Activities of MFI-Supported Rhenium Catalysts for the Aromatization of Methane: Effect of Cationic Form of the Inorganic Carrier

MFI type inorganic carrier was used in two different cationic forms, hydrogen and calcium respectively. MFI-supported molybdenum and rhenium catalysts were prepared. The activities of the catalysts were compared for the aromatization reaction of methane. Higher activity values were attained with the catalysts supported on HZSM-5. Aromatics were also observed with the catalysts supported on CaZSM-5, despite their deficiency in acid sites. Highly dispersed rhenium is expected to be formed with the use of the inorganic carrier in calcium form. On the other hand, lower reaction rates were observed with rhenium supported on CaZSM-5, in spite of the improved dispersion of the active rhenium species on this catalyst. This was interpreted in terms of the critical role of the acid sites in the conversion of methane to aromatics, compared to the improved dispersion of the active metal.     

A formal representation for context-aware business processes

A business process is a set of activities performed in a coordinated manner within an organizational and technical environment that is aimed toward a business goal. The flexibility of a process is related to an understanding of the unexpected events that occur when people, systems and resources interact and require adjustments. Thus, business processes must be designed to respond to information about different events and their specificity. This information defines what the literature calls “context”. To broaden the perception of context in the case of a business process, this work proposes an approach to characterize the context of a business process activity in a given domain through conceptual models structured in layers. A case study was conducted to evaluate the proposal, which provided evidence of the applicability of the model.     

药用中间体苯丙酮含量的气相色谱/质谱分析

苯丙酮是合成利胆药苯丙醇的重要中间体。本文建立了用气相色谱 /质谱法 (GC/MS)测定苯丙酮含量的方法。组分的定性依靠GC/MS联用技术和NIST谱库标准质谱图对照分析。以苯乙酮为内标 ,苯丙酮含量在 1.0× 10 -5～ 2 .0× 10 -4g/mL范围内呈线性 ,线性相关系数r =0 .994 9,苯丙酮最低检测浓度为 1.0× 10 -8g/mL。该法操作简便、快速 ,结果准确可靠 ,且具有很好的实用价值     

The use of topology optimization in disposing carbon fiber reinforcement for concrete structures

A topology optimization procedure is presented as a tool for determining the distribution of external strengthening of concrete slabs, using Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP). Although the procedure is applied to slabs in this work, the technique can be used in any concrete structure to be reinforced. Numerical simulations are performed using the Finite Element Method, in combination with the automated topology optimization procedure, to indicate the optimal region for placement of the reinforcement. The influence of some aspects of the slab’s structural behavior on the optimization results is presented: concrete cracking, boundary conditions and reinforcement rate. A brief discussion is given of the similarity between the topology optimization results obtained by the maximum stiffness and ultimate strength criteria. Gains are found in the stiffness and strength of reinforced parts. A comparison with conventional reinforcement techniques demonstrates that topology optimization can be a useful tool for defining the region of reinforcement, allowing for material cost savings.     

Mobile digcovery: discovering and interacting with the world through the Internet of things

The application of Internet-enabled devices in the real world for the development of Smart Cities, environmental monitoring, bus tracking, and parking requires scalability, extensibility, and integration of emerging resources to reach a suitable ecosystem for data acquisition and interaction with citizens. Internet of things needs to offer efficient support for global communications and access to services and information. It needs to enable homogeneous and seamless machine-to-machine communication for different solutions and applications. This work presents an homogeneous and suitable mechanism for global resource discovery, device access for deployed smart objects in different scenarios, and sensors and devices from end users (participative sensing). The integration of legacy and sensors already available from smart buildings and smart objects is presented. For this purpose, a resolution infrastructure called “digcovery” is defined for maximizing efficiency and sustainability of deployments. Digcovery architecture offers the framework to allow users to register/include their own sensors into a common infrastructure and access/discover the available resources through mobile digcovery. Mobile digcovery exploits the context-awareness, geo-location, and identification technologies available in mobile platforms such as smartphones to discover, interact, and access the resources through its ElasticSearch engine.     

Sol–Gel Processing and Microwave Characteristics of Ba(Mg⅓Ta⅔)O3 Dielectrics

The sol–gel method has been developed for the preparation of pure Ba(Mg_1/3Ta_2/3)O₃ ceramics. This involves the reaction of the heterometallic alkoxide Ta₂Mg(OEt)₁₂ with hydrated barium hydroxide Ba(OH)₂·8H₂O. Complete crystallization of the sol–gel-derived powder is achieved at 600°C, leading to a cubic perovskite type phase. After sintering at 1400°C (2–5 h), a trigonal cell arises from Mg–Ta ordering (the degree of order is greater than 0.9), and about 98.5% of the theoretical density is obtained. Preliminary microwave dielectric measurements show that the dielectric constant and the unloaded Q _u of the ceramics are 24.2 and 6750, respectively, at 7.7 GHz.     

Blends,hydrogen bonds,and orientation: Understanding the role of interactions

A review of past and present studies on orientation, rheology, and FTIR investigations on a hydrogen bond–forming polymer, poly(vinyl phenol) (PVPh), and its blends with polyethylene oxide (PEO), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), and poly(vinyl methyl ether) (PVME) is presented. Orientation is analyzed on the basis of deformation‐induced orientation and relaxation. For deformation, it is proposed from recent molecular modeling studies that orientation is similar for flexible backbone polymers of the types studied. To investigate relaxation, dynamical rheology analysis was performed previously on PVPh/PEO blends and global molecular weight between entanglement, M_e, and chain friction ζ were estimated. M_e remained close to that of the polymer forming the dominant network, a discontinuity being observed near 50 mole percent. Friction coefficient exhibited a maximum near that of the orientation function of this system. Near‐infrared measurements also showed a maximum in the number of interchain hydrogen bonds at this concentration, although broader than that of orientation or of the friction coefficient. For strongly interacting blends, it is proposed that a break in orientation behavior would be associated with the dominant network present, and therefore to M_e, whereas ζ will dictate whether orientation decreases or increases in a given network domain.