Reintroduced solids increase inhibitor levels in a pretreated corn stover hydrolysate

Following detoxification of the liquid hydrolysate produced in a corn stover pretreatment process, inhibitor levels are seen to increase with the re-addition of solids for the ensuing hydrolysis and fermentation processes. The solids that were separated from the slurry before detoxification of the liquor contain approx 60% (w/w) moisture, and contamination occurs owing to the diffusion of inhibitors from the moisture entrained in the porous structure of the corn stover solids into the bulk fluid. This evidence suggests the need for additional separation and detoxification steps to purge residual inhibitors entrained in the moisture in the solids. An overliming process to remove furans from the hydrolysate failed to reduce total organic acids concentration, so acids were removed by treatment with an activated carbon powder. Smaller carbon doses proved more efficient in removing organic acids in terms of grams of acid removed per gram of carbon powder. Sugar adsorption by the activated carbon powder was minimal.     

The LPCTrap experiment: measurement of the β–ν angular correlation in 6He using a transparent Paul trap

We report on the status of the LPCTrap experiment, devoted to measure the β–ν angular correlation in the pure Gamow–Teller decay of ⁶He. This measurement is motivated by the search for the presence of tensor type contributions to the weak interaction. The ⁶He ions are confined in a novel transparent Paul trap. The β particles and the recoil ions are detected in coincidence to deduce the angular correlation parameter. The commissioning run performed in 2005 has given the proof of principle of this experiment. Up to 10⁵ coincidences were recorded during a second run in 2006.     

High energy physics in the atmosphere: phenomenology of cosmic ray air showers

The properties of cosmic rays with energies above 10⁶ GeV have to be deduced from the spacetime structure and particle content of the air showers which they initiate. In this review we summarize the phenomenology of these giant air showers. We describe the hadronic interaction models used to extrapolate results from collider data to ultra high energies, and discuss the prospects for insights into forward physics at the LHC. We also describe the main electromagnetic processes that govern the longitudinal shower evolution, as well as the lateral spread of particles. Armed with these two principal shower ingredients and motivation from the underlying physics, we provide an overview of some of the different methods proposed to distinguish primary species. The properties of neutrino interactions and the potential of forthcoming experiments to isolate deeply penetrating showers from baryonic cascades are also discussed. We finally venture into a terra incognita endowed with TeV-scale gravity and explore anomalous neutrino-induced showers.     

Shape Optimization for Semi-Linear Elliptic Equations Based on an Embedding Domain Method

We study a class of shape optimization problems for semi-linear elliptic equations with Dirichlet boundary conditions in smooth domains in ℝ². A part of the boundary of the domain is variable as the graph of a smooth function. The problem is equivalently reformulated on a fixed domain. Continuity of the solution to the state equation with respect to domain variations is shown. This is used to obtain differentiability in the general case, and moreover a useful formula for the gradient of the cost functional in the case where the principal part of the differential operator is the Laplacian. Online publication 23 January 2004.     

Maximum norms of random sums and transient pattern formation

Many interesting and complicated patterns in the applied sciences are formed through transient pattern formation processes. In this paper we concentrate on the phenomenon of spinodal decomposition in metal alloys as described by the Cahn-Hilliard equation. This model depends on a small parameter, and one is generally interested in establishing sharp lower bounds on the amplitudes of the patterns as the parameter approaches zero. Recent results on spinodal decomposition have produced such lower bounds. Unfortunately, for higher-dimensional base domains these bounds are orders of magnitude smaller than what one would expect from simulations and experiments. The bounds exhibit a dependence on the dimension of the domain, which from a theoretical point of view seemed unavoidable, but which could not be observed in practice.

In this paper we resolve this apparent paradox. By employing probabilistic methods, we can improve the lower bounds for certain domains and remove the dimension dependence. We thereby obtain optimal results which close the gap between analytical methods and numerical observations, and provide more insight into the nature of the decomposition process. We also indicate how our results can be adapted to other situations.

