Development of carbon fiber acrylonitrile styrene acrylate composite for large format additive manufacturing

The increasing interest of Large Format Additive Manufacturing (LFAM) technologies in various industrial sectors mainly lies on the attainable production of pieces reaching several cubic meters. These new technologies require the development of optimized materials with two-folded capabilities, able to satisfy functional in-service requirements but also showing a proper printability. Acrylonitrile Styrene Acrylate (ASA) is among the most interesting thermoplastic materials to be implemented in a LFAM device due to its excellent wettability and mechanical properties. This research focuses on the development and characterization of ASA and carbon fiber (CF) ASA composites suitable for LFAM. The rheological, thermal and mechanical properties of neat ASA and ASA containing 20 wt% CF are addressed. The results evidence the higher performance of the CF loaded composite compared to the raw ASA polymer (i.e., the 20 wt% CF composite shows a 350% increase in flexural Young's Modulus and a 500% increment in thermal conductivity compared with neat ASA). Additionally, both materials were successfully printed along perpendicular directions (X and Z), showing the maximum tensile strain for the composite printed along the X orientation as was expected. The results of the flexural tests are comparable or slightly higher than those of injected parts. Finally, the fracture surface was analysed, identifying different types of porosity

Pectic enzymes as potential enhancers of ascorbic acid production through the D-galacturonate pathway in Solanaceae

The increase of L-Ascorbic Acid (AsA) content in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is a common goal in breeding programs due to its beneficial effect on human health. To shed light into the regulation of fruit AsA content, we exploited a Solanum pennellii introgression line (IL12-4-SL) harbouring one quantitative trait locus that increases the content of total AsA in the fruit. Biochemical and transcriptomic analyses were carried out in fruits of IL12-4-SL in comparison with the cultivated line M82 at different stages of ripening. AsA content was studied in relation with pectin methylesterase (PME) activity and the degree of pectin methylesterification (DME). Our results indicated that the increase of AsA content in IL12-4-SL fruits was related with pectin de-methylesterification/degradation. Specific PME, polygalacturonase (PG) and UDP-D-glucuronic-acid-4-epimerase (UGlcAE) isoforms were proposed as components of the D-galacturonate pathway leading to AsA biosynthesis. The relationship between AsA content and PME activity was also exploited in PMEI tobacco plants expressing a specific PME inhibitor (PMEI). Here we report that tobacco PMEI plants, altered in PME activity and degree of pectin methylesterification, showed a reduction in low methylesterified pectic domains and exhibited a reduced AsA content. Overall, our results provide novel biochemical and genetic traits for increasing antioxidant content by marker-assisted selection in the Solanaceae family

PROCESS OF TEACHING VOCABULARY TO THE FIRST GRADE STUDENTS IN SD NEGERI KARTASURA 02

This final project was written based on the job training in SD Negeri Kartasura 02. The aims of this final project are to describe the process of teaching vocabulary to the first grade students in SD Negeri Kartasura 02, to show the problems faced by the students and the writer and also to give the solutions for the problems. The writer wrote this final project based on the data collected by observing the class and teaching the first grade students in SD Negeri Kartasura 02. The observation was done in the class to know how the class condition and how the teachers teaches. The process of teaching consists of motivating strategies, presentation strategies, skill practice, assessment and ending the lessons. The material of teaching English vocabulary is taken from Active English 1 for Grade I of Elementary School. Based on the discussion, the writer found the problems during the process of teaching vocabulary to the first grade students in SD Negeri Kartasura 02. The problem were the condition of the students and students’ problem in writing English. The writer also gave the solution to solve the problems namely trying to make the class more relax and enjoyable, trying to explain not in rush, teaching the vocabulary by reading in order to introduce the words and the letters to the students, asking the students to make notes in their notebook, using some pictures to make the students more easier to remember the letters of the words

Optimizing adipogenic transdifferentiation of bovine mesenchymal stem cells: a prominent role of ascorbic acid in FABP4 induction

Adipocyte differentiation of bovine adipose-derived stem cells (ASC) was induced by foetal bovine serum (FBS), biotin, pantothenic acid, insulin, rosiglitazone, dexamethasone and 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine, followed by incubation in different media to test the influence of ascorbic acid (AsA), bovine serum lipids (BSL), FBS, glucose and acetic acid on transdifferentiation into functional adipocytes. Moreover, different culture plate coatings (collagen-A, gelatin-A or poly-L-lysine) were tested. The differentiated ASC were subjected to Nile red staining, DAPI staining, immunocytochemistry and quantitative reverse transcription PCR (for NT5E, THY1, ENG, PDGFRα, FABP4, PPARγ, LPL, FAS, GLUT4). Nile red quantification showed a significant increase in the development of lipid droplets in treatments with AsA and BSL without FBS. The presence of BSL induced a prominent increase in FABP4 mRNA abundance and in FABP4 immunofluorescence signals in coincubation with AsA. The abundance of NT5E, ENG and THY1 mRNA decreased or tended to decrease in the absence of FBS, and ENG was additionally suppressed by AsA. DAPI fluorescence was higher in cells cultured in poly-L-lysine or gelatin-A coated wells. In additional experiments, the multi-lineage differentiation potential to osteoblasts was verified in medium containing ß-glycerophosphate, dexamethasone and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 using alizarin red staining. In conclusion, bovine ASC are capable of multi-lineage differentiation. Poly-L-lysine or gelatin-A coating, the absence of FBS, and the presence of BSL and AsA favour optimal transdifferentiation into adipocytes. AsA supports transdifferentiation via a unique role in FABP4 induction, but this is not linearly related to the primarily BSL-driven lipid accumulation