Fatty acid accumulation in the different fractions of the developing corn kernel

In the food industry, the use of the oil is determined by the composition of fatty acids, and this is highly dependent on its natural origin. The fatty acid composition of whole corn kernel was determined in three varieties of corn (Astro, GH2547, and Local). Linoleic acid was the predominant fatty acid in the oil of Astro and Local at all collection dates, whereas it was the major fatty acid in the oil of GH2547 only between 40 and 60 days after pollination (DAP). The fatty acid accumulation in the endosperm, pericarp and germ fractions of the corn kernel during maturation was determined. The accumulation pattern of oil content was different in these three kernel fractions. The highest levels of oil content in the endosperm (2.2%), germ (34.3%) and pericarp (10.8%) fractions were detected at 20, 40 and 30 (DAP), respectively. The fatty acid accumulation patterns were different amongst the analysed kernel parts, indicating a numerous differences between the three corn kernel parts. Throughout the sampling periods, the endosperm fraction was distinguished by the highest and the lowest levels of oleic and linoleic acids, respectively. At all stages of kernel development, the pericarp fraction had the highest levels of total polyunsaturated fatty acids, which has numerous healthy applications. These results may be useful in the understanding of the potential source of the beneficial unsaturated fatty acids amongst the different fractions of the corn kernel during maturation.     

Thermal Interaction between Two Forced‐Convection Boundary Layers across a Conductive Solid Wall

This paper presents an analytical model to the problem of thermal interaction between two forced convection layers of parallel flow on opposite wall sides. The problem is formulated in dimensionless terms to generalize the solution. The two convection layers are analyzed separately by employing the integral technique. The two analyses are then coupled by applying the solid–fluid interfacial conditions. The study indicates that the thermal interaction process is governed mainly by two dimensionless parameters relating the heat transfer effectiveness of two interactive convection modes and wall conduction. The effects of governing parameters on the flow and heat transfer characteristics of two coupled convection layers are documented. Results regarding mean conjugate Nusselt number are obtained for wide ranges of governing parameters.     

Propagation of the photothermal waves in a semiconducting medium under L-S theory

The model of the equations of generalized thermoelasticity based on the Lord–Shulman theory with one relaxation time is used to study the photothermal waves in a semiconducting medium. The exact expressions for the displacement components, temperature, carrier density, and stress components are obtained using normal mode analysis. Numerically simulated results are obtained and presented graphically for silicon to depict the effect of time parameter on the different physical quantities.     

Source rock potentiality of Middle Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous of wells,North Western Desert,Egypt

The source rock potentiality of Middle Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous source rocks in Meleiha area was investigated through total organic carbon (TOC), R_o%, and pyrolysis analysis for 38 cutting samples collected from six wells. Also, the geochemical burial history profile to estimate the timing of hydrocarbon generation and expulsion of source rocks was constructed. The result revealed that the main hydrocarbon of source rocks, for the Middle Jurassic (Khatatba Fm.), is mainly mature, and has good capability for producing oil till present time. Lower Cretaceous source rocks (Alam El Bueib Fm.) are mature, derived from mixed organic sources, and have fair to good capability to generate gas and oil. Kharita Formations immature source rocks originating from terrestrial origin and have poor to fair potential to produce gas.     

Quantitative assessment of energy conservation due to public awareness campaigns using neural networks

This case study aims to quantitatively assess the impact of an energy conservation campaign that was launched under the name “Trsheed” in Kuwait in the summer of 2007. Most electric energy (EE) consumption in the summer in the country is used in air conditioning and past trends indicate a strong correlation between ambient weather conditions and energy demand. The size and attitude of the population is an important factor in this regard; Kuwait has an expatriate population that is larger than the indigent population, and whose size is closely linked to economic activities that are largely dependent on oil revenues and varies with fluctuations of oil prices. Three neural network architectures (NNs) were evaluated in terms of their ability to estimate future EE demand based on previous trends. Backpropagation neural networks were found to be most suitable for this purpose in comparison to General Regression and Polynomial NNs. The inputs to the NNs investigated included hourly weather condition indicators; specifically the dry-bulb temperature and relative humidity. The output of the NNs was the hourly energy demand. An analysis based on actual weather data from 2004 to 2007 was performed to gauge the impact of the energy conservation campaign in the summer of 2007. Results of a second NN analysis show that round-the-clock mean weather conditions may be used to predict total future energy demand over a period of time (daily, weekly or monthly), but future peak loads should be estimated separately using mean weather conditions during peak hours only. Savings in national energy demand, as a result of future conservation campaigns, are estimated to be more than 5% and 4% in total and peak demands, respectively.     

Evaluating the efficiency of divestiture policy in promoting competitiveness using an analytical method and agent-based computational economics

Choosing a desired policy for divestiture of dominant firms’ generation assets has been a challenging task and open question for regulatory authority. To deal with this problem, in this paper, an analytical method and agent-based computational economics (ACE) approach are used for ex-ante analysis of divestiture policy in reducing market power. The analytical method is applied to solve a designed concentration boundary problem, even for situations where the cost data of generators are unknown. The concentration boundary problem is the problem of minimizing or maximizing market concentration subject to operation constraints of the electricity market. It is proved here that the market concentration corresponding to operation condition is certainly viable in an interval calculated by the analytical method. For situations where the cost function of generators is available, the ACE is used to model the electricity market. In ACE, each power producer’s profit-maximization problem is solved by the computational approach of Q-learning. The power producer using the Q-learning method learns from past experiences to implicitly identify the market power, and find desired response in competing with the rivals. Both methods are applied in a multi-area power system and effects of different divestiture policies on market behavior are analyzed.     

Design and simulation of a new energy conscious system, (ventilation and thermal performance simulation)

This paper presents the results of simulating the ventilation and thermal performance of a new passive cooling and heating system. The new system was integrated into the roof of a typical contemporary North African house, which was modelled and mounted inside a wind tunnel, for natural ventilation simulation. Thermal performance of the new system was simulated using a new computer programme (BTS), developed by the author. Results are presented in terms of indoor temperature and CATD and HATD, which are newly introduced concepts in defining the building cooling and heating loads.     

Phenolic extracts of carrot,grape leaf and turmeric powder: antioxidant potential and application in biscuits

Natural antioxidants have gained interest for their role in preventing lipids oxidation. The goals of this investigation were to study the antioxidant potential of carrot (Daucus carota), grape (Vitis vinifera) leaf and turmeric (Curcuma longa) powder extracts and to evaluate their addition as natural antioxidants in biscuits. Physical and chemical properties of biscuit were evaluated during processing and storage. Electrophoretic properties of biscuit dough were carried out to understand the impact of different extracts on the processing of biscuits. Biscuits prepared with 1 % (w/w) grape leaves ethanol (70 %) extract (GLE), carrot aqueous extract (CE), and tumeric aqueous extract (TE) were acceptable. Among extracts, TE was found to retain only 11.2 % activity, wherein GLE had retained 51.0 % activity after baking, which was comparable to butylated hydroxyanisole and better than tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ). TBHQ was found to possess the highest activity, followed by GLE, TE and CE, respectively. The ash content of biscuits enriched with TE and GLE was near to that of the control sample. Addition of CE, GLE and TBHQ reduced the force required for breakage. After 15 days of storage, PV was increased in all samples, but in the case of GLE-enriched sample there was a sudden increase in PV from 0.034 to 0.374. Supportive electrophoresis study indicated that there was no change in the protein subunits of biscuit dough fro different samples. It could be concluded that GLE, CE and TE might be used in biscuit baking as natural antioxidants.