Detection of beeswax adulterations using concentration guide‐values

The concentrations of 102 chemical compounds (saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons, palmitates, total and free acids, total hydroxyacids, total and free alcohols, acidic monoesters and monoesterified 1,2,3‐propanetriols) have been determined by GC/FID on white and yellow comb beeswax of Apis mellifera from different regions of Spain. Guide‐value ranges are proposed for its characterization and to discriminate adulterated foundation beeswax sheets. The concentrations of many compounds resulted to be statistically different for white and yellow beeswaxes, while the observation of concentrations out of normal in some marketed foundation beeswax sheets suggested their adulteration. However, the measurement of anomalous concentrations in foundation beeswax sheets did not imply necessarily their rejection by the bees.     

CHARACTERIZATION OF EVA-BASED ADHESIVES CONTAINING DIFFERENT AMOUNTS OF ROSIN ESTER OR POLYTERPENE TACKIFIER

Different amounts (50-170 php--parts per hundred parts of EVA, 33-63 wt%) of two tackifiers (hydrogenated rosin ester, polyterpene resin) were added to an ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymer containing 28 wt% vinyl acetate. The EVA and the tackifier were characterized using infrared (IR) spectroscopy, DSC measurements, and stress-controlled plate-plate rheology. The properties and compatibility of the EVA-tackifier mixtures were studied using DSC, DMTA, and stress-controlled plate-plate rheology. Immediate adhesion was measured as a quantification of tack, and the T-peel strength of roughened styrene-butadiene rubber/EVA-tackifier adhesive joints was also obtained. The increase in the amount of tackifier noticeably changed the crystallinity of polyethylene blocks in the EVA, and the temperature at the cross-over between the curves of the storage and loss moduli as a function of the temperature was displaced to a lower value. Whereas the hydrogenated rosin ester was compatible with the amorphous ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer regions of the EVA (Tg value increased) reducing its crystallinity, the polyterpene resin was compatible with the polyethylene blocks of the EVA (T g value was not modified), increasing its crystallinity. Immediate adhesion of the EVA-tackifier mixtures was improved by adding both hydrogenated rosin ester and polyterpene tackifiers. On the other hand, there was an optimum tackifier content at which the maximum T-peel strength value was obtained.     

Effect of Grain Size on Mechanical Properties of Submicrometer 3Y-TZP: Fracture Strength and Hydrothermal Degradation

This paper considers fracture strength, fracture origins, and hydrothermal degradation of 3Y-TZP with grain sizes in the range of 110–480 nm. Biaxial fracture strength testing was used to show that the fracture strength increases with grain size and is governed by the concurrent change in fracture toughness. Hydrothermal degradation was studied by means of fractography, Raman microscopy and its effect on fracture strength. Up to 200 nm grain size, hydrothermal degradation of strength is limited. Larger grain sizes exhibit either premature failure or an increase in strength. A surface transformation zone was found to be responsible for both phenomena.     

Evaluation of the thermal and mechanical properties of poly(ε‐caprolactone), low‐density polyethylene,and their blends

The thermal and mechanical properties of low‐density polyethylene (LDPE), poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL), and their blends were evaluated. Differential scanning calorimetry showed that increasing the PCL content of the blend did not change the LDPE melting temperature, but reduced the crystallinity by up to 16.8%. This behavior was related to interactions between the PCL chains and the crystalline phase of LDPE. Tensile strength and elongation at break values for the blends were lower than those for the pure polymers, which suggested an incompatibility between the polymers. The values for Young's modulus under tensile increased when PCL was added to LDPE. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 91:3909–3914, 2004     

Energieinformatik

Due to the increasing importance of producing and consuming energy more sustainably, Energy Informatics (EI) has evolved into a thriving research area within the CS/IS community. The article attempts to characterize this young and highly dynamic field of research by describing current EI research topics and methods and provides an outlook of how the field might evolve in the future. It is shown that two general research questions have received the most attention so far and are likely to dominate the EI research agenda in the coming years: How to leverage information and communication technology (ICT) to (1) improve energy efficiency, and (2) to integrate decentralized renewable energy sources into the power grid. Selected EI streams are reviewed, highlighting how the respective research questions are broken down into specific research projects and how EI researchers have made contributions based on their individual academic background.     

Phase Stability of Fine-Grained (Mg,Y)-PSZ

A fine-grained zirconia, which has been costabilized with yttria and magnesia, has been prepared. Its stability during subeutectoid annealing at 1100^deg;C, and its hydrothermal stability during hydrothermal treatment at 180^deg;C, have been determined and they are compared to those of Y-TZP and Mg-PSZ materials .     

