Gold anion catalysis of methane to methanol

The oxidation of CH₄ has been investigated in the presence and absence of the atomic Au⁻ ion catalyst. We have employed the first principles density functional theory (DFT) and dispersion-corrected DFT calculations for the transition state on the Au⁻ ion and analyzed the thermodynamics properties of the reactions as well. Our results demonstrate that atomic gold anions could be used to catalyze CH₄ into valuable industrial products without the emission of CO₂, thereby making gold extremely valuable. The fundamental mechanism involves breaking the C–H bond through the formation of the anionic Au⁻(CH₄) molecular complex permitting the oxidation of CH₄ to methanol at the temperature of 325 K which is below that of CO₂ emission. Potentially, this could significantly impact the quality of our environment.     

The effect of labeling on the perceived quality of HDR video transmission

Cognition, Technology & Work - At the time of this paper, high dynamic range (HDR) visualization has already emerged in both the industry and the commercial sector, with HDR displays already...     

TRAM: Technique for resource allocation and management in fog computing environment

The Journal of Supercomputing - The traditional cloud computing technology provides services to a plethora of applications by providing resources. These services support numerous industries for...     

Moderate anisotropy in the electrical conductivity of bulk MWCNT/epoxy composites

Bulk aligned multi-walled carbon nanotube films and their epoxy composites were prepared and their DC and AC conductivity studied. Nanotube films of up to 2 mm thickness were grown by catalytic chemical vapor deposition. Composites of nanotubes were made by infiltrating the films with a commercial epoxy. DC electrical resistivities in the axial direction of as-grown and purified films were found to be ∼1.2 Ωmm and ∼3.4 Ωmm, respectively. For the transverse direction the resistivity values were higher only with a factor of ∼2. In the case of composites, anisotropy is more pronounced showing more than an order of magnitude higher resistivity in the transverse direction (∼71.4 Ωmm) as compared to the axial value (∼4.2 Ωmm). AC behavior of the films investigated between 1 MHz and 3 GHz shows the presence of inductive and capacitive components at frequencies above ∼100 MHz. The moderate anisotropy for both DC and AC electrical properties are explained on the basis of the films’ structure combined with percolation theory and equivalent circuit models.     

A potential antitumor drug (arginine deiminase) reengineered for efficient operation under physiological conditions

Arginine deiminase (ADI, EC 3.5.3.6) is a potential antitumor drug for the treatment of arginine‐auxotrophic tumors such as hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) and melanomas, and studies on human lymphatic leukemia cell lines have confirmed that ADI has antiangiogenic activity. Recent studies showed that a combination of taxane and ADI‐PEG20, which induces caspase‐independent apoptosis, is more effective than taxane monotherapy for prostate cancer. The main limitation of ADI from Pseudomonas plecoglossicida (PpADI) and of many other ADI enzymes lies in their pH‐dependent activity profile. PpADI has a pH optimum at 6.5 and a pH shift from 6.5 to 7.5 results in an ～80 % activity drop (the pH of human plasma is 7.35 to 7.45). In 2010, we reported a proof of concept for ADI engineering by directed evolution that resulted in variant M2 (K5T/D44E/H404R). M2 has a pH optimum of pH 7.0, a fourfold higher k_cat value than the wild‐type PpADI (pH 7.4, 0.5 M phosphate buffer), and an increased K_m value for substrate arginine. In our latest work, variants M5 (K5T/D38H/D44E/A128T/H404R) and M6 (K5T/D38H/D44E/A128T/E296K/H404R) were generated by directed evolution by employing PBS buffer (pH 7.4), which mimics physiological conditions. The S_0.5 value of parent M3 (K5T/D44E/A128T/H404R) decreased from 2.01 to 1.48 mM (M5) and 0.81 mM (M6). The S_0.5 value of M6 (0.81 mM ) is lower than that of wild‐type PpADI (1.30 mM ); the k_cat values improved from 0.18 s^?1 (wild‐type PpADI) to 17.56 s^?1 (M5, 97.6‐fold) and 11.64 s^?1 (M6, 64.7‐fold).     

