Search

WOS:000584425500011 PubMed ID: 33281490 Research background. Utilization of wheat germ and wheat germ oil is limited due to high enzymatic activity and the presence of unsaturated fatty acids, which require stabilization techniques to overcome this problem. Experimental approach. In this study, the effects of stabilization methods (dry convective oven heating at 90 and 160 degrees C, microwave radiation at 180 and 360 W, and autoclave steaming) on both wheat germ and its oil were evaluated. Results and conclusions. Steaming caused the most dramatic changes in lipoxygenase activity, free fatty acid content, DPPH radical scavenging activity, and mass fractions of tocopherols and tocotrienols. Lower peroxide values were measured in the oil samples treated with convectional heating (160 degrees C) and steaming at temperatures above 100 degrees C. However, p-anisidine values of samples treated at higher temperatures were considerably greater than those of samples stabilized at lower temperatures. Oven heating at 160 degrees C was also one of the most effective treatments, after steaming, for the inactivation of lipoxygenase. Steaming significantly reduced mass fraction of total tocopherols, which was directly associated with the greater loss of beta-tocopherol content. On the contrary, gamma-and delta-tocopherol and tocotrienol homologues were abundant with higher amounts in steamed samples. alpha-Tocopherol and gamma-tocotrienol were the most resistant isomers to stabilization processes. Novelty and scientific contribution. This study shows that the high temperature oven heating method, which is widely used in the industry for thermal stabilization of wheat germ, does not provide an advantage in oxidative stability compared to steaming and microwave applications. Steaming delayed oxidation in the germ, while further inhibiting lipoxygenase activity. Moreover, tocotrienols were more conservable. In industrial application, low-power microwave (180 instead of 360 W) and oven heating at lower temperature (90 instead of 160 degrees C) would be preferable.

Olive oil was obtained by applying laboratory scale microwave (MW) and ultrasound (US) technologies and enzymes (E) after olive crushing and malaxation. The effects of these technologies on some physical and chemical properties of olive oil have been examined with focus on phenolics in olive oil. The aim was to evaluate the combined effect of MW and US applications and E to olive paste by comparing with conventional production. The secoiridoids were present with lower values in US applied samples; as an example, the amount of 3-4-DHPEA-EDA in US treated sample was 59.36 mg kg–¹ oil, whereas its amount was 92.36 mg kg–1 in the sample of conventional extraction. US resulted in the highest decrease (62%), and MW+US condition resulted in the lowest decrease (25.7%) in terms of total phenolics content. The US and MW pretreatments resulted in more advantageous properties in terms of free acidity, peroxides, and phenolics when applied together than their single applications.

WOS: 000390832800025, Wheatgrass juice is mainly derived from the common wheat Triticum aestivum L. The present study focused on the analysis of the potential of different perennial turfgrass species in grass juice production by determining certain compositional characteristics. The effects of fertilisers on the plants and the cutting time on some chemical constituents and antioxidant potential of grass juices were addressed. The juices from the different species of grasses, such as T. durum, T. aestivum, Lolium perenne L., Festuca arundinacea Schreb. were obtained by pressing. DPPH (1, 1dipheny1-2-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging activity, elemental composition, total chlorophylls, total carotenes, tocopherols, vitamin C, total phenols, viscosity and the colour profiles of the grass juice samples were analysed. Water-soluble dry matter, protein, total phenols, flavonoids and vitamin E (especially Durum cultivar) content were found to be higher in the juices of Triticum species as compared to the other grasses. Turfgrass species demonstrated higher concentrations of oil (in grass), vitamin C (unfertilised samples), chlorophyll (except L. perenne local) and major elements. The pressing of turfgrass was an easy process. Such perennial grass varieties have advantages over the Triticum species in terms of having higher concentrations of vitamin C (unfertilised samples) and major elements. The results of sensory analysis suggested that L. perenne (cultivar) is the most promising cultivar in terms of obtaining pressed grass juice.

WOS: 000489718700004, PubMed: 31772861, Background Herpes zoster is caused by the reactivation of latent varicella-zoster virus, which promotes acute and chronic pain that may interfere with daily activities and reduce the quality of life. Ultrasound-guided erector spinae plane (ESP) blocks are used for a wide variety of indications in the management of acute, chronic, and postoperative pain. Our aim was to evaluate the efficacy of ultrasound-guided erector spinae plane blocks for the management of pain in herpes zoster. Methods The medical records of 34 patients with acute or chronic pain during herpes zoster between May 2017 and June 2018 were investigated at two pain clinic centers. The patients received ultrasound-guided erector spinae plane block: We performed a single injection for the patients having acute pain and a continuous block for the patients having chronic pain. Patient characteristics, block characteristics (needle insertion level, catheter, or single insertion), the volume of given local anesthetics, the intensity of pain before and after the block procedure using a numerical rating score (NRS) between 0 and 10, and the duration of analgesia were evaluated. Results All patients reported a remarkable and rapid resolution of pain immediately after the block procedure. Median (min-max) NRS score before the block procedure was 9 (4-10). The median (min-max) NRS score was 1.5 (0-7) after the block procedure. The difference was found to be statistically significant (p

This paper explores the effects of a large increase in the national minimum wage in Turkey on firms’ exit rates from the formal economy. The analysis exploits a unique, linked employer-employee panel data set of the universe of registered firms in all sectors of the economy. The causal impact of the minimum wage hike is estimated by using pre-policy information on the full distribution of wages in registered firms as a measure of exposure to treatment, and by implementing a difference-in-difference estimation strategy. The minimum wage hike is found to increase firms’ exit rates from the formal economy by 12 percent. This suggests that firm exits attributable to the minimum wage hike could account for up to one-third of the total formal employment destruction that occurred between 2015 and 2016. The minimum wage effect on exit rates is found to be larger among firms with low productivity levels before the policy change, and in sectors where profit margins are low. A range of placebo tests and robustness checks indicate that these findings are not driven by trends in unobservable characteristics correlated with exposure to the minimum wage hike.

In this paper, the occurrence of secoiridoid aglycones via degradation of phenolic glucosides which have strong effects on commercial, nutritional, and sensory properties of olive oil is studied. The experiment consists in the sonication treatment of Chemlali and Memecik cvs. olive paste three times for 4, 8, and 10 min. This kind of approach has never been used in determining the partition and degradation of phenolics during extraction. Concerning phenolic content present in Chemlali olive oil extracted from whole olives, no significant differences are found after 10 min of treatment using ultrasound apparatus, whereas a rise of more than 60% is detected if olive paste without stones is used. On the other hand, the total phenolic content of Memecik cv. increases positively with the increasing time of treatment. Throughout this report, it is noted that enzymatic activities are affected by ultrasound treatment. Practical Applications: The results of this study will be useful in modification of present processes or development of new processes with the aim of protecting and improving the phenolic composition of olive oil. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this kind of systematic approach has never been used in determining the partition and degradation of phenolics during extraction. It is believed that describing the effects of high‐power ultrasound applications on olive paste before malaxation will exhibit possible benefits for the future of olive processing technology. The optimization of olive oil extraction parameters with proper adjustments in such a way that the quality of the product is highly increased is an important issue. The effect of ultrasound technology parameters is investigated from the point of phenolic compounds by searching their relation to enzymes in Chemlali and Memecik cvs. olive paste. In addition, the effects of stone removal during extraction are also studied in terms of enzymes in Chemlali and Memecik cvs. olive paste and phenols in olive oil.