Effect of mordenite dealumination on the structure of encapsulated molybdenum catalysts

A series of dealuminated mordenites treated under various conditions of acid leaching was impregnated in an aqueous solution of ammonium heptamolybdate to achieve a loading of 12 wt% Mo. These samples were characterized by XRD, UV-DRS, N(2) adsorption, TGA, and FTIR techniques. Special attention was given to the far-IR measurements and IR study of surface hydroxyl groups before and after dealumination. A polymolybdate species was recognized by the appearance of bands at 344, 319, and 236 (229) cm(-1) due to the vibrational modes of delta(Mo-O) and delta(Mo-O-Mo), respectively. The disappearance of the 236 cm(-1) band as well as that at 344 cm(-1) in favor of the 319 cm(-1) band, with the dealumination, was related to the high dispersion of Mo species in the produced mesopore surface assessed by the N(2) adsorption at 77 K. No bands due to bulk MoO(3) were detected from the IR and XRD results. A strong interaction between Mo species and dealuminated mordenite surfaces (OH groups) was recognized by a decrease in intensity and a marked shift of the band at 3745 to 3727 cm(-1) as well as the appearance of a new band at 3668 cm(-1). The latter band was produced by the interaction of the framework Al-OH with Mo species. The BET surface areas of Mo-dealuminated mordenite samples were higher than the corresponding Mo-free ones. The diffuse reflectance measurements suggested that Mo cations are predominantly present as an octahedrally coordinated Mo(6+), along with some tetrahedral Mo(6+). New spectral features as a consequence of dealumination events in the far-IR range were evaluated and discussed.     

Group-Scheduling for Multi-Service Optical Burst Switching (OBS) Networks

We propose a new burst scheduling mechanism for Optical Burst-Switched (OBS) networks. The new approach is made possible by gathering data bursts into groups and performing the scheduling decision for each group collectively. In OBS group-scheduling, bursts will not be considered for scheduling until a pre-defined time period elapses, during which the group of burst header packets would be gathered. By transforming a set of data bursts into a set of corresponding time intervals, the problem of scheduling these bursts is transformed into a combinatorial optimization problem. Graph algorithms are applied to obtain the maximum number of non-overlapping bursts. The proposed OBS group-scheduling scheme is shown to improve the performance of OBS networks over existing scheduling schemes in terms of burst loss probability and channel utilization. With an extension through a sequential optimization, using a Branch-and-Bound technique, the proposed scheme can support multiple classes of service. It is shown that the new scheduling approach has several desired characteristics including fairness and service differentiability among classes in terms of burst loss probability and channel utilization.     

Highly selective reduction of acyclic beta-alkoxy ketones to protected syn-1,3-diols

[reaction: see text] The conversion of 1-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl-protected beta-hydroxy ketones to syn-1,3-ethylidene acetals is effected by Et(3)SiH and SnCl(4). This reaction is proposed to proceed via a cyclic oxocarbenium ion intermediate and provides the products in yields that range from 69 to 94% and with diastereoselectivities that are >200:1.     

Inversion of guided-wave dispersion data with application to borehole acoustics

The problem of inferring unknown geometry and material parameters of a waveguide model from noisy samples of the associated modal dispersion curves is considered. In a significant reduction of the complexity of a common inversion methodology, the inner of two nested iterations is eliminated: The approach described does not employ explicit fitting of the data to computed dispersion curves. Instead, the unknown parameters are adjusted to minimize a cost function derived directly from the determinant of the boundary condition system matrix. This results in an efficient inversion scheme that, in the case of noise-free data, yields exact results. Multimode data can be simultaneously processed without extra complications. Furthermore, the inversion scheme can accommodate an arbitrary number of unknown parameters, provided that the data have sufficient sensitivity to these parameters. As an important application, we consider the sonic guidance condition for a fluid-filled borehole in an elastic, homogeneous, and isotropic rock formation for numerical forward and inverse dispersion analysis. We investigate numerically the parametric inversion with errors in the model parameters and the influence of bandwidth and noise, and examine the cases of multifrequency and multimode data, using simulated flexural and Stoneley dispersion data.     

A matrix formulation for the dynamic analysis of planar mechanisms using point coordinates and velocity transformation

This paper presents a matrix formulation for the dynamic analysis of planar mechanisms consisting of interconnected rigid bodies. The formulation initially uses the rectangular Cartesian coordinates of an equivalent constrained system of particles to define the configuration of the mechanical system. This results in a simple and straightforward procedure for generating the equations of motion. The equations of motion are then derived in terms of relative joint coordinates through the use of a velocity transformation matrix. The velocity transformation matrix relates the relative joint velocities to the Cartesian velocities. For the open-loop case, this process automatically eliminates all of the non-working constraint forces and leads to an efficient integration of the equations of motion. For the closed-loop case, suitable joints should be cut and few cut-joints constraint equations should be included for each closed loop. Two examples are used to demonstrate the generality and efficiency of the proposed method.     

