Debinding process of ss316L metal injection moulding under argon atmosphere

Solvent and thermal debinding acted as binder in removing Restaurant Waste Lipid (RWL) and Polypropylene (PP) from the stainless steel 316L. This investigation was carried out to determine the effect of thermal debinding variables on density, shrinkage and surface morphology of the brown parts other than to remove the binder from the SS316L under the Argon atmosphere with flow rate of 5 ml/min. The parameter used for solvent debinding process was solvent temperature at 60°C for six hours, while thermal debinding process was conducted at various temperature of 400°C, 500°C and 600°C, heating rate of 10 °C/min, 20 °C/min and 30 °C/min, dwell time of 30 min, 60 min and 90 min, and cooling rate of 5 °C/min, 10 °C/min and 15 °C/min. Analysis of weight loss percentage was done on the brown part after the solvent debinding and thermal debinding processes. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) was used to confirm the removal of RWL and PP from the compacts based on the porosity form, and attachment of PP in the powder particles. This investigation showed that debinding parameters were important in terms of their effects on the physical properties. Based on the observation through SEM and consideration of the factors that affected the physical properties of the parts, it was found that RWL was completely extracted out at 60°C for six hours, while the thermal temperature of 500°C with heating rate of 10 °C/min, dwell time of 60 min and cooling rate of 15 °C/min were the optimal thermal debinding parameters in PP removal

The Potential of Treated Palm Oil Mill Effluent (Pome) Sludge as an Organic Fertilizer

Palm oil mill contributed a significant benefit to agro-based industry and social-economic for Malaysia. Palm oil mill effluent (POME) is considered as a polluted wastewater and the treated POME sludge was produced from the open treatment ponds. The objective of this study was to determine the physicochemical characteristics of treated POME sludge and its potential as an organic fertilizer. It was collected from the dumping ponds in Felda Jengka 8, palm oil mill. Physicochemical characteristics, sampling and preparation of samples were analyzed according to the standard method of soil and the wastewater. The samples were collected after one and six month of age with different depths (one, two and three meters). The statistical analysis revealed that the depth was not significant on the physicochemical characteristics. The characteristics of the treated POME sludge was measures using CHNS-O, C/N ratio, solid analysis, heavy metal, macro and micronutrient, moisture content, and pH. However, the elements of oxygen, iron and pH were shown an interaction effects with time. In conclusion, the treated POME sludge has shown significant effect and the potential used as an organic fertilizer. Indeed, further studies on crops response are being conducted to prove the findings

Large spin-orbit coupling in carbon nanotubes

It has recently been recognized that the strong spin-orbit interaction present in solids can lead to new phenomena, such as materials with non-trivial topological order. Although the atomic spin-orbit coupling in carbon is weak, the spin-orbit coupling in carbon nanotubes can be significant due to their curved surface. Previous works have reported spin-orbit couplings in reasonable agreement with theory, and this coupling strength has formed the basis of a large number of theoretical proposals. Here we report a spin-orbit coupling in three carbon nanotube devices that is an order of magnitude larger than measured before. We find a zero-field spin splitting of up to 3.4 meV, corresponding to a built-in effective magnetic field of 29 T aligned along the nanotube axis. While the origin of the large spin-orbit coupling is not explained by existing theories, its strength is promising for applications of the spin-orbit interaction in carbon nanotubes devices

Effects of December

Abstract Heavy rain falling on land at the upper reaches of the Kelantan River, Malaysia, on December 2014, had resulted in severe soil erosion and untold damages to croplands. The lower reaches of the river were heavily silted with infertile materials considered unfit for crop production. A study was conducted to explain why the flood phenomenon occurred, to determine the physico-chemical properties of the sediments silted in the Kelantan Plains and to propose measures for soil mitigation. Results showed that the silted sediments were characterized by the presence of quarts, mica, feldspars, kaolinite, gibbsite and hematite believed to come from the top-and subsoil of the upland areas. The sediments' pH was very low and Al and/or Fe contents were very high, while nitrogen and carbon contents varied from area to area. Soils in the Kelantan Plains badly affected by this great flood needed to undergo proper ameliorative program. The most appropriate measure would be to apply ground magnesium limestone in combination with bio-fertilizer fortified with beneficial microbes that would increase their pH to a level above 5, which consequently eliminates Al 3+ and/or Fe 2+ that causes toxicity to the crops growing on them. The organic material so added would enhance the formation of soil structures. It is advised that the farming communities in the upper reaches of the Kelantan River would have to follow the advice advocated by the Department of Agriculture, Peninsular Malaysia, via MyGAP initiative, in order to sustain agricultural production on their land

Laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy with bone anchor fixation: short-term anatomic and functional results

