Yield stress distribution in injection‐moulded glassy polymers

A methodology for structural analysis simulations is presented that incorporates the distribution of mechanical properties along the geometrical dimensions of injection‐moulded amorphous polymer products. It is based on a previously developed modelling approach, where the thermomechanical history experienced during processing was used to determine the yield stress at the end of an injection‐moulding cycle. Comparison between experimental data and simulation results showed an excellent quantitative agreement, both for short‐term tensile tests as well as long‐term creep experiments over a range of strain rates, applied stresses, and testing temperatures. Changes in mould temperature and component wall thickness, which directly affect the cooling profiles and, hence, the mechanical properties, were well captured by the methodology presented. Furthermore, it turns out that the distribution of the yield stress along a tensile bar is one of the triggers for the onset of the (strong) localization generally observed in experiments. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry     

Druggability Assessment for Selected Serine Proteases in a Pharmaceutical Industry Setting

Target druggability assessment is an integral part of the early target characterization and selection process in pharmaceutical industry. Here, we investigate a set of five different serine proteases from the blood coagulation cascade. The aim of this study is twofold. Firstly, leveraging the wealth of available in-house high-throughput screening (HTS) data, we analyze HTS hit rates and discuss their predictive value for the development of small molecule (SMOL) candidates. Purely structure-activity relationship (SAR) based druggability ratings are compared with computational protein-structure based druggability assessments. Secondly, we evaluate the impact of using conformational ensembles from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations instead of single static crystal structures as basis for computational druggability assessments. Based on this study, we recommend incorporating molecular dynamics routinely into the early target characterization process, especially if only a single X-ray structure is available.     

Modularisierung von Gaswäschern für die CO2‐Entfernung aus Biogas

Modularization has been identified as one of the research fields of the ?50 % idea”?. A development methodology for modules must consider both the economies of scale for investment costs and costs of operation and maintenance. In this paper, the impact of an absorber module, which is offered as discretized diameter scaling, on the total process is investigated at the example of the CO₂ separation from biogas. The simulation shows the effect of this approach to the stripper diameter and the energy demand of the process. The calculations form the basis for applying cost models.     

Increased liver and lupus mortalities in 24-year follow-up of the Taiwanese people highly exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls and dibenzofurans

BACKGROUND: A follow-up study was designed to compare the 24-year overall and disease-specific mortality in Yucheng people who were highly exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls/dibenzofurans (PCBs/PCDFs) to that in the background population in Taiwan. In 1979, the Yucheng (oil-disease in Chinese) incident occurred in central Taiwan involving approximately 2000 victims due to ingestion of rice oil contaminated with PCBs/PCDFs. Long-term follow-up of these people has been continued for 24 years. METHODS: Standardized mortality ratios were calculated using the Taiwan population as comparison group. Overall and disease-specific mortality was compared between Yucheng and background populations. RESULTS: Mortality from chronic liver disease and cirrhoses was increased in the Yucheng men, but not in women, in the early period after exposure. Cancer mortality was not increased in the Yucheng population up to 24 years after exposure. SLE in females was highly increased in the later period after PCB/PCDF exposure. Mortality from disease in any other organ system was not significantly different between Yucheng and background populations. CONCLUSIONS: The study provided a long-term mortality picture after the Taiwanese PCB/PCDF exposure incident. In addition to re-confirming the increase in liver mortality, we found high mortality of SLE among exposed population. This finding highlights the importance of further investigating the immunological effects associated with PCB/PCDF exposure.     

