Public reaction to wind development in California

Substantial controversy has been produced from the location of over 4000 wind turbines in San Gorgonio Pass, California. The principal point of controversy is the conflicting land use which results from developing wind power in a populated area. A public opinion survey was conducted which demonstrated that the vocal opposition to the wind turbines so commonly expressed is not borne out in fact. While there is indeed some opposition to the development of wind power at this site, particularly in terms of aesthetic degradation, the majority of respondents favoured the development. This level of approval will be of interest to those developing large wind projects elsewhere.     

Feasibility of Using Titanium Machine Turnings in Powder Metallurgy Processes

JOM - The use of titanium machine turnings has been identified as a possible ultralow-cost method to produce titanium powder. However, very little data are available on the viability of this...     

The effect of freezing compared with chilling on selected physico-chemical and sensory properties of sous vide cooked carrots

Sous vide is increasingly used to process convenience foods including ready-meals as it is reputed to give superior quality because of the mild process and the absence of oxygen in the pack. The potential for temperature abuse is greater for sous vide ready-meals than for sous vide catered items as the distribution and retailing chain for the former is usually longer. Freezing sous vide foods is, therefore, a potentially safer alternative to sous vide processed foods followed by chilling. The objective of the current study was to investigate production of sous vide frozen sliced (discs) carrots, with similar quality to sous vide chilled product. Sensory trials were used to determine the acceptable shear texture range (1.0–2.8 kN) for steamed carrots and this was the target texture in the processing trials. A Barriquand Steriflow retort was used for sous vide processing and the optimized conditions using carrot discs were: low temperature blanch (50 °C/30 min; firms product); blanch (90 °C/3 min; inactivates enzymes); sous vide cook (90 °C to core P₉₀¹⁰ values > 4 min and < 6 min); blast freeze (? 35 °C/2 h); and store (? 25 °C). Carrot discs prepared from untreated raw carrots had a firmer texture than those prepared from either blanched or blanched and frozen material. Freezing post-sous vide cooking softened texture in comparison with chilling, but freezing rate (nitrogen; blast; cabinet methods) and frozen storage (9 months) had a minimal effect on product texture and quality. Scanning electron microscopy showed no significant structural differences between sous vide frozen and chilled carrots of similar shear values. Paired comparison sensory testing of sous vide frozen and chilled sliced carrots indicated a significant preference for the latter at the 20-day storage date.Industrial relevance: The trials dealt with the effects of freezing on the quality of sous vide processed carrots. This is of relevance to companies who wish to produce texturally acceptable sous vide frozen or chilled components as part of ready-meals.     

Effect of high hydrostatic pressure and thermal processing on the nutritional quality and enzyme activity of fruit smoothies

Fruit smoothie samples were thermally (P₇₀ > 10 min) or high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) processed (450 MPa/20 °C/5 min or 600 MPa/20 °C/10 min) and the total antioxidant capacity (TAC), levels of antioxidant groups [total phenols (TP), anthocyanins and ascorbic acid], instrumental colour, polyphenol oxidase (PPO) enzyme activity and dissolved oxygen were examined over a storage period of 10 h at 4 °C. Thermal processing of smoothies reduced (p < 0.001) TAC and TP values, ascorbic acid and L and a colour attributes (lightness and redness respectively) compared to fresh and HHP-450 processed samples. Conversely, it did result in complete inactivation of PPO enzyme, with no activity detected. Of the HHP treatments, HHP-450 samples had higher (p < 0.001) levels of total antioxidant, phenols and anthocyanin content than HHP-600 samples. However, the latter was more effective in reducing (p < 0.001) the endogenous enzyme activity of the smoothies. .Ascorbic acid content degraded over the storage for all smoothies. HHP-600 samples had high initial values, which declined slowly over storage, while thermal samples had the lowest initial value (0.5 h) that fell below detectable limits by 10 h. Despite these data, less pronounced effects were observed for storage. No significant effects were observed for total anthocyanin and phenolic contents as well as L and colour change (ΔE) variables. Overall, HHP processing of smoothies at moderate temperatures may be a suitable alternative to traditional thermal processing.     

