Inactivation of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella in cranberry, lemon, and lime juice concentrates

The production of thermally concentrated fruit juices uses temperatures high enough to achieve at least a 5-log reduction of pathogenic bacteria that can occur in raw juice. However, the transportation and storage of concentrates at low temperatures prior to final packaging is a common practice in the juice industry and introduces a potential risk for postconcentration contamination with pathogenic bacteria. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the likelihood of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella surviving in cranberry, lemon, and lime juice concentrates at or above temperatures commonly used for transportation or storage of these concentrates. This study demonstrates that cranberry, lemon, and lime juice concentrates possess intrinsic antimicrobial properties that will eliminate these bacterial pathogens in the event of postconcentration recontamination. Bacterial inactivation was demonstrated under all conditions; at least 5-log Salmonella inactivation was consistently demonstrated at -23 degrees C (-10 degrees F), at least 5-log E. coli O157:H7 inactivation was consistently demonstrated at -11 degrees C (12 degrees F), and at least 5-log L. monocytogenes inactivation was consistently demonstrated at 0 degrees C (32 degrees F).     

Numerical study of energy separation in a vortex tube with different RANS models

The aim of the present paper is to investigate numerically the energy separation mechanism and flow phenomena within a vortex tube. A 3D computational domain has been generated considering the quarter of the geometry and assuming periodicity in the Azimuthal direction which was found to exhibit correctly the general behaviour expected from a vortex tube. Air is selected as the working fluid. The flow predictions reported here are based upon four turbulence models, namely, the k–?, k–ω and SST k–ω two-equations models and the second moment closure model (RSM). The models results are compared to experimental data obtained from the literature. Four cases have been considered by changing the inlet pressure from 200 up to 380 kPa. It has been observed that all the above mentioned models are capable of predicting fairly well the general flow features but only the advanced RSM model is capable of matching correctly the measured cold and hot outlet temperatures. All the other models over predict the mean temperature difference by values up to twice the measured data.     

AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS IN SOME IRAQI GASOLINES AND THEIR INFLUENCE IN THE VALUE OF THE RESEARCH OCTANE NUMBER

Five different types of Iraqi gasoline samples were studied extensively to determine the total amount of the aromatic hydrocarbons using solvent extraction. The extracted aromatics were further studied using Ir and H-nmr spectroscopy. Relative proton values were adopted as additivity parameters to calculate the research octane number (RON) employing multiparametric regressional analysis. The results of the calculated octane numbers showed complete agreement with the experimentally measured values.     

Crystallisation kinetics of palm stearin,palm kernel olein and their blends

The kinetics of isothermal crystallisation of palm stearin, palm kernel olein and their blends (20–80 g/100 g palm stearin with 20 g/100 g increment) were determined using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The mechanism of crystallisation (n) was calculated by applying the Avrami equation using the crystallisation curves obtained at 10, 15 and 20 °C. The DSC isothermal crystallisation data at 10, 15 and 20 °C fitted well into the Avrami equation over the entire fractional crystallisation with correlation coefficient always greater than 0.98. Based on the Avrami exponent obtained, the palm stearin and palm kernel olein have different nucleation and growth mechanisms. The suggested mechanism for palm kernel olein was high nucleation rate at the beginning of crystallisation, which decreased with time, and plate-like growth (n = 2). On the other hand, the mechanism for palm stearin was instantaneous heterogeneous nucleation followed by spherulitic growth (n = 3). For blends of palm stearin and palm kernel olein, the mechanisms of crystallisation were 2 and 3 depending on the composition of the blends and crystallisation temperatures.     

Curcumin antifungal and antioxidant activities are increased in the presence of ascorbic acid

The objective of this study was to evaluate the antifungal and antioxidant activities of curcumin, ascorbic acid and the mixture of these two compounds. For the antifungal assay, the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were determined using Candida strains (ATCC and clinical isolates). Curcumin alone inhibited growth of Candida albicans yeast cells, whereas ascorbic acid did not present effects. However, when the mixture of ascorbic acid and curcumin was assayed to determine the association of the two compounds, the curcumin MIC decreased 5- to 10-fold. In the antioxidant assays, the sum of the alone activities of curcumin and ascorbic acid were lower than the activity of the two-compound mixture. This study highlights the importance of the association between two common antioxidants in foods, to improve the antifungal and antioxidant activities of curcumin (in vitro), and can be applied to Candida spp. infection and diseases associated with oxidative stress.     

