Structure and physical properties of dried Tetra-PEG gel

We investigated crystal structure, and thermal, swelling, and deformation behaviors of dried tetrafunctional (polyethylene glycol) gel, Tetra-PEG gel, with narrow molecular distribution. Tetra-PEG gel consists of two kinds of symmetrical tetrahedron-like PEG macromonomers with a fixed molecular weight. In spite of network structure with rather small molecular weight between cross-links (M_c) (≈5000), the dried Tetra-PEG gels were found to be capable of crystallization. The crystalline melting temperature (T_m) and the degree of crystallinity (X_c) of dried Tetra-PEG gels obtained by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were substantially constant against the polymer volume fraction at preparation (?₀). Furthermore, the corrected elastic modulus (G) of dried Tetra-PEG gels did not depend on ?₀. These experimental results indicate that the there exist negligible entanglements in the dried Tetra-PEG network irrespective of ?₀. In other words, Tetra-PEG gels do not have significant topological inhomogeneities.     

Gaseous diffusion coefficients of methyl bromide and methyl iodide into air,nitrogen, and oxygen

The gaseous diffusion coefficients of methyl bromide (CH₃Br) and methyl iodide (CH₃I) into dry air, nitrogen, and oxygen have been measured in the temperature range 303–453 K and at atmospheric pressure via the Taylor dispersion method. Both for methyl bromide and methyl iodide, the diffusion coefficients do not vary in practice on substituting pure nitrogen or oxygen for dry air. The diffusion coefficients for methyl iodide are systematically smaller than those for methyl bromide by about 11%. For the methyl iodide‐oxygen system, the effect of the thermal decomposition of methyl iodide has been observed at 453 K. The present results can be reproduced well by the functional form D = AT^B, where D (cm²s^?1) is the diffusion coefficient at 101 325 Pa (1 atm) and T (K) is the absolute temperature. The constants A and B are as follows: methyl bromide‐(air, nitrogen, oxygen), A = 5.57 × 10^?6, B = 1.76; methyl iodide‐(air, nitrogen, oxygen), A = 5.26 × 10^?6, B = 1.75. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20255     

Vibration and stability of angle-ply laminated composite plates subjected to in-plane stresses

Natural frequencies and buckling stresses of angle-ply laminated composite plates are analyzed by taking into account the effects of shear deformation, thickness change and rotatory inertia. By using the method of power series expansion of displacement components, a set of fundamental dynamic equations of a two-dimensional higher-order theory for thick rectangular laminates subjected to in-plane stresses is derived through Hamilton's principle. Several sets of truncated approximate theories are applied to solve the eigenvalue problems of a simply supported thick laminated plate. In order to assure the accuracy of the present theory, convergence properties of the fundamental natural frequency are examined in detail. Numerical results are compared with those of the published existing theories. The modal displacement and stress distributions in the thickness direction are obtained and plotted in figures. The present global higher-order approximate theories can predict the natural frequencies, buckling stresses and modal stresses of thick multilayered angle-ply composite laminates accurately within small number of unknowns which is not dependent on the number of layers.     

Vibration and Stability of Thick Plates on Elastic Foundations

Natural frequencies and buckling stresses of a thick isotropic plate on two-parameter elastic foundations are analyzed by taking into account the effect of shear deformation, thickness change, and rotatory inertia. Using the method of power series expansion of the displacement components, a set of fundamental dynamic equations of a two-dimensional, higher-order theory for thick rectangular plates subjected to in-plane stresses is derived through Hamilton's principle. Several sets of truncated approximate theories are used to solve the eigenvalue problems of a simply supported thick elastic plate. To assure the accuracy of the present theory, convergence properties of the minimum natural frequency and the buckling stress are examined in detail. The distribution of modal transverse stresses are obtained by integrating the three-dimensional equations of motion in the thickness direction. The present approximate theories can accurately predict the natural frequencies and buckling stresses of thick plates on elastic foundations as compared with Mindlin plate theory and classical plate theory.     

Compressive and ultrasonic properties of polyester/fly ash composites

The addition of hollow fillers having appropriate mechanical properties can decrease the density of the resulting composite, called syntactic foams, while concurrently improving its mechanical properties. In this study, hollow fly ash particles, called cenospheres, are used as fillers in polyester matrix material. Cenospheres are a waste by-product of coal combustion and, as such, are available at very low cost. In this study, the composites were synthesized by settling cenospheres in a glass tube filled with liquid polyester resin and subsequently curing the resin. This process resulted in a functionally graded structure containing a gradient in the cenosphere volume fraction along the sample height. Uniform radial sections were cut from each composite and were characterized to observe the relationship between cenosphere volume fraction and compressive properties of the composite. The composite was also tested using ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation method. Results show that the modulus of the composites increases with increasing cenosphere volume fraction. The modulus of composites containing more than 4.9 vol% cenosphere was found to be higher than the matrix resin. In general, the modulus of composites increased from 1.33 to 2.1 GPa for composites containing from 4.9–29.5 vol% cenospheres. The specific strength of the composite was found to be as high as 2.03 MPa/(kg/m³) compared to 0.96 MPa/(kg/m³) for the neat resin. Numerous defects present in fly ash particles caused a reduction in the strength of the composite. However, the reduction in the strength was found to be only up to 22%. Increase of over 110% in the specific modulus and only a slight decrease in the strength indicates the possibility of significant saving of weight in the structures using polyester/fly ash syntactic foams.     

Toward an information-integrated control system—the control-theoretic view of intelligent control technology

Recent computing technology is providing alternative strategies for the functionality and implementation of controllers for practical complex systems. An important issue will be how to integrate all information about control problems. In this paper, we present the control-theoretic view of intelligent control technology, and discuss a paradigm for an information-integrated control system. This work was presented, in part, at the Third International Symposium on Artificial Life and Robotics, Oita, Japan, January 19–21, 1998     

Optimization of a polarized photometric detector equipped with a split-type flow cell and its analytical application to oligo-saccharides

A novel, non-modulated polarimeter called a polarized photometric detector (PPD) was previously described by the authors. The PPD enables the measurement of the optical rotation of chiral compounds as a change in absorbance by placing two linear polarizers on either side of a flow cell of a conventional photometric detector. The present study describes the optimization of the conditions of PPD for highly sensitive detection of saccharides. To maximize the light intensity, the light balancing filter and slit were removed from the detector (Shimadzu model SPD-10AV). These modifications resulted in an approximately 15-fold increase in the incident light intensity when the maximum current was applied to the lamp. When this intense light was transmitted through the polarizers, the signal intensity followed the theoretical equation for phase angles up to around 1 rad. If the energy of the transmitted light was less than 700 mV, however, the baseline noise was too great to determine the chiral analyte accurately. Setting the phase angle between two polarizers at 50 degrees and the detection wavelength at 400 nm provided the most suitable conditions. This detector was applicable for the determinations of oligosaccharides in foodstuffs separated by HPLC using gradient elution.     

High-resolution contrast-enhanced MRI of the uterus with a phased-array multicoil

High-resolution contrast-enhanced dynamic MRI of the uterus can be performed with the combination of a phased-array multicoil and fast GE techniques. This technique can improve the ability to visualize normal anatomy of the uterus and periuterine tissues, including vascular structures and pelvic ligaments, and to detect pathologic processes of the uterus and determine their extent.     

bor1-1, an Arabidopsis thaliana mutant that requires a high level of boron

Catenins are proteins associated with the cytoplasmic domain of cadherins, a family of transmembrane cell adhesion molecules. The cadherin-catenin adhesion system is involved in morphogenesis during development and in the maintenance of the integrity of different tissue types. Using a gene trap strategy, we have isolated a mouse mutation for the gene encoding the alpha-E-catenin. This form of the alpha-catenin appears frequently coexpressed with E-cadherin in epithelial cell types. The mutation obtained eliminates the carboxyl-terminal third of the protein but nevertheless provokes a complete loss-of-function phenotype. Homozygous mutants show disruption of the trophoblast epithelium (the first differentiated embryonic tissue), and development is consequently blocked at the blastocyst stage. This phenotype parallels the defects observed in E-cadherin mutant embryos. Our results show the requirement of the alpha-E-catenin carboxy terminus for its function and represent evidence of the role of the alpha-E-catenin in vivo, identifying this molecule as the natural partner of the E-cadherin in trophoblast epithelium.     

Ankle arthroplasty by excision of the talar body: subtotal talectomy

Giant platelet disorders (GPD) refer to rare, usually inherited states characterized by abnormally large platelets, thrombocytopenia and bleeding tendency of variable severity. This review summarizes major clinical and laboratory features of three GPDs (Bernard-Soulier syndrome, May-Hegglin anomaly and gray platelet syndrome). Differential diagnosis between immunological thrombocytopenia and GPDs is important. Although rare, giant platelet disorders should be borne in mind, since bleeding tendency in some individuals may be severe and knowledge of bleeding diathesis is of importance before delivery or surgical procedures also in less symptomatic individuals.