Search

This study aimed to explore the effects of hot air-drying pretreatment (60, 90 and 120 min) and baking pretreatment (24, 27 and 30 min) on reducing oil adsorption by formulated French fries and the underlying effects and to determine the optimal pretreatment method. The results showed that compared with the untreated samples, the oil contents after hot air drying and roasting pretreatment were decreased by 5.37%–15.75% and 16.30%–16.51%, respectively (P < 0.05). We found that the moisture contents of the pretreated samples and the oil contents after frying were reduced compared with those of the control group, and showed a linear positive correlation with each other. Low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) analysis showed that the content of free water was greatly reduced after pretreatment, and the free water was partially transformed into bound water and semi-bound water. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) analysis found that the distribution of oil on the surface and inside of the samples after baking pretreatment was less than that after hot air-drying pretreatment. Confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) observation showed that a small amount of oil was distributed in the gap between starch cells after baking pretreatment, and the amount of starch-lipid complexes produced in baked samples was significantly less than those in hot air-dried and untreated samples. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed that compared with hot air-drying pretreatment, the surface roughness of samples and the number of cracks and pores on the surface were reduced after baking pretreatment. Therefore, pretreatment could inhibit oil adsorption by formulated French fries by changing the initial moisture content, moisture state, surface microstructure and starch characteristics. The effect of baking pretreatment was more pronounced than that of hot air-drying pretreatment. Taking the sensory evaluation results into consideration, 27-min baking pretreatment was selected as the optimal pretreatment method to prepare low-oil quality potato snacks.

With the rapid development of the cultivated meat industry, large-scale cell culture technology applied to cultivated meat production has received extensive attention. In this study, two microcarriers, Cytodex 1 and 3D TableTrix™, were used for suspension culture of myoblasts in spinner flasks to select a more suitable one for large-scale culture of myoblasts, and then the effects of different culture conditions on the large-scale culture of cells were explored. The microscopic results showed that Cytodex 1 was spheres with a smooth surface and no macroporous structure, and 3D TableTrix™ was irregular spheres with a porous surface and large pores. The results of cell culture in spinner flasks showed that the cells grew on 3D TableTrix™ more efficiently, and after 10 days of culture, the cell yield was 8.97 × 105 cells/mL. The optimal conditions for cell attachment were intermittent stirring at 40 r/min for 10 min with intervals of 50 min. The best cell culture efficiency was obtained by using cell inoculation density of 1 × 105 cells/mL, microcarrier density of 2 mg/mL, agitation speed of 40 r/min, and initial culture serum concentration of 20% as well as replacing the medium with a new one containing 10% serum (V/V) after 24 h of culture, and replacing 50% of the medium with a new one with every other day. By bead to bead transfer of the microcarriers, the cells were transferred to a 2 L spinner flask. Finally, 1.07 × 109 cells were harvested with a survival rate of more than 95%. Microcarriers loaded with cells could be cryopreserved and resuscitated, and no significant differences in proliferation status and morphology were observed compared with thawed cells. The optimized microcarrier based culture process will have promising applications in the industrial scale production of cultivated meat.

