New approach for spacing of movement joints in reinforced and unreinforced masonry veneer walls / Neue Bemessungsmethode für die Abstände von Dehnungsfugen in bewehrten und unbewehrten Verblendmauerwerksschalen

The first part of the paper, published in issue 4 [3] and dealing with the spacing of movement joints, described the design method for unreinforced masonry veneer walls. This paper focuses on increasing the spacing of movement joints by applying bed joint reinforcement. The proposed approach enables manufacturers of bed joint reinforcement to provide recommendations for the spacing of movement joints for bed joint reinforced veneer walls dependent upon the allowable crack width, the reinforcement type, the diameter and the vertical spacing of the reinforcement.     

Conditions D'immunite Et De Corrosion De L'aluminium Dans Un Milieu Bacterien Doux Et Marin

No corrosion was observed (with or without protective film) when the metal was exposed to bacteria growing in full nutrient medium. Pitting corrosion occurred when the bacteria died or when their metabolism was disturbed by decomposition of the nutrient medium or by the presence of A1³⁺ ions.     

Multivariate Wavelet Whittle Estimation in Long‐range Dependence

Multivariate processes with long‐range dependent properties are found in a large number of applications including finance, geophysics and neuroscience. For real‐data applications, the correlation between time series is crucial. Usual estimations of correlation can be highly biased owing to phase shifts caused by the differences in the properties of autocorrelation in the processes. To address this issue, we introduce a semiparametric estimation of multivariate long‐range dependent processes. The parameters of interest in the model are the vector of the long‐range dependence parameters and the long‐run covariance matrix, also called functional connectivity in neuroscience. This matrix characterizes coupling between time series. The proposed multivariate wavelet‐based Whittle estimation is shown to be consistent for the estimation of both the long‐range dependence and the covariance matrix and to encompass both stationary and nonstationary processes. A simulation study and a real‐data example are presented to illustrate the finite‐sample behaviour.     

Synthesis,characteristic, and properties of waterborne polyurethane based on natural rubber

A series of new waterborne polyurethanes (WPUs) was successfully prepared by prepolymer process from renewable source, hydroxytelechelic natural rubber (HTNR), with different amounts of DMPA (1.6–8.4 wt %), different molecular weights (1000–4000 g mol^?1), and different levels of epoxide (0%–20%) of HTNR. It was found that the urethane conversions of prepolymer were over 80% as calculated by FTIR technique. The resulting HTNR2000‐based WPUs exhibit a uniform particle size, which decreases from 420‐ to 83‐nm diameters with an increase in the amount of DMPA from 2.9 to 6.6 wt %. The particle size also decreases with an increase of soft segment or with an increase of epoxide content. They are well stable more over 6 months and without a significant difference in particle size compared with starting of them. Chemical structure of WPU films was confirmed by FTIR, ¹H‐NMR, and ¹³C‐NMR. Molecular weight and polydispersity were determined by SEC. In addition, thermal and water uptake properties were investigated. The experimental results reveal that the DMPA content, molecular weight of HTNR, and epoxide content play an important key role in water uptake and thermal properties. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Antioxidant Capacity In Vitro and In Vivo of Various Ecotypes of Mexican Plum (Spondias purpurea L.)

Spondias purpurea L. is a fruit native to Mexico, however, it is found as far away as Brazil. It possesses a high commercial potential owing to its sensorial and nutritional qualities and its low cost of production. There exists a variety of ecotypes that have not been characterized and their adequate selection process, according to their strongest functional characteristics, will allow the establishment of improvement programs for this genetic resource. The object of this study was the chemical characterization and the determination of the in vitro and in vivo antioxidant capacity of 7 Spondias purpurea L. ecotypes. Differences were observed in the antioxidant capacity and the content of functional compounds among all the ecotypes analyzed. A high total phenolic content and a low flavonoid and carotenoid content were found, both in the epicarp and in the pulp. In each ecotype, the hydrophilic phase presented up to 40 times greater antioxidant capacity compared to the lipophilic phase. The hydrophilic phase of the epicarp of “Costeña Tierra Colorada” had the greatest antioxidant capacity and highest total phenolic content, whereas “Jocote” presented the lowest antioxidant capacity and total phenolic content. A positive correlation was observed between phenol levels and the antioxidant capacity in the epicarp. Regarding antioxidant activity in vivo, it was observed that in all analyzed concentrations of hydrophilic extracts of the epicarp of “Costeña Tierra Colorada” and in the highest “Jocote” concentrations, they provided thermo‐protection against heat stress as well as a general well‐being to the worm as evidenced by their high mobility.     

