Development and Application of the Intelligent Seed Processing Technology and Equipment

Seed processing is an important link in the seed industry chain. Crop seed industry is a national strategic and basic core of industry. Drying, cleaning, selecting, grading, coating, packaging and storage of crop seeds are the main measures to realize the precision sowing of crops and the increase of grain yield and income. Continuously improving the intelligence and fi ne level of seed processing equipment is of great signifi cance to ensure the production and supply of excellent seeds and the stability of agricultural production. This paper describes the development status of modern seed processing equipment technology in China, introduces the establishment of seed processing equipment engineering technology research center, taking maize, rice, wheat and cotton seed processing technology and machinery as an example, describes the key technologies and technological process of the breakthrough in the major crop seed processing, analyzes the existing problems of seed processing equipment in China at this stage as well as the development trend in the future, provides a reference for government decision makers in resolving the problem of mechanical damage in the process of seed processing and further improving the intellectualization level of seed processing, promotes the common progress of the global seed processing equipment technology.

Overview of the Semiconductor Industry in the World and in Russia: Production and Equipment

The world’s leading manufacturers of semiconductor products are currently the United States, South Korea, Japan, the EU, and China. Russia’s share in world production is insignificant (0.06 %). The main volume of global production of specialized equipment for the semiconductor industry is concentrated in five leading companies: Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron, ASML, Lam Research and KLA Corporation. This kind of equipment is not produced in Russia, which leads to dependence on the import of such equipment. In this work, the current situation in the global and Russian markets of semiconductor products, as well as the markets of processing equipment and industrial robots used in the semiconductor industry, are described. The authors consider the solution to the problem of providing the semiconductor industry with processing equipment and industrial robots in the leading countries of the world and the possibility of solving this problem in Russia. As the analysis of foreign trade and equipment consumption in the world has shown, the main factor in determining the country’s position in the world market is the foreign policy environment while ensuring its technological security. In the case of China and Russia, it is necessary to create domestic machine-building production of equipment for the semiconductor industry.

Fruit Processing Equipment based on Model Processing

The technology and equipment of this study can improve the technical level of the equipment for peeling and cleaning of Camellia oleifera fruit. Based on the biological characteristics of Camellia oleifera fruit, the size distribution model of Camellia oleifera fruit was established, and the equipment structure and key parameters were determined based on the working principle and design method of the shelling and cleaning mechanism. Based on the analysis of the movement track of the shell stripping and cleaning executive parts, the test scheme is established, and it is optimized that when the crankshaft speed is 240-260r/min and the track speed is 0.4-0.6m/s, the treatment capacity can reach the level of 2000kg/h, and the purification rate is more than 99%. When the vibration frequency of the vibrating motor is set to 50Hz and the horizontal inclination of the separation belt is 50 ° ∼ 55 °, the cleaning effect of the equipment is the best.

Lightbulbs and ducks: The power of tech platforms to make waste disappear

Large technology platform companies have created data centres, filled with banks of data storage and processing equipment to collect, store and process the data created in the last two decades. These consume vast amounts of electricity and emit proportional amounts of heat as waste. This article considers the power of the big technology platforms to direct attention away from these by-products. The interaction of law and power raises novel questions about how to hold power to account. If the law is to effectively respond, it must confront the myriad ways that power is exercised

Biofilm-forming capacity of Escherichia coli isolated from cattle and beef packing plants: relation to virulence attributes, stage of processing, antimicrobial interventions, and heat tolerance.

Despite the importance of biofilm formation in contamination of meat by pathogenic Escherichia coli at slaughter plants, drivers for biofilm remain unclear. To identify selection pressures for biofilm, we evaluated 745 isolates from cattle and 700 generic E. coli from two beef slaughter plants for motility, expression of curli and cellulose, and biofilm-forming potential. Cattle isolates were also screened for serogroup, stx1 , stx2 , eae and rpoS. Generic E. coli were compared by source (hide of carcass, hide-off carcass, processing equipment) before and after implementation of antimicrobial hurdles. The proportion of E. coli capable of forming biofilms was lowest (7.1%; P < 0.05) for cattle isolates and highest (87.3%; P < 0.05) from equipment. Only one enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) was an extremely-strong biofilm-former, in contrast to 73.4% of E. coli from equipment. Isolates from equipment after sanitation had a greater biofilm-forming capacity ( P < 0.001) than those before sanitation. Most cattle isolates were motile and expressed curli, although these traits along with expression of cellulose and detection of rpoS were not necessary for biofilm formation. In contrast, isolates capable of forming biofilms on equipment were almost exclusively motile and able to express curli. Results of the present study indicate that cattle would rarely carry EHEC capable of making strong biofilms to slaughter plants. However, if biofilm-forming EHEC contaminated equipment, current sanitation procedures may not eliminate the most robust biofilm-forming strains. Accordingly, new and effective anti-biofilm hurdles are required for meat-processing equipment to reduce future instances of food-borne disease. Importance As the majority of enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) are not capable of forming biofilms, sources were undetermined of the biofilm-forming EHEC isolated from ‘high-event periods’ in beef slaughter plants. This study demonstrated that sanitation procedures used on beef-processing equipment may inadvertently lead to survival of robust biofilm-forming strains of E. coli . Cattle only rarely carry EHEC capable of forming strong biofilms (1/745 isolates evaluated), but isolates with greater biofilm-forming capacity were more likely ( P < 0.001) to survive equipment sanitation. In contrast, chilling carcasses for 3 days at 0°C reduced ( P < 0.05) the proportion of biofilm-forming E. coli . Consequently, an additional anti-biofilm hurdle for meat-processing equipment, perhaps involving cold exposure, is necessary to further reduce the risk of food-borne disease.

IAEA-Assisted Treatment of Liquid Radioactive Waste at the Saakadze Site in Georgia

50 m3 of legacy liquid radioactive waste at the Saakadze site in Georgia was treated using a modular type facility with apparatuses encased in three metallic 200 L drums using as purification method the sorption/ion exchange technology. The main contaminant of water in the underground tank was the long-lived radionuclide 226Ra. The casing of processing equipment enabled an effective conditioning of all secondary waste at the end of treatment campaign which resulted in the fully purified water stored on site for further reuse or discharge, and three 200 L metallic drums with cemented radioactive waste which are currently safely stored.