Real-time diagnostics of gas/water assisted injection moulding using integrated ultrasonic sensors

YesAn ultrasound sensor system has been applied to the mould of both the water and gas assisted injection moulding processes. The mould has a cavity wall mounted pressure sensor and instrumentation to monitor the injection moulding machine. Two ultrasound sensors are used to monitor the arrival of the fluid (gas or water) bubble tip through the detection of reflected ultrasound energy from the fluid polymer boundary and the fluid bubble tip velocity through the polymer melt is estimated. The polymer contact with the cavity wall is observed through the reflected ultrasound energy from that boundary. A theoretically based estimation of the residual wall thickness is made using the ultrasound reflection from the fluid (gas or water) polymer boundary whilst the samples are still inside the mould and a good correlation with a physical measurement is observed

Properties of nylon-6-based composite reinforced with coconut shell particles and empty fruit bunch fibres

yesNovel natural fibre composites of nylon-6 reinforced with coconut shell (CS) particles and empty fruit bunch (EFB) fibres have been investigated. Fillers were alkali treated before melt compounding with nylon-6. Mechanical, thermal and rheological properties of composites were measured. Tensile modulus was found to improve with both fillers up to 16% for nylon-6/CS composite and 10% for nylon-6/EFB composite, whereas a moderate increase in tensile strength was observed only with CS composites. Differences in the strengthening mechanisms were explained by the morphology of the two fillers, empty fruit bunch fibres having a weaker cellular internal structure. Observation of composite morphology using SEM showed that both fillers were highly compatible with nylon-6 due to its hydrophilic nature. Both fillers were found to cause a slight drop in crystallinity of the nylon matrix and to lower melt viscosity at typical injection moulding strain rates. Moisture absorption increased with addition of both fillers

Detection of atomic spin labels in a lipid bi-layer using a single-spin nanodiamond probe

Magnetic field fluctuations arising from fundamental spins are ubiquitous in nanoscale biology, and are a rich source of information about the processes that generate them. However, the ability to detect the few spins involved without averaging over large ensembles has remained elusive. Here we demonstrate the detection of gadolinium spin labels in an artificial cell membrane under ambient conditions using a single-spin nanodiamond sensor. Changes in the spin relaxation time of the sensor located in the lipid bilayer were optically detected and found to be sensitive to near-individual proximal gadolinium atomic labels. The detection of such small numbers of spins in a model biological setting, with projected detection times of one second, opens a new pathway for in-situ nanoscale detection of dynamical processes in biology.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure

Making sense of law and disorder

This article tells the story of a cross-cultural encounter on a beach at King George\u27s Sound in the south west of Australia in 1826, when Major Edmund Lockyer arrived to establish a British military garrison. The account we have of those early encounters come from the pen of Lockyer, and by taking a close reading of his journal this article attempts to reveal the meanings and context of Aboriginal actions. It also analyses how the Aborigines and the British made sense and subsequently responded to the encounter. Whilst this story is not given iconic status in Australian historiography, it is valuable in opening up a porthole into this contact zone at the moment when precarious relationships were being formed.<br /

Aqueous-Phase Synthesis of Silver Nanodiscs and Nanorods in Methyl Cellulose Matrix: Photophysical Study and Simulation of UV–Vis Extinction Spectra Using DDA Method

We present a very simple and effective way for the synthesis of tunable coloured silver sols having different morphologies. The procedure is based on the seed-mediated growth approach where methyl cellulose (MC) has been used as soft-template in the growth solution. Nanostructures of varying morphologies as well as colour of the silver sols are controlled by altering the concentration of citrate in the growth solution. Similar to the polymers in the solution, citrate ions also dynamically adsorbed on the growing silver nanoparticles and promote one (1-D) and two-dimensional (2-D) growth of nanoparticles. Silver nanostructures are characterized using UV–vis and HR-TEM spectroscopic study. Simulation of the UV–vis extinction spectra of our synthesized silver nanostructures has been carried out using discrete dipole approximation (DDA) method

A community-based geological reconstruction of Antarctic Ice Sheet deglaciation since the Last Glacial Maximum

