Benjamin Franklin: Religion and Freedom

The paper considers Benjamin Franklin’s writings on religious matters, as well as his interaction with religious personae and institutions, on a culturological level. In this, his Autobiography (1791) is the primary source, as are three principal essays he published on the matter during his lifetime: “A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity” (1725), “Articles of Belief and Acts of Religion” (1728), and “On the Providence of God in the Government of the World” (1732). From these sources, an attempt to reconstruct Franklin’s curious approach to religion, cosmology and the concept of God is made, and the trajectory along which his opinions seem to have shifted is traced. Most importantly, it is argued that, for all the different approaches to religion Franklin exhibited throughout his lifetime, his stance on religion is in a metonymic relation with his political orientation as a Founding Father of the United States. That is, religious freedom he advocated is ostensibly a manifestation of his grander approach to freedom of any kind, which American cultural identity is based on. This freedom is also considered in relation to Franklin’s stance towards slave owning and towards Native Americans

Religion, Imagination and Revolution in William Blake’s “The Tyger” and Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “Mont Blanc”

The Romantic era represented a considerable artistic and philosophical paradigm shift towards subjectivity in perceiving and portraying the world around us, and thus heavily relied on the fusion of several distinct topics: religion, politics, social matters, nature, art, etc. In the context of British Romanticism, or more precisely British Romantic poetry, one might point out the importance of the “great six” poets: William Blake, William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and John Keats. This paper comparatively takes into consideration Blake and Shelley, and singles out two of their poems which are generally considered to represent some of their finest work – Blake’s “The Tyger” and Shelley’s “Mont Blanc”. The comparison of the poems yields, in spite of their rarely being considered as companion pieces, great philosophical and poetic resemblances. Both authors saw nature, albeit in unique ways, as a logical extension of the poet’s imagination and of religious considerations, which becomes evident upon reading the poems. The similitudes demonstrated here serve as evidence of the complex entanglement of Romantic ideologies, both on the level of a single author or a single poem and on the level of time and place (turn-of-the-nineteenth-century England). Furthermore, the paper situates the said poems in a broader European political context and delineates the possible influence of that context on their creation

Benjamin Franklin: Religion and Freedom

The paper considers Benjamin Franklin’s writings on religious matters, as well as his interaction with religious personae and institutions, on a culturological level. In this, his Autobiography (1791) is the primary source, as are three principal essays he published on the matter during his lifetime: “A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity” (1725), “Articles of Belief and Acts of Religion” (1728), and “On the Providence of God in the Government of the World” (1732). From these sources, an attempt to reconstruct Franklin’s curious approach to religion, cosmology and the concept of God is made, and the trajectory along which his opinions seem to have shifted is traced. Most importantly, it is argued that, for all the different approaches to religion Franklin exhibited throughout his lifetime, his stance on religion is in a metonymic relation with his political orientation as a Founding Father of the United States. That is, religious freedom he advocated is ostensibly a manifestation of his grander approach to freedom of any kind, which American cultural identity is based on. This freedom is also considered in relation to Franklin’s stance towards slave owning and towards Native Americans

Effect of Storage Temperature on Rapeseed Quality

The objective of this paper was to determine the influence of storage conditions on the quality of seeds in rapeseed cultivar Bristol and hybrid Triangl, namely on the oil and free fatty acids content, which are the two most important rapeseed quality parameters. The rapeseed seeds were stored in two conditions: in storage facility with controlled atmosphere (with temperature of 10 ｰC and relative air moisture approximately 70%) and in storage facility without atmosphere control (where the air temperature and moisture varied). During a nine-month storing period, the samples’ mass was monitored monthly while oil content, free fatty acids (FFA) content and seed moisture were determined before and after storing. Storing in conditions without atmosphere control showed that the samples’ mass was increasing during the first four months, in the following three months it was decreasing, and then stagnated until the end of the storing period. Samples stored in controlled atmosphere showed variations in mass, with minor oscillations during the whole storing period, which resulted in lower FFA content in comparison with the samples stored in facilities without atmosphere control. The oil content after storing in both facilities decreased, and FFA content rose in all samples. In conclusion; storing in controlled atmosphere gave better results in terms of rapeseed quality

