Evaluation of boron industrial solid waste in composite materials

Boron industrial solid waste is used as reinforcement for preparing composite materials. This waste has boron trioxide which holds unique properties may affect the surface or interface of the composite. The prepared composites are characterized in order to determine the dispersion and the structure by means of inverse gas chromatography (IGC), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). There is a strong relation between the dispersion of reinforcement and the properties of newly formed composite. The dispersive component of the surface energies of the composites and components are determined by IGC. This parameter is difficult to measure by other methods and it is related to the wettability and adhesive characters of solid materials. The effect of compounding ratios of reinforcement is also examined. Furthermore, XRD diffractograms and SEM images of composites showed well dispersion. Thermal analysis revealed that the addition of the boron industrial solid waste to the polymer increased the thermal stability of pure polymer. Infrared spectra of the composites indicated that the composites were formed from the waste reinforcement and the polymer matrix.     

Simulation of 3D inclined/rotated UV lithography and its application to microneedles

A 3D model is set up to simulate the exposure process of inclined/rotated UV lithography for negative SU-8 resists. The formation of inclined resist pillars and microstructures with truncated cone shapes is simulated based on a 3D exposure model in combination with a post exposure bake model for chemically amplified resists and the Mack development model. As one of the interesting applications employing this promising lithography technique for MEMS fabrication, a solid microneedle for drug delivery is simulated.     

Phosphorylation of Dienyl Diprenoid Alcohols

Abstract

The reactions of geraniol, nerol, and linalool with N,N-diethylamido O,O-propylenephosphite and diethyl chlorophosphite were studied. On the basis of these studies, new dienyl diprenoid phosphite esters were obtained.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT     

Thermodynamic interactions of water-soluble homopolymers and double-hydrophilic diblock copolymer

Thermodynamic interaction parameters of water-soluble poly[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate] (DMA) and poly[2-(N-morpholino)ethyl methacrylate] (MEMA) homopolymers and their diblock copolymer (DMA–MEMA) were investigated at the temperatures above their glass-transition temperatures (T_g) by inverse gas chromatography (IGC) method. Sorption thermodynamic parameters of some aliphatic, alicyclic and aromatic hydrocarbons, weight fraction activity coefficients, Flory–Huggins interaction parameters, and solubility parameters for hydrocarbons and polymers were calculated. It was observed that sorption thermodynamic parameters on (co)polymers depend on the molecular structures of hydrocarbons. Evaluating both the calculated values of the weight fraction activity coefficients and Flory–Huggins interaction parameters, the solving ability of the hydrocarbons for DMA, MEMA homopolymers, and DMA–MEMA diblock copolymer decreased in the following sequence: Aromatic > alicyclic > aliphatic hydrocarbons.     

Determination of the ground- and excited-state dipole moments of 4’-(hexyloxy)-4-biphenylcarbonitrile and 4-isothiocyanatophenyl 4-pentylbicyclo [2,2,2] octane-1-carboxylate nematic liquid crystals and their mixtures

The dipole moments of the ground and excited states of 4′-(hexyloxy)-4-biphenylcarbonitrile and 4-isothiocyanatophenyl 4-pentylbicyclo [2.2.2] octane-1-carboxylate nematic liquid crystals and their mixtures prepared in chloroform and dichloromethane were studied at room temperature. The dipole moments of the ground states of the all samples were calculated according to the Guggenheim–Smith method. The dipole moments of their excited states were determined with the help of the Lippert equation by measuring the absorption and fluorescence spectra, solvent polarity and refractive index values. It was determined that dipole moments of the excited states were higher than those of the ground states. Moreover, the dipole moments of the ground and excited states of two nematic liquid crystals were also estimated by using molecular mechanic method (Gaussian09 program (DFT/B3LYP 6-31G(dp)). The results obtained are interpreted in detail.     

A new formulation of some discrete-time stochastic-parameter state estimation problems

Linear unbiased full-order state estimation problem for discrete-time models with stochastic parameters and additive finite energy type disturbance signals is reformulated in terms of linear matrix inequalities. Two estimation problems that are considered are the design for mean-square bounded estimation error and the design for the mean-square stochastic version of the suboptimal H_∞ estimator. These two designs are shown to apply to both the estimation with random sensor delay and estimation under observation uncertainty.     

Diffusion-weighted imaging features of brain in obesity

PURPOSE: Obesity is characterized by an altered distribution of body fluid. However, distribution of fluid (extracellular/intracellular) in brain tissues has not been studied in obese subjects yet. The purpose of this study was to detect possible brain diffusion changes especially in satiety and hunger related centers in obese subjects by diffusion weighted imaging (DWI). METHODS: Conventional MRI and DWI of the brain was obtained from 81 obese patients (obese=68, morbid obese=13) and 29 age-matched, nonobese. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values were calculated in hypothalamus; amygdala; hippocampal gyrus; thalamus; insula; cingulate gyrus; orbitofrontal, dorsomedial and dorsolateral frontal, middle temporal and occipital cortex; cerebellum; midbrain and corpus striatum. RESULTS: The ADC values of hypothalamus, hippocampal gyrus, amygdala, insula, cerebellum and midbrain were significantly increased in patients (n:81) when compared to nonobese subjects. The ADC values of thalamus, hippocampal gyrus, amygdala, orbitofrontal, occipital, dorsolateral and middle temporal cortex, insula and midbrain were significantly increased in morbid obese when compared to nonobese subjects. The ADC values of orbitofrontal and occipital cortex were significantly higher in morbid obese than the values in the obese. The body mass index positively correlated with ADC values of amygdala, insula, orbitofrontal and middle temporal cortex. CONCLUSION: We observed increased ADC values of distinct locations related to satiety and hunger that suggest altered fluid distribution and/or vasogenic edema in obese subjects. Awareness of this abnormalities in brain tissue composition/function in obesity may contribute to better understanding of the underlying mechanisms.     

Pure uterine lipoma

Lipomatous tumors of the uterus are unusual, benign neoplasms seen in postmenopausal women. Although many of the mixed-type cases such as lipoleiomyoma and fibrolipoma have been reported, pure uterine lipomas are extremely rare. In the literature, a few cases with pure uterine lipoma have been reported. We first present the advanced magnetic resonance findings of pure uterine lipoma, followed by those of ultrasonography (US) and computed tomography (CT). We markedly detected lipid peaks on the magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and the apparent diffusion coefficient value to be 0.00 due to chemical-shift effects with diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). Although pelvic lipomatous tumors can be diagnosed with US and CT, in some cases, further workup may be required to localize the lesion. MRI may yield more valuable data for differential diagnosis. MRS and DWI findings provide additional clues on the nature of the lesion.     

Surface Characterization of Sepiolite by Inverse Gas Chromatography

Inverse gas chromatography (IGC) was applied to characterize the surface of sepiolite. The adsorption thermodynamic parameters (the standard enthalpy (ΔH ⁰), entropy (ΔS ⁰) and free energy of adsorption (ΔG ⁰)), the dispersive component of the surface energy (γ _S ^d ), and the acid/base character of sepiolite surface were estimated by using the retention time of different non-polar and polar probes at infinite dilution region. The specific free energy of adsorption (ΔG ^sp ), the specific enthalpy of adsorption (ΔH ^sp ), and the specific entropy of adsorption (ΔS ^sp ) of polar probes on sepiolite were determined. ΔH ^sp were correlated with the donor and modified acceptor numbers of the probes to quantify the acidic K _A and the basic K _D parameters of the sepiolite surface. The values obtained for the parameters K _A and K _D indicated an acidic character for sepiolite surface.