Effect of false flax oilcake in thermophilic biogas production

False flax oilcake has been found to be suitable for anaerobic fermentation in mixtures with cattle slurry and straw. In organic farms, digestion of cattle dung and wheat straw with 8 % dry matter content mixed with 5 % of total material weight false flax oilcake is a feasible option for utilizing false flax oilcake to produce farm-own renewable energy and offering farm-own high nitrogen (ammonia) content fertilizer (2.48 g kg-1 wet wt). In field digesters, the biogas yield of 8 % dry matter pure material under thermophilic condition was 0.24 l g-1 VS fed. The biogas yield could be increased by mixing 5 % false flax oilcake to get 0.37 l g-1 VS fed and a VS conversion efficiency with 0.83 l g-1 VS destroyed. Under laboratory controlled conditions, the biogas yield of slurry with 0.5 % oilcake was a little higher than biogas yield of the digestion of pure material, which was 0.26 and 0.24 l g-1 VS fed, respectively. Compared with the field experiment, only small amounts of biogas were produced in the lab-scale when 5 % oilcake was mixed in. The mixing can improve the biogas yield and substrate reduction in the digesters which have sufficient material. Further research is needed to find out the best controlled conditions (high-efficient bacteria, mixing frequency and time) and best equipment (for example: two phases digesters)

Simultaneous existence of two spin-wave modes in ultrathin Fe/GaAs(001) films studied by Brillouin Light Scattering: experiment and theory

A double-peaked structure was observed in the {\it in-situ} Brillouin Light Scattering (BLS) spectra of a 6 \AA$$ thick epitaxial Fe/GaAs(001) film for values of an external magnetic field $H$, applied along the hard in plane direction, lower than a critical value $H_c\simeq 0.9$ kOe. This experimental finding is theoretically interpreted in terms of a model which assumes a non-homogeneous magnetic ground state characterized by the presence of perperpendicular up/down stripe domains. For such a ground state, two spin-wave modes, namely an acoustic and an optic mode, can exist. Upon increasing the field the magnetization tilts in the film plane, and for $H \ge H_{c}$ the ground state is homogeneous, thus allowing the existence of just a single spin-wave mode. The frequencies of the two spin-wave modes were calculated and successfully compared with the experimental data. The field dependence of the intensities of the corresponding two peaks that are present in the BLS spectra was also estimated, providing further support to the above-mentioned interpretation.Comment: Shortened version (7 pages). Accepted for publication in Physical Review

Scrambling as verum focus: German scrambling meets Romance anaphoric anteposition.

In this paper I demonstrate that in Mòcheno, a German dialect spoken in Northern Italy, scrambling, i.e. the movement of any constituent above sentential adverbs and below the finite verb, is permitted like in Continental Germanic languages. Unlike in these languages, however, leftward movement is not triggered by specificity or scope-fixing (A-scrambling) or by the need to check any topic or contrastive/new-information focus discourse-features (A’-scrambling). By relying on information structure, the syntax of modal particles and the distribution of scrambling in sentences with fronted operators, I provide evidence that scrambling in Mòcheno triggers a verum focus reading on the truth value of the sentence and involves a type of focus movement to a FocusP in CP. That scrambling can be associated with verum focus is a unicum among Continental Germanic languages, which I show follows from a reanalyis of the properties of Germanic focus scrambling under the influence of Romance anaphoric anteposition

Carbon Markets and Methane Digesters: Potential Implications for the Dairy Sector

Anaerobic digesters that capture and burn manure methane can provide a renewable source of energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Paying producers for these emission reductions—either directly or through a carbon offset market—could substantially increase digester adoption. However, there is likely to be wide variation in the scale, location, and characteristics of adopters, so these policies could have long run structural implications for the livestock sector. Using a model of digester profits and data from a nationally-representative survey of dairy operations we estimate the likely distribution of digester adoption and profits under different carbon price scenarios.anaerobic digester, carbon offsets, climate change, distribution, livestock, methane, Environmental Economics and Policy, Q12, Q16, Q42, Q54, Q58,

VLSI Routing for Advanced Technology

Routing is a major step in VLSI design, the design process of complex integrated circuits (commonly known as chips). The basic task in routing is to connect predetermined locations on a chip (pins) with wires which serve as electrical connections. One main challenge in routing for advanced chip technology is the increasing complexity of design rules which reflect manufacturing requirements. In this thesis we investigate various aspects of this challenge. First, we consider polygon decomposition problems in the context of VLSI design rules. We introduce different width notions for polygons which are important for width-dependent design rules in VLSI routing, and we present efficient algorithms for computing width-preserving decompositions of rectilinear polygons into rectangles. Such decompositions are used in routing to allow for fast design rule checking. A main contribution of this thesis is an O(n) time algorithm for computing a decomposition of a simple rectilinear polygon with n vertices into O(n) rectangles, preseverving two-dimensional width. Here the two-dimensional width at a point of the polygon is defined as the edge length of a largest square that contains the point and is contained in the polygon. In order to obtain these results we establish a connection between such decompositions and Voronoi diagrams. Furthermore, we consider implications of multiple patterning and other advanced design rules for VLSI routing. The main contribution in this context is the detailed description of a routing approach which is able to manage such advanced design rules. As a main algorithmic concept we use multi-label shortest paths where certain path properties (which model design rules) can be enforced by defining labels assigned to path vertices and allowing only certain label transitions. The described approach has been implemented in BonnRoute, a VLSI routing tool developed at the Research Institute for Discrete Mathematics, University of Bonn, in cooperation with IBM. We present experimental results confirming that a flow combining BonnRoute and an external cleanup step produces far superior results compared to an industry standard router. In particular, our proposed flow runs more than twice as fast, reduces the via count by more than 20%, the wiring length by more than 10%, and the number of remaining design rule errors by more than 60%. These results obtained by applying our multiple patterning approach to real-world chip instances provided by IBM are another main contribution of this thesis. We note that IBM uses our proposed combined BonnRoute flow as the default tool for signal routing

