Granule Size Research Articles

P130Cas is required for androgen-dependent postnatal development regulation of submandibular glands

Salivary glands develop through epithelial-mesenchymal interactions and are formed through repeated branching. The Crk-associated substrate protein (p130Cas) serves as an adapter that forms a complex with various proteins via integrin and growth factor signaling, with important regulatory roles in several essential cellular processes. We found that p130Cas is expressed in ductal epithelial cells of the submandibular gland (SMG). We generated epithelial tissue-specific p130Cas-deficient (p130CasΔepi–) mice and aimed to investigate the physiological role of p130Cas in the postnatal development of salivary glands. Histological analysis showed immature development of granular convoluted tubules (GCT) of the SMG in male p130CasΔepi– mice. Immunofluorescence staining showed that nuclear-localized androgen receptors (AR) were specifically decreased in GCT cells in p130CasΔepi– mice. Furthermore, epidermal growth factor-positive secretory granules contained in GCT cells were significantly reduced in p130CasΔepi– mice with downregulated AR signaling. GCTs lacking p130Cas showed reduced numbers and size of secretory granules, disrupted subcellular localization of the cis-Golgi matrix protein GM130, and sparse endoplasmic reticulum membranes in GCT cells. These results suggest that p130Cas plays a crucial role in androgen-dependent GCT development accompanied with ER-Golgi network formation in SMG by regulating the AR signaling.

Heat and mass transfer at the ignition of single and double gas hydrate powder flow in a reactor

This paper details the heat and mass transfer at the ignition patterns of single (methane) and double (methane-isopropanol) granulated hydrates in a heated air. The experiments were performed in a laboratory-scale combustion chamber in the form of an oblong reactor with free-falling powder of the gas hydrate granules. The air in the combustion chamber was heated by the walls with ceramic plate heaters. The variation ranges of the input parameters were chosen to match the capacities of modern energy generation systems. We established the ignition delay times of the gas hydrate granules, combustion regimes, and sizes of the flame zone behind moving granules. We also analyzed the joint influence of the gas hydrate granules on their ignition behavior. A model was developed to estimate the threshold boundary conditions of gas hydrate ignition in different-sized chambers, with variable hydrate component composition granule size. Gas hydrate dissociation rates were determined in different sections of the laboratory-scale combustion chamber. Thermal conditions were predicted in which gas hydrates consistently ignite in combustion chambers with minimum cooling of the chamber walls and minimum unburnt fuel.

Optimization of starch extraction from Amorphophallus paeoniifolius corms using response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural network (ANN) for improving yield with tenable chemical attributes

The development of the extraction process for improving the starch yield from unconventional plants is emerging as a topic of interest. In this respect, the present work aimed to optimize the starch extraction from the corms of elephant foot yam (Amorphophallus paeoniifolius) with the help of response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural network (ANN). The RSM model performed better than the ANN in predicting the starch yield with higher precision. In this connection, this study for the first time reports the significant improvement of starch yield from A. paeoniifolius (51.76 g/100 g of the corm dry weight). The extracted starch samples based on yield – high (APHS), medium (APMS), and low (APLS) exhibited a variable granule size (7.17–14.14 μm) along with low ash content, moisture content, protein, and free amino acid indicating purity and desirability. The FTIR analysis also confirmed the chemical composition and purity of the starch samples. Moreover, the XRD analysis showed the prevalence of C-type starch (2θ = 14.303°). Based on other physicochemical, biochemical, functional, and pasting properties, the three starch samples showed more or less similar characteristics thereby indicating the sustentation of beneficial attributes of starch molecules irrespective of the variation in extraction parameters.

