Gel in polyethylene

A quantitative test for the presence of gel (insoluble polymer) in polyethylene is described. A number of experiments were performed by using the test and on the polymers separated by the test. It is concluded that gel is crosslinked polyethylene in the form of discrete particles of significant size, the large ones, probably weighing up to at least 10 mg. Some crosslinks are broken by treatment with solvents above 200°C., and much of the gel is thus rendered permanently soluble. Gel is also insoluble in the reaction medium in which it is produced. Thus, even if the ethylene–polyethylene phase relationships would predict a homogeneous reaction, the reaction must be hetero-geneous if gel is present. Therefore, kinetic treatments of ethylene polymerization which do not consider phase separation when gel is found in the reaction product are oversimplified.     

Conformal anodic oxidation of aluminum thin films

Membrane-based synthesis, also called template synthesis, is a very general approach used to prepare arrays of nanomaterials with monodispersed geometrical features. The most commonly used porous templates are track-etched polycarbonate and porous anodic alumina membranes. Common to all these templates is the fact that the pores are perpendicular to the surface of the membrane. Here, a novel approach is presented, where the pores are synthesized parallel to the surface of the membrane. For the first time, the anodic oxidation of an aluminum thin film is performed laterally, i.e., parallel to the surface of the substrate, instead of perpendicular as usually done. For low anodic oxidation voltages (between 3 and 5 V) we obtain highly regular and ordered pore arrays, at least over a few hundred nanometers length, with a minimum pore size of approximately 3 to 4 nm. With such porous alumina structures, the controlled in-plane organization of arrays of template-grown nanowires and carbon nanotubes for reproducible device fabrication should be much easier.     

Comment on "Derivation of numerical values for the World Health Organization guidelines for recreational waters"

The subject paper describes a procedure for adjusting a risk model based upon a measure of personal exposure (the "UK personal exposure model") in order to attribute an expected rate of gastroenteritis among a group of swimmers to a mean recreational water quality value (enterococci per 100mL). We term the resulting model for group risk the "UK ecologic exposure model." The distinction is essential to establishing recreational water quality guidelines because exposures of individual bathers are not known from a water monitoring program, the only assessment available being some form of ecologic exposure such as a mean log indicator density. While the authors of the subject paper solved the UK ecologic exposure model for only a single point (that value of mean log10 enterococcus density which is expected to result in five extra cases of gastroenteritis per 100 swimmers), we extend their model to show the entire curve over a relevant range of densities. The resulting exposure-response curve is seen to not differ substantially from the existing USEPA model for "highly credible gastrointestinal illness" in marine waters. However, particularly since such correspondence is not guaranteed for future studies or for other existing epidemiological studies, we recommend the direct approach to evaluating ecologic exposure, such as used in the USEPA studies, rather than the indirect approach of the UK ecologic exposure model, given the number of untested assumptions that are necessary for accomplishing the latter.     

Flour properties and the manufacture of cream crackers

An investigation has been made of the cracker making properties of a number of flour samples milled from different wheats. It has been shown that there is a strong interaction between flour properties (principally the flour protein content) and the processing conditions. The best cream crackers, as judged by the separation of the laminations and general appearance, were produced from flours of protein content 10.5 to 11.5%.     

Fibre-optic Coriolis mass flowmeter for liquids

The letter describes a fibre-optic mass flowmeter for liquids, which is based on the Coriolis effect. The flowmeter is optically powered, and employs interferometric detection. Experimental results are presented and discussed     

An Investigation into the use of Creep Viscometry for in Vitro Characterisation of the Raft Forming Properties of tablets Containing Alginic acid and antacid Components

The established methods for assessing the strength of rafts formed in-vitro by alginic acid/antacid containing formulations rely on the determination of forces required to disrupt the raft structure. Creep viscometry is proposed as an alternative, non-destructive means of investigating the characteristic parameters of this type of product. Several commercial chewable tablet formulations were investigated using this technique. The instantaneous compliance and the Newtonian viscosity were calculated from the creep compliance curves obtained for these products and were used as raft strength indicators.

