Characterisation of sweetpotato from Papua New Guinea and Australia: Physicochemical, pasting and gelatinisation properties.

The physicochemical and functional properties of flours from 25 Papua New Guinean and Australian sweetpotato cultivars were evaluated. The cultivars (white-, orange-, cream-, and purple-fleshed, and with dry matter, from 15 to 28 g/100 g), were obovate, oblong, elliptic, curved, irregular in shape, and essentially thin-cortexed (1-2 mm). Flour yield was less than 90 g/100 g solids, while starch, protein, amylose, water absorption and solubility indices, as well as total sugars, varied significantly (p < 0.05). Potassium, sodium, calcium, and phosphorus were the major minerals measured, and there were differences in the pasting properties, which showed four classes of shear-thinning and shear-thickening behaviours. Differential scanning calorimetry showed single-stage gelatinisation behaviour, with cultivar-dependent temperatures (61-84 degrees C) and enthalpies (12-27 J/g dry starch). Oval-, round- and angular-shaped granules were observed with a scanning electron microscope, while X-ray diffraction revealed an A-type diffraction pattern in the cultivars, with about 30% crystallinity. This study shows a wide range of sweetpotato properties, reported for the first time.

Thermal and pasting properties of cassava starch-dehydrated orange pulp blends

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Effect of addition of different hydrocolloids on pasting, thermal, and rheological properties of cassava starch

Amidos e gomas são hidrocoloides frequentemente usados em sistemas alimentícios com a finalidade de fornecer textura, umidade e mobilidade de água. A interação amido-goma em sistemas alimentícios pode alterar o inchamento do grânulo de amido e as suas propriedades de gelatinização e reológicas. Neste trabalho, o efeito da adição de goma xantana (GX), carboximetilcelulose sódica (CMC) e carragena (CAR) nas concentrações de 0,15, 0,25, 0,35 e 0,45% (p/v) sobre as propriedades de pasta, térmicas e reológicas do amido de mandioca foi estudado. O Poder de inchamento (PI) e a Microscopia Eletrônica de Varredura (MEV) dos géis de amido também foram avaliados. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que a GX apresentou forte interação com o amido, penetrando entre os grânulos e provocando aumento das viscosidades de pasta, PI, G' e G, e redução da retrogradação do amido; CMCS aumentou as viscosidades de pasta, PI, G' e G das misturas, principalmente em função da sua maior capacidade de reter água, e não por causa da interação com o amido; CAR não modificou qualquer das propriedades do amido, porque não houve nenhuma interação entre essa goma e o amido de mandioca nas concentrações usadas.

Approximate clone detection in repositories of business process models

Evidence exists that repositories of business process models used in industrial practice contain significant amounts of duplication. This duplication may stem from the fact that the repository describes variants of the same pro- cesses and/or because of copy/pasting activity throughout the lifetime of the repository. Previous work has put forward techniques for identifying duplicate fragments (clones) that can be refactored into shared subprocesses. However, these techniques are limited to finding exact clones. This paper analyzes the prob- lem of approximate clone detection and puts forward two techniques for detecting clusters of approximate clones. Experiments show that the proposed techniques are able to accurately retrieve clusters of approximate clones that originate from copy/pasting followed by independent modifications to the copied fragments.

Detecting approximate clones in business process model repositories

Empirical evidence shows that repositories of business process models used in industrial practice contain significant amounts of duplication. This duplication arises for example when the repository covers multiple variants of the same processes or due to copy-pasting. Previous work has addressed the problem of efficiently retrieving exact clones that can be refactored into shared subprocess models. This article studies the broader problem of approximate clone detection in process models. The article proposes techniques for detecting clusters of approximate clones based on two well-known clustering algorithms: DBSCAN and Hi- erarchical Agglomerative Clustering (HAC). The article also defines a measure of standardizability of an approximate clone cluster, meaning the potential benefit of replacing the approximate clones with a single standardized subprocess. Experiments show that both techniques, in conjunction with the proposed standardizability measure, accurately retrieve clusters of approximate clones that originate from copy-pasting followed by independent modifications to the copied fragments. Additional experiments show that both techniques produce clusters that match those produced by human subjects and that are perceived to be standardizable.