Influence of biofilms on the movement of colloids in porous media. Implications for colloid facilitated transport in subsurface environments

Colloid transport through porous media can be influenced by the presence of biofilms. Sterile and non-sterile sand columns were investigated using Laponite RD as model colloid and a highly mucoid strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa as model biofilm former. Laponite RD was marked specifically by fluorescent complexes with rhodamine 6G. Breakthrough curves (BTCs) were used as parameters for determination of colloid transport characteristics. In the sterile columns, the colloid was mobile (collision efficiencies from 0.05 to 0.08) both after the presence of Na(+) and Ca(2+) ions followed by deionised water influent. In the biofilm-grown column, the same treatment did not result in colloid retention in the case of Na(+) exposure, but in altered or enhanced colloid transport. In the case of Ca(2+) ions exposure, colloid retention increased with biofilm age. After 3 weeks, almost complete retention was observed. Similar observations were made in columns packed with material from slow sand filtration units. These data reveal the complex interactions between biofilms, cations and colloid transport. Changes in the electrolyte composition of water percolating the subsurface can frequently occur and will result in different colloid transport characteristics with regard to the dominating species of ions and the relative abundance of microbial biofilms. This has to be considered when modelling colloid transport through the subsurface.     

Key Technologies for Preparing Nanoparticles of Hydrogen Storage Material by Combining Ball Milling with Aerosol Generation

The developing trend of vehicle is electrical vehicle in future,and fuel cell will become the one of the main batteries of electrical vehicle because of its the prominent properties.The one of current obstacle for fuel cell in popularization and applications is lacking of excellent performance hydrogen storage materials and advanced technologies of preparing nanoparticles for hydrogen storage materials.The principles,typical classifications and characteristics of chemically and physically preparing nanoparticles for hydrogen storage materials are briefly introduced.And it predicts that physical method is going to be the major developing direction for nanoparticles for hydrogen storage material fabrication.The principle,the system composition &characteristics of method by means of combining ball milling with aerosol generation preparing nanoparticles for hydrogen storage materials are expounded.The ball milling process for hydrogen storage material is needed to conduct effective cooling process,and the lower cooling temperature has better milling results.The cooling media for ball milling include room temperature water,ice water,pure ethanol with dry ice and liquid nitrogen.The proper level of vacuum in canister is significant for injecting aerosol particles during the ball milling.In order to maximize the friction force,it is better to design multi-level stirring rod and the profile of stirring rod with large contact area,therefor stirring rod with cylinder has less grinding effect than with ring profile.The more stirring rod with more layers will obtain higher stirring efficiency.The distance between each layer of branches is 2.5times larger than diameter of the ball.The simulation results show that the average speed has 120% increases from 400 rpm to 800 rpm.Based on the kinetic energy equation,it is obtained that there is 350% increase in energy from 400 r / min to 800 r / min.The higher stirring speed will generate the finer material.And the discussion of this article provides a favorable basis of preparing nanoparticles for hydrogen storage materials in fuel cell vehicle.     

分体滑动导叶可调涡轮激波与载荷波动机制

针对某柴油机用可调涡轮在低速工况下的低效强激波特征，提出并设计了一种分体滑动导叶，并在10%、40%和100% 3个典型开度下进行了定常/非定常数值计算。结果表明：分体滑动导叶在小开度下可实现对间隙泄漏流动的有效抑制，大幅度提高涡轮效率；在10%开度下，分体滑动导叶提高了涡轮10%的峰值效率，同时涡轮效率在40%和全开工况下也有不同程度的提高。此外，通过合理设计转静间距，分体滑动导叶尾缘激波被大幅度削弱。导叶间隙泄漏流和尾缘激波的抑制可有效弱化转子定子干涉强度，降低下游转子叶片表面载荷波动幅值，提高转子叶片的可靠性。     

A Time to Kill: Targeting Apoptosis in Cancer

The process of apoptosis is essential for maintaining the physiologic balance between cell death and cell growth. This complex process is executed by two major pathways that participate in activating an executioner mechanism leading to chromatin disintegration and nuclear fragmentation. Dysregulation of these pathways often contributes to cancer development and resistance to cancer therapy. Here, we review the most recent discoveries in apoptosis regulation and possible mechanisms for resensitizing tumor cells to therapy.