Kinetic study on catalytic cracking of Brazilian high-boiling-point petroleum fractions

This work proposed a technique to estimate the kinetic parameters of cracking reaction. High-boiling-point petroleum fractions (>623.15?K) were analyzed. The experiments were performed using a thermal analysis system with a differential scanning calorimetry module at different linear heating rates (15, 20, 25, and 30?K?min^?1) in the temperature range from 303.15 to 823.15?K. The Arrhenius, Kissinger, and Flynn?COzawa?CWall methods were used to determine the kinetic parameters. The compensation effect and the dependence on the activation energy of the conversion degree were evaluated. The catalyst used was a typical FCC regenerated catalyst containing 48.3?mass% of alumina, and particle size of 67???m. The effect of catalyst loading was studied using 3, 5, and 10?mass%. Analysis of the DSC curves showed a major transitional stage between 693.15 and 723.15?K, identified as an endothermic region of high temperature oxidation (HTO). Empirical kinetic models were produced and data were obtained from the kinetic analysis of the HTO region. Under non-isothermal heating conditions higher activation energies were found as the API gravity of the high-boiling-point petroleum fraction decreased. On the other hand, the results showed consistent effects for the dependence of the activation energy on the extent of cracking conversion under non-isothermal conditions, showing a decrease with the extent of conversion. The catalytic loading effect is remarkable, and provides an alternative route for the cracking with lower activation energy with increasing catalyst weight. The kinetic parameters formulated will be used in the mathematical modeling of the reactive molecular distillation process for upgrading high-boiling-point petroleum fractions.     

Alkaloids from stems of Esenbeckia leiocarpa Engl. (Rutaceae) as potential treatment for Alzheimer disease

Esenbeckia leiocarpa Engl. (Rutaceae), popularly known as guarant?, goiabeira, is a native tree from Brazil. Bioactivity-guided fractionation of the ethanol stems extract afforded the isolation of six alkaloids: leiokinine A, leptomerine, kokusaginine, skimmianine, maculine and flindersiamine. All isolated compounds were tested for acetyl cholinesterase inhibition, in vitro and displayed anticholinesterasic activity. The alkaloid leptomerine showed the highest activity (IC?? = 2.5 mM), similar to that of the reference compound galanthamine (IC?? = 1.7 mM). The results showed for the first time the presence of alkaloids leptomerine and skimmianine in E. leiocarpa (Engl.) with potent anticholinesterasic activity.     

Smooth decomposition of random fields

The Smooth Decomposition (SD) method was introduced to analyze discrete-time signals and generalized to continuous-time vector-valued random processes. The SD is obtained solving a generalized eigenproblem defined from the covariance matrix of the random process and the covariance matrix of the associated time-derivative random process which defines the decomposition basis. This paper presents a new extension of the SD to continuous-time and continuous-space vector-valued random processes, classically named random fields. This generalization is a major step since one now deals with operators in infinite-dimensional spaces and not matrices. It is shown that in this new context the main properties of the SD are preserved. Applied to the responses of randomly excited continuous mechanical systems, the SD can be considered as an output-only analysis tool. Moreover, two natural orderings are defined to classify the decomposition terms which permit to interpret the SD in terms of modal analysis or in terms of Karhunen–Loève analysis.     

Two-dimensional shear wave speed and crawling wave speed recoveries from in vitro prostate data

The crawling wave experiment was developed to capture a shear wave induced moving interference pattern that is created by two harmonic vibration sources oscillating at different but almost the same frequencies. Using the vibration sonoelastography technique, the spectral variance image reveals a moving interference pattern. It has been shown that the speed of the moving interference pattern, i.e., the crawling wave speed, is proportional to the shear wave speed with a nonlinear factor. This factor can generate high-speed artifacts in the crawling wave speed images that do not actually correspond to increased stiffness. In this paper, an inverse algorithm is developed to reconstruct both the crawling wave speed and the shear wave speed using the phases of the crawling wave and the shear wave. The feature for the data is the application to in vitro prostate data, while the features for the algorithm include the following: (1) A directional filter is implemented to obtain a wave moving in only one direction; and (2) an L(1) minimization technique with physics inspired constraints is employed to calculate the phase of the crawling wave and to eliminate jump discontinuities from the phase of the shear wave. The algorithm is tested on in vitro prostate data measured at the Rochester Center for Biomedical Ultrasound and University of Rochester. Each aspect of the algorithm is shown to yield image improvement. The results demonstrate that the shear wave speed images can have less artifacts than the crawling wave images. Examples are presented where the shear wave speed recoveries have excellent agreement with histology results on the size, shape, and location of cancerous tissues in the glands.     

Anderson localisation on the Falicov-Kimball model with Coulomb disorder

The role of Coulomb disorder is analysed in the Anderson-Falicov-Kimball model. Phasediagrams are obtained by means of dynamical mean-field theory applied to the Bethelattice, in which metal-insulator transitions driven by Anderson and Coulomb disorder canbe identified. Metallic, Mott insulator, and Anderson insulator phases, as well as thecrossover between them are studied in this framework. We show that Coulomb disorder has arelevant role in the phase-transition behaviour as the system is led towards the insulatorregime.     

Flux line lattice symmetries in the borocarbide superconductor LuNi2B2C

We compare the results of small angle neutron scattering on the flux line lattice (FLL) obtained in the borocarbide superconductor LuNi₂B₂C with the applied field along the c- and a-axes. For H‖c the temperature dependence of the FLL structural phase transition from square to hexagonal symmetry was investigated. Above 10 K the transition onset field. H ₂(T), rises sharply, bending away from H _c2(T) in contradiction to theoretical predictions of the two merging. For H‖a a first order FLL reorientation transition is observed at H _tr=3–3.5 kOe. Below H _tr the FLL nearest neighbor direction is parallel to the b-axis, and above H _tr to the c-axis. This transition cannot be explained using nonlocal corrections to the London model.