Physicochemical properties of tarap (Artocarpus adoratisimus) starch

The objective of the research was to investigate the physicochemical characteristics of Tarap fruit starch. In this study, young Tarap fruit starch was extracted and the percentage of total starch, resistant starch, amylose and amylopectin were determined. Scanning electron microscope was used to evaluate the morphological features of the starch granule. Swelling, pasting, gelatinization, retrogradation and in vitro digestibility were also investigated. A total of 17.85% starch was successfully extracted from unripe Tarap fruit, whereas the amount of total starch and resistant starch were 89.14% and 47.82%, respectively. The amounts of rapid digestible starch and slowly digestible starch were 6.58% and 23.25%, respectively. Results found that the amylopectin content was higher than amylose (77.15% and 11.97%). The starch granules were round and polygon in shapes with smooth surfaces. The average of starch granules size was range from 6.50 to 8.30 μm with 7.4 μm of mean granule diameter. Pasting properties showed that peak viscosity was observed at about 6.5 min at 73.5oC. Tarap starch gelatinization temperatures (onset, 71.63°C; peak, 74.56°C; conclusion, 78.24°C) and enthalpy of gelatinization (ΔHgel) (3.74 J/g) were higher while the retrograded starches show lower retrogradation temperature and enthalpy than native starches. Unripe Tarap starch showed good potential to be utilized as adhesives and thickener for industrial applications.

An Analysis of Correlation between Diameter Size and Shape of Particle Surface with Strawberry Granule Flow Rate

Strawberry processing into instant drinks is very prospective because the market potential is still available. An important factor for this drink is the provision of granules that are easy to flow so they do not easy to caking. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to analysis correlation between the diameter and shape of the particle surface with the flow rate of strawberry granules. The raw material used was strawberry, while the filling material was lactose food grade. The process to make strawberry granules was conducted through some stages. Firstly, sorting the fruit, making concentrates, dough, and granules. The results of the research showed the smaller the granule diameter, the easier and faster it flows because it has a small friction force. Contrary, the larger the size of the granules diameter, the greater the friction among the granules, make them more difficult to flow. The surface shape of the granule also affects to the flow rate of the granule. The rough surface of the granule causes high bonding and friction on the surface of the particles, so that the flow rate of the granule was blocked. While smooth surface of the granule, the bond and friction among the particle surfaces are very small, so the granule flow rate was higher.

DEHYDRATION AND SPRAYING OF BURITI PULP (Mauritia flexuosa L.): SHELF-LIFE EVALUATION

ABSTRACT The present study aimed to process buriti fruits by dehydration and spraying and to evaluate their shelf-life in polyethylene plastic packaging at different storage temperatures. The edible part of the fruit was dehydrated, crushed and sieved for granule diameter standardization, packaged in polyethylene plastic packaging and stored at different temperatures 24°C (Ambient), 4°C (Cooling) and -12°C (Freezer). Fresh and dehydrated fruits were analyzed for moisture, pH, acidity, total and reducing sugars, proteins, lipids, ashes, carbohydrates, energy, ß-carotene and retinol equivalent. Dehydrated and sprayed buriti was analyzed every 30 days for 150 days of storage for peroxide, acid and iodine indexes and also for microbiological parameters. The constituents that stood out both in fresh and dehydrated and sprayed fruits were: lipids, carbohydrates and consequently, energy and ß-carotene. In relation to shelf-life, all treatments presented good chemical and microbiological stability during the 150 days of storage period. It was concluded that dehydrated and sprayed buriti remained with good chemical and microbiological stability for at least 150 days of storage at temperatures of 4°C and -12°C. It is suggested that this product can be used as an ingredient in formulated foods aimed at supplementation of pro-vitamin A.