Microalgal-bacterial granular sludge under constant dark and weak light conditions: Morphology, performance and microbial community

As a sustainable wastewater treatment process, it is unclear whether the microalgal-bacterial granular sludge (MBGS) can adapt to the continuous light-deficiency environment, which hinders the further application of this technology under natural outdoor conditions when the sunlight is insufficient. Herein, this study investigated the performance of MBGS in treating simple and complex organic wastewater under respective constant dark and weak light (20 μ mol m−2 s−1) conditions. It was found that MBGS could survive under constant dark and weak light conditions for approximately 7 and 15 days, respectively. During the initial 7 days' operation, the average removal efficiencies of organics, nitrogen and phosphorus for simple/complex wastewater were 39.0 %/38.1 %, 22.4 %/19.1 % and 58.6 %/29.9 % under dark conditions, which were 55.8 %/80.1 %, 77.8 %/86.7 % and 76.4 %/90.9 % under weak light conditions, respectively. It was observed that weak light promoted the granule size increase and extracellular polymeric substances production of MBGS. Microbial analysis showed that the dark condition was beneficial to Proteobacteria growth of MBGS while weak light was more conducive to the increase of Cyanobacteria. Firmicutes became the main taxa of MBGS under complex carbon source conditions, potentially contributing to the decomposition of complex organics under light-insufficient conditions. This study will advance our knowledge on MBGS under light-limited conditions.

Intrinsic and extrinsic factors drive differences in the gelatinisation behaviour of barley and malt starch

We studied the impact of malting on barley starch gelatinisation properties and whether observed differences are due to changes in extrinsic or intrinsic factors. We isolated the total starch and large and small starch granules fractions from barley and malt samples and subjected them to DSC. The peak gelatinisation temperature for malt starch was, on average, 1.2 °C higher than for barley starch. The malting process and endosperm breakdown products were each responsible for half of this difference. The presence of water-extractable, non-starch components (sugars, minerals, protein and starch hydrolysis products,…) increased the intrinsic starch gelatinisation temperatures by 2.2–4.7 °C for barley and 3.6–5.3 °C for malt. The small starch granule fractions from barley had a 3.1 °C higher peak gelatinisation temperature than large granule fractions. No effect of malting was observed here. These findings indicate that matrix effects and starch granule size must be considered when addressing starch conversion during brewing.

Sol-gel fabrication of porous ceria microspheres for thermochemical carbon dioxide (CO2) splitting

Porous CeO2 has been of great interest recently, due to its great catalytic efficiency in splitting CO2 into CO and O2. Porous CeO2 microspheres are the key to scaling up such reactions in the fluidized-bed solar thermochemical reactors. In this paper, we report the processing and CO2 splitting performance of porous ceria microspheres. To fabricate the porous ceria microspheres, homogenous cerium-based sol-gel precursors were synthesized from cerium acetate. The acrylamide (AM) was used as both solidification and pore-generation agent. The polymerization of acrylamide facilitated the conversion of liquid droplets to solid gel microspheres. The optimal AM content was around 20 wt%, ensuring both sufficient porosity and the integrity of the ceria microspheres after thermal decomposition. After heat treatment at 1500 °C for 1 h, porous CeO2 microspheres were obtained, with an average diameter of ∼800 μm and surface area of 2.9 m2/g. These microspheres had high porosity and good sphericity. The CO2 splitting performances of these microspheres were characterized using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). During the thermal cycles between 1000 and 1400 °C, the O2 yield of porous ceria microspheres was 49 μmol/g, and the CO yield was 88 μmol/g. Compared with porous ceria granules of particle size of ∼800 μm, the porous ceria microspheres exhibited higher O2 and CO production yields. After thermochemical cycles, the microspheres were not sintered together, and the surface area was slightly reduced to 2.7 m2/g.

Nature of the Increase in the Rate of Combustion of a Ti–C Mixture Diluted with an Inert Additive

An original comparative study is performed of the combustion of granular and powder Ti–C and (Ti–C)+20%Ni mixtures with granules of different sizes, while varying titanium particle sizes in a range of 31–142 mm. It is found that the rate of combustion of the (Ti–C)+20%Ni powder mixture is 2–3 times higher than that of a Ti–C mixture, despite the lower temperature of combustion of the former. The results are interpreted in terms of the convective–conductive combustion model and attributed to the inhibitory effect of impurity gases that evolve while heating the component particles ahead of the combustion front. The rate of combustion of the granules’ material is calculated using those of granular mixtures with granule sizes of 0.6–1.7 mm. This rate can be thought of as the rate of combustion of a powder mixture in which the effect of impurity gases is neutralized. It is proposed that the ratio of the rates of combustion of the material inside the granules and the powder mixtures be used as a quantitative measure of the effect impurity gas evolution has on the combustion of powder mixtures.

