Manufacturing of integrative membrane carriers by novel powder injection molding

Although offering distinctive economic benefits the mass fabrication of carrier devices incorporating membranes as quasi-monolithic devices reveals strong technological challenges. Powder injection molding would be an effective process for this purpose, however, manufacturing parts of considerable wall thickness variations and to meet strong precision demands remains problematic. To evaluate novel ways of process conducts as well as to determine influencing parameters a demonstrator design had been developed which enabled the generation of thin membranes by controlled piston movement. Suitable lay-out of the runner system had been determined with the help of simulation calculations. The combined injection + embossing process conduct enabled to reduce minimum membrane thickness to about a half. Investigation of parameter influence showed that embossing force and gap width before injection have an ameliorative effect on membrane quality whereas the embossing delay time had no significant impact.     

White-light interferometric method for secure key distribution

A protocol for secure key distribution using classical light is proposed. The method relies on white-light interferometric measurements by one of the communicating parties and the random choice of delays by the other party. In this way, securely shared random keys are created, thereby enabling secure data transmission. In contrast to quantum key distribution, only classical waves are used. Single photons (and the practical problems associated with them) are avoided. The security of the method cannot be proven at the moment but different attacks are described and briefly analyzed.     

Effects of ethanol,formaldehyde, and gentle heat fixation in confocal resonance Raman microscopy of purple nonsulfur bacteria

Resonance Raman microscopy is well suited to examine living bacterial samples without further preparation. Therefore, comparatively little thought has been given to its compatibility with common fixation methods. However, fixation of cell samples is a very important tool in the microbiological sciences, allowing the preservation of samples in a specific condition for further examination, future measurements, transport, or later reference. We examined the effects of three common fixatives—ethanol, formaldehyde solution, and gentle heat—on the resonant Raman spectrum of three generic bacteria species, Rhodobacter sphaeroides DSM 158^T, Rhodopseudomonas palustris DSM 123^T, and Rhodospirillum rubrum DSM 467^T, holding carotenoid‐ and heme‐chromophores in confocal Raman microscopy. In addition, we analyzed the effect of poly‐L ‐lysine coating of microscope slides, widely used for mounting biological and medical samples, on subsequent confocal Raman measurements of native and fixed samples. The results indicate that ethanol is preferable to formaldehyde as fixative if applied for less than 24 h, whereas heat fixation has a strong, detrimental effect on the resonant Raman spectrum of bacteria. Formaldehyde fixation excels at fixation times above 24 h, but causes an overall reduction in signal intensity. Poly‐L ‐lysine coating has no discernable effect on the Raman spectra of samples fixed with ethanol or heat, but it further decreases the signal intensity, especially at higher wavenumbers, in the spectra of samples fixed with formaldehyde. Microsc. Res. Tech. 74:177–183, 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Architecture Takes Time

Though condensed between the stages of design and completion, the conventional process of designing a building is time consuming, involving various stakeholders, planning processes and a wide team of consultants and contractors. What happens, though, if the time period of an architect's involvement is expanded? How might a more process-orientated approach shift the role of the architect? Tobias Armborst, Daniel D'Oca and Georgeen Theodore , principals of Interboro Partners in New York, describe how they have developed projects that have sought opportunities in expanding the timescale and remit of traditional practice.     

The Effects of Embedded Dipoles in Aromatic Self‐Assembled Monolayers

Using a representative model system, here electronic and structural properties of aromatic self‐assembled monolayers (SAMs) are described that contain an embedded, dipolar group. As polar unit, pyrimidine is used, with its orientation in the molecular backbone and, consequently, the direction of the embedded dipole moment being varied. The electronic and structural properties of these embedded‐dipole SAMs are thoroughly analyzed using a number of complementary characterization techniques combined with quantum‐mechanical modeling. It is shown that such mid‐chain‐substituted monolayers are highly interesting from both fundamental and application viewpoints, as the dipolar groups are found to induce a potential discontinuity inside the monolayer, electrostatically shifting the core‐level energies in the regions above and below the dipoles relative to one another. These SAMs also allow for tuning the substrate work function in a controlled manner independent of the docking chemistry and, most importantly, without modifying the SAM‐ambient interface.     

Fabrication Agency: Landesgartenschau Exhibition Hall

Advances in computation challenge established design approaches in architecture through a much deeper integration of form generation and materialisation. Tobias Schwinn , Research Associate at the Institute for Computational Design (ICD), University of Stuttgart, and Guest-Editor Achim Menges , Director of the ICD, introduce how the potentials and constraints of robotic fabrication can now be explored as generative drivers in agent-based design. This enables architectural innovation in unison with fabricability, structural capacity and spatial performance, as demonstrated by the Landesgartenschau Exhibition Hall in Schwäbisch Gmu"nd, Germany, the world's first building with a robotically fabricated segmented timber shell as its primary structure.     

Versuchsplanerische Untersuchung der Umesterung von Sojaöl mit Ethanol im Mikroreaktor

Base‐catalyzed transesterification of fats and oils with primary alcohols in discontinuous operation is an established batch process for the biodiesel production. However, the application of microreaction technology and continuous flow process lead to an increase of process intensification. The ethanol/soy bean oil ratio at low flow rates as well as the reactor geometry have the most evident effects on the fatty acid ethyl ester yield of KOH‐catalyzed ethanolysis of soy bean oil in microreactors. The influence of the catalyst concentration is of a lower importance.