Layered Nanoprobe for Long‐Lasting Fluorescent Cell Label

A long‐lasting particle‐based fluorescent label is designed for extended cell imaging studies. This onion‐like nanoprobe is constructed through layer‐by‐layer fabrication technology. The nanoprobes are assembled with multiple layers of optically quenched polyelectrolytes, the fluorescence signal of which can be released later by intracellular proteolysis. Upon incubation with cells, the assembled nanoprobes are taken up efficiently. The tight packing and layered assembly of the quenched polyelectrolytes slow subsequent intracellular degradation, and then result in a prolonged intracellular fluorescence signal for up to 3 weeks with no noticeable toxicity.     

Investigation of isochronous stress-strain formulations for elevated temperature structural design

For elevated temperature design evaluations by the ASME-NH rules, the most important material data is the isochronous stress-strain curves, which can provide design creep information. The main purpose of this paper is to investigate appropriate formulations to be able to generate the isochronous stress-strain curves and implement it to the computer program which is coded the ASME-NH design evaluation procedures. To do this, formulations by the strain-time relationship are investigated in detail and the sensitivity studies for rapid initial transient creep contributions, slower and longer transient creep contribution, and secondary creep contributions are carried out for type 316 austenitic stainless steel. From the results of this study, it is found that the strain-time relationship formulations can well describe the isochronous stress-strain curves with the transient creep contributions.     

A continuous screening procedure using the performance and surrogate variables

A continuous screening procedure interchangeably using the performance and surrogate variables is proposed. At the start of the inspection, the performance variable is measured for all items. As soon as i consecutive items are found to be free of defects, the surrogate variable is measured instead of the performance variable. If an item is rejected, the inspection based on the performance variable is resumed. All non-conforming items found in the inspection are either reworked or replaced with conforming items. The average outgoing quality (AOQ) expression is derived, and methods of finding the inspection procedure with a specified average outgoing quality limit (AOQL) are presented.     

Thermal treatment effect on the magnetoelectric properties of (Ni0.5Zn0.5)Fe2O4/Pt/Pb(Zr0.3Ti0.7)O3 heterostructured thin films

Magnetoelectric (ME) property modulation in heterostructured (Ni_0.5Zn_0.5)Fe₂O₄/Pt/Pb(Zr_0.3Ti_0.7)O₃ (NZFO/Pt/PZT) thin films on platinized Si substrate by thermal annealing condition variation was studied. In an attempt to prevent interfacial reaction between NZFO and PZT layers during high temperature annealing, thin Pt layer was deposited which can serve as inter-diffusion barrier as well as electrode. The ferroelectric, magnetic, and ME properties of the heterostructured film were noticeably modulated due to microstructural evolution and clamping relaxation developed during thermal annealing process. Room temperature ME voltage coefficient of the heterostructured thin films was enhanced with increasing annealing temperature and reached to 29 mV/cm·Oe when annealed at 650 °C.     

Microbial Diversity of Ground Beef Products in South Korean Retail Market Analyzed by PCR-DGGE and 454 Pyrosequencing

The purpose of this study was to assess the microbial community in ground beef purchased from local stores in the north central area of South Korea. A total of 31 ground beef samples showed 3.77 ± 5.16 × 10⁵ CFU/g on aerobic plate counts, and PCR-based denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis was performed to assess the microbial community, which revealed a diverse profile among the products. Four of these samples were selected for further analyses via 454 pyrosequencing. Pseudomonas was the most frequently identified genus in terms of relative abundance (4.54–73.8%), and other bacteria such as Lactobacillus, Acinetobacter, and Carnobacterium were also identified in the ground beef. The presence of bacteria can affect the spoilage of ground beef products depending on the microbial populations, and understanding these populations may help limit spoilage and/or foodborne illness. This study illustrates the microbial diversity occurring among Korean ground beef products, even within a local region, and provides a molecular approach for potential ground beef microbial quality assessment.     

Fabrication of Superjunction Trench Gate Power MOSFETs Using BSG‐Doped Deep Trench of p‐Pillar

In this paper, we propose a superjunction trench gate MOSFET (SJ TGMOSFET) fabricated through a simple p pillar forming process using deep trench and boron silicate glass doping process technology to reduce the process complexity. Throughout the various boron doping experiments, as well as the process simulations, we optimize the process conditions related with the p pillar depth, lateral boron doping concentration, and diffusion temperature. Compared with a conventional TGMOSFET, the potential of the SJ TGMOSFET is more uniformly distributed and widely spread in the bulk region of the n drift layer due to the trenched p‐pillar. The measured breakdown voltage of the SJ TGMOSFET is at least 28% more than that of a conventional device.     

Evaluation of pH‐treated fish sarcoplasmic proteins on rheological properties of fish myofibrillar protein mediated by microbial transglutaminase

Fish sarcoplasmic protein (SP) could be exploited in the water‐holding agent for fish protein gels, except that the gel strength is reduced. The adjustment of pH could modify protein interactions to overcome the inferior effect. Fish SP solutions were adjusted to pH 3 or 12, neutralised to pH 7 and lyophilised to be pH‐treated SPs. These SPs along with lyophilised untreated SP (Normal SP) were incorporated into fish myofibrillar protein (MP) with microbial transglutaminase (MTG). The denaturation temperature (T_d) of MP mixed with normal SP was 66 °C with the lowest shear stress value. The denaturation of MP mixed with pH‐treated SP reduced to be 57 °C, resulting in increased shear stress. The cooking loss of MP gel was reduced by adding pH‐treated SPs, while the breaking forces were similar to control. The result indicated that pH‐treated SPs could be used to reduce cooking loss of MTG‐mediated MP gels without affecting the gelling properties.     

Inhibitory effect of sowthistle (Ixeris dentata) on development and expression of behavioral locomotor sensitization to nicotine in rats

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of sowthistle (Ixeris dentata, IXD) on development and expression of nicotine-induced locomotor sensitization and underlying neuronal activation reflected by c-Fos expression in rats. Rats were pretreated with IXD 30 min before a daily injection of nicotine during an 8-day development phase and then challenged with nicotine after a 6-day withdrawal period. In another set of experiments, same IXD doses were administered once 30 min before nicotine challenge. Daily IXD treatment during development phase was not effective in blocking nicotine-induced locomotor sensitization in rats. However, a single IXD treatment after the development and withdrawal periods of nicotine sensitization significantly alleviated sensitized locomotor behavior on day 15. These behavioral results were coincident with significant inhibition of nicotineinduced c-Fos expression in the nucleus accumbens. These results indicated that IXD pretreatment significantly blocked the expression, but not the development of nicotine-induced locomotor sensitization in rats.