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Processing is a popular graphical library and IDE developed for electronic art and visual design communities, with a strong focus on teaching art, design, and creative technologies students computer programming fundamentals in a visual context. Processing provides a collection of special commands to draw, animate, and handle user input using Java. Users can enable Python Mode (also called Processing.py) for Processing in the IDE interface. This leverages Jython, a Java implementation of Python, to interface with Processing's Java core, providing a way to write Processing code using Python syntax. This paper proposes that combining Processing and Python provides an ideal development environment for teaching creative programming fundamentals. Several new Processing-Python tools have emerged, but no attempts to integrate one of the most promising, the py5 library created by Jim Schmitz, into a Processing-like-IDE experience. py5 offers features not available with Jython, such as compatibility with Python 3 and support for CPython libraries. This paper presents a new coding environment, thonny-py5mode, developed as a software plugin for the Thonny IDE, which brings a convenient, beginner-friendly setup like that of Processing's Python Mode to users working with py5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexible luminescent materials are usually in the form of gels and films. Solid‐state films have advantages in practical applications due to their long‐term stability. However, the fabrication process by conventional methods remains laborious and unsustainable. Here, a facile and green route is reported for fabricating flexible luminescent films via an elegant solid‐phase molecular self‐assembly design. First, Eu3+/Tb3+‐based metallosupramolecular coordination polyelectrolytes (MEPEs) and tetraphenylethylene (TPE)‐based MEPEs are designed with an antenna bis‐ligands to get individual R, G, and B emission. Then, by repeatedly pressing the MEPEs‐cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) precipitates, obtained from their mixing aqueous solutions, R, G, and B emission films are obtained at room temperature, respectively. The emission color can be simply tuned by adjusting molar ratio of Eu3+: Tb3+: TPE. Notably, humidity‐responsive white emission film is obtained when Eu3+: Tb3+: TPE = 3:1:2.5. Owing to the dynamic coordination and electrostatic interaction, which can be activated by hydrating water, these films can be facilely reprocessed and self‐healed with the aid of water at room temperature. It is hoped that this approach to fabricate flexible supramolecular luminescent films can be applied to design various advanced functional soft materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polygalae radix (PR) is the dried root of Polygala tenuifolia Willd. and Polygala sibirica L. and enjoys the reputation as the "key medicine for nourishing life." In this study, information about " Polygala tenuifolia Willd.," " Polygala sibirica L.," and "Yuanzhi" was retrieved from scientific databases, including Google Scholar, Baidu Scholar, Web of Science, PubMed, CNKI, and Wan Fang Data. Information from Chinese herbal medicine classics, Yaozhi Data, and the Gaide Chemical Network was also collected. Information related to botany, phytochemistry, pharmacology, toxicity, industrial applications, and processing is summarized in this paper to tap its potentialities and promote its further development and clinical application. More than 320 metabolites have been isolated from PR; saponins, xanthones, and oligosaccharide esters are the main functional metabolites. Pharmacological research shows that its pharmacological action mainly focuses on resisting nervous system diseases, and it also has the functions of anti-oxidation, anti-inflammation, anti-tumor, anti-pathogenic microorganisms and others. The gastrointestinal irritation of its saponins impeded its application, but this irritation can be reduced by controlling the dosage, compatibility with other herbs, or processing. The future progress of PR faces opportunities and challenges. More attention should be paid to the traditional application and processing methods of PR recorded in ancient books. The lack of safety and clinical studies has limited its application and transformation of achievements. Moreover, it is one-sided to take the content of only a few metabolites as the index of processing optimization and quality control, which cannot reflect the full pharmacological and toxicological activities of PR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights Considering their simplicity, processibility, and tunable rheological properties, polymer composite‐type precursors hold exceptional promise in the processing of polymers, ceramics, metals, and their composites. This large variety of precursors used in many different applications cover a large compositional space with dramatically varying rheological properties. Understanding how precursor composition influences their rheological properties is a key need towards streamlining the design and implementation of these precursors. With regard to this design advancement, this study elucidates the composition‐rheology relationships of graphene‐poly(ethylene) oxide (PEO) composite inks as a sample polymer composite‐type precursor. To this end, shear and extensional rheology of numerous compositions were studied across a wide compositional space, which varied graphene concentration, total solid concentration, and binder molecular weight. These studies showed that composition greatly affected various rheological parameters, such as the overall presence of yielding behavior. Specifically, this study illustrated the influence of (i) binder structure, (ii) total solid loading, and (iii) binder‐filler interactions on ink rheology. Extensional rheology was studied to examine how relaxation behaviors were dependent on composition and explicate how relaxation behaviors coincide with responses to shear forces. In tandem, our results illuminate significant composition‐rheology relationships in polymer composite‐type precursors. Rheology of polyethylene oxide‐graphene composite precursors were studied. Shear and extensional rheology, and their correlations were investigated. Composition‐binder molecular weight‐yielding relationships were elucidated. Extensional relaxation regimes were identified with respect to composition. Results can be used to determine compositional ranges for different processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study provides new data on the use of agent focus (AF) versus transitive constructions in Kaqchikel. This work follows up on a study done by Heaton et al. (Heaton, Raina, Kamil Deen & William O'Grady. 2016. An investigation of relativization in Kaqchikel Maya. Lingua 170. 35–46) which found that while questioning the subject of a transitive verb regularly requires the use of AF or an antipassive, relativizing the subject of a transitive verb does not. Present findings show that AF is only common in half of the six primary syntactic contexts that allow it, which is unexpected under the assumption that AF is a last resort strategy. I suggest that the differences between these syntactic contexts in Kaqchikel are related to the presence of a preverbal lexical NP element which is available to be interpreted as the agent. Comparative descriptive evidence is also compiled demonstrating that transitive verbs are possible in syntactic contexts that traditionally have been considered to require AF across Eastern Mayan languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, plastic contamination worldwide is a concerning reality that can be addressed with appropriate society education as well as looking for innovative polymeric alternatives based on the reuse of waste and recycling with a circular economy point of view, thus taking into consideration that a future world without plastic is quite impossible to conceive. In this regard, in this review, we focus on sustainable polymeric materials, biodegradable and bio-based polymers, additives, and micro/nanoparticles to be used to obtain new environmentally friendly polymeric-based materials. Although biodegradable polymers possess poorer overall properties than traditional ones, they have gained a huge interest in many industrial sectors due to their inherent biodegradability in natural environments. Therefore, several strategies have been proposed to improve their properties