Inorganic–organic hybrid materials are attracting a strong scientific interest mainly for their outstanding inherent mechanical and thermal properties, which can be traced back to the intimate coupling of both inorganic and organic components. By carefully choosing the experimental parameters used for their synthesis, chemically and thermally stable acrylate-based hybrid material embedding the zirconium oxocluster Zr4O4(OMc)12, where OMcCH2C(CH3)C(O)O, can be deposited as UV-cured films on aluminium alloys.
In particular, the molar ratios between the oxocluster and the monomer, the polymerisation time, the amount of photo-initiator and the deposition conditions, by using an home-made spray-coating equipment, were optimised in order to obtain the best performing layers in terms of transparency and hardness to coat aluminium alloy (AA1050, AA6060 and AA2024) sheets. Furthermore, it was also evaluated whether the hybrid coatings behave as barrier to corrosion.
Several coated samples were prepared and characterised. Environmental scanning electronic microscopy (ESEM) and scratch test were used to investigate the morphology of the films and to evaluate their scratch resistance, respectively. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was performed in order to evaluate if the coatings actually protect the metallic substrate from corrosion.
In order to measure shear storage modulus (G′) and loss modulus (G″) of the materials used for coatings, bulk samples were also obtained by UV-curing of the precursors solution. Dynamical mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) was performed in shear mode on cured disks of both the hybrid materials and pristine polymer for comparison. The values of Tg were read off as the temperatures of peak of loss modulus. The length and mass of all the samples were measured before and after the DMTA analysis, so that the shrinkage of the materials in that temperature range was exactly evaluated. 相似文献
Mate selection plays a crucial role in both natural and artificial systems. While traditional Evolutionary Algorithms (EA)
usually engage in random mating strategies, that is, mating chance is independent of genotypic or phenotypic distance between
individuals, in natural systems non-random mating is common, which means that somehow this mechanism has been favored during
the evolutionary process. In non-random mating, the individuals mate according to their parenthood or likeness. Previous studies
indicate that negative assortative mating (AM)—also known as dissortative mating—, which is a specific type of non-random mating, may improve EAs performance by maintaining the genetic diversity of the
population at a higher level during the search process. In this paper we present the Variable Dissortative Mating Genetic Algorithm (VDMGA). The algorithm holds a mechanism that varies the GA’s mating restrictions during the run by means of simple rule
based on the number of chromosomes created in each generation and indirectly influenced by the genetic diversity of the population.
We compare VDMGA not only with traditional Genetic Algorithms (GA) but also with two preceding non-random mating EAs: the
CHC algorithm and the negative Assortative Mating Genetic Algorithm (nAMGA). We intend to study the effects of the different methods in the performance of GAs and verify the reliability of
the proposed algorithm when facing an heterogeneous set of landscapes. In addition, we include the positive Assortative Mating Genetic Algorithm (pAMGA) in the experiments in order test both negative and positive AM mechanisms, and try to understand if and when negative
AM (or DM) speeds up the search process or enables the GAs to escape local optima traps. For these purposes, an extensive
set of optimization test problems was chosen to cover a variety of search landscapes with different characteristics. Our results
confirm that negative AM is effective in leading EAs out of local optima traps, and show that the proposed VDMGA is at least
as efficient as nAMGA when applied to the range of our problems, being more efficient in very hard functions were traditional
GAs usually fail to escape local optima. Also, scalability tests have been made that show VDMGA ability to decrease optimal
population size, thus reducing the amount of evaluations needed to attain global optima. We like to stress that only two parameters
need to be hand-tuned in VDMGA, thus reducing the tuning effort present in traditional GAs and nAMGA. 相似文献
A team of faculty members at the University of Denver changed the learning environment in key courses in the Department of Engineering from predominately teacher centered to student centered. Through this funded project new grading methods were implemented, classrooms were renovated and wired with studio layouts to facilitate learning, the Engineering Circuits Laboratory was rewired and instrumented for automated data acquisition and reporting, and two new pedagogical approaches were developed. At the onset of the project, six goals were established related to student learning. The introduction of industry standard hardware and software provided students with unprecedented hands‐on experience and project related activities stimulated faculty innovations in other current and future courses. Assessment results indicate that the new grading system improved the clarity of expectations for students before assignments were given resulting in increased reported motivation for learning in many courses. Even though course GPAs did not always reflect higher achievement on graded work, faculty members firmly believe that deeper understanding was achieved because more complex material was assimilated. 相似文献
The structure and rheological behavior of atactic poly(vinyl alcohol) (a-PVA) hydrogels prepared by freeze/thaw cycles were investigated as a function of polymer concentration and number of freeze/thaw cycles. The presence of phases with different mobilities was observed using 13C CP/MAS and DP/MAS NMR experiments. The degree of crystallinity of the a-PVA-rich phase was determined by 1H NMR free decay experiments. Measurements of the shear storage and loss modulus were performed at a fixed frequency of 1 Hz and a strain value of 0.1%, i.e. under conditions where the deformation imposed on the gel structure is entirely reversible. Results thus obtained showed that an increase in the number of freeze/thaw cycles induces an increase in the degree of crystallinity in the polymer-rich phase together with an increase in the storage modulus. The a-PVA hydrogels became more fragile as the number of freeze/thaw cycles was increased. Moreover, both the percentage of protons in a rigid environment measured by 1H NMR and the storage modulus values tended to a limiting value after six freeze/thaw cycles. These results show that the first five or six freeze/thaw cycles play a very important role in determining the hydrogel structure and rheological properties. A more detailed comparison of NMR and rheological data led to the conclusion that the storage modulus is mainly controlled by the a-PVA crystallinity while the hydrogen bond interactions have a much smaller contribution. 相似文献
As the antibiotic arsenal expands with the development of new oral agents, selecting appropriate therapy is becoming more difficult. What are the therapeutic indications for the newer antimicrobials, and what advantages do they have over traditional agents? Drs Gleckman and De La Rosa discuss current issues related to antibiotic treatment and offer specific recommendations for the best use of the newer agents. 相似文献
Aqueous extracts of the coralline red algaeBossiella orbigniana have been shown to catalyze the enzymatic oxidation of arachidonic acid to a previously unreported ω6 eicosapentaenoic acid
product. This unique fatty acid contains a conjugated tetraene with absorption maxima at 293, 306, and 321 nm, and was identified
by spectral methods as 5(Z),8(Z),10(E),12(E),14(Z)-eicosapentaenoic acid. The compound was given the trivial name bosseopentaenoic
acid. Under experimental conditions, production of bosseopentaenoic acid was linear up to 2 hr and dioxygen was consumed.
Bosseopentaenoic acid, along with several other conjugated tetraenes, was also present in the algae endogenously as revealed
by a comparison of the ultraviolet (UV) spectra and the high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) pattern of the purified
product and the organic extract ofBossiella. 相似文献