Construction of a supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) equipment: validation using annatto and fennel and extract analysis by thin layer chromatography coupled to image

Abstract The present work describes setting up a laboratory unit for supercritical fluid extraction. In addition to its construction, a survey of cost was done to compare the cost of the homemade unit with that of commercial units. The equipment was validated using an extraction of annatto seeds’ oil, and the extraction and fractionation of fennel oil were used to validate the two separators; for both systems, the solvent was carbon dioxide. The chemical profiles of annatto and fennel extracts were assessed using thin layer chromatography; the images of the chromatographic plates were processed using the free ImageJ software. The cost survey showed that the homemade equipment has a very low cost (~US$ 16,000) compared to commercial equipment. The extraction curves of annatto were similar to those obtained in the literature (yield of 3.8% oil). The separators were validated, producing both a 2.5% fraction of fennel seed extract rich in essential oils and another extract fraction composed mainly of oleoresins. The ImageJ software proved to be a low-cost tool for obtaining an initial evaluation of the chemical profile of the extracts.

Sedimentology and micromorphology of drumlin sediments at Chimney Bluffs State Park, New York, United States of America

The drumlin sediments at Chimney Bluffs, New York appear to represent a block-inmatrix style glacial melange. This melange comprises sand stringers, lenses and intraclasts juxtaposed in an apparently massive diamicton. Thin section examination of these glacigenic deposits has revealed microstructures indicative of autokinetic subglacial defonnation which are consistent with a deformable bed origin for the diamicton. These features include banding and. necking of matrix grains, oriented plasma fabrics and the formation of pressure shadows at the long axis ends of elongate clasts. Preservation of primary stratification within the sand intraclasts appears to suggest that these features were pre-existing up-ice deposits that were frozen, entrained, then deposited as part of a defonning till layer beneath an advancing ice sheet. Multi-directional micro-shearing within the sand blocks is thought to reflect the frozen nature of the sand units in such a high strain environment. It is also contended that dewatering of the sediment pile leading to the eventual immobilisation of the defonning till layer was responsible for opening sub-horizontal fissures within the diamicton. These features were subsequently infilled with mass flow poorly sorted sands and silts which were subjected to ductile defonnation during the waning stages of an actively deforming till layer. Microstructures indicative of the dewatering processes in the sand units include patches of fine-grained particles within a coarser-grained matrix and the presence of concentrated zones of translocated clays. However, these units were probably confined within an impermeable diamicton casing that prevented massive pore water influxes from the deforming till layer~ Hence, these microstructures probably reflect localised dewatering of the sand intraclasts. A layered subglacial shear zone model is proposed for the various features exhibited by the drumlin sediments. The complexity of these structures is explained in terms of ii superposing deformation styles in response to changing pore water pressures. Constructional glaciotectonics, as implied by the occurrence of sub-horizontal fissuring, is suggested as the mechanism for the stacking of the sand intraclast units within the diamicton. The usefulness of micromorphology in complimenting the traditional sedimentology of glacigenic deposits is emphasised by the current study. An otherwise massive diamicton was shown to contain microstructures indicative of the very high strain rates expected in a complexly deforming till layer. . It is quite obvious from this investigation that the classification of diamictons needs to be re-examined for evidence of microstructures that could lead to the re-interpretation of diamicton forming processes. RESUME Le pacquet de sediments drumlinaire de Chimney Bluffs, New York, represent un "bloc-en-matrice" genre de melange glaciale. Des structures microscopique comprennent l'evidence pour la defonnation intrinseque attribuee a l'origine lit non resistant du drumlin. PreselVation des structures primaires au coeur des blocs arenaces suggere que ceux sont des depots preexistant qui furent geles, entraines et par la suite sedimentes au milieu d'une couche de debris sous-glaciaires en voie de deformation. Des failles microscopiques a l'interieur des blocs arenaces appuient aussi l'idee d'un bloc cohesif (c'est-a-dire gele) au centre d'un till non resistant. Des implications significatives s'emergent de cette etude pour les conditions sous-glaciaire et les processus de la formation des drumlin.

STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS, LAYER THICKNESS MEASUREMENTS AND MINERALOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE LARGE INTERIOR LAYERED DEPOSIT WITHIN GANGES CHASMA, VALLES MARINERIS, MARS

The interior layered deposit (ILD) in Ganges Chasma, Valles Marineris, is a 4.25 km high mound that extends approximately 110 km from west to east. The deposition, deformation, and erosion history of the Ganges ILD records aids in identifying the processes that formed and shaped the Chasma. To interpret structural and geomorphic processes acting on the ILD, multiple layer attitudes and layer thickness transects were conducted on the Ganges ILD. Mineralogical data was analyzed to determine correlations between materials and landforms. Layer thickness measurements indicate that the majority of layers are between 0.5 m and 4 m throughout the ILD. Three major benches dominate the Ganges ILD. Layer thicknesses increase at the ILD benches, suggesting that the benches are formed from the gradual thickening of layers. This indicates that the benches are depositional features draping over basement topography. Layer attitudes indicate overall shallow dips generally confined to a North-South direction that locally appear to follow bench topography. Layering is disrupted on a scale of 40 m to 150 m in 12 separate locations throughout the ILD. In all locations, underlying layering is disturbed by overlying folded layers in a trough-like geometry. These features are interpreted to have formed as submarine channels in a lacustrine setting, subsequently infilled by sediments. Subsequently, the channels were eroded to the present topography, resulting in the thin, curved layering observed. Data cannot conclusively support one ILD formation hypothesis, but does indicate that the Ganges ILD postdates Chasma formation. The presence of water altered minerals, consistently thin layering, and layer orientations provide strong evidence that the ILD formed in a lacustrine setting.

Community Detection in Multi-Layer Networks

In the scope of the current thesis we review and analyse networks that are formed by nodes with several attributes. We suppose that different layers of communities are embedded in such networks, besides each of the layers is connected with nodes' attributes. For example, examine one of a variety of online social networks: an user participates in a plurality of different groups/communities – schoolfellows, colleagues, clients, etc. We introduce a detection algorithm for the above-mentioned communities. Normally the result of the detection is the community supplemented just by the most dominant attribute, disregarding others. We propose an algorithm that bypasses dominant communities and detects communities which are formed by other nodes' attributes. We also review formation models of the attributed networks and present a Human Communication Network (HCN) model. We introduce a High School Texting Network (HSTN) and examine our methods for that network.

Indirect Bonding Method: in vitro Comparison of the Shear Bond Strength between Metallic Orthodontic Brackets and Different Porcelain Surface Preparations

Introduction : La force d’adhésion à l'interface métal-céramique avec les résines auto-polymérisantes destinées au collage indirect des boîtiers orthodontiques n'a pas été évaluée à ce jour et un protocole clinique basé sur la littérature scientifique est inexistant. Objectifs : 1) Comparer la force de cisaillement maximale entre des boîtiers métalliques et des surfaces en porcelaine préparées selon différentes méthodes; 2) Suggérer un protocole clinique efficace et prévisible. Matériel et méthodes : Quatre-vingt-dix disques en leucite (6 groupes; n = 15/groupe) ont été préparés selon 6 combinaisons de traitements de surface : mécaniques (+ / - fraisage pour créer les rugosités) et chimiques (acide fluorhydrique, apprêt, silane). Des bases en résine composite Transbond XT (3M Unitek, Monrovia, California) faites sur mesure ont été collées avec le système de résine adhésive auto-polymérisante Sondhi A + B Rapid Set (3M Unitek, Monrovia, California). Les échantillons ont été préservés (H2O/24hrs), thermocyclés (500 cycles) et testés en cisaillement (Instron, Norwood, Massachusetts). Des mesures d’Index d’adhésif résiduel (IAR) ont été compilées. Des tests ANOVAs ont été réalisés sur les rangs étant donné que les données suivaient une distribution anormale et ont été ajustés selon Tukey. Un Kruskall-Wallis, U-Mann Whitney par comparaison pairée et une analyse de Weibull ont aussi été réalisés. Résultats : Les médianes des groupes varient entre 17.0 MPa (- fraisage + acide fluorhydrique) à 26.7 MPa (- fraisage + acide fluorhydrique + silane). Le fraisage en surface ne semble pas affecter l’adhésion. La combinaison chimique (- fraisage + silane + apprêt) a démontré des forces de cisaillement significativement plus élevées que le traitement avec (- fraisage + acide fluorhydrique), p<0,05, tout en possédant des forces similaires au protocole typiquement suggéré à l’acide fluorhydrique suivi d’une application de silane, l’équivalence de (- fraisage + acide fluorhydrique + silane). Les mesures d’IAR sont significativement plus basses dans le groupe (- fraisage + acide fluorhydrique) en comparaison avec celles des 5 autres groupes, avec p<0,05. Malheureusement, ces 5 groupes ont des taux de fracture élévés de 80 à 100% suite à la décimentation des boîtiers. Conclusion : Toutes les combinaisons de traitement de surface testées offrent une force d’adhésion cliniquement suffisante pour accomplir les mouvements dentaires en orthodontie. Une application de silane suivie d’un apprêt est forte intéressante, car elle est simple à appliquer cliniquement tout en permettant une excellente adhésion. Il faut cependant avertir les patients qu’il y a un risque de fracture des restorations en céramique lorsque vient le moment d’enlever les broches. Si la priorité est de diminuer le risque d’endommager la porcelaine, un mordançage seul à l’acide hydrofluorique sera suffisant.

