Optical scattering in beef steak to predict tenderness using hyperspectral imaging in the VIS-NIR region

The objective of this research is to develop a non-destructive method for predicting cooked beef tenderness using optical scattering of light on fresh beef muscle tissue. A hyperspectral imaging system (λ = 496–1,036 nm) that consists of a CCD camera and an imaging spectrograph, was used to acquire beef steak images. The hyperspectral image consisted of 120 bands with spectral intervals of 4.54 nm. Sixty-one fresh beef steaks, including 44 strip loin and 17 tenderloin cuts, were collected. After imaging, the steaks were cooked and Warner-Bratzler shear (WBS) force values were collected as tenderness references. The optical scattering profiles were derived from the hyperspectral images and fitted to the modified Lorentzian function. Parameters, such as the peak height, full scattering width at half maximum (FWHM), and the slope around the FWHM were determined at each wavelength. Stepwise regression was used to identify 7 key wavelengths and parameters. The parameters were then used to predict the WBS scores. The model was able to predict WBS scores with an R = 0.67. Optical scattering implemented with hyperspectral imaging shows limited success for predicting current status of tenderness in beef steak.     

An improved photographic process for convergent beam electron diffraction applications

The use of a surface developer, pyrocatechol, to process transmission electron microscope negatives has been shown to have significant advantages over the conventional D-19 process. The process described here is tolerant of a large margin of error in the electron exposure and produces a negative that not only retains details both in the highlight as well as the faint regions, but also preserves local contrast. These characteristics are particularly useful in convergent beam electron diffraction applications where one encounters a wide contrast range. Improved acuteness and an enhanced signal to noise ratio due to the prolonged exposures associated with this process have also been observed.     

A random direction algorithm for an intersection problem

A nonlinear SOR-type algorithm is established to find the intersection of a finite number of closed convex sets in a Hilbert space.     

The effect of absorber packing height on the performance of a hybrid liquid desiccant system

A hybrid system consisting of vapour compression unit, a liquid desiccant system, and a flat solar hot water collector were designed, fabricated and tested. This combination allowed for a separate control of humidity and temperature without energy penalty. Various packing heights of the absorber component were tested to determine the optimal performance of the combined unit. A 1000 mm packing height with cross-sectional area of 600×600 mm, proved to be the best height that gives promising improvements in the coefficient of performance of the vapour compression unit.     

Multi-objective optimization of feature selection using hybrid cat swarm optimization

With the pervasive generation of information from a wide range of sensors and devices, there always exist a large number of input features in databases, thus complicating machine learning problem formulation. However, certain features are relatively impertinent to specific problems, which may degrade the performances of classifiers in terms of prediction accuracy, sensitivity,specificity, and recall rate. The main goal of a multi-objective optimization problem is to identify the subsets of the given features. To this end, a hybrid cat swarm optimization(HCSO) algorithm is proposed in our paper for performance improvement of the basic cat swarm optimization(CSO) that incorporates guided and competitive inherent characteristics into the original CSO. The performance of HCSO has been tested by finding the optimal feature subset for 15 benchmark datasets. The number of class labels for these datasets varies between 2 and 40. The time complexity analysis of both CSO and HCSO has also been evaluated. Moreover, the performance of the proposed algorithm has been compared with that of simple CSO and other state-ofthe-art techniques. The performances obtained by HCSO have an average 2.68% improvement with a standard deviation of 2.91.The maximum performance improvement is up to 10.09% in prediction accuracy. Tested on the same datasets, CSO has yielded improvements within the range of-7.27% to 8.51% with an average improvement 0.9% and standard deviation 3.96. The statistical tests carried out in the experiments prove that HCSO manifests a moderately better feature selection capacity than that of its counterparts.     

Simulation and analysis of extractive distillation process in a valve tray column using the rate based model

Valve trays are becoming popular in the chemical process industries owing to their flexibility to handle a wide range of vapor throughputs. Using the rigorous rate based model, the importance of the non-equilibrium approach is demonstrated for a typical extractive distillation process in a Glitsch V-1 valve tray column. Simulation results based on an in-house developed code indicated that the rate based model predictions for a valve tray column operation showed significant differences relative to the equilibrium model. Even small errors in product purities translated into nonoptimal feed stage locations and inaccurate number of stages required. The counter-intuitive effect of high reflux ratio on separation is explained.     

