Enzyme activity and partial characterization of proteases obtained from Bromelia karatas fruit and compared with Bromelia pinguin proteases

Food Science and Biotechnology - The enzymatic activity and partial characterization of proteases from Bromelia karatas fruits were evaluated and compared with Bromelia pinguin proteases. The...     

Tracking influent inorganic suspended solids through wastewater treatment plants.

From an experimental and theoretical investigation of the continuity of influent inorganic suspended solids (ISS) along the links connecting the primary settling tank (PST), fully aerobic or N removal activated sludge (AS) and anaerobic and aerobic sludge digestion unit operations, it was found that the influent wastewater (fixed) ISS concentration is conserved through primary sludge anaerobic digestion, activated sludge and aerobic digestion unit operations. However, the measured ISS flux at different stages through a series of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) unit operations is not equal to the influent ISS flux, because the ordinary heterotrophic organisms (OHO) biomass contributes to the ISS flux by differing amounts depending on the active fraction of the VSS solids at that stage.     

Bench- and pilot-scale sludge electrodewatering in a diaphragm filter press.

Electrodewatering is a technique in which pressure dewatering is combined with electrokinetic effects to realize an improved solid/liquid separation and hence increased filter cake dry matter contents. In order to be energy efficient, it is shown that sludge should be dewatered by pressure dewatering to a high extent prior to electric field application, and a sufficient contact time for the electric field must be guaranteed. In order to realize these goals, a bench- and pilot-scale diaphragm filter press suited for electrodewatering were constructed for treatment of sewage and other types of sludges. It was shown that electrodewatering of sludge is a feasible technique, especially for biological sludge types. Other types of sludge are less suited for electrodewatering because of the restricted improvements that can be realized in cake dry matter content and the high electric energy consumption. Furthermore, it was shown in pilot-scale tests that the use of a diaphragm filter press with electrodewatering facilities was very well suited to deliver dry filter cakes of sewage sludge at a moderate energy consumption. Depending on local market prices for investment, operating and sludge disposal costs, this technology may therefore lead to important savings in the sludge management process.     

Differentiation of Romashkino crude oils according to biomarker hydrocarbon parameters

The trends in composition of higher biomarker hydrocarbons (steranes and tri-, tetra-, and pentacyclic terpanes) in crude oils from diachronous producing complexes of deposits of the Romashkino oil field, which occurs in the central part of the South Tatarian arch, were studied. On the basis of variations in molecular biomarker parameters that reflect the type of source organic matter and the facies conditions of its accumulation and early diagenesis, the oils are classified with three groups.     

THE ORIGIN OF DOLOMITE IN THE ASMARI FORMATION (OLIGOCENE-LOWER MIOCENE), DEZFUL EMBAYMENT, SW IRAN

Dolomitisation is an important factor controlling reservoir quality in the Asmari Formation in many producing fields in SW Iran. Dolostones have higher average porosities than limestones. Petrographic and geochemical studies have been used to determine the causes of Asmari dolomitisation at the Bibi Hakimeh and Marun fields and at the Khaviz anticline. The formation is generally characterized by a large‐scale trend of upward‐decreasing accommodation. Basal strata were deposited under relatively open‐marine, high‐energy conditions, whereas the Middle to Upper Asmari succession was deposited in relatively protected settings with more frequent evidence of exposure and evaporitic conditions. There is a general upward increase in the abundance of both anhydrite (occurring as nodules and cement) and dolomite. Two main types of dolomite fabric are recognised, reflecting the textures of the precursor limestones: (1) finely crystalline pervasive dolomite (commonly <20μ) replacing mud‐rich facies; and (2) combinations of finely crystalline replacive dolomite and surrounding areas of coarser dolomite cement (crystals up to 100μ) in grain‐supported facies. Fluid inclusion data indicate that finely crystalline dolomites formed at low temperatures (ca. <50°C), while the coarser dolomite formed at higher temperatures (50–;140°C). Whole rock‐carbonate oxygen and carbon isotope analyses of pure dolostone samples show no apparent correlation with either depositional or diagenetic textures: δ¹⁸O is generally 0 to 2.7‰ PDB, and δ¹³C is ?1 to 4‰ PDB. The importance of evaporated seawater to Asmari dolomitisation is indicated by the ubiquitous occurrence of felty‐textured anhydrite nodules in dolostone beds and the presence of high‐salinity fluid inclusions in dolomite. The derivation of dolomitising fluids from contemporaneous seawater is supported by the general correspondence between age estimates derived from the strontium isotope composition of anhydrites and dolomites and those derived from stratigraphic considerations. This suggested synsedimentary dolomitisation. Dolomitisation of the upper half of the Asmari Formation may have occurred as a result of two syn‐sedimentary mechanisms: (1) by the reflux of evaporative brines concentrated in shallow lagoons or sabkhas, through immediately underlying strata (mainly during highstands); and (2) by the flushing of platform‐top carbonates by basinal evaporated waters during lowstand/early transgression. Continued dolomitisation during deeper burial is supported by the presence of high‐temperature fluid inclusions and iron‐rich crystal rims. Dolomite within the lower part of the Asmari Formation probably mostly formed during burial as a result of compaction of, and fluid exclusion from, the underlying Pabdeh marls and shales.     

