Decision Support through Mass and Energy Flow Management in the Vehicle-Refinishing Sector

In the past few decades, major advances in environmental protection within the coating application industry have been made. In spite of this technological progress, approximately 50% of industrial-solvent emissions still come from the paint-application sector. The advances made in reducing emissions for plants requiring licensing have unfortunately had no influence on the environmental efforts of smaller companies. Solvent-reduced painting systems, such as high-solid paints, water-based coating, and powder coating have not been able to achieve acceptance, nor have innovative application technologies. The principal arguments against a conversion to these ecologically more favorable alternatives were related to cost and quality.
Recently, the EU Solvent Directive (1999/13/EC) went into effect, aiming to significantly reduce industrial-solvent emissions. Up until this point, however, instruments enabling smaller companies to determine their solvent emissions and to simultaneously develop process-improvement potentials while keeping costs in mind have been missing.
Using the mass and energy flow-management approach, cost structures and environmental benefits can be made transparent to the entrepreneur. The primary result of the research projects presented here is the computer-based mass and energy flow model called the individual computer-aided mass and energy flow model for the vehicle-refinishing sector (IMPROVE). It can be used as a detailed business-consultancy tool. Based upon this, practical guidelines were developed for easy orientation and activity planning. They can be used by companies to help them fulfill the requirements of environmental legislation and to display the benefits that can be achieved by various emission-reduction measures.     

Hepatocytes from newborn and weanling rats in monolayer culture: Isolation by perfusion,fibronectin-mediated adhesion,spreading, and functional activities

Summary The two-step collagenase perfusion method originally developed for the high yield isolation of parenchymal cells from adult rat livers has been adapted to rats of 1 day, 1 week, and 3 weeks of age. The use of this method to isolate hepatocytes from five or six rats of the respective ages demonstrated its reliability in terms of cell yield, percentage of single cells, and cell viability. In all cases, hepatocytes attach with high efficiency to fibronectin precoated dishes using serum-free culture medium. The dynamics of spreading is faster for newborn hepatocytes than adult ones. The functional integrity of these parenchymal liver cells was assessed by their capacity to secrete albumin and α-fetoprotein in serum-free medium and to express lactate dehydrogenase activity over a 24-hr period in primary culture. Part of this work was presented at the 30th Annual Meeting of the Tissue Culture Association, Seattle, June, 1979.     

Encapsulation and Permeability Characteristics of Plasma Polymerized Hollow Particles

In this protocol, core-shell nanostructures are synthesized by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. We produce an amorphous barrier by plasma polymerization of isopropanol on various solid substrates, including silica and potassium chloride. This versatile technique is used to treat nanoparticles and nanopowders with sizes ranging from 37 nm to 1 micron, by depositing films whose thickness can be anywhere from 1 nm to upwards of 100 nm. Dissolution of the core allows us to study the rate of permeation through the film. In these experiments, we determine the diffusion coefficient of KCl through the barrier film by coating KCL nanocrystals and subsequently monitoring the ionic conductivity of the coated particles suspended in water. The primary interest in this process is the encapsulation and delayed release of solutes. The thickness of the shell is one of the independent variables by which we control the rate of release. It has a strong effect on the rate of release, which increases from a six-hour release (shell thickness is 20 nm) to a long-term release over 30 days (shell thickness is 95 nm). The release profile shows a characteristic behavior: a fast release (35% of the final materials) during the first five minutes after the beginning of the dissolution, and a slower release till all of the core materials come out.     

Larval rearing of fringe-lipped carp,Labeo fimbriatus (Bloch) with low cost diets including green bottle fly Lucilia sericata (Meigen) larvae meal incorporated diet

