Edge degree-of-sharpness and free-stream turbulence scale effects on the aerodynamics of a bridge deck

This paper discusses the sensitivity of the aerodynamic behavior of a trapezoidal-shaped bridge deck cross-section to its lower corner degree-of-sharpness and to the incoming flow turbulence integral length scale in conjunction with low turbulence intensity. Since these features are hard to set and measure in experimental facilities, the aerodynamic behavior of the body has been investigated through the computational simulation of the flow around it. The results are given in term of force coefficients, Strouhal number, pressure distribution along its surface, and the mean and instantaneous flow patterns. Dramatic changes in the force coefficients and Strouhal number occur following small changes in the parameter values. These changes have been found to be due to significant modifications in the topological structure of the flow. Special emphasis has been given to the analysis of the separation and reattachment points, the recirculation bubble length, the vortex shedding mechanisms and the wake structures. On the basis of the results, four aerodynamic regimes have been pointed out in analogy with the well-known individual Re number regimes. Some of these regimes have also been recognized on the deck section with the considered sharpest and smoothest lower edge treatments, i.e. for the highest and lowest degrees-of-sharpness.     

Development of an HS-SPME-GC method to determine the methyl anthranilate in Citrus honeys

An efficient and simple method for determination of methyl anthranilate (MA) in Citrus spp. honeys by headspace-solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography (HS-SPME-GC) was developed and validated. Experimental design was used to investigate the effects of the principal extraction parameters. The central composite design (CCD) and the desirability function were used to find the experimental conditions providing the optimal HS-SPME result. Validation was carried out in terms of specificity, linearity, limit of detection (LOD) and quantitation (LOQ) (0.149 and 0.324 μg/g, respectively), method precision (RSD 7%), LOQ precision (RSD 6.5%), and was resulted accurate and robust. Finally, the applicability of the method to the determination of MA in a number of commercial Citrus spp. honey samples was demonstrated, the content ranged from 0.63 to 3.26 μg/g.     

Industry–research co‐operation within and across regional boundaries. What does innovation policy add?

The paper aims to show how regional policy‐makers can stimulate firms' co‐operation with research organizations by granting an R&D subsidy. Using an original dataset for the Italian region of Emilia‐Romagna, propensity score matching is first applied to identify the impact of the subsidy received. A generalized propensity score technique is then employed to investigate the effect of an increasing amount of support. The firm's co‐operation is policy sensitive. The award of a subsidy to regional firms affects their intra‐regional more than their extra‐regional co‐operation. The propensity toward the latter appears subject to a monetary effect and is influenced by the amount of public funding received providing the subsidy overcomes a minimum threshold.     

Interactive constrained dynamics for rigid and deformable objects

Following the continuous increase in computational power of consumer hardware, interactive virtual environments have been recently enriched with more and more complex deformable objects. However, many physics engines are still very limited in the way they handle interacting rigid and deformable objects. This paper proposes a constraint‐based approach to real‐time simulation of coupled rigid and deformable objects capable of providing two‐way interactions. Similar techniques have seen widespread usage for either rigid or deformable objects, but not for the simultaneous simulation of both. By extending such approaches, we show not only how interaction is possible but also how it can be performed at real‐time rates. We address contact response and also show how to implement typical constraints to enforce limitations in the degrees of freedom and to enhance the dynamical properties of deformable objects. The method is easily integrated into existing physics engines that use similar constraint solvers and is independent on the kind of deformable object paradigm chosen. The provided simulation results show that the method is fast and effective in handling contacts between rigid and deformable objects and in simulating friction and other kinds of constraints. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Flow Metal‐Free Ar?C Bond Formation via Photogenerated Phenyl Cations

A convenient photochemical flow protocol for the formation of aryl‐carbon bonds via photogenerated phenyl cations has been developed. A wide range of phenylated products, including biaryls, allylarenes, 2‐arylacetals and benzyl γ‐lactones, was smoothly synthesized in satisfactory yields under metal‐free conditions. The adoption of a flow reactor often allowed us to adopt higher concentrations of substrates and shorter irradiation times compared to those usually employed in batch systems.

