The small punch (SP) test is one of the small specimen test techniques, and standardization of the SP test method for evaluating the mechanical properties of metallic materials is in progress. In ...this study, the impact transition temperature of reactor pressure vessel steels (RPV) in nuclear power plants was estimated using the draft standard SP test method. The SP fracture energy (ESP) and normalized SP fracture energy (ENSP) of the RPV steels were evaluated at various temperatures, and their transition curves were derived and compared to the transition curve in the Charpy V notch (CVN) test. The SP transition region appeared at a much lower temperature range than that of the CVN owing to the size and notch effect. Ductile brittle transition temperature (DBTT) in the SP transition curve showed a linear relationship with DBTT and T41J in the CVN transition curve. The ductile to brittle transition behaviors of SP specimens were analyzed using fractographs and compared with the transition curves in ESP and ENSP. ENSP started to decrease at the temperature at which the SP ductile to brittle transition behavior occurred, and this means that the ENSP transition curves were in good agreement with transition behavior in the SP test. However, the ESP transition curves did not match transition behavior. Using DBTT in the ENSP transition curve is appropriate to estimate the CVNDBTT and T41J.
A practical and efficient optimal design procedure is presented for three-dimensional micro-propeller. To manage many design related variables and operating conditions efficiently, the design ...procedure consists of two steps for optimization of operating conditions and blade geometries. First, operating condition points are extracted from the design-of-experiments, and provided as the input data of the geometry optimization step. Next, in the geometry optimization step, the 2-D airfoil shapes are optimized to provide the maximum lift-to-drag ratio along the radial blade section by using the XFOIL code, and the 3-D blade shapes are determined at the each operating condition by using the minimum energy loss method. Then, the performances of the optimized blade are calculated, and a Response Surface Model is constructed to decide the operating condition for the maximum propeller efficiency. To find the blade shape with better performance than the optimum shape in the initial design space, the design space is modified to a highly feasible design space by using the probability approach. Finally, the performance of the optimized propeller is compared with that of the Black Widow MAV propeller. The comparison showed that the optimized propeller had somewhat better performance. The present optimal design procedure is reliable and can be used as a practical design tool for micro propeller development.
The spastin protein (SPAST) contains an ATPase with diverse cellular activities (AAA) domain and regulates microtubule dynamics. Missense mutations of the SPAST gene are frequently detected in ...patients with hereditary spastic paraplegias (HSPs) and represent the main reason of loss of SPAST function; however, the pathogenicity of mutant SPAST is heterogeneous. Here, SPAST variant with an I344K mutation (I344K-SPAST) was identified in a Korean family with autosomal dominant-type HSP. We investigated the role of the I344K-SPAST in HSP to provide a therapeutic mechanism. The I344K-SPAST mutation prolonged the half-life of the protein compared to wild-type SPAST (WT-SPAST) in cells by modulating post-translational modifications for proteasomal degradation. I344K-SPAST was localized in microtubule but defective in microtubule severing and ATPase activity compared to WT-SPAST in vitro and in cells. Mutant M87 isoform harboring the same mutation with I344K-M1 SPAST also increased protein stability and loss of MT severing activity, but the pathogenicity was not stronger than I344K-M1 SPAST in neurite outgrowth. Overexpression of I344K-SPAST resulted in microtubule accumulation following inhibited neurite growth in neuroblastoma, neural progenitor cells and mouse primary cortical neurons. Conversely, these pathogenic effects of I344K-SPAST were reduced by overexpression of WT-M1 SPAST in a dose dependent manner since WT-SPAST could interact with I344K-SPAST. Our data therefore provide proof-of-concept that gene transfer of WT-M1 SPAST may serve as a valid therapeutic option for HSPs.
•I344K-SPAST, was identified in a Korean family with autosomal dominant-type HSP.•The half-life of I344K-SPAST protein is significantly prolonged against WT-SPAST.•I344K-SPAST was reduced the MT-severing activity compared to WT-SPAST.•Gene transfer of WT-M1 SPAST restored WT functionality in HSP caused by reduced SPAST activity.
