Scientists from four countries cooperated in a reseach effort aimed at the imporvement of operational reliability via innovations in design and testing and systematic maintenance. The scientists had varied backgrounds ranging from mathematic to applied mechanical engineering, and the results fo this effort are documented in this book.

This book covers the chemistry of high solids compositions and focuses on the binder component and on the solvent. It discusses factors controlling the viscosity and the solid content of alkyd resins. The book describes different approaches to preparing high solid alkyds.

Many industrial formulations such as detergents, paints, foodstuff and cosmetics contain both surfactants and polymers and their interaction govern many of the properties. This book is unique in that it discusses the solution chemistry of both surfactants and polymers and also the interactions between the two. The book, which is based on successful courses given by the authors since 1992, is a revised and extended version of the first edition that became a market success with six reprints since 1998. Surfactants and Polymers in Aqueous Solution is broad in scope, providing both theoretical insights and practical help for those active in the area.

This book contains a thorough discussion of surfactant types and gives information of main routes of preparation. A chapter on novel surfactants has been included in the new edition. Physicochemical phenomena such as self-assembly in solution, adsorption, gel formation and foaming are discussed in detail. Particular attention is paid to the solution behaviour of surfactants and polymers containing polyoxyethylene chains. Surface active polymers are presented and their interaction with surfactants is a core topic of the book. Protein-surfactant interaction is also important and a new chapter deals with this issue. Microemulsions are treated in depth and several important application such as detergency and their use as media for chemical reactions are presented. Emulsions and the choice of emulsifier is discussed in some detail. The new edition also contains chapters on rheology and wetting.

Surfactants and Polymers in Aqueous Solution is aimed at those dealing with surface chemistry research at universities and with surfactant formulation in industry.

The El Pensamiento was a ship loaded 't the gunnels with treasure. The treasure belonged 't Sir Francis Mollinson of Scotland. It was a hoard of Viking treasures he'd discovered 'n it made him a very rich man. He was afraid though bandits was gonna steal his treasure so he had the El Pensamiento bring it down 't Cartagena in Colombia, South America. From there he was takin it 't an estate he'd bought in the highlands of Colombia. He had a hunder't of the finest Scottish soldiers with him when he headed fer them highlands 'n Sir Mollinson 'n the soldiers 'n the treasure disappeared right off the face of the earth. Of course ya know that's the kind of thing that gets Sam fired up don't ya? He was bettin we could find that treasure 'n I shore wasn't takin any bets against it. We asked Dr. Jack Ford 't join us 'n him 'n his team jumped at the chance. He din't know it when we asked him but we was planning 't give him a share of the treasure it we ever found it. When we got 't Cartagena we discovered that estate Sir Mollinson had bought was right in the middle of cannibal country. Not only that we was gonna have 't fight our way through hostile savages just 't get 't that cannibal country. Get yerself ready fer some mighty hard jungle travel cause we have a lot of it 't get through 't get 't them highlands. Shore glad yer comin along. Gramps

We're after Inca treasures this time 'n they're hidden somewhere in the Llanganatis Mountains down in Ecuador. There was enough of 'em 't fill a good sized buildin 't a depth of twelve foot. Now that's a lot of loot. The feller that hid 'em was mighty clever 'n we had a dickens of a time tryin 't figure out what he'd done we with 'em. Ya ain't gonna believe what finally turned the trick fer us. In order 't get 't them mountains we had 't pass through headhunter country. From ever description we had of 'em we knew they'd be after our heads. They'd take 'em 'n pop the eyes out of 'em 'n shrink 'em 'n hang 'em in their huts 't remind 'em how fierce they was 'n how dumb we was. Yer gonna meet Nacho 'n Luca. They're gonna be our guides inta where we can start huntin fer the treasures on our own. They supplied Big Mike 'n Dr. Jack Ford with hosses 't ride that was right out of King Arthur's time. Before we left Santa Fe I got together with our gunsmith 'n told him where we was headin 'n what we was gonna be up against. He came up with a new weapon fer us that will knock yer socks off. Get yer protective gear on 'n get yer firepower ready. We'll do our best 't keep ya from gettin harmed. Thanks fer jumpin inta this one with us cause its a humdinger. Gramps

As ya know if ya've been trackin us, we left some of the Ottoman Empire treasures behind us when we was last in the Mediterranean Sea. We're goin back after 'em. Ya also know we lost a soldier when we was there the first time so we prepared ourselves with the best firepower in the world this time. Before we could get over there though we found Eddie McGrath was after our treasures agin. This time he was gonna use Aunt Margaret 't get at us. We was in a desperate race 't get 't her before that snivelin low life could. I think ever pirate in Europe was waitin fer us this time round. The word had got out ahead of us we was comin 'n they was prepared. On top of that it looked like ever train robber in Europe was out 't get us too. The search fer the treasures come near 't doin some of us in. The rascals hidin it set up more booby traps that ya can imagine. It was a good thing we had Colombo with us this time cause he's awful good at pullin our fat out of the fire. Get yerself ready to get out of some awful tight spots. We get more than our share this time round. Shore glad yer lendin us yer imaginations. Yer a lot more help 't us than ya might think. Gramps

