The behaviour of homogeneous AlCu4 and AlZn3 in weakly acid and in O2-saturated chloride solutions

The electrochemical behaviour of a homogeneous binary Al–4wt.%Cu and of a homogeneous binary Al–3wt.%Zn alloy in weakly acid chloride solutions, in O₂-saturated chloride and citrate buffer solution and in Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺-containing citrate buffer solution has been examined using a rotating disc electrode. In weakly acid and in O₂-containing solutions the behaviour of the AlCu and of the AlZn alloy differs from the behaviour of pure Al. H⁺ -and O₂-reduction at these alloys take place at a much higher rate. Under certain conditions, the reactions are even under transport control. Obviously, this is caused by the preceding selective dissolution of Al. Clusters from residual Cu and Zn, respectively, can pierce the passive layer and act as cathodic sites. In an electrolyte, where the passive layer is not dissolved, the AlZn and the AlCu alloy behave like pure Al. This is shown with the Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺ redox system in a neutral buffer solution.     

Ursachen und Erscheinungsformen der Korrosion in Installationssystemen

Causes and phenomenology of corrosions in domestic installations The author deals with questions concerning the operational safety of domestic installation systems for cold water distribution and warm water preparation and distribution. The investigation is concerned in particular with the conditions which in aerated waters may give rise to a prevention of corrosion of an unalloyed steel by the formation of dense and protective layers of rust and calcareous rust; in this context the role of hot-dip galvanizing is dealt with, too. The deleterious effect of aeration cells in water systems with frequent stagnation periods is emphasized and discussed. With a particular view to warm water and installations of galvanized steel the danger is pointed out which is due to the formation of hydrogen bubbles in or below the zinc coating, which may give rise to spalling. As to high-alloy steels, copper and aluminium base materials it is shown that uniform corrosion is scarcely encountered in domestic installation systems. However, attention should be paid to occasional cases of selective corrosion and stress corrosion cracking and in particular to the danger of pitting. In this context the role of the pitting potential is considered.     

SNR enhancement in radial SSFP imaging using partial k-space averaging

The steady-state free precessing (SSFP) sequences, widely used in MRI today, acquire data only during a short fraction of the repetition time (TR). Thus, they exhibit a poor scan efficiency. In this paper, a novel approach to extending the acquisition window for a given TR without considerably modifying the basic sequence is explored for radial SSFP sequences. The additional data are primarily employed to increase the signal-to-noise ratio, rather than to improve the temporal resolution of the imaging. The approach is analyzed regarding its effect on the image SNR (signal to noise ratio) and the reconstruction algorithm. Results are presented for phantom experiments and cardiac functions studies. The gain in SNR is most notable in rapid imaging, since SNR enhancement for a constant repetition time may be used to compensate for the increase in noise resulting from angular undersampling.     

Surface properties of wood and MDF after ultrasonic-assisted cutting

Surfaces created by ultrasonic-assisted cutting (UC) of beech and spruce and of medium density fibreboard (MDF) are compared to surfaces obtained by conventional linear cutting (CC) using a sharp tool. Topography is evaluated performing roughness measurements and scanning electron microscopy. No effect of UC procedure on mean roughness is found. The surface of MDF and large areas of the surfaces of the woods appear similar after UC and CC, whereas other regions show impact marks and microscopic reels produced by the periodic oscillation of the tool in UC. The wettability of surfaces produced with both wood processing techniques is similar. Surface free energy measurements indicate accelerated ageing caused by UC, probably due to heating.     

