Measurements ofPVTx properties of refrigerant mixture HFC-32+HFC-125 in the gaseous phase

The experimental 156PVTx properties of an important binary refrigerant mixture, HFC-32 (difluoromethane)+HFC-125 (pentafluorethane), have been measured for three compositions, i.e., 50, 60, and 80 wt% HFC-32, by a constant-mass-method coupled with expansion procedure in an extensive range of temperaturesT from 320 to 440 K, of pressuresP from 1.8 to 5.3 M Pa, and of densities p from 50 to 124 kg · m^–3. The experimental uncertainties of the present measurements are estimated to be within ±7 mK in temperature, ±2 kPa in pressure, ±0.2% in density and ±0.02 wt% of HFC-32. The sample purities are 99.998 wt% for HFC-32 and 99.99 wt% for HFC-125. Seventy-eight second and third virial coeflicients for temperatures from 320 to 440 K have been determined by the present measurements.Paper presented at the Twelfth Symposium on Thermophysical Properties, June 19–24, 1994, Boulder, Colorado, U.S.A.     

Erbium-doped silicon and porous silicon for optoelectronics

Silicon forms the backbone of the microelectronics industry, and possibly, of the optoelectronics industry, hitherto dominated by III/V materials. One of the remaining goals is to build an optical source in silicon. Erbium exhibits luminescent 1.54 μm intra-4f transitions in both silicon and porous silicon. This paper reviews the work which has been carried out in this field and discusses some possible additional applications of erbium-doped silicon in optoelectronics, such as a novel on-chip temperature sensor.     

Structural properties of inorganic materials: tungsten bronze SBN ceramics

Rare-earth doped strontium barium niobates were synthesized using usual ceramic technique. The dopants are La, Ce, Gd, Sm and Nd. The materials were characterized by XRD and density measurements. The grain sizes were determined from SEM analysis. Lattice parameters changed uniformly with rare-earth dopants in unfilled structures. Density measurements and SEM analysis confirmed only minute changes in the densities of the ceramics.     

Fuzzy inference and fuzzy inference processor

Fuzzy inference, a data processing method based on the fuzzy theory that has found wide use in the control field, is reviewed. Consumer electronics, which accounts for most current applications of this concept, does not require very high speeds. Although software running on a conventional microprocessor can perform these inferences, high-speed control applications require much greater speeds. A fuzzy inference date processor that operates at 200000 fuzzy logic inferences per second and features 12-b input and 16-b output resolution is described     

Some factors affecting the electrical properties of carbon-black-loaded butyl rubber during vulcanization

Butyl rubber mixtures loaded with 70 phr general purpose furnace black (GPF) and tetramethyl thiuram disulphide (TMTD)/S as vulcanizing system were prepared. The kinetics of their electrical conductivity development during the vulcanization process were followed by using an especially devised system. It was found that the increase in the electrical conductivity during vulcanization obeys an exponential growth function with time constant τ, which markedly decreases with increasing vulcanization temperature as well as with the efficiency of the vulcanizing system. After completion of the vulcanization process, about 80 min, the samples obtained possess reasonable stability and reproducibility of electrical conductivity.     

Structure and surface properties of diaminocyclohexane plasma polymer films

Plasma polymers of three isomers of diaminocyclohexane (DACH) were deposited on polyethylene, SiO₂, and mica at 20°C. The deposition rate was measured as a function of plasma density and power; a maximum was observed in the latter function. The deposition rate was highest for the monomer with the highest flow rate. The film refractive index was observed to increase with both power density and the degree of fragmentation in the plasma. Film composition was measured by elementary analysis, and was found to be almost identical for each of the three isomers; a mechanism for the polymerization reaction is proposed. The percentage of primary amino groups decreased with increasing power density and with film thickness. Surface force measurements of the thickness and refractive index agreed well with the corresponding ellipsometry values in dry air, and am adhesive force, independent of power density, was measured. When the film was exposed to water vapor, it swelled considerably and the adhesion was determined by capillary forces. Associated with swelling, at high power, was an extremely regular 2-ply rope pattern of protruding material. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons. Inc.     

Packed hyper-ellipsoid classifiers

Pattern classification is frequently performed using the k-nn algorithm or a neural network. The choice of parameters for the former is often difficult and the amount of data which has to be stored in the classifier can be high. Neural network classifiers can overcome some of these problems but learning is often unreliable and slow. An alternative which combines some of the best features of the k-nn and neural network classifier is described by the authors. The classifier is called a packed hyper-ellipsoid classifier     

Mechanism of the early stages of α1 plate formation in a Cu-39 Pct Zn alloy

The early stages in the formation of α₁ plates in the ordered β′ matrix of a Cu-39 pct Zn alloy have been studied with transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The early stage plates were found to be free of stacking faults. Their contrast features are indeed those normally expected from small coherent plates. Electron microdiffraction confirms that these plates have the 9R structure characteristic of α₁ with the same lattice parameters and orientation relationships reported by previous investigators at much later stages of growth. Similarly, the 9R structure was disordered, even though it was formed in an ordered matrix, again repeating previous results obtained at a later stage of growth. These results further support the view that the α₁ Cu-Zn plates form by a diffusion-controlled mechanism. This article is based on a presentation made at the Pacific Rim Conference on the “Roles of Shear and Diffusion in the Formation of Plate-Shaped Transformation Products,” held December 18-22, 1992, in Kona, Hawaii, under the auspices of ASM INTERNATIONAL’S Phase Transformations Committee.     

