A REVIEW ON ABSORPTION OF ASPHALT INTO POROUS AGGREGATES II. METHODS FOR DETERMINATION AND MINIMIZATION OF ABSORPTION

In the second part of this review we examine current laboratory practice for the practical determination of asphalt absorption into porous aggregates. It is found that current practice relies heavily on empirical relations, to bridge the gap between laboratory test results and field behavior. Certain proposed methods for minimizing the consequences of asphalt absorption are also reviewed, although more work is required before they can be recommended for implementation.     

A REVIEW ON ABSORPTION OF ASPHALT INTO POROUS AGGREGATES I PHYSICOCHEMICAL MECHANISMS AND VARIABLES AFFECTING ABSORPTION

Absorption is the process in which asphalt flows into a porous aggregate, under the driving force of capillary pressure. Asphalt absorption is of interest because it represents an economic loss of effective binder, and because it may change the properties of the resulting asphalt film and lead to premature pavement distress. Incorrect air voids estimation may also result from failure to properly account for asphalt absorption in pavement design. The present review of asphalt absorption is divided into two parts. In part I of the review we have examined the literature over the past 70 years to determine the practical consequences of asphalt absorption, its fundamental physicochemical mechanims, and the influence of asphalt and aggregate properties on the process. Our review shows a need for additional fundamental research if the complex absorption phenomena is to be adequately understood and modeled.     

KINETICS OF PERCHLOROETHYLENE EXTRACTION DESULFURIZATION OF COALS

The perchloroethylene coal cleaning process selectively removes the organic sulfur from coal via a hybrid mechanism of chemical reaction and physical solvation It was found that the chemical reaction was catalyzed by the inorganic species present in the coal. In this paper, a kinetic study was experimentally carried out to determine rate constants of the reaction. It was confirmed that the extent of organosulfur extraction depended strongly on the type of coal, and also that there is a critical extraction time which is required as the minimum time for each type of coal. Isothermal batch kinetic studies were done for various types of coal. A relation was established between the type of coal and its kinetics and hence the minimumtime for extraction.     

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF ORGANOSULFUR EXTRACTION DATA OF OHIO 5/6 COAL USING THE PERCHLOROETHYLENE COAL CLEANING PROCESS

The perchloroethylene coal cleaning process removes both organic and pyritic forms of sulfur using perchloroethylene as the solvent medium. The effect of process variables including temperature, extraction time, solvent to coal ratio and particle size of coal has been studied by a systematic 2⁴ full factorial experimental design with a single replicate. The process was found to be strongly dependent on the type of coal. Hence, this variable was controlled by choosing one single type of coal, i.e., Ohio 5/6 (1:1 mixture of Ohio 5 and Ohio 6 coals) throughout this entire investigation. The significant effects and interactions have been quantified by F-tests. The estimates of significant effects have been obtained by Yates algorithm. Residual probability and normal probability plots have been obtained to test model adequacy. Finally, a computational model has been developed to predict the organosulfur extraction efficiency of this coal at various values of process variables. The parity plots conclude that the model has a good interpolational predictive capability.     

Wide-band guided-wave acoustooptic Bragg cells in GaAs-GaAlAs waveguide

One of the key components in future GaAs-based monolithic integrated acoustooptic modules or circuits is an efficient and wide-band acoustooptic Bragg cell. In this paper, design, fabrication, and performance characteristics of compact miniaturized GaAs-GaAlAs waveguide acoustooptic Bragg cells that operate at the acoustic frequency from 190 to 625 MHz are reported. A 201 MHz bandwidth has been obtained with the Bragg cell that employs a single tilted-finger chirp transducer centering at 360 MHz. The acoustic propagation losses in the GaAs-GaAlAs waveguides that were measured using acoustooptic Bragg diffraction as a probe are also presented.     

Monolithic GaAs photoreceiver for high-speed signal processing applications

High-speed planar monolithically integrated GaAs photoreceivers have been fabricated by selective ion implantation into SI GaAs substrates. Their fabrication is fully compatible with existing GaAs LSI process schedules. A receiver upper cutoff frequency of 1.5 GHz and sensitivity of 112 V/W have been measured. The application of these devices in short-haul high-bit-rate data communication systems has been demonstrated in a 560 Mbit prototype optical data link, using packaged and fibre-coupled devices.     

Nanochannel electroporation delivers precise amounts of biomolecules into living cells

Many transfection techniques can deliver biomolecules into cells, but the dose cannot be controlled precisely. Delivering well-defined amounts of materials into cells is important for various biological studies and therapeutic applications. Here, we show that nanochannel electroporation can deliver precise amounts of a variety of transfection agents into living cells. The device consists of two microchannels connected by a nanochannel. The cell to be transfected is positioned in one microchannel using optical tweezers, and the transfection agent is located in the second microchannel. Delivering a voltage pulse between the microchannels produces an intense electric field over a very small area on the cell membrane, allowing a precise amount of transfection agent to be electrophoretically driven through the nanochannel, the cell membrane and into the cell cytoplasm, without affecting cell viability. Dose control is achieved by adjusting the duration and number of pulses. The nanochannel electroporation device is expected to have high-throughput delivery applications.     

Large scale synthesis and enhanced field emission properties from hybrid CuO/ZnO nanorod

Upper-directionally grown nanorods were synthesized on a large scale by a simple method of direct heating of Cu foil in air. Hybrid CuO/ZnO nanorods were fabricated by ZnO thin film coating using magnetron sputtering. Field emission (FE) measurements of CuO and hybrid CuO/ZnO nanorod films show that they have turn-on field of 3.81 and 3.24 V/microm and a current density of 0.39 and 1.1 microA/cm2 under an applied field of about 6.6 V/microm, respectively. By comparing X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis and the FE properties of two types of samples, we concluded that the narrowing of band gap due to the change of electron binding energy of hybrid CuO/ZnO nanorods effectively improved FE.     

Development of a biodegradable sirolimus-eluting stent coated by ultrasonic atomizing spray

In this study, poly(D,L lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) was used as a drug carrier to generate two types of stents loaded with different concentrations of sirolimus. These stents were prepared by ultrasonic atomizing spray coating. Ultrasonic atomizing spray nozzle uses a low-pressure air/gas to produce a soft, highly focused beam of small spray drops. An isolated hypotube delivers liquid to the nozzle's atomizing surface while air/gas, delivered through the nozzle orifice at a fixed low pressure, shapes the atomized drops into a very precise, targeted spray. The stent was moved both in the traverse direction and rotated during the spraying process. The morphology of the sirolimus-eluting stents was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) which indicated that the coating was very smooth and uniform. The coating was found to have the ability to withstand the compressive and tensile strains imparted without cracking during the stent inflation process. Release profile of sirolimus was measured by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The release behavior of sirolimus from the stent surface had a two phase release profile with a burst release period of about 2 days, followed by a sustained and slow release phase. The mass loss behavior of PLGA appeared linear throughout most of the degradation period. At 28 days, neointimal formation was found to be significantly decreased for both sirolimus-eluting stents as compared to bare-metal stents (BMS). Assessment of vascular healing revealed an absence of increased inflammation in both sirolimus-eluting stents. Inflammation is commonly observed in drug-eluting stents (DES) with nonbiodegradable polymeric coatings. Taking these results into account, these novel sirolimus-eluting stents may be good candidates to resolve in-stent restenosis.