Ptychographic characterization of the wavefield in the focus of reflective hard X-ray optics

A technique for quantitatively characterizing the complex-valued focal wavefield of arbitrary optics is described and applied to reconstructing the coherent focused beam produced by a reflective/diffractive hard X-ray mirror. This phase-retrieval method, based on ptychography, represents an important advance in X-ray optics characterization because the information obtained and potential resolution far exceeds that accessible to methods of directly probing the focus. Ptychography will therefore be well-suited for characterizing and aligning future nanofocusing X-ray optics.     

Effect of dietary n−3 and n−6 polyunsaturated fatty acids on lipid-metabolizing enzymes in obese rat liver

This study was designed to examine whether n−3 and n−6 polyunsaturated fatty acids at a very low dietary level (about 0.2%) would alter liver activities in respect to fatty acid oxidation. Obese Zucker rats were used because of their low level of fatty acid oxidation, which would make increases easier to detect. Zucker rats were fed diets containing different oil mixtures (5%, w/w) with the same ratio of n−6/n−3 fatty acids supplied either as fish oil or arachidonic acid concentrate. Decreased hepatic triacylglycerol levels were observed only with the diet containing fish oil. In mitochondrial outer membranes, which support carnitine palmitoyltransferase I activity, cholesterol content was similar for all diets, while the percentage of 22∶6n−3 and 20∶4n−6 in phospholipids was enhanced about by 6 and 3% with the diets containing fish oil and arachidonic acid, respectively. With the fish oil diet, the only difference found in activities related to fatty acid oxidation was the lower sensitivity of carnitine palmitoyltransferase I to malonyl-CoA inhibition. With the diet containing arachidonic acid, peroxisomal fatty acid oxidation and carnitine palmitoyltransferase I activity were markedly depressed. Compared with the control diet, the diets enriched in fish oil and in arachidonic acid gave rise to a higher specific activity of aryl-ester hydrolase in microsomal fractions. We suggest that slight changes in composition of n−3 or n−6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in mitochondrial outer membranes may alter carnitine palmitoyltransferase I activity.     

A new short-path distillation system applied to the reduction of cholesterol in butter and lard

A molecular distillation plant, built particularly to increase the separation efficiency and to obtain safer working conditions, was tested to remove cholesterol from anhydrous butter and lard. A preliminary experiment was carried out with butter to evaluate the fractionation obtained at temperatures between 190 and 250°C and residual pressures between 10⁻³ and 10⁻⁴ torr. A second experiment was carried out at 185°C and at the maximum operational vacuum, evaluating the fractionation achieved within a time scale between 30 and 180 min. Cholesterol was almost completely removed during the second hour with minimal loss of low-molecular weight triglycerides. An experiment was carried out with lard at 250°C and maximum achievable operational vacuum (10⁻⁴ Torr), lasting approximately 6 h, and cholesterol was removed almost completely during the second hour without significant modifications in the triglyceride composition. This situation remained constant throughout the duration of the test.     

N-alkyl-3-vinylpyridinium salts: homopolymerization of the hexadecyl derivative and behaviour study of the polymer in aqueous media

Summary We report on the preparation and the characterization of R-alkylated quaternary salts (with RCCH₃, C₁₂H₂₅, C₁₆H₃₃, X=Br^-) derived from 3-vinylpyridine (3-VP). Our first attempts on free radical polymerization of 1-hexadecyl-3-vinylpyridinium bromide in benzene solution were described. The viscosimetric behaviour and binding of dye (Methyl Orange) to this homopolymer in aqueous media were interpreted as the formation of compact coils resulting in the presence of hydrophobic microdomains.     

Analytical models of composite material drilling

Drilling of composite material structures is widely used for aeronautical assemblies. When drilling, damage to the composite laminate is directly related to the cutter geometry and the cutting conditions. Delamination of the composite materials at the hole exit as directly related to the axial force (F _Z) of the cutter is considered to be the major such defect. To address this issue, an orthotropic analytical model is developed in order to calculate the critical force of delamination during drilling and a number of hypotheses for loading are proposed. This critical axial load is related to the delamination conditions (propagation of cracks in the last layers) and the mechanical characteristics of the composite material machined. A numerical model is also drawn up to allow for numerical validation of the analytical approach. A comparison between these analytical and numerical modellings and experimental results from quasi-static punch tests led to the choice of the loading hypothesis closest to the experimental conditions. The selection of corresponding load permits to model the drilling critical thrust force on delamination and then to optimise the cutting conditions. The dimensions and geometrical shape of the cutter are of considerable importance when it comes to choosing this load. The present article focuses on the case of the twist drill, which is commonly used to drill thick plates. However, this work can be adapted to different cutter geometries.     

