H2 pressure swing adsorption for IGCC power plant and techno-economic analysis of integrating PSA to IGCC with carbon capture

Carbon capture and sequestration technologies emerge as the effectual remediation processes to reduce CO2 emissions from coal power plants. Integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) is a representative technology for utilizing coal as feedstock and is consequently playing a more important role to cover the global energy demand. The IGCC produces H2-rich mixture at high pressures (30-35 bar) after capturing CO2. It is reported that the high purity H2 recovered from the IGCC process can be economically supplied to a hydrogen turbine or fuel cell. And a PSA process is a strong candidate to produce high purity H2 from the IGCC effluent gas. However, due to higher operating pressure than the present H2 PSA processes, reducing the operating costs and efficiency has emerged as one of the key issues. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Nucleotide sequence of the vmhA gene encoding hemolysin from Vibrio mimicus

AbstractThe structural gene (vmhA) of hemolysin from Vibrio mimicus (ATCC33653) was cloned and sequenced. The vmhA gene contains an open reading frame consisting of 2232 nucleotides which can code for a protein of 744 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 83 059. The similarity of amino acid sequence shows 81.6% identity with Vibrio cholerae El Tor hemolysin

Sex- and Age-Related Changes in Connexin 43 Expression in Normal Rat Bladder

Purpose Gap junctions are intercellular channels to facilitate electrical and metabolic communication between adjacent cells. Connexin 43 is the most predominant type of connexin expressed on rat detrusor muscle cells. We investigated the connexin 43 expressions in various age groups of either sex in normal rats. Methods Eighty Sprague-Dawley rats were used for analysis. Each group was quantified by 8 rats at 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months of age in either sex. In each animal, bladder was removed without any kind of intervention and fresh-frozen in liquid nitrogen. Total RNA extraction was done with easy-BLUE total RNA extraction kit. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction was done for connexin 43 and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase as an internal control using ImProm-II Reverse Transcription System. Results In female rats, no age-related change was detected in connexin 43 expressions. In male rats, connexin expression at 3 months of age showed significant decrease compared with 1 week, 2 weeks, and 6 months of age (P<0.05). When connexin expression at the same age in male and female were compared, only 3 months group in male showed significant decrease than the same age group in female. Conclusions Our data suggest that the expressions of connexin 43 mRNA in normal detrusor muscle cell showed age-related changes especially in male rats. Although it is difficult to interpret these findings at this stage, age should be considered as a possible compounding factor affecting connexin 43 expressions in male rats

Development of Highly Reliable Power and Communication System for Essential Instruments Under Severe Accidents in NPP

AbstractThis article proposes a highly reliable power and communication system that guarantees the protection of essential instruments in a nuclear power plant under a severe accident. Both power and communication lines are established with not only conventional wired channels, but also the proposed wireless channels for emergency reserve. An inductive power transfer system is selected due to its robust power transfer characteristics under high temperature, high pressure, and highly humid environments with a large amount of scattered debris after a severe accident. A thermal insulation box and a glass-fiber reinforced plastic box are proposed to protect the essential instruments, including vulnerable electronic circuits, from extremely high temperatures of up to 627°C and pressure of up to 5 bar. The proposed wireless power and communication system is experimentally verified by an inductive power transfer system prototype having a dipole coil structure and prototype Zigbee modules over a 7-m distance, where both the thermal insulation box and the glass-fiber reinforced plastic box are fabricated and tested using a high-temperature chamber. Moreover, an experiment on the effects of a high radiation environment on various electronic devices is conducted based on the radiation test having a maximum accumulated dose of 27 Mrad

Identification of a bioactive core sequence from human laminin and its applicability to tissue engineering

Finding bioactive short peptides derived from proteins is a critical step to the advancement of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, because the former maintains the functions of the latter without immunogenicity in biological systems. Here, we discovered a bioactive core nonapeptide sequence, PPFEGCIWN (residues 2678e2686; Ln2-LG3-P2-DN3), from the human laminin a2 chain, and investigated the role of this peptide in binding to transmembrane proteins to promote intracellular events leading to cell functions. This minimum bioactive sequence had neither secondary nor tertiary structures in a computational structure prediction. Nonetheless, Ln2-LG3-P2-DN3 bound to various cell types as actively as laminin in cell adhesion assays. The in vivo healing tests using rats revealed that Ln2-LG3-P2-DN3 promoted bone formation without any recognizable antigenic activity. Ln2-LG3-P2-DN3-treated titanium (Ti) discs and Ti implant surfaces caused the enhancement of bone cell functions in vitro and induced faster osseointegration in vivo, respectively. These findings established a minimum bioactive sequence within human laminin, and its potential application value for regenerative medicine, especially for bone tissue engineering.OAIID:oai:osos.snu.ac.kr:snu2015-01/102/2008003883/7ADJUST_YN:YEMP_ID:A078517DEPT_CD:861CITE_RATE:8.557FILENAME:044-biomaterials 201512 73() 96-109.pdfDEPT_NM:치의학과SCOPUS_YN:YCONFIRM:

