Raw Materials Research Articles

A Fluorine-Effect-Enabled Photocatalytic 4-Exo-Trig Cyclization Cascade to Access Fluoroalkylated Cyclobutanes.

Cyclobutanes are popular structural units in bioactive compounds and versatile intermediates in synthetic chemistry, but their synthesis is challenging owing to high ring strain. In this study, a novel method for highly regio- and diastereoselective synthesis of fluoroalkylcyclobutanes bearing vicinal quaternary and tertiary stereocenters is realized by a photocatalytic 4-exo-trig cyclization cascade of thioalkynes or trifluoromethylalkenes. Density functional theory calculations reveal that a unique fluorine effect, arising from hyperconjugative π→σ*C-F interactions, accounts for the regio-reversed radical addition at the sterically hindered alkene carbon, which facilitates an unprecedented 4-exo-trig ring closure. This chemistry enables the direct and controllable construction of medicinally valuable quaternary-carbon-containing cyclobutanes from readily available raw materials, nicely complementing the existing methods.

One-step chemical vapor deposition synthesis of Si NWs@C core/shell anodes without additional catalysts by the oxide-assisted growth mechanism for lithium-ion batteries.

Si NWs@C core/shell anodes for lithium-ion batteries were synthesized via a one-step environmental-pressure chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process utilizing nano-silicon and methane as raw materials. In this structure, the silicon nanowire core is obtained by controlling the temperature above 900 °C to catalyze the growth of nano-silicon particles coated with a natural oxide layer according to the oxide-assisted growth (OAG) mechanism, while the carbon as a protective coating shell is derived from methane cracking. In contrast to the conventional nanowire catalytic approach, this method obviates the addition of metal catalysts while ensuring a straightforward and scalable process. This Si NWs@C electrode displayed excellent electrochemical performance, exhibiting high reversible capacity (745.8 mA h g-1) and excellent cycling stability (91.3% after 100 cycles at 0.5 A g-1).

Study on the material basis of Zhujing pill in treating fundus lesions through component analysis and network pharmacology.

Zhujing pill (ZP) is a famous Chinese herbal formula that has been widely used to treat diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa and other fundus lesions. In this study, the material basis and mechanism of ZP in the treatment of fundus lesions were evaluated via the high-performance liquid chromatography fingerprint, ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry, network pharmacology and molecular docking. A total of 32 common components were found and 31 components were identified in 15 batches of ZP samples. Moreover, 134 common key targets and 17 putative active components that are connected to fundus lesions were identified. Molecular docking revealed that quercetin, kaempferol, isorhamnetin, 5-O-feruloylquinic acid, plantagoside and 2'-acetylacteoside have the ability to interact with the core targets such as AKT1, TP53, TNF, IL-6 and Jun. Our findings revealed that the therapeutic effects of ZP on fundus lesions are mediated by multiple components, targets and pathways, including at least six active ingredients and 11 targets. The study provides new ideas for further research on the material basis and mechanisms of traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions.

PELATIHAN PRODUKSI DAN PENGEMASAN OLAHAN HASIL PERIKANAN PADA KELOMPOK NELAYAN TRADISIONAL UJUNGPANGKAH DI KABUPATEN GRESIK PROVINSI JAWA TIMUR

The problem faced by traditional fishermen groups is business expansion and empowerment of fishermen women to process some of the catch into processed products. Processed fish products that are in demand by the public are a promising business opportunity, this requires technology to produce good products. Products resulting from the diversification of marine processing are catches that are rarely consumed by the public, but have high nutritional content that is really needed by the community. The aim of making this product is to increase the added value of runcah fish. Trash fish is usually only used as fish meal or even in certain conditions is thrown away because it cannot be processed into a product of marketable value. The implementation of this program is divided into several activity stages, namely: The first stage is collecting aspirations, the second stage is exploring the problems that exist at the location of community service activities and the third stage is evaluating mentoring activities. The results of this activity are that the partner group has succeeded in producing the raw material for Pahat fish and has the motivation to produce processed products in the form of nuggets, meatballs and fish crackers. Nugget, somai and dragon's foot products, all of which are made from fish meat, are expected to be a breakthrough in efforts to increase the added value of products caught by fishermen. The conclusion from this community service activity is that the partner group has high enthusiasm and motivation to take part in training in community service activities, has adequate skills to produce processed products from Pahat fish and is successful in producing Pahat fish raw materials and has the motivation to produce processed products in the form of nuggets, meatballs and fish crackers.

