Influence of Whey Protein Addition and Feed Moisture Content on Chosen Physicochemical Properties of Directly Expanded Corn Extrudates

Production of extrudates from cereals is an often-used technological process in today’s world food industry. Extrudates from corn flour produced using the twin-screw extrusion process and enriched with whey protein concentrate represent high-quality source of proteins and fats. Whey protein concentrate (WPC) as a valuable source of proteins and minerals is one of the highest-quality components for possible extrudate enrichment. In this paper, the influence of various WPC addition and some extrusion process parameters such as feed moisture content ( Q_{\textH\text2 \textO} Q_{{{\text{H}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}}}} ) on physicochemical properties of directly expanded corn flour extrudates manufactured in twin-screw co-rotating extruder was investigated. Whey protein concentrate was added in the following ratios 7.5%, 15% and 22.5% and water in 10.08, 12.18 and 14.28 L/h. Final composition of products is determined with measuring of protein, fat and water shares, water absorption index (WAI) and water solubility index (WSI). With added WPC and with increase of water volume flow, there was a significant rise in total protein, fat and water content in final products, as well as lowering of WSI and rising of WAI indexes. The statistical analysis of the obtained data shows that the lowest WSI and the highest WAI had samples with the largest share of WPC (22.5%) and water volume flow of 14.28 L/h. Colour is measured for each sample, and results were represented with hue angle (H), chroma (C) and lightness (L) values. Process parameters, WPC and Q_{\textH\text2 \textO} Q_{{{\text{H}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}}}} influence the increase of saturation of C and lightness of L colour value, while H value stays unchanged. Mean value of H was 90.14 ± 1.06, which corresponds to dominance of yellow colour of samples.     

Pellet production from agricultural raw materials - A systems study

The demand for biofuel pellets has increased considerably in recent years, causing shortage of the traditional raw materials sawdust and wood shavings. In this study, the costs and energy requirements for the production of pellets from agricultural raw materials were analysed. The materials studied were Salix, reed canary grass, hemp, straw, screenings, rape-seed meal, rape cake and distiller’s waste. Four production scales were analysed, having an annual output of 80,000, 8000, 800 and 80 tonnes of pellets per year. It was concluded that the raw materials of greatest interest were Salix and reed canary grass. They had competitive raw material costs and acceptable fuel properties and could be mixed with sawdust in existing large-scale pelleting factories. Straw had low production costs but can cause serious ash-related problems and should, as also is the case for screenings, be avoided in small-scale burners. Hemp had high raw material costs and is of less commercial interest, while distiller’s waste, rape-seed meal and rape cake had higher alternative values when used as protein feed. The scale of production had a crucial influence on production costs. The machinery was used much more efficiently in large-scale plants, resulting in clear cost savings. Small-scale pelleting, both static and mobile, required cheap raw materials, low labour costs and long utilisation times to be profitable. In most cases, briquetting would be more commercially viable. The energy use in manufacturing pellets from air-dried crops was generally no higher than when moist sawdust was used as the raw material.     

Experimental Investigation of the Flow in a Continuous-Casting Mold under the Influence of a Transverse,Direct Current Magnetic Field

This article describes laboratory experiments aimed at investigations of flow structures and related transport processes in the continuous-casting mold under the influence of an external direct current (DC) magnetic field. The main value of cold metal laboratory experiments consists in the capabilities to obtain quantitative flow measurements with a reasonable spatial and temporal resolution. The experimental results presented here were obtained using a physical model operating with the room-temperature alloy GaInSn. According to the concept of the electromagnetic brake, the impact of a DC magnetic field on the outlet flow from the submerged entry nozzle (SEN) has been studied up to Hartmann numbers of approximately 400. The effect of the magnetic field on the flow structure turned out to be complex. The flow measurements do not manifest a general braking effect, which would be expected as an overall damping of the flow velocity and the related fluctuations all over the mold volume. Variations of the wall conductivity showed a striking impact on the resulting flow structures. The experiments provide a substantial database for the validation of respective numerical simulations.     

Truthful Mechanisms for Selfish Routing and Two-Parameter Agents

We prove a general monotonicity result about Nash flows in directed networks, which generalizes earlier results and can be used for the design of truthful mechanisms in the setting where each edge of the network is controlled by a different selfish agent, who incurs costs when her edge is used.     

Modeling without categorical variables: a mixed-integer nonlinear program for the optimization of thermal insulation systems

Optimal design applications are often modeled by using categorical variables to express discrete design decisions, such as material types. A disadvantage of using categorical variables is the lack of continuous relaxations, which precludes the use of modern integer programming techniques. We show how to express categorical variables with standard integer modeling techniques, and we illustrate this approach on a load-bearing thermal insulation system. The system consists of a number of insulators of different materials and intercepts that minimize the heat flow from a hot surface to a cold surface. Our new model allows us to employ black-box modeling languages and solvers and illustrates the interplay between integer and nonlinear modeling techniques. We present numerical experience that illustrates the advantage of the standard integer model.     

Compression depth estimation for CPR quality assessment using DSP on accelerometer signals

Chest compression is a vital part of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). This paper demonstrates how the compression depth can be estimated using the principles of inertia navigation. The proposed method uses accelerometer sensors, one placed on the patient's chest, the other beside the patient. The acceleration-to-position conversion is performed using discrete-time digital signal processing (DSP). Instability problems due to integration are combated using a set of boundary conditions. The proposed algorithm is tested on a mannequin in harsh environments, where the patient is exposed to external forces as in a boat or car, as well as improper sensor/patient alignment. The overall performance is an estimation depth error of 4.3 mm in these environments, which is reduced to 1.6 mm in a regular, flat-floor controlled environment.