Inverse solution for a biochemical heat source in a porous medium in the presence of natural convection

The inverse problem approach by conjugate gradient with adjoint equations is adapted to the context of a non-isothermal bioprocess, controlled by internal heat generation from microbial oxidation, as could be found in a composting reactor for instance, to determine the heat source from internal temperature measurements. The volumetric heat source is assumed proportional to the rate of consumption of a substrate by a biomass, as described by a Monod model. Computations are performed for Rayleigh numbers equal to 0.25 and 25, for a representative biochemical reaction under typical boundary conditions, for constant and temperature-dependent model parameters. The influence of noisy input data is also considered. It is found that good solutions can be obtained when heat release and diffusion occur over very different time scales. The variation of the model parameters with temperature must be taken into account, but single sensor solutions are possible at relatively small Rayleigh numbers when convection is present.     

Catalytic Degradation of Nitrobenzene and Aniline in Presence of Ozone by Magnesia from Natural Mineral

In this work, magnesia from natural brucite mineral has been used firstly for catalytic degradation of nitrobenzene and aniline in presence of ozone. Compared with single ozonation, the catalytic ozonation accelerated markedly the degradation of nitrobenzene and aniline. The influences of hydroxyl radical scavengers, pH values, and reaction temperatures on degradation were investigated. It was found that the essential of catalysis was the homogeneous catalysis of hydroxyl ions in water, which accelerated the generation of hydroxyl radicals. As a catalyst, magnesia from natural brucite has supplied an economical and feasible choice for catalytic ozonation of nitrobenzene and aniline in industrial wastewater.     

Evaluation of the performance of tight-UF membranes with respect to NOM removal using effective MWCO, molecular weight, and apparent diffusivity of NOM

Concepts for the effective MWCO of tight-UF membranes, and apparent diffusion coefficients for NOM, were introduced to determine the mechanisms influencing NOM removal and to explain the various behaviors of NOM removal by UF membranes with different hydrophobicities, permeability, and surface charges. Colloidal NOM (COM) and non-colloidal hydrophobic NOM (NCD HP) constituents were chosen for the evaluation of two different UF membranes. For a relatively hydrophobic, relatively high permeability, and less negatively charged UF membrane, the hydrophobic fractions of COM were preferentially removed and were also removed by a size exclusion mechanism (i.e., both hydrophobic interaction and size exclusion mechanisms). The NCD HP exhibited no such preferential removal of the hydrophobic fractions, but could be removed by a size exclusion mechanism (i.e., only size exclusion mechanism). With a relatively hydrophilic, relatively low permeability, and more negatively charged UF membrane, COM exhibited no preferential removal of the hydrophobic fractions, but could be removed by a size exclusion mechanism (i.e., only size exclusion mechanism). Whereas the hydrophobic fractions of the NCD HP were preferentially removed, these could not be removed by a size exclusion mechanism (i.e., only hydrophobic interaction mechanism). The apparent diffusion coefficients of NOM, as determined from NOM diffusion experiments using a diffusion cell equipped with a regenerated cellulose membrane, were much lower than those calculated by the Stokes-Einstein relation. The diffusion coefficient of NOM is expected to be used to predict and explain NOM transport behaviors in tight-UF membranes.     

Reforming of methane and coalbed methane over nanocomposite Ni/ZrO2 catalyst

Nanocomposite Ni/ZrO₂-AN catalyst consisting of comparably sized Ni metal and ZrO₂ nanoparticles is studied in comparison with zirconia- and alumina-supported Ni catalysts (Ni/ZrO₂-CP and commercial Ni/Al₂O₃-C) for steam reforming of methane (SRM) and for combined steam and CO₂ reforming of methane (CSCRM). The reactions are performed under atmospheric pressure with stoichiometric amounts of H₂O and CH₄ or (H₂O + CO₂) and CH₄ at 1073 K. Under a wide range of methane space velocity (gas hourly space velocity of methane GHSV_CH4 = 12,000–96,000 ml/(h g_cat.), the nanocomposite Ni/ZrO₂-AN catalyst always shows higher activity and stability for both SRM and CSCRM reactions. The two supported Ni catalysts (Ni/ZrO₂-CP and Ni/Al₂O₃-C) exhibit fairly stable catalysis under low GHSV_CH4 but they are easily deactivated under high GHSV_CH4 and become completely inactive when they are reacted for ca.100 h at GHSV_CH4 = 48,000 ml/(h g_cat.). The CSCRM reaction is carried out with different H₂O/CO₂ ratios in the reaction feed while keeping the molar ratio (H₂O + CO₂)/CH₄ = 1.0, the results prove that the nanocomposite Ni/ZrO₂-AN catalyst can be highly promising in enabling a catalytic technology for the production of syngas with flexible H₂/CO ratios (ca. H₂/CO = 1.0–3.0) to meet the requirements of various downstream chemical syntheses.     