VENDOR MANAGEMENT IN FACTORIES

PROCEDURE FOR SUPPLIER DEVELOPMENT The Vendor Development Process is carried out by the Purchase Department in close consultation with User Three Department 1) R&D 2) Material Testing 3) QA Department. First Step: - VENDOR REGISTRATION • Any vendor i.e., manufacturer/ authorized agents/distributors of the manufacturer /service providers and firms undertaking job works can be registered the Vendor Development Protocol. To register, the vendor should have GST registration (if applicable). The vendor must maintain an office/ shop/ show room registered in its own name, and should have a bank account wherein payments can be sent directly. • Vendors interested in registration shall submit an application furnishing details of their business and product line. On receipt of the application, they will be issued a vendor development questionnaire. The vendor should submit the duly filled questionnaire, along with their credentials, and details of manufacturing capacity, quality control facilities, past performance, after-sales service, financial background etc. • The duly filled development document received is submitted to the VENDOR DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE. The Committee consists of Head of User Dept., Head of Material Testing/R & D Dept. & Head of Purchase and has the following powers: ○ after examining the documents and based on the Protocol for Vendor Development of that material, it, can advise the Purchase Department to call for samples for evaluation / plant trial of the material, or call for additional details / clarifications, if required. ○ In case the sample confirms to the specification, the Committee can advise Purchase Department to include the vendor in the list of approved vendors/recommend to issue plant trial order. ○ The Committee can also depute an officer for facility audit, if necessary. ○ Based on the facility audit, and plant trial reports, the Committee can advise the Purchase Department to include the vendor in the list of approved vendors. • Registered firms can be removed from the list of approved firms if they continuously fail to abide by the terms and conditions of the tender / contract or fail to supply goods on time or supply sub-standard items /goods or any false declaration made to company. Suppliers not taking part in the Tender / not supplying to HLL for a continuous period of 5 years will be removed from the list of approved suppliers Second Step: - VENDOR RATING PROCEDURE FOR SUPPLIER RATING Supplier rating is done based on the following criteria. 1) Quality of the product/service 2) Cost rating 3) Adherence to delivery schedule QUALITY RATING (QR) Quality rating comprises of two factors. 1) Inspection rating: Based on value of parameters of materials inspected. 2) Performance rating: Based on value of parameters of materials inspected during performance inspection. PRICE RATING This criterion compares the relationship of the price of vendors with the effective price of those materials. PRICE RATING = (Vendor’s effective price- Effective price of material)/ Effective price of material*100 DELIVERY RATING (DR) Delivery Rating of raw materials is calculated by Purchase Department on the basis of contracts entered into by concerned User Departments as mentioned below: • delivery in time as per schedule: Full credit 2 deliveries after the scheduled date: a grace period of 10 days is given if the material has been dispatched within the delivery date, and the party would get full credit for delivery. • if the material is received within 15 days from the date of delivery mentioned in the Order, a score of 25 % will be deducted. • if the material is delivered between the 16th day and 30th day stipulated in the Order, the score will go down by another 25 % i.e. a total deduction of 50 % • this will continue for every fortnight for the next two fortnights. • the total score thus obtained forms the basis for the grading. Frequency of supplier rating: The vendor rating shall be done on annual basis, or as detailed in Quality Management System (QMS) manual.

Study of the differences in collection scope of raw materials of biomass CHP plants caused by regional factors

Combined heat and power (CHP) plants fueled by biomass can collect and utilize waste straw resources in a productive way. This paper considers the impact of regional factors on biomass energy potential and the energy needs of the population, so as to study the differences in construction of biomass CHP plants and the collection scope of raw materials, and proposes evaluating suitability for biomass energy development based on scope of resource collection. Taking five counties in China as its study areas, this paper assesses biomass energy potential. A topology system of biomass CHP plants has been reasonably established in different counties through ArcGIS, the required installed capacity has been calculated according to the number of persons served by such plants. Finally, the collection length and corresponding value range of raw materials of CHP plants along roads has been obtained based on biomass energy potential and energy demand. The result shows that the differences in area, straw yield and biomass fuelization rate depending on regions have a great impact on biomass energy potential, while the residue-to-product ratio of straw and biomass calorific value have less of an impact. When the biomass energy per capita of a region reaches 9.75GJ/person, it is suitable for biomass energy development. The installed capacity in the biomass CHP plant system of each study area is mostly within the scope of 3–59 MW, and the collection length of corresponding biomass resources of such plants along roads is mostly within the scope of 5.09–25.23 km.

Using horse teeth to shape stone tools: an experimental approach to characterise use-wear traces

Horse tooth retouchers have been identified in several Middle and Upper Palaeolithic sites. They have been typically characterised as ‘soft’ hammers and/or grouped into the category of ‘bone retouchers’ at a technical level. Bone and teeth have different chemical compositions; teeth are denser and heavier than bone, and consequently, their technological features should not be considered homologous. In this work, we experimentally tested the effectiveness of horse teeth as retouchers. To perform this study, we used 41 modern horse teeth to shape flakes of various raw materials by applying different techniques. The resulting use-wear traces were analysed using high-resolution methods and then characterised. The results allowed us to identify the effectiveness of hypsodont teeth in knapping a wide range of tools and to evaluate the influence of 1) the raw materials, 2) the retouching techniques and 3) the gestures of the different knappers on the morphology of the use-wear marks. This work sheds light on the purpose of using teeth as tools by both Neanderthal and early modern human populations as well as understanding how these human species used them. The study leads us to consider tooth retouchers as important elements of the chaîne opératoire in lithic manufacture. Our goal is to highlight the importance of these types of experimental studies to create analogies and infer past processes.

Advanced Hierarchical Biomorphous Silicon Carbide Monoliths

Porous silicon carbide (SiC) has attracted considerable attention in the field of cellular ceramics for a variety of applications such as catalyst supports, filters, or in the biomedical field due to its excellent structural properties, mechanical strength, and chemical stability. However, SiC has certain limitations due to high‐temperature profiles and costly manufacturing methods. Therefore, it is investigated that porous biomorphic silicon carbide monoliths using a powder blend of paper‐derived carbon fibers, phenolic resin, and silicon, resulting in comparatively low sintering temperatures (T = 1300 to 1550 °C) and good mechanical strength. This near‐net‐shape process uses low‐cost raw materials and enables the production of silicon carbides with high open porosity (P = 51.48% to 68.28%) and low shrinkage. The influence of different amounts of carbon sources (Cfibers and Cresin) on the mechanical (4‐point bending) and thermal properties (laser flash method) is investigated. In addition, to improve the pressure gradients, macrochannels with multiple layers of sacrificial polymer lattices are incorporated, resulting in hierarchical structures with high permeability. Thus, this advanced biomimetic approach offers great potential for structured cellular ceramics with tailored properties for biomedical, catalyst support, or nuclear fuel cladding materials.

Thermal behavior of Sicilian clay-based geopolymers

AbstractGeopolymers have been recently proposed for restoration of built heritage to substitute traditional mortars. Local materials and industrial wastes from the Italian region Sicily showed their potential as low-cost aluminosilicate sources for the preparation of geopolymers. Here, a set of Sicilian clays was studied by Thermogravimetry (TG) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), and its mineralogical composition was evaluated by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The raw materials were used to prepare geopolymers by alkaline activation with or without the addition of silicate. The thermal degradation profile of the final materials was studied by TGA and compared with that of the precursors, and the energetics of dehydration were investigated by DSC. Two statistical analyses (made by Principal Component Analysis) were performed on the TG data of raw materials and geopolymers and on the TG data of geopolymers and their mineralogical composition, respectively. The last analysis in particular showed a correlation between the mineralogical composition of the materials and the samples' thermal properties. Additional studies of samples subject to accelerated aging by UV irradiation and exposure to acetic acid vapors highlighted the different effects of these two agents on the samples’ stability. Graphical abstract

