The influence of carbon atom distribution in precursors with 1:1 carbon to silicon atoms ratio on structure and thermal evolution of obtained silicon oxycarbide based materials

In this work, a number of precursors with 1:1 silicon to carbon atoms ratio and various carbon atom distributions were synthesized and pyrolyzed in order to obtain silicon oxycarbide based materials. The different carbon atom distributions were obtained using both simple monomers with only one silicon atom, as well as large monomers containing either four or sixteen silicon atoms with predefined carbon atom positions. The silicon oxycarbide based materials were investigated using IR, XRD, ²⁹Si MAS NMR and elemental analysis after annealing at various temperatures, as well as TG. The research shows that carbon atom distribution has great impact on the structure of final material and can be used to tailor the material for its projected uses.     

毒品滥用流行病模型的稳定性分析

现有毒品滥用流行病模型假设吸毒者康复后对毒品拥有永久"免疫"力，而忽视了其再次成为毒品易感者的可能性。针对这一问题，通过考虑社区治疗和隔离治疗两种措施，分析了毒品滥用人群的演化过程，提出了基于暂时"免疫"力的毒品滥用流行病模型，并计算了模型的基本再生数，讨论了模型平衡点的存在性和稳定性。当基本再生数小于1时，模型存在一个局部渐进稳定的无毒平衡点；当基本再生数大于1时，模型存在唯一的地方病平衡点，并利用几何方法证明了地方病平衡点的全局稳定性；当基本再生数等于1时，如果满足一定条件，模型出现后向分支现象。数值模拟验证了上述所有结果。研究结果表明提高隔离治疗率、改善社区治疗效果和降低接触传染率可以有效抑制毒品滥用的流行。     

Sex and Depot Differences in Palmitoleic Acid Content of Human Blood and Fat

Palmitoleic acid has been classified as an insulin-sensitizing lipokine, but evidence for this from human studies has been inconsistent. We hypothesized that this is related to either the types of samples or conditions under which samples are collected. We measured plasma palmitoleic acid and total free fatty acids (FFA) using ultra-performance liquid chromatography in blood samples collected from 34 adults under a variety of conditions. We collected duplicate samples of adipose (n = 10), FFA (n = 9), and very low density lipoprotein triacylglycerol (VLDL-TAG) (n = 7) to measure the palmitoleic acid as a percentage of total fatty acids. We tested whether the percentage of palmitoleic acid was correlated with insulin resistance, as measured by homeostatic model of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). Adipose stearoyl-coenzyme A desaturase 1 (SCD-1) protein was measured by capillary Western blotting. FFA-palmitoleic acid percentage increased as a function of total FFA and was greater (p < 0.005) in females than males. Adipose palmitoleic acid percentage was greater in females than males (p < 0.001), as was adipose SCD-1. Palmitoleic acid was greater in femoral fat than in abdominal fat in both females and males (p < 0.001), and correlated positively with HOMA-IR only in females. The test–retest reliability values for percentage palmitoleic acid were 7 ± 10% for adipose, 24 ± 26% for VLDL, and 53 ± 31% for FFA. Because FFA-palmitoleic acid percentage varies as a function of total FFA, investigators should re-evaluate how palmitoleic acid data is presented. The positive relationship between adipose palmitoleic acid and HOMA-IR in females suggests that it is not a potent insulin-sensitizing lipokine in humans.     

Free vibration of partially supported piles with the effects of bending moment, axial and shear force

The pile parts above the soil and embedded in the soil are called the first region and the second region, respectively. The fourth order partial differential equations of both regions for free vibration of partially supported pile subjected to bending moment, axial force and shear force are obtained using the small-displacement theory and the Winkler model. It is assumed that the behavior of the material is linear-elastic, and that axial force along the pile length and modulus of subgrade reaction for the second region to be constant. Shear effect is included in the partial differential equations by the second derivative of the elastic curve function with respect to shear deformation. Natural circular frequencies and relative stiffness of the pile are calculated for non-trivial solution of linear homogeneous system of equations obtained due to the values of axial forces acting on the pile, the shape factors, and the boundary conditions of the pile with both ends free and both ends simply supported; the results are presented in graphs.     

A continuum model for pumping performance of turbomolecular pumps in all flow regimes

In the present study a continuum model for one-dimensional plane Couette-Poiseuille flow is implemented to turbomolecular pumps in different flow regimes. Pumping performance of various turbomolecular pumps including 6 single rotors, a rotor-stator row, a rotor-stator-rotor row, and a multi-row with 13 alternative rotor-stator rows is considered here. The obtained results show that the model provides good quantitative values for pumping performance of turbomolecular pumps over the whole regimes ranging from molecular flow to transition to slip flow.     

