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Thesis (doctoral)--Göteborg University, 1994. / Added t.p. with thesis statement inserted. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (doctoral)--Göteborg University, 1994. / Added t.p. with thesis statement inserted. Includes bibliographical references.

Ma Ka Ming. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 99-118). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Chapter Chapter 1. --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- What are prebiotics? --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Current prebiotics and their development --- p.2-3 / Chapter 1.3 --- The intestinal microflora --- p.3-4 / Chapter 1.3.1 --- Bacteroides --- p.5 / Chapter 1.3.2 --- Bifidobacteria --- p.5 / Chapter 1.3.3 --- Clostridia --- p.5-6 / Chapter 1.3.4 --- Lactobacilli --- p.6 / Chapter 1.4 --- Bacterial colonic fermentation --- p.7-8 / Chapter 1.4.1 --- Carbohydrates metabolism in colonic bacteria --- p.8-10 / Chapter 1.4.1.1 --- Carbohydrates metabolism in Bacteroides --- p.11 / Chapter 1.4.1.2 --- Carbohydrates metabolism in Bifidobacteria --- p.11 / Chapter 1.4.1.3 --- Carbohydrates metabolism in Clostridia --- p.11 / Chapter 1.4.1.4 --- Carbohydrates metabolism in Lactobacilli --- p.12 / Chapter 1.5 --- Health benefits of prebiotics --- p.12-13 / Chapter 1.6 --- Metabolites of fermentation: Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) --- p.14-15 / Chapter 1.7 --- Applications of prebiotics as functional food ingredients --- p.16 / Chapter 1.8 --- Methodology for evaluating prebiotics --- p.17 / Chapter 1.8.1 --- In vivo fermentation study --- p.17 / Chapter 1.8.2 --- Human clinical study --- p.17-18 / Chapter 1.8.3 --- In vitro fermentation study --- p.18-19 / Chapter 1.9 --- Methods of bacterial enumeration --- p.19-20 / Chapter 1.9.1 --- Fluorescent in situ hybridisation --- p.20-22 / Chapter 1.9.2 --- Bacterial enumeration by automatic image analysis --- p.22-23 / Chapter 1.10 --- Sugar alcohols --- p.23 / Chapter 1.10.1 --- Sugar alcohols and their functions --- p.23-25 / Chapter 1.10.2 --- Digestion and absorption of sugar alcohols --- p.25-26 / Chapter 1.10.3 --- Metabolism of sugar alcohols in humans --- p.26 / Chapter 1.10.4 --- Adverse effect of sugar alcohols --- p.26-27 / Chapter 1.11 --- Fermentation of sugar alcohols in colonic bacteria --- p.27 / Chapter 1.12 --- Project objectives --- p.28 / Chapter Chapter 2. --- Materials and Methods --- p.29 / Chapter 2.1 --- Materials --- p.29 / Chapter 2.2 --- Static batch culture fermentation --- p.29 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Substrate preparation --- p.29-30 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Human fecal inoculum preparation --- p.30-31 / Chapter 2.3 --- Dry matter and organic matter disappearance in batch fermentation --- p.31 / Chapter 2.4 --- Determination of flow rate in the continuous fermentation system. --- p.32-33 / Chapter 2.5 --- Three-stage continuous fermentation culture system --- p.34 / Chapter 2.5.1 --- Initial set-up --- p.34-35 / Chapter 2.5.2 --- Continuous fermentation --- p.35-36 / Chapter 2.6 --- Validation of fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH) method --- p.36 / Chapter 2.6.1 --- Oligonucleotide probes for FISH --- p.36-37 / Chapter 2.6.2 --- Cultivation of pure human intestinal bacterial culture --- p.37-38 / Chapter 2.6.3 --- Validation of oligonucleotide probes for FISH --- p.38-40 / Chapter 2.7 --- Bacterial enumeration of fermentation broth by FISH --- p.41 / Chapter 2.7.1 --- Automated image analysis --- p.41-42 / Chapter 2.7.2 --- Quantification of bacteria --- p.43 / Chapter 2.8 --- Gas chromatographic determination of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) --- p.44-46 / Chapter 2.9 --- Statistical analysis --- p.46 / Chapter Chapter 3: --- Results and Discussion --- p.47 / Chapter 3.1 --- Dry matter and organic matter disappearance in batch fermentations --- p.47-48 / Chapter 3.2 --- Validation of genus-specific oligonucleotide probes for FISH by pure bacterial culture --- p.48-50 / Chapter 3.3 --- FISH and multi-color FISH of human fecal bacteria --- p.50-53 / Chapter 3.4 --- Enumeration of fecal bacteria with the CellC software --- p.53-54 / Chapter 3.5 --- Colonic bacterial profile in batch culture in vitro fermentation --- p.55 / Chapter 3.5.1 --- Total colonic bacteria --- p.55-56 / Chapter 3.5.2 --- Bacteroides --- p.57-59 / Chapter 3.5.3 --- Bifidobacteria --- p.60-62 / Chapter 3.5.4 --- Clostridia --- p.63-64 / Chapter 3.5.5 --- Lactobacilli --- p.65-66 / Chapter 3.6 --- Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in batch in vitro fermentation --- p.67 / Chapter 3.6.1 --- Total SCFAconcentration --- p.67-68 / Chapter 3.6.2 --- Acetate --- p.68 / Chapter 3.6.3 --- Propionate --- p.69 / Chapter 3.6.4 --- Butyrate --- p.69-70 / Chapter 3.7 --- Determination of flow rate in three-stage continuous fermentation system --- p.71-73 / Chapter 3.8 --- Colonic bacterial profile in three-stage continuous fermentation system --- p.74 / Chapter 3.8.1 --- Total colonic bacteria --- p.74-75 / Chapter 3.8.2 --- Bacteroides --- p.76 / Chapter 3.8.3 --- Bifidobacteria --- p.77-78 / Chapter 3.8.4 --- Clostridia --- p.79-80 / Chapter 3.8.5 --- Lactobacilli --- p.81 / Chapter 3.9 --- SCFAs in three-stage continuous fermentation system --- p.82 / Chapter 3.9.1 --- Total SCFA concentration --- p.82-87 / Chapter 3.9.2 --- SCFA molar ratio --- p.88-89 / Chapter 3.9.3 --- Acetate --- p.90-91 / Chapter 3.9.4 --- Propionate --- p.92-93 / Chapter 3.9.5 --- Butyrate --- p.94-95 / Chapter Chapter. 4 --- Conclusions and Future Works --- p.96-98 / List of References --- p.99-117 / Related Publications --- p.118

This thesis has an approved one-year embargo applied to it. Please, refer to the corresponding forms, and please, so not publish immediately until the embargo has been sorted out. The thesis contains two unpublish papers and patents pending. Thank you! / Conventional single-use plastic packaging has contributed significantly to the health and well-being of our society but also negatively impacted our environment due to its persistence after use. Since recycling is not a complete solution, rapidly biodegradable materials like thermoplastic starch (TPS) blends offer a more sustainable alternative. Additionally, to stave off the premature breakdown of starch-containing materials as well as extend the shelf life of enclosed foods, microbial control strategies need to be developed. To overcome the inherent brittleness of TPS, this work explores the potential of xylitol and erythritol as melt plasticizers for waxy corn starch (̴100% amylose). Characterizations revealed that both xylitol and erythritol can gelatinize and plasticize starch under 25% wt. Particularly, xylitol demonstrated superior plasticizing and compatibilizing effects, leading to a ductile TPS packaging film with uncharacteristically high elongation at break (EB, 422% ± 48%). The ductile TPS was blended with up to 70% Ecovio bioplastic without requiring compatibilizers and retaining much of its EB value (298 ± 24%). Using xylitol as a melt plasticizer also enhanced the mechanical and hydrophobic qualities of the TPS/Ecovio film as well as its oxygen permeability and puncture extension. Furthermore, polymerized curcumin copolymer (PCEG) was investigated as a grafted coating onto the developed TPS/Ecovio® blend. The antimicrobial activity of PCEG and PCEG coating film was evaluated against foodborne bacteria. The polymerized curcumin by itself demonstrated antimicrobial activity against the gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli BL21 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA01, as well as the gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. Additionally, the PCEG-coated films showed surface inhibition of Glutamicibacter soli (IAI-3), a gram-positive bacterium making polymerized curcumin copolymer coatings a suitable approach to add antimicrobial features in thermoplastic starch composites for biodegradable food packaging. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc) / Canada's Zero Plastics initiative represents a commitment to the environment while upholding the advancements in food safety and public health that come with single-use food packaging. Achieving this balance demands the creation of novel materials. These materials should mimic the qualities of synthetic polymers but have the added ability to decompose naturally in the environment upon reaching the end of their utility. A significant challenge in this effort is preventing the premature degradation of starch-containing packaging materials. Moreover, extending the shelf life of the food they enclose is equally crucial. To solve this paradox, the development of microbial control strategies becomes imperative. This study highlights the antimicrobial potential of a polymerized curcumin copolymer (PCEG) as a coating on a blend of thermoplastic starch (TPS)/xylitol/Ecovio®, creating an innovative packaging film. The curcumin copolymer coating exhibited antimicrobial properties, suggesting its potential use in thermoplastic starch composites for biodegradable food packaging.

