Morphological and kinetics study of PEO/PVC blends

The kinetics of spherulite radial growth and the morphology of the compatible system PEO/PVC have been studied by optical microscopy. The usual spherulite radial growth behaviour has been found for compatible blends with PEO content higher than 70%. For lower composition, distortion of the usual spherulite morphology has been observed; the anomalies have been attributed to partial miscibility of the components.     

On the Theory of Electrical Phenomena in Combustion of Heterogeneous Systems with Condensed Products

The effect of the electromotive force arising in combustion of heterogeneous systems with condensed products is explained. A convective mechanism of arising regions with different charge densities due to charge transfer by the gas filtered in the pores is formulated on the basis of the developed physical concepts, estimates, and analysis of experimental data. Key words: combustion, electron emission, filtration, electromotive force.     

Molecular neurogenetics of chemotaxis and thermotaxis in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

Chemotaxis and thermotaxis in Caenorhabditis elegans are based on the chemical senses (smell and taste) and the thermal sense, respectively, which are important for the life of the animal. Laser ablation experiments have allowed identification of sensory neurons and some interneurons required for these senses. Many mutants that exhibit various abnormalities have been isolated and analyzed. These studies have predicted novel signaling pathways whose components include a putative odorant specific transmembrane receptor (ODR-10) and a cyclic nucleotide-gated channel (TAX-4/TAX-2) functioning in taste and thermosensation as well as in smell. The emerging picture of the mechanisms of sensory transduction in C. elegans seems to be basically similar to what is known of visual and olfactory sensory transduction in vertebrates. Thus, molecular and cellular analyses of chemotaxis and thermotaxis in C. elegans have proved useful and will continue to provide significant implications for the molecular basis of sensory systems in higher animals.     

Cold flow model and computer simulation studies of a circulating fluidized bed reactor for the oxidative coupling of methane

A circulating fluidized bed configuration has been developed for application in the oxidative coupling process. The configuration comprises a bottom turbulent fluidized bed, wherein the oxidative coupling reaction is conducted, followed by a reduced-diameter top fast bed for catalyst entrainment and hydrocarbon cracking. The hydrodynamic characteristics of this configuration have been investigated in a pilot-plant cold flow unit. Detailed experimental results on the turbulent bed flow structure and the gas phase residence time distribution are presented and discussed. The performanceofthe proposed reactor is analyzed by computer simulation studies based on a published oxidative coupling kinetic model. It is shown that improved hydrocarbon yields can be obtained by optimizing the hydrodynamic structure and the mixing characteristics of the turbulent bed.     

Interaction of powder microparticles with the steel matrix under dynamic action

Conclusions In dynamic interaction of powder particles and the steel matrix at the points of their retarding and stoppage, significant high-velocity plastic deformation occurs according to shear, rotational, and twinning mechanisms, which, together with local microalloying of the matrix with elements of the particles, promotes additional hardening of the steel. Processes of complete restoration of the structure in these areas are undesirable since they reduce the effect of hardening of the steel with dispersed particles.Dnepropetrovsk Metallurgical Institute. Translated from Metallovedenie i Termicheskaya Obrabotka Metallov, No. 2, pp. 44–45, February, 1991.     

Resistance of rock to the intrusion of a die near the wall of a hole

Institute of Rock Mechanics, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Moscow. Translated from Fiziko-Tekhnicheskie Problemy Razrabotki Poleznykh Iskopaemykh, No. 1, pp. 39–44, January-February, 1992.