Chilled ceilings and displacement ventilation

Displacement ventilation and chilled ceiling systems have been promoted as being ‘greener’ alternatives to other common forms of air conditioning system. They have been viewed by some of the building services industry as a welcome departure from the traditional ‘North American’ systems of air conditioning most frequently adopted to date, and could be viewed as a more suitable alternative for use in the moderate climatic conditions of the UK.This paper reviews some of the authors' recent and current work on the performance of these systems in office environments.     

Inhibition of yeast‐to‐filamentous growth transitions in Candida albicans by a small molecule inducer of mammalian apoptosis

The opportunistic fungal pathogen of humans Candida albicans is able to grow in different morphological forms such as round or oval yeasts and filamentous hyphae and pseudohyphae. Morphogenesis, the ability to switch between the yeast and filamentous growth forms, is important for adapting to new microenvironments in the human host and for pathogenesis. The molecular pathways governing morphogenesis are complex and incompletely understood. Previously, we identified several small organic molecules that specifically inhibit the initiation of hyphal growth in C. albicans without affecting cell viability or budded growth. One molecule from that screen is known to induce apoptosis in mammalian cells. In this study, we have screened additional inducers of mammalian apoptosis and identified BH3I‐1, as well as several structural derivatives of BH3I‐1, that act as specific inhibitors of morphogenesis under a variety of environmental conditions. Chemical epistasis experiments suggest that BH3I‐1 acts downstream of the hypha‐specific gene regulators Rfg1, Nrg1 and Ume6.     

Human Response to Emergency Communication: A Review of Guidance on Alerts and Warning Messages for Emergencies in Buildings

The purpose of this article is to provide guidance on enhancing human response to emergency communication. This guidance can, in turn, help engineers improve the design of emergency notification and messaging systems, which, as a result, can help inform occupant response, reduce occupant evacuation time, and increase occupant safety. The article begins with a literature review on how people respond to emergencies. The Protective Action Decision Model, which describes the decision-making process that precedes human response in disaster events, is used as a framework for the literature collected as part of this review. This model is divided into three pre-decisional and five decisional processes. The method used to create the guidance document is then explained, including the six steps taken to review the literature collected (from 162 engineering and social science sources), generate findings from this literature, and compile the key statements found in the guidance document. Guidance on alerts, visual/audible warnings and dissemination of warning messages are provided. These are organized according to alert/warning type and dissemination method. The findings of the literature review include five guidance statements on alerts, 16 guidance statements on visual warnings, seven guidance statements on audible warnings and eight guidance statements on the dissemination of warning messages. Finally, guidance on emergency message testing, including language, readability and fire drills as a means of response testing, is provided. It is envisioned that this guidance will inform practitioners on the design of future emergency communications and subsequently enhances evacuee performance through a better understanding of the manner in which emergency information is processed and the tools available to provide such information.     

3-D-micro-ERDA microscopy of trace hydrogen distributions in diamond using a 2-D-PSD with event reconstruction

A fast-imaging technique for the total elemental hydrogen concentration distribution is described, which is helpful in the study of its chemistry and dynamics in the diamond system. The micro-scanned Heavy-Ion Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis (HI-ERDA) technique can deliver information on hydrogen distributions in three dimensions. In our system, the count rate is enhanced by use of a 2-D position and energy sensitive detector for the hydrogen recoils. Software geometry collimation and recoil energy rebinning ensure that the increased rate is in fact accompanied by an improvement in effective energy resolution. The system has been used to study the mobility and trapping behaviour of a collimated implant of hydrogen into a pre-damaged natural type IIa diamond sample as well as the mobility and trapping behaviour of collimated implants of hydrogen into diamond, which has not been pre-damaged.