A study was conducted with non-conventional ingredients to test their efficacy as fishmeal (FM) replacers in the diet of fringe- lipped carp. Labeo fimbriatus first feeding larvae and fry were reared for 30 and 60 days in indoor, 50 L, aerated, circular plastic tanks at 100 and 30 numbers tank⁻¹, respectively. In the first feeding larvae to fry rearing experiment (Exp. 1), the fish were fed with either of the following isonitrogenous and isocaloric diets – live plankton, FM diet, green bottle fly (Lucilia sericata) larvae meal (GBFLM) diet and silkworm pupa (SWP) diet. The fry to fingerling rearing (Exp. 2), was also conducted using the same diets described above except live plankton. All compounded diets were formulated to contain 40% crude protein for the experiment 1 and 35% for experiment 2 and were fed ad libitum. Triplicate tanks were maintained for each treatment in both the experiments. In Exp. 1, the mean final weight of fry was higher with plankton and FM diets, while no difference (p > .05) was observed between FM and GBFLM diets. Weight of fish fed SWP diets was not statistically different from those fed GBFLM diet. No difference (p > .05) in final length, survival and condition factor was recorded. Analysis of digestive enzyme activity of whole fish revealed lower (p < .05) activity of amylase in fish fed plankton. In Exp. 2, no difference (p > .05) was observed between the different diet groups in terms of mean final weight, length, survival and condition factor. Analysis of digestive enzyme activity of whole fish revealed no difference (p > .05) in the activity of digestive enzymes between the treatments except a lower (p < .05) activity of trypsin in FM diet and lipase in FM and GBFLM diets. Since the survival and condition factors of animals is the most important aspect during nursery rearing, similar (p > .05) values recorded in different treatments indicate the possibility of incorporation of these non-conventional protein sources in the diet of L. fimbriatus during first feeding larvae to fry and fry to fingerling rearing.     

Carbon Coated ZnFe2O4 Nanoparticles for Advanced Lithium‐Ion Anodes

The preparation and electrochemical characterization of a new material consisting of carbon coated ZnFe₂O₄ nanoparticles is presented. This material, which offers an interesting combination of alloying and conversion mechanisms, is capable of hosting up to nine equivalents of lithium per unit formula, corresponding to an exceptional specific capacity, higher than 1000 mAh g^?1. Composite electrodes of such a material, prepared using environmentally friendly sodium carboxymethyl cellulose as binder, showed the highest, ever reported, specific capacity and high rate performance upon long‐term testing. Furthermore, in situ X‐ray diffraction analysis allowed identifying the reduction process occurring upon initial lithiation.     

黄腻舌苔和薄白舌苔微生物种群差异

【背景】舌苔是指舌头上覆盖的由食物残渣、微生物、舌苔上皮角质细胞组成的物质。根据舌苔的厚度、颜色等苔质情况来鉴别病人的健康与疾病状况,是“望”诊的重要内容之一,是中医临床辨证施治的主要依据之一。但是舌苔苔质的形成和微生物菌群的关系还有待深入研究。【目的】探索黄腻舌苔和薄白舌苔菌群群落组成的差异及与舌苔苔质形成的关系。【方法】以薄白舌苔和黄腻舌苔为研究对象,用刮舌板刮取青年学生人群的舌苔表面,获得舌苔样品进行总DNA提取,PCR扩增微生物16S rRNA基因,通过高通量测序获得16S rRNA基因序列,然后通过交互序列分析软件分析样品中细菌菌群种类及差异。【结果】黄腻和薄白舌苔原核微生物群落组成具有明显差异。其中,在门水平上,Patescibacteria和蓝细菌门细菌在黄腻舌苔上明显比薄白舌苔多,具有极显著差异(P<0.01);在属和种水平上,放线菌(Actinomyces)的组成具有显著差异(P<0.05),黄腻舌苔中放线菌含量明显高于薄白舌苔;而薄白舌苔中的卟啉单胞菌属(Porphyromonas)和莫拉氏菌属(Moraxella)的含量明显高于黄腻舌苔,差异显著(P<0.05)。【结论】黄腻舌苔苔厚、色黄、有异味,有可能是放线菌含量过高导致。而且,有些放线菌可以导致侵袭性细菌性疾病,称作放线菌病。因此,健康人出现黄腻苔,可在一定程度上提示体内潜在的炎性预警。薄白舌苔正常菌群莫拉氏菌属(Moraxella)和卟啉单胞菌属(Porphyromonas)显著比黄腻舌苔上的多,说明这两种正常菌群可能在维护正常口气和舌苔功能方面具有重要的作用。     

Combining a bio-based polymer and a natural antifoulant into an eco-friendly antifouling coating

Abstract

Biodegradable polymers are promising binders and carriers for natural antifoulants. In the present study, an antifouling (AF) coating was developed by adding a non-toxic AF compound (butenolide) to a bio-based and biodegradable poly(lactic acid)-based polyurethane. Mass loss measurement showed that the polymer degraded in seawater at a rate of 0.013?mg cm^?2?day^?1. Measurements showed that butenolide was released from the coatings into seawater over a period of at least three months. Both the concentration of butenolide in the coatings and the ambient temperature determined the release rate of butenolide. The results further demonstrate that incorporating rosin into the coatings increase the self-renewal rate of the polymer and facilitated the long-term release of butenolide from the coating. The results show that poly(lactic acid)-based polyurethane is a suitable polymer for butenolide-based AF coatings.