Long range peak demand forecasting under conditions of high growth

An extended logistic model with a varying asymptotic upper bound for long-range peak demand forecasting is described. The model has been applied to a typical fast growing system, the Saudi Consolidated Electric Company. The forecasts are compared with actual demands and with those obtained from classical forecasting methods. The model gave relatively accurate peak demand forecasts compared with other classical methods. The model with a single load observation is capable of producing several peak demand forecasts corresponding to different levels of maximum temperature and various levels of social activity. The forecasts produced by the model were also stable irrespective of the length of the ex-post simulation period     

Synthesis and biological activities of phenyl piperazine-based peptidomimetic growth hormone secretagogues

A new class of potent, orally active phenyl piperazine-based GH secretagogues have been discovered from attempts to mimic the arrangement of the phenyl substituent in the spiroindanyl piperidine and spiroindoline sulfonamide privileged structures of 4 and 1, respectively. The best of these compounds, 18 (EC50 = 2.8 nM) is nearly as potent as MK-0677 for releasing GH from rat pituitary cells.     

Marginal operation field of existing MSF distillation plants

The capability of existing MSF distillation desalination plants to increase or decrease production by increase or decrease of top brine temperature and brine recirculating flow rate, is technologically limited. The factors which limit the process were analyzed and compared in a practical test carried out on a 4546 m³/d production plant. The brine levels in evaporator stages were calculated and measured to avoid the vapour blowthrough between the stages and to insure the dynamic stability of the plant. There was an increase of 20% in production at 94% of the design brine flow rate, and a top brine temperature 16.6°C greater than the design value before reaching the unsealing limit.     

Ion Beam Analysis and Normal-State Conduction Mechanisms for (Bi, Pb)-2223 and (Tl, Pb)/Sr-1212 Superconducting Phases Substituted by Ruthenium

Superconducting samples of type Bi_1.8Pb_0.4Sr₂Ca_2.1Cu_3−x Ru _x O_10+δ , (Bi, Pb)-2223, with 0.0≤x≤0.4 and type Tl_0.5Pb_0.5Sr_1.6Ba_0.4CaCu_2−x Ru _x O_7−δ , (Tl, Pb)/Sr-1212, with 0.0≤x≤0.525 were synthesized using the standard solid-state reaction technique. The lattice parameters and the surface morphology for these samples were determined using X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) measurements, respectively. All element-contents of the samples prepared were estimated from the electron dispersive X-ray (EDX) technique, and their results were compared with those obtained from particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE). In addition, the oxygen-content was determined using elastic Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS) technique at 3 MeV proton beam. The superconducting transition temperature T _c and the hole carrier concentration P were determined from the electrical resistivity measurement. The data of both T _c and P for Bi_1.8Pb_0.4Sr₂Ca_2.1Cu_3−x Ru _x O_10+δ and Tl_0.5Pb_0.5Sr_1.6Ba_0.4CaCu_2−x Ru _x O_7−δ phases increased up to x=0.05 and 0.075, respectively and then they decreased as x increased. The superconductivity was completely destroyed around x=0.4 and 0.525 for (Bi, Pb)-2223 and (Tl, Pb)/Sr-1212 phases, respectively. The normal-state electrical resistivity data were analyzed using the two and three dimensional variable range hopping (2D-VRH and 3D-VRH) and the Coulomb gab (CG).     

Inactivation of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella enterica and Shigella flexneri on spinach leaves by X-ray

Several recent foodborne disease outbreaks associated with leafy green vegetables, including spinach, have been reported. X-ray is a non-thermal technology that has shown promise for reducing pathogenic and spoilage bacteria on spinach leaves. Inactivation of inoculated Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella enterica and Shigella flexneri on spinach leaves using X-ray at different doses (0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 kGy) was studied. The effect of X-ray on color quality and microflora counts (mesophilic counts, psychrotrophic counts and yeast and mold counts) of untreated and treated spinach was also determined. A mixture of three strains of each tested organism was spot inoculated (100 μl) onto the surface of spinach leaves (approximately 8–9 log ml⁻¹), separately, and air-dried, followed by treatment with X-ray at 22 °C and 55–60% relative humidity. Surviving bacterial populations on spinach leaves were evaluated using a nonselective medium (tryptic soy agar) with a selective medium overlay for each bacteria; E. coli O157:H7 (CT-SMAC agar), L. monocytogenes (MOA), and S. enterica and S. flexneri (XLD). More than a 5 log CFU reduction/leaf was achieved with 2.0 kGy X-ray for all tested pathogens. Furthermore, treatment with X-ray significantly reduced the initial inherent microflora on spinach leaves and inherent levels were significantly (p < 0.05) lower than the control sample throughout refrigerated storage for 30 days. Treatment with X-ray did not significantly affect the color of spinach leaves, even when the maximum dose (2.0 kGy) was used.     

