Fabrication of textured functional ingredient based on apple: Sesame by-product

The search for new sources of fortified components from low-cost and sustainable sources has become a trend in the last decade. Food byproducts containing valuable bioactive compounds such as dietary fiber, protein, and phytochemicals are being used as substrates for obtaining beneficial components that can promote health. Extrusion is an efficient technology for converting food by-products into nutrient-rich food ingredients. The objective of this work was to optimize the extrusion process to obtain the best combination of moisture content (14, 18 and 22%) and screw speed (SS) (120,150 and180 rpm), apple pomace (AP): semi-defatted sesame cake (SDSC) blends (25:75, 50:50 and 75:25 w/w) to fabricate textured functional ingredients (TFI) with high values of expansion ratio (ER), water absorption index (WAI), brightness level, total phenolic compounds (TPC) and antioxidant activity (AA) and lower hardness based on a central composite design. The optimal treatment was determined at 176 rpm SS, 18% moisture content and a ratio of (75:25) AP: SDSC. The desirability value has indicated an appropriate match between the predicted and the observed response. TFI exhibited higher soluble dietary fiber fraction (WAI) values and lower plate count values during 30 days of storage compared to the unprocessed by-product, suggesting that TFI could be successfully used for the manufacture of innovative, high quality products such as porridge, beverages, cookies, soups and others that could provide health benefits based on the values obtained.

Optimization of the extrusion parameters for the production of lentil-quinoa extrudates enriched with pumpkin

This study aimed to develop a protein-fiber-rich extruded product based on yellow lentil, quinoa, and pumpkin flours. The final product quality is affected by formulation and extrusion parameters. Therefore, the effect of the pumpkin-flour ratio (A: 25-75%) and feed moisture content (C: 14-22%) besides barrel screw speed (B: 120-180 rpm) on the physical attributes of extrudates was investigated. Box-Behnken experimental design and stepwise-response surface method were used to analyze the effects of various process variables and ingredients on extrudates. The pumpkin-flour ratio had a significant positive correlation with bulk density (BD), water solubility index (WSI), and oil absorption index. Whereas the correlation between pumpkin-flour ratio with hardness, porosity, expansion ratio (ER), and water absorption index (WAI) was negative (P < 0.05). The feed moisture content positively affected the water activity (aw) and WAI and negatively affected the harness of samples (P < 0.05). The screw speed had a positive effect on ER, porosity, and WSI, whereas it negatively influenced the hardness, BD, and aw. By increasing the pumpkin-flour ratio, air cell size and wall thickness of samples had been decreased. The results showed that 44.2% pumpkin flour, 22% feed moisture, and 172.1 rpm screw speed gave an optimized product. There was no significant difference between predicted and experimental values (except for ER). The optimized snack was a good source of fiber (around 15%), protein (17.3%), and antioxidants (TPC = 15.28 mg GAE.g-1 and antiradical scavenging activity (DPPH) = 33.66%). The caloric value of the optimized snack was 362.6 cal.100g-1. The current formulation can be considered as the base of snack food or plant-based meat alternatives.

Production of the probiotic dessert containing sprouted quinoa milk and evaluation of physicochemical and microbial properties during storage

One of the challenges of the food industry is detecting the potential of novel non-dairy food matrices to deliver probiotic bacteria to humans as cholesterol-free products, suitable for people with lactose intolerance and sensitivity to dairy proteins. In this study, the possibility of adding sprouted quinoa milk (SQM) at 0%, 50%, and 100% levels in probiotic non-dairy dessert containing native Lactobacillus plantarum isolated from camel milk was investigated. Physicochemical, functional, microbiological, color, texture, and organoleptic characteristics of probiotic dessert samples were evaluated during 1, 7, and 14 days of storage at 4°C. According to the results, fat, protein, carbohydrates, and ash increased significantly during germination (p < .05). With boosting the SQM levels in the probiotic desserts, the number of soluble solids increased, and the syneresis decreased significantly (p < .05). The simultaneous increase in SQM levels and time caused an increase in acidity and decreased the moisture content of the samples. As the storage time increased, the intensity of the syneresis also decreased. The brightness index in all samples containing SQM was lower than in the control sample. During storage, the viable cell number of Lactobacillus plantarum in all samples decreased significantly. However, they were above the minimum required for FDA recommendation (6 log CFU g-1), varying from 4.6 × 108 CFU/mL to 4.3 × 107 CFU/mL for 50% SQM treatment. It was concluded that probiotic desserts containing SQM up to 50% could be properly presented in the market as gluten-free and functional food products.

