Reaction kinetics and modelling of the gold catalysed glycerol oxidation

The kinetics of the glycerol oxidation using a carbon supported gold catalyst was studied experimentally in a batch reactor at oxygen pressures up to 10 bar and at temperatures from 25 to 100 °C. The influence of the mass transfer on the reaction was estimated and confirmed with theoretical calculations. A kinetic model has been proposed on the basis of a Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism for the experiments carried out in the kinetic regime and the kinetic parameters (reaction rate and adsorption constants as well as activation energies) were calculated.     

Facial feature extraction using complex dual-tree wavelet transform

In this paper, we propose a novel method for facial feature extraction using the directional multiresolution decomposition offered by the complex wavelet transform. The dual-tree implementation of complex wavelet transform offered by Selesnick is used (DT-DWT(S)) [I.W., Selesnick, R.G. Baraniuk, N.C. Kingsbury, The dual-tree complex wavelet transform, IEEE Signal Processing Magazine, 6, s.l., IEEE, November 2005, vol. 22, pp. 123–151.]. In the dual-tree implementation, two parallel discrete wavelet transform (DWT) with different lowpass and highpass filters in different scales are used. The linear combination of subbands generated by two parallel DWT is used to generate 6 different directional subbands with complex coefficients. A test statistic, which is derived with absolute value of complex coefficient, whose distribution matches very closely with the directional information in the 6 subbands of the DT-DWT(S) is derived and used for detecting facial feature edges. The use of the complex wavelet transform is motivated by the fact that it helps eliminate the effects of non-uniform illumination, and the directional information provided by the different subbands makes it possible to detect edge features with different directionalities in the corresponding image. Edge information of facial area is enhanced using multiresolution structure of DT-DWT(S). The proposed method also employs an adaptive skin colour model instead of a predefined skin colour statistic. The model is developed with a unimodal Gaussian distribution using the skin region which is extracted excluding the detected edge map obtained from the DT-DWT(S). By combining the edge information obtained by using DT-DWT(S) and the non-skin areas obtained from the pixel statistics, the facial features are extracted. The algorithm is tested over the well known Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and Marks Weber face databases. The average detection rate of the proposed method using DT-DWT(S) provides up to 9.6% improvement over the same method using discrete wavelet transform (DWT).     

A mixed integer programming model for remanufacturing in reverse logistics environment

Recently, there has been a growing interest in reverse logistics due to environmental deterioration. Firms incorporate reverse flow to their systems for such reasons as ecological and economic factors, government regulations and social responsibilities. In this paper a new mixed integer mathematical model for a remanufacturing system, which includes both forward and reverse flows, is proposed and illustrated on a numerical example. The proposed model provides the optimal values of production and transportation quantities of manufactured and remanufactured products while solving the location problem of dissassembly, collection and distribution facilities. The model is validated by using a set of experimental data reflecting practical business situation. Sensitivity analysis of the model is also presented.     

Catalytic activity of cobalt deposited on nanostructured poly(p-xylylene) films

Nanostructured and planar films of poly(p-xylylene) (PPX) are fabricated by an oblique angle polymerization method and coated with cobalt using electroless deposition. The catalytic activity of cobalt coated on the nanostructured and planar PPX films is studied by measuring the rate of hydrogen evolution by the hydrolysis of alkaline-stabilized sodium borohydride (NaBH₄) solution. The hydrogen release rate data show an asymptotic increase for the structured PPX film as a function of the electroless bath time, but the planar PPX films show a lower catalytic activity due to the inefficiency of cobalt deposition. The hydrogen release rate of the cobalt-coated nanostructured PPX film shows a rate between 2000 and 4250 mL(g min)⁻¹ (i.e., rate of hydrogen gas per cobalt mass at room temperature and pressure), which is comparable to the values obtained on platinum, and ruthenium systems.     

