No description available.

Yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) coatings were produced from a YSZ suspension in acetylacetone (ACAC) using electrophoretic deposition (EPD) and then consolidated via the natural drying and isothermal sintering with the constraint of the metal substrates. Before EPD, the operational pH of the suspension was adjusted by addition of acetic acid or organic bases. The effect of suspension pH on the deposition of EPD coatings was studied with respect to the suspension stability, coating density and microstructure both for a mono-sized system and micro-nano binary systems. The constrained drying process of the deposits was examined via the measurement of the critical cracking thickness (CCT). The sinterability of coatings was evaluated by micro-hardness and microstructure. For a mono-sized (0.26μm) suspension, results showed that the zeta potential had a high positive value on both sides of the isoelectric point (IEP). This probably resulted from the adsorption of base molecules triethanolamine (TEA), detected by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Three alkalis with different molecular structure were compared and the effect of their molecule length on the interparticle repulsion was discussed. Accordingly, the double layer thickness of the particles can be estimated. Based on this, particle interactions were estimated for different pH suspensions. The reduced particle coagulation increased the packing density of the EPD coatings from 38 % at pH 7.4 to 53 % at pH 8.4. Therefore, subsequent sintering of coatings was promoted. After sintering at 1200 °C, coatings made in pH 8.4 suspensions obtained a much higher hardness and had fewer big pores than coatings fabricated in pH 7.4 suspensions. The CCT of the latter is slightly higher than the former which might be ascribed to its particle network structure. In a binary suspension composed of the coarse (1μm) and fine (with average size of 100 nm or 10 nm, content varied in 0-30 wt. % to the powder mixture) YSZ powders, interactions between different species can be tuned by the zeta potential of individual component. Binary particles can be well dispersed at pH 4 when both of the coarse and fine powders reached their highest zeta potentials. Heterocoagulation occurred between them to form a haloing structure with fine powders covered on the coarse particle surfaces when they exhibited zeta potentials of the opposite sign at pH 8.6. Particle interactions were estimated and the microstructures of the binary coatings were examined to discuss how the different fine particle sizes influenced the particle packing after EPD. At pH 4, there existed a “stability window” for the 10 nm fines at 10 wt. % whereas no noticeable the border of the window can be observed for 100 nm fines within the measuring range. 10 nm and 100 nm fine powders gave similar overall densities of binary EPD coatings which were independent of the fine powder content. For heterocoagulation coatings made at pH 8.6, although the adsorption of fine particles reduce the agglomeration of coarse powder, the low zeta potential of the halos led to a loose structure of the “skeleton” ( the packing of the coarse powder) in the final binary coatings. 10 nm fine powders was observed to give a higher CCT and denser particle packing than 100 nm fine powders especially in a pre-saturated heterocoagulated binary coatings at 20 wt. % fine powder content. In order to further improve the sintering of the EPD coatings at low temperature sintering, a layer of CuO was applied on the coarse powder surface. With the addition of 30 wt. % fine powders, the hardness of EPD coatings after sintering 2 hours at 1150°C increased from 6 to 61 Vickers. With the presence of CuO, the hardness values were enhanced by 2.5-4.25 times. The density measurements indicated that the CuO layer not only served as a sintering aid, the CuO layer also helped with the binary particle packing particularly in the heterocoagulation condition because of the stronger particle interactions between the fine powders and CuO modified coarse powders. It seems that CuO had no significant impact on the cracking resistance of the binary coatings during drying, however t-m phase transformation was observed during sintering possibly due to the liquid phase induce by CuO.

No description available.

The purpose of this thesis was to investigate how crown ethers behave and interact with different cations and to optimise the setup of the electrophoretic NMR. To get a good electrophoretic NMR measurement the electrophoretic phase shift needs to be big. To increase the phase shift some parameters needed to be adjusted, parameters such as the concentration of crown ether and cation, the duration of magnetic field gradient pulse δ, the magnetic field gradient strength g, the diffusion time Δ and the applied voltage V. The main focus then put on crown ethers 15-crown-5 and 18-crown-6. The cations used were lithium (Li), sodium (Na), potassium (K), caesium (Cs), calcium (Ca) and barium (Ba). The effective charge was obtained by using pulsed gradient NMR to derive the diffusion coefficient and electrophoretic NMR to get the electrophoretic mobility. These data were used to calculate the equilibrium constant of the formed complex. The outcome of the investigation: the affinity for 18-crown-6 was in the following order barium > potassium > caesium > sodium > calcium > lithium and for 15-crown-5 barium > sodium > calcium >  caesium >  potassium > lithium.

