A local composition model for the prediction of mutual diffusion coefficients in binary liquid mixtures from tracer diffusion coefficients

In a recent publication (Moggride, 2012a), a simple equation was shown to accurately predict the mutual diffusion coefficients for a wide range of non-ideal binary mixtures from the tracer diffusion coefficients and thermodynamic correction factor, on the physical basis that the dynamic concentration fluctuations in the liquid mixture result in a reduction of the mean thermodynamic correction factor relative to the hypothetical case in which such fluctuations do not occur. The analysis was extended to cases where strong molecular association was hypothesised to occur in the form of dimerization of a polar species in mixtures with a non-polar one. This required modification of the average molecular mobility in the form of doubling the tracer diffusivity of the dimerized species (Moggridge, 2012b). Predictions were found to show good accuracy for the mixtures investigated. One of the difficulties with this approach is that it is an a posteriori correction: there is no a priori way of knowing whether strong cluster formation influences the observed molecular mobility, or what the appropriate size of the cluster is. In this work, a modification is made to the average molecular mobility in the original equation by replacing the bulk mole fraction with local mole fraction calculated using the NRTL (non-random two liquid) model, to take account of strong molecular association that results in highly correlated movement during diffusion. The new equation enables an accurate description of mutual diffusion coefficients in mixtures of one strongly self-associating species and one non-polar species, as well as in non-ideal, non-associating mixtures. This result is significant because in this way there is no need of any prior knowledge on the degree of molecular association in the mixture for the prediction of mutual diffusion coefficients from tracer diffusivities.Carmine D’Agostino would like to acknowledge Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, for supporting his research activities.This is the accepted manuscript. The final version is available at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0009250915002821

Adsorption of pyridine from aqueous solutions by polymeric adsorbents MN 200 and MN 500. Part 2: Kinetics and diffusion analysis

The adsorption kinetics of pyridine adsorption on Macronet adsorbents MN 200 and MN 500 from aqueous solution was investigated at various initial pyridine concentrations and temperatures. The Weber-Morris plots revealed the influence of both external film diffusion and intraparticle diffusion resistances. The two linear regions in Weber-Morris plots were attributed to macropore and micropore diffusion, respectively, which was associated to the bimodal pore size distribution of the adsorbents. New insights into the diffusion mechanisms were highlighted, with the proposed internal film diffusion resistance dominating into the macropore region, whereas homogeneous particle diffusion resistance describes diffusion in the micropore region. The importance of pore and surface diffusion in the micropores was noted in contributing to the observed diffusion kinetics. The pore diffusion coefficient was estimated from PFG (pulsed-field gradient) parameter and molecular diffusion coefficient of pyridine in bulk liquid. A greater contribution of the surface diffusion to the overall diffusion kinetics was found for MN 500 as inferred from a proposed calculation method, which agrees with its better adsorption performance. The overall findings highlight the effect of pore structure onto the diffusion mechanisms inside the pores and help to gain a better understanding into the adsorption kinetics of these Macronet adsorbents which are promising materials for the removal of N-heterocyclic compounds from waste water.Wolfson College, CambridgeThis is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2016.07.08

A novel laboratory scale method for studying heat treatment of cake flour

A lab-scale method for replicating the time–temperature history experienced by cake flours undergoing heat treatment was developed based on a packed bed configuration. The performance of heat-treated flours was compared with untreated and commercially heat-treated flour by test baking a high ratio cake formulation. Both cake volume and AACC shape measures were optimal after 15 min treatment at 130 °C, though their values varied between harvests. Separate oscillatory rheometry tests of cake batter at 80–100 °C exhibited similar behaviour to the baking tests. The gel strength parameter in the weak gel model, measured at 100 °C, was shown to correlate with flour quality and was identified as a possible alternative to test baking as a means of assessing flour quality after heat treatment.A CASE Ph.D. Studentship for AKSC from the Food Processing Faraday and support from Premier Foods are all gratefully acknowledged.This is the accepted manuscript version. The final version is available from Elsevier at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0260877414003112

Awareness of greater numbers of ecosystem services affects preferences for floodplain management

People's preferences for different habitat management scenarios determine the way that floodplain habitats are managed, and the ecosystem services that they provide. Making people aware of a greater number of ecosystem services may encourage them to design habitat management that better balances the provision of conflicting services. To investigate the impacts of ecosystem service information on people's preferences for floodplain habitat management options, we manipulated the number of ecosystem services that participants knew about, and the level of detail of the information they were provided with. The preferences of participants differed depending on the number of services that were described. Providing people with ecosystem service information had a quantifiable effect on their preferences among different habitat management options, and increased the variability in preferences between people. These findings are consistent with the theory that ecosystem service information should encourage people to consider a wider range of benefits that nature provides, and this in turn may enable habitat management that better balances trade-offs between different services. Simply describing more ecosystem services to people had no effect on their preferences for management options, suggesting that detailed, empirical data on ecosystem services are required to affect decision making

