Terms Of Constituents Research Articles

Microbial inactivation efficiency of supercritical CO2 drying process

ABSTRACTConventional drying of spices, as hot air treatment, often needs an additional downstream inactivation step to decrease the microbial load of the dried product and improve its microbial safety and microbial quality. In this regard, the present work explored the possibility to dry and decontaminate food in a single step using supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) as a drying agent. A case study was focused on the drying of herbs and the antimicrobial effects were evaluated on the naturally present microbiota. For this purpose, experiments were carried out on coriander leaves using a high pressure vessel at 10 MPa, at two different temperatures (40 and 50°C) with drying time of 0 and 150 min to establish the influence of each parameter on the microbial inactivation. Yeasts and molds appeared to be the least resistant to scCO2 as they could never be detected after the treatment (<2 log CFU/g). Mesophilic bacteria were also significantly reduced, up to 4 log CFU/g, but remained above the limit of quantification. The quality of the dried product was comparable with the quality of air-dried samples in terms of phenolic constituents. Overall, the results indicated that scCO2 drying was a promising green drying technique combining both drying and microbial inactivation in a single step with a relevant impact on safety and costs.

Characterization of fully and partially penetrated Nd: YAG laser-weld dissimilar metal joints

Welding dissimilar metals and alloys is essential to emerging new technologies in manufacturing industries. This process is difficult because of the formation of intermetallic layers and the variations in the chemical and mechanical properties in the weld region. This paper aimed to characterize fully and partially penetrated dissimilar metal weld joints. The welding experiments were conducted on 0.5 mm-thick dissimilar weld joints for the investigation of the effects of the process parameters on the weld joints. Variations in chemical composition, oxide formation, imperfections and mechanical properties were analyzed. Results revealed that the weld joint characteristics notably deviated from the base metal properties in terms of hardness, strength, chemical composition, oxide formation and other constituents of the weld pool region. This study offers insight into the effects of process parameters and the necessary changes in weld composition for the improvement of welds joints.

ФОРМИРОВАНИЕ НАВЫКОВ СОБЫТИЙНОГО МЫШЛЕНИЯ У СТУДЕНТОВ - БУДУЩИХ РЕЖИССЕРОВ ЛЮБИТЕЛЬСКИХ ТЕАТРОВ

We consider the process of formation of episodic thinking skills among students of “Amateur Theatre Management” Specialty. We regard episodic thinking as one of the most important quality characteristic of director profession. Hence we give the general definition of this notion and its constituent terms “thinking” and “episode” on the grounds of analysis of the attitude towards episodic thinking of famous theorist and experts of theatrical art. The process of training future directors of amateur theatres is presented in the context of gradual comprehension of episodic thinking bases: from elementary training exercises and sketches to individual director’s fragments. We also emphasize pedagogical techniques, definite criteria of student’s training activity assessment which are directed upon effective formation of episodic thinking skills through mastering episodic line and constructing episodic structure of dramatic composition. We give examples and describe potential results of intrapersonal change of students due to relevant pedagogical accentuation on the process of formation of episodic thinking skills among students – future directors of amateur theatres.

