Mix Matrix Research Articles

ANALYSIS OF MARKETING STRATEGIES IN INCREASING SALES AT SIGER ROEMAH BATIK LAMPUNG

Lampung Batik has become a cultural heritage and creative industry that is rich in historical and artistic values. Siger Roemah Batik Lampung as one of the main players in this industry, plays an important role in preserving and developing the tradition of Lampung batik. This research aims to uncover ideas that can be implemented, in order to increase sales of Siger Roemah Batik Lampung. This research data comes from interviews, observations, all of which are qualitative approach methods. In this study, marketing mix, IFE/EFE analysis, SWOT analysis and QSPM Matrix were used as analytical tools on Internal and External aspects in Siger Roemah Batik Lampung Company. Siger Roemah Batik Lampung can take strategic steps based on the company's internal strengths and existing external opportunities, taking into account internal weaknesses and external threats that may occur. Thus, companies can optimize their potential and overcome the challenges faced within the company.

Towards a connected nation: Exploring telecommunication technology ecosystems for effective, efficient, and economical deployment strategies

This article investigates the telecommunication technology ecosystem to formulate strategies for building a connected nation using effective, efficient, and economical combination of technologies. It examines both wireless systems (e.g., Microwave Transport Radio, Cellular Access Radio Systems, WiFi, Fixed Wireless Access, Satellite Systems) and wireline systems (e.g., Fiber Optics). The analysis evaluates each technology's inherent characteristics, benefits, challenges, cost, deployment ease, capabilities, scalability, and applications in urban and rural settings. Emphasis is placed on leveraging these technologies for various services, including voice, data, video, AI, emergency services, telemedicine, and robotic health operations in underserved and urban regions. A Scenario-Need-Technology Mix Matrix (SNTMM) is developed to assist service providers, governments, policymakers, program managers, and communities in selecting the appropriate technologies to meet their needs effectively and economically.

Pure MnO2, Ni/MnO2, Ni/MnO2@PVA and Ni/MnO2@PVP polymetrix nanocomposites for energy storage device

In the last few years, there have been a great deal of discoveries and research made that has contributed to the development of Metal-based polymer nanocomposites. Electromagnetic shielding, energy storage devices, fuel cells, membranes, sensors, and actuators are just some of the many intriguing uses for Metal-based materials and their composites. Experiments using cyclic voltammetry investigated the super capacitive qualities of MnO2 nanoparticles, MnO2 nanoparticles that had been doped with nickel, and MnO2 nanoparticles that had been combined with Poly-vinyl-alcohol (PVA) and Polyvinyl-Pyrolidone (PVP). A method known as hydrothermal synthesis was used in the production of both the polymer nanocomposites and the nanoparticles. Analyses using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed the structural changes that occurred as a result of the interaction between MnO2/Ni and the PVA/PVP mix matrix. Examining the surface morphology of synthesized nanocomposite films was carried out with the assistance of scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Through the use of cyclic voltammetry, it was discovered that the values of capacitance for MnO2, nickel doped MnO2, and nickel doped Polymer capped MnO2 nanoparticles, respectively, were 164F/g, 293F/g, 304F/g, and 471.9F/g. In contrast to nickel doped MnO2 nanoparticles that were assisted by PVP, nickel doped MnO2 nanoparticles that were assisted by PVA were shown to be a more effective super capacitor.

Potential Use of Sustainable Industrial Waste Byproducts in Fired and Unfired Brick Production

Use of bricks and their manufacturing process plays an important role in the construction sector. Despite its various methods of manufacturing, still large quantities of bricks are used in the building construction. Manufacturing of bricks consumes large quantities of natural resources, and it is energy intensive. Similarly, due to rapid industrialization large quantities of waste industrial byproducts are generated and causes handling and disposal challenges of these wastes. This review work attempts the possibilities and potential use of various types of waste industrial byproducts in fired and unfired bricks. This study also highlights the importance of waste and its usage guidelines in bricks manufacturing to enhance the strength and durability properties. To overcome the challenges associated with bricks manufacturing, firing is still considered as the most preferred method of making bricks. Use of industrial waste byproducts to the mix matrix of fire and unfired bricks will overcome the disposal challenges and reduce the depletion of natural resources. Since sustainability is a key factor that is considered when it comes to making bricks, innovative methods are needed to produce them using sustainable materials. The production and application of bricks and their usage guidelines are reviewed further in various aspects such as environment, social, economic, and technology to meet global standards and policies of the local government for sustainable development.

