Search

The phytochemical fingerprinting that add to the nutritional and nutraceutical value of the fruits during the ripening stages is beneficial for human consumption. Therefore, ripening-dependent changes in phytochemical content and antioxidant activities of mango (Mangifera indica L.) cultivar Dusehri at various ripening stages were evaluated. Bioassays for phenolic content, flavonoid content, antioxidant activities, and UHPLC/MS for phytochemical profiling was performed at five ripening stages (RSI-RSV). Total phenolic contents significantly increased from 4.25 to 13.08 µg GAE/mg extract upto stage III and non-significant decrease was observed thereafter. Flavonoid contents varied between 1.16 and 1.23 µg QE/mg extract. DPPH based free radical scavenging activity increased (41.07–52.33%) from stage I to stage V while FRSP based analysis showed decrease (53.01–27.61 µg TE/mg extract) in activity from stage I to stage V. Total antioxidant capacity and total reducing power potential of pulp extract gradually increased towards mango ripening stages. A non-significant change in amylase inhibition was observed from stage I to stage III that significantly dropped in stage IV and V. UHPLC analysis depicted that aconitic, methylisocitric, 2,4,6-Hydroxy benzoic acid and beta glucogallin, poly phenols, 1-Methylxanthine, 3-Furicacid, Heptenoic acid and many others are present at different ripening stages of dusehri mango. PCA analysis and hierarchal analysis show Stage I & II clustering while stages III-V make separate cluster. These phytochemiclas are responsible for many health benefits. The study concludes that dusehri mango have significant antioxidative capacity that are due to diverse phytochemicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the study was development of a technology for the extraction of a carbon-rich concentrate suitable for use as an energy fuel from solid products of municipal waste pyrolysis (SPMWP). To do this, the effect of reagents and different flotation conditions on the yield and quality of the carbon-rich concentrate was investigated. The results are presented of the experimental study into the features of the SPMWP flotation process. A relationship has been established between the SPMWP fraction size, the yield of carbon-rich concentrate, and its quality. The fact has been demonstrated that SPMWP flotation characteristics can be improved by ultrasonic dispersion of flotation agents in water and production of concentrates containing, depending on the size distribution of SPMWP particles, from 60 to 67% of combustible matter. Thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry methods have revealed that the combustible matter of the concentrate consists of 65% carbon and 35% volatile carbon-containing compounds. According to the results of X-ray phase analysis, the main water-soluble salts of SPMWP are chlorides of potassium, sodium, and calcium sulfate. As to its heating value (q = 18.4 MJ/kg), the obtained combined concentrate is comparable to coal and can be considered as a renewable energy source since, according to forecasts, the annual increase in the amount of municipal solid wastes (MSWs) will be from 1 to 7%. A schematic diagram of material flows for processing 100 t of SPMWP has been constructed on the basis on the results of performed studies. An additional economic effect can be obtained by using hydroseparation at the stage of municipal waste sorting to separate crushed glass, as a result of which large SPMWP particles may be sent to flotation after grinding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mango (Mangifera indica) is a renowned fruit cherished for its delightful taste and nutritional value. Belonging to the Anacardiaceae family, mangoes exhibit a climacteric trait marked by heightened respiration and ethylene production, resulting in a limited shelf life. To counter this, mangoes are often processed into pulp for extended storage. However, improper processing techniques can drastically reduce the pulp's shelf life. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the effects of food additives (potassium metabisulphite and sodium benzoate) and thermal treatments (at 70 and 80 °C), individually and in combination, on the quality of Chaunsa mango pulp during a six-month period at room temperature. Quality was evaluated through physicochemical tests (titratable acidity, TSS, pH, and color) and microbiological analysis (total plate count). During storage, titratable acidity, TSS and total plate count increased whereas pH decreased for all treatments. In case of color, L* values increased initially before declining whereas a* values increased and b* values decreased for all treatments throughout the storage. The results indicated that the treatment with potassium metabisulphite alone (MCP) or combined with a 70 °C heat treatment (M70CP) yielded the best outcomes, surpassing the control and other treatments, and maintained quality throughout the storage period. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to analyze the organic acid content of these two most effective treatments. The highest concentration was of malic acid followed by citric acid and oxalic acid respectively. This study suggests that the use of food additives, alone or in combination with thermal treatments, significantly prolongs the shelf life of mango pulp to six months, ensuring availability during off-seasons and facilitating its industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1-Alkyl-3-methylimidazolium ionic liquids are common cellulose solvents and biomass pretreatment agents, while beta-irradiation ("e-beaming") is often used to decrease the recalcitrance of biomass towards hydrolysis or saccharification. Aiming at the general goal of elucidating the interaction between lignocellulosics, imidazolium-based ionic liquids, and beta-irradiation, we studied the effect of beta-irradiation on the pure ILs 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium, both as chloride and acetate. Contrary to the expectation of inertness, irradiation caused degradation of the ILs, which was proportional to irradiation dosage, i.e., to irradiation time and intensity. At a dosage of 2400 kGy, 0.2% (2000 ppm) of the IL were chemically altered. The main degradation pathway is the formation of imidazole and N-methylimidazole with concomitant dealkylation. The cleaved-off alkyl groups, apparently in cationic form, react with the anions present, accounting for the formation of alkyl chlorides and alkyl acetates from the chloride ILs and acetate ILs, respectively. A second, minor pathway comprises the degradation of the imidazole ring under conversion of the C2-unit from the former C4-C5 moiety into ethylenediamine and reaction of the C1-unit from the former C2 with the IL anions. Because of the non-neglible byproduct formation, the degradation of the ILs upon beta-irradiation and possible side reactions of the resulting byproducts need to be kept in mind for all setups that involve beta-irradiation and imidazolium ILs simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pines play a significant role in forest biodiversity globally and generate huge forest litter. Dry pine needles due to low ignition temperature and high frictional force with the ground catch fire quickly. Annual forest fires in the northern states of India greatly impact the Indian economy besides causing huge loss to biodiversity, livelihood, and environment. Pine needles are also considered unfit for fodder consumption due to presence of tannins. Although the presence of softwood lignin in pine needles makes it difficult to degrade easily, the presence of holocellulose (68.5%) containing 45–51% cellulose makes this biomass a potential substrate to be used in pulp-making industries for low-grade paper sheets. The good fiber length of pine needles (1.3–1.4 mm) with a diameter of 30–32 μm, maybe considered important property for paper making. The use of pine needles in the pharmaceutical and food industries are due to the presence of secondary metabolites (α-pinene, β-pinene, caryophyllene etc.). The various other potential applications of pine needles are for producing bio-ethanol (yield, 3.98%; purity, 94%), biogas (yield, 23.1 L kg−1), smokeless briquettes (calorific value, 18.77 MJ kg−1), biochar (calorific value, 25.6 MJ kg−1), bio-composites (tensile strength, 21–60 MPa), and bio-pesticides. This paper comprehensively reviews the current applications of pine needles along with its future prospective applications that can have the dual advantage of providing employment opportunities to the people along with environmental protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hypochlorous acid bleaching under amine catalysis (Hcat bleaching stage) is an optimized bleaching stage variant that is characterized by working at weakly acidic, near-neutral pH, having high bleaching efficiency, and discharging only very small amounts of chloro-organics. This study addressed the chemical fate of the used 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO) catalyst. While literature proposed either homolytic or heterolytic breakage of one ethylene bridge and subsequent release of the resulting fragments as two molecules of formaldehyde, we demonstrated the degradation to proceed by ionic elimination of one ethylene bridge starting from mono-N-chlorinated DABCO. The resulting N-vinyl (enamine) derivative adds water under the release of acetaldehyde and formation of piperazine. The generation of acetaldehyde was experimentally confirmed by 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine trapping, directly from the processing liquid. The experimental findings agreed superbly with computations which showed the "acetaldehyde mechanism" to be much favored over the previously proposed pathways under C–C bond cleavage and release of formaldehyde. The results of this study add to a better understanding of the novel Hcat bleaching system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the effects of boron compounds on cellulose fibers during recycling. Three recycling stages were conducted, applying boric acid and borax to bleached papers. Physical, mechanical, and optical properties were measured after each process. The highest water absorption (218 g/m2) was observed in test papers from the second recycling stage using 10% borax-treated pulps (10Bx2). Boric acid treatment notably improved burst strength, with the highest value (3.94 kPa m2/g) in the first recycling stage with 5.0% boric acid treatment (5Ba1). The highest tensile strength (49.48 Nm/g) occurred in the first recycling stage with 5.0% boric acid treatment, while the lowest (17.41 Nm/g) was in the second recycling stage (5Bx2) with 5.0% borax treatment. Tear strength exhibited different trends from burst and tensile strength, with notable improvements using 5.0% and 10% boric acid and 10% borax treatments on recovered cellulose fibers. The highest tear strength (9.20 Nm2/g) was achieved with 5.0% boric acid treatment (5Ba2) in the second recycling stage, followed by 8.21 Nm2/g with 10% boric acid treatment (10Ba1) in the first recycling stage. Tear strength trends differed from burst and tensile strength properties, regardless of treatment conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-performance computing (HPC) processors are nowadays integrated cyber-physical systems demanding complex and high-bandwidth closed-loop power and thermal control strategies. To efficiently satisfy real-time multi-input multi-output (MIMO) optimal power requirements, high-end processors integrate an on-die power controller system (PCS). While traditional PCSs are based on a simple microcontroller (MCU)-class core, more scalable and flexible PCS architectures are required to support advanced MIMO control algorithms for managing the ever-increasing number of cores, power states, and process, voltage, and temperature variability. This paper presents ControlPULP, an open-source, HW/SW RISC-V parallel PCS platform consisting of a single-core MCU with fast interrupt handling coupled with a scalable multi-core programmable cluster accelerator and a specialized DMA engine for the parallel acceleration of real-time power management policies. ControlPULP relies on FreeRTOS to schedule a reactive power control firmware (PCF) application layer. We demonstrate ControlPULP in a power management use-case targeting a next-generation 72-core HPC processor. We first show that the multi-core cluster accelerates the PCF, achieving 4.9x speedup compared to single-core execution, enabling more advanced power management algorithms within the control hyper-period at a shallow area overhead, about 0.1% the area of a modern HPC CPU die. We then assess the PCS and PCF by designing an FPGA-based, closed-loop emulation framework that leverages the heterogeneous SoCs paradigm, achieving DVFS tracking with a mean deviation within 3% the plant's thermal design power (TDP) against a software-equivalent model-in-the-loop approach. Finally, we show that the proposed PCF compares favorably with an industry-grade control algorithm under computational-intensive workloads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laminate biocomposites of wood pulp/polylactic acid (PLA) are produced using four types of adhesives as compatibilizers: PVA, PVA modified with 3-(trimethoxysilyl) propyl methacrylate (modified PVA), PVA with microfibrillated cellulose (PVA-MFC), and the modified PVA with MFC (modified PVA-MFC). Sheets of wood pulp were spray-coated with the compatibilizers and then laminated with PLA film. The lamination of PLA film and pulp sheet via spray coating of modified PVA was successful due to the improved compatibility of the components. Modified PVA could increase the tensile strength of the laminate biocomposite by up to 25% compared with unmodified PVA. Additionally, the incorporation of 5 wt% of modified PVA-MFC improved the impact resistance of the laminate biocomposite by 195% while surface polarity was reduced by almost 85%. Dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) of viscoelastic properties revealed the plasticizing effect of MFC in modified PVA. Modified PVA-MFC best promoted the damping factor of the laminate biocomposite. A soil burial test showed that modified PVA-MFC also had the greatest effect on the biodegradation of the laminate biocomposite with a weight loss of 50% after six months. Our study indicated that the laminate biocomposite compatibilized with modified PVA-MFC (5 wt% dry mass of MFC in modified PVA) exhibited better mechanical properties and biodegradation than the other studied biocomposites and was more suitable for use as degradable food packaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pretreatment of pulp is a critical step in the fibrillation process to improve the quality and efficiency for cellulose nanofibril (CNF) production. This work employed a straightforward and entirely aqueous methacrylation and subsequent grafting-through polymerization technique to modify bleached softwood kraft pulp (BSKP). Specifically, methacrylate groups, poly(acrylamide) (PAM), and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) were chemically affixed to the surface of BSKP fibers, which was confirmed using FTIR spectroscopy. Bench-scale experiments were scaled up to pilot scale to prepare the modified BSKP samples, these were subjected to fibrillation using a Supermasscolloider (SMC), and the net cumulative energy (NCE) expended was monitored during the fibrillation process. Notably, the modified BSKP samples exhibited a substantial reduction in NCE, with the methacrylate modified BSKP sample achieving a 68% reduction in NCE expenditure to attain 90% fines as compared to the fibrillation of unmodified BSKP and producing methacrylate modified cellulose nanofibrils (Met-CNFs). Furthermore, we delved into the impact of polymeric surface modifications, both pre-and post-fibrillation, on fiber and fibril behavior, including the water retention value (WRV), hard-to-remove water (HR-Water), and rheological behavior. The attached polymer's hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity influenced the physical properties of the CNFs. Additionally, we executed a post-grafting polymerization process on the produced Met-CNFs. This additional step allowed us to modify nanofibril surfaces, yielding increased surface functionalization and producing modified CNFs that could be used for composite applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main aim of this work was to study the role of the acetylation process of wheat straw pulp on its ability to rheologically modify two of the most important non-polar engineering fluid: bitumen and oil. Pulp was produced by a pilot-scale kraft pulping process from local wheat straw. Pulp was functionalized with acetic anhydride and sulfuric acid as a catalyst by modifying (temperature, pulp/acetic anhydride mass ratio, and reaction time. Further, chemical, morphological and thermal changes induced by the acetylation process were properly assessed. Acetylated wheat straw pulp dispersions in oil showed gel-like behaviour, with a mechanical spectrum characterized by higher values of the storage modulus (G′) and a minimum in the loss modulus (G″) at intermediate frequencies. The complex modulus (G*) for bitumen dispersions formulated with acetylated samples was up to 4 times higher than neat bitumen, and the phase angle (δ) indicated an enhancement in the elastic behavior parameters. The rheological response of these systems was associated with the microstructural network formed by pulp fibers and the balance between the physical and chemical changes of wheat straw fibers. According to the experimental results obtained, it can be concluded that acetylation is a relevant chemical treatment to modulate the rheological properties of wheat straw pulp dispersions in non-polar fluids, improving the compatibility between pulp fibers and these engineering fluids. Accordingly, this study provides valuable insights