Preparation and evaluation of poly(2-hydroxyethyl aspartamide)-hexadecylamine-iron oxide for MR imaging of lymph nodes

The purpose of this study was to synthesize biocompatible poly(2-hydroxyethyl aspartamide)–C₁₆-iron oxide (PHEA-C₁₆-iron oxide) nanoparticles and to evaluate their efficacy as a contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging of lymph nodes. The PHEA-C₁₆-iron oxide nanoparticles were synthesized by coprecipitation method. The core size of the PHEA-C₁₆-iron oxide nanoparticles was about 5 to 7 nm, and the overall size of the nanoparticles was around 20, 60, and 150 nm in aqueous solution. The size of the nanoparticles was controlled by the amount of C₁₆. The 3.0-T MRI signal intensity of a rabbit lymph node was effectively reduced after intravenous administration of PHEA-C₁₆-iron oxide with the size of 20 nm. The in vitro and in vivo toxicity tests revealed the high biocompatibility of PHEA-C₁₆-iron oxide nanoparticles. Therefore, PHEA-C₁₆-iron oxide nanoparticles with 20-nm size can be potentially useful as T2-weighted MR imaging contrast agents for the detection of lymph nodes.     

Optimization of inverted bulk heterojunction polymer solar cells

We have successively fabricated inverted bulk heterojunction polymer solar cells employing ZnO and MoO₃ as electron and hole selective layers, respectively. The device structure is ITO/ZnO/P3HT: PCBM/MoO₃/Al. Differently from conventional polymer solar cells, ITO and Al work as electron and hole collecting electrodes in this inverted structure, respectively. We have found the optimal thickness of ZnO and MoO₃ to be 100 nm and 5 nm, respectively. The highest PCE was obtained to be 3.32% under AM 1.5 illumination at 1,000W/m², which is the highest PCE of inverted solar cells reported previously in the literature.     

A New Extension of Cauchy–Born Rule for Monolayer Crystal Films

By combining with the physical concept of inscribed surface, the standard Cauchy–Born rule (CBR) is straightly extended to have a rigorous and accurate atomistic continuum theory for the monolayer crystal films. Resorting to using Tersoff–Brenner potential, the present theory to graphite sheet and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) is applied to evaluate the mechanical properties. The results are validated by the comparison with previously reported studies.     

Fabrication and characterization of SiC-AIN alloys

SiC-AIN alloys were prepared by the carbothermal reduction of silica and alumina, derived from an intimate mixture of silica, aluminium chloride and starch. The resulting single-phase SiC-AIN powder was hot-pressed without additives to a high density. The dense bodies had a fine-grained uniform microstructure. The Young's elastic modulus, microhardness, fracture toughness, thermal expansion and thermal conductivity were measured as functions of composition. The creep behaviour of the SiC-AIN alloy was compared with that of silicon carbide.     

A perturbation analysis on solid polymer surfaces

A linear stability model was formulated to analyze the perturbation of solid polymer surfaces. Surface energy and thermal stress were considered as the main variables. The surface tends to more unstable as the temperature increase. This is interpreted as the dominancy of the lattice vacancy diffusion over surface mass diffusion and the increase in thermal stress.     

Optimization of casting conditions for heat and abrasion resistant large grey iron castings

Numerical simulation technology was applied for optimizing the casting design and conditions in large cast iron castings for marine engine. By the simulation of mold filling and solidification sequences the problems of the previous casting conditions were analyzed and marked improvements for large cylinder liner parts were derived from these results. Especially the amount and positions of chills were optimized to increase the mechanical properties and to minimize the shrinkage and microporosity in the castings. Ultrasonic testing, penetration testing and mechanical property testing were carried out for the parts with the modified casting conditions. It showed that no defects in the castings were found and the productivity could be distinctly increased. The mechanical properties satisfied also the specification demanded.     

Electrochemical analysis of the microbiologically influenced corrosion of steels by sulfate-reducing bacteria

The differences between the general corrosion and microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) of steels were investigated in terms of its electrochemical behavior and surface phenomena. The corrosion potential of steels in the absence of SRB (sulfate-reducing bacteria) shifted to a negative value with the immersion time. However, the potential of the presence of SRB shifted to a positive value after 30 days' incubation, indicating the growth of SRB biofilms on the test metal specimens and the formation of corrosion products. In addition, the color of a medium inoculated with SRB changed from gray to black. The change in color appeared to be caused by the formation of pyrites (FeS) as a corrosion product, while no significant change in color was observed in a medium without SRB inoculation. Moreover, corrosion rates of various steels tested for MIC were higher compared to those of steels in the absence of SRB. In particular, the corrosion current density of TMCP steels in the presence of SRB was larger than that of other steels. Pitting corrosion was also observed at the surface of all steels in the SRB-inoculated medium. The pitting corrosion likely occurred due to SRB that was associated with the increasing corrosion rates through increasing cathodic reactions, which caused a reduction of sulfate to sulfide as well as the formation of an oxygen concentration cell.     

Experimental and theoretical study on H2/CO2 separation by a five-step one-column psa process

An experimental and theoretical study is performed for bulk separation of H₂/CO₂ mixture (70/30 volume %) by PSA process with zeolite 5A, a process widely used commercially in conjunction with the catalytic steam reforming of natural gas or naphtha. For the optimized adsorption conditions of PSA, the characteristics of adsorption/desorption characteristics have been studied through breakthrough and desorption experiments under various conditions. The purge-to-feed ratio is important to the H₂ product purity only at a long adsorption step time. H₂ could be concentrated from 70% in the feed to 99.99% at H₂ recovery of 67.5%. The results of all five steps in PSA are successfully predicted by the LDF model considering an energy balance and nonlinear isotherm. For the model, the effective diffusivities (D,) are obtained separately from the uptake curves of H₂ and CO₂. The Langmuir-Freundlich isotherm is used to correlate the experimental equilibrium data and is very well fitted to the results.     

Effects of the Surface Contact on the Uncertainty in Indentation Yield Strength: Surface Roughness and Angular Misalignment

Metals and Materials International - We suggest a method for accurately estimating the uncertainty of indentation yield strength determined from the modified Meyer relation as a mathematical...     

Internal pressures and thermal pressure coefficients for solid polymers

The temperature and pressure dependence of the thermal pressure coefficient and internal pressure for eight polymer solids are calculated. The principal results are as follows: (1) The pressure dependence of the thermal pressure coefficient at constant temperature is relatively small. (2) For some solid polymers, as a function of temperature, a maximum in the thermal pressure coefficient is predicted in the solid region, and the temperatures corresponding to the maximum values are estimated. (3) For most solid polymers, the zeropressure internal pressure increases with increasing temperature over the entire temperature range to the glass transition temperature or the melting point. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.