Parameters affecting the efficiency of affinity-based reversed micellar extraction and separation (ARMES) in glycoprotein purification

The Bladder Neck Support Prosthesis (BNSP) was used in 21 women with combined genuine stress incontinence (GSI) and detrusor instability (DI). Outcomes included frequency volume charts, pad tests, voiding cystometry and quality of life scores, up to the sixth month. Of the 21 recruits, 5 never wore the BNSP home, leaving 16 participants. A further 2 did not reach week 4 because of poor efficacy or inability to fit the device. In the 14 who reached week 4, the median number of leaks/day declined from 4.3 to 1.0 (p = 0.002). Median pad test loss fell from 53 to 7 mL (p = 0.012). Cystometry showed an increase in maximum bladder capacity (p < 0.05) and a modest reduction in severity of detrusor instability, with no evidence of outflow obstruction. Three further women discontinued because of poor efficacy (2) or a poorly fitting device (1), leaving 11 of 16 participants (69%) at week 8, when median pad test loss fell to 2 mL. The BNSP is a useful option in patients with the unfortunate combination of an unstable bladder and an incompetent urethra, but requires careful fitting and attention to detail.     

A higher order FDTD method in Integral formulation

We present a fourth-order (4, 4) finite-difference time-domain (FDTD)-like algorithm based on the integral form of Maxwell's equations. The algorithm, which is called the integro-difference time-domain (IDTD) method, achieves its fourth-order accuracy in space and time by taking into account the spatial and temporal variations of electromagnetic fields within each computational cell. In the algorithm, the electromagnetic fields within each cell are represented by space and time integrals (or integral averages) of the fields, i.e., the electric and magnetic fluxes (D,B) are represented by the surface-integral average, and the electric and magnetic fields (E,H) by the line and time integral average. In order to relate the integral average fields in the staggered update equations, we have obtained constitutive relations for these fields. It is shown that the IDTD update equations combined with the constitutive relations are fourth-order accurate both in space and time. The fourth-order correction terms are represented by the modified coefficients in the update equations; the numerical structure remains the same as the conventional second-order update equations and more importantly does not require the storage of field variables at the previous time steps to obtain the fourth-order accuracy in time. Furthermore, the Courant-Friedrichs-Lewy (CFL) stability criteria of this fourth-order algorithm turns out to be identical to the stability limits of conventional second-order FDTD scheme based on differential formulation.     

Pile Driving Analysis for Top Hammering and Bottom Hammering

Piles are used for platform foundations and other offshore structures. Pile driving performance is predicted and analyzed using the wave equation analysis method. In general, the hammering point can be any part of the pile and the same analyses used for hammering at the top of the pile (top hammering) can be used for pile driving by hammering at the bottom of the pile (bottom hammering). Based on the numerical analyses in this research including residual stresses in the pile, there is little difference between the predictions of pile penetration per hammer blow by single- or multiple-blow analyses when soil resistance is low, such as 10 blows/m. The same is true for top hammering and bottom hammering when soil resistance is low. However, when soil resistance is high compared to that of the pile-hammer system, single-blow analysis predicts early refusal for top hammering and unrealistically high pile penetration for bottom hammering. Therefore, multiple-blow analysis, which considers residual stresses, should be used for better understanding of realistic pile driving performance and predictions. Additionally, this study shows that gravity is another controlling factor for pile driving in low-resistance soil.     

Chemical absorption of carbon dioxide into phenyl glycidyl ether solution containing THA-CP-MS41 catalyst

Carbon dioxide was absorbed into the phenyl glycidyl ether (PGE) solution within a range of 0–2.0 kmol/m³ in a stirred batch tank with a planar gas-liquid interface at 333–363 K and 101.3 kPa. Trihexylamine-immobilized on chloropropyl-functionalized MCM-41 (THA-CP-MS41) was used as a mesoporous catalyst, dispersed in organic liquid for the reaction between carbon dioxide and PGE. The measured absorption rates were analyzed to obtain the reaction kinetics of the consecutive chemical reactions which consisted of two steps using the mass transfer mechanism based on film theory. The overall reaction kinetics, analyzed with the pseudo-first-order reaction constant in the consecutive reaction model, was equivalent to the consecutive reaction kinetics. Effects of polar solvent, such as N, N-dimethylacetamide, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone, and dimethyl sulfoxide, on the reaction rate constants were observed using the solubility parameter of the solvent.     

