Publications by authors named "Frans W J van den Berg"

Background: To perform fast, reproducible, and absolute quantitative measurements in an automated manner has become of paramount importance when monitoring industrial processes, including fermentations. Due to its numerous advantages - including its inherent quantitative nature - Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (H NMR) spectroscopy provides an ideal tool for the time-resolved monitoring of fermentations. However, analytical conditions, including non-automated sample preparation and long relaxation times (T) of some metabolites, can significantly lengthen the experimental time and make implementation in an industrial set up unfeasible.

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Lactose crystallization during storage deteriorates reconstitution performance of milk powders, but the relationship between lactose crystallization and reconstitution is inexplicit. The objective of this study is to characterize crystalline lactose in the context of formulation and elucidate the complex relationship between lactose crystallization and powder functionality. Lactose in Skim Milk Powder (SMP), Whole Milk Powder (WMP) and Fat-Filled Milk Powder (FFMP) stored under 23 %, 53 % and 75 % Relative Humidity (RH) at 25  ℃ for four months was compared.

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To understand shearing on cheese curds during high shear extrusion, the controlable parameters of a twin-screw extruder were related with measured and calculated parameters that characterise the extrusion process effects on product properties. Curd properties were correlated with specific mechanical energy SME (23-390 kJ·kg), T (22-54 °C) and residence time RT (36-507 s); the wide experimental range studied provided new insights regarding extrusion of cheese curds. Longer and finer fibers were produced at low SME (23-27 kJ·kg), high T (50-54 °C) and short RT (55-60 s).

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Cyclodextrins (CDs) are cyclic oligosaccharides that have found widespread application in numerous fields. CDs have revealed a number of various health benefits, making them potentially useful food supplements and nutraceuticals. In this study, the impact of α-, β-, and γ-CD at different concentrations (up to 8% of the flour weight) on the wheat dough and bread properties were investigated.

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Bone char catalyzed dechlorination of trichloroethylene (TCE) by green rust (iron(II)-iron(III) hydroxide, GR) has introduced a promising new reaction platform for degradation of chlorinated solvents. This study aimed to reveal whether a broader class of biochars are catalytically active for the dechlorination reaction and to identify which biochar properties are the most important for the catalytic activity. Biochars produced by pyrolysis of animal, plant, and sewage waste substrates at 950 °C were prepared for catalytic dechlorination of TCE by GR tested in batch experiments with 0.

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Article Synopsis
  • Biochars act as mediators for electron transfer, enhancing the reduction of environmental pollutants, particularly trichloroethylene (TCE), in this study.
  • The research demonstrated that biochars produced at higher pyrolysis temperatures (PT), especially 950 °C, significantly increased TCE reduction rates, while those at lower PTs showed little to no activity.
  • Key factors affecting TCE reduction included the electron-accepting capacity (EAC), carbon content, and structure of the biochars, indicating the importance of their chemical properties for environmental remediation applications.
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Fluorescence spectroscopy is a sensitive and selective technique, which can be of great value in bioprocesses to provide online, real-time measures of chemical compounds. Although fluorescence spectroscopy is a widely studied method, not much attention has been given to issues concerning intensity variations in the fluorescence landscapes due to pH fluctuations. This study elucidates how pH fluctuations cause intensity changes in fluorescence measurements and thereby decreases the quality of the subsequent quantification.

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Background: A number of human diseases such as obesity and diabetes are associated with changes or imbalances in the gut microbiota (GM). Laboratory mice are commonly used as experimental models for such disorders. The introduction and dynamic development of next generation sequencing techniques have enabled detailed mapping of the GM of both humans and animal models.

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The aim of the current study was to elucidate whether cows and young bulls require different combinations of heating temperature and heating time to reduce toughness of the meat. The combined effect of heating temperature and time on toughness of semitendinosus muscle from the two categories of beef was investigated and the relationship to properties of connective tissue was examined. Measurements of toughness, collagen solubility, cathepsin activity and protein denaturation of beef semitendinosus heated at temperatures between 53°C and 63°C for up to 19 1/2 h were conducted.

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Background: Recent evidence suggests that there is a link between metabolic diseases and bacterial populations in the gut. The aim of this study was to assess the differences between the composition of the intestinal microbiota in humans with type 2 diabetes and non-diabetic persons as control.

Methods And Findings: The study included 36 male adults with a broad range of age and body-mass indices (BMIs), among which 18 subjects were diagnosed with diabetes type 2.

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In this paper, the effect of process analyzer selection and positioning on plant-wide process monitoring is investigated. A fundamental problem in process analytical chemistry is the incomparability of different instrument characteristics. A fast but imprecise instrument is incomparable to a slow but precise instrument.

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