Aerobic deterioration in maize silage stored in a bunker silo under farm conditions in a subtropical climate

Whole maize plants at the milk and dough maturation stages were ensiled in August and October 1984, for periods of 45 and 40 days, respectively. Thirteen net bags containing herbage samples were buried at different locations within the silo to determine changes and losses during the conservation period. Thermocouple wires and small-diameter plastic pipes were connected to every bag for temperature and gas measurements. Air penetration in the upper layer was much faster than in the inner parts. Losses in dry matter of 3.9-7.4% were found in well sealed sites in the bunkers, and of up to 36% at locations where air penetrated. The rate of air penetration into the silage and temperature at various sites in the bunker were recorded. Correlation between CO₂, and N₂, contents in the silage was very high (r² = 0.995) whereas oxygen levels were close to zero.     

I-V characteristics of a-Si-c-Si hetero-junction diodes made by hot wire CVD

p-Type hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) was deposited on n-type crystalline silicon (c-Si) substrates to obtain hetero-junction diodes. Additionally, a thin intrinsic a-Si:H layer was inserted between both the p-type film and the n-type substrate to study its passivation effect on the c-Si surface. The amorphous films were obtained by the hot wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD) technique, using a tungsten filament and silane (SiH₄), hydrogen (H₂) and diborane (B₂H₆) gases, where the deposition parameters such as gas flow, substrate temperature and filament temperature were varied. Optical band gap, deposition rate and conductivity were measured for all the films. We studied the influence of the quality of the amorphous films upon the performance of the hetero-junction diodes. In particular, the diode ideality factor (n) and the saturation current density (J₀) were determined by measuring the current-voltage characteristics in dark conditions. It is shown that the presence of the intrinsic layer is fundamental for making good diodes, since devices made without this film cause the diodes to have high saturation current density and ideality factor (J₀>10×10⁻⁶ A/cm², n>4) as compared to diodes with a good intrinsic layer (J₀=5×10⁻⁹ A/cm², n=1.39). The results obtained are encouraging, but the quality of the intrinsic films still should be improved for applying them to HIT solar cells.     

A Bayesian framework for sensory adaptation

Adaptation allows biological sensory systems to adjust to variations in the environment and thus to deal better with them. In this article, we propose a general framework of sensory adaptation. The underlying principle of this framework is the setting of internal parameters of the system such that certain prespecified tasks can be performed optimally. Because sensorial inputs vary probabilistically with time and biological mechanisms have noise, the tasks could be performed incorrectly. We postulate that the goal of adaptation is to minimize the number of task errors. This minimization requires prior knowledge of the environment and of the limitations of the mechanisms processing the information. Because these processes are probabilistic, we formulate the minimization with a Bayesian approach. Application of this Bayesian framework to the retina is successful in accounting for a host of experimental findings.     

Synthesis of AlN nanopowder coated with a thin layer of C,using a thermal plasma reactor

High-purity nanocrystalline aluminum nitride powders were synthesized by using a 12?kW non-transferred arc plasma. The synthesis was conducted in a versatile, new designed, one-chamber thermal plasma reactor (TPR). The novel experimental assembly incorporated better working conditions like: high temperature gradient between the crucible and reactor's wall, and high super-saturation of the system by nitrogen and carbon. Thermodynamic modelling of the synthesis was conducted in order to achieve the best conditions for AlN formation. In this study, aluminum discs of Al 1100 were used as precursor material and pure nitrogen was the only gas used as reagent and plasmogenic gas.Nanopowders collected from reactor's wall were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-Ray diffraction (XRD). Synthesized h-AlN nano-powders were found to be free of oxides and aluminum metal. A thin carbon-layer around the particles was detected. TEM results indicated that the carbon-layer was around 5 and 10?nm. This outcome could make a significant difference with other synthesis reported in the literature since the occurrence of the carbon-layer, could delay AlN oxidation, prevent hydration, and could avoid the agglomeration of the particles.     

Separation of recombinant human erythropoietin glycoforms by capillary electrophoresis using volatile electrolytes. Assessment of mass spectrometry for the characterization of erythropoietin glycoforms

The separation of the glycoforms of erythropoietin (EPO) by capillary electrophoresis (CE) was recently published as a monograph by the European Pharmacopoeia (European Pharmacopoeia 4 2002, 1316, 1123-1128). Although the experimental CE conditions employed a background electrolyte containing additives suitable for on-line UV-absorption detection, they were not appropriate for on-line mass spectrometry (MS) detection. In this work, an attempt was made to investigate experimental conditions employing volatile electrolyte systems to achieve the separation and characterization of EPO glycoforms using CE and ESI-MS methodologies. The influence of several operating conditions, such as the coating of the internal walls of the capillary as well as the composition, concentration, and the pH of the separation buffer were investigated. The results demonstrated that when the internal walls of the capillaries were permanently coated with Polybrene and a buffer electrolyte containing 400 mM of HAc-NH4Ac (acetic acid-ammonium acetate), pH 4.75, was used, a significantly reproducible separation was achieved for EPO glycoforms. Intact EPO was characterized by two mass spectrometry techniques: electrospray ionization (ESI-MS) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF-MS). The data demonstrated that MALDI-TOF-MS provided a good approximation to an average molecular mass of the EPO molecule. However, it was still necessary to carry out further separation of the intact EPO glycoforms in order to obtain molecular mass information when ESI-MS was used.     

Neonatal gastric opening

We report the first proven outbreak of Japanese encephalitis (JE) occurring in the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal. During September and October 1995, we treated 15 patients with meningo-encephalitis. All of the patients were Nepalese, all but one lived in the Kathmandu Valley, and their overall mortality was 53%. Anti-JE virus (JEV) IgM in the cerebrospinal fluid was found in the two cases for whom it was tested. The two tested patients were similar to the other patients in clinical presentation and in home location. We recommend immunization against JEV for those traveling to Kathmandu during the months of August to October.     

Multi-stage, indirectly heated solar still

A solar still was built based on the principle of a stacked tray array for tandem distillation and heat recovery. Heat is supplied to the lowermost tray, coutaining seawater like all the rest, and a diffusion distillation occurs. Evaporation from the hottest tray causes condensation onto the upper, colder one, thus producing distilled water and a flow of heat upwards. As this exchange proceeds, the thermocline travels upwards. This procedure is found to be dependant on the partial pressure difference of water vapor, just as in greenhouse solar stills. A simple mathematical model is evolved and calibrated with field data to make it fit adequately experimental results gathered along some 14 months of continuous operation. Conditions can now be identified for which the added cost of particular design features are adequately compensated by the return of distilled water from the sea.     

Crystal Size,Morphology, and Growth Mechanism in Bio‐Inspired Apatite Nanocrystals

Bio‐inspired apatite nanoparticles precipitated in the presence of citrate ions at increasing maturation times are characterized in terms of structure, size, morphology, and composition through advanced X‐ray total scattering techniques. The origin of the platy crystal morphology, breaking the hexagonal symmetry, and the role of citrate ions is explored. By cross‐coupling the size and shape information of crystal domains with those obtained by atomic force microscopy on multidomain nanoparticles, a plausible mechanism underlying the amorphous‐to‐crystal transformation is reconstructed. In the present study, citrate plays the distinct roles of inducing the platy morphology of the amorphous precursor and controlling the thickness of the Ca‐deficient apatite nanocrystals. These findings can open new scenarios also in bone mineralization, where citrate might have a broader role to play than has been thought to date.     

Resistivity Survey of the Subsurface Conditions in the Estuary of the Rio de la Plata

An electrical resistivity survey was performed at the estuary of the Rio de la Plata, as part of more comprehensive geotechnical investigations of the subsurface conditions. The studies were required for the emplacement of a 3.5-m-diameter conduit proposed for the discharge of the treated wastewater of the city of Buenos Aires. The soil profile at the site consists mainly of clays and silts underlain by a layer of dense sand. The dense sand layer is a confined aquifer, and the project required that the depth to the sand layer be perfectly determined. Previous geophysical surveys at the site and the general geotechnical conditions showed the inadequacy of seismic methods, which are usually adopted in similar environments. The resistivity method was determined to be a reliable alternative, even though there has been little experience in surveying shallow depth water for geotechnical investigations. The four-electrode Schlumberger electrode array was adopted for the resistivity survey. Some of the test devices were developed especially for the purpose of this project. Calibration of the method was achieved with data obtained from boreholes. The results show that the resistivity technique performed satisfactorily to the 40?m depth required in this project. As a result of the survey, the next geotechnical investigation was focused on a more reduced area and the required number of boreholes was reduced substantially.     

Process safety analysis for better reactor cooling system design in the ethylene oxide reactor

The operating data for a plant producing 30,000 t/yr of ethylene oxide (EO) are presented, along with a detailed “process safety analysis” of the system used for reaction heat removal. Process safety analysis is a key point in the design procedure for typically critical plants, such as a E.O. reactor. The paper is primarily directed to identification of the coolant fluid most suitable for the requirements of the process in terms of safety and economy. The evaporating fluid cooling system adopted is examined analytically under both normal and emergency situations with reference to three fluids: dowtherm J, n-octane and n-nonane. Nonane was chosen as the coolant because it minimised the temperature gradient along the vertical axis of the reactor (<4°C on the shell side), circulation rate and evaporation pressure.