Ca(NO3)2•4H2O-catalysed Biginelli Reaction: One-pot Synthesis of 1,2,3,4-Tetrahydropyrimidin-2-ones/pyrimidine-2-thiones under Solvent-free Conditions

The synthesis of 1,2,3,4-dihydropyrimidinone/thione derivatives was achieved in good to excellent yields using calcium(II) nitrate as catalyst to promote the Biginelli three-component condensation reaction from a diversity of aromatic aldehydes, β-keto compounds and urea or thiourea. The reaction was carried out under solvent-free conditions.     

Micromechanisms and Mechanics of Damage and Fracture in Thin Film/Substrate Systems

The purpose of this paper is to review the mechanisms and available theoretical methods for modeling the strength and failure of thin film/substrate systems     

Vessel Arrival Process and Queueing in Marine Ports Handling Bulk Materials

We study the vessel arrival process in bulk ports handling either cargo containers or minerals. Then we introduce the SHIP/G/1 queue to be able to study the queueing behavior at the port. We present approximations for the asymptotic probabilities of delay and the number of vessels at the port. Numerical examples show the accuracy of the approximations. In appendices, we provide details of the analysis of the number of vessels at the port and the correlation properties of the vessel arrival process.     

A Monte Carlo simulation of the heterogeneous adsorption of hydrogen ions on metal oxides: Effect of inert electrolyte

Charging of the surface of an oxide caused by the adsorption of hydrogen ions and ions of inert 1:1 electrolyte was investigated by using grand canonical Monte Carlo simulation technique. In particular, adsorption isotherms of protons as well as of ions of the electrolyte together with the resulting charge density of the surface were obtained for different system parameters. Also, the effect of the surface energetic heterogeneity and the concentration of the background electrolyte on the isotherms and the charge density curves was examined. Furthermore, lateral interactions in the mixed adsorbed phase were taken into account in the modeling of the system behavior. The obtained results, in general, suggest that the three factors mentioned above may have substantial influence on the charging mechanism at the liquid/oxide interface.     

Cellulose-based fibers from liquid–crystalline solutions. II. Processing and morphology of acetate/butyrate esters

Fibers were spun from isotropic and anisotropic dimethylacetamide solutions of cellulose esters. Take-up speeds of the dry jet/wet spinning process varied. Water served as the coagulant. The mechanical properties of the fibers increased as spinning progressed from the isotropic to the anisotropic state of the solution. A trade-off in solubility and fiber properties was noted as the butyryl acetyl ratio decreased. Whereas high butyryl content enhances both overall solubility and the formation of liquid–crystalline solutions at lower concentration, it results in lower fiber modulus and strength. Morphology of the fibers depended on the coagulation rate which was influenced by the concentration of the sppinning solution. The level of orientation and crystallinity of the fibers increased somewhat when they were spun from liquid-crystalline solutions. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

An interpolation approximation for the GI/G/1 queue based on multipoint Padé approximation

The performance evaluation of many complex manufacturing, communication and computer systems has been made possible by modeling them as queueing systems. Many approximations used in queueing theory have been drawn from the behavior of queues in light and heavy traffic conditions. In this paper, we propose a new approximation technique, which combines the light and heavy traffic characteristics. This interpolation approximation is based on the theory of multipoint Padé approximation which is applied at two points: light and heavy traffic. We show how this can be applied for estimating the waiting time moments of the ^GI/G/1 queue. The light traffic derivatives of any order can be evaluated using the MacLaurin series analysis procedure. The heavy traffic limits of the ^GI/G/1 queue are well known in the literature. Our technique generalizes the previously developed interpolation approximations and can be used to approximate any order of the waiting time moments. Through numerical examples, we show that the moments of the steady state waiting time can be estimated with extremely high accuracy under all ranges of traffic intensities using low orders of the approximant. We also present a framework for the development of simple analytical approximation formulas. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Synthesis of aromatic poly(thioether ketone)

Aromatic poly(thioether ketone)s were prepared by the direct polycondensation of aromatic dicarboxylic acids with aryl compounds containing ether or sulfide structures using phosphorus pentoxide/methanesulfonic acid (PPMA) as a condensing agent and solvent. Polycondensation proceeded smoothly and produced aromatic poly(thioether ketone)s with inherent viscosities up to 0.73 dL/g. The synthesis of substituted aryl ketones by the reaction of substituted benzoic acids with aryl compounds in PMMA was studied in detail to demonstrate the feasibility of the reaction for polymer formation. The thermogravimetry of the aromatic poly(thioether ketone)s showed a 10% weight loss in air and nitrogen at around 450 and 460°C, respectively. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Internal audits in private medical laboratory practice – a Finnish experience in 1996–2000

Internal audits inherently effect quality improvement, and concrete results can be expected by careful planning. As audits should improve the quality system in situ, the development of audits should not be neglected. ISO/IEC 17025 describes the objectives of internal audits and management reviews in more detail compared to the former standards EN 45001 and ISO/IEC Guide 25, although the main features are unchanged. This addresses continuous surveillance of the current practice. A brief questionnaire on vertical audits was distributed to 74 of 120 employees at a Finnish private medical laboratory, Medix Laboratories Ltd. A positive feed-back was received from the current management of audits. However, the study revealed that continuous supervision of audits is needed. Many employees were not willing to perform audits if they had no previous experience. Additionally, audits performed at the workbench were not considered as the best possible for fruitful discussions. Received: 20 February 2001 Accepted: 30 November 2001     

Low-energy ion-assisted control of interfacial structures in metallic multilayers

A molecular dynamics method has been used to simulate the argon ion-assisted deposition of Cu/Co/Cu multilayers and to explore ion beam assistance strategies that can be used during or after the growth of each layer to control interfacial structures. A low-argon ion energy of 5–10 eV was found to minimize a combination of interfacial roughness and interlayer mixing (alloying) during the ion-assisted deposition of multilayers. However, complete flattening with simultaneous ion assistance could not be achieved without some mixing between the layers when a constant ion energy approach was used. It was found that multilayers with lower interfacial roughness and intermixing could be grown either by modulating the ion energy during the growth of each metal layer or by utilizing ion assistance only after the completion of each layers deposition. In these latter approaches, relatively high-energy ions could be used since the interface is buried and less susceptible to intermixing. The interlayer mixing dependence upon the thickness of the over layer has been determined as a function of ion energy.