ARP-P4: deep analysis of a hybrid SDN ARP-Path/P4Runtime switch

Telecommunication Systems - The Software-Defined Networking (SDN) architecture decouples the control plane from the data plane, but it does not explicitly state where the control should be located....     

Comparative analysis for power generation and ethanol production from sugarcane residual biomass in Brazil

This work compares the technical, economic and environmental (GHG emissions mitigation) performance of power generation and ethanol production from sugarcane residual biomass, considering conversion plants adjacent to a sugarcane mill in Brazil. Systems performances were simulated for a projected enzymatic saccharification co-fermentation plant (Ethanol option) and for a commercial steam-Rankine power plant (Electricity option). Surplus bagasse from the mill would be used as fuel/raw material for conversion, while cane trash collected from the field would be used as supplementary fuel at the mill. For the Electricity option, the sugarcane biorefinery (mill+adjacent plant) would produce 91 L of ethanol per tonne of cane and export 130 kWh/t of cane, while for the Ethanol option the total ethanol production would be 124 L/t of cane with an electricity surplus of 50 kWh/t cane. The return on investment (ROI) related to the biochemical conversion route was 15.9%, compared with 23.2% for the power plant, for the conditions in Brazil. Considering the GHG emissions mitigation, the environmentally preferred option is the biochemical conversion route: the net avoided emissions associated to the adjacent plants are estimated to be 493 and 781 kgCO₂eq/t of dry bagasse for the Electricity and Ethanol options, respectively.     

Ecologically Driven Ultrastructural and Hydrodynamic Designs in Stomatopod Cuticles

Ecological pressures and varied feeding behaviors in a multitude of organisms have necessitated the drive for adaptation. One such change is seen in the feeding appendages of stomatopods, a group of highly predatory marine crustaceans. Stomatopods include “spearers,” who ambush and snare soft bodied prey, and “smashers,” who bludgeon hard‐shelled prey with a heavily mineralized club. The regional substructural complexity of the stomatopod dactyl club from the smashing predator Odontodactylus scyllarus represents a model system in the study of impact tolerant biominerals. The club consists of a highly mineralized impact region, a characteristic Bouligand architecture (common to arthropods), and a unique section of the club, the striated region, composed of highly aligned sheets of mineralized fibers. Detailed ultrastructural investigations of the striated region within O. scyllarus and a related species of spearing stomatopod, Lysiosquillina maculate show consistent organization of mineral and organic, but distinct differences in macro‐scale architecture. Evidence is provided for the function and substructural exaptation of the striated region, which facilitated redeployment of a raptorial feeding appendage as a biological hammer. Moreover, given the need to accelerate underwater and “grab” or “smash” their prey, the spearer and smasher appendages are specifically designed with a significantly reduced drag force.     

Paste extrusion of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE): Surface tension and viscosity effects

The effects of the lubricant physical properties on the processing of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) fine powder resins are studied. Lubricants having different surface tension and viscosity were used; the two properties changed independently. These effects were studied by using dies of various contraction angle and reduction ratio for resins having a variety of molecular architecture. It was found that the wettability (surface tension) of the lubricant strongly affects the pressure needed to extrude the PTFE pastes. The viscosity of the lubricant was also found to play a significant role in the process since a lubricant with a low viscosity causes the paste to be extruded at a lower pressure. These effects of the physical properties on the extrusion pressure influence significantly the mechanical properties of the final extrudates. The latter are functions of the degree of fibrillation, which is significantly influenced by the wettability and viscosity of lubricants. Finally, the effects of die geometry on extrusion pressure and mechanical properties of extrudates were also assessed in order to determine the geometrical characteristics and operation conditions for the optimization of the process.     

Chitosan hydrogel covalently crosslinked by gold nanoparticle: Eliminating the use of toxic crosslinkers

Tissue engineering has directed a lot of effort toward the development of devices with suitable biocompatibility and mechanical properties. Chitosan has been pointed as a valuable material to be applied in scaffolds due to its antimicrobial activity and biocompatibility. Nevertheless, the low mechanical resistance associated with the requirement of toxic crosslinkers has hampered translational application of chitosan hydrogel. Herein, the use of gold nanoparticles (AuNP) as crosslinker is reported as a great strategy to obtain chitosan hydrogel without using toxic reactants. In addition, the resultant chitosan hydrogel, crosslinked by AuNP of 30 nm (AuNP30), presented outstanding properties compared to chitosan hydrogel crosslinked by glutaraldehyde. Chitosan hydrogel crosslinked by AuNP30 presented lower porosity, which provided lower swelling degree and slower degradation rate. In addition, compressive strength was about two times higher than the chitosan hydrogel crosslinked by glutaraldehyde. The crosslink by AuNP30 also increased the biocompatibility of the hydrogel. Chitosan hydrogel crosslinked by AuNP30 did not show cytotoxicity against MEF cells, whereas cell viability of cells incubated with extract from chitosan hydrogel crosslinked by glutaraldehyde was only 41%. In conclusion, the results reported herein pointed that the use of AuNP30 as crosslinker agent provided to chitosan hydrogel enhanced properties that made it suitable to application in biomedical devices.     

Effect of coarsening of sonochemical synthesized anatase on BET surface characteristics

In the present paper TiO₂ (anatase) nanoparticles were synthesized by ultrasonic means proving the potential of this method. The synthesized anatase is heat treated at a temperature of 500 °C in open air atmosphere to coarse it. The heat treatment times went from 1 to 72 h, the temperature/time conditions were selected to prevent phase transformation and to solely coarsen anatase from 6.2 to 28.3 nm. The synthesized and heat treated anatase were characterized using Electron Microscopy (Transmission and Scanning), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method, UV–vis, Raman and Infrared spectroscopy. In the present paper are proposed two algorithms that are capable of determining the BET surface characteristics or the grain size based on the XRD or BET results, respectively.     

A techno-economic evaluation of the effects of centralized cellulosic ethanol and co-products refinery options with sugarcane mill clustering

This work compares the calculated techno-economic performance for thermochemical and biochemical conversion of sugarcane residues, considering future conversion plants adjacent to sugarcane mills in Brazil. Process models developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory were adapted to reflect the Brazilian feedstock composition and used to estimate the cost and performance of these two conversion technologies. Models assumed that surplus bagasse from the mill would be used as the feedstock for conversion, while cane trash collected from the field would be used as supplementary fuel at the mill. The integration of the conversion technology to the mill enabled an additional ethanol production of 0.033 m³ per tonne of cane for the biochemical process and 0.025 m³ t^?1 of cane plus 0.004 m³ t^?1 of cane of higher alcohols for the thermochemical process. For both cases, electricity is an important co-product for the biorefinery, but especially for biochemical conversion, with surpluses of about 50 kWh t^?1 of cane. The economic performance of the two technologies is quite similar in terms of the minimum ethanol selling price (MESP), at 318 $ m^?3 (United States 2007 dollars) for biochemical conversion and 329 $ m^?3 for thermochemical conversion.     

Time series forecasting through rule-based models obtained via rough sets

Prediction models based on artificial intelligence techniques have been widely used in Time Series Forecasting in several areas. They are often fuzzy models or neural networks. However, the use of rough sets based models have not yet been explored. The aim of this work is to introduce a new approach which uses rough set concepts to obtain rule-based models capable to perform time series forecasting.     

Improved cultivation conditions for polysaccharide production by H. influenzae type b

Haemophilus influenzae b (Hib), an encapsulated Gram‐negative cocco‐bacillus, is one of the most common agents of meningitis worldwide. The capsular polysaccharide conjugated to a carrier protein is the antigen of the vaccine against Hib. An optimized cultivation process that could lead to an increase in the polysaccharide production would be of great interest for mass vaccination programs. The aim of this work was to evaluate different culture conditions in attempt to improve the capsular polysaccharide yield. Hib was cultivated in a bioreactor with modified soy‐peptone and yeast‐extract (MP) medium and optimal hemin and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) concentration in the culture medium was established at 30 mg L^?1 and 15 mg L^?1, respectively. The batch experiments were carried out as follows: (a) overlay aeration without pH control; (b) air‐sparged with dissolved oxygen tension (DOT) controlled at 10 and 30% air saturation, with and without pH control. The cultures with air‐sparged aeration, without pH control, showed values for the specific production (SP_p/x) of 180–190 mg PRP g^?1 dry cell weight (DCW) and overall polysaccharide productivity of 22–29 mg L^?1 h^?1, accounting for an increase of ca 47% over the polysaccharide production with overlay aeration. Batch cultivations with air sparged aeration led to an improvement in the poly(ribosylribitol phosphate) (PRP) production for both conditions (DOT at 10 and 30% air saturation) investigated upon pH control, achieving up to 980 PRP mg L^?1. The SP_p/x and overall polysaccharide productivity were 280–300 mg PRP g^?1 DCW and 45–41 mg L^?1h^?1, respectively. The best production of capsular polysaccharide was obtained in the modified MP‐medium, with 30 mg L^?1 hemin and 15 mg L^?1 NAD, upon sparged aeration and pH control. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry