Fast identification of wine related lactic acid bacteria by multiplex PCR

The microflora of must and wine consists of yeasts, acetic acid bacteria and lactic acid bacteria (LAB). The latter group plays an important role for wine quality. The malolactic fermentation carried out by LAB leads to deacidification and stabilisation of wines. Nevertheless, LAB are often associated with wine spoilage. They are mainly responsible for the formation of biogenic amines. Furthermore, some strains produce exopolysaccharide slimes, acetic acid, diacetyl and other off-flavours. In this context a better monitoring of the vinification process is crucial to improve wine quality. Moreover, a lot of biodiversity studies would also profit from a fast and reliable identification method.     

A Novel Porous Tube Reactor for Nanoparticle Synthesis with Simultaneous Gas-Phase Reaction and Dilution

A novel porous tube reactor that combines simultaneous reactions and continuous dilution in a single-stage gas-phase process was designed for nanoparticle synthesis. The design is based on the atmospheric pressure chemical vapor synthesis (APCVS) method. In comparison to the conventional hot wall chemical vapor synthesis reactor, the APCVS method offers an effective process for the synthesis of ultrafine metal particles with controlled oxidation. In this study, magnetic iron and maghemite were synthesized using iron pentacarbonyl as a precursor. Morphology, size, and magnetic properties of the synthesized nanoparticles were determined. The X-ray diffraction results show that the porous tube reactor produced nearly pure iron or maghemite nanoparticles with crystallite sizes of 24 and 29 nm, respectively. According to the scanning mobility particle sizer data, the geometric number mean diameter was 110 nm for iron and 150 nm for the maghemite agglomerates. The saturation magnetization value of iron was 150 emu/g and that of maghemite was 12 emu/g, measured with superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometry. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation was used to model the temperature and flow fields and the decomposition of the precursor as well as the mixing of the precursor vapor and the reaction gas in the reactor. An in-house CFD model was used to predict the extent of nucleation, coagulation, sintering, and agglomeration of the iron nanoparticles. CFD simulations predicted a primary particle size of 36 nm and an agglomerate size of 134 nm for the iron nanoparticles, which agreed well with the experimental data.

Copyright 2015 American Association for Aerosol Research     

Kinetic parameters of the oxidation of zirconium alloys in simulated WWER water – Effect of KOH content

The pre-transition oxides formed on two different types of zirconium alloys (Zircaloy 4 and E110) have been characterised in situ using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in high-temperature electrolyte simulating WWER conditions at 310 °C. To obtain a correlation between the oxide film thickness, the oxide growth rate and the impedance parameters, the EIS data have been fitted to a transfer function derived from the mixed-conduction model for oxide films, allowing for the contribution of both an inner, barrier type of oxide and a more defective outer layer. The values of the total oxide film thickness based on the model calculations have proved to be in a good agreement with the values measured from the cross-section micrographs of the specimens using scanning electron microscopy. The main kinetic and transport parameters characterising the oxidation process have been estimated and discussed with regard to the effect of KOH content and alloy type on the mechanism of conduction through the formed oxide.     

Effect of Ceramic Particles on Properties of Cold-Sprayed Ni-20Cr+Al2O3 Coatings

Cold spraying is a thermal spray process enabling the production of metallic and metal-ceramic coatings with low porosity and low oxygen content, capable of, e.g., resisting corrosion. The aim of this study was to characterize the microstructural and mechanical properties of cold-sprayed Ni-20Cr+Al₂O₃ coatings and to clarify the effect of the hard particles on different coating properties. Accordingly, the research focused on the microstructure, denseness (impermeability), adhesion strength, and hardness of the coatings. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis and corrosion tests were run to gain information on the through-porosity. Ceramic addition in cold-sprayed Ni-20Cr+Al₂O₃ coatings improved their quality by lowering their porosity. Moreover, hardness was slightly higher than those of cold-sprayed Ni-20Cr coating, indicating a hardening effect by the ceramic particles. The addition of Al₂O₃ also made it possible to use high gas temperatures without nozzle clogging, which affects coating properties, such as coating thickness, denseness, and hardness.     

