Seismic design in reinforced masonry

CIB working commission W23, which deals with structural walls, has published design Recommendations for both reinforced and unreinforced masonry. The procedures set out for seismic design in reinforced masonry have been tested in a research project in Italy, and the results are presented here by Professors Calvi and Macchi from the University of Pavia. They show that buildings of 4 storeys in high-risk zones and of 5 storeys in moderate-risk zones can safely be designed in reinforced masonry according to the Recommendations, using highly perforated blocks only 300 mm thick.     

Theoretical analysis of the ADPCM CCITT algorithm

The unfavorable effects of narrowband inputs on the decoder adjustment when the LMS algorithm is used are analyzed. An explanation is given for the behavior of the CCITT algorithm. Suboptimality of prediction is granted to achieve adjustment, resulting in a satisfactory tradeoff between reduction rate and adjustment. The link between adjustment and uniform stability is enhanced     

Convergence of an adaptive linear estimation algorithm

In this work we prove the almost sure convergence of an adaptive linear estimator governed by a stochastic gradient algorithm with decreasing step size in the presence of correlated observations. Two complementary contributions are added to the famous 1977 Ljung theorem. First we drop the condition of nondivergence of the algorithm assumed by Ljung. While that condition can be ensured by adding a barrier, the convergence of the suitably bounded algorithm itself is not established even on the basis of Ljung theorem. Here, the barrier problem is overcome by proving that it is not necessary for the convergence. Our second contribution is to generalize the model describing the correlated observations. No state space model is used and no linear relationship between the observations and the signal to be estimated needs to be assumed. Instead we use a decreasing covariance model that agrees with a very wide class of practical applications.     

Assignments of laser lines in optically pumped CH3CN

A careful analysis of the rotovibrational spectroscopic data of CH₃CN is presented taking into account Fermi and Coriolis interactions. A large majority of the FIR lines obtained by optical pumping is assigned. New values are proposed for some molecular constants and the need of more accurate experimental investigation is pointed out.     

Enhancement of indirect sulphation of limestone by steam addition

The effect of water (H?O(g)) on in situ SO? capture using limestone injection under (FBC) conditions was studied using a thermobalance and tube furnace. The indirect sulphation reaction was found to be greatly enhanced in the presence of H?O(g). Stoichiometric conversion of samples occurred when sulphated with a synthetic flue gas containing 15% H?O(g) in under 10 h, which is equivalent to a 45% increase in conversion as compared to sulphation without H?O(g). Using gas pycnometry and nitrogen adsorption methods, it was shown that limestone samples sulphated in the presence of H?O(g) undergo increased particle densification without any significant changes to pore area or volume. The microstructural changes and observed increase in conversion were attributed to enhanced solid-state diffusion in CaO/CaSO? in the presence of H?O(g). Given steam has been shown to have such a strong influence on sulphation, whereas it had been previously regarded as inert, may prompt a revisiting of the classically accepted sulphation models and phenomena. These findings also suggest that steam injection may be used to enhance sulfur capture performance in fluidized beds firing low-moisture fuels such as petroleum coke.     

Evaluation of isoflavone content and antioxidant activity of soy-wheat pasta

The purposes of this work were to determine isoflavones profile and antioxidant activity of two soy flours and spaghetti produced from semolina blended with increasing amount of these flours. Defatted and toasted soy flour (DSF and TSF, respectively) showed different isoflavone profiles though glucosides were the most abundant isoflavone forms in both the meals. The pasta-making procedure determined an increase of the aglycone forms that was at least 37 and 21% in TSF and DSF pasta, respectively. Cooking operations induced severe decreases of the isoflavone content (the losses ranged from 60.44 to104.91 mg kg⁻¹ for TSF pasta and from 85.41 to 469.33 mg kg⁻¹ for DSF pasta). The results of the antioxidant activity were quite different as a function of the methods applied but they resulted generally well correlated with the isoflavone contents of the samples. Cooking induced significant decreases of the antioxidant activity in almost all samples. This result appears well correlated with the decrease of the total isoflavone content and the presence of antioxidant activity in the cooking water.     

Influence of technological processing on various nutritional characteristics of sunflower protein isolates

The composition and nutritional value of sunflower meals and protein isolates were determined. One of the meals was an ordinary industrial one (HI) and the other (HL) was prepared at the laboratory from the same batch of sunflower seeds. The protein isolates were obtained from both meals (AHI and AHL, respectively) and from the original seeds (AS), by means of a process employing water extraction and precipitation at pH 4.3. Chemical analysis of both meals showed that their moisture, protein crude fiber and fat contents had no significant difference. Sulphur amino acids (g/16 g N) were higher in the isolates than in the flours. The HL flour, and the AHL and AS isolates had a higher proportion of available lysine (96.9%, 93.0%, and 92.4% respectively) than the HI flour and AHI isolate. This improvement of protein quality was attained by the employment of less drastic thermal treatments in their preparation, as compared with the treatments to which other materials were submitted.     

Editorial: intelligent manufacturing systems towards industry 4.0 era

Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing -