Abstract: The objective of this study was to evaluate the
physical and chemical characteristics of Serra da Estrela cheese and
compare these results with those of the sensory analysis. For the
study were taken six samples of Serra da Estrela cheese produced
with 6 different ecotypes of thistle in a dairy situated in Penalva do
Castelo. The chemical properties evaluated were moisture content,
protein, fat, ash, chloride and pH; the physical properties studied
were color and texture; and finally a sensory evaluation was
undertaken. The results showed moisture varying in the range 40-
48%, protein in the range 15-20%, fat between 41-45%, ash between
3.9-5.0% and chlorides varying from 1.2 to 3.0%. The pH varied
from 4.8 to 5.4. The textural properties revealed that the crust
hardness is relatively low (maximum 7.3 N), although greater than
flesh firmness (maximum 1.7 N), and also that these cheeses are in
fact soft paste type, with measurable stickiness and intense
adhesiveness. The color analysis showed that the crust is relatively
light (L* over 50), and with a predominant yellow coloration (b*
around 20 or over) although with a slight greenish tone (a* negative).
The results of the sensory analysis did not show great variability for
most of the attributes measured, although some differences were
found in attributes such as crust thickness, crust uniformity, and
creamy flesh.
Abstract: Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF, Mw=6,045) has been
reported to have high efficiency of wound repair and anti-wrinkle
effect. However, the half-life of EGF in the body is too short to exert
the biological activity effectively when applied in free form. Growth
Factors can be stabilized by immobilization with carbohydrates from
thermal and proteolytic degradation. Low molecular weight chitosan
(LMCS) and its derivate prepared by hydrogen peroxide has high
solubility. LM6A6DC was successfully prepared as a reactive
carbohydrate for the stabilization of EGF by the reactions of LMCS
with alkalization, tosylation, azidation and reduction. The structure of
LM6A6DC was confirmed by FT-IR, 1H NMR and elementary
analysis. For enhancing the stability of free EGF, EGF was attached
with LM6A6DC by using water-soluble carbodiimide.
EGF-LM6A6DC conjugates did not show any cytotoxicity on the
Normal Human Dermal Fibroblast (NHDF) 3T3 proliferation at least
under 100 μg/ml. In the result, it was considered that LM6A6DC is
suitable to immobilize of growth factor.
Abstract: Natural hydrocarbon seepage has helped petroleum
exploration as a direct indicator of gas and/or oil subsurface
accumulations. Surface macro-seeps are generally an indication of a
fault in an active Petroleum Seepage System belonging to a Total
Petroleum System. This paper describes a case study in which
multiple analytical techniques were used to identify and characterize
trace petroleum-related hydrocarbons and other volatile organic
compounds in groundwater samples collected from Sousse aquifer
(Central Tunisia). The analytical techniques used for analyses of
water samples included gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS),
capillary GC with flame-ionization detection, Compound
Specific Isotope Analysis, Rock Eval Pyrolysis. The objective of the
study was to confirm the presence of gasoline and other petroleum
products or other volatile organic pollutants in those samples in order
to assess the respective implication of each of the potentially
responsible parties to the contamination of the aquifer. In addition,
the degree of contamination at different depths in the aquifer was also
of interest. The oil and gas seeps have been investigated using
biomarker and stable carbon isotope analyses to perform oil-oil and
oil-source rock correlations. The seepage gases are characterized by
high CH4 content, very low δ13CCH4 values (-71,9 ‰) and high
C1/C1–5 ratios (0.95–1.0), light deuterium–hydrogen isotope ratios (-
198 ‰) and light δ13CC2 and δ13CCO2 values (-23,8‰ and-23,8‰
respectively) indicating a thermogenic origin with the contribution of
the biogenic gas. An organic geochemistry study was carried out on
the more ten oil seep samples. This study includes light hydrocarbon
and biomarkers analyses (hopanes, steranes, n-alkanes, acyclic
isoprenoids, and aromatic steroids) using GC and GC-MS. The
studied samples show at least two distinct families, suggesting two
different types of crude oil origins: the first oil seeps appears to be
highly mature, showing evidence of chemical and/or biological
degradation and was derived from a clay-rich source rock deposited
in suboxic conditions. It has been sourced mainly by the lower
Fahdene (Albian) source rocks. The second oil seeps was derived
from a carbonate-rich source rock deposited in anoxic conditions,
well correlated with the Bahloul (Cenomanian-Turonian) source rock.