and extend their industrial applications. Blending strategies, as well as the development of composites and nanocomposites, have shown promising perspectives for improving their performances, emphasizing biopolymeric blend formulations and bio-based micro and nanoparticles to produce fully sustainable polymeric-based materials. The Review also summarizes recent developments in polymeric blends, composites, and nanocomposite plasticization, with a particular focus on naturally derived plasticizers and their chemical modifications to increase their compatibility with the polymeric matrices. The current state of the art of the most important bio-based and biodegradable polymers is also reviewed, mainly focusing on their synthesis and processing methods scalable to the industrial sector, such as melt and solution blending approaches like melt-extrusion, injection molding, film forming as well as solution electrospinning, among others, without neglecting their degradation processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) has emerged as a promising polymer for fabricating optical waveguides. Its optical transparency, stretchability, flexibility, biocompatibility, and facile processing are a complement to common optical materials that are more brittle and stiff such as fused silica, polystyrene (PS), and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). Although PDMS is not a new material, with its first synthesis dating back to the early twentieth century, recent decades have seen an increased effort to expand its use in optical waveguides beyond conventional rubber applications. This review compiles established concepts and new advancements in PDMS science to shed light on limitations and new opportunities to better harness PDMS’ potential for optical waveguiding. With the materials science tetrahedron in mind (structure, properties, processing, and performance), this review explores the state‐of‐the‐art in PDMS waveguide technology and exposes relevant basic concepts pertaining to its physicochemical properties. The goal is to equip the photonics community with knowledge to further expand PDMS waveguide technology. The review covers three main topics: PDMS’ key properties (chemical, optical, thermal, and mechanical, besides biological and environmental aspects); PDMS waveguide fabrication techniques (processing, refractive index tuning, and post‐processing); and its applications. The review concludes with a discussion of current challenges and future prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Faba beans are emerging as highly nutritious ingredients that have the potential to contribute to the global demand for healthy and sustainable plant‐based proteins. The current review aims to provide a summarized overview of faba bean macronutrients, protein quality, and antinutritional factors (ANFs), as well as their reduction strategies through a variety of processing means. Findings: Relative to other pulses, faba beans are higher in protein content and similar in protein quality. However, without proper preparation and/or processing, the presence of minor amounts of ANFs can hinder their nutritional value. These nonnutritive, but biologically active, compounds can be diminished through mechanical, thermal, and nonthermal treatments. Conclusions: Nonconventional processing techniques to retain or improve protein quality remain an area of future research for improving faba bean nutrition and expanding its utilization. Significance and Novelty: This review will advance the science and utilization of faba bean ingredients while providing future research opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the processing and interpretation of the reflexive pronoun sich by Japanese and Korean learners of German as a second language. This is explored through the emergentist reflexivity approach, which hypothesizes that these learners will utilize their first language pragmatic strategies to bind sich, instead of syntactic binding found in German. Employing psycholinguistic methodology, a self-paced reading experiment is undertaken, utilizing antecedent judgements and introspective measures. The results show that instead of using the pertinent German syntax to bind sich, the learners continue to fall under the influence of their first language pragmatics. These results are discussed against the larger picture of reflexive theory, showing how German as a second language can advance our understanding of reflexivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: We discuss event-related power differences (ERPDs) in low- and broadband-γ oscillations as the embedded-clause edge is processed in wh-dependencies such as Which decision regarding/about him/her did Paul say that Lydie rejected without hesitation? in first (L1) and second language (L2) French speakers. Methods: The experimental conditions manipulated whether pronouns appeared in modifiers (Mods; regarding him/her) or in noun complements (Comps; about him/ her) and whether they matched or mismatched a matrix-clause subject in gender. Results: Across L1 and L2 speakers, we found that anaphora-linked ERPDs for Mods vs. Comps in evoked power first arose in low γ and then in broadband γ. Referential elements first seem to be retrieved from working memory by narrowband processes in low γ and then referential identification seems to be computed in broadband-γ output. Interactions between discourse- and syntax-based referential processes for the Mods vs. Comps in these ERPDs furthermore suggest that multidomain γ-band processing enables a range of elementary operations for discourse and semantic interpretation. Discussion: We argue that a multidomain mechanism enabling operations conditioned by the syntactic and semantic nature of the elements processed interacts with local brain microcircuits representing features and feature sets that have been established in L1 or L2 acquisition, accounting for a single language epistemology across learning contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crude palm oil (CPO) is commonly used in the oil industry. This study presents a comparison of the structural, rheological, and thermal properties of clarified CPO (CCPO) sample obtained using the conventional method and ultrasound-assisted (UA)-treated samples. These samples were obtained in the pressed (press liquor, PL), sifted (sifted liquor, SL), and clarification (outlet sludge, OS) stages. The frequencies used for the UA-treated samples were 40 and 80 kHz for 30 min. The PL and SL samples exhibited higher resistance to oxidative deterioration and nutritional quality than the CCPO sample did. The maximum oil extractability percentage (OEP) of the UA-treated samples relative to that of CCPO was 7.4 %. The bleachability index (DOBI) values of the UA-treated samples were higher (between 2.06 and 2.58) than that of the CCPO sample (1.43). However, the viscosity (η) displayed opposite trend. The thermal stability did not exhibit consistent patterns with increasing frequency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Full‐tensor magnetic gradiometry data have been collected commercially for the last few years. However, to date, there is still no clarity on how to compare these data to scalar total field surveys. Some users display the vertical gradient of the vertical component (Bzz) and compare that to a first vertical derivative of total field with the caveat that ‘they are similar’. Others compute the length of the measured vector and call that total field. We establish the basic formulas to calculate total field from the tensor components and demonstrate this with a real data example from Thompson, Manitoba, Canada. Another key question is whether full‐tensor interpolation is required to obtain total field from tensor data. We compare the results from using a commercial full‐tensor interpolation algorithm with standard minimum curvature of the tensor components individually and with another open‐source code that uses a radial basis function interpolator on the individual tensor components. All three applications produced a total field grid of superior quality to that calculated from a scalar total field survey available for the area of study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an overview of recent works on microscale mechanical and other properties of silicon nitride (Si 3 N 4) determined by microcantilever bending tests and their relationships with the processing and microstructures. We first focus on deformation behaviors and fracture