Electrochemical study of 7α,12,20-O-trimethyl-conacytone in acetonitrile

An electrochemical study of the electroreduction in anhydrous acetonitrile of 7α,12,20-O-trimethyl-conacytone, an abietane quinoid diterpene derivative from the natural product 7α-O-methyl-conacytone, showed two reduction signals. At the first reduction step, fast chemical reactions involving the loss of the methoxyl group located at C-7 with simultaneous regeneration of the quinoid moiety were observed. This electrogenerated quinone is reduced again, at the same potential used with the former quinone, resulting in a two-electron peak. These results were obtained by cyclic voltammetry and double-step chronoamperometry experiments. The electrolysis under methylating conditions of 7α-O-methyl-conacytone, at potential values of the second electron transfer, generates as major products, methoxy-hydroquinone, where the methoxy group at C-7 is lost, which is in agreement with the proposed mechanism. Therefore, the second reduction signal was attributed to the reduction of semiquinone intermediates by a mechanism not elucidated.     

A Study of Ozone Generation by Negative Corona Discharge Through Different Plasma Chemistry Models

The Steady radial distribution of chemical species in a wire‐to‐cylinder ozone generator filled with pure oxygen has been computed by applying four different plasma chemistry models of increasing complexity. The most complete model considers ten species (e, O₂ ⁺, O₂ ^?, O₃ ^?, O^?, O₂, O₂(¹Δ_g), O₂(¹∑_g ⁺), O and O₃) and 79 reactions, including ionization by electron impact, electron attachment and detachment, electron-ion recombination, charge transfer, etc. The chemical model is coupled with the electrical model through Poisson's equation. The spatially averaged ozone density has been computed as a function of the current intensity and compared with the experimental values obtained by UV spectroscopy.     

Rheology of concentrated solutions of hyperbranched polyesters

The solution rheology of different generations of hyperbranched polyesters in N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidinone (NMP) solvent was examined in this study. The solutions exhibited Newtonian behavior over a wide range of polyester concentrations. Also, the relative viscosities of poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers in ethylenediamine were compared with those of the hyperbranched polyesters in NMP. Both types of dendritic polymers have relative viscosities that are exponential functions of their molar fraction in solution. The slopes of these relative viscosity curves show a linear relationship with respect to the generation number. PAMAM dendrimers have the greater slopes for each generation, reflecting their relatively larger intrinsic viscosity values.     

Optical properties of amorphous carbon thin films prepared by plasma deposition in a graphite hollow cathode

Carbon films have been produced using a graphite hollow cathode and an r.f. plasma of hydrogen or hydrogen and argon. No hydrocarbon gas was used. The films were subjected to heat treatments up to 700 °C in air. The optical properties of the films were studied using Fourier transform IR, UV-visible, Raman, ellipsometry and photoluminescence techniques before and after the annealing. Films prepared without argon have a narrower band gap and a different photoluminescence response from films prepared with argon. The index of refraction was seen to have values between 1.7 and 2.2 depending on the preparation conditions. The optical band gap of the films was generally greater than 2 eV and the annealing process both increased the gap and reduced the density of states responsible for the large photoluminescence signal.     

Syllables as processing units in handwriting production.

This research focused on the syllable as a processing unit in handwriting. Participants wrote, in uppercase letters, words that had been visually presented. The interletter intervals provide information on the timing of motor production. In Experiment 1, French participants wrote words that shared the initial letters but had different syllable boundaries. In Experiment 2, French- and Spanish-speaking participants wrote cognates and pseudowords with a letter sequence that was always intrasyllabic in French and intersyllabic in Spanish. In Experiment 3, French-Spanish bilinguals wrote the cognates and pseudowords with the same type of sequences. In the 3 experiments, the critical interletter intervals were longer between syllables than within syllables, indicating that word syllable structure constrains motor production both in French and Spanish. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

