Simultaneous biohydrogen production and wastewater treatment based on the selective enrichment of the fermentation ecosystem

Biohydrogen production from synthetic wastewater as substrate was studied in anaerobic small scale batch reactors. Enriched anaerobic mixed consortia sampled from various environments were used as parent inocula to start the bioreactors. Selective enrichments were achieved by various physical and chemical pretreatments and changes in the microbial communities were monitored by metagenomic and molecular diagnostics approaches. Experimental data showed the feasibility of biohydrogen production using synthetic wastewater as substrate. The hydrogen generation capability of the different mixed consortia is clearly dependent on the pretreatment methods. The described approach opens the possibility for an alternative way towards simultaneous wastewater treatment and renewable energy generation.     

New Linkage with Linear Actuator for Tracking PV Systems with Large Angular Stroke

This paper focuses on the development of an optimized photovoltaic tracking system involving low-cost, relative simple mechanisms, with linear actuators able to insure strokes comparable with those resulted when using gear rotary actuators. Starting with a rhombus linkage, with a linear actuator on the diagonal used for the elevation motion till 90°, a new performance solution is generated. This new linkage allows large angular strokes by using an asymmetric rhombus and an eccentrically positioned linear ac...     

Extended studies of degradation mechanisms in the refractory lining of a rotary kiln for iron ore pellet production

Changes, over a period of 8 years, in the chemical composition and morphology of deposit and lining materials in a production rotary kiln for iron ore pellet manufacture are described. The following have been studied: two types of refractory brick used as lining material; deposited chunk materials from the lining; the interaction zones between deposits and linings. Morphological changes at the deposit/lining interface, and the active chemical reactions, are established. Larger hematite grains in the deposit material (5–50 μm) primarily remain at the original deposit/lining interface. The remainder penetrates fissures, voids and brick joints, forms a laminar structure with corundum from the bricks, and migrates in grains in the lining material. Potassium penetrates more deeply into the bricks than hematite, resulting in the formation of kalsilite, leucite and potassium β-alumina, which contribute to degradation of the lining.     

Scanning transmission ion microscopy on Fudan SPM facility

In this paper,we report a novel measurement system based on the development of Fudan Scanning Proton Microscopy(SPM) facility.By using Si-PIN diode(Hamamatsu S1223-01) detector,scanning transmission ion microscopy(STIM) measurement system has been set up.It can provide density and structural images with high probing efficiency and non-destruction by utilizing the energy loss of high energy(MeV) and focused ions penetrating through a thin sample.STIM measurement is able to map the density distribution of organic elements which mostly compose biology materials,such information can not be detected by using conventional Be-windowed Si(Li) X-ray detector in Particle Induced X-ray Emission(PIXE) technique.The spatial resolution capability of STIM is higher than PIXE technique at same accelerator status.As a result of STIM measurement,Paramecium attached on the top of Kapton tube was measured by STIM.     

Complexity-preserving simulations among three variants of accepting networks of evolutionary processors

In this paper we consider three variants of accepting networks of evolutionary processors. It is known that two of them are equivalent to Turing machines. We propose here a direct simulation of one device by the other. Each computational step in one model is simulated in a constant number of computational steps in the other one while a translation via Turing machines squares the time complexity. We also discuss the possibility of constructing simulations that preserve not only complexity, but also the shape of the simulated network.     

Generalized modus Ponens using various implications and T-norm product with threshold

Using Generalized Modus Ponens reasoning, we examine the values of the inferred conclusion depending on the correspondence between the premise of the rule and the observed fact. The conclusion is obtained using a set of implications in order to represent a fuzzy if-then rule with a single input single output and the t-norm with threshold generated by t-norm T(x,y)?=?xy, as a compositional operator. Some comments and an example are presented in order to show how the obtained results can be used.     

Evolutionary events in a mathematical sciences research collaboration network

This study examines long-term trends and shifting behavior in the collaboration network of mathematics literature, using a subset of data from Mathematical Reviews spanning 1985–2009. Rather than modeling the network cumulatively, this study traces the evolution of the “here and now” using fixed-duration sliding windows. The analysis uses a suite of common network diagnostics, including the distributions of degrees, distances, and clustering, to track network structure. Several random models that call these diagnostics as parameters help tease them apart as factors from the values of others. Some behaviors are consistent over the entire interval, but most diagnostics indicate that the network’s structural evolution is dominated by occasional dramatic shifts in otherwise steady trends. These behaviors are not distributed evenly across the network; stark differences in evolution can be observed between two major subnetworks, loosely thought of as “pure” and “applied”, which approximately partition the aggregate. The paper characterizes two major events along the mathematics network trajectory and discusses possible explanatory factors.     

Laser surface modification of a 13.5% Cr, 0.6% C steel

A 13.5% Cr, 0.6% C steel, with an initial microstructure of chromium carbides in a ferrite matrix, was heat-treated by scanning a high-power laser beam over the surface. The aim was to compare the physical and chemical properties produced by this type of selective surface treatment with those resulting from a conventional furnace desensitization and quench-hardening heat treatment. Surface heating homogenized the carbon originally bound in the carbides sufficiently to produce martensite, giving hardening to levels comparable with a conventional heat treatment. Chromium-rich zones, carbides and retained austenite were also detected in the heated microstructure. Surface melting produced complete homogenization of both carbon and chromium, which resulted in the retention of large amounts of austenite in the microstructure on cooling to room temperature. Subsequent refrigeration at — 196 °C transformed some of the austenite to martensite. Pitting corrosion and local reductions in hardness were observed adjacent to treated areas under certain conditions, due to precipitation of secondary carbides and elevated tempering, respectively.     

Digital image correlation techniques to investigate strain fields and cracking phenomena in asphalt materials

This paper is the outcome of a specific task group of the RILEM Technical Committee 241-MCD “Mechanisms of Cracking and Debonding in Asphalt and Composite Pavements”. The group on “Advanced Measurement Techniques” was established in 2011 to investigate DIC applications for non-destructive and non-contact measurements of strain fields during laboratory testing. The paper illustrates different DIC/optical flow applications in measuring strain distribution during laboratory testing. Specific applications of DIC for evaluating crack initiation and crack propagation in asphalt materials are presented.     

Membrane-assisted revelation of the spatial nanoarchitecture of dislocation networks

We propose a method of direct visualization of the spatial nanoarchitecture of dislocation networks which is based on etching away the regions with low density of structural defects from the bulk of GaN epilayers, keeping intact only the threading dislocations and a thin surface film pre-treated with low-energy Ar⁺ ions. The formation of nanometer-thick suspended membrane to which the dislocations are genetically attached provides conditions for the revelation of the spatial nanoarchitecture of dislocation networks using conventional scanning electron microscopy. Complementary monochromatic and panchromatic micro-cathodoluminescence images are presented.