Comparative Evaluation of Physicochemical Properties of Jatropha Seed Oil from Malaysia,Indonesia and Thailand

The jatropha oil was extracted from the jatropha seeds collected from different origins viz., Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. The physicochemical properties such as density, viscosity, percentage free fatty acid (FFA), iodine value, saponification value and peroxide value of the extracted jatropha seed oil were evaluated. The evaluation of fatty acid composition using gas chromatography (GC) revealed that, oleic (42.4–48.8%) and linoleic acid (28.8–34.6%) are the dominant fatty acids present in the jatropha seed oil. The saturated fatty acids such as palmitic and stearic acid lie in the range 13.25–14.5 and 7–7.7%, respectively. The observed major triacylglycerol (TAG) composition was OOL (22.94–25.75%) and OLL (15.52–20.77%).     

Morphometric and Nanomechanical Features of Erythrocytes Characteristic of Early Pregnancy Loss

Early pregnancy loss (EPL) is estimated to be between 15 and 20% of all adverse pregnancies. Approximately, half of EPL cases have no identifiable cause. Herein, we apply atomic force microscopy to evaluate the alteration of morphology and nanomechanics of erythrocytes from women with EPL with unknown etiology, as compared to healthy pregnant (PC) and nonpregnant women (NPC). Freshly isolated erythrocytes from women with EPL differ in both the roughness value (4.6 ± 0.3 nm, p < 0.05), and Young’s modulus (2.54 ± 0.6 MPa, p < 0.01) compared to the values for NPC (3.8 ± 0.4 nm and 0.94 ± 0.2 MPa, respectively) and PC (3.3 ± 0.2 nm and 1.12 ± 0.3 MPa, respectively). Moreover, we find a time-dependent trend for the reduction of the cells’ morphometric parameters (cells size and surface roughness) and the membrane elasticity—much faster for EPL than for the two control groups. The accelerated aging of EPL erythrocytes is expressed in faster morphological shape transformation and earlier occurrence of spiculated and spherical-shaped cells, reduced membrane roughness and elasticity with aging evolution. Oxidative stress in vitro contributed to the morphological cells’ changes observed for EPL senescent erythrocytes. The ultrastructural characteristics of cells derived from women with miscarriages show potential as a supplementary mark for a pathological state.     

Cloning of Δ12- and Δ6-desaturases from Mortierella alpina and recombinant production of γ-linolenic acid in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Two cDNA clones with homology to known desaturase genes were isolated from the fungus Mortierella alpina. The open reading frame in one clone encoded 399 amino acids and exhibited Δ12-desaturase activity when expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae in the presence of endogenous fatty acid substrate oleic acid. The insert in another clone contained an open reading frame encoding 457 amino acids and exhibited Δ6-desaturase activity in S. cerevisiae in the presence of exogenous fatty acid substrate linoleic acid. Expression of the Δ12-desaturase gene under appropriate media and temperature conditions led to the production of linoleic acid at levels up to 25% of the total fatty acids in yeast. When linoleic acid was provided as an exogenous substrate to the yeast cultures expressing the Δ6-desaturase activity, the level of γ-linolenic acid reached 10% of the total yeast fatty acids. Co-expression of both the Δ6- and Δ12-desaturase cDNA resulted in the endogenous production of γ-linolenic acid. The yields of γ-linolenic acid reached as high as 8% of total fatty acids in yeast.     

Overview on advanced thermal barrier coatings

During the last decade a number of ceramic materials, mostly oxides have been suggested as new thermal barrier coating (TBC) materials. These new compositions have to compete with the state-of-the-art TBC material yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) which turns out to be difficult due to its unique properties. On the other hand YSZ has certain shortcomings especially its limited temperature capability above 1200 °C which necessitates its substitution in advanced gas turbines.In the paper an overview is tried on different new materials covering especially doped zirconia, pyrochlores, perovskites, and aluminates. Literature results and also results from our own investigations will be presented and compared to the requirements. Finally, the double-layer concept, a method to overcome the limited toughness of new TBC materials, will be discussed.     