The Monastery Treasure is the first of a series of mystery adventures taken from the memories of Gramps as he tells the Sam 'n Me tales. Gramps tells the story using the lingo of the old west and creates images you swear will take you into the adventure with them. Sam 'n Gramps start out as detectives working for the Pinkertons in Santa Fe, New Mexico and wind up setting up their own treasure hunting business. This first treasure hunt starts with Sam receiving a monastery record book that contains the secret to a treasure worth a king's ransom. Sam's Uncle Timothy found the record book years before and was never able to solve the secret to where the treasure was. Uncle Timothy promises Sam half of the treasure if he can find it. The story that surrounds that treasure hunt, and the treachery of the scoundrels involved, told through Gramps unique style of spinning a yarn, will keep you feeling you are part of the story as he tells it. That's only the beginning. There are dozens more mystery adventures and each of them takes you into greater and greater peril with Sam and Gramps and each new partner they pick up along the way. Every adventure requires them to become ever more resourceful using their growing arsenal of weapons and strangely gifted powers. Prepare yourselves for extraordinary tales that will take you into the farthest reaches of your imagination. Indeed, they will take you beyond even the wildest reaches of your imagination. Get ready now cause once ya get started yer gonna find yerself in the same whirlwind of adventures we are. Thanks for joinin us pard, lets get started. Gramps

Wal now, like I've been tellin ya we're treasure hunters 'n there's three of us now. If ya've been trackin us ya know we found a third treasure that near yanked our eyeballs right outa our heads lookin at it. Now we're on the trail of another treasure that was hid centuries ago. It's the treasures of the Knights Templar. They was the Christian army defendin the church, 'n fightin in the name of it, fer nearly two hunder't years. This was way back when the church was the most powerful force on earth. Big Mike found a book describin a monastery on the Limpopo River in South Africa that was founded by the Poor Fellows-Soldiers of Christ. They was the ones that later turned inta the Knights Templar. They'd been servin the church since the time of King Solomon 'n was mighty proud of their heritage. Durin all the time they was fightin the crusades 'n such, they was pillagin everthin they could lay their hands on that looked valuable. They gave a great deal of what they took 't the church but the church wanted 'em 't hide a bunch of it too. Sam 'n Big Mike believed the Knights Templar had hidden away an enormous amount of wealth nobody but the Knights Templar themselves knew bout. After a couple of hunder't years of servin the church, the church turned on 'em 'n even killed some of the Knights Templars off. The secret 't where all that loot they hid had been lost fer centuries. Sam figured there might be some kind of link between them monastery treasures we found 'n the Knights Templar. That's what set us off 't see if we could find the monastery down there by the Limpopo River. Yer gonna be surprised at what we found. I hope ya got yer legs pard cause yer gonna need 'em. Gramps

This is #8 in the Sam 'n Me(TM) adventure books series 'n takes ya inta Camelot. Yep, we're headed right inta King Arthur's fabled kingdom. What a kingdom it was specially with Merlin doin what he did. Before we get there though yer gonna find out what happens 't Uncle Timothy 'n Angus O'Day. What's really gonna throw ya fer a loop though is who they hired 't defend 'em. It's a real doozy of a trial 'n we wind up with Eddie McGrath who's the head of the Irish Mob in Boston after us. That connivin uncle of Sam's is unbelievably evil I'll tell ya. Trouble is Eddie McGrath sounds like he's even worse. Once we get 't Camelot yer gonna find out just what kind of a genius old Merlin was. He had us chasin our tails tryin 't find that treasure we was shore he hid. What's even more interestin is how he got the treasure 't begin with. I shore would have liked 't have met him 'n Sam 'n Big Mike said the same. We'd never run in 't anyone with as many tricks up his sleeve as Merlin seemed 't have. Guess I'd better let ya get at yer readin. Ya know by now I tell these stories so ya can get through 'em quick like 'n get ready fer the next one. See ya in Camelot. Gramps

Ya know we're in a heap of trouble don't ya? Well at least I'm in a heap of trouble. In our last adventure them blackguards we thought we was rid of ferever escaped from the prison we stuck 'em in over there in China. They was on the loose now 'n callin themselves the Revengers. There was eight of 'em 'n they had the power of the dark force behind through the spirit of Foul Manchu the worst ancient criminal China had ever known. As far as we could tell he was givin the Revengers powers equal 't ours, power fer power. How does that grab ya? It was grabbin us by our throats. We knew the Revengers was doin everthin they could get through that shield of invincibility of mine 'n it was only a matter of time till they did. They'd already shown us they'd shoot my arms 'n legs 't pieces as soon as I was no longer protected. I was workin my brain 't a frazzle tryin to find a way 't escape. The Merlins was workin theirs 't a frazzle too tryin 't help me. It was a race against time 'n we knew it. What we didn't know was who the clock was tickin faster fer, us 'r them. This is an adventure of matchin wits 'n yer gonna be surprised at some of the wit matchin we done. Make shore yer wearin tight fittin clothes cause we might just scare ya out of 'em if they're hangin loose on ya. We'll always keep ya safe though ya can bet on that. Thanks fer joinin up with us again. Ya know don't ya our world wouldn't be the same without ya. Gramps

