Synthesis of poly(methylmethacrylate)/montmorillonite nanocomposites via in situ intercalative suspension and emulsion polymerization

Summary Na-montmorillonite (MMT) with cation exchange capacity (CEC) of 90 mEq/100g was converted to MMT-CTAB and MMT-CPC forms by the intercalation of Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and Cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC), respectively. The intercalation of these surfactants onto the basal space of the montmorillonite was evidenced by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and x-ray diffraction (XRD). The intercalation of the CPC expanded the basal space from 12.19 A^o to 21.47 A^o while in case of CTAB it was expanded to 19.35 A^o only. The (MMT-CPC) was subsequently used as a host for the preparation of PMMA nanocomposites via intercalative suspension and emulsion polymerization of methylmethacrylate (MMA) using benzoyl peroxide (BPO) and potassium persulphate (PPS) individually and simultaneously. The use of BPO and PPS together invoked better exfoliation but the yield did not change appreciably in comparison with using either of the initiators alone. Different structures were obtained with the variation of the preparation conditions; exfoliated and intercalated nanocomposites which were characterized by XRD, transmission electron microscope (TEM), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The resultant nanocomposites exhibited improved thermal stability relative to the equivalent macrocomposites. No glass transition temperature (Tg) could be detected for the prepared nanocomposites which was assumed to result from the restricted molecular motion of the polymer chains.     

Synchronization-Sensitive Frame Estimation: Video Quality Enhancement

Network transmission is liable to errors and data loss. In movie transmission, packets of video frames are subject to loss or even explicit elimination for many reasons including congestion handling and the achievement of higher compression. Not only does the loss of video frames cause significant reduction in video quality, but it could also cause a loss of synchronization between the audio and video streams. If not corrected, this cumulative loss can seriously degrade the motion picture's quality beyond viewers' tolerance. In this paper, we study and classify the effect of audio-video de-synchronization. Afterwards, we develop and examine the performance and appropriateness of the application of many client-based techniques in the estimation of lost frames using the existing received frames, without the need for retransmissions or error control information. The estimated frames are injected at their appropriate locations in the movie stream to restore the loss. The objective is to enhance video quality by finding a very close estimate to the original frames at a suitable computation cost, and to contribute to the restoration of synchronization within the tolerance level of viewers.     

Development of switching principles and phase comparison techniques for distance protective schemes

The paper represents further work on phase comparison techniques by the same author. Two techniques are reported here. The first one describes a new principle of operation employed for the main functions of starting elements for fault detection and selection of phase(s). The principle is based on a process of phase comparison accomplished between comparison quantities derived from the three symmetrical components of line current relative to only one phase of the protected line section. Fault detection and phase selection are achieved by delivering nine distinct orders from the starting element corresponding to the nine cases of asymmetrical faults. The starting element based on this principle reduces the switching time to 3.33 ms.The second technique is concerned with phase comparison techniques to improve the security and reliability of the high-speed comparator described previously by the same author. The modus operandi consists of continuously monitoring the coincidence of compared comparison periods derived from the two relaying signals and simultaneously the non-coincidence of another set of compared comparison periods derived from the same relaying signals. Fault detection is achieved by delivering a trigger output from the comparator corresponding to non-coincidence of the first set and coincidence of the second set of comparison periods.     

BER improvement of PRCPM in mobile radio channels withdiscriminator detection using decision feedback equalization

The authors investigate the bit error rate (BER) improvement of partial-response continuous-phase modulation (PRCPM) signals in mobile radio channels, when decision feedback equalization (DFE) to cancel the effect of intersymbol interference (ISI) of one adjacent bit is added to the limiter discriminator. A closed-form expression for the average probability of error as a function of the Doppler shift is derived for discriminator detection with decision feedback. Numerical results are presented to compare the BER performance of discriminator detection with and without feedback equalization     

Determination of trace metals in cottonseed oil and hydrogenated cottonseed oil

The main vegetable oils used in Egypt are cottonseed oil and hydrogenated cottonseed oil; these are used as salad oil and for cooking. Determination of trace heavy metals in the oils is important. This is because of the association of trace metals with the origin of the oils, metal processing equipment and catalysts used for hydrogenation, and toxicity of edible oils, and because of the effect of trace metals on the characteristics, such as colour and taste, of finished products.Iron, copper, aluminium and magnesium were found in the cottonseed oil. These metals were also found in the hydrogenated cottonseed oil, together with lead, silver and calcium. The amounts of metals were below the limits permitted by public health and safety regulations.     

Fusion-fission hybrid design with analysis of direct enrichment and non-proliferation features (the SOLASE-H study)

The role of a fusion-fission hybrid in the context of a nuclear economy with and without reprocessing is examined. An inertial confinement fusion driver is assumed and a consistent set of reactor parameters are developed. The form of the driver is not critical, however, to the general concepts. The use of the hybrid as a fuel factory within a secured fuel production and reprocessing center is considered. Either the hybrid or a low power fission reactor can be used to mildly irradiate fuel prior to shipment to offsite reactors thereby rendering the fuel resistant to diversion. A simplified economic analysis indicates a hybrid providing fuel to 10 fission reactors of equal thermal power is insensitive to the recirculating power fraction provided reprocessing is permitted. If reprocessing is not allowed, the hybrid can be used to directly enrich light water reactor fuel bundles fabricated initially from fertile fuel (either ThO₂ or ²³⁸UO₂). A detailed neutronic analysis indicates such direct enrichment is feasible but the support ratio for ²³³U or ²³⁹Pu production is only 2, making such an approach highly sensitive to the hybrid cost. The hybrid would have to produce considerable net power for economic feasibility in this case. Inertial confinement fusion performance requirements for hybrid application are also examined and an integrated design, SOLASE-H, is described based upon the direct enrichment concept.     

Navigator echo motion artifact suppression in synthetic aperture ultrasound imaging

We develop a simple yet effective technique for motion artifact suppression in ultrasound images reconstructed from multiple acquisitions. Assuming a rigid-body motion model, a navigator echo is computed for each acquisition and then registered to estimate the motion in between acquisitions. By detecting this motion, it is possible to compensate for it in the reconstruction step to obtain images that are free of lateral motion artifacts. The theory and practical implementation details are described and the performance is analyzed using computer simulations as well as real data. The results indicate the potential of the new method for real-time implementation in lower cost ultrasound imaging systems.