Spray impact onto flat and rigid walls: Empirical characterization and modelling

An experimental study of spray impact onto horizontal flat and rigid surfaces is presented and used as input data for a new empirical model. A phase Doppler instrument has been used to measure drop size and two components of velocity directly above the target. The average film thickness formed due to spray impact has been measured using a high-speed CCD camera. The spray–wall interaction has been characterized in terms of correlations for the velocity and trajectory of secondary droplets and the mass and number ratio of the secondary spray. The novel aspect of the model is that the correlations are based on mean statistics over many events and not on the outcome of single drop impact experiments. Furthermore a rather large range of oblique impact angles have been studied and incorporated into the empirical models as an influencing factor.     

Transfer to the continuum of 14C via (18O, 16O) reaction

A study of the continuum of ¹⁴C populated by the ¹²C(¹⁸O, ¹⁶O)¹⁴C reaction at 84 MeV incident energy has been performed. The ejectiles have been momentum analyzed at forward angles by the MAGNEX magnetic spectrometer. The energy spectra were obtained up to about 20 MeV excitation energy. The scattering of two neutrons independently removed from the projectile as it passes the target nucleus has been described by means of an optical potential with a semi-classical approximation for the relative motion. The calculations describe a significant part of the continuum observed in the energy spectra. In particular, a resonance of the residual nucleus dominates the region near the two-neutron emission threshold.     

Selectivity of the 12C(18O, 16O)14C reaction

A study about the ¹²C(¹⁸O, ¹⁶O)¹⁴C two-neutron transfer reaction was performed at the Catania INFN-LNS laboratory at 84 MeV incident energy. The ¹⁶O ejectiles produced in the reactions were momentum analyzed and identified by the MAGNEX spectrometer. The Q-value spectrum of ¹⁴C shows several known bound and resonant states, in particular states with 2p-4h configuration respect to the ¹⁶O core. The integrated cross sections show an enhanced yield for the two-neutron transfer compared to the one-neutron transfer. These results are some experimental evidences that the (¹⁸O, ¹⁶O) reaction proceeds mainly by the direct transfer of the neutron pair, instead of a second order process.     

Optimization of the determination of chemical oxygen demand in wastewaters

Chemical oxygen demand (COD) is one of the most relevant chemical parameters for the management of wastewater treatment facilities including the control of the quality of an effluent. The adequacy of decisions based on COD values relies on the quality of the measurements. Cost effective management of the minor sources of uncertainty can be applied to the analytical procedure without affecting measurement quality. This work presents a detailed assessment of the determination of COD values in wastewaters, according to ISO6060:1989 standard, which can support reduction of both measurement uncertainty and cost of analysis. This assessment includes the definition of the measurement traceability chain and the validation of the measurement procedure supported on sound and objective criteria. Detailed models of the measurement performance, including uncertainty, developed from the Differential Approach, were successfully validated by proficiency tests. The assumption of the measurement function linearity of the uncertainty propagation law was tested through the comparison with the numerical Kragten method. The gathered information supported the definition of strategies for measurement uncertainty or cost reduction. The developed models are available as electronic supplementary material, in an MS-Excel file, to be updated with the user's data.     

Capacitance and power consumption quantification of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuators

A new procedure for determining the characteristic capacitance of DBD plasma actuators during operation is introduced, based on time-resolved discharge cyclograms. The actuator performance is described extensively and the interaction of several key quantities is elucidated. Operating voltage and corresponding power consumption are identified as deciding factors influencing the actuator’s capacitance. Conclusions concerning plasma actuators as a time and power dependent load in electrical circuits are drawn from these new insights. The steps necessary to insure optimal impedance matching of DBD based systems are underlined as well as its sensitivity to simple parameters such as the operating voltage.     

Calculation of reference pH values for standard solutions from the corresponding acid dissociation constants

Making the simplest possible assumption about the activity coefficient of the charged species, pH values of standard buffer solutions have been evaluated from the thermodynamic acidity constants, K, of the weak acids involved. A general equation is given for a triprotic acid, H₃A, as it can be simplified to derive the equations for other systems. A computer program for the solution of the equation was written giving m_H values, species distribution coefficients, α, buffer capacities, β, species activity coefficients, γ, and ionic strength, I. Iteration was continued until agreement between successive values to within 1 ± 10^?6 was reached.The activity coefficients of singly charged ions were taken as equal to γ_Cl, where log γ_Cl=?AI^1/2 (1 + 1.5I^1/2), which is the Bates-Guggenheim convention, and those of doubly and triply charged ions were given by the valence relations of the Debye-Hückel theory as γ⁴_Cl and γ⁹_Cl, respectively.     

Graphical design of millimeter-wave finline bandpass filters

A very simple yet accurate design procedure for the finline bandpass filters at millimeter wavelengths is presented. The technique enables the geometry of finline bandpass filters to be obtained accurately from simple closed-form equations and curves. Using this graphical approach, various millimeter-wave finline bandpass filters have been designed. Results in V-band (50 to 75 GHz) and W-band (75 to 110 GHz) are presented and indicate a good agreement between the calculated and measured performances.     

Bioactivities and chemical constituents of a Vietnamese medicinal plant Che Vang, Jasminum subtriplinerve Blume (Oleaceae)

Five crude extracts were made from leaves and stems of Jasminum subtriplinerve Blume (Oleaceae) and investigated for antimicrobial, antioxidant and cytotoxic activities. The extractions were done with petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, ethanol, methanol or water. All extracts exhibited anti-bacterial activity except the water fraction. On the other hand, all extracts exhibit antioxidant activity except the petroleum ether fraction using the DPPH radical scavenging assay. Only the petroleum ether fraction showed a cytotoxicity activity against tested cell-lines, Hep-G2 and RD with IC(50) values of 19.2 and 20 microg mL(-1), respectively. From the petroleum ether and ethyl acetate extracts, two triterpenes namely 3beta-acetyl-oleanolic acid and lup-20-en-3beta-ol and a sterol, stigmast-5-en-3beta-ol were isolated. The structure of those compounds were elucidated by spectrometric methods IR, MS, 1D-NMR, 2D-NMR and simulated ACD/NMR spectra. The data presented here indicate that J. subtriplinerve do contain compounds with interesting biological activity.