Comparative effects of gamma and microwave irradiation on the quality of black pepper

Powdered black pepper from Egyptian markets, was irradiated with different recommended doses of gamma rays (5.0 and 10.0 kGy) and with microwaves for different periods (20, 40 and 75 s) to improve its hygienic quality. The most common bacterial isolates were of three generaBacillus, Clostridium andMicrococcus (7.5 × 10⁶), whereas the predominant fungi (7.8 × 10⁴) wereAspergillus species,A. glaucus, A. flavus, A. niger andA. ochraceus. Doses of gamma irradiation used (5.0 and 10 kGy) were sufficient to decrease spore-forming bacteria (SFB) and to inhibit the fungal flora and coliforms which contaminated the black pepper powder. Microwave treatments for 40 s and 75 s were of the same effectiveness whereas treatment for 20 s was less so. GLC analysis proved the presence of 31 peaks, only 19 compounds were identified as monoterpene hydrocarbons (56.21%), the major one being -phellandrene and limonene. Sesquiterpenes were also present, mainly -caryollphyllene (3.69%) as well as oxygenated compounds such as terpenol, geraniol, Me-chavicol, eugenol and anisol. Gamma irradiation at 5 kGy and 10 kGy respectively decreased the numbers of identified compounds from 21 (86.58% concentration) in untreated pepper to 16 (59.22% concentration), 15 (54.06% concentration). In comparison, microwave treatments, particularly for 40 s and 75 s, increased the concentration of the same compounds. The results obtained indicate that microwave treatment, under these conditions, is a safe and suitable technique for decontamination of black pepper which does not result in a great loss of flavour compounds, as compared with recommended doses of gamma irradiation.     

Aluminizing nickel foam by a slurry coating process

A simple, one-step slurry coating technique was used to aluminize open cell nickel metal foam at low temperature and short hold-down time. Three slurries of different composition, heat-treated at 650 °C for 2 h, were used to investigate the possibility of developing an aluminide coating on a commercially produced Ni foam. In all cases a dense, well-adhered to the Ni substrate aluminide coating of several μm thickness was produced. The thickness and aluminide phase and composition (NiAl and/or Ni₃Al) of the coating strongly depend on Al content and the mix of activators in the slurry.     

Fertigation in Furrows and Level Furrow Systems. II: Field Experiments, Model Calibration, and Practical Applications

Furrow fertigation can be an interesting practice when compared to traditional overland fertilizer application. In the first paper of this series, a model for furrow fertigation was presented. The simulation model combined overland water flow (Saint-Venant equations), solute transport (advection-dispersion), and infiltration. Particular attention was paid to the treatment of junctions present in level furrow systems. In this paper, the proposed model is validated using five furrow fertigation evaluations differing in irrigation discharge, fertilizer application timing, and furrow geometry. Model parameters for infiltration and roughness were estimated using error minimization techniques. The error norm was based on observed and simulated values of advance time, flow depth, and fertilizer concentration. Model parameters could be adequately predicted from just one discharge experiment, although the use of more experiments resulted in decreased error. The validated model was applied to the simulation of a level furrow system from the literature. The model adequately reproduced irrigation advance and flow depth. Fertigation events differing in application timing were simulated to identify conditions leading to adequate fertilizer uniformity.     

Modeling of nucleate boiling heat transfer under an impinging free jet

A model using an analytical/empirical approach has been developed to predict the rate of heat transfer in the stagnation region of a planar jet impinging on a horizontal flat surface. The model has been developed based on the hypothesis that bubble-induced mixing would result in enhanced or additional diffusivity. The additional diffusivity has been included in the diffusion term of the conservation equations. The value of the effective diffusivity has been correlated with jet parameters (velocity and temperature) and surface temperature using experimental data. The important aspects of the bubble dynamics (generation frequency and average bubble diameter) have been acquired using high-speed imaging and an intrusive optical probe. The applicability of the proposed model has been investigated under conditions of partial and fully-developed nucleate boiling. Experiments have been carried out using water at atmospheric pressure, mass flux in the range of 388–1649 kg/m² s, degree of sub-cooling in the range of 10–28 °C, and surface temperature in the range of 75–120 °C. Results showed that the proposed model is able to predict the surface heat flux with reasonable accuracy (+30% and ?15%).