Decolorization and mineralization of yellow 5 (E102) by UV/Fe2+/H2O2 process. Optimization of the operational conditions by response surface methodology

In this study, the optimization and implementation of a homogeneous photo-Fenton process for the decolorization and mineralization of a wastewater containing highly concentrated yellow 5 (E102) dye, resulting from an industry placed in the suburbs of Medellin (Colombia), is presented. Response surface methodology was applied as a tool for the optimization of operational conditions such as initial dyestuff concentration, H₂O₂ concentration, and UV-radiation power (number of lamps). The decolorization, degradation and mineralization efficiencies were used as response variables. The following conditions were found to be optimal for decolorization and mineralization of yellow 5: UV radiation of 365 nm (4 W, one lamp), dye concentration of 200 mg/L, Fe²⁺ concentration of 1.0 mM, H₂O₂ concentration of 1.75 mL/L, treatment time of 180 min, Fe²⁺ concentration of 1 mM and pH = 3. Under these conditions (180 min), the photo-Fenton process allowed us to reach ca. 100% of color dye degradation, 99% of COD degradation, and 85% of mineralization (TOC). The scavenging effect of the Cl^– anion on the photodegradation process was also confirmed.     

New hydrophobic L‐amino acid salts: maleates of L‐leucine,L‐isoleucine and L‐norvaline

Crystals of maleates of three amino acids with hydrophobic side chains [L‐leucenium hydrogen maleate, C₆H₁₄NO₂⁺·C₄H₃O₄⁻, (I), L‐isoleucenium hydrogen maleate hemihydrate, C₆H₁₄NO₂⁺·C₄H₃O₄⁻·0.5H₂O, (II), and L‐norvalinium hydrogen maleate–L‐norvaline (1/1), C₅H₁₁NO₂⁺·C₄H₃O₄⁻·C₅H₁₂NO₂, (III)], were obtained. The new structures contain C₂²(12) chains, or variants thereof, that are a common feature in the crystal structures of amino acid maleates. The L‐leucenium salt is remarkable due to a large number of symmetrically non‐equivalent units (Z′ = 3). The L‐isoleucenium salt is a hydrate despite the fact that L‐isoleucine is a nonpolar hydrophobic amino acid (previously known amino acid maleates formed hydrates only with lysine and histidine, which are polar and hydrophilic). The L‐norvalinium salt provides the first example where the dimeric cation L‐Nva...L‐NvaH⁺ was observed. All three compounds have layered noncentrosymmetric structures. Preliminary tests have shown the presence of the second harmonic generation (SGH) effect for all three compounds.     

1‐(7‐Chloro‐1,4‐dihydroquinolin‐4‐ylidene)thiosemicarbazide and its hydrochloride: evidence for the existence of a stable imine tautomer in the solid state of 4‐aminoquinoline free bases,an anomalous case in nitrogen heterocycles

In the solid state, crystals of both 1‐(7‐chloro‐1,4‐dihydroquinolin‐4‐ylidene)thiosemicarbazide–methanol–water (2/1/1), 2C₁₀H₉ClN₄S·CH₃OH·H₂O, (I), and its hydrochloride salt {systematic name: [(7‐chloro‐1,4‐dihydroquinolin‐4‐ylidene)azaniumyl]thiourea chloride}, C₁₀H₁₀ClN₄S⁺·Cl⁻, (II), assume the imine tautomeric form, contrary to other 4‐amino‐7‐chloroquinolines. Of particular interest are the N—C bond lengths, which have appreciable double‐bond character, and the C—N—C aromatic ring bond angle. Both of these parameters have been studied extensively in 4‐amino‐substituted quinolines. The crystal structures of (I) and (II) in this study provide interesting examples of the amino–imino tautomerism which exists in this class of compound and is, to the best of our knowledge, hitherto unreported.     

Cause–effect analysis: improvement of a first year engineering students’ calculus teaching model

This study focuses on the mathematics department at a South African university and in particular on teaching of calculus to first year engineering students. The paper reports on a cause–effect analysis, often used for business improvement. The cause–effect analysis indicates that there are many factors that impact on secondary school teaching of mathematics, factors that the tertiary sector has no control over. The analysis also indicates the undesirable issues that are at the root of impeding success in the calculus module. Most important is that students are not encouraged to become independent thinkers from an early age. This triggers problems in follow-up courses where students are expected to have learned to deal with the work load and understanding of certain concepts. A new model was designed to lessen the impact of these undesirable issues.     

The cultural Red King effect

Why do minority groups tend to be discriminated against when it comes to situations of bargaining and resource division? In this article, I explore an explanation for this disadvantage that appeals solely to the dynamics of social interaction between minority and majority groups—the cultural Red King effect (Bruner, 2017). As I show, in agent-based models of bargaining between groups, the minority group will tend to get less as a direct result of the fact that they frequently interact with majority group members, while majority group members meet them only rarely. This effect is strengthened by certain psychological phenomenon—risk aversion and in-group preference—is robust on network models, and is strengthened in cases where preexisting norms are discriminatory. I will also discuss how this effect unifies previous results on the impacts of institutional memory on bargaining between groups.     

