Influence of thermoplastic extrusion on the nutritive value of bovine rumen protein

This Study investigated the impact of thermoplastic extrusion on the nutritive quality of bovine rumen protein. Proximal composition, amino acid profile and in vivo true protein digestibility among rats were determined in raw (RBR) and extruded (EBR) rumen. Raw and extruded bovine rumen presented high percentages of protein (more than 95% on dry basis). Neither raw nor extruded proteins had any limiting amino acid, and the RBR and EBR amino acid scores were, respectively, 1.28 (leucine) and 1.25 (methionine plus cystine). Extrusion reduced significantly true protein digestibility from 97.7% to 93.1% (p < 0.001), but protein digestibility-corrected amino acid scores for both proteins (RBR and EBR) were 100%. Animal growth presented comparable profiles using raw and extruded rumen. In conclusion, thermoplastic extrusion did not affect the protein quality of bovine rumen, and this does not hinder the use of this material as a food ingredient. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. Ail rights reserved.

Effects of processing methods on amaranth starch digestibility and predicted glycemic index

Amaranth has attracted a great deal of interest in recent decades due to its valuable nutritional, functional, and agricultural characteristics. Amaranth seeds can be cooked, popped, roasted, flaked, or extruded for consumption. This study compared the in vitro starch digestibility of processed amaranth seeds to that of white bread. Raw seeds yielded rapidly digestible starch content (RDS) of 30.7% db and predicted glycemic index (pGI) of 87.2, the lowest among the studied products. Cooked, extruded, and popped amaranth seeds had starch digestibility similar to that of white bread (92.4, 91.2, and 101.3, respectively), while flaked and roasted seeds generated a slightly increased glycemic response (106.0 and 105.8, respectively). Cooking and extrusion did not alter the RDS contents of the seeds. No significant differences were observed among popped, flaked, and roasted RDS contents (38.0%,46.3%, and 42.9%, respectively), which were all lower than RDS content of bread (51.1%). Amaranth seed is a high glycemic food most likely because of its small starch granule size, low resistant starch content (< 1%), and tendency to completely lose its crystalline and granular starch structure during those heat treatments.

Fortified food made by the extrusion of a mixture of chickpea, corn and bovine lung controls iron-deficiency anaemia in preschool children

A fortified food that was rich in protein, vitamins and iron made of chickpea, bovine lung and corn was developed with the aim of controlling iron-deficiency anaemia in children from poorer areas. It was tested in Teresina, State of Piaui, Northeastern Brazil, on a population with high anaemia prevalence. Two local daycare units with similar characteristics were selected and the children at one of them received a 30 g pack three times a week, representing a total iron daily intake of 6.96 mg. The other daycare unit was followed as a control. The capillary haemoglobin concentration was determined for the children at both daycare units, at the beginning of the study and after a two-month intervention period. The mean haemoglobin concentration in the test group at the beginning of the intervention was 11.8 g/dL, which increased to 13.1 g/dL at the end of the intervention. In the control group these figures remained practically constant (11.6-11.8 g/dL). These represented a dramatic and significant drop in anaemia prevalence, from 61.5% to 11.5% in the test group, and an insignificant reduction (63.1-57.7%) in the control group. The acceptance of the fortified snack was excellent and no undesirable effects were observed. (C) 2007 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Effect of processing on the antioxidant activity of amaranth grain

