Fluorescent in situ hybridization analysis of open lactic acid fermentation of kitchen refuse using rRNA-targeted oligonucleotide probes

Reproducible amounts of lactic acid accumulate in minced kitchen refuse under open conditions with intermittent pH neutralization [Sakai et al., Food Sci. Technol. Res., 6, 140 (2000)]. Here, we showed that such pH-controlled open fermentation of kitchen refuse reproducibly resulted a selective proliferation of a major lactic acid bacterial (LAB) species. In one experiment, the predominant microorganisms isolated during the early phase (6 h) were Gammaproteobacteria. In contrast, those that predominated during the late phase (48 h) were always Lactobacillus plantarum in three independent experiments. To further quantify the microbial community within open lactic acid fermentation, we performed fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis targeting 16S (23S) rRNA. We designed two new group-specific DNA probes: LAC722(L) was active for most LAB including the genera Lactobacillus, Pediococcus, Leuconostoc and Weisella, whereas Lplan477 was specific for L. plantarum and its related species. We then optimized sample preparation using lysozyme and hybridization conditions including temperature, as well as the formamide concentration and the salt concentration in the washing buffer. We succeeded in quantification of microorganisms in semi-solid, complex biological materials such as minced kitchen refuse by taking color microphotographs in modified RGB balance on pre-coated slides. FISH analysis of the fermentation of kitchen refuse indicated that control of the pH swing leads to domination by the LAB population in minced kitchen refuse under open conditions. We also confirmed that L. plantarum, which generates lactic acid in high quantities but with low optical activity, became the dominant microorganism in kitchen refuse during the late phase of open fermentation.     

Simulation of Voltage and Current Distributions in Transmission Lines Using State Variables and Exponential Approximation

A new method for simulating voltage and current distributions in transmission lines is described. It gives the time domain solution of the terminal voltage and current as well as their line distributions. This is achieved by treating voltage and current distributions as distributed state variables (DSVs) and turning the transmission line equation into an ordinary differential equation. Thus the transmission line is treated like other lumped dynamic components, such as capacitors. Using backward differentiation formulae for time discretization, the DSV transmission line component is converted to a simple time domain companion model, from which its local truncation error can be derived. As the voltage and current distributions get more complicated with time, a new piecewise exponential with controllable accuracy is invented. A segmentation algorithm is also devised so that the line is dynamically bisected to guarantee that the total piecewise exponential error is a small fraction of the local truncation error. Using this approach, the user can see the line voltage and current at any point and time freely without explicitly segmenting the line before starting the simulation.     

健康的生态系统服务和人居环境：泰国北部的机遇与挑战

健康的生态系统服务对于人类健康至关重要。设计师、规划师和学者们需要共同协作创造更具韧性的建成环境。然而,当前的研究成果仍然较难应用到具体的现实场景中。不管是在城市还是乡村,设计师、规划师和学者们都需要了解现状当中的问题,为提出解决方案而进行充分的调研和设计探讨。然而理论和实践的差距仍可能导致进度的滞后。从城市规划师、风景园林师和学者的角度审视泰国北部建成环境中的三大议题：环境公平、食物安全和空气质量。讨论设计师和学者们在解决上述问题过程中可合作努力的方向,涉及循证设计、研究方法和设计评估。最后提出了一个致力于改善健康生态系统和人居环境关系的新范式。     

Predicting odor mixture's responses on machine olfaction sensors

One of the challenging issues in current research on machine olfaction devices, which are often called electronic noses (e-noses), is how to approximate or predict the sensor response to odor mixtures. When each odor is produced by its own unique set of odorant compounds, combinations of these unique odorant sets create a sensing challenge for the e-noses with a limited number of elements in its sensing array. One possible approach proposed in the literature is based on an “additive law of mixing” model but it fails in a complex odor mixtures. Another method adopted a specific hardware solution called odor recorder developed by using active odor sensing system. In this study, signal decomposition/reconstruction based on wavelet analysis and support vector regression are adopted to predict a sensor's response to mixtures of odors. The prediction results of our method are investigated and compared with the real sensor responses collected from a commercial e-nose machine, the AppliedSensor NST 3320. We find that the proposed method provides good prediction when applied to different mixing ratios of some coffees and green tea.     

Material Formulations for AR/PMMA and AR-TiO2/PMMA Blends and Effects of UV Radiation and Tio2 Loading on Mechanical and Antibacterial Performances

Polymer blends of poly(methyl methacrylate)(PMMA) and acrylic rubber(AR) were manufactured with the addition of titanium dioxide (TiO₂). TiO₂ was initially added to the AR phase in AR/PMMA blends. The impact strength of PMMA improved with AR loading. The addition of TiO₂ appeared to decrease the tensile properties of the blends with AR of 10-30?wt% of AR, but increased with AR of 40-50?wt%, this being related to distribution level of TiO₂. UV radiation deteriorated the overall mechanical properties, where TiO₂ could retain the properties. To achieve acceptable antibacterial performance, AR loadings of 40 and 50?wt% in AR-TiO₂/PMMA blends are recommended, together with TiO₂ loadings of 1.5?pph and 0.5?pph, respectively.     

