Proximate Composition and Nutritional Attributes of Ready-to-Cook Catfish Products

To increase the demand for U.S. farm-raised catfish, five healthy, convenient ready-to-cook products were developed to expand consumers’ options beyond basic fresh or frozen fillets. Five new catfish products were produced, consisting of one hundred samples of each, including three size-types of Panko-breaded fish products (strips, center cuts of regular fillets, and center cuts from Delacata fillets) and two marinated products (sriracha and sesame-ginger). The breaded products were to be prepared by baking for convenience over traditional frying methods, while the marinated products were to be microwaved as healthy and convenient products. The nutrient content of the samples was analyzed, including protein, moisture, fat, fiber, ash, and carbohydrate, as well as minerals, amino acid, and fatty acid constituent content, with associated atherogenic index (AI) and thrombogenic index (TI), showing unique differences between the Panko-breaded and marinated products. In addition, a trend was observed showing an increase in moisture, protein, ash, and carbohydrate percentages, and a decrease in lipid content related to the volume-to-surface-area ratio, having the order of strips < standard fillets < Delacata fillets.

The Contribution of Building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) to the Concept of Nearly Zero-Energy Cities in Europe: Potential and Challenges Ahead

The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the contributions of building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems to the notion of nearly zero-energy cities in the capitals of the European Union member states (EU), Norway, and Switzerland. Moreover, an in-depth investigation of the barriers and challenges ahead of the widespread rollout of BIPV technology is undertaken. This study investigates the scalability of the nearly zero-energy concept using BIPV technology in moving from individual buildings to entire cities. This study provide a metric for architects and urban planners that can be used to assess how much of the energy consumed by buildings in Europe could be supplied by BIPV systems when installed as building envelope materials on the outer skins of buildings. The results illustrate that by 2030, when buildings in the EU become more energy-efficient and the efficiency of BIPV systems will have improved considerably, BIPV envelope materials will be a reasonable option for building skins and will help in achieving nearly zero-energy cities. This study reveals that in the EU, taking a building skin to building net surface area ratio of 0.78 and a building skin glazing ratio of 30%, buildings could cover their electricity consumption using BIPV systems by 2030. Eighteen challenges and barriers to the extensive rollout of BIPV systems are recognised, classified, and discussed in this study in detail. The challenges are categorised into five stages, namely the decision, design, implementation, operation and maintenance, and end of life challenges.

Predicting oxygen tension along the ureter

Continuous measurement of bladder urine oxygen tension (PO2) is a new method to potentially detect renal medullary hypoxia in patients at risk of acute kidney injury (AKI). To assess its practicality, we developed a computational model of the peristaltic movement of a urine bolus along the ureter and the oxygen exchange between the bolus and ureter wall. This model quantifies the changes in urine PO2 as it transits from the renal pelvis to the bladder. The model parameters were calibrated using experimental data in rabbits, such that most of the model predictions are within ± 1 standard error (SEM) of the reported mean in the experiment, with the average percentage difference being 7.0%. Based on parametric studies performed using a model scaled to the geometric dimensions of a human ureter, we found that bladder-urine PO2 is strongly dependent on the bolus volume (i.e. bolus volume-to-surface area ratio), especially at a volume less than its physiological (baseline) volume (<0.2 ml). For the model assumptions, changes in peristaltic frequency resulted in a minimal change in bladder-urine PO2 (< 1 mmHg). The model also predicted there exists a family of linear relationships of the bladder-urine PO2 and the pelvic-urine PO2 for different input conditions. We conclude that it may technically be possible to predict renal medullary PO2 based on the measurement of bladder-urine PO2, provided there are accurate real-time measurements of model input parameters.

Cross-sectional microanalysis for tracking the effect of solvent on the morphological evaluation of PLA/AgNWs bionanocomposties

The emphasis of biocompatible polymer applications in medical sciences and biotechnology has remarkably increased. Developing new low-cost, low-toxicity and lightweight composite forms of biopolymers has become even more attractive since the addition of new species into polymer matrices assist to improve biomedical activities of such materials to a higher extend. Developments in nanoscience and nanotechnology recently contribute to controlled fabrication and ultraprecise diagnosis of such materials. This study concerns the observation of solution processing effects in the fabrication of porous PLA/AGNWs bionanocomposite coatings using electron and ion processing based serial cross-sectioning and high-resolution imaging. The nanostructuring and characterization were both performed in a focused ion-beam-scanning electron microscope (FIB-SEM) platform. HR-SEM imaging was conducted on-site to track solvent based morphological property alterations of PLA and PLA/AgNWs structures. Simultaneous SEM-EDS analyses revealed the elemental distribution and the chemical composition along the cross-sectioned regions of the samples. Accordingly, it was observed that, in case of acetone dissolved materials, both pristine PLA and PLA/AgNWs samples sustained their foamy structure. When chloroform was used as the solvent, the porosity of the polymer matrices was less and the resulting structure was found to be denser than samples dissolved in acetone with a lower surface area ratio inside the material. This can be attributed to the rapid volatilization of acetone compared to chloroform, and hence the formation of interconnected pore network. For both nanocomposite biopolymers dissolved in acetone and chloroform, silver nanowires were homogeneously distributed throughout PLA matrices.

