Does waiving preventive food control inspections in Finland weaken the prerequisites for safe food handling in restaurants?

Finnish food control authorities waived pre-inspections of food premises in 2011, leaving food business operators to begin operating with no pre-operation food control. This study aims to investigate the effects of this food policy change on the preconditions for Good Hygienic Practices (GHPs) on food premises. Of the 916 food premises that were included in this study, 379 were pre-approved whereas 537 merely notified their operations. The results show that notified food service premises (restaurants) preparing food displayed significantly more non-compliance pertaining to infrastructure than did restaurants pre-approved for food preparation (11.5% and 1.8% of the premises, respectively) (p < 0.05). Significant differences also emerged in the number of premises with non-compliance pertaining to cleaning facilities and equipment, and marked differences in the adequacy of hand and other washing sites. Such instances of non-compliance weaken the preconditions for GHPs. The results suggest that re-introducing pre-inspections of restaurants would strengthen the preconditions for GHPs and possibly provide a model for other countries with similar food control systems.     

A novel approach to sintering (Ba,Ca)(Ti,Zr)O3 multilayer ceramic capacitors with Ni electrodes

In this study, a novel sintering technique combining rapid heating and constrained sintering was adopted to fire multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs). It was demonstrated that chamber development can be significantly minimized, leading to a small internal residual stress in MLCCs when they were fired by the novel sintering technique instead of free sintering. The magnitude of tensile stress was closely related to the heating rate and the thickness of the constraining layer. The presence of in-plane tensile stress resulted from the constrained sintering in the x–y plane of the MLCCs, which then modified both the densification rate of the dielectric materials and the inner electrode. The thin inner electrode (<1 μm) with high continuity (>98%) and the fine grain size (1.5 μm) with narrow distribution (±0.10 μm) of BCTZ-based MLCC with a concave-free morphology can be attained by using such a rapid constrained sintering technique when BT is used as a constraining layer laminated on both sides of the multilayer BCTZ-based MLCC.     

Changes in the physicochemical,structural and emulsifying properties of chicken myofibrillar protein via microfluidization

Microfluidization is a novel and effective technology to improve the properties of myofibrillar protein. The effects of microfluidization with varying pressures (0–120 MPa) on the physicochemical, structural and emulsifying properties of chicken myofibrillar protein (CMP) were studied. Microfluidization treatment remarkably increased the absolute ζ-potential, contact angle, solubility, emulsifying ability and emulsifying stability of CMP. Simultaneously, the turbidity of CMP decreased. After microfluidization treatment, more α-helix structures were transformed into disordered structures, more hydrophobic and negatively charged groups were exposed, leading to improvements in CMP properties. After 90 MPa treatment, the absolute ζ-potential, storage modulus, loss modulus and dynamic apparent viscosity of CMP-camellia oil emulsion reached the maximum values. The hydrophobic interaction between CMP and camellia oil induced CMP to expose more hydrophobic and negatively charged groups, leading to the improved emulsifying properties of CMP. Our results demonstrate that microfluidization treatment has great potential to improve the product qualities of emulsion-type meat products.     

Nutrient enrichment of dairy curd by incorporation of whole and ruptured microalgal cells (Nannochloropsis salina)

This work investigated incorporation of Nannochloropsis salina into renneted dairy gels and curd. Whole and ruptured microalgal cells did not impair κ-casein macropeptide cleavage by the rennet enzyme. However, insoluble components of ruptured cells impeded gelation, presumably by hindering interactions between renneted casein micelles. Confocal imaging showed that whole cells were retained and homogenously distributed within the protein network of the gels and cooked curd, whereas ruptured algae formed large aggregates that altered the protein matrix. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) in the whole microalgal cells was incorporated within the curds, with considerably less EPA retained for ruptured cells. Soluble algal debris did not impair gelation, however EPA wasn't retained in the curd. The study demonstrates that nutrient enrichment of renneted dairy products is possible by incorporating whole microalgal cells to displace milk fat with protein and the beneficial long-chain omega-3 fatty acid EPA. Future research into the optimisation of product organoleptic properties is required.     