Abstract: Multi-Level Inverter technology has been developed in the area of high-power medium-voltage energy scheme, because of their advantages such as devices of lower rating can be used thereby enabling the schemes to be used for high voltage applications. Reduced Total Harmonic Distortion (THD).Since the dv/dt is low; the Electromagnetic Interference from the scheme is low. To avoid the switching losses Lower switching frequencies can be used. In this paper present a survey of various topologies, control strategy and modulation techniques used by these inverters. Here the regenerative and superior topologies are also discussed.
Abstract: Flow blockages referring to the increase in flow are
being considered as a vital equipment for marine current energy
conversion. However, the shape of these devices will result in
extracted energy under the operation. The present work investigates
the effect of two configurations of a grating, convergent and
divergent that located upstream, to the water flow velocity. The flow
characteristics are studied by Computational Fluid Dynamic
simulation by using the ANSYS Fluent solver for these specified
arrangements of the grating. The results indicate that distinguished
characteristics of flow velocity between “convergent” and
“divergent” grating placements is up to 10% in confined conditions.
Furthermore, the velocity in case of convergent grating is higher
than that of divergent grating.
Abstract: Chitosan has been an attractive biopolymer for
decades, but its processability is lowered by its poor solubility,
especially in physiological pH values. Freeze concentrated reactions
of chitosan with several organic acids including acrylic, citraconic,
itaconic, and maleic acid revealed improved solubility and
morphological properties. Solubility traits were assessed with a
modified ninhydrin test. Chitosan derivatives were characterized by
ATR-FTIR and morphological characteristics were determined by
SEM. This study is a unique approach to chemically modify chitosan
to enhance water solubility.
Abstract: This research aimed to study the characteristics of a
community in the social, economic and cultural context. This
research used interviews and surveys of the members in the Patthana
Soi Ranongklang community, Dusit District, Bangkok. The results
are as follows: In terms of overall conditions and characteristics, the
Patthana Soi Ranongklang community is located on the property of
the Treasury Department. 50 years ago, the location of this
community consisted of paddy fields with limited convenience in
terms of transportation. Rama V Road was only a small narrow road
accessed only by three-wheelers there were no buses. The majority of
community members moved in from Mak Khawan Rangsan Bridge.
Thus, most community members were either workers or government
officials as they were routers not the owners of the land. Therefore,
there were no primary occupations within the 7 acres of this
community. The development of the community started in 1981. At
present, the community is continuously being developed and
modernization is rapidly flowing in. One of the reasons was because
the main roads were widened, especially Rama V Road that allows
more convenient transportation, leading to heightened citizens’
convenience. In terms of the economy and society, Rama V Road
causes the research to find out the development and expansion of
change in the conditions of the area and buildings. Some buildings
were improved and changed along the time, as well as the
development of new facilities that caused the community members to
continually become more materialistic. In the community, it has well
organized and managed jobs to each part of community members,
and areas were improved to allow the new buildings and apartments.
The trend of jobs became more varied, in terms of both jobs at home,
such as workers, merchandizing and small own businesses, and the
community jobs outside, which became much more convenient to car
drivers as they got used to the narrow roads inside the community.
The location of the community next to Rama V Road also allows
assistance from government agencies to reach the community with
ease. Moreover, the welfare of the community was well taken care of
by the community committee. In terms of education, the research
found that there are two schools: Wat Pracharabuedham School and
Wat Noi Noppakun School that are providing education within the
community. The majority in the community have received Bachelor
degrees. In areas of culture, the research found that the culture,
traditions and beliefs of people in the community were mainly
transferred from the old community: the majorities are Buddhists, so
especially beliefs in Buddhism; the main reason for this is because
the old community was situated near Wat Makut Kasattriyaram.
Therefore, the community members have always had Buddhist
temples as the centre of the community. Later years, more citizens
moved along culture in and bring traditions and beliefs with them.
The community members also took part in building a Dharma hall
named Wat Duang Jai which is 72 year old.
Abstract: In this research paper were investigated the main
regularities of a radical bromination reaction of decalin. There had
been studied the temperature effect, durations of reaction, frequency
rate of process, a ratio of initial components, type and number of the
initiator on decalin bromination degree.
There were specified optimum conditions of synthesis of a
perbromodecalin by the method of a decalin bromination. There are
developed the technological flowchart of receiving a
perbromodecalin and the mass balance of process on the first and the
subsequent loadings of components.
The results of research of antibacterial and antifungal activity of
synthesized bromoderivatives have been represented.
Abstract: From the past earthquake events, many people get hurt at the exit while they are trying to go out of the buildings because of the exit doors are unable to be opened. The door is not opened because it deviates from its the original position. The aim of this research is to develop and evaluate a new type safety door that keeps the door frame in its original position or keeps its edge angles perpendicular during and post-earthquake. The proposed door is composed of three components: outer frame joined to the wall, inner frame (door frame) and circular hollow section connected to the inner and outer frame which is used as seismic energy dissipating device.
