Pulsed electric field and mild thermal processing affect the cooking behaviour of carrot tissues (Daucus carota) and the degree of methylesterification of carrot pectin

For the first time, the effect of pulsed electric field (PEF) and mild thermal processing on the texture of cortex and vascular carrot tissue during subsequent thermal processing (i.e. cooking behaviour) was compared and the degree of methylesterification (DM) of pectin from the pretreated tissues was investigated. The PEF and mild thermal pretreatment slowed down the cooking behaviour of the carrot tissues, especially when the pretreatments were combined. The DM of pectin from vascular tissue was lowered after both types of pretreatments, the effect being most pronounced in the case of the combination of the PEF and mild thermal pretreatment. In contrast, the DM of cortex pectin only decreased after the mild thermal pretreatment and after the combination pretreatment. This study demonstrates that besides mild thermal pretreatments also PEF pretreatments can be considered in the context of texture preservation of thermally processed fruits and vegetables.status: publishe

PARbot: Personal Assistive Robot

The aging population of the United States is creating a growing need to provide assistive care for elderly and people with disabilities. As the Baby Boomer generation enters retirement, the ratio of caregivers to those that require assistance is projected to decrease. There are currently no commercially available modular assistive robots that can fill this need. Our project aims to provide an alternative to current assisted living options through the development, construction, and testing of a Personal Assistive Robot (PARbot) that allows individuals with general or age related disabilities to maintain some aspects of their independence, such as the ability to shop

Mesoscale and seasonal variability of community production and respiration in the surface waters of the N.E. Atlantic Ocean

Gross community production (GCP) and dark community respiration (DCR) rates were measured in the N.E. Atlantic Basin (38-451N and 15120 0-21120 0 W) during the Programme Oce´anographique Multidisciplinaire Me´so-Echelle (POMME). Three cruises were conducted over a one-year period (2001), and GCP and DCR were measured at 20 stations using seawater taken from 5 m. In winter, GCP is light limited whereas DCR, which is mainly due to bacteria, is limited by substrate availability. GCP and DCR were under the influence of mesoscale features, with the cyclonic structure enhancing the autotrophy. In spring, light and resource availability remain the major controlling parameters, which are constrained by north-south zonation, rather than mesoscale features. The most productive area is south of 411N at the start of the bloom and is associated with greater DCR as autotrophs contribute to community respiration. The late-summer period is oligotrophic, which contrasts with the previous winter and spring period, characterised by a large quantity of TOC accumulated (+13.2 mM C from spring to late-summe

Ecology of aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria along an oligotrophic gradient in the Mediterranean Sea

Aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic (AAP) bacteria are photoheterotrophic prokaryotes able to use both light and organic substrates for energy production. They are widely distributed in coastal and oceanic environments and may contribute significantly to the carbon cycle in the upper ocean. To better understand questions regarding links between the ecology of these photoheterotrophic bacteria and the trophic status of water masses, we examined their horizontal and vertical distribution and the effects of nutrient additions on their growth along an oligotrophic gradient in the Mediterranean Sea. Concentrations of bacteriochlorophyll-a (BChl-a) and AAP bacterial abundance decreased from the western to the eastern basin of the Mediterranean Sea and were linked with concentrations of chlorophyll-a, nutrient and dissolved organic carbon. Inorganic nutrient and glucose additions to surface seawater samples along the oligotrophic gradient revealed that AAP bacteria were nitrogen-and carbon-limited in the ultraoligotrophic eastern basin. The intensity of the AAP bacterial growth response generally differed from that of the total bacterial growth response. BChl-a quota of AAP bacterial communities was significantly higher in the eastern basin than in the western basin, suggesting that reliance on phototrophy varied along the oligotrophic gradient and that nutrient and/or carbon limitation favors BChl-a synthesis