Algal biochar of unique structure as a robust alternative to manipulate mixed-matrix membranes performance and fouling resistance

A new application has been introduced for Cladophora glomerata, the most abundant and one of the most harmful filamentous algae widely distributed in fresh waters. Biochar of unique filter-like structure was synthesized through the pyrolysis of C. glomerata and after being fully characterized, was incorporated for the first time in the structure of mixed matrix membranes to manipulate the dominant characteristics of the membranes. At different amounts, the biochar was incorporated in polyethersulfone to prepare the novel biochar-amended mixed matrix membranes. The permeate water flux, antifouling, flux recovery ratio, and the salt and dye rejections were assessed for the bare and biochar-amended membranes to verify the effect of biochar on membrane performance. It has been shown that, the higher the amount of biochar, the lower the contact angle and the more the hydrophilicity of the membrane surface. The mean pore radius and porosity of the modified membranes were significantly increased compared to that of the bare PES membrane, and consequently, pure water fluxes were increased by more than 63% in biochar-amended membranes. Based on the obtained results, 0.5 wt% was determined as the optimum amount of biochar leading to the best biochar-amended mix matrix membrane performance.

To Stay or Relocate? International School Market Research Post Pandemic

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the viability of relocating Universiti Utara Malaysia International School (UUMIS) from its current location in Sintok to a nearby town in Jitra, Kedah in its effort of increasing student’s enrolment. Theoretical Framework: The study uses the four p’s of marketing mix and Ansoff marketing matrix in evaluating the market demand for international school in Jitra if the school were to be relocated from its current location. Design/methodology/approach: The study conducted interview sessions with UUMIS staffs, existing parents, and potential parents. Following to the input derived, a survey was formulated and distributed to the communities in Kedah and Perlis. Findings: Most existing parents and teachers are willing to send their children to UUMIS should it is relocated to Jitra with a transportation and transit service assistant. This result is supported with the survey distributed, whereby the percentage of willingness are more than half of the existing parents (60.5%). However, despite the willingness, these parents (39.6%) also found this proposal to be burdensome. As such, they suggested UUMIS to provide transportation and transit service with reasonable fees charged instead. Implication: The study has direct implication of policy for UUM and UUMIS in steering the international school development. The study also evidenced that market research prior to investments are needed not only to ascertain the demand in the new location but serving as reflective medium for an organization to improvise existing governance especially when there is an expansion/relocation plan in the pipeline. Originality/value: The study has direct implication of policy for UUM and UUMIS in steering the international school development.

Adapting Belief Propagation to Counter Shuffling of NTTs

The Number Theoretic Transform (NTT) is a major building block in recently introduced lattice based post-quantum (PQ) cryptography. The NTT was target of a number of recently proposed Belief Propagation (BP)-based Side Channel Attacks (SCAs). Ravi et al. have recently proposed a number of countermeasures mitigating these attacks.In 2021, Hamburg et al. presented a chosen-ciphertext enabled SCA improving noise-resistance, which we use as a starting point to state our findings. We introduce a pre-processing step as well as a new factor node which we call shuffle node. Shuffle nodes allow for a modified version of BP when included into a factor graph. The node iteratively learns the shuffling permutation of fine shuffling within a BP run.We further expand our attacker model and describe several matching algorithms to find inter-layer connections based on shuffled measurements. Our matching algorithm allows for either mixing prior distributions according to a doubly stochastic mix matrix or to extract permutations and perform an exact un-matching of layers. We additionally discuss the usage of sub-graph inference to reduce uncertainty and improve un-shuffling of butterflies.Based on our results, we conclude that the proposed countermeasures of Ravi et al. are powerful and counter Hamburg et al., yet could lead to a false security perception – a powerful adversary could still launch successful attacks. We discuss on the capabilities needed to defeat shuffling in the setting of Hamburg et al. using our expanded attacker model.Our methods are not limited to the presented case but provide a toolkit to analyze and evaluate shuffling countermeasures in BP-based attack scenarios.

