1,834 research outputs found
Assessment of the disinfection capacity and eco-toxicological impact of atmospheric cold plasma for treatment of food industry effluents
Generation of wastewater is one of the main environmental sustainability issues across food sector industries. The constituents of food process effluents are often complex and require high energy and processing for regulatory compliance. Wastewater streams are the subject of microbiological and chemical criteria, and can have a significant eco-toxicological impact on the aquatic life. Thus, innovative treatment approaches are required to mitigate environmental impact in an energy efficient manner. Here, dielectric barrier discharge atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) was evaluated for control of key microbial indicators encountered in food industry effluent. This study also investigated the eco-toxicological impact of cold plasma treatment of the effluents using a range of aquatic bioassays. Continuous ACP treatment was applied to synthetic dairy and meat effluents. Microbial inactivation showed treatment time dependence with significant reduction in microbial populations within 120 s, and to undetectable levels after 300 s. Post treatment retention time emerged as critical control parameter which promoted ACP bacterial inactivation efficiency. Moreover, ACP treatment for 20 min achieved significant reduction (≥2 Log10) in Bacillus megaterium endospores in wastewater effluent. Acute aquatic toxicity was assessed using two fish cell lines (PLHC-1 and RTG-2) and a crustacean model (Daphnia magna). Untreated effluents were toxic to the aquatic models, however, plasma treatment limited the toxic effects. Differing sensitivities were observed to ACP treated effluents across the different test bio-assays in the following order: PLHC-1 \u3e RTG-2 ≥ D. magna; with greater sensitivity retained to plasma treated meat effluent than dairy effluent. The toxic effects were dependent on concentration and treatment time of the ACP treated effluent; with 30% cytotoxicity in D. magna and fish cells observed after 24 h of exposure to ACP treated effluent for concentrations up to 5%. The findings suggest the need to employ wider variety of aquatic organisms for better understanding and complete toxicity evaluation of long-term effects. The study demonstrates the potential to tailor ACP system parameters to control pertinent microbial targets (mono/poly-microbial, vegetative or spore form) found in complex and nutritious wastewater effluents whilst maintaining a safe eco-toxicity profile for aquatic species
On Four-Point Functions of Half-BPS Operators in General Dimensions
We study four-point correlation functions of half-BPS operators of arbitrary
weight for all dimensions d=3,4,5,6 where superconformal theories exist. Using
harmonic superspace techniques, we derive the superconformal Ward identities
for these correlators and present them in a universal form. We then solve these
identities, employing Jack polynomial expansions. We show that the general
solution is parameterized by a set of arbitrary two-variable functions, with
the exception of the case d=4, where in addition functions of a single variable
appear. We also discuss the operator product expansion using recent results on
conformal partial wave amplitudes in arbitrary dimension.Comment: The discussion of the case d=6 expanded; references added/correcte
Measuring the orbital angular momentum spectrum of an electron beam
Electron waves that carry orbital angular momentum (OAM) are characterized by a quantized and unbounded magnetic dipole moment parallel to their propagation direction. When interacting with magnetic materials, the wavefunctions of such electrons are inherently modified. Such variations therefore motivate the need to analyse electron wavefunctions, especially their wavefronts, to obtain information regarding the material’s structure. Here, we propose, design and demonstrate the performance of a device based on nanoscale holograms for measuring an electron’s OAM components by spatially separating them. We sort pure and superposed OAM states of electrons with OAM values of between −10 and 10. We employ the device to analyse the OAM spectrum of electrons that have been affected by a micron-scale magnetic dipole, thus establishing that our sorter can be an instrument for nanoscale magnetic spectroscopy
Molecular dynamics simulation of the order-disorder phase transition in solid NaNO
We present molecular dynamics simulations of solid NaNO using pair
potentials with the rigid-ion model. The crystal potential surface is
calculated by using an \emph{a priori} method which integrates the \emph{ab
initio} calculations with the Gordon-Kim electron gas theory. This approach is
carefully examined by using different population analysis methods and comparing
the intermolecular interactions resulting from this approach with those from
the \emph{ab initio} Hartree-Fock calculations. Our numerics shows that the
ferroelectric-paraelectric phase transition in solid NaNO is triggered by
rotation of the nitrite ions around the crystallographical c axis, in agreement
with recent X-ray experiments [Gohda \textit{et al.}, Phys. Rev. B \textbf{63},
14101 (2000)]. The crystal-field effects on the nitrite ion are also addressed.
