Spray Reagents for the Visualization and Detection of Sesame Oil Unsaponifiables on Thin-Layer Chromatograms

Anisaldehyde and crotonaldehyde have been tested as spray reagents for the visualization of major components of sesame oil unsaponifiable matter. Colours produced using anisaldehyde were shades of the spectrum, which are characteristic of the lignans and sterols inherented in the Sesamum indicum in relatively higher coverage, sensitivity and selectivity. However, crotonaldehyde could detect four of the eleven unsaponifiable matters in relatively more stable and bright colour spots.     

Thermal stability of functionalized carbon nanotubes studied by in-situ transmission electron microscopy

The thermal stability of funtionalized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) has been studied experimentally by direct in-situ observations using a heating stage in a transmission electron microscope, from room temperature (RT) to about 1000 °C. It was found that the thermal stability of the functionalized CNTs was significantly reduced during the in-situ heating process. Their average diameter dramatically expanded from RT to about 500 °C, and then tended to be stable until about 1000 °C. The X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy analysis suggested that the diameter expansion was associated with coalescence of the carbon structure instead of deposition with additional foreign elements during the heating process.     

Three new stochastic local search algorithms for continuous optimization problems

This paper introduces three new stochastic local search metaheuristics algorithms namely, the Best Performance Algorithm (BPA), the Iterative Best Performance Algorithm (IBPA) and the Largest Absolute Difference Algorithm (LADA). BPA and IBPA are based on the competitive nature of professional athletes, in them desiring to improve on their best recorded performances. LADA is modeled on calculating the absolute difference between two numbers. The performances of the algorithms have been tested on a large collection of benchmark unconstrained continuous optimization functions. They were benchmarked against two well-known local-search metaheuristics namely, Tabu Search (TS) and Simulated Annealing (SA). Results obtained show that each of the new algorithms delivers higher percentages of the best and mean function values found, compared to both TS and SA. The execution times of these new algorithms are also comparable. LADA gives the best performance in terms of execution time.     

Thermal decomposition of rice husk: a comprehensive artificial intelligence predictive model

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - This study explored the predictive modelling of the pyrolysis of rice husk to determine the thermal degradation mechanism of rice husk. The study can...     

Charge storage mechanisms of cathode materials in rechargeable aluminum batteries

Science China Chemistry - Rechargeable aluminum batteries (RABs) have attracted great interest as one of the most promising candidates for large-scale energy storage because of their high...     

The sequestral capture of fluoride,nitrate and phosphate by metal-doped and surfactant-modified hybrid clay materials

Toxic anions removal for increased access to potable water remains a problem that has not been adequately addressed. This study, reports the successful preparation and modification of kaolinite-papaya seed based adsorbents under vacuum (VHYCA) for the removal of Nitrate (NO₃ ^?), Fluoride (F^?) and Phosphate (PO₄ ^3?). Modified adsorbents via metal-doping using Zinc were more efficient in removing these anions from aqueous solution compared with surfactant-modified adsorbents. However, both type of adsorbents showed a higher preference for NO₃ ^? removal with Zn-VHYCA and Fe-VHYCA adsorbents having 98 and 85% removal of the anion from aqueous solution, respectively. The removal of F^? and PO₄ ^3? was best achieved by Ortho-phenylenediamine (OP) and N,N,N′,N′-Tetramethyl-1,4-phenyldiaminedihydrochloride (TPD) modified VHYCA, respectively. However, Zn-VHYCA adsorbent showed comparable results with TPD-VHYCA in the removal of PO₄ ^3? from aqueous solution. Overall, the metal-doped hybrid clay adsorbents showed better efficiency for the removal of anions than the surfactant-modified hybrid clay adsorbents.     

Sumudu transform and the solution of integral equations of convolution type

The convolution theorem for the Sumudu transform of a function which can be expressed as a polynomial or a convergent infinite series is proved and its applicability demonstrated in solving convolution type integral equations.     

Finiteness of Higher K -Groups of Orders and Group Rings

In this paper, we prove that if R is the ring of integers in a number field F, A any R-order in a semisimple F-algebra, then K_2n(A), G_2n(A) are finite groups for all positive integers n. Hence, even dimensional higher K- and G-groups of integral grouprings of finite groups are finite. We also show that in odd dimensions, SK_n of integral and p-adic integral grouprings of finite p-groups are also finite p-groups (Received: August 2005)     

Higher <Emphasis Type="Italic">K</Emphasis>-theory of group-rings of virtually infinite cyclic groups

 F.T. Farrell and L.E. Jones conjectured in [7] that Algebraic K-theory of virtually cyclic subgroups V should constitute `building blocks' for the Algebraic K-theory of an arbitrary group G. In [6], they obtained some results on lower K-theory of V. In this paper, we obtain results on higher K-theory of virtually infinite cyclic groups V in the two cases: (i) when V admits an epimorphism (with finite kernel) to the infinite cyclic group (see 2.1 and 2.2(a),(b)) and (ii) when V admits an epimorphism (with finite kernel) to the infinite dihedral group (see 3.1, 3.2, 3.3). Received: 18 April 2002 / Published online: 10 February 2003 Mathematics Subject Classification (2000): 19D35, 16S35, 16H05.