Bio-hydrogen production from a marine brown algae and its bacterial diversity

The aim of this study was to determine how bio-hydrogen production was related to the composition of the bacterial community in a dark fermentation fed with marine brown algae (Laminaria japonica). The bacterial diversity was ascertained by 16S rDNA PCR-sequencing. A total of 444 mL of bio-hydrogen was produced from 10 g/L of dry algae in a 100 mL of culture fluid for 62 h. The pH varied from 8.74 to 7.05. Active bio-hydrogen production was observed from 24 to 48 h, and maximum bio-hydrogen production was 106 mL over 1 L gas. The bacterial community of the activated sludge consisted of 6 phyla, where H₂ producing and consuming bacteria coexisted. The only detectable bacterial phylum after bio-hydrogen generation with heat-treated (65 °C, 20 min) seeding was Firmicutes. Clostridium and Bacillus species constituted 54% and 46%, respectively, of the bacterial mixture and the most abundant species was Clostridium beijierinckii (34%). These results may provide a better understanding of how different biohydrogen communities affect hydrogen production and aid in the optimization of bio-hydrogen production.     

Quality of service in telecommunications .II. Translation of QoSparameters into ATM performance parameters in B-ISDN

The main goal of this article is to present the translation of quality of service (QoS) parameters between layers. The QoS parameters in the ATM layer and AAL are defined. This translation concept came from the QoS framework in which the influence of the protocol stack on the QoS should be considered. As an example, we concentrate on the translation from the AAL to the ATM layer, as the AAL must be designed to be service-dependent and specific. Translation, both taking the transport protocol into account as well as between application and transport QoS, needs further study. However, our study shows that the QoS translation is a possible and good approach in end-to-end QoS guarantees in the broadband integrated services digital network (B-ISDN). As far as the end-to-end QoS guarantee issue is concerned, the transport QoS requirements are specified in terms of bounds on transport QoS parameters. The bounds on transport QoS parameters will be translated into the bounds on ATM layer QoS parameters. The ATM-layer QoS parameters resulting from the translation will be the performance requirements on a connection basis for the ATM network, but are basically the end-to-end parameters, including the network and the end systems. Therefore, the QoS translation finally results in the network performance parameters in the ATM network. We define QoS parameters in the AAL and ATM layer. Case studies in which the translation method is applied to a constant bit rate (CBR) video service and data service, respectively, are also presented     

Application of instrumented indentation technique for enhanced fitness-for-service assessment of pipeline crack

While most in-field non-destructive technologies for structural integrity diagnosis focus on precise crack detection, a novel instrumented indentation technique for non-destructively determining tensile properties in fields is introduced here. The goal of this work is to apply the newly-developed indentation technique to in-field fitness-for-service (FFS) assessment of linepipe cracks. As one step to verify its applicability, tensile properties in base metal and girth weldement of API-X65-graded linepipe were evaluated by this indentation technique and provided for construction of material-specific failure assessment diagrams (FADs). Results are discussed in terms of the accuracy of the indentation data and how the FAD assessment results are affected by the variation in local tensile properties measured by indenting small target regions such as heat-affected zones (HAZs). Based on the results, we suggest that the indentation technique may be useful for reducing possible difficulties in flaw assessment (arising from the use of incorrect tensile properties) by providing reliably practical data for FAD construction.     

A kinetic study of Am(III)/humic colloid interactions

The interaction kinetics of the Am(III) ion with aquatic humic colloids is investigated under near-natural conditions by column experiments with a sandy aquifer sample rich in humic substancesforthe appraisal of the migration behavior of Am. The association and dissociation kinetics of the Am ion onto and from humic colloids control the migration of colloid-borne Am. As the contact time between Am and humic colloids prior to introduction into a column is increased, the mobility of colloid-borne Am is enhanced and hence the recovery of Am in the effluent increases. On the other hand, an increase of the migration time and residence time in column, respectively, reduces the Am recovery. Considering these experimental results a refined version of the kinetic model KICAM (Kinetically Controlled Availability Model), which suggests different Am binding modes with humic colloids, was developed. Applying KICAM it is possible to predict static and dynamic experiments affected by the kinetically controlled Am/humic colloid interactions over the range of 1 h up to several months. However, to apply these experimental results to long-term conditions, the Am binding scheme as proposed in KICAM needs to be verified. This paper provides, therefore, a basis for a better understanding of the colloid-borne Am migration in porous aquifer systems.     