Effect of processing on the antioxidant activity of amaranth grain. Amaranth has attracted increasing interest over recent decades because of its nutritional, functional and agricultural characteristics. Amaranth grain can be cooked, popped, toasted, extruded or milled for consumption. This study investigated the effect of these processes on the antioxidant activity of amaranth grain. Total phenolic content and in vitro antioxidant activity were determined according to two methods: inhibition, of lipid oxidation using the beta-carotene/linoleic acid system and the antioxidant activity index using the Rancimat (R) apparatus. The processing reduced the mean total phenolics content in amaranth grain from 31.7 to 22.0 mg of gallic acid equivalent/g of dry residue. It was observed that the ethanol extract from toasted grain was the only one that presented a lower antioxidant activity index compared with the raw grain (1.3 versus 1.7). The extrusion, toasting and popping processes did not change the capacity to inhibit amaranth lipid oxidation (55%). However, cooking increased the inhibition of lipid oxidation (79%), perhaps because of the longer time at high temperatures in this process (100 degrees C/10 min). The most common methods for processing amaranth grain caused reductions in the total phenolics content, although the antioxidant activity of popped and extruded grain, evaluated by the two methods, was similar to that of the raw grain. Both raw and processed amaranth grain presents antioxidant potential. Polyphenols, anthocyanins, flavonoids, tocopherols, vitamin C levels and Maillard reaction products may be related to the antioxidant activity of this grain.

Reduced allergic lung inflammation in rats following formaldehyde exposure: Long-term effects on multiple effector systems

Clinical and experimental evidences show that formaldehyde (FA) exposure has an irritant effect on the upper airways. As being an indoor and outdoor pollutant, FA is known to be a causal factor of occupational asthma. This study aimed to investigate the repercussion of FA exposure on the course of a lung allergic process triggered by an antigen unrelated to FA. For this purpose, male Wistar rats were subjected to FA inhalation for 3 consecutive days (1%, 90-min daily), subsequently sensitized with ovalbumin (OVA)-alum via the intraperitoneal route, and 2 weeks later challenged with aerosolized OVA. The OVA challenge in rats after FA inhalation (FA/OVA group) evoked a low-intensity lung inflammation as indicated by the reduced enumerated number of inflammatory cells in bronchoalveolar lavage as compared to FA-untreated allergic rats (OVA/OVA group). Treatment with FA also reduced the number of bone marrow cells and blood leukocytes in sensitized animals challenged with OVA, which suggests that the effects of FA had not been only localized to the airways. As indicated by passive cutaneous anaphylactic reaction, FA treatment did not impair the anti-OVA IgE synthesis, but reduced the magnitude of OVA challenge-induced mast cell degranulation. Moreover, FA treatment was associated to a diminished lung expression of PECAM-1 (platelet-endothelial cell adhesion molecule 1) in lung endothelial cells after OVA challenge and an exacerbated release of nitrites by BAL-cultured cells. Keeping in mind that rats subjected solely to either FA or OVA challenge were able to significantly increase the cell influx into lung, our study shows that FA inhalation triggers long-lasting effects that affect multiple mediator systems associated to OVA-induced allergic lung such as the reduction of mast cells activation, PECAM-1 expression and exacerbation of NO generation, thereby contributing to the decrease of cell recruitment after the OVA challenge. In conclusion, repeated expositions to air-borne FA may impair the lung cell recruitment after an allergic stimulus, thereby leading to a non-responsive condition against inflammatory stimuli likely those where mast cells are involved. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Road Following Approach Using Artificial Neural Networks Combinations

Navigation is a broad topic that has been receiving considerable attention from the mobile robotic community over the years. In order to execute autonomous driving in outdoor urban environments it is necessary to identify parts of the terrain that can be traversed and parts that should be avoided. This paper describes an analyses of terrain identification based on different visual information using a MLP artificial neural network and combining responses of many classifiers. Experimental tests using a vehicle and a video camera have been conducted in real scenarios to evaluate the proposed approach.

Effects of Extrusion on the Emulsifying Properties of Rumen and Soy Protein

Defatted rumen protein and soy protein concentrate were extruded in a 15.5:1 L/D single-screw extruder at the optimum conditions for their expansion (150A degrees C and 35% moisture, and 130A degrees C and 35% moisture, respectively). Emulsions were produced with these proteins and studied by rheology and time domain low-resolution (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance (TD-NMR). Extrusion increased storage modulus of rumen protein emulsions. The opposite was observed for soy protein. Mechanical relaxation showed the existence of three relaxing components in the emulsions whose relative contributions were changed by extrusion. Likewise, spin-spin relaxation time constants (T (2)) measured by TD-NMR also showed three major distinct populations of protons in respect to their mobility that were also altered by extrusion. Extrusion increased surface hydrophobicity of both rumen and soy protein. Solubility of rumen protein increased with extrusion whereas soy protein had its solubility decreased after processing. Extrusion promoted molecular reorganization of protein, increasing its superficial hydrophobicity, affecting its interfacial properties and improving its emulsifying behavior. The results show that extrusion can promote the use of rumen, a by-product waste from the meat industry, in human nutrition by replacing soy protein in food emulsions.