Photocatalytic degradation of industrial dye using hybrid filler impregnated poly-sulfone membrane and optimizing the catalytic performance using Box-Behnken design

Mixed Matrix Membranes have gained significant attention over the past few years due to their diverse applications, unique hybrid inorganic filler and polymeric properties. In this article, the impregnation of nano-hybrid filler (polyoxometalates (∼POMs) encapsulated into the metal-organic framework (MOF) ∼ PMOF) on the polysulfone membrane (∼PSF) was done, resulting in a mix matrix membrane (∼PMOF@PSF). The developed structure was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopes (TEM). The results confirmed that the nano-hybrid filler was successfully fabricated on the surface of PSF. Different loading ratios of nano-hybrid filler (5%, 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40%) were used for impregnation. The study's objective was to enhance catalytic performance using optimization curves designed using a three-level Box-Behnken Design (BBD) simulation. The photodegradation of Methylene Blue (∼MB) was studied against PMOF@PSF30% and was found to perform optimally when the concentration of catalyst, time of degradation, and temperature were 0.05–0.15 gm, 40–120 min, and 30–70 °C respectively. These experiments were replicated 15 times, and obtained results were further processed using a two-quadratic polynomial model to develop response surface methodology (RSM), which allowed for a functional relationship between the decolorization and experimental parameters. The optimal performance of the reaction mixture was calculated to be 0.15 gm for concentration, 70 °C for temperature, with an 80 min reaction time. Under these optimal conditions, the predicted decolorization of MB was 98.09%. Regression analysis with R2 > 0.99 verified the fit of experimental results with predicted values. The PMOF@PSF PSF30% demonstrated excellent reusability as its dye degradation properties were significantly unaffected after ten cycles.

SARS-CoV-2 removal by mix matrix membrane: A novel application of artificial neural network based simulation in MATLAB for evaluating wastewater reuse risks

The COVID-19 outbreak led to the discovery of SARS-CoV-2 in sewage; thus, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) could have the virus in their effluent. However, whether SARS-CoV-2 is eradicated by sewage treatment is virtually unknown. Specifically, the objectives of this study include (i) determining whether a mixed matrixed membrane (MMM) is able to remove SARS-CoV-2 (polycarbonate (PC)-hydrous manganese oxide (HMO) and PC-silver nanoparticles (Ag-NP)), (ii) comparing filtration performance among different secondary treatment processes, and (iii) evaluating whether artificial neural networks (ANNs) can be employed as performance indicators to reduce SARS-CoV-2 in the treatment of sewage. At Shariati Hospital in Mashhad, Iran, secondary treatment effluent during the outbreak of COVID-19 was collected from a WWTP. There were two PC-Ag-NP and PC-HMO processes at the WWTP targeted. RT-qPCR was employed to detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in sewage fractions. For the purposes of determining SARS-CoV-2 prevalence rates in the treated effluent, 10 L of effluent specimens were collected in middle-risk and low-risk treatment MMMs. For PC-HMO, the log reduction value (LRV) for SARS-CoV-2 was 1.3–1 log10 for moderate risk and 0.96–1 log10 for low risk, whereas for PC-Ag-NP, the LRV was 0.99–1.3 log10 for moderate risk and 0.94–0.98 log10 for low risk. MMMs demonstrated the most robust absorption performance during the sampling period, with the least significant LRV recorded in PC-Ag-NP and PC-HMO at 0.94 log10 and 0.96 log10, respectively.