Evaluation of long-term properties and life cycle assessment of alkali-activated concrete with varying fiber inclusions

The potential for using alkali-activated concrete (AAC) as a sustainable substitute for Portland cement (PC) concrete is a topic of ongoing research interest. The uncertainties in the raw material composition, the reportedly low tensile strength of AAC, and the lack of relevant standard codes of practice further inhibit wider industrial usage of AACs. Fiber inclusions reportedly enhance the tensile properties of traditional PC concrete. However, there is no long-term data available for fiber-reinforced alkali-activated concrete (FRAAC) mixtures. Hence, the present study is aimed at investigating the long-term mechanical properties of ambient-cured FRAAC with GGBS as the sole precursor. Four different types of fibers, viz., steel (SF), polyvinyl alcohol (PVAF), polypropylene (PPF) and glass (GF) are used in this research as reinforcements in AAC. Tests for compressive strength (fc′), splitting tensile strength (fsp) and flexural strength (fr) are conducted for FRAAC containing varying fiber contents of 0.1–0.3%. The findings demonstrated that fiber additions do not have any noticeable influence on the compressive strength of AAC. However, relative to the plain mix, the fsp and fr of FRAACs were enhanced by up to 32% and 29%, respectively. The formation of the hardened calcium aluminosilicate matrix and evolution of the fiber-matrix bonding over time was evident from the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images. The related molecular bonds over a period of 7-d to 360-d was identified through mineralogical and chemical analyses. Furthermore, to validate its environmental sustainability, life cycle assessments were conducted. The AACs exhibited at least 43% lesser impacts than PC concrete on the ecosystem. FRAACs had only slightly higher (≤ 7% increase across all fiber types) impacts than plain AAC.

Assessment of Physicochemical Properties of Orange Juice Concentrate Formulated with Pectin, Xanthan, and CMC Hydrocolloids

Orange concentrate (OC) is one of the main raw materials in the nonalcoholic beverage industry. Considering the difference in orange varieties, preserving its natural quality is essential to yield a product with favorable attributes and physical stability. Thus, the present study is aimed at assessing the effect of pectin, xanthan, and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) in a concentration range of 0–0.2% (w/v) along with mixing temperature on Brix, pH, acidity, density, turbidity, and viscosity of OC and at calculating the model equation for each attribute. The results showed that, except for CMC, the influence of concentration, type, and amount of hydrocolloid on pH changes was insignificant. Adding each hydrocolloid individually, in pairs, or threes reduced the density, and the measured density was lower at a mixing temperature of 4°C. Also, it was observed that mixing temperature was the only factor influencing turbidity, and the values were significantly lower at 80°C compared to 4°C. A significant interaction effect of xanthan concentration and mixing temperature on the Brix was observed. Adding hydrocolloids, except pectin, resulted in a significant (p<0.05) increase in viscosity, and xanthan had the greatest effect on the viscosity. A suitable model was designed using pectin and xanthan, pectin and CMC, and all three gums, resulting in a final OC product with high stability and improved physical and chemical attributes. The optimized values for Brix, pH, acidity, density, turbidity, and OC viscosity were achieved using 0.08% pectin, 0.19% xanthan, and 0.08% CMC at 80°C mixing temperature.

