The pipeline bus: An interconnection network for multiprocessor systems

The design of a network switch for synchronously clocked packet switching networks is presented. The switch includes the node interface and logic handling of the arbitration and routing for a large class of network topologies, namely n-dimensional rectangular grids including hypercubes and other highly efficient topologies. In the context of the SUPRENUM project the paper concentrates on two-dimensional meshes. Routing, arbitration, blocking, and fault tolerance issues are discussed.     

Kinetic assessment and modeling of an ozonation step for full-scale municipal wastewater treatment: Micropollutant oxidation, by-product formation and disinfection

The kinetics of oxidation and disinfection processes during ozonation in a full-scale reactor treating secondary wastewater effluent were investigated for seven ozone doses ranging from 0.21 to 1.24 g O₃ g⁻¹ dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Substances reacting fast with ozone, such as diclofenac or carbamazepine (kP,O₃ > 10⁴ M⁻¹ s⁻¹), were eliminated within the gas bubble column, except for the lowest ozone dose of 0.21 g O₃ g⁻¹ DOC. For this low dose, this could be attributed to short-circuiting within the reactor. Substances with lower ozone reactivity (kP,O₃ < 10⁴ M⁻¹ s⁻¹) were only fully eliminated for higher ozone doses.The predictions of micropollutant oxidation based on coupling reactor hydraulics with ozone chemistry and reaction kinetics were up to a factor of 2.5 higher than full-scale measurements. Monte Carlo simulations showed that the observed differences were higher than model uncertainties. The overestimation of micropollutant oxidation was attributed to a protection of micropollutants from ozone attack by the interaction with aquatic colloids. Laboratory-scale batch experiments using wastewater from the same full-scale treatment plant could predict the oxidation of slowly-reacting micropollutants on the full-scale level within a factor of 1.5. The Rct value, the experimentally determined ratio of the concentrations of hydroxyl radicals and ozone, was identified as a major contribution to this difference.An increase in the formation of bromate, a potential human carcinogen, was observed with increasing ozone doses. The final concentration for the highest ozone dose of 1.24 g O₃ g⁻¹ DOC was 7.5 μg L⁻¹, which is below the drinking water standard of 10 μg L⁻¹. N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) formation of up to 15 ng L⁻¹ was observed in the first compartment of the reactor, followed by a slight elimination during sand filtration. Assimilable organic carbon (AOC) increased up to 740 μg AOC L⁻¹, with no clear trend when correlated to the ozone dose, and decreased by up to 50% during post-sand filtration. The disinfection capacity of the ozone reactor was assessed to be 1-4.5 log units in terms of total cell counts (TCC) and 0.5 to 2.5 log units for Escherichia coli (E. coli). Regrowth of up to 2.5 log units during sand filtration was observed for TCC while no regrowth occurred for E. coli. E. coli inactivation could not be accurately predicted by the model approach, most likely due to shielding of E. coli by flocs.     

Co-gasification of coal and wood in a dual fluidized bed gasifier

In the last decade the reduction of CO₂ emissions from fossil fuels became a worldwide topic. Co-gasification of coal and wood provides an opportunity to combine the advantages of the well-researched usage of fossil fuels such as coal with CO₂-neutral biomass. Gasification itself is a technology with many advantages. The producer gas can be used in many ways; for electric power generation in a gas engine or gas turbine, for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis of liquid fuels and also for production of gaseous products such as synthetic natural gas (bio SNG). Moreover, the use of the producer gas in fuel cells is under investigation. The mixture of coal and wood leads to the opportunity to choose the gas composition as best befits the desired process. Within this study the focus of investigation was of gasification of coal and wood in various ratios and the resulting changes in producer gas composition. Co-gasification of coal and wood leads to linear producer gas composition changes with linear changing load ratios (coal/wood). Hydrogen concentrations rise with increasing coal ratio, while CO concentrations decrease. Due to the lower sulfur and nitrogen content of wood, levels of the impurities NH₃ and H₂S in the producer gas fall with decreasing coal ratio. It is also shown that the majority of sulfur is released in the gasification zone and, therefore, no further cleaning of the flue gas is necessary. All mixture ratios, from 100 energy% to 0 energy% coal, performed well in the 100 kW dual fluidized bed gasifier. Although the gasifier was originally designed for wood, an addition of coal as fuel in industrial sized plants based on the same technology should pose no problems.     

