Influence of the activation temperature on structural and textural properties of NiMo/Al2O3 hydrodesulfurization catalysts

Investigations of a commercial NiMo/Al₂O₃ hydrodesulfurization (HDS) catalyst are directed towards optimization of the activation procedure of HDS catalyst concerning active phase formation and thermal stability. Structural and textural data obtained with XRD, IR-FTIR, XPS and LTNA reveal that the optimal temperature for the formation of active species on the catalyst surface and an appropriate pore structure is 300°C.     

Study of high-performance liquid chromatographic separation of selected herbicides by hydro-methanolic and micellar liquid chromatography using Genapol X-080 non-ionic surfactant as mobile phase constituent

Chromatographic behaviour of six selected herbicides (chlortoluron, metoxuron, chloridazon, simazine, propazine and atrazine) was studied by reversed-phase (RP) high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) containing Genapol X-080 non-ionic surfactant as methanol/water mobile phase constituent. The concentration of methanol was changed from 50 to 0% (v/v) for constant 2% (v/v) concentration of the surfactant. The surfactant concentration in purely aqueous micellar mobile phase varied from 1 to 5% (v/v) what is approximately 360-1800 times above the CMC. Within this concentration range Genapol X-080 proves concentration dependent selectivity changes for chlortoluron/atrazine critical pair not occurred in hydro-methanolic mobile phases. Further studies revealed that this chromatographic system offers high compatibility with cloud-point extraction environmental sample pretreatment approaches using Genapol X-080 for the purpose, too.     

Mechanical and anti‐stabbing properties of modified thermoplastic polymers impregnated multiaxial p‐aramid fabrics

New forms of hybrid multiaxial nanocomposites with enhanced mechanical and stab resisting properties are presented. This study is motivated by the lack of knowledge in the study of the multiaxial fabric nanocomposites with two modified thermoplastic matrices for antiballistic protection. Introduction of 5 wt.% silica nanoparticles in the composite of polyurethane/p‐aramid/poly (vinyl butyral) leads to significant improvement in mechanical properties, and the addition of silane as a coupling agents and glutaraldehyde as a crosslinking agents yielded maximal values of storage modulus, tensile modulus and anti‐stabbing properties for hybrid nanocomposites. Ballistic resistance testing and penetration depth of the hybrid nanocomposites were visualized using image analysis. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Positive numerical splitting method for the Hull and White 2D Black–Scholes equation

We consider the locally one‐dimensional backward Euler splitting method to solve numerically the Hull and White problem for pricing European options with stochastic volatility in the presence of a mixed derivative term. We prove the first‐order convergence of the time‐splitting. The parabolic equation degenerates on the boundary x = 0 and we apply a fitted finite volume scheme to the equation to resolve the degeneracy and derive the fully discrete problem as we also investigate the discrete maximum principle. Numerical experiments illustrate the efficiency of our difference scheme. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 31: 822–846, 2015     

Seasonal variations of cytosolic antioxidant enzyme activities in the liver and white muscle of thinlip gray mullet (Liza ramada Risso) from the Adriatic Sea

The activity of cytosolic antioxidative defence enzymes in the liver and white muscle of thinlip gray mullet (Liza ramada Risso) were compared in winter and spring in the Adriatic Sea. Activity of antioxidative enzymes is functionally organized due to metabolic demands: analyses of variance and correlation analysis revealed tissue- and seasonal- specific organization of antioxidative enzymes. In winter GST activity increased in both tissues compared with spring. At the same time decreased GSH-Px and GR activities were observed and this effect was more pronounced in liver then in white muscle. From correlation analyses it is concluded that the antioxidative components correlate, but the composition of the antioxidative defence system is different in respect to season and tissue. This means that the antioxidative defence system reorganizes its structure due to oxidative demands and to protect the tissues against reactive oxygen species and to establish homeostasis. Discriminant analyses separated groups according to the complete organization of individual components of the system very well and identified individual components (CAT, GST and GR) which contribute most to the differences. Statistical differences were observed between enzyme activities in tissues (liver and muscle) in both winter and spring, and between seasons (winter and spring) for liver tissue only. Since environmental parameters, such as temperature and oxygen concentration in the sea differ with season, we conclude that in this species the tissues examined expressed their antioxidative defence systems in different ways in respect of external/environmental conditions. We propose that tissue- and seasonal- specific levels of antioxidant enzyme activities should be considered in the interpretation of data from future biomonitoring field studies, especially in relation to low temperature.     

Pressure‐induced polymerization of tetraethylene glycol dimethacrylate

The polymerization and crosslinking of tetraethylene glycol dimethacrylate were induced by high pressure. The product was analyzed by both swelling experiments and broadband dielectric spectroscopy to determine the structure, with IR measurements used to follow the extent of reaction and its temperature dependence. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 3795–3801, 2008     

Fitted finite volume method for a generalized Black–Scholes equation transformed on finite interval

A generalized Black–Scholes equation is considered on the semi-axis. It is transformed on the interval (0, 1) in order to make the computational domain finite. The new parabolic operator degenerates at the both ends of the interval and we are forced to use the Gärding inequality rather than the classical coercivity. A fitted finite volume element space approximation is constructed. It is proved that the time $\theta $ -weighted full discretization is uniquely solvable and positivity-preserving. Numerical experiments, performed to illustrate the usefulness of the method, are presented.     

Electrocatalysts for methanol oxidation with ultra low content of Pt and Ru

We have developed efficient electrocatalysts for methanol oxidation using new synthetic method facilitating deposition of Pt–Ru very thin nanoplatelets on carbon nanoparticles The method involves oxidation of carbon support, adsorption of Pb²⁺, its reduction and galvanic displacement of Pb⁰ by Pt and/or Ru. The Pt mass activity of this catalyst is about 10 times higher than that of the commercial Pt–Ru/C. The catalyst with the 1:1 Pt/Ru ratio displayed the highest methanol oxidation activity per surface Pt atom. Our results demonstrate the new synthetic method that yields the catalyst with potential for solving the problem of high Pt loading in direct methanol fuel cell anodes.