Owing to industrialization and urbanization in recent decades, fine particulate matter (PM
) in the atmosphere has become a major environmental problem worldwide. This environmental issue pushed the ...use of forests as air filtering tools. However, there is a lack of continuous and long-term forest management to efficiently mitigate PM
. In this study, we assessed the potential of different forest types to control air pollution by measuring the seasonal PM
concentrations inside and outside the forest for one year. In addition, the PM
reduction efficiencies (PMREs) of two forest types were compared, and their relationship with stand characteristics was analyzed. The results showed that the average PMRE inside the forests was approximately 18.2%; the seasonal PMRE was highest in winter (approximately 28.1%) and lowest in summer (approximately 9.6%). The average PMRE of the Taehwa deciduous broad-leaved forest (TDF) (approximately 18.8%) was significantly higher than that of the Taehwa coniferous forest (TCF) (approximately 17.5%) (P < 0.001); differences were also observed seasonally. The PMRE in the TCF was higher in spring and summer (P < 0.001), while that in the TDF was higher in autumn and winter (P < 0.001). Furthermore, the PMRE in the TDF was negatively correlated with stand density (P = 0.003) and positively correlated with the average diameter at breast height (DBH) (P = 0.028). However, the PMRE in the TCF did not significantly correlate with stand characteristics. As such, the results of this study revealed the differences in PM
mitigation according to stand characteristics, which should be considered in urban forest management.
In this paper, performance on receivers of multilateration (MLAT) system that uses ADS-B signal, which is recently becoming popular, was analyzed to overcome shortcomings of existing aircraft flight ...control systems or reinforce the capabilities. A link budget was analyzed using a channel model in the airport environment with regard to Local Area Multilateration (LAM) for ground-controlled landing around the airport. In order to detect signals that arrived at the receiver successfully, sensitivity of receiver was analyzed using a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) worksheet, and a method that improves accuracy of the distance measurement was proposed by adopting a peak estimation using sampling signals. Through simulations, optimum specifications of receivers were analyzed to have high precision positioning of LAM, and accuracy of LAM distance measurements was presented.
The effect of fermented spinach extracts on color development in cured meats was investigated in this study. The pH values of raw cured meats without addition of fermented spinach extract or nitrite ...(negative control) were higher (p<0.05) than those added with fermented spinach extract. The pH values of raw and cooked cured meats in treatment groups were decreased with increasing addition levels of fermented spinach extract. The lightness and yellowness values of raw cured meats formulated with fermented spinach extract were higher (p<0.05) than those of the control groups (both positive and negative controls). The redness values of cooked cured meats were increased with increasing fermented spinach extract levels, whereas the yellowness values of cooked cured meats were decreased with increasing levels of fermented spinach extract. The lowest volatile basic nitrogen (VBN) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) values were observed in the positive control group with addition of nitrite. TBARS values of cured meats added with fermented spinach extract were decreased with increasing levels of fermented spinach extract and VBN values of curing meat with 30% fermented spinach extract was lower than the other treatments. Total viable bacterial counts in cured meats added with fermented spinach extract ranged from 0.34-1.01 Log CFU/g. E. coli and coliform bacteria were not observed in any of the cured meats treated with fermented spinach extracts or nitrite. Residual nitrite contents in treatment groups were increased with increasing levels of fermented spinach extract added. These results demonstrated that fermented spinach could be added to meat products to improve own curing characteristics.
We investigated the effects of fermented red beet extract and ascorbic acid on color development in meat emulsions. The pH of meat emulsions containing red beet extract decreased with an increase in ...the amount of extract added. The redness of the treated meat emulsions was higher than that of the control with no added nitrite or fermented red beet extract (p< 0.05), though the redness of the meat emulsions treated with fermented red beet extract only was lower than in that treated with both fermented red beet extract and ascorbic acid (p<0.05). The highest VBN, TBARS, and total viable count values were observed in the control, and these values in the meat emulsions treated with fermented red beet extract were higher than in that treated with both fermented red beet extract and ascorbic acid (p<0.05). E. coli and coliform bacteria were not found in any of the meat emulsions tested. Treatment T2, containing nitrite and ascorbic acid, had the highest overall acceptability score (p<0.05); however, there was no significant difference between the T2 treatment and the T6 treatment, which contained 10% pre-converted nitrite from red beet extract and 0.05% ascorbic acid (p>0.05). The residual nitrite content of the meat emulsions treated with ascorbic acid was lower than in those treated without ascorbic acid (p<0.05). Thus, the combination of fermented red beet extract and ascorbic acid could be a viable alternative to synthetic nitrite for the stability of color development in meat emulsions.
