Continuous stirring tank reactors are widely used in the chemical production process, which is always accompanied by nonlinearity, time delay, and uncertainty. Considering the characteristic of the actual reaction of the continuous stirring tank reactors, the fault detection problem is studied in terms of the T-S fuzzy model. Through a fault detection filter performance analysis, the sufficient condition for the filtering error dynamics is obtained, which meets the exponential stability in the mean square sense and the given performance requirements. The design of the fault detection filter is transformed into one that settles the convex optimization issue of linear matrix inequality. Numerical analysis shows the effectiveness of this scheme.

Non-alcoholic cereal beverages (NACB) are usually produced through uncontrolled fermentation driven by a cocktail of bacteria resulting in final product variability. Hence, to commercialise fermented traditional cereal beverages bioburden microbial cultures are required. This investigation aimed to evaluate the physicochemical, nutritional, and sensory characteristics of NACB produced using pure cultures of Leuconostoc mesenteroides and Pediococcus pentosaceus. Pearl millet extract (PME) pasteurised at 85 °C for 15 min and cooled to 40 °C was inoculated with Leuconostoc mesenteroides and Pediococcus pentosaceus at 0.050% and 0.025% (1:0.5), respectively, and fermented at 37 °C for 18 h, referred to as plain non-alcoholic pearl millet beverage (PNAPMB). Moringa supplemented non-alcoholic pearl millet beverage (MSNAPMB) was produced following the same method as PNAPMB but a 4% moringa leaf extract powder was added before hydration of the pearl millet powder. The traditional non-alcoholic... [more]

Documented cases of mycotoxin occurrence in meat products call for further research into potential contamination sources, especially given an ever more increasing consumption of these nutritionally rich products. These foodstuffs can be contaminated with mycotoxins through three pathways: contaminated spices and other raw materials, mycotoxin-producing moulds present on the surface of dry-cured meat products, and carry-over effect from farm animals exposed to contaminated feed. In order to establish meat products’ mycotoxin contamination more precisely, the concentrations of all mycotoxins of relevance for these products should be determined. This manuscript reviews data on major mycotoxins present in different types of meat products, and discusses the contamination pathways, contamination levels and control & preventative measures.

The presence of major heavy metals including Pb2+, Cu2+, Co2+, Ni2+, Hg2+, Cr6+, Cd2+, and Zn2+ in water is of great concern because they cannot degrade or be destroyed. They are toxic even at very low concentrations. Therefore, it is necessary to remove such toxicants from water. In the current study, polydopamine carbon nanotubes (PD-CNTs) and polysulfone (PS) composite membranes were prepared. The structural and morphological features of the prepared PDCN composite membranes were studied using FTIR, XRD, SEM, and EDS. The potential application of PDCNs for heavy metal removal was studied for the removal of Pb2+, Cr6+, and Cd2+ from wastewater. The maximum removal efficiency of 96.1% was obtained for Cr6+ at 2.6 pH using a composite membrane containing 1.0% PD-CNTs. The removal efficiencies decreased by 64.1 and 73.4, respectively, by enhancing the pressure from 0.50 up to 0.85 MPa. Under the same circumstances, the percentages of Pb+2 removal at 0.49 bar by the PDCNS membranes conta... [more]

Preparative and process chromatography is a versatile unit operation for the capture, purification, and polishing of a broad variety of molecules, especially very similar and complex compounds such as sugars, isomers, enantiomers, diastereomers, plant extracts, and metal ions such as rare earth elements. Another steadily growing field of application is biochromatography, with a diversity of complex compounds such as peptides, proteins, mAbs, fragments, VLPs, and even mRNA vaccines. Aside from molecular diversity, separation mechanisms range from selective affinity ligands, hydrophobic interaction, ion exchange, and mixed modes. Biochromatography is utilized on a scale of a few kilograms to 100,000 tons annually at about 20 to 250 cm in column diameter. Hence, a versatile and fast tool is needed for process design as well as operation optimization and process control. Existing process modeling approaches have the obstacle of sophisticated laboratory scale experimental setups for model p... [more]

