A stochastic model for localized disturbances and its applications

A stochastic model for local disturbances, particularly for a temporal harmonic with random modulations in amplitude and/or phase, is proposed in this paper. Results for the second moment responses of a linear single-degree-of-freedom system to this type of stochastic loading demonstrate a significant change in response characteristics due to a small uncertainty. A local phenomenon may last much longer and resonance may be smeared to a broad range. Integrated with wavelet transform, the proposed approach may be used to model a random process with non-stationary frequency content. Especially, it can be effectively used for Monte Carlo simulation to generate large size of samples that have similar characteristics in time and frequency domains as a pre-selected mother sample has. The technique has a great potential for the case where uncertainty study is warranted but the available samples are limited.     

Preparation and properties of novel polyurethane insulating coatings based on glycerin‐terminated urethane prepolymers and blocked isocyanate

Novel polyurethane insulating coatings were prepared from the reaction of glycerin‐terminated polyurethane prepolymers (GPUPs) and a blocked isocyanate curing agent (BIC). The GPUPs were prepared from the reaction of one equivalent of polycaprolactone polyol (CAPA 210) with an excess amount of 4,4′‐methylene bis(phenyl isocyanate) (MDI) and subsequent reaction of the NCO‐terminated polyurethane with glycerin. The BIC was prepared from the reaction of trimethylol propane (TMP), toluene diisocyanate (TDI) and N‐methylaniline (NMA). The polyols and curing agent were characterized by conventional methods while the curing condition was optimized via gel content measurements. The curing kinetics of the polyurethane coating were investigated and the kinetic parameters derived. The crosslink densities of the samples were determined via the equilibrium swelling method, using the Flory–Rehner equation. The relationships between the crosslink density and the electrical, physical, mechanical and dynamic mechanical properties of the coatings were also studied. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

Continuous hydrolysis of olive oil by lipase in microporous hydrophobic membrane bioreactor

Continuous hydrolysis of olive oil byCandida cylindracea’s lipase was studied in a microporous hydrophobic membrane bioreactor. Olive oil and buffer solution, fed continuously through two compartments partitioned by membrane, caused reaction at the interface of lipase-adsorbed membrane and buffer solution. Fatty acid was obtained in a single phase without being mixed with components of other phases. At all mean residence times, countercurrent flow mode was superior to cocurrent one. The lipase was adsorbed onto the membrane, and its adsorption was suggested to be partially specific from the experiments with enzymes having various levels of purity. The percent hydrolysis depended hyperbolically on the interfacial enzyme concentration. The hydrolysis seemed to be limited by diffusion of fat or fatty acid through the micropores of the membrane at higher interfacial enzyme concentrations. The lipase was stabilized significantly by glycerol added to the buffer solution. Satisfactory performance of the membrane bioreactor was obtained in a longterm continuous operation which lasted for 24 days by feeding buffer-glycerol (18.0%) solution over the adsorbed lipase. The operational half-life of the adsorbed enzyme was 15 days at 40 C.     

Computerized facility layout design

The paper describes a computerized facility layout designer, COMLAD II, for plant layout development. Besides developing an efficient layout, COMLAD II has useful features which allow fixing the departments, changing the shape of the departments and changing the length and width dimensions of the overall layout.     

Cast titanium as implant material

The tissue response in rats to implants made of machined and cast titanium was evaluated after 1 and 12 weeks. The implants consisted of a circular plate portion, located in the abdominal wall, and a cylindrical rod portion protruding into the peritoneal cavity. The chemical and topographical surface properties of the two types of implants differed considerably. The implants with surrounding tissue were processed en bloc for light and electron microscopy. The bulk metal was removed by an electrochemical procedure which permitted the sectioning and evaluation of the intact implant-tissue interface. The general distribution of macrophages and fibroblasts was the same around the plate portion of both types of implants. Macrophages constituted the predominating cell type with the highest concentration in the innermost cell zone closest to the implant. The number of macrophages per section area was significantly higher around machined implants. Multinuclear giant cells, always located at the implant surface, were more frequent around cast implants. The majority of the intraperitoneal rod portions were partially (1 week) or completely (12 weeks) covered by tissue; partial or complete overgrowth of tissue was rare for machined rod portions. Imaging electron energy loss spectroscopy demonstrated the presence of titanium in macrophages in the peripheral part of the tissue capsule around cast, but not machined implants. We conclude that the tissue responses to the two types of titanium implants differed considerably in the two biological environments (soft tissue in abdominal wall; peritoneal cavity) examined and that the response in one environment does not predict the response in the other. We also believe that improvements have to be made in the casting procedure in order to reduce surface roughness and contamination before cast implants can be used in clinical applications.     

