Thermal, structural and crystallization kinetics of SiO2-BaO-ZnO-B2O3-Al2O3 glass samples as a sealant for SOFC

The present work describes the development of a glass-ceramic in SiO₂-BaO-ZnO-B₂O₃-Al₂O₃ system. The prepared glass samples were found to have good compatibility to act as a sealant in planar solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) in terms of coefficient of thermal expansion (TEC) and glass transition temperature (T_g). The crystallization kinetics of present glass samples were investigated by various characterization techniques such as differential thermal analyzer (DTA), Dilatometery, X-Ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The crystallization behavior of the chosen glass samples was influenced by replacing B₂O₃ with Al₂O₃. With the addition of Al₂O₃ there is increase in glass transition temperature (T_g) and glass crystallization temperature (T_c). Also with the addition of Al₂O₃ crystallization phenomenon is hindered. XRD and SEM study was done at various temperatures for different time durations. The detail of the above discussed study is done in the present paper.     

Blood levels of organotin compounds and their relation to fish consumption in Finland

The objective of this study was to measure the concentrations of organotin compounds in the whole blood of Finnish male fishermen (n=133), their wives (n=94), and other family members (n=73), and to investigate their associations with background variables. The concentrations were generally low, less than the limit of quantification (LOQ) for the vast majority of compounds and samples. Of the organotin compounds (mono-, di-, and tributyltin, mono-, di-, and triphenyltin, and dioctyltin), only triphenyltin was detected in more than just a few samples (in 37 of 300 samples, LOQ=0.04 ng/ml). These were mainly the samples of fishermen (26/37) and their wives (10/37). For statistical analysis, concentrations of triphenyltin were divided into two categories, LOQ. Of the different background variables, age and fish consumption contributed the most to the triphenyltin concentrations. When age and fish consumption (g/day) were divided into three categories, odds ratios comparing the highest with the lowest category were 3.88 for age (95% CI 1.36-11.09) and 3.48 for fish consumption (1.36-8.94), respectively. Compared with females, males had an odds ratio of 1.51 of having the concentration of triphenyltin >LOQ (0.72-3.14). To the best of our knowledge, this study confirmed for the first time with human samples that fish consumption can be associated with triphenyltin concentration in whole blood.     

Biologically produced bifunctional recombinant protein nanoparticles for immunoassays

Nanoparticles are increasingly used as labels for analytical purposes. In general, nanoparticles need to be functionalized with binding molecules (mostly antibodies or fragments thereof) and label substances using a multistep process that requires several manufacturing and purification steps. Here, we present a biological method of producing functionalized nanoparticles for effective use as label agents in a bioaffinity assay. The particles are based on the globular protein shell of human ferritin. A single chain Fv fragment (scFv) of an antibody is used as the binding moiety and Eu3+ ions as the label substance. Conventional chemical conjugation of the particle and antibody fragment is replaced with genetic fusion between the ferritin subunit and scFv genes. The material, for example, the fusion construct is produced in a single bacterial culture as insoluble forms that are easily purified by centrifugations. The subunits are solubilized and self-assembled, and label ions are introduced by shifting the pH. The functionality of these particles is demonstrated with a bioaffinity assay. This method of producing nanoparticles with inherent antigen binding activity presents several possibilities for the simple production of specific, functional nanoparticles. Production is fast, economical, and environmentally sustainable, making the system advantageous, particularly in applications requiring large quantities of specific nanoparticles.     

Formalisms for query capture and data source identification to support data fusion for construction productivity monitoring

Productivity monitoring, which involves frequent monitoring and analysis of on-going construction activities, helps in assessing a project's performance and in enabling identification of opportunities for improvement. It often involves finding answers for dynamic user queries that require data to be fused from different combinations of heterogeneous data sources having different levels of detail, representations and reference systems. Digital elements of these sources are expanding exponentially, and yet fusing and processing them manually remains a challenging problem. In this paper, the authors present a formal approach for capturing dynamic user queries and identifying applicable sets of data sources from a given set of available data sources to answer such queries. This approach is an important step to enable automated and efficient multi-source data fusion.     

