Load-carrying capacity evaluation of coating/substrate systems for hydrogen-free and hydrogenated diamond-like carbon films

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings have shown excellent tribological properties in laboratory tests. The coatings have also been introduced to several practical applications. However, the functional reliability of the coatings is often weakened by adhesion and load-carrying capacity related problems. In this study the load-carrying capacity of the coating/substrate system has been evaluated. The DLC coatings were deposited on stainless steel, alumina and cemented carbide with two different deposition techniques: the tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) coatings were deposited by a pulsed vacuum arc discharge deposition method and the hydrogenated carbon (a-C:H) films by radio frequency (r.f.) plasma deposition method. The load-carrying capacity of the coated systems was evaluated using a scratch test, Rockwell C-indentation test and ball-on-disc test. The effect of substrate material, substrate hardness, coating type and coating thickness was studied. An increase in substrate hardness increased the load-carrying capacity for the coated systems, as expected. The two coating types exhibited different performance under load due to their different physical and mechanical properties. For the load-carrying capacity evaluations the ball-on-disc configuration was found to be most suitable. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Forecasting the unresponsiveness to verbal command on the basis of EEG frequency progression during anesthetic induction with propofol

The objective of this study is to model the association between the electroencephalogram (EEG) spectral features and the novel r scale representing the sedative effects of the propofol anesthetic drug. On the basis of the r scale, the unresponsiveness to the verbal command (LVC) is forecasted. EEG recordings are taken from a 16-patient study population undergoing propofol anesthetic induction. EEG was filtered into consecutive 4-Hz passbands up to 28 Hz. Of these time-series, the amplitude envelopes were extracted and used as input features to the first and the second-order polynomial multiple linear regression models. The values r epsilon [0.4, 1] were predicted with the R2 value of 0.775 with a cross validation. The LVC times were forecasted with the median error of 5%-7% or equivalently 10-13 s. In contrast, using the median of the measured LVC times of the training population as a forecast, the corresponding error was 12% or 26 s. The results suggest an acceptable correlation between the r scale and the EEG spectrum in the studied range. Moreover, the r values of an individual can be predicted using a population model. The suggested framework enables forecasting the LVC, which may open new possibilities for steering the drug administration.     

INCUBATION OF BARLEY KERNEL SECTIONS WITH PURIFIED CELL WALL DEGRADING ENZYMES

The effects of purified Trichoderma reesei endo-xylanase, XYN II and endoglucanases, EG I and EG II on the cell walls of embedded barley cross sections were studied. The cell walls were stained with Calcofluor which is specific for (1–3)(1–4)-β-D-glucans (mixed-linked β-glucans) in histochemical applications. Whereas endosperm cell walls remained highly fluorescent after incubation with buffer, the aleurone cell walls were only weakly fluorescent. Both EG I and EG II were effective in degrading the outer endosperm cell walls, but had little or no effect on the inner endosperm and aleurone cell walls. Corresponding sections incubated with XYN II showed highly intensive fluorescence of aleurone cell walls suggesting that the surface of alaurone cell walls contains a high level of xylan which is removed by xylanase treatment exposing a layer rich in mixed linked β-glucans. This indicates that arabinoxylans and β-glucans in the aleurone cell walls of barley exist as separate, macroscopic layers. Xylanase did not have any Influence on the microstructure of endosperm cell walls which are rich in mixed linked β-glucans. However, incubation with EG II after xylanase treatment caused the aleurone cell walls to become very thin.     

The correlation between symptomatic CMV infection and CMV antigenemia in heart allograft recipients

Previous studies have demonstrated that CMV-specific antigens detected from peripheral blood leukocytes correlate with active CMV infection in transplant patients. However, the clinical diagnosis of CMV infection is difficult, and the significance of a positive blood finding is unclear, while CMV antigenemia and viremia may also occur in asymptomatic patients. To investigate the clinical significance of CMV antigenemia after heart transplantation, 68 heart allograft recipients were monitored weekly. Altogether 501 blood specimens were analyzed. CMV was demonstrated in blood leukocytes by a monoclonal antibody and immunoperoxidase staining, and the antigenemia level was expressed as CMV positive cells/50,000 leukocytes. CMV antigenemia occurred in 28/68 patients, and 12 of them developed a symptomatic infection. Of all blood specimens 88/501 were CMV positive, and 30 of them related to the clinical manifestation of CMV. When antigenemia level exceeded > 100/50,000, a significant correlation between antigenemia and CMV-related clinical manifestation was reached (P < 0.001). Of the 28 antigenemia positive patients 16 never developed any clinical signs of CMV infection. Their maximal antigenemia level was low (median 23, range 30-90) compared with those with clinical manifestation (median 500, range 30-1000) (P < 0.002). In conclusion, high antigenemia levels (> 100/50,000) correlate with clinical manifestations of CMV infection. Patients with lower levels (< 100/50,000) do not necessarily ever develop a symptomatic infection. Quantitative monitoring of CMV antigenemia may, thus, be helpful in the clinical diagnosis of CMV infection in heart transplant patients.     

