Functional effects of lupin proteins in comminuted meat and emulsion gels

The mechanical and textural properties of gel network resulting by heating at 90 °C of comminuted meat systems, containing lupin seed protein isolate at a relatively low concentration (2%), were studied in an attempt to establish the role of the lupin proteins in the gel structure network development. These results are supported with data from SDS–PAGE analysis of the adsorbed protein at the fat particle surface of the system. The findings are considered in terms of lupin protein involvement in interactions, either at the fat particle surface, or within isolated pockets of high lupin protein content.     

Natural durability in ground stake-test of propionylated particleboards

Zusammenfassung One layer particleboards were made from wood chips modified with propionic anhydride to 12.2% propionyl content. Propionylated stakes were tested in ground contact in Western Greece. Each stake was placed in such a way that half of the stake was below the ground line. After three years of testing, results showed that propionylation provides excellent protection against fungal attack.     

Fluid selection for a low-temperature solar organic Rankine cycle

Theoretical performances as well as thermodynamic and environmental properties of few fluids have been comparatively assessed for use in low-temperature solar organic Rankine cycle systems. Efficiencies, volume flow rate, mass flow rate, pressure ratio, toxicity, flammability, ODP and GWP were used for comparison. Of 20 fluids investigated, R134a appears as the most suitable for small scale solar applications. R152a, R600a, R600 and R290 offer attractive performances but need safety precautions, owing to their flammability.     

On the optimization of Hierarchical Temporal Memory

In this paper an optimized classification method for object recognition is presented. The proposed method is based on the Hierarchical Temporal Memory (HTM), which stems from the memory prediction theory of the human brain. As in HTM, this method comprises a tree structure of connected computational nodes, whilst utilizing different rules to memorize objects appearing in various orientations. These rules involve both the spatial and the temporal module. As HTM is inspired from brain activity, its input should also comply with the human vision system. Thus, for the representation of the input images the logpolar was given preference to the Cartesian one. As compared to the original HTM method, experimental results exhibit performance enhancements with this approach, in recognition and categorization applications. Results obtained prove that the proposed method is more accurate and faster in training, whilst retaining the network robustness in multiple orientation variations.     

Boundary Labeling with Octilinear Leaders

An illustration with textual labels may be hard to read if the labels overlap parts of the illustration. Boundary labeling addresses this problem by attaching the labels to the boundary of a rectangle that contains all features. Then, each feature should be connected to its associated label through a polygonal line, called leader, such that no two leaders intersect.     

Installation of PV systems in Greece—Reliability improvement in the transmission and distribution system

Photovoltaic (PV) power systems are becoming one of the most developing investment areas in the field of Renewable Energy Sources (RES). A statement of the status quo of PV power systems in Greece, and their contribution towards the improvement of power system reliability, is the scope of the present paper. Siting and installation of PV power systems is performed according to a recent Greek law, along with environmental and geographical constraints. Meteorological data are computed, formulated and imported to appropriate software in order to simulate the PV units and generate their power output. Data for unserved loads, resulting from load shedding during peak hours, are compared to the above estimated power production. Assuming that a proportion of the eventually unsupplied power could be provided by the accessed power generation of the PV units, the reliability of both transmission and distribution system is improved. The impact on the transmission system is shown by an improvement of LOLP and LOEP indices, whereas peak shaving for the Interconnected Greek Transmission System (IGTS) is also illustrated. For the distribution system the impact is quantified using the distribution system reliability indices SAIDI, SAIFI, and CAIDI. Finally, the resulting improvement is also expressed in financial terms.     

Mechanical and fracture properties of cement-based bi-materials after thermal cycling

This study investigates the effect of thermal cycles on the fracture properties of the cement-based bi-materials. Sixty eight cubes were exposed to a varied number of 24-hour thermal cycles ranging from 0 to 90 and subsequently were tested in a wedge splitting configuration. The mechanical and fracture properties of normal strength and high strength concretes are substantially improved after 30 thermal cycles, but less so after 90 thermal cycles both in isolation and when bonded to an ultra high-performance fibre-reinforced cement-based composite.