Manganese ferrite-polyaniline hybrid materials: Electrical and magnetic properties

Magnetic MnFe₂O₄ nanopowders were synthesized by an original solvothermal method in the absence and in the presence of tetra-n-butylammonium bromide (TBAB) and Tween 80 (TW) as surfactants. Manganese ferrite/polyaniline (PANI) hybrid materials were synthesized by in situ polymerization of aniline on the surface of MnFe₂O₄ using ammonium persulfate as oxidant. The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of the two surfactants on the properties of the MnFe₂O₄ powders and of their composites with PANI. The specific surface area, the cumulative surface area of pores and the cumulative volume of pores are influenced by the nature of surfactant in case of MnFe₂O₄ powders and are higher by comparison to those of the MnFe₂O₄/PANI hybrid materials. The values of saturation magnetization in case of MnFe₂O₄ powders are higher than those of the hybrid materials and are not influenced by the surfactant nature. These features revealed that MnFe₂O₄ powders can be efficiently used as adsorbents for the purification of wastewaters. The values of the electrical conductivity of the composites exhibit a significant increase in comparison to the MnFe₂O₄ powders and depend on the surfactant nature. The highest value of electrical conductivity was achieved by the composite obtained using Tween 80 as surfactant (σ_DC = 54.5·10^?5S?m^?1) which was close to that of PANI (σ_DC = 61.2·10^?5 S?m^?1). The fact that the magnetic and electric properties of the synthesized MnFe₂O₄/PANI composites can be changed by design, demonstrate the high potential of these materials to be used in magneto-electric applications.     

On the uniqueness of some helical flows of a second grade fluid

Summary The uniqueness of some helical flows of a second grade fluid, between two infinite circular cylinders, is proved. Initially, the fluid is at rest and flow is produced by the motion of the cylinders. Finally, the special case of a flow in a circular cylinder is considered.     

Electrochemical mass transfer between an impinging jet and a rotating disk in a confined system

This paper presents the mass transfer results from an impinging liquid jet to a rotating disk. The mass transfer coefficients were measured using the electrochemical limiting diffusion current technique (ELDCT). Rotational Reynolds number (Re_r) in the range of 3.4 × 10⁴–1.2 × 10⁵, jet Reynolds number (Re_j) 1.7 × 10⁴–5.3 × 10⁴ and non-dimensional jet-to-disk spacing (H/d) 2–8 were taken into consideration as parameters. It was found that the jet impingement resulted in a substantial enhancement in the mass transfer compared to the case of the rotating disk without jet.     

Cellular UDP-glucose deficiency caused by a single point mutation in the UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase gene

We previously isolated a mutant cell that is the only mammalian cell reported to have a persistently low level of UDP-glucose. In this work we obtained a spontaneous revertant whose UDP-glucose level lies between those found in the wild type and the mutant cell. The activity of UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (UDPG:PP), the enzyme that catalyzes the formation of UDP-glucose, was in the mutant 4% and in the revertant 56% of the activity found in the wild type cell. Sequence analysis of UDPG: PP cDNAs from the mutant cell showed one missense mutation, which changes amino acid residue 115 from glycine to aspartic acid. The substituted glycine is located within the largest stretch of strictly conserved residues among eukaryotic UDPG:PPs. The analysis of the cDNAs from the revertant cell indicated the presence of an equimolar mixture of the wild type and the mutated mRNAs, suggesting that the mutation has reverted in only one of the alleles. In summary, we demonstrate that the G115D substitution in the Chinese hamster UDPG:PP dramatically impairs its enzymatic activity, thereby causing cellular UDP-glucose deficiency.     

Thermo-oxidative degradation of some polymer couples containing HNBR

Summary In this paper thermal behavior of some HNBR blends with CPE, PVC, CR and NBR at three temperatures, 150, 170 and 190°C is presented. Changes in characteristic IR bands, gel fraction, and chlorine content were assessed. Some mechanistic differences between the studied systems, regarding the involvement the depletion of chlorine and modification in gel content, were pointed out. Cyclization of nitrile structure was also observed by means of 2240 cm⁻¹ band ascribed to >C=NH. Kinetic considerations are presented. Received: 3 June 2002/Revised version: 14 November 2002/ Accepted 20 November 2002 Correspondence to Traian Zaharescu     

Locational analysis for regionalization of Turkish Red Crescent blood services

After a series of earthquakes in 1999, Turkish Red Crescent (TRC) has engaged in a restructuring for all of its activities, including the blood services. Our study on the blood management system had been started as part of this initiative to restructure the blood services and improve both their effectiveness and efficiency. In the current system of TRC, not much consideration has been given to how the locational decisions affect the performance of blood centers, stations and mobile units. In recent years, however, there has been much discussion regarding the regionalization of the blood management system in Turkey. In this study, we develop several mathematical models to solve the location–allocation decision problems in regionalization of blood services. We report our computational results, obtained by using real data, for TRC blood services.