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The objective was to study changes in nitrogen-saturated biodiesel irradiated by electron beam and to analyse them considering the influence of absorbed dose. Based on the obtained results, it can ...

To reduce microbial loads in medicinal herbs, Cnidii Rhizoma and Alismatis Rhizoma were subjected to electron-beam (e-beam) irradiation at doses (≤10 kGy) as permitted by the Korean Food Code. The effects of e-beam irradiation on the microbial load, stability of the active components, and anti-inflammatory activity of medicinal herbs were determined. We observed that the total aerobic bacteria (TAB; 4.0-7.0 log CFU/g), yeasts and molds (YM; 3.3-6.8 log CFU/g), and coliform counts (CC; 3.2-3.8 log CFU/g) in both herb samples were effectively reduced in a dose-dependent manner, resulting in acceptable levels of3.0 log CFU/g in TAB and YM and negative in CC at 10 kGy irradiation. The concentration of the active components (0.87-4.22 mg/g) of Cnidii Rhizoma, including z-ligustilide, chlorogenic acid, senkyunolide A, and ferulic acid, in order of prevalence and those (0.86-2.76 mg/g) of Alismatis Rhizoma, including Alisol B acetate and Alisol B, were not changed at irradiation doses of ≤10 kGy. The extracts of e-beam irradiated Cnidii Rhizoma and Alismatis Rhizoma showed a reduced production of inflammation-related factors, such as nitric oxide, prostaglandin E

Dip pen nanolithography (DPN) based on atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a direct-write lithography technology, in which an AFM tip is used to generate nano- or micro-patterns of materials on surfac...

The periodical domain structure with period 2 μm was created in 1-mm-thick MgO doped lithium niobate single crystals by electron-beam irradiation. The second harmonic generation (SHG) around 370 nm...

Electrons with energies of 300 keV or lower have the potential to decontaminate the surfaces of various types of food products with minimal loss of quality. The aim of the present work was to determine the thickness of the layer inhabited by microorganisms. The food samples tested were black and white pepper irradiated with 200 keV, 230 keV, 300 keV and 9 MeV beams of electron energy. To determine the depth from the surface which can be inhabited by microorganisms two approaches were tested. The methods used were based on the application of different microbiological recovery techniques and the microbial effectiveness of the irradiation process depending on the energy of the electron beam. It was observed that the layer which microorganisms may contaminate differed for the tested samples it was estimated as being below 100 μm thick for white pepper and about 200 μm for black pepper. The penetration ability was significant in experiments performed, and as a result the electron beam at the lowest levels tested (200 and 230 keV) was found to be insufficient to effectively decontaminate the black pepper samples. The beam of energy 300 keV was found to have a similar microbial inactivation effect as the high energy electron beam (9 MeV).

This study was performed to evaluate the effect of different doses (0, 1.5, 3, and 4.5 kGy) of e‐beam irradiation on the quality parameters (pH, Hunter's parameter, and heme pigment) and stability qualifiers (peroxide value [POV], thiobarbituric acid reactive substances [TBARSs], and total volatile basic nitrogen [TVBN]) of smoked duck meat during 40 d of storage under vacuum packaging at 4 °C. The initial populations of total bacteria (7.81 log CFU/g) and coliforms (5.68 log CFU/g) were reduced by approximately 2 to 5 log cycles with respect to irradiation doses. The results showed that pH, myoglobin, met‐myoglobin, L*, a*, and b*showed significant differences with respect to different doses and storage intervals; a*and b*did not vary significantly because of storage. Higher pH was found in samples treated with 4.5 kGy at 40 d, while the minimum was observed in nonirradiated samples at day 0 of storage. Higher POV (2.31 ± 0.03 meq peroxide/kg) and TBARS (5.24 ± 0.03 mg MDA/kg) values were found in 4.5 kGy‐treated smoked meat at 40 d and the lowest was reported in 0 kGy‐treated meat at initiation of storage (0 d). However, irradiation suppressed TVBN during storage and higher TVBN (7.09 ± 0.32 mg/100 mL) was found in duck meat treated with 0 kGy at 40 d. The electronic nose (e‐nose) effectively distinguished flavor profiles during the different storage intervals. The results showed that different sensory attributes did not vary significantly with respect to the dose of irradiation. We conclude that low dose of e‐beam irradiation and vacuum packaging is beneficial for safety and shelf life extension without affecting the sensory characteristics of smoked duck meat. Duck meat is getting popularity nowadays including smoked duck meat. Therefore, the safety status of the smoked duck meat is very important. This study clearly identified the safety and quality of smoked duck meat by using the e‐beam as a preservation technology.

