Semi-Empirical Mathematical Modeling, Energy and Exergy Analysis, and Textural Characteristics of Convectively Dried Plantain Banana Slices

Thin-layer convective drying of plantain banana was performed at four different temperatures from 50 to 80 °C, with slice thicknesses from 2 to 8 mm. The drying curves, fitted to seven different semi-empirical mathematical models, were successfully used to fit experimental data ((Formula presented.) 0.72–0.99). The diffusion approach had better applicability in envisaging the moisture ratio at any time during the drying process, with the maximum correlation value ((Formula presented.) 0.99) and minimum value of (Formula presented.) (2 (Formula presented.) and RMSE (5.0 (Formula presented.). The (Formula presented.), (Formula presented.), and (Formula presented.) values were calculated on the basis of the experimental data, and overall ranged from (Formula presented.) to (Formula presented.) m2 s−1, (Formula presented.) to 2.20 (Formula presented.) m s−1 and 13.70 to 18.23 kJ mol−1, respectively. The process energy consumption varied from 23.3 to 121.4 kWh kg−1. The correlation study showed that the drying temperature had a close correlation with (Formula presented.) value and sample hardness. A significant (p < 0.05) increase in hardness of dried plantain banana was observed at 80 °C compared to the other temperatures. Additionally, the sample hardness and process energy consumption were more positively correlated with the thickness of the samples

A novel methodology to study polymodal particle size distributions produced during continuous wet granulation

It is important during powder granulation to obtain particles of a homogeneous size especially in critical situations such as pharmaceutical manufacture. To date, homogeneity of particle size distribution has been defined by the use of the d50 combined with the span of the particle size distribution, which has been found ineffective for polymodal particle size distributions. This work focuses on demonstrating the limitations of the span parameter to quantify homogeneity and proposes a novel improved metric based on the transformation of a typical particle size distribution curve into a homogeneity factor which can vary from 0 to 100%. The potential of this method as a characterisation tool has been demonstrated through its application to the production of granules using two different materials. The workspace of an 11 mm twin screw granulator was defined for two common excipients (?-lactose monohydrate and microcrystalline cellulose). Homogeneity of the obtained granules varied dramatically from 0 to 95 % in the same workspace, allowing identification of critical process parameters (e.g. feed rate, liquid/solid ratio, torque velocities). In addition it defined the operational conditions required to produce the most homogeneous product within the range 5 ?m – 2.2 mm from both materials

Role of Drug Repurposing in Cancer Treatment and Liposomal Approach of Drug Targeting

Cancer is the leading cause of death, and incidences are increasing significantly and patients suffering from it desperately need a complete cure from it. The science of using an already-invented drug that has been approved by the FDA for a new application is known as “drug repurposing.” Currently, scientists are drawn to drug repositioning science in order to investigate existing drugs for newer therapeutic uses and cancer treatment. Because of their unique ability to target cancer cells, recently repurposed drugs and the liposomal approach are effective in the treatment of cancer. Liposomes are nanovesicles that are drastically flexible, rapidly penetrate deeper layers of cells, and enhance intracellular uptake. More importantly, liposomes are biocompatible, biodegradable; entrap both hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs. This chapter summarizes various approaches to drug repurposing, as well as drug repurposing methods, advantages and limitations of drug repurposing, and a liposomal approach to using repurposed drugs in cancer targeting. This chapter also summarizes liposomal structure, drug loading, and the mechanism of liposomes in targeted cancer treatment. The lipid-based liposomal approach is emerging as a powerful technique for improving drug solubility, bioavailability, reducing side effects, and improving the therapeutic efficacy of repurposed drugs for cancer treatment

Evaluation of quality parameters of orange juice stabilized by two thermal treatments (helical heat exchanger and ohmic heating) and non-thermal (high-pressure processing)

This work aims to compare the impact of three thermal (helical coil heat exchanger HCHE, ohmic heating OH, and mild pasteurization MP) and one non-thermal (high-pressure processing HPP) treatments on orange juice by using industrial plants. Nutritional (total phenolic content (TPC), ascorbic acid (AA) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC)), physical (viscosity, colour, browning index (BI) and suspended pulp (SP)), sensory (Triangle test and QDA) as well as chemical (H-1 NMR spectroscopy) aspects were analyzed. Results revealed a significant (p < 0.05) increase in viscosity for HPP (+20%) compared to untreated samples while the opposite effect was observed for all thermal treatments (-22%). The lowest a* values were observed in HPP and HCHE samples. Total phenolic content decreased significantly only in HCHE (-14%), while the highest ascorbic acid content was observed in HPP samples and it resulted not significantly different from untreated. Regarding the chemical profile, treated samples (except for MP) led to a significant (p < 0.05) decrease of all selected marker peaks, mainly including sugars (alpha- and beta-glucose, beta-fructose, and sucrose) and amino acids compared to untreated ones. HPP samples showed a similar sensory profile if compared with the untreated sample, showing only a significant difference (p < 0.05) in terms of orange aroma; on the contrary, OH, HCHE, MP rated the lowest acceptances due to, among all considered descriptors, orange aroma, cooked aroma, sweetness, cooked taste

Lipoprotein lipase regulates hematopoietic stem progenitor cell maintenance through DHA supply

Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) hydrolyzes triglycerides to supply free fatty acids (FFAs) to muscle for energy and adipocytes for storage. Here, the authors demonstrate that Lpl and its product, the FFA docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are required for haematopoietic stem progenitor cell expansion during zebrafish embryogenesis