Properties of Ozone-Oxidized Tapioca Starch and Its Use in Coating of Fried Peanuts

Oxidation of tapioca via ozone oxidation was carried out under different conditions in comparison with H₂O₂. The impact of ozonation on physicochemical properties of tapioca was studied and fried peanuts coated with different tapioca were characterized. Different ozone oxidation times (10, 20, and 30 min) and various pH values (5, 7, and 9) were used for tapioca modification. Tapioca oxidized by ozone for 20 min at pH 7 had higher swelling power (SP), water holding capacity (WHC), oil holding capacity (OHC), and viscosity than the native counterpart (P < 0.05). This coincided with the higher carbonyl and carboxyl contents (P < 0.05). The highest frying expansion (FE) with the lowest hardness was attained for fried peanut coated with tapioca oxidized under the aforementioned condition. Therefore, oxidation of tapioca using ozone under optimal conditions could be a potential means to improve frying expansion as well as the crispiness of the fried coated peanuts.     

In Silico Prediction of Cross-Reactive Epitopes of Tropomyosin from Shrimp and Other Arthropods Involved in Allergy

Tropomyosin in shellfish is considered a major cross-reactive allergen in house dust mites and cockroaches; however, the specific epitopes have not been elucidated. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the consensus antigenic determinant among shrimp, house dust mites, and cockroaches using in silico methods. The protein sequences of tropomyosin, including Der f 10, Mac r 1, Pen a 1, Pen m 1, Per a 7, and Bla g 7, were retrieved from the UniProt database. The 3D structures were derived from the AlphaFold or modeled using the Robetta. The determination of linear epitopes was performed by AlgPRED and BepiPRED for B cell epitope, and NetMHCIIpan and NetMHCII for T cell epitope, while Ellipro was used to evaluate conformational epitopes. Fourteen peptides were discovered as the consensus linear B cell epitopes, while seventeen peptides were identified as linear T cell epitopes specific to high-frequency HLA-DR and HLA-DQ alleles. The conformational determination of B cell epitopes provided nine peptides, in which residues 209, 212, 255–256, and 258–259 were found in both linear B cell and linear T cell epitope analysis. This data could be utilized for further in vitro study and may contribute to immunotherapy for allergic diseases associated with tropomyosin.     

Specific activities and radioactive contour maps of natural and anthropogenic radionuclides in beach sand samples (Patong, Kamala, Kata, Karon and Nai Yang) after tsunami disaster in Phuket province, Thailand

Specific activities of natural (⁴⁰K, ²²⁶Ra and ²³²Th) and anthropogenic (¹³⁷Cs) radionuclides in 155 beach sand samples collected from Patong, Kamala, Kata, Karon and Nai Yang beaches, which were affected by the 2004 tsunami disaster, in Phuket province, Thailand, have been studied and measured. Experimental results were obtained by using a high-purity germanium detector and gamma spectrometry analysis system. Gamma ray from radioactive standard sources Cesium-137 (¹³⁷Cs), Cobalt-60 (⁶⁰Co) and Barium-133 (¹³³Ba) were used to calibrate the measurement system. KCl, two well-known (IAEA/RGU-1 and IAEA/RGTh-1) and IAEA/SL-2 reference materials obtained from the International Atomic Energy Agency were used to analyze and compute the ⁴⁰K, ²²⁶Ra,²³²Th and ¹³⁷Cs specific activities in samples from five beaches. The measuring time of each sample is 10,800 s. It was found that the average specific activity of ⁴⁰K in these areas (2459.14 ± 171.71 Bq/kg) was rather high. Furthermore, the results were also used to evaluate the absorbed dose rates in air (D), the radium equivalent (Ra_eq), the external hazard index (H_ex) and the annual effective dose rate (AED_out) in all beach areas. Moreover, experimental results were compared with the Office of Atoms for Peace research data, Thailand as well as with global radioactivity measurements and evaluations. All of the calculated values (⁴⁰K, ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ¹³⁷Cs) were also compared with the recommended values which were proposed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (Exposure to radiation from natural radioactivity in building materials, 1979) and United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (Sources, effects and risk of ionizing radiation, 1988; Exposure from natural sources of radiation, 1993; Sources, effects and risk of ionizing radiation, 2000). The data can be also used to create the radioactive contour maps of the investigated area.