Study of the morphology and mechanical properties of polypropylene composites with silica or rice‐husk

The mechanical, morphological behavior and water absorption characteristics of polypropylene (PP) and silica, or PP and rice‐husk, composites have been studied. The silica used in this study as filler was a commercial type produced from soluble glass or rice husks. The compatibilizing effect of PP grafted with monomethyl itaconate (PP‐g‐MMI) and/or with vinyltriethoxysilane (PP‐g‐VTES) as polar monomers on the mechanical properties and water absorption was also investigated. In general, a high loading of the studied fillers in the polymer matrix increases the stiffness and the water absorption capacity. This effect is more noticeable in the tensile modulus of the PP/silica composite with PP‐g‐VTES as compatibilizer. However, the increase of the rice‐husk charge as a natural filler in the PP matrix decreases the stiffness, and in the presence of PP‐g‐MMI as compatibilizer in PP/rice‐husk, the tensile modulus and water absorption of the composite were improved. The better adhesion and phase continuity in the PP/silica and PP/rice‐husk composites with different compatibilizers was confirmed by the morphological study. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

2,4,6‐Trichlorophenol and phenol removal in methanogenic and partially‐aerated methanogenic conditions in a fluidized bed bioreactor

A fluidized bed bioreactor (FBBR) was operated for more than 575 days to remove 2,4,6‐trichlorophenol (TCP) and phenol (Phe) from a synthetic toxic wastewater containing 80 mg L^?1 of TCP and 20 mg L^?1 of Phe under two regimes: Methanogenic (M) and Partially‐Aerated Methanogenic (PAM). The mesophilic, laboratory‐scale FBBR consisted of a glass column (3 L capacity) loaded with 1 L of 1 mm diameter granular activated carbon colonized by an anaerobic consortium. Sucrose (1 g COD L^?1) was used as co‐substrate in the two conditions. The hydraulic residence time was kept constant at 1 day. Both conditions showed similar TCP and Phe removal (99.9 + %); nevertheless, in the Methanogenic regime, the accumulation of 4‐chlorophenol (4CP) up to 16 mg L^?1 and phenol up to 4 mg L^?1 was observed, whereas in PAM conditions 4CP and other intermediates were not detected. The specific methanogenic activity of biomass decreased from 1.01 ± 0.14 in M conditions to 0.19 ± 0.06 mmolCH₄ h^?1 gTKN^?1 in PAM conditions whereas the specific oxygen uptake rate increased from 0.039 ± 0.008 in M conditions to 0.054 ± 0.012 mmolO₂ h^?1 gTKN^?1, which suggested the co‐existence of both methanogenic archaea and aerobic bacteria in the undefined consortium. The advantage of the PAM condition over the M regime is that it provides for the thorough removal of less‐substituted chlorophenols produced by the reductive dehalogenation of TCP rather than the removal of the parent compound itself. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

An eight‐node hybrid‐stress solid‐shell element for geometric non‐linear analysis of elastic shells

This paper presents eight‐node solid‐shell elements for geometric non‐linear analysis of elastic shells. To subdue shear, trapezoidal and thickness locking, the assumed natural strain method and an ad hoc modified generalized laminate stiffness matrix are employed. A selectively reduced integrated element is formulated with its membrane and bending shear strain components taken to be constant and equal to the ones evaluated at the element centroid. With the generalized stresses arising from the modified generalized laminate stiffness matrix assumed to be independent from the ones obtained from the displacement, an extended Hellinger–Reissner functional can be derived. By choosing the assumed generalized stresses similar to the assumed stresses of a previous solid element, a hybrid‐stress solid‐shell element is formulated. Commonly employed geometric non‐linear homogeneous and laminated shell problems are attempted and our results are close to those of other state‐of‐the‐art elements. Moreover, the hybrid‐stress element converges more readily than the selectively reduced integrated element in all benchmark problems. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cluster analysis in industrial market segmentation through artificial neural network

Market segmentation has commonly applied cluster analysis. This study intends to make the comparison of conventional two-stage method with proposed two-stage method through the simulated data. The proposed two-stage method is the combination of self-organizing feature maps and K-means method. The simulation results show that the proposed scheme is better than the conventional two-stage method based on the rate of misclassification.     

