Aframomum stipulatum (Gagnep) K. Schum and Aframomum giganteum (Oliv. & Hanb) K. Schum as Aroma Tincto Oleo Crops resources: essential oil,fatty acids,sterols, tocopherols,and tocotrienols composition of different fruit parts of Congo varieties

BACKGROUND: Today, few known plant species provide both an essential oil (EO) and a vegetable oil (VO). Seed and husk of two Aframomum species were investigated and compared in terms of EO, fatty acids, tocopherols, and tocotrienols. RESULTS: EO yield reaches 15.3 g kg⁻¹ in the seeds and 3.2 g kg⁻¹ in the husks, while VO yield is 180.0 g kg⁻¹ in the seeds and 25.0 g kg⁻¹ in the husks. β‐Pinene, 1,8‐cineol, α‐selinene, terpine‐4‐ol, linalool, myrtenal and β‐caryophyllene are the major compounds of seed and husk EO. Fatty acid analysis of two Aframomum species shows that oleic, linoleic, and palmitic acids were the major compounds of VO. Total sterol contents reached 4.3 g kg⁻¹ in seed VO and 8.5 g kg⁻¹ in husk VO. An appreciable amount of tocopherols (0.52 g kg⁻¹) was found in seed VO. CONCLUSION: The seed and husk oil of A. stipulatum and A. giganteum fruits are rich sources of many bioactive constituents such as fatty acids, sterols, tocopherols and tocotrienols. These tropical wild fruits can be considered as new Aroma Tincto Oleo Crops (ATOC) resources that contain both EOs and VOs. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Camelina Meal Increases Egg n-3 Fatty Acid Content Without Altering Quality or Production in Laying Hens

Camelina sativa is an oilseed plant rich in n-3 and n-6 fatty acids and extruding the seeds results in high protein meal (~40%) containing high levels of n-3 fatty acids. In this study, we examined the effects of feeding extruded defatted camelina meal to commercial laying hens, measuring egg production, quality, and fatty acid composition. Lohmann White Leghorn hens (29 weeks old) were randomly allocated to three dietary treatment groups (n = 25 per group) and data was collected over a 12 week production period. All the treatment groups were fed a corn soy based experimental diet containing 0% (control), 5, or 10% extruded camelina meal. We found no significant differences in percent hen-day egg production and feed consumed per dozen eggs. Egg shell strength was significantly higher in both camelina groups compared to the controls. Egg total n-3 fatty acid content increased 1.9- and 2.7-fold in 5 and 10% camelina groups respectively relative to the control. A similar increase in DHA content also occurred. Further camelina meal did not alter glucosinolate levels and no detectable glucosinolates or metabolic product isothiocyanates were found in the eggs from either the 5 or 10% camelina groups. These results indicate that camelina meal is a viable dietary source of n-3 fatty acids for poultry and its dietary inclusion results in eggs enriched with n-3 fatty acids.     

Influence of agro-ecosystem modeling approach on the greenhouse gas profiles of wheat-derived biopolymer products

An approach is presented to include a wider range of factors involved in the nitrogen and carbon cycles in agro-ecosystems than is typical of many Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) of agriculture-based products. This use results from the process-oriented Denitrification-Decomposition (DNDC, modified version) model. Here we evaluate the effects of using site-specific N(2)O emissions derived from the DNDC model rather than the values derived from the commonly used Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Tier 1 empirical model on the results of whole life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) profiles for wheat-based biopolymer products. Statistical methods were also used to analyze the quality of the DNDC and IPCC outputs and to characterize the uncertainty in the GHG results. The results confirm that the GHG profiles of the wheat-derived biopolymer products are sensitive to how the agricultural system is modeled and uncertainty analyses indicate that DNDC is preferred over the IPCC Tier 1 approach for site-specific LCAs. The former allows inclusion of a wider range of important site-specific agricultural parameters in the LCA, provides for improved quality in the LCA data, and permits better calibration of uncertainty in the LCA inventory.     

Particle Generation and Resuspension in Aircraft Inlets when Flying in Clouds

Using on-line analysis of single particles, we have observed both generation and resuspension of particles when ice crystals, cloud droplets, or dust impact an aircraft inlet. Large numbers of particles smaller than 1 μ m with a composition suggesting stainless steel were measured when flying a stainless steel inlet through cirrus clouds. Smaller numbers of metal particles were also observed when flying through dust or water clouds. A different instrument, sampling through a different inlet, found zinc particles when sampling in cirrus clouds. Laboratory experiments have verified that high-speed ice crystals can abrade stainless steel. Collision of ice crystals with the inlet wall also resuspended previously deposited particles. A notable example came when a flight through the space shuttle exhaust plume deposited large numbers of unique particles in our inlet. Some of the same types of particles were observed when the aircraft flew into an ice cloud the following day. The generation of particles by impaction of ice crystals and dust in inlets may have affected some published results about ice nuclei and metal particles in the upper troposphere. The newly generated particles cannot be distinguished from atmospheric particles by size alone.     

