ESSENTIAL OIL COMPOSITION OF SALVIA VERBENACA L. GROWING WILD IN TUNISIA

The essential oil of aerial parts of Salvia verbenaca L., collected in three different locations in Tunisia, were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and GC–mass spectrometry. The oil yields of dried plants (w/w) were 0.09, 0.10 and 0.12% in Sabelet Ben Ammar, Sers and Somaa, respectively. Seventy-seven compounds were identified. The monoterpene hydrocarbons and oxygenated sesquiterpenes had the highest contributions. The major constituents in Sabelet Ben Ammar were viridiflorol (21.8%), camphene (17.6%), methyl eugenol (9.4%) and β-caryophyllene (7.1%), while those of essential oil collected from Somaa, were tricyclene (18.8%), nonane (10.3%), methyl eugenol (7.7%) and terpinolene (7.3%). In samples collected from Sers, essential oil consists mainly of (Z)-β-ocimene (29.5%), β-phellandrene (8.2%), β-thujone (7.9%) and α-pinene (5.5%).

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

In this study, it has been found that the oils of wild-growing Salvia verbenaca L. in Tunisia are rich in oxygenated sesquiterpenes and monoterpene hydrocarbons with great economical values. The plant family Labiatae contains several species with potential therapeutic activity due to their essential oils. Pharmacology, pharmaceutical botany, medical and clinical microbiology, phytopathology and food preservation are some fields in which essential oils can be applied. Many Salvia spp. are used as herbal tea and for food flavoring, as well as in cosmetics, perfumery and the pharmaceutical industry. It has shown that essential oil of S. verbenaca have strong antibacterial, antioxidant, antifungal, anti-inflammatory activities and peripheral analgesic properties.     

聚类有效性评价综述*

在聚类分析应用中,迫切需要一种客观公正的质量评价方法来评判聚类结果的有效性。为此,从外部评价法、内部评价法和相对评价法三个方面,归纳综述了常用的聚类有效性评价方法,并讨论了模糊聚类评价法和聚类最佳类别数的自动确定问题。     

APPLICATION OF EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN METHOD TO THE OIL EXTRACTION FROM OLIVE CAKE

Olive cake is an important solid waste of the olive oil production. It still contains a certain quantity of oil that can be recovered by means of solvent extraction. In this study, two-level full factorial design was performed to evaluate the effects of four variables and their interactions on the oil extraction by the ethanol 96.0% in a batch reactor. The variables included size of particles, temperature, and time of contact and solvent-to-solids ratio. The statistical analysis of the experimental data showed that the extracted oil mass depends on all the examined variables. It also depends on the interactions between size of particles and solvent-to-solid ratio and size of particles and temperature. The experimental data were in good agreement with those predicted by the model.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Olive cake is solid waste of the olive oil industry that is available in large amounts in many Mediterranean countries and at very low cost. It can be treated or valorized, enabling at the same time the solution to environmental problems caused by the olive oil production process. The economic interest that it presents is especially because of the residual oil that it contains and that can be recovered by solvent extraction. However, this solid–liquid extraction depends on several parameters: the ones inherent to the products (structure and properties of the sample, nature of extraction solvent); and the others to the extraction process (time of contact, temperature of extraction, solvent-to-solid ratio, stirring velocity). The experimental design method enables to determine the most important variables and their interaction in the extraction process at the same time performing a low number of experiments.     

Synergistic combination of colistin with imipenem,amikacine or ciprofloxacin against <i>Acinetobacter baumannii</i> and <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> carbapenem-resistant isolated in Annaba hospital Algeria

Objective: The aim of this study is to detect in vitro the synergetic activity of colistin in combination with imipenem, amikacin or ciprofloxacin, at sub-inhibitory concentrations, against carbapenems-resistant (CR) Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains isolated from various wards in Annaba teaching hospital in eastern Algeria.
Materials and Methods: The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were determined by broth macrodilution (BMD). Carbapenemase encoding genes were screened using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The activity of colistin in combination with second antibiotic was evaluated by the Checkerboard Technique.
Results: 39 CR P. aeruginosa and 21 CR A. baumanni strains where collected. The MIC values ranging from (0.25 to 4 µg/ml) to colistin, ≥16 µg/ml for imipenem, ≥4 µg/ml to amikacin and ≥8 µg/ml ciprofloxacin. The PCR reveals the presence of the genes bla_OXA23 (n = 12), blaOXA24 (n = 6), blaNDM1 (n = 3) in A. baumannii and blaVIM2 (n = 12) in P. aeruginosa. The combination of colistin with imipenem showed synergistic effect on 57.14% and 46.15% of A. baumannii and P. aeruginosa isolates, respectively. For colistin and amikacin, the synergistic effect is detected in 28.6% of A. baumannii and 30.8% of P. aeruginosa. While colistin and ciprofloxacin showed synergy on 14.29% and 15.38% of A. baumannii and P. aeruginosa isolates, respectively.
Conclusion: CR A. baumannii and P. aeruginosa remain the most prevalent infection agents in patients from high-risk wards at Annaba Hospital. Colistin associated with imipenem or with amikacin at sub-inhibitory concentrations gives very encouraging results allowing better management of infections caused by this type of bacteria.     

AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE-BASED DESIGN TOOL FOR THIN FILM COMPOSITE MATERIALS

Current design approaches for composite materials may typically be categorized as either (a) dependent on the experience of seasoned designers of manufacturing protocols for composites or (b) dependent on fundamental studies of the materials involved. We are currently undertaking research to combine these two approaches in an artificial intelligence-based problem-solving system. We report research in progress aimed at automating capability (a) by leveraging a known AI technique: Routine Design. We have implemented a prototype system in the language of Routine Design (DSPL) that covers part of the domain of protocol design for thin film epoxy-resin composite materials. Results encourage further development. We conclude by describing the overall problem-solving architecture we are developing.     

EFFECT OF CONSUMING FOOD SUPPLEMENTED WITH SINGLE CELL PROTEIN ON URINE AND SERUM URIC ACID LEVELS

Supplementation of pizzas and date bars with different protein concentrates was found to increase their protein content significantly, but the addition of a yeast protein concentrate (SCP) derived from petroleum via alcohol was found to increase the nucleic acid content of the fortified formulations linearly with the amount of added SCP. The consumption of a total of 30 g of SCP via the fortified food for 3 weeks increased levels of uric acid in serum an average of 8 mg/100 ml and in urine up to 1210 mg/24 h. Two weeks after termination of the yeast intake, both values dropped to near-normal levels.     

A low frequency sine wave oscillator†

A now variable frequency oscillatory system is described. For certain system conditions the circuit produces a sine wave oscillation whose Frequency is varied over n wide range from ft very low to a high value simply by varying the gain of an amplifier rather than by changing the circuit time constant and accordingly no ganged condensers are used. Another important feature of the circuit is that the generation of a very low frequency oscillation is possible without incorporating a large value of the KC product. The oscillator utilizes an amplitude stabilizer operating on the controlled linear resistance of the initial region of the characteristic of a junction KET. The frequency relation is derived and the results are compared with experiment and found in agreement.     

Nutritional, fatty acid and oil characteristics of different agricultural seeds

Recently increased attention has been given to the utilization of agricultural waste products to produce food, feed, fertilizer and as a raw material in certain industries. Such utilization could not only help maximize available resources but at the same time minimize waste disposal problems. Nutritional and oil characteristics of different seeds were investigated. On a dry basis protein contents of 43, 34, 16.1 and 36.9% and oil contents of 19, 50.6, 35.9 and 25.7% were found in maple, pumpkin, citrus and apple seeds, respectively. Determined food energy values averaged 626 kcal/100 g (26.2 kJ/g). The seeds were found to have valuable amounts of essential minerals. The major fatty acid composition was 18 : 2 (linoleic) at concentrations of 39.1, 58.9, 31.9 and 45.6% and total saturated fatty acids of 16.8, 19.7, 42.8 and 12.4% and cis, cis -PUFA contents were 34.1, 46.8, 19.8 and 45.6%, respectively, for maple, pumpkin, citrus and apple; no measurable amounts of trans fatty acids were found.     

EFFECT OF PROTEIN EXTENDERS ON FATTY ACIDS,CHOLESTEROL, SENSORY QUALITY AND COOKING LOSS OF BEEF PATTIES1

Ten different formulations of beef patties were processed to contain 20–50% fat from lean beef containing not more than 7% fat and beef fat consisting of not less than 90% fat and were extended with different levels of textured soy protein (TSP) at 5, 10 and 20% and single cell protein (SCP) at 2.5, 5 and 7.5%. The patties were stored at ?18°C for 6 months. Sensory quality evaluation showed that patties with 80% lean and 20% fat and patties with 40% lean, 40% fat and 20% TSP were the least acceptable, but lower levels of TSP and SCP addition were found to improve panel rating. A 17% increase in protein content and a reduction of about 13.5% in fat content was observed due to TSP and SCP incorporation. An average cooking loss in the different formulations was 33%, addition of protein extenders was found to reduce cooking loss by about 22% while fat loss averages 30.2%. A reduction of 21.1% of 18:1 and a reduction of approximately 18.7% of total FAME and 32% cholesterol were observed due to the addition of TSP and SCP.