Monomer casting nylon-6-b-polyether amine copolymers: Synthesis and properties

MC nylon-6-b-polyether amine copolymers were prepared with macro-initiator based on amino-terminated polyether amine functionalized with isocyanate via in-situ polymerization. It was found that the introduction of polyether amine delayed the polymerization process of caprolactam by increasing apparent activation energy and pre-exponential factor, resulting in the decrease of molecular weight of nylon-6. The motion of molecular chain of the copolymers was easy because of the decreased hydrogen bonds and weakened inter-molecular forces. The physical entanglement of molecular chains of the copolymers was significant and strong which increased the entanglement density. Only the nylon-6 phase crystallized in the copolymers and the crystal grain size, spherulite size and crystallinity of the copolymers decreased. A small amount of γ crystal formed at high polyether amine content. The copolymers presented obvious strain hardening behavior in stress-strain curves and the loss factor dramatically increased while the glass transition temperature and storage module decreased. The fracture surface of the copolymers became rough and presented hairy structure, indicating that the toughening mechanism of the copolymers corresponded to the multi-layer crack extension mechanism.     

Systematic packaging design tools integrating functional and environmental consequences on product life cycle: Case studies on laundry detergent and milk

This study presents systematic packaging design tools integrating functional and environmental consequences on product life cycle. To design packaging for sustainability, the trade-offs between functional and environmental aspects of packaging throughout the product life cycle should be considered. However, it is difficult for packaging designers to understand the overall trade-offs because the extent of the design consequences on the entire life cycle of packaging and its contents is unclear. We developed two tools for packaging design: the Life Cycle Association Matrix (LCAM) and the Function Network Diagram (FND). The following three steps, based on literature reviews and interviews with industrial experts, were applied. Firstly, we listed the product functions and design variables related to the functions as the attributes allocated to the product life cycle. Secondly, the attributes were connected appropriately based on causal relationships. Lastly, we identified the factors to support decision making in the packaging design procedure. As a result, the LCAM depicts the design consequences on the life cycle, and the FND determines the stakeholders affected by the design consequences. Two case studies were demonstrated to analyze the trade-offs by using our tools. In the case studies, a liquid laundry detergent bottle and a milk carton were redesigned. The tools identified the design consequences and stakeholders affected by the redesign of the usability and protective function for the detergent and milk cases, respectively. The results showed the significance of understanding the design consequences on the product life cycle by integrating the functional and environmental aspects.     

Synergistic effect of co-alloying elements on site preferences and elastic properties of Ni3Al: A first-principles study

The site preferences of co-alloying elements (Mo–Ta, Mo–Re, Mo–Cr) in Ni₃Al are studied using first-principles calculations, and the effects of these alloying elements on the elastic properties of Ni₃Al are evaluated by elastic property calculations. The results show that the Mo–Ta, Mo–Re and Mo–Cr atom pairs all prefer Al–Al sites and the spatial neighbor relation of substitution sites almost has no influence on the site preference results. Furthermore, the Young's modulus of Ni₃Al increases much higher by substituting Al–Al sites with co-alloying atoms, among which Mo–Re has the best strengthening effect. The enhanced chemical bondings between alloying atoms and their neighbor host atoms are considered to be the main strengthening mechanism of the alloying elements in Ni₃Al.     

An optimization model for evaluating the economic impact of availability and maintenance notions during the synthesis and design of a power plant

In this paper, we introduce an optimization strategy in order to comprehensively quantify the impact of availability and maintenance notions during the early stages of synthesis and design of a new natural gas combined cycle power plant. A detailed state-space approach is thoroughly discussed, where influence of maintenance funds on each component's repair rate is directly assessed.In this context, analysis of the reliability characteristics of the system is centered at two designer-adopted parameters, which largely influence the obtained results: the number of components which may fail independently at the same time, and the number of simultaneous failure/repair events.Then, optimal solutions are evaluated as the availability-related parameters and the amount of resources assigned for maintenance actions are varied across a wide range of feasible values, which enable obtaining more accurate and detailed estimations of the expected economic performance for the project when compared with traditional economic evaluation approaches.     