Color correction algorithm based on camera characteristics for multi-view video coding

Various types of multi-view camera systems have been proposed for capturing three dimensional scenes. Yet, color distributions among multi-view images remain inconsistent in most cases, degrading multi-view video coding performance. In this paper, we propose a color correction algorithm based on the camera characteristics to effectively solve such a problem. Initially, we model camera characteristics and estimate their coefficients by means of correspondences between views. To consider occlusion in multi-view images, correspondences are extracted via feature-based matching. During coefficient estimation with nonlinear regression, we remove outliers in the extracted correspondences. Consecutively, we generate lookup tables for each camera using the model and estimated coefficients. Such tables are employed for fast color converting in the final color correction process. The experimental results show that our algorithm enhances coding efficiency with gains of up to 0.9 and 0.8 dB for luminance and chrominance components, respectively. Further, the method also improves subjective viewing quality and reduces color distance between views.     

Kinetic demixing/decomposition of Ba0.5Sr0.5CoxFe1−xO3−δ (x = 0.2 and 0.8)

Microstructural changes due to kinetic demixing within sintered BSCF ceramics (Ba_0.5Sr_0.5Co_xFe_1?xO_3?δ, x = 0.2 and 0.8: BSCF5528 and BSCF5582, respectively) have been investigated. When the specimens were subjected to 2 A/cm² at 1000 °C and pO₂ = 10^?5 atm, there was a significant enhancement of grain growth as well as 2nd phase formation observed in BSCF5528. At the anode, cobalt deficient aggregates within the grains; and, at the cathode, cobalt rich 2nd phase particles were observed on the grain surfaces of the microstructure. Such phenomena were not observed in BSCF5582, even under higher current density (7 A/cm²) and longer delay time. These results were explained by the kinetic demixing/decomposition.     

TCP window control scheme using ER value in TCP over ABR services

A window control theme in TCP over ABR service is proposed. In this scheme, the TCP congestion window size is determined by explicit rate (ER) values, representing the degree of network congestion. Simulation results show an improvement in TCP throughput, reducing the transmissions as well as effectively utilising the bandwidth available to a given TCP connection     

Kinetic investigation of Eu(III)-humate interactions by ion exchange resins

The kinetic stability of radionuclides bound to aqueous colloids is a determining factor in their migration from a radioactive waste repository. The cation exchangers Chelex-100, Dowex 50Wx4, and Cellphos (cellulose phosphate) have been shown a promising tool for kinetic investigations. This study assesses the applicability of different exchange resins for Eu humate dissociation kinetics investigations. All resins were found to produce satisfactory results. A systematic study of parameters affecting the dissociation rates of Eu(III) humate complexes was performed. A set of purified humic substances was found to behave in the same way. However, unpurified Aldrich humic acid showed significant differences.     

Critical Bed-Shear Stress for Cohesive Sediment Deposition under Steady Flows

Results of two laboratory experiments on the cohesive sediment deposition behavior are presented. Data indicate that an annular flume, either with or without the channel bed and the top ring rotating in opposite directions to minimize the secondary circulation, can be used to study the deposition behavior of cohesive sediments. Direct observations on when and where the bed is formed suggest that deposition only occurs when the local bed-shear stress (τb) is less than a critical value. Secondary circulation in the flume, which produced upward current near the inner corner and downward current near the outer corner, did not prevent deposition near the inner corner (because of the small τb) nor promote deposition near the outer corner (because of the relatively large τb).