The hygienic working practices of maintenance personnel and equipment hygiene in the Finnish food industry

The hygienic working practices of the maintenance personnel as well as the hygiene of the equipment in the food industry were investigated with questionnaires and microbial surveys. The protective clothing, washing of hands and tools as well as avoiding foreign bodies left on the production lines should be targeted when the hygienic working practices are developed for maintenance personnel. Based on the questionnaire to food processors, packaging machines, conveyers, dispensers, slicing and cooling machines were considered the most problematic pieces of equipment hygienically mainly because of poor hygienic design. In order to improve food safety, both the training of maintenance personnel in food hygiene and equipment design should be more emphasised.     

Properties of a single-chain antibody containing different linker peptides

Single-chain antibodies were constructed using six differentlinker peptides to join the V_H and V_L domains of an anti-2-phenyloxazolone(Ox) antibody. Four of the linker peptides originated from theinterdomain linker region of the fungal cellulase CBHI and consistedof 28, 11, six and two amino acid residues. The two other linkerpeptides used were the (GGGGS)₃ linker with 15 amino acid residuesand a modified IgG2b hinge peptide with 22 residues. Proteolyticstability and Ox binding properties of the six different scFvderivatives produced in Escherichia coli were investigated andcompared with those of the corresponding Fv fragment containingno joining peptide between the V domains. The hapten bindingproperties of different antibody fragments were studied by ELISAand BIAcore^TM. The interdomain linker peptide improved the haptenbinding properties of the antibody fragment when compared withFv fragment, but slightly increased its susceptibility to proteases.Single-chain antibodies with short CBHI linkers of 11, six andtwo residues had a tendency to form multimers which led to ahigher apparent affinity. The fragments with linkers longerthan 11 residues remained monomeric.     

Impact of computer training courses on reduction of loneliness of older people in Finland and Slovenia

Previous research has shown loneliness as a threat for the quality of life of older people; therefore the goal of the intervention in a quasi-experimental study was to evaluate and discuss the self-reported level of loneliness of older people in Finland and Slovenia before and after a computer intervention. Intervention in a quasi-experimental study was conducted among 58 older participants at the baseline (M = 72.4 years) and 45 older participants at the follow-up research study (M = 72.9 years). Inferential statistics showed a significant difference in the reduction of loneliness between the countries, and a decreased level of loneliness of older people after completing the computer training course. Although older people experience many age-related problems which may reduce their interest in learning information and communication technology (ICT) skills, it is important that they are computer-proficient, because computer engagement can reduce the level of loneliness of older people and in this way has a positive effect on their quality of life.     

An improved model for ground-shielded CMOS test fixtures

An improved model for ground-shielded (GS) test fixtures is proposed. The proposed model provides more accurate device-under-test gap behavioral model than previous test-fixture models and takes into account the impedance of the ground return path. The new model is validated up to 25 GHz by comparing the model simulations with experimental measurements. The proposed model is applied to bulk-silicon- and sapphire-based GS test fixtures with different layouts. Furthermore, a large phase shift in the shield-based test-fixture forward transmission is reported in this study. Based on the results achieved, suggestions for deembedding method selection are given. Test fixtures were fabricated using a 0.35-/spl mu/m CMOS process and 0.5-/spl mu/m silicon-on-sapphire CMOS process.     

An active single-chain antibody containing a cellulase linker domain is secreted by Escherichia coli

Single-chain antibodies consist of the variable, antigen-bindingdomains of antibodies joined to a continuous polypeptide bygenetically engineered peptide linkers. We have used the flexibleinterdomain linker region of a fungal cellulase to link togetherthe variable domains of an anti-2-phenyloxazolone IgGl and showhere that the resulting single-chain antibody is efficientlysecreted and released to the culture medium of Escherichia coli.The yield of affinity-purified single-chain antibody is 1 -2mg/1 of culture medium and its affinity and stability are comparableto those of the corresponding native IgG.     

EFFECT OF INCORPORATING ADDITIONAL OLEIC ACID INTO THE PLASMA MEMBRANE OF BAKER'S YEAST ON THE PERMEATION OF PYRUVIC ACID

Addition of Tween 80 to the growth medium of baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) under anaerobic conditions resulted in an increased content of 9-cis-octadecenoic acid (oleic acid) in a membrane preparation consisting mainly of plasma membrane. There was no significant effect on the pyruvate decarboxylation capacity of disintegrated cells, but that of intact cells was significantly enhanced, presumably because of an oleate-induced increase in the permeability of the plasma membrane to pyruvate.     

