The propagation of pressure in a gelled waxy oil pipeline as studied by particle imaging velocimetry

Paraffinic crude oils in pipelines may form waxy gels during flow shutdowns. These gels can be dislodged by applying pressure if the wall shear stress, proportional to the local pressure gradient, exceeds the gel yield stress. The simplest models assume that the axial pressure profile becomes linear immediately after a jump in upstream pressure, but this fails to account for gel time‐dependent rheology or the effect of gel voids on pressure wave propagation. To investigate the former factor, pressure profile and particle imaging velocimetry (PIV) measurements were performed on a model oil gelled under pressure to reduce void formation. After a jump in upstream pressure to a value insufficient to restart flow, the axial pressure profile becomes linear in a two‐step process, with an immediate small rise in downstream pressure followed by a time‐delayed jump. The local downstream gel deformation measured by PIV exhibits similar two‐step time dependence. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2012     

Curcumin Loaded Nanocarriers with Varying Charges Augmented with Electroporation Designed for Colon Cancer Therapy

(1) Background: The size and surface charge are the most significant parameters of nanocarriers that determine their efficiency and potential application. The poor cell uptake of encapsulated drugs is the main limitation in anticancer treatment. The well-defined properties of nanocarriers will enable to target specific tissue and deliver an active cargo. (2) Methods: In the current study, poly(D,L -lactide) (PLA) nanocarriers loaded with curcumin (CUR) and differing surface charge were evaluated for transport efficacy in combination with electroporation (EP) in dependence on the type of cells. The obtained CUR-loaded nanoparticles with diameters ranging from 195 to 334 nm (derived from dynamic light scattering (DLS)) were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM) (morphology and shape) and Doppler electrophoresis (ζ-potential) as well as UV-vis spectroscopy (CUR encapsulation efficiency (about 90%) and photobleaching rate). The drug delivery properties of the obtained PLA nanocarriers enhanced by electroporation were assessed in human colon cancer cells (LoVo), excitable normal rat muscle cells (L6), and free of voltage-gated ion channels cells (CHO-K1). CLSM studies, viability, and ROS release were performed to determine the biological effects of nanocarriers. (3) Results: The highest photodynamic activity indicated anionic nanocarriers (1a) stabilized by C₁₂(COONa)₂ surfactant. Nanocarriers were cytotoxic for LoVo cells and less cytotoxic for normal cells. ROS release increased in cancer cells with the increasing electric field intensity, irradiation, and time after EP. Muscle L6 cells were less sensitive to electric pulses. (4) Conclusions: EP stimulation for CUR-PLA nanocarriers transport was considered to improve the regulated and more effective delivery of nanosystems differing in surface charge.     

Bifunctional Opioid/Melanocortin Peptidomimetics for Use in Neuropathic Pain: Variation in the Type and Length of the Linker Connecting the Two Pharmacophores

Based on the mechanism of neuropathic pain induction, a new type of bifunctional hybrid peptidomimetics was obtained for potential use in this type of pain. Hybrids consist of two types of pharmacophores that are connected by different types of linkers. The first pharmacophore is an opioid agonist, and the second pharmacophore is an antagonist of the pronociceptive system, i.e., an antagonist of the melanocortin-4 receptor. The results of tests in acute and neuropathic pain models of the obtained compounds have shown that the type of linker used to connect pharmacophores had an effect on antinociceptive activity. Peptidomimetics containing longer flexible linkers were very effective at low doses in the neuropathic pain model. To elucidate the effect of linker lengths, two hybrids showing very high activity and two hybrids with lower activity were further tested for affinity for opioid (mu, delta) and melanocortin-4 receptors. Their complexes with the target receptors were also studied by molecular modelling. Our results do not show a simple relationship between linker length and affinity for particular receptor types but suggest that activity in neuropathic pain is related to a proper balance of receptor affinity rather than maximum binding to any or all of the target receptors.     

