Substantiation of the selection of the designs of a hydraulic-fill dam for the upper reservoirs of pumped-storage stations

Conclusion On the basis of the foregoing conditions about the design of hydraulic-fill dams and technology of their construction and also with consideration of the results of comparative calculations of the permeability of these dams, for the upper reservoirs of pumped-storage stations we can recommend dams which have reliable impervious elements, namely, a diaphragm, facing, or placed clay core.Translated from Gidrotekhnicheskoe Stroitel'stvo, No. 5, pp. 31–35, May, 1985.     

Effects of Anthropogenic Influences on the Trophic State,Land Uses and Aquatic Vegetation in a Shallow Mediterranean Lake: Implications for Restoration

Lake Pamvotis, NW Greece is a shallow Mediterranean eutrophic lake that has changed drastically over the past 50 years. Strong effects, resulted mainly from anthropogenic causes, in the hydrological regime are shown for this area using long term hydrological data and a GIS system for extracting land cover/use changes. A set of aerial imagery acquired in 1945 through 2002 were used to monitor and assess the spatial and temporal changes in land cover/use, focused mainly on the lake’s surface area and its surrounding ecosystem (Natura 2000 area). The significance of the changes in land cover/use distribution within Pamvotis wetland is further discussed depicting the role of the anthropogenic influence on the fragile ecosystem that resulted in the shrinkage of lake’s habitats extent. The purpose of this analysis was to examine the long-term changes on macrophyte community composition, species occurrence and relative abundance with water quality and water level changes over the past century, using historical data, aerial photos and GIS techniques. The results showed that for the last 25 years annual water level fluctuation ranged from 70 to 159 cm. Water level starts decreasing in mid June and increasing again gradually from November until March–April. Intra annual water level fluctuation seems to be affected by land use for agricultural purpose through intensive irrigation and the summer drought as well. A dramatic decline of the submerged vegetation is apparent mainly attributed to anthropogenic pressures. Regarding the land cover/use changes, the most notable and significant alterations are concerning the urban development around the lake, the disappearance of wet meadows and the extension of reed beds. Finally it seems that water budget data as well as the response of the key eutrophication parameters are affected from both hydrological alterations and point/non-point pollution sources.     

Capillary electrochromatography of cholesterol and its ester derivatives

Separation of cholesterol and its ester derivatives using micellar electrokinetic chromatography is a challenge due to the extreme hydrophobicity of these compounds. In this work, an isocratic capillary electrochromatography (CEC) method has been developed to separate a complex mixture of cholesterol and its 12-ester derivatives. The proportions of mobile phase (tetrahydrofuran, acetonitrile, water), as well as the effects of acid modifiers, buffer concentrations, voltage, and temperature on the separation of cholesterol derivatives were investigated. Addition of a polymeric surfactant, poly(sodium N-undecanoyl-L-glycinate), to the mobile phase reduced migration time and improved resolution of the analytes. The CEC method developed allows baseline separation of a complex mixture of cholesterol and 12 ester derivatives in less than 40 min. Finally, the method is applied to the characterization of cholesterol, cholesterol linoleate, and cholesterol oleate extracted from atherosclerotic plaque deposits in the arterial walls of a human aorta.     

Identification of nonsteady heat fluxes by using the output signals of thin-membrane gardon-type sensors

An operator comparing the nonsteady output signals of a sensor to the characteristics of an external thermal perturbation is constructed.Translated from Inzhenerno-Fizicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 65, No. 6, pp. 718–724, December, 1993.     

Organic–inorganic nanostructures for luminescent indication in the near-infrared range

Amplifying and quenching of IR luminescence of colloidal Ag₂S quantum dots were revealed to take place when they couple to organic dye molecules of 3,3′-di-(γ-sulfopropyl)-9-ethyl-4,5,4′,5′-dibenzothiacarbocyanine betaine and erytrosine pyridinium salts, respectively. The observed effects are explained as due to the formation of organic–inorganic heterostructures with different mutual arrangement of electronic states of the dyes and the quantum dots.     