Eco-imperial Tensions: Decarbonization Strategies in Times of Geopolitical Upheaval

The neoliberal world order has given way to a geopolitical disorder, shaped by the climate crisis and increasing rivalries between dominant powers. This poses a challenge to the social sciences. Neither theories searching for the problem-solving potentials of ‘global governance’ nor critical notions of imperialism seem to be equipped to fully grasp the rapidly changing circumstances. Instead, we suggest to understand the recent upheavals as eco-imperial tensions. They result from the contradictions of what we have called the imperial mode of living, that is, resource- and emissions-intensive patterns of production and consumption, which produce enormous socioecological costs and externalize them in space and time. With the rise of China and other countries of the Global South, the imperial mode of living is generalized globally and threatened in its precondition, namely the unlimited access to nature and labor power on a world scale. This is intensified by the competition for the raw materials needed for decarbonizing the advanced capitalist economies.

Nutritional Characteristics and Sensory Properties of Maize-based Ogi Supplemented with Mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) Flour

The study evaluates the effect of supplementation of maize-based ogi with mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) flour on nutritional characteristics and sensory properties. Standard processing and analytical methods were used in raw material preparation and analyses. Ogi and mushroom flour were blended in ratio of 100:0, 90:10, 80:20, 70:30 and labeled A, B, C and D respectively. A commercial maize based complementary food was used as control. There was significant difference (p < 0.05) among all samples for all the Vitamin assayed with values ranging from 4.86 to 9.06 (µg/100g), 0.32 to 1.09 mg/100 g, 0.22 to 0.69 mg/100 g, 3.82 to 13.03 mg/100 g and 0.13 to 1.12 mg/100 g for vitamin A, B1, B2, B3 and C. The vitamin values compare favourably with that of control sample. Significant (P<0.05) difference exists across the samples for Zn, Mg, Fe, K and Ca with values ranging from 1.12 to 1.71 mg/100 g, 37.7 to 102 mg/100 g, 4.72 to 13.23 mg/100 g, 23.05 to 125.3 mg/100 g and 125.5 to 160.25 mg/100 g respectively with corresponding higher values for control sample. Result showed negligible amounts of anti-nutritional factors ranging from 0.29 to 0.36 mg/100 g, 0.02 to 0.03 mg/100 g, 0.03 to 0.06 mg/100 g and 0.56 to 0.83 mg/100 g for phytate, oxalate, trypsin inhibitor and tannin respectively. The functional properties of the flour blends values ranged from 0.58 to 0.72 g/mL, 0.99 to 2.2 g/g, 5.21 to 8.94 g/g, 1.75 to 3.72 mL/g and 5.5 to 9.0% for bulk density, water absorption capacity, water retention capacity, swelling capacity and least gelation concentration respectively. Sensory scores revealed substantial overall acceptability of the samples. The quality of ogi samples were greatly improved by mushroom supplementation and could be nutritional beneficial to children and adults.

Trade-off between drag and catch performance when designing zooplankton trawls

The aquaculture sector is in pursuit of sustainable and cost-effective raw materials for feed, and the copepod Calanus finmarchicus is a marine zooplankton species of commercial interest because of its high abundance in northern areas. These copepods have the potential to meet the demand for vast quantities of marine raw materials. However, the lack of an energy- and catch-efficient trawl technology has limited the development of this fishery. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of two central trawl net design parameters mesh size and taper angle to identify which values that provide optimal trade-off balance between gear drag and catch efficiency. We conducted flume tank experiments using a series of plankton nets varying in mesh size (250–1000 μm), solidity ratio (0.54–0.76), and taper angle (5°– 30°) to acquire data on gear drag. The same nets were then used in fishing trials to obtain data on their catch performance. This study shows that zooplankton nets with a mesh size of approximately 500 μm and a low taper angle of about 5° provided the best trade-off between drag and catch performance.

