Properties Comparable (property + comparable)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


A new multiphasic buffer system for benzyldimethyl- n -hexadecylammonium chloride polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of proteins providing efficient stacking

ELECTROPHORESIS, Issue 2 2006
Michael L. Kramer Dr.
Abstract Acidic PAGE systems using cationic detergents such as benzyldimethyl- n -hexadecylammonium chloride (16-BAC) or CTAB have proven useful for the detection of methoxy esters sensitive to alkaline pH, resolving basic proteins such as histones and membrane proteins. However, the interesting phosphate-based system suffered from poor stacking, resulting in broadened bands and long running times. Therefore, a new 16-BAC PAGE system based on the theory of moving boundary electrophoresis with properties comparable to the classical SDS-PAGE system was designed. As a result a new multiphasic analytical 16-BAC PAGE system providing efficient stacking and significantly shorter running times is presented here. It is based on acetic acid and methoxyacetic acid as common ion constituents. This PAGE system takes advantage of the additional counterstacking effect due to a cross boundary electrophoresis system resulting from the selected buffer constituents. Furthermore, the concentration of 16-BAC was optimized by determining its previously unknown CMC. Due to efficient focusing of the introduced tracking dye, methyl green, termination of electrophoresis can now be more easily followed as compared to the Schlieren line. [source]


Vertical Epitaxial Co5Ge7 Nanowire and Nanobelt Arrays on a Thin Graphitic Layer for Flexible Field Emission Displays

ADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 48 2009
Hana Yoon
Vertically aligned single-crystalline Co5Ge7 nanowire (NW) and nanobelt arrays are grown on a very thin graphite layer as well as a curved graphite layer with a good epitaxial lattice match. Co5Ge7 NW arrays, thus grown, show very efficient field emission properties comparable to those of carbon nanotubes and may be used for flexible field emission displays in the future. [source]


Rice bran protein-based edible films

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, Issue 3 2008
Abayomi P. Adebiyi
Summary The development of degradable and edible films from protein sources has drawn significant attention for the utilisation of natural resources as well as for the alleviation of the environmental burden. Rice bran protein (RBP) was applied to protein film preparation in this study. The protein solutions were casted on plastic tissue culture dishes with glycerol as a plasticiser after heat treatment. Functional properties of the films were then measured. The puncture strength (PS) of RBP films increased up to pH 8.0 and then decreased. PS of protein films depends on the degree of protein purity, quality and composition. Higher concentration of glycerol weakened the films. The pH affected the water solubility of RBP films and the films showed least solubility at pH 3.0. RBP could be utilised in the preparation of degradable protein-based films. The RBP-based film had functional properties comparable to those of the soy protein-based ones. [source]


Image reconstruction with a shift-variant filtration in circular cone-beam CT,

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF IMAGING SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 5 2004
Lifeng Yu
Abstract It is well known that cone-beam data acquired with a circular orbit are insufficient for exact image reconstruction. Despite this, because a cone-beam scanning configuration with a circular orbit is easy to implement in practice, it has been widely employed for data acquisition in, e.g., micro-CT and CT imaging in radiation therapy. The algorithm developed by Feldkamp, Davis, and Kress (FDK) and its modifications, such as the Tent,FDK (T-FDK) algorithm, have been used for image reconstruction from circular cone-beam data. In this work, we present an algorithm with spatially shift-variant filtration for image reconstruction in circular cone-beam CT. We performed computer-simulation studies to compare the proposed and existing algorithms. Numerical results in these studies demonstrated that the proposed algorithm has resolution properties comparable to, and noise properties better than, the FDK algorithm. As compared to the T-FDK algorithm, our proposed algorithm reconstructs images with an improved in-plane spatial resolution. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Imaging Syst Technol, 14, 213,221, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ima.20026 [source]


A preliminary study on bladder-assisted rotomolding of thermoplastic polymer composites

ADVANCES IN POLYMER TECHNOLOGY, Issue 1 2007
A. Salomi
Abstract In this preliminary work, a new process is examined for manufacturing hollow parts from continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic polymer. The new process combines the basic idea of bag forming (or bladder-assisted forming) with the rotation of the mold for the processing of thermoplastic matrix composites. A pressurized membrane is used to compact the composite on the inner wall of a mold, which is placed inside a forced convection oven. The mold is removed from the oven for the cooling stage. The process was initially developed by using a thermoplastic pre-preg obtained using yarns of commingled E-glass fibers with isotactic polypropylene (iPP). A preliminary characterization of the thermoplastic composite showed that the material can be consolidated with pressures as low as 0.01 MPa, which is readily achievable with the process of this study. The design of the mold and membrane was carried out on the basis of both structural analysis of the aluminum shell and thermal analysis of the mold. The mold thickness is of great importance with respect to both the maximum pressure allowed in the process and the overall cycle time. Molding was performed on stacks of three and six layers of yarn, varying the applied pressure between 0.01 and 0.05 MPa and maximum temperature of the internal air between 185°C and 215°C. The composite shells obtained under different processing conditions were characterized in terms of physical and mechanical properties. Mechanical properties comparable with those obtained by compression molding and vacuum bagging were obtained. The maximum values obtained are 12.1 GPa and 290 MPa for the flexural modulus and the flexural strength, respectively. Furthermore, the results obtained show that mechanical properties improve with increasing the pressure during the cycle and with the maximum temperature used in the process. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Adv Polym Techn 26:21,32, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/adv.20085 [source]