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and corrosion behaviour of Al2O3-Ni nano composite coatings

In this paper, the results on the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and corrosion properties of electrodeposited nanostructured Al₂O₃-Ni composite coatings are presented. The nanocomposite coatings were obtained by codeposition of alumina nanoparticles (13 nm) with nickel during plating process. The coating thickness was 50 μm on steel support and an average of nano Al₂O₃ particles inside of coatings at 15 vol.% was present. The structure of the coatings was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It has been found that the codeposition of Al₂O₃ particles with nickel disturbs the nickel coating's regular surface structure. The electrochemical behavior of the coatings in the corrosive solutions was investigated by polarization potentiodynamic and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy methods. As electrochemical test solutions 0.5 M sodium chloride and 0.5 M potassium sulphate were used in a three electrode open cell. The corrosion potential is shifted to more negative values for nanostructured coatings in 0.5 M sodium chloride. The polarization resistance in 0.5 M sodium chloride decreases in 24 h, but after that increases slowly. In 0.5 M potassium sulphate solution the polarization resistance decreases after 2 h and after 30 h of immersion the polarization resistance is higher than that of the beginning value. The corrosion rate calculated by polarization potentiodynamic curves obtained after 30 min from immersion in solution is smaller for nanostructured coatings in 0.5 M potassium sulphate (4.74 μm/year) and a little bit bigger in 0.5 M sodium chloride (5.03 μm/year).     

“Tropicalisation” of Feed-in Tariffs: A custom-made support scheme for hybrid PV/diesel systems in isolated regions

The interest and actions towards introducing renewables for off-grid regions has increased due to their ostensible cost-effectiveness, eco-friendliness and quality services provided. Nevertheless, in many isolated areas diesel generators appear as a common option, confirming that there is a need for financial support mechanisms that aid the introduction of renewables due to their higher initial investment costs.This paper proposes a so-called ‘tropicalisation’ of the Feed-in Tariff scheme to promote the introduction of hybrid systems in isolated communities based on the idea of awarding for each kWh produced by renewable energies a premium value during a guaranteed period of time. The proposed Renewable Energy Premium Tariff (RPT) scheme is an alternative mechanism to the usual initial investment donation for off-grid energy development projects by recognising the production of renewable electricity and opting for a long-term sustainability of the projects. Ecuador presents ideal conditions to study the introduction of such a ‘tropicalised’ scheme since a Feed-in Law including off-grid projects was established in 2002 and since there are governmental and local efforts for the introduction of renewable hybrids in isolated regions.Modelling of the introduction of photovoltaics (PVs) into diesel systems for several mini-grids located in isolated regions of Ecuador has been performed, and included a detailed financial analysis for optimisation of RPT values and a comparison with existing stand-alone diesel systems. The results show the cost-effectiveness of PV/diesel hybrids over diesel gensets, taking into account present and future diesel prices. To obtain long-term sustainability of the project, the RPT values are set at 0.70–1.20$ kWh covering the operability of the whole system for 20 years, where the renewable fraction should have the largest share in the hybrid system. The proposed mechanism is expected to aid the introduction of renewable technologies to bring solutions and sustainable energy options to final users of off-grid isolated regions.     

Specificity studies of bacillus 1,3-1,4-beta-glucanases and application to glycosynthase-catalyzed transglycosylation

Bacillus 1,3-1,4-beta-glucanases hydrolyze 1,3-1,4-beta-gluco-oligosaccharides with a retaining mechanism. The binding-site cleft of these endoglycosidases is composed of six subsites (-4 to +2) of which subsite -3 makes the largest contribution to transition state stabilization. The specificity of this subsite is here analyzed for both glycosidase and glycosynthase activities in the wild-type and the nucleophile-less E134A mutant Bacillus licheniformis enzymes. A D-galactosyl residue on the nonreducing end of a trisaccharide substrate is accepted by the enzyme and binds at subsite -3 in the productive enzyme-substrate complex. The wild-type enzyme catalyzes the hydrolysis of the substrate Glcbeta4Glcbeta3GlcbetaMU (Glc=glucosyl, MU=4-methylumbelliferyl) with a k(cat)/K(M) value only 1.3-fold higher than for the Galbeta4Glcbeta3GlcbetaMU (Gal=galactosyl) substrate. The corresponding alpha-fluorides act as good donors for the glycosynthase condensation reaction with mono- and disaccharide acceptors catalyzed by the E134A mutant. Whereas self-condensation and elongation products are also obtained as minor compounds with the Glcbeta4Glcbeta3GlcalphaF donor, nearly quantitative yields of single condensation products are obtained with the Galbeta4Glcbeta3GlcalphaF donor, in which the axial configuration of the 4-OH group on the nonreducing end prevents self-condensation and elongation reactions.     

