Mixed biopolymer systems based on starch

A binary mixture of starch-starch or starch with other biopolymers such as protein and non-starch polysaccharides could provide a new approach in producing starch-based food products. In the context of food processing, a specific adjustment in the rheological properties plays an important role in regulating production processing and optimizing the applicability, stability, and sensory of the final food products. This review examines various biopolymer mixtures based on starch and the influence of their interaction on physicochemical and rheological properties of the starch-based foods. It is evident that the physicochemical and rheological characteristics of the biopolymers mixture are highly dependent on the type of starch and other biopolymers that make them up mixing ratios, mixing procedure and presence of other food ingredients in the mixture. Understanding these properties will lead to improve the formulation of starch-based foods and minimize the need to resort to chemically modified starch.     

Applications of supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) of palm oil and oil from natural sources

Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), which has received much interest in its use and further development for industrial applications, is a method that offers some advantages over conventional methods, especially for the palm oil industry. SC-CO? refers to supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) that uses carbon dioxide (CO?) as a solvent which is a nontoxic, inexpensive, nonflammable, and nonpolluting supercritical fluid solvent for the extraction of natural products. Almost 100% oil can be extracted and it is regarded as safe, with organic solvent-free extracts having superior organoleptic profiles. The palm oil industry is one of the major industries in Malaysia that provides a major contribution to the national income. Malaysia is the second largest palm oil and palm kernel oil producer in the World. This paper reviews advances in applications of supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO?) extraction of oils from natural sources, in particular palm oil, minor constituents in palm oil, producing fractionated, refined, bleached, and deodorized palm oil, palm kernel oil and purified fatty acid fractions commendable for downstream uses as in toiletries and confectionaries.     

Spatial arrangement of carbon nanotubes in TiO2 photoelectrodes to enhance the efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells

Three electrode structures with different spatial arrangements of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in the mesoporous TiO(2) layer were employed in dye-sensitized solar cells to study the effect of surface states at the interface formed by the incorporation of CNTs. It was found that the decay of open circuit voltage (V(oc)) was significantly minimized by avoiding the direct contact of nanotubes to the conducting substrate by introducing a thin buffer layer of TiO(2) while maintaining the superior electron collection efficiency from the incorporation of nanotubes.     

Synthesis,spectroscopic characterization,crystal structure,and anti-bacterial activity of diorganotin(IV) complexes with 5-bromo-2-hydroxybenzaldehyde-N(4)-ethylthiosemicarbazone

Three new diorganotin(IV) complexes, [Me₂Sn(BDET] (2), [Bu₂Sn(BDET)] (3), and [Ph₂Sn(BDET)] (4), were synthesized by reacting R₂SnCl₂ (R = Me, Bu, and Ph) with 5-bromo-2-hydroxybenzaldehyde-N(4)-ethylthiosemicarbazone [H₂BDET, (1)] in the presence of KOH in absolute methanol. The newly synthesized complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, molar conductivity, UV–vis, FT-IR, ¹H, ¹³C, and ¹¹⁹Sn NMR spectroscopies. The molecular structure of 4 was confirmed by X-ray crystallography. X-ray crystallography revealed that the doubly deprotonated O,N,S-tridentate thiosemicarbazone coordinates to tin(IV), resulting in a distorted trigonal bipyramidal geometry. Their ¹H, ¹³C, and ¹¹⁹Sn NMR spectra support a five-coordinate tin(IV) in solution for all complexes, in accord with the solid-state X-ray structure determined for 4. Compounds 1–4 were evaluated for their antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacter aerogenes, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella typhi. The results exhibited that 2–4 were active with comparable potency compared to the standard drug. Antibacterial studies also indicated that the complexes have potential for biological evaluation.     