Remarkable internal charge-transfer effect is found.Comment: RevTeX 4.0, 11 figure
Effect of soil particle size on the electrochemical corrosion behavior of pipeline steel in saline solution
In this study, by using a standard quartz replace of sandy soil particles, the effect of soil
particle size (0.1…0.25 mm, 0.6…1.0 mm) on the electrochemical corrosion behavior of
X70 pipeline steel in sandy soil corrosive environment simulated by 3.5 wt.% sodium
chloride (NaCl) was investigated through polarization curve and electrochemical impedance
spectroscopy (EIS) technology. The results indicated that the polarization resistance
of X70 steel decreased with a decreasing particle size. For all polarization curves the right
shift of cathodic branch with a decreasing particle size is observed. The corrosion of X70
steel is controlled by the cathode process diffusion and oxygen reduction at the metalenvironment
interface, the intensity of which increases with the decreasing particle size.З допомогою методів потенціодинамічних поляризаційних кривих та
електрохімічної імпедансної спектроскопії (EIS) досліджено корозійну поведінку трубопровідної сталі Х70 у ґрунтовому середовищі, яке змодельовано розчином 3,5 wt.% NaCl з
частинками кварцового піску різного розміру (0,1…0,25 і 0,6…1,0 mm). Встановлено, що
швидкість корозії сталі зростає зі зменшенням розміру частинок ґрунту, про що свідчить
зниження її поляризаційного опору, а також зсув катодних гілок поляризаційних кривих
вправо. Зроблено висновок, що в цьому випадку корозію сталі контролює катодний процес відновлення кисню на межі поділу метал–середовище, інтенсивність якого зростає зі
зменшенням розміру частинок ґрунту.С помощью методов потенциодинамических поляризационных кривых и
электрохимической импедансной спектроскопии (EIS) исследовано коррозионное поведение трубопроводной стали Х70 в почвенной среде, которую моделировали раствором
3,5 wt.% NaCl с частицами кварцевого песка разного размера (0,1…0,25 и 0,6...1,0 mm).
Установлено, что скорость коррозии стали растет с уменьшением размера частиц почвы,
о чем свидетельствует снижение ее поляризационного сопротивления, а также сдвиг катодных ветвей поляризационных кривых вправо. Сделан вывод, что в данном случае коррозию стали контролирует катодный процесс возобновления кислорода на грани деления
металл–среда, нитенсивность которого растет с уменьшением размера частиц почвы
The influence of the preparation methods on the inclusion of model drugs in a β-cyclodextrin cavity
NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Eur J Pharm Biopharm. 2009 Feb;71(2):377-386. Epub 2008 Oct 17.The work aims to prove the complexation of two model drugs (ibuprofen, IB and indomethacin, IN) by bcyclodextrin
(bCD), and the effect of water in such a process, and makes a comparison of their complexation
yields. Two methods were considered: kneading of a binary mixture of the drug, bCD, and inclusion
of either IB or IN in aqueous solutions of bCD. In the latter method water was removed by air stream,
spray-drying and freeze-drying. To prove the formation of complexes in final products, optical microscopy,
UV spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy, DSC, X-ray and NMR were considered. Each powder was added
to an acidic solution (pH = 2) to quantify the concentration of the drug inside bCD cavity. Other media
(pH = 5 and 7) were used to prove the existence of drug not complexed in each powder, as the drugs solubility
increases with the pH. It was observed that complexation occurred in all powders, and that the
fraction of drug inside the bCD did not depend neither on the method of complexation nor on the
processes of drying considered
Azimuthal asymmetries at CLAS: Extraction of e^a(x) and prediction of A_{UL}
First information on the chirally odd twist-3 proton distribution function
e(x) is extracted from the azimuthal asymmetry, A_{LU}, in the
electro-production of pions from deeply inelastic scattering of longitudinally
polarized electrons off unpolarized protons, which has been recently measured
by CLAS collaboration. Furthermore parameter-free predictions are made for
azimuthal asymmetries, A_{UL}, from scattering of an unpolarized beam on a
polarized proton target for CLAS kinematics.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, late
Contact Interactions and Resonance-Like Physics at Present and Future Colliders from Unparticles
High scale conformal physics can lead to unusual unparticle stuff at our low
energies. In this paper we discuss how the exchange of unparticles between
Standard Model fields can lead to new contact interaction physics as well as a
pseudoresonance-like structure, an unresonance, that might be observable at the
Tevatron or LHC in, e.g., the Drell-Yan channel. The specific signatures of
this scenario are quite unique and can be used to easily identify this new
physics given sufficient integrated luminosity.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figs; minor text changes, ref added; typos correcte
Electromigration-Induced Flow of Islands and Voids on the Cu(001) Surface
Electromigration-induced flow of islands and voids on the Cu(001) surface is
studied at the atomic scale. The basic drift mechanisms are identified using a
complete set of energy barriers for adatom hopping on the Cu(001) surface,
combined with kinetic Monte Carlo simulations. The energy barriers are
calculated by the embedded atom method, and parameterized using a simple model.
The dependence of the flow on the temperature, the size of the clusters, and
the strength of the applied field is obtained. For both islands and voids it is
found that edge diffusion is the dominant mass-transport mechanism. The rate
limiting steps are identified. For both islands and voids they involve
detachment of atoms from corners into the adjacent edge. The energy barriers
for these moves are found to be in good agreement with the activation energy
for island/void drift obtained from Arrhenius analysis of the simulation
results. The relevance of the results to other FCC(001) metal surfaces and
their experimental implications are discussed.Comment: 9 pages, 13 ps figure
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