Review of The saturated self: Dilemmas of identity in contemporary life.

Reviews the book, The saturated self: Dilemmas of identity in contemporary life by Kenneth J. Gergen (see record 1991-97621-000). There is, perhaps, no other concept as seminal for psychology as the self. For this reason alone, Kenneth Gergen's book represents an important contribution to our understanding of this influential concept. However, Gergen's vision is so broad, his arguments so compelling, and the implications so revolutionary, that the work defies confinement exclusively within the walls of academia. In essence, Gergen is articulating his vision of a postmodern world, and he lays an invitation squarely before the reader to come and partake. The conception of the self as private and autonomous is the focus of Gergen's postmodern challenge. In his chapter, "Social Saturation and the Populated Self," Gergen postulates that technological innovation in contemporary society has made possible a rapid proliferation of relationships. This he refers to as the "process of social saturation." Gergen's book constitutes a substantive contribution to psychology's on going understanding of the self. Copious examples are provided throughout, drawing on and extending scholarly debates. Also included are anecdotes and evidences from such far ranging domains as art, film, music, literature, and architecture. These not only clarify and reinforce his arguments, but also illustrate the scope and practicality of the position he espouses. Although readers may not embrace the gestalt of Gergen's vision of a postmodern culture, they are certain to find this book to be a provocative and rewarding read. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Screen‐printed biosensor for allergens

Allergen levels in indoor environments, leading to many diseases, eg asthma, rhinitis and conjunctivitis, affect a large and increasing fraction of the population. A quite effective and inexpensive method of a rough but very rapid overall assessment of total allergen level in the environment has been developed. The method involved estimation of protein in allergen extracts by screen‐printed electrodes using two different techniques. The biosensor comprised a rhodinised carbon working electrode, a silver/silver chloride reference electrode and a carbon counter electrode. In the first method the enzyme protease reacted with allergen protein to release amino acid, which produced hydrogen peroxide in the presence of amino acid oxidase. This was detected amperometrically. The second method used potassium bromide as electrolyte and the electrode was subjected to dual potential. Bromine, released due to electrolysis at higher potential, was consumed by the allergen protein at lower potential. In the first method, a unique technique was used to microencapsulate the enzyme protease and immobilise it on the surface of the electrode by in‐situ polymerisation to avoid contact with the amino acid oxidase. A total of seven allergens were tested and the results gave a good correlation with the standard protein measurement method. Environmental specimens from indoors, schools and workplaces can be evaluated for the aeroallergens produced by dust mites, animal hairs, cockroach debris, pollens, etc as a means of determining the exposure risk. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

Development and simulation studies of an unsteady state biofilter model for the treatment of cyclic air emissions of an α‐pinene gas stream

This paper describes the development and simulation of an unsteady state biofilter model used to predict dynamic behaviour of cyclically‐operated biofilters and compares it with experimental results obtained from three, parallel, bench‐scale biofilters treating both periodically fluctuating concentrations and constant concentrations of an α‐pinene‐laden gas stream. The dynamic model, using kinetic parameters estimated from the constant concentration biofilter, was able to predict the performance of cyclic biofilters operating at short cycle periods (ie, in the order of minutes and hours). Steady state kinetic data from a constant concentration biofilter can be used to predict unsteady state biofilter operation. At a 24 h cycle period, the dynamic model compared well with experimental results. For long cycle periods (ie, hours and days), removal efficiency decreased after periods of non‐loading: the longer the period of non‐loading, the poorer the biofilter's performance at the re‐commencement of pollutant loading. At longer time scales the model did not effectively predict transient behaviour, as adsorption and changes in kinetic parameters were not accounted for. Modelling results showed that similar biofiltration performance for the cyclic and constant concentration biofiltration of α‐pinene is expected for biofilters operating solely in the first order kinetics regime. Poorer performance for cyclic biofilters following Monod kinetics spanning the entire kinetics range is expected as the cycle amplitude increases. The most important parameters affecting the performance of a cyclically‐operated biofilter with short cycle periods are: amplitude of cyclic fluctuations, C_{g, max}/C_g, relative value of the half‐saturation constant in the Monod expression, K_s, and effective diffusivity of α‐pinene in the biofilm, D_e. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry