Energy efficiency and low carbon enabler green IT framework for data centers considering green metrics

The increasing demand for storage, networking and computation has driven intensification of large complex data centers that run many of today's Internet, financial, commercial and business applications. A data center comprises of many thousands of servers and can use as much energy as small city. Massive amount of computation power is required to drive and run these server farms resulting in many challenging like huge energy consumptions, emission of green house gases, backups and recovery; This paper proposes energy efficiency and low carbon enabler green IT framework for these large and complex server farms to save consumption of electricity and reduce the emission of green house gases to lower the effects of global warming. The framework uses latest energy saving techniques like virtualization, cloud computing and green metrics to achieve greener data centers. It comprises of five phase to properly implement green IT techniques to achieve green data centers. The proposed framework seamlessly divides data center components into different resource pools and then applies green metrics like Power Usage Effectiveness, Data Center Effectiveness and Carbon Emission Calculator to measure performance of individual components so that benchmarking values can be achieved and set as standard to be followed by data centers.     

Insight into hydrogels

The development and introduction of injectable biomaterials and the identification of methods through which materials may form in situ are currently the topics of interest in materials science, specifically in the field of biomaterials. Over the last few decades, hydrogels which refers to the swellable polymeric matrices have gained wide attention due to their excellent characteristics such as swelling in different media, pH and temperature sensitivity, and sensitivity to other stimuli. Nowadays, injectable hydrogels have widely been studied due to their excellent insitu gelation at body temperature. These injectable insitu gels serve as depot system which ensures the local and systemic drug and gene delivery. These insitu gels also protect the proteins and peptide drugs invivo from environmental effect. The current review is made to report latest extensive literature regarding hydrogels, their classification, synthesis methods, structure of hydrogel network, methods of crosslinking, environment-sensitive hydrogel system, drug loading, and release, hydrogels as biosensors and applications of hydrogels.     

Control efficiency optimization and Sobol’s sensitivity indices of MTMDs design parameters for buffeting and flutter vibrations in a cable stayed bridge

This paper studies optimization of three design parameters (mass ratio, frequency ratio and damping ratio) of multiple tuned mass dampers MTMDs that are applied in a cable stayed bridge excited by a strong wind using minimax optimization technique. ABAQUS finite element program is utilized to run numerical simulations with the support of MATLAB codes and Fast Fourier Transform FFT technique. The optimum values of these three parameters are validated with two benchmarks from the literature, first with Wang and coauthors and then with Lin and coauthors. The validation procedure detected a good agreement between the results. Box-Behnken experimental method is dedicated to formulate the surrogate models to represent the control efficiency of the vertical and torsional vibrations. Sobol’s sensitivity indices are calculated for the design parameters in addition to their interaction orders. The optimization results revealed better performance of the MTMDs in controlling the vertical and the torsional vibrations for higher mode shapes. Furthermore, the calculated rational effects of each design parameter facilitate to increase the control efficiency of the MTMDs in conjunction with the support of the surrogate models.     

Simulation and test of a point focused electron beam emitter

We present the design analysis of a point focused electron beam emitter using numerical techniques. Simulation and modeling were performed followed by the calculation of emission parameters using programming codes EGUN and CST-PS. Beam emittance, average current density and perveance were calculated and are in agreement with the experimental values obtained at 10 kV acceleration potential. The emission parameters were evaluated up to 110 kV. This confirms possibilities of potential application of emitter for a linear accelerator.     

Physicochemical Properties,Microbial Profile,and Biogenic Amines Content of Barramundi (Lates calcarifer Bloch) Fillets Wrapped in Selected Packaging Films Under Modified Atmosphere Packaging

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of packaging film on physicochemical properties, microbial profile, and biogenic amines content of barramundi (Lates calcarifer Bloch) fillets packed in polyamide, polypropylene, and low-density polyethylene films and kept at 8°C more than 20 days under modified atmosphere packaging. Putrescine and cadaverine were the most abundant amines, whereas the concentration of histamine ranged from less than 0.5 (not detected) to 198.0, 264.3, and 308.5 mg/kg for polyamide, polypropylene, and polyethylene (low-density polyethylene) films, respectively. Among the three, the psychrotrophic bacteria count was initially 4.26 log colony forming units/g and exceeded the acceptable limit of 7 log colony forming units/g on the 16th day of storage for polyamide and on 12th day of storage for polypropylene and polyethylene. However, the total plate count, among the three packaging films, was initially 3.54 log colony forming units/g and exceeded the acceptable limit of 6 log colony forming units/g on the 12th day of storage. The histamine-forming bacteria count was significantly (p < 0.05) lower in barramundi fillets packaged with polyamide compared to polypropylene and polyethylene. The significant difference (p < 0.05) was observed between the concentration of amines in polyamide as compared with polypropylene and polyethylene. Among the three packaging materials, polyamide was found to be the best for prolonging the storage of barramundi fillets.     