Controlled degradation of natural rubber and modification of the obtained telechelic oligoisoprenes: Preliminary study of their potentiality as polyurethane foam precursors

Telechelic oligoisoprenes were successfully prepared by the selective controlled degradation of natural rubber, a renewable source, via epoxidation and cleavage reactions. The molar mass of the oligoisoprene product obtained depends on the degree of epoxidation of the starting materials. The chemically modified structures obtained via epoxidation, hydrogenation, and ring opening of epoxide groups were also studied, and the chemical structures and thermal properties of the oligoisoprene products were determined. Moreover, the preliminary study of preparation of hydroxytelechelic natural rubber (HTNR)‐based polyurethane foam was performed. A novel HTNR‐based polyurethane foam was successfully prepared and its thermal properties were investigated and the results indicated that the HTNR‐based polyurethane foam has a good low temperature flexibility. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Kinetic studies of elemental mercury adsorption in activated carbon fixed bed reactor

Activated carbons are suitable materials for Hg(0) adsorption in fixed bed operation or in injection process. The fixed bed tests provide good indication of activated carbons effectiveness and service lives, which depend on the rates of Hg(0) adsorption. In order to correlate fixed bed properties and operation conditions, with their adsorptive capacity and saturation time, Hg(0) adsorption tests were realized in a bench-scale unit, consisted of F400 activated carbon fixed bed reactor. Hg(0) adsorption tests were conducted at 50 degrees C, under 0.1 and 0.35 ng/cm(3) Hg(0) initial concentrations and with carbon particle sizes ranging between 75-106 and 150-250 microm. Based on the experimental breakthrough data, kinetic studies were performed to investigate the mechanism of adsorption and the rate controlling steps. Kinetic models evaluated include the Fick's intraparticle diffusion equation, the pseudo-first order model, the pseudo-second order model and Elovich kinetic equation. The obtained experimental results revealed that the increase in particle size resulted in significant decrease of breakthrough time and mercury adsorptive capacity, due to the enhanced internal diffusion limitations and smaller external mass transfer coefficients. Additionally, higher initial mercury concentrations resulted in increased breakthrough time and mercury uptake. From the kinetic studies results it was observed that all the examined models describes efficiently Hg(0) breakthrough curves, from breakpoint up to equilibrium time. The most accurate prediction of the experimental data was achieved by second order model, indicating that the chemisorption rate seems to be the controlling step in the procedure. However, the successful attempt to describe mercury uptake with Fick's diffusion model and the first order kinetic model, reveals that the adsorption mechanism studied was complex and followed both surface adsorption and particle diffusion.     

Preparation and physico‐mechanical,thermal and acoustic properties of flexible polyurethane foams based on hydroxytelechelic natural rubber

Novel flexible polyurethane foams were successfully prepared from a renewable source, hydroxytelechelic natural rubber (HTNR) having different molecular weights (1000–3400 g mol^?1) and variation of epoxide contents (EHTNR, 0–35% epoxidation) by a one‐shot technique. The chemical and cell structures as well as physico‐mechanical, thermal, and acoustic properties were characterized and compared with commercial polyol analogs. The obtained HTNR based foams are open cell structures with cell dimensions between 0.38 and 0.47 mm. The HTNR1000 based foam exhibits better mechanical properties but lower elongation at break than those of commercial polyol analog. However, the HTNR3400 based foam shows the best elastic properties. In a series of EHTNR based foams, the tensile and compressive strengths show a tendency to increase with increasing epoxide content and amount of 1,4‐butanediol (BD). The HTNR based foams demonstrate better low temperature flexibility than that of the foam based on commercial polyol. Moreover, the HTNR based polyurethane foams was found to be an excellent absorber of acoustics. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Distribution of 7Be, 210Pb and 137Cs in watersheds of different scales in the Seine River basin: inventories and residence times

The activity of environmental radionuclides ((7)Be, (210)Pb and (137)Cs) was monitored in nested catchments, inside the Seine River basin. Suspended matter data was collected at 8 different watersheds, ranging from order 1 to order 7, and ranging in size over 4 orders of magnitude. Suspended matter was analyzed for (210)Pb, (137)Cs and (7)Be, and used to calculate the flux of sediments out of each watershed. Monthly atmospheric flux data of (210)Pb and (7)Be was analyzed to assess the input flux of each into the watersheds, taking into account the rainfall during sampling periods. Taking advantage of the different half-lives of (7)Be (53 days) and (210)Pb (22 years), a two-box model was built for each of the catchments following a methodology previously developed by Dominik et al. [Dominik J, Burrus D, Vernet JP. Transport of the environmental radionuclides in alpine watershed. Earth Planet Sci Letters 1987; 84: 165-180.]. The model divides the watershed into a soil box and a rapid reservoir and provides insight into the removal rate of suspended matter from the surrounding watershed. The model enables the assessment of the surface area and the residence time of slow and rapid reservoirs to describe the fate of contaminants of atmospheric origin inside the river basin. The model was improved by considering the dissolved fraction in the total flux and adding the (137)Cs inventory as an additional constraint. The effects of these changes are discussed. Residence times in the soil box, characterized by low transport velocity, range between 4800 years at Melarchez (order 1) to about 30000 years at Andresy and Poses (order 7). They remain constant in each watershed over a large range of variation of atmospheric fluxes of (7)Be and (210)Pb during the whole study, but are sensitive to SM variations. The residence time in the rapid box, which includes the surface of the river and immediate surroundings, is less than one year, while its surface area is in the range 0.6% to 2.2% of the total catchment area. They are sensitive to (7)Be atmospheric flux variations. The two-box model was used to estimate the amount of the radionuclides in each reservoir. Inventories appear to be constant from one watershed to the next. The (7)Be inventory ratio in the rapid and slow boxes expresses the rate of particle-reactive atmospheric pollutants that will be rapidly delivered to the river.