Comparison of yields and quality of nutmeg butter obtained by extraction of nutmeg rind by soxhlet and supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2)

Nutmeg is a native South East Asian plant which has medicinal properties. In this work, supercritical extraction was studied in order to obtain experimental data of the influence of pressure, temperature and particle size and in comparison to soxhlet extraction. Supercritical extraction was conducted at operating temperatures of 40, 50 and 60 °C, operating pressures of 20.7, 27.6, 34.5 and 41.4 MPa and dynamic extraction time was 90 min. The effect of three different sieved particle sizes ?0.500, ?1 mm and ?2 mm on the extraction yield was examined. The results show that the highest yield was 38.8 g oil/100 g sample obtained under extraction temperature of 60 °C, pressure 41.4 MPa using particle size of ?0.5 mm. Soxhlet extraction yields 34 g oil/100 g sample for 6 h of extraction time. The GCTOFMS shows that the supercritical extracts exhibited significantly higher aromatic ether group comparable to those obtained by soxhlet.     

Growth optimization of thraustochytrid strain 12B for the commercial production of docosahexaenoic acid

High yield of cell, lipid, and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) from thraustochytrid strain 12B were achieved without the use of a complex medium and at low NaCl concentration which is detrimental to avoid unnecessary corrosion of steel tank equipment during cultivation. Culture medium that contained only 0.1% NaCl and 1% MgSO₄ in an organic base solution containing 8% glucose, 1% yeast extract, and 1% peptone, referred here as NM medium, was found to be as good as or superior to the culture medium prepared from 50%(v/v) seawater with percentage lipid/dry cell weight (DCW) of 66.4%(w/w) and DHA yield up to 43.95 mg/g DCW for the thraustochytrid strain 12B. The NM medium was also applicable to the prominently high DHA-accumulating Schizochytrium limacinum SR21, and therefore this medium could probably be used for other thraustochytrid and other types of microbial strains as well.     

Electromagnetic modeling of microstrip reflectarrays using scale changing technique

An efficient numerical technique called scale changing technique is applied here for the electromagnetic modeling of microstrip reflectarrays. Based on the partition of the array surface into further planar sub‐domains at various scale levels, this technique allows the computation of the equivalent multiport from the simple cascade of scale changing networks. Each network models accurately the electromagnetic coupling between the various sub‐domains, including the coupling between non‐identical cells in arrays. The high flexibility of the approach associated with advantages of the integral equation formulation renders this original technique powerful and rapid for designing antenna arrays. Because the computation of scale changing networks is mutually independent, processing and memory requirements can be reduced enormously by using multiple processing units. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Radiation-induced grafting of glycidyl methacrylate onto cotton fabric waste and its modification for anchoring hazardous wastes from their solutions

Ion exchange adsorbents based on cellulosic fabric wastes carrying sulfonic acid and amine functional groups were synthesized by radiation-induced graft polymerization of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) with subsequent chemical modification of the epoxy groups of poly-GMA graft chains with sodium sulfite/H₂SO₄ and triethylamine, respectively. The conversion of epoxy groups into the functional groups was investigated. Factors affecting on grafting process such as radiation dose, monomer concentration and solvent were studied. The synthesized adsorbent and its applications in the removal of different types of hazardous pollutants e.g. acidic dye, cobalt, dichromate and phenols from aqueous solution were also studied.     

Effects of fiber composition and graft‐copoly(ethylene/maleic anhydride) on thermoplastic natural rubber composites reinforced by aramid fiber

Thermoplastic natural rubber (TPNR) composites of natural rubber and high‐density polyethylene at a ratio of 70/30 were prepared by melt blending with aramid fibers using an internal mixer. The fiber loadings were varied from 0 to 30% for systems with and without graft‐copoly(ethylene/maleic anhydride) (PE‐g‐MA) as a compatibilizer to study the variation of mechanical and dynamic mechanical properties. The tensile strength, modulus, hardness, and storage modulus improved with fiber loadings for both systems. The interaction between the matrix and fiber had also improved with the addition of PE‐g‐MA. Nevertheless, different behavior was observed in tan δ peak. The tan δ peak decreased with the increment of Twaron composition in the system with PE‐g‐MA and increased in the system without PE‐g‐MA. The results showed the importance of PE‐g‐MA in the system in improving the mechanical properties of Twaron–TPNR composite. POLYM. COMPOS., 27:395–401, 2006. © 2006 Society of Plastics Engineers     

