Effects of seed moisture and micronizing temperature on lentil flour properties and the stabilities of colour and unsaturated lipids of beef-lentil systems

This study investigated the effect of seed moisture level of lentil and surface temperature of micronization (infrared heat treatment) on the physico-chemical and functional properties of resulting flours and how these flours affected colour and unsaturated lipid oxidation when incorporated into ground beef products. Flour from raw seed (non-tempered and non-micronized) was used as the control. Whole seeds of small green lentil (Lens culinaris L., var. Eston) without tempering (8% moisture) and tempered to 16% or 23% moisture was infrared heat treated (micronized) to 115, 130, 150 or 165 °C surface temperature. The decreased protein solubility (2-60%) and lipoxygenase (70-100%), peroxidase (32-100%) and trypsin inhibitory (up to 54%) activities of resulting flours indicated changes in the protein fraction due to heat-moisture treatment. Starch gelatinization was observed at the 23% moisture level and changes in pasting properties, and water and oil absorption capacities varied with treatment. The heat-moisture combinations modified properties of starch and protein to different degrees and, consequently, lentil flour functionalities. Incorporation of lentil flour as a binder in low fat (<10%) beef burgers at 6% (w/w) showed that flours from micronized lentil seeds enhanced retention of redness and suppression of lipid oxidation as indicated by Hunter a* values and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances values, respectively, in a retail display setting. Investigation of total phenolics in aqueous salt extracts of lentil flours showed a decrease in content with increased micronization temperature. The antioxidant assays showed no changes in the ferric ion reducing power or reduction of hydroxyl radical scavenging and superoxide radical scavenging activities with heat-moisture treatment. Reduction of lipoxygenase and peroxidase activities was evident in lentil flour aqueous salt extracts, and the enzyme activities were localized to seed cotyledons. The myoglobin-liposome model study showed that a flour extract from the 16% moisture and 150 °C treatment resulted in a slower rate of oxymyoglobin oxidation initiation than other treatments which had different levels of lipoxygenase and peroxidase activities. Unsaturated lipids accelerated oxymyoglobin degradation irrespective of the presence of lentil extract. The extended fresh red colour retention of ground beef due to addition of flours from micronized seed compared to that from non-micronized seed may be related to suppression of pro-oxidant activities and the activity of potential antioxidants. The putative antioxidative compounds in lentil that are available for meat components may include compounds other than lentil seed phenolics

A prototype for enhance philosophical thinking while teaching and learning accounting: use of educational blogs

To encounter the hassles and prospects of cumulative international rivalry, contemporary accountants require a variety of broad abilities such as investigative & problem-solving skills, personal & interpersonal communication skills, management, negotiation & organizational skills together with the ability to apply these skills in a range of exclusive circumstances. Usage of Technology of the current era is a necessity in modern academic context and applying these skills in a modern-day environment starts to be extremely important. Teaching and learning approaches must revolutionize from procedural tasks and learn by heart professional principles in the direction of more philosophical, conceptual & analytical teaching & learning. Significant technological innovations including the Internet provide most operative communication tools that have gained accumulative admiration. The major objective of this paper is to introduce new educational prototype for accounting students using educational blogs as an engagement and philosophical tool. The new prototype will enhance their philosophical thinking. The educational significance of scholar commitment in edublobs and instructive technologies in teaching and learning are debated. Educational blogs and methodologies which can be used as reflective assessment tool are debated in perspective of accounting education. In conclusion, the relationship of educational blogs in accounting education is illustrated then assessed

Cost-Effectiveness of the intelligent classroom for information systems instruction a Sri Lankan case study

An intelligent classroom has been put into use for information systems instruction. It features 35 student workstations in a networked, multi-media classroom with interactive, application and activity control software. Capabilities of the intelligent classroom are reviewed, modes of instruction and their marginal cost are described, and a comprehensive cost effectiveness assessment methodology for this learning/teaching configuration is discussed. Preliminary assessment results are quite encouraging. Should the full evaluation bear out the preliminary results, then a quantum jump in educational effectiveness will have been demonstrated. This should act as a catalyst for nationwide implementation of the intelligent classroo

