Methane reacts with CO to give acetic acid in good yield by the CuSO4 and/or Pd(OCOEt)2 catalysts via C-H bond activation. This reaction has an advantage over the method which uses methanol and rhodium catalysts, in that cheap methane and copper catalysts can be used. Propane also reacts with CO to give butyric acids.

5-Aryl- and 5,15-diaryl-2,3,7,8,12,13,17,18-octaethylporphines were prepared with high selectivity by the condensation of bis-(3,4-diethylpyrryl)methane with aromatic aldehydes by varying acidic media.

We have rapidly synthesized multi wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) by calcination of granulated polystyrene with nickel nanoparticles having different average diameter (D Ni = 10, 20, 50 or 90 nm) under nitrogen gas at a certain temperature and time, (700 o C, 15 min) or (800 o C, 10 min), using a domestic microwave oven in order to systematically investigate influence of the diameter of nickel nanoparticles on 10 the diameter of MWCNTs. The MWCNTs synthesized here were characterized by a transmission electron microscope, a Raman spectrophotometer and a wide angle X-ray diffractometer. We found that for the calcination condition of (800 o C, 10 min), a relationship between the outer diameter of the resulted carbon

In Southeast Asian countries, industrialization and urbanization is occurring rapidly, and water pollution in rivers and canals poses serious problems in some areas, especially in cities. Excess inflow of domestic, agricultural, and industrial wastewater to freshwater environments disturbs the aquatic microbial ecosystem, which can further pollute water by inhibiting biodegradation of pollutants. Therefore, monitoring of microbes in freshwater environment is important to identify changes in indigenous microbial populations and to estimate the influence of wastewater inflows on them. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis is suitable for monitoring changes in microbial communities caused by human activities, but this method can be difficult in eutrophic freshwater samples that contain PCR inhibitors. In this study, we optimized DNA extraction procedures and PCR conditions for DGGE analysis of bacterial populations in freshwater samples (canal, river, and tap water) collected in Bangkok, Thailand. A simple freeze-thaw procedure was effective for extracting DNA from bacterial cells in the samples, and LA Taq with added bovine serum albumin provided the best PCR amplification. The PCR-DGGE approach revealed that the most common bacteria in freshwater samples belonged to Gammaproteobacteria, while a Gram-positive bacterium was present at Bangkok Noi Canal. Temporally and spatially continuous analyses of bacterial populations in Bangkok canals and rivers by PCR-DGGE approach should be useful to recognize disturbances of microbial ecosystems caused by excess inflows of wastewater.

LEE (Liquid epoxy encapsulant) has been used in the electronic assembly industry mainly for COB (Chip On Board) applications in the past which do not require high reliability performance. Nevertheless, the new packages development has brought CDBGAs (Cavity Down BGAs), for example, like Tape-BGA, Metal-BGA, and Plastic BGAs as well as flip chip applications into the market where high performance encapsulant is needed. Due to their unique configurations and requirements of these new packages, potting and underfilling processes has replaced transfer molding 'as the way for encapsulation and the conventional EMC (Epoxy Molding Compound) has been substrates (mainly organic and some ceramic) instead of metal leadframe, therefore low warpage is required. In addition, the reliability requirement of temperature cycling, thermal shock and moisture resistance which applied to conventional IC packages, are also applied to BGA and flip chip application.An advanced epoxy encapsulant system for potting and underfilling application was developed to meet stringent requirement of new semiconductor packages with excellent performance.