Cocoa substitute: Evaluation of sensory qualities and flavour stability

In the past few years, the price of cocoa has climbed very rapidly, so there is increasing incentive in food industry to find a real cocoa substitute. A mixture of milled chicory roots and carob pods (1:2, w/w) was used for preparation of real cocoa substitute via Maillard technology. Comparative studies concerning sensory characteristics and headspace volatiles were carried out between the real cocoa and prepared cocoa substitute. The sensory evaluation revealed high quality of the cocoa substitute sample in comparison with the real cocoa sample. The comparative odour profile analysis showed that the cocoa-like and sweetish/caramel attributes scored higher in cocoa sample than in cocoa substitute sample, whereas the roasty/earthy attributes showed an opposite trend. The chocolate attribute exhibited the same quality in both samples. The storage of the cocoa substitute sample for 6 months gave rise to an increase in the chocolate attribute. The other attributes showed opposite behaviour. The headspace volatiles of both real cocoa and cocoa substitute were isolated and subjected to gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometric (GC–MS) analysis. Most of the volatile compounds identified in real cocoa especially the key odorants were represented in the cocoa substitute sample. The two compounds, 2-phenyl-2-butenal and 5-methyl-2-phenyl-2-hex-2-enals, that are important contributors to chocolate aroma, showed noticeable increase after storage of cocoa substitute sample for 6 months.     

Hybrid Henry gas solubility optimization algorithm with dynamic cluster-to-algorithm mapping

Neural Computing and Applications - This paper discusses a new variant of Henry Gas Solubility Optimization (HGSO) Algorithm, called Hybrid HGSO (HHGSO). Unlike its predecessor, HHGSO allows...     

Astroglial Connexins Inactivation Increases Relapse of Depressive-like Phenotype after Antidepressant Withdrawal

Studies suggest that astrocytic connexins (Cx) have an important role in the regulation of high brain functions through their ability to establish fine-tuned communication with neurons within the tripartite synapse. In light of these properties, growing evidence suggests a role of Cx in psychiatric disorders such as major depression but also in the therapeutic activity of antidepressant drugs. However, the real impact of Cx on treatment response and the underlying neurobiological mechanisms remain yet to be clarified. On this ground, the present study was designed to evaluate the functional activity of Cx in a mouse model of depression based on chronic corticosterone exposure and to determine to which extent their pharmacological inactivation influences the antidepressant-like activity of venlafaxine (VENLA). On the one hand, our results indicate that depressed mice have impaired Cx-based gap-junction and hemichannel activities. On the other hand, while VENLA exerts robust antidepressant-like activity in depressed mice; this effect is abolished by the pharmacological inhibition of Cx with carbenoxolone (CBX). Interestingly, the combination of VENLA and CBX is also associated with a higher rate of relapse after treatment withdrawal. To our knowledge, this study is one of the first to develop a model of relapse, and our results reveal that Cx-mediated dynamic neuroglial interactions play a critical role in the efficacy of monoaminergic antidepressant drugs, thus providing new targets for the treatment of depression.     

Preparation of poly(vinyl alcohol) films with promising physical properties in comparison with commercial polyethylene film

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) films with different thicknesses (0.08, 0.2, 0.23, 0.42 mm) were prepared by a casting technique. The transmission and the absorption of the PVA films were measured as functions of the wavelengths. PVA film with a thickness of 0.42 mm showed zero transmission in the wavelength range of 190–350 nm. The transmission spectrum of a commercial polyethylene film with a thickness of 0.21 mm was compared to the transmission spectrum of PVA film with a thickness of 0.42 mm. A correlation was found between the two transmission spectra in the region 190–350 nm and a 20% increase in the transmission of the PVA film in comparison with the transmission of commercial polyethylene in the region 350–1500 nm. The near‐infrared region of the transmission of commercial polyethylene was increased by 15% with respect to the transmission of the PVA film. The stress–strain measurements were done for PVA and commercial polyethylene films. The Young's modulus and the strength at break for PVA films are higher by two orders of magnitude than those for commercial polyethylene film. The strain at break for commercial polyethylene is 17% lower than that for PVA film. Radiation effects on the optical properties of PVA and commercial polyethylene films were investigated. The PVA and commercial polyethylene films were irradiated with a xeon arc lamp at 3.5–5 W/cm². The optical properties for PVA and commercial polyethylene films were studied after irradiation. The obtained results showed that PVA film with a thickness of 0.42 mm gave promising properties which could be used in technological applications. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 86: 1219–1226, 2002     

基于二进小波变换及局部二值模式特征的图像检索

纹理是一种反映像素的空间分布属性的图像特征,成为图像分析的重要手段。在图像检索领域,由于小波变换具有方向性、局部特性、多尺度特性,使得图像的纹理特征能得到更好的表征。局部二值模式是提取图像纹理特征的有效工具,具有旋转不变性和灰度不变性。利用性能良好的 Bubble 小波对图像进行二进小波变换得到四个子带图像,其中低频子带包含原图信息最多,对角线方向的子图包含信息最少,其余两个子图包含信息介于两者之间,因此选取低频和垂直,水平高频图像,然后对分量利用等价局部二值模式提取图像纹理特征,并进行图像检索。实验结果表明该算法不仅有效地结合了小波与局部二值模式的优势,而且具有较好的检索性能。