This study examines the impact of short selling on firm-level employment growth. Exploiting the staggered short-sale deregulation in China, we find that short selling has a significant negative effect on employment growth. We establish causality by applying a propensity score matching difference-in-differences (PSM-DiD) method and an instrumental variable (IV) approach. Exploring the underlying mechanisms, we find that financial constraints, information transparency, and agency costs are three plausible channels by which short selling affects employment growth. Furthermore, a series of cross-sectional tests suggest that the effect of short selling on employment growth is concentrated in non-state-owned enterprises (non-SOEs), firms with higher operating risk, firms with lower governance quality, firms in regions with weaker labor protection, and in periods prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. Overall, our study offers novel evidence on the consequences of short selling on employment growth in an emerging market, complementing the literature on short sales and labor market outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high sugar content of Huanghua winter jujube brings delicious taste, but at the same time makes its chips easy to absorb moisture during storage, resulting in softening of the chips and obviously affecting the taste of them.In this paper, glucose oxidase was used to partially remove sugar from winter jujube chips.The orthogonal optimization method was adopted to study the effects of enzymolysis time, enzyme addition amount, enzymolysis temperature, solid-liquid ratio and thickness of winter jujube chips on the desugarization rate and sensory quality of winter jujube chips.Isothermal adsorption method was also used to study the storage stability of winter jujube chips.The results showed that when the enzymolysis time was 35 min, the enzyme dosage was 0.15%, the enzymolysis temperature was 45 °C, the ratio of solid to liquid was 1:2(g/mL), and the thickness of winter jujube chips was 10 mm, the desugar rate was 43.30%, that is, the reducing sugar content of winter jujube chips was 18.14%.This content was significantly lower than that before desugar removal (32.00%), with the sensory score being 85.86 points, and the comprehensive score being 98.98 points.Under this condition, the desugar rate was the highest, or the reducing sugar content decreased to the lowest, the comprehensive score reached the highest, and the moisture absorption performance of winter jujube chips became weaker and the stability was better.The research results will provide some theoretical and data support for the development of winter jujube chips related products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using codonopsis, yam, white lentil, gorgon euryales, malt, and lotus seed as raw materials, the effects of four pretreatment methods (direct crushing, roasting, steaming, and microwave) on the characteristics of six kinds of medicinal and edible homology mixed powder, dough characteristics and cookie quality were investigated. Results showed that compared with the control group (direct crushing), the three treatments had different degrees of destruction of nutrients, and the three treatments of mixed powder viscosity, water and oil retention were improved. The three treatments could improve the viscoelasticity of dough, and the roasting treatment had the best improvement effect. Roasting treatment reduced the short-range ordered structure of starch. Scanning electron microscope showed that the starch structure was destroyed in different degrees, but the roasting treatment had the least degree of damage. The three methods can reduce the bitter taste of the ingredients, and the fried biscuits have the highest sensory score. To sum up, roasting is more suitable for the processing of the cookies, and the cookies made have a good appearance and taste popular with the public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lead halide perovskites (LHPs) are emerging as promising candidates for use in various high-performance optoelectronic applications, yet their photophysics remains a topic of debate. Here, we theoretically investigated how the ultrafast optical properties of a few prototype LHPs are affected by many-body interactions, including the bandgap renormalization (BGR) effect, the band-filling (BF) effect, the free-carrier absorption effect, and the exciton effect, at carrier densities ranging from 1016 to 1019 cm−3. The results show that the exciton absorption becomes more obvious near the bandgap with increasing exciton energy (as the halogen component of the LHP is varied from I to Cl). Transient reflectivity results indicate that the signal has one peak below the bandgap as a result of the BGR effect at low carrier densities and one valley above the bandgap originating from the BF effect at high carrier densities. In addition, the absorbance decreases with increasing the carrier density as a result of the BF effect because the filled energy levels are observed at 2 meV above the bottom of the conduction band. The results of the present work are expected to promote the application of LHPs in solar cells, light-emitting diodes, and other photoelectric devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trustworthy technology for the monitoring of fugitive methane emissions is an indispensable component for low−carbon emission reduction and safe production in oil and gas infrastructure. A miniaturization and low-cost methane remote monitoring prototype based on near-infrared laser absorption spectroscopy is developed to retrieve the path−integral concentration by employing the harmonic conjoint analysis method for the backscattered echo signals from a distant non-cooperative target. A distorted harmonic template matching (DHTM) algorithm is proposed based on wavelength modulation spectroscopy with second harmonic normalized via the first harmonic (WMS−2f/1f) method, which suppresses the output concentration fluctuation caused by open path monitoring with non-cooperative target and avoids the issue of false alarms during the detection process without target gas. The reliability of the WMS−2f/1f−DHTM algorithm is verified by calibration and dynamic experiments. The results showed that this algorithm avoids the dilemma of false alarms in the absence of gas compared to the conventional WMS−2f/1f algorithm, while the root mean square error (RMSE) of the concentration inversion with a detection distance of 20 m is reduced by 57.6% compared to direct absorption spectroscopy (DAS) algorithm. And the minimum detection limit of system is 3.79 ppm·m. The methane telemetry sensor with the WMS−2f/1f−DHTM algorithm exhibits substantial application potential in carbon monitoring of oil and gas industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Open-path laser telemetry of methane leakage yields security guarantees of energy storage and transportation for oil/gas station production operation. In order to further improve the long-term detection stability under the condition of long-distance non-cooperative targets, a catadioptric optical receiver (COR) consisting of a Fresnel lens, cone reflector and parabolic reflector is proposed to focus the laser echo light that deviates gradually with the increase in atmospheric turbulence. The geometric configuration parameters of COR are optimized by the ray-tracing method, and the condensing performance of COR is further verified. The self-developed methane laser telemetry system coupled with COR is calibrated in the laboratory and then moved to the field for a signal receiving stability experiment under turbulence interference. The results show that the receiving angle of COR increases 3.8 times compared with the Fresnel lens optical receiver (FOR). The RMSE and IS of the COR system are 0.00173 V and 84.79%, respectively. For comparison, these two evaluating indicators of the FOR system are 0.00288 V and 76.23%. This self-developed methane laser telemetry system coupled with COR is feasible for improving the long-term detection stability of remote leakage monitoring in oil/gas stations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]