New and conventional pore size tests in virus-removing membranes

Microorganisms are retained by ultrafiltration (UF) membranes mainly due to size exclusion. The sizes of viruses and membrane pores are close to each other and retention of viruses can be guaranteed only if the precise pore diameter is known. Unfortunately and rather surprisingly, there is no direct method to determine the membrane pore size. As a result, the UF membranes are not trusted to remove the viruses, and the treatment plants are required to enhance viral disinfection.Here we propose a new, simple and effective method for UF pore size determination using aquasols of gold and silver nanoparticles. We synthesized highly monodispersed suspensions ranging in diameter from 3 to 50 nm, which were later transferred through polymer and ceramic UF membranes. The retention percentage was plotted against the particle diameter to determine the pore size for which a membrane has a retention capability of 50, 90 and 100%. The d₅₀, d₉₀ and d₁₀₀ values were compared with data obtained from conventional transmembrane flux, polyethylene glycol, and dextran tests, and with the retention of phi X 174 and MS2 bacteriophages.The absolute pore size, d₁₀₀, for the majority of tested UF membranes is within 40-50 nm, and can only be detected with the new tests. The average 1.2 log retention of hydrophilic phi X 174 was predicted accurately by models based on the virus hydrodynamic radii and d₁₀₀ pore size. The 2.5 log MS2 retention suggests hydrophobic interactions in addition to simple ball-through-cylinder geometry.     

Interaction between the mixing and displacement modes in a naturally ventilated enclosure

Experiments are carried out to study for the first time interactive phenomena in buoyancy-induced natural ventilation in a full-scale enclosure with upper and lower openings on one of the sidewalls. The interaction between the mixing and the displacement ventilation modes is revealed by opening the lower vent to different heights while the upper vent is kept fully open. Both the transient process and steady state interaction are explored. Measurements include temperature differences between inside and outside and air velocity through the upper opening. The level of the neutral plane at the upper vent, defined here as the plane separating between inflow and outflow, decreases with R^*$R^{*}$, the ratio between the opening heights (and areas) of the lower and upper vents. Experiments show that when 0*<0.27$0<R^{*}<0.27$ the mixing and displacement modes interact through a new combined ventilation mode. For 0.53*?1$0.53<R^{*}?1$, the displacement mode dominates whereas in the intermediate range, 0.27?R^*?0.53$0.27?R^{*}?0.53$, either the combined or the pure displacement mode takes place. The experiments are in qualitative agreement with a previous theoretical model.     

Flux Jumps and H-T Diagram of Instability for MgB2

We present a study of magneto-thermal instabilities in polycrystalline MgB₂ superconductor, by magnetic hysteresis loop measurements and by investigations of magnetic flux dynamics with a miniature Hall probe. Temperature and magnetic field ranges where the flux jumps may be observed have been determined. On the basis of measurements of the magnetic flux dynamics, an average magnetic diffusivity describing the process of the flux jump is estimated. This parameter is compared with the thermal and magnetic diffusivities calculated on the basis of available data for thermal conductivity, heat capacity and resistivity. It is shown that the estimated value of the field of the first flux jump is influenced significantly by the field dependence of specific heat. In order to explain the observed phenomenon, the temperature reached by the sample during the flux jump at different magnetic fields is calculated.     

Compressibility of carbon woven fabrics with carbon nanotubes/nanofibres grown on the fibres

Growth of carbon nanotubes (CNT) or carbon nano-fibres (CNF) on carbon fibrous substrates is a way to increase the fracture toughness of fibre reinforced composites (FRC), with encouraging results reported in the recent years. If these nano-engineered FRC (nFRC) are destined to leave laboratories and enter industrial-scale production, a question of adapting the existing composite manufacturing methods will arise. The paper studies compressibility of woven carbon fibre performs (two types of fabrics) with CNT/CNF grown on the fibres using the CVD method. The results include pressure vs thickness and pressure vs fibre volume fraction diagrams for one and four layers of the fabric. Morphology of the nFRC is studied with SEM. It is shown that the pressure needed to achieve the target fibre volume fraction of the preform increases drastically (for example, from 0.05 MPa to more than 0.5 MPa for a fibre volume fraction of 52%) when CNT/CNF are grown on it. No change in nesting of the fabric plies is noticed. The poor compressibility can lower the achievable fibre volume fraction in composite for economical vacuum assisted light-RTM techniques and increase the pressure requirements in autoclave processing.     

