A hybrid model for human-factor analysis of engine-room fires on ships: HFACS-PV&FFTA

In this study, an analysis of fire-explosion accidents in ship engine rooms was conducted. For analysis, a hybrid method including the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) and fuzzy fault tree analysis (FFTA) was used. Using the HFACS method, the factors in the formation of engine-room fires were classified according to a hierarchical structure. The possible accident scenarios and probabilities were calculated using the FFTA method. In this study, it was observed that fire-explosion accidents were concentrated in ships over 20 years old and that mechanical fatigue affected accident formation. In particular, when the increased hot surfaces due to the operation of a ship's engines while it is in motion are combined with oil/fuel leakage, fire-related accidents become inevitable. Failure to provide proper insulation also triggers the occurrence of accidents. It has been observed that some of such accidents occur because the materials used in maintenance and repair work are not original to the ship. During this study, the causes of accidents were examined to prevent fire-related accidents from occurring in engine rooms, and suggestions were made to prevent similar accidents from happening in the future

Optimal Handling and Postharvest Strategies to Reduce Losses of ‘Cuello Dama Negro’ Dark Figs (Ficus Carica L.)

The optimal postharvest handling to reduce postharvest decay and maintain quality of ‘Cuello Dama Negro’ fresh dark figs grown in Spain is been studied. Different storage temperatures (0ºC and 4ºC), relative humidity (RH, 75% to 95%) and cooling strategies (delayed and intermittent cooling) were tested. Moreover, different postharvest strategies such as 1-MCP (10 ppm), two different passive modified atmosphere packaging (Xtend® and LifePack MAP), and SO2 generating pads (UVASYS, Grapetek (Pty) Ltd.), were also tested. Storage at 0ºC, 95% RH together with MAP effectively decreased postharvest rots and therefore increased the market life of ‘Cuello Dama Negro’ fresh figs, without altering the fruit quality nor the consumer liking degree. No improvement on the shelf life of the fruit was observed with the application of 1-MCP. The use of SO2 generating pads reduced the decay but detrimentally affected fruit quality by inducing skin bleaching. Low temperature from harvest to consumption is crucial for a good maintenance of quality in fresh fig. In addition, EMAP technology is a low-cost technology able to reduce decay and maintain fruit quality of fresh figs up to 2 weeks.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Searches for new physics using the t(t)over-bar invariant mass distribution in pp collisions at √s=8 TeV

This is the pre-print version of the final published paper that is available from the link belowSearches for anomalous top quark-antiquark production are presented, based on pp collisions at √s=8  TeV . The data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19:7 fb^-1, were collected with the CMS detector at the LHC. The observed tt invariant mass spectrum is found to be compatible with the standard model prediction. Limits on the production cross section times branching fraction probe, for the first time, a region of parameter space for certain models of new physics not yet constrained by precision measurements

Downstream processes for plant cell and tissue culture

Biotechnological cultivation of plant cells and tissues is one of the most challenging fields of recent scientific researches. The requirements of pharmaceutical and food industries in terms of value-added phytochemicals have increased rapidly in the last few years. Therefore, cost-effective and technically sound downstream processes have to be developed in order to supply standardized end-products. Depending on the utilization of the biomass or the culture broth, different types of facilities are needed for the recovery and quali-quantitative analysis. The aim of this chapter is to summarize mass transfer considerations and critically outline the developments in downstream processing of plant cell and tissue cultures by presenting fundamental knowledge as well as the advantages and disadvantages of some conventional and novel techniques such as supercritical fluid and membrane processes. Furthermore, state of the art for recovery and purification of secondary metabolites were discussed in the light of patents via Espacenet database covering US, Japan, European, Korean, and Chinese issued and applied patents and WIPO publications. Innovative downstream processes in combination with hyphenated techniques representing a modern approach to perform fast and reproducible analytical methods for quantification and quality assurance of secondary metabolites are major challenges for industrial-scale applications of plant cell and tissue cultures. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. All rights are reserved