Is the AKOBEN programme the panacea to gold mining related environmental degradation in Ghana? An integrated analysis of the AKOBEN programme

‘AKOBEN Programme’ named after an 'Adinkra' symbol signifying vigilance, circumspection, and preparedness the underlying principles for the first “environmental performance rating and public disclosure initiative” which came into effect in the year 2010 was to serves as a continuous monitoring tool for gold mining companies among others post their environmental impact assessment in Ghana. Based on several criteria including legal requirements, environmental monitoring/reporting, hazardous/toxic waste management, best practices in environmental management, complaints management, compliance to environmental quality standards, community relation and corporate social responsibility policy, the effectiveness of the ‘AKOBEN Programme’ as a wholly Ghanaian tool for promoting good environmental stewardship was assessed. An adapted version of the integrated policy analysis, which links actual programme performance with criteria for programme performance consisting of an ‘AKOBEN Programme’ commitment review, an ‘AKOBEN Programme’ strategy scan and an ‘AKOBEN Programme’ plan and strategy mix matrix were used in scrutinizing environmental commitments mandated by the ‘AKOBEN Programme’. Even though the ‘AKOBEN Programme’ does not have specific legislations it relies on legal frameworks ‘Environmental Protection Agency Act 1994 (Act 490)’ and Environmental Assessment Regulation 1999, Legislative Instrument 1652. The effect of the ‘AKOBEN Programme’ with reference to air/water quality monitoring, ‘complaints management/community relations and corporate social responsibility’ are moderately positive (++M), highly positive (+++H) and moderately positive (++M) respectively. This study will provide scientifically credible suggestion to gaps in Ghana's ‘AKOBEN Programme’ for improved environmental governance in Ghana.

Polymer Blends and Nanocomposite Materials Based on Polymethyl Methacrylate (PMMA) for Bone Regeneration and Repair

As the population ages, so does the demand for bone loss treatments. The main components of these medicines must be able to endure longer and perform more effectively. Bone cement made of poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), which is often used in damaged bone replacement surgery, is a vital biological material. As a result, the impact of additional nanoparticles such as zirconium dioxide (Zr02) and magnesium oxide (MgO) on polymer binary blends (Acrylic bone cement: 15% PMMA) for a bone scaffold was studied in this research. ZrO2 and MgO nanoparticles were introduced in various weights present to the polymer mix matrix 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2). Hand lay-up molding using two different types of PMMA material was utilized to create the polymer. The reinforcement materials were mixed individually with a binary polymer blend material according to the reinforcement material selection ratio, and then heat-treated at 55°C for 3 hours to complete polymerization and remove any residual stress. Mechanical characteristics such as tensile strength and Young's modulus were evaluated for all of the prepared samples. The chemical bonding of nanoparticles and synthetic binary polymeric mix composites was evaluated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The tensile strength and Young's modulus of a binary polymeric blend reinforced with (1.5wt% ZrO2, and 1wt% MgO) both dramatically increased. A scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to examine the surface morphology of the fracture surface of tensile specimens. SEM images demonstrated that nanoparticles (ZrO2 and MgO) were distributed uniformly throughout the polymeric mix matrix.

Enhanced oil removal from a real polymer production plant by cellulose nanocrystals-serine incorporated polyethersulfone ultrafiltration membrane.

As discharging oily wastewater from industries to the environment is a potential threat for the aquatic ecosystem, in this research, oil removal from a real case of Kermanshah polymer production plant wastewater was investigated. The focus of this study was on improving the oil rejection performance of polyethersulfone (PES) ultrafiltration membrane due to adding cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) and modified CNC with serine amino acid (CNC-Ser) in PES mix matrix. From the results, the membranes embedded with CNC-Ser showed better performance in terms of water flux, flux recovery ratio, and oil rejection (higher than 97%) compared to the modified membranes with CNC. The lowest water contact angle (41.37°), smoother surface, and higher negative surface potential (- 24mV) were achieved for the optimum loading of CNC-Ser. Besides, long-term performance of the membranes with optimum loading of CNC and CNC-Ser were compared in both dead-end and cross-flow setups.