Role of heat treatment in the processing and quality of oat flakes

This thesis reports on investigations into the influence of heat treatment on the manufacturing of oat flakes. Sources of variation in the oat flake quality are reviewed, including the whole chain from the farm to the consumer. The most important quality parameters of oat flakes are the absence of lipid hydrolysing enzymes, specific weight, thickness, breakage (fines), water absorption. Flavour, colour and pasting properties are also important, but were not included in the experimental part of this study. Of particular interest was the role of heat processing. The first possible heat treatment may occur already during grain drying, which in Finland generally happens at the farm. At the mill, oats are often kilned to stabilise the product by inactivating lipid hydrolysing enzymes. Almost invariably steaming is used during flaking, to soften the groats and reduce flake breakage. This thesis presents the use of a material science approach to investigating a complex system, typical of food processes. A combination of fundamental and empirical rheological measurements was used together with a laboratory scale process to simulate industrial processing. The results were verified by means of industrial trials. Industrially produced flakes at three thickness levels (nominally 0.75, 0.85 and 0.90 mm) were produced from kilned and unkilned oat groats, and the flake strength was measured at different moisture contents. Kilning was not found to significantly affect the force required to puncture a flake with a 2mm cylindrical probe, which was taken as a measure of flake strength. To further investigate how heat processing contributes to flake quality, dynamic mechanical analysis was used to characterise the effect of heat on the mechanical properties of oats. A marked stiffening of the groat, of up to about 50% increase in storage modulus, was observed during first heating at around 36 to 57°C. This was also observed in tablets prepared from ground groats and extracted oat starch. This stiffening was thus attributed to increased adhesion between starch granules. Groats were steamed in a laboratory steamer and were tempered in an oven at 80 110°C for 30 90 min. The maximum force required to compress the steamed groats to 50% strain increased from 50.7 N to 57.5 N as the tempering temperature was increased from 80 to 110°C. Tempering conditions also affected water absorption. A significantly higher moisture content was observed for kilned (18.9%) compared to unkilned (17.1%) groats, but otherwise had no effect on groat height, maximum force or final force after a 5 s relaxation time. Flakes were produced from the tempered groats using a laboratory flaking machine, using a roll gap of 0.4 mm. Apart from specific weight, flake properties were not influenced by kilning. Tempering conditions however had significant effects on the specific weight, thickness and water absorption of the flakes, as well as on the amount of fine material (<2 mm) produced during flaking. Flake strength correlated significantly with groat strength and flake thickness. Trial flaking at a commercial mill confirmed that groat temperature after tempering influenced water absorption. Variation in flake strength was observed , but at the groat temperatures required to inactivate lipase, it was rather small. Cold flaking of groats resulted in soft, floury flakes. The results presented in this thesis suggest that heating increased the adhesion between starch granules. This resulted in an increase in the stiffness and brittleness of the groat. Brittle fracture, rather than plastic flow, during flaking could result in flaws and cracks in the flake. These would be expected to increase water absorption. This was indeed observed as tempering temperature increased. Industrial trials, conducted with different groat temperatures, confirmed the main findings of the laboratory experiments. The approach used in the present study allowed the systematic study of the effect of interacting process parameters on product quality. There have been few scientific studies of oat processing, and these results can be used to understand the complex effects of process variables on flake quality. They also offer an insight into what happens as the oat groat is deformed into a flake.

Characterisation of grain quality in diverse sorghum germplasm using a Rapid Visco-Analyzer and near infrared reflectance spectroscopy

BACKGROUND: Twenty-two diverse sorghum landraces, classified as normal and opaque types obtained from Ethiopia, were characterised for grain quality parameters using near infra-red spectroscopy (NIRS), chemical and Rapid Visco-Analyzer (RVA) characteristics. RESULTS: Protein content ranged from 77 to 182 g kg-1, and starch content from 514 to 745 g kg(-1). The NIRS analysis indicated the pig faecal digestible energy range from 14.6 to 15.7MJ kg(-1) as fed, and the ileal digestible energy range from 11.3 to 13.9MJ kg(-1) as fed. The normal sorghums had higher digestible energy than the opaque sorghums, which exhibited lower RVA viscosities, and higher pasting temperatures and setback ratios. The RVA parameterswere positively correlated with the starch content and negatively correlated with the protein content. The normal and opaque types formed two distinct groups based on principal component and cluster analyses. CONCLUSION: The landraces were different for the various grain quality parameters with some landraces displaying unique RVA and NIRS profiles. This study will guide utilisation of the sorghum landraces in plant improvement programs, and provides a basis for further studies into how starch and other constituents behave in and affect the properties of these landraces. (C) 2011 Society of Chemical Industry

On resampling detection and its application to detect image tampering

Usually digital image forgeries are created by copy-pasting a portion of an image onto some other image. While doing so, it is often necessary to resize the pasted portion of the image to suit the sampling grid of the host image. The resampling operation changes certain characteristics of the pasted portion, which when detected serves as a clue of tampering. In this paper, we present deterministic techniques to detect resampling, and localize the portion of the image that has been tampered with. Two of the techniques are in pixel domain and two others in frequency domain. We study the efficacy of our techniques against JPEG compression and subsequent resampling of the entire tampered image.

