Gas solubility of carbon dioxide in poly(lactic acid) at high pressures: Thermal treatment effect

The sorption of carbon dioxide in glassy Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) films was studied by quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) at high pressures. Two thermal treatments, melted and quenched, were performed in PLA with two different L:D contents, 80:20 and 98:2, films and compared with a third thermal protocol, annealed, and used in a previous work. The results obtained show that for pressures higher than 2 MPa, the carbon dioxide solubility is larger in PLA 80:20 than in PLA 98:2, indicating that the L:D plays a dominant role on this property. The thermal treatments only affect the gas solubility in PLA 98:2. Sorption isotherms at temperatures 303, 313, and 323 K, below the glass transition temperature of the polymer, and pressures up to 5 MPa were measured and analyzed with three different models, the dual‐mode sorption model, the Flory–Huggins equation, and a modified dual‐mode sorption model where the Henry's law term was substituted by the Flory–Huggins equation. This last model performs especially well for CO₂ in PLA 80:20, due to the convex upward curvature of the solubility isotherms for that system. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 616–625, 2007     

Effect of errors on the efficiency of local active sound absorbers

Effect of errors of different origin on the efficiency of sound absorption by a local active absorber is investigated. Degradation of the efficiency of absorption because of the errors is shown to be minimal in the case when the controller does not detect the field of the secondary radiator. Estimates of admissible errors are presented. Several active absorber configurations in which the radiator does not affect the receiver are considered.     

Catalysis by Ir(III), Rh(III) and Pd(II) metal ions in the oxidation of organic compounds with H2O2

Catalytic activities of three transition metals, as iridium (III) chloride, rhodium (III) chloride and palladium (II) chloride, were compared in the oxidation of six aromatic aldehydes (benzaldehyde, p‐chloro benzaldehyde, p‐nitro benzaldehyde, m‐nitro benzaldehyde, p‐methoxy benzaldehyde and cinnamaldehyde), two hydrocarbons (viz. (anthracene and phenanthrene)) and one aromatic and one cyclic alcohol (cyclohexanol and benzyl alcohol) by 50% H₂O₂. The presence of traces (substrate: catalyst ratio equal to 1:62500 to 1:1961) of the chlorides of iridium(III), rhodium(III) and palladium(II) catalyze these oxidations, resulting in good to excellent yields. It was observed that in most of the cases palladium(II) chloride is the most efficient catalyst. Conditions for the highest and most economical yields were obtained. Deviation from the optimum conditions decreases the yields. Oxidation in aromatic aldehydes is selective at the aldehydeic group only and other groups remain unaffected. This new, simple and economical method, which is environmentally safe, also requires less time. Reactive species of catalysts, existing in the reaction mixture are also discussed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

ISLAND, revisited

This paper is in answer to the comment on the GRG paper: Lockerbie N.A. Gen. Rel. Grav. 36, 593 (2004), made by A.V. Sanders, G.T. Gillies (ibid.). N. A. Lockerbie is a member of the STEP (Satellite Test of the Equivalence Principle) Science Study Team, and an Associate of the Institute for Gravitational Research at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK.     

Statistical characteristics of quasi-elastically scattered light in analysis of size of aggregated biological particles

The spectra of the intensity fluctuations of light scattered by large (erythrocytes of whole blood) and small (vesicles of surgical bile) particles in natural conditions were studied. It is shown that photon correlation spectroscopy can be used in analysis of variations in the size of biological particles in normal and pathological conditions and as an express method of noninvasive diagnostics of diseases.     

Characteristics of thermoradiative destruction of BaS2O6·2H2O

Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 55, No. 4, pp. 613–618, October, 1991.     

The large-particle method in arbitrary nets and its application to the solution of problems in the aeroelasticity of a parachute

Modifications are introduced into the large-particle method to make it possible to use the method in arbitrary nonrectangular computing nets in the study of the flow of an ideal compressible gas over mobile thin permeable membranes. A problem in the aeroelasticity of a parachute is stated. An example is given of the solution of a problem in the stationary formulation for an axially symmetric parachute in the wake of a cylindrical leading body for supersonic flow.Translated fromDinamicheskie Sistemy, No. 6, 1987, pp. 16–22