Nano-sized Co(II)-8-hydroxyquinolate complex thin film via surface layer-by-layer chemical deposition method: Optimized factors and optical properties

An extensive study was performed and reported for evaluation and optimization of the factors affecting thin film formation of nano-sized Co(II)-8-hydroxyquinolate complex by surface layer-by-layer chemical deposition method. The formation of uniform thin films of nano-crystalline metal complex is heavily dependent on several important factors. Variation in metal and ligand concentrations (1:1–1:3) was found to show insignificant contribution to the molar stoichiometric ratio of the synthesized thin film of nano-sized Co(II)-8-hydroxyquinolate. The number of dipping cycles (2–50) was characterized by strong influence on the thin film thickness. The dependence of the immersion time (2–50 s) was proved to influence the crystal growth and homogeneity of the thin film. The role of pH of metal and ligand solutions was identified by strong contribution in development and formation of deposited Co(II)-8-hydroxyquinolate complex thin film. Finally, the role of solvent on the thin film formation was also studied and evaluated. Metal analysis, SEM, EI-MS, FT-IR and TGA were applied as monitoring techniques of these factors. The optical properties of Co(II)-8-hydroxyquinolate complex were also studied and the complex thin films were characterized by the highest optical transition from π–π* or n, π* states with energy gap in the UV-range at 3.13 eV. The lowest optical transition resulted from d–d transition or metal centered transition with energy 1.5 eV while, the optical transition at 2.35 eV is the contribution of metal ligand or ligand metal transition. In the light of the optical measurement, Co(II)-8-hydroxyquinolate complex can be considered as an organic semiconductor with the potential applications in the design of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEMs).     

A crystal-tolerant fully integrated CMOS low-IF dual-band GPS receiver

This paper presents the design of a dual-band L1/L2 GPS receiver, that can be easily integrated in portable devices (mainly GSM mobile phones). For the ease of integration with GSM wireless systems the receiver can tolerate most of the common GSM crystals, besides the GPS crystals, this will eliminate the need to use another crystal on board. A new frequency plan is presented to satisfy this requirement. A low-IF receiver architecture is used for dual-band operation with analog on-chip image rejection. The receiver is composed of a narrow-band LNA for each band, dual down-conversion mixers, a variable-gain channel filter, a 2-bit analog-to-digital converter, and a fully integrated frequency synthesizer including an on-chip VCO and loop filter. The complex filter can accept IF frequency variation of 10% around 4.092 MHz which allows the use of the commonly used 10/13/26 MHz GSM crystals and all the GPS crystals. The synthesizer generates the LO signals for both L1/L2 bands with an average phase noise of −95 dBc/Hz. The receiver exhibits maximum gain of 112 and 115 dB, noise figures of 4 and 3.6 dB, and input compression points of −76 and −79 dBm for L1 and L2, respectively. An on-chip variable-gain channel filter provides IF image rejection greater than 25 dB and gain control range over 80 dB. The receiver is designed in 0.13 μm CMOS technology and consumes 18 mW from a 1.2-V supply.     

MCNP Dose Calculations in a CT Phantom for Therapeutic External Photon Beam

In this paper, we have addressed the problem of the radiation transport with the Monte Carlo N particle(MCNP) code. This is a general purpose Monte Carlo tool designed to transport neutron, photon and electron in three dimensional geometries. To examine the performance of MCNP5 code in the field of external radiotherapy, we performed the modeling of an Electron Density phantom (EDP) irradiated by photons from 60Co source. The model was used to calculate the Percent Depth Dose (PDD) at different depths in an EDP. One field size for PDD has been examined. A 60Co photons source placed at 80 cm source to surface distance (SSD). The results of calculations were compared to TPS data obtained at National Institute of Oncology of Rabat.     

Characterization and Performance Analysis of LTE-Advanced Uplink Signals in Presence of Amplifier Nonlinearity

Carrier aggregation (CA) is the new technique standardized for the next generation of cellular networks, namely long term evolution-advanced (LTE-Advanced) in response to the continuous demands of increased data rates. One of the challenges facing the new CA technique is the increased dynamic range of the transmitted uplink (UL) signal that represents the sum of different carrier components in the time domain. This increased dynamic range makes the signal more susceptible to nonlinear distortion caused by nonlinear devices at the transmitter and eventually leads to performance degradation. In this paper, we investigate the effect of the nonlinear distortion on the UL of LTE-Advanced. Towards this investigation, statistical characterization of the UL signal is conducted, where it is established that it has a quasi-Gaussian characteristics. Also, statistical characterization of the nonlinear distortion noise at the receiver detector is performed, where it appears evident that it can be regarded as a complex Gaussian process. Through these characterizations, an analytical expression for the bit error rate, as a function of the system parameters and the input back-off level, is derived. The analytical results are validated via simulation results, where the good agreements confirm the pursued approach and the taken assumptions.     

Dipeptide Analogues: Synthesis of C-Terminal p-Nitrobenzyl-3-ketoesters of N-Protected Amino Acids

Nitrogen protected amino acid imidazolides undergo facile carbon acylation with magnesium p-nitrobenzylmalonate dihydrate in THF to give pseudodipeptides in 30-79% isolated yield.