Simultaneous biochemical reaction and separation in a continuous rotating annular chromatograph

The aim of this work has been to investigate the behaviour of a continuous rotating annular chromatograph (CRAC) under a combined biochemical reaction and separation duty. Two biochemical reactions have been employed, namely the inversion of sucrose to glucose and fructose in the presence of the enzyme invertase and the saccharification of liquefied starch to maltose and dextrin using the enzyme maltogenase. Simultaneous biochemical reaction and separation has been successfully carried out for the first time in a CRAC by inverting sucrose to fructose and glucose using the enzyme invertase and collecting continuously pure fractions of glucose and fructose from the base of the column. The CRAC was made of two concentric cylinders which form an annulus 140 cm long by 1.2 cm wide, giving an annular space of 14.5 dm3. The ion exchange resin used was an industrial grade calcium form Dowex 50W-X4 with a mean diameter of 150 microns. The mobile phase used was deionised and dearated water and contained the appropriate enzyme. The annular column was slowly rotated at speeds of up to 240°h-1 while the sucrose substrate was fed continuously through a stationary feed pipe to the top of the resin bed. A systematic investigation of the factors affecting the performance of the CRAC under simultaneous biochemical reaction and separation conditions was carried out by employing a factorial experimental procedure. The main factors affecting the performance of the system were found to be the feed rate, feed concentrations and eluent rate. Results from the experiments indicated that complete conversion could be achieved for feed concentrations of up to 50% w/v sucrose and at feed throughputs of up to 17.2 kg sucrose per m3 resin/h. The second enzymic reaction, namely the saccharification of liquefied starch to maltose employing the enzyme maltogenase has also been successfully carried out on a CRAC. Results from the experiments using soluble potato starch showed that conversions of up to 79% were obtained for a feed concentration of 15.5% w/v at a feed flowrate of 400 cm3/h. The product maltose obtained was over 95% pure. Mathematical modelling and computer simulation of the sucrose inversion system has been carried out. A finite difference method was used to solve the partial differential equations and the simulation results showed good agreement with the experimental results obtained.

Novel starch-polyalkane composite materials

The polymerisation of dibromoalkanes adsorbed in potato starch leads to a novel class of hydrophobic starch-polyalkane composite materials with very high capacity for surface derivitisation.

Targeting dsRNA-specific single-chain Fv antibody fragments to different cellular locations in Nicotiana tabacum L.

Expression of antibodies or antibody fragments in plants is a useful tool for producing active antibody derivatives for diagnostic or pharmaceutical purposes as well as for immunomodulation. We investigated the effect of cellular expression site on the stability and yield of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-specific single-chain Fv-fragments (scFv) in transgenic tobacco. Two antibodies (J2 and P6) belonging to the V23(J558) heavy chain variable gene family but differing in the light chain variable domain were used. scFvs were targeted to the cytoplasm – with or without anchoring them in the plasma membrane –, into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and to the apoplast. Although high mRNA concentrations were detected in all cases, scFv proteins accumulated only when scFvs were made ER-resident by appropriate signal sequences. When the ER retention signal was removed to allow scFv-secretion to the apoplast, no scFv-proteins were detected. Despite the strong homology of the VH-sequences of J2 and P6 antibodies, only P6 provided a stable scFv scaffold for intracytoplasmic expression. J2-scFv could not be stabilised neither by adding a C-terminal stabilisation signal nor by anchoring the protein at the cytoplasmic side of the plasma membrane (PM). It was found that dsRNA-specific J2-scFvs are active in vivo and enhance Potato Virus Y induced symptoms in infected tobacco. This is the first report describing the expression and biological effect of RNA-specific antibodies in plants.

