The origin of single strain starter culture usage for commercial Cheddar cheesemaking

The technology of using single strain starter cultures for commercial Cheddar cheesemaking is commonly believed to have originated in New Zealand in about 1934. However, W. S. Sutton of the New South Wales Department of Agriculture isolated pure strains of Streptococcus cremoris and, along with A. B. Shelton, conducted cheesemaking trials at the Hawkesbury Agricultural College, now the University of Western Sydney, from at least September 1930. Pure strains were being used in factories by October 1930 and, by July 1932, at least six factories were using pure single cultures. The technology was taken to New Zealand from New South Wales by Dr Moir.     

Dried waste activated sludge as biosorbents for metal removal: adsorptive characterization and prevention of organic leaching

Dried waste activated sludge was used for copper removal from simulated waste water in this study. Unconditioned activated sludge (UAS) bound up to 35 mg Cu g^?1, although there was significant leaching of organic material. Organic and copper leaching from the UAS increased significantly as the pH was reduced. Immobilization of UAS by sodium and calcium alginate was utilized in order to overcome the leaching problems, but reduced the adsorption capacity. Based on metal removal and organic leaching, calcium alginate‐conditioned UAS (CACAS) was found to be the most suitable sorbent for copper removal. Kinetic experiments showed that copper removal by both sodium alginate‐conditioned UAS (SACAS) and CACAS was faster than that by activated carbons, but slower than most of the other biosorbents described in the literature. FTIR spectroscopy identified a number of atomic groupings and structures in UAS relevant to copper adsorption. It suggested that hydrogen ions are replaced with copper ions. The Freundlich equation fitted the experimental isotherms better than the Langmuir equation. A computational model based on adsorption isotherm, external mass transfer and diffusion processes successfully described the kinetics of copper ion removal and suggested that the biosorption kinetics was controlled by mass transfer. © 2002 Society of Chemical Industry     

Novel approach to convert non-self drying palm stearin alkyds into environmental friendly UV curable resins

UV curable coating is a form of green technology that reduces or eliminates completely the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and is in line with the current global call in preserving nature. The objective of this project is to produce UV curable resins from non-self drying palm stearin alkyds by the incorporation of maleic anhydride (MAH) which could introduce more unsaturation into the main chains of alkyds. Four alkyds with different level of unsaturation were prepared and the successful incorporation of MAH was confirmed by FTIR and ¹H NMR analyses. Methyl methacrylate (MMA) was used as the reactive diluents, and benzophenone as the UV-photoinitiator. The UV-cured coatings were tested using standard methods adopted from ASTM, and results showed that coatings of maleated alkyds exhibited good film properties. This novel approach has succeeded in converting a non-self drying palm stearin alkyd into UV-curable resins.     

The effect of pulsed electric fields,ultraviolet light or high intensity light pulses in combination with manothermosonication on selected physico-chemical and sensory attributes of an orange and carrot juice blend

A blend of orange and carrot juice was processed by three selected treatments combining pulsed electric fields (PEF) (24 kV/cm, 18 Hz, 93 μs), ultraviolet light (UV) (10.6 J/cm²) or high intensity light pulses (HILP) (3.3 J/cm²), in each case, with manothermosonication (MTS) technology (400 kPa, 35 °C, 1000 W, 20 kHz). Treatment effects on selected physico-chemical and sensory properties of the juice were evaluated. No significant changes were found in non-enzymatic browning (NEBI) or antioxidant activity compared to an untreated control. However, the treatments increased all the Hunter Lab colour values, while total phenolics were significantly decreased. Each combination achieved on average 78% inactivation of pectin methyl esterase (PME). Sensory analysis showed that the colour of the product processed by hurdle combinations was preferred to that of a pasteurised sample (72 °C, 26 s), while the flavour was adversely affected by all of the non-thermal treatments. Panellists did not perceive differences in the odour, sweetness or acidity of the product. Results indicate that, under the current experimental conditions, the application of the selected combinations of non-thermal technologies resulted in a product in which certain quality attributes were somewhat inferior to those of a lightly pasteurised control juice.     

Palm oil‐based compound as environmentally friendly plasticizer for poly(vinyl chloride)

Many plasticizers have been invented to serve the purpose of making poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) into a more flexible plastic. In this work, the potential of palm oil‐based compound (Palm1) as a polymeric plasticizer for PVC was investigated. Plasticization of PVC was conducted via the solvent casting technique, using tetrahydrofuran (THF) as the mutual solvent. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were used to find evidence of interactions between the plasticizer and PVC. Transition temperatures (T_gs) of the plasticized PVC were obtained using DSC, and their thermal stabilities were evaluated using a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). Results from the study show that the polymeric plasticizer could interact with PVC chains via polar interaction involving –C‐Cl of PVC and possibly the ‐OH groups of Palm1. T_g of the PVC was reduced after it was plasticized with Palm1. The results obtained from this study suggest that the Palm1 may have the potential to serve as an environmentally friendly plasticizer for PVC. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 22:80–87, 2016. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Dual‐feed full‐metal‐case antenna for WWAN/LTE smartphone applications