strength of Si 3 N 4 single crystals. β-Si 3 N 4 single crystals are plastically deformed at room temperature under high bending stress, and the yield stress depends on the crystal orientation. The critical resolved share stress of the primary slip system is determined to be below 1.5 GPa from the yield stress. Next, we address microscale mechanical properties of Si 3 N 4 polycrystalline ceramics. Emphasis is placed on their grain-boundary strength or toughness in conjunction with intergranular glassy film (IGF) which is determined by processing parameters such as sintering additives. Assessment is made on two cases of fractures at the IGF-grain interface and that within the IGF, and in each of the cases, effects of rare earth oxide additives are discussed. In Si 3 N 4 ceramics doped with Al 2 O 3 , β-SiAlON layer forming on β-Si 3 N 4 grains enhances the microscale grain-boundary strength. Finally, we shed light on microscale property-degradation behaviors of Si 3 N 4 ceramics, including the deterioration due to the contact with molten Al and the corrosion in sulfuric acid solution. The variation of the microscale properties appears in very short periods compared to the macroscale approaches, demonstrating the advantage in terms of rapid assessment of time-dependent degradation behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Process‐induced deformation (PID) arises in thermoset parts due to internal residual stress developed from their anisotropic properties, resulting in distortions. While passive numerical manufacturing control exists, active manufacturing control is crucial for enhancing the manufacturing process. The work focuses on diagnosing the polymerization reaction, known as the curing process, to consider the influence of uncertainties in thermal loading conditions on the behavior of cure kinetics. This is achieved using a Particle Filter approach, wherein a posterior distribution of cure evolution is recursively approximated based on observed measurements from characterization tests. The algorithm is designed to simultaneously perform the diagnosis and prognosis of the Degree of Cure and PID. This approach adopts the augmented cure formulation to address various scenarios with uncertainties in thermal loading conditions. It offers the advantage of providing comparable PID predictions with minimal computational costs. C‐shaped thermoset parts made of epoxy/carbon fibers with varying thicknesses are cured using the Manufacturing Recommended Curing Cycle, and the predictions with the developed algorithm are validated against experimental measures. Upon validation, the converged prognosis capability of the Particle Filter model is employed to assess the impact of thermal loading uncertainty on cure profiles, which, in turn, affects the final PIDs outcome. Highlights: A Bayesian sampling approach enables the estimation of cure kinetics parameters.The estimated stochastic parameters forecast the process‐induced deformations.The augmented Degree of Cure accounts for uncertainties linked to thermal loadings.Analysis on AS4/8552 C‐shaped parts shows the cure kinetics impact.The framework reduces the computational costs required for active control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The incorporation of health-related sensors in wearable devices has increased their use as essential monitoring tools for a wide range of clinical applications. However, the signals obtained from these devices often present challenges such as artifacts, spikes, high-frequency noise, and data gaps, which impede their direct exploitation. Additionally, clinically relevant features are not always readily available. This problem is particularly critical within the H2020 BRAINTEASER project, funded by the European Community, which aims at developing models for the progression of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) using data from wearable devices. Methods: The objective of this study is to present the automated pipeline developed to process signals and extract features from the Garmin Vivoactive 4 smartwatch, which has been chosen as the primary wearable device in the BRAINTEASER project. The proposed pipeline includes a signal processing step, which applies retiming, gap-filling, and denoising algorithms to enhance the quality of the data. The feature extraction step, on the other hand, utilizes clinical partners' knowledge and feedback to select the most relevant variables for analysis. Results: The performance and effectiveness of the proposed automated pipeline have been evaluated through pivotal beta testing sessions, which demonstrated the ability of the pipeline to improve the data quality and extract features from the data. Further clinical validation of the extracted features will be performed in the upcoming steps of the BRAINTEASER project. Discussion: Developed in Python, this pipeline can be used by researchers for automated signal processing and feature extraction from wearable devices. It can also be easily adapted or modified to suit the specific requirements of different scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing demand for bone grafts due to the aging population has opened new opportunities for the manufacture of porous ceramics to assist in bone reconstruction. In our study, we investigate a new, promising method to manufacture hierarchically porous structures in a straightforward and tunable way. It consists of combining the novel technology of capillary suspensions, formed by mixing solid particles and two immiscible liquids, one less than 5 vol%, with freeze casting. We have successfully achieved alumina and beta‐tricalcium phosphate (β‐TCP) materials with both <2 µm and 20–50 µm as the smallest and largest pore sizes, respectively. The microstructure exhibits fully open pores and high levels of porosity (>60%). The capillary suspensions’ rheological behavior indicates that silica nano‐suspensions as a secondary fluid creates a stronger internal particle network than sucrose for the alumina system. Conversely, the opposite was observed with the β‐TCP system. These differences were attributed to the change in affinity between the secondary fluids and the solid loading. In our study, both systems have served to deepen the knowledge about the new area of capillary suspensions and proved their use in hierarchical porous scaffolds for bone tissue engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The knowledge of biogenesis and target regulation of the phased small interfering RNAs (phasiRNAs) needs continuous update, since the phasiRNA loci are dynamically evolved in plants. Here, hundreds of phasiRNA loci of Arabidopsis thaliana were identified in distinct tissues and under different temperature. In flowers, most of the 24‐nt loci are RNA‐dependent RNA polymerase 2 (RDR2)‐dependent, while the 21‐nt loci are RDR6‐dependent. Among the RDR‐dependent loci, a significant portion is Dicer‐like 1‐dependent, indicating the involvement of microRNAs in their expression. Besides, two TAS candidates were discovered. Some interesting features of the phasiRNA loci were observed, such as the strong strand bias of phasiRNA generation, and the capacity of one locus for producing phasiRNAs by different increments. Both organ specificity and temperature sensitivity were observed for phasiRNA expression. In leaves, the TAS genes are highly activated under low temperature. Several trans‐acting siRNA—target pairs are also temperature‐sensitive. In many cases, the phasiRNA expression patterns correlate well with those of the processing signals. Analysis of the rRNA‐depleted degradome uncovered several phasiRNA loci to be RNA polymerase II‐independent. Our results should advance the understanding on phasiRNA biogenesis and regulation in plants. Summary statement: The RDR‐ and DCL‐dependent processing pathways and the polymerase‐dependent transcription pathways were analyzed for the phasiRNA loci identified from Arabidopsis thaliana. The temperature sensitivity and organ specificity of the phasiRNA loci, including the TAS genes are reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies in the second language acquisition of negation have focused on polarity items and their licensing contexts. Although several studies show a correlation between higher degrees of second language (L2) proficiency and the acquisition of the target L2 structures, less attention has been given to the relation between the acquisition of polarity sensitivity and different types of lexical polarity items. This study addresses this gap in the literature by measuring the processing of polarity-sensitive items under the scope of negation in L2 Spanish. Our findings indicate that learners' acquisition of polarity sensitivity differs across different types of lexical polarity items. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dual pressures of climate change and population growth have made the development of new grains a necessity. Agriophyllum squarrosum (sand rice) has high adaptability to harsh environments and does not occupy agricultural land. It is widely cultivated and consumed in Central Asia. Sand rice, together with quinoa and buckwheat, belongs to the same pseudocereals group with rich nutritional value and gluten‐free properties; however, its nutritional composition and health benefits differ from those of quinoa and buckwheat. Sand rice seeds are a rich source of nutrients and bioactive compounds, including proteins, amino acids, unsaturated fatty acids, and crude fiber, which are similar to those in buckwheat and quinoa; however, their starch content is relatively low. Sand rice seeds also possess phenolic acids and flavonoids, which exhibit antioxidant, anticancer, anti‐diabetes, and anti‐inflammatory properties. Furthermore, sand rice extracts are considered suitable for treating some chronic diseases. Overall, sand rice is considered a good plant‐based food that can be used to develop various functional foods and beverages or mixed with other grains in different recipes. However, advancements in the processing technology of sand rice‐based foods are required to fully exploit the potential of sand rice in the food industry to improve human health. This review analyzes the current understanding of the nutritional content of sand rice by comparing it with that of quinoa and buckwheat. Furthermore, its potential medicinal activity and feasibility as a functional ingredient to improve food quality is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

User interactivity can be enhanced in agricultural measurement and control systems, especially with the continuous advancements in natural language semantic processing. It is necessary to improve user-friendliness in control and query operations within the agricultural measurement and control field, in order to reduce the user operating costs. Firstly, a precise interface of human-computer interaction can be constructed to tailor for the agricultural domain, in order to efficiently translate the user's natural language input into understandable commands for the computer system. The current agricultural field has relied mainly on graphical user interfaces to meet human-computer interaction. But some limitations still remained over time, e.g., the high complexity of human-computer interaction and the low efficiency. Therefore, natural language interface (NLI) has been designed to establish the mapping between natural language from the nature of human-computer interaction. Agricultural measurement and control systems have been considered as the efficient strategy. Among them, the primary task of natural language understanding (NLU) is often used to transform the human language into computer-understandable structured expressions, in order to accurately capture the user's intention and semantics. Deep learning has been utilized to name entity recognition tasks in recent years. Relational components of sentences can be extracted to identify the sentence actions, and then incorporate the annotations of semantic roles, in order to understand the utterances for the computers. Entity recognition has distinctly realized the entity features in the specific domains. Commonly-named entities are usually characterized by fuzzy boundaries in the field of agricultural measurement and control systems. Some challenges remain in the quality of data and the accuracy of annotations, due to the relatively scarce data. It is important to directly apply to the agricultural measurement and control system. In this study, the agricultural measurement and control natural language interface (AMC-NLI) was presented to serve as the natural language interface for the agricultural measurement and control. The users were allowed to operate and control systems using natural language commands. These commands were interpreted using OPERATE, PLACE, and OBJECT attributes within the operate-place-object (OPO) ternary structure, and then transmitted to the gateways, nodes, or devices. Significant semantic information was previously lost using conventional methods when extracting entities from natural language commands, particularly when the commands contained multiple entities of the same type. Additionally, the entity order was confounded on the semantic relationships. A semantic parsing model called BERT-BiLSTM-ATT-CRF-OPO was proposed for the recognition tasks of the named entity in the command parsing of the measurement and control system. BERT pre-trained language models were utilized for the word embedding to enhance contextual understanding. The bidirectional long short-term memory networks (BiLSTM) were employed to capture the semantic features of long sentences and long-distance dependent information. An attention mechanism was incorporated to prioritize the features related to named entities for better local feature extraction. Conditional Random Field (CRF) was utilized to learn the labeling constraints and output globally optimal labeled sequences. The experimental results show that the BERT-BiLSTM-ATT-CRF-OPO model achieved a recognition accuracy of 92.13%, a recall of 93.12%, and an F1 score of 92.76% for the three types of entities. The improved model performed well in the AMC-NLI agricultural measurement and control command interaction, with the accuracy, precision, recall, F-value, and average maximum response time reaching 91.63%, 92.77%, 92.48%, 91.74%, and 2.45s, respectively. The human-computer interaction was enhanced in the agricultural measurement and control system, in order to improve the recognition accuracy of command entity. The finding can offer novel insights into Chinese command parsing, indicating the potential application of natural language processing in agriculture. A more user-friendly and efficient humancomputer interaction was provided for future agricultural measurement and control systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymer‐based pyroelectric thin films are crucial functional materials at the core of flexible and lightweight electronic devices, such as wearable monitoring sensors, energy harvesters, and infrared detectors. Nevertheless, the pyroelectric properties of the polymer films, such as poly(vinylidene fluoride‐trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF‐TrFE)), vanish when the surrounding temperature exceeds the ferroelectric‐to‐paraelectric transition temperature, and thus limits their pyroelectric performance to a low‐temperature range. Herein, to mitigate this issue by employing a new class of P(VDF‐TrFE) copolymer which has a low TrFE molar content is proposed. Fine‐tuning of the structure through thermal annealing in a vacuum environment significantly favors robust and highly polarized polymer films with a large area. Electric poling combined with an optimal annealing temperature (110–120 °C) gives highly ordered ferroelectric crystalline domains in the polymer films. Consequently, this remarkably broadens the temperature range (roughly up to 140 °C) for which the polymer film still presents high pyroelectric properties (pyroelectric coefficient 50 µC (m2K)−1). This study provides an alternative choice for pyroelectric polymer films with enhanced pyroelectricity in applications that require wider temperature ranges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Pulsed electric field (PEF) technology is emerging as a versatile and effective alternative to traditional thermal processing, adeptly meeting consumer demands for fresh, safe, tasty, nutritious, and sustainable food products. By applying high‐voltage electric pulses for microseconds to milliseconds, PEF achieves microbial inactivation with minimal thermal impact. Beyond preservation, PEF technology can be used as a pre‐treatment for raw food materials to modify their cell structure, thus facilitating the subsequent food processing steps. Although initially applied to liquid foods, PEF application has been expanded to a diverse range of food categories, including juices, wines, potatoes, meats, and freeze‐dried products. Each application of PEF involves