Microbicidal activity of TiO2 nanoparticles synthesised by sol–gel method

In this study, the authors investigated antimicrobial activity of TiO₂ nanoparticles (NPs) synthesised by sol–gel method. As synthesised TiO₂ NPs were characterised by X‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and ultraviolet‐visible absorption spectroscopy. The antimicrobial activity of calcined TiO₂ nanoparticle samples was examined in day light on Gram positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumonia and Bacillus subtilis), Gram negative bacteria (Proteus vulgaris, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli) and fungal test pathogen Candida albicans. The synthesised TiO₂ NPs were found to be effective in visible light against Streptococcus pneumonia, Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus vulgaris, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans.Inspec keywords: titanium compounds, microorganisms, nanomedicine, biomedical materials, nanofabrication, sol‐gel processing, ultraviolet spectra, visible spectra, X‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, nanoparticles, antibacterial activityOther keywords: microbicidal activity, titanium dioxide nanoparticle, sol‐gel method, antimicrobial activity, X‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, ultraviolet‐visible absorption spectroscopy, Gram positive bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumonia, Bacillus subtilis, TiO₂ , Candida albicans, fungal test pathogen, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus vulgaris, Gram negative bacteria     

Multifilter Phase-Lock Loop Nonlinear Analysis and Design Criterion

In this paper a nonlinear analysis of a multifilter phase-lock loop (MPLL) by using the method of "harmonic balance" is presented. The particular MPLL considered has a low-pass filter and a bandpass filter in parallel. An analytic expression for the relationship between the input signal phase deviation and the phase error is determined for sinusoidal FM in the absence of noise. The expression is used to determine bounds on the proper operating region for the MPLL and to investigate the "jump phenomenon" previously observed. From these results the proper modulation index, modulating frequency, etc., used for the design of an MPLL is determined. Data for the loop unlock boundary obtained from the theoretical expression are compared to data obtained from analog computer simulations of the MPLL.     

Cometabolism of trihalomethanes by mixed culture nitrifiers

Three mixed-culture nitrifier sources degraded low concentrations (25-450 microg/L) of four trihalomethanes (THMs) (trichloromethane (TCM) or chloroform, bromodichloromethane (BDCM), dibromochloromethane (DBCM), tribromomethane (TBM) or bromoform) commonly found in treated drinking water. Individual THM rate constants (k1THM) increased with increasing THM bromine-substitution with TBM>DBCM>BDCM>TCM and were comparable to previous studies with the pure culture nitrifier, Nitrosomonas europaea. A decrease in temperature resulted in a decrease in both ammonia and THM degradation rates with ammonia rates affected to a greater extent than THM degradation rates. The significant effect of temperature indicates that seasonal variations in water temperature should be a consideration for technology implementation. Product toxicity, measured by transformation capacity (T(c)), was similar to that observed with N. europaea. Because both rate constants and product toxicities increase with increasing THM bromine-substitution, a water's THM speciation is an important consideration for process implementation during drinking water treatment. Even though a given water is kinetically favored, the resulting THM product toxicity may not allow stable treatment process performance.     

The effect of elastic misfit strain on the morphological evolution of γ’-precipitates in a model Ni-base superalloy

The morphological evolution of coherent γ’-precipitates in a Ni-23.4Co-4.7Cr-4Al-4.3Ti (wt%) alloy has been observed under systematically varying heat-treatment conditions. By deeply etching the matrix and observing under a scanning electron microscope, the precipitate morphologies are determined accurately. By quenching after solution treatment and aging isothermally, high initial precipitate density is obtained, and the cuboidal precipitates cluster and align to form regularly spaced arrays. The dimensionality of the aligned structure increases with increasing precipitate volume fraction as the aging temperature decreases. By directly cooling to an aging temperature after the solution treatment intermediate precipitate density is obtained. During the isothermal aging, the cuboidal precipitates split into octets and clusters of several pieces which disintegrate subsequently into aligned cuboids. Upon further aging the coherency is broken. When directly cooled to aging temperatures very close to the solvus temperature, the dispersed precipitates grow dendritically along the 〈111〉 directions. Various thermodynamic and kinetic theories for the elastic strain effect stemming from the lattice misfit agree quantitatively with the observed clustering, alignment, and splitting, but presently there is no complete theory which accurately describes the observed morphologies.     

