Origins of Non‐metallic Inclusions and their Chemical Development during Ladle Treatment

In the present work, steel, slag and refractory samples were taken from the ladle at OVAKO Steel in Hofors, Sweden. The steel samples were analysed in LOM, SEM and OES PDA. The chemical compositions of the inclusions were determined by EDS. According to the morphologies and compositions, the inclusions were classified into 5 different types, namely, (1) type‐1, alumina inclusions, (2) type‐2, calcium aluminate, (3) type‐3, spinel+calcium aluminate, (4) type‐4, calcium aluminate surrounded by a CaS shell, and (5) spinel+calcium aluminate surrounded by a CaS shell. Ladle glaze was found to be a major supplier of the inclusions, while the inclusions brought over from EAF could be another important source. The results of OES PDA showed that removal of inclusions took place mostly during the vacuum degassing period.     

Energetic analysis of binding of progesterone and 5{beta}-androstane-3,17-dione to anti-progesterone antibody DB3 using molecular dynamics and free energy calculations

Molecular dynamics simulations and molecular mechanics–Poisson–Boltzmannsurface area (MM-PBSA) free energy calculations were used tostudy the energetics of the binding of progesterone (PRG) and5ß-androstane-3,17-dione (5AD) to anti-PRG antibodyDB3. Although the two steroids bind to DB3 in different orientations,their binding affinities are of the same magnitude, 1 nM forPRG and 8 nM for 5AD. The calculated relative binding free energyof the steroids, 8.8 kJ/mol, is in fair agreement with the experimentalenergy, 5.4 kJ/mol. In addition, computational alanine scanningwas applied to study the role of selected amino acid residuesof the ligand-binding site on the steroid cross-reactivity.The electrostatic and van der Waals components of the totalbinding free energies were found to favour more the bindingof PRG, whereas solvation energies were more favourable forthe binding of 5AD. The differences in the free energy componentsare due to the binding of the A rings of the steroids to differentbinding pockets: PRG is bound to a pocket in which electrostaticantibody–steroid interactions are dominating, whereas5AD is bound to a pocket in which van der Waals and hydrophobicinteractions dominate.     

A decline rate study of Norwegian oil production

Norway has been a very important oil exporter for the world and an important supplier for Europe. Oil was first discovered in the North Sea in late 1960s and the rapid expansion of Norwegian oil production lead to the low oil prices in the beginning of the 1990s. In 2001, Norway reached its peak production and began to decline.     

Stress and plastic deformation of MEA in running fuel cell

Numerical modelling of mechanical stresses in running fuel cell is provided. The evolution of stresses and plastic deformations in the membrane has been obtained during the turn-on phase. The operating conditions have been taken into account by imposing the heating sources and the humidity field. The results have been presented on two scales: the global scale reflects the stress evolution in the entire fuel cell and the local one corresponds to the tooth/channel structure. It has been shown that the stresses are strongly heterogeneous on the both scales and time dependent. From the mechanical point of view, the most sensible zone is under the GDL/seal joint interface. In the running fuel cell the heterogeneity decreases while it rises in the fuel cell just after the assembly. The stresses reach the maximum values during the humidification step, the magnitude of these stresses is sufficient for initiation of the plastic deformations in the Nafion membrane.     

Effect of gate length in InAs/AlSb HEMTs biased for low power or high gain

The effect of gate-length variation on DC and RF performance of InAs/AlSb HEMTs, biased for low DC power consumption or high gain, is reported. Simultaneously fabricated devices, with gate lengths between 225 nm and 335 nm, have been compared. DC measurements revealed higher output conductance g_ds and slightly increased impact ionization with reduced gate length. When reducing the gate length from 335 nm to 225 nm, the DC power consumption was reduced by approximately 80% at an f_T of 120 GHz. Furthermore, a 225 nm gate-length HEMT biased for high gain exhibited an extrinsic f_T of 165 GHz and an extrinsic f_max of 115 GHz, at a DC power consumption of 100 mW/mm. When biased for low DC power consumption of 20 mW/mm the same HEMT exhibited an extrinsic f_T and f_max of 120 GHz and 110 GHz, respectively.     