specific process parameters, which significantly influence the product outcomes. This review discusses the application of PEF across various food categories, with a focus on its impact on sensory attributes under different settings. The discussion will mainly revolve current research gaps and proposes strategies to increase consumer acceptance of PEF‐treated products, along with approaches for effectively communicating the benefits of this novel processing technology. It was found that emphasising the sensory, nutritional, and shelf‐life benefits on product packaging, and highlighting its environmental‐friendly benefit can improve consumer acceptance of PEF‐treated products. Furthermore, educating industry practitioners about the advantages of PEF is crucial for its broader implementation in food manufacturing. The successful advancement of PEF technology hinges on collaboration efforts among technologists, industry experts, sensory, and consumer scientists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sketches are fundamental in design and crucial representations for ideation, problem-solving, and communication. In the realm of architecture, sketches encapsulate the evolution of ideas from conceptualization to construction. Hand-drawn sketches, characterized by their open-ended, ambiguous nature and rapid production, are indispensable in bridging the gap between abstract concepts and tangible designs, guiding the progression from early design stages to final product realization. However, despite their significant potential and pivotal role in the design process, hand sketches have often been overlooked and swiftly abandoned in the ongoing discourse surrounding traditional versus digital design methodologies, particularly with the widespread integration of computer technologies. This study endeavours to unlock the wealth of information embedded within hand sketches, from initial design concepts to intricate manufacturing details, using a hybrid digital form-finding tool. By employing swarm algorithms in the quest for form, it is anticipated that the boundaries of conceptual ideas delineated by hand sketches will be expanded. This is facilitated by an algorithm developed in Processing using the Java coding language, complemented by an intuitive interface. The research commences with a comprehensive literature review encompassing biomimetics, sketching techniques, and tools for transitioning hand sketches into digital realms. Subsequently, a thorough elucidation of the algorithm, crafted within the Processing environment, is provided. The tool's efficacy is assessed through experimentation involving adjustments of various parameters on identical sketches and application to seven architectural sketches representing built designs, with subsequent interpretation of the outcomes. It is posited that the adaptability of the algorithm's core logic, coupled with the development-friendly environment of Processing, holds immense potential for empowering designers to steer sketches in desired directions through tailored enhancements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nutrition and food industries are investigating unconventional protein sources because of the expanding demand for plant proteins and increased knowledge of the health and nutritional benefits of alternative proteins. Proteins from faba beans are high and outperform other pulse proteins in terms of nutrition and functionalities. Raw faba beans contain numerous allergenic compounds hindering the potential for utilization in various foods. Processing faba beans by extracting of valuable compounds such as proteins enhances the applicability in different food systems and ensuring safety during consumption. Major proteins identified are globulins and non-globulin fractions with no adverse amino acids. Faba beans proteins are easy to extract however presence of pyrimidine glycoside may raise safety concerns. Faba bean proteins have useful functionalities for food applications but their solubility are minimal due to their compact protein structure. Further, different thermal and non-thermal techniques have been aimed at improving functionality and reduce allergenic proteins. The goal of this review is to provide a comprehensive summary on current investigation on faba bean proteins. Suggestions for improving the faba bean's utilization are also provided to aid in its development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lentils (Lens culinaris Medik.), the earliest legumes grown by humans, are essential food sources in many countries. This review summarizes the nutrient profile, phytochemical profile, sensory properties, bioaccessibility, along with health benefits of lentils. Lentils are not only rich in protein, carbohydrates, and fats but various bioactive substances, especially flavonoids and phenolic acids. However, their bioavailability is poor due to the presence of certain antinutritional factors, containing tannins, phytic acid, protease inhibitors as well as lectins. Specific information for the bioaccessibility and bioavailability of phenolics and minerals in lentils is listed. Besides, several conventional along with novel techniques that used to improve bioaccessibility and bioavailability of lentils, such as soaking, dehulling, thermal processing, isoelectric precipitation, pulsed electric field, and high-pressure processing are introduced as well. In addition, various potential health benefits are reviewed, including anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antidiabetic, and anti-obesity properties. Thereby, increased consumption and utilization of lentils as functional foods are considered the key to combating certain chronic diseases in the human body. Lastly, some suggestions are put forward for the future direction of lentils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), also known as the common beans, are broadly cultivated in temperate and semitropical regions. P. vulgaris contain different varieties, such as kidney beans, black beans, navy beans, pinto beans, and Great Northern beans. This legume is an excellent source of nutrients, including protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and phytochemical compounds. The phytochemicals in beans comprise bioactive substances such as phenolic compounds, phytosterols, and oligosaccharides. These bioactive substances exhibit health and therapeutic benefits including antioxidant, cholesterol-lowering, anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, and anti-inflammatory potential. However, there is another category of essential phytochemicals, the antinutrients (e.g. enzyme inhibitors, phytic acids/phytates, saponins, and lectins), that negatively influence nutrient digestion and absorption. This review aims to describe the nutritional and phytochemical compounds of beans as well as the impact of different processing methods on bean phytochemicals, including soaking, extrusion, germination, roasting, steaming, autoclaving, boiling, cooking, microwaving, high-pressure processing, ultrasound, and pulsed electric field. In addition, the differences regarding volatile compounds; the impacts of storage on phytochemicals in beans; their bioaccessibility and digestibility; and the potential health benefits of bean consumption are introduced and evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When processing surgical instruments after use, the safe, residue-free removal of blood and blood-containing soiling is one of the most important tasks. There are recommendations from various working groups regarding the ideal timeframe for cleaning used instruments in order to ensure safe disinfection and sterilization and avoid adverse effects. These are generally based primarily on practical experience and there is little systematic work on this topic. In the present study, cleaning experiments with test specimens previously contaminated with sheep's blood were performed, and in this way the effects of the drying time of whole blood on the results of the subsequent cleaning were examined. Reflecting practice, both visual and spectroscopic methods were used to quantify residual protein. The experimental results were evaluated both as a function of the drying time and the residual moisture of the blood. Drying blood was particularly difficult to remove within the first 1–2 h. In this phase, in which the blood is coagulated but not yet completely dried, considerably more protein residues remained on the test specimens after cleaning than after longer