Effects of frequency dimming electronic ballast on a high‐pressure mercury thallium iodide discharge

This study focuses on the behavior of a cylindrical metal halide discharge lamp powered by frequency‐controlled electronic ballast. Half‐bridge electronic ballast was designed and achieved.     

Microwave-assisted synthesis of isosorbide-derived diols for the preparation of thermally stable thermoplastic polyurethane

In order to prepare thermally stable isosorbide-derived thermoplastic polyurethane, the synthesis of two new chiral exo–exo configured diols, prepared from isosorbide, and two types of diphenols (bisphenol A and thiodiphenol) was described. The synthesis conditions were optimized under conventional heating and microwave irradiations. To prove their suitability in polymerization, these monomers were successfully polymerized using 4,4′-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) and hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI). Both monomers and polymers have been studied by NMR, FT-IR, TGA, DSC; intrinsic viscosity of polymers has also been determined. The results showed the effectiveness of the synthetic strategy proposed; moreover, a dramatic reduction of the reaction time and an important improvement of the monomers yield using microwave irradiation have been demonstrated. The monomers, as well as the polymers, showed excellent thermal stability both in air and nitrogen. It was also shown that the introduction of sulphur in the polyurethane backbone was effective in delaying the onset of degradation as well as the degradation rate.     

Garlic peroxidase immobilized into chitosan matrix suitable for biosensors applications

Peroxidase X₁ (POX₁) isoenzyme was purified from garlic bulb (Allium sativum L.). Native-PAGE profile showed two isoforms partially purified (designated POX_1A and POX_1B). A POX_1B-based electrode showed great potential for monitoring hydrogen peroxide in biological samples. Chitosan was used as a matrix for enzyme immobilization. The enzyme activities were studied by photometry. Immobilization was accomplished by either inclusion in a thin film or adsorption to cross-linked microspheres. Two linkage agents were used: glutaraldehyde and glyoxal. The best immobilization and activity yields (82%, 95%) were obtained when POX_1B was incorporated within a chitosan/glyoxal film. The effect of temperature on the immobilized enzyme was tested. Results showed that full activity was retained after 40 min incubation at 40 °C. Anchored POX_1B inside chitosan was used for biosensor design. Cyclic voltammetry and impedance spectroscopy were employed to analyze electrochemical properties of the modified gold electrode and to monitor hydrogen peroxide. The biosensor was very sensitive and attained a detection limit of 100 nM.     

Centralized and distributed algorithms for on-line synthesis of maximal control policies under partial observation

This paper deals with the on-line control of partially observed discrete event systems (DES). The goal is to restrict the behavior of the system within a prefix-closed legal language while accounting for the presence ofuncontrollable andunobservable events. In the spirit of recent work on the on-line control of partially observed DES (Heymann and Lin 1994) and on variable lookahead control of fully observed DES (Ben Hadj-Alouane et al. 1994c), we propose an approach where, following each observable event, a control action is computed on-line using an algorithm oflinear worst-case complexity. This algorithm, calledVLP-PO, has the following additional properties: (i) the resulting behavior is guaranteed to be amaximal controllable and observable sublanguage of the legal language; (ii) different maximals may be generated by varying the priorities assigned to the controllable events, a parameter ofVLP-PO; (iii) a maximal containing the supremal controllable and normal sublanguage of the legal language can be generated by a proper selection of controllable event priorities; and (iv) no off-line calculations are necessary. We also present a parallel/distributed version of theVLP-PO algorithm calledDI-VLP-PO. This version uses several communicating agents that simultaneously run (on-line) identical versions of the algorithm but on possibly different parts of the system model and the legal language, according to the structural properties of the system and the specifications. While achieving the same behavior asVLO-PO, DI-VLP-PO runs at a total complexity (for computation and communication) that is significantly lower than its sequential counterpart.     