Fluoroscopy-based 3-D reconstruction of femoral bone cement: a new approach for revision total hip replacement

In revision total hip replacement the removal of the distal femoral bone cement can be a time consuming and risky operation due to the difficulty in determining the three-dimensional (3-D) boundary of the cement. We present a new approach to reconstruct the bone cement volume by using just a small number of calibrated multiplanar X-ray images. The modular system design allows the surgeon to react intraoperatively to problems arising during the individual situation. When encountering problems during conventional cement removal, the system can be used on demand to acquire a few calibrated X-ray images. After a semi-automatic segmentation and 3-D reconstruction of the cement with a deformable model, the system guides the surgeon through a free-hand navigated or robot-assisted cement removal. The experimental evaluation using plastic test implants cemented into anatomic specimen of human femoral bone has shown the potential of this method with a maximal error of 1.2 mm (0.5 mm RMS) for the distal cement based on just 4-5 multiplanar X-ray images. A first test of the complete system, comparing the 3-D-reconstruction with a computed tompgraphy data set, confirmed these results with a mean error about 1 mm.     

Gap acceptance and risk-taking by young and mature drivers, both sober and alcohol-intoxicated, in a simulated driving task

A single-blind randomized study was conducted on young (18–21 years, n = 16) and mature (25–35 years, n = 16) drivers to assess how age, combined with a modest dose of alcohol (0.7 g/kg for males and 0.6 g/kg for females), influenced performance on a driving simulator. The driving tasks included detecting the presence of a vehicle on the horizon as quickly as possible, estimating the point on the road that an approaching vehicle would have passed by the participants’ vehicle (time-to-collision) and overtaking another vehicle against a steady stream of oncoming traffic. The results of the vehicle detection task showed that detection times were significantly slower with maturity, alcohol consumption and lower approaching vehicle speeds (50 kph), particularly on curved sections of road. Approaching vehicle speed was also found to significantly influence time-to-collision (TTC) judgments, such that faster approach speeds led to less underestimated (and therefore riskier) judgments of TTC than slower speeds. In the overtaking task, mature participants demonstrated impaired discrimination skills with varying approaching vehicle speeds, while young participants recorded significantly slower speeds while overtaking a vehicle, thus increasing the time that they spent in the opposing lane. In conclusion, young and mature drivers demonstrated pivotal differences in behavior in this study. Young drivers showed a greater tendency to engage in risky driving, while experienced drivers appeared to be more susceptible to perceptual influences. Overall, alcohol consumption impaired a driver's ability to divide attention, but had little effect on decision-making processes.     

Nonlinear optical chromophores as nanoscale emitters for single-molecule spectroscopy

Fluorescence imaging of single molecules at room temperature is a powerful technique for studying complex condensed phase systems and revealing structure and dynamics hidden by ensemble measurements. Successful single-molecule spectroscopic experiments rely upon strong emitters that can be detected at the level of individual copies above the relevant background signals. This Account discusses a class of nonlinear optical chromophores that not only are well-suited for single-molecule imaging but also offer additional beneficial properties such as a significant ground-state dipole moment, moderate hyperpolarizability, and sensitivity to local environment. An overview of the photophysical properties of several members of this class of molecules as well as a mechanism to help understand the environmental sensitivity is presented. Some preliminary applications of the chromophores as single-molecule reporters in cellular and polymer systems are discussed, along with detection of the emitters by two-photon fluorescence.     

Einfluß der Mikrostruktur und des Elektroden-potentials auf die Ausbreitungsgeschwindigkeit von Spannungskorrosionsrissen einer reinen AlZnMg3-Legierung in 1 M NaCl-Lösung

Influence of microstructure and electrode potential upon the velocity of stress corrosion cracks of a pure AlZnMg3-alloy in an 1 M NaCI-solution The influence of microstructure and electrode potential upon the stress corrosion crack velocity in a fully aged pure aluminium-zincmagnesium 3-alloy with two step ageing and quench interruption treatments was investigated in airsaturated 1 M sodium chloride solution at 303 K. For this, propagation of the crack tip was observed microphotographically under potentiostatic conditions and under constant load using specimens precracked by fatigue. The crack propagation at the corrosion potential is accelerated by denser matrix-precipitates, narrower precipitate free zone, the presence of great T-grain boundary precipitates and minor sensitivity to intercrystalline corrosion and occurs to judge from the look of the fracture surfaces without considerable metal dissolution. In contrast to the alloy, which shows no intercrystalline corrosion, the crack propagation in the alloy with intercrystalline corrosion is obviously faster above the breakdown potential than at the corrosion potential. The results suggest that the crack propagates essentially mechanically. As mechanisms are discussed a crack growth by anodic dissolution of grain boundary precipitates or of zinc- and magnesium-rich grain boundary regions and mechanical seperation of the intermediate regions and propagation by local hydrogen embrittlement of the crack tip.     

