Asbestos replacement aspects: Modification of the fibre-matrix interphase in lonomer based composites

Asbestos fibres, of the chrysotile variety, and chopped carbon fibres were pretreated by an in-situ polycondensation technique eventually resulting in a polyamide coating on the fibre surface. Ionomer based composites containing either carbon or asbestos fibres in random in plane fibre orientation were prepared, and the influence of this coating process on the tensile properties was investigated. It was found that for the asbestos-filled composites the presence of the nylon 6,6 interlayer improves the tensile performance, especially at moderate polyamide depositions. This is not the case with the pretreated carbon-filled composites for which carbon fibres with higher polyamide contents are preferred. Combinations of the treated asbestos fibres with carbon and/or aramid fibres may be used to reduce the asbestos content in asbestos-only based engineering plastics.     

Use of special-purpose bulk activity measures in monitoring raw materials and environmental objects

Mendeleev All-Union Metrology Research Institute. Translated from Atomnaya Énergiya, Vol. 73, No. 5, pp. 393–397, November 1992.     

Methylaluminoxane/haloalkane as initiator system for styrene polymerization

Summary Styrene polymerization was initiated by methylaluminoxane in the presence of haloalkane. The propagating species are shown by trapping experiments and electron paramagnetic resonance to be both radicals and cations.     

Statistical modeling of device mismatch for analog MOS integratedcircuits

A generalized parameter-level statistical model, called statistical MOS (SMOS), capable of generating statistically significant model decks from intra- and inter-die parameter statistics is described. Calculated model decks preserve the inherent correlations between model parameters while accounting for the dependence of parameter variance on device separation distance and device area. Using a Monte Carlo approach to parameter sampling, circuit output means and standard deviations can be simulated. Incorporated in a CAD environment, these modeling algorithms will provide the analog circuit designer with a method to determine the effect of both circuit layout and device sizing on circuit output variance. Test chips have been fabricated from two different fabrication processes to extract statistical information required by the model. Experimental and simulation results for two analog subcircuits are compared to verify the statistical modeling algorithms     

Measurement of human red blood cell deformability using a single micropore on a thin Si3N4 film

The filtration method for the evaluation of the RBC deformability has been further refined to simulate the deformations encountered in the recticuloendothelial system (in particular the spleen), a recognized site of aged and sickled cells removal. The core of the developed measuring system is a very thin (0.4 micron thick) filter that consists of single micropore (diameters down to 1 micron) on a Si3N4 film which has been constructed using silicon microfabrication techniques. Individual RBC's deformability is quantified measuring the cell pore passage time. From one blood sample 200 passage times are analyzed by a computer, displaying mean and median values as deformability indexes, and class and cumulative histograms for studying the passage times distribution. In this paper the effectiveness of the developed system as a routine clinical evaluation tool is demonstrated by studying several factors that are known to affect the RBC deformability, such as temperature, addition of diamide and glutaraldehyde, and blood storage conditions. In addition, it is experimentally demonstrated that the human RBC can traverse a pore with a diameter as small as 1 micron when the pore length is very short, thus broadening the experimental conditions under which the RBC deformability (fluidity) can be studied.     

A computer program for generating power-system load-point minimalpaths

In reliability evaluation that uses minimal cut-set theory, the deduction of minimal cut-set orders is crucial and depends on all the identified minimal paths associated with the load point whose reliability indices are desired. An input-reduction programming technique that automates this deduction is presented. The technique can be applied to a network of any configuration and finds its greatest application in complex networks with multiple inputs. The power-system structure in the form of power-arms (termination busbars, branch and protective device) is the only initial input data needed. The results obtained, in terms of minimal paths and minimal cut-set orders for all the load points, using the program on a sample power system compare well with the existing results. The program is compact, modular, and easy to use and can be applied to any complex system to generate minimal cut-sets of the desired orders     

The effect of different protein diets on longevity and various biochemical parameters of aged rats]

In this work 23 month old rats were fed for 200 days with different protein diets (NT-diet: 19% protein, 72% of animal origin and LP-diet: 8.8% protein exclusively of vegetable origin). Some metabolic parameters and lifespan (on the base of a 50% death-rate) were determined. The relations of the liver free amino acids glycine + alanine and tyrosine + phenylalanine + branched chain amino acids and the ratio of phenylalanine/tyrosine were determined to be higher in the LP-group. Phenylalanine in liver and urea concentrations in liver and serum were lower in the LP-group. Furthermore the dopamine or serotonin levels were significantly lower in lateral and medial or lateral regions of the hypothalamus respectively in LP-diet fed rats. The norepinephrine content was not modified by the diets. The median lifespan of 23 month old rats was higher by 24% following LP-treatment. These results suggest that the protein component (amino acids) of different diets may modify metabolic parameters and lifespan of animals by mechanisms in which the central regulation may be involved.     

Ultrafast all-optical switching in GaAlAs integrated interferometer in 1.55 mu m spectral region

The first observation is reported of ultrafast all-optical switching in an integrated asymmetric Mach-Zehnder interferometer, using the nonresonant nonlinearity in Ga/sub 0.82/Al/sub 0.18/As below half the bandgap. A relative switching fraction of more than 80% has been achieved using 330 fs pulses at around 1.55 mu m from a coupled-cavity mode-locked colour centre laser.<>     

Evaluating acrosome reaction steps with brightfield and differential interference contrast microscopy techniques.

Acrosomal integrity of bovine spermatozoa was evaluated using naphthol yellow S-erythrosine B stain with bright-field microscopy, .2% glutaraldehyde fixation with Nomarski optics, and live wet smears with Nomarski optics to compare the evaluation techniques. Four ejaculates per two Holstein bulls were enriched through a Percoll gradient, capacitated with heparin, and acrosome-reacted with lysophosphatidylcholine to prepare spermatozoa for in vitro fertilization. Spermatozoa samples were taken after each preparatory step, and percentage of intact acrosomes was evaluated with the stain, .2% glutaraldehyde, and live wet smear. Acrosomal integrity decreased with each preparatory step across all techniques. The decrease in integrity from heparin to lysophosphatidylcholine indicated that all methods detected the acrosome reaction. Technique means across preparation steps showed no differences. Correlations between microscopy techniques were high. The live wet smear used no fixation methods. Both the naphthol yellow S-erythrosine B stain and the .2% glutaraldehyde techniques employed fixation steps that may have introduced artifacts that could influence the data. The live wet smear evaluated by Nomarski optics allowed a comparable evaluation of the acrosome-reacted bovine spermatozoa. Comparing brightfield with differential interference contrast microscopy for detecting the acrosome reaction in bovine spermatozoa showed that both methods were equally accurate.     

Correlation between the compact regions predicted by the average distance map (ADM) and the biologically active sites in atrial natriuretic peptide

The prediction of the short-range compact regions of human atrial natriuretic peptide (alpha-hANP), one of the biologically active peptides, has been made by means of the Average Distance Map(ADM). We found out that the location of the predicted short-range compact regions is consistent with the structural units determined by the NMR analysis (Kobayashi et al., 1988). Furthermore, the short-range compact regions correspond well to the biologically active areas of atriopeptin (103-125)-amide (which is homologous peptide to alpha-hANP), detected by the glycine substitution technique (Konishi et al., 1987). The results suggest that a predicted short-range compact region can be regarded as a possible active site in a biologically active peptide.