Improving bread-making processing phases of fibre-rich formulas using chia (Salvia hispanica) seed flour

[EN] The capacity of chia seed flour to improve the behaviour of wholemeal formulas of wheat bread during the bread-making process was tested. Seven formulas were produced: one employing only wheat flour (control), two formulas substituting 13% and 23% (d.b.) of wheat flour with bran (wholemeal), and these last two bran formulas were combined in turn with chia, in which substituting 5% and 10% (d.b.) of their wheat flour fraction. The fermentation phase improved. Chia led to an increase in the gas retention of dough with 13% of bran, and height was reached with no differences compared to the refined wheat dough. Water retention did not show differences between formulas after the baking phase. The 13% bran/5% chia formula generated breads with 12% fibre content (w.b), but no differences were found in specific volume and similar hardness to the refined wheat ones. Finally, this bran/chia combination, which showed no differences during the bread-making process with the refined wheat formula, was tested for sensory attributes. No significant effect was detected on the sensory attributes compared to the same wholemeal formula without chia flour. Chia modified the properties of wholemeal doughs, which improved the bread making process and produced bread with no deterioration in sensory attributes.Verdú Amat, S.; Barat Baviera, JM.; Grau Meló, R. (2017). Improving bread-making processing phases of fibre-rich formulas using chia (Salvia hispanica) seed flour. LWT - Food Science and Technology. 84:419-425. doi:10.1016/j.lwt.2017.06.007S4194258

Physicochemical and textural quality attributes of gluten-free bread formulated with guar gum

The objective of this study was to assess the combined effect of guar gum (GG) and water content (WC) on the rheological properties of batter, and the physicochemical and textural properties of bread. Batches of gluten-free bread used a base formulation of rice (50%), maize (30%) and quinoa flour (20%), with different levels of GG (2.5, 3.0 or 3.5%) and water (90, 100 or 110%) in a full factorial design. Higher GG doses (p<0.001) tended to produce batters of lower stickiness, work of adhesion and cohesive strength; yet, of higher firmness, consistency, cohesiveness and viscosity index. These batters yielded loaves of lower (p<0.001) specific volume and baking loss; and crumbs of lower (p<0.001) aw, pH, mean cell area, void fraction, mean cell aspect ratio; and higher (p<0.001) hardness, adhesiveness, springiness, cohesiveness, chewiness, resilience, mean cell density, cell size uniformity and mean cell compactness. The sticker and less consistent batters produced with higher WC rendered larger bread loaves of softer and more cohesive and springy/resilient crumbs with greater mean cell size and void fraction. Gluten-free loaves of good appearance in terms of higher specific volume, lower crumb hardness, higher crumb springiness, and open grain visual texture were obtained in formulations with 110% WC and GG doses between 2.5 and 3.0%.Eng. Encina-Zelada acknowledges the financial aid provided by the Peruvian National Programme of Scholarships and Student Loans (PRONABEC) in the mode of PhD grants (Presidente de la República-183308). The authors are grateful to Eng. Andrea Oliveira from Prodipani, Portugal, for her kind advice and providing breadmaking ingredients.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

RAMAN, DIELECTRIC AND OPTICAL INVESTIGATIONS OF DLC THIN FILMS

Diamond-like carbon, DLC, thin films which is an amorphous hydrogenated form of carbon, a-C:H, has been synthesized by CVD method. SEM imaging, back-scattering Raman spectroscopy and reflected FT-IR spectroscopy have been used for characterization of the synthesized thin films. Kramers–Kronig dispersion relations have been used for the calculation of dielectric and optical parameters, which include the real and imaginary parts of the refractive and dielectric indices. In Raman spectroscopy, two obvious, wide and almost symmetrical peaks around 1355 cm-1 (D mode) and 1520–1550 cm-1 (G mode), clarify the formation of a-C:H thin film. Reflected spectra of thin films, in the spectral region of 400–4000 cm-1, have been recorded by the near normal FTIR reflection spectroscopy and show some peaks which can be assigned to the bending of sp3 C–C, sp3 or sp2 CH. The calculated data show that dielectric and optical parameters are almost independent of wavenumber.DLC, thin film, Raman scattering, hardness, optical

Evaluation of cognitive disorders in multiple sclerosis patients by auditory event related potential

Bachground and Aim: The involvement of central auditory nervous system is relatively prevalent in patients suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS). To understand cortex function and to investigate cognitive impairment, event related potential is considered as a valuable tool. This study was aimed to compare the amplitude and latency of the event related potentials of P300 in MS patients and normal individuals.Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted on 21 MS patients and 27 normal cases aged 18-50 years. Auditory P300 was recorded with oddball paradigm, using two tone burst stimuli (1000 and 2000).Results: In MS patients, mean latencies were significantly longer (p<0.001) and mean amplitude were significantly lower (p<0.001), in both males and females. Sex did not affect P300 latencies and amplitudes significantly.Conclusion: MS patients show some degree of event related potential abnormalities. Combination of auditory P300 and neuropsychological tests may be useful to investigate cognitive impairment in MS patients

