Temperature effects on methanogenesis and sulfidogenesis during anaerobic digestion of sulfur-rich macroalgal biomass in sequencing batch reactors

Methanogenesis and sulfidogenesis, the major microbial reduction reactions occurring in the anaerobic digestion (AD) process, compete for common substrates. Therefore, the balance between methanogenic and sulfidogenic activities is important for efficient biogas production. In this study, changes in methanogenic and sulfidogenic performances in response to changes in organic loading rate (OLR) were examined in two digesters treating sulfur-rich macroalgal waste under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions, respectively. Both methanogenesis and sulfidogenesis were largely suppressed under thermophilic relative to mesophilic conditions, regardless of OLR. However, the suppressive effect was even more significant for sulfidogenesis, which may suggest an option for H2S control. The reactor microbial communities developed totally differently according to reactor temperature, with the abundance of both methanogens and sulfate-reducing bacteria being significantly higher under mesophilic conditions. In both reactors, sulfidogenic activity increased with increasing OLR. The findings of this study help to understand how temperature affects sulfidogenesis and methanogenesis during AD

Performance study of FMIPv6-based cross-layer WiMAX handover scheme for supporting VoIP service

This report presents performance study of the FMIPv6-based cross-layer handover scheme for VoIP supports over mobile WiMAX network. For this performance validation and evaluation, the handover delays for four different handover mechanisms are formulated and ns2 based simulation module has been developed. The handover delay, the total delay, and the R factor representing VoIP quality are measured to evaluate the VoIP support characteristics of the FMIPv6-based cross-layer scheme. Simulation results verified that the proposed FMIPv6-based cross-layer handover scheme, compared to the non-cross-layer scheme, successfully reduces total handover delay by almost 50% for the case of layer-3 handover. Further, simulation was also evaluated in terms of R factor indicating voice quality level, of which 70 is a minimum value of a traditional PSTN call to be considered as the lower limit of a VoIP call quality [6]. Through the simulation in this study, the result revealed that the proposed scheme effectively improves VoIP call quality from unacceptable quality to acceptable quality (R factor of 75). Based on these simulation results, it was found that the proposed FMIPv6-based cross-layer handover scheme is an adequate protocol for supporting VoIP services in mobile WiMAX environment

Feeling right is feeling good: psychological well-being and emotional fit with culture in autonomy- versus relatedness-promoting situations.

The current research tested the idea that it is the cultural fit of emotions, rather than certain emotions per se, that predicts psychological well-being. We reasoned that emotional fit in the domains of life that afford the realization of central cultural mandates would be particularly important to psychological well-being. We tested this hypothesis with samples from three cultural contexts that are known to differ with respect to their main cultural mandates: a European American (N = 30), a Korean (N = 80), and a Belgian sample (N = 266). Cultural fit was measured by comparing an individual's patterns of emotions to the average cultural pattern for the same type of situation on the Emotional Patterns Questionnaire (De Leersnyder et al., 2011). Consistent with our hypothesis, we found evidence for "universality without uniformity": in each sample, psychological well-being was associated with emotional fit in the domain that was key to the cultural mandate. However, cultures varied with regard to the particular domain involved. Psychological well-being was predicted by emotional fit (a) in autonomy-promoting situations at work in the U.S., (b) in relatedness-promoting situations at home in Korea, and (c) in both autonomy-promoting and relatedness-promoting situations in Belgium. These findings show that the experience of culturally appropriate patterns of emotions contributes to psychological well-being. One interpretation is that experiencing appropriate emotions is itself a realization of the cultural mandates

Case Study of a Feasiblity Study: Older Adult with MCI Listens to Music via a Mobile Tablet

Paper submitted to the University of Kansas School of Nursing in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Nursing Honors Program.The University of Kansas School of Nursing Bachelor of Science Nursing Honors Progra

Biomethanation of Harmful Macroalgal Biomass in Leach-Bed Reactor Coupled to Anaerobic Filter: Effect of Water Regime and Filter Media

Ulva is a marine macroalgal genus which causes serious green tides in coastal areas worldwide. This study investigated anaerobic digestion as a way to manage Ulva waste in a leach-bed reactor coupled to an anaerobic filter (LBR-AF). Two LBR-AF systems with different filter media, blast furnace slag grains for R1, and polyvinyl chloride rings for R2, were run at increasing water replacement rates (WRRs). Both achieved efficient volatile solids reduction (68.4-87.1%) and methane yield (148-309 mL/g VS fed) at all WRRs, with the optimal WRR for maximum methane production being 100 mL/d. R1 maintained more stable methanation performance than R2, possibly due to the different surface properties (i.e., biomass retention capacity) of the filter media. Such an effect was also noted in the different behaviors of the LBR and AF between R1 and R2. The molecular analysis results revealed that the development of the microbial community structure in the reactors was primarily determined by the fermentation type, i.e., dry (LBR) or wet (AF)

The role of emotional similarity and emotional accuracy in belonging and stress among first-generation and continuing-generation students

Extensive research has documented the psychological, social, and academic predicament of first-generation college students. However, basic psychological mechanisms underlying the challenges experienced by these students have been understudied. Taking a cultural psychology perspective, the present research considers the role of emotional (mis)match as a key mechanism for explaining first-generation students’ lowered well-being. A sample of 344 American undergraduate students completed a survey designed to measure two aspects of emotional processing: (1) Emotional Accuracy – how accurately students perceive emotional reactions of majority-culture students (continuing-generation junior and senior students who have been socialized into college culture), and (2) Emotional Similarity –how similar students’ emotions are to the emotions experienced by majority-culture students. Emotional Accuracy predicted positive outcomes, in general, but was lower among first-generation students. Unexpectedly, Emotional Similarity predicted negative student outcomes. As one of the first studies addressing basic psychological mechanisms in college adjustment, these findings underscore the importance of understanding the roles that specific emotional processes play in social adjustment

Estudio comparativo de los marcadores discursivos de reformulación explicativa en español y en coreano

Tesis doctoral inédita leída en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Departamento de Filología Española. Fecha de lectura: 04-02-202

Relationships Among Substance Use, Multiple Sexual Partners, and Condomless Sex: Differences Between Male and Female U.S. High School Adolescents

Male and female students manifest different behaviors in condomless sex. This cross-sectional, exploratory, correlational study examined the differences in risk factors for condomless sex between male and female high school students, using secondary data from 4,968 sexually active males and females participating in the 2011 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Results in descriptive statistics and multivariate binary logistic regressions revealed that condomless sex was reported as 39.70% in general. A greater proportion of females engaged in condomless sex (23.26%) than did males (16.44%). Physical abuse by sex partners was a common reason for failure to use condoms regardless of gender. Lower condom use was found in (1) those experiencing forced sex by a partner in males, (2) female smokers, and (3) female with multiple sex partners. Thus, sexual health education should address the different risk factors and consider gender characteristics to reduce condomless sex

Body-form and body-pose recognition with a hierarchical model of the ventral stream

When learning to recognize a novel body shape, e.g., a panda bear, we are not misled by changes in its pose. A "jumping panda bear" is readily recognized, despite having no prior visual experience with the conjunction of these concepts. Likewise, a novel pose can be estimated in an invariant way, with respect to the actor's body shape. These body and pose recognition tasks require invariance to non-generic transformations that previous models of the ventral stream do not have. We show that the addition of biologically plausible, class-specific mechanisms associating previously-viewed actors in a range of poses enables a hierarchical model of object recognition to account for this human capability. These associations could be acquired in an unsupervised manner from past experience