The mobility of metals in acid mine drainage from abandoned coal mines

The acid mine-drainage contaminated Blesbokspruit catchment west of Witbank in Mpumalanga province, South Africa has been investigated, by analysis of its waters, sediments, precipitates and algae, to obtain an understanding of the processes which control the mobility of metals in these waters. The Blesbokspruit drains acid mine drainage originating in surrounding, abandoned coal mine workings. The upper Blesbokspruit (approximately 8 km) including the stream origin, AMD outwelling points, downstream AMD retention ponds and a small wetland were selected for this study. Water, sediment, precipitate, and algae samples were collected from the Blesbokspruit. The water quality of the catchment was determined and compared to mineralogical and major and trace element analyses of sediments, precipitates, and algae. The pH and total dissolved solids of the catchment waters ranged from pH 2.6 to 7.4 and 147 to 3071 mg/ t, respectively. Associated precipitates consisted primarily of jarosite with minor amounts of goethite, lepidocrocite, ferrihydrite and gypsum, with ferrihydrite being the major component of only one precipitate sample. The presence of algae at one of the sampling sites appeared to act as a template for the precipitation of ferrihydrite in a low pH and high acidity environment. Speciation modelling of the Blesbokspruit waters indicated waters saturated with respect to jarosite, goethite, and quartz, in equilibrium with jurbanite, alunite and gypsum, and undersaturated with respect to ferrihydrite and kaolinite. The mobility of iron in the sulphate rich Blesbokspruit waters appeared to be controlled by pyrite oxidation and the solubility of the basic iron sulphate mineral jarosite. In contrast Al mobility appeared to be influenced by different mechanisms. Acidity of the Blesbokspruit waters correlated well (r = 0.942) with Al concentrations in the waters. Dissolved Al correlated with dissolved silica (r = 0.757) in the Blesbokspruit waters and exchangeable acidity correlated with exchangeable Al (r = 0.761) in the associated sediments. The data suggested that Al behaved conservatively in the pH < 4 Blesbokspruit waters and that Al solubility is controlled by dissolution of clay minerals and adsorption to organic matter in the sediments. Although precipitates contain trace elements, precipitation does not have a major effect on the concentration of trace elements in the associated low pH waters. Trace elements were, however, accumulated in the sediments of the Blesbokspruit streambed and the wetland. The wetland acts as a sink for dissolved Na, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, Ni, Pb U, Cu and Co. The mobility of these elements appeared to be controlled by the dissolution of minerals containing these elements and adsorption to organic matter in the wetland and streambed sediments. Not all metals were, however, completely immobilised, and toxic concentrations of Pb (1.3 mg/ t) and elevated concentrations of Al (40 mg/ t ), Fe (1.6 mg/t) and Mn (6.5 mg/t) remained in the water downstream of the wetland

Strong Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen entanglement from a single squeezed light source

Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) entanglement is a criterion that is more demanding than just certifying entanglement. We theoretically and experimentally analyze the low resource generation of bi-partite continuous variable entanglement, as realized by mixing a squeezed mode with a vacuum mode at a balanced beam splitter, i.e. the generation of so-called vacuum-class entanglement. We find that in order to observe EPR entanglement the total optical loss must be smaller than 33.3 %. However, arbitrary strong EPR entanglement is generally possible with this scheme. We realize continuous wave squeezed light at 1550 nm with up to 9.9 dB of non-classical noise reduction, which is the highest value at a telecom wavelength so far. Using two phase controlled balanced homodyne detectors we observe an EPR co-variance product of 0.502 \pm 0.006 < 1, where 1 is the critical value. We discuss the feasibility of strong Gaussian entanglement and its application for quantum key distribution in a short-distance fiber network.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Spatial classification methods for efficient infiltration measurements and transfer of measuring results

A comprehensive knowledge about the infiltration situation in a sewer system is required for sustainable operation and cost-effective maintenance. Due to the high expenditures of infiltration measurements an optimisation of necessary measurement campaigns and a reliable transfer of measurement results to comparable areas are essential. Suitable methods were developed to improve the information yield of measurements by identifying appropriate measuring point locations and to assign measurement results to other potential measuring points by comparing sub-catchments and classifying reaches. The methods are based on the introduced similarity approach “Similar sewer conditions lead to similar infiltration/inflow rates” and on modified multivariate statistical techniques. The developed methods have a high degree of freedom against data needs. They were successfully tested on real and generated data. For suitable catchments it is estimated, that the optimisation potential amounts up to 40 % accuracy improvement compared to non-optimised measuring point configurations. With an acceptable error the transfer of measurement results was successful for up to 75 % of the investigated sub-catchments. With the proposed methods it is possible to improve the information about the infiltration status of sewer systems and to reduce the measurement related uncertainty which results in significant cost savings for the operator.Für den nachhaltigen Betrieb und die kosteneffiziente Unterhaltung von Kanalnetzen ist eine genaue Bestimmung ihrer Fremdwassersituation notwendig. Eine Optimierung der dazu erforderlichen Messkampagnen und eine zuverlässige Übertragung der Messergebnisse auf vergleichbare Gebiete sind aufgrund der hohen Aufwendungen für Infiltrationsmessungen angezeigt. Dafür wurden geeignete Methoden entwickelt, welche einerseits den Informationsgehalt von Messungen durch die Bestimmung optimaler Messpunkte verbessern und andererseits Messresultate mittels Vergleichen von Teileinzugsgebieten und Klassifizierungen von Kanalhaltungen zu anderen potenziellen Messstellen zuordnen. Die Methoden basieren auf dem Ähnlichkeitsansatz “Ähnliche Kanaleigenschaften führen zu ähnlichen Fremdwasserraten” und nutzen modifizierte multivariate statistische Verfahren. Sie haben einen hohen Freiheitsgrad bezüglich der Datenanforderung. Die Methoden wurden erfolgreich anhand gemessener und generierter Daten validiert. Es wird eingeschätzt, dass das Optimierungspotenzial bei geeigneten Einzugsgebieten bis zu 40 % gegenüber nicht optimierten Mess-netzen beträgt. Die Übertragung der Messergebnisse war mit einem akzeptablen Fehler für bis zu 75 % der untersuchten Teileinzugsgebiete erfolgreich. Mit den entwickelten Methoden ist es möglich, den Kenntnisstand über die Fremdwassersituation eines Kanalnetzes zu verbessern und die messungsbezogene Unsicherheit zu verringern. Dies resultiert in Kostenersparnissen für den Betreiber

