Innovative Processing Methods Research Articles

COMPANION ANIMALS SYMPOSIUM: Future aspects and perceptions of companion animal nutrition and sustainability.

Companion animals play an important role in our lives and are now considered to be and treated as family members in a majority of households in the United States. Because of the high number of pets that now exist, an increasingly stronger pet-human bond, and the importance placed on health and longevity, the pet food industry has realized steady growth over the last few decades. Despite past successes and opportunities that exist in the future, there are also challenges that must be considered. This review will present a brief overview of the current pet food industry and address some of the key issues moving forward. In regards to companion animal research, recent advances and future needs in the areas of canine and feline metabolism, aging, clinical disease, and the gut microbiome using molecular and high-throughput assays; chemical, in vitro, and in vivo testing of feed ingredients; and innovative pet food processing methods is discussed. Training the future workforce for the pet food industry is also of great importance. Recent trends on student demographics and their species and careers of interest, changing animal science department curricula, and technology's impact on instruction are provided. Finally, the sustainability of the pet food industry is discussed. Focus was primarily placed on the disconnect that exists between opinions and trends of consumers and the nutrient recommendations for dogs and cats, the desire for increasing use of animal-based and human-grade products, the overfeeding of pets and the pet obesity crisis, and the issues that involve the evaluation of primary vs. secondary products in terms of sustainability. Moving forward, the pet food industry will need to anticipate and address challenges that arise, especially those pertaining to consumer expectations, the regulatory environment, and sustainability. Given the already strong and increasingly dynamic market for pet foods and supplies, an academic environment primed to supply a skilled workforce, and continued industry support for basic and applied research initiatives, the future of the pet food industry looks very bright.

In-situ tensile test of high strength nanocrystalline bainitic steel

Abstract Because of its great importance in modern engineering and technology applications, steel continues to be highly relevant in the modern research field of nanocrystalline materials. Innovative processing methods and procedures are required for the production of such materials, which possess superior properties compared to their conventional counter parts. In this research, the original microstructure of a commercial C45 steel (Fe, 0.42–0.5 wt% C, 0.5–0.8 wt% Mn) was modified from ferritic–pearlitic to bainitic. Warm high pressure torsion for 5 rotations at 6 GPa and 350 °C was used to process the bainitic sample leading to an ultrafine/nano-scale grain size. A unique nano-crystalline microstructure consisting of equiaxed and elongated ferrite grains with a mean size smaller than 150 nm appeared in images taken by Transmission Electron Microscopy. Results of in-situ tensile testing in a scanning electron microscope showed very high tensile strength, on the order of 2100 MPa with a total elongation of 4.5% in comparison with 800 MPa and around 16% in the original state. Fracture occurred abruptly, without any sign of necking, and was typically caused by the stress concentration at a surface flaw. Also, stress concentrations near all surface defects were observed on the sample, visualized by the formation of shear bands. The fracture surface was covered with dimples, indicating ductile fracture. These properties are fully comparable with high strength, high alloyed steels.

X3D Fragment Identifiers — Extending the Open Annotation Model to Support Semantic Annotation of 3D Cultural Heritage Objects over the Web

This paper describes extensions made to the Open Annotation (OA) data model to enable the semantic annotation of points, surface regions and volumetric segments on 3D cultural heritage artefacts. More specifically it describes how the X3D (Extensible 3D Graphics) standard has been adapted to support concise, machine-processable and persistent 3D fragment identifiers. Methods to improve the efficiency of capturing, compressing and processing the X3D fragment identifiers are also described. The proposed X3D extensions are implemented and evaluated using a test-bed of 3D representations of ancient Greek Vases. The advanced annotation and search services that are achievable as a result of combining OA and X3D for the underlying annotation data model are also described. The benefits of this approach are demonstrated by measuring the improvements in file size and response times that are achieved. We also present evaluation results that indicate that the X3D approach combined with innovative run-length encoding (RLE) and innovative processing methods, improves the speed and efficiency of searching, retrieving and rendering annotations on 3D digital objects, over the Web.

Metrology for New Generation Nuclear Power Plants–MetroFission

Metrology for New Generation Nuclear Power Plants–MetroFission

The Method Based on Pattern Filter for Sonnd & Vibration Signal

The difficulty of the signal processing is not the acquisition of the signals, but how to get the reasonble interpretations from the signals. Since the 1960s, Wavelet Transform, Fast Fourier method and other theoryies have done some works by some innovative processing methods to achieve a breakthrough. But for their limitions, these methods can not achieve a complete separation if the there are two or more signals in one time domain or frequency domain. In this article, a new engineering signal processing method-pattern filter method has is introduced, by which the signal extraction, sepration and noise reduction can be achieved successfully. Experiments show that this method can not only make a reasonable separation of the various vibration signals, but also give the typical signal extractions and model building ways.

