Extended preservation of raw beef and pork meat by hyperbaric storage at room temperature

Hyperbaric storage (HS) was evaluated as a new food preservation methodology at room temperature (RT) for beef and pork meat, both minced and in pieces, and compared to refrigeration (RF) storage. The meat samples were stored at 50, 75 and 100 MPa and variable RT up to 60 days. HS at 75 and 100 MPa could not only inhibit microbial growth but also inactivate microorganisms. Regarding physicochemical analyses, an overall equal to better pH maintenance in HS samples was achieved, and similar colour differences between HS and RF were observed. Generally, similarities in moisture content and drip loss between HS (mostly 75 and 100 MPa) and RF were detected (tendency for lower values in the former and higher values in the latter for the higher pressure level). Protein solubility revealed a decrease of sarcoplasmic protein values during storage with a pressure level dependency in some samples.     

Recent advances in supercritical fluid dyeing

Supercritical fluid dyeing is a promising technology that was first proposed in the 1980s to overcome the high energy demand and water consumption of conventional textile coloration. This review covers its advances from 2014 to the present, from the successful industrial implementation of supercritical fluid dyeing of polyethylene terephthalate to the most recent results obtained for the dyeing of other synthetic and natural textiles. Specific attention is also dedicated to the most innovative applications of supercritical fluid dyeing such as the functionalisation of textile and non‐textile substrates, which may give rise to the development of other sustainable processes or novel advanced materials in the near future.     

Perceptually-weighted evaluation criteria for segmentation masks in video sequences

In order to complement subjective evaluation of the quality of segmentation masks, this paper introduces a procedure for automatically assessing this quality. Algorithmically computed figures of merit are proposed. Assuming the existence of a perfect reference mask (ground truth), generated manually or with a reliable procedure over a test set, these figures of merit take into account visually desirable properties of a segmentation mask in order to provide the user with metrics that best quantify the spatial and temporal accuracy of the segmentation masks. For the sake of easy interpretation, results are presented on a peaked signal-to-noise ratio-like logarithmic scale.     

Retaining maximum antioxidative potency of wheat germ oil refined by molecular distillation

A process of physical refining wheat germ oil using the technique of molecular distillation (MD) is presented in this work. Wheat germ oil was obtained from the germ by solvent extraction using hexane and also by cold pressing. The oil extracted with hexane was degummed and bleached before deacidification in order to modify the parameters of phosphorus and color. The goal in carrying out the stage of physical refining by MD was to preserve the maximum amount of original antioxidative potential obtained from extraction of the crude oil. The effect of evaporation temperature of one‐stage MD on the efficiency of free fatty acid elimination was studied. The antioxidant portion was followed by means of analytic determination of tocopherols by high‐performance liquid chromatography. Tocopherol retention up to 98% was achieved in the oil extracted by pressing, and yields of up to 96% were achieved in the oil extracted with hexane. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry     

Watermarked 3-D Mesh Quality Assessment

This paper addresses the problem of assessing distortions produced by watermarking 3D meshes. In particular, a new methodology for subjective evaluation of the quality of 3D objects is proposed and implemented. Two objective metrics derived from measures of surface roughness are then proposed and their efficiency to predict the perceptual impact of 3D watermarking is assessed and compared with the state of the art. Results obtained show good correlations between the proposed objective metrics and subjective assessments by human observers     

Mechanism of the skeletal isomerisation of linear butenes over ferrierite: analysis of side reactions

An investigation of the effect of reaction conditions on product distribution in the skeletal isomerisation reaction of linear butenes has been carried out. The main reaction routes over ferrierite have been identified. Beside the main product isobutene, major by-product formation occurs. The unwanted reactions include dimerisation of butene to form octenes, hydrogen transfer yielding small amounts of saturated C₃ and C₄ hydrocarbons and disproportionation producing propene and pentenes. The most abundant by-products were pentene and propene, though these were not formed in equimolar amounts as could be expected. Oligomerisation experiments of propene over ferrierite produced large amounts of butene and pentene, revealing the presence of adsorbed nonene. The cracking of this surface species to hexene and propene is the most likely reaction route for the excess propene formation. This additional path to propene formation operates mainly at temperatures above 623 K.