Orchideoid mycorrhizal symbiosis (OM) can be found in nearly one tenth of higher plant species. This symbiosis is absolutely critical for orchids as they are unable to grow from seeds without external energy which is in nature provided by symbiotic fungi. The mechanism of transport between symbionts remains unknown. It is supposed that trehalose is one of the substances transported from fungi to plants as the source of energy. This thesis mainly aims to find out which other fungal saccharides could contribute to the process. The ability to utilize selected compounds was tested on protocorms of the common marsh orchid, Dactylorhiza majalis. The results showed that arabitol, erythritol, mannitol and sucralose are not utilized, while xylitol, sorbitol, glycerol and mannose are. Glutamin, an amino acid also suspected of participation in the OM transport, does not suffice as a source of energy. In orchids there were identified three groups of sequences coding for manitol dehydrogenase and two groups of sequences coding for sorbitol dehydrogenase. Key words: orchideoid mycorrhizal symbiosis, sugar alcohols, mannose, glutamine, carbon flow, energy flow, sorbitol dehydrogenase, in vitro

Utilizing Phase Change Materials (PCM) for Latent Thermal Energy Storage (LTES) applications have previously been extensively researched as a measure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from energy consumption. In order to make use of the waste heat from industrial processes for LTES purposes, a new demand emerged for PCMs capable of phase change in mid-temperature ranges of 100 °C - 200 °C. This higher temperature requirement made most of the previously studied material inapplicable as they had much lower melting and solidification temperatures. With this in mind, a new generation of PCMs consisting of Sugar Alcohols (SA) has been proposed. Erythritol is seen as an especially promising SA with good thermophysical properties for LTES purposes. However, it has been shown to suffer from severe supercooling, which makes it unreliable in real applications. To eradicate this issue, two additives, Graphene Oxide (GO) and Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) at varying mass fractions were mixed with pure erythritol to form a composite which was studied using the Temperature-history (T-history) method to determine its effectiveness in reducing supercooling. Results show that at its most effective mass fraction, GO reduces supercooling by 28 o C and a 31 o C reduction is seen by the addition of PVP. The impacts on the duration of crystallization was also documented and analyzed using the same method. It was observed that the duration of crystallization was increased with increasing mass fractions of the additives. Other important properties of the composites were also studied in order to determine the overall feasibility for industrial applications. It includes analysis of the storage capacity through latent heat, changes in viscosity along with impacts on thermal diffusivity of the composites. / Att använda fasändringsmaterial (PCM) för termisk energilagring i form av latent värme (LTES) har tidigare extensivt forskats och undersökts som en lösning för att minska utsläppen av växthusgaser från energiförbrukning. För att utnyttja spillvärme från industriella processer för LTES-ändamål uppstod en efterfrågan på PCM som ändrar fas i temperaturer mellan 100 °C - 200 °C. Detta krav på högre temperatur gjorde att de flesta av de tidigare aktuella materialen inte kunde tillämpas eftersom de hade mycket lägre smält- och kristalliseringstemperaturer. Med detta i åtanke har en ny generation av PCM bestående av sockeralkoholer (SA) föreslagits. Erytritol ses som ett särskilt lovande SA med goda egenskaper för LTES-ändamål. Den har dock visat sig drabbas av svår underkylning, vilket gör den opålitligt i verkliga tillämpningar. För att utrota detta problem blandades två tillsatser, Graphene Oxide (GO) och Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) vid olika massfraktioner med ren erytritol för att bilda en komposit som studerades med metoden Temperature-history (T-history) för att bestämma dess effektivitet på att minska underkylningen. Resultaten visar att GO på sin mest effektiva massfraktion minskar underkylningen med 28 o C och tillsats av PVP lyckats minska den med som mest 31 o C. Påverkningarna på varaktighet av kristallisering dokumenterades och analyserades med samma metod. Det var observerad att varaktigheten av kristallisering ökades med ökande massfraktioner av tillsatserna. Även andra viktiga egenskaper hos kompositerna studerades för att avgöra rimligheten att använda dessa för industriella tillämpningar. Det inkluderar analys av lagringskapaciteten genom latent värme, förändringar i viskositet tillsammans med påverkan på kompositernas termiska diffusivitet.

