• Morris McDermott posted an update 4 hours, 2 minutes ago

    The kinetics of diffusion-dependent phase transformations (including austenitisation of ferrite in dual steels or ferritic nodular cast irons) is very often described by the Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorov (JMAK) equation. This description is not complete when the conversion is only partial due to insufficient overheating, as the equilibrium fraction of ferrite transformed into austenite cannot be determined directly from the JMAK equation. Experimental kinetic curves of partial austenitisation at various temperatures can be fitted using the JMAK equation, but the equilibrium fraction of the newly formed phase for each temperature has to be calculated as a regression parameter. In addition, the temperature dependence of the kinetic exponent in the JMAK equation is quite complicated and cannot be expressed by a simple general function. On the contrary, the equation of autoinhibition used for the description of austenitisation kinetics in present work directly gives the equilibrium fraction at partial conversion. It describes transformation kinetics at various temperatures independently of whether the conversion is complete or partial. Rate constants of the equation of autoinhibition depend on temperature according to the Arrhenius equation. In addition, the equation of autoinhibition has no weakness as the JMAK equation has, which consists in questionable temperature dependence of kinetic exponent.The aim of the present study was to determine the physico-chemical properties (dry matter content, combustion heat, electrical properties, total protein, ash, fat and crude fibre contents, selected amino acids, and trace elements), antioxidant content, and sensory profile of Linz biscuits. They were enriched by the addition of powdered carrot, nettle leaves and elderberry fruit, which is 3% of the product. For comparison of results, a control variant without the addition of these components was also prepared. The enriched biscuits showed slightly higher total ash and crude fibre contents in comparison to the control samples. Results for the antioxidant activity and total polyphenol, flavonoid, and phenolic acid contents of the enriched biscuits were higher in all observed parameters than in the control sample with the best results obtained for Linz biscuits enriched with elderberry and nettle powder. In enriched biscuits, higher contents of iron, zinc, and manganese were measured, especially in biscuits with nettle. Linz biscuits with nettle had higher combustion heat values than control samples; the other two sample types had lower values. We found that the resistance, capacitance, and relative permittivity of the enriched biscuits decreased with frequency according to the power regression function. On the contrary, the conductivity increased with an increasing frequency. Electrical properties were mainly influenced by the water content but also by added components.Vaccinium dunalianum Wight, usually processed as a traditional folk tea beverage, is widely distributed in the southwest of China. The present study aimed to investigate the antioxidant, α-glucosidase and pancreatic lipase inhibitory activities of V.dunalianum extract and isolate the bioactive components. In this study, the crude extract (CE) from the buds of V. dunalianum was prepared by the ultrasound-assisted extraction method in 70% methanol and then purified with macroporous resin D101 to obtain the purified extract (PM). Five fractions (Fr. A-E) were further obtained by MPLC column (RP-C18). Bioactivity assays revealed that Fr. B with 40% methanol and Fr. D with 80% methanol had better antioxidant with 0.48 ± 0.03 and 0.62 ± 0.01 nM Trolox equivalent (TE)/mg extract for DPPH, 0.87 ± 0.02 and 1.58 ± 0.02 nM TE/mg extract for FRAP, 14.42 ± 0.41 and 19.25 ± 0.23 nM TE/mg extract for ABTS, and enzyme inhibitory effects with IC50 values of 95.21 ± 2.21 and 74.55 ± 3.85 for α-glucosidase, and 142.53 ± 11.45 and 128.76 ± 13.85 µg/mL for pancreatic lipase. Multivariate analysis indicated that the TPC and TFC were positively related to the antioxidant activities. Further phytochemical purification led to the isolation of ten compounds (1-10). 6-O-Caffeoylarbutin (7) showed significant inhibitory effects on α-glucosidase and pancreatic lipase enzymes with values of 38.38 ± 1.84 and 97.56 ± 7.53 µg/mL, and had the highest antioxidant capacity compared to the other compounds.D-mannitol is a common polyol that is used as additive in pharmaceutical and personal care product formulations. We investigated its effect on the microstructure and rheology of novel non-aqueous Carbopol dispersions employing traditional and time-resolved rheological analysis. We considered two types of sample, (i) fresh (i.e., mannitol completely dissolved in solution) and aged (i.e., visible in crystalline form). The analysis of the intracycle rheological transitions that were observed for different samples revealed that, when completely dissolved in solution, mannitol does not alter the rheological behaviour of the Carbopol dispersions. This highlights that the chemical similarity of the additive with the molecules of the surrounding solvent allows preserving the swollen dimension and interparticle interactions of the Carbopol molecules. Conversely, when crystals are present, a hierarchical structure forms, consisting of a small dispersed phase (Carbopol) agglomerated around a big dispersed phase (crystals). In keeping with this microstructural picture, as the concentration of Carbopol reduces, the local dynamics of the crystals gradually start to control the integrity of the microstructure. A-674563 Akt inhibitor Rheologically, this results in a higher elasticity of the suspensions at infinitesimal deformations, but a fragile yielding process at intermediate strains.Due to the aging population, home care for the elderly has become very important. Currently, there are many studies focusing on the deployment of various sensors in the house to recognize the home activities of the elderly, especially for the elderly living alone. Through these, we can detect the home situation of the single person and ensure his/her living safety. However, the living environment of the elderly includes, not only the person living alone, but also multiple people living together. By applying the traditional methods for a multi-resident environment, the “individual” activities of each person could not be accurately identified. This resulted in an inability to distinguish which person was involved in what activities, and thus, failed to provide personal care. Therefore, this research tries to investigate how to recognize home activities in multi-resident living environments, in order to accurately distinguish the association between residents and home activities. Specifically, we propose to use the special characteristics of historical activity of residents in a multi-person environment, including activity interaction, activity frequency, activity period length, and residential behaviors, and then apply a suite of machine learning methods to train and test.