On mechanical waves and Doppler shifts from moving boundaries

We investigate the propagation of infinitesimal harmonic mechanical waves emitted from a boundary with variable velocity and arriving at a stationary observer. In the classical Doppler effect, X_s(t)=vt is the location of the source with constant velocity v. In the present work, however, we consider a source co‐located with a moving boundary x=X_s(t), where X_s(t) can have an arbitrary functional form. For ‘slowly moving’ boundaries (i.e., ones for which the timescale set by the mechanical motion is large in comparison to the inverse of the frequency of the emitted wave), we present a multiple‐scale asymptotic analysis of the moving boundary problem for the linear wave equation. We obtain a closed‐form leading‐order (with respect to the latter small parameter) solution and show that the variable velocity of the boundary results not only in frequency modulation but also in amplitude modulation of the received signal. Consequently, our results extend the applicability of two basic tenets of the theory of a moving source on a stationary domain, specifically that (i) for non‐uniform boundary motion can be inserted in place of the constant velocity v in the classical Doppler formula and (ii) that the non‐uniform boundary motion introduces variability in the amplitude of the wave. The specific examples of decelerating and oscillatory boundary motion are worked out and illustrated. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Global dynamics of an age‐structured virus model with saturation effects

An infection‐age virus dynamics model for human immunodeficiency virus (or hepatitis B virus) infections with saturation effects of infection rate and immune response is investigated in this paper. It is shown that the global dynamics of the model is completely determined by two critical values R ₀, the basic reproductive number for viral infection, and R ₁, the viral reproductive number at the immune‐free infection steady state (R ₁<R ₀). If R ₀<1, the uninfected steady state E ⁰ is globally asymptotically stable; if R ₀>1 > R ₁, the immune‐free infected steady state E ^? is globally asymptotically stable; while if R ₁>1, the antibody immune infected steady state is globally asymptotically stable. Moreover, our results show that ignoring the saturation effects of antibody immune response or infection rate will result in an overestimate of the antibody immune reproductive number. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Delay‐dependent criteria on the global attractivity of Nicholson's blowflies model with patch structure

In this paper, we investigate the effect of delay on the asymptotic behavior of Nicholson's blowflies model with patch structure and multiple time‐varying delays. By using the fluctuation lemma and some differential inequality technique, delay‐dependent criteria are obtained for the global attractivity of the addressed system. Meanwhile, some numerical examples are given to illustrate the feasibility of the theoretical results. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Controlled Synthesis of Hollow PbS‐TiO2 Hybrid Structures through an Ion Adsorption–Heating Process and their Photocatalytic Activity

Hollow hybrid nanostructures have received significant attention because of their unique structural features. This study reports a facile ion adsorption–heating method to fabricate hollow PbS‐TiO₂ hybrid particles. In this method, the TiO₂ spheres used as a substrate material to grow PbS are aggregates of many small amorphous TiO₂ particles, and each small particle is covered with thioglycolic acid ligands through Ti⁴⁺–carboxyl coordination. When Pb²⁺ ions are added to a colloidal solution of these TiO₂ spheres, these ions are adsorbed by sulfhydryl (‐SH) groups to form metal thiolates, and the C−S bond is dissociated by heating to release S²⁻. The S²⁻ ions react with Pb²⁺ ions to form PbS without additive sulfur sources. Additionally, the amorphous TiO₂ spheres are transformed into the anatase phase during the heating process. As a result, the crystallization of TiO₂ spheres along with the formation of PbS is simultaneously carried out by heating. During the heating process, owing to the Kirkendall effect of S²⁻ diffusion and the Ostwald ripening effect of the crystallization of amorphous TiO₂ spheres, PbS‐TiO₂ hollow hybrid structures can be obtained. The XRD and XPS characterizations proved the formation of anatase TiO₂ and PbS. The TEM characterization confirmed the formation of hollow structures in the PbS‐TiO₂ hybrid sample. The photocatalytic activity of the hollow PbS‐TiO₂ hybrid spheres have been investigated for the degradation of Cr⁶⁺ under visible light. The results show that hollow PbS‐TiO₂ hybrid spheres exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity, in which almost all the Cr⁶⁺ was degraded after 140 min.     

Numerical Investigation on 1,3-Butadiene/Propyne Co-pyrolysis and Insight into Synergistic Effect on Aromatic Hydrocarbon Formation

A numerical investigation on the co-pyrolysis of 1,3-butadiene and propyne is performed to explore the synergistic effect between fuel components on aromatic hydrocarbon formation.A detailed kinetic model of 1,3-butadiene/propyne co-pyrolysis with the sub-mechanism of aromatic hydrocarbon formation is developed and validated on previous 1,3-butadiene and propyne pyrolysis experiments.The model is able to reproduce both the single component pyrolysis and the co-pyrolysis experiments,as well as the synergistic effect between 1,3-butadiene and propyne on the formation of a series of aromatic hydrocarbons.Based on the rate of production and sensitivity analyses,key reaction pathways in the fuel decomposition and aromatic hydrocarbon formation processes are revealed and insight into the synergistic effect on aromatic hydrocarbon formation is also achieved.The synergistic effect results from the interaction between 1,3-butadiene and propyne.The easily happened chain initiation in the 1,3-butadiene decomposition provides an abundant radical pool for propyne to undergo the H-atom abstraction and produce propargyl radical which plays key roles in the formation of aromatic hydrocarbons.Besides,the 1,3-butadiene/propyne co-pyrolysis includes high concentration levels of C3 and C4 precursors simultaneously,which stimulates the formation of key aromatic hydrocarbons such as toluene and naphthalene.