PREVENTION OF ENZYMATIC BROWNING IN FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

Enzymatic browning is the second largest cause of quality loss in fruits and vegetables. Methods to prevent browning are the subject of a great deal of research in the field of the food industry. In this paper we review all the methods to prevent oxidation in fruit and vegetable. Studies developed along the last decade, like as chemical, physical (blanching, freezing), controlled atmosphere and coating methods, to prevent enzymatic browning are reported and discussed

ALCOHOL IN DRIVERS FATALLY INJURED IN ROAD ACCIDENTS IN ALBANIA DURING THE YEARS 2010-2012

Aim: To assess the presence of alcohol among Albanian drivers involved in fatal road accidents between 2010 and 2012.Materials and methods: Samples were obtained for 365 drivers involved in road accidents from January 2010 to December 2012. Blood samples have been analyzed foe the presence of ethanol by GC –HS (Gas-Chromatograph Head Space) in the Laboratory of Forensic Toxicology in the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Tirana which is the only authorized institution to perform the toxicological investigation of road accidents that happen in Albania.Results: In the final cohort of 365 persons involved in traffic accidents, alcohol were found in concentrations above the legal limit in samples from 45.2% of subjects. BAC exceeded 0.50 g/l mostly in male subjects (98.8%). There were involved in traffic crashes mostly, car drivers (57.9%) and pedestrian (29.1%), consisting 41.9% of fatally cases each group.Conclusion: Males have the chance to crash 18% more than females. [OD: 1.18; CI95%: 1.01-7.76]. Blood alcohol concentrations (0.2 g/l ≥BAC≤ 0.5 g/l) are not an influence factor in fatal road accidents. Subjects whose blood alcohol concentrations have a alcohol blood level equal to (0.5 g/l ≥BAC≤ 1 g/l) have the chance to be involved in a fatal accident 2.2 times more then subjects whose blood alcohol concentration is below 0.2 g/l [OD = 2.2 ; CI 95%; 1.09-4.55]. Subjects with a blood alcohol concentration over > 1 g/l, have the chance to be involved in a fatal accident approximately two times more than a subject with a BAC <0.2g/l. [OD 1,98; CI 95%; (1.23-3.02)]

ACTIVATION OF BUTYRYLCHOLINESTERASE ENZYME BY MAGNESIUM IONS

Human serum Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) is an important enzyme in detoxification with its capacity for hydrolyzing esters. the inhibition of this enzyme lead to ill health. The reaction of enzyme with metals ions have grown in recent years,. in our study we examine the reaction of Mg+2 with normal and toxic form of enzyme .we collected samples as two groups for normal and toxic plasma, treated with different concentration of Mg+2 , compare the reading of plasma cholinesterase before and after treating , there are significant changing for that two groups at certain Mg+2 concentration. this changing may be for the allosteric effect of cholinesterase enzyme , reformation the binding site as its environment changing

MORPHOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL VARIABILITY OF LEBANESE CAROB VARIETIES

Morphological variation (pod length, width, thickness, seed number, volume, weight and specific gravity measurements) and chemical composition (protein, sugar, fiber, ash and total phenol content) of nine carob varieties from different regions of Lebanon were investigated. The obtained results showed that these two criteria exhibit significant differences (p<0.05) allowing thus to establish correlations between morphological aspects and location, mainly latitude. Moreover, the principal component analysis (PCA) of the data allowed separating these varieties in two grouped and two ungrouped populations

Response Surface Methodology Applied to the Optimization of Phenolic Compound Extraction from <em>Brassica</em>

The response surface methodology (RSM) is a relevant mathematical and statistical tool for process optimization. A state of the art on the optimization of the extraction of phenolic compounds from Brassica has shown that this approach is not sufficiently used. The reason for this is certainly an apparent complexity in comparison with the implementation of a one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) optimization. The objective of this chapter is to show how one implement the response surface methodology in a didactic way on a case study: the extraction of sinapine from mustard bran. Using this approach, prediction models have been developed and validated to predict the sinapine content extracted as well as the purity of the extract in sinapine. The methodology presented in this chapter can be reproduced on any other application in the field of process engineering

Optimization and comparison of three cell disruption processes on lipid extraction from microalgae

This study reports on the optimization of the operating conditions using response surface methodology and a comparative study of three promising technologies of cell disruption (bead milling, microwaves and ultrasound) to increase the lipid extraction from Nannochloropsis oceanica, Nannochloropsis gaditana and Tetraselmis suecica. Central composite designs were used for the optimization of ultrasound and microwave processes. The performance of the cell disruption processes in breaking down microalgae cells is dependent on the strain of microalgae. Microwaves (91 °C for 25 min) were the most efficient for the recovery of lipids from N. oceanica, reaching a lipid content of 49.0% dry weight. For N. gaditana, ultrasound process (80% of amplitude for 30 min) was the most efficient in terms of lipid recovery (21.7% dry weight). The two aforementioned processes are ineffective in disturbing T. suecica whatever the operating conditions used. Only the bead milling process at low flow feed rate with 0.4 mm zirconia beads made it possible to extract 12.6% dry weight from T. suecica. The fatty acid profiles of N. oceanica and T. suecica are affected by the cell disruption process applied. The calculation of specific energy consumption has shown that this criterion should not be neglected. The choice of the most suitable cell disruption process can be defined according to numerous parameters such as the microalgae studied, the total lipid extracted, the fatty acids sought, or the energy consumption

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements