Phase stability and microstructural formations in the niobium carbides

The phase stability and microstructural formations for a series of hot isostatically pressed (HIP) NbC_x compositions was investigated. Based on the composition, single-phase B1 (Fm$\overline{3}$m) NbC or (P$\overline{3}$1m) β?Nb₂C equiaxed grains were observed as well as β-Nb₂C lath precipitation within NbC. Particular discussion is given to the complexities of X-ray and electron diffraction for proper identification for the various poly-types of Nb₂C that have been computationally predicted. The phase transformation pathways for these microstructures was revealed by a NbC-Nb diffusion couple from the HIP powders. The migration of vacancies towards the NbC side resulted in a refinement of the NbC grains whereas carbon’s migration into the Nb formed an uniform and distinct reaction front with a mixture of β-Nb₂C and Nb grains. This latter microstructure suggests carbon’s reaction through the matrix grain is as significant in the conversion process as is the precipitation of β-Nb₂C at the grain boundaries.     

Chemical Tools for Studying Phosphohistidine: Generation of Selective τ-Phosphohistidine and π-Phosphohistidine Antibodies**

Nonhydrolysable stable analogues of τ-phosphohistidine (τ-pHis) and π-pHis have been designed, aided by electrostatic surface potential calculations, and subsequently synthesized. The τ-pHis and π-pHis analogues (phosphopyrazole 8 and pyridyl amino amide 13 , respectively) were used as haptens to generate pHis polyclonal antibodies. Both τ-pHis and π-pHis conjugates in the form of BSA-glutaraldehyde-τ-pHis and BSA-glutaraldehyde-π-pHis were synthesized and characterized by ³¹P NMR spectroscopy. Commercially available τ-pHis (SC56-2) and π-pHis (SC1-1; SC50-3) monoclonal antibodies were used to show that the BSA−G-τ-pHis and BSA−G-π-pHis conjugates could be used to assess the selectivity of pHis antibodies in a competitive ELISA. Subsequently, the selectivity of the pHis antibodies generated by using phosphopyrazole 8 and pyridyl amino amide 13 as haptens was assessed by competitive ELISA against His, pSer, pThr, pTyr, τ-pHis and π-pHis. Antibodies generated by using phosphopyrazole 8 as a hapten were found to be selective for τ-pHis, and antibodies generated by using pyridyl amino amide 13 were found to be selective for π-pHis. Both τ- and π-pHis antibodies were shown to be effective in immunological experiments, including ELISA, western blot, and immunofluorescence. The τ-pHis antibody was also shown to be useful in the immunoprecipitation of proteins containing pHis.     

Progression of wet granulation in a twin screw extruder comparing two binder delivery methods

The two available wetting methods for twin screw granulation, namely foam delivery and liquid injection, were studied in detail by examining granule development along the screws as powder formulation and screw design were varied. Granulation profiles were determined by particle size analysis of samples along the screws collected using the “screw pullout” technique. Analysis of the particle size and porosity of produced granules revealed only minor differences between the two methods of wetting despite the larger dropsize of liquid injection compared to foam delivery. Excipients like microcrystalline cellulose or hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose with poor spreading properties, quantified by their specific penetration time and nucleation ratio, made the differences more apparent. The general similarities in granulation independent of wetting method implied that binder dispersion in an extruder was dominated by mechanical dispersion. Screw design (i.e., location of kneading block) had the dominant effect on the granulation process in this study. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 61: 780–791, 2015     

Recent developments in two-pack water-based epoxy coatings

In recent years new curing agent technology has been developed which allows water-based curing agents to be introduced into high performance coating, these are classified according to the type of epoxy resin used. Type I utilises low molecular weight, liquid epoxy resins and Type II pre-formed dispersions of higher molecular weight solid epoxy resins. The chemical composition of the binder of water-borne epoxy coatings plays a critical role in their performance properties, hence some of the structural properties of the amine hardeners will be reviewed. New curing agents will be discussed which demonstrate the versatility these products can offer to the coating formulator. Performance data of clear coats and anti-corrosive primers confirm the applicability of the new systems for the long term protection of steel and concrete surfaces.     

