The use of nanoclay in preparation of epoxy anticorrosive coatings

Epoxy/clay nanocomposites (NC) have become a very interesting topic among researchers in the past two decades because nanoclays have a positive effect on the mechanical, thermal and especially barrier and anticorrosive performances of the polymers. In this study epoxy NCs and NC-based epoxy coatings were prepared by the solution intercalation method using Cloisite 30B as nanoclay. WAXD and SEM analyses revealed that a mainly exfoliated structure was obtained in epoxy NC with 1 wt% clay content, while higher clay loadings reduced the number of exfoliated clay nanolayers and produced a mainly intercalated structure. EIS, TGA and DMA analyses showed that epoxy NCs with clay content below 5 wt% exhibited increased corrosion stability, thermal stability, glass transition temperature (T_g) and storage modulus (G′), in both glassy and rubbery states due to the nanoscale dispersion of Cloisite 30B and the barrier effect of individual nanolayers. Enhanced mechanical properties were also noticed at higher clay loadings, but the rate of improvement was lower. The highest extent of exfoliation and the most homogeneous macromolecular network was found for NC with 1 wt% of clay, leading to the highest improvement of thermal and anticorrosive properties. The salt spray test results showed that anticorrosive properties of epoxy coatings in the presence of 3 wt% and especially 1 wt% of Cloisite 30B were significantly better, thus indicating that nanoclay efficiently modifies the commercial epoxy coatings.     

Grasping behavior in schizophrenia suggests selective impairment in the dorsal visual pathway.

This study frames anomalous functional brain organization in schizophrenia (SCZ) within an evolutionary model of brain development, the dual trends theory (DTT). The DTT argues that neural architecture develops along 2 separate pathways: the dorsal archicortical trend and the ventral paleocortical trend. The DTT dovetails with visual system organization, which is also composed of 2 independent pathways: a dorsal stream dedicated to visuomotor action and a ventral stream dedicated to perceptual processing. The present study examined the integrity of these pathways using a size-contrast visual illusion. Prior research has shown that, normally, perceptual estimations of object size are susceptible to visual illusions, whereas goal-directed actions are resistant. The authors hypothesized that, unlike control participants, SCZ patients' actions would be susceptible to the illusion, reflecting dorsal stream dysfunction. Here, 42 SCZ patients and 42 healthy controls grasped and estimated the size of target blocks in control and illusion conditions. During estimation, both groups were equally perturbed by the illusion; however, grasping movements of patients alone were influenced by the illusion. These results suggest disrupted dorsal brain circuitry in SCZ but relatively intact ventral circuitry. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multidimensional orthogonal filter bank characterization and design using the Cayley transform.

We present a complete characterization and design of orthogonal infinite impulse response (IIR) and finite impulse response (FIR) filter banks in any dimension using the Cayley transform (CT). Traditional design methods for one-dimensional orthogonal filter banks cannot be extended to higher dimensions directly due to the lack of a multidimensional (MD) spectral factorization theorem. In the polyphase domain, orthogonal filter banks are equivalent to paraunitary matrices and lead to solving a set of nonlinear equations. The CT establishes a one-to-one mapping between paraunitary matrices and para-skew-Hermitian matrices. In contrast to the paraunitary condition, the para-skew-Hermitian condition amounts to linear constraints on the matrix entries which are much easier to solve. Based on this characterization, we propose efficient methods to design MD orthogonal filter banks and present new design results for both IIR and FIR cases.     

Aligning goals and services through goal and business modelling

E-services are used as the cornerstones for modelling interaction points of cooperating IT systems, within and between enterprises. So far, research and development of e-services have mainly focused on an operational perspective, such as the development of standards for message exchanges and service coordination. However, on a strategic level, the success of e-services depends on their ability to work as a medium for the exchange of business values. In this paper, we present an approach that utilizes goal and business models as the foundation for designing e-services. The approach can be used to ensure that the developed e-services support the desired goals and business values of involved actors. A case study from the Swedish health care sector is used to ground and apply the presented approach.     

Special paraunitary matrices, Cayley transform, and multidimensional orthogonal filter banks.

We characterize and design multidimensional (MD) orthogonal filter banks using special paraunitary matrices and the Cayley transform. Orthogonal filter banks are represented by paraunitary matrices in the polyphase domain. We define special paraunitary matrices as paraunitary matrices with unit determinant. We show that every paraunitary matrix can be characterized by a special paraunitary matrix and a phase factor. Therefore, the design of paraunitary matrices (and thus of orthogonal filter banks) becomes the design of special paraunitary matrices, which requires a smaller set of nonlinear equations. Moreover, we provide a complete characterization of special paraunitary matrices in the Cayley domain, which converts nonlinear constraints into linear constraints. Our method greatly simplifies the design of MD orthogonal filter banks and leads to complete characterizations of such filter banks.     

An approach to developing complex database schemas using form types

In this paper we consider an approach to developing complex database schemas. Apart from the theoretical model of the approach, we also developed a CASE tool named Integrated Information Systems*Case, R.6.2 (IIS*Case) that supports the practical application of the approach. In this paper the basis of our approach to the design and integration of database schemas and ways of using IIS*Case is outlined. The main features of a new version of IIS*Case, developed in Java, are described. IIS*Case is based on the concept of ‘form type’ and supports the conceptual modelling of a database schema, generating subschemas and integrating them into a relational database schema in 3NF. IIS*Case provides an intelligent support for complex and highly formalized design and programming tasks. Having an advanced knowledge of information systems and database design is not a compulsory prerequisite for using IIS*Case. IIS*Case is based on a methodology of gradual integration of independently designed subschemas into a database schema. The process of independent subschema design may lead to collisions in expressing real‐world constraints. IIS*Case uses specialized algorithms for checking the consistency of constraints embedded in a database schema and its subschemas. This paper briefly outlines the application of the process of detecting collisions, and actions the designer may take to resolve them. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Wavelet packet correlation methods in biometrics

We introduce wavelet packet correlation filter classifiers. Correlation filters are traditionally designed in the image domain by minimization of some criterion function of the image training set. Instead, we perform classification in wavelet spaces that have training set representations that provide better solutions to the optimization problem in the filter design. We propose a pruning algorithm to find these wavelet spaces by using a correlation energy cost function, and we describe a match score fusion algorithm for applying the filters trained across the packet tree. The proposed classification algorithm is suitable for any object-recognition task. We present results by implementing a biometric recognition system that uses the NIST 24 fingerprint database, and show that applying correlation filters in the wavelet domain results in considerable improvement of the standard correlation filter algorithm.     

Structural and rheological properties of kappa (κ)-carrageenans covalently modified with cationic moieties

Cationized kappa-carrageenans containing 2-hydroxy-3-(trimethylammonium)propyl groups with various degrees of substitution (0.13–0.75) were synthesized by reaction of sulfated polysaccharides with 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyltrimethyl ammonium chloride (QUAB 188) in alkaline solutions through the generation of the corresponding 2,3-epoxy reagent in situ. The structure of the modified algal polysaccharides was characterized without any further treatment or after methanolysis and/or enzymatic depolymerization, by means of spectroscopic tools (FT-IR, NMR, Mass spectrometry) and high-performance size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC). Significant differences in the rheological properties of these cationized kappa-carrageenans have been found depending on the DS values and the presence of KCl salt. Despite their lower molecular weights in comparison with native polysaccharides, cationized kappa-carrageenans with a DS of 0.75 exhibited high viscosity and gelling behaviors mediated by the high density of quaternary ammonium groups.