Influence of physical state of farm housing and processing facilities on quality and safety of dairy milk products.

Doctor of Philosophy in Animal and Poultry Science. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2018.The broad objective of the study was to determine the influence of physical state of farm housing and milk processing facilities on the quality and safety of milk and its products. Data collected from urban areas (n =135) and non-urban areas (n =135) households were used to investigate consumer perceptions of milk safety and consumption preferences of dairy products. Data collected from large-scale dairy farmers (n=158) and small-scale dairy farmers (n=186) were used to investigate the perception of milk producers on milk quality and safety. Milk records collected from large-scale dairy farms (n =78) and small-scale farms (n =126) were used to determine the effect of physical state of farm housing and milking practices on total bacteria counts (TBC), somatic cell counts (SCC), protein, butterfat (BF), solids non-fat (SNF), lactose and total solids (TS). Milk records collected from large-scale (n =12) and small-scale (n = 15) dairy processors were used to estimate the influence of physical state of milk processing facilities on presence of E. coli and coliforms in buttermilk. Urban households were 2.8 times more likely to consume fresh milk compared to their non-urban counterparts (P < 0.05). Households from urban areas were twice more likely to purchase fresh milk from kiosks, while households from non-urban areas were five times more likely to buy fresh milk from vendors. The likelihood of appearance, quality and nutritional value being important to households during selection of milk products was higher in urban locations compared to non-urban locations (odds ratio estimates of 4.29, 4.49 and 6.75, respectively). Knowledge and awareness of milk safety issues was more important to urban households. Large-scale farmers were three times more likely to consider breed affecting milk quality compared to their small- scale counterparts. Post milking contamination of milk was perceived to occur during transportation by small-scale farmers, whilst large-scale farmers ranked storage as an important source of contamination post-milking. The likelihood of milk safety being important was twice higher in large farms compared to small-scale farms (P < 0.05. The majority (70%) of large-scale farms had milking parlour doors, windows and fly proofing in poor physical state. More than fifty percent of small-scale farms had milking parlour doors, windows and fly proofing in good physical state (P < 0.01). Most of the large-scale farms used pumps to deliver their milk to storage tanks whilst most of the small-scale farmers used the pouring method (P < 0.05). The TBC and SCC in milk from dairy farms where the wash rooms that had doors, floors, walls and ventilation were in a good physical state were higher than from those farms where the wash rooms were in poor physical state (P < 0.05). Farms that used machine milking and automatic milking cleanings system had lower TBC and SCC in milk compared to farms that used manual milking or hand washing (P < 0.05). The butterfat and protein content in milk from dairy farms with milking facilities that had poor physical state of ceilings, ventilation and floors was lower than those in good physical state (P < 0.05). The butterfat, protein, lactose and solids non-fat (SNF) content in milk from farms that utilised hand milking was higher than dairy farms that used milking machines (P < 0.05). The likelihood of buttermilk from processors with buildings, processing and packaging areas that had poor physical state of drains, roofs, fly-proofing, windows having E. coli and coliforms was 1.2 times higher than those facilities in good physical state. Processors without quality assurances systems or food safety training were twice more likely to produce buttermilk contaminated by E. coli and coliforms (P < 0.05). Poor physical state of ceilings, doors and floors and poor drainage systems at farms results in production of milk with high bacterial count and presence of E. coli and coliforms in buttermilk

Optimization of a solar air heater with phase change materials: Experimental and ‎numerical study

In this paper, a solar air heater (SAH) with phase change material (PCM)-based energy storage is ‎investigated. Paraffin was placed underneath the absorber plate as the PCM. A transient two-‎dimensional laminar model was used in the Ansys Fluent 17 software to study the effects of different ‎parameters on the performance of the SAH, such as the air mass flow rate, the amount of paraffin, and ‎the thermal conductivity of the paraffin. The performance of the SAH was optimized by considering ‎two objectives simultaneously: thermal energy efficiency and maximum nocturnal temperature ‎difference between the inlet and the outlet of the SAH. To validate the numerical model, a SAH with ‎a 2-cm paraffin layer and the same dimensions as the numerical model was built and tested. The ‎results of the simulation showed good agreement with the experimental results.

Thermal capacitator design rationale. Part 1: Thermal and mechanical property data for selected materials potentially useful in thermal capacitor design and construction

The thermal properties of paraffin hydrocarbons and hydrocarbon mixtures which may be used as the phase change material (PCM) in thermal capacitors are discussed. The paraffin hydrocarbons selected for consideration are those in the range from C11H24 (n-Undecane) to C20H42 (n-Eicosane). A limited amount of data is included concerning other properties of paraffin hydrocarbons and the thermal and mechanical properties of several aluminum alloys which may find application as constructional materials. Data concerning the melting temperature, transition temperature, latent heat of fusion, heat of transition, specific heat, and thermal conductivity of pure and commercial grades of paraffin hydrocarbons are given. An index of companies capable of producing paraffin hydrocarbons and information concerning the availability of various grades (purity levels) is provided