Purpose: The purpose of this in vivo study was to investigate whether the less invasive approach (reduced thickness of the restoration) will result in a comparable risk of failure and similar aesthetic results, compared to conventional layered full porcelain crowns, and can, therefore, be used as a good alternative. Material and Methods: The tested ceramic was lithium-disilicate ceramic (IPS e.max). Forty-four patients with endodontically treated premolars or molars were randomized into two groups and provided with single crowns. One group received conventional all-ceramic crowns made from a lithium-disilicate core and hand-veneered aesthetic ceramic, while another group received full-contoured lithium-disilicate ceramic crowns with reduced wall thickness than manufactures recommendations. The teeth for conventional crowns were prepared with 1 mm rounded shoulder and 2 mm occlusal reduction, while teeth for monolithic crowns were prepared with 0.6 mm wide rounded shoulder and 1 mm occl... [more]

Autographa californica nucleopolyhedrovirus is a very productive expression vector for recombinant proteins in insect cells. Most vectors are based on the polyhedrin gene promoter, which comprises a TAAG transcription initiation motif flanked by 20 base pairs upstream and 47 base pairs downstream before the native ATG. Many transfer vectors also include a short sequence downstream of the ATG, in which case this sequence is mutated to ATT to abolish translation. However, the ATT sequence, or AUU in the mRNA, is known to be leaky. If a target-coding region is placed in the frame with the AUU, then some products will comprise a chimeric molecule with part of the polyhedrin protein. In this study, we showed that if AUU is placed in the frame with a Strep tag and eGFP coding region, we could identify a protein product with both sequences present. Further work examined if alternative codons in lieu of AUG might reduce translation initiation further. We found that AUA was used slightly more e... [more]

In this paper, the Nonlinear Auto-Regressive with exogenous inputs (NARX) model with parameters of interest for design (NARX-M-for-D), where the design parameter of the system is connected to the coefficients of the NARX model by a predefined polynomial function is studied. For the NARX-M-for-D of nonlinear systems, in practice, to predict the output by design parameter values are often difficult due to the uncertain relationship between the design parameter and the coefficients of the NARX model. To solve this issue and conduct the analysis and design, an improved algorithm, defined as the Weighted Extended Forward Orthogonal Regression (WEFOR), is proposed. Firstly, the initial NARX-M-for-D is obtained through the traditional Extended Forward Orthogonal Regression (EFOR) algorithm. Then a weight matrix is introduced to modify the polynomial functions with respect to the design parameter, and then an improved model, which is referred to as the final NARX-M-for-D is established. The ge... [more]

Power supply systems based on air-cooled proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stacks are becoming more popular as power sources for mobile applications. We try to create a PEMFC model that allows for predicting the PEMFC operation in various climatic conditions. A total of two models were developed and used: the membrane electrode assemble (MEA) model and the PEMFC stack model. The developed MEA model allows to determine the influence of external factors (temperature) on the PEMFC power density. The data obtained using the developed model correlate with experimental data at low ambient temperatures (10−30 °C). The difference between the simulation and experimental data is less than 10%. However, the accuracy of the model during PEMFC operation at high (>30 °C) and negative ambient temperatures remains in doubt and requires improvement. The obtained data were integrated into the air-cooled PEMFC stack model. Data of the temperature fields distribution will help to manage the proce... [more]

Pre-dispatch is an important way for distribution networks to cope with typhoon weather, enhance resilience and reduce economic losses. In order to accurately describe the faults and consequences of components’ failure in the distribution network, this paper establishes a pre-dispatch model to cope with typhoon weather based on line failures consequence analysis. First, Monte Carlo simulation is used to sample the typical fault scenarios of vulnerable lines. According to the location of switchgear, the distribution network is partitioned and a block breaker correlation matrix is established. Combined with the line fault status, a fault consequence model of distribution lines related to the pre-dispatching strategy is established. Then, the objective function is given to minimize the sum of the cost of the pre-dispatch operation and the power outage, and then establish a pre-dispatch model for the distribution network. In order to reduce the computational complexity, PH (Progressive Hed... [more]

