Influence Of Processing Steps Research Articles

Abstract TMP16: Impact of Door-to-Imaging and Imaging-to-Door Times on Door-in-Door-out Times in Interhospital Transfers of Patients With Stroke

Introduction: Urgent inter-hospital transfer ensures timely access to therapies for acute ischemic stroke. Door-in-door-out (DIDO) represents the total amount of time a patient spends in the transferring emergency department (ED) before transfer. DIDO time is an important quality metric for the care of acute stroke; however, little is known about the influence of process steps on DIDO times and which steps most often cause delays. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of patients in the American Heart Association Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke registry with ischemic stroke presenting January 2019 to December 2021 transferred from the ED at the presenting hospital to another acute care hospital for evaluation of thrombolytics, endovascular therapy or post-thrombolytic care. The primary independent variables were door-to-imaging and imaging-to-door times, and the primary outcome was DIDO time. Multivariate GEE regression models were performed to assess the comparative contributions of interval process times to variation in DIDO time, controlling for patient and hospital-level characteristics. Results: Among 24,662 patients (50.5% male, mean age 68.3 years, 73.2% White), mean DIDO time was 171.4 min (SD: 149.5), mean door-to-imaging time was 18.3 min (SD: 34.1) and mean imaging-to-door time was 153.1 min (SD: 141.5). A 1 min increase in door-to-imaging time was associated with a 1.33 min increase in the mean DIDO time, while a 1 min increase in imaging-to-door time was associated with a 1.02 min increase in mean DIDO time. The baseline model (without door-to-imaging or imaging-to-door included) had an R2 of 0.03. With door-to-imaging included in the GEE model, R2 was 0.13; whereas the model with imaging-to-door included had an R2 of 0.95. Conclusion: Imaging-to-door time accounts for a greater proportion of the variance in DIDO times than door-to-imaging time. Though the opportunity for improvement in DIDO is greater through reduction of imaging-to-door time, door-to-imaging time has greater per-minute effect on DIDO. While existing guidelines and care resources heavily focus on reducing door-to-imaging times, further attention is warranted to reduce imaging-to-door times in the management of acute ischemic stroke.

Coffee Leaf Tea from El Salvador: On-Site Production Considering Influences of Processing on Chemical Composition.

The production of coffee leaf tea (Coffea arabica) in El Salvador and the influences of processing steps on non-volatile compounds and volatile aroma-active compounds were investigated. The tea was produced according to the process steps of conventional tea (Camellia sinensis) with the available possibilities on the farm. Influencing factors were the leaf type (old, young, yellow, shoots), processing (blending, cutting, rolling, freezing, steaming), drying (sun drying, oven drying, roasting) and fermentation (wild, yeast, Lactobacillus). Subsequently, the samples were analysed for the maximum levels of caffeine, chlorogenic acid, and epigallocatechin gallate permitted by the European Commission. The caffeine content ranged between 0.37–1.33 g/100 g dry mass (DM), the chlorogenic acid was between not detectable and 9.35 g/100 g DM and epigallocatechin gallate could not be detected at all. Furthermore, water content, essential oil, ash content, total polyphenols, total catechins, organic acids, and trigonelline were determined. Gas chromatography—mass spectrometry—olfactometry and calculation of the odour activity values (OAVs) were carried out to determine the main aroma-active compounds, which are β-ionone (honey-like, OAV 132-927), decanal (citrus-like, floral, OAV 14-301), α-ionone (floral, OAV 30-100), (E,Z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber-like, OAV 18-256), 2,4-nonadienal (melon-like, OAV 2-18), octanal (fruity, OAV 7-23), (E)-2 nonenal (citrus-like, OAV 1-11), hexanal (grassy, OAV 1-10), and 4-heptenal (green, OAV 1-9). The data obtained in this study may help to adjust process parameters directly to consumer preferences and allow coffee farmers to earn an extra income from this by-product.

