Experimental Design in Nonlinear Case Applied to Hydrocracking Model: How Many Points Do We Need and Which Ones?

In this work, different experimental design techniques were applied to a hydrocracking conversion model (single response). The selection of points was carried out using Federov's algorithm from an experimental database containing 48 points. The sequential design methodology was also applied. Results show that the D‐optimality criterion can provide valuable information for determination of the minimum number of experiments required to achieve acceptable precision. It is shown that only 22 points are enough to estimate parameters instead of the original database of 48 points. If sequential techniques are used, only 13 points are needed. This work provides useful theoretical and practical guidelines for experimental design in single‐response problems.     

Dilute Ammonia Pretreatment of Sorghum and Its Effectiveness on Enzyme Hydrolysis and Ethanol Fermentation

A new pretreatment technology using dilute ammonium hydroxide was evaluated for ethanol production on sorghum. Sorghum fibers, ammonia, and water at a ratio of 1:0.14:8 were heated to 160 °C and held for 1 h under 140–160 psi pressure. Approximately, 44% lignin and 35% hemicellulose were removed during the process. Hydrolysis of untreated and dilute ammonia pretreated fibers was carried out at 10% dry solids at an enzyme concentration of 60 FPU Spezyme CP and 64 CBU Novozyme 188/g glucan. Cellulose digestibility was higher (84%) for ammonia pretreated sorghum as compared to untreated sorghum (38%). Fermentations with Saccharomyces cerevisiae D₅A resulted in 24 g ethanol /100 g dry biomass for dilute ammonia pretreated sorghum and 9 g ethanol /100 g dry biomass for untreated sorghum.     

A Hypergeometric Inequality

A sequence of coefficients that appeared in the evaluation of a rational integral has been shown to be unimodal. The original proof is based on a inequality for hypergeometric functions. A generalization is presented.     

The effect of a surface energy term on the distribution of phases in an elastic medium with a two‐well elastic potential

We consider the problem of minimizing among functions u:?^d?Ω→?^d, u_∣?Ω=0, and measurable subsets E of Ω. Here f_h⁺, f^? denote quadratic potentials defined on Ω¯×{symmetric d×d matrices}, h is the minimum energy of f_h⁺ and ε(u) is the symmetric gradient of the displacement field u. An equilibrium state û, Ê of J(u,E) is called one‐phase if E=?? or E=Ω, two‐phase otherwise. For two‐phase states, σ∣?E∩Ω∣ measures the effect of the separating surface, and we investigate the way in which the distribution of phases is affected by the choice of the parameters h??, σ>0. Additional results concern the smoothness of two‐phase equilibrium states and the behaviour of inf J(u,E) in the limit σ↓0. Moreover, we discuss the case of additional volume force potentials, and extend the previous results to non‐zero boundary values. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Overexpression in Catharanthus roseus hairy roots of a truncated hamster 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase gene

Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don hairy roots harboring hamster 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGR) (EC 1.1.1.88) cDNA without membrane-binding domain were evaluated by quantifying the levels of sterols and some indol-alkaloids. Clone 236, with the highest hybridization signal, had the lowest soluble and microsomal HMGR activity and produced more ajmalicine and catharanthine than the control but had reduced campesterol concentration. Clone 19, with low hybridization signal, had high soluble HMGR activity and produced high levels of campesterol and five to seven times more serpentine than the control but a low level of ajmalicine and no accumulation of catharanthine. These results suggest a possible role for HMGR in indole alkaloid biosynthesis and a possible cosuppression of both the endogenous and foreign HMGR genes in clone 236.     

Validation of a gas chromatographic method for determination of fatty alcohols in 10 mg film-coated tablets of policosanol

A gas chromatographic method using a packed column and 1-eicosanol as an internal standard was validated for the determination of the fatty alcohols that compose policosanol in 10 mg film-coated tablets. The alcohols were determined as trimethylsilyl derivatives, prepared with N-methyl-N-trimethylsilyltrifluoroacetamide. The method can detect degradation products with high retention times, without interfering with the peaks of the active principle. Good linearity (correlation coefficient = 0.9992) and accuracy (mean recovery -100.27 +/- 1.66%) were proven over a range of 25-200% of the nominal concentration. Within- and between-day precision at the nominal 100% value met the acceptance criteria (<2%). Ruggedness was examined through an intralaboratory experimental study in which 6 operational changes were made; the changes were found to have no effect on quantitation, repeatability, resolution, and relative retention time. The method is suitable for the quality control process and stability studies of these tablets.     

What is the mechanism of oriented crystal growth on rubbed polymer substrates? Topography vs epitaxy

From the oriented growth of p-nitroaniline crystals on various rubbed polymer substrates, the orientation mechanism was found to basically rely upon the formation of intermolecular interactions at the crystal/polymer interface. The observations also show that the surface topography only plays a minor role in the oriented nucleation.     

Characterisation of the phosgene response of a membrane inlet 63Ni ion mobility spectrometer

A membrane inlet 63Ni ion mobility spectrometer interfaced to a quadrupole mass spectrometer with permeation, exponential dilution approaches and syringe-based systems were used to characterise the ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) response to phosgene in dry air (water concentration less than 16.5 mg m(-3)). Phosgene produced a principle product ion in the negative mode with a reduced mobility of 2.16 cm2 V(-1) s(-1), with an unresolved artefact at higher concentrations having a reduced mobility of 2.32 cm2 V(-1) s(-1). The limit of detection of the system with a membrane inlet fitted was estimated to be less than 1 mg m(-3), with an upper limit to the dynamic range of 32 mg m(-3). Mass spectrometric data indicated the existence of [(H2O)nCl]-, [(H2O)nCl2]-; [(H2O)n(O2)Cl]-; [(H2O)n(O)Cl]-; and, [(H2O)n(CO2)Cl]-. The existence of two possible mechanisms for product ion formation is proposed: dissociative electron capture, as well as hydrolysis followed by electron capture. The effect of water contamination of the drying media within the ion mobility spectrometer was also investigated, and the effects were similar to those observed previously with studies on chlorine. Reduced mobility of the product ions was observed to decrease with increasing water contamination of the drying media used within the instrument, while limits of detection increased slightly to less than 2.4 mg m(-3), with no significant effect on dynamic ranges of response or resolution. Preliminary results also indicated a positive mode response for phosgene, albeit at significantly higher concentrations to those observed in the negative mode.