Estimating Surface Temperature of a Calibration Apparatus for Contact Surface Thermometers from Its Internal Temperature Profile

A calibration apparatus for contact surface thermometers was developed. Temperature of the upper surface of a copper cube of the calibration apparatus was used as reference surface temperature, which was estimated at around \(50\,{^{\circ }}\hbox {C}\), \(100\,{^{\circ }}\hbox {C}\), and \(150\,{^{\circ }}\hbox {C}\) by not only two conventional industrial platinum resistance thermometers (IPRTs) but also five small-sized platinum resistance thermometers (SSPRTs) calibrated based on the International Temperature Scale of 1990 (ITS-90). These thermometers were inserted horizontally into the copper cube and aligned along the center axis of the copper cube. In the case of a no-load state without anything on the upper surface, the temperature profile inside the copper cube linearly decreased from the lower part to the upper surface, which suggests that the heat conduction inside the copper cube can be regarded as a one-dimensional steady state. On the other hand, in the case of a transient state just after the contact surface thermometer was applied to the upper surface, the temperature profile became a round shape. We obtained good agreement between the curvature of the temperature profiles and the results estimated by using an error function used for a one-dimensional transient heat conduction problem. The temperature difference between the estimated temperature by linear extrapolation using two IPRTs and that by extrapolation using the error function was within \(0.2\,{^{\circ }}\hbox {C}\) in the transient state at around \(150\,{^{\circ }}\hbox {C}\). Over 10 min after the contact surface thermometer was applied, the temperature profile showed a linear shape again, which indicated that linear extrapolation using two IPRTs was well for the estimation of the reference surface temperature because the heat conduction state inside the copper cube came back to the one-dimensional steady state. Difference between the surface temperature and temperature detected by the contact surface thermometer was also observed after the contact surface thermometer touched on the upper surface. The difference was over \(0.1\,{^{\circ }}\hbox {C}\) at several minutes after the contact surface thermometer touching on the reference surface and was suppressed with passing time in the transient state and became negligible over 10 min.     

Degradation of alachlor and pyrimethanil by combined photo-Fenton and biological oxidation

Biodegradability of aqueous solutions of the herbicide alachlor and the fungicide pyrimethanil, partly treated by photo-Fenton, and the effect of photoreaction intermediates on growth and DOC removal kinetics of the bacteria Pseudomonas putida CECT 324 are demonstrated. Toxicity of 30–120 mg L⁻¹ alachlor and pyrimethanil has been assayed in P. putida. The biodegradability of photocatalytic intermediates found at different photo-treatment times was evaluated for each pesticide. At a selected time during batch-mode phototreatment, larger-scale biodegradation kinetics were analysed in a 12 L bubble column bioreactor. Both alachlor and pyrimethanil are non-toxic for P. putida CECT 324 at the test concentrations, but they are not biodegradable. A 100 min photo-Fenton pre-treatment was enough to enhance biodegradability, the biological oxidation response being dependent on the pesticide tested. The different alachlor and pyrimethanil respiration and carbon uptake rates in pre-treated solutions are related to change in the growth kinetics of P. putida. Reproducible results have shown that P. putida could be a suitable microorganism for determining photo-Fenton pre-treatment time.     

Thermodynamic Properties of Melts and Phase Equilibria in the Copper–Zirconium System

The vapor composition over and thermodynamic properties of Cu–Zr melts (5.1–85.0 at. % Zr) are studied by Knudsen cell mass spectrometry between 1191 and 1823 K. The data set obtained comprises more than 1100 activity values for various compositions and temperatures. The thermodynamic behavior of Cu–Zr melts is described in terms of the associated-solution approach with an accuracy no worse than the experimental accuracy. The melts are shown to contain two molecular species: CuZr and Cu₂Zr. The contributions of different types of chemical bonding to the Gibbs energy and enthalpy of formation of Cu–Zr melts are asymmetrical and shifted from the equiatomic composition in opposite directions: the extremum of covalent bonding is shifted to the Cu-rich side, while metallic bonding is more significant in Zr-rich alloys. The rapid temperature variation of covalent bonding leads to a large excess heat capacity C _p ^E of the melts and a negative excess entropy _f S ^E, which rapidly drops with decreasing temperature. It is shown that not only C _p ^E and _f S ^E but also their temperature variations are governed by the parameters of association reactions and depend more strongly on the entropy than on the enthalpy of complex formation. This indicates that, in the general case, the glass-forming capabilities of melts are independent of the interparticle interaction and accounts for the pronounced tendency of Cu–Zr melts toward amorphization.