Technology Trends in the Extractive Metallurgy of Zirconium,Titanium, Tantalum and Niobium

The reactive and refractory metals zirconium, titanium, tantalum and niobium have been in commercial production and industrial application over the last 30 years and more. With growing experience, there has been progressive improvement in process and equipment designs in the industrial practice. There has also been a continuous drive to develop entirely new processes, and to diversify the applications of these metals. The paper reviews the present status and the emerging trends, and places the Indian work in the global perspective.     

Stability of discrete-time bilinear systems with constant inputs

In this paper discrete-time bilinear systems are considered. Necessary and sufficient conditions are developed which ensure that for any constant input in an unbounded control domain, the trajectories of the system tend to the origin as time increases.     

Improved phase stability and electrochemical performance of (Y,In,Ca)BaCo3ZnO7+δ cathodes for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells

With an aim to combine the performance-enhancing properties of Ca with the stability-promoting properties of In in the swedenborgite YBaCo₄O_7+δ-based cathodes for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC), cation-substituted Y_1−x−yIn_xCa_yBaCo₃ZnO_7+δ (0.2 ≤ (x + y) ≤ 0.5) oxides have been explored. All samples presented in this work are stable in air after 120 h exposure to 600, 700, and 800 °C. Increasing In content shows a negligible impact on polarization resistances (R_p), but causes an increase in the activation energies (E_a) of (Y,In,Ca)BaCo₃ZnO_7+δ + Gd_0.2Ce_0.8O_1.9 (GDC) composite cathodes on 8 mol% yttria-stabilized zirconia (8YSZ) electrolyte supported symmetric cells. Increasing Ca content shows a decrease in R_p and an increase in E_a on similar electrochemical cells. All (Y,In,Ca)BaCo₃ZnO_7+δ samples investigated here show superior performance compared to the unsubstituted YBaCo₃ZnO_7+δ + GDC cathode in the range of 400–800 °C. Especially, the Y_0.5In_0.1Ca_0.4BaCo₃ZnO_7+δ + GDC composite cathode exhibits good performance on GDC electrolytes in the range of 400–600 °C. With superior phase stability and electrochemical performance, the (Y,In,Ca)BaCo₃ZnO_7+δ series of oxides are attractive cathode candidates for intermediate temperature SOFCs.     

Evaluating model fit for growth curve models: Integration of fit indices from SEM and MLM frameworks.

Evaluating overall model fit for growth curve models involves 3 challenging issues. (a) Three types of longitudinal data with different implications for model fit may be distinguished: balanced on time with complete data, balanced on time with data missing at random, and unbalanced on time. (b) Traditional work on fit from the structural equation modeling (SEM) perspective has focused only on the covariance structure, but growth curve models have four potential sources of misspecification: within-individual covariance matrix, between-individuals covariance matrix, marginal mean structure, and conditional mean structure. (c) Growth curve models can be estimated in both the SEM and multilevel modeling (MLM) frameworks; these have different emphases for the evaluation of model fit. In this article, the authors discuss the challenges presented by these 3 issues in the calculation and interpretation of SEM- and MLM-based fit indices for growth curve models and conclude by identifying some lines for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

No pain and gain!—experiences with Mentat on a biological application

Throughout much of the parallel processing community there is the sense that writing software for distributed-memory parallel processors Is subject to a ‘no pain—no gain’ rule: that In order to reap the benefits of parallel computation one must first suffer the pain of converting the application to run on a parallel machine. We believe this Is the result of Inadequate programming tools and not a problem Inherent to parallel processing. We will show that one can parallelize real scientific applications and obtain good performance with little effort If the right tools are used. Our vehicle for this demonstration is a 6000-line DNA and protein sequence comparison application that we have implemented in Mental, an object-oriented parallel processing system for both parallel and distributed architectures. We briefly describe the application and present performance information for both the Mentat version and a hand-coded parallel version of the application.     