Quality of life 10 years after a very severe traumatic brain injury (TBI): the perspective of the injured and the closest relative

This study is a further follow-up of a group of 15 very severely injured TBI patients who have earlier been followed-up 5 years after the injury, and their closest relatives. The aim of this study was to evaluate the factors related to the quality of life of the injured and the strain felt by the relatives. The information was gathered by questionnaires for the injured and the relative and clinical ratings based on the observations of a clinician. The self-reported quality of life of both the injured and their closest relatives was rather high in spite of the various physical, cognitive and emotional/behavioral disturbances. However, the strain felt by many of the relatives was still high 10 years after the injury although it had decreased over the years. The neurobehavioral and emotional disturbances had the most significant effect on the quality of life of the injured and strain felt by the relative. The relationship between the quality of life of the injured and strain felt by the relative was not linear. The implications of the findings for developing different forms of rehabilitation and support systems is discussed.     

The Helsinki Heart Study: an 8.5-year safety and mortality follow-up

MT-PVLT-10 transgenic mice express the large T-antigen of polyomavirus under the control of the mouse metallothionein-1 promoter. The males of this transgenic line developed testicular tumor and seminal vesicle engorgement at advanced ages. A novel partial cDNA was identified which hybridized to a 2.6 kilobase mRNA. The expression of this mRNA increased approximately two- to fifteen-fold in immortalized cell lines derived from testicular tumors as compared to similar cell lines derived from pre-adenomatous testes. The in vivo pattern of expression for this cDNA as well as its expression in various primary cultures and established cell lines derived from testis of MT-PVLT-10 mice is presented. Overlapping cDNA clones from liver, testes, and brain cDNA libraries containing the entire coding region for this novel cDNA have been isolated and sequenced. The coding region of this gene comprises 1179 nucleotides and predicts a polypeptide of 393 amino acids (calculated molecular mass 44,318). Motif analysis of the amino acid sequence has revealed that it contains several hydrophobic alpha-helices characteristic of transmembrane proteins.     

Process cure monitoring of unsaturated polyester resins,vinyl ester resins,and gel coats by Raman spectroscopy

The curing process of unsaturated polyester resins, vinyl ester resins, and gel coats was studied by using a process Raman spectrometer, equipped with a remote fiber‐optic probe. The resins were cured and Raman spectra were recorded during the curing reaction. The spectral changes were identified and, from the intensities, the cure process could be monitored. Gel times given by the resin suppliers correlated well with the Raman results. It could also be seen that the curing process continues for a long time, up to several weeks. Postcuring will finally complete the curing process. White and lightly colored gel coats could easily be monitored by Raman spectroscopy, but fluorescent problems were encountered with heavily colored pigments. The curing of laminates containing 50–70 wt % glass fiber mat could also be followed by Raman spectroscopy. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 93: 1285–1292, 2004     

Mobile Fair Diary: hybrid interface for taking,browsing and sharing context-aware notes

This paper describes the Mobile Fair Diary (MFD), which is designed to allow a housing fair customer to make a personalized digital recording of his/her visit to a hectic fairground for later use. The MFD is a hybrid interface service comprising of an application for a camera equipped smart phone and a website accessed by a PC. The smart phone application is used for taking context-aware notes such as visual codes, photos, dictations and text. The notes are uploaded onto a website, where they can be viewed with a PC in a contextually ordered view for browsing, organizing and sharing. The MFD was empirically evaluated in a real-life environment of use with genuine end users by a large-scale field trial at a national housing fair. The results testify to the very successful design of the MFD with high usefulness.     

Preparation of core‐shell latexes for paper coatings

Novel core‐shell latices with a partially crosslinked hydrophilic polymer core and a hard hydrophobic shell of polystyrene were prepared to improve optical properties of coated paper such as gloss and brightness. These core‐shell latices were prepared by sequential addition of a monomer mixture of styrene, n‐butylacrylate and methacrylic acid. Different crosslinkers were used to form the polymer core and in the second stage styrene to form the hard shell component. In addition, attempts were made to further improve optical properties by introducing a new polymerizable optical brightener, i.e., 1‐[(4‐vinylphenoxy)methyl]‐4‐(2‐phenylethylenyl)benzene during polymerization either into the core or into the shell. The prepared core‐shell latex particles were used as specialty plastic pigments for paper coating together with kaolin as the primary pigment. The runability of paper coating formulation by either using a laboratory scale Helicoater or pilot scale JET‐coating machine was very good. The produced coated papers were printed on both sides employing a heat set web offset (HSWO) printer to study the quality of image reproduction in terms of print gloss, print mottle, print through, etc. The core‐shell latices improved the overall print quality. Furthermore, the results demonstrated that by optimizing polymer composition one can significantly enhance the optical properties and surface smoothness of coated paper. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009