Influence of Processing Steps on Structural, Functional, and Quality Properties of Beef Hamburgers

In hamburger manufacturing, meat is subjected to four main processing steps (pre-grinding, mixing, grinding, and forming), whereby muscle fibers are disintegrated. In this study, the influence of these process steps was characterized by structural (amount of non-intact cells (ANIC), CLS-Microscopy), functional (drip loss) and qualitative (soluble protein content, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity, myoglobin content (Mb)) parameters of the meat. Therefore, meat samples were analyzed after each process step. Histological analyses revealed an increased ANIC with progressive processing. Thereby, the first and second grinding steps caused the strongest increases (factors 2.43 and 2.69). Comparable results were found in the relative LDH activity (factor 2.20 and 1.62) and the Mb concentration (factor 2.24 and 1.33) of the extracted meat solution. The findings suggest that the disintegration of the meat structure increases with progressive processing, causing more vulnerable structures which result in increased leakage of intramuscular substances. Further, the type of stress acting on the meat determines the extent of the changes. The presented findings enable manufacturers to precisely adjust their process towards more gentle production parameters and thus, to meet the legal regulations.

Influence of processing steps on the fate of ochratoxin A, patulin, and alternariol during production of cloudy and clear apple juices

Mycotoxins are frequently found in fruits and fruit juices. However, data about occurrence and fate of mycotoxins along the fruit juice processing chain are currently insufficient. Herein, a liquid chromatographic/tandem mass spectrometric (LC–MS/MS) multi-mycotoxin method was developed and applied to investigate the effect of technological unit operations on the fate of three of the most relevant mycotoxins along the processing chain for cloudy and clear apple juice, namely patulin (PAT), ochratoxin A (OTA), and alternariol (AOH). Raw juice obtained directly after dejuicing was spiked with the aforementioned mycotoxins at pilot-plant scale prior to subjecting it to different technological unit operations. Regarding clear apple juice production treatment with a pectinolytic enzyme preparation, and pasteurization were insignificant for mycotoxin reduction, but fining with subsequent filtration was effective, although the mycotoxins showed different affinity towards the tested agents. The most effective fining agent was activated charcoal/bentonite in combination with ultrafiltration, which removed OTA (54 µg/L) and AOH (79 µg/L) to not quantifiable amounts (limit of quantification (LOQ) 1.4 and 4.6 µg/L, respectively), while PAT was reduced only by 20% (from 396 to 318 µg/L). Regarding cloudy apple juice production, all studied processing steps such as centrifugation and pasteurization were ineffective in reducing mycotoxin levels. In brief, none of the common steps of clear and cloudy apple juice production represented a fully effective safety step for minimizing or even eliminating common mycotoxins. Thus, ensuring the sole use of sound apples should be of utmost importance for processors, particularly for those manufacturing cloudy juices.

Influence of processing steps on phenolic composition of clarified and unclarified pomegranate juices as characterized by LC‐DAD‐ESI‐MS/MS

In this study, quality parameters of clarified (CPJ) and unclarified pomegranate juices (UPJ) of “Hicaz” variety (obtained from industrial-scale fruit juice production plant) were investigated regarding general compositions (sugar, organic acid, color parameters, etc.), phenolic content and also antioxidant capacity. The predominant anthocyanin was detected as cyanidin-3,5-diglucoside followed by cyanidin-3-glucoside, delphinidin-3,5-diglucoside, delphinidin-3-glucoside, pelargonidin-3-glucoside, cyanidin pentoxide, pelargonidin-3,5-diglucoside. Cyanidin pentoxide was detected for the first time in this study in pomegranate juices in Turkey. During production, a decrease was observed in anthocyanins up to 39%. Fourteen colorless phenolic compounds were identified as primary ellagic acid, punicalagin-α, and punicalagin-β. The most significant decrement in phenolic compounds was observed in clarification/filtration steps of CPJ and separation step of UPJ while an increase was detected after pressing. However, the reduction of phenolic content of CPJ was higher than UPJ during production. This decrease was probably related to the effect of clarification agents, filtration, and evaporation processes. Practical applications Pomegranate juices have high nutritional value and health benefits with its rich content of phenolic compounds. Processing steps of unclarified and clarified pomegranate juices production could lead to differences in phenolic compounds and other bioactive properties. This study contributes valuable information for industrial production of pomegranate juices.

