Enhancement of secreted production of glucoamylase through fed-batch bioreactor culture of recombinant yeast harboring glucose-controllable <Emphasis Type="Italic">SUC2</Emphasis> promoter

Glucoamylase that hydrolyses starch to glucose is one of the important industrial enzymes for ethanol production industry. Therefore, genetic production of recombinant glucoamylase has been widely studied. Previously, we reported secreted production of Saccharomyces diastaticus-originated glucoamylase in Saccharomyces cerevisiase expression system using its own signal sequence and the SUC2 promoter that is regulated by glucose level in culture medium. In the present work, we performed a comparative study between batch and fed-batch bioreactor cultures for secreted production of recombinant glucoamylase. Through maintaining low glucose levels in the culture broth, we obtained about 7-fold higher secreted production levels of glucoamlyase in fed-batch culture. Fed-batch culture strategy also enhanced (∼3.1-fold) secretion efficiency of recombinant glucoamylase in S. cerevisiae.     

Sputtering ZnO films on langasite and its SAW properties

C-axis-oriented ZnO films were sputtered on Langasite substrate (LGS, La(3)Ga(5)SiO(14)). The crystalline structure of the films was determined by grazing incident angle X-ray diffraction, the surface microstructure of films was investigated by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy, the atom composition ratio O/Zn of films was determined by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and the resistivity of films was determined by the four-point probe instrument. The measurement results showed those films prepared were all polycrystalline hexagonal ZnO films. By analyzing the microstructure of the ZnO films, those prepared at the oxygen flow rate (O(2)/O(2)+Ar) of 20%, the RF power of 200 W, and the substrate temperature of 200 degrees C had the best performance: highly c-axis-oriented microstructures, dense surface morphology, and the atom composition ratio 1.02. The measured scattering parameters of the SAW device fabricated on the composite substrate (ZnO/LGS) with film thickness 1.76 microm showed an average shifted velocity around 2741 m/s at 57.1 MHz and a electromagnetic coupling coefficient greater than 1%.     

Interactions between color and word processing in a flanker task.

To examine interactions between color and word attributes, participants responded, either manually or vocally, to a central target (color patch or word) flanked by a Stroop stimulus. Color and word attributes of the flanker affected both vocal and manual responding to color patches. Color and word flankers also affected manual responding to word targets, but only word flanker affected vocal responding to word targets. These results are not consistent with models (e.g., translational models) of Stroop tasks, which posit that interactions between colors and words occur only when vocal responding is required. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ohmic contact effect of Ag-nanodots on quantum efficiency of Si solar cell

The authors investigated Si solar cell with the inclusion of nano-Ag dots using the ink-jet printer. These nano-Ag dots were used for the Ohmic contact layer on phospho-silicate glass layer, which was not removed after the formation of Si emitter layer by phosphorus diffusion process. The SiNx layer deposited on the nano-Ag dots shows the catalyst selective growth and so the layer formed beneath of nano-Ag dots. The photoreflectances show that the long wavelength from 360 nm to 1200 nm tends to be increased as the density of the nano-Ag is increased. In case of short wavelength from 294 nm to 367 nm, it shows the opposite trend, indicating the plasmon effect of the nano-Ag. As embedding the nano-Ag dots on the phospho-silicate glass layer, the blocked Ohmic contact was opened and the quantum efficiency of 14.4% was achieved, which is higher than the reference sample of 12.72% without the glass layer. The nano-Ag dots form the good Ohmic contact and also enhance the light conversion efficiency with the formation of surface plasmon.     

Inclusion of CdSe quantum dots on the P-doped emitter of Si solar cells

We investigated Cadium Selenide quantum dots embedded in the Si solar cell in order to improve the efficiency of conventional Si solar cell. CdSe quantum dots with 3 to approximately 4 nm size were printed on the phospho-silicate glass layer grown over the emitter surface of p-n junction Si solar cells during the phosphorous diffusion process. Ohmic contact was formed by the contribution of nanoparticles at the Si emitter in spite of the existance of phospho-silicate glass layer. The enhanced light absorption due to the quantum dots was ranged from 500 to 600 nm where the CdSe nanodots have the corresponding emission wavelength of 560 nm. The efficiency of reference solar cell with the glass layer was measured to be 1.0% and it was increased to 12.72% for the reference sample without the glass layer. Furthermore, the efficiency of CdSe quantum dot sample was measured to be 13.6%. This indicates that the quantum dots play the roles of both the formation of tunneling channel and the enhancement of the light conversion efficiency in the visible spectral range.     

