Fundamentals in selecting input and output variables for composting process automatic controllers

El títol del pre-print és Review of fundamentals in selecting input and output variables for composting process automatic controllersThis paper provides a critical analysis of the fundamental principles involved in the selection of input and output variables for automatic controllers of composting processes. Research results and technological advancements make available a number of parameters which may be used by a composting process controller. Parameters based on ventilation have been identified as the most appropriate controller output variables. On-line monitoring of odour generation potential and pathogen destruction has not become feasible, although recent advances indicate potential for electronic noses and biosensors. On-line measurement of reaction rate heavily depends on the suitability of microbial respirometric methods. Water content of the material being composted may be useful in on-line evaluation of reaction rate if relationships between water loss rate and respiration rate are adequately described. Developments in artificial intelligence offer, however, new avenues regarding real-time estimation of reaction rates. In general, the first experiences from application of artificial intelligence on composting process control indicate potential for substantial utility

The measurement of pH in saline and hypersaline media at sub-zero temperatures::Characterization of Tris buffers

The pH on the total proton scale of the Tris-HCl buffer system (pHTris) was characterized rigorously with the electrochemical Harned cell in salinity (S) 35 synthetic seawater and S = 45–100 synthetic seawater-derived brines at 25 and 0 °C, as well as at the freezing point of the synthetic solutions (−1.93 °C at S = 35 to −6 °C at S = 100). The electrochemical characterization of the common equimolal Tris buffer [RTris = mTris/mTris‐H+ = 1.0, with mTris = mTris‐H+ = 0.04 mol kgH2O‐1 = molality of the conjugate acid-base pair of 2-amino-2-hydroxymethyl-1,3-propanediol (Tris)] yielded pHTris values which increased with increasing salinity and decreasing temperature. The electrochemical characterization of a non-equimolal Tris buffer variant (RTris = 0.5, with mTris = 0.02 mol kgH2O‐1 and mTris−H+ = 0.04 mol kgH2O‐1) yielded pHTris values that were consistently less alkaline by 0.3 pH unit than those of the equimolal Tris buffer. This is in agreement with the values derived from the stoichiometric equilibrium of the Tris-H+ dissociation reaction, described by the Henderson – Hasselbalch equation, pHTris = pKTris⁎ + logRTris, with pKTris⁎ = stoichiometric equilibrium dissociation constant of Tris-H+, equivalent to equimolal pHTris. This consistency allows reliable use of other RTris variants of the Tris-HCl buffer system within the experimental conditions reported here. The results of this study will facilitate the pH measurement in saline and hypersaline systems at below-zero temperatures, such as sea ice brines

Identification of peptides in traditional and probiotic sheep milk yoghurt with angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE)-inhibitory activity

Two sets of traditional Greek sheep milk yoghurt were produced: the first one (YC) using normal yoghurt culture (Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus !10.13 and Streptococcus thermophilus !10.7) and the second (PR) with the same normal culture mixed with Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei DC412. YC and PR had similar physicochemical properties and proteolysis patterns throughout storage. Both products showed similar peptide profiles by RP-HPLC but quantitative differences were observed in respect to storage time. Single-strain cultures of the microorganisms used showed similar peptide profiles for both lactobacilli, yet L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus was the most proteolytic of all three microorganisms. The peptide content and the ACE-inhibitory activity of the water-soluble extracts of yoghurts, YC and PR, increased throughout storage. Major peptides were identified from yoghurt PR and from the separate cultures of L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and L. paracasei subsp. paracasei. Most of these peptides were derived from b-casein. A peptide, b-CN f114-121, with well-established ACE-inhibitory and opiate-like activity was identified in yoghurt PR. Further identified peptides were regarded as potential ACE-inhibitors according to their sequence

Measurement of the top quark forward-backward production asymmetry and the anomalous chromoelectric and chromomagnetic moments in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV

Abstract The parton-level top quark (t) forward-backward asymmetry and the anomalous chromoelectric (d̂ t) and chromomagnetic (μ̂ t) moments have been measured using LHC pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, collected in the CMS detector in a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb−1. The linearized variable AFB(1) is used to approximate the asymmetry. Candidate t t ¯ events decaying to a muon or electron and jets in final states with low and high Lorentz boosts are selected and reconstructed using a fit of the kinematic distributions of the decay products to those expected for t t ¯ final states. The values found for the parameters are AFB(1)=0.048−0.087+0.095(stat)−0.029+0.020(syst),μ̂t=−0.024−0.009+0.013(stat)−0.011+0.016(syst), and a limit is placed on the magnitude of | d̂ t| < 0.03 at 95% confidence level. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

MUSiC : a model-unspecific search for new physics in proton-proton collisions at root s=13TeV

Results of the Model Unspecific Search in CMS (MUSiC), using proton-proton collision data recorded at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1), are presented. The MUSiC analysis searches for anomalies that could be signatures of physics beyond the standard model. The analysis is based on the comparison of observed data with the standard model prediction, as determined from simulation, in several hundred final states and multiple kinematic distributions. Events containing at least one electron or muon are classified based on their final state topology, and an automated search algorithm surveys the observed data for deviations from the prediction. The sensitivity of the search is validated using multiple methods. No significant deviations from the predictions have been observed. For a wide range of final state topologies, agreement is found between the data and the standard model simulation. This analysis complements dedicated search analyses by significantly expanding the range of final states covered using a model independent approach with the largest data set to date to probe phase space regions beyond the reach of previous general searches.Peer reviewe

Search for new particles in events with energetic jets and large missing transverse momentum in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

A search is presented for new particles produced at the LHC in proton-proton collisions at root s = 13 TeV, using events with energetic jets and large missing transverse momentum. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 101 fb(-1), collected in 2017-2018 with the CMS detector. Machine learning techniques are used to define separate categories for events with narrow jets from initial-state radiation and events with large-radius jets consistent with a hadronic decay of a W or Z boson. A statistical combination is made with an earlier search based on a data sample of 36 fb(-1), collected in 2016. No significant excess of events is observed with respect to the standard model background expectation determined from control samples in data. The results are interpreted in terms of limits on the branching fraction of an invisible decay of the Higgs boson, as well as constraints on simplified models of dark matter, on first-generation scalar leptoquarks decaying to quarks and neutrinos, and on models with large extra dimensions. Several of the new limits, specifically for spin-1 dark matter mediators, pseudoscalar mediators, colored mediators, and leptoquarks, are the most restrictive to date.Peer reviewe