大都市区的棋盘博弈：区域设计中形态学主题的运用

中国空前的城市化速度与规模亟需更先进的规划设计策略。探索基于形态学的区域设计研究教学方法,从而制定体现中国大都市区特征的空间策略。在设计课程背景下,介绍了以形态学主题为基础的探索性棋盘博弈这一方法论,并应用到粤港澳大湾区空间转型的场景设计中。评估了香港理工大学设计学院和代尔夫特理工大学城市学系连续4年的一系列合作成果。1）沿着设计课程的流程,阐明了教学轨迹。2）调查了不同形态学主题如何影响学生的设计成果,对比了成果的空间特异性以及设计提案的激进程度。3）探讨了是否部分形态学主题更适用于大湾区社会文化与环境的特殊性。在6次课程中,学生们研究了8个形态学主题：点状、线状、条状、巨型街区、放射状、环状、交叉状和边缘状。实践表明存在冗余的主题,因此对主题的进一步确立值得深入研究。需要指出,2所大学的设计课程存在差异,这似乎也影响了棋盘博弈法在各自课程中扮演的作用。整体而言,此教学方法论可以产生远超传统空间规划的设计策略。因此,以形态学主题为基础的棋盘博弈是一套充满前景的方法论,并且今后有望结合更多利益相关方的参与,进行进一步深化和测试。     

Book reviews

Managing Cities. The New Urban Context. P. Healey, S. Cameron, S. Davoudi, S. Graham & A. Madani‐Pour (Eds) Chichester, John Wiley and Sons, 1995, £14.95 pb, ISBN 0–471–95533–7

Industrial Property: Policy and Economic Development. Rick Ball & Andy Pratt (Eds). London, Routledge, 1994, £45.00 hb, ISBN 0–415–09152–7

Grassroots Environmental Action: People's Participation in Sustainable Development. Dharam P. Ghai & Jessica M. Vivian (Eds). London and New York, Routledge, 1995 (pb), 347 pp., ISBN 0–415–12703–3

Services and Space: Key Aspects of Urban and Regional Development. N. Marshall & P. Wood. Essex, Longman Scientific and Technical, 1995, 294 pp., £17.99 pb, ISBN 0–582–25162–1

Servicing The Middle Classes: Class, Gender and Waged Domestic Labour in Contemporary Britain. Nicky Gregson & Michelle Lowe. Routledge, 1994, vii + 327 pp., £13.99 pb, ISBN 0–419–08531–4

Urban Development Planning: Lessons for the Economic Reconstruction of South Africa's Cities. Richard Tomlinson. Johannesburg, Witwatersrand University Press, 1994, 277 pp., £14.95 pb, ISBN 1–868–14258–2     

Strong wind observations in the atmospheric surface layer

The content of this article is a contribution to the limited amount of available strong-wind multi-level tower observations in the atmospheric surface layer, and is primarily intended for those engineers and scientists engaged in the field of wind engineering. The observations were used to evaluate the correctness of the predictions obtained from theoretical and empirical models, the latter used frequently by the wind engineering community. The comparisons included profiles of mean wind, turbulence intensity, and gust velocities. To test the mean-velocity models for the prediction of wind speeds at locations where no recording stations were present, observations at a reference location were used to predict and to compare with the simultaneous observations at a number of locations where wind speed observations were available.The analysis of the data revealed that under strong wind conditions thermal stability effects should not be ignored. For obstacle-free open terrain significant variations of the aerodynamic roughness length are observed. The height of the surface layer that increases with roughness and wind speed is at least 150 m. Davenport's “gradient” height, not a function of wind speed, is approximately twice the height of the surface layer that applies to the strong wind data analyzed. Estimation of wind speed at locations where normally no observations are available may exceed the actual speed by as much as 50%.     

