A Study of the Hydration Properties of Selected Laser Dye Aerosols Including Continuous-Flow Parallel Plate and Alternating-Gradient Thermal Diffusion Cloud Chamber Measurements in the High Supersaturation Regime

The hydration behavior of aerosols, made up of various fluorescent dyes, when exposed to water saturation or supersaturated conditions has been studied. Critical supersaturation spectra are reported. The dyes are found to behave as high molecular weight ionic compounds that obey Kohler theory. Their relevant Kohler parameters are measured. This study makes use of and compares results from the isothermal haze, continuous-flow, and alternating-gradient thermal diffusion cloud chambers. The ability of the continuous-flow thermal diffusion chamber to operate correctly at high supersaturations is shown.     

Nutritional composition and safety aspects of edible insects

Insects, a traditional food in many parts of the world, are highly nutritious and especially rich in proteins and thus represent a potential food and protein source. A compilation of 236 nutrient compositions in addition to amino acid spectra and fatty acid compositions as well as mineral and vitamin contents of various edible insects as derived from literature is given and the risks and benefits of entomophagy are discussed. Although the data were subject to a large variation, it could be concluded that many edible insects provide satisfactorily with energy and protein, meet amino acid requirements for humans, are high in MUFA and/or PUFA, and rich in several micronutrients such as copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorous, selenium, and zinc as well as riboflavin, pantothenic acid, biotin, and in some cases folic acid. Liabilities of entomophagy include the possible content of allergenic and toxic substances as well as antinutrients and the presence of pathogens. More data are required for a thorough assessment of the nutritional potential of edible insects and proper processing and decontamination methods have to be developed to ensure food safety.     

„Check Verbraucherpolitik und Verbraucherbeteiligung“ – Empfehlungen für eine evidenzbasierte Verbraucherpolitik

The paper discusses the opportunities for an empirically grounded decision support system as an instrument for independent and scientifically based consumer policy consulting. To date, consumer policy is dominated by the information paradigm and the leitbild of the rational, sovereign and information-seeking consumer. Yet, both everyday practice and research in behavioural economics show that this view lacks empirical ground. In fact, there are different consumer types and different forms of rationalities at work. Effective consumer policy making should be based on the empirically revealed behaviour of consumers, not on an ideal model. Moreover, it is often not clear how much consumer policy measures actually contribute to the consumer interest, and whether there would be more effective and efficient policy instruments to strengthen the consumer position. The authors suggest introducing an empirically based “Check Consumer Policy and Consumer Participation” as a systematic decision and evaluation tool for policy makers. This check should be independent from the government and should be grounded on an empirical view of the consumer. Consumer policy tools should be tested with real consumers. The authors suggest an independent national “Expert Council for Consumer Policy” as an ideal candidate to supervise this work.     

Planning Small Talk behavior with cultural influences for multiagent systems

There are several factors that influence communicative behavior, such as gender, personality or culture. As virtual agents interact in a more and more human-like manner, their behavior should be dependent on social factors as well. Culture is a phenomenon that affects one’s behavior without one realizing it. Behavior is thus sometimes perceived as inappropriate because there is no awareness of the cultural gap. Thus, we think cultural background should also influence the communication behavior of virtual agents. Behavioral differences are sometimes easy to recognize by humans but still hard to describe formally, to enable integration into a system that automatically generates culture-specific behavior. In our work, we focus on culture-related differences in the domain of casual Small Talk. Our model of culture-related differences in Small Talk behavior is based on findings described in the literature as well as on a video corpus that was recorded in Germany and Japan. In a validation study, we provide initial evidence that our simulation of culture-specific Small Talk with virtual agents is perceived differently by human observers. We thus implemented a system that automatically generates culture-specific Small Talk dialogs for virtual agents.     

Tailoring alcoholic fillings for praline production with one-shot depositors

One-shot depositing is a state-of-the-art technique for the production of filled chocolate products, including pralines. One important pre-requisite for using this technique is that shell chocolate mass and filling need to have similar viscosity and density to allow sufficient processing. Aim of the study was to tailor the formulation of alcoholic fillings to ensure that (a) the fillings can be processed with one-shot depositors (high viscosity, approximately 5 Pa s) and (b) the fillings meet typical requirements for consumption (low viscosity, approximately 0.2 Pa s) by using modified starch as a thickener and starch-degrading enzymes for controlled starch hydrolysis. The results show that the first goal can be achieved by adjusting thickener concentration to the ethanol content of the filling and the alcoholic substrate (pure ethanol or wine distillate, 60%(v/v)). The controlled use of amylase-containing malt extract allows adjusting viscosity decay during processing and subsequent storage of the one-shot pralines.     