Synthesis and activation of Pt nanoparticles with controlled size for fuel cell electrocatalysts

Well-dispersed Pt nanoparticles with controlled size and narrow size distribution were prepared by polyalcohol reduction of platinum acetylacetonate, using oleylamine as a capping agent. The particle size was varied from 3.5 nm to 11.5 nm by decreasing the amount of oleylamine added in the synthesis. Size selection of the as-prepared particles by solvent fractionation yielded nearly monodispersed Pt particles. The as-prepared particles were loaded on a carbon support by physical deposition, but showed no electrocatalytic activity due to the oleylamine bound to the particle surface. The particles were activated for electrocatalysis after heating the particles in air at 185 °C for 5 h, conditions that gave no particle-sintering and no oxidation. Cyclic voltammetry showed that the particles after the heat treatment in air were electrocatalytically active for methanol oxidation. The smaller 3.5 nm and 4.0 nm Pt particles had a higher intrinsic activity for methanol oxidation, but a lower tolerance to CO poisoning, compared with 6.0 nm, 9.5 nm and 11.5 nm particles. CO-stripping results suggest that CO is more easily oxidized on larger Pt particles.     

A Novel UWB Pulse Shape Modulation System

In this paper novel modified Hermite polynomial functions for use in impulse radio (ultra-wideband) communications are proposed. With these functions pulse shapes which are orthogonal and have nearly constant pulse width regardless of the pulse order are generated. These properties hold under the effects of differentiation. An M-ary communication system is constructed using these pulse shapes. A Matlab model for generating the pulses is designed and the effect of timing jitter on the performance of the system is investigated by computer simulation.     

Comments on “Equivalence of characterizations of fixed models”

In this note we present a proof to the conjecture given in the above paper, and therefore establish the equivalence of characterizations of fixed modes for the general case.     

Bryostatin 1 induces ubiquitin COOH-terminal hydrolase in acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells

It has been previously reported that Bryostatin 1 (Bryo1) induces differentiation of the human acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cell line, Reh, to a monocytoid B-cell stage. In this study we demonstrate that a novel protein, ubiquitin COOH-terminal hydrolase (UCH-L1), is associated with this differentiation. Reh cells were treated with 200 nmol/l of Bryo1 for 72 h and analyzed for changes in morphology, surface immunophenotype, acid phosphatase and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase. Protein patterns of the parent and differentiated cells, by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D PAGE), were studied. Bryo1-treated cells expressed morphologic, phenotypic and enzymatic features of the monocytoid B-cell stage. The UCH-L1 enzyme (MW-pl 34-5.3) was detected by 2 D PAGE in the differentiated, but not in parent cells. The presence of UCH-L1 in the Bryo1-treated cells was further confirmed by immunoblotting of 2 D PAGE using UCH-L1 polyclonal antibody. Ubiquitin expression was studied in parent and Bryo1-treated cells and was compared with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-treated cells. Both agents, TPA and Bryo1, increased the level of ubiquitin expression as detected by flow cytometry. Sodium borohydride, an inhibitor of UCH-L1, inhibited the Bryo1-induced differentiating effect on Reh cells. To date, the mechanism by which Bryo1, exerts its B-cell differentiating effect is not fully understood. This study shows that UCH-L1 expression may play a major role in Bryo1-induced differentiation in pre-B-ALL.