Development and application of an automated subcatchment generator for SWMM using open data

An open source subcatchment generator program was developed for the Stormwater Management Model (SWMM) to automate tedious stages in the model construction process. The generator divides the investigated area into subcatchments using a uniform computation grid and connects the grid cells together and to the underlying stormwater network. The system was tested by applying it to two small urban catchments with different fractions of impervious surfaces in Helsinki, Finland, using mostly openly available data. The simulated discharge results were compared to measured data and to results obtained from manually built models. The proposed system significantly accelerated the setup of a SWMM modelling project, as the routing between the subcatchments as well as the subcatchment slopes and flow widths were directly derived from the computation grid. Automatically generated and manually constructed SWMM models produced discharge results that differed only slightly from each other.     

Large-area photovoltaics based on low band gap copolymers of thiophene and benzothiadiazole or benzo-bis(thiadiazole)

Large-area solar cells (active area=3 and 10 cm²) were prepared with low band gap polymers based on thiophene and benzothiadiazole (1) or thiophene and benzo-bis(thiadiazole) (2). The band gaps of the polymers were 1.65 and 0.67 eV, respectively. The best photovoltaic performance was obtained for the device ITO/PEDOT/1:PCBM (1:2)/Al with an active area of 3 cm². The efficiency of the device was 0.62%. This is a high efficiency for a low band gap polymer in a large-area organic solar cell and thus polymer 1 is a very promising material for organic solar cells. The devices based on 2 were found to give poor devices when employed in bulk heterojunctions with PCBM. This was linked to a poor alignment of the energy levels in 2 with that of the electrodes and PCBM, showing that the requirement for a control of the positions of the energy levels becomes increasingly important as the band gap decreases.     

Improved magnetic particle tracking technique in dense gas fluidized beds

Noninvasive monitoring of multiphase flow is rapidly gaining increased interest. More specifically noninvasive particle tracking techniques have received a lot of attention in recent years to study dense granular flow. However, these techniques are usually quite expensive and require strict safety measures. An improved magnetic particle tracking (MPT) technique for dense granular flow will be presented in this article. The improvements of the analysis technique for MPT will be demonstrated and rigorously tested with a three‐dimensional system and two‐dimensional sensor system. The strengths and limitations of the MPT technique will also be reported. Finally, the results of the MPT are compared with data obtained from a combined particle image velocimetry and digital image analysis technique. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 60: 3133–3142, 2014     

Non-heme Fe(IV)-oxo intermediates

High-valent non-heme iron-oxo intermediates have been proposed for decades as the key intermediates in numerous biological oxidation reactions. In the past three years, the first direct characterization of such intermediates has been provided by studies of several alphaKG-dependent oxygenases that catalyze either hydroxylation or halogenation of their substrates. In each case, the Fe(IV)-oxo intermediate is implicated in cleavage of the aliphatic C-H bond to initiate hydroxylation or halogenation. The observation of non-heme Fe(IV)-oxo intermediates and Fe(II)-containing product(s) complexes with almost identical spectroscopic parameters in the reactions of two distantly related alphaKG-dependent hydroxylases suggests that members of this subfamily follow a conserved mechanism for substrate hydroxylation. In contrast, for the alphaKG-dependent non-heme iron halogenase, CytC3, two distinct Fe(IV) complexes form and decay together, suggesting that they are in rapid equilibrium. The existence of two distinct conformers of the Fe site may be the key factor accounting for the divergence of the halogenase reaction from the more usual hydroxylation pathway after C-H bond cleavage. Distinct transformations catalyzed by other mononuclear non-heme enzymes are likely also to involve initial C-H bond cleavage by Fe(IV)-oxo complexes, followed by diverging reactivities of the resulting Fe(III)-hydroxo/substrate radical intermediates.     

Delving into the carbon footprints of Singapore—comparing direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions of a small and open economic system

Small and open economic systems like cities face specific challenges for greenhouse gas accounting. They typically import most of their energy requirements as secondary energy products based on conversion processes which caused emissions elsewhere. Emission estimates therefore already require attention not only to direct on-site activities. Moreover, for a comprehensive approach it is suggested to include upstream and downstream processes of connected socioeconomic systems and the indirect life-cycle related emissions of imported and exported goods.     

Microwave assisted click chemistry on a conductive polymer film

Microwave (MW) irradiation has been used to accelerate the functionalization of an azide functional poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) film by click chemistry. The absorption of MW energy by the conductive polymer has been exploited for localized activation of the reaction on the polymer surface. By use of an alkyne modified fluorescein derivative the reaction conditions have been optimized in a conventional MW oven, enabling the use of different sizes of substrates. The optimization resulted in a reduction of reaction times of approximately 20 h to only 2 min for bulk film functionalization. The method has been applied for anchoring of the chelating agent nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) on the conductive polymer. The chelating linkage ability of NTA on the surface was investigated through a sandwich ELISA study confirming the selective bonding of a histidine tagged protein.     

Selective Conversion of Ethane to Ethene via Oxidative Dehydrogenation Over Ca-doped ThO2 Using CO2 as Oxidant

Ca-doped ThO₂, synthesized by solution combustion method was tested for dehydrogenation of ethane with CO₂. Doping ThO₂ with Ca resulted in the creation of oxide ion vacancies and an increased conversion of ethane compared to pure ThO₂. On Th_0.75Ca_0.25O₂ selectivity to ethene was 97 at 46% ethane conversion at 725 °C. Well-known reference catalysts like 5%Cr/TS-1 or OMS-2 showed significantly lower selectivity, but the former was more active under the same conditions.     

Leveling up and down: The experiences of benign and malicious envy.

Envy is the painful emotion caused by the good fortune of others. This research empirically supports the distinction between two qualitatively different types of envy, namely benign and malicious envy. It reveals that the experience of benign envy leads to a moving-up motivation aimed at improving one’s own position, whereas the experience of malicious envy leads to a pulling-down motivation aimed at damaging the position of the superior other. Study 1 used guided recall of the two envy types in a culture (the Netherlands) that has separate words for benign and malicious envy. Analyses of the experiential content of these emotions found the predicted differences. Study 2 and 3 used one sample from the United States and one from Spain, respectively, where a single word exists for both envy types. A latent class analysis based on the experiential content of envy confirmed the existence of separate experiences of benign and malicious envy in both these cultures as well. The authors discuss the implications of distinguishing the two envy types for theories of cooperation, group performance, and Schadenfreude. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)