Rapid Particle Size Measurements Used as a Proxy to Control Instant Whole Milk Powder Dispersibility

Characterising the dispersion of instant whole milk powder (IWMP) into water is a complex dissolution measurement that is both manual and laborious so is normally carried out post production at industrial dryers. However, this means there is no immediate feedback so the functional quality cannot be controlled in real-time. This work proposes the idea of applying a simpler, surrogate measurement that can be implemented in the plant in order to have useful real-time information regarding the quality of the product being produced. This we term is a proxy measurement. The functional property dispersibility was used as a case study, with particle size being investigated as a proxy at an industrial IWMP plant. It was found that particle sizing could be used to provide useful information regarding the powder, with the proxy measurement being able to predict in-specification powder 97% of the time. Although the test was not as effective for predicting out-of-specification results, with an false-positive rate of 50%, the fact that out-of-specification events are rare in the industry setting means that the overall proxy measurement is still between 78—87 % accurate, and thus useful for predicting the dispersibility quality of the IWMP. Furthermore, these proxy measurements can then be combined with on-line plant information using multivariate techniques to further improve their accuracy and understand how the quality can be controlled by changing the plant processing conditions

The Significance of Powder Breakdown During Conveying Within Industrial Milk Powder Plants

Instant whole milk powder (IWMP) is designed to rapidly dissolve in water, which depends on the particle size distribution (PSD). The fragile milk powder exiting the dryer has to be conveyed for packing, which can break down the particles, worsening the dissolution properties. This work investigated the importance of in-plant conveying in determining the nal functional properties at the industrial scale. IWMP breakdown was compared between two plants with di erent transport systems; a pneumatic system and bucket elevator. It was expected that the plant with the bucket elevator consistently produced powder with superior dissolution due to lower breakdown during transport. This was evaluated using the change in PSD. It was found that both plants had a similar decrease in the median particle size, and powder with an initially larger particle size showed more breakdown. However, it was not enough to compensate for the initially larger size. Thus powder that started out larger still had a larger particle size after transport. When quanti ed using the change in bulk density, a low initial bulk density compensated for large breakdown during conveying and ameliorated the impact on the functional properties. Thus in order to produce IWMP with the desired functionalities the focus should be on improving the initial agglomeration, as oppose to reducing transport breakdown.

Полиморфизм гена μ1-опиоидного рецептора (OPRM1) может иметь значение в генезе злокачественных новообразований почки

Objective: to evaluate alleles distribution of single nucleotide polymorphism 118A>G of μ1-opioid receptor (OPRM1) gene in patients with renal neoplasm and benign diseases.Materials and methods. 100 consecutive patients after renal surgeries retrospectively divided into groups with neoplasm (n = 29) and benign diseases (n = 71).Results. The incidence of renal neoplasm was much higher in homozygous 118A patients than in AG + GG group (36.4 % vs. 14.7 %; p = 0.035).Conclusion. Single nucleotide polymorphism 118A>G OPRM1 gene may be of value in genesis of renal neoplasm.Цель исследования – оценить распределение аллелей однонуклеотидного полиморфизма 118A>G гена опиоидного μ1-рецептора (OPRM1) у пациентов со злокачественными новообразованиями и доброкачественными заболеваниями почек.Материалы и методы. Проанализированы данные 100 пациентов, перенесших операции на почке. Пациенты были ретроспективно разделены на группы злокачественных новообразований (n = 29) и доброкачественных заболеваний (n = 71) почек.Результаты. Частота злокачественных новообразований почек была выше в группе гомозиготных носителей 118АА по сравнению с группой AG + GG (36,4 % против 14,7 %; р = 0,035).Заключение. Однонуклеотидный полиморфизм 118A>G гена OPRM1 может иметь значение в генезе злокачественных новообразований почки

Study of charmonium and charmonium-like contributions in B+ → J/ψηK+ decays

A study of B+→ J/ψηK+ decays, followed by J/ψ → μ+μ− and η → γγ, is performed using a dataset collected with the LHCb detector in proton-proton collisions at centre-of-mass energies of 7, 8 and 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9 fb−1. The J/ψη mass spectrum is investigated for contributions from charmonia and charmonium-like states. Evidence is found for the B+→ (ψ2(3823) → J/ψη)K+ and B+→ (ψ(4040) → J/ψη)K+ decays with significance of 3.4 and 4.7 standard deviations, respectively. This constitutes the first evidence for the ψ2(3823) → J/ψη decay

Significance of powder breakdown during in-plant transport at industrial milk powder plants

Instant whole milk powder (IWMP) is designed to rapidly dissolve in water, which depends on the particle size distribution (PSD) and agglomeration. The warm and delicate milk powder exiting the dryer is transported via either pneumatic conveying or bucket elevators to packing. The gentleness of this powder transport process is important for IWMP, as it can break down the agglomerates, generating excess fines, which leads to poor dissolution properties. This work looked at the breakdown of milk powder at two different, geographically separate, industrial IWMP plants, using the Malvern Mastersizer, a laboratory laser diffraction instrument, and sieving, to evaluate the importance of breakdown on the final product properties given different conveying methods. It was found that the method of measurement affected the results, with sieves showing a larger powder size reduction during transport as compared with the Mastersizer. PSDs with a larger average size at the start of powder transport showed more breakdown, with a greater decrease in the average particle size. However, the larger decrease was not enough to compensate for the initially larger average particle size, and powder that started out with larger agglomerates at the fluidised beds still had a larger average particle size at packing. The Mastersizer appeared to break the large agglomerates during measurement, especially with powder that had not been through the entire transport line, thus masking the extent of the size reduction, however this could only occur to weaker agglomerates. Thus in order to produce IWMP with the desired functionalities, the focus should be on improving agglomeration as oppose to reducing transport breakdown to achieve the desired particle size distribution

Effects of Morphology on the Bulk Density of Instant Whole Milk Powder

The chemical and physical properties of instant whole milk powder (IWMP), such as morphology, protein content, and particle size, can affect its functionality and performance. Bulk density, which directly determines the packing cost and transportation cost of milk powder, is one of the most important functional properties of IWMP, and it is mainly affected by physical properties, e.g., morphology and particle size. This work quantified the relationship between morphology and bulk density of IWMP and developed a predictive model of bulk density for IWMP. To obtain milk powder samples with different particle size fractions, IWMP samples of four different brands were sieved into three different particle size range groups, before using the simplex-centroid design (SCD) method to remix the milk powder samples. The bulk densities of these remixed milk powder samples were then measured by tap testing, and the particles’ shape factors were extracted by light microscopy and image processing. The number of variables was decreased by principal component analysis and partial least squares models and artificial neural network models were built to predict the bulk density of IWMP. It was found that different brands of IWMP have different morphology, and the bulk density trends versus the shape factor changes were similar for the different particle size range groups. Finally, prediction models for bulk density were developed by using the shape factors and particle size range fractions of the IWMP samples. The good results of these models proved that predicting the bulk density of IWMP by using shape factors and particle size range fractions is achievable and could be used as a model for online model-based process monitoring

Polymorphism of μ1-opioid receptor (OPRM1) gene may be of value in genesis of renal malignant neoplasm

Objective: to evaluate alleles distribution of single nucleotide polymorphism 118A>G of μ1-opioid receptor (OPRM1) gene in patients with renal neoplasm and benign diseases.Materials and methods. 100 consecutive patients after renal surgeries retrospectively divided into groups with neoplasm (n = 29) and benign diseases (n = 71).Results. The incidence of renal neoplasm was much higher in homozygous 118A patients than in AG + GG group (36.4 % vs. 14.7 %; p = 0.035).Conclusion. Single nucleotide polymorphism 118A>G OPRM1 gene may be of value in genesis of renal neoplasm