Coacervates as a Modern Delivery System of Hand Dishwashing Liquids

Hand dishwashing liquids can be produced in a coacervate form. Such a delivery system can be readily mixed with water and, in the initial dilution stage, may exhibit a high viscosity. This makes it feasible to formulate concentrated products which can be diluted by consumers. The surfactant concentration in the starting formulation is found to affect the possibility of producing hand dishwashing liquids in coacervate form. Hand dishwashing liquids in coacervate form are produced by the separation of the upper phase under the effect of sodium chloride, whose concentration is a key parameter. An increase in the concentration of anionic surfactants in the starting formulation, requires a slight increase in the concentration of sodium chloride to start coacervation and this results in an increase in coacervate volume. The properties of the coacervate, i.e. viscosity, washability, emulsifying power and foamability, are reported and found to be similar to those of typical commercial products.     

Measurement of mechanical properties in a 316L stainless steel welded joint

The aim of this study was to measure the mechanical properties of weld material taken from a single weld bead laid down on a 316L steel plate. Due to the low available volume of weld material, microsamples with a total length of 5.5 mm were used. The Digital Image Correlation method (DIC), which enables measurement of mechanical properties of very small samples, was employed for the strain measurements in a uniaxial tensile test. Samples were cut out from three different zones of the specimen: plate, weld, and the heat affected zone. The material from heat affected zone showed the highest value of the Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS) (580 ± 7 MPa) and yield strength (339 ± 6 MPa). Plate material had lower UTS (559 ± 5 MPa) and yield strength (304 ± 7 MPa). The lowest values of UTS (526 ± 6 MPa) and yield strength (291 ± 8 MPa) have been revealed for the weld. The values obtained for UTS, yield strength and elongation to failure for the plate material were compared with data obtained using standard test specimens. No significant differences between results obtained for the microsamples and standard samples have been found.     

Evaluation of the mechanical behavior of W7-X central support connections by means of semi-automated FE analysis

The stellarator Wendelstein 7-X is under construction at the Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik in Greifswald. Its superconducting coil system is fixed by a massive structure. During machine operation the coils exert high forces and moments against each other and the central support structure (CSS). Therefore, the detailed analysis of the coil to CSS connections, the so-called central support elements (CSE), is a critical item. The major details of the design have been frozen; nevertheless, there is still need for detailed analysis of the CSEs due to assembly issues, and later on for exploring operational limits of the machine. These analyses have to be performed quickly, reliably, and shall provide results in a standardized form to enable timely responses to the assembly team. Special numerical tools – finite element (FE) parametric models of CSEs – have been developed for the purpose of such analyses. In the models, the geometry, material properties, contact conditions, loads as well as results presentation are defined in a parametric way. The use of the developed models for the definition of the final weld parameters, bolt preloads, assessment of acceptable tolerances, and optimal positions of the CSE-wedges before welding is also discussed.     

Raspberry seed extract effect on the ferroxidase activity of ceruloplasmin isolated from plasma

In this study, the effect of the raspberry seed extract (RSE) on the ferroxidase activity of ceruloplasmin (Cp) isolated from healthy male subject serum was analyzed. The ferroxidase activity of Cp was determined by spectrophotometry using Fe(II) – histidine complex and ferrozine as a chromogenic reagent. The ferroxidase activity of ceruloplasmin was demonstrated in dose-dependent way within the range 22–66 μg/ml. The effect of RSE on Fe(II) concentration, measured as the decrease of Fe(II) concentration in samples and expressed as ΔFe(II), was found to be a dose-dependent within the range 1.20–51.56 μg dm/ml. The ferroxidase activity of Cp was influenced by the RSE within its studied range. However, the addition of the highest concentration of RSE (51.56 μg dm/ml) to the sample containing the highest level of Cp (66 μg/ml) did not affect its ferroxidase activity. It may be suggested that the competition for Fe(II) as the substrate limits the effect of RSE on Cp activity and causes no further changes in Fe(II) elimination.     

Bioinspired Computational Framework for Enhancing Creativity, Optimality, and Robustness in Design

This paper presents results of transdisciplinary research on the development of a bioinspired computational framework for engineering design. This framework is intended to support design by addressing three critical design objectives, including novelty, optimality, and robustness. It provides several computational models and methods, which are inspired by fundamental processes occurring in nature, and discusses their potential for enhancing design. They include models and methods for evolutionary, developmental, and coevolutionary design. Their use is illustrated with examples from the area of steel structural design ranging from a simple cantilever beam design problem to a much more complex problem of designing wind bracings in tall buildings. The paper also shows how several methods and models can be integrated and form a coherent bioinspired computational framework for engineering design.     

Decision system for a team of autonomous underwater vehicles—Preliminary report

The paper presents preliminary research whose main goal is to build a ship protection system. One of the elements of the system will be a sub-system responsible for capturing and destroying/neutralizing all dangerous objects occurring inside a guarded area. This task will be performed by a team of autonomous underwater vehicles. To construct a decision system for the vehicles, i.e. the system whose task is to provide high-level decisions regarding direction and velocity of move, many different methods can be applied. Examples are evolutionary neural networks and expert systems with fuzzy decision rules. To test usefulness of the above methods in a role of the decision system, experiments in a predator-prey problem were carried out. In the experiments, the task of vehicles-predators was to capture a vehicle-prey behaving by a simple deterministic strategy. The current paper is a report on all the experiments mentioned.     

Application of averaged instantaneous power spectrum for diagnostics of machinery operating under non-stationary operational conditions

Vibration analysis of machines operating under non-stationary operational conditions requires special attention. This refers to the necessity of use of order tracking algorithms together with additional advanced signal processing methods, especially when faults indicators of interest are located in resonance frequency ranges.     

Physico-chemical properties and antibacterial activity of modified egg white—lysozyme

Lysozyme (N-acetyl-muramyl-hydrolase E.C. 3.2.1.17) is a low-molecular enzyme (14,400 Da) found in body secretions, systemic fluids and tissues of humans and animals. Antibacterial activity of lysozyme monomer is limited first of all to Gram-positive bacteria, which is connected with the structure of the cell wall. This enzyme catalyzes hydrolysis of β-glycoside bonds (1–4), releasing N-acetylglucosamine and N-acetylmuramic acid. The spectrum of antibacterial activity of lysozyme may be extended thanks to modifications of the enzyme. The aim of the study was to assess antibacterial activity, hydrolytic activity and surface hydrophobicity of different forms of lysozyme. Chemical and thermo-chemical modification of lysozyme was performed, and the antibacterial action of lysozyme monomer and modified preparations were compared. It was found that in comparison with monomer and the control, all modified preparations exhibit effective action against Gram (−) bacteria Pseudomonas fluorescens. A particularly effective action was found in case of lysozyme subjected to thermo-chemical modification, which was characterized by the highest proportion of oligomeric forms and the highest hydrophobicity.