Antioxidant activities from the aerial parts of Platycodon grandiflorum

In order to obtain basic data necessary for the utilisation of aerial parts from Platycodon grandiflorum as a functional substance in Korea, the antioxidant activities of solvent fractions from the ethanol extract of P. grandiflorum aerial parts were examined. The butanol fraction from P. grandiflorum showed the most potent antioxidant activities in each assay, showing 91.31% in the DPPH radical scavenging method, 99.62% in the ABTS radical scavenging method, 7.84% in the reducing power method, and 1.29% in the FRAP method at a concentration of 10 mg/ml. The DPPH, ABTS, reducing power, and FRAP assay indicated that the butanol fraction of aerial parts of P. grandiflorum was the most potent radical-scavengers and reducing agents compared to the other two extracts. Therefore, our study verified that the butanol fraction has strong antioxidant activities which are correlated with its high level of phenolics, particularly luteolin-7-O-glucoside and apigenin-7-O-glucoside. This extract of P. grandiflorum aerial parts can be utilised as an effective and safe source of functional food materials such as natural antioxidants.     

Advancement in the Hydrogen Absorbing and Releasing Kinetics of MgH<Subscript>2</Subscript> by Mixing with Small Percentages of Zn(BH<Subscript>4</Subscript>)<Subscript>2</Subscript> and Ni

Zn(BH₄)₂ made in our former investigation and Ni were mixed with MgH₂ to promote the hydrogen absorption and release features of Mg. A 96 w/o MgH₂ + 2 w/o Ni + 2 w/o Zn(BH₄)₂ sample [named MgH₂–4NZ] was prepared by milling in a planetary ball mill in a hydrogen atmosphere. The proportion of the additive was small (4 w/o) in order to increase hydrogen absorbing and releasing rates without majorly sacrificing the hydrogen-storage capacity. The hydrogen absorption and release features of the MgH₂–4NZ were inspected in detail and compared with those of 99 w/o MgH₂ + 1 w/o Zn(BH₄)₂ [named MgH₂–1Z] and 95 w/o MgH₂ + 2.5 w/o Ni + 2.5 w/o Zn(BH₄)₂ [named MgH₂–5NZ] samples. The activation of the MgH₂–4NZ was not required. The MgH₂–4NZ had a useful hydrogen-storage capacity (the quantity of hydrogen absorbed after 60 min) of about 5.5 w/o at the first cycle. At the first cycle, the MgH₂–4NZ absorbed 3.84 w/o hydrogen after 5 min and 5.47 w/o hydrogen after 60 min at 593 K in 12 bar hydrogen. The MgH₂–4NZ had a higher releasing rate, larger amounts of hydrogen absorbed and released after 60 min, and a better cycling capability than the MgH₂–1Z. Staying of Ni (as Mg₂Ni) and a larger amount of Zn among particles is believed to have led to the better cycling capability of the MgH₂–4NZ.     

Novel UWB Transceiver for WBAN Networks: A Study on AWGN Channels

A novel ultra‐wideband (UWB) transceiver structure is presented to be used in wireless body area networks (WBANs). In the proposed structure, a data channel and a control channel are combined into a single transmission signal. In the signal, a modulation method mixing pulse position modulation and pulse amplitude modulation is proposed. A mathematical framework calculating the power spectrum density of the proposed pulse‐based signal evaluates its coexistence with conventional radio systems. The transceiver structure is discussed, and the receiving performance is investigated in the additive white Gaussian noise channel. It is demonstrated that the proposed scheme is easier to match to the UWB emission mask than conventional UWB systems. The proposed scheme achieves the data rate requirement of WBAN; the logical control channel achieves better receiving performance than the logical data channel, which is useful for controlling and maintaining networks. The proposed scheme is also easy to implement.     

Cholesterol Removal from Squid Liver Oil by Crosslinked β-Cyclodextrin

The present study was designed to optimize the different conditions for β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) crosslinked by adipic acid on cholesterol removal from squid liver oil. Different factors were concentrations of crosslinked β-CD, mixing temperature, ratio of squid liver oil to distilled water, mixing time and mixing speed. It was found that cholesterol removal from squid liver oil was significantly affected by concentrations of crosslinked β-CD, mixing temperature, ratio of squid liver oil to distilled water, mixing time and mixing speed. In a recycling study, cholesterol removal from the squid liver oil with recycled crosslinked β-CD in the first recycling trial was 81.05%, which was slightly lower than that with new crosslinked β-CD (87.06%). In up to three time trials, over 70% of cholesterol removal was observed. The present study indicated that the optimum conditions for cholesterol removal from squid liver oil using crosslinked β-CD were a 1:3 ratio of squid liver oil to distilled water, 25% (crosslinked β-CD/distilled water, w/v) crosslinked β-CD concentration, 20 min mixing time, 800 rpm mixing speed and 55 °C mixing temperature with about 87% cholesterol removal.     

