Textural Quality and the loss in Nutrients of Potatoes and Carrots Affected by Blanching and Storage Conditions

As potatoes and carrots are important horticultural products and an important raw material for the food processing industry, so inevitably it is stored in fridges in order to be available all year long. Texture is a critical quality factor for vegetables. Successful production of acceptable products requires serious attention to textural changes and attaining of this aim involves a good knowledge of the factors that influence texture. Both the textural and the loss in nutrients of processed vegetables are influenced not only by variety and maturity at harvest, but by processing and storage conditions as well. Blanching combined with cold storage is an excellent preservation method to extend vegetables shelf-life. While many of the researchers in this area investigated the properties of those of thermally processed (sterilized, dehydrated, frozen) products, little attention has been given to the interactive nature of the stages in the various processing operations or to variations within a particular stage. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of different blanching and storage conditions on textural and loss in nutrients of potatoes and carrots. Before Potatoes and carrots were frozen using plate and air blast, the samples were blanched using water and steam blanching with time variations within each method. The physical properties of interest were hardness, cohesiveness, and loss of sugar. The loss in sugar determined and the texture changes in the products during processing are illustrated. Keywords: loss in nutrients of potatoes, blanching, storage condition

Cooja Simulator Manual

While Cooja has been proven to be an ideal tool for the simulation of RPL in WSNs, there are challenges involved in its use, particularly in regard to a lack of documentation. The Contiki website provides an image of Instant Contiki which can then be used with the virtualisation tool VMware. Once Instant Contiki is successfully started the Contiki website can then be referred to for brief instructions regarding a simple network setup on Cooja. However, this is the sum total of any official documentation regarding Cooja, with the majority of support being provided within Internet discussion groups. This report, therefore, aims to provide an instruction set, to enable anyone with no previous exposure to Cooja to be able to create network layouts, compile motes, examine output using the Sensor Data Collect plugin and also utilise scripts to produce more fine-grained results

Innovative integration of a series-module membrane distillation plant with a double-effect absorption refrigerator

This study investigates the powering of a series-multistage membrane distillation (DCMD) plant by the heat released from absorber and condenser of a double-effect vapor-absorption refrigerator (VAR). In such a way, two products (freshwater and cooling effect) are obtained with low energy consumption. The feed of the DCMD plant is split to cool the VAR condenser and absorber and get sufficient heat to drive the series-module DCMD plant. Under the applied conditions, the proposed system shows performance better than the standalone VAR and DCMD systems. Also, series-multistage DCMD performs better than the parallel one suggested in the literature under the same operating conditions. The optimal performance indices show that the produced water is 1443 L/h, the cooling capacity is 123.4 ton of refrigeration (TR), the coefficient of performance (COP) is 1.09, the gained output ratio (GOR) is 2.42, the overall energy efficiency (energy utilization factor, EUF) is 3.50, the freshwater cost is 3.87 $/m3, and the cooling effect cost is 0.0047$/kWh

Študija učinkovitosti rezanja plastike, ojačene z ogljikovimi vlakni, z abrazivnim vodnim curkom

In recent years, composite materials such as carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) have been widely used in medical devices, industries, marine and aerospace applications due to their high resistance-to-weight ratio toughness, corrosion resistance, and other novel properties. The machining of these composite materials using conventional machines results in poor precision and surface finishing due to excess heat generation at the tool-material contact zone. The drawbacks of the conventional machining process can be overcome with the adoption of a novel cutting technique using pressurized water, which can dissipate the heat generated by the impact of abrasive particles against the material in order to eliminate the poor precision and surface finishing caused by overheating. In this experimental study, the performance of surface quality (roughness and kerf angle) of CFRP machining using an abrasive water jet technique has been studied for a wide range of cutting parameters, such as water pressure and cutting speed

The Effect of Germination and Fermentation on the Physicochemical, Nutritional, and Functional Quality Attributes of Samh Seeds

