Mixing Ratio Optimization of Silkworm, Mealworm, and White Grub Using Response Surface Methodology

Purpose: In this study, the optimal mixing ratio of total branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) content, total unsaturated fatty acid content, antioxidant activities, and enzyme activities of silkworm, mealworm, and white grub, which are alternative protein sources, was derived using response surface analysis.Method: Silkworm, mealworm, and white grub were the independent variables, and total BCAA content, total unsaturated fatty acid content, total polyphenol content, total flavonoid content, ABTS radical scavenging activity, α-glucosidase inhibitory activity, and ACE inhibitory activity were used as the dependent variables to determine the optimal mixing ratio.Result: The optimal mixing ratio for total BCAA content, total unsaturated fatty acid content, antioxidant activities, and enzyme activities derived from the response surface analysis was silkworm (X1) 2.998 : mealworm (X2) 0.623 : white grub (X3) 1.983. At this ratio, the total BCAA content was 0.52 g, the total unsaturated fatty acid content was 0.44 g, the total polyphenol content was 67.02 mg TAE/g, the total flavonoid content was 35.58 mg QE/g, the ABTS radical scavenging activity was 95.61%, the α-glucosidase inhibitory activity was 37.79%, and the ACE inhibitory activity was 95.25%.Conclusion: It is expected that the optimal mixing ratio of silkworm, mealworms, and white grub derived in this study can be used to develop products for the management of various chronic diseases.

Effect of Optimal Mixing Ratio of Dendropanax, Sea Salt, and Other Extracts on the Alleviation of Hair Loss Symptoms

Purpose: This study was conducted to select the optimal mixing ratio (OMR) of extracts including Dendropanax, sea salt, and others from Jeollanam-do and to develop functional cosmetics that can help alleviate hair loss symptoms.Methods: Our research team determined the OMR through cytotoxicity and cell proliferation tests, and confirmed the anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial effects of the final selected OMR.Results: The cytotoxicity was low when the OMR was 0.1:1:5:1, but cell proliferation was high, and anti-inflammatory activity effectively inhibited the expression of IL–6 and iNOS. The anti-microbial activity also had an effect on Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus.Conclusion: This study selected OMR (1:0.1:5:1) to develop functional cosmetics that can help alleviate hair loss symptoms. The final selection of OMR confirmed low cytotoxicity, high cell proliferation, inhibition of expression of IL–6 and iNOS, and anti-microbial activity. Therefore, it is expected to serve as a functional cosmetic that can help alleviate hair loss symptoms in the future.

Uncrowded Hypervolume-based Multi-objective Optimization with Gene-pool Optimal Mixing

Domination-based multi-objective (MO) evolutionary algorithms (EAs) are today arguably the most frequently used type of MOEA. These methods however stagnate when the majority of the population becomes non-dominated, preventing further convergence to the Pareto set. Hypervolume-based MO optimization has shown promising results to overcome this. Direct use of the hypervolume however results in no selection pressure for dominated solutions. The recently introduced Sofomore framework overcomes this by solving multiple interleaved single-objective dynamic problems that iteratively improve a single approximation set, based on the uncrowded hypervolume improvement (UHVI). It thereby however loses many advantages of population-based MO optimization, such as handling multimodality. Here, we reformulate the UHVI as a quality measure for approximation sets, called the uncrowded hypervolume (UHV), which can be used to directly solve MO optimization problems with a single-objective optimizer. We use the state-of-the-art gene-pool optimal mixing evolutionary algorithm (GOMEA) that is capable of efficiently exploiting the intrinsically available greybox properties of this problem. The resulting algorithm, UHV-GOMEA, is compared to Sofomore equipped with GOMEA, and the domination-based MO-GOMEA. In doing so, we investigate in which scenarios either domination-based or hypervolume-based methods are preferred. Finally, we construct a simple hybrid approach that combines MO-GOMEA with UHV-GOMEA and outperforms both.

Performance enhancement of an MRE-based isolator using a multi-layered electromagnetic system

A magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) is one of smart materials which can control the stiffness according to a strength of a magnetic field. In this regard, various types of MRE-based isolators have been studies. However, there was a limit to performance validation due to the material and structural limitations. In this study, an optimal mixing ratio of the MRE was considered and a new type of an electromagnetic system was proposed. A multi-layered electromagnetic system was proposed to constantly maintain a magnetic closed circuit by behaving with the deformation of the MRE. Through this, numerical and experimental comparisons were performed with the conventional MRE-based isolator, and the superiority of the proposed MRE-based isolator was validated. Moreover, the dynamic characteristics of the proposed MRE-based isolator under the vertical load were investigated. The results show that the proposed MRE-based isolator outperforms the conventional MRE-based isolator in improving the MR effects and the dynamic characteristics of the proposed MRE-based isolator under the vertical load were identified.

