Investigación sobre la composición química, minerales y ácidos grasos de dos cultivares de almendra cultivados como orgánico y convencional en el sudeste de Turquía

Organic farming is a human and environment friendly production system that is based on soil fertility and food safety without using chemical fertilizers and pesticides in production, aiming to re-establish the deteriorated ecological balance as a result of harmful production practices. Organic products attract the interest of consumers as they are strongly perceived as healthier products compared to conventional food. This study aimed to determine the differences in chemical, mineral, and fatty acid characteristics between conventionally and organically cultivated Ferragnes and Ferraduel almond cultivars. When conventional and organic almonds were evaluated in terms of fatty acids, proximate compositions, and minerals, crude oil and Mg were statistically insignificant, while Cu was significant (P < 0.05) and all others were quite significant (P < 0.001). Total sugar was higher in organic samples compared to conventional samples in both cultivars. The crude oil and linoleic acid (12.93% for Ferragnes and 14.99% for Ferraduel) were higher in conventional samples but oleic acid (78.9% for Ferragnes and 81.08% for Ferraduel) was higher in organic samples. In addition, organic samples contained higher Mg and Fe but lower P, K, Ca, Na, Zn, Mn and Cu when compared with conventional samples. The results indicate that conventionally cultivated almonds present higher mineral content and lower fatty acid value compared to organically cultivated almonds.La agricultura orgánica es un sistema de producción amigable con el ser humano y el medio ambiente, basado en la fertilidad del suelo y la seguridad alimentaria. Este sistema suele prescindir del uso de fertilizantes químicos y pesticidas en la producción, con el objetivo de prefijar el equilibrio ecológico previamente destruido como resultado natural de prácticas de producción incorrectas. Los productos orgánicos están atrayendo cada vez más el interés de los consumidores ya que se perciben como productos más saludables en comparación con los alimentos convencionales. Este estudio tenía como objetivo determinar las diferencias en las características químicas, minerales y ácidos grasos existentes entre los cultivares de almendra de Ferragnes y de Ferraduel, cultivados tanto convencionalmente como orgánicamente. Cuando se evaluaron las almendras convencionales y las orgánicas en términos de ácidos grasos, composiciones proximal y minerales, el aceite crudo y el Mg fueron estadísticamente insignificantes, mientras que los valores de Cu fue significativo (P < 0.05) y todos los demás fueron bastante significativos (P < 0.001). El azúcar total fue mayor en muestras orgánicas en comparación con muestras convencionales en ambos cultivares. El aceite crudo y el ácido linoleico (12.93% para Ferragnes y 14.99% para Ferraduel) fue mayor en muestras convencionales, pero el ácido oleico (78.9% para Ferragnes y 81.08% para Ferraduel) fue mayor en muestras orgánicas. Además, las muestras orgánicas contenían mayor Mg y Fe pero menor P, K, Ca, Na, Zn, Mn y Cu cuando se compararon con las muestras convencionales. Los resultados indican que las almendras convencionales presentan mayor contenido mineral y menor valor de ácidos grasos en comparación con las cultivadas orgánicamente

Coarsening in Solid-liquid Mixtures: Overview of Experiments on Shuttle and ISS

The microgravity environment on the Shuttle and the International Space Station (ISS) provides the ideal condition to perform experiments on Coarsening in Solid-Liquid Mixtures (CSLM) as deleterious effects such as particle sedimentation and buoyancy-induced convection are suppressed. For an ideal system such as Lead-Tin in which all the thermophysical properties are known, the initial condition in microgravity of randomly dispersed particles with local clustering of solid Tin in eutectic liquid Lead-Tin matrix, permitted kinetic studies of competitive particle growth for a range of volume fractions. Verification that the quenching phase of the experiment had negligible effect of the spatial distribution of particles is shown through the computational solution of the dynamical equations of motion, thus insuring quench-free effects from the coarsened microstructure measurements. The low volume fraction experiments conducted on the Shuttle showed agreement with transient Ostwald ripening theory, and the steady-state requirement of LSW theory was not achieved. More recent experiments conducted on ISS with higher volume fractions have achieved steady-state condition and show that the kinetics follows the classical diffusion limited particle coarsening prediction and the measured 3D particle size distribution becomes broader as predicted from theory