Process Simulation of Twin‐Screw Granulator: Effect of Screw Configuration on Size Distribution

AbstractThe effect of screw configuration on granule size distribution (GSD) using gPROMS FormulatedProduct (gFP) software to perform optimization, estimation of complex processes, and analyses is evaluated. Twin‐screw granulation modeling was used to investigate the contribution of screw configuration and liquid‐to‐solid (L/S) ratio on GSD. Lactose and Avicel were the granulating materials. Twelve different configurations were investigated under three feed rates as consistent with literature and at various L/S ratios. Results indicate that kneading elements promote the recovery of 100–1000 µm granules while reducing the production of oversized granules. Higher feed rates support the production of fines and agglomerates, while a low feed rate produces 100–1000 µm granules.

Impact of the anaerobic feeding mode on substrate distribution in aerobic granular sludge

There is a growing interest to implement aerobic granular sludge (AGS) in existing conventional activated sludge (CAS) systems with a continuous flow-through configuration. The mode of anaerobic contact of raw sewage with the sludge is an important aspect in the adaptation of CAS systems to accommodate AGS. It remains unclear how the distribution of substrate over the sludge by a conventional anaerobic selector compares to the distribution via bottom-feeding applied in sequencing batch reactors (SBRs). This study investigated the effect of the anaerobic contact mode on the substrate (and storage) distribution by operating two lab-scale SBRs; one with the traditional bottom-feeding through a settled sludge bed similar to full-scale AGS systems, and one where the synthetic wastewater was fed as a pulse at the start of the anaerobic phase while the reactor was mixed through sparging of nitrogen gas (mimicking a plug-flow anaerobic selector in continuous flow-through systems). The distribution of the substrate over the sludge particle population was quantified via PHA analysis, combined with the obtained granule size distribution. Bottom-feeding was found to primarily direct substrate towards the large granular size classes (i.e. large volume and close to the bottom), while completely mixed pulse-feeding gives a more equal distribution of substrate over all granule sizes (i.e. surface area dependant). The anaerobic contact mode directly controls the substrate distribution over the different granule sizes, irrespective of the solids retention time of a granule as an entity. Preferential feeding of the larger granules will enhance and stabilise the granulation compared to pulse-feeding, certainly under less advantageous conditions imposed by real sewage.

Evaluation of nitrogen removal and nitrous oxide turnovers in granule-based simultaneous nitrification and denitrification system

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is an inevitable intermediate generated during the nitrogen removal process of granule-based simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND) system. In order to alleviate N2O production while maintaining a desired total nitrogen (TN) removal level in this system, a comprehensive evaluation of the contribution pathways and process parameters affecting N2O turnovers is keenly required. Therefore, mathematical models were applied to evaluate the impact of operating conditions and unravel potential mechanisms on TN removal performance and N2O production. Simulation results show that higher N2O production (11.6 %–14.2 %) occurs at higher dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations, lower chemical oxygen demand (COD) levels, longer hydraulic retention time (HRT) and larger granule size in the granular SND system. The relative conversion rates of nitrogenous components in different regions within the granule influence N2O turnovers, with the nitrification process occurring only in the region 200 μm inward from the granule surface and denitrification working throughout the entire granule. In the inner region of the granule (0–300 μm), the heterotrophic bacteria (HB) denitrification pathway dominates N2O production as a source of N2O. While in the outer region (300–450 μm), HB denitrification acts as a sink for N2O and regulates N2O turnovers (i.e. production and reduction of N2O) together with the hydroxylamine (NH2OH) pathway that is the main contributor of N2O production. Moreover, simultaneous adjustment of multiple operating parameters within a certain range can lower the N2O production factor (<0.5 %) while achieving the desired TN removal efficiency (>80 %), resulting in a feasible N2O mitigation strategy.

