Optimization of the Liquid Distributor in a Falling Film Evaporator by Means of Air‐Water Experiments

Air‐water experiments (cold‐flow experiments) were performed for the liquid distributor of an industrial falling film evaporator (FFE). The feed to the FFE is superheated and a flash evaporation occurs in the head of the FFE. The aim of the experiments was to investigate the vapor‐liquid flow in the head and the resulting liquid distribution to the evaporator tubes. Several different designs of the distributor were investigated and explanations for the performance losses of the real evaporator over time were found. Several measures were finally concluded and also implemented for the real FFE.     

Deacylation of Calcium-Dependent Antibiotics from Streptomyces violaceoruber in Co-culture with Streptomyces sp. MG7-G1

When Streptomyces violaceoruber grows together with Streptomyces sp. MG7-G1, it reacts with strongly induced droplet production on its aerial mycelium. Initially the metabolite profile of droplets from S. violaceoruber in co-culture with Streptomyces sp. MG7-G1 was compared to samples from S. violaceoruber in single-culture by using high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS). Then, the exudate from agar plates of co-cultures and single cultures (after freezing and thawing) was also analysed. Several compounds were only observed when S. violaceoruber was grown in co-culture. Based on their high-resolution ESI mass spectra and their comparable retention times to the calcium-dependent antibiotics (CDAs) produced by S. violaceoruber, the new compounds were suspected to be deacylated calcium-dependent antibiotics (daCDAs), lacking the 2,3-epoxyhexanoyl residue of CDAs. This was verified by detailed analysis of the MS/MS spectra of the daCDAs in comparison to the CDAs. The major CDA compounds present in calcium ion-supplemented agar medium of co-cultures were daCDAs, thus suggesting that Streptomyces sp. MG7-G1 expresses a deacylase that degrades CDAs.     

FastFabric: Scaling hyperledger fabric to 20 000 transactions per second

Blockchain technologies are expected to make a significant impact on a variety of industries. However, one issue holding them back is their limited transaction throughput, especially compared to established solutions such as distributed database systems. In this paper, we rearchitect a modern permissioned blockchain system, Hyperledger Fabric, to increase transaction throughput from 3000 to 20 000 transactions per second. We focus on performance bottlenecks beyond the consensus mechanism, and we propose architectural changes that reduce computation and I/O overhead during transaction ordering and validation to greatly improve throughput. Notably, our optimizations are fully plug‐and‐play and do not require any interface changes to Hyperledger Fabric.     

An Engineering Approach for Estimating the Formation of Nitric Oxide from Fuel‐Nitrogen

Explicit approximate equations for estimating the conversion factor of fuel‐nitrogen into nitric oxide are presented. They depend on the fuel‐nitrogen mole fraction, the initial nitric oxide mole fraction, and the kinetics‐equilibrium mole fraction of nitric oxide. This last parameter expresses a limiting value of fuel‐nitrogen conversion; it includes the complex nitrogen chemistry and depends thus on combustion conditions. Experimental results demonstrate that the kinetics‐equilibrium mole fraction for fuel‐lean and high‐temperature conditions can be well estimated by the chemical‐equilibrium mole fraction, but for lower temperatures the kinetics‐equilibrium mole fraction has to be described by other correlations.     

Chemikalienfreie Bekämpfung von Holzschädlingen durch dielektrische Erwärmung mit Radiowellen und Mikrowellen

Thermal pest control requires long treatment times due to the low thermal conductivity of wood and may lead to the formation of cracks. Here, the thermal treatment with radio waves as well as microwaves has been studied. The direct dielectric heating has the advantage of a good homogeneity. The obtained temperature profiles for radio waves were more homogeneous compared to microwaves. Detailed studies showed that elimination of pests was not related to the application of the electromagnetic field itself, but due to the temperature increase.     

Achieving β-phase poly(vinylidene fluoride) from melt cooling: Effect of surface functionalized carbon nanotubes

Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) based nanocomposites with different surface-functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were prepared by melt mixing in a small scale compounder. With the incorporation of commercial functionalized MWCNTs, the β-phase in PVDF can be directly achieved from melt cooling, as verified by results of Fourier transform infrared spectrum and X-ray diffraction. Interestingly, nanocomposites with amino group functionalized MWCNTs showed the highest percentage of β-phase (17.4%) formation in PVDF, followed by those with hydroxyl groups (11.6%) and unmodified MWCNTs (9.4%). However, the nanocomposites containing MWCNTs with carboxyl groups which were thought to be able to well interact with the dipoles on PVDF chains have the lowest amount of β-phase, i.e. 4.7%. The analysis on the mechanism of the influence of surface functionalization of MWCNTs on the formation of β-phase in PVDF shows that the combined effects of the dispersion of MWCNTs and the nanotube–polymer interactions account for the formation of the β-phase in PVDF.     

Carbon nanotubes‐filled thermoplastic polyurethane–urea and carboxylated acrylonitrile butadiene rubber blend nanocomposites

This article reports the preparation and characterization of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)‐filled thermoplastic polyurethane–urea (TPUU) and carboxylated acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (XNBR) blend nanocomposites. The dispersion of the MWCNTs was carried out using a laboratory two roll mill. Three different loadings, that is, 1, 3, and 5 wt % of the MWCNTs were used. The electron microscopy image analysis proves that the MWCNTs are evenly dispersed along the shear flow direction. Through incorporation of the nanotubes in the blend, the tensile modulus was increased from 9.90 ± 0.5 to 45.30 ± 0.3 MPa, and the tensile strength at break was increased from 25.4 ± 2.5 to 33.0 ± 1.5 MPa. The wide angle X‐ray scattering result showed that the TPUU:XNBR blends were arranged in layered structures. These structures are formed through chemical reactions of ? NH group from urethane and urea with the carboxylic group on XNBR. Furthermore, even at a very low loading, the high degree of nanotubes dispersion results in a significant increase in the electrical percolation threshold. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40341.     

Rheology of natural fibers thermoplastic compounds: Flow length and fiber distribution

The presented study investigates the flow length and the corresponding fiber content distribution in the injection‐moulded natural fiber reinforced thermoplastics and its relation to fiber type and processing parameters such as injection pressure, temperature, injection rate and mould tempering by increasing die temperature. In this research, polypropylene compounds with nominally 30 wt % hemp and sisal fibers are investigated. The influence of the injection pressure (500 and 1000 bar), melt temperature (180°C, 200°C, and 220°C), and die temperature (23°C and 80°C) on the fiber content distribution all over the sample is investigated. An increasing linear trend of fiber content along the spiral length is observed as an evidence of a fiber/polymer multiflow system. A pattern for fiber content distribution with respect to the fiber length along the injected spiral can be distinguished, where the longer fibers are usually found at the end of the injected part and the shorter fibers remain near mould entrance point. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 39861.     

Borcalein: a Carborane-Based Analogue of Baicalein with 12-Lipoxygenase-Independent Toxicity

12-Lipoxygenase is crucial for tumour angiogenesis. 5,6,7-Trihydroxy-2-phenyl-4H-1-benzopyran-4-one (baicalein) is a suitable inhibitor for this enzyme but is rapidly metabolised in vivo. Thus, an improvement of the metabolic stability is necessary to enhance the therapeutic efficiency. An emerging approach to enhance metabolic stability of carbon-based pharmaceuticals is the use of metabolically stable, non-toxic boron clusters, such as dicarba-closo-dodecaborane(12)s (carboranes) as phenyl mimetics. Therefore, the unsubstituted phenyl ring of baicalein was replaced by meta-carborane, resulting in borcalein, the carborane analogue of baicalein. This substitution resulted in a decreased inhibitory activity toward 12-lipoxygenase, but led to increased toxicity in melanoma (A375, B16, B16F10) and colon cancer cell lines (SW480, HCT116, CT26CL25) with decreased tumour selectivity in comparison to baicalein. Surprisingly, borcalein displays a different mechanism of cytotoxicity with increased intracellular production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), reactive nitrogen species (RNS) and nitric oxide (NO).