Magnetoelectric properties of magnetite thin films

Resistivity, DC Hall effect and transverse magnetoresistance measurements were made on polycrystalline thin films of magnetite (Fe3O4) from 104K to room temperature. The Verwey transition is observed at TV=123K, about 4K higher than reported for bulk magnetite. The ordinary and extraordinary Hall coefficients are negative over the entire temperature range, consistent with negatively charged carriers. The extraordinary Hall coefficient exhibits a rho 1/3 dependence on the resistivity above TV and a rho 2/3 dependence below TV. The magnetoresistance is negative at all temperatures and for all magnetic field strengths. The planar Hall effect signal was below the sensitivity of the present experiment

The effects of feed water temperature and dissolved gases on permeate flow rate and permeate conductivity in a pilot scale Reverse Osmosis desalination unit

Feed water temperature is an important parameter in determining the optimum conditions for an efficient seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) process. Increased feed water temperatures are known to increase the permeate flux rate in commercial SWRO systems. There are several factors which link feed water temperature to the operational efficiency of the fundamental membrane desalination process. In this study we have obtained precise data on these effects using two different types of RO membranes in a small scale pilot unit with feeds of seawater, brackish water and pure water. The mechanisms involved have been examined in this work. Pre-heating the feed water to enhance RO efficiency may lead to greater cavitation within the RO membrane. Vapour cavities formed by cavitation have the potential to hinder permeate flow by blocking sections of the polymer matrix in the skin layer of the membrane. In earlier work, it was identified that the presence of dissolved atmospheric gases in seawater leads to a potential for cavitation within the porous membranes used in high pressure RO processes. It was also established that the almost complete removal of these dissolved gases prevented this cavitation. The effects of de-gassing on the permeate rate in a small scale pilot SWRO system was reported recently. This work has been extended here to include more hydrophobic membranes, which are more likely to produce cavitation. In addition, there is new evidence to support the view that de-gassing the feed water can remove/reduce vapour cavities in the membrane for improved flow, which is maintained even when the feed water is re-gassed

The Influence Of Tubule Density And Area Of Solid Dentin On Bond Strength Of Two Adhesive Systems To Dentin.

To determine the correlation between the tubule density (TD) and the area occupied by solid dentin (ASD) with the bond strength of one conventional and one self-etching adhesive system to dentin. The crown of extracted human third molars was transversally sectioned with a diamond saw to expose either superficial, middle, or deep dentin. The three groups of dentin surfaces were randomly divided and bonded with either Clearfil Liner Bond 2V (LB) or Prime & Bond 2.1 (PB) adhesive systems according to manufacturer's directions. Resin composite buildup crowns (10.0 mm high) were incrementally constructed on the bonded surfaces and the teeth stored in water at 37 degrees C. After 24 h of storage, the teeth were vertically, serially sectioned in both x and y directions to obtain several bonded sticks of approximately 0.7 mm2 cross-sectional area. Each stick was tested in tension in a EMIC DL-500 tester at 0.5 mm/min until failure. After testing, the dentin side of the fractured specimen was gently abraded with a 1000-grit SiC paper, etched with 37% phosphoric acid for 15 s and allowed to air dry. SEM micrographs at 1000x and 4000x magnification were taken to permit calculation of the TD (number of tubules/mm2) and ASD (% of total area) at the site of fracture. Correlation between TD and ASD with the bond strength data was performed by linear regression. All statistical analysis was done with alpha = 0.05. Overall bond strength (MPa) for LB was 26.0 +/- 10.2, and 42.6 +/- 15.2 for PB. There was a significant direct relationship between bond strength and ASD for both materials (r2 = 0.20, p 0.05). Mean bond strength of PB was significantly higher than LB for both superficial and middle dentin (p 0.05). Regional variations in TD and ASD may modify bond strength of both conventional and self-etching adhesive systems. Bonding sites with larger ASD seem to yield higher bond strengths regardless of the type of adhesive system used.3315-2

