Separations on water-ice. Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dasgupta, P.K.

1998-07-01

This report focuses on processes to separate water frozen into ice. Research topics include the following: normal phase columnar chromatography; electrophoresis in a planar format; and zone melting type separations on a solid column of ice. Attempts were made to dope the emulsion with {beta}-cyclodextrin in order to separate commercially important chiral drugs such as Inderal.

Numerical Modeling of Trinity River Shoaling below Wallisville, Texas

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-02-01

levees , the hydraulic deltaic process of finding the most efficient pathway to open water controls the flow direction and speed. Additionally, changes...events to allow flow to pass through the structures. During the dry season the structures are normally closed to control salt water intrusion. The... levees and natural ridges, which have low spots and channels that have incised from previous floods. Second, once the flood waters are outside the

Compatibility Study of Nanofiltration and Reverse Osmosis Membranes with 1 Cyclohexylpiperidenium Bicarbonate Solutions

DOE Data Explorer

Adhikari, Birendra; Jones, Michael G.; Orme, Christopher J.; Wendt, Daniel S.; Wilson, Aaron D.

2015-10-01

The switchable polarity solvent forward osmosis (SPS FO) desalination process requires use of a polishing filtration step to remove trace quantities of draw solution from the product water stream. Selected nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) membranes were tested for their ability to recover water from 1-cyclohexylpiperidenium bicarbonate solutions in this application. This submission includes the experimental data used to calculate NF and RO membrane flux-normalized net driving pressure (FNNDP) and flux-normalized rejection (FNR) performance in recovering water from 1-cyclohexylpiperidenium bicarbonate solutions. This data is further described and visualized in the manuscript entitled "Compatibility study of nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membranes with 1 cyclohexylpiperidenium bicarbonate solutions" (see attached Compatibility Study Manuscript).

Sulfate-reducing bacteria inhabiting natural corrosion deposits from marine steel structures.

PubMed

Païssé, Sandrine; Ghiglione, Jean-François; Marty, Florence; Abbas, Ben; Gueuné, Hervé; Amaya, José Maria Sanchez; Muyzer, Gerard; Quillet, Laurent

2013-08-01

In the present study, investigations were conducted on natural corrosion deposits to better understand the role of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) in the accelerated corrosion process of carbon steel sheet piles in port environments. We describe the abundance and diversity of total and metabolically active SRB within five natural corrosion deposits located within tidal or low water zone and showing either normal or accelerated corrosion. By using molecular techniques, such as quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, denaturing gel gradient electrophoresis, and sequence cloning based on 16S rRNA, dsrB genes, and their transcripts, we demonstrated a clear distinction between SRB population structure inhabiting normal or accelerated low-water corrosion deposits. Although SRB were present in both normal and accelerated low-water corrosion deposits, they dominated and were exclusively active in the inner and intermediate layers of accelerated corrosion deposits. We also highlighted that some of these SRB populations are specific to the accelerated low-water corrosion deposit environment in which they probably play a dominant role in the sulfured corrosion product enrichment.

The Approach to Study the Kama Reservoir Basin Deformation in the Zone of a Variable Backwater

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dvinskikh, S. A.; Kitaev, A. B.; Shaydulina, A. A.

2018-01-01

A reservoir floor starts to change since it has been filled up to a normal headwater level (NHL) under the impact of hydrosphere and lithosphere interactions as well as under the impact of chemical and biological processes that occur in its water masses. At that complicated and often contradictory “relations” between features of geo- and hydrodynamic processes are created. The consequences of these relations are the alterations of values of morphometric indices of the reservoir water surface, depth and volume. We observe two processes that are oppositely directed. They are accumulation and erosion. They are more complex at the upper area of the reservoir - the zone of a variable backwater. The basin deformation observed there is lop-sided and relatively quiet, but with time these deformations make difficulties for water users. To provide good navigation and to reduce harmful effect of waters on other water consumption objects, it is necessary to study and to forecast constantly the basin transformation processes that occur at this zone.

Processing multispectral data obtained by orbital platforms of the LANDSAT series for studies of water quality in Guanabara Bay. M.S. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dejesusparada, N. (Principal Investigator); Verdesio, J. J.

1981-01-01

The relationship existing between Guanabara Bay water quality ground truth parameters and LANDSAT MSS video data was investigated. The parameters considered were: chorophyll content, water transparency usng the Secchi disk, salinity, and dissolved ammonia. Data from two overflights was used, and methods of processing digital data were compared. Linear and nonlinear regression analyses were utilized, comparing original data with processed data by using the correlation coefficient and the estimation mean error. It was determined that better quality data are obtained by using radiometric correction programs with a physical basis, contrast ratio, and normalization. Incidental locations of floating vegetation, changes in bottom depth, oil slicks, and ships at anchor were made.

The study of interrelationship between raw water quality parameters, chlorine demand and the formation of disinfection by-products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdullah, Md. Pauzi; Yee, Lim Fang; Ata, Sadia; Abdullah, Abass; Ishak, Basar; Abidin, Khairul Nidzham Zainal

Disinfection is the most crucial process in the treatment of drinking water supply and is the final barrier against bacteriological impurities in drinking water. Chlorine is the primary disinfectant used in the drinking water treatment process throughout Malaysia. However, the occurrence of various disinfection by-products such as trihalomethanes (THM) and haloacetic acids created a major issue on the potential health hazards which may pose adverse health effects in both human and animals. To simulate real water treatment conditions and to represent the conditions inherent in a tropical country, this study was performed at an urbanized water treatment plant with a daily production of about 549,000 m 3 of treated water. The purpose of this work is to examine the relationship between the water quality parameters in the raw water with chlorine demand and the formation of disinfection by-products. This study also investigated the possibility of the statistical model applications for the prediction of chlorine demand and the THM formation. Two models were developed to estimate the chlorine demand and the THM formation. For the statistical evaluation, correlation and simple linear regression analysis were conducted using SPSS. The results of Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for the estimation of goodness-of-fit of the dependent variables of the models to the normal distribution showed that all the dependent variables followed the normal distribution at significance level of 0.05. Good linear correlations were observed between the independent parameters and formation of THM and the chlorine demand. This study also revealed that ammonia and the specific ultraviolet absorbent (SUVA) were the function of chlorine consumption in the treatment process. Chlorine dosage and SUVA increase the yield of THM. Chlorine demand and THM formation was moderately sensitive, but significant to the pH. The level of significance ( α) for the statistical tests and the inclusion of a variable in the model was 0.05. A better understanding of these relationships will help the water utilities or plant operators to minimize the THM formation, providing a healthier and better drinking water quality as well as optimizing the chlorine dosage in the disinfection process.

40 CFR 406.55 - Standards of performance for new sources.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

...) EFFLUENT GUIDELINES AND STANDARDS GRAIN MILLS POINT SOURCE CATEGORY Normal Rice Milling Subcategory § 406... to the provisions of this subpart: There shall be no discharge of process waste water pollutants to...

40 CFR 406.53 - Effluent limitations guidelines representing the degree of effluent reduction attainable by the...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... (CONTINUED) EFFLUENT GUIDELINES AND STANDARDS GRAIN MILLS POINT SOURCE CATEGORY Normal Rice Milling... technology economically achievable: there shall be no discharge of process waste water pollutants to...

40 CFR 406.53 - Effluent limitations guidelines representing the degree of effluent reduction attainable by the...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... (CONTINUED) EFFLUENT GUIDELINES AND STANDARDS GRAIN MILLS POINT SOURCE CATEGORY Normal Rice Milling... technology economically achievable: there shall be no discharge of process waste water pollutants to...

40 CFR 406.53 - Effluent limitations guidelines representing the degree of effluent reduction attainable by the...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... (CONTINUED) EFFLUENT GUIDELINES AND STANDARDS GRAIN MILLS POINT SOURCE CATEGORY Normal Rice Milling... technology economically achievable: there shall be no discharge of process waste water pollutants to...

40 CFR 406.55 - Standards of performance for new sources.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

...) EFFLUENT GUIDELINES AND STANDARDS GRAIN MILLS POINT SOURCE CATEGORY Normal Rice Milling Subcategory § 406... to the provisions of this subpart: There shall be no discharge of process waste water pollutants to...

40 CFR 406.55 - Standards of performance for new sources.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

...) EFFLUENT GUIDELINES AND STANDARDS GRAIN MILLS POINT SOURCE CATEGORY Normal Rice Milling Subcategory § 406... to the provisions of this subpart: There shall be no discharge of process waste water pollutants to...

40 CFR 406.53 - Effluent limitations guidelines representing the degree of effluent reduction attainable by the...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... (CONTINUED) EFFLUENT GUIDELINES AND STANDARDS GRAIN MILLS POINT SOURCE CATEGORY Normal Rice Milling... technology economically achievable: there shall be no discharge of process waste water pollutants to...

Intestinal "bioavailability" of solutes and water: we know how but not why.

PubMed Central

Charney, A. N.

1996-01-01

Only minimal quantities of ingested and normally secreted solutes and water are excreted in the stool. This near 100% bioavailability means that the diet and kidneys are relatively more important determinants of solute, water and acid-base balance than the intestine. Intestinal bioavailability is based on excess transport capacity under normal conditions and the ability to adapt to altered or abnormal conditions. Indeed, the regulatory system of the intestine is as complex, segmented and multi factorial as in the kidney. Alterations in the rate and intestinal site of absorption reflect this regulation, and the diagnosis and treatment of various clinical abnormalities depend on the integrity of intestinal absorptive processes. However, the basis for this regulation an bioavailability are uncertain. Perhaps they had survival value for mammals, a phylogenic class that faced the twin threats of intestinal pathogens and shortages of solutes and water. PMID:9273987

Production cost comparisons of hydrogen from fossil and nuclear fuel and water decomposition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ekman, K. R.

1981-01-01

The comparative costs entailed in producing hydrogen by major technologies that rely on petroleum, natural gas, coal, thermochemical cycles, and electrolysis are examined. Techniques were developed for comparing these processes by formulating the process data and economic assessments on a uniform and consistent basis. These data were normalized to permit a meaningful comparative analysis of product costs of these processes.

A Comparison of Some Signal-Processing Algorithms to Suppress Tow-Vessel Noise in a Towed Array, with Results from a Shallow-Water Trial

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-10-01

AKAL, T. , FIORI, S. , HASTRUP , O.F. transmission loss data for some SACLANTCEN SR-33, NATO CONFIDENTIAL. Research Centre, 1979. [AC C 950 788...different shallow-water areas with theoretical results provided by a three-fluid normal-mode propagation model. In: HASTRUP , O.F. and OLESEN, O.V. eds

Application of bimodal distribution to the detection of changes in uranium concentration in drinking water collected by random daytime sampling method from a large water supply zone.

PubMed

Garboś, Sławomir; Święcicka, Dorota

2015-11-01

The random daytime (RDT) sampling method was used for the first time in the assessment of average weekly exposure to uranium through drinking water in a large water supply zone. Data set of uranium concentrations determined in 106 RDT samples collected in three runs from the water supply zone in Wroclaw (Poland), cannot be simply described by normal or log-normal distributions. Therefore, a numerical method designed for the detection and calculation of bimodal distribution was applied. The extracted two distributions containing data from the summer season of 2011 and the winter season of 2012 (nI=72) and from the summer season of 2013 (nII=34) allowed to estimate means of U concentrations in drinking water: 0.947 μg/L and 1.23 μg/L, respectively. As the removal efficiency of uranium during applied treatment process is negligible, the effect of increase in uranium concentration can be explained by higher U concentration in the surface-infiltration water used for the production of drinking water. During the summer season of 2013, heavy rains were observed in Lower Silesia region, causing floods over the territory of the entire region. Fluctuations in uranium concentrations in surface-infiltration water can be attributed to releases of uranium from specific sources - migration from phosphate fertilizers and leaching from mineral deposits. Thus, exposure to uranium through drinking water may increase during extreme rainfall events. The average chronic weekly intakes of uranium through drinking water, estimated on the basis of central values of the extracted normal distributions, accounted for 3.2% and 4.1% of tolerable weekly intake. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

40 CFR 230.24 - Normal water fluctuations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 25 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Normal water fluctuations. 230.24... Impacts on Physical and Chemical Characteristics of the Aquatic Ecosystem § 230.24 Normal water fluctuations. (a) Normal water fluctuations in a natural aquatic system consist of daily, seasonal, and annual...

40 CFR 230.24 - Normal water fluctuations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 26 2012-07-01 2011-07-01 true Normal water fluctuations. 230.24... Impacts on Physical and Chemical Characteristics of the Aquatic Ecosystem § 230.24 Normal water fluctuations. (a) Normal water fluctuations in a natural aquatic system consist of daily, seasonal, and annual...

Does the scientific underpinning of regulatory tools to estimate bioavailability of nickel in freshwaters matter? The European-wide environmental quality standard for nickel.

PubMed

Peters, Adam; Schlekat, Christian E; Merrington, Graham

2016-10-01

A bioavailability-based environmental quality standard (EQS) was established for nickel in freshwaters under the European Union's Water Framework Directive. Bioavailability correction based on pH, water hardness, and dissolved organic carbon is a demonstrable improvement on existing hardness-based quality standards, which may be underprotective in high-hardness waters. The present study compares several simplified bioavailability tools developed to implement the Ni EQS (biomet, M-BAT, and PNECPro) against the full bioavailability normalization procedure on which the EQS was based. Generally, all tools correctly distinguished sensitive waters from insensitive waters, although with varying degrees of accuracy compared with full normalization. Biomet and M-BAT predictions were consistent with, but less accurate than, full bioavailability normalization results, whereas PNECpro results were generally more conservative. The comparisons revealed important differences in tools in development, which results in differences in the predictions. Importantly, the models used for the development of PNECpro use a different ecotoxicity dataset, and a different bioavailability normalization approach using fewer biotic ligand models (BLMs) than that used for the derivation of the Ni EQS. The failure to include all of the available toxicity data, and all of the appropriate NiBLMs, has led to some significant differences between the predictions provided by PNECpro and those calculated using the process agreed to in Europe under the Water Framework Directive and other chemicals management programs (such as REACH). These considerable differences mean that PNECpro does not reflect the behavior, fate, and ecotoxicity of nickel, and raises concerns about its applicability for checking compliance against the Ni EQS. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:2397-2404. © 2016 SETAC. © 2016 SETAC.

Removal of Plant Nutrients by Means of Aerobic Stabilization of Sludge

PubMed Central

Irgens, Roar L.; Halvorson, H. Orin

1965-01-01

In the conventional treatment of sewage, the solids are normally disposed of by anaerobic digestion. This leaves a considerable amount of plant nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphate, as soluble compounds which will eventually find their way into the plant's final effluent, since the supernatant fluid from the digesters is normally returned to the raw sewage. In a recent investigation, we found that, if the sludges were treated by an aerobic process, a significant portion of the carbonaceous matter was oxidized to carbon dioxide and water, and the rest was assimilated into microbial protoplasm. This process tied up the available nitrogen and phosphorus so that practically none remained dissolved in the suspending liquid. The accumulated solids, consisting mostly of microbial cells, were separated very easily from the liquid, leaving a slightly colored supernatant fluid that was water-clear, free from plant nutrients, and very low in BOD and COD. The overall process was accomplished in a detention time not exceeding 20 days, in contrast to anaerobic digestion which requires from 50 to 70 days. PMID:14325277

Estimating macroporosity in a forest watershed by use of a tension infiltrometer

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Watson, K.W.; Luxmoore, R.J.

The ability to obtain sufficient field hydrologic data at reasonable cost can be an important limiting factor in applying transport models. A procedure is described for using ponded-flow- and tension-infiltration measurements to calculate transport parameters in a forest watershed. Thirty infiltration measurements were taken under ponded-flow conditions and at 3, 6, and 15 cm (H/sub 2/O) tension. It was assumed from capillarity theory that pores > 0.1-, 0.05-, and 0.02-cm diam, respectively, were excluded from the transport process during the tension infiltration measurements. Under ponded flow, 73% of the flux was conducted through macropores (i.e., pores > 0.1-cm diam.). Anmore » estimated 96% of the water flux was transmitted through only 0.32% of the soil volume. In general the larger the total water flux the larger the macropore contribution to total water flux. The Shapiro-Wilk normality test indicated that water flux through both matrix pore space and macropores was log-normally distributed in space.« less

Numerical modeling of overland flow due to rainfall-runoff

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Runoff is a basic hydrologic process that can be influenced by management activities in agricultural watersheds. Better description of runoff patterns through modeling will help to understand and predict watershed sediment transport and water quality. Normally, runoff is studied with kinematic wave ...

Development of an Integrated Modeling Framework for Simulations of Coastal Processes in Deltaic Environments Using High-Performance Computing

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-01-01

exceeds the local water depth. The approximation eliminates the vertical dimension of the elliptic equation that is normally required for the fully non...used for vertical resolution. The shallow water equations (SWE) are a set of non-linear hyperbolic equations. As the equations are derived under...linear standing wave with a wavelength of 10 m in a square 10 m by 10 m basin. The still water depth is 0.5 m. In order to compare with the analytical

Replacement of tritiated water from irradiated fuel storage bay

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Castillo, I.; Boniface, H.; Suppiah, S.

2015-03-15

Recently, AECL developed a novel method to reduce tritium emissions (to groundwater) and personnel doses at the NRU (National Research Universal) reactor irradiated fuel storage bay (also known as rod or spent fuel bay) through a water swap process. The light water in the fuel bay had built up tritium that had been transferred from the heavy water moderator through normal fuel transfers. The major advantage of the thermal stratification method was that a very effective tritium reduction could be achieved by swapping a minimal volume of bay water and warm tritiated water would be skimmed off the bay surface.more » A demonstration of the method was done that involved Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling of the swap process and a test program that showed excellent agreement with model prediction for the effective removal of almost all the tritium with a minimal water volume. Building on the successful demonstration, AECL fabricated, installed, commissioned and operated a full-scale system to perform a water swap. This full-scale water swap operation achieved a tritium removal efficiency of about 96%.« less

Impact of Equatorial Waves on the Variability of Upwelling Process Along West Coast of India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prakash, K. R.; Nigam, T.; Pant, V.

2017-12-01

Coastal upwelling is a seasonal phenomenon along the south eastern Arabian Sea (SEAS) due to favourable wind setup during Indian Summer Monsoon Season (June-September). This upwelling brings subsurface cold and nutrient rich water to the surface layers. The cold water transported northward by the altered along shore current of west coast of India in the post-monsoon season. The different climatological forcing of positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and normal years were utilised to simulate the upwelling off the west coast of India using a three dimensional Regional Ocean Modelling System (ROMS). Strength of upwelling and the northward transport were found to be weaken for positive IOD simulations as compared to normal years. Analysis suggests that the meridional wind stress weakening resulted into a decrease in strength of West India Coastal Current (WICC) and, therefore, reduced magnitude of offshore Ekman transport. The mixed layer heat budget calculation also supports the findings by showing dominated vertical process in comparison to net heat flux effect. The post-monsoon northward transport of cold water was found to be correlated with the coastally trapped downwelling Kelvin waves. These waves are the only remote forcing from the Bay of Bengal that reaches to the south-eastern Arabian Sea during the months of October-December. The composite of sea surface height anomalies for the positive IOD and normal years shows that the downwelling Kelwin wave was absent during October-December.

Sensitivity of Calibration Gains to Ocean Color Processing in Coastal and Open Waters Using Ensembles Members for NPP-VIIRS

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-07-01

a different impact on spectral normalized water leaving radiances and the derived ocean color products (inherent optical properties, chlorophyll ). We...leaving radiances and the derived ocean color products (inherent optical properties, chlorophyll ). We evaluated the influence of gains from open and...34gain" on ocean color products. These products include the spectral Remote Sensing Reflectance (RRS), chlorophyll concentration, and Inherent Optical

40 CFR 230.24 - Normal water fluctuations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... change salinity patterns, alter erosion or sedimentation rates, aggravate water temperature extremes, and... 40 Protection of Environment 25 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Normal water fluctuations. 230.24... Impacts on Physical and Chemical Characteristics of the Aquatic Ecosystem § 230.24 Normal water...

40 CFR 230.24 - Normal water fluctuations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... either attuned to or characterized by these periodic water fluctuations. (b) Possible loss of... 40 Protection of Environment 24 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Normal water fluctuations. 230.24... Impacts on Physical and Chemical Characteristics of the Aquatic Ecosystem § 230.24 Normal water...

Drought monitoring of Tumen river basin wetlands between 1991 and 2016 using Landsat TM/ETM+

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, H.; Zhu, W.; Lee, W. K.; Heo, S.

2017-12-01

Wetlands area described as "the kidney of earth" owing to the importance of functions for stabilizing environment, long-term protection of water sources, as well as effectively minimize sediment loss, purify surface water from industrial and agricultural pollutants, and enhancing aquifer recharge. Drought monitoring in wetlands is vital due to the condition of water supply directly affecting the growth of wetland plants and local biodiversity. In this study, Vegetation Temperature Condition Index derived from Normalized Difference Vegetation Index and Land Surface Temperature is used to observe drought status from 1991 to 2016. For doing this, Landsat TM/ETM+ data for six periods are used to analytical processing. On the other hand, soil moisture maps which are acquired from CMA Land Data Assimilation System Version 1.0 for validating reliability of drought monitoring. As a result, the study shows most of area at normal moist level (decreased 25.8%) became slightly drought (increased 29.7%) in Tumen river basin cross-border (China and North Korea) wetland. The correlation between vegetation temperature condition index and soil moisture are 0.69, 0.32 and 0.2 for the layers of 0 5cm, 0 10cm, and 10 20cm, respectively. Although climate change probably contributes to the process of drought by decreasing precipitation and increasing temperature, human activities are shown as main factor that led to the process in this wetland.

Spatiotemporal variability of snow depletion curves derived from SNODAS for the conterminous United States, 2004-2013

USGS Publications Warehouse

Driscoll, Jessica; Hay, Lauren E.; Bock, Andrew R.

2017-01-01

Assessment of water resources at a national scale is critical for understanding their vulnerability to future change in policy and climate. Representation of the spatiotemporal variability in snowmelt processes in continental-scale hydrologic models is critical for assessment of water resource response to continued climate change. Continental-extent hydrologic models such as the U.S. Geological Survey National Hydrologic Model (NHM) represent snowmelt processes through the application of snow depletion curves (SDCs). SDCs relate normalized snow water equivalent (SWE) to normalized snow covered area (SCA) over a snowmelt season for a given modeling unit. SDCs were derived using output from the operational Snow Data Assimilation System (SNODAS) snow model as daily 1-km gridded SWE over the conterminous United States. Daily SNODAS output were aggregated to a predefined watershed-scale geospatial fabric and used to also calculate SCA from October 1, 2004 to September 30, 2013. The spatiotemporal variability in SNODAS output at the watershed scale was evaluated through the spatial distribution of the median and standard deviation for the time period. Representative SDCs for each watershed-scale modeling unit over the conterminous United States (n = 54,104) were selected using a consistent methodology and used to create categories of snowmelt based on SDC shape. The relation of SDC categories to the topographic and climatic variables allow for national-scale categorization of snowmelt processes.

Cavity formation and surface modeling of laser milling process under a thin-flowing water layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tangwarodomnukun, Viboon

2016-11-01

Laser milling process normally involves a number of laser scans over a workpiece to selectively remove the material and then to form cavities with shape and dimensions required. However, this process adversely causes a heat accumulation in work material, which can in turn damage the laser-milled area and vicinity in terms of recast deposition and change of material properties. Laser milling process performing in a thin-flowing water layer is a promising method that can overcome such damage. With the use of this technique, water can flush away the cut debris and at the same time cool the workpiece during the ablation. To understand the potential of this technique for milling application, the effects of process parameters on cavity dimensions and surface roughness were experimentally examined in this study. Titanium sheet was used as a workpiece to be milled by a nanosecond pulse laser under different water flow velocities. A smooth and uniform cut feature can be obtained when the metal was ablated under the high laser pulse frequency and high water flow velocity. Furthermore, a surface model based on the energy balance was developed in this study to predict the cavity profile and surface roughness. By comparing to the experiments, the predicted profiles had a good agreement with the measured ones.

[Water-exchange processes in hyaline cartilage and its basic components in a normal state and in osteoarthritis].

PubMed

Nikolaeva, S S; Chkhol, K Z; Bykov, V A; Roshchina, A A; Iakovleva, L V; Koroleva, O A; Omel'ianenko, N P; Rebrov, L B

2000-01-01

The content of different forms of tissue water was studied in the normal articular cartilage and osteoarthrosis cartilage and its structural components: collagen, potassium hyaluronate, sodium chondroitinsulphate and its complexes. In the components of cartilage matrix a few of fractions of bound water different in the strength of binding are present. At the maximal humidity, all water in collagen binds with the active groups of biopolymers and in the glycosaminoglycans, in addition to bound water, are present, two crystal forms of freezing water (free water) at least. The quantity of free water in the collagen-chondroitin sulphat membrane, is increased with the increase of chondroitin sulphate. In the collagen-hyaluronate complex, fraction of free water is found only at the low concentration of hyaluronate kalium. It was shown that in the hyalin cartilage, in different from the other connective tissue (skin, achilles tendon), the most part of water is free water and its quantity is increased in the osteoarthrosis. It is supposed that the rearrangement of binding and free-water fractions in the osteoarthrosis is the result of deficiency of hyaluronic acid and therefore this may be regarded in the improvement of methods of treatment. This scientific and methodical approach allow to receive information on the forms and binding energy of water in the biological tissues, which is absorbed from fluids and steam phase and determine characters of the pathological changes.

Relation Decomposing between Urbanization and Consumption of Water-Energy Sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Y.; Xiao, W.; Wang, Y.; Zhao, Y.; Wang, J., , Dr; Jiang, D.; Wang, H.

2017-12-01

Abstract: Water resources and energy, important subsystems of city, are the basic guarantee for the normal operation of city, which play an important role to brace the urbanization. The interdependence between them are increasing along with the rapid development of China's economy. The relationship between urbanization and consumption of energy and water have become the focal point of the scholars, but the research have more attention to the impact of urbanization on two subsystems separately, and do not reveal the effects of urbanization on the water-energy nexus. Thus, there is little consideration upon the different characteristics of China's several regions in water and energy consumption in urbanization. In this paper, the STIRPAT model is built to reveal the relationship between urbanization and the consumption of water and energy. Also, the influence of urbanization on different main body of water and energy consumption are discussed. The different regional main factors of water and energy in the process of urbanization are identified through water and energy panel data of China's thirty provinces. Finally, through the regression analysis of total water consumption data of agriculture, industry, service industry with total energy consumption data, the relationship of water and energy in the process of urban development are analyzed.

High-Frequency Observation of Water Spectrum and Its Application in Monitoring of Dynamic Variation of Suspended Materials in the Hangzhou Bay.

PubMed

Dai, Qian; Pan, De-lu; He, Xian-qiang; Zhu, Qian-kun; Gong, Fang; Huang, Hai-qing

2015-11-01

In situ measurement of water spectrum is the basis of the validation of the ocean color remote sensing. The traditional method to obtain the water spectrum is based on the shipboard measurement at limited stations, which is difficult to meet the requirement of validation of ocean color remote sensing in the highly dynamic coastal waters. To overcome this shortage, continuously observing systems of water spectrum have been developed in the world. However, so far, there are still few high-frequency observation systems of the water spectrum in coastal waters, especially in the highly turbid and high-dynamic waters. Here, we established a high-frequency water-spectrum observing system based on tower in the Hangzhou Bay. The system measures the water spectrum at a step of 3 minutes, which can fully match the satellite observation. In this paper, we primarily developed a data processing method for the tower-based high-frequency water spectrum data, to realize automatic judgment of clear sky, sun glint, platform shadow, and weak illumination, etc. , and verified the processing results. The results show that the normalized water-leaving radiance spectra obtained through tower observation have relatively high consistency with the shipboard measurement results, with correlation coefficient of more than 0. 99, and average relative error of 9.96%. In addition, the long-term observation capability of the tower-based high-frequency water-spectrum observing system was evaluated, and the results show that although the system has run for one year, the normalized water-leaving radiance obtained by this system have good consistency with the synchronously measurement by Portable spectrometer ASD in respect of spectral shape and value, with correlation coefficient of more than 0.90 and average relative error of 6.48%. Moreover, the water spectra from high-frequency observation by the system can be used to effectively monitor the rapid dynamic variation in concentration of suspended materials with tide. The tower-based high-frequency water-spectrum observing system provided rich in situ spectral data for the validation of ocean color remote sensing in turbid waters, especially for validation of the high temporal-resolution geostationary satellite ocean color remote sensing.

Detecting pin diversion from pressurized water reactors spent fuel assemblies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ham, Young S.; Sitaraman, Shivakumar

Detecting diversion of spent fuel from Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR) by determining possible diversion including the steps of providing a detector cluster containing gamma ray and neutron detectors, inserting the detector cluster containing the gamma ray and neutron detectors into the spent fuel assembly through the guide tube holes in the spent fuel assembly, measuring gamma ray and neutron radiation responses of the gamma ray and neutron detectors in the guide tube holes, processing the gamma ray and neutron radiation responses at the guide tube locations by normalizing them to the maximum value among each set of responses and takingmore » the ratio of the gamma ray and neutron responses at the guide tube locations and normalizing the ratios to the maximum value among them and producing three signatures, gamma, neutron, and gamma-neutron ratio, based on these normalized values, and producing an output that consists of these signatures that can indicate possible diversion of the pins from the spent fuel assembly.« less

ELIMINATION OF WATER POLLUTION BY RECYCLING CEMENT PLANT KILN DUST

EPA Science Inventory

Excessive amounts of alkalies can have deleterious effects upon the process of cement manufacture and the product. Normally much of the alkali present in cement raw materials is volatilized in the cement kiln and condenses on the particles of kiln dust which are carried out of th...

33 CFR 230.21 - Adoption.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Adoption. 230.21 Section 230.21... FOR IMPLEMENTING NEPA § 230.21 Adoption. See 40 CFR 1506.3. A district commander will normally adopt... processed in accordance with this regulation. A district commander may also adopt another agency's EA/FONSI. ...

33 CFR 230.21 - Adoption.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Adoption. 230.21 Section 230.21... FOR IMPLEMENTING NEPA § 230.21 Adoption. See 40 CFR 1506.3. A district commander will normally adopt... processed in accordance with this regulation. A district commander may also adopt another agency's EA/FONSI. ...

33 CFR 230.21 - Adoption.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 3 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Adoption. 230.21 Section 230.21... FOR IMPLEMENTING NEPA § 230.21 Adoption. See 40 CFR 1506.3. A district commander will normally adopt... processed in accordance with this regulation. A district commander may also adopt another agency's EA/FONSI. ...

33 CFR 230.21 - Adoption.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 3 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Adoption. 230.21 Section 230.21... FOR IMPLEMENTING NEPA § 230.21 Adoption. See 40 CFR 1506.3. A district commander will normally adopt... processed in accordance with this regulation. A district commander may also adopt another agency's EA/FONSI. ...

33 CFR 230.21 - Adoption.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 3 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Adoption. 230.21 Section 230.21... FOR IMPLEMENTING NEPA § 230.21 Adoption. See 40 CFR 1506.3. A district commander will normally adopt... processed in accordance with this regulation. A district commander may also adopt another agency's EA/FONSI. ...

Dynamic characteristics of a VK-50 reactor operating under conditions of the loss of a normal feedwater flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Semidotskiy, I. I.; Kurskiy, A. S.

2013-12-01

The paper describes the conditions of the ATWS type with virtually complete cessation of the feed-water flow at the operating power level of a reactor of the VK-50 type. Under these conditions, the role of spatial kinetics in the system of feedback between thermohydraulic and nuclear processes with bulk boiling of the coolant in the reactor core is clearly seen. This feature determines the specific character of experimental data obtained and the suitability of their use for verification of the associated codes used for calculating water-water reactors.

Study of thermal scattering for organic tissues through molecular dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramos, Ricardo; Cantargi, Florencia; Marquez Damian, Jose Ignacio; Gonçalves-Carralves, Manuel Sztejnberg

2017-09-01

Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) is an experimental therapy for tumors which is based on the nuclear reaction that occurs when 10B is irradiated with thermal neutrons. Calculations for BNCT with Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) take into account the thermal scattering treatment for hydrogen bound in bulk water for any organic tissue. However, in these tissues, hydrogen is also present in macromolecules (protein, lipids, etc.) and in confined water. Thermal scattering cross section for hydrogen in an organic tissue can be determined by calculating the scattering law S(α,β). This function can be obtained with the nuclear data processing system NJOY from the vibrational frequency spectrum of an atom in a molecular system. We performed calculations of the frequency spectrum from molecular dynamics simulations using the program GROMACS. Systems composed of a peptide in a water box were considered, with different proportions of water molecules. All-atom potentials for modeling this molecules were used in order to represent the internal vibrational normal modes for the atoms of hydrogen. The results showed several internal normal modes that in the case of hydrogen bound in bulk water do not appear.

Characterizing Normal Groundwater Chemistry in Hawaii

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tachera, D.; Lautze, N. C.; Thomas, D. M.; Whittier, R. B.; Frazer, L. N.

2017-12-01

Hawaii is dependent on groundwater resources, yet how water moves through the subsurface is not well understood in many locations across the state. As marine air moves across the islands water evaporates from the ocean, along with trace amounts of sea-salt ions, and interacts with the anthropogenic and volcanic aerosols (e.g. sulfuric acid, ammonium sulfate, HCl), creating a slightly more acidic rain. When this rain falls, it has a chemical signature distinctive of past processes. As this precipitation infiltrates through soil it may pick up another distinctive chemical signature associated with land use and degree of soil development, and as it flows through the underlying geology, its chemistry is influenced by the host rock. We are currently conducting an investigation of groundwater chemistry in selected aquifer areas of Hawaii, having diverse land use, land cover, and soil development conditions, in an effort to investigate and document what may be considered a "normal" water chemistry for an area. Through this effort, we believe we better assess anomalies due to contamination events, hydrothermal alteration, and other processes; and we can use this information to better understand groundwater flow direction. The project has compiled a large amount of precipitation, soil, and groundwater chemistry data in the three focus areas distributed across in the State of Hawaii. Statistical analyses of these data sets will be performed in an effort to determine what is "normal" and what is anomalous chemistry for a given area. Where possible, results will be used to trace groundwater flow paths. Methods and preliminary results will be presented.

Oxygen and Air Nanobubble Water Solution Promote the Growth of Plants, Fishes, and Mice

PubMed Central

Ebina, Kosuke; Shi, Kenrin; Hirao, Makoto; Hashimoto, Jun; Kawato, Yoshitaka; Kaneshiro, Shoichi; Morimoto, Tokimitsu; Koizumi, Kota; Yoshikawa, Hideki

2013-01-01

Nanobubbles (<200 nm in diameter) have several unique properties such as long lifetime in liquid owing to its negatively charged surface, and its high gas solubility into the liquid owing to its high internal pressure. They are used in variety of fields including diagnostic aids and drug delivery, while there are no reports assessing their effects on the growth of lives. Nanobubbles of air or oxygen gas were generated using a nanobubble aerator (BUVITAS; Ligaric Company Limited, Osaka, Japan). Brassica campestris were cultured hydroponically for 4 weeks within air-nanobubble water or within normal water. Sweetfish (for 3 weeks) and rainbow trout (for 6 weeks) were kept either within air-nanobubble water or within normal water. Finally, 5 week-old male DBA1/J mice were bred with normal free-chaw and free-drinking either of oxygen-nanobubble water or of normal water for 12 weeks. Oxygen-nanobubble significantly increased the dissolved oxygen concentration of water as well as concentration/size of nanobubbles which were relatively stable for 70 days. Air-nanobubble water significantly promoted the height (19.1 vs. 16.7 cm; P<0.05), length of leaves (24.4 vs. 22.4 cm; P<0.01), and aerial fresh weight (27.3 vs. 20.3 g; P<0.01) of Brassica campestris compared to normal water. Total weight of sweetfish increased from 3.0 to 6.4 kg in normal water, whereas it increased from 3.0 to 10.2 kg in air-nanobubble water. In addition, total weight of rainbow trout increased from 50.0 to 129.5 kg in normal water, whereas it increased from 50.0 to 148.0 kg in air-nanobubble water. Free oral intake of oxygen-nanobubble water significantly promoted the weight (23.5 vs. 21.8 g; P<0.01) and the length (17.0 vs. 16.1 cm; P<0.001) of mice compared to that of normal water. We have demonstrated for the first time that oxygen and air-nanobubble water may be potentially effective tools for the growth of lives. PMID:23755221

Oxygen and air nanobubble water solution promote the growth of plants, fishes, and mice.

PubMed

Ebina, Kosuke; Shi, Kenrin; Hirao, Makoto; Hashimoto, Jun; Kawato, Yoshitaka; Kaneshiro, Shoichi; Morimoto, Tokimitsu; Koizumi, Kota; Yoshikawa, Hideki

2013-01-01

Nanobubbles (<200 nm in diameter) have several unique properties such as long lifetime in liquid owing to its negatively charged surface, and its high gas solubility into the liquid owing to its high internal pressure. They are used in variety of fields including diagnostic aids and drug delivery, while there are no reports assessing their effects on the growth of lives. Nanobubbles of air or oxygen gas were generated using a nanobubble aerator (BUVITAS; Ligaric Company Limited, Osaka, Japan). Brassica campestris were cultured hydroponically for 4 weeks within air-nanobubble water or within normal water. Sweetfish (for 3 weeks) and rainbow trout (for 6 weeks) were kept either within air-nanobubble water or within normal water. Finally, 5 week-old male DBA1/J mice were bred with normal free-chaw and free-drinking either of oxygen-nanobubble water or of normal water for 12 weeks. Oxygen-nanobubble significantly increased the dissolved oxygen concentration of water as well as concentration/size of nanobubbles which were relatively stable for 70 days. Air-nanobubble water significantly promoted the height (19.1 vs. 16.7 cm; P<0.05), length of leaves (24.4 vs. 22.4 cm; P<0.01), and aerial fresh weight (27.3 vs. 20.3 g; P<0.01) of Brassica campestris compared to normal water. Total weight of sweetfish increased from 3.0 to 6.4 kg in normal water, whereas it increased from 3.0 to 10.2 kg in air-nanobubble water. In addition, total weight of rainbow trout increased from 50.0 to 129.5 kg in normal water, whereas it increased from 50.0 to 148.0 kg in air-nanobubble water. Free oral intake of oxygen-nanobubble water significantly promoted the weight (23.5 vs. 21.8 g; P<0.01) and the length (17.0 vs. 16.1 cm; P<0.001) of mice compared to that of normal water. We have demonstrated for the first time that oxygen and air-nanobubble water may be potentially effective tools for the growth of lives.

Abnormal passive chloride absorption in cystic fibrosis jejunum functionally opposes the classic chloride secretory defect

PubMed Central

Russo, Michael A.; Högenauer, Christoph; Coates, Stephen W.; Santa Ana, Carol A.; Porter, Jack L.; Rosenblatt, Randall L.; Emmett, Michael; Fordtran, John S.

2003-01-01

Due to genetic defects in apical membrane chloride channels, the cystic fibrosis (CF) intestine does not secrete chloride normally. Depressed chloride secretion leaves CF intestinal absorptive processes unopposed, which results in net fluid hyperabsorption, dehydration of intestinal contents, and a propensity to inspissated intestinal obstruction. This theory is based primarily on in vitro studies of jejunal mucosa. To determine if CF patients actually hyperabsorb fluid in vivo, we measured electrolyte and water absorption during steady-state perfusion of the jejunum. As expected, chloride secretion was abnormally low in CF, but surprisingly, there was no net hyperabsorption of sodium or water during perfusion of a balanced electrolyte solution. This suggested that fluid absorption processes are reduced in CF jejunum, and further studies revealed that this was due to a marked depression of passive chloride absorption. Although Na+-glucose cotransport was normal in the CF jejunum, absence of passive chloride absorption completely blocked glucose-stimulated net sodium absorption and reduced glucose-stimulated water absorption 66%. This chloride absorptive abnormality acts in physiological opposition to the classic chloride secretory defect in the CF intestine. By increasing the fluidity of intraluminal contents, absence of passive chloride absorption may reduce the incidence and severity of intestinal disease in patients with CF. PMID:12840066

Insight into the molecular mechanism of water evaporation via the finite temperature string method.

PubMed

Musolino, Nicholas; Trout, Bernhardt L

2013-04-07

The process of water's evaporation at its liquid/air interface has proven challenging to study experimentally and, because it constitutes a rare event on molecular time scales, presents a challenge for computer simulations as well. In this work, we simulated water's evaporation using the classical extended simple point charge model water model, and identified a minimum free energy path for this process in terms of 10 descriptive order parameters. The measured free energy change was 7.4 kcal/mol at 298 K, in reasonable agreement with the experimental value of 6.3 kcal/mol, and the mean first-passage time was 1375 ns for a single molecule, corresponding to an evaporation coefficient of 0.25. In the observed minimum free energy process, the water molecule diffuses to the surface, and tends to rotate so that its dipole and one O-H bond are oriented outward as it crosses the Gibbs dividing surface. As the water molecule moves further outward through the interfacial region, its local density is higher than the time-averaged density, indicating a local solvation shell that protrudes from the interface. The water molecule loses donor and acceptor hydrogen bonds, and then, with its dipole nearly normal to the interface, stops donating its remaining hydrogen bond. At that point, when the final, accepted hydrogen bond is broken, the water molecule is free. We also analyzed which order parameters are most important in the process and in reactive trajectories, and found that the relative orientation of water molecules near the evaporating molecule, and the number of accepted hydrogen bonds, were important variables in reactive trajectories and in kinetic descriptions of the process.

A GIS-based Model for Urban Change and Implications for Water Quality in the Pontchartrain Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carstens, D.; Amer, R. M.