Azoperoxide. VI. Selektive Spaltungen von β-Azo-acylperoxiden

Azoperoxides. VI. Selective Decomposition of β-Azoacylperoxides The selective decomposition of the O O-Groups in the azoperoxides 1 and 2 is possible by reaction with dimethylaniline at 35°C. Rate constants were measured and the decomposition products were analyzed. Intermediates are azoalkyl radicals. The radical yield of the amine induced decomposition of 2 in ethylbenzene is 8.2% at 35°C. UV irradiation of the azoperoxides 1 and 2 at 20°C in ethylbenzene results in a quantitative and selective decomposition of the azo groups. Intermediates are C-radicals with intact peroxide groups. The reaction of 1 and 2 with triethylstannane yields reduction products of the O O-groups and the NN-groups, respectively.     

Effects of heat-stress on production in dairy cattle

The southeastern United States is characterized as humid subtropical and is subject to extended periods of high ambient temperature and relative humidity. Because the primary nonevaporative means of cooling for the cow (radiation, conduction, convection) become less effective with rising ambient temperature, the cow becomes increasingly reliant upon evaporative cooling in the form of sweating and panting. High relative humidity compromises evaporative cooling, so that under hot, humid conditions common to the Southeast in summer the dairy cow cannot dissipate sufficient body heat to prevent a rise in body temperature. Increasing air temperature, temperature-humidity index and rising rectal temperature above critical thresholds are related to decreased dry matter intake (DMI) and milk yield and to reduced efficiency of milk yield. Modifications including shade, barns which enhance passive ventilation, and the addition of fans and sprinklers increase body heat loss, lowering body temperature and improving DMI. New technologies including tunnel ventilation are being investigated to determine if they offer cooling advantages. Genetic selection for heat tolerance may be possible, but continued selection for greater performance in the absence of consideration for heat tolerance will result in greater susceptibility to heat stress. The nutritional needs of the cow change during heat stress, and ration reformulation to account for decreased DMI, the need to increase nutrient density, changing nutrient requirements, avoiding nutrient excesses and maintenance of normal rumen function is necessary. Maintaining cow performance in hot, humid climatic conditions in the future will likely require improved cooling capability, continued advances in nutritional formulation, and the need for genetic advancement which includes selection for heat tolerance or the identification of genetic traits which enhance heat tolerance.     

Safety tests and antinutrient analyses of noni (Morinda citrifolia L.) leaf

BACKGROUND: Noni (Morinda citrifolia L.) leaves have a documented history of food use. However, previous safety and antinutrient studies are absent. The current investigation was conducted to assess the utility of noni leaves as food. RESULTS: No evidence of toxicity or differences in weight gain were observed in acute, subacute, and subchronic oral toxicity tests of ethanol–water (1:1 v/v) and hot‐water extracts of noni leaves in mice at doses of 2000, 200, and 20 mg kg^?1 body weight, respectively. Acute systemic anaphylaxis tests of the ethanol–water (4:1 v/v) and hot‐water extracts were negative. Further, leaf proteins were readily digested in simulated gastric fluid. Tannic acid concentrations in frozen and dried leaf were 1.6 and 25.8 g kg^?1, respectively. Phytic acid was not detected in the raw leaf (<1 g kg^?1). The average oxalic acid content was 1 g kg^?1 and was fairly uniform among 22 leaf samples from 11 islands throughout French Polynesia. Similarly, campesterol, stigmasterol, and β‐sitosterol content did not vary widely, suggesting low inter‐island content variability. CONCLUSIONS: The apparent lack of toxicity of the leaves and the hardiness of the plant make it ideal for further agricultural development, especially where sustained growth of other food crops is difficult. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry     

Subsolidus Relations in the La2O3─CuO─CaO Phase Diagram and the La2O3─CuO Binary Join

The phase diagram for the CuO-rich part of the La₂O₃─CuO join was redetermined. La₂Cu₂O₅ was found to have a lower limit of stability at 1002°± 5°C and an incongruent melting temperature of ∼1035°C. LagCu₇O₁₉ had both a lower (1012°± 5°C) and an upper (1027°± 5°C) limit of stability. Subsolidus phase relations were studied in the La₂O₃─CuO─CaO system at 1000°, 1020°, and 1050°C in air. Two ternary phases, La_1.9Ca_1.1Cu₂O_5.9 and LaCa₂Cu₃O_8.6, were stable at these temperatures, with three binary phases, Ca₂CuO₃, CaCu₂O₃, and La₂CuO₄. La₂Cu₂O₅ and La₈Cu₇O₁₉ were stable only at 1020°C, and did not support solid-solution formation.