Environmental formaldehyde analysis by active diffusive sampling with a bundle of polypropylene porous capillaries followed by capillary zone electrophoretic separation and contactless conductivity detection

Compared to other volatile carbonylic compounds present in outdoor air, formaldehyde (CH2O) is the most toxic, deserving more attention in terms of indoor and outdoor air quality legislation and control. The analytical determination of CH2O in air still presents challenges due to the low-level concentration (in the sub-ppb range) and its variation with sampling site and time. Of the many available analytical methods for carbonylic compounds, the most widespread one is the time consuming collection in cartridges impregnated with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine followed by the analysis of the formed hydrazones by HPLC. The present work proposes the use of polypropylene hollow porous capillary fibers to achieve efficient CH2O collection. The Oxyphan (R) fiber (designed for blood oxygenation) was chosen for this purpose because it presents good mechanical resistance, high density of very fine pores and high ratio of collection area to volume of the acceptor fluid in the tube, all favorable for the development of air sampling apparatus. The collector device consists of a Teflon pipe inside of which a bundle of polypropylene microporous capillary membranes was introduced. While the acceptor passes at a low flow rate through the capillaries, the sampled air circulates around the fibers, impelled by a low flow membrane pump (of the type used for aquariums ventilation). The coupling of this sampling technique with the selective and quantitative determination of CH2O, in the form of hydroxymethanesulfonate (HMS) after derivatization with HSO3-, by capillary electrophoresis with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection (CE-(CD)-D-4) enabled the development of a complete analytical protocol for the CH2O evaluation in air. (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier B.V.

A preliminary characterization of the mutagenicity of atmospheric particulate matter collected during sugar cane harvesting using the Salmonella/microsome microsuspension assay

During sugar cane harvesting season, which occurs from May to November of each year, the crops are burnt, cut, and transported to the mills. There are reports showing that mutagenic activity and PAH content increase during harvesting season in some areas of Sao Paulo State in comparison with nonharvesting periods. The objective of this work was to preliminarily characterize the mutagenic activity of the total organic extracts as well as corresponding organic fractions of airborne particulate matter (PM) collected twice from two cities, Araraquara (ARQ) and Piracicaba (PRB), during sugar cane harvesting season using the Salmonella/microsome microssuspension assay. One sample collected in Sao Paulo metropolitan area was also included. The mutagenicity of the total extracts ranged from 55 to 320 revertants per cubic meter without the addition of S9 and from not detected to 57 revertants per cubic meter in the presence of S9 in areas with sugar cane plantations. Of the three fractions analyzed, the most polar ones (nitro and oxy) were the most potent. A comparison of the response of TA98 with YG1041 and the increased potencies without S9 indicated that nitro compounds are causing the observed effect. More studies are necessary to verify the sources of the mutagenic activity such as burning of vegetal biomass and combustion of heavy duty vehicles used to transport the sugar cane to the mills. The Salmonella/microsome assay can be an important tool to monitor the atmosphere for mutagenicity during sugar cane harvesting season.

Cassava wastewater as a substrate for the simultaneous production of rhamnolipids and polyhydroxyalkanoates by Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Glycerol, cassava wastewater (CW), waste cooking oil and CW with waste frying oils were evaluated as alternative low-cost carbon substrates for the production of rhamnolipids and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) by various Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains. The polymers and surfactants produced were characterized by gas chromatography-mass spectrophotometry (MS) and by high-performance liquid chromatography-MS, and their composition was found to vary with the carbon source and the strain used in the fermentation. The best overall production of rhamnolipids and PHAs was obtained with CW with frying oil as the carbon source, with PHA production corresponding to 39% of the cell dry weight and rhamnolipid production being 660 mg l(-1). Under these conditions, the surface tension of the culture decreased to 30 mN m(-1), and the critical micelle concentration was 26.5 mg l(-1). It would appear that CW with frying oil has the highest potential as an alternative substrate, and its use may contribute to a reduction in the overall environmental impact generated by discarding such residues.

