USING A SYSTEM DYNAMICS APPROACH TO MODEL SUSTAINABILITY INDICATORS FOR IRRIGATION SYSTEMS IN AUSTRALIA

ABSTRACT. An indicator defined as a function of the total water diversion through the Coleambally canal and the potential irrigation demand is selected to represent the sustainability of the irrigation water system in the Coleambally irrigation area, Australia. A simulation procedure using a system dynamics approach was developed to evaluate the indicator. The procedure includes water diversion assessment, potential crop water demand and total gross margin. Three cases of water supply options (surface water, ground water pumping and water trading), two cases of changes in the total agricultural area and three cropping pattern scenarios were simulated to better understand their impact on sustainability. The simulated results indicate that increasing the agricultural area reduces the sustainability of the irrigation system because the demand of water increased despite increase in the gross margin. The scenarios show that imposed water trading and ground water pumping would considerably increase the supply system having a positive impact on the sustainability. The paper concludes that a multi‐objective sustainability indicator taking account of economic and environmental issues could be more useful.     

ZrO2催化无溶剂条件下醇的液相氧化反应

采用一种环境友好的方法,以分子氧为氧化剂,以ZrO2为催化剂,在无溶剂的条件下实现了醇的选择性氧化.苯甲醛、环己酮和辛醛等是相应醇的主要氧化产物.考察了不同反应条件(搅拌速度、反应时间和温度)、催化剂制备参数(焙烧温度和负载量)及氧分压等的影响.结果发现,对于醇氧化生成相应羰基化合物,1 223 K焙烧的ZrO2比723 K焙烧的ZrO2显示出更高的催化活性.催化剂在反应混合物中不溶解,可以通过简单的过滤使其分离并重复使用.当搅拌速度大于900 r/min时,对醇的转化速率无明显的影响.     

Synthesis of 15N-enriched pseudouridine derivatives

[reaction: see text]. A procedure for the chemical synthesis of [3-15N]-labeled pseudouridine and a methylated derivative was developed. A suitably protected pseudouridine precursor was nitrated at N3 followed by treatment with 15NH4Cl to afford the 15N-labeled product in six steps with a 20% yield. This methodology will allow for the production of RNAs with [3-15N]pseudouridine and [3-15N-methyl]pseudouridine at specific locations.     

Mn(Ⅱ)和Ce(Ⅳ)离子对铬酸氧化乳酸的影响

The kinetics and mechanism of lactic acid oxidation in the presence of Mn(II)and Ce(IV)ions by chromic acid were studied spectrophotometrically.The oxidation of lactic acid by Cr(VI)was found to proceed in two measurable steps,both of which gave pyruvic acid as the primary product in the absence of Mn(II).2Cr(VI) 2CH3CHOHCOOH→2CH3COCOOH Cr(V) Cr(III)Cr(V) CH3CHOHCOOH→Cr(III) CH3COCOOH The observed kinetics was explained due to the catalytic and inhibitory effects of Mn(II)and Ce(IV)on the lactic acid oxidation by Cr(VI).The reactivity of lactic acid depends upon the experimental conditions.It acts as a two-or three-equivalent reducing agent in the absence or presence of Mn(II).It was examined that Cr(III)products resulting from the direct reduction of Cr(VI)by three-equivalent reducing agents.The oxidation of lactic acid follows the complex order kinetics with respect to [lactic acid].The activation parameters Ea,ΔH#,and ΔS# were calculated and discussed.     

Effect of bovine serum albumin on the surface properties of ionic liquid-type Gemini surfactant

The effect of bovine serum albumin on the surface properties of IL-type gemini surfactant ([C₁₀-4-C₁₀im]Br₂), have been investigated by surface tension method. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) as a function of BSA concentrations at various temperatures was investigated. The CMC of [C₁₀-4-C₁₀im]Br₂ increases with increasing the concentration of BSA as well as the temperature of the system. The interfacial parameters viz; maximum surface excess concentration (Γ_max), the minimum area per molecule (A_min), and surface pressure at CMC (Π_cmc) were calculated. In addition, thermodynamic parameters of adsorption and micellization were evaluated by using surface tension data. The results indicated that the binding of [C₁₀-4-C₁₀im]Br₂ to BSA is spontaneous and exothermic in nature. The process is entropy driven and hydrophobic interactions are the major driving forces.     