糯小麦杂交后代的基因型鉴定及Wx基因的效应研究

糯小麦在食品加工业、淀粉加工业及其它工业上有着重要用途，是近年来许多国家小麦研究的重要课题。国外糯小麦选育尚未突破高产与糯性相结合的难点，国内目前还没有培育出高蛋白强筋型的糯小麦品种，这在一定程度上与缺乏合适的育种方法和高效、实用的糯小麦分子标记辅助育种技术有关。国内外对Wx基因效应的研究主要利用缺体－四体系、重组自交系或近等基因系，还未见有利用遗传背景相同的BC5F2代回交改良群体的报道。 糯性位点近等基因系是小麦淀粉品质育种的重要材料，而我国目前还没有一套中国栽培小麦遗传背景的糯性位点近等基因系。为了选育部分糯小麦、全糯小麦和中国栽培小麦遗传背景的糯性位点近等基因系，我们利用Wx蛋白电泳和高效实用的分子标记技术体系来鉴定糯小麦杂交后代的基因型，结果证明该体系能有效地用于糯小麦的分子标记辅助育种。以中国春糯性位点全套近等基因系为研究材料，对小麦Wx基因的6个STS标记和1个CAPS标记进行了筛选，改良PCR扩增条件以及产物检测方式后，从这些标记中筛选出3个标记，包括鉴定Wx-A1、Wx-D1位点的2个共显性STS标记和Wx-B1位点的1个显性STS标记。利用上述3个分子标记从BC5F2 代回交改良群体中筛选出了8种Wx基因型，经卡方检验，其分离比符合3对基因的分离比例，其中基因型为aabbdd的植株有2株，直链淀粉含量分别为1.81%和0.82%，为全糯小麦；基因型为AAbbdd，aabbDD的部分糯性植株各有1株，直链淀粉含量分别为15.24%和17.57%。以上4株植株的农艺性状和品质性状接近回交亲本“川育12”，并明显优于全糯材料“98Y1441”，表明采用回交法与Wx基因分子标记辅助选择相结合，有助于培育高产、优质的全糯和部分糯小麦。同时，本研究中建立的分子标记技术体系，也为选育具有中国栽培小麦遗传背景的糯性位点近等基因系奠定了基础。 在基因型鉴定的基础上，利用糯小麦杂交后代BC5F2代回交改良群体研究了各基因缺失降低直链淀粉含量的效果和各基因合成直链淀粉的能力，以及直链淀粉含量与农艺性状、品质性状、淀粉糊化特性等的相关性。缺失不同Wx基因的8种基因型，直链淀粉含量差异显著。研究单缺失基因型发现，减少效应最大的是Wx-B1b基因，Wx-B1b和Wx-D1b基因没有显著差异，减少效应最小的是Wx-A1b基因。研究双缺失基因型发现，Wx基因合成直链淀粉的能力，Wx-B1a基因最高，Wx-A1a基因最低，而Wx-B1a和Wx-D1a基因差异很小；直链淀粉含量与株高、穗长、小穗数、穗粒数、千粒重等农艺性状相关不显著，表明淀粉品质育种可以与高产育种实现有机结合；直链淀粉含量与SDS-沉降值呈显著负相关(r=-0.726)，说明直链淀粉含量降低在一定程度上有利于提高小麦营养与加工品质，这一结果至今未见有文献报道；全糯类型的淀粉糊化特性与其他类型显著不同，具有最高的峰值粘度和稀懈值，最低的低谷粘度、最终粘度、反弹值、峰值时间、糊化温度、起始糊化温度，表明糯小麦淀粉在食品和工业上具有特殊用途；稀懈值与直链淀粉含量呈极显著负相关(r=-0.969)，其他粘度参数与直链淀粉含量呈显著正相关(最终粘度r=0.797，低谷粘度r=0.910、反弹值r=0.954、峰值时间r=0.970、糊化温度r=0.962、起始糊化温度r=0.932)。以上结论可为糯小麦品种选育和淀粉品质改良提供理论依据。 Waxy wheat is very important in food processing industry, starch processing industry and the other industries, so it is a focus of wheat research in many countries these years. Foreign wheat breeders have not conquered the difficulty of high yield combined with waxy character, and there is no waxy wheat variety with high protein and strong gluten in China at present，all of which were caused by lacking proper breeding methods and effective, applied molecular markers-assisted selection technique at a certain extent. Until now, research about the effect of waxy genes mainly depended on nullisomic-tetrasomic lines, recombinant lines or near-isogenic lines, and it is lacking the reports of using improved BC5F2 backcross progenies under the common genetic background. Near-isogenic lines at the Wx loci are important materials for wheat starch quality breeding. However, there are no such lines under the Chinese cultivated wheat genetic background. To develop partial waxy wheats, waxy wheats and near-isogenic lines at the Wx loci under the Chinese cultivated wheat genetic background, we use SDS-PAGE of waxy proteins and effective, applied molecular marker-assisted selection technical system to identify the genotype of waxy wheat’s progenies. The results indicated that such a system is applicable in waxy wheat’s molecular marker-assisted selection effectively. A series of Chinese Spring Wx loci near-isogenic lines were used to identify the specific bands of six STS markers and one CAPS marker of Wx genes. After optimizing PCR amplification and separating of PCR products, three co-dominant and dominant STS-markers were identified at the Wx-A1, Wx-D1 and Wx-B1 loci, respectively, which were used to identify the