Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica L.) as a Functional Component in Durum Wheat Pasta Production: Impact on Chemical Composition,In Vitro Glycemic Index,and Quality Properties

Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica L.) is a good source of biologically active compounds with proven beneficial health effects. This study aimed to investigate the effect of nettle herb supplementation on chemical composition, including the content of selected minerals and pigments, the in vitro glycemic response, and the cooking and sensory quality of extruded pasta. Tagliatelle-shaped pasta was produced under semi-technical scale by partial replacement of durum wheat semolina with 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5% of lyophilized nettle. The partial substitution with freeze-dried nettle caused a statistically significant (p ≤ 0.05) increase in the content of minerals, especially calcium, iron, potassium, and magnesium in the products. The calcium content in the pasta fortified with 5%-addition of stinging nettle was 175.9 mg 100 g⁻¹ and this concentration was 5.8 times higher than in the control sample. At the same time, high content of chlorophylls and carotenoids (237.58 µg g⁻¹ and 13.35 µg g⁻¹, respectively) was noticed. Enriching pasta with a 0–5% addition of stinging nettle resulted in a statistically significant (p ≤ 0.05) increase in the content of the total dietary fiber (TDF) (from 5.1 g 100 g⁻¹ to 8.82 g 100 g⁻¹) and the insoluble dietary fiber (IDF) (from 2.29 g 100 g⁻¹ to 5.63 g 100 g⁻¹). The lowest hydrolysis index of starch (HI = 17.49%) and the lowest glycemic index (GI = 49.31%) were noted for the pasta enriched with 3% nettle.     

Characterization of Polyphenolic Compounds from Bacopa procumbens and Their Effects on Wound-Healing Process

Wounds represent a medical problem that contributes importantly to patient morbidity and to healthcare costs in several pathologies. In Hidalgo, Mexico, the Bacopa procumbens plant has been traditionally used for wound-healing care for several generations; in vitro and in vivo experiments were designed to evaluate the effects of bioactive compounds obtained from a B. procumbens aqueous fraction and to determine the key pathways involved in wound regeneration. Bioactive compounds were characterized by HPLC/QTOF-MS, and proliferation, migration, adhesion, and differentiation studies were conducted on NIH/3T3 fibroblasts. Polyphenolic compounds from Bacopa procumbens (PB) regulated proliferation and cell adhesion; enhanced migration, reducing the artificial scratch area; and modulated cell differentiation. PB compounds were included in a hydrogel for topical administration in a rat excision wound model. Histological, histochemical, and mechanical analyses showed that PB treatment accelerates wound closure in at least 48 h and reduces inflammation, increasing cell proliferation and deposition and organization of collagen at earlier times. These changes resulted in the formation of a scar with better tensile properties. Immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR molecular analyses demonstrated that treatment induces (i) overexpression of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) and (ii) the phosphorylation of Smad2/3 and ERK1/2, suggesting the central role of some PB compounds to enhance wound healing, modulating TGF-β activation.     

Time and Angle-Resolved Time-of-Flight Electron Spectroscopy for Functional Materials Science

Electron spectroscopy with the unprecedented transmission of angle-resolved time-of-flight detection, in combination with pulsed X-ray sources, brings new impetus to functional materials science. We showcase recent developments towards chemical sensitivity from electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis and structural information from photoelectron diffraction using the phase transition properties of 1T-TaS₂. Our development platform is the SurfaceDynamics instrument located at the Femtoslicing facility at BESSY II, where femtosecond and picosecond X-ray pulses can be generated and extracted. The scientific potential is put into perspective to the current rapidly developing pulsed X-ray source capabilities from Lasers and Free-Electron Lasers.     

Effect of Process Conditions and Colloidal Properties of Cellulose Nanocrystals Suspensions on the Production of Hydrogel Beads

The influence of the physical, rheological, and process parameters on the cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) drops before and after external gelation in a CaCl₂ solution was investigated. The dominant role of the CNC’s colloidal suspension properties, such as the viscous force, inertial, and surface tension forces in the fluid dynamics was quantitatively evaluated in the formation of drops and jellified beads. The similarity and difference between the behavior of carbohydrate polymers and rod-like crystallites such as CNC were enlightened. Pump-driven and centrifugally-driven external gelation approaches were followed to obtain CNC hydrogel beads with tunable size and regular shape. A superior morphological control—that is, a more regular shape and smaller dimension of the beads—were obtained by centrifugal force-driven gelation. These results suggest that even by using a simple set-up and a low-speed centrifuge device, the extrusion of a colloidal solution through a small nozzle under a centrifugal field is an efficient approach for the production of CNC hydrogel beads with good reproducibility, control over the bead morphology and size monodispersion.     

