Levels and Origin of PAHs in Some Big Lakes

This study was designed to assess the contamination of a very special lake, Lake Baikal in Siberia, and two big lakes, Ladoga and Onega in the European part of Russia, by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). PAH compounds were analyzed by HPLC and the target PAH, benzo[ a ]pyrene (B a P), by using the spectral-luminescence (Shpol'skii) method. Elevated levels (to 96 w g kg m 1 ) of B a P in sediments of Lake Baikal reflected proximity to potential sources of emission, situated either on shore (a paper and pulp mill in Baikalsk) or upstream river systems. The concentration of B a P in sediments decreased with the distance from outlet and the depth. The sediment samples contained several representatives of PAHs. The total content of identified compounds reached 873 w g kg m 1 (less than four nuclear representatives not included). Dominating heavy PAHs were dibenz[ a,j ]anthracene, dibenz[ a,h ]anthracene, dibenzo[ a,e ]pyrene, and dibenzo[ a,l ]pyrene. The concentration of B a P in sediments of northeastern Baikal was more than two times less than that for the southern part of the lake and corresponds to the background level. The B a P levels estimated for sediments close to paper and pulp mills of the Lake Ladoga exceeded 160 w g kg m 1 , being two orders of magnitude higher than that for other areas of these lakes. The contamination of sediments of Lake Onega by PAHs is affected by pulp and paper mills as well as other sources. Our results clearly demonstrate the contribution of specific industrial sources like paper and pulp mills to the content of PAHs in the Baikal, Ladoga, and Onega water ecosystem.     

Visible light photocatalytic properties of novel molybdenum treated carbon nanotube/titania composites

Two types of molybdenum–carbon nanotubes and molybdenum treated carbon nanotubes/titania composites were prepared using a sol–gel method. These composites were characterized comprehensively by the Brauer–Emett–Teller (BET) surface area, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and UV-vis absorption spectroscopy. It was found that the photocatalytic degradation of a methylene blue solution could be attributed to the combined effects caused by the photo-degradation of titania, the electron assistance of carbon nanotube network, and the enhancement of molybdenum. The proposed redox mechanism of the photodegradation of methylene blue on Mo-CNT/TiO₂ composites is suggested.     

Determining heat flux from surface temperature measurements in pulsed gasdynamic processes

The surface temperature of a body of revolution in a pulsed supersonic nitrogen flow has been measured using anisotropic thermoelements based on bismuth single crystals. A method for calculating the heat flux toward the body surface using data on the surface temperature variations is proposed, which is based on solving the heat conduction equation in a semibounded space. The errors of temperature measurements and heat flux calculations are estimated using linear regression analysis.     

Effect of Mg composition on sintering behaviors and mechanical properties of Al–Cu–Mg alloy

Al–3Cu–Mg alloy was fabricated by the powder metallurgy (P/M) processes. Air-atomized powders of each alloying element were blended with various Mg contents (0.5%, 1.5%, and 2.5%, mass fraction). The compaction pressure was selected to achieve the elastic deformation, local plastic deformation, and plastic deformation of powders, respectively, and the sintering temperatures for each composition were determined, where the liquid phase sintering of Cu is dominant. The microstructural analysis of sintered materials was performed using optical microscope (OM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) to investigate the sintering behaviors and fracture characteristics. The transverse rupture strength (TRS) of sintered materials decreased with greater Mg content (Al–3Cu–2.5Mg). However, Al–3Cu–0.5Mg alloy exhibited moderate TRS but higher specific strength than Al–3Cu without Mg addition.     

Effects of various sintering methods on microstructure and mechanical properties of CP-Ti powder consolidations

Effects of various sintering methods such as spark plasma sintering (SPS), hot pressing (HP) and electric resistance sintering (ERS) on the microstructure and mechanical properties of commercial pure titanium (CP-Ti) powder consolidations with particle size of <147 μm, <74 μm and <43 μm were studied. The smaller particle powders are densified to proceed at a higher rate. Dense titanium with relative density up to 99% is found to take place at 850 °C under 30 MPa of SPS and HP condition. However, in case of ERS, CP-Ti powders were densified almost at 950 °C under 30 MPa. The microstructure of sintered titanium is composed of equiaxed grains at 850–950 °C. The yield strength of sintered body composed of <43 μm powder is 858 MPa by using SPS at 850 °C under 30 MPa. When there is a higher content of small particle, the higher yield strength value is obtained both by using SPS and HP. However, when ERS is introduced, the highest yield strength is 441 MPa at 950 °C under 30 MPa, which shows much lower values than those by SPS and HP methods. ERS method takes much less sintering time compared with SPS and HP. Nevertheless, higher sintering temperature results in lower strength and elongation because of brittle fracture.     

Mathematical analysis of a flying capacitor converter: a sampled‐data modeling approach

Flying capacitor converters (FCCs) are recently attracting considerable interest because of their inherent natural voltage balancing property. We develop a sampled‐data model for a single‐phase single‐leg three‐level FCC. This provides a closed‐form expression for the system dynamic behavior after each switching cycle. Analysis of this model provides considerable insight on the FCC and its natural balancing property. In particular, we prove that the natural balancing property indeed holds whenever the switching frequency is sufficiently high. We also rigorously analyze dynamic properties such as the capacitor time constant and relate them to the parameter values of the load, carrier frequency and duty ratio. These results shed light on the intricate relationship between the FCC parameters and its short‐ and long‐term dynamic behavior. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

ENZYMATIC PROPERTIES OF A PROTEASE FROM THE HEPATOPANCREAS OF SHRIMP, PENAEVS OMENTAIM

The protease purified from hepatopancreas of shrimp, Penaeus orientals, had high proteolytic activity in the pH range of 7.0 to 9.5. Temperature optimum for hydrolysis of casein was 70C. The protease was stable at neutral and alkaline pH and unstable at acidic pH. The apparent Michaelis‐Menten constant (K_m) and the turnover number (V_max) of the protease on hydrolysis of N‐CBZ‐L‐tyrosine p‐nitrophenyl ester (CBZ‐Tyr‐NE) and N‐CBZ‐L‐phenylalanine p‐nitrophenyl ester (CBZ‐Phe‐NE) ‐were similar, however, those for N‐CBZ‐L‐cysteine p‐nitropher.yl ester (CBZ‐Cys‐NE) were different. K_m and V_max for hydrolysis of casein by the protease were determined to be 0.31% and 5.21s^‐1, respectively. The N‐terminal sequence of the protease showed higher homology with the collagenase of crab and trypsins from Crustacea. Myosin heavy chain (MHC) was the primary substrate during proteolysis with the protease. Actin/tropomyosin were degraded progressively during 2 h incubation but to a lesser extent than MHC.