Evaluation of the Acute Toxicity and Genotoxicity of Orange,Red, Violet and Yellow Pyrotechnic Smokes In Vitro

The acute toxicity and the genotoxicity of four colored smokes were studied by an in vitro method based on the exposure of human bronchial epithelial cell cultures to the smokes. All smoke formulations consisted of the oxidizer fuel mixture (potassium chlorate/lactose), talcum and the following dyes: 1,4‐dihydroxy anthraquinone (orange), 1‐(p‐tolylamino)‐4‐hydroxy anthraquinone (violet), 1‐methylamino anthraquinone (red) and 4,4′‐methylidyne‐bis‐3‐methyl‐1‐phenyl‐2‐pyrazolin‐5‐one (yellow). The experiments were carried out in a laboratory scale chamber and in a large container. The toxicity was compared to that of hexachloroethane (HC)‐based reference smoke with known toxicity. All the colored smokes displayed acute toxicity. The order of toxicity in the laboratory scale tests was orange>violet≈red>HC>yellow and in the container tests orange>violet≈yellow>red. The orange smoke appeared genotoxic in all the tests. With the yellow and the violet smokes, the genotoxicity could not be totally excluded. The red smoke showed evidence of weak genotoxicity only in one test series at the highest concentration level.     

Inkjetting dielectric layer for electronic applications

Printed electronics is expected to increase its market share significantly in near future. The emerging applications include e.g. display applications, RFID tags, and photovoltaic applications. A benefit of printing is the additive character of the process, which means that material is deposited only the amount that is needed. Digital printing increases flexibility of the process, because circuits are manufactured directly from a digital file, which removes need of fixed masks or patterned screens for each layout. Formation of a multilayer circuitry requires printing of conductive and insulative layers. This paper focuses on printing of a dielectric layer with an inkjet printer. Six sigma DMAIC approach was applied during the process characterization and analysis. The study began by defining the process parameters and evaluating their importance to the outputs. Highest rated parameters were taken into consideration and a design of experiments was established. Measured values were analyzed and it was observed which parameters had the highest effect on the outputs. The results were further verified and it was observed that electrically the printed structures were successful.     

Novel homogeneous gel fibers and capillaries from blend of titanium tetrabutoxide and siloxane functionalized ionic liquid

The preparation of ionogels by sol–gel processing has attracted much attention, because the final ceramic materials combine properties of both inorganic matrix (thermal and mechanical stability) and the ionic liquid (ionic conductivity). The aim of this study was to combine different imidazolium based ionic liquids (1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate [EMIM][BF₄], 1-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium tetrafluoroborate [BMIM][BF₄], 1-decyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate [DMIM][BF₄] and 1-methyl-3-[3′-(triethoxysilyl)propyl]imidazolium chloride MTICl) with titanium(IV) butoxide to prepare homogenous hybrid fibers through aqueous sol–gel reaction. The study showed that ionic liquid miscibility with metal alkoxide plays an important role in the preparation of homogenous fibers. Unlike simple imidazolium salts functionalized ionic liquid was dispersed homogenously in fibers, but the main advantage is derived from its chemical structure. New stable ionic liquid can be involved in sol–gel processes through ethoxy groups and as a result it associates with titanium alkoxide network by covalent bonding providing non-leaking ceramic hybrid material. Indirect and direct characterization studies of the product were carried out by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), silicon-29 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (²⁹Si NMR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and optical microscopies; also infrared spectra (IR) were recorded. Thermal analyses were performed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).     

Functional fluid jetting performance optimization

The manufacturing method utilizing digital printing technology offers alternatives to create electronic structures to be used even in microelectronic applications. Material deposition based on digital inkjet technology offers advantages over both traditional mask-etch technologies and other printing methods. Inkjet technology works in an additive manner, reducing material consumption and the amount of created waste. Additionally, the digital nature of the process allows flexible production, e.g., rapid design changes, quick prototyping, and small, customized series. This research paper introduces ink jetting performance optimization utilized in a concept where discrete components and bare silicon chips were integrated in a single module with ink jetted interconnections. Jetting optimization of fluids enhances the droplet placement and volume accuracy that is a critical issue when forming interconnections for dense IC circuits. The overall drop placement error in jet printing is a combination of several error sources such as mechanical, dynamical and material related issues. However, the largest error portion is induced by a single printhead. The printhead related errors can be detected by observing the flight behavior after firing from the printhead nozzle. This paper focuses on optimizing the performance of ejected droplets during flight, i.e., drop formation sequence and minimum flight time variance. The average drop velocities of drops fired from separate printhead nozzles can be used to evaluate the difference in placement on substrate, which in worse case may lead to electrical wiring failures. The performance optimization was done by analyzing the initial state, modeling the drop velocity during flight, optimizing the process parameters to satisfy the model, and accepting the model after verification. Two inks, conductive and dielectric, were evaluated and improvement in placement accuracy was achieved through enhanced uniformity in drop average velocities, a dimensionless number, coefficient of variation was enhanced from 0.051 to 0.040,with conductive ink and from 0.111 to 0.049 with dielectric ink, thus decreasing the velocity related drop placement error.