Motion Detection for Video Surveillance

This thesis is related to the broad subject of automatic motion detection and analysis in videosurveillance image sequence. Besides, proposing the new unique solution, some of the previousalgorithms are evaluated, where some of the approaches are noticeably complementary sometimes.In real time surveillance, detecting and tracking multiple objects and monitoring their activities inboth outdoor and indoor environment are challenging task for the video surveillance system. Inpresence of a good number of real time problems limits scope for this work since the beginning. Theproblems are namely, illumination changes, moving background and shadow detection.An improved background subtraction method has been followed by foreground segmentation, dataevaluation, shadow detection in the scene and finally the motion detection method. The algorithm isapplied on to a number of practical problems to observe whether it leads us to the expected solution.Several experiments are done under different challenging problem environment. Test result showsthat under most of the problematic environment, the proposed algorithm shows the better qualityresult.

Elevers uppfattningar av vad man bör uppnå efter avslutad kurs i Idrott och Hälsa A : En studie av två gymnasieskolor i årskurs 2 – ett elevperspektiv

The purpose of this work is to see if the students, on two separate high schools, understand what skills you should achieve after completing the course in physical education and health A 100 points. The entire study is based on a student perspective. In order to best answer the purpose, the questionnaire used in the "available groups" in schools. The questions for the work are: To what extent and how students perceive what they should achieve after completing the course in Sport and Health A?, Which is the goal, based on the curriculum in Physical Education, that students feel are important to achieve? and how do a comparison like between these two schools on the basis of what students perceive that they must achieve in Sport and Health A?The result shows that the main goal that finds support in the course objectives is an assertion; Has knowledge of what to eat to maintain or improve health, which over 90% of students had checked in. The least important goal was the claim 14; Know woods and fields and carry out outdoor activities, as 30% of students had checked in. The most important goal that does not find support in the course objectives is claim 10; to be reversed to the lessons, which was 88% in response rate among students. Here was the least important goal, claim 6; to be skilled in various ball games, which received 17% of student responses. The findings revealed that there is a clear health perspective in physical education in the studied groups at the two schools, one can also see that there is an uneven distribution of the elements included in the curriculum of Sport and Health A, and the outdoor life and dance is rare in the teaching of the groups studied at the two schools. Finally, it appeared that the lesson content and teaching are likely to have a significant role in student perceptions of course goals.

Hur ett företag kan uppmärksammas genom en grafisk profil och en gerillamarknadsföring

The purpose of this thesis was to create a visual identity to the café Trädgårdscafét. This was to increase the awareness of the cafe among the population of Borlänge. To make the company's visual identity visible, we also organized a guerrilla marketing. The outcome of the guerrilla marketing were then measured by calculating the number of guests during a certain period of time and also through a survey conducted in Borlänge.Graphic material, such as a graphic identity, business cards, feel good-cards, store signs, standing information folders to place on the tables and pavement board was created. Flyers and posters were also created for the guerrilla marketing. The basis for this was established in the study of literature, focus groups and surveys. We also kept a regular and open contact with the café owners throughout the project.In a similar procedure a broad knowledge about guerrilla marketing was gathered in order to be able to arrange one our selves.The guerrilla marketing was held for one day in the city of Borlänge. To attract attention, groups of outdoor furniture, decorated with green plants, were placed at different locations, while six marketers handed out flyers and spread information about the café. The guerrilla marketing resulted in that the café's customers grew by nearly twice as many on the day of the guerrilla. Surveys made before and after the guerrilla showed that the awareness of the café grew.