This study investigates the physical parameters that affect the flow patterns of soybeans with various moisture content (12% to 60%) at varying orifice sizes (20, 40, and 60 mm) in a cylindrical silo. The flow conditions required to obtain a steady mass flow during discharge were evaluated via experiments and three-dimensional discrete element method (DEM) simulation. The discharged mass flow rates at different flow conditions provided the critical size of the orifice. If the reduced diameter (Dred) of an orifice is >5.59, the flow showed a steady state. Based on the mass flow index (MFI), the flow patterns at 40% and 60% moisture content at 40 and 60 mm orifice sizes, respectively, showed funnel flows. although these flow conditions were satisfied to maintain a steady flow. The maximum wall pressure for the funnel flow showed the location of the interlocking phenomenon where the stagnant zone began during discharging. DEM simulation was validated through the mass profiles using the pa... [more]

Thermal processing of white radish using retort sterilization at different temperatures was investigated according to the dimension of the package. Four different samples with the same weight and volume were placed in packages with different dimensions. The degree of sterilization (i.e., F0-value) at the cold point targeted at 6 min was determined based on experimental data and heat transfer simulation. The sterilization time was considerably increased with a decrease in surface area to unit volume ratio (φ) at each temperature. The sterilization time for the sample with the highest φ (155.56) was approximately five times faster than the sample with the lowest φ (72.22) at all heating temperatures. Numerical simulation conducted with a proper heat transfer coefficient (h) showed mostly good agreement with the experimental data (RMSE < 2 °C). Changes in color and total phenolic content were higher for samples heated at higher temperatures. Hardness values of white radish samples meas... [more]

(anise) is a dense vegetal matrix with considerable amounts of bioactive components known for its pharmacological properties. The optimization of extraction constitutes an important key to improving efficacy and avoiding wasting time. Within this framework, the present study was designed to select the most appropriate extractor solvent mixture to extract phenolic and flavonoids using Mixture Design Methodology. The concerned responses were the total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC) and antioxidant ability examined by 2,2-diphenyl-l-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. Before mixture design optimization, a screening of solvents was conducted on ten polar and nonpolar solvents to choose the best solvents that give a maximum of total phenolic compounds. This first step has shown that water, ethanol and methanol were the best-used solvents. Later, an augmented centroid design investigated the solvent system’s optimization. The results of simultaneous optimization have shown th... [more]

Essential oils (EOs) from Abies sachalinensis (Sakhalin fir), a conifer species found in Sakhalin Island and Hokkaido in Japan, effectively remove nitrogen dioxide and possess antifungal activity. EOs also exert a relaxing effect and enhance air quality. Underwater shock waves generate instantaneous high pressure that ruptures cell walls, enhancing the performance of steam distillation and oil extraction. In this study, we aimed to increase the yield and quality of A. sachalinensis extracts using shockwaves. Leaves and branches were subjected to shockwave pretreatment or left untreated before EO extraction by steam distillation. EO yield of untreated dried leaves was 2.4 g/kg of dry leaf weight (DW). Upon application of a 3.0 kV, 3.6 kJ shockwave, the yield increased with the number of shockwave cycles. After ten cycles, yield increased 13.6-fold. Pretreatment with shockwaves for 10 cycles resulted in approximately 6- and 13-fold reductions in total energy consumption relative to fresh... [more]

Trehalose (α-D-glucopyranosyl-1,1-α-D-glucopyranoside) is a stable and nonreducing disaccharide; can be used as sweetener, stabilizer, and humectant; and has many applications in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. Trehalose production from maltose catalyzed by trehalose synthase (TreS) is simple and economically feasible for industrial-scale application. Reducing the cost and enhancing the efficiency of TreS synthesis and the conversion of maltose to trehalose is critical for trehalose production. In this study, the homologous TreS was constitutively overexpressed in Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC13032 by removing the repressor gene lacIq fragment in the plasmid, and TreS expression could be exempt from the inducer addition and induction process. For cell permeabilization, Triton X-100 was used as a permeabilization agent, and the treatment time was 3 h. In the conversion system, the permeabilized cells of recombinant C. glutamicum were used as biocatalysts, 300 g/L ma... [more]