Influence of the surface/volume ratio on the rheological properties of starch dispersions

This study aims to evaluate the influence of the surface/volume granule ratio of amaranth, corn, and potato starches on the rheological properties of pastes and gels obtained at 5 and 10% solids concentration through granulometry, scanning electron microscopy, rotational, and dynamic rheological measurements. The granule size distribution and the surface/volume ratio drove the rheological behaviour as a function of temperature and concentration. At a concentration of 10%, the consistency index of corn starch (CS) paste was 147.25 Pa·sn (n – flow behavior index), a higher value compared to pastes from potato starch (PS), 86.54 Pa·sn, and amaranth starch (AS), 44.48 Pa·sn. The lowest values of the loss angle tangent (Tan δ) in CS (0.052 and 0.035) at both solids concentrations suggested a better gel conformation. Noticeable changes in consistency index and storage modulus were observed in CS. A theoretical analysis of the surface/volume ratio change showed that CS reached a 2.2 value, much lower than the 4.5 and 5.8 values for PS and AS, respectively. These findings provide additional criteria for the food industry when choosing starches with suitable rheological behaviour as a function of surface/volume granule ratio and solids concentration.

Characterization of Oil Body and Starch Granule Dynamics in Developing Seeds of Brassica napus.

Brassica napus is the most important oilseed crop in the world, and the lipid was stored in the oil body (OB) in the form of triacylglycerol. At present, most of studies on the relationship between oil body morphology and seed oil content in B. napus was focused on mature seeds. In the present study, the OBs in different developing seeds of B. napus with relatively high oil content (HOC) of about 50% and low oil content (LOC) of about 39% were analyzed. It was revealed that the size of OBs was first increased and then decreased in both materials. And in late seed developmental stages, the average OB size of rapeseed with HOC was higher than that of LOC, while it was reversed in the early seed developmental stages. No significant difference was observed on starch granule (SG) size in HOC and LOC rapeseed. Further results indicated that the expression of genes that involved in malonyl-CoA metabolism, fatty acid carbon chain extension, lipid metabolism, and starch synthesis in the rapeseed with HOC was higher than that of rapeseed with LOC. These results give some new insight for understanding the dynamics of OBs and SGs in embryos of B. napus.

Multi-scale structure and digestive property of bran starch in different particle size wheat bran

In this study, the multi-scale (granular, molecular, crystalline, lamellar and helical) structure and digestive property of starch isolated from wheat bran of different particle size, including plant scale (1110 μm), tissue scale (235 μm, 83 μm) and cell scale (19 μm), were investigated and compared with wheat flour starch. Bran milling modified bran starch to varying degrees. Tissue-scale milling of bran reduced the granule size of bran starch, but did not significantly modify its molecular, lamellar, crystalline and helical structure. However, cell-scale milling caused significant destruction of crystalline regions and double helix, and increase in starch digestibility. In addition, compared to wheat flour starch, wheat bran starch had more resistant starch and lower digestibility, which were highly correlated with its thinner lamellas, more double helix proportion and compact fractal. This study highlights the effect of supramolecular structure on bran starch digestibility and contributes to the application of bran starch.

Heat Conduction through Different Slag Layers in Mold. Thermal Conductivity Measurement of Commercial Mold Fluxes

