Butterflies as Models for Fabric Fiber Colors

Like butterfly wing structure, fibers of various thicknesses have been found to determine colors. Thin films of polyester or nylon of 70-nm thickness are laminated in 61 alternative layers, By controlling layer thickness according to visible wavelength, four colors are produced without using dyes or pigment: red, green, blue and violet.

The butterfly-inspired fibers produce diverse colors, improve material quality and are expected to be used in painting, cosmetics, crafts. The invention is patented, commercialized and identified as "Morphotex" used for clothing, nail polish, mascara, coating musical instruments and fishing rods as reported in NASA Tech Briefs, July 2011, p. 33 -- see also www.techbriefs.com/tow/201107a.html for the full report.

Laboratory Supervisor Opportunity in Applied Coatings R&D

Coatings Research Group, Inc. (CRGI) located in Independence, a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, has an interesting opportunity for a Laboratory Supervisor. Coatings Research Group is an international association of paint and coating manufacturers dedicated to the benefits of shared research and development.

Dr. Jackie Savoca, Executive Director of Coatings Research Group, and her team, created the "Green Wise" paint certification program. CRGI is certified as an ISO 17025 accredited testing laboratory by Laboratory Accreditation Bureau. Through a system of international agreements, this accreditation is recognized worldwide.

CRGI operates a 6,000 sq. ft. (550 sq. m.) applied technology laboratory staffed by 6 full time professional employees. The laboratory conducts private studies for global member companies and cooperative R&D projects on raw material evaluations, worldwide product benchmarking (often more that 100 products are evaluated), and paint formulation optimization.

If you are interested in contributing to applied R&D paint and coating research as CRGI's Laboratory Supervisor, contact Coatings Research Group, Inc., in Independence, Ohio.

Research Trends in Anti-corrosion Additives

Research trends in identifying novel corrosion inhibitors include identifying natural extracts, creating new compounds via biomimicry and nanotechnology, studying conducting polymers, incorporating noble metals in coatings and recycling waste streams.

If your goal is to reduce costs of environmentally friendly additives that protect our marine infrastructure, water quality and human health, you might wish to read the current article in APCJ: Asia Pacific Coatings Journal entitled "Research Trends in Innovative Anti-corrosion Additives", Volume 24, Number 2, pages 20-21, April/May 2011.

Reprinted with permission from APCJ at http://www.raskinfo.com/corradfinal.html

Searching the Web

The May 2011 issue of Website Magazine cites some interesting alternatives for searching the web including Blekko, DuckDuckGo (DDG), Greplin, Wajam and Quora.

Blekko allows limiting a search by the use of a slash, "/recipes" while Quora is a question-and-answer site. Greplin, created by a 19 year 0ld entrepreneur from Israel, searches Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Gmail, Google Docs, etc. DDG shares slash tags with Blekko.

Thanks WebSite Magazine, May 2011, "Search Alternatives", p.38, for a most interesting article!

Try them and report back soon!

Rosa

Asia's Most Active Undercoats

What do priming a tooth and etching metal have in common?

Adhesion is an important property in materials science, as well as medicine. Dental crowns, for example, tend to eventually fall out. After much research, a Japanese team patented a method to self-etch or prime a tooth preparing the tooth for bonding to metal, resin or an orthodontic bracket (U.S. patent 7614879). For more details, see my article, "Asia's Most Active Undercoats" in the February/March 2011, issue of APCJ: Asia Pacific Coatings Journal, pp. 31-32.

Transparent and Innovative Fillers

If you are interested in fillers for paint, you might wish to read my article in the Dec/Jan 2011 issue of APCJ: Asia Pacific Coatings Journal, p 16, 18.

I mention food grade fillers in the article too. Food fillers help dysphagia. I am thankful for the food fillers as use them everyday for my 93 year young Mom. The thickeners make swallowing so much easier for her.

Unfortunately, per the APCJ website, the journal is nolonger free full text online and one needs to contact their subscription services.

Should you desire the reference for this article, check my website at http://www.raskinfo.com/publications.html.

Statistics on the Sales of the Book You Authored!

I have had this question more than once from authors interested in the sales of their books.

For book authors who wish to double check sales of their books, in addition to the figures given to them from their publisher, Nielsen Bookscan is one possible source, accessed free for those authors registered with AMAZON.

A recent article in the LA Times (Dec 9, 2010) details how and when authors may obtain the information they seek per the sales of their book.

Please note the LA Times article says the data is free for authors --

Authors, link to the LA Times web site article and let me know if the information is helpful:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2010/12/amazon-gives-nielsen-bookscan-to-authors.html

Thanks in advance,
Rosa