Although there were randomized control trials (RCTs) that showed the considerable efficacy of herbal medicine (HM) in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and systematic reviews on the value of some herbs in the treatment of IPF, there have been no systematic reviews comparing the combined use of complex HM against pirfenidone monotherapy in IPF. This review evaluated the efficacy of parallel administration of HM and pirfenidone in IPF treatment. We conducted a systematic review of RCTs that compared pirfenidone monotherapy against pirfenidone combined administration with HM in IPF. We searched the EMBASE, CENTRAL, PubMed, and CNKI databases for relevant RCTs published before July 2021. Six RCTs were eligible for inclusion. Compared with the control group, a greater recovery or a smaller reduction in forced vital capacity (FVC) and, in general, a valid improvement in the St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire was observed in the treatment group. However, it should be noted that the risk... [more]

The structure of rice husk char is one of the factors that influence the morphology of SiC and the composition of by-products in the magnesiothermic reduction. This structure can be improved by carbonization. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effect of the carbonization temperature of rice husk char on the structure of SiC and identify the by-products formed by the magnesiothermic reduction. The rice husk char was made by carbonization at various temperatures of 700, 800, 900, and 1000 °C. They were converted to SiC by magnesiothermic reduction at 600 °C, washing with hydrochloric acid, calcination at 700 °C in an air atmosphere, and washing with a mixture of hydrofluoric acid and acetic acid. The products were characterized by FT-IR, XRD, and SEM-EDS. The results showed that creating SiC using the magnesiothermic method with carbonization at a temperature of 1000 °C produced a polytype 2H-SiC, and the by-products were MgO, Mg2SiO4, and Si. MgO was successfully separated in the... [more]

Historically, the application of thermal heating in food processing could be dated back to the invention by Nicholas Appert (1749−1841) which is nowadays known as canning and is able to preserve food products stored in glass bottles for an extended period [...]

In the current investigation, Annona muricata Linn. lyophilized fruit pulp powder was evaluated for its hepatoprotective activity induced by paracetamol or acetaminophen (APAP). Male Sprague Dawley rats were orally pre-treated for 15 days with A. muricata lyophilized fruit pulp powder at low (1 g/kg b.wt) and high doses (2 g/kg b.wt). Silymarin (100 mg/kg) was administered as the standard drug. Hepatotoxicity was induced using APAP, in a single oral administration of 2.5 g/kg body weight dosage on the 15th day. Aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were elevated in the APAP group but were found to be significantly reduced in the pre-treated groups in a dose-dependent manner. APAP administration brought down the serum total protein and albumin levels significantly. The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and catalase were reduced in the APAP administration; further, the reduced glutathione pool in the... [more]

Food waste is a matter of deep concern as it is creating multidimensional threats to the environment. Though these are potential sources of plant nutrients, a detailed investigation has not yet been conducted. Hence, a physico-chemical characterization of non-edible food waste such as brinjal waste, potato peels, banana peels, orange peels, eggshells, cow bones, chicken bones, fish bones, and their combined waste was accomplished using FTIR, TGA, XGT-5000, CHN corder, etc. The present study revealed that plant waste samples had lower ash contents (1.36−7.79%) but higher volatile matter (72.33−80.04%), and the reverse was true in animal waste. In addition, animal waste, except eggshells (22.48%), had lower fixed carbon (1.01−2.83%). On the other hand, fruit waste was documented with higher fixed carbon (11.33−14.27%). Results also indicated that animal waste and their combined samples, except eggshells, contained more nitrogen (3.82−5.06%). The concentration of P was statistically signi... [more]