Local effects in the vicinity of inserts in sandwich panels

The paper considers local bending effects induced in the vicinity of inserts in sandwich panels. Such local bending effects are associated with an increase of bending stresses in the sandwich faces and normal and shear stresses in the sandwich core. An earlier developed analytic model [Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Sandwich Structures (ICSS-6) (2002) 551] is adapted for the case of a sandwich panel with circular insert, with elastic properties differing from those of the core. The locally induced stresses in the faces and core due to presence of the insert are expressed via simple analytic relations (and charts) enabling an estimation of these local stresses. Finite element analysis is employed to demonstrate the applicability of the analytic model, and a good correspondence between the numerical and the analytical data is found. A study case related to marine applications, namely a circular insert in a sandwich deck panel used for mounting of a rigging fixture, is considered, and optimization of an existing design is carried out.     

Gold nanorods with a hematoporphyrin-loaded silica shell for dual-modality photodynamic and photothermal treatment of tumors in vivo

Nanocomposites （NCs） consisting of a gold nanorod core and a mesoporous silica shell doped with hematoporphyrin （HP） have been fabricated in order to improve the efficiency of cancer treatment by combining photothermal and photodynamic therapies （PDT ＋ PTT） in vivo. In addition to the long-wavelength plasmon resonance near 810-830 nm, the fabricated NCs exhibited a 400-nm absorbance peak corresponding to bound HP, generated singlet oxygen under 633-nm excitation near the 632.5-nm Q-band, and produced heat under a 808-nm near-infrared （NIR） laser irradiation. These modalities were used for a combined PDT ＋ PTT treatment of large （about 3 cm3） solid tumors in vivo with a xenorafted tumor rat model. NCs were directly injected into tumors and irradiated simultaneously with 633-nm and 808-nm lasers to stimulate the combined photodynamic and photothermal activities of NCs. The efficiency of the combined therapy was evaluated by optical coherence tomography, histological analysis, and by measurements of the tumor volume growth during a 21-day period. The NC-mediated PDT led to weak changes in tissue histology and to a moderate 20% decrease in the tumor volume. In contrast, the combined PDT ＋ PTT treatment resulted in the large-area tumor necrosis and led to dramatic decrease in the tumor volume.     

Coupled multipolar interactions in small-particle metallic clusters

We propose a new formalism for computing the optical properties of small clusters of particles. It is a generalization of the coupled dipole-dipole particle-interaction model and allows one in principle to take into account all multipolar interactions in the long-wavelength limit. The method is illustrated by computations of the optical properties of N = 6 particle clusters for different multipolar approximations. We examine the effect of separation between particles and compare the optical spectra with the discrete-dipole approximation and the generalized Mie theory.     

Ultraviolet-visible imaging acousto-optic tunable filters in KDP

There is a need to develop large-aperture acousto-optic tunable filters (AOTFs) in the UV region for applications in astronomy, environmental sciences, biology, etc. We have developed a high-quality noncollinear AOTF cell that uses a single crystal of KDP that has nearly a four times larger acousto-optic figure of merit, M2, than quartz. The linear and angular apertures of this cell are 1.5 cm x 1.5 cm and 1.2 degrees, respectively. The spectral range is 220-480 nm, with 160-cm(-1) spectral resolution and high transmission in the UV. We present an analysis of the design and describe the characterization results.     

Investigation of magnesium fluoride crystals for imaging acousto-optic tunable filter applications

Results of an investigation of acousto-optic (AO) cells using single crystals of magnesium fluoride (MgF2) are presented. Two acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF) cells for imaging application have been designed and tested in the visible and ultraviolet (UV) regions of the spectrum from 190 to 490 nm. The two imaging filters were developed by using the wide-angle AO interaction geometry in the (010) and (11 0) planes of the crystal. These filters were used to obtain spectral images at the shortest wavelengths achieved so far. Advantages and drawbacks of this crystal are discussed and photoelastic, acoustic, and AO properties of MgF2 are examined. The investigation confirmed that MgF2-based AOTF cells can be used in the deep UV region up to 110 nm.