Influences of freeze- and spray-drying vs. encapsulation with soy and whey proteins on gastrointestinal stability and antioxidant activity of Mediterranean aromatic herbs

The aim of the present research was to study the chemical profile of volatile and non-volatile compounds in freeze- and spray-dried oregano, thyme, sage, and rosemary as well as to study the gastrointestinal stability and the biological activity of the samples after encapsulation using two proteins (soy and whey). Chemical analysis was performed by HS-SPME/GC-MS and HPLC-PDA techniques. The antioxidant activity (FRAP, DPPH and ORAC assays) and HPLC-PDA analyses were performed before and after simulated two-phase digestion process (gastric and duodenal) using human gastrointestinal enzymes. The effect of protein carriers was depended on the plant matrix and the class of compound. Soy protein is useful for the protection of thymol and carvacrol content in thyme and the increase of the antioxidant activity of sage. Whey protein is useful for flavanols stability in all studied herbs before and after the duodenal digestive phase.     

Artificial Water Inflow Created by Solar Energy for Continuous Green Energy Production

This paper presents the artificial water inflow created by the photovoltaic (PV) or solar thermal (ST) generator which pumps it into the upper water/energy storage of pump storage hydroelectric (PSH) for continuous green energy production. Formulas have been derived for the calculation of artificial water inflow created by the PV and ST generator, as well as the general formula for calculating the artificial water inflow created by solar energy and formulas for calculating the corresponding energy, all in order to assess the site location suitability for solar hydro system applications. In order to verify the obtained formulas, two sites were observed at typical climate areas, i.e. Mediterranean (Vis, 1575 kWh/m²y) and Continental (Osijek, 1262 kWh/m²y) climate of Croatia, and as expected, the PV generator provides more stable time series in both climates than the ST generator that creates high energy dissipation and therefore less reliable energy production, particularly in the areas with Continental climate. Compatibility analysis of natural and artificial water inflows, with the use of a small water reservoir, showed that the PV-PSH system can ensure a continuous supply of energy throughout the whole year, while winter energy shortages in the ST-PSH system can be solved by using a larger reservoir. The obtained results show that the integrated solar-hydro system is efficient and desirable in terms of achieving goals related to the increase of green energy production.     

Modeling of petroleum products sampling processes

Abstract

This paper describes a holistic approach to operation processes in the domain of petroleum products sampling which is important in validating the performance of custody transfer measurements. The acquisition and process visualization is followed by a detailed analysis of all relevant processes and discussion. In that way, the most important aspects related to sampling, which comply with the most rigorous requirements for custody transfer, will be shown. In order to represent petroleum products sampling, a model has been defined and connected to the defined processes in a BPMN 2.0 notation. Thereafter, the notation was enriched with new elements, representing other complex segments, such as defining selection criteria, sampling handling and operational considerations. In that regard, different situations and factors were integrated and enriched with new details, enabling guidance for the correct selection and smooth running of a sampling system.     

Species kinetics and heterogeneous reactivity of dissolved Cu in natural freshwaters

Using high specific activity 64Cu2+ as radiotracer, the distribution kinetics among Cu species were established in natural organic-rich freshwaters under steady-state conditions, i.e., with minimal disturbance of existing equilibria. Study sites with contrasting suspended particulate matter (SPM) characteristics were investigated. Our analytical protocol allowed the differentiation between the following Cu species: SPM associated Cu, dissolved reactive (free and labile) Cu, and organically complexed Cu. The data obtained were successfully evaluated by compartmental analysis, which showed the importance of organically complexed Cu in freshwaters, and the dominant role of the interactions between organically complexed Cu and SPM in a SPM-rich water. The kinetic 54Cu measurements indicated that the attainment of equilibrium between dissolved reactive and organically complexed Cu took ca. <1-2 h, and 4-15 h for the interaction between dissolved organically complexed and SPM associated Cu. The kinetic study was augmented by voltammetric measurements of the dissolved (stable) Cu equilibrium speciation conditions in the natural waters. These measurements showed that the waters contained very low cupric ion concentrations (10(-12)-10(-15) M), with more than 99.9% of the dissolved Cu complexed by strong organic ligands (conditional stability constants: 10(13.4)-10(15.4)).     

Depolarization current of a novolac p-fluorophenol-formaldehyde resin

A Novolac p-fluorophenol-formaldehyde (NFF) resin was prepared by condensation of p-fluorophenol with formaldehyde. DSC showed the glass transition effect or coinciding endothermal peak depending upon the thermal history of samples. It is supposed that the peaks are caused by breaking of the intermolecular bondings in the resin during the glass transition. The bondings are formed in the resin during the storage at room temperature. Thermally stimulated depolarization current (TSDC) measurements were carried out in the temperature range of 290 to 350 K, with the samples having an average number molecular weight M?_n of 375 and 434. TSDC curves mainly showed the dipolar relaxation α peaks. The influence of poling temperatures, the influence of M?_n, the activation energy E_a, and the physical ageing of the samples were investigated. Physical ageing was determined as the reciprocal polarizability R_p vs. time of ageing. Samples. with higher M?_n showed a higher glass transition temperature, a lower E_a, and a higher increase in R_p than the sample with lower M?_n. The increase in M?_n increased the rigidness of NFF samples. The effects are attributed to the strong hydrogen bonding. The comparison with analogous results in novolac phenol-formaldehyde resin without fluorine is given.     

