Effects of hydrolyzed Chlorella vulgaris by malted barley on the immunomodulatory response in ICR mice and in Molt‐4 cells

BACKGROUND: Chlorella vulgaris is a unicellular and microscopic algae that is currently used in a variety of forms of tablets, capsules and liquid as a biological response modifier. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of hydrolyzed Chlorella vulgaris by malted barley for its potential reduction of the immobility time in ICR mice and on the cytokine regulation in human T cell line, Molt‐4. RESULTS: After a forced swimming test, the changes in aspects of blood biochemical parameters due to the administration of hydrolyzed Chlorella vulgaris by malted barley were examined. The effect of hydrolyzed Chlorella vulgaris by the malted barley‐treated group for 14 days on the immobility time was significantly reduced in comparison with that of the control group (P < 0.01). The plasma level of blood urea nitrogen was significantly decreased in hydrolyzed Chlorella vulgaris by malted barley‐treated group compared with the control group (P < 0.05). In addition, hydrolyzed Chlorella vulgaris by malted barley increased interferon‐γ and interlukin‐2 levels in Molt‐4 cells. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that hydrolyzed Chlorella vulgaris by malted barley is useful for immune function improvements, enhanced physical stamina, and as a candidate for an anti‐fatigue or antidepressant agent. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry     

Isolation and characterization of two soil derived yeasts for bioethanol production on Cassava starch

Two ethanol-producing yeast strains, CHY1011 and CHFY0901 were isolated from soil in South Korea using an enrichment technique in a yeast peptone dextrose medium supplemented with 5% (w v^?1) ethanol at 30 °C. The phenotypic and physiological characteristics, as well as molecular phylogenetic analysis based on the D1/D2 domains of the large subunit (26S) rRNA gene and the internally transcribed spacer (ITS) 1 + 2 regions suggested that they were novel strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. During shaking flask cultivation, the highest ethanol productivity and theoretical yield of S. cerevisiae CHY1011 in YPD media containing 9.5% total sugars was 1.06 ± 0.02 g l^?1 h^?1 and 95.5 ± 1.2%, respectively, while those for S. cerevisiae CHFY0901 were 0.97 ± 0.03 g l^?1 h^?1 and 91.81 ± 2.2%, respectively. Simultaneous saccharification and fermentation for ethanol production was carried out using liquefied cassava (Manihot esculenta) starch in a 5 l lab-scale jar fermenter at 32 °C for 66 h with an agitation speed of 2 Hz. Under these conditions, S. cerevisiae CHY1011 and CHFY0901 yielded a final ethanol concentration of 89.1 ± 0.87 g l^?1 and 83.8 ± 1.11 g l^?1, a maximum ethanol productivity of 2.10 ± 0.02 g l^?1 h^?1 and 1.88 ± 0.01 g l^?1 h^?1, and a theoretical yield of 93.5 ± 1.4% and 91.3 ± 1.1%, respectively. These results suggest that S. cerevisiae CHY1011 and CHFY0901 have potential use in industrial bioethanol fermentation processes.     

Effect of deformation induced transformation of ɛ-martensite on ductility enhancement in a Fe-12 Mn steel at cryogenic temperatures

Metastable ?-martensite (?-Ms) formed during a prior heat treatment of Fe-12Mn steel has been reported to transform into α-Ms during subsequent inelastic deformation. This deformation induced phase transformation (DIPT) from ?-Ms to α-Ms has been investigated in the present study within the framework of kinetics relation proposed based upon an internal variable theory of inelastic deformation. The ?-Ms phase was found to become more stable at lower temperatures to provide more prolonged DIPT from ?-Ms to α-Ms during an inelastic deformation at cryogenic temperatures, contrary to the case of austenite phase in various transformation induced plasticity steels being more stable at higher temperatures. This reversed stability-temperature relationship in Fe-12Mn steel appeared to provide a significant ductility enhancement at lower temperatures as well as significant strengthening effect.     

A study on the determination of in-plane permeability of fiber preforms

One of the parameters most frequently used in modeling and designing the mold filling process is the permeability of fibrous preforms. To obtain radial propagation of a viscous polymer into a homogeneous orthotropic porous medium, an approximate solution is derived and its results are compared with numerical ones obtained from boundary element method (BEM). A simple and direct procedure incorporating approximate solution with experimental data has been proposed to determine the principal in-plane permeabilities of the reinforcements. A scheme is also suggested in order to increase the accuracy in the determination of degree of anisotropy. The effect of resin injection type on permeability is investigated through the experiments.     