Studies on polyacrylates containing pendant ligand with carbonyl and hydroxyl functions and their divalent metal complexes

A series of monomers were prepared by reacting (meth)acryloyl chloride with 2,4‐dihydroxybenzophenone, 2,4‐dihydroxybenzaldehyde, and 2,4‐dihydroxyacetophenone, respectively. The monomers were polymerized in dimethylformamide (DMF) at 70°C using benzoyl peroxide as an initiator. Polymer–metal complexes were obtained from DMF solutions of polymers with an aqueous solution of metal ions. The polymers and polymer–metal complexes were characterized by elemental analysis and spectral studies. The IR spectra of these complexes suggest that the metals are coordinated through the oxygen of the carbonyl group and the oxygen of the phenolic–OH group. The electronic spectra, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra, and magnetic moments of polychelates showed an octahedral and square planar structure for Ni(II) and Cu(II) complexes, respectively. X‐ray diffraction studies revealed that polychelates are highly crystalline. The thermal and electrical properties, catalytic activity, and structure–property relationships are discussed. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 90: 2083–2090, 2003     

Enhanced Photocatalytic and Antibacterial Activities of ZnSe Nanoparticles

Water and microbial contamination is a serious issues to aquatic system and human health. The metal selenide has a tremendous technique to degrade the dyes and bacteria.The present work reports the synthesis of ZnSe nanoparticles in a simple co-precipitation method. The synthesized samples were analyzed by structural, optical, morphological, catalytic and biological activity. The size and bandgap by annealing temperature tuning which are confirm by X-ray Diffraction and UV–Visible spectrometer. The quasi-spherical shapes were confirmed by Scanning Electron Microscope and Transmission Electron Microscope.The photo excited electrons have trapped the metals and promoting the degradation system. The release of ions to the surface was acknowledged by Photo Luminescence spectroscopy. The photocatalytic dye degradation of the Methyl Orange showed that the enhanced activity in high temperature. The photocatalytic dye degradation activity suggested that the temperature change the production of free radicals and ROS formation. The hydroxyl radicals were slewing the dye molecules and bacteria. The obtained results giving the information of ZnSe nanoparticles are one of the fascinating research areas in the current research world. Because of its large application in different field it acts as a promoting catalytic and biological application.

Graphical Abstract

     

Albumin stimulates lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase activity in T-lymphocyte membranes

Phosphatidic acid (PtdOH) and lysophosphatidic acid (lysoPtdOH) have been shown to enhance T-lymphocyte function. However, the FA preference and influence of acyl-CoA binding proteins on lysoPtdOH and PtdOH biosynthesis are not known. Therefore, we determined glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase (GPAT) and lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase (LAT) activity in rat T-lymphocyte and liver membrane preparations in the presence of palmitoyl-CoA and oleoyl-CoA with or without BSA. We found two different properties of GPAT and LAT in whole T-lymphocyte membrane preparations relative to liver. First, T-lymphocyte basal GPAT and LAT activities were similar, whereas in liver membranes LAT activity was 10-fold higher than GPAT. Second, T-lymphocyte LAT, but not GPAT, activity was inducible (fivefold) by the addition of albumin in the presence of palmitoyl-CoA but not oleoyl-CoA. In contrast, albumin stimulated GPAT, but not LAT, activity in liver membranes in the presence of palmitoyl-CoA. These results show, for the first time, that T-lymphocyte LAT activity can be increased by the presence of an acyl-CoA binding protein, which may indicate a new important control mechanism for regulating intracellular lysoPtdOH and PtdOH levels in T-lymphocytes.     

Synthesis and characterization of liquid crystalline polymers containing aromatic ester mesogen and a nonmesogenic ferrocene unit in the spacer

A new series of liquid crystalline polymers containing aromatic triad ester mesogen and 1,1′‐disubstituted ferrocene as a nonmesogenic unit along with polymethylene spacer was synthesized. The polymer was synthesized by a room temperature polycondensation reaction between bis(4‐chloroformyl phenyloxy alkyl ferrocene dicarboxylate) and quinol. The alkyl groups have been varied by an even number of methylene groups with a range from two to ten groups. All the polymers were found to possess liquid crystalline properties. The identification of the mesophase is more transparent with an increase in the spacer. The thermal characteristics were studied using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results reveal that the thermal stability of the polymers was decreased with increasing spacer length. The T_g, T_m, and T_i of the polymers decreased with increasing methylene groups. The incorporation of the ferrocene moiety also has a considerable effect on the glass transition temperature. The char yield of the polymer decreases with an increasing methylene chain length. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 86: 3494–3501, 2002