Investigation of the fluid catalytic cracking of different H-Oil vacuum gas oils and their blends with hydrotreated vacuum gas oil

H-Oil vacuum gas oils obtained during hydrocracking of vacuum residual oils originated from the crudes Russian Export Blend, Basrah light, and Heavy Kazakh were cracked in a mixture with a hydrotreated vacuum gas oil in the LUKOIL Neftohim Burgas commercial fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit. Some of the H-Oil vacuum gas oils were also cracked in a laboratory FCC (ACE) unit. The results from the commercial and the laboratory tests showed that the laboratory FCC experiments in an ACE unit can be used to evaluate the effect of feed quality on the commercial FCC unit performance. The assumption that the conversion of a vacuum gas oil (VGO) blend in the fluid catalytic cracking could be considered as a linear combination of the conversion of the individual components made by other researchers was also confirmed in this study. The higher the hydrogen content in the vacuum residual oil of a crude is the higher the FCC conversion of the H-Oil VGO, obtained during hydrocracking of that high saturate vacuum residual oil, will be expected.     

Complex Transposon Insertion as a Novel Cause of Pompe Disease

Pompe disease (OMIM#232300) is an autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disorder caused by mutations in the GAA gene. According to public mutation databases, more than 679 pathogenic variants have been described in GAA, none of which are associated with mobile genetic elements. In this article, we report a novel molecular genetic cause of Pompe disease, which could be hardly detected using routine molecular genetic analysis. Whole genome sequencing followed by comprehensive functional analysis allowed us to discover and characterize a complex mobile genetic element insertion deep in the intron 15 of the GAA gene in a patient with infantile onset Pompe disease.     

Computer Modeling of Probable Decomposition Reactions: Cyclonitramines

An approach to computer synthesis and retrosynthesis of organic compounds was formulated, and the CASB (Computer-Assisted Structure Building) software for its computer implementation was created. The approach was evaluated by the example of computer generation of probable routes for reactions of homolytic decomposition. Elementary steps of homolysis reactions were modeled with the use of the “retrosynthetic” method. Each elementary reaction describes fragments that should be present in the structure and structural modifications that should be carried out to obtain reaction products. Target fragments are described in terms of production rules by specifying types of atoms, their formal charges and radical states, numbers of adjacent heteroatoms, hybridizations, etc. All possible intermediates of molecular homolysis reactions are generated by the program in a single step and then used in further search for probable pathways of decomposition during subsequent steps until the given maximum number of steps is achieved. Screening of advantageous pathways for these reactions was based on a set of empirical rules. The results obtained by the suggested approach and the corresponding program were illustrated by the example of some cyclic nitramines (RDX and HMX) and demonstrated good agreement with the experiment.     

Depletion of tylosin residues in feathers,muscle and liver from broiler chickens after completion of antimicrobial therapy

Tylosin is one of the most commonly used antimicrobial drugs from the macrolide family and in broiler chickens it is used specially for the treatment of infectious pathologies. The poultry industry produces several by-products, among which feathers account for up to 7% of a chicken’s live weight, thus they amount to a substantial mass across the whole industry. Feathers have been repurposed as an animal feed ingredient by making them feather meal. Therefore, the presence of high concentrations of residues from antimicrobial drugs in feathers might pose a risk to global public health, due to re-entry of these residues into the food chain. This work aimed to characterise the depletion behaviour of tylosin in feather samples, while considering its depletion in muscle and liver tissue samples as a reference point. To achieve this goal, we have implemented and validated an analytical methodology suitable for detecting and quantifying tylosin in these matrices. Sixty broiler chickens, raised under controlled conditions, received an oral dose of 32 mg kg^-1 of tylosin for 5 days. Tylosin was quantified in muscle, liver and feathers by liquid chromatography coupled with a photodiode array detector (HPLC-DAD). High concentrations of tylosin were detected in feather samples over the whole experimental period after completing both the therapy and the recommended withdrawal time (WDT). On the other hand, tylosin concentrations in muscle and liver tissue samples fell below the limit of detection of this method on the first sampling day. Our results indicate that the WDT for feather samples is 27 days, hence using feather meal for the formulation of animal diets or for other agricultural purposes could contaminate with antimicrobial residues either other livestock species or the environment. In consequence, we recommend monitoring this matrix when birds have been treated with tylosin, within the context of poultry farming.     

