Inhibition of microbial growth in ready‐to‐eat food stored at ambient temperature by modified atmosphere packaging

This study was undertaken to develop a modified atmosphere package to control microbial growth in ready‐to‐eat (RTE) products stored at ambient temperature. Ethanol and/or limonene associated with modified atmosphere (CO₂ : O₂ : N₂ = 30% : 5% : 65%) was used to inhibit the growth of total air‐borne microorganisms and Escherichia coli in RTE products stored at 25°C. The results indicated that 0.05% ethanol vapour in the headspace was effective to inhibit the growth of air‐borne microorganisms and E. coli at 25°C for 72 h in a model study, and the effectiveness was related to ethanol content. Both 73 ppm limonene and 0.05% ethanol vapour enhanced the bacteriostatic effect of modified atmosphere in RTE sushi roll products, and no off‐flavour was detected using this formulated gas; however, no significant inhibitory effect was observed for RTE cold noodle products. This study concludes that combinations of carbon dioxide, ethanol or limonene vapours are effective to inhibit microbial growth in RTE food at ambient temperature, and the outcome may be due to the hurdle effect. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

一种基于空间到达角的卫星电子侦察信号分选方法

在建立简化的卫星电子侦察空间模型的基础上，提出了一种利用空间到达角分选卫星电子侦察信号的新方法。通过仿真实验验证了这种方法的可行性。该方法可用于密集信号的预处理。     

Evaluating the impact of CASE: an empirical comparison of retrospective and cross-sectional survey approaches

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate two methods of assessing the productivity and quality impact of Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) and Fourth Generation Language (4GL) technologies: (1) by the retrospective method; and (2) the cross-sectional method. Both methods involve the use of questionnaire surveys. Developers' perceptions depend on the context in which they are expressed and this includes expectations about the effectiveness of a given software product. Consequently, it is generally not reliable to base inferences about the relative merits of CASE and 4GLs on a cross-sectional comparison of two separate samples of users. The retrospective method that requires each respondent to directly compare different products is shown to be more reliable. However, there may be scope to employ cross-sectional comparisons of the findings from different samples where both sets of respondents use the same reference point for their judgements, and where numerical rather than verbal rating scales are used to measure perceptions.     

The organisational learning effects of management accounting information under advanced manufacturing technology

This study empirically examined the organisational learning effects of the nonfinancial performance information provided by management accounting information systems (MAISs) under advanced manufacturing technology (AMT). In this study, a target costing system and the frequent and quick reporting of information were considered the facilitators of learning. First, we examined the relationships between AMT level and the amount of nonfinancial performance information produced by MAISs. The empirical results showed that there are significant positive relationships between the level of AMT and nonfinancial performance information. With a systems approach, we also proved the impact of the relationships among AMT levels, nonfinancial performance information and learning facilitators on the organisational performance of a firm. The results of our research suggest that under a high level of AMT, for the provision of information to result in an increase of performance through organisational learning, a target costing system must be introduced and a large amount of information should be provided frequently and quickly. The results of this study also showed that although AMT level may be low, fairly well-arranged facilitators and a moderately large amount of information may be necessary for the improvement of performance. In conclusion, effective organisational learning depends on the provision of relevant information as well as efficient learning support mechanisms.     

The hot blow forming of AZ31 Mg sheet: Formability assessment and application development

The hot blow forming of magnesium sheet offers significant opportunity for forming complex, lightweight parts for automotive applications. This paper characterizes the elevated-temperature formability of AZ31 magnesium sheet materials and the effect of processing conditions on the performance of these materials. In addition, magnesium sheet application development at General Motors Corporation is reviewed.     

Simulation of Strength Distribution in Ground Ceramics by Incorporating Residual Stress Effect

Strength of ground ceramics may be affected by residual stress as well as surface flaws induced by grinding. Strength prediction for ground ceramics is convenient for mechanical design of ceramic components. In this article, a numerical procedure based on fracture mechanics was proposed to estimate strength distribution of ground ceramics by considering grinding-induced residual stress. Bending strength and residual stress of ground ceramics were measured for three grinding-conditions. By comparison of simulated results with experimental ones, it was revealed that strength characteristics in experiments were well simulated by using the proposed procedure.     

Influence of the preparation conditions on the size and morphology of nanocrystalline lanthanum orthoferrite

Nanocrystalline LaFeO₃ is prepared by the dehydration of coprecipitated lanthanum and iron(III) hydroxides. It is shown that the behavior of the samples during heating and the size distribution of LaFeO₃ nanocrystals can be considerably different depending on the scheme used for coprecipitation of lanthanum and iron hydroxides; independently of the method employed for coprecipitation of the initial compounds, sintering of the samples at 950°C leads to the formation of lanthanum orthoferrite crystals up to 100 nm in size.