Diamond Composites with TiC,SiC and Ti 3 SiC 2 Bonding Phase

The problems connected with producing diamond composites with 30 wt.% of bonding phase in form of: SiC, TiC, and Ti 3 SiC 2 are presented in the paper. Increasing the fraction of the bonding phase within the composite generally helps to reduce internal stresses. Composites were sintered at pressure 8.0 - 0.2 GPa and temperature of 2070 - 50 K using the Bridgman type high pressure apparatus. Interactions in the diamond-SiC, the diamond-TiC, and the diamond-Ti 3 SiC 2 systems were studied by means of transmission electron microscope (TEM) and X-ray diffraction. Density was measured pycnometrically. The wear resistance studies of these composites were carried out using pin - on disc type laboratory equipment. Hardness was measured with Vickers apparatus. Results of measurements of physical and mechanical properties are reported.     

A note on Bartholdi zeta function and graph invariants based on resistance distance

Let $G$ be a finite connected graph. In this note, we show that the complexity of $G$ can be obtained from the partial derivatives at $(1?\frac{1}{t},t)$ of a determinant in terms of the Bartholdi zeta function of $G$. Moreover, the second order partial derivatives at $(1?\frac{1}{t},t)$ of this determinant can all be expressed as the linear combination of the Kirchhoff index, the additive degree-Kirchhoff index, and the multiplicative degree-Kirchhoff index of the graph $G$.     

Mechanism of resistance distribution properties in oxide-based resistance switching nanodevice

Although oxide-based resistive switching memory (OxRAM) is one of the strong next-generation high-capacity memory candidates, it has an unresolved problem that the higher the resistance levels, the larger the cycle-to-cycle resistance variabilities to be operated in multi-resistance level mode. In this paper, we develop a simple theory from the operating principles of OxRAMs that excellently matches with experiments both qualitatively and quantitatively. From the theory, we can finally understand the fundamental capabilities of multi-resistance level operation of OxRAMs, and how to improve the switching properties within that.     

Exploring the resistance mechanism of imipenem in carbapenem hydrolysing class D beta-lactamases OXA-143 and its variant OXA-231 (D224A) expressing Acinetobacter baumannii: An in-silico approach

Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii), is a Gram negative, coccobacilli and is associated with nosocomial infections. The bacterium has developed resistance to all known classes of antibiotics. Multi-drug resistant A. baumannii infections have been treated with the carbapenem group of antibiotics like imipenem and meropenem. Recent reports indicate that A. baumannii has acquired resistance to imipenem due to the secretion of carbapenem hydrolysing class D beta-lactamases (CHDLs). Such CHDLs found in carbapenem resistant A. baumannii belongs to OXA-143 and its variant OXA-231, which has Alanine (A) in place of Aspartic acid (D) at sequence position 224. The mutation of the OXA-231 CHDL alters the catalytic activity of the enzyme. Hence, the present study was carried out to find the probable mechanism of imipenem resistance in OXA-143 and OXA-231 (D224A) CHDLs expressing A. baumannii by employing molecular docking and dynamics. Methods Our study reveals that OXA-143 CHDL-imipenem complex has more binding affinity than OXA-231 (D224A) CHDL-imipenem complex. Our results indicate that there is a strong binding affinity of OXA-143 with imipenem when compared with OXA-243 and this mechanism might be the probable reason for imipenem resistance in OXA-143 expressing A. baumannii strains.     

Construction of new EST-SSRs for Fusarium resistant wheat breeding

Surveying Fusarium resistance in wheat with easy applicable molecular markers such as simple sequence repeats (SSRs) is a prerequest for molecular breeding. Expressed sequence tags (ESTs) are one of the main sources for development of new SSR candidates. Therefore, 18.292 publicly available wheat ESTs were mined and genotyping of newly developed 55 EST-SSR derived primer pairs produced clear fragments in ten wheat cultivars carrying different levels of Fusarium resistance. Among the proved markers, 23 polymorphic EST-SSRs were obtained and related alleles were mostly found on B and D genome. Based on the fragment profiling and similarity analysis, a 327 bp amplicon, which was a product of contig 1207 (chromosome 5BL), was detected only in Fusarium head blight (FHB) resistant cultivars (CM82036 and Sumai) and the amino acid sequences showed a similarity to pathogen related proteins. Another FHB resistance related EST-SSR, Contig 556 (chromosome 1BL) produced a 151 bp fragment in Sumai and was associated to wax2-like protein. A polymorphic 204 bp fragment, derived from Contig 578 (chromosome 1DL), was generated from root rot (FRR) resistant cultivars (2–49; Altay2000 and Sunco). A total of 98 alleles were displayed with an average of 1.8 alleles per locus and the polymorphic information content (PIC) ranged from 0.11 to 0.78. Dendrogram tree with two main and five sub-groups were displayed the highest genetic relationship between FRR resistant cultivars (2–49 and Altay2000), FRR sensitive cultivars (Seri82 and Scout66) and FHB resistant cultivars (CM82036 and Sumai). Thus, exploitation of these candidate EST-SSRs may help to genotype other wheat sources for Fusarium resistance.     

