Influence of toasting on the nutritious and thermal properties of flaxseed

Chemical and thermal analyses of golden and brown flaxseeds were carried out for raw and toasted seeds aiming at evaluating their nutritional and thermo-oxidative properties. Moisture, lipids, protein, soluble carbohydrates, and ash contents were quantified. Concerning lipids and proteins, in average, no meaningful differences were observed for the two varieties, being also equivalent to the literature data. The golden variety had a lower amount of fibers and a higher amount of soluble carbohydrates than the brown variety. The techniques of thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry were applied for elucidating the thermal degradation process of the seeds. The toasted gold and brown seeds were more stable to thermal decomposition than the raw seeds, under oxidative conditions. Golden seeds seem to be more susceptible to oxidation than brown seeds, under toasting conditions. Finally, no meaningful advantages were observed for the golden seeds in comparison to the brown ones.     

Thermo-oxidative decomposition of biodiesel samples obtained from mixtures of beef tallow,soybean oil,and babassu oil

Biodiesel can be obtained from various fatty acid sources. Each raw material has a different chemical composition that leads to different properties. Owing to these properties, the mixture of different proportions of raw materials can lead to biodiesels with best features in relation to physicochemical parameters such as viscosity, oxidative stability and flow properties, generating a fuel whose characteristics meet the requirements of the current legislation of the Brazilian National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP). The objective of this study was to determine the physicochemical properties of biodiesel samples produced from mixtures of beef tallow, babassu oil, and soybean oil. The thermo-oxidative stability was evaluated using thermogravimetry (TG/DTG) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results showed that all samples were in accordance to the ANP specifications. The biodiesel obtained from a mixture containing 50% of babassu oil had lower values of pour point, cold filter plugging point, and freezing point. This biodiesel also showed a higher thermo-oxidative stability in synthetic air and in oxygen atmospheres.     

Resistive‐type humidity sensors based on PVP–Co and PVP–I2 complexes

Poly(vinylpyrrolidone) films containing cobalt chloride or iodine were investigated to obtain information on their possible use as a humidity sensor element. FTIR and UV‐VIS spectroscopies were used to characterize the PVP–I₂ and PVP–Co complexes. Infrared spectroscopy revealed a structural change of both shape and intensity of the carbonyl and lactam bands, indicating the formation of an ion‐coordination polymer. The J–E curves for pure PVP, PVP–I₂, and PVP–Co films obey ohm's law at low voltages, deviate from the linear response at higher voltages, and finally display breakdown behavior. An increase in current density of the PVP matrix with iodine or cobalt doping is attributed to the formation of charge transfer complexes. The observed hysteresis of the I–V characteristics implies that there was some standing voltage in the film, which could be attributed to a disorientation of polar side groups of PVP. The electrical conductivities of the polymeric complexes were very sensitive to environmental humidity. An explanation of the humidity‐sensing behavior of the PVP–I₂ and PVP–Co complexes is presented. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 39: 459–469, 2001     

Preface: artificial intelligence in operations management

Annals of Operations Research -     

On dividing chains in simple theories

Dividing chains have been used as conditions to isolate adequate subclasses of simple theories. In the first part of this paper we present an introduction to the area. We give an overview on fundamental notions and present proofs of some of the basic and well-known facts related to dividing chains in simple theories. In the second part we discuss various characterizations of the subclass of low theories. Our main theorem generalizes and slightly extends a well-known fact about the connection between dividing chains and Morley sequences (in our case: independent sequences). Moreover, we are able to give a proof that is shorter than the original one. This result motivates us to introduce a special property of formulas concerning independent dividing chains: For any dividing chain there exists an independent dividing chain of the same length. We study this property in the context of low, short and ω -categorical simple theories, outline some examples and define subclasses of low and short theories, which imply this property. The results give rise to further studies of the relationships between some subclasses of simple theories. Research supported by CNPq grant 150309/2003-1. Research supported by CNPq grant 304365/2003-3 (Modelos, Provas e Algoritmos)     

On-line characterisation of apple polyphenols by liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry and ultraviolet absorbance detection