Channel access and interference issues in multi-code DS-CDMA wireless packet (ATM) networks

Multi-Code Direct-Sequence Code-Division-Multiple-Access (MC-CDMA) has been proposed as a flexible multiple access scheme for wireless packet networks that support a large variety of mobiles with different and even time-varying rates. Using MC-CDMA, traffic streams with significantly different transmission rates can be easily integrated into a unified architecture, with all the transmissions occupying the same bandwidth and having the same spread spectrum processing gain. In this paper, we address medium-access and interference issues in MC-CDMA wireless packet networks. For medium access, we propose and study Multi-Code CDMA (MC-CDMA) with Distributed-Queueing Request Update Multiple Access (DQRUMA) to form a unified bandwidth-on-demand fair-sharing platform for multi-rate wireless services. DQRUMA is an efficient demand-assignment multiple access protocol for wireless access and scheduling. Pseudo-Noise (PN) codes (primary codes) and optimal power levels are allocated to the mobiles on a slot-by-slot basis, and a Maximum Capacity Power Allocation (MCPA) criterion exploits the sub-code concatenation property of the MC-CDMA transmission. Simulation results show that the system provides close to ideal-access performance for multi-rate mobiles, both with homogeneous traffic characteristics and with a mix of heterogeneous traffic characteristics. Finally, we analyze the effects of MC-CDMA intercell interference on the reverse link (i.e., mobile to cell site) and investigate interference reduction by using the Maximum Capacity Power Allocation (MCPA) criterion. Our results show significant reduction in reverse-link MC-CDMA intercell interference is possible using the MCPA criterion.     

Longitudinal evidence that psychopathy scores in early adolescence predict adult psychopathy.

This study examined the relation between psychopathy assessed at age 13 by using the mother-reported Childhood Psychopathy Scale (D. R. Lynam, 1997) and psychopathy assessed at age 24 by using the interviewer-rated Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV; S. D. Hart, D. N. Cox, & R. D. Hare, 1995). Data from over 250 participants of the middle sample of the Pittsburgh Youth Study were used to examine this relation; approximately 9% of the sample met criteria for a possible PCL:SV diagnosis. Despite the long time lag, different sources, and different methods, psychopathy from early adolescence into young adulthood was moderately stable (r=.31). The relation was present for the PCL:SV total and facet scores, was not moderated by initial risk status or initial psychopathy level, and held even after controlling for other age 13 variables. Diagnostic stability was somewhat lower. Both specificity and negative predictive power were good, and sensitivity was adequate, but positive predictive power was poor. This constitutes the first demonstration of the relative stability of psychopathy from adolescence into adulthood and provides evidence for the incremental utility of the adolescent psychopathy construct. Implications and future directions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of very long aging on the relaxation behavior of flame‐retardant printed circuit board epoxy composites under mechatronic conditions

Very long aging times, up to 15,100 h (629 days) at 110°C, were achieved on flame‐retardant printed circuit board laminates commonly used in automotive design. This composite was fabricated from glass fibers embedded in an epoxy resin. Aging was performed in an oven under an air atmosphere at a temperature lower than the glass‐transition temperature. Temperature‐modulated differential scanning calorimetric analysis was used to investigate the influence of such aging on the glass‐transition phenomena. A new amorphous phase appeared during aging. By extending the analysis to samples collected at different thicknesses, we demonstrated the existence of a time‐dependent gradient of the properties. A skin–core structure was evidenced, and this slowed down oxidation and allowed physical aging to occur in the bulk sample. An exponential law described the variations of the glass‐transition of the new external compound. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130: 786‐792, 2013