Morphologies and microstructures of tree-like carbon produced at different reaction conditions in a CVD process

Centimeter-size multi-branched tree-like carbon structures have been generated by the catalytic chemical vapor deposition of toluene using ferrocene as the catalyst precursor and investigated by means of SEM, TEM, and EDX. It is found that a temperature of 1000-1200 °C and a carrier gas flow rate of 1000-2500 ml/min are necessary for the generation of the carbon trees. Their morphologies and microstructures change greatly with the changing reaction conditions. The fractal dimensions of the trees are calculated to quantitatively investigate the influence of different reaction temperatures on the morphologies.     

Solvent induced crystallization of syndiotactic poly(methyl methacrylate) relation to the formation of polymer aggregates in solution

Polymer Bulletin - Solutions of syndiotactic (s) poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and samples of solid s-PMMA prepared from these solutions were studied by NMR and infrared (IR) spectroscopy and...     

Synthesis and characterization of copolythiophene

Copolythiophenes (Co‐PTs), poly(3‐hexylthiophene‐co‐3‐thiophene carboxylic acid) (P3HT‐TCa), poly(3‐hexyloxylthiophene‐co‐3‐thiophene carboxylic acid) (P3HOT‐TCa), and poly(3‐phenylthiophene‐co‐3‐thiophene carboxylic acid) (P3PhT‐TCa), were synthesized by chemical oxidized polymerization to investigate the effect of copolymerization on the properties of polythiophenes (PTs). Gel permeation chromatography showed that the molecular weight (MW) of Co‐PT was lower than that of homopolythiophene. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra indicated that the copolymerization was successful between the monomers. The λ_max of Co‐PTs gave a “blue shift” in ultraviolet‐visible (UV‐VIS) spectra. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra showed that the PL intensity of Co‐PT became weaker than that of homopolythiophene and the disappearance of PL had been observed in P3HOT‐TCa. The thermal stability of Co‐PT was influenced by the carboxyl for its low decomposition temperature. Furthermore, the copolymerization between multi‐wall carbon nanotube containing thiophene ring (MWNT‐Th) and 3‐hexyloxylthiphene could also take place successfully. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007     

Precise localization of eye centers with multiple cues

Automatic detection and precise localization of human eye centers are the essential processes in photo related multimedia applications. Since eye center points are used as reference base points for further intelligent processing, precise eye center localization is very important. In face recognition the accuracy of localization of eye centers directly influences the identification accuracy. A multiple stage approach with multiple cues for detection and precise localization of eye centers is presented in this paper. Multiple scopes searching strategy is used for correctly extracting eye patch images from the background. Dedicated gradient based features and curvelet based features are constructed and used for comprehensively revealing the intensity distribution characteristics and the edge based texture around eye centers. A rebuilt score calculation mechanism is proposed and the rebuilt scores are used as a specific measurement index reflecting the matching accuracy. The final localizations of eye centers are determined with integrating the gradient based scores and curvelet based scores. The experiment results testing on public face datasets show that the localization accuracy of proposed approach outperforms the accuracy with other state of the art methods.     

Laser-generated liquid microjets: correlation between bubble dynamics and liquid ejection

Laser-based techniques provide excellent means for liquid microprinting, with several advantages over other more conventional printing techniques, such as being nozzle-free (as opposed to inkjet, for instance) or requiring minimal engineering of the liquid properties in the pre-printing stage. In such techniques, the transfer is usually mediated by liquid jets that contact a receiver substrate placed nearby the liquid source, leading to the deposition of a small droplet. The main cause of jetting lies in a laser-generated bubble produced inside the liquid, whose dynamics dictates the evolution of liquid ejection. However, the detailed relationship between the bubble and the jet is not completely understood, as the studies carried out so far have been mostly focused on the jetting dynamics taking place above the liquid free-surface, without access to the liquid interior and therefore to the behavior of the bubble. In this work, we analyze through time-resolved imaging the film-free laser printing of an aqueous solution by simultaneously visualizing both the bubble evolution and the liquid ejection dynamics, thus making possible the correlation between the two phenomena. We find that the pulsating behavior of the bubble leads to successive jetting events with different jet morphologies arising from the particular geometries that the bubble acquires during its evolution. Finally, we find good agreement between our results and those from studies analyzing the dynamics of cavitation bubbles near the free-surface of a liquid through numerical solution of the fluid dynamics equations.     

Homogeneous Catalyzed Ozone Decomposition in the Presence of Co(II).

The homogeneous decomposition of ozone in the presence of a Co(II) catalyst has been investigated in aqueous solution. Under the conditions investigated (Co(II) concentration: 0.0 – 2.0?ppm, pH: 1.6- 8.4, O₃ concentration: 5 10^?5 – 2.0 10⁴?M) the process can be assumed to follow pseudo first order kinetics with respect to ozone. Cobalt concentration dependency also obeys first order kinetics although it may be considered to reach a steady state concentration. pH exerts a positive influence on the decomposition rate from 1.6 to 7.1, the process leveling off at pH 8.4. An Arrhenius analysis of the temperature effect gave a moderate activation energy of the global reaction (E=10917?cal mol^?1). A more detailed radical mechanism than a simple pseudo first order reaction can be postulated for simulation purposes. By numerical optimization of some unknown kinetic constants the influence of several operating variables can be adequately predicted.     

A study on the factors for improving the ethanol production from Jerusalem artichoke by Kluyveromyces fragilis

This study is to investigate the factors influencing the alcohol production byKluyveromyces fragilis using the juice of Jerusalem Artichoke tubers. The cell growth rate and ethanol production rate were stimulated by aeration and by the addition of unsaturated fatty acids and the cell mass production and the ethanol production were substantially improved. It was found that oxygen and unsaturated fatty acids added played a decisive role on the increase of alcohol tolerance of yeast.     

Zinc nutrition in young Chilean adults

To evaluate the effect of dietary factors on plasma zinc levels, dietary zinc intake was estimated and plasma levels were measured in 37 healthy young adults of low and middle socioeconomic status. Our study included 16 males aged 29 +/- 7 and 21 females aged 26 +/- 6 years. Dietary intake of zinc and protein was determined from a 24-hour dietary recall survey. Plasma zinc was measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Alkaline phosphatase (AP) in plasma was also measured and the weight/height percentage for each subject calculated according to Jelliffe's standards. The average diet was composed of cereals, legumes, eggs, bread and noodles, caloric intake was 2051 +/- 154 kcal/day for men and 1767 +/- 158 (x +/- SD) kcal/day for women. The daily intake of zinc was 8.3 +/- 3.0 mg/day for males, and 9.7 +/- 2.0 mg/day for females. Cereals were the main source of zinc for men, while egg and dairy products were for women. Plasma zinc values were 82 +/- 22 micrograms/dl for men and 94 +/- 19 micrograms/dl for women (p less than 0.01). For the whole group plasma zinc concentration was 89 +/- 21 micrograms/dl. Seven males and two females had low plasma zinc values (70 micrograms/dl or less). Alkaline phosphatase (AP) levels were 110 +/- 10 IU for males and 71 +/- 4 IU for females (p less than 0.001). These values did not correlate with the zinc levels. Average weight/height was 99 +/- 18 for men, and 108 +/- 18 for females. Results indicate that on the average, in our study group plasma zinc levels were within the normal range, although they were significantly lower in men. Dietary intake of zinc was below the recommendations, being higher for women as related to values presented by men. The observed low plasma levels of zinc may be caused by a low intake, and/or poor bioavailability.