Compositional changes in the hydrophobic acids fraction of drainage water from different land management practices

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) can play a key role in many environmental processes, including carbon cycling, nutrient transport and the fates of contaminants and of agrochemicals. Hydrophobic acids (Ho), the major components of the DOM, were recovered from the drainage waters from well-drained (WDS) and poorly-drained (PDS) Irish grassland soils in lysimeters, amended with N fertiliser (F) and with bovine urine (U) and were studied using 1D and 2D solution-state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The Diffusion Edited (DE) ¹H NMR spectra indicated that the Ho consisted largely of larger molecules, or of molecules that formed rigid aggregates, and the 1D and the 2D (Heteronuclear Multiple Quantum Coherence - HMQC, the Total Correlation Spectroscopy - TOCSY, and the Nuclear Overhauser Effect - NOESY) spectra indicated that the samples were composed of lignin residues, carbohydrates, protein/peptides, and aliphatic components derived from plant waxes/cuticular materials and from microbial lipids. The F amendments increased the concentrations of Ho in the waters by 1.5 and 2.5 times those in the controls in the cases of WDS and PDS, respectively. The lignin-derived components were increased by 50% and 300% in the cases of the Ho from the WDS and PDS, respectively. Applications of F + U decreased the losses of Ho, (compared to the F amendments alone) and very significantly decreased those of the lignin-derived materials, indicating that enhanced microbial activity from U gave rise to enhanced metabolism of the Ho components, and especially of lignin. In contrast the less biodegradable aliphatic components containing cuticular materials increased as the result of applications of F + U. This study helps our understanding of how management practices influence the movement of C between terrestrial and aquatic environments.     

Using Stochastic Differential Equation for Verification of Noise in Analog/RF Circuits

Today’s analog/RF design and verification face significant challenges due to circuit complexity, process variations and short market windows. In particular, the influence of technology parameters on circuits, and the issues related to noise modeling and verification still remain a priority for many applications. Noise could be due to unwanted interaction between the circuit elements or it could be inherited from the circuit elements. In addition, manufacturing disparity influence the characteristic behavior of the manufactured circuits. In this paper, we propose a methodology for modeling and verification of analog/RF designs in the presence of noise and process variations. Our approach is based on modeling the designs using stochastic differential equations (SDE) that will allow us to incorporate the statistical nature of noise. We also integrate the device variation due to 0.18μ m fabrication process in an SDE based simulation framework for monitoring properties of interest in order to quickly detect errors. Our approach is illustrated on nonlinear Tunnel-Diode and a Colpitts oscillator circuits.     

Response of Nd3+ and Sm3+ precipitating into rhabdophane and the leaching mechanism of associated monazite ceramics

Rhabdophane has been considered an important permeable reactive barrier to isolate groundwater radionuclides, and evaluating its precipitation response to different species of radionuclide in acid solutions is critical. In this work, the effects of pH values on the precipitation behavior of Nd³⁺ and Sm³⁺ into La-rhabdophane are systematically investigated. Some specific issues such as ions removal, precipitation reaction kinetics, and crystal growth affected ions incorporation are discussed in detail, along with uncovering the veil of the Ln (La, Nd, and Sm) leaching mechanism of associated La_0.666Nd_0.167Sm_0.167PO₄ monazite ceramic based on dissolution experiments and density functional theory. The results reveal that Nd³⁺ and Sm³⁺ can be removed more than 98% in pH = 1 solution within 12 h, whereas uneven precipitation process to form unexpected stoichiometric ratio of rhabdophane has been observed in 30–50 nm short crystal. Grain growth effects based on spark plasma sintering can contribute to homogenize the materials composition with obtaining La_0.666Nd_0.167Sm_0.167PO₄ monazite ceramics. Furthermore, the binding energy of Ln–O in (1 0 0) surface of monazite plays an important role in controlling the leaching stability of Ln³⁺, associated with the leaching activities are energetically favorable in the order of La > Nd > Sm for La_0.666Nd_0.167Sm_0.167PO₄ monazite.     

Taguchi method to optimize the micron and submicron size cenosphere particulates filled E‐glass fiber‐reinforced vinylester composites

In this work, the mechanical and tribological characteristics of E‐glass fiber‐reinforced vinylester composites have been investigated experimentally under dry sliding conditions. The E‐glass fiber‐reinforced vinylester composites with uniform micron and submicron size cenosphere particulates of three different sizes (2 µm, 900 nm, and 400 nm) had been prepared in the laboratory. In this work the effect of parameters such as applied normal load, particulate size, sliding speed, sliding distance and roughness on friction and wear behavior have been carried. A plan of experiments, based on the Taguchi design, was performed to acquire data in a controlled way. An orthogonal array L₂₇ (3¹³) and Analysis of variance (ANOVA) have been applied to investigate the influence of process parameters on the coefficient of friction (COF) and sliding wear behavior of these composites. It was found that the submicron size particulates 400 nm as filler contributed significantly to improve the mechanical properties and wear resistance of the composites. The experimental results indicate that the specific wear rate is greatly influenced by applied normal load and particle size. ANOVA results showed that the applied normal load significantly influence the specific wear rate of cenosphere filled glass fiber‐reinforced vinylester composites. Regression analysis is carried to check the suitability of the prediction equation and modeling of the wear parameters and the typical R² values for COF and specific wear rate are 86.7 and 94.3%, respectively. The scanning electron microscopy are used clarify the experimental in the frictional and wear testing. POLYM. COMPOS., 35:775–787, 2014. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Fatty Acids Released from Milk Fat by Lipoprotein Lipase and Lipolytic Psychrotrophs

