omniomni/omni-engineering huggingface dataset:
Trioctylphosphine oxide. Trioctylphosphine oxide (TOPO) is an organophosphorus compound with the formula OP(C8H17)3. Frequently referred to as TOPO, this compound is used as an extraction or stabilizing agent. It is an air-stable white solid at room temperature.  It is lipophilic, and like other phosphine oxides serves as a Lewis base owing to a partial negative charge at the O atom.

Preparation and use
TOPO is usually prepared by oxidation of trioctylphosphine, which in turn is produced by alkylation of phosphorus trichloride.

The main use of TOPO is in solvent extraction of metals, especially uranium.  The high lipophilicity and high polarity are properties key to this application.  Its high polarity, which results from the dipolar phosphorus-oxygen bond, allows this compound to bind to metal ions.  The octyl groups confer solubility in low polarity solvents such as kerosene.

In the research laboratory, both trioctylphosphine and TOPO are frequently useful as a capping ligand for the production of quantum dots such as those consisting of CdSe. In these cases, TOPO serves as solvent for the synthesis and solubilizes the growing nanoparticles. TOPO-coated quantum dots are typically soluble in chloroform, toluene, and (to a lesser extent) hexane.

References

Organophosphine oxides
Alexander Muirhead. Alexander Muirhead, FRS, (26 May 1848 – 13 December 1920) born in East Saltoun, East Lothian, Scotland was an electrical engineer specialising in wireless telegraphy.

Biography
Muirhead studied for his Bachelor of Science at University College London and then DSc (in electricity) at St Bartholomew's Hospital 1869–1872 where he is credited with recording the first human electrocardiogram. He was scientific adviser to his father's company, Latimer Clark, Muirhead & Co., designing precision instruments, and with H A Taylor patented a method of duplexing telegraph signals for use in submarine cables.  He later worked with Sir Oliver Lodge on the development of wireless telegraphy, selling their important tuning patents to Marconi in 1912. He became a member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers in 1877, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1904. He died at Shortlands, Kent, on 13 December 1920 and is buried at West Norwood Cemetery.

References

External links
 Ronald Birse, rev. Patricia Knowlden Alexander Muirhead Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Subscription required)

1848 births
1920 deaths
19th-century Scottish inventors
English electrical engineers
Alumni of University College London
Alumni of the Medical College of St Bartholomew's Hospital
Fellows of the Royal Society
Burials at West Norwood Cemetery
People educated at University College School
19th-century Scottish engineers
People from East Lothian
David Hermance. David W. Hermance (September 27, 1947 – November 25, 2006) was an American automotive engineer called the "American father of the Prius." According to Automotive News, Hermance was considered the top American executive for alternative fuel vehicles.

David Weston Hermance was born in Logansport, Indiana to Keith  Weston Hermance and Margaret "Peg" Johnstone Hermance.   David Hermance earned a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from the General Motors Institute. He joined General Motors in 1965 and served in a variety of roles in the Vehicle Emissions Laboratory from 1971 to 1985. From 1985 to 1991, Hermance served as department head for durability
test development at General Motors. He was a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers.

Toyota and hybrids

Hermance joined Toyota Technical Center (TTC) in 1991 as senior manager in engine evaluation, with responsibility for evaluating North American passenger car engines. In 1992, he was promoted to general manager of the Powertrain Department in Gardena, California, where he was responsible for the development of engine and drivetrain calibrations for the North American market.  His department tested many experimental designs, including TRW's "Electro-Mechanical Transmission" that became the hybrid electric vehicle.  

At TTC, Hermance went on to become executive engineer for advanced technology vehicles.  Widely considered the most knowledgeable person in the United States on the subject of hybrid vehicles, Hermance was responsible for advanced technology vehicle communication for the North American market and advanced technology vehicle emission regulatory activities in California.  He was recognized as an eloquent and persuasive spokesman, both in explaining to the public and regulators complex hybrid technology, its advantages and limitations, in lay terms, and with persuading Toyota that the American public would buy hybrid cars in large numbers only if performance and size were not sacrificed.