As ya might guess these powers of ours was lettin us explore things we never believed possible. They was also lettin us create things we never thought possible. We had our hands full in this adventure tryin 't get all the treasures we'd accumulated 't where they would do all the folks we was wantin 't help the most good. I'm gonna pat us Merlins on the back fer how we handled things. Once we got that done we was on our way 't Tikal 't look for Mayan treasures. As ya might guess we used our teleportin power 't get us there. What happened after we got there took us on our most amazin adventure yet. While we was standin on the ruins of a magnificent temple pyramid we decided 't go back in time 't see how it all got started. We used our dimension portals 'n stepped inta a world beyond belief. I'm tellin ya it was more exciting than ya can possibly imagine. I ain't takin ya no farther here cause I want ya 't savor ever moment of what we found just like we did. Get yerself ready 't be taken apart 'n put back together again like we do when we're teleportin. Yer also gonna need 't ready fer things that will leave ya tremblin with excitement. That's the way it was fer us. Thanks fer yer company, it's always a comfort 't have ya with us. Gramps

As usual Sam was workin on uncoverin another treasure fer us 't discover. This time we was goin deep inta the heart of Mexico 't look fer the seven caves of Chicomoztoc. They was the origin caves of five indigenous tribes down there 'n it would mean the world 't 'em if we could find 'em. Now as ya can see right quick that only accounts fer five of 'em. That leaves two more. Wal now, them other two was supposed 't be loaded with some of the purest veins of gold on earth 'n if we could find 'em it was gonna help the five villages we was workin with attract their young'uns back. They'd been leavin till there was only the real young 'n mostly old folks left. The lure of modern civilization was too strong fer 'em. Where we was gonna be explorin was as primitive as ya can get. It was infested with Mexican banditos that was as mean as a stepped on rattler. We had 'em breathin down our necks 'n we knew they'd do us in 'n take everthin we had if they ever got the chance. Yer gonna be surprised at how clever them ancients was bout concealin the clues 't where them caves was. Sam was up a stump tryin 't figure 'em out. Hope ya got yer workin duds on cause there's a passel of work this time round. Thanks fer joinin up again. These treasure hunts are so much better when yer along. Gramps

Are ya ready fer some adventures on the Mediterranean Sea? That's where we're headed. An infamous pirate named Barbarossa got in cahoots with a ruler name Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent 'n they hid treasures of magnificent proportions. It took some real doin 't find 'em. We finally got Marie Ann 'n John Nelson settled inta our company with us 'n was mighty thankful fer that. All five of us knew destiny had brought us together 'n we was eager 't see what the future had in store fer us. Long John Hook is with us agin. Ya know by now danger follers us evertime we're huntin treasures 'n this time ain't no exception. We get inta a life 'n death struggle with pirates that leaves us devastated. It's Long John 'n those with him that saves our hides. Mighty glad yer along with us again cause we appreciate ya more than ya know. Gramps

Ya remember me tellin ya bout findin them Knights Templar treasures 'n then leavin 'em hid where they was don't ya? Well in this adventure we're headed back 't get 'em. As ya might imagine OBJ Treasure Hunters, Ltd is growin some 'n we need 't get things movin regardin it. Ya will be surprised at some of the changes we're makin. In order 't get them treasures out of them mines on the Limpopo River we've got 't overcome some obstacles goin 'n comin. Marie Ann is comin with us on this one 'n yer gonna be amazed at that woman. Then there's Rylan, he's Big Mikes new assistant 'n he's a fist full of surprises too. It's gonna boggle yer mind when ya find out what we're up against tryin 't move those treasures out of them mines. We wind up usin a trick we learned from one of our other treasure hunts. I think yer gonna like what we finally come up with regardin how 't help Father Victor 'n his priests there at the monastery 'n the Zulu people who help us no end gettin them treasures out. Get yer safari gear on cause yer gonna need it where we're goin. Glad yer along for another adventure cause I shore do like yer company. Gramps

The age old mystery of the continent of Atlantis. It popped up on us when Sam was goin through some of the Xlin ship's logs. He discovered an Xlin exploration ship had recorded in another ship's log they was crash landin on Earth. Now ya know Sam 'n the rest of us Merlins couldn't pass up a mystery like that especially when that was a lot earlier landin than the Tikal Xlins had made. Its a good thing we had them aquatic powers of ours cause from all we could find the durn continent had sunk. We spent months huntin fer it in the Atlantic ocean. I'm tell ya right here 'n now, that's a mighty big ocean. We finally stumbled on somethin we thought might be a way inta Atlantis but took an awful chance findin out. Yer gonna get knocked right out of yer readin place when ya discover what we found. Maybe ya'd better get somethin 't hold ya down when ya come 't that part. Like I just told ya Xlins are involved so get ready fer some amazin things. Shore glad yer comin along agin. Ya might want 't have a big towel handy cause yer gonna feel like dryin off a lot as we're look fer that continent. If ya liked the Xlins in the last couple of adventures yer gonna like 'em even more now. Gramps