Probiotic potential of lactic acid bacteria from fermented Malaysian food or milk products

This study investigated the probiotic characteristics of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from 14 Malaysian fermented food or milk products. In total, 22.3% (121 of 542) of the LAB isolated from the local fermented products exhibited antibacterial activity against Micrococcus luteus. Twelve LAB that demonstrated better antibacterial activity against M. luteus as compared to a commercial strain Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota (LABPC) were selected for further characterisation. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence, the LAB were identified as pediococci (seven) and lactobacilli (five). All 12 LAB showed bile tolerance, but only eight were acid tolerant at pH ≥ 3.0. The highest level of adhesion to HT‐29 cells was observed among the Lactobacillus sp. LAB 1 and 10. The LAB also showed antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus through the production of organic acids. LAB isolated from Malaysian fermented food and milk products, especially fermented tapioca, contains potential probiotic candidates.     

Numerical simulation of solid–liquid food mixture in a high pressure processing unit using computational fluid dynamics

Temperature distribution, velocity and pressure profiles during high pressure compression (500 MPa) of liquid food (water) and solid–liquid food mixture (beef fat and water), within a three dimensional cylinder basket is simulated. The computations domain in both cases was performed for a cylinder with a diameter of 38 mm and height of 290 mm, which are the same dimensions of the high pressure unit “FOOD-LAB model S-FL-850-9-W” available at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. The governing equations for continuity, momentum and energy conservation are solved using a commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) package (PHOENICS), version 3.5, which is based on a finite volume method of solution. The simulation for liquid food only shows the effect of forced and free convection flow on the temperature distribution in the liquid at the early stages of compression. This is due to the difference between the velocity of the pumping fluid as it enters the cylinder inlet hole (10⁻²–10⁻³) m s⁻¹ and the velocity in the treatment chamber (10⁻⁸–10⁻⁹) m s⁻¹. The simulation for the solid–liquid mixture shows as well, the temperature distribution in the solid and liquid at different stages of compression. It shows that the solid pieces are more heated than the liquid, which is due to the difference in their compression heating coefficient. Validation of the computed temperature in both cases is found to be in an agreement with those measured experimentally and reported in the literature.     

Agricultural Water Use and Trade in Uzbekistan: Situation and Potential Impacts of Market Liberalization

The focus in Uzbekistan on cotton and its irrigation led to large increases in water use with significant downstream impacts, particularly on the Aral Sea. While agriculture is still heavily influenced by the state, Uzbekistan has become more integrated in the global economy since its independence. The major goal of this paper is to examine the interrelationship between agricultural policies and water use during the last 15 years and how moves towards freer markets, such as those which might occur under the World Trade Organization, may impact Uzbekistan's water resources in the future. The results show that partial or full market liberalization may result in an increase in water use. However, the greater message is that non-water policies can have a major impact on water outcomes and therefore should be considered in any discussions of water sector reform.     

Identification of pork in beef meatballs using Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry and real-time polymerase chain reaction

A study on development of Fourier-transform infrared spectrophotometric method combined with principle component analysis as well as real-time polymerase chain reaction for determination of pork–beef mixture in meatballs has been performed. A lipid component extracted from pork and beef in meatballs is analyzed using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, while DNA extracted from meatball was analyzed using real-time polymerase chain reaction. The correlation between actual and predicted concentration of lard using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy was performed by aid of partial least squares, while grouping of lard and beef fat components in meatball was carried out by Fourier-transform infrared spectra coupled with principle component analysis. The results showed that Fourier-transform infrared spectra at wavenumbers of 1000–1200 cm^?1 coupled with partial least square and principle component analysis are successfully used for quantification and classification of pork in beef meatballs. The relationship between actual value and predicted value of lard (lipid fraction obtained from meatballs containing pork) with Fourier-transform infrared spectrophotometric method revealed good correlation, with coefficient determination (R²) value of 0.997 and standard error of calibration of 0.04%. Principle component analysis is able to classify samples containing pork and beef meatballs. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy using normal spectra is fast technique for identification and quantification of lard extracted from pork in meatball. In addition, real-time polymerase chain reaction using Leptin Primer–AJ 865080 can be used for amplification of pork DNA specifically in meatballs containing pork.