Interviewed in 2004, Hermance said his championing of the Prius was environmentally motivated, adding, "I'm convinced global warming is real, and that if we're not principally responsible, we're at least contributing to that."  In July 2006, Hermance testified before the United States House Committee on Government Reform on the topic:  "Hybrid Cars: Increasing Fuel Efficiency and Reducing Oil Dependence."

Death
Hermance was an avid pilot and flew his Russian Yak-55 aerobatic airplane regularly in aerobatic competition at the Intermediate level. Hermance died on November 25, 2006, while flying an Interavia E-3 off the California coast.  Engine failure is not believed to be the cause of the crash.

References

1947 births
2006 deaths
Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States
Kettering University alumni
American automotive engineers
Accidental deaths in California
20th-century American engineers
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2006
Reactor protection system. A reactor protection system (RPS) is a set of nuclear safety and security components in a nuclear power plant designed to safely shut down the reactor and prevent the release of radioactive materials.  The system can "trip" automatically (initiating a scram), or it can be tripped by the operators.  Trips occur when the parameters meet or exceed the limit setpoint. A trip of the RPS results in full insertion (by gravity in pressurized water reactors or high-speed injection in boiling water reactors) of all control rods and shutdown of the reactor.

Pressurized water reactors
Some of the measured parameters for US pressurized water plants would include:

"High power", auctioneered between high nuclear power and high differential temperature (delta T) between the inlet and outlet of the reactor vessel (a measure of the thermal power for a given RCS flowrate).
"High startup rate" (active below 10-4 percent power) at low power levels.
"High pressurizer pressure"
"Low reactor coolant flow"
"Thermal margin / low pressure" (reactor power versus RCS pressure)
"High containment pressure"
"Low steam generator level"
"Low steam generator pressure"
"Loss of load" (main turbine trip)

Each parameter is measured by independent channels such that actuation of any two channels would result in an automatic SCRAM or reactor shutdown. The system also allows manual actuation by the operator.

Boiling water reactors

See also

Nuclear power
Nuclear safety and security
 Generation III reactor (evolutionary improvements of existing designs 1996–present)
 Generation IV reactor (technologies still under development unknown start date, possibly 2030)

References

Nuclear power plant components
Nuclear safety and security
Nou Mestalla. Nou Mestalla () is a partially built football stadium in Valencia, Spain, intended as a replacement for Valencia's current stadium, the Mestalla. The basic concrete structure of the stadium was built between August 2007 and February 2009, but work was then halted for financial reasons. Following multiple redesigns, all of which reduced the final capacity, construction work resumed in January 2025.

The stadium architects are Reid Fenwick Asociados and ArupSport, and the cost is estimated between €250 million and €300 million. The design features a futuristic exterior, clad in aluminium and an interior of wood. It is being built on the site of a former factory in the neighbourhood of Benicalap.

History
The plans for the new stadium were unveiled on 10 November 2006, by former president Juan Soler and the club who unveiled details about the stadium and presented a short film about the stadium at the Museu Príncipe Felipe in Valencia. The work on the Nou Mestalla began in August 2007, with an intention to complete in early summer 2009, in time for the 2009–10 season. Planned capacity was around 80,000.

On 26 May 2008, four construction workers lost their lives following the collapse of some scaffolding on the Nou Mestalla site. A five-minute silence, called for by the Unión General de Trabajadores and Workers' Commissions trade unions, was observed throughout the Valencian Community in all sectors of industry.

Construction on the stadium was suspended in February 2009, due to the club struggling financially. Valencia CF announced in December 2011 that it had negotiated a deal with Bankia to complete the stadium and transfer the old Mestalla property to the bank, and that it expected to complete the stadium in approximately two years, but this deal later collapsed.

An updated redesign, by Fenwick Iribarren Architects, was put forward in November 2013. The capacity was to be reduced to 61,500, the underground car park reduced in size, and the original roof and elaborate façade to be scaled back, but no date was given for when construction would restart. Valencia CF began negotiations with Ayuntamiento of Valencia in October 2017 to renew and restart the project.  Further design modifications were proposed, reducing to a capacity of 54,000 seats. 

