Continuous hydrolysis of olive oil by lipase in microporous hydrophobic membrane bioreactor

Continuous hydrolysis of olive oil byCandida cylindracea’s lipase was studied in a microporous hydrophobic membrane bioreactor. Olive oil and buffer solution, fed continuously through two compartments partitioned by membrane, caused reaction at the interface of lipase-adsorbed membrane and buffer solution. Fatty acid was obtained in a single phase without being mixed with components of other phases. At all mean residence times, countercurrent flow mode was superior to cocurrent one. The lipase was adsorbed onto the membrane, and its adsorption was suggested to be partially specific from the experiments with enzymes having various levels of purity. The percent hydrolysis depended hyperbolically on the interfacial enzyme concentration. The hydrolysis seemed to be limited by diffusion of fat or fatty acid through the micropores of the membrane at higher interfacial enzyme concentrations. The lipase was stabilized significantly by glycerol added to the buffer solution. Satisfactory performance of the membrane bioreactor was obtained in a longterm continuous operation which lasted for 24 days by feeding buffer-glycerol (18.0%) solution over the adsorbed lipase. The operational half-life of the adsorbed enzyme was 15 days at 40 C.     

Establishment time of liquid flow in a bath agitated by bottom gas injection

The establishment time of gas-liquid two-phase flows in a cylindrical bath agitated by bottom gas injection through a central single-hole bottom nozzle was investigated. Because the turbulence intensity in the bath was comparable to or larger than the unity, the conventional definition of the flow establishment time based on the history of mean velocity was not suitable for the present case. In fact, it was difficult to determine the flow establishment time based on the well-known 90 or 99 pct criterion for the mean velocity. Accordingly, two methods of determining the flow establishment time by focusing on the turbulence components instead of the mean velocity components were proposed. Velocity measurements were made with a two-channel laser Doppler velocimeter. The flow establishment time was correlated as a function of gas flow rate. Close agreement was obtained by the two methods.     

Dielectric properties above the glass transition for a series of epoxide prepolymers

Dielectric properties above the glass transition have been investigated for a series of bisphenol-A type epoxide prepolymers (388 ≤ M?_w ≤ 2640). Dielectric measurements were performed over a frequency range of 50 Hz–1 MHz using a vertical parallel plate cell which was constructed in the laboratory. The dielectric α-relaxation for each prepolymer fits the empirical model of the Havriliak–Negami equation. The temperature dependence of the dielectric relaxation time τ is described by the Williams–Landel–Ferry (WLF) equation as well as that of the direct current conductivity σ, which can be measured using the same cell. The relationship between τ and σ, σ^· τ^m = const, is derived from experimental results. The exponent m, which depends on the molecular weight of the prepolymer, is considered to correspond to the ratio of the segmental mobility to ionic mobility. The dielectric loss ε″ can be used as an indicator of the direct current conduction in the temperatures where the ionic component in ε″ becomes much larger than the dipole one.     

Attenuation of ischemic liver injury by prostaglandin E1 analogue, misoprostol, and prostaglandin I2 analogue, OP-41483

Workplace AIDS training is a recent addition to many corporations' occupational health agenda. However, little is known about the objectives, content, and practices of AIDS training programs. A survey of 126 workplace AIDS trainers was conducted to determine the impact of the trainer's organizational affiliation (in-house, consultant, union, etc.) and personal motives on training program objectives, content, and practices. Results indicate that the organizational affiliation of trainers is significantly related to training objectives, topics, and practices, whereas strong personal motives for becoming an AIDS trainer is significantly associated with an emphasis on more controversial content areas and training practices. Findings are discussed in terms of applicability to other values-oriented training topics, applications to practice, and future research needs.     

Impact damage patterns studied by a model simulation

A lattice model has been developed to explore impact damage patterns in brittle materials. The damage evolution was modelled as a process involving the change of strain-energy distribution by cracking. Using a cubic lattice system, a large strain energy was supplied to the system surface. Crack growth initiated by this local energy supply was followed by means of computer simulations. The damage patterns were compared for systems which have different distributions of strain energy stored prior to the local energy supply. The simulations reveal a characteristic difference in the damage pattern. Impact damage for a system with a spatially fluctuating distribution of strain energy is limited around an impact point. Impact damage for a systen with a relatively uniform distribution of strain energy penetrates deeply. The results of the simulations are discussed in connection with the material evaluation and the material resistance.     

