Background: Natural anthocyanins present a low solubility in lipophilic media, which compromises their effective application in lipophilic systems. In this work, cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (Cy3glc) was esterified by the addition of fatty acids with increasing chain-lengths and a structure-activity relationship was performed towards the description of the best analog for skin-care applications. Methods: By enzymatic hemi-synthesis, it was possible to obtain 5 structurally related derivatives of cyanidin-3-O-glucoside with successive C2 increments in the aliphatic chain. The stability in hanks buffer and DMEM with or without FBS was followed by HPLC. The cytotoxicity against keratinocytes was evaluated by MTT assay. The antioxidant capacity was determined by using the fluorescent probe DCF-DA. The effect on enzyme activity was evaluated towards tyrosinase, collagenase, and elastase enzymes by colorimetric assays. MIC and MBC values were obtained against reference strains and against multidru... [more]

Chemical doping of ceramic oxides may provide a possible route for realizing high-efficient oxygen transport membranes. Herein, we present a study of the previously unreported dual-phase mixed-conducting oxygen-permeable membranes with the compositions of 60 wt.% Ce0.85Pr0.1M0.05O2-δ-40 wt.%Pr0.6Sr0.4Fe0.8Al0.2O3-δ (M = Fe, Co, Ni, Cu) (CPM-PSFA) adding sintering aids, which is expected to not only improve the electronic conductivity of fluorite phase, but also reduce the sintering temperature and improve the sintering properties of the membranes. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) results indicate that the CPM-PSFA contain only the fluorite and perovskite two phases, implying that they are successfully prepared with a modified Pechini method. Backscattered scanning electron microscopy (BSEM) results further confirm that two phases are evenly distributed, and the membranes are very dense after sintering at 1275 °C for 5 h, which is much lower than that (1450 °C, 5 h) of the composite 60 wt... [more]

Biodrying was studied over 46 days in two piles (P1 and P2) composed of orange peel and two structuring materials (mulch: P1; sugarcane bagasse: P2). The oxygen and carbon dioxide levels were recorded at different depths (0.1 to 0.6 m). From the beginning to days 33−35 the drying was carried out by a combination of microbial heat, convection, and solar irradiance; moisture reached 30%, corresponding to a water activity (aw) of 0.88−0.9, which was insufficient to maintain microbial activity. Additionally, the O2 and CO2 levels (21% and 0%, respectively) evidenced the end of the biological phase of the process. After day 35, the drying occurred only by convection and solar irradiance. At the end, moisture reached 14% (P1) and 12% (P2), showing that the turning frequency, as well as the type and proportion of the structuring materials, were adequate and significantly influenced moisture reduction, allowing the aeration necessary for biodrying. At the end, a material with an average calori... [more]

This research was focused on developing means of Tintorera grape (Vitis vinifera L.) waste recovery, devising new value-added uses for that material and optimizing of anthocyanin-rich formulations by spray-drying in order to obtain novel ingredients, all for food industry use. First, the identification of phenolic compounds in Tintorera grape extracts by HPLC-DAD-ESI-MSn enabled characterization of the raw material’s health-promoting characteristics. Maintaining the spray-dried products for 4 weeks’ storage enabled study of the formulation’s loss of anthocyanins and antioxidant properties due to drying process temperatures as well as analysis of the retention and stability of such compounds under different conditions (20 and 40 °C). Tintorera grapes presented a significant amount of Malvidin 3-O-hex (5.66 mg g−1 DW). Anthocyanins in spray-dried formulations were stable for 4 weeks. Optimal conditions in the spray-dryer facilitated the products’ antioxidant capacity; for instance, using... [more]

SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus triggering the disease COVID-19, has a catastrophic health and socioeconomic impact at a global scale. Three key factors contribute to the pathogenesis of COVID-19: excessive inflammation, immune system depression/inhibition, and a set of proinflammatory cytokines. Common to these factors, a central function of oxidative stress has been highlighted. A diversity of clinical trials focused predominantly on antioxidants are being implemented as potential therapies for COVID-19. In this study, we look at the role of zinc, glutathione, and polyphenols, as key antioxidants of possible medicinal or nutritional significance, and examine their role in the antiviral immune response induced by SARS-Cov-2. An unresolved question is why some people experience chronic COVID and others do not. Understanding the relationship between SARS-CoV-2 and the immune system, as well as the role of defective immune responses to disease development, would be essential to recognize the... [more]

