Physicochemical properties and quality parameters of herbhoneys

Herbhoney is a honey-like substance produced by bees fed on a saccharose-based food supplemented with herbal extracts or fruit juices. Having specific sensory characteristics (colour, aroma and taste), different from those of natural honeys, herbhoneys greatly extend the range of bee products. With the aim of improving the knowledge of herbhoneys of various origins, their chosen physicochemical and quality parameters were evaluated. It was found that the herbhoneys studied satisfied most of the requirements relative to natural honeys (water, hydroxymethylfurfural and saccharose contents, free acidity, and diastase number). Some of the samples showed an increased specific conductivity, characteristic of honeydew honeys, although the ash contents of herbhoneys were at a level typical of nectar honeys. The saccharose content of some herbhoneys exceeded the value allowed for most natural honeys. Mineral composition varied between the samples, being in most cases within the limits reported in this literature for natural honeys.     

Study of hydroxycinnamic acids and malvidin 3-monoglucoside derivatives using capillary zone electrophoresis and ultra-performance liquid chromatography

Model solutions (pH = 3.5, 12% ethanol) of malvidin 3-O-glucoside (Mv3glc), the most common free anthocyanin in grapes and red wines from Vitis vinifera, and three free hydroxycinnamic acids present in wines (caffeic, ferulic and p-coumaric acids) were studied.     

Selection of a cleaning system for engine maintenance based on the analytic hierarchy process

Environmental impact assessment is an intrinsically complex multi-dimensional process which involves multiple criteria and multiple actors. Multi-criteria methods can serve as useful decision aids for carrying out environmental impact assessment. This paper proposes the use of a multi-criteria technique, namely the analytic hierarchy process, as a potential decision-making method for use in management maintenance processes. In this case, our problem concerns the selection of a parts cleaning system for diesel engine maintenance. A hierarchical structure is built for the prequalification of the criteria and the alternatives within the system. By applying the analytic hierarchical process, the criteria can be prioritized and the alternatives can be organized in descending order so that the best parts cleaning system may be selected.     

Development of pH-responsive poly(methylmethacrylate-co-methacrylic acid) membranes using scCO2 technology. Application to protein permeation

Porous membranes were developed in a two step process using supercritical CO₂ technology. Copolymers of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and methacrylic acid (MAA) were synthesized for the first time in supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂), being identified by ¹H NMR and FT-IR. The influence of the feed monomer ratio on their morphology, average molecular weight and T_g was studied. These PMMA-co-PMAA copolymers were then used in the preparation of thin pH-responsive membranes by scCO₂-assisted phase inversion method. The prepared films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, mercury porosimetry, dynamical mechanical analysis, swelling and contact angle measurements, in order to study their morphology, pH-responsive character, hydrophilicity and viscoelastic properties by changing the monomer ratio composition of the copolymer from 5 to 50 wt% of MAA with respect to the total mass of monomers. PMMA-co-PMAA membranes were then tested for a potential application as protein filtration devices. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) was used as a model protein and permeation measurements were performed at three different pHs (4.5, 5.0 and 7.4). The PMMA–PMAA (90:10) membrane showed a good performance in terms of BSA amount filtrated, with distinct profiles at different pH, and consequently capable to assume an efficient role in protein filtration processes.     

Thermal and mechanical analysis of the ITER plasma-position reflectometry antennas

The antennas of the ITER plasma-position reflectometer are the components most exposed to the plasma. High thermal loads can cause high temperatures and excessive stress, so the first constrains on the antenna design arise from thermal simulations results. Therefore, the first step of the analysis is to develop a finite element thermal model with ANSYS. Once the temperatures are kept at acceptable levels, structural analysis is performed to know the thermal stress. Simulations performed using different materials and support structure geometries are discussed. Further, it has been checked that the components can withstand the electromagnetic loads expected during disruptions and vertical displacement events. The stress due to these electromagnetic loads is calculated analytically as well as with ANSYS simulations. The proposed antenna arrangement is properly designed against thermal and mechanical loads.     

