Production and Emulsifying Effect of Polyglycerol and Fatty Acid Esters with Varying Degrees of Esterification

Esters with acyl groups can be formed by the esterification of polyglycerol. The purpose of the present study was to produce fatty acid esters [hexanoic (caproic), octanoic (caprylic), decanoic (capric), dodecanoic (lauric), tetradecanoic (myristic), hexadecanoic (palmitic), octadecanoic (stearic)] and polyglycerol (average number‐of degrees of polymerization of 5) with varying degrees of esterification and to examine their emulsifying properties. A number of fundamental catalysts of polyglycerol acylation reactions by methyl esters of carboxylic acid were studied, and sodium methoxide was found to be the best choice. The temperature rate of transesterification increased from 180 to 220 °C with the fatty acid chain alkyl residue. Synthesized mono‐, di‐, tri‐, tetra‐, and heptaesters of various fatty acids and polyglycerol provided the highest hydroxyl values from 15 to 815 mg KOH g^?1 and saponification values from 82 to 321 mg KOH g^?1. The emulsifying properties were assessed for all polyglycerol and fatty acid esters, with results showing maximum emulsifying effect for tri‐ and tetraesters of capric, lauric, and caprylic acids. Regardless of the hydrophilic–lipophilic balance value (HLB) of polyglycerol esters and carboxylic acid, a 4:1 ratio of sunflower oil to water formed a water‐in‐oil type emulsion. When mixing oil and water in a 1:1 ratio, mono‐ and diesters of polyglycerol formed an oil‐in‐water type emulsion, heptaesters formed a water‐in‐oil type emulsion, and tri‐ and tetraesters formed both of types of emulsions, depending on the length of the acid hydrocarbon radicals.     

Photobiomodulation Therapy and the Glymphatic System: Promising Applications for Augmenting the Brain Lymphatic Drainage System

The glymphatic system is a glial-dependent waste clearance pathway in the central nervous system, devoted to drain away waste metabolic products and soluble proteins such as amyloid-beta. An impaired brain glymphatic system can increase the incidence of neurovascular, neuroinflammatory, and neurodegenerative diseases. Photobiomodulation (PBM) therapy can serve as a non-invasive neuroprotective strategy for maintaining and optimizing effective brain waste clearance. In this review, we discuss the crucial role of the glymphatic drainage system in removing toxins and waste metabolites from the brain. We review recent animal research on the neurotherapeutic benefits of PBM therapy on glymphatic drainage and clearance. We also highlight cellular mechanisms of PBM on the cerebral glymphatic system. Animal research has shed light on the beneficial effects of PBM on the cerebral drainage system through the clearance of amyloid-beta via meningeal lymphatic vessels. Finally, PBM-mediated increase in the blood–brain barrier permeability with a subsequent rise in Aβ clearance from PBM-induced relaxation of lymphatic vessels via a vasodilation process will be discussed. We conclude that PBM promotion of cranial and extracranial lymphatic system function might be a promising strategy for the treatment of brain diseases associated with cerebrospinal fluid outflow abnormality.     

Microstructure Variation and Hardness Diminution During Low Cycle Fatigue of 55NiCrMoV7 Steel

 The influence of temperature and hardness level on the cyclic behavior of 55NiCrMoV7 steel, and the microstructure variation and hardness diminution during low cycle fatigue behavior were investigated. By means of SEM and XRD, the modality of carbides and the full width half maximum (FWHM) of martensite (211) [M(211)] of X ray diffraction spectrum in fatigue specimen were studied. The results showed that the cyclic stress response behavior generally showed an initial exponential softening for the first few cycles, followed by a gradual softening without cyclic softening saturation. The fatigue behavior of the steel is closely related to the hardness level. The hardness diminution and the variation of half width M(211) are remarkably influenced by the interaction between the cyclic plastic deformation and the thermal loading when the fatigue temperature exceeds the tempering temperature of the steel.     

Microtribology,squeeze, and friction of the colloidal layer

Lubricant films containing colloidal overbased calcium salts have particular effects on detergency and on the wear process. The mechanical properties of such boundary films are very dependent on the process conditions, and are essentially a result of physico-chemical transformations of the colloid. Three types of films were compared: a film obtained by the drying of the base solvent, a film due to the compaction of the colloid between two steel surfaces, and a friction film obtained with this type of lubricant. Adsorption, compaction, and shear transformations induce a solid film. The pressure effect on the frictional behaviour of these colloidal films has been investigated using a surface force apparatus for low contact pressure (10⁴ to 10⁶ Pa), and using tribometers supporting heavy loads for the analysis of the high pressure domain. Above a critical pressure, evaluated at 10⁶ Pa, the colloidal film does not flow, but forms a compacted mattress sliding on the surface plane and squeezing a molecular layer of lubricant.     