Fabrication of copper nanoparticles in a thick polyimide film cured by rapid thermal annealing

We investigated the imidization of a polyimide (PI) and the formation of Cu nanoparticles in a PI film by curinga precursor of PI (polyamic acid (PAA) dissolved in n-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone) in a reducing atmosphere in the rapid thermal annealing (RTA) system. A Cu film was deposited onto the SiO2/Si substrate, and the PAA was spin-coated onto the Cu film. After the PAA reacted with the Cu film, soft-baking was performed to evaporate the solvent. Finally, the PAA was imidized to PI at 450 degrees C by curing in a reducing atmosphere with the RTA. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy showed that the PAA was successfully imidized by the RTA. X-ray diffraction patterns revealed that Cu nanoparticles formed by RTA curing at 450 degrees C for 5 minutes in a reducing atmosphere, and transmission electron microscopy showed that Cu nanoparticles about 6.5 nm in size were uniformly dispersed in the PI film. Curing by RTA is an attractive method because it takes only a few minutes.     

Measurements of neutron total cross-sections and resonance parameters of erbium at the Pohang Neutron Facility

We measured neutron total cross-sections of natural erbium in the neutron energy region from 0.2 to 120 eV by using the neutron time-of-flight method at the Pohang Neutron Facility, which consists of an electron linear accelerator, a water-cooled tantalum target with a water moderator, and a 12-m-long time-of-flight path. A ⁶Li-ZnS(Ag) scintillator with a diameter of 12.5 cm and a thickness of 1.6 cm was used as a neutron detector, and a group of high-purity natural erbium metallic plates with various thickness was used for the neutron transmission measurements. The present measurement was compared with the existing experimental and the evaluated data. The resonance parameters of ¹⁶⁶Er, ¹⁶⁷Er, ¹⁶⁸Er, and ¹⁷⁰Er in the neutron energy region below 120 eV were extracted from the transmission by using the multilevel R-matrix SAMMY code and were compared with the evaluated data from ENDF/B VII.0 and other previous reported results.     

Energy savings through additive manufacturing: an analysis of selective laser sintering for automotive and aircraft components

The general consensus is that 3D-printing technologies can help to render industrial production more sustainable, e.g. by shortening process chains, allowing more efficient production processes or providing benefits resulting from light-weight construction. This paper aims to quantify the impact of additive manufacturing processes on energy demand by examining selective laser sintering (SLS). To this end, a model is suggested and applied that focuses on three important phases in the life cycle of additively manufactured components and that allows a comparison with conventional manufacturing processes. The three phases considered are the production of the required raw material, the actual manufacturing process of specific components and their utilisation. The analysis focuses on the automotive and aircraft industries. The main factors influencing energy demand are analysed and discussed, and the impact of additive manufacturing is estimated on a national level for a sample component based on Germany as an example. The results indicate that substantial energy savings can be achieved, even though only a small component was replaced.     

Study on a ultra-light dual revolute manipulator with high joint torque

This paper details a study performed on a new proposed twelve degree-of-freedom dual robot arm, which is very light but capable of handling heavy loads. The proposed robot arm has a higher value for the ratio of the load capacity/robot weight than conventional robot arms, which are actuated by motors with speed reducers, such as a harmonic drives, since it adopts a new type of robot actuator based on a closed chain mechanism. Because of the high value of the ratio of the payload capacity/robot weight, it can be used as a robot arm for mobile robots and for walking robots. Analyses of the design scheme and of the mechanism of the joint actuator used for the robot arm are presented. Also, the control system developed for the robot arm is introduced. The superior characteristics of the new proposed robot arm, handling heavy payloads with light weight links compared to industrial robots, are presented through carrying out various payload capacity tests. Since the robot arm is designed with light links, it has some deflections and these deflections of the links are analyzed using the Finite Element Method (FEM). The results of performance tests are presented to check the correctness of the FEM analysis and to demonstrate the actual capability of handling heavy payloads applied to the robot arm.     

Synthesis and thermal properties of telechelic poly(lactic acid) ionomers

Telechelic poly(lactic acid) (PLA) ionomers were synthesized using a chemical recycling process. A transesterification reaction between a commercial PLA and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate or ethylene glycol was used to produce a hydroxy-terminated PLA. The hydroxy-terminated PLA was then reacted with itaconic anhydride to produce terminal carboxylic acid groups, which were neutralized with appropriate metal acetates to produce Na-, Li-, K-, Zn-, Ca- and Y-ω- and α,ω-telechelic PLA ionomers. ¹H NMR spectroscopy was used to confirm the presence of the itaconic acid end-groups and FTIR spectroscopy was used to quantify the extent of neutralization. The addition of the ionic groups increased the glass transition (T_g), and T_g increased as the strength of the ion-pair increased. The ionic groups suppressed crystallinity, especially when multivalent cations were used.