Large physisorption strain in chemical vapor deposition of graphene on copper substrates

Graphene single layers grown by chemical vapor deposition on single crystal Cu substrates are subject to nonuniform physisorption strains that depend on the orientation of the Cu surface. The strains are revealed in Raman spectra and quantitatively interpreted by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. An average compressive strain on the order of 0.5% is determined in graphene on Cu(111). In graphene on Cu (100), MD simulations interpret the observed highly nonuniform strains.     

Investigation of modified SEBS‐based thermoplastic elastomers by temperature scanning stress relaxation measurements

Thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) based on poly(styrene‐b‐ethylene/butylene‐b‐styrene) (SEBS), modified with poly(2,6‐dimethyl‐1,4‐phenylene ether) (PPE), were investigated by a new testing method. The development and characterization of TPEs with improved temperature and oil resistance is a current area of research to extend the applications of TPEs, especially in the automotive industry. Thermal scanning stress relaxation (TSSR) was used to investigate the relaxation behavior of compounds containing SEBS, blended with extender oil, various amounts of PPE and in some cases with a thermoplastic polymer. Polyamide 12 (PA12) or polypropylene (PP) were used as the thermoplastic component. TSSR measurements were applied to detect relaxation changes in the glass transition region of the polystyrene blocks mixed with PPE. It was shown that the glass transition temperature increased with addition of PPE to the compound up to a limit of approximately 150°C, which corresponded to a weight fraction of PPE in the polystyrene (PS)‐block of 0.5. The increased glass transition temperature lead to SEBS‐based thermoplastic elastomer compounds with improved upper service temperatures. Phase images obtained by atomic force microscopy showed that the addition of PPE results in an increase of hard phase dimension. The addition of a thermoplastic polymer improved the mechanical properties and temperature resistance, but naturally decreased the elasticity of the compounds. Compounds containing PA12 exhibited an improved oil resistance. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 45:1498–1507, 2005. © 2005 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Pathological behaviors of fisher confidence bounds for Weibull distribution

The Weibull distribution is widely used in reliability engineering. To estimate its parameters and associated reliability indices, the maximum likelihood (ML) approach is often employed, and the associated Fisher information matrix is used to obtain the confidence bounds on the reliability indices that are of interest. The estimates and the confidence bounds usually behave similarly in terms of monotonic and asymptotic properties. However, the confidence bounds may behave differently under certain circumstances. As a result, the Fisher matrix approach may not always be preferred in obtaining the desired confidence bounds. This paper provides some properties of Fisher confidence bounds for the Weibull distribution. These properties can be used as guidelines when implementing the ML approach and Fisher information matrix to analyze failure time data and plan life tests.     

Managing RFID Consumer Privacy and Implementation Barriers

ABSTRACT

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies have increasing visibility in the business processes: automating inventory management (supply chains), facilitating innovation, and increasing competitiveness. Since the potential applications of RFID systems are numerous, it is essential to address the industry and consumer perspective issues that have resulted in barriers to RFID implementation. This paper outlines critical barriers in implementing RFID technologies, specifically for authentication and privacy in an RFID tagged world, and provides organizational leaders with a set of initial responses, including a new scheme (Veri-RFID) for consumer privacy, that would assist in the process to overcome these challenges.     

Inclusion of Other in the Self Scale and the structure of interpersonal closeness.

In 2 studies, the Inclusion of Other in the Self (IOS) Scale, a single-item, pictorial measure of closeness, demonstrated alternate-form and test–retest reliability; convergent validity with the Relationship Closeness Inventory (E. Berscheid et al, 1989), the R. J. Sternberg (1988) Intimacy Scale, and other measures; discriminant validity; minimal social desirability correlations; and predictive validity for whether romantic relationships were intact 3 mo later. Also identified and cross-validated were (1) a 2-factor closeness model (Feeling Close and Behaving Close) and (2) longevity–closeness correlations that were small for women vs moderately positive for men. Five supplementary studies showed convergent and construct validity with marital satisfaction and commitment and with a reaction-time (RT)-based cognitive measure of closeness in married couples; and with intimacy and attraction measures in stranger dyads following laboratory closeness-generating tasks. In 3 final studies most Ss interpreted IOS Scale diagrams as depicting interconnectedness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)