Application of TOPSIS to evaluate the effects of different conditions of sonication on eggless cake properties, structure, and mass transfer

The technique for order performance by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) method was used to select the optimum point of power and time of ultrasound and baking temperature of eggless cake production. The effect of ultrasound power and baking time on the mass-transfer parameters such as moisture diffusion and the activation energy was assessed. The sonication treatment increased the viscosity of the eggless cake batter (25% in consistency coefficient and 24% in apparent viscosity). The minimum batter density was observed at 60% intensity for 30 or 60 s of sonication (1.0253 and 1.027 g/cm³ ). This condition also increased the eggless cake volume and springiness. In contrast, the crumb fractal dimension, hardness, gumminess, cohesiveness, and chewiness of the eggless cake decreased (1.65, 29, 39, 39, and 33%, respectively). The moisture diffusion during baking at 160, 180, and 200 °C and different ultrasound intensities were studied. The baking temperature of 200 °C and the intensity of 60% had the maximum effect on increasing the moisture diffusivity. Arrhenius equation showed the activation energy varied from 21.38 to 22.95 kJ/mol. The optimum quality of the eggless cake resulted from a combination of 60% intensity and 60 s of sonication and the baking temperature of 180 °C. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Some vegetarians do not consume eggs and egg-based products; therefore it is important to produce egg-free food options. Also, considering that eggs are one of the most expensive raw materials in the production of various types of cakes and have a low shelf-life, in this study, the effects of sonication on the quality characteristics of an eggless cake has been studied.

Production of high fiber ready-to-eat expanded snack from barley flour and carrot pomace using extrusion cooking technology

The effects of feed moisture content (14, 17 and 20% db), die temperature (120, 145 and 170 °C) and carrot pomace content (10, 17.5 and 25%) on the sectional expansion index, hardness, porosity, micro and macro structure and sensory properties of high fiber expanded barley-carrot pomace snack were investigated using a central composite design. Results showed that with increasing the moisture content the hardness of the extruded snacks increased while their expansion ratio decreased. The hardness decreased with increasing the die temperature, but the expansion ratio increased with increasing the die temperatures to up to 145 °C and decreased afterwards. An increase in carrot pomace content decreased the expansion ratio and cell average size while the hardness and cell wall thickness increased. The optimum condition for production of expanded barley-carrot pomace snack was 10% carrot pomace content, 142.7 °C die temperature and 14.02% moisture content. During extrusion cooking, the soluble dietary fiber of barley-carrot pomace snack increased, but no change on the total dietary fiber content was observed. Therefore, the extruded snacks prepared from barley flour and carrot pomace had high nutritional value.

Optimization of physicochemical and textural properties of pizza cheese fortified with soybean oil and carrot extract

Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize pizza cheese containing carrot extract. The effects of two important independent variables including soybean oil (5%–20%) and carrot extract (5%–20%) were studied on physicochemical and textural properties of pizza cheese containing carrot extract. According to the results, RSM was successfully used for optimizing formulation of pizza cheese containing carrot juice. Results of this study revealed that oil (A), carrot (B), AB, square term of carrot (B²), B, AB, square term of oil (A²), B², AB, AB, A²B, A², A², A, A², A², AB, and AB² had the most effect on moisture, acidity, stretch, L*, a*, b*, hardness, meltability, springiness, peroxide value (PV), cohesiveness, chewiness, gumminess, fracture force, adhesiveness force, stiffness, flavor, and overall acceptability, respectively. A formulation upon 20% oil and 10.88% carrot extract was found as the optimal formulation for pizza cheese containing carrot extract. At the optimal formulation, PV, L*, a*, b*, meltability, stretch, cohesiveness, springiness, gumminess, chewiness, adhesive force, flavor, texture, and overall acceptability at the optimum formulation were measured 2.23, 82.51, −3.69, 18.05, 17.86, 85.61, 0.41, 7.874, 23.7, 0.27, 0.61, 3.50, 3.95, and 3.65, respectively.

The effect of different emulsifiers on the eggless cake properties containing WPC

The possibility of complete replacement of egg proteins with whey protein concentrate (WPC) and improvement in quality by different emulsifiers was evaluated. Three emulsifiers, including polyglycerol ester (PGE), distilled mono glyceride (DMG) and lecithin were used to bake eggless cakes, containing 8% (w/w) WPC. The response surface analysis was applied to study the effect of emulsifiers on the eggless cake properties. The emulsifiers, individually and interactively, improved the properties of the eggless cakes significantly. The PGE and DMG decreased the batter density, however lecithin increased it. All emulsifiers increased the porosity and volume of the eggless cakes, but decreased the hardness and gumminess of crumb and improved the sensory acceptance. The indices used for optimization of formulation were water activity, moisture content, hardness, gumminess, volume, porosity and total acceptance. The optimum quality of the eggless cake can be achieved from a combination of 0.5 PGE, 0.25 DMG and 0.5% lecithin. The experimental and predicted responses of the optimized eggless cake had a good resemblance.

