Synthesis of amphiphilic magnetic microspheres by dispersion copolymerization of styrene and poly(ethylene oxide) macromonomer

Amphiphilic magnetic microspheres ranging in diameter from 5 to 100 µm were prepared by dispersion copolymerization of styrene and poly(ethylene oxide) vinylbenzyl (PEO‐VB) macromonomer (MPEO) in the presence of Fe₃O₄ magnetic fluid. The effects of various polymerization parameters on the average particle size were systematically investigated. The average particle size was found to increase with increasing styrene concentration and initiator concentration. It also increased with decreasing stabilizer concentration and molecular weight of MPEO. The content of the hydroxyl groups localized in the microspheres ranged from 0.01 to 0.2 mmol g^?1. © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry     

Assessing stem cell research productivity

Honour Index (HoI), a method to evaluate research performance within different research fields, was derived from the impact factor (IF). It can be used to rate and compare different categories of journals. HoI was used in this study to determine the scientific productivity of stem cell research in the Asian Four Dragons (Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan) from 1981 to 2001. The methodology applied in this study represents a synthesis of universal indicator studies and bibliometric analyses of subfields at the micro-level. We discuss several comparisons, and conclude the developmental trend in stem cell research for two decades. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Knowledge-based control and case-based diagnosis based upon empirical knowledge and fuzzy logic for the SBR plant.

Because biological wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) involve a long time-delay and various disturbances, in general, skilled operators manually control the plant based on empirical knowledge. And operators usually diagnose the plant using similar cases experienced in the past. For the effective management of the plant, system automation has to be accomplished based upon operating recipes. This paper introduces automatic control and diagnosis based upon the operator's knowledge. Fuzzy logic was employed to design this knowledge-based controller because fuzzy logic can convert the linguistic information to rules. The controller can manage the influent and external carbon in considering the loading rate. The input of the controller is not the loading rate but the dissolved oxygen (DO) lag-time, which has a strong relation to the loading rate. This approach can replace an expensive sensor, which measures the loading rate and ammonia concentration in the reactor, with a cheaper DO sensor. The proposed controller can assure optimal operation and prevent the over-feeding problem. Case-based diagnosis was achieved by the analysis of profile patterns collected from the past. A new test profile was diagnosed by comparing it with template patterns containing normal and abnormal cases. The proposed control and diagnostic system will guarantee the effective and stable operation of WWTPs.     

Photocatalytic oxidation of low concentration 2,4-D solution with new TiO2 fiber catalyst in a continuous flow reactor.

Environmental pollution by low concentrations of 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) is a concern these days due to ever increasingly stringent regulations. Photocatalysis with immobilized TiO2 fiber is a promising oxidation method. Laboratory experiments on photocatalytic degradation of 0.045 mmol l(-1) 2,4-D with the world's first high-strength TiO2 fiber catalyst were carried out in a continuous flow reactor in which the degradations were, in general, similar to those with high 2,4-D concentrations investigated elsewhere. Degradation and mineralization of 2,4-D were significantly enhanced with no initial pH adjustments. The rate constants for total organic carbon (TOC) without pH adjustment were about two-fold bigger than the pH adjustment cases. CO2 gas measurement and carbon mass-balance were carried out for the first time, where about 34% organic carbon converted into CO2 gas during four-hour oxidation. 2,4-Dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP), phenol, benzyl alcohol and two unknowns (RT = 2.65 and 3.78 min.) were detected as aromatic intermediates while Phenol was the new aromatic in HPLC analysis. Dechlorination efficiencies were high (> 70%) in all the cases, and more than 90% efficiencies were observed in chloride mass balance. Bigger flow rates and solution temperature fixed at 20 degrees C without pH adjustment greatly enhanced 2,4-D mineralization. These results can be an important basis in applying the treatment method for dioxin-contaminated water and wastewater.     

A multigrid accelerated hybrid unstructured mesh method for 3D compressible turbulent flow

 A cell vertex finite volume method for the solution of steady compressible turbulent flow problems on unstructured hybrid meshes of tetrahedra, prisms, pyramids and hexahedra is described. These hybrid meshes are constructed by firstly discretising the computational domain using tetrahedral elements and then by merging certain tetrahedra. A one equation turbulence model is employed and the solution of the steady flow equations is obtained by explicit relaxation. The solution process is accelerated by the addition of a multigrid method, in which the coarse meshes are generated by agglomeration, and by parallelisation. The approach is shown to be effective for the simulation of a number of 3D flows of current practical interest. Sponsored by The Research Council of Norway, project number 125676/410 Dedicated to the memory of Prof. Mike Crisfield, a respected colleague     

Catalytic aminolysis of epoxide by alumina prepared from amine-protected Al precursor

The catalytic activities of alumina prepared from an Al alkoxide-amine adduct monomer for the reaction of cyclopentene oxide with piperidine was determined after various pretreatments, including calcination and exposure to moisture. They were compared with the activity of alumina prepared by the conventional hydrolysis method. It was found that the as-prepared sample from the alkoxide-amine monomer preparation was five times more active than a conventional preparation, suggesting that it has a higher density of surface Lewis acid sites. However, its activity was much more severely suppressed by exposure to moisture.     

Control system design on a power-split CVT for high-power agricultural tractors

The problem considered in this paper is the design and tuning of the control system of a power-split continuously variable transmission (CVT) used in high-power tractors. Power-split CVTs are characterized by the combination of a traditional mechanical transmission and by a continuously-variable transmission. This guarantees, at the same time, smooth variations of the transmission-ratio and high efficiency of the overall transmission system. The control architecture of an hydrostatic power-split CVT is constituted by three main parts: 1) servo-controller on the current of the valve which drives the hydraulic transmission; 2) a servo-controller on the hydraulic transmission-ratio; and 3) a synchronizer which coordinates the hydraulic and the mechanical parts of the CVT. In this work, these three controllers are fully developed, including: design, implementation, and evaluation on an experimental system.     

Techniques for high-frequency integrated test and measurement

This paper describes techniques for the on-chip measurement of high-frequency and/or high-bandwidth electrical phenomena in ultra large-scale integration environments. The techniques rely on the integration of multiple compact and robust electronic test devices, or cores, at various locations within an integrated circuit. The cores consist primarily of signal generators that approximate the output of a sigma-delta modulator using finite repetitious bit patterns and a small set of highly robust analog components. They are capable of digitizing on-chip signals at gigahertz rates even using low-cost manufacturing processes. Simple communication between the multiple cores enables the migration of many "board-level" type measurements down to the chip level.