Cherry Pits Research Articles

Mechanical Behavior of Apricot and Cherry Pits under Compression Loading

This study was conducted to investigate the mechanical behavior of apricot and cherry pits under compression loading along the three axial dimensions of the pits. The mechanical behavior was expressed in terms of force required to rupture of the pit, deformation at rupture point, deformation ratio (strain), energy absorbed and toughness. Also; masses and geometrical properties (axial dimensions, geometric mean diameter, sphericity and volume) of these pits were determined. These properties are necessary to design of cracking machines and knowledge amount of force and energy requirements for cracking operation. All experiments were carried out at moisture content of 9.81 and 12.92 %, (d.b.) for apricot and cherry pits, resp. The results showed that; the highest values of rupture force, deformation and energy required to crack the apricot pit were at loading position through the length axis, while; the lowest values were through the width axis, whereas; the highest values of rupture force, deformation and energy required to crack the cherry pit were at loading position through the thickness axis, while; the lowest values were through the width axis. In conclusion; the results obtained of the mechanical behavior of apricot and cherry pits indicated that; the compression through the width axis can be recommended for cracking process with minimum force and energy requirements.

New carbon/ZnO/Li2O nanocomposites with enhanced photocatalytic activity

Our study was focused on the synthesis of photocatalytic materials for the degradation of organic dyes based on the valorization of biomass resources. The biochar resulted from pyrolysis process of cherry pits wastes was activated by CO2 flow. Activated and inactivated carbon was used to obtain carbon-based photocatalysts impregnated with different zinc salt precursors. The activation of carbon had no significant influence on the photodegradation process. The doping procedure used Li2CO3 and Zn(CH3COO)2 of different concentrations to impregnate the biochar. The carbon-ZnO-Li2O based nanomaterials were analysed by TEM and SEM, while the presence of hexagonal wurtzite ZnO was investigated by XRD. The solid samples were analysed by PL at 360 nm excitation fixed wavelength to correlate their morphology with the optical and photocatalytic properties. The presence of Li atoms led to photocatalytic activities of the doped ZnO similar to the undoped ZnO obtained at higher concentrations of zinc acetate precursor.

Potentially High Value Conjugated Linolenic Acids (CLnA) in Melon Seed Waste.

Conjugated linolenic acids (CLnAs) are natural phytochemicals with known and potential bioactivities in mammals. Established CLnA sources are limited to a few common fruit seeds, notably pomegranate seeds and cherry pits, and the search for alternatives is impeded in part by cumbersome methods for reliable measurement. We investigated CLnA contents in lower value fruit seeds with a recently available facile mass spectrometry method, solvent-mediated chemical ionization, enabling and quantitative analysis. We report for the first time the detection of CLnAs in cantaloupe and honeydew seeds at levels of 2 mg CLnA/g seed kernel. Based on the combined waste stream for these muskmelons of about 1.4 billion pounds in the USA annually, we estimate that the available CLnAs amount to 37.5 tons, similar to cherry pits. Our results suggest the potentially enhanced economic value of a specific class of bioactives that may be extracted from discarded food processing waste.

Producing the sour cherry pit oil nanoemulsion and evaluation of its anti-cancer effects on both breast cancer murine model and MCF-7 cell line

Aims: The sour cherry pit oil (SCPO) displays the potent anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant activities. In the present study, we have produced the SCPO nanoemulsion (SCPO-NE) to evaluate their anticancer impacts on breast cancer comparing with its un-processed oil.Methods: We employed an ultrasonication method to formulate the stable SCPO-NE. Their size, stability, and morphology were measured. Then, their cytotoxic impacts and apoptotic activity were checked on MCF7 breast cancer cells and compared with the normal Human foreskin fibroblasts (HFF). Finally, their anti-tumour effect was studied on murine breast cancer model (inoculated with TUBO cancer cells).Results: The results indicated the 36.5 nm stable SCPO-NE significantly decreased the MCF7 cells viability comparing with normal HFF cells, and reduced the tumour size in the murine model.Conclusion: We suggest that SCPO-NEs are able to efficiently inhibit breast cancer progression in both MCF7 cells and murine breast cancer model through apoptotic death induction.