On the relations between color,gloss, and surface texture in injection‐molded plastics

The relation between color and gloss of injection‐molded plastic specimens was evaluated by means of a 45°/0° geometry spectrophotometer and a glossmeter. The specimens were plaques having one smooth, glossy field and one rougher, textured region made of two different polymeric materials (acrylonitrile‐butadiene‐styrene and polypropylene) in a range of colors. A significant influence of the lightness L* of the specimens on the measured gloss of the textured field, with a low gloss appearance, was found. This can probably be attributed to a contribution from bulk scattering, which is linked to the reflectance from within the specimen. The influence of texture on the measured color of the plaques was assessed by evaluating the color difference between the smooth field and the more textured area on the specimens. When the surface was textured, the color changed; in general it became lighter and less saturated. The magnitude of the change depended on the color of the material. The darker the material was, the larger was the increase in lightness L* as the surface became rougher. The shift in chroma C* was determined not only by the saturation but also by the lightness of the specimens. Darker specimens exhibited a larger decrease in chroma when the surface was textured. The change in the measured color caused by increasing the surface roughness could be predicted in a satisfactory manner using a model developed for xerographic printing paper. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 34, 291–298, 2009     

Fatty Acid and Lipid Profiles with Emphasis on n-3 Fatty Acids and Phospholipids from Ciona intestinalis

In order to establish Ciona intestinalis as a new bioresource for n‐3 fatty acids‐rich marine lipids, the animal was fractionated into tunic and inner body tissues prior to lipid extraction. The lipids obtained were further classified into neutral lipids (NL), glycolipids (GL) and phospholipids (PL) followed by qualitative and quantitative analysis using GC‐FID, GC–MS, ¹H NMR, 2D NMR, MALDI‐TOF‐MS and LC–ESI–MS methods. It was found that the tunic and inner body tissues contained 3.42–4.08 % and 15.9–23.4 % of lipids respectively. PL was the dominant lipid class (42–60 %) irrespective of the anatomic fractions. From all lipid fractions and classes, the major fatty acids were 16:0, 18:1n‐9, C20:1n‐9, C20:5n‐3 (EPA) and C22:6n‐3 (DHA). The highest amounts of long chain n‐3 fatty acids, mainly EPA and DHA, were located in PL from both body fractions. Cholestanol and cholesterol were the dominant sterols together with noticeable amounts of stellasterol, 22 (Z)‐dehydrocholesterol and lathosterol. Several other identified and two yet unidentified sterols were observed for the first time from C. intestinalis. Different molecular species of phosphatidylcholine (34 species), sphingomyelin (2 species), phosphatidylethanolamine (2 species), phosphatidylserine (10 species), phosphatidylglycerol (9 species), ceramide (38 species) and lysophospholipid (5 species) were identified, representing the most systematic PL profiling knowledge so far for the animal. It could be concluded that C. intestinalis lipids should be a good alternative for fish oil with high contents of n‐3 fatty acids. The lipids would be more bioavailable due to the presence of the fatty acids being mainly in the form of PL.     

Incorporating amylopectin in poly(lactic acid) by melt blending using poly(ethylene‐co‐vinyl alcohol) as a thermoplastic carrier. (I) morphological characterization

In this study, the possibility of using a biodegradable grade of thermoplastic poly(ethylene‐co‐vinyl alcohol) with high (71 mol %) vinyl alcohol (EVOH‐29), as a carrier to incorporate the renewable and biodegradable component amylopectin (AP) into poly(lactic acid) (PLA) through melt blending, was investigated. The effect of using a plasticizer/compatibilizer (glycerol) in the blend systems was also investigated. In a first step, the EVOH/AP blends were produced and thereafter, in a second step, these were mixed with PLA. In this first study, the blend morphology was investigated using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and Raman imaging spectroscopy and the thermal properties were measured by differential scanning calorimetry. Despite the fact that EVOH and AP are both highly polar, their blends were immiscible. Still, the blends exhibited an excellent phase dispersion on a micron level, which was enhanced further by the addition of glycerol. A good phase dispersion was finally observed by incorporation of the latter blends in the PLA matrix, suggesting that the proposed blending route can be successfully applied for these systems. Finally, the Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) data showed that the melting point of EVOH dropped in the EVOH/AP blends, but the properties of the PLA phase was still relatively unaffected as a result of blending with the above components. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010