Selective lipase-catalyzed hydrolysis for removal of diglyceride in palm oil

Palm-based transformer oil is an environmentally friendly and renewable alternative to mineral-based oil for use as an insulating oil. However, the crystallization of palm oil at low temperatures can cause operational issues in transformers. In this research, low diglyceride palm oil is first proposed as a promising base stock for palm-based insulating oil to overcome this issue. The research focuses on the removal of diglycerides (DG) from palm oil by selective enzymatic hydrolysis under a solvent-free system. The results indicate that the lipase GS-250G specifically catalyzes only DG molecules without hydrolyzing TG molecules, despite TG molecules being more prone to hydrolysis than DG molecules due to their higher concentration in palm oil. This unique behavior is probably attributed to steric hindrance by bulky amino acids surrounding the catalytic pocket of lipase GS-250G. Under optimum conditions (30 °C, atmospheric pressure, water content of 16 wt%, agitation speed of 850 rpm, lipase loading of 0.005 wt%, and 4 h of reaction time), the lipase GS-250G reduced the DG content in palm oil from 7 % to 0.5 % with a degree of DG hydrolysis of 95 %. After purification, the final product was composed of 99 % triglyceride (TG). The cold stability test suggested that the nucleation and crystallization rate during the crystal formation of palm oil were reduced by decreasing the DG content. The finding suggests that the proposed procedure in this work is a rapid and environmentally sustainable method for DG removal, which can solve the major problem of palm oil. This discovery opens new opportunities for palm oil to be used as a raw material only for insulating oil but also for various palm based products.

МОДЕЛЬ ОБРАЩЕНИЯ ЛЕКАРСТВЕННЫХ ПРЕПАРАТОВ НА БАЗЕ ОТЕЧЕСТВЕННОЙ АНАЛИТИЧЕСКОЙ ПЛАТФОРМЫ LOGINOM

Striving to improve the economic efficiency of pharmaceutical business in an unstable market situation and high competition requires the subjects of drug circulation to implement modern approaches to the organization of their activities. In these conditions, an important problem that the management has to solve in the process of circulation of medicines is the problem of quality of source information accompanying the business processes of pharmaceutical activities. The source information is not intended for the purposes of analysis, is presented, as a rule, rather raw material that requires preliminary processing by special methods, including their sampling, purification and transformation. The article discusses the advantages of practical application of the capabilities of Loginom analytical platform, which implements the above mentioned methods of pre-processing of raw material and allows solving the tasks of modeling the characteristics of drug circulation. Based on the concept of low-code architecture that provides visual design of complex data analysis scenarios, without involving IT-specialists and realize programming tasks by the business user. The object of the research was the current data obtained from the accounting system of material assets of a wholesale pharmaceutical organization. When organizing a request to the accounting system, based on the considerations of commercial confidentiality, it was decided to limit the 12-month time period and the assortment group, including only antibiotics. During the research, a data processing scenario was developed in the Loginom environment, representing the sequence of actions that need to be carried out to analyze the data. A processing script is a combination of data processing nodes configured by the developer to solve a specific problem. Each script node performs a separate operation on specific data. The drug circulation model scenario developed during the study, consisting of five nodes, includes two nodes with initial data “Receipt Data” and “Consumption Data”, as well as nodes “Data Combination”, “Sorting” and “Grouping”. The developed drug circulation model is an alternative to modeling based on the popular Excel spreadsheet processor, the capabilities of which are limited by the volume of processed data, low productivity on large volumes, the difficulty of automating the execution of sequences of actions, and the inconvenience of reusing processing scripts.

Preliminary Exploration of Potential Active Ingredients and Molecular Mechanisms of Yanggan Yishui Granules for Treating Hypertensive Nephropathy Using UPLC-Q-TOF/MS Coupled with Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking Strategy