Efeito de doses e modo de fraccionamento de potássio na batata de indústria “VR0808”

O potássio é um dos macronutrientes que as plantas absorvem em maior quantidade, influenciando na batateira a produtividade e a qualidade dos tubérculos. A introdução de novas variedades de batata para indústria implica a avaliação prévia da sua adaptação às condições de solo, clima e tecnologia cultural. Neste contexto, instalou-se um ensaio em Salvaterra-de-Magos, em pleno campo de cultivo, com o objetivo de avaliar o efeito de diferentes doses e modo de fraccionamento (à plantação e em cobertura, após a emergência) de potássio (K2O) na batata de indústria “VR0808”. Foram avaliados 5 tratamentos: (K0-0kg/ha, K1-100kg/ha, K2-200kg/ha, K3-100+50+50kg/ha e K4-200+50+50kg/ha). O dispositivo experimental foi o de parcelas totalmente aleatórias, com 4 repetições. Foi possível concluir que, em relação ao rendimento, com excepção do K4-200+50+50kg/ha, não existiram diferenças significativas entre os tratamentos com 0, 100, 200 e 100+50+50kg/ha de K2O. A mobilização do K2O de formas fixas e/ou de origem orgânica poderá explicar este resultado. Observou-se um decréscimo dos teores de Ca ao nível da folha e do teor de matéria seca dos tubérculos com o incremento do potássio.

Avaliação da fertilização azotada na produtividade e qualidade da variedade Hermes para indústria

O azoto é determinante na produtividade e na qualidade da batata para indústria. Com este trabalho pretendeu-se avaliar o efeito de diferentes doses de azoto na variedade de batata “Hermes”, em plena condições de cultivo do Vale do Tejo. Os tratamentos consistiram na aplicação de 0 (N0), 80 (N80), 160 (N160), 240 (N240) e 320 (N320) kg de azoto/ha, na forma de ENTECÒ 26. O ensaio foi instalado em parcelas totalmente aleatórias, com 4 repetições. Foi registado semanal a taxa de cobertura de solo pelo método da grelha até à sua cobertura total. Bissemanalmente, foram recolhidas plantas nos tratamentos N0 (0kgN/ha) e N160 (160kgN/ha) para avaliação do seu desenvolvimento e crescimento. No final do ciclo cultural avaliou-se a produção total, comercial, em peso e número de tubérculos. Avaliou-se ainda o peso específico, os teores em matéria seca dos tubérculos e a percentagem do azoto total na matéria seca das folhas e tubérculos. A adubação azotada influenciou a dimensão do aparelho fotossintético, através do estímulo de ramificações. Verificou-se uma maior produtividade de tubérculos nos tratamentos com maior aplicação de azoto, embora os acréscimos tenham sido menores a partir dos 160kg/ha. O azoto influenciou a percentagem de tubérculos de maior calibre.

O efeito da adubação foliar na variedade de batata (Solanum tuberosum) de indústria “LADY ROSETTA”

A batata está sujeita a stresses bióticos (doenças, pragas, infestantes) e abióticos (condições climáticas, secura, excesso de água, ou fitotoxicidade provocada por herbicidas, entre outros). Os adubos foliares contendo nutrientes (macro e micronutrientes) poderão contribuir para uma melhor nutrição da planta, para além de exercer uma ação benéfica ao nível do potencial hídrico da folha e sua proteção contra os diversos inimigos bióticos. Instalou-se um ensaio em Marinhais na variedade de batata de indústria Lady Rosetta, para avaliar o efeito da adubação foliar de uma gama de adubos foliares “Humigel”, contendo, entre outros nutrientes, o enxofre e o potássio, numa situação de fitotoxidade causada pela aplicação de um herbicida. O ensaio foi instalado com um dispositivo experimental de parcelas totalmente aleatórias, com 4 repetições. Os tratamentos foram a aplicação de “Humigel” e sem aplicação (testemunha). A produção comercial nas parcelas com “Humigel” foi significativamente mais elevada (48 192 kg/ha) do que nas parcelas testemunha (43 458 kg/ha). Não se registaram diferenças significativas ao nível do número de tubérculos (comercial e total) por planta, nem ao nível dos parâmetros de qualidade (peso específico e teste de fritura).

