Characteristic tryptic peptides and gelling properties of porcine skin gelatin affected by thermal action

Thermal action in extraction process had effects on characteristic tryptic peptides identification and gelling properties of porcine gelatin. SDS-PAGE, HPLC-LTQ/Orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry, texture analyser and rheometer were used to evaluate collagen depolymerisation degree, characteristic tryptic peptides and gelling properties of gelatins prepared in various thermal actions. Results showed that with increasing temperature and time, depolymerisation degree enlarged, while gel strength, gelling and melting temperature decreased. Mass spectra showed that 47 and 49 common characteristic tryptic peptides were identified in gelatins extracted at 50 °C and 100 °C with various times, respectively. Moreover, 34 common characteristic tryptic peptides were identified in all gelatin samples. Further comparison between this work and our previous investigations yielded 20 common characteristic tryptic peptides, which stably exist in various thermal actions. These common characteristic tryptic peptides may be very helpful for the accurate authentication of porcine gelatin.     

A numerical study on nonlinear DPL model for analyzing heat transfer in tissue during thermal therapy

In the present paper, therapeutic treatment of infected tumorous cells has been studied through mathematical modeling and simulation of heat transfer in tissues by using a nonlinear dual-phase lag bioheat transfer model with Dirichlet boundary condition. The components of volumetric heat source in this model such as blood perfusion and metabolism are assumed experimentally validated temperature-dependent function, which gives more accurate temperature distribution in tissues through this model. We have used the finite difference and RK (4, 5) techniques of numerical methods to solve the proposed problem and obtained the exact solution in a particular case. After comparison, we got a good agreement between them. We have used dimensionless quantities throughout this paper. The effect of relaxation and thermalization time with respect to dimensionless temperature distribution has been analyzed in the treatment process.     

Cyclic thermal shock resistance for MgAlON–MgO composites obtained with additions of spent MgO–C brick: Microstructure characteristics,thermal shock parameter and thermal shock mechanism

Thermal shock parameters (R, R''', R'''' and R_st) of MgAlON–MgO composites obtained with additions of spent MgO–C brick were calculated using measured mechanical properties and thermal expansion coefficient, determining their resistance to fracture initiation and crack propagation. The cyclic thermal shock experiments of MgAlON–MgO composites performed from 1398 K to ambient temperature indicate that as number of thermal shock cycle increases, retained strength ratio of MgAlON and MgAlON–4.2 wt%MgO sharply decrease and then keep constant, while that of MgAlON–10.5 wt%MgO and MgAlON–15.7 wt%MgO slowly decrease. The reason for the difference is that MgAlON and MgAlON–4.2 wt%MgO show low value of R''' and R'''', and high value of R and R_st. Moreover, precipitation of impurity containing Fe may play a positive role in improvement of thermal shock resistance of MgAlON–MgO composites. MgAlON?4.2 wt%MgO has the maximum retained strength (55 MPa) even after 5 thermal shock cycles, which is expected to be used in the metallurgical industry.     

Experimental and numerical investigations on the heat production and thermal storage characteristics of rapid preparation amorphous powder activated coke

The heat production and thermal storage characteristics of rapid-preparation amorphous powder activated coke (RAC) were investigated. RAC was prepared by using a drop-tube reactor system. The natural oxidation characteristics of RAC were studied through combined TG–FTIR analysis and temperature-programmed experiment. Experimental results showed that CO and CO₂ were the main oxidation products of RAC in air, and that the oxidation reaction was in accordance with the Arrhenius equation and law of mass action. Thermal storage characteristics were studied through computational fluid dynamics simulation. The maximum excess temperature θ_max increases linearly with the increase of the initial temperature. The concentration fields of the products show that CO₂ is mainly concentrated in the upper part of the coke bin, and the CO generated by CO₂ at high temperature is mainly concentrated in the central part of the coke bin.     

红外辐射联合回火与冷激杀菌技术对胡萝卜粉品质的影响

首先研究不同红外辐射温度(100,110,120℃)及辐射时间(2.5,5,10 min)对胡萝卜粉微生物及品质的影响,然后根据栅栏效应原理研究红外辐射-回火、红外辐射-冷激联合杀菌对胡萝卜粉微生物、色调值、类胡萝卜素含量等品质的影响。结果表明:100℃、10 min的红外辐射处理使细菌和真菌分别降低了1.9 lg(CFU/g)和2.32 lg(CFU/g),110℃、5 min的红外辐射处使细菌和真菌分别降低了1.58 lg(CFU/g)和2.57 lg(CFU/g)。在上述两种处理条件下胡萝卜粉的水分活度从0.238分别降至0.123和0.147,胡萝卜粉中总类胡萝卜素含量从308.8μg/g降至227.8μg/g和238.8μg/g,色差值(ΔE)为9.11和7.89。与红外辐射单独作用相比,联合回火后的处理没有显著影响细菌数目,处理后保持在5.40~5.80 CFU/g,霉菌、酵母数却在处理过程中显著减少,然而减少量较低,总数仍不低于4.5 lg(CFU/g)。红外辐射-冷激联合处理相比红外辐射单独处理,100℃、10 min联合冷激7 d处理可将细菌数量降低0.25 lg(CFU/g),可将霉菌与酵母数量降低0.28 lg(CFU/g),110℃、5 min联合冷激7 d处可将细菌数量降低0.26 lg(CFU/g),可将霉菌、酵母数量降低0.40 lg(CFU/g),且这些处理下胡萝卜粉的色调值、水分活度、类胡萝卜素含量变化不显著。本试验结果表明,红外辐射-冷激处理具有协同效应,且处理过程中胡萝卜粉的色调值及总类胡萝卜素含量不受影响,这为低水分粉体食品红外辐射联合杀菌提供了参考。     