genotype of waxy wheat’s progenies. Eight Wx genotypes were developed from the improved BC5F2 backcross progenies, which follows Mendelian segregation. Among them, there were two aabbdd waxy plants whose amylose content in the BC5F3 seeds were 1.81% and 0.82%, respectively. In addition, there were partial waxy plants (AAbbdd and aabbDD) whose amylose content in the BC5F3 seeds were 15.24 % and 17.57%, respectively. Most agronomic and quality traits of these four plants resembled those of the recurrent parent “Chuanyu 12”, and superior to waxy wheat parent “98Y1441”. This shows that backcross approach in combination with molecular marker-assisted selection of waxy genes is helpful to develop partial and full waxy wheat with good traits in the waxy wheat breeding program. At the same time, molecular marker-assisted selection technical system in this paper, also establish the base for breeding the near-isogenic lines at the Wx loci under the Chinese cultivated wheat genetic background. According to the results of genotype identification, we use waxy wheat’s improved BC5F2 backcross progenies to verify the effects of null alleles on reducing amylose content and determine the amylose synthesis capacity of each Wx gene independently, and investigate the relativity among amylose content with agonomic traits, quality traits, starch pasting properties respectively. There was significant difference in amylose content of the eight genotypes carrying different null Wx alleles. The reducing effect of the single null alleles was the most significant in Wx-B1b, followed by Wx-D1b and Wx-A1b, and there was no significant difference between Wx-B1b and Wx-D1b. The results of the double null lines further demonstrated that for the capacity of amylose synthesis, Wx-B1a was the highest, followed by Wx-D1a and Wx-A1a, and there was no significant difference between Wx-B1a and Wx-D1a. Amylose contents of the eight genotypes were not significantly correlated with plant height, spike length, spikelets per spike, grains per spike, 1000-grain weight, which showed that starch quality breeding could integrate with high yield breeding. Amylose contents of the eight genotypes were negatively significantly correlated with SDS-sedimentation value(r=-0.726), which suggested that reduction in amylose content is propitious to improve quality at a certain extent. Starch pasting properties of the full waxy type was significantly different from the other seven types, with the highest peak viscosity and breakdown, and lowest valley viscosity, final viscosity, setback, peak time, pasting temperature and starting pasting temperature. It indicated that waxy wheat starch has special use in food and industry. Breakdown was negatively significantly correlated with amylose contents (r=-0.969), and the other parameters were positively significantly correlated with amylose contents (r=0.797 for final viscosity, r=0.910 for trough viscosity, r =0.954 for setback, r =0.970 for peak time, r=0.962 for pasting temperature and r=0.932 for starting pasting temperature ). The results of the study are very useful for waxy wheat variety breeding and starch quality improvement.

