Effect of high hydrostatic pressure on physicochemical and biochemical properties of milk

Interest in high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) applications on milk and dairy products has recently increased as HHP offers a new technology for food preservation to the food industry. Although HHP-induced microbial destruction, rennet or acid coagulation of milk and increase in cheese yield has been reported, the actual effect of HHP application on milk constituents still remains to be unexplained. Therefore, we have analyzed the effect of HHP on physicochemical and biochemical properties such as turbidity, pH and especially protein micelle surface hydrophobicity of milk proteins. To serve for this purpose, milk samples with different fat contents were pressurized from 110 to 440 MPa at 25 °C for 10 and 20 min. Turbidity decreased with pressure increase and there was a slight change in pH. In order to measure the extent of exposure of hydrophobic groups of proteins to HHP, the method described by Bonomi et al. [1], based on use of a fluorescent probe, was utilized. In the light of the results obtained, it can be concluded that HHP has an effect on non-covalent interactions and especially hydrophobic bonds in milk. As the pressure is increased from 110 to 440 MPa, the micelles possibly decompose into sub-micelles and the embedded hydrophobic areas inside these micelles re-position in such a way that they can readily interfere with the fluorescent marker, ANS. These results may lead to practical applications of HHP treatment in the dairy industry to produce microbiologically safe, minimally processed products with high nutritional and sensory quality and novel texture.     

Effects of irrigation solutions on the surface of protaper instruments: A microscopy study

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), chlorhexidine digluconate (CHX), and mixture of tetracycline, citric acid, and detergent (MTAD) solutions on the surfaces of nickel titanium (NiTi) rotary files with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Irrigation solutions including 2.5% NaOCl, 5% NaOCl, 2% CHX, and MTAD were used. Four new ProTaper rotary NiTi files (F3) were immersed in each four irrigation solutions for 10 min, separately. One untreated NiTi file was used as a control specimen. The surface analysis was performed with SEM and AFM. The surface analysis in AFM was performed on 12 different regions located between first and second millimeters from the tip. SEM images were taken with different magnifications. No surface alteration was recorded under SEM evaluation. AFM revealed that the root mean square (RMS) values of all treated specimens were statistically higher than the control sample (P < 0.05). The sample which was treated with CHX showed lowest RMS values in test groups. All tested solutions caused surface alterations. CHX demonstrated limited surface alterations when compared to the other tested solutions. Microsc. Res. Tech. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Polyamorphism in Aluminum Nitride: A First Principles Molecular Dynamics Study

The high‐pressure behavior of amorphous aluminum nitride is investigated for the first time by means of ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. It is found to undergo two successive first‐order phase transformations with the application of pressure. The first one is a polyamorphic phase transition in which the low‐density amorphous phase transforms into a high‐density amorphous phase having an average coordination number of about 4.6. The high‐density amorphous structure transforms back to a low‐coordinated amorphous network upon pressure release but its density is higher than that of the original low‐density amorphous phase. The second phase change is the crystallization of the high‐density amorphous state into a rocksalt structure. A careful analysis suggests that the hexagonal‐like nanoclusters presented in amorphous aluminum nitride prevent the formation of a very dense amorphous phase (about sixfold coordinated) during the first phase transition and they act as a nucleation center for the crystallization process.     

A comparison of the functional characteristics of wheat stored as grain with wheat stored in spike form

In this study, wheat grain and wheat spike with 12%, 14% and 16% moisture content were stored at 10, 20 and 30 °C for 0, 3, 6 and 9 months. After storage, wheat samples were investigated for hectolitre weight, gluten content, Zeleny sedimentation volume, enzyme activity, acidity, phytic acid and L colour value. Storage of wheat at different storage forms (spike and grain) and storage conditions showed considerable changes in grain quality. In general, the storage period of 3 months positively affected wheat quality. However, hectolitre weight, gluten, Zeleny sedimentation, enzyme activity, acidity and colour of wheat got worse at storage periods beyond 3 months. Hectolitre weight, wet and dry gluten, Zeleny sedimentation, phytic acid content and L Colour value of wheat stored in both spike and grain form significantly decreased during storage. However, the increase in grain moisture content, storage time and temperature resulted in significant increase in total titratable acidity and falling number values of wheat. Falling Number and phytic acid values of wheat stored in spike form were generally lower than wheat stored in grain form. Storage in spike form had a positive effect on especially wet gluten content of wheat stored at non-optimal storage conditions such as high grain moisture content and high temperature. Wet gluten of wheat stored in spike form was higher than that of wheat stored grain form after storage at 30 °C for 6 and 9 months. Wheat stored in spike form is more resistant than wheat stored in grain form against adverse storage conditions such as high moisture content and temperature and longer storage time.     

