The Fermi energy and the enthalpy of mixing

In this paper we describe a new function to determine the number of electrons transferred by alloying. H_F, the new function proposed, is given by the difference of the partial enthalpies of the two constituents, i.e. H_F = h(i) - h(j) - h(i)^o and is called the Fermi enthalpy. It is retrieved from data calorimetrically measured. In some way, it describes the change in the enthalpic part of the Fermi energy on alloying. This function is determined for Pd + Ga, Pd + In, Ni + Ga, Ni + In, Pt + In, Au + Al and Ag + Al. The corresponding number of electrons transferred is calculated on stoichiometric considerations.     

A lakewide survey of Asian clam (Corbicula fluminea) distribution at warmwater discharges in Lake Michigan

The Asian clam Corbicula fluminea is among the most prolific aquatic invaders in the world; but in colder mid-latitude areas, like the Laurentian Great Lakes, their population expansion has likely been limited by poor overwinter survival. In these areas, Asian clams are typically found in thermal refugia like warmwater discharges from industrial facilities. We sought to identify the current extent of Asian clam populations in Lake Michigan and waters immediately adjacent to it, specifically at locations most likely to harbor overwintering populations – industrial warmwater discharges. During April–May 2017, we surveyed 17 locations around Lake Michigan. Evidence of Asian clam populations was found at four sites, though live specimens (n?=?3) were only found at the Indiana Harbor Ship Canal in East Chicago, IN. Shells or fragments of shells were found at Green Bay, WI, Waukegan, IL, and Port Sheldon, MI. Our findings indicate that although Asian clams are present in Lake Michigan, they are relatively rare, and remain isolated to a few small pockets of over-wintering habitat.     

Performance of a multi-slit packed bed microstructured reactor in the synthesis of methanol: Comparison with a laboratory fixed-bed reactor

The performance of a multi-slit Integrated Micro Packed Bed Reactor-Heat Exchanger (IMPBRHE) for methanol synthesis from synthesis gas over Cu/ZnO/support commercial catalyst was experimentally investigated from a reaction engineering perspective. Through establishment of a systematic comparison strategy, performance comparison with a laboratory scale tubular Fixed-Bed Reactor (FBR) with three different dilution ratios was made to evaluate the IMPBRHE. The productivity, thermal behavior, activity of body materials, pressure drop and residence time distribution (RTD) of the two reactor types were investigated. The IMPBRHE outperformed the undiluted FBR and gave CO conversions comparable to the diluted FBRs. The main difference is ascribed to superior heat exchange properties of the IMPBRHE, which can improve reactor performance for an exothermic reaction such as methanol synthesis. The results reveal advantages of the IMPBRHE for robust scale up.     

Enthalpies of formation of liquid and solid (gallium + palladium) alloys

The enthalpies of formation of liquid (Ga + Pd) alloys were determined by direct reaction calorimetry in the temperature range 1322 <T/K < 1761 and the molar fraction range 0 <x _Pd < 0.87. The enthalpies are very negative with a minimum Δ_mix H _m = −70.4 ± 3.0 kJ mol_-1 atx _Pd = 0.6, independent of the temperature. Limiting partial molar enthalpies of palladium and gallium were calculated as Δh _m (Ga liquid in ∞liquid Pd) = −265 ± 10 kJ mol₋₁ and Δh _m (Pd liquid in ∞liquid Ga) = -144 ± 5 kJ mol₋₁. The integral molar enthalpy is given by Δ_mix H _m =x(1-x) (-143.73 -232.47x + 985.77x ²-4457.8.x ³ + 6161.1x ⁴ + 2577.4x ⁵), wherex = x _Pd. Moreover, values for the enthalpies of formation and fusion of PdGa, Pd₂Ga, and the solid solution (withx _Pd = 0.8571) have been proposed. These results have been discussed taking into account the equilibrium phase diagram. Formerly Ph.D. student, Université de Provence     

The limiting molar partial enthalpies of mixing of iron, cobalt, nickel, palladium and platinum in liquid gallium and indium

Gallium and indium have been used as solvents for the determination of the molar partial enthalpy of mixing Δ_mixh_m^o(TM, Ga or In) (denoting liquid transition metal (TM) in infinite liquid gallium or indium) of the pure liquid transition metals Fe, Co, Ni, Pd and Pt by direct reaction calorimetry between 1000 K and 1500 K with the exception of Δ_mixh_m^o(Fe, In) (because of the shape of its equilibrium phase diagram). All the limiting enthalpies listed below refer to the liquid state. With pure gallium as solvent, they correspond to the reaction

TM(liq) − nGa(liq) → TM₁Ga_n(liq)

at the experimental temperature T_e, with n 1.

1. (i) Δ_mixh_m^o in gallium is found for Fe, Co, Ni, Pd and Pt to be −2, −44, −82, −144 and −155 kJ mol⁻¹.

2. (ii) Δ_mixh_m^o in indium is found for Co, Ni, Pd and Pt to be +28, −25, −127 and −114 kJ mol⁻¹.

In both solvents, these limiting enthalpies vary with a similar trend. This observation makes it possible to predict the limiting molar partial enthalpy Δ_mixh_m^o(Fe, In) of mixing of iron in indium as +70 kJ mol⁻¹. The results have been compared with the data proposed by Miedema and co-workers.     