The thermal conductivity of two commercial mold fluxes has been investigated using the transient hot-wire method in the temperature range of 298 K to 1573 K. Experiments were conducted on granules, sintered granules, molten fluxes and glassy samples under ambient atmosphere. Characteristic temperatures of the mold fluxes were investigated using a hot stage microscope. Results are discussed in the context of the characteristic temperatures, the particle size of granules, the bulk density and the structure of the mold fluxes. The temperature dependence of the thermal conductivity for granules of mold fluxes is positive in the temperature range of 298 to 873 K (λ = 0.058 + 1.245 × 10−4 T). The further temperature increase causes the rapid increase of the thermal conductivity above the temperature, at which the granules start to sinter Tdeformation. The thermal conductivity of the glassy sample is around two times lower than the thermal conductivity of the devitrified sample. The effect of the glass transition temperature on the thermal conductivity was shown. The thermal conductivity rapidly increases above the glass transition temperature in the glass transition region as the temperature rises and decreases above the softening temperature Tsoftening. The further temperature increase caused the crystallization of the sample. The crystallization of the sample was observed at T ≈ Tg + 100 K. Moreover, results show the dependence of the thermal conductivity of molten mold fluxes on the basicity (CaO/SiO2) at 1573 K.

Influence of coexisting EDTA, citrate, and chloride ions on the recovery of copper and cobalt from simulated wastewater using fluidized-bed homogeneous granulation process

Copper and cobalt from industrial operations build up in the environment, posing a substantial health risk. This study examined how ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), citrate, and chloride ions affected the fluidized bed homogeneous granulation process' (FBHGP) ability to recover both individual and combination of copper and cobalt ions from simulated waste streams. A 99% copper removal and 95% granulation efficiency were attained in copper-based solutions. The soluble copper still present in the solution caused a 4% variation in the removal and granulation efficiencies. There were 99% removal and 99% granulation efficiencies in cobalt-based solutions. When EDTA was present in a copper-based solution, 95% removal and 86% granulation were reached, and for cobalt-based solutions, 95% and 91% were the removal and granulation efficiency, respectively. The presence of citrate in the copper-based solution obtained the removal of 83% and granulation efficiency of 54% at 0.1 MR of citrate to copper. No copper phosphate precipitate was formed when the MR was greater than 0.1. There were 96% removal and 92% granulation efficiency when citrate was present in cobalt-based solutions. The presence of chloride ions in copper solution achieved a 99% removal and 91% granulation efficiency, while in cobalt solutions, 99% removal and 98% granulation efficiency were attained. Solutions with combined copper and cobalt with chloride ions achieved 99% removal and 95% granulation efficiency for copper and 99% removal and 95% granulation efficiency for cobalt. The granule sizes decreased as the MR of the complexing agents to metal, and the concentration of chloride ions increased. The peaks on the XRD pattern exactly matched the peaks of cobalt phosphate hydrate (Co3(PO4)2·8 H2O). FBHGP has effectively recovered copper and cobalt from the waste streams of simulated metals.

Improved stability and in vitro bioavailability of β-carotene in filled hydrogel prepared from starch blends with different granule sizes

The effects of starch blends used as a filled hydrogels (FH) on improving the stability and bioavailability of β-carotene. The starch blends were prepared from rice (R), potato (P), and quinoa (Q) starches with different granule sizes and physical properties. P, which forms very weak gels, was blended with R or Q to form a rigid gel with a fibrous network showing low tan δ values. Among the FH prepared with starch blends, PQ-FH showed a non-additive effect, resulting higher gel-forming ability and freeze–thaw stability than those of P-FH or Q-FH. In addition, the relatively high protective effect of PQ-FH for β-carotene in the FH can be explained by the action of P-FH, which was significantly stable at high temperature, and by the action of Q-FH, which was stable against pH changes. The retention rate of β-carotene after in vitro digestion was highest in Q-FH and lowest in P-FH. The low retention rate in P-FH was improved by starch blending, especially in PQ-FH. Although there were no significant differences in the apparent permeability of β-carotene in Caco-2 cells among FH samples, they all showed significant improvement in bioavailability compared to the β-carotene loaded emulsion (EM) used as a control. Starch blend-based FH can be an effective delivery system for functional materials with various industrial applications.