Optimally designed functional foods are considered the most important part of a balanced and healthy diet. Goat meat nuggets, an otherwise healthy option, are packed with undesirable saturated and unsaturated fats. The present work suggests an optimal functional formulation to reduce the surplus fat content of goat meat nuggets by adding two optimally calculated functional ingredients, namely, fenugreek leaves (FL) and psyllium husk (PH). Response surface optimization was performed to determine the optimal content of the functional ingredients (FL and PH), resulting in minimum fat content without affecting the overall acceptability (OA) and other properties representing the taste and texture (e.g., ash content, pH, crude fiber content, and moisture content) of the nuggets. Functional additives at optimum levels successfully reduced the fat content of the weight-conserved nuggets by almost 39% compared with the control nuggets. Minimal and acceptable effects were observed regarding OA a... [more]

Agitated vessels (or mechanically stirred reactors) are heat exchange devices that are most widely used in many chemical and biochemical process industries, such as anaerobic digestion process. The mixing and heat transfer performances in these vessels are of crucial importance for increasing the energy efficiency in both batch and continuous processes. In this paper, a series of experiments were conducted to investigate heat transfer performance in agitated vessels for various configurations. In fact, this study examines the effects of heat transfer geometry (wall jacket and helical coils), heating power, and stirring speed, on the heating performance of two stirred fluids—water alone and a mixture of water and food waste. The experiments were conducted using a jacketed insulation tank with a helical coil and a propeller agitator. In each experiment, a transient method, based on measuring the temperature dependency on time, and solving the unsteady enthalpy balance, was used to determ... [more]

Supercritical carbon dioxide extraction (SCE-CO2) is an attractive, green technology that is used for the recovery of biologically active compounds from plant material. The antioxidant potential of lipophilic fractions (extract obtained with SCE-CO2) and hydrophilic fractions (extracts obtained from the residue after extraction) obtained from a matrix of freeze-dried tomatoes (cvs. “Admiro” F1, “Jurgiai”, “Vilina”, “Pirmutis”, and “Skariai”) was assessed via different antioxidant activity methods. The total amount of polyphenols, carotenoids, and carotenoid isomers before and after SCE-CO2 extraction was also determined. To investigate the effect of the SCE-CO2 extract on the viability of cancer cells, rat glioblastoma C6 cells were chosen. The SCE-CO2 yielded an average of 800 mg of lipophilic fraction per 100 g of freeze-dried tomatoes. The ABTS•+ scavenging activity of the extract was 251 ± 3.4 µmol TE/g. After SCE-CO2 extraction, the DPPH•-RSA of the freeze-dried tomato matrix was... [more]

The paper focuses on synthesis, characterization and testing in ethanol-water separation by pervaporation of new membrane types based on polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and bacterial cellulose (BC). A technology for obtaining these membranes deposited on a ceramic support is presented in the experimental section. Three PVA-BC composite membranes with different BC content were obtained and characterized by FTIR, SEM and optic microscopy. The effects of operating temperature (40−60 °C), permeate pressure (18.7−37.3 kPa) and feed ethanol concentration (24−72%wt) on total permeate flow rate (0.09−0.23 kg/m2/h) and water/ethanol selectivity (5−23) were studied based on an appropriate experimental plan for each PVA-BC membrane. Statistical models linking the process factors to pervaporation performances were obtained by processing the experimental data. Ethanol concentration of the processed mixture had the highest influence on permeate flow rate, an increase in ethanol concentration leading to a de... [more]