Sequestration of muscarinic acetylcholine receptor m2 subtypes. Facilitation by G protein-coupled receptor kinase (GRK2) and attenuation by a dominant-negative mutant of GRK2

Sequestration of m2 receptors (muscarinic acetylcholine receptor m2 subtypes), which was assessed as loss of N-[3H]methylscopolamine ([3H]NMS) binding activity from the cell surface, was examined in COS 7 and BHK-21 cells that had been transfected with expression vectors encoding the m2 receptor and, independently, vectors encoding a G protein-coupled receptor kinase (GRK2) (beta-adrenergic receptor kinase 1) or a GRK2 dominant-negative mutant (DN-GRK2). The sequestration of m2 receptors became apparent when the cells were treated with 10(-5) M or higher concentrations of carbamylcholine. In this case, approximately 40% or 20-25% of the [3H]NMS binding sites on COS 7 or BHK-21 cells, respectively, were sequestered with a half-life of 15-25 min. In cells in which GRK2 was also expressed, the sequestration became apparent in the presence of 10(-7) M carbamylcholine. Approximately 40% of the [3H]NMS binding sites on both COS 7 and BHK-21 cells were sequestered in the presence of 10(-6) M or higher concentrations of carbamylcholine. When DN-GRK2 was expressed in COS 7 cells, the proportion of [3H]NMS binding sites sequestered in the presence of 10(-5) M or higher concentrations of carbamylcholine was reduced to 20-30%. These results indicate that the phosphorylation of m2 receptors by GRK2 facilitates their sequestration. These results are in contrast with the absence of a correlation between sequestration and the phosphorylation of beta-adrenergic receptors by the GRK2 and suggests that the consequences of phosphorylation by GRK2 are different for different receptors.     

Alpha 1-adrenoceptors and calcium sources in adrenergic neurogenic contractions of rat vas deferens

1. The involvement of alpha 1-adrenoceptor subtypes in adrenergic neurogenic contractions of different type was studied in epididymal and prostatic portions of the rat vas deferens. 2. The adrenergic component of neurogenic contractions was isolated by suramin (300 microM). Twitch-like and tonic contractions were elicited by appropriate pulse patterns of electrical field stimulation, and contractions relying on intracellular calcium mobilization and calcium entry were isolated by means of nifedipine (10 microM) and ryanodine (20 microM), respectively. Increasing concentrations of 2-(2,6-dimethoxyphenoxyethyl)aminomethyl-1,4-benzodioxane (WB 4101), alpha-ethyl-3,4,5-trimethoxy-alpha-(3-((2-(2-methoxyphenoxy)ethyl)- amino)-propyl)benzeneacetonitrile (HV 723), prazosin and 5-methylurapidil progressively, monophasically and with potency decreasing in that order reduced and finally abolished all types of contraction, with one exception: concentration-effect curves of 5-methylurapidil in epididymal segments in the presence of ryanodine levelled off at about 75% inhibition. In the presence of both nifedipine (10 microM) and ryanodine (20 microM), contractions were abolished. 3. Contractions elicited by exogenous noradrenaline were also studied in the presence of either nifedipine 10 microM (prostatic segments) or ryanodine 20 microM (epididymal segments). Increasing concentrations of tamsulosin, WB 4101, benoxathian, HV 723, prazosin, 5-methylurapidil and urapidil progressively, monophasically and with potency decreasing in that order reduced and eventually abolished both kinds of contraction, with two exceptions: in epididymal segments in the presence of ryanodine, the concentration-effect curve of 5-methylurapidil was biphasic and the curve of urapidil levelled off at only partial inhibition. 4. In slices prepared from the prostatic end and preincubated with [3H]-noradrenaline, WB 4101, HV 723, prazosin and 5-methylurapidil, at the highest concentrations tested against neurogenic contractions, increased only slightly the overflow of tritium elicited by trains of 50 pulses at 5 Hz. 5. It is concluded that two alpha l-adrenoceptor subtypes mediate adrenergic neurogenic contractions of rat vas deferens. The main one, pharmacologically alpha 1A, activates both calcium mobilization and entry. In addition there is a second receptor, not previously detected in the vas deferens and not corresponding to any named alpha l subtype, characterized by high and similar affinity for tamsulosin, WB 4101, benoxathian,HV 723 and prazosin and very low affinity for 5-methylurapidil and urapidil, and linked exclusively to calcium entry. Both subtypes and their respective transduction pathways also contribute to contractions elicited by exogenous noradrenaline. An alpha 1B-adrenoceptor-mediated contraction was not found under any experimental conditions.