Crops transformed to express Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins can cause close to 100% mortality of certain target pest species. This study assessed the effect of target pest reduction on the predatory insect Chrysoperla carnea (Stephens) in the presence of alternative prey. Numbers of lacewings recovered from Bt oilseed rape (cultivar Oscar, event O52) did not differ significantly from number...

To evaluate the feasibility of substituting eggs in yellow cake by a mixture of soybean proteins, plant polysaccharides, and emulsifiers, the batter properties, including specific gravity and viscosity; cake properties, including specific volume, texture, colour, moisture, microstructures, and structural properties of starch and glutens of the replaced cake and traditional cake containing egg, ...

The whiteness of cooked rice and rice cakes was evaluated using a portable spectrophotometer with a whiteness index (WI). Also, by using boiled rice for measurement of Mido values by Mido Meter, it was possible to infer the whiteness of cooked rice without rice cooking. In the analysis of varietal differences of cooked rice, 'Tsuyahime', 'Koshihikari' and 'Koshinokaori' showed high whiteness, w...

Starch-water slurries are commonly used to study fracture dynamics. Drying starch cakes benefit from being simple, economical, and reproducible systems, and have been used to model desiccation fracture in soils, thin-film fracture in paint, and columnar joints in lava. In this paper, the physical properties of starch-water mixtures are studied, and used to interpret and develop a multiphase tra...

The aim of this study is to assess the interception and transfer to edible part of wet deposited 134Cs and 85Sr to spring oilseed rape and spring wheat and the dependency of the intercepted fraction on the development stage e.g. the total plant biomass. The radionuclides, 134Cs and 85Sr, were deposited at six different development stages using a rainfall simulator. The results showed that there...

As one of the cornerstones of quantum mechanics ~QM!, and thus of modern science, it is a bit unfortunate that the concept of entanglement is so difficult to grasp, even for physicists, and even more difficult to convey to the nonphysicist. Described by Schrödinger as that aspect of quantum mechanics ‘‘that enforces its entire departure from classical lines of thought,’’ 1 entangled states are ...

The continued reliance on non-renewable fossil resources has led to serious environmental issues. In light of these concerns, the transition from sources more sustainable ones have been explored, as exemplified by production bio-based lactic acid via lignocellulosic biomass bio-refinery process. Malaysia, second-largest producer palm oil in world, generates abundant, cheap, and underutilized fo...

Starch grain, phytolith and cereal bran fragments were analyzed in order to identify the food remains including cakes, dumplings, as well as porridge unearthed at the Astana Cemeteries in Turpan of Xinjiang, China. The results suggest that the cakes were made from Triticum aestivum while the dumplings were made from Triticum aestivum, along with Setaria italica. The ingredients of the porridge ...

Cryofixation, freeze-etch techniques were used to study the structure of cake batters made from a lean cake formulation before heating and after heating to temperatures up to l00-l02 °C. Batters were prepared without added emulsifiers and with saturated and unsaturated monoglycerides replacing 5 and l 0% of the oil. Unsaturated monoglyceri des were more effective than saturated monoglycerides i...

This study aims to explore a novel application of dewatered alum sludge cakes (DASC) as the main medium in a single model reed bed to treat phosphorus-rich animal farm wastewater under "tidal flow" operation on a long-term basis. It is expected that the cakes act as the carrier for developing biofilm and also serve as adsorbent to enhance phosphorus (P) immobilization. Results have demonstrated...