VAPOR-LIQUID EQUILIBRIA OF TOLUENE + n-BUTANOL AND TOLUENE + n-BUTANOL + CALCIUM CHLORIDE AT 94.0kPa

Vapor-liquid equilibrium data of toluene + n-butanol and toluene+ n-butanol + CaCl₂ (at saturation) were measured at a pressure of 94.0 kPa, using a modified Malanowski equilibrium still. The salt investigated in this work, i.e., CaCl₂, exhibits a slight salting-out effect on toluene. The experimental results of the salt-free binary were compared with those obtained from NRTL, ASOG, and UNIFAC models. The latter two models predicted the bubble-point temperatures within 0.5 K (as a root mean square deviation, RMSD) whereas the NRTL model, which was employed to establish thermodynamic consistency by directly fitting the experimental data, correlated the bubble-point temperatures with an RMSD of 0.2 K. On the other hand, the experimental data of toluene+n-butanol+CaCl₂ were compared with those predicted by the NRTL-Tan model for the effect of the electrolyte. This model predicted the bubble-point temperatures with an RMSD of 0.5 K. Calcium chloride has been shown not to have a sensible effect on the azeotropic composition.     

Review of titania nanotubes: Fabrication and cellular response

Titania (TiO₂) nanotube is gaining prominence as an implantation material due to its unique properties such as high specific surface area and the ability to exhibit positive cellular response. In this paper, we briefly review the current state of fabrication methods to synthesize nanotubular TiO₂ surface topography, and discuss its effect on cellular response of different cells in terms of cell adhesion, proliferation and differentiation. In vitro and in vivo studies by using TiO₂ nanotubes are also presented establishing the potential of nanotubes in biomedical applications. Finally, an outlook of future growth of research in TiO₂ nanostructures beyond the nanotubes is provided     

Spatiotemporal modelling of urban quality of life (UQoL) using satellite images and GIS

ABSTRACT

In modern cities, life is primarily formed in interaction with various environmental, social, economic, infrastructural, hygienic, safety, political and cultural conditions. Urban quality of life (UQoL) is the result of such interactions. In general, both objective and subjective approaches are used in the study and modelling of UQoL. So far the studies have been conducted in forms of social and large-scale geographical studies mainly ignoring spatial differences of quality of life (QoL) in complicated urban environments. Moreover, QoL as one of the attributes of geographical environment is a dynamic and variable concept which has received little attention. Spatiotemporal modelling of this concept can contribute to monitoring the UQoL and planning for its improvement. The current study aims to develop a method for spatiotemporal modelling of UQoL. For this purpose, multi criteria decision making (MCDM) method and fuzzy logic are used. Moreover, given the variability of some indicators, temporal modelling of UQoL was conducted based on snapshot method in seasonal scale. In order to evaluate the proposed procedure, modelling of QoL was done at urban blocks scale in regions 3, 6, and 11 of Tehran, Iran. The results show the existence of a fairly regular pattern as an increase in desirability of UQoL from south to north of the area. The seasonal changes of UQoL show the improvement of environmental condition in spring and autumn compared to winter and summer. The result of sensitivity analysis shows the reliability of the modelling results. Since the effect of inputs on the fuzzy gamma output (2.5%) are less than the corresponding amount in VIKOR-fuzzy method (48%), it can be concluded that the output of fuzzy-gamma is more reliable.     

A legal cross-references taxonomy for reasoning about compliance requirements

Companies must ensure their software complies with relevant laws and regulations to avoid the risk of costly penalties, lost reputation, and brand damage resulting from non-compliance. Laws and regulations contain internal cross-references to portions of the same legal text, as well as cross-references to external legal texts. These cross-references introduce ambiguities, exceptions, as well as other challenges to regulatory compliance. Requirements engineers need guidance as to how to address cross-references in order to comply with the requirements of the law. Herein, we analyze each external cross-reference within the U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule, the Gramm?CLeach?CBliley Act (GLBA), and the GLBA Financial Privacy Rule to determine whether a cross-reference either introduces a conflicting requirement, a conflicting definition, or refines an existing requirement. Herein, we propose a legal cross-reference taxonomy to aid requirements engineers in classifying cross-references as they specify compliance requirements. Analyzing cross-references enables us to address conflicting requirements that may otherwise thwart legal compliance. We identify five sets of conflicting compliance requirements and recommend strategies for resolving these conflicts.     

Artefact generation in second life with case-based reasoning

Launched in 2003, Second Life is a computer-based pseudo-environment accessed via the Internet. Although a number of individuals and companies have developed a presence (lands) in Second Life, there is no appropriate methodology in place for undertaking such developments. While some existing methods have been adapted by users to their individual needs, this paper explores the development of a method for developing lands specifically within Second Life. This method is based on case-based reasoning (CBR) as this method has a number of similarities with Second Life itself. A system was designed based on CBR with some modifications to work in accordance with Second Life. In this paper, the system and its modifications are discussed and its application to the development of space within Second Life is evaluated. From tracking its progress against previous specifications and future activity, an updated version of the CBR web tool component covering the latest changes and improvements in the tool is introduced here.