Process intervention for water recovery in food manufacture

A case study has been conducted for the recovery of water from complex wastewater at a soluble coffee manufacturing factory. The study has evaluated separation methods for process intervention based on environmental and economic assessments. Water recovery was identified in two possible wastewater streams at the factory: the overall plant effluent and an intermediate stream before it enters on-site pre-treatment. A novel vibratory field membrane separation was tested at the laboratory scale using real factory wastewater and scaled-up using appropriate design protocols. Recovery of water from the intermediate stream proved the most effective, both environmentally and economically. The full-scale vibratory membrane process recovers 100,000 gallons of water per day that meets specifications for the factory cooling tower. The proposed design reduced the daily well water with draw by 21% and the amount of wastewater discharged from the factory by 28.5%. Annual operating costs were reduced by 22.5% and total life cycle emissions were reduced by 27.8%. These reductions are mainly the result of the reduced volume of wastewater discharged from the factory and the reduced energy requirement of the on-site pre-treatment processes. The vibratory membrane process for water recovery presents favorable economics, even after capital costs are considered. The net present value after 10 years is $485,300, while the payback time is under three years

ANATOMICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF A HOST-PATHOGEN INTERACTION: CYTOSPORA CANKER ON PRUNUS PERSICA (L) BATSCH

A multifaceted program which examined several aspects of the host-pathogen interaction was conducted. Investigations were conducted in the following areas: Developmental Anatomy of Wound Response in Current Year Shoots. Shoots wounded in mid-June developed a suberized necrophylactic periderm (NP) within two weeks. Both diffuse and delimited wound responses were observed. Normal xylem and phloem production was replaced by parenchymatous tissue in samples exhibiting a diffuse wound response. Within four weeks, NP acted as a center for, and instigated, premature exophylactic periderm development. Formation of gum cysts in the xylem and an accumulation of calcium oxalate crystals in cortical cells was also observed. Developmental Anatomy of Cytospora Canker During Initial Canker Formation. Changes occurring in response to wounding and wounding plus inoculation were monitored over a one year period. Gum ducts were produced in the xylem to form a barrier zone in both treatments. NP formed at a faster rate in uninoculated samples. In addition, wound periderms in inoculated samples were poorly delimited and weakly suberized. Barriers in both the bark and xylem of inoculated samples were penetrated by the mass action of wedges of mycelia. Callus tissue in inoculated samples differentiated slowly and multiple attempts to comparmentalize infection were ineffective. Interaction Between Cytospora and Host-Phenolic Compounds in Dormant Peach Trees. The presence of Cytospora in host tissues played a significant role, over and above the wounding response, in establishing levels of host phenolic compounds. Cytospora had the ability to break down host-phenolic compounds. Levels of phenol increased in advance of the fungus to restrict the pathogen. Effect of Crop Load on Growth and Susceptibility to Cytospora. Deblossomed trees attained a greater average leaf area and a greater increase in both trunk and one-year old twig diameter. Highest levels of total resources were attained in twigs of deblossomed trees. The difference in these parameters was associated with canker elongation rates. Deblossomed trees had significantly slower rates of canker development. Seasonal Variation in Cambial Electrical Resistance and Its Relation to Growth. A strong correlation between cambial electrical resistance (CER) and individual cultivars and the onset of dormancy was established. CER was a reliable indicator of growth within and between cultivars

The Effects of Insurance Status on Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury Outcomes: A Literature Review

Objective: To review the literature that describes the effects of insurance status on traumatic brain injury (TBI) outcomes among pediatric patients to understand how policies related to access to health insurance changes TBI outcomes. Method: This review was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA). A search of OVID Medline was conducted in May of 2016 for all years for peer-reviewed articles that included keywords related to “brain injuries” and “insurance status”. Articles were included if authors conducted a separate analysis of children aged 0 to 18. Articles were excluded if the TBI was the result of abuse. Results: After screening for inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 12 articles were analyzed. Discussion/Summary: The findings of this review indicate that insurance status has a significant effect on the health outcomes of pediatric patients who experience TBI, with insured children having lower mortality rates than those with insurance from the government or uninsured. In addition, those insured from the government had a survival benefit when compared to those without insurance. We found evidence that insurance status plays a role in long term outcomes such as rates of placement into rehabilitation facilities and level of disability

The shadow knows: using shadows to investigate the structure of the pretransitional disk of HD 100453

We present GPI polarized intensity imagery of HD 100453 in Y-, J-, and K1 bands which reveals an inner gap ($9 - 18$ au), an outer disk ($18-39$ au) with two prominent spiral arms, and two azimuthally-localized dark features also present in SPHERE total intensity images (Wagner 2015). SED fitting further suggests the radial gap extends to $1$ au. The narrow, wedge-like shape of the dark features appears similar to predictions of shadows cast by a inner disk which is misaligned with respect to the outer disk. Using the Monte Carlo radiative transfer code HOCHUNCK3D (Whitney 2013), we construct a model of the disk which allows us to determine its physical properties in more detail. From the angular separation of the features we measure the difference in inclination between the disks 45$^{\circ}$, and their major axes, PA = 140$^{\circ}$ east of north for the outer disk and 100$^{\circ}$for the inner disk. We find an outer disk inclination of $25 \pm 10^{\circ}$ from face-on in broad agreement with the Wagner 2015 measurement of 34$^{\circ}$. SPHERE data in J- and H-bands indicate a reddish disk which points to HD 100453 evolving into a young debris disk

Evidence for host–microbiome co-evolution in apple

Plants evolved in association with a diverse community of microorganisms. The effect of plant phylogeny and domestication on host–microbiome co‐evolutionary dynamics are poorly understood. Here we examined the effect of domestication and plant lineage on the composition of the endophytic microbiome of 11 Malus species, representing three major groups: domesticated apple (M. domestica), wild apple progenitors, and wild Malus species. The endophytic community of M. domestica and its wild progenitors showed higher microbial diversity and abundance than wild Malus species. Heirloom and modern cultivars harbored a distinct community composition, though the difference was not significant. A community‐wide Bayesian model revealed that the endophytic microbiome of domesticated apple is an admixture of its wild progenitors, with clear evidence for microbiome introgression, especially for the bacterial community. We observed a significant correlation between the evolutionary distance of Malus species and their microbiome. This study supports co‐evolution between Malus species and their microbiome during domestication. This finding has major implications for future breeding programs and our understanding of the evolution of plants and their microbiomes

Lattice Calculation of Glueball Matrix Elements

Matrix elements of the form $$ are calculated using the lattice QCD Monte Carlo method. Here, $|G>$ is a glueball state with quantum numbers $0^{++}$, $2^{++}$, $0^{-+}$ and $G$ is the gluon field strength operator. The matrix elements are obtained from the hybrid correlation functions of the fuzzy and plaquette operators performed on the $12^{4}$ and $14^{4}$ lattices at $\beta = 5.9$ and $5.96$ respectively. These matrix elements are compared with those from the QCD sum rules and the tensor meson dominance model. They are the non-perturbative matrix elements needed in the calculation of the partial widths of $J/\Psi$ radiative decays into glueballs.Comment: 12 pages, UK/92-0