Curve and surface construction using Hermite subdivision schemes

In this paper we present a very efficient Hermite subdivision scheme, based on rational functions, and outline its potential applications, with special emphasis on the construction of cubic-like B-splines — well suited for the design of constrained curves and surfaces.     

Properties and Characterization of Organoclay/Dimethacrylate Composites Obtained by In Situ Photopolymerization

Summary: Composites of dimethacrylates/organoclay were obtained by in situ photopolymerization of Bis-GMA (Bisphenol A glycidyl methacrylate) and TEGDMA (tetraethyleneglycol dimethacrylate) in the presence of camphorquinone and DEEMA (2-(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate). The composites contained up to 10% wt/wt of organoclays. Monomer conversion and polymerization kinetics were determined by real time Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy – Attenuated Total Reflectance (FTIR-ATR), and showed an increase of conversion with addition of the clay. The storage modulus E' of the composites also had a marked dependence on the composite composition and increased with addition of clay at all temperatures. T_g also increases with clay content. X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis shows that the clay is completely exfoliated for the composites with a lower proportion of clay, whereas for larger clay/polymer proportions peaks corresponding to the interlamellar distance of the clay are still observed. This is probably due to the fact that the amount of monomers in the initial formulation was not sufficient to delaminate the clay. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images indicate a quite homogenous copolymer, with some clay aggregates that increase in size and number for the higher filler loadings in agreement with the XRD results.     

Free quasi-symmetric functions and descent algebras for wreath products, and noncommutative multi-symmetric functions

We introduce analogs of the Hopf algebra of Free quasi-symmetric functions with bases labeled by colored permutations. When the color set is a semigroup, an internal product can be introduced. This leads to the construction of generalized descent algebras associated with wreath products Γ?S_n and to the corresponding generalizations of quasi-symmetric functions. The associated Hopf algebras appear as natural analogs of McMahon’s multisymmetric functions. As a consequence, we obtain an internal product on ordinary multi-symmetric functions. We extend these constructions to Hopf algebras of colored parking functions, colored non-crossing partitions and parking functions of type B.     

Ultrasound-assisted extraction coupled with under vacuum distillation of flavour compounds from spearmint (carvone-rich) plants: Comparison with conventional hydrodistillation

Ultrasonically assisted extraction of flavour compounds from different varieties of Mentha spicata, using 70% ethanol, have been carried out for 5, 10 and 15 min and coupled with under vacuum distillation. The ultrasound distilled extracts have been analysed by GC–MS and compared with essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation. The results have showed that ultrasonically assisted extraction in combination with under vacuum distillation have provided extracts with higher flavouring strength due to the increased concentration of desirable oxygenated compounds (from 5 to 8 times) compared with hydrodistillation. Extraction yields of flavour volatiles have been calculated giving a range 0.04–0.13% by ultrasound and 0.01–0.02% by hydrodistillation.     

Current American landscape in laboratory accreditation according to ISO/IEC 17025

Accreditation and Quality Assurance - The number of laboratories worldwide seeking accreditation has increased considerably in the last years. These laboratories are from different institutions,...