Prebiotics are known as components of intestinal microbiota that can improve and maintain human health status by stimulating the growth and activity of the intestinal tract as a method of controlling the intestinal environment. In this study, we examined whether 2’-fucosyllactose (FL) could affect intestinal microbial population and bowel activity. Water content and frequency of mouse feces were increased in the 2’-FL treated group at a high concentration (1,000 mg/kg), with brightness of the color enhanced and physical properties diluted. In addition, intestinal microbial analysis showed that harmful bacteria Clostridium and Staphylococcus strains were decreased and beneficial bacteria such as Lactobacillus strains were markedly increased in the group treated with a high concentration of 2’-FL compared to those in the control group. These findings suggest that administration of 2’-FL can maintain healthy bowel activity by reducing harmful bacteria population and improving diluted physical properties.

Ink-jet printing technology has been widely attractive due to its facility for direct and fine printing on various substrates. Recent studies have focused on expanding the application of ink-jet printing technology from general consumer use and design companies to the prototype production of precision parts and parts manufacturing. The use of ink-jet printing technology in decorated tableware, tiles, and other ceramic products also has many advantages. The printing process is fast and can be adaptable to various kinds of objects because there is no direct contact point between the printer and the substrates to be printed. For application to ceramic product decoration, inks containing highly dispersed inorganic nano-pigments are required. Here we report the synthesis and characterization of blue CoAl2O4 nanopigment for ink-jet printing. Blue ceramic ink based on the obtained CoAl2O4 pigment was prepared by dissolving CoAl2O4 pigment in a mixed solution of ethylene glycol and ethanol with volume ratios of 7:3 and 8:2, respectively, to obtain the appropriate viscosity for ink-jet printing. The ink solution contained 15 wt% of CoAl2O4 pigment and Cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide(CTAB) and Sodium dodecyl sulfate(SDS) as dispersive agents. The prepared blue ceramic ink was stably jetted and formed a sphere-shaped droplet from an ink-jet printer.

Hydrodynamic characteristics such as gas holdup, liquid circulation velocity and bed expansion in a hexagonal inverse fluidized bed were investigated using air-water system by changing the ratio (Ad/Ar) of cross-sectional area between the riser and the downcomer, the liquid level(Hl/H), and the superficial gas velocity(Ug). The gas holdup and the liquid circulation velocity were steadily increased with the superficial gas velocity increasing, but at high superficial gas velocity, some of gas bubbles were carried over to a downcomer and circulated through the column. When the superficial gas velocity was high, the Ad/Ar ratio in the range of 1 to 2.4 did not affect the liquid circulation velocity, but the maximum bed expansion was obtained at Ad/Ar ratio of 1.25. liquid circulation velocity was expressed as a model equation below with variables of the cross-sectional area ratio(Ad/Ar) between riser to downcomer, the liquid level(H1/H), the superficial gas velocity(Ug), the sparger height[(H-Hs)/H], and the draft plate level(Hb/H). Uld=11.62g^0.75(Hl/H)^10.30(Ad/Ar)^-0.52(H-Hs/H)^0.91(Hb/H)^0.13