The effect of Ag substitution for Cu on the glass forming ability (GFA) and mechanical properties of Mg65Cu25−xAgxGd10 (x = 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25) alloyswere investigated using x-ray diffractometry and differential scanning calorimetry.The partial substitution of Cu by Ag in Mg65Cu25Gd10 promoted the GFA. Mg65Cu20Ag5Gd10 bulk metallic glass (BMG) with a diameter of 11 mm could be fabricated by conventional copper-mold casting method in air atmosphere. The Mg65Cu20Ag5Gd10 BMG exhibits yielding and plastic deformation during compressive loading. The compressive fracture strength, total strain to failure, and plastic strain to failure of the Mg65Cu20Ag5Gd10 BMG were 909 MPa, 2.21% and 0.5%, respectively.

No abstract

We demonstrate the multilevel hierarchy of nanoscale wax crystals on nanowire (NW) structures that strongly repels not only water but also olive oil and hexadecane. We deposited C24F50-fluorinated wax (F-wax) using thermal evaporation on the surface of CuO NWs. Fluorinated wax crystals are self-assembled on the CuO NWs forming three-dimensional hierarchical structures. The achieved multilevel hierarchy has strongly repelled water, glycerol, ethylene glycol, and olive oil with contact angles (CAs) exceeding 160°. When sufficient F-wax is crystallized on the CuO NWs, crystals that are assembled perpendicularly to the longitudinal NW axis form a re-entrant curvature allowing superoleophobic characteristics with strong repellence of hexadecane with CAs of ∼150° and a small contact angle hysteresis of <10°. Furthermore, the surfaces can repel extremely small water droplets (∼100 pL), an indication of an ability to withstand condensation. These types of multilevel hierarchies can be formed on numerous roughened surfaces as the wax can be easily applied to various substrates without affecting the mechanical integrity of base structures.

To determine the frequency and aetiology of acute symptomatic seizures in central nervous system (CNS) infections and to assess the clinical factors predicting the occurrence of the seizures, we retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients diagnosed with CNS infections from 2000 to 2005. One hundred and forty-seven patients were included in the study. The clinical variables between those with and without acute symptomatic seizures were compared. Of the 147 patients, 23% (34/147) had acute symptomatic seizures. A significant relation between clinical variables and the occurrence of acute symptomatic seizures was found: encephalitis as the aetiology of the CNS infection, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) < or =12, and neurological deficits. By multiple logistic regression analysis, age of onset >42 years, encephalitis, and GCS < or =12 were found to be independently significant clinical variables for predicting the occurrence of acute symptomatic seizures. Encephalitis and GCS < or =12 are significant clinical variables for predicting the occurrence of acute symptomatic seizures in CNS infection, suggesting that patients with a greater extent of parenchymal damage are more vulnerable to acute symptomatic seizures.

The major objective of this study was to delineate the effect of nitrate on the UV oxidation of 2,4-DCP by conducting a bench-scale operation at various reaction times, and initial concentrations of H 2 O 2 and NO 3-. 2,4-DCP (20±5 μg/L) was oxidized in very limited amounts through direct UV photolysis, without additional oxidation by hydroxyl radicals. However, it was completely oxidized with an initial H 2 O 2 concentration of 20 mg/L at a reaction time of 1.0 min under the operating conditions described below. The practical reaction time for 80% oxidation turned out to be 2.0 min (with a high UV dose) with an initial H 2 O 2 concentration of 10 mg/L. Nitrate enhanced the 2,4-DCP oxidation by the hydroxyl radicals produced from nitrate photolysis with the relatively low initial H 2 O 2 concentrations of 0.0 to 5 mg/L, but hindered the oxidation, when an initial H 2 O 2 concentration in the reactor was less than or around about 10 mg/L. The adverse effect of nitrate on the 2,4-DCP oxidation was not observed with a relatively high initial H 2 O 2 concentration of 20 mg/L at the reaction times of 1.0 to 2.0 min. The scavenging effect of nitrate on the 2,4-DCP oxidation was generally limited with the concentration ranges tested in this study.