Wholeness and primary and secondary food structure effects on in vitro digestion patterns determine nutritionally distinct carbohydrate fractions in cereal foods

Starchy foods of differing structure, including bakery products, breakfast cereals, pastas, and pulses were digested in vitro. Bakery products and processed breakfast cereals with little resilient structure yielded large amounts of rapidly available carbohydrate (RAC), less slowly digested starch (SDS) and little inaccessible digestible starch (IDS) (70:22:8%). Partially processed grains, such as rolled oats contained an increased proportion of SDS (55:38:7%). Pastas, being dense starch structures digested more gradually to completion by superficial erosion, yielding approximately equal proportions of RAC and SDS but little IDS (43:52:4%). Pulses, which retained their cellular morphology, digested more linearly yielding a lower proportion of RAC, a larger proportion of SDS and more IDS (9:69:22%). Preservation of native "primary" structure, and use of processing to create "secondary" structure, are both means by which wholeness, in the sense of intactness, can be used to influence carbohydrate digestion to make foods of lower glycaemic impact.     

The Development of Knitted Structures for Filtration

Textile niter sleeves for industrial dust-collection purposes are traditionally manufactured from woven and needlefelt constructions. Knitted fabrics have not been seriously considered for use as filter media because of their high extensibility and anisotropy when subjected to the forces that are involved during filtration.

This paper is concerned with the development and evaluation of a number of novel single-jersey circular-knitted structures for dust-filtration applications, with particular reference to their performance with regard to the pressure drop, pressure-drop stabilisation, dust-emission level, and filtration efficiency. The mechanical and filtration properties of these single-jersey structures are studied and compared with those of similar woven and needlefelt filter fabrics. It is demonstrated that the physical as well as the filtration characteristics of these structures are comparable with those of woven and needlefelt fabrics, with added benefits of lower production costs and the fact that these filter sleeves can be produced to the required shape and dimensions during knitting.     

Three-level Inverter-fed Induction Motor Drive Performance Improvement with Neuro-fuzzy Space Vector Modulation

—The space vector modulation technique is an optimal pulse-width modulation technique used for inverter control. This article presents a neuro-fuzzy-based space vector modulation technique for a three-level inverter fed induction motor. It uses a hybrid learning algorithm (combination of back-propagation and least-squares methods) for training the input–output data pattern. The training data for neuro-fuzzy-based space vector modulation are generated from the conventional simplified space vector modulation method. The proposed scheme uses the space vector rotation angle and change of rotation angle information as input and generated duty ratios as output. The dynamic and steady-state performance of a neuro-fuzzy-controlled induction motor drive is compared with the conventional space vector modulation and neural network-based space vector modulation methods. The simulation results obtained are verified experimentally using a dSPACE kit (DS1104). The performance measure in terms of the total harmonic distortion of inverter line–line voltage of the neuro-fuzzy-based system is compared with the neural network-based space vector modulation and conventional space vector modulation methods.     

Cascaded process model based control: Packed absorption column application

Nonlinear, adaptive, process-model based control is demonstrated in a cascaded single-input–single-output mode for pressure drop control in a pilot-scale packed absorption column. The process is shown to be nonlinear. Control is demonstrated in both servo and regulatory modes, for no wind-up in a constrained situation, and for bumpless transfer. Model adaptation is demonstrated and shown to provide process insight. The application procedure is revealed as a design guide to aid others in implementing process-model based control.     

A parametric investigation of the friction performance of electroless Ni‐B coatings

Friction performance of electroless Ni‐B coatings sliding against steel is experimentally investigated in this paper. Friction performance is measured in terms of coefficient of friction (COF) for varying tribological testing parameters such as load, speed and time. Taguchi‐based optimisation of the testing parameters is attempted to find the optimal combination of testing parameters for minimum COF. An analysis of variance reveals that all the testing parameters have significant influence on the friction performance of the coating. Also, the interaction between load and speed is found to affect the friction more compared with the rest of the interactions. The coating characterisation is done with the help of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X‐ray and X‐ray diffraction analysis. It is found that the Ni‐B coating is amorphous in the as‐deposited condition but gradually turns crystalline with heat treatment. The sliding tracks observed with SEM showed that abrasive failure is the predominant wear mechanism. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Studies of reinforcement behavior of unique elastomer‐based nanocomposite gels