This study investigated the effects of fermentation and germination on the physicochemical, nutritional, functional, and bioactive quality attributes of samh seeds. Regardless of the processing treatment, samh seeds were found to be a rich source of phenolic compounds, namely gallic acid (79.6–96.36 mg/100 g DW), catechol (56.34–77.34 mg/100 g DW), and catechin (49.15–84.93 mg/100 g DW), and they possessed high DPPH antiradical activity (65.27–78.39%). They also contained high protein content (19.29–20.41%), essential amino acids content (39.07–44.16% of total amino acids), and unsaturated fatty acid content (81.95–83.46% of total fatty acids) and a low glycemic index (39.61–41.43). Fermentation and germination increased L*, b*, foaming capacity, oil absorption capacity (OAC), water absorption capacity (WAC), swelling power, microbial counts, antioxidant activity, total flavonoid content (TFC), total phenolic content (TPC), in vitro protein digestibility, protein efficiency ratio, and total essential amino acids and reduced water solubility, emulsion stability, tannin, and phytate contents compared to raw samh seeds (p p < 0.05). Germination increased the redness (a*), moisture content, essential and non-essential amino acids, potassium, zinc, phosphorous, stearic acid, and oleic and unsaturated fatty acids and reduced total solids, fat content, iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium, sodium, palmitic acid, and total saturated fatty acids of the samh seeds compared to the raw ones. Fermentation increased the total solid, acidity, fat, protein, calcium, magnesium, sodium, phosphorous, iron, zinc, palmitic acid, and total saturated fatty acids and reduced the a* value, moisture, non-essential amino acids, and total unsaturated fatty acids of the samh seeds compared to the raw ones. In conclusion, samh seeds are a rich source of nutrients that could generally be enhanced by germination and fermentation processes. The reported information facilitates strategies towards the application of these underutilized seeds in foods

Global variation in postoperative mortality and complications after cancer surgery: a multicentre, prospective cohort study in 82 countries

© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licenseBackground: 80% of individuals with cancer will require a surgical procedure, yet little comparative data exist on early outcomes in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared postoperative outcomes in breast, colorectal, and gastric cancer surgery in hospitals worldwide, focusing on the effect of disease stage and complications on postoperative mortality. Methods: This was a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of consecutive adult patients undergoing surgery for primary breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer requiring a skin incision done under general or neuraxial anaesthesia. The primary outcome was death or major complication within 30 days of surgery. Multilevel logistic regression determined relationships within three-level nested models of patients within hospitals and countries. Hospital-level infrastructure effects were explored with three-way mediation analyses. This study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03471494. Findings: Between April 1, 2018, and Jan 31, 2019, we enrolled 15 958 patients from 428 hospitals in 82 countries (high income 9106 patients, 31 countries; upper-middle income 2721 patients, 23 countries; or lower-middle income 4131 patients, 28 countries). Patients in LMICs presented with more advanced disease compared with patients in high-income countries. 30-day mortality was higher for gastric cancer in low-income or lower-middle-income countries (adjusted odds ratio 3·72, 95% CI 1·70–8·16) and for colorectal cancer in low-income or lower-middle-income countries (4·59, 2·39–8·80) and upper-middle-income countries (2·06, 1·11–3·83). No difference in 30-day mortality was seen in breast cancer. The proportion of patients who died after a major complication was greatest in low-income or lower-middle-income countries (6·15, 3·26–11·59) and upper-middle-income countries (3·89, 2·08–7·29). Postoperative death after complications was partly explained by patient factors (60%) and partly by hospital or country (40%). The absence of consistently available postoperative care facilities was associated with seven to 10 more deaths per 100 major complications in LMICs. Cancer stage alone explained little of the early variation in mortality or postoperative complications. Interpretation: Higher levels of mortality after cancer surgery in LMICs was not fully explained by later presentation of disease. The capacity to rescue patients from surgical complications is a tangible opportunity for meaningful intervention. Early death after cancer surgery might be reduced by policies focusing on strengthening perioperative care systems to detect and intervene in common complications. Funding: National Institute for Health Research Global Health Research Unit

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 licenseBackground: Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide. Methods: A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study—a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital. Findings: Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3·85 [95% CI 2·58–5·75]; p<0·0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63·0% vs 82·7%; OR 0·35 [0·23–0·53]; p<0·0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer. Interpretation: Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised. Funding: National Institute for Health and Care Research