A Study on Biopesticides Market in Telangana

Biopesticides are a crucial component of integrated pest management programs for pest control. In India, so far only 12 types of biopesticides have been registered under the Insecticide Act, 1968. The present study entitled 'A study on biopesticides market in Telangana’ was intended to examine the marketing mix and BCG Matrix for selected biopesticide companies, awareness towards biopesticides. The results revealed that K N Bioscience company, Pratibha Biotech company and Varsha Bioscience company biopesticide products are useful for all crops and these companies products are mostly available in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Gujarat region. The prices of chemical pesticides in all categories are more than the price of biopesticides whereas the price difference ranges between Rs 230 to Rs 680. The BCG analysis shows that Verchi power and Paci-N power products of K N Bioscience company fall in the stars quadrant, Biostrom and Shock products of Varsha Bioscience company fall under the question marks quadrant, CID, Pro-kill and De-bug are the products of Pratibha Biotech company fall in cash cow quadrant. VBT and Toxin products of Varsha Bioscience company fall under the dog's quadrant.

Performance evaluation of asphalt concrete mixture incorporating calcite powder as filler substitute for sustainable pavement construction

The increasing cost and paucity of conventional pavement construction materials has in recent times become very worrisome and a serious challenge in the road construction industry. This has spurred the search for a less expensive and environmentally friendly material, readily available and suitable for the purpose of constructing sustainable pavements both in the rural and urban areas of developing countries. In this research, the suitability of calcite powder in asphalt as filler in substituted proportions was investigated through tests on the modified samples for enhanced engineering properties. This was achieved by partially replacing conventional filler with calcite in proportion of “10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50%” respectively. After the production of the modified bituminous concrete at the various proportions, the samples produced were placed in a water bath for 30 minutes at a temperature of 60°C before conducting the Marshall stability test and flow. Marshall stability values of 37.7 kN, 37.9 kN, 34.0 kN, 35.0 kN, 28.9 kN and corresponding flow values of 12.0 mm, 11.3 mm, 10.5 mm, 9.60 mm, 10.3 mm, were obtained for the modification proportions respectively. The stability values were observed to be higher than the control mix and likewise satisfy the minimum requirement of 3.33 kN or 340 kg according to the Marshal mix design specification for wearing course surfacing. Similarly, the flow values obtained where found to be within the specified range of 8 – 17 mm at 0.25mm units. Percentage air voids (Vv) values of 3.7%, 5.2%, 4.7%, 3.0%, and 5.9% obtained where also found to satisfy the required range of 3-5% according to the specification. Voids filled with bitumen (VFB) values of 78.58%, 69.56%, 69.73%, 76.63%, and 58.93% derived where also within specified range 75 – 85 % of the specification. The X-Ray diffraction (XRD) micrograph showed the distinct presence of calcium and oxygen in the hot mix asphalt modified with calcite, while the scanning electron microscope (SEM) provided an in-depth perspective of the concrete grains in the hot mix matrix and the improved bonding of the aggregates, bitumen and calcite due the presence of calcium. The results have shown the possibility of calcite utilization in bituminous mixes, towards reducing cost of construction and best suitable for medium trafficked roads, parking lots and walkways.

Mixed matrix membranes using SAPO-34/ APMDES / PES for carbon dioxide/methane separation

Among the various CO2 reduction technologies, membrane-based technologies are the most efficient and environmentally friendly process. In this study, matrix membranes of polyester sulfone (PES) mixed with zeolite were used for CO2 separation. SAPO-34 zeolite was used as a mineral filler and 3-3-aminopropyl methyl detoxysilane (APMDES) was used to modify SAPO-34 zeolite. The mixed matrix membranes were then examined by FTIR, TGA, SEM and gas diffusion analysis. CO2 and CH4 separation experiments showed that increasing the temperature reduces the CO2 / CH4 separation factor, while increasing the feed pressure and increasing the CO2 feed composition increases the separation factor. The results of experimental design showed that the feed pressure is the most important process parameter that affects the CO2 / CH4 separation factor. The MMMs synthesized in this study demonstrate competitive CO2 / CH4 separation performance compared to PES-based membranes in pure gas penetration tests.Keywords: mix matrix membrane, SAPO-34, Polyethersulfone, CO2 separation