Impacts of hydrological restoration on lowland river floodplain plant communities

Many lowland floodplain habitats have been disconnected from their rivers by flood defence banks. Removing or lowering these banks can reinstate regular flooding and thus restore these important wetland plant communities. In this study we analyse changes in wetland hydrology and plant community composition following the lowering of flood defence banks at a floodplain of the River Don in the United Kingdom (UK). The aim of the restoration project was to improve the quality of “floodplain grazing marsh” habitat, which is a group of wetland communities that are of conservation interest in the UK. We analyse changes in species richness and community composition over a period of 6 years, and compare the presence of indicator species from the target floodplain grazing marsh plant communities. The lowering of the flood banks increased the frequency of flood events, from an estimated average of 1.7 floods per year to 571 floods per year. The increased flooding significantly increased the proportion of time that the wetland was submerged, and the heterogeneity in hydrological conditions within the floodplain. There were significant differences in composition between the pre-restoration and restored plant communities. Plants with traits for moisture tolerance became more abundant, although the communities did not contain significantly more ‘target’ floodplain grazing marsh species at the end of the study period than prior to restoration. Colonisation by floodplain grazing marsh species may have been limited because environmental conditions were not yet suitable, or because of a shortage of colonising propagules. While the desired target plant community has not been achieved after 5 years, it is encouraging that the community has changed dynamically as a result of hydrological changes, and that moisture-tolerant species have increased in occurrence. Over the next few decades, the restored flood regime may cause further environmental change or colonisation events, thus helping increase the occurrence of desired floodplain grazing marsh indicator species

On Instance Weighted Clustering Ensembles

© ESANN, 2023. This is the accepted manuscript version of an article which has been published in final form at: www.esann.org/proceedings/2023Ensemble clustering is a technique which combines multipleclustering results, and instance weighting is a technique which highlightsimportant instances in a dataset. Both techniques are known to enhanceclustering performance and robustness. In this research, ensembles andinstance weighting are integrated with the spectral clustering algorithm.We believe this is the first attempt at creating diversity in the generativemechanism using density based instance weighting for a spectral ensemble.The proposed approach is empirically validated using synthetic datasetscomparing against spectral and a spectral ensemble with random instanceweighting. Results show that using the instance weighted sub-samplingapproach as the generative mechanism for an ensemble of spectral cluster-ing leads to improved clustering performance on datasets with imbalancedclusters.Peer reviewe

Development of a single droplet freezing apparatus for studying crystallisation in cocoa butter droplets

The single droplet freezing apparatus described by Pore et al. (J. Am. Oil. Chem. Soc., 86, 215-225), which allows crystallisation to be monitored in situ by X-ray diffraction, was modified to allow rapid switching of coolant gas and monitoring by video microscopy. The apparatus was used to study drops of cocoa butter undergoing simulated spray freezing at high cooling rates, e.g. 130 K/min. The transformation of an Ivory Coast cocoa butter to the Form V polymorph was significantly faster in drops (~40 h) than in static bulk samples (10 days) crystallised under isothermal conditions. Phase transformation was observed from Forms I/II → III → IV → melt → V, with Form V crystallising directly from the melt at 28.6°C. Numerical simulations of the temperature evolution within the droplet established that the drops are not isothermal, explaining why nucleation was initially observed in the lower (upstream) part of the droplet.The provision of an EPSRC studentship for AMT and project support from Nestlé PTC York is gratefully acknowledged. The apparatus was constructed by Lee Pratt, Gary Chapman, Kevin Swan and Wei-Yao Ma. Assistance with the DSC testing from Zlatko Saraçevic, video microscopy from Dr Simon Butler, and general X-ray analysis from Dr Joanna Stasiak are all gratefully acknowledged.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Elsevier via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2015.02.01

Feasibility of a Mitral Annuloplasty With the Capability for Peri- and Postoperative Adjustment

Abstract Surgical repair with implantation of a mitral annuloplasty ring is the gold standard treatment for mitral regurgitation. However, outcomes are variable and recurrent mitral regurgitation is not uncommon. A REshapeable Mitral Annuloplasty DevIce (REMADI) is proposed, which consists of a fully encapsulated low melting temperature alloy. The alloy is solid and rigid at body temperature and provides traction force to shape the annulus. When heated using a noncontact method, the alloy melts and the REMADI becomes malleable. The REMADI is engaged with the mitral valve annulus using anchors which automatically deploy upon contact. A passive beating porcine heart model was used to demonstrate the feasibility of the REMADI device, which was deployed, engaged, and used to reduce the diameter of the mitral valve annulus.Armstrong Trus