Relationship of early life stress and psychological functioning to blood pressure in the CARDIA study.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 28(4) of Health Psychology (see record 2009-10284-005). A URL for supplemental materials was included due to a production error. There are no supplemental materials for this article.] Objective: Low childhood socioeconomic status (CSES) and a harsh early family environment have been linked with health disorders in adulthood. In this study, the authors present a model to help explain these links and relate the model to blood pressure change over a 10-year period in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults sample. Design: Participants (N = 2,738) completed measures of childhood family environment, parental education, health behavior, and adult negative emotionality. Main Outcome Measures: These variables were used to predict initial systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP, respectively) and the rate of blood pressure change over 10 years. Results: Structural equation modeling indicated that family environment was related to negative emotions, which in turn predicted baseline DBP and SBP and change in SBP. Parental education directly predicted change in SBP. Although African American participants had higher SBP and DBP and steeper increases over time, multiple group comparisons indicated that the strength of most pathways was similar across race and gender. Conclusion: Low CSES and harsh family environments help to explain variability in cardiovascular risk. Low CSES predicted increased blood pressure over time directly and also indirectly through associations with childhood family environment, negative emotionality, and health behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The ARM Cortex-A8 Microprocessor IEEE Std 1500 Wrapper

This article describes the test wrapper implementation of a popular embedded microprocessor, along with an automated approach for verifying the wrapper's compliance to the standard.     

Optical properties of the synthetic nanocomposites SiO2/CdS/poly(styrene-co-maleic anhydride) and SiO2/CdS/poly(styrene-co-maleimide)

Hybrid materials consisting of SiO2/CdS particles dispersed in poly(styrene-co-maleic anhydride) and poly(styrene-co-maleimide) have been synthesized and characterized. The polymer nanocomposites were synthesised in situ in the presence of previously prepared inorganic fillers (SiO2/CdS). The nanocomposites were synthesized with the use of as-prepared or surface-modified SiO2/CdS fillers. For both types of nanocomposites, the optical properties were evaluated and the observation of size quantization effects in the optical spectra is discussed. In this context, the influence of the inorganic fillers and polymer matrices on the optical properties of the final nanocomposites was investigated.     

Iterative solution of algebraic matrix Riccati equations in open loop Nash games

In this note we study a fixed point iteration approach to solve algebraic Riccati equations as they appear in general two player Nash differential games on an infinite time horizon, where the information structure is of open loop type. We obtain conditions for existence and uniqueness of non‐negative solutions. The performance of the numerical algorithm is shown in an example. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pulsed Laser Deposition of Zr1-xCexO2 and Ce1-xLaxO2-x/2 for Buffer Layers and Insulating Barrier in Oxide Heterostructures

We have studied the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) of Zr_1-xCexO₂ and Ce_1-xLa_xO₂-x/2 initially to grow buffer layers for perovskite films deposited on Si, LaAlO₃, SrTiO₃ and MgO and then to produce tunneling barriers for cuprate or manganite heterostructures. On (1 0 0) Si, the deposition of Zr_1-xCexO₂ (x = 0.12) produces a smooth epitaxial layer (R _RMS = 0.25/1m²), which allows the further deposition of high quality YBa₂Cu₃O₇ (Tc 88 K) and La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ films. On the other hand, the use of Ce_1-xLa_xO_2-x/2 (0 x 0.4) makes it possible to match the YBa₂Cu₃O₇ and La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ layers to various substrates. The buffer layers are epitaxially grown with a 45° rotation of the in-plane axes with respect to those of the substrate, and the smoothness is high (R _RMS = 0.25/1m²). In the case of an ultra-thin barrier (2.5 nm) of Ce_1-xLa_xO_2-x/2 sandwiched in a La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃, the out-of-plane mismatch of 2 induces distortions at the interface steps, which propagate into the topmost La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ layer. This is in contrast to the case of SrTiO₃ barriers where an ideal crystal continuity in the growth direction is observed.