Practical in-storage interventions to control foodborne pathogens on fresh produce

Although tremendous efforts have been made to ensure fresh produce safety, various foodborne outbreaks and recalls occur annually. Most of the current intervention strategies are evaluated within a short timeframe (less than 1 h), leaving the behavior of the remaining pathogens unknown during subsequent storages. This review summarized outbreak and recall surveillance data from 2009 to 2018 obtained from government agencies in the United States to identify major safety concerns associated with fresh produce, discussed the postharvest handling of fresh produce and the limitations of current antimicrobial interventions, and reviewed the intervention strategies that have the potential to be applied in each storage stage at the commercial scale. One long-term (up to 12 months) prepacking storage (apples, pears, citrus among others) and three short-term (up to 3 months) postpacking storages were identified. During the prepacking storage, continuous application of gaseous ozone at low doses (≤1 ppm) is a feasible option. Proper concentration, adequate circulation, as well as excess gas destruction and ventilation systems are essential to commercial application. At the postpacking storage stages, continuous inhibition can be achieved through controlled release of gaseous chlorine dioxide in packaging, antimicrobial edible coatings, and biocontrol agents. During commercialization, factors that need to be taken into consideration include physicochemical properties of antimicrobials, impacts on fresh produce quality and sensory attributes, recontamination and cross-contamination, cost, and feasibility of large-scale production. To improve fresh produce safety and quality during storage, the collaboration between researchers and the fresh produce industry needs to be improved.     

Growth,mechanical properties,and tribological performance of TiAlN/NbN and NbN/TiAlN bilayer coatings

Three different coatings, namely TiAlN, TiAlN (external)/NbN (internal) and NbN (external)/TiAlN (internal), were deposited on cemented carbides by arc ion plating. The comparative investigation conducted in this study elucidates the effect of the NbN layer and coating systems on the growth, mechanical properties, and tribological performance of the coatings. The results showed that the surface of the TiAlN and TiAlN/NbN coatings was smoother when TiAlN served as the external layer. The NbN/TiAlN coating, wherein NbN formed the external layer, had a much rougher but more symmetrical surface. With the introduction of the NbN layer, the increased micro stress induced a lower adhesion strength in the TiAlN/NbN and NbN/TiAlN coatings. The TiAlN/NbN and NbN/TiAlN coatings exhibited higher hardness and hardness/effective elastic modulus (H/E*). During the friction test, when the temperature was elevated to 700 °C, the tribological performance of the monolayer TiAlN coating was the lowest because of the TiO₂-induced breakage of the dense tribo-oxide film. The NbN layer participated in the formation of a NbO_x film at elevated temperatures, which was responsible for the high tribological performance of the two bilayer coatings. When the NbN layer was on the outermost layer and in direct contact with the elevated temperature atmosphere, the NbN/TiAlN coating generated a tribo-oxide film with high integrity, and its coefficient of friction decreased by 27% of that at room temperature. Therefore, the NbN/TiAlN coating exhibited the highest wear resistance at 700 °C.     

Effects of TGO growth on the stress distribution and evolution of three-dimensional cylindrical thermal barrier coatings based on finite element simulations

Based on the ultrasonic C-scan results of 8YSZ coatings after thermal cycles, three-dimensional cylindrical numerical simulations of the physical geometry model of the thermal barrier coating (TBC) sinusoidal surfaces were conducted with finite elements to estimate the stress distribution and evolution law of the top coat (TC)/bond coat (BC) interface, including the centre and edge of the specimen affected by the dynamic growth of the thermally grown oxide (TGO). The results show that when a layer of TGO is grown on the TC/BC interface, compressive stress is uniformly distributed on the TGO interface, and the stress value decreases as a function of the TGO layer thickness. When the thickness of the TGO exceeds a certain value, the compressive stress of all parts of the interface gradually changes to tensile stress; meanwhile, the edges of the model affected by the crest and trough effects of the wave are reflected in the radial and circumferential directions, especially along the axial direction, with alternating concentrated tensile and compressive stresses. TGO growth imposes a minor influence on the magnitude and distributions of the radial and circumferential stresses at the BC interface. The linear elasticity, creep, fatigue, and stress accumulation effects of each layer of TBCs in each thermal cycle were fully considered in this model. The model not only interprets the crest and trough effects of the TC/BC surface interface during the growth of TGO, but also interprets the effects of the core and edge of the cylindrical model, further revealing the reason for which the core and edge of the TBC will most likely form cracks.     

Improving tribocorrosion performance of chemically bonded ceramic phosphate coating reinforced by GO-ZnO

To enhance the tribocorrosion properties of chemically bonded phosphate ceramic coating (CBPCC), GO-ZnO was prepared and added into CBPCC. And the tribocorrosion behaviour of CBPCC was investigated. Results show that, with the introduction of GO-ZnO, the open circuit potential of CBPCC shifts in a positive direction and corrosion current density decreases. In addition, the total material loss, the total mechanical wear loss and the total electrochemical corrosion loss of CBPCC all decrease with the increase of GO-ZnO. The wear track of CBPCC after tribocorrosion without GO-ZnO is rough and porous, while the wear track becomes smooth and dense with the incorporation of GO-ZnO. The material in wear track is anchored by GO-ZnO due to the strong bond between GO-ZnO and CBPCC, which decreases the wear loss. Because of the extra force from the tribocorrosion experiment, the material anchored by GO-ZnO forms to a dense structure which prevents electrolyte diffusion into CBPCC. Moreover, GO-ZnO can block the electrolyte diffusion pathway and make it more tortuous. The resistance to the electrolyte diffusion decreases the corrosion current density and the increased wear loss due to electrochemical corrosion.     

Synergetic effects of photo-oxidation and biodegradation on failure behavior of polyester coating in tropical rain forest atmosphere

This work aimed to study the comprehensive effects of photo-oxidation and biodegradation on different failure stages of polyester coatings,which were exposed to the tropical rainforest atmosphere.The surface morphology,aging products,local aging characteristics and electrochemical behavior of the coatings were characterized with scanning electron microscope(SEM),fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR),electrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS)and high-resolution dispersive Raman microscope.The results showed that the surface of coatings became rougher and fungal hyphae distributed more densely on surface with the increasing of exposure time.From the aspect of polymer structure,the ultraviolet radiation destroyed the main chain of polyester through the photo-oxidation process,resulting in the breakage of aliphatic ester bonds and the formation of esters.Further,the metabolites of fungi can promote the hydrolysis of oligomers produced by the photo-oxidation.In a short,the photo-oxidation could facilitate the biodegradation of the coating.With the synergistic effect of UV photo-oxidation and fungal biodegradation,a rapid diffusion tunnel between the coating surface and the metal substrate was established at the pore defects of the coating,which finally accelerated the corrosion failure process of the coating.The main corrosion products includeα-Fe₂O₃,ZnO and Zn₅(OH)₆(CO₃)₂.     

Synthesis,microstructures, and corrosion behaviors of multi-components rare-earth silicates

Multi-components and equimolar rare earth monosilicates, (Y_1/3Dy_1/3Er_1/3)₂SiO₅, (Y_1/3Dy_1/3Lu_1/3)₂SiO₅, (Y_1/4Dy_1/4Ho_1/4Er_1/4)₂SiO₅ and (Yb_1/4Dy_1/4Ho_1/4Er_1/4)₂SiO₅, were prepared by solid-state reactions and the following hot-pressing. Dense microstructures with uniform elemental distributions were obtained for all samples. These investigated multi-components monosilicates exhibit low thermal conductivities and similar coefficients of thermal expansion with SiC. Moreover, they exhibit high corrosion resistances in 1400 °C water vapor, especially, four-components (Y_1/4Dy_1/4Ho_1/4Er_1/4)₂SiO₅ and (Yb_1/4Dy_1/4Ho_1/4Er_1/4)₂SiO₅ experienced almost invariable weights after small weight losses during the initial 0.5 h. All those results indicate that multi-components rare earth monosilicates are promising candidates of environmental barrier coatings for SiC/SiC composites.     