Potassium metabisulphite is usually used for microbial stabilization in the process of vinification and wine preservation, but it is considered to be allergenic. The objective of the present study was to assess the efficiency of ozonation and ionizing radiation as alternatives to wine sulphurization. The efficiency of yeast removal and the retention of the chemical quality of wine were evaluated. Wine was subjected to 60 min of ozonation, and radiation doses were set at 1&ndash, 10 kGy. Moreover, a combination of ozonation and ionizing radiation treatment was used. The ozonation of wine did not produce the expected results. That is, it did not limit the number of yeast cells. From the sixth minute, a significant deterioration in the taste and the color of the wine was found. Ionizing radiation at a dose of 1 kGy reduced the yeast count by 95.5%, and a reduction of 99.9% was seen after the application of 2.5 kGy. Moreover, these doses did not have a significant effect on the organoleptic properties or the chemical composition of wine. The total amount of polyphenols reduced from the maximum of 1127.15 to 1023.73 mg at the dose of 5 kGy. Radiation is widely used to preserve food products. Its use for finished wine preservation may be an alternative to sulphurization.

The reshaping of amorphous SiOx nanowires (a-SiOx NWs) as solely induced by uniform electron beam (e-beam) irradiation was in situ studied at room temperature using transmission electron microscopy. It was observed that the axially straight NW kept its perfect straight cylinder-like wire shape and demonstrated a uniform radial shrinkage with the increase of irradiation time. In contrast, the axially curved NW quickly became straight accompanied by uniform axial shrinkage and uniform radial expansion. It is expected that such a study in particular on the athermal straightening of axially curved NW has important implications for nanoinstability and nanoprocessing of future NW-based structures or devices. More importantly, the findings demonstrate that the traditional knock-on mechanism and e-beam heating effect are inadequate to explain these processes while our proposed nanocurvature effect and energetic beam-induced athermal activation effect obviously dominate the processes.

The Mo5O14-type structure is an important and representative to the MoO-based catalyst in the selective oxidation process. In the petrochemical industries, the MoO-based catalyst has been widely doped with other elements like V, Nb and Te to have distinct properties with high activity, selectivity and conversion efficiency. The specific facet and bonding relationship would affect the catalyst properties and functionality. The catalyst is usually synthesized as nanoparticles, which have random configuration and uniformity. Therefore, we successfully synthesized the single-crystalline Mo5O14 nanowires, which have uniform structure and controllability about diameter and length by CVD process. Besides, nanowire catalyst with nanoporous structure could possess both advantages of nanoparticles and nanowires. Therefore, we aimed at systematically analyzing Mo5O14 nanowires and then fabricating nanoporous structure in nanowires by e-beam irradiation. Utilizing advanced TEM techniques could reveal the overall atomic structure, which have intrinsic tunnel structure and unique periodicity. In addition, the e-beam irradiation on the intrinsic tunnel structure is observed by in-situ TEM. During the e-beam irradiation process, the oxygen atoms would be removed and result in the structure transformation. Using this technology, the irradiation region could be definable and controllable by electron beam size to define the distribution of nanoporous in nanowires. These results would benefit to realizing the catalytic selective oxidation related with Mo5O14-type structure but also fabricating nanoporous nanowires with rapid and convenient methods. Figure 1

Seventy-two exudates from pork tenderloin samples, subjected to E-beam irradiation treatments, have been employed to monitor, through 1H NMR analysis, the effects of irradiation dose (0, 1, 2 and 6 kGy) and storage time (1, 6 and 12 days). As far as we know, this is the first study where meat exudate is employed to monitor the effects of irradiation dose and storage time. The 1H NMR spectra, obtained after ~ 2 min, allowed to determine the main components of the pork exudate. Results show that 1H NMR-based metabolomics provides valuable information about the metabolic changes suffered during storage and how these transformations could be affected by E-beam irradiation treatment. The ease to obtain exudates, the simple NMR sample preparation, the good correlation between the selected metabolites, the irradiation treatment and the storage times point to that this study could be the first step to develop a new method for analysis and control of meat conservation and to evaluate its irradiation treatment.