Malocclusion and teething problems are common health problems globally, affecting people of all ages, especially children and adolescents. In addition to the pathophysiological complications associated with orthodontic problems, they also affect the well-being of the individual. Orthodontic appliances are frequently used, even from an early age, and their activity in different biological environments is very varied and incompletely described. Due to these considerations, the purpose of the study was to evaluate the toxicological profile of the biological environment (saliva at three pH values: 3, 7, and 10) of two elastodontic orthodontic appliances: Myobrace (MB) and LM TrainerTM 2 (LMD). In vitro techniques applied were conducted on human keratinocytes to evaluate cell viability (Alamar blue assay) and gene expression real-time reverse transcription−polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR technique). In addition, it was assessed the irritating effect on the vascular plexus using as a biolo... [more]

Hazard and operability (HAZOP) is an important safety analysis method, which is widely used in the safety evaluation of petrochemical industry. The HAZOP analysis report contains a large amount of expert knowledge and experience. In order to realize the effective expression and reuse of knowledge, the knowledge ontology is constructed to store the risk propagation path and realize the standardization of knowledge expression. On this basis, a comprehensive algorithm of ontology semantic similarity based on the ant clony optimization generalized neural network (ACO-GRNN) model is proposed to improve the accuracy of semantic comparison. This method combines the concept name, semantic distance, and improved attribute coincidence calculation method, and ACO-GRNN is used to train the weights of each part, avoiding the influence of manual weighting. The results show that the Pearson coefficient of this method reaches 0.9819, which is 45.83% higher than the traditional method. It could solve t... [more]

This review highlights the current state regarding the preparation and characterization of tubular biocellulose materials as well as their application and application potential with a special focus on abdominal oncologic surgery. Biocellulose is a natural polymer synthesized by acetic acid bacteria from low molecular sugars and alcohols as a mechanically stable nanofiber network at the interface between the aqueous culture medium and air. This hydrogel is characterized by very high purity and biocompatibility, dimensional stability, and good surgical handling. With this property profile, biocellulose proves to be a promising candidate for the development of novel medical soft tissue implants. This requires close R&D cooperation between chemists, material scientists, biotechnologists, and surgeons. In this sense, this review spans from the natural polymer to the design of biocellulose implants and surgical suitability. It is also a concern of this article to show concretely the great ne... [more]

The kinetics during the pyrolysis process depend on both chemical structure and inherent mineral matters in coal, but normally, only one of these components is investigated in literature. In the present work, four low-rank coals were pyrolyzed in a thermogravimetric analyzer at a heating rate of 10 K/min in a constant nitrogen stream at a temperature up to 900 °C to study the pyrolysis behavior and kinetics. Two of the samples were raw coal (R-YL) and clean coal (C-YL) obtained through the washing process. The results showed that the coal-washing process mainly affected the inorganic part (mineral matters) and structure in coal, which did not largely change the chemical properties. The pyrolysis behavior in primary stage (before 550 °C) was mainly affected by the chemical properties of coal, while the pyrolysis behavior in higher temperature also depended on inherent mineral matters. The kinetics of four coals were obtained using the Coats−Redfern (CR) method with five theoretical mode... [more]

The ciprofloxacin (CIP) removal ability of a Fe-Cu electrolytic material was examined with respect to pH (2−9), time (15−150 min), shaking speed (100−250 rpm), material mass (0.2−3 g/L), temperature (298, 308, 323) and initial CIP concentration (30−200 mg/L). The Fe-Cu electrolytic materials were fabricated by the chemical plating method, and Fe-C materials were mechanically mixed from iron powder and graphite. The results show that at a pH value of 3, shaking time 120 min, shaking speed 250 rpm, a mass of Fe-Cu, Fe-C material of 2 g/L and initial CIP concentration of 203.79 mg/L, the CIP removal efficiency of Fe-Cu material reached 90.25% and that of Fe-C material was 85.12%. The removal of CIP on Fe-Cu and Fe-C materials follows pseudo-first-order kinetics. The activation energy of CIP removal of Fe-Cu material is 14.93 KJ/mol and of Fe-C material is 16.87 KJ/mol. The positive ΔH proves that CIP removal is endothermic. A negative entropy of 0.239 kJ/mol and 0.235 kJ/mol (which is nea... [more]