Operation mode and external carbon dose as determining factors in elemental composition and morphology of aerobic granules

The elemental composition and morphology of aerobic granules in sequencing batch reactors (GSBRs) treating high-nitrogen digester supernatant was investigated. The investigation particularly focused on the effect of the number of anoxic phases (one vs. two) in the cycle and the dose of external organics loading (450 mg COD/(L·cycle) vs. 540 mg COD/(L·cycle)) on granule characteristics. Granules in all reactors were formed of many single cells of rod and spherical bacteria. Addition of the second anoxic phase in the GSBR cycle resulted in enhanced settling properties of the granules of about 10.6% and at the same time decreased granule diameter of about 19.4%. The study showed that external organics loading was the deciding factor in the elemental composition of biomass. At 540 mg COD/(L·cycle) the granules contained more weight% of C, S and N, suggesting more volatile material in the granule structure. At lower organics loadings granules had the higher diameter of granules which limited the diffusion of oxygen and favored precipitation of mineral compounds in the granule interior. In this biomass higher content of Mg, P and Ca, was observed.

Effect of some Key Factors on the Strength of Recycled Concrete

Because there exists a used cement mortar layer outside the recycled aggregate, there are more interfaces inside recycled concrete, which would result in recycled concrete has different properties from ordinary concrete. In this paper, the effect of such key factors for recycled concrete mix ratio as water-cement ratio, cement strength, sand rate, maximum granule diameter and gradation on the properties of concrete with recycled coarse aggregate was studied by experiment, and the some useful suggestion for mix ratio of recycled concrete was provided.

INTERGRANULE FUSION IN RAT PARS INTERMEDIA CELLS

Using electron microscopy, we studied the morphology of secretory granules in rat pars intermedia cells. We found figures of apparent intergranule fusion, characterized by a tight association of two granules. The fusion was detected in around 2% of all measured granules, indicating a low occurrence of intergranule fusion. To study whether intergranule fusion affects the distribution of granule diameters a simple probabilistic model was developed. It is based on the theory that larger granules are formed by fusion of two or more spherical granules of fixed size, and that the surface of a newly formed granule is equal to the sum of fused granule membranes. The model accounts for the bias on granule diameter measurements due to sectioning of granules. Although the electron microscopy data strongly indicates the existence of intergranule fusion in rat melanotrophs, this process as modelled in the present work does not contribute to the granule diameter distribution significantly. It is likely that in addition to the fusion of larger granules, other processes, such as fusion of microvesicles, may affect the distribution of granule diameters.

Genetics of starch granule size distribution in tetraploid and hexaploid wheats

Wheat endosperm starch is deposited in large, A-type granules and smaller B-type and C-type granules. The quantitative genetics of starch granule size distribution was investigated in 2 ways. Complete diallel crosses, with 5 parents each, were prepared in tetraploid wheat, Triticum turgidum, and hexaploid wheat, Triticum aestivum. Parent and F1 plants were grown in controlled environment growth chambers with 18�C days and 13�C nights to provide parent and F2 grains from uniform conditions. In the same conditions, the basic generations of parent, F1, F2, and backcross of 6 other individual crosses were grown and F1 and backcross grains were freshly generated on these plants. Starch granule size distribution was determined in parent and F2 grains in the diallels and all possible generations in the other crosses. Granules of <10 μm diameter were considered 'B granules' (thus including C granules), and B-granule content was expressed as a percentage of total starch volume. The modal A-granule diameter was also determined.B-granule content varied widely in both species, whereas modal A-granule diameter was much more variable in tetraploids than in hexaploids. Additive gene action was more important than dominance in determining B-granule content in both species and A-granule diameter in tetraploids, whereas dominance was more important for A-granule diameter in hexaploids. Dominance acted to increase or to decrease B-granule content, depending on the cross. According to variance–covariance analysis, the line with the most dominant alleles in the hexaploids was the one lowest in B granules, but in the tetraploids it was the one highest in B granules. Digenic interactions affected B-granule content and A-granule diameter in all of the analyses of the basic generations, and nucleocytoplasmic interactions affected these traits in most of the crosses. Diallel analyses of the F2 generations, in contrast, showed a limited importance of epistasis. Cytoplasmic effects made small but significant contributions to the variation in B-granule content in some of the crosses. Variation in B-granule content and A-granule diameter appeared to be affected by different gene actions and were therefore likely to be susceptible to independent manipulations in a breeding program.