Mathematical Modeling of Drying Processes of Selected Fruits and Vegetables

This study investigates the behavior of fruit and vegetable samples during drying. The experimental data are fitted to several different thin-layer drying models. Regression analysis is used to determine model parameters, while statistical indicators serve to evaluate the goodness of fit. The power function model gives the best fit for all examined samples. Based on this model, different drying and heat storage technologies can be combined to ensure that the required residual moisture content of an agricultural product is reached. It is demonstrated on the case of a specific Togolese processing plant that under favorable conditions, fossil fuel consumption can be decreased by 33 %.     

Crossing the Border: From Keto- to Imine Reduction in Short-Chain Dehydrogenases/Reductases

The family of NAD(P)H-dependent short-chain dehydrogenases/reductases (SDRs) comprises numerous biocatalysts capable of C=O or C=C reduction. The highly homologous noroxomaritidine reductase (NR) from Narcissus sp. aff. pseudonarcissus and Zt_SDR from Zephyranthes treatiae, however, are SDRs with an extended imine substrate scope. Comparison with a similar SDR from Asparagus officinalis (Ao_SDR) exhibiting keto-reducing activity, yet negligible imine-reducing capability, and mining the Short-Chain Dehydrogenase/Reductase Engineering Database indicated that NR and Zt_SDR possess a unique active-site composition among SDRs. Adapting the active site of Ao_SDR accordingly improved its imine-reducing capability. By applying the same strategy, an unrelated SDR from Methylobacterium sp. 77 (M77_SDR) with distinct keto-reducing activity was engineered into a promiscuous enzyme with imine-reducing activity, thereby confirming that the ability to reduce imines can be rationally introduced into members of the “classical” SDR enzyme family. Thus, members of the SDR family could be a promising starting point for protein approaches to generate new imine-reducing enzymes.     

Strength of pure alumina ceramics above 1 GPa

Up to now, commercially available alumina ceramics were claimed to have strength between 400 and 550 MPa. However, our study shows strength ~ 2 times higher for commercially available alumina than commonly believed. The average and characteristic strength, measured on 31 pure alumina ceramic discs by ball on three balls (B3B) test, were 1205 ± 93 MPa and 1257 MPa, respectively, with a Weibull modulus of m = 11.8. Tested specimens were in form of discs with a diameter of 5 mm and thickness 0.5 mm. The grain size distribution of the alumina is bimodal with an average grain size of ~ 850 nm measured at the surface. The fracture reveals a mixed transgranular / intergranular failure mode. To avoid incorporation of additional flaws, the discs were tested as sintered. The characteristic flexural strength measured in B3B was recalculated according to Weibull theory for standard 4-point bending bars of size 3 × 4 × 45 mm as bend 856 MPa. The measured strength of nearly 900 MPa shows the potential of strength for high purity alumina ceramics.     

Static energy reduction techniques for microprocessor caches

Microprocessor performance has been improved by increasing the capacity of on-chip caches. However, the performance gain comes at the price of static energy consumption due to subthreshold leakage current in cache memory arrays. This paper compares three techniques for reducing static energy consumption in on-chip level-1 and level-2 caches. One technique employs low-leakage transistors in the memory cell. Another technique, power supply switching, can be used to turn off memory cells and discard their contents. A third alternative is dynamic threshold modulation, which places memory cells in a standby state that preserves cell contents. In our experiments, we explore the energy and performance tradeoffs of these techniques. We also investigate the sensitivity of microprocessor performance and energy consumption to additional cache latency caused by leakage-reduction techniques.     