Word length and lexical activation: Longer is better.

Many models of spoken word recognition posit the existence of lexical and sublexical representations, with excitatory and inhibitory mechanisms used to affect the activation levels of such representations. Bottom-up evidence provides excitatory input, and inhibition from phonetically similar representations leads to lexical competition. In such a system, long words should produce stronger lexical activation than short words, for 2 reasons: Long words provide more bottom-up evidence than short words, and short words are subject to greater inhibition due to the existence of more similar words. Four experiments provide evidence for this view. In addition, reaction-time-based partitioning of the data shows that long words generate greater activation that is available both earlier and for a longer time than is the case for short words. As a result, lexical influences on phoneme identification are extremely robust for long words but are quite fragile and condition-dependent for short words. Models of word recognition must consider words of all lengths to capture the true dynamics of lexical activation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The use of Kachkanar raw materials in the smelting of conversion pig iron

The Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Combine has periodically used Kachkanar agglomerate to make conversion pig iron since 1972. Use of this material reached a peak in 1998, when it comprised an average of 27.1% of the charge. In some months, the amount of this material charged into the furnace reached highs of 45.6 and 74.1% on certain furnaces. The coolers on the iron notches of furnaces 4 and 5 burned during that year, the quality of the smelting products and the condition of the ladles rapidly deteriorated, and the smelting rate declined. No Kachkanar agglomerate was used in 2000–2001, but it was again added to the charge in February 2002. The amount used was smaller than previously, averaging 10.7% for the shop as a whole. It was determined that using a charge with 15% Kachkanar agglomerate has both positive and negative consequences. N. N. Gorshkov, A. V. Denisov, and V. Kh. Barinov also participated in this study. __________ Translated from Metallurg, No. 3, pp. 43–45, March, 2006.     

Atomistic simulations of grain boundary migration in copper

While the motion of twist boundaries can be readily studied by atomistic simulations with molecular dynamics (MD) under the action of an elastic driving force, the approach fails for tilt boundaries. This is due to the interaction of the elastic stress with the grain boundary (GB) structure, which causes plastic strain by GB sliding. A novel concept, the orientation correlated driving force, is introduced to circumvent this problem. It is shown that this concept can be successfully applied to the study of the migration of tilt boundaries. The migration behavior of several twist and tilt GBs was investigated. The transition from low-to high-angle boundaries can be captured, and a structural transition of tilt boundaries was found at high temperatures, which also affected the migration behavior. The results compare well with experimental results of the motion high-angle boundaries, but for low-angle boundaries, the agreement is poor. This article is based on a presentation made in the “Hillert Symposium on Thermodynamics & Kinetics of Migrating Interfaces in Steels and Other Complex Alloys,” December 2–3, 2004, organized by The Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden.     

Scalable phase extraction methods for phase plane motion estimation

To efficiently compute the phase difference (PD) between two complex numbers, two novel approaches are described. The problem of fast PD computation is central in many applications. As a case study, the main focus is on the phase correlation technique that is used for motion estimation. Starting from the problem statement, the system requirements are dealt with showing how PD requires a remarkable amount of computational resources. Reduced complexity techniques are then proposed and specifically tailored to suit the application needs. Each solution is completely implemented both in 0.25 mum as well as 0.13 mum CMOS. The so-called LUT-ROT exhibits noteworthy figures in terms of area occupation, delay and power dissipation, saving nearly 50% in terms of area and power when compared to recent work on this subject     

Reliable eye-diagram analysis of data links via device macromodels

This paper addresses the impact of device macromodels on the accuracy of signal integrity and performance predictions for critical digital interconnecting systems. It exploits nonlinear parametric models for both single-ended and differential devices, including the effects of power supply fluctuations and receiver bit detection. The analysis demonstrates that the use of well-designed macromodels dramatically speeds up the simulation as well it preserves timing accuracy even for long bit sequences.