QUANTIFICATION OF TOTAL CHROMIUM AND HEXAVALENT CHROMIUM IN WATER BY ELECTROTHERMAL ATOMIC ABSORPTION SPECTROMETRY

The two primary oxidation states of chromium in natural waters, Cr(Ill) and Cr(VI), differsignificantly in biological, geochemical and toxicological properties. Whereas Cr(Ill) isconsidered essential for human in glucose, lipid and protein metabolism, Cr(VI) is toxicbecause of its ability to oxidize other species and its adverse effects on the lung, liver andkidney. Because of the different toxicities and bioavailability of Cr(Ill) and Cr(VI),determination of the total chromium content does not give full information about possiblehealth hazard. Hence monitoring of the concentration of the separate chromium species isof great importance. Many different techniques have been in use for Cr containing samplespreparation and metal ions speciation: ion chromatography, flow injection analysis, andatomic absorption spectrometry (AAS).Procedures for the quantification of total chromium and hexavalent chromium in watersamples arc presented. For the quantification of total chromium and hexavalent chromiumin water Chrornabond NH2 columns (arninopropyl phase with a 3ml volume and 500mg ofsorbent) obtained from Machery- Nagel (Duren, Germany) were used.The pH value of the water sample was adjusted to 5.5 using acetic acid or sodium acetateand sample was aspirated through the previously conditioned column. The column contentswere dried under vacuum and the hexavalent chromium selectively linked was eluted withnitric acid and quantification was performed by Electrothermal Atomic AbsorptionSpectrometry (ET AAS). For the detection of total chromium, Cr(Ill) was transformed intoCr(VI) by oxidizing the sample with 1% K2S20S solution and AgNOJ at 100°C for 15 min.Oxidized solution was eluted through a Chromabond column and total Cr level wasquantified by ET AAS using the same instrumental conditions as for hexavalent chromium.Total chromium was also quantified directly in the water samples using ET AAS. Thetemperature programme of the graphite furnace, the use of chemical modifiers, the atomictechnique employed and the effectiveness of deuterium background correction wereinvestigated. Chromium was reliably determined by without chemical modifiers orbackground correction.The detection limits were 0.4 and 0.5~gll for total chromium and hexavalent chromiumrespectively. The linearity changed under the optimized conditions was 0.4 - 50j.lgll and0.5-50j.lgll and the relative standard deviation was less than 3.5%. The validation of bothprocedures was performed by the standard addition method and the recoveries were higherthan 96% in all cases. It is proved that the method can be successfully employed as analternative to the commonly used preconcentration and speciation analytical techniques.The direct procedure was adopted for the estimation of total chromium in water samples becauseboth procedures applied for total chromium gave similar results. The methods were applied to thedetermination of total chromium and hexavalent chromium in 40 water samples.

First record of epizootic ulcerative syndrome from the Upper Congo catchment: an outbreak in the Bangweulu swamps, Zambia

We report on the first outbreak of epizootic ulcerative syndrome (EUS) amongst wild fish populations in the Bangweulu swamps, an inland delta, in the north of Zambia during 2014. The area supports a large and diverse fish fauna related to, but distinct from, that of the Zambezi River system where EUS outbreaks have occurred since 2006. A sizeable artisanal fishery, based on extensive fish weirs, is sustained by the annual flooding of the swamps, and observations of the disease outbreak by fishermen were recorded. Signs typical of infection with Aphanomyces invadans were observed in a number of species. Clinical observations, histology and molecular diagnostic methods were used to confirm infection with A. invadans in two of the most commonly and severely affected species. Several features of the wetland may have contributed to the outbreak and the annual recurrence of the disease. Modes by which the disease may have been introduced into the swamps are discussed. The outbreak is of great significance as the Bangweulu swamps drain into the Congo River in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa's largest drainage system with an extensive and diverse fish fauna previously unaffected by EUS

