Generating hydrogen gas from methane with carbon captured as pure spheroidal nanomaterials

Energy production by using hydrogen gas as a feedstock is considered to be one of the keys to creating clean energy, with the proviso that the gas is generated in a sustainable way with no emissions. A simple, self-sustaining process generating hydrogen gas from methane using inexpensive stainless steel wire-mesh catalysts at elevated temperatures (800 °C) is reported. A theoretical analysis of the production of electricity by this process revealed peak chain energy efficiencies up to 21% (emission free) when using a percentage of the produced hydrogen (approximately 40% of purified yield) as the heat source. In addition, a practical method has been developed to purify the carbon byproduct, affording essentially pure highly graphitic spheroidal carbon for advanced materials applications.     

On structural decompositions of finite frames

A frame in an n-dimensional Hilbert space H _n is a possibly redundant collection of vectors {f _i } _i∈I that span the space. A tight frame is a generalization of an orthonormal basis. A frame {f _i } _i∈I is said to be scalable if there exist nonnegative scalars {c _i } _i∈I such that {c _i f _i } _i∈I is a tight frame. In this paper we study the combinatorial structure of frames and their decomposition into tight or scalable subsets by using partially-ordered sets (posets). We define the factor poset of a frame {f _i } _i∈I to be a collection of subsets of I ordered by inclusion so that nonempty J?I is in the factor poset iff {f _j } _j∈J is a tight frame for H _n . We study various properties of factor posets and address the inverse factor poset problem, which inquires when there exists a frame whose factor poset is some given poset P. We then turn our attention to scalable frames and present partial results regarding when a frame can be scaled to have a given factor poset; in doing so we present a bridge between erasure resilience (as studied via prime tight frames) and scalability.     

Inclusion complexation and photoprototropic behaviour of 3-amino-5-nitrobenzisothiazole with beta-cyclodextrin

The inclusion complexation and photoprototropic behaviour of 3-amino-5-nitrobenzisothiazole (ANBT) in aqueous beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CDx) solution have been investigated. Absorption and fluorescence intensities of the neutral form of ANBT are enhanced due to the formation of 1:1 complex with beta-CDx. The complex formation has been confirmed by IR spectral and SEM studies. In the presence of beta-CDx, no change was observed in the ground and excited state acidity constant values when compared with aqueous medium. Based on its inclusion complexation and photoprototropic characteristics of ANBT in beta-CDx, the structure of the 1:1 complex is proposed.     

Derivatives of a finite class of orthogonal polynomials related to inverse Gamma distribution

In this work, we consider derivatives of a finite class of orthogonal polynomials with respect to weight function which is related to the probability density function of the inverse gamma distribution over the positive real line. General properties for this derivative class such as orthogonality, Rodrigues’ formula, recurrence relation, generating function and various other related properties such as self-adjoint form and normal form are indicated. The corresponding Gaussian quadrature formulae are introduced with examples. These examples are provided to support the advantages of considering the derivatives class of the finite class of orthogonal polynomials related to inverse gamma distribution. The orthogonality property related to the Fourier transform of the derivative class under discussion is also given.     

Stoichiometrically Different Inclusion Complexes of 2-Aminofluorene and 2-Amino-9-Hydroxyfluorene in β-Cyclodextrin: A Spectrofluorimetric Study

β-cyclodextrin (β-CDx) forms inclusion complexes with 2-aminofluorene (2AF) and 2-amino-9-hydroxyfluorene (2AHF) in different stoichiometries (Guest-host ratio 1:1 and 1:2 respectively) which is discussed on the basis of study by absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. The ground and the excited state acidity constants for the neutral‒monocation equilibrium of the two fluorophores in aqueous β-CDx medium are determined by spectrophotometric and fluorimetric titration methods respectively. The dual fluorescence observed for 2AHF monocation in aqueous solution is due to the formation of monocation-water exciplex. This monocation-water exciplex formation is hindered in β-CDx solution by the inclusion complexation. Based on the results obtained, the structures of the inclusion complexes are proposed.     

Hybrid density functional theory with specific reaction parameter: hydrogen abstraction reaction of fluoromethane by the hydroxyl radical

Three potential energy surfaces with specific reaction parameters are developed and tested for the OH + CH(3)F --> H(2)O + CH(2)F reaction. The goal of this work is to determine surfaces that provide calculated reaction rate constants that are comparable to the experimental data. The potential energy surfaces are constructed using hybrid and hybrid meta density functional theory methods, and the levels of electronic structure theory used in this study are mPW1PW91, B1B95, and mPW1B95 in conjunction with the 6-31+G(d,p) basis set. The reaction rate constants are calculated over the range 200-1,500 K using variational transition state theory with multidimensional tunneling contributions. New specific-reaction-parameter Hartree-Fock contributions are determined, and the hybrid density functional theory methods with these new contributions (35.5 +/- 1.2% for mPW1PW91, 36.6 +/- 1.2% for B1B95, and 40.7 +/- 1.2% for mPW1B95, respectively) reproduce accurate rate constants over an extended temperature range. On these potential energy surfaces, the classical barrier height for the hydrogen abstraction reaction is determined to be 3.4-3.8 kcal/mol, with a best estimate value of 3.6 kcal/mol.     

Surveillance for human Salmonella infections in the United States

Surveillance for human Salmonella infections plays a critical role in understanding and controlling foodborne illness due to Salmonella. Along with its public health partners, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has several surveillance systems that collect information on Salmonella infections in the United States. The National Salmonella Surveillance System, begun in 1962, receives reports of laboratory-confirmed Salmonella infections through state public health laboratories. Salmonella outbreaks are reported by state and local health departments through the Foodborne Disease Outbreak Reporting System, which became a Web-based, electronic system (eFORS) in 2001. PulseNet facilitates the detection of clusters of Salmonella infections through standardized molecular subtyping (DNA "fingerprinting") of isolates and maintenance of "fingerprint" databases. The National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System for Enteric Bacteria (NARMS) monitors antimicrobial resistance in Salmonella by susceptibility testing of every 20th Salmonella isolate received by state and local public health laboratories. FootNet is an active surveillance system that monitors Salmonella infections in sentinel areas, providing population-based estimates of infection rates. Efforts are underway to electronically link all of the Salmonella surveillance systems at CDC to facilitate optimum use of available data and minimize duplication.     

Simultaneous Harvesting of Multiple Hot Holes via Visible-Light Excitation of Plasmonic Gold Nanospheres for Selective Oxidative Bond Scission of Olefins to Carbonyls

Using visible photoexcitation of gold nanospheres we successfully demonstrate the simultaneous harvesting of plasmon-induced multiple hot holes in the complete oxidative scission of the C=C bond in styrene at room temperature to selectively form benzaldehyde and formaldehyde, which is a reaction that requires activation of multiple substrates. Our results reveal that, while extraction of hot holes becomes efficient for interband excitation, harvesting of multiple hot holes from the excited Au nanospheres becomes prevalent only beyond a threshold light intensity. We show that the alkene oxidation proceeded via a sequence of two consecutive elementary steps; namely, a binding step and a cyclic oxometallate transition state as the rate-determining step. This demonstration of plasmon-excitation-mediated harvesting of multiple hot holes without the use of an extra hole transport media opens exciting possibilities, notably for difficult catalytic transformations involving multielectron oxidation processes.