Natural products are increasingly becoming part of our daily lives through their use in industry, food, as therapeutic agents, etc. To evaluate their possible applications, it is essential to characterize them chemically to explore their potential. Different techniques may be used to characterize natural products, including microextraction techniques. These techniques have been gaining popularity due to the advantages associated with their low use of organic solvents and the small amount of sample used relative to more classical sample preparation techniques. Their application in the extraction of compounds from natural products is still scarce. This manuscript intends to review the most used solid-based miniaturized sample preparation techniques applied to determining compounds in natural products. The main applications of these methodologies will be discussed, with a particular focus on natural product analysis, as well as their advantages and disadvantages over traditionally used sa... [more]

Composting is a sustainable alternative for green waste (GW) valorization contributing to the circular bioeconomy. However, the processing time must be reduced and the end-product quality must be improved. This study determined the effect of the incorporation of processed food waste (PFW), unprocessed food (UPFW), sawdust (SW), phosphate rock (PR) and a specific bacterial inoculum on GW-composting process parameters and product quality. Three treatments were evaluated in 120 kg piles: (i) TA: (GW + UPFW + PFW + inoculum), (ii) TB (GW + UPFW + PFW), and (iii) TC (GW). An inoculum of Bacillus sp. and Paenibacillus sp. was incorporated in the cooling phase for TA. On the other hand, the effect of the inoculum at the laboratory scale (20 kg reactors) was compared with that found at the pilot scale (120 kg piles). The incorporation of FW, SW, PR and the inoculum increased the amount of lignocellulose biodegradation (TA: 29.1%; TB: 22.7%; TC: 18.2%), which allowed for a reduction of up to 14... [more]

The secret to ensuring food security and the growth of agricultural development is farmland production efficiency. In the context of urbanization, this means that farmers need to increase their off-farm employment behavior. The research goal of this paper is to explore whether this will have a impact on farmland production. This paper is based on the data of the China Land Economic Survey conducted by Nanjing Agricultural University and uses Tobit and other methods to conduct empirical tests. The main findings of this paper are as follows: (1) When the proportion of the household’s off-farm employment time is less than 73%, an increase in off-farm employment reduces farmland production efficiency. When the proportion of the household’s off-farm employment time exceeds 73%, an increase in off-farm employment increases the farmland production efficiency. (2) This paper eliminates the scale efficiency contribution in farmland production efficiency to obtain pure technical production effic... [more]

Chuanxiong (CX, Ligusticum chuanxiong), Japanese Chuanxiong (JCX, Cnidium officinale), Fuxiong (FX, Ligusticum sinense ‘Fuxiong’), and Jinxiong (JX, Ligusticum sinense ‘Jinxiong’) are aromatic herbs used in China, Japan, and other regions. Their morphology and aromatic odor are similar, resulting in confused and mixed uses. This study compares the volatile compositions of these herbs for defining their medical uses. Headspace solid-phase microextraction−gas chromatography−triple quadrupole−mass spectrometry was employed to separate, identify, and quantify the compounds in the volatile gas of the four herbs. A total of 128 volatile compounds were identified and quantified in 23 these herbal samples. The sums of 106, 115, 116, and 120 compounds were detected in the volatile gas of CX, JCX, FX, and JX, with the mean contents of 4.80, 7.12, 7.67, and 12.0 μg/g, respectively. Types and contents of the main compounds were found to be different in the volatile gas of these herbs. The orthogon... [more]

ABTS (2,2′-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic) acid) is a widely used compound for determining the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of plant extracts, food, clinical fluids, etc. This photometric assay is based on the reduction by the presence of antioxidant compounds of a well-known metastable radical (ABTS•+) which can be formed via several different approaches and be used in many different determination methodologies such as automated photometric measures in microplates, clinical robots, valuable titrations, and previous liquid chromatographic separation. Another interesting aspect is that, in some cases, the ABTS/TAC method permits sequential hydrophilic and lipophilic antioxidant activity determinations, obtaining total antioxidant activity values through the summatory data of both types of antioxidants. In this work, we present a review of several aspects of the ABTS/TAC, highlighting the major achievements that have made this method so widely used, e.g., ABTS radical f... [more]