Analysis of diametral strain in uniaxial tensile and compression testing of round specimens of anisotropic materials

The development of elliptical cross sections in initially round test pieces of anisotropic materials makes it difficult to measure the true strain on a cross section using a transverse extensometer. In this paper, an analysis is given of the diametral strain and strain rate on a round cross section. Based on the experimental observation that static and dynamic microstructural changes of many anisotropic materials was too small to cause a noticeable change in anisotropic factor, R, up to relatively low strain levels, it is assumed that R is independent of strain in this analysis. Analytical results suggest that, when both the imposed axial strain rate and the anisotropic factor R remain constant and R0.5, the change in diametral strain rate is negligible no matter which orientation a transverse strain extensometer is positioned on a cross section. The analysis includes two methods of measuring the diametral strain: (i) measurement of the distance between two diametral-intercept points on the circumference of a cross section; and (ii) measurement of the distance between two parallel tangent lines of the cross section. Based on the analytical and experimental results, a new method has been proposed for obtaining true stress–strain data in uniaxial tensile or compression testing of anisotropic materials with constant or varying anisotropic factor.     

Quality assurance of geomembranes used as linings for hazardous waste containment

The lining of a facility for storing or disposing of hazardous materials or wastes on land must serve as an effective barrier to prevent potential contaminating species from migrating into the ground and the groundwater. The process from the design phase through the manufacture of a polymeric geomembrane to its installation and acceptance as a liner involves many steps that must be controlled in order to assure the ultimate effectiveness of the lining.

In this paper, a program of quality assurance and quality control involved in the critical steps in the process of constructing a lined waste disposal facility from its design through the final acceptance is described. Included are design, geomembrane selection and compatibility testing, specification, raw materials, geomembrane manufacture, panel fabrication, shipment to field site, inspection, installation and performance testing of the lined facility. Emphasis is placed on factors and properties of geomembranes that relate to service performance and must be controlled. The properties include overall thickness, thickness of coatings above threads, composition control, crystallinity, carbon black content, ply adhesion and seam integrity and strength.     

Influence of particle contact models on soil response of poorly graded sand during cavity expansion in discrete element simulation

The discrete element method (DEM) has been extensively adopted to investigate many complex geotechnical related problems due to its capability to incorporate the discontinuous nature of granular materials. In particular, when simulating large deformations or distortion of soil (e.g. cavity expansion), DEM can be very effective as other numerical solutions may experience convergence problems. Cavity expansion theory has widespread applications in geotechnical engineering, particularly to the problems concerning in situ testing, pile installation and so forth. In addition, the behaviour of geomaterials in a macro-level is utterly determined by microscopic properties, highlighting the importance of contact models. Despite the fact that there are numerous contact models proposed to mimic the realistic behaviour of granular materials, there are lack of studies on the effects of these contact models on the soil response. Hence, in this study, a series of three-dimensional numerical simulations with different contact constitutive models was conducted to simulate the response of sandy soils during cylindrical cavity expansion. In this numerical investigation, three contact models, i.e. linear contact model, rolling resistance contact model, and Hertz contact model, are considered. It should be noted that the former two models are linear based models, providing linearly elastic and frictional plasticity behaviours, whereas the latter one consists of nonlinear formulation based on an approximation of the theory of Mindlin and Deresiewicz. To examine the effects of these contact models, several cylindrical cavities were created and expanded gradually from an initial radius of 0.055 m to a final radius of 0.1 m. The numerical predictions confirm that the calibrated contact models produced similar results regarding the variations of cavity pressure, radial stress, deviatoric stress, volumetric strain, as well as the soil radial displacement. However, the linear contact model may result in inaccurate predictions when highly angular soil particles are involved. In addition, considering the excessive soil displacement induced by the pile installation (i.e. cavity expansion), a minimum distance of 11a (a is the cavity radius) is recommend for practicing engineers to avoid the potential damages to the existing piles and adjacent structures.