Removal of natural uranium from water produced in the oil industry using Algerian bentonite

Batch sorption experiments have been carried out to remove natural uranium (NORM) from water obtained together with crude oil and natural gas, using Algerian bentonites. The effect of some important factors such as S/L ratio, pH, initial concentration, particle size was evaluated and a kinetic study performed. The value of the distribution coefficient (K _d) at equilibrium for natural uranium varied from 30 to 600 cm³·g⁻¹ and 50 to 1100 cm³·g⁻¹ (∼10% margin error) using natural bentonite and drilling bentonite, respectively. The isotherms showed that the data are consistent with both Freundlich and Langmuir models.     

Redox activity and diffusion of hydrophilic, hydrophobic, and amphiphilic redox active molecules in a bicontinuous cubic phase

The objective was to examine how a bicontinuous cubic phase influences the diffusion and electrochemical activity of dissolved molecules. The cubic phase is a structure with three-dimensional continuous channels of water separated by an apolar membrane. A redox active molecule can dissolve in three different environments. A hydrophobic molecule will prefer the interior of the membrane, a hydrophilic molecule will prefer the water channels, and an amphiphilic molecule will be situated with its headgroup at the surface of the membrane and its tail in the interior. The electrochemical activity was measured with cyclic voltammetry and the transport behavior with chronocoulometry. All the molecules were redox active in the cubic phase; that is, all the molecules could reach the surface of the electrode and react. The cubic phase made the kinetics of the charge transfer slower, showing a quasi-reversible behavior. The reason may be that a layer of the membrane adheres to the hydrophobic electrode surface. The diffusion experiment showed that the diffusion was slower than in solution. The molecules that were restricted to diffuse within the membrane gave particularly low mass transport rates.     

Synthesis of 1-methyl-7-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-pyrido[2,3-c][1,2]thiazin-4(3H)-one 2,2-dioxide

The reaction of methyl 2-bromo-6-(trifluoromethyl)-3-pyridinecarboxylate ( 1 ) with methanesulfonamide gave methyl 2-[(methylsulfonyl)amino]-6-(trifluoromethyl)-3-pyridine-carboxylate ( 2 ). Alkylation of compound 2 with methyl iodide followed by cyclization of the resulting methyl 2-[methyl(methylsulfonyl)amino]-6-(trifluoromethyl)-3-pyridinecarboxylate ( 3 ) yielded 1-methyl-7-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-pyrido[2,3-c][1,2]thiazin-4(3H)-one 2,2-dioxide ( 4 ). The reaction of compound 4 with α,2,4-trichlorotoluene, methyl bromopropionate, methyl iodide, 3-trifluoromethylphenyl isocyanate, phenyl isocyanate and 2,4-dichloro-5-(2-propynyloxy)phenyl isothiocyanate gave, respectively, 4-[(2,4-dichlorophenyl)methoxy]-1-methyl-7-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-pyrido[2,3-c][1,2]thiazine 2,2-dioxide ( 5 ), methyl 2-[[1-methyl-2,2-dioxido-7-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-pyrido[2,3-c][1,2]thiazin-4-yl]oxy]propanoate ( 6 ), 1,3,3-trimethyl-7-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-pyrido[2,3-c][1,2]thiazin-4(3H)-one 2,2-dioxide ( 7 ), 4-hydroxy-1-methyl-7-(trifluoromethyl)-N-[3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]-1H-pyrido[2,3-c][1,2]thiazine-3-carboxamide 2,2-dioxide ( 8 ), 4-hydroxy-1-methyl-7-(trifluoromethyl)-N-phenyl-1H-pyrido[2,3-c][1,2]thiazine-3-carboxamide 2,2-dioxide ( 9 ) and N-[2,4-dichloro-5-(2-propynyloxy)phenyl]-4-hydroxy-1-methyl-7-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-pyrido[2,3-c][1,2] thiazine-3-carboxamide 2,2-dioxide ( 10 ).     

