Kinetic and calorimetric study of the adsorption of dyes on mesoporous activated carbon prepared from coconut coir dust

Mesoporous activated carbon has been prepared from coconut coir dust as support for adsorption of some model dye molecules from aqueous solutions. The methylene blue (MB) and remazol yellow (RY) molecules were chosen for study of the adsorption capacity of cationic and anionic dyes onto prepared activated carbon. The adsorption kinetics was studied with the Lagergren first- and pseudo-second-order kinetic models as well as the intraparticle diffusion model. The results for both dyes suggested a multimechanism sorption process. The adsorption mechanisms in the systems dyes/AC follow pseudo-second-order kinetics with a significant contribution of intraparticle diffusion. The samples simultaneously present acidic and basic sites able to act as anchoring sites for basic and acidic dyes, respectively. Calorimetric studies reveal that dyes/AC interaction forces are correlated with the pH of the solution, which can be related to the charge distribution on the AC surface. These AC samples also exhibited very short equilibrium times for the adsorption of both dyes, which is an economically favorable requisite for the activated carbon described in this work, in addition to the local abundance of the raw material.     

Birnbaum‐Saunders autoregressive conditional range model applied to stock index data

This article proposes a new approach to the conditional autoregressive range (CARR) model using the Birnbaum‐Saunders (BS) distribution. The model aims to develop volatility clustering, which incorporates extreme fluctuations, using a time‐varying evolution of the range process called the BSCARR model. Furthermore, diagnosis analysis tools for diagnosis analysis were developed to evaluate the goodness of fit, such as residual analysis, global influence measures based on Cook's distance, and local influence analysis. For illustrative purposes, three real financial market indices are analyzed. A comparison with classical CARR models was also carried out in these examples. The results indicated that the proposed model outperformed some existing models in the literature, especially a recent CARR model based on the gamma distribution even under the presence of atypical cases (observed values).     

Non-Gaussian non-stationary models for natural hazard modeling

This paper addresses the construction of probabilistic models for time or space dependent natural hazards. The proposed method uses Karhunen-Loève expansion in order to construct an empirical model matching the non-stationarity and the randomness of natural phenomena such as earthquakes or other complex environmental processes. The terms of the Karhunen-Loève expansion are identified directly from measured data. The approach is illustrated and its performance assessed through two academic examples. It is then applied to seismic ground motion modeling using recorded data.     

Surface tension of concentrated cellulose solutions in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate

Four sources of cellulose with different molecular weights were dissolved in the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate at 100 °C over a 10 h period. The solution densities were determined and these results were subsequently utilised to access the influence of dissolved cellulose on surface tension properties of cellulose/ionic liquid solutions. Surface tension measurements revealed increasing molecular weight and concentration reduced surface tension while temperature increases showed the opposite effect. These results are consistent with that of repulsive polymer-wall interactions near the interface in good solvent conditions. The semi-flexible nature of this carbohydrate in solution can help explain deviations of these results when compared to ideal flexible chains.     

High performance metal-organic-framework coatings obtained via thermal gradient synthesis

For many possible applications of metal-organic frameworks, a coating onto a metallic support capable of both superior heat and mass transfer is required. A heated substrate in contact with a chilled solution of metal salt and linker reproducibly yields polycrystalline, highly stable, thermally conductive MOF coatings at a growth rate of 50 μm h(-1), illustrated by the formation of Cu(3)(btc)(2) as an example.     

Synthesis of Gb3 Glycosphingolipids with Labeled Head Groups: Distribution in Phase‐Separated Giant Unilamellar Vesicles

The receptor lipid Gb₃ is responsible for the specific internalization of Shiga toxin (STx) into cells. The head group of Gb₃ defines the specificity of STx binding, and the backbone with different fatty acids is expected to influence its localization within membranes impacting membrane organization and protein internalization. To investigate this influence, a set of Gb₃ glycosphingolipids labeled with a BODIPY fluorophore attached to the head group was synthesized. C₂₄ fatty acids, saturated, unsaturated, α‐hydroxylated derivatives, and a combination thereof, were attached to the sphingosine backbone. The synthetic Gb₃ glycosphingolipids were reconstituted into coexisting liquid‐ordered (l_o)/liquid‐disordered (l_d) giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs), and STx binding was verified by fluorescence microscopy. Gb₃ with the C_24:0 fatty acid partitioned mostly in the l_o phase, while the unsaturated C_24:1 fatty acid distributes more into the l_d phase. The α‐hydroxylation does not influence its partitioning.