Dissolution, sorption, and kinetics involved in systems containing explosives, water, and soil

Knowledge of explosives sorption and transformation processes is required to ensure that the proper fate and transport of such contaminants is understood at military ranges and ammunition production sites. Bioremediation of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX), and related nitroaromatic compounds has met with mixed success, which is potentially due to the uncertainty of how energetic compounds are bound to different soil types. This study investigated the dissolution and sorption properties of TNT and RDX explosives associated with six different soil types. Understanding the associations that explosives have with a different soil type assists with the development of conceptual models used for the sequestration process, risk analysis guidelines, and site assessment tools. In three-way systems of crystalline explosives, soil, and water, the maximum explosive solubility was not achieved due to the sorption of the explosive onto the soil particles and observed production of transformation byproducts. Significantly different sorption effects were also observed between sterile (gamma-irradiated) and nonsterile (nonirradiated) soils with the introduction of crystalline TNT and RDX into soil-water systems.     

Control of Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat meats containing sodium levulinate, sodium lactate, or a combination of sodium lactate and sodium diacetate

ABSTRACT:  This study investigated the use of sodium levulinate to prevent outgrowth of Listeria monocytogenes in refrigerated ready-to-eat (RTE) meat products. Turkey breast roll and bologna were formulated to contain 1%, 2%, or 3% (w/w) sodium levulinate, 2% sodium lactate, a 2% combination of sodium lactate and sodium diacetate (1.875% sodium lactate and 0.125% sodium diacetate), or no antimicrobial (control). Samples of the RTE products were sliced, inoculated with 10² to 10³ CFU/cm² of a 5-strain cocktail of L. monocytogenes , vacuum packaged, and stored at refrigeration temperature for 0 to 12 wk. Counts reached 10⁸ CFU/cm² on control turkey roll product after 8 wk, and over 10⁷ CFU/cm² on control bologna after 12 wk. Addition of 2% or more sodium levulinate to turkey roll and 1% or more sodium levulinate to bologna completely prevented growth of L. monocytogenes during 12 wk of refrigerated storage. A consumer taste panel with pathogen-free samples found no differences in the overall liking among the preparations of turkey roll or among preparations of bologna. These results show that sodium levulinate is at least as effective at inhibiting outgrowth of L. monocytogenes in RTE meat products as the current industry standards of lactate or lactate and diacetate, and levulinate addition does not alter the overall liking of the RTE meat products.     

Using Landscape Characteristics for Targeting Habitat Conservation and Restoration: A case study of ancient semi-natural woodland in the Chiltern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty,UK

Ancient semi-natural deciduous woodland is a rare and threatened habitat cited by the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC). Current protection of this endangered habitat in the UK takes the form of site-specific reserve designations but, if the habitat is to be conserved and enhanced, a landscape-scale selective targeting system is required. In the absence of suitable species data, physical attributes of habitat patches are used as surrogate indicators of biodiversity. Using a land-use database held on a geographical information system, values of four abiotic criteria (patch area, patch shape, nearest-neighbour distance and surrounding land use) of 48 ancient semi-natural woodland patches in part of the Chiltern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty were calculated. In order to validate the findings, three lists of floral and faunal species, indicative of ancient semi-natural woodland, were compiled, and the patches ranked according to their alpha diversity using each list. Spearman's rank correlation coefficients were calculated for patch alpha diversity and patch area (0.322 to 0.482), patch shape (0.275 to 0.465) and nearest-neighbour distance ( - 0.092 to - 0.223). Multiple regression indicated that between 15 and 22% of the variation in alpha patch diversity was explained by the abiotic factors. It is suggested that spatial targeting at the landscape scale is a valuable approach to habitat conservation.     

Parameter estimation and screening of solar cells

The aggregation (sorting) of the individual solar cells into an array is commonly based on a single operating point on the current-voltage (I-V) characteristic curve. an alternative approach for cell performance prediction and cell screening is provided by modelling the cell using an equivalent electrical circuit, in which the parameters involved are related to the physical phenomena in the device. These analytical models may be represented by a double exponential I-V characteristic with seven parameters, by a double exponential model with five parameters or by a single exponential equation with four or five parameters. In this article we address issues concerning methodologies for the determination of solar cell parameters based on measured data points of the I-V characteristic, and introduce a procedure for screening solar cells for arrays. We show that common curve-fitting techniques, e.g. least-squares, may produce many combinations of parameter values while maintaining a good fit between the fitted and measured I-V characteristics of the cell. Therefore, techniques relying on curve-fitting criteria alone cannot be used directly for cell parameterization. We propose a consistent procedure that takes into account the entire set of parameter values for a batch of cells. This procedure is based on a definition of a mean cell representing the batch, and takes into account the relative contribution of each parameter to the overall goodness of fit. the procedure is demonstrated on a batch of 50 silicon cells for Space Station Freedom.     

