Pattern makers' journal.

Mode of access: Internet.

Degradation of azo-dye Orange II by a photoassisted Fenton reaction using a novel composite of iron oxide and silicate nanoparticles as a catalyst

A novel nanocomposite of iron oxide and silicate, prepared through a reaction between a solution of iron salt and a dispersion of Laponite clay, was used as a catalyst for the photoassisted Fenton degradation of azo-dye Orange II. This catalyst is much cheaper than the Nafion-based catalysts, and our results illustrate that it can significantly accelerate the degradation of Orange II under the irradiation of UV light (lambda = 254 nm). An advantage of the catalyst is its long-term stability that was confirmed through using the catalyst for multiple runs in the degradation of Orange II. The effects of the H2O2 molar concentration, solution pH, wavelength and power of the LTV light, catalyst loading, and initial Orange II concentration on the degradation of Orange 11 were studied in detail. In addition, it was also found that discoloration of Orange 11 undergoes a faster kinetics than mineralization of Orange II and 75% total organic carbons of 0.1 mM Orange II can be eliminated after 90 min in the presence of 1.0 g of Fe-nanocomposite/L, 4.8 mM H2O2, and 1 x 8W UVC.

Nematocidal thiocyanatins from a southern Australian marine sponge Oceanapia sp.

Investigations of a southern Australian marine sponge, Oceanapia sp., have yielded two new methyl branched bisthiocyanates, thiocyanatins D-1 (3a) and D-2 (3b), along with two new thiocarbamate thiocyanates, thiocyanatins E-l (4a) and E-2 (4b). The new thiocyanatins belong to a rare class of bioactive marine metabolite previously only represented by thiocyanatins A-C (1, 2a/b). Structures were assigned on the basis of detailed spectroscopic analysis, with comparisons to the known bisthiocyanate thiocyanatin A (1) and synthetic model compounds (5-7). The thiocyanatins exhibit potent nematocidal activity, and preliminary structure-activity relationship investigations have confirmed key characteristics of the thiocyanatin pharmacophore.

The Pedagogical Practice of Locative Experience

We work collectively with varied locative-type projects and look to integrate our students into contemporary experience design culture. Students experience the ‘how and what’ of locative by becoming participant users, being exposed to contemporary works, and placing themselves in the role of the designer producing their own located works.

FADIGA E DEPRESSÃO NO IDOSO

A fadiga é um sintoma inespecífico, encontrado com freqüência na população. Ela é definida como sensação de cansaço físico profundo, perda de energia ou mesmo sensação de exaustão, e é importante a sua diferenciação com depressão ou fraqueza. Os transtornos depressivos e ansiosos constituem os transtornos psiquiátricos mais freqüentes no idoso, e quase sempre dão lugar a conseqüências graves neste grupo etário. Este estudo visa avaliar a influência da ansiedade e depressão sobre o desencadeamento de fadiga e evolução de problemas de saúde e de comportamentos peculiares ao processo de envelhecimento. Trata-se de um estudo, do tipo caso-controle investigando ansiedade, depressão e fadiga. Foram avaliados 61 indivíduos com 60 anos de idade ou mais. Um grupo controle constituído por 60 indivíduos jovens (idade até 35 anos), foram selecionados entre estudantes do Centro Universitário de Santo André que responderam um Questionário de Características Gerais, um Inventário de Ansiedade traço-estado, um Inventário de Depressão de Beck e uma Escala de Severidade de Fadiga. O grupo de idosos apresentou um escore significativamente maior em relação ao grupo controle na escala de severidade de fadiga. O grupo de idosos apresentou escore médio de 36,87 ± 14,61 enquanto o grupo controle apresentou escore médio de 31,47 ± 12,74 (t = 2,167; df = 119; p = 0,032). No entanto, o grupo de idosos apresentou escores significativamente maiores na escala de Beck (10,54 ± 8,63) em relação aos controles (6,83 ± 7,95); t = 2,455; df = 119; p = 0,016). Analisando-se apenas o grupo de indivíduos idosos, observou-se uma correlação significativa entre os escore da escala de severidade de fadiga e a escala de depressão de Beck (correlação de Pearson = 0,332; p = 0,009). Ainda trabalhando apenas com o grupo de indivíduos idosos, observou-se um escore significativamente maior da escala de severidade de fadiga naqueles indivíduos que praticavam atividade física regular, sendo, escore médio de 31,55 ± 13,36; (t = 2,203; df = 58; p = 0,032). A partir da análise dos resultados deste estudo pôde-se concluir que o grupo de indivíduos idosos apresentam estatisticamente significante escore maior, quando comparado com o grupo controle, apresentando mais sintomas de fadiga e depressão. Estes sintomas de fadiga ocorreram em conjunto com sintomas depressivos sugerindo uma possível correlação entre estes. Quando se observou apenas os idosos, esta correlação foi confirmada. Analisado-se ainda somente o grupo de indivíduos idosos observa-se que o grupo de idosos que praticam atividade física regularmente apresentam menos sintomas fadiga que o grupo que não pratica atividade física.(AU)

