Influence of hydrocolloids on the rheological properties of whey model solutions

The aim of this work was to investigate the influence of several carboxymethylcellulose hydrocolloids addition on the rheological properties of whey model systems as well as sucrose Ś sorbitol Ś water solutions. Measurements were done by rotational viscosimeter, Brookfield DV-III at 20 °C. The rheological parameters were determined by Ostwald and Reiner™s power-law model. The results of variance analysis showed that all investigated sources of variation (model solution composition, type of hydrocolloids and freezing process) had a significant influence on the rheological parameter (consistency coefficient). Due to the interaction of hydrocolloid and whey proteins or minerals the viscosity of the model solutions prepared with ultrafiltrated whey dropped substantially. Freezing process increased the viscosity of whey solutions, while the viscosity of solutions prepared with water did not change significantly

Support Vector Machine-based Soft Sensors in the Isomerisation Process

This paper presents the development of soft sensor empirical models using support vector machine (SVM) for the continual assessment of 2,3-dimethylbutane and 2-methylpentane mole percentage as important product quality indicators in the refinery isomerisation process. During the model development, critical steps were taken, including selection and pre-processing of the industrial process data, which are broadly discussed in this paper. The SVM model results were compared with dynamic linear output error model and nonlinear Hammerstein-Wiener model. Evaluation of the developed models on independent data sets showed their reliability in the assessment of the component contents. The soft sensors are to be embedded into the process control system, and serve primarily as a replacement during the process analysers’ failure and service periods. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia or Rendu-Osler-Weber Syndrome in the Same Family

The authors present the case of three patients from the same family in whom hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) or Rendu-Osler-Weber syndrome was diagnosed. The disease is rare and occurs with multiple telangiectases of the skin and mucosa, and pulmonary arteriovenous fistulae. The clinical status of our patients included multiple telangiectases of the skin and mucosa, recurrent epistaxis, exertion dyspnea and cyanosis. Polycythemia and hypoxemia were observed in the blood. The clinical status and conventional radiological examination of the thoracic region, with the suspicion of arteriovenous (A-V) fistulae, pointed to HHT. A-V fistulae were confirmed by pulmonary angiography. The pulmonary A-V fistulae were operated in all three patients and diagnosis was confirmed by histopathological examination of the operated samples. Clinical improvement was observed after the operation and cyanosis, dyspnea, hypoxemia and polycythemia disappeared

A New Molybdenum Cluster Compound. An X-Ray Investigation

It was in 1957, when McCarroll, Katz and Ward1 discovered the presence of an equilateral triangle of · molybdenum atoms in the crystal structure of Zri 2 Mo 3 0 8 , which was only one representative of a series of isostructural compounds of the general formula APMo} V0 8 where A might be Mg, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Zn, or Cd. More recently, Ansel and Katz2 have carried out a refinement on the Zn2Mo 30 8 structure and the essential structural features of the original proposal of McCarroll, Katz and Ward were found to be correct. After the refinement, the Mo-Mo distance in the triangle was 2.524 + 0.002 A

Psychosocial Characteristics of Patients with Bronchial Asthma and Coronary Disease: Similarities and Differences

The authors compare two groups of subjects: patients with bronchial asthma and those with coronary disease, with regard to some social characteristics, abilities and perception of factors which they conceive are important in the etiology of their disease. Data were obtained by means of a questionnaire based on a known calibrated scale. A group of 100 patients with bronchial asthma and a group of 102 patients with coronary disease were examined. The significance of the difference was tested by c 2, t-test, Wilcoxon’s test and multivariate discriminative analysis. The results showed statistically significant differences between the patients with bronchial asthma and those with coronary disease in some social and psychological characteristics and also with regard to perception of potential etiological factors of their disease. However, no difference was found in life style and habits between the coronary and asthmatic patients

Gravitational probe of quantum spacetime

A quest for phenomenological footprints of quantum gravity is among the central scientific tasks in the rising era of gravitational wave astronomy. We study gravitational wave dynamics within the noncommutative geometry framework, based on a Drinfeld twist and newly proposed noncommutative Einstein equation, and obtain the leading quantum correction to Regge-Wheeler potential up to first order in the noncommutativity parameter. By calculating the quasinormal mode frequencies we show that the noncommutative Schwarzschild black hole remains stable under axial gravitational perturbations.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure

Intracameral dexamethasone reduces inflammation on the first postoperative day after cataract surgery in eyes with and without glaucoma

Purpose: To evaluate whether dexamethasone injected intracamerally at the conclusion of surgery can safely and effectively reduce postoperative inflammation and improve surgical outcomes in eyes with and without glaucoma. Methods: Retrospective chart review of 176 consecutive eyes from 146 patients receiving uncomplicated phacoemulsification (PE) (n = 118 total, 82 with glaucoma), glaucoma drainage device (GDD) (n = 35), combined PE/GDD (n = 11) and combined PE/endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation (n = 12). Ninety-one eyes from 76 patients were injected with 0.4 mg dexamethasone intracamerally at the conclusion of surgery. All eyes received standard postoperative prednisolone and ketorolac eyedrops. Outcomes were measured for four to eight weeks by subjective complaints, visual acuity (VA), slit-lamp biomicroscopy, intraocular pressure (IOP) and postoperative complications. Results: Dexamethasone significantly reduced the odds of having an increased anterior chamber (AC) cell score after PE (p = 0.0013). Mean AC cell score ± SD in nonglaucomatous eyes was 1.3 ± 0.8 in control and 0.8 ± 0.7 with dexamethasone; scores in glaucomatous eyes were 1.3 ± 0.7 in control and 0.9 ± 0.8 with dexamethasone. Treated nonglaucomatous eyes had significantly fewer subjective complaints after PE (22.2% vs 64.7% in control; p = 0.0083). Dexamethasone had no significant effects on VA, corneal changes, IOP one day and one month after surgery, or long-term complications. Conclusions: Intracameral dexamethasone given at the end of cataract surgery significantly reduces postoperative AC cells in eyes with and without glaucoma, and improves subjective reports of recovery in nonglaucomatous eyes. There were no statistically significant risks of IOP elevation or other complications in glaucomatous eyes. © 2009 Chang et al, publisher and licensee Dove Medical Press Ltd