Continuous precipitation of calcium sulfate dihydrate from waste sulfuric acid and lime

Precipitation of calcium sulfate dihydrate, gypsum, from (i) a pure sulfuric acid/lime suspension and (ii) a waste sulfuric acid/lime suspension in a continuous pilot plant in the temperature range from 40 °C to 80 °C was studied. It was observed that in the case of waste sulfuric acid with a high content of Mg²⁺ and Fe²⁺ ions, several hours after the beginning of the precipitation, partial dissolution of the product and modification of the crystals from needle‐ and plate‐like to agglomerated structures occurred. It is suggested that the secondary changes occur due to the increased concentration of Mg²⁺ and Fe²⁺ ions in the reactor. Below 60 °C, and above 70 °C plate‐like and needle‐like single crystals respectively were formed. The mean size (d₅₀) of the crystals was found to increase with increasing temperature and decrease with the initial concentration of lime. Gypsum produced between 70 °C and 80 °C is suitable for further processing for construction plaster. In a precipitation process with pure sulfuric acid only single perfect needle‐like crystals occurred. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

Mapping the Characteristics of a 'Good' Play Therapist.

In this pilot study, concept mapping, a methodological approach combining qualitative and quantitative analytic strategies, was used to identify the therapist qualities, competencies, and skills necessary for effective play therapy outcomes as perceived by a sub-sample of 28 experienced play therapists who are members of the Association for Play Therapy (APT). The clusters associated with the therapeutic relationship and facilitative skills (e.g., empathy, warmth, and genuineness) were rated as the most essential skills to possess and also as the most difficult to develop. In contrast, the clusters associated with play therapy interventions and theories were rated as the least important skills to possess but as the easiest to acquire. The findings are discussed, with implications for therapeutic practice, research, and policy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fluage à long terme du bois fléchi en grandeur structurale

Résumé Cet article présente un modèle permettant de calculer le fluage de poutres fléchies de différentes sections soumises à des environnements variables en ce qui concerne l'humidité relative. Ce modèle est utilisé ici pour interpréter de nouveaux essais à long terme sur des poutres en bois massif et lamellé-collé qui ont été chargées pendant plus de 800 jours en conditions extérieures sous abri à Paris

---

Summary Long term bending experiments on full size timber and glulam beams have been carried out under external and sheltered climatic conditions in Paris, and more than two years of test results on the creep behaviour of 75 beams are available. A model for predicting the long term mechanical behaviour of timber under variable humidity and load conditions, previously developed by the author, is described. The model is based on transient moisture transfer analysis linked with deformation analysis using a step-by-step computation scheme, and has been compared previously with experiments carried out under laboratory conditions of controlled variable climates by the author as well as with test results obtained from several other institutions. In general, the model has agreed satisfactorily with the experimental results. In the present paper the model is compared with experiments on full size beams carried out under the changeable conditions of a natural climate. The results show that, for low stress levels and corresponding loads, the model provides a reasonable prediction of the end creep levels after two years of loading.

     

Differences in cytocompatibility,dynamics of the oxide layers’ formation,and nickel release between superelastic and thermo-activated nickel–titanium archwires

Superelastic (SE) and thermo-activated (TA) nickel–titanium (NiTi) archwires are used in everyday orthodontic practice, based on their acceptable biocompatibility and well-defined shape memory properties. However, the differences in their surface microstructure and cytotoxicity have not been clearly defined, and the standard cytotoxicity tests are too robust to detect small differences in the cytotoxicity of these alloys, all of which can lead to unexpected adverse reactions in some patients. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that the differences in manufacture and microstructure of commercially available SE and TA archwires may influence their biocompatibility. The archwires were studied as-received and after conditioning for 24 h or 35 days in a cell culture medium under static conditions. All of the tested archwires, including their conditioned medium (CM), were non-cytotoxic for L929 cells, but Rematitan SE (both as received and conditioned) induced the apoptosis of rat thymocytes in a direct contact. In contrast, TruFlex SE and Equire TA increased the proliferation of thymocytes. The cytotoxic effect of Rematitan SE correlated with the higher release of Ni ions in CM, higher concentration of surface Ni and an increased oxygen layer thickness after the conditioning. In conclusion, the apoptosis assay on rat thymocytes, in contrast to the less sensitive standard assay on L929 cells, revealed that Rematitan SE was less cytocompatible compared to other archwires and the effect was most probably associated with a higher exposition of the cells to Ni on the surface of the archwire, due to the formation of unstable oxide layer.     