Exploring the Effective Management of Medical Waste of BIRDEM General Hospital

Background: Medical waste can be generated in hospitals or clinics where diagnosis and treatment are conducted. The management of these wastes are of public concern and health threats are associated with such wastes. The study assessed to explore the current situation of medical waste management and level of awareness related to impact of medical waste and its management among the different levels of professionals.Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was done and data were collected from September 2012 to December 2012 at BIRDEM General Hospital. Data were collected by simple random sampling method and semi-structured questionnaire were used in this study. The questionnaire included socio-demographic information, source of hospital waste, description of hospital waste, segregation of waste and assessment of medical waste management system. The questionnaires were interviewed to the doctors, nurses, paramedical staff and cleaners who were related to waste management practices.Results: A total of 186 participants were interviewed in this study. The mean and SD of age was 37.9 ± 10.4 years and the age range from 22 to 65 years respectively. The male and female subjects were 28.0% and 72.0% respectively. Of the total participants, doctors, nurses, paramedical staff and cleaners were 15.1%, 55.4%, 12.9% and 16.7% respectively. To assess the perception of the respondents about hospital waste management, the nurses (100.0%) and cleaners (100.0%) were found in a better position to follow color-coding system (CCS) and to use of protective bags while segregating primary waste, while doctors (21.4%) and paramedical staff’s (29.2%) practice were not encouraging. However, in terms of constituents of medical waste doctors and paramedical staff’s perception was better than the nurses and cleaners. Doctors (92.9%), nurses (96.1%) and paramedical staff (95.8%) were very comfortable about the present color coding system than compared with cleaners (74.2%), although the doctors are less compliant to follow the color-coding system (78.6% compliant) in practice. A substantial proportion of the doctors (71.4%) sometimes put waste in wrong bins as opposed to 51.5% nurses and 33.3% paramedical staff. Few of the respondents would consider the waste if some medical waste is accidentally put to the general waste bin, 85.7% of the doctors, 95.1% nurses, 66.7% paramedical staff and 100% cleaners told that they would consider the waste as medical waste. Nurse’s perception was also better compared to other occupants in sealing waste-bin for disposal. In view of improving the existing waste management system, most of the respondents of different categories were in favor on waste management system. Majority of the respondents think that there should be designated person (97.8%) or rules (97.8%) or monitoring (96.8%) at the administrative level for organizing and managing of waste collection, handling, storage and disposal of waste who will follow a definite rule during all these processes.Conclusion: The study observed that there is lack of knowledge affiliate and practice among the doctors, nurses, paramedical staff and cleaners in segregating hospital waste at the primary source of collection. However, nurses and cleaners were more aware than the doctors and paramedical staff in terms of practice of segregating primary waste. The study also found that perception of waste management was better in doctors and paramedical staff than compared with cleaners and other staffs. To improve the waste management system, it is needed to make policy and regulation guidelines to well-organized system of collecting and treating waste in the hospital.Birdem Med J 2018; 8(1): 56-62

Discussion on the effectiveness of cement replacement for carbon dioxide (CO2) emission reduction in concrete

AbstractThe environmental impact of concrete has become a significant matter of interest because many ready‐mix concrete producers are now requiring sustainability. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are often used as an evaluation parameter to identify the environmental impacts of concrete production. However, there are very few reliable estimates available for the practical determination of CO2 emissions in terms of all concrete constituents at concrete production stage. The aim of this study is therefore to provide data collected from raw‐material manufacturers and ready‐mix concrete plants so that practical estimates can be made for CO2 emissions and resulting environmental impacts. Results will be evaluated in terms of raw materials, production, and transportation, in order to identify the potentially significant sources of CO2 emissions. Emission results from the concrete production with ordinary Portland cement, blended cement and cement replacement with fly ash and slag were also examined, in order to gain further understanding of their efficiency in reducing CO2 emissions. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Effect of microstructure on the impact toughness transition temperature of direct-quenched steels

A sufficient level of toughness at low temperatures is paramount for the use of structural steels intended for arctic applications. Therefore, it is important for the steel industry to identify the factors that control brittle fracture toughness. In this study, the quantitative effect of microstructure on the impact toughness transition temperature has been investigated with 18 different thermomechanically rolled and direct-quenched low-carbon ultra-high-strength steels with varying martensite and bainite contents. The steels were produced by altering their chemical composition, the finish rolling temperature and the total reduction of the prior austenite grains in the non-recrystallisation temperature regime, i.e. austenite pancaking, and characterised in terms of microstructural constituents, grain size distributions and texture as well as by using Charpy-V impact and tensile testing. It is shown for the first time that the impact toughness transition temperatures T28J and T50 closely follow a dynamic reference toughness, defined by yield strength and the size of the coarsest grains in the effective grain size distribution at 80th percentile. Decreasing the area fraction of {100} cleavage planes oriented within 15° of the macroscopic fracture plane by increasing austenite pancaking is also shown to improve T28J. The best toughness is achieved with the lowest finish rolling temperatures that are nevertheless high enough to avoid the subsequent formation of granular bainite, which weakens both the toughness and strength. The results show that it is perfectly possible to produce untempered ultra-high-strength martensitic and martensitic-bainitic structural steels with adequate low-temperature toughness when the grain size is properly controlled.