Rheological properties and bread quality of frozen sweet dough with added xanthan and different freezing rate

In this paper the effects of frozen storage time, xanthan gum and rate of freezing on frozen sweet dough properties and unfermented bread quality was investigated. Results revealed that the water holding capacity, WHC, K₁ (stress decay rate) and K₂ (residual stress at the end of the stress relaxation experiment) values of frozen dough decreased with increasing frozen storage time and decreasing freezing rate; while the lowest values for these parameters were obtained for samples without xanthan gum. The amount of unfreezable water increased and freezable water decreased with addition of xanthan gum. Glass transition temperature for fresh or frozen sweet were around -37 and -39 °C, respectively. Addition of xanthan gum increased the glass transition temperature of fresh and fozen sweet dough. Firmness and gumminess of sweet bread increased during frozen storage which led to lower specific volume of frozen sweet bread. Increasing freezing rate and addition of xanthan gum to dough formulation improved the texture and specific volume of the final bread.

Synbiotic potential of Doogh supplemented with free and encapsulated Lactobacillus plantarum LS5 and Helianthus tuberosus inulin

The survival and effect of free and encapsulated probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum LS5 on acidity, exopolysaccharide production, phase separation and influence on the sensory attributes of probiotic and synbiotic Doogh (typical Iranian drink based on fermented milk) supplemented with Helianthus tuberosus inulin were studied over 22 days storage. Results showed addition of L.plantarum LS5 (free or encapsulated) increased acid development (°D) in Doogh during storage. In addition, phase separation in Doogh with encapsulated probiotic bacteria was slower compared to Doogh with free probiotic bacteria. More exopolysaccharides were observed in Doogh with encapsulated culture compared to those without encapsulated culture. The results confirmed that there was an increased survival of L.plantarum LS5 due to protection of cells by microencapsulation. Also addition of inulin improved survival of free or encapsulated cells in Doogh during storage, but effect of inulin on acidity, exoploysaccharide content and phase separation of samples containing free or encapsulated cells was not significant (P > 0.05). Moreover, sensory evaluation results indicated addition of free or encapsulated probiotic cells and inulin did not significantly affect appearance and color, acidity, flavor and after taste of the Doogh samples over the storage period. Therefore, probiotic and synbiotic Doogh (supplemented with free or encapsulated L.plantarum LS5 and Helianthus tuberosus inulin) are potentially suitable for using as functional dairy foods.

X-ray beam monitor made by thin-film CVD single-crystal diamond

A novel beam position monitor, operated at zero bias voltage, based on high-quality chemical-vapor-deposition single-crystal Schottky diamond for use under intense synchrotron X-ray beams was fabricated and tested. The total thickness of the diamond thin-film beam monitor is about 60 µm. The diamond beam monitor was inserted in the B16 beamline of the Diamond Light Source synchrotron in Harwell (UK). The device was characterized under monochromatic high-flux X-ray beams from 6 to 20 keV and a micro-focused 10 keV beam with a spot size of approximately 2 µm × 3 µm square. Time response, linearity and position sensitivity were investigated. Device response uniformity was measured by a raster scan of the diamond surface with the micro-focused beam. Transmissivity and spectral responsivity versus beam energy were also measured, showing excellent performance of the new thin-film single-crystal diamond beam monitor.

Synbiotic yogurt-ice cream produced via incorporation of microencapsulated lactobacillus acidophilus (la-5) and fructooligosaccharide

Yogurt-ice cream is a nutritious product with a refreshing taste and durability profoundly longer than that of yogurt. The probiotic Lactobacillus acidophilus (La-5) cells either in free or encapsulated form were incorporated into yog-ice cream and their survivability were studied. Fructooligosaccharide (FOS) as a prebiotic compound at three levels (0, 4 & 8 % w/w) was added to yogurt-ice cream mix and its effects on some chemical properties, overrun and firmness of product were evaluated. The higher the incorporated FOS concentration, the lower were the pH value and higher the total solid content of treatments. FOS incorporation (8 %) significantly increased the overrun of treatments and reduced their firmness. The viable counts of free probiotics decreased from ~9.55 to ~7.3 log cfu/g after 60 days of frozen storage while that of encapsulated cells merely decreased less than 1 log cycle. Encapsulation with alginate microbeads protected the probiotic cells against injuries in the freezing stage as well as, during frozen storage.