Influence of Time-Series Normalization, Number of Nodes, Connectivity and Graph Measure Selection on Seizure-Onset Zone Localization from Intracranial EEG

We investigated the influence of processing steps in the estimation of multivariate directed functional connectivity during seizures recorded with intracranial EEG (iEEG) on seizure-onset zone (SOZ) localization. We studied the effect of (i) the number of nodes, (ii) time-series normalization, (iii) the choice of multivariate time-varying connectivity measure: Adaptive Directed Transfer Function (ADTF) or Adaptive Partial Directed Coherence (APDC) and (iv) graph theory measure: outdegree or shortest path length. First, simulations were performed to quantify the influence of the various processing steps on the accuracy to localize the SOZ. Afterwards, the SOZ was estimated from a 113-electrodes iEEG seizure recording and compared with the resection that rendered the patient seizure-free. The simulations revealed that ADTF is preferred over APDC to localize the SOZ from ictal iEEG recordings. Normalizing the time series before analysis resulted in an increase of 25–35% of correctly localized SOZ, while adding more nodes to the connectivity analysis led to a moderate decrease of 10%, when comparing 128 with 32 input nodes. The real-seizure connectivity estimates localized the SOZ inside the resection area using the ADTF coupled to outdegree or shortest path length. Our study showed that normalizing the time-series is an important pre-processing step, while adding nodes to the analysis did only marginally affect the SOZ localization. The study shows that directed multivariate Granger-based connectivity analysis is feasible with many input nodes (> 100) and that normalization of the time-series before connectivity analysis is preferred.

Formation, Structure, and Functionality of Interfacial Layers in Food Emulsions.

Emulsions, i.e., the dispersion of liquid droplets in a nonmiscible liquid phase, are overwhelmingly present in food products. In such systems, both liquid phases (generally, oil and water) are separated by a narrow region, the oil-water interface. Despite the fact that this interface is very thin (in the nanometer range), it represents a large surface area and controls to a great extent the physicochemical stability of emulsions. This review provides an overview of the aspects that govern the composition, structure, and mechanical properties of interfaces in food emulsions, taking into account the complexity of such systems (presence of numerous surface-active molecules, influence of processing steps, and dynamic evolution due to chemical changes). We also review methods that have conventionally, or recently, been used to study liquid-liquid interfaces at various scales. Finally, we focus on the link between interfacial properties and the physical, chemical, and digestive stability of emulsions at different levels and point out trends to control stability via interfacial engineering.

Evolution and perspectives of cultivar identification and traceability from tree to oil and table olives by means of DNA markers.

In recent years, an increasing number of typicality marks has been awarded to high-quality olive oils produced from local cultivars. In this case, quality control requires effective varietal checks of the starting materials. Moreover, accurate cultivar identification is essential in vegetative-propagated plants distributed by nurseries and is a pre-requisite to register new cultivars. Food genomics provides many tools for cultivar identification and traceability from tree to oil and table olives. The results of the application of different classes of DNA markers to olive with the purpose of checking cultivar identity and variability of plant material are extensively discussed in this review, with special regard to repeatability issues and polymorphism degree. The characterization of olive germplasm from all countries of the Mediterranean basin and from less studied geographical areas is described and innovative high-throughput molecular tools to manage reference collections are reviewed. Then the transferability of DNA markers to processed products-virgin olive oils and table olives-is overviewed to point out strengths and weaknesses, with special regard to (i) the influence of processing steps and storage time on the quantity and quality of residual DNA, (ii) recent advances to overcome the bottleneck of DNA extraction from processed products, (iii) factors affecting whole comparability of DNA profiles between fresh plant materials and end-products, (iv) drawbacks in the analysis of multi-cultivar versus single-cultivar end-products and (v) the potential of quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based techniques. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

Adding Value to Fruit Processing Waste: Innovative Ways to Incorporate Fibers from Berry Pomace in Baked and Extruded Cereal-based Foods-A SUSFOOD Project.

This article communicates the set-up of BERRYPOM, a European research project established in the second call of the SUStainable FOOD Production and Consumption (SUSFOOD) network. The project deals with the by-product from berry processing, which is frequently recycled as animal feed, composted or utilized for biogas production. With BERRYPOM it is proposed to analyze the value of berry pomace, to optimize the recovery of bioactive compounds from pomace material, and to incorporate processed berry pomace in cereal-based foods to take advantage of nutritional benefits that originate from its fiber and the content of bioactive substances. Additionally, extraction methods will be evaluated to obtain products rich in phytochemicals, and the influence of processing steps on the antioxidant capacity of pomace will be analyzed. The fiber extracts will then also be utilized in different cereal-based foods and extruded products. As project outcome we expect a substantial increase of knowledge concerning fiber and phytochemicals extraction from berry pomace, its suitability for enhancing nutritional and sensory properties of cereal-based foods, and its effects on the sustainability of the food chain.