A technique for the speciation analysis of metal-chelator complexes in aqueous matrices using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Chelators, capable of creating soluble complexes with metals, may disrupt the natural speciation of metals in environmental matrices. Detection of environmental speciation of such complexes has remained challenging as obtaining the precise inherent nature of metal-chelator complexes is difficult by using routine techniques. Herein, we report a rapid and sensitive technique for the speciation analysis of complexes of five metal ions (Ni, Pb, Co, Fe and Ca) with two aminopolycarboxylate chelator variants, namely, EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) and EDDS (ethylenediamine-N,N'-disuccinic acid), including the simultaneous quantification of those complexes. EDTA is characterized as environmentally persistent among the chelators used in the current work whereas EDDS is biodegradable. The speciation analysis was performed using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS). The separation was achieved by using hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatographic column. The effect of various operating parameters on analytes such as mobile-phase composition, buffer concentrations and pH, sample diluents, sample injection volume, and column temperature on the peak shape and sensitivity were systematically optimized. The dilution was the only requirement for preparing the samples for analysis. The average relative uncertainty was 2.4% with the average precision (as RSD, n= 7) of 3.5%. For the metal-EDTA complexes, LOD range was 3 to 76 nmol L–1 with satisfactory recovery from a simulated mix matrix (recovery: 79–97%) and river water by standard addition (recovery: 82–94%). For metal-EDDS complexes, LOD range was 66 to 293 nmol L–1 with recovery from a simulated mix matrix (recovery: 56–97%) and river water by standard addition (recovery: 61–91%). The proposed method will be applicable in speciation analysis and simultaneous detection of metal-chelator complexes from environmental samples.

Investigation on Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1-driven bioleaching behavior of heavy metals in a novel geopolymer synthesized from municipal solid waste incineration bottom ash

This study synthesized a novel geopolymer utilizing 20% incineration bottom ash (IBA) by metakaolin replacement in the mix matrix, then conducted heavy metal bioleaching tests using Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 (environmental bacterium). The findings showed bacterial interactions with geopolymers noticeably enhanced bioleaching, nevertheless, physicochemical processes involved in geopolymer formation significantly reduced bioleaching rate (14–100%) of several toxic elements (Cu, As, Pb and Cr). The metals possibly physically/chemically immobilized in geopolymer matrix. Chemical (SAM-HCl) dissolution confirmed geopolymer formation, while FE-SEM displayed distinct morphology between metakaolin- and IBA-based geopolymers. This research suggests IBA/similar wastes could be recycled for environmentally friendly geopolymer production.

Forensic approach to predict film thickness of reacted and activated rubber (RARX) modified asphalt mixtures

The major objective of this study was to arrive at an optimum threshold asphalt binder film thickness, and develop predictive equation that includes materials and mixture properties, which could be used in all future forensic assessment of asphalt mixtures. Also, 18 field asphalt mixtures constructed as test sections were investigated for their field performance and correlated with . Furthermore, the performance criteria set by Arizona department of transportation (ADOT) in the USA to assess the field mixtures were related to established in this study. An optimum of 12 µ was selected as the threshold magnitude for asphalt mixtures that incorporates activated crumb rubber modified products, termed RARX. It was found that with increase in the overall cumulative surface area (SA) of the mix matrix, the required binder content also increased, in turn decreasing . predictive equation encompassing materials properties and associated volumetrics was established as a best-fit nonlinear regression model that had excellent statistical measures: R 2 = 99.8%; Se/Sy = 0.0447. It is noteworthy that the predictive model was established using the robust concept that introduced utilisation of SA of the whole mixture matrix, including, those that of SA of aggregate fractions not estimated by current models. Based on the methodical approach followed in this study to calculate , it is recommended that more amount of RARX be tried in other mixtures to enhance pavement performance. The current study involved only 18 field asphalt mixtures, amongst which six were without RARX. So, it is suggested that additional field sections be placed and monitored for their performance keeping in mind the volumetrics and specifically, , which can potentially be a quality control parametric assessor for field performance forensic evaluation, and that which becomes an integral characteristic in perpetual pavement design philosophy.