standing times. There is a timeframe for the removal of blood residues in which optimum cleaning results can be expected. As a consequence, there are also standing times that are disadvantageous for reprocessing. Based on the experimental data, it was deduced that this optimum time is either directly after contamination or in the range of >3 h and <24 h after soiling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a viscous mycelium-substrate-composite, mycelia can be processed into more complex geometries in generative extrusion-based processes, even without molding tools. Biological transformation can also affect the properties of a printed object such that the mycelium still lives and grows after the 3D-build-process and changes the object over time. Depending on the substrate composition, type of fungus and growth conditions, different properties of the object can be manipulated. Different test geometries with corresponding preliminary characterization tests are shown. The present results demonstrate that test geometries could be successfully 3D printed with living mycelium material and manipulated during cultivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Food Safety & Quality is the property of Journal of Food Safety & Quality Editorial Department and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The incidence of pre-diabetes and diabetes has been increasing recently worldwide and considered as a major growing non-communicable disease. Millets are eco-friendly crops which could sustain extensive climatic conditions. The productivity of millets had increased in recent years to meet the nutritional needs of the increasing global population. The factors which affect the starch digestibility pattern in millets are protein, fat, resistant starch, dietary fibre, and anti-nutrients. However, the interplay of these components also affects the starch digestibility pattern in millets during various processing methods such as thermal, non-thermal, chemical, and their combination. The incorporation of native and processed millet in food products varies the in-vitro and in-vivo glycaemic index. The current study further discusses the potential applications of millet in food formulations for pre-diabetic and diabetic population. Hence the appropriately processed millets could be a suggested as a suitable dietary option for pre-diabetic and diabetic population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Shipin Kexue/ Food Science is the property of Food Science Editorial Department and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The high amount of starch in fruits is responsible for its post-processing cloudiness. In the current study, α-amylase from porcine pancreases was immobilized onto carboxymethyl cellulose/polyacrylamide (CMC/PAM) hydrogel. This in-house-built CMC/PAM-Amy hydrogel offers a more efficient and sustainable solution for apple juice clarification. To acquire the best immobilization efficiency, the concentration of glutaraldehyde crosslinker was optimized. Biocatalytic characterization studies were brought into consideration for free and immobilized α-amylase. The synthesized native and immobilized CMC/PAM-Amy hydrogels were also characterized using SEM, FTIR and XRD. Under ideal circumstances, the activity of CMC/PAM-Amy was up to 604 μmolmin−1, and its immobilization efficiency was 96.29 ± 1.15%. A kinetic parameters study resulted in a conspicuously lowered Km value for immobilized amylase, signifying its higher affinity for its substrate. CMC/PAM-Amy showed a half-life (t1/2) 3.5 times higher than free-Amy at 50, 55 and 60 °C. The higher values of the inactivation rate constant (kd), free energy of inactivation (ΔG*), enthalpy of inactivation (ΔH*) and change in entropy (ΔS*) of CMC/PAM-Amy manifested the enhanced thermal stability of amylase after immobilization. A reusability study revealed that immobilized amylase retained roughly 70% of its initial catalytic activity after six successive repetitions of the process. CMC/PAM-Amy displayed improved recycling ability operational stability and biocatalytic activity, rendering it an auspicious tool in decreasing the starch content of crude apple juice to about 61% of its total starch content before treatment. Moreover, the values of Brix, viscosity, acidity and turbidity were also decreased in CMC/PAM-Amyclarified apple juice. Therefore, immobilized amylases with other industrial enzymes could be an efficient tool for potential industrial application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polygalae radix (PR) is the dried root of Polygala tenuifolia Willd. and Polygala sibirica L. and enjoys the reputation as the "key medicine for nourishing life." In this study, information about "Polygala tenuifolia Willd.," "Polygala sibirica L.," and "Yuanzhi" was retrieved from scientific databases, including Google Scholar, Baidu Scholar, Web of Science, PubMed, CNKI, and Wan Fang Data. Information from Chinese herbal medicine classics, Yaozhi Data, and the Gaide Chemical Network was also collected. Information related to botany, phytochemistry, pharmacology, toxicity, industrial applications, and processing is summarized in this paper to tap its potentialities and promote its further development and clinical application. More than 320 metabolites have been isolated from PR; saponins, xanthones, and oligosaccharide esters are the main functional metabolites. Pharmacological research shows that its pharmacological action mainly focuses on resisting nervous system diseases, and it also has the functions of anti-oxidation, anti-inflammation, anti-tumor, anti-pathogenic microorganisms and others. The gastrointestinal irritation of its saponins impeded its application, but this irritation can be reduced by controlling the dosage, compatibility with other herbs, or processing. The future progress of PR faces opportunities and challenges. More attention should be paid to the traditional application and processing methods of PR recorded in ancient books. The lack of safety and clinical studies has limited its application and transformation of achievements. Moreover, it is one-sided to take the content of only a few metabolites as the index of processing optimization and quality control, which cannot reflect the full pharmacological and toxicological activities of PR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) have garnered significant attention in recent decades due to the outstanding physical, chemical, and biomedical characteristics. The biomedical application of metallic glass also received extensive attention. This report investigates the interplay among antibacterial performance, crystallization and processing parameters of Zr-based bulk metallic glass (Zr-BMG) following nanosecond laser irradiation. We examined surface morphology, crystallization behavior, surface quality, binding energy, and ion release properties post-laser irradiation. Additionally, we evaluated the generation of reactive oxygen species upon immersion of Zr-BMG in phosphate-buffered saline using the 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescin diacetate method. Staphylococcus aureus was chosen to assess Zr-BMG's antibacterial performance, while mouse osteoblasts were utilized to investigate in vitro cytotoxicity. Our findings revealed that at laser energy intensities below 0.08 J/mm2, the amorphous structure of Zr-BMG remained intact after irradiation. Moreover, laser irradiation significantly enhanced the antibacterial performance of Zr-BMG. The release rate of ion, concentration of reactive oxygen species, and antibacterial properties exhibited direct proportionality to laser energy intensity. However, surfaces exhibiting high antibacterial efficacy also displayed elevated cytotoxicity. The surface irradiated with a 7 μJ ablation pulse and 200 mm/s irradiation speed demonstrated a superior balance between antibacterial and cytotoxic properties while maintaining an amorphous state. We hope this research can provide theoretical reference and data support for the application of metallic glass in biomedical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, less attention is paid to zinc–carbon batteries, although they are still widely used and are among the major types of batteries collected and recycled. The recycling technologies currently in use do not allow the complete recovery of resources, are not self-sufficient and require additional financing. Therefore, this paper aims to study the possibility of complete recycling of waste zinc–carbon batteries and to suggest the practical use of the final products generated in the recycling process. The possibility of complex processing of spent zinc–carbon batteries using mechanical separation and processing of the battery's components (steel case, zinc electrode, graphite electrode, polypropylene and paper insulators) is justified. The separation of spent electrolytes from other components of batteries with hydrochloric acid was studied. It was shown that the extraction of Zn2+ and NH4+ cations takes place following the addition of an equivalent amount of Na3PO4 solution and water-insoluble NH4ZnPO4 salt sedimentation. Waste agglomerate (mixture of MnO2, MnO(OH), and graphite) was regenerated to its initial composition (MnO2, graphite) at a temperature of 300–325 °C; manganese (III) hydroxide was oxidized to manganese (IV) dioxide. Thermal destruction of polypropylene and paper insulators with additional introduction of polyethylene into the primary mixture produced pyrolysis liquid, pyrocarbon and pyrolysis gas as products. The practical use of the products obtained and compliance with the environmental requirements of the suggested method of waste batteries recycling were shown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

