Effects of breed and age at slaughter on degradation of muscle lipids during processing of dry‐cured hams

Hams from Landrace, Duroc and Hampshire pigs slaughtered at ages 6, 7.5 and 9 months were processed to generate Norwegian Parma‐style hams. Lipid contents and the compositions of fatty acid classes (ΣSFA, ΣMUFA, ΣPUFA) within neutral lipids, phospholipids and free fatty acids were determined. Small differences in lipid degradation and composition of the classes were revealed. However, significant sensory differences related to lipids were observed. Breed was more important than age. Dry‐cured Hampshire hams gave a more intense mature odour that may be associated with higher overall lipid degradation. Unexpectedly, these hams also demonstrated high juiciness and tenderness, which could be related to the melting characteristics of the fat. Dry‐cured Duroc hams showed a higher susceptibility towards rancidity, presumably associated with preferential oxidation of n‐6 fatty acids relative to C18:1 n‐9. Dry‐cured Landrace hams showed the lowest juiciness and tenderness, likely due to their lower fat content (marbling).     

Analysis of Combined Systems of Two Endoreversible Engines

A single endoreversible engine can operate as a cooler, a true heat engine, a heat pump, or a refrigerator. We investigate how many different modes of operation a combined system of two endoreversible engines may display. Special attention is paid to the independent combined system which neither consumes nor supplies power.     

Fast dynamic casting

We describe a scheme for implementing dynamic casts suitable for systems where the performance and predictability of performance is essential. A dynamic cast from a base class to a derived class in an object‐oriented language can be performed quickly by having the linker assign an integer type ID to each class. A simple integer arithmetic operation verifies whether the cast is legal at run time. The type ID scheme presented uses the modulo function to check that one class derives from another. A 64‐bit type ID is sufficient to handle class hierarchies of large size at least nine levels of derivation deep. We also discuss the pointer adjustments required for a C++ dynamic_cast. All examples will be drawn from the C++ language. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Nitric oxide in respiratory diseases

Recent reports have described a pathogenic role of nitric oxide in several respiratory disease. It is specially useful in the adult respiratory distress syndrome, where it acts as a selective vasodilator and improves gas exchange, decreasing pulmonary shunting. Although it has a proven bronchodilator effect, its therapeutic role in diseases such as asthma and chronic limitation of airway flow is not well defined. This article review the metabolism, mechanisms of action, potential uses and adverse effects of nitric oxide in respiratory disease.     

Prediction of fire classification for wood based products. A multivariate statistical approach based on the cone calorimeter

Wood has long traditions as a building material, and is often used in construction elements, and as interior and exterior surfaces in the Nordic countries. In most applications, there are reaction to fire requirements to products used as surfaces, e.g. in escape routes and larger public spaces. Most wood products will therefore have to be treated with fire retardant (FR) agents to fulfil the strict requirements to properties connected to heat release and flame spread. Unfortunately, FR agents usually also increase the smoke production, as they cause a more incomplete combustion of the wood. The wood product manufacturers seek to find the optimal amount of FR additives where both heat release and smoke production in the classifying test are within the requirements given in the building regulations. This paper describes models for prediction of the European reaction to fire classes of wood products. The models are based on multivariate statistical analysis, and use test results from the cone calorimeter test as input. The presented models are, with very good precision, able to predict which Euroclass and additional smoke class a wood based product would obtain if it were to be tested in the single burning item test. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Swedish approach to research and development in fire protection

Current Research Activities

The Swedish approach to research and development in fire protection     

Fringe-orientation maps and fringe skeleton extraction by the two-dimensional derivative-sign binary-fringe method

The fringe-orientation information of an interferometric fringe pattern is provided in the form of a fringe-orientation map by spin filtering. The fringe-orientation information is an important feature of fringe patterns and is helpful in many fringe-pattern processing algorithms. With the help of a fringe-orientation map the two-dimensional derivative-sign binary-fringe method is developed to extract fringe skeletons from a fringe pattern with an arbitrary fringe distribution. This fringe skeleton extraction method does not require thresholds and a thinning process. It is relatively robust and highly accurate.     

Kinetic modeling of hemicellulose hydrolysis in the presence of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts

Kinetic models were developed for the hydrolysis of O‐acetyl‐galactoglucomannan (GGM), a hemicellulose appearing in coniferous trees. Homogeneous and heterogeneous acid catalysts hydrolyze GGM at about 90°C to the monomeric sugars galactose, glucose, and mannose. In the presence of homogeneous catalysts, such as HCl, H₂SO₄, oxalic acid, and trifluoroacetic acid, the hydrolysis process shows a regular kinetic behavior, while a prominent autocatalytic effect was observed in the presence of heterogeneous cation‐exchange catalysts, Amberlyst 15 and Smopex 101. The kinetic models proposed were based on the reactivities of the nonhydrolyzed sugar units and the increase of the rate constant (for heterogeneous catalysts) as the reaction progresses and the degree of polymerization decreases. General kinetic models were derived and special cases of them were considered in detail, by deriving analytical solutions for product distributions. The kinetic parameters, describing the autocatalytic effect were determined by nonlinear regression analysis. The kinetic model described very well the overall kinetics, as well as the product distribution in the hydrolysis of water soluble GGM by homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts. The modelling principles developed in the work can be in principle applied to hydrolysis of similar hemicelluloses as well as starch and cellulose. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 60: 1066–1077, 2014     

Influence of mass transfer on thermogravimetric analysis of combustion and gasification reactivity of coke

Non-isothermal TG/DTG measurements are widely used to determine kinetic parameters of oxidation and gasification of carbons, e.g. by multi-heating rate methods. Thereby it is important to avoid spurious effects due to diffusion limitations. In this work, TG/DTG experiments with activated carbon were conducted under isothermal and non-isothermal conditions. The agreement of the experimental results with results of simulations based on the intrinsic kinetics, pore diffusion and external diffusion in/to the sample (crucible) is very good. The simulations show that mass transfer has an unwanted influence on TG measurements, if the concentration of the gaseous reactant (O₂ and CO₂) is too low and/or the heating rate is too high. Based on literature data, the simulation was extended to blast furnace coke with a very low reactivity and to highly reactive coke from pyrolysis of miscanthussinensis. The simulations and theoretical considerations lead to a criterion to exclude the influence of mass transfer on TG measurements a priori. This criterion is valid for combustion as well as for gasification with steam or carbon dioxide.