Chemical Constituents, Growth and Flowering of Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt Plants as affected by Glutamic Acid and irrigation by different wastewater treated effluents.

This study deals with the effect of glutamic acid and the reuse of chemically treated wastewater on the chemical constituents of Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt Plants in a batch-pot experiment. This chemical constituent includes the nutrient elements (N, P, K), micronutrient elements (Fe, Mn), sodium, as well as heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Zn). In this study different doses of glutamic acid were examined in combination with different types of treated wastewater to investigate the environmental stress on Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt Plants. The study was conducted during the two successive seasons of (2015/2016– 2016/2017) in the greenhouse of National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt, aimed to study the response of Coreopsis tinctoria plants to glutamic acid application at four chemical concentrations (0, 50, 100 and 150 ppm) as well as the effect of treated wastewater as a source of irrigation. Besides, this investigation includes the impact on growth and flowering of Coreopsis tinctoria plants. The physical and chemical characteristics of the treated wastewaters were investigated and reused to determine the beneficial advantages as an additional water resource. It was concluded that Glutamic acid and irrigation with three types of treated wastewater effluents individually induced favorable changes in Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt plants in terms of chemical constituents, vegetation and flowering. Thus, the effluent of the chemically treated municipal wastewater can be reused safely without any side effect. Meanwhile, type of treatment has an important effect on the final chemical characteristics of the treated wastewater, particularly the nutrient elements and heavy metals. The reuse of treated wastewater is the most important challenge in the near future to increase the water budget in Egypt as the population escalating and the stringent need for more cultivated land. Consequently, the need for extra safe water resources should be supplied.

Publications on Utopia and Dystopia in the United Kingdom and Ireland (2016–2017)

Publications on Utopia and Dystopia in the United Kingdom and Ireland (2016–2017)

Partial-hydrothermal hydrolysis is an effective way to recover bioactives from turmeric wastes

Abstract Partial-hydrothermal hydrolysis using pressurized hot water was applied in waste turmeric, derived from extraction processes that employed supercritical and pressurized fluids, as a sustainable alternative for the recovery of bioactive constituents from this material. The reaction products consisted of a liquid extract of fermentable sugars and a solid fraction, which is a mixed biopolymer with relevant composition in terms of starch and antioxidant constituents. The effects of reaction conditions on resulting products were investigated. Economic evaluation was also performed showing that application of partial-hydrothermal hydrolysis from a residual feedstock is feasible in terms of low spend of energy and materials.

Mechanism studies on methyl orange dye degradation by perovskite-type LaNiO3-δ under dark ambient conditions

Perovskite materials have attracted much attention in heterogeneous catalysis. Here, we report a perovskite type material LaNiO3-δ (LNO) for degradation of methyl orange (MO) azo dye in aqueous solutions under dark ambient conditions (room temperature, atmospheric pressure) without additional lights or chemical stimulants. The high degradation percentage of 5ppm MO with 1.5g/L LNO was 94.3% after 4h with a stirring speed of 500rpm. Reactions under nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide conditions were performed with efficiencies of 19.6%, 7.1%, and 96.8% respectively after 6h to understand the mechanism. MO was shown to degrade under dark ambient condition via main intermediates, sulfanilic acid anion and N,N-dimethyl-p-phenylenediamine (DPD), by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI/MS) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Degradation of MO under such a mild condition is due to two synergic effects proposed by means of XRD, FTIR, TGA, SEM, and XPS. Nickel is oxidized during MO degradation; lanthanum carbonate (La-analog calkinsite) is formed on the LNO surface due to the aqueous solution environment and speeds up azo bond cleavage. This work unravels the mechanism behind MO degradation by LNO under dark ambient conditions for the first time. It is a fundamental information on perovskite for dye degradation, especially for lanthanum series of perovskite. Excellent perovskite materials should be tailorable for water remediation applications considering the large variety of perovskites in terms of constituents and composition.

