Study on compatibility of recycled polypropylene/high-density polyethylene blends using rheology

The compatibilization of recycled polypropylene (PP) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) was studied using two types of compatibilizers: 5 wt% PP-grafted-maleic anhydride (5 wt% MAPP) and 5 wt% HDPE-grafted-maleic anhydride (5 wt% MAHDPE), using a cone and plate rheometer. Maleic anhydride (MAH) was grafted onto PP or HDPE via peroxide initiated melt grafting technique. Blends containing highest amount of pure HDPE exhibited maximum values for tensile strength, complex viscosity, dynamic and loss modulus compared to similar blends developed using recycled HDPE. The latter properties of all the compatibilized blends were higher compared to that of uncompatibilized blends. Studies on rheology of the pure and recycled polymer and its compatibilized blends have thrown some light on the molecular weight distribution of these materials. High shear yielding characteristics were noted for MAHDPE compatibilized blends containing high percentage of HDPE. Scanning electron microscopy showed that blends containing a high percentage of HDPE and HDPE based compatibilizer exhibit a dispersed morphology. Fourier transform infrared spectrometer characterization was conducted to check if compatibilization occurred between recycled PP and HDPE.     

Disaster-survivable cloud-network mapping

Cloud-computing services are provided to consumers through a network of servers and network equipment. Cloud-network (CN) providers virtualize resources [e.g., virtual machine (VM) and virtual network (VN)] for efficient and secure resource allocation. Disasters are one of the worst threats for CNs as they can cause massive disruptions and CN disconnection. A disaster may also induce post-disaster correlated, cascading failures which can disconnect more CNs. Survivable virtual-network embedding (SVNE) approaches have been studied to protect VNs against single physical-link/-node and dual physical-link failures in communication infrastructure, but massive disruptions due to a disaster and their consequences can make SVNE approaches insufficient to guarantee cloud-computing survivability. In this work, we study the problem of survivable CN mapping from disaster. We consider risk assessment, VM backup location, and post-disaster survivability to reduce the risk of failure and probability of CN disconnection and the penalty paid by operators due to loss of capacity. We formulate the proposed approach as an integer linear program and study two scenarios: a natural disaster, e.g., earthquake and a human-made disaster, e.g., weapons-of-mass-destruction attack. Our illustrative examples show that our approach reduces the risk of CN disconnection and penalty up to 90 % compared with a baseline CN mapping approach and increases the CN survivability up to 100 % in both scenarios.     

Fatty acid accumulation in the different fractions of the developing corn kernel

In the food industry, the use of the oil is determined by the composition of fatty acids, and this is highly dependent on its natural origin. The fatty acid composition of whole corn kernel was determined in three varieties of corn (Astro, GH2547, and Local). Linoleic acid was the predominant fatty acid in the oil of Astro and Local at all collection dates, whereas it was the major fatty acid in the oil of GH2547 only between 40 and 60 days after pollination (DAP). The fatty acid accumulation in the endosperm, pericarp and germ fractions of the corn kernel during maturation was determined. The accumulation pattern of oil content was different in these three kernel fractions. The highest levels of oil content in the endosperm (2.2%), germ (34.3%) and pericarp (10.8%) fractions were detected at 20, 40 and 30 (DAP), respectively. The fatty acid accumulation patterns were different amongst the analysed kernel parts, indicating a numerous differences between the three corn kernel parts. Throughout the sampling periods, the endosperm fraction was distinguished by the highest and the lowest levels of oleic and linoleic acids, respectively. At all stages of kernel development, the pericarp fraction had the highest levels of total polyunsaturated fatty acids, which has numerous healthy applications. These results may be useful in the understanding of the potential source of the beneficial unsaturated fatty acids amongst the different fractions of the corn kernel during maturation.     

Design of RF MEMS Based Oscillatory Neural Network for Ultra High Speed Associative Memories

Microelectromechanical systems are utilized alongside with transistor amplifiers and resistive connections for implementing of oscillatory associative memories. Phase locking is studied in such a network and all requirements of the circuit level implementation are satisfied. A very high gain trans-impedance amplifier operating in 1 GHz in addition to a novel automatic amplitude control circuit is employed to remove amplitude dynamics of the system. Requiring resonator characteristics are extracted and calculated as well. A new method for initialization of the network is proposed. Each neuron consumes 1.08 mW from a 1.8 V power supply. The convergence time of a typical network trained by Hebbian rule is less than 1.5 ns which results in an ultra high speed analog signal processing system.     