Thermal characteristics and temperature profile changes of structurally different polyethylenes with peroxide modifications

Crosslinking and processing characteristics of polyethylenes (PEs) with different molecular architectures, namely high‐density polyethylene (HDPE), linear low‐density polyethylene (LLDPE), and low‐density polyethylene (LDPE), were studied with regard to the effects of peroxide modifications and coolant flow rates. Dicumyl peroxide (DCP) and di‐tert‐butyl peroxide (DTBP) were used as free‐radical inducers for crosslinking the PEs. The characteristics of interest included normalized gel content, real‐time temperature profiles and their cooling rates, exothermic period, crystallinity level, crystallization temperature, and heat distortion temperature. The experiments showed that LDPE exhibited the highest normalized gel content. The real‐time cooling rates, taken from the temperature profiles for all PEs before the crystallization region, were greater than those after the crystallization region. The cooling rate of the PEs increased with the presence of DCP, whereas the crystallization temperature of the PEs was lowered. The HDPE appeared to show the longest exothermic period as compared with those of the LLDPE and LDPE. The exothermic period showed an increase with increasing coolant flow rate, but it was decreased by the use of DCP. As for the effect of peroxide type, the gel content and cooling rate of the PE crosslinked by DCP were higher than those for the PE crosslinked by DTBP. The DTBP was the more effective peroxide for introducing crosslinks and simultaneously maintaining the crystallization behavior of the PE. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 20:80‐90, 2014. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Errors Associated With Light-Pipe Radiation Thermometer Temperature Measurements

Accurate measurement of surface temperature distribution is of concern in the semiconductor industries, particularly in rapid thermal processing. The International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors 2004 has established requirements of uncertainties of plusmn1.5 degC at a temperature of 1000 degC, with temperature calibration traceable to ITS-90 (International Temperature Scale-1990). Light-pipe radiation thermometers (LPRTs) are becoming increasingly important as an industrial tool for temperature measurement, especially in the semiconductor industry. However, achieving improved accuracy will be difficult without fully understanding several issues associated with LPRTs. In this paper, the "drawdown effect," the "shadow effect," and the "environmental effect" are investigated. The drawdown effect is caused by the physical mass of the light-pipe probe acting as a radiation heat sink for the measured object. The shadow effect is caused by distortion of the wafer radiosity distribution due to the presence of the light-pipe probe. The environmental effect is caused by nonspecular reflection due to surface imperfection or impurity of the light-pipe material. Monte Carlo simulation was conducted to better understand the underlying physics, and the simulation results are compared to the experiment results. The latter two effects were found to be very important in the present study     

Effects of Coir Fiber and Maleic Anhydride Modification on the Properties of Thermoplastic Starch/PLA Composite Laminates

Coir fiber reinforced composite laminates made of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) with a thermoplastic starch (TPS) were fabricated. Modified thermoplastic starch (MTPS) was prepared by reactive blending of TPS with maleic anhydride (MA). The effect of coir fibers was of our main interest. The tensile properties, water absorption, and morphological properties of the fabricated composite laminates were investigated. The composite laminates between PLA and starch TPS were prepared using coir fiber as reinforcing core, and the physical, mechanical, and morphological properties were studied. The results suggested that the optimum fiber contents for maximum tensile strength for TPS/PLA and MTPS/PLA composites were 20 and 30 wt%, respectively. Using MA for chemical modification of TPS for PLA composites could reduce the PLA content of about 10 wt%, and improve the tensile about 20%. The volume swelling for the MTPS/PLA composites was much lower than that for the TPS/PLA composites, and the swelling reduced with increasing coir fiber content. Based on compressive strength, the pallets produced using MTPS/PLA composites showed a high potential to replace the commercial urea-formaldehyde/PLA composites. It clearly appeared that MA modification to TPS not only improve the mechanical properties of fiber reinforced PLA composites, but also made the PLA composites bio-degrade more quickly.     

Cure behavior and antimicrobial performance of sulfur‐cured natural rubber vulcanizates containing 2‐hydroxypropyl‐3‐piperazinylquinolinecarboxylic acid methacrylate or silver‐substituted zeolite

This work used 2‐hydroxypropyl‐3‐piperazinylquinolinecarboxylic acid methacrylate (HPQM) or silver‐substituted zeolite (SSZ) as antibacterial agents for natural rubber (NR) compounds vulcanized by conventional vulcanization (CV), semi‐efficient vulcanization, and efficient vulcanization (EV) systems. The cure behavior and antibacterial performance of the NR vulcanizates were studied by varying the loadings of HPQM or SSZ, contact times, and vulcanization systems. The antibacterial performance of the rubber compounds was examined by halo test and plate‐count‐agar methods against Escherichia coli (E. coli, ATCC 25922) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus, ATCC 25923) as the testing bacteria. The cure time and crosslink density were dependent on the vulcanization recipe used but were not affected by the addition of HPQM or SSZ. Diphenylguanidine at the level of 1.0 phr (parts by weight per hundred parts of resin) in NR vulcanized by the EV system had the ability to kill the E. coli and S. aureus bacteria. The NR vulcanized by the CV system showed the most pronounced antibacterial performance, as compared with the other two vulcanization systems, via migration and diffusion of HPQM or SSZ onto the NR surfaces, this being identified by the relatively large reduction of contact angle values. The HPQM showed the most preference for NR compounds vulcanized with the CV system with a contact time of 120 min or longer to achieve a bacteria‐killing efficacy of 99.0–99.9%, the efficacy being more pronounced for E. coli bacteria. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 19:123–131, 2013. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers