THE EFFECT OF LYSOZYME AND BUTYLATED HYDROXYANIZOLE ON SPOILAGE AND PATHOGENIC BACTERIA ASSOCIATED WITH FOODS

The effect of pH (5 to 7), NaCl concentration (0.5 to 5%) and chelating agents on the antibacterial activity of lysozyme and butylated hydroxyanizole (BHA) was investigated by the Spiral Gradient End Point test. Of all the bacteria tested (including 7 Gram-positive and 8 Gram-negative organisms), lysozyme was active only against Lactococcus lactis NCK 400. When EDTA was added, lysozyme was inhibitory for all of the Gram-positive and 4 of the Gram-negative species. Butylated hydroxyanizole was active against all the organisms tested, except for 2 pseudomonads, but these were inhibited when EDTA was added. The inhibition effected by lysozyme and BHA, both in the presence and absence of EDTA, was greatest at low pH and high NaCl concentrations. The inhibition by lysozyme was unaffected by other chelators (sodium citrate and monoglycerol citrate). However, sodium citrate promoted the inhibitory effect of BHA towards Gram-negative bacteria and monoglycerol citrate lowered the minimum inhibitory concentration required by BHA to inhibit 5 of the 7 Gram-positive bacteria by 10%.     

A novel parameter estimation method for metal oxide surge arrester models

Accurate modelling and exact determination of Metal Oxide (MO) surge arrester parameters are very important for arrester allocation, insulation coordination studies and systems reliability calculations. In this paper, a new technique, which is the combination of Adaptive Particle Swarm Optimization (APSO) and Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithms and linking the MATLAB and EMTP, is proposed to estimate the parameters of MO surge arrester models. The proposed algorithm is named Modified Adaptive Particle Swarm Optimization (MAPSO). In the proposed algorithm, to overcome the drawback of the PSO algorithm (convergence to local optima), the inertia weight is tuned by using fuzzy rules and the cognitive and the social parameters are self-adaptively adjusted. Also, to improve the global search capability and prevent the convergence to local minima, ACO algorithm is combined to the proposed APSO algorithm. The transient models of MO surge arrester have been simulated by using ATP-EMTP. The results of simulations have been applied to the program, which is based on MAPSO algorithm and can determine the fitness and parameters of different models. The validity and the accuracy of estimated parameters of surge arrester models are assessed by comparing the predicted residual voltage with experimental results.     

Biogenic amines in Iranian white brine cheese: modelling and optimisation of processing factors

The simultaneous effects of processing factors such as ripening time (25–75 days), ripening temperature (4–14 °C) and brine concentration (10–13%) on biogenic amines content, proteolysis and sensory score of Iranian white brine cheese were studied, in 12 cheeses. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to minimise biogenic amines content. At low level of ripening time, biogenic amines content decreased with increasing levels of brine concentration but at high level of ripening time, brine concentration had inverse effect. Ripening time showed quadratic effect on biogenic amines content. Based on biogenic amines content and sensory score, the optimum conditions were 13% brine and ripening at 9–14 °C for 43–65 days.     

Synthesis of exfoliated PA66 nanocomposites via interfacial polycondensation: effect of layered silicate and silica nanoparticles

Nanocomposites of polyamide 66 (PA66) with layered silicate and silica (SiO₂) nanoparticles were prepared via in situ interfacial polycondensation method. Hexamethylenediamine (HDMA) and adipoyl chloride (AdCl) were reacted in a two-phase media. Montmorillonite (NaMMT) and silica nanoparticles were added to reacting media. Preparation of PA66 and its nanocomposites were studied using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Dispersion of nanoparticles was studied using X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The results show that two structures were achieved using two kinds of nanoparticles. Silica nanoparticles were partially exfoliated, while NaMMT nanoparticles were hybrid intercalated–exfoliated in nanocomposite samples. Thermal properties of samples were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry. The results suggest that crystallinity is heterogeneous in the presence of nanoparticles. Kinetic of crystallization was studied by means of Avrami equation, based on the kinetic parameters, spherulites are produced. Results were reported for nanocomposites containing 2 and 4% of nanoparticles. Avrami equation parameter, n, shows that spherulite crystallization occured in the samples. Addition of nanoparticles decreases n first, then n increases with nanoparticle content.     

Chemical and electrophoretic properties of Holstein cow milk as affected by somatic cell count

Chemical and electrophoretic properties of raw milk samples with different somatic cell counts (SCCs)(<200 000, 200 000–800 000 and >800 000 cells/mL) were determined. Milk was analysed for fat, lactose, total nitrogen (TN), non‐casein nitrogen (NCN), ratio of casein nitrogen to total nitrogen (CN/TN), pH, titratable acidity (TA), solid‐non‐fat (SNF), total solid (TS), the amount of α _s ‐casein and β‐casein. Milk SCC had no significant effect (P ≥ 0.05) on fat and TN. An increase in the SCC resulted in an increase in pH and NCN content, and a significant decrease in lactose, TA, SNF, CN/TN, α_s‐casein and β‐casein. Milk quality of Holstein dairy cattle deteriorate due to higher proteolytic activity associated with high SCC.     

Constrained observer-based controller for linear continuous-time systems

The observer-based controller design in the presence of inequality constraints on the system input is considered. The solution is obtained by an adequate use of the positive invariance concept     

Shifted-Jacobi series direct method for variational problems

The operational matrix or integration of a Jacobi vector whose elements are Jacobi polynomials is introduced and applied to solve variational problems by a direct method. Illustrative examples are given to demonstrate that only a small number of shifted-Jacobi polynomials are needed to obtain an accurate solution.     

Numerical and experimental investigation on the breast cancer tumour parameters by inverse heat transfer method using genetic algorithm and image processing

This study presents numerical and experimental investigation on breast cancer tumour parameters by inverse heat transfer method using genetic algorithm (GA) and image processing (IP) to determine the depth and rate of heat generation of a breast cancer tumour. To simulate the problem, using the energy equation in a cylinder including a heater, the surface temperature distribution was obtained. Then, the temperature surface of the cylinder was analysed by the GA in MATLAB software to determine the depth and rate of heat generation of heater. The validity of the numerical method was evaluated using the IP from a laboratory sample. A thermal heater was placed inside a cylinder and was covered by a tissue similar to the human body tissue. According to the obtained results, it was determined that the results of the laboratory sample and the numerical method were in agreement with each other. Finally, these steps were applied on the thermal image of a patient’s cancer breast to determine the depth and rate of heat generation of the breast tumour. It is shown that the average computational error between numerical and experimental results in this method to determine the depth of the tumour is about 8–10% and to determine the rate of tumour heat generation is about 0.01–1%.