CONDUCTIVE DRYlNG CHARACTERISTICS OF GELATINIZED RICE STARCH

The main objective of the experiment in thispaper is to investigate the influence of the ratio of the thickness of the plate and that of the film, and initial condi- tions on the conductive drying characteristics of thin films of gelatinized rice starch on a hot plate under constant heat and mass transfer to the surroundings. The plate was. supported on one arm of a sensitive balance which measured and recorded the weight loss due to drying. Tbennocouples situated at the upper and lower surfaces of the plate recorded the respective temperatures. The gelatinized starch was prepared by cooking a slurry of rice starchin a heated and agitated vessel at slightly above the gelatinization temperatureof the starch 70C. The film was applied after the plate was heated to its initial temperature which ranged from 70C to 119C. The weight 10s and the temperature of the upper and lower surfaces of the plate were recorded. The m3isture content of the dried sample was determined by measuring the weight loss after heating it in an oven at 90C for 24 hours.The dimensionless average moisture content was fitted to the drying rate eauation of the form The dimensionless temperature of tbe filmplate interface data was fitted to the following equation It was found that the critlcal moisture content Xc increases when both the intial temperature level and the ratio of the thickness of the plate to that of the film are raised. The dimensionless avenge moisture content profiles against dimensionless time and the dimensionless drying rate ploti against the dimensionless moisture content are not affected at all by this ratio. There was an initial cooling period fol lowed by a continuous rue in temperature. The dimensionless temperature is independent of the ratio of the thickness of rbe plate to that of the film. The dimen     

Multilayer coextrusion of rheologically modified main chain liquid crystalline polymers and resulting orientational order

Liquid crystalline polymers (LCP) are attractive candidates for use as barrier films in packaging and high performance membrane applications due to their extraordinary barrier properties and chemical resistance. However, LCPs usually display extremely low viscosities, which makes processing them into multilayer films using coextrusion a challenge due to the mismatch of their viscosities with other film components. In this study, a commercial grade diepoxy reagent (Heloxy 67) was used to modify the rheological properties of a thermotropic main chain LCP. The effects of diepoxy concentration and reaction time on the melt viscosity and liquid crystal structures of the LCP were investigated. The addition of small amounts of diepoxy (e.g., 1.5 wt. %) increased the viscosity of the LCP nearly 15-fold. However, addition of excessive diepoxy (e.g., 2 wt. % or greater) led to cross-linking of the LCP. More importantly, these modified samples were thermally stable when melt reprocessed at temperatures of up to 250 °C in air. High quality multilayer films were prepared by coextruding the rheologically modified LCP with polypropylene-graft-maleic anhydride. The orientational order of the LCP in the multilayer films was studied by polarized infrared spectroscopy as well as x-ray diffraction. Interestingly, instead of aligning along the shear direction, the LCP chains tended to orient perpendicular to the extrusion direction, presumably due to a ‘log-rolling’ effect during processing.     

Z variations in yields of multicharged ions scattered and recoiled from a silicon surface

The doubly charged and triply charged ion yields from keV ion-silicon surface scattering are found to have a strong dependence on the atomic number Z₁ of the incident ion. For Z₁ < Z₂ the yield of scattered multicharged ions increases with Z₁, so that these ions dominate the recoiling Si²⁺ and Si³⁺ ions by Z₁ = 9. In contrast, when Z₁ > Z₂, there are large yields of Si²⁺ and Si³⁺ ions, and the multicharged scattered ion yields are too small to detect. The interaction radius at which shell vacancies are produced is also found to change, suggesting that electron promotion occurs at a different level crossing on either side of Z₁ = Z₂.     

Factors affecting enhanced mercury bioaccumulation in inland lakes of Isle Royale National Park,USA

We investigated factors causing mercury (Hg) concentrations in northern pike to exceed the consumption advisory level (>500 ng/g) in some inland lakes of Isle Royale National Park. Using Hg-clean techniques, we collected water, zooplankton, macro invertebrates, and fishes in 1998 and 1999 from one advisory lake, Sargent Lake, for analysis of total mercury (Hg(T)) and methylmercury (MeHg). For comparison, samples were also collected from a non-advisory lake, Lake Richie. Concentrations of Hg(T) in northern pike were significantly higher in Sargent Lake (P<0.01). Counter to expectations, mean concentrations of both Hg(T) and MeHg in open water samples were slightly higher in Lake Richie. However, zooplankton in Sargent Lake contained higher average concentrations of Hg(T) and MeHg than in Lake Richie. Mercury concentrations in macro invertebrates were similar between lakes, but different between taxa. The two lakes exhibited similar Hg(T) concentrations in age-1 yellow perch and adult perch but concentrations in large adult perch (>160 mm) in Sargent Lake were twice the concentrations in Lake Richie. Analysis of stable isotopes (delta(13)C and delta(15)N) in biota showed that pike from the two lakes are positioned at the same trophic level (4.2 and 4.3), but that the food web is more pelagic-based in Sargent and benthic-based in Richie. Factors causing concentrations in large pike to be higher in Sargent Lake may include higher bioavailability of methylmercury and a food web that enhances bioaccumulation.     

