Evaluation of selected lactic acid bacteria as starter cultures for gluten-free sourdough bread production

Received: January 30th, 2021 ; Accepted: April 8th, 2021 ; Published: May 19th, 2021 ; Correspondence: [email protected] is one of the most promising technologies for gluten-free bread. The selection of appropriate starter cultures for the production of gluten-free sourdoughs is of a great importance, since not all microorganisms can adapt equally to the same raw material. The aim was to create a new starter microbial composition for gluten-free sourdough preparation, allowing improving the quality and the microbiological safety of gluten-free bread. Screening was conducted on 8 strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and 5 strains of yeast previously isolated from spontaneously fermenting rice and buckwheat sourdoughs. The strain S. cerevisiae Y205 had the highest fermentative activity and alcohols content. The lactic acid bacteria L. brevis E139 and L. plantarum Е138 were also experimentally selected for new gluten-free sourdoughs on the basis of acidity and volatile acids production and antagonistic activity. Two types of microbial composition were created and its influence on sourdough biotechnological indicators was studied. Sourdough with L. plantarum Е138 had in 1.2 times lower titratable acidity, in 3.4 times lower volatile acids content compared to sourdough with L. brevis E139. Alcohol content was the same in both sourdoughs similarly to yeast cells amount. Sourdough dough proofing time increased in 1.2–1.3 times compared to the control. Sourdough did not affect the specific volume, porosity and compressibility of gluten-free bread, but its sensory characteristics were improved. Bread made with sourdoughs had more pronounced taste and flavor, brighter crust color and better texture compared bread without sourdough. The microbiological safety of sourdough gluten-free bread was also increased, especially when L. brevis E139 was used

Operando visualisation of battery chemistry in a sodium-ion battery by 23Na magnetic resonance imaging

© 2020, The Author(s). Sodium-ion batteries are a promising battery technology for their cost and sustainability. This has led to increasing interest in the development of new sodium-ion batteries and new analytical methods to non-invasively, directly visualise battery chemistry. Here we report operando 1H and 23Na nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and imaging experiments to observe the speciation and distribution of sodium in the electrode and electrolyte during sodiation and desodiation of hard carbon in a sodium metal cell and a sodium-ion full-cell configuration. The evolution of the hard carbon sodiation and subsequent formation and evolution of sodium dendrites, upon over-sodiation of the hard carbon, are observed and mapped by 23Na nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and imaging, and their three-dimensional microstructure visualised by 1H magnetic resonance imaging. We also observe, for the first time, the formation of metallic sodium species on hard carbon upon first charge (formation) in a full-cell configuration

Statistics of highly heterogeneous flow fields confined to three-dimensional random porous media

We present a strong relationship between the microstructural characteristics of, and the fluid velocity fields confined to, three-dimensional random porous materials. The relationship is revealed through simultaneously extracting correlation functions R-uu (r) of the spatial (Eulerian) velocity fields and microstructural two-point correlation functions S-2(r) of the random porous heterogeneous materials. This demonstrates that the effective physical transport properties depend on the characteristics of complex pore structure owing to the relationship between R-uu (r) and S-2(r) revealed in this study. Further, the mean excess plot was used to investigate the right tail of the streamwise velocity component that was found to obey light-tail distributions. Based on the mean excess plot, a generalized Pareto distribution can be used to approximate the positive streamwise velocity distribution

Hyperpolarized 83Kr magnetic resonance imaging of alveolar degradation in a rat model of emphysema

Hyperpolarized 83Kr surface quadrupolar relaxation (SQUARE) generates MRI contrast that was previously shown to correlate to surface to volume ratios in porous model surface systems. The underlying physics of SQUARE contrast is conceptually different from any other current MRI methodology as the method utilizes the nuclear electric properties of the spin I = 9/2 isotope 83Kr. To explore the usage of this non-radioactive isotope for pulmonary pathophysiology, MRI SQUARE contrast was acquired in excised rat lungs obtained from an elastase induced model of emphysema. A significant 83Kr T1 relaxation time increase in the SQUARE contrast was found in the elastase treated lungs compared to the baseline data from control lungs. The SQUARE contrast suggests a reduction in pulmonary surface to volume ratio in the emphysema model that was validated by histology. The finding supports usage of 83Kr SQUARE as new biomarker for surface to volume ratio changes in emphysema

Perceptual learning of time-compressed and natural fast speech

Speakers vary their speech rate considerably during a conversation, and listeners are able to quickly adapt to these variations in speech rate. Adaptation to fast speech rates is usually measured using artificially time-compressed speech. This study examined adaptation to two types of fast speech: artificially time-compressed speech and natural fast speech. Listeners performed a speeded sentence verification task on three series of sentences: normal-speed sentences, time-compressed sentences, and natural fast sentences. Listeners were divided into two groups to evaluate the possibility of transfer of learning between the time-compressed and natural fast conditions. The first group verified the natural fast before the time-compressed sentences, while the second verified the time-compressed before the natural fast sentences. The results showed transfer of learning when the time-compressed sentences preceded the natural fast sentences, but not when natural fast sentences preceded the time-compressed sentences. The results are discussed in the framework of theories on perceptual learning. Second, listeners show adaptation to the natural fast sentences, but performance for this type of fast speech does not improve to the level of time-compressed sentences

