From Manchester Docks to Salford Quays: Ten Years of Environmental Improvements in the Mersey Basin Campaign

The decline of the former Manchester Docks and its resurgence as Salford Quays is described. The isolation of water within the Quays from the Manchester Ship Canal was a principal proposal of the development plan, and the water-treatment system which was installed has been highly successful in creating a thriving aquatic ecosystem and enabling water-based recreation activities to take place. Whilst the water quality within the Quays is excellent, outside in the Manchester Ship Canal it remains grossly polluted. Under the auspices of the Mersey Basin campaign, the various partners are involved in a major project to clean up the canal. The Lowry Centre, a Millennium Fund bid, is giving an added impetus to this work. The conclusions identify the involvement of the local council as being critical to the success of the project, and that a respect for quality has been essential, as has a long-term commitment to an overall vision.     

EC Directive on the Control of Dangerous Substances (76/464/EEC): Its Impact on the UK Water Industry

This paper discusses the impact on the UK water industry of EC legislation which has been adopted and proposed for the control of dangerous substances discharged to the aquatic environment. The main impact arises from the increased monitoring needs, requiring more sophisticated analytical equipment and skilled staff, together with the increased administrative burden to produce reduction programmes and to set and control consents for dangerous substances. The paper also summarizes recent initiatives which have been taken by the UK towards a more precautionary approach to pollution control, by requiring that 'red-list' substances should be controlled by environmental quality standards and limit values whichever are the more stringent.     

The EC Bathing Water Directive: a Sampling Problem

The relatively frequent observation, during periods of onshore drift, of a surface line of convergence in nearshore coastal waters may have significant implications for the sampling procedure used for monitoring compliance with the EC Bathing Water Directive. A simple theory is developed for predicting the formation of the convergence line, and a possible alternative sampling method is suggested.     

The Socio-Economic Impact of Improved Wells in Rural Sierra Leone

The construction of improved wells with the participation of the local communities in rural Sierra Leone is examined. Two chiefdoms were surveyed with four sample villages being examined in depth through questionnaires, interviews, participant observation and quantitative monitoring of water abstraction.
Only 36% of the improved wells were operational in the dry season, and these made a modest contribution to water demand in the villages. Half the water consumption was on the remote farms where improved wells played a negligible role. Social and cultural difficulties with the wells were as important as their dry season desiccation in explaining the minimal impact of the well-digging scheme.
Post-project evaluation by a multi-disciplinary team could provide invaluable inputs to the planning of an ongoing programme.     

Interleaved soft-switched active-clamped L–L type current-fed half-bridge DC–DC converter for fuel cell applications

In this paper, an interleaved soft-switched active-clamped L–L type current-fed half-bridge isolated dc–dc converter has been proposed. The L–L type active-clamped current-fed converter is able to maintain zero-voltage switching (ZVS) of all switches for the complete operating range of wide fuel cell stack voltage variation at full load down to light load conditions. Active-clamped circuit absorbs the turn-off voltage spike across the switches. Half-bridge topology maintains higher efficiency due to lower conduction losses. Soft-switching permits higher switching frequency operation, reducing the size, weight and cost of the magnetic components. Interleaving of the two isolated converters is done using parallel input series output approach and phase-shifted modulation is adopted. It reduces the input current ripple at the fuel cell input, which is required in a fuel cell system and also reduces the output voltage ripples. In addition, the size of the magnetic/passive components, current rating of the switches and voltage ratings of the rectifier diodes are reduced.     

两种水泵性能曲线拟合方法的研究

采用基于最小二乘法的多项式拟合与改进的BP神经网络法分别对同一水泵性能参数进行拟合,并通过算例比较分析了两者拟合效果、精度。结果表明,改进的BP神经网络拟合曲线效果和精度较高,在样本数量不多情况下两者拟合曲线效果较接近。     

不同加热方法对牦牛肉中矿物质和维生素含量的影响

研究了水煮、微波、烘烤和油炸加热方法对牦牛背最长肌(longissimus muscle,LM)和后小腿肉(shank hind,SH)维生素和矿物质含量的影响。结果表明:与生肉(对照组)相比较,水煮牦牛肉的钠、磷、钾和硫胺素含量显著减少(p<0.05)。水煮加热方法对维生素保留率最低,而烘烤加热最高。四种加热方法中牦牛肉钙、铁、锰和钴保留率无显著差异(p>0.05),而钠、镁、磷和钾的保留率差异显著(p<0.05);加热对硫元素几乎没有损失。综合考虑四种加热方法对牦牛肉维生素和矿物质的保留率,烘烤是牦牛肉较好的加热方法,建议在肉品加工企业和家庭烹饪中应用。     

提高金川矿山下向采场采矿生产能力技术研究

几十年连续开采,金川矿山龙首矿的富矿接近枯竭,贫矿成为主要开采对象。提高采矿生产能力,实现以规模求效益是贫矿开发利用的必由之路。以金川龙首矿Ⅲ矿区贫矿开发为工程背景,探讨提高进路分层充填采矿法生产能力的关键技术。首先,以采用大型采矿设备为主要手段,进行了下向分层充填法采矿中的大断面进路参数优化、稳定性分析和分层道优化布置研究。然后,开展了进路分层充填法采矿的回采工艺参数优化。通过大断面进路采矿和优化的回采工艺,不仅提高了采矿生产能力,而且还确保了采矿安全生产,由此获得了显著的经济效益和社会效益。     

THE INFLUENCE OF ADDITION OF DEFATTED BLACKCURRANT SEEDS ON PRO‐HEALTH CONSTITUENTS AND TEXTURE OF CEREAL EXTRUDATES

ABSTRACT

Extrudates used in the study were prepared on the base of cornmeal (100%) – control, which was in 10, 30 and 50% replaced by defatted seeds of blackcurrant, which were a by‐product of supercritical fluid extraction, used for oil production. The aim of the study was to check the influence of the level of defatted blackcurrant seeds, on texture and chemical composition of the obtained extrudates. Special attention was paid to pro‐health constituents, i.e., dietary fiber, polyphenols, flavonoids and anthocyanins. The addition of defatted seeds resulted in an increase of polyphenol content, and antioxidant activity, and the rise in the level of flavonoids and soluble dietary fiber as compared with control. The enrichment of extrudates in pro‐health components, as well as improvement of sensory score, suggests that 10% addition of defatted blackcurrant seeds is a suitable level for preparation of extruded fruit‐cereal snacks.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

The study demonstrates that defatted blackcurrant seeds could be a good, natural source of bioactive components in cereal snacks produced by extrusion. The suggested level of this component, optimal from sensory and dietary point of view, is 10%.

     

汉麻叶总黄酮和总多酚的同步提取工艺优化及抗氧化活性

在单因素试验基础上,以汉麻叶总黄酮、总多酚提取率和对DPPH自由基的清除率为响应值,利用响应面分析法对汉麻叶总黄酮、总多酚的提取工艺进行同步优化。研究表明,乙醇体积分数、提取时间、提取温度和液料比4个因素对总黄酮、总多酚的提取率均有显著影响。根据响应面法绘制三维及等高线叠加图,应用同步优化程序,得出总黄酮、总多酚的最佳提取工艺参数为乙醇体积分数65%、提取时间133 min、提取温度60℃、液料比30:1(m L/g)。在此条件下进行验证试验,得到汉麻叶总黄酮、总多酚提取率和对DPPH自由基的清除率分别为(2.01±0.22)%、(1.84±0.32)%、(77.63±2.15)%,与数学模型计算所得预测值接近。可见,响应面同步优化法对汉麻叶总黄酮、总多酚提取条件进行同时优化合理可行。