O estudo da dispersão e estabilização de barbotinas de porcelana de cinza de ossos é uma etapa muito importante no processo de conformação de peças cerâmicas, assim como também a etapa de obtenção da sua principal matéria-prima que é a cinza de ossos, devido a que constitui 50% em peso da porcelana e por ser uma matéria-prima renovável, reciclável e com alto valor agregado na fabricação de porcelana. Neste trabalho se investigou a influência das temperaturas de calcinação dos ossos (700, 800, 900 e 1000 °C) moídos e lavados, no seu tamanho, forma das partículas, composição química, comportamento elétrico superficial das partículas com o meio líquido, grupos funcionais e possíveis contaminantes nas superfícies das partículas dos ossos calcinados, que poderiam prejudicar a preparação de barbotinas de porcelana de ossos. Mostra-se também a dispersão, preparação e a estabilização da mistura de porcelana de ossos (50% cinza de ossos, 25% de caulim, 25% de feldspato) por meio dos ensaios de viscosidade e mobilidade eletroforética, conseguindo dispersar, homogeneizar e estabilizar as suspensões de porcelana de ossos aplicando tempos de envelhecimentos apropriados. / The study of the dispersion and stabilization of slip casting of bone porcelain is a very important stage in the process of preparation of suspensions ceramic, as well as the obtaining of its main material, that it is the bone ash, so that it constitutes 50% in weight of dry mass, and also that is one raw material renewable, recyclable and with high value added in the porcelain production. In the present research, the influence from the calcination of bovine bones to different temperatures (700, 800, 900 and 1000 °C) was investigated besides the size and form of the particles, variation in its chemical compositions, variations in its electric superficial behavior of the particles in contact with the liquid medium and also the groups present functional in the particles of ash of bones, kaolin and feldspar. Reveals the behavior of the particles during the dispersion and stabilization of the bone porcelain (50% ash of bones, 25% kaolin, 25 % feldspar) by means of the tests of viscosity and electrophoretic mobility, being able to disperse, to homogenize and to stabilize the suspensions of bone china with appropriate ageing time.

O estudo da dispersão e estabilização de barbotinas de porcelana de cinza de ossos é uma etapa muito importante no processo de conformação de peças cerâmicas, assim como também a etapa de obtenção da sua principal matéria-prima que é a cinza de ossos, devido a que constitui 50% em peso da porcelana e por ser uma matéria-prima renovável, reciclável e com alto valor agregado na fabricação de porcelana. Neste trabalho se investigou a influência das temperaturas de calcinação dos ossos (700, 800, 900 e 1000 °C) moídos e lavados, no seu tamanho, forma das partículas, composição química, comportamento elétrico superficial das partículas com o meio líquido, grupos funcionais e possíveis contaminantes nas superfícies das partículas dos ossos calcinados, que poderiam prejudicar a preparação de barbotinas de porcelana de ossos. Mostra-se também a dispersão, preparação e a estabilização da mistura de porcelana de ossos (50% cinza de ossos, 25% de caulim, 25% de feldspato) por meio dos ensaios de viscosidade e mobilidade eletroforética, conseguindo dispersar, homogeneizar e estabilizar as suspensões de porcelana de ossos aplicando tempos de envelhecimentos apropriados. / The study of the dispersion and stabilization of slip casting of bone porcelain is a very important stage in the process of preparation of suspensions ceramic, as well as the obtaining of its main material, that it is the bone ash, so that it constitutes 50% in weight of dry mass, and also that is one raw material renewable, recyclable and with high value added in the porcelain production. In the present research, the influence from the calcination of bovine bones to different temperatures (700, 800, 900 and 1000 °C) was investigated besides the size and form of the particles, variation in its chemical compositions, variations in its electric superficial behavior of the particles in contact with the liquid medium and also the groups present functional in the particles of ash of bones, kaolin and feldspar. Reveals the behavior of the particles during the dispersion and stabilization of the bone porcelain (50% ash of bones, 25% kaolin, 25 % feldspar) by means of the tests of viscosity and electrophoretic mobility, being able to disperse, to homogenize and to stabilize the suspensions of bone china with appropriate ageing time.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Materials Science, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is in the process of developing a nationwide standard for turbidity in construction site runoff. It is widely expected that this standard cannot be met with conventional erosion and sediment control measures; consequently, innovative practices for managing sediment on construction sites must be developed. The objective of this research was to develop an understanding of how soil characteristics and polymer properties affect the amount of turbidity reduction that can be achieved through flocculation. The polymers used were PAMs, a proprietary product, and chitosan. The charge density of the PAMs ranged from 0% to 50% and the molecular weights ranged from 0.2 to 14 Mg/mol. A protocol for creating modified synthetic stormwater runoff for soil samples was developed and used on soils from seven construction sites. Particle size distributions were used to compare the modified synthetic stormwater runoff with grab samples of stormwater from one site and showed the synthetic runoff was representative of the actual runoff. Flocculation tests were performed on the synthetic runoffs with PAM and chitosan doses from 0.03 to 10 mg/L. The non-ionic PAM, proprietary product, and chitosan were found to be the most effective at reducing the turbidity of all the synthetic runoff below 200 NTU. The high molecular weight anionic PAMs were effective on only two of the seven synthetic runoff samples. Hardness tests were performed indicating interparticle bridging to be the bonding mechanism of the PAM. Electrophoretic mobility tests were performed on two of the soil suspensions and indicated the bonding mechanism of PAM to be interparticle bridging, and the bonding mechanism of chitosan to be a combination of charge neutralization and interparticle bridging. Tests showed as the charge density of the PAM increased, their effectiveness decreased. / text