青藏高原青稞淀粉资源的评价

青稞（Hordeum vulgare L.var．nudum Hook．f.），即裸大麦，是兼食用、饲用和酿造于一体的作物，有着重要的利用价值。淀粉是青稞籽粒中含量最多、最重要的碳水化合物，淀粉含量、直支淀粉比将会直接影响淀粉的功能特性，进而影响淀粉的应用领域。我国青藏高原青稞的栽培和食用历史悠久，特色青稞资源极其丰富。目前关于青藏高原青稞淀粉特性的报道还不多见，筛选和培育特色淀粉青稞利于拓展青稞的应用领域, 从而提高其经济价值。 本研究以114份青藏高原青稞品种(系)为实验材料，通过SDS-PAGE对材料的胚乳淀粉颗粒结合蛋白（SGAPs）进行分离，确定各蛋白的分子量大小、组合类型和多态性等。然后按照国标法测试材料的籽粒总淀粉含量和直链淀粉含量，通过微型糊化粘度仪分析相应的淀粉糊化特性，最后使用显微镜观察比较了青稞的淀粉颗粒形态特征。主要结果如下： 1、114种青稞中共分离出20种不同的SGAP条带，条带分子量为35.00～112.39 KDa，分布频率为12.28～97.37%。材料含有的SGAPs条带数从10到14不等，超过一半的材料含11种SGAP条带。20种条带形成16种组合类型，其中西藏地区青稞包含所有16个组合类型，四川地区青稞包含其中12个组合类型。青藏高原青稞籽粒淀粉颗粒结合蛋白的差异很大，遗传多样性丰富。 2、114份青稞的总淀粉含量、直链淀粉含量、直支淀粉比、峰值粘度、糊化温度和峰值温度的变幅分别为51.26～66.70%、14.64～29.74%、0.17～0.42、194～1135BU、58.8～65.2℃和81.4～92.4℃，相应的平均值分别为59.82%、23.60%、0.31、722.30BU、62.1℃和88.8℃。群体在总淀粉含量、直链淀粉含量、直支淀粉比、峰值粘度、糊化温度和峰值温度上的分布具有明显的正态性；所有胚乳淀粉体的淀粉粒都呈复粒结构。对西藏和四川的材料进行了分组比较， 两地区的青稞在直链淀粉含量和直支淀粉比上的差异达到显著水平。 3、筛选出18份具有特殊淀粉特性的青稞品种，其中5份材料的总淀粉含量超过65%，包括NB63-1、NB67、甘孜白六棱、98221-1和NB63；3份材料的直链淀粉含量大于29%，包括藏青85、藏青3号和喜马拉6号；8份材料的直支淀粉比小于0.25，包括99033-6、春青稞、阿坝330、Jan-03、米麦114、396、NB63-1和92013；7份材料的糊化温度低于60℃，同时材料的峰值粘度大于1000BU,并且峰值温度低于90℃，包括足捉春、Jan-03、阿坝330、米麦114、春青稞、20003和阿青5号。 4、各淀粉特性间存在高度相关性。直链淀粉含量和直支淀粉比与糊化温度成极显著正相关，与峰值粘度成极显著负相关，与A型淀粉粒数量和大小呈负相关。不同SGAPs组合的品种之间，淀粉含量和淀粉糊化特性间差异均达显著水平。SGAP2、SGAP5、SGAP6和SGAP7可能对籽粒直链淀粉含量、直支淀粉比和糊化温度有正向效应；SGAP3、SGAP9∼SGAP20可能对峰值粘度有正向效应。 本研究对青藏高原青稞淀粉资源进行了较为全面的评价，对该区青稞淀粉特性有了系统的认识。研究筛选出的特殊青稞品种可作为青稞育种和青稞淀粉工业应用的潜在资源，淀粉特性差异巨大的众多青稞品种也为拓宽青稞应用领域提供了丰富的资源保障。本研究对部分SGAPs在性质上的鉴定和功能上的初步推断为青稞材料的筛选提供了指导，也为品质育种提供了理论参考。 Hulless barley (naked barley, Hordeum vulgare L.) is a short- season, early maturing crop with a wide range of adaptation. It has been attracting more and more attention due to its superior nutrition and extensive industrial applications. Starch is the main ingredient in hulless barley seeds which makes up 65 percent of hulless barley’s dry weight. The ratio of the amylose/amylopectin and the size, shape, distribution of starch granules can affect the physico-chemical and functional properties of starch, which may turn affect its utilizations. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which is located in southwestern China, is a typical area of vertical agricultural ecosystem and one of the barley origin centers with abundant hulless barley resources. There are little reports about hulless barley in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau at present. To screen and cultivate some characteristic hulless barley can improve its value. An improved SDS-PAGE was used to identify SGAPs combination of 114 hulless barley varieties. Starch content (total starch and amylose starch) was determined according to the standard methods GB5006-85 and GB/T 15683 using PerkinElmer M341 Precision Automatic Polarimeter and UV spectrophotometer 755B respectively. The pasting properties were measured by BRABENDER Micrio Visco-Amylo- Graph 803201. The morphology of starch granules were observed and compared with Axioplan 2 Imaging light microscopy. The