Effectiveness of electron beam irradiation was evaluated against Phytophthora nicotianae var. nicotianae, the causal agent of stem base and root rot of tomato. In laboratory trials, irradiation of 7-day-old Phytophthora cultures growing on potato-dextrose-agar (PDA) medium with 1 kGy resulted in the disintegration of the pathogen’s hyphae. Increasing the irradiation dose to 3 kGy caused decay of the hyphae. Irradiation of infested stonewool with 5 kGy caused decrease of the pathogen population about 5 times. Application of 20 kGy completely eliminated the pathogen from stonewool. Irradiation of substratum resulted in significant increase of tomato seedlings healthiness, especially when the dose 20 kGy was applied.

The effects of e-beam irradiation on water-repellency and washing durability of water-repellent finished chemically-recycled PET(CR-PET) fabrics were investigated. As results, more doses of e-beam irradiation damaged the fabric surface more severely. It was thought because the high densed energy was formed, where the more e-beam was converged. The contact angle measurement showed that as the dose of e-beam irradiation increased, water wettability of the CR-PET fabric increased slightly. It was thought to be due that the surface etching by e-beam irradiation let water droplet permeate into the fabric surface better. The concentration of the water-repellent finishing agent was more important factor than curing temperature as finishing parameter. It was considered because the water-repellent finishing agent used in this study got to cure sufficiently at low temperature. Consequently, e-beam irradiation improved the washing durability of water-repellent finishing on the CR-PET fabrics.

Bu çalışmada, geleneksel Au/n-SiSchottky Diyotların (SDs) aygıt performansının ışınlanmış PTCDA arayüzeytabakası kullanılarak yenilikçi bir yaklaşımla iyileştirilmesi amaçlanmıştır.Bu nedenle ilk olarak PTCDA tozları 30kGy, 60kGy ve 100kGy farklı elektrondemet (E-Demet) dozlarında ışınlanmıştır ve sonuçlar FTIR yöntemi ile analizedilmiştir. Işınlanmamış ve ışınlanmış PTCDA tozları n-Si alttaş üzerineorganik buharlaştırma sisteminde kaplanmıştır. Farklı dozlarda E-Demet ileışınlanmış ve ışınlanmamış PTCDA arayüzey tabakalı Au/PTCDA/n-Si SD’larınAkım-Gerilim (I-V) karakteristikleri ±3V arasında oda sıcaklığındagerçekleştirilmiştir. Aygıtların idealite faktörü(n), Schottky engel yüksekliği(FBo),doğrultma oranı (DO), seri direnç (Rs) ve Şönt direnci (Rsh)parametreleri I-V sonuçlarından hesaplanarak elde edilmiştir. 30 kGy ışınlanmışPTCDA arayüzey tabakalı Au/PTCDA/n-Si SD aygıt performansının ışınlanmamışPTCDA arayüzey tabakalı Au/PTCDA/n-Si SD’a göre daha iyi olduğu deneysel olarakgözlenmiştir. Au/PTCDA/n-Si SD’un I-V karakteristiklerinin ışınlama ile oldukçaetkilendiği ve uygun ışınlama dozu ile aygıt performansının artırılabileceğigözlemlenmiştir.&nbsp, In this work, itis aimed to improve the device performance of traditional Au / n-Si SchottkyDiodes (SDs) with an innovative approach using the irradiated PTCDA interfaciallayer. For this reason, first PTCDA powders were irradiated with differentelectron beam (E-Beam) doses of 30kGy, 60kGy and 100kGy and the results wereanalyzed by FTIR method. Unirradiated and irradiated PTCDA powders with E-Beam were evaporated on n-Sisubstrate via organic evaporator. Current-Voltage (I-V) characteristics ofunirradiated and irradiated Au/PTCDA/n-Si SDs with PTCDA interfacial layersirradiated with different E-Beam doses of 30kGy, 60kGy and 100kGy were carriedout between ±3V at room temperature. The ideality factor (n), Schottky barrierheight (FBo),rectification ratio (DO), series resistance (Rs) and shuntresistance (Rsh) of devices were calculated from current-voltage(I-V) results. It is experimentally seen that performance of Au/PTCDA/n-Si SDirradiated with 30 kGy has better results when we compared unirradiatedAu/PTCDA/n-Si SD. It has been observed that the I-V characteristics of theAu/PTCDA/n-Si SD are highly influenced by irradiation and the deviceperformance can be improved with appropriate irradiation dose.