Quantify each Dendritic Cell Subsets along with Normal Thymus Tissues in Different Ages

BackgroundDendritic cells (DCs) in the thymus are involved in central tolerance formation, but they also play other roles in the thymus. In this study, thymuses of different ages were collected for observation after tissue sectioning and staining. The area of cortex and medulla parts of the thymus in the sections and the density of different subsets of DCs in the thymus were also calculated. ResultsWe found that, along with the increasing age, the thymic cortex atrophies faster, leading to a gradual rise in the medullary's surface area ratio to that of the cortex with an increase in age. The medullary's surface area ratio to cortex can be used as an indirect reference to reflect the thymus hyperplasia. The density of DCs in the thymus showed different changes with the increasing age, and the density of plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs) in the thymus gradually increased with aging, suggesting that pDCs may play an essential role in the thymus in addition to central tolerance.ConclusionsThese findings complement our knowledge about the DCs’ subsets in the thymus along with physical ageing and help us understand the full function of DCs in the thymus beyond central tolerance.

Adhesion Strength Change Analysis Based on the Application Surface Area Ratio of Spot-Bonded Tiles on Vertical Walls of High Humidity Facilities

Facility walls with high relative humidity, such as bathrooms or kitchens installed with tiles by spot-bonding methods, become far more prone to defect or adhesion failure when using large or heavy tiles and insufficient application area of adhesive but is still continued to be practiced due to their low costs in the material. Most importantly, if this practice is to be continued, the changes in adhesion strength of the tiles based on different adhesive application areas of adhesives must be clarified such that the very least secure application can be achieved even by using spot-bonding methods. In this regard, an experiment was conducted in this study where tile-adhered specimens with different adhesive-applied area ratios (AR) of 60 ± 2%, 80 ± 2%, and 100% were prepared. Tile adhesion strength was subsequently measured, after sectioning the entire surface of the tile into 40 pieces. Experimental results showed that the adhesion strength above the standard criteria could be achieved for about 75% of the entire tile with AR 100% conditioning, followed by 30% of the entire tile with AR 80 ± 2% conditioning, and 20% of the entire tile for AR 60 ± 2% conditioning. Further analysis showed that with AR 80 ± 2% and AR 60 ± 2% conditions, the overall adhesion strength decreased by the range of about 59–67% compared to the AR 100% application conditions. The results of the study intended to provide an analytical basis of guidelines and risks with the potential usage of spot-bonding and should only be used if AR 100% application is planned.

Recent Advances in the Development of Magnetic Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications

The unique properties of magnetic nanoparticles have led them to be considered materials with significant potential in the biomedical field. Nanometric size, high surface-area ratio, ability to function at molecular level, exceptional magnetic and physicochemical properties, and more importantly, the relatively easy tailoring of all these properties to the specific requirements of the different biomedical applications, are some of the key factors of their success. In this paper, we will provide an overview of the state of the art of different aspects of magnetic nanoparticles, specially focusing on their use in biomedicine. We will explore their magnetic properties, synthetic methods and surface modifications, as well as their most significative physicochemical properties and their impact on the in vivo behaviour of these particles. Furthermore, we will provide a background on different applications of magnetic nanoparticles in biomedicine, such as magnetic drug targeting, magnetic hyperthermia, imaging contrast agents or theranostics. Besides, current limitations and challenges of these materials, as well as their future prospects in the biomedical field will be discussed.

Separation of Zr from Zr-2.5Nb by Electrorefining in LiCl-KCl for Volumetric Decontamination of CANDU Pressure Tube

This study presents an experimental investigation on Zr separation from Zr-2.5Nb by anode potentiostatic electrorefining in LiCl-KCl-ZrCl4 0.5 wt. % at 773 K for irradiated CANDU pressure tube decontamination. By the ORIGEN-2 code calculation, radioactive characteristics were investigated to show that Nb-94 was the most significant radionuclide with an aspect of waste level reduction by electrorefining. Three electrorefining tests were performed by fixing the applied potential as −0.9 V (vs. Ag/AgCl 1 wt. %) at the anode to dissolve only Zr. A cathode basket was installed to collect detached deposits from the cathode. Electrorefining results showed Zr was deposited on the cathode with a small amount of Nb and other alloying elements. The chemical form of the cathode deposits was shown to be only Zr metal or a mixture of Zr metal and ZrCl, depending on the experimental conditions related to the surface area ratio of the cathode to the anode. It was determined that the Zr metal reduction at the cathode was attributed to the two-step reduction reaction of Zr4+/ZrCl and ZrCl/Zr.

Numerical Investigation of Pyrotechnical Initiators and Their Impact in Airbag Inflator Applications: Ballistic Modeling and Functional Analysis

A numerical model describing the ballistic behavior of a commercially used initiator is presented in this article. This model was built on the principle of conservation of mass and energy in the multi-phase framework incorporated with multi-loaded conditions. After obtaining the information about the grain size distribution in each composite, a fixing factor was proposed based on the surface area ratio of the composites. Thus, the solid propellant burning process based on distributed grain size was described, and the burn rate parameters of the applied pyrotechnic compositions were re-evaluated for different preconditioned temperature levels according to Vieille’s law. The influence of bridge wire and initiator metal cap was further modeled concerning their characteristic properties according to the observed measurements. The validation of the entire initiator model in the closed bomb test showed quantitative agreement with the measured pressure evolution, while the parameter study for evaluating the ballistic sensitivity of each component delivered some insights into the product development process. Furthermore, the configuration of a cold gas inflator was utilized to evaluate the initiator impact for a realistic application, where the shock wave intensity during deployment serves the main function in the inflator design. Incorporated with CFD simulations to capture the shock wave propagation, 0D-3D coupling strategy for initiator ballistics to inflator configuration was realized. Besides, the simulation results reflected the physical conditions in a proper manner. In particular, the parameter study led to a better understanding of interactions between inflator components, which were barely possible to be quantified through the measurements. The proposed initiator model could also be used in combination with other mechanical principles as a component of pyrotechnic devices such as pin-puller, electric line cutters, or airbag inflators. The detailed information gained in describing the physical properties enabled us to assess the existing design quantitatively and to have better control of the product quality.