An investigation into the effect of rate of stirring of bath electrolyte on the properties of electrodeposited CdTe thin film semiconductors

Electrodeposition (ED) has been recognized as a low cost and scalable technique available for fabrication of CdS/CdTe solar cells. Photovoltaic activity of these electrodeposited semiconductor materials drastically depends on the ED growth parameters namely; electrodeposition potential, concentrations and ratios of concentrations of precursors used to prepare the bath electrolyte, pH of the electrolyte, deposition temperature and rate of stirring of the electrolyte. In order to grow thin films with good photovoltaic properties, it is essential to maintain these variables at their optimum ranges of values during electrodepositions. Hence, this study was conducted to investigate the dependence of the properties of electrodeposited CdTe thin film material on the rate of stirring of the bath electrolyte. The CdTe material was grown on glass/FTO (23 cm2) and glass/FTO/CdS (23 cm2) surfaces in bath electrolytes containing 1.0 mol/L CdSO4 and 1.0 mmol/L TeO2 solutions at different rates of stirring within the range of 0-350 rpm while keeping the values of pH of the electrolyte, deposition temperature and cathodic deposition potential with respect to the saturated calomel electrode at 2.3, 65 °C and 650 mV respectively. After the heat treatment at 400 °C in air atmosphere, the deposited samples with a good visual appearance were selected and evaluated based on their morphological, elemental, structural, optical and electrical properties in order to identify the optimum range of rate of stirring for electrodeposition of CdTe thin film semiconductors. Results revealed that, rates of stirring in the range of 60-85 rpm in a 100 mL volume of electrolyte containing the substrate and the counter electrodes in the center of the bath with a separation of 2.0 cm between them can electrodeposit CdTe layers exhibiting required levels of morphological, structural, optical and electrical properties on both glass/FTO and glass/FTO/CdS surfaces

In vivo cholinesterase sensitivity of gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) exposed to organophosphate compounds: Influence of biological factors

Two cholinesterases have been found in vertebrates, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE). These enzymes are present in the gilthead seabream, AChE in the brain and muscle and BChE in the muscle. Cholinesterases have been used as biomarker of effect in environmental monitoring studies. However, there are few studies about the influence of biometric parameters on ChE. This paper studies the possible influence of biological factors on brain and muscle cholinesterase (ChE) in Sparus aurata. Our results show that ChE activity in brain and muscle tissues changes depending on several biological variables. ChE activity in these tissues decreased when the age (48-152 week), body length (14.15-28.95 cm) and body weight (42.73-380.74 g) of the fishes studied increased. The relationships between brain and muscle ChE activity and several biometric factors were curvilinear

Electrochemical Detection of Free Chlorine at Inkjet Printed Silver Electrodes

A low-cost, reliable and sensitive electrochemical method for free chlorine analysis in water using inkjet printed silver electrodes is presented. Free chlorine detection was based on linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) analysis of AgCl/Ag2O films formed over an inkjet printed silver electrode by the spontaneous reaction between silver and free chlorine species (i.e. HClO and ClO−) present in solution. The formation of AgCl/Ag2O films was studied and characterized by high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques. LSV characterization demonstrated a quantitative linear relationship between the amount of AgCl/Ag2O formed and the concentration of free chlorine in water within a range from 1 to 100 ppm. After optimization of several parameters (e.g. scan rate, reaction time, starting potential), lowest detectable free chlorine concentration was 0.4 ppm (by standard addition method), while the limit of detection (S/N = 3) was equal to 2 ppm, with a sensitivity of 30 μC/ppm. The validation of the proposed methodology was performed by comparison with the standard N,N-diethylparaphenylenediamine (DPD) method for analyzing swimming pool water samples. Finally, it was demonstrated that reproducible and disposable silver electrodes could be easily prepared by inkjet printing in a large scale and in any required geometry to fit on-line and on-site free chlorine analyses requirements