2017-12-01

The combination of remote sensing techniques and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to measure water quality allows researchers to monitor changes in various water quality parameters over temporal and spatial scales that are not always readily apparent from in situ measurements. Water has a distinct spectral behavior in comparison to soil, vegetation and urban, and therefore can be distinguished from surrounding environments. This study involves using remote sensing and GIS methods to map urban sprawl and its resulting influences on water quality in the Pontchartrain Basin over the last three decades. Two images of Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) were taken in October 1985 and two images of Landsat Operational Land Imager (OLI) were taken in 2015 were atmospherically corrected and processed to map urban sprawl and influences on water quality of Pontchartrain Basin in the last three decades. To accomplish this, a normalized difference building index (NDBI) was developed for Landsat images. The NDBI was calculated from (NIR - SWIR) / (NIR + SWIR), where SWIR is the longest wavelength. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), the normalized difference soil index (NDSI), and the normalized difference water index (NDWI) were also calculated for Landsat images. A GIS model was developed by integrating the NDBI, NDVI, NDSI, and NDWI, and yielded urban/non-urban/water boundary maps with 30-m resolution. Results indicate that urban areas have increased approximately from 25,643 km2 to 26,677 km2, which represents about 4.0% change from non-urban to urban in the last 3 decades. The results are in a good agreement with the U.S. Census data, which indicated that there is a 12.25% increase in population over the last 25 years in the 16 parishes of the Pontchartrain Basin. Urban changes were compared with changes of water quality parameters in PONTCHARTRAIN BASIN, which include pH, specific conductance, nitrogen, phosphorous, and dissolved oxygen. The results show that decrease in dissolved oxygen and phosphorus, and the increase in specific conductance, nitrogen and pH from 1985 to 2015 are consistent with the rate of urban sprawl that occurred during this time period. Future work will include analysis of changes in agricultural and industrial activities and correlation with changes of water quality parameters.

Airborne discrimination between ice and water - Application to the laser measurement of chlorophyll-in-water in a marginal ice zone

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoge, Frank E.; Wright, C. Wayne; Swift, Robert N.; Yungel, James K.

1989-01-01

The concurrent active-passive measurement capabilities of the NASA Airborne Oceanographic Lidar have been used to (1) discriminate between ice and water in a large ice field within the Greenland Sea and (2) achieve the detection and measurement of chlorophyll-in-water by laser-induced and water-Raman-normalized pigment fluorescence. Passive upwelled radiances from sea ice are significantly stronger than those from the neighboring water, even when the optical receiver field-of-view is only partially filled with ice. Thus, weaker passive upwelled radiances, together with concurrently acquired laser-induced spectra, can rather confidently be assigned to the intervening water column. The laser-induced spectrum can then be processed using previously established methods to measure the chlorophyll-in-water concentration. Significant phytoplankton patchiness and elevated chlorophyll concentrations were found within the waters of the melting ice compared to ice-free regions just outside the ice field.

Carbon dioxide and methane emissions from the Yukon River system

USGS Publications Warehouse

Striegl, Robert G.; Dornblaser, Mark M.; McDonald, Cory P.; Rover, Jennifer R.; Stets, Edward G.

2012-01-01

Carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) emissions are important, but poorly quantified, components of riverine carbon (C) budgets. This is largely because the data needed for gas flux calculations are sparse and are spatially and temporally variable. Additionally, the importance of C gas emissions relative to lateral C exports is not well known because gaseous and aqueous fluxes are not commonly measured on the same rivers. We couple measurements of aqueous CO2 and CH4 partial pressures (pCO2, pCH4) and flux across the water-air interface with gas transfer models to calculate subbasin distributions of gas flux density. We then combine those flux densities with remote and direct observations of stream and river water surface area and ice duration, to calculate C gas emissions from flowing waters throughout the Yukon River basin. CO2emissions were 7.68 Tg C yr−1 (95% CI: 5.84 −10.46), averaging 750 g C m−2 yr−1 normalized to water surface area, and 9.0 g C m−2 yr−1 normalized to river basin area. River CH4 emissions totaled 55 Gg C yr−1 or 0.7% of the total mass of C emitted as CO2 plus CH4 and ∼6.4% of their combined radiative forcing. When combined with lateral inorganic plus organic C exports to below head of tide, C gas emissions comprised 50% of total C exported by the Yukon River and its tributaries. River CO2 and CH4 derive from multiple sources, including groundwater, surface water runoff, carbonate equilibrium reactions, and benthic and water column microbial processing of organic C. The exact role of each of these processes is not yet quantified in the overall river C budget.

Influence of phase inversion on the formation and stability of one-step multiple emulsions.

PubMed

Morais, Jacqueline M; Rocha-Filho, Pedro A; Burgess, Diane J

2009-07-21

A novel method of preparation of water-in-oil-in-micelle-containing water (W/O/W(m)) multiple emulsions using the one-step emulsification method is reported. These multiple emulsions were normal (not temporary) and stable over a 60 day test period. Previously, reported multiple emulsion by the one-step method were abnormal systems that formed at the inversion point of simple emulsion (where there is an incompatibility in the Ostwald and Bancroft theories, and typically these are O/W/O systems). Pseudoternary phase diagrams and bidimensional process-composition (phase inversion) maps were constructed to assist in process and composition optimization. The surfactants used were PEG40 hydrogenated castor oil and sorbitan oleate, and mineral and vegetables oils were investigated. Physicochemical characterization studies showed experimentally, for the first time, the significance of the ultralow surface tension point on multiple emulsion formation by one-step via phase inversion processes. Although the significance of ultralow surface tension has been speculated previously, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first experimental confirmation. The multiple emulsion system reported here was dependent not only upon the emulsification temperature, but also upon the component ratios, therefore both the emulsion phase inversion and the phase inversion temperature were considered to fully explain their formation. Accordingly, it is hypothesized that the formation of these normal multiple emulsions is not a result of a temporary incompatibility (at the inversion point) during simple emulsion preparation, as previously reported. Rather, these normal W/O/W(m) emulsions are a result of the simultaneous occurrence of catastrophic and transitional phase inversion processes. The formation of the primary emulsions (W/O) is in accordance with the Ostwald theory ,and the formation of the multiple emulsions (W/O/W(m)) is in agreement with the Bancroft theory.

Water vapor isotopic measurements from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement site on Graciosa Island, Azores

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delp, J. M.; Galewsky, J.

2017-12-01

Stable isotopic measurements of water vapor can potentially constrain the processes that govern the formation of low-clouds and how their distribution may change as the climate warms. Using off-axis integrated cavity output spectroscopy, in-situ water vapor isotopic measurements will be collected for a period of one year (beginning August 2017) at the US Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) site in the Eastern North Atlantic (ENA) located on Graciosa Island, Azores. The Azores location within the ENA is a prime setting for studying low-cloud processes. After correcting for humidity-dependent biases and normalizing the measurements to the VSMOW-SLAP scale, the measurements from the first several months of the water vapor isotopic analyzer's deployment will be compared to complementary datasets from the suite of instruments at the DOE site, including twice-daily soundings, aerosol instrumentation, and cloud radars, with the purpose of determining links between local stratocumulus and precipitation processes and their impact on the stable isotopic composition of atmospheric water vapor. The results of this study will potentially provide a new approach for linking field observations with climate models and may help better constrain the uncertainties associated with low-cloud feedbacks.

Development of Advanced ISS-WPA Catalysts for Organic Oxidation at Reduced Pressure/Temperature

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yu, Ping; Nalette, Tim; Kayatin, Matthew

2016-01-01

The Water Processor Assembly (WPA) at International Space Station (ISS) processes a waste stream via multi-filtration beds, where inorganic and non-volatile organic contaminants are removed, and a catalytic reactor, where low molecular weight organics not removed by the adsorption process are oxidized at elevated pressure in the presence of oxygen and elevated temperature above the normal water boiling point. Operation at an elevated pressure requires a more complex system design compared to a reactor that could operate at ambient pressure. However, catalysts currently available have insufficient activity to achieve complete oxidation of the organic load at a temperature less than the water boiling point and ambient pressure. Therefore, it is highly desirable to develop a more active and efficient catalyst at ambient pressure and a moderate temperature that is less than water boiling temperature. This paper describes our efforts in developing high efficiency water processing catalysts. Different catalyst support structures and coating metals were investigated in subscale reactors and results were compared against the flight WPA catalyst. Detailed improvements achieved on alternate metal catalysts at ambient pressure and 200 F will also be presented in the paper.

An improved plating process

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Askew, John C.

1994-01-01

An alternative to the immersion process for the electrodeposition of chromium from aqueous solutions on the inside diameter (ID) of long tubes is described. The Vessel Plating Process eliminates the need for deep processing tanks, large volumes of solutions, and associated safety and environmental concerns. Vessel Plating allows the process to be monitored and controlled by computer thus increasing reliability, flexibility and quality. Elimination of the trivalent chromium accumulation normally associated with ID plating is intrinsic to the Vessel Plating Process. The construction and operation of a prototype Vessel Plating Facility with emphasis on materials of construction, engineered and operational safety and a unique system for rinse water recovery are described.

Improving the performance of streamflow forecasting model using data-preprocessing technique in Dungun River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khai Tiu, Ervin Shan; Huang, Yuk Feng; Ling, Lloyd

2018-03-01

An accurate streamflow forecasting model is important for the development of flood mitigation plan as to ensure sustainable development for a river basin. This study adopted Variational Mode Decomposition (VMD) data-preprocessing technique to process and denoise the rainfall data before putting into the Support Vector Machine (SVM) streamflow forecasting model in order to improve the performance of the selected model. Rainfall data and river water level data for the period of 1996-2016 were used for this purpose. Homogeneity tests (Standard Normal Homogeneity Test, the Buishand Range Test, the Pettitt Test and the Von Neumann Ratio Test) and normality tests (Shapiro-Wilk Test, Anderson-Darling Test, Lilliefors Test and Jarque-Bera Test) had been carried out on the rainfall series. Homogenous and non-normally distributed data were found in all the stations, respectively. From the recorded rainfall data, it was observed that Dungun River Basin possessed higher monthly rainfall from November to February, which was during the Northeast Monsoon. Thus, the monthly and seasonal rainfall series of this monsoon would be the main focus for this research as floods usually happen during the Northeast Monsoon period. The predicted water levels from SVM model were assessed with the observed water level using non-parametric statistical tests (Biased Method, Kendall's Tau B Test and Spearman's Rho Test).

Tissue Fixation and Processing for the Histological Identification of Lipids.

PubMed

Carriel, Víctor; Campos, Fernando; Aneiros-Fernández, José; Kiernan, John A

2017-01-01

Lipids are a heterogeneous group of substances characterized by their solubility in organic solvents and insolubility in water. Lipids can be found as normal components of different tissues and organs, and they can be affected by several pathological conditions. The histochemical identification of lipids plays an important role in histopathological diagnosis and research, but successful staining depends on adequate fixation and processing of the tissue. Here we describe methods to fix and process tissue samples for the histochemical identification of lipids in frozen or paraffin-embedded tissues.

Geospatial approach towards enumerative analysis of suspended sediment concentration for Ganges-Brahmaputra Bay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pandey, Palak; Kunte, Pravin D.

2016-10-01

This study presents an easy, modular, user-friendly, and flexible software package for processing of Landsat 7 ETM and Landsat 8 OLI-TIRS data for estimating suspended particulate matter concentrations in the coastal waters. This package includes 1) algorithm developed using freely downloadable SCILAB package, 2) ERDAS Models for iterative processing of Landsat images and 3) ArcMAP tool for plotting and map making. Utilizing SCILAB package, a module is written for geometric corrections, radiometric corrections and obtaining normalized water-leaving reflectance by incorporating Landsat 8 OLI-TIRS and Landsat 7 ETM+ data. Using ERDAS models, a sequence of modules are developed for iterative processing of Landsat images and estimating suspended particulate matter concentrations. Processed images are used for preparing suspended sediment concentration maps. The applicability of this software package is demonstrated by estimating and plotting seasonal suspended sediment concentration maps off the Bengal delta. The software is flexible enough to accommodate other remotely sensed data like Ocean Color monitor (OCM) data, Indian Remote Sensing data (IRS), MODIS data etc. by replacing a few parameters in the algorithm, for estimating suspended sediment concentration in coastal waters.

Mapping human brain capillary water lifetime: high‐resolution metabolic neuroimaging

PubMed Central

Li, Xin; Sammi, Manoj K.; Bourdette, Dennis N.; Neuwelt, Edward A.

2015-01-01

Shutter‐speed analysis of dynamic‐contrast‐agent (CA)‐enhanced normal, multiple sclerosis (MS), and glioblastoma (GBM) human brain data gives the mean capillary water molecule lifetime (τ b) and blood volume fraction (v b; capillary density–volume product (ρ † V)) in a high‐resolution 1H2O MRI voxel (40 μL) or ROI. The equilibrium water extravasation rate constant, k po (τ b −1), averages 3.2 and 2.9 s−1 in resting‐state normal white matter (NWM) and gray matter (NGM), respectively (n = 6). The results (italicized) lead to three major conclusions. (A) k po differences are dominated by capillary water permeability (P W †), not size, differences. NWM and NGM voxel k po and vb values are independent. Quantitative analyses of concomitant population‐averaged k po, vb variations in normal and normal‐appearing MS brain ROIs confirm PW † dominance. (B) P W † is dominated (>95%) by a trans(endothelial)cellular pathway, not the P CA † paracellular route. In MS lesions and GBM tumors, PCA † increases but PW † decreases. (C) k po tracks steady‐state ATP production/consumption flux per capillary. In normal, MS, and GBM brain, regional k po correlates with literature MRSI ATP (positively) and Na + (negatively) tissue concentrations. This suggests that the PW † pathway is metabolically active. Excellent agreement of the relative NGM/NWM k po vb product ratio with the literature 31PMRSI‐MT CMRoxphos ratio confirms the flux property. We have previously shown that the cellular water molecule efflux rate constant (k io) is proportional to plasma membrane P‐type ATPase turnover, likely due to active trans‐membrane water cycling. With synaptic proximities and synergistic metabolic cooperativities, polar brain endothelial, neuroglial, and neuronal cells form “gliovascular units.” We hypothesize that a chain of water cycling processes transmits brain metabolic activity to k po, letting it report neurogliovascular unit Na+,K+‐ATPase activity. Cerebral k po maps represent metabolic (functional) neuroimages. The NGM 2.9 s−1 k po means an equilibrium unidirectional water efflux of ~1015 H2O molecules s−1 per capillary (in 1 μL tissue): consistent with the known ATP consumption rate and water co‐transporting membrane symporter stoichiometries. © 2015 The Authors NMR in Biomedicine Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. PMID:25914365

Study of sensor spectral responses and data processing algorithms and architectures for onboard feature identification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huck, F. O.; Davis, R. E.; Fales, C. L.; Aherron, R. M.

1982-01-01

A computational model of the deterministic and stochastic processes involved in remote sensing is used to study spectral feature identification techniques for real-time onboard processing of data acquired with advanced earth-resources sensors. Preliminary results indicate that: Narrow spectral responses are advantageous; signal normalization improves mean-square distance (MSD) classification accuracy but tends to degrade maximum-likelihood (MLH) classification accuracy; and MSD classification of normalized signals performs better than the computationally more complex MLH classification when imaging conditions change appreciably from those conditions during which reference data were acquired. The results also indicate that autonomous categorization of TM signals into vegetation, bare land, water, snow and clouds can be accomplished with adequate reliability for many applications over a reasonably wide range of imaging conditions. However, further analysis is required to develop computationally efficient boundary approximation algorithms for such categorization.

Environmental tracers for elucidating the weathering process in a phosphogypsum disposal site: Implications for restoration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pérez-López, Rafael; Nieto, José M.; de la Rosa, Jesús D.; Bolívar, Juan P.

2015-10-01

This study provides geochemical data with the aim of identifying and tracing the weathering of phosphogypsum wastes stack-piled directly on salt-marshes of the Tinto River (Estuary of Huelva, SW Spain). With that purpose, different types of highly-polluted acid solutions were collected in the stack. Connection between these solutions and the estuarine environment was studied by geochemical tracers, such as rare earth elements (REE) and their North American Shale Composite (NASC)-normalized patterns and Cl/Br ratios. Phosphogypsum-related wastewaters include process water stored on the surface, pore-water contained in the phosphogypsum profile and edge outflow water emerging from inside the stack. Edge outflow waters are produced by waterlogging at the contact between phosphogypsum and the nearly impermeable marsh surface and discharge directly into the estuary. Process water shows geochemical characteristics typical of phosphate fertilizers, i.e. REE patterns with an evident enrichment of heavy-REE (HREE) with respect to middle-REE (MREE) and light-REE (LREE). By contrast, REE patterns of deeper pore-water and edge outflows are identical to those of Tinto River estuary waters, with a clear enrichment of MREE relative to LREE and HREE denoting influence of acid mine drainage. Cl/Br ratios of these solutions are very close to that of seawater, which also supports its estuarine origin. These findings clearly show that process water is not chemically connected with edge outflows through pore-waters, as was previously believed. Phosphogypsum weathering likely occurs by an upward flow of seawater from the marsh because of overpressure and permeability differences. Several recommendations are put forward in this study to route restoration actions, such as developing treatment systems to improve the quality of the edge outflow waters before discharging to the receiving environment.

Satellite Ocean-Color Validation Using Ships of Opportunity. Chapter 5

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frouin, Robert; Cutchin, David L.; Gross-Colzy, Lydwine; Poteau, Antoine; Deschamps, Pierre-Yves

2003-01-01

The investigation s main objective is to collect from platforms of opportunity (merchant ships, research vessels) concomitant normalized water-leaving radiance and aerosol optical thickness data over the world s oceans. A global, long-term data set of these variables is needed to verify whether satellite retrievals of normalized water-leaving radiance are within acceptable error limits and, eventually, to adjust atmospheric correction schemes. To achieve this objective, volunteer officers, technicians, and scientists onboard the selected ships collect data from portable SIMBAD and Advanced SIMBAD (SIMBADA) radiometers. These instruments are specifically designed for evaluation of satellite-derived ocean color. They measure radiance in spectral bands typical of ocean-color sensors. The SIMBAD version measures in 5 spectral bands centered at 443, 490, 560, 670, and 870 nm, and the Advanced SIMBAD version in 11 spectral bands centered at 350, 380, 412, 443, 490, 510, 565, 620, 670, 750, and 870 nm. Aerosol optical thickness is obtained by viewing the sun disk like a classic sun photometer. Normalized water-leaving radiance, or marine reflectance, is obtained by viewing the ocean surface through a vertical polarizer in a specific geometry (nadir angle of 45o and relative azimuth angle of 135deg) to minimize direct sun glint and reflected sky radiation. The SIMBAD and SIMBADA data, after proper quality control and processing, are delivered to the SIMBIOS project office for inclusion in the SeaBASS archive. They complement data collected in a similar way by the Laboratoire d'Optique Atmospherique of the University of Lille, France. The SIMBAD and SIMBADA data are used to check the radiometric calibration of satellite ocean-color sensors after launch and to evaluate derived ocean-color variables (i.e., normalized water-leaving radiance, aerosol optical thickness, and aerosol type). Analysis of the SIMBAD and SIMBADA data provides information on the accuracy of satellite retrievals of normalized water-leaving radiance, an understanding of the discrepancies between satellite and in situ data, and algorithms that reduce the discrepancies, contributing to more accurate and consistent global ocean color data sets.

Importance of water source in controlling leaf leaching losses in a dwarf red mangrove ( Rhizophora mangle L.) wetland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, Stephen E., III; Childers, Daniel L.

2007-01-01

The southern Everglades mangrove ecotone is characterized by extensive dwarf Rhizophora mangle L. shrub forests with a seasonally variable water source (Everglades - NE Florida Bay) and residence times ranging from short to long. We conducted a leaf leaching experiment to understand the influence that water source and its corresponding water quality have on (1) the early decay of R. mangle leaves and (2) the early exchange of total organic carbon (TOC) and total phosphorus (TP) between leaves and the water column. Newly senesced leaves collected from lower Taylor River (FL) were incubated in bottles containing water from one of three sources (Everglades, ambient mangrove, and Florida Bay) that spanned a range of salinity from 0 to 32‰, [TOC] from 710 to 1400 μM, and [TP] from 0.17 to 0.33 μM. We poisoned half the bottles in order to quantify abiotic processes (i.e., leaching) and assumed that non-poisoned bottles represented both biotic (i.e., microbial) and abiotic processes. We sacrificed bottles after 1,2, 5, 10, and 21 days of incubation and quantified changes in leaf mass and changes in water column [TOC] and [TP]. We saw 10-20% loss of leaf mass after 24 h—independent of water treatment—that leveled off by Day 21. After 3 weeks, non-poisoned leaves lost more mass than poisoned leaves, and there was only an effect of salinity on mass loss in poisoned incubations—with greatest leaching-associated losses in Everglades freshwater. Normalized concentrations of TOC in the water column increased by more than two orders of magnitude after 21 days with no effect of salinity and no difference between poisoned and non-poisoned treatments. However, normalized [TP] was lower in non-poisoned incubations as a result of immobilization by epiphytic microbes. This immobilization was greatest in Everglades freshwater and reflects the high P demand in this ecosystem. Immobilization of leached P in mangrove water and Florida Bay water was delayed by several days and may indicate an initial microbial limitation by labile C during the dry season.

Influence of Water Content on Pullout Behaviour of Geogrid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Rong; Song, Yang-yang; Hao, Dong-xue; Gao, Yu-cong

2017-06-01

The interaction between geogrid and soil is fundamental and crucial factor on safety and stability of geogrid-reinforced earth structure. Therefore, the interface index between geogrid and soil is of vital importance in the design of reinforced earth structures. The pullout behaviour of geogrid in soil is studied, an experimental investigation is conducted using geogrid in four groups of soil with 20%, 24%, 28%, 32% water contents, which correspond to normal stresses of 50, 100, 200 and 300 kPa respectively. The results indicate that the geogrid embedded in soil mainly represents pullout failure, and the ultimate pullout force is sensitive to water content. It decreases with the increase of the water content firstly. Besides, the water content influences the process of the pullout behaviour. The increase of water content leads to the ultimate pullout force soon.

Helping nature clean up oil spills

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Paddock, A.

Oil spills are nothing new. In fact, for millions of years crude oil has been seeping up to the Earth`s surface, and for all that time Mother Nature has been on the job with microbes, or bacteria, to harmlessly convert the oil to water and carbon dioxide gas. Not all bacteria are bad. True, some can make us sick, however, the good ones help us bake bread, brew beer, and even clean up oil spills by a process known as biodegradation. Oil and bacteria don`t easily get together because oil and water don`t mix and bacteria prefer to stay inmore » water. After some oil tankers spills in the English Channel 25 years ago, major oil companies (Arco, BP, Exxon, and others) developed oil dispersant products-specialized chemicals that make oils and sea water mix. The simplest examples of similar wetting agents are soaps and detergents. Now, thanks to dispersants, the natural bacteria at sea can easily get to the oil and the normally slow biodegradation process goes rather quickly.« less

Circulation of the gyres of the world ocean: Observation modeling using TOPEX/Poseidon altimeter data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fu, Lee-Lueng; Zlotnicki, V.; Holland, W. R.; Malanotte-Rizzoli, P.

1991-01-01

The overall objectives of the proposed investigation are to study the dynamics of the large-scale recirculating cells of water in the ocean, which are loosely defined as 'gyres' in this study. A gyre is normally composed of a swift western boundary current (e.g., the Gulf Stream and the Kuroshio), a tight recirculating cell attached to the current, and a large-scale sluggish return flow. The water, of course, is not entirely recirculating within a gyre. The exchange of water among gyres is an important process in maintaining the meridional heat transport of the ocean. The gyres constitute a major mode of water movement in the ocean and play significant roles in the global climate system.

Modeling of Mud-Wave Interaction: Mud-Induced Wave Transport & Wave-Induced Mud Transport

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-11-01

seabed. This can be a fairly rapid process (i.e. of the order of tens of seconds, up to a few minutes at most, e.g. Foda and Zhang (1994); Lindenberg... analysis to shallow water waves and he assumes that the upper layer is non-viscous, and that the waves are sinusoidal and small compared to the water...the pressure and n = the normal vector to the interface, which is correct for ,, << 2,. Extending Gade’s analysis 𔃻 , assuming that superposition

Physicochemical Processes and the Evolution of Strength in Calcite Fault Gouge at Room Temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carpenter, B. M.; Viti, C.; Collettini, C.

2015-12-01

The presence of calcite in and near faults, as the dominant material, cement, or vein fill, indicates that the mechanical behavior of carbonate-dominated material likely plays an important role in shallow- and mid-crustal faulting. Furthermore, a variety of physical and chemical processes control the evolution of strength and style of slip along seismogenic faults and thus play a critical role in the seismic cycle. Determining the role and contributions of these types of mechanisms is essential to furthering our understanding of the processes and timescales that lead to the strengthening of faults during interseismic periods and their behavior during the earthquake nucleation process. To further our understanding of these processes, we performed laboratory-shearing experiments on calcite gouge at normal stresses from 1 to 100 MPa, under conditions of saturation and at room temperature. We performed velocity stepping (0.1-1000μm/s) and slide-hold-slide (1-3000s) tests, to measure the velocity dependence of friction and the amount of frictional strengthening respectively, under saturated conditions with pore fluid that was in equilibrium with CaCO3. At 5 MPa normal stress, we also varied the environmental conditions by performing experiments under conditions of 5% RH and 50 % RH, and saturation with: silicone oil, demineralized water, and the equilibrated solution combined with 0.5M NaCl. Finally, we collected post experimental samples for microscopic analysis. Our combined analyses of rate-dependence, strengthening behavior, and microstructures show that calcite fault gouge transitions from brittle to semi-brittle behavior at high normal stress and low sliding velocities. Furthermore, our results also highlight how changes in pore water chemistry can have significant influence on the mechanical behavior of calcite gouge in both the laboratory and in natural faults. Our observations have important implications for earthquake nucleation and propagation on faults in carbonate-dominated lithologies.

Cooling and solidification of heavy hydrocarbon liquid streams

DOEpatents

Antieri, Salvatore J.; Comolli, Alfred G.

1983-01-01

A process and apparatus for cooling and solidifying a stream of heavy hydrocarbon material normally boiling above about 850.degree. F., such as vacuum bottoms material from a coal liquefaction process. The hydrocarbon stream is dropped into a liquid bath, preferably water, which contains a screw conveyor device and the stream is rapidly cooled, solidified and broken therein to form discrete elongated particles. The solid extrudates or prills are then dried separately to remove substantially all surface moisture, and passed to further usage.

NICKEL PLATING PROCESS

DOEpatents

Hoover, T.B.; Zava, T.E.

1959-05-12

A simplified process is presented for plating nickel by the vapor decomposition of nickel carbonyl. In a preferred form of the invention a solid surface is nickel plated by subjecting the surface to contact with a mixture containing by volume approximately 20% nickel carbonyl vapor, 2% hydrogen sulfide and .l% water vapor or 1% oxygen and the remainder carbon dioxide at room temperature until the desired thickness of nickel is obtained. The advantage of this composition over others is that the normally explosive nickel carbonyl is greatly stabilized.

Graphene oxide-based efficient and scalable solar desalination under one sun with a confined 2D water path

PubMed Central

Li, Xiuqiang; Xu, Weichao; Tang, Mingyao; Zhou, Lin; Zhu, Bin; Zhu, Shining; Zhu, Jia

2016-01-01

Because it is able to produce desalinated water directly using solar energy with minimum carbon footprint, solar steam generation and desalination is considered one of the most important technologies to address the increasingly pressing global water scarcity. Despite tremendous progress in the past few years, efficient solar steam generation and desalination can only be achieved for rather limited water quantity with the assistance of concentrators and thermal insulation, not feasible for large-scale applications. The fundamental paradox is that the conventional design of direct absorber−bulk water contact ensures efficient energy transfer and water supply but also has intrinsic thermal loss through bulk water. Here, enabled by a confined 2D water path, we report an efficient (80% under one-sun illumination) and effective (four orders salinity decrement) solar desalination device. More strikingly, because of minimized heat loss, high efficiency of solar desalination is independent of the water quantity and can be maintained without thermal insulation of the container. A foldable graphene oxide film, fabricated by a scalable process, serves as efficient solar absorbers (>94%), vapor channels, and thermal insulators. With unique structure designs fabricated by scalable processes and high and stable efficiency achieved under normal solar illumination independent of water quantity without any supporting systems, our device represents a concrete step for solar desalination to emerge as a complementary portable and personalized clean water solution. PMID:27872280

Graphene oxide-based efficient and scalable solar desalination under one sun with a confined 2D water path.

PubMed

Li, Xiuqiang; Xu, Weichao; Tang, Mingyao; Zhou, Lin; Zhu, Bin; Zhu, Shining; Zhu, Jia

2016-12-06

Because it is able to produce desalinated water directly using solar energy with minimum carbon footprint, solar steam generation and desalination is considered one of the most important technologies to address the increasingly pressing global water scarcity. Despite tremendous progress in the past few years, efficient solar steam generation and desalination can only be achieved for rather limited water quantity with the assistance of concentrators and thermal insulation, not feasible for large-scale applications. The fundamental paradox is that the conventional design of direct absorber-bulk water contact ensures efficient energy transfer and water supply but also has intrinsic thermal loss through bulk water. Here, enabled by a confined 2D water path, we report an efficient (80% under one-sun illumination) and effective (four orders salinity decrement) solar desalination device. More strikingly, because of minimized heat loss, high efficiency of solar desalination is independent of the water quantity and can be maintained without thermal insulation of the container. A foldable graphene oxide film, fabricated by a scalable process, serves as efficient solar absorbers (>94%), vapor channels, and thermal insulators. With unique structure designs fabricated by scalable processes and high and stable efficiency achieved under normal solar illumination independent of water quantity without any supporting systems, our device represents a concrete step for solar desalination to emerge as a complementary portable and personalized clean water solution.

Utilization of a balanced steady state free precession signal model for improved fat/water decomposition.

PubMed

Henze Bancroft, Leah C; Strigel, Roberta M; Hernando, Diego; Johnson, Kevin M; Kelcz, Frederick; Kijowski, Richard; Block, Walter F

2016-03-01

Chemical shift based fat/water decomposition methods such as IDEAL are frequently used in challenging imaging environments with large B0 inhomogeneity. However, they do not account for the signal modulations introduced by a balanced steady state free precession (bSSFP) acquisition. Here we demonstrate improved performance when the bSSFP frequency response is properly incorporated into the multipeak spectral fat model used in the decomposition process. Balanced SSFP allows for rapid imaging but also introduces a characteristic frequency response featuring periodic nulls and pass bands. Fat spectral components in adjacent pass bands will experience bulk phase offsets and magnitude modulations that change the expected constructive and destructive interference between the fat spectral components. A bSSFP signal model was incorporated into the fat/water decomposition process and used to generate images of a fat phantom, and bilateral breast and knee images in four normal volunteers at 1.5 Tesla. Incorporation of the bSSFP signal model into the decomposition process improved the performance of the fat/water decomposition. Incorporation of this model allows rapid bSSFP imaging sequences to use robust fat/water decomposition methods such as IDEAL. While only one set of imaging parameters were presented, the method is compatible with any field strength or repetition time. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Radiocesium discharge from paddy fields with different initial scrapings for decontamination after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident.

PubMed

Wakahara, Taeko; Onda, Yuich; Kato, Hiroaki; Sakaguchi, Aya; Yoshimura, Kazuya

2014-11-01

To explore the behavior of radionuclides released after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident in March 2011, and the distribution of radiocesium in paddy fields, we monitored radiocesium (Cs) and suspended sediment (SS) discharge from paddy fields. We proposed a rating scale for measuring the effectiveness of surface soil removal. Our experimental plots in paddy fields were located ∼40 km from the FDNPP. Two plots were established: one in a paddy field where surface soil was not removed (the "normally cultivated paddy field") and the second in a paddy field where the top 5-10 cm of soil was removed before cultivation (the "surface-removed paddy field"). The amounts of Cs and SS discharge from the paddy fields were continuously measured from June to August 2011. The Cs soil inventory measured 3 months after the FDNPP accident was approximately 200 kBq m(-2). However, after removing the surface soil, the concentration of Cs-137 decreased to 5 kBq m(-2). SS discharged from the normally cultivated and surface-removed paddy fields after puddling (mixing of soil and water before planting rice) was 11.0 kg and 3.1 kg, respectively, and Cs-137 discharge was 630,000 Bq (1240 Bq m(-2)) and 24,800 Bq (47.8 Bq m(-2)), respectively. The total amount of SS discharge after irrigation (natural rainfall-runoff) was 5.5 kg for the normally cultivated field and 70 kg for the surface-removed field, and the total amounts of Cs-137 discharge were 51,900 Bq (102 Bq m(-2)) and 165,000 Bq (317 Bq m(-2)), respectively. During the irrigation period, discharge from the surface-removed plot showed a twofold greater inflow than that from the normally cultivated plot. Thus, Cs inflow may originate from the upper canal. The topsoil removal process eliminated at least approximately 95% of the Cs-137, but upstream water contaminated with Cs-137 flowed into the paddy field. Therefore, to accurately determine the Cs discharge, it is important to examine Cs inflow from the upper channel. Furthermore, puddling and irrigation processes inhibit the discharge of radiocesium downstream. This indicates that water control in paddy fields is an important process in the prevention of river pollution and radionuclide transfer.

Water Migration and Swelling in Bentonite Quantified using Neutron Radiography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vial, A.; DiStefano, V. H.; Perfect, E.; Hale, R. E.; Anovitz, L. M.; McFarlane, J.

2016-12-01

Permanent disposal of radioactive waste remains a critical challenge for the nation's energy future. All disposal system concepts include interfaces between engineered systems and natural materials requiring extensive characterization. Bentonite is often used to buffer subsurface disposal systems from geologic media containing ground water. Bentonite characterization experiments were carried out using the CG-1D neutron imaging beam line at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Dry bentonite was packed into vertically-oriented aluminum cylinders. Water was ponded on the top surface of each packed cylinder. Images were acquired at 2 min intervals using dynamic neutron radiography. The detector consisted of stacked neutron sensitive microchannel plates above a quad Timepix readout with a 28 x 28 mm2 field of view. The spatial resolution of the detector was 55 μm. Raw neutron radiographs were imported into ImageJ and normalized with respect to the initial completely dry state. The wetting process was 1-dimensional, and vertical intensity profiles were computed by averaging pixel rows. The vertical distance between the clay-water interface and the wetting front could then be determined as a function of time. Depth of water infiltration increased linearly with the square root of time, yielding a sorptivity value of 0.75 (± 0.070) mm/min0.5. Swelling occurred in the form of upward movement of clay particles into the ponded water over time. The resulting low density assemblage was discernable by normalizing the raw profiles with respect to the intensity profile immediately after ponding. The packed clay-water interface was clearly visible in the normalized profiles, and swelling was quantified as the height of the low density assemblage above the original interface. Swelling occurred as a linear function of time, at a rate of 0.054 (± 0.020) mm/min. Further experiments of this type are planned under variable temperature and pressure regimes applicable to subsurface repositories.

Describing the spatio-temporal variability of vines and soil by satellite-based spectral indices: A case study in Apulia (South Italy)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borgogno-Mondino, E.; Novello, V.; Lessio, A.; de Palma, L.

2018-06-01

A time series of Landsat 8 OLI (L8 OLI) multispectral images acquired between May 2013 and February 2016 were used to investigate vigour, vine and soil water content in a vineyard of Moscato Reale (syn. Moscato Bianco) sited in the Castel del Monte DOCG area. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) were calculated and compared with vine midday stem water potential (ΨMDstem) and soil volume water content (VWC), to calibrate estimation models. Estimation models were calibrated using already existing ground observation datasets from previous ordinary vineyard management operations: ΨMDstem was measured at two different locations in vineyard at 6 different dates in summer 2014; VWC was continuously measured from June to October 2014 and from January to September 2015. Results showed that: a) vine stem water potential can be locally estimated with an accuracy ranging from ±0.046 (high vigour vines) to ±0.127 (low vigour vines) MPa; b) soil volume water content can be locally estimated with an accuracy of about ±1.7%. Medium resolution satellite imagery proved, therefore, to be effective, at vineyard level, to describe vigour, vine and soil water status and their seasonality. This is an important issue to focus on since, as Landsat 8 images are free, the entire process is economic enough to be consistent with cost and incoming of the farming system.

Impact of reduced water consumption on sulfide and methane production in rising main sewers.

PubMed

Sun, Jing; Hu, Shihu; Sharma, Keshab Raj; Bustamante, Heriberto; Yuan, Zhiguo

2015-05-01

Reduced water consumption (RWC), for water conservation purposes, is expected to change the wastewater composition and flow conditions in sewer networks and affect the in-sewer transformation processes. In this study, the impact of reduced water consumption on sulfide and methane production in rising main sewers was investigated. Two lab-scale rising main sewer systems fed with wastewater of different strength and flow rates were operated to mimic sewers under normal and RWC conditions (water consumption reduced by 40%). Sulfide concentration under the RWC condition increased by 0.7-8.0 mg-S/L, depending on the time of a day. Batch test results showed that the RWC did not change the sulfate-reducing activity of sewer biofilms, the increased sulfide production being mainly due to longer hydraulic retention time (HRT). pH in the RWC system was about 0.2 units lower than that in the normal system, indicating that more sulfide would be in molecular form under the RWC condition, which would result in increased sulfide emission to the atmosphere as confirmed by the model simulation. Model based analysis showed that the cost for chemical dosage for sulfide mitigation would increase significantly per unit volume of sewage, although the total cost would decrease due to a lower sewage flow. The dissolved methane concentration under the RWC condition was over two times higher than that under the normal flow condition and the total methane discharge was about 1.5 times higher, which would potentially result in higher greenhouse gas emissions. Batch tests showed that the methanogenic activity of sewer biofilms increased under the RWC condition, which along with the longer HRT, led to increased methane production. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Inhibitory effects of processed Aconiti tuber on morphine-induced conditioned place preference in rats.

PubMed

Wu, Guiyun; Huang, Wenqi; Zhang, Hui; Li, Qiaobo; Zhou, Jun; Shu, Haihua

2011-06-14

Our previous studies indicated that processed Aconiti tuber (PAT), a traditional Chinese herbal medicine, had antinociceptive effects and inhibitory effects on morphine tolerance by activation of kappa-opioid receptor (KOR). Preclinical studies also demonstrated that KOR agonists functionally attenuate addictive behaviors of morphine, such as conditioned place preference (CPP). Therefore, we hypothesize that PAT may inhibit morphine-induced CPP in rats. (1) Five groups of rats (n=8 for each group) were alternately subcutaneous (s.c.) injected with morphine 10mg/kg (one group receive normal saline as a control) and normal saline for 8 days and oral co-administrated with distilled water or PAT 0.3, 1.0, or 3.0 g/kg daily on days 2-9 during CPP training, respectively. (2) Other four groups of rats were randomly s.c. injected with nor-binaltorphimine (nor-BNI; 5mg/kg) or normal saline (as a control) 120 min before alternately s.c. with morphine and normal saline and oral co-administrated with distilled water or PAT 3.0 g/kg daily. Each rat was acquired pre-conditioning and post-conditioning CPP data and assayed dynorphin concentrations by radioimmunoassay in rat's nucleus accumbens (NAc) after CPP training. (1) PAT 1.0 or 3.0 g/kg dose-dependently decreased the morphine-induced increase of CPP scores. (2) Nor-BNI completely antagonized the inhibition of PAT on morphine-induced CPP. (3) PAT dose-dependently increased dynorphin content in rats' NAc after CPP training. (1) PAT dose-dependently inhibited morphine-induced CPP. (2) The inhibition of PAT on morphine-induced CPP was probably due to activation of KOR by increasing dynorphin release in rats' NAc. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Shorter Life Span of Microorganisms and Plants as a Consequence of Shielded Magnetic Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dobrota, C.; Piso, I. M.; Bathory, D.

The geomagnetic field is an essential environmental factor for life and health on this planet. In order to survey how magnetic fields affect the life span and the nitrogenase (an iron-sulphur enzyme) activity of Azotobacter chroococcum as well as the life span, the main organic synthesis and the water balance of plants (22 species), the biological tests were incubated under shielded magnetic field and also in normal geo-magnetic environment. The shielding level was about 10-6 of the terrestrial magnetic field.Life cycles of all organisms require the co-ordinated control of a complex set of interlocked physiological processes and metabolic pathways. Such processes are likely to be regulated by a large number of genes. Our researches suggest that the main point in biological structures, which seems to be affected by the low magnetic environment, is the water molecule. Magnetic field induces a molecular alignment. Under shielded conditions, unstructured water molecules with fewer hydrogen bonds, which are producing a more reactive environment, are occurring. As compared to control, the life span of both microorganisms and plants was shorter in shielded environment. A higher nitrogenase affinity for the substrate was recorded in normal geo-magnetic field compared to low magnetic field. The synthesis of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and enzymes was modified under experimental conditions. The stomatal conductance was higher between 158 and 300% in shielded environment indicating an important water loss from the plant cells.Our results support the idea that the shielded magnetic environment induces different reactions depending on the time of exposure and on the main metabolic pathways of the cells.

High-density regular arrays of nanometer-scale rods formed on silicon surfaces via femtosecond laser irradiation in water.

PubMed

Shen, Mengyan; Carey, James E; Crouch, Catherine H; Kandyla, Maria; Stone, Howard A; Mazur, Eric

2008-07-01

We report on the formation of high-density regular arrays of nanometer-scale rods using femtosecond laser irradiation of a silicon surface immersed in water. The resulting surface exhibits both micrometer-scale and nanometer-scale structures. The micrometer-scale structure consists of spikes of 5-10 mum width, which are entirely covered by nanometer-scale rods that are roughly 50 nm wide and normal to the surface of the micrometer-scale spikes. The formation of the nanometer-scale rods involves several processes: refraction of laser light in highly excited silicon, interference of scattered and refracted light, rapid cooling in water, roughness-enhanced optical absorptance, and capillary instabilities.

The pH of water from various sources: an overview for recommendation for patients with atopic dermatitis.