Modeling bread baking with focus on overall deformation and local porosity evolution

A two dimensional model of bread baking was developed including, for the first time, the dependence of dough viscosity on both temperature and moisture content, the carbon dioxide dissolved from liquid water together with gas generation from yeast at the beginning of baking and the shrinkage due to dough drying. Particular attention was paid to experimental validation of both overall and local variables such as local temperature, overall mass loss, and local moisture content, overall CO₂ released into the oven, and overall deformation and local expansion or shrinkage. Sensitivity studies on generation of carbon dioxide, gravity, and shrinkage are presented to discuss their influences on bread geometry, porosity (reflecting the alveolar structure) and gas pressure. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 62: 3847–3863, 2016     

Modelling of flocculation using a population balance equation

In this paper, a model based on a population balance equation (PBE) is developed. It aims at reproducing experimental floc size distributions obtained at steady state in a jar-test. The objective is to develop a simple model, based on physical phenomena, and that does not contain any adjustable parameters. Floc size distributions obtained using a part of a particle image velocimetry (PIV) device and image analysis are used to develop mathematical expressions for the aggregation and breakage kernels. A critical volume beyond which breakage is of significant importance is identified and related to the hydrodynamics. Hydrodynamic sequencing allows the distribution of the daughter particles resulting from a breakage event to be established. The model is finally successfully validated against experimental results.     

Concentration effects in the base-catalyzed hydrolysis of oligo(ethylene glycol)- and amine-containing methacrylic monomers

Concentration effects in the base-catalyzed hydrolysis of water-soluble methacrylates (3-(N,N-dimethylaminoethyl) methacrylate (DMAEMA), 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylates (OEGMAs)) have been studied. These monomers are rapidly hydrolyzed in the presence of bases at the room temperature in dilute aqueous solutions, but the reaction rate decreases sharply in highly concentrated solutions. A clear correlation was found between a form of the viscosity isotherm for DMAEMA solutions and the concentration dependence of the autocatalytic hydrolysis rate which indicates the connection of process kinetics with the structure of solutions. These data should be considered when carrying out homo- and copolymerization of the previously mentioned monomers in aqueous solutions.     

Pb0.3CaxSr0.7-xTiO3陶瓷的室温电卡效应

电卡效应是极性材料中极化强度和温度的相互作用, 具有电卡效应的铁电陶瓷材料在高效固态制冷领域有很好的应用前景。本研究以Pb_0.3Ca_xSr_0.7-xTiO₃ [PCST(x), x = 0.00, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15]陶瓷为对象, 系统研究了在电场作用下Ca含量对材料介电性能和铁电性能的影响, 并通过间接法计算了不同温度下材料的电卡温变。研究结果显示: Ca含量可显著调控PCST陶瓷的弥散相变特性, PCST(0.05)的相变弥散因子随外加电场的增大而增大, 可利用弥散相变在较宽温度区间内获得较大的电卡效应。经计算可得: PCST(0.05)在室温下可产生1.71 K的温变。当电场为8 kV/mm时, PCST(0.05)陶瓷在5~70 ℃的温度范围内, 绝热温变均大于1 K, 表现出优异的电卡效应。     

Hybrid Swarm Intelligence Based QoS Aware Clustering with Routing Protocol for WSN

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) started gaining attention due to its wide application in the fields of data collection and information processing. The recent advancements in multimedia sensors demand the Quality of Service (QoS) be maintained up to certain standards. The restrictions and requirements in QoS management completely depend upon the nature of target application. Some of the major QoS parameters in WSN are energy efficiency, network lifetime, delay and throughput. In this scenario, clustering and routing are considered as the most effective techniques to meet the demands of QoS. Since they are treated as NP (Non-deterministic Polynomial-time) hard problem, Swarm Intelligence (SI) techniques can be implemented. The current research work introduces a new QoS aware Clustering and Routing-based technique using Swarm Intelligence (QoSCRSI) algorithm. The proposed QoSCRSI technique performs two-level clustering and proficient routing. Initially, the fuzzy is hybridized with Glowworm Swarm Optimization (GSO)-based clustering (HFGSOC) technique for optimal selection of Cluster Heads (CHs). Here, Quantum Salp Swarm optimization Algorithm (QSSA)-based routing technique (QSSAR) is utilized to select the possible routes in the network. In order to evaluate the performance of the proposed QoSCRSI technique, the authors conducted extensive simulation analysis with varying node counts. The experimental outcomes, obtained from the proposed QoSCRSI technique, apparently proved that the technique is better compared to other state-of-the-art techniques in terms of energy efficiency, network lifetime, overhead, throughput, and delay.