Analysis and Blocking of Error Propagation by Region-Dependent Noisy Data in MREIT

Magnetic resonance electrical impedance tomography (MREIT) aims to visualize a conductivity distribution inside the human body. In MREIT, we inject current to produce a current density $\mathbf{J}$ and magnetic flux density $\mathbf{B}$ inside the body, and we measure $B_z$, which is the $z$-component of $\mathbf{B}$, using an MRI scanner with its main field in the $z$ direction. Using fundamental relations between the measured $B_z$ and the conductivity, we can reconstruct cross-sectional images of the internal conductivity distribution. In this paper, we adopt the harmonic $B_z$ algorithm, which is based on the key observation that $\nabla^2 B_z$ reveals changes in the log of the conductivity distribution along any equipotential curve on an imaging slice. When we apply the method to measured $B_z$ data from animal or human subjects, however, there occur a few technical difficulties that are mainly related to measurement errors in $B_z$ data, especially in a local region where MR signals are very small. This demands innovative data processing methods based on a rigorous mathematical analysis of such defective data. We carefully investigate sources of the error and its adverse effects on the image reconstruction process. We suggest a new error propagation blocking algorithm to prevent defective data at one local region from negatively influencing conductivity images of other regions. We experimentally examine the performance of the proposed method by comparing reconstructed images with and without applying the error propagation blocking algorithm. We found that the error blocking algorithm improves the accuracy of reconstructed conductivity images.

Evaluation of in vitro gas production and rumen bacterial populations fermenting corn milling (co)products

The objective of this study was to evaluate the fermentation dynamics of 2 commonly fed corn (co)products in their intact and defatted forms, using the in vitro gas production (IVGP) technique, and to investigate the shifts of the predominant rumen bacterial populations using the 16S rDNA bacterial tag-encoded FLX amplicon pyrosequencing (bTEFAP) technique. The bTEFAP technique was used to determine the bacterial profile of each fermentation time at 24 and 48h. Bacterial populations were identified at the species level. Species were grouped by substrate affinities (guilds) for cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin, starch, sugars, protein, lipids, and lactate. The 2 (co)products were a dried distillers grain (DDG) plus solubles produced from a low-heat drying process (BPX) and a high-protein DDG without solubles (HP). Chemical analysis revealed that BPX contained about 11.4% ether extract, whereas HP contained only 3.88%. Previous studies have indicated that processing methods, as well as fat content, of corn (co)products directly affect fermentation rate and substrate availability, but little information is available regarding changes in rumen bacterial populations. Fermentation profiles of intact and defatted BPX and HP were compared with alfalfa hay as a standard profile. Defatting before incubation had no effect on total gas production in BPX or HP, but reduced lag time and the fractional rate of fermentation of BPX by at least half, whereas there was no effect for HP. The HP feed supported a greater percentage of fibrolytic and proteolytic bacteria than did BPX. Defatting both DDG increased the fibrolytic (26.8 to 38.7%) and proteolytic (26.1 to 37.2%) bacterial guild populations and decreased the lactate-utilizing bacterial guild (3.06 to 1.44%). Information regarding the fermentation kinetics and bacterial population shifts when feeding corn (co)products may lead to more innovative processing methods that improve feed quality (e.g., deoiling) and consequently allow greater inclusion rates in dairy cow rations.

Innovative Processing and Hydrometallurgical Treatment Methods for Complex Antimony Ores and Concentrates. Part II: Hydrometallurgy of Complex Antimony Ores

The article presents results of hydrometallurgical and bio-treatment of antimony ores and recommend new dissolvents for antimony sulfides. The authors introduce a processing plant which is a single operating processor of antimonic gold-bearing alloys with the successful electrolytic refining of anodes and production of cathode antimony and noble metal slurry in Russian Federation.

