Cyanogenic,carotenoids and protein composition in leaves and roots across seven diverse population found in the world cassava germplasm collection at CIAT,Colombia

The objective of this study was to characterise the nutritional potential of leaves and identify a diversity centre with low cyanide and high nutrient content among 178 Latin American cassava genotypes. This field-based collection represents the seven diversity centres, held at The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT Palmira, Colombia) by the Cassava Program. The cyanide, all-trans-β-carotene and lutein concentrations in cassava leaves ranged from 346 to 7484 ppm dry basis (db), from 174–547 μg g⁻¹ db and 15–181 μg g⁻¹ db, respectively. Cassava leaves also showed significant levels of essential amino acids leucine, lysine, phenylalanine, valine and threonine, and average total protein content of 26.24 g 100 g⁻¹ db. Among seven diversity centres, South American rainforest group showed low cyanide and high carotene content in leaves. In addition, VEN77 and PAN51 genotypes stood out for having low cyanide in leaves and roots and high carotene in leaves. This genetic diversity can be used to select high potential progenitors for breeding purposes.     

Acute Weston Hurst necrotizing hemorrhagic leukoencephalitis

The clinical and pathological findings of a 43-year-old woman, diagnosed as having acute hemorrhagic leukoencephalitis at postmortem examination, are presented. The acute hemorrhagic leukoencephalitis affects mainly young adults and is the most fulminant from of demyelinating disease. It is frequently preceded by a respiratory infection. Diagnosis is facilitated by CT scanning and MRI, which reveal the massive lesion in the cerebral white matter. Many cases terminate fatally in 2 or 4 days, but in others survival is longer. The pathological findings are distinctive.     

Alcohol-induced changes of {beta}-lactoglobulin - retinol-binding stoichiometry

It has been demonstrated using CD that ethanol induces importantsecondary structure changes of ß-lactoglobulin. CDspectra indicate that ß-lactoglobulin secondary structure,which is mainly composed of ß-strands, becomes mostly-helical under the influence of the solvent polarity changes.The midpoint of ß-strand/-helix transition in ß-lactoglobulinis observed at dielectric constant {small tilde}60 (35% ethanol;v/v). According to CD measurements, the ethanol-dependent secondarystructure changes are reversible. The alkylation of lysines-NH₂ in ß-lactoglobulin weakens the central ß-barrelstructure, since the ß-strand/-helix transition midpointof alkylated ß-lactoglobulin is shifted to lower ethanolconcentration (25% ethanol; v/v). ß-Lactoglobulinstructural changes are triggering the dissociation of the ß-lactoglobulin- retinol complex as judged from complete quenching of its fluorescencein ethanol concentration >30% (v/v). However, in 20% ethanol(v/v), ß-lactoglobulin still retains most of its nativesecondary structure as shown by CD and, in this condition, oneß-lactoglobulin molecule binds an additional secondretinol molecule. This suggests that the highly populated speciesobserved around 20% ethanol (v/v) might represent an intermediatestate able to bind two molecules of retinol.     

Nonlinear centrifugal effects on a prestressed laminated rotor

Electrical rotors are usually used in rotating machinery such as in ship engine pods. Designing such rotors in bending requires careful modeling of a laminated stack prestressed by tie rods. Theoretically, steel sheets, varnish layers and prestressing make it difficult to homogenize the constitutive properties of a stack both at rest and under operating conditions. Moreover, it is noteworthy that tie rods subjected to centrifugal forces bend until reaching annular clearance. Their nonlinear bending tends to increase their stiffening effects and the axial lamination load, therefore it affects the homogenized constitutive properties of a stack modeled with Timoshenko beams. By combining a fixed-point algorithm and penalty method at each speed of rotation, it is possible to plot the Campbell diagram and unbalance responses by considering updated properties and the axial load of the tie rods generated by centrifugal effects. An industrial application is used to show that centrifugal effects have a slight influence on rotor dynamics.     

An electrical conductivity and TEM study of the sulphurization by gaseous H2S of NiO single crystals

An electrical conductivity and transmission electron microscopy study of the very early stages of the sulphurization by H₂S of NiO single crystals were carried out at low pressure (p<20 Torr) and at T<700 K. For treatments at pH₂S < 10^-4 Torr 2 main stages of reaction were found: (a) a topotactical reduction of the oxide producing Ni islands with a diameter of about 20 nm and (b) an epitaxial overgrowth of Ni₃S₂ from the metallic islands. The maximal conversion rate of the NiO sulphurization is very low and depends on the states of the crystal surface. For treatments at pH₂S 20 Torr a non-stoichiometric nickel sulphide was identified.     