Resposta da batata cv. Cupido à fertilização organomineral

Potato crop cycle is relatively short and presents high yield per area; therefore, it is a very demanding culture for available nutrients in the soil solution. Despite its importance and the large number of studies about the crop, there is little research on plant nutrition regarding the use of organomineral fertilizer. This study evaluated potato, cv. Cupid, development and productivity as a function of fertilization with pelletized organomineral fertilizer. The experiment was done in Perdizes, Minas Gerais, in the rainy season of 2014/2015. The experimental design was a randomized blocks, with factorial arrangement of 4 x 2 (doses x management) and a control with mineral fertilizer, with 3 repetitions. Organomineral fertilizer doses were 25, 50, 75 and 100% of the conventional mineral dose, which was 600 kg ha-1 K2SO4, 850 kg ha-1 NH4H2PO4, and 300 kg ha-1 (NH4)2SO4 of topdressing 19 days after planting (DAP). Fertilization managements were with or without topdressing at 19 DAP, when the potato was hilled. Two plants per plot were sampled at 36, 50, 64 and 81 DAP and analyzed for leaf, stem and dry matter contents. DRIS - Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System was applied at 36 DAP and the potatoes were harvested 112 DAP and subjected to tuber classification. Throughout the cycle, stem, leaf and tuber dry mass showed no significant differences between the fertilization managements. The doses of organomineral fertilizer and topdressing management does not affect productivity, and the lower doses (25%) were similar the greater ones and the control, with an average of 16.8 t ha-1, demonstrating that it is viable to make a single application of organomineral fertilizer at planting due to operational efficiency. The low yields observed were due to high rainfall and temperature, creating favorable conditions for the incidence of pests and diseases. According to DRIS, the organomineral dose 75% for topdressing, presented the best nutritional balance.

Comparação de produtos de colagem de origem animal, vegetal e extratos de leveduras em vinhos tintos

No mercado têm surgido alternativas aos produtos de colagem de origem animal, nomeadamente as proteínas de origem vegetal e extratos de levedura. O objectivo deste trabalho foi a comparação de um elevado número de produtos de colagem de origem animal (gelatinas) e produtos alternativos de origem vegetal e levuriano. Inicialmente os produtos de colagem foram aplicados ao vinho em diferentes doses. Com base na avaliação sensorial, foram selecionados os produtos e as doses que revelaram melhor desempenho. Os produtos de colagem selecionados foram aplicados ao vinho e avaliado o seu efeito nas características sensoriais e físico-químicas. O parâmetro que apresentou diferenças mais significativas foi a turbidez. A análise estatística apenas revelou diferenças significativas para os atributos qualidade do sabor e nota final; apesar de não evidenciar diferenças significativas, as variações observadas para o atributo extração/secura foram muito importantes do ponto de vista prático. As gelatinas que mostraram melhor desempenho foram as POA 10 e POA 12 e as proteínas vegetais POV 6 (proteína de ervilha) e POV 10 (proteína de batata). Este estudo permitiu a recolha de informação para ser utilizada na seleção do produto de colagem mais apropriado para o perfil de vinho da adega e a alternativa mais apropriada às gelatinas.

Eating habits of a population undergoing a rapid dietary transition: portion sizes of traditional and non-traditional foods and beverages consumed by Inuit adults in Nunavut, Canada

Background: To determine the portion sizes of traditional and non-traditional foods being consumed by Inuit adults in three remote communities in Nunavut, Canada. Methods. A cross-sectional study was carried out between June and October, 2008. Trained field workers collected dietary data using a culturally appropriate, validated quantitative food frequency questionnaire (QFFQ) developed specifically for the study population. Results: Caribou, muktuk (whale blubber and skin) and Arctic char (salmon family), were the most commonly consumed traditional foods; mean portion sizes for traditional foods ranged from 10 g for fermented seal fat to 424 g for fried caribou. Fried bannock and white bread were consumed by >85% of participants; mean portion sizes for these foods were 189 g and 70 g, respectively. Sugar-sweetened beverages and energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods were also widely consumed. Mean portion sizes for regular pop and sweetened juices with added sugar were 663 g and 572 g, respectively. Mean portion sizes for potato chips, pilot biscuits, cakes, chocolate and cookies were 59 g, 59 g, 106 g, 59 g, and 46 g, respectively. Conclusions: The present study provides further evidence of the nutrition transition that is occurring among Inuit in the Canadian Arctic. It also highlights a number of foods and beverages that could be targeted in future nutritional intervention programs aimed at obesity and diet-related chronic disease prevention in these and other Inuit communities.

Design and development of a diagonal-airflow batch dryer for spatial drying homogeneity

Das Verfahren der Lebensmitteltrocknung wird häufig angewendet, um ein Produkt für längere Zeit haltbar zu machen. Obst und Gemüse sind aufgrund ihres hohen Wassergehalts leicht verderblich durch biochemische Vorgänge innerhalb des Produktes, nicht sachgemäße Lagerung und unzureichende Transportmöglichkeiten. Um solche Verluste zu vermeiden wird die direkte Trocknung eingesetzt, welche die älteste Methode zum langfristigen haltbarmachen ist. Diese Methode ist jedoch veraltet und kann den heutigen Herausforderungen nicht gerecht werden. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde ein neuer Chargentrockner, mit diagonalem Luftstömungskanal entlang der Länge des Trocknungsraumes und ohne Leitbleche entwickelt. Neben dem unbestreitbaren Nutzen der Verwendung von Leitblechen, erhöhen diese jedoch die Konstruktionskosten und führen auch zu einer Erhöhung des Druckverlustes. Dadurch wird im Trocknungsprozess mehr Energie verbraucht. Um eine räumlich gleichmäßige Trocknung ohne Leitbleche zu erreichen, wurden die Lebensmittelbehälter diagonal entlang der Länge des Trockners platziert. Das vorrangige Ziel des diagonalen Kanals war, die einströmende, warme Luft gleichmäßig auf das gesamte Produkt auszurichten. Die Simulation des Luftstroms wurde mit ANSYS-Fluent in der ANSYS Workbench Plattform durchgeführt. Zwei verschiedene Geometrien der Trocknungskammer, diagonal und nicht diagonal, wurden modelliert und die Ergebnisse für eine gleichmäßige Luftverteilung aus dem diagonalen Luftströmungsdesign erhalten. Es wurde eine Reihe von Experimenten durchgeführt, um das Design zu bewerten. Kartoffelscheiben dienten als Trocknungsgut. Die statistischen Ergebnisse zeigen einen guten Korrelationskoeffizienten für die Luftstromverteilung (87,09%) zwischen dem durchschnittlich vorhergesagten und der durchschnittlichen gemessenen Strömungsgeschwindigkeit. Um den Effekt der gleichmäßigen Luftverteilung auf die Veränderung der Qualität zu bewerten, wurde die Farbe des Produktes, entlang der gesamten Länge der Trocknungskammer kontaktfrei im on-line-Verfahren bestimmt. Zu diesem Zweck wurde eine Imaging-Box, bestehend aus Kamera und Beleuchtung entwickelt. Räumliche Unterschiede dieses Qualitätsparameters wurden als Kriterium gewählt, um die gleichmäßige Trocknungsqualität in der Trocknungskammer zu bewerten. Entscheidend beim Lebensmittel-Chargentrockner ist sein Energieverbrauch. Dafür wurden thermodynamische Analysen des Trockners durchgeführt. Die Energieeffizienz des Systems wurde unter den gewählten Trocknungsbedingungen mit 50,16% kalkuliert. Die durchschnittlich genutzten Energie in Form von Elektrizität zur Herstellung von 1kg getrockneter Kartoffeln wurde mit weniger als 16,24 MJ/kg und weniger als 4,78 MJ/kg Wasser zum verdampfen bei einer sehr hohen Temperatur von jeweils 65°C und Scheibendicken von 5mm kalkuliert. Die Energie- und Exergieanalysen für diagonale Chargentrockner wurden zudem mit denen anderer Chargentrockner verglichen. Die Auswahl von Trocknungstemperatur, Massenflussrate der Trocknungsluft, Trocknerkapazität und Heiztyp sind die wichtigen Parameter zur Bewertung der genutzten Energie von Chargentrocknern. Die Entwicklung des diagonalen Chargentrockners ist eine nützliche und effektive Möglichkeit um dei Trocknungshomogenität zu erhöhen. Das Design erlaubt es, das gesamte Produkt in der Trocknungskammer gleichmäßigen Luftverhältnissen auszusetzen, statt die Luft von einer Horde zur nächsten zu leiten.

