F-wave velocity in motor neurone disease

The F-wave velocity in the central segment (axilla to spinal cord) was studied employing the "collison technique" described by Kimura (1974), and compared with the conduction velocity obtained with the usual methods. In 25 normal subjects the F-wave velocity increased proceeding proximally, reaching the maximum values in the central tract (64.86 +/- 2.23 m/sec in ulnar nerve). In 11 patients affected by motor neurone disease and 11 patients affected by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis the F-wave velocity decreased significantly proceeding proximally and the minimum values were found in the central tract (52.51 +/- 2.15 m/sec in MND and 48.64 +/- 5.60 m/sec in ALS). We therefore suggest the use of F-wave velocity as a more complete element for precise localization of the lesion in the central segment when the motoneurone is primarily involved.     

Conventional and thermophilic aerobic treatability of high strength oily pet food wastewater using membrane-coupled bioreactors

Although thermophilic treatment systems have recently gained considerable interest, limited information exists on the comparative performances of membrane-coupled bioreactors (MBR) at thermophilic and conventional conditions. In this study aerobic MBRs operating at room temperature (20 degrees C) and at lower thermophilic range (45 degrees C) were investigated for the treatment of dissolved air flotation (DAF) pretreated pet food wastewater. The particular wastewater is characterized by oil and grease (O & G) concentrations as high as 6 g/L, COD of 51 g/L, BOD of 16 g/L and volatile fatty acid (VFA) of 8.3 g/L. The performances of the two systems in terms of COD, BOD and O & G removal at varying hydraulic retention time (HRT) are compared. COD removal efficiencies in the thermophilic MBR varied from 75% to 98% and remained constant at 94% in the conventional MBR. The O & G removal efficiencies were 66-86% and 98% in the thermophilic and conventional MBR, respectively. Interestingly, high concentrations of VFA were recorded, equivalent to 50-73% of total COD, in the thermophilic MBR effluent. The observed yield in the thermophilic MBR was 40% of that observed in the conventional MBR.     

Fate of copper in submerged membrane bioreactors treating synthetic municipal wastewater

This paper assesses the impact of copper on the performance of two membrane bioreactors (MBR) treating municipal wastewater at a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 4h, and solids residence times (SRT) of 20 days, at influent copper concentrations of 0.2-8 mg Cu/L. The addition of copper resulted in a significant increase in soluble microbial products (SMPs), and a predominance of >100 kDa molecular weight SMPs. The study showed that in well-buffered wastewaters, complete nitrification was achieved at total copper concentrations as high as 840 mg/L or 10% of the mixed liquor volatile suspended solids. MINTEQ simulation showed that most of the copper (99.8%) in the MBR was in the form of inorganic copper precipitates, with free Cu2+ and total soluble copper in the range of 0.0-0.11 and 0.1-0.82 mg/L, respectively.     

Spatial shift of spatially modulated light projected on turbid media

This work extends modulated imaging, a recently developed technique based on the projection of structured light on a turbid medium that is able to measure optical properties of the high-scattering medium and perform tomography. We observe that structured light obliquely projected on a turbid medium undergoes a spatial shift during propagation. We propose a method to measure the spatial phase shift of a sinusoidal fringe pattern projected in a turbid medium, and we present a model derived from the diffusion approximation to describe the light propagation. Experimental validation by measurements performed on liquid phantoms is presented.     

Dynamic time-resolved diffuse spectroscopy based on supercontinuum light pulses

We present a detailed characterization of a system for fast time-resolved spectroscopy of turbid media based on supercontinuum generation in a photonic crystal fiber. The light source provides subpicosecond pulses in the 550-1000-nm spectral range, at 85 MHz, at an average power of up to 50 mW. Wavelength-resolved detection is accomplished by means of a spectrometer coupled to a 16-channel, multianode photomultiplier tube, giving a resolution of 4.5-35 nm/channel, depending on the grating. Time-dispersion curves are acquired with time-correlated single-photon counting, and absorption and reduced scattering coefficients are determined by fitting the data to the diffusion equation. We characterized the system by measuring the time-resolved diffuse reflectance of epoxy phantoms and by assessing the performance in terms of accuracy, linearity, noise sensitivity, stability, and reproducibility. The results were similar to those from previous systems, whereas the full-spectrum (610-810 nm) acquisition time was as short as 1 s owing to the parallel acquisition. We also present the first in vivo real-time dynamic spectral measurements showing tissue oxygenation changes in the arm of a human subject.     

Electro-kinetic dewatering of oily sludges

An oily sludge from a rendering facility was treated using electro-kinetic (EK) techniques employing two different experimental designs. The bench scale used vertical electrodes under different operational conditions, i.e. varied electrode spacing at 4, 6 and 8 cm with electric potential of 10, 20 and 30 V, respectively. The highest water removal efficiency (56.3%) at bench scale was achieved at a 4 cm spacing and 30 V. Comparison of the water removal efficiency (51.9%) achieved at the 20 V at 4 cm spacing showed that power consumption at 30 V was 1.5 times larger than that at 20 V, suggesting a further increase of electric potential is unnecessary. The solids content increased from an initial 5 to 11.5 and 14.1% for 20 and 30 V, respectively. The removal of oil and grease (O&G) was not significant at this experimental design. Another larger scale experiment using a pair of horizontal electrodes in a cylinder with 15 cm i.d. was conducted at 60 V at an initial spacing of 22 cm. More than 40.0% of water was removed and a very efficient oil separation from the sludge was achieved indicating the viability of electro-kinetic recovery of oil from industrial sludge.     

High throughput and low power consumption on a wireless sensor network

Wireless communications are subject to fading and interferences that affect their performance. However, the broadcast nature of wireless transmissions is an advantage that has been exploited in the past to improve performance. Nodes belonging to a sensor network could listen to messages sent from other nodes and participate in this communication for the benefit of the entire network. In this paper, we present a protocol following these lines. The novelty of our approach is to obtain high throughput with low complexity and low energy consumption.     

Salvia somalensis essential oil as a potential cosmetic ingredient: solvent-free microwave extraction, hydrodistillation, GC–MS analysis, odour evaluation and in vitro cytotoxicity assays

Salvia somalensis Vatke, a wild sage native of Somalia, has been studied with the aim of assessing the potential cosmetic application of its essential oil, recovered from fresh aerial parts by solvent-free microwave extraction – SFME. To evaluate the efficiency and reliability of this ecofriendly procedure, the recovery of the essential oil was also processed by conventional hydrodistillation (HD) and the results compared. The essential oils obtained by both SFME and HD were analysed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry using apolar and polar capillary columns. The essential oil recovered by SFME was submitted to an odour evaluation that revealed peculiar olfactive characteristics interesting in alcoholic male perfumery and body detergents. In vitro cytotoxicity assays were carried out using NCTC 2544 human keratinocytes as target cells. The oil displayed slight cytotoxic effects, which were three orders of magnitude lower than those found for sodium dodecyl sulphate positive control. The promising results in terms of chemical composition, scent and safety seem to indicate this essential oil as an interesting potential functional ingredient useful in a cosmetic context.     

Effect of Seed Addition on SnO2‐Based Varistors for Low Voltage Application

The effect of seed addition on the microstructure and non‐ohmic properties of the SnO₂ + 1%CoO + 0.05%Nb₂O₅ ceramic‐based system was analyzed. Two classes of seeds were prepared: 99% SnO₂ + 1%CuO and 99% SnO₂ + 1%CoO (mol%); both classes were added to the ceramic‐based system in the amount of 1%, 5%, and 10%. The two systems containing 1% of seeds resulted in a larger grain size and a lower breakdown voltage. The addition of 1% copper seeds produces a breakdown voltage (V_b) of ~ 37 V and a leakage current (f_ic) of 29 μA. On the other hand, the addition of 1% cobalt seeds produced a breakdown voltage of 57 V and a leakage current of 70 μA. Both systems are of great technological interest for low voltage varistor applications, by means of appropriate strategies to reduce the leakage current. Using larger amounts of seeds was not effective since the values of breakdown voltage in both cases are close to a system without seeds. To our knowledge, there are no reports in the literature regarding the use of seeds in the SnO₂ system for low voltage applications. A potential barrier model which illustrates the formation of oxygen species (O′_2(ads), O′_ads, and O″_ads) at the expense of clusters near the interface between grains is proposed.     

Removal of nutrients from hydroponic greenhouse effluent by alkali precipitation and algae cultivation method

BACKGROUND: Hydroponic greenhouse effluent has high concentrations of total phosphorus (30–100 mg PO₄‐P L^?1) and nitrates (200–300 mg NO₃‐N L^?1). Current technologies for effluent treatment have limitations of performance and high maintenance costs. The goals of this study were to investigate strategies which combine alkali treatment and microalgae cultivation for removal of nutrients from hydroponic greenhouse effluent. RESULTS: Treatment with strong alkali was found to effectively remove 97% of total phophorous especially in the form of phosphate, without affecting the nitrate ion concentration in the greenhouse effluent. After alkali treatment, marine algae Dunaliella salina (UTEX 1644) cultivation on treated hydroponic effluent (pH 7.5) showed > 80% decrease in nitrate content in the effluent within 4 days of cultivation. In the same period, the carotene content of the micro‐algal system was in the range 0.5 ± 0.02 µg mg^?1 (dry cell weight) which was 1.5 times higher than in the control. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that combination of a conventional alkali precipitation method with a microalgae treatment system is a highly efficient approach for the removal of excess nutrients from hydroponic greenhouse effluent in a short treatment time. The microalgae can provide a source of value in the form of carotene. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry