Low temperature complete combustion of dilute propane over Mn-doped ZrO2 (cubic) catalysts

Combustion of dilute propane (0.9 mol%) over Mn-doped ZrO₂ catalysts prepared using different precipitating agents (viz. TMAOH, TEAOH, TPAOH, TBAOH and NH₄OH), having different Mn/Zr ratios (0.05—0.67) and calcined at different temperatures (500—800°C), has been thoroughly investigated at different temperatures (300—500°C) and space velocities (25,000–100,000 cm³ g⁻¹ h⁻¹) for controlling propane emissions from LPG-fuelled vehicles. Mn-doped ZrO₂ catalyst shows high propane combustion activity, particularly when its ZrO₂ is in the cubic form, when its Mn/Zr ratio is close to 0.2 and when it is prepared using TMAOH as a precipitating agent and calcined at 500—600°C. Pulse reaction of propane in the absence of free-O₂ over Mn-doped ZrO₂ (cubic) and Mn-impregnated ZrO₂ (monoclinic) catalysts has also been investigated for studying the relative reactivity and mobility of the lattice oxygen of the two catalysts. Both reactivity and mobility of the lattice oxygen of Mn-doped ZrO₂ are found to be much higher than that of Mnimpregnated ZrO₂. Propane combustion over Mn-doped ZrO₂ catalyst involves a redox mechanism     

Synthesis and characterization of stimuli‐sensitive micro‐ and nanohydrogels based on photocrosslinkable poly(dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate)

The aim of this work was the development of a versatile route for the preparation of temperature‐ and pH‐responsive hydrogels with small dimensions. The copolymerization of N,N‐dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate with various amounts (5 and 10 mol %) of dimethylmaleimidoethyl methacrylate in solution with 2,2′‐azobisisobutyronitrile as an initiator is described. The structural and molecular characterization of the copolymers was performed with proton nuclear magnetic resonance, Fourier transform infrared, and ultraviolet spectroscopy, as well as size exclusion chromatography. Differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetry were used for the thermal characterization of the copolymers. Micro‐ and nanohydrogels of the copolymers were prepared by photocrosslinking. The gels obtained by photocrosslinking were characterized with a combination of surface plasmon resonance and optical waveguide spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, and scanning electron microscopy. The hydrogels showed temperature‐ and pH‐responsive behavior. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 669–679, 2007     

A microcomputer system for mass spectrometer control and data acquisition

A microcomputer system has been designed for semi-automatic operation of a solid source mass spectrometer used for geochronological studies. It sequentially steps the magnetic field through pre-selected values, reads the digitized ion currents for a given time and temporarily stores the data which can be transferred to a paper tape or directly to a desk top calculator for further analysis. The unit is relatively inexpensive, made of readily available components and can be adapted to many laboratory automation tasks     

A room-temperature neutron-diffraction study of NaH2PO4

The monoclinic crystal structure of NaH₂PO₄ at room temperature has been refined from neutron-diffraction measurements on a single-crystal sample and complied with the closely related structure of monoclinic KD₂PO₄. Attention is paid to the information obtained from these two structures about the geometry of hydrogen (deuterium) bonds ?2.6 A.     

Microbial transformation of mestranol by Cunninghamella elegans

The microbial transformation of an oral contraceptive, mestranol (1) by Cunninghamella elegans yielded two hydroxylated metabolites, 6beta-hydroxymestranol (2) and 6beta,12beta-dihydroxymestranol (3). Metabolite 3 was found to be a new compound. These metabolites were structurally characterized on the basis of spectroscopic techniques.     

Isolation of onosmins A and B, lipoxygenase inhibitors from Onosma hispida

Onosmins A (1) and B (2), lipoxygenase inhibitors, have been isolated from Onosma hispida. Their structures were established as 2-[(4-methylbenzyl)amino]benzoic acid (1) and methyl 2-[(4-methylbenzyl)amino]benzoate (2) through spectroscopic studies, including 2D-NMR. The known compounds apigenin (3), 6,4'-dimethoxy-3,5,7-trihydroxyflavone (4), 6,7-dimethoxy-3,5,4'-trihydroxyflavone (5) and apigenin 7-O-beta-D-glucoside (6) are also reported for the first time from this species. Compounds (1) and (2) inhibited lipoxygenase (LOX, EC 1.13.11.12) enzyme in a concentration-dependent fashion with IC50 values of 24.0 and 36.2 microM, respectively. Lineweaver-Burk as well as Dixon plots and their secondary replots indicated that the nature of inhibition was purely a non-competitive type, with K(i) values 22.0 microM and 31.1, respectively.     

Lipoxygenase inhibiting constituents from Indigofera hetrantha

A lignan and two acylphloroglucinols have been isolated from the ethyl acetate soluble fraction of the whole plant of Indigofera hetrantha. Their structures have been assigned on the basis of spectral analysis including 1D and 2D NMR techniques. Compounds 1-3 displayed promising inhibitory potential against enzyme lipoxygenase in concentration-dependent manner.     

Tyrosinase-inhibitory long-chain esters from Amberboa ramosa

Long-chain esters 1 and 2 have been isolated from the chloroform-soluble fraction of Amberboa ramosa and their structures assigned to be methyl 2beta(2S)-hydroxyl-7(E)-tritriacontenoate (1) and methyl 2beta(2S)-O-beta-D-galactopyranosyl-7(E)-tetratriacontenoate (2). In addition, tricontane (3) and apigenin (4) are also reported for the first time from this species. The structures were assigned on the basis of 1D and 2D NMR techniques. Compounds 1 and 2 showed strong to moderate inhibitory activity against tyrosinase.     

Structural and dielectric properties of Pb5(Ge,Si)O11

The ferroelectric lead germanate (Pb₅Ge₃O₁₁) and its isomorphous compounds are important because of their uses as pyroelectric and electro-optic devices. Comparison of inter-planar d-spacings of Pb₅Ge_3−x Si _x O₁₁ (x=0, 0.3, 0.7 and 1.00) suggests that there is no change in basic structure of Pb₅Ge_3−x Si _x O₁₁ when Si is substituted for Ge in small quantity (x<1). The dielectric properties of the Si-substituted compounds have been studied as a function of temperature (30 to 200°C). The ferroelectric-paraelectric phase transition has been observed at 185°C. The Si doping causes (a) Curie point to shift towards low temperature, (b) peak value of the dielectric constant to decrease and (c) phase transition diffuse. The fast increase in dielectric constant of pure Pb₅Ge₃O₁₁ with temperature (beyond transition temperature) may be attributed to the development of space charge polarization in the system.     

Observation of muon neutrino disappearance with the MINOS detectors in the NuMI neutrino beam

This Letter reports results from the MINOS experiment based on its initial exposure to neutrinos from the Fermilab NuMI beam. The rates and energy spectra of charged current nu(mu) interactions are compared in two detectors located along the beam axis at distances of 1 and 735 km. With 1.27 x 10(20) 120 GeV protons incident on the NuMI target, 215 events with energies below 30 GeV are observed at the Far Detector, compared to an expectation of 336+/-14 events. The data are consistent with nu(mu) disappearance via oscillations with |Delta(m)2/32|=2.74 +0.44/-0.26 x10(-3)eV(2) and sin(2)(2theta(23))>0.87 (68% C.L.).