The Influence of Thermal Expansion and Mass Loss on the Young’s Modulus of Ceramics During Firing

During the heating stage of the firing of a ceramic material, the mass \(m\) , length \(l\) , and diameter \(d\) of the sample alter their values depending on the temperature \(t\) . Young’s modulus \(E(f,m,l,d)\) measured by a sonic resonance method is also a function of the resonance frequency \(f\) . Therefore, three thermal analyses (TGA, TDA, modulated force TMA) must be performed to obtain correct values of Young’s modulus. The calculation of Young’s modulus can be simplified if TGA and/or TDA are omitted. This necessarily leads to partly incorrect results. If TGA is not performed, we have \(E[f(t),m_0 ,l(t),d(t)]\) and the relative difference \((\{E[f(t),m(t),l(t),d(t)]-E[f(t),m_0 ,l(t),d(t)]\}/E[f(t),m(t),l(t),d(t)])\) reaches 7 % for \(t> 650\,^\circ \text{ C}\) and less than 2 % for \(t< 500\,^\circ \text{ C}\) . If TDA is not performed, we have \(E[f(t),m(t),l_0 ,d_0 ]\) and the relative difference ( \(\{E[f(t),m(t),l(t),d(t)]-E[f(t),m(t),l_0 ,d_0 ]\}/E[f(t),m(t),l(t),d(t)])\) is less than 0.6 % for \(t < 1000\,^\circ \text{ C}\) . For the simplest case, we have \(E[f(t),m_0 ,l_0 ,d_0 ]\) and the relative difference ( \(\{E[f(t),m(t),l(t),d(t)]-E[f(t),m_0 ,l_0 ,d_0 ]\}/E[f(t),m(t),l(t),d(t)])\) is 7.5 % for \(t > 600\,^\circ \text{ C}\) and less than 2 % for \(t<500\,^\circ \text{ C}\) .     

One-pot synthesis of isobutyl toluene via combined acylation and hydrogenation over Pd–Beta zeolite

The original one-pot synthesis of isobutyl toluene by simultaneous acylation of toluene with acetic anhydride and hydrogenation of the formed isopropyltolyl ketone over Pd–Beta zeolite is described. Zeolite Beta was chosen due to its high acidic activity in toluene acylation with isobutyric anhydride as well as after modification with Pd due to a high activity in hydrogenation of isopropylphenyl ketone to isobutyl benzene. The rate of the formation of isobutyl toluene substantially increases with the hydrophobicity of zeolite Beta despite the “simultaneous” or “consecutive” mode of the experimental setup applied. It is explained by the easier desorption of polar products and faster transport from acid sites to Pd particles, on which the primary formed ketone intermediate is hydrogenated. No effect of hydrogen pressure on the formation of isobutyl toluene was observed, however, with increasing hydrogen pressure hydrogenation of toluene, used as reactant as well as solvent, proceeds at a larger extent.     

Adenosine Kinase Isoforms in the Developing Rat Hippocampus after LiCl/Pilocarpine Status Epilepticus

LiCl/pilocarpine status epilepticus (SE) induced in immature rats leads, after a latent period, to hippocampal hyperexcitability. The excitability may be influenced by adenosine, which exhibits anticonvulsant activity. The concentration of adenosine is regulated by adenosine kinase (ADK) present in two isoforms—ADK-L and ADK-S. The main goal of the study is to elucidate the changes in ADK isoform expression after LiCl/pilocarpine SE and whether potential changes, as well as inhibition of ADK by 5-iodotubercidin (5-ITU), may contribute to changes in hippocampal excitability during brain development. LiCl/pilocarpine SE was elicited in 12-day-old rats. Hippocampal excitability in immature rats was studied by the model of hippocampal afterdischarges (ADs), in which we demonstrated the potential inhibitory effect of 5-ITU. ADs demonstrated significantly decreased hippocampal excitability 3 days after SE induction, whereas significant hyperexcitability after 20 days compared to controls was shown. 5-ITU administration showed its inhibitory effect on the ADs in 32-day-old SE rats compared to SE rats without 5-ITU. Moreover, both ADK isoforms were examined in the immature rat hippocampus. The ADK-L isoform demonstrated significantly decreased expression in 12-day-old SE rats compared to the appropriate naïve rats, whereas increased ADK-S isoform expression was revealed. A decreasing ADK-L/-S ratio showed the declining dominance of ADK-L isoform during early brain development. LiCl/pilocarpine SE increased the excitability of the hippocampus 20 days after SE induction. The ADK inhibitor 5-ITU exhibited anticonvulsant activity at the same age. Age-related differences in hippocampal excitability after SE might correspond to the development of ADK isoform levels in the hippocampus.     

