No abstract

Yellow dent corn soaked in deionized water at 527C for 24 h without addition of SO 2 was wet-milled using a modified 100-g laboratory procedure employing ultrasound treatment at different points in the milling process and compared to conventional wet milling and milling-only corn. Starch yields from ultrasound treatments varied from 66.93 to 68.72% and were comparable to conventional wet milling (68.92%). The ultrasound treated samples produced 6.35 to 7.02 more percentage point starch compared to the milling-only corn. Compared to the starch from milling-only corn, the ultrasound-produced starches showed a significant increase in whiteness and decrease in yellowness that are comparable to starches produced by conventional wet milling. Ultrasound treatment after the second grinding produced the highest starch yield and the lowest protein content in the resulting starch. The ultrasound-treated starches exhibited different pasting properties as evidenced by higher paste viscosities.

Through theoretical calculations and experiments, three operation modes of lateral-field-excited piezoelectric bulk acoustic wave devices, which are referred to as the pure lateral field excitation (LFE), quasi-LFE, and pseudo-LFE modes, are presented. Several 4–6 MHz LFE devices with similar geometry using lithium niobate, lithium tantalate, and AT-cut quartz crystals are fabricated and tested in air and de-ionized water, respectively. The experimental results are in well agreement with the theoretical calculations.

No abstract

Trypsin inhibitor activity (TIA) and crude protein content of seven genotypes of sweet potato were investigated. There was considerable genotypic variation in TIA, with a four-to ®vefold range in roots and a threefold range in stems. The mean TIA in stems at harvest time was 36% of that in roots, whilst the mean TIA in leaves was only 17% of that in roots. The TIA level in roots was correlated with that in stems (r = 0.83, p = 0.02) and leaves (r = 0.70, p = 0.08). In most genotypes the TIA level in vinetips was low during the early growth stage, increased from day 30 to day 110 after transplanting, then remained constant in subsequent growth stages. However, in genotype Guang 70-9, vine-tips had a high level of TIA at all growth stages. Sweet potato green tissue contained three-to ®vefold more crude protein than roots. No correlation between TIA and crude protein in sweet potato roots was found across genotypes, but TIA was signi®cantly correlated with crude protein content (r = 0.73, p = 0.06) in sweet potato vine-tips. Moist heat treatment (MHT) was found to be effective in eliminating TIA in sweet potato. Most TIA in sweet potato green tissue and roots was eliminated by MHT at !80°C, but heat stability was dependent on genotype. Guang 70-9 had relatively highly heat-stable trypsin inhibitor. The results suggested that screening for genotypes with high protein content and low TIA and use of an appropriate processing method could improve the utilisation of sweet potato for both human food and animal feed.

Accurate selection and location of mobile cranes is a critical issue on construction sites, being able to contribute to the improvement of the safety and efficiency of lifting operations. Considering the complexities and dynamics of construction sites, this study aimed to develop a useful approach for automated selection and localization of mobile cranes based on the simulation of crane operations. First, the information required for crane selection and localization is analyzed and extracted from BIM (building information modeling). Then, mainly considering the crane capacity, the initial crane type is selected with candidate location points. Based on the simulation of lifting operation at the candidate points, feasible location points and crane types are determined through three constraint checks (i.e., environment constraint, operation constraint, and safety constraint). Besides, two kinds of efficiency optimization, namely lifting time minimization and crane movement minimization, are presented to figure out the best location points from the feasible points. Finally, the proposed approach is validated using a case study. This research contributes to not only crane operation planning but also automatic construction simulation, thus supporting the implementation of intelligent construction in the future.

No abstract

No abstract