A comparative study on low‐order,amplitude‐equation and perturbation approaches in thermal convection

A comparison among three weakly nonlinear approaches for thermo‐gravitational instability in a Newtonian fluid layer heated from below is presented. First, the dynamical systems describing the time evolution of the problem from different weakly nonlinear approaches, namely, the Lorenz model, the amplitude equations and the perturbation expansion approaches are obtained. Next, the steady states and their stability, as well as the transient behaviour are obtained from each dynamical system. The similarity and difference among the three models are emphasized. The role of each of the nondimensional groups, the Rayleigh number and the Prandtl number is compared for the three models. The different approaches lead to similar behaviours when the Rayleigh number is just above its critical value and Prandtl number is high. However, only the dynamical system obtained from the amplitude equations is able to reflect the role of the Prandtl number. On the other hand, the amplitude equations and perturbation expansion techniques are not suitable for predicting the uniform oscillatory behaviour observed frequently in Rayleigh–Bénard convection. The novelty of the current work lies in studying the critical differences in the findings of the three popular approaches to investigate weakly nonlinear thermal convection for the first time. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experimental study of yttrium barium copper oxide superconducting tape’s critical current under twisting moment

Critical current (I _c) characteristics of 2G YBCO superconducting tape under the influence of twisting moment was experimentally investigated at varying current ramp rates in the self-field. Under a uniform twist, the degradation in the current-carrying capacity of YBCO tape up to 30% was observed at 77 K. The degradation is largely attributed to the shear stress and torsional shear strain resulting from the twisting. The superconductor to resistive transition index, n, is also found to behave in an identical manner with increase in the twisting. Finite element analysis (FEA) of the tape in the experimental configuration with twisting moment being applied on to it has been carried out in COMSOL. The torsional strain calculated analytically as per the experimental configuration matches closely with that of FEA results, which shows that the critical current degradation is a function of strain.     

Mode-I interlaminar fracture behaviour of nanoparticle modified epoxy/basalt fibre-reinforced laminates

The effect of nano-reinforcements on fracture behaviour of bulk epoxy nanocomposites and mode-I interlaminar fracture toughness of filament-wound basalt fibre-reinforced laminates was studied. Fracture energy of the bulk epoxy nanocomposites significantly increased with acrylic tri-block-copolymer addition but remained unchanged with incorporation of nanoclay. Delamination fracture toughness was not influenced by the presence of nanoparticles in the matrix. Decreasing fibre volume fraction, on the other hand, significantly improved interlaminar fracture energy. Rigid fibres in these composites constrict the stress field ahead of the crack-tip. Hence, increasing resin content enhanced composite delamination energy by increasing the capacity for matrix deformation. Interlaminar crack propagation through the composite was observed to occur mainly by interfacial failure and matrix cracking.     

Recent Advances in the Applications of Ionic Liquids in Protein Stability and Activity: A Review

Room temperatures ionic liquids are considered as miraculous solvents for biological system. Due to their inimitable properties and large variety of applications, they have been widely used in enzyme catalysis and protein stability and separation. The related information present in the current review is helpful to the researchers working in the field of biotechnology and biochemistry to design or choose an ionic liquid that can serve as a noble and selective solvent for any particular enzymatic reaction, protein preservation and other protein based applications. We have extensively analyzed the methods used for studying the protein–IL interaction which is useful in providing information about structural and conformational dynamics of protein. This can be helpful to develop and understanding about the effect of ionic liquids on stability and activity of proteins. In addition, the affect of physico-chemical properties of ionic liquids, viz. hydrogen bond capacity and hydrophobicity on protein stability are discussed.