Random binary search tree with equal elements

We consider random binary search trees when the input consists of a multiset, i.e. a set with multiple occurrences of equal elements, and prove that the randomized insertion and deletion algorithms given by Martínez and Roura (1998) [4] produce random search trees regardless of multiplicities; even if all the elements are equal during the tree updates, a search tree will maintain its randomness. Thus, equal elements do not degenerate a random search tree and they need not to be handled in any special way. We consider also stability of a search tree with respect to its inorder traversal and prove that the algorithms used produce stable trees. This implies an implicit indexing of equal elements giving another proof that multiplicities do not pose problems when maintaining random binary search trees.     

Overlap-freeness in infinite partial words

We prove that there exist infinitely many infinite overlap-free binary partial words containing at least one hole. Moreover, we show that these words cannot contain more than one hole and the only hole must occur either in the first or in the second position. We define that a partial word is $k$-overlap-free if it does not contain a factor of the form $xyxyx$ where the length of $x$ is at least $k$. We prove that there exist infinitely many 2-overlap-free binary partial words containing an infinite number of holes.     

Formulation of consistent restoring stiffness in ship hydroelastic analysis

In this article, the role of the restoring stiffness, as one of the basic parameters in ship hydroelastic analysis, is brought out. It is formulated using the variational principle and the method of virtual displacements. It is shown that asymmetry of the restoring stiffness is a physical reality. Moreover, it is confirmed that modal variation, still disputed in the relevant literature, has to be taken into account to satisfy the ship’s stability. Consistent stiffness is formulated here by regarding stiffness definition as relation between forces and displacements. Hybrid stiffness known from the literature is wrong since some terms are specified as relation between forces and displacement gradient. Influence of the consistent and symmetrized stiffness matrix, and the hybrid one, on dynamic response is illustrated for a prismatic pontoon and a large container ship. It is found that the latter two matrices do not assure convergence of transfer functions of sectional forces to zero value as the wave frequency approaches zero. The rigid body and elastic responses are compared, and pertinent conclusions are drawn. It is also shown that it is not necessary to use the unified geometric and restoring stiffness for ordinary hydroelastic analysis of ship structures. The consistent formulation of the restoring stiffness matrix will be useful for extending linear potential theory hydrodynamic codes for rigid body analysis to deformable bodies.     

Optimized preparation of alumina based fillers for tuning composite properties

Alumina based particles were prepared from aluminium chloride hydroxide as starting material by sol-gel technique. One series of particles was doped with ferrous oxide. Both series of particles were calcinated at three different temperatures: 700?°C, 800?°C and 900?°C. Poly(methyl methacrylate), PMMA, was used as a matrix and two different types of alumina based particles were added into the matrix to form the composites. All composites consisted of 3?wt% of alumina based particles. The aim of this study was to examine whether and how the temperature of particle calcination affects the microhardness and mechanical properties of the composite. The particles were characterized by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) and physical absorption methods. The morphology of the composites was examined using a field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). The microhardness of composites was measured using a traditional Vickers hardness (HV) method. The mechanical characteristics of obtained composites were determined using tensile test and impact testing.     

SymbolChat: A flexible picture-based communication platform for users with intellectual disabilities

Persons with intellectual disabilities benefit from participating in the modern information society, especially the World Wide Web, social media and Internet-mediated communication services. Although several computer-based prototypes and commercial systems have been introduced for accessible in-person communication, currently few applications and services exist to support synchronous remote communication for this user group. We introduce SymbolChat, a software platform that supports the creation of multimodal communication applications utilizing picture-based instant messaging. End users and their support personnel can customize the input and output features of the application based on their individual needs and abilities. The interaction is based on touchscreen input and speech output using speech synthesis technology. The SymbolChat platform was developed together with the prospective end users and practitioners in the field of special needs care.We evaluated the prototype application in a field study with nine users with varying degrees of intellectual and other disabilities. The results clearly indicate that the participants were able to express themselves in spontaneous communication using a large-scale picture-based vocabulary (around 2000 symbols) even without prior training in the use of symbols. This finding was supported in the constructive feedback gathered from professionals working in the area. We also successfully applied methodology from other settings, such as child-computer interaction to evaluate interaction in this challenging context.Overall, the results show that social inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities can be improved with customizable communication tools. The implemented communication platform forms a solid basis for further improvements and new communication services. In addition, we found that users with motor impairments would greatly benefit from alternative input and output methods for symbol browsing and selection.     

A 3D moisture-stress FEM analysis for time dependent problems in timber structures

This paper presents a 3D moisture-stress numerical analysis for timber structures under variable humidity and load conditions. An orthotropic viscoelastic-mechanosorptive material model is specialized on the basis of previous models. Both the constitutive model and the equations needed to describe the moisture flow across the structure are implemented into user subroutines of the Abaqus finite element code and a coupled moisture-stress analysis is performed for several types of mechanical loads and moisture changes. The presented computational approach is validated by analyzing some wood tests described in the literature and comparing the computational results with the reported experimental data.