What's the Story With Blue Steak? On the Unexpected Popularity of Blue Foods

Is blue food desirable or disgusting? The answer, it would seem, is both, but it really depends on the food in which the color happens to be present. It turns out that the oft-cited aversive response to blue meat may not even have been scientifically validated, despite the fact that blue food coloring is often added to discombobulate diners. In the case of drinks, however, there has been a recent growth of successful new blue product launches in everything from beer to tea, and from wine to gin, arguing that coloring food products blue is more than simply a contemporary fad. In fact, the current interest in blue food coloring builds on the color's earlier appearance in everything from blue curacao to blue-raspberry candyfloss (cotton candy), and thereafter a number of soft drinks. Over the years, the combination of blue coloring with raspberry flavoring has also appeared in everything from bubble-gum to patriotic pop rocks (popping candy in The United States). Ultimately, it is the rarity of naturally-blue foods that is likely what makes this color so special. As such, blue food coloring can both work effectively to attract the visual attention of the shopper while, at the same time, being linked to a range of different flavors (since this is one of the few color-flavor mappings that are essentially arbitrary) depending on the food format in which it happens to appear. Note also that the basic descriptor “blue” covers a wide range of hues having a range of different associations, hence eliciting different reactions (be they positive or negative). While blue was once associated with artificiality, a growing number of natural blue food colorings have come onto the market in recent years thus perhaps changing the dominant associations that many consumers may have with this most unusual of food colors.

Elastic amplification of the Rayleigh–Taylor instability in solidifying melts

The concomitant mechanical deformation and solidification of melts are relevant to a broad range of phenomena. Examples include the preparation of cotton candy, the atomization of metals, the manufacture of glass fibers, and the formation of elongated structures in volcanic eruptions known as Pele’s hair. Usually, solid-like deformations during solidification are neglected as the melt is much more malleable in its initial liquid-like form. Here we demonstrate how elastic deformations in the midst of solidification, i.e., while the melt responds as a very soft solid (G∼100 Pa), can lead to the formation of previously unknown periodic structures. Namely, we generate an array of droplets on a thin layer of liquid elastomer melt coated on the outside of a rotating cylinder through the Rayleigh–Taylor instability. Then, as the melt cures and goes through its gelation point, the rotation speed is increased and the drops stretch into hairs. The ongoing solidification eventually hardens the material, permanently “freezing” these elastic deformations into a patterned solid. Using experiments, simulation, and theory, we demonstrate that the formation of our two-step patterns can be rationalized when combining the tools from fluid mechanics, elasticity, and statistics. Our study therefore provides a framework to analyze multistep pattern formation processes and harness them to assemble complex materials.

Application of a completely organic and bio-degradable sugar-based insulating coating to vine shoots, to prevent late frost damages

An innovative method against late frosts in vineyard has been developed at CIRIAF, University of Perugia. It consists of an organic coating made by cotton candy and straw to prevent the vine shoots freezing due to late frosts. This technique has already tested at lab-scale with very encouraging results. This paper aims to experiment the effect of the organic coating applied on young shoots of grapevine during artificially controlled frost events. A vine shoot covered by the organic coating was positioned in the climatic chamber and a thermocouple was rolled up to the vine shoot to control its temperature. Also, a vine shoot rolled up to the thermocouple and without organic coating was positioned inside the climatic chamber, used as a reference case. Results show that the temperature gap, gained with the adoption of the insulating layer was approximately in the range 0.2 – 3.2 °C, but the organic coating was not enough to maintain temperature above the ice-point able to prevent the vine shoot freezing in lab. Even thought, the experimental application of the present technique allowed to detect some crucial challenges which need to be solved before to test this technology in real situations.

Propuesta de planeación estratégica como herramienta de competitividad aplicada al emprendimiento Cotton Candy de la ciudad de Cartagena de indias, Colombia

Cada día son más las empresas que compiten en el mercado, es un gran número de ellas que luchan por crecer, mantenerse y ocupar un lugar privilegiado, de igual manera es un número bastante considerable las que cierran sus puertas y fracasan, muchas otras tienen que replantear lo que hacen para no desaparecer. En el presente artículo se muestra la importancia de la planeación estratégica como una herramienta fundamental para direccionar el actuar de la organización, tomando el caso del emprendimiento Cotton Candy, ubicada en la ciudad en Cartagena de Indias en el departamento de Bolívar- Colombia, con el fin de proponer estrategias que permitan el desarrollo y competitividad de este emprendimiento, buscando su crecimiento y visibilidad en el mercado.

Oral Disintegrating Tablets – An Updated Patent Perspective

Abstract:: Current development in drug delivery system has been employed with an endeavour of enhancing the bioavailability, mask the taste of drug, rapid onset of action and improve patient compliance. An alternative approach of conventional dosage form is being employed to triumph over all these issues named as Orodispersible system. Over past three decades this novel dosage form gain a considerable attention as compared to other conventional solid dosage form such as tablet and capsules. ODTs dissolved or disintegrate within few seconds to a minute when put on the tongue, without need of water. ODT has an advantageous effect on paediatrics and geriatrics patients with dysphagia. Over the last decade, widespread advances in the formulation of ODTs have been executed in academia and industry that resulted in the emerging of a large number of patents. Products developed from ODT mechanics launched in the market in the 1980s, have grown bit by bit in demand and their product are rapidly escalating. Expanding in the technology forum for industrialized these systems include the use of lyophilization, cotton candy, sublimation, melt extrusion and direct compression in addition the conventional wet granulation processes and patent techniques. The present study focused on non-patent and patent citations concerning to ODT along with active ingredients, technique used and results of the innovations.

Electrocharged facepiece respirator fabrics using common materials

Face masks in general, and N95 filtering facepiece respirators (FRs) that protect against SARS-Cov-2 virion in particular, have become scarce during the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic. This work presents practical design principles for the fabrication of electrocharged filtration layers employed in N95 FRs using commonly available materials and easily replicable methods. The input polymer is polypropylene or polystyrene, and can include discarded plastic containers of these materials, and the fabrication set-up is based on the cotton candy (CC) principle. The primary parameters underlying the CC principle are translated to simple design rules that allow anyone to construct their own fabrication system from common parts, or employ a commercial CC machine with minimal modifications. Finally, basic characterization results for structural and filtration properties of electrocharged fabrics made using the CC principle are detailed.

Facile Approaches of Polymeric Face Masks Reuse and Reinforcements for Micro-Aerosol Droplets and Viruses Filtration: A Review

Since the widespread of severe acute respiratory syndrome of coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) disease, the utilization of face masks has become omnipresent all over the world. Face masks are believed to contribute to an adequate protection against respiratory infections spread through micro-droplets among the infected person to non-infected others. However, due to the very high demands of face masks, especially the N95-type mask typically worn by medical workers, the public faces a shortage of face masks. Many papers have been published recently that focus on developing new and facile techniques to reuse and reinforce commercially available face masks. For instance, the N95 mask uses a polymer-based (membrane) filter inside, and the filter membrane can be replaced if needed. Another polymer sputtering technique by using a simple cotton candy machine could provide a cheap and robust solution for face mask fabrication. This review discuss the novel approaches of face mask reuse and reinforcement specifically by using membrane-based technology. Tuning the polymeric properties of face masks to enhance filterability and virus inactivity is crucial for future investigation.