Electrochemical micromachining of a Zr-based bulk metallic glass using a micro-tool electrode technique

For the first time the possibility of electrochemical micromachining (ECMM) of a Zr-based bulk metallic glass (BMG) using a micro-tool electrode technique is reported. It is demonstrated that the choice of the electrolyte chemistry is substantial for a successful ECMM processing. For the bulk glassy Zr₅₉Ti₃Cu₂₀Al₁₀Ni₈ alloy a concentrated aqueous NaNO₃ standard machining solution is not suitable due to formation of thick and dense corrosion product layers which hinder the machining of structures with high aspect ratio. On the other hand, a commercial methanolic HClO₄ solution is shown to be very promising. In the first experiments with this electrolyte micro-hole structures were machined with aspect ratios of about 1 at depths of ～40 μm. The effect of process parameters such as pulse voltage and pulse length was investigated and their influence on the machined structure morphology is established. In a first approach the potential and challenges of this electrochemical micromachining technique for microforming of multi-component bulk metallic glass surfaces will be discussed.     

Microfabricated devices: A new sample introduction approach to mass spectrometry

Instrument miniaturization is one way of addressing the issues of sensitivity, speed, throughput, and cost of analysis in DNA diagnostics, proteomics, and related biotechnology areas. Microfluidics is of special interest for handling very small sample amounts, with minimal concerns related to sample loss and cross-contamination, problems typical for standard fluidic manipulations. Furthermore, the small footprint of these microfabricated structures leads to instrument designs suitable for high-density, parallel sample processing, and high-throughput analyses. In addition to miniaturized systems designed with optical or electrochemical detection, microfluidic devices interfaced to mass spectrometry have also been demonstrated. Instruments for automated sample infusion analysis are now commercially available, and microdevices utilizing chromatographic or capillary electrophoresis separation techniques are under development. This review aims at documenting the technologies and applications of microfluidic mass spectrometry for the analysis of proteomic samples.     

The switch mechanism of the cell death mode from apoptosis to necrosis in menadione-treated human osteosarcoma cell line 143B cells

Time-dependent changes in the cell death mode from apoptosis to necrosis were studied in cultured 143B cells treated with menadione, an anti-cancerous drug, excluding a possible involvement of "secondary necrosis." The population of apoptotic cells judged by FITC-Annexin V and propidium iodide (PI) double staining reached its maximum at 6 hours after 100 microM menadione treatment followed by an abrupt decrease thereafter, while that of necrotic cells continuously increased reaching 90% at 24 hours. Electron microscopically, cells attached to the culture dish at 6 hours after the treatment consisted of two different types of cells: cells with typical apoptotic features occupying the major population and those with condensed nuclei and swollen cytoplasm. Cells attached to the culture dish at 8 hours after the treatment consisted exclusively of those with condensed nuclei and swollen cytoplasm. Mitochondria in these cells showed various structural changes: those swollen to various degrees with deposition of flocculent densities, or those with highly condensed matrix. Distinct decreases both in intracellular levels of ATP and caspase-3-like activities and remarkable elevations of intracellular levels of superoxide, which were partly suppressed by NAD(P)H oxidase inhibitors, occurred at 6 hours after the treatment. These results may suggest that distinct increases of the intracellular level of superoxide derived from plasma membrane NAD(P)H oxidase besides that from mitochondria have triggered the transition of cell death mode from apoptosis to necrosis. Transition of highly condensed mitochondria to extremely swollen ones may reflect necrotic processes in menadione-treated cells. The present study strongly suggests that time-dependent study is essential using the electron microscopic technique to analyze detailed processes in the changes of the cell death mode.     

Aluminum bisphenoxides: Promising challengers for a catalyzed copolymerization of cyclohexene oxide with CO2

Reacting triethyl aluminum and diethyl aluminum chloride with the chelating bisphenol ligands mdtbpH2 and mmcpH2 [mmcpH2: 2,2′-methylenebis(4-methyl-6-(1-methyl-cyclohexyl)phenol); mdtbpH2: 2,2′-methylenebis(4,6-di-tert-butyl-phenol)] afforded monomeric and dimeric aluminum bisphenoxides with reactive Al–Cl and Al–C₂H₅ moieties. We present here the X-ray structure determination of some of the isolated compounds as well as the preliminary catalytic tests in copolymerization reactions with cyclohexene oxide and carbon dioxide.     

