Using Numerical Analysis to Develop and Evaluate the Method of High Temperature Sous‐Vide to Soften Carrot Texture in Different‐Sized Packages

The high‐temperature sous‐vide (HTSV) method was developed to prepare carrots with a soft texture at the appropriate degree of pasteurization. The effect of heating conditions, such as temperature and time, was investigated on various package sizes. Heating temperatures of 70, 80, and 90 °C and heating times of 10 and 20 min were used to evaluate the HTSV method. A 3‐dimensional conduction model and numerical simulations were used to estimate the temperature distribution and the rate of heat transfer to samples with various geometries. Four different‐sized packages were prepared by stacking carrot sticks of identical size (9.6 × 9.6 × 90 mm) in a row. The sizes of the packages used were as follows: (1) 9.6 × 86.4 × 90, (2) 19.2 × 163.2 × 90, (3) 28.8 × 86.4 × 90, and (4) 38.4 × 86.4 × 90 mm. Although only a moderate change in color (L*, a*, and b*) was observed following HTSV cooking, there was a significant decrease in carrot hardness. The geometry of the package and the heating conditions significantly influenced the degree of pasteurization and the final texture of the carrots. Numerical simulations successfully described the effect of geometry on samples at different heating conditions.     

Fabrication of Superjunction Trench Gate Power MOSFETs Using BSG‐Doped Deep Trench of p‐Pillar

In this paper, we propose a superjunction trench gate MOSFET (SJ TGMOSFET) fabricated through a simple p pillar forming process using deep trench and boron silicate glass doping process technology to reduce the process complexity. Throughout the various boron doping experiments, as well as the process simulations, we optimize the process conditions related with the p pillar depth, lateral boron doping concentration, and diffusion temperature. Compared with a conventional TGMOSFET, the potential of the SJ TGMOSFET is more uniformly distributed and widely spread in the bulk region of the n drift layer due to the trenched p‐pillar. The measured breakdown voltage of the SJ TGMOSFET is at least 28% more than that of a conventional device.     

Audience real-time bio-signal-processing-based computational intelligence model for narrative scene editing

Narrative scene editing is carried out by directors as an eidetic technique. Continuity editing is a style of editing used in film making to make films as realistic as possible for the audience. While non-continuity editing (e.g., flashbacks, jump cuts, montages, etc.) is also a critical factor that reflects the character of a director, most scenes demand continuity editing to maximize the audience’s narrative immersion. In this paper, we present an algorithm for continuity editing that determines the size of a shot (field of view) by evaluating the psychical distance between the characters and viewers via the measurement of electrodermal activity (or the galvanic skin response). The use of this continuity editing algorithm is expected to result in more audience-friendly videos by reflecting the level of identification between the actors and the audience.     

Impact of nanotube density and alignment on the elastic modulus near the top and base surfaces of aligned multi-walled carbon nanotube films

The mechanical compliance of vertically aligned carbon nanotube (VACNT) films renders them promising as interface materials that can accommodate thermal expansion mismatch. Here we study the relationship between the detailed morphology and elastic modulus of multi-walled VACNT films with thicknesses ranging from 98 to 1300 μm. A systematic analysis of scanning electron micrographs reveals variations in nanotube alignment and density among samples and within different regions of a given film. Nanoindentation of both top and bottom film surfaces using an atomic force microscope with spherical indenters with radii between 15 and 25 μm provides evidence of the modulus differences. The top surface is shown to have a higher modulus than the base, with out-of-plane modulus values of 1.0–2.8 MPa (top) and 0.2–1.4 MPa (base). The indentation data and microstructural information obtained from electron microscopy are interpreted together using an open cell foam model to account for differences in nanotube alignment and density, which are generally lower at the base and yield predictions that are consistent with the modulus data trends. This work shows that microstructure analysis complements property measurements to improve our understanding of nanostructured materials.     

Plasmon-enhanced quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells with metal@Dendron nanoparticles

We have investigated the effects of localized surface plasmons (LSPs) on the performance of quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Ag and Au nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared by photoreduction in the presence of generation 5 polyester hydroxyl acetylene bis(hydroxymethyl)propanoic acid dendrons (Dendron) as a stabilizer. The plasmon-enhanced DSSCs were achieved by incorporating metal@Dendron NPs into TiO₂ photoanodes. The presence of dendrons prevents the photoelectrons from recombining on the surface of TiO₂ semiconductor and improves the stability of metal NPs. With the addition of Ag@Dendron NPs, the photocurrent and the power conversion efficiency of quasi-solid-state DSSCs increased due to the LSP effect of metal NPs and the barrier effect of dendron, which were confirmed by the increased incident photon-to-photocurrent efficiency and by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis.     