Experimental performance analysis of sensible heat storage in solar air collector with cherry pits/powder under the natural convection

It is important to enhance the availability of SACs either in cloudy weather or after sunset for space heating and agricultural drying process. In this context, this study aims to determine experimentally thermal performance of cherry pits as sensible heat storage material under natural convection conditions. In the first collector (Type I), powdered cherry pits (32 kg) were used as heat storage material and cherry pits (24 kg) were used in the second (Type II). The third collector (Type III) with a flat absorber plate is for comparison. Although the maximum thermal efficiencies were found 26.54% and 27.03% for Type I and Type II respectively, average thermal efficiency of Type I is higher than Type II. According to the test results, the inlet-outlet temperatures were equalized 46 min for the Type III, 200 min for Type II, and 270 min for Type I collector after sunset. As a result, it can be said that the use of cherry pits and powder as sensible heat storage material is promising.

Enhanced devolatilization during torrefaction of blended biomass streams results in additive heating values and synergistic oxidation behavior of solid fuels

Torrefaction improves energy density, grindability, and hydrophobicity of raw biomass for gasification and combustion. While literature focuses on single biomass torrefaction, industrial production is likely to be from biomass mixtures. To address this knowledge gap, we torrefied three raw biomasses (pistachio nutshells, feed corn stover, cherry pits) at 250 °C, as “pure” biomasses and in multiple component mixtures to understand if synergistic interactions during torrefaction impact oxidation behavior of resulting solid fuels. The combustion enthalpies of blended biomasses were well predicted by an additive function, whereby a blend's property was the mass-weighted average of each biomass' torrefied property. However, synergistic effects that enhanced devolatilization when biomasses were comingled during torrefaction led to systemically lower volatile matter contents and higher surface areas of resulting solid fuels. This synergistic behavior continues in terms of activation energy of oxidation of the torrefied samples. Co-torrefaction of biomass may lead to a solid fuel with predictable heat content, but synergistic effects lead to oxidation of blended streams at different rates and activation energies, with blends often having lower reactivities and higher activation energies than an “additive” prediction of pure fuel components. This is attributed to enhanced devolatilization among biomasses, leading to more condensed carbonaceous solids.

In vitro uklanjanje mikotoksina korišćenjem različitih neorganskih adsorbenata i organskih otpadnih materijala iz Srbije

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), ochratoxin A (OTA), zearalenone (ZON), deoxynivalenol (DON) and T-2 toxin are the most extensively studied toxic fungal metabolites. Once mycotoxins enter the food/feed production chain keeping their toxic characteristics, it is very difficult to remove or eliminate them. One of promising methods to reduce mycotoxins in contaminated food/feedstuffs is the use of mycotoxin binders. This paper presents the results of in vitro investigations of mineral mycotoxin binders (bentonite - BEN, diatomite - DIA and zeolite - ZEO), and organic mycotoxin binders - agricultural waste materials (Myriophillium spicatum, peach and sour cherry pits). Chemical compositions of the adsorbents have showed that they do not consist of elements toxic to the animals. Inorganic adsorbents (BEN, DIA and ZEO) tested in vitro were better binders of AFB1 (94.97% - 96.90%), while the biosorbents were more efficient in adsorption of OTA (19.98% - 66.66%), ZON (33.33% - 75.00%) and T-2 toxin (16.67% - 50.00%). Inorganic adsorbents and organic waste materials expressed similar binding capacity for DON in vitro, with the exception of M. spicatum that did not at all adsorb this type B trichothecene. Our results indicate that feed contamination with different types of mycotoxins might be diminished by a product that combines different inorganic and organic adsorbents with diverse mycotoxin binding properties.

Algorithms for detecting cherry pits on the basis of transmittance mode hyperspectral data

Abstract The suitability of the hyperspectral transmittance imaging technique was assessed in terms of detecting the internal intrusions (pits and their fragments) in cherries. Herein, hyperspectral transmission images were acquired in the visible and near-infrared range (450-1000 nm) from pitted and intact cherries of three popular cultivars: ‘Łutówka’, ‘Pandy 103’, and ‘Groniasta’, differing by soluble solid content. The hyperspectral transmittance data of fresh cherries were used to determine the influence of differing soluble solid content in fruit tissues on pit detection effectiveness. Models for predicting the soluble solid content of cherries were also developed. The principal component analysis and the second derivative pre-treatment of the hyperspectral data were used to construct the supervised classification models. In this study, five classifiers were tested for pit detection. From all the classifiers studied, the best prediction accuracies for the whole pit or pit fragment detection were obtained via the backpropagation neural networks model (87.6% of correctly classified instances for the training/test set and 81.4% for the validation set). The accuracy of distinguishing between drilled and intact cherries was close to 96%. These results showed that the hyperspectral transmittance imaging technique is feasible and useful for the non-destructive detection of pits in cherries.

