Composition Characteristics (composition + characteristic)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Copolymer Sequence Distributions in Controlled Radical Polymerization

MACROMOLECULAR REACTION ENGINEERING, Issue 2-3 2009
Amin Zargar
Abstract Although simulations of polymerizations have been performed using population-balance and method-of-moments techniques to determine the properties of copolymers, the method used most often to estimate copolymer composition distribution is based on probabilistic arguments and is not entirely compatible with the population balance approach. In this paper, a model based on the method of moments is presented that determines not only the molecular weight and copolymer composition characteristics, but also allows prediction of the copolymer distribution. The method is applied to controlled-radical polymerization. Batch polymerizations are simulated to illustrate the effect of composition drift, and shot polymerizations are simulated to show the potential to produce copolymers with customized sequence distributions. [source]


Characteristics of anodic coatings oxidized to different voltage on AZ91D Mg alloy by micro-arc oxidization technique

MATERIALS AND CORROSION/WERKSTOFFE UND KORROSION, Issue 2 2005
Y. Wang
Abstract With increasing applied voltage, three types of anodic coatings, passive film, micro-spark ceramic coating and spark ceramic coating were made by micro-arc oxidization (MAO) technique on AZ91D magnesium alloy in alkali-silicate solution. The structure, composition characteristics and the electrochemical properties of coatings were also studied with SEM, XRD and EIS (electrochemical impedance spectroscopy) technique, respectively. It is found that the electrochemical properties are closely related to the structure and composition characteristics of the anodic coatings. At the same time, the characteristics of the three types of anodic coatings differ significantly, among them, the micro-spark ceramic coating, prepared in the voltage range of 170~220V exhibits compact, homogeneous structure and highest corrosion-resistance. [source]


Effects of dietary starches and the protein to energy ratio on growth and feed efficiency of juvenile cobia, Rachycentron canadum

AQUACULTURE NUTRITION, Issue 5 2010
K.A. JR WEBB
Abstract Optimization of the protein to energy ratio in juvenile cobia (Rachycentron canadum) would allow the production of diets that maximize growth without the addition of excess energy that may increase costs or even be detrimental to the health of the fish. During a 6-week growth trial, juvenile cobia (5.6 ± 0.5 g fish,1 initial weight) were fed five isonitrogenous and isolipidic diets containing various protein to energy ratios using starch as the energy source. At the end of the trial, some fish were analysed for body composition characteristics while the rest were used to examine the excretion of dietary starch in the feces. Survival and growth were not significantly affected, but feed efficiency (ranging from 0.64 to 0.94) and daily consumption (ranging from 45.3 to 64.1 g kg,1 of body weight d,1) were affected. No reduction in consumption due to excess energy was noted. Analysis of the fecal carbohydrate data showed a linear relationship between dietary inclusion and excretion of carbohydrates with no sign of reaching saturation. Results of this study suggest that cobia can utilize dietary carbohydrates up to at least 340 g kg,1 of dry diet with an optimal protein to energy ratio of approximately 34 mg protein kJ,1metabolizable energy. [source]


Spatial and temporal variability in host use by Helicoverpa zea as measured by analyses of stable carbon isotope ratios and gossypol residues

JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY, Issue 3 2010
Graham Head
Summary 1.,A high dose/refuge strategy has been adopted in the USA to manage the risk of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) resistance in target pests such as the cotton bollworm (CBW), Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) in transgenic Bt cotton Gossypium hirsutum L. Structured refuges, consisting of non-Bt cotton, have been a mandated part of this strategy to produce non-selected insects that are temporally and spatially synchronous with insects from the Bt crop, diluting Bt resistance alleles through mating. However, the bollworm is highly polyphagous and exploits a large number of crop and weedy hosts concurrently with Bt cotton. 2.,A study was carried out in five major US cotton-producing states during 2002 and 2003 using the ratios of 13C to 12C in bollworm moths to estimate the proportions of the population originating from C3 or C4 plants. A separate study measured gossypol residues in moths from four states in 2005 and 2006, enabling the identification of moths whose natal hosts were cotton rather than other C3 hosts. 3.,C4 hosts served as the principal source of bollworm moths from mid-to-late June to early September, depending on the state. Beginning in late August/early September and lasting 1,4 weeks, the majority of moths exhibited isotopic compositions characteristic of C3 hosts. During this period, however, the minimum percentage of moths that developed as larvae on C4 hosts was typically >25%. By mid-September and through October and November, the majority of the bollworm population exhibited C4 isotopic compositions. 4.,Between late June and early August, cotton-derived bollworm moths (moths with gossypol residues) comprised <1% of moths in all states, and remained below this level throughout the season in North Carolina. In other states, cotton-derived moths increased between early August and early September to peak at an average of 19·1% of all moths. 5.,Synthesis and applications.,Data on 13C/12C ratios and gossypol residues in CBW moths were used to assess the importance of structured non-Bt cotton refuges for the management of Bt resistance risk in H. zea. Weekly estimates of bollworm breeding on cotton, C3 plants other than cotton and C4 plants showed that, throughout the season, the majority of bollworm moths caught in pheromone traps adjacent to cotton fields did not develop as larvae on cotton. This result implies that management practices in cotton such as the use of structured cotton refuges will play a relatively minor role , particularly compared with maize Zea mays L. , in managing potential resistance to Bt cotton in populations of the CBW in the US Cotton Belt. [source]