Effects of cyclic vertical loading on bearing and pullout capacities of piles with continuous helix wing

Laboratory and field tests were conducted to investigate the bearing and pullout capacities of steel piles with a continuous helix wing during cyclic loading. Both continuous helix and straight-sided piles were subjected to monotonic compressive, monotonic tensile, and cyclic reversal loading in the laboratory, while only the continuous helix pile was tested in the field. Both the laboratory and the field tests showed that the bearing and pullout capacities of the continuous helix pile under cyclic reversal loading decreased to approximately 60–80% of those of the pile under monotonic loading, with a larger reduction seen in the laboratory tests. The decrease in resistance was mainly due to the reduction in shaft friction, which was likely to be the result of soil disturbance and loosening around the pile with cyclic loading. The laboratory tests also showed that the tip resistance of the straight-sided pile under cyclic reversal loading was reduced, similarly due to the loosening of the soil, particularly underneath the pile tip. The tip resistance of the continuous helix pile, in contrast, did not degrade with cyclic loading, owing to the presence of the wing immediately above the pile tip that inhibited the loosening of the soil. These findings were supported by similar field test observations.     

Differentiation of molecules in a mixed self-assembled monolayer of H-and Cl-terminated bicyclo[2.2.2]octane derivatives

H-?and Cl-terminal groups of bicyclo[2.2.2]octane (BCO) derivatives in a mixed self-assembled monolayer (SAM) on Au(111) were imaged using a modified Si tip with a CaF(2) nanocluster to differentiate the two terminals, which have different electronegativities. In order to achieve this we fabricated a new sample holder, on which a CaF(2) single crystal and the mixed SAM on Au(111) could be mounted side by side. We transferred the holder with the two samples into a ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) atomic force microscopy (AFM) chamber. Upon cleaving the CaF(2) single crystal under UHV, a fresh and clean CaF(2)(111) surface parallel with the SAM surface appeared within 2?mm of the separation. The modified Si tip was prepared by repeatedly making contact between a Si tip and the CaF(2)(111) surface. The resulting modified tip could image the atomic periodicity of a Ca(2+) and an F(-) sublattice on the CaF(2)(111) surface depending on the sign of the tip-terminating ion, i.e.?an F(-) and a Ca(2+) ion, respectively, as reported previously (Foster et al 2002 Phys.?Rev.?B 66 235417). Using the modified Si tip with the known tip-terminating ion, we observed the Cl-terminal in the surrounding H-terminals in the mixed SAM by noncontact (NC) AFM. Here, the Cl-terminal is negatively charged due to its electronegativity and thus the BCO moiety with the Cl-terminal is terminated by a C(δ+)-Cl(δ-) permanent dipole, while the H-terminal is almost neutral. The Cl-terminal appeared brighter (more attractive) and darker (more repulsive) than the surrounding H-terminals in NC-AFM images depending on the sign of the tip-terminating ion, i.e.?a Ca(2+) and an F(-) on the modified tip, respectively, although the relationship between the image contrast and the sign of the tip-terminating ion was not always perfect because of the instability of the tip-terminating ion on the nanocluster. The present method can be used to distinguish terminal groups with different electronegativities.     

Transport of human immunoglobulin G and Fc-fusion proteins to chicken egg yolk

We examined the transport of human immunoglobulin G (IgG) subclasses and fusion proteins with the Fc region of human IgG to the egg yolk, after the proteins were injected into a vein of hens. Human IgGs were efficiently transported and accumulated into the yolk, whereas the proteins were not detected in the egg white. Among human IgG subclasses, IgG2 was transported most efficiently. Fc-fusion proteins injected were also transported into the yolk. A fusion protein with the Fc region derived from human IgG2 was more efficiently transported into the yolk than the counterpart fusion with the Fc region from human IgG1. This study shows that the recovery of recombinant antibodies and Fc-fusion proteins from the yolk is an effective method in transgenic chicken bioreactors.     

Cold Model Study on Mg Desulfurization of Hot Metal Under Mechanical Stirring

The new method of in-situ desulfurization with mechanical stirring of new type impellers was introduced,in which the bubble′s dispersion and disintegration of magnesium vapor were the key to boosting the desulfurization efficiency and increasing the utilization rate of magnesium.Effects of different new type of impellers on bubble dispersion and disintegration were studied through bubble image analysis,gas-liquid mass transfer,and power consumption levels of different impeller structures.The results showed that the sloped swept-back blade impeller-2produces optimal bubble′s dispersion and disintegration,as well as higher volumetric mass transfer coefficient and CO2gas utilization while consuming the least power.Numerical simulation result with Fluent software also showed that the sloped swept-back blade impeller-2has higher turbulent kinetic energy and better velocity distribution than the other two impellers.     

