Combined effect of acetylation and heat treatment on the physical,mechanical and biological behavior of jack pine (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinus banksiana</Emphasis>) wood

A comparative study on the combined effect of heat treatment and acetylation on jack pine wood properties was undertaken and the results were compared with those of each treatment carried out individually. The dimensional stability and mechanical property of wood with different treatments were examined and statistically analyzed. The results demonstrated that combined acetylation of jack pine wood with acetic anhydride and heat treatment at 190 °C has a positive effect on the dimensional stability. Results also suggested that the dimensional stability was affected more than the modulus of rupture (MOR) and modulus of elasticity (MOE) by both heat and acetylation treatments under the experimental conditions used. In addition, the hardness increases after high temperature modification but decreases slightly after acetylation. A comprehensive investigation of the effects of heat treatment and acetylation separately and together (combination treatment) on the fungal durability of jack pine wood against a brown rot fungus, Poria placenta (pp), and a white rot fungus, Trametes versicolor (tv) has also been performed. The results indicated that the weight loss caused by fungi is reduced by both modifications. It was also found that combination of heat treatment and acetylation offers additional bioprotection. FTIR results indicated that the heat and acetylation treatments have a significant influence on the chemical properties, but less influence on their structures.     

Optimisation of pomegranate (Punica Granatum L.) juice spray‐drying as affected by temperature and maltodextrin content

Pomegranate juice powder is easier to handle and has more potential applications than the concentrate. In this study, the response surface, 3‐level factorial design was used to evaluate the influence of spray‐drying conditions on the physicochemical properties of a powdered product obtained by drying pomegranate juice concentrate (PJC). It was spray‐dried with a lab‐scale spray‐dryer using 18 and 7 dextrose equivalent (DE) maltodextrins (MD) as drying‐aid agents. Adding MD significantly reduced the hygroscopicity and stickiness of the pomegranate juice powder, and thus yielded higher recovery. The maximum achieved ratio of PJC/MD was 1/1, and it was obtained with the use of DE7 MD. However, graphical optimisation studies resulted in 125–145 °C and 0.6–0.8 PJC/MD ratio as optimum variables to produce acceptable dried powder. The results indicated that increasing inlet air temperature increases solubility time and loss of anthocyanins and decreases bulk density and moisture content of the powder.     

Development of off‐flavour in non‐melting flesh peach genotypes

Studies performed to investigate the development of off‐flavour in some NMF peach genotypes revealed that there were certain chemical components that were consistently associated with the disorder. Generally there was a significant increase in total soluble phenolics, polyphenoloxidase (PPO) activity and ethanol with an increase in both the percentage of off‐flavoured fruit and the degree of off‐flavour with time in storage at 8 °C in NMF genotypes. Total soluble sugars and soluble solids decreased significantly during the storage period. These changes in chemical composition of NMF genotypes were not observed in MF and NMF genotypes that did not show off‐flavour development. Highly significant linear correlations were detected between off‐flavour development and soluble phenolics, PPO activity, ethanol, total soluble solids and soluble sugars in Fla 92‐21C and USDA 87P285, lines with the highest percentage of off‐flavoured fruit. Soluble phenolics, chlorogenic acid, PPO activity and ethanol were positively correlated but soluble sugars and soluble solids were negatively correlated with off‐flavour development. The accumulation of soluble phenolics and ethanol and the reduction in soluble solids and sugars appear to be associated with the development of off‐flavour in NMF peach genotypes. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry     

Evaluation framework for adaptive context-aware routing in large scale mobile peer-to-peer systems

The proliferation of novel wireless network technologies creates new opportunities for complex peer-to-peer information dissemination systems. A key challenge that remains in this area is how to select the best algorithms and protocols to communicate effectively on a large scale. In this paper, we focus in particular on large scale mobile networks where effectiveness depends on the requirements of the application at hand and on the context of the peers in the network. We propose a framework for context-aware adaptive information sharing that allows the evaluation of and comparison with alternative information routing protocols using network metrics to measure a variety of quality attributes of the information dissemination protocols. These metrics can then be used to verify which protocol is best suited for a particular application. We illustrate our evaluation framework with different information dissemination protocols in an inter-vehicle communication scenario.     

Comparison of aqueous humour and vitreous humour levels of two 0.3% ciprofloxacin eyedrops

BACKGROUND: Two ophthalmic solutions of 0.3% ciprofloxacin eyedrops are available in Turkey: Ciloxan and Siprogut. The objective of this study was to compare the concentrations of drug produced by the two products in the aqueous humour and vitreous humour after local administration. METHODS: Twenty-one patients undergoing primary vitreoretinal surgery received either Ciloxan (10 patients) or Siprogut (11 patients). Six hours before surgery, two drops of solution were instilled onto the operative eye. Drops were then instilled every 30 minutes for the first 3 hours and then hourly for the next 3 hours. Aqueous and vitreous samples were collected 30 minutes after administration of the last dose and were assayed for ciprofloxacin concentration by means of high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorometric detection. RESULTS: The mean aqueous humour concentrations of Ciloxan and Siprogut were 0.36 (standard error of the mean [SEM] 0.09) microgram/mL and 0.44 (SEM 0.17) microgram/mL respectively. The corresponding vitreous humour concentrations were 0.21 (SEM 0.05) microgram/mL and 0.22 (SEM 0.06) microgram/mL. Neither of these differences was statistically significant. The aqueous and vitreous levels of both products exceeded the minimum inhibitory concentrations for certain bacterial species that frequently cause intraocular infections. INTERPRETATION: Our results show that the ocular bioavailability of Ciloxan and Siprogut after local administration is equivalent. Penetration of ciprofloxacin into the vitreous humour seems to be poorer than that into the aqueous humour.     

An Android runtime security policy enforcement framework

Today, smart phone’s malwares are deceptive enough to spoof itself as a legal mobile application. The front-end service of Trojans is attractive enough to deceive mobile users. Mobile users download similar malwares without knowing their illegitimate background threat. Unlike other vendors, Android is an open-source mobile operating system, and hence, it lacks a dedicated team to analyze the application code and decide its trustworthiness. We propose an augmented framework for Android that monitors the dynamic behavior of application during its execution. Our proposed architecture called Security Enhanced Android Framework (seaf) validates the behavior of an application through its permissions exercising patterns. Based on the exercised permissions’ combination, the mobile user is intimated about the dangerous behavior of an application. We have implemented the proposed framework within Android software stack and ported it to device. Our initial investigation shows that our solution is practical enough to be used in the consumer market.     

Determination and dispersion of pollutants from different fuel types used in brick kilns by using Gaussian’s plume model

The present study was conducted to compare the concentration of pollutants and their level of dispersion in the atmosphere from the plume of brick kilns using different types of fuels. For this purpose, two brick kilns were selected based on their fuel type. One type of fuel was good quality coal (F1) and the other was low-quality coal mixed with wood (F2). The air emissions data illustrated that carbon monoxide concentration was more (108 ± 0.90 ppm) in the plume of F1 than in the plume of F2 (82 ± 0.98 ppm) and sulfur dioxide was more (1955 ± 3.76 ppm) in the plume of F2 than in the plume of F1 (6 ± 0.07 ppm). The Gaussian plume model showed that plume from good quality coal as fuel (F1) disperses 0.7 ± 0.01 km horizontally and 4 ± 0.03 km vertically whereas the plume from low-quality coal mixed with wood (F2) disperse 1 ± 0.01 km horizontally and 2 ± 0.02 km vertically. Pearson correlation also showed a significant (p < 0.05) difference between both fuel types. These high concentrations can have negative impacts on the atmospheric environment as well as community health.