Effect of humidity and temperature on the adhesive strength of pressure sensitive adhesives

This paper reports the effect of humidity and temperature on the adhesive strength of a pressure sensitive adhesive (Flexbond 150) used to bond Mylar films. It has been found that, ill general, the adhesive strength decreases significantly with an increase in temperature. The effect of humidity on the bonding strength, however, was found to be process dependent. The sample preparation conditions, e.g., press weight for the bonding and the press time, are important in determining the humidity effect. The water sorption isotherm A 24°C for the adhesive was also determined. The amount of water sorbed by the adhesive at 95 percent relative pressure was found to be less than one weight percent.     

Cancer genetics, cytogenetics--defining the enemy within

BACKGROUND/AIMS: International comparisons of clinical practice may help in assessing the magnitude and possible causes of variation in cross national healthcare utilisation. With this aim, the indications for cataract surgery in the United States, Denmark, the province of Manitoba (Canada), and the city of Barcelona (Spain) were compared. METHODS: In a prospective multicentre study, patients scheduled for first eye cataract surgery and aged 50 years or older were enrolled consecutively. From the United States 766 patients were enrolled; from Denmark 291; from Manitoba 152; and from Barcelona 200. Indication for surgery was measured as preoperative visual status of patients enlisted for cataract surgery. Main variables were preoperative visual acuity in operative eye, the VF-14 score (an index of functional impairment in patients with cataract) and ocular comorbidity. RESULTS: Mean visual acuity were 0.23 (USA), 0.17 (Denmark), 0.15 (Manitoba), and 0.07 (Barcelona) (p < 0.001). When restricting the sample to eyes with normal retina and macula, no significant difference between United States and Denmark was observed (p > 0.05). Mean VF-14 scores were 76 (USA), 76 (Denmark), 71 (Manitoba), and 64 (Barcelona) (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Similar indications for cataract surgery were found in the United States and Denmark. Significantly more restricted indications were observed in Manitoba and Barcelona. Possible explanations for the results are discussed, including differences in sociodemographic characteristics, access to care, surgeons' willingness to operate, and patient demand.     

Conductivity Detectors for Column or Paper Chromatography

SUMMARY

A conductivity detector, employing inexpensive operational amplifiers, has been constructed for chromatographic use. The detector is capable of observing conductance changes as small as 1 part in 10⁵ with bridge signals of 100 mV. Detector linearity is good over a wide dynamic range. When used in conjunction with a cell employing mercury strip electrodes, the detector can monitor the elution of ions in paper chromatography. The alkali metals were separated and detected on Whatman No. 1 paper with a sensitivity of less than 10 nmoles. This sensitivity limit was not determined by noise in the detector electronics, but by ionic impurities in the paper. The same detector, and a cell employing platinum electrodes separated from the effluent by ion-exchange membranes, was tested and found suitable for use in column chromatography. Again the sensitivity was not limited by the detector electronics.     

Using visual assessment as a foundation for greenway planning in the St. Lawrence River Valley

The growth of the ‘greenway’ as a fundamental planning concept has provided guidance for many communities locally and around the world. In the St. Lawrence River Valley, the idea is providing a common physical and cultural reference for the management of landscapes in communities along a 100 mile international corridor. Over the past 10 years, the College of Environmental Science and Forestry of the State University of New York has worked with the St. Lawrence-Eastern Ontario Commission to examine the unique visual and scenic resources of the region as the foundation for establishing a greenway tracing the St. Lawrence River. Although the idea of a greenway in the St. Lawrence River Valley is not new or unusual, the inventory and assessment of visual or scenic linear resources as a foundation is a departure from typical practice, and an experiment in defensible and rational planning. As a major summer tourism destination, the region is well aware of the critical value of its scenic resources. In our effort to identify and assess various vital resources for planning, we found an indicator in the visual nature of the landscape—both as a resource in and of itself, and as a reflection of the underlying values held by local communities for natural and cultural resources. This paper describes, as a case study, the process used to identify and assess visual and scenic resources in the region, and the use of the resulting database to initiate delineation of the proposed greenway. A discussion of the rationale and significance of the method is presented, including comments on the direction and progress in the region today.     

High velocity flyer plate launch capability on the Sandia Z accelerator

A method has been developed for launching plates useful for equation of state (EOS) studies to high velocities using fast pulsed power on the Sandia National Laboratories Z Accelerator. The technique employs magnetic pressure developed in an insulating gap between the anode and cathode of the machine to provide smoothly increasing, quasi-isentropic loading to plates of 9 – 12 mm in diameter and hundreds of microns thickness. Successful launches of titanium to 12km/s, aluminum to 13km/s, and copper to 10km/s have been demonstrated. The plates were monitored through the entire launch process with both conventional and spatially resolved velocity interferometry to obtain acceleration histories and impact profiles. Impacts of the flyers into aluminum wedges were also performed to experimentally estimate final plate thickness. Initial indications are that the plates are intact, slightly bowed, and at essentially ambient state.