In Situ Phase Evolution of Ni/Ti Reactive Multilayers

Joining shape-memory alloys (SMA) to other materials is strongly required in order to enlarge their fields of application. Fusion welding induces strong compositional and microstructural changes that significantly affect the shape-memory effect and the superelastic behavior of these alloys. The exothermic and in some cases self-propagating character of some nano-multilayer reactions is explored in this study as an alternative for joining SMA. To follow these very fast reactions, high brilliance sources, such as synchrotron radiation, are required. In situ high-resolution x-ray diffraction data, giving the phase evolution sequence with temperature of the Ni/Ti multilayer thin films under study, are presented. A correlation between the multilayer design and the tendency for the sequence of phase formation is established.     

The antioxidant activity of teas measured by the FRAP method adapted to the FIA system: Optimising the conditions using the response surface methodology

This study proposes a FRAP assay adapted to FIA system with a merging zones configuration. The FIA system conditions were optimised with the response surface methodology using the central composite rotatable design. The optimisation parameters studied were: the carrier flow rate, the lengths of the sample and reagent loops, and reactor length. The conditions selected in accordance with the results were: carrier flow rate of 1.00 ml/min, length of the loops 18.2 cm and length of the reaction coil 210.1 cm. The detection and quantification limits were, respectively, 28.6 and 86.8 μmol/l Fe²⁺, and the precision was 1.27%. The proposed method had an analytical frequency of 30 samples/h and about 95% less volume of FRAP reagent was consumed. The FRAP assay adapted to the FIA system under the optimised conditions was utilised to determine the antioxidant activity of tea samples.     

Analysis of the behavior of transverse walls of socket base connections

This paper presents a theoretical and experimental analysis of socket base connections of precast concrete structures with regard to the behavior of transverse walls. The experimental program included seven specimens, for which the type of interface in contact with cast-in-place concrete, the load eccentricities and the embedded lengths were all varied. A design model was proposed to calculate the reinforcements of the transverse walls. Based on the obtained results, some conclusions can be drawn: (a) The top of the transverse wall on the compression side of the smooth connections and the top of the two transverse walls of the rough connections are submitted to a bending-tension and this tension prevails on the bending; (b) The design model proposed for the calculation of the reinforcement of the transverse wall on the compression side provides the best prediction of the experimental results for all specimens when compared to the current design models; (c) For rough interfaces, the top of the transverse wall on the tension side is more requested than the top of transverse wall on the compression side; (d) The results of the proposed design model for the reinforcement of the transverse wall on the tension side of rough connections were in close agreement with the experimental results.     

Simulated annealing with adaptive neighborhood: A case study in off-line robot path planning

Simulated annealing (SA) is an optimization technique that can process cost functions with degrees of nonlinearities, discontinuities and stochasticity. It can process arbitrary boundary conditions and constraints imposed on these cost functions. The SA technique is applied to the problem of robot path planning. Three situations are considered here: the path is represented as a polyline; as a Bézier curve; and as a spline interpolated curve. In the proposed SA algorithm, the sensitivity of each continuous parameter is evaluated at each iteration increasing the number of accepted solutions. The sensitivity of each parameter is associated to its probability distribution in the definition of the next candidate.     

A New Methodology to Evaluate the Cure of Resin-Impregnated Paper for HPL

This paper presents a study on the curing conditions of several resin-impregnated papers and its impact on the performance of HPL (high-pressure decorative laminate). A new methodology for evaluating the bond strength development between the different layers of a HPL(overlay, decorative, and kraft papers) was developed using ABES (Automated Bonding Evaluation System) equipment. The proposed method can be applied to the study of the curing step of the different impregnated paper and the development of bonds between them (overlay paper on decorative paper, decorative paper on kraft paper, and kraft paper on kraft paper) trying to simulate the hot-pressing of an industrial HPL. This will permit to establish a more adapted temperature gradient in hot-press in order to achieve the same curing rate for all layers and provide a good final overall product quality.     

Binding of Sulpiride to Seric Albumins

The aim of this work was to study the interaction of sulpiride with human serum albumin (HSA) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) through the fluorescence quenching technique. As sulpiride molecules emit fluorescence, we have developed a simple mathematical model to discriminate the quencher fluorescence from the albumin fluorescence in the solution where they interact. Sulpiride is an antipsychotic used in the treatment of several psychiatric disorders. We selectively excited the fluorescence of tryptophan residues with 290 nm wavelength and observed the quenching by titrating HSA and BSA solutions with sulpiride. Stern-Volmer graphs were plotted and quenching constants were estimated. Results showed that sulpiride form complexes with both albumins. Estimated association constants for the interaction sulpiride–HSA were 2.20 (±0.08) × 10⁴ M⁻¹, at 37 °C, and 5.46 (±0.20) × 10⁴ M⁻¹, at 25 °C. Those for the interaction sulpiride-BSA are 0.44 (±0.01) × 10⁴ M⁻¹, at 37 °C and 2.17 (±0.04) × 10⁴ M⁻¹, at 25 °C. The quenching intensity of BSA, which contains two tryptophan residues in the peptide chain, was found to be higher than that of HSA, what suggests that the primary binding site for sulpiride in albumin should be located next to the sub domain IB of the protein structure.