Alternative sweetener from curculigo fruits

This study gives an overview on the advantages of Curculigo Latifolia as an alternative sweetener and a health product. The purpose of this research is to provide another option to the people who suffer from diabetes. In this research, Curculigo Latifolia was chosen, due to its unique properties and widely known species in Malaysia. In order to obtain the sweet protein from the fruit, it must go through a couple of procedures. First we harvested the fruits from the Curculigo trees that grow wildly in the garden. Next, the Curculigo fruits were dried in the oven at 50 0C for 3 days. Finally, the dried fruits were blended in order to get a fine powder. Curculin is a sweet protein with a taste-modifying activity of converting sourness to sweetness. The curculin content from the sample shown are directly proportional to the mass of the Curculigo fine powder. While the FTIR result shows that the sample spectrum at peak 1634 cm–1 contains secondary amines. At peak 3307 cm–1 contains alkynes

Towards an efficient multiscale modeling of low-dimensional reactive systems: study of numerical closure procedures

In this paper, we present a study on how to develop an efficient multiscale simulation strategy for the dynamics of chemically active systems on low-dimensional supports. Such reactions are encountered in a wide variety of situations, ranging from heterogeneous catalysis to electrochemical or (membrane) biological processes, to cite a few. We analyzed in this context different techniques within the framework of an important multiscale approach known as the equation free method (EFM), which "bridges the multiscale gap" by building microscopic configurations using macroscopic-level information only. We hereby considered two simple reactive processes on a one-dimensional lattice, the simplicity of which allowed for an in-depth understanding of the parameters controlling the efficiency of this approach. We demonstrate in particular that it is not enough to base the EFM on the time evolution of the average concentrations of particles on the lattice, but that the time evolution of clusters of particles has to be included as well. We also show how important it is for the accuracy of this method to carefully choose the procedure with which microscopic states are constructed, starting from the measured macroscopic quantities. As we also demonstrate that some errors cannot be corrected by increasing the number of observed macroscopic variables, this work points towards which procedures should be used in order to generate efficient and reliable multiscale simulations of these systems.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figure

RIACS

The Research Institute for Advanced Computer Science (RIACS) was established by the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) at the NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) on June 6, 1983. RIACS is privately operated by USRA, a consortium of universities that serves as a bridge between NASA and the academic community. Under a five-year co-operative agreement with NASA, research at RIACS is focused on areas that are strategically enabling to the Ames Research Center's role as NASA's Center of Excellence for Information Technology. The primary mission of RIACS is charted to carry out research and development in computer science. This work is devoted in the main to tasks that are strategically enabling with respect to NASA's bold mission in space exploration and aeronautics. There are three foci for this work: (1) Automated Reasoning. (2) Human-Centered Computing. and (3) High Performance Computing and Networking. RIACS has the additional goal of broadening the base of researcher in these areas of importance to the nation's space and aeronautics enterprises. Through its visiting scientist program, RIACS facilitates the participation of university-based researchers, including both faculty and students, in the research activities of NASA and RIACS. RIACS researchers work in close collaboration with NASA computer scientists on projects such as the Remote Agent Experiment on Deep Space One mission, and Super-Resolution Surface Modeling

Solid-state combustion synthesis of ceramics and alloys in reduced gravity

Possible microgravity effects are explored in the combustion synthesis of ceramics and alloys from their constituent elements. Molten intermediates are typically present during the combustion process, thereby offering the chance for natural convection to take place. Numerical simulations suggest that the combustion front in concert with gravity may act as a partial zone-refinement mechanism which is attempting to sweep out porosity in the sample. Contrary to suggestions by dimensional analysis, no effects on the combustion rate are seen. An analytical model of the combustion velocity as a function of the gravitational field and the spreading rate of molten material gives the correct order of magnitude of the gravity effect as measured by centrifuge experiments

Atmospheric decomposition of cyclic ethers

Renewable alternatives to fossil fuels are of importance nowadays since the use of fossil fuels is considered to stand for the largest contribution to global warming. In recent years, a group of cyclic ethers called furans have been proposed as potential renewable fuels. To enable evaluation of the usefulness of these compounds as fuels, it is important to understand their atmospheric chemistry since emission of fuel and its reaction products to the atmosphere is inevitable. The aim of this project is to investigate the environmental impact of the saturated compound tetrahydrofuran by determining its breakdown products and their approximate lifetimes. The study is made by analyzing experimental data for the photoreaction of tetrahydrofuran with the atmospheric oxidant Cl in a N2/O2 mixture and in pure N2, respectively. The experimental data consist of sets of infrared spectra taken continuously during the reaction. Identification of products was made by comparing reference spectra of the products with the experimental spectra. Products identified in the N2/O2 experiment were butyrolactone, propyl formate, succinaldehyde, propionaldehyde, succinic anhydride, propionic acid, formic acid, hydrogen chloride, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. The product studies in the N2 experiment were more speculative due to the absence of high-resolution reference spectra. However, it is likely that a major part of the products are chlorinated molecules. Further work is necessary to determine the complete product distribution and reaction mechanisms.Ida Mexnell Ett biobränsles påverkan på luftmiljön Användningen av fossila bränslen anses i dagsläget vara den enskilt största orsaken till den globala uppvärmningen, vilket beror på dess bidrag till ökningen av växthusgaser i atmosfären. Med hopp om att kunna bromsa den uppvärmande trenden pågår forskning för att ta fram alternativa bränslen som ska vara mer skonsamma mot miljön och inte bidra till den globala uppvärmningen. Men innan ett nytt bränsle införs måste hela miljöaspekten tas hänsyn till. Att bränslet och dess utsläpp påverkar atmosfärens sammansättning är oundvikligt så undersökningar i hur, och i vilken utsträckning, är nödvändigt. Ett bränsle som reagerar snabbt med luftens molekyler kommer framför allt påverka luftmiljön nära utsläppskällan medan ett bränsle som reagerar långsamt kan hinna transporteras längre sträckor. Vilka ämnen som bildas vid nedbrytning av bränslet är också intressant för att utreda såväl miljö- som hälsopåverkan. Alternativa bränslen som föreslagits på senare tid är gruppen furaner. Dessa är en grupp cykliska etrar bestående av fyra kolatomer och en syreatom sammankopplade i en ringstruktur. I detta projekt undersöks en variant av furan som kallas tetrahydrofuran. Experiment har tidigare utförts där tetrahydrofuran har reagerats med klor i dels en blandning av kvävgas (79 %) och syrgas (21 %) och dels ren kvävgas. Klorreaktioner är framför allt av intresse i industriella- och marina områden där klorkoncentrationen ofta är hög. I detta projekt analyseras det experimentella resultatet med hjälp av datorprogram och bestämning av vilka produkter som bildas vid reaktionen görs. Tetrahydrofuran visar hög reaktivitet och bildar produkter såsom väteklorid (HCl), myrsyra (HCOOH), formaldehyd (H2CO), kolmonoxid (CO) och koldioxid (CO2). Trots att alla produkter i nedbrytningen av tetrahydrofuran inte identifierats i projektet har produktstudierna kommit en bra bit på väg och underlättar för framtida forskning inom området. Handledare: Elna Heimdal Nilsson Examensarbete 15 hp, VT 2013 Fysiska Institutionen, Lunds Universite