Characterization of High-Velocity Solution Precursor Flame-Sprayed Manganese Cobalt Oxide Spinel Coatings for Metallic SOFC Interconnectors

A modified high-velocity oxy-fuel spray (HVOF) thermal spray torch equipped with liquid feeding hardware was used to spray manganese-cobalt solutions on ferritic stainless steel grade Crofer 22 APU substrates. The HVOF torch was modified in such a way that the solution could be fed axially into the combustion chamber through 250- and 300-μm-diameter liquid injector nozzles. The solution used in this study was prepared by diluting nitrates of manganese and cobalt, i.e., Mn(NO₃)₂·4H₂O and Co(NO₃)₂·6H₂O, respectively, in deionized water. The as-sprayed coatings were characterized by X-ray diffraction and field-emission scanning electron microscopy operating in secondary electron mode. Chemical analyses were performed on an energy dispersive spectrometer. Coatings with remarkable density could be prepared by the novel high-velocity solution precursor flame spray (HVSPFS) process. Due to finely sized droplet formation in the HVSPFS process and the use of as delivered Crofer 22 APU substrate material having very low substrate roughness (R _a < 0.5 μm), thin and homogeneous coatings, with thicknesses lower than 10 μm could be prepared. The coatings were found to have a crystalline structure equivalent to MnCo₂O₄ spinel with addition of Co-oxide phases. Crystallographic structure was restored back to single-phase spinel structure by heat treatment.     

The residue levels of narasin in eggs of laying hens fed with unmedicated and medicated feed

Laying hens were fed contaminated feed containing narasin 2.5 mg/kg for 21 days followed by a 7 day withdrawal period, hens in the control group were fed unmedicated feed. Eggs were collected during trial days 0, 3, 7, 14, 21 and after the withdrawal period of 7 days. The concentration of narasin in yolks and egg whites was analyzed by a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method. Narasin was found to accumulate in yolks, where the narasin concentration increased during the treatment. The concentration of narasin varied from 5.9 to 13.8 microg/kg (mean 10.6 microg/kg) in yolks after 21 day feeding periods. The concentrations of narasin ranged from < 0.9 to 1.4 microg/kg after the withdrawal period. Narasin residues were not found in egg whites of the laying hens fed contaminated feed nor in either yolks or egg whites of the laying hens fed unmedicated feed. The effect of cooking was also tested on the amount of narasin residues in eggs. Cooking for 10 min did not significantly influence the narasin residues in eggs. Traces of lasalocid were also found in the yolks. The traces of lasalocid are attributable to an accidental contamination of the feed during its manufacture.     

Alternatives for mobile operators in the competitive 3G and beyond business

The importance of analyzing different business models and technologies in the mobile industry has become more crucial for the investment policy of the telecom operators. This paper aims to cover some of the most interesting business alternatives in providing the new 3G and beyond services including cases where the operator already has an existing second-generation cellular network and perhaps even a license for the 3G UMTS network, and cases where the operator does not have any existing network. Three cases for incumbents and new entrants are foreseen, leaving alternatives for new competing 3G technology deployment or acting as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) without owning any radio infrastructure. A techno-economic approach has been used to identify business opportunities and quantify the potential profitability of different kind of business players. The scenarios have been analyzed in the Western European context by different country groups that are not exactly representative of any defined country, but rather share typical demographic characteristics.     

Extracting watermarks from printouts captured with wide angles using computational photography

Thus far the research of print-cam robust watermarking methods has focused on finding new methods for embedding and extracting the watermark. However, the capturing process itself, has been neglected in scientific research. In this paper, we propose a solution for the situation when the watermarked image has been captured in a wide angle and the depth of focus of the camera is not deep enough to capture the whole scene in-focus resulting in unfocused areas. The solution proposed here relies on a subfield of computational photography, namely all-in-focus imaging. All-in-focus images are generated by fusing multiple images from the same scene with different focus distances together, so that the object being photographed is fully in focus. Traditionally, the images to be fused are selected by hand from the focal stack or the whole stack is used for building the all-in-focus image. In mobile phone applications, computational resources are limited and using the full focal stack would result in long processing times and the manual selection of images would not be practical. In addition, we propose a method for optimizing the size of the focal stack and automatically selecting appropriate images for fusion. It is shown here that a watermark can still be recovered from the reconstructed all-in-focus image accurately.     