Engineering investigation for the size effect of graphene oxide derived from graphene nanoplatelets in polyurethane composites

In this study, commercial polyurethane (PU) and graphene nanoplatelets (GnP) and their derivative graphene oxide (GO) were used to fabricate PU composites. The size effect of fillers on mechanical properties and anti-corrosion performance of as-prepared composites was thoroughly investigated. It was found that GO was more uniformly dispersed in the PU matrix than GnP due to its compatibility with PU. Furthermore, GO led to the higher mechanical properties and anti-corrosion performance than PU/GnP composites, and the properties were strongly dependant on the size of the GO. Specifically, incorporating large sized GO (GO-M25) in 0.5 wt% indicated the highest average synergetic tensile modulus up to 53% from the neat PU and the lowest corrosion rate of 0.001 MPY (1 MPY = 0.547 g · m⁻² · d⁻¹). This phenomenon was attributed to the fact that the larger size of GO is not only uniformly dispersed within the PU matrix but also enables interaction between PU and GO. Conversely, PU composites incorporated with the small sized GO (GO-C750) did not show elastic behaviour from 0.1 to 0.5 wt% of the filler. This is due to the fact that the high surface area and hydrophilic functionalities of GO-C750 resulted in hard-segment content reduction in PU. This research can help in the design of a PU coating that is physically improved and that has a superior anti-corrosive capacity, particularly for pipelines in the oil-sands transportation industry.     

Analysis of Orographic Precipitation on Jeju-Island Using Regional Frequency Analysis and Regression

The orographic effect is a common phenomenon in mountainous regions. Our goal is to analyze the orographic effect with quantile by regional frequency analysis and multiple regression. Multiple regression was used to develop models to estimate the amount and the spatial distribution of orographic precipitation in mountainous terrain using elevation, latitude, longitude, duration, and return period. Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that the model using the three parameters of elevation, latitude, and longitude, produces better results than four- or five-parameter models. Therefore, multiple nonlinear forms, the combination of the intensity-duration-frequency (IDF) relationship and the general linear regression form of orographic statistics were proposed to improve the accuracy of models. The models in this study showed an increase in accuracy of 18.31~86.27%. Moreover, these models produced good results in GIS analysis and were able to represent all cases examined in this study using only a few equations, in contrast to multiple linear models.     

Metal ion sorption and desorption on zeolitized tuffs from the Nevada Test Site

Because of the hundreds of nuclear weapon tests conducted on the Nevada Test Site (NTS) during the Cold War, the migration of radionuclides and contaminants is a potential concern. The mobility of these compounds and our ability to remediate contaminated sites are controlled by sorption and desorption processes, which depend frequently on the nature of the contaminant, the mineralogy of the site, and the geochemical conditions. The sorption and desorption behavior of strontium (Sr) and lead (Pb), two metal cations with different chemistries, commonly found on nuclear test sites were studied. Strontium showed pH-independent and ionic-strength-dependent sorption, consistent with ion exchange processes at permanent charge sorption sites. The sorption uptake of Sr increased with decreasing ionic strength of background solution. Strontium desorption from the adsorbents was enhanced by increased background electrolyte concentration and was a function of background electrolyte composition. The fractional uptake of Pb was higher, compared to that of Sr, and was only pH dependent at the highest ionic strength used (1.0 M). This pH-dependent sorption behavior, consistent with formation of surface complexes at amphoteric surface hydroxyl sites or formation of surface precipitates, could explain the decreased Pb desorption, compared to that of Sr, especially at increased background electrolyte concentrations. Under conditions typical for the groundwater at the NTS (I = 0.003 M, pH = 8.0), both Pb and Sr are expected to bind strongly on tuffs with composition similar to the zeolitized tuffs used in this study. Any increase in the dissolved ion concentration of the groundwater, however, may result in, at least partial, release of Sr and enhanced Sr mobility.     

The effects of Te and misch metal additions on the microstructure and properties of rapidly solidified Ag−Sn−In alloy for electrical contact applications

High wear resistance with a stable contact resistance is a prerequisite for electrical contact applications. Although Ag−CdO has been widely used as an electrical contact material, there are intrinsic problems of forming large Cd oxide particles and environmental regulations against using Cd. Newly developed Ag−SnO₂ alloys are considered good candidates to replace Ag−CdO alloys due to their stable and fine oxide formation capabilities. In addition, further improvements in performance are expected in Ag−SnO₂ alloys by alloy modification and/or solidification processing to produce finer and stable oxide dispersions through internal oxidation. The effect of the addition of Te and misch metal, which function as oxide forming elements, on Ag−Sn−In ternary alloy was investigated. Up to 0.5 wt.% of Te and misch metals were added and rapidly solidified to maximize their effect on fine oxide formation in an Ag matrix. Resulting microstructural changes and properties were evaluated through electron microscopy, spectroscopy, and hardness measurements. The role of Te addition was to provide nucleation sites for complex oxides such as In₂TeO₆ phase and to ensure fine and well dispersed SnO₂ oxide particles. A rapid increase in size was observed for both grain and oxide particles when Te content exceeded 0.3 wt.%. Misch metal addition, on the other hand, had a pronounced effect on grain size reduction of the Ag matrix, and was interpreted as a consequence of decreasing the latent heat of solidification. Maximum hardness was achieved at 0.3 wt.% misch metal addition. In both cases, hardness decreased rapidly at 0.5 wt.% addition and was attributed to the large grain size of the matrix, and also large oxide particles aggregated in the matrix grains.