Reversal of compromised bonding in NaOCI or H2O2 treated etched dentin

published_or_final_versio

Reversal of compromised bonding to oxidized etched dentin

The mechanism responsible for hydrogenperoxide- or sodium-hypochlorite-induced reductions in dentin bond strength is unknown. This in vitro study tested the hypothesis that these oxidizing agents were responsible by attempting to reverse the effect with sodium ascorbate, a reducing agent. Human dentin was treated with these oxidants before or after being acid-etched and with or without post-treatment with sodium ascorbate. They were bonded with either Single Bond or Excite. Hydrogen peroxide reduced the bond strengths of both adhesives, while sodium hypochlorite produced reduction in adhesion of only Single Bond (p < 0.05). Following treatment with sodium ascorbate, reductions in bond strength were reversed. Transmission and scanning electron microscopy showed partial removal of the demineralized collagen matrix only by sodium hypochlorite. The observed compromised bond strengths cannot be attributed to incomplete deproteinization and may be related to changes in the redox potential of the bonding substrates.published_or_final_versio

Hydration interactions: aqueous solvent effects in electric double layers

A model for ionic solutions with an attractive short-range pair interaction between the ions is presented. The short-range interaction is accounted for by adding a quadratic non-local term to the Poisson-Boltzmann free energy. The model is used to study solvent effects in a planar electric double layer. The counter-ion density is found to increase near the charged surface, as compared with the Poisson-Boltzmann theory, and to decrease at larger distances. The ion density profile is studied analytically in the case where the ion distribution near the plate is dominated only by counter-ions. Further away from the plate the density distribution can be described using a Poisson-Boltzmann theory with an effective surface charge that is smaller than the actual one.Comment: 11 Figures in 13 files + LaTex file. 20 pages. Accepted to Phys. Rev. E. Corrected typos and reference

Reversal of compromised bonding in bleached enamel

Oxygen inhibits polymerization of resin-based materials. We hypothesized that compromised bonding to bleached enamel can be reversed with sodium ascorbate, an anti-oxidant. Sandblasted human enamel specimens were treated with distilled water (control) and 10% carbamide peroxide gel with or without further treatment with 10% sodium ascorbate. They were bonded with Single Bond (3M-ESPE) or Prime&Bond NT (Dentsply DeTrey) and restored with a composite. Specimens were prepared for microtensile bond testing and transmission electron microscopy after immersion in ammoniacal silver nitrate for nanoleakage evaluation. Bond strengths of both adhesives were reduced after bleaching but were reversed following sodium ascorbate treatment (P < 0.001). Resin-enamel interfaces in bleached enamel exhibited more extensive nanoleakage in the form of isolated silver grains and bubble-like silver deposits. Reduction of resin-enamel bond strength in bleached etched enamel is likely to be caused by a delayed release of oxygen that affects the polymerization of resin components.published_or_final_versio

A lattice gas model of II-VI(001) semiconductor surfaces

We introduce an anisotropic two-dimensional lattice gas model of metal terminated II-IV(001) seminconductor surfaces. Important properties of this class of materials are represented by effective NN and NNN interactions, which result in the competition of two vacancy structures on the surface. We demonstrate that the experimentally observed c(2x2)-(2x1) transition of the CdTe(001) surface can be understood as a phase transition in thermal equilbrium. The model is studied by means of transfer matrix and Monte Carlo techniques. The analysis shows that the small energy difference of the competing reconstructions determines to a large extent the nature of the different phases. Possible implications for further experimental research are discussed.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure

Novel methodology for predicting the critical salt concentration of bubble coalescence inhibition

Bubble coalescence in some salt solutions can be inhibited if the salt concentration reaches a critical concentration Ccr. There are three models available for Ccr in the literature, but they fail to predict Ccr correctly. The first two models employ the van der Waals attraction power laws to establish Ccr from the discriminant of quadratic or cubic polynomials. To improve the two models, the third model uses the same momentum balance equation of the previous models but different intermolecular force generated by water hydration with exponential decaying. The third prediction for Ccr requires the experimental input for film rupture thickness and is incomplete. We show further in this paper that the third model is incorrect. We propose a novel methodology for determining C cr which resolves the mathematical uncertainties in modeling C cr and can explicitly predict it from any relevant intermolecular forces. The methodology is based on the discovery that Ccr occurs at the local maximum of the balance equation for the capillary pressure, disjoining pressure, and pressure of the Gibbs-Marangoni stress. The novel generic approach is successfully validated using nonlinear equations for complicated disjoining pressure