Effect of Silica‐Coated Poly(butyl methacrylate)‐block‐poly(methyl methacrylate) Double‐Shell Particles on the Mechanical Properties of PMMA Composites

Silica nanoparticles with an average diameter of 12 nm are grafted with PBMA‐b‐PMMA double shells through typical sequential ATRP from bromoisobutyrate initiators anchored at the silica surface using an epoxysilane. A commercially available PMMA homopolymer is used for the preparation of composites with unmodified, silane‐modified and double‐shell‐modified silica particles. Good mechanical properties are obtained for silica double shell containing systems. The silica content in double shell particle systems is varied from 0 to 2.5 wt%. A significant improvement in impact properties is observed. The surface‐modified silica particles are characterized by ATR‐FTIR, NMR, GPC, and thermal analyses. TEM analysis is used to analyze the nature of dispersion of particles in the composites.

     

On quantifying nonthermal effects on the lethality of pressure-assisted heat preservation processes

Direct experimental identification and quantification of the pressure contribution to a pressure-assisted sterilization process efficacy is difficult. However, dynamic kinetic models of thermal inactivation can be used to assess the lethality of a purely thermal process having the same temperature profile. Thus, a pressure-assisted process' temperature record can be used to generate a corresponding purely thermal survival curve with parameters determined in conventional heating experiments. Comparison of the actual final survival ratio with that calculated for the purely thermal process would reveal whether the hydrostatic pressure had synergistic or antagonistic effect on bacterial spores survival. The effect would be manifested in the number of log cycles subtracted or added to the survival ratio, and in the length of time at the holding temperature needed to produce the final survival ratio of the combined process. A set of combined treatments would reveal how the temperature and pressure profiles affect the pressure's influence on the process' lethality to either vegetative cells or spores. The need to withdraw samples during the thermal and combined processes would be avoided if the thermal survival parameters could be calculated by the "three endpoints method," which does not require the entire survival curve determination. Currently however, this method is limited to thermal inactivation patterns characterized by up to 3 survival parameters, the Weibull-Log logistic (WeLL) model, for example.     

The Arrhenius equation revisited

The Arrhenius equation has been widely used as a model of the temperature effect on the rate of chemical reactions and biological processes in foods. Since the model requires that the rate increase monotonically with temperature, its applicability to enzymatic reactions and microbial growth, which have optimal temperature, is obviously limited. This is also true for microbial inactivation and chemical reactions that only start at an elevated temperature, and for complex processes and reactions that do not follow fixed order kinetics, that is, where the isothermal rate constant, however defined, is a function of both temperature and time. The linearity of the Arrhenius plot, that is, Ln[k(T)] vs. 1/T where T is in °K has been traditionally considered evidence of the model's validity. Consequently, the slope of the plot has been used to calculate the reaction or processes' "energy of activation," usually without independent verification. Many experimental and simulated rate constant vs. temperature relationships that yield linear Arrhenius plots can also be described by the simpler exponential model Ln[k(T)/k(T(reference))] = c(T-T(reference)). The use of the exponential model or similar empirical alternative would eliminate the confusing temperature axis inversion, the unnecessary compression of the temperature scale, and the need for kinetic assumptions that are hard to affirm in food systems. It would also eliminate the reference to the Universal gas constant in systems where a "mole" cannot be clearly identified. Unless proven otherwise by independent experiments, one cannot dismiss the notion that the apparent linearity of the Arrhenius plot in many food systems is due to a mathematical property of the model's equation rather than to the existence of a temperature independent "energy of activation." If T+273.16°C in the Arrhenius model's equation is replaced by T+b, where the numerical value of the arbitrary constant b is substantially larger than T and T(reference), the plot of Ln k(T) vs. 1/(T+b) will always appear almost perfectly linear. Both the modified Arrhenius model version having the arbitrary constant b, Ln[k(T)/k(T(reference)) = a[1/ (T(reference)+b)-1/ (T+b)], and the exponential model can faithfully describe temperature dependencies traditionally described by the Arrhenius equation without the assumption of a temperature independent "energy of activation." This is demonstrated mathematically and with computer simulations, and with reprocessed classical kinetic data and published food results.     