into the development of sustainable multiphasic materials (bitumen binders and semi-solid lubricants) for industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kraft pulp is the most common and economically advantageous raw material for making cellulose nanofibers (CNFs). However, it is revealed that high temperatures and pressures during kraft cooking cause the aggregation of cellulose microfibrils, which reduces the nanofibrillation capability of kraft pulp. Herein, we studied the optimum kraft cooking conditions required to obtain uniform CNFs by preventing aggregation. The fibrillation ability was compared with that of undried pulp treated with purification method only. Suspensions of undried pulps were mechanically fibrillated for various durations. The degree of fibrillation was evaluated by sedimentation, morphology, and water retention values. Kraft pulp cooking at a H-factor of approximately 650 for 140 °C, 160 °C and 170 °C resulted in less fibrillation than in the Wise-based pulp, even at low temperatures such as 140 °C. In contrast to expectations, high matrix substances with lignin contents of 30% did not prevent aggregation of the cellulose microfibrils. The production of CNFs requires a pulping technique for extracting cellulose without aggregation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of mass transfer intensity on kinetics of catalytic oxidation of flax shives with oxygen to aromatic aldehydes and pulp was studied. The process was carried out in an autoclave in an aqueous-alkaline medium in the presence of CuO as the catalyst. Oxidation of flax shives into vanillin, syringaldehyde, and pulp was shown to proceed as a completely diffusion-controlled process under the studied conditions. Depending on the process conditions, it can be limited by stages of oxygen transfer through the gas–liquid interface as well as by oxygen transfer through the bulk of a Newtonian liquid phase and non-Newtonian suspension of the reaction mass. The results obtained on the influence of stirring speed and volume of the reaction mass on the rates of oxygen consumption and vanillin accumulation were described by a simple well-known model connecting the intensity of mass transfer and the stirring power density in the bulk of the liquid phase. It was shown that, despite the distinctly diffusion-controlled conditions of flax shives oxidation with oxygen, the vanillin yield was very close (70–83%) to the theoretical maximum of vanillin yield in the processes of lignin oxidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the search for alternatives to petroleum derived products, such as plastic films, has become a priority due to the growing depletion of fossil reserves and the pollution of water resources by microplastics, microscopically small plastic particles which are harmful to ocean and aquatic life. Cellulose-based films, e.g., cellophane and cuprophane, have been on the market for almost a century. Despite being a more ecological option compared to plastic films, the manufacture of these cellulose films involves high production costs and the use of harmful chemicals. As an alternative, a sustainable and eco-friendly process based on the Lyocell-type Ioncell® technology is presented to produce cellulose films. Regenerated cellulose films are created by continuous extrusion via dry-jet wet spinning of an ionic liquid–cellulose solutions. The influence of the polymer concentration (8–13 wt%) and processing temperature (50–100 °C) on the properties of the films were studied by the determination of the thickness, mechanical properties, physical appearance, morphology, chemical composition, and hydrophobicity. The obtained films are thin (12–21 μm), transparent (transmittance = 91%) and of homogeneous structure. Moreover, they exhibit excellent mechanical properties: stress values up to 210 MPa and elongations up to 19% in machine (longitudinal) direction. These values clearly outperform commercial cellophane, which presents stress values of 125 MPa and elongations of 22%. The films presented herein hold great potential to become an eco-friendly and sustainable option to commercial films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

β-Irradiation ("e-beaming") as well as swelling in ionic liquids, each process by itself, are common pretreatments in biorefinery scenarios. A combination of both, such as occurs with β-irradiation of biomass that was insufficiently washed and still contains traces of ionic liquids, causes covalent derivatization of the contained cellulose and incorporation of nitrogen. The nitrogen uptake occurred only in the presence of the ionic liquid and correlated linearly with both the irradiation dose and the concentration of the contained ionic liquid. The presence of other wood constituents during β-irradiation decreased nitrogen uptake, but did not prevent it. The derivatization of cellulose did not depend on the degree of crystallinity, but appeared to depend on the content of oxidized groups (carbonyl functionalities), also with a linear correlation. Future work must now clarify the mechanism of this reaction and the influence of other wood constituents, and address the possible potential of e-beaming in the presence of imidazolium ionic liquids for cellulose chemistry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global production of nondegradable catering straws has skyrocketed due to their versatile properties, which results in significant CO2 emissions and pollution of the ecological system. While paper and polylactic acid straws have gained increasing popularity in the beverage industry, there needs to be more investigation of the vital product properties determining their hedonic differences. This study systematically compared the properties of paper, polylactic acid and plastic straws, and their impacts on the consumer experience and willingness. Results showed that the open structure of paper straws prompted water penetration and absorption, reaching a water absorption of 30% after 10-min wetting, which might affect the taste of the drink. In contrast, the compact polymer matrices of polylactic acid straws prevented mass exchange in their use for drinking but retarded product biodegradation under natural conditions. Results of consumer testing showed that while the participants had a comparable liking of paper and polylactic acid straws to insert into a drink (i.e., 4.16 and 4.47 out of 5, respectively), the intrinsic difference was covered up by the open-ended capping for beverages. For the "fully sealed on top" dataset, paper straws dropped to 3.46, while that for polylactic acid straws remained at 4.70. Furthermore, a biodegradable straw easily inserted into a drink without fracture may positively prompt merchants' revenue. This study is expected to pave the way for the advancement and widespread use of bio-based products. Highlights: 30% water absorption in biodegradable paper straws affects the taste of drinks. Preferable polylactic acid straws had < 0.3% mass loss after 30 days in natural soil. Open-ended design of beverages covers up liking differences between straws. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The production of paper is a key component for global civilization. Around 300 million tonnes of paper are produced every day globally, with matured pulpwood being the major contributor. Due to rising demand for paper and the depletion of available wood resources, researchers are now focused on finding alternative non-wood resources that are suitable for pulp and paper production. The current study aims to produce eco-friendly and biodegradable paper using a combination of Eichhornia crassipes (water hyacinth) and dried flowers. Water hyacinth is considered as a lignocellulose plant which contains 57% lignocellulose, and dried flower contains 40% cellulose, which is the prime source for paper production. Various sections of water hyacinth, including wet and dry petiole, leaves, and root, were blended with dried flowers through the soda process. Then, the physical properties and FTIR analysis was carried out to identify the quality of the paper produced. The paper produced from root and dried petiole has a lower thickness (1.0 mm and 0.5 mm) than other mix proportions. The opacity of the leaves was found to be 0.5% (light passing) and for the root 0.7% (light passing). Also, the dry petiole and root paper have a good dry tensile strength of 1.30Kpa and 1.20Kpa, respectively. Hence, paper made from dry petiole and root was found to be efficient and suitable for the paper industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a strategy of corncob valorization was proposed. Corncob was first pretreated with a recyclable acid hydrotrope (p-TsOH, aqueous solution) to selectively remove lignin and hemicelluloses. After pretreatment, the collected liquid phase was diluted with deionized water to precipitate lignin. The hemicelluloses degradation products, mainly pentose, in the resulting acid liquor were converted into furfural with a yield of 53.65% without adding any catalyst. The collected lignin was depolymerized to phenolic monomers with a yield of 68.00% via a hydrodeoxygenation process. The pretreated cellulose-rich solid was subjected to 10 s ultrasonic treatment to form pulp and subsequently used for papermaking by blending it with commercial softwood pulp. With a corncob pulp addition of 20%, the tensile index and ring crush index of hand sheets increased by 10.62% and 5.05%, respectively, compared with those containing 100% softwood pulp. Therefore, this study provided a strategy for corncob valorization toward multipurpose fractionation: furfural, phenolic monomers, and pulp, reaching a comprehensive utilization of corncob. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we produced composites of mesoporous silica synthesized in-situ on never-dried bleached eucalyptus kraft pulp fibers with the aim of providing cost-effective depth filters, having high flux, and adsorptivity. The mesoporous silica loading for the produced samples was in the range of 12–35 wt%. The performance of double-layer membranes was studied for the adsorption of charged molecules. The best nanofibrillated cellulose-pulp-mesoporous silica membrane adsorbed 1160 mg/m2 of methylene blue and had a flux of 10 L m−2 h−1 bar−1. The nanofibrillated cellulose layer supported the pulp-mesoporous silica layer and improved the adsorptivity of the pulp-mesoporous silica depth filter layer by controlling flux. The membranes showed non-linear-pseudo-first-order adsorption kinetics and non-linear Freundlich isotherm for methylene blue adsorption. The nanofibrillated cellulose-pulp-mesoporous silica membrane was modified for metanil yellow adsorption by adding polyamide amine-epichlorohydrin resin. The best metanil yellow saturated adsorption capacity was 9400 mg/m2. The nanofibrillated cellulose-pulp-mesoporous silica depth filter without modification with a polyelectrolyte also had 92% and 94% heavy metal removal of 20 mg of Cu2+ and Pb2+ ions, respectively. The novel pulp-mesoporous silica composite membrane, with high adsorption capacity and manufactured by lower embodied energy of cellulose fiber, can significantly lower large-scale depth filter production costs due to the elimination of cellulose pre-treatment for the depth filter layer. The reusability performance in the fifth cycle, after four cycles of metanil yellow adsorption and desorption, was 5.2 mg/g, which was stabilized from the 3rd to 5th cycles. This suggests the suitability of these membranes for industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to characterize the phenotypic diversity of agronomical and biochemical fruit quality traits in four early peach cultivars. The sensibility to chilling injury symptoms (CI) was studied after two cold storage periods (2 and 4 weeks) at 5 ºC and 95% relative humidity (RH) followed by 2 days at room temperature. Agronomical attributes such as fruit weight, firmness, soluble solids content (SSC), pH, titratable acidity (TA) and color parameters were recorded. Antioxidant compounds such as anthocyanins, flavonoids, total phenolics, vitamin C and relative antioxidant capacity (RAC) were evaluated. Chilling injury symptoms such as mealiness, graininess, flesh browning, flesh bleeding, leatheriness and off-flavor were analyzed. Results revealed high antioxidant compounds in peel regarding to flesh fruit. The antioxidant compounds content in both peel and pulp decreased during cold storage except anthocyanins which exhibited different pattern. After 2 weeks of storage, fruits presented high SSC and low score of chilling injury symptoms. At the end of the trial, the studied cultivars were unacceptable for consumption due to the severity of CI. PCA analysis showed that the cultivars Plagold 5 and Plagold 10 had less sensibility to chilling injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Correctness and reliability of molar mass data by viscometry in organometallic solvents (cuen, cuoxam, cadoxen) are compromised by the alkalinity of these solvents which causes immediate depolymerization especially in the case of pulps with higher carbonyl content (oxidative damage). The viscosity values thus correspond to the molar mass after the beta-elimination reactions that underly these degradative processes, which is sometimes significantly smaller than the molar mass determined by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) in the non-degrading solvent system DMAc/LiCl. Despite this well-known drawback, viscosity measurements have become a standard approach for molar mass measurements due to their ease and fastness, especially in the pulp and paper industries. A potential way to reduce the inherent error of these molar mass determinations via viscosity measurements is a reductive treatment prior to dissolution of the pulp in the organometallic solvents, which converts the labile, alkali-sensitive carbonyl structures back to the respective alcohols. Using sodium borohydride (NaBH4) on different types of cellulosic pulps, we demonstrate the beneficial effects of such a reduction step on the determined degree of polymerization (DP) for all three common solvents: cuen, cuoxam and cadoxen. Molar mass distributions and profiles of carbonyl groups were determined by GPC and by carbonyl selective fluorescence labeling ("CCOA method"). Such a reductive treatment was especially valuable for hemicellulose-containing pulps. While the decreased measurement error according to the new protocol is beyond doubt, an immediate acceptance in the pulp and paper industries is at least questionable, because the new, more correct data would not agree with the old – wrong, but consistent – numbers accumulated over years and decades. In the long run, however, the new, improved protocol will prevail here as well due to its lower error rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dry pulp direct kneading method is an industrially viable, low-energy process for manufacturing cellulose nanofiber (CNF)-reinforced polymer composites, where the chemically modified pulps are nanofibrillated and uniformly dispersed in the polymer matrix during melt compounding. In the present study, cellulose fibers of various sizes ranging from surface-fibrillated pulps (20 μm in width) to fine CNFs (20 nm in width) were prepared from softwood bleached kraft pulps using a refiner and a high-pressure homogenizer. These cellulose fibers were modified with alkenyl succinic anhydride and dried. The dried fibers were used as a feed material for melt compounding in the dry pulp direct kneading method to fabricate CNF-reinforced high-density polyethylene (HDPE). When surface-fibrillated pulps were employed as a feed material, the pulps were nanofibrillated and dispersed uniformly in the HDPE matrix during melt compounding. The resulting composites had much better properties—i.e., much higher tensile modulus and strength values, and much lower coefficient of thermal expansion values—than the composites produced using pulps without pre-fibrillation. However, when CNFs were used as a feed material, they were shortened and agglomerated during melt compounding, and the properties of the composites consequently deteriorated. The study concludes that surface-fibrillated pulp, which can be produced cost-effectively using a refiner on an industrial scale, is more suitable as a feed material than CNFs for melt compounding in the dry pulp direct kneading method. This finding enables the elimination of a preliminary step in the preparation of CNFs from pulps, which is a time-consuming and energy-intensive process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Laparoscopic repair is a well-accepted treatment modality for perforated peptic ulcer (PPU). However, intraoperative conversion to laparotomy is still not uncommon. We aimed to identify preoperative factors strongly associated with conversion. Methods: A retrospective review of records of all PPU patients treated between January 2011 and July 2019 was performed. Patients were divided into three groups: laparoscopic repair (LR), conversion to laparotomy (CL), and primary laparotomy (PL). Patient demographics, operative findings, and outcomes were compared between the groups. Logistic regression analyses were performed, taking conversion as the outcome. Results: Of 822 patients, there were 236, 45, and 541 in the LR, CL, and PL groups, respectively. The conversion rate was 16%. Compared with those in the LR group, patients in the CL group were older (p < 0.001), had higher PULP scores (p < 0.001), had higher ASA scores (p < 0.001) and had hypertension (p = 0.003). PULP score was the only independent risk factor for conversion. The area under the curve (AUC) for the PULP score to predict conversion was 75.3%, with a best cut-off value of ≥ 4. The operative time was shorter for PL group patients than for CL group patients with PULP scores ≥ 4. For patients with PULP scores < 4, LR group patients had a shorter length of stay than PL group patients. Conclusion: The PULP score