Protein and glycerol contents affect physico-chemical properties of soy protein isolate-based edible films

This study was conducted to determine the effect of both soy protein and glycerol contents on physico-chemical properties of soy protein isolate-based edible (SPI) films. The aim of this study was to better understand the influence of SPI and GLY contents on the behavior of the physico-chemical properties of soy protein isolate-based films. Films were casted from heated (70 °C for 20 min) alkaline (pH 10) aqueous solutions of SPI at 6, 7, 8, and 9 (w/w %), glycerol (50%, w/w, of SPI) and SPI at 7 (w/w %), glycerol (40, 60, 70 %, w/w of SPI). Water vapor permeability (WVP), was measured at 25 °C and for four different relative humidities (30–100%, 30–84%, 30–75%, 30–53%). Surface properties and differential scanning calorimetry were also measured. Varying the proportion of SPI and GLY had an effect on water vapor permeability, wetting and thermal properties of SPI films. A synergistic effect of glycerol and protein was observed on the water vapor permeability. Glycerol and RH gradient strongly enhance the moisture absorption rates and permeability of SPI based films. SPI content weakly increases the WVP and does not modify the surface properties. The temperature of denaturation of soy protein decreases glycerol content except for the higher concentration whereas it increases with protein ratio.Industrial relevanceThis topic of research aims to control mass transfers within composite foods or betweenfoods and surrounding media (for instance the headspace in packagings). The targeted applications from this work deals with the food product coating or the coating of paper-based packaging for limiting both the loss of water and flavors by cheese based products. This will allow to maintain the weight of the cheese during “ripening” and commercialization, and also to prevent (off-) flavour dissemination from very odorant cheese as produced in France and Poland.     

Evaluation of uncertainties in sewer condition assessment

Closed Circuit Television Inspection is used since decades as industry standard for sewer system inspection and structural performance evaluation. In current practice, inspection data are helpful to support asset management decisions. However, the quality and uncertainty of sewer condition assessment is rarely questioned. This article presents a methodology to determine the probability to underestimate, overestimate or accurately estimate the real condition of a pipe using visual inspection. The approach is based on the analysis of double inspections of the same sewer pipes and has been tested using the extensive data-set of the city of Braunschweig in Germany. Results indicate that the probability to inspect correctly a pipe in poor condition is close to 80%. The probability to overestimate the condition of a pipe in bad condition (false negative) is 20% whereas the probability to underestimate the condition of a pipe in good condition (false positive) is 15%. Finally, sewer condition evaluation can be used to assess the general condition of the network with an excellent accuracy probably because the respective effects of false positive and false negative are buffered.     

Ady2p is essential for the acetate permease activity in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

To identify new genes involved in acetate uptake in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, an analysis of the gene expression profiles of cells shifted from glucose to acetic acid was performed. The gene expression reprogramming of yeast adapting to a poor non-fermentable carbon source was observed, including dramatic metabolic changes, global activation of translation machinery, mitochondria biogenesis and the induction of known or putative transporters. Among them, the gene ADY2/YCR010c was identified as a new key element for acetate transport, being homologous to the Yarrowia lipolytica GPR1 gene, which has a role in acetic acid sensitivity. Disruption of ADY2 in S. cerevisiae abolished the active transport of acetate. Microarray analyses of ady2Delta strains showed that this gene is not a critical regulator of acetate response and that its role is directly connected to acetate transport. Ady2p is predicted to be a membrane protein and is a valuable acetate transporter candidate.     

Intelligent gripper technology for the handling of carbon fiber material

Nowadays, the serial production of Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymers remains a challenge for the industry. Their production and application have been limited by the intensive manual work required to produce them and the resulting elevated manufacturing costs. Moreover, the production handling tasks are fulfilled to a limited extent by the gripping systems currently available in the market. The delicate process and specific material requirements of these polymers compromise the feasibility and use of automated gripper systems. An innovative solution for the automated material handling of carbon fiber textiles developed by the wbk Institute for Production Science in cooperation with J. Schmalz GmbH will be presented in this paper. The main focus of this study deals with measuring principles to increase energy efficiency, process reliability and adaptability of a gripping system using low pressure grippers. This study presents suitable solutions for the implementation of low pressure grippers in a production environment.     

Applying a hybrid job shop procedure to a Belgian manufacturing company producing industrial wheels and castors in rubber

In this paper, several methods for job shop scheduling are combined, adjusted and successfully applied to a real-world scheduling problem at a Belgian manufacturer producing industrial wheels and castors in rubber. The procedure is an extension of a hybrid shifting bottleneck procedure with a tabu search algorithm while incorporating various company specific constraints. The various extensions to cope with the company specific constraints have a strong similarity with the complex job shop problem formulation of Mason, Fowler, and Carlyle (2002). The new procedure is used as a simulation engine to test the relevance of various scenarios in order to improve the current planning approach of the company. A detailed computational experiment highlights the main contribution of the novel procedure for the company.     

Do tricyclic responders have different brain laterality?

A previous study showed that depressed patients who improved with tricyclic antidepressant medication had dichotic complex tones test results suggesting right-hemisphere dysfunction relative to nonresponders and controls (G. E. Bruder et al., 1990). A new sample of 68 depressed patients completed dichotic consonant-vowel (CV) and complex tones (CT) tests and then were treated with imipramine or placebo. A significant Ear?×?Test?×?Treatment?×?Response interaction was accounted for by significantly poorer left-ear accuracy for CVs among imipramine responders compared with nonresponders, placebo responders, and controls. CV left-ear accuracy was also significantly greater among placebo responders than placebo nonresponders; and controls. The results only partially replicate the prior study in that evidence of right-hemisphere dysfunction in tricyclic responders was seen for the CV test but not the CT test. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)