Isotopic composition of dissolved inorganic carbon in bottled waters on the Slovene market

This study investigates the stable isotopic composition of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), expressed as δ¹³C_DIC, in domestic and foreign bottled waters randomly collected on the Slovene market. All together 58 brands and 16 replicates were analysed. The δ¹³C_DIC values varied between −63.1‰ and +1.0‰ with an average of −12.3‰. Average δ¹³C_DIC values for naturally sparkling, artificially sparkling, still and flavoured waters were −3.3‰, −36.5‰, −10.0‰ and −11.0‰, respectively. The lowest values are characteristic of artificial sparkling waters (minimum −63.1‰) and can be attributed to injection of industrial CO₂ during bottled water production. Therefore, determination of the isotopic composition of DIC can represent a useful analytical tool to distinguish between natural and artificially sparkling waters. Furthermore, the method used enabled determination of the various origins of still waters. From the bottled waters sampled it was possible to discern waters that originate from deeper aquifers, from aquifers in equilibrium with soil CO₂, or from aquifers with their recharge in a mountainous area. Finally, δ¹³C_DIC values of flavoured waters illustrate that isotopic fractionation occurs during the production process and that δ¹³C_DIC values in products of some producers have a large variation.     

Analysis and Provision of QoS for Distributed Grid Applications

Grid computing provides the infrastructure necessary to access and use distributed resources as part of virtual organizations. When used in this way, Grid computing makes it possible for users to participate in collaborative and distributed applications such as tele-immersion, visualization, and computational simulation. Some of these applications operate in a collaborative mode, requiring data to be stored and delivered in a timely manner. This class of applications must adhere to stringent real-time constraints and Quality-of-Service (QoS) requirements. A QoS management approach is therefore required to orchestrate and guarantee the timely interaction between such applications and services. We discuss the design and a prototype implementation of a QoS system, and demonstrate how we enable Grid applications to become QoS compliant. We validate this approach through a case study of an image processing task derived from a nanoscale structures application.     

Detection of the eroding surface in the EDM process based on the current signal in the gap

To achieve a high removal rate and low electrode wear in a sinking electrical discharge machining process (EDM), rough machining parameters have to be selected according to the size of the eroding surface. In general, the size of the eroding surface varies according to the depth of the machining. Thus, it has to be determined on-line. This paper shows that the electric current signal in the gap depends on the size of the eroding surface. The significance of the process attributes of the electric current signal is established by inductive machine learning and the general decision rules are derived. The size of the eroding surface can be detected on-line by monitoring and evaluating the electric current signal in the gap.