Activated carbons (ACs) were modified via e-beam irradiation at various doses for use as an electrode material in electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs). The chemical compositions of the AC surfaces were largely unchanged by the e-beam irradiation. The ACs treated with the e-beam at radiation doses of 200 kGy exhibited higher nanocrystallinity than the untreated ACs. The specific surface areas and pore volumes of the e-beam irradiated ACs were also higher than those of the untreated ACs. These results were attributed to the transformation and degradation of the nanocrystallinity of the AC surfaces due to the e-beam irradiation. The specific capacitance of the ACs treated with the e-beam at radiation doses of 200 kGy increased by 24% compared with the untreated ACs, and the charge transfer resistance of the ACs was decreased by the e-beam irradiation. The enhancement of the electrochemical properties of the e-beam irradiated ACs can be attributed to an increase in their specific surface area and surface crystallinity.

Most commercial dried laver products show higher microbial contamination. This work evaluated effects of approved dose (7 kGy)—recommended in the Korean Food Code for algal food—of electron beam (E-beam) irradiation on microbiological, physicochemical and luminescence properties of dried laver products. E-beam irradiation caused dose-dependent microbial reductions. For example, a 4 kGy irradiation dose reduced coliform ( 0.05) affected before and after 7 kGy irradiation, but carotenoid content was significantly (p 4 kGy) could be detected from non-irradiated ones by luminescence techniques. Overall, results indicated that

Slaughterhouse industry produces large volumes of polluted wastewater, which cause negative impacts on the environment. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of electron-beam irradiation on the ecotoxicity of slaughterhouse effluents with absorbed doses up to 35 kGy. Two acute toxicity assays were applied to evaluate the efficiency of irradiation onto toxicity of wastewater. The exposed living-organisms were a luminescent bacteria Vibrio fischeri, and a freshwater microcrustacean Daphnia similis. Also, the total organic carbon was analysed in order to determine any possible organic carbon removal after irradiation. The ecotoxicological results evidenced that both living-organisms were suitable for the measurements. Therefore, the results demonstrated the toxicity of the effluent and its similarity for both organisms as well as the potential of radiation to reduce these effects. The 35 kGy dose was very effective for reducing toxic effects of slaughterhouse wastewater for daphnids suggesting that ionizing radiation could be used as a tool for removing toxic charge of such effluents. The type of contamination presented by the effluent justify the needs for alternatives of treatment.

When Nylon 66 was irradiated by an optimum dose of e-beam in presence of polyurethane as impact modifierin combination with triallyl isocyanurate as cross-linker, a superior performance was observed for the irradiatednylon 66. Significant improvement of properties, such as hardness, tensile strength, flexural modulus and impactstrength was obtained on radiation processing of nylon 66 by e-beam. More interestingly, percent water absorptionof such irradiated nylon 66 was reduced substantially. Improvement of mechanical properties and reduction of waterabsorption of irradiated nylon 66 were due to the cross-linking of the polymer system. Increase of cross-linkingwith dose of e-beam was verified by the increased gel content at higher doses. Irradiated nylon 66 showed betterdimensional stability than those achieved with pristine nylon 66. The increase in dimensional stability may beattributed to reduction in crystallinity with increasing dose of e-beam as revealed by DSC studies.Defence Science Journal, Vol. 64, No. 3, May 2014, pp. 281-289, DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.64.7328