Coupling of free surface and groundwater flows

In this paper we present some preliminary results about the coupling of shallow water equations for free surface flows and Darcy equation for groundwater flows. A suitable set of interface conditions is discussed: the Beavers and Joseph formula for the bottom stress is used. An iterative algorithm to solve the coupled problem is proposed and some numerical results are presented.     

Inference and retrieval of facial images

Attempts have been made to extend SQL to work with multimedia databases. We are reserved on the representation ability of extended SQL to cope with the richness in content of multimedia data. In this paper we present an example of a multimedia database system, Computer Aided Facial Image Inference and Retrieval system (CAFIIR). The system stores and manages facial images and criminal records, providing necessary functions for crime identification. We would like to demonstrate some core techniques for multimedia database with CAFIIR system. Firstly, CAFIIR is a integrated system. Besides database management, there are image analysis, image composition, image aging, and report generation subsystems, providing means for problem solving. Secondly, the richness of multimedia data urges feature-based database for their management. CAFIIR is feature-based. A indexing mechanism,iconic index, has been proposed for indexing facial images using hierarchical self-organization neural network. The indexing method operates on complex feature measures and provides means for visual navigation. Thirdly, special retrieval methods for facial images have been developed, including visual browsing, similarity retrieval, free text retrieval and fuzzy retrieval.     

Production of biodiesel from waste fryer grease using mixed methanol/ethanol system

Transesterification of waste fryer grease (WFG) containing 5–6 wt.% free fatty acid (FFA) was carried out with methanol, ethanol, and mixtures of methanol/ethanol maintaining the oil to alcohol molar ratio of 1:6, and initially with KOH as a catalyst. Mixtures of methanol and ethanol were used for transesterification in order to use the better solvent property of ethanol and rapid equilibrium using methanol. Formation of soap by reaction of FFA present in WFG with KOH instigated difficulty in the separation of glycerol from biodiesel ester. To untangle this problem, two-stage (acid and alkali catalyzed) method was used for biodiesel synthesis. More than 90% ester was obtained when two-stage method was used compared to ∼ 50% ester in single stage alkaline catalyst. In the case of mixed alcohol, a relatively smaller amount of ethyl esters was formed along with methyl esters. Acid value, viscosity, and cetane number of all the esters prepared from WFG were within the range of the ASTM standard. Esters obtained from WFG showed good performance as a lubricity additive.     

Radiation-laminar free convection in a square duct with specular reflection by absorbing-emitting medium

The purpose of this work is to study the effects of specularly reflecting wall under the combined radiative and laminar free convective heat transfer in an infinite square duct. An absorbing and emitting gray medium is enclosed by the opaque and diffusely emitting walls. The walls may reflect diffusely or specularly. Boussinesq approximation is used for the buoyancy term. The radiative heat transfer is evaluated using the direct discrete ordinates method. The parameters under considerations are Rayleigh number, conduction to radiation parameter, optical thickness, wall emissivity and reflection mode. The differences caused by the reflection mode on the stream line, and temperature distribution and wall heat fluxes are studied. Some differences are observed for the categories mentioned above if the order of the conduction to radiation parameter is less than order of 10^-3 for the range of Rayleigh number studied. The differences at the side wall heat flux distributions are observed as long as the medium is optically thin. As the top wall emissivity decreases, the differences between these two modes are increased. As the optical thickness decreases at the fixed wall emissivity, the differences also increase. The difference of the streamlines or the temperature contours is not as distinct as the side wall heat flux distributions. The specular reflection may alter the fluid motion.     

Innovation in milk powder technology

Global trade in preserved milks is on the increase as new markets open up in regions of the world that have not been traditionally associated with milk consumption. Equally, a rise in world milk production is forecasted to continue, and the indications are that significant quantities of the extra milk produced will be converted to commodity products such as butter and powders. Consequently, on-going investment in new spray drying capability is likely to track geographical shifts in milk production. Successful application of advanced process control to the operation of large scale drying plant is both a priority and a challenge.
  Meanwhile, opportunities for the exploitation of milk as a source of functional ingredients are being availed of by the dairy industry as it continues to achieve added value and unique key selling points. Recent research on the role of spray drying, along with other processes in the development of dairy ingredients for applications in chocolate and the preparation of microencapsulated powders, is reviewed.