Digital Commons Network^™

Investigation On Magnetorheological Elastomers Based On Natural Rubber, Lin Chen

Articles

Magnetorheological Elastomers (MR Elastomers or MREs) are a kind of novel smart material, whose mechanical, electrical, magnetic properties are controllable under applied magnetic fields. They have attracted increasing attentions and broad application prospects. But conventional MREs are limited to wide applications because their MR effects and mechanical performances are not high enough. This paper aims to optimize the fabrication method and to fabricate good natural rubber based MREs with high modulus by investigating the influences of a variety of fabrication conditions on the MREs performances, such as matrix type, external magnetic flux density, and temperature, plasticizer and iron particles. Among …

Informed Retail Location Decisions: A Critical Concern For Irish Smes, Edmund O'Callaghan

Articles

No abstract provided.

Characteristics Of Cooked Chickpeas And Soybeans During Combined Microwave–Convective Hot Air Drying, Aoife Gowen, Nissreen Abu-Ghannam, Jesus Maria Frias, Jorge Oliveira

Articles

Moisture content, shrinkage, water activity (Aw), color and texture of cooked chickpeas and soybeans during convective, microwave and combined microwave–convective drying were studied. Combined drying was significantly (P < 0.05) faster than either convective or microwave drying, and resulted in less shrinkage of the dehydrated product. Rapid burning occurred when samples were dried below a Aw of 0.27 ± 0.07 for chickpeas (P < 0.05), and 0.13 ± 0.04 for soybeans (P < 0.05). Both chickpeas and soybeans displayed a transitional behavior in texture when dried to a Aw below 0.40 ± 0.10 (P < 0.05) for chickpeas, and below 0.63 ± 0.15 (P < 0.05) for soybeans, when samples became brittle. Shelf stable dehydrated chickpea and soybean products with low water activity (Aw = 0.35) and good visual quality could be obtained within 14 min of combination drying.

Simultaneous Modelling Of The Thermal Degradationa Kinetics Of Pectin, Daniel Rico, Ana Belen Martin-Diana, Catherine Barry-Ryan, Gary Henehan, Jesus Maria Frias

Articles

The thermal degradation kinetics of pectin methylesterase (PME) from carrot and lettuce were studied. Fresh extracts were exposed to temperatures from 55 to 70 °C until the enzyme was inactivated. A model based on the presence of two forms of the enzyme, one active and one non-active, is proposed. The natural variability of the PME activity was taken into the model in the form of normally distributed random effects. The common model parameters obtained (cleavage constant (0.0395±0.0062 s⁻¹), degradation constant (0.556±0.112 s⁻¹), cleavage energy of activation (469±23 kJ mol⁻¹) and degradation energy of activation …

Calcium For Extending The Shelf Life Of Fresh Whole And Minimally Processed Fruits And Vegetables, Ana Belen Martin-Diana, Daniel Rico, Jesus Maria Frias, J. Barat, Gary Henehan

Articles

The preservation of quality of fresh products is relevant for the industry due to its economic impact. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the use of different sources of calcium to preserve fresh fruits and vegetables in order to extend the shelf life and enhance the nutritional value. Emphasis is on discussing about the best sources of calcium, concentration, temperature and method of application, suitability of the commodities; and some hints for the cost/benefit analysis are presented.

Ef Fi Cacy Of Steamer Jet-Injection As Alternative To Chlorine In Fresh-Cut Lettuce, Daniel Rico, Ana Belen Martin-Diana, Jesus Maria Frias, J. Barat, Gary Henehan, Catherine Barry-Ryan

Articles

The use of calcium lactate solutions has been shown to be a healthy alternative to chlorine washing in order to maintain the shelf-life of fresh-cut products. The aim of this research was to analyse the effects of calcium lactate (15 g L⁻¹) treatment at 25 °C and 50 °C (heat-shock) on the textural properties of sliced carrots and to compare those with the chlorine treatment (120 mg L⁻¹) widely used in industry. Several direct and indirect markers of textural changes in carrots during storage were used: Instron textural analysis, Cryo-SEM and optical microscopic, sensory analysis, pectin …

Efficacy Of Steamer Jet-Injection As Alternative To Chlorine In Fresh-Cut Lettuce, Ana Belen Martin-Diana, Daniel Rico, Catherine Barry-Ryan, Jesus Maria Frias, Gary Henehan, J. Barat

