Porous Microparticles of Corn Starch as Bio-Carriers for Chia Oil.

Native corn starch and pretreated corn starch were treated with α-amylase, glucoamylase and mixtures of both to generate starches with high porosity with conserved granular structure. Porous starches were characterized; particle size distribution analysis, nitrogen adsorption-desorption analysis, scanning electron microscopy, water and oil adsorption capacity, differential scanning calorimeter, X-ray diffraction and damaged starch techniques were used. The α-amylase/glucoamylase mixture at the highest dose was the best treatment to generate porous starches with interesting adsorption capacity and granular structure conservation. Selected starches were impregnated with chia oil using a vacuum. Pretreated corn starch modified with the α-amylase/glucoamylase mixture showed no significant differences on impregnation capacity compared with native starch with a similar enzyme treatment. The highest oxidative stability was achieved with pretreated porous starch impregnated with 10 to 25% chia oil, compared with the bulk oil (5.37 to 4.72 and 2.58 h, respectively). Results have demonstrated that vacuum impregnation could be a potential technique for the incorporation of oil in porous structures based on starch and porous starches obtained by enzymatic hydrolysis are a promising material for the incorporation and protection of oils susceptible to oxidation.

Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of infectious keratitis in Paraguay.

To describe the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of patients with severe infectious keratitis in Asunción, Paraguay between April 2009 and September 2011. All patients with the clinical diagnosis of severe keratitis (ulcer ≥2 mm in size and/or central location) were included. Empiric treatment consisted of topical antibiotics and antimycotics; in cases of advanced keratitis, fortified antibiotics were used. After microbiological analysis, treatment was changed if indicated. In total 48 patients (62.5 % males, 25 % farmers) were included in the analysis. A central ulcer was found in 81.3 % (n = 39). The median delay between onset of symptoms and time of first presentation at our institution was 7 days (range 1-30 days). Fungal keratitis was diagnosed in 64.5 % (n = 31) of patients, of which Fusarium sp. (n = 17) was the most common. Twenty-one patients (43.8 %) reported previous trauma to the eye. The globe could be preserved in all cases. While topical therapy only was sufficient in most patients, a conjunctival flap was necessary in six patients suffering from fungal keratitis. The high rate of fungal keratitis in this series is remarkable, and microbiological analysis provided valuable information for the appropriate treatment. In this setting, one has to be highly suspicious of fungal causes of infectious keratitis.

A novel approach for solving constrained nonlinear optimization problems using neurofuzzy systems.

A neural network model for solving constrained nonlinear optimization problems with bounded variables is presented in this paper. More specifically, a modified Hopfield network is developed and its internal parameters are computed using the valid-subspace technique. These parameters guarantee the convergence of the network to the equilibrium points. The network is shown to be completely stable and globally convergent to the solutions of constrained nonlinear optimization problems. A fuzzy logic controller is incorporated in the network to minimize convergence time. Simulation results are presented to validate the proposed approach.

Design of a neurofuzzy controller with simplified architecture.

This work presents the design of a neurofuzzy controller with simplified architecture that minimizes the processing time used in several stages associated with systems and processes modelling. The basic procedures of fuzzification and defuzzification are very simplified, whereas the inference procedures are computed in a direct way. The simplified architecture has allowed a fast and easy configuration of the neurofuzzy controller, as consequence, the control rules that define the control actions are obtained automatically. To validate the proposed approach, this neurofuzzy system is used in an industrial application for fluid flow control.