Interaction of a phosphorus‐based FR,a nanoclay and PA6. Part 2 interaction of the complete PA6 polymer nanocomposites

Polyamide 6 (PA6) is modified with a nanoclay (NC), Cloisite 30B and/or a flame retardant (FR), OP1311. The thermal decomposition of pure PA6 and PA6 nanocomposites is done by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The decomposition products from TGA in nitrogen and air are analysed online by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy in order to examine the time/temperature‐dependent thermal degradation processes and monitor the evolved gases online. The profiles of the evolved gases are compared with ε‐caprolactam spectra, which are the main species in the gas phase. Results show that the addition of the fire retardant decreases the degradation temperature, whereas the incorporation of NC (PA6+NC) contributes to increased residual mass and char formation. The evolved gases from TGA‐FTIR in nitrogen from pure PA6 and (PA6+NC) are hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide, water, ε‐caprolactam and ammonia. The (PA6+FR) and (PA6+NC+FR) evolve the same volatiles with an additional phosphorus‐containing species, namely diethylphosphinic acid. The thermo‐oxidative degradation of all these composites in air yields carbon monoxide with an increased production of carbon dioxide, water and hydrogen cyanide. Another important result is that the hydrogen cyanide does not increase when the phosphinate FR is used. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Application of the Volatility-TDMA Technique to Determine the Number Size Distribution and Mass Concentration of Less Volatile Particles

A Volatility-Tandem-Differential-Mobility-Analyzer (VTDMA) and a Differential Mobility Particle Sizer (DMPS) were used to determine the number and mass concentration of externally mixed aerosol particles in urban background air. In the VTDMA the less-volatile (LV) particle fraction was measured at 300°C for particles in the size range 20–250 nm. The LV particle fraction was converted to the number concentration of LV particles (N_LV) and the mass concentration (M_LV). M_LV was compared with the mass concentration of black carbon (M_BC) measured by a Multi-Angle Absorption Photometer (MAAP). The DMPS and VTDMA data were used for calculating scattering and absorption coefficients (σ_SP and σ _AP) with a Mie model and compared with σ _SP and σ _AP measured with a TSI nephelometer and the MAAP. The model was run by assuming external and internal mixing of absorbing and scattering aerosol. The best fit of measured and modeled σ _SP and σ _AP was sought by varying the refractive index. During periods dominated by local emissions LV particle fraction ??_LV ? was high ( >0.2). In these cases, the M_LV and the modeled σ _AP assuming external mixing agreed well with the measured M_BC and σ _AP, respectively. For the long-range transported aerosol ??_LV ? was small ( <0.1) and M_BC was higher than M_LV. For the whole period the average (± std) refractive index was 1.55 (± 0.09) – 0.04 (±0.02)i when internal mixing was assumed. When ??_LV ? was >0.2 the average refractive index of LV particles was 1.96 – 0.8 (±0.18)i when σ _AP was modeled assuming external mixing.     

The challenge of setting risk-based microbiological criteria for Listeria monocytogenes

After more than 20 years of work with discussing the setting of microbiological criteria for Listeria monocytogenes in foods, Codex Alimentarius on Food Hygiene has finalised a proposal that was recently adopted by the Codex Alimentarius Commission. The effort of developing procedures for making the microbiological criteria risk-based to the greatest extent possible has challenged scientists and managers during this long time period. Yet, the establishment of microbiological criteria for L. monocytogenes is still being discussed and several approaches are possible. Setting of microbiological criteria continues to be a risk management decision – even when using mathematical modelling to enhance the scientific level of a risk-based approach.     

Downscaling a supercritical water loop for experimental studies on system stability

In industry, supercritical water is being used as e.g. separation agent, solvent or coolant due to the unique fluid properties near the critical point. This has lead to the proposal for a nuclear reactor based on supercritical water, operating at a pressure of 25 MPa and bulk temperatures between 280 °C and 500 °C. The large change of the water density in such a reactor may cause the system to become thermal-hydraulically unstable. Numerical as well as experimental investigation of this phenomenon is therefore essential. The rather high pressure, temperatures and power significantly push up the costs of an experimental facility. For this reason, we propose a scaling procedure based on Freon R-23 as the working fluid so that (i) pressure, power and temperatures are significantly reduced and (ii) the physics determining the dynamics of the system are almost completely preserved. Practical issues, such as the onset of deterioration of heat transfer, are touched upon as well.