Quantifying carbon mitigation wedges in U.S. cities: near-term strategy analysis and critical review

A case study of Denver, Colorado explores the roles of three social actors-individual users, infrastructure designer-operators, and policy actors-in near-term greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation in U.S. cities. Energy efficiency, renewable energy, urban design, price- and behavioral-feedback strategies are evaluated across buildings-facilities, transportation, and materials/waste sectors in cities, comparing voluntary versus regulatory action configurations. GHG mitigation impact depends upon strategy effectiveness per unit, as well as societal participation rates in various action-configurations. Greatest impact occurs with regulations addressing the vast existing buildings stock in cities, followed by voluntary behavior change in electricity use/purchases, technology shifts (e.g., to teleconferencing), and green-energy purchases among individual users. A portfolio mix of voluntary and regulatory actions can yield a best-case maximum of ~1% GHG mitigation annually in buildings and transportation sectors, combined. Relying solely on voluntary actions reduces mitigation rates more than five-fold. A portfolio analysis of climate action plans in 55 U.S. cities reveals predominance of voluntary outreach programs that have low societal participation rates and hence low GHG impact, while innovative higher-impact behavioral, technological, and policy/regulatory strategies are under-utilized. Less than half the cities capitalize on cross-scale linkages with higher-impact state-scale policies. Interdisciplinary field research can help address the mis-match in plans, actions, and outcomes.     

Fibres as carriers for Lactobacillus rhamnosus during freeze-drying and storage in apple juice and chocolate-coated breakfast cereals

The capability of different fibre preparations to protect the viability and stability of Lactobacillus rhamnosus during freeze-drying, storage in freeze-dried form and after formulation into apple juice and chocolate-coated breakfast cereals was studied. In freeze-drying trials wheat dextrin and polydextrose proved to be promising carriers for the L. rhamnosus strains: both freeze-drying survival and storage stability at 37 degrees C were comparable to the control carrier (sucrose). Using apple fibre and inulin carriers resulted in powders with fairly good initial freeze-drying survival but with poor storage stability at 37 degrees C. When fresh L. rhamnosus cells were added into apple juice (pH 3.5) together with oat flour with 20% beta-glucan the survival of the cells was much better at 4 degrees C and at 20 degrees C than with sucrose, wheat dextrin and polydextrose, whereas with freeze-dried cells no protective effect of oat flour could be seen. The stability of freeze-dried L. rhamnosus cells at 20 degrees C was higher in chocolate-coated breakfast cereals compared to low pH apple juice. Similar to freeze-drying stability, wheat dextrin and polydextrose proved to be better carriers than oat flour in chocolate-coated breakfast cereals. Regardless of their differing capability to adhere to fibre preparations the two L. rhamnosus strains studied gave parallel results in the stability studies with different carriers.     

Persistence of probiotic strains in the gastrointestinal tract when administered as capsules, yoghurt, or cheese

Most clinical studies of probiotics use freeze-dried, powdered bacteria or bacteria packed in capsules. However, probiotics are commercially available in various food matrices, which may affect their persistence in the gastrointestinal tract. The objective of the study was to compare oral and faecal recovery during and after administration of a combination of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and LC705, Propionibacterium freudenreichii subsp. shermanii JS, and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis Bb12 as capsules, yoghurt, or cheese. This randomized, parallel-group, open-label trial (n = 36) included a 4-week run-in, 2-week intervention, and 3-week follow-up period. Participants consumed 10¹⁰ cfu/day of probiotic combination and provided saliva and faecal samples before, during, and after the intervention. Strain-specific real-time PCR was used to quantify the strains.L. rhamnosus GG was the only probiotic strain regularly recovered in saliva samples. During the intervention period it was recovered in the saliva of 88% of the volunteers at least once. No difference was found between the yoghurt and cheese groups. At the end of the intervention, L. rhamnosus GG and LC705 counts were high in faecal samples of all product groups (8.08 and 8.67 log₁₀ genome copies/g, respectively). There was no matrix effect on strain quantity in faeces or the recovery time after ceasing the intervention. For P. freudenreichii subsp. shermanii JS and B. animalis subsp. lactis Bb12, a matrix effect was found at the end of the intervention (P < 0.01 and P < 0.001, respectively) and in the recovery time during follow-up (P < 0.05 for both). Yoghurt yielded the highest faecal quantity of JS and Bb12 strains (8.01 and 9.89 log₁₀ genome copies/g, respectively). The results showed that the administration matrix did not influence the faecal quantity of lactobacilli, but affected faecal counts of propionibacteria and bifidobacteria that were lower when consumed in cheese. Thus, the consumption of probiotics in yoghurt matrix is highly suitable for studying potential health benefits and capsules provide a comparable means of administration when the viability of the strain in the capsule product is confirmed.     

Machining,Characterization and Optimization: A Novel Approach for Machining Channels on Silicon Wafer Using Tailor-Made Micro Abrasive Jet Machining

Silicon - Literature reveals that machining a silicon wafer is very arduous due to its high brittle nature and low fracture toughness. Researchers have attempted to machine features on a silicon...