Mining and modeling for a metropolitan Atlanta ozone pollution decision-making framework

In this paper, we present a Decision-Making Framework (DMF) for reducing ozone pollution in the metropolitan Atlanta region. High ground-level concentrations of ozone continue to be a serious problem in several US cities, and Atlanta is one of the most serious of these cases. In contrast to the “trial and error” approach utilized by state government decision-makers, our DMF searches for dynamic and focused control strategies that require a lower total reduction of emissions than current control strategies. Our DMF utilizes a rigorous stochastic dynamic programming formulation and includes an Atmospheric Chemistry Module to represent how ozone concentrations change over time. This paper focuses on the procedures within the Atmospheric Chemistry Module. Using the US EPA's Urban Airshed Model for Atlanta, we use mining and metamodeling tools to develop a computationally efficient representation of the relevant ozone air chemistry. The proposed approach is able to effectively model changes in ozone concentrations over a 24-hour period.     

Measurements of OH mole fraction and temperature up to 20 kHz by using a diode-laser-based UV absorption sensor

Diode-laser-based sum-frequency generation of ultraviolet (UV) radiation at 313.5 nm was utilized for high-speed absorption measurements of OH mole fraction and temperature at rates up to 20 kHz. Sensor performance was characterized over a wide range of operating conditions in a 25.4 mm path-length, steady, C2H4-air diffusion flame through comparisons with coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS), planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF), and a two-dimensional numerical simulation with detailed chemical kinetics. Experimental uncertainties of 5% and 11% were achieved for measured temperatures and OH mole fractions, respectively, with standard deviations of < 3% at 20 kHz and an OH detection limit of < 1 part per million in a 1 m path length. After validation in a steady flame, high-speed diode-laser-based measurements of OH mole fraction and temperature were demonstrated for the first time in the unsteady exhaust of a liquid-fueled, swirl-stabilized combustor. Typical agreement of approximately 5% was achieved with CARS temperature measurements at various fuel/air ratios, and sensor precision was sufficient to capture oscillations of temperature and OH mole fraction for potential use with multiparameter control strategies in combustors of practical interest.     

Pyrolysis studies of organic oxygenates. 2. Benzyl phenyl ether pyrolysis under batch autoclave conditions

Benzyl phenyl ether (BPE) is a reactive organic oxygenate which contains the ether functionality believed to be present in subbituminous and bituminous coals. With an $\text{H}\text{C}$ of 0.92 it has a $\text{hydrogen}\text{carbon}$ ratio similar to that found in bituminous coals. Benzyl phenyl ether reacts readily at 375 °C either in the presence or absence of added donor hydrogen sources. The major products are toluene and phenol. Other, heavier products are also produced in significant quantities. In general, as available donor hydrogen is reduced, the products tend to have higher molecular weights. Conventional pyrolysis products become lighter (more desirable) materials when the pyrolysis is carried out in the presence of added hydrogen.     

Chemical properties of manganese in lucerne

Manganese in lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) exists as a cationic complex of low molecular weight. It migrates as a single band on paper electrophoresis, cation exchange chromatography and gel exclusion chromatography. It exhibits no strong association with protein. The complex tends to be unstable in alkaline solution.     

TAML oxidant activators: a new approach to the activation of hydrogen peroxide for environmentally significant problems

In the Institute for Green Oxidation Chemistry, we develop oxidation catalysts with useful lifetimes via an iterative design process in which oxidation-sensitive ligand groups are identified and replaced. The process has led to catalysts with greatly enhanced stability toward oxidative and hydrolytic degradation. The iron catalysts described herein can be comprised exclusively of biochemically common elements. They are efficient and selective peroxide activators for many areas of technology. They are water-soluble and are effective in minute quantities (nanomolar to low micromolar) over a broad pH range. Various green chemistry applications are sketched.     