Sustainable Electric Power System: Is It Possible? Case Study: Croatia

This paper analyzes the reality of sustainable energy supply (SEPS) from renewable energy sources (RES) as a totally green strategy of electric energy production. The paper is based on the Advanced International Policies (AIP) scenario of the European Renewable Energy Council agency forecast by the year 2040, which foresees the share of 82% of RES, extended to 100% of RES. The key element that creates conditions for achieving this ambitious scenario is an innovative solution of the so-called solar hydroelectric power plant (SHE) which is basically combined photovoltaic (PV) power plant and pump storage hydro (PSH) which can provide continuous supply of electric power and energy to consumers. Therefore, SHE is presented in this paper as the main building element of the future SEPS. For covering unit consumption of electric energy of 1 GWh in a power system, the paper calculates unit values of the SHE system: 0.73 MW of PV generator; 4,545?m2 of PV generator; 0.36?hm3 of reservoir volume, 0.21 GWh of PSH energy and 0.24 MW of PSH. In the case of the power system in Croatia, which is rich in solar and hydroenergy and whose climate conditions are very similar to those in the European countries, it has been shown that implementation of the green strategy of energy balance fulfilling can be realized with present day technology. Precisely, this fact shows that further increase of efficiency of SHE and other RES and their combining into RES+PHS power plants, along with increase in the cost of classic power fuels and the growing needs for environment protection, the proposed solution of SEPS realization could be widely important and thus become a serious alternative to the existing energy strategies and a guideline to decision makers in many countries.     

Cross-Talk between the Cytokine IL-37 and Thyroid Hormones in Modulating Chronic Inflammation Associated with Target Organ Damage in Age-Related Metabolic and Vascular Conditions

Chronic inflammation is considered to be the main mechanism contributing to the development of age-related metabolic and vascular conditions. The phases of chronic inflammation that mediate the progression of target organ damage in these conditions are poorly known, however. In particular, there is a paucity of data on the link between chronic inflammation and metabolic disorders. Based on some of our own results and recent developments in our understanding of age-related inflammation as a whole-body response, we discuss the hypothesis that cross-talk between the cytokine IL-37 and thyroid hormones could be the key regulatory mechanism that justifies the metabolic effects of chronic tissue-related inflammation. The cytokine IL-37 is emerging as a strong natural suppressor of the chronic innate immune response. The effect of this cytokine has been identified in reversing metabolic costs of chronic inflammation. Thyroid hormones are known to regulate energy metabolism. There is a close link between thyroid function and inflammation in elderly individuals. Nonlinear associations between IL-37 and thyroid hormones, considered within the wider clinical context, can improve our understanding of the phases of chronic inflammation that are associated with target organ damage in age-related metabolic and vascular conditions.     

An application of learning machine methods in prediction of wear rate of wear resistant casting parts

In this paper, a method of floating ball wear rate identification, using two machine-learning techniques Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Improved Support Vector Machine (ISVM) are proposed. Both models are used to relate the wear rate and technological parameters of the wear resistant drip moulding using different kernel functions. The models for determining the wear rate of white iron casting with low chromium content (flotation balls), was trained and tested by using the existing exploitation data from the Bor Flotation Plant, Serbia. In order to select the best model parameters the statistical indicators for both models are presented. Results show that the ERBF (SVM) and ERBF+POLY (ISVM) achieved the best classification accuracy compare to other kernels used: the absolute mean error of ERB (SVM) is 5.85%, while the error of ERBF+POLY (ISVM) is 6.67%. The tuned ISVM model with mixture of kernels is able to accurately predict the wear rate and can be used to define the optimum chromium content in liquid metal alloys for the casting of flotation balls.     

A low-level memory model and an accompanying reachability predicate

Reasoning about program heap, especially if it involves handling unbounded, dynamically heap-allocated data structures such as linked lists and arrays, is challenging. Furthermore, sound analysis that precisely models heap becomes significantly more challenging in the presence of low-level pointer manipulation that is prevalent in systems software. The reachability predicate has already proved to be useful for reasoning about the heap in type-safe languages where memory is manipulated by dereferencing object fields. In this paper, we present a memory model suitable for reasoning about low-level pointer operations that is accompanied by a formalization of the reachability predicate in the presence of internal pointers and pointer arithmetic. We have designed an annotation language for C programs that makes use of the new predicate. This language enables us to specify properties of many interesting data structures present in the Windows kernel. We present our experience with a prototype verifier on a set of illustrative C benchmarks.     

Feasibility of the green energy production by hybrid solar + hydro power system in Europe and similar climate areas

This paper analyses the hybrid solar and hydro (SHE) system as a unique technological concept of the sustainable energy system that can provide continuous electric power and energy supply to its consumers and the possibilities of its implementation in Europe and areas with similar climate. The sustainability of such system is based on solar photovoltaic (PV) and hydroelectric (HE) energy as renewable energy sources (RES). For the purpose of connecting all relevant values into one integral SHE system, a mathematical model was developed for selecting the optimal size of the PV power plant as the key element for estimating the technological feasibility of the overall solution. Sensitivity analysis (parameter analysis) was made for the model, where local climate parameters were varied: solar radiation, air temperature, reservoir volume, total head, precipitation, evaporation and natural water inflow. It has been established that, apart from total head (which is to be expected), solar radiation, hydro accumulation size and natural water inflow have the biggest effect on the calculated power of the PV power plant. The obtained results clearly show a wide range of implementation of the new energy source (SHE system), i.e. from relatively cold climates to those abundant in solar energy, but also with relatively small quantity of water, because it only recirculates within the system. All this points to the necessity for further development of hybrid systems (RES + HE systems) and to the fact that they could play an important role in achieving climate objectives.