NP [HSA]

Polyvinyl alcohol/chitosan (PVA/CS) films, which may be a good alternative for food packaging, have a limited vapour water barrier. This study investigated, the effect of beta-chitin micro- and nanoparticles (MPs and NPs, respectively) obtained from jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) pens on the water vapour permeability (WVP) of PVA/CS films. By milling beta-chitin, squid MPs (sizes of 128 mu m; MpQ128) were obtained, and an aqueous acid dispersion of MpQ128 was ultrasonicated to obtain NPs. Besides, PVA/CS films with three different proportions were prepared. The addition of MpQ128 did not increase the thickness or tensile strength (TS) of these films. The percentage elongation (%E) of the film increased only in one of the PVA/CS film proportions. The addition of NPs in this PVA/CS film did not increase the film thickness; however, the TS and %E increased significantly compared to those of the control sample, and the increase in %E was significantly higher with NPs than with MPs.Moreover, the PVA film exhibited biphasic water loss kinetics, and the film showed three-phase behaviour for various CS amounts. The WVP values did not significantly change for different PVA/CS proportions during each experimental period. However, in the second period, the WVP was significantly lower than in the first and third periods. The addition of MPs or NPs did not significantly decrease the WVP compared to that of the control sample. Nevertheless, it decreased slightly for some NP additions in the films. The effectiveness of beta-chitin NPs in reducing the WVP can be improved by avoiding the aggregation of NPs in hydrophilic PVA/CS films.

The South Korean government has been pushing for an energy transition, reducing nuclear power (NP) generation and increasing renewable energy (RE) generation, since mid-2017. The government needs quantitative information on the economic effects of the two sectors. This article aims to derive such information through an input-output (IO) analysis using the recently published 2015 IO table. The production-inducing effects, value-added creation effects, and wage-inducing effects of one dollar of production in the two sectors are analyzed using a demand-driven model. One dollar of production or investment in the two sectors causes 1.606 and 1.718 dollars of production, 0.856 and 0.859 dollars of value-added, and 0.168 and 0.174 dollars of wage, respectively. The economic effects of the RE sector are greater than those of the NP sector. The supply-shortage effects of the two sectors are examined using a supply-driven model. One dollar of supply shortage in the RE and NP sectors brings 1.673 and 1.670 dollars of production failure, respectively. The production failure resulting from the supply shortage in the RE sector is smaller than that of the NP sector. A price-side model also revealed that a 10% increase in the price of output in the NP and RE sectors raises the overall price levels by 0.05858% and 0.01304%, respectively. The RE sector is thus better than the NP sector in terms of minimizing supply shortage effects and price-pervasive effects, as well as maximizing economic effects.