Heart rate variability in low birth weight growth restricted children during sleep and wake stages

Intrauterine growth restricted (IUGR) individuals have greater predisposition to develop a metabolic syndrome in later life manifesting itself as obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease. Poor fetal growth may alter the regularity mechanism of cardiac autonomic system that is involved in the development of these diseases. The malfunctioning of the cardiac autonomic system assessed by decrease in heart rate variability (HRV) is associated with negative cardiovascular outcomes. This study is aimed at investigating the risk of development of coronary heart disease in IUGR children in later life. For that purpose HRV analysis of normal and growth restricted children was performed during sleep and wake stages. The study group consisted of 9–10 years old, 32 normal, 20 low birth weight IUGR children. The standard time domain HRV metrics (mean RR, SDNN, RMSSD, NN50 and pNN50) and Poincaré indices (SD₁ and SD₂) were used to analyse and compare the RR-interval time series of these groups. The IUGR children showed lower HRV as compared with normal children during both sleep and wake stages. The significantly decreased HRV during sleep provide an evidence of autonomic derangement that may be associated with higher risk of lethal arrhythmias in the IUGR children in later life.     

Copper activated LiF nanorods as TLD material for high exposures of gamma-rays

Lithium fluoride (LiF) doped with proper activators is a highly sensitive phosphor commonly used for radiation dosimetry using thermoluminescence (TL) technique. Nanorods of this material activated with Cu, Mg and P as single dopants are synthesized in our laboratory and exposed to gamma-rays for their thermoluminescence (TL) properties. The induced TL glow curves of the Cu, Mg and P doped samples are similar with a single peak at 410 K. Copper doped sample is found to be the most sensitive sample with TL intensity around 65, 7 and 8 times of those of LiF:Mg, LiF:P and LiF:Mg,Cu,P, respectively, indicating that Cu is the luminescence center in the host of LiF nanorods, while Mg and P act as TL quencher particularly when used as codopants. These observations on the nanostructured form of LiF doped with these activators are entirely different from those of the widely studied LiF:Mg,Cu,P and LiF:Mg,Ti single crystals. The nanorods of LiF:Cu might be used for heavy doses measurement as they are sensitive to gamma-rays and have a linear TL response curve in a long span of exposures.     

The advanced set-up and control system for Dofasco's tandem coldmill

The new coupled pickle line and cold mill (CPCM) has been processing steel since December 1991 at Dofasco Inc. in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. This mill rolls both sheet and tin plate. The work rolls for the last stand are often textured by grit blasting to roll “matte” finished strip. A new computer-targeted control system was developed for the roll speeds and gaps, specifically for matte rolling. The new set-up system uses Stone's model, which is more appropriate for the limited reductions evident with the rougher rolls. Conventional automatic gauge control (AGC) systems using thickness measurements after the last stand are limited in performance by the effect of long transport delays. These limitations are particularly critical during mill acceleration and deceleration. The use of a thickness gauge before the stand with matte rolls allows the development of AGC systems using shorter control loops for final gauge control. The AGC system uses a Smith predictor for transport lag, (phase shift), and compensation. The combination of the shorter AGC loop and the Smith predictor allows higher gains to be used in the control system. This set-up and control system has contributed to Dofasco's position as a market leader in thickness performance     

ECG anomalies and axis deviations in heart transplant recipients: MRI studies]

Side effects of morphine are common when given in titrated doses to control severe pain in advanced cancer. We report a case series of acutely ill cancer patients suffering from pain, complications of advanced disease, and opioid side effects. They were treated with intravenous (i.v.) ketorolac along with i.v. morphine using repeated dosing. Excellent pain relief with improvement in the opioid bowel syndrome was achieved. We found it possible to switch from IV ketorolac to oral ketorolac along with oral morphine for long-term pain control. Ketorolac can be well tolerated in high-dose, long-term use even in this frail patient population. An algorithm is presented for the suggested use of ketorolac as a morphine sparing agent. Potential methods for studying ketorolac further in this role are discussed.