A dual‐feed small size full‐metal‐case (FMC) antenna for hepta‐band LTE/WWAN operation in smartphone applications is presented. The antenna proposed here is an integrated part of the full metal case located at the top edge of the smartphone, and it only occupies a small volume of 5 mm × 70 mm × 6 mm. It has two feeding ports that are separately connected to an ON/OFF switch (SW1 and SW2) for controlling the lower and higher operation bands, respectively. For the case when SW1 (ON) and SW2 (OFF), Port‐1 is engaged, and a lower operating band that covers the GSM850/900 operation (824–960 MHz) is achieved. In contrast, Port‐2 will be engaged for the case when SW1 (OFF) and SW2 (ON), and with the aid of a wideband matching circuit, the antenna can induce a higher operating band that can cover the DCS/PCS/UMTS2100/LTE2300/LTE2500 operations (1690–2690 MHz). Detailed design considerations of the proposed FMC antenna are described, and both experimental and simulation results are also presented and discussed. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 26:595–601, 2016.     

Free postsynaptic densities in the hippocampus of the female rat

The number of synapses in the adult, female hippocampal CA1 region fluctuates naturally across the estrous cycle in an ovarian steroid-dependent manner. This phasic variation in synapse number occurs without identifiable degenerating synapses. Ultrastructural correlates of the dynamic aspect of this synapse loss and synapse formation thus remain undescribed. During early development, one hallmark of synaptogenesis is the presence of free postsynaptic densities (PSDs). Here we report that the incidence of free PSDs in CA1 fluctuates across the rat estrous cycle. The number of free PSDs is greatest on the afternoon of proestrus and is significantly decreased on the afternoon of estrus, 24 h later. We hypothesize that these free PSDs reflect synapse turnover in the adult CA1 region.     

Material-specific lateralization of prefrontal activation during episodic encoding and retrieval

Although numerous neuroimaging studies have examined the functional neuroanatomy supporting episodic memory for verbal material, there have been few investigations of non-verbal episodic encoding and retrieval. We used fMRI to directly compare prefrontal activation elicited by verbal and non-verbal material during encoding and during retrieval. Regardless of the mnemonic operation (encoding/retrieval), inferior prefrontal activation lateralized based on material type. Verbal encoding and retrieval resulted in greater left inferior prefrontal activation, whereas non-verbal encoding and retrieval resulted in greater right inferior prefrontal activation. The similarity between inferior prefrontal activity during encoding and during retrieval indicates that these mnemonic operations depend on shared processes mediated by inferior prefrontal regions.     

A low‐profile wideband dual‐polarized antenna with gain enhancement,low gain variations,and low cross polarization for 5G indoor communications

A low‐profile wideband dual‐polarized antenna with high gain, low gain variations, and low cross‐polarization for the fifth generation (5G) indoor distribution system is proposed. By using circular‐thread vase‐shaped structure, a low profile of 0.23λ₀ (λ₀ is the free‐space wavelength at the starting frequency) as well as low gain variation feature can be achieved by the vertically polarized (VP) radiating element. An eight‐way power divider network is employed to feed the horizontally polarized (HP) dipoles so that wideband performance is obtained. Here, eight pairs of arc‐shaped parasitic strips are used to broaden the bandwidth, and eight pairs of director elements are introduced to enhance the gain and reduce the gain variations. In addition, the protruded stubs that are extended from the circular ground plane will help to reduce the cross polarization in the VP direction. Measured results show that a bandwidth of 46.5% (3.3‐5.3 GHz) (S₁₁ < ?10 dB) with a gain of 0.85 ± 0.35 dBi, and another bandwidth of 85.0% (2.5‐6.2 GHz) with a gain of 4.75 ± 1.75 dBi can be realized in the HP and VP directions, respectively. Furthermore, high isolation (>27 dB) and low cross polarization (<?24 dB) can also be attained. Therefore, the proposed antenna is a good candidate for 5G indoor distributed system.     

Sex differences in the representation of visuospatial functions in the human brain.

Investigated sex differences in the representation of visuospatial functions in the human brain in 20 Ss with right hemisphere stroke and 40 stroke-free control Ss with the Complex Figure Test, Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised (WAIS—R) Block Design, and Judgment of Line Orientation. Also, 3 models of sex differences in the representation of visuospatial functions in the human brain were evaluated. The stroke and control groups were composed of equal proportions of men and women. Results suggest that women may be disproportionately impaired in visuospatial functioning relative to men following right hemisphere stroke. It is proposed that visuospatial functions were bilaterally represented in the brains of men, allowing them to rely upon left hemisphere visuospatial systems following right hemisphere stroke, and that these functions were represented in the right hemisphere of women, resulting in their disproportionate impairment despite comparable lesions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)