A new project to complete stadium construction was presented by then-club president Anil Murthy to President of the Generalitat Valenciana, Ximo Puig, in December 2021. This saw another change in design, reducing capacity further to somewhere between 43,000 and 50,000 seats. The stadium was included in RFEF's original bid for Spain, Portugal, and Morocco to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup in 2022, but did not make the final list when they were unveiled in July 2024.

After  a hiatus of almost 16 years, construction on the Nou Mestalla stadium recommenced in January 2025. Valencia CF are targeting moving into the completed stadium for the 2027–28 season.

References

External links
Estadios de España 
Stadium Fan site
World Stadiums
What happened to the Nou Mestalla on Inside Spanish Football

Valencia CF
Football venues in Valencia
Stadiums under construction
Internal rotary inspection system. Internal rotary inspection system (IRIS) is an ultrasonic method for the nondestructive testing of pipes and tubes. The IRIS probe is inserted into a tube that is flooded with water, and the probe is pulled out slowly as the data is displayed and recorded. The ultrasonic beam allows detection of metal loss from the inside and outside of the tube wall.

Principle of operation
The IRIS probe consists of a rotating mirror that directs the ultrasonic beam into the tube wall. The mirror is driven by a small turbine that is rotated by the pressure of water being pumped in. As the probe is pulled the spinning motion of the mirror results in a helical scan path.

One of the key settings in the procedure is to ensure that the ultrasonic pulse initiates in the very focus point at the center of the tube or pipe. An off-center pulse will show a distorted image of the tube due to the difference in the sound path for either side of the tube wall. For that reason there are centering devices that help the operator to keep the turbine centered at all times.

The transducer utilized for the inspection has to be high frequency, high enough to bounce back at both the inner wall and the outer wall. The frequency range typically used for the piezoelectric transducer is from 10 to 25 MHz.

Features
Field-proven and commonly used in boilers, heat exchangers, and fin-fan tubes.
Often used as a back-up to electromagnetic examination of tubes, to verify calibration and accuracy. Especially useful as a follow-up to remote field testing due to the full sensitivity near tube support structures provided by IRIS.
The IRIS probe must be moved very slowly (approximately 1 inch per second, or 2.5 cm/s), but it produces very accurate results (wall thickness measurements typically accurate to within 0.005 inch, or 0.13 mm).
Before the examination, tubes must be cleaned on the inside to bare metal.
A supply of clean water is needed, typically at a pressure of 60 psi, or 0.4 MPa. Dirt or debris in the water may cause the turbine to jam.
Works for tube diameters of  and up. Special centralizing devices are needed for larger diameters.
Works in metal or plastic tubes.
Through-holes are difficult to detect by using this method.
Operates at temperatures above freezing.
Can pass bends, but will not detect defects in bends.
Not sensitive to cracks aligned with tube radius.

References

Sources
Tubing Inspection using Multiple NDT Techniques. By Fathi E. Al-Qadeeb. PDF, 118 kB.
Condition Monitoring - Process Plant Tube Inspection: an Ongoing Commitment by Plant Owners and Operators. By Charles Panos.
NDT and Heat Exchanger Tubes. By Helle H. Rasmussen, Hans Kristensen & Leif Jeppesen.

Nondestructive testing
Ultrasound
Van Vandegrift. Van Vandegrift (born February 13, 1969) is an American film and television producer and entrepreneur, known for his work on films such as Get Smart and Journey to the Center of the Earth, and for television projects, including Kings of South Beach.

Early life
Vandegrift was born in Huntsville, Alabama, where his parents worked at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. In 1985, he received a scholarship to the nearby Texas A&M University where he enrolled in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, and graduated from it in 1990. In 1988, he was selected by NASA to participate in its undergraduate cooperative education program, and began working in Mission Control at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center.

Following graduation, Vandegrift attended the International Space University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1990. He received a NASA post-graduate fellowship at the Marshall Space Flight Center Alabama Space Grant Consortium, where he designed and built experiments and computer hardware that flew into space aboard NASA Consort Rockets and the Space Shuttle. He earned a Master of Science degree.

Vandegrift was commissioned as an Ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1992. After his promotion to Lieutenant in 1994, Vandegrift became a Naval Intelligence Officer serving with United States Navy SEALs aboard the USS Whirlwind, the , and the aircraft carrier .

