The Community Economic Development Toolkit

This article describes the toolkit available to community economic development educators at the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service. The types of tools fall into two categories: educational programming and technical assistance. Rural communities that have committed themselves to the process of economic development can benefit from the various tools in the toolkit. The tools can be used singly; however, they tend to work best when used together as a part of a comprehensive community-based plan for economic development

Analysis of weld joints made of titanium alloy GRADE 2 produced by electron beam welding

Selected properties of welded joints of 2 mm thick titanium alloy Grade 2 produced by different welding parameters of electron beam welding were investigated. The visual inspection, macro and micro analysis, tensile strength test and microhardness measurements were performed. Samples manufactured by appropriate welding parameters had no internal defects, heat-affected zone (HAZ) was narrow and transformation from α phase to β phase was observed in this area. The failure occurred in the base metal during tensile test, while maximum ultimate tensile strength reached 454,3 MPa

Physical and Biophysical Pretreatment of Water Hyacinth Biomass for Cellulase Enzyme Production

One practical way to control water hyacinth overgrowth due to eutrophication is by utilizing it as a substrate to produce cellulase. Water hyacinth was subjected to pretreatment to degrade lignin and improve microbes’ accessibility to cellulose. Physical and biophysical pretreatment methods were investigated. Biomass size reduction was performed in the physical pretreatment whereas white rot fungus (Ganoderma boninense) was used in the biophysical pretreatment. Cellulase-producing fungi, Aspergillus niger and Trichoderma reesei, were exploited in this study. Although lignin content was reduced by two-fold after the biophysical pretreatment, the maximum production of cellulase occurred when only the physical pretreatment was employed on the substrate. It may be because the higher apparent crystallinity of cellulose in physical pretreatment triggers more cellulase production compared to that in biophysical pretreatment. The maximum cellulase activity was found to be 1.035 IU mL–1 when water hyacinth was only physically pretreated

Gap analysis as a tool for community economic development

The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service periodically issues revisions to its publications. The most current edition is made available. For access to an earlier edition, if available for this title, please contact the Oklahoma State University Library Archives by email at [email protected] or by phone at 405-744-6311

Synthesis, physico-chemical characterization and bacteriostatic study of Pt complexes with substituted amine ligands

Three complexes of general formula PtCl2R2 were synthesized, where R is the amine ligand with aromatic substituents. Coordination compounds [Pt(an)2Cl2] (1), [Pt(pa)2Cl2] (2) and [Pt(aph)2Cl2] (3), where an = 2-aminonaphthalene, pa = 2-aminopyrimidine, aph = 4-anilinophenol, were characterized by on-line coupled TG/DTA-MS, powder XRD and spectroscopic techniques (FTIR, ESI–MS and NMR), and tested against selected Gram(+) and Gram(–) bacteria. The thermal data show that all three compounds contain lattice or absorbed water, and the stability of the anhydrous compounds in nitrogen decreases in the order 2 > 1 > 3. Above 200 °C, the complexes loose characteristic fragments of their ligands. The spectroscopic data are in accordance with the thermal properties of the samples and prove their composition. The compounds are more effective inhibitors of Gram(+) than Gram(−) bacteria. © 2016 Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, Hungar

Utilization of the Net Heat Process Tail Gases in the Reactor for the Production of Oil-Furnace Carbon Black

Otpadni procesni plinovi niske donje toplinske vrijednosti koji nastaju kao sporedni proizvod industrijske proizvodnje uljno-pećnih čađa mogu se energetski učinkovito iskoristiti prije konačnog ispuštanja u atmosferu. Osim što se upotrebljavaju za sušenje mokro granulirane uljno-pećne čađe, proizvodnju pare i električne energije te se spaljuju na baklji, učinkovito se mogu iskoristiti i kao zamjena goriva u reaktorima za proizvodnju uljno-pećnih čađa uz povećanje iskorištenja ugljikovodične sirovine. U radu je prikazano tehnološko-tehničko rješenje iskorištenja topline otpadnih procesnih plinova niske donje toplinske vrijednosti u reaktoru za proizvodnju "tvrdih" tipova uljno-pećnih čađa uz povećanje iskorištenja ugljikovodične sirovine. Uvođenje predgrijanih procesnih otpadnih plinova niske donje toplinske vrijednosti u reaktor za proizvodnju "tvrdih" tipova uljno-pećnih čađa ostvareno je serijskim spajanjem četiriju ventilatora. Sustav je izveden pomoću ventilatora predviđenih za pneumatski transport smjese uljno-pećne čađe u prahu i otpadnih procesnih plinova. Navedenom izvedbom osiguran je stabilan tehnološki proces uvođenja otpadnih procesnih plinova niske donje toplinske vrijednosti u reakcijsku zonu sagorijevanja prirodnog plina u predgrijanom zraku. Prilikom proizvodnje uljno-pećne čađe N220 pokazano je da se upotrebom otpadnih procesnih plinova niske donje toplinske vrijednosti u količini Q od 1000 do 2000 m3 h-1 po reaktoru ostvaruje ušteda prirodnog plina od 10 do 20 %,uz istodobno povećanje iskorištenja ugljikovodične sirovine od 7 do 9%.Tail gases of low calorific value, which are the by-product of oil-furnace carbon black industrial production, can be efficiently used as energy before their final release into the atmosphere. Apart from being used mainly for heating dryers, production of steam, electricity, or flared, they can also be used as a substitute for fuel in the reactor for the production of oil-furnace carbon blacks, thus increasing the efficiency of the hydrocarbon raw feedstock. This technical paper represents the technical-technological solution for applying the waste heat of the low calorific tail gases in the reactor for the production of "hard" grade oil-furnace carbon blacks with savings of the hydrocarbon raw feedstock. The introduction of the preheated low calorific tail gases in the reactor for the production of "hard" grade oil-furnace carbon blacks is achieved by serial cascading of four fans. The system consists of fans designed to pneumatically transport the mixture of process tail gases and oil-furnace carbon black dust particles. This ensures a stable technological process for the introduction of the low calorific process tail gases into the reaction zone where the natural gas and preheated air are combusted. In the production of oil-furnace carbon black N220, it is shown that by using low calorific process tail gases in the amount from 1000 to 2000 m3 h–1 per reactor, savings from 10 to 20 % of natural gas and simultaneously 7 to 9 % of the hydrocarbon raw feedstoks were achieved

Plant Growth Experiments in Zeoponic Substrates: Applications for Advanced Life Support Systems

A zeoponic plant-growth system is defined as the cultivation of plants in artificial soils, which have zeolites as a major component (Allen and Ming, 1995). Zeolites are crystalline, hydrated aluminosilicate minerals that have the ability to exchange constituent cations without major change of the mineral structure. Recently, zeoponic systems developed at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) slowly release some (Allen et at., 1995) or all of the essential plant-growth nutrients (Ming et at., 1995). These systems have NH4- and K-exchanged clinoptilolite (a natural zeolite) and either natural or synthetic apatite (a calcium phosphate mineral). For the natural apatite system, Ca and P were made available to the plant by the dissolution of apatite. Potassium and NH4-N were made available by ion-exchange reactions involving Ca(2+) from apatite dissolution and K(+) and NH4(+) on zeolitic exchange sites. In addition to NH4-N, K, Ca, and P, the synthetic apatite system also supplied Mg, S, and other micronutrients during dissolution (Figure 1). The overall objective of this research task is to develop zeoponic substrates wherein all plant growth nutrients are supplied by the plant growth medium for several growth seasons with only the addition of water. The substrate is being developed for plant growth in Advanced Life Support (ALS) testbeds (i.e., BioPLEX) and microgravity plant growth experiments. Zeoponic substrates have been used for plant growth experiments on two Space Shuttle flight experiments (STS-60; STS-63; Morrow et aI., 1995). These substrates may be ideally suited for plant growth experiments on the International Space Station and applications in ALS testbeds. However, there are several issues that need to be resolved before zeoponics will be the choice substrate for plant growth experiments in space. The objective of this paper is to provide an overview on recent research directed toward the refinement of zeoponic plant growth substrates

Using Bi-Weekly Surveys to Portray Adolescent Partnership Dynamics: Lessons From a Mobile Diary Study.

Partnership formation is an important developmental task for adolescents, but cross-sectional and periodic longitudinal studies have lacked the measurement precision to portray partnership stability and flux and to capture the range of adolescent partnership experiences. This article assesses the promises and challenges of using bi-weekly mobile diaries administered over the course of a year to study adolescent partnership dynamics. Descriptive findings illustrate the potential of bi-weekly diaries for both capturing the longitudinal complexity and fluidity of adolescent partnerships as well as for reducing retrospection biases. Results also underscore several challenges, including those posed by missing data, and highlight several strategies for maximizing participant engagement and reliably tracing adolescent partnerships

Role of county officials in economic development

The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service periodically issues revisions to its publications. The most current edition is made available. For access to an earlier edition, if available for this title, please contact the Oklahoma State University Library Archives by email at [email protected] or by phone at 405-744-6311