Advanced Composite Solid Electrolytes for Lithium Batteries: Filler Dimensional Design and Ion Path Optimization

Composite solid electrolytes are considered to be the crucial components of all-solid-state lithium batteries, which are viewed as the next-generation energy storage devices for high energy density and long working life. Numerous studies have shown that fillers in composite solid electrolytes can effectively improve the ion-transport behavior, the essence of which lies in the optimization of the ion-transport path in the electrolyte. The performance is closely related to the structure of the fillers and the interaction between fillers and other electrolyte components including polymer matrices and lithium salts. In this review, the dimensional design of fillers in advanced composite solid electrolytes involving 0D–2D nanofillers, and 3D continuous frameworks are focused on. The ion-transport mechanism and the interaction between fillers and other electrolyte components are highlighted. In addition, sandwich-structured composite solid electrolytes with fillers are also discussed. Strategies for the design of composite solid electrolytes with high room temperature ionic conductivity are summarized, aiming to assist target-oriented research for high-performance composite solid electrolytes.     

Effects of different physical technology on compositions and characteristics of bean dregs

The effects of ultrafine grinding (U), high pressure (HP), microwaves (M), high-temperature cooking (HTC) and combination technologies (U-HP, U-M, U-HTC) on the nutritional compositions and characteristics of bean dregs were investigated. The results showed that both single treatments and combination treatments significantly increased the soluble dietary fiber (SDF) content and water solubility of bean dregs; however, the protein content, fat absorption capacity and swelling capacity of bean dregs were decreased compared with those of the control. The combination technologies significantly increased the contents of K, Ca, Na and Fe in bean dregs. HTC and U-HTC had prominent effects on inhibiting trypsin inhibitor activity, which were decreased from 7365 TIU/g to 1210 and 96 TIU/g, respectively. The bean dregs by ultrafine grinding and combined treatments showed honeycomb structure and small particle distribution, and their processing performances improved. In conclusion, combination technologies were effective methods for improving the quality of bean dregs and expanding their development.Industrial relevance: A combined method may have greater effects than any single approach in improving the quality of bean dregs. Ultrafine grinding technology combined with other physical techniques used in bean dregs can solve quality problems; for example, bean dregs are characterized by poor taste, perishability, low soluble fiber content, and high trypsin inhibitor activity, all of which are related to human health and safety. However, to the best of our knowledge, ultrafine grinding combined with other physical techniques has not been used with bean dregs. The present paper highlights the effects of ultrafine grinding technology (U) combined with high pressure (HP), microwave (M), and high temperature cooking (HTC) technologies on the nutritional and functional compositions of bean dregs. The obtained results contribute to enhance SDF content, reduce anti-nutrition factors, and expand development and utilization of bean dregs, which constitute the basis for its application in baked food, flour products and the food industry.     

Microstructural and phase evolution of spark plasma sintering of graphitized Ti (C0.9N0.1) composites

Graphite addition on the particle grain sizes, multiple phases and the ultrafine Ti (C_0.9, N_0.1) composite produced by means of spark plasma sintering (SPS) was examined by means of X-ray diffractometer (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS). From the results analysed, the presence of graphite increased the porosity of sintered Ti (C_0.9, N_0.1) cermet and thereby crippled the sinterability of Ti (C_0.9, N_0.1). Significantly, graphite additions had an influence on particle size, morphology, microstructure and phases of ultrafine Ti (C_0.9, N_0.1) by inhibiting the dissolution of titanium carbonitride, outer rims phases and the inner rim formation, thereby causing grain growth reduction. Because of depressed dissolution and solution precipitate, graphite phase evolution in the composite has reduced. Furthermore, the presence of graphite improved the micro indentation hardness of Ti (C_0.9, N_0.1) composite and sintered relative density of the cermets.     

增强现实技术的应用

随着计算机技术的发展,增强现实技术逐渐成为下一代人机接口技术发展的主要方向之一。增强现实技术使用户可以容易地进入人们本来不能进入的微观世界,以及人们不能直接进入的特殊环境,并为人们的研究工作构造理想的交互环境,比如观察分子立体结构、探索基因芯片本质的增强现实系统等。增强现实技术与计算机图形学、人机交互技术、网络多媒体技术相结合,广泛应用于医学、军事、工业、娱乐等方面。     

石材铝蜂窝复合板导热系数试验研究分析

石材铝蜂窝复合板在国外的建筑幕墙和各种室内装饰工程已得到了广泛应用,还可应用于建材的其它领域,以及电器、机械、家具、灯饰、运动娱乐器材及交通等部门。FRP蜂窝具有优越的隔热保温性能,是一种低碳节能材料。