Articles

Short-time steam processing was used as an alternative to chlorine (100 mg L⁻¹) in sanitising fresh-cut lettuce. Quality (pH, water content, colour, potential browning, browning-related enzymes and texture), safety (mesophilic counts) and antioxidant markers (ascorbic and carotenoids) were monitored in lettuce stored for 10 days at 4 °C. The steam treatment produced a shocking effect on lettuce metabolism, showing a significant (p < 0.05) reduction in respiration (from day 3 to 7) and a partial inactivation of browning-related enzymes. Both effects were reflected in a significant reduction of browning. From a safety point of view, steam treatment kept the mesophilic load as low as chlorine treatment, and significantly lowers than the water control. However, antioxidant content, especially ascorbic acid but also carotenoids in a lower degree, showed a reduction compared with chlorine-treated samples. Despite the lower visual browning in steam-treated samples, the sensory panel scored similar values of acceptability and fresh appearance for both samples similarity.

Extending And Measuring The Quality Of Fresh-Cut Fruit And Vegetables: A Review, Ana Belen Martin-Diana, Daniel Rico, Gary Henehan, Jesus Maria Frias, J. Barat

Articles

The market sales of ready - to - use vegetables have grown rapidly in recent decades as a result of changes in consumer attitudes especially consumption of fresh-cut lettuce and carrot due to their use in prepared salads. Chlorine solutions have been widely used to sanitise fruit and vegetables in the fresh-cut industry. However, the association of chlorine with the possible formation of carcinogenic chlorinated compounds in water has called into question the use of chlorine in food processing. There is a real need to find alternatives for preservation of fresh-cut fruit and vegetables in order to improve the efficacy …

Proteinparser:A Community Based Tool For The Generation Of A Detailed Protein Consensus And Fasta Output, Barry Ryan, Ronan Barrett

Articles

Comparison of bioinformatic data is a common application in the life sciences and beyond. In this communication, a novel Java based software tool, ProteinParser, is outlined. This soft- ware tool calculates a detailed consensus, or most common, amino acid at a given position in an aligned protein set, whilst also generating a full consensus protein FASTA output. A second application of this software tool, computing a consensus amino acid given a toler- ance threshold, is also demonstrated. The phytase and the common bacterial �-lactamase proteins are analysed as ‘proof of concept’ examples. Consensus proteins, as generated by ProteinParser, are regularly …

Effects Of Single Mutations On The Stability Of Horseradish Peroxidase To Hydrogen Peroxide., Barry Ryan, CiaráN Fagan

Articles

Horseradish Peroxidase (HRP) is a commonly used enzyme in many biotechnological fields. Improvement of HRP stability would further increase its potential application range. In the present study, thirteen single- and three double- mutants of solvent exposed, proximal lysine and glutamic acid residues were analysed for enhanced H2O2 stability. Additionally, five single- and one pentuple-consensus mutants were investigated. Most mutants displayed little or no alteration in H2O2 stability; however, three (K232N, K241F and T110V) exhibit significantly increased H2O2 tolerances of 25- (T110V), 18- (K232N), and 12- fold (K241F). This improved stability may be due to an altered enzyme-H2O2 catalysis pathway or …

Effects Of Mutations In The Helix G Region Of Horseradish Peroxidase, Barry Ryan, CiaráN Ó'FáGáIn

Articles

Horseradish Peroxidase (HRP) has long attracted intense research interest and is used in many biotechnological fields, including diagnostics, biosensors and biocatalysis. Enhancement of HRP catalytic activity and/or stability would further increase its usefulness. Based on prior art, we substituted solvent-exposed lysine and glutamic acid residues near the proximal helix G (Lys 232, 241; Glu 238, 239) and between helices F and F’ (Lys 174). Three single mutants (K232N, K232F, K241N) demonstrated increased stabilities against heat (up to two-fold) and solvents (up to four-fold). Stability gains are likely due to improved hydrogen bonding and space-fill characteristics introduced by the relevant substitution. …

Enterobacter Sakazakii: An Emerging Microbe With Implications For Infant Health, N. R. Mullane, B. Healy, Ciara Walsh, C. Iversen, P. Whyte, P. G. Wall, T. Quinn, Seamus Fanning

Articles

Enterobacter sakazakii (E. sakazakii) is an opportunistic pathogen and the aetiological agent in rare but life-threatening cases of meningitis, necrotizing enterocolitis, and sepsis in infants. Among infants, those at greatest risk are neonates (<28 >days), particularly those born prematurely or of low birth weight (g). Consumption of contaminated powdered infant formula (PIF) has been epidemiologically linked with cases of infection. Contamination can occur during the manufacturing process or during postmanufacture reconstitution of formula. Development of rapid, sensitive and specific detection methods will facilitate manufacturers efforts to reduce the occurrence of E. sakazakii in the final powdered product. Furthermore, since PIF …

Torsion-Free Groups And Modules With The Involution Property, Brendan Goldsmith, C. Meehan, S.L. Wallutis

Articles

An Abelian group or module is said to have the involution property if every endomorphism is the sum of two automorphisms, one of which is an involution. We investigate this property for completely decomposable torsion-free Abelian groups and modules over the ring of -adic integers.