Low-cost disordered carbons for Li/S batteries: A high-performance carbon with dual porosity derived from cherry pits

A micro- and mesoporous carbon obtained from cherry pit waste and activated with H3PO4 acid has been studied as the sulfur host for Li/S batteries. The carbon has a high specific surface area of 1,662 m2·g–1 (SBET) and micropore and mesopore volumes of 0.57 and 0.40 cm3·g–1, respectively. The S/C composite, with a sulfur content of 57% deposited by the disproportionate reaction of a S2O3 2− solution in an acid medium without an additional heating step above the S melting point, delivers an initial specific capacity of 1,148 mAh·g–1 at a current of C/16. It also has a high capacity retention of 915 mAh·g–1 after 100 cycles and a Coulombic efficiency close to 100%. The good performance of the composite was also observed under higher current rates and long-term cycling tests. The capacities delivered by the cell after 200 cycles were 707 and 410 mAh·g–1 at C/2 and 1C (1C = 1,675 mA·g–1), respectively, maintaining the high Coulombic efficiency. The overall electrochemical response of this carbon as the sulfur matrix is among the best reported so far among the other biomass-derived carbons, probably because of the micro- and mesopore system formed upon activation.

Thermochemical Transformations of Plant Materials

Cherry pits and hazelnut shells were investigated as inexpensive alternative feedstocks for producing carbon absorbents via thermolysis and carbonization. It was found that the absorption properties of the obtained products depended on the chemical composition of the plant materials and the thermolysis and carbonization conditions.

Extraction and Characterization of Montmorency Sour Cherry (Prunus cerasus L.) Pit Oil

AbstractMontmorency sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L.) pit oil (CPO) was extracted and characterized by various methods including: GC, LC–MS, NMR, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X‐ray powder diffraction (XRD). The oil gave an acid value of 1.45 mg KOH/g, saponification value of 193 mg KOH/g and unsaponifiable matter content of 0.72 %. The oil contained oleic (O) and linoleic (l) acids as the major components with small concentrations of α‐eleostearic acid (El, 9Z,11E,13E‐octadecatrienoic acid) and saturated fatty acid palmitic (P) acid. The CPO contained six major triacyglycerols (TAG), OOO (16.83 %), OLO (16.64 %), LLO (13.20 %), OLP (7.25 %), OOP (6.49 %) and LElL (6.16 %) plus a number of other minor TAG. The TAG containing at least one saturated fatty acid constitute 33 % of the total. The polymorphic behavior of CPO as studied by DSC and XRD confirmed the presence of α, β′ and β crystal forms. The oxidative induction time of CPO was 30.3 min at 130 °C and the thermal decomposition temperature was 352 °C.

Transition of phenolics and cyanogenic glycosides from apricot and cherry fruit kernels into liqueur

Popular liqueurs made from apricot/cherry pits were evaluated in terms of their phenolic composition and occurrence of cyanogenic glycosides (CGG). Analyses consisted of detailed phenolic and cyanogenic profiles of cherry and apricot seeds as well as beverages prepared from crushed kernels. Phenolic groups and cyanogenic glycosides were analyzed with the aid of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and mass spectrophotometry (MS). Lower levels of cyanogenic glycosides and phenolics have been quantified in liqueurs compared to fruit kernels. During fruit pits steeping in the alcohol, the phenolics/cyanogenic glycosides ratio increased and at the end of beverage manufacturing process higher levels of total analyzed phenolics were detected compared to cyanogenic glycosides (apricot liqueur: 38.79μg CGG per ml and 50.57μg phenolics per ml; cherry liqueur 16.08μg CGG per ml and 27.73μg phenolics per ml). Although higher levels of phenolics are characteristic for liqueurs made from apricot and cherry pits these beverages nevertheless contain considerable amounts of cyanogenic glycosides.

First Crio-extraction of Cherry Pit after Aspiration

Introduction: Vegetable foreign bodies (FB) are most commonly aspirated in children, these are very dangerous as most of them are hygroscopic, they swell up within a few days causing blockage of the lumen of the bronchus and retention of secretion distal to it. Method: We report on a 75 yr old patient who aspirated a cherry pit one month prior to clinical presentation. He originally presented with cough and a right lower lobe infiltrate on x-ray. The patient underwent therapeutic videobronchoscopy via the oral route, a cherry pit was detected at the distal end of the bronchus intermedius with signs of local inflammation. Result: We used saline rising and a flexible cryoprobe and it was activated for 15 s which resulted into a solid contact with the FB and immediate removal without complications. Conclusion: We have found that by using flexible cryoprobe through video bronchoscopy is possible remove a cherry pit under conscious sedation, which should be considered as a therapeutic option.