In vitro tribological and biocompatibility evaluation of sintered silicon nitride

In the present work, dense silicon nitride (Si3N4) was developed using pressureless sintering for biomedical applications. The Si3N4 samples with 15 wt% sintering additives (Al2O3 + Y2O3) were sintered at 1700 °C for 2 h followed by characterization in terms of phase constituents, mechanical, in vitro tribological and biological properties. In vitro tribological tests in simulated body fluid (SBF) revealed that the wear rate and coefficient of friction of Si3N4 reduced by one order of magnitude in the presence of 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS). The in vitro biocompatibility evaluations using human osteoblast-like cells (MG63) confirmed that the sintered Si3N4 samples were non-cytotoxic.

A two-step synthesis process of thermoelectric alloys for the separate control of carrier density and mobility

It is challenging to improve the thermoelectric figure-of-merit as its constituent terms such as Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity, and thermal conductivity, are inter-related in the way that the enhancement of one term leads to the degradation of others. Therefore, it is highly desirable to design a new synthesis process that allows us to independently control these terms. Here, we report a simple, two-step process combining spark plasma sintering (SPS) and post-annealing (PA) to separately control the carrier density and mobility in the p-type (Bi0.2Sb0.8)2Te3. High-temperature SPS enables enhancing the carrier mobility by reducing scattering sites such as grain boundaries. Then, the following PA at a lower temperature allows tailoring the carrier density without the degradation of mobility. Beyond bismuth telluride-based, room-temperature thermoelectric materials, we believe that our result will provide an insight for the performance enhancement of other thermoelectric materials such as oxide and skutterudite.

Experimental investigation of an indirect solar dryer integrated with phase change material for drying valeriana jatamansi (medicinal herb)

In this study, an experimental investigation of an indirect solar dryer integrated with phase change material has been carried out for drying Valeriana Jatamansi. The experimentation has been performed under the climatic conditions of Himalayan region, Solan (latitude − 30.91°N, longitude − 77.09°E), Himachal Pradesh (India) in the month of October-November 2016. Paraffin RT-42 has been used as a phase change material in the dryer. Using this system, the moisture content of rhizomes reduced from 89% to 9% in 5 days as compared to heat pump drying and shade drying, which took 8 days and 14 days, respectively. Results of present study infer that the drying time using phase change material in this setup has reduced by 37.50% and 64.29% when compared to heat pump drying and shade drying, respectively. The dried rhizomes obtained are of superior quality in terms of colour, texture, aroma and bio-medical constituents. Analyses show that by using present setup, total valepotriates obtained were 3.47% as compared to traditional shade drying which yield 3.31%.

Educação Inclusiva: Resquícios rançosos de um cotidiano alienado – o perigo mora ao lado, mas por que insistimos em acreditar na deficiência?

Este artigo tem como objetivo apresentar um breve histrico do conceito de deficincia e incluso. Faz uma crtica, reflexiva, a revoluo industrial como fora propulsora da moral que geriu a deficincia como termo constituinte e necessria diversidade humana.

Effective Message Elements for Disclosures About Chemicals in Cigarette Smoke.

