NANOINDENTATION OF A ZINC METAL SOAP MIXTURE FOR USE IN A LASER PRINTER

At the start of this project, the possible choices of metal soaps had already been narrowed to include some of the zinc soaps used in this project. These zinc soaps are mixtures of zinc stearate and zinc palmitate of varying ratios purchased from a supplier. Zinc soap was chosen as result of its common use in various industries as a lubricant and mold release, which implied potential benefits in an electrophotographic printing system. These potential benefits include, but are not limited to, a more efficient transfer from a photoconductive drum and protection of the drum from mechanical and chemical degradation. Nanoindentation of these soaps was implemented in an effort to characterize each soap mixture and compare how the soap types differed from one another. Each sample was indented under a variety of different maximum loads and at different holding times to observe effects on the modulus, hardness, and, creep. The mechanical properties measured were then used to help distinguish differences between each type and provide an insight as to how or why one mixture may be preferable over another. The data could be utilized in conjunction with further testing to be used in a simulation of an interface of interest

Impediments to the market acceptance of prefabricated wood panel systems

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1987.Bibliography: leaves 59-61.by William A. Gietema, Jr. and Eleanor H. Nimick.M.S

A Critical Analysis of the Small Business and Startup Community in the U.S. State of Maine: A Sustainable Way Forward

This study is a student-faculty research collaboration that examines the landscape in which small business owners, startups and entrepreneurs operate within the U.S. State of Maine with the aim of bringing invaluable insight and creating awareness. Supporting small business is a salient topic for local economic development councils, governments, and agencies. A survey was conducted and distributed to small business owners and entrepreneurs to gather their perspectives and opinions. One finding is that there are significant gaps in awareness with regards to support entities and their associated programs in general. Another finding is that survivorship bias has a large presence in the data collected previously by other agencies as well as by the data collected by the study. Finally, sustainable recommendations are suggested which, when implemented by the state of Maine as well as by municipalities, counties, or regional development boards, governments, and business support organizations, will increase the efficacy of existing policy and create a more cohesive, diverse, equitable, inclusive, resilient, and robust small business, startup, and entrepreneurship community

Bulk, thermal, and mechanical properties of the Topopah Spring Member of the Paintbrush Tuff, Yucca Mountain, Nevada

Experimental data on matrix porosity, grain density, thermal expansion, compressive strength, Young`s modulus, Poisson`s ratio, and axial strain at failure for samples from the Topopah Spring Member of the Paintbrush Tuff are compiled. Heat capacity and emissivity also are discussed. Data have been analyzed for spatial variability; slight variability is observed for matrix porosity, grain density, and thermal expansion coefficient. Estimates of in situ values for some properties, such as bulk density and heat capacity, are presented. Vertical in situ stress as a function of horizontal and vertical location has been calculated. 96 refs., 37 figs., 27 tabs

Arabidopsis At5g39790 encodes a chloroplast-localized, carbohydrate-binding, coiled-coil domain-containing putative scaffold protein

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Starch accumulation and degradation in chloroplasts is accomplished by a suite of over 30 enzymes. Recent work has emphasized the importance of multi-protein complexes amongst the metabolic enzymes, and the action of associated non-enzymatic regulatory proteins. Arabidopsis At5g39790 encodes a protein of unknown function whose sequence was previously demonstrated to contain a putative carbohydrate-binding domain.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We here show that At5g39790 is chloroplast-localized, and binds starch, with a preference for amylose. The protein persists in starch binding under conditions of pH, redox and Mg⁺²concentrations characteristic of both the day and night chloroplast cycles. Bioinformatic analysis demonstrates a diurnal pattern of gene expression, with an accumulation of transcript during the light cycle and decline during the dark cycle. A corresponding diurnal pattern of change in protein levels in leaves is also observed. Sequence analysis shows that At5g39790 has a strongly-predicted coiled-coil domain. Similar analysis of the set of starch metabolic enzymes shows that several have strong to moderate coiled-coil potential. Gene expression analysis shows strongly correlated patterns of co-expression between At5g39790 and several starch metabolic enzymes.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We propose that At5g39790 is a regulatory scaffold protein, persistently binding the starch granule, where it is positioned to interact by its coiled-coil domain with several potential starch metabolic enzyme binding-partners.</p