PubMed

Kulthanan, Kanokvalai; Nuchkull, Piyavadee; Varothai, Supenya

2013-07-01

Patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) have increased susceptibility to irritants. Some patients have questions about types of water for bathing or skin cleansing. We studied the pH of water from various sources to give an overview for physicians to recommend patients with AD. Water from various sources was collected for measurement of the pH using a pH meter and pH-indicator strips. Bottled drinking still water had pH between 6.9 and 7.5 while the sparkling type had pH between 4.9 and 5.5. Water derived from home water filters had an approximate pH of 7.5 as same as tap water. Swimming pool water had had pH between 7.2 and 7.5 while seawater had a pH of 8. Normal saline and distilled water had pH of 5.4 and 5.7, respectively. Facial mineral water had pH between 7.5 and 8, while facial makeup removing water had an acidic pH. Normal saline, distilled water, bottled sparkling water and facial makeup removing water had similar pH to that of normal skin of normal people. However, other factors including benefits of mineral substances in the water in terms of bacteriostatic and anti-inflammation should be considered in the selection of cleansing water.

The pH of water from various sources: an overview for recommendation for patients with atopic dermatitis

PubMed Central

Kulthanan, Kanokvalai; Varothai, Supenya

2013-01-01

Background Patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) have increased susceptibility to irritants. Some patients have questions about types of water for bathing or skin cleansing. Objective We studied the pH of water from various sources to give an overview for physicians to recommend patients with AD. Methods Water from various sources was collected for measurement of the pH using a pH meter and pH-indicator strips. Results Bottled drinking still water had pH between 6.9 and 7.5 while the sparkling type had pH between 4.9 and 5.5. Water derived from home water filters had an approximate pH of 7.5 as same as tap water. Swimming pool water had had pH between 7.2 and 7.5 while seawater had a pH of 8. Normal saline and distilled water had pH of 5.4 and 5.7, respectively. Facial mineral water had pH between 7.5 and 8, while facial makeup removing water had an acidic pH. Conclusion Normal saline, distilled water, bottled sparkling water and facial makeup removing water had similar pH to that of normal skin of normal people. However, other factors including benefits of mineral substances in the water in terms of bacteriostatic and anti-inflammation should be considered in the selection of cleansing water. PMID:23956962

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A worker in the Orbiter Processing Facility checks the open hatch of the airlock in Discovery’s payload bay. The airlock is normally located inside the middeck of the spacecraft’s pressurized crew cabin. The airlock is sized to accommodate two fully suited flight crew members simultaneously. Support functions include airlock depressurization and repressurization, extravehicular activity equipment recharge, liquid-cooled garment water cooling, EVA equipment checkout, donning and communications. The outer hatch isolates the airlock from the unpressurized payload bay when closed and permits the EVA crew members to exit from the airlock to the payload bay when open.

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-01-22

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A worker in the Orbiter Processing Facility checks the open hatch of the airlock in Discovery’s payload bay. The airlock is normally located inside the middeck of the spacecraft’s pressurized crew cabin. The airlock is sized to accommodate two fully suited flight crew members simultaneously. Support functions include airlock depressurization and repressurization, extravehicular activity equipment recharge, liquid-cooled garment water cooling, EVA equipment checkout, donning and communications. The outer hatch isolates the airlock from the unpressurized payload bay when closed and permits the EVA crew members to exit from the airlock to the payload bay when open.

Cold pressor-induced pain does not impair WAIS-IV processing speed index or working memory index performance.

PubMed

Etherton, Joseph

2014-01-01

Chronic pain frequently involves cognitive complaints such as concentration and memory deficits, but studies of the effects of pain on cognition have not consistently demonstrated deficits and have not typically utilized standard neuropsychological instruments. Effects of cold pressor-induced pain on Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition Processing Speed Index (PSI) and Working Memory Index (WMI) performance was examined in nonclinical volunteers (n = 40). All took one PSI subtest and one WMI subtest normally, and then took different PSI and WMI subtests during cold pressor-induced pain or painless warm-water immersion. Scaled scores for normal administration versus pain or painless water immersion did not differ and there was no interaction between group (control vs. pain) and manner of administration, despite moderately severe mean pain ratings (M = 6.8 on a 0-10 pain-rating scale). Results indicate that induced pain in nonclinical volunteers does not impair PSI or WMI performance, and they suggest that chronic pain per se should not be expected to substantially affect these cognitive functions. However, patients with chronic pain may differ from nonclinical volunteers in their experience of pain, potentially limiting generalizability.

Effects of land use and sample location on nitrate-stream flow hysteresis descriptors during storm events

USGS Publications Warehouse

Feinson, Lawrence S.; Gibs, Jacob; Imbrigiotta, Thomas E.; Garrett, Jessica D.

2016-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey's New Jersey and Iowa Water Science Centers deployed ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometric sensors at water-quality monitoring sites on the Passaic and Pompton Rivers at Two Bridges, New Jersey, on Toms River at Toms River, New Jersey, and on the North Raccoon River near Jefferson, Iowa to continuously measure in-stream nitrate plus nitrite as nitrogen (NO3 + NO2) concentrations in conjunction with continuous stream flow measurements. Statistical analysis of NO3 + NO2 vs. stream discharge during storm events found statistically significant links between land use types and sampling site with the normalized area and rotational direction of NO3 + NO2-stream discharge (N-Q) hysteresis patterns. Statistically significant relations were also found between the normalized area of a hysteresis pattern and several flow parameters as well as the normalized area adjusted for rotational direction and minimum NO3 + NO2 concentrations. The mean normalized hysteresis area for forested land use was smaller than that of urban and agricultural land uses. The hysteresis rotational direction of the agricultural land use was opposite of that of the urban and undeveloped land uses. An r2 of 0.81 for the relation between the minimum normalized NO3 + NO2 concentration during a storm vs. the normalized NO3 + NO2 concentration at peak flow suggested that dilution was the dominant process controlling NO3 + NO2 concentrations over the course of most storm events.

Performance assessment of a submerged membrane bioreactor using a novel microbial consortium.

PubMed

Chon, Kangmin; Lee, Kyungpyo; Kim, In-Soo; Jang, Am

2016-06-01

The performance of a submerged membrane bioreactor (MBR) with and without a novel microbial consortium (NMBR vs. CMBR) was compared to provide deeper insights into the effects of changes in water quality and dissolved organic matter (DOM) characteristics by a novel microbial consortium on the fouling characteristics of MBR processes. Despite similar operating conditions and identical DOM properties in the feed waters, NMBR exhibited a lower propensity to release polysaccharide-like compounds with low molecular weight by bacterial activities compared to CMBR. These compounds have a great fouling potential for MBR processes. Therefore, an increase in the transmembrane pressure (TMP) of NMBR (normalized TMP (TMP/TMP0): 1.14) was much slower and less significant than that observed in CMBR (TMP/TMP0: 2.61). These observations imply that the novel microbial consortium can efficiently mitigate membrane fouling by hydrophilic DOM in MBR processes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Accelerated recession of a desert cliff due to sewage water disposal, Sede Boqer, Israel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arkin, Yaacov; Karnieli, Arnon; Issar, Arie; Mtz.-Esparza, Javier Diaz

1986-12-01

Accelerated erosion of a desert cliff due to uncontrolled sewage water disposal was investigated at the Sede Boqer Campus in the Negev, Israel An erosional cirque formed by this water was studied as a model simulating natural processes. The cliffs consist of loess and conglomerate underlain by soft marl, clay, and chalk. The rate of erosion is of the order of 5% 8% of the volume of water discharged. The rate of incision ranges from 10 2 to 13.3 m/yr and is several orders higher than that expected under normal rainfall conditions The introduction of this new hydrological factor resulted in a severe disturbance of the morphological balance in the vicinity of the cliffs, accelerated erosion, and generated circular slides

Iron coated pottery granules for arsenic removal from drinking water.

PubMed

Dong, Liangjie; Zinin, Pavel V; Cowen, James P; Ming, Li Chung

2009-09-15

A new media, iron coated pottery granules (ICPG) has been developed for As removal from drinking water. ICPG is a solid phase media that produces a stable Fe-Si surface complex for arsenic adsorption. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to document the physical attributes (grain size, pore size and distribution, surface roughness) of the ICPG media. Several advantages of the ICPG media such as (a) its granular structure, (b) its ability to absorb As via the F(0) coating on the granules' surface; (c) the inexpensive preparation process for the media from clay material make ICPG media a highly effective media for removing arsenic at normal pH. A column filtration test demonstrated that within the stability region (flow rate lower than 15L/h, EBCT >3 min), the concentration of As in the influent was always lower than 50 microg/L. The 2-week system ability test showed that the media consistently removed arsenic from test water to below the 5 microg/L level. The average removal efficiencies for total arsenic, As(III), and As(V) for a 2-week test period were 98%, 97%, and 99%, respectively, at an average flow rate of 4.1L/h and normal pH. Measurements of the Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms at normal pH show that the Freundlich constants of the ICPG are very close to those of ferric hydroxide, nanoscale zero-valent iron and much higher than those of nanocrystalline titanium dioxide. The parameter 1/n is smaller than 0.55 indicating a favorable adsorption process [K. Hristovski, A. Baumgardner, P. Westerhoff, Selecting metal oxide nanomaterials for arsenic removal in fixed bed columns: from nanopowders to aggregated nanoparticle media, J. Hazard. Mater. 147 (2007) 265-274]. The maximum adsorption capacity (q(e)) of the ICPG from the Langmuir isotherm is very close to that of nanoscale zero-valent indicating that zero-valent iron is involved in the process of the As removal from the water. The results of the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) analysis revealed that the media was non-hazardous, as shown by the ND (non-detectable) result for arsenic. The mechanism of As adsorption by ICPG has not been determined. Formation of Fe-Si complexes on the surface of the ICPG system may be responsible for the tight bonding of the As to the IGPC media.

Utility of a Multiparametric Quantitative MRI Model That Assesses Myelin and Edema for Evaluating Plaques, Periplaque White Matter, and Normal-Appearing White Matter in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis: A Feasibility Study.

PubMed

Hagiwara, A; Hori, M; Yokoyama, K; Takemura, M Y; Andica, C; Kumamaru, K K; Nakazawa, M; Takano, N; Kawasaki, H; Sato, S; Hamasaki, N; Kunimatsu, A; Aoki, S

2017-02-01

T1 and T2 values and proton density can now be quantified on the basis of a single MR acquisition. The myelin and edema in a voxel can also be estimated from these values. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a multiparametric quantitative MR imaging model that assesses myelin and edema for characterizing plaques, periplaque white matter, and normal-appearing white matter in patients with MS. We examined 3T quantitative MR imaging data from 21 patients with MS. The myelin partial volume, excess parenchymal water partial volume, the inverse of T1 and transverse T2 relaxation times (R1, R2), and proton density were compared among plaques, periplaque white matter, and normal-appearing white matter. All metrics differed significantly across the 3 groups ( P < .001). Those in plaques differed most from those in normal-appearing white matter. The percentage changes of the metrics in plaques and periplaque white matter relative to normal-appearing white matter were significantly more different from zero for myelin partial volume (mean, -61.59 ± 20.28% [plaque relative to normal-appearing white matter], and mean, -10.51 ± 11.41% [periplaque white matter relative to normal-appearing white matter]), and excess parenchymal water partial volume (13.82 × 10 3 ± 49.47 × 10 3 % and 51.33 × 10 2 ± 155.31 × 10 2 %) than for R1 (-35.23 ± 13.93% and -6.08 ± 8.66%), R2 (-21.06 ± 11.39% and -4.79 ± 6.79%), and proton density (23.37 ± 10.30% and 3.37 ± 4.24%). Multiparametric quantitative MR imaging captures white matter damage in MS. Myelin partial volume and excess parenchymal water partial volume are more sensitive to the MS disease process than R1, R2, and proton density. © 2017 by American Journal of Neuroradiology.

The Sixth SeaWiFS/SIMBIOS Intercalibration Round-Robin Experiment (SIRREX-6)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Riley, Thomas; Bailey, Sean

1998-01-01

For the sixth Sea-Viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS) Intercalibration Round-Robin Experiment (SIRREX-6), NASA personnel carried the same four Satlantic in-water radiometers to nine separate laboratories and calibrated them. Two of the sensors were seven-channel radiance heads and two were seven-channel irradiance heads. The calibration and data reduction procedures used at each site followed that laboratory's normal procedures. The reference lamps normally used for the calibration of these types of instruments by the various laboratories were also used for this experiment. NASA personnel processed the data to produce calibration parameters from the various laboratories

Time-delayed transition of normal-to-abnormal glow in pin-to-water discharge

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yoon, S.-Y.; Byeon, Y.-S.; Yoo, S.

2016-08-15

Time-delayed transition of normal-to-abnormal glow was investigated in discharge between spoke-like pins and ultrapure water by applying AC-driven power at a frequency of 14.3 kHz at atmospheric pressure. The normal-to-abnormal transition can be recognized from the slope changes of current density, gas temperature, electrode temperature, and OH density. The slope changes took place in tens of minutes rather than just after discharge, in other words, the transition was delayed. The time-delay of the transition was caused by the interaction between the plasma and water. The plasma affected water properties, and then the water affected plasma properties.

The Need for Modernized Operational Snow Models: A Tale of Two Years

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Winstral, A. H.; Marks, D. G.

2014-12-01

The Boise River Basin in southwest Idaho, USA contains three major reservoirs totaling nearly 1,000,000 acre-feet of storage capacity. The primary goals for water managers are water supply and flood protection. In terms of observed SWE at monitoring sites throughout the basin, water years 2012 and 2014 were similar and near normal. In WY 2014 inflows into the BRB reservoir system followed historic patterns and reservoir releases were ideally controlled for management goals. WY2012 however was warmer than average and the winter snowpack had uncharacteristically high melt susceptibility. Subsequent energy fluxes produced late winter inflows much higher than normally encountered. The uncharacteristic flow patterns and inability of traditional operational modeling tools to handle this situation challenged water managers. Through late March and early April 2012 near flood stage flows were pushed through the city of Boise in order to increase storage and prevent more catastrophic flooding. While in this case a greater catastrophe was narrowly averted, the shortcomings of the traditional modeling approaches taken by operational agencies were exposed. "Uncharacteristic" events such as these are becoming more and more frequent as the effects of climate change are realized. The need for modernized methods - ones based on the physical controlling processes rather than historic patterns - is imperative. This presentation outlines the latest developments in the application of a physically-based, high-resolution spatial snow model to aid operational water management decisions.

Statistical Evaluation of VIIRS Ocean Color Products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mikelsons, K.; Wang, M.; Jiang, L.

2016-02-01

Evaluation and validation of satellite-derived ocean color products is a complicated task, which often relies on precise in-situ measurements for satellite data quality assessment. However, in-situ measurements are only available in comparatively few locations, expensive, and not for all times. In the open ocean, the variability in spatial and temporal scales is longer, and the water conditions are generally more stable. We use this fact to perform extensive statistical evaluations of consistency for ocean color retrievals based on comparison of retrieved data at different times, and corresponding to various retrieval parameters. We have used the NOAA Multi-Sensor Level-1 to Level-2 (MSL12) ocean color data processing system for ocean color product data derived from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS). We show the results for statistical dependence of normalized water-leaving radiance spectra with respect to various parameters of retrieval geometry, such as solar- and sensor-zenith angles, as well as physical variables, such as wind speed, air pressure, ozone amount, water vapor, etc. In most cases, the results show consistent retrievals within the relevant range of retrieval parameters, showing a good performance with the MSL12 in the open ocean. The results also yield the upper bounds of solar- and sensor-zenith angles for reliable ocean color retrievals, and also show a slight increase of VIIRS-derived normalized water-leaving radiances with wind speed and water vapor concentration.

18 CFR 154.305 - Tax normalization.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Tax normalization. 154.305 Section 154.305 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION... Changes § 154.305 Tax normalization. (a) Applicability. An interstate pipeline must compute the income tax...

18 CFR 154.305 - Tax normalization.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Tax normalization. 154.305 Section 154.305 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION... Changes § 154.305 Tax normalization. (a) Applicability. An interstate pipeline must compute the income tax...

18 CFR 154.305 - Tax normalization.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Tax normalization. 154.305 Section 154.305 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION... Changes § 154.305 Tax normalization. (a) Applicability. An interstate pipeline must compute the income tax...

18 CFR 154.305 - Tax normalization.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Tax normalization. 154.305 Section 154.305 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION... Changes § 154.305 Tax normalization. (a) Applicability. An interstate pipeline must compute the income tax...

10 CFR Appendix C to Subpart B of... - Uniform Test Method for Measuring the Energy Consumption of Dishwashers

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... Preconditioning cycle means any cycle that includes a fill, circulation, and drain to ensure that the water lines... truncated normal cycle without a test load if the dishwasher does not heat water in the normal cycle. 2.6.2... water temperatures encountered in the test cycle. 3.4 Water pressure gauge. The water pressure gauge...

Hydrogen in drinking water attenuates noise-induced hearing loss in guinea pigs.

PubMed

Lin, Ying; Kashio, Akinori; Sakamoto, Takashi; Suzukawa, Keigo; Kakigi, Akinobu; Yamasoba, Tatsuya

2011-01-03

It has been shown that molecular hydrogen acts as a therapeutic and preventive antioxidant by selectively reducing the hydroxyl radical, the most cytotoxic of the reactive oxygen species. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that acoustic damage in guinea pigs can be attenuated by the consumption of molecular hydrogen. Guinea pigs received normal water or hydrogen-rich water for 14 days before they were exposed to 115 dB SPL 4-kHz octave band noise for 3h. Animals in each group underwent measurements for auditory brainstem response (ABR) or distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) before the treatment (baseline) and immediately, 1, 3, 7, and 14 days after noise exposure. The ABR thresholds at 2 and 4 kHz were significantly better on post-noise days 1, 3, and 14 in hydrogen-treated animals when compared to the normal water-treated controls. Compared to the controls, the hydrogen-treated animals showed greater amplitude of DPOAE input/output growth functions during the recovery process, with statistical significance detected on post-noise days 3 and 7. These findings suggest that hydrogen can facilitate the recovery of hair cell function and attenuate noise-induced temporary hearing loss. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

High performance of chlorophyll-a prediction algorithms based on simulated OLCI Sentinel-3A bands in cyanobacteria-dominated inland waters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watanabe, Fernanda Sayuri Yoshino; Alcântara, Enner; Stech, José Luiz

2018-07-01

In this research, we have investigated whether the chlorophyll-a (chl a) retrieval algorithms based on OLCI Sentinel-3A bands are suitable for cyanobacteria-dominated waters. Phytoplankton assemblages model optical properties of the water, influencing the performance of bio-optical algorithms. Understanding these processes is important to improve the prediction of photoactive pigments in order to use them as a proxy for trophic state and harmful algal bloom. So that, both empirical and semi-analytical approaches designed for different inland waters were tested. In addition, empirical models were tuned based on dataset collected in situ. The study was conducted in the Funil hydroelectric reservoir, where chl a ranged from 2.33 to 208.68 mg m-3 in May 2012 (austral fall) and 4.37 to 306.03 mg m-3 in October 2012 (austral spring). OLCI Sentinel-3A bands were tested in existing algorithms developed for other sensors and new band combinations were compared to analyze the errors produced. Normalized Difference Chlorophyll Index (NDCI) exhibited the best performance, with a Normalized Root Mean Square Error (NRMSE) of 9.30%. Result showed that wavelength at 665 nm is adequate to estimate chl a, although the maximum pigment absorption band is shifted due to phycocyanin fluorescence at approximately 650 nm.

O absorption measurements in an engineering-scale high-pressure coal gasifier

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Kai; Sur, Ritobrata; Jeffries, Jay B.; Hanson, Ronald K.; Clark, Tommy; Anthony, Justin; Machovec, Scott; Northington, John

2014-10-01

A real-time, in situ water vapor (H2O) sensor using a tunable diode laser near 1,352 nm was developed to continuously monitor water vapor in the synthesis gas of an engineering-scale high-pressure coal gasifier. Wavelength-scanned wavelength-modulation spectroscopy with second harmonic detection (WMS-2 f) was used to determine the absorption magnitude. The 1 f-normalized, WMS-2 f signal (WMS-2 f/1 f) was insensitive to non-absorption transmission losses including beam steering and light scattering by the particulate in the synthesis gas. A fitting strategy was used to simultaneously determine the water vapor mole fraction and the collisional-broadening width of the transition from the scanned 1 f-normalized WMS-2 f waveform at pressures up to 15 atm, which can be used for large absorbance values. This strategy is analogous to the fitting strategy for wavelength-scanned direct absorption measurements. In a test campaign at the US National Carbon Capture Center, the sensor demonstrated a water vapor detection limit of ~800 ppm (25 Hz bandwidth) at conditions with more than 99.99 % non-absorption transmission losses. Successful unattended monitoring was demonstrated over a 435 h period. Strong correlations between the sensor measurements and transient gasifier operation conditions were observed, demonstrating the capability of laser absorption to monitor the gasification process.

[Feasibility of treatment of micro-pollutant water polluted by nitrobenzene with IBAC-process].

PubMed

Wang, Chen; Ma, Fang; Shan, Dan; Yang, Ji-xian; Lan, Yuan-dong; Gao, Guo-wei

2007-07-01

The performance and feasibility of immobilization biological activated carbon (IBAC) were investigated to treat micro-pollutant water containing nitrobenzene. IBAC has been developed on the granular activated carbon by immobilization of selected and acclimated species of engineering bacteria to treat the micro-pollutant water containing nitrobenzene. The IBAC removal efficiencies for nitrobenzene, permanganate index, turbidity, UV, ammonia and nitrite were compared with granular activated carbon (GAC) process. Biological toxicity of influent and effluent of filter were determined. Amount of bacteria in carbon was measured when carbon filter was inoculated and circulated stably. The results showed that compared with GAC, it took short time for IABC to startup and recover to normal after impact burden. In addition, IBAC was more effective to treat micro-pollutants. In order to ensure security of drinking water, the influent nitrobenzene should be controlled below 26 microg/L. Effluent biological toxicity treated with IBAC was less than that with GAC. The performance of IBAC was much better than that of GAC. Amount of bacteria in both activated carbon filter increased first and then declined from inlet to outlet.

Physical Evaluation of Cleaning Performance: We Are Only Fooling Ourselves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pratz, Earl; McCool, A. (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

Surface cleaning processes are normally evaluated using visual physical properties such as discolorations, streaking, staining and water-break-free conditions. There is an assumption that these physical methods will evaluate all surfaces all the time for all subsequent operations. We have found that these physical methods are lacking in sensitivity and selectivity with regard to surface residues and subsequent process performance. We will report several conditions where evaluations using visual physical properties are lacking. We will identify possible alternative methods and future needs for surface evaluations.

Improvement of Groundwater Regime Through Innovative Rainwater Harvesting Along Road Sides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jain, S. K.

The paper deals about viable and immediate solution of shortage of drinking water in the countries like India, Asian, and African continents. The paper highlights rainwater harvesting along both the sides of roads with the help of suitable, simple structures, which are easy to maintain. This may turn out to be long-term solution for the areas, which are draught prone, or having below normal rainfall. The example given in the paper for “Golden Quadrilateral” project of express national highways in India is quite illustrative and is applicable to other countries also falling in almost similar kind of climatic zones. The concept given in the paper would enhance water availability 8—10 times compared to natural process of rainfall infiltration. It would also improve quality of ground water and would save considerable energy in lifting the water due to the rise in water levels.

Application of Information Technology Solution for Early Warning Systems at Water Utilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bałut, Alicja

2018-02-01

Deployment of IT solutions in water utilities in Poland concerns nowadays lots beyond GIS implementation projects [1]. The scope of modern IT platforms is truly advanced software for complete management of water treatment processes and involved objects, including ranges of various types of equipment. There are multiply factors that disrupt required volumes of supplied water. They are normally classified as natural, accidental and intentional. This paper addresses potential residing in already deployed IT solutions of water utilities in and also in new ones being now developed. Primarily- from the perspective of intentional, terrorist threats. This document depicts operating procedures that are called in case of spotted contamination in a water supply (damage of key elements of the network infrastructure) or in case of an introduction factors. This paper also discusses relevant IT tools with access provided to network operators or water plant owners that are extremely useful in accurate pinpointing the treat and in following relevant operating procedures and related actions.

Data Collection and Simulation of Ecological Habitat and Recreational Habitat in the Shenandoah River, Virginia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Krstolic, Jennifer L.

2015-01-01

Time-series analyses were used to investigate changes in habitat availability with increased water withdrawals of 10, 20, and almost 50 percent (48.6 percent) up to the 2040 amounts projected by local water supply plans. Adult and sub-adult smallmouth bass frequently had habitat availability outside the normal range for habitat conditions during drought years, yet 10- or 20-percent increases in withdrawals did not contribute to a large reduction in habitat. When withdrawals were increased by 50 percent, there was an additional decrease in habitat. During 2002 drought scenarios, reduced habitat availability for sub-adult redbreast sunfish or river chub was only slightly evident with 50-percent increased withdrawal scenarios. Recreational habitat represented by canoeing decreased lower than normal during the 2002 drought. For a recent normal year, like 2012, increased water-withdrawal scenarios did not affect habitat availability for fish such as adult and sub-adult smallmouth bass, sub-adult redbreast sunfish, or river chub. Canoeing habitat availability was within the normal range most of 2012, and increased water-withdrawal scenarios showed almost no affect. For both ecological fish habitat and recreational canoeing habitat, the antecedent conditions (habitat within normal range of habitat or below normal) appear to govern whether additional water withdrawals will affect habitat availability. As human populations and water demands increase, many of the ecological or recreational stresses may be lessened by managing the timing of water withdrawals from the system.

Using SAS functions and high-resolution isotope data to unravel travel time distributions in headwater catchments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benettin, Paolo; Soulsby, Chris; Birkel, Christian; Tetzlaff, Doerthe; Botter, Gianluca; Rinaldo, Andrea

2017-03-01

We use high-resolution tracer data from an experimental site to test theoretical approaches that integrate catchment-scale flow and transport processes in a unified framework centered on selective age sampling by streamflow and evapotranspiration fluxes. Transport processes operating at the catchment scale are reflected in the evolving residence time distribution of the catchment water storage and in the age selection operated by out-fluxes. Such processes are described here through StorAge Selection (SAS) functions parameterized as power laws of the normalized rank storage. Such functions are computed through appropriate solution of the master equation defining formally the evolution of residence and travel times. By representing the way in which catchment storage generates outflows composed by water of different ages, the main mechanism regulating the tracer composition of runoff is clearly identified and detailed comparison with empirical data sets are possible. Properly calibrated numerical tools provide simulations that convincingly reproduce complex measured signals of daily deuterium content in stream waters during wet and dry periods. Results for the catchment under consideration are consistent with other recent studies indicating a tendency for natural catchments to preferentially release younger available water. The study shows that power law SAS functions prove a powerful tool to explain catchment-scale transport processes that also has potential in less intensively monitored sites.

Expression and activity levels of chymase in mast cells of burn wound tissues increase during the healing process in a hamster model.

PubMed

Dong, Xianglin; Xu, Tao; Ma, Shaolin; Wen, Hao

2015-06-01

The present study aimed to investigate the changes in the expression levels and activity of mast cell chymase in the process of burn wound healing in a hamster model of deep second-degree burn. The hamster model was established by exposing a ~3 cm diameter area of bare skin to hot water (75°C) for 0, 6, 8, 10 or 12 sec. Tissue specimens were collected 24 h after burning and histological analysis revealed that hot water contact for 12 sec was required to produce a deep second-degree burn. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction and a radioimmunoassay were used to the determine changes in chymase mRNA expression levels and activity. The mRNA expression levels and activity of chymase were increased in the burn wound tissues when compared with the normal skin. However, no statistically significant differences were observed in mast cell chymase activity amongst the various post-burn stages. Chymase mRNA expression levels peaked at day 1 post-burn, subsequently decreasing at days 3 and 7 post-burn and finally increasing again at day 14 post-burn. In summary, a hamster model of deep second-degree burn can be created by bringing the skin into contact with water at 75°C for 12 sec. Furthermore, the mRNA expression levels and activity of chymase in the burn wound tissues increased when compared with those in normal skin tissues.

Expression and activity levels of chymase in mast cells of burn wound tissues increase during the healing process in a hamster model

PubMed Central

DONG, XIANGLIN; XU, TAO; MA, SHAOLIN; WEN, HAO

2015-01-01

The present study aimed to investigate the changes in the expression levels and activity of mast cell chymase in the process of burn wound healing in a hamster model of deep second-degree burn. The hamster model was established by exposing a ~3 cm diameter area of bare skin to hot water (75°C) for 0, 6, 8, 10 or 12 sec. Tissue specimens were collected 24 h after burning and histological analysis revealed that hot water contact for 12 sec was required to produce a deep second-degree burn. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction and a radioimmunoassay were used to the determine changes in chymase mRNA expression levels and activity. The mRNA expression levels and activity of chymase were increased in the burn wound tissues when compared with the normal skin. However, no statistically significant differences were observed in mast cell chymase activity amongst the various post-burn stages. Chymase mRNA expression levels peaked at day 1 post-burn, subsequently decreasing at days 3 and 7 post-burn and finally increasing again at day 14 post-burn. In summary, a hamster model of deep second-degree burn can be created by bringing the skin into contact with water at 75°C for 12 sec. Furthermore, the mRNA expression levels and activity of chymase in the burn wound tissues increased when compared with those in normal skin tissues. PMID:26136958

Root distribution of Nitraria sibirica with seasonally varying water sources in a desert habitat.

PubMed

Zhou, Hai; Zhao, Wenzhi; Zheng, Xinjun; Li, Shoujuan

2015-07-01

In water-limited environments, the water sources used by desert shrubs are critical to understanding hydrological processes. Here we studied the oxygen stable isotope ratios (δ (18)O) of stem water of Nitraria sibirica as well as those of precipitation, groundwater and soil water from different layers to identify the possible water sources for the shrub. The results showed that the shrub used a mixture of soil water, recent precipitation and groundwater, with shallow lateral roots and deeply penetrating tap (sinker) roots, in different seasons. During the wet period (in spring), a large proportion of stem water in N. sibirica was from snow melt and recent precipitation, but use of these sources declined sharply with the decreasing summer rain at the site. At the height of summer, N. sibirica mainly utilized deep soil water from its tap roots, not only supporting the growth of shoots but also keeping the shallow lateral roots well-hydrated. This flexibility allowed the plants to maintain normal metabolic processes during prolonged periods when little precipitation occurs and upper soil layers become extremely dry. With the increase in precipitation that occurs as winter approaches, the percentage of water in the stem base of a plant derived from the tap roots (deep soil water or ground water) decreased again. These results suggested that the shrub's root distribution and morphology were the most important determinants of its ability to utilize different water sources, and that its adjustment to water availability was significant for acclimation to the desert habitat.

An Assessment of Surface Water Detection Algorithms for the Tahoua Region, Niger

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herndon, K. E.; Muench, R.; Cherrington, E. A.; Griffin, R.

2017-12-01

The recent release of several global surface water datasets derived from remotely sensed data has allowed for unprecedented analysis of the earth's hydrologic processes at a global scale. However, some of these datasets fail to identify important sources of surface water, especially small ponds, in the Sahel, an arid region of Africa that forms a border zone between the Sahara Desert to the north, and the savannah to the south. These ponds may seem insignificant in the context of wider, global-scale hydrologic processes, but smaller sources of water are important for local and regional assessments. Particularly, these smaller water bodies are significant sources of hydration and irrigation for nomadic pastoralists and smallholder farmers throughout the Sahel. For this study, several methods of identifying surface water from Landsat 8 OLI and Sentinel 1 SAR data were compared to determine the most effective means of delineating these features in the Tahoua Region of Niger. The Modified Normalized Difference Water Index (MNDWI) had the best performance when validated against very high resolution World View 3 imagery, with an overall accuracy of 99.48%. This study reiterates the importance of region-specific algorithms and suggests that the MNDWI method may be the best for delineating surface water in the Sahelian ecozone, likely due to the nature of the exposed geology and lack of dense green vegetation.

Contributions of Nanodiamond Abrasives and Deionized Water in Magnetorheological Finishing of Aluminum Oxynitride

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Miao, C.; Lambropoulos, J.C.; Romanofsky, H.

2010-01-13

Magnetorheological finishing (MRF) is a sub-aperture deterministic process for fabricating high-precision optics by removing material and smoothing the surface. The goal of this work is to study the relative contribution of nanodiamonds and water in material removal for MRF of aluminum oxynitride ceramic (ALON) based upon a nonaqueous magnetorheological (MR) fluid. Removal was enhanced by a high carbonyl iron concentration and the addition of nanodiamond abrasives. Small amounts of deionized (DI) water were introduced into the nonaqueous MR fluid to further influence the material removal process. Material removal data were collected with a spot-taking machine. Drag force (Fd) and normalmore » force (Fn) before and after adding nanodiamonds or DI water were measured with a dual load cell. Both drag force and normal force were insensitive to the addition of nanodiamonds but increased with DI water content in the nonaqueous MR fluid. Shear stress (i.e., drag force divided by spot area) was calculated, and examined as a function of nanodiamond concentration and DI water concentration. Volumetric removal rate increased with increasing shear stress, which was shown to be a result of increasing viscosity after adding nanodiamonds and DI water. This work demonstrates that removal rate for a hard ceramic with MRF can be enhanced by adding DI water into a nonaqueous MR fluid.« less

Olefin separation membrane and process

DOEpatents

Pinnau, Ingo; Toy, Lora G.; Casillas, Carlos

1997-01-01

A membrane and process for separating unsaturated hydrocarbons from fluid mixtures. The membrane and process differ from previously known membranes and processes, in that the feed and permeate streams can both be dry, the membrane need not be water or solvent swollen, and the membrane is characterized by a selectivity for an unsaturated hydrocarbon over a saturated hydrocarbon having the same number of carbon atoms of at least about 20, and a pressure-normalized flux of said unsaturated hydrocarbon of at least about 5.times.10.sup.-6 cm.sup.3 (STP)/cm.sup.2 .multidot.s.multidot.cmHg, said flux and selectivity being measured with a gas mixture containing said unsaturated and saturated hydrocarbons, and in a substantially dry environment.

Histopathological effects of phenol on the digestive gland of amphimelania holandri fer. (gastropoda, prosobranchia)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lajtner, J.; Erben, R.; Klobucar, G.I.V.

1996-12-31

Phenolic wastes are common water pollutants generated from a variety of industrial processes used in oil refineries, gas operations, coke ovens, coal gasification and by natural processes such as the decomposition of plant matter. Relatively high concentrations of phenol are found in rivers near the outlets of channels into which industrial waste waters have been discharged. There are data about the toxic effects of phenol on fish, and on some invertebrates, including snails. However, little is known about histopathological changes induced by phenol`s toxic effects, and these changes might be a basic indicator in assessing the condition of a particularmore » water ecosystem. The existing data are mostly relevant for fish, and we know very little about the snail`s histopathology; however, the snail is a good research model due to its effectiveness as a pollution indicator species. This study attempts to establish the structure of the normal digestive gland and histopathological changes as a result of exposure to phenol. 22 refs., 4 figs.« less

Sorption of mercury in soils with different humus content

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lodenius, M.; Seppaenen, A.; Autio S.

The strong sorption of mercury to humic matter in soil and water has raised the question about the influence of organic matter of different soil types on the mobilization of mercury from soil. Mercury is normally bound to humic and fulvic acids, which may be released in connection with flooding, draining and ditching. High mercury contents in fish from man-made lakes have been reported mainly from temperated regions. This has been assumed to be a result of the slower metabolism of methyl mercury in cool water but the effect of temperature on the mobilization process is still poorly known. Themore » sorption and leaching of mercury in three different soils was studied in vitro using a mercury concentrations near the natural level. Soil lysimeters were watered with distilled water or artificial acid rain at two temperatures.« less

High-throughput method to predict extrusion pressure of ceramic pastes.

PubMed

Cao, Kevin; Liu, Yang; Tucker, Christopher; Baumann, Michael; Grit, Grote; Lakso, Steven

2014-04-14

A new method was developed to measure the rheology of extrudable ceramic pastes using a Hamilton MicroLab Star liquid handler. The Hamilton instrument, normally used for high throughput liquid processing, was expanded to function as a low pressure capillary rheometer. Diluted ceramic pastes were forced through the modified pipettes, which produced pressure drop data that was converted to standard rheology data. A known ceramic paste containing cellulose ether was made and diluted to various concentrations in water. The most dilute paste samples were tested in the Hamilton instrument and the more typical, highly concentrated, ceramic paste were tested with a hydraulic ram extruder fitted with a capillary die and pressure measurement system. The rheology data from this study indicates that the dilute high throughput method using the Hamilton instrument correlates to, and can predict, the rheology of concentrated ceramic pastes normally used in ceramic extrusion production processes.

South Asian monsoon precipitation in CMIP 5: a link between inter-model spread and the representations of tropical convection

DOE PAGES

Hagos, Samson; Leung, L. Ruby; Ashfaq, Moetasim; ...

2018-03-20

CMIP 5 models exhibit a mean dry bias and a large inter-model spread in simulating South Asian monsoon precipitation but the origins of the bias and spread are not well understood. Using moisture and energy budget analysis that exploits the weak temperature gradients in the tropics, we derived a non-linear relationship between the normalized precipitation and normalized precipitable water that is similar to the non-linear relationship between precipitation and precipitable water found in previous observational studies. About half of the 21 models analyzed fall in the steep gradient of the non-linear relationship where small differences in the normalized precipitable watermore » in the equatorial Indian Ocean (EIO) manifest in large differences in normalized precipitation in the region. Models with larger normalized precipitable water in the EIO during spring contribute disproportionately to the large inter-model spread and multi-model mean dry bias in monsoon precipitation through perturbations of the large-scale winds. Thus the intermodel spread in precipitable water over EIO leads to the dry bias in the multi-model mean South Asian monsoon precipitation. The models with high normalized precipitable water over EIO also project larger response to warming and dominate the inter-model spread in the multi-model projections of monsoon rainfall. Conversely, models on the flat side of the relationship between normalized precipitation and precipitable water are in better agreement with each other and with observations. On average these models project a smaller increase in the projected monsoon precipitation than that from multi-model mean. As a result, this study identified the normalized precipitable water over EIO, which is determined by the relationship between the profiles of convergence and moisture and therefore is an essential outcome of the treatment of convection, as a key metric for understanding model biases and differentiating model skill in simulating South Asian monsoon precipitation.« less

South Asian monsoon precipitation in CMIP 5: a link between inter-model spread and the representations of tropical convection

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hagos, Samson; Leung, L. Ruby; Ashfaq, Moetasim

CMIP 5 models exhibit a mean dry bias and a large inter-model spread in simulating South Asian monsoon precipitation but the origins of the bias and spread are not well understood. Using moisture and energy budget analysis that exploits the weak temperature gradients in the tropics, we derived a non-linear relationship between the normalized precipitation and normalized precipitable water that is similar to the non-linear relationship between precipitation and precipitable water found in previous observational studies. About half of the 21 models analyzed fall in the steep gradient of the non-linear relationship where small differences in the normalized precipitable watermore » in the equatorial Indian Ocean (EIO) manifest in large differences in normalized precipitation in the region. Models with larger normalized precipitable water in the EIO during spring contribute disproportionately to the large inter-model spread and multi-model mean dry bias in monsoon precipitation through perturbations of the large-scale winds. Thus the intermodel spread in precipitable water over EIO leads to the dry bias in the multi-model mean South Asian monsoon precipitation. The models with high normalized precipitable water over EIO also project larger response to warming and dominate the inter-model spread in the multi-model projections of monsoon rainfall. Conversely, models on the flat side of the relationship between normalized precipitation and precipitable water are in better agreement with each other and with observations. On average these models project a smaller increase in the projected monsoon precipitation than that from multi-model mean. As a result, this study identified the normalized precipitable water over EIO, which is determined by the relationship between the profiles of convergence and moisture and therefore is an essential outcome of the treatment of convection, as a key metric for understanding model biases and differentiating model skill in simulating South Asian monsoon precipitation.« less

Investigation the Behavior of Modis Ocean Color Products Under the 2008 Red Tide in the Eastern Persian Gulf

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghanea, M.; Moradi, M.; Kabiri, K.

2015-12-01

Biophysical properties of water undergo serious variations under red tide (RT) outbreak. During RT conditions, algal blooms spread out in the estuarine, marine and fresh waters due to different triggering factors such as nutrient loading, marine currents, and monsoonal winds. The Persian Gulf (PG) was a talent region subjected to different RTs in recent decade. A massive RT started from the Strait of Hormuz in October 2008 and extended towards the northern parts of the PG covering more than 1200 km of coastlines. The bloom of microorganism C. Polykrikoides was the main specie that generated large fish mortalities, and hampered marine industries, and water desalination appliances. Ocean color satellite data have many advantages to monitor and alarm RT occurrences, such as wide and continuous extent, short time of imagery, high accessibility, and appropriate estimation of ocean color parameters. Since 1999, MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite sensor has estimated satellite derived chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), normalized fluorescence line height (nFLH), and diffuse attenuation coefficient at 490nm (kd490). It provides a capability to study the behavior of these parameters during RT and normal conditions. This study monitors variations in satellite derived Chl-a, nFLH, and kd490 under both RT and normal conditions of the PG between 2002 and 2008. Up to now, daily and monthly variations in these products were no synchronously investigated under RT conditions in the PG. In doing so, the MODIS L1B products were provided from NASA data archive. They were corrected for Rayleigh scattering and gaseous absorption, and atmospheric interference in turbid coastal waters, and then converted to level 2 data. In addition, Enhanced Red Green Blue (ERGB) image was used to illustrate better water variations. ERGB image was built with three normalized leaving water radiance between 443 to 560nm. All the above data processes were applied by SeaDAS 7 software package. The Strait of Hormuz was selected as the study area in the eastern part of the PG. Images including high cloud coverage (>50%) over the study area were filtered out. The classification maps of the above products were shown during RT and normal periods. Monthly variations of mentioned products were calculated for the dates before, during, and after RT appearance. The results were demonstrated as time-series diagrams. All the above calculations and presentations were performed in Matlab 7 software package. The results show that MODIS Chl-a, nFLH, and kd490 increased during the 2008 RT. Based on the feedback of these parameters under RT conditions, hybrid ocean color index (HOCI) is defined. HOCI is able to display better water variations during RT outbreak. High values of HOCI show RT affected areas.

