Effect of Milling on Slip Casting of Partially Stabilized Zirconia

Specimens of partially stabilized zirconia were slip cast from aqueous suspensions and sintered at 1500°C for 3 h. The relative density of the cast specimens and the firing shrinkage of the sintered specimens depend on the milling time for the suspension. Vickers hardness and K_IC values of 11.46±s0.07 GN/m² and 6.10 ±0.04 MN.m^3/2, respectively, were obtained for all sintered specimens. The dispersion of the suspension is important in increasing the relative density of the cast specimens.     

Efficacy of interferons in treating children with chronic hepatitis C

Twenty-two children with chronic hepatitis serologically positive for hepatitis C virus (HCV) were treated with interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha). Liver biopsy showed chronic active hepatitis in 13 and chronic persistent hepatitis in 9 patients. A sustained clearance of HCV was observed in 8/22 children 12 months after the administration of IFN-alpha for 26 weeks, associated with normalization of HCV core antibody. Of these eight patients six had HCV genotype III and two HCV genotype II or IV. Hepatitis relapsed in seven other patients after completion of IFN-alpha with an increase in HCV core antibody titre, five with HCV genotype II, and two with HCV genotype III or IV. A second course of IFN-alpha suppressed the reactivation of HCV in all seven patients. Three of seven responders who relapsed after the first course remained negative for HCV RNA 12 months after their second course of IFN-alpha. However, the remaining four patients with HCV genotype II again relapsed after completing their second course of IFN-alpha. Seven children with the HCV genotype II resistant to IFN, including 8 weeks of IFN-beta administration, and showed no significant reduction in HCV core antibody titre. CONCLUSION: The genotype of HCV (III) and a reduction in the core antibody titre appear to be useful parameters for predicting the response to IFN-alpha therapy.     

Percutaneous lumbar nucleotomy

The nature of the events whereby the reactive intermediates resulting from the bioactivation of bromobenzene and furosemide induce hepatotoxicity is unknown. To examine a role for disturbances in intracellular calcium homeostasis, secondary to a depletion in cellular reduced glutathione (GSH) and reduced protein thiols (PSHs), isolated mouse hepatocytes were exposed to cytotoxic concentrations of bromobenzene or furosemide. Cytosolic calcium concentration, as well as thiol status, was determined. The incubation of hepatocytes with 3.0 mM bromobenzene, and subsequent additions (1.2 mM) of the agent every hour, resulted in significant GSH depletion. The loss of plasma membrane integrity at 1.5 h preceded both a rise in the cytosolic Ca2+ concentration and depletion of total PSH content. Furosemide (1.0 mM) produced a 70% depletion in cellular GSH content in isolated hepatocytes. The initiation of cell damage occurred concurrently with both a rise in the cytosolic Ca2+ concentration and a depletion of total PSH content 4 h following furosemide addition. Since the increase in cytosolic Ca2+ did not precede cytotoxicity, these results do not support an initiating role for Ca2+ deregulation in bromobenzene and furosemide hepatotoxicities. In addition, depletion of PSH content did not correlate with bromobenzene- or furosemide-induced cytotoxicity.     

Electrochemical reduction of nitrate on Pt(S)[n(1 1 1) × (1 1 1)] electrodes in perchloric acid solution

The electrochemical reduction of nitrate ion was studied by cyclic voltammetry on Pt(1 1 1) and [n(1 1 1) × (1 1 1)] stepped Pt surfaces, where n (=14, 10, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2) is the number of terrace atoms, in 0.1 M HClO₄ + 10 mM KNO₃. The electrocatalytic nitrate reduction was found to hardly proceed on Pt(1 1 1) in the hydrogen adsorption region, while the electrocatalytic activity was improved with the increase in the step density. Inactivation was observed in the presence of adsorbed hydrogen or nitrate-derived reduced adsorbate, i.e. adsorbed NO, on (1 1 1) step sites. It was, therefore, concluded that the electrocatalytically active NO₃⁻ species does not adsorb on the (1 1 1) terraces but on the (1 1 1) monoatomic steps. The nitrate reduction current increased with the step density in a non-linear relationship. The overall current density at 0.21 V (RHE) corresponding to the peak potential of the main electrocatalytic nitrate reduction wave which was maximum at n = 2, abruptly increased with short terraces, i.e. n < 5, where the current wave of adsorbed hydrogen on the Pt stepped surface with comparatively narrow (1 1 1) terraces, denoted as H_nt, also appeared unmodified for n < 5 on voltammograms recorded in 0.1 M HClO₄ in the absence of nitrate.     

