Dyes-environmental impact and remediation

Dyes are an important class of synthetic organic compounds used in many industries, especially textiles. Consequently, they have become common industrial environmental pollutants during their synthesis and later during fibre dyeing. Textile industries are facing a challenge in the field of quality and productivity due to the globalization of the world market. As the highly competitive atmosphere and the ecological parameters become more stringent, the prime concern of the textile processors is to be aware of the quality of their products and also the environmental friendliness of the manufacturing processes. This in turn makes it essential for innovations and changes in these processes, and investigations of appropriate and environmentally friendly treatment technologies or their residues. The large-scale production and extensive application of synthetic dyes can cause considerable environmental pollution, making it a serious public concern. Legislation on the limits of colour discharge has become increasingly rigid. There is a considerable urgent need to develop treatment methods that are effective in eliminating dyes from their waste. Physicochemical and biological methods have been studied and applied, although each has its advantages and disadvantages, with the choice being based on the wastewater characteristics, available technology and economic factors. Some industrial-scale wastewater treatment systems are now available; however, these are neither fully effective for complete colour removal nor do they address water recycling. This chapter outlines the background of dye chemistry, the application areas and the impact of dyeing effluents in the environment. The processes/techniques being implemented and developed for wastewaters remediation are revisited

Using MapReduce Streaming for Distributed Life Simulation on the Cloud

Distributed software simulations are indispensable in the study of large-scale life models but often require the use of technically complex lower-level distributed computing frameworks, such as MPI. We propose to overcome the complexity challenge by applying the emerging MapReduce (MR) model to distributed life simulations and by running such simulations on the cloud. Technically, we design optimized MR streaming algorithms for discrete and continuous versions of Conway’s life according to a general MR streaming pattern. We chose life because it is simple enough as a testbed for MR’s applicability to a-life simulations and general enough to make our results applicable to various lattice-based a-life models. We implement and empirically evaluate our algorithms’ performance on Amazon’s Elastic MR cloud. Our experiments demonstrate that a single MR optimization technique called strip partitioning can reduce the execution time of continuous life simulations by 64%. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to propose and evaluate MR streaming algorithms for lattice-based simulations. Our algorithms can serve as prototypes in the development of novel MR simulation algorithms for large-scale lattice-based a-life models.https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/scs_books/1014/thumbnail.jp

Conversational ecologies

This project takes a transdisciplinary approach to spatial interactivity, incorporating elements of theoretical discourse, speculative design, narrative worldbuilding, making, scientific experimentation and video. To me it is destructive to segregate bodies of knowledge, or any bodies for that matter, and it denies the synergism that is possible with transdisciplinary work. I combine scientific materiality with imagined alechemies and interweave these throughout the text with borrowed and original philosophical contemplations to more fully grapple with the shifting complexities of Conversational Ecologies. I firmly believe that due to the complex, multisensorial nature of interactivity, the discourse must exist outside of just the written. This discourse can exist simultaneously as fantasy and reality–as long as it engages the senses and encourages people to reconsider their ecological positionalities. This theoretical, textual body acts as both a beginning for these experiments, and as a site to re-incorporate what I learn ‘in the field.

Engineering derivatives from biological systems for advanced aerospace applications

The present study consisted of a literature survey, a survey of researchers, and a workshop on bionics. These tasks produced an extensive annotated bibliography of bionics research (282 citations), a directory of bionics researchers, and a workshop report on specific bionics research topics applicable to space technology. These deliverables are included as Appendix A, Appendix B, and Section 5.0, respectively. To provide organization to this highly interdisciplinary field and to serve as a guide for interested researchers, we have also prepared a taxonomy or classification of the various subelements of natural engineering systems. Finally, we have synthesized the results of the various components of this study into a discussion of the most promising opportunities for accelerated research, seeking solutions which apply engineering principles from natural systems to advanced aerospace problems. A discussion of opportunities within the areas of materials, structures, sensors, information processing, robotics, autonomous systems, life support systems, and aeronautics is given. Following the conclusions are six discipline summaries that highlight the potential benefits of research in these areas for NASA's space technology programs

Basic Cell and Molecular Biology 5e: What We Know and How We Find Out

https://dc.uwm.edu/biosci_facbooks_bergtrom/1014/thumbnail.jp

How to build a biological machine using engineering materials and methods

We present work in 3D printing electric motors from basic materials as the key to building a self-replicating machine to colonise the Moon. First, we explore the nature of the biological realm to ascertain its essence, particularly in relation to the origin of life when the inanimate became animate. We take an expansive view of this to ascertain parallels between the biological and the manufactured worlds. Life must have emerged from the available raw material on Earth and, similarly, a self-replicating machine must exploit and leverage the available resources on the Moon. We then examine these lessons to explore the construction of a self-replicating machine using a universal constructor. It is through the universal constructor that the actuator emerges as critical. We propose that 3D printing constitutes an analogue of the biological ribosome and that 3D printing may constitute a universal construction mechanism. Following a description of our progress in 3D printing motors, we suggest that this engineering effort can inform biology, that motors are a key facet of living organisms and illustrate the importance of motors in biology viewed from the perspective of engineering (in the Feynman spirit of "what I cannot create, I cannot understand")

Annotated Cell and Molecular Biology 5e: What We Know and How We Found Out

https://dc.uwm.edu/biosci_facbooks_bergtrom/1013/thumbnail.jp