Carbonaceous microsphere-based superabsorbent polymer as filler for coating of NPK fertilizer: Fabrication,properties, swelling,and nitrogen release characteristics

Recently, the use of controlled release fertilizers in agriculture has resulted in huge benefits in plant growth and cultivation. Superabsorbent polymer (SAP)-coated fertilizers have the added advantage in retaining water in soil after irrigation and also reduce the nutrient release rate from soil in a controlled manner. This study aimed to produce a nitrogen–phosphorus–potassium (NPK) fertilizer coated with superabsorbent carbonaceous microspheres polymer (SPC) by inverse suspension polymerization method with water-retention and controlled release properties. Two sets of experiments were conducted: (1) three different weight percentages and (2) different materials. NPK coated with SPC showed increasing water-retention ability with respect to carbon microsphere percentages and retains >80% water at the 30th day of experiment compared with pure NPK and NPK coated with SAP. The slow release behavior of all samples was investigated by induced coupled plasma mass spectrometry spectrometry and results showed that NPK coated with SAP and SPC has a low release rate with <50% nutrient release compared with uncoated NPK at the 30th day. The release mechanism kinetics of NPK coated with SAP and SPC were studied based on the Kosmeyer–Peppas model. The mechanisms approached Fickian diffusion-controlled release as the n value for both samples was less than 0.5. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 48396.     

Key exchange process of PIM-SM-based for Multiple Group Communication in P2P

Peer-to-Peer Networking and Applications - Recently, as the P2P service environment repeats evolution, its usage in mobile is rapidly increasing. Applications are being developed in various mobile...     

Bioactive compounds and antioxidant activities of the Korean lotus leaf (Nelumbo nucifera) condiment: volatile and nonvolatile metabolite profiling during fermentation

Recent studies have shown that lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) leaf has various pharmacological effects. However, there have been no scientific investigations into these leaves as a fermented crude liquid. This study compared the in vitro antioxidant capacity of lotus leaf‐fermented broth (LLFB) with that of 57° Brix sugar broth (SB) as a control over a period of 6 months based on 1,1‐diphenyl‐2‐picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity, ferric ion reducing power, superoxide dismutase‐like activity, tyrosinase inhibition and nitrite scavenging activity. The dominant species during fermentation process were Leuconostoc lactis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae for LLFB. A total of thirty‐six metabolites such as alkaloids, fatty acids, organic acids, phenolics, sugar and sugar derivatives, ethyl esters and monoterpenoids differed between SB and LLFB using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Meanwhile, nine volatile compounds in LLFB contributed pleasant, slightly sweetish and fruity odour of condiment and sensory evaluation score of 4.06 ± 1.52 in the proportion of 1:9 LLFB/water.     

Compensation paradox: the influence of monetary rewards on user behaviour

Many e-commerce companies collect users’ personal data for marketing purposes despite privacy concerns. Information-collecting companies often offer a monetary reward to users to alleviate privacy concerns and ease the collection of personal information. This study focused on the negative effects of monetary rewards on both information privacy concerns (IPC) and information disclosure. A survey approach was used to collect data and 370 final responses were analysed using a two-way analysis of variance and a binomial logistic regression model. The results show that monetary rewards increase IPC when an information-collecting company requires sensitive information. Additional results indicate that building trust is a more effective way of collecting personal data. This study identifies how organisations can best execute information-collection activities and contributes additional insights for academia and practitioners.     

