A 17‐reaction mechanism model was postulated to describe the alkylation of isobutane with propylene using sulfuric acid as the catalyst. The scheme was based on the Schmerling carbonium ion mechanism with modifications introduced to account to iC9 and iC10 formation. Solving the steady state rate equations for the rate constants a set of 17 equations of the form ki = f(rcj, rC k, …)/g (Ci, Ck, …) were obtained. Experimental measurements were made in an ideally mixed, continuous‐flow stirred‐tank reactor, and the necessary data were obtained to compute the rate constants from 65°F to 135°F. The reaction model was found to be valid in the range of 81°F to 135°F using a 95% sulfuric acid catalyst since the rate constants obeyed the Arrhenius theory. The results obtained at 65°F and 95% sulfuric acid showed significant departure from the model. This was possibly due to a change in reaction mechanism. There was an apparent change in selectivity of the catalyst when the concentration was lowered to 90% sulfuric acid. This resulted in increased rates of formation of iC9's and iC10's and decreased rates of formation of iC5's, iC6's and iC8's.

Advances in surgical and medical management have significantly reduced the length of time that patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) have to stay in hospital, but has left patients with potentially less time to psychologically adjust.Following a pilot in 2012, this project was designed to test the effect of "design thinking" workshops on the self-efficacy of people undergoing rehabilitation following spinal injuries.Design thinking is about understanding the approaches and methods that designers use and then applying these to think creatively about problems and suggest ways to solve them. In this instance, design thinking is not about designing new products (although the approaches can be used to do this) but about developing a long term creative and explorative mind-set through skills such as lateral thinking, prototyping and verbal and visual communication.The principles of "design thinking" have underpinned design education and practice for many years, it is also recognised in business and innovation for example, but a literature review indicated that there was no evidence of it being used in rehabilitation or spinal injury settings.Twenty participants took part in the study; 13 (65%) were male and the average age was 37 years (range 16 to 72). Statistically significant improvements were seen for EQ-5D score (t = -3.13, p = 0.007) and Patient Activation Measure score (t = -3.85, p = 0.001). Other outcome measures improved but not statistically. There were no statistical effects on length of stay or readmission rates, but qualitative interviews indicated improved patient experience.

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