Functional foods enriched in Aloe vera. Effects of vacuum impregnation and temperature on the respiration rate and the respiratory quotient of some vegetables

[EN] This work is part of a study on the process of production of vegetables enriched in Aloe vera using the vacuum impregnation (VI) technique. The objectives of this work were: (i) to analyze the effects of VI with Aloe vera on some quality parameters of vegetables: water activity, water content, soluble solids content, real and apparent densities, and pH; (ii) to analyze the effects of the presence of Aloe vera in VI solutions and temperature on the respiration rates (carbon dioxide production and oxygen consumption) and the respiration quotient of some vegetables (endive, cauliflower, broccoli and carrots). VI made it possible to incorporate up to 7 g of Aloe vera in 100 g (dry matter) of broccoli, about 4 g in cauliflower and endive, and about 3 g in carrot. In almost all cases, respiration rate values were higher at 20ºC than at 5ºC. For vegetables submitted to VI using an isotonic sucrose solution, and in comparison with fresh samples, respiration rates at 5ºC were higher for broccoli, endive and carrot, but lower for cauliflower. At 20ºC, they were higher in the case of broccoli, endive and cauliflower, but lower for carrots. As compared with fresh samples, and at 5ºC, respiration rates were lower for all vegetables impregnated using a solution with 30 g/L of Aloe vera powder; at 20ºC, they were lower for cauliflower, but higher for broccoli, endive and carrots. The presence of Aloe vera in sufficient concentration seemed to compensate the metabolic stress caused by the application of vacuum.Sanzana Ramos, SX.; Gras Romero, ML.; Vidal Brotons, DJ. (2011). Functional foods enriched in Aloe vera. Effects of vacuum impregnation and temperature on the respiration rate and the respiratory quotient of some vegetables. Procedia Food Science. 1:1528-1533. doi:10.1016/j.profoo.2011.09.226S15281533

Production of 4th range iceberg lettuce enriched with calcium. Evaluation of some quality parameters

[EN] This project is part of a study on the process of production of 4th range Iceberg lettuce leaves enriched with Ca using the vacuum impregnation (VI) technique. The objectives of this work were (i) to verify if it is possible that a 250 g portion of impregnated lettuce leaves provides the same quantity of Ca (300 mg) as a 250 mL glass of milk, and (ii) to analyze the effects of VI on some quality parameters of the lettuce leaves: water activity, humidity, soluble solids content, real and apparent densities, pH, optical and mechanical properties, and respiration rate. For the study, three zones of the whole lettuce leaf were differentiated (on a longitudinal axis), because of the different distribution of the vascular system: apical (A), medium (M) and basal (B). Iceberg lettuce leaves with a global content of 169 mg of Ca in 250 g of impregnated product were obtained. A fresher, shinier product is obtained without presenting differences in colour. In average, Ca enrichment doesn’t affect significantly the mechanical behaviour. The respiration rates and the respiratory quotient remain almost unchanged in the A area, whereas in the M area the intake of O2 increases lightly, without change in the production of CO2, and both respiratory rates increase notably in the B area, with an important decrease in the respiratory quotient, indicating that the operation seems to prevent the fermentative anaerobic routes. The study shows it seems possible to obtain a Ca enriched product, being a possible alternative to dairy products. The industrial application of this process should include the control of the hydric state of the vegetable material, to increase impregnation capacity and reduce its variability.Gras Romero, ML.; Vidal Brotons, DJ.; Vásquez-Forttes, FA. (2011). Production of 4th range iceberg lettuce enriched with calcium. Evaluation of some quality parameters. Procedia Food Science. 1:1534-1539. doi:10.1016/j.profoo.2011.09.227S15341539

Separación por membranas

En este artículo se presentan los fundamentos de algunas técnicas de separación de productos basadas en el tamaño y tipo de membranas por las que se hace pasar una mezcla de componentes en fase fluida con el objetivo de distribuirlos en dos corrientes diferentes. Además, se comentan algunas de sus aplicaciones y se muestran los modelos matemáticos necesarios para el diseño de sistemas de este tipoVidal Brotons, DJ.; Gras Romero, ML.; Castelló Gómez, ML.; Pérez Esteve, E.; Barrera Puigdollers, MC.; Betoret Valls, N. (2017). Separación por membranas. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/83393DE

