Transient responses of two-dimensional viscoelastic film casting processes to sinusoidal disturbances

The sensitivity of two-dimensional isothermal film casting processes to ongoing sinusoidal disturbances has been investigated by using the frequency response method with transient simulation techniques. Amplitude ratios of state variables such as cross-sectional area, film width and film thickness at the take-up position with respect to a sinusoidal disturbance show resonant peaks along the frequency domain. Effects of operating conditions, such as drawdown ratio and aspect ratio, on the process sensitivity have been examined. Increasing drawdown ratio and decreasing aspect ratio make the system more sensitive to disturbances. Also, the dichotomous behavior in the sensitivity analysis using viscoelastic Phan-Thien and Tanner fluids has been elucidated. This frequency response method can be a useful tool to optimally design process systems for better processability and product quality. This article is dedicated to Professor Chul Soo Lee in commemoration of his retirement from Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering of Korea University.     

In vivo functional effects of Weissella confusa VP30 exopolysaccharides on loperamide-induced constipation in rats

Food Science and Biotechnology - In this work, the in vivo functionalities of milk fermented with Weissella confusa VP30 (VP30-EPS) and purified exopolysaccharide (pEPS) from the milk fermented...     

Differences in traffic violations and at-fault crashes between license suspension and revocation

Upon conviction for particular traffic offenses, drivers can have their licenses revoked. Drivers who receive license revocation have an opportunity to apply for a sentence reduction, and some of those who apply receive a reduced sanction — license suspension. There may be differences between drivers whose license was revoked as originally sentenced and drivers who received the reduced sanction of license suspension with regard to traffic violations and crashes after driving privileges are restored. This study verified the differences during the follow-up periods of 6, 12, and 18 months using analysis of covariance and the t-test with stratified samples based on the police profiles of approximately 154,000 drivers in South Korea. The study found that drivers in the group whose license had been suspended committed traffic violations and caused traffic crashes less often for all time periods than those whose license had been revoked. However, omitted factors such as the attitude of suspended drivers and exposure to traffic violations and crashes (e.g., driving frequency after license reinstatement), are likely to affect the findings; thus, caution should be exercised when the findings are referenced for policy implications.     

Effects of Fe2O3 doping on structural and electrical properties of 8 mol% yttria-stabilized zirconia electrolyte for solid oxide fuel cells

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics - The effects of doping a trace of Fe2O3 on the structural and electrical properties of 8 mol% yttria-stabilized zirconia (8YSZ) are...     

Microstructure and Oxidation-Resistant Property of Sol-Gel-Derived ZrO2-Y2O3 Films Prepared on Austenitic Stainless Steel Substrates

The effect of Y₂O₃ addition to the oxidation resistance of sol-gel-derived zirconia films coated on austenitic stainless steel substrates was examined. The oxidation weight gain measurement and XRD analyses of oxides showed that addition of Y₂O₃ reduces oxide formation. TEM observations revealed that the films are joined to the substrates via an amorphous layer with concentrated Si, and the layer grew thicker by adding Y₂O₃ or elevating the firing temperature. Lattice constants of the films were shown to be more expanded than the zirconia powders prepared from the coating liquids.     

Effect of pre-treatment polishing on fabrication of anodic aluminum oxide using commercial aluminum alloy

Aluminum anodizing is a process in which metal is oxidized with an electrochemical method to make a metallic oxide. Because it can be used to manufacture an Anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) with dozens to hundreds of nanoscale pores that are vertically and uniformly arranged, it is widely applied in a variety of fields. In particular, most of the pre-treatment methods in the anodic oxidation processes using a high-purity aluminum adopt surface treatment through electrolyte polishing. In this study, complex polishing was performed using an abrasive film and Magnetorheological (MR) fluid for a commercial aluminum alloy to produce a uniform porous oxidized aluminum. The surface roughness and surface integrity were analyzed after each process to investigate the production behavior of AAO in relation to the pre-treatment of the surface. In addition, a study was conducted on the nano-pore production by the anodizing process in accordance with the pre-treatment polishing, in terms of the work-hardening and residual stress. Thus, in the anodic oxidation process, it was possible to generate uniform nano-pores when surface integrity including surface roughness and residual stress distribution of the aluminum alloys are excellent. Test results showed that the polishing process using the MR fluid did not generate process scratches and pits, but could effectively remove the work-hardening and compressive residual stress, proving that MR fluid polishing method is a suitable pre-treatment process to produce nano-pores in the anodizing process.

     

Dual lectin-based size sorting strategy to enrich targeted N-glycopeptides by asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation: profiling lung cancer biomarkers

A dual lectin-based size sorting and simultaneous enrichment strategy for selectively isolating N-linked glycopeptides was developed using asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation (AF4). AF4 is an elution-based method for separating biological macromolecules that has been utilized for the separation of lectin-glycopeptide complexes formed by mixing serum peptides with lectin cocktails according to the difference in diffusion coefficients. It has also been used for simultaneous depletion of nonglycosylated peptides. The dual lectin-based enrichment method was applied to proteolytic peptides from lung cancer serum samples with two lectins (WGA, GlcNAc-specific, and SNA, Sia-specific), and the whole mixture was separated by AF4. The lectin-glycopeptide complex fractions collected during AF4 separation were endoglycosidically digested with PNGase F. The resulting deamidated glycopeptides were analyzed by nanoflow liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (nLC-ESI-MS-MS) to semiquantitatively profile the N-linked glycopeptides from the sera of lung cancer patients and healthy controls. The AF4 enrichment strategy coupled with nLC-ESI-MS-MS identified 16/24 (up/down-regulated by at least 10-fold compared to normal sera) N-linked glycopeptides from a WGA complex fraction of lung cancer sera and 18/3 from a SNA fraction.     

Effects of α-lipoic acid supplementation on malondialdehyde contents and superoxide dismutase in rat skeletal muscles

This study investigated the effects of α-lipoic acid (ALA) supplementation on the malondialdehyde (MDA) contents and superoxide dismutase (SOD) protein expression in rat skeletal muscles under non-exercising condition. Fourteen Sprague-Dawley male rats at the age of 6 weeks were randomly divided into 2 groups CS, (normal diet group, n=7) and AS (0.5% ALA supplemented diet group, n=7), and keep non-exercising condition for 4 weeks. The muscle MDA concentration of the AS group was significantly lower than that of the CS group in the both soleus and extensor digitorum longus muscles. The expressions of Cu/Zn-SOD and Mn-SOD proteins in the soleus muscle were significantly higher in the AS group than that in the CS group. From these results, ALA supplementation under non-exercising condition had a role in increasing of antioxidant enzymes in skeletal muscle types of rats.