Unique nanocomposite (NC) gels were prepared by blending water swollen unmodified montmorillonite clay suspension with natural rubber (NR) and styrene‐butadiene rubber (SBR) latices followed by prevulcanization. These were extensively characterized by dynamic light scattering, solvent swelling, tensile, and dynamic mechanical measurements. Reinforcement behavior of NC gels was investigated by adding NC gels into virgin NR and SBR matrices at various loadings. The distribution and morphology of NC gels in the elastomer matrices was studied by X‐ray dot mapping and high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy. Experimental results indicated tremendous improvement of tensile strength (TS) and modulus of the NC gel‐filled matrices along with noticeable changes in dynamic mechanical and rheological properties. Compared with virgin NR, the TS of 16 phr NC gel‐filled NR system increased by 117%. Similar level of enhancement of TS was also registered for the NC gel‐filled SBR systems. NC gel‐filled systems showed higher shear viscosities and lower die‐swell values compared with their virgin counterparts. Contemporary particulate composite and nanofiller reinforcement models were used to understand the reinforcing behavior of these NC gels. POLYM. COMPOS., 2011. © 2010 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Packaging-specific influence of chitosan on color stability and lipid oxidation in refrigerated ground beef

We examined the influence of chitosan on lipid oxidation and color stability of ground beef stored in different modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) systems. Ground beef patties with chitosan (1%) or without chitosan (control) were packaged either in high-oxygen MAP (HIOX; 80% O₂ + 20% CO₂), carbon monoxide MAP (CO; 0.4% CO + 19.6% CO₂ + 80% N₂), vacuum (VP), or aerobic packaging (PVC) and stored at 1 °C. Chitosan increased (P < 0.05) redness of patties stored in PVC and CO, whereas it had no effect (P > 0.05) in HIOX. Chitosan patties demonstrated lower (P < 0.05) lipid oxidation than controls in all packaging. Control patties in PVC and HIOX exhibited greater (P < 0.05) lipid oxidation than those in VP and CO, whereas chitosan patties in different packaging systems were not different (P > 0.05) from each other. Our findings suggested that antioxidant effects of chitosan on ground beef are packaging-specific.     

Preparation of PZT Microtubes by Slip Casting on Vermicelli,Followed by In Situ Polymerization

Slip casting of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) slurries of higher solids loading (48.8–51.6 vol%) prepared in a urea–formaldehyde (UF) monomer solution on vermicelli of ∼1000 μm diameter has been studied to prepare PZT microtubes with a higher wall thickness (200–960 μm) in a lower dipping time (0.5–4.0 min) to facilitate faster production and lower failure during drying and vermicelli burnout. Polymerization of the UF monomer by exposing the PZT slurry-coated vermicelli to HCl gas provides good strength and stability to the coating. The dielectric and piezoelectric properties of the microtubes compare well with the properties of PZT-5H ceramic compositions.     

Groundwater quality assessment of Dhanbad district, Jharkhand, India

Groundwater quality assessment is important to ensure sustainable safe use of water. However describing the overall water quality in the Dhanbad coal mining area of India is difficult due to the spatial variability of multiple contaminants and wide range of indicators that could be measured. An attempt has been made to study the spatial variation of groundwater quality based on an integrated analysis of physico-chemical parameters and use of Geographic Information System (GIS). Using GIS contouring methods with Arcview 3.2a, spatial distribution maps of Hardness, pH, TDS, HCO₃, SO₄, NO₃, Ca, Mg, Cl, and F have been created. From the Water Quality Index map it is inferred that despite the mining and heavy industry, the quality of water is predominantly good to excellent.     

Erosion and Corrosion Behavior of Laser Cladded Stainless Steels with Tungsten Carbide

Laser cladding of tungsten carbide (WC) on stainless steels 13Cr-4Ni and AISI 304 substrates has been performed using high power diode laser. The cladded stainless steels were characterized for microstructural changes, hardness, solid particle erosion resistance and corrosion behavior. Resistance of the clad to solid particle erosion was evaluated using alumina particles according to ASTM G76 and corrosion behavior was studied by employing the anodic polarization and open circuit potential measurement in 3.5% NaCl solution and tap water. The hardness of laser cladded AISI 304 and 13Cr-4Ni stainless steel was increased up to 815 and 725Hv_100?g, respectively. The erosion resistance of the modified surface was improved significantly such that the erosion rate of cladded AISI 304 (at 114?W/mm²) was observed ~0.74?mg/cm²/h as compared to ~1.16 and 0.97?mg/cm²/h for untreated AISI 304 and 13Cr-4Ni, respectively. Laser cladding of both the stainless steels, however, reduced the corrosion resistance in both NaCl and tap water.