Diopside – Mg orthosilicate and diopside – Ba disilicate glass–ceramics for sealing applications in SOFC: Sintering and chemical interactions studies

Diopside (CaMgSi₂O₆) based glasses compositions containing magnesium orthosilicate or barium aluminosilicates phases have been appraised for sealing applications in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) and other solid-electrolyte devices. The sintering behavior and crystalline phase evolution of glass powders has been investigated under isothermal and non-isothermal conditions in the SOFC operating temperature range (800–900 °C). All the glass compositions exhibited two-stage shrinkage behavior resulting in well sintered and mechanically strong glass–ceramics with Augite as the primary crystalline phase. The appropriate coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), long term thermal stability (300 h at 900 °C), high electrical resistivity, good adhesion and minimal reactivity with SOFC components makes the investigated glass–ceramics potential candidates for further experimentation as SOFC sealants.     

Controlled ultraviolet (UV) photoinitiated fabrication of monolithic porous layer open tubular (monoPLOT) capillary columns for chromatographic applications

An automated column fabrication technique that is based on a ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diode (LED) array oven, and provides precisely controlled "in-capillary" ultraviolet (UV) initiated polymerization at 365 nm, is presented for the production of open tubular monolithic porous polymer layer capillary (monoPLOT) columns of varying length, inner diameter (ID), and porous layer thickness. The developed approach allows the preparation of columns of varying length, because of an automated capillary delivery approach, with precisely controlled and uniform layer thickness and monolith morphology, from controlled UV power and exposure time. The relationships between direct exposure times, intensity, and layer thickness were determined, as were the effects of capillary delivery rate (indirect exposure rate), and multiple exposures on the layer thickness and axial distribution. Layer thickness measurements were taken by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), with the longitudinal homogeneity of the stationary phase confirmed using scanning capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection (sC(4)D). The new automated UV polymerization technique presented in this work allows the fabrication of monoPLOT columns with a very high column-to-column production reproducibility, displaying a longitudinal phase thickness variation within ±0.8% RSD (relative standard deviation).     

Theoretical explanation of enhanced low dose rate sensitivity in erbium-doped optical fibers

A new theoretical framework is proposed to explain the dose and dose-rate dependence of radiation-induced absorption in optical fibers. A first-order dispersive kinetics model is used to simulate the growth of the density of color centers during an irradiation. This model succeeds in explaining the enhanced low dose rate sensitivity observed in certain kinds of erbium-doped optical fiber and provides some insight into the physical reasons behind this sensitivity.     

Solid oxide fuel cell composite cathodes based on perovskite and fluorite structures

This work presents the results related to the functionally graded fluorite (F)-perovskite (P) nanocomposite cathodes for IT SOFC. Nanocrystalline fluorites (GDC, ScCeSZ) and perovskites (LSrMn, LSrFNi) were synthesized by Pechini method. Nanocomposites were prepared by the ultrasonic dispersion of F and P powders in isopropanol with addition of polyvinyl butyral. Different techniques for deposition and sintering of functionally graded cathode materials were applied including traditional approaches as well as original methods, such as radiation-thermal sintering under electron beam or microwave radiation. Morphology, microstructure and elemental composition of nanocomposites was characterized by XRD and HRTEM/SEM with EDX. Even for dense composites, the sizes of perovskite and fluorite domains remain in the nanorange providing developed P-F interfaces. Oxygen isotope heteroexchange and conductivity/weight relaxation studies demonstrated that these interfaces provide a path for fast oxygen diffusion. The redistribution of the elements between P and F phases in nanocomposites occurs without formation of insulating zirconate phases. Button-size fuel cells with nanocomposite functionally graded cathodes, thin YSZ layers and anode Ni/YSZ cermet (either bulk or supported on Ni-Al foam substrates) were manufactured. For optimized composition and functionally graded design of P-F nanocomposite cathodes, a stable performance in the intermediate temperature range with maximum power density up to 0.5 W cm⁻² at 700 °C in wet H₂/air feeds was demonstrated.