In situ gasification and CO2 separation using chemical looping with a Cu-based oxygen carrier: Performance with bituminous coals

This paper is concerned with the chemical looping combustion of coal in a technique whereby the fuel is gasified in situ using CO₂ in the presence of a batch of supported copper oxide (the “oxygen carrier”) in a single reactor. As the metal oxide becomes depleted, the feed of fuel is discontinued, the inventory of fuel is reduced by further gasification and then the contents are re-oxidised by the admission of air to the reactor, to begin the cycle again. A catalyst support, impregnated with a saturated solution of copper and aluminium nitrates, acted as a durable oxygen carrier over numerous cycles of reduction and oxidation, using air as the oxidant. Two bituminous coals (Taldinskaya, Russia, and Illinois No. 5, USA) were investigated and compared with a lignite (Hambach, Germany). The lignite was highly reactive and was gasified completely by 15 mol% CO₂ in N₂ at 1203 K and 1 bar, so that there was no build up of char in the bed. The bituminous coals produced chars much less reactive than the lignite char, so that there was a steady accumulation of char in the bed with number of cycles, with the degree of accumulation being dependent on the reactivity of the char. Since the kinetics of gasification by CO₂ of the chars from either bituminous coal were slow, their rates were controlled by intrinsic chemical kinetics and were not affected by the ability of the oxygen carrier to alter the rates of external mass transfer when gasification is rapid. However, it is likely that rates of gasification in the presence of the carrier are still larger than in its absence, owing to the overall lower [CO] present in the bulk of the fluidised bed during chemical looping. At the temperature used, the carrier was cycling between Cu and Cu₂O, since CuO is only stable if the partial pressure of O₂ exceeds 0.03 bar at 1203 K. The CuO decomposes to Cu₂O and O₂ relatively rapidly at these temperatures, once the oxygen concentration is effectively zero. It was impossible to ascertain in our experiments whether the oxygen so generated, after the switching of the air for nitrogen before the start of the succeeding cycle of gasification, made any substantial difference to the reactivity of the char present in the bed. The rate of oxidation of the carrier was found to be much more rapid than the rate of oxidation of the inventory of char. This allows a preferential oxidation of the carrier and most likely accounts for why progressively less CO and CO₂ is produced during successive cycles with short periods of oxidation: the increasingly reduced carrier reacts more rapidly than the char. There was no obvious impact from the sulphur contained in the fuels, but longer-term testing is needed. No agglomeration between the carrier particles and the ash was observed, despite the high temperatures during oxidation.     

Effect of inter-plies on the short beam shear delamination of steel/composite hybrid laminates

Interlaminar shear test methods (ILS) were implemented to characterize the delamination behavior of asymmetric steel/carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) hybrids. To improve the delamination behavior thermoplastic inter-plies were inserted between CFRP and steel. Supported by optical strain measurement the maximum shear stress (τ_MAX), the shear stress at interfacial delamination (τ_IF) and the shear stress at large-scale CFRP ply delamination τ_D were evaluated. The significant effect of inter-plies on the adhesion was best reflected by the shear stress value at interfacial delamination. Finite element analysis of the actual shear stress distribution in an asymmetric hybrid sample without inter-ply revealed that the calculated shear strength is just slightly overestimated compared to the standardized evaluation procedure.     

An increased fluid intake leads to feet swelling in 100-km ultra-marathoners - an observational field study

Background

An association between fluid intake and changes in volumes of the upper and lower limb has been described in 100-km ultra-marathoners. The purpose of the present study was (i) to investigate the association between fluid intake and a potential development of peripheral oedemas leading to an increase of the feet volume in 100-km ultra-marathoners and (ii) to evaluate a possible association between the changes in plasma sodium concentration ([Na⁺]) and changes in feet volume.

Methods

In seventy-six 100-km ultra-marathoners, body mass, plasma [Na⁺], haematocrit and urine specific gravity were determined pre- and post-race. Fluid intake and the changes of volume of the feet were measured where the changes of volume of the feet were estimated using plethysmography.

