Microstructural Changes and Kinetics of Reduction of Hematite to Magnetite in CO/CO2 Gas Atmospheres

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B - The microstructures of porous magnetite formed on gaseous reduction of dense hematite have been examined using high-resolution scanning electron...     

Mechanisms and Kinetics of Reduction of Solid NiO in CO/CO2 and CO/Ar Gas Mixtures

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B - Experimental studies have been carried out on the reduction of dense nickel oxide in CO/CO2 and CO/Ar gas mixtures at temperatures between...     

Nutrient digestibility and endogenous protein losses in the foregut and small intestine of weaned dairy calves fed calf starters with conventional or enzyme-treated soybean meal

The aims of this experiment were (1) to compare the effects of a soybean meal with an enzymatic treatment (ESBM) to reduce the concentration of antinutritional factors versus a standard soybean meal (SBM) on foregut and small intestine digestion in weaned dairy calves and (2) to estimate the endogenous losses of crude protein (CP) in the small intestine. Our hypothesis was that a diet containing ESBM instead of SBM would improve ruminal and small intestine digestion and absorption of nutrients. A T-cannula was placed in the duodenum, and a second T-cannula was installed in the distal ileum of 12 Holstein calves at approximately 3 wk of age. Calves were weaned on d 42, and on d 50 they were assigned randomly to a quadruplicated 3 × 3 Latin square with 10-d periods. Digesta samples were collected on d 7 and 8 from the ileum and d 9 and 10 from the duodenum. The diets were fed for ad libitum intake and consisted of a calf starter (CS) of 20% CP with SBM as the main source of protein (CTRL), and an isonitrogenous CS with an ESBM instead of SBM (ENZT). A third diet with a low content of CP (10%) and no soy protein was fed to estimate endogenous N losses and digestibilities of test ingredients. Flows and digestibilities of nutrients were compared between CTRL and ENZT and their test ingredients (SBM vs. ESBM, respectively). Duodenal net flows of CP and total AA as well as ruminal microbial protein synthesis per kilogram of digested CP were greater, and flow of nonprotein N and CP true (corrected by endogenous and microbial flows) foregut digestibility were lower with ENZT than CTRL. The apparent small intestine digestibilities of CP and total AA were greater for ESBM than SBM, but there were no differences between the CTRL and ENZT diets. We observed no differences in digestibilities at the duodenum or ileum of starch or NDF, but true small intestine digestibilities of CP and all AA were greater with ENZT than CTRL. Total endogenous protein losses in the small intestine estimated from calves fed the low-CP with no soy protein diet were 37 ± 1.5 g of CP and 29 ± 1.4 g of AA/kg of DMI. These values may be considered the basal endogenous losses as they are similar to values obtained with the regression method, which estimates N losses when dietary N is null. Our results indicated that the inclusion of an ESBM improved the efficiency of ruminal microbial protein synthesis per digested kilogram of organic matter and CP, and increased CP and AA absorption in the small intestine despite a greater proportion of undigested dietary protein entering the duodenum.     

Controlled Solidification of Liquids Within the SFC Primary Phase Field of the “Fe2O3”-CaO-SiO2 System in Air

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B - To provide fundamental information on the phases and microstructures formed during sintering, a liquid with a bulk composition within the silico ferrite...     

Glycosylation in Indolent,Significant and Aggressive Prostate Cancer by Automated High-Throughput N-Glycan Profiling

The diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer (PCa) is a major health-care concern worldwide. This cancer can manifest itself in many distinct forms and the transition from clinically indolent PCa to the more invasive aggressive form remains poorly understood. It is now universally accepted that glycan expression patterns change with the cellular modifications that accompany the onset of tumorigenesis. The aim of this study was to investigate if differential glycosylation patterns could distinguish between indolent, significant, and aggressive PCa. Whole serum N-glycan profiling was carried out on 117 prostate cancer patients’ serum using our automated, high-throughput analysis platform for glycan-profiling which utilizes ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) to obtain high resolution separation of N-linked glycans released from the serum glycoproteins. We observed increases in hybrid, oligomannose, and biantennary digalactosylated monosialylated glycans (M5A1G1S1, M8, and A2G2S1), bisecting glycans (A2B, A2(6)BG1) and monoantennary glycans (A1), and decreases in triantennary trigalactosylated trisialylated glycans with and without core fucose (A3G3S3 and FA3G3S3) with PCa progression from indolent through significant and aggressive disease. These changes give us an insight into the disease pathogenesis and identify potential biomarkers for monitoring the PCa progression, however these need further confirmation studies.     

Sustainable Production of Surfactants from Renewable Resources(Online First, Recommended Article)

Surfactants are important chemical products, serving as emulsifiers and interfacial modifiers in the household detergents, personal care products, paints and coatings, foods, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals industries. This review focuses upon recent advances in research and development to improve the ecological sustainability of surfactants throughout their life cycle, including derivation from renewable resources, production using green manufacturing principles, and improved biocompatibility and biodegradability during their consumer use and disposal stages. Biobased surfactants, derived from vegetable oils, polysaccharides, proteins, phospholipids, and other renewable resources, currently comprise approximately 24% of the surfactant market, and this percentage is expected to increase, especially in Asia. The use of renewables is attractive to consumers because of reduced production of CO2, a greenhouse gas associated with climate change. Enzymes can greatly increase process sustainability, through reduced use of organic solvent, water, and energy, and reduced formation of by-products and waste products. Among the enzymes being investigated for surfactant synthesis, lipases are the most robust, due to their relatively high biocatalytic activity, operational stability and their ability to form or cleave ester, amide, and thioester bonds. For enzymes to be robust catalysts of surfactants, further research and development is needed to improve catalytic productivity, stability and reduce their purchase cost.     

Water Content Determinations for Peat and Other Organic Soils Using the Oven-Drying Method

There has been much debate in the literature over the past 60 years regarding an appropriate oven-drying temperature for water content determinations in peat and other organic soils. For inorganic soils, the water content is usually based on the equilibrium dry mass corresponding to drying temperatures in the range 100–110°C. However, for peat and other organic soils, several researchers have recommended lower drying temperatures in the range 60–90°C in an attempt to prevent possible charring, oxidation, and/or vaporization of substances other than pore water. However, all of the relevant water is not fully evaporated at too low a temperature, and because specimen dry mass is a function of drying temperature, the resulting water content values are lower than those determined for the temperature range 100–110°C. Experimental data reported in this article show that oven drying of peat and other organic soils at 100–110°C using either gravity–convection or forced-draft ovens is acceptable for routine water content determinations. Because a standardized oven temperature is desirable when correlating water content with other material properties, it is recommended that oven drying of peat and other organic soils be performed over temperature ranges of either 105–110°C or 105 ± 5°C, in line with standardized ranges for inorganic soils.     

Developing toughened aromatic polybenzoxazines using thermoplastic oligomers and telechelics,part 1: Preparation and characterization of the functionalized oligomers

The preparation and characterization of three families of thermoplastic oligomers (M_n = 2918–13263 g mol^?1) based on polyarylsulfone (PSU) differing in both molecular weight and terminal functionality and one series of polyarylethersulfone (PES) of different molecular weights is reported. Infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy data support the formation of both the hydroxyl terminated oligomers and conversion (67–89% depending on molecular weight) to the telechelic PSU oligomer bearing reactive benzoxazine groups. Differential scanning calorimetry reveals that the onset of homopolymerization in the telechelic PSU oligomer occurs at around 100°C (peak maximum 125°C at 10 K/min) and rescans show values of the glass transition (for the homopolymers) ranging from 124 to 167°C depending on molecular weight. The influence on the oligomer backbone and terminal functionality is examined using thermal analysis. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40875.