Opportunities for Advanced Ceramics and Composites in the Nuclear Sector

Ceramics have played a crucial role in the development of fission based nuclear power, in glass & glass composite high level wasteforms, in composite cements to encapsulate intermediate level wastes (ILW) and also for oxide nuclear fuels based on UO₂ and PuO₂/UO₂ mixed oxides. They are also used as porous filters with the ability to absorb radionuclides (RN) from air and liquids and are playing a key role in the cleanup at Fukushima. Non‐oxides also find current fission applications including in graphite moderators and B₄C control rods. Ceramics will continue to be significant in the near‐term expansion of nuclear power via next‐step developments of fuels with inert matrices or based on thoria and in wasteforms using alternative composite cements or single or multiphase ceramics that can host Pu & other difficult RN. Longer term advances for Generation IV reactors, which will operate at higher temperatures & with higher fuel burn‐up require innovative fuel developments potentially via carbides & nitrides or composite fuel systems. Novel non‐thermal (cement‐like) and thermal techniques are currently being developed to treat some of the difficult legacy wastes. Non‐thermally derived wasteforms developed from geopolymers, composite cements, hydroceramics, and phosphate‐bonded ceramics and thermally derived wasteforms made by Hot Isostatic Pressing and fluidized bed steam reforming (FBSR) as well as vitrification techniques based on cold crucible melting (CCM), Joule‐heater in‐container melting and plasma melting (PM) are described. Future developments in waste treatment will be based on separation technologies for partitioning individual RN along with design & construction of RN‐containing ceramic targets for inducing transmutation reactions. Near demonstration actinide‐hosting ceramic wasteforms including multiphase Synroc systems are described. Opportunities also exist for ceramics in structural applications in Generation IV reactors such as composite SiC/SiC and C/C for fuel cladding and control rods and MAX phases and ultrahigh‐temperature ceramics (UHTCs) may find near core fuel coating and cladding applications. Uses of ceramics in fusion reactor systems will be both functional (ceramic superconductors in magnet systems for plasma control and in Li silicate breeder blankets in tokamaks) and structural including as sapphire diagnostic windows, graphite diverters, and plasma facing C and UHTCs. In all these cases, performance is limited by poorly understood radiation damage and interface controlled processes, which demands a combined modeling/experimental approach.     

Physical aging of polystyrene films tracked by gas permeability

Most studies using gas permeation to characterize physical aging in thin polymer films have focused on polymers of interest as membrane materials, such as polysulfone (PSF) and Matrimid. Many other physical aging studies, using techniques other than gas permeation, focus on polystyrene (PS). In this work, physical aging in bulk PS films and PDMS-coated thin PS films was studied using well-established gas permeation techniques. The ～400 nm PS films aged slightly faster than bulk PS. However, the difference between rates of aging in thin and thick films was much less than that reported in PSF and Matrimid films of similar thicknesses. The ～800 nm films aged in a manner generally similar to bulk PS. Comparison of the normalized oxygen permeability of ～400 nm films of PS, PSF, and Matrimid revealed that a ～400 nm PS film experiences a slower decline in relative permeability than a PSF or Matrimid film does. Unlike what has been observed previously in studies of PSF and Matrimid films, PS films do not appear to show aging behavior that is strongly dependent on film thickness or highly accelerated relative to bulk. Because it would be difficult to use the results of PS aging studies to predict the aging behavior of typical gas separation polymers, we suggest that PS is not a good model for the aging behavior of commercially useful gas separation membrane materials.     

考虑电极烧蚀影响的低压断路器电弧运动特性仿真及实验

以磁流体动力学(magnetic hydro-dynamics,MHD)为基础建立了考虑电极烧蚀影响的低压断路器中电弧的数学模型。在传统的质量、动量和能量守恒方程的基础上增加了铜蒸气的浓度方程,考虑电极烧蚀对气体的热动力学特性和传输系数的影响,针对阴极和阳极不同特点分别建立了电弧与阴极和阳极作用的数学模型。利用基于有限容积法的商业软件对上述模型进行求解,得出灭弧室内温度场、浓度场、气流场、电位场的分布情况。仿真结果表明,由于电极附近“双漩涡”的存在,使得Cu蒸气浓度最大的区域位于弧根后方靠近电极的区域;考虑Cu蒸气影响时计算得到的电弧电压为比未考虑Cu蒸气影响时减小12.3%;考虑Cu蒸气影响所得到的电弧平均运动速度比未考虑Cu蒸气影响时减少21.3%。实验结果验证了仿真模型的合理性。     

考虑器壁侵蚀影响的低压断路器电弧运动特性仿真及实验

以磁流体动力学(MHD)为基础建立了考虑器壁侵蚀影响的低压断路器中的电弧的数学模型.在传统的质量、动量和能量守恒方程的基础上增加了器壁材料的浓度方程,考虑了器壁材料的烧蚀对气体的热动力学特性和传输系数的影响,并且采用"视角因数法"计算到达器壁的辐射能量.利用基于有限容积法的商业软件对上述模型进行求解,得出灭弧室内温度场、浓度场、气流场的分布情况以及电压随时间的变化过程.仿真结果表明,由于灭弧室内"漩涡"的存在使得电弧后方的聚合物蒸气浓度大于电弧前方的聚合物蒸气浓度;由于产气材料的影响,电弧的最大电压增加了19.2%;产气材料对电弧运动有加速作用,由于产气材料的影响,电弧的平均运动速度增加了20.1%.实验结果验证了仿真模型的合理性.     

利用HQV Vida处理器改善高画质电视影像质量

许多消费者已趁着高画质（high-definition;HD）电视价格下滑的时候购入。大家希望藉此享有漂亮清晰的高画质影像,进一步改变他们的观赏体验。在某些情形下这是真的,例如观看蓝光影片。但事实上,我们日常所收看的内容大多来自有线电视、卫星、广播,以及网络,这些影像质量往往包含很多噪声,这种状况在高画质电视（HDTV）上特别明显。