Investigation of the Corrosion Inhibition of CTAB and SDS on Carbon Steel Using an Experimental Design Strategy

The corrosion inhibition performance of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) on carbon steel was investigated in sodium chloride solutions. Using an experimental design strategy pH, chloride concentration, SDS/CTAB concentrations, and temperature were optimized by conducting only 30 experiments. The optimum value of each factor was obtained from the designed matrix of the experiments based on the lowest log I _corr value calculated for each experimental condition. The 3D surface plots of the electrochemical response (log I _corr) against each factor were constructed. The optimum conditions in which the lowest log I _corr can be achieved were found as follows: pH 12, [Cl^?] ≈ 1 M, [SDS] ≈ 200 ppm, [CTAB] ≈ 20 ppm, and T ≈ 10 °C.     

A Novel LSSVM Model Integrated with GBO Algorithm to Assessment of Water Quality Parameters

Water Resources Management - In this study, a novel least square support vector machine (LSSVM) model integrated with gradient-based optimizer (GBO) algorithm is introduced for the assessment of...     

Membrane Fouling in Microfiltration used for Cell Harvesting

In the present study the membrane fouling in microfiltration used for cell harvesting in a deadend system has been investigated. Experimental results were analysed in terms of existing membrane filtration models and membrane resistances. The cake filtration model (CFM) and standard blocking model (SBM) have been considered in this study. Various membrane resistances were determined at different processing time, feed concentration and stirring speed. Resistances to permeation in this system include filter medium, pore blocking, adsorption, cake layer and concentration polarization.     

A Microstructure-Based Constitutive Model for Superplastic Forming

A constitutive model is proposed for simulations of hot metal forming processes. This model is constructed based on dominant mechanisms that take part in hot forming and includes intergranular deformation, grain boundary sliding, and grain boundary diffusion. A Taylor type polycrystalline model is used to predict intergranular deformation. Previous works on grain boundary sliding and grain boundary diffusion are extended to drive three-dimensional macro stress?Cstrain rate relationships for each mechanism. In these relationships, the effect of grain size is also taken into account. The proposed model is first used to simulate step strain-rate tests and the results are compared with experimental data. It is shown that the model can be used to predict flow stresses for various grain sizes and strain rates. The yield locus is then predicted for multiaxial stress states, and it is observed that it is very close to the von Mises yield criterion. It is also shown that the proposed model can be directly used to simulate hot forming processes. Bulge forming process and gas pressure tray forming are simulated, and the results are compared with experimental data.     

Thermodynamically stable RNA three-way junction for constructing multifunctional nanoparticles for delivery of therapeutics

RNA nanoparticles have applications in the treatment of cancers and viral infection; however, the instability of RNA nanoparticles has hindered their development for therapeutic applications. The lack of covalent linkage or crosslinking in nanoparticles causes dissociation in vivo. Here we show that the packaging RNA of bacteriophage phi29 DNA packaging motor can be assembled from 3-6 pieces of RNA oligomers without the use of metal salts. Each RNA oligomer contains a functional module that can be a receptor-binding ligand, aptamer, short interfering RNA or ribozyme. When mixed together, they self-assemble into thermodynamically stable tri-star nanoparticles with a three-way junction core. These nanoparticles are resistant to 8 M urea denaturation, are stable in serum and remain intact at extremely low concentrations. The modules remain functional in vitro and in vivo, suggesting that the three-way junction core can be used as a platform for building a variety of multifunctional nanoparticles. We studied 25 different three-way junction motifs in biological RNA and found only one other motif that shares characteristics similar to the three-way junction of phi29 pRNA.