Gasification of western canadian lignite coals

Samples of a typical Estevan lignite coal (empirical formula CH_0.81 O_0.25 N_0.01 S_0.003) with a heating value of 16.713 MJ/kg were gasified with air only and air/steam mixtures at near atmospheric and high pressures up to 6 MPa. The carbon content of ash/char residues of the gasification reactions varied from 1.2% for air/steam reactions and was in the 16-53% range for reactions using air only, For all experiments the end point was clearly indicated by a rapid change in oxygen concentration in the gas samples. Plots of the fractional conversion of carbon as a function of time, showed high initial reaction rates as the volatile matter in coal is gasified. The rates diminish as the carbon is being consumed. The heating values for the gas samples collected during each run showed a large correlation with the methane content of the sample.     

Automated analysis of DNA hybridization images for high-throughput genomics

The design and implementation of a computer vision system called DNAScan for the automated analysis of DNA hybridization images is presented. The hybridization of a DNA clone with a radioactively tagged probe manifests itself as a spot on the hybridization membrane. The imaging of the hybridization membranes and the automated analysis of the resulting images are imperative for high-throughput genomics experiments. A recursive segmentation procedure is designed and implemented to extract spotlike features in the hybridization images in the presence of a highly inhomogeneous background. Positive hybridization signals (hits) are extracted from the spotlike features using grouping and decomposition algorithms based on computational geometry. A mathematical model for the positive hybridization patterns and a Bayesian pattern classifier based on shape-based moments are proposed and implemented to distinguish between the clone-probe hybridization signals. Experimental results on real hybridization membrane images are presented.Received: 25 June 2002, Accepted: 11 November 2003, Published online: 17 February 2004 Correspondence to: Suchendra M. Bhandarkar     

Bibliometric indicators of Indian research collaboration patterns: A correspondence analysis

International collaboration is becoming an increasingly significant issue in science. During the last few years, a large number of bibliometric studies of co-authorships have been reported. Mostly, these studies have concentrated on country-to-country collaboration, revealing general patterns of interaction. In this study we analyze international collaborative patterns as indicated in the Indian publications by tracking out multi author publications as given in Science Citation Index (SCI) database. Correspondence analysis is used for analysis and interpretation of the results. According to correspondence analysis of the data set, Physics, Chemistry, Clinical medicine are the first, second and third largest subjects having international collaboration. USA, Italy, Germany, France, England are the top five countries with which India is collaborating. The data set shows an association between Physics and Italy, Switzerland, Algeria, Finland, South Korea, Russia, Netherlands contrasting an association between Biology & Biochemistry, Immunology, Ecology & Environment, Geosciences, Multidisciplinary subjects and England, Japan, Canada. It also shows an association between Agriculture and Philippines, Canada, Denmark in contrast to an association between Chemistry and Malaysia, Germany, France. An association between Clinical medicine, Astrophysics and England, Sweden, USA, New Zealand in contrast to an association between Agriculture and Canada, Philippines, Denmark is shown. An association between Engineering, Mathematics, Computer Science, Neuroscience and Singapore, Canada, USA in contrast to an association between Chemistry, Astrophysics and Malaysia, Spain is shown. This association of collaborating countries and disciplines almost tallies with the publication productivity of these countries in different disciplines.     

Palladium‐Catalyzed C?H Functionalization of Ferrocenecarboxylic Acid by using 8‐Aminoquinoline as a Removable Directing Group

A mild and efficient palladium‐catalyzed synthetic method for the C H functionalization of N‐(quinolin‐8‐yl)ferrocenecarboxamide has been developed. Various aryl iodides containing I, NO₂, CN, COMe, CO₂Et, and NH functionalities and also alkyl iodides underwent the Pd‐catalyzed intermolecular carbon‐carbon bond forming reaction with ferrocenecarboxamide successfully which led to a diverse array of bis(aryl/alkyl)ferrocenecarboxamides in 34–92% yields. Cross‐coupling of the ferrocenyl C H bond with aryl iodides can also be achieved utilizing an economical Ni catalyst. Additionally, selective monoalkylation of ferrocenecarboxamide was studied using sodium bicarbonate as base and dibenzylphosphoric acid as additive under Pd‐catalyzed reaction conditions. Subsequently, removal of the directing group, 8‐aminoquinoline, from bis(aryl)ferrocenecarboxamides led to bis(aryl)ferrocenes bearing versatile methyl ester and carboxaldehyde functional groups.

