The hot blow forming of AZ31 Mg sheet: Formability assessment and application development

The hot blow forming of magnesium sheet offers significant opportunity for forming complex, lightweight parts for automotive applications. This paper characterizes the elevated-temperature formability of AZ31 magnesium sheet materials and the effect of processing conditions on the performance of these materials. In addition, magnesium sheet application development at General Motors Corporation is reviewed.     

Simulation of Strength Distribution in Ground Ceramics by Incorporating Residual Stress Effect

Strength of ground ceramics may be affected by residual stress as well as surface flaws induced by grinding. Strength prediction for ground ceramics is convenient for mechanical design of ceramic components. In this article, a numerical procedure based on fracture mechanics was proposed to estimate strength distribution of ground ceramics by considering grinding-induced residual stress. Bending strength and residual stress of ground ceramics were measured for three grinding-conditions. By comparison of simulated results with experimental ones, it was revealed that strength characteristics in experiments were well simulated by using the proposed procedure.     

Physicochemical and Functional Properties of Freeze-Dried and Oven Dried Corn Gluten Meals

The physicochemical and functional properties of convection oven- and freeze-dried gluten meals of two corn varieties were evaluated. The physicochemical properties (water solubility index, water absorption index, Hunter color parameters, and bulk density) and functional properties (water absorption, oil absorption, least gelation concentration, protein solubility, and emulsification properties) of convection-oven and freeze-dried corn gluten meals were compared with each other and soy flour. Freeze-dried corn gluten meals was observed to have lower bulk density (0.244-0.263 kg/m³) and was lighter in color (high L and ΔE) compared to their counterpart convection oven-dried gluten meals. Freeze-dried gluten meals from both corn varieties showed significantly higher oil absorption, water absorption, pH, emulsification, and protein solubility compared to oven-dried corn gluten meals. The gluten meals from both corn varieties had lower water absorption and bulk density but higher oil absorption than soy flour, suggesting the hydrophobic nature of corn proteins. Corn gluten meals formed thin (pourable) emulsions compared to soy flour emulsions, which were thick salad dressing type. Freeze- and convection oven-dried corn gluten meals showed significantly lower protein solubility measured at different pH than soy flour.     

A Convenient Synthesis of Some Coumarin Derivatives Using SnCl2 · 2H2O as Catalyst

Some substituted coumarins have been synthesized by von-Pechmann condensation using SnCl₂ · 2H₂O (10 mol %) as catalyst in ethanolic medium. The reactions are simple, easy in handling and environmentally benign.     

Influence of the preparation conditions on the size and morphology of nanocrystalline lanthanum orthoferrite

Nanocrystalline LaFeO₃ is prepared by the dehydration of coprecipitated lanthanum and iron(III) hydroxides. It is shown that the behavior of the samples during heating and the size distribution of LaFeO₃ nanocrystals can be considerably different depending on the scheme used for coprecipitation of lanthanum and iron hydroxides; independently of the method employed for coprecipitation of the initial compounds, sintering of the samples at 950°C leads to the formation of lanthanum orthoferrite crystals up to 100 nm in size.     

Synthesis of polyanilines with pendant fluorescent units

Functionalized polyanilines containing biphenyl, terphenyl, carbazole, anthracene, and 4-n-hexylphenyl moieties were synthesized though the reaction of polyaniline in emeraldine base form with sodium salt of corresponding vinylketoaromatics with quantitative yields. Polymers were characterized with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and thermogravimetry. The emission characteristics of these polymers in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone solution were examined. The functionalized polyanilines exhibited an intense green emission.     

Protoplast from <Emphasis Type="Italic">β</Emphasis>-carotene-producing fungus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Blakeslea trispora</Emphasis>: Preparation,regeneration and validation

The effects of key parameters on the preparation and regeneration of protoplast from the β-carotene-producing fungus Blakeslea trispora were discussed in this paper, including the combination of various enzymes, mycelial age, digesting time and temperature, pH value, osmotic stabilizers, pretreatment, culture medium and culture method. Under the condition of mixed enzymes in osmotic stabilizer (0.6 M NaCl) combined with 2% lysozyme, 3% cellulase and 3% snailase, the highest protoplast yield, as high as 7.48×106 protoplasts/mL, was obtained when mycelial age was 60 h at pH 5.0–6.0 with digesting for 14–16 h at 28 °C. After purification of the obtained protoplasts, they were regenerated in PDA regenerative medium using bilayer plate culture method. To validate the usability of the protoplasts, a novel plasmid with green fluorescent protein (GFP) was used in transformation for easy visual observation. The results showed that the protoplasts prepared by the optimized method were active and applicable in further gene manipulation experiments. This work was presented at 13 ^th YABEC symposium held at Seoul, Korea, October 20–22, 2007.