Subnanosecond Fluctuations in Low-Barrier Nanomagnets

Fast magnetic fluctuations due to thermal torques have useful technological functionality ranging from cryptography to probabilistic computing. The characteristic time of fluctuations in typical uniaxial anisotropy magnets studied so far is bounded from below by the well-known energy relaxation mechanism. This time scales as $\alpha^{-1}$, where $\alpha$ parameterizes the strength of dissipative processes. Here, we theoretically analyze the fluctuating dynamics in easy-plane and antiferromagnetically coupled nanomagnets. We find in such magnets, the dynamics are strongly influenced by fluctuating intrinsic fields, which give rise to an additional dephasing-type mechanism for washing out correlations. In particular, we establish two time scales for characterizing fluctuations (i) the average time for a nanomagnet to reverse|which for the experimentally relevant regime of low damping is governed primarily by dephasing and becomes independent of $\alpha$, (ii) the time scale for memory loss of a single nanomagnet|which scales as $\alpha^{-1/3}$ and is governed by a combination of energy dissipation and dephasing mechanism. For typical experimentally accessible values of intrinsic fields, the resultant thermal-fluctuation rate is increased by multiple orders of magnitude when compared with the bound set solely by the energy relaxation mechanism in uniaxial magnets. This could lead to higher operating speeds of emerging devices exploiting magnetic fluctuations

PRODUKSI BIOGAS DARI RUMPUT LAUT Sargassum sp.

Biogas production is done using the raw material of Sargassum Sp. Based on the results of the characteristic testing obtained the protein value of 11.23%, fat content 0.86%, water content 13.93%, ash content of 13.74%, and C/N ratio of 51.96%. Biogas production is divided into 2 phases namely batch method 1:1, 1:2, and Method Digester 1:1, 1:2. The COD value calculation is done before the biogas production process to determine the amount of oxygen needed to oxidize organic substances, which is 640,785.6 ml/L. The test results of CH4 methane gas and CO2 carbon dioxide in the 1:1 treatment are CH4 177525.17 ppm, CO2 124651.0033 ppm, and 1:2 CH4 300338.46 ppm, CO2 247525.3367 ppm. The value of pH measurements during the biogas production process 1:1 is 6-7 with a temperature value of 28-40 oC 1:2 which is 6-7 and the temperature value is 27-32oCProduksi biogas dilakukan menggunakan bahan baku Sargassum Sp. Berdasarkan hasil pengujian karakteristik didapat nilai protein 11,23%, kadar lemak 0,86%,kadar air 13,93%, kadar abu 13,74%, dan rasio C/N 51,96%. Produksi biogas dibagi menjadi 2 tahap yaitu metode batch 1:1, 1:2, dan metode digester 1:1, 1:2. Penghitungan nilai COD dilakukan sebelum proses produksi biogas untuk mengetahui jumlah oksigen yang dibutuhkan untuk mengoksidasi zat-zat organik, yaitu sebesar 640,785.6 ml/l. Hasil pengujian gas metan CH4 dan karbondioksida CO2 pada perlakuan 1:1 yaitu CH4177525.17ppm, CO2124651.0033 ppm, dan 1:2 CH4300338.46 ppm, CO2247525.3367 ppm. Nilai pengukuran pH selama proses produksi biogas 1:1 yaitu 6-7 dengan nilai suhu 28-40 oC 1:2 yaitu 6-7 dan nilai suhu yaitu 27-32oC

Optimization of Stone Cutting Techniques for the Seismic Protection of Archaeological Sites

Since the beginning of civilization, history tells of the movement of art pieces, monuments and manufacts from site to site. The causes are multiple: the displacements due to the "spoils of war", ordered by kings and emperors, the movements caused by the need for reuse, especially in the early Christian period, and so forth. Considerations about the events of the past, yield a possible strategy to transform this concept into a technique for earthquake prevention of archaeological sites. The seismic safety retrofits have often proven to be scarcely effective, because of the difficulties involved in complex sites. The aim of this study is to analyze an "alternative" method of preventing natural disaster like floods, eruption and earthquakes, through the movimentation of the most representative structural elements of archaeological sites by decomposition of the masonry and marbles [1]. The procedure considers a process of "cutting optimization," calibrated on the characteristics of the specific material that has to be cut and then displaced in safer places (i.e., MEP, "manufact evacuation plan"). This process should not create excessive problems to the structure, and aims to reassembly the manufact in contexts able to guarantee safety through advanced earthquake-resistant expedients. From these considerations, the work develops a procedure to safeguard the archaeological site of Pompei (Naples), through an appropriate analysis of representative portions of the site, aimed to a careful handling and to a proper reconstruction in a safe location, from the seismic point of vie