Biochemical properties and gel-forming ability were investigated as a function of storage time to understand the effect of 10 MeV electron linear accelerator irradiation, combined with vacuum-packaging changes, on Atlantic salmon fillets during cold storage at 4 °C. The results showed that compared with those of the control samples, pH, water soluble protein and extractable protein were not significantly altered by irradiation. However, pH, water soluble protein and extractable protein changed notably as storage time increased. While salt soluble protein (SSP), total volatile base nitrogen (TVB-N), a(*) values, 2-thiobarbituric acid (TBA) and total viable counts (TVC) were significantly (p

This study determined the extent that irradiation of fresh beef surfaces with an absorbed dose of 1 kGy electron (e-) beam irradiation might reduce the viability of mixtures of O157 and non-O157 verotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) and Salmonella. These were grouped together based on similar resistances to irradiation and inoculated on beef surfaces (outside flat and inside round, top and bottom muscle cuts), and then e-beam irradiated. Salmonella serovars were most resistant to 1 kGy treatment, showing a reduction of ≤1.9 log CFU/g. This treatment reduced the viability of two groups of non-O157 E. coli mixtures by ≤4.5 and ≤3.9 log CFU/g. Log reductions of ≤4.0 log CFU/g were observed for E. coli O157:H7 cocktails. Since under normal processing conditions the levels of these pathogens on beef carcasses would be lower than the lethality caused by the treatment used, irradiation at 1 kGy would be expected to eliminate the hazard represented by VTEC E. coli.

A series of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) hydrogels with different contents of polyvinylalcohol (PVA) have been prepared by E-beam irradiation. The gel fraction and strength of PVP/PVA hydrogels were increased with increasing the contents of PVA. On the contrary, the swelling degree was decreased. The PVP/PVA hydrogels were transparent and elastic, and have highly porous network.

In this paper two systems, polyethylene (LDPE) and polyethylene/commercial organo-modified montmorillonite (LDPE/OMMT) nanocomposite, were subjected to e-beam irradiation at different doses and both the molecular modifications and mechanical properties have been investigated through solubility, FT-IR, calorimetric and tensile tests. Moreover, in some of the irradiated systems photo-oxidation aging was performed and its effects were studied. The results show an enhancement with irradiation of the positive effect of the nano-filler loading, related to the increase of the mechanical properties, due to the increase of the nano-filler polymer interaction. Nevertheless calorimetric and FT-IR data indicate that the well known reduction of LDPE/OMMT nanocomposite resistance to photo-oxidation ageing, with respect to LDPE, is amplified by ionizing radiation.

A mechanism not based on the traditional thermodynamics effect but on the microscopic origin of the nonlinear effect was investigated for full consideration of the correlation between the e-beam ir...

Influence of e-beam irradiation on the chemical and crystal structure of poly(aliphatic/aromatic-ester) multiblock thermoplastic elastomers Poly(aliphatic/aromatic-ester) (PED) multiblock copolymers belong to the class of thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs), characterized by a physical network of semi-crystalline hard segments. The PEDs were modified with e-beam to create an additional network structure. Polymers were evaluated using SEC, WAXS, DSC and quasi-static tensile tests. E-beam irradiation induced a significant increase of molecular weight and tensile strength of the PEDs. This effect, together with the diminished degree of crystallinity can be explained by the formation of chemical crosslinks, which are located in the hard phase segments.

Cooked sausages enriched with folic acid (0.6, 1.2 and 2.4 mg/100 g) were manufactured as ready-to-eat (RTE) products using E-beam radiation (2-4 kGy) as a non-thermal technology. The effects of this treatment on the folic acid content, colour, texture and sensory properties of the final products were studied. The characteristics of sausages were not affected by the presence of folic acid, independently of the amount added, and their overall acceptability was good. Doses of 4 kGy caused losses of folic acid close to 20-30% and significantly decreased the sensory quality (P0.05). Despite this, the final content of folic acid in all products was sufficient so that 50 g of product gave 100% of the recommended daily allowance (RDA). This new RTE meat product can be considered as a source of folic acid that can help assure adequate levels of this vitamin in the general population.

