Sensory quality and food safety of boneless chicken breast portions thawed rapidly by submersion in hot water

Boneless chicken breast portions were thawed by submersion in hot water (60 °C) and compared to refrigerator thawing. Thawing in hot water was significantly quicker (2–8.5 min) than refrigerator thawing (10–15.5 h). Thawing time in hot water increased with an increase in meat thickness. Sensory panelists could not distinguish a difference between hot water versus refrigerator thawed and subsequently grilled chicken breast portions. A model for Salmonella growth predicts that thawing chicken breast at the slowest rate in this study (0.5 °C/min) would result in a lower increase in the Salmonella concentration than that expected for room temperature storage for 4 h.     

Effect of long-term stress and temperature exposure on the fracture toughness of Ti-62222 alloy

Fracture toughness tests were conducted on a Ti-62222 (titanium alloy) sheet being considered for use in high temperature aircraft applications in the as received condition and after exposing the pre-cracked specimens to a sustained stress intensity, K, level between 55 and 60.5 MPa for 200 h at 350°C. It was concluded that the fracture toughness does not degrade as a result of exposure to high temperature and the K levels in this material. The tensile strength in the exposed condition also remained the same as in the as received condition.     

The way ahead for London's bus priority at traffic signals

London has a long history of successful schemes for bus priority at traffic signals. Recently, transport for London (TfL) has procured a modern automatic vehicle location (AVL) system for bus fleet management, passenger information and bus priority. The new system is known as iBUS and is based on Global Positioning System (GPS) and supporting technologies for bus location. The system eliminates the need for on-street hardware for detecting buses and provides more flexibility and opportunity for using bus detectors. However, bus location based on this system is less accurate than location based on fixed infrastructure (e.g. beacons) and could result in reduced benefits from bus priority. This paper first summarises how bus priority at traffic signals works within iBUS, and then explores the effects of GPS locational errors on bus priority benefits. This is followed by a discussion of opportunities available in the context of iBUS to build an even more efficient and beneficial bus priority system by taking advantage of its cost-effective multiple detection capabilities. The paper is based on various studies carried out by the Transportation Research Group (TRG) at the University of Southampton for TfL.     

Study of Formulation Variables on Properties of Drug-Gellan Beads by Factorial Design

ABSTRACT

The aim of the present study was to obtain cross-linked calcium-gellan beads containing diclofenac sodium as model drug, using full 3³ factorial design. Drug quantity, pH of cross-linking solution, and speed of agitation were selected as variables for factorial design. The resultant beads were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), percent yield, entrapment efficiency, micromeritic properties, swelling and drug release studies. The drug-loaded beads were spherical with size range of 0.85–1.8 mm. Percent yield and entrapment efficiency of various batches were in the range of 86.48–98.28% w/w and 72.52–92.74% w/w, respectively. Calcium-gellan beads containing diclofenac sodium showed pH-dependent swelling and drug release properties. Swelling and drug release were significantly higher in pH 7.4 phosphate buffer than 0.1N HCl. The swelling ratio for beads was up to 22 and 3 for phosphate buffer and 0.1N HCl, respectively. Cumulative diclofenac sodium release from calcium-gellan beads was 12–35% in 0.1N HCl within 2 h, whereas complete drug release was observed within 3–4 h in pH 7.4 phosphate buffer.     

Water‐use efficiency under two irrigation technologies

Water‐use efficiency under drip‐ and furrow‐irrigation in Hawaii's sugar industry was studied. The study method consisted of a quadratic production function describing tons of sugar per acre (TSA) with respect to water use, fertilizer use, plant cycle, cane age, irrigation method used, cane varieties, harvesting months, and field characteristics. Drip irrigation in Hawaii's sugar industry was found to be a preferred alternative, resulting in yield increases of about 15% and water‐use reduction of almost 12%. This superior performance of drip over furrow irrigation was largely due to the land‐quality‐augmenting characteristics of drip technology.     

Effects of SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> substitution on wettability of laser deposited Ca-P biocoating on Ti-6Al-4V

Silicon (Si) substitution in the crystal structure of calcium phosphate (CaP) ceramics has proved to generate materials with improved bioactivity than their stoichiometric counterpart. In light of this, in the current work, 100 wt% hydroxyapatite (HA) precursor and 25 wt% SiO₂-HA precursors were used to prepare bioactive coatings on Ti-6Al-4V substrates by a laser cladding technique. The effects of SiO₂ on phase constituents, crystallite size, surface roughness, and surface energy of the CaP coatings were studied. Furthermore, on the basis of these results, the effects and roles of SiO₂ substitution in HA were systematically discussed. X-ray diffraction analysis of the coated samples indicated the presence of various phases such as CaTiO₃, Ca₂SiO₄, Ca₃(PO₄)₂, TiO₂ (Anatase), and TiO₂ (Rutile). The addition of SiO₂ in the HA precursor resulted in the refinement of grain size. Confocal laser microscopy characterization of the surface morphology demonstrated an improved surface roughness for samples with 25 wt% SiO₂-HA precursor compared to the samples with 100 wt% HA precursor processed at 125 cm/min laser speed. The addition of SiO₂ in the HA precursor resulted in the highest surface energy, increased hydrophilicity, and improved biomineralization as compared to the control (untreated Ti-6Al-4V) and the sample with 100 wt% HA as precursor. The microstructural evolution observed using a scanning electron microscopy indicated that the addition of SiO₂ in the HA precursor resulted in the presence of reduced cracking across the cross-section of the bioceramic coating.     

Copper(I) Bromide‐Dimethyl Sulfide‐Catalyzed Direct Sulfanylation of 4‐Hydroxycoumarins and 4‐Hydroxyquinolinones with Arylsulfonylhydrazides and Selective Fluorescence Switch‐ On Sensing of Cadmium(II) Ion in Water

An efficient protocol for the direct sulfanylation of various 4‐hydroxycoumarins and 4‐hydroxyquinolinones in good yield with arylsulfonylhydrazides as sulfanylating agents was developed via copper(I) bromide⋅dimethyl sulfide‐catalyzed S–O, S–N bond cleavage and C–S cross‐coupling reactions. A highly selective fluorescence turning‐on sensing of cadmium(II) ions in water using the synthesized 3‐sulfanyl‐4‐hydroxycoumarin derivative was also investigated.

     

Electro ultrasonic remediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from contaminated soil

The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with high molecular mass are renown for their high persistence in the soil, hydrophobic and toxicity. Remediation of these pollutants is still an unsolved task and needs more researches to be performed. The coupling of electrokinetics (EK) with ultrasonic energy (US) has advantages on desorbing and migrating PAHs from contaminated soil. US and EK work together to destroy PAHs. The objective of this study was to treat PAHs contaminated soil by using EK and ultrasonication. The contaminated oil contained about 100 mg kg⁻¹ chrysene. Experiments with US, EK and combined EK and ultrasound were conducted in reactors and pans with and without iron anodes. Results indicated that the removal was more effective with lower concentrations of chrysene. The average removal was better in experiment with combined EK and ultrasound using iron anode. This might be due to increase in electroconductivity by iron ions.