Application of Power Flow problem to an open quantum neural hardware

Significant progress in the construction of physical hardware for quantum computers has necessitated the development of new algorithms or protocols for the application of real-world problems on quantum computers. One of these problems is the power flow problem, which helps us understand the generation, distribution, and consumption of electricity in a system. In this study, the solution of a balanced 4-bus power system supported by the Newton-Raphson method is investigated using a newly developed dissipative quantum neural network hardware. This study presents the findings on how the proposed quantum network can be applied to the relevant problem and how the solution performance varies depending on the network parameters.Comment: 5 Figures, 6 Page

Development and characterization of phytosterol-enriched oil microcapsules for foodstuff application

Phytosterols are lipophilic compounds contained in plants and have several biological activities. The use of phytosterols in food fortification is hampered due to their high melting temperature, chalky taste, and low solubility in an aqueous system. Also, phytosterols are easily oxidized and are poorly absorbed by the human body. Formulation engineering coupled with microencapsulation could be used to overcome these problems. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of encapsulating soybean oil enriched with phytosterols by spray-drying using ternary mixtures of health-promoting ingredients, whey protein isolate (WPI), inulin, and chitosan as carrier agents. The effect of different formulations and spray-drying conditions on the microencapsules properties, encapsulation efficiency, surface oil content, and oxidation stability were studied. It was found that spherical WPI-inulin-chitosan phytosterol-enriched soybean oil microcapsules with an average size below 50 μm could be produced with good encapsulation efficiency (85%), acceptable level of surface oil (11%), and water activity (0.2–0.4) that meet industrial requirements. However, the microcapsules showed very low oxidation stability with peroxide values reaching 101.7 meq O2/kg of oil just after production, and further investigations and optimization are required before any industrial application of this encapsulated system