牙科照明用异型微结构玻璃光纤棒的研究

针对传统牙科照明用光纤柔软易折断,装配难度大,端面易浸入血水造成交叉感染,敛集率低,光传输效率低等问题,研发了一种异型微结构玻璃光纤棒作为牙科照明手机内的通光元件,在装配、消毒、通光率等方面与传统牙科照明光纤做对比后证实刚性异型微结构玻璃光纤棒易于装配,耐医用高温高压消毒,且端面致密,抵制血水浸入;并在多次高温高压消毒后依然具备很高的光传输效率。     

Three-dimensional analysis of the spatial distribution of iron oxide particles in a decorative coating by electron microscopic imaging

The three-dimensional (3D) spatial structure of an iron oxide containing alkyd paint specimen has been investigated by serial block-face scanning electron microscopy (SBFSEM). The resultant images of the 3D structure clearly present the spatial distribution of the iron oxide pigment particles in the coating film and reveal the extent of aggregation of the particles in the matrix material. More than one-half of the iron oxide particles (in volume) had aggregated to form clusters of considerable sizes that follow a Gaussian spacing distribution in the measured coating film. Over 80% of the clusters have dimensions between 1.5 μm and 3.5 μm; also, pores are evident at the centres of clusters whose sizes are larger than 2 μm. The work demonstrated here reveals a new approach to fully characterize the 3D spatial structure of coatings and to explore their correlations with the performance of the materials.     

生态型绿化法在上海"近自然"群落建设中的应用

应用生态型绿化法建设"近自然"群落是城市植被恢复的种新途径.生态型绿化以生态学潜在自然植被和群落演替基本理论为依据,选择适生乡土植物,应用容器育苗和"近自然"苗木种植技术,超常速、低造价地营造具有群落结构完整、物种多样性丰富、生物量高、趋于稳定状态、后期完全遵循自然循环规律的"少人工管理型"绿地.生态型绿化法已在世界各地广泛应用,对于推动我国城市绿化也将起到重要作用.     

钝化膜提高GaN基LED光提取效率研究

模拟计算了光的入射角度与反射率的关系,当光的入射角度大于23°时,发生全反射,无论是否在器件表面生长增透膜,这时的光都无法从器件顶部出射表面提取出来。研究了使用等离子体增强化学气相沉积法(PECVD)在已经制备了n电极和p电极的GaN基LED上制备钝化膜,分析了SiON和SiN_x膜沉积对于器件的光输出功率的影响。通过实验证明,在器件上沉积SiON后,光输出功率增加。     

Brain surface conformal parameterization using Riemann surface structure

In medical imaging, parameterized 3-D surface models are useful for anatomical modeling and visualization, statistical comparisons of anatomy, and surface-based registration and signal processing. Here we introduce a parameterization method based on Riemann surface structure, which uses a special curvilinear net structure (conformal net) to partition the surface into a set of patches that can each be conformally mapped to a parallelogram. The resulting surface subdivision and the parameterizations of the components are intrinsic and stable (their solutions tend to be smooth functions and the boundary conditions of the Dirichlet problem can be enforced). Conformal parameterization also helps transform partial differential equations (PDEs) that may be defined on 3-D brain surface manifolds to modified PDEs on a two-dimensional parameter domain. Since the Jacobian matrix of a conformal parameterization is diagonal, the modified PDE on the parameter domain is readily solved. To illustrate our techniques, we computed parameterizations for several types of anatomical surfaces in 3-D magnetic resonance imaging scans of the brain, including the cerebral cortex, hippocampi, and lateral ventricles. For surfaces that are topologically homeomorphic to each other and have similar geometrical structures, we show that the parameterization results are consistent and the subdivided surfaces can be matched to each other. Finally, we present an automatic sulcal landmark location algorithm by solving PDEs on cortical surfaces. The landmark detection results are used as constraints for building conformal maps between surfaces that also match explicitly defined landmarks.