Ternary polymer electrolytes with 1-methylimidazole based ionic liquids and aprotic solvents

New polymer gel electrolytes containing ionic liquids were developed for modern chemical power sources—supercapacitors and lithium-ion batteries. Ternary systems polymer-ionic liquid-aprotic solvent as well as materials containing also lithium salts (LiClO₄ or LiPF₆) were prepared by direct, thermally initiated polymerisation. Poly(2-ethoxyethyl methacrylate) PEOEMA was combined with various ionic liquids based on 1-methylimidazole. Only 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate BMIPF₆ formed a homogenous and slightly translucent polymer electrolyte, where aprotic solvents—propylene carbonate and ethylene carbonates were used as plasticisers. Materials were studied using the electrochemical and thermogravimetric methods and exhibit high ionic conductivity up to 0.94 mS cm⁻¹ at 25 °C together with high electrochemical stability: the accessible potential window on the glassy carbon was found ca. 4.3 V. Prepared non-volatile materials are long-term and thermally stable up to 150 °C.     

Influence of composition and annealing conditions on the site-occupation in the σ-phase of Fe–Cr and Fe–V systems

Neutron diffraction technique was used to study the site-occupation in the σ-phase in the Fe–Cr and Fe–V systems. It was found that all five sites A, B, C, D and E are “mixed”, i.e. occupied by both elements. The occupation is neither random – the degree of randomness increases with Fe content – nor regular, i.e. sites A and D are predominantly occupied by Fe atoms while B, C and E sites are occupied preferentially by Cr or V atoms. For all five sites the increase of Cr(V) concentration results in an irregular decrease of the number of Fe atoms on each site, the rate of decrease being the smallest for the sites A and D. In the Fe–Cr system the population of A with Fe atoms, N_A, is similar to that of D, N_D, while for the system Fe–V N_D > N_A and the difference increases with V content. The lowest Fe population in both investigated systems has B, but N_B(V) < N_B(Cr). N_C = N_E for Fe–V, while N_C > N_E for Fe–Cr. The influence of sample preparation conditions (plastic deformation prior to phase transformation, annealing time, t_a, and temperature of annealing, T_a) were also tested on a σ-Fe_53.8Cr_46.2 sample. In general the influence of these conditions on the site population is small. The largest effect had the plastic deformation, and the smallest one the annealing time in case of non-deformed samples. The most insensitive sites were revealed to be D and E, and the most sensitive ones were B and A.     

Grain Coarsening of Columnar Iron Polycrystals by Repetitive Cold Work and Annealing

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A - Experimental studies on single crystals of pure metals are essential for understanding the mechanisms governing their plastic deformation as well as for...     

An evaluation tool for research of user behavior in a realistic mobile environment

User behavior is significantly influenced by the surrounding environment. Especially complex and dynamically changing environments (like mobile environment) are represented by a wide variety of extraneous variables, which influence the user behavior in an unpredictable and mostly uncontrolled way. For researchers, it is challenging to measure and analyze the user behavior in such environments. We introduce a complex tool—the IVE tool—which provides a unique way of context visualization and synchronization of measured data of various kinds. Thanks to this tool it is possible to efficiently evaluate data acquired during complex usability tests in a mobile environment. The functionality of this tool is demonstrated on the use case “Navigation of visually impaired users in the building with support of a navigation system called NaviTerier.” During the experiment, we focused on collection and analysis of data that may show user stress and which may influence his/her ability to navigate. We analyzed objective data like Galvanic Skin Response parameter (GSR), Heart Rate Variability parameters (HRV) and audio video recordings and also subjective data like the user’s subjective stress feeling and observation of the user’s behavior.     

Ontology‐Based Representation and Modelling of Synthetic 3D Content: A State‐of‐the‐Art Review

An indispensable element of any practical 3D/VR/AR application is synthetic three‐dimensional (3D) content. Such content is characterized by a variety of features—geometry, structure, space, appearance, animation and behaviour—which makes the modelling of 3D content a much more complex, difficult and time‐consuming task than in the case of other types of content. One of the promising research directions aiming at simplification of modelling 3D content is the use of the semantic web approach. The formalism provided by semantic web techniques enables declarative knowledge‐based modelling of content based on ontologies. Such modelling can be conducted at different levels of abstraction, possibly domain‐specific, with inherent separation of concerns. The use of semantic web ontologies enables content representation independent of particular presentation platforms and facilitates indexing, searching and analysing content, thus contributing to increased content re‐usability. A range of approaches have been proposed to permit semantic representation and modelling of synthetic 3D content. These approaches differ in the methodologies and technologies used as well as their scope and application domains. This paper provides a review of the current state of the art in representation and modelling of 3D content based on semantic web ontologies, together with a classification, characterization and discussion of the particular approaches.