Li influx and binding, and li/mg competition in bovine chromaffin cell suspensions as studied by li NMR and fluorescence spectroscopy

Li(+) influx by bovine chromaffin cells, obtained from bovine adrenal medulla, was studied in intact cell suspensions using (7)Li NMR spectroscopy with the shift reagent [Tm(HDOTP)](4-). The influx rate constants, k(i), were determined in the absence and in the presence of two Na(+) membrane transport inhibitors. The values obtained indicate that both voltage sensitive Na(+) channels and (Na(+)/K(+))-ATPase play an important role in Li(+) uptake by these cells. (7)Li NMR T(1) and T(2) relaxation times for intracellular Li(+) in bovine chromaffin cells provided a T(1)/T(2) ratio of 305, showing that Li(+) is highly, immobilized due to strong binding to intracellular structures. Using fluorescence spectroscopy and the Mg(2+) fluorescent probe, furaptra, the free intracellular Mg(2+) concentration in the bovine chromaffin cells incubated with 15 mM LiCl was found to increase by about mM after the intracellular Li(+) concentration reached a steady state. Therefore, once inside the cell, Li(+) is able to displace Mg(2+) from its binding sites.     

A comparative study between chloride and calcined carbonate hydrotalcites as adsorbents for Cr(VI)

Hydrotalcite-type solids with different metal ions within the layers (M^II = Mg or Zn and M^III = Al and/or Fe) and carbonate or chloride between them have been synthesized. Chloride-LDHs and the solids obtained upon carbonate-LDHs calcination have been evaluated in the adsorptive removal of Cr(VI) from aqueous solutions. All the adsorption tests were carried out at 30 °C following two different stirring conditions: a) using a thermostatic bath with mechanical stirring at a speed of 52 rpm or b) in a sonicator bath under ultrasound waves. It was observed that no significant difference in the amount of adsorbed chromate is produced in both cases but the time spent to reach the equilibrium is much lower when the adsorbent/adsorbate mixture is submitted to ultrasounds. In all experiments L-type adsorption isotherms were obtained. The results show that chloride hydrotalcites are better adsorbents than calcined CO₃-hydrotalcites and in these last ones their adsorption capacity increases with increasing the surface area: MgAlFe > MgAl > MgFe > ZnAl.     

Isomerization of n-hexane over mono- and bimetallic Pd–Pt catalysts supported on ZrO2–Al2O3–WOx prepared by sol–gel

The catalytic performance of mono- and bimetallic Pd (0.6, 1.0 wt.%)–Pt (0.3 wt.%) catalysts supported on ZrO₂ (70, 85 wt.%)–Al₂O₃ (15, 0 wt.%)–WO_x (15 wt.%) prepared by sol–gel was studied in the hydroisomerization of n-hexane. The catalysts were characterized by N₂ physisorption, XRD, TPR, XPS, Raman, NMR, and FT-IR of adsorbed pyridine. The preparation of ZrW and ZrAlW mixed oxides by sol–gel favored the high dispersion of WO_x and the stabilization of zirconia in the tetragonal phase. The Al incorporation avoided the formation of monoclinic-WO₃ bulk phase. The catalysts increased their S_BET for about 15% promoted by Al₂O₃ addition. Various oxidation states of WO_x species coexist on the surface of the catalysts after calcination. The structure of the highly dispersed surface WO_x species is constituted mainly of isolated monotungstate and two-dimensional mono-oxotungstate species in tetrahedral coordination. The activity of Pd/ZrW catalysts in the hydroisomerization of n-hexane is promoted both with the addition of Al to the ZrW mixed oxide and the addition of Pt to Pd/ZrAlW catalysts. The improvement in the activity of Pd/ZrAlW catalysts is ascribed to a moderated acid strength and acidity, which can be correlated to the coexistence of W⁶⁺ and reduced-state WO_x species (either W⁴⁺ or W⁰). The addition of Pt to the Pd/ZrAlW catalyst does not modify significantly its acidic character. Selectivity results showed that the catalyst produced 2MP, 3MP and the high octane 2,3-dimethylbutane (2,3-DMB) and 2,2-dimethylbutane (2,2-DMB) isomers.     

Enhancing decentralized service discovery in open service-oriented multi-agent systems

Service-oriented multi-agent systems are dynamic systems that are populated by heterogeneous agents. These agents model their functionality as services in order to allow heterogeneous agents or other entities to interact with each other in a standardized way. Furthermore, due to the large-scale and adaptative needs of the system, traditional directory facilitators or middle-agents are not suitable for the management of agent services. This article proposes the introduction of homophily in service-oriented multi-agent systems to create efficient decentralized and self-organized structures where agents have a greater probability of establishing links with similar agents than with dissimilar ones. This similarity is based on two social dimensions: the set of services that an agent provides and the organizational roles that it plays. A second contribution is an algorithm for service discovery that it is carried out taking into account the local information that is related to the homophily between agents. The experiments compare our proposal with other proposals in distributed environments. The results show that the proposed structure and algorithm offer desirable features for service discovery in decentralized environments. Specifically, these features provide short paths and a high success rate in the service discovery process and resilience under deliberate failures.