Filtración convencional de mezclas de líquidos y sólidos

En este apartado vamos a ver las ecuaciones matemáticas que se han desarrollado, siguiendo la teoría de la filtración, para relacionar la velocidad de filtración con el tiempo y el volumen de filtrado según se trabaje a caudal constante o a presión constante. Además, se presentarán los diferentes equipos de filtración sólido-líquido habituales en la industria agroalimentariaVidal Brotons, DJ.; Castelló Gómez, ML.; Gras Romero, ML.; Pérez Esteve, E.; Barrera Puigdollers, MC.; Betoret Valls, N. (2017). Filtración convencional de mezclas de líquidos y sólidos. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/83526DE

A voltammetric e-tongue tool for the emulation of the sensorial analysis and the discrimination of vegetal milks

[EN] The relevance of plant-based food alternatives to dairy products, such as vegetable milks, has been growing in recent decades, and the development of systems capable of classifying and predicting the sensorial profile of such products is interesting. In this context, a methodology to perform the sensorial analysis of vegetable milks (oat, soya, rice, almond and tiger nut), based on 12 parameters, was validated. An electronic tongue based on the combination of eight metals with pulse voltammetry was also tested. The current intensity profiles are characteristic for each non-dairy milk type. Data were processed with qualitative (PCA, dendrogram) and quantitative (PLS) tools. The PCA statistical analysis showed that when using three first principal components, which covered 77% of variance, the eight samples can be differentiated, and the preparation method (artisanal milks or commercial) is one of the main differentiation factors, together with raw material type. The PLS statistical analysis allowed models to be created to predict all 12 sensorial parameters. The goodness of the predictions depends on the parameter being particularly accurate for the body, the granularity in the wall of glass and homogeneity of colour. The results strongly suggest the potential feasibility of using electronic tongues as systems for easy, rapid and effective sensorial assessments of vegetable milks. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.The authors thank the financial support from the Spanish Government (Project MAT2015-64139-C4-1-R) and the Generalitat Valenciana (Project PROMETEOII/2014/047).Pascual, L.; Gras Romero, ML.; Vidal Brotons, DJ.; Alcañiz Fillol, M.; Martínez-Máñez, R.; Ros-Lis, JV. (2018). A voltammetric e-tongue tool for the emulation of the sensorial analysis and the discrimination of vegetal milks. Sensors and Actuators B Chemical. 270:231-238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.snb.2018.04.151S23123827

Orange Solid Waste Valorization: Optimization of Pectinase Extraction and Enzimatic Treatment of Orange Press Liquor

During orange juice production only approximately a half of fresh oranges weight is transformed into juice while the other half is considered as production waste. Orange solid wastes can be pressed with lime to obtain a press liquor that is currently concentrated up to 65-70°Brix by multiple effect evaporation. A prior preconcentration step by reverse osmosis (RO) reduces significantly energy consumption during evaporation. However, RO treatment is not easily performed due to the high viscosity of the press liquor, attributed to the presence of pectic substances. The aims of this work are to study the extraction of pectinase enzymes from orange peels, as well as to asses the effect of the enzyme extract on pectic content and viscosity of press liquor. Pectinmethylesterase enzymes were characterized in terms of the typical enzyme kinetic parameters. The optimum extracting conditions were pH=5.5 and NaCl=1.7 M. The characteristic kinetic parameters of the pectinmethylesterase were K M=0.5 % and Vmax = 2.3 mg/min·mL. The application of the enzymatic extract to real orange press liquor reduced considerably its pectin content (77.72 %) and viscosity (48.30 %), suggesting that enzyme extraction could be included as a step in the integrated valorization of orange wastes. Copyright © 2012, AIDIC Servizi S.r.l.García Castelló, EM.; Mayor, L.; Alcaraz, N.; Gras Romero, ML.; Arguelles, Á.; Vidal Brotons, DJ. (2012). Orange Solid Waste Valorization: Optimization of Pectinase Extraction and Enzimatic Treatment of Orange Press Liquor. Chemical Engineering Transactions. 29:823-828. doi:10.3303/CET1229138S8238282

Optimasi Portofolio Resiko Menggunakan Model Markowitz MVO Dikaitkan dengan Keterbatasan Manusia dalam Memprediksi Masa Depan dalam Perspektif Al-Qur`an