Short communication: Entrapment of Listeria cells within air pockets of ice cream mix matrix may lead to potentially heat-injured cells

In our previous study, we observed the sporadic presence of potentially heat-injured cells of Listeria innocua in ice cream mix following a selective enrichment protocol. Although injured cells have not yet been reported to cause any disease outbreaks, it is important to understand their presence in heat-treated food matrices. In this study, we propose a possible protective role of air pockets that may help explain the sporadic presence of potentially heat-injured cells following heat treatment. Challenge studies were conducted by inoculating ice cream mix samples (42% total solids, 16.3% fat, 22.2% total sugar, and 3.4% protein) with Listeria innocua (an established surrogate) at a mean spiking level of 4.0 log cfu/g. The inoculated samples were heat-treated at 69°C for 30 min and potentially heat-injured cells were detected using buffered Listeria enrichment broth, followed by plating on modified Oxford and Rapid'LMono agars. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy were conducted on the air-dried, spiked ice cream mix samples, before and after the thermal treatment stages. Although direct plating did not reveal any intact cells in the heat-treated ice cream mix, a more sensitive enrichment protocol was able to identify cells that were potentially heat-injured. The scanning electron micrographs showed air pockets of different sizes in the ice cream mix samples. The spiked mix samples before heat treatment showed some Listeria cells unevenly distributed in the mix matrix and some entrapped within the larger air pockets. After heat treatment, scanning electron and atomic force micrographs showed cells entrapped only within the larger air pockets. The mix matrix, however, did not show any Listeria cells. Confirmation of Listeria at all stages of analysis was done using MALDI-TOF. These observations suggest that the Listeria cells could be entrapped within the larger air pockets and thus may undergo inadequate thermal effect. This could have resulted in their detection as potentially heat-injured cells, as evident under the conditions of the experiment. These results are preliminary observations and further studies are necessary to draw conclusions and understand the true implications of these findings.

Preparation ultrafine l-Methionine (C,N,S triple doped)-TiO2-ZnO nanoparticles and their photocatalytic performance for fouling alleviation in PES nanocomposite membrane

TiO2, and ultrafine l-Methionine (C,N,S triple doped)-TiO2-ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized and blended in polyethersulfone (PES) matrix with various loadings (0.1, 0.5, and 1 wt %). The prepared nanoparticles (NPs) were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, FE-SEM, PL, and DRS analyses. The effect of embedded NPs on the morphology and hydrophilic properties of the fabricated membranes was also analyzed by AFM, SEM and contact angle measurement. The results showed that the membrane structure (morphology and porosity) and its hydrophilic properties are changed with addition of the NPs in the PES casting solution. Results showed that the membrane hydrophilicity and permeation flux improved by embedding the NPs in the PES mix matrix. The influence of embedded NPs on the membrane performance and antifouling properties was also studied in a dead end and cross flow systems. The nanofiltration performance was investigated by rejection of Direct Red 16 (DR16). The results indicated that 0.5 wt % of the NPs had the highest pure water flux (PWF), flux recover ratio (FRR), and rejection efficiency compared to the other concentrations of NPs. Finally, the photocatalytic properties of the M3 (optimum blended membrane) and unfilled PES was investigated in a cross flow system for filtration of biologically treated palm oil mill effluent (POME) under continuous visible light irradiation. The value of permeation flux for unfilled PES membrane showed a significant decline while it was not obviously changed for M3 during filtration biologically treated POME under continuous visible light irradiation. The results revealed that the M3 membrane presented the best antibiofouling characteristics due to high hydrophilic properties and low surface roughness and strong photocatalytic activity.