Theoretical Aspects of Nucleate Pool Boiling with Dielectric Liquids

Direct cooling with inert,dielectric liquids may well become the technique of choice for the thermal manage-ment of future electronic systems.Due to the efficiency of phase-change processes and the simplicity of naturalcirculation,nucleate pool boiling is of great interest for this application.This paper examines the characteristicsof vapor bubbles and nucleate pool boiling of the dielectric liquids.The results provide a theoretical foundationfor understanding and interpreting the often complex empirical results reported in the literature.     

Synergistic effects of oleogelators in tailoring the properties of oleogels: A review

Conventional solid fats play a crucial role as an ingredient in many processed foods. However, these fats contain a high amount of saturated fats and trans fats. Legislations and dietary recommendations related to these two types of fats set forth as a consequence of evidence showing their deleterious health impact have triggered the attempts to find alternate tailor-made lipids for these solid fats. Oleogels is considered as a novel alternative, which has reduced saturated fat and no trans fat content. In addition to mimicking the distinctive characteristics of solid fats, oleogels can be developed to contain a high amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids and used to deliver bioactives. Although there has been a dramatic rise in the interest in developing oleogels for food applications over the past decade, none of them has been commercially used in foods so far due to the deficiency in their crystal network structure, particularly in monocomponent gels. Very recently, there is a surge in the interest in using of combination of gelators due to the synergistic effects that aid in overcoming the drawbacks in monocomponent gels. However, currently, there is no comprehensive insight into synergism among oleogelators reported in recent studies. Therefore, a comprehensive intuition into the findings reported on synergism is crucial to fill this gap. The objective of this review is to give a comprehensive insight into synergism among gelators based on recent literature. This paper also identifies the future research propositions towards developing oleogels capable of exactly mimicking the properties of conventional solid fats to bridge the gap between laboratory research and the food industry.     

Nitrogen‐Doped Mesoporous Carbon Promoted Chemical Adsorption of Sulfur and Fabrication of High‐Areal‐Capacity Sulfur Cathode with Exceptional Cycling Stability for Lithium‐Sulfur Batteries

As one important component of sulfur cathodes, the carbon host plays a key role in the electrochemical performance of lithium‐sulfur (Li‐S) batteries. In this paper, a mesoporous nitrogen‐doped carbon (MPNC)‐sulfur nanocomposite is reported as a novel cathode for advanced Li‐S batteries. The nitrogen doping in the MPNC material can effectively promote chemical adsorption between sulfur atoms and oxygen functional groups on the carbon, as verified by X‐ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy, and the mechanism by which nitrogen enables the behavior is further revealed by density functional theory calculations. Based on the advantages of the porous structure and nitrogen doping, the MPNC‐sulfur cathodes show excellent cycling stability (95% retention within 100 cycles) at a high current density of 0.7 mAh cm^‐2 with a high sulfur loading (4.2 mg S cm^‐2) and a sulfur content (70 wt%). A high areal capacity (≈3.3 mAh cm^‐2) is demonstrated by using the novel cathode, which is crucial for the practical application of Li‐S batteries. It is believed that the important role of nitrogen doping promoted chemical adsorption can be extended for development of other high performance carbon‐sulfur composite cathodes for Li‐S batteries.     

Classifying Facial Actions

The Facial Action Coding System (FACS) [23] is an objective method for quantifying facial movement in terms of component actions. This system is widely used in behavioral investigations of emotion, cognitive processes, and social interaction. The coding is presently performed by highly trained human experts. This paper explores and compares techniques for automatically recognizing facial actions in sequences of images. These techniques include analysis of facial motion through estimation of optical flow; holistic spatial analysis, such as principal component analysis, independent component analysis, local feature analysis, and linear discriminant analysis; and methods based on the outputs of local filters, such as Gabor wavelet representations and local principal components. Performance of these systems is compared to naive and expert human subjects. Best performances were obtained using the Gabor wavelet representation and the independent component representation, both of which achieved 96 percent accuracy for classifying 12 facial actions of the upper and lower face. The results provide converging evidence for the importance of using local filters, high spatial frequencies, and statistical independence for classifying facial actions.