The effect of duration of multiple sclerosis and expanded disability status scale on P300

Background and Aim: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is characterized with inflammation, demyelization and gliosis. It may be relapsing, remitting, or progressive. Cognitive impairment is relatively prevalent in patients wit h multiple sclerosis and as duration of disease is longer as cognition impairment is more. To understand the cognitive impairment, event related potential can be considered as a valuable tool. This study aimed to investigate the influence of duration of disease and expanded disability status scale (EDSS) on the amplitude and latency of the event related potentials of P300 in patients with multiple sclerosis. Methods: In this cross-sectional and non-intervention study, 21 patients with multiple sclerosis with mean age of 27.8 with SD 7.1 years (between 18 to 50 years) were enrolled. The patients were selected randomly. The correlation of P300 event-related potential and oddball paradigm was assessed, using two 1000 and 2000 Hz tone burst stimulus. Results: There was a significant correlation between the latency of P300 wave and duration of disease and expanded disability status scale (p < 0.05); there was high correlation in both electrode sites (r>0.50). The correlation of amplitude of P300 and duration of disease and expanded disability status scale was not significant (p>0.05). Conclusion: Significant correlation between the latency of P300 and the duration of multiple sclerosis and expanded disability status scale can be a sign of central nervous system changes. Besides, there is a relation between physical disability and cognitive impairments

Investigation of educational intervention based on Theory of Planned Behavior on breakfast consumption among middle school students of Qom City in 2012.

BACKGROUND Eating breakfast is crucial for adolescents to be healthy. It also improves students' capacity of learning and doing school homework. Although healthy habits such as eating breakfast, weight control, and regular sleep increase the lifespan in adults, the effects of healthy habits on school-age children have not been studied much. The present study aimed at investigating the impact of an educational program based on Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) on eating breakfast among middle school students. MATERIALS AND METHODS This interventional study was conducted on sixth-grade students in Qom City during the academic year 2012-2013. First, 97 students were randomly assigned to the experimental group and 97 other students were assigned to the control group. Then, a questionnaire was developed on eating breakfast by the researchers according to the TPB. A pilot study was conducted to assess the reliability of the questionnaire. To assess the validity of the questionnaire, advice by a panel of experts was sought. To carry out a pre-test, both groups answered the questions. After analyzing the pre-test results, the required content was developed for the experimental group. Educational methods included delivering speech, discussion groups, pamphlets, and posters. The required educationalcontent was provided for students during five sessions and for parents in one session. To determine the effect of educational intervention, a post-test study was carried out 2 months after the intervention. Collected data were analyzed using independent t-test, χ,([2]) and repeated measures. RESULTS In the experimental group, 36.7% of students were eating breakfast at least in a day of a week, before educational intervention. After implementation of the educational program, only 32.7% of them were continuing their past habit. There was a significant difference between themean scores of attitudes, perceived behavioral control, intention, and practice of eating breakfast in the experimental and control groups (P < 0.05), while there was no significant difference between the mean scores of subjective norms after implementing the educational program in both groups (P < 0.26). CONCLUSION Using the TPB improved students' intentions and behavior of eating breakfast. Thus, it seems necessary to consider all effective environmental factors on the subjective norms in the education of healthy eating behaviors or improving breakfast-eating practice among students

Evaluation of different hydrocolloids to improve dough rheological properties and bread quality of potato–wheat flour

peer reviewedThe aim of study was to investigate the effect of hydroxylpropylmethylcellulose (HPMC), arabic gum (AG), konjac glucomannan (KG) and apple pectin (AP) at 2% (w/w, potato-wheat flour basis) on the potato-wheat dough (the mass ratio was 1:1) rheological, fermentation properties and its bread quality. The tan δ of potato-wheat dough was significantly increased by adding HPMC compared to those of without adding hydrocolloids (from 0.337 to 0.425), which was close to wheat dough (0.531). Moreover, the dough height during fermentation process was significantly improved by adding hydrocolloids, with the order of HPMC (23.1mm) > AP (19.3mm) > AG (18.6mm) > KG (13.6mm). In addition, the potato-wheat protein bands of potato-wheat dough turned pale by adding hydrocolloids, suggesting higher molecular weight aggregation formed between proteins-hydrocolloids or proteins-proteins after fermentation process. Furthermore, HPMC significantly increased specific volume (from 1.45 to 2.22 ml/g), and hydrocolloids restrained the starch retrogradation of potato-wheat breads.Research Project: Research and Demonstration of Key Technology System of Potato Staple Food (201503001-2