Faith And Mystery In Kate O'Brien's ''The Ante Room'', Eamon Maher

Articles

Material reproduced by kind permission of Reality

Use Of The Mitsunobu Reaction In The Synthesis Of Orthogonally Protected A,B-Diaminopropionic Acids, Fintan Kelleher, Keith Ó Proinsias

Articles

Orthogonally protected a,b-diaminopropionic acids have been synthesised in good yields by the reaction of N-trityl L-serine esters with N-substituted sulfonamides under Mitsunobu reaction conditions (DEAD, PPh₃, THF). The best isolated yields were obtained when N-Boc p-toluenesulfonamide was used as the nitrogen nucleophile precursor in the Mitsunobu reaction. Subsequently, the N-trityl group was efficiently replaced with the more stable allyloxycarbonyl (alloc) group.

The Effect Of The Rate Of Precursor Production On The Purity And Aggregation Morphology Of Nanoparticulate Zinc Oxide, Grainne Duffy, Suresh Pillai, Declan Mccormack

Articles

The synthesis of zinc oxide through the decomposition of a solid oxalate precursor was
investigated. It was found that the rate of preparation of the precursor had a quantitative effect on
the morphology and extent of surface ligation of particles produced; contrary to our expectations,
it was found that the slow combination of reagents led to a less pure product. It has been
determined that this time dependence mimics the variation of reactant ratios. Zinc oxide particles
were produced from a number of reactant ratios, and were characterised by TEM, XRD, FT-IR
and DSC. It was found that the size …

A Novel Processing Route For The Production Of Nanoparticulate Zinc Oxide Using An Isophthalate Precursor, Grainne Duffy, Declan Mccormack, Suresh Pillai

Articles

Zinc oxide nanoparticles have been processed from a novel isophthalate precursor. In contrast to those processed from an oxalate precursor, this material exhibits three-dimensional, non-directional aggregation behaviour.

Such non-directional aggregation of uniaxial crystallites may allow for the production of structures with a higher proportion of catalytically active surfaces than can be prepared through conventional sol–gel methods. XRD,

FTIR, TEM and SEM were used to characterize the synthesized materials.

Zinc oxide particles synthesized by using isophthalic acid (C6H4-1,3-(COOH)2) are found to be slightly smaller than the previously reported materials prepared through chelation with oxalic acid (H2C2O2・2H2O).

Upping The Ante, Thomas Power

Articles

The aim of this essay is to present the inherent barriers to the achievement of full co-operative solutions to global environmental problems. It reviews the literature of Swanson, Barrett, Pearse and Helme to explain the problems associated with multilateral bargaining and to compare two types of bargaining, namely “ex-post” and “ex-ante”. It attempts to apply the theoretical guidelines on multilateral bargaining to GATT.,

Theories Of Learning And Curriculum Design - Key Positionalities And Their Relationships, Tony Cunningham, Julie Gannon, Mary B. Kavanagh, John Greene, Louise Reddy, Laurence Whitson

Articles

One of the challenges academics face when designing pedagogies and curricula is how best to articulate their own positionalities regarding the different ways theories or models of learning inform both the process of design as well as the product. It is difficult to find a text book or design resource that illustrates the relationships between the main theories of learning and how they might inform a coherent approach to programme design in higher education. For that reason we decided to produce this summative guide to learning theories and a chart illustrating their relevance for pedagogies and for curriculum design. The …

Shared And Mutual Knowledge In Language Learning, Marty Meinardi

Articles

This article discusses the matter of shared knowledge from the perspective of the different deictic centres of understanding. Difficulties, which may result from a possible lack of a shared knowledge between NSs and NNSs due to differences in language experiences and personal backgrounds, are identified.

Winy Maas, Noel Brady

Articles

Interview with Winy Maas, Architect with MVRDV Architects.

