Compatibilization of inorganic particles for polymeric nanocomposites. Optimization of the size and the compatibility of ZnO particles

Summary The synthesis of in-situ hydrophobic functionalized ZnO nanoparticles via an emulsion process is systematically investigated. Different parameters are varied, such as precursor salt concentration and ultrasonification, to optimize the size and the size distribution of the ZnO particles. Particles with a size below 25 nm and surrounded by a hydrophobic polymer shell can be easily obtained. The influence of the polymeric shell on the compatibility with different polymeric matrices is described. Due to the small size of the inorganic particles and the excellent hydrophobization, highly transparent inorganic/organic nanocomposites can be obtained by spin-coating and extrusion.     

Gewissensfreiheit in der Apotheke

Background In recent years, it has been intensively debated whether and how the conscience must be protected in the context of pharmacies. Currently, Germany and Austria have no legal regulation regarding this problem. Objective The ethical framework for a coping strategy dealing with the problem of freedom of conscience in the pharmacy will be outlined. Method By applying legal ethics' principle of proportionality within German and Austrian constitutional law as well as the European Convention on Human Rights, the problem is analyzed on its individual, corporative, and societal level. Results On the individual level, the pharmacist's and the patient's stakes and rights (e.g., the freedom of conscience) are carefully balanced by using the principle of proportionality. On the corporative level, the autonomy granted by the fundamental right of freedom of religion and belief legitimatizes a pharmacy's ideological profile as an organization and may cause conflicts of loyalty within the pharmacy. On the societal level, four pro-active options of shaping the legal framework are available: a social-welfare, a libertarian, a professional, and a communitarian. How conflicts on the individual or the corporative level can be solved depends on the option(s) that are chosen on the societal level. Conclusion If the status quo is to be changed, this article argues for two approaches: a) the introduction of a qualified conscience clause for pharmacists (including duties to consult, refer, treat in emergencies, and inform); b) a ‘weak’ communitarian option, striving for a compromise between a pharmaceutical corporation (i.e., pharmacy or pharmaceutical professional association) with an ideological profile and the public healthcare system. Both approaches satisfy a careful balancing of legitimate goods.     

A mixed boundary-value problem of elasticity with parabolic boundary

Summary The mixed boundary-values problem of elasticity with parabolic boundary when the prescribed displacement is parabolic has been reduced to the solution of the non-homogeneous Hilbert problem following the method of complex variable. The result has been compared with that obtained byParia [5] for parabolic boundary with prescribed constant displacement as a particular case.

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Zusammenfassung Das gemischte Randwertproblem der Elastizitätstheorie wird für parabolische Berandung auf die Lösung des inhomogenen Hilbert-Problems unter Benützung der komplexen Methode zurückgeführt. Die Randverschiebung wird durch ein Polynom zweiten Grades dargestellt. Das Ergebnis wird mit dem vonParia [5] verglichen, das als Sonderfall konstante Verschiebungen am parabolischen Rand vorschreibt.

     

Approximation mit Exponentialsummen

Zusammenfassung Für die Approximation mit Exponentialsummen ist die beste Approximation imTschebyscheffschen Sinne eindeutig, abgesehen von bisher nicht erkannten Ausnahmen. Eindeutigkeit liegt dagegen immer bei der Anpassung mit positiven Exponentialsummen vor. Daß diese Familie eine andere Struktur hat als die bekannten Verallgemeinerungen linearer Funktionenfamilien, zeigt sich am Charakter des Alternantenkriteriums.

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Summary In this paper we investigate the approximation by sums of exponentials in the sense ofChebyshev. The best approximation is shown to be unique apart from exceptions not previously recognized. However, there is always uniqueness, when only sums of positive exponentials are considered. This family has a structure which is different from that of other generalizations of linear families of functions. This feature is reflected in the criterion on the alternations of the error curve.

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Kernforschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Institut für Neutronenphysik und Reaktortechnik     

Transverse mixing and heat transfer in horizontal rotary drum reactors

The transverse mixing of quartz sand (mean particle sizes 157, 323, 794 and 1038 μm) and sodium carbonate (soda) (mean particle size 137 μm) has been investigated in a laboratory rotary drum reactor of 300 mm length and 310 mm diam. Solid movement in the drum was observed by means of colored tracers and successive exposures as well as by means of hot tracers and recording the local temperature in the bulk of particles. Three different types of the particles and bulk behaviour could be observed for stickly particles. The time constant of the mixing was estimated as a function of the rotational speed of the drum. The “cooling-down” curves of the bulk of particles were measured in a laboratory oven of 250 mm diam. and 600 mm length. The temperature variation as a function of the time can be described by the Newtonian cooling law, from which the heat transfer coefficient at the wall α_w was estimated.The absolute value of α_w's and their dependence on the contact time and particle diameter cannot be calculated by the heat penetration model, which disregards the film resistance at the bulk/wall contact. By taking into account this resistance a good quality of fitting can be achieved.     

