Platinum-iridium catalyzed titanium anode. I. Properties and use in chlorate electrolysis

The use of dimensionally stable titanium anodes activated with Pt, Ir or ruthenium oxide for electrolytic chlorate production has been investigated. Simultaneous measurements were made of the amount of noble metal at the surface and of electrode activity, as functions of time of electrolysis at constant current and temperature. After more than 400 days of operation, an electrode with 7 g m^–2 of surface of noble metals exhibits good polarization characteristics as well as freedom from corrosion of the coating.     

Improved Management of the Existing Stock - The Case of Poland

This paper traces the changes which have occurred in housing provision and management in Poland during the period of transition to the market system. It suggests that the changes that have occurred have been greatly influenced by the environment within which the reforms have taken place. It claims that changes in housing management are restricted by historic attitudes yet have proceeded due to financial constraints imposed as part of the government's policy for restructuring the economy in the early 1990s. At the same time these restrictions have worked against the developmentof the housing market and investment in the existing housing stock. While the planned programmaticand legislative tasks in the reform of Polish housing are concluded, there is still a need for major shifts in the attitudes of consumers and providers to effect these changes.     

An investigation into the surface fatigue of materials and thin layers using a sliding diamond spherical segment

Methods for testing the surface fatigue of materials or thin layers normally involve configurations with two or more rolling balls or discs. Such equipment and test specimens are quite complicated, and for a large number of experiments, costly. Testing could be considerably simplified if the stressing of the material surface were performed with a sliding natural diamond spherical segment. A diamond on steel (or any different material) friction pair has the particular attribute that sliding wear is absent. Under these circumstances, after a certain number of strain cycles, fatigue failure of the investigated surface or layers appears. A particularly relevant application is investigation of the adhesion of a DLC layer.     

Activation of Drosophila melanogaster TRPA1 Isoforms by Citronellal and Menthol

Background: The transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) cation channels function as broadly-tuned sensors of noxious chemicals in many species. Recent studies identified four functional TRPA1 isoforms in Drosophila melanogaster (dTRPA1(A) to (D)), but their responses to non-electrophilic chemicals are yet to be fully characterized. Methods: We determined the behavioral responses of adult flies to the mammalian TRPA1 non-electrophilic activators citronellal and menthol, and characterized the effects of these compounds on all four dTRPA1 channel isoforms using intracellular Ca²⁺ imaging and whole-cell patch-clamp recordings. Results: Wild type flies avoided citronellal and menthol in an olfactory test and this behavior was reduced in dTrpA1 mutant flies. Both compounds activate all dTRPA1 isoforms in the heterologous expression system HEK293T, with the following sensitivity series: dTRPA1(C) = dTRPA1(D) > dTRPA1(A) ≫ dTRPA1(B) for citronellal and dTRPA1(A) > dTRPA1(D) > dTRPA1(C) > dTRPA1(B) for menthol. Conclusions: dTrpA1 was required for the normal avoidance of Drosophila melanogaster towards citronellal and menthol. All dTRPA1 isoforms are activated by both compounds, but the dTRPA1(B) is consistently the least sensitive. We discuss how these findings may guide further studies on the physiological roles and the structural bases of chemical sensitivity of TRPA1 channels.     

Improved mapping of in-mouth creaminess of semi-solid dairy products by combining rheology,particle size,and tribology data

The effects of fat, protein, and casein to whey protein ratio on lubricating properties of stirred yogurt were determined and the relation of those to the sensory properties graininess, viscosity, and creaminess was assessed. Results demonstrated decreased friction effects with increasing fat and protein level, and decreasing proportion of whey protein. The predictive ability of in-mouth viscosity (r² = 0.91) and in-mouth creaminess (r² = 0.97) could be improved by combined assessments of rheological, particle size, and tribological characteristics. Graininess was not affected by friction data. To this end, the applicability of generated models has been tested. This study depicts a better understanding of the key drivers for creaminess and enables food manufacturers to develop fat-reduced dairy products without compromise on sensory properties.     

Finite-Volume-Particle Methods for Models of Transport of Pollutant in Shallow Water

We present a new hybrid numerical method for computing the transport of a passive pollutant by a flow. The flow is modeled by the Saint-Venant system of shallow water equations and the pollutant propagation is described by a transport equation. The idea behind the new finite-volume-particle (FVP) method is to use different schemes for the flow and the pollution computations: the shallow water equations are numerically integrated using a finite-volume scheme, while the transport equation is solved by a particle method. This way the specific advantages of each scheme are utilized at the right place. This results in a significantly enhanced resolution of the computed solution