Quantitative ultrasound imaging during shear wave propagation for application related to breast cancer diagnosis

Dans le contexte de la caractérisation des tissus mammaires, on peut se demander ce que l’examen d’un attribut en échographie quantitative (« quantitative ultrasound » - QUS) d’un milieu diffusant (tel un tissu biologique mou) pendant la propagation d’une onde de cisaillement ajoute à son pouvoir discriminant. Ce travail présente une étude du comportement variable temporel de trois paramètres statistiques (l’intensité moyenne, le paramètre de structure et le paramètre de regroupement des diffuseurs) d’un modèle général pour l’enveloppe écho de l’onde ultrasonore rétrodiffusée (c.-à-d., la K-distribution homodyne) sous la propagation des ondes de cisaillement. Des ondes de cisaillement transitoires ont été générés en utilisant la mèthode d’ imagerie de cisaillement supersonique ( «supersonic shear imaging » - SSI) dans trois fantômes in-vitro macroscopiquement homogènes imitant le sein avec des propriétés mécaniques différentes, et deux fantômes ex-vivo hétérogénes avec tumeurs de souris incluses dans un milieu environnant d’agargélatine. Une comparaison de l’étendue des trois paramètres de la K-distribution homodyne avec et sans propagation d’ondes de cisaillement a montré que les paramètres étaient significativement (p < 0,001) affectès par la propagation d’ondes de cisaillement dans les expériences in-vitro et ex-vivo. Les résultats ont également démontré que la plage dynamique des paramétres statistiques au cours de la propagation des ondes de cisaillement peut aider à discriminer (avec p < 0,001) les trois fantômes homogènes in-vitro les uns des autres, ainsi que les tumeurs de souris de leur milieu environnant dans les fantômes hétérogénes ex-vivo. De plus, un modéle de régression linéaire a été appliqué pour corréler la plage de l’intensité moyenne sous la propagation des ondes de cisaillement avec l’amplitude maximale de déplacement du « speckle » ultrasonore. La régression linéaire obtenue a été significative : fantômes in vitro : R2 = 0.98, p < 0,001 ; tumeurs ex-vivo : R2 = 0,56, p = 0,013 ; milieu environnant ex-vivo : R2 = 0,59, p = 0,009. En revanche, la régression linéaire n’a pas été aussi significative entre l’intensité moyenne sans propagation d’ondes de cisaillement et les propriétés mécaniques du milieu : fantômes in vitro : R2 = 0,07, p = 0,328, tumeurs ex-vivo : R2 = 0,55, p = 0,022 ; milieu environnant ex-vivo : R2 = 0,45, p = 0,047. Cette nouvelle approche peut fournir des informations supplémentaires à l’échographie quantitative statistique traditionnellement réalisée dans un cadre statique (c.-à-d., sans propagation d’ondes de cisaillement), par exemple, dans le contexte de l’imagerie ultrasonore en vue de la classification du cancer du sein.

Dynamic and Thermodynamic Structure of the Monsoon Boundary Layer over India

The objective of the study is to examine the dynamic and thermodynamic structure and the variations that occur in the surface layer during the pre-monsoon, onset and post-monsoon periods over the Indian region. The variations caused during the occurrence of micro and mesoscale systems, structure and variation in the marine boundary layer over the Indian region is also investigated. The drag coefficient computed indirectly also shows variation during various seasons. The thermodynamic structure of the atmosphere shows variation during the various seasons. The onset monsoon causes lowering of the Lifting Condensation Levels. The outcome of the study is expected to provide a better understanding of the structure and variations in the boundary layer over India, which is useful for many applications especially for numerical modeling studies.