Tissue Processor Based PLC (Programmable Logic Controller)

Tissue Processor Tissue Processor consists of consists of several stages of dehydration, clearing, and paraffin infiltration.Phase dehydration to remove water content in tissues by immersion into alcohol. Clearing stage is the process of pulling out the alcohol content in the network by using a liquid xylol. Paraffin infiltration stages is the stage of filling cavities with liquid paraffin tissue. The purpose of this research is to modify the equipment that had broken before became an useful equipment that use basic controlled&nbsp; PLC. This modification tool-making using the "one-group posttest design" by treatment of the instrument without first measuring the initial state, the results of treatment directly measured without comparison to a control group. Making the modification tool using PLC as the main controller throughout the series. The tool mechanical motion using DC motors and AC motors as well as the use of two sensors limit switch as the controller limits the motor movement. Based on the results obtained temperature measurement error with the largest value of 4.44% in paraffin heater tube 1 and the biggest error of 4.0% in paraffin heater tube 2. While the measurement time of each - each tube obtained the smallest error on the tube-to-one by 0 , 03%, and the biggest error of measurement contained in the tube to the fourth, fifth, sixth, eighth and tenth of 0.16%

Investigation of Anti-Relaxation Coatings for Alkali-Metal Vapor Cells Using Surface Science Techniques

Many technologies based on cells containing alkali-metal atomic vapor benefit from the use of anti-relaxation surface coatings in order to preserve atomic spin polarization. In particular, paraffin has been used for this purpose for several decades and has been demonstrated to allow an atom to experience up to 10,000 collisions with the walls of its container without depolarizing, but the details of its operation remain poorly understood. We apply modern surface and bulk techniques to the study of paraffin coatings, in order to characterize the properties that enable the effective preservation of alkali spin polarization. These methods include Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, atomic force microscopy, near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. We also compare the light-induced atomic desorption yields of several different paraffin materials. Experimental results include the determination that crystallinity of the coating material is unnecessary, and the detection of C=C double bonds present within a particular class of effective paraffin coatings. Further study should lead to the development of more robust paraffin anti-relaxation coatings, as well as the design and synthesis of new classes of coating materials.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figures. Copyright 2010 American Institute of Physics. This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and the American Institute of Physics. The following article appeared in the Journal of Chemical Physics and may be found at http://link.aip.org/link/?JCP/133/14470

Human Pappilomavirus Genotype in Cervical Tissue of Patients with Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia (CIN) 1, CIN 2, and CIN 3

Objectives: to determine the genotype of HPV in patients with precancerous lesions of cervical tissue.Materials and Methods: An observational study with cross sectional study of patients paraffin block CIN1, CIN2, CIN3 was conducted in Dr Soetomo Hospital. HPV DNA was extracted from paraffin blocks, then performed PCR and genotyping of HPV. The sample consisted of 28 patients with cervical tissue paraffin blocks CIN1, CIN2 and CIN3. Patients aged between 26-74 years (standard deviation 10,12).Results: HPV genotypes that infect patients with CIN1 were HPV16 and 18, CIN2 were HPV16 and 52 and CIN3 were HPV16, 67, and combined infection HPV16/67 and HPV52/67. HPV genotypes in a single infection were 26/28 (HPV16, HPV18, HPV52 and HPV67), and multiple infections were 2/28 (HPV16/67 and HPV52/67).Conclusion: The most dominant HPV genotypes infect patients with precancerous lesions of the cervix were HPV16, HPV67, HPV52, and HPV18

X-ray microtomography to evaluate the efficacy of paraffin wax coating for soil bulk density evaluation

The paraffin-coated method is a well-used approach to measure the soil bulk density (BD). BD is a physical property of great importance for studies of soil quality and health. Therefore, representative measurements of this property are highly valued. Resin and paraffin wax are utilized to coat soil samples; however, if these materials ingress into the sample it could affect the representativeness of BD evaluation. The advance in three-dimensional (3D) image analysis techniques such as X-ray microtomography (μCT) offers a great opportunity to visualize and quantify the possible penetration of paraffin wax into clod samples. In this paper we investigated porous system morphological properties of soil samples coated with paraffin wax. The morphological properties of the pores filled with paraffin wax inside the samples were also studied. We observed qualitatively that samples with large pores close to their borders were more susceptible to the penetration of paraffin wax. Samples with pores >10 mm3 had the highest amount of paraffin wax into them. Triaxial shaped and complexly pores also offered less resistance to the ingress of paraffin wax. Positive relations between the amount of paraffin wax inside the samples and the volume of pores measured, pore tortuosity and degree of anisotropy were found. Conversely, the soil pore connectivity was not correlated with the penetration of paraffin wax into the samples, at least for the region of interest (≈27.3 cm3) studied. Finally, an analysis of the impact of paraffin wax ingress inside the samples in measured BD showed increments of ≈0.09 and ≈0.11 g cm−3 in this property when the paraffin wax penetrates into the large pores