Experience plan for controlled‐atmosphere cone calorimeter by Doehlert method

Controlled‐atmosphere cone calorimeter is an interesting test method to study at the same time the effect of oxygen concentration and radiant heat flux on materials' fire behaviour and gas release. However, measurements in an extended range for these two variables can be tedious. To optimize the experimental measurement, this paper proposes a methodology based on the Doehlert design. The Doehlert method allows significant optimization of the number of tests. The optimization of measurement response is then accomplished using polynomial approximations to establish fire behaviour constitutive. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Inulinase Production by Agro-Industrial Residues: Optimization of Pretreatment of Substrates and Production Medium

In this work, production of inulinase was studied. Media formulation was optimized by experimental design and response surface techniques, as well as the pretreatment of the agro-industry residues used in the formulation of fermentation medium. Two agro-industry residues were investigated: sugarcane molasses (SCM) and corn steep liquor (CSL). Pretreatment with sulfuric acid was the most effective for clarification of SCM (pH 5.0, 24 h of resting time and final pH 4.0). Clarification of CSL was accomplished with phosphoric acid (pH 3.0, 24 h of resting time and final pH 5.5). A color reduction of approximately 70% was achieved for both substrates. The highest production of inulinase was obtained in a medium containing 100 g l⁻¹ of pretreated SCM, 100 g l⁻¹ of pretreated CSL and 6 g l⁻¹ of Prodex Lac (yeast hydrolysate), yielding 1,139 U ml⁻¹.     

Fault detection and identification relying on set-membership identifiability

Identifiability is the property that a mathematical model must satisfy to guarantee an unambiguous mapping between its parameters and the output trajectories. It is of prime importance when parameters must be estimated from experimental data representing input–output behavior and clearly when parameter estimation is used for fault detection and identification. Definitions of identifiability and methods for checking this property for linear and nonlinear systems are now well established and, interestingly, some scarce works (Braems et al., 2001, Jauberthie et al., 2011) have provided identifiability definitions and numerical tests in a bounded-error context. This paper resumes and better formalizes the two complementary definitions of set-membership identifiability and μ-set-membership identifiability of Jauberthie et al. (2011) and presents a method applicable to nonlinear systems for checking them. This method is based on differential algebra and makes use of relations linking the observations, the inputs and the unknown parameters of the system. Using these results, a method for fault detection and identification is proposed. The relations mentioned above are used to estimate the uncertain parameters of the model. By building the parameter estimation scheme on the analysis of identifiability, the solution set is guaranteed to reduce to one connected set, avoiding this way the pessimism of classical set-membership estimation methods. Fault detection and identification are performed at once by checking the estimated values against the parameter nominal ranges. The method is illustrated with an example describing the capacity of a macrophage mannose receptor to endocytose a specific soluble macromolecule.     

Degradation of a sulfonated aryl ether ketone model compound in oxidative media (sPAEK)

Poor durability of polymer electrolyte membranes is one of the most limiting factors of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). Hydrogen peroxide which is formed electrochemically or chemically during operation is one of the potential deteriorating factors, particularly for polyaromatic membranes. To be able to increase membrane durability, the aging path involved must be elucidated. To give an insight into the degradation mechanism of sulfonated polyaryl ether ketones (sPAEK) a study on model compound has been performed. Each species produced has been collected by liquid chromatography and identified by NMR, IR and mass spectroscopies. We have demonstrated that degradation proceeds through the addition of a hydroxyl radical on the aromatic ring. Then, the oxidation of these phenolic groups leads to several chain scissions. On the basis of these experiments, a strategy can be drawn to improve the membrane durability.     

Heterogeneous Transformation of Glycerol to Lactic Acid

Significant yields of lactic acid (LA) are obtained during the treatment of glycerol solution under inert gas with supported metallic catalysts under basic conditions. The nature of the atmosphere and the metal affected the activity and the selectivity of the reaction. Iridium-based catalysts are efficient for LA synthesis.     

New Electrosynthesis of Arylboronic Esters from Aromatic Halides and Pinacolborane

A novel synthesis of arylboronic esters by a reductive electrochemical coupling reaction between aromatic halides and pinacolborane (HBpin, pin=pinacolate) has been carried out leading to arylboronic esters in moderate to good yields.     

Thermal degradation kinetics of a commercial epoxy resin—Comparative analysis of parameter estimation methods

The thermal degradation behavior of a commercial epoxy resin, EpoFix® (Struers), has been investigated by thermogravimetry (TG), differential thermal gravimetry (DTG), and differential thermal analysis (DTA) under nonisothermal conditions in an argon atmosphere. Different methods (Kissinger, Flynn–Wall–Ozawa (FWO), Friedman isoconversion methods, and nonlinear least‐squares (NLSQ) estimation method) have been used to analyze the thermal degradation process and determine the apparent kinetic parameters. The methods produce similar results in terms of activation energy estimations. Nevertheless, the NLSQ method has several advantages over the other methods in terms of both characterizing the activation energy and modeling the thermal degradation—i.e., including this model in a resin degradation process simulation. However, it is interesting to combine the NLSQ method with other isoconversion methods: they can reflect the dependence and variability of the activation energies during pyrolysis processes, while providing a good starting point for a nonlinear procedure, especially with respect to the activation energy E. This work is the first step (apparent kinetic reaction) of complete simulation of experimental oven of degradation of epoxy resin coating of impregnate nuclear fuel sample. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 42201.     

Antifungal activity of 2 lactic acid bacteria of the Weissella genus isolated from food

Abstract: In the present study, a total of 116 lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains isolated from Mill flour and fermented cassava were screened for their antifungal activity. Three strains among 116 were selected for their strongest inhibitory activity against food molds. These 3 strains were Lactobacillus plantarum VE56, Weissella cibaria FMF4B16, and W. paramesenteroides LC11. The compounds responsible for the antifungal activity were investigated. The strains displayed an inhibitory activity against targeted molds at acidic pH. However, the influence of organic acids was rejected according to the calculated minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC). Antifungal compounds were investigated in the cell‐free supernatants and phenyllactic acid (PLA) was detected in different amounts with a maximal concentration for Lb. plantarum VE56 (0.56 mM). Hydroxy fatty acid, such as 2‐hydroxy‐4‐methylpentanoic acid, was also produced and involved in the inhibitory activity of Lb. plantarum VE56 and W. paramesenteroides LC11. Antifungal LAB are known to produce PLA and 3‐hydroxy fatty acids and other organic acids with antifungal activity. This short communication focuses on antifungal activity from Weissella genus. The antifungal activity was attributed to antifungal compounds identified such as PLA, 2‐hydroxy‐4‐methylpentanoic acid, and other organic acids. Nevertheless, the concentration produced in the cell‐free supernatant was too low to compare to their MIC, suggesting that the inhibitory activity was caused by a synergy of these different compounds. Practical Application: Antifungal LAB are interesting to prevent food spoilage in fermented food and prolong their shelf life. In this way, chemical preservatives could be avoided and replaced by natural preservatives.     

Using twentieth century masterworks in school

This paper describes methods of learning based on the use of architectural masterpieces of the first half of the twentieth century. A particular case, involving the rehabilitation of Le Corbusier's Unite d'Habitation in Firminy, is presented in detail to demonstrate that the benefits of such methods encompass more than learning technology and detailing, and to show that such student work may have an intrinsic interest beyond the pedagogical. This is followed by a discussion of the more general ideas underlying such teaching methods.