Mobility of a lightweight tracked robot over deep snow

We designed and built a 24-kg tracked robot, named SnoBot, based on the performance of a 1400-kg manned vehicle scaled using Bekker mobility theory. We then documented the mobility of the robot for 10 cases of deep snow and four cases of shallow snow. The scaled predictions agreed well with average sinkage, resistance and traction measured in deep snow and thus gave useful design guidance. Nevertheless, large differences occurred between measured and predicted snow-compaction resistance on individual test days. The behavior of actual snow packs is difficult to capture using simple Bekker theory. Most deep-snow packs showed a linear relationship between pressure and sinkage for small indentation, followed by a steep rise in pressure as indentation compacted the snow against the ground. Also, small strength variations due to icy layers were important. SnoBot traveled easily over ice crusts that were much too weak to support foot travel. The results indicate that a lightweight tracked robot can display excellent deep-snow mobility when ground clearance, motor torque and energy storage allow for proportionally high sinkage and motion resistance compared with larger vehicles.     

Ru系双贵金属催化同时去除碳颗粒和NO_x

用等体积浸渍法制备了一系列Ru系双贵金属催化剂(Ru-M/Zr O2,M为Rh、Ir、Pd、Au、Pt),采用程序升温表面反应(TPSR)技术研究了其催化同时去除碳颗粒和NOx的活性,并考察了含硫含水条件对其活性的影响.结果表明,Ru系双贵金属催化同时去除碳颗粒和NOx的活性受贵金属组合的影响较为明显,Ru-Rh/Zr O2、Ru-Ir/Zr O2和Ru-Pd/Zr O2对碳颗粒和NOx同时去除表现了较高的协同活性,Tpeak低于510℃,η高于35%,其协同催化路径为:Ru催化NO氧化成NO2,Rh、Pd或Ir催化NO2与碳颗粒反应,使碳颗粒迅速氧化,同时NOx迅速还原.含硫含水条件对Ru系双贵金属催化去除碳颗粒具有促进作用,对Ru系双贵金属催化去除NOx具有抑制作用.与其他双贵金属催化剂相比,Ru-Rh/Zr O2和Ru-Ir/Zr O2表现了较强的抗硫抗水性能,而Ru-Pd/Zr O2的抗硫抗水性能最差.     

聚芳醚酮高温长时间下的断裂韧性

本文采用三点弯曲测平面应变断裂韧性ＪＩＣ的实验方法，研究了高温（２００℃）长时间放置过程中，聚芳醚酮的高温断裂韧性随时间的变化规律．结果表明，随放置时间的增长，断裂韧性ＪＩＣ和临界塑性屈服区尺寸△ＬＣ都逐渐减小；而屈服强度和抵抗裂纹继续扩展的阻力ｄＪ／ｄ（△ａ）皆增大，且在短时间内有较大增值．从分子运动的角度对上述各物理量的时间依赖性进行了讨论．     

不同材料表面纳米复合化学镀层镍-磷-硅酸锌的XPS和AES分析

对Q235碳钢片和D310硅钢片表面表面镍－磷－硅酸锌纳米复合化学镀层，用SEM观察外貌，称重法测定厚度；10％NaCl、1％H2S加速腐蚀试验，10％CuSO4溶液点滴试验循环伏安（CV）、抗粘性及抗高温氧化试验等测定其性能。用X－射线电子谱（XPS）及俄歇电子能谱（AES）测定其价态及组成。结果表明其性能优镍－磷镀层和其它微米复合化学镀层，表面的镀层Q235碳钢片优于D310硅钢片表面的镀层，镀层的原子百分组成为：D235碳钢片：Ni79.00,P10.06,Zn2.01,Si1.88,O5.87,C1.18;D310硅钢片：Ni80.50,P10.67,Zn1.70,Si1.52,O4.83,C0.78.