Evaluation of process deviations, consisting of drops in rotational speed, during thermal processing of foods in rotary water cascading retorts

Taking into account the similarities of broken-line heating curves and heat-penetration curves obtained when a product undergoes a drop in rotational speed during thermal processing in a rotary water cascading retort, a semiempirical method used for handling broken-line heating behaviour is suggested as a method of dealing with this type of process deviation. For this purpose, the possibility of extrapolating the empirical heating rate parameter f_lv determined on the heat-penetration curve of white beans in brine processed in a still retort, to the ‘still’ conditions associated with a rotational speed drop in a rotary water cascading retort, was investigated. Following this approach, safe product temperature predictions were obtained. The main criterion influencing the quality of the evolution was the determination of the correct empirical parametric value to be used. This means, when determining this parametric value, care is required when selecting the correct temperature interval on the heat-penetration curve.     

Thickening of the wall of the bile duct due to intramural collaterals in three patients with portal vein thrombosis

OBJECTIVE: We report three cases of a rare form of cavernoma developed within the wall of the common bile duct. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this kind of portal cavernoma has not been described in the literature. Because the cavernoma may be easily confused with other causes of bile duct wall thickening, color Doppler sonography is mandatory for a correct diagnosis.     

Uncertainty Processing and Risk Monitoring in Construction Projects Using Hierarchical Probabilistic Relational Models

Construction projects do not often reach their expected results regarding time, cost, and quality, due to the internal and external environment variations. Despite a substantial literature about risk management, no generic approach is proposed to represent construction project considering together technical and human dimensions or sustainability with their uncertainties. Modeling complex dynamical systems from heterogeneous pieces of knowledge varying in precision and reliability is a challenging task. This article proposes an innovative generic and versatile approach, based on the formalism of hierarchical probabilistic relational models to analyze and to propagate uncertainty in construction project regarding different levels of knowledge. The aim is to obtain a flexible, portable, and versatile model able to simulate the behavior of complex system's entities involved in any construction project at different levels of detail while taking uncertainty into account. To illustrate and highlight this approach, an academic example and a real case are proposed.     

Development of an analytical reference stress equation for inner-diameter defected curved plates in tension

The tensile failure behaviour of defected structures is determined by plastic collapse and fracture. Reference stress equations can be used to predict these failure modes. Up to now, some solutions have been developed for flat plates and pipes. For curved plates, which are applied for pipe girth weld testing, however, no solutions can be found in the literature. Therefore, the authors have developed a reference stress equation that applies for curved plates with a part-through defect, located centrally along the inner diameter. The solution is global, and similar to the Goodall and Webster equation for flat plates. This article elaborates the analytical development and studies the influence of all geometrical parameters, plate curvature in particular. It is found that the solution converges to the Goodall and Webster equation for increasingly flat plates, and allows larger tensile stresses for increasingly curved plates. Hence, the proposed equation is less conservative for inner-diameter defected curved plates than Goodall and Webster’s equivalent for flat plates. Nevertheless, the difference between Goodall and Webster’s solution and the proposed solution is fairly restricted (less than 5% for all considered geometries). An extensive validation of the proposed equation is part of current and future work.     

Synthesis and evaluation of 2-[(5-methylbenz-1-ox-4-azin-6-yl)imino]imidazoline, a potent, peripherally acting alpha 2 adrenoceptor agonist

We have synthesized 2-[(5-methylbenz-1-ox-4-azin-6-yl)imidazoline, 3, a potent, peripherally acting alpha 2 adrenoceptor agonist. The agent is conveniently prepared in five steps from 2-amino-m-cresol. The agent has demonstrated good selectivity for alpha 2 adrenoceptors in binding and functional studies. When applied topically to eyes, the agent is efficacious for the reduction of intraocular pressure. The agent does not penetrate the blood-brain barrier and, as a consequence, does not lower blood pressure or induce sedation when administered topically or intravenously. We have determined the pKa and log P in water versus both octanol and dodecane of 3 and a set of related agents. The best physical parameter to explain its lack of central nervous system penetration appears to be log P measured in octanol versus water.     

Facilitation of intermale aggression in mice through exposure to receptive females.

Examined intermale aggression after different exposures to receptive females. In Exp I, socially isolated or grouped CD-1 and Swiss-Webster mice each confronted a target male after either no exposure to or 3 intromissions with an estrous female. High levels of aggression were observed in isolated males after exposure to a female, provided the female was removed when the target male was introduced. In Exp II, variation of duration and quality of exposure to females indicated that aggression increased with more advanced prior sexual activity. In Exp III, sexual activity was not greatly influenced by prior aggressive activity. These data suggest a preparedness to fight following sexual activity, but a prepotence of sexual activity over aggression. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measurement of voltage phase for the French future defence planagainst losses of synchronism

A sure way of detecting loss of synchronism is to measure the rotation of the voltage vector at various points on the grid. Electricite de France plans to use this method to detect loss of synchronism on the French EHV network. The authors describe some of the work which has been undertaken in order to perform local measurements of voltage characteristics such as phase. Particular attention is given to the hypotheses adopted concerning signal modeling, definition of magnitudes and parameter variation; a review of existing calculation methods (zero-crossing algorithm, FFT, etc); the search for a new type of algorithm; the implementation of this algorithm using 16-bit signal processors; and experimentation on the future defense plan. The first stage of the plan, covering the South-East and Alps region of the French network, is to come into service in 1994     

Non-isothermal kinetics and in situ SR XRD studies of hydrogen desorption from dihydrides of binary Ti–V alloys

Phase transformations during dynamic dehydrogenation of Ti_1−xV_xH₂ (x = 0.1; 0.2; 0.3) were studied using in situ Synchrotron X-Ray Diffraction (SR XRD) and non-isothermal kinetics experiments. The main dehydrogenation path for γ-Ti_1−xV_xH₂ was found to be γ → δ → β → β_alloy. Body-centred tetragonal δ-hydride was found to be an intermediate phase of the γ → β transformation in Ti_0.8–0.9V_0.1–0.2H₂. TDS, in situ SR XRD and isoconversional kinetics studies showed that hydrogen desorption from Ti_1−xV_xH₂ is composed of simultaneous reactions taking place between 300 and 600 °C. The effective activation energy of hydrogen desorption depends on the vanadium contents and the reaction pathway, increasing from 21 kJ/mol H₂ (γ → δ) to 60–110 kJ/mol H₂ (δ → β).