Kinetics of batch production of single-cell protein from cheese whey

A kinetic model for single-cell protein batch fermentation was developed using the numerical simultaneous integration approach of the fourth-order Runge-Kutta method. The model takes into account the effect of substrate inhibtion, maintenance energy, and cell death on the cell growth and substrate utilization during the fermentation process. The theoretical results obtained from the model compared well with the experimental data. The model was used to study the effect of the initial substrate concentration on the lag period, fermentation time, specific growth rate, population size, and cell productivity of batch fermentation. Increasing the initial substrate concentration increased the lag period and fermentation time and decreased the specific growth rate and cell yield. The growth limiting substrate concentration was 2.9 g/L, whereas the growth inhibiting substrate concentration was 69.0 g/L. Increasing the initial substrate concentration above 150 g/L significantly decreased the yeast population size.     

Magnetically Enhanced 15 kHz Glow Discharge of Methane

This work deals with the luminous chemical vapour deposition (plasma polymerization) of hydrocarbon polymeric thin films in a magnetic field enhanced discharge of methane. The films were deposited on 4″ <111> single crystal silicon substrates. We investigated the influence of the different glow discharge parameters (e.g. pressure, flow rate, power input, etc.) on the deposition rate of methane and the refractive index of the resulting polymeric films, as well as the distribution of these parameters across the wafer. We used a Shinko Seiki Plasma Polymerization equipment with a bell jar reactor comprising two electrodes connected to a symmetric AC power supply of 15 kHz. Two magnetrons were formed by placing two circular shaped concentric magnetic poles behind each electrode. The substrates were attached on both sides of a rotating wheel held at a floating potential in the middle of the two electrodes. This equipment allowed us to vary a single parameter and keep the other parameters constant over the whole process. We measured the thickness and the refractive index and their distribution over the wafer. The effect of the system pressure, decoupled from the effect of flow rate, is explained by the characteristic nature of luminous gas phase and by the polymerization/deposition mechanism of luminous chemical vapour deposition.     

颗粒流的动力学模型和实验研究进展

首先叙述了颗粒流研究的背景和基本概念,接着概述了颗粒流动力学研究的三种基本数学力学模型:颗粒动理论(kinetic theory)模型、摩擦塑性模型和离散元模拟模型.介绍了它们的基本原理,并分析了各个模型的优缺点和适用范围.随之,对颗粒流的实验研究情况作了简要的介绍,列举了研究中几种常用的试验方法和观测手段,以及观测到的一些典型现象.最后,我们简述了颗粒流研究的主要困难,并提出了某些有待解决的研究课题.      

The Use of the Statistical Entropy in Some New Approaches for the Description of Biosystems

Some problems of describing biological systems with the use of entropy as a measure of the complexity of these systems are considered. Entropy is studied both for the organism as a whole and for its parts down to the molecular level. Correlation of actions of various parts of the whole organism, intercellular interactions and control, as well as cooperativity on the microlevel lead to a more complex structure and lower statistical entropy. For a multicellular organism, entropy is much lower than entropy for the same mass of a colony of unicellular organisms. Cooperativity always reduces the entropy of the system; a simple example of ligand binding to a macromolecule carrying two reaction centers shows how entropy is consistent with the ambiguity of the result in the Bernoulli test scheme. Particular attention is paid to the qualitative and quantitative relationship between the entropy of the system and the cooperativity of ligand binding to macromolecules. A kinetic model of metabolism. corresponding to Schrödinger’s concept of the maintenance biosystems by “negentropy feeding”, is proposed. This model allows calculating the nonequilibrium local entropy and comparing it with the local equilibrium entropy inherent in non-living matter.     

Analytical solutions for the energy distribution of charged particles in a weak electric field

The paper deals with the stationary distribution of charged particles moving in a material medium, having scattering and absorption properties, in which a uniform electric field is present. The purpose of the work is finding analytical solutions in simplified but physically significant situations and comparing different approximations based on a spherical-harmonics expansion of the velocity distribution. Received: 28 July 1998     

Semi-classical theory of laser cooling in two dimensions

We present a semi-classical theory of the light pressure force for atoms interacting with a two-dimensional laser field. Unlike previous 2D theory, ours is valid for general atomic level and laser field configurations. We show that striking new features appear in the velocity-dependent force arising from the multi-dimensionality. Finally, we describe in detail the novel numerical technique used in the calculation. Received 4 December 1998 and Received in final form 13 February 1999     

Experimental and kinetic modeling study of the oxidation of cyclopentane and methylcyclopentane at atmospheric pressure

Cyclopentane and methylcyclopentane oxidation was investigated in a jet-stirred reactor at atmospheric pressure, over temperatures ranging from 900 to 1250 K, for fuel-lean, stoichiometric, and fuel-rich mixtures at a constant residence time of 70 ms. The initial mole fraction of both fuels was kept constant at 1000 ppm. The reactants were highly diluted by a flow of nitrogen to ensure thermal homogeneity. Samples of the reacting mixture were analyzed online and off-line by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and gas chromatography. A detailed kinetic mechanism consisting of 590 species involved in 3469 reactions was developed, and simulation results were compared to these new experimental data and previously reported ignition delays. Reaction pathways analysis as well as sensitivity analyses were performed to get insights into the differences observed during the oxidation process of cyclopentane and methylcyclopentane.     

Transition-Metal-Free Multiple Functionalization of Piperidines to 4-Substituted and 3,4-Disubstituted 2-Piperidinones

Remote and multiple functionalization of piperidines without the use of transition-metal catalysts and elaborate directing groups is one of the major challenges in organic synthesis. Herein is reported an unprecedented two-step protocol that enables the multiple functionalization of piperidines to either 4-substituted or trans-3,4-disubstituted 2-piperidones. First, by exploiting the duality of TEMPO reactivity, which under oxidative and thermal conditions fluctuates between cationic and persistent-radical form, a novel multiple C(sp³)-H oxidation of piperidines to α,β-unsaturated 2-piperidones was developed. Second, the intrinsic low reactivity of the unsaturated piperidones toward conjugated Grignard additions was overcome by using trimethylsilyl chloride (TMSCl) as Lewis acid. Subsequently, conjugated Grignard addition/electrophilic trapping protocol provided substituted 2-piperidone intermediates, some of which were then transformed into pharmaceutical alkaloids.     

Dynamic properties of the Monte Carlo method in statistical mechanics

By means of the Monte Carlo sampling technique the equilibrium thermodynamics of fluids and magnets can be calculated numerically. We show that the questions of convergence and accuracy of this method can be understood in terms of the dynamics of the appropriate stochastic model. Also, we discuss to what extent various choices of transition probabilities lead to different dynamic properties of the system. As examples of applications, we consider Ising and Heisenberg spin systems. The numerical results about the dynamic correlation functions are compared to simple approximations taken from the theory of the kinetic Ising model.     

Hard-sphere binary-collision operators

The time displacement operator is described for a system of hard-sphere particles. We show how to avoid needing a representation for this operator in unphysical regions of phase space, and how to construct a useful representation in terms of binary collision operators in the physical region. The various binary collision operators used for hard-sphere systems are derived for the case of a system of two spheres, and the results are generalized toN-particle systems.Dedicated to Prof. E. G. D. Cohen on the occasion of his 65th birthday.