What's in your favourite wrap?

This survey is one of a series of nutritional surveys safefood has commissioned. The others include; Nutritional content of chicken & potato products in deli counters and takeaway outlets (2009) Survey of salt levels in soup in catering establishments on the island of Ireland (2011) Pizza - what’s in that box? – Nutritional content of a range of takeaway and shop-bought pizzas (2012) What’s in that bun? – Nutritional content of a range of takeaway burgers (2012) What’s in your Chinese takeaway? – Nutritional content of a range of takeaway Chinese food (2012) This survey looks at the nutritional content of a popular and convenient "on-the-go" food, the wrap, and sheds light on whether it is a healthy option. - See more at: http://www.safefood.eu/Publications/Research-reports/What%E2%80%99s-in-your-favourite-wraps.aspx#sthash.3UE6R6d4.dpuf

Big Data Analysis in Social Networks : Extracting Food Preferences of Vegans from Twitter

Market research is often conducted through conventional methods such as surveys, focus groups and interviews. But the drawbacks of these methods are that they can be costly and timeconsuming. This study develops a new method, based on a combination of standard techniques like sentiment analysis and normalisation, to conduct market research in a manner that is free and quick. The method can be used in many application-areas, but this study focuses mainly on the veganism market to identify vegan food preferences in the form of a profile. Several food words are identified, along with their distribution between positive and negative sentiments in the profile. Surprisingly, non-vegan foods such as cheese, cake, milk, pizza and chicken dominate the profile, indicating that there is a significant market for vegan-suitable alternatives for such foods. Meanwhile, vegan-suitable foods such as coconut, potato, blueberries, kale and tofu also make strong appearances in the profile. Validation is performed by using the method on Volkswagen vehicle data to identify positive and negative sentiment across five car models. Some results were found to be consistent with sales figures and expert reviews, while others were inconsistent. The reliability of the method is therefore questionable, so the results should be used with caution.

Carotenoids and antioxidant enzymes as biomarkers of the impact of heavy metals in food chain

Antioxidant enzymes (catalase and peroxidase) and carotenoids (lutein and â-carotene) are often used as biomarkers of metal contamination of water and agricultural soils. In this study, the effects of heavy metals present in irrigation water on the aforementioned carotenoids of potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) and carrots (Daucus carota L.), cultivated in a greenhouse and irrigated with a water solution including different levels of Cr(VI) and Ni(II) were investigated. These results were compared to the levels of the same metabolites that had been assessed in market-available potato and carrot samples. The findings indicated that the levels of the examined metabolites on the treated with Cr and Ni samples, resemble the levels of the same parameters in the market samples, originating from polluted areas. Therefore, the antioxidant enzymes, catalase and peroxidase, and the carotenoids, lutein and â-carotene, could be handled as indicators of heavy metal pollution.