Neutron detection and dosimetry using polycrystalline CVD diamond detectors with high collection efficiency

Polycrystalline chemical vapour deposited (CVD) diamond film is an interesting material for neutron detection and dosimetry. However, the use of CVD diamond detectors is still limited by the low-level signal pulse produced because of the high energy required to produce an electron-hole pair in diamond (13.2 eV) and by the reduced charge collection efficiency owing to several types of traps for electrons and holes in CVD films. A new type of CVD diamond detector with high gain (HG) contacts was produced as part of the collaboration between the ENEA Fusion Division and the Faculty of Engineering of Rome 'Tor Vergata' University. In this paper the performance of the HG CVD diamond detector is presented and possible applications of CVD diamond detectors to neutron dosimetry are also discussed.

Development and application of CVD diamond detectors to 14 MeV neutron flux monitoring

CVD diamond is an interesting material for radiation detection, its atomic number (Z = 6) is close to that of soft tissues (Z = 7.1) and it can also work in harsh environments. Since many years CVD diamond films have been grown at the Faculty of Engineering, Rome 'Tor Vergata' University, and in 1998 a collaboration with ENEA Fusion Division was established to develop fast neutron monitors to be used in fusion tokamak environment. In this paper the first test of a 120 microm thick polycrystalline CVD diamond detector used for monitoring 14.7 MeV neutrons emission produced with the Frascati Neutron Generator (FNG) is reported. The detector operates in air and in pulse mode. The time irradiation profiles recorded with the CVD diamond detector were compared with those recorded by the standard monitors available at FNG (SSD, fission chamber, NE-213). Good stability and capability to operate in neutron flux up to 1.5 x 10(8) n cm(-2) s(-1) was observed. The radiation hardness property was also investigated using a 460 microm thick film and these results are also reported.

Diagnostic value of compression ultrasonography and fibrinogen-related parameters for the detection of postoperative deep vein thrombosis following elective hip replacement: a pilot study

To determine their ability to diagnose postoperative deep vein thrombosis (DVT) D-dimer - by three methods -, fibrinogen degradation products (FgDP) and fibrinogen levels were measured in 68 consecutive patients before elective surgery for hip replacement and on postoperative day 1, 3, 6, and 10. All patients received prophylaxis and underwent compression real-time B-mode ultrasonography (C-US) on postoperative day 5 and 9, and bilateral ascending venography on day 10. Twenty-two out of 68 patients developed asymptomatic postoperative DVT, which was limited to the calf veins in 14 and involved the proximal veins in 8 patients. C-US was negative in all patients on day 5. On day 9, C-US sensitivity and specificity for proximal DVT were 63% (95% confidence interval: 26%-90% and 98% (89%-100%) respectively. Postoperative changes in the laboratory parameters evaluated were not different in patients with or without DVT until day 10. On day 10, mean D-dimer, FgDP and fibrinogen levels were significantly higher in patients with DVT than in those without DVT (p values between 0.006 and 0.032), but only D-dimer was higher with DVT involving two or more venous segments than with thrombosis involving one venous segment only (p < 0.05). Stepwise logistic regression analysis identified D-dimer and fibrinogen on day 10 as predictors of postoperative DVT. In a receiver operator curve and after weighing for the coefficients generated by logistic regression analysis, the combination of a latex photometric immuno-assay and of PT-derived fibrinogen yielded-at a cut-off value of 7.0 a sensitivity of 100% (73%-100%) and a specificity of 58% (39%-75%) for DVT, with a negative predictive value of 100% (78%-100%), a positive predictive value of 52% (32%-71%) and an overall accuracy of 71% (55%-83%). These results suggest that two simple, fast and reproducible tests may permit the identification of patients at low risk of having postoperative DVT and that a combination of sensitive laboratory assays and of the highly specific C-US may select patients requiring anticoagulant treatment. Efficacy and cost-effectiveness of this approach should be evaluated in large clinical management studies.

Intrinsic limit of magneto-optical isolators because of magnetic circular dichroism

The behavior of an optical isolator based on the Faraday effect of an absorbing magneto-optical material is analyzed, taking into account the effect of magnetic circular dichroism (MCD). MCD is indissolubly connected with Faraday rotation and limits the maximum obtainable isolation ratio through elliptization of the polarization of the incident beam. A formula is derived to calculate this effect and applied to a practical example.