Electronic word of mouth analysis for service experience

Since eWOM provides a rich source of objective information about products or services, it has become one of the major ways in which consumers collect information about items they are interested in buying. However, the problem of eWOM overload makes it difficult to effectively collect this information, and may have adverse effects on their actual purchase behavior. eWOM content is characterized by unstructured text formats, oversimplified expressions, and newly coined phrases (textspeak), and these all contribute to the challenges that arise when analyzing eWOM. This study thus proposes an eWOM analysis method for analyzing eWOM, which may lead to a more effective method for analyzing eWOM content, extracting both positive and negative appraisals, and help consumers in their decision making. At the same time, the method proposed in this study can also be utilized as a tool to assist companies in better understanding product or service appraisals, thus translating these opinions into business intelligence and as the basis for product/service improvements.     

Optimized Heat Treatment Enhances the Anti-Inflammatory Capacity of Ginger

This study aims to investigate the relationship between constituent contents and anti-inflammatory activities of heat processed gingers, and to optimize heat process to enhance ginger’s anti-inflammatory capacity. After 3 h of heat treatment at 75, 100, and 125°C, the gingerols content was reduced by 6.8, 12.6, and 42.7%, respectively, and the shogaols content was increased by 2.95, 4.85, and 9.34 fold, respectively. After 3 h of heat treatment at 150°C, the gingerols content was dramatically reduced by 89.5% and the increased shogaols content was even lower than treatment at 125°C. The tumor necrosis factor-α-, prostaglandin E2, and nitric oxide-inhibitory capacities of ginger could be increased by heat treatment. However, at high temperature, the enhanced ability would be decreased. The enhanced tumor necrosis factor-α-, prostaglandin E2-, and nitric oxide-inhibitory capacities of ginger was attenuated after 40, 60, and 180 min of heat treatment at 150°C, respectively. The results indicated that the TNF-α-inhibitory capacity of ginger was the most susceptible to heat. Only the prostaglandin E2-inhibitory capacity correlated with the shogaols content, which implies that heat derived shogaols contributed primarily to the prostaglandin E2-inhibitory capacity enhancement. We suggest that the optimal heat process condition is 125°C for 40–60 min for ginger to reach the maximum tumor necrosis factor-α-, prostaglandin E2-, and nitric oxide-inhibitory capacities.     

Curing reaction of unsaturated polyester resin modified by dicyclopentadiene

The objective of this research is to prepare modified unsaturated polyester resin(UPR) with good processibility, dimension stability and mechanical properties. In this study, dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) is selected as a modifier and the effect of DCPD content on the curing behavior of the modified UPR is examined via Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Rheometrics Dynamic Analysis (RDA) experiments. The results of ¹H NMR identification for the chemical structure of modified UPR show that the trans-structure of UPR decreases as the DCPD content increases. The curing time necessary to reach peak maximum in DSC during the curing reaction lengthens as the stereo obstacles formed by the binary rings increase.     

In vitro inhibitory effects of rosemary extracts on growth and glucosyltransferase activity of Streptococcus sobrinus

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) extract functions as an antioxidant and antimicrobial agent. In this study, we investigated in vitro effects of rosemary extracts on Streptococcus sobrinus growth and on its extracellular glucosyltransferase activity. The antibacterial activities of rosemary extracts were determined by the microdilution broth method. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of aqueous and methanolic rosemary extracts against S. sobrinus were 16 and 4 mg/ml, respectively. Glucosyltransferase activity was tested by incubating a crude enzyme preparation with sucrose and determining the amount of water-insoluble glucan formed. Both aqueous and methanolic extracts of rosemary markedly inhibited the formation of water-insoluble glucan. The 50% inhibitory doses of aqueous and methanolic extracts against the glucosyltransferases of S. sobrinus were 1.42 mg/ml and 0.34 mg/ml, respectively. Our results suggest that rosemary extract may prove effective for the inhibition of the growth of cariogenic oral streptococci.     

Comparison of Peroxynitrite-Scavenging Capacities of Several Citrus Fruit Peels

Citrus fruit peels contain a large variety of bioactive components and are considered as potential sources of functional components. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the peroxynitrite-scavenging activities of different citrus fruit peels. The peroxynitrite-scavenging activities of methanolic extracts of nine dried citrus fruit peels were evaluated as determined by their ability to attenuate the peroxynitrite-mediated nitrotyrosine formation in albumin. The results showed that all of the tested citrus fruit peels had the ability to attenuate the formation of nitrotyrosine. The total phenolics contents highly correlated with the peroxynitrite-scavenging activities. The results also indicated that the peroxynitrite-scavenging activity of citrus fruit peels was mainly attributed to the total phenolics.     

A Study on the Effects of the Degree of Deacetylation of Chitosan Films on Physical and Antibacterial Properties

The principal aim of this research study is to discuss the influences and effects of the acetylation degree of chitosan on antibacterial properties, mechanism, and thermal properties. Various chitosan with different degrees of deacetylation (DD%) were dissolved in acetic acid solution to produce films. The basic structure of chitosan consists of different ratios of amine (?NH₂) and acetic (R-HNCO-R). The discussion in this research paper also includes bacteriostasis, sterilization antibacterial capabilities, thermal manufacturing properties, and mechanisms.     

Evaluation of peroxynitrite-scavenging capacities of several commonly used fresh spices

Peroxynitrite-induced nitration of protein tyrosine residues is considered as one of the major pathological causes of several human diseases, e.g. cardiovascular disorders. Therefore, it appears that attenuation of peroxynitrite-induced nitration by certain foods could be beneficial to human health. Certain spices, used widely in folk medicine for cardiovascular disorders, conceivably protect against the activities of peroxynitrite. Seven culinary spices, including chilli, garlic, ginger, leek, onion, shallot and Welsh onion, were selected for this study. The peroxynitrite-scavenging capacities of these aqueous spice extracts were evaluated on the basis of their ability to attenuate peroxynitrite-induced nitrotyrosine formation in albumin. All of the spices had abilities to attenuate the peroxynitrite-mediated protein nitration. Ginger had outstanding peroxynitrite-scavenging ability. The phenolics and flavonoids in certain spices had abilities to suppress the peroxynitrite-mediated tyrosine nitration reaction. This indicates that these compounds could act as peroxynitrite-scavengers.     

Effect of Thawing and Cold Storage on Frozen Chicken Thigh Meat Quality by High-Voltage Electrostatic Field

ABSTRACT: One of the most popular issues in electrostatic biology is the effects of a high-voltage electrostatic field (HVEF) on the thawing of chicken thigh meat. In this study, chicken thigh meat was treated with HVEF (E-group), and compared to samples stored in a common refrigerator (R-group), to investigate how HVEF affects chicken thigh meat quality after thawing at low temperature storage (−3 and 4 °C). The results showed that there were no significant differences in biochemical and microorganism indices at −3 °C. However, the HVEF can significantly shorten thawing time for frozen chicken thigh meat at −3 °C. After thawing chicken thigh meat and storing at 4 °C, the total viable counts reached the Intl. Commission on Microbiological Specification for Foods limit of 10⁷ CFU/g on the 6 and 8 d for the R- and E-group, respectively. On the 8th d, the volatile basic nitrogen had increased from 11.24 mg/100 g to 21.9 mg/100 g for the E-group and 39.9 mg/100 g for the R-group, respectively. The biochemical and microorganism indices also indicated that the E-group treatment yielded better results on thawing than the R-group treatment. The application of this model has the potential to keep products fresh.     

Comparison of NO-scavenging and NO-suppressing activities of different herbal teas with those of green tea

Oxidative stress caused by the production of excess nitric oxide (NO) during infection or inflammation has been implicated in the pathogenesis of several diseases, including cancer, diabetes and renal disease. Accordingly, the scavenging of NO radical or/and suppression of NO production by mitogen-activated cells may be promising indicators in screening healthy food. In this work, the NO-scavenging and NO-suppressing activities of different herbal teas were determined and compared with those of green tea. All of the tested herbal teas revealed NO-scavenging and NO-suppressing activities. The NO-scavenging activity of herbal teas can be ranked by the IC₅₀, the concentration of the tested herbal tea required to quench 50% of NO radicals released by sodium nitroprusside. The activities follow the order: green tea > rosemary, sweet osmanthus, rose and lavender > jasmine, lemongrass and daisy. The NO-suppressing activity was evaluated, based on the suppressing effect of herbal teas on the production of NO by LPS-activated RAW 264.7 macrophages. Experimental results indicated that green tea and rosemary had IC₅₀ values of less than 500 μg/ml, and were proven to be good NO-suppressors, whereas lavender, sweet osmanthus, lemongrass, rose, daisy and jasmine had IC₅₀ values that exceeded 500 μg/ml, and were classified as rather poor NO-suppressors. In conclusion, consumption of herbal teas promotes the NO-scavenging and NO-suppressing activities of the diet, even though their activities are weaker than that of green tea.     

Inhibition of Fluorescent Advanced Glycation End-Products and N-Carboxymethyllysine Formation by Several Floral Herbal Infusions

The hyperglycemia-accelerated formation of advanced glycation end-products is involved in the pathogenesis of diabetic complications. The present study evaluated the antiglycation capacities of numerous flower herbal infusions, based on their capacity to inhibit the formation of fluorescent advanced glycation end-products and N-carboxymethyllysine in in vitro albumin/glucose and albumin/methylglyoxal systems. The antiglycation capacities of Sweet Osmanthus and Rose infusions were better than that of Chrysanthemum infusion, which is a well-documented antiglycation herb. Lavender and Chamomile infusions have an equivalent antiglycation capacity to that of Chrysanthemum, with a moderate effect. Moreover, the total phenolic content of a particular flower infusion was significantly correlated with its antiglycation capacity. This result indicated that phenolic compounds are responsible for the antiglycation activity of flower infusions.