Quantitative determination of non-defect unstable structures in PVC through selective nucleophilic substitution with C6H5SNa

Summary The nucleophilic substitution with C₆H₅SNa, at -30°C, is compared for five PVC samples with various contents of isotactic triads. The conversion curves consist of a very fast stage followed by a steady one. All the samples are found to behave in the same way except for the content of the structures involved in the fast period. This content is estimated by extrapolating the straight lines of the steady stages to zero time. The obtained values are found to be a linear function of the content of isotactic triads. The results, together with some earlier ones, allow for the content of the labile non-defect structures in PVC to be determined.     

Bioactivity of antifouling paints based on organotin toxicants

This paper discusses the bioactivity of antifouling paints based on organotin toxicants, such as tributyltin fluoride (TBTF) and triphenyltin fluoride (TPTF). These compounds were used alone or mixed as the main toxicant in formulations. The use of TPTF or mixtures of TPTF and TBTF, with vinyl binders, led to paints with satisfactory bioactivity during a 24 months immersion period. With the same binders, TBTF alone provided only 12 months of antifouling protection. The correlation coefficients calculated from the fouling attachment values and the rosin content in the binder showed that the bioactivity of the tested formulations depended on the solubility of the toxicant in sea water and on the composition and solubility of the binders.     

Formation and elimination of surface ion milling defects in cadmium telluride,zinc sulphide and zinc selenide

The nature of damage produced by low energy Ar⁺ ion and Ar atom milling in the II–VI semiconductors CdTe, ZnS and ZnSe is studied in detail by conventional and high resolution transmission electron microscopy. It is demonstrated that the damage consists of dense arrays of small dislocation loops near to each milled surface. When ion or atom milling of this type is used for thin specimen preparation prior to microscopy the loop arrays can seriously obscure images and so complicate their interpretation. This problem concerning the presence of artifactual defects can be greatly reduced by the use of reactive I⁺ ion milling for specimen thinning and, in the case of CdTe, spurious dislocation loop formation can be completely suppressed.     

Neural-style microsystems that learn

The basic operation of biological and electronic (artificial) neural networks (NNs) is examined. Learning by NNs is discussed, covering supervised learning, particularly back-propagation, and unsupervised and reinforcement learning. The use of VLSI implementation to speed learning is considered briefly. Applications of neural-style learning chips to pattern recognition, data compression, optimization, and expert systems is discussed. Problem areas and issues for further research are addressed     

Hydrogenation of canola oil in the presence of nickel and the methyl benzoate-chrome carbonyl complex

Canola oil was hydrogenated using a mixture of homogeneous methyl benzoate-Cr(CO)₃ and heterogeneous nickel catalysts. The effect of the methyl benzoate-Cr(CO)₃_to-nickel ratio on the activity, specific isomerization index, linoleate and linolenate selectivities, and fatty acid composition was evaluated, and the results compared with those obtained with commercial nickel catalyst and methyl benzoate-Cr(CO)₃ used individually. At higher chromium-to-nickel ratios the activity of nickel was inhibited and the system behaved essentially like the pure chrome complex, while at low chromium-to-nickel ratios the characteristics of the nickel predominated. In a short transition zone relatively high reaction rates were obtained with significantly reducedtrans-isomer levels in the product. In a broader sense, it may be possible to combine a homogeneous and heterogeneous catalyst while retaining the advantages of both. We may thus be able to design catalyst systems for specific applications.     

Phosphorus Inputs to Lake Simcoe from 1990 to 2003: Declines in Tributary Loads and Observations on Lake Water Quality

Total phosphorus (TP) inputs to Lake Simcoe have led to hypolimnetic dissolved oxygen (DO) depletion and loss of cold water fish habitat. Since 1990, efforts have been made to reduce the total TP input to the lake below a defined target of 75 t/year, which was predicted to lead to reductions in spring TP concentration and improvements in end-of-summer hypolimnetic DO concentrations. The total TP load to the lake during the most recent period of record (1998/99-2003/04) ranged from 53 to 76 t/yr and averaged 67 t/yr, compared to an average of 114 t/yr estimated between 1990/91 and 1997/98 (range 85-157 t/yr). Reductions in TP loads from the catchment via tributary discharge (∼26 t) accounted for the majority of the decrease in total load between the two time periods. Total P concentrations decreased significantly in four out of six long-term monitored tributaries; however, concentrations in all six tributaries remain above the level recommended to avoid nuisance plant growth (30 μg/L). Although TP loads to the lake are currently below the target 75 t/yr, excessive growths of filamentous algae and macrophytes continue to be a problem in the nearshore zone. End-of-summer minimum hypolimnetic DO concentrations (average 4.3 mg/L, 1998/99-2003/04) remain substantially below the level (7 mg/L) that is considered protective of lake trout. Efforts to reduce TP loads to the lake therefore need to continue.     

Colloidal silica removal in coagulation processes for wastewater reuse in a high-tech industrial park.

Four experiments of coagulation and flocculation were conducted to investigate the characteristics of colloidal silica removal in a high-tech industrial wastewater treatment plant for reclamation and reuse of the effluent. Experimental results illustrated that poly-aluminium chloride (PACl) showed higher performances on colloidal silica removal than alum. Interestingly, the two coagulants demonstrated the same capacity on silica removal. The specific silica removal capacity was approximately 0.135 mg SiO2/mg Al2O3 when the dosage of coagulants was in the range 30-150 mg/L Al2O3. In addition, the silica was reduced significantly at the condition of pH above 8. Experimental data implied that precipitation of aluminium flocs was the major mechanism for colloid silica removal in PACl and alum coagulation, besides, charge adsorption was also important for improving removal efficiency. Moreover, the addition of polyacrylic acid (PAA) as a flocculant could slightly advance silica removal in the PACl coagulation. The combined PACl/PAA/flocs coagulation was effective for the removal of colloidal silica, soluble COD, and turbidity and also suitable as a pretreatment unit in wastewater reclamation and reuse processes.     

Public grid computing participation: An exploratory study of determinants

Using the Internet, “public” computing grids can be assembled using “volunteered” PCs. To achieve this, volunteers download and install a software application capable of sensing periods of low local processor activity. During such times, this program on the local PC downloads and processes a subset of the project's data. At the completion of processing, the results are uploaded to the project and the cycle repeats.