEOUS EXTRACTS USED IN TURKEY FOLK MEDICINE

Total phenolic contents, hydroxyl radicals and one 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activities, antioxidant capacities and reducing powers of Sideritis leptoclada, which is an endemic plant to Turkey, and Mentha × dumetorum were investigated in water extracts. Total phenolic contents were detected to be 0.32 µg gallic acid/µg dry biomass in the presence of 1.33 and 9.82 µg/mL, respectively. Fifty percent scavenging activities of hydroxyl and DPPH radical were determined with 0.03 and 0.16 mg/mL extracts of S. leptoclada and 0.21 and 1.6 mg/mL extracts of Mxdumetorum. In addition, total antioxidant capacities of S. leptoplada were also higher than Mxdumetorum and there was a significant difference between the controls. The result of this study suggests that extracts of S. leptoclada and Mxdumetorum can be used as potential source of natural antioxidants and as a possible food supplement or in the pharmaceutical industry.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

The research is focused on the determination of new potential plant sources of antioxidants that can be used as food. Antioxidants are vital substances that possess the ability to protect the body from damage caused by reactive oxygen species induced oxidative stress. In this study, infusions in boiled water of Sideritis leptoclada , which is a plant endemic to Turkey, and Mentha x dumetorum have high levels of antioxidant capacity. The results of the study show that extracts of S. leptoclada and Mxdumetorum can be used as a supplement agent to increase in quality of food and for the pharmaceutical industry.     

Nanoindentation study on Gd-deposited YBaCuO superconductor

Nanoindentation technique was used to characterize the mechanical properties of Gd-deposited bulk YBaCuO superconductors fabricated by solid-state reaction method. In order to determine the hardness and reduced modulus of the samples, load-displacement data were analysed by using the Oliver–Pharr method. The hardness values exhibited significant peak load-dependence especially at lower peak loads, while the reduced modulus values were found to be nearly constant at studied loading range. In order to find true hardness of the samples, the peak load-dependency of hardness was analysed by using Meyer’s law, minimum resistance model, elastic/plastic deformation model, energy balance model, Nix–Gao model and Mukhopadhyay approach. Of the aforementioned models, energy balance model and Mukhopadhyay approach were found to be the most effective models to explain the load-dependency of hardness.     

Diagnostic and prognostic significance of the lymphocyte/C-reactive protein ratio,neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio,and D-dimer values in patients with COVID-19

In this study, our aim was to examine the diagnostic and prognostic significance of lymphocyte/C-reactive protein ratio (LCR), neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and D-dimer parameters in COVID-19 infection. The LCR, NLR, neutrophil count, mean platelet volume (MPV), C-reactive protein (CRP), and D-dimer parameters were evaluated retrospectively. This was a retrospective cohort study with 1000 COVID-19 positive and 1000 healthy control groups, all over the age of 18 years. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) values were calculated for each parameter found to be statistically significant in the univariate and multivariate logistic regression models. Herein, 127 (12.7%) of the COVID-19⁺ patients, whose data was included in this study, died. The neutrophil, MPV, CRP, D-dimer, and NLR values were higher in the COVID-19⁺/deceased group than in the COVID-19⁺/alive and control groups (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p < 0.001). The lymphocyte and LCR values were lower in the COVID-19⁺/deceased group than in the COVID-19⁺/alive and control groups (p < 0.001, p < 0.001). Variables with statistically significance in predicting COVID-19 infection were lymphocyte, LCR, D-dimer, NLR, CRP, MPV, PLT, and neutrophil values. Statistically significant variables in predicting mortality due to COVID-19 were LCR, CRP, NLR, lymphocyte, D-dimer, neutrophil, and MPV values. A low LCR and high NLR are associated with the presence, prognosis, and mortality due to COVID-19. LCR and NLR parameters can thus be used in clinical monitoring to reduce morbidity and mortality rates.     

THE EFFECTS OF FLAXSEED, SOY AND CORN FLOURS ON THE TEXTURAL AND SENSORY PROPERTIES OF A BAKERY PRODUCT

The objective of this study was to assess the effects of some healthy ingredients on the properties of a ring‐shaped bagel/pretzel‐type bakery product to offer an alternative product satisfying consumer demand. For this purpose, ground flaxseed, defatted soy flour and corn flour were blended at a weight basis with wheat flour at 5, 10 and 15%. The taste score decreased upon increasing the level of substitution of flaxseed, soy and corn flours. Samples containing 15% of flaxseed were rated poorest in taste. No significant difference was observed in crust color except 15% level of flaxseed. The control sample had highest crust color value. The crispness scores of control and other samples containing 5% corn flour were higher than that of other samples. The samples with 5% flaxseed flour had lower crust L values. Flaxseed, soy and corn flour showed significant effects on the hardness, cohesiveness, springiness, gumminess, fracture force and stiffness values (P < 0.05). Samples with 15% corn flour had the highest hardness value. The results of the present study suggest that flaxseed, soy and corn flours could be added to a typical snack formulation up to levels of 10% with a reasonable acceptance offering promising nutritious and healthy alternative to consumers.     

MODELING OF THREE PHASE NONCATALYTIC BUBBLE COLUMN REACTORS

Mathematical models have been developed for the design of bubble column slurry reactors wherein the particles with nonuniform distribution of solid reactant take part in the reaction and follow the shrinking core model. The cases of external mass transfer control, ash layer diffusion control and chemical reaction control have been analyzed using solid distribution functions presented by Dudukovic (1984). It was found that the nonuniformity of solid reactant can strongly affect the reactor performance. Correction factors for modifying the performance charts of Joshi el al. (1981) who considered only uniform solid reactant distribution are presented for design and scale-up purposes.