Shear strength of calabrian pine (Pinus brutia Ten.) bonded with polyurethane and polyvinyl acetate adhesives

In this study, the change in shear strength on radial and tangential surfaces of Calabrian pine (Pinus brutia Ten.) wood having different roughness values as the result of sawing with a circular ripsaw, planning, and sanding, and bonded with polyurethane (PU) and polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) adhesives at the pressure levels of 3, 6, and 9 kg f/cm² were studied. A total of 360 specimens of each, prepared with the objective of being able to determine the effect of the variables on bond performance, were subjected to the shear test in the universal test machine in accordance with the ASTM D 905–98 standard. The values obtained were analyzed statistically and the results were interpreted. The highest shear strength (11.83 N/mm²) for plane of cut was obtained on the tangential surface after sanding and applying PVAc adhesive with a pressing pressure of 9 kg f/cm². The lowest shear strength (6.01 N/mm²) was obtained in the joinings made on the planed surfaces by using PU adhesive and a pressing pressure of 3 kg f/cm². The highest shear strength (9.10 N/mm²) on the radial surface was obtained after sanding and applying PVAc adhesive and pressing with a pressure of 6 kg f/cm². The lowest shear strength (3.76 N/mm²) was obtained in the specimens whose surfaces were sanded and by using PU adhesive and with a pressing pressure of 3 kg f/cm². In general, in the radial surfaces, just like in the tangential surfaces, the specimens bonded with PVAc produced a higher shear strength compared to those glued with PU. According to these results, it is definitely necessary to sand the surfaces prior to the bonding process to have a higher shear strength. The bonding process should be made on the tangential surfaces with higher pressures. The PVAc adhesive should be preferred instead of the PU adhesive. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 4856–4867, 2006     

Analysis of cross-country variations in the depth of European mortgage markets

To date, quantitative analysis on the depth of mortgage markets across a broad set of countries has been very limited. This paper uses a rich and balanced data set on 31 European countries to investigate the cross-country variations in the depth of mortgage markets during the period 2005–2012. The present paper might be accepted as the updated and enriched version of existing research for the European region in terms of the coverage of countries, historical data and the empirical analyses. Our empirical findings reveal that developed countries have sizeable residential mortgage markets and this is mainly associated with higher urbanization rates and stronger legal rights. One of the most notable results of this study is that, statistical significance of explanatory variables in modeling the depth of the mortgage markets depends heavily on both the variables, countries (regions) included in the models and the regression methodology used. Hence, we argue that strong conclusions based on such analyses should be avoided and the findings of previous research on the variations of the depth of mortgage markets should be carefully evaluated.     

Prioritization of chemical carcinogenesis testing: the use of production data

Based on previous work, this paper aims to show how approximate methods of estimating exposure can lead to a preliminary ranked list of chemicals for regulation of carcinogens. This list is likely to be more reliable, than those so far generated. The paper argues four main points. Firstly that an indication of the route by which the total production of a hazardous material is distributed and enters the human body should be explicitly included in calculations. Second, simple calculations based on conservative bounds should be made to establish a ranking or set of priorities for regulation. Third, an improved system for establishing regulatory priorities can be based on formal analysis using regret functions. Finally some simple, bounded, calculations based on commonly used herbicides and pesticides are made and it is shown how some regulatory processes could be modified.     

振动荷载下级配碎石颗粒运动及其能量特征试验研究

大空隙级配碎石因其良好的透(排)水性能逐渐用作“海绵城市”路面结构的基层填料,但振动荷载作用下填料颗粒在重新排列过程中的运动姿态变化以及能量状态空间分布规律仍不明确。文章基于颗粒堆积理论设计了不同级配的碎石填料,开展不同激振参数组合下的室内新型平板振动压实试验,在试样内部不同位置处放置新型智能颗粒传感器(SmartRock)实时监测压实过程中颗粒的运动姿态变化,由颗粒加速度响应分析填料内部运动能量的时空演变规律,进而提出基于颗粒运动和能量分布的填料压实质量评价新指标。研究结果表明,级配碎石填料振动压实过程可明显分为两个不同阶段：第一阶段大部分能量耗散于碎石颗粒的竖向运动及空隙的压缩,占主导的颗粒竖向运动未形成致密的骨架结构;第二阶段颗粒主要发生水平面内的平动以及竖直面内的滚动,颗粒的长轴取向逐渐趋近于“平躺”状态,大部分能量耗散于颗粒间空隙的填充,颗粒逐渐互相紧密咬合嵌挤并形成稳定的骨架结构。试样中上部颗粒的运动指标可较好地评判压实状态,当颗粒水平向运动能量从逐渐增大过渡到逐渐减小至几乎没有任何能量分布但竖向能量分布突增时,表明试样已达到较优的压实状态,新的颗粒运动和能量指标可为连续压...     

