Processing, Microstructure, and Wear Behavior of Silicon Nitride Hot-Pressed with Alumina and Yttria

Commercial silicon nitride powder with A1₂O₃ and Y₂O₃ additives was hot-pressed to complete density. The resulting microstructure contained elongated grains with no trace of remaining α-Si₃N₄. The aspect ratio of the elongated grains increased with increasing soak time at a fixed hot-pressing temperature. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the crystalline phase in the hot-pressed samples was β-sialon (Si_6−zAl_zO_zN_8−z) with z values that increased with soak time. The fracture strength and fracture toughness of the samples increased as the aspect ratio of the grains increased. The Vickers hardness decreased slightly as the soak time was increased, which was attributed to a grain size effect. Wear tests of silicon nitride against silicon nitride were conducted on a reciprocating pin-on-disk apparatus with paraffin oil as a lubricant. Correlation studies of wear with microstructure and mechanical properties were performed. The wear rate increased rapidly with increasing soak time in spite of the increased strength and toughness. This was attributed to increased third-body wear caused by pullout of pieces from the wear surface. The pullout mechanism was not conclusively identified. However, TEM examination showed clear evidence of dislocation motion under the wear scar. Grain boundary microstresses caused by the anisotropic thermal expansion and elastic properties of the elongated grains may have contributed to the observed pullout.     

The synthesis and characterization of calcium aluminate monoiodide

The hydrated calcium aluminate AFt and AFm phases are known hosts for a wide variety of chemical species. This characteristic is beneficial to those using portland cement to solidify/encapsulate radioactive waste which more often than not contains a wide variety of elements. In order to investigate the potential of the calcium aluminate hydrates as host phases for selected ions, the following experiments were carried out. Bottle hydration studies (water/solid > 1) were used to investigate the suitability of the AFt and AFm phases as hosts for iodine, one of the more mobile radioactive waste elements. Trial compositions along the AFt and AFm joins in the systems 3CaO·Al₂O₃---CaSO₄---CaI₂---H₂O were investigated. No stable iodine end-member AFt phase was formed at room temperature. The end-member AFm phase, 3CaO·Al₂O₃·CaI₂·12H₂O, was synthesized and was designated monoiodide. Characterization was carried out using chemical analysis, scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction (conventional and high temperature), thermogravimetric analysis and differential thermal analysis. Monoiodide was indexed as hexagonal and thus isostructural with previously described AFm phases. Monoiodide is stable to about 85°C. A loss of approximately four molecules of water occurs between 71° and 101°C. The lower hydrate, tentatively identified as 3CaO·Al₂O₃·CaI₂·8H₂O, is stable to approximately 300°C. The latter hydrate was observed to revert to the original hydrate on exposure to the relative humidity in the laboratory.     

Periplaneta americana perception of phytochemical naphthoquinones as allelochemicals

Electrochemistry of malePeriplaneta americana perception of naphthoquinones as allelochemicals is presented. Importance of the oxidation-reduction potential and hydrogen-bonding capabilities of the naphtho-quinone messenger to its exchange of energy with the information-encoding, redox protein of the chemosensory neuron is considered. Evidence that the required information is initially encoded by an electroreactive protein in dendritic membrane is analyzed. A sulfhydryl-disulfide protein-based electrochemical mechanism for the demonstrated linear conversion of a molecular messenger energy state into whole insect behavior (avoidance or feeding inhibition) is elucidated. Even though the information-encoding mechanism is genetically conserved (kept electrochemically similar) within the species, behavioral biotypical differences regarding sensitivity to naphthoquinones are allowed through a group of proteins in the outer aqueous medium in the chemosensory sensillum. Such proteins electrochemically interface the dendritic membrane of the chemosensory neuron in the sensillum with the environment external to the sensillum. These interfacing proteins bind (complex) with chemical messengers (e.g., naphthoquinones) and/or variously degrade them, and thus determine the amount (moles) that is required in the environment to result in stimulation of the underlying sensory neurons and in a changed behavior.     

Development of a Weather Forecasting Code: A Case Study

Computational science is increasingly supporting advances in scientific and engineering knowledge. The unique constraints of these types of projects result in a development process that differs from the process more traditional information technology projects use. This article reports the results of the sixth case study conducted under the support of the Darpa High Productivity Computing Systems Program. The case study aimed to investigate the technical challenges of code development in this environment, understand the use of development tools, and document the findings as concrete lessons learned for other developers' benefit. The project studied here is a major component of a weather forecasting system of systems. It includes complex behavior and interaction of several individual physical systems (such as the atmosphere and the ocean). This article describes the development of the code and presents important lessons learned.     