Influence of processing steps and fruit maturity on volatile concentrations in juices from clementine, mandarin, and their hybrids

During growth, ripening, and post-harvest, the quality of fruits can be modified by various stresses. Ample maturation allows prolonged storage and increases the quality of citrus fruits. The eight major volatile compounds in fresh juices from mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco var. Willow Leaf), clementine (Citrus reticulata × Citrus sinensis var. Commune), and their six cross-pollinated hybrids were quantified by gas chromatography. Mandarin juice contained the highest volatile concentration (2177.6 ± 110.6 mg L−1), whereas the total aromatic compounds of the hybrid and clementine juices were lower (1060.6 ± 81.6–1724.2 ± 138.5 mg L−1 and 864.8 ± 67.8 mg L−1, respectively). Limonene was the major compound (667.3 ± 53.7–1259.9 ± 98.4 mg L−1) in all juices. We observed significant differences according to the process of juice extraction used (with and without peel). The relative volatile concentration was higher when the juice was extracted with peel, and the juicing process induced differences in the relative volatile concentrations of between 20 and 40%. The levels of volatile compounds in the juice changed according to the degree of fruit maturity. The concentrations of the eight major juice components increased during ripening and until the commercial maturity stage when the juice was obtained from peeled fruits, whereas their concentrations increased until the post-maturation stage when the juices were produced from whole fruits. These two factors determined the contributions of these compounds to the characteristic aromas of Citrus juices.

Influence of processing steps in cold-smoked salmon production on survival and growth of persistent and presumed non-persistent Listeria monocytogenes

Cold-smoked salmon is a ready-to-eat product in which Listeria monocytogenes sometimes can grow to high numbers. The bacterium can colonize the processing environment and it is believed to survive or even grow during the processing steps. The purpose of the present study was to determine if the steps in the processing of cold-smoked salmon affect survival and subsequent growth of a persistent strain of L. monocytogenes to a lesser degree than presumed non-persistent strains. We used a sequence of experiments increasing in complexity: (i) small salmon blocks salted, smoked or dried under model conditions, (ii) fillets of salmon cold-smoked in a pilot plant and finally, (iii) assessment of the bacterial levels before and after processing during commercial scale production. L. monocytogenes proliferated on salmon blocks that were brined or dipped in liquid smoke and left at 25 °C in a humidity chamber for 24 h. However, combining brining and liquid smoke with a drying (25 °C) step reduced the bacterium 10–100 fold over a 24 h period. Non-salted, brine injected or dry salted salmon fillets were surface inoculated with L. monocytogenes and cold-smoked in a pilot plant. L. monocytogenes was reduced from 10 3 to 10–10 2 CFU/cm 2 immediately after cold-smoking. The greatest reductions were observed in dry salted and brine injected fillets as compared to cold-smoking of non-salted fresh fillets. Levels of L. monocytogenes decreased further when the cold-smoked fish was vacuum-packed and stored at 5 °C. A similar decline was seen when inoculating brine injected fillets after cold-smoking. High phenol concentrations are a likely cause of this marked growth inhibition. In a commercial production facility, the total viable count of salmon fillets was reduced 10–1000 fold by salting, cold-smoking and process-freezing (a freezing step after smoking and before slicing). The prevalence of L. monocytogenes in the commercial production facility was too low to determine any quantitative effects, however, one of nine samples was positive before processing and none after. Taken together, the processing steps involved in cold-smoking of salmon are bactericidal and reduce, but do not eliminate L. monocytogenes. A persistent strain was no less sensitive to the processing steps than a clinical strain or strain EGD.

Influence of process steps on the performance of microcrystalline silicon thin film transistors

Bottom gate microcrystalline silicon thin film transistors (μc-Si TFT) have been realized with two types of films: μc-Si(1) and μc-Si(2) with crystalline fraction of 80% and close to 100% respectively. On these TFTs we applied two types of passivation (SiN x and resist). μc-Si TFTs with resist as a passivation layer present a low leakage current of about 2.10 − 12 A for V G = − 10 and V D = 0.1V an ON to OFF current ratio of 10 6, a threshold voltage of 7 V, a linear mobility of 0.1 cm 2/V s, and a sub-threshold voltage of 0.9 V/dec. Microcrystalline silicon TFTs with SiN x as a passivation present a new phenomenon: a parasitic current for negative gate voltage (− 15 V) causes a bump and changes the shape of the sub-threshold region. This excess current can be explained by and oxygen contamination at the back interface.