The effects of replacing pork meat with yellow mealworms on the physicochemical properties and sensory characteristics of frankfurters were investigated in this study. The control (50% pork ham), T1 ...(45% pork ham + 5% yellow mealworm), T2 (40% pork ham + 10% yellow mealworm), T3 (35% pork ham + 15% yellow mealworm), T4 (30% pork ham + 20% yellow mealworm), T5 (25% pork ham + 25% yellow mealworm), and T6 (20% pork ham + 30% yellow mealworm) were prepared, replacing lean pork meat with yellow mealworm. The moisture content, lightness, sarcoplasmic protein solubility, hardness, gumminess, chewiness, and apparent viscosity of frankfurters with yellow mealworm were lower than those of the control (p<0.05), whereas the content of protein and ash, pH, and yellowness of frankfurters with yellow mealworm were higher than those of the control (p<0.05). The fat content of frankfurters in T1 (p<0.05) was the highest, and the fat content of treatments decreased with increasing yellow mealworm concentrations (p<0.05). Frankfurters with increasing yellow mealworm concentrations had lower color, flavor, off-flavor, and juiciness scores. The overall acceptability was not significantly different in the control, T1, and T2 (p>0.05). Thus, the results of this study showed that replacing lean pork meat with up to 10% yellow mealworm successfully maintained the quality of frankfurters at a level similar to that of the regular control frankfurters.
This paper deals with the problem of estimating micro-motion parameters. The proposed algorithm uses independent-component analysis to decompose the received signals into individual scatterer ...signals, and uses particle-swarm optimization to estimate the micro-motion parameters in a micro-Doppler profile. Simulation results show that the proposed method can successfully estimate micro-motion parameters of a warhead model consisting of many point scatterers.
Para-methoxymethamphetamine (PMMA) is a para-ring-substituted amphetamine derivative sold worldwide as an illegal psychotropic drug. Although PMMA use has been reported to lead to severe intoxication ...and even death, little is known about the mechanism(s) by which PMMA exerts its neurotoxic effects. Here we found that PMMA treatment resulted in phosphorylation of protein kinase Cδ (PKCδ) and subsequent mitochondrial translocation of cleaved PKCδ. PMMA-induced oxidative stress was more pronounced in mitochondria than in the cytosol. Moreover, treatment with PMMA consistently resulted in significant reductions in mitochondrial membrane potential, mitochondrial complex I activity, and mitochondrial Mn superoxide dismutase-immunoreactivity. In contrast, PMMA treatment led to a significant increase in intramitochondrial Ca2+ level. Treatment with PMMA also significantly increased ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule 1 (Iba-1)-labeled microglial activation and upregulated tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) gene expression. PKCδ knockout attenuated these mitochondrial effects and dampened the neurotoxic effects of PMMA. Importantly, TNF-α knockout mice were significantly protected from PMMA-induced increases in phospho-PKCδ expression, mitochondrial translocation of cleaved PKCδ, and Iba-1-labeled microgliosis. Both rottlerin, a pharmacological inhibitor of PKCδ, and etanercept, a pharmacological inhibitor of TNF-α, significantly protected against PMMA-mediated induction of apoptosis, as assessed by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUDP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assays. In addition, PKCδ knockout and TNF-α knockout both resulted in decreased PMMA-mediated induction of dopaminergic loss. Therefore, our results suggest that PKCδ mediates PMMA-induced neurotoxicity by facilitating oxidative stress (mitochondria > cytosol), mitochondrial dysfunction, microglial activation, and pro-apoptotic signaling. Our results also indicate that PMMA-induced PKCδ activation requires the proinflammatory cytokine TNF-α.
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•PMMA facilitates phosphorylation and mitochondrial translocation of PKCδ.•PKCδ knockout protects “oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction” by PMMA.•PKCδ knockout protects “dopaminergic impairment, microgliosis and apoptosis” by PMMA.•PMMA-induced PKCδ signaling requires activation of TNF-α gene.•Interactive modulation between PKCδ and TNFα is critical for PMMA neurotoxicity.
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