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of the sous vide and electric oven cooking methods on the physical and sensory characteristics of camel meat. A combination of 4 cooking temperatures (70, 80, 90, and 100 °C) and 6 cooking times (30, 60, 90, 120, 150, and 180 min) was applied. Both methods significantly affected the meat’s physical properties (pH, cooking loss, density, lightness, redness, and yellowness color components), except for water activity. Furthermore, the cooking temperature and time significantly affected all the sensory properties (tenderness, flavor, juiciness, and general acceptance). The cooking loss was the only parameter affected significantly by the interaction of the cooking method, cooking temperature, and cooking time. It is concluded that the sous vide method is the more suitable method for cooking camel meat compared to the electric oven method considering the cooking temperature and time. Further studies are recommended to estimate energy consumption for... [more]

This study aimed to analyse the antibacterial potential of limonene, terpineol, and eugenol for the biofilm reduction of food-borne E. coli, S. aureus and S. typhimurium. A microdilution test with resazurin application was used for the minimum inhibitory concentration and a colony plate count was used for the minimum bactericidal concentration. Biofilm biomass was quantified using the crystal violet assay, while biofilm viability was determined using the plate count method. The results show the highest antibacterial potential among terpenoids for eugenol, followed by terpineol and limonene. Both biomass reduction and viability are strongly dependent on the concentration of all terpenoids tested (p < 0.05). Moreover, eugenol reduced biofilm biomass most effectively (67% for E. coli), while viability was reduced most by terpineol (3.8 log CFU cm−2 for E. coli and S. aureus). The correlation coefficient for the reduction in biomass and viability was highest for eugenol (0.9) and chlorh... [more]

Crohn’s disease (CD) is an inflammatory bowel disease, cases of which have substantially increased in recent years. The classical formula Dajianzhong decoction (DD, Japanese: Daikenchuto) is often used to treat CD, but few studies have evaluated related therapeutic mechanisms. In this study, we investigated the potential targets and mechanisms of DD used for treating CD at the molecular level through the weighted gene co-expression network. Methods: The main chemical components of the three DD herbs (Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim., Zingiber officinale (Willd.) Rosc., and Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma) were searched for using the HERB database. The targets for each component were identified using the SwissTargetPrediction and HERB databases, whereas the disease targets for CD were retrieved from the GeneCards and DisGeNET databases. The functional enrichment analysis was performed on the common targets of DD and CD. High-throughput sequencing data for CD patients were retrieved from the Gene E... [more]

The development of flour from established native sources to alternative and sustainable sources is increasing as demands for flour products rise due to recent global conflicts [...]

The amount of food waste is increasing with the development of society and the increase in population; the rough treatment of food waste could result in a serious environmental crisis and waste of resources. Hydrothermal treatment is a promising scheme to achieve the harmless treatment and utilization of food waste. Although there are many studies on the hydrothermal treatment of food waste, there is still a lack of systematic summary and comprehensive analysis of the relevant literature. In this review, we provide an in-depth analysis of the specific impact mechanisms of hydrothermal conditions on the gaseous, solid, and liquid products. Meanwhile, the hydrothermal conversion mechanisms of food waste components are systematically sorted out. The review also discusses the potential application areas for the derived products from the hydrothermal treatment of food waste. Finally, the main challenges and future research directions are proposed to improve the development of the hydrotherm... [more]

Milk containing aflatoxin M1 (ATM1) in quantities above 0.05 µg/kg is considered unsuitable for consumption. It is possible to use mycotoxin deactivators that bind aflatoxin M1 and allow the further use of milk. The study aimed to examine the impact of selected mycotoxin deactivators (beta-glucan from yeast and oats, and live and dead lactic acid bacteria) on the nutritional composition of milk after binding to aflatoxin M1 intentionally added to milk. The study used consumption milk with 2.8% milk fat intentionally contaminated with aflatoxin M1. Furthermore, 0.05% and 0.1% solutions of beta-glucan from yeast and beta-glucan from oats were added to the contaminated milk, as well as live and dead lactic acid. Concentrations of Na, K, Mg, and Ca were monitored at the zero hour of binding of mycotoxin deactivators and ATM1, after 2 h of binding, and after 4 and 24 h of binding. The largest deviations were found in Na, K, and Mg, while the minimum changes were observed in Ca. Live lactic... [more]

