Fabrication of Ni-alumina Composite Membrane via Powder and Bulk Impregnation Method for Hydrogen Separation

This work reports two preparation methods of Ni-Al2O3 composite to be used as a hydrogen separation membrane. The first method was powder impregnation while the second method was soaking-drying-firing or bulk impregnation. In the first method, the 10 wt pct Nickel (II) nitrate hexahydrate solution was mixed with Al2O3 powder. The mixed powders were dried at 100℃ and uniaxially pressed into a disk shape at 7 MPa. The densification of composite membranes was accomplished by pressureless sintered at 900–1300℃....     

Impact of podcasting on student motivation in the online learning environment

Researchers investigated the impact of podcasting on student motivation in the online environment during fall 2008 and spring 2009. Data were collected from students enrolled in fourteen online courses at a research university in the United States. One hundred and ninety-one students completed a modified version of the Instructional Materials Motivation Survey (Keller, 2006); it has four subscales: attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction. Strong positive relationships between all subscales were detected. Results indicate students were moderately motivated by the use of podcasts in their online courses. Statistically significant differences in student motivation based on gender, class standing, and prior online learning experience were found. Benefits of using podcasts and recommendations for improvement of the multimedia files were offered by users.     

MDSM: Microarray database schema matching using the Hungarian method

Current microarray databases use different terminologies and structures and thereby limit the sharing of data and collating of results between laboratories. Consequently, an effective integrated microarray data model is required. One important process to develop such an integrated database is schema matching. In this paper, we propose an effective schema matching approach called MDSM, to syntactically and semantically map attributes of different microarray schemas. The contribution from this work will be used later to create microarray global schemas. Since microarray data is complex, we use microarray ontology to improve the measuring accuracy of the similarity between attributes. The similarity relations can be represented as weighted bipartite graphs. We determine the best schema matching by computing the optimal matching in a bipartite graph using the Hungarian optimisation method. Experimental results show that our schema matching approach is effective and flexible to use in different kinds of database models such as; database schema, XML schema, and web site map. Finally, a case study on an existing public microarray schema is carried out using the proposed method.     

Three-Dimensional Numerical Modeling of Heat and Moisture Transfer in Natural Rubber Sheet Drying Process

The effects of heat and moisture transfer on rubber sheet drying were investigated by 3-D modeling using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Complexities arose due to the inclusion of moisture transport. Local convective heat transfer coefficients for the sheets were predicted and then used to determine the mass transfer coefficients using the Chilton–Colburn analogy. Deviations between experimental and simulated temperatures were observed to range from 4.0 to 7.7°C. Temperature and moisture content of the rubber sheets were accurately predicted, and agreement between the experimental and simulated results was acceptable. This is useful for the design of an efficient rubber sheet drying chamber.     

Development of an innovative apparatus using UV‐C for controlling the number of microorganisms in raw milk after milking

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of UV‐C irradiation on the reduction of microorganisms in raw milk. The experiments were carried out by varying the flow rates of 2, 4 and 7 L/min with 39W and 48W UV‐C. The number of microorganisms was reduced by 4.70 (39W) and 4.60 log₁₀ CFU/mL (48W) at 120 min. With the residence time of 4.95 s and the UV‐C doses of 98 and 109.9 mJ/cm² at 253.74 nm, the reduction of microorganism was clearly observed with no significant influence of different UV‐C power settings on the oxidation of milk fat.     

Towards implementation of floating cast method for growing large‐scale high‐quality multicrystalline silicon ingot using designed double crucibles

We report on our attempt to scale up the floating cast method to grow high‐quality multicrystalline silicon ingot using specially designed double crucibles. The cross section of the grown ingot showed the large crystal grain size originating from initially formed dendrite crystals around the top of the melt. By using double crucibles, the residual melt was spontaneously removed from the inner crucible to the outer one at the final stage of the crystal growth. Performance of small‐scale solar cells revealed no significant changes between the top and the bottom part of the ingot except the edge of the bottom due to the non‐uniform removal of the melt. This suggests that strong contact of the ingot with the crucible was successfully avoided by the double crucibles. Therefore, the floating cast method combined with specially designed double crucibles is concluded to be feasible, which could be implemented to realize high‐quality multicrystalline silicon ingot for practical size wafers. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Angiotensin-I-converting enzyme (ACE)-inhibitory peptides from Thai jasmine rice bran protein hydrolysates

Rice bran protein hydrolysate (<50 kDa RBPH) from Thai jasmine variety demonstrating a high Angiotensin I converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity was purified and characterised. ACE inhibitory peptides were obtained from a two-step purification process: gel filtration and preparative reverse-phase high-performance chromatography (RP-HPLC) and then identified by mass spectrometer hybrid quadrupole-time-of-flight. A novel peptide GSGYF in the RBPH was firstly identified and found to have a partial sequence homology of Oryza sativa Japonica Group. This sequence was further synthesised to exhibit as good an inhibition potency with IC₅₀ value of 2.11 µg mL⁻¹ as Captopril (1.15 µg mL⁻¹). The cytotoxicity test revealed that this RBPH is non-toxic against Vero cells. In addition, the <50 kDa RBPH was resistant to in vitro digestion by pepsin and trypsin. These findings suggest that the RBPH containing ACE inhibitory peptides is likely to be safer and healthier than synthetic drugs and can be an effective food supplement for lowering blood pressure.     

Hydrogen Production by Steam Reforming of Fusel Oil Using a CeCoOx Mixed-Oxide Catalyst

Various CeCoO_x mixed-oxide catalysts with different Ce/Co ratios were prepared by surfactant-assisted template precipitation of CeO₂ and Ce₃O₄. The obtained catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectra, hydrogen temperature-programmed reduction, nitrogen physisorption, and transmission electron microscopy. In general, the mixed-oxide CeCoO_x catalysts showed well-dispersed CeO₂ and Co₃O₄ and good catalytic characteristics including a high specific surface area and porous structure. The effectiveness of the prepared catalysts on the hydrogen (H₂) production from steam reforming of fusel oil was studied in a packed-bed reactor. Co played an important role in C–C scission to break down the large C_2–5 molecules into smaller species resulting in H₂ formation. Ce could provide supplementary active oxygen to prevent coke formation on Co, resulting in a more stable activity of the mixed-oxide catalyst throughout the reaction course.