Investigation of organic matter migrating from polymeric pipes into drinking water under different flow manners.

PubMed

Zhang, Ling; Liu, Shuming; Liu, Wenjun

2014-02-01

Polymeric pipes, such as unplasticized polyvinyl chloride (uPVC) pipes, polypropylene random (PPR) pipes and polyethylene (PE) pipes are increasingly used for drinking water distribution lines. Plastic pipes may include some additives like metallic stabilizers and other antioxidants for the protection of the material during its production and use. Thus, some compounds can be released from those plastic pipes and cast a shadow on drinking water quality. This work develops a new procedure to investigate three types of polymer pipes (uPVC, PE and PPR) with respect to the migration of total organic carbon (TOC) into drinking water. The migration test was carried out in stagnant conditions with two types of migration processes, a continuous migration process and a successive migration process. These two types of migration processes are specially designed to mimic the conditions of different flow manners in drinking water pipelines, i.e., the situation of continuous stagnation with long hydraulic retention times and normal flow status with regular water renewing in drinking water networks. The experimental results showed that TOC release differed significantly with different plastic materials and under different flow manners. The order of materials with respect to the total amount of TOC migrating into drinking water was observed as PE > PPR > uPVC under both successive and continuous migration conditions. A higher amount of organic migration from PE and PPR pipes was likely to occur due to more organic antioxidants being used in pipe production. The results from the successive migration tests indicated the trend of the migration intensity of different pipe materials over time, while the results obtained from the continuous migration tests implied that under long stagnant conditions, the drinking water quality could deteriorate quickly with the consistent migration of organic compounds and the dramatic consumption of chlorine to a very low level. Higher amounts of TOC were released under the continuous migration tests.

Use of Normalized Difference Water Index for monitoring live fuel moisture

Treesearch

D.A. Roberts; P.E. Dennison; S.H. Peterson; J. Rechel

2006-01-01

Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) were compared for monitoring live fuel moisture in a shrubland ecosystem. Both indices were calculated from 500m spatial resolution Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) reflectance data covering a 33-month period from 2000 to 2002. Both NDVI and NDWI were...

Aluminum in the Environment and Human Health

PubMed Central

Sorenson, John R. J.; Campbell, Irene R.; Tepper, Lloyd B.; Lingg, Robert D.

1974-01-01

The review of over 800 references on aluminum (Al) published since the mid-fifties covers the occurrence of Al in soil, air, water, plants and food products, as well as air and water pollution problems. In addition, the existing quality criteria, the biology and toxicology of Al, and the therapeutic and medical uses are presented. It is concluded that absorption and retention or accumulation of Al in humans occurs at lower levels of intake than had been assumed formerly. However, levels of 5 to 50 times the normal daily intake do not appear to interfere with other metabolic processes. The adverse effects of Al reported in the more recent years resulted from the inhalation or ingestion of Al in concentrations many times greater than the amounts present under normal circumstances. As in the past, there is still no need for concern by the public or producers of Al or its products concerning hazards to human health derived from well established and extensively used products. PMID:4470920

Numerical study on the influences of Nanliu River runoff and tides on water age in Lianzhou Bay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Jing; Zhang, Xueqing; Liu, Jinliang; Liu, Rui; Wang, Xing

2016-09-01

The concept of water age is applied to calculate the timescales of the transport processes of freshwater in Lianzhou Bay, using a model based on ECOMSED. In this study, water age is defined as the time that has elapsed since the water parcel enters the Nanliu River. The results show that the mean age at a specified position and the runoff of the Nanliu River are well correlated and can be approximately expressed by a natural logarithmic function. During the neap tide, it takes 70, 60 and 40 days in the dry, normal and rainy seasons for water to travel from the mouth of the Nanliu River to the northeast of Lianzhou Bay, respectively, which is not beneficial to water exchange in the bay. Tides significantly influence the model results; it takes five less days for the tracer to be transported from the mouth of the Nanliu River to the north of Guantouling during the spring tide than during the neap tide.

Normal modes of the shallow water system on the cubed sphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, H. G.; Cheong, H. B.; Lee, C. H.

2017-12-01

Spherical harmonics expressed as the Rossby-Haurwitz waves are the normal modes of non-divergent barotropic model. Among the normal modes in the numerical models, the most unstable mode will contaminate the numerical results, and therefore the investigation of normal mode for a given grid system and a discretiztaion method is important. The cubed-sphere grid which consists of six identical faces has been widely adopted in many atmospheric models. This grid system is non-orthogonal grid so that calculation of the normal mode is quiet challenge problem. In the present study, the normal modes of the shallow water system on the cubed sphere discretized by the spectral element method employing the Gauss-Lobatto Lagrange interpolating polynomials as orthogonal basis functions is investigated. The algebraic equations for the shallow water equation on the cubed sphere are derived, and the huge global matrix is constructed. The linear system representing the eigenvalue-eigenvector relations is solved by numerical libraries. The normal mode calculated for the several horizontal resolution and lamb parameters will be discussed and compared to the normal mode from the spherical harmonics spectral method.

Thermal insulation and body temperature wearing a thermal swimsuit during water immersion.

PubMed

Wakabayashi, Hitoshi; Hanai, Atsuko; Yokoyama, Shintaro; Nomura, Takeo

2006-09-01

This study evaluated the effects of a thermal swimsuit on body temperatures, thermoregulatory responses and thermal insulation during 60 min water immersion at rest. Ten healthy male subjects wearing either thermal swimsuits or normal swimsuits were immersed in water (26 degrees C or 29 degrees C). Esophageal temperature, skin temperatures and oxygen consumption were measured during the experiments. Metabolic heat production was calculated from oxygen consumption. Heat loss from skin to the water was calculated from the metabolic heat production and the change in mean body temperature during water immersion. Total insulation and tissue insulation were estimated by dividing the temperature difference between the esophagus and the water or the esophagus and the skin with heat loss from the skin. Esophageal temperature with a thermal swimsuit was higher than that with a normal swimsuit at the end of immersion in both water temperature conditions (p<0.05). Oxygen consumption, metabolic heat production and heat loss from the skin were less with the thermal swimsuit than with a normal swimsuit in both water temperatures (p<0.05). Total insulation with the thermal swimsuit was higher than that with a normal swimsuit due to insulation of the suit at both water temperatures (p<0.05). Tissue insulation was similar in all four conditions, but significantly higher with the thermal swimsuit in both water temperature conditions (p<0.05), perhaps due to of the attenuation of shivering during immersion with a thermal swimsuit. A thermal swimsuit can increase total insulation and reduce heat loss from the skin. Therefore, subjects with thermal swimsuits can maintain higher body temperatures than with a normal swimsuit and reduce shivering thermo-genesis.

Massive production of heavy metals in the Ganga (Hooghly) River estuary, India: Global importance of solute-particle interaction and enhanced metal fluxes to the oceans

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samanta, Saumik; Dalai, Tarun K.

2018-05-01

The Ganga River System is a major contributor to the global sediment and water discharge to the oceans. The estuary of Ganga (Hooghly) River in India is under increasing influence of anthropogenic contributions via discharge of the industrial and urban effluents. Here we document, based on the investigation of water and suspended sediment samples collected during six periods over two years, that there is extensive production of heavy metals (Co, Ni and Cu) in the estuary such that the annual dissolved fluxes of metals from the Hooghly River are enhanced by up to 230-1770%. Furthermore, the estuarine dissolved metal fluxes, when normalized with water fluxes, are the highest among estuaries of the major rivers in the world. Our simultaneous data on the dissolved, suspended particulate and exchangeable phases allow us to identify the ion-exchange process (coupled adsorption and desorption) as the dominant contributor to the generation of heavy metals in the middle and lower estuary where the estimated anthropogenic contribution is negligible. The estimated contributions from the groundwater are also insufficient to explain the measured metal concentrations in the estuary. A strong positive correlation that is observed between the dissolved heavy metal fluxes and the suspended particulate matter (SPM) fluxes, after normalizing them with the water fluxes, for estuaries of the major global rivers imply that the solute-particle interaction is a globally significant process in the estuarine production of metals. Based on this correlation that is observed for major estuaries around the world, we demonstrate that the South Asian Rivers which supply only ∼9% of the global river water discharge but carry elevated SPM load, contribute a far more significant proportion (∼40 ± 2% Ni and 15 ± 1% Cu) to the global supply of the dissolved metals from the rivers.

U.S. Geological Survey Georgia Water Science Center and Albany Water, Gas, and Light Commission Cooperative Water Program-Summary of Activities, July 2005 through June 2006

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gordon, Debbie W.

2006-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has been working with the Albany Water, Gas, and Light Commission to monitor ground-water quality and availability since 1977. This report presents the findings for July 2005 through June 2006 and summarizes the ground-water and surface-water conditions for 2005. Water levels in 14 wells were continuously monitored in Dougherty County, Georgia. Water levels in 12 of those wells were above normal, one was normal, and one was below normal. Ground-water samples collected from the Upper Floridan aquifer indicate that nitrate levels have increased in 13 wells and decreased in two wells from a year earlier. A sample also was collected from the Flint River. A trilinear diagram showing the percent composition of selected major cations and anions indicates that the ground-water quality of the Upper Floridan aquifer at the Albany wellfield is distinctly different from the water quality of the Flint River. To improve the understanding of the ground-water flow system and nitrate movement in the Upper Floridan aquifer, the USGS is developing a ground-water flow model in the southwest Albany area, Georgia.

Detection of heavy metals in water in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia: From source to consumption

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khalaf, Baydaa; Abdullah, Md. Pauzi; Tahrim, Nurfaizah Abu

2018-04-01

Drinking water should be free from harmful levels of impurities, such as heavy metals. The aim of this study is to investigate the heavy metals concentrations in a water reticulation system of Negeri Sembilan. 25 stations were selected along Sungai Linggi (upstream of intake point) and through there reticulation system of Sungai Linggi Water Treatment Plant encompassing raw water through to the last point of use. Sampling activities were carried out in June and July 2016. The samples taken were analysed for heavymetals using an Inductively Coupled Plasma - Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OES). In addition other water quality parameters were measured in situ (pH, water temperature, conductivity and dissolved oxygen) and analysed in the laboratory (BOD, COD, TSS, NH3-N, TOC and residual chlorine). The results showed a high level of Ca in the distribution system, while in the treatment plant it was normal, as well as Fe is decreased. Meanwhile Mn is decreased after treatment processes. The concentrations of DO and temperature in the tap water exceeded the standard concentrations.

78 FR 47612 - Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for the Sharpnose...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-06

... (primary constituent elements such as roost sites, nesting grounds, seasonal wetlands, water quality, tide... individual and population growth and for normal behavior; (2) Food, water, air, light, minerals, or other... Growth and for Normal Behavior Sharpnose shiners occur in fairly shallow, flowing water, often less than...

Evaluation of Double-Vacuum-Bag Process For Composite Fabrication

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hou, T. H.; Jensen, B. J.

2004-01-01

A non-autoclave vacuum bag process using atmospheric pressure alone that eliminates the need for external pressure normally supplied by an autoclave or a press is an attractive method for composite fabrication. This type of process does not require large capital expenditures for tooling and processing equipment. In the molding cycle (temperature/pressure profile) for a given composite system, the vacuum application point has to be carefully selected to achieve the final consolidated laminate net shape and resin content without excessive resin squeeze-out. The traditional single-vacuum- bag (SVB) process is best suited for molding epoxy matrix based composites because of their superior flow and the absence of reaction by-products or other volatiles. Other classes of materials, such as polyimides and phenolics, generate water during cure. In addition, these materials are commonly synthesized as oligomers using solvents to facilitate processability. Volatiles (solvents and reaction byproducts) management therefore becomes a critical issue. SVB molding, without additional pressure, normally fails to yield void-free quality composites for these classes of resin systems. A double-vacuum- bag (DVB) process for volatile management was envisioned, designed and built at the NASA Langley Research Center. This experimental DVB process affords superior volatiles management compared to the traditional SVB process. Void-free composites are consistently fabricated as measured by C-scan and optical photomicroscopy for high performance polyimide and phenolic resins.

Integrating seawater desalination and wastewater reclamation forward osmosis process using thin-film composite mixed matrix membrane with functionalized carbon nanotube blended polyethersulfone support layer.

PubMed

Choi, Hyeon-Gyu; Son, Moon; Choi, Heechul

2017-10-01

Thin-film composite mixed matrix membrane (TFC MMM) with functionalized carbon nanotube (fCNT) blended in polyethersulfone (PES) support layer was synthesized via interfacial polymerization and phase inversion. This membrane was firstly tested in lab-scale integrating seawater desalination and wastewater reclamation forward osmosis (FO) process. Water flux of TFC MMM was increased by 72% compared to that of TFC membrane due to enhanced hydrophilicity. Although TFC MMM showed lower water flux than TFC commercial membrane, enhanced reverse salt flux selectivity (RSFS) of TFC MMM was observed compared to TFC membrane (15% higher) and TFC commercial membrane (4% higher), representing membrane permselectivity. Under effluent organic matter (EfOM) fouling test, 16% less normalized flux decline of TFC MMM was observed compared to TFC membrane. There was 8% less decline of TFC MMM compared to TFC commercial membrane due to fCNT effect on repulsive foulant-membrane interaction enhancement, caused by negatively charged membrane surface. After 10 min physical cleaning, TFC MMM displayed higher recovered normalized flux than TFC membrane (6%) and TFC commercial membrane (4%); this was also supported by visualized characterization of fouling layer. This study presents application of TFC MMM to integrated seawater desalination and wastewater reclamation FO process for the first time. It can be concluded that EfOM fouling of TFC MMM was suppressed due to repulsive foulant-membrane interaction. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Monte Carlo modeling of the scatter radiation doses in IR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mah, Eugene; He, Wenjun; Huda, Walter; Yao, Hai; Selby, Bayne

2011-03-01

Purpose: To use Monte Carlo techniques to compute the scatter radiation dose distribution patterns around patients undergoing Interventional Radiological (IR) examinations. Method: MCNP was used to model the scatter radiation air kerma (AK) per unit kerma area product (KAP) distribution around a 24 cm diameter water cylinder irradiated with monoenergetic x-rays. Normalized scatter fractions (SF) were generated defined as the air kerma at a point of interest that has been normalized by the Kerma Area Product incident on the phantom (i.e., AK/KAP). Three regions surrounding the water cylinder were investigated consisting of the area below the water cylinder (i.e., backscatter), above the water cylinder (i.e., forward scatter) and to the sides of the water cylinder (i.e., side scatter). Results: Immediately above and below the water cylinder and in the side scatter region, values of normalized SF decreased with the inverse square of the distance. For z-planes further away, the decrease was exponential. Values of normalized SF around the phantom were generally less than 10-4. Changes in normalized SF with x-ray energy were less than 20% and generally decreased with increasing x-ray energy. At a given distance from region where the x-ray beam enters the phantom, the normalized SF was higher in the backscatter regions, and smaller in the forward scatter regions. The ratio of forward to back scatter normalized SF was lowest at 60 keV and highest at 120 keV. Conclusion: Computed SF values quantify the normalized fractional radiation intensities at the operator location relative to the radiation intensities incident on the patient, where the normalization refers to the beam area that is incident on the patient. SF values can be used to estimate the radiation dose received by personnel within the procedure room, and which depend on the imaging geometry, patient size and location within the room. Monte Carlo techniques have the potential for simulating normalized SF values for any arrangement of imaging geometry, patient size and personnel location and are therefore an important tool for minimizing operator doses in IR.

Aquaponic Growbed Water Level Control Using Fog Architecture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asmi Romli, Muhamad; Daud, Shuhaizar; Raof, Rafikha Aliana A.; Awang Ahmad, Zahari; Mahrom, Norfadilla

2018-05-01

Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) is an advance method of aquaculture which combines species with different nutritional needs to live together. The combination between aquatic live and crops is called aquaponics. Aquatic waste that normally removed by biofilters in normal aquaculture practice will be absorbed by crops in this practice. Aquaponics have few common components and growbed provide the best filtration function. In growbed a siphon act as mechanical structure to control water fill and flush process. Water to the growbed comes from fish tank with multiple flow speeds based on the pump specification and height. Too low speed and too fast flow rate can result in siphon malfunctionality. Pumps with variable speed do exist but it is costly. Majority of the aquaponic practitioner use single speed pump and try to match the pump speed with siphon operational requirement. In order to remove the matching requirement some control need to be introduced. Preliminarily this research will show the concept of fill-and-flush for multiple pumping speeds. The final aim of this paper is to show how water level management can be done to remove the speed dependency. The siphon tried to be controlled remotely since wireless data transmission quite practical in vast operational area. Fog architecture will be used in order to transmit sensor data and control command. This paper able to show the water able to be retented in the growbed within suggested duration by stopping the flow in once predefined level.

Trace-metal contamination in the glacierized Rio Santa watershed, Peru.

PubMed

Guittard, Alexandre; Baraer, Michel; McKenzie, Jeffrey M; Mark, Bryan G; Wigmore, Oliver; Fernandez, Alfonso; Rapre, Alejo C; Walsh, Elizabeth; Bury, Jeffrey; Carey, Mark; French, Adam; Young, Kenneth R

2017-11-25

The objective of this research is to characterize the variability of trace metals in the Rio Santa watershed based on synoptic sampling applied at a large scale. To that end, we propose a combination of methods based on the collection of water, suspended sediments, and riverbed sediments at different points of the watershed within a very limited period. Forty points within the Rio Santa watershed were sampled between June 21 and July 8, 2013. Forty water samples, 36 suspended sediments, and 34 riverbed sediments were analyzed for seven trace metals. The results, which were normalized using the USEPA guideline for water and sediments, show that the Rio Santa water exhibits Mn concentrations higher than the guideline at more than 50% of the sampling points. As is the second highest contaminating element in the water, with approximately 10% of the samples containing concentrations above the guideline. Sediments collected in the Rio Santa riverbed were heavily contaminated by at least four of the tested elements at nearly 85% of the sample points, with As presenting the highest normalized concentration, at more than ten times the guideline. As, Cd, Fe, Pb, and Zn present similar concentration trends in the sediment all along the Rio Santa.The findings indicate that care should be taken in using the Rio Santa water and sediments for purposes that could affect the health of humans or the ecosystem. The situation is worse in some tributaries in the southern part of the watershed that host both active and abandoned mines and ore-processing plants.

10 CFR Appendix C to Subpart B of... - Uniform Test Method for Measuring the Energy Consumption of Dishwashers

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... water heating to above 120 °F in at least one wash phase of the normal cycle. 2.Testing conditions: 2... dishwasher does not heat water in the normal cycle. 2.6.2Non-soil-sensing dishwashers to be tested at a... cycle. 3.4Water pressure gauge. The water pressure gauge must have a resolution of one pound per square...

Water Dynamics in Gyroid Phases of Self-Assembled Gemini Surfactants

DOE PAGES

Roy, Santanu; Skoff, David; Perroni, Dominic V.; ...

2016-02-14

Water-mediated ion transport through functional nanoporous materials depends on the dynamics of water confined within a given nanostructured morphology. In this study, we investigate hydrogen-bonding dynamics of interfacial water within a ‘normal’ (Type I) lyotropic gyroid phase formed by a gemini dicarboxylate surfactant self-assembly using a combina- tion of 2DIR spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations. Experiments and simulations demonstrate that water dynamics in the normal gyroid phase is one order of magnitude slower than that in bulk water, due to specific interactions between water, the ionic surfactant headgroups, and counterions. However, the dynamics of water in the normal gyroid phasemore » are faster than those of water confined in a reverse spherical micelle of a sulfonate surfactant, given that the water pool in the reverse micelle and the water pore in the gyroid phase have roughly the same diameters. This difference in confined water dynamics likely arises from the significantly reduced curvature- induced frustration at the convex interfaces of the normal gyroid, as compared to the concave interfaces of a reverse spherical micelle. These detailed insights into confined water dynamics may guide the future design of artificial membranes that rapidly transport protons and other ions.« less

Underwater robot society doing internal inspection and leak monitoring of water systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Halme, Aarne; Vainio, Mika; Appelqvist, Pekka; Jakubik, Peter; Schonberg, Torsten; Visala, Arto

1997-09-01

In the field of civil engineering an effective internal monitoring of pipes and water storage is very problematic. Normally the sensors used for the task are either fixed or manually movable. Thus they will only provide locally and temporally restricted information. As a solution an underwater robotic sensor/actuator society is presented. The system is capable of operating inside a fluid environment as a kind of distributed sensory system. The value of the system emerges from the interactions between the members. Through a communication system the society fuses information from individual members and provides a more reliable estimate of the conditions inside water systems. Tests results in a transparent demo process consisting of tanks and pipes with a volume of 700 liters are presented.

The surface stability and morphology of tobermorite 11 Å from first principles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mutisya, Sylvia M.; Miranda, Caetano R.

2018-06-01

Tobermorite minerals are important in many industrial processes typically occurring in hydrous environment. Their functionality is therefore governed in various aspects by their morphology and surface stability/reactivity. Here, we present the results of the surface energies and morphology of normal tobermorite 11 Å in a water vapor environment investigated by employing first principles atomistic thermodynamic calculations. For the low index tobermorite surfaces studied, the calculated surface energies fall within a narrow range (0.41-0.97 J/m2) with the (0 0 4) surface being the most stable. The equilibrium morphology is a thin pseudohexagonal plate elongated along the b axis. The hydrated surfaces are more stable at high water vapor chemical potentials with the stability enhanced as the water partial pressures are varied from ambient to supercritical hydrothermal conditions. Increasing the water vapor chemical potential gives rise to a smaller size of the tobermorite crystal, with the equilibrium morphology remaining unaltered.

Olefin separation membrane and process

DOEpatents

Pinnau, I.; Toy, L.G.; Casillas, C.

1997-09-23

A membrane and process are disclosed for separating unsaturated hydrocarbons from fluid mixtures. The membrane and process differ from previously known membranes and processes, in that the feed and permeate streams can both be dry, the membrane need not be water or solvent swollen, and the membrane is characterized by a selectivity for an unsaturated hydrocarbon over a saturated hydrocarbon having the same number of carbon atoms of at least about 20, and a pressure-normalized flux of said unsaturated hydrocarbon of at least about 5{times}10{sup {minus}6}cm{sup 3}(STP)/cm{sup 2}{center_dot}s{center_dot}cmHg, said flux and selectivity being measured with a gas mixture containing said unsaturated and saturated hydrocarbons, and in a substantially dry environment. 4 figs.

More About Arc-Welding Process for Making Carbon Nanotubes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Benavides, Jeanette M.; Leidecker, Henning

2005-01-01

High-quality batches of carbon nanotubes are produced at relatively low cost in a modified atmospheric-pressure electric-arc welding process that does not include the use of metal catalysts. What would normally be a welding rod and a weldment are replaced by an amorphous carbon anode rod and a wider, hollow graphite cathode rod. Both electrodes are water-cooled. The cathode is immersed in ice water to about 0.5 cm from the surface. The system is shielded from air by flowing helium during arcing. As the anode is consumed during arcing at 20 to 25 A, it is lowered to maintain it at an approximately constant distance above the cathode. The process causes carbon nanotubes to form on the lowest 5 cm of the anode. The arcing process is continued until the anode has been lowered to a specified height. The nanotube-containing material is then harvested. The additional information contained in the instant report consists mostly of illustrations of carbon nanotubes and a schematic diagram of the arc-welding setup, as modified for the production of carbon nanotubes.

Flexural behavior of reinforced concrete beam with polymer coated pumice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nainggolan, Christin Remayanti; Wijatmiko, Indradi; Wibowo, Ari

2017-09-01

Sustainable development has become an important issue due to the increasing consideration of preserving the nature. Many alternative for coarse aggregate replacement have been investigated ranging from natural and fabricated aggregates. In this study, natural aggregate pumice was investigated since it offers lower density that give paramount benefit in reducing total building weight and hence reducing the earthquake excitation effect and optimizing the structural dimension. However, the characteristic of porous surfaces of pumice causes excessive water absorption during concrete mixing process. Therefore, to reduce the additional water, the pumice aggregates were coated with polymer. The tested specimens consisted of normal concrete beams (NCB), uncoated pumice aggregate concrete beam (UPA) and polymer coated pumice aggregate concrete beam (PCP). The objective of the research was to obtain the effect of coating on the pumice aggregate to the flexural behavior of concrete beams. The lateral load-displacement behavior, ductility and collapse mechanism were studied. The results showed that there were only marginal drop on the load-carrying capacity of the pumice aggregate beam compared to those of normal beam. Additionally, the ductility coefficient of specimens UPA and PCP decreased of 11,97% and 14,03% respectively compared to NCB, and the ultimate load capacity decreased less than 1%. Overall, the pumice aggregate showed good characteristic for replacing normal coarse aggregate.

Entry of (/sup 3/H)water and (1,2-/sup 14/C)polyethylene glycol 4000 into normal and cystic fibrosis salivary mucus

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lukie, B.E.

1983-03-01

This investigation was performed to compare the entry of (/sup 3/H)water and (/sup 14/C)PEG into samples of salivary mucus from patients with CF and normal subjects. A solution containing both radioisotopes was added to samples and salivary mucus and mixed, and entry of each into mucus was determined by their dilution in the supernatant at 1, 2, 4, and 24 hr. (/sup 3/H)water rapidly entered and equilibrated with the water content of both normal and CF mucus. (/sup 14/C)PEG entered mucus more slowly than (/sup 3/H)water and by 24 hr had entered at a ratio of only 0.794 +/- 0.108more » and 0.766 +/- 0.039 of the water space accessible to (/sup 3/H)water in normal and CF mucus, respectively. The mechanisms responsible for the partial exclusion of the large polyethylene glycol molecule were not explored but may reflect restriction of access to a portion of mucus water. Thus water entry and solute exclusion, both determinants of permeability, were unaltered in CF mucus, which fact provides evidence against the presence of a generalized defect of mucus permeability in this disease. The techniques developed for this study may be adaptable to the study of the permeability properties of mucus from other sources and other gels.« less

Entry of (/sup 3/H)water and (1,2-/sup 14/C)polyethylene glycol 4000 into normal and cystic fibrosis salivary mucus

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lukie, B.E.

1983-03-01

This investigation was performed to compare the entry of (/sup 3/H)water and (/sup 14/C)PEG into samples of salivary mucus from patients with CF and normal subjects. A solution containing both radioisotopes was added to samples of salivary mucus and mixed, and entry of each into mucus was determined by their dilution in the supernatant at 1, 2, 4, and 24 hr. (/sup 3/H)water rapidly entered and equilibrated with the water content of both normal and CF mucus. (/sup 14/C)PEG entered mucus more slowly than (/sup 3/H)water and by 24 hr had entered at a ratio of only 0.794 +/- 0.108more » and 0.766 +/- 0.039 of the water space accessible to (/sup 3/H)water in normal and CF mucus, respectively. The mechanisms responsible for the partial exclusion of the large polyethylene glycol molecule were not explored but may reflect steric restriction of access to a portion of mucus water. Thus water entry and solute exclusion, both determinants of permeability, were unaltered in CF mucus, which fact provides evidence against the presence of a generalized defect of mucus permeability in this disease. The techniques developed for this study may be adaptable to the study of the permeability properties of mucus from other sources and other gels.« less

Long-Term Monitoring of Water Dynamics in the Sahel Region Using the Multi-Sar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bertram, A.; Wendleder, A.; Schmitt, A.; Huber, M.

2016-06-01

Fresh water is a scarce resource in the West-African Sahel region, seasonally influenced by droughts and floods. Particularly in terms of climate change, the importance of wetlands increases for flora, fauna, human population, agriculture, livestock and fishery. Hence, access to open water is a key factor. Long-term monitoring of water dynamics is of great importance, especially with regard to the spatio-temporal extend of wetlands and drylands. It can predict future trends and facilitate the development of adequate management strategies. Lake Tabalak, a Ramsar wetland of international importance, is one of the most significant ponds in Niger and a refuge for waterbirds. Nevertheless, human population growth increased the pressure on this ecosystem, which is now degrading for all uses. The main objective of the study is a long-term monitoring of the Lake Tabalak's water dynamics to delineate permanent and seasonal water bodies, using weather- and daytime-independent multi-sensor and multi-temporal Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data available for the study area. Data of the following sensors from 1993 until 2016 are used: Sentinel-1A, TerraSARX, ALOS PALSAR-1/2, Envisat ASAR, RADARSAT-1/2, and ERS-1/2. All SAR data are processed with the Multi-SAR-System, unifying the different characteristics of all above mentioned sensors in terms of geometric, radiometric and polarimetric resolution to a consistent format. The polarimetric representation in Kennaugh elements allows fusing single-polarized data acquired by older sensors with multi-polarized data acquired by current sensors. The TANH-normalization guarantees a consistent and therefore comparable description in a closed data range in terms of radiometry. The geometric aspect is solved by projecting all images to an earth-fixed coordinate system correcting the brightness by the help of the incidence angle. The elevation model used in the geocoding step is the novel global model produced by the TanDEM-X satellite mission. The advantage of the Multi-SAR-System is that it comprises ortho-rectification, radiometric enhancement, normalization and Kennaugh decomposition, independent from sensors, modes, polarizations or acquisition date of SAR data. In addition, optical satellite data can be included as well, to fill gaps where SAR data are missing due to the special normalization scheme. This kind of pre-processing is exclusively implemented at the Earth Observation Center of the German Aerospace Center in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. Therefore, the dynamic change of the open water of the Lake Tabalak could be classified over dry and rainy seasons and years, using different SAR data. The study provides a unique database and contributes to a better understanding of wetland systems in the Sahel region influenced by human pressure and climate change.

Tropical Ocean Surface Energy Balance Variability: Linking Weather to Climate Scales

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roberts, J. Brent; Clayson, Carol Anne

2013-01-01

Radiative and turbulent surface exchanges of heat and moisture across the atmosphere-ocean interface are fundamental components of the Earth s energy and water balance. Characterizing the spatiotemporal variability of these exchanges of heat and moisture is critical to understanding the global water and energy cycle variations, quantifying atmosphere-ocean feedbacks, and improving model predictability. These fluxes are integral components to tropical ocean-atmosphere variability; they can drive ocean mixed layer variations and modify the atmospheric boundary layer properties including moist static stability, thereby influencing larger-scale tropical dynamics. Non-parametric cluster-based classification of atmospheric and ocean surface properties has shown an ability to identify coherent weather regimes, each typically associated with similar properties and processes. Using satellite-based observational radiative and turbulent energy flux products, this study investigates the relationship between these weather states and surface energy processes within the context of tropical climate variability. Investigations of surface energy variations accompanying intraseasonal and interannual tropical variability often use composite-based analyses of the mean quantities of interest. Here, a similar compositing technique is employed, but the focus is on the distribution of the heat and moisture fluxes within their weather regimes. Are the observed changes in surface energy components dominated by changes in the frequency of the weather regimes or through changes in the associated fluxes within those regimes? It is this question that the presented work intends to address. The distribution of the surface heat and moisture fluxes is evaluated for both normal and non-normal states. By examining both phases of the climatic oscillations, the symmetry of energy and water cycle responses are considered.

Detecting changes in water limitation in the West using integrated ecosystem modeling approaches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poulter, B.; Hoy, J.; Emmett, K.; Cross, M.; Maneta, M. P.; Al-Chokhachy, R.

2016-12-01

Water in the western United States is the critical currency for determining a range of ecosystem services, such as wildlife habitat, carbon sequestration, and timber and water resources for an expanding human population. The current generation of catchment models trades a detailed representation of hydrologic processes for a generalization of vegetation processes and thus ignores many land-surface feedbacks that are driven by physiological responses to atmospheric CO2 and changes in vegetation structure following disturbance and climate change. Here we demonstrate how catchment scale modeling can better couple vegetation dynamics and disturbance processes to reconstruct historic streamflow, stream temperature and vegetation greening for the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Using a new catchment routing model coupled to the LPJ-GUESS dynamic global vegetation model, simulations are made at 1 km spatial resolution using two different climate products. Decreased winter snowpack has led to increasing spring runoff and declines in summertime slow, and increasing the likelihood that stream temperature exceeds thresholds for cold-water fish growth. Since the mid-1980s, vegetation greening is projected by both the model and detected from space-borne normalized difference vegetation index observations. These greening trends are superimposed on a landscape matrix defined by frequent disturbance and intensive land management, making the climate and CO2 fingerprint difficult to discern. Integrating dynamical vegetation models with in-situ and spaceborne measurements to understand and interpret catchment-scale trends in water availability has potential to better disentangle historical climate, CO2, and human drivers and their ecosystem consequences.

Bacterial Colonization of Pellet Softening Reactors Used during Drinking Water Treatment▿

PubMed Central

Hammes, Frederik; Boon, Nico; Vital, Marius; Ross, Petra; Magic-Knezev, Aleksandra; Dignum, Marco

2011-01-01

Pellet softening reactors are used in centralized and decentralized drinking water treatment plants for the removal of calcium (hardness) through chemically induced precipitation of calcite. This is accomplished in fluidized pellet reactors, where a strong base is added to the influent to increase the pH and facilitate the process of precipitation on an added seeding material. Here we describe for the first time the opportunistic bacterial colonization of the calcite pellets in a full-scale pellet softening reactor and the functional contribution of these colonizing bacteria to the overall drinking water treatment process. ATP analysis, advanced microscopy, and community fingerprinting with denaturing gradient gel electrophoretic (DGGE) analysis were used to characterize the biomass on the pellets, while assimilable organic carbon (AOC), dissolved organic carbon, and flow cytometric analysis were used to characterize the impact of the biological processes on drinking water quality. The data revealed pellet colonization at concentrations in excess of 500 ng of ATP/g of pellet and reactor biomass concentrations as high as 220 mg of ATP/m3 of reactor, comprising a wide variety of different microorganisms. These organisms removed as much as 60% of AOC from the water during treatment, thus contributing toward the biological stabilization of the drinking water. Notably, only a small fraction (about 60,000 cells/ml) of the bacteria in the reactors was released into the effluent under normal conditions, while the majority of the bacteria colonizing the pellets were captured in the calcite structures of the pellets and were removed as a reusable product. PMID:21148700

Image analysis method for the measurement of water saturation in a two-dimensional experimental flow tank

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belfort, Benjamin; Weill, Sylvain; Lehmann, François

2017-07-01

A novel, non-invasive imaging technique is proposed that determines 2D maps of water content in unsaturated porous media. This method directly relates digitally measured intensities to the water content of the porous medium. This method requires the classical image analysis steps, i.e., normalization, filtering, background subtraction, scaling and calibration. The main advantages of this approach are that no calibration experiment is needed, because calibration curve relating water content and reflected light intensities is established during the main monitoring phase of each experiment and that no tracer or dye is injected into the flow tank. The procedure enables effective processing of a large number of photographs and thus produces 2D water content maps at high temporal resolution. A drainage/imbibition experiment in a 2D flow tank with inner dimensions of 40 cm × 14 cm × 6 cm (L × W × D) is carried out to validate the methodology. The accuracy of the proposed approach is assessed using a statistical framework to perform an error analysis and numerical simulations with a state-of-the-art computational code that solves the Richards' equation. Comparison of the cumulative mass leaving and entering the flow tank and water content maps produced by the photographic measurement technique and the numerical simulations demonstrate the efficiency and high accuracy of the proposed method for investigating vadose zone flow processes. Finally, the photometric procedure has been developed expressly for its extension to heterogeneous media. Other processes may be investigated through different laboratory experiments which will serve as benchmark for numerical codes validation.

Bacterial colonization of pellet softening reactors used during drinking water treatment.

PubMed

Hammes, Frederik; Boon, Nico; Vital, Marius; Ross, Petra; Magic-Knezev, Aleksandra; Dignum, Marco

2011-02-01

Pellet softening reactors are used in centralized and decentralized drinking water treatment plants for the removal of calcium (hardness) through chemically induced precipitation of calcite. This is accomplished in fluidized pellet reactors, where a strong base is added to the influent to increase the pH and facilitate the process of precipitation on an added seeding material. Here we describe for the first time the opportunistic bacterial colonization of the calcite pellets in a full-scale pellet softening reactor and the functional contribution of these colonizing bacteria to the overall drinking water treatment process. ATP analysis, advanced microscopy, and community fingerprinting with denaturing gradient gel electrophoretic (DGGE) analysis were used to characterize the biomass on the pellets, while assimilable organic carbon (AOC), dissolved organic carbon, and flow cytometric analysis were used to characterize the impact of the biological processes on drinking water quality. The data revealed pellet colonization at concentrations in excess of 500 ng of ATP/g of pellet and reactor biomass concentrations as high as 220 mg of ATP/m(3) of reactor, comprising a wide variety of different microorganisms. These organisms removed as much as 60% of AOC from the water during treatment, thus contributing toward the biological stabilization of the drinking water. Notably, only a small fraction (about 60,000 cells/ml) of the bacteria in the reactors was released into the effluent under normal conditions, while the majority of the bacteria colonizing the pellets were captured in the calcite structures of the pellets and were removed as a reusable product.

Hypoglycemic effect of Gymnema sylvestre (retz.,) R.Br leaf in normal and alloxan induced diabetic rats.

PubMed

Sathya, S; Kokilavani, R; Gurusamy, K

2008-10-01

The water extract of Gymnema sylvestre R.Br leaf was tested for hypoglycemic activity in normal and alloxan induced diabetic rats. Grated amount (2ml/kg) of the water extract of Gymnema sylvestre leaf was given to both normal and alloxan induced diabetic rats. A significant reduction of glucose concentration was noticed in normal rats, blood glucose level was significantly reduced in diabetic rats. Protein level is also decreased in diabetic rats. Urea, uric acid and creatinine levels were increased in diabetic condition. After the herbal treatment the levels were altered near to normal level.

Atmospheric Rivers and Their Role in Extreme Precipitation in the Midwest U.S.

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-03-01

located in the warm sector of extratropical cyclones (warm conveyor belt) and can be characterized by strong winds (low level jet) and large water...the associated synoptic-scale extratropical cyclone and subsequent frontal processes of each planetary wave, resulting in narrow regions of moisture...normal falls during AR storms during the winter on the West Coast. During the summer, precipitation enhancements were not as significant (mostly due

Cryogenic Multichannel Pressure Sensor With Electronic Scanning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hopson, Purnell, Jr.; Chapman, John J.; Kruse, Nancy M. H.

1994-01-01

Array of pressure sensors operates reliably and repeatably over wide temperature range, extending from normal boiling point of water down to boiling point of nitrogen. Sensors accurate and repeat to within 0.1 percent. Operate for 12 months without need for recalibration. Array scanned electronically, sensor readings multiplexed and sent to desktop computer for processing and storage. Used to measure distributions of pressure in research on boundary layers at high Reynolds numbers, achieved by low temperatures.

Closed-Loop Concepts for the Army: Water Conservation, Recycle, and Reuse.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-11-01

generally small parcels of land used for out- door instruction and field maneuvers. Normally, no permanent improvements are made to the property . Contract...avoid the use of flush toilets. In many situations, this procedure may be necessary because of the physical difficulties with sewage disposal. Several...monitoring of the chemical-biological- physical treatment process, however, it may be prudent to limit their use to locations in the United States where

Weymouth Fore River, Weymouth, Braintree, Massachusetts, Small Navigation Project. Detailed Project Report and Environmental Assessment.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-02-01

and all considered sites were beyond normal hydraulic pumping system capability. Marsh creation requires a large amount of land area which is...boating. Mechanical dredging is planned (as opposed to hydraulic ) because open water disposal of dredged sediments is the preferred alternative...river the above process would be complicated in several ways. First, because the material would have to be hydraulically disposed of at the temporary

Strength evolution of simulated carbonate-bearing faults: The role of normal stress and slip velocity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mercuri, Marco; Scuderi, Marco Maria; Tesei, Telemaco; Carminati, Eugenio; Collettini, Cristiano

2018-04-01

A great number of earthquakes occur within thick carbonate sequences in the shallow crust. At the same time, carbonate fault rocks exhumed from a depth < 6 km (i.e., from seismogenic depths) exhibit the coexistence of structures related to brittle (i.e., cataclasis) and ductile deformation processes (i.e., pressure-solution and granular plasticity). We performed friction experiments on water-saturated simulated carbonate-bearing faults for a wide range of normal stresses (from 5 to 120 MPa) and slip velocities (from 0.3 to 100 μm/s). At high normal stresses (σn > 20 MPa) fault gouges undergo strain-weakening, that is more pronounced at slow slip velocities, and causes a significant reduction of frictional strength, from μ = 0.7 to μ = 0.47. Microstructural analysis show that fault gouge weakening is driven by deformation accommodated by cataclasis and pressure-insensitive deformation processes (pressure solution and granular plasticity) that become more efficient at slow slip velocity. The reduction in frictional strength caused by strain weakening behaviour promoted by the activation of pressure-insensitive deformation might play a significant role in carbonate-bearing faults mechanics.

Enrichment of rare earth elements as environmental tracers of contamination by acid mine drainage in salt marshes: a new perspective.

PubMed

Delgado, Joaquín; Pérez-López, Rafael; Galván, Laura; Nieto, José Miguel; Boski, Tomasz

2012-09-01

Rare earth elements (REE) were analyzed in surface sediments from the Guadiana Estuary (SW Iberian Pyrite Belt). NASC (North American Shale Composite) normalized REE patterns show clearly convex curvatures in middle-REE (MREE) with respect to light- and heavy-REE, indicating acid-mixing processes between fluvial waters affected by acid mine drainage (AMD) and seawater. However, REE distributions in the mouth (closer to the coastal area) show slightly LREE-enriched and flat patterns, indicating saline-mixing processes typical of the coastal zone. NASC-normalized ratios (La/Gd and La/Yb) do not discriminate between both mixing processes in the estuary. Instead, a new parameter (E(MREE)) has been applied to measure the curvature in the MREE segment. The values of E(MREE)>0 are indicative of acid signatures and their spatial distribution reveal the existence of two decantation zones from flocculation processes related to drought periods and flood events. Studying REE fractionation through the E(MREE) may serve as a good proxy for AMD-pollution in estuarine environments in relation to the traditional methods. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tidal-Fluvial and Estuarine Processes in the Lower Columbia River: II. Water Level Models, Floodplain Wetland Inundation, and System Zones

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jay, David A.; Borde, Amy B.; Diefenderfer, Heida L.

Spatially varying water-level regimes are a factor controlling estuarine and tidal-fluvial wetland vegetation patterns. As described in Part I, water levels in the Lower Columbia River and estuary (LCRE) are influenced by tides, river flow, hydropower operations, and coastal processes. In Part II, regression models based on tidal theory are used to quantify the role of these processes in determining water levels in the mainstem river and floodplain wetlands, and to provide 21-year inundation hindcasts. Analyses are conducted at 19 LCRE mainstem channel stations and 23 tidally exposed floodplain wetland stations. Sum exceedance values (SEVs) are used to compare wetlandmore » hydrologic regimes at different locations on the river floodplain. A new predictive tool is introduced and validated, the potential SEV (pSEV), which can reduce the need for extensive new data collection in wetland restoration planning. Models of water levels and inundation frequency distinguish four zones encompassing eight reaches. The system zones are the wave- and current-dominated Entrance to river kilometer (rkm) 5; the Estuary (rkm-5 to 87), comprised of a lower reach with salinity, the energy minimum (where the turbidity maximum normally occurs), and an upper estuary reach without salinity; the Tidal River (rkm-87 to 229), with lower, middle, and upper reaches in which river flow becomes increasingly dominant over tides in determining water levels; and the steep and weakly tidal Cascade (rkm-229 to 234) immediately downstream from Bonneville Dam. The same zonation is seen in the water levels of floodplain stations, with considerable modification of tidal properties. The system zones and reaches defined here reflect geological features and their boundaries are congruent with five wetland vegetation zones« less

The pH and ionic composition of stratiform cloud water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castillo, Raymond A.; Jiusto, James E.; Mclaren, Eugene

Over 50 cloud water samples were collected during five comprehensive case studies of the water chemistry of stratiform clouds at Whiteface Mountain, New York. The water samples were analyzed for pH, conductivity and ions of sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, ammonium, sulfate, chloride and nitrate. Trajectory analyses and cloud condensation nucleus concentrations at 0.5 % confirmed that the air masses in all five of these cases represented continental air that was relatively clean (low aerosol concentration) for the northeystern United States. The major ions related to cloud water pH were found to be sulfate, nitrate, potassium, ammonium and calcium. The results revealed a mean hydrogen ion concentration [ H+] = 0.239 meq ℓ -1 ( σ = ± 0.21) which converts to a mean pH = 3.6 for all collected cloud samples. The low pH values are related to a normal background of nitrate ions found in the rural continental air masses plus sulfate ions largely from the industrial emissions of the midwestern United States. The [NO -3], in two of the three cases presented, demonstrates the importance of the nitrate ions' contribution to the pH of cloud water. A dependent means analysis of 40 events yielded a significant difference (0.04 level of significance), with the mean pH of precipitation (4.2) being greater than the mean pH of cloud water (4.0) for event samples. The ion concentrations indicated that the cloud rainout process contributed from 67 % to almost 100% of the total ion concentration of the precipitation. The washout process, i.e. precipitation scavenging below the cloud base, contributed considerably less than the cloud/rainout process of those total precipitation anions associated with air pollution.

Environmental impact of seawater desalination plants.

PubMed

Al-Mutaz, I S

1991-01-01

Enormous amounts of seawater are desalted everyday worldwide. The total world production of fresh water from the sea is about 2621 mgd (9.92 million m(3) day(-1) 1985 figures). Desalting processes are normally associated with the rejection of high concentration waste brine from the plant itself or from the pretreatment units as well as during the cleaning period. In thermal processes, mainly multistage flash (MSF) thermal pollution occurs. These pollutants increase the seawater temperature, salinity, water current and turbidity. They also harm the marine environment, causing fish to migrate while enhancing the presence of algae, nematods and tiny molluscus. Sometimes micro-elements and toxic materials appear in the discharged brine.This paper will discuss the impact of the effluents from the desalination plants on the seawater environment with particular reference to the Saudi desalination plants, since they account for about 50% of the world desalination capacity.

Kinetics of dodecanoic acid adsorption from caustic solution by activated carbon.

PubMed

Pendleton, Phillip; Wu, Sophie Hua

2003-10-15

This study examines the influences of adsorbent porosity and surface chemistry and of carbon dosage on dodecanoic acid adsorption kinetics from aqueous and 2 M NaOH solutions as batch adsorption processes. Both adsorbents are steam-activated carbons prepared from either coconut or coal precursors. Prior to use the adsorbents were washed in deionized water or 2 M NaOH. Mass transfer coefficients and effective overall diffusion coefficients indicate a minor contribution from adsorbent porosity. In contrast, high surface oxygen content impedes transport to and into the adsorbent structure. Carbon dosage shows a proportional increase in transport coefficients with increasing mass; these coefficients are constant when normalized per unit mass. Neither water nor NaOH treatment of the adsorbents has a significant influence on dodecanoic acid adsorption kinetics. Molecular and Knudsen diffusion coefficients are defined to demonstrate that the overall effective diffusion coefficient values and the diffusion process are controlled by surface diffusion.

Proton transfer pathways, energy landscape, and kinetics in creatine-water systems.

PubMed

Ivchenko, Olga; Whittleston, Chris S; Carr, Joanne M; Imhof, Petra; Goerke, Steffen; Bachert, Peter; Wales, David J

2014-02-27

We study the exchange processes of the metabolite creatine, which is present in both tumorous and normal tissues and has NH2 and NH groups that can transfer protons to water. Creatine produces chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) contrast in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The proton transfer pathway from zwitterionic creatine to water is examined using a kinetic transition network constructed from the discrete path sampling approach and an approximate quantum-chemical energy function, employing the self-consistent-charge density-functional tight-binding (SCC-DFTB) method. The resulting potential energy surface is visualized by constructing disconnectivity graphs. The energy landscape consists of two distinct regions corresponding to the zwitterionic creatine structures and deprotonated creatine. The activation energy that characterizes the proton transfer from the creatine NH2 group to water was determined from an Arrhenius fit of rate constants as a function of temperature, obtained from harmonic transition state theory. The result is in reasonable agreement with values obtained in water exchange spectroscopy (WEX) experiments.

The Detection Method of Escherichia coli in Water Resources: A Review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nurliyana, M. R.; Sahdan, M. Z.; Wibowo, K. M.; Muslihati, A.; Saim, H.; Ahmad, S. A.; Sari, Y.; Mansor, Z.

2018-04-01

This article reviews several approaches for Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria detection from conventional methods, emerging method and goes to biosensor-based techniques. Detection and enumeration of E. coli bacteria usually required long duration of time in obtaining the result since laboratory-based approach is normally used in its assessment. It requires 24 hours to 72 hours after sampling to process the culturing samples before results are available. Although faster technique for detecting E. coli in water such as Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) have been developed, it still required transporting the samples from water resources to the laboratory, high-cost, complicated equipment usage, complex procedures, as well as the requirement of skilled specialist to cope with the complexity which limit their wide spread practice in water quality detection. Recently, development of biosensor device that is easy to perform, portable, highly sensitive and selective becomes indispensable in detecting extremely lower consolidation of pathogenic E. coli bacteria in water samples.

Passive decay heat removal system for water-cooled nuclear reactors

DOEpatents

Forsberg, Charles W.

1991-01-01

A passive decay-heat removal system for a water-cooled nuclear reactor employs a closed heat transfer loop having heat-exchanging coils inside an open-topped, insulated box located inside the reactor vessel, below its normal water level, in communication with a condenser located outside of containment and exposed to the atmosphere. The heat transfer loop is located such that the evaporator is in a position where, when the water level drops in the reactor, it will become exposed to steam. Vapor produced in the evaporator passes upward to the condenser above the normal water level. In operation, condensation in the condenser removes heat from the system, and the condensed liquid is returned to the evaporator. The system is disposed such that during normal reactor operations where the water level is at its usual position, very little heat will be removed from the system, but during emergency, low water level conditions, substantial amounts of decay heat will be removed.

Microbial inactivation and cytotoxicity evaluation of UV irradiated coconut water in a novel continuous flow spiral reactor.

PubMed

Bhullar, Manreet Singh; Patras, Ankit; Kilanzo-Nthenge, Agnes; Pokharel, Bharat; Yannam, Sudheer Kumar; Rakariyatham, Kanyasiri; Pan, Che; Xiao, Hang; Sasges, Michael

2018-01-01

A continuous-flow UV reactor operating at 254nm wave-length was used to investigate inactivation of microorganisms including bacteriophage in coconut water, a highly opaque liquid food. UV-C inactivation kinetics of two surrogate viruses (MS2, T1UV) and three bacteria (E. coli ATCC 25922, Salmonella Typhimurium ATCC 13311, Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 19115) in buffer and coconut water were investigated (D 10 values ranging from 2.82 to 4.54mJ·cm -2 ). A series of known UV-C doses were delivered to the samples. Inactivation levels of all organisms were linearly proportional to UV-C dose (r 2 >0.97). At the highest dose of 30mJ·cm -2 , the three pathogenic organisms were inactivated by >5 log 10 (p<0.05). Results clearly demonstrated that UV-C irradiation effectively inactivated bacteriophage and pathogenic microbes in coconut water. The inactivation kinetics of microorganisms were best described by log linear model with a low root mean square error (RMSE) and high coefficient of determination (r 2 >0.97). Models for predicting log reduction as a function of UV-C irradiation dose were found to be significant (p<0.05) with low RMSE and high r 2 . The irradiated coconut water showed no cytotoxic effects on normal human intestinal cells and normal mouse liver cells. Overall, these results indicated that UV-C treatment did not generate cytotoxic compounds in the coconut water. This study clearly demonstrated that high levels of inactivation of pathogens can be achieved in coconut water, and suggested potential method for UV-C treatment of other liquid foods. This research paper provides scientific evidence of the potential benefits of UV-C irradiation in inactivating bacterial and viral surrogates at commercially relevant doses of 0-120mJ·cm -2 . The irradiated coconut water showed no cytotoxic effects on normal intestinal and healthy mice liver cells. UV-C irradiation is an attractive food preservation technology and offers opportunities for horticultural and food processing industries to meet the growing demand from consumers for healthier and safe food products. This study would provide technical support for commercialization of UV-C treatment of beverages. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Experimental investigation of the role of thyrocalcitonin in the prophylaxis of disturbances in the water-salt and mineral metabolism during a 30-day hypokinesia

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shashkov, V. S.; Yegorov, B. B.; Dmitriyev, B. S.; Volozhin, A. N.; Krotov, B. P.

1979-01-01

The effect of thyrocalcitonin (TCT) injections on the metabolism of water and electrolytes in free-moving and immobilized chinchilla hares is described. Calcium excretion from immobilized animals was elevated, but normalized in those also receiving TCT injections. TCT also normalized water content and excretion rates.

Classification of brain tumours using short echo time 1H MR spectra

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Devos, A.; Lukas, L.; Suykens, J. A. K.; Vanhamme, L.; Tate, A. R.; Howe, F. A.; Majós, C.; Moreno-Torres, A.; van der Graaf, M.; Arús, C.; Van Huffel, S.

2004-09-01

The purpose was to objectively compare the application of several techniques and the use of several input features for brain tumour classification using Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS). Short echo time 1H MRS signals from patients with glioblastomas ( n = 87), meningiomas ( n = 57), metastases ( n = 39), and astrocytomas grade II ( n = 22) were provided by six centres in the European Union funded INTERPRET project. Linear discriminant analysis, least squares support vector machines (LS-SVM) with a linear kernel and LS-SVM with radial basis function kernel were applied and evaluated over 100 stratified random splittings of the dataset into training and test sets. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was used to measure the performance of binary classifiers, while the percentage of correct classifications was used to evaluate the multiclass classifiers. The influence of several factors on the classification performance has been tested: L2- vs. water normalization, magnitude vs. real spectra and baseline correction. The effect of input feature reduction was also investigated by using only the selected frequency regions containing the most discriminatory information, and peak integrated values. Using L2-normalized complete spectra the automated binary classifiers reached a mean test AUC of more than 0.95, except for glioblastomas vs. metastases. Similar results were obtained for all classification techniques and input features except for water normalized spectra, where classification performance was lower. This indicates that data acquisition and processing can be simplified for classification purposes, excluding the need for separate water signal acquisition, baseline correction or phasing.

Implicitly defined criteria for vector optimization in technological process of hydroponic germination of wheat grain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koneva, M. S.; Rudenko, O. V.; Usatikov, S. V.; Bugaets, N. A.; Tereshchenko, I. V.

2018-05-01

To reduce the duration of the process and to ensure the microbiological purity of the germinated material, an improved method of germination has been developed based on the complex use of physical factors: electrochemically activated water (ECHA-water), electromagnetic field of extremely low frequencies (EMF ELF) with round-the-clock artificial illumination by LED lamps. The increase in the efficiency of the "numerical" technology for solving computational problems of parametric optimization of the technological process of hydroponic germination of wheat grains is considered. In this situation, the quality criteria are contradictory and part of them is given by implicit functions of many variables. A solution algorithm is offered without the construction of a Pareto set in which a relatively small number of elements of a set of alternatives is used to obtain a linear convolution of the criteria with given weights, normalized to their "ideal" values from the solution of the problems of single-criterion private optimizations. The use of the proposed mathematical models describing the processes of hydroponic germination of wheat grains made it possible to intensify the germination process and to shorten the time of obtaining wheat sprouts "Altayskaya 105" for 27 hours.

Flood mapping from Sentinel-1 and Landsat-8 data: a case study from river Evros, Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kyriou, Aggeliki; Nikolakopoulos, Konstantinos

2015-10-01

Floods are suddenly and temporary natural events, affecting areas which are not normally covered by water. The influence of floods plays a significant role both in society and the natural environment, therefore flood mapping is crucial. Remote sensing data can be used to develop flood map in an efficient and effective way. This work is focused on expansion of water bodies overtopping natural levees of the river Evros, invading the surroundings areas and converting them in flooded. Different techniques of flood mapping were used using data from active and passive remote sensing sensors like Sentinlel-1 and Landsat-8 respectively. Space borne pairs obtained from Sentinel-1 were processed in this study. Each pair included an image during the flood, which is called "crisis image" and another one before the event, which is called "archived image". Both images covering the same area were processed producing a map, which shows the spread of the flood. Multispectral data From Landsat-8 were also processed in order to detect and map the flooded areas. Different image processing techniques were applied and the results were compared to the respective results of the radar data processing.

Climate change influence on drinking water quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kovacs, Melinda Haydee; Ristoiu, Dumitru; Voica, Cezara; Moldovan, Zaharie

2013-11-01

Although it are quite well known the possible effects of climate changes on surface waters availability and their hydrological risks, their consequences on drinking water quality is not well defined yet. Disinfection agents (as Cl2, O3, etc.) or multiple combinations of them for water treatment and disinfection purposes are applied by water treatment plants at worldwide level. Unfortunately, besides the benefits of these processes were also highlighted some undesirable effects such as formation of several disinfection by-products (DBPs) after reaction of disinfection agent with natural organic matter (NOM) from water body. DBPs formation in drinking water, suspected to posses adverse health effects to humans are strongly regulated in our days. Thus, throughout this study kinetics experiments both the main physicochemical factors that influencing the quality of drinking waters were evaluated as well how they act through possible warming or the consequences of extreme events. Increasing water temperatures with 1 - 5 °C above its normal value has showed that NOMs are presented in higher amount which led to the need for greater amount of disinfectant agent (5 - 15 %). Increasing the amount of disinfecting agent resulted in the formation of DBPs in significantly higher concentrations (between 5 - 30 %).

Consciousness of Unification: The Mind-Matter Phallacy Bites the Dust

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beichler, James E.

A complete theoretical model of how consciousness arises in neural nets can be developed based on a mixed quantum/classical basis. Both mind and consciousness are multi-leveled scalar and vector electromagnetic complexity patterns, respectively, which emerge within all living organisms through the process of evolution. Like life, the mind and consciousness patterns extend throughout living organisms (bodies), but the neural nets and higher level groupings that distinguish higher levels of consciousness only exist in the brain so mind and consciousness have been traditionally associated with the brain alone. A close study of neurons and neural nets in the brain shows that the microtubules within axons are classical bio-magnetic inductors that emit and absorb electromagnetic pulses from each other. These pulses establish interference patterns that influence the quantized vector potential patterns of interstitial water molecules within the neurons as well as create the coherence within neurons and neural nets that scientists normally associate with more complex memories, thought processes and streams of thought. Memory storage and recall are guided by the microtubules and the actual memory patterns are stored as magnetic vector potential complexity patterns in the points of space at the quantum level occupied by the water molecules. This model also accounts for the plasticity of the brain and implies that mind and consciousness, like life itself, are the result of evolutionary processes. However, consciousness can evolve independent of an organism's birth genetics once it has evolved by normal bottom-up genetic processes and thus force a new type of top-down evolution on living organisms and species as a whole that can be explained by expanding the laws of thermodynamics to include orderly systems.

High resolution beamforming on large aperture vertical line arrays: Processing synthetic data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tran, Jean-Marie Q.; Hodgkiss, William S.

1990-09-01

This technical memorandum studies the beamforming of large aperture line arrays deployed vertically in the water column. The work concentrates on the use of high resolution techniques. Two processing strategies are envisioned: (1) full aperture coherent processing which offers in theory the best processing gain; and (2) subaperture processing which consists in extracting subapertures from the array and recombining the angular spectra estimated from these subarrays. The conventional beamformer, the minimum variance distortionless response (MVDR) processor, the multiple signal classification (MUSIC) algorithm and the minimum norm method are used in this study. To validate the various processing techniques, the ATLAS normal mode program is used to generate synthetic data which constitute a realistic signals environment. A deep-water, range-independent sound velocity profile environment, characteristic of the North-East Pacific, is being studied for two different 128 sensor arrays: a very long one cut for 30 Hz and operating at 20 Hz; and a shorter one cut for 107 Hz and operating at 100 Hz. The simulated sound source is 5 m deep. The full aperture and subaperture processing are being implemented with curved and plane wavefront replica vectors. The beamforming results are examined and compared to the ray-theory results produced by the generic sonar model.

Subsurface classification of objects under turbid waters by means of regularization techniques applied to real hyperspectral data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carpena, Emmanuel; Jiménez, Luis O.; Arzuaga, Emmanuel; Fonseca, Sujeily; Reyes, Ernesto; Figueroa, Juan

2017-05-01

Improved benthic habitat mapping is needed to monitor coral reefs around the world and to assist coastal zones management programs. A fundamental challenge to remotely sensed mapping of coastal shallow waters is due to the significant disparity in the optical properties of the water column caused by the interaction between the coast and the sea. The objects to be classified have weak signals that interact with turbid waters that include sediments. In real scenarios, the absorption and backscattering coefficients are unknown with different sources of variability (river discharges and coastal interactions). Under normal circumstances, another unknown variable is the depth of shallow waters. This paper presents the development of algorithms for retrieving information and its application to the classification and mapping of objects under coastal shallow waters with different unknown concentrations of sediments. A mathematical model that simplifies the radiative transfer equation was used to quantify the interaction between the object of interest, the medium and the sensor. The retrieval of information requires the development of mathematical models and processing tools in the area of inversion, image reconstruction and classification of hyperspectral data. The algorithms developed were applied to one set of real hyperspectral imagery taken in a tank filled with water and TiO2 that emulates turbid coastal shallow waters. Tikhonov method of regularization was used in the inversion process to estimate the bottom albedo of the water tank using a priori information in the form of stored spectral signatures, previously measured, of objects of interest.

CEC-normalized clay-water sorption isotherm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Woodruff, W. F.; Revil, A.

2011-11-01

A normalized clay-water isotherm model based on BET theory and describing the sorption and desorption of the bound water in clays, sand-clay mixtures, and shales is presented. Clay-water sorption isotherms (sorption and desorption) of clayey materials are normalized by their cation exchange capacity (CEC) accounting for a correction factor depending on the type of counterion sorbed on the mineral surface in the so-called Stern layer. With such normalizations, all the data collapse into two master curves, one for sorption and one for desorption, independent of the clay mineralogy, crystallographic considerations, and bound cation type; therefore, neglecting the true heterogeneity of water sorption/desorption in smectite. The two master curves show the general hysteretic behavior of the capillary pressure curve at low relative humidity (below 70%). The model is validated against several data sets obtained from the literature comprising a broad range of clay types and clay mineralogies. The CEC values, derived by inverting the sorption/adsorption curves using a Markov chain Monte Carlo approach, are consistent with the CEC associated with the clay mineralogy.

Experimental investigation on underwater trajectory deviation of high-speed projectile with different nose shape

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Wei; Qi, Yafei; Huang, Wei; Gao, Yubo

2017-01-01

The investigation on free-surface impact of projectiles has last for more than one hundred years due to its noticeable significance on improving defensive weapon technology. Laboratory-scaled water entry experiments for trajectory stability had been performed with four kinds of projectiles at a speed range of 20˜200 m/s. The nose shapes of the cylindrical projectiles were designed into flat, ogive, hemi-sphere and cone to make comparisons on the trajectory deviation when they were launched into water at a certain angle of 0˜20°. Two high-speed cameras positioned orthogonal to each other and normal to the water tank were employed to capture the entire process of projectiles' penetration. From the experimental results, the consecutive images in two planes were presented to display the general process of the trajectory deviation. Compared with the effect of impact velocities and nose shape on trajectory deviation, it merited conclude that flat projectiles had a better trajectory stability, while ogival projectiles experienced the largest attitude change. The characteristics of pressure waves were also investigated.

[Skin hydration and hydrating products].

PubMed

Duplan, H; Nocera, T

2018-05-01

One of the skin's principal functions is to protect the body against its environment by maintaining an effective epidermal barrier, not only against external factors, but also to prevent water loss from the body. Indeed, water homeostasis is vital for the normal physiological functioning of skin. Hydration levels affect not only visible microscopic parameters such as the suppleness and softness of skin, but also molecular parameters, enzyme activities and cellular signalling within the epidermis. The body is continually losing some of its water, but this phenomenon is limited and the optimal hydration gradient in skin is ensured via a set of sophisticated regulatory processes that rely on the functional and dynamic properties of the uppermost level of the skin consisting of the stratum corneum. The present article brings together data recently acquired in the fields of skin hydration and the characterisation of dehydrated or dry skin, whether through study of the regulatory processes involved or as a result of changes in the techniques used for in situ measurement, and thus in optimisation of management. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.

Use of isotopic spike from Tropical Storm to understand water exchange on large scale: study case of Rafael Storm in the Lesser Antilles archipelago, October 2012.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lambs, Luc

2014-05-01

Aim The tracking of the rainfall from Tropical Storm Raphael of mid October 2012 was used to better understand how the eco-hydrology and the water cycle function in wet areas, such as mangrove growing in salty ponds on a number of tropical islands. Location Guadeloupe and Saint Martin Islands in the Leeward Islands archipelago, Lesser Antilles. Methods Compared to normal tropical rainfall, tropical storms display distinct depleted heavy stable water isotopes which can be used as isotopic spikes to understand these special rainfall inflows. Rainfall, groundwater, river and pond water were sampled before, during and after the storm. Results In Guadeloupe where the tropical storm started, the rainfall isotopic signal reached values of d18O= -9 to -8 o on October 12-14th 2012, whereas the normal range is d18O= -4 to -2 o as measured from 2009 to 2012. It was possible to detect such a depleted signal in the groundwater and in the mangrove forest during the days after the storm event. Main conclusions The use of such natural isotopic spikes provides an opportunity to obtain a dynamic and time reference on a large scale for the study of the hydro-ecosystems and the effects on the impacted tropical islands. A few days after the cyclone, the isotopic spikes were found in river, groundwater and mangrove water pools with values up to d18O= -8.6 o . For the water basins on the windward side, the downhill salty pond water was almost completely renewed. By contrast, only 20 to 50 % of the water in the ponds located on the leeward side was renewed. No specific elevation in the d-excess values was noted, certainly due to the relatively long distance from the eye of the storm (180 to 300 km), which meant that there was no spray water evaporative process.

Characterization of water treatment sludge and its reuse as coagulant.

PubMed

Ahmad, Tarique; Ahmad, Kafeel; Ahad, Abdul; Alam, Mehtab

2016-11-01

Coagulation-flocculation process results in the generation of large volume of waste or residue, known as water treatment sludge (WTS), in the purification of surface water for potable supplies. Sustainable management of the inevitable waste requires careful attention from the plant operators and sludge managers. In this study, WTS produced with the optimum alum dose of 30 ml/L at the laboratory scale has been treated with sulphuric acid to bring forth a product known as sludge reagent product (SRP). The performance of SRP is evaluated for its efficiency in removing the colloidal suspensions from the Yamuna river water over wide pH range of 2-13. 1% sludge acidified with sulphuric acid of normality 2.5 at the rate of 0.05 ml/ml sludge has been observed as the optimum condition for preparing SRP from WTS. The percentage turbidity removal is greater at higher pH value and increases with increasing the dosage of SRP. The optimum SRP dosage of 8 ml/L in the pH range of 6-8 performed well in removing the colloidal suspension and other impurities from the Yamuna water. The quality of treated water met the prescribed standards for most of the quality parameters. Thus, SRP has the potential to substitute the conventional coagulants partially or completely in the water treatment process, depending on the quality needed at the users end. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hypoglycemic effect of Gymnema sylvestre (retz.,) R.Br leaf in normal and alloxan induced diabetic rats

PubMed Central

Sathya, S.; Kokilavani, R.; Gurusamy, K.

2008-01-01

The water extract of Gymnema sylvestre R.Br leaf was tested for hypoglycemic activity in normal and alloxan induced diabetic rats. Grated amount (2ml/kg) of the water extract of Gymnema sylvestre leaf was given to both normal and alloxan induced diabetic rats. A significant reduction of glucose concentration was noticed in normal rats, blood glucose level was significantly reduced in diabetic rats. Protein level is also decreased in diabetic rats. Urea, uric acid and creatinine levels were increased in diabetic condition. After the herbal treatment the levels were altered near to normal level. PMID:22557305

Multifocal colitis associated with an epidemic of chronic diarrhea.

PubMed

Janda, R C; Conklin, J L; Mitros, F A; Parsonnet, J

1991-02-01

An outbreak of a chronic diarrheal syndrome was detected between May and August 1987 in rural Henderson County, Illinois. Seventy-two individuals were affected. Epidemiological studies performed by the Center for Disease Control implicated the water of a local restaurant as the source of the outbreak. Five patients underwent a comprehensive evaluation. Their mean age was 51 years, and they had a mean of 12 watery stools daily (range, 6-40). Detailed microbiological evaluations failed to identify a pathological organism. Stool studies showed a mean stool weight of 392 g/24 h with a normal fat content. Results of all biochemical studies of serum were normal. Chemical analysis of stool water suggested a secretory diarrhea. Colonoscopy revealed patchy erythema, and light microscopic examination of colonic biopsy specimens revealed multifocal areas of acute inflammation in the superficial mucosa in 4 of 5 patients. Electron microscopy of the affected areas revealed no viral particles. After 2 years, all of our patients continued to experience chronic diarrhea. One patient agreed to a follow-up colonoscopy; histological abnormalities of the colonic mucosa persisted after 2 years. We speculate that an infectious process arising from a contaminated water system induced a chronic, secretory diarrhea characterized by multifocal colitis. This histological abnormality may serve as a marker of an infectious, chronic diarrhea.

The effect of acid drinking water on rumen protozoa in the blesbok (Damaliscus dorcas phillipsi).

PubMed

Booyse, D G; Dehority, B A; Myburgh, J G

2015-12-07

Rumen contents were collected from ten adult female blesbok, five from a mine area with only acid drinking water available and five from a control group consuming normal, non-polluted drinking water. The mean concentration of total protozoa in the normal water group was almost double that in the acid drinking water group, 24.9 x 10(3) versus 14.7 x 10(3). Percent of Entodinium was higher and Diplodinium lower in those animals drinking the acid water. The number of different protozoa species present in animals from both locations was fairly similar. Diplodinium bubalidis, Ostracodinium gracile and Diplodinium consors were present in the highest percentage in the normal water group, 18.8, 18.4 and 17.7 %, respectively. The same three species, plus Entodinium dubardi, were also highest in the acid water group, O. gracile, 21.3 %; D. consors, 12.6 %; E. dubardi, 11.4 % and D. bubalidis, 10.3 %. Seventeen species of protozoa found in this study were a new host record for the blesbok, bringing the total number of species reported from the blesbok to 29.

Drought in a human-modified world: reframing drought definitions, understanding, and analysis approaches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Van Loon, Anne F.; Stahl, Kerstin; Di Baldassarre, Giuliano; Clark, Julian; Rangecroft, Sally; Wanders, Niko; Gleeson, Tom; Van Dijk, Albert I. J. M.; Tallaksen, Lena M.; Hannaford, Jamie; Uijlenhoet, Remko; Teuling, Adriaan J.; Hannah, David M.; Sheffield, Justin; Svoboda, Mark; Verbeiren, Boud; Wagener, Thorsten; Van Lanen, Henny A. J.

2016-09-01

In the current human-modified world, or Anthropocene, the state of water stores and fluxes has become dependent on human as well as natural processes. Water deficits (or droughts) are the result of a complex interaction between meteorological anomalies, land surface processes, and human inflows, outflows, and storage changes. Our current inability to adequately analyse and manage drought in many places points to gaps in our understanding and to inadequate data and tools. The Anthropocene requires a new framework for drought definitions and research. Drought definitions need to be revisited to explicitly include human processes driving and modifying soil moisture drought and hydrological drought development. We give recommendations for robust drought definitions to clarify timescales of drought and prevent confusion with related terms such as water scarcity and overexploitation. Additionally, our understanding and analysis of drought need to move from single driver to multiple drivers and from uni-directional to multi-directional. We identify research gaps and propose analysis approaches on (1) drivers, (2) modifiers, (3) impacts, (4) feedbacks, and (5) changing the baseline of drought in the Anthropocene. The most pressing research questions are related to the attribution of drought to its causes, to linking drought impacts to drought characteristics, and to societal adaptation and responses to drought. Example questions include

• (i) What are the dominant drivers of drought in different parts of the world? (ii) How do human modifications of drought enhance or alleviate drought severity? (iii) How do impacts of drought depend on the physical characteristics of drought vs. the vulnerability of people or the environment? (iv) To what extent are physical and human drought processes coupled, and can feedback loops be identified and altered to lessen or mitigate drought? (v) How should we adapt our drought analysis to accommodate changes in the normal situation (i.e. what are considered normal or reference conditions) over time?

Assessing corn water stress using spectral reflectance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mefford, Brenna S.

Multiple remote sensing techniques have been developed to identify crop water stress, but some methods may be difficult for farmers to apply. Unlike most techniques, shortwave vegetation indices can be calculated using satellite, aerial, or ground imagery from the green (525-600 nm), red (625-700 nm), and near infrared (750-900 nm) spectral bands. If vegetation indices can be used to monitor crop water stress, growers could use this information as a quick low-cost guideline for irrigation management, thus helping save water by preventing over irrigating. This study occurred in the 2013 growing season near Greeley, CO, where pressurized drip irrigation was used to irrigate twelve corn ( Zea mays L.) treatments of varying water deficit. Multispectral data was collected and four different vegetation indices were evaluated: Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Optimized Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index (OSAVI), Green Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (GNDVI), and the Wide Dynamic Range Vegetation Index (WDRVI). The four vegetation indices were compared to corn water stress as indicated by the stress coefficient (Ks) and water deficit in the root zone, calculated by using a water balance that monitors crop evapotranspiration (ET), irrigation events, precipitation events, and deep percolation. ET for the water balance was calculated using two different methods for comparison purposes: (1) calculation of the stress coefficient (Ks) using FAO-56 standard procedures; (2) use of canopy temperature ratio (Tc ratio) of a stressed crop to a non-stressed crop to calculate Ks. It was found that obtaining Ks from Tc ratio is a viable option, and requires less data to obtain than Ks from FAO-56. In order to compare the indices to Ks, vegetation ratios were developed in the process of normalization. Vegetation ratios are defined as the non-stressed vegetation index divided by the stressed vegetation index. Results showed that vegetation ratios were sensitive to water stress as indicated by good R2 values (Nratio = 0.53, G ratio=0.46, Oratio=0.49) and low RMSE values (Nratio = 0.076, Gratio=0.062, Oratio=0.076) when compared to Ks. Therefore it can be concluded that corn spectral reflectance is sensitive to water stress. In order to use spectral reflectance to manage crop water stress an irrigation trigger point of 0.93 for the vegetation ratios was determined. These results were validated using data collected by a MSR5 multispectral sensor in an adjacent field (SWIIM Field). The results from the second field proved better than in the main field giving higher R 2 values (Nratio = 0.66, Gratio = 0.63, Oratio = 0.66), and lower RMSE values (Nratio = 0.043, Gratio = 0.036, Oratio = 0.043) between Ks and the vegetation indices. SWIIM field further validated the results that spectral reflectance can be used to monitor corn water stress.

Sub- and super-Maxwellian evaporation of simple gases from liquid water

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kann, Z. R.; Skinner, J. L., E-mail: skinner@chem.wisc.edu

2016-04-21

Non-Maxwellian evaporation of light atoms and molecules (particles) such as He and H{sub 2} from liquids has been observed experimentally. In this work, we use simulations to study systematically the evaporation of Lennard-Jones particles from liquid water. We find instances of sub- and super-Maxwellian evaporation, depending on the mass of the particle and the particle-water interaction strength. The observed trends are in qualitative agreement with experiment. We interpret these trends in terms of the potential of mean force and the effectiveness and frequency of collisions during the evaporation process. The angular distribution of evaporating particles is also analyzed, and itmore » is shown that trends in the energy from velocity components tangential and normal to the liquid surface must be understood separately in order to interpret properly the angular distributions.« less

Effect of rapid rigor mortis processes on protein functionality in pectoralis major muscle of domestic turkeys.

PubMed

Pietrzak, M; Greaser, M L; Sosnicki, A A

1997-08-01

The pale, soft, exudative (PSE) phenomenon in turkey pectoralis major (breast) muscle was studied using a combination of biochemical, meat quality, microscopic, and gel electrophoresis techniques. Breast muscle samples were collected from turkeys characterized by slow vs fast postmortem glycolysis assessed by muscle pH at 20 min after death. The PSE group was characterized by lower muscle ATP (P < .05) and higher lactate levels (P < .05) compared with the normal group. Excess water-holding capacity and cooking yield were significantly lower (P < .05) in the PSE group than in normal turkeys. Breast muscle of the PSE group was also lighter (P < .05) than that in the normal group as determined by Minolta L* values. The SDS-PAGE, Western blotting, and immunofluorescence microscopy revealed that phosphorylase, a soluble enzyme, became tightly associated with the myofibrils in muscle from the PSE group. Also, less myosin could be solubilized from PSE vs normal myofibril samples. The results indicate that irreversible myosin insolubility due to low pH and high-temperature conditions is decisive in the development of PSE turkey breast muscle.

Testing the Role of Microbial Ecology, Redox-Mediated Deep Water Production and Hypersalinity on TEX86: Lipids and 16s Sequences from Archaea and Bacteria in the Water Column and Sediments of Orca Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Warren, C.; Romero, I.; Ellis, G.; Goddard, E.; Krishnan, S.; Nigro, L. M.; Super, J. R.; Zhang, Y.; Zhuang, G.; Hollander, D. J.; Pagani, M.

2014-12-01

Mesophilic marine archaea and bacteria are known to substantially contribute to the oceanic microbial biomass and play critical roles in global carbon, nitrogen and nutrient cycles. The Orca Basin, a 2400 meter deep bathymetric depression on the continental slope of the north-central Gulf of Mexico, is an ideal environment to examine how redox-dependent biochemical processes control the input and cycling of bacterial and archaea-derived lipid compounds from formation in near-surface water, through secondary recycling processes operating at the redox-transition in the water column, to sedimentary diagenetic processes operating in oxic to anoxic zones within the basin. The lowermost 180 meters of the Orca Basin is characterized by an anoxic, hypersaline brine that is separated from the overlying oxic seawater by a well-defined redox sequence associated with a systematic increasing in salinity from 35 - 250‰. While surface water conditions are viewed as normal marine with a seasonally productive water column, the sub-oxic to anoxic transition zones within the deep-water column and the sediment spans over 200 m allowing the unique opportunity for discrete sampling of resident organisms and lipids. Here we present 16s rRNA sequence data of Bacteria and Archaea collected parallel to GDGT lipid profiles and in situ environmental measurements from the sediment and overlying water column in the intermediate zone of the basin, where movements of chemical transition zones are preserved. We evaluated GDGTs and corresponding taxa across the surface water, chlorophyll maximum, thermocline, and the deep redox boundary, including oxygenation, denitrification, manganese, iron and sulfate reduction zones, to determine if GDGTs are being produced under these conditions and how surface-derived GDGT lipids and the TEX86 signal may be altered. The results have implications for the application of the TEX86 paleotemperature proxy.

Influence of vegetation dynamic modeling on the allocation of green and blue waters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruiz-Pérez, Guiomar; Francés, Félix

2015-04-01

The long history of the Mediterranean region is dominated by the interactions and co-evolution between man and its natural environment. It is important to consider that the Mediterranean region is recurrently or permanently confronted with the scarcity of the water. The issue of climate change is (and will be) aggravating this situation. This raises the question of a loss of services that ecosystems provide to human and also the amount of available water to be used by vegetation. The question of the water cycle, therefore, should be considered in an integrated manner by taking into account both blue water (water in liquid form used for the human needs or which flows into the oceans) and green water (water having the vapor for resulting from evaporation and transpiration processes). In spite of this, traditionally, very few hydrological models have incorporated the vegetation dynamic as a state variable. In fact, most of them are able to represent fairly well the observed discharge, but usually including the vegetation as a static parameter. However, in the last decade, the number of hydrological models which explicitly take into account the vegetation development as a state variable has increased substantially. In this work, we want to analyze if it is really necessary to use a dynamic vegetation model to quantify adequately the distribution of water into blue and green water. The study site is located in the Public Forest Monte de la Hunde y Palomeras (Spain). The vegetation in the study area is dominated by Aleppo pine of high tree density with scant presence of other species. Two different daily models were applied (with static and dynamic vegetation representation respectively) in three different scenarios: dry year (2005), normal year (2008) and wet year (2010). The static vegetation model simulates the evapotranspiration considering the vegetation as a stationary parameter. Contrarily, the dynamic vegetation model connects the hydrological model with a parsimonious dynamic vegetation sub-model which assumes the vegetation biomass as a state variable. Using both models, we estimated the amount of 'blue' water and the amount of 'green' water (according to the previous definitions) in each scenario. Comparing the results, we observed that the static model underestimated the amount of green water in any case (dry, normal or wet year). In fact, the value of the ratio between blue and green water is higher in all scenarios for the static option (0.23 in the dry year, 0.42 in the normal year and 0.96 in the wet year) than the obtained ones for the dynamic model (0.098, 0.29 and 0.76, respectively). It means that we are overestimating the amount of water available for human needs if we assume vegetation as static. This type of error can be very dangerous for water resources predictions with future climates, especially in Mediterranean areas due to their water scarcity.

Assessment of the Water Levels and Currents at the Mississippi Bight During Hurricane Katrina.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nwankwo, U. C.; Howden, S. D.; Dodd, D.; Wells, D. E.

2017-12-01

In an effort to extend the length of GPS baselines further offshore, the Hydrographic Science Research Center at the University of Southern Mississippi deployed a buoy which had a survey grade GPS receiver, an ADPC and a motion sensor unit in the Mississippi Bight in late 2004. The GPS data were initially processed using the Post Processed Kinematic technique with data from a nearby GPS base station on Horn Island. This processing technique discontinued when the storm (Hurricane Katrina) destroyed the base station in late August of 2005. However, since then a stand-alone positioning technique termed Precise Point Positioning (PPP) matured and allowed for the reprocessing of the buoy GPS data throughout Katrina. The processed GPS data were corrected for buoy angular motions using Tait Bryan transformation model. Tidal datums (Epoch 1983-2001) were transferred from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Water Level at Waveland, Mississippi (Station ID 8747766) to the buoy using the Modified Range Ratio method. The maximum water level during the storm was found to be about 3.578m, relative to the transferred Mean Sea Level datum. The storm surge built over more than 24 hours, but fell back to normal levels in less than 3 hours. The maximum speed of the current with respect to the seafloor was recorded to be about 4knots towards the southeast as the storm surge moved back offshore.

Flotation process for removal of precipitates from electrochemical chromate reduction unit

DOEpatents

DeMonbrun, James R.; Schmitt, Charles R.; Williams, Everett H.

1976-01-01

This invention is an improved form of a conventional electrochemical process for removing hexavalent chromium or other metal-ion contaminants from cooling-tower blowdown water. In the conventional process, the contaminant is reduced and precipitated at an iron anode, thus forming a mixed precipitate of iron and chromium hydroxides, while hydrogen being evolved copiously at a cathode is vented from the electrochemical cell. In the conventional process, subsequent separation of the fine precipitate has proved to be difficult and inefficient. In accordance with this invention, the electrochemical operation is conducted in a novel manner permitting a much more efficient and less expensive precipitate-recovery operation. That is, the electrochemical operation is conducted under an evolved-hydrogen partial pressure exceeding atmospheric pressure. As a result, most of the evolved hydrogen is entrained as bubbles in the blowdown in the cell. The resulting hydrogen-rich blowdown is introduced to a vented chamber, where the entrained hydrogen combines with the precipitate to form a froth which can be separated by conventional techniques. In addition to the hydrogen, two materials present in most blowdown act as flotation promoters for the precipitate. These are (1) air, with which the blowdown water becomes saturated in the course of normal cooling-tower operation, and (2) surfactants which commonly are added to cooling-tower recirculating-water systems to inhibit the growth of certain organisms or prevent the deposition of insoluble particulates.

