Adsorption of o-, m- and p-nitrophenols onto organically modified bentonites

Experiments were conducted on the adsorption characteristics of o-, m- and p-nitrophenols by organically modified bentonites at different temperatures. Two organobentonites (HDTMA-B and PEG-B) were synthesized using hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDTMABr) and poly(ethylene glycol) butyl ether (PEG). Synthesized HDTMA-B and PEG-B were characterized by XRD, FTIR and DTA-TG analyses and their specific surface area, particle size and pore size distributions were determined. BET surface areas and basal spacings (d(001)) of the HDTMA-B and PEG-B were found to be 38.71 m(2)g(-1), 69.04 m(2)g(-1) and 21.96 ?, 15.17 ?, respectively. Increased adsorption with temperature indicates that the process is endothermic for o-nitrophenol. On the other hand m- and p-nitrophenols exhibited lower rates of adsorption at higher temperatures suggesting a regular exothermic process taking place. Results were analyzed according to the Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin-Redushkevich (D-R) isotherm equations using linearized correlation coefficient at different temperatures. R(L) separation factors for Langmuir and the n values for Freundlich isotherms showed that m- and p-nitrophenols are favorably adsorbed by HDTMA-B and, p-nitrophenol is favored by PEG-B. Adsorption of o-, m- and p-nitrophenols as single components or from their binary mixtures on HDTMA-B and, p-nitrophenol on PEG-B are all defined to be physical in nature.     

Drying Kinetics and Energy Consumption in the Dehydration of Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) Arils and Rind

The objective of this study was to evaluate the drying kinetics and energy requirements during convective drying (CD) (50, 60 or 70 °C), vacuum-microwave drying (VMD) (240, 360 or 480 W) and a combined method of convective pre-drying and vacuum-microwave finishing drying (CPD-VMFD) while processing pomegranate arils and rind. Drying kinetics of CD and VMD was described using seven basic drying models; however, VMFD was modeled only by the Henderson and Pabis equation. Pomegranate rind required less drying time (26–460 min) than arils (51–1,395 min) due to its higher porosity and lower sugar content. The drying time and the energy consumption were reduced when the air temperature and microwave wattage were increased. VMD required less energy than CD within the entire range of moisture content assayed. CD energy consumption can be reduced by its combination with VMD (CPD-VMFD), and this reduction was more important when the VMFD was applied earlier. VMD and CPD-VMFD are a good option for food drying industry in order to reduce both the drying time and the energy consumption while processing pomegranate arils and rind. Therefore, industries can optimise the drying process and consequently save their financial needs.     

Physicochemical characterisation of eight Spanish mulberry clones: processing and fresh market aptitudes

The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare, for the first time, white and black mulberry species in terms of their main physicochemical characteristics in eight Spanish clones. The results showed significantly different characteristics between the black and white mulberry species. Fruit weight of mulberry species ranged from 2.10 to 4.15 g, and fruit juice yield, from 41% to 62%. Fructose (~61%) and glucose (~39%) were the predominant sugars in all mulberries. The MN1 clone displayed the highest total acidity (>2.6 g L^?1), and malic acid was the most abundant organic acid (6.65 g kg^?1). Cluster analysis has allowed grouping of the clones into three groups (i) MN1 and MN2; (ii) MN3 and MN4; and (iii) MA1, MA2, MA3 and MA4. Experimental results proved that Spanish mulberries have high potential for fresh consumption (attractive dark colour in Morus nigra clones, high sugars content and intense sweetness) and industrialisation (~50% juice yield, attractive juice colour, high content of crude fibre and intense sweetness). This study is also a step towards identification of this fruit as a potential healthy food, which may also be used in food industry and also have pharmaceutical interest.     

The supervision of psychological assessment: Toward parsimony and empirical evidence for developmental supervision theory.

Comments on H. Finklestein and A. Tuckman's (1997) developmental model for supervision of psychological assessment. There are concerns regarding the model's ability to serve as a parsimonious and empirically sound explication of the developmental supervision of psychological assessment. It is noted that the proposed model reiterates conceptualizations found within an already established and empirically supported comprehensive model of clinical supervision, the integrated developmental model (C. Stoltenberg and U. Delworth, 1987 and C. Stoltenberg et al, in press). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

激光二极管侧面抽运激光器热效应的不均匀性

激光二极管(LD)三向侧面抽运晶体时,每根抽运源上激光二极管阵列间的散热窄隙使得抽运光在晶体中轴向分布不均匀,晶体的轴向热均匀性变差.从光强分布的解析表达式出发,通过研究热源分布特性,导出了工作物质热透镜焦距的理论计算方法.数值计算了总抽运功率不变的情况下,抽运源激光二极管阵列的空间占空比、抽运源到晶体中心距离等因素对晶体热透镜焦距的影响.发现热透镜焦距随激光二极管阵列空间占空比和抽运距离的增大而增大.结果表明,抽运光沿轴向分布越均匀,热透镜焦距越长.这为追求晶体轴向热均匀性时侧面抽运源的选择和改进提供了依据.     

Impact of enzyme preparation and degree of hydrolysis on peptide profile and nitrogen solubility of sodium caseinate hydrolysates

The solubility of casein ingredients is limited under certain pH conditions. Therefore, sodium caseinate (NaCN) was hydrolysed at laboratory scale with four enzyme preparations (Alcalase, Prolyve, FlavorPro Whey and pepsin) yielding hydrolysates having degree of hydrolysis (DH) values between 0.19 ± 0.11 and 19.25 ± 0.73%. The nitrogen solubility index (NSI) over the pH range 2.0–8.0 was affected by (i) the specificity of the enzyme preparation, (ii) the DH and (iii) the presence of unhydrolysed NaCN within the hydrolysate. The trends observed at laboratory scale (<5 L) were also seen with the semi‐pilot‐scale (300 L) hydrolysates generated with Alcalase and FlavorPro Whey. Removal of unhydrolysed NaCN from the FlavorPro Whey hydrolysate using a 5‐kDa ultrafiltration (UF) membrane increased NSI. This study has highlighted the importance of carefully selecting the proteolytic preparation along with the DH to design casein‐based ingredients with enhanced technofunctional properties.