The effect of the DLTIDDSYWYRI motif of the human laminin α2 chain on implant osseointegration

Considerable effort has been directed towards replacing lost teeth using tissue-engineering methods such as titanium implants. A number of studies have tried to modify bioinert titanium surfaces by coating them with functionally bioactive molecules for faster and stronger osseointegration than pure titanium surfaces. Recently, peptides have been recognized as valuable scientific tools in the field of tissue-engineering. The DLTIDDSYWYRI motif of the human laminin-2 α2 chain has been previously reported to promote the attachment of various cell types; however, the in vivo effects of the DLTIDDSYWYRI motif on new bone formation have not yet been studied. To examine whether a laminin-2-derived peptide can promote osseointegration by accelerating new bone formation in vivo, we applied titanium implants coated with the DLTIDDSYWYRI motif in a rabbit tibia model. The application of the DLTIDDSYWYRI motif-treated implant to tibia wounds enhanced collagen deposition and alkaline phosphatase expression. It significantly promoted implant osseointegration compared with treatment with scrambled peptide-treated implants by increasing the bone-to-implant contact ratio and bone area. These findings support the hypothesis that the DLTIDDSYWYRI motif acts as an effective osseointegration accelerator by enhancing new bone formation.Considerable effort has been directed towards replacing lost teeth using tissue-engineering methods such as titanium implants. A number of studies have tried to modify bioinert titanium surfaces by coating them with functionally bioactive molecules for faster and stronger osseointegration than pure titanium surfaces. Recently, peptides have been recognized as valuable scientific tools in the field of tissue-engineering. The DLTIDDSYWYRI motif of the human laminin-2 α2 chain has been previously reported to promote the attachment of various cell types; however, the in vivo effects of the DLTIDDSYWYRI motif on new bone formation have not yet been studied. To examine whether a laminin-2-derived peptide can promote osseointegration by accelerating new bone formation in vivo, we applied titanium implants coated with the DLTIDDSYWYRI motif in a rabbit tibia model. The application of the DLTIDDSYWYRI motif-treated implant to tibia wounds enhanced collagen deposition and alkaline phosphatase expression. It significantly promoted implant osseointegration compared with treatment with scrambled peptide-treated implants by increasing the bone-to-implant contact ratio and bone area. These findings support the hypothesis that the DLTIDDSYWYRI motif acts as an effective osseointegration accelerator by enhancing new bone formation.Tissue-engineeringThis work was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by MEST (Grant No. 2011-0007662) and the Mid-career Researcher Program through NRF, funded by MEST (Grant No. 2010-0014662).OAIID:oai:osos.snu.ac.kr:snu2013-01/102/2008003883/1SEQ:1PERF_CD:SNU2013-01EVAL_ITEM_CD:102USER_ID:2008003883ADJUST_YN:NEMP_ID:A078517DEPT_CD:861CITE_RATE:7.404FILENAME:Biomaterials 201305 34(16) 4027-37.pdfDEPT_NM:치의학과EMAIL:[email protected]_YN:YCONFIRM:

Bronchus-Associated Lymphoid Tissue (BALT) Lymphoma of the Lung Showing Mosaic Pattern of Inhomogeneous Attenuation on Thin-section CT: A Case Report

The authors present a case of histologically proven bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue (BALT) lymphoma of the lung in a patient with primary Sjögren's syndrome that manifested on thin-section CT scan as a mosaic pattern of inhomogeneous attenuation due to mixed small airway and infiltrative abnormalitie

The impact of sequential versus single anastomoses on flow characteristics and mid-term patency of saphenous vein grafts in coronary bypass grafting

ObjectiveTo assess the influence of bypass grafting technique on the flow characteristics and mid-term patency of saphenous vein coronary bypass grafts.MethodsIn the present study, 309 patients who underwent either sequential (group A, N = 84 grafts) or individual (group B, N = 244 grafts) saphenous vein coronary bypass grafting between February 2002 and September 2007 were investigated. Individual bypassing only was performed in 212 patients, and sequential bypassing only was performed in 78 patients. The remaining 19 patients received both. A total of 436 distal anastomoses were performed with 328 saphenous vein grafts. The intraoperative flow characteristics and the graft patency were assessed with the transit time flow meter and serial multi-detector computed tomography coronary angiograms, respectively.ResultsGroup A showed a higher mean flow compared with group B at 49.4 ± 27.4 mL/min versus 37.1 ± 20.1 mL/min, respectively (P = .001). The mean flow increased linearly as the number of anastomoses increased per graft (P < .001). Graft patency at 3 years was 93.3% ± 3.4% in group A and 86.5% ± 3.1% in group B (P = .048). After adjustment for baseline characteristics, group A showed a tendency for superior mid-term patency than group B (hazard ratio 0.362; 95% confidence interval, 0.129–1.017; P = .0538).ConclusionsSequential bypass grafts were associated with higher mean flows and superior mid-term patency compared with individual grafts. These findings suggest the more favorable results of sequential bypass grafting to be attributed to the enhanced flow hemodynamics