A robust understanding of Antarctic Ice Sheet deglacial history since the Last Glacial Maximum is important in order to constrain ice sheet and glacial-isostatic adjustment models, and to explore the forcing mechanisms responsible for ice sheet retreat. Such understanding can be derived from a broad range of geological and glaciological datasets and recent decades have seen an upsurge in such data gathering around the continent and Sub-Antarctic islands. Here, we report a new synthesis of those datasets, based on an accompanying series of reviews of the geological data, organised by sector. We present a series of timeslice maps for 20ka, 15ka, 10ka and 5ka, including grounding line position and ice sheet thickness changes, along with a clear assessment of levels of confidence. The reconstruction shows that the Antarctic Ice sheet did not everywhere reach the continental shelf edge at its maximum, that initial retreat was asynchronous, and that the spatial pattern of deglaciation was highly variable, particularly on the inner shelf. The deglacial reconstruction is consistent with a moderate overall excess ice volume and with a relatively small Antarctic contribution to meltwater pulse 1a. We discuss key areas of uncertainty both around the continent and by time interval, and we highlight potential priorit. © 2014 The Authors

Australian Aboriginal Ethnometeorology and Seasonal Calendars

This paper uses a cultural anthropological approach to investigate an indigenous Australian perspective on atmospheric phenomena and seasons, using data gained from historical records and ethnographic fieldwork. Aboriginal people believe that the forces driving the weather are derived from Creation Ancestors and spirits, asserting that short term changes are produced through ritual. By recognizing signals such as wind direction, rainfall, temperature change, celestial movements, animal behaviour and the flowering of plants, Aboriginal people are able to divide the year into seasons. Indigenous calendars vary widely across Australia and reflect annual changes within Aboriginal lifestyles

Use of Gold Nanoparticles To Enhance Capillary Electrophoresis

We describe here the use of gold nanoparticles to manipulate the selectivity between solutes in capillary electrophoresis. Two different gold-based nanoparticles were added to the run buffer. In one case, the nanoparticles were stabilized with citrate ions, but in another study, the gold nanoparticles were capped with mercaptopropionate ions (thiol-stablized). Citrate-stabilized gold nanoparticles were used in conjunction with capillaries treated with poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDADMAC). The positively charged PDADMAC layer on the capillary walls adsorbs the negatively charged gold nanoparticles. The model solutes that were used to study the effect of the presence of the citrate-stabilized gold nanoparticles are structural isomers of aromatic acids and bases. The presence of the PDADMAC layer and the PDADMAC plus the gold nanoparticles changes both the electroosmotic mobility and the observed mobility of the solutes. These changes in the mobilities influence the observed selectivities and the separations of the system. Thiol-stabilized gold nanoparticles were used without PDADMAC in the capillary. The model solutes studied in this part are various aromatic amines. In this case as well, the presence of the gold nanoparticles modifies the electroosmotic mobility and the observed mobility of the solutes. These changes in the mobilities are manifested in selectivity alterations. The largest change in the selectivities occurs at low concentrations of the gold nanoparticles in the run buffer. The presence of nanoparticles improves the precision of the analysis and increases the separation efficiency. Nanodispersions have attracted extensive attention in various fields of physics, biology, and chemistry. [1][2][3][4][5] Physicists and chemists are intrigued by the gradual transition of the nanomaterial properties from molecule-like to those of solid-state properties by a change of a single variable, the particle size. This property has practical and future applications for nonlinear optics and electronics. The large surface area of nanomaterials intrigues chemical engineers and catalysis scientists. Surprisingly, very little research has been devoted to the application of nanoparticles for chemical separation. In this work, we demonstrate the utility and versatility of organically modified gold nanoparticles in capillary electrophoresis (CE) separations. The nanoparticles serve as large surface area platforms for organofunctional groups that interact with the capillary surface, the analytes, or both. Thus, the apparent mobilities of target analytes, as well as the electroosmotic flow, can be altered leading to enhanced selectivities. Separation of various benzene derivatives demonstrates these capabilities. Metallic nanodispersions can be prepared in aqueous and organic solvents using diverse procedures. 1,2,6-9 Nanodispersions can be stabilized in organic solvents by the solvent itself, 10 by the addition of long chain surfactants, 11,12 or by specific ligands. 13 Stabilization of metal nanodispersions in aqueous solutions is somewhat more complicated. Several successful stabilization methods are available that are based on capping of the metal nanoparticles (e.g., citrate, 6 3-mercaptopropionate, 1