Barium titanate‐based nanodielectrics of two chemically recyclable thermosets

In this work was investigated the effect of the addition of barium titanate (BaTiO₃) on electrical properties of two chemically recyclable thermosets, polyhemiaminal (PHA) and polyhexahydro‐s‐triazine (PHT), both fabricated from 4,4′‐oxydianiline (ODA), an ether derivative of aniline and paraformaldehyde. Thermal and mechanical properties as well as chemical recyclability of the two polymers and their nanocomposites/nanodielectrics were also investigated. In addition, a quantitative analysis was conducted of the nanoparticle dispersion in the PHA‐/PHT‐based BaTiO₃‐containing nanocomposites using transmission electron microscopy imaging and the nearest‐neighbor distance index and this index was used to analyze the investigated properties in connection with the proper mechanisms. Regarding the electrical properties for both neat polymers, conductivity values of the order of 10^?8 S m^?1 at 100 Hz were observed and dielectric constant values close to 2.80 for both polymers at 1 kHz. The addition of 0.5 wt% of BaTiO₃ ferroelectric nanoparticles increased by about 44% the dielectric constant (1 kHz) and conductivity (10² Hz) of the PHA‐based nanocomposite. PHA and PHT exhibited glass transition temperature (T_g) values in the range 125–180 °C. An increase of 7 °C in T_g was observed after the incorporation of 0.5 wt% of BaTiO₃ into PHA. Concerning the mechanical properties, values in the range 4.00–4.45 GPa for reduced modulus and 0.30–0.43 GPa for nanohardness for PHA and PHT polymers were observed. Independently of filler content or polymer matrix, both mechanical properties were enhanced after the addition of BaTiO₃. The chemical recycling of PHA/PHT and all nanocomposites in the initial ODA reagent after sulfuric acid treatment was successfully characterized using the NMR and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic techniques. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry     

Doped silicon and NIS junctions for bolometer applications

We discuss the performance, of a normal metal hot electron bolometer (NHEB) that we have measured at 0.3 K. We found that the noise equivalent power was limited by the amplifier noise. To improve the NHEB power response and to make it more robust and reliable we propose to substitute the normal metal with heavily doped silicon. The heavily doped silicon behaves like a metal with lower carrier concentration and has a smaller electron–phonon thermal coupling. We have fabricated superconductor-doped silicon-superconductor contacts (S-Sm-S) and we have used them as thermometers and coolers.     

Metronidazole resistant trichomoniasis successfully treated with paromomycin

Thoracic infection by anaerobes are uncommon diseases and often presents difficulty in diagnosis. We report a case of thoracic infection due to Fusobacterium Nucleatum. A 60-year old man presented a lesion infiltrating from the lung to the thoracic wall. Fusobacterium Nucleatum was isolated on pus collected. Treatment by penicillin, metronidazole combined with surgical drainage was highly effective.     

Thermodynamic calculations for Nb-containing high-speed steels and white-cast-iron alloys

Thermodynamical equilibria have been calculated for a wide variety of high-speed steel compositions belonging to the multicomponent system Fe-C-W-Mo-V-Cr-Nb as well as for two series of white-cast-iron alloys containing niobium. Some temperature-concentration diagrams for both classes of alloys are presented and calculated quantities (melting and transformation temperatures, amounts and compositions of phases) are compared with experimental data. Good agreement between calculated and experimental information has been obtained, with the exception of the MC phase compositions and transformation temperatures for white-cast-iron alloys with high carbon and chromium contents. These differences can, however, be satisfactorily explained by plausible kinetic effects.     

The Role of Network Topologies in the Optical Core of IP-over-WDM Networks with Static Wavelength Routing

In this paper, we present a performance analysis of network topologies for the optical core of IP-over-WDM networks with static wavelength routing. The performance analysis is focused on regular degree four topologies, and, for comparison purposes, degree three topologies are also considered. It is shown that the increase of the nodal degree from three (degree three topology with smallest diameter) to four (degree four topology with smallest diameter) improves the network performance if a larger number of wavelengths per link is available. However, the influence of wavelength interchange on the nodal degree gain is small. The performance of regular degree four topologies with smallest diameter is also compared with the performance of mesh–torus topologies (which are also degree four topologies), and it is shown that the blocking probability of degree four topologies with smallest diameter is about two orders of magnitude lower than the blocking probability of mesh–torus topologies. It is also presented a performance comparison of WDM-based networks with nodal degrees ranging from two to five and it is shown that the increase of the nodal degree from two to three leads to high nodal degree gains, while de increase of the nodal degree from four to five leads to low nodal degree gains. These results show that degree three and degree four topologies are very attractive for use in the optical core of IP-over-WDM networks.     

Paste Residence Time in a Spouted Bed Dryer. III: Effect of Paste Properties and Quality Interactions

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of paste properties on residence time during drying in a spouted bed dryer with inert bodies. The effect of paste solids content, surface tension, and viscosity on the residence time distribution and the mean residence times were studied using factorial experimental designs. The inert bodies used were glass and polyethylene beads. The mean residence times varied from 13.6 to 16.3 and 12.2 to 17.7 min for drying on glass and polyethylene beads, respectively. The analysis of variance showed that mean residence times significantly depended on solids content and surface tension for glass beads and also on viscosity for polyethylene beads. The residence time distributions for all conditions studied fitted well to the perfect mixing cell when applying the continuous stirred vessels in series model analysis. The powder density, flowability, and particle size depended on paste properties and inert type.     

Nisin expression production from Lactococcus lactis in milk whey medium

BACKGROUND: Nisin is a commercially available bacteriocin produced by Lactococcus lactis ATCC 11454 and used as a natural agent in the biopreservation of food. In the current investigation, milk whey, a byproduct from dairy industries was used as a fermentation substrate for the production of nisin. Lactococcus lactis ATCC 11454 was developed in a rotary shaker (30 °C/36 h/100 rpm) using two different media with milk whey (i) without filtration, pH 6.8, adjusted with NaOH 2 mol L^?1 and without pH adjustment, both autoclaved at 121 °C for 30 min, and (ii) filtrated (1.20 µm and 0.22 µm membrane filter). These cultures were transferred five times using 5 mL aliquots of broth culture for every new volume of the respective media. RESULTS: The results showed that culture media composed of milk whey without filtration supplied L. lactis its adaptation needs better than filtrated milk whey. Nisin titers, in milk whey without filtration (pH adjusted), was 11120.13 mg L^?1 in the second transfer, and up to 1628‐fold higher than the filtrated milk whey, 6.83 mg.L^?1 obtained in the first^t transfer. CONCLUSIONS: Biological processing of milk byproducts (milk whey) can be considered a profitable alternative, generating high‐value bioproducts and contributing to decreasing river disposals by dairy industries. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry