Development of Corn Kernel-based Biocomposite Films for Food Packaging Applications

Most of the current and active food packaging resources and methods are nonbiodegradable and nonrenewable therefore harmful to the environment. Due to this, alternate sources of food packaging materials are in high demand. In this study, a bio-composite film has been developed, with Corn kernel powder as fiber reinforcement which is mixed with gelatin, and lignin two biopolymers as the matrix. The effect of Corn Kernel (CK) reinforcement on the Gelatin/Lignin (G/L) matrix on mechanical and barrier properties has been studied. CK has shown great potential as reinforcement to natural polymer, gelatin, and lignin (G/L) for food packaging applications as well as equating its unique attributes to biodegradability. Gelatin has significant limitations on barrier properties, hence choosing to crosslink polymer Lignin to minimize limitations. The higher particle size of CK affected the composite, hence it was further ground to a smaller size (Image analysis via. Digital Microscope). Four different mixtures at CK w% were used to prepare the composite film, CK (10%) – G/L (5%, 10%, 15%, 20%). Two G/L (5%, 10%) films without fiber were also produced to study performance comparison. The prepared composite films were subjected to morphological analysis, mechanical strength analysis, film thickness analysis, water vapor permeability analysis, and water uptake analysis. It has been observed that CK is well dispersed in the G/L matrix (Image analysis via. SEM). Mechanical properties of the CK composite film evaluated that with an increase of w% of CK the strength of the composite increases. A film with more matrix showed less absorption of water as well as less water vapor permeability. The WVP test and WU test revealed that film CK (10%) – G/L (20%) possesses the best barrier properties

A strange mirror : realism, ambiguity and absence in the work of Harmony Korine

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 162-169).This dissertation examines the work of Harmony Korine with a particular focus on his use of realism as a disruptive critical tool. My study combines a theoretical and an analytical project. My aim is to defend Korine's works against charges of naive realism by revealing the limits of a structuralist approach to Korine's realism and arguing, instead, for the adoption of the phenomenologically grounded, realist criticism of Andre Bazin. I use Bazin' s observations about the referential or indexical relationship between the camera and the physical world and his definition of 'phenomenological realism' to argue for a privileged and fruitful relationship between Korine's realism and the physical or affective dimensions of the cinematic image. I supplement this discussion with a critical application of theories of affect forwarded by such theorists as Vivian Sobchack and Laura U. Marks, as well as theories of the grotesque. In addition, my thesis extends the links that Bazin draws between the restraint defining phenomenological realism and a productive ambiguity to argue that, rather than presenting an unsophisticated realist approach, Korine's realism operates as the primary critical tool in a confrontation with dominant sign systems and, ultimately, with the limitations of both verbal and filmic language

Remote sensing and image interpretation

A textbook prepared primarily for use in introductory courses in remote sensing is presented. Topics covered include concepts and foundations of remote sensing; elements of photographic systems; introduction to airphoto interpretation; airphoto interpretation for terrain evaluation; photogrammetry; radiometric characteristics of aerial photographs; aerial thermography; multispectral scanning and spectral pattern recognition; microwave sensing; and remote sensing from space