Natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) based on citric acid and sucrose as a potential green technology: a comprehensive study of water inclusion and its effect on thermal,physical and rheological properties

In this work, NADES based on sucrose and citric acid was synthesised and evaluated. Physical properties such as density, viscosity and thermal profile were evaluated at different temperatures and water contents. Viscosity and density were inversely affected by temperature and water content. Increases in the sucrose fraction resulted in higher viscosity, but no differences in density were observed. The rheological model of Ostwald-de-Waele indicated three distinct rheological behaviours at different temperatures, water content and sucrose fractions. The Arrhenius model showed a good fit for the temperature effect on the apparent viscosity of all NADESs. The NADES decomposition temperature was approximately 393 K. The thermal characterisation revealed that all NADESs presented glass transitions at temperatures below 204.59 K, confirming their formation and stability. Based on these results, the NADES proposed appears as potential green solvent to be used in industrial processes such as extraction, separation and biochemical technology.     

Exploratory reconstructability analysis of accident TBI data

This paper describes the use of reconstructability analysis to perform a secondary study of traumatic brain injury data from automobile accidents. Neutral searches were done and their results displayed with a hypergraph. Directed searches, using both variable-based and state-based models, were applied to predict performance on two cognitive tests and one neurological test. Very simple state-based models gave large uncertainty reductions for all three DVs and sizeable improvements in percent correct for the two cognitive test DVs which were equally sampled. Conditional probability distributions for these models are easily visualized with simple decision trees. Confounding variables and counter-intuitive findings are also reported.     

Effects of phenolics in sorghum grain on its bitterness,astringency and other sensory properties

Despite the fact that condensed tannins are potentially important antioxidants, there is a general belief that tannins in sorghum confer objectionable sensory attributes. The objective of this study was to determine differences in the sensory attributes of sorghums containing different levels of total phenolic compounds. A trained sensory panel described and quantified the sensory attributes of different sorghums (condensed‐tannin containing and tannin‐free). All the sorghum cultivars were perceived as bitter and astringent. Bran infusions of tannin sorghums were perceived as darker, clearer, more bitter and more astringent than those of the tannin‐free sorghums, while those of tannin‐free sorghums were perceived as sweeter and cloudy. Sorghum whole‐grain rice from the tannin sorghums which had relatively soft endosperm texture (PAN 3860 and Ex Nola 97 GH) was perceived as dark, hard, chewy, bitter and astringent, while that from tannin‐free sorghums having relatively hard endosperm texture (Segaolane and Phofu) was perceived as soft, sweet and had a maize‐flavour. Surprisingly, the bitterness and astringency, as well as other sensory attributes of NS 5511 (tannin sorghum), were perceived as similar to PAN 8564 (tannin‐free sorghum) even though NS 5511 had more than twice the total phenol content of PAN 8564. This suggests not all condensed‐tannin containing sorghums have objectionable sensory attributes. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry     

Properties of high ash char particles derived from inertinite-rich coal: 1. Chemical,structural and petrographic characteristics

An investigation was undertaken to determine the properties of high ash coal–chars derived from South African discards rich in inertinites, for the development of suitable overall reaction rate models at low temperatures (<900 °C). Detailed characterisation results of the parent coal and chars prepared at 700 °C and 900 °C obtained from standard coal analytical methods, petrographic techniques, CCSEM image analysis and a surface adsorption method are presented. The parent coal consisted of 32% by volume of inertite (“pure” inertinite), 7% of vitrite (pure “vitrinite”), and 13% of bi- and tri-macerite, 30% of maceral/mineral mixtures (carbominerite) with 18% of mineral-rich material. Reflectances obtained from measurements taken on vitrinites and total maceral reflectance scans increased dramatically on charring at 900 °C and were accompanied by an extension of vitrinite reflectance class distributions indicating higher molecular ordering. Volatiles were liberated essentially from the original parent vitrinites, creating fine gas pores. Inertinites increased in reflectance but not in porosity and were characterised as dense char fractions in the final charred product, according to a coal form analysis. Structural change due to low temperature thermal stress fracturing (passive deflagration) occurred early on in the temperature regimes, creating increased surface areas and porosity. The chars consist of a high proportion (52%) of extraneous rock fragments together with minerals mainly as fine inclusions in carbon rich particles (13%). The chars had very low porosities and surface areas. These were created by the devolatisation of reactive maceral associations and deflagration. Such materials could introduce intra-particle diffusional effects during gasification and combustion of millimetre size particles at low temperatures.     

Diversifying Experiences of Community and the Implications for Addressing Place-based Poverty

The language of community is increasingly ambiguous yet the possibilities of cooperation in neighbourhood communities are central in many contemporary poverty reduction strategies targeting place-based disadvantage. Promoting neighbourhood community to redress socioeconomic disadvantage is emphasised at the same time that socioeconomic inequalities are acquiring marked spatial dimensions. In Australia, the implications of this for experiences of neighbourhood community have received limited attention. We present comparative analyses of perceptions of community in low-income and mixed neighbourhoods, and draw on related empirical and theoretical work to explore diversifying experiences of geographic community, and consider the implications for poverty reduction strategies targeting low-income neighbourhoods.     

Rethinking postwar planning history

This article discusses the impact of global transnationalism on postwar planning and considers the questions planning historians should address in future research. The topics assessed are planning and cosmopolitanism, the plurality of local planning practices, the stream of transnational influences on planning, and the modalities of power. The article considers comparative and transnational methodologies, and how they can best be applied to the postwar era.     

A profile of neuropsychological deficits in alcoholic women.

Neuropsychological deficits, most notable in executive, visuospatial, and functions of gait and balance, are detectable in alcoholic men even after a month of sobriety. Less well established are the severity and profile of persisting deficits in alcoholic women. The authors used an extensive test battery to examine cognitive and motor functions in 43 alcoholic women who were sober, on average, for 3.6 months. Functions most severely affected in alcoholic women involved visuospatial and verbal and nonverbal working memory processes as well as gait and balance. Areas of relative sparing were executive functions, declarative memory, and upper-limb strength and speed. The authors found that lifetime alcohol consumption was related to impairment severity on Block Design (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale--Revised, D. Wechsler, 1981) and verbal and nonverbal working memory, suggesting a dose effect of alcohol abuse. The alcohol-related deficits in working memory, visuospatial, and balance implicate disruption of prefrontal, superior parietal, and cerebellar brain systems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual differences in intuitive–experiential and analytical–rational thinking styles.

Two studies provide evidence for the reliability and validity of a new self-report measure of individual differences in intuitive–experiential and analytical–rational thinking based on cognitive–experiential self-theory (CEST). The Rational–Experiential Inventory (REI) was constructed to measure the 2 independent processing modes with a modified Need for Cognition Scale (NFC, J. T. Cacioppo & R. E. Petty, 1982) and a new scale, Faith in Intuition (FI). In Study 1, a factor analysis yielded 2 orthogonal factors corresponding to NFC and FI. Although heuristic processing was determined primarily by FI, NFC also contributed to heuristic responding, in line with CEST. The relation of FI and NFC to coping ability also was examined. In Study 2, the factor structure of the REI was replicated (N?=?973). NFC and FI were differentially related to measures of personality, adjustment, achievement, and interpersonal relations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)