ABSTRACT: The ability of 13 different strains of psychrotrophs to release free fatty acids in milk was evaluated by using GC analysis. The 13 strains could be categorized into 3 groups: Group 1 consisted of bacteria that grew well and released large quantities of free fatty acids, group 2 consisted of bacteria that grew well but released low amounts of free fatty acids, and group 3 consisted of bacteria that did not grow well nor released large quantities of fatty acids. In group 1, 3 strains were determined to be highly lipolytic, releasing short‐chain fatty acids in amounts greater than reported threshold values. Group 3 consisted of 2 strains, which did not grow well in heat‐treated milk, and the subsequent release of free fatty acids was minor during the 10‐d monitoring time. The other 8 strains tested showed no specific pattern of fatty acid release and quantities of short‐chain fatty acids were not large, despite the ability to grow to high numbers in the treated milk. This work indicates that the lipolytic activity of psychrotrophs common in raw milk is specific to the species and a general prediction of free fatty acid release may not be possible.     

Large-scale compressed hydrogen storage as part of renewable electricity storage systems

Storing energy in the form of hydrogen is a promising green alternative. Thus, there is a high interest to analyze the status quo of the different storage options. This paper focuses on the large-scale compressed hydrogen storage options with respect to three categories: storage vessels, geological storage, and other underground storage alternatives. In this study, we investigated a wide variety of compressed hydrogen storage technologies, discussing in fair detail their theory of operation, potential, and challenges. The analysis confirms that a techno-economic chain analysis is required to evaluate the viability of one storage option over another for a case by case. Some of the discussed technologies are immature; however, this does not rule out these technologies; rather, it portrays the research opportunities in the field and the foreseen potential of these technologies. Furthermore, we see that hydrogen would have a significant role in balancing intermittent renewable electricity production.     

An iterative approach to synthesize business process templates from compliance rules

Companies have to adhere to compliance requirements. The compliance analysis of business operations is typically a joint effort of business experts and compliance experts. Those experts need to create a common understanding of business processes to effectively conduct compliance management. In this paper, we present a technique that aims at supporting this process. We argue that process templates generated out of compliance requirements provide a basis for negotiation among business and compliance experts. We introduce a semi-automated and iterative approach to the synthesis of such process templates from compliance requirements expressed in Linear Temporal Logic (LTL). We show how generic constraints related to business process execution are incorporated and present criteria that point at underspecification. Further, we outline how such underspecification may be resolved to iteratively build up a complete specification. For the synthesis, we leverage existing work on process mining and process restructuring. However, our approach is not limited to the control-flow perspective, but also considers direct and indirect data-flow dependencies. Finally, we elaborate on the application of the derived process templates and present an implementation of our approach.     

Tunable TiO2 (anatase and rutile) materials manufactured by mechanical means

Anatase and rutile are two naturally found titanium dioxide phases with attractive dielectric, catalytic, and photo-catalytic characteristics. Anatase and rutile are photo-catalytically active in the UV region, since their band gaps are 3.2 eV and 3.75 eV, respectively. In this work is proposed a cost-effective, easy to launch methodology for modification of the TiO₂ bandgap. Such modifications will make the oxides photo-catalytically active in a wider optical range from the visible wavelengths to an extended UV spectrum. The proposed methodology is based on mechanical means such as mixing and milling. Various ratios of anatase:rutile were investigated and milled from 0 (mixing only) to 50 h using high energy mills. The results on mixing and milling show that it is possible to modify the bandgap of the TiO₂ from 2.53 eV to 4.04 eV. The characterization was conducted by means of X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, Scanning electron microscopy, and optical spectroscopy.     

Low-Mass WIMP Sensitivity and Statistical Discrimination of Electron and Nuclear Recoils by Varying Luke-Neganov Phonon Gain in Semiconductor Detectors

Amplifying the phonon signal in a semiconductor dark matter detector can be accomplished by operating at high voltage bias and converting the electrostatic potential energy into Luke-Neganov phonons. This amplification method has been validated at up to |E|=40 V/cm without producing leakage in CDMS?II Ge detectors, allowing sensitivity to a benchmark WIMP with mass M _χ =8 GeV/c² and σ=1.8×10^?42 cm² (with significant sensitivity for M _χ >2 GeV/c²) assuming flat electronic recoil backgrounds near threshold. Furthermore, for the first time we show that differences in Luke-Neganov gain for nuclear and electronic recoils can be used to discriminate statistically between low-energy background and a hypothetical WIMP signal by operating at two distinct voltage biases. Specifically, 99% of events have p-value <10^?8 for a simulated 20?kg-day experiment with a benchmark WIMP signal with M _χ =8 GeV/c² and σ=3.3×10^?41 cm².