Structural characteristics and high-temperature oxidation behaviour of nano-HfO2-doped thermal barrier coatings

The uneven growth of thermally grown oxides (TGOs) in thermal barrier coating systems is an important cause of cracking failure at the coating interface in high-temperature environments. The doping of rare earth elements in the bonding layer can effectively inhibit the formation of spinel oxides in the TGO and improve the high-temperature oxidation resistance of the coating. However, a single rare earth element has a limited effect on inhibiting TGO failure. In this study, a NiCoCrAlYHf coating was prepared using a supersonic flame spraying (HVOF) technique. The effects of HfO₂ doping on the high-temperature oxidation behaviour of the coatings and diffusion behaviour of metallic elements in the coatings were investigated at 1100 °C. The results showed that the nano-sized HfO₂ filled the pores between the powder particles and improved the hardness of the coating. During the high-temperature oxidation process, the oxides formed by Hf and Y had a large size and low solubility, which effectively blocked the diffusion of Al. This slowed the generation of spinel oxides, effectively inhibited the growth of the TGO, it inhibits the initiation and propagation of cracks within the coating, reduces damage to the coating from tensile and compressive stresses at the interface, and improved the high-temperature oxidation resistance of the coating.     

钕铁硼化学镀防护及在模拟海洋大气环境中的腐蚀行为

采用化学镀方法在钕铁硼表面分别制备Ni-P合金镀层、Ni-Mo-P合金镀层、Ni-P/PTFE复合镀层和Ni-Mo-P/PTFE复合镀层,并研究了不同化学镀层在模拟海洋大气环境中的腐蚀行为。结果表明:Ni-P合金镀层、Ni-Mo-P合金镀层、Ni-P/PTFE复合镀层和Ni-Mo-P/PTFE复合镀层都完整覆盖钕铁硼表面,它们的粗糙度差别不大,在模拟海洋大气环境中的腐蚀失重都低于钕铁硼的腐蚀失重,容抗弧半径增大且电荷转移电阻有不同程度的提高。与Ni-P合金镀层和Ni-Mo-P合金镀层相比,Ni-P/PTFE复合镀层和Ni-Mo-P/PTFE复合镀层具有优良的耐腐蚀性能,原因在于PTFE颗粒较均匀的沉积在镀层表面增加一道屏蔽层,也起到阻碍腐蚀介质渗透腐蚀的作用。尤其是Ni-Mo-P/PTFE复合镀层,其表面更致密,PTFE颗粒沉积更均匀,能更有效延缓腐蚀介质与钕铁硼接触,显著提高钕铁硼在模拟海洋大气环境中的耐腐蚀性能。     

The toughening design of multi-layer antioxidation coating on C/C matrix via SiC-SiCw transition layer grown in-situ

Poor antioxidant and thermal-shock capacities of C/C composites thermal barrier coating (TBC) caused by cracking and shedding of coatings has been a major obstacle blocking the development of C/C composites. Herein, in-situ growth of whisker reinforced silicon carbide transition layer and inter-embedding mechanism of multi-gradient coatings were brought into the design of TBC to enhance the antioxidant and thermal-shock capacities. A three-layer gradient coating SiC-SiC_w/ZrB₂-SiC/ZrSiO₄-aluminosilicate glass (ZAG) from inside to outside, in which ZrB₂-SiC/ZAG serve as oxygen barrier layers with self-healing ability and SiC-SiC_w provides thermal stress buffering and bonding against cracking and shedding of coatings, is designed. The ZAG mainly forms a dense oxygen blocking frontier with self-healing ability through fluidized glass, while the ZrB₂-SiC can react actively with infiltrated oxygen in a way of self-sacrifice, preventing oxygen erosion to C/C matrix and SiC-SiC_w transition layer. As a result, the collaborative work among layers endows this coating with excellent high temperature service performance. This work provides a new insight for the design of excellent TBC.