On the effect of spatial variances in historical rainfall time series to CSO performance evaluation.

Historical, high-resolution rain series are the backbone of modern combined sewer overflow (CSO) structure design. These rain series are the input to the computational estimation of the performance of the measures with respect to CSO pollution abatement. However, those historical precipitation measurements are available at only a few locations. Frequently rain series have to be used from gauging stations at a significant distance. In order to judge and to compensate for this influence an estimate between rain characteristics and combined sewer outflow (CSO) performance indicators would be useful. In this paper such correlations have been sought for a collection of 37 rain series covering large areas of Europe. It was found that the mean annual rain volume can explain most of the variances for the performance indicators Number of overflows and CSO volume. For explaining the spatial differences in the efficiency of the CSO structure another rain characteristic, i.e. the maximum event with a return period of one year, is to be used.     

Alumina-supported catalysts for propane oxidative dehydrogenation from mixed VXM(6−X)O19 (M=W, Mo) hexametalate precursors

γ-Al₂O₃ supported vanadium oxides were modified by tungsten and molybdenum oxides in order to improve dispersion and selectivity towards olefins in propane oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH). Both vanadium–tungsten and vanadium–molybdenum catalysts were obtained by adsorption of mixed isopolyanions (VW₅O₁₉⁵⁻, V₂W₄O₁₉⁴⁻, VMo₅O₁₉⁵⁻ and V₂Mo₄O₁₉⁴⁻) from aqueous solutions. The isopolyanion solutions were characterized by UV-Vis and ⁵¹V NMR spectroscopy. Vanadium, vanadium–tungsten and vanadium–molybdenum precursors and catalysts were also characterized by UV-Vis (diffuse reflectance) and solid state ⁵¹V NMR spectroscopy. An improved selectivity to propene in the presence of tungsten and molybdenum in VO_x/γ-Al₂O₃ was observed and attributed to dilution of vanadium by tungsten or molybdenum oxides on the γ-Al₂O₃ surface.     

Implementation of RNS-Based Distributed Arithmetic Discrete Wavelet Transform Architectures Using Field-Programmable Logic

Currently there are design barriers inhibiting the implementation of high-precision digital signal processing (DSP) objects with field programmable logic (FPL) devices. This paper explores overcoming these barriers by fusing together the popular distributed arithmetic (DA) method with the residue number system (RNS) for use in FPL-centric designs. The new design paradigm is studied in the context of a high-performance filter bank and a discrete wavelet transform (DWT). The proposed design paradigm is facilitated by a new RNS accumulator structure based on a carry save adder (CSA). The reported methodology also introduces a polyphase filter structure that results in a reduced look-up table (LUT) budget. The 2C-DA and RNS-DA are compared, in the context of a FPL implementation strategy, using a discrete wavelet transform (DWT) filter bank as a common design theme. The results show that the RNS-DA, compared to a traditional 2C-DA design, enjoys a performance advantage that increases with precision (wordlength).     

Antimutagenic activity of phenolic compounds, oligosaccharides and quinolizidinic alkaloids from Lupinus campestris seeds.

There are some foods that contain mutagenic or carcinogenic agents, some of which occur naturally and others that may be formed during preparation or cooking. Several foods such as legumes, also contain natural antimutagens and/or anticarcinogens. Lupine is one such legume that contains high amounts of protein (40%) and oils (14%). About 90 species of lupine have been reported throughout Mexico. However, the use of this crop as a source of food has been limited by the presence of antinutritional agents such as phenolic compounds (PC), carbohydrates (CH) and quinolizidinic alkaloids (Qas). It has also been suggested that consuming these compounds can affect human health and may even reduce the risk of disease. The objective of this work was to determine the effect of PC, CH and Qas, isolated and quantified from Lupinus campestris on the mutagenicity of 1-nitropyrene (1-NP) as a model mutagen and we used the Salmonella typhimurium tester strain YG1024 by the Kado microsuspension method. The results indicate that L. campestris seeds have 11 mg (+)catechin equivalent g(-1) seed coat; 120.3 mg g(-1) seeds and 2.13 mg g(-1) seeds of PC, CH and Qas, respectively. 1-NP mutagenicity was inhibited by 86% for PC, 76% for CH and 75% for Qas at concentrations of 200, 512 and 13.6 microg/tube, respectively.     