Innovative signal processing and data analysis methods on JET for control in the perspective of next-step devices

In the last few years, it has been realized that more sophisticated control schemes are necessary to push the boundaries of tokamak operation and the performance of reactor-like machines. In addition, JET needs to operate safely with the new metallic wall and such protection will be needed for ITER. These objectives have motivated the development, benchmark and validation of new signal processing and data analysis methods. Two new approaches for the determination of the magnetic topology in real time have been validated on an extensive database of JET discharges, including advanced tokamak scenarios. Robust methods of confinement regime identification and disruption prediction are a prerequisite for safe, general control schemes. New identifiers have been developed and their success rates exceed 99% in determining whether plasmas are in the L or H mode. A new disruption predictor is being developed and has already provided success rates higher than 90% in realistic real-time conditions. Moreover, the generalization capability of this new predictor has been confirmed by applying it to new experimental campaigns not used for the training. The success rate remains high even more than ten campaigns, or about four years, after the last one used for the training. The deployment of video cameras in real time requires the development of new image processing algorithms, which have already been implemented and validated successfully on JET for the real-time identification of hot spots with a time resolution of tens of milliseconds. A series of new feedback schemes has also been explicitly developed not much to control the plasma but to really improve the physics understanding of some phenomena. Particularly interesting are the simultaneous control of the safety factor and pressure profiles and the real-time tracking of toroidal Alfven eigenmode instabilities. These advanced feedback schemes for physics understanding often require more advanced signal processing techniques like adaptive filtering, which have already been implemented. The paper concludes by discussing the use of these real-time analysis and control developments in next-step machines such as ITER.

Innovative processing and hydrometallurgical treatment methods for complex antimony ores and concentrates. Part I

The largest Russian antimony ore deposits are reviewed analytically. The present-day physicochemical methods (nuclear quadrupole resonance, X-ray electron spectroscopy, multinuclear (13C, 15N, 31P) NMR) are used to develop innovative technologies. The innovative process for treatment of Au-Sbores of the Sarylakhsky and Sentachansky deposits is described. Selective agents for antimonite flotation from complex Au-Sb-ores are considered. Sodium dimethyldithiocarbamate performance in antimony ore treatment is demonstrated.

Guest Editorial Special Issue on Transparent Electronics

From material and design advancements to new innovative processing methods, there have been significant recent achievements in the area of transparent electronics. The papers in this issue focuses on this emerging technology and recent work in the field spanning from fundamental research to technology development. The articles cover the general topics of materials & performance, fabrication techniques, and devices & applications. Application articles focused on the benefits of transparent electronics display and organic light emitting diode devices.

Disintegration of Solid Foods in Human Stomach

Knowledge of the disintegration of solid foods in human stomach is essential to assess the bioavailability of nutrients in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. A comprehensive review of food gastric digestion, focusing on disintegration of solid foods, is presented. Most of the research reviewed in this paper is contained in the medical, pharmaceutical, food, and nutritional literature. Stomach physiology is briefly introduced, including composition and rheological properties of gastric contents, stomach wall motility in fed/fasted states, and hydrodynamic and mechanical forces that act on the ingested food. In vivo and in vitro methods used for studying food and drug digestion in GI are summarized. Stomach emptying rate, which controls the rate of absorption of nutrients, is highly related to the disintegration of foods. This topic is highlighted with focus on the important mechanisms and the influence of chemical and physical properties of foods. Future research in this area is identified to increase our fundamental understanding of the food digestion process in the stomach as related to the food composition, material properties such as texture and microstructure, and chemical characteristics. This information is necessary to develop new guidelines for seeking innovative processing methods to manufacture foods specifically targeted for health.

Analysis of Merged LOM and SEM Pictures using Innovative Image Processing Methods

Abstract Multiphase steels play an important role for the automotive industry. Their mechanical properties are strongly influenced by the microstructure. A quantitative description of the microstructure is necessary in order to optimise the properties of multiphase steels through a precise microstructure design. Using only light optical microscopy (LOM), the characterisation of multiphase steels cannot be achieved sufficiently due to the fact that very fine metallographic constituents are present, which are smaller than the optical resolution limit. This problem can be solved by using scanning electron microscope (SEM) images in addition to the light optical images. Within this work, we describe a method for automatic composing LOM and SEM images into a single feature image. In addition, a novel segment based approach is presented, which classifies different phases in images of multiphase steels. Thereby we use several features of the derived segments for the classification process.