Ecosystem protection by effluent bioremediation: silver nanoparticles impregnation in a textile fabrics process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Durán, Nelson; Marcato, Priscyla D.; Alves, Oswaldo L.; Da Silva, João P. S.; De Souza, Gabriel I. H.; Rodrigues, Flávio A.; Esposito, Elisa

2010-01-01

This work studied a bioremediation process of silver nanoparticles with the bacterium Chromobacterium violaceum. These nanoparticles were obtained from several washes of cotton fabrics impregnated with silver nanoparticles produced by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum. The optimized growth of C. violaceum for silver nanoparticles bioremediation was obtained. The effluents of wash process of the cotton fabric were efficiently treated with C. violaceum. This treatment was based on biosorption which was very efficient for the elimination of silver nanoparticles remaining in the wash water. The bacteria after biosorption were morphologically transformed, but the normal morphology after a new culture was completely restored. The process also allowed the recovery of silver material that was leached into the effluent for a reutilization avoiding any effect to the eco-environment.

Oscillations and accelerations of ice crystal growth rates in microgravity in presence of antifreeze glycoprotein impurity in supercooled water.

PubMed

Furukawa, Yoshinori; Nagashima, Ken; Nakatsubo, Shun-Ichi; Yoshizaki, Izumi; Tamaru, Haruka; Shimaoka, Taro; Sone, Takehiko; Yokoyama, Etsuro; Zepeda, Salvador; Terasawa, Takanori; Asakawa, Harutoshi; Murata, Ken-Ichiro; Sazaki, Gen

2017-03-06

The free growth of ice crystals in supercooled bulk water containing an impurity of glycoprotein, a bio-macromolecule that functions as 'antifreeze' in living organisms in a subzero environment, was observed under microgravity conditions on the International Space Station. We observed the acceleration and oscillation of the normal growth rates as a result of the interfacial adsorption of these protein molecules, which is a newly discovered impurity effect for crystal growth. As the convection caused by gravity may mitigate or modify this effect, secure observations of this effect were first made possible by continuous measurements of normal growth rates under long-term microgravity condition realized only in the spacecraft. Our findings will lead to a better understanding of a novel kinetic process for growth oscillation in relation to growth promotion due to the adsorption of protein molecules and will shed light on the role that crystal growth kinetics has in the onset of the mysterious antifreeze effect in living organisms, namely, how this protein may prevent fish freezing.

Oscillations and accelerations of ice crystal growth rates in microgravity in presence of antifreeze glycoprotein impurity in supercooled water

PubMed Central

Furukawa, Yoshinori; Nagashima, Ken; Nakatsubo, Shun-ichi; Yoshizaki, Izumi; Tamaru, Haruka; Shimaoka, Taro; Sone, Takehiko; Yokoyama, Etsuro; Zepeda, Salvador; Terasawa, Takanori; Asakawa, Harutoshi; Murata, Ken-ichiro; Sazaki, Gen

2017-01-01

The free growth of ice crystals in supercooled bulk water containing an impurity of glycoprotein, a bio-macromolecule that functions as ‘antifreeze’ in living organisms in a subzero environment, was observed under microgravity conditions on the International Space Station. We observed the acceleration and oscillation of the normal growth rates as a result of the interfacial adsorption of these protein molecules, which is a newly discovered impurity effect for crystal growth. As the convection caused by gravity may mitigate or modify this effect, secure observations of this effect were first made possible by continuous measurements of normal growth rates under long-term microgravity condition realized only in the spacecraft. Our findings will lead to a better understanding of a novel kinetic process for growth oscillation in relation to growth promotion due to the adsorption of protein molecules and will shed light on the role that crystal growth kinetics has in the onset of the mysterious antifreeze effect in living organisms, namely, how this protein may prevent fish freezing. PMID:28262787

Sensor for Direct Measurement of the Boundary Shear Stress in Fluid Flow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bao, Xiaoqi; Badescu, Mircea; Bar-Cohen, Yoseph; Lih, Shyh-Shiuh; Sherrit, Stewart; Chang, Zensheu; Chen, Beck; Widholm, Scott; Ostlund, Patrick

2011-01-01

The formation of scour patterns at bridge piers is driven by the forces at the boundary of the water flow. In most experimental scour studies, indirect processes have been applied to estimate the shear and normal stress using measured velocity profiles. The estimations are based on theoretical models and associated assumptions. However, the turbulence flow fields and boundary layer in the pier-scour region are very complex. In addition, available turbulence models cannot account accurately for the bed roughness effect. Direct measurement of the boundary shear and normal stress and their fluctuations are attractive alternatives. However, this approach is a challenging one especially for high spatial resolution and high fidelity measurements. The authors designed and fabricated a prototype miniature shear stress sensor including an EDM machined floating plate and a high-resolution laser optical encoder. Tests were performed both in air as well as operation in water with controlled flow. The sensor sensitivity, stability and signal-to-noise level were measured and evaluated. The detailed test results and a discussion of future work will be presented in this paper.

Planarian regeneration in space: Persistent anatomical, behavioral, and bacteriological changes induced by space travel.

PubMed

Morokuma, Junji; Durant, Fallon; Williams, Katherine B; Finkelstein, Joshua M; Blackiston, Douglas J; Clements, Twyman; Reed, David W; Roberts, Michael; Jain, Mahendra; Kimel, Kris; Trauger, Sunia A; Wolfe, Benjamin E; Levin, Michael

2017-04-01

Regeneration is regulated not only by chemical signals but also by physical processes, such as bioelectric gradients. How these may change in the absence of the normal gravitational and geomagnetic fields is largely unknown. Planarian flatworms were moved to the International Space Station for 5 weeks, immediately after removing their heads and tails. A control group in spring water remained on Earth. No manipulation of the planaria occurred while they were in orbit, and space-exposed worms were returned to our laboratory for analysis. One animal out of 15 regenerated into a double-headed phenotype-normally an extremely rare event. Remarkably, amputating this double-headed worm again, in plain water, resulted again in the double-headed phenotype. Moreover, even when tested 20 months after return to Earth, the space-exposed worms displayed significant quantitative differences in behavior and microbiome composition. These observations may have implications for human and animal space travelers, but could also elucidate how microgravity and hypomagnetic environments could be used to trigger desired morphological, neurological, physiological, and bacteriomic changes for various regenerative and bioengineering applications.

Planarian regeneration in space: Persistent anatomical, behavioral, and bacteriological changes induced by space travel

PubMed Central

Morokuma, Junji; Durant, Fallon; Williams, Katherine B.; Finkelstein, Joshua M.; Blackiston, Douglas J.; Clements, Twyman; Reed, David W.; Roberts, Michael; Jain, Mahendra; Kimel, Kris; Trauger, Sunia A.; Wolfe, Benjamin E.

2017-01-01

Abstract Regeneration is regulated not only by chemical signals but also by physical processes, such as bioelectric gradients. How these may change in the absence of the normal gravitational and geomagnetic fields is largely unknown. Planarian flatworms were moved to the International Space Station for 5 weeks, immediately after removing their heads and tails. A control group in spring water remained on Earth. No manipulation of the planaria occurred while they were in orbit, and space‐exposed worms were returned to our laboratory for analysis. One animal out of 15 regenerated into a double‐headed phenotype—normally an extremely rare event. Remarkably, amputating this double‐headed worm again, in plain water, resulted again in the double‐headed phenotype. Moreover, even when tested 20 months after return to Earth, the space‐exposed worms displayed significant quantitative differences in behavior and microbiome composition. These observations may have implications for human and animal space travelers, but could also elucidate how microgravity and hypomagnetic environments could be used to trigger desired morphological, neurological, physiological, and bacteriomic changes for various regenerative and bioengineering applications. PMID:28616247

Oxygen and diverse nutrients influence the water kefir fermentation process.

PubMed

Laureys, David; Aerts, Maarten; Vandamme, Peter; De Vuyst, Luc

2018-08-01

Eight water kefir fermentation series differing in the presence of oxygen, the nutrient concentration, and the nutrient source were studied during eight consecutive backslopping steps. The presence of oxygen allowed the proliferation of acetic acid bacteria, resulting in high concentrations of acetic acid, and decreased the relative abundance of Bifidobacterium aquikefiri. Low nutrient concentrations resulted in slow water kefir fermentation and high pH values, which allowed the growth of Comamonas testosteroni/thiooxydans. Further, low nutrient concentrations favored the growth of Lactobacillus hilgardii and Dekkera bruxellensis, whereas high nutrient concentrations favored the growth of Lactobacillus nagelii and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Dried figs, dried apricots, and raisins resulted in stable water kefir fermentation. Water kefir fermentation with dried apricots resulted in the highest pH and water kefir grain growth, whereas that with raisins resulted in the lowest pH and water kefir grain growth. Further, water kefir fermentation with raisins resembled fermentations with low nutrient concentrations, that with dried apricots resembled fermentations with normal nutrient concentrations, and that with fresh figs or a mixture of yeast extract and peptone resembled fermentations with high nutrient concentrations. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Changes in pectins and product consistency during the concentration of tomato juice to paste.

PubMed

Anthon, Gordon E; Diaz, Jerome V; Barrett, Diane M

2008-08-27

Concentrating tomato juice to paste during the tomato season allows for preservation and long-term storage, but subsequent dilution for formulation of value-added products is known to result in a loss of consistency. To understand the reasons for this, samples of unconcentrated juice, processing intermediates, and concentrated paste were collected from an industrial processing plant during normal commercial production. All samples were diluted with water to 5 degrees Brix and then analyzed for consistency and pectin content. Whole juice consistency, measured with a Bostwick consistometer, decreased through the course of juice concentration, with the largest change occurring early in the process, as the juice was concentrated from 5 to 10 degrees Brix. This decrease in consistency occurred during the production of paste from both hot- and cold-break juices. The change in Bostwick value was correlated with a decrease in the precipitate weight ratio. The loss of consistency during commercial processing was not the direct result of water removal because a sample of this same 5 degrees Brix juice could be concentrated 2-fold in a vacuum oven and then diluted back to 5 degrees Brix with no change in consistency or precipitate ratio. Total pectin content did not change as the juice was concentrated to paste, but the proportion of the total pectin that was water soluble increased. The greatest increases in pectin solubility occurred during the hot break and late in the process where the evaporator temperature was the highest.

The SALT NORM : a quantitative chemical-mineralogical characterization of natural waters

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bodine, Marc W.; Jones, Blair F.

1986-01-01

The new computer program SNORM calculates the salt norm from the chemical composition of a natural water. The salt norm is the quantitative ideal equilibrium assemblage that would crystallize if the water evaporated to dryness at 25 C and 1 bar pressure under atmospheric partial pressure of CO2. SNORM proportions solute concentrations to achieve charge balance. It quantitatively distributes the 18 acceptable solutes into normative salts that are assigned from 63 possible normative salts to allow only stable associations based on the Gibbs Phase Rule, available free energy values, and observed low-temperature mineral associations. Although most natural water compositions represent multiple solute origins, results from SNORM identify three major categories: meteoric or weathering waters that are characterized by normative alkali-bearing sulfate and carbonate salts: connate marine-like waters that are chloride-rich with a halite-bischofite-carnallite-kieserite-anhydrite association; and diagenetic waters that are frequently of marine origin but yield normative salts, such as Ca-bearing chlorides (antarcticite and tachyhydrite) and sylvite, which suggest solute alteration by secondary mineral reactions. The solute source or reaction process within each of the above categories is commonly indicated by the presence or absence of diagnostic normative salts and their relative abundance in the normative salt assemblage. For example, salt norms: (1) may identify lithologic source; (2) may identify the relative roles of carbonic and sulfuric acid hydrolysis in the evolution of weathering waters; (3) may identify the origin of connate water from normal marine, hypersaline, or evaporite salt resolution processes; and (4) may distinguish between dolomitization and silicate hydrolysis or exchange for the origin of diagenetic waters. (Author 's abstract)

Unit operation optimization for the manufacturing of botanical injections using a design space approach: a case study of water precipitation.

PubMed

Gong, Xingchu; Chen, Huali; Chen, Teng; Qu, Haibin

2014-01-01

Quality by design (QbD) concept is a paradigm for the improvement of botanical injection quality control. In this work, water precipitation process for the manufacturing of Xueshuantong injection, a botanical injection made from Notoginseng Radix et Rhizoma, was optimized using a design space approach as a sample. Saponin recovery and total saponin purity (TSP) in supernatant were identified as the critical quality attributes (CQAs) of water precipitation using a risk assessment for all the processes of Xueshuantong injection. An Ishikawa diagram and experiments of fractional factorial design were applied to determine critical process parameters (CPPs). Dry matter content of concentrated extract (DMCC), amount of water added (AWA), and stirring speed (SS) were identified as CPPs. Box-Behnken designed experiments were carried out to develop models between CPPs and process CQAs. Determination coefficients were higher than 0.86 for all the models. High TSP in supernatant can be obtained when DMCC is low and SS is high. Saponin recoveries decreased as DMCC increased. Incomplete collection of supernatant was the main reason for the loss of saponins. Design space was calculated using a Monte-Carlo simulation method with acceptable probability of 0.90. Recommended normal operation region are located in DMCC of 0.38-0.41 g/g, AWA of 3.7-4.9 g/g, and SS of 280-350 rpm, with a probability more than 0.919 to attain CQA criteria. Verification experiment results showed that operating DMCC, SS, and AWA within design space can attain CQA criteria with high probability.

Full-scale simulation of seawater reverse osmosis desalination processes for boron removal: Effect of membrane fouling.

PubMed

Park, Pyung-Kyu; Lee, Sangho; Cho, Jae-Seok; Kim, Jae-Hong

2012-08-01

The objective of this study is to further develop previously reported mechanistic predictive model that simulates boron removal in full-scale seawater reverse osmosis (RO) desalination processes to take into account the effect of membrane fouling. Decrease of boron removal and reduction in water production rate by membrane fouling due to enhanced concentration polarization were simulated as a decrease in solute mass transfer coefficient in boundary layer on membrane surface. Various design and operating options under fouling condition were examined including single- versus double-pass configurations, different number of RO elements per vessel, use of RO membranes with enhanced boron rejection, and pH adjustment. These options were quantitatively compared by normalizing the performance of the system in terms of E(min), the minimum energy costs per product water. Simulation results suggested that most viable options to enhance boron rejection among those tested in this study include: i) minimizing fouling, ii) exchanging the existing SWRO elements to boron-specific ones, and iii) increasing pH in the second pass. The model developed in this study is expected to help design and optimization of the RO processes to achieve the target boron removal at target water recovery under realistic conditions where membrane fouling occurs during operation. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Radium-226 content of beverages

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kiefer, J.

Radium contents of commercially obtained beer, wine, milk and mineral waters were measured. All distributions were log-normal with the following geometrical mean values: beer: 2.1 X 10(-2) Bq L-1; wine: 3.4 X 10(-2) Bq L-1; milk: 3 X 10(-3) Bq L-1; normal mineral water: 4.3 X 10(-2) L-1; medical mineral water: 9.4 X 10(-2) Bq L-1.

Hydro-meteorological processes on the Qinghai - Tibet Plateau observed from space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Menenti, Massimo; Colin, Jerome; Jia, Li; D'Urso, Guido; Foken, Thomas; Immerzeel, Walter; Jha, Ramakar; Liu, Qinhuo; Liu, Changming; Ma, Yaoming; Sobrino, Jose Antonio; Yan, Guangjian; Pelgrum, Henk; Porcu, Federico; Wang, Jian; Wang, Jiemin; Shen, Xueshun; Su, Zhongbo; Ueno, Kenichi

2014-05-01

The Qinghai - Tibet Plateau is characterized by a significant intra-annual variability and spatial heterogeneity of surface conditions. Snow and vegetation cover, albedo, surface temperature and wetness change very significantly during the year and from place to place. The influence of temporal changes on convective events and the onset of the monsoon has been documented by ground based measurements of land - atmosphere exchanges of heat and water. The state of the land surface over the entire Plateau can be determined by space observation of surface albedo, temperature, snow and vegetation cover and soil moisture. Fully integrated use of satellite and ground observations is necessary to support water resources management in SE Asia and to clarify the roles of the interactions between the land surface and the atmosphere over the Tibetan Plateau in the Asian monsoon system. New or significantly improved algorithms have been developed and evaluated against ground measurements. Variables retrieved include land surface properties, rain rate, aerosol optical depth, water vapour, snow cover and water equivalent, soil moisture and lake level. The three years time series of gap-free daily and hourly evaporation derived from geostationary data collected by the FY-2D satellite was a major achievement. The hydrologic modeling system has been implemented and applied to the Qinghai Tibet Plateau and the headwaters of the major rivers in South and East Asia. Case studies on response of atmospheric circulation and specifically of convective activity to land surface conditions have been completed and the controlling land surface conditions and processes have been documented. Two new drought indicators have been developed: Normalized Temperature Anomaly Index (NTAI) and Normalized Vegetation Anomaly Index (NVAI). Case study in China and India showed that these indicators capture effectively drought severity and evolution. A new method has been developed for monitoring and early warning of flooded areas at the regional scale.

Prevalence of pale, soft, and exudative (PSE) condition in chicken meat used for commercial meat processing and its effect on roasted chicken breast.

PubMed

Karunanayaka, Deshani S; Jayasena, Dinesh D; Jo, Cheorun

2016-01-01

Studies on prevalence of pale, soft, exudative (PSE) condition in Sri Lankan poultry industry is minimal. Hence, the objective of present study was to determine the incidence of PSE chicken meat in a commercial meat processing plant and to find out its consequences on meat quality traits of roasted chicken breast. A total of 60 breast fillets were randomly selected, evaluated based on color L* value, and placed into 1 of 2 categories; PSE (L* > 58) or normal meat (L* ≤ 58). A total of 20 breast fillets (10 PSE and 10 normal) were then analyzed for color, pH, and water holding capacity (WHC). After processing those into roasted chicken breast, cooking loss, color, pH, WHC, and texture values were evaluated. A sensory evaluation was conducted using 30 untrained panelists. The incidence of PSE meat was 70 % in the present experiment. PSE fillets were significantly lighter and had lower pH values compared with normal fillets. Correlation between the lightness and pH was negative (P < 0.05). Although there was no significant difference in color, texture, and WHC values between the 2 groups after processing into roasted chicken breast (P > 0.05), an approximately 3 % higher cooking loss was observed in PSE group compared to its counterpart (P < 0.05). Moreover, cooking loss and lightness values showed a significant positive correlation. Nevertheless, there were no significant differences in sensory parameters between the 2 products (P > 0.05). These results indicated that an economical loss can be expected due to the significantly higher cooking loss observed in roasted breast processed from PSE meat.

Flux of low salinity water from Aniva Bay (Sakhalin Island) to the southern Okhotsk Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oguma, Sachiko; Ono, Tsuneo; Watanabe, Yutaka W.; Kasai, Hiromi; Watanabe, Shuichi; Nomura, Daiki; Mitsudera, Humio

2011-01-01

In this study, we examined the relationship between the low salinity water in the shelf region of the southern Okhotsk Sea which was seasonally sampled (0-200 m), and fluxes of low salinity water from Aniva Bay. To express the source of freshwater mixing in the surface layer, we applied normalized total alkalinity (NTA) and stable isotopes of seawater as chemical tracers. NTA-S diagrams indicate that NTA of low salinity water in the upper 30 m layer just off the Soya Warm Current is clearly higher than in the far offshore region in summer and autumn. Using NTA-S regression lines, we could deduce that the low salinity and high NTA water in the upper layer originates from Aniva Bay. For convenience, we defined this water as the Aniva Surface Water (ASW) with values S < 32, NTA > 2450 μmol kg -1. Formation and transport processes of ASW are discussed using historical data. The interaction between the maximum core of high NTA water on the bottom slope of eastern Aniva Bay and an anticyclonic eddy at the mouth of Aniva Bay are concluded to control ASW formation. Upwelling of the Cold Water Belt water at the tip of Cape Krillion is considered to cause ASW outflow from Aniva Bay.

TOPEX/El Nino Watch - El Nino Warm Water Pool Decreasing, Jan, 08, 1998

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

This image of the Pacific Ocean was produced using sea surface height measurements taken by the U.S.-French TOPEX/Poseidon satellite. The image shows sea surface height relative to normal ocean conditions on Jan. 8, 1998, and sea surface height is an indicator of the heat content of the ocean. The volume of the warm water pool related to the El Nino has decreased by about 40 percent since its maximum in early November, but the area of the warm water pool is still about one and a half times the size of the continental United States. The volume measurements are computed as the sum of all the sea surface height changes as compared to normal ocean conditions. In addition, the maximum water temperature in the eastern tropical Pacific, as measured by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is still higher than normal. Until these high temperatures diminish, the El Nino warm water pool still has great potential to disrupt global weather because the high water temperatures directly influence the atmosphere. Oceanographers believe the recent decrease in the size of the warm water pool is a normal part of El Nino's natural rhythm. TOPEX/Poseidon has been tracking these fluctuations of the El Nino warm pool since it began in early 1997. These sea surface height measurements have provided scientists with their first detailed view of how El Nino's warm pool behaves because the TOPEX/Poseidon satellite measures the changing sea surface height with unprecedented precision. In this image, the white and red areas indicate unusual patterns of heat storage; in the white areas, the sea surface is between 14 and 32 centimeters (6 to 13 inches) above normal; in the red areas, it's about 10 centimeters (4 inches) above normal. The green areas indicate normal conditions, while purple (the western Pacific) means at least 18 centimeters (7 inches) below normal sea level.

The El Nino phenomenon is thought to be triggered when the steady westward blowing trade winds weaken and even reverse direction. This change in the winds allows a large mass of warm water (the red and white area) that is normally located near Australia to move eastward along the equator until it reaches the coast of South America. The displacement of so much warm water affects evaporation, where rain clouds form and, consequently, alters the typical atmospheric jet stream patterns around the world. Using these global data, limited regional measurements from buoys and ships, and a forecasting model of the ocean-atmosphere system, the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, (NOAA), has issued an advisory indicating the presence of a strong El Nino condition throughout the winter.

For more information, please visit the TOPEX/Poseidon project web page at http://topex-www.jpl.nasa.gov

Bayesian spatiotemporal analysis of zero-inflated biological population density data by a delta-normal spatiotemporal additive model.

PubMed

Arcuti, Simona; Pollice, Alessio; Ribecco, Nunziata; D'Onghia, Gianfranco

2016-03-01

We evaluate the spatiotemporal changes in the density of a particular species of crustacean known as deep-water rose shrimp, Parapenaeus longirostris, based on biological sample data collected during trawl surveys carried out from 1995 to 2006 as part of the international project MEDITS (MEDiterranean International Trawl Surveys). As is the case for many biological variables, density data are continuous and characterized by unusually large amounts of zeros, accompanied by a skewed distribution of the remaining values. Here we analyze the normalized density data by a Bayesian delta-normal semiparametric additive model including the effects of covariates, using penalized regression with low-rank thin-plate splines for nonlinear spatial and temporal effects. Modeling the zero and nonzero values by two joint processes, as we propose in this work, allows to obtain great flexibility and easily handling of complex likelihood functions, avoiding inaccurate statistical inferences due to misclassification of the high proportion of exact zeros in the model. Bayesian model estimation is obtained by Markov chain Monte Carlo simulations, suitably specifying the complex likelihood function of the zero-inflated density data. The study highlights relevant nonlinear spatial and temporal effects and the influence of the annual Mediterranean oscillations index and of the sea surface temperature on the distribution of the deep-water rose shrimp density. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Observations on Side-Swimming Rainbow Trout in Water Recirculation Aquaculture Systems

PubMed Central

Good, Christopher; Davidson, John; Kinman, Christin; Kenney, P. Brett; Bæverfjord, Grete; Summerfelt, Steven

2014-01-01

Abstract During a controlled 6-month study using six replicated water recirculation aquaculture systems (WRASs), it was observed that Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss in all WRASs exhibited a higher-than-normal prevalence of side swimming (i.e., controlled, forward swimming but with misaligned orientation such that the fish's sagittal axis is approximately parallel to the horizontal plane). To further our understanding of this abnormality, a substudy was conducted wherein side swimmers and normally swimming fish were selectively sampled from each WRAS and growth performance (length, weight), processing attributes (fillet yield, visceral index, ventrum [i.e., thickness of the ventral “belly flap”] index), blood gas and chemistry parameters, and swim bladder morphology and positioning were compared. Side swimmers were found to be significantly smaller in length and weight and had less fillet yield but higher ventrum indices. Whole-blood analyses demonstrated that, among other things, side swimmers had significantly lower whole-blood pH and higher Pco 2. Side swimmers typically exhibited swim bladder malformations, although the positive predictive value of this subjective assessment was only 73%. Overall, this study found several anatomical and physiological differences between side-swimming and normally swimming Rainbow Trout. Given the reduced weight and fillet yield of market-age side swimmers, producers would benefit from additional research to reduce side-swimming prevalence in their fish stocks. Received March 20, 2014; accepted May 20, 2014 PMID:25250476

Function of the Membrane Water Channel Aquaporin-5 in the Salivary Gland

PubMed Central

Matsuzaki, Toshiyuki; Susa, Taketo; Shimizu, Kinue; Sawai, Nobuhiko; Suzuki, Takeshi; Aoki, Takeo; Yokoo, Satoshi; Takata, Kuniaki

2012-01-01

The process of saliva production in the salivary glands requires transepithelial water transfer from the interstitium to the acinar lumen. There are two transepithelial pathways: the transcellular and paracellular. In the transcellular pathway, the aquaporin water channels induce passive water diffusion across the membrane lipid bilayer. It is well known that aquaporin-5 (AQP5) is expressed in the salivary glands, in which it is mainly localized at the apical membrane of the acinar cells. This suggests the physiological importance of AQP5 in transcellular water transfer. Reduced saliva secretion under pilocarpine stimulation in AQP5-null mice compared with normal mice further indicates the importance of AQP5 in this process, at least in stimulated saliva secretion. Questions remain therefore regarding the role and importance of AQP5 in basal saliva secretion. It has been speculated that there would be some short-term regulation of AQP5 such as a trafficking mechanism to regulate saliva secretion. However, no histochemical evidence of AQP5-trafficking has been found, although some of biochemical analyses suggested that it may occur. There are no reports of human disease caused by AQP5 mutations, but some studies have revealed an abnormal subcellular distribution of AQP5 in patients or animals with xerostomia caused by Sjögren’s syndrome and X-irradiation. These findings suggest the possible pathophysiological importance of AQP5 in the salivary glands. PMID:23209334

Image analysis method for the measurement of water saturation in a two-dimensional experimental flow tank

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belfort, Benjamin; Weill, Sylvain; Lehmann, François

2017-04-01

A novel, non-invasive imaging technique that determines 2D maps of water content in unsaturated porous media is presented. This method directly relates digitally measured intensities to the water content of the porous medium. This method requires the classical image analysis steps, i.e., normalization, filtering, background subtraction, scaling and calibration. The main advantages of this approach are that no calibration experiment is needed and that no tracer or dye is injected into the flow tank. The procedure enables effective processing of a large number of photographs and thus produces 2D water content maps at high temporal resolution. A drainage / imbibition experiment in a 2D flow tank with inner dimensions of 40 cm x 14 cm x 6 cm (L x W x D) is carried out to validate the methodology. The accuracy of the proposed approach is assessed using numerical simulations with a state-of-the-art computational code that solves the Richards. Comparison of the cumulative mass leaving and entering the flow tank and water content maps produced by the photographic measurement technique and the numerical simulations demonstrate the efficiency and high accuracy of the proposed method for investigating vadose zone flow processes. Application examples to a larger flow tank with various boundary conditions are finally presented to illustrate the potential of the methodology.

A systematic assessment of watershed-scale nonpoint source pollution during rainfall-runoff events in the Miyun Reservoir watershed.

PubMed

Qiu, Jiali; Shen, Zhenyao; Wei, Guoyuan; Wang, Guobo; Xie, Hui; Lv, Guanping

2018-03-01

The assessment of peak flow rate, total runoff volume, and pollutant loads during rainfall process are very important for the watershed management and the ecological restoration of aquatic environment. Real-time measurements of rainfall-runoff and pollutant loads are always the most reliable approach but are difficult to carry out at all desired location in the watersheds considering the large consumption of material and financial resources. An integrated environmental modeling approach for the estimation of flash streamflow that combines the various hydrological and quality processes during rainstorms within the agricultural watersheds is essential to develop targeted management strategies for the endangered drinking water. This study applied the Hydrological Simulation Program-Fortran (HSPF) to simulate the spatial and temporal variation in hydrological processes and pollutant transport processes during rainstorm events in the Miyun Reservoir watershed, a drinking water resource area in Beijing. The model performance indicators ensured the acceptable applicability of the HSPF model to simulate flow and pollutant loads in the studied watershed and to establish a relationship between land use and the parameter values. The proportion of soil and land use was then identified as the influencing factors of the pollution intensities. The results indicated that the flush concentrations were much higher than those observed during normal flow periods and considerably exceeded the limits of Class III Environmental Quality Standards for Surface Water (GB3838-2002) for the secondary protection zones of the drinking water resource in China. Agricultural land and leached cinnamon soils were identified as the key sources of sediment, nutrients, and fecal coliforms. Precipitation volume was identified as a driving factor that determined the amount of runoff and pollutant loads during rainfall processes. These results are useful to improve the streamflow predictions, provide useful information for the identification of highly polluted areas, and aid the development of integrated watershed management system in the drinking water resource area.

40 CFR 230.24 - Normal water fluctuations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 26 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Normal water fluctuations. 230.24 Section 230.24 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) OCEAN DUMPING SECTION 404(b)(1) GUIDELINES FOR SPECIFICATION OF DISPOSAL SITES FOR DREDGED OR FILL MATERIAL Potential Impacts on Physical and Chemical Characteristics o...

Soil water nitrate and ammonium dynamics under a sewage effluent irrigated eucalypt plantation.

PubMed

Livesley, S J; Adams, M A; Grierson, P F

2007-01-01

Managed forests and plantations are appropriate ecosystems for land-based treatment of effluent, but concerns remain regarding nutrient contamination of ground- and surface waters. Monthly NO3-N and NH4-N concentrations in soil water, accumulated soil N, and gross ammonification and nitrification rates were measured in the second year of a second rotation of an effluent irrigated Eucalyptus globulus plantation in southern Western Australia to investigate the separate and interactive effects of drip and sprinkler irrigation, effluent and water irrigation, irrigation rate, and harvest residues retention. Nitrate concentrations of soil water were greater under effluent irrigation than water irrigation but remained <15 mg L(-1) when irrigated at the normal rate (1.5-2.0 mm d(-1)), and there was little evidence of downward movement. In contrast, NH4-N concentrations of soil water at 30 and 100 cm were generally greater under effluent irrigation than water irrigation when irrigated at the normal rate because of direct effluent NH4-N input and indirect ammonification of soil organic N. Drip irrigation of effluent approximately doubled peak NO3-N and NH4-N concentrations in soil water. Harvest residue retention reduced concentrations of soil water NO3-N at 30 cm during active sprinkler irrigation, but after 1 yr of irrigation there was no significant difference in the amount of N stored in the soil system, although harvest residue retention did enhance the "nitrate flush" in the following spring. Gross mineralization rates without irrigation increased with harvest residue retention and further increased with water irrigation. Irrigation with effluent further increased gross nitrification to 3.1 mg N kg(-1) d(-1) when harvest residues were retained but had no effect on gross ammonification, which suggested the importance of heterotrophic nitrification. The downward movement of N under effluent irrigation was dominated by NH4-N rather than NO3-N. Improving the capacity of forest soils to store and transform N inputs through organic matter management must consider the dynamic equilibrium between N input, uptake, and immobilization according to soil C status, and the effect changing microbial processes and environmental conditions can have on this equilibrium.

A comparison of additional treatment processes to limit particle accumulation and microbial growth during drinking water distribution.

PubMed

Liu, G; Lut, M C; Verberk, J Q J C; Van Dijk, J C

2013-05-15

Water quality changes, particle accumulation and microbial growth occurring in pilot-scale water distribution systems fed with normally treated and additional treated groundwater were monitored over a period of almost one year. The treatment processes were ranked in the following order: nanofiltration (NF) > (better than) ultrafiltration (UF) > ion exchange (IEX) for limiting particle accumulation. A different order was found for limiting overall microbial growth: NF > IEX > UF. There were strong correlations between particle load and particle accumulation, and between nutrient load and microbial growth. It was concluded that particle accumulation can be controlled by reducing the particle load in water treatment plants; and the microbial growth can be better controlled by limiting organic nutrients rather than removing biomass in water treatment plants. The major focus of this study was on microbial growth. The results demonstrated that growth occurred in all types of treated water, including the phases of bulk water, biofilm and loose deposits. Considering the growth in different phases, similar growth in bulk water was observed for all treatments; NF strongly reduced growth both in loose deposits and in biofilm; UF promoted growth in biofilm, while strongly limiting growth in loose deposits. IEX had good efficiency in between UF and NF, limiting both growths in loose deposits and in biofilm. Significant growth was found in loose deposits, suggesting that loose deposit biomass should be taken into account for growth evaluation and/or prediction. Strong correlations were found between microbial growth and pressure drop in a membrane fouling simulator which proved that a membrane fouling simulator can be a fast growth predictor (within a week). Different results obtained by adenosine triphosphate and flow cytometry cell counts revealed that ATP can accurately describe both suspended and particle-associated biomass, and flow cytometry files of TCC measurements needs to be further processed for particle loaded samples and/or a pretreatment protocol should be developed. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ceres' Evolution Before and After Dawn: Where are We Now?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCord, T. B.; Castillo, J. C.

2016-12-01

Observations of Ceres before Dawn indicated that it contains 25 wt% water, and thermodynamic modeling indicated Ceres probably had experienced the same process of differentiation due to melting of the original ice after accretion as experienced by large icy moons. Consistent with that was a surface of altered mineralogy like clays suggesting aqueous alteration of the original chondritic silicates. Dawn has revealed some concentration of mass toward the center, specific aqueously altered mineralogies, a stiff surface with weaker material beneath, and extrusions and protrusions suggesting recent subsurface activity, including exposures of water ice that must be very recent. This wealth of new information from Dawn enables selection of more specific evolution models that best match the vastly improved Dawn observations. In this new study we propose one possibility is that Ceres accreted as an ice and silicate mixture after short-lived radionuclides in CAIs had significantly decayed, i.e. nearer 5 my after CAIs, and thus differentiated less completely than for hotter models. On the other hand, the presence of heavily aqueously altered mineralogies, including probably salts, suggests extensive mixing of water and silicates, which might normally be associated with more complete differentiation. Geologically recent activity, perhaps even to the present time, seems evident from several young landforms, including protrusions consistent with diapirism and recent exposures of water ice. This suggests recent flexing of the subsurface and rising of less dense interior material, including salts and ice. The presence of ammoniated minerals and what appear to be salt deposits suggest a major lowering of subsurface water ice melting temperature, enhancing the duration of water-silicate contact, and perhaps accelerating the mineralization processes and slowing or halting differentiation of water and silicates. Thus, Ceres is becoming known as the first body outward from the Sun that has had its evolution controlled by water-driven processes. Investigations of its interior and geology enable by Dawn's observations will in turn help to better understand other ice-rich bodies.

Ceres' evolution before and after Dawn: Where are we now?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCord, Thomas B.; Castillo-Rogez, Julie C.

2016-10-01

Observations of Ceres before Dawn indicated that it contains ~25 wt% water, and thermodynamic modeling indicated Ceres probably had experienced the same process of differentiation due to melting of the original ice after accretion as experienced by large icy moons. Consistent with that was a surface of altered mineralogy like clays suggesting aqueous alteration of the original chondritic silicates. Dawn has revealed some concentration of mass toward the center, specific aqueously altered mineralogies, a stiff surface with weaker material beneath, and extrusions and protrusions suggesting recent subsurface activity, including exposures of water ice that must be very recent. This wealth of new information from Dawn enables selection of more specific evolution models that best match the vastly improved Dawn observations. In this new study we propose one possibility is that Ceres accreted as an ice and silicate mixture after short-lived radionuclides in CAIs had significantly decayed, i.e. nearer 5 my after CAIs, and thus differentiated less completely than for hotter models. On the other hand, the presence of heavily aqueously altered mineralogies, including probably salts, suggests extensive mixing of water and silicates, which might normally be associated with more complete differentiation. Geologically recent activity, perhaps even to the present time, seems evident from several young landforms, including protrusions consistent with diapirism and recent exposures of water ice. This suggests recent flexing of the subsurface and rising of less dense interior material, including salts and ice. The presence of ammoniated minerals and what appear to be salt deposits suggest a major lowering of subsurface water ice melting temperature, enhancing the duration of water-silicate contact, and perhaps accelerating the mineralization processes and slowing or halting differentiation of water and silicates. Thus, Ceres is becoming known as the first body outward from the Sun that has had its evolution controlled by water-driven processes. Investigations of its interior and geology enable by Dawn's observations will in turn help to better understand other ice-rich bodies.

Matched Field Processing Based on Least Squares with a Small Aperture Hydrophone Array.

PubMed

Wang, Qi; Wang, Yingmin; Zhu, Guolei

2016-12-30

The receiver hydrophone array is the signal front-end and plays an important role in matched field processing, which usually covers the whole water column from the sea surface to the bottom. Such a large aperture array is very difficult to realize. To solve this problem, an approach called matched field processing based on least squares with a small aperture hydrophone array is proposed, which decomposes the received acoustic fields into depth function matrix and amplitudes of the normal modes at the beginning. Then all the mode amplitudes are estimated using the least squares in the sense of minimum norm, and the amplitudes estimated are used to recalculate the received acoustic fields of the small aperture array, which means the recalculated ones contain more environmental information. In the end, lots of numerical experiments with three small aperture arrays are processed in the classical shallow water, and the performance of matched field passive localization is evaluated. The results show that the proposed method can make the recalculated fields contain more acoustic information of the source, and the performance of matched field passive localization with small aperture array is improved, so the proposed algorithm is proved to be effective.

Matched Field Processing Based on Least Squares with a Small Aperture Hydrophone Array

PubMed Central

Wang, Qi; Wang, Yingmin; Zhu, Guolei

2016-01-01

The receiver hydrophone array is the signal front-end and plays an important role in matched field processing, which usually covers the whole water column from the sea surface to the bottom. Such a large aperture array is very difficult to realize. To solve this problem, an approach called matched field processing based on least squares with a small aperture hydrophone array is proposed, which decomposes the received acoustic fields into depth function matrix and amplitudes of the normal modes at the beginning. Then all the mode amplitudes are estimated using the least squares in the sense of minimum norm, and the amplitudes estimated are used to recalculate the received acoustic fields of the small aperture array, which means the recalculated ones contain more environmental information. In the end, lots of numerical experiments with three small aperture arrays are processed in the classical shallow water, and the performance of matched field passive localization is evaluated. The results show that the proposed method can make the recalculated fields contain more acoustic information of the source, and the performance of matched field passive localization with small aperture array is improved, so the proposed algorithm is proved to be effective. PMID:28042828

On the use of the GRACE normal equation of inter-satellite tracking data for estimation of soil moisture and groundwater in Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tangdamrongsub, Natthachet; Han, Shin-Chan; Decker, Mark; Yeo, In-Young; Kim, Hyungjun

2018-03-01

An accurate estimation of soil moisture and groundwater is essential for monitoring the availability of water supply in domestic and agricultural sectors. In order to improve the water storage estimates, previous studies assimilated terrestrial water storage variation (ΔTWS) derived from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) into land surface models (LSMs). However, the GRACE-derived ΔTWS was generally computed from the high-level products (e.g. time-variable gravity fields, i.e. level 2, and land grid from the level 3 product). The gridded data products are subjected to several drawbacks such as signal attenuation and/or distortion caused by a posteriori filters and a lack of error covariance information. The post-processing of GRACE data might lead to the undesired alteration of the signal and its statistical property. This study uses the GRACE least-squares normal equation data to exploit the GRACE information rigorously and negate these limitations. Our approach combines GRACE's least-squares normal equation (obtained from ITSG-Grace2016 product) with the results from the Community Atmosphere Biosphere Land Exchange (CABLE) model to improve soil moisture and groundwater estimates. This study demonstrates, for the first time, an importance of using the GRACE raw data. The GRACE-combined (GC) approach is developed for optimal least-squares combination and the approach is applied to estimate the soil moisture and groundwater over 10 Australian river basins. The results are validated against the satellite soil moisture observation and the in situ groundwater data. Comparing to CABLE, we demonstrate the GC approach delivers evident improvement of water storage estimates, consistently from all basins, yielding better agreement on seasonal and inter-annual timescales. Significant improvement is found in groundwater storage while marginal improvement is observed in surface soil moisture estimates.

Integrated chemical and toxicological investigation of UV-chlorine/chloramine drinking water treatment.

PubMed

Lyon, Bonnie A; Milsk, Rebecca Y; DeAngelo, Anthony B; Simmons, Jane Ellen; Moyer, Mary P; Weinberg, Howard S

2014-06-17

As the use of alternative drinking water treatment increases, it is important to understand potential public health implications associated with these processes. The objective of this study was to evaluate the formation of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) and cytotoxicity of natural organic matter (NOM) concentrates treated with chlorine, chloramine, and medium pressure ultraviolet (UV) irradiation followed by chlorine or chloramine, with and without nitrate or iodide spiking. The use of concentrated NOM conserved volatile DBPs and allowed for direct analysis of the treated water. Treatment with UV prior to chlorine in ambient (unspiked) samples did not affect cytotoxicity as measured using an in vitro normal human colon cell (NCM460) assay, compared to chlorination alone when toxicity is expressed on the basis of dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Nitrate-spiked UV+chlorine treatment produced greater cytotoxicity than nitrate-spiked chlorine alone or ambient UV+chlorine samples, on both a DOC and total organic halogen basis. Samples treated with UV+chloramine were more cytotoxic than those treated with only chloramine using either dose metric. This study demonstrated the combination of cytotoxicity and DBP measurements for process evaluation in drinking water treatment. The results highlight the importance of dose metric when considering the relative toxicity of complex DBP mixtures formed under different disinfection scenarios.