Chewing Accidents

This article compares two variations of bodily practices and bodily-grounded orientations and systems of relevance: the blind and the sighted life-worlds. Blindness is conceptualized as a particular style of perception being in no way a deficit but on equal footing with sight. Comparison will show differences and commonalities that may give a deeper insight into how bodily and sensory orientation and practice work in a mundane situation. This situation is feeding behavior and in particular its failure in “Chewing Accidents” focusing on three variations: tongue biting, swallowing a wasp, and biting on a cherry pit. Data are taken from participant observation, focused interviews, and online sources such as blogs and medical forums. By virtue of a detailed phenomenological description of chewing behavior, the article shows that blindness is not the contradiction of sight and vice versa. Invisibility is an element of the everyday life-world, with the latter being dependent on dark areas.

Development and applicability of an agarose-based tart cherry phantom for computer tomography imaging

Computer tomography (CT) imaging is an effective method for in vivo characterization of object internal attributes including fresh agro-food product quality. Limitations to move CT technology forward into the development of an inline system include the lack of standardized tools (phantoms) for image quality analysis, cross-sharing, and consistent evaluation. The objective of this study was to develop a set of agarose phantoms suitable for detection of pit and pit fragments using CT imaging. Efficiently sorting out these undesirable features during handling and processing will be extremely beneficial to the tart cherry industry. These phantoms can be used on several CT devices (including ultra-fast CT systems) to quantify CT performance, reproducibility, and applicability. This article describes how the phantoms were created, using agarose, a broadly available and inexpensive material. Developed phantoms allow for the measurement of CT image parameters that are relevant to detect fresh cherry pits and/or pit fragments and helps in the development of inline CT equipment. Measured phantom CT image parameters include simulated flesh and embedded pit X-ray CT attenuation properties (HU-values), which are statistically similar (p = 0.05) to fresh tart cherries. In addition, using CT images, pit and pit fragment size can be inferred with a high accuracy rate (R = 0.99, p value <0.01).

Novel nanoscale precipitate structures in ion-irradiated Cu1−xVx alloys: “Cherry-pit” formation

Abstract

Co-pyrolysis reaction rates and activation energies of West Virginia coal and cherry pit blends

Bringing our society to a carbon-neutral, clean-energy future is an evolutionary process that must combine technological advances with available infrastructure. By co-firing biomass in existing coal-fired power plants, we can utilize standing equipment to increase the share of renewables in energy generation portfolios. This study investigates the pyrolysis behavior of blends of sweet cherry pit stones and a West Virginia coal using thermogravimetric analysis at a heating rate of 100K/min under nitrogen to determine mass loss rates and global activation energies as a function of blend composition. Derivative thermogravimetric curves show two distinct peaks for the fuel blends at temperatures corresponding to peaks for the pure cherry pits and coal. The peak mass loss rates for blends are higher than predicted using an additive scheme at the lower temperature peak and lower than predicted at the higher temperature peak. Global activation energies determined using a first order Arrhenius equation were higher than predicted by a linear addition scheme at lower temperatures, and lower than predicted at higher temperatures, suggesting that the incorporation of the cherry pit biomass may promote devolatilization of the coal at lower temperatures.

Tennessee sharecropper and: Honey Eater

Tennessee sharecropper and: Honey Eater Gregory Powell (bio) tennessee sharecropper for clara williams she measures wealth not in silver dollarsanchoring her black patent-leather purse& her family in a sharecropper’s house.She’d handed out more than she’d received. her mule’s shoe, walked as thinas her thumbnail, was no reason to faint.besides, her mother had never taught her to faintbut raised her on the bread of Hope instead. therefore, she never taught her daughtersto faint, even if hard work & broken promisesrode their shoulders into the concrete dirt.hard times & twisted tongues could bend one’s back into an eternal horseshoe,framing an otherwise empty sky. Honey Eater for June Williams Had grandfather swallowed a cherry pit? As it had been rumored & relayed as reliable factBy cherry gazers who’d stood next to him. His skin, a month later (to the very minute Of his pit swallowing), had deepened red. Ruddy. As if he’d stripped to skin & washedIn sun; until he’d stood, sun stroked & bronzed before his wife. Asked her for a butter biscuit. She’d always given him her last. Am I heir (not to rumor/not to excess) but tohis swallowings: pit or gristle? Rind & fat? Fin or scale? To become what we eat; gobbling a green Persimmon would not only lock my jaws butWould sharpen my objective eye; to find value & truth in my dipstick ethic. What if I swallow Regret— the whole of it? not just the gristle; not just the pit;not just the bone; all six (6) leaden letters; spoonful of honey to sweeten the swallowing. [End Page 755] Gregory Powell Gregory Powell earned an MFA in poetry from the University of Alabama-Tuscaloosa, an M.Div. from Regent School of Divinity; and a J.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He works as a labor and employment law attorney and is an associate pastor of education at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Copyright © 2014 Gregory Powell