Abstract: This paper presents the results and findings from a
parametric study on the water surface elevation at upstream of bridge
constriction for subcritical flow. In this study, the influence of
Manning's Roughness Coefficient of main channel (nmc) and
floodplain (nfp), and bridge opening (b) flow rate (Q), contraction
(kcon) and expansion coefficients (kexp) were investigated on
backwater level. The DECK bridge models with different span widths
and without any pier were investigated within the two stage channel
having various roughness conditions. One of the most commonly
used commercial one-dimensional HEC-RAS model was used in this
parametric study. This study showed that the effects of main channel
roughness (nmc) and flow rate (Q) on the backwater level are much
higher than those of the floodplain roughness (nfp). Bridge opening
(b) with contraction (kcon) and expansion coefficients (kexp) have very
little effect on the backwater level within this range of parameters.
Abstract: Future mobile networks following 5th generation will
be characterized by one thousand times higher gains in capacity;
connections for at least one hundred billion devices; user experience
capable of extremely low latency and response times. To be close to
the capacity requirements and higher reliability, advanced
technologies have been studied, such as multiple connectivity, small
cell enhancement, heterogeneous networking, and advanced
interference and mobility management. This paper is focused on the
multiple connectivity in heterogeneous cellular networks. We
investigate the performance of coverage and user throughput in several
deployment scenarios. Using the stochastic geometry approach, the
SINR distributions and the coverage probabilities are derived in case
of dual connection. Also, to compare the user throughput enhancement
among the deployment scenarios, we calculate the spectral efficiency
and discuss our results.
Abstract: IEEE 802.11a/b/g standards provide multiple
transmission rates, which can be changed dynamically according to the
channel condition. Cooperative communications were introduced to
improve the overall performance of wireless LANs with the help of
relay nodes with higher transmission rates. The cooperative
communications are based on the fact that the transmission is much
faster when sending data packets to a destination node through a relay
node with higher transmission rate, rather than sending data directly to
the destination node at low transmission rate. To apply the cooperative
communications in wireless LAN, several MAC protocols have been
proposed. Some of them can result in collisions among relay nodes in a
dense network. In order to solve this problem, we propose a new
protocol. Relay nodes are grouped based on their transmission rates.
And then, relay nodes only in the highest group try to get channel
access. Performance evaluation is conducted using simulation, and
shows that the proposed protocol significantly outperforms the
previous protocol in terms of throughput and collision probability.
Abstract: The aim of this study is to analyze the role and
effectiveness of internal mechanism (audit committee) of corporate
governance on credit institutions performance in Croatia. Based on
research objective, sample of 78 credit institutions listed on Zagreb
Stock Exchange, from 2007 to 2012, has been collected and
efficiency index of audit committee (EIAC) has been created. Based
on the sample and created EIAC, conclusions are as follows: audit
committees of credit institutions have medium efficiency, based on
EIAC measurement; there is a significant difference in audit
committee effectiveness, in observed period; there is no positive
relationship between audit committee effectiveness and credit
institution performance; there is a significant difference between
level of audit committee effectiveness and audit firm type. Future
research should contain increased number of elements in EIAC
creation and increased sample, for all obligators who need to
establish audit committee.
Abstract: The influences of cell-free solutions (CFSs) of lactic
acid bacteria (LAB) on cadaverine and other biogenic amines
production by Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus
were investigated in lysine decarboxylase broth (LDB) using HPLC.
Cell free solutions were prepared from Lactococcus lactis subsp.
lactis, Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. cremoris, Pediococcus
acidilactici and Streptococcus thermophiles. Two different
concentrations that were 50% and 25% CFS and the control without
CFSs were prepared. Significant variations on biogenic amine
production were observed in the presence of L. monocytogenes and S.
aureus (P < 0.05). The function of CFS on biogenic amine production
by foodborne pathogens varied depending on strains and specific
amine. Cadaverine formation by L. monocytogenes and S. aureus in
control were 500.9 and 948.1 mg/L, respectively while the CFSs of
LAB induced 4-fold lower cadaverine production by L.
monocytogenes and 7-fold lower cadaverine production by S. aureus.
The CFSs resulted in strong decreases in cadaverine and putrescine
production by L. monocytogenes and S. aureus, although remarkable
increases were observed for histamine, spermidine, spermine,
serotonin, dopamine, tyramine and agmatine in the presence of LAB
in lysine decarboxylase broth.
Abstract: This paper deals with current strategic challenges
related to the reshaping of the basic conditions of corporate operations.
