Two-step upflow anaerobic sludge bed system for sewage treatment under subtropical conditions with posttreatment in waste stabilization ponds

A pilot-scale sewage treatment system consisting of two upflow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) reactors followed by five waste stabilization ponds (WSPs) in series was studied under subtropical conditions. The first UASB reactor started up in only 1 mo (stable operation, high chemical oxygen demand [COD] removal efficiency, low volatile fatty acids concentration in the effluent, alkalinity ratio above 0.7, biogas production above 0.1 Nm3/kg of CODremoved). Removal efficiencies up to 90% were obtained in the anaerobic steps at a hydraulic retention time of 6 + 4 h (80% removal in the first step). Fecal coliform removal in the whole system was 99.9999% (99.94% in anaerobic steps and 99.98% in WSPs). COD balances over UASB reactors are provided. A minimum set of data necessary to build COD balances is proposed. Intermittent sludge washout was detected in the reactors with the COD balances. Sludge washout from single-step UASB reactors should be monitored and minimized in order to ensure constant compliance with discharge standards, especially when no posttreatment is provided. The system combined high COD and fecal coliform removal efficiency with an extremely low effluent concentration, complying with discharge standards, and making it an attractive option for sewage treatment in subtropical regions.     

Production of HO2 and O2 by multiple ionization in water radiolysis by swift carbon ions

We present a simulation of liquid water radiolysis by swift carbon ions that explicitly takes into account multiple ionization of water molecules. For high linear energy transfer (LET), this process is not negligible with respect to single ionization. The rearrangement of highly ionized water molecules is consistent with production of atomic oxygen. Multiple ionizations is shown to be responsible for creation of a large amount of radicals and O₂ molecules. The simulated yield reproduces very well direct optical measurements for swift ions with comparable LET. Our simulation for is in also agreement with experiment.     

Active coke formation in oxydehydrogenation of ethylbenzene to styrene

In oxydehydrogenation of ethylbenzene to styrene catalytic active centers are created by coke formed during the reaction. Formation of active coke can be made evident by product analysis in the first minutes of operation and by analysis of the carbonaceous resisdues by temperature programmed oxidation (TPO) and EPR.

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Diffeomorphism-invariant properties for quasi-linear elliptic operators

For quasi-linear elliptic equations we detect relevant properties which remain invariant under the action of a suitable class of diffeomorphisms. This yields a connection between existence theories for equations with degenerate and nondegenerate coerciveness.     

Ionic electroactive polymer metal composites: Fabricating,modeling, and applications of postsilicon smart devices

Smart systems adapt to the surrounding environments in a number of ways. They are capable to scavenge energy from available sources, sense and elaborate external stimuli and adequately react. Electro Active Polymers are playing a main role in the realization of smart systems for applications if fields such as bio inspired and autonomous robotics, medicine, and aerospace. This paper focus on the possibility to use Ionic Polymer Metal Composites as a class of materials relevant to the realization of post silicon smart systems. The three main aspects of this new technology, i.e., fabrication methods, modeling, and applications are described with emphasis to most recent results. Attention is given to main challenges and shortcomings to be solved for technology, modelling, and control of IPMC based devices that need to be solved before this new technology can be fully exploited in real world applications. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2013     

Synthesis of aggregation pheromone components of cerambycid species through α-hydroxylation of alkylketones

The synthesis of 3-hydroxy-2-hexanone and 2,3-hexanediol, two components of the aggregation pheromone of several cerambycid species, is disclosed in here. Starting from 2-hexanone, through an α-hydroxylation using (diacetoxyiodo)benzene, 3-hydroxy-2-hexanone is obtained in good yield. Further reduction of this compound, gives 2,3-hexanediol in excellent yield. A study of the α-hydroxylation reaction of several alkylketones using an hypervalent iodine reagent is also disclosed in here. The synthesis of optically active compounds (R)- and (S)-3-hydroxy-2-hexanone was achieved starting from 2-hexanone with nitrosobenzene and l- and d-proline respectively, in several reaction media.     

Enrichments of post‐translational modifications in proteomic studies

More than 300 different protein post‐translational modifications are currently known, but only a few have been extensively investigated because modified proteoforms are commonly present in sub‐stoichiometry amount. For this reason, improvement of specific enrichment techniques is particularly useful for the proteomic characterization of post‐translationally modified proteins. Enrichment proteomic strategies could help the researcher in the challenging issue to decipher the complex molecular cross‐talk existing between the different factors influencing the cellular pathways. In this review the state of art of the platforms applied for the enrichment of specific and most common post‐translational modifications, such as glycosylation and glycation, phosphorylation, sulfation, redox modifications (i.e. sulfydration and nitrosylation), methylation, acetylation, and ubiquitinylation, are described. Enrichments strategies applied to characterize less studied post‐translational modifications are also briefly discussed.     

Polysialylated-neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM) in the human trigeminal ganglion and brainstem at prenatal and adult ages

Background  

The polysialylated neuronal cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM) is considered a marker of developing and migrating neurons and of synaptogenesis in the immature vertebrate nervous system. However, it persists in the mature normal brain in some regions which retain a capability for morphofunctional reorganization throughout life. With the aim of providing information relevant to the potential for dynamic changes of specific neuronal populations in man, this study analyses the immunohistochemical occurrence of PSA-NCAM in the human trigeminal ganglion (TG) and brainstem neuronal populations at prenatal and adult age.     

Hochschild Cohomology and the Derived Class of m-Cluster Tilted Algebras of Type \mathbb{A}

In this paper, we characterize all the finite dimensional algebras that are derived equivalent to an m?cluster tilted algebra of type $\mathbb{A}$ . These algebras are gentle, and we show that the derived class of such an algebra is completely determined by the rank of its Grothendieck group and the dimension of its first Hochschild cohomology group.     

A hybrid shuffled complex evolution approach based on differential evolution for unconstrained optimization

Numerous optimization methods have been proposed for the solution of the unconstrained optimization problems, such as mathematical programming methods, stochastic global optimization approaches, and metaheuristics. In this paper, a metaheuristic algorithm called Modified Shuffled Complex Evolution (MSCE) is proposed, where an adaptation of the Downhill Simplex search strategy combined with the differential evolution method is proposed. The efficiency of the new method is analyzed in terms of the mean performance and computational time, in comparison with the genetic algorithm using floating-point representation (GAF) and the classical shuffled complex evolution (SCE-UA) algorithm using six benchmark optimization functions. Simulation results and the comparisons with SCE-UA and GAF indicate that the MSCE improves the search performance on the five benchmark functions of six tested functions.