tRNAs have recently gained attention for their novel regulatory roles in translation and for their diverse functions beyond translation. One of the most remarkable aspects of tRNA biogenesis is the incorporation of various chemical modifications, ranging from simple base or ribose methylation to more complex hypermodifications such as formation of queuosine and wybutosine. Some tRNAs are transcribed as intron-containing pre-tRNAs. While the majority of these modifications occur independently of introns, some are catalyzed in an intron-inhibitory manner, and in certain cases, they occur in an intron-dependent manner. This review focuses on pre-tRNA modification, including introncontaining pre-tRNA, in both intron-inhibitory and intron-dependent fashions. Any perturbations in the modification and processing of tRNAs may lead to a range of diseases and disorders, highlighting the importance of understanding these mechanisms in molecular biology and medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blueberry (Vaccinium spp.) processing produces residues high in antioxidant compounds, such as peels, seeds, and stems, which have the potential to be employed in a variety of products. Using extracts containing bioactive components (e.g., polyphenols and anthocyanins) to produce active edible films is an attractive application. In this regard, the objective of this work was the development and characterization of an active edible film with blueberry residue extract. The extracts were obtained by ultrasound-assisted extraction with 60% hydroethanolic solvent (1:10 m/v of residue) for 25 min at 30 ± 2 °C and 80% of total power (132 W) at 40 kHz. The extract was analyzed for total phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity (DPPH). Cornstarch and glycerol were used to formulate the films, which were characterized according to grammage, thickness, moisture, antioxidant activity, color, and visual parameters. The extraction yield was 207.2 mg/g of residue, the IC50 values ranged from 0.118 to 0.144 mg/mL during 28 days of storage, and the average content of phenolic compounds was 58.18 mg GAE/g dry extract. In the active edible films, the grammage ranged from 0.0131 to 0.0143 g/cm2, the thickness was between 0.15 and 0.23 mm, and the moisture content was from 17.19 to 18.00%. The antioxidant activity of the films containing blueberry residue extract ranged from 52.65 to 76.02%, corresponding to extract concentrations of 0.25 and 2.6 mg/mL of filmogenic solution, respectively. The color parameter showed that when the extract was added, the films became less bright, leaning toward red and yellow. In general, the samples demonstrated good integrity, brightness, and clarity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three‐dimensional molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) functionalized MWCNTs hybrid nanoparticles were synthesized using in‐situ hydrothermal reaction. Two types of hybrids, MoS2/MWCNTs‐1 and MoS2/MWCNTs‐2 with MWCNTs to MoS2 precursor weight ratios 1:2 and 1:1 respectively were prepared with varying degrees of hybridization and the effects of their incorporation on tensile strength and fracture toughness properties of epoxies were investigated. Epoxy/MoS2/MWCNTs‐2 nanocomposites showed exceptional mechanical properties due to their improved dispersion, constrained chain mobility and excellent interfacial interactions. MoS2/MWCNTs‐2 nanocomposites showed maximum improvement of tensile strength by 28.52% at 0.5 wt% nanofiller concentration and the highest improvements in fracture toughness by 172% at 0.2 wt% nanofiller concentration. The excellent enhancement of fracture toughness properties was due to the synergic effect of MoS2/MWCNTs hybrid nanoparticles due to the crack pinning and bifurcation properties of MoS2 nanoparticles along with the pull‐out and crack bridging mechanisms of MWCNTs as observed in morphological analysis of fractures nanocomposites. The incorporation of 0.2 wt% of MoS2/MWCNTs‐2 increased the degradation temperatures of epoxy from 591 to 796°C at 95% weight loss due to the improved physical barrier effect. Highlights: MoS2/MWCNTs nanoparticles were synthesized using in‐situ hydrothermal reaction0.5 wt% MoS2/MWCNTs‐2 incorporated epoxies showed highest tensile strength0.2 wt% MoS2/MWCNTs‐2 incorporated epoxy composites show improved K1c valueIncorporation of MoS2/MWCNTs improved the thermal stability of epoxySynergistic effect of nanocomposite due to crack pinning, bifurcation & bridging [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While post‐synthesis processing steps are frequently applied in the preparation of cathode composites for solid‐state batteries to ensure homogeneous mixing and good contact with the cathode active material, little is known about the processes that occur during milling and how they influence structure and transport of solid electrolytes. Here, an extensive set of experimental methods and simulations are used to study the effects of post‐synthesis milling by a frequency and planetary ball mill on the highly conducting chloride‐rich argyrodite Li5.5PS4.5Cl1.5. Structural analyses show that processing can reduce the coherence length and increase the disorder. The reduced crystallite size correlates with a decrease in ionic conductivity in the post‐processed solid electrolytes. Simulating the ball milling processes by the discrete element method provides fundamental understanding and reveals the correlation of the loss in coherence with the specific energy input and the numbers of stressing events during the milling process. An observed decrease in particle size in ball milled samples leads to lower tortuosity in the cathode composites. As the loss in coherence and decrease in particle size have opposite effects on the performance, optimizing these processing conditions will play a significant role on the road to highly performing solid‐state batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Controlling the quality and health of foodstuffs is of great importance. The quality of foods like garlic is strongly influenced by the conditions of processing. Fungal infection is one of the most common hazards of garlic productivity that can affect its processing as well. This research aimed to use the E-Nose to investigate the aroma of garlic as a quality control factor influenced by different treatments such as type of processing, type of fungal infection, and time elapsed since the date of inoculation. The data was investigated and categorized through different methods such as principal component analysis (PCA), linear discriminant analysis (LDA), Support vector machine (SVM), and backpropagation neural network (BPNN). The Index of deterioration toughness increased during the monitoring period. In the analysis of the data related to the unprocessed whole (UW), dried slices (DS), garlic powder (PO), and garlic tablet (TA), the PCA included 55%, 75%, 47%, and 53% of the data, respectively. The LDA was able to classify the aroma of UW, DS, PO, and TA samples based on the TFI treatment with an accuracy of 90%, 93.33%, 88.89%, and 60%, respectively. Also, the BPNN classified the aromas of UW, DS, PO, and TA samples based on the TEI treatment with an accuracy of 90%, 95.6%, 72.2%, and 