Effect of charge density,molecular weight,and hydrophobicity on polycations adsorption and flocculation of polystyrene latices and silica

Adsorption and flocculation behavior of two series of synthetic polycations was investigated in dispersions of silica and polystyrene latices with various particle size and surface charge densities. Polycations of the first series (polydiallyldimethyl ammonium chloride‐PDADMAC) varied in molecular weight only, while polycations of the second series (derivatives of polymethacrylic acid) varied in both molecular weight and hydrophobicity. We have found that maximum adsorbed amount of high molecular weight PDADMAC on latex particles was nearly independent of the surface charge density when the particle size was comparable to the polymer coil dimensions in solution. Both low and high molecular weight PDADMACs were efficient flocculants, although significantly lower amounts of high molecular weight polyelectrolyte were required for the phase separation in the dispersions due to particles aggregation through “charge patch” mechanism. The increase of polymer hydrophobicity leads to higher adsorbed amounts and broadening of flocculation window by polycations of the second series on both substrates. However, no strong enhancement of segment–surface interactions on hydrophobic substrates was observed. Since formation of multilayers upon adsorption was also excluded, the difference in adsorption and flocculation behavior was related to the more compact conformation of hydrophobically associating derivatives in solution and at the interface. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 3422–3429, 2006     

Using Amorphous Phases in the Design of Structural Alloys

The recent discovery that amorphous alloy powders can be prepared by mechanically alloying a mixture of pure crystalline intermetallics is opening new windows to the synthesis of engineering materials. Amorphous powders synthesized by mechanical alloying may find application in the design of structural alloys, high thermal conductivity alloys, and metal-matrix composites.     

Job-shop scheduling in a body shop

We study a generalized job-shop problem called the body shop scheduling problem (BSSP). This problem arises from the industrial application of welding in a car body production line, where possible collisions between industrial robots have to be taken into account. BSSP corresponds to a job-shop problem where the operations of a job have to follow alternating routes on the machines, certain operations of different jobs are not allowed to be processed at the same time and after processing an operation of a certain job a machine might be unavailable for a given time for operations of other jobs. As main results we will show that for three jobs and four machines the special case where only one machine is used by more than one job is already $\mathcal NP $ -hard. This also implies that the single machine scheduling problem that asks for a makespan minimal schedule of three chains of operations with delays between the operations of a chain is $\mathcal NP $ -hard. On the positive side, we present a polynomial algorithm for the two job case and a pseudo-polynomial algorithm together with an FPTAS  for an arbitrary but constant number of jobs. Hence for a constant number of jobs we fully settle the complexity status of the problem.     

Characterization of laser hardened steels by laser induced ultrasonic surface waves

Ultrasonic surface waves are suitable for the characterization of surface hardened materials. This is shown on laser hardened turbine blades. The martensitic microstructure within the surface layer of surface hardened steels has a lower surface wave propagation velocity than the annealed or normalized substrate material. Because the propagation velocity depends on the ratio of layer thickness to wavelengthd/, its measurement allows the determination of the hardening depth. If the surface wave frequency is high enough, the surface wave propagates mainly within the hardened layer. A correlation of the surface wave velocity to the surface hardness has been found. Because the variation of the surface velocity in hardened steels is small, a high measurement accuracy is necessary to obtain the interesting hardening parameters with sufficient certainty. Therefore, a measuring arrangement has been developed where laser pulses, guided by optical fibers to the surface hardened structure, generate simultaneously surface wave pulses at two different positions. The two ultrasonic pulses are received by a piezoelectric transducer. The surface wave velocity is obtained from the time delay between these pulses which is determined by the cross-correlation method. To evaluate simultaneously surface waves with different penetration depths from the same signal acquisition, digital filtering has been used in connection with the cross-correlation.     

Deformation of Mesoporous Titania Nanostructures in Contact with D2O Vapor

For many applications, mesoporous titania nanostructures are exposed to water or need to be backfilled via infiltration with an aqueous solution, which can cause deformations of the nanostructure by capillary forces. In this work, the degree of deformation caused by water infiltration in two types of mesoporous, nanostructured titania films exposed to water vapor is compared. The different types of nanostructured titania films are prepared via a polymer template assisted sol–gel synthesis in conjunction with a polymer‐template removal at high‐temperatures under ambient conditions versus nitrogen atmosphere. Information about surface and inner morphology is extracted by scanning electron microscopy and grazing incidence small‐angle neutron scattering (GISANS) measurements, respectively. Furthermore, complementary information on thin film composition and porosity are probed via X‐ray reflectivity. The backfilling induced deformation of near surface structures and structures inside the mesoporous titania films is determined by GISANS before and after D₂O infiltration. The respective atmosphere used for template removal influences the details of the titania nanostructure and strongly impacts the degree of water induced deformation. Drying of the films shows reversibility of the deformation.     

The artificial heart and neuromonitoring? Technical and clinical aspects

There is a steady progress in the development of artificial heart and circulatory assist devices. There is also no doubt that further advances in energy systems, materials, and electronics will provide for smaller and more reliable electrically driven blood pumps, but the present engineering design appears to be adequate to provide devices satisfactory for initial clinical use. Due to problems in the availability of suitable donor hearts, the concept of replacing the natural heart with an artificial heart as a "bridge to transplantation" has gained attention in recent years. The present paper shows technical and clinical aspects of multivariable electrophysiologic neuromonitoring in a patient with an artificial heart assist device in the intensive care unit. The data (EEG, 40 Hz brain oscillations, brainstem auditory- and somatosensory evoked potentials) are discussed with respect to the influence of the artificial heart on their quality and reliability. Reasons for artifacts and problems of interpretation are shown.     

Insult, aggression, and the southern culture of honor: An "experimental ethnography."

Three experiments examined how norms characteristic of a "culture of honor" manifest themselves in the cognitions, emotions, behaviors, and physiological reactions of southern White males. Participants were University of Michigan students who grew up in the North or South. In 3 experiments, they were insulted by a confederate who bumped into the participant and called him an "asshole." Compared with northerners (who were relatively unaffected by the insult) southerners were more likely to think their masculine reputation was threatened, more upset (as shown by a rise in cortisol levels), more physiologically primed for aggression (as shown by a rise in testosterone levels), more cognitively primed for aggression, and more likely to engage in aggressive and dominant behavior. Findings highlight the insult–aggression cycle in cultures of honor, in which insults diminish a man's reputation and he tries to restore his status by aggressive or violent behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)