面向航空通信应用的边沿触发器教学设计

研究和分析了面向航空通信应用的边沿触发器教学设计。以边沿触发电路实现原理为核心,引导边沿触发机制的探究式学习；以航空机载网络通信为具体应用背景,引入科学研究和工程实现中实际问题,设计曼切斯特码检测系统实验；使得边沿触发器教学成为“知识再创造”的过程和创新实践的新载体,以期培养新工科背景下的独立、创新和实践精神。     

Crossing the Border: From Keto- to Imine Reduction in Short-Chain Dehydrogenases/Reductases

The family of NAD(P)H-dependent short-chain dehydrogenases/reductases (SDRs) comprises numerous biocatalysts capable of C=O or C=C reduction. The highly homologous noroxomaritidine reductase (NR) from Narcissus sp. aff. pseudonarcissus and Zt_SDR from Zephyranthes treatiae, however, are SDRs with an extended imine substrate scope. Comparison with a similar SDR from Asparagus officinalis (Ao_SDR) exhibiting keto-reducing activity, yet negligible imine-reducing capability, and mining the Short-Chain Dehydrogenase/Reductase Engineering Database indicated that NR and Zt_SDR possess a unique active-site composition among SDRs. Adapting the active site of Ao_SDR accordingly improved its imine-reducing capability. By applying the same strategy, an unrelated SDR from Methylobacterium sp. 77 (M77_SDR) with distinct keto-reducing activity was engineered into a promiscuous enzyme with imine-reducing activity, thereby confirming that the ability to reduce imines can be rationally introduced into members of the “classical” SDR enzyme family. Thus, members of the SDR family could be a promising starting point for protein approaches to generate new imine-reducing enzymes.     

A new decomposition based evolutionary algorithm with uniform designs for many-objective optimization

For many-objective optimization problems, how to get a set of solutions with good convergence and diversity is a difficult and challenging work. In this paper, a new decomposition based evolutionary algorithm with uniform designs is proposed to achieve the goal. The proposed algorithm adopts the uniform design method to set the weight vectors which are uniformly distributed over the design space, and the size of the weight vectors neither increases nonlinearly with the number of objectives nor considers a formulaic setting. A crossover operator based on the uniform design method is constructed to enhance the search capacity of the proposed algorithm. Moreover, in order to improve the convergence performance of the algorithm, a sub-population strategy is used to optimize each sub-problem. Comparing with some efficient state-of-the-art algorithms, e.g., NSGAII-CE, MOEA/D and HypE, on six benchmark functions, the proposed algorithm is able to find a set of solutions with better diversity and convergence.     

Triphenylphosphonium (TPP)-Based Antioxidants: A New Perspective on Antioxidant Design

Mitochondrial oxidative damage and dysfunction contribute to a wide range of human diseases. Considering the limitation of conventional antioxidants and that mitochondria are the main source of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which induce oxidative damage, mitochondria-targeted antioxidants which can selectively block mitochondrial oxidative damage and prevent various types of cell death have been widely developed. As a lipophilic cation, triphenylphosphonium (TPP) has been commonly used in designing mitochondria-targeted antioxidants. Conjugated with the TPP moiety, antioxidants can achieve more than 1000-fold higher mitochondrial concentration depending on cell membrane potentials and mitochondrial membrane potentials. Herein we discuss the deficiencies of conventional antioxidants and the advantages of mitochondrial targeting, and review various types of TPP-based mitochondria-targeted antioxidants. These provide theoretical and background support for the design of new anti-oxidant.     

A conceptualization of intended learning outcomes supporting self‐regulated learners in indicating learning paths

Intended learning outcomes (ILOs) indicate what learners will be able to achieve after they are taught. Traditionally, ILOs are expressed as plain text or unstructured documents. What if all ILOs of a specific course of study can be conceptualized through a structured diagrammatic technique? It was hypothesized that learners can benefit from this conceptualization in learning, especially in self‐regulated learning. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the ILOs represented in unstructured or structured formats can facilitate learners to identify learning paths. The results revealed that the mean ratings of all learning paths were statistically significantly higher with structured ILOs.     

Modelling dislocation assisted tempering during rolling contact fatigue in bearing steels

Rolling contact fatigue in bearing steels is manifested by dark-etching regions, which are attributed to deformation induced tempering. In order to quantitatively explain this phenomenon, a model is suggested for martensite tempering assisted by dislocation glide during rolling contact fatigue. In the model, dislocations transport carbon from the matrix to carbide particles, provided that the carbon is located at a certain distance range from the dislocation contributing to the tempering process. By calculating the amount of carbon in the matrix, the kinetics of carbide thickening and hardness reduction are computed. It is found that the dark-etching region kinetics can be controlled by both bearing operation conditions (temperature and deformation rate) and microstructure (type, size, and volume fraction of carbides). The model is validated against tested bearings, and its limitations are discussed.