Pareto navigator for interactive nonlinear multiobjective optimization

We describe a new interactive learning-oriented method called Pareto navigator for nonlinear multiobjective optimization. In the method, first a polyhedral approximation of the Pareto optimal set is formed in the objective function space using a relatively small set of Pareto optimal solutions representing the Pareto optimal set. Then the decision maker can navigate around the polyhedral approximation and direct the search for promising regions where the most preferred solution could be located. In this way, the decision maker can learn about the interdependencies between the conflicting objectives and possibly adjust one’s preferences. Once an interesting region has been identified, the polyhedral approximation can be made more accurate in that region or the decision maker can ask for the closest counterpart in the actual Pareto optimal set. If desired, (s)he can continue with another interactive method from the solution obtained. Pareto navigator can be seen as a nonlinear extension of the linear Pareto race method. After the representative set of Pareto optimal solutions has been generated, Pareto navigator is computationally efficient because the computations are performed in the polyhedral approximation and for that reason function evaluations of the actual objective functions are not needed. Thus, the method is well suited especially for problems with computationally costly functions. Furthermore, thanks to the visualization technique used, the method is applicable also for problems with three or more objective functions, and in fact it is best suited for such problems. After introducing the method in more detail, we illustrate it and the underlying ideas with an example.     

Average power estimation under nonsinusoidal conditions

In this paper, the authors address the problem of estimating the average power of electrical systems under nonsinusoidal conditions. At first, a time-domain-based algorithm is proposed, which smoothes sampled data using suitable coefficients, prior to their numerical integration. Then, the algorithm accuracy is quantified with respect to wide-band noise. Last, simulation and experimental results are presented showing its effectiveness in estimating average power when starting from multifrequency voltage and current samples     

Prediction and optimization of a ceramic casting process using a hierarchical hybrid system of neural networks and fuzzy logic

This paper is a case study that describes a hybrid system integrating fuzzy logic, neural networks and algorithmic optimization for use in the ceramics industry. A prediction module estimates two quality metrics of slip-cast pieces through the simultaneous execution of two neural networks. A process improvement algorithm optimizes controllable process settings using the neural network prediction module in the objective function. An expert system module contains a hierarchy of two fuzzy logic rule bases. The rule bases prescribe processing times customized to individual production lines given ambient conditions, mold characteristics and the neural network predictions. This paper demonstrates the applicability of newer computational techniques to a very traditional manufacturing process and the system has been implemented at a major US plant.     

Evaluation of CTOA from load vs. load-line displacement for C(T) specimen

A method to evaluate crack length and crack tip opening angle (CTOA) using only load vs. load-line data (P vs. Δ) is proposed for sheet materials for the C(T) specimen. The method has been applied to high-strength steel sheet and reasonable agreement was found with results from the surface optical method.     

Wavelet packet modulation for wireless communications

As proven by the success of OFDM, multicarrier modulation has been recognized as an efficient solution for wireless communications. Waveform bases other than sine functions could similarly be used for multicarrier systems in order to provide an alternative to OFDM. In this paper, we study the performance of wavelet packet transform modulation (WPM) for transmission over wireless channels. This scheme is shown to be overall quite similar to OFDM but with some interesting additional features and improved characteristics. A detailed analysis of the system's implementation complexity as well as an evaluation of the influence of implementation‐related impairments are also reported. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ormond's disease

Three cases of Ormond's disease (syndrome) are described, and the aetiopathogenesis, clinical picture and diagnostics of the disease are dealt with in this report. Besides, the traditional therapy and the new therapeutic possibilities are discussed. For a disease of low incidence and assumed autoimmune origin malignancy cannot be excluded. Therefore, surgical exploration and histological verification are indispensable interventions in every case of Ormond's disease. In two of the present cases, steroid was administered in defence of percutaneous nephrostomy. In two cases, the recently recommended anti-oestrogen therapy was successful. Stagnation, or even regression, of the process followed. The authors are sure that they were the first in Hungary to administer anti-oestrogen to patients suffering from IFR.