Effect of flow on solutions of rod-coil block co-polymers

An elongational flow field is imposed on a solution of block copolymers consisting of semirigid macromolecules with rigid, rodlike sequences of units in combination with random coil (flexible) units. The problem is formulated according to the lattice treatment of Matheson and Flory. In this formulation, the system consists of rigid blocks whose lengths and locations are fixed by the structure within each macromolecule. These blocks are separated by random coiled units. An excess free energy other than the equilibrium Gibbs free energy of the quiescent solution has to be considered due to the flow field that tends to align the rods. This excess free energy is calculated from the potential energy of rods when a steady-state, homogeneous and irrotational flow field is applied to the solution. The effects of composition, polymer-solvent interaction, size of the co-polymer and flow rates are investigated. Depending on the size and number of rods, some of the chains studied exhibit a biphasic region at equilibrium that shifts to lower concentrations with increasing flow. Longer chains with shorter rods that are isotropic at equilibrium, exhibit a biphasic region at finite values of flow. The degree of orientation increases sharply when the system is biphasic. For larger flows, the orientation function is very close to unity which is perfect orientation.     

Seismic Performance of Industrial Facilities Affected by the 1999 Turkey Earthquake

Approximately 40% of the heavy industry in Turkey was located in the region affected by the 1999 Mw 7.4 Kocaeli earthquake. Twenty-four facilities representing different industries in the epicentral region were surveyed after the earthquake. Structural and nonstructural damage to these facilities is summarized and performance is reported using a damage classification scheme. Information on typical industrial-facility construction practice in Turkey is presented. Earthquake damage to the most common structural framing systems is highlighted. The structural performance of a small number of the facilities visited by the reconnaissance team is investigated.     

A deep eutectic solvent based liquid phase microextraction for the determination of caffeine in Turkish coffee samples by HPLC-UV

ABSTRACT

A novel liquid-phase microextraction procedure for the determination and extraction of caffeine using a deep eutectic solvent based liquid-phase microextraction method (DES-LPME) was developed. A deep eutectic solvent consisting of choline chloride-phenol (1:3) and tetrahydrofuran as a dilution solvent were used for the extraction of caffeine from Turkish coffee samples. The quantitative recoveries were obtained when the DES volume was 400 µL, and the volume of tetrahydrofuran that was used as an emulsifier solvent was 800 µL. The limit of detection and the limit of quantification were found to be 0.12 and 0.40 µg mL^?1, respectively. Linear dynamic range was 0.5–100 µg mL^?1, and coefficient of determination (R²) was 0.9998. The relative standard deviation (RSD) was 2.20% when the standard solution concentration was 1.0 µg mL^?1. The fact that the determination coefficient obtained from the calibration curve was greater than 0.9998 gives information about the accuracy of the method. Also, in order to determine the accuracy of the developed method, selected coffee samples were spiked with 25 and 50 µg mL^?1 caffeine.     

Relationship between retinal lesions and axial length, age and sex in high myopia

Questionnaires (3426; 72.8%) and blood samples (3890; 82.6%) were analysed from 4704 women post-natally. The answers to the questionnaire confirmed that those patients living in areas with the highest percentage employed in agriculture were most likely to be in direct or indirect contact with sheep or sheep products. When the 788 (20.3%) of the sera with group specific antibody were examined for type-specific antibody, 291 (7.5%) reacted with Chlamydia trachomatis, 153 (3.9%) with Chlamydia pneumoniae, but only one (0.03%) with Chlamydia psittaci. Thus, it would appear that C. psittaci was not an important pathogen in this survey, despite the largest proportion of blood samples being submitted from those most likely to be employed in agriculture. However, in the course of this survey the three patients who had previously suffered chlamydia-associated abortion had successful pregnancies and submitted blood specimens. Serological studies on the serial bloods from these patients showed that, despite developing antibody to the C. psittaci pool and the ovine abortion strain of C. psittaci following abortion, this antibody waned. At the time of the subsequent successful pregnancy, serological results would not have detected a previous C. psittaci infection, but one due to C. pneumoniae. Thus, the results of a survey such as this must be interpreted with caution.     

The structural,morphological, optical and gas-sensing properties of Mn3O4 thin films grown by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction technique

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics - In this study, Mn3O4 thin films were grown by Successive Ionic Layer Adsorption and Reaction Technique (SILAR) with 20 and 50...     

The inhibitors of risk information sharing in the supply chain: A multiple case study in Turkey

One of the greatest threats faced by organizations is disruption in the supply chain arising from not sharing risk information among the supply chain partners. The aim of this study is to identify the inhibitors of risk information sharing in a supply chain by using practical‐side evidence. An exploratory multiple case design was utilized to investigate why supply chain partners in Turkey may be reluctant to share risk information among their members and provide solutions to overcome these barriers. The results of the study indicate that the inhibitors of risk information sharing fall into three categories: risk‐related, organization‐related, and management‐related. Furthermore, the findings demonstrate possible solutions for reluctance in risk information sharing among supply chain partners based on managers' experiences.     

XPS investigation of a CdS-based photoresistor under working conditions: operando-XPS

A noncontact chemical and electrical measurement X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) technique is performed to investigate a CdS-based photoresistor during its operation. The main objective of the technique is to trace chemical- and location-specified surface potential variations as shifts of the XPS Cd 3d(5/2) peak position without and under photoillumination with four different lasers. The system is also modeled to extract electrical information. By analyzing the measured potential variations with this model, location-dependent resistance values are represented (i) two dimensionally for line scans and (ii) three dimensionally for areal measurements. In both cases, one of the dimensions is the binding energy. The main advantage of the technique is its ability to assess an element-specific surface electrical potential of a device under operation based on the energy deviation of core level peaks in surface domains. Detection of the variations in electrical potentials and especially their responses to the energy of the illuminating source in operando, is also shown to be capable of detecting, locating, and identifying the chemical nature of structural and other types of defects.     

The effect of aggregation on the nonlinear optical absorption performance of indium and gallium phthalocyanines in a solution and co-polymer host

The nonlinear optical properties (NLO) of Pcs can be modified by substituting different metal atoms into the ring or altering peripheral and axial functionalities. In this study, nonlinear optical absorption properties of tetra-substituted gallium and indium phthalocyanine complexes both in solution and polymeric film have been investigated by open aperture Z-scan measurements with nanosecond pulses at 532 nm. All investigated compounds exhibited reverse saturable absorption for both solution and film experiments. The investigated compounds in the solution showed better nonlinear optical absorption properties than polymeric films. The observed nonlinear optical absorption differences depending on the aggregation are discussed using the ultrafast dynamics and decay processes of excited states found from femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy with white light continuum experiments.