Oil Content,Oil Yield and Fatty Acid Profile of Groundnut Germplasm in Mediterranean Climates

A high amount of good-quality vegetable oil in seeds has an overwhelming contribution to the groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) cultivation throughout the world. In order to take into account great variation in oil characteristics in Arachis subspecies and botanical varieties, 256 groundnut genotypes including ICRISAT’s mini core collection were investigated. Significant variability in oil content (31.7–57.0%) was detected among groundnut genotypes. Oil yield varied from 9.5 to 179.3 kg da^?1 with the average being 67.7 kg da^?1. Significant genotypic differences were also observed for all the fatty acids studied. Oleic and linoleic acids accounted for the major fraction with mean values of 45.3 and 32.1% in the ranges of 35.3–60.9% and 16.1–43.6%, respectively. Significant negative correlation was observed between oleic and linoleic acid. In the present investigation, desirable values were obtained for oil traits which would be useful to develop nutritional and health-beneficial cultivars.     

Thermal stabilization of an active alumina and effect of dopants on the surface area

The -AI₂O₃ transformation of a monolithic active alumina has been increased from 1200 to 1380 C through structural incorporation of silica. This shift is significant since -Al₂O₃ transformation determines the limits of the usefulness of these materials as catalysts and catalyst carriers. The thermal stabilization effect is optimized at around 6% silica doping. At elevated temperatures, the material containing no silica rapidly loses surface area, primarily by -Al₂O₃ transformation, whereas the material containing excess silica loses surface area by classical sintering.     

Zirconium oxides formed by hydrolytic condensation of alkoxides and parameters that affect their morphology

When zirconium oxides are formed via hydrolytic condensation of zirconium alkoxides, the particle size and morphology of the resultant zirconia is strongly affected by certain parameters during the condensation. These parameters include: the type of alkyl group in the alkoxide, water/alkoxide ratio, molecular separation of species, and the reaction temperature. The particle size and the morphology in turn affect the sintering behaviour and crystalline transformation of ZrO₂, In this work the parameters that affect the formation of ZrO₂ from zirconium alkoxides are investigated. It has been shown that the alkyl groups and molecular separations during the hydrolytic polycondensation have particular significance in the modification of monoclinic tetragonal transformation of the resultant ZrO₂. Tetragonal phase can also be stabilized by copolymerization of ZrO₂ with SiO₂ producing tough ceramic materials.     

Maximizing lifetime of event-unobservable wireless sensor networks

In wireless sensor networks (WSNs) contextual information such as the information regarding whether, when, and where the data is collected cannot be protected using only traditional measures (e.g., encryption). Contextual information can be protected against global eavesdroppers by periodic packet transmission combined with dummy traffic filtering at proxy nodes. In this paper, through a Linear Programming (LP) framework, we analyze lifetime limits of WSNs preserving event-unobservability with different proxy assignment methodologies. We show that to maximize the network lifetime data flow should pass through multiple proxies that are organized as a general directed graph rather than as a tree.     

Force-torque based on-line tool wear estimation system for CNC milling of Inconel 718 using neural networks

In a modern machining system, tool condition monitoring systems are needed to get higher quality production and to prevent the downtime of machine tools due to catastrophic tool failures. Also, in precision machining processes surface quality of the manufactured part can be related to the conditions of the cutting tools. This increases industrial interest for in-process tool condition monitoring (TCM) systems. TCM supported modern unmanned manufacturing process is an integrated system composed of sensors, signal processing interface and intelligent decision making strategies. This study includes key considerations for development of an online TCM system for milling of Inconel 718 superalloy. An effective and efficient strategy based on artificial neural networks (ANN) is presented to estimate tool flank wear. ANN based decision making model was trained by using real time acquired three axis (F_x, F_y, F_z) cutting force and torque (M_z) signals and also with cutting conditions and time. The presented ANN model demonstrated a very good statistical performance with a high correlation and extremely low error ratio between the actual and predicted values of flank wear.     

