Improved cotton dyeing with the direct dye Solamine Fast Red 4BL in the presence of ethylenediamine tetra (methylenephosphonic) acid

Ethylenediamine tetra (methylenephosphonic) acid when adsorbed by cotton fibres prior to the application of the direct dye Solamine Fast Red 4BL causes a marked increase rate of dyeing. It also improves the wet fastness properties of the dyed cotton.     

Correlation between factors controlling preparation of porous copper via sintering technique using experimental design

There are many factors which control the porosity of the final object during preparation of porous copper compact using PM (powder metallurgy) technique. The amount of filler material, its type, sintering temperature, sintering time and the pressure of compaction were recognized as the most important parameters. In this investigation, naphthalene was used as filler material during porous copper preparation. Also, the correlation between these parameters and the porosity degree of the final object was developed with the aid of 2^N factorial design experiments. It was found that the amount of naphthalene represents the most important parameter controlling the porosity degree in the final object.     

Compatible natural gradient policy search

Machine Learning - Trust-region methods have yielded state-of-the-art results in policy search. A common approach is to use KL-divergence to bound the region of trust resulting in a natural...     

Sharpness limitations in the projection of thin lines by use of the Talbot experiment

Studying the limitations of sharpness in self-images of the Talbot effect leads us to abandon the use of the paraxial assumption. In this respect, we will clarify the self-image concept and show experimentally and theoretically the influence of "nonparaxial effects" on the self-image. The boundary between paraxial and nonparaxial scalar theory is also clarified in this context. The Rayleigh criterion in aberration diffraction theory is adapted for explicit estimations of this boundary and the maximum sharpness of lines projected by use of the Talbot effect.     

Retardation of vat dye uptake on cotton by phosphonates

Cotton dyeing with Cibanone Brilliant Yellow GMD was found to be considerably retarded by the presence of phosphonates. The extent of retardation was proportional to the number of phosphonic acid groups present in the molecule of the phosphonate.     

Seismic analysis and design of electrical cable trays and support systems

Most cable trays in nuclear power plants are classified as seismic category I components. Current safety requirements dictate that all such components be adequately designed in order to remain functional during and after the most severe possible earthquake, so that a safe and orderly plant shut-down can be ensured. The design aspects of electrical cable trays and support systems are discussed from the seismic and structural standpoint. The effects of the inherent flexibility of commonly used cable trays is considered. A procedure for the selection of trays and the design of their support structure is recommended. The dynamic characteristics of typical trays are determined analytically and also from test results. The advantages of a rigid support system are discussed. Two procedures are presented for the design of the support systems, namely, static loading and spectral analysis. The interaction between trays and supports is discussed.     

Convex optimization with an interpolation-based projection and its application to deep learning

Machine Learning - Convex optimizers have known many applications as differentiable layers within deep neural architectures. One application of these convex layers is to project points into a...     

Date consumption and dietary significance in the United Arab Emirates

Date consumption in the United Arab Emirates was determined among different subgroups of the nation's society. Adult consumers of both sexes and different age groups (18–30 and 30–60) and occupations (students, workers, at home) were surveyed for information on their daily consumption of six date food groups (rutab, tamr, seh, debbs, batheeth and madlouj). Percentage distribution of portion size, frequency of consumption and season, over different consumer groups per date food group, were determined. Differences in the daily consumption of every date food group within and among the different population groups were tested. The most consumed date food groups were rutab and tamr, with rutab being more frequently consumed than tamr during the summer season. Overall, no major differences were observed in average daily consumption per capita of most of the date food groups between males and females, between employed and home‐based consumers, and between students and individuals of 18–30 years old. On average, daily consumption of dates per capita was 114.3 g, equivalent to 10 date fruits. However, it was noted that the younger population does not consume dates as much as the older population does. Nevertheless, data obtained highlighted the significance of dates in the UAE nation's diet considering the relatively high average consumption of dates per capita. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry     

A sustainable bio-adsorbent for thermal energy storage for space heating applications

Thermal energy storage is an emerging technology that allows the storage of heat when it is available, which can be used later. One of the available technologies for thermal energy storage is the adsorption of moisture from air by adsorbents. Several adsorbents have been studied in the literature for this application, but there is a need for a sustainable adsorbent that can be eco-friendly, cost effective, and available for scale-up for commercialization of the technology. The current paper focused on the synthesis of a flax shives-based composite (equal weight percent of flax shives and salt hydrates) prepared by the impregnation method and its application in thermal energy storage. The composite showed durability, stability, and reasonable energy storage density with a very low cost per unit of energy. The structural characterization of the hybrid was performed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM)/energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The thermal energy storage density, as well as the charging/discharging characteristics were measured using a laboratory-scale thermal energy storage apparatus. The flax/CaCl₂/LiCl hybrid showed reasonable energy storage density at 74 kWh/m³ for 50% inlet relative humidity after regeneration at 120°C. Although the energy storage density was not high, the flax/CaCl₂ composite was found to be the most cost-effective material, as it showed the lowest cost per energy stored at 0.98 CAD/kWh at 50% relative humidity (RH) after regeneration at 120°C.     

Application of natural hydroxyapatite in the treatment of polluted water: Utilization of dromedary bone as bioadsorbent

In this study, the dromedary bone waste was valorized by the obtainment of hydroxyapatite (HAp) and its application to remove crystal violet (CV) dye from aqueous solution. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, elemental analysis X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (XRF), particle size laser analysis, and the point of zero charge pH value (pHpzc) were realized to characterize the natural adsorbent. The capacity of HAp to adsorb CV was measured at different contact times, pH values, and initial dye concentrations. The results showed that the model that better described the experimental data of adsorption kinetics was the pseudo-second-order kinetic model (PSO). Freundlich model well fitted the sorption isotherms. A maximum sorption capacity of 266.66 mg/g of CV dye on natural HAp was obtained. Hence, dromedary bone treated might be valorized as a natural adsorbent for water treatment with low environmental risks.