Effect of preparation technique on the properties of Mo-containing Al-MCM-41

The Al-MCM-41 has been used as support to prepare Mo-containing catalysts. The 12- molybdophosphoric heteropoly acid (HPMo) is used as initial compound. The catalysts are synthesized by two different methods: incipient impregnation with aqueous solution of the acid and mechanochemical synthesis. The samples were tested in the reaction of the thiophene hydrodesulfurization after activation with mixture H₂ + H₂S. The effect of the preparation method of the catalysts on their physicochemical and catalytic properties has been studied. A partial destruction of the loaded compound is observed in mechanochemically treated sample whereas the aggregates are formed from the particles of different size in the impregnated sample. The specific surface area of the sample prepared by mechanical–chemical treatment decreases 2–3 times, while the total pore volume is about four times lower. The HDS activity is higher on the impregnated sample than on the mechanochemically treated one.     

Synthesis of Sialon from Kaolin and Its Phase Formation

The main phase transformations during synthesis of β‐sialon from kaolin of the Prosyanovskii deposit (Ukraine) under test-industrial production conditions have been studied. Sialon was prepared by carbothermal reduction in graphite-tube furnaces in nitrogen. It is shown that the process is characterized by the simultaneous occurrence of several chemical reactions with formation of intermediate phases (Si₂ON₂, X₁‐phase), silicon carbide, and (apart from β‐sialon) sialons based on AlN polytypes. The phase composition of the final product is determined not only by the charge composition but also by the set of production parameters. Results of the work may provide a basis for commercial preparation of sialon powder.     

Effects of Nitrogen Deficiency on the Kinetics and Mechanism of Electrolytic ZrN x Oxidation

Use has been made of potentiodynamic polarization curves, XRD, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in the electrolytic oxidation in 3% NaCl solution for specimens of nitrogen-deficient zirconium nitride (ZrN_0.67, ZrN_0.77, ZrN_0.87, and ZrN_0.97), as well as pure zirconium. In all cases, the anodic polarization curves have several stages which characterize during oxidation both active dissolution of ZrN _x and Zr in the electrolyte as well as the formation of surface layers of ZrOCl₂, ZrN _x O _y , and α‐ZrO₂ of monoclinic form. The corrosion resistance of single-phase ZrN _x specimens in 3% NaCl solution decreases in the sequence ZrN_0.97 → ZrN_0.87 → ZrN_0.77, and the initial stages of interaction between the specimen surface and the electrolyte largely determine the subsequent behavior of specimens. It is found that ZrN _x containing a large number of nitrogen atom vacancies, in particular ZrN_0.77, is closer in corrosion behavior to metallic zirconium than it is to stoichiometric ZrN (the reduction in the corrosion resistance is undoubtedly due to the reduction in the ionic-covalent components of the bonds in ZrN _x ).     

Telomere Length in Metaphase Chromosomes of Human Triploid Zygotes

The human lifespan is strongly influenced by telomere length (TL) which is defined in a zygote—when two highly specialised haploid cells form a new diploid organism. Although TL is a variable parameter, it fluctuates in a limited range. We aimed to establish the determining factors of TL in chromosomes of maternal and paternal origin in human triploid zygotes. Using Q-FISH, we examined TL in the metaphase chromosomes of 28 human triploid zygotes obtained from 22 couples. The chromosomes’ parental origin was identified immunocytochemically through weak DNA methylation and strong hydroxymethylation in the sperm-derived (paternal) chromosomes versus strong DNA methylation and weak hydroxymethylation in the oocyte-derived (maternal) ones. In 24 zygotes, one maternal and two paternal chromosome sets were identified, while the four remaining zygotes contained one paternal and two maternal sets. For each zygote, we compared mean relative TLs between parental chromosomes, identifying a significant difference in favour of the paternal chromosomes, which attests to a certain “imprinting” of these regions. Mean relative TLs in paternal or maternal chromosomes did not correlate with the respective parent’s age. Similarly, no correlation was observed between the mean relative TL and sperm quality parameters: concentration, progressive motility and normal morphology. Based on the comparison of TLs in chromosomes inherited from a single individual’s gametes with those in chromosomes inherited from different individuals’ gametes, we compared intraindividual (intercellular) and interindividual variability, obtaining significance in favour of the latter and thus validating the role of heredity in determining TL in zygotes. A comparison of the interchromatid TL differences across the chromosomes from sets of different parental origin with those from PHA-stimulated lymphocytes showed an absence of a significant difference between the maternal and paternal sets but a significant excess over the lymphocytes. Therefore, interchromatid TL differences are more pronounced in zygotes than in lymphocytes. To summarise, TL in human zygotes is determined both by heredity and parental origin; the input of other factors is possible within the individual’s reaction norm.     

Microelectrochemistry on Surfaces with the Scanning Electrochemical Microscope (SECM)

The scanning electrochemical microscope (SECM) is one of the scanning probe techniques that have been developed following the introduction of the scanning tunneling microscope. The approaches that have been used to modify surfaces with lateral resolution using the SECM are presented and discussed. These approaches made it possible to drive a variety of microelectrochemical reactions on surfaces, as well as to study the mechanism of these processes due to the unique advantages that the SECM offers.     

Controller Synthesis with Highly Simplified Linear Constraints

This paper deals with the problem of forbidden states in safe Petri nets to obtain a maximally permissive controller. To prevent the system from entering the forbidden states, assigning some constraints to them is possible. The constraints can be enforced on the system using control places. When the number of forbidden states is large, a large number of constraints should be assigned to them. This results in a large number of control places being added to the model of the system, which causes a complicated model. Some methods have been proposed to reduce the number of constraints. Nevertheless, they do not always give the best results. In this paper, two ideas are offered to reduce the number of constraints, giving a more simplified controller.     

Monitoring of Timed Discrete Events Systems With Interrupts

A framework is introduced for monitoring the interrupting faults in the timed discrete events systems. We introduce the notion of acceptable behavior of the system subjected to these faults: permanent or intermittent. The acceptable behavior of a system is modeled by a stopwatch automaton. The timed sub-spaces in the locations of the automaton delimit exactly the range of the acceptable behavior. They are synthesized using the techniques of reachability analysis of stopwatch automata in a way to detect the system faults as early as possible.     

All‐Hex Mesh Generation via Volumetric PolyCube Deformation

While hexahedral mesh elements are preferred by a variety of simulation techniques, constructing quality all‐hex meshes of general shapes remains a challenge. An attractive hex‐meshing approach, often referred to as sub‐mapping, uses a low distortion mapping between the input model and a PolyCube (a solid formed from a union of cubes), to transfer a regular hex grid from the PolyCube to the input model. Unfortunately, the construction of suitable PolyCubes and corresponding volumetric maps for arbitrary shapes remains an open problem. Our work introduces a new method for computing low‐distortion volumetric PolyCube deformations of general shapes and for subsequent all‐hex remeshing. For a given input model, our method simultaneously generates an appropriate PolyCube structure and mapping between the input model and the PolyCube. From these we automatically generate good quality all‐hex meshes of complex natural and man‐made shapes.