Mutual interference considered power allocation in OFDM-based cognitive networks: the multiple SUs case

Power allocation for secondary users (SUs) in cognitive networks is an important issue to ensure the SUs’ quality of service. When the mutual interference between the primary users (PUs) and the SUs is taken into consideration, it is wanted to achieve the conflict-free power allocation while synchronously maximizing the capacity of the secondary network. In this paper, the optimal power allocation problem is considered in orthogonal frequency division multiplexing cognitive networks. The single SU case is primarily formulated as a constrained optimization problem. On this basis, the multiple SUs case is then studied and simulated in detail. During the analysis, the mutual interference among the PUs and the SUs is comprehensively formulated as the restrictions on the SU’s transmission power and the optimization problems are finally resolved by iterative water-filling algorithms. Consequently, the proposed power allocation scheme restrains the interference to the primary network, as well as maximizing the capacity of the secondary network. Specifying the multiple-SUs case, simulation results are exhibited in a simplified scenario to confirm the efficiency of the proposed water-filling algorithm, and the influence of the mutual interference on the power allocation and the system capacity is further illustrated.     

Characterization of thermally damaged concrete using a nonlinear ultrasonic method

Thermal damage in concrete usually induces contact-type defects, which result in degradation of the concrete's performance. This paper attempts to visualize the thermal damage in a multiscale, and characterizes the thermally damaged concrete using a nonlinear ultrasonic method. An impact-modulation method is used to obtain nonlinearity parameters, as a quantitative measure of contact-type defects, and shows better sensitivity than phase velocity variation as a linear ultrasonic method for thermally damaged concrete. The measured nonlinearity parameter is compared with the permeable pores, which reflect the occurrence of opening and pores in thermally damaged concrete. Degradation of concrete strength due to thermal damage is also assessed via the measurement.     

A data mining approach considering missing values for the optimization of semiconductor-manufacturing processes

Due to the rapid development of information technologies, abundant data have become readily available. Data mining techniques have been used for process optimization in many manufacturing processes in automotive, LCD, semiconductor, and steel production, among others. However, a large amount of missing values occurs in the data set due to several causes (e.g., data discarded by gross measurement errors, measurement machine breakdown, routine maintenance, sampling inspection, and sensor failure), which frequently complicate the application of data mining to the data set. This study proposes a new procedure for optimizing processes called missing values-Patient Rule Induction Method (m-PRIM), which handles the missing-values problem systematically and yields considerable process improvement, even if a significant portion of the data set has missing values. A case study in a semiconductor manufacturing process is conducted to illustrate the proposed procedure.     

ATRP with Alkyl Pseudohalides Acting as Initiators and Chain Transfer Agents: When ATRP and RAFT Polymerization Become One

All controlled radical polymerization (CRP) procedures rely on a dynamic and rapid equilibrium between dormant and active species. This equilibrium can be established through different mechanisms and all the resulting CRP processes have their own advantages and limitations. Therefore, it becomes interesting to investigate the possibility of combining CRP techniques to eliminate specific drawbacks of each individual procedure. Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) with alkyl pseudohalides acting as initiators and chain transfer agents was developed for that purpose. The process relies on a dual mechanism involving both activation deactivation and reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT). This peculiar characteristic of ATRP with alkyl pseudohalides acting as chain transfer agents made it possible to overcome some of the limitations typically associated with conventional ATRP and RAFT polymerization as well as to prepare new responsive materials.     

Direct evidence for the formation of ordered carbides in a ferrite-based low-density Fe–Mn–Al–C alloy studied by transmission electron microscopy and atom probe tomography

We study the structure and chemical composition of the κ-carbide formed as a result of isothermal transformation in an Fe–3.0Mn–5.5Al–0.3C alloy using transmission electron microscopy and atom probe tomography. Both methods reveal the evolution of κ-particle morphology as well as the partitioning of solutes. We propose that the κ-phase is formed by a eutectoid reaction associated with nucleation growth. The nucleation of κ-carbide is controlled by both the ordering of Al partitioned to austenite and the carbon diffusion at elevated temperatures.