一种基于自然最近邻的离群检测算法

任何涉及k近邻求解问题的算法被应用于处理不同特征的数据集时,参数k值的选择都会明显影响算法的性能和结果。因而,如何选择k近邻算法中敏感参数k值一直是一个研究难点。提出了一种新的近邻关系———自然最近邻,它不需要设置参数k,每个节点的邻居是由算法自适应计算而形成的。针对离群点检测的特殊性,通过确定自然最近邻居搜索算法的终止条件,提出一种基于自然最近邻的新的离群检测算法ODb3N。实验表明,该算法不仅避免了k近邻中参数的选择问题,而且能够更有效地发现离群簇。     

解析“自然叠加法”在建筑环境设计中的应用——以新镇区建筑环境设计为例

人与自然的关系不能仅停留在相互依赖的层面上,人类应借助自己的思想与智慧。主动的与自然和谐共处。并处理好为促进人类发展而进行的。对于自然环境局部必要的改造与利用。譬如在改造自然环境时,应尊重自然发展规律;在利用自然资源时。应考虑可持续发展等问题;在对建筑与环境的设计实践中,应找寻出可依据的自然规律,保护、尊重环境及科学、合理的利用自然。并以恰当的方式应用手设计实践,这就是文章的研究主旨。     

Preparation and characterization of natural rubber dispersed in nano-matrix

Preparation of a model nano-matrix-dispersed polymer was investigated in terms of graft-copolymerization of deproteinized natural rubber latex with styrene, using tert-butyl hydroperoxide/tetraethylenepentamine as an initiator. The products were characterized by ¹H-NMR spectroscopy and size-exclusion-chromatography after ozonolysis. The grafting efficiency of styrene was found to be more than 90% under the best condition of the graft-copolymerization. The morphology of the film specimens, prepared from graft-copolymers, was observed by transmission electron microscopy after staining the films with OsO₄. Natural rubber particle of about 0.5 μm in diameter was dispersed in polystyrene matrix of about 15 nm in thickness.     

室内化学污染与净化方法的探讨

分析了产生室内化学污染的原因。结合城市住宅和办公室的实际情况，指出了控制室内污染源是减轻室内化学污染的根本措施，进行室内自然通风和净化器净化的方法是减轻室内化学污染的有效措施。提出了活性炭吸附剂的改进建议。     

End-User Development of Mashups with NaturalMash

Context: The emergence of the long-tail in the market of software applications is shifting the role of end-users from mere consumers to becoming developers of applications addressing their unique, personal, and transient needs. On the Web, a popular form of such applications is called mashup, built out of the lightweight composition of Web APIs (reusable software components delivered as a service through the Web). To enable end-users to build mashups, there is a key problem that must be overcome: End-users lack programming knowledge as well as the interest to learn how to master the complex set of Web technologies required to develop mashups. End-User Development (EUD) is an emerging research field dealing with this type of problems. Its main goal is to design tools and techniques facilitating the development of software applications by non-programmers.Objective: The paper describes the design and evaluation of NaturalMash, an innovative EUD tool for mashups (a mashup tool). NaturalMash aims at enabling non-professional users without any knowledge of programming languages and skills to create feature-rich, interactive, and useful mashups.Methods: The design of NaturalMash adopts a formative evaluation approach, and has completed three design and evaluation iterations. The formative evaluations utilize usability testing, think aloud protocol, questionnaires, observation, and unstructured interviews. Additionally, we compare the expressive power of naturalmash with the state-of-the-art mashup tools.Results: The results from the formative evaluations helped us identify important usability problems. From an assessment point of view, the results were promising and sggested that the proposed tool has a short and gentle learning curve in a way that even non-programmers are able to rapidly build useful mashups. Also, the comparative evaluation results showed that NaturalMash offers a competitive level of expressive power compared with existing mashup tools targeting non-programmers.Conclusion: As the evaluation results indicate, NaturalMash provides a high level of expressive power while it is still highly usable by non-programmers. These suggest that we have successfully achieved the objective of the proposed tool, distinguishing it from existing mashup tools that are either too limited or highly specialized for non-professional users.     

无线传感器网络的路灯远程控制系统设计

本设计基于TI公司的CC2480/ZigBee开发系统,设计了无线控制平台,论证了网络的组成、软件流程以及节能模式,旨在提供一种基于ZigBee无线技术的城市路灯照明系统解决方案,从而设计出低成本、高效能、全自动化的城市照明系统。