In-situ measurement of internal gas pressure within cylindrical lithium-ion cells

Internal gas pressure is a key parameter that varies depending on cell heating and gas formation over the lifetime of a lithium-ion cell under dynamic load conditions and ageing. In our research, for the first time, we present a methodology to directly measure internal gas pressure during pre-instrumentation, cell operation and ageing via an embedded sensor system. Cylindrical format cells (LG-INR21700M50) are instrumented using our proven instrumentation technique. Our study demonstrates that the performance and degradation of instrumented cells are not adversely affected by the instrumentation process. In this study, the effect of state-of-charge (SOC), degradation and temperature on internal gas pressure is evaluated. Initial results highlight a nonlinear relationship between gas pressure and SOC of the cells during charging and discharging and, gas pressure and temperature when the cells are operated under no-load conditions. Our study further highlights that gas pressure accumulation can be correlated with capacity fade or state-of-health (SOH). Monitoring of internal gas pressure could therefore become a useful additional indicator of SOC and SOH and provide new insights into degradation and the safety of lithium-ion cells

Novel hydroxyapatite/graphene oxide/collagen bioactive composite coating on Ti16Nb alloys by electrodeposition

PMID = 3102932

In-situ temperature monitoring of a lithium-ion battery using an embedded thermocouple for smart battery applications

Uncertainty in the measurement of key battery internal states, such as temperature, impacts our understanding of battery performance, degradation and safety and underpins considerable complexity and cost when scaling-up battery components into complete systems. Our research presents a systematic methodology for the engineering of a commercially available cylindrical cell format to accept in-cell instrumentation. We have developed bespoke cell opening methods and unique fixtures that facilitate a reliable instrumentation process. Extensive experimental results are presented that highlight the performance of both the sensor and the lithium-ion battery are not adversely affected by instrumentation. Our modified test cells were evaluated the energy capacity and impedance for a range of different electrical loading conditions and compared to a set of reference or unmodified batteries. The longer-term implications of embedding instrumentation within a battery are also evaluated with cell performance evaluated after a period of calendar and cyclic ageing. Our study demonstrates the importance of internal temperature monitoring during cell operation by comparing internal and surface temperatures measurements. We found that the internal temperature is consistently and notably higher than surface temperature during cell characterisation and when the cell was electrically loaded with a dynamic real-world profile derived from an electric vehicle. No significant effect on the electrochemical performance of the instrumented cells was observed. Measurement data demonstrates that there is a negligible reduction in energy capacity and only a marginal increase in internal resistance

Plant distribution-altitude and landform relationships in karstic sinkholes of Mediterranean region of Turkey

PubMed ID: 20648813The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between the plant distribution and the altitude-shape-size characteristics of sinkholes, and the landform characteristics inside sinkholes in the Mediterranean region of Turkey. Block kriging, Factor analysis, Cluster Analysis and Detrended Correspondence Analysis were performed. The sinkhole type and altitudinal zone were found to be the significant factors affecting the plant distribution. However, the sinkhole type was more important than the altitudinal zone. Hence, the sinkholes were first subdivided into groups according to types and then the groups were divided into subgroups according to the altitudinal zones. Consequently, 4 groups were defined; A-type sinkholes [1400-1550 m (A 1), 1550-1700 m (A2)] and B-type sinkholes [1400-1550 (B1), 1550-1700 m (B2)]. The B-type was wider vertically and shorter horizontally than A-type sinkholes. Significant differences were found between the plant distribution and slope position inside the sinkholes. Plant distribution in the lower slopes was different from that in the flats and ridges in the B1 sub-type of B-type. Plant distribution in B 2 subtype was different among the slope positions (ridge, middle slope, lower slope, and flat). Although distribution of plants is different in different parts (ridges, upper slope, middle slope, lower slope and basal flats) of A sinkhole, the differences between the parts of intermediate slope position are not significant. A high plant variability along short distances in the sinkholes was observed in the study area. That is why the site of sinkholes have a big potential for the distribution of many species. Hence, the area must be separated as strictly protected zone. © Triveni Enterprises