Linear spaces of matrices of constant rank and instanton bundles

We present a new method to study 4-dimensional linear spaces of skew-symmetric matrices of constant co-rank 2, based on rank 2 vector bundles on P³${\mathbb{P}}^3$ and derived category tools. The method allows one to prove the existence of new examples of size 10×10$10\times 10$ and 14×14$14\times 14$ via instanton bundles of charge 2 and 4 respectively, and it provides an explanation for what used to be the only known example (Westwick 1996 [25]). We also give an algorithm to construct explicitly a matrix of size 14 of this type.     

On subgroups of residually nilpotent metabelian groups

ABSTRACT

We study conditions on an ideal A of a self-injective R such that the factor ring R/ A is again self-injective, extending certain of our results for PF rings (Faith, 2006 Faith , C. ( 2006 ). Factor rings of pseudo-Frobenius rings . J. Algebra and Its Applications 6 :(to appear). [CSA] [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). We also consider the same question for p -injective, and for CS -rings. For the CS -rings we consider conditions under which A splits off as a ring direct factor, equivalently, when A is generated by a central idempotent. Definitive results are obtained for an ideal A which is semiprime as a ring, that is, has no nilpotent ideals except zero, and which is a right annihilator ideal. Then A is said to be an r -semiprime right annulet ideal, and is generated by a central idempotent in the following cases: (1) whenever A is generated by an idempotent as a right (or left) ideal (Theorems 3.4, 3.6); (2) in any Baer ring R (Theorem 3.5); (3) in any right and left CS -ring R (Theorem 4.2), and (4) in any right nonsingular right CS -ring R (Theorem 5.5).

These results also generalize results of the author in Faith (1985 Faith , C. ( 1985 ). The maximal regular ideal of self-injective and continuous rings splits off . Arch. Math. 44 : 511 – 521 . [CROSSREF] [CSA] [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), where it is proven that the maximal regular ideal M( R) splits off in any right and left continuous ring.

The results are applied in Section 6 to extend theorems of Faith (1996 Faith , C. ( 1996 ). New characterizations of von Neumann regular rings and a conjecture of Shamsuddin . Publ. Mat. 40 : 383 – 385 . [CSA] [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) characterizing VNR rings, and, as the title of Faith (1996 Faith , C. ( 1996 ). New characterizations of von Neumann regular rings and a conjecture of Shamsuddin . Publ. Mat. 40 : 383 – 385 . [CSA] [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) suggests, extend the conjecture of Shamsuddin.     

An indirect thermodynamic model developed for initial stage sintering of an alumina compacts by using porosity measurements

The specific micro- and mesopore volumes (V) of alumina compacts fired between 900 and 1250 °C for 2 h were determined from nitrogen adsorption/desorption data. The V value was taken as a sintering equilibrium parameter. An arbitrary sintering equilibrium constant (K _a) was estimated for each firing temperature by assuming K _a = (V _i − V)/V, where V _i is the largest value at 900 °C before sintering. Also, an arbitrary Gibbs energy (ΔG _a °) of sintering was calculated for each temperature using the K _a value. The graph of ln K _a versus 1/T and ΔG _a ° versus T were plotted, and the real enthalpy (ΔH°) and the real entropy (ΔS°) of sintering were calculated from the slopes of the obtained straight lines, respectively. On the contrary, real ΔG° and K values were calculated using the real ΔH° and ΔS° values in the ΔG° = −RT lnK = 165814 − 124.7T relation in SI units.     

Hamming graphs in Nomura algebras

Let A be an association scheme on q≥3 vertices. We show that the Bose-Mesner algebra of the generalized Hamming scheme H(n,A), for n?2, is not the Nomura algebra of any type II matrix.This result gives examples of formally self-dual Bose-Mesner algebras that are not the Nomura algebras of type II matrices.     

Multi-degree cyclic scheduling of a no-wait robotic cell with multiple robots

This paper addresses cyclic scheduling of a no-wait robotic cell with multiple robots. In contrast to many previous studies, we consider r-degree cyclic (r > 1) schedules, in which r identical parts with constant processing times enter and leave the cell in each cycle. We propose an algorithm to find the minimal number of robots for all feasible r-degree cycle times for a given r (r > 1). Consequently, the optimal r-degree cycle time for any given number of robots for this given r can be obtained with the algorithm. To develop the algorithm, we first show that if the entering times of r parts, relative to the start of a cycle, and the cycle time are fixed, minimizing the number of robots for the corresponding r-degree schedule can be transformed into an assignment problem. We then demonstrate that the cost matrix for the assignment problem changes only at some special values of the cycle time and the part entering times, and identify all special values for them. We solve our problem by enumerating all possible cost matrices for the assignment problem, which is subsequently accomplished by enumerating intervals for the cycle time and linear functions of the part entering times due to the identification of the special values. The algorithm developed is shown to be polynomial in the number of machines for a fixed r, but exponential if r is arbitrary.     

A polynomial algorithm for no-wait cyclic hoist scheduling in an extended electroplating line

This paper addresses cyclic hoist scheduling in a no-wait electroplating line where a part visits some processing tanks more than once and multiple duplicate tanks are used at some production stages. We prove that such an extended problem can be solved in polynomial time.