On the preparation of substituted 4H- 1,3,4-thiadiazolo[2,3-c]-1,2,4-triazin-4-ones and 1,2,4-triazolo[3,4-b]-1,3,4-thiadiazoles

The reaction of benzoyl isothiocyanates and methoxycarbonyl isothiocyanate with 4-amino-4,5-dihydro-3-(methylthio)-1,2,4-triazin-5-ones in acetonitrile gave several substituted 4H-1,3,4-thiadiazolo[2,3-c]-1,2,4-triazin-4-ones VIa-h instead of the expected thioureas. In addition, benzoyl isothiocyanate reacted with 4-amino-3-(methylthio)-5-(trifluoromethyl)-4H-1,2,4-triazole to give the benzoyl thiourea IX and with 4-amino-3-mercapto-5-(trifluoromethyl)-4H-1,2,4-triazole to give the bicyclic compound N-[3-(trifluoromethyl)-1,2,4-triazolo[3,4-b]-1,3,4-thiadiazol-6-yl]benzamide IX .     

Design study and heat transfer analysis of a neutron converter target for medical radioisotope production

A worldwide challenge in the near future will be to find a way of producing radioisotopes in sufficient quantity without relying on research reactors. The motivation for this innovative work on targets lies in the accelerator-based production of radioisotopes using a neutron converter target as in the transmutation by adiabatic resonance crossing concept. Thermal analysis of a multi-channel helium cooled device is performed with the computational fluid dynamics code CFX. Different boundary conditions are taken into account in the simulation process and many important parameters such as maximum allowable solid target temperature as well as uniform inlet velocity and outlet pressure changes in the channels are investigated. The results confirm that the cooling configuration works well; hence such a solid target could be operated safely and may be considered for a prototype target.     

Characterizing Methyl‐Bearing Side Chain Contacts and Dynamics Mediating Amyloid β Protofibril Interactions Using 13Cmethyl‐DEST and Lifetime Line Broadening

Many details pertaining to the formation and interactions of protein aggregates associated with neurodegenerative diseases are invisible to conventional biophysical techniques. We recently introduced ¹⁵N dark‐state exchange saturation transfer (DEST) and ¹⁵N lifetime line‐broadening to study solution backbone dynamics and position‐specific binding probabilities for amyloid β (Aβ) monomers in exchange with large (2–80 MDa) protofibrillar Aβ aggregates. Here we use ¹³C_methyl DEST and lifetime line‐broadening to probe the interactions and dynamics of methyl‐bearing side chains in the Aβ‐protofibril‐bound state. We show that all methyl groups of Aβ40 populate direct‐contact bound states with a very fast effective transverse relaxation rate, indicative of side‐chain‐mediated direct binding to the protofibril surface. The data are consistent with position‐specific enhancements of ¹³C_methyl‐${R{{{\rm tethered}\hfill \atop 2\hfill}}}$ values in tethered states, providing further insights into the structural ensemble of the protofibril‐bound state.     

Microstructure-property relationship in magnetoelectric bulk composites

We present systematic studies that comprise phase connectivity and dielectric, multiferroic (MF) and magnetoelectric (ME) properties of (x) Ni_0.8Co_0.2Fe₂O₄+(1−x) Pb(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)_0.67Ti_0.33O₃ [where x=0.15, 0.30 and 0.45] ME composites prepared by conventional solid-state reaction method. Scanning electron microscopic images of the composites predict different types of connectivity schemes viz 3-0, 3-1 and 3-3. The phase transition temperature of PMN-PT is independent of Ni_0.8Co_0.2Fe₂O₄ content. Room temperature P-E and M-H loops indicate the simultaneous existence of ferroelectric/magnetic ordering. In order to study the possibility of monitoring electrical ordering by means of a magnetic field, ME measurements were carried out. The composition-dependent phase connectivity was well co-related to formation of percolation path and inturn magnetoelectric output.     

Physics at the linear collider

The physics at the plannede ⁺ e ^- colliders is discussed around three main topics corresponding to different manifestations of symmetry breaking:W physics in the no Higgs scenario, studies of the properties of the Higgs and precision tests of SUSY. A comparison with the LHC is made for all these cases. The γγ mode of the linear collider will also be reviewed.