Quantitative x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis of alkali ions / zirconia systems

Zirconia-supported alkali ions, containing Na, from 0.74 to 3.61 wt.%, and K, from 0.91 to 4.76 wt.%, have been studied by X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and chemical analyses. The results show that the alkali ions remain dispersed on the zirconia surface. After treatment at 773 K in air, 5h, the Na containing samples maintain a good dispersion at low Na content, whereas for the more concentrated samples, agglomeration and incorporation in solid solution have been detected. The K based system shows neither agglomeration nor incorporation in solid solution of potassium ions. The XPS intensity ratios are compared with calculated values, according to different models, to account for the changes in surface morphology.     

Approximation of sleep duration and sleep efficiency using actography

The actography is a cost-effective semiobjective method to measure sleep/wake-cycles. This is the reason why the actography should be used first. The actography is after the cost-intensive polysomnography the best method in diagnosis of sleep disorders and monitoring of sleep disorder therapy. Actography over several days allows a precise estimation of total sleep time and sleep efficiency and makes possible an analysis of sleep/wake in natural conditions. The estimation is better if the patient is in high wake body activity and the recording time is longer. The mean values of total sleep time and sleep efficiency from polysomnography and actography are congruent.     

Thermally stimulated discharge current studies in pure and fe-doped polystyrene films

Studies were made on the thermally stimulated discharge currents (TSDCs) in pure (undoped) and Fe-doped polystyrene films as a function of polarizing field, polarizing temperature and dopant concentration. While undoped films exhibited a single peak, doped films showed two peaks one at low temperatures and another at high temperatures. The low temperature peak, which exhibits a shift towards lower temperatures with increasing dopant concentration, is attributed to the relaxation of the main chain, while the high temperature peak, which shows a tendency to shift towards higher temperatures with dopant concentration, is due to space charge polarization. The TSDCs were higher for low dopant concentrations than their undoped counterparts, while for high concentrations of the dopant, the TSDCs decreased. Formation of charge transfer complexes at low dopant concentrations and molecular aggregates at higher dopant concentrations are suggested as the possible reasons for this behaviour.     

THE REACTIVITY AND DURABILITY OF ZINC FERRITE HIGH TEMPERATURE DESULFURIZATION SORBENTS

Cylindrical pellets of zinc ferrite high temperature desulfurization sorbent have been prepared using a number of formulation recipes and induration conditions. Physical and structural properties of the resultant sorbents were measured, and reactivity and durability screening tests were carried out using a single pellet electrobalance reactor. The formulation variables studied were ZnO to Fe₂O₃ ratio, Fe₂O₃ source, and the addition of inorganic (bentonite) and organic (methocel) binders to the sorbents. Pellet induration conditions ranged from 0.25 hours at 815^°C to 4.0 hours at 1038°C. Stronger pellets having greater attrition resistance resulted when 5% bentonite was added to the formulation recipe and when the pellets were indurated at high temperature for extended times. In contrast, bentonite content was not a significant factor in determining sorbent reactivity and durability, both of which were improved by mild induration conditions. Sorbent regeneration temperature was found to be an important factor in improving reaction durability, as was the addition of 0.5% methocel to the formulation recipe. Pellets containing catalyst-grade Fe₂O₃ were more reactive than those containing pigment-grade Fe₂O₃. This effect, however, was less important than the effect of induration conditions.     

Behavioral model synthesis with Cones

The Cones synthesis system for automatic generation of VLSI implementations is discussed. Named for the cones in sequential logic, Cones takes behavioral models written in C and produces gate-level implementations in technologies such as standard cells and programmable logic arrays or programmable logic devices. The overall design is produced faster, more efficiently, and with fewer errors. Designers are free to concentrate on functions, instead of on the details of the implementation technology     

Effect of thermal residual stresses on fatigue crack opening and propagation behavior in an Al/SiC p metal matrix composite

The effects of a thermal residual stress field on fatigue crack growth in a silicon carbide particle-reinforced aluminum alloy have been measured. Stress fields were introduced into plates of material by means of a quench from a solution heat-treatment temperature. Measurements using neutron diffraction have shown that this introduces an approximately parabolic stress field into the plates, varying from compressive at the surfaces to tensile in the center. Long fatigue cracks were grown in specimens cut from as-quenched plates and in specimens which were given a stress-relieving overaging heat treatment prior to testing. Crack closure levels for these cracks were determined as a function of the position of the crack tip in the residual stress field, and these are shown to differ between as-quenched and stress-relieved samples. By monitoring the compliance of the specimens during fatigue cycling, the degree to which the residual stresses close the crack has been evaluated. formerly Research Student, Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge formerly Lecturer, Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge This article is based on a presentation made in the symposium entitled “Creep and Fatigue in Metal Matrix Composites” at the 1994 TMS/ASM Spring meeting, held February 28–March 3, 1994, in San Francisco, California, under the auspices of the Joint TMS-SMD/ASM-MSD Composite Materials Committee.     

Characterization of the intracellular GLUT-4 compartment

Learned behaviors and tolerance to ethanol can be maintained by peripheral injection of arginine8-vasopressin (vasopressin) under conditions in which they would otherwise be lost. However, the sites of this action in the brain have not been clearly identified. Using a polyclonal antibody raised against Fos and Fos-like proteins, we have demonstrated increases in immunoreactive Fos and Fos-like proteins in the suprachiasmatic, supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei of the hypothalamus, and lesser increases in piriform cortex and amygdala, of the rat 2 h after a s.c. injection of vasopressin. Our results suggest that the exogenous vasopressin may exert its central action by activating a cellular immediate early gene in specific brain regions.