Results

Body mass decreased by 1.8 kg (2.4%) (p < 0.0001); plasma [Na⁺] increased by 1.2% (p < 0.0001). Haematocrit decreased (p = 0.0005). The volume of the feet remained unchanged (p > 0.05). Plasma volume and urine specific gravity increased (p < 0.0001). Fluid intake was positively related to the change in the volume of the feet (r = 0.54, p < 0.0001) and negatively to post-race plasma [Na⁺] (r = -0.28, p = 0.0142). Running speed was negatively related to both fluid intake (r = -0.33, p = 0.0036) and the change in feet volume (r = -0.23, p = 0.0236). The change in the volume of the feet was negatively related to the change in plasma [Na⁺] (r = -0.26, p = 0.0227). The change in body mass was negatively related to both post-race plasma [Na⁺] (r = -0.28, p = 0.0129) and running speed (r = -0.34, p = 0.0028).

Conclusions

An increase in feet volume after a 100-km ultra-marathon was due to an increased fluid intake.     

Screening of protease inhibitors as antiplasmodial agents. Part I: Aziridines and epoxides

A broad protease-based and cell-based screening of protease inhibitors yielded the aziridine-2-carboxylic acid derivative 2 a and the N-acylated aziridine-2,3-dicarboxylic acid derivatives 32 a and 34 b as the most potent inhibitors of falcipain-2 and falcipain-3 (IC(50) falcipain-2: 0.079-5.4 microM, falcipain-3: 0.25-39.8 microM). As the compounds also display in vitro activity against the P. falciparum parasite in the submicromolar and low micromolar range, these compound classes are leads for new antiplasmodial falcipain inhibitors.     

Gel Casting of Free‐Shapeable Ceramic Membranes with Adjustable Pore Size for Ultra‐ and Microfiltration

The growing demand of reliable high‐performance membrane materials for separation processes requires new simple, straightforward, environmental friendly, sustainable approaches for membrane fabrication. In this study, we present an environmentally friendly gel‐casting, one‐pot process based on ionotropic‐gelation for obtaining alumina membranes. A slurry of alumina particles and the biopolymer alginate, which acts in combination with calcium iodate like a resin, was gelled in a controllable temperature dependent manner. Alumina membranes are obtained by three different shaping routes (extrusion, free‐forming, casting). The suitability of extruded capillaries in a polymer‐ceramic hybrid state (green body) and after sintering (1150°C for 2 h) for potential application in micro‐ and ultrafiltration is evaluated by monitoring the chemical and mechanical stability, permeability and separation behavior. Varying the initial alumina particle size from 200 to 900 nm, membranes with a narrow pore size distribution, predictable and tunable average pore diameters from 70 up to 480 nm and a constant open porosity of ~40%, are obtained. The permeability behavior is tested with fluorescence labeled submicron‐ and nano‐particles. Our novel colloidal processing route represents a very versatile tool for designing and manufacturing ceramic membranes with complex shapes for micro‐ (>0.1 μm) and ultrafiltration (0.1–0.01 μm).     

Media photo‐degradation in pharmaceutical biotechnology – impact of ambient light on media quality,cell physiology,and IgG production in CHO cultures

BACKGROUND

Many vital components in bioprocess media are prone to photo‐conversion or photo‐degradation upon exposure to ambient light, with severe negative consequences for biomass yield and overall productivity. However, there is only limited awareness of light irradiation as a potential risk factor when working in transparent glass bioreactors, storage vessels or disposable bag systems. The chemical complexity of most media renders a root‐cause analysis difficult. This study investigated in a novel, holistic approach how light‐induced changes in media composition relate to alterations in radical burden, cell physiology, morphology, and product formation in industrial Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) bioprocesses.

RESULTS

Two media formulations from proprietary and commercial sources were tested in a pre‐hoc light exposure scenario prior to cultivation. Using fluorescence excitation/emission (EEM) matrix spectroscopy, a photo‐sensitization of riboflavin was identified as a likely cause for drastically decreased IgG titers (up to ?80%) and specific growth rates (?50% to ?90%). Up to three‐fold higher radical levels were observed in photo‐degraded medium. On the biological side, this resulted in significant changes in cell morphology and aberrations in the normal IgG biosynthesis/secretion pathway.

CONCLUSION

These findings clearly illustrate the underrated impact of room light after only short periods of exposure, occurring accidentally or knowingly during bioprocess development and scale‐ up. The detrimental effects, which may share a common mechanistic cause at the molecular level, correlate well with changes in spectroscopic properties. This offers new perspectives for online monitoring concepts, and improved detectability of such effects in future. © 2018 The Authors. Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology published by JohnWiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.