Effect of Oxygen Partial Pressure During Liquid-Phase Sintering on the Dielectric Properties of 0.9MgTiO3–0.1CaTiO3

Microstructural evolution and microwave dielectric properties of liquid-phase-sintered 0.9MgTiO₃–0.1CaTiO₃ dielectric ceramic material have been investigated as a function of oxygen partial pressure (     ) during sintering. Sintering in a weakly reducing atmosphere (     =10⁻¹⁴ atm) generally increased the density, permittivity, quality factor ( Q × f ), and the temperature coefficient of resonance frequency (τ_f), but further reducing atmosphere down to     of 10⁻¹⁴ atm generally decreased Q × f and τ_f. When the 5 wt% lithium borosilicate glass-added specimen was sintered at 950°C and     =10⁻¹⁴ atm, it demonstrated a permittivity of 18.8, Q × f of 19 000 GHz, and τ_f of 10 × 10⁻⁶ K⁻¹.     

Research on seasonal indoor thermal environment and residents' control behavior of cooling and heating systems in Korea

Indoor thermal environments and residents' control behavior of cooling and heating systems were investigated in Seoul, Korea and compared with the results of previous studies. Twenty-four houses in summer, six houses in autumn and 36 houses in winter were used in this study. The measurement of temperature, humidity and air conditioner usage behavior was carried out. The clo-value, thermal comfort, sensation and basic data of the houses were also investigated. The indoor thermal environment in the summer had a high temperature and a high humidity ratio compare to standard comfort zone. Most of the indoor thermal environments at the time of starting the air conditioner in the summer were out of the comfort zone. Some of the data recorded while the air conditioner was stopped were in the comfort zone, but in many cases the temperature was relatively higher than comfort zone. Most indoor climate distributions in the winter were in the comfort zone and the indoor climate in autumn coincided well with the criteria of the comfort zone. Compared with results of previous studies in these 25 years, indoor ambient average temperature in winter has increased and the comfort temperature has increased in the heating period and decreased in the cooling period. This result indicates that the development of an HVAC system has created an expectation of comfort for residents and has shifted their thermal comfort zone warmer in winter and cooler in summer.     

High heat flux test with HIP bonded Be/Cu/SS mock-ups for the ITER first wall

In order to verify the integrity of the first wall (FW) of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), especially for preparing its qualification program by ITER-O, Be/Cu/SS mock-ups, which were the same size as the qualification mock-ups, were fabricated and tested at the TSEFEY, an e-beam facility, in Efremov, Russia. These mock-ups were joined with a 316 L austenitic stainless steel (SS316L) block for a structural material, CuCrZr for a heat sink material and SS316L tubes for a coolant and then, joined with three Be tiles for an armor material. A hot isostatic pressing (HIP) was used as manufacturing methods at a 1050 °C, 100 MPa for 2 h for a Cu/SS joining and at a 580 °C, 100 MPa for 2 h for a Be/(Cu/SS) joining. Two mock-ups were fabricated by using 1 μmCr/10 μmCu of an interlayer between the Be tile and Cu block. The high heat flux (HHF) tests were performed at 1.5 and 2.0 MW/m² heat fluxes for each mock-up. The given conditions and the expected fatigue lifetime were evaluated from a preliminary analysis with ANSYS. Both mock-ups survived for up to 1000 and 268 cycles at 1.5 and 2.0 MW/m² heat fluxes, respectively. They are higher than the expected numbers of cycles to a failure.     

Therapeutic Effect of Melittin–dKLA Targeting Tumor-Associated Macrophages in Melanoma

Melanoma is an immunogenic tumor and a serious type of skin cancer. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) express an M2-like phenotype and are involved in all stages of melanomagenesis; it is hence a promising target for cancer immunotherapy. We herein investigated whether melittin–dKLA inhibits the growth of melanoma by inducing apoptosis of M2-like macrophages. For the in vitro study, a conditioned medium of macrophages was prepared from M0, M1, or M2-differentiated THP-1 cells with and without melittin–dKLA. The affinity of melittin for M2 macrophages was studied with FITC (fluorescein isothiocyanate)-conjugated melittin. For the in vivo study, murine melanoma cells were inoculated subcutaneously in the right flank of mice, melittin–dKLA was intraperitoneally injected at 200 nmol/kg every three days, and flow cytometry analysis of TAMs was performed. Since melittin binds preferentially to M2-like macrophages, melittin–dKLA induced more caspase 3 expression and cell death in M2 macrophages compared with M0 and M1 macrophages and melanoma cells. Melittin–dKLA significantly inhibited the proliferation and migration of M2 macrophages, resulting in a decrease in melanoma tumor growth in vivo. The CD206⁺ M2-like TAMs were reduced, while the CD86⁺ M1-like TAMs were not affected. Melittin–dKLA is therapeutically effective against melanoma by inducing the apoptosis of M2-like TAMs.     

