Expansion Properties of Sour Cassava Starch (Polvilho Azedo): Variables Related to its Practical Application in Bakery

Sour cassava starch (polvilho azedo) is a chemically and enzymatically modified starch with the specific property of expansion in bakery products without the use of any chemical or biological leavening agents. In this work, the cumulative knowledge about sour cassava starch is presented in relation to its physicochemical characteristics, with the purpose of establishing a relation between the application properties and some structural and chemical characteristics in order to design a model of the modified structure of starch and the most important technical variables. Such approach will help to provide some quality standards for future adequate valorization of sour cassava starch, especially with respect to potential use in gluten‐free products. This work showed that a good sour cassava starch is significantly different from low expansion cassava starches with respect to pH, acid factor, swelling power, specific volume, and polymerization degree (intrinsic viscosity). These variables could be related to the maximization of sour cassava starch expansion for a future predictive decision analysis about a high quality sour cassava starch to the baking use.     

Integrating Human Inputs with Autonomous Behaviors on an Intelligent Wheelchair Platform

Nearly five million individuals in the US have limited arm and hand movement, making it difficult or impossible for them to use computers and products with embedded computers, such as wheelchairs, household appliances, office electronic equipment, and robotic aids. Although some current wheelchair systems have embedded computers, they have very little computer control and require precise, low-level control inputs from the user; interfaces are similar to those found in passenger cars. The rider must continuously specify the chair's direction and, in some cases, velocity using a joystick-like device. Unfortunately, many users who could benefit from powered wheelchairs lack these fine motor skills. For instance, those with cerebral palsy might not be able to guide a chair through a narrow opening, such as a doorway, without repeatedly colliding into the sides. These types of physically challenging environments can be frustrating and require a lot of user effort. At the University of Pennsylvania's general robotics, automation, sensing, and perception lab, we developed the smart chair, a smart wheelchair with intelligent controllers that lets people with physical disabilities overcome these difficulties. By outfitting the wheelchair with cameras, a laser range finder, and onboard processing, we give the user an adaptable, intelligent control system. A computer-controlled wheelchair's shared control framework allows users complete control of the chair while ensuring their safety     

Applying agile methods to aircraft embedded software: an experimental analysis

This paper discusses the applicability of agile methods to aircraft embedded software development. It presents the main results of an experiment that combines agile practices from Scrum with model‐based development and distributed development. The experiment consists of the development of an aircraft cockpit display system divided in five distributed teams. Three features are analysed and quantified, using the output artefacts of each team: the artefacts' quality, the adherence to agile methods, and the adherence to standard DO‐178C. The main conclusion of the experiment is that there is a high correlation between the adherence to agile methods and the artefacts' quality, motivating the use of agile methods in aircraft industry. Also, the experiment evinced that agile methods does not specifically address the integration of distributed teams and the hardware/software integration. This lacuna affects the artefacts' quality. The results of the experiment emphasize the importance of concentrating future work in the proposal of specific agile practices for these activities. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Poly(ethylene oxide)–polyelectrolyte blends: viscometric and thermal analysis behaviour

The miscibility of binary poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and sodium poly(4‐styrene sulphonate) (PSS) or [3,6]‐ionene (ION) systems, was analysed in aqueous solutions and in the solid state by viscometry and thermal analysis, respectively. Both techniques indicate partial miscibility of PEO–PSS and immiscibility of PEO–ION blends. In water solution, the partial miscibility of the PEO–PSS system is probably due to the counterion Na⁺ which can partially provide the driving force association in a similar manner to that observed for PEO–surfactant systems. In blend films, the PEO–polyelectrolyte interaction is also analysed in terms of the effect on the PEO crystallization observed through optical microscopy, and the results indicate compatibility between the components in the PEO–PSS system. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry     

Analysis of composite steel and concrete columns at high temperatures

The growing demand for knowledge about the effect of fire on structures has stimulated research worldwide. This article presents experimental results of short, composite columns made of steel and concrete when submitted to high temperatures in furnaces, with and without axial compression loading, as well as a numerical analysis of the temperature distribution in these columns. The columns were modeled as concrete‐filled tubes with three thicknesses and two diameters considered. In addition, standard fire temperature–time curves were obtained experimentally for use in the numerical calculations. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Eurocode method for calculating the external steelwork temperature in fire; comparative studies

