Bitter off‐taste in stored cold‐pressed linseed oil obtained from different varieties

Freshly pressed linseed oil shows a delicate nutty flavor. However, after only 1 day of storage, a bitter off‐taste develops. It is caused mainly by the formation of a cyclic octa‐peptide named cyclolinopeptide E (CLE) containing the oxidized amino acid methionine. A simple and fast determination by solid‐phase extraction and high‐performance liquid chromatography with UV detection has been developed in order to measure the formation of this cyclic peptide during storage in correlation with the increasing bitter off‐taste of the oil, which was determined by a sensory panel. The development of this bitter off‐taste was analyzed in several oils prepared from linseed of a single variety from seeds obtained during a growing test. Highest bitterness was perceived in oil from the variety Eurodor, corresponding to CLE contents of 925 mg/kg, and lowest bitterness was perceived in oil from the variety Baladin, corresponding to a CLE content of 485 mg/kg. In some varieties, additional bitter compounds might be present in significant amounts.     

Poly(amide‐imides): Wire Enamels with Excellent Thermal and Chemical Properties

Poly(amide‐imide) resins are versatile high‐performance polymers used as primary electrical insulation. They can be synthesized by three well‐established methods, of which only two are commercially exploited. Outstanding characteristics include high thermal performance, chemical and abrasion resistance, and low coefficient of friction. Other industries also rely on these same properties for use as coatings, extrusion resins and films. Recent developments are discussed and future trends/product offerings are reviewed. Developments include corona‐resistant enamels, self‐lubricated and high‐abrasion‐resistance coatings. The hybrid automobile industry offers opportunities for further innovations in primary electrical coatings.

     

Effects of acute and 14-day coenzyme Q10 supplementation on exercise performance in both trained and untrained individuals

Background

To determine whether acute (single dose) and/or chronic (14-days) supplementation of CoQ10 will improve anaerobic and/or aerobic exercise performance by increasing plasma and muscle CoQ10 concentrations within trained and untrained individuals.

Methods

Twenty-two aerobically trained and nineteen untrained male and female subjects (26.1 ± 7.6 yrs, 172 ± 8.7 cm, 73.5 ± 17 kg, and 21.2 ± 7.0%) were randomized to ingest in a double-blind manner either 100 mg of a dextrose placebo (CON) or a fast-melt CoQ10 supplement (CoQ10) twice a day for 14-days. On the first day of supplementation, subjects donated fasting blood samples and a muscle biopsy. Subjects were then given 200 mg of the placebo or the CoQ10 supplement. Sixty minutes following supplement ingestion, subjects completed an isokinetic knee extension endurance test, a 30-second wingate anaerobic capacity test, and a maximal cardiopulmonary graded exercise test interspersed with 30-minutes of recovery. Additional blood samples were taken immediately following each exercise test and a second muscle biopsy sample was taken following the final exercise test. Subjects consumed twice daily (morning and night), 100 mg of either supplement for a period of 14-days, and then returned to the lab to complete the same battery of tests. Data was analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA with an alpha of 0.05.

Results

Plasma CoQ10 levels were significantly increased following 2 weeks of CoQ10 supplementation (p < 0.001); while a trend for higher muscle CoQ10 levels was observed after acute CoQ10 ingestion (p = 0.098). A trend for lower serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) was observed following acute supplementation with CoQ10 (p = 0.06), whereas serum malondialdehyde (MDA) tended to be significantly higher (p < 0.05). Following acute ingestion of CoQ10, plasma CoQ10 levels were significantly correlated to muscle CoQ10 levels; maximal oxygen consumption; and treadmill time to exhaustion. A trend for increased time to exhaustion was observed following 2 weeks of CoQ10 supplementation (p = 0.06).

Conclusion

Acute supplementation with CoQ10 resulted in higher muscle CoQ10 concentration, lower serum SOD oxidative stress, and higher MDA levels during and following exercise. Chronic CoQ10 supplementation increased plasma CoQ10 concentrations and tended to increase time to exhaustion. Results indicate that acute and chronic supplementation of CoQ10 may affect acute and/or chronic responses to various types of exercise.     

Textured PMN–PT and PMN–PZT

A promising way to improve the performance of piezoelectric ceramics is grain orientation by templated grain growth. In this work lead-based piezoelectric ceramics Pb(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)_0.68Ti_0.32O₃ (PMN–32PT) and Pb(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)_0.42(Ti_0.638Zr_0.362)_0.58O₃ (PMN–37PT–21PZ) ceramics were textured via templated grain growth process. For texturization (001)-oriented BaTiO₃ (BT) platelets (approximately 10 μm × 10 μm × 2 μm) were utilized as templates. The texturized ceramics were accomplished by aligning the templates by tape casting. The template growth into the matrix resulted in textured ceramics with Lotgering factors between 0.94 and 0.99 for both compositions. Consequences of the texture are enhanced dielectric and piezoelectric properties. Unipolar strain-field measurements of textured ceramics showed 0.25% strain s ₃₃ at 3 kV/mm. Large signal d ₃₃^* of up to 878 pm/V were determined directly from strain measurements. Compared with randomly oriented ceramics in texturized samples unipolar strain s ₃₃ and large signal d ₃₃^* was enhanced by a factor of up to 1.8.     