Recent advances in microdevices for electrochemical energy conversion and storage

The application of silicon microfabrication technologies to electrochemical devices allows reduction of overall device package to potentially increase volumetric power densities. This review first focuses on some exciting developments in microfuel cells, in particular, solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) and proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). The emphasis is given to innovative 2D processing methods, novel 2D architectures of microfuel cells, and demonstrated performance in terms of area power densities. Emerging 3D fabrication techniques that are potentially promising to produce 3D electrochemical devices such as 3D cell and stack architectures on the micrometer scale will then be discussed. Lastly this paper highlights some new opportunities in electrode kinetics studies enabled by microfabricated devices—investigation of scaling relationship between microelectrodes and electrochemical responses, which has led to improved fundamental understanding of electrode reactions and rate-limiting steps. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

EEG/MEG Signal Processing

EEG/MEG Signal Processing

Recent Advances in Molecular Imaging

Molecular imaging is a newly emerging and rapidly developing biomedical imaging field in which the modern tools are being married to depict noninvasive in vivo cellular and molecular processes sensitively and specifically, such as monitoring multiple molecular events, cell trafficking and targeting. The goals of this field are to develop technologies and instruments for studying biological and medical processes as well as diagnosing and managing diseases better. Although rapid progress in the fundamentals and applications make molecular imaging become an important tool for biomedical research in recent years, many difficult problems and challenges remain. Discussing the problems and challenges in detail and illustrating recent progress and future direction, the special issue collects the high-quality, peer-reviewed, original research papers in the area of molecular imaging. Novel molecular imaging theories and algorithms, new molecular probes, multimodality molecular imaging prototype systems and experiments, and final clinical applications are introduced mainly in this special issue. In molecular imaging theories and algorithms, genetic algorithm-based optimization tool is used to improve the accuracy of the diffusion model in strongly absorbing media by adjusting the optical parameters. Furthermore, a penalized linear and nonlinear combined conjugate gradient method, a fast preiteration algorithm based on the generalized inverse matrix, and a Monte-Carlo-based network method are also proposed for light source reconstruction in optical tomography. Considering the importance of molecular probes, synthesis and bioconjugation of gold nanoparticles as potential molecular probes for light-based imaging techniques are described in this special issue, and the nitroimidazole-based thioflavin-T derivatives as cerebral ischemia markers are evaluated in vivo. In order to test the feasibility and effectiveness of imaging theories, algorithms and probes, molecular imaging prototype systems should be designed, constructed and employed for small animal or phantom imaging. Thus, multimodality fusion near-infrared optical tomography Systems with highly sensitive CCD camera and photomultiplier tube can be consulted respectively in this special issue. Furthermore, a novel confocal optical system design and a dual laser confocal scanner have been developed for molecular imaging applications of biochip. In clinical applications, the advantage of PET and CT integration in examination of lung tumors is analyzed. Moreover, several innovative processing methods of molecular image are also presented in this special issue. In conclusion, this special issue covers recent important advances in molecular imaging field.

Physical metallurgy of high Nb-containing TiAl alloys

Abstract Intermetallic titanium aluminides exhibit attractive thermo-physical properties, which give them the potential for extensive use as lightweight structural components. Novel design concepts are based on alloys with the general composition (in at.%) Ti-45Al-(5–10) Nb, which were subjected to precipitation hardening. Optimized compositions have been identified that are capable of carrying stresses in excess of 700 MPa at service temperatures of 700°C and have superior creep properties. The alloys exhibit at room temperature yield stresses in excess of 1GPa combined with plastic tensile elongations of about 2%. Wrought alloys of this type can be an attractive alternative to the nickel-base superalloys in certain ranges of stress and temperature. The future and promise of these new TiAl alloys lies in innovative processing methods designed to achieve better performance.

Harmonization of fuel cycles for nuclear energy system with the use of molten-salt technology

A concept of a multi-component nuclear power system will be presented in whic thermal and fast reactors combined with molten-salt burner reactors could be used for incineration of weapons-grade plutonium, some minor actinides, and transmutation of some fission products. The purposes of this work are to review the present status of molten-salt reactor technology and innovative non-aqueous chemical processing methods, to indicate the importance of the uncertainties remaining, to identify the additional work needed, and to evaluate the probability of success in obtaining improved safety characteristics for the new concept of molten-salt burner reactor with external neutron source.

Harmonization of fuel cycles for nuclear energy system with the use of molten salt technology

The possibility of creating a multi-component nuclear power system in which, alongside thermal and fast reactors, molten salt burner reactors, for incineration of weapons-grade plutonium, some minor actinides and transmutation of some fission products will be presented. This work aims to review the status of molten salt reactor technology and innovative non-aqueous chemical processing methods, to indicate the importance of the remaining uncertainties, to identify the additional work needed, and to evaluate the probability of success in obtaining improved safety characteristics for a new concept of molten salt-burner reactor with an external neutron source.