Recent progress in thermoelectric nanocomposites based on solution-synthesized nanoheterostructures

Thermoelectric materials,which can convert waste heat into electricity,have received increasing research interest in recent years.This paper describes the recent progress in thermoelectric nanocomposites based on solution-synthesized nanoheterostructures.We start our discussion with the strategies of improving the power factor of a given material by using nanoheterostructures.Then we discuss the methods of decreasing thermal conductivity.Finally,we highlight a way of decoupling power factor and thermal conductivity,namely,incorporating phase-transition materials into a nanowire heterostructure.We have explored the lead telluride-copper telluride thermoelectric nanowire heterostructure in this work.Future possible ways to improve the figure of merit are discussed at the end of this paper.     

Spatiotemporal imaging of human brain activity using functional MRI constrained magnetoencephalography data: Monte Carlo simulations

The goal of our research is to develop an experimental and analytical framework for spatiotemporal imaging of human brain function. Preliminary studies suggest that noninvasive spatiotemporal maps of cerebral activity can be produced by combining the high spatial resolution (millimeters) of functional MRI (fMRI) with the high temporal resolution (milliseconds) of electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG). Although MEG and EEG are sensitive to millisecond changes in mental activity, the ability to resolve source localization and timing is limited by the ill-posed "inverse" problem. We conducted Monte Carlo simulations to evaluate the use of MRI constraints in a linear estimation inverse procedure, where fMRI weighting, cortical location and orientation, and sensor noise statistics were realistically incorporated. An error metric was computed to quantify the effects of fMRI invisible ("missing") sources, "extra" fMRI sources, and cortical orientation errors. Our simulation results demonstrate that prior anatomical and functional information from MRI can be used to regularize the EEG/MEG inverse problem, giving an improved solution with high spatial and temporal resolution. An fMRI weighting of approximately 90% was determined to provide the best compromise between separation of activity from correctly localized sources and minimization of error caused by missing sources. The accuracy of the estimate was relatively independent of the number and extent of the sources, allowing for incorporation of physiologically realistic multiple distributed sources. This linear estimation method provides an operator-independent approach for combining information from fMRI, MEG, and EEG and represents a significant advance over traditional dipole modeling.     

Variability and misclassification of worker estimated hand force

Ergonomic studies often use worker estimated hand force reproduced on a dynamometer to quantify force exposures but this method has not been well-studied in real work settings. This study evaluated the validity of worker estimates of hand force in a field study and determined the misclassification of worker estimated hand force exposures compared to directly measured forces. Eight experienced sheet metal assemblers completed ¼-inch diameter fastener installations using 6 different pneumatic tools. Grip forces were recorded by a pressure mat and were compared to worker estimated forces demonstrated on a dynamometer. Directly measured and worker estimated readings showed moderate correlations (0.53–0.67) for four installation tools and fair to moderate for two tools. The coefficient for variation of force estimates was 65% within repeated subject trials and 78% between averaged subject trials but 69% between subject trials during actual tool installations. Misclassification of worker estimated exposures varied by two cut-points: 29% using 4.0 kg and 49% using 6.0 kg. The force match procedure may provide adequate differentiation of high and low exposures in some settings, but is likely to result in substantial misclassification in other settings.     

Automated High Throughput Screening of Fluorescent Imaging Plate Reader (FLIPR) Assays Using Assay Platform™ Integrated with Activity Base for ‘on the fly’ Compound Reconfirmation

Advances in the field of automation have meant hitherto complex manual cell-based assays can now be automated. These improvements have brought significant enhancements in throughput, data fidelity and consistency, and allowed a reallocation of constrained resources.Building upon these improvements, we have linked our automated cell-based screening system, Assay Platform™, to Activity Base (IDBS), a software package designed to automate the analysis of HTS data. Customisation of this package has resulted in software that can identify ‘active’ compounds and re-pick them ‘on the fly’ from the original compound plates for triplicate re-testing without operator intervention.Based on an operator initially defining ‘normal’ parameters for assay activity in Activity Base, combined with an automated quality control software module that checks data fidelity, wells containing ‘active’ compounds can be re-picked and re-tested at the end of an automated screening run. Automating cell-based assays has significantly improved productivity, and, with the synergism of Activity Base, has given us greater power to complete each screening run and report ‘active’ compounds to Chemistry more rapidly. This article presents our approach to the automation of cell-based Fluorescent Imaging Plate Reader (FLIPR) screening together with automated active re-test confirmation using Activity Base.