Cigarette smoke contains at least 93 chemicals or "constituents" that the Food and Drug Administration has identified as harmful and potentially harmful constituents to human health. Our study sought to identify which constituent disclosure message elements are most effective in discouraging people from smoking. Three hundred eighty eight current smokers aged 18 and older completed an online survey in February 2015. We randomized participants to respond to one of two sets of 13 toxic products that contain cigarette constituents and 25 health effects associated with cigarette constituents. Products that elicited the most discouragement were those with lower chances of exposure (e.g., explosives), followed by products with possible exposure (e.g., rat poison), and products with a high likelihood of exposure (e.g., floor cleaner). Awareness of toxic products that constituents are found in (p < .001) and low exposure products (p < .001) were associated with higher discouragement. Health effects that people had heard are caused by cigarette smoke constituents elicited higher discouragement from smoking cigarettes (p < .001). Cancer was associated with higher discouragement relative to respiratory, cardiovascular, and reproductive health effects (all p < .001). Cigarette smoke constituent messages may be more effective at discouraging smoking if they include information about carcinogenic health effects (e.g., mouth cancer and lung tumors) and low exposure toxic products (e.g., explosives and radioactive material) as message elements. Our study identified health effects and toxic products, especially cancers and rarely encountered toxic products, that may discourage smoking when included in disclosure messages. By constructing messages that communicate the harms associated with tobacco use by contextualizing those harms in terms of specific constituents, tobacco education messaging efforts may be increasingly successful.

Image-based multiscale mechanical modeling shows the importance of structural heterogeneity in the human lumbar facet capsular ligament.

The lumbar facet capsular ligament (FCL) primarily consists of aligned type I collagen fibers that are mainly oriented across the joint. The aim of this study was to characterize and incorporate in-plane local fiber structure into a multiscale finite element model to predict the mechanical response of the FCL during in vitro mechanical tests, accounting for the heterogeneity in different scales. Characterization was accomplished by using entire-domain polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography to measure the fiber structure of cadaveric lumbar FCLs ([Formula: see text]). Our imaging results showed that fibers in the lumbar FCL have a highly heterogeneous distribution and are neither isotropic nor completely aligned. The averaged fiber orientation was [Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text] in the inferior region and [Formula: see text] in the middle and superior regions), with respect to lateral-medial direction (superior-medial to inferior-lateral). These imaging data were used to construct heterogeneous structural models, which were then used to predict experimental gross force-strain behavior and the strain distribution during equibiaxial and strip biaxial tests. For equibiaxial loading, the structural model fit the experimental data well but underestimated the lateral-medial forces by [Formula: see text]16% on average. We also observed pronounced heterogeneity in the strain field, with stretch ratios for different elements along the lateral-medial axis of sample typically ranging from about 0.95 to 1.25 during a 12% strip biaxial stretch in the lateral-medial direction. This work highlights the multiscale structural and mechanical heterogeneity of the lumbar FCL, which is significant both in terms of injury prediction and microstructural constituents' (e.g., neurons) behavior.

An Acoustic Tomography Technique for Concurrently Observing the Structure of the Atmosphere and Water Bodies

AbstractThe opacity of water to radio waves means there are few, if any, techniques for remotely sensing it and the atmosphere concurrently. However, both these media are transparent to low-frequency sound (&lt;300 Hz), which makes it possible to contemplate systems that take advantage of the natural integration along acoustic paths of signals propagating through both media. This paper proposes—and examines with theoretical analysis—a method that exploits the harmonics generated by the natural signature of a propeller-driven aircraft as it overflies an array of surface and underwater sensors. Correspondence of the projected and observed narrowband acoustic signals, which are monitored synchronously on board the aircraft and by both sensor sets, allows the exact travel time of detected rays to be related to a linear model of the constituent terms of sound speed. These observations may then be inverted using tomography to determine the inhomogeneous structures of both regions. As the signature of the aircraft comprises a series of harmonics between 50 Hz and 1 kHz, the horizontal detection limits of such a system may be up to a few hundred meters, depending on the depth of the sensors, roughness of the water surface, errors due to refraction, and magnitude of the sound field generated by the source aircraft. The approach would permit temperature, wind, and current velocity profiles to be observed both above and below the water’s surface.