Construction of heterotypic cell sheets by magnetic force-based 3-D coculture of HepG2 and NIH3T3 cells

Heterotypic 3-D coculture is essential to mimic tissues and organs, because cell-cell interaction between various types of cells is believed to be important for the activation of cellular functions. In this study, magnetic force was applied to construct a 3-D coculture system of HepG2 and NIH3T3 cells as a model of hepatocytes and mesenchymal cells. Magnetite cationic liposomes (MCLs) were used to label target cells. NIH3T3 cells labeled with MCLs were seeded onto ultralow-attachment plates, whose surface is composed of a covalently bound hydrogel layer that is hydrophilic and neutrally charged. When a magnet was placed under the plate, cells accumulated on the bottom of the well. After a 24-h incubation period, the cells formed a multilayered cell sheet, which contained the major mesenchymal extracellular matrix (ECM) components (fibronectin and type I collagen), suggesting that the use of stromal NIH3T3 cells gave sufficient strength to cell sheets. Both NIH3T3 and HepG2 cells were labeled with MCLs, and cocultured by two methods: NIH3T3 cell sheets were constructed and HepG2 cells were subsequently seeded onto NIH3T3 cell sheets, and then allowed to form layered cell sheets by applying magnetic force; or NIH3T3 and HepG2 cells were mixed and then allowed to form mixed cell sheets by applying magnetic force. These heterotypic multilayered cell sheets were successfully constructed and an enhanced albumin secretion by HepG2 cells was observed. These results suggest that the new tissue engineering technique using magnetite nanoparticles and magnetic force, to which we refer to as magnetic force-based tissue engineering (Mag-TE), is a promising approach to construct multilayered cell sheets consisting of heterotypic cocultured cells.     

Perpendicular oriented cylinders via directional coalescence of spheres embedded in block copolymer films induced by solvent annealing

Polystyrene-b-poly(methyl acrylate) (PS-b-PMA) block copolymer with PS volume fraction of 25.2 vol% was synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization. Non-pretreated silicon wafers were used as the substrates to prepare perpendicular oriented PS cylinders in PMA matrix via solvent annealing which could induce the transformation of spheres to vertically oriented and hexagonally packed cylinders. The spherical microdomains were formed after the evaporation of solvents from the solutions of the block copolymer in selective solvents mixed from methanol, acetone and dichloromethane. The thickness of films could be as thick as 1000 nm, which were much thicker than usual cases and the cylinders came from the directional coalescence of the spheres, thus any pre-treatments of the substrates were not required for perpendicular orientation. The structures were characterized by small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), transmission electron microscope (TEM), atom force microscopy (AFM) and grazing incidence small angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS).     

Direct Growth of Germanene at Interfaces between Van der Waals Materials and Ag(111)

Germanene, a 2D honeycomb germanium crystal, is grown at graphene/Ag(111) and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN)/Ag(111) interfaces by segregating germanium atoms. A simple annealing process in N₂ or H₂/Ar at ambient pressure leads to the formation of germanene, indicating that an ultrahigh-vacuum condition is not necessary. The grown germanene is stable in air and uniform over the entire area covered with a van der Waals (vdW) material. As an important finding, it is necessary to use a vdW material as a cap layer for the present germanene growth method since the use of an Al₂O₃ cap layer results in no germanene formation. The present study also proves that Raman spectroscopy in air is a powerful tool for characterizing germanene at the interfaces, which is concluded by multiple analyses including first-principles density functional theory calculations. The direct growth of h-BN-capped germanene on Ag(111), which is demonstrated in the present study, is considered to be a promising technique for the fabrication of future germanene-based electronic devices.     

Production of eicosapentaenoic acid by a bacterium isolated from mackerel intestines

Optimization of culture conditions for the growth rate, 5,8,11,14,17-cis-Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) content and EPA productivity of a bacterium isolated from Pacific mackerel intestines was investigated by use of a culture medium containing 1.00 wt% peptone and 0.50 wt% yeast extract in an artificial sea water (ASW). Cultivation temperature affected the growth rate and cellular EPA content of the bacterium. The cellular EPA content at 8°C was as great as 16.8 mg/g of dry cells, which was more than two times greater than that at 25°C (7.3 mg/g of dry cells), although the growth rate showed a maximum at 25°C. Both the yield of bacterial cells and the cellular EPA content at 25°C reached maximum values when the pH of the culture medium was nearly 7.0 and when the concentration of ASW was 100% (v/v). Under optimum culture conditions [25°C pH 7.0 and 100% (v/v) ASW], the amount of EPA accumulated in the cellular lipids reached 45.6 mg/L of culture broth after 8 hr.     

Quantitative determination of lipids and their constituents by the Chromarod TLC-FID system

The methanolysis products of neutral sphingolipid and archaebacterial neutral glycolipid were separated on Chromarods S-II (silica gel) with a double developing system. The lipid constituents separated on the rods were scanned automatically with a hydrogen flame ionization detector (Iatroscan). The molar ratios of the constituents determined by this system were very close to the theoretical values of the lipid.