Formation of acrylamide in microwave-roasted sorghum and associated dietary risk

The effect of microwave roasting parameters (300, 450 and 600 W; 5, 10 and 15 min) on acrylamide content in sorghum grain was determined using High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)-photo diode array (PDA) detector coupled with C-18 column. Samples roasted at 300 and 450 W did not possess acrylamide, whereas 600 W (15 min) favoured formation of 2740.19 µg/kg of acrylamide, levels far exceeding the defined European Union (EU) limits. The chronic daily intake (CDI) for acrylamide through consumption of such grain flour was 3.25–9.5-fold higher to Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) defined high exposure limits. The margin of exposure (MOE) values ranged from 4.3 to 12.76 and from 11.07 to 32.27 for neoplastic and neurological effects, respectively, demonstrating high exposure and serious health concerns associated with dietary intake of this toxicant. This study assesses the risk for the Indian population and highlights the importance of optimising process parameters for food product to minimise such exposure risks.     

Time-dependent crashworthiness of polyurethane foam

Mechanics of Time-Dependent Materials - Time-dependent stress–strain relationship as well as crashworthiness of polyurethane foam was investigated under constant impact energy with different...     

Spectroscopic and Simulation Analysis of Facile PEDOT:PSS Layer Deposition-Silicon for Perovskite Solar Cell

In this research work, we have characterized and simulated a well-known hole transport material (HTM) for perovskite solar cell (PSC) and conductive polyme     

Poly(vinyl alcohol) foams reinforced with carbon nanotubes for stapedial annular ligament applications

This study aims to develop carbon nanotubes (CNTs) reinforced poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) foams as a possible material for stapedial annular ligament (SAL) application. As-grown (AG) and purified CNTs are used as reinforcing fillers for PVA foams. Uniaxial and cyclic compression tests reveal that specific modulus and energy dissipation behavior improve after reinforcing foam with CNTs. A relatively higher improvement in specific modulus is recorded for purified CNTs as they tend to produce stiffer cell walls. Thermogravimetric analysis shows thermal stability improves after addition of CNTs in PVA foams. The 50 wt % degradation temperature is higher for PVA_AG foam in comparison to neat PVA foam. Under dynamic loading storage, modulus is found to be higher for CNT doped foams with higher relative improvement with purified CNTs than AG CNTs. It is shown that reinforcing PVA foams with purified CNTs is a feasible strategy to improve their average mechanical properties and microstructure for SAL application. While the specific elastic modulus of neat PVA foam found to be in range of 0.05–0.06 MPa gcc⁻¹ with almost zero porosity. The addition of CNTs provides a wide range of specific elastic modulus 0.1–1.3 MPa gcc⁻¹ with an average pores size of about 300 μm. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 48736.     

BIM adoption by public facility agencies: impacts on occupant value

ABSTRACT

Many governments have begun to demand that large public facility agencies adopt and implement building information modelling (BIM) in their business processes. Some have published BIM guides. Most of these are technical specifications that are useful at the project level, but they provide no support for the organization-level adoption effort. On the basis of a literature review, action research and case studies of five large UK government facility agencies, a BIM adoption impact map (BIM AIM) is proposed. It describes a set of possible relationships between the actions taken by public facility agencies, the intermediate outcomes of their actions and the eventual achievement of value for the occupants of the facilities they build. BIM AIM can be used by public facility agencies with a wide variety of construction project types to analyse and visualize the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities in their BIM adoption efforts, potentially enabling them to focus on social impacts and outcomes rather than on the technological or management actions that intermediate stakeholders promote.     

Quantification of carbon nanotube dispersion and its correlation with mechanical and thermal properties of epoxy nanocomposites

An experimental study is carried out to quantitatively assess the dispersion quality of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in epoxy matrix as a function of CNT variant and weight fraction. To this end, two weight fractions (0.05% and 0.25%) of as-grown, oxidized, and functionalized CNTs are used to process CNT/epoxy nanocomposites. Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared analysis of different variants of CNTs are used to establish the efficiency of purification route. While the relative change in mechanical properties is investigated through tensile and micro-hardness testing, thermal conductivity of different nanocomposites is measured to characterize the effect of CNT addition on the average thermal properties of epoxy. Later on, a quantitative analysis is carried out to establish the relationship between the observed improvements in average composite properties with the dispersion quality of CNTs in epoxy. It is shown that carboxylic (-COOH) functionalization reduces the average CNT agglomerate size and thus ensures better dispersion of CNTs in epoxy even at higher CNT weight fraction. The improved dispersion leads to enhanced interfacial interaction at the CNT/epoxy interface and hence provides higher relative improvement in nanocomposite properties compared to the samples prepared using as-grown and oxidized CNTs. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 48879.     

Decomposition-based design optimization method using genetic co-evolution

The paper examines new strategies for the implementation of genetic algorithms in a decomposition-based approach for design. In this approach, the design problem is decomposed into smaller-sized sub-problems, the solutions for which are obtained through co-evolution. The emphasis resides in evaluating methods for exchanging design information relevant to coordinating solutions of temporarily decoupled sub-problems. Methods based on modification of genetic makeup through experiential inheritance (exposure to another species), and through inter-species migration are investigated in this work. Different forms of design problem coupling are investigated, ranging from coupling through constraints only, to coupled objective and constraint functions. The proposed strategies are validated through implementation in representative algebraic and structural design problems.     

Adaptive Discretization for Computerized Tomography

Two adaptive discretization frameworks are tested for computerized tomography (CT) data reconstruction. Removal of inactive pixels is primary motivation. Efficient and user independent entropy optimized masking is employed for spatial filtering purposes. Density of nodes at high gradient of reconstructed physical property is used as adaptation criterion. An alternative option, independent from noisy projection data and nature of the physical properties, is also discussed. Sensitivity analysis between the uniform and nonuniform (evolved via adaptive route) reconstruction grid reveals the utility of nonuniform grids. Iterative and transform based reconstruction techniques are used. Outcomes are tested successfully on three real world projection data from two different compact CT setups and one commercial high-resolution micro-CT scanner.