In situ growth of Sb2S3 thin films by reactive sputtering on n-Si(100) substrates for top sub-cell of silicon based tandem solar cells

Si-based tandem solar cells have emerged as a promising alternative to replace the current high efficiency silicon single junction solar cells. Sb2S3 is a promising candidates for top cell absorbers due to its suitable band gap, non-toxic and earth-abundant constituent, simple composition, and long term stability. Here, in situ growth of Sb2S3 thin films by radio frequency (RF) reactive sputtering on n-Si(100) substrates is reported. The effects of the growth temperature on morphology, structure, optical and electrical properties of the films were evaluated. The top sub-cell device shows an open circuit voltage (Voc) of 367mV, indicating the potential to be the top cell of the next generation Si-based tandem solar cells.

Fruit rind constituents in nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) morphotypes

&lt;p&gt;Rind or pericarp is the outermost part of nutmeg fruit which is thick and fleshy. Fresh rind, contributing 80 to 85 per cent of total fruit weight, has an astringent taste with aromatic flavour. Due to these qualities, the use of rind for food purpose is restricted. At the same time its therapeutic property, especially its anti-oxidant, anti-microbial and anti-diarrhoeal effects, have generated interest in nutmeg rind. Major interest of the processors is the biochemical constitution of the rind. In the present study, 17 distinctly featured nutmeg accessions selected from core collections in central Kerala were employed for biochemical analysis of rind. A total of 10 constituents of ripe rind were estimated using standard analytical techniques. Data were statistically analysed and sub groups formed using DMRT. The range of variation was 87.1 to 89.1 (mg 100 g-1) for ascorbic acid, 0.2 to 1.08 per cent for pectin content (calcium pectate), 0.21to 1.85 (g 100 g-1) for protein, 0.3 to 1.23 (g 100 g-1) for starch, 27.8 to 57.6 (mg 100 g-1) for total phenol, 143.3 to 750.0 (mg 100 g-1) for tannin, 2.01 to 2.57 per cent for total minerals and 2.06 to 3.65 per cent for crude fibre. Since varied overlapping sub-groups were obtained constituents wise, the method to make decisions jointly on a number of dependant characters was co-opted. The final score is an indicator of the relative superiority of the accessions in terms of the biochemical constituents of rind. The accessions were categorized for various end uses based on the score obtained for each constituent. The variation in biochemical composition may be due to inherent genetic character of the tree as also the geographic location and management practices followed. Based on the composition, the nutmeg rind, which at present is discarded as a farm waste, could be utilized for value addition in the food, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical sectors.&lt;/p&gt;

Genetic engineering of an industrial strain of Streptomyces clavuligerusfor further enhancement of clavulanic acid production

An industrial clavulanic acid (CA) overproducer Streptomyces clavuligerus strain, namely DEPA, was engineered to further enhance its CA production. Single or multiple copies of ccaR, claR (pathway-specific activators), and cas2 (CA synthase) genes under the control of different promoters were introduced into this strain. CA titers of the resulting recombinants were analyzed by HPLC in a dynamic fashion and compared to the vector-only controls and a wild-type strain of S. clavuligerus while their growth was monitored throughout fermentation. The addition of an extra copy of ccaR, under control of its own promoter or constitutive ermE* promoter (PermE*), led to 7.6- and 2.3-fold increased volumetric levels of CA in respective recombinants, namely the AK9 and ID3 strains. Its highly stable multicopy expression by the glpF promoter (PglpF) provided up to 25.9-fold enhanced volumetric CA titers in the respective recombinant, IDG3. claR expression controlled with its own promoter or ermE* and glpF-mediated amplification in an industrial strain brought about only about 1.2-fold increase in the volumetric CA titers. An extra copy of cas2 integration with PermE* into the S. clavuligerus DEPA genome led to 3.8-fold higher volumetric CA production by GV61. Conclusively, multicopy expression of ccaR under PglpF can result in significantly improved industrial high-titer CA producers.