CONSUMER PREFERENCES AND EVALUATIONS OF A PROCESSED MEAT PRODUCT

Consumer/Household Economics,

Evaluating passive structural control of tidal turbines

The research focus of this project is to design a methodology to reduce fatigue and peak structural loading experienced by support structures used for tidal stream converters. The methodology is based on the dynamic analysis of a towermonopile support structure for offshore wind turbines. A tuned mass damper (TMD) is implemented in the nacelle in fore-aft direction by correcting the discrete equation of motion of a fixed tidal turbine. Parameters such as added mass and viscous damping were thus incorporated in the mass and damping matrix to study the effects of using a TMD on a tidal energy converter. Both frequency and time domain analysis are presented to compare the TMD effect in different conditions. Moreover a sensitivity analysis in soil effect and different tower-monopile shape is presented. The result shows the influence of the TMD for a fixed tidal turbine when the structure suffers an instant impact and under unsteady continuous wave-current coupled forces

Acoustic Tweezing Cytometry Induces Rapid Initiation of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation.

Mechanical forces play critical roles in influencing human embryonic stem cell (hESC) fate. However, it remains largely uncharacterized how local mechanical forces influence hESC behavior in vitro. Here, we used an ultrasound (US) technique, acoustic tweezing cytometry (ATC), to apply targeted cyclic subcellular forces to hESCs via integrin-bound microbubbles (MBs). We found that ATC-mediated cyclic forces applied for 30 min to hESCs near the edge of a colony induced immediate global responses throughout the colony, suggesting the importance of cell-cell connection in the mechanoresponsiveness of hESCs to ATC-applied forces. ATC application generated increased contractile force, enhanced calcium activity, as well as decreased expression of pluripotency transcription factors Oct4 and Nanog, leading to rapid initiation of hESC differentiation and characteristic epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) events that depend on focal adhesion kinase (FAK) activation and cytoskeleton (CSK) tension. These results reveal a unique, rapid mechanoresponsiveness and community behavior of hESCs to integrin-targeted cyclic forces

Regulation of multi-organ inflammation in the regulatory T cell-deficient scurfy mice

Scurfy mice display the most severe form of multi-organ inflammation due to total lack of the CD4+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Treg) resulted from a mutation of the X-linked transcription factor Foxp3. A large repertoire of Treg-suppressible, inflammation-inducing T cells was demonstrated by adoptive transfer experiments using Rag1-/- mice as recipients and by prolongation of lifespan through breeding with Faslpr/lpr mutant. Inflammation in the ear, eyes, skin, tail, salivary glands, lungs, stomach, pancreas, liver, small intestine, colon, skeletal muscle, and accessory reproductive organs are identified. Genetic and cellular regulations of specific organ inflammation are described. Sf mice may be useful for the identification of organ-specific antigens and Treg capable of suppressing inflammation in an organ-specific manner. Sf mice are also useful to determine the important inflammation process at the checkpoint after Treg regulation using genetic analysis through breeding

Comparison of Lithium-Ion Anode Materials Using an Experimentally Verified Physics-Based Electrochemical Model

Researchers are in search of parameters inside Li-ion batteries that can be utilized to control their external behavior. Physics-based electrochemical model could bridge the gap between Li+ transportation and distribution inside battery and battery performance outside. In this paper, two commercially available Li-ion anode materials: graphite and Lithium titanate (Li4Ti5O12 or LTO) were selected and a physics-based electrochemical model was developed based on half-cell assembly and testing. It is found that LTO has a smaller diffusion coefficient (Ds) than graphite, which causes a larger overpotential, leading to a smaller capacity utilization and, correspondingly, a shorter duration of constant current charge or discharge. However, in large current applications, LTO performs better than graphite because its effective particle radius decreases with increasing current, leading to enhanced diffusion. In addition, LTO has a higher activation overpotential in its side reactions; its degradation rate is expected to be much smaller than graphite, indicating a longer life span

TRANSGENIC SOYBEAN PLANTS EXPRESSING ASOYBEAN HOMOLOG OF GLYCINE-RICH PROTEIN 7 (GRP7) AND EXHIBITING IMPROVED INNATE IMMUNITY

This disclosure provides for transgenic Soybean plants expressing a soybean homolog of glycine-rich protein 7 (GRP7) and exhibiting improved innate immunity and meth ods of making Such plants

TRANSGENIC SOYBEAN PLANTS EXPRESSING ASOYBEAN HOMOLOG OF GLYCINE-RICH PROTEIN 7 (GRP7) AND EXHIBITING IMPROVED INNATE IMMUNITY

This disclosure provides for transgenic Soybean plants expressing a soybean homolog of glycine-rich protein 7 (GRP7) and exhibiting improved innate immunity and meth ods of making Such plants