Ionomer composites based on sepiolite/hydrogenated poly(styrene butadiene) block copolymer systems

Ionomeric composites based on sepiolite and hydrogenated poly(styrene butadiene) block copolymer were obtained and characterized from a microstructural and electrical point of view. Before blending, because of the high silanol group concentration in the sepiolite, the latter could be organophilized with suitable coupling agents. The resulting materials were easily processed into thin films or membranes 0.2–0.4 mm thick, their conductivity in some cases approaching 10^?1 S/cm. Their suitability for film formation and good electrical properties indicate potential applications as electrolytes in polymer fuel cells. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 86: 3512–3519, 2002     

Opinions regarding the importance of body image disorders in the development and in the course of eating disorders

The article presents a review of most important research results as well as opinions about the role and importance of body image disturbances in the development and the course of eating disorders. It also contains a review of definitions of body image, and techniques used in the evaluation of this type of disorders.     

Pre-operational environmental survey at the uranium mine and mill site,Poços de Caldas,Minas Gerais,Brazil

The first Brazilian uranium mine and mill are located on the Poços de Caldas plateau, in the Central State of Minas Gerais. The pre-operational environmental survey was carried out over a period of two years by the Brazilian Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN), through the Instituto de Radioproteção e Dosimetria (IRD). The selection of the materials to be monitored, the sampling points and the radionuclides to be analysed were based on critical parameters taking into account the meteorological and hydrological characteristics of the site as well as land use. The results obtained are sufficient to characterize the environmental background of the area, and will allow an assessment of the environmental impact due to the operation of the facility and an evaluation of the adequacy of the effluent emmission control measures. In relation to their contribution to the population dose, the results indicated that ²²⁶Ra and ²¹⁰Pb will be the important radionuclides.     

The composition of volatile extractives from the wood of Juniperus excelsa, Juniperus foetidissima and Juniperus oxycedrus

J. excelsa , J. foetidissima and J. oxycedrus. Among the compounds the monoterpenes exist in minor amounts while the sesquiterpenes including their oxygenated members as well as sesquiterpene alcohols consist of the majority of the whole substances. The existence of some compounds of the oils might be attributes of the species and their sap- and heartwood. On the other side though notable differences, the essential oils of Turkish juniper woods resemble the commercial cedar wood oils.

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Die Zusammensetzung der flüchtigen Extraktstoffe im Holz von Juniperus foetidissima und Juniperus oxycedrus

J. excelsa , J. foetidissima und J. oxycedrus. Monoterpene bilden einen geringen Anteil der Extraktstoffe. Der Hauptteil besteht aus Sesquiterpenen mit deren Oxydationsprodukten. Das Vorkommen einiger der ?le k?nnte charakteristisch sein für die jeweilige Art bzw. deren Splint- und Kernholz Allerdings gleichen diese ?le, trotz geringer Unterschiede, den wesentlichen ?lbestandteilen von Kommerziellen Zedernh?lzern.

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This work was supported by the research found of the Istanbul University. Project nr: 1335/280799.     

A survey of nitrate and nitrite content of fruit and vegetables grown in Slovenia during 1996-2002

Monitoring of nitrate (NO₃^-) and nitrite (NO₂^-) content in agricultural products in Slovenia has been carried out since 1996. The results of monitoring over the period 1996-2002 are presented. During this time 924 samples of 14 different agricultural products (potato, lettuce, apples, carrot, silage maize, cabbage, grapes, peaches, string beans, cereals, pears, cucumbers, strawberries and tomato) were analysed. The samples were taken at the time of maturity directly from growing sites and they were analysed using segmented flow analysis. The average nitrate contents were the highest in lettuce (1074 mg kg^-1), cabbage (881 mg kg^-1), string beans (298 mg kg^-1) and carrot (264 mg kg^-1), and they were moderately high in potato (158 mg kg^-1), silage maize (122 mg kg^-1), strawberries (94 mg kg^-1), cucumbers (93 mg kg^-1) and cereals (49 mg kg^-1). Low nitrate contents (below 6 mg kg^-1) were found in fruit (grapes, peaches, apples and pears) and tomato. With the exception of cereals (8.9 mg kg^-1), apples (1.5 mg kg^-1), potato (1.2 mg kg^-1) and pears (1.0 mg kg^-1) the content of nitrites did not exceed 0.5 mg kg^-1. It may be concluded that the results of the monitoring were in most cases similar to the results of investigations obtained in other countries.     

Potential science-technology spillovers in regions: An insight on geographic co-location of knowledge activities in the EU

This article depicts some features of the geography of science and technology outputs in the EU, with a particular attention to regional “co-location” of these two pillars of the “knowledge-based society”. Economists have, for a decade, paid great attention to local “spillovers” stating that industrial firms often draw advantages from the presence of nearby academic centres. The presence in the same areas of strong academic and technological resources is both a condition and a result of science-technology interactions. Concentrating on publications and patents as proxies of the science and technology level in regions, we built a typology of regions according to their commitment to the two knowledge-base activities and then analysed the co-locations of science and technology from several points of view. A fine-grain lattice, mainly based on standard Nuts3 level, was used. Co-location, at the EU level, is not a general rule. A strong potential for spillover/ interaction does exist in the top-class regions which concentrate a high proportion of European S and T output. But for regions with a small/medium level of S&T activity, a divergence of orientations appears between a science-oriented family and a technology-oriented family, indicating an imbalance between local S and T resources. If we look at the S-oriented regions, whilst controlling for underlying factors, such as population and regional economic product, a significant geographic linkage between T and S appears. This suggests a trajectory of science-based technological development. A careful examination of S&T thematic alignments and specialisation is necessary to develop the hypothesis that fostering academic resources could increase the technological power along a growth path. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Properties of paper coated with kaolin: The influence of the rheological modifier

The first part of this paper analyses the influence of the molecular weight and concentration of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and of kaolin concentration on rheology of the coating colours and on paper properties coated with ultra lightweight coatings (ULWC). In the second part, relationships between the rheological characteristics of the coating colour formulations and coated paper surface quality was also studied.New indexes on paper roughness at micro-scale are presented (RZI and SRI). In general, they show good correlation with sheet gloss. A new gloss index (SGI) is presented, accounting for the contribution of gloss from machine direction (MD) and cross direction (CD). Porosimetry was used to access microstructural characteristics in order to correlate them with light scattering and gloss properties. The former property is closely related to Hg intrusion volume of the coated layer while gloss is related to surface porosity with pore diameters in the range of 7–15 μm as measured by Hg intrusion volume.     

Spouted bed drying of cork stoppers

The spouted bed is commonly used to dry granular particles as it displays some special characteristics which render it capable of performing cyclic operations, with particles that are very difficult to fluidize under a different type of bed.Information on the characteristic drying rates of cork stoppers is still very limited in the technical and scientific literature, and until now no published data was found on the spouted bed drying of cork stoppers.The characterization of the drying performance of Port wine cork stoppers was carried out in a laboratory scale spouted bed. Characteristic drying curves were determined with 29 mm × 21 mm cork stoppers under several operating conditions. Values for the effective diffusivity were obtained in the range of 1.36 × 10⁻⁹ to 4.44 × 10⁻⁹ m²/s, with the temperature dependence represented by an Arrhenius-type relationship. The activation energy obtained was 28.72 kJ/mol.