Determination of glass transition temperature from dielectric analysis for a series of epoxide oligomers

Dielectric properties have been investigated for a bisphenol-A type epoxide oligomer, whose weight average molecular weight (M?_w) was 9454. The dielectric α-relaxation of the oligomer was found to be governed by the Havriliak–Negami equation as well as the same series of oligomers with smaller M?_ws (388≦M?_w ≦ 3903). The dielectric relaxation times (τ)s for the oligomers with different M?_ws (1396 ≦ M?_w ≦ 9454) can be expressed by the Williams–Landel–Ferry (WLF) equation as a function of the glass transition temperature (T_g) at fixed temperatures from 70 to 100°C. The finding indicates that the T_g of the epoxide oligomer is calculated from the τ through the WLF equation, providing the relation between T_g and τ. The same type of WLF equation was also successfully applied to describe the T_g, dependence of the practical dielectric relaxation time (τ_p), which was obtained from the peak of the dielectric loss vs. frequency curve. The τ_p can be calculated more easily than the τ, based on the Havriliak–Negami equation, not only in the measurement of epoxide oligomer, but also in that of the reactive epoxy resin systems during curing. The T_g of an epoxy–aromatic amine system, which was determined from the τ_p nondestructively detected in the dielectric cure monitoring, was consistent with the T_g experimentally measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).     

Aging and availability of binocular disparity and pictorial depth cues in 3D graphics contents

Some stereoblind observers do not perceive depth of 3D stimuli that depends on binocular disparity. These individuals, who have no disabilities, comprise over 5% of the general population. In addition, 17–30% of nonstereoblind young and young–middle people do not use disparity information in certain 3D environments, a phenomenon known as pseudo‐stereoblindness. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between aging and the proportion of pseudo‐stereoblindness in the general population. In an experiment, 134 nonstereoblind participants, ranging in age from 17 to 83 years, judged subjective depth of 3D stimuli containing binocular disparity and pictorial depth cues. Results showed that the proportion of pseudo‐stereoblindness among young (17–24 years old) and young–middle aged observers (25–39 years old) was 29%, in both cases. However, the proportion of pseudo‐stereoblind observers increased in older populations: 65% and 82% in the middle (40–54 years old) and senior (55–83 years old) age groups, respectively. These results suggest that a number of people, especially in elderly populations, have trouble perceiving depth from binocular disparity in 3D graphic contents despite their essential ability to use disparity information.     

Molecular motions of non-crystalline poly(aryl ether-ether-ketone) PEEK and influence of elecron beam irradiation

The dynamic mechanical relaxation of non-crystalline poly(aryl ether-ether-ketone) PEEK and the one irradiated with electron beam were studied. The three distinct γ, β, α′ relaxation maxima were observed in unirradiated PEEK from low to high temperature. It was revealed from the study on the irradiation effects that three different molecular processes are overlapped in γ relaxation peak, i.e., molecular motion of water bound to main chain (peak temperature; at ?100°C), local motion of main chain (at ?80°C), and local mode of the aligned and/or oriented moiety (at ?40°C). The β relaxation connected with the glass transition occurred at 150°C and it shifted to higher temperature by irradiation. The α′ relaxation which can be attributed to rearrangement of molecular chain due to crystallization was observed in unirradiated PEEK ～ 180°C and its magnitude decreased with the increase in irradiation dose. This effect indicates the formation of structures inhibiting crystallization such as crosslinking and/or short branching during irradiation. A new relaxation, β′, appeared in the temperature range of 40° to 100°C by irradiation and its magnitude increased with dose. This relaxation was attributed to rearrangement of molecular chain from loosened packing around chain ends, which were introduced into the non-crystalline region by chain scission under irradiation, to more rigid molecular packing, From these observations, we proposed that deterioration in mechanical properties of non-crystalline PEEK by high energy electron beam was brought about not only by chain scission but structural changes such as crosslinking and/or branching in the main chain.