82.2%, respectively. The results revealed that the aroma alteration can be used as a comprehensive factor in the quality control of processed products. As well, the type of processing had significant effects on the severity of decay caused by fungal infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There have been a growing number of corpus studies exploring the role of linguistic experience or input in sentence processing. Previous studies have used frequencies in first language (L1) corpora to represent the input of second language (L2) learners, but it has been claimed that L2 output as well as L1 output contribute to L2 acquisition and processing (Ellis 2002; Ellis and Collins 2009; Ellis and Wulff 2020). By analyzing an L2 corpus produced by Korean adult learners of English, this paper aims to establish more accurate input for L2 learners and investigate why Korean adult learners of English are sensitive to noun animacy and topicality in processing English relative clauses, as native speakers of English are. The results of the L2 corpus analysis reveal that object and subject relative clauses display different distributional patterns with respect to head noun animacy, embedded noun animacy, and the topicality of the embedded NP due to their strong tendency to have unmarked subjects and objects in terms of animacy and topicality. This paper proposes that the experience of subjecthood and objecthood, which are crosslinguistically associated with noun animacy and topicality, plays a role in producing and processing relative clauses in L2 which is syntactically different from the native language of L2 speakers. In addition, I discuss that some processing differences between L1 and L2 can arise due to L2 learners’ experience with their native language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aconitum species are commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine, and they have a narrow therapy window due to the possibility of aconitine poisoning. Aconitine poisoning deaths appear infrequently in forensic practice. It is important to collect valuable body samples in time due to the rapid absorption and excretion of aconitine. However, it is unknown whether postmortem samples have value for toxicological analysis if the deceased has experienced long-term treatment before death. Herein, we present a case of a woman who died after 12 days of failed active treatment for aconitine poisoning. Aconitine was detected in the liver tissue. To our knowledge, this is the first case report describing the detection of aconitine in a decedent after long-term active treatment. The findings indicated that the aconitine concentration in liver tissue can be maintained after long-term treatment; this information may therefore serve as a reference in forensic practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to support the growth of tomato production and processing in the Kebbi State, an assessment of the tomato value chain was conducted. Approximately 2.3 million metric tons of fresh tomatoes are produced annually in Nigeria, but over half of them are wasted because of inadequate transportation, storage, and processing facilities. Because of this, it is critical to create plans for the tomato value chain's development. A critical analysis of the body of existing research and a schedule of interviews with important participants in the value chain, including producers, intermediary traders, retailers, and input suppliers, were the methods used for this study. Despite the great output of fresh tomatoes, the study also showed that Kebbi State is still not a major exporter of processed or fresh tomato products. It was discovered that this was caused by a lack of high-quality seed supplies, inadequate storage facilities, subpar disease and insect control, and subpar processing facilities. In order to overcome the obstacles, policies should support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) throughout the value chain; input supplies should be improved; farmers should be organized into cooperatives to launch creative funding mechanisms for them; processors should be placed in clusters; marketing strategies should be improved, including guaranteeing prices for fresh tomato products; technologies for processing and storage should be developed; farmers should adopt Good Agricultural Practices (GAP); and a strong National Commodity Association or Network should be established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study represents the cultivation of oyster mushrooms at room temperature, preparation of mushroom powder and ready-to-eat cookies from the combination of cocoa powder and mushroom powder with long shelf life. Nowadays, people are facing difficulties in meeting their daily nutritional needs through ready-to-eat foods, prompting the exploration of white oyster mushrooms as an ingredient for making cookies, potentially serving as an emergency food product. Mushroom farming is gaining popularity day by day. The mushrooms have lots of potential to be used in the diet for taking advantage of the nutraceutical properties of bioactive compounds due to lower fat and higher protein substance. The drift is absent from the canned item toward new and dried mushroom sales. Oyster mushrooms are popular due to their nutritional, medicinal, and potential commercial value. They can be cultivated using agro-waste raw materials such as rice straw and wheat straw. We prepare mushroom cookies that provide protein, carbohydrates, fat, and crude fiber. A wide selection of shapes and sizes, high digestibility, high energy value, relatively low production costs, convenience, and long shelf life contribute to their popularity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pineapple processing involves peeling, coring and slicing of pineapple. A simple manual pineapple processing machine was developed to enhance the crude method of processing pineapple using just the knife and to reduce musculoskeletal problems associated with processing large quantity of pineapples with the knife. Hence, the objective of this paper is to design and develop a manual pineapple processing machine capable of peeling, coring and slicing pineapples to be utilized by small and medium enterprises (SME) using Response Surface Method (RSM) and validated using desirability plots. The results of actual and predicted response surface plots confirms pineapple sample weight 1.35 kg, diameter 60, height 110 mm with efficiency of 94.81% as the optimal variables. The desirability plot validated these results with response of 1.47, 0.17, 0.06, 0.22 kg weights of peeled, peel and core of pineapple removed, respectively, machine peeling efficiency at 87.29% as optimal at 11 seconds. At these optimal conditions, the actual efficiency realized was 94.81%. The differences within the actual and predicted valuations were lower and not significant statistically, which implied that selected model efficiently predicted the peeling efficiency of the machine. Center Composite Design Rotatable (CCDR) was employed to initiate 20 experimental processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pericarp of African pear (Dacryodes edulis) is butyraceous. This study evaluated the fatty acid contents of three varieties of African pear (Akpabuyo pear, Ikom butter pear and Ikom pear).Ripe fruits of the three varieties of pear were purchased from Marian markets Calabar Cross River State, Nigeria. Each sample was divided into three batches. The first batch was left raw, the second was pan roasted till the pulp became soft, and the third batch was immersed into boiled water for 3 minutes. Each batch was prepared by deseeding the soft pulp. They were separately homogenized and stored in an airtight container and refrigerated for fatty acid (FA) analysis. The fatty acid contents of the samples were determined by Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) methods. Data obtained were analyzed using the mean and standard deviation. Arachidonic acid in raw Akpabuyo pear was the predominant (1.55 g/100g) UFA. Saturated Fatty Acids (SFA) were found to be present in a higher percentage compared to the unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) in all the samples. Roasted Akpabuyo pear had the highest concentration of SFA (Lauric 28.45 g/100g),Blanched pear samples had lower FA. The consumption of raw and blanched Akpabuyo pear was recommended because of the type and concentration of the FA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]