Model development and calibration of two-dimensional population balance model for twin-screw wet granulation based on particle size distribution and porosity

Population balance models (PBMs) have been widely studied for the simulation of continuous twin-screw wet granulation. Due to the limited data availability and computational efforts, one-dimensional PBM is the most popular application to the pharmaceutical industry. While multi-dimensional PBMs can predict multiple granule quality attributes, model development and calibration has been the big challenges. This paper presents a two-dimensional compartmental PBM which compute granule size and porosity. Granulation experiments were performed for two formulations and two process settings, followed by granule characterizations. In PBM development, consolidation was newly introduced, whereas the aggregation and breakage kernels were based on the previous model. Calibration results proved that the model can simulate granule size and porosity simultaneously for different formulations and process settings. Some cases show porosity increase that needs to be considered in the future. Further experiments and model development can increase the applicability of the two-dimensional PBM for the pharmaceutical industry.

Stepping Up the Kinetics of Li-O2 Batteries by Shrinking Down the Li2O2 Granules through Concertedly Enhanced Catalytic Activity and Photoactivity of Se-Doped LaCoO3.

Owing to their structural tunability for furnishing high catalytic activity and photoactivity, perovskite oxides are a class of promising materials for high-performance photocathode catalysts in a photoassisted lithium oxygen battery (LOB), which is still in its infancy. Herein, single-crystalline LaCoO3 (LCO) is successfully synthesized through a microwave-assisted approach and selenylated to simultaneously introduce anionic doping and oxygen vacancies, boosting not only the electrocatalytic activity toward reversible Li2O2 formation/decomposition, but also the photoactivity to further reduce the charge/discharge polarization. As a result, LOBs utilizing Se-doped LCO as the photocathode catalyst demonstrate a superior performance under illumination in all aspects of energy efficiency, specific capacity, and cycling stability, ranking among the best reported in the literature for perovskite oxides. The photoenhanced charge kinetics is found to be correlated with the accelerated Li2O2 nucleation with lowered granule size, which is key to both the improved charge/discharge capacity and reversibility. The results underscore the tailoring of perovskite structure to aggrandize both the catalytic activity and photoactivity for concertedly promoting the kinetics of LOBs.

Characterization of isolated starch from Isatis indigotica Fort. root and anhydro-sugars preparation using its decoction residues.

Isatis indigotica Fort. root (Ban-lan-gen, IIR), a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), has an ancient and well-documented history for its medicinal properties. Aside from epigoitrin, indole alkaloids, and their corresponding derivatives as medicinal ingredients, it also contains lots of biomass such as starch. Herein, a new starch was isolated from IIR and the physicochemical properties such as amylose content, moisture content, ash content, morphology, thermal properties, and crystallography were characterized systematically. The amylose content of IIR starch was 19.84 ± 0.85%, and the size and shape of starch granules is ellipsoidal shape with sizes from 2 to 10μm. IIR starch exhibited a C-type pattern and had 25.92% crystallinity (higher than that of corn starch). The gelatinization temperature of IIR starch was 58.68-75.41°C, and its gelatinization enthalpy was ΔH gel = 4.33J/g. After decocting, the IIR's residues can be used to prepare anhydro-sugars in a polar aprotic solvent. The total carbon yield of levoglucosan (LG), levoglucosenone (LGO), 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), and furfural (FF) could reach 69.81% from IIR's decoction residues in 1,4-dioxane with 15mM H2SO4 as the catalyst. Further, the residues after dehydration were prepared into biochar by thermochemical conversion and the BET surface area of biochar was 1749.46 m2/g which has good application prospect in soil improvement and alleviates obstacles of IIR continuous cropping.

The Effect of Atomization Force on the Structural Properties of NiTi Thin Films

A study using a pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique was accomplished by growing NiTi nanoparticles on glass and stainless steel 316L substrates. The effects of laser energy state of deposition on the granule size of the NiTi nanoparticle and the structural properties of its thin film were discussed. X-ray diffraction analyses revealed that the films prepared at 65[Formula: see text]W, 75[Formula: see text]W, 85[Formula: see text]W, 100[Formula: see text]W exhibited amorphous structures. AFM results confirmed that the thin films consist of evenly distributed spherical particles. The results also showed an exponential increase in those particles’ sizes.