Characteristics of Bi-metallic Interfaces Formed During Direct Energy Deposition Additive Manufacturing Processing

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B - Various additive manufacturing processes are being evaluated to reduce the time and cost for fabrication of low volume, complex, and multifunctional...     

Characterization of plasma electrolytic oxidation coatings on Zircaloy-4 formed in different electrolytes with AC current regime

Plasma electrolytic oxidation was undertaken on Zircaloy-4 in alkaline silicate and pyrophosphate electrolytes, with a square waveform AC current regime. The resultant coatings were examined using scanning electron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and nanoindentation. The coatings formed in silicate electrolyte comprised mainly a porous inner layer and a more compact outer layer, with characteristic solidification structures being evident following prolonged treatment. The coatings contained monoclinic and tetragonal ZrO₂, the latter being mainly present in the outer layer, which was of hardness up to ∼8 GPa. In contrast, extensively cracked coatings resulted from use of pyrophosphate electrolyte; the coating integrity was improved by the addition of silicate to the pyrophosphate electrolyte. The different morphologies of the coatings appeared to be related to the differing nature of the microdischarges and to the incorporation of silicon species that enhanced the formation of t-ZrO₂.     

Quantification in positron emission mammography (PEM) with planardetectors: contrast resolution measurements using a custom breastphantom and novel spherical hot-spots

The authors have previously demonstrated that their Positron Emission Mammography-1 (PEM-1) system can successfully detect small (<2 cm diameter) tumors. Images in the current system are judged qualitatively for the presence of focal uptake of ¹⁸F-FDG. The authors are presently taking steps toward quantifying the emission images. To this end they have constructed a breast phantom and developed a novel technique for fabricating very small wall-less radioactive hot-spots. The hot-spots are made by adding ¹⁸F-FDG to a 25 mg/cc solution of Agarose in water. The heated solution is poured into spherical molds which are separated upon congealing to yield robust wall-less radioactive hot-spots. The hot-spots were uniform to within 1-5 parts in 100. Less than 0.1% of the total hot-spot activity leaked into the background in 30 minutes. Contrast resolution experiments have been performed with 12 mm and 16 mm diameter hot-spots in the breast phantom containing water with various amounts of background activity. In both cases, the observed contrast values agree well with the ideal values. In the case of the 12 mm hot-spot with a 350-650 keV energy window, image contrast differed from the ideal by an average of 11%. The image contrast for 12 mm hot-spot improved by 40% and the number of detected events decreased by 35% when the low energy threshold was increased from 300 keV to 450 keV     

Exploring the biomechanics of walking and crowd “flow”

Crowd movement simulation models are generally based on aggregated speed and flow data collected more than 50 years ago. There appears to be no validated modelling capability to include the impact of recent and future changes in population demographics, resulting from an ageing population and increasing obesity rates. New analytical approaches and data gathering are required to successfully model crowd movement and safety for current and future generations. This study carried out (a) a review of the primary components of crowd movement, demographics and analytical techniques, (b) prototype experiments to investigate age-related aspects of space and potential points of contact and (c) a new predictive model for crowd flow analysis based on pedestrian biomechanics and anthropometric data. The model uses the physical space taken up by the biomechanical walking process and the spatial buffer between points of potential contact with other pedestrians to predict the speed of movement at different levels of congestion. The new analytical model was used to predict single file speeds (for people with different demographics in congested space), which compared well with published experimental data. The next steps for model development for wider “flows” and additional experiments to provide data sets for wider demographics are also proposed.     

Long wavelength GRIN-SCH MQW lasers incorporating graded GaAlInAs confinement layers

We report the growth and characterisation of the first GaAllnAs based GRIN-SCH MQW lasers operating at 1.3 and 1.6μm. In these devices, GaAllnAs barriers and either GalnAs or GaAllnAs wells have been used for the 1.6 and 1.3μm lasers, respectively, together with true continuously graded composition GaAlInAs regions for the confinement layers. The excellent structural quality of the active and confinement regions and control of wavelength uniformity has been confirmed. Buried ridge lasers fabricated from the GRIN-SCH MQW wafers lased at 1.3 and 1.6μm with CW threshold currents of 65 and 30 mA, respectively.