Career

While still in graduate school in 1994, Vandegrift helped form TAC Systems, an early technology pioneer of CD-ROMs and video games, and was elected to its board of directors. In 1996, he joined TAC full-time as its president, working closely with the investor group, and helped bring about its successful sale in 1997. Vandegrift was then recruited as the Marketing Senior Executive for the Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) outside Boston, Massachusetts. In 1999, DEC was acquired by Compaq Computer Corporation for $9.6 billion. Using personal proceeds from the TAC and DEC acquisitions, Vandegrift formed a venture capital firm in 1998 called whodoweknow.com.

In 1999, Vandegrift moved to Chicago and became the first outside member of the board of directors for WebPromote. Vandegrift hired the CEO and management team and led a $10 million venture capital round with other notable investors, including Andrew "Flip" Filipowski. Vandegrift formed "matrixx" in 2000 as a broadband entertainment and production company and began meeting with major studio and record label executives. While at the Toronto International Film Festival, the attacks of September 11, 2001 unfolded. Vandegrift was recalled to active duty as a Naval Intelligence Officer and was deployed on a classified mission for Operation Enduring Freedom. Following that mission, he was discharged in 2002. Vandegrift then moved to Santa Monica, California, where, through his relationships with Creative Artists Agency, he formed a strategic partnership with Grosso Jacobson Communications, a Hollywood production company formed by Sonny Grosso.

References

External links 

1969 births
American entertainment industry businesspeople
American people of Dutch descent
Living people
Asymmetric catalytic oxidation. Asymmetric catalytic oxidation is a technique of oxidizing various substrates to give an enantio-enriched product using a catalyst.  Typically, but not necessarily, asymmetry is induced by the chirality of the catalyst. Typically, but again not necessarily, the methodology applies to organic substrates.  Functional groups that can be prochiral and readily susceptible to oxidation include certain alkenes and thioethers. Challenging but pervasive prochiral substrates are C-H bonds of alkanes.   Instead of introducing oxygen, some catalysts, biological and otherwise, enantioselectively introduce halogens, another form of oxidation.

Reactions according to substrate

Hydrocarbons
Typically a prochiral C-H bond is converted to a chiral alcohol.  Many examples of this important reaction result from the action of cytochrome P450, which allows these enzymes to process prodrugs and xenobiotics.  Alpha-ketoglutarate-dependent hydroxylases also catalyze hydroxylations.

Alkenes
The oxidation of alkenes has attracted much attention.  Asymmetric epoxidation is often feasible. One named reaction is the Jacobsen epoxidation, which uses manganese-salen complex as a chiral catalyst and NaOCl as the oxidant. The Sharpless epoxidation using chiral N-heterocyclic ligands and osmium tetroxide. Instead of asymmetric epoxidation, alkenes are susceptible to asymmetric dihydroxylation.  The method is especially applicable to allyl alcohols using a catalyst derived from titanium isopropoxide and diethyl tartrate. tert-Butyl hydroperoxide is the oxidant.  This conversion, the Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation, was recognized by a Nobel Prize. Metal-free asymmetric olefin oxidation have been developed. For example, the Shi epoxidation of alkenes using oxone can be made asymmetric using a fructose-derived catalyst.

Sulfur compounds
The enantioselective oxidation of unsymmetrical thioethers to sulfoxides is a well established. The common over the counter medication Esomeprazole (brandname: Nexium) involves such an asymmetric oxidation as its final step. Even disulfides are susceptible to oxidation to chiral thiosulfinites.

References

Catalysis
Work output. In physics, work output is the work done by a simple machine, compound machine, or any type of engine model. In common terms, it is the energy output, which for simple machines is always less than the energy input, even though the forces may be drastically different.

In [thermodynamics], work output can refer to the thermodynamic work done by a heat engine, in which case the amount of work output must be less than the input as energy is lost to heat, as determined by the engine's efficiency.

References

Thermodynamics
Babli project. The Babli project / barrage is a controversial reservoir project being constructed by Maharashtra across the river Godavari, disputed by Telangana. The Supreme Court of India delivered a ruling after seven years in favour of Maharashtra with the Andhra Pradesh government expected to appeal against it.

History
The dispute arises from the fact that S.B. Chavan and Jalagam Vengal Rao reached an agreement in October 1975, which was later made part of the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal (GWDT) Award. As per the terms of the pact, Maharashtra could utilise 60 tmcft (thousand million cubic feet) of Godavari water while Andhra Pradesh could go ahead with building the Sriram Sagar Project (SRSP) and utilise the rest of the water.

Water Allocation
Telangana contended that Maharashtra has used up its quota in course of time by building four projects. Yet, in an action without precedent, Maharashtra began construction of the Babli project on the foreshores of SRSP and many small projects upstream.

Eighteen lakh acres under the SRSP ayacut in the Telangana state will become barren if Maharashtra is allowed to have its way.

Legal battle
As per a report, dated 30 Jan 2012 even when Andhra Pradesh is waging a legal battle against Maharashtra's Babli barrage and eleven other barrages across the Godavari river, Maharashtra has agreed to Andhra Pradesh's proposal for constituting an Inter State Board (ISB) for implementing the Rs 403 billion mega Pranahita Chevella lift irrigation scheme. With this green signal, Andhra Pradesh has overcome a major hurdle in making its dream project a reality.

2013 Supreme Court ruling
The Supreme Court ruled in favour of Maharashtra, with safeguards contained in the judgment included the stipulation to open Babli gates during the monsoon period (July to October ) to allow inflows to SRSP. The Union Cabinet on 17 October 2013 gave its approval for Constitution of the 3-Members Supervisory Committee on the Babhali Barrage to implement the directions of the Supreme Court.

See also 
 Sriram Sagar Project 
 Nizam Sagar

References

Dams on the Godavari River
Dams in Andhra Pradesh
Reservoirs in India
History of Andhra Pradesh (1947–2014)
Inter-state disputes in India
Godavari basin
Proposed infrastructure in India
Geobacillus stearothermophilus. Geobacillus stearothermophilus (previously Bacillus stearothermophilus) is a rod-shaped, Gram-positive bacterium and a member of the phylum Bacillota. The bacterium is a thermophile and is widely distributed in soil, hot springs, ocean sediment, and is a cause of spoilage in food products. It will grow within a temperature range of 30–75 °C. Some strains are capable of oxidizing carbon monoxide aerobically.  It is commonly used as a challenge organism for sterilization validation studies and periodic check of sterilization cycles. The biological indicator contains spores of the organism on filter paper inside a vial.  After sterilizing, the cap is closed, an ampule of growth medium inside of the vial is crushed and the whole vial is incubated.  A color and/or turbidity change indicates the results of the sterilization process; no change indicates that the sterilization conditions were achieved, otherwise the growth of the spores indicates that the sterilization process has not been met.   Fluorescent-tagged strains, known as rapid-read BIs, are becoming more common to verify sterilization, since the visible fluorescence appears in about one-tenth the time needed for pH-indicator color change and an inexpensive light sensor can detect the growing colonies.

It was first described in 1920 as Bacillus stearothermophilus, but, together with Bacillus thermoglucosidasius, it was reclassified as a member of the genus Geobacillus in 2001.

Applications in molecular biology

DNA polymerase

Recently, a DNA polymerase derived from these bacteria, Bst polymerase, has become important in molecular biology applications.

Bst polymerase has a helicase-like activity, making it able to unwind DNA strands. Its optimum functional temperature is between 60 and 65 °C and it is denatured at temperatures above 70 °C. These features make it useful in  loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP). LAMP is similar to the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) but does not require the high temperature (96 °C) step required to denature DNA.

Reverse transcriptase 
In 2013, a thermostable group II intron reverse transcriptase (TGIRT), GsI-IIC-MRF, from G. stearothermophilus was found to retain activity up to 70 °C and to exhibit high processivity and a low error rate. These properties make this enzyme useful for reverse transcribing long and/or highly structured RNA molecules. A method for determining RNA secondary structure, DMS-MaPseq, uses this enzyme because it converts normal RNA to DNA accurately but introduces mutations at unpaired bases that have been methylated by dimethyl sulfate, and the mutations can be identified via sequencing.

References

External links
Type strain of Geobacillus stearothermophilus at BacDive -  the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase

Bacillaceae