New approach to environmentally benign epoxidation: the solid-phase-system using urea–H2O2 and recyclable dodecatungstate on apatite

On the basis of new concept using a solid disperse phase we have developed an efficient catalytic solid-phase-system for epoxidations of alkenes using urea–hydrogen peroxide (urea–H₂O₂) complex and cetylpyridinium dodecatungstate ((CetylPy)₁₀[H₂W₁₂O₄₂]) catalyst on fluorapatite (FAp). The recovered solid catalyst phase was reused to keep the catalytic activity after several times. In the conceptual idea it is a key point that in situ solid-phase-activation of the catalyst with urea–H₂O₂ proceeds to form microcrystals of the active species dispersed on the solid phase. The dispersion of the catalyst on FAp in the case of tungstic acid (H₂WO₄) was suggested by EPMA analysis. We proposed the peroxo type of species keeping the parent polyoxometalate framework as novel active species from FT-IR spectroscopic studies. FAp phase plays important roles of dispersing the active species on its surface to have high catalytic activity and of stabilizing the active species to lead to high reusability.     

Catalytic dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene with carbon dioxide: promotional effect of antimony in supported vanadium–antimony oxide catalyst

Alumina-supported vanadium oxide, VO_x/Al₂O₃, and binary vanadium–antimony oxides, VSbO_x/Al₂O₃, have been tested in the ethylbenzene dehydrogenation with carbon dioxide and characterized by S_BET, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, hydrogen temperature-programmed reduction and CO₂ pulse methods. VSbO_x/Al₂O₃ exhibited enhanced catalytic activity and especially on-stream stability compared to VO_x/Al₂O₃ catalyst. Incorporation of antimony into VO_x/Al₂O₃ increased dispersion of active VO_x species, enhanced redox properties of the systems and formed a new mixed vanadium–antimony oxide phase in the most catalytically efficient V_0.43Sb_0.57O_x/Al₂O₃ system.     

Complete oxidation of methane at low temperature over Pt and Pd catalysts for the abatement of lean-burn natural gas fuelled vehicles emissions: influence of water and sulphur containing compounds

The catalytic activity of fresh Pd and Pt catalysts supported on γ-alumina in the complete oxidation of CH₄ traces under lean-burn conditions was studied in the presence or the absence of water or H₂S. Steam-aged catalysts were also studied in order to simulate long-term ageing in real lean-burn natural gas fuelled vehicles (NGVs) exhaust conditions. Without water or H₂S added to the feed, Pd catalysts exhibit a superior catalytic activity in methane oxidation compared to Pt ones, whatever the catalysts were fresh or aged. The addition of 10 vol.% water vapour to the feed strongly affects the activity of the fresh Pd catalyst, thus being only slightly more efficient than the fresh Pt one. H₂S has a strong poisoning effect on the catalytic activity of Pd catalysts, while Pt catalysts are more resistant. The fresh H₂S-poisoned Pd/Al₂O₃ catalyst was studied by TPD in O₂/He. Poisoning species decompose above 873 K as SO₂ and O₂ in relative concentrations consistent with the decomposition of surface sulphate species. However, a treatment in O₂/He at temperatures as high as 923 K does not allow the complete regeneration of the catalytic activity of H₂S-poisoned Pd/Al₂O₃. A mechanism involving the poisoning of PdO by sulphate species is proposed. Different diffusion processes by which these sulphate species can migrate back and forth between PdO and the support, depending on the experimental conditions, are suggested.     

Evaluating the design of flexible manufacturing systems

Evaluating the design of flexible manufacturing systems is complex. Developing a measure of performance useful for evaluating alternate designs continues to be interesting. Here, total productivity of the system is proposed as an appropriate measure. Specification of parameters based upon strategic considerations for this measure are discussed. Finally, the usefulness of the measure is demonstrated through an example.     

Signal processing using cellular neural networks

The cellular neural network (CNN) architecture combines the best features from traditional fully-connected analog neural networks and digital cellular automata. The network can rapidly process continuous-valued (gray-scale) input signals (such as images) and perform many computation functions which traditionally were implemented in digital form. Here, we briefly introduce the the theory of CNN circuits, provide some examples of CNN applications to image processing, and discuss work toward a CNN implementation in custom CMOS VLSI. The role of analog computer-aided design (CAD) will be briefly presented as it relates to analog neural network implementation.This work is supported in part by the Office of Naval Research under Contract N00014-89-J1402, and the National Science Foundation under grant MIP-8912639.     

浅析上海市建筑防水材料近况

本文浅析了上海市建筑防水材料的生产、质量及应用情况,并对防水工程的发展提出了建议。     

Energy efficiency, carbon emissions and economic development in Venezuela

Venezuela's vast natural resource base has largely shaped the nation's economic and energy-use patterns. Major opportunities exist for improving the efficiency of energy use in Venezuela and, consequently, restraining the growth of energy-related carbon emissions. This paper presents a detailed report of one potential development path for Venezuela and estimates the ensuing levels of energy demand and CO₂ emissions associated with pursuing this path through the year 2025. The results indicate that by adopting a development strategy that incorporates structural changes in the economy, fuel-switching measures and improved end-use efficiencies, Venezuela can introduce energy efficiency and carbon restraints as part of its economic development process.     

Occlusion-resistant camera design for acquiring active environments.

In this article, we present a detailed theoretical analysis and a prototype implementation of a family of cameras designed with the explicit goal of detecting and removing interfering dynamic occluders in real time, during live capture, as opposed to fixing the resulting artifacts a posteriori. Such an early-acquisition approach improves efficiency: more valid samples are acquired faster without worrying about moving occluders. One option for designing a camera to be unaffected by moving occluders is to sample through the occluder, but true x-ray-like vision is technically impractical. Another option is to sample around the occluder using a camera with a large effective aperture, but such an approach requires a bulky acquisition device. Yet another possibility of sampling around an occluder is to rely on second and higher order reflected rays that indirectly sample surfaces not directly visible. However, devising an acquisition device sufficiently sensitive and efficient to capture large environments using reflected rays will remain challenging for the foreseeable future.     

The relationship among oxygen content, defect distribution and superconductivity in BiSrCaCuO systems

The effect of oxygen content on superconductivity of the 2212 and 2223 phase has been studied. By comparing the excess oxygen, the modulation vector, the XRD patterns, and the electric resistivity of 2212 and 2223 phase samples obtained with different post-annealing conditions, i.e., annealing at 600°C or quenching from 860°C, it was found that the super-conductivity is markedly influenced by both the defect distribution in non-Bi layers and the interstitial oxygens incorporated in the Bi-O layers. A tentative explanation for this is given.