On models for magnetic field line diffusion

In this contribution, certain aspects of the nonlinear dynamics of magnetic field lines are reviewed. First, the basic facts (known from literature) concerning the Hamiltonian structure are briefly summarized. The paper then concentrates on the following subjects: (i) Transition from the continuous description to discrete maps; (ii) Characteristics of incomplete chaos; (iii) Control of chaos. The presentation is concluded by some remarks on the motion of particles in stochastic magnetic fields.

Crystallographic studies of magnetite and titanomaghemite

The crystal structure of natural magnetite has been investigated on the basis of previously published X-ray intensity data and a newly acquired, more extensive data base. Both investigations show that the structure does not conform to the centrosymmetrical space group Fd3m, as is normally assumed, but the non-centrosymmetrical space group F43m. The structure refinement provides values for the atom positions, anisotropic thermal parameters and bond lengths. A study of Friedel related pairs of X-ray intensities shows that Friedel's law is violated in magnetite, further confirming that the space group is non-centrosymmetrical. It was found that the octahedral site cations in magnetite do not occupy special positions at the centres of the octahedral interstices as they should under the space group Fd3m, but are displaced along <111 > directions leading to F43m symmetry. A mechanism is known for the origin of these displacements and the likelihood of similar displacements occurring in other natural and synthetic spinels is discussed. The crystal structure of a natural titanomaghemite was determined by a combination of X-ray diffraction and Mõssbauer spectroscopy. This was confirmed as possessing a primitive cubic Bravais lattice with the space group P4332 and the structural formula: Fe3+.0.96 0 0.04 [Fe2+0.23 Fe3+0.99 Ti4+0.42 0 0.37 ] 042 - where 0 represents a cation vacancy. As the above formula shows, there are cation vacancies on both tetrahedral arrl octahedral sites, the majority being restricted to octahedral sltes. No tetrahedral site Fe2+ or Ti4+ was observed. Values for the atom positions, anisotropic thermal parameters and bond lengths have been determined for this particular specimen.

Die Behandlung englischen Kulturgutes im Wiener fin de siècle:am Beispiel von Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Hermann Bahr und Peter Altenberg

This study explores the fascination which English culture represented in turn-of-the-century Vienna. The writers that are going to be discussed are the renowned Anglophile Hugo von Hofmannsthal, the more ambivalent Hermann Bahr and the idealizing, but Janus-faced Peter Altenberg. With the more widely known poet, prose writer and playwright, Hofmannsthal, individual aspects of his engagement with English culture have already been well researched; the same, however, cannot be said in the case of Hermann Bahr, whose extensive literary oeuvre has now largely been forgotten, and who has, instead, come to be valued as a prominent figure in the culture life of modernist Vienna, and Peter Altenberg, whose literary fame rests mainly on his prose poems and who, a legend in his life-time, has in recent years also increasingly attracted research interest as a phenomenon and ‘embodiment’ of the culture of his time: while their engagement with French literature, for example, has long received its due share of attention, their debt to English culture has, until now, been neglected. This thesis, therefore, sets out to explore Hofmannsthal’s, Bahr’s and Altenberg’s perception and portrayal of English civilization – ranging from English character and stereotypes, to what they saw as the principles of British society; it goes on to investigate the impulses they derive from Pre-Raphaelite art (Rossetti, Burne-Jones, Whistler) and the art and crafts-movement centred around William Morris, as well as their inspiration by the art criticism of John Ruskin and Walter Horatio Pater. In English literature one of the focal points will be their reading and evaluation of aestheticism as it was reflected in the life and writings of the Dubliner Oscar Wilde, who was perceived, by these Austrian authors, as a predominant figure of London’s cultural life. Similarly, they regarded his compatriot George Bernard Shaw as a key player in turn-of-the-century English (and European) culture. Hermann Bhar largely identified with him. Hofmannsthal, on the other hand, while having some reservations, acknowledged his importance and achievements, whereas Peter Altenberg saw in Shaw a model to reassure him, as his writings were becoming more openly didactic and even more miniaturistic than they had already been. He turned to Shaw, too, to explain and justify his new goal of making his texts more intelligent to a wider circle of readers.

Functional integral bosonization for an impurity in a Luttinger liquid

We use a functional integral formalism developed earlier for the pure Luttinger liquid (LL) to find an exact representation for the electron Green function of the LL in the presence of a single backscattering impurity in the low-temperature limit. This allows us to reproduce results (well known from the bosonization techniques) for the suppression of the electron local density of states (LDOS) at the position of the impurity and for the Friedel oscillations at finite temperature. In addition, we have extracted from the exact representation an analytic dependence of LDOS on the distance from the impurity and shown how it crosses over to that for the pure LL.

Optimising catalytic properties of supported sulfonic acid catalysts

Siliceous mesoporous molecular sieves (SBA-15) have been functionalised with propylsulfonic acid groups by both co-condensing 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane with the solid at the synthesis (sol-gel) stage and by grafting the same compound to pre-prepared SBA-15, followed, in both cases, by oxidation to sulfonic acid. The acidic and catalytic properties of the supported sulfonic acids prepared in the two ways have been compared, using ammonia adsorption calorimetry and the benzylation reaction between benzyl alcohol and toluene. Using a combination of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and other analytical techniques, the level of functionalisation and the extent of subsequent oxidation of tethered thiol to sulfonic acid, both in the bulk and close to the surface of SBA-15 particles, have been assessed. The research shows that the co-condensing route leads to higher levels of functionalisation than the grafting route. The extent of oxidation of added thiol to acid groups is similar using the two routes, about 70% near the surface and only 50% in the bulk. Comparison is made with polymer supported sulfonic acid catalysts, Amberlysts 15 and 35, and Nafion. Nafion shows the highest acid strength and the highest specific catalytic activity of all materials studied. Amongst the other materials, average acid strengths are broadly similar but there appears to be a relationship between the concentration of acid sites on the catalysts and their specific activity in the benzylation reaction. A model is proposed to explain this, in which clustering of sulfonic acid groups, even to a small extent, leads to disproportionately enhanced catalytic activity. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Kosher Airline Food: A Logistical Challenge

Providing meals to passengers on aircrafts requires a complex logistical system if it is to be done sucessfully. Variations to that system are required if special meals, such as kosher ones, are to be provided since it entails unique system challenges. The authors discuss service requirements, the challenges they pose to the inflight meal service logistical system, and some of the ways in which these challenges are met.

Managers' Perception of Alcohol Service Training Programs

In order to serve alcoholic beverages in a responsible manner, most managers turn to alcohol server training programs to provide effective standardized training for the alcohol server. Whether or not the programs are perceived by hospitality managers as effective has not been established. The author presents the results of a study of Oklahoma hospitality managers who perceive alcohol server training as becoming less effective.