Optical Detections From Worn and Unworn Titanium Compound Surfaces

Wear-induced roughness in terms of grooves, sharp ridges, and edges leads to scattering of the reflected light and leads unavoidably to a reduction of the optical signals in a standard specular geometry. However, by using a double-layer system consisting of titanium aluminum nitride (TiAlN) on top of a titanium nitride (TiN) layer we obtain an increase in the reflected light as a result of wear. The relative change of reflectance of light from the tribological TiAlN coated surface to the underlying layer of TiN is similar for non-worn surfaces and for surfaces exposed to an abrasive wear process. The induced roughness reduces the signals from worn samples, in a standard specular geometry, by up to 30% compared with unworn samples. Our model system of TiAlN coatings on top of ‘optical’ signal layers of TiN deposited on a 100Cr6 steel substrate, was exposed to a reciprocating wear process with up to 10⁵ repetitive cycles in a linear tribometer. The worn TiAlN layers of thicknesses up to 3 μm, with strongly developed grooves and ridges, were subsequently used for the reflectance measurements. The results show that optical reflectance monitoring is a potential technique for intelligent determination of a residual thickness of realistic tribological coatings prior to complete wear.     

Efficacy of iron fortification compared to iron supplementation among Vietnamese schoolchildren

Background  

Parents of six children are facing a trial on charges of aggravated manslaughter in the care a 5 1/2 month old infant who died suddenly and neglect of their four older children for causing them to be malnourished by feeding them all an exclusively raw foods vegan diet. Both parents declined plea bargains and plan to defend themselves in court.     

西九文化区

正OMA发展西九文化区,必须面对一项挑战:将一个盛载政府极大抱负,以及持分者多元利益的超大型多用途项目,转化成一个既有趣又严肃、既有规划又允许即兴、既中国化又国际化的文化区。这个文化区规模庞大,但不失亲密融洽的感觉;富地标性,但十分谦和;容易理解,却能带来惊喜。为避免造成过分冲击,OMA采纳了一种每个香港市民都熟悉的建筑类型作为方案的发展     

Enhanced mechanical properties of epoxy composites using cellulose micro- and nano-crystals

Epoxy polymers are commonly utilized in structural applications due to their high bearing capacity and excellent chemical resistance. However, their inherent brittleness poses a significant challenge for their use in high shock and fracture strength products. To address this shortcoming, fillers can be incorporated into the polymer during preparation. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of incorporating cellulose-based fillers, namely cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), on the mechanical properties of epoxy polymer composites. The study evaluated the impact of various factors, including filler concentration, particle size, and moisture content, on the mechanical properties of the composites. The results demonstrated that the incorporation of CNC or MCC powders at concentrations below 5% could enhance the mechanical properties of the resulting epoxy composites without adversely affecting their surface and thermal properties. The maximum tensile strength and fracture toughness of the filler-based epoxy composites were achieved at 2 and 4 wt% for CNCs and MCC, respectively. CNCs with a smaller particle size distribution were found to be much more effective than MCC in improving the mechanical properties of the epoxy composites. Furthermore, utilizing dried fillers resulted in a higher improvement in tensile strength, which was achieved at lower filler concentrations.     

The isotopic distribution conundrum

Although access to high-resolution mass spectrometry (MS), especially in the field of biomolecular MS, is becoming readily available due to recent advances in MS technology, the accompanied information on isotopic distribution in high-resolution spectra is not used at its full potential, mainly because of lack of knowledge and/or awareness. In this review, we give an insight into the practical problems related to calculating the isotopic distribution for large biomolecules, and present an overview of methods for the calculation of the isotopic distribution. We discuss the key events that triggered the development of various algorithms and explain the rationale of how and why the various isotopic-distribution calculations were performed. The review is focused around the developmental stages as briefly outlined below, starting with the first observation of an isotopic distribution. The observations of Beynon in the field of organic MS that chlorine appeared in a mass spectrum as two variants with odds 3:1 lie at the basis of the first wave of algorithms for the calculation of the isotopic distribution, based on the atomic composition of a molecule. From here on, we explain why more complex biomolecules such as peptides exhibit a highly complex isotope pattern when assayed by MS, and we discuss how combinatorial difficulties complicate the calculation of the isotopic distribution on computers. For this purpose, we highlight three methods, which were introduced in the 1980s. These are the stepwise procedure introduced by Kubinyi, the polynomial expansion from Brownawell and Fillippo, and the multinomial expansion from Yergey. The next development was instigated by Rockwood, who suggested to decompose the isotopic distribution in terms of their nucleon count instead of the exact mass. In this respect, we could claim that the term "aggregated" isotopic distribution is more appropriate. Due to the simplification of the isotopic distribution to its aggregated counterpart, Rockwood was able to use the convolution for the calculation of the "aggregated" isotopic distribution. Convolution methods are computationally efficient and economic in their memory usage. We spend a section on the work introduced by Rockwood during the 1990s. Due to recent breakthroughs in mass spectrometric technology and the widespread high-resolution instruments (e.g., FTICR-MS, FTOrbitrap-MS, and TOF-MS) that provide high-resolution, isotope-resolved, accurate mass data, there is an emerging need for algorithms that can calculate isotopic distributions for large biomolecules. The number of recent publications on this topic does witness this trend. The new methods are mostly based on complex mathematical developments such as, for example, cellular automata (Meija and Caruso [2004]. J Am Soc Mass Spectrom, 15(5):654-658), dynamic programming (Snider [2007]. J Am Soc Mass Spectrom, 18:1511-1515), and hierarchical models (Li et al. [2008] J Am Soc Mass Spectrom, 19:1867-1874). We also comment on the ideas to use Punnet squares and Pascal's triangle to introduce the concept of the isotopic distribution for educational and didactic purposes.     

Some aspects of the intraregional spatial distribution of local sector activities

This paper focuses on the spatial distribution of economic activities that serve the demands of households within a region. The level of local sector activities is measured by employment per inhabitant. The basic hypothesis relates to how this proportion varies systematically over space for a wide range of geographies, from high values in a city center to low values in areas adjacent to the city center, and asymptotically approaching the average regional level as the distance from the center increases. This defines a curve that we (under quite general conditions) find to be invariant under changes in the spatial residential pattern and the transportation structure. This suggests that relationships of this kind might be a powerful tool in the prediction of regional development.

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Desalination of a brick by application of an electric DC field

Salts in masonry can cause various problems as decay of the masonry itself, lost adhesion of plaster and hygroscopic moisture. Chlorides are among the most common building salts and the present paper is focused on removal of chlorides from a brick in an applied electric field as a step towards developing an electrochemical desalination method for brick masonry. Experiments were conducted in laboratory scale with one type of bricks that were contaminated with either NaCl or KCl through submersion in salt solutions prior to application of current. It was seen that NaCl was slower supplied to the brick during submersion and slower removed in the applied electric field than KCl. This indicates that the removal rate of chloride depends on the associated cation and this must be taken into account when desiding the duration of full scale actions. The electrochemical desalination was very efficient and 99% removal of chloride was obtained. The final concentration in the brick after treatment was less than 10 mg Cl/kg and this concentration is unproblematic. When low salt concentrations were reached during the electrochemical treatment, electroosmotic dewatering of the brick started, showing that electroosmotic dewatering occurs at low ionic concentrations.     

Coating of LaCoO3 thin film with sol-gel dip coating method

LaCoO3 thin film was coated on Al2O3 single crystal by sol-gel route. Appropriate composition of precursors, chelating agents and the solvent put together into a flask and magnetically stirred on a magnetic stirrer. After having the red transparent solution, it was stirred for 12 hours before coating. Ultrasonically cleaned substrate is dipped into the solution and taken immediately into vertical furnace which is preheated at 550 degrees C. A dense amorphous film is coated on the substrate. Fired amorphous films are annealed at temperature between 900 degrees C and 1000 degrees C for 20 minutes in the air. Then coated film was characterized by means of XRD, AFM, and SEM. Conductivity of the film was measured to be -0.1819 for 881 degrees C for the log sigma value by assuming the thickness as