     

Metabolic analysis of the removal of formic acid by unacclimated activated sludge

This paper investigates the removal of formic acid by unacclimated biomass from a municipal activated sludge wastewater treatment plant. The biomass was initially able to remove formic acid, but its removal rate and Oxygen Uptake Rate (OUR) decreased with time, until formic acid removal stopped before the formic acid had been exhausted. Formaldehyde was removed in a similar way, whereas the same biomass was simultaneously able to grow and store PHAs when acetic acid was used as substrate.Batch tests with glycine and ¹³C NMR analysis were performed, showing that unacclimated biomass was not able to synthesize all the metabolic intermediates from formic acid alone. At least glycine needed to be externally supplemented, in order to activate the serine synthesis pathway. A small amount of formic acid removal in the absence of growth was also possible through formaldehyde formation and its further conversion to formalin (1,2-formaldehyde dimer), whereas no PHAs were formed.     

Highly bright and photostable cyanine dye-doped silica nanoparticles for optical imaging: Photophysical characterization and cell tests

Spherical silica nanoparticles containing fluorescent trimethine indocyanine dyes (λ_abs = 547 nm, λ_em = 570 nm) were prepared using a water-in-oil microemulsion method. The nanoparticles were of 50 nm diameter and were almost monodispersed in aqueous solution at pH 5.5. Entrapment of dye molecules in the silica matrix stabilised photoemission over several hours of continuous irradiation. The photoemission intensity of the indocyanine was increased 13-fold over that recorded in solution. As each nanoparticle contained 110 dye molecules, the photoemission brightness of each particle was enhanced by three orders of magnitude. The fluorescent nanoparticles have been tested as imaging tools in in vitro tests. As an example of non-macrophagic cells, a highly differentiated neuronal cell line (GT1-7) was used and the results showed that the prepared nanoparticles can be incorporated into these cells with no apparent toxicity for up to three days.     

Characterization of Low‐Molecular‐Weight PLA using HPLC

HPLC is applied and assessed as an effective tool to investigate both the production of PLA by polycondensation and its corresponding degradation. A new HPLC calibration procedure, through which it is possible to fully characterize LMW PLA samples by determining the concentration of each individual oligomer, is developed. A comparison between HPLC, ¹H NMR spectroscopy and non‐aqueous solution titration is also reported in order to confirm the reliability of the proposed method. Finally, the proposed analytical technique is applied to monitor the development of a polycondensation reaction performed at 150 °C and 133.3 mbar for 12 h.

     

Five year water and nitrogen balance for a constructed surface flow wetland treating agricultural drainage waters

The performance of a constructed surface flow wetland in reducing diffuse N pollution coming from croplands is being investigated in an ongoing experiment, begun in 1998 in NE Italy. The 0.32 ha wetland is vegetated with Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. and Typha latifolia (L.). It receives drainage water from 6 ha of land managed for an experiment on drainage systems, where maize, sugarbeet, winter wheat and soybean are cultivated. During the period 1998-2002, the wetland received from 4698 to 8412 mm of water per year (on average, about 9 times the environmental rainfall); its water regimen was discontinuous and flooding occurred on a variable number of days per year (from 13 to 126). Nitric nitrogen was the most important form of element load. Its concentration in the inflow water over time was rather discontinuous, with median values ranging from 0.2 (in 2001) to 4.5 (in 2000) mg L(-1). Inflow nitric N concentrations were occasionally in the 5-15 mg L(-1) range. Concentrations reduced passing through the wetland, with a more evident effect in the last year. Over 5 years, the wetland received slightly more than 2000 kg ha(-1) of nitrogen, 87% in nitric form mostly from farmland drainage. The remaining 13% of N was applied as organic slurry directly onto the wetland, with 5 distributions during 1998 to assess wetland performance in treating occasional organic loads. Field drainage loads had a discontinuous time pattern and occurred mostly during autumn-winter, with the exception of the 2001-2002 season which was a very dry. The wetland discharged 206 kg ha(-1) of N, over the 5-year period, with an apparent removal efficiency of about 90%. The disappearance was mostly due to plant uptake (1110 kg ha(-1)) and soil accumulation (570 kg ha(-1)), with the contribution of denitrification being estimated at around 7%.