     

Dynamics and crystal chemistry of tellurites. II. Composition- and temperature-dependence of the Raman spectra of x(Tl2O)+(1−x) Te2O glasses: evidence for a phase separation?

Immiscibility effects are suggested to be inherent in tellurite glasses with weak (low valence) cations. This hypothesis is used to explain the structural evolution of the x(Tl₂O)+(1−x)Te₂O glass system as a function of the x value and during temperature-induced crystallisation processes. The results of Raman measurements support the hypothesis.     

Synthesis of 5‐phenyl‐5,6,7,8‐tetrahydro‐1,6‐naphthyridines and 5‐phenyl‐6,7,8,9‐tetrahydro‐5H‐pyrido[3,2‐c]azepines as potential D1 receptor ligands

A new access to 5‐phenyl‐5,6,7,8‐tetrahydro‐1,6‐naphthyridines 25a‐28a (n=1) and 5‐phenyl‐6,7,8,9‐tetrahydro‐5H‐pyrido[3,2‐c]azepines 25b‐28b (n=2) has been developed by first preparing the functional pyridine moiety followed by intramolecular cyclization forming the partially reduced ring.     

Viscoelastic properties of nanostructured natural rubber/polystyrene interpenetrating polymer networks

The effects of the blend ratio and initiating system on the viscoelastic properties of nanostructured natural rubber/polystyrene‐based interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) were investigated in the temperature range of ?80 to 150 °C. The studies were carried out at different frequencies (100, 50, 10, 1, and 0.1 Hz), and their effects on the damping and storage and loss moduli were analyzed. In all cases, tan δ and the storage and loss moduli showed two distinct transitions corresponding to natural rubber and polystyrene phases, which indicated that the system was not miscible on the molecular level. However, a slight inward shift was observed in the IPNs, with respect to the glass‐transition temperatures (T_g's) of the virgin polymers, showing a certain degree of miscibility or intermixing between the two phases. When the frequency increased from 0.1 to 100 Hz, the T_g values showed a positive shift in all cases. In a comparison of the three initiating systems (dicumyl peroxide, benzoyl peroxide, and azobisisobutyronitrile), the dicumyl peroxide system showed the highest modulus. The morphology of the IPNs was analyzed with transmission electron microscopy. The micrographs indicated that the system was nanostructured. An attempt was made to relate the viscoelastic behavior to the morphology of the IPNs. Various models, such as the series, parallel, Halpin–Tsai, Kerner, Coran, Takayanagi, and Davies models, were used to model the viscoelastic data. The area under the linear loss modulus curve was larger than that obtained by group contribution analysis; this showed that the damping was influenced by the phase morphology, dual‐phase continuity, and crosslinking of the phases. Finally, the homogeneity of the system was further evaluated with Cole–Cole analysis. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 1680–1696, 2003     

Evaluation of Polycation-Stabilized Lactate Oxidase in a Silica Sol–Gel as a Biosensor Platform

 Whereas glucose oxidase and related proteins are encapsulated readily in silica sol–gels, α-hydroxy enzymes such as lactate oxidase (LOx), are reported to be damaged by electrostatic interaction with these matrices. Based on a previous report, poly(ethyleneimine), PEI, was evaluated as a protecting compound under conditions suited to analytical measurements. With LOx and PEI co-encapsulated in a silica sol–gel, the enzyme retained 62% of its initial activity after 20 days. In the absence of PEI, activity was lost during the processing. Batch analytical measurements with enzyme-doped sol–gel yielded a linear response over the range 0.5–2.0 mM lactate and a detection limit of 0.03 mM lactate. Both simple incorporation of LOx in a silica sol–gel and an alternative protection method, blocking the ion-exchange sites on silica with La(III), failed. These negative results supported the hypothesis that the efficacy of PEI was related to its formation of a protective sheath around the enzyme. Author for correspondence. E-mail: coxja@muohio.edu Received July 29, 2002; accepted December 15, 2002 Published online May 19, 2003