Melt spinnability of long chain cellulose esters

Technical and hygienic nonwovens, originating typically from fossil-based synthetic polymers, are the fastest growing applications in the textile industry. Recently developed thermoplastic cellulose fatty acid esters have polyolefin like rheology properties and therefore the suitability of these cellulose esters for fiber production was evaluated. In this study, the melt spinning of textile fibers has been demonstrated using thermoplastic cellulose octanoate. The mechanical properties of melt spun fibers were analyzed by using tensile testing and both the surface and cross-section morphology of melt spun fibers were studied using the scanning electron microscopy. The surfaces of the fibers were very smooth and also the cross-section was very uniform and no porosity was observed. While mechanical properties of the produced fibers are not yet as good as those reported for commercial polypropylene (PP) monofilament fibers, they are somewhat more comparable to other cellulose ester-based fibers. The melt spinning results indicate that the novel cellulose-based fibers can provide a renewable and recyclable alternative, for example, spun-laid PP in several hygienic textile and fully oriented in technical applications in future.     

Software development project success and failure from the supplier's perspective: A systematic literature review

In this paper, we consider software development project success and failure from the supplier's perspective. First we clarified concepts in order to be able to exclude review articles on in-house projects, continuous services, the customer's perspective, and software product development, with the aim of providing valid results for supplier firms. We divided success criteria into project success and project management (PM) success, and, in seven articles, identified three success criteria from the supplier's perspective: customer satisfaction, short-term business benefits, and long-term business benefits. In contrast, no definition of software development project failure was found. Articles were found in seven different journals, showing that knowledge on software development project success from the supplier's perspective is fragmented. This impedes the growth of knowledge on this topic.     

Post-mortem evaluation of oxidized atmospheric plasma sprayed Mn–Co–Fe oxide spinel coatings on SOFC interconnectors

Interconnects employed in solid oxide fuel cells require electrically conductive protective coatings such as those based on manganese cobalt oxide spinels in order to prevent evaporation of volatile Cr(VI)-compounds and to minimize high temperature corrosion. MnCo_2−xFe_xO₄ based (where x = 0.1 and 0.3) oxide spinel protective coatings were manufactured by the atmospheric plasma spraying process on Crofer 22 APU substrates. The coated substrates were oxidized at 700 °C in air for 1000 h and post-mortem analyses were conducted to study the performance of the thermal sprayed coatings. During the high temperature oxidation, a four-point on-line measurement technique was used for area specific resistance studies. The MnCo_1.7Fe_0.3O₄ coating was tested together with the La_0.85Sr_0.15Mn_1.1O₃-spacer.     

Hyperinsulinaemia in hypertensive subjects: validity of a test for the detection of insulin resistance in clinical practice

Tension-type headache is common in children and adolescents and is generally treated with medication, but emerging literature suggests that various behavioral treatments may provide efficacious alternatives to medication. Juvenile tension-type headache sufferers were randomly assigned to biofeedback-assisted relaxation continued to improve and were superior to the control condition at a 6- and 12-month follow-up (86% versus 50%). Biofeedback-assisted relaxation appears to be an efficacious and durable treatment for juvenile tension-type headache and merits further exploration.     

Verbal and visual representations in task redesign: how different viewpoints enter into information systems design discussions

Abstract.  We explore an important phase of information systems design (ISD), namely task redesign, and especially how different viewpoints enter into the discussions. We study how one particular visual representation, a process diagram, is interpreted and how alternative, even competing, representations are produced verbally. To tie the visual and verbal representations and the representational practices to wider social practices, we develop and use the Extended Three-dimensional Model of discourse. Visual representations emerged as focal in bringing in the different viewpoints and as reference points for discussions. Our model provided a focused and powerful means to unveil for the outside researchers how the planned changes in tasks and authority relationships instigated a social struggle. The IS designer was an outsider to the client organization and therefore considered only the information system, not the social system in which it was intended to operate. Other participants did not recognize this, therefore, seeing the designer as furthering managerial interests. Seeing task redesign in the social context of a client organization can help IS designers and researchers to understand what the users see naturally, that is, the ISD as a dynamic, enabling but socially constrained process where different viewpoints are represented.