Production of fungal enzymes and proteins from high salt cheese wheys

A fermentation procedure using wheys from buffalo milk, sweet rennet and salted wheys containing up to 15% NaC1, and based on the selection of salt-tolerant fungal cultures for production of microbial proteins and some economically important enzymes, is described. Certain strains of Aspergillus flavus, A. niger, A. ochraceus and A. terreus gave yields of mycelium ranging between 1.5 and 30 g on a dry weight basis. Strong proteolytic activities were exhibited by A. ochraceus, A. flavus and, to a lesser extent, by A. niger in the presence of salt up to 10% as final concentration. Powerful milk-clotting activities were also detected in culture supernatants of A. flavus and A. ochraceus. Extracellular β-galactosidases were released in to the culture fluids of these fungal strains with variable activities, depending upon the salt content of the growth medium. The application of the procedure is discussed.     

Détermination des perturbations induites aux extrémités d’une ligne blindée soumise à une excitation ponctuelle de courant

This article allows the determination of the induced perturbations at the ends of the coaxial line in wide frequency band enough. The perturbation source is a current direct point injection into the cable screen in any position. For this, we have applied the theory of the state variables, with foundation of the quasi-TEM approximation, in order to simulate the coaxial line above a ground level that has a finished conductivity. This allows us to supply the current and voltage expressions at the ends of the line as their analytic forms for any conditions of charge. Next, the elaborate objective is to verify experimentally on concrete applications if the test obtained results confirm the theoretical expectations supplied by calculation code finalizing.     

Effect of doping polyacrylic acid with some dopants as studied by different techniques

The molecular weight of polyacrylic acid (PAA) was determined by a viscometric method using NaNO₃ as solvent at 30°C. The specific electric conductivities (σ) of PAA as well as PAA doped with carbon black (CB), chromium oxide (Cr₂O₃), and cupferron with different concentrations (from 0.25 to 1 wt %) were measured at a temperature range 360–400 K. IR spectra of some polymers were determined and it was shown that when PAA was doped with 0.5 wt % CB, a C? O? C band appeared at 775–875 cm^?1. The positron annihilation lifetime (PAL) spectra in PAA doped with the above‐mentioned dopants were measured as a function of their concentrations. It was observed that the short lifetime intensity I₁ decreased, whereas the intermediate lifetime intensity I₂, which is related to the conductivity of the material, increased with increasing the wt % of Cr₂O₃ and cupferron as well as at low concentrations of CB. These results are discussed in terms of the conducting island model. It was found that there were distinct positive relationships between σ and I₂. © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 84: 877–883, 2002; DOI 10.1002/app.10381     

Synthesis and characterization of antioxidants and detergent dispersant based on some polyisobutylene copolymers

Polyisobutylene succinic anhydride-urea/polyamines (PIBSA) copolymers were synthesized as potential antioxidants and detergent dispersant agents for lubricating oils samples (SAE-30). Homogeneity, thermal stability and dispersancy of the solutions were determined. Fully soluble oil compounds that are thermally stable up to 250 °C were achieved. The oxidation stability of lube oil samples in the presence of four designed PIBSA additives (varying in the number of amine groups) was determined for a time period of up to 72 hours. The dependence of the additive efficiency on its concentration was studied to achieve maximum stability. Some PIBSA additives at concentration 3.0 · 10⁴ ppm exhibit the best results. Dispersivity values were measured at predetermined oxidation times. The results proved reliable dispersion capability as the nitrogen content of the additive is increased, i.e. the increase in the basic character of the additive leads to the increase in the neutralization capability. Moreover, the designed PIBSA additives retain their efficiency after long oxidation times, confirming their role as multifunctional nitrogen containing polymeric additive. Electronic Publication     

Biosorption of Phenol onto Posidonia oceanica (L.) Seagrass in Batch System: Equilibrium and Kinetic Modelling

In this research, the biosorption of phenol using the fibres of a Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica (L.) was studied. Batch experimental procedures were made to investigate the ability of this novel marine biomass to remove phenol from aqueous phase. The influences of pH and contact time at different initial concentrations were evaluated. The results showed that biosorption capacity was enhanced using solution pH equal to 5.2. The modelling results showed that pseudo‐second‐order and Redlich‐Peterson models were found to be the most suitable to satisfactory describe the kinetic and equilibrium adsorption data, respectively.     

ON THE INVERTIBILITY OF PERIODIC MOVING-AVERAGE MODELS

Abstract. A sufficient condition for the invertibility of univariate periodic moving-average models has been given by Cipra and Ghysels and Hall. We show that this condition is not a necessary one, and provide a necessary and sufficient condition for the general m -variate, d -periodical moving-average MA( q ) case.     

Synthesis of some new 3-(2′-heterocyclicethyl)-2-methyl-3,4-dihydroquinazolin-4-one derivatives as antimicrobial agents

3-(2′-Chloroethyl)-2-methyl-3,4-dihydroquinazolin-4-one was reacted with acetylacetone, ethyl acetoacetate and diethylmalonate in the presence of sodium ethoxide to afford the alkylation products IV, V and VI , Compounds IV, V and VI were reacted with hydrazine hydrate, phenylhydrazine, hydroxylamine hydrochloride, urea and thiourea to yield 3-(2′-heterocyclicethyl)-2-methyl-3,4-dihydroquinazolin-4-one derivatives VII-XV . The structures of the synthesized compounds were elucidated by elemental analyses and spectroscopic (IR and XH-NMR) analyses. The prepared compounds were tested for their antimicrobial activities in comparison with tetracycline as a reference compound.     

Morphology development in polyethylene/polystyrene blends: the influence of processing conditions and interfacial modification

The influence of processing conditions and interfacial modification on the morphology evolution and the composition range within which fully co‐continuous high density polyethylene/polystyrene blend structures can exist during blending in a single screw extruder was studied. Blends ranging from pure A to pure B component, with and without compatibilizer, were prepared under two different shear rates. It was found that high shear rates displaced the breakdown–coalescence balance of the dispersed nodules to the side of coalescence, narrowing the percolation domain and the critical composition for full co‐continuity decreased with increasing shear rates. The addition of a tri‐block compatibilizer induced the percolation threshold of the polystyrene phase to begin at lower percentages of polyethylene but the phase inversion point did not change. The experimental results are discussed in the light of various theoretical models. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

Specimen preparation and image processing and analysis techniques for automated quantification of concrete microcracks and voids

Specimen preparation and image processing/analysis techniques were developed for use in automated quantitative microstructural investigation of concrete, focusing on concrete microcracks and voids. Different specimen preparation techniques were developed for use in fluorescent and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of concrete; then techniques produce a sharp contrast between microcracks/voids and the body of concrete. The image processing/analysis techniques developed specifically for use with concrete address the following usages: automatic threshold; development of intersecting microcracks/voids and connected voids; distinction of microcracks form voids based on geometric attributes; and noise filtration.