离子液体水热法辅助合成稀土Ce掺杂ZnO纳米材料的制备及其应用研究

以1-甲基咪唑和氯代正丁烷为原料,合成1-丁基-3-甲基咪唑氯盐离子液体;以醋酸锌[Zn(Ac)2]、硫酸锌(ZnSO4)和氯化锌(ZnCl2)为锌源,在1-丁基-3-甲基咪唑氯盐离子液体和丙氨酸体系中与硝酸铈反应,经水热合成法制备得到Ce掺杂的纳米ZnO。采用扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、紫外-可见光吸收光谱(UV-Vis)、X射线衍射仪(XRD)、X射线光电子能谱分析(XPS)和红外光谱(FT-IR)对产品进行表征。以亚甲基蓝(MB)为目标降解物,采用UV-Vis检测,考察了Ce掺杂的纳米ZnO的光催化活性。研究表明,焙烧温度对光催化的晶体结构和光催化活性产生较大的影响;2%Ce/ZnO、焙烧温度为500℃、催化时间为30 min、亚甲基蓝用量0.05 g、pH值为10时降解率可达99.5%以上。     

Application of chitosan–alginate microspheres for the sustained release of bacteriophage in simulated gastrointestinal conditions

This study was designed to evaluate the acid stability, release property and antimicrobial efficacy of Escherichia coli O157:H7 bacteriophages encapsulated in chitosan–alginate microspheres under the simulated gastrointestinal conditions. The bacteriophages belonging to Myoviridae family were stable at the pH above 4 in trypticase soy broth. The chitosan–alginate microspheres exhibited protective effect on the viability of bacteriophages in the simulated gastric conditions at pH 2.0 and pH 2.5, showing 4.8 and 5.6 log PFU mL^‐1, respectively, after 1 h of incubation at 37 °C. The release per cent of bacteriophages from microspheres gradually increased up to 65% in the simulated intestinal condition (pH 7.5) at 37 °C for 6 h. The lytic efficacy of chitosan‐ and alginate‐encapsulated bacteriophages against E. coli O157:H7 was significantly maintained in the simulated intestinal conditions to 10 h of incubation (1.3 log reduction). The results suggest that the chitosan–alginate microspheres can be used as a reliable delivery system for bacteriophages.     

A Two-Dimensional Numerical Analysis for Thermal Performance of an Intermittently Operated Radiant Floor Heating System in a Transient External Climatic Condition

Abstract

Building thermal inertia and operation control strategies have impacted on the thermal performance of a radiant floor heating system. This study conducts a two-dimensional numerical analysis of an intermittently operated radiant floor heating system using the Re-Normalization Group model with Discrete Ordinates Radiation model. A detailed numerical simulation setups and various analyses are provided, including grid independency analysis, initial condition, time step sizes and external boundary conditions. Three different weekend day intermittent operation strategies are investigated. The results showed that Case 3 designed with pre-heating of 20?h has better performance compared to Case 1 designed with pre-heating of 8?h and Case 2 designed with pre-heating of 14?h. The average indoor air temperature differences of approximate 2.1, 1.6 and 1.2 K are observed for Case 1, Case 2 and Case 3, respectively, when comparing two-time slot at 8:00am on Friday morning and Monday morning. This significantly highlights the effect of thermal inertia and the potential of energy saving due to the utilization of intermittent operation. Therefore, the current study presents numerical simulation potential in evaluating the radiant floor heating effects on indoor thermal environment, taking into account building thermal inertia and transient external climatic conditions.     

Distribution of carbon contamination in MgAl2O4 spinel occurring during spark-plasma-sintering (SPS) processing: I – Effect of heating rate and post-annealing

Carbon contamination from the carbon paper/dies during spark-plasma-sintering (SPS) processing was examined in the MgAl₂O₄ spinel. The carbon contamination sensitively changes with the heating rate during the SPS processing. At the high heating rate of 100 °C/min, the carbon contamination having organized structures occurred over almost the entire area from the surface to deep inside the SPSed spinel disk. In contrast, at the slow heating rate of 10 °C/min, the carbon contamination having disordered structures occurred only around the surface area. The carbon phases transform into high pressure CO/CO₂ gases by post-annealing in air and lead to pore formation along the grain junctions. The pore formation significantly occurs at the high heating rate due to the large amount of the contaminant carbon phases. This suggests that if once the carbon contamination was formed in the materials, it is very difficult to remove the carbon phases from the materials.