Modeling of voltage output charge-pump phase frequency detector in tuning loops

Resonant inverters mostly employ tuning loops based on a phase-locked-loop (PLL) circuit. Some commercially available PLL chips, frequently used in this application, include a voltage output charge-pump phase frequency detector (CP/PFD) rather than well-known current output CP/PFD, which complicates the analysis of the loop. We present a new model for voltage output CP/PFD and an analysis of a tuning loop using this model. The proposed model employs the resistance multiplication approach, which is applicable for the circuits containing periodically operated switches. It is shown that a voltage output CP/PFD in conjunction with a simple RC low-pass filter can be modeled using a dc voltage source, a phase error controlled resistor, and a capacitor. The theoretical study is verified by experimental results.     

Phase detector for tuning circuit of resonant inverters

The tuning circuit in a resonant inverter determines the inverter frequency and makes it track the load resonant frequency. Current phase detectors have some serious drawbacks for this application. A new phase detector circuit is presented which can overcome these drawbacks.     

Antigen-specific lymphoproliferative responses to tetanus toxoid: a means for the evaluation of Marek's disease virus-induced immunosuppression in chickens

Antigen-specific lymphoproliferative responses were examined in chickens following immunization with tetanus toxoid (Ttx). The immune competence of chickens was assessed by mitogen assay utilizing phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-stimulation and Ttx-specific antigen proliferation assay (Ttx-APA). Immune spleen cells but not peripheral blood leucocytes demonstrated specific proliferation following stimulation in vitro in a Ttx-APA. In this study, we examined firstly the effects of Marek's disease (MD)-associated immunosuppression on specific immune responses. The humoral and cell-mediated immune responses were monitored by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Ttx-APA, respectively. Secondly, we examined if vaccination against MD using a conventional herpesvirus of turkeys (HVT) vaccine and two recombinant HVT (rHVT) vaccines would affect the development of Ttx-specific immune responses. The rHVT vaccines used in this study included two constructs: one expressing both Newcastle disease virus (NDV) and MD virus (MDV) genes (HVT/NDV/MDV), and another expressing only MDV genes (HVT/MDV). The mitogenic responses of spleen cells of the vaccinated chickens were inconsistent allowing no definitive conclusions about vaccinal immunosuppression. The results of the Ttx-APA indicated that Ttx-specific lymphoproliferative responses provide a meaningful measure of immunosuppression. The MDV-induced immunosuppression resulted in the inhibition of Ttx-specific lymphoproliferation in vitro. Both HVT and rHVT vaccines were not immunosuppressive as indicated by the development of normal Ttx-specific lymphoproliferative responses in chickens. These results indicate that vaccination against MD results not only in the prevention of tumor formation but also protection from possible virus-induced immunosuppression.     

Cold atmospheric plasma-induced protein modification: Novel nonthermal processing technology to improve protein quality,functionality, and allergenicity reduction

With the constant increase in protein demand globally, it is expedient to develop a strategy to effectively utilize protein, particularly those extracted from plant origin, which has been associated with low digestibility, poor techno-functional properties, and inherent allergenicity. Several thermal modification approaches have been developed to overcome these limitations and showed excellent results. Nevertheless, the excessive unfolding of the protein, aggregation of unfolded proteins, and irregular protein crosslinking have limited its application. Additionally, the increased consumer demand for natural products with no chemical additives has created a bottleneck for chemical-induced protein modification. Therefore, researchers are now directed toward other nonthermal technologies, including high-voltage cold plasma, ultrasound, high-pressure protein, etc., for protein modification. The techno-functional properties, allergenicity, and protein digestibility are greatly influenced by the applied treatment and its process parameters. Nevertheless, the application of these technologies, particularly high-voltage cold plasma, is still in its primary stage. Furthermore, the protein modification mechanism induced by high-voltage cold plasma has not been fully explained. Thus, this review meets the necessity to assemble the recent information on the process parameters and conditions for modifying proteins by high-voltage cold plasma and its impact on protein techno-functional properties, digestibility, and allergenicity.     

The effects of the combined use of stabilizers containing locust bean gum and of the storage time on Kahramanmaraş-type ice creams

This study was aimed primarily at determining the suitability of locust bean gum and various stabilizers in the production of Kahramanmaraş-type ice creams, the physical, chemical and sensory properties of the ice creams produced, and the stabilizer combination that could produce the best quality ice cream. With a total amount of stabilizer of 1.0%, ice creams of four different combinations containing locust bean gum, carboxymethyl cellulose, guar gum and sodium alginate were produced and their properties during a 6-month storage period compared with the control sample produced using only salep extract ( Orchis orchida ).
  The ice cream produced using only the salep extract had significantly higher ( P  < 0.05) levels of titratable acidity, lower pH and viscosity values, and were harder and less resistant to melting compared to those produced with the stabilizer combinations. The stabilizer mixtures containing locust bean gum yielded better results than those with the salep extract. An analysis of the effect of storage time on the properties of the ice creams indicated that, of the physical properties examined, only the decrease in the penetrometer values was significant ( P  < 0.05). Apart from the difference observed in the third month during the storage of the ice creams produced with the salep extract, the differences during the storage time were not found to be significant ( P  > 0.05).     

The adsorption kinetics of the cationic dye, methylene blue, onto clay

In this study, adsorption kinetics of a cationic dye, methylene blue, onto clay from aqueous solution with respect to the initial dye concentration, temperature, pH, mixing rate and sorbent dosage were investigated. In order to understand the adsorption mechanism in detail, zeta potentials and the conductivities of clay suspensions at various pH (1-11) and cation exchange capacity (CEC) were measured. Porosity and BET surface area of clay studied were determined. The results showed that the adsorption has been reached to equilibrium in 1 h. It was found that the amount adsorbed of methylene blue increases with decreasing temperature and also with increasing both sorbent dosage and increasing initial dye concentration. Adsorption capacity decreases with increasing pH, except for the natural pH (5.6) of clay suspensions. The adsorption kinetics of methylene blue has been studied in terms of pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order sorption and intraparticle diffusion processes thus comparing chemical sorption and diffusion sorption processes. It was found that the pseudo-second-order mechanism is predominant and the overall rate of the dye adsorption process appears to be controlled by the more than one-step.