may have utility in predicting and minimizing conversion for laparoscopic PPU repair. Laparoscopic repair is the procedure of choice for PPU patients with PULP scores < 4, while open surgery is recommended for those with PULP scores ≥ 4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new deposit of zircon-rutile-ilmenite sands "Tsentralnoye" in the Rasskazovsky district of the Tambov region, which does not require crushing operations and the use of chemical reagents for enrichment, is characterized. The size classes for zircon, rutile, and ilmenite are given. The quantitative distribution of ore minerals in the ore sands of the Tsentralnoye deposit by size is considered. The definition of the maximum permissible content of suspended substances in the water of the reservoir when mixed with the discharged water is given. The design of a diaphragm thickener is proposed, which provides both thickening and changing the granulometric composition of the solid fraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to the rapid development of biotechnology, enzymes are being used more frequently in the manufacturing industry, especially in the pulp and paper industry. Compared with traditional pulping, biopulping has the advantage of requiring mild reaction conditions, which makes it more eco-friendly and faster than other methods. When enzymes are combined with other pulping technologies, maximum pulping efficiency can be ensured and pollution could be reduced. However, to maximize pulping efficiency, control pulping costs, and achieve the best quality paper, enzymatic methods are often combined with other pulping technologies. Therefore, enzyme production costs for papermaking remains a problem to be addressed in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With an annual production of more than 400 million tons, paper is the main product of the largest biorefinery process industrially implemented. Enzymes have been used for pulp refining to dramatically reduce energy consumption. However, exact mechanisms related to the individual enzymes are hardly understood. Yet, this knowledge would be important to predict enzyme performance in industrial processes. Three commercial refining enzyme formulations showed different endoglucanase (1.25 nkat mg−1–13.7 nkat mg−1), β-glucosidase (0.57 nkat mg−1–1.34 nkat mg−1) and xylanase activities (1.78 nkat ml−1–62.1 nkat mg−1) on model substrates. Additionally, distinct amounts of reducing sugars from hardwood sulfate pulp were released. Endoglucases were purified from each formulation by using hydrophobic interaction and anion exchange chromatography and showed molecular weights from 20 to 55 kDa and specific activities ranging between 3.11 and 26.3 nkat mg−1 according to endoglucanase specific derivatized cellopentaose (CellG5). Refining trials of hardwood sulfate pulp were conducted using a PFI laboratory mill and fiber properties such as degree of refining or fiber length and properties of formed sheets like tensile index were monitored. Thereby, enzymes were dosed based on identical endoglucanase activity on CellG5. Enzyme formulations and purified endoglucanases led to an increase of the degree of refining of up to 47.9 [°SR] at 6000 PFI revolutions while the tensile index was improved by up to 76.0 Nm g−1. In summary, refining effects can be primarily attributed to endoglucanases indicating activity on CellG5 being a suitable parameter for enzyme dosing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The present study aimed to identify proteins obtained from pulp tissue and correlate with each clinical diagnosis (healthy pulp, inflamed pulp, and necrotic pulp). Materials and methods: A total of forty-five molars were used. Three biological replicas were evaluated. Lysis and sonication were used for protein extraction. Protein quantification was assessed by using the Bradford technique, and shotgun proteome analysis was performed by nanoUPLC-MSE using a Synapt G2 mass spectrometer. Mass spectra data were processed using the Waters PLGS software, and protein identification was done using the human Uniprot database appended to the PLGS search engine. Results: A total of 123 different proteins were identified in all evaluated pulp conditions. Among these, 66 proteins were observed for healthy pulp, 66 for inflamed pulp, and 91 for necrotic pulp. Most protein identification was related to immune response, multi-organism process, platelet activation, and stress in inflamed pulp samples compared to healthy pulp. Proteins related to cellular component organization or biogenesis, developmental process, growth, immune response, multi-organism process, response to stimulus, signaling, stress, and transport were identified in cases of apical periodontitis compared to inflamed pulp. Conclusions: The progression of the disease to inflamed pulp promoted a high abundance of proteins related to the immune system and stress. Comparing the necrotic pulp with inflamed pulp conditions, a high abundance of proteins was noticed related to metabolism, transport, and response between organisms. Clinical relevance: This finding may assist in future studies of new markers, understanding of tissue engineering, and development of future products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to first determine the phenolic compounds and then the antioxidant activity of black plum fruit pulp and peel. For these characterisations, classic methods were used. Moreover, the ability of extracts to scavenge free radicals and their reducing power were measured according to 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) methods, respectively. The total polyphenol, flavonoid and anthocyanin contents of pulp and peel ranged from 202.51 ± 4.19 to 463.45 ± 6.85 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/100 g of Dry Weight (DW), 75.71 ± 1.03 to 145.55 ± 1.03 mg quercetin equivalent (QE)/100 g DW, and from 1.91 ± 0.08 to 8.28 ± 0.83 mg cyanidin 3-O-β-D-glucoside equivalent (C3GE)/100 g DW respectively. However, these compounds were higher in peel extracts than in pulp extracts. In addition, peel extract showed the strongest antioxidant capacities. Significant correlations were found between methods applied to determine antioxidant activity (DPPH and FRAP) in black plum pulp and peel extracts and their total phenols and flavonoids contents. Cinnamic acid and gallic acid were mains phenols in pulp and peel extracts respectively, except fruits peel from Ferke where the main phenol was cinnamic acid. Thus, peel of black plum fruit could be used as an inexpensive and natural source of antioxidants and contribute to the prevention of degenerative diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A loss of organs or the destruction of tissue leaves wounds to which organisms and living things react differently. Their response depends on the extent of damage, the functional impairment and the biological potential of the organism. Some can completely regenerate lost body parts or tissues, whereas others react by forming scars in the sense of a tissue repair. Overall, the regenerative capacities of the human body are limited and only a few tissues are fully restored when injured. Dental tissues may suffer severe damage due to various influences such as caries or trauma; however, dental care aims at preserving unharmed structures and, thus, the functionality of the teeth. The dentin–pulp complex, a vital compound tissue that is enclosed by enamel, holds many important functions and is particularly worth protecting. It reacts physiologically to deleterious impacts with an interplay of regenerative and reparative processes to ensure its functionality and facilitate healing. While there were initially no biological treatment options available for the irreversible destruction of dentin or pulp, many promising approaches for endodontic regeneration based on the principles of tissue engineering have been developed in recent years. This review describes the regenerative and reparative processes of the dentin–pulp complex as well as the morphological criteria of possible healing results. Furthermore, it summarizes the current knowledge on tissue engineering of dentin and pulp, and potential future developments in this thriving field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TEMPO-oxidised cellulose fibres are often explored as nano-reinforcement for polymers. However, it is unclear whether micrometre-sized TEMPO-oxidised cellulose fibres also possess similar reinforcing potential. In this work, we report the mechanical response of polypropylene (PP) composites reinforced with TEMPO-oxidised cellulose (TOC) of different fibre widths. Micrometre-sized TOC fibres (TOCF) containing sodium carboxylate (TOCF-Na) and free hydroxyl (TOCF-H) groups, as well as nano-sized TOC nanofibrils (TOCN) were produced from dissolving pulp and incorporated into PP matrix via melt-extrusion. It was found that model PP composites containing micrometre-sized TOCF-Na and TOCF-H possessed the highest tensile modulus of up to 2.5 GPa; 40% improvement over neat PP and 30% increase over PP/TOCN composite. No significant differences in the tensile strength of PP/TOCF-Na and PP/TOCF-H composites were observed when compared to neat PP. The incorporation of nano-sized TOCN into PP however, led to a 6% decrease in tensile strength. Single-edge notched beam fracture toughness test further showed that PP/TOCN composite possessed the lowest fracture toughness of 2.52 MPa m1/2; a decrease of 18% over PP reinforced with micrometre-sized TOCF-Na and TOCF-H. Our study shows that micrometre-sized TOCFs serve as better reinforcement for polymers compared to nano-sized TOCN. This is attributed to the better dispersion of TOCF in the PP matrix. Furthermore, the presence of surface microfibrillation on TOCFs also enhanced the quality of the TOCF-PP interface through mechanical interlocking and local stiffening of the PP matrix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Properties of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) depend upon their supramolecular structures, which are important to understand in order to optimize their applications. In this investigation, the structures of CNCs produced upon 48–64% H2SO4 hydrolysis of hydrothermally-treated poplar, bleached kraft pulp, cotton microcrystalline cellulose, bacterial cellulose, tunicin, and cladophora cellulose were comparatively analyzed. TEM provided information on the morphological aspects. Raman, MAS-NMR, and XRD provided information on one aspect of the supramolecular organization, namely, crystallinity (CrI). Other characteristics of supramolecular structure were analyzed by various Raman methods, namely, accessibility to water, exocyclic CH2OH conformation ratio, and chain conformation disorder (CCONDIS)—the last method was developed in the present study. In general, CNCs retained the crystallinity of the starting material irrespective of the measurement method of CrI. Additionally, it was found that crystallite size and supramolecular organization influenced CrI as well. These analyses further indicated that poplar- and pulp-CNCs had significantly higher water accessibility as compared with CNCs from cladophora, bacterial, tunicin, and cotton MCC CNCs, implying higher molecular disorder, which was also reflected in measurements of CH2OH conformation ratio and CCONDIS. The findings indicate that significant differences among the CNCs seem to arise largely from differences between the starting materials. Additionally, considering that CNCs can have very different morphologies and structural properties depending upon how they are produced, the analyses carried out here can characterize such CNCs and estimate their applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioprocessing of pulp requires lignolytic as well as hemicellulolytic enzymes. The present study is the first report of a cocktail of laccase (L), xylanase (X), and mannanase (M), from a single bacterium for pulp biobleaching. A novel strain Bacillus tequilensis LXM 55 produced thermo-alkali stable L + X + M. On optimization higher enzyme yield (IUml−1/fold increase) of laccase (396.35/24.16), xylanase (212.95/81.90) and mannanase (153.33/102.90) were achieved in the cocktail. Treatment of pulp with cocktail of enzymes led to 49.35% reduction in kappa number and considerable enhancement in the brightness (11.59%), whiteness (4.11%), and other pulp properties. Most importantly, no mediator system was required for the application of laccase. 40% less chlorine consumption was required to obtain the paper of the same quality as that of pulp treated without enzyme but with 100% chlorine. Therefore, this cocktail of enzymes is highly suitable for pulp biobleaching in the paper mill. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we produced cellulose nanofiber (CNF) from moso bamboo using high-temperature and high-pressure steam treatment combined with the milling treatment. This pretreatment method can be considered as an environmentally friendly method because the treated product contains only wood-derived components and water that generally do not lead to significant corrosion problems and formation of neutralization sludge. The specific tensile strengths of CNF obtained in this work were almost the same values as that of a commercial CNF. Furthermore, an eco-refinery pulp was made of holocellulose and CNF those were obtained from moso bamboo by this pretreatment method and its mechanical strength was evaluated. By changing the steam treatment conditions, it is possible to produce eco-refinery pulp of various specific tensile strengths adapted to the application and purpose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Along with the emergence of micro and nanofibrillated celluloses and their application in papermaking, the influence of the so called fines fraction of pulps on both process and product properties has received increasing research interest in recent years. Several researchers have experimented with primary and/or secondary pulp fines to assess their effects on paper properties with not always consistent results. Our work focuses on the targeted application of the primary fines fraction of an unbleached softwood kraft pulp. The primary fines are separated from the pulp to be subsequently added to achieve blends of 5 % , 9 % and 12 % primary fines content. These blends were then refined in a PFI mill to evaluate the effect of the primary fines on refining as well as on paper properties of hand sheets prepared from these pulps. It is shown that the addition of primary fines enhances tensile strength in the unrefined and slightly refined state, while the maximum tensile strength of the highly refined reference pulp is not increased. A slightly increased dewatering resistance (Schopper Riegler) at comparable air permeability (Gurley) for a given tensile strength was also observed. The linear relationship between tensile index and apparent sheet density seems to be affected in the unrefined and slightly refined state where the breaking length of the fines enriched samples is higher for a given apparent density. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The results of investigations into Pb withdrawal with a NaCl solution from the slime of sulfuric-acid production of the Balkhash copper-smelting plant (BCP) to produce a sediment suitable for physical studies of the material composition of Se and other elements contained in the slime that are of interest from the viewpoint of their recovery, in particular, Re, I, and Hg, are presented. Conditions were found that make it possible to obtain a sediment containing, wt %: 40.03 Se, 1.13 Re, 2.86 I, and 4.96 Hg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbial enzymes are the safe alternatives to chemical based bleaching of pulp in paper mills. For effective biobleaching, both hemicellulolytic and lignolytic enzymes are required. This study reports laccase (L) + xylanase (X) and laccase (L) + mannanase (M) enzyme concoctions for pulp biobleaching derived from Bacillus sp. LX and Bacillus sp. LM isolated from the decaying organic matter. All enzymes were thermo-alkali-stable, hence were suitable for their application in pulp biobleaching. When a mixture of L + X/L + M was used for mixedwood pulp biobleaching, 46.32/40.25% reduction in kappa number; 13.21/10.01% and 3.36/2.76% improvement in brightness and whiteness was achieved respectively. Moreover, no laccase mediator system was required in the current process. Significant changes in the structure of enzymatically treated pulp were also observed. All these properties make these concoctions of enzymes suitable for their application in pulp and paper mill. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, in order to improve livestock and poultry performance, some compounds have been used as a feed additive and growth stimulator. Some of the most widely used growth stimulants have been antibiotics but, due to the harmful effects of antibiotic resistance and the limiting of their use, alternatives have been suggested such as probiotics, prebiotics, plant essential oils, essences and by-products. The orange is one of the earliest fruits used by humans. Orange by-products and waste are found extensively in some parts of the world. Orange waste contains ascorbic acid, phenolic compounds, coumarin and several volatile compounds, some producing orange aroma:aldehydes, esters, terpenes, alcohols, ketones, carotenoids (beta-carotene, lutein and beta-cryptoxanthin), nobilitin, pectin and bioflavonoids including hesperidine, naringenin and hysteritine. This paper reviews the practical applications of orange by-products and waste in poultry feeding. Advantages and disadvantages of effects of orange waste and by-products on poultry (broiler, laying hen, quail, etc.) performance, carcass components, immunity, blood constitutes, and gastrointestinal microflora are reviewed and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to compare the mineral content between the peel and the pulp of citrus fruits and to determine which citrus fruit, among orange (Citrus sinensis), pomelo (Citrus maxima), mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco), lemon (Citrus limon), key lime (Citrus aurantifolia), and red, yellow, or green grapefruit (Citrus paradisi), is the richest in minerals. The research material consisted of fresh citrus fruits belonging to the genus Citrus L in the family Rutaceae. The fruits were purchased at a supermarket at one time. To prepare laboratory samples, each fruit was cut in half, and one half was homogenized, treating the sample as a whole (peel + flesh), while the other half was peeled and the pulp (F) and peel (P) were homogenized separately. To determine the content of minerals (Na+, K+, Ca+2, Mg+2, Fe+2, Zn+2, Cu+2, Mn+2, and Se+2), the samples were mineralized and analyzed using an Analytik Jena PlasmaQuant PQ 9000 inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer. The content of macro- and micronutrients in the peel of most of the fruits far exceeded their quantity in the pulp. Oranges and pomelos are the fruits richest in iron and copper, so they could be recommended in cases such as hemoglobin production disorders resulting from a deficiency of these elements. Oranges can additionally enrich the body with potassium, phosphorus, and manganese, while lime can be a source of calcium, zinc, sodium, and especially potassium. It should also be noted that all citrus fruits are a very valuable source of potassium, which is needed to ensure the water and electrolyte balance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A model is presented for the dewatering of a saturated two-phase medium in a screw press. The model accounts for the detailed two-phase rheological behaviour of the pressed material and splits the press into two zones, an initial well-mixed constant-pressure region followed by an axial transport region in which the total pressure steadily increases. In this latter region, a slowly varying helical coordinate transformation is introduced to help reduce the dynamics to an annular bi-axial compression of the two-phase medium. Unlike previous modelling, the transition point between the two zones is determined self-consistently, rather than set a priori, and the pressure along the length of the press is deduced from the rheology of the two-phase flow rather than averaging the two-phase dynamics over a cross section of the press. The model is compared to experimental observations of the dewatering of a paper-making fibre suspension and of a clay slurry, and is shown to reproduce operational data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the study was to outline a global scheme for furthering mitigation of climate change in the Managed Forest subsector of the Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry sector. The core of the study is an analysis of the emissions associated with the start-up of steady-state utilization of previously unutilized forest areas. Example forest growth curves are employed to demonstrate the dependence of the start-up emissions on the forest characteristics. In the case of fiber production, the start-up leads to an effective step-like increase in cumulative carbon dioxide (CO2) emission. In the case of biofuel production, a significant level of CO2 removal is attainable in the longer term, but, because of the start-up emission, there is usually an initial period of effective CO2 emission. The duration of this initial period has a strong dependence on the growth rate of the forest and the type of fossil fuel replaced. The results of the analysis were exploited in the compilation of a proposal for a global scheme aimed at mitigating climate change without unduly constraining forest utilization. In the scheme, increased forest utilization for the production of solid-wood products and fiber products would be penalized on the basis of the consumption of such products, while, in certain cases, increased forest utilization for biofuel production would be rewarded. Acceptable biofuel options were identified in the study. An example is the replacement of coal by wood chips originating from forest which has a growth rate at least as great as that of a typical boreal forest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this work was to study the effect of the incorporation of argane by-products (meal and pulp) in ewe's diet on the production and quality of milk and the performance of lambs in the lactation phase. Twenty ewes were divided into two equal groups. The first one has been fed with argane by-product diet (AD), and the second with a control diet (CD). The results showed an improvement in milk production with an average of 26.3% for AD compared with the CD group. AD group lambs showed a significant difference (p < 0.05) compared with the CD group during lactation phase. The ash and protein levels were not affected by treatments; however, fat, lactose, density, and fusion point content show more fluctuations for both treatments (p < 0.05). The physicochemical parameters of sheep milk showed high (p < 0.01) to very high (p < 0.001) significant change, along the lactation weeks. Except the Zn which showed no significant difference (p > 0.05), the mineral composition of both milks (Na, K, Ca, Mg, P, and Fe) was significant (p < 0.05). It is concluded that, in terms of performances, argane by-products could replace the conventional diet for ewes without substantial detrimental effects. Therefore, argane by-product could be used as a cost-effective feed for sheep in dry areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Orange juice is an important source of flavanones in the Western diet. However, little is known of the variation in flavanone content of shop-bought orange juice with pulp (OJP) or without pulp (OJ), nor the impact of pulp on the fate of flavanones in the gut. Total phenols, total flavonoids, antioxidant capacity, hesperidin and narirutin, and dietary fibre were measured in six orange juice brands sold as OJP and OJ. The inclusion of pulp had little impact on fibre content. Apart from total phenols (OJ: 208.4 ± 10.7 μg gallic acid equivalents (GAE) ml-1; OJP: 225.9 ± 16.7 μg GAE ml-1, P < 0.05), there were no differences between OJ and OJP. The fate of flavanones in OJ and OJP (Tropicana) were further compared using in vitro gastrointestinal (GI) models. After in vitro upper GI digestion, recovery of hesperidin was higher in OJ compared with OJP (89 ± 6 vs. 68 ± 3%, P = 0.033). After 2 h colonic fermentation, hesperidin was 1.2 fold higher in OJP than OJ. However, after 24 h colonic fermentation there was no significant difference between juices in terms of hesperidin, hesperetin, narirutin, naringenin and catabolites. In conclusion, the amount of pulp included in these shop-bought orange juices had little impact on flavanone metabolism in models of the GI tract. The effects of greater amounts of orange pulp remain to be determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hornification of cellulose is a well-known phenomenon that takes place during the drying process. Hornification involves a structural change in the cellulose that restricts the enzyme's ability to access and saccharify the cellulose. We observed never-dried (ND), pressed (PR), and oven-dried (OD) softwood pulp during saccharification catalyzed by fluorescent labelled cellulase from Trichoderma reesei by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Initially cellulases were observed on outer surfaces and dislocations of all the ND, PR, and OD pulp fibers. It was clearly observed that over time that cellulases penetrated the cell walls of the ND pulp fiber from the outer surface, inner surface and cracks and remained in the cell walls. In contrast, they did not penetrate the cell walls of the OD pulp fiber and instead stayed on the cracks and ends of the shortened fibers. Mannan and xylan were found at dislocations of ND and OD fibers by immunolabelling microscopy. The results suggested that hemicellulose plays an important role in hornification at dislocations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) is a unique natural nanomaterial that shares very few similarities with other natural or industrially produced nanomaterials. BNC can be produced by a variety of bacteria, as a survival aid in different ecological niches. BNC is traditionally produced by static or shaking culture methods, and the 'mother vinegar', or biofilm, is a typical example of this product after static vinegar fermentation. BNC has great potential in biomedicine, and recent studies have also demonstrated its use in the papermaking industry. It has nanoscale fiber size and large numbers of free hydroxyl groups, which ensure high inter-fiber hydrogen bonding. Thus, BNC has great potential as a reinforcing material, and is especially applicable for recycled paper and for paper made of nonwoody cellulose fiber. As well as enhancing the strength and durability of paper, modified BNC shows great potential for production of fire