Risk portfolio on modern finance has become increasingly technical, requiring the use of sophisticated mathematical tools in both research and practice. Since companies cannot insure themselves completely against risk, as human incompetence in predicting the future precisely that written in Al-Quran surah Luqman verse 34, they have to manage it to yield an optimal portfolio. The objective here is to minimize the variance among all portfolios, or alternatively, to maximize expected return among all portfolios that has at least a certain expected return. Furthermore, this study focuses on optimizing risk portfolio so called Markowitz MVO (Mean-Variance Optimization). Some theoretical frameworks for analysis are arithmetic mean, geometric mean, variance, covariance, linear programming, and quadratic programming. Moreover, finding a minimum variance portfolio produces a convex quadratic programming, that is minimizing the objective function ðð¥with constraintsð ð 𥠥 ðandð´ð¥ = ð. The outcome of this research is the solution of optimal risk portofolio in some investments that could be finished smoothly using MATLAB R2007b software together with its graphic analysis

Differential cross section measurements for the production of a W boson in association with jets in proton–proton collisions at √s = 7 TeV

Measurements are reported of differential cross sections for the production of a W boson, which decays into a muon and a neutrino, in association with jets, as a function of several variables, including the transverse momenta (pT) and pseudorapidities of the four leading jets, the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta (HT), and the difference in azimuthal angle between the directions of each jet and the muon. The data sample of pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV was collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb[superscript −1]. The measured cross sections are compared to predictions from Monte Carlo generators, MadGraph + pythia and sherpa, and to next-to-leading-order calculations from BlackHat + sherpa. The differential cross sections are found to be in agreement with the predictions, apart from the pT distributions of the leading jets at high pT values, the distributions of the HT at high-HT and low jet multiplicity, and the distribution of the difference in azimuthal angle between the leading jet and the muon at low values.United States. Dept. of EnergyNational Science Foundation (U.S.)Alfred P. Sloan Foundatio

Impacts of the Tropical Pacific/Indian Oceans on the Seasonal Cycle of the West African Monsoon

The current consensus is that drought has developed in the Sahel during the second half of the twentieth century as a result of remote effects of oceanic anomalies amplified by local land–atmosphere interactions. This paper focuses on the impacts of oceanic anomalies upon West African climate and specifically aims to identify those from SST anomalies in the Pacific/Indian Oceans during spring and summer seasons, when they were significant. Idealized sensitivity experiments are performed with four atmospheric general circulation models (AGCMs). The prescribed SST patterns used in the AGCMs are based on the leading mode of covariability between SST anomalies over the Pacific/Indian Oceans and summer rainfall over West Africa. The results show that such oceanic anomalies in the Pacific/Indian Ocean lead to a northward shift of an anomalous dry belt from the Gulf of Guinea to the Sahel as the season advances. In the Sahel, the magnitude of rainfall anomalies is comparable to that obtained by other authors using SST anomalies confined to the proximity of the Atlantic Ocean. The mechanism connecting the Pacific/Indian SST anomalies with West African rainfall has a strong seasonal cycle. In spring (May and June), anomalous subsidence develops over both the Maritime Continent and the equatorial Atlantic in response to the enhanced equatorial heating. Precipitation increases over continental West Africa in association with stronger zonal convergence of moisture. In addition, precipitation decreases over the Gulf of Guinea. During the monsoon peak (July and August), the SST anomalies move westward over the equatorial Pacific and the two regions where subsidence occurred earlier in the seasons merge over West Africa. The monsoon weakens and rainfall decreases over the Sahel, especially in August.Peer reviewe

Search for heavy resonances decaying to two Higgs bosons in final states containing four b quarks

A search is presented for narrow heavy resonances X decaying into pairs of Higgs bosons (H) in proton-proton collisions collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC at root s = 8 TeV. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb(-1). The search considers HH resonances with masses between 1 and 3 TeV, having final states of two b quark pairs. Each Higgs boson is produced with large momentum, and the hadronization products of the pair of b quarks can usually be reconstructed as single large jets. The background from multijet and t (t) over bar events is significantly reduced by applying requirements related to the flavor of the jet, its mass, and its substructure. The signal would be identified as a peak on top of the dijet invariant mass spectrum of the remaining background events. No evidence is observed for such a signal. Upper limits obtained at 95 confidence level for the product of the production cross section and branching fraction sigma(gg -> X) B(X -> HH -> b (b) over barb (b) over bar) range from 10 to 1.5 fb for the mass of X from 1.15 to 2.0 TeV, significantly extending previous searches. For a warped extra dimension theory with amass scale Lambda(R) = 1 TeV, the data exclude radion scalar masses between 1.15 and 1.55 TeV