Determinación de la flora micológica del maíz seco y su harina en la parroquía San Juan-cantón Gualaceo

El presente trabajo de tesis tuvo como finalidad evaluar la flora micológica del maíz seco y su harina producidos en la parroquia San Juan - Cantón Gualaceo con el fin de aportar con información sobre la calidad de estos alimentos. Además se evaluaron los siguientes factores para el desarrollo de la flora micológica: temperatura, actividad acuosa, almacenamiento; así como también el crecimiento en distintos medios de cultivos y el uso de la desinfección del grano como parte de la técnica de siembra. La detección, recuento y aislamiento de hongos se realizó de acuerdo a la técnica de recuento en placa por siembra en profundidad para la harina y en el caso del grano por la técnica de siembra directa, con y sin desinfección de la superficie del grano utilizándose el agar MEA (Agar Extracto de Malta), PDA (Agar Papa Dextrosa) y DRBC (Agar Rosa de Bengala Diclorán) y sometiendo a dos tratamientos térmicos (18°C vs 25°C). Se encontró que la micoflora presente en las muestras analizadas corresponde a los géneros Penicillium, Fusarium, Rhizopus, Aspergillus y levaduras, siendo el género predominante Penicillium tanto en el grano como en la harina. La temperatura óptima para el crecimiento fue 25°C; y a su vez el crecimiento fue mejor sin desinfectar las superficies del grano. El crecimiento micológico varió dependiendo del medio, siendo PDA el más óptimo para Penicillium y Rhizopus, mientras que para Fusarium y Aspergillus no hubo diferencia. Igualmente se encontró que la actividad acuosa influyó en forma proporcional al crecimiento micológico y que el almacenamiento controlado influyó positivamente en su disminución.

Quitosana na indução de resistência ao tombamento de plântulas de espécies olerícolas e no controle de fitopatógenos in vitro

Induction of resistance is defined as the activation of a state of resistance against diseases which is induced systemically in plants by the use of biotic or abiotic agents without any modification of the plant genome, occurring non-specific way, by activating genes coding for various plant defense responses. Chitosan is a polymer derived from the deacetylation of chitin, which is found in large quantities in crustacean shell, and studied with the potential to control plant pathogens, both by its direct fungistatic action, as the ability to induce protection of plants, indicating the presence of molecules of elicitoras characteristics. Three experiments with objective of evaluating the potential of chitosan in the seedling resistance induction were developed, beet (Beta vulgaris) seeds, cucumber (Cucumis sativus) seeds and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) seeds, and the control of Fusarium sp., Rhizoctonia solani K¨uhn e Pythium sp. in vitro conditions. The experimental design was completely randomized, with four replications. Beet seeds, tomato and cucumber were submerged in chitosan solution for 20 minutes, in concentrations of 0.25, 0.5, 1 and 2% in the control and distilled water. Seeds were sown in trays containing Plantmax Florestalr substrate sterilized and inoculated with Fusarium sp., Rhizoctonia solani K¨unh and Pythium sp., respectively for the three cultures. The experiment was conducted for 14 days in growth chamber with controlled temperature (25 C 2 C), light (12 hour photoperiod) and humidity (70% 10%). The evaluations were seed emergency, seedling damping-off, seedling length, fresh weight and activity of the enzymes phenylalanine amˆonia-liase (PAL), chitinase and b-1,3-glucanase. It was also rated the mycelial growth of Fusarium sp., Pythium sp. and R. solani on P.D.A. (Potato-Dextrose and Agar) culture medium containing chitosan at the same concentrations evaluated in seeds. For beet growing, seed treatment with chitosan presented higher emergence and the length of the seedlings, and reduced the percentage of tipping. Treatment with chitosan activated the systemic acquired resistance with expression of chitinase and b-1,3-glucanase enzymes. For the tomato crop in chitosan concentration of 0.25% favored the emergency of seedlings, reduced the incidence of tipping and activated the PAL enzymes, chitinase and b-1,3-glucanase. In cucumber on the concentration of up 0.5% favored seedlings emergence and reduces the incidence of tipping. Chitosan activated the PAL enzymes and b-1,3-glucanase. Chitosan also presented fungistatic action on the initial growth of Pythium sp. and R. solani in vitro conditions, however, such action did not prevail until the end of the experiment. To Fusarium sp. the concentration of chitosan resulted in the reduction of mycelial growth in vitro.