Conducting silver paste was prepared by using Ag nanoparticles which were synthesized by e-beam irradiation method (from KAERI); its conductivity was comparatively determined with Ag nanoparticles which were prepared by thermolysis method (commercial). The silver nanoparticles with the diameter of approximately 150 nm size prepared by e-beam irradiation were mixed with glass frit and sintered for 1 h at 500 °C. It is presumably concluded that the wt% of silver nanoparticle, size distribution and homogenous dispersibility of Ag nanoparticles in the pastes are the critical factors for the high conductivity of the paste. Among the various wt% of silver nanoparticle in the conducting silver pastes, silver paste with 90 wt% of silver nanoparticle has the highest conductivity as 1.6×10 4 S cm −1 . This conductivity value is 1.6 times higher than the Ag pastes which were prepared with silver nanoparticles obtained by thermolysis method.

We report the results of optical investigations of planar periodical domain structures fabricated by a set of quasi-point e-beam irradiations both on a Y-cut congruent LiNbO3 substrate and on the planar Ti-indiffused waveguides that have been formed on such substrates. The quasi-phase-matched second harmonic generation (SHG) on domain gratings with period of 7 μm has been obtained with the conversion efficiency 8.8%. A quality of the planar domain gratings was estimated by SHG-microscopy and light scattering.

The inactivation kinetics of death of five Listeria monocytogenes and one Listeria innocua by E-beam irradiation have been studied in order to optimize the treatment for the sanitation of ready-to-eat (RTE) cooked ham. Treatments of 1 and 2.5 kGy were calculated to reach the food safety objective (FSO) according to the EU and USDA statements. These doses do not modify the sensory properties (appearance, odour and flavour) in such a way that they were detected by consumers, excepting the odour when 2.5 kGy are applied to meet the USDA criterion. Industrial relevance The application of E-beam irradiation at low dose (

It is shown that activation of the process of oxygen diffusion in polycrystalline lithium-titanium ferrites heated by a beam of high-energy electrons in the range of temperatures 873–1173 K occurs due to two factors: gas medium ionization by an e-beam and acceleration of diffusion processes directly in the matrix in the irradiation field.

Substituted butadiyne cobalt complexes 1, 2 were prepared and placed on the e-beam to study the fragmentation focused on diyne generation, in MS spectrometer. Phenyl or methyl substituted cobalt complexes generated the corresponding diyne with 100, 30% relative intensities under e-beam irradiation in gas phase.

The gas-phase transport process of an admixture to the surface of spraying aerosol droplets has been experimentally investigated with reference to E-beam gas cleaning processes. The rate of SO 2 uptake by alkali aerosol droplets with average radius ≊ 30 μm has been measured in gas-aerosol jet using light absorption technique. It has been shown that the rate of gas-phase transport is described by the molecular flux of the admixture. Gas-liquid reactions are considered to explain the observed improvement of radiation-induced NO removal in the presence of spraying alkali aerosol.

[EN] The E-beam irradiation of vacuum-packaged RTE cooked ham was carried out to establish the dose required to achieve the food safety objective (FSO) and to minimize changes in selected sensory attributes. Cooked ham was irradiated with doses ranging 1-4 kGy. After the treatment, the microbial inactivation of Listeria monocytogenes, the shelf-life of the product and some sensory attributes (appearance, odor, and flavor) were determined. The inactivation of L monocytogenes was satisfactorily described by a first-order kinetics equation (R2=0.99). The influence of the irradiation dose on appearance, odor, and flavor was modeled through Gompertz (R2=0.99, for appearance) and Activation/Inactivation (R2=0.99, for odor and flavor) equations. A model was also developed to determine the shelf-life of irradiated cooked ham depending on the irradiation dose (R2 > 0.91). The dose that maximized the scores of the sensory attributes was 0.96 kGy resulting in an acceptable sensory quality for 80 days. It is possible to apply up to 2 kGy to ensure microbial safety, while provoking no significant changes in the above mentioned sensory attributes. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved., The authors acknowledge the financial support from the Project CSD2007-00016 (CONSOLIDER-INGENIO 2010) funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.

