Uncertainties in the determination of pyrrolizidine alkaloid levels in naturally contaminated honeys and comparison of results obtained by different analytical approaches

The contamination of honey with hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) is a well-known hazard for food safety. While management strategies and controls of the honey industry aim to reduce the PA levels, uncertainties remain with regard to the safety of regionally produced and marketed honey. In addition, a previous study showed large differences of results obtained after various periods of storage and apparent differences between the analytical results of different laboratories. Therefore, this study aimed at examining these uncertainties by monitoring the impact of storage on the PA and PA N-oxide (PANO) content of two freshly harvested honeys and on possible demixing effects caused by pollen settling. Additionally, three analytical approaches – target analysis with matrix-matched calibration or standard addition and a sum parameter method – were applied for a comparative analysis of 20 honeys harvested in summer 2016. All samples originated from Schleswig-Holstein in Northern Germany where the PA plant Jacobaea vulgaris is currently observed on a massive scale. The results of the time series analyses showed that PANO levels markedly decreased within a few weeks and practically reached the LOD 16 weeks after harvest. Tertiary PAs, by contrast, remained stable and did not increase as a consequence of PANO decrease. The experiments on a putative demixing, which may result in a heterogeneous distribution of PAs/PANOs, revealed that there was no such effect during storage of up to 12 weeks. A comparison of the PA/PANO levels obtained by different analytical approaches showed that in some cases the sum parameter method yielded much higher levels than the target approaches, whereas in other cases, the target analysis with standard addition found higher levels than the other two methods. In summary, the results of this study highlight uncertainties regarding the validity and comparability of analytical results and consequently regarding health risk assessment.     

基于神经网络算法的井下裂缝诊断与堵漏技术

在钻井过程中，常常钻遇不同宽度的井下地层裂缝。钻遇裂缝时容易发生钻井液漏失现象，甚至发生钻井液失返现象，严重影响了安全、高效钻井。目前裂缝封堵的方法常存在封堵成功率不高、堵漏承压能力低的问题，其中一个重要的原因是对井下地层的裂缝宽度等特征认识不清。基于地层裂缝产生的岩石力学机理，确定影响裂缝宽度关键的6个力学和工程因素，并利用神经网络计算的非线性、大数据特点建立了井下地层裂缝宽度的分析模型，模型包含输入层、输出层和3个隐藏层。通过该模型诊断井下裂缝宽度，提高了计算精度，平均误差仅为2.09%，最大误差为5.88%，解决钻井现场仅凭经验判断裂缝误差较大和依靠成像测井成本较高的问题。同时根据神经网络模型诊断得到的裂缝宽度优化堵漏材料的粒径配比，提高了裂缝内的架桥封堵强度和架桥的稳定性，封堵层的承压能力达到12.8 MPa，反向承压能力达到4.5 MPa。现场堵漏试验最高憋压10 MPa，经过封堵作业后大排量循环不漏，达到了裂缝性地层高效堵漏的目的，堵漏一次成功。      

Revisiting the Parallel Strategy for DOACROSS Loops

Journal of Computer Science and Technology - DOACROSS loops are significant parts in many important scientific and engineering applications, which are generally exploited pipeline/wave-front...     

The World robot summit disaster robotics category – achievements of the 2018 preliminary competition

The World Robot Summit is a robot Olympics and aims to be held in a different country every four years from 2020. The concept of the Plant Disaster Prevention challenge is daily inspections, checks, and emergency response in industrial plants, and in this competition, robots must carry out these types of missions in a mock-up plant. The concept of the Tunnel Disaster Response and Recovery challenge is emergency response to tunnel disasters, and is a simulation competition whereby teams compete to show their ability to deal with disasters, by collecting information and removing debris. The Standard Disaster Robotics challenge assesses, in the form of a contest, the standard performance levels of a robot that are necessary for disaster prevention and emergency response. The World Robot Summit Preliminary Competition was held at Tokyo Big Sight in October 2018, and 36 teams participated in the Disaster Robotics Category. UGVs and UAVs contended the merits of new technology for solving complex problems, using core technologies such as mobility, sensing, recognition, performing operations, human interface, autonomous intelligence etc., as well as system integration and implementation of strategies for completing missions, gaining high-level results.     

Potential for rice straw ethanol production in the Mekong Delta,Vietnam

This study is to evaluate the potential for development of a cellulosic ethanol facility in Vietnam. Rice straw is abundant in Vietnam and highly concentrated in the Mekong Delta, where about 26 Mt year⁻¹ of rice straw has been yearly produced. To minimize the overall production cost (PC) of ethanol from rice straw, it is crucial to choose the optimal facility size. The delivered cost of rice straw varied from 20.5 to 65.4 $ dry t⁻¹ depending on transportation distance. The Mekong Delta has much lower rice straw prices compared with other regions in Vietnam because of high density and quantity of rice straw supply. Thus, this region has been considered as the most suitable location for deploying ethanol production in Vietnam. The optimal plant size of ethanol production in the region was estimated up to 200 ML year⁻¹. The improvement in solid concentration of material in the hydrothermal pre-treatment step and using residues for power generation could substantially reduce the PC in Vietnam, where energy costs account for the second largest contribution to the PC, following only enzyme costs. The potential for building larger ethanol plants with low rice straw costs can reduce ethanol production costs in Vietnam. The current estimated production cost for an optimal plant size of 200 ML year⁻¹ was 1.19 $ L⁻¹. For the future scenario, considering improvements in pre-treatment, enzyme hydrolysis steps, specific enzyme activity, and applying residues for energy generation, the ethanol production cost could reduce to 0.45 $ L⁻¹ for a plant size of 200 ML year⁻¹ in Vietnam. These data indicated that the cost-competitiveness of ethanol production could be realized in Vietnam with future improvements in production technologies.     

HIGHER PLANT BIOMARKERS IN PALEOGENE CRUDE OILS FROM THE YUFUTSU OIL-AND GASFIELD AND OFFSHORE WILDCATS, JAPAN

Geochemical investigation of Paleogene oils from the onshore Yufutsu oil- and gasfield, southern Hokkaido, and from two nearby offshore wells, revealed the presence of numerous biomarkers of higher plant origin. Biomarkers in the oils belong to different groups of both angiosperm and gymnosperm origin; they include bicyclic sesquiterpanes, diterpanes, and triterpanes and their aromatized counterparts, which suggests a terrestrial origin for the oils. The oils were characterized as having a high wax content, a low content of organosulphur compounds, a high pristane/phytane ratio, and a low C₂₇/(C₂₇+C₂₉) sterane ratio.
Although the oils from on- and offshore Southern Hokkaido are similar in their geochemical composition, notable differences were observed in the biomarker signature of both saturate and aromatic fractions. The oils from the offshore wells appeared to have a greater abundance of higher plant biomarkers compared to those from the Yufutsu field, suggesting an enrichment in higher plant components. Differences in biomarker fingerprint could not be linked to the maturity effect, since the oils appeared to be of similar maturity levels, corresponding to the late stage of the oil window (0.9–1.2%, Rc). The differences in the biomarker signatures between the oils from the Yufutsu field and the offshore wells are likely to be due to facies variations in source organic matter, resulting from differences in the quantity and quality of land plant input.     

硫酸厂主鼓风机的主要设计准则

论述现代硫酸厂主鼓风机设计时必须考虑的关键因素，通过实例讨论操作费用与投资之间的平衡关系以及对装置竞争力的影响。建议在硫酸厂严酷的操作条件下改进风机特性，提高耐磨性并采用维修友好的设计。     

Performance of thermostatic and electronic valves controlling the compressor capacity

The performance of the energy consumption of an electronic valve and a classical thermostatic valve has been compared when these expansion valves are adopted in a vapour compression plant subjected to a cold store. The main aim is to verify experimentally which type of expansion valve would be preferable from energy point of view when a classical thermostat or a fuzzy logic algorithm are used as the control system for the refrigeration capacity. The fuzzy logic‐based control is able to modulate continuously the compressor speed through an inverter. The results show that with a fuzzy algorithm, the thermostatic expansion valve allows an energy saving of about 8% in comparison with the electronic valve. When on–off control is used, the electric energy consumption obtained both with the electronic valve and with the thermostatic valve is comparable. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

运行电站爆破震动控制研究

结合大渡河龚咀水电站下游河床整治爆破开挖拓宽，重点研究了爆破震动对运行电站机组及其仪表的影响，探讨了爆破震动安全判据和控制标准，用了若干实际工程采用的经验指标进行对比分析，所得结论意见可供同类工程作为爆震安全控制参考。     

毗邻铁路大动脉排架式厂房拆除爆破

文章介绍了运煤车间爆破拆除工程的设计、施工经过及防后座的措施，对于复杂爆破环境的建筑物拆除有一定参考意义。