Contains fulltext : 108485.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: The aim of this study was to evaluate short-term anatomic and functional outcomes and safety of laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy with bone anchor fixation. METHODS: A prospective cohort study of women undergoing laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy between 2004 and 2009. Anatomic outcome was assessed using the pelvic organ prolapse quantification score (POP-Q). Functional outcomes were assessed using the Urogenital Distress Inventory, Defecatory Distress Inventory, and the Incontinence Impact Questionnaire preoperatively and at 6 months postoperatively. The Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to test differences between related samples. RESULTS: Forty-nine women underwent laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy. The objective success rate in the apical compartment was 98%, subjective success rate was 79%. One mesh exposure (2%) was found. One conversion was necessary due to injury to the ileum. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy with bone anchor fixation is a safe and efficacious treatment for apical compartment prolapse. It provides excellent apical support and good functional outcome 6 months postoperatively.1 april 201

Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns

Sexual behavior and drug consumption among young adults in a shantytown in Lima, Peru

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Risky sexual behaviors of young adults have received increasing attention during the last decades. However, few studies have focused on the sexual behavior of young adults in shantytowns of Latin America. Specifically, studies on the association between sexual behaviors and other risk factors for sexually transmitted infections (STI) and HIV/AIDS transmission, such as the consumption of illicit drugs or alcohol are scarce in this specific context.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study participants were 393 men and 400 women between 18 and 30 years of age, from a shantytown in Lima, Peru. Data were obtained via survey: one section applied by a trained research assistant, and a self-reporting section. Logistic regression was used to estimate associations between use of any illicit drug, high-risk sexual behaviors and reported STI symptoms, adjusting for alcohol consumption level and various socio-demographic characteristics.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Among men, age of sexual debut was lower, number of lifetime sexual partners was higher, and there were higher risk types of sexual partners, compared to women. Though consistent condom use with casual partners was low in both groups, reported condom use at last intercourse was higher among men than women. Also, a lifetime history of illicit drug consumption decreased the probability of condom use at last sexual intercourse by half. Among men, the use of illicit drugs doubled the probability of intercourse with a casual partner during the last year and tripled the probability of reported STI symptoms.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Drug consumption is associated with high-risk sexual behaviors and reported STI symptoms in a Lima shantytown after controlling for alcohol consumption level. Development of prevention programs for risky sexual behaviors, considering gender differences, is discussed.</p

Identification of metabolic engineering targets through analysis of optimal and sub-optimal routes

Identification of optimal genetic manipulation strategies for redirecting substrate uptake towards a desired product is a challenging task owing to the complexity of metabolic networks, esp. in terms of large number of routes leading to the desired product. Algorithms that can exploit the whole range of optimal and suboptimal routes for product formation while respecting the biological objective of the cell are therefore much needed. Towards addressing this need, we here introduce the notion of structural flux, which is derived from the enumeration of all pathways in the metabolic network in question and accounts for the contribution towards a given biological objective function. We show that the theoretically estimated structural fluxes are good predictors of experimentally measured intra-cellular fluxes in two model organisms, namely, Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. For a small number of fluxes for which the predictions were poor, the corresponding enzyme-coding transcripts were also found to be distinctly regulated, showing the ability of structural fluxes in capturing the underlying regulatory principles. Exploiting the observed correspondence between in vivo fluxes and structural fluxes, we propose an in silico metabolic engineering approach, iStruF, which enables the identification of gene deletion strategies that couple the cellular biological objective with the product flux while considering optimal as well as sub-optimal routes and their efficiency.This work was supported by the Portuguese Science Foundation [grant numbers MIT-Pt/BS-BB/0082/2008, SFRH/BPD/44180/2008 to ZS] (http://www.fct.pt/). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Alignment of the CMS muon system with cosmic-ray and beam-halo muons

This is the Pre-print version of the Article. The official published version of the Paper can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2010 IOPThe CMS muon system has been aligned using cosmic-ray muons collected in 2008 and beam-halo muons from the 2008 LHC circulating beam tests. After alignment, the resolution of the most sensitive coordinate is 80 microns for the relative positions of superlayers in the same barrel chamber and 270 microns for the relative positions of endcap chambers in the same ring structure. The resolution on the position of the central barrel chambers relative to the tracker is comprised between two extreme estimates, 200 and 700 microns, provided by two complementary studies. With minor modifications, the alignment procedures can be applied using muons from LHC collisions, leading to additional significant improvements.This work is supported by FMSR (Austria); FNRS and FWO (Belgium); CNPq, CAPES, FAPERJ, and FAPESP (Brazil); MES (Bulgaria); CERN; CAS, MoST, and NSFC (China); COLCIENCIAS (Colombia); MSES (Croatia); RPF (Cyprus); Academy of Sciences and NICPB (Estonia); Academy of Finland, ME, and HIP (Finland); CEA and CNRS/IN2P3 (France); BMBF, DFG, and HGF (Germany); GSRT (Greece); OTKA and NKTH (Hungary); DAE and DST (India); IPM (Iran); SFI (Ireland); INFN (Italy); NRF (Korea); LAS (Lithuania); CINVESTAV, CONACYT, SEP, and UASLP-FAI (Mexico); PAEC (Pakistan); SCSR (Poland); FCT (Portugal); JINR(Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan); MST and MAE (Russia); MSTDS (Serbia); MICINN and CPAN (Spain); Swiss Funding Agencies (Switzerland); NSC (Taipei); TUBITAK and TAEK (Turkey); STFC (United Kingdom); DOE and NSF (USA)