Apple polyphenols were characterised by means of hyphenated techniques such as HPLC coupled to UV photodiode array detection (LC-DAD) and to mass spectrometry (LC-MS). LC-MS using atmospheric pressure ionisation (APCI) in the positive ion mode provided the molecular weight, the number of hydroxyl groups, the number of sugars and an idea about the substitution pattern of the polyphenols. LC-DAD with postcolumn addition of UV shift reagents afforded precise structural information about the position of the free hydroxyl groups in the polyphenolic nucleus. Five isorhamnetin glycosides, two hydroxyphloretin glycosides and quercetin were reported in apple peel for the first time. Postcolumn addition of UV shift reagents in LC-DAD analysis confirmed the presence of isorhamnetin glycosides and not the isomeric glycosides of rhamnetin. Moreover, isorhamnetin-3-O-rhamnoglucoside was identified unambiguously by comparison with a standard. These results are relevant not only from a chemotaxonomic point of view, but also in the control of authenticity of fruit derived products in order to detect fraudulent admixtures.     

Influence of toasting and the seed variety on the physico-chemical and thermo-oxidative characteristics of the flaxseed oil

Physico-chemical properties, spectroscopy, and thermal analyses were used aiming at evaluating the influence of toasting and of the flaxseed variety on thermo-oxidative behavior of flaxseed oils. Thermogravimetry (TG) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were associated to gas chromatography, infrared spectroscopy and UV–Vis spectroscopy, as well as to physico-chemical analyses to characterize the oils obtained from raw and toasted flaxseeds. No meaningful differences in the thermal and oxidative stabilities were noticed comparing oils obtained from the brown and the golden flaxseeds. Nevertheless, the UV–Vis spectra indicated that both flaxseed oils were at the beginning of the oxidation process. The previous toasting of the seeds led to a higher oxidation for both varieties being harmful to the flaxseed oil quality.     

NMR property calculations and experimental study of the 1,6-epoxycarvone and α-epoxypinene: a comparison of models

This work aims at using theoretical calculations of shielding tensors (σ) through different methods [gauge-independent atomic orbital (GIAO), continuous set of gauge transformations (CSGT) and individual gauges for atoms in molecules (IGAIM)] and spin-spin coupling constants J using GIAO method to compare these methods and to corroborate the data obtained with the assignment of all of (1)H and (13)C NMR signals and the relative stereochemistry of the 1,6-epoxycarvone and the α-epoxypinene. All the (1)H and (13)C NMR signals were assigned unequivocally. The stereochemistry for the epoxides is trans and the B3LYP theory level with CSGT and IGAIM methods is the best choice to evaluate theoretical chemical shifts for compounds studied.     

Aminodi(hetero)arylamines in the thieno[3,2-b]pyridine series: synthesis, effects in human tumor cells growth, cell cycle analysis, apoptosis and evaluation of toxicity using non-tumor cells

Three aminodi(hetero)arylamines were prepared via a palladium-catalyzed C-N Buchwald-Hartwig coupling of methyl 3-aminothieno[3,2-b]pyridine-2-carboxylate with different bromonitrobenzenes, followed by reduction of the nitro groups of the coupling products to the corresponding amino compounds. The aminodi(hetero)arylamines thus obtained were evaluated for their growth inhibitory effect on four human tumor cell lines MCF-7 (breast adenocarcinoma), A375-C5 (melanoma), NCI-H460 (non-small cell lung cancer) and HepG(2) (hepatocellular carcinoma). The toxicity to non-tumor cells was also evaluated using a porcine liver primary cell culture (PLP1), established by us. The aminodi(hetero)arylamine with the NH(2) group in the ortho position and an OMe group in the para position to the NH of the di(hetero)arylamine, is the most promising compound giving the lowest GI(50) values (1.30-1.63 μM) in all the tested human tumor cell lines, presenting no toxicity to PLP1 at those concentrations. The effect of this compound on the cell cycle and induction of apoptosis was analyzed in the NCI-H460 cell line. It was observed that it altered the cell cycle profile causing a decrease in the percentage of cells in the G0/G1 phase and an increase of the apoptosis levels.