Utilization of lignocellulosic fibers in molded polyester composites

Using rice straw, bagasse, and cotton stalk fibers as reinforcing fillers in polyester composite was studied. The effects of fiber loading and fiber size on the modulus of rupture (MOR), modulus of elasticity (MOE), tensile strength, water absorption, and thickness swelling were investigated as well. The effect of esterification using maleic anhydride on the aforementioned properties also was studied. Ultraviolet light resistance and thermal behavior of the produced composites were also investigated. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 87: 653–660, 2003     

Measurement of functional inability and quality of life in cardiac failure. Transcultural adaptation and validation of the Goldman, Minnesota and Duke questionnaires

Cardiac failure has a big impact on the daily life of patients and this can be evaluated using quality of life questionnaires. The aim of this study was to translate and adapt for the French population and test the validity of two quality of life self-administered-questionnaires: the Duke health Profile, the Minnesota Quality of Life Questionnaire in Cardiac Failure and one function capacity questionnaire, the Goldman Specific Activity Scale. The questionnaires were translated and retranslated then submitted to a committee of experts: the final version was presented to 30 patients. The study of the quantitative properties of the three instruments was performed on a sample of 74 patients with cardiac failure to assess their validity and 26 stable patients after cardiac transplantation to test reproducibility. The results of this study show that these three instruments are valid and reproducible and are comparable to the original documents: Cronbach's Alpha ranging from 0.54 to 0.78 for the Duke, except for the social dimension, and from 0.73 to 0.93 for the Minnesota, except for its incapacity dimension, intraclass correlation coefficient > 0.6 in all dimensions. The validity of convergence with LVEF and the NYHA measured during hospitalisation for decompensation was poor, except for the Goldman. The three instruments provided coherent information. The authors conclude that a structured method allows transcultural adaptation of instruments of evaluation of quality of life, the French version having comparable properties to the original documents: they may be used for clinical research.     

Size‐Dependent Control of Exciton–Polariton Interactions in WS2 Nanotubes

Multiwall WS₂ nanotubes (and fullerene‐like nanoparticles thereof) are currently synthesized in large amounts, reproducibly. Other than showing interesting mechanical and tribological properties, which offer them a myriad of applications, they are recently shown to exhibit remarkable optical and electrical properties, including quasi‐1D superconductivity, electroluminescence, and a strong bulk photovoltaic effect. Here, it is shown that, using a simple dispersion‐fractionation technique, one can control the diameter of the nanotubes and move from pure excitonic to polaritonic features. While nanotubes of an average diameter >80 nm can support cavity modes and scatter light effectively via a strong coupling mechanism, the extinction of nanotubes with smaller diameter consists of pure absorption. The experimental work is complemented by finite‐difference time‐domain simulations, which shed new light on the cavity mode–exciton interaction in 2D materials. Furthermore, transient absorption experiments of the size‐fractionated nanotubes fully confirm the steady‐state observations. Moreover, it is shown that the tools developed here are useful for size control of the nanotubes, e.g., in manufacturing environment. The tunability of the light–matter interaction of such nanotubes offers them intriguing applications such as polaritonic devices, in photocatalysis, and for multispectral sensors.     

Effect of Lithium Carbonate on the Structure Formation of Ceramics Based on Si3N4

Structure formation in the system Li₂CO₃ Si₃N₄ both during heating in the powder state (500-1450°C) and also during specimen sintering (1450-1750°C) is studied. The most active formation of binary Li Si nitrides (LiSi₂N₃, Li₂SiN₄, Li₈SiN₄) is observed at 1450-1550°C. With a controlled sintering temperature and the amount of added Li₂CO₃ it is possible to prepare materials based on silicon nitride with a prescribed phase composition and corresponding properties.     

A general framework for tree-based morphology and its applications to self-dual filtering

This paper presents a tree-based framework for producing self-dual morphological operators, based on a tree-representation complete inf-semilattice (CISL). The idea is to use a self-dual tree transform to map a given image into the above CISL, perform one or more morphological operations there, and map the result back to the image domain using the inverse tree transform. We also present a particular case of this general framework, involving a new tree transform, the Extrema-Watershed Tree (EWT). The operators obtained by using the EWT in the above framework behave like classical morphological operators, but in addition are self-dual. Some application examples are provided: pre-processing for OCR and dust and scratch removal algorithms, and image denoising. We also explore first steps towards obtaining tree transforms that induce a CISL on the image domain as well.     

