Preservation of Stuffed Mussels at 4°C in Modified Atmosphere Packaging

The stuffed mussel is a traditional, ready-to-eat food in Turkey which is produced by cooking rice and various spices filled inside the mussel. This article examines the effect on sensory, chemical, and microbiological parameters of stuffed mussels of two gas mixtures-MAP1 50% N-2/50% CO2 and MAP2 100% CO2-used as modified atmospheres for cold storage at +4 degrees C. Air packaged samples were chosen as the control group. Based primarily on sensory characteristics, MAP1 gas mixture was the most effective for stuffed mussel. According to sensory results, it has been determined that the control samples kept until the 11th day, while the MAP1 and the MAP2 groups kept until the 13th day. Of the chemical indices determined, the TVB-N values of MAP1 and MAP2 remained lower than the proposed acceptability limits of 20 mg N/100 g, up to 13 days of storage. Microbiological analysis results did not find any differences between the groups. It was found that the shelf life of air and MAP1-MAP2 packaged samples were 7 and 11 days, respectively

Engineering a Robust Photovoltaic Device with Quantum Dots and Bacteriorhodopsin

We present a route toward a radical improvement in solar cell efficiency using resonant energy transfer and sensitization of semiconductor metal oxides with a light-harvesting quantum dot (QD)/bacteriorhodopsin (bR) layer designed by protein engineering. The specific aims of our approach are (1) controlled engineering of highly ordered bR/QD complexes; (2) replacement of the liquid electrolyte by a thin layer of gold; (3) highly oriented deposition of bR/QD complexes on a gold layer; and (4) use of the Forster resonance energy transfer coupling between bR and QDs to achieve an efficient absorbing layer for dye-sensitized solar cells. This proposed approach is based on the unique optical characteristics of QDs, on the photovoltaic properties of bR, and on state-of-the-art nanobioengineering technologies. It permits spatial and optical coupling together with control of hybrid material components on the bionanoscale. This method paves the way to the development of the solid-state photovoltaic device with the efficiency increased to practical levels