Heterogeneous catalytic methylation of catechol

It has been shown that, after a partial deactivation, γ-alumina (γ-Al₂O₃) is a good catalyst for selective methylation of 1,2-benzenediol in the temperature range of 260–310°C. The main products are the desired 3-methyl-1,2-benzenediol and 2-methoxyphenol, which may be converted in another step into 3-methyl-1,2-benzenediol, giving an overall selectivity for the desired products of 80 to 90%. The catechol forms a strongly chemisorbed surface species on γ-alumina and its steric adsorption model correlates with the kinetic data.     

A Framework for Datatype Transformation

We study one dimension in program evolution, namely the evolution of the datatype declarations in a program. To this end, a suite of basic transformation operators is designed. We cover structure-preserving refactorings, but also structure-extending and -reducing adaptations. Both the object programs that are subject to datatype transformations, and the meta programs that encode datatype transformations are functional programs.     

Pbs-field-effect-transistor for heavy metal concentration monitoring

A simple and inexpensive Pbs-FET with high sensitivity and short response time was developed which consists of a PbS layer on a pH-sensitive gate of a field effect transistor. The PbS-layer was prepared with simple wet precipitations technique. The PbS-FET has about the same selectivities for Pb²⁺ -and for Cu²⁺ -ions, but only slight sensitivity for Cd²⁺ -and Zn²⁺ -ions. The sensor was integrated in a FIA system. By variing the injection time the measuring range varied between 10^?1-10^?6 and 10^?2-10^?8 mol Pb²⁺/1. The PbS-FET-FIA system is suitable for monitoring of Pb²⁺ concentrations in drinking water.     

A new look at energy release rates for quasistatically propagating cracks in inelastic materials

A mapping technique is used to derive an integral expression for the energy release rate for a quasistatically propagating crack. The derivation does not depend on any assumptions in regard to the contitutive behavior of the material. It leads to a contour integral around the crack tip, plus an area integral over the region enclosed by this contour. Only the stress and displacement fields appear in the integrands. Although for stationary crack solutions known to the authors the area integral is not convergent, for propagating crack solutions in elastoplastic material, the integrals are convergent, and lead to zero energy release rate. This confirms conclusions by Rice from an independent point of view.     

Sequence analysis of a 5·6 kb fragment of chromosome II from Saccharomyces cerevisiae reveals two new open reading frames next to CDC28

The sequence of a 5653 bp DNA fragment of the right arm of chromosome II of Saccharomyces cerevisiae contains two unknown open reading frames (YBR1212 and YBR1213) next to gene CDC28. Gene disruption reveals both putative genes as non-essential. ORF YBR1212 encodes a predicted protein with 71% similarity and 65% identity (total polypeptide of 376 aa) with the 378 aa Sur1 protein of S. cerevisiae, while the putative product of ORF YBR1213, which is strongly expressed, has 28% identity with a Lactococcus lactis-secreted 45 kDa protein and 24% identity with the Saccharomyces cerevisiae AGA1 gene product. The total sequence of the fragment has been submitted to the EMBL databank (accession number X80224).     

Experimental investigation of spray induced gas stratification break-up and mixing in two interconnected vessels

To analyze the effect of containment spray on gas mixing and depressurization, two experiments (ST3_1 and ST3_2) were performed with two interconnected vessels. These experiments were conducted in the frame of the OECD/SETH-2 project using the PANDA facility. The vessels were preconditioned such that a helium-rich layer is formed in the upper section of the first vessel, henceforth referred to as Vessel-1. In the case of the first experiment (ST3_1), the remaining volume of Vessel-1 and the entirety of the second vessel, Vessel-2, were filled with pure steam. For ST3_2, the second experiment presented here, pure steam was replaced with a steam-air mixture instead. Water was injected from the top of Vessel-1 with a spray nozzle projecting downwards. Transient behavior of system pressure, as well as global redistribution of gases is investigated. The results reveal that spray activation is very effective in containment system depressurization. Additionally it is found that the depressurization occurs at a higher rate for the systems containing more steam and less non-condensible gas. The depressurization rate gradually slows down, however, as the steam concentration decreases due to condensation, and non-condensible gases spread over the vessel system. It is also observed that the spray activation initiates the breakup of the helium-rich layer. The composition of the gas atmosphere plays a crucial role in determining the initiation time of the breakup; the presence of large amounts of non-condensible gas such as air delays the beginning of the helium layer breakup by approximately 200 s. The downward component of spray momentum causes the entrainment and the recirculation of the ambient gas atmosphere. Together with the entrainment and condensation effect, spray activation influences the gas mixture density in Vessel-1 and this generates a driving force for inter-compartment flow. As a result of this, an increase of helium-rich gas mixture is observed in the regions far away from the spray, i.e., in Vessel-2.