Improving Print Quality In Wallpaper By Pigment and Latex Substitution

The coated paper industry is rapidly changing and improving. Because of increasing demands by consumers, high quality paper at the lowest possible price is at a premium. Because of this paper makers and coaters are continually looking for ways to improve their sheet without increasing cost. This experiment was designed to test the role which pigment and latex has in influencing the final sheet quality. This was tested in two stages. The first stage examined pigment variations and the second latex variations. In the pigment variation trial, a number 1 high brightness clay was replaced by a structured clay pigment. This structured pigment showed superior print quality characteristics, as well as superior surface properties. This led to further research involving reduction of titanium dioxide content. At 35% titanium reduction, print quality was still superior to control. Testing was also done to compare the structured pigment with precipitated calcium carbonate. Using a trial containing a lower clay to carbonate ratio, it was concluded that the structured pigment offered better print characteristics than the calcium carbonate. The excellent properties shown by the structured pigment can be explained by its ability to produce a bulkier, more open sheet which allows for increased ink absorbency and optical properties than that obtained with number 1 clay or precipitated calcium carbonate. The second part of this experiment involved substitution of a control latex sample with other latex samples chosen with similar physical properties. In this work it was concluded that the latex which is chosen does definitely play a role in final sheet properties. The latex must be chosen with consideration of the pigment system which is used. It is important that the latex interacts well with the pigment so that a uniform coating can be applied, free of inconsistencies and variation. This is important when considering ink absorption because an inconsistent surface will lead to inconsistent absorption. Also, latex-pigment interactions influence the optical properties of the sheet. Ideally, a latex will be uniformly distributed throughout the coating layer, with no migration laterally or vertically

Positioning Academic Libraries for the Future: A Process and Strategy for Organizational Transformation

Seeking to more effectively respond to campus initiatives and user expectations, the University of Kansas (KU) Libraries underwent a process of significant organizational review and transformation. Guided by a purposeful, open process, a diverse and representative group was elected to serve on the Libraries Organizational Review Team (ORT) to assess the existing organizational structure, determine major functions and cross-functional areas therein, and identify new and vital activities and positions essential for achieving our strategic priorities. Recognizing, too, the trends and challenges occurring within higher education and academic libraries, ORT sought to redefine professional roles and functions to strategically position the Libraries for the future. Utilizing peer institutional research, library literature and reports, and focus groups with each library unit, the team ultimately recommended a significant overhaul of the Libraries\u27 organizational structure. Broadly, the recommendation was for an adaptive and agile structure that is more responsive to university priorities, technological developments, and resource constraints. Specifically, ORT recommended a structure driven by contemporary user expectations and supportive of new modes of scholarly communication, new pedagogical methods, and data management. The recommended organizational design is fluid and user-focused with an emphasis on integrating into the academic life of scholars and students. This paper will report on the purposeful ‘grassroots’ approach undertaken by the team and its creative processes of organizational review. Additionally, the authors will present ORT’s final recommendations, as well as the rationale thereof. Finally, the authors will illustrate the new organizational model and analyze the efficacy and challenges of the reorganization

Antigenic and genetic evolution of contemporary swine H1 influenza viruses in the United States

Several lineages of influenza A viruses (IAV) currently circulate in North American pigs. Genetic diversity is further increased by transmission of IAV between swine and humans and subsequent evolution. Here, we characterized the genetic and antigenic evolution of contemporary swine H1N1 and H1N2 viruses representing clusters H1-α (1A.1), H1-β (1A.2), H1pdm (1A.3.3.2), H1-γ (1A.3.3.3), H1-δ1 (1B.2.2), and H1-δ2 (1B.2.1) currently circulating in pigs in the United States. The δ1-viruses diversified into two new genetic clades, H1-δ1a (1B.2.2.1) and H1-δ1b (1B.2.2.2), which were also antigenically distinct from the earlier H1-δ1-viruses. Further characterization revealed that a few key amino acid changes were associated with antigenic divergence in these groups. The continued genetic and antigenic evolution of contemporary H1 viruses might lead to loss of vaccine cross-protection that could lead to significant economic impact to the swine industry, and represents a challenge to public health initiatives that attempt to minimize swine-to-human IAV transmission

