Synthesis and applications of heterobifunctional poly(ethylene oxide) oligomers

Poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) oligomers are employed extensively in pharmaceutical and biomedical arenas mainly due to their excellent physical and biological properties, including solubility in water and organic solvents, lack of toxicity, and absence of immunogenicity. PEO can be chemically modified and reacted with, or adsorbed onto, other molecules and surfaces. Sophisticated applications for PEO have increased the demand for PEO oligomers with tailored functionalities, and heterobifunctional PEOs are often needed. This review discusses the synthesis and applications of heterobifunctional PEO oligomers possessing amine, carboxylate, thiol, and maleimide functional groups.     

Plasma power can make better powders

It may be a truism to say that round powders pack better, but spheroidisation of powder particles is one of the successful commercial applications of induction plasma technology and can play a key role in substantial improvement of powder quality and fluidity…     

Virtual Teams: Guide to Successful Implementation

The successful initiation and execution of a virtual team is gaining increasing attention in the design and construction community. From opportunities to integrate international and multidisciplinary teams to the opportunity to leverage the best resources in an organization on a given project, virtual teams can transform the concept of project planning and execution. However, potential barriers exist in several areas to the successful implementation of virtual teams. The needs of increased management emphasis, social and cultural understanding, and emphasis on common goals are only a few of the nontechnical factors that can turn successful virtual teaming into virtual frustration. When combined with traditional technical challenges including compatibility of systems, security, and the selection of appropriate technologies, the line between leveraging virtual technologies for enhanced solutions and introducing additional complications into the project process is one that can be easily crossed. This paper presents the findings of research that addresses the opportunities and potential barriers to successful virtual teams in the engineering, procurement, and construction industry. Combining results from current research, industry practices, and early results from nonconstruction industries, the research findings provide an initial path to successful virtual team implementation.     

Parametric circles and spheres

Formulations for parametric circles and spheres in terms of rational Gaussian (RaG) curves and surfaces are introduced. With the proposed formulations, a full circle is generated by interpolating a closed RaG curve to the vertices of an equilateral triangle, and a full sphere is generated by interpolating a closed RaG surface to the vertices of an octahedron with equilateral triangular faces. Generation of circles and spheres in this manner is very intuitive and easy to remember as the weights are all 1 and the nodes are all unique and uniformly spaced.     

海洋钻井液有机物添加剂生物降解性评价

随着海洋石油的勘探开发，钻井液有机添加剂不可避免地进入海洋．因此在海洋勘探开发过程中应选择环保性能好，即生物降解性能好的有机物添加剂。用累计耗氧量法测定了海洋钻井液有机添加剂的生物降解性，研究评价了有机添加剂的生物降解规律和机理，探讨了有机物生物降解性同其化学结构的内在联系，为海洋勘探开发过程中选择环保性能好的有机物添加剂提供理论依据。总结实验结果发现：淀粉类(如DFD-140和FI-E1等)最容易生物降解；其次是纤维素类(如MV-CMC等)和烯类单体聚合物(如PAM和PHP)；而沥青类、两性离子类则难以生物降解，有的甚至对生物降解起抑制作用。     

Stability analysis of network-based cooperative resource allocation strategies

Resource allocation involves deciding how to divide a resource of limited availability among multiple demands in a way that optimizes current objectives. In this brief paper we focus on one type of distributed resource allocation problem where via an imperfect communication network multiple processors can share the load presented by multiple task types. We introduce asynchronous “cooperative” resource allocation strategies, and show that they lead to a bounded cumulative demand.     

Nonpathological Lyapunov functions and discontinuous Carathéodory systems

Differential equations with discontinuous right-hand side and solutions intended in Carathéodory sense are considered. For these equations, sufficient conditions which guarantee both Lyapunov stability and asymptotic stability in terms of nonsmooth Lyapunov functions are given. An invariance principle is also proven.     

Finding feasible mold parting directions using graphics hardware

We present new programmable graphics hardware accelerated algorithms to test the 2-moldability of geometric parts and assist with part redesign. These algorithms efficiently identify and graphically display undercuts as well as minimum and insufficient draft angles. Their running times grow only linearly with respect to the number of facets in the solid model, making them efficient subroutines for our algorithms that test whether a tessellated CAD model can be manufactured in a two-part mold. We have developed and implemented two such algorithms to choose candidate directions to test for 2-moldability using accessibility analysis and Gauss maps. The efficiency of these algorithms lies in the fact that they identify groups of candidate directions such that if any one direction in the group is undercut-free, all are, or if any one is not undercut-free, none are. We examine trade-offs between the algorithms' speed, accuracy, and whether they guarantee that an undercut-free direction will be found for a part if one exists.