Utilizing Phase Change Materials (PCM) for Latent Thermal Energy Storage (LTES) applications have previously been extensively researched as a measure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from energy consumption. In order to make use of the waste heat from industrial processes for LTES purposes, a new demand emerged for PCMs capable of phase change in mid-temperature ranges of 100 °C - 200 °C. This higher temperature requirement made most of the previously studied material inapplicable as they had much lower melting and solidification temperatures. With this in mind, a new generation of PCMs consisting of Sugar Alcohols (SA) has been proposed. Erythritol is seen as an especially promising SA with good thermophysical properties for LTES purposes. However, it has been shown to suffer from severe supercooling, which makes it unreliable in real applications. To eradicate this issue, two additives, Graphene Oxide (GO) and Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) at varying mass fractions were mixed with pure erythritol to form a composite which was studied using the Temperature-history (T-history) method to determine its effectiveness in reducing supercooling. Results show that at its most effective mass fraction, GO reduces supercooling by 28 oC and a 31 oC reduction is seen by the addition of PVP. The impacts on the duration of crystallization was also documented and analyzed using the same method. It was observed that the duration of crystallization was increased with increasing mass fractions of the additives. Other important properties of the composites were also studied in order to determine the overall feasibility for industrial applications. It includes analysis of the storage capacity through latent heat, changes in viscosity along with impacts on thermal diffusivity of the composites. / Att använda fasändringsmaterial (PCM) för termisk energilagring i form av latent värme (LTES) har tidigare extensivt forskats och undersökts som en lösning för att minska utsläppen av växthusgaser från energiförbrukning. För att utnyttja spillvärme från industriella processer för LTES-ändamål uppstod en efterfrågan på PCM som ändrar fas i temperaturer mellan 100 °C - 200 °C. Detta krav på högre temperatur gjorde att de flesta av de tidigare aktuella materialen inte kunde tillämpas eftersom de hade mycket lägre smält- och kristalliseringstemperaturer. Med detta i åtanke har en ny generation av PCM bestående av sockeralkoholer (SA) föreslagits. Erytritol ses som ett särskilt lovande SA med goda egenskaper för LTES-ändamål. Den har dock visat sig drabbas av svår underkylning, vilket gör den opålitligt i verkliga tillämpningar. För att utrota detta problem blandades två tillsatser, Graphene Oxide (GO) och Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) vid olika massfraktioner med ren erytritol för att bilda en komposit som studerades med metoden Temperature-history (T-history) för att bestämma dess effektivitet på att minska underkylningen. Resultaten visar att GO på sin mest effektiva massfraktion minskar underkylningen med 28 oC och tillsats av PVP lyckats minska den med som mest 31 oC. Påverkningarna på varaktighet av kristallisering dokumenterades och analyserades med samma metod. Det var observerad att varaktigheten av kristallisering ökades med ökande massfraktioner av tillsatserna. Även andra viktiga egenskaper hos kompositerna studerades för att avgöra rimligheten att använda dessa för industriella tillämpningar. Det inkluderar analys av lagringskapaciteten genom latent värme, förändringar i viskositet tillsammans med påverkan på kompositernas termiska diffusivitet.