Modeling and Simulation of an Integrated Micro Packed Bed Reactor-Heat Exchanger Configuration for Direct Dimethyl Ether Synthesis

The application of an integrated micro packed bed reactor-heat exchanger for highly exothermic syngas conversion to dimethyl ether was investigated by numerical simulation. A three-dimensional pseudo-homogeneous model was developed to describe concentration and temperature distributions inside a single reaction slit. The model was adopted at low Reynolds numbers (small catalyst particles and long residence times). The simulation results reveal that the micro packed reaction slit is close to isothermal, and a negligible temperature gradient is predicted also for a doubling of the critical reaction slit dimension, i.e. the reaction slit height. The flow in the reaction slit was modelled by Brinkman??s equation and it was found that the pressure drop in wide range of gas velocity was not significant. The reactor simulation showed good agreement with experimental results and could be further developed to assess the potential of microstructured packed bed reactors to intensify large-scale industrial processes.     

Implementation of management recommendations in unweaned dairy calves in western Germany and associated challenges

To improve the welfare of livestock, it is important to assess management practices on farms and to identify areas where current scientific recommendations are rarely implemented. Differences in the implementation of recommendations might be explained by the individual farm as well as the characteristics of survey respondents and their attitude toward animal welfare. Hence, the aim of this study was to assess dairy calf management practices, compare them with current scientific recommendations, and to explore factors that influence implementation of the recommended management practices. A 1.5-h interview was performed with stockpersons on 42 dairy farms (mean herd size ± SD = 149.9 ± 16.6 cows) distributed across western Germany in 2018 to 2019. We observed that the management of unweaned calves varied greatly from farm to farm in aspects such as milk-feeding protocols; timing of grouping and disbudding; and access to water, roughage, and concentrate. Major deviations from management recommendations were (1) cleaning calving pen only by removal of bedding without a following disinfection before restocking on 23.8% farms, cleaning of teat buckets without detergents and disinfection (23.8 and 11.9% of farms, respectively), and failure to disinfect navels (29.3% of farms); (2) separating calf and dam after only 5 to 8 h postpartum for calving at night in 97.6% farms and unchecked colostrum quality by 23.8% of survey respondents; (3) feeding waste milk by 72.4% of the farms surveyed; and (4) removing supernumerary teats and disbudding without local anesthesia (90 and 80% farms surveyed, respectively). The number of implemented recommendations on the farms surveyed correlated with who was responsible for calf rearing, and whether prioritizing animal welfare was considered important by the respondents. This study indicated that limitations of individual housing systems, time management, the stockperson's knowledge, and the stockperson's ability to relate to animals posed challenges in implementation of the recommendations. Further research on challenges in calf management and how to overcome them would be helpful to improve calves' welfare in current husbandry systems.     

System Concept and Simulation Model for a Proposed Class of Delay-Tolerant Variably-Priced Network Services

We describe a system concept for therevenue-producing disposition of surplus capacity atoff-peak times in real trunking networks. The idea is toapproximate a competitive market for distribution of the networks' time-varying excess capacity with apricing strategy controlled by the network. The schemeis intended to allow network operators to stimulatebackground traffic loads to gain new revenues from otherwise idle time on existing installedresources. The concept is suitable for low prioritydelay-tolerant or opportunistic applications such asremote backups, software distribution, dispatchingbatched faxes, disseminating newsgroup updates,updating web page caches or routing tables. Backgroundservice subscribers are notified of price reductions atoff-peak times to elicit additional traffic for the network. Traffic aggregators act on behalf ofsubscribing organizations or groups of users. Thebackground service is completely subordinate to theconventional tariff-priced on-demand calling services and the variable background pricing merges withthe foreground under suitable total load. This paperfocuses on the network problem of price setting tocontinually maximize the price-volume product in a time-varying price-sensitive trafficenvironment such as this concept implies. Aprice-stimulated offered traffic environment issimulated in which time of day, price, and hidden demandlatency and demand curve characteristics all affect the offeredtraffic. An analytically optimum strategy is availablefor the particular traffic model used and theperformance of a fuzzy logic price controller is tested against the revenue-optimal strategy. Dependingon econometric assumptions for latent traffic demand andprice-volume curves, increases in revenue from 4%-20%are obtained in simulation of a 30-trunk group having a typical daily load pattern.     

Parathyroid hormone-induced dopamine turnover in the rat medial basal hypothalamus

The parathyroid hormone (PTH) gene is expressed and translated in the rat hypothalamus, and the possibility that PTH may modulate neural activity was therefore examined in anesthetized rats. Intracerebroventricular (ICV) injections of 1.0 or 10.0 micrograms rat, human, or bovine PTH(1-34) was followed 60 min later by increased concentrations of DOPAC (dihydroxyacetic acid) and the DOPAC:dopamine (DA) ratio in the medial basal hypothalamus (MBH), but not in other (brainstem, cerebral cortex, cerebellum) regions of the brain. Tissue concentrations of norepinephrine and serotonin were unchanged by ICV PTH administration, although MBH concentrations of 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid (5-HIAA) were increased following PTH administration. An increase in MBH DA turnover (as indicated by an increased DOPAC:DA ratio) was also induced by the ICV injection of 10 micrograms PTH-related protein [PTHrP(1-34)]. Pretreatment with the receptor antagonists PTH(7-34) or PTHrP(7-34) completely blocked the subsequent DOPAC response to ICV PTH or PTHrP, respectively. The DOPAC concentrations in hypothalamic extracellular fluid (ECF), sampled by microdialysis, were also increased within 20 min of PTH(1-34) perfusion, in the absence of changes in the ECF concentrations of 5-HIAA. These results demonstrate that PTH and PTH-like peptides specifically increase DA turnover in the rat MBH and suggest novel roles for these hormones in neural regulation.