Enzyme-assisted extraction of chicken skin protein hydrolysates and fat: Degree of hydrolysis affects the physicochemical and functional properties

Enzyme-assisted extraction (EAE) of oils/fats involves the disruption of the cell wall of source material using enzymes to facilitate the release of oil. When proteases are used as the enzyme, EAE ends in the extracted oil as well as the protein hydrolysates. Herein, the EAE (using a commercial protease, Alcalase) was exploited to obtain fat and protein hydrolysates from chicken skin. Degree of hydrolysis (DH, the percentage ratio of cleaved peptide bonds), which showed a logarithmic correlation with the reaction time, was found to affect the properties of the products. As the DH increased, the peptide chain length of protein hydrolysates decreased which was confirmed by SDS-PAGE analysis. With the increase of DH, the emulsifying activity index, foaming capacity, and oil holding capacity of the hydrolysates decreased but the solubility and emulsion stability index increased (p < 0.05). The DPPH free radical scavenging activity of the hydrolysates increased with the DH up to DH = 39.62% but decreased thereafter (p < 0.05). EAE resulted in a rise in fat yield and the fat contained a higher amount of unsaponifiables and lower free fatty acids (FFA) content, as compared to the control treatment (No enzyme, 80°C, 2 h, p < 0.05). DH affected the fat yield and the unsaponifiables content of the fat, positively (p < 0.05). However, it did not affect the fat FFA content and iodine value (p > 0.05). Results obtained here showed DH can be used as an effective measure for controlling the physicochemical and functional properties of chicken skin protein hydrolysates and fat in the EAE process.     

Recent Advances in CNT-based FET Transistor Biosensors to Detect Biomarkers of Clinical Significance

Silicon - The development of advanced materials has attracted interest for promising novel applications in biosensing and realm of nanophotonics. This interest in nanoelectronics, and...     

Application of Bayesian Decision Networks for Groundwater Resources Management Under the Conditions of High Uncertainty and Data Scarcity

This paper presents management of groundwater resource using a Bayesian Decision Network (BDN). The Kordkooy region in North East of Iran has been selected as study area. The region has been sub-divided into three zones based on transmissivity (T) and electrical conductivity (EC) values. The BDN parameters: prior probabilities and Conditional Probability Tables - CPTs) have been identified for each of the three zones. Three groups of management scenarios have been developed based on the two decision variables including “Crop pattern” and “Domestic water demand” across the three zones of the study area: 1) status quo management for all three zones represent current conditions; 2) the effect of change in cropping pattern on management endpoints and 3) the effect of future increased domestic water demand on management endpoints. The outcomes arising from implementing each scenario have been predicted by use of the constructed BDN for each of the zones. Results reveal that probability of drawdown in groundwater levels of southern areas is relatively high compared with other zones. Groundwater withdrawal from northern and northwestern areas of the study area should be limited due to the groundwater quality problems associated with shallow groundwater of these two zones. The ability of the Bayesian Decision Network to take into account key uncertainties in natural resources and perform meaningful analysis in cases where there is not a vast amount of information and observed data available – and opportunities for enabling inputs for the analysis based partly on expert elicitation,emphasizes key advantages of this approach for groundwater management and addressing the groundwater related problems in a data-scarce area.     

Probiotic-Induced Tolerogenic Dendritic Cells: A Novel Therapy for Inflammatory Bowel Disease?

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) are immune-mediated, chronic relapsing diseases with a rising prevalence worldwide in both adult and pediatric populations. Treatment options for immune-mediated diseases, including IBDs, are traditional steroids, immunomodulators, and biologics, none of which are capable of inducing long-lasting remission in all patients. Dendritic cells (DCs) play a fundamental role in inducing tolerance and regulating T cells and their tolerogenic functions. Hence, modulation of intestinal mucosal immunity by DCs could provide a novel, additional tool for the treatment of IBD. Recent evidence indicates that probiotic bacteria might impact immunomodulation both in vitro and in vivo by regulating DCs’ maturation and producing tolerogenic DCs (tolDCs) which, in turn, might dampen inflammation. In this review, we will discuss this evidence and the mechanisms of action of probiotics and their metabolites in inducing tolDCs in IBDs and some conditions associated with them.     