Modeling microbial populations with the original and modified versions of the continuous and discrete logistic equations

The life histories of microbial populations, under favorable and adverse conditions, exhibit a variety of growth, decay, and fluctuation patterns. They have been described by numerous mathematical models that varies considerably in structure and number of constants. The continuous logistic equation alone and combined with itself or with its mirror image, the Fermi function, can produce many of the observed growth patterns. They include those that are traditionally described by the Gompertz equation and peaked curves, with the peak being symmetric or asymmetric narrow or wide. The shape of survival and dose response curves appears to be determined by the distribution of the resistance's to the lethal agent among the individual organisms. Thus, exponential decay and Fermian or Gompertz‐type curves can be considered manifestations of skewed to the right, symmetric, and skewed to the left distributions, respectively.

Because of the mathematical constraints and determinism, the original discrete logistic equation can rarely be an adequate model of real microbial populations. However, by making its proportionality constant a normal‐random variate it can simulate realistic histories of fluctuating microbial populations, including scenarios of aperiodic population explosions of varying intensities of the kind found in food‐poisoning episodes.     

Role of reverse micelles on lipid oxidation in bulk oils: impact of phospholipids on antioxidant activity of α-tocopherol and Trolox

Phospholipids self-assemble in bulk oils to form structures such as reverse micelles that can alter the microenvironment where chemical degradation reactions occur, such as lipid oxidation. In this study, we examined the influence of phospholipid reverse micelles on the activity of non-polar (α-tocopherol) and polar (Trolox) antioxidants in stripped soybean oil (SSO). Reverse micelles were formed by adding 1000 μM 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC) to SSO. The addition of DOPC reverse micelles had a prooxidant effect, shortening the lag phase of SSO at 55 °C. DOPC improved the activity of low α-tocopherol or Trolox concentrations (10 μM) but decreased the activity of high concentrations (100 μM). Hydrophilic Trolox had better antioxidant activity than hydrophobic α-tocopherol. Fluorescence steady state and lifetime decay studies suggests that differences in the antioxidant activity of Trolox and α-tocopherol could be due to differences in their physical location in DOPC reverse micelles. These results will improve our understanding and control of lipid oxidation in bulk oils.     

A comparative quality appraisal of finely comminuted batters produced using three types of knives

The aim of this study was to compare the work efficiency of three types of knives mounted successively on a knife roll of a cutter by evaluating the quality and structure of produced finely comminuted batters as well as power consumption and electric energy consumption during chopping. Experimental material comprised finely comminuted meat batters produced under commercial scale production conditions using smooth knives, knives with riffles and knives with holes. Parameters measured in batter included temperature, water, fat, free water, apparent viscosity, thermal drip and batter structure using computer image analysis.     

Experimental study of cohesive strain prior to crack initiation in constant force single cantilever beam test

Retarded deformation at the bond line edge of a thick, viscoelastic adhesive layer is observed using digital image correlation. Such information is required for proposing physical crack onset/propagation parameters which take into account viscoelastic and viscous mechanisms in the evaluation of dissipated energy. A complex stress/strain redistribution is observed in the early stage after specimen loading. The results illustrate that viscoelasticity dissipates a considerable amount of energy prior to crack nucleation and the lack of predictive models to account for that phenomenon.     

Comparative Analysis of Energetic Properties of Ti6Al4V Titanium and EN-AW-2017A(PA6) Aluminum Alloy Surface Layers for an Adhesive Bonding Application

The purpose of this article is to present energetic properties of surface Ti6Al4V titanium as well as surface EN-AW-2017A(PA6) aluminum alloy layers. Values of surface free energy after selected mechanical operations and ozonation were compared. In addition, the influence of different values of ozone concentration on surface layer energetic activation was analyzed. Dispersive and polar components of surface free energy were of particular concern. Comparative evaluation of shearing strength of Ti6Al4V titanium and EN-AW-2017A(PA6) aluminum alloy single-lap adhesive bonded joints were presented. Results can be used as pro-ecological methods of titanium and aluminum alloys preparing for applications where adhesive phenomenon is important.     

Modeling of Drying of Highly Shrinking Materials Using Hydrogels as an Example

The work presents a model of convective drying of a highly shrinking material of cylindrical shape. To identify the effective diffusivity as a function of local temperature and moisture content the problem was solved as an inverse problem. A set of experimental data served for model validation. The optimization algorithms were used to solve PDE system and fit numerically obtained curves to the experimental data using the effective diffusivity as the only adjustable parameter.