Acid Rock Drainage Remediation and Element Removal Using a Peat-Humic Agent with Subsequent Thermal Treatment of the Metal–Organic Residue

A novel, alternative method for acid rock drainage (ARD) remediation and metal recovery has been developed that uses a peat-humic agent (PHA) created by mechanical, chemical, and thermobaric treatment of peat from the Krugloe deposit (Novosibirsk region, Russia). The PHA effectively neutralised moderately acidic ARD and removed potential pollutants (e.g. Fe, Al, Zn, Cu, Pb, Cd, Ni, Co, and Hg), forming metal–organic residues. The organic matter can be removed completely from the metal–organic residues by heating them at 450–500 °C. After this treatment, the metal concentrate residues generally contained aggregates (20–350 μm in size), mainly composed of metal oxides and sulphates. Thermal decomposition of the organic matter in the PHA and metal–organic residues is an exothermic process with significant calorific value (9–15 kJ/g).     

MicroRNA-155 Mediates Augmented CD40 Expression in Bone Marrow Derived Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells in Symptomatic Lupus-Prone NZB/W F1 Mice

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic multi-organ autoimmune disease characterized by hyperactivated immune responses to self-antigens and persistent systemic inflammation. Previously, we reported abnormalities in circulating and bone marrow (BM)-derived plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) from SLE patients. Here, we aim to seek for potential regulators that mediate functional aberrations of pDCs in SLE. BM-derived pDCs from NZB/W F1 mice before and after the disease onset were compared for toll-like receptor (TLR) induced responses and microRNA profile changes. While pDCs derived from symptomatic mice were phenotypically comparable to pre-symptomatic ones, functionally they exhibited hypersensitivity to TLR7 but not TLR9 stimulation, as represented by the elevated upregulation of CD40, CD86 and MHC class II molecules upon R837 stimulation. Upregulated induction of miR-155 in symptomatic pDCs following TLR7 stimulation was observed. Transfection of miR-155 mimics in pre-symptomatic pDCs induced an augmented expression of Cd40, which is consistent with the increased CD40 expression in symptomatic pDCs. Overall, our results provide evidence for miR-155-mediated regulation in pDC functional abnormalities in SLE. Findings from this study contribute to a better understanding of SLE pathogenesis and ignite future interests in evaluating the molecular regulation in autoimmunity.     

Development of a new hybrid plasma torch for materials processing

The main objectives of this study were to construct a plasma generator device and to investigate its applications in welding, cutting, and surface hardening. The device was derived from the union of two plasma-generating technologies, non-transferred-arc plasma and magnetoplasmadynamic thruster (MPDT), and characterised by the simultaneous formation of two plasma arcs in one device, generating a plasma jet with high energy density. Initially, trials were conducted to analyse the influence of the physical variables (gas flow rate and electric current intensities – primary and secondary) on the plasma jet, for which the thruster and the length of the plasma jet expulsed from the chamber were determined. The relevant parameters for welding, cutting and surface hardening were determined by trial and error, in which the trials were conducted using various plate thicknesses and materials. The results have shown that this device can be used for welding, cutting and surface hardening.     

Enabling Interoperability among Grid Meta-Schedulers

The goal of Grid computing is to integrate the usage of computer resources from cooperating partners in the form of Virtual Organizations (VO). One of its key functions is to match jobs to execution resources efficiently. For interoperability between VOs, this matching operation occurs in resource brokering middleware, commonly referred to as the meta-scheduler or meta-broker. In this paper, we present an approach to a meta-scheduler architecture, combining hierarchical and peer-to-peer models for flexibility and extensibility. Interoperability is further promoted through the introduction of a set of protocols, allowing meta-schedulers to maintain sessions and exchange job and resource state using Web Services. Our architecture also incorporates a resource model that enables an efficient resource matching across multiple Virtual Organizations, especially where the compute resources and state are dynamic. Experiments demonstrate these new functional features across three distributed organizations (BSC, FIU, and IBM), that internally use different job scheduling technologies, computing infrastructure and security mechanisms. Performance evaluations through actual system measurements and simulations provide the insights on the architecture’s effectiveness and scalability.     

Particle swarm optimization algorithm driven by multichaotic number generator

In this paper, the utilization of different chaotic systems as pseudo-random number generators (PRNGs) for velocity calculation in the PSO algorithm are proposed. Two chaos-based PRNGs are used alternately within one run of the PSO algorithm and dynamically switched over when a certain criterion is met. By using this unique technique, it is possible to improve the performance of PSO algorithm as it is demonstrated on different benchmark functions.     

Explaining the Formation of Online News Startups in France and the United States: A Field Analysis

This article examines the differential formation of online news startups in Toulouse, France, and Seattle, United States. While Seattle is home to many startups, in Toulouse there have been just 4—and only 1 continues publishing. Drawing on Bourdieu's field theory, we argue that amount and types of capital held by journalists in the 2 cities varied as a result of differences in journalism's position in the field of power. These differences shaped the extent of startup formation in each city and structured journalists' capacities to convert their capital into the resources needed to form startups (e.g., funding, credentials, partnerships). These findings are positioned in relation to literatures on journalism innovation and comparative media.     

Selective extraction,structural characterisation and antifungal activity assessment of napins from an industrial rapeseed meal

This article reports an extraction–purification of napins from an industrial rapeseed meal and the assessment of their antimicrobial activity against Fusarium langsethiae. The best extraction conditions are observed at pH 2, 12% (w/w) of rapeseed meal after 15 min of extraction in water at room temperature. Under these conditions the extraction is highly selective, allowing a simple purification process (ammonium sulfate precipitation followed by desalting size exclusion chromatography) to get purified napins. These napins possessed significant anti-Fusarium activity (IC₅₀ = 70 μM) and a compact secondary structure rich in α-helix, which may explain this bioactivity.     

Geopolymers based on a coarse low-purity kaolin mineral: Mechanical strength as a function of the chemical composition and temperature

A coarse mineral with 70% kaolinite and 30% quartz was calcined and chemically activated by alkaline solutions of Na₂SiO₃ and NaOH. The compressive strength evolution was investigated as a function of the curing temperature at 20 and 80 °C, and the molar ratios of SiO₂/Al₂O₃ (2.64-4.04) and Na₂O/Al₂O₃ (0.62-1.54). For curing at 20 °C, the best composition was SiO₂/Al₂O₃ = 2.96 and NaO/Al₂O₃ = 0.62, reaching 85 MPa at 28 days. Curing at 80 °C had a positive effect on the strength development only in the first 3 days. X-ray diffraction of the geopolymeric formulations showed the formation of amorphous silicoaluminates of similar nature. The microstructure consisted of unreacted quartz and metakaolinite particles in a matrix of silicoaluminate polymer and condensed silica gel from the unreacted sodium silicate.