To design a steel structure in fire is necessary to know its temperature. Using the data from many experimental fire tests, Margaret Law estimated the maximum temperature in a compartment (natural fire), the external heat transfer to steel elements and the maximum temperature value for steel. The Eurocode adopted her method, with minor adjustments. The method is very calculation intensive—it involves about 60 equations—too many for a quick hand calculation. Besides, while a distinction is made between steel members engulfed and not engulfed in flame, the method is not clear about partially engulfed members. The authors developed the software ExteelFire to determine the maximum temperature of external steel structures for buildings in fire based on the Eurocode method including the determination of the temperature of the partially engulfed elements. Aiming to ascertain the level of safety of the Eurocode method, the results from ExteelFire and a numerical analysis performed using Smartfire (CFD software for the fire model) and Super Tempcalc (finite element method, FEM, software for the thermal analysis) were compared. Furthermore, results from ExteelFire and from two full‐scale experimental tests (Dalmarnock and Ostrava) were contrasted. Based on the comparisons, the Eurocode method is conservative. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Metabolomics of cancer cell cultures to assess the effects of dietary phytochemicals

Cancer is a multi-factorial disease and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Dietary phytochemicals have been used for the treatment of cancer throughout history due to their safety, low toxicity, and general availability. Several studies have been performed to elucidate the effects of dietary phytochemicals on cancer metabolism, and many molecular targets of phytochemicals have been discovered. In spite of remarkable progress, their effects on cancer metabolism have not yet been fully clarified. Recent developments in metabolomics allowed to probe much further the metabolism of cancer, highlighting altered metabolic pathways and offering a new powerful tool to investigate cancer disease. In this review, we discuss the main metabolic alterations of cancer cells and the potentiality of phytochemicals as promising modulators of cancer metabolism. We will focus on the application of nuclear magnetic resonance-based metabolomics on breast and hepatocellular cancer cell lines to evaluate the impact of curcumin and resveratrol on cancer metabolome with the aim to demonstrate the premise of this approach to provide useful information for a better understanding of impact of diet components on cancer disease.     

Electroactive mixtures of polyaniline and EPDM rubber: Chemical,thermal, and morphological characterization

A new route for blending polyaniline (PAni) and EPDM rubber was devised with maleic anhydride as a compatibilizer precursor. Rubber matrices containing ammonium peroxidisulfate and dodecyl benzene sulfonic acid were cast from organic solvents. Exposure to the monomer vapors allowed the chemical polymerization of aniline. The influence of PAni and the compatibilizer on the thermal properties, chemical structure, electrical conductivity, and morphology of the mixtures was observed with differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared, in situ conductivity measurements, and optical microscopy. The micrographs showed a good distribution of the PAni complex in the matrix. The use of approximately 2 wt % compatibilizer resulted in chemical interactions between maleic anhydride and the PAni complex formed with dodecyl benzene sulfonic acid, which could enhance the compatibility between the polymers. The obtained blends reached relative electrical conductivity values of up to 9 × 10^?3 S cm^?1. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 87: 535–547, 2003     

Anti-inflammatory and anti-hyperalgesic evaluation of the condiment laurel (Litsea guatemalensis Mez.) and its chemical composition

Litsea guatemalensis Mez., a native plant of Mexico and Central America, is widely used as a food condiment, in the same manner as Laurus nobilis L. In folk medicine, it is used to treat several diseases such as respiratory and gastrointestinal complaints. We report here the anti-inflammatory and anti-hyperalgesic properties of ethanolic extract and the compound 5,7,3′,4′-tetrahydroxy-isoflavone (3), which was isolated in addition to pinocembrin (1), and scopoletin (2). The results confirm that both the ethanolic extract and Compound 3 showed anti-inflammatory activity, by inhibiting paw oedema induced by carrageenan, and also reduced the influx of leucocytes, particularly neutrophils, to the pleural cavity and consequently anti-hyperalgesic activity, when assessed in the model of persistent pain induced by partial sciatic nerve ligation.