Fluoride excess in water represents an environmental issue and a risk for human health since it can cause several diseases, such as fluorosis, osteoporosis, and damage of the nervous system. Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) can be exploited to remove this contaminant from water by taking advantage of their high ion-exchange capability. LDHs are generally mixed with polluted water in the form of powders, which then cause the problem of uneasy separation of the contaminated LDH sludge from the purified liquid. In this work, Zn−Al LDH films were directly grown in situ on aluminum foams that acted both as the reactant and substrate. This method enabled the removal of fluoride ions by simple immersion, with ensuing withdrawal of the foam from the de-contaminated water. Different LDH synthesis methods and aluminum foam types were investigated to improve the adsorption process. The contact time, initial fluoride concentration, adsorbent dosage, and pH were studied as the parameters that affec... [more]

Aiming at the problems of high-power consumption and insufficient kneading and cutting of roughage in the total mixed ration mixer. In this paper, licorice stems were taken as experimental objects, the horizontal twin-shaft TMR mixer was used to carry out the experimental study. It should be as brief as possible and concise. Through the kneading and cutting process power analysis, determine the influencing factors of kneading and cutting power consumption. The auger speed, processing time and blade type were taken as experimental factors, with standard straw length rate and power consumption as indicators, Box−Behnken test with three factors and three levels was carried out, analysis of variance was performed on the test results, the results show that the significant effect of each factor on the standard grass length is processing time, blade type and auger speed in descending order. The significance of the influence on power consumption from large to small is auger speed, processing t... [more]

Mesoporous Al/MCM-41 was synthesized by extracting silicon carbide sludge and granite sludge as the sources of silicon and aluminum. Different concentrations of aminosilane (2.5, 5, 7.5 vol.%) were used to reflux the grafted NH2-Al/MCM-41 with amine functional groups (NH2-Al/MCM-41). The physical and chemical characteristics were analyzed. The results confirmed that silicon carbide sludge and granite sludge can effectively synthesize Al/MCM-41 with low cost and environmental protection. Reflow grafted amine functional groups can effectively improve the surface properties of NH2-Al/MCM-41. The moisture adsorption and desorption capacity of grafted NH2-Al/MCM-41 with amine functional groups was also studied. Based on moisture adsorption and desorption capacity, the surface properties of NH2-Al/MCM-41 were studied. When 5 vol.% of NH2-Al/MCM-41 amine functional groups is added, the moisture adsorption and desorption capacity is best. When the relative humidity = 95%, the equilibrium moist... [more]

To improve the thermal stability of pectate lyase for ramie degumming, we modified the novel pectate lyase gene (pelG403) derived from the Dickeya dadantii DCE-01 high-efficiency ramie degumming strain by site-directed mutagenesis. Twelve mutants were acquired, wherein a prospective mutant (A129V) showed better enzyme activity and thermal stability. Compared with the wild type (PelG403), the specific enzyme activity and the optimal reaction temperature of A129V in the fermentation broth increased by 20.1%, and 5 °C, respectively. Under the conditions of 55 °C and pH 9.0, the weightlessness rate of ramie raw materials of A129V increased by 6.26%. Therefore, this study successfully improved the enzyme activity and heat resistance of PelG403 in an alkaline environment, which may contribute to the development of enzyme preparations and the elucidation of the mechanism for ramie bio-degumming.

This study investigated the effects of different proportions (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%) of bulking agent (vinasse, mushroom bran, and tobacco powder) on maturity and gaseous emissions in chicken manure composting. The results showed that all of the treatments reached the standard of harmless disposal. With the exception of the control treatment, the CH4, N2O, and NH3 emissions in the treatments that had been prepared using the addition of mixed bulking agents were effectively reduced by 2.9−30.6%, 8.30−80.9%, and 37.3−26.6%; their compost maturity also met the Chinese national standard. Specifically, 10% mushroom bran combined with 5% tobacco powder was the optimal combination for simultaneously improving the maturity and reducing greenhouse gas emission in chicken manure composting.

