A comprehensive study on co2-interphase mass transfer in vertical cocurrent and countercurrent gas-liquid flow

Cocurrent and countercurrent absorption and desorption of CO₂ in water was investigated in tall bubble columns (length 440 and 720 cm, diameter 15 and 20 cm, respectively). Operating conditions were applied which provided for high interphase mass transfer rates. Under these circumstances the relative gas holdup varies considerably with axial position whereas the mean bubble diameter measured at two points was found to be approximately constant. The measured data permit the calculation of local values of interfacial areas, superficial gas velocities, and frequency factors for bubble coalescence and break up. A dispersion model which takes into account the hydrostatic head and a variable gas velocity was applied to describe the measured concentration profiles in both phases. If increased mass transfer coefficients at the column bottom and measured local values of the hold up were used a striking agreement between experimental and predicted profiles could be obtained. The findings lead to a more sophisticated picture of the complex behaviour of gas-liquid dispersions at high interphase mass transfer rates.     

Universal variable length coding for an integrated approach to image coding

We propose a new entropy coding scheme, denoted in this paper as the UVLC (universal variable length coding). It is universal in the sense that its efficiency is close to one for a large class of images. The UVLC, when it is applied to block orthogonal transforms, processes groups of blocks at the bit level, using universal codes designed for binary memoryless sources. It can be used for every video coding application, from high definition TV (HDTV) to high quality videotelephony (above 2 Mbit/s) for transform or subband coding. Last but not least, its implementation is very regular and can be realized in a single chip for the encoding oftv at theccir 601 format.     

Coordinate descent with arbitrary sampling I: algorithms and complexity†

We study the problem of minimizing the sum of a smooth convex function and a convex block-separable regularizer and propose a new randomized coordinate descent method, which we call ALPHA. Our method at every iteration updates a random subset of coordinates, following an arbitrary distribution. No coordinate descent methods capable to handle an arbitrary sampling have been studied in the literature before for this problem. ALPHA is a very flexible algorithm: in special cases, it reduces to deterministic and randomized methods such as gradient descent, coordinate descent, parallel coordinate descent and distributed coordinate descent—both in nonaccelerated and accelerated variants. The variants with arbitrary (or importance) sampling are new. We provide a complexity analysis of ALPHA, from which we deduce as a direct corollary complexity bounds for its many variants, all matching or improving best known bounds.     

Photoacoustic technique for simultaneous measurements of thermal effusivity and absorptivity of pigments in liquid solution

A photoacoustic (PA) methodology, in the transmission configuration, for simultaneous measurements of thermal effusivity and molar absorption coefficient (absorptivity) for pigments in liquid solution is introduced. The analytical treatment involves a self-normalization procedure for the PA signal, as a function of the modulation frequency, for a strong absorbing material in the thermally thin regime, when the light travels across the sample under study. Two fitted parameters are obtained from the analysis of the self-normalized PA amplitude and phase, one of them proportional to the sample's optical absorption coefficient and from which, taking it for a series of samples at different concentrations, the pigment's absorptivity in liquid solution can be measured, the other one yields the sample's thermal effusivity. Methylene blue's absorptivity in distilled water was measured with this methodology at 658 nm, finding good agreement with the corresponding one reported in the literature.     

Efficient wavelet-based ECG processing for single-lead FHR extraction

This paper describes a novel model for fetal heart rate (FHR) monitoring from single-lead mother?s abdomen ECG (AECG) measurements. This novel method is divided in two stages: the first step consists on a one-step wavelet-based preprocessing for simultaneous baseline and high-frequency noise suppression, while the second stage efficiently detects fetal QRS complexes allowing FHR monitoring. The presented structure has been simplified as much as possible, in order to reduce computational cost and thus enable possible custom hardware implementations. Moreover, the proposed scheme and its fixed-point modeling have been tested using real abdominal ECG signals, which allow the validation of the presented approach and provide high accuracy.     

The vehicle routing problem with restricted mixing of deliveries and pickups

The vehicle routing problem with deliveries and pickups is one of the main problems within reverse logistics. This paper focuses on an important assumption that divides the literature on the topic, namely the restriction that all deliveries must be completed before pickups can be made. A generalised model is presented, together with a mathematical formulation and its resolution. The latter is carried out by adopting a suitable implementation of the reactive tabu search metaheuristic. Results show that significant savings can be achieved by allowing a mixture of delivery and pickup loads on-board and yet not incurring delays and driver inconvenience.     

P distribution in different sediment fraction of a constructed wetland

The aim of this work was to study the accumulation and fractionation of P in the inlet and outlet sediment of a constructed wetland for the wastewater treatment of a metallurgic plant in Argentina. It was important to predict whether P could be released into the water again by changing environmental conditions or retained over time. P-fractionation was performed using a sequential extraction method. Sediment cores were sliced at depths of: 0-3; 3-7 and 7-10 cm. Sediment showed high pH values and anoxic conditions. In the inlet area, P was principally bound to the carbonate fraction, whereas in the outlet area, it was mainly bound in the residual fraction. This behavior was justified by the effluent composition, which is rich in Ca2+ and Fe3+ and presents high values of pH and conductivity. These conditions favor CaCO3 and Fe(OOH)n precipitation and the subsequent sorption of P to their surface. The sediment active layer involved in the exchange reactions was the superficial one (0-3 cm). The wetland is highly efficient in P retention. P was retained by sediment in fractions that will not release it to the water while chemical and environmental conditions of the system are maintained.     

Distributed Latency-Energy Minimization and interference avoidance in TDMA Wireless Sensor Networks

This paper presents Latency-Energy Minimization Medium Access (LEMMA), a new TDMA-based MAC protocol for Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), specially suited to extend the lifetime of networks supporting alarm-driven, delay-sensitive applications characterized by convergecast traffic patterns and sporadic traffic generation. Its cascading time-slot assignment scheme conciliates low end-to-end latency with a low duty-cycle, while supporting multi-sink WSN topologies. Unlike most of the current solutions, LEMMA’s time-slot allocation protocol makes decisions based on the interference actually experienced by the nodes, instead of following the simple but potentially ineffective n-hop approach. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the ineffectiveness of the n-hop time-slot allocation in comparison with LEMMA, as well as to evaluate the performance of LEMMA against L-MAC, T-MAC and Low Power Listening. The results show that under the target scenario conditions, LEMMA presents lower interference between assigned time-slots and lower end-to-end latency, while matching its best contender in terms of energy-efficiency.