Capillary action: enrichment of retention and habitation of cells via micro-channeled scaffolds for massive bone defect regeneration

The development of a biomaterial substitute that can promote bone regeneration in massive defects has remained as a significant clinical challenge even using bone marrow cells or growth factors. Without an active, thriving cell population present throughout and stable anchored to the construct, exceptional bone regeneration does not occur. An engineered micro-channel structures scaffold within each trabecular has been designed to overcome some current limitations involving the cultivation and habitation of cells in large, volumetric scaffolds to repair massive skeletal defect. We created a scaffold with a superior fluid retention capacity that also may absorb bone marrow cells and provide growth factor-containing body fluids such as blood clots and/or serum under physiological conditions. The scaffold is composed of 3 basic structures (1) porous trabecular network (300–400 μm) similar to that of human trabecular bones, (2) micro-size channels (25–70 μm) within each trabecular septum which mimic intra-osseous channels such as Haversian canals and Volkmann’s canals with body fluid access, diffusion, nutritional supply and gas exchange, and (3) nano-size pores (100–400 nm) on the surface of each septum that allow immobilized cells to anchor. Combinatorial effects of these internal structures result in a host-adapting construct that enhances cell retention and habitation throughout the 3 cm-height and 4 cm-length bridge-shaped scaffold.     

Advanced deposition characteristics of kinetic sprayed bronze/diamond composite by tailoring feedstock properties

In this study, the effect of protective nickel film on diamond particles was studied with the goal of preventing fracture and obtaining a uniform diamond distribution in a bronze/diamond composite coating during kinetic spraying. Two types of bronze/diamond composite were deposited on aluminum substrate. For comparison with experimental results, the impact behavior between diamonds in the gas flow field was simulated by finite element analysis (using ABAQUS/Explicit 6.7-2). Size distribution and deposition efficiency of the diamond particles in the composite coatings were analyzed through scanning electron microscopy and image analysis methods. Diamond fracturing was avoided because the impact energy was mostly absorbed by the outer protective nickel film on the diamond particle during impact. The uniform distribution and deposition efficiency of diamond particles in the coating layer could also be achieved by tailoring the physical properties (density, size, etc.) of the feedstock.     

Evaluating the Utility of IPCC AR4 GCMs for Hydrological Application in South Korea

Understanding the uncertainty of climate models in space and time is necessary to help water resources managers and hydrologists in the selection of appropriate model for a specific application. In this paper, we use three separate methods to evaluate and compare the utility of 14 climate models for seven basins with area range of 2,656–26,355 km² on the South Korean Peninsula. On the one hand, the method of probabilistic uncertainty analysis is used to evaluate the capability of the studied General Circulation Models (GCMs) in recognizing the extreme events. On the other hand, we use two statistical tests (correlation coefficient and root mean square error) to examine the capability of the GCMs in simulating quantitatively each event. The results show that, for the first method, the performance of climate model varies depending on the number of climate model nodes used for a specific application of given basin, especially for monthly time scale. In addition, we find that, there are several GCMs showing good results for the probabilistic uncertainty test but poor results for the statistical test and conversely. Therefore, climate models should be evaluated for specific applications and specific regions. The results indicated quite clearly that, it is not easy to select an optimal climate model which can satisfy both applications using precipitation and temperature projections. However, the results of this study suggest that, there are several GCMs which are more useful than the others for general hydrological application in South Korean peninsula.     

Effect of clay content, homogenization RPM, pH, and ultrasonication on mechanical and barrier properties of fish gelatin/montmorillonite nanocomposite films

The effect of clay content, homogenization RPM, and pH on the mechanical and barrier properties of fish gelatin/nanoclay composite films was investigated. The addition of 5% nanoclay (w/w) increased the tensile strength from 30.31 ± 2.37 MPa to 40.71 ± 3.30 MPa. The 9 g clay/100 g gelatin film exhibited the largest improvements in oxygen and water barrier properties. Oxygen permeability decreased from 402.8 × 10⁻⁶ ± 0.7 × 10⁻⁶ g m/m² day atm to 114.4 × 10⁻⁶ ± 16.2 × 10⁻⁶ g m/m² day atm and the water vapor permeability decreased from 31.2 × 10⁻³ ± 1.6 × 10⁻³ ng m/m² s Pa to 8.1 × 10⁻³ ± 0.1 × 10⁻³ ng m/m² s Pa. The XRD and TEM observation suggested that the ultrasonication treatment (30 min at 40% output) resulted in exfoliation of the silicates.     

Photocatalytic overall water splitting with dual-bed system under visible light irradiation

Photocatalytic overall water splitting has been demonstrated with WO₃ for oxygen producing photocatalyst (OPC), and Rh-doped SrTiO₃ for hydrogen producing photocatalyst (HPC) in a simulated dual-bed system under visible light irradiation (λ ≥ 400 nm). The Fe³⁺/Fe²⁺ redox couple was chosen as the most effective electron mediator between OPC and HPC. The overall performance of the dual-bed system was limited by the low activity of HPC, and thus the activity of HPC should be increased to improve the overall performance. For overall water splitting reaction in a dual-bed system, the conduction band of OPC must be more negative than the redox potential of the electron acceptors and the valence band of HPC must be more positive than the redox potential of the electron donors.