Formulation and Characterization of Human Milk Fat Substitutes Made from Blends of Refined Palm Olein,and Soybean,Olive, Fish,and Virgin Coconut Oils

The simplest and the most cost-effective way of human milk fat substitute (HMFS) production is formulating of suitable vegetable oils at proper ratios. To do this, the D-optimal mixture design was used to optimize the HMFS formulation. The design included 25 formulations made from refined palm olein (35–55%), soybean oil (5–25%), olive oil (5–20%), virgin coconut oil (5–15%), and fish oil (0–10%). Samples were produced in laboratory and characterized in terms of fatty acid and triacylglycerol (TAG) compositions, free fatty acid content, peroxide value, iodine value, and oxidative stability index (OSI). HMFS samples were also compared with Codex Alimentarius (CA) and Iran National Standards Organization (INSO) standards. Each characteristic of HMFS samples was then expressed as a function of ingredient ratio using regression models. Finally, using numerical optimization, four optimized blends (PB₁-PB₄) were selected, made in the laboratory (HMFS₁-HMFS₄), characterized, and compared with CA and INSO standards. The properties of all the optimized blends (except the palmitic acid content of HMFS₂ and the monounsaturated fatty acid [MUFA] content of HMFS₃) met the standards. HMFS₄ showed the highest OSI in Rancimat and the lowest oxidation rate in Schaal oven tests. POL (19.53–21.73%), PPO (20.77–21.73%), OOO (9.11–11.16%), and OPO (8.84–9.46%) were the main (totally about 60%) TAG species found in HMFS samples. In conclusion, the HMFS₄ formula (55% palm olein, 13.5% soybean oil, 16% refined olive oil, 15% virgin coconut oil, and 0.5% fish oil) was suggested as the best formula for HMFS production.     

Implications of Urban Form on Water Distribution Systems Performance

This paper presents the results of an investigation into the relationship between urban form and the performance of a water distribution system. The effect of new development or redevelopment on the performance of an expanded rehabilitation of the well-known Anytown water distribution system is examined to provide an insight into their interaction, which can be considered along with other aspects of renewal to achieve more sustainable urban areas. A range of urban growth rates, urban form and water efficiency strategies are studied in relation to the system’s key performance indicators of total cost, resilience and water quality. The urban forms considered in this work are compact/uniform, monocentric, polycentric and edge developments. These development patterns are representative of common development approaches widely applied in urban planning. They also correspond to future settlement patterns, based on adopting four future (socio-economic) scenarios so called Policy Reform (PR), Fortress World (FW), New Sustainability Paradigm (NSP), and Market Forces (MF) respectively. Three growth rates and two water demand efficiency levels are considered. It is concluded the rate and type of urban development has major implications for the redesign and operation of existing water infrastructure in terms of total cost, water quality and system resilience, with uniform expansion (PR) resulting in the most cost-effective system upgrade by a considerable margin. Polycentric expansion as a representative urban form for New Sustainability Paradigm is the least cost-effective if it relies on centralised water distribution system to provide service to customers. Edge expansion (MF) has both the cheapest and the most expensive expansion costs depending on location of the expansion. Monocentric urban development (FW) does not result in the most cost-effective system contrary to what has been reported in the literature. Water efficiency measures had relatively little impact on overall performance as it was balanced out with demand increase due to new growth.     

Multiobjective optimization for force and moment balance of a four-bar linkage using evolutionary algorithms

In this study, force and moment balance of a planar four-bar linkage is implemented using evolutionary algorithms. In the current problem, the concepts of inertia counterweights and physical pendulum are utilized to complete balance of all mass effects, independent of input angular velocity. A proposed multiobjective particle swarm optimization, and non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II are applied to minimize two objective functions subject to some design constraints. The applied algorithms produced a set of feasible solutions called pareto optimal solutions for the design problem. Finally, a fuzzy decision maker is utilized to select the best solution among the obtained pareto solutions. The results show that optimal solutions minimize the weights of applied counterweights and eliminate both shaking forces and moments transmitted to the ground, simultaneously.     

Antioxidant peptides: Overview of production,properties, and applications in food systems

In recent years, several studies have reported the beneficial effects of antioxidant peptides in delaying oxidation reactions. Thus, a growing number of food proteins have been investigated as suitable sources for obtaining these antioxidant peptides. In this study, some of the most critical developments in the discovery of peptidic antioxidants are discussed. Initially, the primary methods to release, purify, and identify these antioxidant peptides from various food-derived sources are reviewed. Then, computer-based screening methods of the available peptides are summarized, and methods to interpret their structure–activity relationship are illustrated. Finally, approaches to the large-scale production of these bioactive peptides are described. In addition, the applications of these antioxidants in food systems are discussed, and gaps, future challenges, and opportunities in this field are highlighted. In conclusion, various food items can be considered promising sources to obtain these novel antioxidant peptides, which present various opportunities for food applications in addition to health promotion. The lack of in-depth data on the link between the structure and activity of these antioxidants, which is critical for the prediction of possible bioactive amino acid sequences and their potency in food systems and in vivo conditions (rather than in vitro systems), requires further attention. Consequently, future collaborative research activities between the industry and academia are required to realize the commercialization objectives of these novel antioxidant peptides.