Simple approach for the plasma treatment of polymeric membranes and investigation of the aging effect

The modification of the surface characteristics after treatment with plasma in polymeric materials, such as the aging phenomenon, calls the attention of research in the area of nonthermal plasma technology. In this work, a direct treatment with dielectric-barrier discharge plasma was used on the surfaces of ultrafiltration membranes. The measurements of the contact angle with water, attenuated total reflectance accessory, zeta potential, atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy-MEV were performed on the surfaces to verify changes after plasma treatment and to understand the occurrence and timing of the plasma aging effect. In the analysis of the membrane performance, hydraulic permeation and protein retention tests were performed. The results showed an improvement in wettability and hydrophilic properties in the post-treated membranes. The study of reversibility/aging of the post-plasma surface is important for research that deals with the modification of polymeric membranes. Changes in surface morphology, topography and wettability of the membranes were observed up to seven days after treatment, with a tendency to return to the initial characteristics of the membranes.     

Upcycling by grafting onto semi-crystalline polymers using supercritical CO2

The creation of graft copolymers by selectively grafting a second polymer to the amorphous fraction of a semi-crystalline polymer in supercritical CO₂ is demonstrated herein. The graft copolymer is synthesized by free radical polymerization of a vinyl monomer within the semi-crystalline polymer below its melt temperature. Such conditions afford selective grafting on the amorphous regions (block “B”) while leaving the crystalline domains (block “A”) unmodified. Accordingly, unique A-B, A-B-A, A-B-A-B-A, and so forth. block structures are formed. In this work, styrene is polymerized within polyamide 6, polyethylene terephthalate, and isotactic polypropylene. Purification of these material is performed to remove the un-grafted homopolymer, allowing for determination of the graft yield, the portion of polymer which covalently bonds to the semi-crystalline matrix. Grafting yields achieved in polyamide 6, polyethylene terephthalate, and isotactic polypropylene were 98%, 59%, and 15%, respectively. Property enhancements were observed upon further characterization of polystyrene-polyamide 6 copolymers, including high glass transition temperatures, the ability to be remelted, and tunable grafting molecular weight. Additionally, hydrophobicity is controlled by varying polystyrene composition. The remarkable range of accessed properties demonstrates this as a potential route to upcycling plastics.     

ZnO／Ag纳米复合材料光催化性能研究

通过XRD、TEM测试研究了自制ZnO／Ag纳米复合材料的结构和形貌，通过UV检测确定了以该纳米复合材料为光催化剂，在不同条件下对甲基橙的光催化降解率。结果表明：与空气煅烧相比，真空煅烧所得纳米复合材料的光催化降解效果更好，且光催化降解率随纳米复合材料用量增加而增大：甲基橙溶液的pH在5左右时，光催化降解率最高：H2O2浓度为0．9g／L时，光催化降解率可达100％。     

Impact of transient chemistry on the corrosion potential of a steam turbine disc steel

The adoption of two-shifting in coal-fired power generation (switching from on-load to off-load conditions on a daily basis and off-load for the weekend) results in regular cycling of the solution chemistry of the condensed steam on the turbine discs. A first stage investigation has been made of the effect of such chemistry cycling on the corrosion potential of the disc steel. The corrosion potential is typically about +0.05 V (SCE) in off-load chemistry (aerated pure water) and below −0.6 V (SCE) in on-load chemistry (deaerated solution containing chloride or chloride and sulphate anions). The critical observation was the sluggish response of the corrosion potential upon restoration of deaerated on-load conditions with the implication of a likely increase in pit and stress corrosion crack development.     

工艺参数对合成ZnO／Ag纳米复合抗菌剂产率的影响

通过正交实验，研究了反应温度、反应时间、反应物配比对ZnO／Ag纳米复合抗菌剂合成产率的影响规律。获得了高产率合成ZnO／Ag纳米复合抗菌剂的优选工艺条件：反应温度为10～25℃，ZnSO4与NH4HCO3的摩尔比为1：2-2．5，ZnSO4与NH4HCO3的反应时间为2．5～3h，AgNO3与NH4HCO3的摩尔比为1：1．5～2，反应时间为0．5h，ZnO／Ag的产率超过98％。XRD、TEM和SAED结果表明：ZnO／Ag纳米复合抗菌剂为具有纤锌矿结构的ZnO和立方结构的Ag组成。粒径为15～25nm，分散性较好。     

Effects of Auditory Cues for Linear and Differential Magnification Methods on Visual Inspection Performance

The unfavorable consequence of biased attention to peripheral objects was reported with the use of a newly proposed differential magnification method by the authors. Given the favorable influence of auditory cueing on attention orientation, this study investigated the effectiveness of auditory cues in directing participants’ attention from the peripheral to foveal areas of the differential magnifying lens for improving inspection performance. Thirty‐nine Chinese undergraduates performed a simulated inspection task using a particular magnification method (between‐participant factor). Three within‐participant factors of auditory cue interval, target difficulty, and magnification power were tested. Objective performance measures of speed and accuracy and subjective evaluation using NASA task load index were collected and analyzed. The results showed that positive effects of auditory cues were found for the differential magnification methods but not for the traditional linear magnification method. Significant effects of target difficulty and magnification power were also found. It was concluded that the aid of auditory cues, which did not share the same attentional resource with the visual inspection task, proved to be an appropriate reminder for the differential magnification methods to improve participants’ visual inspection performance. Attention should also be paid to selecting an appropriate auditory cue interval for search tasks of different target difficulties. The findings of this study have implications for the design of video magnifiers in the context of multimodal human–machine interfaces.     

It's the Thought that Counts: The Mediating Effects of Information Processing in Virtual Team Decision Making

Abstract

Previous research shows that although collaboration technology can improve the exchange of information during team decision making, one of the challenges is that this better discussion often does not lead to better decisions. In this paper, we investigate the impact of individual information processing on team decision making. We investigated the effects of two types of collaboration technology when participants were either the member of a team majority or a team minority. There was little impact due to the majority/minority, but the use of collaboration technology that required users to categorize the comments they received from others resulted in increased information processing, which in turn led to better decisions and more satisfied participants.     

Development of an operational fitness test for the Royal Air Force

Since 2002, the Royal Air Force (RAF) has been working towards developing role-related physical tests for use as an operational fitness test (OFT). The purpose of this study was to establish reliability of the OFT (comprising four tests), investigate gym-based tests as predictors of performance and establish performance standards. Fifty-eight RAF personnel performed the OFT on three occasions. A separate cohort carried out fitness and anthropometric tests before performing the OFT, by way of establishing performance predictors. Documented evidence and views of an expert panel were used to determine OFT standards. Reliability ranged from moderate to good for three tests, with one test (Dig) showing poor reliability. The 95% limits of agreement for the prediction models ranged from good to poor (6.7-34.2%). The prediction models were not sufficiently accurate to estimate confidently OFT performance, but could be used as a guide to quantify likely outcome and training needs.     

Decision support for network disruption mitigation

Our increasing reliance on networks of all types, coupled with their increasing vulnerability to disruption, makes it critical to better understand risks associated with natural disasters, terrorist attacks, and other incidents. However, choosing how to best protect, reinforce, and improve a network given a limited budget is a complex problem. We have developed an integrated approach that examines the effects of different network disruption scenarios for a variety of performance measures. The developed decision support methodology allows for comprehensive exploration of disruption impacts, statistically and visually, and facilitates examination of “what-if” planning scenarios.