following were the results obtained: 1. There were 20 major SGAPs presented in 114 varieties, with the molecular weight ranged from 35.00 to 112.39 KDa, and the frequencies ranged from 12.28% to 97.37%. The number of SGAP bands in each accession varied from 10 to 14, more than half of the population had 11 bands. There were 16 distinct SGAP patterns in the 114 varieties, the Tibet hulless barley had all of the 16 types and the Sichuan hulless barley had 12 types. The results indicated the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau hulless barley had a polymorphism of the SGAPs. 2. The ranges of the total starch content, amylose content, Am/Ap, peak viscosity, pasting temperature and peak temperature of the 114 hulless barley were 51.26～66.70%,14.64～29.74%,0.17～0.42,194～1135BU,58.8～65.2 and 81.4℃～92.4, with an average of ℃59.82%, 23.60%, 0.31, 722.30BU, 62.1 and 88.8,℃℃ respectively. The distributions of the total starch content, amylose content, Am/Ap, peak viscosity, pasting temperature and peak temperature were visibly normal school. All of the amyloplasts in endosperm of varieties showed bimodal size distributions.The main starch properties of hulless barley from Tibet and Sichuan were separated and compared, the differences on amylose content and Am/Ap were obvious. 3. Eighteen accessions which had special starch properties were screened out. Five accessions with total starch content beyond 65%, including NB63-1, NB67, Ganzibailiuleng, 98221-1 and NB63; three accessions, Zangqing85, Zangqing3 and Ximala6, with the highest amylose content (>29%); five accessions with Am/Ap less than 0.25, including 99033-6, Chun Qingke, A Ba 330, Jan-03, Mi Mai114, 396, NB63-1 and 92013; seven accessions had a pasting temperature under 60, ℃meanwhile their peak viscosity beyond 1000BU and their peak temperature under 90℃，including Zu Cuochun, Jan-03, A Ba 330, Mi Mai 114, Chun Qingke, 20003 and A Qing 5. 4. There were high correlations between starch properties. Amylose content and Am/Ap were positively correlated to pasting temperature, negatively correlated to peak viscosity, negatively correlated to the number and granule size of A-type granule. Different SGAP combinations caused significant diversities in starch content and pasting properties. SGAP2, SGAP5, SGAP6 and SGAP7 may have positive effect on amylose content, Am/Ap and pasting temperature; SGAP3, SGAP9∼SGAP20 may have positive effect on peak viscosity. Our research made a comprehensive evaluation on the hulless barley starch from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, we can get a systemic understanding. Some special accessions were screened out can be used on the hulless barley breeding lines and industries utilization.The combination of the SGAPs may become a criterion to evaluate the hulless barley endosperm starch quality. Consequently, the results will be good information for further studies on the hulless barley.