Palladium Silicide Ohmic Contacts to Shallow Junctions in Silicon

Ohmic contacts to small area and shallow pn+‐ and np+‐junctions in silicon are made with palladium silicide by depositing 400Å of Pd on silicon and heating between 300° and 430°C for silicide formation. The contact resistance of metallization is measured by the Kelvin four‐terminal method. Influence of processing steps and siliciding environment on the contact resistance is studied. The results indicate that contact resistance values are sensitive to the presence of oxygen in the siliciding environment. Vacuum siliciding leads to low contact resistance with values between 0.28 and 0.31 μΩ cm2 for 1.3 μm diameter p+‐junctions and between 0.15–0.19 μΩ cm2 for corresponding n+‐junctions. The thermal stability of these values is studied. Based on these results, the palladium silicide contacts appear promising for the VLSI circuit fabrication providing subsequent processing temperatures are below 475°C.

Microstructure of Squid Muscle and its Influence on Texture

Scanning electron microscopy was used to examine the microstructure of mantle muscle tissue from Illex illecebrosus and Loligo pealei, the two commercially important varieties of North Atlantic squid. Samples were prepared by fixation and dehydration; freezefracture was also employed. Individual muscle fibers were separated by homogenization of tissue followed by filtration. Fiber diameters were measured as were shear forces required to cut across muscle fibers. The influence of processing steps, including holding on ice, freezing and cooking were investigated. Squid mantle fibers averaging 3.6μm in diameter, are roughly triangular in shape and consist of rectangular obliquely striated myofibrils arranged somewhat radially around a central cytoplasmic core. These myofibrils are twisted in a left-hand helix lying at a contraction dependent angle of about 16-17° to the main fiber axis with a repeat distance of 38μm. No discernible stuctural differences were observed as a consequence of species or between the circular and radial fibers comprising the mantle. Cooking produced the most obvious processing changes resulting in larger, more closely packed fibers, fusing of myofibrils, the appearance of granulated heat denatured protein on the fiber surface, transverse breaks across fibers and disappearance of a prominant connective tissue network. These changes resulted in a 58% decrease in shear force, probably as a result of the latter two effects, even though heating was accompanied by thermal denaturation of contractile proteins and a large increase in tissue density. Other processing effects were less obvious; freezing produced a tendency for fibers separated by homogenization to lose their outer membranes and for the underlying myofibrils to become shredded.

Our experiences in processing maize (corn) germ oil

AbstractThis paper discusses the properties and composition of corn oil. Influences of processing steps on oil quality are described, along with alkali and physical refining, degumming, bleaching, dewaxing, deacification‐decodorization. A new method for wet degumming‐bleaching and deacidification‐deodorization is presented. Flowsheets and other data are given for a new 150 metric tons per day of corn oil plant.

Our Experiences in Processing Maize (Corn) Germ Oil

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Control of Aflatoxin Production During Fermentation of Wild Rice

The effect of water content of wild rice on aflatoxin production by Aspergillus flavus growing in the rice during fermentation, and influences of processing steps as means to reduce aflatoxin contamination were investigated. Aflatoxin was either not detected or rarely observed during 31 days of storage when rice saturated with water or adjusted to contain 33% water was inoculated with spores of A. flavus and stored at 25 C. Detectable amounts of aflatoxin developed in rice maintained at 20% moisture. Aflatoxin B1 content of contaminated fermented wet wild rice was reduced by parching. Aflatoxin analyses of hulls and kernels from parched rice indicated that most of the aflatoxin B1 remained in the hulls; however, detectable amounts of aflatoxin B1 were present in hulled rice kernels. When wild rice was sterilized with ethylene oxide, saturated with water, stored at 25 C, and inoculated with A. flavus, the mold grew if the rice was mixed daily, but only 10 ppb aflatoxin appeared after 19 days of storage. A. flavus did not grow in similarly treated rice that was not mixed.