Ethanol from lactose in salted cheese whey by recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Seven yeast recombinants were selected from 57 fusant colonies on the basis of higher DNA content, nuclear diameter and ethanol yield compared to parental Saccharomyces cerevisiae ATCC 4126 and Kluyveromyces lactis CBS 683. Six recombinants out of the above colonies revealed growth on lactose and sucrose, indicating that they are S. cerevisiae with transformed β-galactosidase systems. The fusant colonies were investigated with respect to their capacity to convert lactose in salted cheese whey into ethanol. Among these recombinants that showed high tolerance towards sodium chloride and higher ethanol yield than lactose fermenting parental K. lactis CBS 683, SK-1 exhibited high tolerance up to 4 g dl^–1 sodium chlonride with an ethanol yield of 4.66 ml dl^–1 (v/v) , SK-23 tolerated 6 g dl^–1 sodium chloride with an ethanol yield of 4.14 ml dl^–1 (v/v) and SK-26 showed resistance towards 8 g dl^–1 sodium chloride and give an ethanol yield of 3 ml dl^–1 (v/v).     

An effective safety programme for a concrete product manufacturing plant

The first section of the paper discusses the organization of the safety function in terms of its size, authority and the qualifications of the safety engineer, the second section deals with plant safety statistics, and finally the low accident rates achieved in this Saudi Arabian plant are presented and discussed. La premiere partie de l'expose porte sur l'organisation de la fonction securite du point de vue importance de la fonction, responsabilites et qualifications de l'ingenieur responsable de la securite. La deuxieme partie traite des statistiques de securite des installations, et se termine par un expose et une reflexion sur les faibles taux d'accidents au sein de cette installation saoudienne.     

Analysis of Occupational Injuries and Fatalities in Electrical Contracting Industry

The purpose of this paper was twofold: (1) to determine jobs/tasks associated with current injury, illness, and fatality trends in the electrical contracting sector of the construction industry; and (2) to identify current safety practices associated with the prevention of these injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. To achieve the project objectives, a survey was designed and sent to Michigan electrical contractors. To design an adequate survey, the research team first collected background information using the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics online database, published research, and contractor interviews. This paper presents and discusses the results of this study.     

Wind Pressures on Parapets of Flat Roofs

A wind-tunnel study has been carried out to assess wind pressures acting on parapets, including their top surfaces. Local and area-averaged pressure coefficients were measured on parapets of flat-roof models with a length to height ratio (L/H) of 1:1, 2:1, and 3:1. The results were obtained for full-scale equivalent parapet heights of 1 and 2 m and for wind directions ranging from zero to 315°. The local wind load on the parapet was found to be approximately 30% larger at the windward corner of the building than at the midspan location. Maximum parapet loads for the low building model were approximately 30% larger than those for the cubical model. Parapet height did not significantly affect the peak local load on the parapet except in the corner region, where the inward load (toward the roof) for the 1 m parapet was 25% higher than that for the 2 m parapet.     

Low temperature growth of AIGaP and GaP on si substrates by atomic layer epitaxy

AIGaP and GaP films were deposited on the (100) Si substrates by atomic layer epitaxy (ALE) in the temperature range between 450 and 600°C. Under optimum growth conditions, the growth of GaP and AIGaP was observed to proceed in a two-dimensional (2-D) fashion in the initial growth stages. These ALE-grown films have better surface morphology when compared with the corresponding MOCVD-grown films. With an AIGaP buffer layer grown on Si, the subsequent growth of GaAs on the AlGaP-coated Si substrates tends to proceed as 2-D growth. This avoids island growth and the two-step growth process currently used.     

Remedial measures to control seepage problems in the Kafrein dam, Jordan

The Kafrein dam, 480 m long and 30 m high, is located on the Wadi Kafrein, a few kilometres from the active Jordan Valley fault. The Jordan Valley Authority proposed raising the crest of the existing dam by approximately 7 m and extending the length of the embankment to 554 m, in order to increase its storage capacity by 6 million m³ to a total of 8.5 million m³. The paper discusses the likelihood that existing seepage problems will be exacerbated when the dam is raised and proposes some remedial actions to increase the safety of the dam and minimise both the amount of seepage and any adverse effects. Electronic Publication     

Fractal model to predict the crack roughness effect on the local bending compliance of circular shafts

In this paper the local compliance due to a transverse fractal crack in a shaft under pure bending is investigated. In a fractal crack, the surface is considered irregular and it is characterized by the presence of nonuniformities at different scales. Therefore, the crack surface can be modeled as a fractal surface with fractal dimension D. An analytical model for the compliance coefficient is presented with and without the effect of the surface roughness. The results obtained shows that as the dimension of the fractal surface increases the compliance increases as well. It is shown that this behavior conforms well with existing experimental results.     

Damage of Reinforced Concrete Structure due to Severe Soil Expansion

In Irbid City, Jordan, foundation designs made before 1983 were based on bearing capacity criteria with a limited knowledge of high shrink/swell soil problems. The use of wide and shallow foundation systems was generally the practice rather than the exception in this area. Lack of structural rigidity and insufficient dead load pressure of the foundation systems used in the Irbid area where soils of high shrink/swell are present often cause serious problems related to the performance of constructed facilities. This paper presents a case study typical of a severely cracked one-story reinforced concrete (RC) building constructed over the expansive clay of Irbid City. The building is founded on a mat foundation (solid RC structural slab) embedded at a shallow depth and bearing directly on expansive clay. It is unfortunate that the high shrink/swell potential of the foundation soil had not been recognized properly in the design stage. Based on field and laboratory investigations, remedial construction for the damaged building was proposed. The proposed remedial construction was performed, and more than 10 months have elapsed since the remedial work was completed, with the performance of the building in perfect condition.     

A Multimedia Construction Delay Management System

The need for acquiring, storing, processing, and presenting quality data in a timely manner in support of construction project management is well recognized. Therefore, a properly developed information system that manages the required data is crucial to the success of project management. However, one type of useful data and information, namely, multimedia (pictures, videos, and audio), has not been appropriately acquired and/or managed in construction. Researchers are just beginning to explore and evaluate the benefits of multimedia information in construction applications. This paper discusses some of the potential applications of multimedia in construction and describes the implementation of a prototype multimedia information system for construction delay management. The system tracks a variety of data types related to delays, including pictures, videos, and audio.