Structure-transport relationships in disordered solids using integrated rate of gas sorption and mercury porosimetry

This work describes a new experimental approach that delivers novel information on structure-transport relationships in disordered porous pellets. Integrated rate of adsorption and mercury porosimetry experiments have been used to probe the relative importance of particular sub-sets of pores to mass transport rates within the network of two disordered porous solids. This was achieved by examining the relative rates of low pressure gas uptake into a network, both before, and after, a known set of pores was filled with frozen, entrapped mercury. For catalyst pellets, formed by tableting, it has been found that the compaction pressure affects the relative contribution to overall mass transport made by the subset of the largest pores. Computerised X-ray tomography (CXT) has been used to map the spatial distribution of entrapped mercury and revealed that the relative importance of the sub-sets of pores is related to their level of pervasiveness across the pellet, and whether they percolate to the centre of the pellet. It has been shown that a combination of integrated mercury porosimetry and gas sorption, together with CXT, can comprehensively reveal the impact of manufacturing process parameters on pellet structure and mass transport properties. Hence, the new method can be used in the design and optimisation of pellet manufacturing processes

Shifting attention in viewer- and object-based reference frames after unilateral brain injury

The aims of the present study were to investigate the respective roles that object- and viewer-based reference frames play in reorienting visual attention, and to assess their influence after unilateral brain injury. To do so, we studied 16 right hemisphere injured (RHI) and 13 left hemisphere injured (LHI) patients. We used a cueing design that manipulates the location of cues and targets relative to a display comprised of two rectangles (i.e., objects). Unlike previous studies with patients, we presented all cues at midline rather than in the left or right visual fields. Thus, in the critical conditions in which targets were presented laterally, reorienting of attention was always from a midline cue. Performance was measured for lateralized target detection as a function of viewer-based (contra- and ipsilesional sides) and object-based (requiring reorienting within or between objects) reference frames. As expected, contralesional detection was slower than ipsilesional detection for the patients. More importantly, objects influenced target detection differently in the contralesional and ipsilesional fields. Contralesionally, reorienting to a target within the cued object took longer than reorienting to a target in the same location but in the uncued object. This finding is consistent with object-based neglect. Ipsilesionally, the means were in the opposite direction. Furthermore, no significant difference was found in object-based influences between the patient groups (RHI vs. LHI). These findings are discussed in the context of reference frames used in reorienting attention for target detection

Taxonomic structure of bacterial communities in sourdoughs of spontaneous fermentation

The article is devoted to the study of the microbiome of spontaneously fermented sourdoughs. The aim of the work was to study the influence of the technological parameters of sourdough propagations on the taxonomic structure of the microbiome of spontaneously fermented sourdoughs. Two spontaneously fermented sourdoughs were studied: dense rye sourdough and liquid rye sourdough, both prepared using the same batch of peeled rye flour. To study the taxonomic structure of the sourdough microbiome in dynamics, the method of high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA gene fragments of microorganisms was used. It was shown that the technological parameters of sourdough (humidity, temperature) do not affect the taxonomic composition of the microbiome of dense rye or liquid rye sourdough at the phylum/class/genus level. It was found that during the first three days of propagations, bacteria from the phyla Proteobacteria and Firmicutes dominated in the microbial community. In the phylum Proteobacteria, microorganisms from the order Enterobacterales took a large share, which persisted for three days of backslopping. The phylum Firmicutes was represented by lactic acid bacteria of the genera Weissella, Lactobacillus, Leuconostoc, Pediococcus, Lactococcus. It was established by classical microbiological methods that after a day of fermentation, the number of lactic acid bacteria cells was significantly higher in liquid rye sourdough compared to dense one. However, with further propagation of sourdoughs, the number of cells was comparable, while significant changes occurred at the level of genera and species. It was shown that as the relative number of lactic acid bacteria of the genus Lactobacillus increased, a gradual displacement of the coccal forms of Lactococcus, Leuconostoc, Weissella, Pediococcus happened. With further propagation of sourdough after 10 days, the position of the dominant groups of bacteria was occupied by representatives of the phylum Firmicutes, lactic acid bacteria of the genus Lactobacillus. The influence of the mode and parameters of the sourdough on the species composition of lactobacilli, which demonstrated a low bacterial diversity, is shown. In the first three days of propagations, lactobacilli L. curvatus, L. brevis, and Lactiplantibacillus sp. dominated in both sourdoughs. After a month of backslopping, Fructilactobacillus sanfranciscensis and Companilactobacillus sp. dominated in dense rye sourdough, and L. pontis dominated in liquid rye sourdough