Separate assessment of porosity and uncombined carbon in cemented carbides

Porosity and uncombined carbon in cemented carbides are traditionally assessed by comparison to standardized microstructure charts, such as those in ISO 4505-1978. To improve the accuracy in the characterization a fully automatic image analysis procedure has been developed. The analysis is performed using light optical microscopy on unetched polished specimens. The implemented algorithm separates uncombined carbon, C-defects, from pores, A- and B-defects. Pores are approximately distributed in a random way in the structure. Uncombined carbon is on the other hand precipitated into clusters of carbon particles. This difference is together with defect size used as a base for the separation. Small defects situated close together are classified as C-defects, small isolated defects as A-pores and large defects as B-pores. Pores are found to be more round than the somewhat elongated C-defects. The difference in shape is significant and can also be used as a separation criterion.

Image analysis is used to quantitatively characterise the ISO 4505-1978 standard charts with respect to volume fraction, number density and size distribution of defects. The results are compared to measured distributions for true microstructures.     

Antimutagenic activity of natural phenolic compounds present in the common bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris ) against aflatoxin B 1

Polyphenols with antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic properties are present in fruits, vegetables and legumes. In this study, the Salmonella typhimurium tester strains TA98 and TA100 were used in the microsuspension assay to examine the antimutagenic effect of phenolic compounds extracted from the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) against mutagenicity induced by aflatoxin B 1 (AFB 1 ). A dose-response curve was constructed for AFB 1 ; from which a level of 40ng AFB 1 /tube was selected for all antimutagenicity assays. The AFB 1 and phenolic extract (PE) were not toxic to the bacteria at concentrations tested. In the case of PE, results were similar to the number of spontaneous revertants for TA98 and TA100. The inhibitory effect of PE against AFB 1 mutagenicity was dose-dependent at the lower concentrations tested (2.5, 5, 10, 12.5, 15 and 25 μg-equivalent ( + )-catechin/tube for TA98; 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2.5, 5, 10 and 25 μg-equivalent ( + )-catechin/ tube for TA100). Further, a two-stage incubation procedure was used to investigate the potential interaction between PE and AFB 1 . The greatest inhibitory effect of the PE on AFB 1 mutagenicity occurred when PE and AFB 1 were incubated together. When the bacteria were first incubated with PE followed by a second incubation with AFB 1 , lower inhibition was observed. Lower inhibition was also observed when the bacteria were first incubated with AFB 1 followed by a second incubation with PE. The results suggest that the mechanism of inhibition could involve the formation of a chemical complex between of PE and AFB 1 .     

Student acceptance of unique meals

Students (N = 167) from the 4th, 8th, and 11th grades sorted meals, listed on individual cards, according to whether they would or would not eat them. Students were told to either consider eating the meals at home or at school. Forty-two different meals were selected from a pool of unique meals created by students in a previous study. The meals differed in head component, the presence or absence of vegetables, and the number of different foodstuffs. On average, approximately half of the meals were deemed acceptable, but older students accepted more meals than younger ones, boys accepted more meals than girls, and meals to be consumed at home were accepted more than those to be consumed at school. In addition, students tended to accept meals comprised of a small number of foodstuffs that did not contain vegetables. The also chose more meat-based meals over those containing fish or soup. These results suggest that students have rather unique food preferences that do not correspond well with nutritional standards. In order to address this problem we recommended that students be given more good choices in the school cafeteria through the introduction of a two-meal system and salad bars.