The impact of centrifugal-filter assisted block freeze crystallization (CFBFC) on the physicochemical parameters, total phenolic content (TPC), total anthocyanin content (TAC), and total flavonoid content (TFC), antioxidant activity (AA) and process parameters applied to blueberry juice was studied. Additionally, CFBFC was contrasted with gravitational BFC (GBFC) and centrifugal BFC (CBFC) techniques. For CFBFC process, the solutes values were ≈35.9 °Brix (fresh juice ≈13.8 °Brix), with a very dark red/purple color. Moreover, the bioactive components values presented a significant increase of 2.1, 2.0, 1.8, and 3.1 times compared to the initial TPC, TAC, TFC, and AA values, respectively, and these values were higher than GBFC and CBFC techniques. For efficiency, percentage of concentrate, and solute yield, CFBFC showed values close to 86%, 81%, and 0.9 (kg/kg), respectively, which were higher values than GBFC (48%, 38%, and 0.5 (kg/kg)) and CBFC (79%, 68%, and 0.7 (kg/kg)). Therefore,... [more]

The aim of this paper is to describe a study of the anaerobic digestion of industrial citrus solid waste (ISCW) in both batch and semi-continuous modes for the production of bioenergy without the elimination of D-limonene. The study was conducted at the pilot plant level in an anaerobic reactor with a working volume of 220 L under mesophilic conditions of 35 ± 2 °C. Cattle manure (CM) was used as the inoculum. Three batches were studied. The first batch had a CM/ISCW ratio of 90/10, and Batches 2 and 3 had CM/ISCW ratios of 80/20 and 70/30, respectively. In the semi-continuous mode an OLR of approximately 8 g total chemical oxygen demand (COD)/Ld (4.43 gVS/Ld) was used. The results showed that 49%, 44%, and 60% of volatile solids were removed in the batch mode, and 35% was removed in the semi-continuous mode. In the batch mode, 0.322, 0.382, and 0.316 LCH4 were obtained at STP/gVSremoved. A total of 24.4 L/d (34% methane) was measured in the semi-continuous mode. Bioenergy potentials o... [more]

The eggshells of 120 experimental one-day-old table eggs were contaminated with the spore suspension of Cladosporium cladosporioides, divided into three groups (A−C) and stored at three different temperatures (3 °C, 11 °C and 20 °C) for 28 days. Visible growth of molds on/in experimental eggs was not observed within the entire storage period. No significant differences in the numbers of molds were found between particular groups of eggs. However, the composition of egg mycoflora was greatly influenced by storage conditions. Three mold genera were identified using the PCR method. The highest mold numbers were determined on Day 14 (Groups A and C) and Day 21 (Group B) when the maximum relative humidity and dew point temperature were recorded. On the same days, the dominance of Penicillium spp. and the minimum eggshell firmness were observed. Noticeable changes in egg quality were observed in eggs stored at 20 °C, and most of these eggs were downgraded at the end of storage period. The gr... [more]

Harvesting at high temperatures and bulk transport can negatively influence the quality of olives and lead to undesirable alterations in the extracted oil. Cooling the fruit in the field would be the most logical solution, but it means that the olives arrive too cold at the mill for immediate processing. In this work, the use of warm water in the washing tub to warm up the fruit before grinding instead of flash heat treatment on the paste was assessed in two experiments. In the first one, at the laboratory level, the temperature after milling was determined in three olive cultivars, previously stored at 5 or 10 °C, and then submerged at different water temperatures (25, 30, and 35 °C) for 15, 30, 45, and 60 s. In the second one, two batches of olives were cooled in the field at 5 °C and then conditioned with washing water to obtain a paste at the entrance of the pilot plant malaxer at 27 °C. The temperature of the olives was measured at five points from the discharging up to their ente... [more]

Whole-plant corn silage is a predominant forage for livestock that is processed in Heilongjiang province (Daqing city and Longjiang county), Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (Helin county and Tumet Left Banner) and Shanxi province (Taigu and Shanyin counties) of North China; it was sampled at 0, 5, 14, 45 and 90 days after ensiling. Bacterial community and fermentation quality were analysed. During fermentation, the pH was reduced to below 4.0, lactic acid increased to above 73 g/kg DM (p < 0.05) and Lactobacillus dominated the bacterial community and had a reducing abundance after 14 days. In the final silages, butyric acid was not detected, and the contents of acetic acid and ammonia nitrogen were below 35 g/kg DM and 100 g/kg total nitrogen, respectively. Compared with silages from Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia, silages from Shanxi contained less Lactobacillus and more Leuconostoc (p < 0.05), and had a separating bacterial community from 14 to 90 days. Lactobacillus was nega... [more]