Influence of thermal runaway in styrene–acrylonitrile bulk copolymerization revealed by computational fluid dynamics modeling

The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and kinetic-based moment methods coupled approach is adopted to simulate the bulk copolymerization of styrene–acrylonitrile (SAN) in a stirred tank reactor. Numerical simulations are carried out to investigate the impacts of impeller speed, monomer ratio, initiator ratio, and initial reaction temperature on the copolymerization process and product properties. Particularly, the Chaos theory is selected as a criterion for evaluating the occurrence of the thermal runaway. The Flory's and Stockmayer's distributions are employed to calculate chain length distribution and copolymer composition distribution of copolymer. The simulation results highlight that the appearance of thermal runaway can be postponed by properly increasing the rotation speed, decreasing the initiator loadings, initial acrylonitrile contents and initial reactor temperature. Furthermore, significant differences exist in the product properties that predicted by the ideal and non-ideal models, which demonstrates that the temperature heterogeneity plays a crucial role in SAN copolymerization. This study could offer references for the safe operation and design of polymerization processes.     

Improved thermal stability of the near-infrared Al-modulated Zn3Ga2GeO8: Cr3+ phosphors for plant growth applications

The exploration of the high thermal stability near-infrared (NIR) phosphors is significantly crucial for the development of plant lighting. However, NIR phosphors suffer from the poor chemical and thermal stability, which severely limits their long-term operation. Here, the successful improvement of luminous intensity (149.5%) and thermal stability at 423 K of Zn₃Ga₂GeO₈ (ZGGO): Cr³⁺ phosphors is achieved for the introduction of Al³⁺ ions into the host. The release of carriers in deep traps inhibits the emission loss for the thermal disturbance. Furthermore, an NIR light emitting diodes (LEDs) lamp is explored by combining the optimized Zn₃Ga_1.1675Al_0.8GeO₈: 0.0325Cr³⁺ phosphors with a commercial 460 nm blue chip, and the emission band can match well with the absorption bands of photosynthetic pigments and the phytochrome (P_R and P_FR) of plants. The explored LEDs lamp further determines the growth and the pheromone content of the involved plants for the participation of the NIR emission originated from Cr³⁺ ions. Our work provides a promising NIR lamp as plant light with improved thermal stability for long-term operation.     

Preparation of high-purity SiC ceramics with good plasma corrosion resistance by hot-pressing sintering

High-purity SiC ceramic devices are applied in semiconductor industry owing to their outstanding properties. Nevertheless, it is difficult to densify SiC ceramics without any sintering additive even by HP sintering. In this work, high-purity and dense SiC ceramics were fabricated by HP sintering with very low amounts of sintering aids. Residual B content was only 556 ppm and relative density was more than 99.5%. Furthermore, thermal conductivity of as-prepared SiC ceramics was improved from 155 W m^?1 K^?1 to 167 W m^?1 K^?1 by increasing holding time and their plasma corrosion resistance was promoted in the meantime. The as-prepared high-purity SiC ceramics have broad application prospects in the field of semiconductor industry.     

As the number falls,alternatives to the Hagberg–Perten falling number method: A review

This review examines the application, limitations, and potential alternatives to the Hagberg–Perten falling number (FN) method used in the global wheat industry for detecting the risk of poor end-product quality mainly due to starch degradation by the enzyme α-amylase. By viscometry, the FN test indirectly detects the presence of α-amylase, the primary enzyme that digests starch. Elevated α-amylase results in low FN and damages wheat product quality resulting in cakes that fall, and sticky bread and noodles. Low FN can occur from preharvest sprouting (PHS) and late maturity α-amylase (LMA). Moist or rainy conditions before harvest cause PHS on the mother plant. Continuously cool or fluctuating temperatures during the grain filling stage cause LMA. Due to the expression of additional hydrolytic enzymes, PHS has a stronger negative impact than LMA. Wheat grain with low FN/high α-amylase results in serious losses for farmers, traders, millers, and bakers worldwide. Although blending of low FN grain with sound wheat may be used as a means of moving affected grain through the marketplace, care must be taken to avoid grain lots from falling below contract-specified FN. A large amount of sound wheat can be ruined if mixed with a small amount of sprouted wheat. The FN method is widely employed to detect α-amylase after harvest. However, it has several limitations, including sampling variability, high cost, labor intensiveness, the destructive nature of the test, and an inability to differentiate between LMA and PHS. Faster, cheaper, and more accurate alternatives could improve breeding for resistance to PHS and LMA and could preserve the value of wheat grain by avoiding inadvertent mixing of high- and low-FN grain by enabling testing at more stages of the value stream including at harvest, delivery, transport, storage, and milling. Alternatives to the FN method explored here include the Rapid Visco Analyzer, enzyme assays, immunoassays, near-infrared spectroscopy, and hyperspectral imaging.