Investigating openability of rigid plastic containers with peelable lids : the link between human strength and grip and opening forces

As society ages there is a growing need to understand issues surrounding declining user capabilities. One such area has been accessibility of packaging by older people. To date much of the current research in this area has focused on measuring strength of older people and analysing the force needed to open various pack formats and has largely concentrated on accessibility of jam or sauce jars. However, a survey by 'Yours' magazine indicated that problems with thin film pack forms and peelable packaging was also an issue for older people. Hence the authors undertook a small-scale study to understand the issues surrounding accessing a rigid plastic container with a peelable lid. To that end the authors built a bespoke measuring device to measure container peeling forces, measured finger friction between pack and finger and undertook an observational analysis on 60 users accessing packaging of this type. Results indicated that the force needed to open containers of this type is lower than measured user forces including older people and it is therefore likely that the issues surrounding accessibility of this type of pack format are related to dexterity not strength. However, the authors also showed that this can be affected by context of use in that oily fingers could reduce the friction coefficient between finger and pack such that older people may not have sufficient strength to open packs of this type

The Prospect of the Introduction of the Virginia Industrial Arts Curriculum, Exploring Technology into the Norfolk Public School System

The following research questions were posed to build such a reference point: 1. Did the physical plants of each junior high school lend theirselves to the realistic teaching of the Exploring Technology curriculum? 2. wee the present instructors of industrial arts qualified to teach the Exploring Technology program? 3. Were the attitudes and feelings of the present teacher personnel conducive to the teaching of the Exploring Technology program? 4. How could the Exploring Technology program be implemented

The influence of sodium salts on binary mixtures of bitter-tasting compounds

In order to study potential mixture interactions among bitter compounds, selected sodium salts were added to five compounds presented either alone or as binary bitter- ompound mixtures. Each compound was tested at a concentration that elicited &lsquo;weak&rsquo; perceived bitterness. The bitter compounds were mixed at these concentrations to form a subset of possible binary mixtures. For comparison, the concentration of each solitary compound was doubled to measure bitterness inhibition at the higher intensity level elicited by the mixtures. The following sodium salts were tested for bitterness inhibition: 100 mM sodium chloride (salty), 100 mM sodium gluconate (salty), 100 and 20 mM monosodium glutamate (umami), and 50 mM adenosine monophosphate disodium salt (umami). Sucrose (sweet) was also employed as a bitterness suppressor. The sodium salts differentially suppressed the bitterness of compounds and their binary combinations. Although most bitter compounds were suppressed, the bitterness of tetralone was not suppressed, nor was the bitterness of the binary mixtures that contained it. In general, the percent suppression of binary mixtures of compounds was predicted by the average percent suppression of its two components. Within the constraints of the present study, the bitterness of mixtures was suppressed by sodium salts and sucrose independently, with few bitter interactions. This is consistent with observations that the bitter taste system integrates the bitterness of multi-compound solutions linearly.<br /

Oral zinc sulfate solutions inhibit sweet taste perception

We investigated the ability of zinc sulfate (5, 25, 50 mM) to inhibit the sweetness of 12 chemically diverse sweeteners, which were all intensity matched to 300 mM sucrose [800 mM glucose, 475 mM fructose, 3.25 mM aspartame, 3.5 mM saccharin, 12 mM sodium cyclamate, 14 mM acesulfame-K, 1.04 M sorbitol, 0.629 mM sucralose, 0.375 mM neohesperidin dihydrochalcone (NHDC), 1.5 mM stevioside and 0.0163 mM thaumatin]. Zinc sulfate inhibited the sweetness of most compounds in a concentration dependent manner, peaking with 80% inhibition by 50 mM. Curiously, zinc sulfate never inhibited the sweetness of Na-cyclamate. This suggests that Na-cyclamate may access a sweet taste mechanism that is different from the other sweeteners, which were inhibited uniformly (except thaumatin) at every concentration of zinc sulfate. We hypothesize that this set of compounds either accesses a single receptor or multiple receptors that are inhibited equally by zinc sulfate at each concentration.<br /

Notes on Recent Cases

Notes on recent cases by D. M. Donahue, A. J. DeDario, J. S. Angelino, J. J. Canty, F. Earl Lamboley, Marc Wonderlin, and Albion M. Griffin

Development of engineering design tools to help reduce apple bruising

A large percentage of apples are wasted each year due to damage such as bruising. The apple journey from orchard to supermarket is very complex and apples are subjected to a variety of static and dynamic loads that could result in this damage occurring. The main aim of this work was to carry out numerical modelling to develop a design tool that can be used to optimise the design of harvesting and sorting equipment and packaging media to reduce the likelihood of apple bruise formation resulting from impact loads. An experimental study, along with analytical calculations, varying apple drop heights and counterface material properties, were used to provide data to validate the numerical modelling. Good correlation was seen between the models and experiments and this approach combined with previous work on static modelling should provide a comprehensive design tool for reducing the likelihood of apple bruising occurring

THE USE OF COAL COMBUSTION BY-PRODUCTS FOR IN SITU TREATMENT OF ACID MINE DRAINAGE

In 1994 a demonstration project was undertaken to investigate the effectiveness of using CCBs for the in situ treatment of acidic mine water. Actual injection of alkaline material was performed in 1997 with initial positive results; however, the amount of alkalinity added to the system was limited and resulted in short duration treatment. In 1999, a CBRC grant was awarded to further investigate the effectiveness of alkaline injection technology (AIT). Funds were released in fall 2001. In December 2001, 2500 tons of fluidized bed combustion (FBC) ash were injected into the wells used in the 1997 injection project. Post injection monitoring continued for 24 months. During this period the mine chemistry had gone through a series of chemical changes that manifested as stages or ''treatment phases.'' The mine system appeared to be in the midst of reestablishing equilibrium with the partial pressure of mine headspace. Alkalinity and pH appeared to be gradually increasing during this transition. As of December 2003, the pH and alkalinity were roughly 7.3 and 65 ppm, respectively. Metal concentrations were significantly lower than pre-injection levels, but iron and manganese concentrations appeared to be gradually increasing (roughly 30 ppm and 1.25 ppm, respectively). Aluminum, nickel, and zinc were less than pre-injection concentrations and did not appear to be increasing (roughly &lt;PQL, 0.02 ppm, and 0.1 ppm, respectively). Arsenic and boron were not identified in concentrations that were of concern for protecting freshwater aquatic communities; however, selenium was well above the CCC and MCL. Overall, this project has been successful at achieving water quality improvement goals and providing valuable insight and information about the chemistry of this technology. In addition, there were obvious improvements observed in the receiving environment--benthic habitat recovery and the return of fish species. However, additional monitoring is needed to determine the duration of the treatment and to evaluate the applicability of the treatment technology