On-line 3-D system for the inspection of deformable parts

In spite of the development of automated tolerance inspection systems for manufactured parts over the years, there are still processes that inevitably require manual intervention making full automation impossible in most cases; in particular when dealing with deformable parts. In most current industrial inspection systems, a deformable part under inspection must first be mechanically constrained on a rigid support or jig so as to be able to compare it with its nominal shape. This paper presents a new system to perform real-time surface inspection of deformable parts that does not require fixturing. Instead, the proposed system applies virtual forces to the part??s CAD model as if the part was installed in the fixturing device. Normally, a precise finite element method (FEM) simulation should be used to approximate the deformation that appends when the part is installed in the device. Even with a fast parallel computer, FEM is far from being real-time and cannot be used for on-line inspection. In the proposed system, a radial basis function approximation of the FEM simulation is trained off-line and used to speed-up the simulation by an order of magnitude. Experimental evaluation of the proposed system is presented for three plastic parts. Using the proposed scheme, an approximation of 0.25?mm compared with the real deformation was obtained. In this paper, statistical results are presented such as the average deviation, standard deviation, and processing time between the approximations obtained with the proposed method and with the finite element method applied to the full CAD model.     

Mixing in the transition flow regime with helical ribbon agitators

The effects of the non-Newtonian properties on the effective deformation rate, mixing and circulation times and flow behaviour have been investigated in the transition flow regime of mixing systems. Based on the equivalent Couette flow, three models are proposed and are shown to predict similar and drastic increases of the effective deformation rate with the impeller rotational speed in the transition regime. The predictions are shown to fit very well data obtained for various non-Newtonian fluids mixed with helical ribbon agitators, and with literature data for anchor, blade turbine and flat disc agitators. The elasticity along with shear-thinning properties appear to have slight effects on the dimensionless mixing and circulation times in the transition regime, whereas their effects in the laminar regime are quite drastic, as reported by others.     

Mechanism of superacid catalyzed alkane activation: theoretical ab initio studies of pentacoordinated carbonium ion rearrangement

A theoretical ab initio study of the interconversion of pentacoordinated carbonium ions was carried out. For the isobutonium cations it was found that the respective C-carbonium ions were lower in energy than the H-isobutonium ions. Nevertheless, the interconversion of the 1-H-isobutonium cation in the C-isobutonium ion is a barrierless process. This suggests that product arisen from C–C protonation in liquid superacid and zeolite catalyzed alkane activation may be formed by protonation in the outer and more accessible primary C–H bonds of isobutane, rather than by direct protonation of the inner and more steric demanding C–C bonds. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Transfer, Perception, and Activity of Male Pheromone of Acrolepiopsis assectella with Special Reference to Conspecific Male Sexual Inhibition

In the leek moth, Acrolepiopsis assectella, the male, stimulated by a calling female, produces a sexual pheromone that is active on the female. The male-produced pheromone blend contains eight alkanes previously isolated from the male hair-pencils. We used EAG techniques to study the effect of the pheromone on females reared on leek or on artificial diet and on males reared on leek. The optimal stimulation duration appeared to be 1.6 sec exposure to the pheromone or components. The concentrations tested on the antenna were of the order of 10¹² molecules/cm³. The hair-pencil extract tested was of an estimated concentration of around 10⁹ molecules/cm³. The antennal responses are expressed relative to responses to a standard, amyl acetate, but also as an absolute value. Generally, females reared on artificial diet and males reared on leek responded better than females reared on leek. Of the alkanes tested, those present in hair-pencils gave higher responses, with hexadecane always giving the strongest response. A possible inhibiting activity of male leek moth pheromone on the sexual behavior of conspecific males was investigated. The behavior of sexually stimulated males was observed in the presence of other males, hair-pencil extracts, and different compounds either pure or in a mixture. The experiments established that in this species, male pheromone inhibits wing fluttering duration of conspecific males. This inhibition was obtained not only with fluttering males as a source of pheromone but also with all the alkanes tested. The inhibition was due to hair-pencil chemicals, particularly if these were perceived by olfaction plus contact. Wing fluttering increased the inhibitory activity of male-derived alkanes.