Effects of aluminum treatment on phosphorus, carbon, and nitrogen distribution in lake sediment: a 31P NMR study

The effects of aluminum (Al) treatment on sediment composition of carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) were investigated in sediment representing pre- and post-treatment years in the Danish Lake S?nderby. 31P NMR spectroscopy analysis of EDTA-NaOH extracts revealed six functional P groups. Direct effects of the Al treatment were reflected in the orthophosphate profile revealing increased amounts of Al-P in the sediment layers representing the post-treatment period, as well as changes in organic P groups due to precipitation of phytoplankton and bacteria at the time of Al addition. Furthermore, changes in phytoplankton community structure and lowered production due to the Al treatment resulted in decreased concentrations of sediment organic P groups and total C. Exponential regressions were used to describe the diagenesis of C, N, and P in the sediment. From these regressions, half-life degradation times and C, N, and P burial rates were determined.     

Post‐installation adaptation of offshore wind turbine controls

The cost of offshore wind energy can be reduced by incorporating control strategies to reduce the support structures' load effects into the structural design process. While effective in reducing the cost of support structures, load‐reducing controls produce potentially costly side effects in other wind turbine components and subsystems. This paper proposes a methodology to mitigate these side effects at the wind farm level. The interaction between the foundation and the surrounding soil is a major source of uncertainty in estimating the safety margins of support structures. The safety margins are generally closely correlated with the modal properties (natural frequencies, damping ratios). This admits the possibility of using modal identification techniques to reassess the structural safety after installing and commissioning the wind farm. Since design standards require conservative design margins, the post‐installation safety assessment is likely to reveal better than expected structural safety performance. Thus, if load‐reducing controls have been adopted in the structural design process, it is likely permissible to reduce the use of these during actual operation. Here, the probabilistic outcome of such a two‐stage controls adaptation is analyzed. The analysis considers the structural design of a 10 MW monopile offshore wind turbine under uncertainty in the site‐specific soil conditions. Two control strategies are considered in separate analyses: (a) tower feedback control to increase the support structure's fatigue life and (b) peak shaving to increase the support structure's serviceability capacity. The results show that a post‐installation adaptation can reduce the farm‐level side‐effects of load‐reducing controls by up to an order of magnitude.     

Internship hours revisited: Further evidence for a national standard.

Inconsistent training requirements across predoctoral internships have problematic implications for psychologists seeking licensure and for the profession as a whole. This investigation is an 11-year follow-up to a previous study (Bartle & Rodolfa, 1999) that explored the variation in hours accrued across predoctoral internship programs. The current study examined the total number of supervised training hours provided by internships and the methods utilized by training directors to calculate these hours. The total number of supervised hours reported by training directors ranged from 1,840 to 2,080, with 58.2% calculating hours by approximation, rounding off, or estimation. As training directors reported more total hours, they were increasingly likely to include holiday, vacation, and sick leave. Recommendations for state licensing boards and internship training programs are provided, including a national licensure requirement of 1,800 hours accrued during internship. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

High-temperature stress-dependent piezoelectric and dielectric coefficient of soft Pb(Zr,Ti)O<Subscript>3</Subscript>

The dielectric constant and the direct piezoelectric coefficient as well as the macroscopic ferroelastic behavior of co-doped Pb(Zr,Ti)O₃ were characterized from 25 to 350 °C as a function of uniaxial compressive stress. Experimental results show a decrease in the small signal piezoelectric coefficient and the permittivity with stress, although there exists a uniaxial compressive stress that significantly reduces the variation of the piezoelectric coefficient with increasing temperature, making it a possible method for sensors that operate over a large temperature range. In the vicinity of the depolarization temperature, the piezoelectric response rapidly decreases. This temperature, however, was observed well below the temperature at maximum permittivity. Experimental results reveal that uniaxial compressive stress shifts the temperature at maximum permittivity, giving insight into the effect of stress on the phase transition behavior in Pb(Zr,Ti)O₃, but does not apparently influence the depolarization temperature.     

Comparison of numerical and computational aspects between two constraint-based contact methods in the description of wheel/rail contacts

Multibody System Dynamics - The numerical and computation aspects of the Knife-edge Equivalent Contact (KEC) constraint and lookup table (LUT) methods are compared in this paper. The LUT method...