Application of Taguchi method in determining optimum level of curing system of NBR/PVC blend

Taguchi method is applied in this study to determine the optimum level of curing system (sulfur, MBTS, and CBS) in a NBR/PVC blend. By considering physicomechanical properties of cured NBR/PVC blend, optimum level of curing system is determined. A fixed master batch formulation of NBR/PVC is used, and the effect of curing system is studied on the physicomechanical properties of NBR/PVC blend, such as tensile strength (TS) and elongation‐at‐break (EB) before and after aging and also hardness and abrasion. The L9 orthogonal array that includes nine rows and four columns is applied. In this matrix, rows show the experiments and three columns show the amount of three factors (sulfur, MBTS, and CBS) and one column is left arbitrarily as an empty column. In this array, the columns are mutually orthogonal. The optimum physicomechanical properties of cured NBR/PVC blend are at 2 phr sulfur, 2 phr MBTS, and 0.5 phr CBS of curing system. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 5358–5362, 2006     

Tough Transient Ionic Junctions Printed with Ionic Microgels

Emerging soft ionotronics better match the human body mechanically and electrically compared to conventional rigid electronics. They hold great potential for human-machine interfaces, wearable and implantable devices, and soft machines. Among various ionotronic devices, ionic junctions play critical roles in rectifying currents as electrical p–n junctions. Existing ionic junctions, however, are limited in electrical and mechanical performance, and are difficult to fabricate and degrade. Herein, the design, fabrication, and characterization of tough transient ionic junctions fabricated via 3D ionic microgel printing is reported. The 3D printing method demonstrates excellent printability and allows one to fabricate ionic junctions of various configurations with high fidelity. By combining ionic microgels, degradable networks, and highly charged biopolymers, the ionic junctions feature high stretchability (stretch limit 27), high fracture energy (>1000 Jm⁻²), excellent electrical performance (current rectification ratio >100), and transient stability (degrade in 1 week). A variety of ionotronic devices, including ionic diodes, ionic bipolar junction transistors, ionic full-wave rectifiers, and ionic touchpads are further demonstrated. This study merges ionotronics, 3D printing, and degradable hydrogels, and will motivate the future development of high-performance transient ionotronics.     

A Combinational Perspective in Stimulating Cooperation in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

In wireless ad hoc networks cooperation among nodes cannot always be assumed since nodes with limited resources and different owners are capable of making independent decisions. Cooperation problems in topology control and packet forwarding tasks have been mostly studied separately but these two tasks are not independent. Considering a joint cooperation problem by taking into account dependencies between tasks will result in more reliable and efficient networks. In this paper topology control definition is extended to cover cooperation problem in both packet forwarding and topology control in a single problem. In this definition nodes have to adjust their transmission power and decide on their relay role. This paper models the interactions of nodes as a potential game with two-dimensional utility function. The presented model, named TCFORCE (Topology Control packet FORwarding Cooperation Enforcement), preserves the network connectivity and reduces the energy consumption by providing cooperative paths between all pairs of nodes in the network.     

Why and how do project management offices change? A structural analysis approach

The growing popularity of Project Management Offices (PMOs) as organizational structures is grounded in the assumption they support more efficient and effective project management for better strategy implementation. However, research emphasizes they fail to deliver expected value: their unstable nature precludes the delivery of long-term benefits. This is compounded by the absence of a theory of PMO change and adaptation. Recent research, taking a co-evolution lens rooted in evolutionary theory, suggests that PMOs should be studied in relation to the broader organizational context, in order to better capture the dynamic interplay and fit between them. In this study, taking a routine perspective as micro-foundation and unit of analysis, we focus on the co-evolution between PMO and Project Portfolio Management (PfM) as organizational capability for six case studies. A structural analysis of the relational routines' system between PMO, PfM and the Organizational context allow us to unveil dynamics at stake, i.e. why and how changes occur, as well as eigen behaviors and the changing states of various routines elements (influential, mediating, dependent or not-influential). This study makes five contributions. We show that: 1) PMO and PfM can be conceptualized as collections of routines, 2) PMO and PfM co-evolve over time to adapt to organizational context influence, 3) the co-evolution of a routines' system, abstracted as a non-trivial machine, exhibits an eigen behavior, 4) applying a structural analysis approach allows to simulate the dynamics of a routines' system and to unveil the role of key routine elements and 5) eigen values of routines' systems allow to characterize their eigen behavior.     

Development of a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire for use in United Arab Emirates and Kuwait based on local foods

Background  

The Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) is one of the most commonly used tools in epidemiologic studies to assess long-term nutritional exposure. The purpose of this study is to describe the development of a culture specific FFQ for Arab populations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait.     

Synthesis, characterization and application of allyl phenol modified amberlite XAD-4 resin for preconcentration and determination of copper in water samples

A new chelating resin was prepared by coupling Amberlite XAD-4 with phenol through an azo spacer, then modified by allyl bromide and characterized (by elemental analysis and IR) and studied for preconcentration of Cu(II) using flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) for metal monitoring. The optimum pH value for sorption of the above mentioned metal ion was 4.5. The resin was subjected to chemical evaluation through batch binding and column chromatography of Cu(II). The chelating resin can be reused for 15 cycles of sorption-desorption without any significant change in sorption capacity. A recovery of 98% was obtained for the metal ion with 0.5 M HNO₃ as eluting agent. The equilibrium adsorption data of Cu(II) on modified resin were analyzed by Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin models. Based on equilibrium adsorption data the Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin constants were determined to be 0.061, 0.193 and 0.045 at pH 4.5 and 25 °C. The method was applied for the copper determination from industrial waste water sample.     

Reactivity stabilization and capacity study of fabricated alumina and zirconia-supported CaO-based sorbents for high-temperature CO2 capture in a fixed-bed reactor

Calcium looping process is a promising approach for CO₂ capture from the flue gas of fossil fuel power plants and the cement industry. Even though the advantages of calcium-based sorbents are low cost and high uptake capacity, they suffer from low durability during cycles. Modified sorbents were fabricated by adding alumina and zirconia and the mixture of alumina and zirconia to calcium oxide via the co-precipitation method. The performance of synthesized sorbents in terms of stability and CO₂ capture capacity were evaluated using a fixed bed reactor in various CO₂ sorption/desorption cycles. The sorbents were fabricated by a co-precipitation methodology using 10% binders (alumina and/or silica). X-ray diffraction (XRD), BET/BJH, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were conducted for characterization of synthesized sorbents. CaO-10% ZrO₂ showed the best performance among the fabricated sorbents in terms of stability during 5 cycles and CO₂ capacity (14 mmol CO₂/g sorbent). The formation of CaZrO₃ with a perovskite structure and high-temperature resistance could be attributed to well performance of zirconia-supported sorbent. On the other hand, no sign of aluminum zirconate formation was approved in XRD analysis for the fabricated sorbent using mixed binders of zirconia and alumina to enhance its stability during cycles.