PVC modification through polymerization of a monomer absorbed in porous suspension-type PVC particles

JOURNAL OF VINYL & ADDITIVE TECHNOLOGY, Issue 3 2004
M. Narkis
In-situ polymerization is the polymerization of one monomer in the presence of another polymer. It can be performed by sequential emulsion polymerization, or by reactions in the melt, in the solid phase, or in solution. The current report describes two methods to obtain poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) modification through polymerization of a monomer absorbed in commercial porous suspension-type PVC particles. The generated modified PVC products differ significantly in their structure and properties. The first approach includes absorption of a monomer/peroxide solution within porous suspension-type PVC particles, followed by polymerization/crosslinking in the solid state at 80°C in an aqueous stabilizer-free dispersion. The monomer/crosslinker pairs selected are styrene/DVB (divinyl benzene), methylmethacrylate/EGDMA (ethylene glycol dimethacrylate), butyl acrylate/EGDMA, and ethylhexyl acrylate/EGDMA. The influence of composition and nature of the polymerizing/crosslinking constituents on the modified PVC particle structure was studied by microscopy methods, porosity measurements, and dynamic mechanical behavior (DMTA). The level of molecular grafting between PVC and the modifying polymer was determined by solvent extraction experiments. This work shows that the different monomers used represent distinct courses of monomer transport through the PVC particles. The characteristics of the modified PVC particle indicate that the polymerization/crosslinking process occurs in both the PVC bulk, i.e., within the walls constituting a particle, and in the PVC pores. No indication of chemical intermolecular interaction within the modified PVC particles was found. In the second approach, a solution of monomer, initiator, and a crosslinking agent is absorbed in commercial suspension-type porous PVC particles, thus forming a dry blend. This dry blend is subsequently reactively polymerized in a twin-screw extruder at an elevated temperature, 180°C, in the molten state. The properties of the reactively extruded PVC/PMMA blends are compared with those of physical blends at similar compositions. Owing to the high polymerization temperature, short-chain polymers are formed in the reactive polymerization process. Reactively extruded PVC/PMMA blends are transparent, form single-phase morphology, have a single Tg, and show mechanical properties comparable with those of the neat PVC. The resulting reactively extruded PVC/PMMA blends have high compatibility. J. Vinyl Addit. Technol. 10:109,120, 2004. © 2004 Society of Plastics Engineers. [source]


Characterization of polycrystalline silicon wafers for solar cells sliced with novel fixed-abrasive wire

PROGRESS IN PHOTOVOLTAICS: RESEARCH & APPLICATIONS, Issue 7 2010
N. Watanabe
Abstract For slicing crystalline silicon ingots, we have developed a novel fixed-abrasive wire where diamond grit is fixed onto a bare wire by resin bonding. The properties of the wafers sliced using a multi-wire saw with the fixed-abrasive wire have been investigated. When compared with the wafers sliced with the loose-abrasive wire, the slicing speed is improved by approximately 2.5-fold and the thicknesses of saw-damage layers are reduced by more than a factor of two. Polycrystalline silicon solar cells have been fabricated for the first time utilizing the wafers sliced with the fixed-abrasive wire, and the cells with the saw-damage etching depth of 7,µm have shown photovoltaic properties comparable to those prepared using the wafers sliced with the loose-abrasive wire and subsequently etched to remove the damage layers up to 15,µm. It has been clarified that wafer slicing using the fixed-abrasive wire is promising as a next-generation slicing technique for fabrication of solar cells, particularly thin silicon cells where the wafer thicknesses approach or become less than 150,µm. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Recessive congenital methaemoglobinaemia: functional characterization of the novel D239G mutation in the NADH-binding lobe of cytochrome b5 reductase

BRITISH JOURNAL OF HAEMATOLOGY, Issue 6 2005
M. J. Percy
Summary Type I recessive congenital methaemoglobinaemia (RCM), caused by the reduced form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH)-cytochrome b5 reductase (cytb5r) deficiency, manifests clinically as cyanosis without neurological dysfunction. Two mutations, E255- and G291D, have been identified in the NADH-binding lobe of cytb5r in previously reported patients, and we have detected a further novel mutation, D239G, in this lobe in two unrelated Irish families. Although one family belongs to the genetically isolated Traveller Community, which separated from the general Irish population during the 1845,48 famine, the D239G mutation was present on the same haplotype in both families. Three known cytb5r mutations were also identified, including the R159- mutation, which causes loss of the entire NADH-binding lobe and had previously been reported in an individual with type II RCM. Characterization of the three NADH-binding lobe mutants using a heterologous expression system revealed that all three variants retained stoichiometric levels of flavin adenine dinucleotide with spectroscopic and thermodynamic properties comparable with those of native cytb5r. In contrast to the E255- and G291D variants, the novel D239G mutation had no adverse impact on protein thermostability. The D239G mutation perturbed substrate binding, causing both decreased specificity for NADH and increased specificity for NADPH. Thus cytb5r deficient patients who are heterozygous for an NADH-binding lobe mutation can exhibit the clinically less severe type I phenotype, even in association with heterozygous deletion of the NADH-binding lobe. [source]