Doppler velocimetry of the uterine arteries after hysteroscopic rollerball endometrial ablation

The aim of this study was to document the Doppler indices [pulsatility index (PI) and resistance index (RI)] of the uterine arteries in 30 patients who underwent hysteroscopic rollerball endometrial ablation for dysfunctional uterine bleeding by transvaginal pulsed Doppler sonography, and to reveal whether treatment failures (persistent menometrorrhagia) can be predicted by the blood flow characteristics of the uterine arteries in advance. On the basis of the outcome of patients at the end of the first postoperative year, the Doppler indices of the uterine arteries were meaningful 1 year after the operation when PI (1.32 +/- 0.11; mean +/- SD) and RI (0.71 +/- 0.04) in six menometrorrhagic patients were statistically different from PI (2.19 +/- 0.28; 1.95 +/- 0.36 and 1.82 +/- 0.37) and RI (0.87 +/- 0.06; 0.82 +/- 0.06 and 0.81 +/- 0.04) in normally menstruating, amenorrhoeic and hypomenorrhoeic patients respectively (P < 0.05). On the other hand, the patients who would be menometrorrhagic one year after the operation had a thicker endometrium in the first post-operative month. These findings suggest that the angiogenetic role of the persistent endometrial islands after endometrial ablation needs at some time to be reflected as changes in the Doppler parameters of the uterine arteries.     

Energy and environmental sustainability assessment of a crude oil refinery by thermodynamic analysis

This study presents the assessment of energy and environmental sustainability metrics for a crude oil refinery consisting of three distillation columns. The assessments of the current operation and the retrofits for possible improvements are suggested by the thermodynamic analysis and energy analyzer. The main objective is to explore the scope of reducing the thermal energy consumption and CO₂ emissions for a more sustainable refinery operation. Thermodynamic analysis is carried out by using the thermal analysis capability of ‘column targeting tool’ to address the ‘energy intensity metrics’ and the ‘energy analyzer’ to design and improve the performance of the heat exchanger network system for process heat integration. Environmental pollution impact metrics are estimated from the ‘carbon tracking’ options with a selected CO₂ emission data source of US‐EPA‐Rule‐E9‐5711 and using crude oil as a primary fuel source for the hot utilities. The results indicate that column targeting tool, energy analyzer, and carbon tracking can estimate the energy and environmental sustainability metrics of an existing design and determine the scope of considerable improvements for reducing the costs of thermal energy required and emissions of carbon dioxide in a crude oil refinery operation. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bioinspired Directional Surfaces for Adhesion,Wetting, and Transport

In Nature, directional surfaces on insect cuticle, animal fur, bird feathers, and plant leaves are composed of dual micro‐nanoscale features that tune roughness and surface energy. Here, experimental and theoretical approaches for the design, synthesis, and characterization of new bioinspired surfaces demonstrating unidirectional surface properties are summarized. The experimental approaches focus on bottom‐up and top‐down synthesis methods of unidirectional micro‐ and nanoscale films to explore and characterize their anomalous features. The theoretical component focuses on computational tools to predict the physicochemical properties of unidirectional surfaces.     

Measured and simulated flow downstream of the submerged sluice gate

In this study, turbulent flow downstream of the submerged sluice gate was investigated experimentally and numerically. Experimental studies were conducted in a laboratory flume to measure the flow velocities and turbulence characteristics. Three‐dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation was performed to investigate the flow structure downstream of the sluice gate. It is found that the flow downstream of the submerged sluice gate is highly three‐dimensional and unsteady in nature because of the interaction of mean flow and recirculation flow. The three‐dimensional simulation results indicate that the interacted flow triggers the formation of two corner vortices. Secondary velocities associated with the free surface vortices are found to be about 6% of the mean jet velocity at the inlet, which is significant for the river bank erosion. Vortex induced free surface fluctuations were also observed in the vicinity of the submerged gate.     

Micro-array versus nano-array platforms: a comparative study for ODN detection based on SPR enhanced ellipsometry

The rapid and sensitive detection of DNA has recently attracted worldwide attention for a variety of disease diagnoses and detection of harmful bacteria in food and drink. In this paper, we carried out a comparative study based on surface plasmon resonance enhanced ellipsometry (SPREE) for the detection of oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) using micro- and nano-array platforms. The micro-arrayed surfaces were fabricated by a photolithography approach using different types of mask having varying size and shape. Well-ordered arrays of high aspect ratio polymeric nanotubes were also obtained using high molecular weight polystyrene (PS) and anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membranes having 200 nm pore diameters. The SPREE sensors were then prepared by direct coupling of thiolated probe-ODNs, which contain suitable spacer arms, on gold-coated micro- and nano-arrayed surfaces. We experimentally demonstrated that, for the first time, gold-coated free standing polymeric nano-arrayed platforms can easily be produced and lead to a significant sensor sensitivity gain compared to that of the conventional SPREE surfaces of about four times. We believe that such an enhancement in sensor response could be useful for next generation sensor systems.