The article describes the initial conditions for the development of universal mechanization means for the process of mixing dry and liquid components. The essence of the method is to study the motion of a particle with different constructive and physical properties of the medium. The mathematical model of particle motion is based on theoretical mechanics and hydraulics. In this case, the main purpose of the study is to find the optimal design parameters for the installation. At the beginning, a theoretical analysis of the installation was carried out using the methods of classical mechanics and hydraulics. Experimental studies were carried out in several stages. At the beginning, one-factor experiments were conducted, followed by allocating the main factors and determining their interaction. Then, using the methods of planning the experiment, we obtained the regression equations and further optimized the parameters to summarize the main findings of the article. Modern installations sho... [more]

The involvement of people and technical devices is a characteristic feature of technological processes in agriculture. Human access to modernized and more efficient technical equipment determines the differentiation of the proportions of the contributions of human labor and technical equipment to the implementation of production technology on farms. Taking into account the data on manual and machine work inputs, the methodology of determining the technological index level (TL) was presented. The aim of the present study was to present the scope of use of the technological index level to assess the effects of technological progress in the dairy production system, with particular emphasis on cow milking. For the value range of the technological index level (0−100%), changes in the milkman’s work efficiency were presented based on research carried out on farms equipped with milking equipment at different levels of technical advancement. Moreover, the course of changes in electricity and w... [more]

Riblets with an appropriate size can effectively restrain turbulent boundary layer thickness and reduce viscous drag, but the effects of riblets strongly depend on the appearance of the fabric that is to be applied and its operating conditions. In this study, in order to improve the aerodynamic performance of a low-pressure fan by using riblet technology, sawtooth riblets on NACA4412 airfoil are examined at the low Reynolds number of 1 × 105, and the airfoil is operated at angles of attack (AOAs) ranging from approximately 0° to 12°. The numerical simulation is carried out by employing the SST k−ω turbulence model through the Ansys Fluent, and the effects of the riblets’ length and height on aerodynamic performance and flow characteristics of the airfoil are investigated. The results indicate that the amount of drag reduction varies greatly with riblet length and height and the AOA of airfoil flow. By contrast, the riblets are detrimental to the airfoil in some cases. The most effectiv... [more]

Gold(I) complexes with phosphine ligands—[Au(TrippyPhos)Cl] (1) (TrippyPhos = 1-[2-[bis(tert-butyl)phosphino]phenyl]-3,5-diphenyl-1H-pyrazole), [Au(BippyPhos)Cl]0.5CH2Cl2 (2) (BippyPhos = 5-(di-tert-butylphosphino)-1′, 3′, 5′-triphenyl-1′H-[1,4′]bipyrazole), and [Au(meCgPPh)Cl] (3) (meCgPPh = 1,3,5,7-tetramethyl-6-phenyl-2,4,8-trioxa-6-phosphaadamantane—were investigated as types of bioactive gold metallodrugs. Complexes (1)−(3) were characterized using IR, 1H, 13C, 31P NMR spectroscopy, elemental analysis and mass spectrometry (FAB-MS). Complexes of (1) and (2) exhibited substantial in vitro cytotoxicity (IC50 = 0.5−7.0 μM) against both the cisplatin-sensitive and -resistant variants of the A2780 human ovarian carcinoma cell line, as well as against the A549 human lung carcinoma, K562 chronic myelogenous leukemia, and HeLa (human cervix carcinoma) cells. However, among the compounds studied, complex (2) showed the most promising biological properties: the highest stability in biologic... [more]

Direct interaction with the neuronal cells is a prerequisite to deciphering useful information in understanding the underlying causes of diseases and functional abnormalities in the brain. Precisely fabricated nanoelectrodes provide the capability to interact with the brain in its natural habitat without compromising its functional integrity. Yet, challenges exist in terms of the high cost and complexity of fabrication as well as poor control over the chemical composition and geometries at the nanoscale, all imposed by inherent limitations of current micro/nanofabrication techniques. In this work, we report on electrochemical fabrication and optimization of vertically oriented TiO2 nanotube arrays as nanoelectrodes for neural interface application. The effects of zinc, strontium, and copper doping on the structural, electrochemical, and biocompatibility properties of electrochemically anodized TiO2 nanotube arrays were investigated. It was found that doping can alter the geometric feat... [more]