Quality of Pelleted Olive Cake for Energy Generation

Olive cake is by-product of olive oil production. This material cannot be stored in original condition for a long time because it has high water content and relatively high portion of oil that causes rapid deterioration. Thus it is necessary to investigate possible methods of remediation of such by-product, where utilization for energy generation presents a useful option. Several studies have been conducted on energy generation from olive cake, however not one that includes pelleting as a pre-treatment. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to determine the chemical composition of different cultivars of olive cake, to produce pellets, and determine their basic quality parameters. The pellets obtained from olive cake had mainly satisfactory results regarding their quality in comparison to standards for fuel pellets. It should be kept in mind that these standards are manly for wood pellets, and therefore some lower criteria could be applied for olive cake and such biomass. The highest amount of residual oil and the lowest amount of protein was found in cultivar ‘Buža’ and produced pellets had the smallest abrasion index (8.15%). Other cultivars had lower oil and higher protein content, and abrasion index higher than 10%. For these cultivars preparation of material (conditioning and/or binder adding) prior to pelleting is necessary. Higher heating value (HHV) and lower heating value (LHV) were not significantly influenced by different chemical composition of cultivars, thus attention should be paid on their influence on pelleting process

Quality of Pelleted Olive Cake for Energy Generation

Olive cake is by-product of olive oil production. This material cannot be stored in original condition for a long time because it has high water content and relatively high portion of oil that causes rapid deterioration. Thus it is necessary to investigate possible methods of remediation of such by-product, where utilization for energy generation presents a useful option. Several studies have been conducted on energy generation from olive cake, however not one that includes pelleting as a pre-treatment. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to determine the chemical composition of different cultivars of olive cake, to produce pellets, and determine their basic quality parameters. The pellets obtained from olive cake had mainly satisfactory results regarding their quality in comparison to standards for fuel pellets. It should be kept in mind that these standards are manly for wood pellets, and therefore some lower criteria could be applied for olive cake and such biomass. The highest amount of residual oil and the lowest amount of protein was found in cultivar ‘Buža’ and produced pellets had the smallest abrasion index (8.15%). Other cultivars had lower oil and higher protein content, and abrasion index higher than 10%. For these cultivars preparation of material (conditioning and/or binder adding) prior to pelleting is necessary. Higher heating value (HHV) and lower heating value (LHV) were not significantly influenced by different chemical composition of cultivars, thus attention should be paid on their influence on pelleting process

Amino Acid Composition, Urease Activity and Trypsin Inhibitor Activity after Toasting of Soybean in Thick and Thin Layer

The objective of this study was to determine amino acid content, urease activity and trypsin inhibitor activity in soybean grain for polygastric animals’ feed aft er toasting with the aim to introduce thick layer in toasting technology. Hence, soybean was toasted both in thick and thin layer at 130 oC during 10 minutes. In order to properly monitor the technological process of soybean thermal processing, it was necessary to study crude protein content, urease activity, trypsin inhibitor activity and amino acid composition of soybean in natural and toasted samples. Results demonstrate that protein content in soybean toasted in thick and thin layer was found to be slightly increased while urease activity was reduced in relation to non-treated sample. Study also established a significant reduction of trypsin inhibitor activity aft er toasting, at higher extent in thin layer toasting. Amino acid content of soybean was slightly increased in relation to natural sample, as well as difference between amino acid content in samples toasted in thick and thin layers

Olive cake as a source of energy

Proizvodnjom maslinovog ulja dobiva se velika količina otpada u obliku komine masline kao čvrste faze, te vegetativne vode kao tekuće faze. Zbrinjavanje tog otpada je zakonska obveza u Europskoj uniji, no nije reguliran način tog zbrinjavanja. U Hrvatskoj je pak Pravilnikom o ekološkoj proizvodnji u uzgoju bilja i u proizvodnji biljnih proizvoda, definirano da se otpad poljoprivredne proizvodnje ne može koristiti bez njegove određene obrade. Komina masline može biti vrijedna sirovina, a osobito se može dobro iskoristiti za proizvodnju energije. U ovom radu naglasak je na dobivanju energije u kogeneracijskim postrojenjima, spaljivanjem peleta komine masline u pećima za biomasu. Na taj način istovremeno se rješava problem komine masline kao otpada uz ekološki prihvatljivo dobivanje energije.In the production of olive oil there is a large quantity of waste in the form of olive cake as the solid phase, and vegetation water as the liquid phase. The disposal of that waste is a legal commitment in the European Union, but the manner of that disposal hasn’t been regulated. The Regulation on Ecological Production in Plant Cultivation and Crop Production in Croatia has defined that the waste of crop production can not be used without its certain processing. Olive cake can be a valuable raw material and it can especially be well- used for the production of energy. The emphasis in this paper is on energy producing in cogenerational plants by burning olive cake pellets in furnaces for biomass. In that way the problem of olive cake as waste is solved at the same time together with ecologically acceptable production of energy