Differences found in the raft strength parameters of the different products were attributed to interactions between the formulation components. Additional studies conducted on experimental batches established that such interactions could be estimated using this technique. It was concluded that creep viscometry could be usefully employed in investigations of alginate rafts and, possibly, other oral dosage forms which rely on the formation of visco-elastic structures to modify drug release properties.     

Pulsed GaAs f.e.t. operation for high peak output powers

Significant increases in GaAs f.e.t. X-band power output are made possible by pulsed operation, using pulse durations sufficiently short that thermal limitations are alleviated. Significantly higher-voltage operation is also possible under these conditions, with further improvement in power output and gain. As much as 5.9 W of peak power output has been obtained at 8 GHz from a device capable of 2.5 W c.w. output at 6 GHz.     

Impact of military type footwear and load carrying workload on postural stability

Postural stability has been shown to be impacted by footwear and task performed. This study analysed the impact of two military footwear, standard boot (STB) and minimalist boot (MTB) on postural stability, before (PRE) and after (POST) a load carriage task. Sixteen participants were tested for postural stability using sensory organisation and motor control tests on Neurocom Equitest?. Postural sway, equilibrium scores and postural latencies were analysed using a two-factor repeated measures ANOVA: boot type (STB-MTB)?×?time (PRE-POST) load carriage task. Significantly greater postural sway variables, lower balance scores and slower postural latencies were seen in STB and POST load carriage conditions (p?<?.05). The results suggest that MTB exhibited greater balance compared to STB in balance conditions that rely on somatosensory feedback and that balance is lowered after a load carriage task. Decrements in postural stability could be attributed to boot design characteristics and muscular exertion due to the load carriage task.

Practitioner Summary: Maintaining optimal postural stability is crucial in military. Impact of military footwear types and load carriage task on postural stability are addressed. Findings provide footwear design and physical exertion implications on postural stability leading to potential interventions that reduce postural stability decrements; thereby, reducing potential falls and fall related injuries.     

Cellular Disulfide Bond Formation in Bioactive Peptides and Proteins

Bioactive peptides play important roles in metabolic regulation and modulation and many are used as therapeutics. These peptides often possess disulfide bonds, which are important for their structure, function and stability. A systematic network of enzymes—a disulfide bond generating enzyme, a disulfide bond donor enzyme and a redox cofactor—that function inside the cell dictates the formation and maintenance of disulfide bonds. The main pathways that catalyze disulfide bond formation in peptides and proteins in prokaryotes and eukaryotes are remarkably similar and share several mechanistic features. This review summarizes the formation of disulfide bonds in peptides and proteins by cellular and recombinant machinery.     

Optical extinction monitor using cw cavity enhanced detection

We present details of an apparatus capable of measuring optical extinction (i.e., scattering and/or absorption) with high precision and sensitivity. The apparatus employs one variant of cavity enhanced detection, specifically cavity attenuated phase shift spectroscopy, using a near-confocal arrangement of two high reflectivity (R approximately 0.9999) mirrors in tandem with an enclosed cell 26 cm in length, a light emitting diode (LED), and a vacuum photodiode detector. The square wave modulated light from the LED passes through the absorption cell and is detected as a distorted wave form which is characterized by a phase shift with respect to the initial modulation. The amount of that phase shift is a function of fixed instrument properties-cell length, mirror reflectivity, and modulation frequency-and of the presence of a scatterer or absorber (air, particles, trace gases, etc.) within the cell. The specific implementation reported here employs a blue LED; the wavelength and spectral bandpass of the measurement are defined by the use of an interference filter centered at 440 nm with a 20 nm wide bandpass. The monitor is enclosed within a standard 19 in. rack-mounted instrumentation box, weighs 10 kg, and uses 70 W of electrical power including a vacuum pump. Measurements of the phase shift induced by Rayleigh scattering from several gases (which range in extinction coefficient from 0.4-32 Mm(-1)) exhibit a highly linear dependence (r(2)=0.999 97) when plotted as the co-tangent of the phase shift versus the expected extinction. Using heterodyne demodulation techniques, we demonstrate a detection limit of 0.04 Mm(-1) (4 x 10(-10) cm(-1)) (2sigma) in 10 s integration time and a base line drift of less than +/-0.1 Mm(-1) over a 24 h period. Detection limits decrease as the square root of integration time out to approximately 150 s.