A control synthesis approach for time discrete event systems

In this paper, we introduce a control synthesis method for discrete event systems whose behavior is dependent on explicit values of time. Our goal is to control the occurrence dates of the controllable events so that the functioning of the system respects given specifications. The system to be controlled is modeled by a time Petri net. In a previous work we proposed a systematic method to build the timed automaton which models the exact behavior of a time Petri net. Furthermore, the forbidden behaviors of the system are modeled by forbidden timed automaton locations. This paper focuses on the control synthesis method, which consists in computing new firing conditions for the timed automaton transitions so that the forbidden locations are no longer reachable.     

Konzeption einer Kollaborationsplattform für die zwischenbetriebliche Softwareerstellung

The development of business application software is increasingly based on the development of different components by various suppliers. In the next step, system vendors integrate these components. Hereby, inter-organizational collaboration becomes more and more important for the software industry. In order to strengthen the value-added processes within these established software supply chains, the Ministry of Economic Affairs in Baden-Württemberg funded the project TASK that aims at fostering inter-organizational design, integration, and implementation of software components. The present article on the one hand provides an insight into the structure as well as the progress of this project and, on the other hand, presents academic research results in terms of an empirical analysis of barriers and drivers of interorganizational collaboration and of the purposeful design of a collaboration platform. The article concludes with a summary and a discussion of current and upcoming issues in establishing and sustaining inter-organizational collaboration structures within the software industry.     

Computing in Totally Anonymous Asynchronous Shared Memory Systems

In the totally anonymous shared memory model of asynchronous distributed computing, processes have no identifiers and run identical programs. Moreover, processes have identical interface to the shared memory, and in particular, there are no single-writer registers. This paper assumes that processes do not fail, and the shared memory consists only of read/write registers, which are initialized to some default value. A complete characterization of the functions and agreement tasks that can be solved in this model is presented. Furthermore, it is shown that if a function is computable, then two registers are sufficient for some algorithm to compute it. Consensus is an important agreement task that can be computed. The paper proves logarithmic lower bounds on the number of registers and rounds needed for solving consensus in this model. A consensus protocol using a linear number of shared registers and rounds is also presented.     

Tolmetin sodium-loaded thermosensitive mucoadhesive liquid suppositories for rectal delivery; strategy to overcome oral delivery drawbacks

Tolmetin sodium (TS) is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) indicated for treatment of musculoskeletal issues. As other NSAID, TS displays a marked side effects on the gastro-intestinal (GI) tract after oral administration. Traditional solid suppositories can cause pain and discomfort for patients, may reach the end of the colon; consequently, the drug can undergo the first-pass effect. TS liquid suppository (TS-_LS) was developed to enhance patient compliance and rectal mucosal safety in high-risk patients receiving highly NSAID therapy. This work was conducted to optimize and evaluate Poloxamer P407/P188-based thermoresponsive TS-_LS by using mucoadhesive polymers such as methylcellulose (MC). TS-_LS was prepared by cold method and characterized their in vitro physicochemical properties as gelation temperature (GT), gel strength, bioadhesive properties, and in vitro release. The safety of the prepared suppository on rectum, stomach, and liver was evaluated histologically. Pharmacokinetic analyses were performed to compare rectal TS-_LS to orally Rhumtol^® capsules. The results showed that the optimized TS-_LS; composed of P407/P188/MC (21/9/0.5% w/w) displayed gelation at rectum temperature ～32.90?°C, gel strength of 21.35?s and rectal retention force at the administration site of 24.25?×?10²?dyne/cm². Moreover, TS-_LS did not cause any morphological damage to the rectal tissues. Pharmacokinetic parameters of optimized TS-_LS formulation revealed 4.6 fold increase in bioavailability as compared to Rhumtol^® capsules. Taken together, the results demonstrated that liquid suppository is a potential and physically safe rectal delivery carrier for improvement rectal bioavailability and in vivo safety of TS.     

Percolation model for brittle-tough transition in nylon/rubber blends

It is proposed that the brittle- tough transition in nylon/rubber blends occurs when the yielding process propagates through thin matrix ligaments in which a plane-strain to plane-stress transition takes place. This propagation process is modelled as a percolation phenomenon. The model explains the observed brittle-tough transition, and predicts that monodisperse and asymmetric particles are more effective in toughening than polydisperse and spherical ones.