Microwave irradiation under different pH conditions induced a decrease in β-lactoglobulin antigenicity

Whey proteins adjusted at pH values 2, 4.6, 9 and at the natural milk pH (pH 6.8) were subjected to microwave irradiation at 300 W for 20 min or 700 W for 10 min. The protein composition of treated and native whey proteins were evaluated by Lowry’s method and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The ability of treated whey to bind IgG polyclonal antibody was determined by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using sera obtained from rabbit immunized to β-Lactoglobulin (β-Lg). Significantly higher losses in soluble protein concentrations were observed for microwave irradiated whey proteins at pH value 4.6 (35.6% at 300 W and 44.33% at 700 W) (P < 0.0001) compared with those irradiated at the natural milk pH (26% at 300 or 700 W). The electrophoretic patterns of these proteins revealed a considerable decrease in intensity of the band corresponding to α-lactalbumin but only a slight modification was observed for the electrophoretic profiles of β-lactoglobulin. The data obtained with a rabbit anti-β-lactoglobulin immunoglobulin indicated a low antigenic response for microwave-irradiated whey proteins at the natural milk pH (up to 29.32% as well as 300–700 W) (P < 0.001). The lowest antigenicity was observed for samples adjusted to pH 4.6 followed by microwave irradiation at 300 or 700 W (46.99% at 300 W and 41.16% at 700 W) (P < 0.0001).     

Generic entity resolution with negative rules

Entity resolution (ER) (also known as deduplication or merge-purge) is a process of identifying records that refer to the same real-world entity and merging them together. In practice, ER results may contain “inconsistencies,” either due to mistakes by the match and merge function writers or changes in the application semantics. To remove the inconsistencies, we introduce “negative rules” that disallow inconsistencies in the ER solution (ER-N). A consistent solution is then derived based on the guidance from a domain expert. The inconsistencies can be resolved in several ways, leading to accurate solutions. We formalize ER-N, treating the match, merge, and negative rules as black boxes, which permits expressive and extensible ER-N solutions. We identify important properties for the rules that, if satisfied, enable less costly ER-N. We develop and evaluate two algorithms that find an ER-N solution based on guidance from the domain expert: the GNR algorithm that does not assume the properties and the ENR algorithm that exploits the properties.     

Preparation of sprayed tin oxide transparent conducting films and their structural and electrical properties

The aim of the present work was to prepare fairly uniform transparent and conductive tin oxide films using an inexpensive and easily controllable method. The technique adopted was spray deposition. The design of the spray deposition apparatus takes into consideration its reliability in controlling the different parameters affecting the formation of deposited layers, as well as its adaptability for large-area applications. The growth rate was independent of substrate type but increased with increasing substrate temperature. The crystalline structure of the films was found to be a function of substrate temperature and film thickness. The X-ray diffraction patterns showed that the preferred orientation was (110) and the grain size was in the range of a few tens of nanometres. The variation of sheet resistance with deposition parameters was studied and an empirical formula relating the sheet resistance to the film thickness was obtained. The prepared tin oxide layers of thicknesses up to 200 nm were found to have a transparency of about 80% to 85%, which makes them suitable for application as a single antireflecting coating of silicon solar cells.     

Absorption of gas into a wavy falling film

In this work, we present results of a study of gas absorption into a falling film on a vertical substrate. The film flow is accompanied by the formation of nonlinear waves which strongly influence the diffusion layer that develops from the film surface. As a result, significant enhancement of mass transfer has been observed in experiments. We use recent advances in modelling of the hydrodynamics and solve a two-dimensional convective-diffusion equation for the solute concentration. Numerical solutions for the finite-amplitude wave regimes and associated integral absorption rates are obtained for a range of flow conditions. Our results show clearly the influence of waves on the development of the diffusion layer and, in particular, the enhancement of absorption due to the waves; the existence of optimal conditions for maximizing the absorption rate is also demonstrated.     

Gas absorption into a wavy film flowing over a spinning disc

We present results for gas absorption into a liquid film flowing over a spinning disc. The flow is accompanied by the formation of nonlinear waves which strongly influence the diffusion boundary-layer that develops beneath the surface of the film. We use recent advances in modelling of the hydrodynamics and solve a two-dimensional convective-diffusion equation for the solute concentration. Numerical solutions for the finite-amplitude wave regimes and associated integral absorption rates are obtained for flow conditions corresponding to real experiments. Our results show clearly the enhancement of absorption due to the waves.     

Interval-graph-based PLA folding

In this paper we present algorithms to implement PLA folding based on the interval graph theory. A PLA will be represented by five sets of nets: product-term nets (PT nets), input and output nets (I and O nets), and input and output connection nets (IC and OC nets). Column folding becomes a problem of permuting the rows such that the I/O nets can be placed in as few columns as possible. Algorithms for both unconstrained and constrained foldings are given.     

Optimal portion control using variable cutter‐blade spacing in can‐filling

In the present context, optimal portion control refers to the process of preparing can‐filling portions so that the deviation of the portion weight from a specified target weight is minimized. An approach has been developed for achieving this where a batch of objects is placed in a linearly overlapped optimal arrangement and then cut into portions using a series of parallel blades. The parameters of optimization are the arrangement order, orientation and degree of overlap of the objects. The approach has been demonstrated to produce impressive improvements in the application of fish canning. For this application, two approaches of optimal cutting are compared in the present paper. In one approach, the blade spacing is kept fixed and constant at a predetermined value. In the second approach, the blade spacing is varied for each portion after the objects are placed according to the optimal arrangement, where the target weight distribution is allowed to vary within a tolerance interval. The results presented in this paper indicate that the second approach produces a significantly higher percentage of acceptable portions than the first approach. What is presented are results from computer simulations, utilizing true data as measured from actual batches of fish. The paper demonstrates the potential benefit of the optimal portion control approach when applied in an industrial fish‐canning process. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comment—a note on expert systems packaging expertise on a disk

Many packaging decisions are routine, but require a high level of expertise. The research described in this paper explores the use of expert systems for automating routine package development tasks. It begins with a general discussion of expert systems and outlines some feasible packaging applications in design, prediction, problem diagnosis, and management control. A PC-based prototype system is described, which is composed of six modules related to the following tasks: performance requirements, packaging solutions, testing specifications, testing results analysis, vendor specifications and procurement.