Algal culture studies related to a Closed Ecological Life Support System (CELSS)

Studies with algal cultures which relate to closed ecological life support systems (CELSS) are discussed. A description of a constant cell density apparatus for continuous culture of algae is included. Excretion of algal by-products, and nitrogen utilization and excretion are discussed

High–Speed Data Transmission Subsystem of the SEOSAR/PAZ Satellite

This paper analyzes a digital interface and bus system modeling and optimization of the SEOSAR/PAZ Earth Observation satellite. The important part of the satellite is an X–band Synthetic Aperture Radar instrument that integrates 384 Transmit/Receive Modules located in 12 antenna panels 7.5 m away from the central processor and controlled by a synchronous 10 Mbps bidirectional serial protocol. This type of mid–range point–to–multipoint transmission is affected by bit errors due to crosstalk, transmission line attenuation and impedance mismatches. The high–speed data communication network has been designed to optimize the transmission by using a simulation model of the data distribution system which takes into account the worst–case scenario and by developing a lab–scaled prototype which exhibits BER of 10-11 for an interfering signal of 10 Vpp. The result is a point–to–multipoint bidirectional transmission network optimized in both directions with optimal values of loads and equalization resistors. This high–speed data transmission subsystem provides a compact design through a simple solution

Dry anaerobic digestion of organic waste: A review of operational parameters and their impact on process performance.

open access articleDry digestion is a suitable technology for treating organic wastes with varying composition such as the organic fraction of municipal solids waste. Yet, there is a need for further research to overcome some of the disadvantages associated with the high total solids content of the process. Optimisation of inoculum to substrate ratio, feedstock composition and size, liquid recirculation, bed compaction and use of bulking agents are some of the parameters that need further investigation in batch dry anaerobic digestion, to limit localised inhibition effects and avoid process instability. In addition, further attention on the relation between feedstock composition, organic loading rate and mixing regimes is required for continuous dry anaerobic digestion systems. This paper highlights all the areas where knowledge is scarce and value can be added to increase dry anaerobic digestion performance and expansion

Algal culture studies related to a Closed Ecological Life Support System (CELSS)

In many respects, algae would be the ideal plant component for a biologically based controlled life support system, since they are eminently suited to the closely coupled functions of atmosphere regeneration and food production. Scenedesmus obliquus and Spirulina platensis were grown in three continuous culture apparatuses. Culture vessels their operation and relative merits are described. Both light and nitrogen utilization efficiency are examined. Long term culture issues are detailed and a discussion of a plasmid search in Spirulina is included

Natural Topologies on Colombeau Algebras

We define natural topologies on the Colombeau algebras which are compatible with the algebraic structure. These topologies reduces do Scarpalezos sharp topologies when restricted. with this we take a positive step towards topological methods of solving P.D. Equations in Colombeau algebras. Applications will appear elsewhere.Comment: 20 page

On the convergence of cluster expansions for polymer gases

We compare the different convergence criteria available for cluster expansions of polymer gases subjected to hard-core exclusions, with emphasis on polymers defined as finite subsets of a countable set (e.g. contour expansions and more generally high- and low-temperature expansions). In order of increasing strength, these criteria are: (i) Dobrushin criterion, obtained by a simple inductive argument; (ii) Gruber-Kunz criterion obtained through the use of Kirkwood-Salzburg equations, and (iii) a criterion obtained by two of us via a direct combinatorial handling of the terms of the expansion. We show that for subset polymers our sharper criterion can be proven both by a suitable adaptation of Dobrushin inductive argument and by an alternative --in fact, more elementary-- handling of the Kirkwood-Salzburg equations. In addition we show that for general abstract polymers this alternative treatment leads to the same convergence region as the inductive Dobrushin argument and, furthermore, to a systematic way to improve bounds on correlations

Measurements of thermodynamic and transport properties of EuC2_2: a low-temperature analogue of EuO

EuC$_2$ is a ferromagnet with a Curie-temperature of $T_C \simeq 15\,$K. It is semiconducting with the particularity that the resistivity drops by about 5 orders of magnitude on cooling through $T_C$, which is therefore called a metal-insulator transition. In this paper we study the magnetization, specific heat, thermal expansion, and the resistivity around this ferromagnetic transition on high-quality EuC$_2$ samples. At $T_C$ we observe well defined anomalies in the specific heat $c_p(T)$ and thermal expansion $\alpha(T)$ data. The magnetic contributions of $c_p(T)$ and $\alpha(T)$ can satisfactorily be described within a mean-field theory, taking into account the magnetization data. In zero magnetic field the magnetic contributions of the specific heat and thermal expansion fulfill a Gr\"uneisen-scaling, which is not preserved in finite fields. From an estimation of the pressure dependence of $T_C$ via Ehrenfest's relation, we expect a considerable increase of $T_C$ under applied pressure due to a strong spin-lattice coupling. Furthermore the influence of weak off stoichiometries $\delta$ in EuC$_{2 \pm \delta}$ was studied. It is found that $\delta$ strongly affects the resistivity, but hardly changes the transition temperature. In all these aspects, the behavior of EuC$_2$ strongly resembles that of EuO.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure

Hierarchical Self-Assembly of Halogen-Bonded Block Copolymer Complexes into Upright Cylindrical Domains

Self-assembly of block copolymers into well-defined, ordered arrangements of chemically distinct domains is a reliable strategy for preparing tailored nanostructures. Microphase separation results from the system, minimizing repulsive interactions between dissimilar blocks and maximizing attractive interactions between similar blocks. Supramolecular methods have also achieved this separation by introducing small-molecule additives binding specifically to one block by noncovalent interactions. Here, we use halogen bonding as a supramolecular tool that directs the hierarchical self-assembly of low-molecular-weight perfluorinated molecules and diblock copolymers. Microphase separation results in a lamellar-within-cylindrical arrangement and promotes upright cylindrical alignment in films upon rapid casting and without further annealing. Such cylindrical domains with internal lamellar self-assemblies can be cleaved by solvent treatment of bulk films, resulting in separated and segmented cylindrical micelles stabilized by halogen-bond-based supramolecular crosslinks. These features, alongside the reversible nature of halogen bonding, provide a robust modular approach for nanofabricatio

Modeling skull-face anatomical/morphological correspondence for craniofacial superimposition-based identification

Craniofacial superimposition (CFS) is a forensic identification technique which studies the anatomical and morphological correspondence between a skull and a face. It involves the process of overlaying a variable number of facial images with the skull. This technique has great potential since nowadays the wide majority of the people have photographs where their faces are clearly visible. In addition, the skull is a bone that hardly degrades under the effect of fire, humidity, temperature changes, etc. Three consecutive stages for the CFS process have been distinguished: the acquisition and processing of the materials; the skull-face overlay; and the decision making. This final stage consists of determining the degree of support for a match based on the previous overlays. The final decision is guided by different criteria depending on the anatomical relations between the skull and the face. In previous approaches, we proposed a framework for automating this stage at different levels taking into consideration all the information and uncertainty sources involved. In this study, we model new anatomical skull-face regions and we tackle the last level of the hierarchical decision support system. For the first time, we present a complete system which provides a final degree of craniofacial correspondence. Furthermore, we validate our system as an automatic identification tool analyzing its capabilities in closed (known information or a potential list of those involved) and open lists (little or no idea at first who may be involved) and comparing its performance with the manual results achieved by experts, obtaining a remarkable performance. The proposed system has been demonstrated to be valid for sortlisting a given data set of initial candidates (in 62,5% of the cases the positive one is ranked in the first position) and to serve as an exclusion method (97,4% and 96% of true negatives in training and test, respectively)