This paper presents the experimental and simulation study of E-Beam hydrocarbon upgrading process which shows the efficiency of E-Beam process and radiation energy transfer mechanism for single and multiphase fluid. Society's growing demands for energy results in rapid increase in oil consumption and motivates conversion of unconventional resources to conventional resources. There are enormous amounts of heavy oil reserves in the world but the lack of cost effective technologies either for extraction, transportation, or refinery upgrading hinders the development of heavy oil reserves. The traditional problem of conventional heavy oil upgrading is that it takes large amounts of thermal energy and expensive chemicals or catalysts to upgrade. Using E-Beam technology we may lower the energy requirement and reduce the use of specific chemicals or catalysts. The design of facilities can be simpler and will contribute to lowering the costs of transportation and processing of heavy oil and bitumen.

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of antimicrobials on the survival and proliferation of L. monocytogenes in turkey breast rolls following electronbeam irradiation. Six antimicrobial additive treatments that include no preservatives (control), 0.1% potassium benzoate (PB), 2% sodium lactate (SL), 0.1% potassium benzoate plus 2% sodium lactate (PB+SL), 2% sodium lactate plus 0.1% sodium diacetate (SL+SDA), and 0.1% potassum benzoate, 2% sodium lactate and 0.1% sodium diacetate (PB+SL+SDA) were used. Sliced turkey breast rolls were artificially inoculated with ~10 6 CFU/cm 2 five-strain- L. monocytogenes cocktails, then vacuum-packaged and irradiated at 0, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 or 2.5 kGy. D10 values for breast rolls with various additive treatments ranged from 0.56 to 0.58 kGy. Adding PB (0.1%) or SL (2%) in turkey rolls failed to prevent L. monocytogenes from growing during refrigerated storage. In turkey rolls added with two (PB+SL or SL+SDA) or three (PB+SL+SDA) antimicrobial combinations had 2 or 3 weeks of lag phases before L. monocytogenes growth, respectively. Irradiating turkey rolls, which were added with PB+SL or SL+SDA, at 1.0 kGy was effective in suppressing the growth of L. monocytogenes for about six weeks when stored at 4 °C. No growth of L. monocytogenes after irradiation occurred during 42 d storage for 2.0 kGy irradiated breast rolls formulated with 0.1%PB+2%SL, 2%SL+0.1%SDA or 0.1%PB+2%SL+ 0.1%SDA, and 1.0 kGy irradiated turkey breast with 0.1% PB + 2% SL + 0.1% SDA. Sensory panelists found that low-dose irradiation (1.0 kGy) had no effect on the sensory characteristics of RTE turkey breast rolls. Including SL+SDA had slightly negative effect for nonirradiated turkey breast rolls, but the sensory characteristics of 1.0 kGy irradiated turkey roll containing SL+SDA was not significantly different from the others receiving 1.0kGy irradiation. For microbial safety, PB+SL and SL+ SDA antimicrobial treatments combined with 1.0 kGy or 2.0 kGy irradiation are a promising technology.