聚合物电解质膜燃料电池(PEMFC)薄电极的制备

聚合物电解质膜燃料电池(PEMFC)由于具有能量转换效率高、无噪声、无污染、灵活性大等特点及其广阔的应用前景,现已成为国际性的研究热点之一。然而,PEMFC的实际应用还存在许多问题,其中一个重要问题是电极中所采用的催化剂绝大多数为金属铂。由于铂的价格昂贵,资源有限,故使PEMFC的成本居高不下。为了减少电极的铂载量、提高铂的利用效率,人们先后发展了涂膏法(Pasting)、浇铸法(Cast-

JUSTEIS: JISC Usage Surveys: Trends in Electronic Information Services Final report 2003/2004 Cycle Five

Urquhart, C., Spink, S., Thomas, R., Yeoman, A., Durbin, J., Turner, J., Fenton, R. & Armstrong, C. (2004). JUSTEIS: JISC Usage Surveys: Trends in Electronic Information Services Final report 2003/2004 Cycle Five. Aberystwyth: Department of Information Studies, University of Wales Aberystwyth. Sponsorship: JISC

Development of food ingredients for modulation of glycemia

Starches are a source of digestible carbohydrate and are frequently used in formulated food products in the presence of other carbohydrates, proteins and fat. This thesis explored the effect of addition of neutral (Konjac glucomannan) or charged (milk proteins) polymers on the physical characteristics and digestion kinetics of waxy maize starch. The aim was to identify mechanisms to modulate the pasting properties and subsequent susceptibility to amylolytic digestion. Addition of αs- or β-caseinate protein fractions to waxy maize starch restricted granular swelling during gelatinisation, increasing granule integrity. It was shown that, while β-caseinate can adsorb to starch granules during pasting, αscaseinate can be absorbed into maize starch granules. The resultant effect was a reduction in granule size after heating, more intact granules and a subsequent decrease in starch digestion in vitro as determined by analysis of reducing sugars. The ability of αs-caseinate to reduce the level of amylolytic digestion was confirmed through in vivo pig (Teagasc, Moorepark) and human (University of Surrey, UK) trials. The scope of the thesis extended to the development of a new automated cell for attachment to a rheometer to measure digestion kinetics of starch-protein mixtures. In conclusion, the thesis offers new approaches to modulation of the physical characteristics of unmodified starch during gelatinisation and suggests that the type of protein and/or polysaccharide used in starch-based food systems may influence the ability of the food to modulate glycemia. This is an important consideration in the design of foods with positive health benefits.

Characterisation and application of fruit by-products as novel ingredients in gluten-free products

The physicochemical and nutritional properties of two fruit by-products were initially studied. Apple pomace (AP) contained a high level of fibre and pectin. The isolated AP pectin had a high level of methylation which developed viscous pastes. Orange pomace also had high levels of fibre and pectin, and it was an abundant source of minerals such as potassium and magnesium. Due to the fibrous properties of orange pomace flour, proofing and water addition were studied in a bread formulation. When added at levels greater than 6%, the loaf volume decreased. An optimised formulation and proofing time was derived using the optimisation tool; these consisted of 5.5% orange pomace, 94.6% water inclusion and with 49 minutes proofing. These optimised parameters doubled the total dietary fibre content of the bread compared to the original control. Pasting results showed how orange pomace inclusions reduced the final viscosity of the batter, reducing the occurrence of starch gelatinisation. Rheological properties i.e. the storage modulus (G') and complex modulus (G*) increased in the orange pomace batter compared to the control batter. This demonstrates how the orange pomace as an ingredient improved the robustness of the formulation. Sensory panellists scored the orange pomace bread comparably to the control bread. Milled apple pomace was studied as a potential novel ingredient in an extruded snack. Parameters studied included apple pomace addition, die head temperature and screw speed. As screw speed increased the favourable extrudate characteristics such as radical expansion ratio, porosity and specific volume decreased. The inclusion of apple pomace had a negative effect on extrudate characteristics at levels greater than 8% addition. Including apple pomace reduced the hardness and increased the crispiness of the snack. The optimised and validated formulation and extrusion process contained the following parameters: 7.7% apple pomace, 150°C die head temperature and a screw speed of 69 rpm.

Handwritten undergraduate case reports

Background: This article describes a 'back to the future' approach to case 'write-ups', with medical students producing handwritten instead of word-processed case reports during their clinical placements. Word-processed reports had been found to have a number of drawbacks, including the inappropriate use of 'cutting and pasting', undue length and lack of focus. Method: We developed a template to be completed by hand, based on the hospital 'clerking-in process', and matched this to a new assessment proforma. An electronic survey was conducted of both students and assessors after the first year of operation to evaluate impact and utility. Results: The new template was well received by both students and assessors. Most students said they preferred handwriting the case reports (55.6%), although a significant proportion (44.4%) preferred the word processor. Many commented that the template enabled them to effectively learn the structure of a case history and to improve their history-taking skills. Most assessors who had previously marked case reports felt the new system represented an improvement. The average time spent marking each report fell from 23.56 to 16.38minutes using the new proforma. Discussion: Free text comments from the survey have led to the development of a more flexible case report template better suited to certain specialties (e.g. dermatology). This is an evolving process and there will be opportunities for further adaptation as electronic medical records become more common in hospital. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2012.