Through the experimental analysis of some domestic corporations, it
presents how and to what extent Hungarian corporations are prepared
for the current strategic challenges. The study examines how strategic
directions and answer opportunities have changed in the following
interrelated areas in the past five years: economic globalization,
corporate sustainability, IT applications, labor force diversity and
ethical competences. The conclusions of the empirical survey give a
reliable basis on which economic organizations and enterprises can
formulate their strategy.
Abstract: The main objective of aircraft aerodynamics is to
enhance the aerodynamic characteristics and maneuverability of the
aircraft. This enhancement includes the reduction in drag and stall
phenomenon. The airfoil which contains dimples will have
comparatively less drag than the plain airfoil. Introducing dimples on
the aircraft wing will create turbulence by creating vortices which
delays the boundary layer separation resulting in decrease of pressure
drag and also increase in the angle of stall. In addition, wake
reduction leads to reduction in acoustic emission. The overall
objective of this paper is to improve the aircraft maneuverability by
delaying the flow separation point at stall and thereby reducing the
drag by applying the dimple effect over the aircraft wing. This project
includes both computational and experimental analysis of dimple
effect on aircraft wing, using NACA 0018 airfoil. Dimple shapes of
Semi-sphere, hexagon, cylinder, square are selected for the analysis;
airfoil is tested under the inlet velocity of 30m/s and 60m/s at
different angle of attack (5˚, 10˚, 15˚, 20˚, and 25˚). This analysis
favors the dimple effect by increasing L/D ratio and thereby
providing the maximum aerodynamic efficiency, which provides the
enhanced performance for the aircraft.
Abstract: This paper outlines the basic installation and operation of magnetic inductive flow velocity sensors on large underground cooling water pipelines. Research on the effects of cathodic protection as well as into other factors that might influence the overall performance of the meter is presented in this paper. The experiments were carried out on an immersion type magnetic meter specially used for flow measurement of cooling water pipeline. An attempt has been made in this paper to outline guidelines that can ensure accurate measurement related to immersion type magnetic meters on underground pipelines.
Abstract: Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is one of the major
vegetable crops that are grown world –wide because of its economic
importance. This experiment investigated the effect of local sands
(River Base, Al-Ekader and Karbala) on number and total weight of
minitubers. Statistical analysis revealed that there were no significant
differences among sand cultures in number of stem/plant, chlorophyll
index and tubers dry weight. River Base sand had the highest plant
height (74.9 cm), leaf number/plant number (39.3), leaf area (84.4
dcm2⁄plant), dry weight/plant (26.31), tubers number/plant (8.5),
tubers weight/plant (635.53 gm) and potato tuber yields/trove (28.60
kg), whereas the Karbala sand had lower performance. All the
characters had positive and significant correlation with yields except
the traits number of stem and tuber dry weight.
Abstract: While millings materials from old pavement surface
can be an important component of cost effective maintenance
operation, their use in maintenance projects are not uniform and well
documented. This study documents the different maintenance
practices followed by four transportation districts of New Mexico
Department of Transportation (NMDOT) in an attempt to find
whether millings are being used in maintenance projects by those
districts. Based on existing literature, a questionnaire was developed
related to six common maintenance practices. NMDOT district
personal were interviewed face to face to discuss and get answers to
that questionnaire. It revealed that NMDOT districts mainly use chip
seal and patching. Other maintenance procedures such as sand seal,
scrub seal, slurry seal, and thin overlay have limited use. Two out of
four participating districts do not have any documents on chip
sealing; rather they employ the experiences of the chip seal crew. All
districts use polymer modified high float emulsion (HFE100P) for
chip seal with an application rate ranging from 0.4 to 0.56 gallons per
square yard. Chip application rate varies from 15 to 40 lb/ square
yard. State wide, the thickness of chip seal varies from 3/8'' to 1'' and
life varies from 3 to 10 years. NMDOT districts mainly use three type
of patching: pothole, dig-out and blade patch. Pothole patches are
used for small potholes and during emergency, dig-out patches are
used for all type of potholes sometimes after pothole patching, and
blade patch is used when a significant portion of the pavement is
damaged. Pothole patches last as low as three days whereas, blade
patch lasts as long as 3 years. It was observed that all participating
districts use millings in maintenance projects.
Abstract: For a bluff body, dimples behave like roughness
elements in stimulating a turbulent boundary layer, leading to delayed
flow separation, a smaller wake and lower form drag. This is very
different in principle from the application of dimples to streamlined
body, where any reduction in drag would be predominantly due to a
reduction in skin friction. In the present work, a car model with
different dimple geometry is simulated using k-ε turbulence modeling
to determine its effect to the aerodynamics performance. Overall, the
results show that the application of dimples manages to reduce the
drag coefficient of the car model.