Characteristics of Biogas Production from Organic Wastes Mixed at Optimal Ratios in an Anaerobic Co-Digestion Reactor

This study determined the optimal mixing ratio of food waste and livestock manure for efficient co-digestion of sewage sludge by applying the biochemical methane potential (BMP) test, Design Expert software, and continuous reactor operation. The BMP test of sewage sludge revealed a maximum methane yield of 334 mL CH4/g volatile solids (VS) at an organic loading rate (OLR) of 4 kg VS/(m3·d). For food waste, the maximum methane yield was 573 mL CH4/g VS at an OLR of 6 kg VS/(m3·d). Livestock manure showed the lowest methane yield. The BMP tests with various mixing ratios confirmed that a higher mixing ratio of food waste resulted in a higher methane yield, which showed improved biodegradability and an improved VS removal rate. The optimal mixing ratio of 2:1:1 for sewage sludge, food waste, and livestock manure was determined using Design Expert 10. Using continuous co-digestion reactor operation under an optimal mixing ratio, greater organic matter removal and methane yield was possible. The process stability of co-digestion of optimally mixed substrate was improved compared with that of operations with each substrate alone. Therefore, co-digestion could properly maintain the balance of each stage of anaerobic digestion reactions by complementing the characteristics of each substrate under a higher OLR.

Modified bentonite as a conditioning agent for stabilising heavy metals and retaining nutrients in sewage sludge for agricultural uses

The management and disposal of excess sludge are emerging issues owing to the high costs associated with treatment. In this study, the viability of a modified bentonite was investigated as a conditioning agent for the stabilisation of heavy metals (i.e., Cu, Zn, Cr, Pb, and Cd) and the retention of nutrient species (i.e., total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorous (TP), available nitrogen (available N), and Olsen-phosphorous (Olsen-P)) in sewage sludge for agricultural use. Five grams of modified bentonite resulted in the highest stabilisation rate of heavy metals and strongly contributed to the stabilisation of heavy metals. However, increased amounts of modified bentonite might increase the TN, available N, and TP losses in the conditioned sewage sludge. Through the analytic hierarchy process modelling, optimal concentrations of nutrient species and heavy metals remaining in the conditioned sewage sludge were achieved when the ratio of bentonite to sewage sludge was 1:12.5 (4 g bentonite : 50 g sludge). Moreover, the optimal mixing ratio of the conditioned sewage sludge to the soil (1:2) was suggested for agricultural use. Based on these observations, modified bentonite allowed the sewage sludge to be used as a fertiliser in agriculture by stabilising heavy metals and retaining nutrient species.

Mulberry and Peppermint Leaves Mixing Ratio Optimization for Skin Beauty

Purpose: This study aims to determine the optimal mixing ratio of mulberry and peppermint leaves and evaluates their biological activities to identify whether the estimated ratio is suitable for use in inner beauty and cosmetic ingredients.Methods: Total polyphenol and flavonoid contents, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) radical scavenging activities, and tyrosinase and elastase inhibition activities were measured to optimize the mixing ratio of mulberry and peppermint leaves.Results: The mixture of mulberry and peppermint leaves showed a total polyphenol content of up to 46.58 mg TAE/g, a total flavonoid content of up to 45.54 mg QE/g, and DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities of up to 74.18% and 40.60%, respectively. Tyrosinase and elastase inhibition activities were up to 67.46% and 35.01%, respectively. In the interest section, the maximum antioxidant and tyrosinase inhibitory activities were obtained at a mulberry:pepperint mixing ratio of 1.49:0.75 (g:g). In the experimental section, the maximum antioxidant and tyrosinase inhibitory activities were obtained at a mulberry:pepperint mixing ratio of 1.79:0.80 (g:g). Further, the maximum antioxidant and elastase inhibitory activities were obtained at a mulberry:pepperint mixing ratio of 1.11:0.75 (g:g).Conclusion: This study determined the superiority of the antioxidant activity, tyrosinase and elastase activity inhibition efficacies, and optimal mixing ratios of mulberry and peppermint leaves. Based on our findings, we believe that mulberry and peppermint leaves at an optimal mixing ratio will have considerable use as inner beauty and cosmetic ingredients.

Effects of Tartary Buckwheat Bran Flour on Dough Properties and Quality of Steamed Bread

Steamed bread is a traditional staple food of China. Replacing wheat flour (WF) with Tartary buckwheat is expected to improve the nutritional value of steamed bread. In this study, Tartary buckwheat flour (TBF), Tartary buckwheat bran flour (TBBF), and Tartary buckwheat core flour (TBCF) were prepared, their composition and physicochemical properties were compared. It was found that TBBF had higher protein and rutin contents, so its antioxidant activity and dough rheological properties were obviously superior to those of TBF and TBCF. When TBBF was mixed with WF, its weight proportion in the blend (Wbran) had a significant effect on the dough rheological properties. When Wbran was 30%, the dough had the optimal mixing tolerance, and when Wbran exceeded 30%, it caused dilution effect, weakening the gluten network. With the increase of Wbran, the color of the steamed bread developed by the TBBF–WF blend gradually darkened and yellowed, the specific volume declined, and its hardness, gumminess, and chewiness ascended gradually. The appropriate addition of TBBF (Wbran = 10% and 30%) was beneficial to cell diameter and volume of steamed bread, but the further rise of Wbran would destroy its gas retention ability. The predicted glycemic index (pGI) of steamed bread declined significantly with the increasing Wbran.