Chlamydia is a clinically significant organism that exhibits a unique stage-specific developmental cycle, involving the interconversion between two metabolically distinct forms. The completion of eight chlamydial genome sequences identified three different RNA polymerase sigma factor (ó) genes. Temporal gene expression analysis has predicted that each ó may play an integral role in controlling the development cycle. This thesis examines the role of the chlamydial alternate sigma factor, ó54 (rpoN) and the potential mechanism for the control the developmental cycle and disease pathogenesis. To achieve this, we searched the genome for putative ó54 promoters, validated the findings by DNA-binding assays, and examined the roles of the genes predicted to be regulated by ó54. This study applied a bioinformatics approach to search for additional ó54 regulated genes in C. trachomatis L2. A reduced consensus sequence (TGGCACnnnnnTTGC) identified two previously published ó54 promoter sequences upstream of CT652.1 and CT683. A modified consensus sequence (TGG-N9-TGC) was applied to the C. trachomatis D genome in Findpatterns yielded 512 potential targets of which 20 by virtue of sequence orientation and distance upstream of the predicted ORF start codon Primer extension analysis of total RNA isolated at 24 hours post-infection mapped the 5' RNA end upstream for acpS (CT100), yhf0_1 (CT258), SAM (CT404), lpxA (CT531), hypothetical proteins CT652.1 and CT683, and htrA (CT823) to the predicted ó54 promoters. Three candidates (CT291, CT404, and CT847) were mapped to putative ó70-like ó66 promoters. No transcript start sites were detected for the remaining ó54 promoter candidates. Two transcripts were detected from predicted ó66 and ó54 tandem promoters upstream of CT404. Primer extension analysis of the CT404 transcripts from RNA isolated at 4, 8, 12, 24 and 32 hours post-infection showed a decrease between 12 hours and 24 hours post-infection in transcripts thought to be generated from the predicted ó66 promoter. Transcripts from the predicted ó54 promoter were identified throughout development. Temporal gene expression profiles of the candidate genes with predicted ó54 promoters (CT652.1, CT683, CT100, CT258, CT531 and CT823) were resolved throughout the C. trachomatis L2 developmental cycle using real-time PCR. Transcripts for CT608 and CT609 were detected early in the cycle, while strong transcript levels were detected for CT258, CT531 and CT823 after the appearance of CT609 (rpoN). Low levels of CT652.1 and CT683 were measured, in the mid to late phase of the cycle, and transcripts for CT100 appeared at lower levels during the middle phase of the cycle. The functional assay of the predicted ó54 promoters required the generation of recombinant C. trachomatis L2 ó54 (rRpoN). The C. trachomatis rpoN was cloned into a bacterial expression system (pQE70) and the recombinant proteins purified for subsequent DNA mobility shift assays. Expression of rRpoN was hampered by low copy numbers, and unusual physical characteristics. DNA binding and mobility shift assays using rRpoN extracts against the chlamydial CT652.1 ó54 promoter, plus two characterised E. coli ó54 promoters (hypA and hycA), were successful if E. coli core RNA polymerase was added to the assay. All 20 candidates with predicted ó54 promoters were analysed with EMSA using rRpoN extract. The promoters upstream of CT100, CT223, CT258, CT322, CT652.1 and CT683 showed affinity towards the recombinant rRpoN-E. coli core RNA polymerase holoenzyme complex. Searches for potential chlamydial ó54 transcription initiation activators were made using the Multiple Em for Motif Elucidation (MEME) software, looking to identify the DNA binding motifs. The upstream promoter regions of CT100, CT223, CT258, CT322, CT531, CT652.1, CT683 and CT823 in C. trachomatis L2 and orthologs found in other species of Chlamydia were analysed. The software identified a near palindromic sequence upstream of CT100 orthologs in C. trachomatis D and C. trachomatis MoPn (CAACCCAAC and CACCACAAC) where as a CT531- and CT823-specific motif was also discovered (CCGTTGTAGAATCTC). It is beginning to emerge that ó54 may regulate the expression of proteins required for the formation of the cell wall. Since the expression of the ó54 transcript, rpoN, coincides with the morphological change from the non-infectious RB to the infectious EB, predictions could be made concerning which genes are potentially regulated by ó54.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--McMaster University, 2005. / Supervisor: Patrick S. Nicholson. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 162-181). Also available online.