Synthesis,characterization and cytotoxicity of novel modified poly[(maleic anhydride)‐ co‐(vinyl acetate)]/noradrenaline conjugate

Poly[(maleic anhydride)‐co‐(vinyl acetate)] (MAVA) copolymer was synthesized by free radical polymerization reaction, in methyl ethyl ketone at 80 °C, using benzoyl peroxide as the initiator. The copolymer was then modified with a biomolecule, noradrenaline (NA). The modification reaction was performed at 70 °C in dimethylformamide containing triethylamine as the catalyst. The modified polymer was named MAVA/NA. Structural characterization of the copolymer and the modified product was carried out by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. The FTIR, ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR spectra confirmed that NA was successfully covalently bound to the MAVA copolymer backbone. Surface morphology was visualized by atomic force microscopy. The cumulative release of NA from MAVA/NA was determined in phosphate buffered saline solution for 7 days at 37 °C and compared with MAVA. Cytotoxicity of the MAVA/NA was evaluated by using a mouse fibroblast cell line (L929). Results obtained indicated that MAVA/NA had almost no toxicity and no negative effect on cell viability at 250 µg mL^?1 concentration. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Discrete dislocation dynamics simulations of plasticity at small scales

Discrete dislocation dynamics simulations in three dimensions have been used to examine the role of dislocation multiplication and mobility on the plasticity in small samples under uniaxial compression. To account for the effects of the free surfaces a boundary-element method, with a superposition technique, was employed. Cross-slip motion of the dislocation was also included, and found to be critical to the modeling of the dislocation behavior. To compare directly with recent experiments on micropillars, simulation samples at small volumes were created by cutting them from bulk three-dimensional simulations, leading to a range of initial dislocation structures. Application was made to single-crystal nickel samples. Comparison of the simulation results and the experiments are excellent, finding essentially identical behavior. Examination of details of the dislocation mechanism illuminates many features unique to small samples and points directly to the importance of both the surface forces and cross-slip in understanding small-scale plasticity.     

Early deuteration steps of Pd- and Ta/Pd- catalyzed Mg70Al30 thin films observed at room temperature

Deuterium absorption in Mg₇₀Al₃₀ thin films coated with a Pd layer and a Ta/Pd bilayer were investigated using in situ neutron reflectometry at room temperature and deuterium pressures up to 1.3 bar. The approach used provides a detailed profile, at the nanoscale, of the deuterium content inside the specific layers that constitute the films. It is found that Mg₇₀Al₃₀ can store up to 5 wt.% under these mild conditions following a two-step mechanism. The latter involves the deuteration of the top and bottom catalyst layers first, followed by the main Mg₇₀Al₃₀ layer. The presence of deuterium throughout the films in the early absorption stages evidences atomic deuterium spillover from the catalyst layers. The addition of a Ta layer between the Pd and Mg₇₀Al₃₀ was found to allow observable absorption at a pressure 10 times lower than on the Ta-free sample, without affecting the storage capacity. Our measurements imply that this improvement in kinetics is due to a lowering of the nucleation barrier for the formation of the hydride phase in the Mg₇₀Al₃₀ layer.     

Individual cognitive structures and collaboration patterns in academia

This article, elaborating on mutuality of knowledge and social structure theory borrowed from sociology of knowledge literature, where knowledge is perceived as an essentially social and societal category, develops a coherent research framework which relates cognitive structure and the collaboration patterns into an integrated socio-knowledge analysis of a given scientific community. The framework extends co-word analysis combining it with social network analysis. The framework is enhanced by introducing a novel model. The new model maps actors from co-authorship networks into a strategic diagram of scientists. The mapping is based on cohesiveness and pervasiveness of issues each author has published in the field. The exemplary longitudinal case from Turkey covers scientific publication activities in Turkish management academia spanning the years from 1922 until 2008. It is seen that, while within local community diffusion of management knowledge is lead by academicians with certain socio-cognitive properties, academicians publishing at international arena do not show any significantly differing socio-cognitive properties, instead, they are merely embedded in strongly connected groups. Leading academicians within local community, however, exhibit a common socio-cognitive structure relative to the rest of the community. They have more social ties and more diversified disseminated knowledge compared to the rest. Knowledge they disseminate is distinct compared to their peers in the network, they hold certain part of their knowledge exclusively, thus knowledge-wise they don’t resemble the rest, but they keep a level of common knowledge with the rest of the community.     

Hydrodynamics of a superheated steam vacuum fluidized bed

Hydrodynamics of a superheated steam vacuum fluidized bed was experimentally studied. In these experiments, eight different types of large particles (1970–7430 μm) were used. In all cases, a behavior similar to that found in an air fluidized bed was observed. The minimum fluidization velocity was found to be increasing with decreasing operating pressure. In the case of employing superheated steam, the minimum fluidization conditions are established at a lower velocity than using air as the fluidizing medium. These tendencies are attributed to the variation of the mean free path of molecules. On the other hand, the experiments showed that the bed voidage in the minimum fluidization conditions is almost insensitive to the variation of the operating pressure. Several equations were developed to predict the minimum fluidization velocity. The values provided by these equations were compared with the experimental data as well as with the predictions of the correlations presented in the technical literature.