Isolation and identification of an antiproliferative substance from fructose–tyrosine Maillard reaction products

We isolated a substance from fructose–tyrosine Maillard reaction products (MRPs) and investigated its antiproliferative effect on six human cancer cell lines. The ethyl acetate fraction of fructose–tyrosine MRPs showed a strong antiproliferative effect; this fraction was isolated and purified using silica gel column chromatography, semipreparative RP-HPLC, and recycling HPLC. The structure of the purified compound was determined using spectroscopic methods. The isolated compound was identified as 2,4-bis(p-hydroxyphenyl)-2-butenal (C₁₆H₁₄O₃, HPB242). HPB242 inhibited cell growth in a dose-dependent manner (10–80 μg/ml) on the six human cancer cell lines. The IC₅₀ values of HPB242 on the six human cancer cell lines were 17.34 μg/ml (MCF-7), 29.21 μg/ml (HCT-116), 34.57 μg/ml (H-460), 34.87 μg/ml (HepG2), 48.77 μg/ml (PC-3), and 55.83 μg/ml (MKN-45).     

Effect of Compression on the Crystallization Behavior and Corrosion Resistance of Al86Ni9La5 Amorphous Alloy

The effect of compression on the crystallization behavior and corrosion resistance of Al(86)Ni9La5 amorphous ribbons was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning elec-tron microscopy (SEM) and electrochemistry test. The XRD and TEM results reveal that the compressed Al(86)Ni9La5 ribbons spun with the circumferential speed (R) of 29.3 m/s are in fully amorphous state; however, the compressed ribbons spun with R=14.7 m/s have crystalline phases embedded in the amorphous matrix. The SEM images indicate that after compression, the toughness of the ribbons increases. Electrochemical results show that the compression decreases the stability of the passive film of the Al(86)Ni9La5 amorphous ribbons, because of the compression-introduced free volume, shear bands and crystalline phases; meanwhile, with R=14.7 m/s, the compression-induced crystalline phases in the Al(86)Ni9La5 ribbons increase the corrosion potential.     

Measurement and correlation of the isobaric vapor-liquid equilibrium for mixtures of alcohol+ketone systems at atmospheric pressure

Vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE) for binary mixtures composed of ethanol+methyl isobutyl ketone, 1-butanol+ methyl ethyl ketone, and 1-butanol+methyl propyl ketone systems was measured using a circulation type equilibrium apparatus at atmospheric pressure. The measured data and literature data for alcohol and ketone systems have been correlated by the UNIversal Quasi-Chemical (UNIQUAC) model with two binary interaction parameters and the non-random lattice fluid equation of state with hydrogen bonding equation of state (NLF-HB EoS) using a single binary interaction parameter. For the NLF-HB EoS calculations, the numbers of proton acceptor for ketones were adjusted between 0 and 1. The calculation results with the NLF-HB EoS are better than those with the UNIQUAC model.     

GOAL: A parsimonious geographic routing protocol for large scale sensor networks

Geographic routing is well suited for large scale sensor networks, because its per node state is independent of the network size. However, the local minimum caused by holes/obstacles results in the worst-case path stretch of Ω(c²), where c is the path length of the optimal route. Recently, a geographic routing protocol based on the visibility graph (VIGOR) showed that a path stretch of Θ(c) can be achieved. This path stretch, however, is achieved at the cost of communication and storage overhead, which makes the practical deployment of VIGOR in large scale sensor networks challenging. To this end, we propose GOAL (Geometric Routing using Abstracted Holes), a routing protocol that provably achieves a path stretch of Θ(c), with lower communication and storage overhead. To compactly describe holes, we develop a novel distributed convex hull algorithm, which improves the message complexity O(n log² n) of state of art distributed convex hull algorithm to O(n log n). The concise representation of a hole is used by nodes to make locally optimal routing decisions. Our theoretical analysis proves the correctness of the proposed algorithms and the path stretch of Θ(c). Through extensive simulations and experiments on a testbed with 42 EPIC motes, we demonstrate the effectiveness of GOAL and its feasibility for resource constrained wireless sensor networks; specifically, we show that GOAL eliminates part of communication overhead of VIGOR and reduces the memory overhead of VIGOR by up to 51%.     

Analytical and numerical assessments of local overpressure from hydrogen gas explosions in petrochemical plants

Accurate prediction of pressure rise is important for safety assessments of a petrochemical plant in the event of an explosion accident. The sudden pressures arising from gas explosions at various hydrogen concentrations in air have been predicted analytically and numerically. These solutions were compared against experimental data. The analytical solution, based on the self‐similar solution for pointwise strong explosions in an open space, which assumed no energy loss and premixed fuel‐air mixture, reasonably predicted the explosive‐ignition detonation case while the numerical solutions were more suitable to model spark‐ignition deflagration cases that accounted for the effect of turbulence arising from three‐dimensionality and presence of obstacles in the computational domain. Comparison of both analytical and numerical results against experimental data indicates that their differences are within a 30% margin. The analytical model presented herein can be useful for field engineers who want conservative estimates of the overpressure resulting from explosive‐ignition detonation. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.