resistant and specialized papers. However, the biotechnological aspects of BNC need to be improved to minimize the cost of its production, and to thus make this process economically feasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of the composition of the working mixed acid, mass ratio, and nitration temperature and time on the properties and yield of cellulose nitrates from an unconventional feedstock such as the large-tonnage grain-processing residue, oat hulls, was studied. Experimental statistical models were constructed on the basis of a series of experiments. They enable the properties of cellulose nitrates to be predicted as a function of the mixed acid composition and conditions of the nitration process. The mixed acid composition and the mass ratio of mixed acid to cellulose were found to have the primary effect on the properties of cellulose nitrates, while the nitration temperature and time had no noticeable effect on the final result. Under the optimum synthetic conditions, pilot batches of cellulose nitrates were produced, which corresponded to Colloxiline-N in the main properties: mass fraction of nitrogen was 12.08–12.18%, viscosity was 12–15 mPa s, and the solubility in an alcohol—ether mixture was 98%. The correspondence of the synthesized samples to Colloxiline-N was confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy. The cellulose nitrates derived from the unconventional feedstock may find practical use in manufacturing ballistic powder and composite explosives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The peculiarities of the histological structure and morphometrical parameters of the dentition in ISIAH rats (inherited stress-induced arterial hypertension) before stress and after modeling of everyday life stress regimen (chronic stress) were compared with those in WAG rats. The area of blood vessels of the periodontium, the thickness of the endothelium in the periodontal and pulp vessels, and the number of fibroblasts were increased, while the level of odontoblasts was reduced in ISIAH rats both before and after exposure to chronic stress, which can reflect more pronounced reaction to stress in hypertensive animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It was shown that the intensity of morphological changes in the dental system tissues (periodontium and pulp) of ISIAH rats depends on the mode of stress exposure. Acute stress was associated with a significant increase in the area of periodontal and pulp vessels, a decrease in the area of connective tissue of these components, and an increase in the thickness of the vascular endothelium. Chronic stress in these animals induced an increase in the thickness of the endothelial layer of the periodontal and pulp vessels, fibromatosis (increase in the number of fibroblasts), and a sharp decrease in the level of odontoblasts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the effect of pulp type on the formability and elongation of paperboard, which are of key importance when producing 3D packages. Material performance was studied with a press-forming machine using laboratory handsheets as substrates. The handsheets were prepared from bleached softwood and hardwood kraft pulps, chemi-thermomechanical pulp, recycled newsprint, and mixtures of birch kraft and other pulps. The effect of microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) on substrate properties and material formability was also investigated. The 3D elongation of MFC-free handsheets varied between 1.2 and 5.5%. Depending on the pulp type and sheet composition, three essential sheet properties were recognized. These properties were bulk, elastic modulus and bending stiffness, the first two of which affect material bending stiffness. Sheets made from softwood fibers were superior to other samples, but their low bending stiffness resulted in distortion of formed trays. A partial replacement of birch kraft with recycled newsprint did not lead to a loss of sheet extensibility, which suggests that the interactions between the converting tools and the substrate have a great effect on material convertibility. Scanning electron micrographs showed that the pulp type affects the mechanism behind fracture initiation. The ability of MFC to increase extensibility was limited to mechanical pulps, indicating the important role of the main pulp component in defining tensile properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cassava cellulosic waste, or cassava bagasse or pulp, is a solid waste generated from both the coarse and fine extraction processes used for producing starch. Current disposal alternatives, such as selling the wet or dried pulp for animal feed, do not provide a high economic value. Furthermore, when stored at the factory the resulting microbial fermentation of the waste causes environmental pollution and a strong odor. The pulp still has a high starch content and so is suitable for other utilization purposes. The aim of this research was to use a direct economic and environment cost model to assess three potential high value-added renewable energy utilization alternatives for cassava pulp utilization to help define appropriate option(s) for on-site pulp management. The selected utilization options were the production of (i) biogas for heat generation, (ii) biogas for electricity generation and (iii) bioethanol. Primary and secondary data were collected from the literature, surveys and field data. The boundaries of data collection were set as gate-to-gate of a new unit in an existing starch factory with a receiving capacity of 500 t/d of pulp (equivalent to the pulp produced from a 200-t starch factory). The total production cost of each cassava pulp utilization option was calculated from both the economic and environmental cost. The most economically attractive scenario was the production of biogas for heat generation since it gave the highest net present value (NPV), net cash flow and return on sale. The biogas for heat generation option has the highest NPV sensitivity value in all case studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The need for research into the use of alternative raw materials for the production of paper results from the anticipated shortages in the supply of raw-materials to the wood-based paper-industry. Although Burdwan town is vested with different types of algae, literally no work has been done for valorization of such biomass. Start of such bioprocess involves optimization of resource-utilization that is the main topic in this paper.Methods: Burdwan town was surveyed for collection of algae that were identified by morphologic characteristics under the microscope. Cellulose, hemicelluloses, lignin, ash-content, water-retention-value, total carbohydrate and starch concentration of these algae were determined for assessing their feasibility in handmade-paper production. Element content in these algae was determined from energy-dispersive-X-ray-spectroscopy. Breaking-length and tensile-strength were the two parameters tested to assess hand-made-paper quality obtained from pulp extracted from the collected algae species. Data obtained were statistically evaluated with one-way analysis-of-variance followed by Tukey's HSD (honest-significant-difference) test. Paper made from pure algae pulp was also tested for inter-fiber bonding with scanning-electron-microscopic-imaging. All experiments were repeated with Eucalyptus sp. pulp (wood) as control to assess the suitability of algal pulp as an alternative to the conventional wood pulp.Results: Five algal species: Pithophora sp., Lyngbya sp., Hydrodiction sp., Cladophora sp. and Rhizoclonium sp. were collected. Although here were no statistically-significant differences (p = 0.8137) in biomass-compositional values from the studied algae species and Eucalyptus sp. pulp, paper quality parameters (Breaking-length and tensile-strength) varied significantly (p < 0.1, p < 0.5) among them. Hydrodiction sp., besides Rhizoclonium sp. and Cladophora sp. were established as the most suitable candidates for paper-pulp formulation in terms of high cellulose, hemicelluloses contents and low lignin and silica contents. Paper from pure Hydrodiction sp. pulp was found to have statistically significant (P < 0.05) improved breaking-length and tensile-strength properties compared to that obtained from Lyngbya sp. Paper-pulp characters varied insignificantly among Hydrodiction sp., Rhizoclonium sp. and Cladophora sp. versus Eucalyptus sp. (wood pulp) whereas statistically significant differences were noticed in paper pulp quality of Pithophora sp. (p < 0.05) and Lyngbya sp. (p < 0.01) with Eucalyptus sp. respectively.Conclusion: Thus, this paper enlightens (through statistical comparison), the properties of different algae, leading out Hydrodiction sp., Rhizoclonium sp. and Cladophora sp. to be the most appropriate as start up material (resources) for paper-pulp formulation, in comparison to conventional wood pulp (Eucalyptus sp.). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]