Two cases of scimitar variant

The scimitar sign is characteristic of partial anomalous pulmonary venous drainage into the inferior vena cava (IVC). We encountered two variant cases of scimitar sign. In one case, the scimitar vein entered both the IVC and the left atrium (LA) without any intracardiac shunts. Surgical repair was made by simple ligation of the scimitar vein to correct the left to right shunt. Retrograde balloon occlusion angiography of the scimitar vein was diagnostic. In the other case, the scimitar vein showed a meandering course, and then drained into the LA without any connection with the IVC, and surgical intervention was not required.     

Synthesis of polypropylene oligomer—clay intercalation compounds

The synthesis of polypropylene (PP) oligomer—clay intercalation compounds was studied by using three kinds of PP oligomers and organophylic clay. PP oligomers were two types of maleic-anhydride-modified PP oligomers containing different amount of maleic anhydride groups and one type of hydroxy modified PP oligomer. Organophylic clay was sodium-ion-exchanged montmorillonite with octadecylammonium ion (C18—Mt). PP oligomer was mixed with C18—Mt at 200°C. Maleic-anhydride-modified PP oligomer, which was of high acid value type, and hydroxy-modified PP oligomer were intercalated between silicate layers of clay; and PP oligomer—clay intercalation compounds were synthesized successfully. But maleic-anhydride-modified PP oligomer, which was of low acid value type, was not intercalated. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 66: 1781–1785, 1997     

Foam processing and cellular structure of polypropylene/clay nanocomposites

Polypropylene (PP)/clay nanocomposites (PPCNs) were autoclave‐foamed in a batch process. Foaming was performed using supercritical CO₂ at 10 MPa, within the temperature range from 130.6°C to 143.4°C, i.e., below the melting temperature of either PPCNs or maleic anhydride‐modified PP (PP‐MA) matrix without clay. The foamed PP‐MA and PPCN2 (prepared at 130.6°C and containing 2 wt% clay) show closed cell structures with pentagonal and/or hexagonal faces, while foams of PPCN4 and PPCN7.5 (prepared at 143.4°C, 4 and 7.5 wt% clay) had spherical cells. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed that foamed PPCNs had high cell density of 10⁷–10⁸ cells/mL, cell sizes in the range of 30–120 μm, cell wall thicknesses of 5–15 μm, and low densities of 0.05–0.3 g/mL. Interestingly, transmission electron microscopic observations of the PPCNs' cell structure showed biaxial flow‐induced alignment of clay particles along the cell boundary. In this paper, the correlation between foam structure and rheological properties of the PPCNs is also discussed.     

Initiator‐free photopolymerization of common acrylate monomers with 254 nm light

Using an available light source at a wavelength of 254 nm, common acrylate monomers were polymerized without any photoinitiators, which was confirmed using Fourier transform IR (FTIR) spectroscopy, ¹H NMR, gel permeation chromatography and fast atom bombardment mass spectrometric measurements. It was found that phenyl acrylate shows higher conversion than n‐ and t‐butyl acrylates. A trifunctional acrylate was also used for UV curing. The cured films were fabricated successfully on different kinds of substrates by using a batch‐ or conveyor‐type irradiation apparatus. It is indicated from FTIR spectral measurements that ca 40%–50% of acryloyl groups are consumed by the photopolymerization. Oxygen concentration in the sample chamber influences the photopolymerization, indicating that the polymerization proceeds via a radical process. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry     

Digalactosyldiacylglycerol is a major glycolipid in floral organs of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Petunia hybrida</Emphasis>

In higher plants, glycolipids such as monogalactosyldiacylglycerol (MGDG) and digalactosyldiacylglycerol (DGDG) are major components of chloroplast membranes in leaves. A recent study identified an isoform of MGDG synthase that is expressed specifically in floral organs, suggesting a novel function for glycolipids in flowers. To elucidate the localization and developmental changes of glycolipids and their biosynthetic activities in flowers, we carried out a series of analytical studies with Petunia hybrida. The results showed that the biosynthetic activities of galactolipid synthesis, particularly for DGDG, increased during flower development. Among the floral organs, the pistil had the highest galactolipid synthetic activity. Its specific activity for incorporation of UDP-galactose to yield galactolipids was estimated to be more than twice that of leaves, which are the major site of galactolipid synthesis in plant tissues. Analysis of lipid contents of pistils revealed that they contained higher amounts of galactolipids than other floral organs. Moreover, DGDG was more abundant than MGDG in both pistils and petals. These results show that DGDG is a major glycolipid in floral organs and that DGDG biosynthetic activity is highly upregulated in the pistils and petals of Petunia flowers.     

Analysis of a product recovery system

The continuous growth in consumer waste in recent years has seriously threatened the environment. Environmentally conscious manufacturing and product recovery has become an obligation to the environment and to society. Many countries are contemplating regulations that force manufacturers to take back used products from consumers so that the components and materials retrieved from the products may be reused and/or recycled. We focus on a product recovery system in a remanufacturing system. Product recovery aims to minimize the amount of waste sent to landfills by recovering materials and parts from old or outdated products by means of recycling and remanufacturing. It should be considered when designing and managing the manufacturing systems. We propose a new analytical approach to evaluating the product recovery system with stochastic variability. This model applies the traditional inventory theory to the production/inventory management with consideration for disposal and return. The system is formulated by a discrete time Markov chain. It is composed of the states denoted by the number of the inventory, the transition probabilities between states and the costs associated with the transitions. Using the Markov analysis, we can calculate the total expected average cost per period exactly. Numerical examples are given to show the property of the management system and optimize the product recovery system.     

Synthesis of calcium phosphate hydrogel from waste incineration fly ash and bone powder

Waste incineration fly ash and bone powder could be successfully recycled into calcium phosphate hydrogel, a type of fast proton conductor. Various properties of the intermediate and calcium phosphate hydrogel from them were characterized and compared with that from calcium carbonate reagent. It was found that the intermediate from the incineration fly ash and calcium phosphate glass was more brittle than that from bone powder and calcium carbonate reagent. The electric conductivity of crystallized hydrogel obtained from all raw materials increases exponentially with temperature. However, the crystallized hydrogel from incineration fly ash has lower electric conductivity and lower crystallinity than that from bone powder and the reagent. Moreover, the difference in electric conductivity between these crystallized hydrogels decreases with temperature. Compared with using the reagent as a raw material, bone powder provides a 25% reduction in the usage of H(3)PO(4) to acquire the crystallized hydrogel which has the highest conductivity. These experimental results suggest that the incineration fly ash and bone powder are useful calcium sources for the synthesis of calcium phosphate hydrogel.     

Quasi-radial basis functions applied to boundary element solutions for the Grad–Shafranov equation

The Grad–Shafranov equation for axisymmetric fusion plasma has been transformed into a boundary integral equation by expanding the inhomogeneous current density term into a set of ‘quasi’-radial basis functions (RBFs). These quasi-RBFs are derived in such a way that a particular solution for the Grad–Shafranov equation will be a simple Gaussian function. Two or three stages of eigenvalue iterations are required together with a nonlinear optimization to update the scaling factor of each quasi-RBF. It has been found that excellent accuracy of the boundary element solution can be realized with a small number of quasi-RBFs when adopting RBF-dependent scaling factors.