The effect of water vapour on the normalized difference vegetation index derived for the Sahelian region from NOAA AVHRR data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Justice, Christopher O.; Eck, T. F.; Tanre, Didier; Holben, B. N.

1991-01-01

The near-infrared channel of the NOAA advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) contains a water vapor absorption band that affects the determination of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Daily and seasonal variations in atmospheric water vapor within the Sahel are shown to affect the use of the NDVI for the estimation of primary production. This water vapor effect is quantified for the Sahel by radiative transfer modeling and empirically using observations made in Mali in 1986.

Comparative analysis of GOCI ocean color products.

PubMed

Amin, Ruhul; Lewis, Mark David; Lawson, Adam; Gould, Richard W; Martinolich, Paul; Li, Rong-Rong; Ladner, Sherwin; Gallegos, Sonia

2015-10-12

The Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) is the first geostationary ocean color sensor in orbit that provides bio-optical properties from coastal and open waters around the Korean Peninsula at unprecedented temporal resolution. In this study, we compare the normalized water-leaving radiance (nLw) products generated by the Naval Research Laboratory Automated Processing System (APS) with those produced by the stand-alone software package, the GOCI Data Processing System (GDPS), developed by the Korean Ocean Research & Development Institute (KORDI). Both results are then compared to the nLw measured by the above water radiometer at the Ieodo site. This above-water radiometer is part of the Aerosol Robotic NETwork (AeroNET). The results indicate that the APS and GDPS processed  correlates well within the same image slot where the coefficient of determination (r²) is higher than 0.84 for all the bands from 412 nm to 745 nm. The agreement between APS and the AeroNET data is higher when compared to the GDPS results. The Root-Mean-Squared-Error (RMSE) between AeroNET and APS data ranges from 0.24 [mW/(cm²srμm)] at 555 nm to 0.52 [mW/(cm²srμm)]  at 412 nm while RMSE between AeroNET and GDPS data ranges from 0.47 [mW/(cm²srμm)] at 443 nm to 0.69 [mW/(cm²srμm)]  at 490 nm.

Comparative Analysis of GOCI Ocean Color Products

PubMed Central

Amin, Ruhul; Lewis, Mark David; Lawson, Adam; Gould, Richard W.; Martinolich, Paul; Li, Rong-Rong; Ladner, Sherwin; Gallegos, Sonia

2015-01-01

The Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) is the first geostationary ocean color sensor in orbit that provides bio-optical properties from coastal and open waters around the Korean Peninsula at unprecedented temporal resolution. In this study, we compare the normalized water-leaving radiance (nLw) products generated by the Naval Research Laboratory Automated Processing System (APS) with those produced by the stand-alone software package, the GOCI Data Processing System (GDPS), developed by the Korean Ocean Research & Development Institute (KORDI). Both results are then compared to the nLw measured by the above water radiometer at the Ieodo site. This above-water radiometer is part of the Aerosol Robotic NETwork (AeroNET). The results indicate that the APS and GDPS processed nLw correlates well within the same image slot where the coefficient of determination (r2) is higher than 0.84 for all the bands from 412 nm to 745 nm. The agreement between APS and the AeroNET data is higher when compared to the GDPS results. The Root-Mean-Squared-Error (RMSE) between AeroNET and APS data ranges from 0.24 [mW/(cm2srμm)] at 555 nm to 0.52 [mW/(cm2srμm)] at 412 nm while RMSE between AeroNET and GDPS data ranges from 0.47 [mW/(cm2srμm)] at 443 nm to 0.69 [mW/(cm2srμm)] at 490 nm. PMID:26473861

Typical aqueous rare earth element behavior in co-produced Brines, Wyoming

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nye, Charles; Quillinan, Scott; McLing, Travis

Normalization of Rare Earth Elements (REEs) is important to remove the distracting effects of the Oddo–Harkins rule and provide a meaningful baseline. Normalizations for rocks are well developed and include chondritic meteorites, UCC, PM, PAAS, and NASC. However normalizations for aqueous REEs are limited to oceanic regions such as the North Pacific Deep Water or North Atlantic Surface Water. This leaves water in contact with continental lithologies without a suitable normalization. We present a preliminary continental aqueous REE normalization derived from 38 deep basin hydrocarbon brines in Wyoming. The REEs in these waters are seven orders of magnitude more dilutemore » than NASC but with significant europium enrichment. Gromet 1984 reports NASC Eu/Eu* is 0.2179, whereas in the normalization offered here, Eu/Eu* is 3.868. These waters also are free from the distracting reduction-oxidation cerium behavior found in ocean normalizations. Because these samples exhibit both the uniform behavior of NASC and the absolute concentration of seawater, a normalization based upon them offers a unique combination of the advantages of both. We used single-peak gaussian analysis to quantify the mean values for each REE and estimate the distribution variability. Additional sample collection during the last year revealed that the Powder River Basin (PRB) is atypical relative to the other sampled basins of Wyoming. Those other basins are the Wind River Basin (WRB) Green River Basin (GRB) and Wamsutter Area (WA). A pre-normalization gadolinium anomaly (Gd/Gd*) of between 4 and 23 with a mean of 11.5, defines the PRB samples. Other basins in this study range from 1 to 7 with a mean of 2.8. Finally, we present a preliminary model for ligand-based behavior of REEs in these samples. This model identifies bicarbonate, bromide, and chloride as forming significant complexes with REEs contributing to REE solubility. The ligand model explains observed REEs in the sampled Cretaceous and Paleocene clastic reservoirs. However, the presence of more REEs than predicted in six samples suggests that there is an additional, unconsidered ligand contributing to REE dissolution. Further work will identify this ligand, which appears to be confined to calcium-cemented and dolostone systems.« less

Vacuum distillation: vapor filtered-catalytic oxidation water reclamation system utilizing radioisotopes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Honegger, R. J.; Remus, G. A.; Kurg, E. K.

1971-01-01

The development of a functional model water reclamation system is discussed. The system produces potable water by distillation from the urine and respiration-perspiration condensate at the normal rate generated by four men. Basic processes employed are vacuum distillation, vapor filtration, vapor phase catalytic oxidation, and condensation. The system is designed to use four 75-watt isotope heaters for distillation thermal input, and one 45-watt isotope for the catalytic oxidation unit. The system is capable of collecting and storing urine, and provides for stabilizing the urine by chemical pretreatment. The functional model system is designed for operation in a weightless condition with liquid-vapor phase separators for the evaporator still, and centrifugal separators for urine collection and vapor condensation. The system provides for storing and dispensing reclaimed potable water. The system operates in a batch mode for 40 days, with urine residues accumulating in the evaporator. The evaporator still and residue are removed to storage and replaced with a fresh still for the next 40-day period.

Remote Sensing and GIS for Landuse/Landcover Classification and Water Quality in the Northern Ireland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amer, R.; Ofterdinger, U.; Ruffell, A.; Donald, A.

2012-04-01

This study presents landuse/landcover (LULC) classifications of Northern Ireland in order to quantify land-use types driving chemical loading in the surface water bodies. The major LULC classes are agricultural land, bare land (mountainous areas), forest, urban areas, and water bodies. Three ENVISAT ASAR multi-look precision images acquired in 2011 and two Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) acquired in 2003 were used for classification. The ASAR digital numbers were converted to backscattering coefficient (sigma nought) and enhanced using adaptive Gamma filter and Gaussian stretch. Supervised classifications of Maximum Likelihood, Mahalanobils Distance, Minimum Distance, Spectral Angel Mapper, Parallelepiped, and Winner Tercat were applied on ETM+ and ASAR images. A confusion matrix was used to evaluate the classification accuracy; the best results of ETM+ and ASAR were given by the winner classification (82.9 and 73.6 %), and maximum likelihood (81.7 and 72.5 %), respectively. Change detection was applied to identify the areas of significant changes in landuse/landcover over the last eight years. The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) digital elevation model was processed to extract the drainage systems and watersheds. Water quality data of the first and second order streams were extracted from 2005 survey by Geological Survey of Northern Ireland. GIS spatially distributed modelling generated maps showing the distribution of phosphorus (P), nitrate (NO3), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and some of the trace elements including fluoride (F), calcium (Ca), aluminium (Al), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), and arsenic (As) across the watersheds of the Northern Ireland were generated. The distribution of these elements was evaluated against the LULC classes and bed rock geology. Concentration of these elements was classified into normal (safe level), moderate, high, and very high based on the World Health Organization (WHO, 2011) water quality standards. The results show that P concentration is generally high across all the watersheds. NO3 is within normal range in all watersheds. DOC is within normal range in urban areas, moderate to high in agricultural lands, and high in the forest areas and bare lands. F and Fe are within safe level in all watersheds. Al, Cu, and As are high in all watersheds around the bare land LULC class which are underlain by psammite and semipelite metamorphic rocks. Ca is within normal range in most of watersheds but it is high in the south western part of the study area because of the presence of limestone bedrock. Pb and Zn are within normal range in the urban and most of the agricultural land, and high in the mountainous areas underlain by psammite and semipelite metamorphic bed rock.

[Embryonic development of whitefishes (Coregonidae) as representatives of the "pagophilous" ecological group].

PubMed

Cherniaev, Zh A

2013-01-01

Studies of reproduction and embryonic development in six species of coregonid fishes have revealed the possibility of their fertilized eggs to develop normally while being embedded in the ice of a spawning water body (optionally). Such ability is facilitated by extremely low respiratory activity of embryos at early stages of embryogenesis (from the stage of fission to the stage of organogenesis). Low level of oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide emission is an adaptation to low diffusion gas permeability of the ice. The main factor controlling the rate of coregonids embryonic development is not temperature, but intensity and periodicity of insolation. Without the sunlight--an obligatory external factor--normal development is just not possible. Under experimental conditions, when developing in the water at near zero temperature or in the ice, normal morphogenesis of Arctic cisco and Sevan whitefish embryos was observed at the illumination of 50-300 lux. Hemoproteid cytochrome beta560, the pigment that has been discovered in water-soluble part of coregonids oocyte yolk and is treated as a biochemical marker for eggs of the family Coregonidae, in all likelihood performs protective (antioxidant) functions preventing spontaneous oxidation of embryo's fatty inclusions. Under the oxygen shortage inside the ice envelope, cytochrome beta560 probably sets conditions for oxidation processes of embryo's tissue respiration. Spherome, being kept till the time of hatching, acts as a temporary hydrostatic organ and ensures larvae buoyancy at the stage of postembryonic metamorphosis. It also serves as an energy store after downstream migration of larvae from the spawning areas till their shift to exogenous feeding on zooplankton. Conforming to ecological traits of reproduction and development, and also to revealed morphogenetic, physiological, and biochemical features, it is proposed to ascribe all of the currently known 26 species of whitefishes to "pagophilous" ecological group.

Selenium Supplementation Affects Physiological and Biochemical Processes to Improve Fodder Yield and Quality of Maize (Zea mays L.) under Water Deficit Conditions

PubMed Central

Nawaz, Fahim; Naeem, Muhammad; Ashraf, Muhammad Y.; Tahir, Muhammad N.; Zulfiqar, Bilal; Salahuddin, Muhammad; Shabbir, Rana N.; Aslam, Muhammad

2016-01-01

Climate change is one of the most complex challenges that pose serious threats to livelihoods of poor people who rely heavily on agriculture and livestock particularly in climate-sensitive developing countries of the world. The negative effects of water scarcity, due to climate change, are not limited to productivity food crops but have far-reaching consequences on livestock feed production systems. Selenium (Se) is considered essential for animal health and has also been reported to counteract various abiotic stresses in plants, however, understanding of Se regulated mechanisms for improving nutritional status of fodder crops remains elusive. We report the effects of exogenous selenium supply on physiological and biochemical processes that may influence green fodder yield and quality of maize (Zea mays L.) under drought stress conditions. The plants were grown in lysimeter tanks under natural conditions and were subjected to normal (100% field capacity) and water stress (60% field capacity) conditions. Foliar spray of Se was carried out before the start of tasseling stage (65 days after sowing) and was repeated after 1 week, whereas, water spray was used as a control. Drought stress markedly reduced the water status, pigments and green fodder yield and resulted in low forage quality in water stressed maize plants. Nevertheless, exogenous Se application at 40 mg L-1 resulted in less negative leaf water potential (41%) and enhanced relative water contents (30%), total chlorophyll (53%), carotenoid contents (60%), accumulation of total free amino acids (40%) and activities of superoxide dismutase (53%), catalase (30%), peroxidase (27%), and ascorbate peroxidase (27%) with respect to control under water deficit conditions. Consequently, Se regulated processes improved fodder yield (15%) and increased crude protein (47%), fiber (10%), nitrogen free extract (10%) and Se content (36%) but did not affect crude ash content in water stressed maize plants. We propose that Se foliar spray (40 mg L-1) is a handy, feasible and cost-effective approach to improve maize fodder yield and quality in arid and semi-arid regions of the world facing acute shortage of water. PMID:27729917

POLICY ANALYSIS OF PRODUCED WATER ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH IN-SITU THERMAL TECHNOLOGIES

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Robert Keiter; John Ruple; Heather Tanana

2011-02-01

Commercial scale oil shale and oil sands development will require water, the amount of which will depend on the technologies adopted and the scale of development that occurs. Water in oil shale and oil sands country is already in scarce supply, and because of the arid nature of the region and limitations on water consumption imposed by interstate compacts and the Endangered Species Act, the State of Utah normally does not issue new water rights in oil shale or oil sands rich areas. Prospective oil shale and oil sands developers that do not already hold adequate water rights can acquiremore » water rights from willing sellers, but large and secure water supplies may be difficult and expensive to acquire, driving oil shale and oil sands developers to seek alternative sources of supply. Produced water is one such potential source of supply. When oil and gas are developed, operators often encounter ground water that must be removed and disposed of to facilitate hydrocarbon extraction. Water produced through mineral extraction was traditionally poor in quality and treated as a waste product rather than a valuable resource. However, the increase in produced water volume and the often-higher quality water associated with coalbed methane development have drawn attention to potential uses of produced water and its treatment under appropriations law. This growing interest in produced water has led to litigation and statutory changes that must be understood and evaluated if produced water is to be harnessed in the oil shale and oil sands development process. Conversely, if water is generated as a byproduct of oil shale and oil sands production, consideration must be given to how this water will be disposed of or utilized in the shale oil production process. This report explores the role produced water could play in commercial oil shale and oil sands production, explaining the evolving regulatory framework associated with produced water, Utah water law and produced water regulation, and the obstacles that must be overcome in order for produced water to support the nascent oil shale and oil sands industries.« less

Photosynthetic microbial mats in the 3,416-Myr-old ocean.

PubMed

Tice, Michael M; Lowe, Donald R

2004-09-30

Recent re-evaluations of the geological record of the earliest life on Earth have led to the suggestion that some of the oldest putative microfossils and carbonaceous matter were formed through abiotic hydrothermal processes. Similarly, many early Archaean (more than 3,400-Myr-old) cherts have been reinterpreted as hydrothermal deposits rather than products of normal marine sedimentary processes. Here we present the results of a field, petrographic and geochemical study testing these hypotheses for the 3,416-Myr-old Buck Reef Chert, South Africa. From sedimentary structures and distributions of sand and mud, we infer that deposition occurred in normal open shallow to deep marine environments. The siderite enrichment that we observe in deep-water sediments is consistent with a stratified early ocean. We show that most carbonaceous matter was formed by photosynthetic mats within the euphotic zone and distributed as detrital matter by waves and currents to surrounding environments. We find no evidence that hydrothermal processes had any direct role in the deposition of either the carbonaceous matter or the enclosing sediments. Instead, we conclude that photosynthetic organisms had evolved and were living in a stratified ocean supersaturated in dissolved silica 3,416 Myr ago.

Photosynthetic microbial mats in the 3,416-Myr-old ocean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tice, Michael M.; Lowe, Donald R.

2004-09-01

Recent re-evaluations of the geological record of the earliest life on Earth have led to the suggestion that some of the oldest putative microfossils and carbonaceous matter were formed through abiotic hydrothermal processes. Similarly, many early Archaean (more than 3,400-Myr-old) cherts have been reinterpreted as hydrothermal deposits rather than products of normal marine sedimentary processes. Here we present the results of a field, petrographic and geochemical study testing these hypotheses for the 3,416-Myr-old Buck Reef Chert, South Africa. From sedimentary structures and distributions of sand and mud, we infer that deposition occurred in normal open shallow to deep marine environments. The siderite enrichment that we observe in deep-water sediments is consistent with a stratified early ocean. We show that most carbonaceous matter was formed by photosynthetic mats within the euphotic zone and distributed as detrital matter by waves and currents to surrounding environments. We find no evidence that hydrothermal processes had any direct role in the deposition of either the carbonaceous matter or the enclosing sediments. Instead, we conclude that photosynthetic organisms had evolved and were living in a stratified ocean supersaturated in dissolved silica 3,416Myr ago.

Active Power and Flux Control of a Self-Excited Induction Generator for a Variable-Speed Wind Turbine Generation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Na, Woonki; Muljadi, Eduard; Leighty, Bill

A Self-Excited Induction Generation (SEIG) for a variable speed wind turbine generation(VS-WG) is normally considered to be a good candidate for implementation in stand-alone applications such as battery charging, hydrogenation, water pumping, water purification, water desalination, and etc. In this study, we have examined a study on active power and flux control strategies for a SEIG for a variable speed wind turbine generation. The control analysis for the proposed system is carried out by using PSCAD software. In the process, we can optimize the control design of the system, thereby enhancing and expediting the control design procedure for this application.more » With this study, this control design for a SEIG for VS-WG can become the industry standard for analysis and development in terms of SEIG.« less

Aspects of decision support in water management--example Berlin and Potsdam (Germany) I--spatially differentiated evaluation.

PubMed

Simon, Ute; Brüggemann, Rainer; Pudenz, Stefan

2004-04-01

Decisions about sustainable development demand spatially differentiated evaluations. As an example, we demonstrate the evaluation of water management strategies in the cities of Berlin and Potsdam (Germany) with respect to their ecological effects in 14 sections of the surface water system. Two decision support systems were compared, namely PROMETHEE, which is designed to obtain a clear decision (linear ranking), and Hasse Diagram Technique (HDT), normally providing more than one favourable solution (partial order). By PROMETHEE, the spatial differentiation had unwanted effects on the result, negating the stakeholders determined weighting of indicators. Therefore, the stakeholder can barely benefit from the convenience of obtaining a clear decision (linear ranking). In contrast, the result obtained by HDT was not influenced by spatial differentiation. Furthermore, HDT provided helpful tools to analyse the evaluation result, such as the concept of antagonistic indicators to discover conflicts in the evaluation process.

Effects of an Extreme Flood on Trace Elements in River Water-From Urban Stream to Major River Basin.

PubMed

Barber, Larry B; Paschke, Suzanne S; Battaglin, William A; Douville, Chris; Fitzgerald, Kevin C; Keefe, Steffanie H; Roth, David A; Vajda, Alan M

2017-09-19

Major floods adversely affect water quality through surface runoff, groundwater discharge, and damage to municipal water infrastructure. Despite their importance, it can be difficult to assess the effects of floods on streamwater chemistry because of challenges collecting samples and the absence of baseline data. This study documents water quality during the September 2013 extreme flood in the South Platte River, Colorado, USA. Weekly time-series water samples were collected from 3 urban source waters (municipal tap water, streamwater, and wastewater treatment facility effluent) under normal-flow and flood conditions. In addition, water samples were collected during the flood at 5 locations along the South Platte River and from 7 tributaries along the Colorado Front Range. Samples were analyzed for 54 major and trace elements. Specific chemical tracers, representing different natural and anthropogenic sources and geochemical behaviors, were used to compare streamwater composition before and during the flood. The results differentiate hydrological processes that affected water quality: (1) in the upper watershed, runoff diluted most dissolved constituents, (2) in the urban corridor and lower watershed, runoff mobilized soluble constituents accumulated on the landscape and contributed to stream loading, and (3) flood-induced groundwater discharge mobilized soluble constituents stored in the vadose zone.

Generalized theory for seaplane impact

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Milwitzky, Benjamin

1952-01-01

The motions, hydrodynamic loads, and pitching moments experienced by v-bottom seaplanes during step-landing impacts are analyzed and the theoretical results are compared with experimental data. In the analysis, the primary flow about the immersed portion of a keeled hull or float is considered to occur in transverse flow planes and the concept of virtual mass is applied to determined the reaction of the water to the motions of the seaplane. The entire immersion process is analyzed from the instant of initial contact until the seaplane rebounds from the water surfaces. The analysis is applicable to the complete range of initial contact conditions between the case of impacts where the resultant velocity is normal to the keel and the limiting condition of planing.

A theoretical description of the polarization dependence of the sum frequency generation spectroscopy of the water/vapor interface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perry, Angela; Neipert, Christine; Kasprzyk, Christina Ridley; Green, Tony; Space, Brian; Moore, Preston B.

2005-10-01

An improved time correlation function (TCF) description of sum frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy was developed and applied to theoretically describing the spectroscopy of the ambient water/vapor interface. A more general TCF expression than was published previously is presented—it is valid over the entire vibrational spectrum for both the real and imaginary parts of the signal. Computationally, earlier time correlation function approaches were limited to short correlation times that made signal processing challenging. Here, this limitation is overcome, and well-averaged spectra are presented for the three independent polarization conditions that are possible for electronically nonresonant SFG. The theoretical spectra compare quite favorably in shape and relative magnitude to extant experimental results in the O H stretching region of water for all polarization geometries. The methodological improvements also allow the calculation of intermolecular SFG spectra. While the intermolecular spectrum of bulk water shows relatively little structure, the interfacial spectra (for polarizations that are sensitive to dipole derivatives normal to the interface—SSP and PPP) show a well-defined intermolecular mode at 875cm-1 that is comparable in intensity to the rest of the intermolecular structure, and has an intensity that is approximately one-sixth of the magnitude of the intense free OH stretching peak. Using instantaneous normal mode methods, the resonance is shown to be due to a wagging mode localized on a single water molecule, almost parallel to the interface, with two hydrogens displaced normal to the interface, and the oxygen anchored in the interface. We have also uncovered the origin of another intermolecular mode at 95cm-1 for the SSP and PPP spectra, and at 220cm-1 for the SPS spectra. These resonances are due to hindered translations perpendicular to the interface for the SSP and PPP spectra, and translations parallel to the interface for the SPS spectra. Further, by examining the real and imaginary parts of the SFG signal, several resonances are shown to be due to a single spectroscopic species while the "donor" OH region is shown to consist of three distinct species—consistent with an earlier experimental analysis.

An Innovative Accident Tolerant LWR Fuel Rod Design Based on Uranium-Molybdenum Metal Alloy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Montgomery, Robert O.; Bennett, Wendy D.; Henager, Charles H.

2016-09-12

The US Department of Energy is developing a uranium-molybdenum metal alloy Enhanced Accident Tolerant Fuel concept for Light Water Reactor applications that provides improved fuel performance during normal operation, anticipated operational occurrences, and postulated accidents. The high initial uranium atom density, the high thermal conductivity, and a low heat capacity permit a U-Mo-based fuel assembly to meet important design and safety requirements. These attributes also result in a fuel design that can satisfy increased fuel utilization demands and allow for improved accident tolerance in LWRs. This paper summarizes the results obtained from the on-going activities to; 1) evaluate the impactmore » of the U-10wt%Mo thermal properties on operational and accident safety margins, 2) produce a triple extrusion of stainless steel cladding/niobium liner/U-10Mo fuel rod specimen and 3) test the high temperature water corrosion of rodlet samples containing a drilled hole in the cladding. Characterization of the cladding and liner thickness uniformity, microstructural features of the U-Mo gamma phase, and the metallurgical bond between the component materials will be presented. The results from corrosion testing will be discussed which yield insights into the resistance to attack by water ingress during high temperature water exposure for the triple extruded samples containing a drilled hole. These preliminary evaluations find that the U-10Mo fuel design concept has many beneficial features that can meet or improve conventional LWR fuel performance requirements under normal operation, AOOs, and postulated accidents. The viability of a deployable U-Mo fuel design hinges on demonstrating that fabrication processes and alloying additions can produce acceptable irradiation stability during normal operation and accident conditions and controlled metal-water reaction rates in the unlikely event of a cladding perforation. In the area of enhanced accident tolerance, a key objective is to establish that the lower stored energy of the U-Mo fuel design can provide the emergency core cooling systems the opportunity to maintain the reactor core in a coolable geometry following an accident.« less

An Integrated Model for a Water Leasing System on the Middle Rio Grand, New Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brookshire, D. S.; Coursey, D. L.; Tidwell, V. C.; Broadbent, C. D.

2006-12-01

Since 1950 demand for water has more than doubled in the United States. Virtually all water supplies are allocated, leading to the question, where will water come from? The concept of water leasing has gained considerable attention as a volunteer, market-mediated system for transferring water between competing uses. For a water leasing system to be truly effective, detailed knowledge of the available water supply and the factors that affect water demand is critical. Improving understating of the factors that determine residential, industrial, and agricultural demand for water using experimental economics and then integrating with a hydrological model will allow for better understanding of market-based mechanisms potential to allocate water resources effectively. Currently we have three case studies underway, a generalized water leasing system on the Middle Rio Grande, a sophisticated farmer decision process and a study in the Mimbres basin in southern New Mexico. The developed market model utilizes an open market trading system known as a double auction, where buyers and sellers declare their bids and offers to the market. The developed hydrological model utilizes the Upper Rio Grande Water Operations Model (URGWOM) system structure and data for the generalized water leasing system and the farmer decision process, with a different hydrological model being developed for the Mimbres basin. A key coupling between the hydrologic and market models involves tracking the difference in river losses for trades that move water up or down the river. In the experiments the hydrological model runs before the market-trading period to establish water rights, the trading period occurs and the hydrological model then runs a second time to report flows to each reach of the river. Participants in the experiment represent the interests of specific users, including farmers, Native American interests, urban interests and environmental interests. Participants in the experiments are motivated by a utility function specific to each water users needs. Currently twelve experiments have been run in four different climatic scenarios (decreasing, increasing, normal and dry water scenarios) for the generalized water leasing system, and the sophisticated farmer decision process. The results have shown the market to be robust, with multiple trades occurring in each trading year. The trading process is efficient with positive gains being realized from participation in the marketplace. This material is based upon work supported in part by SAHRA (Sustainability of semi-Arid Hydrology and Riparian Areas) under the STC Program of the National Science Foundation, Agreement No. EAR-9876800 and through Sandia National Laboratory Research and Development Program. Special thanks go to Kyle Carpenter, Ramon Vasquez, Ann Demint, for programming of various software components and to Jake Grandy and Frannie Miller for help in running the experiments.

Formulating physical processes in a full-range model of soil water retention

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nimmo, J. R.

2016-12-01

Currently-used water retention models vary in how much their formulas correspond to controlling physical processes such as capillarity, adsorption, and air-trapping. In model development, realistic correspondence to physical processes has often been a lower priority than ease of use and compatibility with other models. For example, the wettest range is normally represented simplistically, as by a straight line of zero slope, or by default using the same formulation as for the middle range. The new model presented here recognizes dominant processes within three segments of the range from oven-dryness to saturation. The adsorption-dominated dry range is represented by a logarithmic relation used in earlier models. The middle range of capillary advance/retreat and Haines jumps is represented by a new adaptation of the lognormal distribution function. In the wet range, the expansion of trapped air in response to matric pressure change is important because (1) it displaces water, and (2) it triggers additional volume-adjusting processes such as the collapse of liquid bridges between air pockets. For this range, the model incorporates the Boyles' law inverse-proportionality of trapped air volume and pressure, amplified by an empirical factor to account for the additional processes. With their basis in processes, the model's parameters have a strong physical interpretation, and in many cases can be assigned values from knowledge of fundamental relationships or individual measurements. An advantage of the physically-plausible treatment of the wet range is that it avoids such problems as the blowing-up of derivatives on approach to saturation, enhancing the model's utility for important but challenging wet-range phenomena such as domain exchange between preferential flow paths and soil matrix. Further development might be able to accommodate hysteresis by a systematic adjustment of the relation between the wet and middle ranges.

Environmental assessment model for shallow land disposal of low-level radioactive wastes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Little, C. A.; Fields, D. E.; Emerson, C. J.; Hiromoto, G.

1981-09-01

The PRESTO (Prediction of Radiation Effects from Shallow Trench Operations) computer code developed to evaluate health effects from shallow land burial trenches is described. This generic model assesses radionuclide transport, ensuing exposure, and health impact to a static local population for a 1000 y period following the end of burial operations. Human exposure scenarios considered include normal releases (including leaching and operational spillage), human intrusion, and site farming or reclamation. Pathways and processes of transit from the trench to an individual or population includes ground water transport overland flow, erosion, surface water dilution, resuspension, atmospheric transport, deposition, inhalation, and ingestion of contaminated beef, milk, crops, and water. Both population doses and individual doses are calculated as well as doses to the intruder and farmer. Cumulative health effects in terms of deaths from cancer are calculated for the population over the 1000 y period using a life table approach. Data bases for three shallow land burial sites (Barnwell, South Carolina, Beatty, Nevada, and West Valley, New York) are under development. The interim model, includes coding for environmental transport through air, surface water, and ground water.

Optimizing fish sampling for fish - mercury bioaccumulation factors

USGS Publications Warehouse

Scudder Eikenberry, Barbara C.; Riva-Murray, Karen; Knightes, Christopher D.; Journey, Celeste A.; Chasar, Lia C.; Brigham, Mark E.; Bradley, Paul M.

2015-01-01

Fish Bioaccumulation Factors (BAFs; ratios of mercury (Hg) in fish (Hgfish) and water (Hgwater)) are used to develop Total Maximum Daily Load and water quality criteria for Hg-impaired waters. Both applications require representative Hgfish estimates and, thus, are sensitive to sampling and data-treatment methods. Data collected by fixed protocol from 11 streams in 5 states distributed across the US were used to assess the effects of Hgfish normalization/standardization methods and fish sample numbers on BAF estimates. Fish length, followed by weight, was most correlated to adult top-predator Hgfish. Site-specific BAFs based on length-normalized and standardized Hgfish estimates demonstrated up to 50% less variability than those based on non-normalized Hgfish. Permutation analysis indicated that length-normalized and standardized Hgfish estimates based on at least 8 trout or 5 bass resulted in mean Hgfish coefficients of variation less than 20%. These results are intended to support regulatory mercury monitoring and load-reduction program improvements.

Swallowing in patients with Parkinson's disease: a surface electromyography study.

PubMed

Ws Coriolano, Maria das Graças; R Belo, Luciana; Carneiro, Danielle; G Asano, Amdore; Al Oliveira, Paulo José; da Silva, Douglas Monteiro; G Lins, Otávio

2012-12-01

Our goal was to study deglutition of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients and normal controls (NC) using surface electromyography (sEMG). The study included 15 patients with idiopathic PD and 15 age-matched normal controls. Surface electromyography was collected over the suprahyoid muscle group. Conditions were the following: swallow at once 10 and 20 ml of water and 5 and 10 ml of yogurt of firm consistency, and freely drink 100 ml of water. During swallowing, durations of sEMG were significantly longer in PD patients than in normal controls but no significant differences of amplitudes were found. Eighty percent of the PD patients and 20 % of the NC needed more than one swallow to consume 20 ml of water, while 70 % of the PD patients and none of the NC needed more than one swallow to consume 5 ml of yogurt. PD patients took significantly more time and needed significantly more swallows to drink 100 ml of water than normal controls. We conclude that sEMG might be a simple and useful tool to study and monitor deglutition in PD patients.

Local vibrational modes of the water dimer - Comparison of theory and experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalescky, R.; Zou, W.; Kraka, E.; Cremer, D.

2012-12-01

Local and normal vibrational modes of the water dimer are calculated at the CCSD(T)/CBS level of theory. The local H-bond stretching frequency is 528 cm-1 compared to a normal mode stretching frequency of just 143 cm-1. The adiabatic connection scheme between local and normal vibrational modes reveals that the lowering is due to mass coupling, a change in the anharmonicity, and coupling with the local HOH bending modes. The local mode stretching force constant is related to the strength of the H-bond whereas the normal mode stretching force constant and frequency lead to an erroneous underestimation of the H-bond strength.

Satellite Image-based Estimates of Snow Water Equivalence in Restored Ponderosa Pine Forests in Northern Arizona

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sankey, T.; Springer, A. E.; O'Donnell, F. C.; Donald, J.; McVay, J.; Masek Lopez, S.

2014-12-01

The U.S. Forest Service plans to conduct forest restoration treatments through the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI) on hundreds of thousands of acres of ponderosa pine forest in northern Arizona over the next 20 years with the goals of reducing wildfire hazard and improving forest health. The 4FRI's key objective is to thin and burn the forests to create within-stand openings that "promote snowpack accumulation and retention which benefit groundwater recharge and watershed processes at the fine (1 to 10 acres) scale". However, little is known about how these openings created by restoration treatments affect snow water equivalence (SWE) and soil moisture, which are key parts of the water balance that greatly influence water availability for healthy trees and for downstream water users in the Sonoran Desert. We have examined forest canopy cover by calculating a Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), a key indicator of green vegetation cover, using Landsat satellite data. We have then compared NDVI between treatments at our study sites in northern Arizona and have found statistically significant differences in tree canopy cover between treatments. The control units have significantly greater forest canopy cover than the treated units. The thinned units also have significantly greater tree canopy cover than the thin-and-burn units. Winter season Landsat images have also been analyzed to calculate Normalized Difference Snow Index (NDSI), a key indicator of snow water equivalence and snow accumulation at the treated and untreated forests. The NDSI values from these dates are examined to determine if snow accumulation and snow water equivalence vary between treatments at our study sites. NDSI is significantly greater at the treated units than the control units. In particular, the thinned forest units have significantly greater snow cover than the control units. Our results indicate that forest restoration treatments result in increased snow pack accumulation and this increase can be efficiently estimated at a landscape scale using satellite data.

Contrasting seasonality in optical-biogeochemical properties of the Baltic Sea.

PubMed

Simis, Stefan G H; Ylöstalo, Pasi; Kallio, Kari Y; Spilling, Kristian; Kutser, Tiit

2017-01-01

Optical-biogeochemical relationships of particulate and dissolved organic matter are presented in support of remote sensing of the Baltic Sea pelagic. This system exhibits strong seasonality in phytoplankton community composition and wide gradients of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM), properties which are poorly handled by existing remote sensing algorithms. Absorption and scattering properties of particulate matter reflected the seasonality in biological (phytoplankton succession) and physical (thermal stratification) processes. Inherent optical properties showed much wider variability when normalized to the chlorophyll-a concentration compared to normalization to either total suspended matter dry weight or particulate organic carbon. The particle population had the largest optical variability in summer and was dominated by organic matter in both seasons. The geographic variability of CDOM and relationships with dissolved organic carbon (DOC) are also presented. CDOM dominated light absorption at blue wavelengths, contributing 81% (median) of the absorption by all water constituents at 400 nm and 63% at 442 nm. Consequentially, 90% of water-leaving radiance at 412 nm originated from a layer (z90) no deeper than approximately 1.0 m. With water increasingly attenuating light at longer wavelengths, a green peak in light penetration and reflectance is always present in these waters, with z90 up to 3.0-3.5 m depth, whereas z90 only exceeds 5 m at biomass < 5 mg Chla m-3. High absorption combined with a weakly scattering particle population (despite median phytoplankton biomass of 14.1 and 4.3 mg Chla m-3 in spring and summer samples, respectively), characterize this sea as a dark water body for which dedicated or exceptionally robust remote sensing techniques are required. Seasonal and regional optical-biogeochemical models, data distributions, and an extensive set of simulated remote-sensing reflectance spectra for testing of remote sensing algorithms are provided as supplementary data.

Retempering of Concrete made by using Manufactured Sand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pethkar, A. R.; Deshmukh, G.

2014-06-01

Retempering is defined as, " Addition of water and remixing of concrete or mortar which has lost enough workability to become unplaceable". Retempering inevitably results in some loss of strength compared with the original concrete [1]. Adding water to a plastic mix to increase slump is an extremely common practice, even though it is not recommended because it increases the porosity of concrete. Concrete often arrives on site more than half an hour after initial mixing. Placement operations can take anywhere from 10 to 60 min, depending on the field conditions and the size of the load. When the slump decreases to an unacceptable level during the operations, water is added to the mix [1]. In this work, an attempt is made to study the strength characteristics of retempered concrete made by using manufactured sand. Usually the retempering process is there with normal and ready mixed concrete; hence an attempt is made to check the compressive and flexural strength of normal retempered concrete with an addition of retarder 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6 % at retempering time from 15 to 90 min. There is scarcity of natural sand due to various factors, which is replaced by the manufactured sand. The concept of manufactured sand is nothing but breaking stone into smaller and smaller particles in such way that the gradation of particle will match with zone-II of I.S.

Metabolic rates are significantly lower in abyssal Holothuroidea than in shallow-water Holothuroidea

PubMed Central

van Oevelen, Dick

2018-01-01

Recent analyses of metabolic rates in fishes, echinoderms, crustaceans and cephalopods have concluded that bathymetric declines in temperature- and mass-normalized metabolic rate do not result from resource-limitation (e.g. oxygen or food/chemical energy), decreasing temperature or increasing hydrostatic pressure. Instead, based on contrasting bathymetric patterns reported in the metabolic rates of visual and non-visual taxa, declining metabolic rate with depth is proposed to result from relaxation of selection for high locomotory capacity in visual predators as light diminishes. Here, we present metabolic rates of Holothuroidea, a non-visual benthic and benthopelagic echinoderm class, determined in situ at abyssal depths (greater than 4000 m depth). Mean temperature- and mass-normalized metabolic rate did not differ significantly between shallow-water (less than 200 m depth) and bathyal (200–4000 m depth) holothurians, but was significantly lower in abyssal (greater than 4000 m depth) holothurians than in shallow-water holothurians. These results support the dominance of the visual interactions hypothesis at bathyal depths, but indicate that ecological or evolutionary pressures other than biotic visual interactions contribute to bathymetric variation in holothurian metabolic rates. Multiple nonlinear regression assuming power or exponential models indicates that in situ hydrostatic pressure and/or food/chemical energy availability are responsible for variation in holothurian metabolic rates. Consequently, these results have implications for modelling deep-sea energetics and processes. PMID:29892403

Effect of multipath laser shock processing on microhardness, surface roughness, and wear resistance of 2024-T3 Al alloy.

PubMed

Kadhim, Abdulhadi; Salim, Evan T; Fayadh, Saeed M; Al-Amiery, Ahmed A; Kadhum, Abdul Amir H; Mohamad, Abu Bakar

2014-01-01

Laser shock processing (LSP) is an innovative surface treatment technique with high peak power, short pulse, and cold hardening for strengthening metal materials. LSP is based on the application of a high intensity pulsed laser beam (I > 1 GW/cm(2); t < 50 ns) at the interface between the metallic target and the surrounding medium (a transparent confining material, normally water) forcing a sudden vaporization of the metallic surface into a high temperature and density plasma that immediately develops inducing a shock wave propagating into the material. The shock wave induces plastic deformation and a residual stress distribution in the target material. In this paper we study the increase of microhardness and surface roughness with the increase of laser pulse energy in 2024-T3 Al alloy. The influence of the thickness of the confining layer (water) on microhardness and surface roughness is also studied. In addition, the effect of LSP treatment with best conditions on wear behaviors of the alloy was investigated.

Adsorption of acid-extractable organics from oil sands process-affected water onto biomass-based biochar: Metal content matters.

PubMed

Bhuiyan, Tazul I; Tak, Jin K; Sessarego, Sebastian; Harfield, Don; Hill, Josephine M

2017-02-01

The impact of biochar properties on acid-extractable organics (AEO) adsorption from oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) was studied. Biochar from wheat straw with the highest ash content (14%) had the highest adsorption capacity (0.59 mg/g) followed by biochar from pulp mill sludge, switchgrass, mountain pine, hemp shives, and aspen wood. The adsorption capacity had no obvious trend with surface area, total pore volume, bulk polarity and aromaticity. The large impact of metal content was consistent with the carboxylates (i.e., naphthenate species) in the OSPW binding to the metals (mainly Al and Fe) on the carbon substrate. Although the capacity of biochar is still approximately two orders of magnitude lower than that of a commercial activated carbon, confirming the property (i.e., metal content) that most influenced AEO adsorption, may allow biochar to become competitive with activated carbon after normalizing for cost, especially if this cost includes environmental impacts. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characteristics of cold-induced dark, firm, dry broiler chicken breast meat.

PubMed

Dadgar, S; Lee, E S; Crowe, T G; Classen, H L; Shand, P J

2012-01-01

1. A study was designed to characterise dark, firm, dry (DFD) breast meat resulting from cold exposure of broilers and compare its properties with normal breast meat from cold-stressed and control birds. 2. A total of 140 broilers were selected from 5- and 6-week-old birds exposed to cold temperatures ranging from -18 to -4°C, or a control temperature of +20°C for 3 h in an environmental chamber. Half of these birds were slaughtered immediately following the cold exposure and the other half were given 2 h of lairage. 3. Breast meat samples were categorised based on ultimate pH (pH(u)) and colour L* (lightness) values into normal (5·7 ≤ pH(u)≤ 6·1; 46 ≤ L* ≤ 53) breast meat from control (control-normal) or cold-stressed (cold-normal) birds, and DFD (pH(u) > 6·1; L* < 46) breast meat, which only occurred in cold-stressed birds (cold-DFD). 4. Residual glycogen was not different between cold-DFD and control-normal breast meat. Lactate concentration was lower in cold-DFD compared with control-normal breast meat. Lactate concentration almost tripled for all the samples by 30 h post-mortem, which resulted in a drop in pH of normal meat, but did not have any effect on pH of DFD breast meat. Glycolytic potential at both 5 min and 30 h post-mortem was lower in DFD breast meat compared with the normal breast meat from both cold-stressed and control birds. 5. Cold-DFD breast meat was significantly darker, with higher pH(u), lower cook loss, higher water-binding capacity and processing cook yield than cold-normal and control-normal breast meat, which were not different from each other.