环缝错边容器的有限元分析与容限探讨

采用有限元方法对 1台封头与筒体具有较大错边量的容器进行了应力分析 ,得到了错边区域的应力分布状况 ,并对其进行应力强度评定。结果表明 ,该容器错边部位的应力是满足应力分析准则的。通过对存在不同错边量的容器进行应力分析 ,探讨了容器的错边容限 ,对含有错边缺陷在役容器是否合乎使用的判断具有一定指导意义     

Downhole Upgrading of Extra-heavy Crude Oil Using Hydrogen Donors and Methane Under Steam Injection Conditions

An extra-heavy crude oil underground upgrading process is described which involves the downhole addition of a hydrogen donor additive under steam injection conditions (280-315°C and residence times of at least 24-h). Laboratory experiments showed a 4° increase in the API gravity (from 9 to 12°) of the upgraded product, a two-fold reduction in the viscosity and, an approximately 8% decrease in the asphaltene content with respect to the original crude. Further increases on the temperature led to products with improved properties reaching 15°API at 315°C. It was found that the presence of the natural formation (catalysts) and methane (natural gas) is necessary to enhance the properties of the upgraded crude oil. From GC and GC-MS results a reaction pathway is proposed that involves hydrogen transfers from tetralin to the extra-heavy crude oil resulting in the formation of 1,2-dihydronaphthalene. This compound is then transformed into naphthalene, further upgrading of crude oil through hydrogen donation. The results of the experiments carried out in the presence and absence of the mineral formation and with an inert solid (SiC) strongly indicate that the former acts as a catalyst and not as a heat transfer matrix. Isotopic labeling studies (CD₄ and ¹³CH₄) give evidences that, most probably, methane is involved in the upgrading reactions.     

Simultaneous HPLC quantification of total cholesterol,tocopherols and β-carotene in Barrosã-PDO veal

A simple, rapid and sensitive procedure for the simultaneous determination of total cholesterol, tocopherols and β-carotene in meat is described. The method involves a direct saponification of the meat, a single n-hexane extraction and the analysis of the extracted compounds by normal-phase HPLC, using fluorescence (tocopherols) and UV–Vis photodiode array (cholesterol and β-carotene) detections in tandem. Rates of recovery of spiked meat samples were 93% for cholesterol, 83–86% for (α-, β- and -γ) tocopherols and 89% for β-carotene. Repeatabilities were high (CV < 6%) for all determined compounds, except for δ-tocopherol. This tocopherol, which is not usually present in meat, showed a much lower recovery percentage (73%) and repeatability (12.8%). This methodology was applied for the quantification of total cholesterol, tocopherols and β-carotene in three muscles (longissimus thoracis, longissimus lumborum and semitendinosus) of the Portuguese traditional Barrosã-PDO veal, obtained from autochthonous calves fed extensively during summer (with the least abundant green pastures) and slaughtered in early autumn (October). Barrosã-PDO veal showed median contents of total cholesterol (0.50–0.56 mg/g) and, depending on the analysed muscle, moderate to high contents of α-tocopherol (3.3–3.9 μg/g) and β-carotene (0.07–0.09 μg/g), suggesting an high sensorial and hygienic quality.     

错金工艺及对其运用的探讨

为了继承和发扬错金工艺，从其定义出发，探讨了该工艺在中国古代及国外的发展与应用以及笔者对该工艺的实验研究。针对在错金工艺实践过程中出现的问题，在查阅了相关的资料后，对传统错金工艺的实现方法提出了质疑。     

Spouted bed drying of cork stoppers

The spouted bed is commonly used to dry granular particles as it displays some special characteristics which render it capable of performing cyclic operations, with particles that are very difficult to fluidize under a different type of bed.Information on the characteristic drying rates of cork stoppers is still very limited in the technical and scientific literature, and until now no published data was found on the spouted bed drying of cork stoppers.The characterization of the drying performance of Port wine cork stoppers was carried out in a laboratory scale spouted bed. Characteristic drying curves were determined with 29 mm × 21 mm cork stoppers under several operating conditions. Values for the effective diffusivity were obtained in the range of 1.36 × 10⁻⁹ to 4.44 × 10⁻⁹ m²/s, with the temperature dependence represented by an Arrhenius-type relationship. The activation energy obtained was 28.72 kJ/mol.