Colloid‐in‐Liquid Crystal Gels that Respond to Biomolecular Interactions

This paper advances the design of stimuli‐responsive materials based on colloidal particles dispersed in liquid crystals (LCs). Specifically, thin films of colloid‐in‐liquid crystal (CLC) gels undergo easily visualized ordering transitions in response to reversible and irreversible (enzymatic) biomolecular interactions occurring at the aqueous interfaces of the gels. In particular, LC ordering transitions can propagate across the entire thickness of the gels. However, confinement of the LC to small domains with lateral sizes of ～10 μm does change the nature of the anchoring transitions, as compared to films of pure LC, due to the effects of confinement on the elastic energy stored in the LC. The effects of confinement are also observed to cause the response of individual domains of the LC within the CLC gel to vary significantly from one to another, indicating that manipulation of LC domain size and shape can provide the basis of a general and facile method to tune the response of these LC‐based physical gels to interfacial phenomena. Overall, the results presented in this paper establish that CLC gels offer a promising approach to the preparation of self‐supporting, LC‐based stimuli‐responsive materials.     

Possible application of biohydrogen technologies as electricity sources in Indonesian remote areas

A prototype system for hydrogen gas production from a biological system of facultative fermentation has been applied for electricity power supply. The prototype was designed for application in remote or isolated areas in Indonesia. The fermentation system, which was designed to be as simple as possible, includes the preparation of the microbial seed, the substrate material, the vessel and other required equipment, gas capture and purification, a converter, and transportation. The model experiment in the field undergoes several modifications depending on the biomass sources in the actual location, i.e., some areas have agroforestry, sugarcane, soy sauce and palm sugar wastes. The light intensity and temperature followed the natural conditions. The results indicated that a cultivation scale of 5–25 L per substrate does not affect the result, i.e., a hydrogen production of approximately 60–70% of the total gas produced. The hydrogen gas produced was converted into electricity sources to power fans and house lamps. However, the hydrogen power is not yet sustainable due to the batch fermentation system, the biomass supply and the local electrical system, which is conventional (not a grid system). We propose to merge the electrical system in those areas, i.e., combining the source of electrical power from wind, solar, biomass, ocean current and fossil fuel-based generators. The model of the electricity pool system is important for Indonesia because, geographically, Indonesia consists of more than seventeen thousand islands, where the electricity supply remains unstable.     

Enhanced Natural Gas and Condensate Recovery by Carbon Dioxide and Methane Flooding

Abstract

The authors quantitatively investigates the recovery efficiency, pattern behavior, and relative permeability of (a) condensate following supercritical carbon dioxide (CO₂) injection, methane (CH₄) injection, and the injection of their mixtures; and (b) natural gas of various compositions following pure supercritical CO₂ injection. A high-pressure high-temperature experimental laboratory was established to simulate reservoir conditions and to perform relative permeability measurements on sandstone cores. This work is part of an integrated enhanced natural gas and condensate recovery project conducted for a local reservoir in Western Australia. This data will help the operators develop operational and design strategies for their present and future EOR projects.     

Nicotinamide Effectively Suppresses Fusarium Head Blight in Wheat Plants

Pyridine nucleotides such as a nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) are known as plant defense activators. We previously reported that nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) enhanced disease resistance against fungal pathogen Fusarium graminearum in barley and Arabidopsis. In this study, we reveal that the pretreatment of nicotinamide (NIM), which does not contain nucleotides, effectively suppresses disease development of Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) in wheat plants. Correspondingly, deoxynivalenol (DON) mycotoxin accumulation was also significantly decreased by NIM pretreatment. A metabolome analysis showed that several antioxidant and antifungal compounds such as trigonelline were significantly accumulated in the NIM-pretreated spikes after inoculation of F. graminearum. In addition, some metabolites involved in the DNA hypomethylation were accumulated in the NIM-pretreated spikes. On the other hand, fungal metabolites DON and ergosterol peroxide were significantly reduced by the NIM pretreatment. Since NIM is relative stable and inexpensive compared with NMN and NAD, it may be more useful for the control of symptoms of FHB and DON accumulation in wheat and other crops.     

Photofermentative hydrogen production using Rhodobium marinum from bagasse and soy sauce wastewater

A marine photosynthetic bacterial consortium was studied for its capability of hydrogen production using treated soy sauce wastewater and bagasse as a sole carbon source. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) profiles showed that the dominant bacterium in the bacterial consortium was Rhodobium marinum. The effects of treatments of soy sauce wastewater were tested for hydrogen production. The feedstock treatments included dilution, sterilization, neutralization and by adding sodium bicarbonate and yeast extract. The maximal cumulative hydrogen production was achieved up to 200 ± 67 mL H₂ in the medium containing soy sauce and 41 ± 16 mL H₂ from the hydrolyzed bagasse as substrate.     

A New Optimization Technique in Massive MIMO and LSAS using Hybrid Architecture and Channel Estimation Algorithm for 5G Networks

Wireless Personal Communications - Massive Multiple Input Multiple Output (m-MIMO) or Large Scale Antenna System (LSAS) is the latest version of cellular network technology with the purpose to send...     

The Impact of Pore Pressure on CO2-Methane Displacement

Abstract

The intricate behavior of carbon dioxide at supercritical conditions is considered to influence the ultimate recovery of additional hydrocarbon reserves through the application of CO₂-enhanced gas recovery projects. Mixing in such a system is a diffusion-like process, which definitely depends on the physical properties of the displacing and displaced phases and the heterogeneity of the medium. The authors' aim was to experimentally investigate the consequence of pore pressure on the recovery efficiency and multiphase gas flow in a reservoirs porous medium. The displacement tests were carried out at five different pore pressures ranging from 10.34 to 40.68 MPa, temperature of 433.15 K, and displacement rate of 10 cm/hr. Results determined that improved recovery by approximately 40% can be obtained by applying the highest pore pressure in comparison with the test conducted at low pore pressure.