Thermische Anmerkungen zu Zeitkonstanten von Wänden

Zusammenfassung Man erh?lt kompakte Approximationen von Laplace-übergangsfunktionen, wenn die Koeffizienten des Nenners aus den Zeitkonstanten des Systems abgeleitet werden. (üblicherweise führt dies auf das Problem der Nullstellensuche einer transzendenten Funktion.) Es ist bekannt (Gough [1], Stephenson [2]), da? für die meisten W?nde drei Zeitkonstanten ausreichen, um hinreichend genaue übergansfunktionen zu erhalten. Die Taylor-Entwicklung der Kettenmatrix im Laplaceraum wird für beliebige W?nde mit eindimensionalem W?rmestrom mit der Picard'schen Methode berechnet. Für ebene Mehrschichtw?nde ist dafür eine explizite L?sung angegeben. Die ersten N Zeitkonstanten werden n?herungsweise aus der (N+1). Ordnung der Partial-Summe der Taylor-Entwicklung berechnet. Dies wird mit einer generalisierten Pade-Approximation bewerkstelligt, die eine Totzeit enth?lt und direkt auf ein Nennerpolynom führt (ohne transzendente Wurzeln). Die Wurzeln konvergieren geometrisch zu den Eigenwerten mit wachsendem N (die Eigenwerte stellen die reziproken Zeitkonstanten dar). Die Komplexit?t der gesamten Prozedur liegt kaum über derjenigen für ein System mit konzentrierten Parametern der Ordnung N+1. Es werden Beispiele angegeben, um mit den „exakten” Frequenzg?ngen zu vergleichen.     

The transjugular stent implantation for the treatment of malignant portal and hepatic vein obstruction in cancer patients

BACKGROUND: The increase in portal vascular resistance is a significant complication of metastatic disease to the liver or locally advanced cancer, e.g., biliary cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This paper describes the successful palliative treatment of two cancer patients with portal hypertension presenting with the symptoms of tense ascites, mesenteric congestion, and severe variceal bleeding. By creating a stenttract between a hepatic vein and a main branch of the portal vein and/or by placing an extendable stent into the portal vein, the transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic stent-shunt (TIPS) technique was used to decompress the portovascular system. RESULTS: The TIPS-technique offers a new, safe and effective palliation for malignant portal hypertension. In both patients, the symptoms of the portal hypertension disappeared after the procedure. This was accompanied by a significant improvement of the patients performance status allowing an early ambulation. CONCLUSION: Our findings demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the TIPS procedure as a minimal invasive treatment for portal vein decompression in selected tumor patients.     

Treatment of radiation-induced nervous system injury with heparin and warfarin

When radiation is used to treat nervous system cancer, exposure of adjacent normal nervous system tissue is unavoidable, and radiation-induced injury may occur. Acute injury is usually mild and transient, but late forms of radiation-induced nervous system injury are usually progressive and debilitating. Treatment with corticosteroids, surgery, and antioxidants is often ineffective. We treated 11 patients with late radiation-induced nervous system injuries (eight with cerebral radionecrosis, one with a myelopathy, and two with plexopathies, all unresponsive to dexamethasone and prednisone) with full anticoagulation. Some recovery of function occurred in five of the eight patients with cerebral radionecrosis, and all the patients with myelopathy or plexopathy. Anticoagulation was continued for 3 to 6 months. In one patient with cerebral radionecrosis, symptoms recurred after discontinuation of anticoagulation and disappeared again after reinstitution of treatment. We hypothesize that anticoagulation may arrest and reverse small-vessel endothelial injury--the fundamental lesion of radiation necrosis--and produce clinical improvement in some patients.     

Structural and electrophysiological analysis of annexin V mutants. Mutagenesis of human annexin V, an in vitro voltage-gated calcium channel, provides information about the structural features of the ion pathway, the voltage sensor and the ion selectivity filter

Annexin V binds to phospholipids in a calcium-dependent manner and exhibits calcium channel activity in vitro. We prepared a variety of mutants yielding information about the structure-function relationship of the ion channel activity. All mutants were characterized by X-ray crystallography, electron microscopy and electrophysiological measurements. Their structures are insignificantly changed whereas their electrophysiological properties are drastically different. Glu95, located in the central hydrophilic pore of the molecule, is crucial for the ion selectivity filter as its exchange leads to reduced calcium and increased sodium conductance. The removal of Glu17, located on the protein surface and far from the ion conduction pathway, leads to the appearance of a second conductance level of 9 pS in addition to the conductance level of about 30 pS in the wild-type molecule. This was also the case for Glu78, which is part of a weak calcium binding site. The exchange of Glu17 and Glu78 produced a mutant retaining only the smaller conductance level. We conclude that these two residues influence the angle between the two halves of the molecule, which determines the diameter of the ion conduction pathway, thereby leading to the occurrence of a second conductance level.