Positron Emission Particle Tracking (PEPT) was successfully employed to validate measured transverse asymmetry in material distribution in the conveying zones of a Twin Screw Granulator (TSG). Flow asymmetry was established to be a property of the granulator geometry and dependent on fill level. The liquid distribution of granules as a function of fill level was determined. High flow asymmetry at low fill level negatively affects granule nucleation leading to high variance in final uniformity. Wetting of material during nucleation was identified as a critical parameter in determining final granule uniformity and fill level is highlighted as a crucial control factor in achieving this. Flow asymmetry of dry material in conveying zones upstream of binder fluid injection leads to poor non-uniform wetting at nucleation and results in heterogeneous final product. The granule formation mechanism of 60°F kneading blocks is suggested to be primarily breakage of agglomerates formed during nucleation. Optimisation of screw configuration would be required to provide secondary growth. This work shows how fill dependent flow regimes affect granulation mechanisms.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpb.2016.01.013 | DOI Listing |
Nutrients
January 2025
Institute of Food and Nutrition Development, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing 100081, China.
Background: It is common for consumers to purchase ultra-processed foods that are perceived to have health risks, and this phenomenon is rarely explained in the existing literature from the perspective of consumers' responses to the intuitive marketing of flavor labels and the packaging.
Methods: This study aimed to fill this knowledge gap and investigated the attention of 920 participants aged 18~59 across China toward fat and sodium content information for six ultra-processed foods (pastry foods, quick-frozen foods, dessert foods, puffed foods, beverages, and sauces) presented in nutrition facts tables based on the theoretical analysis framework for purchasing decisions on ultra-processed foods by using the binary logit model.
Results: It was found that the respondent' s attention to fat and sodium content information was positively influenced by health risk perception levels and levels of knowledge about fat and sodium but negatively influenced by the interaction term between flavor labels (or the packaging) that stimulated the purchase desire and health risk perception levels (or levels of knowledge about fat and sodium).
Materials (Basel)
January 2025
Fort Hare Institute of Technology, University of Fort Hare, Private Bag X1314, Alice 5700, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are regarded as extremely efficient and have significant potential for upcoming photovoltaic technologies due to their excellent optoelectronic properties. However, a few obstacles, which include the instability and high costs of production of lead-based PSCs, hinder their commercialization. In this study, the performance of a solar cell with a configuration of FTO/CdS/BaZrS/HTL/Ir was optimized by varying the thickness of the perovskite layer, the hole transport layer, the temperature, the electron transport layer (ETL)'s defect density, the absorber defect density, the energy band, and the work function for back contact.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMolecules
December 2024
Department of Chemical Systems Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8603, Japan.
Perovskite solar cell (PSC) technology holds great promise with continuously improving power conversion efficiency; however, the use of metal electrodes hinders its commercialization and the development of tandem designs. Although single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), as one-dimensional materials, have the potential to replace metal electrodes in PSCs, their poor conductivity still limits their application. In this study, the near-infrared (NIR)-absorbing anionic heptamethine cyanine dye-doped SWCNTs functioned in a dual role as an efficient charge-selective layer and electrode in PSCs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEcotoxicol Environ Saf
January 2025
Life and Environmental Science College, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 325003, China; Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Subtropical Water Environment and Marine Biological Resources Protection, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 325003, China. Electronic address:
Methimazole (MMI) is an emerging endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC) due to its increasing use in the treatment of thyrotoxicosis (hyperthyroidism), but its potential impact on amphibian development remains largely unexplored. In the present study, the effects of 8 mg/L MMI and 1 μg/L thyroxine (T4) exposure on skeletal ossification and muscle development in Bufo gargarizans tadpoles were comprehensively investigated by double skeletal staining, histological analysis and RNA sequencing. Our results indicated that MMI treatment down-regulated the expression levels of ossification-related genes (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Clin Sleep Med
January 2025
Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Study Objectives: To update sleep medicine providers regarding (1) published research on the uses and performance of novel sleep tracking and testing technologies (2) the use of artificial intelligence to acquire and process sleep data and (3) research trends and gaps regarding the development and/or evaluation of these technologies.
Methods: Medline and Embase electronic databases were searched for studies utilizing screening and diagnostic sleep technologies, published between 2020 and 2022 in journals focusing on human sleep. Studies' quality was determined based on the Study Design criteria of The Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine Levels of Evidence.
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!