Biohydrogen production from organic solid waste has shown particular advantages over other methods owing to the combination of waste reduction and bioenergy production. In this study, biohydrogen production from the co-digestion of cattle manure and food waste was optimized in a mesophilic semi-continuous process. To maximize hydrogen production, the effects of the mixing ratio (the proportion of food waste in the substrate), substrate concentration, and hydraulic retention time (HRT) on the co-digestion were systematically analyzed using a Box−Behnken design. The results showed that strong interactive effects existed between the three factors, and they had a direct effect on the responses. Hydrogen was primarily produced via the butyrate pathway, which was accompanied by the competing heterolactic fermentation pathway. Propionate and valerate produced from lipids and proteins, respectively, were obtained along with butyrate. The optimal process parameters included a mixing ratio of 47... [more]

Recently, the interest around the Blockchain concept has grown faster and, as a consequence, several studies about the possibility of exploiting such technology in different application domains have been conducted. Most of these studies highlighted the benefits that the use of the blockchain could bring in those contexts where integrity and authenticity of the data are important, e.g., for reasons linked to regulations about consumers’ healthcare. In such cases, it would be important to collect data, coming in real-time through sensors, and then store them in the blockchain, so that they can become immutable and tamper-proof. In this paper, the design and development of a software framework that allows Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices to interact directly with an Ethereum-based blockchain are reported. The proposed solution represents an alternative way for integrating a wide category of IoT devices without relying on a centralized intermediary and third-party services. The main applic... [more]

The replacement of fossil fuel with renewable energy sources seems as though it will be crucial in the future. On the other hand, waste generation increases year by year. Thus, waste-to-energy technologies fit in with the actual trends, such as the circular economy. The crucial type of generated waste is municipal solid waste, which is in the research area. Regarding the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW), anaerobic digestion (AD) allows the recovery of biogas and energy. Furthermore, if it is supported by source segregation, it should allow the recovery of material as fertilizer. The AD process performance (biogas yield and stability) comparison of source-segregated OFMSW (ss-OFMWS) and mechanically sorted OFMSW (ms-OFMSW) as feedstocks was performed in full-scale conditions. The daily biogas volume and methane content were measured to assess AD efficiency. To verify the process stability, the volatile fatty acid (VFA) content, pH value, acidity, alkalinity, and dry mat... [more]

Biomass pellets are a potential renewable and clean energy source. With the advantages of perfect combustion performance and easy storage and transport, biomass pellets have gradually replaced fossil fuels and become widely used. Rapid and accurate determination of biomass pellets’ quality is critical to efficient energy use. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) combined with chemometric methods were utilized. The gross calorific value (CV) and ash content (Ash), volatile matter (VM) and fixed carbon (FC) were firstly measured and analyzed. LIBS spectra and their corresponding elements of biomass pellet samples were analyzed. Three quantitative analysis models for quality indexes including partial least-squares regression (PLSR), least squares-support vector machines (LS-SVM), extreme learning machines (ELM) were further built. All models performed well, especially the LS-SVM model which obtained the best determination results, with all R2 values over 0.95. Concurrently, the mod... [more]

The effects of reduction temperature, gas linear velocity, reduction pressure, reduction time, and reducing gas on the fluidized ironmaking process were studied for the fine iron Newman ore particles (0.154−0.178 mm) and the optimal experimental operating conditions were obtained. Under the optimal conditions, the effects of the coated cow dung on the reduction of fine iron ore particles were studied, and the inhibition mechanism of cow dung on particle adhesion in the fluidized ironmaking process was elucidated. The experimental results show that the optimal operating parameters are linear velocity of 0.6 m/s, reduction pressure of 0.2 MPa, reduction temperature of 1023 K, H2 as the reducing gas, and reduction time of 60 min. Cow dung can react with oxide in the ore powder to form a high melting point substance that can form a certain isolation layer, inhibit the growth of iron whiskers, and improve the fluidization.

Cogeneration is a cost-effective technology, and modern greenhouses are considered one of the best applications for it due to their energy intensity. Taking into account that in such cases the production cost is significantly affected by the cost of energy, the potential of combined heat and power (CHP) has already been examined and proved in practice in some European countries, with the Netherlands being the most representative example. In this study, a comparative investigation of the greenhouse energy cost in all European countries is presented through the use of a combined cooling heat and power (CCHP) system. Using actual historical data spanning a decade, a total overview of the European level is given regarding greenhouse thermal requirements and CCHP energy costs for the cultivation of products with an accepted temperature cultivation range 20 ± 5 °C. By consulting (a) the available daily historical meteorological data for the 2008−2018 period, (b) the recorded actual electrici... [more]

One of the basic criteria for the representativeness of composite material samples is the similarity of the quantitative and qualitative composition of the material in the sample to that of the material it represents. The article presents the results of experimental research concerning the impact of the ratio of the minimum size of cubic concrete samples (lmin) to the maximum size of aggregate grain (Dmax). The content of the basic components of concrete, i.e., coarse aggregate, mortar, sand and cement paste, was analysed. The content of these components in the concrete sample was identified by means of analysis of the sample cross-sectional image, and then, compared with the contents resulting from the concrete mixture proportion. Cases where lmin/Dmax was between 2.38 and 12.5 were analysed. The results of the study indicate a moderate correlation between these two parameters. The largest discrepancies between the component contents of the sample and the controlled concrete were usua... [more]

This paper discusses the determination of fuel consumption and exhaust gas emissions when shredding branches in urban areas. It aimed to determine the hourly emission of exhaust gases to the atmosphere during such work and to identify the designs that can reduce it. The research was carried out with a cylinder woodchipper driven by a low-power (9.5 kW) combustion engine. There were three configurations of the tested drive unit: The factory setting (A) with a carburettor fuel supply system, modernized by us to include an electronic injection system (B). This system (B) was expanded with an adaptation system patented by the authors (P. 423369), thus creating the third configuration (C). The research was carried out when shredding cherry plum (Prunus cerasifera Ehrh. Beitr. Naturk. 4:17. 1789 (Gartenkalender 4:189-204. 1784)) branches with a diameter of 80 mm, which presented a large load for the machine. The machine was operated by one experienced operator. The average operating conditio... [more]

The development and implementation of strategies to assist safe and effective transport and storage of pellets in containers and indoor facilities without heating systems are challenging. This study primarily aimed to reshape the organic fraction of municipal solid waste into a liquid-state binder in order to develop freezing−defrosting-proof non-wood pellets. The introduction of the standard solution of food waste into the process of pelleting consisted of stirring it together with the residual biomass from distillation of cellulosic bioethanol or alternatively spraying very fine droplets on the layer of the starting material before it entered the pilot-scale automatic machine at 200 MPa and 125 °C. The addition by spraying of carbohydrate-rich supplement boiled for five minutes caused the pellets to show increases in apparent density (1250.8500 kg·m−3), durability (99.7665%), and hydrophobicity (93.9785%), and consistently prevented them from suffering severe mechanical fracture by t... [more]

This paper deals with the computation of the performance characteristics of the single-phase self-excited induction generator by field−circuit method. It presents and compares previously unpublished results—self-excitation and no-load characteristics of the generator for different rotor speeds, and complete load steady-state performance characteristics for various types of the core materials. The discrepancies between the performance characteristics of the generator for the catalog’s magnetization curves of different types of electrical sheets and for an actual magnetic core of the generator for self-excitation transients and load steady-state are presented. The results may be useful for designing new constructions of single-phase self-excited induction generators.

The field of Non-Road Mobile Machineries (NRMM) is now more than ever considering the adoption of electric systems to reduce the amount of pollutant emissions per unit of work. However, the intensity and complexity of the tasks performed by a working machine during its life is an obstacle to the widespread adoption of electric systems. Specific design solutions are required to properly split the power output of the hybrid powertrain among the different loads (wheel, power take off, hydraulic tools, etc.). In this work, a performance analysis between a traditional agricultural tractor and a proposed hybrid electric architecture of the same vehicle is shown. The comparison was performed on a set of tasks characterized on a real orchard tractor which were used to build the input signals of two different numerical models: one for the traditional diesel architecture and the other for the hybrid electric solution. The two models were tested with the same operating tasks to have a one to one... [more]