Baugruppe - Lessons From Freiburg On Cooperative Housing : Lessons From Freiburg On Cooperative Housing, Joseph Little

Articles

Creating Sustainable Communities in the UK and Ireland

The Genesis of Quartier Vauban

The Technological Gaze In Advertising, Norah Campbell

Articles

This article is concerned with what a technological gaze might mean; what regimes of truth and what new modes of subjectivity are filtered through it. By drawing on television and print advertising, we can see the pervasiveness of a gaze that is technological in contemporary Western consumer culture. This article argues that, far from being a simple “ high-tech” effect, a technological gaze is a way of seeing that may be deconstructed. To this end, it will call on visual culture studies, feminism, film theory and Derridean deconstruction to highlight how high-tech images are cultural artefacts, which underscore contemporary imaginings …

Spirobicyclic Diamines. Part 3: Synthesis And Metal Complexation Of Proline-Derived [4,4]-Spirodiamines., Fintan Kelleher, Sinead Kelly, Vickie Mckee

Articles

The syntheses of racemic and homochiral [4.4]-spirolactams, starting from L-proline, in good yields are described. Reduction of the lactam carbonyl group of spirolactams, containing chiral substituents on the lactam nitrogen, with lithium aluminium hydride, gives a series of homochiral [4.4]-spirodiamines. The crystal structure of one of these spirodiamines on complexation with zinc chloride was obtained. Interestingly it showed a hydrogen-bonded dimeric structure, where the monomers are diastereoisomeric diamines.

Pure Non-Blocking Lc Based Matrix Optical Switch For All-Optical Fibre Networks, Yuri Panarin, V. Alex

Articles

New pure non-blocking matrix optical switch scheme for fiber networks is presented. The optical switch is based on conventional LCD technology, where the each pixel controls the polarization state of the light beam. The suggested switch offers several advantages over the conventional cross-point architecture such as: cost; complexity; size; adjustment; and optical performance

The Occipital And Sacral Pressures Experienced By Healthy Volunteers Under Spinal Immobilization: A Trial Of Three Surfaces, Ruairí De Fréin, Fintan Sheerin

Articles

The development of a pressure ulcer is of great significance to the life-long rehabilitative management of the person with a spinal cord injury, and may indeed delay and repeatedly interfere with that process. That the period preceding admission to the specialized spinal injury unit is crucial with regard to pressure ulcer development is evident in the professional literature. Both anecdotal and empirical evidence indicates that a significant number of pressure ulcers occur as a result of management provided prior to admission, and that such ulcers are more likely to occur in those patients who have undergone a transfer process from …

Phenomenographic Study Of Students’ Problem Solving Approaches In Physics, Laura Walsh, Robert Howard, Brian Bowe

Articles

This paper describes ongoing research investigating student approaches to quantitative and qualitative problem solving in physics. This empirical study was conducted using a phenomenographic approach to analyze data from individual semistructured problem solving interviews with 22 introductory college physics students. The main result of the study is a hierarchical set of categories that describe the students’ problem solving approaches in the context of introductory physics.

Gyra Mutations In Fluoroquinolone Resistant Clostridium Difficile Pcr 027, Denise Drudy, Lorraine Kyne, Rebecca O’Mahony, Séamus Fanning

Articles

No abstract provided.

Automated Algorithm For The Identification Of Artifacts In Mottled And Noisy Images, Onome Augustine Ugbeme, Eli S. Saber, Wencheng Wu, Kartheek Chandu

Articles

We describe a method for automatically classifying image-quality defects on printed documents. The proposed approach accepts a scanned image where the defect has been localized a priori and performs several appropriate image processing steps to reveal the region of interest. A mask is then created from the exposed region to identify bright outliers. Morphological reconstruction techniques are then applied to emphasize relevant local attributes. The classification of the defects is accomplished via a customized tree classifier that utilizes size or shape attributes at corresponding nodes to yield appropriate binary decisions. Applications of this process include automated/assisted diagnosis and repair of …

The Complexity Of Computing The Size Of An Interval, Lane A. Hemaspaandra, Christopher M. Homan, Sven Kosub, Klaus W. Wagner

Articles

Given a p-order A over a universe of strings (i.e., a transitive, reflexive, antisymmetric relation such that if (x, y) ∈ A then |x| is polynomially bounded by |y|), an interval size function of A returns, for each string x in the universe, the number of strings in the interval between strings b(x) and t(x) (with respect to A), where b(x) and t(x) are functions that are polynomial-time computable in the length of x. By choosing sets of interval size functions based on feasibility requirements for their underlying p-orders, we obtain new characterizations of complexity classes. We prove that the …