The purpose of this work was to evaluate the recovery of bioactive extracts from Acacia dealbata leaves and twigs and to characterize their chemical composition and functional properties. Fresh and air-dried samples were extracted by maceration at room temperature and by hot extraction at 60 °C using aqueous solutions of acetone, ethanol, and methanol. The highest extraction yields (14.8 and 12.0% for dried leaves and twigs, respectively) were obtained with 70% acetone, for both extraction procedures. Extracts were characterized for total phenolics content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC) and total proanthocyanidin content (TPrAC). Bioactive extracts with high TPC (526.4 mg GAE/g extract), TFC (198.4 mg CatE/g extract), and TPrAC (631.3 mg PycE/g extract) were obtained using maceration, a technically simple and low-energy process. The non-polar fraction of selected extracts was characterized using gas chromatography and time of flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOFMS). The main componen... [more]

Carbon and nitrogen are the essential elements constituting living organisms and are closely coupled during biogeochemical cycles. Due to the atmospheric nitrogen deposition and increased agricultural nitrogen fertilizer input, the effect of nitrogen on the sequestration of soil organic carbon (SOC) is controversial. To facilitate a comprehensive understanding of this issue, the progress of recent studies on the different SOC stabilization mechanisms is reviewed. Based on the differences in the stability and fate mechanisms of particulate organic carbon (POC) and mineral-associated organic carbon (MAOC), nitrogen input can increase POC input and inhibit microbial decomposition of POC by increasing terrestrial biomass, changing the quality of litter and promoting the formation of aggregates. N input reduces the chemical stability of MAOC by altering the chemical bonding of mineral−organic complexes. This study has promising implications for understanding the effect of N on SOC transform... [more]

The FT-NIR technique was used for the rapid and non-destructive determination of sweet cherry and sour cherry ripeness. Titratable acidity (A), water-soluble total solids (SSC), total anthocyanin (TA) content and calculated maturity index (SSC/A = MI) were used as reference values. PLS correlations were validated by seven-fold cross-validation (RMSECV for different parameters: DM = 1.25%, w/w; A = 0.14%, w/w; SSC = 0.97%, w/w; TA = 17.5 g/100 mL; MI = 1.66) and test-validation (RMSEP for different parameters: DM = 1.46%, w/w; A = 0.19%, w/w; SSC = 0.99%, w/w; TA = 17.5 g/100 mL; MI = 1.59). Different discriminant analyses and support vector machine (SVM) classifications were performed for each parameter. The quadratic discriminant analysis (QDA) was found to be the best pattern recognition method. A maturity degree (MD) was developed based on the reference values, which classified the samples into mature and immature categories with an accuracy of 98.44%.

High-alumina coal fly ash (HAFA: 45% Al2O3 and 40% SiO2) is regarded as a special solid waste that is generated from power plants in northwestern China. It is regarded as an important substitute for bauxite and is applied to prepare mullite-based ceramics. In this work, a hydrometallurgy−pyrometallurgy synergistic process is proposed to resolve the lower Al2O3/SiO2 mass ratio (Al/Si) and lower degree of crystallinity that can promote the formation of compact mullite-based ceramics. During the activation−desilication process, the inert Al-O-Si is activated to form more active Si-O-H in acid activation, which can be decomposed easily in the desilication process, and the Al/Si mass ratio increases from 1.17 to 2.80, so the mullite grains and metastable phase can be exposed. During the sintering process, mullite grains and the metastable phase tended to axial growth, part of the metastable amorphous Q4(3,2,1Al) structure was transformed to Q4(4Al) structure (mullite), and then the staggere... [more]