Some theorems of the eddy-current theory

Contents In the paper, theorems for the electric vector potentialT and magnetic scalar potentialU are discussed, which occur in the boundary-value problems for eddy currents induced in a conducting block by an external magnetic field. Uniqueness of the solution is examined. An integral representation of the scalar potentialU is derived for a nonmagnetic conductor. It is shown that for a thin metallic shell the integrodifferential equation results from general formulas related to the block.

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Einige Theoreme der Wirbelstromtheorie

Übersicht In der Arbeit werden drei Theoreme für das elektrische VektorpotentialT und das magnetische SkalarpotentialU beschrieben, die in den Randwertaufgaben für in einem metallischen Block durch das äußere magnetische Feld induzierte Wirbelströme auftreten. Es wird bewiesen, daß eine solche Randwertaufgabe eine eindeutige Lösung hat, wenn das Vektorpotential auf dem Rand gleich Null ist. Eine Integralrepräsentation des Skalarpotentials wird abgeleitet. Es wird gezeigt, daß die Integrodifferentialgleichung für eine dünne metallische Hülle aus allgemeinen, den Block betreffenden Formeln hervorgeht.

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List of principal symbols e coordinate unit vector - H magnetic intensity - J current density - T electric vector potential - U magnetic scalar potential - permeability - conductivity - V boundary of regionV     

Residual encoder-decoder up-sampling for structural preservation in noise removal

Multimedia Tools and Applications - While denoising 3D MRI, structural preservation is a very critical process in the medical region. However, Rician noise in MRI has affected the image quality...     

Korrosion von ölgefeuerten Zentralheizungskesseln

Corrosion of oil-fired domestic boilers Depending on the surface temperature of the flue gas side the corrosion of oil fired domestic boilers proceeds either mainly by acid corrosion or by oxygen corrosion:

• – At surface temperatures of 60°C and higher the corrosion mechanism of acid corrosion prevails and the corrosion rates amount to 0.1–0.3 mm/year (values referred to continuous burner operation). The corrosion products consist of soluble iron(II)- and iron(III)sulfates. Higher corrosion rates can be attributed to an appreciable catalytic formation of sulfur trioxide on the corrosion products formed on the convective heating surfaces.
• – At surface temperatures of 40°C the mechanism of oxygen corrosion already dominates and the corrosion rates are about ten times higher (1.5–3 mm/year, referred to continous burner operation). The high portion of ioron oxide hydrates, especially goethit (α-FeOOH), makes the corrosion products difficult to remove.
• – Distinctly reduced service lives are also expected for the so called reduced temperature boilers (“Niedertemperaturkessel”) and low temperature boiers (“Tieftemperaturkessel”): According to the manufacturers these boilers may be operated at boiler water temperatures well below 60°C, as they are equipped with constructive measures to enhance the surface temperature on the flue gas side. However, these measures are only fully effective under stationary conditions.

Some of the results were obtained from weight loss measurements on test specimen made from St 35.8 and gray cast iron, that were exposed to the flue gases of an oil fired experimental boiler. Other important results come from field measurements of the sulfuric acid content of about 30 boilers that are in practical use.     

A prototype scanning stylus profilometer for rapid measurement of small surface areas

A novel stylus based profiling instrument has been developed for rapid measurement of small surface areas. Outlined in the following paper are some of the key features of the prototype system including the wideband stylus pick-up and the dedicated scanning traverse mechanism. In addition, some preliminary results obtained by scanning the instrument over several different surfaces are presented.     

Perceptually enhanced blind single-channel music source separation by Non-negative Matrix Factorization

We propose a new approach that improves perceptual quality of the separated sources in blind single-channel musical source separation. It uses the advantages of subspace learning based on Non-negative Matrix Factorization (NMF) in which the bases represent the notes. The cost function is formulated in the form of weighted β-divergence by adopting the PEAQ auditory model defined in ITU-R BS.1387 into the source separation. The proposed perceptually weighted factorization scheme is integrated into the Non-negative Matrix Factor 2-D Deconvolution (NMF2D) and Clustered Non-negative Matrix Factorization (CNMF) to overcome the source clustering problem encountered in under-determined source separation. It is shown that the introduced perceptually weighted NMF schemes, named as PW-NMF2D and PW-CNMF, efficiently learn the bases that enable us to apply a simple resynthesis of the musical sources based on the temporal model stored in the encoding matrix. Source separation performance has been reported on musical mixtures where 1–2 dB improvement is achieved in terms of SDR, SIR and SAR compared to the state-of-the-art methods. Performance has also been evaluated by perceptual measures resulting an improvement of 2–5 in OPS, TPS, IPS and APS values.