Synthesis of Novel Series of Benzothieno [2,3-d] Pyrimidine Derivatives, Promising Anticancer Agents

An extension of the authors＇ previous discovery of in vitro antitumor activity of substituted thino [2,3-d] prymidine derivatives is reported. The synthesis of some new spirothino [2,3-d] prymidine （4a-f）, imidazolidin, substituted prymidinyl and substituted thiazolidine thino [2,3-d] prymidine derivatives have been described. Thirteen of the obtained compounds were selected by the NCI and evaluated for their in vitro anticancer activity. Seven of the investigated compounds, 4a, 8a, 9a, （12a, b）, 14a and 15a, displayed high anticancer activity in the primary assay. These compounds have been selected for a full anticancer screening against a 60-cell panel assay where they showed non-selective broad spectrum and promising activity against all cancer cell lines. Compounds 12a and 12b proved to be the active members in this study compared to 5-fluorouracil and cyclophosphamide as reference drugs, respectively. Compounds 12a and 12b were identified as promising lead compounds, evaluated for their in-vitro antitumor activity.     

FexCo1−x-doped titanium oxide nanotubes as effective photocatalysts for hydrogen extraction from ammonium phosphate

Theoretically, tri-ammonium phosphate (NH₄)₃PO₄ embeds considerable amount of hydrogen. Typically, the expected hydrogen release from this cheap and stable material is 73.83 mmol/g_salt if a proper catalyst is exploited in the hydrolysis reaction. In this study Fe_xCo_1?x-doped titanium oxide nanotubes are introduced as an efficient photocatalyst under solar radiation. The introduced modified titanium oxide nanotubes have been prepared in two successive steps. First, Na-doped TiO₂ nanotubes were synthesized by hydrothermal treatment in presence of 10 N NaOH solution at 160 °C for 16 h. Then, doping by the proposed metals was carried out by ion exchange process in a microwave oven. X-ray photoelectron microscopy (XPS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed the success of the doping process and the nanotubular morphology, respectively. Study the photo characteristics indicated that the proposed metal doping shifted the band gap from UV to the visible light region as the estimated band gap energies for the as-prepared and doped nanotubes were 3.4 and 2.1 eV, respectively. Moreover, distinct enhancement for the visible light absorption capacity was observed. Accordingly, a distinguished improvement in the photocatalytic activity toward tri-ammonium phosphate hydrolysis was observed. However, the two metals content has a strong influence on the amount of the obtained hydrogen per gram of tri-ammonium phosphate salt. Numerically, the maximum obtained hydrogen was 4.0, 11.2, 11.2, 11.6, 13.4, 16.5, 17.4, 13.4 and 9.8 mmol/g_salt for the pristine TiO₂, and Fe_xCo_1?x-doped TiO₂ with x = 1, 0.8, 0.6, 0.5, 0.4, 0.3, 0.2, and 0.0, respectively.     

One Step Synthesis of NiO Nanoparticles via Solid-State Thermal Decomposition at Low-Temperature of Novel Aqua(2,9-dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline)NiCl2 Complex

[NiCl₂(C₁₄H₁₂N₂)(H₂O)] complex has been synthesized from nickel chloride hexahydrate (NiCl₂·6H₂O) and 2,9-dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline (dmphen) as N,N-bidentate ligand. The synthesized complex was characterized by elemental analysis, infrared (IR) spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy and differential thermal/thermogravimetric analysis (TG/DTA). The complex was further confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD) as triclinic with space group P-1. The desired complex, subjected to thermal decomposition at low temperature of 400 ºC in an open atmosphere, revealed a novel and facile synthesis of pure NiO nanoparticles with uniform spherical particle; the structure of the NiO nanoparticles product was elucidated on the basis of Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), UV-vis spectroscopy, TG/DTA, XRD, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDXS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).