Synthesis of N‐polyethereal polypyrroles and their application for the preconcentration of rare earth ions

Conducting polymers containing polyether pseudocages (P I , P II , P III ) have been synthesized via chemical oxidation of 1,5‐bis(1,1‐pyrrole)‐3‐oxabutane (M I ), 1,8‐bis(1,1‐pyrrole)‐3,6‐dioxahexane (M II ), and 1,11‐bis(1,1‐pyrrole)‐3,6,9‐trioxaundecane (M III ) using anhydrous FeCl₃ in CHCl₃. Because as obtained polymer resins did not give any response toward any cations, they were reduced (undoped) using chemical reducing agents. Tetrabutylammonium hydroxide was found to be more effective in undoping to obtain more reproducible and reusable polymer resins. The undoped polymer resins were tried in the extraction of rare earth metal ions from the aqueous medium. Among them, only P III resin removes La(III), Eu(III) and Yb(III) and can be employed for the preconcentration of these metal ions. For batch extraction of La(III), Eu(III) and Yb(III) at neutral pH values, percent recoveries of 98.0 ± 1.0, 90.7 ± 1.4, 87.3 ± 4.0, respectively, has been obtained. The sorption capacity is found as 1.3 mg of La(III) per gram of P III resin. The P III resin could be reused at least five times without significant change in its sorption capacity. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Effect of Dynamic Compaction on the Retention of Tetragonal Zirconia and Mechanical Properties of Alumina/Zirconia Composites

Dynamic consolidation techniques were employed to investigate the retention of tetragonal zirconia and degree of consolidation in alumina/zirconia powder compacts. Heating the specimens prior to explosive shock compaction increased the tetragonal-phase retention significantly. Low shock pressures yielded no macrocracking, although final densities were low (60% to 70% of the theoretical density). Heat treatment following dynamic consolidation enhanced the retention of the tetragonal zirconia polymorph regardless of the shock pressure employed. Compact densities were increased to over 90% of theoretical at relatively low sintering temperatures (1300°C). Hardness, toughness, and Young's modulus of the compacts were comparable to those achieved in composites that were synthesized using more conventional techniques. Dynamic compaction offers an alternative method for the fabrication of zirconia-toughened alumina ceramics.     

Synthesis and characterization of a Zr‐containing silicate‐based epoxy‐functional polymer nanocomposite system

As a continuation of efforts to explore the potential of certain types of polymer nanocomposites to be successful candidates as dental restoration/adhesion materials, a Zr‐containing and organically modified silicate‐based material system with epoxy functionality was prepared by use of a sol–gel synthesis method, and UV light‐ and visible light (VL)‐curing processes. Comparative influences of the synthesis and processing parameters on the mechanical, thermal, and microstructural/nanostructural properties of the system were detailed. Zr‐containing species proved to more effectively catalyze the epoxy polymerization/crosslinking reactions than those containing Ti. Incorporation of Zr into the nanocomposite network led to significantly advanced mechanical properties. An elastic (Young's) modulus value of 23 MPa was achieved. The system with relatively high Zr content was successfully obtained, which also had higher thermal stability. Overall observations and results suggested that Zr content, and the UV light‐ or VL‐curing process could be capitalized on to modify the structure, and to improve the final properties of these material systems, which indicated a prospective opportunity for this material system to be utilized in dental restoration/adhesion applications. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 55:792–798, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Variation of part thickness and compaction pressure in vacuum infusion process

In vacuum infusion (VI), it is difficult to manufacture a composite part with small dimensional tolerances, since the thickness of the part changes during resin injection. This change of thickness is due to the effect of varying compaction pressure on the upper mold part, a vacuum bag. In this study, random fabric layers with an embedded core distribution medium is used. The thickness of the composite part and resin pressure are monitored using multiple dial gages and pressure transducers; the results are compared with the model developed by Correia et al. [Correia NC, Robitaille F, Long AC, Rudd CD, Simacek P, Advani SG. Analysis of the vacuum infusion molding process: I. Analytical formulation. Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing 26, 2005. p. 1645–1656]. To use this model, two material characteristics databases are constructed based on the process parameters: (i) the thickness of a dry/wet fabric preform at different compaction pressures, and (ii) the permeability of the preform at different thicknesses. The dry-compacted preform under vacuum is further compacted due to fiber settling in wet form after resin reaches there; the part thickens afterwards as the resin pressure increases locally. The realistic model solution can be achieved only if the compaction characterization experiments are performed in such a way that the fabric is dry during loading, and wet during unloading, as in the actual resin infusion process. The model results can be used to design the process parameters such as vacuum pressure and locations of injection and ventilation tubes so that the dimensional tolerances can be kept small.     

Quality Indices for Aluminum Alloy Castings: A Critical Review

Several indices are available in the literature to assess the structural quality of cast Al alloys, especially Al-7 pct Si-Mg alloys that are based on tensile test results. Some of these indices, most notably the one developed by Drouzy et al., provide a number that necessarily does not have a physical meaning, whereas the others are a measure of what fraction of the expected tensile performance is achieved. These indices are analyzed in depth, their similarities and shortcomings are discussed in detail, and recommendations are made.     

Formal anonymity models for efficient privacy-preserving joins

Organizations, such as federally-funded medical research centers, must share de-identified data on their consumers to publicly accessible repositories to adhere to regulatory requirements. Many repositories are managed by third-parties and it is often unknown if records received from disparate organizations correspond to the same individual. Failure to resolve this issue can lead to biased (e.g., double counting of identical records) and underpowered (e.g., unlinked records of different data types) investigations. In this paper, we present a secure multiparty computation protocol that enables record joins via consumers’ encrypted identifiers. Our solution is more practical than prior secure join models in that data holders need to interact with the third party one time per data submission. Though technically feasible, the speed of the basic protocol scales quadratically with the number of records. Thus, we introduce an extended version of our protocol in which data holders append k-anonymous features of their consumers to their encrypted submissions. These features facilitate a more efficient join computation, while providing a formal guarantee that each record is linkable to no less than k individuals in the union of all organizations’ consumers. Beyond a theoretical treatment of the problem, we provide an extensive experimental investigation with data derived from the US Census to illustrate the significant gains in efficiency such an approach can achieve.