Phospholipase D and its product, phosphatidic acid, mediate agonist-dependent raf-1 translocation to the plasma membrane and the activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway

The primary known function of phospholipase D (PLD) is to generate phosphatidic acid (PA) via the hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine. However, the functional role of PA is not well understood. We report here evidence that links the activation of PLD by insulin and the subsequent generation of PA to the activation of the Raf-1-mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade. Brefeldin A (BFA), an inhibitor of the activation of ADP-ribosylation factor proteins, inhibited insulin-dependent production of PA and MAPK phosphorylation. The addition of PA reversed the inhibition of MAPK activation by BFA. Overexpression of a catalytically inactive variant of PLD2, but not PLD1, blocked insulin-dependent activation of PLD and phosphorylation of MAPK. Real time imaging analysis showed that insulin induced Raf-1 translocation to cell membranes by a process that was inhibited by BFA. PA addition reversed the effects of BFA on Raf-1 translocation. However, PA did not activate Raf-1 in vitro or in vivo, suggesting that the primary function of PA is to enhance the recruitment of Raf-1 to the plasma membrane where other factors may activate it. Finally, we found that the recruitment of Raf-1 to the plasma membrane was transient, but Raf-1 remained bound to endocytic vesicles.     

Estimating Energy Conversion Efficiency of Thermoelectric Materials: Constant Property Versus Average Property Models

Maximum thermoelectric energy conversion efficiencies are calculated using the conventional “constant property” model and the recently proposed “cumulative/average property” model (Kim et al. in Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 112:8205, 2015) for 18 high-performance thermoelectric materials. We find that the constant property model generally predicts higher energy conversion efficiency for nearly all materials and temperature differences studied. Although significant deviations are observed in some cases, on average the constant property model predicts an efficiency that is a factor of 1.16 larger than that predicted by the average property model, with even lower deviations for temperature differences typical of energy harvesting applications. Based on our analysis, we conclude that the conventional dimensionless figure of merit ZT obtained from the constant property model, while not applicable for some materials with strongly temperature-dependent thermoelectric properties, remains a simple yet useful metric for initial evaluation and/or comparison of thermoelectric materials, provided the ZT at the average temperature of projected operation, not the peak ZT, is used.     

今天的绿色POL DC/DC转换器设菅需要高效率和低IQ

大多数嵌入式系统都是由48V背板供电的。这个电压通常要降至较低的24V、12V或5V的中间总线电压,以向系统内的电路板支架供电。然而,这些电路板上的大多数分支电路或集成电路要求在低于1～3．3V的电压范围内工作,电流范围为数十mA至数十A。因此,需要负载点（POL）DC／DC转换器将24V、12V或5V电压轨降至这些分支电路或集成电路所需的电压和电流值。     

Suppression of line voltage related distortion in current controlled grid connected inverters

The influence of selected control strategies on the level of low-order current harmonic distortion generated by an inverter connected to a distorted grid is investigated through a combination of theoretical and experimental studies. A detailed theoretical analysis, based on the concept of harmonic impedance, establishes the suitability of inductor current feedback versus output current feedback with respect to inverter power quality. Experimental results, obtained from a purpose-built 500-W, three-level, half-bridge inverter with an L-C-L output filter, verify the efficacy of inductor current as the feedback variable, yielding an output current total harmonic distortion (THD) some 29% lower than that achieved using output current feedback. A feed-forward grid voltage disturbance rejection scheme is proposed as a means to further reduce the level of low-order current harmonic distortion. Results obtained from an inverter with inductor current feedback and optimized feed-forward disturbance rejection show a THD of just 3% at full-load, representing an improvement of some 53% on the same inverter with output current feedback and no feed-forward compensation. Significant improvements in THD were also achieved across the entire load range. It is concluded that the use of inductor current feedback and feed-forward voltage disturbance rejection represent cost-effect mechanisms for achieving improved output current quality.