Study of domestic refrigerator temperature and analysis of factors affecting temperature: a French survey

A survey was carried out in France from April to June 1999. Temperatures were recorded at three levels (top, middle and bottom) of the refrigerator compartment using a data logger. A questionnaire was filled in, enabling the following information to be obtained: characteristics of the family, characteristics of the refrigerator and the use conditions. One hundred and forty-three domestic refrigerators were surveyed, but due to various technical problems, only 119 sets of recorded temperatures were exploitable. The temperatures of the surveyed refrigerators were: average 6.6 °C, minimum 0.9 °C and maximum 11.4 °C. Statistical analysis such as clustering and segmentation were used. It was found that the heterogeneousness of temperature inside each refrigerator seems to be dependent on the type. This study shows the influence of the use conditions on the temperature. No one factor exerts a single direct effect; a combination of the effects of all factors is observed.     

Combining corpus and machine-readable dictionary data for building bilingual lexicons

This paper describes and discusses some theoretical and practical problems arising from developing a system to combine the structured but incomplete information from machine readable dictionaries (MRDs) with the unstructured but more complete information available in corpora for the creation of a bilingual lexical data base, presenting a methodology to integrate information from both sources into a single lexical data structure. The BICORD system (BIlingual CORpus-enhanced Dictionaries) involves linking entries in Collins English-French and French-English bilingual dictionary with a large English-French and French-English bilingual corpus. We have concentrated on the class of action verbs of movement, building on earlier work on lexical correspondences specific to this verb class between languages (Klavans and Tzoukermann, 1989), (Klavans and Tzoukermann, 1990a), (Klavans and Tzoukermann, 1990b).¹ We first examine the way prototypical verbs of movement are translated in the Collins-Robert (Atkins, Duval, and Milne, 1978) bilingual dictionary, and then analyze the behavior of some of these verbs in a large bilingual corpus. We incorporate the results of linguistic research on the theory of verb types to motivate corpus analysis coupled with data from MRDs for the purpose of establishing lexical correspondences with the full range of associated translations, and with statistical data attached to the relevant nodes.     

Hydroxamic acid esters and oximes as isocyanate blocking agents. Study on thermal dissociation

Blocked isocyanates were prepared and their thermal dissociation into isocyanates and blocking agents was studied. Three blocked versions of 4,4′-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (4,4′-MDI) were synthesized. The selected blocking agents were 2-butanone oxime (methyl ethyl ketoxime, MECO), ethyl acetoacetate oxime (EAO) and benzyl methacrylohydroxamate (BMH), in order to compare their temperature of dissociation (T_d). Chemical titration of —NCO groups was tested as suitable technique to follow the unblocking with the temperature. Confirmation of the results by infrared spectroscopy was successful with the hydroxamic ester as blocking agent. Thermodynamic parameters were evaluated for the BMH-MDI adduct and allowed to predict the free —NCO ratio at high temperatures. Benzyl methacrylohydroxamate can be used as blocking agent and the blocked system shows lower unblocking temperature than the usual oxime-blocked isocyanates.     

Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue: The holy grail of clinical proteomics?

Tissue is the most relevant biological material to gather insight in disease mechanisms by means of omics technologies. However, fresh frozen tissue, which is generally regarded as the best imaginable source for such studies, is often not available. In case it is available, the different ways of storage (e.g. −20°C, −80°C, liquid nitrogen, etc.) hamper the conduction of reproducible multicenter studies because of different protein degradation rates. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue on the contrary is considered as a valuable alternative for fresh frozen tissue, because only a few standard operation procedures are applied worldwide for the preparation of these tissues and because they are all stored in the same way. However, a study on the impact of the different preparation protocols for FFPE tissue was still lacking. Therefore, Bronsert et al. in this issue [Bronsert, P., Weißer, J., Biniossek, M. L., Kuehs, M. et al., Proteomics Clin. Appl. 2014, 8 786–804] conducted such a study that provides proof that there is no significant effect between these sample preparations procedures, and thereby they further open the gate for FFPE tissues to enter the field of clinical proteomics.     

Surfactant-induced growth of a calcium hydroxide coating at the concrete surface

In addition to its remarkable mechanical properties, high-performance concrete (HPC) also exhibits a very smooth surface with low porosity, which makes it particularly suitable for esthetic applications. Unfortunately, the constant environmental aggressions to which the urban buildings are exposed (organic or inorganic particles, algae, micro-organisms, staining from various sources) are a threat to their structural and esthetic durability. This article proposes an innovative method to protect HPC surfaces based on Ca(OH)₂ growth at the fresh concrete/formwork interface. With the adequate surfactants used as demolding agents, it is possible to grow a continuous layer of Ca(OH)₂ at the concrete surface which closes the porosity, reduces the water uptake, and gives the surface super-hydrophilic properties, facilitating self-cleaning mechanisms.     

Combined air treatment: Effect of composition of fibrous filters on toluene adsorption and particle filtration efficiency

In order to obtain a system as efficient for collecting particles with a size less than 10 μm (PM₁₀) as removing volatile organic compounds (VOCs), prototype fibrous media containing activated carbon fibers (ACF) associated with non-adsorptive fibers such as cellulose (C) and polyester (PET) fibers have been developed. Influence of process operating parameters on toluene adsorption and particle filtration efficiency was investigated. Particularly, effect of type and ratio of non-adsorptive fibers, degree of beating of cellulose fibers and addition of binders was studied and the impact on physical properties of the medium and its performances for adsorption and particle collection was analyzed.     

Effects of diet supplementation with cactus pear seeds and oil on serum and liver lipid parameters in rats

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the effects of diets enriched with cactus pear oil (CPO) or seeds (CPS) on serum and liver lipid parameters compared to those of adult rats submitted to a standard diet. Male rats were divided into three groups, the first group represented control group, fed with standard diet, the second group was fed with control diet supplemented with CPO (2.5%, wt/wt) and the third group fed control diet supplemented with CPS (33%, wt/wt), for nine weeks. Feed intake and body weight of rats were measured every two days. Organ weights were determined at the end of treatment; cholesterol, HDL and triglycerides levels were determined by enzymatic methods. Liver and serum lipid extracts were analysed for their fatty acid composition for the three groups of rats. No differences in pancreas, kidney or liver weights were observed in the CPS diet whereas the CPO diet induced a significant increase in liver and pancreas weights. The tested diets significantly decreased the atherogenic index compared to the control diet, whereas serum cholesterol level was only reduced by the supplementation with CPO diet. No variations in serum lipids were observed among the groups, whereas liver lipids showed slight variations. Accordingly, these results indicated that the supplementation with CPO or CPS could be effective in decreasing the atherogenic risk factors in rats.