Gravity Modelling of the Crustal Structure Below Bavali Shear Zone And Adjacent Major Plutons Of Northern Kerala

The primary aim of the present study is to acquire a large amount of gravity data, to prepare gravity maps and interpret the data in terms of crustal structure below the Bavali shear zone and adjacent regions of northern Kerala. The gravity modeling is basically a tool to obtain knowledge of the subsurface extension of the exposed geological units and their structural relationship with the surroundings. The study is expected to throw light on the nature of the shear zone, crustal configuration below the high-grade granulite terrain and the tectonics operating during geological times in the region. The Bavali shear is manifested in the gravity profiles by a steep gravity gradient. The gravity models indicate that the Bavali shear coincides with steep plane that separates two contrasting crustal densities extending beyond a depth of 30 km possibly down to Moho, justifying it to be a Mantle fault. It is difficult to construct a generalized model of crustal evolution in terms of its varied manifestations using only the gravity data. However, the data constrains several aspects of crustal evolution and provides insights into some of the major events.

Low Level Jet stream of Asian Summer Monsoon and its Variability

The main objective of the of present study are to study the intraseasonal variability of LLJ and its relation with convective heating of the atmosphere, to establish whether LLJ splits into two branches over the Arabian sea as widely believed, the role of horizonatal wind shear of LLJ in the episodes of intense rainfall events observed over the west coast of India, to perform atmospheric modeling work to test whether small (meso) scale vortices form during intense rainfall events along the west coast; and to study the relation between LLJ and monsoon depression genesis. The results of a study on the evolution of Low Level Jetstream (LLJ) prior to the formation of monsoon depressions are presented. A synoptic model of the temporal evolution of monsoon depression has been produced. There is a systematic temporal evolution of the field of deep convection strength and position of the LLJ axis leading to the genesis of monsoon depression. One of the significant outcomes of the present thesis is that the LLJ plays an important role in the intraseasonal and the interannual variability of Indian monsoon activity. Convection and rainfall are dependent mainly on the cyclonic vorticity in the boundary layer associated with LLJ. Monsoon depression genesis and the episodes of very heavy rainfall along the west coast of India are closely related to the cyclonic shear of the LLJ in the boundary layer and the associated deep convection. Case studies by a mesoscale numerical model (MM5) have shown that the heavy rainfall episodes along the west coast of India are associated with generation of mesoscale cyclonic vortices in the boundary layer.

Mixed layer characteristics and hydrography off the west and east coasts of India

In this thesis, a detailed attempt has been made to understand the general hydrography of the upper 300m of the water column, in the eastern Arabian Sea and the western Bay of Bengal, the two contrasting basins in the northern Indian Ocean, using recently collected data sets of Marine Research-Living Resources (MR-LR) assessment programme, funded by Department of Ocean Development, from various cruises, pertaining to different seasons. Initially it discuss the general hydrography of the west and east coasts of India are covered, in the context of mixed layer processes. The study describes the materials and methods . To compare the hydrography of the AS and BOB, a unique MLD(Mixed Layer Depth) definition for AS and BOB is essential, for which the 275 CTD profiles were used. A comparison has been made among the various MLD criteria with the actual MLD. The monthly evolution of MLD, barrier layer thickness and the role of atmospheric forcing on the dynamics of the mixed layer in the AS and BOB were studied. The general hydrography along the west coast of India is described. The upwelling/downwelling, winter cooling processes, in the context of chemical and biological parameters, are also addressed. Finally the general hydrography of the Bay of Bengal is covered. The most striking feature in the hydrography are the signature of an anticyclonic subtropical gyre during spring intermonsoon and a cold core eddy during winter monsoon. The TTS(Typical Tropical Structure) of the euphotic layer was also investigated.

Dynamic characteristics of Atmospheric boundary Layer during different phases of Monsoon

Atmospheric Boundary layer (ABL) is the layer just above the earth surface and is influenced by the surface forcing within a short period of an hour or less. In this thesis, characteristics of the boundary layer over ocean, coastal and inland areas of the atmosphere, especially over the monsoon regime are thoroughly studied. The study of the coastal zone is important due to its high vulnerability mainly due to sea breeze circulation and associated changes in the atmospheric boundary layer. The major scientific problems addressed in this thesis are diurnal and seasonal variation of coastal meteorological properties, the characteristic difference in the ABL during active and weak monsoons, features of ABL over marine environment and the variation of the boundary layer structure over an inland station. The thesis describes the various features in the ABL associated with the active and weak monsoons and, the surface boundary layer properties associated with the active and weak epochs. The study provides knowledge on MABL and can be used as the estimated values of boundary layer parameters over the marine atmosphere and to know the values and variabilities of the ABL parameters such as surface wind, surface friction, drag coefficient, wind stress and wind stress curl.