Separation of Polyvinyl Chloride from Plastic Mixture by Froth Flotation after Surface Modification with Ozone

Selective modification by ozonation for the surface of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) was evaluated to separate PVC from the other plastics, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polycarbonate (PC) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), with almost the same density as PVC by the froth flotation process. Ozonation could selectively decrease the contact angles of flexible PVC from 87.5 degrees to 68.4 degrees and rigid PVC from 90.3 degrees to 66.9 degrees, whereas little decreases in the contact angle were observed for other plastics. This would be due to the replacement of the chloride group on the surface of PVC, into hydrophilic functional groups; carbonyl, carboxyl and ester group. The PVC was successfully separated from the other plastics by the froth flotation process after the selective surface modification by ozonation.     

Preparation of composite particles made from solid powders and wasted plastics by semichemical recycle method

Composite particles composed of solid powders and polymer were prepared by semichemical recycle of wasted plastics. Waste expanded polystyrene was used as raw materials of polymer matrix of composite particles. Both magnetite and silicon carbide powders were used as solid powders to give thermal and electric conductivity and magnetization, respectively. In the experiment, the oil‐phase dissolving expanded polystyrene was dispersed in fine droplets into the continuous water phase. Two kinds of powders were added at the same time or separately in the O/W dispersion. Composite particles were found to have the structure that polymer particle was covered with two kinds of solid powders. The mean diameter of composite particles and the content of each solid powder were strongly affected by the addition time when silicon carbide powder was added into the dispersion. Furthermore, it was found that the gradient adhesion layer due to two solid powders was able to be formed on the surface of polymer particle. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 88: 483–488, 2003     

TransCAIP: A Live 3D TV System Using a Camera Array and an Integral Photography Display with Interactive Control of Viewing Parameters

The system described in this paper provides a real-time 3D visual experience by using an array of 64 video cameras and an integral photography display with 60 viewing directions. The live 3D scene in front of the camera array is reproduced by the full-color, full-parallax autostereoscopic display with interactive control of viewing parameters. The main technical challenge is fast and flexible conversion of the data from the 64 multicamera images to the integral photography format. Based on image-based rendering techniques, our conversion method first renders 60 novel images corresponding to the viewing directions of the display, and then arranges the rendered pixels to produce an integral photography image. For real-time processing on a single PC, all the conversion processes are implemented on a GPU with GPGPU techniques. The conversion method also allows a user to interactively control viewing parameters of the displayed image for reproducing the dynamic 3D scene with desirable parameters. This control is performed as a software process, without reconfiguring the hardware system, by changing the rendering parameters such as the convergence point of the rendering cameras and the interval between the viewpoints of the rendering cameras.     

Broadband Tuning of a Continuous-Wave, Doubly Resonant, Lithium Triborate Optical Parametric Oscillator from 791 to 1620 nm

We report the use of extreme broadband, high reflectivity >99.5%, optical parametric oscillator (OPO) cavity mirrors. A continuous-wave, doubly resonant, OPO demonstrated tuning over a range of 791-1620 nm with a single mirror set. Wavelength tuning was performed by temperature tuning the nonlinear material of lithium triborate. Narrow linewidth oscillation was confirmed throughout the tuning range, and threshold pump power increased gradually from 50 mW near the degeneracy to 800 mW at the tuning band edge in a double-pass pumping configuration.