Validation of qPCR method for enterococci quantification at Toronto beaches: Application for rapid recreational water monitoring

Rapid quantitative PCR-based methods for enterococci monitoring can allow public health authorities to make more timely beach posting decisions. However, qPCR methods must be assessed for proposed sites as locale-specific factors may affect DNA recovery or qPCR inhibition. We assessed the feasibility of the USEPA 1609.1 qPCR-based (Enterococcus) method at two urban Toronto beaches and three recreational areas at nearby river mouths in parallel with culture-based methods on the same water samples. A strong positive correlation was observed between the Enterococcus qPCR method and culturing-based quantification methods for E. coli and enterococci at both beaches and two river mouth areas. One river, known to be highly sewage-impacted, did not yield DNA suitable for qPCR analyses. qPCR results from biological replicates were strongly correlated and showed coefficients of variation as low as or lower than culture-based methods. With respect to Beach Action Value exceedances, the USEPA 1609.1 qPCR method provided an 80–90% level of agreement with E. coli enumeration results and >90% with enterococci enumeration. Results indicated that if recreational water locations and sampling conditions met the requirements of the USEPA 1609.1 qPCR method, the method can meet or exceed all quality control requirements and provide water quality results within 3.5 h for diverse recreational water settings around the City of Toronto.     

Facile synthesis of black phosphorus directly grown on carbon paper as an efficient OER Electrocatalyst: Role of Interfacial charge transfer and induced local charge distribution

Black phosphorus (BP), as a new 2D material, is normally synthesized by a high-pressure and high-temperature (HPHT) method from white and red phosphorus, which severely hinders the further development of BP for any potential applications and leads to search for other potential applications of BP with big challenge. Herein, we develop a facile and efficient Thermal-Vaporization-Transformation (TVT) approach to prepare a highly active BP directly grown on carbon paper as the electrode for Oxygen evolution reaction (OER), showing a low onset potential of 1.45 V versus RHE. Simultaneously, the current density of BP-CP illustrates the excellent electro-catalysis stability only decreases by 3.4% after continuous operation for 10000 s. Meanwhile, the density functional theory (DFT) calculations further illustrates the P-doped carbon layer in the upper side of BP layer is actually responsible for its enhanced OER property, and the adjacent carbon atoms of the embedded P atoms are actually the active sites due to the induced local change distribution by intramolecular change transfer. Considering the facile, but efficient and scalable, TVT approach can directly synthesize BP-CP with excellent OER performance, which is promising for BP electrocatalysts used for OER in metal-air batteries, fuel cells, water-splitting devices, even other key renewable energy.     

Anchor plate bearing capacity in flexible mesh facings

This work addresses the problem of the loading capacity of an anchor plate coupled with a steel wire mesh in soil retaining applications. The interaction mechanism between the flexible mesh facing, the underlying soil layer and the plate is studied starting from the results of several laboratory punch tests involving both the plate and the mesh only, and the whole soil-mesh-plate system. The experimental tests have been reproduced by adopting a 3D discrete element model where also the wire mesh is discretized as an assembly of interconnected nodal particles. The interaction between these particles is ruled by elasto-plastic tensile force–displacement laws in which a distortion is introduced in a stochastic manner to account for the wires’ geometrical irregularities. The mesh model is then validated with reference to a set of punch tests in which the shape and size of the punching element as well as the nominal wire diameter were varied. Subsequently, the model is extended to a punch against soil test configuration permitting an insight into the nontrivial local mechanism between the mesh facing and the underlying granular layer. The good agreement between the numerical predictions and the experimental observations at the laboratory scale allowed us to extend the model towards more realistic field conditions for which the role of the mesh panel boundary conditions, the mesh mechanical properties, the soil mechanical properties and the anchor plate geometry is investigated.     

An effective method of bulk materials moisture measurement using capacitive sensors

When we speak about capacitance moisture meters for bulk materials we have to face with different values of dielectric permittivity for different bulk materials in dehydrated state, what causes a method error that can be named ‘type uncertainty’. Besides, different varieties of the same material have different values of dielectric permittivity, which depend from geographical origin, processing conditions etc. It can be hardly predicted automatically and type uncertainty can be compensated only in separate situations with the help of preliminary calibration. Main tasks of the research are to develop new comparison principle of moisture measurement with better accuracy due to effective compensation of physical, chemical and granulometric composition influence on the result of moisture measurement, develop new primary and secondary instrument transducers. Moisture sensor consists of four measuring capacitors. Two of them should be filled with a sample, which moisture content should be determined, and other pair of measuring capacitors should be filled with a same substance, but previously dehydrated. Mathematical models, developed to take into account granulometric composition of a bulk material were used to carry out a comparison analysis for three types of instrument measuring transducers. Obtained results proved that suggested principle of moisture measurement provides effective compensation of granulometric composition influence. Developed measuring principle had been experimentally tested what helped to confirm that it provides two times better compensation of different physical and chemical composition for different materials in comparison with the direct comparison method.     

Realizing fragment spawning and fragment growth in the parallelized Discrete Element Method (DEM) during modelling of comminution

The particle based Discrete Element Method (DEM) can be applied to examine comminution processes. In this study, a DEM framework has been extended to model particle breakage without mass loss. After a breakage event occurs, spherical particles, as often considered in the DEM, are replaced by size reduced spherical fragments. During the following time steps, the fragments grow to their desired sizes, so that the mass loss can be counterbalanced. Previously defined overlaps with adjacent unbroken and broken particles (fragments) as well as walls are allowed. The breakage model has been realized in a parallelized DEM framework because comminution processes are often attributed to large numbers of particles and by parallelization the computational time can be reduced efficiently. An oedometer (one-dimensional compression in axial direction of a confined particle bed) has been modelled to investigate the parallelization efficiency and the influence of the permitted overlaps during the growth process on the growth duration. A simplified roller mill has been considered to examine the applicability of the breakage procedure considering parallelization. The results show that parallelization reduces computational time considerably. The breakage procedure is suitable to model comminution processes involving even densely packed particle systems and is superior to existing approaches.     

Application of a multicriteria methodology for evaluation of energy alternatives for hydrogen production for the automotive sector – Case study

This paper presents a case study focusing on fourteen most used energy alternatives in Brazil, possible to feed large scale hydrogen production plants for the automotive sector. The evaluations are made using a Decision Making Support Method, MACBETH - Measuring Attractiveness by a Categorical Based Evaluation Technique, with the computational code M-MACBETH 3.2.0, using criteria that include economic and financial, technological, environmental and social aspects. The selected criteria that were used in the assessment, for each of the energy alternatives are capital to be invested in a plant, leveled cost of electric energy produced, CO₂ emissions, mortality rate due to the technology use and energy efficiency of technology. The main results obtained showed that photovoltaics off grid electric energy is the most attractive alternative, followed by the photovoltaic on grid alternative, for an eventual automotive hydrogen program in Brazil.     

A system for time-fluctuating flow rate measurements in a single-blade pump circuit

Commonly used flow rate measurement systems provide an accurate and stable output value of the quasi-stationary flow rate. In some pump types as e.g. single-blade pumps significant flow rate fluctuations may occur even in steady operation points due to rotor-stator interaction. For the analysis of the time-resolved flow rate a new measurement and evaluation method is presented based on an electromagnetic flow meter. Internal averaging of the flow meter is deactivated and the raw signal is evaluated directly with a sampling rate of 3 kHz. With ensemble-averaging in combination with an impeller position detection, interfering signals acting on the time-resolved measurement signal are filtered out. Accompanying numerical simulations of the pump flow circuit are carried out with a 1D method of characteristics and validated against well-established time-resolved pressure measurements of the pump flow. Experiment and simulation show a resembling trend of pressure as well as flow rate fluctuations over the entire operation range of the pump. Thus, by the combined utilisation of measurement and simulation technique, we assure the validity of the ensemble-averaged flow rate fluctuation results. We find that the flow rate fluctuations show a consistent phase shift to the pressure fluctuations that increases towards overload. The flow rate amplitude is an order of magnitude smaller than the amplitude of the pressure fluctuations.     

Evaluation of behavior of the secondary columns in semi-supported steel shear walls

Semi-supported steel shear walls (SSSW), whose steel plate is connected to secondary columns rather than main columns of the frame, have been considered as an alternative steel shear walls to the traditional type. Many investigations have been made for proportionate designing of components of SSSW system. One of the important issues in this regard is the out of plane buckling of the secondary columns. In this paper, the plastic theory of structures is utilized to find out the axial force distribution, along the compressive column. Then, using energy method, for an assumed shear wall with specific geometry and material and a given shear force, the maximum overturning moment that makes the compressive secondary column buckles, can be determined. Repeating this method, for various shear forces, makes it possible to draw some interaction curves between overturning moments and shear forces. These curves can be used to analyze and design of semi-supported steel shear walls.     

Discharge evaluation from pressure measurements by a genetic algorithm based method

This paper presents an alternative to the Gibson method, for discharge estimation of a turbine inside a hydropower plant. The method proposes a genetic algorithm which includes an integration procedure for the water hammer equations using the method of characteristics. The decision variables are represented by the steady-state regime discharge before the valve closure and the pipe friction factor. The recordings of pressure/differential pressure in measuring sections are used.The method was verified by a numerical experiment and then validated with the measured data in a laboratory experiment at NTNU, Norway.     

Modeling and parameter optimization for the design of vibrating screens

In this paper, we simulated the complex particle flow-behavior and screening efficiency on a linear vibrating screen using the Discrete Element Method (DEM). The simulations were validated with data from an adjustable experimental prototype screen. Then the novel application of non-linear regression modeling based on Support Vector Machines (SVMs) is used for mapping the sample space of operating parameters and vibrating screen configuration. Lastly, parameter optimization is implemented using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm. The primary findings proved that the SVM-based nonparametric model is not only feasible, but also highly adaptive to the parameter optimization that requires large-scale iterative computation. The non-parametric model established using the integration of DEM and SVM, combined with PSO algorithm in subsequent parameter optimization offered insights to the design and manufacture of vibrating screens.