Quantum correlations and quantum key distribution

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Kyphoplasty for treatment of osteoporotic vertebral fractures: a prospective non-randomized study

Background: Minimally invasive augmentation techniques of vertebral bodies have been advocated to treat osteoporotic vertebral body compression fractures (VBCFs). Kyphoplasty is designed to address both fracture-related pain as well as kyphotic deformity usually associated with fracture. Previous studies have indicated the potential of this technique for reduction of vertebral body height, but there has been little investigation into whether this has a lasting effect. The current study reports on our experience and the one-year results in 27 kyphoplasty procedures (24 patients) for osteoporotic VBCFs. Results: All but one patient experienced pain relief following the procedure (on VAS 1-10)—with a lasting effect over the follow-up period in 25 cases. An average vertebral kyphosis reduction of 47.7% was achieved with no loss of reduction after one year. The potential for reduction was statistically related to the pre-operative amount of kyphosis, the level treated, and the age of the fracture, but not to the age of the patient. During follow-up, one fracture adjacent to a treated level was observed. Pain relief was not related to the amount of reduction. Conclusion: Kyphoplasty is an effective treatment of VBCFs in terms of pain relief and durable reduction of deformity. Whether spinal realignment results in an improved long-term clinical outcome remains to be investigate

Supercontinuum pulse shaping in the few-cycle regime

The synthesis of nearly arbitrary supercontinuum pulse forms is demonstrated with sub-pulse structures that maintain a temporal resolution in the few-cycle regime. Spectral broadening of the 35 fs input pulses to supercontinuum bandwidths is attained in a controlled two-stage sequential filamentation in air at atmospheric pressure, facilitating a homogeneous power density over the full spectral envelope in the visible to near infrared spectral range. Only standard optics and a liquid crystal spatial light modulator (LC-SLM) are employed for achieving pulse compression to the sub 5 fs regime with pulse energies of up to 60 μJ and a peak power of 12 GW. This constitutes the starting point for further pulse form synthesis via phase modulation within the sampling limit of the pulse shaper. Transient grating frequency-resolved optical gating (TG-FROG) allows for the characterization of pulse forms that extend over several hundred femtoseconds with few-cycle substructure

Continuous Variable Quantum Key Distribution: Finite-Key Analysis of Composable Security against Coherent Attacks

We provide a security analysis for continuous variable quantum key distribution protocols based on the transmission of squeezed vacuum states measured via homodyne detection. We employ a version of the entropic uncertainty relation for smooth entropies to give a lower bound on the number of secret bits which can be extracted from a finite number of runs of the protocol. This bound is valid under general coherent attacks, and gives rise to keys which are composably secure. For comparison, we also give a lower bound valid under the assumption of collective attacks. For both scenarios, we find positive key rates using experimental parameters reachable today.Comment: v2: new author, technical inaccuracy corrected, new plots, v3: substantially improved key rates against coherent attacks (due to correction of an error in the numerical computation

Plate fixation of extra-articular fractures of the proximal phalanx: do new implants cause less problems?

BACKGROUND Limited range of finger motion is a frequent complication after plate fixation of phalangeal fractures. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the results of plate fixation of extra-articular fractures of the proximal phalanx using current low-profile mini-fragment-systems. METHODS From 2006 to 2012, 32 patients with 36 extra-articular fractures of the proximal phalanx of the triphalangeal fingers were treated with open reduction and plate fixation (ORPF) using 1.2 and 1.5 mm mini-fragment systems. Patients presenting with open fractures grade 2 and 3 or relevant laceration of adjacent structures were excluded from the study. We retrospectively evaluated the rate of mal-union or non-union after ORPF, the need for revision surgery, for plate removal, and for tenolysis. Data were analyzed for further complications with regard to infections or complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). RESULTS No infections were noted. Five patients developed transient symptoms of CRPS. Six weeks postoperatively, total active finger motion (TAM) averaged 183°, and all 32 patients underwent formal hand therapy. At the latest follow-up or at the time of plate removal, respectively, the mean TAM improved to 213°. Extension lag of proximal interphalangeal joints was found in 67 % of all fractured fingers. Secondary surgery was necessary in 14 of 32 patients (2 corrective osteotomies, 12 plate removals including 7 procedures explicitly because of reduced mobility). CONCLUSIONS Despite of new implant designs significant problems persist. Adhesions of extensor tendons leading to limited range of finger motion are still the most frequent complications after ORPF of proximal phalangeal fractures, even in absence of significant soft-tissue damage. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Therapeutic, Retrospective, Level IV