Drought Stress Effects on Growth,ROS Markers,Compatible Solutes,Phenolics, Flavonoids,and Antioxidant Activity in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Amaranthus tricolor</Emphasis>

Four selected Amaranthus tricolor cultivars were grown under four irrigation regimes (25, 50, 80, and 100% field capacity) to evaluate the mechanisms of growth and physiological and biochemical responses against drought stress in randomized complete block design with three replications. Drought stress led to decrease in total biomass, specific leaf area, relative water content (RWC), photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, chlorophyll ab), and soluble protein and increase in MDA, H₂O₂, EL, proline, total carotenoid, ascorbic acid, polyphenols, flavonoids, and antioxidant activity. However, responses of these parameters were differential in respect to cultivars and the degree of drought stresses. No significant difference was observed in control and LDS for most of the traits. The cultivars VA14 and VA16 were identified as more tolerant to drought and could be used for further evaluations in future breeding programs and new cultivar release programs. Positively significant correlations among MDA, H₂O₂, compatible solutes, and non-enzymatic antioxidant (proline, TPC, TFC, and TAC) suggested that compatible solutes and non-enzymatic antioxidant played vital role in detoxifying of ROS in A. tricolor cultivar. The increased content of ascorbic acid indicated the crucial role of the ASC–GSH cycle for scavenging ROS in A. tricolor.     

An Optimum Solution for One-Dimensional Slitting Problems: A Dynamic Programming Approach

One-dimensional slitting problems are often encountered in textile, paper or sheet-metal industries where a roll of this product needs to be divided into various narrower-width rolls. The rolls are slit into pieces such that the total value of the sale is maximized depending on the width and the number of defects in the sheet. As the width of a piece increases, the value of the piece increases also, but on the other hand, the number of defects in the piece increases as well, causing reduction in its value. Based on these constraints, a dynamic programming formulation is framed so as to maximize the total value of the sale. Computational complexity with a numerical example is discussed to demonstrate how the procedure works.     

Bifurcations and chaos control in a discrete-time predator-prey system of Leslie type

We investigate the dynamics of a discrete-time predator-prey system of Leslie type. We show algebraically that the system passes through a flip bifurcation and a Neimark-Sacker bifurcation in the interior of $\R^{2}_+$ using center manifold theorem and bifurcation theory. Numerical simulations are implimented not only to validate theoretical analysis but also exhibits chaotic behaviors, including phase portraits, period-11 orbits, invariant closed circle, and attracting chaotic sets. Furthermore, we compute Lyapunov exponents and fractal dimension numerically to justify the chaotic behaviors of the system. Finally, a state feedback control method is applied to stabilize the chaotic orbits at an unstable fixed point.     

Handling equality constraints in evolutionary optimization

Over the last few decades several methods have been proposed for handling functional constraints while solving optimization problems using evolutionary algorithms (EAs). However, the presence of equality constraints makes the feasible space very small compared to the entire search space. As a consequence, the handling of equality constraints has long been a difficult issue for evolutionary optimization methods. This paper presents a Hybrid Evolutionary Algorithm (HEA) for solving optimization problems with both equality and inequality constraints. In HEA, we propose a new local search technique with special emphasis on equality constraints. The basic concept of the new technique is to reach a point on the equality constraint from the current position of an individual solution, and then explore on the constraint landscape. We believe this new concept will influence the future research direction for constrained optimization using population based algorithms. The proposed algorithm is tested on a set of standard benchmark problems. The results show that the proposed technique works very well on those benchmark problems.     

GC-MS Analysis of the Essential Oil from the Oleoresin of Pistacia atlantica var. mutica

The oleoresin of Pistacia atlantica var. mutica, growing in different regions of Iran, is a popular naturally occurring chewing gum and has been used traditionally in the treatment of peptic ulcer. The GC-MS analysis of the essential oil, obtained from steam distillation of the oleoresin of P. Atlantica var. mutica, has led to the identification and quantification of eleven terpenoids, -pinene (70%), -pinene (1.94%), 3-carene (0.2%), carveol (2.18%), epoxypinene (2.15%), limonene oxide (9%), myrtenol (5.31%), limonene (0.62%), citral (5.72%), -phellandrene (0.2%), and -myrcene (0.3%). The total amount of essential oil obtained was 22% v/w which is higher than any other species of the genus Pestacia.