Preparation of tartaric acid modified Raney nickel catalysts: study of modification procedure

Chiral modification of Raney nickel using (2R,3R)-tartaric acid was studied. The prepared catalyst was used in enantioselective hydrogenation of methylacetoacetate (MAA) to methyl-(3R)-hydroxybutyrate. The influence of the most important modification parameters, such as pH, temperature, time, concentration of the modifier and the presence of a co-modifier, on the optical yield of MAA hydrogenation was systematically investigated. From the data obtained, a considerable influence of modifying conditions on the resulting enantioselectivity of the catalyst was evident. The optical yield increased with an increasing of the modifying temperature and time. Dependencies of the optical yield on the tartaric acid concentration and on the modifying pH passed through a maximum. Therefore, there exists an optimal value of modifying pH, at which a minimal catalyst amount is leached to the modifying solution. Furthermore, significant adsorption of tartaric acid and subsequent complex formation of nickel and tartaric acid occurs on the catalyst surface. It was found that the presence of sodium bromide in the modifying solution resulted in a lower degree of the nickel leaching, and a decrease of the residual aluminum content in the catalyst increased the optical yield of the reaction.     

Organization in sol-gel polymerization of methacrylate co-oligomers containing trimethoxysilylpropyl methacrylate

The sol-gel polymerization and resulting structures of organic-inorganic systems based on hybrid methacrylate oligomers have been studied using SEC, DSC, and SAXS. The block and random oligomers with narrow polydipersity were prepared by group transfer polymerization. All the oligomers contain 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylates in the chain and form silsesquioxane (SSQO) clusters by hydrolytic polycondensation, serving as cross-linking domains of the organic-inorganic network. The water miscibility and gelation of synthesized oligomers were evaluated. The systems studied can be divided into two groups—gelling and non-gelling oligomers as a result of the competition between cyclization and intermolecular reaction. The extent of cyclization and intermolecular polycondensation depends on the oligomer structure, i.e. position and number of the functional trimethoxysilyl-monomer units, and on molecular weight of the oligomeric chains. Due to the incompatibility of the SSQO framework and organic chains, microphase separation and structure ordering occur during polymerization.     

Reimagining the Format Model: Introducing the Work of the NSLA Digital Preservation Technical Registry

In this article we introduce the work of the National and State Libraries Australasia Digital Preservation Technical Registry project.

Any technical registry model must allow digital preservation analysts to understand the technical form of the content they are tasked with preserving, understand the capabilities they have in relation to that content, and reflect on the community position in relation to those capabilities. We believe the solution outlined here is well placed to deliver the information required to answer these questions, and in a manner that makes it easy to understand, reference and augment.

The primary focus of this article is to describe the format model, which is the most radical part of the Digital Preservation Technical Registry. The flexibility the model provides delivers on all of the requirements outlined by the NSLA partners and project team members; this includes the ability to reference many layers constituting a format, including relationships between specifications and implementations of real-world formats. We seek input from members of the community on the model and suggestions for use cases and requirements that we have not envisaged.     

An application of the self-organizing map in the non-Euclidean Traveling Salesman Problem

An application of the self-organizing map (SOM) to the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) has been reported by many researchers, however these approaches are mainly focused on the Euclidean TSP variant. We consider the TSP as a problem formulation for the multi-goal path planning problem in which paths among obstacles have to be found. We apply a simple approximation of the shortest path that seems to be suitable for the SOM adaptation procedure. The approximation is based on a geometrical interpretation of SOM, where weights of neurons represent nodes that are placed in the polygonal domain. The approximation is verified in a set of real problems and experimental results show feasibility of the proposed approach for the SOM based solution of the non-Euclidean TSP.