Optical absorption in the defect-related region of highly efficient non-linear ZnGeP2 crystals under e-beam irradiation and post-irradiation anneals has been investigated.Partially irreversible changes of the absorption were found in the spectral range 0.9–2.5 μm (0.5–1.3 eV) after irradiation and subsequent low-temperature anneals. Data obtained do not support the vacancy model for ZnGeP2 absorption in the 0.5–1.3 eV range.The least squares fit for the parameters of the theoretical dependence of optical absorption cross-section to the experimentally measured ZnGeP2 optical absorption coefficient spectra show that the defect-related absorption in 0.5–1.3 eV region is caused by deep donor levels with energy position E=Ev+(0.85–0.90) eV.Significant changes in the energy spectrum of the dominant optically active centers have been observed under influence of e-beam irradiation and post-irradiation anneals.Based on the optical absorption measurements obtained for as-grown, annealed and e-irradiated ZnGeP2 crystals, a model of point defect interactions has been proposed. This takes into account both the reversible interactions, such as the formation of donor-acceptor pairs, and the irreversible interactions of a quasi-chemical type.The behavior of the energy spectrum of the optically active defects is discussed in terms of the modes of interaction between the initial point defects and those generated by irradiation. The analysis performed showed that the best agreement with experimental data is reached when it is assumed that optical defect-related absorption in the 0.5–1.3 eV range related mainly to the disordering defect in the cation sublattice of ZnGeP2, namely, to atoms of Ge substituting for Zn.Defect concentration profiles created by e-irradiation in ZGP crystals of different thickness were calculated. The optimum conditions for providing a uniform defect distribution with depth in irradiated ZnGeP2 samples were determined.The optimal e-beam irradiation fluences, giving maximum ZnGeP2 enlightenment, allowed us to reduce the defect-related absorption down to a value of 0.01 cm-1 at 2 μm.

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2010 in Portland, Oregon, USA, August 1 – August 5, 2010.

Food and drug interaction has been under discussionm and specifically grapefruit and drug interaction has been under investigation, in recent years. Irradiation of food has multiple benefits in food preservation through several processes, such as sprout inhibition, disinfection, decontamination, delayed maturation, and sterilization. When ionizing radiation is passed through food, it may affect the functional components, including organoleptic characteristics. In addition to naringin, dihydroxybergamottin, paradisin A, and bergamottin, as well as their isomers, are considered putative bioactive furocoumarins present in the grapefruit juice, which interfere with the first pass metabolism of the drugs. These compounds inhibit the activity of CYP P450 3A4 and P-glycoprotein, which, in turn, will increase bioavailability of certain medications. In order to investigate the effect of pre-and postharvest practices on furocoumarins, `Rio Red' and `Marsh White' grapefruits were irradiated with 1, 5, and 10 kGys of e-beam. The irradiated fruit juice was analyzed for qualitative and quantitative changes in furocoumarins. Fifty milliliters of grapefruit juice was extracted with ethyl acetate three times and ethyl acetate extract was dried under vacuum and analyzed by HPLC. Irradiation at 1 kGys showed a decrease in the total content of dihydroxybergamottin, paradisin A, and bergamottin compared to 5 kGys, 10 kGys, and control. This project is based upon work supported by the USDA-CSREES under Agreement USDA IFAFS # 2001 52102 02294 and USDA # 2005-34402-14401 “Designing Foods for Health” through the Vegetable & Fruit Improvement Center.

Pecans nuts from `Kanza' and `Desirable' cultivars were irradiated with 0, 1.5, and 3.0 kGy using electron beam (E-beam) irradiation and stored under accelerated conditions (40 °C and 55% to 60% RH). Antioxidant capacity (AC), phenolic (TP) and condensed tannin (CT) content, HPLC phenolic profile, tocopherol content, peroxide value (PV), and fatty acid profile were evaluated in kernels after 0, 7, 21, 55, and 134 days of storage. Irradiation had no detrimental effects in AC and TP; however, variation was found throughout storage. Tocopherol content of 1.5 and 3.0 kGy kernels decreased after irradiation, but no further decrease was observed thereafter. Irradiated `Desirable' samples had greater PV than controls, while `Kanza' 1.5 kGy samples had increased PV only after 134 days of storage. No change in fatty acid composition was detected for any cultivar. Color modification induced by storage included a decrease in lightness and yellowness and an initial increase of redness followed by a decrease after 98 days of storage. No differences in phenolic profile were observed after irradiation. Compounds identified by HPLC in hydrolyzed extracts were gallic and ellagic acid, catechin, and epicatechin. In general, beside the decrease in tocopherol content, no detrimental effects were found in antioxidant composition caused by irradiation treatments. While a faster oxidation rate was seen in irradiated kernels for `Desirable' cultivar, no other quality attribute was affected by E-beam irradiation.