D- and Z-values of microflora in tuna mince during moist- and dry-heating

Fish and seafood are prone to rapid microbial spoilage, thus adequate care must be taken in drying of fish. The microbial load and its changes during drying and storage are important information in establishing a standard that will ensure food safety. In order to develop drying procedures leading to low safety risk, it is relevant to determine the decimal reduction time (D-value) and the thermal resistance constant (Z-value) during a heating process to identify the effect of temperature on lethality. In the case of drying, microbial changes occurred due to the effects of heat and concentration process. This study was conducted to investigate the changes of endogenous bacterial counts in minced tuna during dry-heating (convection air-drying) and moist-heating (heating in a closed chamber) as a function of temperature. The D-values for total viable counts decreased from 2.52 to 0.26 h for moist-heating and 2.57 to 0.34 h for dry-heating, respectively, when temperature was maintained constant within 60-140°C. In both cases, increasing temperature caused significant decrease in D-values (P<0.05), whereas the effect of heating methods was not significant (P>0.05). Thus the heat resistance characteristics of microorganisms in fresh tuna mince was not depended on the changing medium moisture content.     

Failure mechanisms in granular media: a discrete element analysis

This paper attempts to numerically validate the concept of diffuse failure using a discrete element method. First, the theoretical background is reviewed, and it is shown how the kinetic energy of a system, initially at rest after a loading history, is likely to abruptly increase under the effect of disturbances. The vanishing of the second-order work thus constitutes a basic ingredient, related to both the pioneering work of Hill (J Mech Phys Solids (6):236–249, 1958) and the notion of bifurcation applied to geomechanics (Vardoulakis and Sulem in Bifurcation analysis in geomechanics, Chapman & Hall Publisher, London, 1995). Discrete numerical simulations were performed on homogeneous three-dimensional specimens, and the three basic conditions that must be satisfied in order to observe a failure mechanism are numerically checked. Finally, this work illustrates the phenomena that are likely to affect in situ slopes, for instance, when the loading (due to weather conditions or human activities) meets the three basic conditions for a failure mechanism to develop.     

MICROFLORA CHANGES IN TUNA MINCE DURING CONVECTION AIR DRV1NG

Microorganisms grow in tuna during drying at low temperatures. The drying temperature of 50°C or below is not lethal to the microflora. The decimal reduction time (D-value) varied from 12.66 to 2.63 hr when drying temperature increased from 60 to 100°C, respectively. These values can be used to estimate the lethal effect of drying on the natural microflora in tuna.     

Analysis of cooling curve to determine the end point of freezing

The cooling curve method used for the measurement of freezing point of food is further analyzed to explore whether it can be used to identify the end point of freezing or glass transition. In this method, slope of the cooling curve is determined and plotted as a function of time to identify the end point of freezing (T′_m). Initially, the slope is decreased and then reached a minimum value, which is identified as the nucleation of ice. Then the slope is increased until the end point of freezing. The end point of freezing is identified when the slope starts to decrease from its highest value or plateau. Sucrose solutions and starch gels were used to measure its T′_m in identifying validity of the proposed method. The measured values of T′_m by the proposed method is very close to the literature values.     

MICROFLORA CHANGES IN TUNA MINCE DURING CONVECTION AIR DRV1NG

Abstract

Microorganisms grow in tuna during drying at low temperatures. The drying temperature of 50°C or below is not lethal to the microflora. The decimal reduction time (D-value) varied from 12.66 to 2.63 hr when drying temperature increased from 60 to 100°C, respectively. These values can be used to estimate the lethal effect of drying on the natural microflora in tuna.     

Physicochemical properties of fermented Arabian mares' milk

Due to its numerous benefits, including health-promoting characteristics, there is increasing interest in finding product applications for mares' milk. In the present study, the physicochemical properties, turbidity and conductivity of Arabian mares' milk were studied during acidification by fermentation at 30 °C and compared with those of bovine milk. The data for the acidification rate were modelled using a logistic equation. Mares' milk showed a longer latency phase (284 min) and lower acidification rate (μ_max = 0.0052 dpH min^?1) compared with bovine milk (194 min and 0.0098 dpH min^?1 respectively). The general shape of the curves of the turbidity versus time and pH were similar in nature for the acidification of both milks. However, the characteristic points were different, due to the differences in casein micelle composition. Measurement of electrical conductivity during acidification showed that maximum demineralization of casein micelles started around pH 6.09 and 5.31, for mares' and bovine milk, respectively. In conclusion, the technological characteristics of mares' milk were very different from those of bovine milk, due to intrinsic physicochemical properties of both milks.