IMPACT OF STEAMING PROCEDURE ON PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF CORN KERNEL

Cilj ovog rada bio je istražiti utjecaj procesa uparavanja kao hidrotermičke dorade i sušenja na dimenzije zrna kukuruza (dužina, širina i debljina). Istraživanja su provedena tijekom tri vegetacijske sezone (2002., 2003. i 2004. godina) na hibridima Bc 4982, Bc 462, Bc Jumbo, Florencia i Stefania uzgojenih na niskoj i visokoj razini agrotehnike. Navedeni hibridi su nakon berbe podvrgnuti procesu uparivanja (0,5 bara u vremenu od 10 minuta) nakon čega su sušeni i to na četiri temperature (70 °C, 90 °C, 110 °C, 130 °C). Uz dimenzije utvrđena su i fizikalna svojstva gustoća, volumen i sferičnost zrna kukuruza. Dobiveni rezultati pokazuju da postoje značajne razlike u dimenzijama zrna kukuruza prije i nakon procesa uparavanja kao i između uzoraka tretiranih različitim temperaturama sušenja.The aim of the research was to investigate the dimensions (length, width, and thickness) and some physical characteristics of corn kernel, grown extensively and intensive. The research was conducted during three vegetation seasons (2002, 2003, and 2004) on hybrids Bc 4982, Bc 462, Bc Jumbo, Florencia, and Stefania. These hybrids were firstly steamed (0.5 bar for ten minutes) and then dried at four temperatures (70 °C, 90 °C, 110 °C, and 130 °C). Some physical properties of corn kernel, such as density, volume, and sphericity were established. In order to determine the difference in dimensions, they were measured before steaming procedure as well. It was found that there were significant differences in corn kernel dimensions before and after steaming, as well as between samples exposed to different drying temperature levels

IMPACT OF STEAMING PROCEDURE ON PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF CORN KERNEL

Cilj ovog rada bio je istražiti utjecaj procesa uparavanja kao hidrotermičke dorade i sušenja na dimenzije zrna kukuruza (dužina, širina i debljina). Istraživanja su provedena tijekom tri vegetacijske sezone (2002., 2003. i 2004. godina) na hibridima Bc 4982, Bc 462, Bc Jumbo, Florencia i Stefania uzgojenih na niskoj i visokoj razini agrotehnike. Navedeni hibridi su nakon berbe podvrgnuti procesu uparivanja (0,5 bara u vremenu od 10 minuta) nakon čega su sušeni i to na četiri temperature (70 °C, 90 °C, 110 °C, 130 °C). Uz dimenzije utvrđena su i fizikalna svojstva gustoća, volumen i sferičnost zrna kukuruza. Dobiveni rezultati pokazuju da postoje značajne razlike u dimenzijama zrna kukuruza prije i nakon procesa uparavanja kao i između uzoraka tretiranih različitim temperaturama sušenja.The aim of the research was to investigate the dimensions (length, width, and thickness) and some physical characteristics of corn kernel, grown extensively and intensive. The research was conducted during three vegetation seasons (2002, 2003, and 2004) on hybrids Bc 4982, Bc 462, Bc Jumbo, Florencia, and Stefania. These hybrids were firstly steamed (0.5 bar for ten minutes) and then dried at four temperatures (70 °C, 90 °C, 110 °C, and 130 °C). Some physical properties of corn kernel, such as density, volume, and sphericity were established. In order to determine the difference in dimensions, they were measured before steaming procedure as well. It was found that there were significant differences in corn kernel dimensions before and after steaming, as well as between samples exposed to different drying temperature levels