Adaptive control of linear systems with Markov perturbations

The stochastic model considered is a linear jump diffusion process X for which the coefficients and the jump processes depend on a Markov chain Z with finite state space. First, we study the optimal filtering and control problem for these systems with non-Gaussian initial conditions, given noisy observations of the state X and perfect measurements of Z. We derive a new sufficient condition which ensures the existence and the uniqueness of the solution of the nonlinear stochastic differential equations satisfied by the output of the filter. We study a quadratic control problem and show that the separation principle holds. Next, we investigate an adaptive control problem for a state process X defined by a linear diffusion for which the coefficients depend on a Markov chain, the processes X and Z being observed in independent white noises. Suboptimal estimates for the process X, Z and approximate control law are investigated for a large class of probability distributions of the initial state. Asymptotic properties of these filters and this control law are obtained. Upper bounds for the corresponding error are given     

Numerical method for impulse control of piecewise deterministic Markov processes

This paper presents a numerical method to calculate the value function for a general discounted impulse control problem for piecewise deterministic Markov processes. Our approach is based on a quantization technique for the underlying Markov chain defined by the post jump location and inter-arrival time. Convergence results are obtained and more importantly we are able to give a convergence rate of the algorithm. The paper is illustrated by a numerical example.     

Spatial distribution of dry matter in yellow fleshed cassava roots and its influence on carotenoid retention upon boiling

Understanding retention of carotenoids after different processing methods is important. This study was conducted to quantify dry matter content and carotenoids found in different sections of the cassava roots from six clones and to assess true retention of carotenoids after 30 min of boiling. Retention was quantified in normalized prisms taken from proximal, central and distal sectors of the root. Dry matter content (DMC) was measured along and across the roots and varied from 14.1 to 51.0%. DMC tended to be lower at the center of the root and in distal sections. DMC affected the homogeneity of the food matrix and, therefore, contributed in spatial variation in retention of carotenoids. Average true retention (dry matter basis) was 86.6% and ranged from 76.0 and 96.7% (averages per clone and section of the root, respectively). Retention was positively associated with carotenoid content in unprocessed samples, although the relationship was weak. The study shows that during boiling weight of samples changed from slight losses to gains of up to 40% (depending on original DMC of the uncooked root), resulting in an “apparent dilution” of the carotenoids. Results suggested the occurrence of some isomerization. All-trans β-carotene losses (13%) were partially explained by increases in the 13-cis (34%) and 15-cis (8%) isoforms, as well as lixiviation (< 1%) into the boiling water.     

Local strain measurements of yarns inside of 3D warp interlock fabric during forming process

The final geometry of 3D warp interlock fabric needs to be check during the 3D forming step to ensure the right locations of warp and weft yarns inside the final structure. Thus, a new monitoring approach has been proposed based on sensor yarns located in the fabric thickness. To ensure the accuracy of measurements, the observation of the surface deformation of the 3D warp interlock fabric has been joined to the sensor yarns measurements. At the end, it has been revealed a good correlation between strain measurement done globally by camera and locally performed by sensor yarns. Additionally, sensor yarns located in the two directions of the 3D warp interlock fabric have revealed a different forming behaviour depending on the architecture and the different slope values of the punch.     

Synthesis gas production by biomass pyrolysis: Effect of reactor temperature on product distribution

This paper describes mass, C, H, and O balances for wood chips pyrolysis experiments performed in a tubular reactor under conditions of rich H₂ gas production (700–1000 °C) and for determined solid heating rates (20–40 °C s⁻¹). Permanent gases (H₂, CO, CH₄, CO₂, C₂H₄, C₂H₆), water, aromatic tar (10 compounds from benzene to phenanthrene and phenols), and char were considered in the balance calculations. Hydrogen (H) from dry wood is mainly converted into CH₄ (more than 30% mol. of H at 900 °C), H₂ (from 9% to 36% mol. from 700 to 1000 °C), H₂O, and C₂H₄. The molar balances showed that the important yield increase of H₂ from 800 to 1000 °C (0.10 Nm³ kg⁻¹ to 0.24 Nm³ kg⁻¹ d.a.f. wood) cannot be solely explained by the analyzed hydrocarbon compounds conversion (CH₄, C₂, aromatic tar). Possible mechanisms of H₂ production from wood pyrolysis are discussed.