Lipid Process Markers of Durum Wheat Debranning Fractions

At present, whole grains are usually obtained by adding bran and middlings to refined flours, and this recombination leads to certain variations in the ratio of endosperm, bran and germ, resulting in flours with very different compositional characteristics and rheological properties. Therefore, this study focuses on the identification of specific lipid markers in different debranning fractions of Italian and Canadian durum wheat blends. The by-products obtained from five different debranning levels (3, 6, 9, 12 and 15%) had a high content of monounsaturated fatty acids and a higher concentration of tocopherols and sterols than the corresponding debranned grains. The Italian and Canadian durum wheat samples did not show significant differences in the content of these bioactive lipid compounds. In particular, palmitic acid, oleic acid, tocopherol isomers and total sterols could be useful biomarkers for evaluating the grain-to-tissue ratio in recombined flours

Microencapsulation of Phenolic Extracts from Cocoa Shells to Enrich Chocolate Bars

Cocoa bean shells were subjected to green extraction technologies, based on the absence of toxic organic solvents, to recover polyphenols; the extract was then encapsulated using a spray dryer and maltodextrin as coating agent. The best conditions observed in the spray drying tests (core-to-coating ratio 1:5; inlet temperature 150 °C; flow rate 6 ml min-1) were applied to produce the microcapsules used to enrich the same cocoa mass as the shells and processed for the preparation of the chocolate bars. Sensory analysis showed no significant differences between enriched chocolate bar and the unenriched reference one, except for the appearance. Both samples were then subjected to accelerated storage tests, at the end of which the polyphenols in the control chocolate bar (0.85 g 100 g-1) were reduced by about 50% (0.42 g 100 g-1), while in the enriched chocolate (1.17 g 100 g-1) by only 22% (0.97 g 100 g-1). The proposed process significantly enriched the chocolate bars with phenolic antioxidants recovered from cocoa waste without increasing the sensations of bitterness and astringency

Non-universal equilibrium crystal shape results from sticky steps

The anisotropic surface free energy, Andreev surface free energy, and equilibrium crystal shape (ECS) z=z(x,y) are calculated numerically using a transfer matrix approach with the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) method. The adopted surface model is a restricted solid-on-solid (RSOS) model with "sticky" steps, i.e., steps with a point-contact type attraction between them (p-RSOS model). By analyzing the results, we obtain a first-order shape transition on the ECS profile around the (111) facet; and on the curved surface near the (001) facet edge, we obtain shape exponents having values different from those of the universal Gruber-Mullins-Pokrovsky-Talapov (GMPT) class. In order to elucidate the origin of the non-universal shape exponents, we calculate the slope dependence of the mean step height of "step droplets" (bound states of steps) using the Monte Carlo method, where p=(dz/dx, dz/dy)$, and represents the thermal averag |p| dependence of , we derive a |p|-expanded expression for the non-universal surface free energy f_{eff}(p), which contains quadratic terms with respect to |p|. The first-order shape transition and the non-universal shape exponents obtained by the DMRG calculations are reproduced thermodynamically from the non-universal surface free energy f_{eff}(p).Comment: 31 pages, 21 figure

Propagator of a Charged Particle with a Spin in Uniform Magnetic and Perpendicular Electric Fields

We construct an explicit solution of the Cauchy initial value problem for the time-dependent Schroedinger equation for a charged particle with a spin moving in a uniform magnetic field and a perpendicular electric field varying with time. The corresponding Green function (propagator) is given in terms of elementary functions and certain integrals of the fields with a characteristic function, which should be found as an analytic or numerical solution of the equation of motion for the classical oscillator with a time-dependent frequency. We discuss a particular solution of a related nonlinear Schroedinger equation and some special and limiting cases are outlined.Comment: 17 pages, no figure

Berry phases for 3D Hartree type equations with a quadratic potential and a uniform magnetic field

A countable set of asymptotic space -- localized solutions is constructed by the complex germ method in the adiabatic approximation for 3D Hartree type equations with a quadratic potential. The asymptotic parameter is 1/T, where $T\gg1$ is the adiabatic evolution time. A generalization of the Berry phase of the linear Schr\"odinger equation is formulated for the Hartree type equation. For the solutions constructed, the Berry phases are found in explicit form.Comment: 15 pages, no figure

Berry phases for the nonlocal Gross-Pitaevskii equation with a quadratic potential

A countable set of asymptotic space -- localized solutions is constructed by the complex germ method in the adiabatic approximation for the nonstationary Gross -- Pitaevskii equation with nonlocal nonlinearity and a quadratic potential. The asymptotic parameter is 1/T, where $T\gg1$ is the adiabatic evolution time. A generalization of the Berry phase of the linear Schr\"odinger equation is formulated for the Gross-Pitaevskii equation. For the solutions constructed, the Berry phases are found in explicit form.Comment: 13 pages, no figure

Solution of the Cauchy Problem for a Time-Dependent Schoedinger Equation

We construct an explicit solution of the Cauchy initial value problem for the n-dimensional Schroedinger equation with certain time-dependent Hamiltonian operator of a modified oscillator. The dynamical SU(1,1) symmetry of the harmonic oscillator wave functions, Bargmann's functions for the discrete positive series of the irreducible representations of this group, the Fourier integral of a weighted product of the Meixner-Pollaczek polynomials, a Hankel-type integral transform and the hyperspherical harmonics are utilized in order to derive the corresponding Green function. It is then generalized to a case of the forced modified oscillator. The propagators for two models of the relativistic oscillator are also found. An expansion formula of a plane wave in terms of the hyperspherical harmonics and solution of certain infinite system of ordinary differential equations are derived as a by-product.Comment: 29 pages, 4 figure

Health-related effects and improving extractability of cereal arabinoxylans

Arabinoxylans (AXs) are major dietary fibers. They are composed of backbone chains of -(1–4)- linked xylose residues to which -l-arabinose are linked in the second and/or third carbon positions. Recently, AXs have attracted a great deal of attention because of their biological activities such as their immunomodulatory potential. Extraction of AXs has some difficulties; therefore, various methods have beenusedto increase the extractability ofAXs withvaryingdegrees of success, suchas alkaline, enzymatic, mechanical extraction. However, some of these treatments have been reported to be either expensive, such as enzymatic treatments, or produce hazardous wastes and are non-environmentally friendly, such as alkaline treatments. On the other hand, mechanical assisted extraction, especially extrusion cooking, is an innovative pre-treatment that has been used to increase the solubility of AXs. The aim of the current review article is to point out the health-related effects and to discuss the current research on the extraction methods of AXs