Secondary products from high pressure hydrogenation of crambe oil

Hydrogenation of crambe oil, mainly an α,α’-dierucoyl triglyceride, in the presence of cadmium promoted copper-chromite provides long chain waxes being sought as sperm whale oil replacements. Gas liquid chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses of secondary products indicate, however, that reduction proceeds rather differently from Adkins-type hydrogenations of triglycerides over copper-chromium oxide catalysts. Monoand diunsaturated alkenes ranging from C₁₆-C₂₄, odd chain lengths included, constitute ca. 1% of the product. Esters of crambe acids with methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, and isopropyl alcohols account for less than 5%. These alcohols and traces of 1,2-propanediol from the hydrogenolysis of glycerol occur in either the head gas or the reaction mixture or both. In contrast to published results for Adkins-type hydrogenations of triglycerides, n-propyl alcohol is far more abundant than isopropyl alcohol or 1,2-propanediol. Isopropyl esters of C-18 acids are not present, and those of C-22 acids constitute no more than 2% of the total esters. Low proportion of isopropyl esters and enrichment of C-22 acids in the secondary products compared with C-18 acids suggest that the acyl substituent at the β-position of glycerol is eliminated during hydrogenation of crambe oil with a Cd−Cu−Cr catalyst. Presented at the AOCS Meeting, Mexico City, April 1974. ARS, USDA.     

Lactobacillic and methyl-branched olefinic acids inByrsocarpus coccineus seed oil

A detailed investigation of the seed oil ofByrsocarpus coccineus Schum. and Thonn. has disclosedcis-11,12-methyleneoctadecanoic (lactobacillic) (13%) and two branched octadecenoic acids (0.1%). Other fatty acids in the oil are those normally associated with seed lipids except for an unusually high proportion (12%) ofcis-11-octadecenoic acid. Lactobacillic acid has long been known as a constituent of certain bacterial lipids, but this is the first report of its presence in a seed oil. The branched olefinic acids have not heretofore been found to occur in plants. Mention of firm names or trade products does not imply endorsement or recommendation by the Department of Agriculture over other firms or similar products not mentioned.     

Palmitoleic acid inRoureopsis obliquifoliata (Connaraceae) Seed oil

Roureopsis obliquifoliata Schellenberg seeds contain an oil (45% by weight) comprised primarily of 16-carbon fatty acids. Palmitic acid constitutes 50% of the fatty acids, palmitoleic acid 32%, and small amounts of the usual C₁₈ acids make up the remainder. Identifications were based on Chromatographic properties of the acids and their ozonolysis products.     

Detection of spermaceti in a hand cream

The presence of spermaceti, an embargoed item, was confirmed in a sample of hand cream detained by federal agents. The identification was based on chromatographic characteristics of the intact wax esters and of their component fatty acids and alcohols. These acids and alcohols were combined in a manner so closely resembling spermaceti that they undoubtedly came from this source.     

Critical evaluation of coupling particle size distribution with the shrinking core model

The shrinking core model (SCM) is widely used to model fluid-solid reactions such as the leaching of metals from minerals. In most cases, however, the particle size distribution (PSD) of the solid material was disregarded. In this paper the erroneous shift in the control regime when neglecting PSD was quantified and the dependence of the shift on the coefficients of variation (CV) and the type of PSD was analysed. By coupling the SCM with a Gamma PSD, it was found that neglecting the PSD would shift the control regime from chemical reaction to inert/ash layer diffusion, when the CV was between 0.7 and 1.2. For a system controlled by liquid film diffusion, neglect of the PSD, would shift the control regime to chemical reaction when CV is between 0.3 and 0.7 or to inert/ash layer diffusion when CV is greater (0.9-1.5). It was therefore postulated that some researchers had unknowingly made invalid conclusions about the control regime due to the neglect of PSD. However, an inert/ash layer diffusion-controlled process was insensitive to the neglect of PSD. When CV<0.3, neglect of the PSD would not cause any erroneous shifts, irrespective of the control regime. Experimental data confirmed the observation. For a given CV, the deviation in the fraction reacted from the mono-PSD increases with CV and decreases with time. The maximum deviation, which occurs at the beginning, is about 10% with a gamma PSD of CV=0.3. The percent deviation is dependent of the type of PSDs. Gamma PSD gives the lowest deviation while Gaudin-Schuhmann results in the largest deviation (maxi. ∼19%, with CV=0.3) in the first half of dissolution process. Log-normal distribution gives a larger deviation than gamma but quickly approaches the latter with time. The deviation for Rosin-Rammler is between log-normal and Gaudin-Schuhmann. For systems with CV less than 0.3, the SCM can be fairly used without considering PSD. When CV is greater than 0.3, particularly in the early stage of a dissolution process with a PSD other than gamma, PSD should be included to avoid substantial errors.     

An observer-based approach for the projection onto a 2d-curve under movement

Standard path control laws of autonomous vehicles use the shortest distance between the vehicle’s position and the path as a control error. In order to determine this distance, the projection point onto the path needs to be determined continuously. This requires fast algorithms that feature high numerical reliability in the field of vehicle application.This paper presents two different observer-based approaches for the projection problem. The identity observer reconstructs all states of interest for path control. The second one, a reduced observer, only possesses the curve parameter as a state and calculates the other values by algebraic formulas. Both algorithms consider the continuous movement of the vehicle, the run of the curve, and work without any approximation of the curve. Furthermore, they are applicable for arbitrary parameterized smooth curves, guarantee the required numerical stability, have short calculating time, and show good statistical properties. The performance is shown in several simulations as well as under real conditions.     

The Philosophy of Critical Realism—An Opportunity for Information Systems Research

It is argued that recent research in the information systems field has tended to either emphasise the structural/collective dimension or the agency/individual dimension, not both. Structuration theory is a more recent attempt to address both agency and structure, however there are a number of issues with the use of structuration theory in information systems research, not the least of which is its lack of recognition of the temporal and longitudinal nature of information systems development. A relatively new philosophy, critical realism, provides the potential for a new approach to social investigations in its provision of an ontology for the analytical separation of structure and agency. The philosophy is introduced and its implications for sociological investigation are discussed.     

Effective on-line algorithms for reliable due date quotation and large-scale scheduling

We consider the sequencing of a series of jobs that arrive at a single processor over time. At each job’s arrival time, a due date must be quoted for the job, and the job must complete processing before its quoted due date. The objective is to minimize the sum (or average) of quoted due dates, or equivalently, the average quoted lead time. In this paper, we propose on-line heuristics for this problem and characterize the conditions under which these heuristics are asymptotically optimal. Computational testing further demonstrates the relative effectiveness of these heuristics under various conditions. Both authors made equal contributions to this paper and are listed in alphabetical order.     

The Attentional Dynamics of Masked Detection.

A dichoptic masking procedure was used to test whether the mask-dependent cuing effects found in luminance detection by P. L. Smith (2000a) were due to integration masking or interruption masking. Attentional cuing enhanced detection sensitivity (d') when stimuli were backwardly masked with either dichoptic or monoptic masks, whereas no cuing effect was found with unmasked stimuli, implying the mask dependencies were due to interruption of stimulus processing in visual cortex by the mask. The effect is predicted by a gated diffusion process model in which masks interrupt stimulus processing and attention controls the flow of information to a sequential-sampling decision mechanism. The model correctly predicts different patterns of performance for detection and discrimination and cuing effects in simple reaction time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)