Hypertensive nephropathy (HN) is a prevalent complication of hypertension and stands as the second primary reason for end-stage renal disease. Research in clinical settings has revealed that Yanggan Yishui Granule (YGYSG) has significant therapeutic effects on HN. However, the material basis and action mechanisms of YGYSG against HN remain unclear. Consequently, this study utilized a comprehensive method integrating ultraperformance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS), network pharmacology, and molecular docking to delineate the active ingredients and potential therapeutic mechanisms of YGYSG for treating HN. Firstly, sixty distinct components were recognized in total as potential active ingredients in YGYSG by UPLC-Q-TOF/MS. Subsequently, the mechanisms of YGYSG against HN were revealed for the first time using network pharmacology. 23 ingredients played key roles in the complete network and were the key active ingredients, which could affect the renin-angiotensin system, fluid shear stress and atherosclerosis, HIF-1 signaling pathway, and AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications by regulating 29 key targets such as TNF, IL6, ALB, EGFR, ACE, and MMP2. YGYSG could treat HN through the suppression of inflammatory response and oxidative stress, attenuating the proliferation of renal vascular smooth muscle cells, lessening glomerular capillary systolic pressure, and ameliorating renal dysfunction and vascular damage through the aforementioned targets and pathways. Molecular docking results revealed that most key active ingredients exhibited a high affinity for binding to the key targets. This study pioneers in clarifying the bioactive compounds and molecular mechanisms of YGYSG against HN and offers scientific reference into the clinical application.

Integration of fruit in the formulation of feed for Oreochromis niloticus breeding in the region of Vakinankaratra, Madagascar

To promote the nutrition of tilapia in farming, four foods were created using traditional raw materials and containing different quantities of locally produced banana flour. These foods, which contain 36% crude proteins and 8% lipids, were tested on tilapia fry with an initial weight of 8 grams. After 50 days of the experiment, the final weights of the fish fluctuated between 33.28 grams and 41.4 grams, depending on the treatments used. Foods containing 3% and 6% banana flour showed the highest growth and food conversion rates, with respective specific growth (SGR) rates of 3.98 and 3.62, as well as conversion rates (CI) of 1.8 and 1.69. Meanwhile, the food with 10% banana flour obtained a SGR of 2.92 and a CI of 2.01, while the control obtained a SGR of 3.3 and CI of 1.7. Thanks to this test, we were able to observe the impact of bananas on the premature development of tilapia. We will continue to study the use of local agri-food byproducts and waste in feeding this fish.

Possibilities of Using Phaseolus Vulgaris and Phaseolus Lunatus Beans in Pasta Production

In last decade, in scientific literature, various pulses dominate as raw material of new pasta development. The production of pulse pasta is complex technological process, generally based on extrusion technology. The aim of the study was to produce spaghetti-type pasta from Phaseolus vulgaris (variety unknown) and Phaseolus lunatus (variety Kontra). The recipes made with xanthan gum and corn starch as a binder, the optimal cooking time and water absorption capacity was determined. In the experiment, wheat semolina spaghetti was used as a control sample. Four types of spaghetti were prepared using a single-screw extruder, then dried in a rotary oven and stored until analysis. Pasta cooking properties have been determined. The obtained data were compared using t-test. There were significant differences between obtained spaghetti and control sample. The results confirm that beans can be used in pasta production.

Phenotyping the Anthocyanin Content of Various Organs in Purple Corn Using a Digital Camera

Anthocyanins are precious industrial raw materials. Purple corn is rich in anthocyanins, with large variation in their content between organs. It is imperative to find a rapid and non-destructive method to determine the anthocyanin content in purple corn. To this end, a field experiment with ten purple corn hybrids was conducted, collecting plant images using a digital camera and determining the anthocyanin content of different organ types. The average values of red (R), green (G) and blue (B) in the images were extracted. The color indices derived from RGB arithmetic operations were applied in establishing a model for estimation of the anthocyanin content. The results showed that the specific color index varied with the organ type in purple corn, i.e., ACCR for the grains, BRT for the cobs, ACCB for the husks, R for the stems, ACCB for the sheaths and BRT for the laminae, respectively. Linear models of the relationship between the color indices and anthocyanin content for different organs were established with R2 falling in the range of 0.64–0.94. The predictive accuracy of the linear models, assessed according to the NRMSE, was validated using a sample size of 2:1. The average NRMSE value was 11.68% in the grains, 13.66% in the cobs, 8.90% in the husks, 27.20% in the stems, 7.90% in the sheaths and 15.83% in the laminae, respectively, all less than 30%, indicating that the accuracy and stability of the model was trustworthy and reliable. In conclusion, this study provided a new method for rapid, non-destructive prediction of anthocyanin-rich organs in purple corn.