Untersuchungen über den Einfluß der Mikrostruktur auf die interkristalline und Kornflächenkorrosion von reinen Aluminium-Zink-Magnesium-Legierungen in 1 M Natriumchloridlösung

Investigation into the influence of the microstructure on the intercrystalline and grainphase corrosion of pure aluminium-zinc-magnesium alloys in an 1 M sodium chloride solution Potentiostatic polarisation tests of homogeneous pure aluminium-zinc-magnesium 2- and aluminium-zinc-magnesium 3-alloys as well as of a pure aluminium zinc-magnesium 3-alloy with two step ageing and quench-interruption treatments were carried out in an airsaturated 1 M sodium chloride solution at a temperature of 303 K. The pure aluminium-zinc-magnesium 3-alloy contents (weight percent): zinc 4,76; magnesium 3,00: impurities 0,08; balance aluminium, the pure aluminium-zinc-magnesium 2-alloy: zinc 4,60; magnesium 2,00; impurities 0,011; balance aluminium. The more negative breakdown potential in the homogeneous aluminium-zinc-magnesium-alloy than in the pure aluminium is caused by the zinc. According to the heattreatment the aged aluminium-zinc-magnesium 3-alloy shows above the breakdown potential grainphase corrosion and/or intercrystalline corrosion. In contrast to specimens with G.P.-zones or ν-precipitates in the matrix the specimens with ν′-matrix precipitates are grain-phase corroded along deep parallel streaks. This observation is attributed to the favoured formation of the ν′-precipitates on the (111)-planes in the matrix. The intercrystalline corrosion is more marked in specimens with a wider precipitate free zone, i.e. with a higher concentration of zinc and magnesium in the precipitate free zone.     

Construction of Recombinant Escherichia coli Catalysts which Simultaneously Express an (S)‐Oxynitrilase and Different Nitrilase Variants for the Synthesis of (S)‐Mandelic Acid and (S)‐Mandelic Amide from Benzaldehyde and Cyanide

Recombinant Escherichia coli strains were constructed which simultaneously expressed the genes encoding the (S)‐oxynitrilase from cassava (Manihot esculenta) together with the wild‐type or a mutant variant of the arylacetonitrilase from Pseudomonas fluorescens EBC191 in a single organism under the control of a rhamnose‐inducible promoter. The whole cell catalysts obtained converted benzaldehyde and potassium cyanide in aqueous media at pH 5.2 mainly to (S)‐mandelic acid and/or (S)‐mandelic amide and synthesized only low amounts of the corresponding (R)‐enantiomers. The conversion of benzaldehyde and potassium cyanide (KCN) by a whole‐cell catalyst simultaneously expressing the (S)‐oxynitrilase and the wild‐type nitrilase resulted in a ratio of (S)‐mandelic acid to (S)‐mandelic amide of about 4:3. This could be explained by the strong nitrile hydratase activity of the wild‐type nitrilase with (S)‐mandelonitrile as substrate. The relative proportion of (S)‐mandelic amide formed in this system was significantly increased by coexpressing the (S)‐oxynitrilase with a carboxy‐terminally truncated variant of the nitrilase. This whole‐cell catalyst converted benzaldehyde and KCN to mandelic amide and mandelic acid in a ratio of about 9:1. The ee of the (S)‐mandelic amide formed was calculated to be >95%.