Adsorption of carbon dioxide onto BDA-CP-MS41

Carbon dioxide was adsorbed onto mesoporous adsorbent of butylene diamine immobilized CP-MS41 (BDA-CP-MS41), which was synthesized by chloropropyl functionalized MCM-41 (CP-MS41) with butylene diamine in a laboratory-scale packed-bed. The adsorber was operated batchwise with the charge of adsorbent in the range of 1–3 g to obtain the breakthrough curves of CO₂. Experiments were carried out at different adsorption temperatures (20–40 °C) and flow rates of nitrogen (10–20 cm³/min) to investigate the effects of these experimental variables on the breakthrough curves. The deactivation model was tested for these curves by combining the adsorption of CO₂ and the deactivation of adsorbent particles. The observed values of the adsorption rate constant and the deactivation rate constant were evaluated through analysis of the experimental breakthrough data using a nonlinear least squares technique. The experimental breakthrough data fitted very well to the deactivation model than the adsorption isotherm models in the literature.     

Surface functionalization of SBA-15 particles for ibuprofen delivery

We have synthesized SBA-15 particles and functionalized their surface with different functional groups (amine, diamine, and sulfonic acid groups) to use them as carrier materials in drug delivery. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), nitrogen sorption, and zeta potential measurements were used to characterize the synthesized particles. After surface functionalization, the surface of the sulfonic acid-functionalized particles was more acidic than that of the other particles. Using ibuprofen as a model drug, we found that the release rate increased at higher pH. Furthermore, the particles with the sulfonic acid groups exhibited higher release rate than those with the amine and diamine groups. We explained the difference in the release rate using different electrostatic interaction between drug and particle surface that was caused by the surface functionalization. These results should enable design of drug carrier materials based on the SBA-15 particles with the desired release rate.     

Homogeneously distributed magnetite in the polystyrene spherical particles using the miniemulsion polymerization

The polystyrene spherical particles with homogeneously distributed magnetites were prepared using the conventional miniemulsion polymerization. In the first, the magnetite nanoparticles were coated with oleic acid in aqueous Fe³⁺/Fe²⁺ solution using excess ammonium hydroxide via co-precipitation method. In the second, the miniemulsion polymerization of styrene was carried out using various concentrations of potassium persulfate (KPS) as an initiator, H-08E as an emulsifier, hexadecane as a co-emulsifier and acrylic acid as a dispersing agent in the presence of oleic acid coated magnetite at 70 °C for 24 h. The particle size and its distribution of the homogeneously embedded magnetites were influenced by the concentration of the initiator (KPS) and acrylic acid (AAc). In addition, the emulsifier, H-08E, affects the size and the shape of the PS particles. The optimum conditions for the homogeneously distributed magnetite in the spherical PS particles with the narrow distribution were 5 wt.% styrene, 0.2 g KPS, 0.2 g AAc, and 0.12 g H-08E by inducing 364 nm in diameter, 12.04% in the coefficient of variation (C_v) and 22.1% of the maximum magnetite content.     

Fracture behavior of Cu-cored solder joints

Copper-cored solder can be regarded as the next-generation solder for microelectronic semiconductors exposed to harsh operating conditions owing to its excellent sustainability under extreme thermal conditions, e.g., in microelectronic semiconductors used in transportation systems. Cu-cored solder joints with two different coating layers, Sn–3.0Ag and Sn–1.0In, were compared with the baseline Sn–3.0Ag–0.5Cu solder. The fracture strength and failure mode were examined using the high-speed ball-pull and normal-speed shear tests. The Cu-cored solder joint with the Sn–1.0In plating layer exhibited the highest ball-pull and shear strengths. In addition, it showed a much lower percentage of interface fracture between the Cu-core and plating layer than the interface fracture percentage in the Sn–3.0Ag plating layer due to the improved wettability between the Cu-core and Sn–1.0In plating layer.     

Control of serial sampling systems

In industrial multivariable plants, it is often the case that the plant outputs are detected not simultaneously but serially. The problem of estimating the state vector of the plant based on the data obtained from such a detection scheme is considered, and a special type of observer (referred to as a serial-sampling type) which renews its internal state whenever new data are obtained is proposed. The constructability of a serial-sampling observer and the stability of the closed-loop system which includes such an observer are theoretically studied