Application of an electronic nose for quality assessment of modified atmosphere packaged poultry meat

The applicability of an electronic nose for the quality control of modified atmosphere (MA) packaged broiler chicken cuts was evaluated in different temperature regimes. The electronic nose results were compared with those obtained by microbiological, sensory and headspace GC analyses. The electronic nose could clearly distinguish broiler chicken packages with deteriorated quality from fresh packages either earlier than or at the same time as the sensory quality deteriorated. Concerning the microbiological quality, the counts of Enterobacteriaceae and hydrogen sulphide-producing bacteria were most consistent with the electronic nose results. The results indicated that the electronic nose was capable of detecting even early signals of spoilage in MA packed poultry meat.     

An Interval Fuzzy Multiobjective Watershed Management Model for the Lake Qionghai Watershed, China

Integrated watershed management is required to ensure the reasonable use of resources and reconcile interactions among natural and human systems. In the present study, an interval fuzzy multiobjective programming (IFMOP) method was used to solve an integrated watershed management problem. Based on system analysis, an IFMOP model suitable for a lake watershed system {IFMOPLWS} was developed and applied to the Lake Qionghai watershed in China. Scenario analysis and an interactive approach were used in the solution process. In this manner, various system components were incorporated into one framework for holistic consideration and optimization. Integrality and uncertainty, as well as the multiobjective and dynamic characteristics of the watershed system, were well addressed. Using two scenarios, two planning schemes were generated. Agriculture, tourism, macroeconomics, cropland use, water supply, forest coverage, soil erosion, and water pollution were fully interpreted and compared to identify a preferable planning alternative for local agencies. This study showed that the IFMOPLWS is a powerful tool for integrated watershed management planning and can provide a solid base for sustainable watershed management.     

The preparation and magnetic properties of Fe-Ag granular solid using a sol-gel method

The Fe-Ag granular metal solid samples with 10% and 30% weight iron have been successfully fabricated using a sol-gel method, which are characterized by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron micrography. The average diameters of iron particles are from about a few nanometres to a few tens of nanometres controlled by the reducing temperature. The evolution of magnetic properties and microstructure during heat treating are described in detail and explained by using the superparamagnetism, single domain and multi domain theories. The magnetic anisotropy of the Fe-Ag granular solid is studied by using the law of approach to saturation. It is found that the magnetic anisotropy constant is in the order of 10⁵ J m^–3 which is higher than the value of the bulk iron and increases with the increase of reducing temperature.     

纤维共晶生长界面前沿三维扩散场解析

修正Ｊａｃｋｓｏｎ和Ｈｕｎｔ关于在垂直生长方向截面上溶质扩散各向同性假设，求解三维Ｌａｐｏｌａｃｅ方程，获得纤维共晶生长界面前沿三维稳态扩散场，并证明Ｊａｃｋｓｏｎ和Ｈｕｎｔ的二维模型是实际生长的二维简化和一阶近似，并用丁二腈（ＳＣＮ）一梓脑（ＣＡＭ）纤维共晶系统计算生长界面前沿溶质分布。     

Silicon carbide-toughened zirconia ceramics

Tetragonal zirconia polycrystalline (TZP) ceramics containing SiC reinforcement in the form of fine particles (nano-scale), particles (micro-scale), whiskers and platelets were synthesized by hot-pressing. The effects of morphology and grain size of SiC reinforcement on the strength and fracture toughness at room temperature were investigated. The addition of SiC (in whatever form) caused decreases in strength and toughness at room temperature with the exception of whisker-reinforced materials. Toughness fell off with increasing temperature, but nevertheless retained about one-half of the room-temperature value for that particular SiC reinforcement. However, the whisker- and particle-reinforced materials had higher K _lc values at high temperature than fine particle- or platelet-reinforced materials, with values in excess of 7 MPa m^1/2 at 1000 °C. The microstructure was examined for SiC whisker-reinforced/TZP materials by TEM and HREM, to examine the nature of the whisker/zirconia interface.     

Use of the time constant to detect corrosion speed in reinforced concrete structures

The relatively simple to measure ‘time constant’ is presented as an index for characterizing the level of corrosion experienced by steel in concrete. This communication, largely in the form of a technical note, explicitly illustrates that the time constant determined from electrochemical testing has significant merit for monitoring corrosion of steel in concrete, and appears to be insensitive to the area of electrode being probed. In this work, the time constant, κ, is determined following a galvanostatic excitation signal, revealing a good correlation between the value of κ and corrosion status across specimens of widely varying geometry. Although this notion has been suggested in the past, this work presents both a survey and consolidated review to indicate the utility of the parameter as an index to corrosion rate on-site.     

Analysis of the detectivity for triple-layer heterojunction GaSb/GaInAsSb infrared detectors

In this paper, the detectivity is calculated and analyzed with the front-or backside illuminated case for both N-GaSb/p₂-Ga_0.8In_0.2As_0.19Sb_0.81/p₁-Ga_0.9In_0.1As_0.09Sb_0.91 and N₁-GaSb/n₂-Ga_0.9In_0.1As_0.09Sb_0.91/p-Ga_0.8In_0.2As_0.19Sb_0.81 infrared photovoltaic detectors, respectively. The analysis results show that the main absorption appears in the p-type Ga_0.8In_0.2As_0.19Sb_0.81 material with either front- or backside illuminated case for above two structures. In each structure, the carrier concentration obviously affects the detectivity. The carrier concentration in the wide-bandgap material for the isotype heterojunction should be reduced as low as possible to reduce the tunneling rate at the isotype heterointerface. Moreover, the change of the detectivity with the p-side surface recombination velocity for the N₁-n₂-p structure is more sensitive than that with the p₁-side surface recombination velocity for the N-p₂-p₁ structure. In the N-p₂-p₁ structure with the incident light from the p₁-side surface, two-color detection is achieved.     

Tribological property of self-lubricating PM304 composite

PM304 composite has been prepared by high-energy ball milling and powder metallurgy. The composition of the PM304 composite is the same as that of PS304, but the microstructure is quite different. The microstructure of PM304 composite was fine and dense, the size of self-lubricating particles in the composite was very small. The tribological properties of PM304 composites against Inconel X-750 were examined in the temperature range from room temperature to 800 °C. The friction coefficient of PM304 was ranged from 0.32 to 0.41. At room temperature, brittle fracture occurred on the worn surface. With the increase of temperature up to 200 °C, a protective layer consisting of fluorides and Ag existed on the worn surface and led to a low wear rate. The wear resistance of the PM304 was superior to that of the PS304 in the temperature range from room temperature to 650 °C. The improvement in wear resistance of the PM304 was discussed in the terms of its microstructural characteristics.     

New concept of surface modification to LiCoO2

As the continuance of our series study on LiCoO₂ surface modification, the complicated traditional surface coating method is replaced with simple addition of amorphous YPO₄ and Al₂O₃ in commercial LiCoO₂ or in commercial electrolyte based on our understanding to the improvement mechanism of surface modification. Comprehensive studies by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy (GC–MS), inductively coupled plasma (ICP) and Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) indicate that the products of spontaneous reaction between the additive and the LiPF₆ based electrolyte are responsible for the performance improvements.