A Note on Interpreting Tool Temperature Measurements from Thermography

Thermography (thermal imaging) is a well-established experimental method for studying cutting tool temperature distributions. In one form, cutting edge temperatures within the chip / tool contact area are deduced from thermal images of tool faces normal to the cutting edge but offset from the contact region. In general practice, the offset is made as small as possible (<< 1 mm) and it is assumed that the observed temperature is the same as that within the contact. In this short communication an approximate analytical model is developed for the influence of the offset on the observed temperature. The predictions from the model are compared with previously unpublished existing results on the machining of Ti alloys (Ti6Al4V and Ti5Al4V) and on steel (AISI 4140). It is shown that ignoring the offset may introduce underestimates of cutting edge temperature of ≈ 30% or more. This is large compared to the usually considered uncertainties of ± 5% from camera and tool emissivity calibration. There is a need for a dedicated study of this effect.     

Quantification of tool wear using white light interferometry and three-dimensional computational metrology

Although several wear modes can result from machining, the most common tend to be what are referred to as flank wear and crater wear. Flank wear can be easily measured directly from images of a worn cutting tool, and this is the typical method used to quantify the condition of a tool. On the other hand, crater wear is difficult to quantify, and thus has typically been treated in a qualitative manner. The inability to characterize and compare the two wear modes in a quantitative way is an increasingly important problem as the precision of machining operations improves and cutting moves almost exclusively to the nose radius of cutting tools. This paper introduces a new approach to this problem by proposing a technique to quantify both wear modes for direct comparison. The technique measures the volumetric wear loss in the two regions by comparing three-dimensional wear data obtained by white light interferometry with ideal representations of unworn cutting tools. The resulting wear measurements are compared and related to changes in the cutting process, specifically increases in cutting forces and changes in the topography of machined surfaces.     

Microstructures and Mechanical Properties of Ti6Al4V Parts Fabricated by Selective Laser Melting and Electron Beam Melting

This work compares two metal additive manufacturing processes, selective laser melting (SLM) and electron beam melting (EBM), based on microstructural and mechanical property evaluation of Ti6Al4V parts produced by these two processes. Tensile and fatigue bars conforming to ASTM standards were fabricated using Ti6Al4V ELI grade material. Microstructural evolution was studied using optical and scanning electron microscopy. Tensile and fatigue tests were carried out to understand mechanical properties and to correlate them with the corresponding microstructure. The results show differences in microstructural evolution between SLM and EBM processed Ti6Al4V and their influence on mechanical properties. The microstructure of SLM processed parts were composed of an α′ martensitic phase, whereas the EBM processed parts contain primarily α and a small amount of β phase. Consequently, there are differences in tensile and fatigue properties between SLM- and EBM-produced Ti6Al4V parts. The differences are related to the cooling rates experienced as a consequence of the processing conditions associated with SLM and EBM processes.     

Evaluating and monitoring nucleation and growth in copper foil

The electrodeposition of copper foil for use in electronic materials applications is a complex and demanding process. The specific aspects of producing and controlling the structure-property-performance requirements of the foil are important because of the stringent demands placed on their use in printed circuit boards and similar products. In this paper, a brief review of the electrodeposition process for raw copper foil is presented. Since electrolyte additives play such a significant role in the copper-depositionprocess, the effects of two essential additives, chloride ion and an organic (e.g., glue or gelatine), on the foil are described. Also, the influence of other operating parameters on the initial nucleation, growth, and subsequent electrocrystallization are discussed. Selected characterization methods, such as polarization and scanning electron micrography techniques, are described as a means of monitoring the process, but universally accepted methods of evaluating and controlling the additives and foil quality during electrolysis are still being sought.     

The GAUGAA Motif Is Responsible for the Binding between circSMARCA5 and SRSF1 and Related Downstream Effects on Glioblastoma Multiforme Cell Migration and Angiogenic Potential

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a large class of RNAs with regulatory functions within cells. We recently showed that circSMARCA5 is a tumor suppressor in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) and acts as a decoy for Serine and Arginine Rich Splicing Factor 1 (SRSF1) through six predicted binding sites (BSs). Here we characterized RNA motifs functionally involved in the interaction between circSMARCA5 and SRSF1. Three different circSMARCA5 molecules (Mut1, Mut2, Mut3), each mutated in two predicted SRSF1 BSs at once, were obtained through PCR-based replacement of wild-type (WT) BS sequences and cloned in three independent pcDNA3 vectors. Mut1 significantly decreased its capability to interact with SRSF1 as compared to WT, based on the RNA immunoprecipitation assay. In silico analysis through the “Find Individual Motif Occurrences” (FIMO) algorithm showed GAUGAA as an experimentally validated SRSF1 binding motif significantly overrepresented within both predicted SRSF1 BSs mutated in Mut1 (q-value = 0.0011). U87MG and CAS-1, transfected with Mut1, significantly increased their migration with respect to controls transfected with WT, as revealed by the cell exclusion zone assay. Immortalized human brain microvascular endothelial cells (IM-HBMEC) exposed to conditioned medium (CM) harvested from U87MG and CAS-1 transfected with Mut1 significantly sprouted more than those treated with CM harvested from U87MG and CAS-1 transfected with WT, as shown by the tube formation assay. qRT-PCR showed that the intracellular pro- to anti-angiogenic Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A (VEGFA) mRNA isoform ratio and the amount of total VEGFA mRNA secreted in CM significantly increased in Mut1-transfected CAS-1 as compared to controls transfected with WT. Our data suggest that GAUGAA is the RNA motif responsible for the interaction between circSMARCA5 and SRSF1 as well as for the circSMARCA5-mediated control of GBM cell migration and angiogenic potential.