     

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Residential Soils from an Indian City near Power Plants Area and Assessment of Health Risk for Human Population

This article deals with the distribution, composition profiles, and possible sources of sixteen priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in residential soils from Korba district in Chhattisgarh State, India. Sixteen priority PAHs in soils were analyzed after ultrasonic extraction, silica gel column chromatographic cleanup, and quantitation was performed using HPLC-DAD. The concentrations of ∑16PAHs were within acceptable limits of soil quality guidelines and the study area got classified as weakly contaminated. The concentration of probable human carcinogenic PAHs in soils accounted for 10% of ∑16PAHs. The concentration of Benzo(a)Pyrene (BaP) accounted 1% to total PAHs. Benzo(a)pyrene Toxicity Equivalency (BaP_TEQ) for 16 PAHs was 30 ± 12 μg BaP_TEQ kg^?1. The composition profiles and molecular ratios of PAHs suggested mixed pyrogenic sources of PAHs from combustion of coal, wood, and vehicular exhaust emissions. Human health risk was assessed by calculating the lifetime average daily dose (LADD) and incremental life time cancer risk (ILCR) for human adults and children. Estimated ILCR was within safe limit (10^?6?10^?5), indicating low risk to human population. Potential risk to contaminated ground water from leaching of carcinogenic PAHs was assessed by estimating the Index of Additive Cancer Risk (IACR).     

Studies on a newly developed linseed oil‐based alumina‐filled polyesteramide anticorrosive coating

Polyesteramide (PEA) and alumina‐filled polyesteramide (APEA) resins were synthesized from N,N′‐bis(2 hydroxyethyl) linseed amide. The FTIR, ¹H‐NMR, DSC, TGA, thermal curing, and physico‐chemical characterization of these polymers were carried out. The coatings of PEA and APEA were made on mild steel strips. The mechanical behavior and protective efficiency of these coatings in acid, alkali, and organic solvents were investigated. APEA coatings have been found to show superior performance in comparison to other coatings. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 72: 1679–1687, 1999     

Short-Term Ingestion of Essential Amino Acid Based Nutritional Supplements or Whey Protein Improves the Physical Function of Older Adults Independently of Gut Microbiome

Scope : Dietary proteins and essential amino acids (EAAs) are the major nutritional supplements that support the growth and activity of gut microbes contributing to the wellbeing of their host. This study hypothesizes that daily supplementation of the diet with either EAAs or whey protein for 12 weeks would improve the gut microbiome of older adults. Methods and results : The stool samples are processed and subjected to Illumina-based 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) gene amplicon sequencing. In both groups, the most abundant families are found in order of relative abundance included: Bacteroidaceae, Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcaceae, Prevotellaceae, Rikenellaceae, Enterobacteriaceae, Oscillospiraceae, Tannerellaceae, and Akkermansiaceae, which indicate that these subjects are able to maintain a same healthy microbial diversity in their guts. A significant finding is a reduction of proinflammatory cytokine, interleukin-18 (IL-18) in the EAAs group. It also uses the standard 6-min walking test (6MWT) as a measure of cardiopulmonary fitness. At the end of the study, the subjects in the EAAs group perform significantly better in the 6MWT as compared to the whey group. Conclusion : It seems plausible that the improved physical performance and reduced proinflammatory cytokine, IL-18 seen in the EAAs group, are independent of changes in gut microbiota.     

Modeling of poly(amic acid) and polyimide reactors

A comprehensive kinetic model is presented which accounts for the major and side reactions present in poly(amic acid) and polyimide reactors. The mathematical framework is quite general and permits incorporation of heat- and mass-transfer aspects typically encountered in large-scale reactors. A few rate constants were curve-fitted using some (limited) experimental data available in the open literature. Using these (and the other rate constants from the literature), some interesting phenomena have been predicted at higher temperatures. Detailed experimental data are required to evaluated all the rate constants with precision. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 66: 2059–2079, 1997