Photonic band mixing in linear chains of optically coupled micro-spheres

The paper deals with optical excitations arising in a one-dimensional chain of identical spheres due optical coupling of whispering gallery modes (WGM). The band structure of these excitations depends significantly on the inter-mixing between WGMs characterized by different values of angular quantum number, $l$. We develop a general theory of the photonic band structure of these excitations taking these effects into account and applied it to several cases of recent experimental interest. In the case of bands originating from WQMs with the angular quantum number of the same parity, the calculated dispersion laws are in good qualitative agreement with recent experiment results. Bands resulting from hybridization of excitations resulting from whispering gallery modes with different parity of $l$ exhibits anomalous dispersion properties characterized by a gap in the allowed values of \emph{wave numbers} and divergence of group velocity.Comment: RevTex, 28 pages, 7 Figure

Propagation of optical excitations by dipolar interactions in metal nanoparticle chains

Dispersion relations for dipolar modes propagating along a chain of metal nanoparticles are calculated by solving the full Maxwell equations, including radiation damping. The nanoparticles are treated as point dipoles, which means the results are valid only for a/d <= 1/3, where a is the particle radius and d the spacing. The discrete modes for a finite chain are first calculated, then these are mapped onto the dispersion relations appropriate for the infinite chain. Computed results are given for a chain of 50-nm diameter Ag spheres spaced by 75 nm. We find large deviations from previous quasistatic results: Transverse modes interact strongly with the light line. Longitudinal modes develop a bandwidth more than twice as large, resulting in a group velocity that is more than doubled. All modes for which k_mode <= w/c show strongly enhanced decay due to radiation damping.Comment: 26 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables. to appear in Phys. Rev.

Why and when the Minkowski's stress tensor can be used in the problem of Casimir force acting on bodies embedded in media

It is shown that the criticism by Raabe and Welsch of the Dzyaloshinskii-Lifshitz-Pitaevskii theory of the van der Waals-Casimir forces inside a medium is based on misunderstandings. It is explained why and at which conditions one can use the ''Minkowski-like '' stress tensor for calculations of the forces. The reason, why approach of Raabe and Welsch is incorrect, is discussed.Comment: Comment, 2 pages. 2 misprints were correcte

Living with multiple myeloma: A focus group study of unmet needs and preferences for survivorship care

Purpose: To describe the unmet informational, psychological, emotional, social, practical, and physical needs and preferences for posttreatment survivorship care of individuals living with multiple myeloma to inform the development of relevant, personcentered, survivorship services. Methods: An exploratory, descriptive study using 2 focus groups with 14 participants, 6 to 49 months postdiagnosis. Results: Thematic analysis revealed 7 key themes: information needs, experience with health-care professionals, coping with side effects, communicating with family and friends, dealing with emotions, support needs, and living with the chronicity of myeloma. Participants described key characteristics of survivorship care relevant to their needs and indicated they would like a more whole of person approach to follow-up when the main treatment phases had completed. Conclusion: Participants in this study described unmet needs across a breadth of domains that varied over time. The development of flexible, person-centered approaches to comprehensive survivorship care is needed to address the considerable quality-of-life issues experienced by people living with multiple myeloma. Nurse-led care may offer 1 viable model to deliver enhanced patient experience—providing the vital “link” that people described as missing from their survivorship care

Fault tectonics and earthquake hazards in parts of southern California

The author has identified the following significant results. Four previously unknown faults were discovered in basement terrane of the Peninsular Ranges. These have been named the San Ysidro Creek fault, Thing Valley fault, Canyon City fault, and Warren Canyon fault. In addition fault gouge and breccia were recognized along the San Diego River fault. Study of features on Skylab imagery and review of geologic and seismic data suggest that the risk of a damaging earthquake is greater along the northwestern portion of the Elsinore fault than along the southeastern portion. Physiographic indicators of active faulting along the Garlock fault identifiable in Skylab imagery include scarps, linear ridges, shutter ridges, faceted ridges, linear valleys, undrained depressions and offset drainage. The following previously unrecognized fault segments are postulated for the Salton Trough Area: (1) An extension of a previously known fault in the San Andreas fault set located southeast of the Salton Sea; (2) An extension of the active San Jacinto fault zone along a tonal change in cultivated fields across Mexicali Valley ( the tonal change may represent different soil conditions along opposite sides of a fault). For the Skylab and LANDSAT images studied, pseudocolor transformations offer no advantages over the original images in the recognition of faults in Skylab and LANDSAT images. Alluvial deposits of different ages, a marble unit and iron oxide gossans of the Mojave Mining District are more readily differentiated on images prepared from ratios of individual bands of the S-192 multispectral scanner data. The San Andreas fault was also made more distinct in the 8/2 and 9/2 band ratios by enhancement of vegetation differences on opposite sides of the fault. Preliminary analysis indicates a significant earth resources potential for the discrimination of soil and rock types, including mineral alteration zones. This application should be actively pursued