Macroscopic assembly of indefinitely long and parallel nanowires into large area photodetection circuitry

Integration of nanowires into functional devices with high yields and good reliability turned out to be a lot more challenging and proved to be a critical issue obstructing the wide application of nanowire-based devices and exploitation of their technical promises. Here we demonstrate a relatively easy macrofabrication of a nanowire-based imaging circuitry using a recently developed nanofabrication technique. Extremely long and polymer encapsulated semiconducting nanowire arrays, mass-produced using the iterative thermal drawing, facilitate the integration process; we manually aligned the fibers containing selenium nanowires over a lithographically defined circuitry. Controlled etching of the encapsulating polymer revealed a monolayer of nanowires aligned over an area of 1 cm(2) containing a 10 × 10 pixel array. Each light-sensitive pixel is formed by the contacting hundreds of parallel photoconductive nanowires between two electrodes. Using the pixel array, alphabetic characters were identified by the circuitry to demonstrate its imaging capacity. This new approach makes it possible to devise extremely large nanowire devices on planar, flexible, or curved substrates with diverse functionalities such as thermal sensors, phase change memory, and artificial skin.     

Prioritization methodology of dangerous substances for water quality monitoring with scarce data

Monitoring and control of dangerous substances discharged into receiving waters have attracted more attention lately. Since it is not possible to analyze every single substance, a prioritization methodology is needed for the selection of those to be monitored. Existing well-developed models require significant amount of data for reliable outcomes. This paper presents a methodology to prioritize the dangerous substances having adverse effects on freshwaters in Turkey, where data are scarce. Such a methodology will also serve as a solid model for other countries with limited background data. The adopted methodology enabled the elimination of chemicals to generate a candidate list composed of 608 substances among more than 5000 substances. Further screening and prioritization were conducted using different assessment methods (i.e., Total Hazard Value, Total Impact Value, Combined Monitoring-based, and Modelling-based Priority Setting) to obtain a proposed Final Candidate Specific Pollutants List of 150 dangerous substances. The proposed Candidate National Pollutant List of Turkey was established by combining 45 priority pollutants of the European Union with a list of candidate specific pollutants. According to the outcomes of this study, monitoring and controlling of 195 dangerous substances in freshwaters are recommended. Further detailed studies should be conducted in order to observe the actual levels of these dangerous substances in freshwaters followed by a review of the monitoring list accordingly. Moreover, further revisions might be required in the proposed list due to some possible versatile conditions in terms of sampling points (i.e., change in the location of industries).     

A comparative study on structural,morphological and photocatalytic properties of anodically grown ZnO nanowires under varying parameters

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics - In this study, zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires (NWs) were successfully produced on Zn plates through electrochemical anodization in potassium...     

Is hepcidin‐25 a predictor of atherosclerosis in hemodialysis patients?

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is an important cause of mortality and morbidity in hemodialysis patients. Iron accumulation in arterial wall macrophages is increased in atherosclerotic lesions. Hepcidin is a key hepatic hormone regulating iron balance. It inhibits iron release from macrophages and iron absorption from enterocytes by binding and inactivating the cellular iron exporter ferroportin. The aim of this study is to investigate the relation of hepcidin‐25, iron parameters, and atherosclerosis measured by carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) in hemodialysis patients. Eighty‐two hemodialysis patients were enrolled in this cross‐sectional study. Predialysis blood samples were centrifuged at 1500 g and 4°C for 10 minutes and stored at ?80°C for the measurement of hepcidin‐25. DRG hepcidin enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay kit was used for the measurement of hepcidin‐25. Ultrasonographical B‐mode imaging of bilateral carotid arteries was performed with a high‐resolution real‐time ultrasonography (Mindray DC7). Mean age of the study population was 57.90 ± 16.08 years and 43.9% were men. Total study population was grouped into two according to median value of hepcidin‐25. There was no difference between groups with respect to age, dialysis vintage, and C‐reactive protein. CIMT was found to be statistically significantly higher in low hepcidin‐25 group. In correlation analysis, CIMT was found to be correlated with age (P < 0.01, R = 0.33) and hepcidin‐25 (P < 0.01, R = 0.46). In linear regression analysis, age (β = 0.31) and hepcidin‐25 (β = 0.44) were found to be the determinants of CIMT in hemodialysis patients. Our results implicate that hepcidin may take part in pathophysiology of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease in hemodialysis patients.