J. P. Morgan Defines Human Potential Energy, and: Nikola Tesla Discovers Desire, and: Nikola Tesla at the Wardenclyffe Ruins

J. P. Morgan Defines Human Potential Energy, and: Nikola Tesla Discovers Desire, and: Nikola Tesla at the Wardenclyffe Ruins Perry Janes (bio) J. P. Morgan Defines Human Potential Energy Washington dc, 1913. Tycoon Morgan testifies before the Pujo Committee convened by Congress to investigate Wall Street’s violation of antitrust laws. You find it sitting in the tongue’s back row, the cherry pit of a kiss, or cry. Why not reach to taste its promise? I remember being young, being choked by my father’s voice welded to my throat. Now I wheeze with a secret. I realize the world piece by piece, merge and rise with every union. How did it come unyoked? I can testify to this—they’ll celebrate you for a moment and turn on you the next. Humans are no different than flame: visible when inertia shifts, rushing through even the quietest streets, rising from the wreck, howling at the mention of your name. [End Page 159] Nikola Tesla Discovers Desire Colorado Springs, 1899. Tesla builds his magnifying transmitter outside Pike’s Peak, an area famous for its frequent lightning strikes, and causes a national stir over the city’s strange electrical phenomena present during its operation. after Tyehimba Jess Equal to fire, lightning arcs from lampposts. Even snow bursts with static. Drawn by my transmitter couples in dark rooms come unbound again and again. Polarized apart, they crush together. Their touch circles, unable to land. But you can always find more want. Who knew butterflies rode currents? Drawn to my coil’s flash? Erupting, the clouds grow heavy with ash. They fall like rain past my window— wings split from the body. Lit with my own life I’ve sent out so much charge my body has magnetized in two. Katharine, I am jealous of the currents that find you miles away to charge through your blood. I am angry with my hands, the way I spend weeks waiting for shock. An inventor’s life is one of questions: What frequency does desire travel? Every day the universe expands molecules are pulled farther apart. I am left halves I cannot reconcile: You and my work. Myself and myself [End Page 160] Nikola Tesla at the Wardenclyffe Ruins Shoreham, New York, 1917. J. P. Morgan withdraws his funding for the tower’s construction, ruining Tesla’s dreams for transatlantic radio transmission and free wireless energy. The air ripples with a shallow wish: that our voices will come back to us like dogs let off a leash—they’re lost,they’re lost, they’re lost—or that possibly I’m more of a man without it. That somewhere I’m growing out of the telephone speaker’s small pores into a new force. But where, then, will these bodiless hollows lead us? Look how they’ve razed these walls, the innocent equipment left sitting in the cellar like creatures from the future struck to steel—I have tried to shake off the world’s oldest forms and failed. What will go next? Where will we escape once we don’t own our own energy? [End Page 161] Perry Janes Perry Janes is the recipient of eight Hopwood Awards, a Kasdan Fellowship in Screenwriting, and an Arthur Miller Arts Award from the University of Michigan. His work has appeared, or is forthcoming, in Salt Hill, The Collagist, and Glimmer Train. In 2012, his short film Zug premiered at the Vancouver International Film Festival. Copyright © 2013 University of Nebraska Press

One Dimensional Linescan x-ray Detection of Pits in Fresh Cherries

The presence of pits in processed cherries is a concern for both processors and consumers, in many cases causing injury and potential lawsuits. While machines used for pitting cherries are extremely efficient, if one or more plungers in a pitting head become misaligned, a large number of pits may pass before corrective action is taken. While x-ray imaging has the potential to detect pits, traditional commercially available equipment is expensive and bulky, and implementation on the processing line is cumbersome. An x-ray inspection system using an array of photodiode based x-ray detectors in a linescan configuration whose outputs are combined to produce a one dimensional signal would be simpler, faster, and more economical. The data collection process is then reduced from a two dimensional image to a much simpler one dimensional signal, resulting in faster and simpler processing and classification. An algorithm designed to differentiate unpitted from pitted cherries for such a system yielded recognitiothe unpitted cherries, with a total error rate of 3.5%. When the a of pitted fruit, 100% of pitted cherries were detected with a orientation is controlled after pitting, total error is reduced to 1%.