Effect of salinity on petroleum biodegradation

Summary The biodegradation of Ashtart crude oil by a mixed bacterial community (EH1) isolated from a marine sediment was investigated in varying concentration of sodium chloride (0 to 2 mol/l). Each fraction of Ashtart crude oil was biodegraded after a 30 day incubation period for a NaCl concentration equivalent to the one of seawater (0.4 mol/l). Saturates were more readily degraded than aromatics. The amount of oil degraded increased initially with increasing salt concentrations to a maximum level for 0.4 mol/l NaCl concentration. Thereafter the amount of oil degraded decreased with increasing salt concentrations. The polar fraction increased for the 0.4 to 1.4 mol/l NaCl concentration range. Asphaltenes were only slightly degraded (10%) for a NaCl concentration equivalent to the one of seawater (0.4 mol/l). NaCl concentrations seemed to affect the relative biodegradation of pristane and phytane. GC, UV fluorescence and FTIR techniques were used to study the evolution of each fraction of Ashtart crude oil.     

Development toward a double focusing isotopic separator for noble gas isotope enrichment

A double focusing sector field mass filter used in Nier–Johnson geometry has been built in order to perform Kr isotope enrichment for ⁸¹Kr and ⁸⁵Kr isotopes. The principle consists in implanting Kr⁺ ions accelerated at 7 keV in Al foils after separation using the magnetic sector. A specific ion source has been designed capable of generating high Kr⁺ ion beams (>0.5 μA) to transfer into the collecting Al foils in 3 to 5 h significant fractions of large Kr samples (10¹⁵ to 10¹⁶ atoms) initially introduced in the instrument. Implanted Kr isotopes can be further selectively released from the Al foil by surface ablation using an infrared laser beam. Implantation yields and enrichment factors are measured using a conventional mass spectrometer. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rapprochement of artificial intelligence and dynamics

It is proposed that continuous time is in effect discretized in the brain by dynamic pattern recognition mechanisms in neurons. Time discretization is required to support formal computations in continuous time systems consisting of a large number of components. The ability to perform formal computations is necessary if the system is to execute high level algorithms of the type used in present day artificial intelligence. The weakness of such algorithms is that they work efficiently only when the forms of patterns and objects presented to them are highly constrained. The dynamic mechanisms which discretize the brain's time line also serve to code patterns into constrained forms suitable for high level processing.     

On Truncated Matricial Stieltjes Type Moment Problems

We study two slightly different versions of truncated generalized matricial moment problems of Stieltjes type. A central topic is the construction and investigation of distinguished solutions of both moment problems under consideration. These solutions turn out to be nonnegative Hermitian Borel measures on the real axis which are concentrated on a finite number of points. Our approach is mainly algebraic. It is based on the use of particular matrix polynomials constructed from a nonnegative Hermitian block Hankel matrix.     

Experimental and Computational Studies of Anti‐Bredt Amidinium Salts

Experimental and computational investigations of anti‐Bredt amidinium salts are presented. Calculations show that the pyramidalization of an amino group can significantly destabilize the formal carbocation center of amidiniums, due to the decreased π donation. In some cases, the unfavorable ‐I effect of nitrogen surpasses its beneficial +M effect, and amidiniums become less stable than iminiums. It is shown that although 1‐aza‐3‐azonia[3.3.1]bicyclo‐non‐2‐enes can be isolated, they feature a nonclassical reactivity, which is more typical for iminium than amidinium salts, such as pronounced electrophilicity and azomethineylide instead of carbene formation.     

Dynamics of the Up-Conversion Emission in Holmium Doped Zblan Fiber

The dynamics of up-conversion, green emission under excitation at different infra-red wavelength in Ho^3? doped ZBLAN fiber is reported. Under infrared, 890 nm quasi cw pumping the complicated temporal behavior of the up-conversion signal is strongly influenced by the intermediate ⁵I₅ state cross relaxation. The mechanisms of the observed up-conversion processes are proposed and the time evolution of the ⁵S₂ population is described by the rate equation model. Parameters of the model are determined and numerical simulations of the excited state dynamics are performed.     

Synthesis of small and medium size monocyclic hydroxamic acids (Review)*

Literature methods for synthesis of small and medium size monocyclic hydroxamic acids are reviewed, covering the last 30 years.     

N‐(2‐Ethylhexyl)carbazole: A New Fluorophore Highly Suitable as a Monomolecular Liquid Scintillator

The synthesis, photophysical properties, and applications in scintillation counting of N‐(2‐ethylhexyl)carbazole (EHCz) are reported. This molecule displays all of the required characteristics for an efficient liquid scintillator (emission wavelength, scintillation yield), and can be used without any extra fluorophores. Thus, its scintillation properties are discussed, as well as its fast neutron/gamma discrimination. For the latter application, the material is compared with the traditional liquid scintillator BC‐501 A, and other liquid fluorescent molecules classically used as scintillation solvents, such as xylene, pseudocumene (PC), linear alkylbenzenes (LAB), diisopropylnaphthalene (DIN), 1‐methylnaphthalene (1‐MeNapht), and 4‐isopropylbiphenyl (iPrBiph). For the first time, an excimeric form of a molecule has been advantageously used in scintillation counting. A moderate discrimination between fast neutrons and gamma rays was observed in bulk EHCz, with an apparent neutron/gamma discrimination potential half of that of BC‐501 A.     

Access to original spirocyclic derivatives via inter- or intramolecular reaction mediated by manganese(III) acetate

An easily reproducible protocol allowing inter- or intramolecular spirocyclization on β-dicarbonyl structures is described. This methodology could afford a wide variety of spirocyclic pharmacophores. As examples, highly substituted spirobenzophenanthridin-6(5H)-ones and spirolactones were synthesized. These scaffolds could be used for the design of many compounds exhibiting biological activities.     

Note: An Unusual Route to General Relativity Equation in Presence of Dust in Irrotational Motion

We show that the general relativity theory equation, in presence of pressureless matter (dust) in irrotational motion, can be recovered from a scalar-tensor like variational approach. In this approach, the kinetic energy, , of a dynamical scalar field , couples directly to gravity. The lagrangian, exempt of explicit matter term, is varied in the framework of the first order formalism, and a conformal transformation, restoring riemannian geometry, is made. In this approach, it turns out that a non-empty spacetime is necessarily four-dimensional.