American power conference: Proceedings

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1994-01-01

The first volume of this conference contains papers on the following topics: (1) Controls, monitoring, and expert systems (Harnessing microprocessor revolution for a more competitive power industry; Plant control--Upgrades; Neural network applications); (2) Diversification and globalization (Electric utility diversification/globalization--Panel; Private power in developing countries); (3) Environment and clean air (Clean Air compliance costs; Site selection for power stations and related facilities; Electric utility trace substance emissions; Solid waste disposal and commercial use; Precipitators/fabric filters; and Effect of flow modifications on fisheries and water quality); (4) Generation--Fuel options equipment (Alternate fuels; Advances in fuel cells for electric power applications; Secondary containmentmore » and seismic requirements for petrochemical facilities; Clean coal technology demonstration; Advanced energy systems; Hydropower); (5) Nuclear operations options (Radioactive waste management and disposal; Off normal conditions; Advanced light water reactors--15 years after TMI; Structural dynamic analyses for nuclear power plants); (6) Retrofit, betterment, repowering maintenance (Project management; Improving competitiveness through process re-engineering; Central stations; Water and wastewater treatment); (7) System planning, operation demand maintenance (Transmission system access; Stability; Systems planning); (8) Transmission and distribution (Transformers; Relaying for system protection; Managing EMF effects); and (9) Education (Power engineering). 155 papers have been processed separately for inclusion on the data base.« less

Analyzing Conductivity Profiles in Stream Waters Influenced by Mine Water Discharges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Räsänen, Teemu; Hämäläinen, Emmy; Hämäläinen, Matias; Turunen, Kaisa; Pajula, Pasi; Backnäs, Soile

2015-04-01

Conductivity is useful as a general measure of stream water quality. Each stream inclines to have a quite constant range of conductivity that can be used as a baseline for comparing and detecting influence of contaminant sources. Conductivity in natural streams and rivers is affected primarily by the geology of the watershed. Thus discharges from ditches and streams affect not only the flow rate in the river but also the water quality and conductivity. In natural stream waters, the depth and the shape of the river channel change constantly, which changes also the water flow. Thus, an accurate measuring of conductivity or other water quality indicators is difficult. Reliable measurements are needed in order to have holistic view about amount of contaminants, sources of discharges and seasonal variation in mixing and dilution processes controlling the conductivity changes in river system. We tested the utility of CastAway-CTD measuring device (SonTek Inc) to indicate the influence of mine waters as well as mixing and dilution occurring in the recipient river affected by treated dewatering and process effluent water discharges from a Finnish gold mine. The CastAway-CTD measuring device is a small, rugged and designed for profiling of depths of up to 100m. Device measures temperature, salinity, conductivity and sound of speed using 5 Hz response time. It has also built-in GPS which produces location information. CTD casts are normally used to produce vertical conductivity profile for rather deep waters like seas or lakes. We did seasonal multiple Castaway-CTD measurements during 2013 and 2014 and produced scaled vertical and horizontal profiles of conductivity and water temperature at the river. CastAway-CTD measurement pinpoints how possible contaminants behave and locate in stream waters. The conductivity profiles measured by CastAway-CTD device show the variation in maximum conductivity values vertically in measuring locations and horizontally in measured cross-sections. The data from field measurements was combined with detailed water quality analysis and processed by data analysis with Matlab to produce more holistic information about the behavior, mixing and dilution of possible contaminants at the river. Moreover, the results can be used to improve water sampling procedures for more representative sampling and to plan continuous monitoring site locations and measuring device mounting places.

Gold nanoparticle‐based brachytherapy enhancement in choroidal melanoma using a full Monte Carlo model of the human eye

PubMed Central

Vaez‐zadeh, Mehdi; Masoudi, S. Farhad; Rahmani, Faezeh; Knaup, Courtney; Meigooni, Ali S.

2015-01-01

The effects of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) in 125I brachytherapy dose enhancement on choroidal melanoma are examined using the Monte Carlo simulation technique. Usually, Monte Carlo ophthalmic brachytherapy dosimetry is performed in a water phantom. However, here, the compositions of human eye have been considered instead of water. Both human eye and water phantoms have been simulated with MCNP5 code. These simulations were performed for a fully loaded 16 mm COMS eye plaque containing 13 125I seeds. The dose delivered to the tumor and normal tissues have been calculated in both phantoms with and without GNPs. Normally, the radiation therapy of cancer patients is designed to deliver a required dose to the tumor while sparing the surrounding normal tissues. However, as the normal and cancerous cells absorbed dose in an almost identical fashion, the normal tissue absorbed radiation dose during the treatment time. The use of GNPs in combination with radiotherapy in the treatment of tumor decreases the absorbed dose by normal tissues. The results indicate that the dose to the tumor in an eyeball implanted with COMS plaque increases with increasing GNPs concentration inside the target. Therefore, the required irradiation time for the tumors in the eye is decreased by adding the GNPs prior to treatment. As a result, the dose to normal tissues decreases when the irradiation time is reduced. Furthermore, a comparison between the simulated data in an eye phantom made of water and eye phantom made of human eye composition, in the presence of GNPs, shows the significance of utilizing the composition of eye in ophthalmic brachytherapy dosimetry Also, defining the eye composition instead of water leads to more accurate calculations of GNPs radiation effects in ophthalmic brachytherapy dosimetry. PACS number: 87.53.Jw, 87.85.Rs, 87.10.Rt PMID:26699318

Uranium Pyrophoricity Phenomena and Prediction (FAI/00-39)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

PLYS, M.G.

2000-10-10

The purpose of this report is to provide a topical reference on the phenomena and prediction of uranium pyrophoricity for the Hanford Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) Project with specific applications to SNF Project processes and situations. Spent metallic uranium nuclear fuel is currently stored underwater at the K basins in the Hanford 100 area, and planned processing steps include: (1) At the basins, cleaning and placing fuel elements and scrap into stainless steel multi-canister overpacks (MCOs) holding about 6 MT of fuel apiece; (2) At nearby cold vacuum drying (CVD) stations, draining, vacuum drying, and mechanically sealing the MCOs; (3)more » Shipping the MCOs to the Canister Storage Building (CSB) on the 200 Area plateau; and (4) Welding shut and placing the MCOs for interim (40 year) dry storage in closed CSB storage tubes cooled by natural air circulation through the surrounding vault. Damaged fuel elements have exposed and corroded fuel surfaces, which can exothermically react with water vapor and oxygen during normal process steps and in off-normal situations, A key process safety concern is the rate of reaction of damaged fuel and the potential for self-sustaining or runaway reactions, also known as uranium fires or fuel ignition. Uranium metal and one of its corrosion products, uranium hydride, are potentially pyrophoric materials. Dangers of pyrophoricity of uranium and its hydride have long been known in the U.S. Department of Energy (Atomic Energy Commission/DOE) complex and will be discussed more below; it is sufficient here to note that there are numerous documented instances of uranium fires during normal operations. The motivation for this work is to place the safety of the present process in proper perspective given past operational experience. Steps in development of such a perspective are: (1) Description of underlying physical causes for runaway reactions, (2) Modeling physical processes to explain runaway reactions, (3) Validation of the method against experimental data, (4) Application of the method to plausibly explain operational experience, and (5) Application of the method to present process steps to demonstrate process safety and margin. Essentially, the logic above is used to demonstrate that runaway reactions cannot occur during normal SNF Project process steps, and to illustrate the depth of the technical basis for such a conclusion. Some off-normal conditions are identified here that could potentially lead to runaway reactions. However, this document is not intended to provide an exhaustive analysis of such cases. In summary, this report provides a ''toolkit'' of models and approaches for analysis of pyrophoricity safety issues at Hanford, and the technical basis for the recommended approaches. A summary of recommended methods appears in Section 9.0.« less

Aerial photographic water color variations from pollution in the James River

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bressette, W. E.

1978-01-01

A photographic flight was made over the James River on May 17, 1977. The data show that, in general, James River water has very high sunlight reflectance. In the Bailey Bay area this reflectance is drastically reduced. Also shown is a technique for normalizing off-axis variations in radiance film exposure from camera falloff and uneven sunlight conditions to the nadir value. After data normalization, a spectral analysis is performed that identifies Bailey Creek water in James River water. The spectral results when compared with laboratory spectrometer data indicate that reflectance from James River water is dominated by suspended matter, while the substance most likely responsible for reduced reflectance in Bailey Creek water is dissolved organic carbon.

Applications of Remote Sensing and In-Situ Measurements for the Purpose of Understanding Lateral Carbon Fluxes between Tidal Marshes and Connected Estuarine Waters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Van, U. A.; Lamb, B. T.

2016-12-01

Wetlands are biologically diverse ecosystems that provide a number of ecosystems services, including flood protection, erosion prevention, and carbon sequestration. Wetlands often act as carbon sinks because the abundant plant life in wetlands does not decompose easily in the saturated conditions, leading to carbon accumulating in wetland soils. Due to the motion of tides, however, this stored carbon can be transported to the adjacent estuary. Our study site is in the northwestern shore of the Chesapeake Bay, focusing on the Kirkpatrick Marsh and the adjacent Rhode River estuary. The goal of this project is to use remotely sensed data and in situ measurements to understand carbon fluxes between the Kirkpatrick marsh and the Rhode river estuary. Satellite earth images are obtained from the Optical Land Imager (OLI) sensor aboard the Landsat 8 satellite through the USGS Earth Explorer online interface. Landsat imagery is then processed using various spatial analysis tools to calculate for vegetation indices such as Normalized Density Vegetation Index (NDVI), Transformed Vegetation Index (TVI) and Green Normalized Density Vegetation Index (GNDVI). One goal of this project is to compare the vegetation data obtained from the different indices and find out which index can optimize the wide categorization of vegetation over the wetland. We evaluated lesser known vegetation indices (TVI and GNDVI) to compare to NDVI. Preliminary results have shown TVI to be most effective when compared against NDVI and has a correlating factor of 0.987. In addition to using marsh vegetation indices, we are using water quality indices such as the Red/Green index to compare to in-situ water samples in the Rhode River. A YSI EXO2 sensor sits at the marsh-estuary interface and continuously measures water parameters such as turbidity, depth, fDOM and chlorophyll-A. We are attempting to understand if the marsh vegetation indices, water quality indices (remote sensing), and in-situ measurements of water quality are related to one another. Initial comparison between remotely sensed NDVI data and in-situ fDOM data have a correlating factor of 0.93. Understanding the processes affecting carbon cycling within wetlands is pivotal to knowing how to manage them in the future.

Gradual Crossover from Subdiffusion to Normal Diffusion: A Many-Body Effect in Protein Surface Water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, Pan; Liang, Yihao; Xu, Qin; Mamontov, Eugene; Li, Jinglai; Xing, Xiangjun; Hong, Liang

2018-06-01

Dynamics of hydration water is essential for the function of biomacromolecules. Previous studies have demonstrated that water molecules exhibit subdiffusion on the surface of biomacromolecules; yet the microscopic mechanism remains vague. Here, by performing neutron scattering, molecular dynamics simulations, and analytic modeling on hydrated perdeuterated protein powders, we found water molecules jump randomly between trapping sites on protein surfaces, whose waiting times obey a broad distribution, resulting in subdiffusion. Moreover, the subdiffusive exponent gradually increases with observation time towards normal diffusion due to a many-body volume-exclusion effect.

Production of Gas Bubbles in Reduced Gravity Environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oguz, Hasan N.; Takagi, Shu; Misawa, Masaki

1996-01-01

In a wide variety of applications such as waste water treatment, biological reactors, gas-liquid reactors, blood oxygenation, purification of liquids, etc., it is necessary to produce small bubbles in liquids. Since gravity plays an essential role in currently available techniques, the adaptation of these applications to space requires the development of new tools. Under normal gravity, bubbles are typically generated by forcing gas through an orifice in a liquid. When a growing bubble becomes large enough, the buoyancy dominates the surface tension force causing it to detach from the orifice. In space, the process is quite different and the bubble may remain attached to the orifice indefinitely. The most practical approach to simulating gravity seems to be imposing an ambient flow to force bubbles out of the orifice. In this paper, we are interested in the effect of an imposed flow in 0 and 1 g. Specifically, we investigate the process of bubble formation subject to a parallel and a cross flow. In the case of parallel flow, we have a hypodermic needle in a tube from which bubbles can be produced. On the other hand, the cross flow condition is established by forcing bubbles through an orifice on a wall in a shear flow. The first series of experiments have been performed under normal gravity conditions and the working fluid was water. A high quality microgravity facility has been used for the second type and silicone oil is used as the host liquid.

Method for extracting lanthanides and actinides from acid solutions by modification of purex solvent

DOEpatents

Horwitz, E. Philip; Kalina, Dale G.

1986-01-01

A process for the recovery of actinide and lanthanide values from aqueous solutions with an extraction solution containing an organic extractant having the formula: ##STR1## where .phi. is phenyl, R.sup.1 is a straight or branched alkyl or alkoxyalkyl containing from 6 to 12 carbon atoms and R.sup.2 is an alkyl containing from 3 to 6 carbon atoms and phase modifiers in a water-immiscible hydrocarbon diluent. The addition of the extractant to the Purex process extractant, tri-n-butylphosphate in normal paraffin hydrocarbon diluent, will permit the extraction of multivalent lanthanide and actinide values from 0.1 to 12.0 molar acid solutions.

The role of nervus intermedius in side specific nasal responses.

PubMed

Nichani, J R; Malik, V; Woolford, T J; Ramsden, R T; Homer, J J

2010-03-02

Nervus intermedius (NI) dysfunction is common in patients who have had vestibular schwannoma (VS) surgery. Such patients have a unilateral parasympathetic-denervated nasal cavity. A number of side-specific nasal reflexes have been demonstrated in normal individuals, including hand cold-water immersion. It is not understood whether these reflexes have parasympathetic or sympathic efferent pathways. We aimed to evaluate the side specific nasal reflex to cold-water immersion in post-operative VS patients with NI dysfunction, in order to determine the nature of the efferent pathway of these reflexes. Side specific responses to cold-water immersion were tested by acoustic rhinometry in 10 normal individuals and 18 patients with NI dysfunction (proven by Schirmer s test) after VS surgery. A consistent pattern of ipsilateral congestion and contralateral decongestion after the cold-water immersion was seen in normal individuals (p smaller than 0.001). We found no consistent response in VS patients both ipsilateral and contralateral to the side of NI dysfunction. We confirm the consistent side-specific nasal reflexes to cold-water hand immersion in normal individuals. This is disturbed in patients with NI dysfunction. We have also shown unexpectantly that the contralateral side-specific reflex is disturbed in these patients. These data suggest that the reflex is parasympathetic and crosses the midline.

Effects of untreated and treated oilfield-produced water on seed germination, seedling development, and biomass production of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.).

PubMed

da Costa Marques, Mônica Regina; de Souza, Paulo Sérgio Alves; Rigo, Michelle Machado; Cerqueira, Alexandre Andrade; de Paiva, Julieta L; Merçon, Fábio; Perez, Daniel Vidal

2015-10-01

This study aims to evaluate possible toxic effects of oil and other contaminants from oilfield-produced water from oil exploration and production, on seed germination, and seedling development of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.). In comparison, as treated by electroflocculation, oilfield-produced water, with lower oil and organic matter content, was also used. Electroflocculation treatment of oilfield-produced water achieved significant removals of chemical oxygen demand (COD) (94 %), oil and grease (O&G) (96 %), color (97 %), and turbidity (99 %). Different O&G, COD, and salt levels of untreated and treated oilfield-produced water did not influence germination process and seedling biomass production. Normal seedlings percentage and vigor tended to decrease more intensely in O&G and COD levels, higher than 337.5 mg L(-1) and 1321 mg O2 L(-1), respectively, using untreated oilfield-produced water. These results indicate that this industrial effluent must be treated, in order to not affect adversely seedling development. This way, electroflocculation treatment appears as an interesting alternative to removing oil and soluble organic matter in excess from oilfield-produced water improving sunflower's seedling development and providing a friendly environmental destination for this wastewater, reducing its potential to harm water resources, soil, and biota.

Effects of an extreme flood on trace elements in river water—From urban stream to major river basin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Barber, Larry B.; Paschke, Suzanne; Battaglin, William A.; Douville, Chris; Fitzgerald, Kevin C.; Keefe, Steffanie H.; Roth, David A.; Vajda, Alan M.

2017-01-01

Major floods adversely affect water quality through surface runoff, groundwater discharge, and damage to municipal water infrastructure. Despite their importance, it can be difficult to assess the effects of floods on streamwater chemistry because of challenges collecting samples and the absence of baseline data. This study documents water quality during the September 2013 extreme flood in the South Platte River, Colorado, USA. Weekly time-series water samples were collected from 3 urban source waters (municipal tap water, streamwater, and wastewater treatment facility effluent) under normal-flow and flood conditions. In addition, water samples were collected during the flood at 5 locations along the South Platte River and from 7 tributaries along the Colorado Front Range. Samples were analyzed for 54 major and trace elements. Specific chemical tracers, representing different natural and anthropogenic sources and geochemical behaviors, were used to compare streamwater composition before and during the flood. The results differentiate hydrological processes that affected water quality: (1) in the upper watershed, runoff diluted most dissolved constituents, (2) in the urban corridor and lower watershed, runoff mobilized soluble constituents accumulated on the landscape and contributed to stream loading, and (3) flood-induced groundwater discharge mobilized soluble constituents stored in the vadose zone.

Evaluating climate model performance in the tropics with retrievals of water isotopic composition from Aura TES

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Field, Robert; Kim, Daehyun; Kelley, Max; LeGrande, Allegra; Worden, John; Schmidt, Gavin

2014-05-01

Observational and theoretical arguments suggest that satellite retrievals of the stable isotope composition of water vapor could be useful for climate model evaluation. The isotopic composition of water vapor is controlled by the same processes that control water vapor amount, but the observed distribution of isotopic composition is distinct from amount itself . This is due to the fractionation that occurs between the abundant H216O isotopes (isotopologues) and the rare and heavy H218O and HDO isotopes during evaporation and condensation. The fractionation physics are much simpler than the underlying moist physics; discrepancies between observed and modeled isotopic fields are more likely due to problems in the latter. Isotopic measurements therefore have the potential for identifying problems that might not be apparent from more conventional measurements. Isotopic tracers have existed in climate models since the 1980s but it is only since the mid 2000s that there have been enough data for meaningful model evaluation in this sense, in the troposphere at least. We have evaluated the NASA GISS ModelE2 general circulation model over the tropics against water isotope (HDO/H2O) retrievals from the Aura Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES), alongside more conventional measurements. A small ensemble of experiments was performed with physics perturbations to the cumulus and planetary boundary layer schemes, done in the context of the normal model development process. We examined the degree to which model-data agreement could be used to constrain a select group of internal processes in the model, namely condensate evaporation, entrainment strength, and moist convective air mass flux. All are difficult to parameterize, but exert strong influence over model performance. We found that the water isotope composition was significantly more sensitive to physics changes than precipitation, temperature or relative humidity through the depth of the tropical troposphere. Among the processes considered, this was most closely, and fairly exclusively, related to mid-tropospheric entrainment strength. This demonstrates that water isotope retrievals have considerable potential alongside more conventional measurements for climate model evaluation and development.

The transmembrane gradient of the dielectric constant influences the DPH lifetime distribution.

PubMed

Konopásek, I; Kvasnicka, P; Amler, E; Kotyk, A; Curatola, G

1995-11-06

The fluorescence lifetime distribution of 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (DPH) and 1-[4-(trimethylamino)phenyl]-6-phenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (TMA-DPH) in egg-phosphatidylcholine liposomes was measured in normal and heavy water. The lower dielectric constant (by approximately 12%) of heavy water compared with normal water was employed to provide direct evidence that the drop of the dielectric constant along the membrane normal shifts the centers of the distribution of both DPH and TMA-DPH to higher values and sharpens the widths of the distribution. The profile of the dielectric constant along the membrane normal was not found to be a linear gradient (in contrast to [1]) but a more complex function. Presence of cholesterol in liposomes further shifted the center of the distributions to higher value and sharpened them. In addition, it resulted in a more gradient-like profile of the dielectric constant (i.e. linearization) along the normal of the membrane. The effect of the change of dielectric constant on the membrane proteins is discussed.

EVALUATION OF THE CYTOTOXICITY OF DRINKING WATER DISINFECTION BYPRODUCTS (DBPS): TRIHALOMETHANES (THMS), HALONITROMETHANES (HNMS), AND HALOACETIC ACIDS (HAAS) IN NORMAL HUMAN COLON CELLS

EPA Science Inventory

Epidemiological studies have linked the consumption of chlorinated surface waters to an increased risk of colorectal cancer. THMs and HAAs were found to increase cancer in laboratory animals, but no toxicity studies exist for the recently identified HNMs. Normal Human colonocytes...

Performance evaluation of Normalized Difference Chlorophyll Index in northern Gulf of Mexico estuaries using the Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean

EPA Science Inventory

The Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO) was used to derive chlorophyll-a (chl-a) based on the Normalized Difference Chlorophyll Index (NDCI) in two Gulf of Mexico coastal estuaries. Chl-a data were acquired from discrete in-situ water sample analysis and above-water...

46 CFR 46.15-10 - Subdivision load lines.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 45 and a “diamond” shall be substituted for the “disk”. No “fresh water” line will be marked. [CGFR... located in line with the highest subdivision load line. (f) One fresh water line shall be marked. When a subdivision and a normal load line are combined, the normal fresh water line only shall be used unless the...

75 FR 2129 - Moriah Hydro Corporation; Notice of Preliminary Permit Application Accepted for Filing and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-01-14

...-high, containing approximately 100 pump/turbine/ generator units having a total installed capacity of...,400 acre- feet at normal water surface elevation of +1,000 feet Project Datum; (2) a lower reservoir..., with a surface area of about 50 acres and volume of approximately 2,400 acre-feet at normal water...

Influence of fluids on the abrasion of silicon by diamond

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Danyluk, S.

1982-01-01

Silicon wafers ((100)-p-type) were abraded at room temperature in acetone, absolute ethanol and water by a pyramid diamond and the resulting groove depth was measured as a function of normal force on the diamond and the absorbed fluids, while all other experimental conditions were held constant. The groove depth rates are in the ratio of 1:2:3 for water, absolute ethanol, and acetone, respectively, for a constant normal force. The groove depth rate is lower when the normal force is decreased. The silicon abraded in the presence of water was chipped as expected for a classical brittle material while the surfaces abraded in the other two fluids showed ductile ploughing as the main mechanism for silicon removal.

Groups at potentially high risk from chlorine dioxide treated water.

PubMed

Moore, G S; Calabrese, E J; Ho, S C

1980-09-01

Chlorite, a by-product of chlorine dioxide disinfection of water, is a strong oxidant compound that produces markedly exaggerated effects in vitro on red cells of G6PD deficient humans when compared to normal human cells. Levels of methemoglobin are significantly greater and GSH levels significantly lower in the G6PD deficient cells than in normal cells after chlorite exposure. Persons with G6PD deficiency may be 3 to 4 times more likely to develop hemolytic anemia from chlorite exposure as persons with normal activity levels when GSH levels are used as a measure of susceptibility. The proposed use of chlorine dioxide as an alternate disinfectant for drinking water supplies should consider this potential high risk group.

Trapping effect of estuarine turbidity maximum on particulate organic carbon and its response to a typhoon event in a macro-tidal estuary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Aijun; Ye, Xiang; Cheng, Peng; Wang, Liang

2017-04-01

Estuaries are key nodes of land-ocean interaction, the associated suspended sediment processes being crucial for global and regional material fluxes and environmental health. Within estuaries, there is commonly a reach where the water turbidity is markedly higher than both landward and seaward. This elevated suspended sediment concentration (SSC) is termed the estuarine turbidity maximum (ETM). The ETM has important influences on harbor siltation, ecological conservation, and biogeochemical dynamics. Jiulongjiang estuary is a small macro-tidal estuary in southeast China coastal area, which is a typical example for estuarine ecosystem conservation and its response to catchment management. Observed results show that the tidal current is the main factor which control the variations of SSC in ETM under the normal condition. However, under the influence of typhoon event, the hydrodynamic action was strengthened and the salt water intrusion was also enhanced, and the fresh water and sediment discharged from river system increased, which led to the complicated variations of the ETM. Under the normal conditions, the maximum width of ETM was about 10 km in spring tide. However, before typhoon landed, the maximum width of the ETM was about 14 km; after the typhoon landed, the maximum width of the ETM was more than 20 km, and during the low tide stage, the width of the ETM was still 19 km which was induced by high turbidity water input from river system. The particulate organic carbon (POC) concentration reached 19.26 mg/L within the ETM at the next day after typhoon landed, which was much higher than that under normal weather condition (the maximum value was only 3.15 mg/L). During the low tide level, the POC concentration increased remarkably from upstream to the core of ETM and then decreased toward downstream, while the POC concentration decreased toward downstream during high tide level. Compared with normal weather condition, the POC concentration varied not obviously along the river channel except at the core of ETM. The existence of ETM plays a much significant role for POC trapping during the influence of typhoon event. Acknowledgement: This research was supported by the NSFC (41376070). The authors with thank Shu-ren Huang, Hai-huang Chen and Peng-fa Chen for their help in the field work.

[Preliminary study on standardization of production and processing of Angelicae Sinensis Radix pieces].

PubMed

Nie, Rui-Jie; Wang, Ying-Zi; Sun, Zhen-Yang; Wang, Si-Yu; Zhang, Jing-Zhen

2017-12-01

Study on the standardization of Chinese materia medica is an important action for modernization and globalization for traditional Chinese medicine. Standardization on the processing of Chinese herbal pieces is an important part in the study on standardization of Chinese materia medica, so it is of great significance to establish the technical processing standards of Angelicae Sinensis Radix pieces for improving its quality. In this study, single factor experiment was designed to optimize the softening, cutting and drying processes of Angelicae Sinensis Radix. With ferulic acid, Angelicae Sinensis Radix polysaccharide, volatile oil and extracts (water and ethanol) content as the quality index, the effects of different softening, cutting and drying processes on the contents of the five components in Angelicae Sinensis Radix were analyzed, and the normalized distance evaluation method was used to analyze the experimental data. The results showed that the content of five components in Angelicae Sinensis Radix was affected by different softening methods and drying temperature, but the thickness of slice had little effect on the content. The best preparation process for Angelicae Sinensis Radix was as follows: Non-medicinal parts were removed; mildewed and rot as well as moth-eaten parts were removed; washed by the flowing drinking water; stacked in the drug pool; moistening method was used for softening, where 125 mL water was sprayed for every 1 kg of herbs every 2.5 h; upper part of herbs covered with clean and moist cotton, and cut into thin slices (1-2 mm) after 15 h moistening until appropriate softness, with disk thickness of 1-2 cm, then received blast drying for 6 h at 55 ℃, and turned over for 2 times during the drying. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

Growth is required for perception of water availability to pattern root branches in plants.

PubMed

Robbins, Neil E; Dinneny, José R

2018-01-23

Water availability is a potent regulator of plant development and induces root branching through a process termed hydropatterning. Hydropatterning enables roots to position lateral branches toward regions of high water availability, such as wet soil or agar media, while preventing their emergence where water is less available, such as in air. The mechanism by which roots perceive the spatial distribution of water during hydropatterning is unknown. Using primary roots of Zea mays (maize) we reveal that developmental competence for hydropatterning is limited to the growth zone of the root tip. Past work has shown that growth generates gradients in water potential across an organ when asymmetries exist in the distribution of available water. Using mathematical modeling, we predict that substantial growth-sustained water potential gradients are also generated in the hydropatterning competent zone and that such biophysical cues inform the patterning of lateral roots. Using diverse chemical and environmental treatments we experimentally demonstrate that growth is necessary for normal hydropatterning of lateral roots. Transcriptomic characterization of the local response of tissues to a moist surface or air revealed extensive regulation of signaling and physiological pathways, some of which we show are growth-dependent. Our work supports a "sense-by-growth" mechanism governing hydropatterning, by which water availability cues are rendered interpretable through growth-sustained water movement. Copyright © 2018 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

Growth is required for perception of water availability to pattern root branches in plants

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

Water availability is a potent regulator of plant development and induces root branching through a process termed hydropatterning. Hydropatterning enables roots to position lateral branches toward regions of high water availability, such as wet soil or agar media, while preventing their emergence where water is less available, such as in air. The mechanism by which roots perceive the spatial distribution of water during hydropatterning is unknown. Using primary roots of Zea mays (maize) we reveal that developmental competence for hydropatterning is limited to the growth zone of the root tip. Past work has shown that growth generates gradients in water potential across an organ when asymmetries exist in the distribution of available water. Using mathematical modeling, we predict that substantial growth-sustained water potential gradients are also generated in the hydropatterning competent zone and that such biophysical cues inform the patterning of lateral roots. Using diverse chemical and environmental treatments we experimentally demonstrate that growth is necessary for normal hydropatterning of lateral roots. Transcriptomic characterization of the local response of tissues to a moist surface or air revealed extensive regulation of signaling and physiological pathways, some of which we show are growth-dependent. Our work supports a “sense-by-growth” mechanism governing hydropatterning, by which water availability cues are rendered interpretable through growth-sustained water movement. PMID:29317538

Contribution of aluminum from packaging materials and cooking utensils to the daily aluminum intake.

PubMed

Müller, J P; Steinegger, A; Schlatter, C

1993-10-01

Migration of aluminum (Al) from packaging materials and cooking utensils into foods and beverages was determined at intervals during cooking or during storage by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy. High amounts of Al migrated into acidic products such as mashed tomatoes during normal processing in normal, non-coated Al pans. After 60 min cooking an Al content of 10-15 mg/kg was measured in tomato sauce. Surprisingly, the Al concentration was also increased up to 2.6 mg/L after boiling tap water for 15 min in Al pans. Storage of Coca-Cola in internally lacquered Al cans resulted in Al levels below 0.25 mg/L. In contrast, non-coated Al camping bottles containing lime blossom tea acidified with lemon juice released up to 7 mg Al/L within 5 days. The Al concentration in coffee was lower than that of the tap water used in its preparation, even if prepared in Al heaters. In Switzerland, where most pans nowadays are made of stainless steel or teflon-coated Al, the average contribution for the use of Al utensils to the daily Al intake of 2-5 mg from the diet is estimated to be less than 0.1 mg.

Influence of bacterial kidney disease on smoltification in salmonids: Is it a case of double jeopardy?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mesa, M.G.; Maule, A.G.; Poe, T.P.; Schreck, C.B.

1999-01-01

We investigated the effects of a chronic, progressive infection with Renibacterium salmoninarum (Rs), the causative agent of bacterial kidney disease (BKD), on selected aspects of smoltification in yearling juvenile spring chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). After experimentally infecting fish with Rs using an immersion challenge, we sampled them every two weeks to monitor changes in gill Na+, K+-ATPase (ATPase), cortisol, infection level, mortality, growth, and other stress-related physiological factors during the normal time of parr-smolt transformation in fresh water (i.e., from winter to spring). A progressively worsening infection with Rs did not alter the normal changes in gill ATPase and condition factor associated with smoltification in juvenile chinook salmon. The infection did, however, lead to elevated levels of plasma cortisol and lactate and depressed levels of plasma glucose, indicating that the disease is stressful during the later stages. A dramatic proliferation of BKD was associated with maximal responses of indicators of smoltification, suggesting that the process of smoltification itself can trigger outbreaks of disease. Our results suggest mechanisms that probably influence the reported inability of Rs-infected fish to successfully adapt to sea water.

Assessment the impact of samplers change on the uncertainty related to geothermalwater sampling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wątor, Katarzyna; Mika, Anna; Sekuła, Klaudia; Kmiecik, Ewa

2018-02-01

The aim of this study is to assess the impact of samplers change on the uncertainty associated with the process of the geothermal water sampling. The study was carried out on geothermal water exploited in Podhale region, southern Poland (Małopolska province). To estimate the uncertainty associated with sampling the results of determinations of metasilicic acid (H2SiO3) in normal and duplicate samples collected in two series were used (in each series the samples were collected by qualified sampler). Chemical analyses were performed using ICP-OES method in the certified Hydrogeochemical Laboratory of the Hydrogeology and Engineering Geology Department at the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow (Certificate of Polish Centre for Accreditation No. AB 1050). To evaluate the uncertainty arising from sampling the empirical approach was implemented, based on double analysis of normal and duplicate samples taken from the same well in the series of testing. The analyses of the results were done using ROBAN software based on technique of robust statistics analysis of variance (rANOVA). Conducted research proved that in the case of qualified and experienced samplers uncertainty connected with the sampling can be reduced what results in small measurement uncertainty.

Permeation across hydrated DPPC lipid bilayers: simulation of the titrable amphiphilic drug valproic acid.

PubMed

Ulander, Johan; Haymet, A D J

2003-12-01

Valproic acid is a short branched fatty acid used as an anticonvulsant drug whose therapeutic action has been proposed to arise from membrane-disordering properties. Static and kinetic properties of valproic acid interacting with fully hydrated dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine lipid bilayers are studied using molecular-dynamics simulations. We calculate spatially resolved free energy profiles and local diffusion coefficients using the distance between the bilayer and valproic acid respective centers-of-mass along the bilayer normal as reaction coordinate. To investigate the pH dependence, we calculate profiles for the neutral valproic acid as well as its water-soluble anionic conjugate base valproate. The local diffusion constants for valproate/valproic acid along the bilayer normal are found to be approximately 10(-6) to 10(-5) cm2 s(-1). Assuming protonation of valproic acid upon association with--or insertion into--the lipid bilayer, we calculate the permeation coefficient to be approximately 2.0 10(-3) cm s(-1), consistent with recent experimental estimates of fast fatty acid transport. The ability of the lipid bilayer to sustain local defects such as water intrusions stresses the importance of going beyond mean field and taking into account correlation effects in theoretical descriptions of bilayer translocation processes.

MODIS Snowcover in North America: A Comparison of Winter 2013/14 and 2014/15 to Median Condition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trubilowicz, J. W.; Floyd, B. C.; D'Amore, D. V.; Bidlack, A.

2015-12-01

The winters from 2013-2015 had exceptionally low snow-packs in much of western North America. In particular, the winter of 2014/2015 had the lowest peak snow-water-equivalent (SWE) depths ever recorded in many areas of the Pacific Northwest. These low snow-packs have contributed to drought conditions from British Columbia to California. Along with the low SWE values, the snow covered area (SCA) of the previous two winters has been a significant departure from normal conditions. SCA is related to SWE, rain-on-snow events and the seasonal water supply, provides insulation for plant root systems from late season frost, and is an important factor in forest fire hazard, delaying the start of soil and fuel drying. Remote sensing can be a useful tool to monitor SCA over large regions, with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments providing a suitable temporal (twice daily), and spatial resolution (500m) to create detailed maps, even with high frequencies of cloud covered days. While comparison of SWE at snow monitoring sites to historical values is a standard analysis, doing the same for SCA has been difficult due to the technical and logistical problems related to processing the large amounts of spatial data required to determine a 'normal' annual SCA cycle. Through the use of new cloud-based computation methods from Google Earth Engine, we have calculated the monthly median (from 2002-2015) MODIS SCA, at a 500 m resolution, for all of the major Pacific draining watersheds of North America. Determining the 'normal' SCA cycle of the past 13 years allowed us to compare the past two winters to the median SCA levels, showing which basins have seen the most significant departures from normal SCA levels. Results indicate more significant departures from normal in basins with significant maritime-influenced snow-packs.

Electrochemical Ion-Exchange Regeneration and Fluidized Bed Crystallization for Zero-Liquid-Discharge Water Softening.

PubMed

Chen, Yingying; Davis, Jake R; Nguyen, Chi H; Baygents, James C; Farrell, James

2016-06-07

This research investigated the use of an electrochemical system for regenerating ion-exchange media and for promoting the crystallization of hardness minerals in a fluidized bed crystallization reactor (FBCR). The closed-loop process eliminates the creation of waste brine solutions that are normally produced when regenerating ion-exchange media. A bipolar membrane electrodialysis stack was used to generate acids and bases from 100 mM salt solutions. The acid was used to regenerate weak acid cation (WAC) ion-exchange media used for water softening. The base solutions were used to absorb CO2 gas and to provide a source of alkalinity for removing noncarbonate hardness by WAC media operated in H(+) form. The base solutions were also used to promote the crystallization of CaCO3 and Mg(OH)2 in a FBCR. The overall process removes hardness ions from the water being softened and replaces them with H(+) ions, slightly decreasing the pH value of the softened water. The current utilization efficiency for acid and base production was ∼75% over the operational range of interest, and the energy costs for producing acids and bases were an order of magnitude lower than the costs for purchasing acid and base in bulk quantities. Ion balances indicate that the closed-loop system will accumulate SO4(2-), Cl(-), and alkali metal ions. Acid and base balances indicate that for a typical water, small amounts of base will be accumulated.

Measurement of endotoxin.

PubMed

Phillips, J; Harrison, P; Hale, G

2000-01-01

Bacterial endotoxin is probably the most common significant contaminant that might be found in antibody preparations. It is found ubiquitously in normal environments but its pyrogenic effects in vivo can be lethal. It is absolutely vital to control the level of endotoxin in therapeutic products, but its significance for experimental work must not be underestimated since it can have numerous confounding effects both in vivo and in vitro. Methods for removing endotoxin from products have been described (1-4), but in our experience, it is much better to avoid it from the beginning by scrupulous control of raw materials and use of good aseptic technique. To grow, bacteria need water; therefore, the most likely sources of endotoxin are water and any process equipment that has been wet. Water must be obtained from a controlled source that is low in endotoxin. If you do not have a suitable dedicated water purification system, then it is best to purchase purified water. Water for irrigation (from a pharmaceutical supplier) is possibly the most economic. Equipment in contact with cells or products should preferably be sterile disposable plastic. Standard tissue culture ware is usually very reliable. Plastic bags for media and process intermediates are now widely available in all sizes (e.g., Stedim, Aubagne, France) and should be used in preference to glass bottles. Silicone tubing (food or medical grade) is suitable for all fluid transfers and should not be reused. If reusable equipment is essential, it can be soaked in 0.5 M NaOH and/or baked in an oven at high temperature (steam sterilization is not sufficient) (1).

Metabolic and Circulatory Responses to Walking and Jogging in Water.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Evans, Blanch W.

1978-01-01

Water resistance makes running or walking through waist-deep water more strenuous than when performed under normal conditions; however, the buoyancy of the water reduces the stress on weight-bearing muscles and joints. (MM)

Characterization of bacterial community structure in a drinking water distribution system during an occurrence of red water.

PubMed

Li, Dong; Li, Zheng; Yu, Jianwei; Cao, Nan; Liu, Ruyin; Yang, Min

2010-11-01

The role of bacteria in the occasional emergence of red water, which has been documented worldwide, has yet to be determined. To better understand the mechanisms that drive occurrences of red water, the bacterial community composition and the relative abundance of several functional bacterial groups in a water distribution system of Beijing during a large-scale red water event were determined using several molecular methods. Individual clone libraries of the 16S rRNA gene were constructed for three red water samples and one sample of normal water. Beta-, Alpha-, and Gammaproteobacteria comprised the major bacterial communities in both red water and normal water samples, in agreement with previous reports. A high percentage of red water clones (25.2 to 57.1%) were affiliated with or closely related to a diverse array of iron-oxidizing bacteria, including the neutrophilic microaerobic genera Gallionella and Sideroxydans, the acidophilic species Acidothiobacillus ferrooxidans, and the anaerobic denitrifying Thermomonas bacteria. The genus Gallionella comprised 18.7 to 28.6% of all clones in the three red water libraries. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis showed that the 16S rRNA gene copy concentration of Gallionella spp. was between (4.1 ± 0.9) × 10⁷ (mean ± standard deviation) and (1.6 ± 0.3) × 10⁸ per liter in red water, accounting for 13.1% ± 2.9% to 17.2% ± 3.6% of the total Bacteria spp. in these samples. By comparison, the percentages of Gallionella spp. in the normal water samples were 0.1% or lower (below the limit of detection), suggesting an important role of Gallionella spp. in the formation of red water.

Streamflow of 2015—Water year national summary

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jian, Xiaodong; Wolock, David M.; Lins, Harry F.; Brady, Steve

2016-08-30

IntroductionThe maps and graphs in this summary describe national streamflow conditions for water year 2015 (October 1, 2014, to September 30, 2015) in the context of the 86-year period 1930–2015, unless otherwise noted. The illustrations are based on observed data from the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) National Streamflow Information Program http://water.usgs.gov/nsip). The period 1930–2015 was used because prior to 1930, the number of streamgages was too small to provide representative data for computing statistics for most regions of the country.In the summary, reference is made to the term “runoff,” which is the depth to which a river basin, State, or other geographic area would be covered with water if all the streamflow within the area during a specified time period was uniformly distributed upon it. Runoff quantifies the magnitude of water flowing through the Nation's rivers and streams in measurement units that can be compared from one area to another.Each of the maps and graphs can be expanded to a larger view by clicking on the image. In all of the graphics, a rank of 1 indicates the highest flow of all years analyzed. Rankings of streamflow are grouped into much-below normal, below normal, normal, above normal, and much-above normal, based on percentiles of flow (greater than 90 percent, 76–90 percent, 25–75 percent, 10–24 percent, and less than 10 percent, respectively) (http://waterwatch.usgs.gov/?id=ww_current). Some data used to produce maps and graphs are provisional and subject to change.

Precipitation microphysics characteristics of a Typhoon Matmo (2014) rainband after landfall over eastern China based on polarimetric radar observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Mingjun; Zhao, Kun; Xue, Ming; Zhang, Guifu; Liu, Su; Wen, Long; Chen, Gang

2016-10-01

The evolution of microphysical characteristics of a rainband in Typhoon Matmo (2014) over eastern China, through its onset, developing, mature, and dissipating stages, is documented using observations from an S band polarimetric Doppler radar and a two-dimensional video disdrometer (2DVD). The drop size distributions observed by the 2DVD and retrieved from the polarimetric radar measurements indicate that the convection in the rainband generally contains smaller drops and higher number concentrations than the typical maritime type convection described in Bringi et al. (2003). The average mass-weighted mean diameter (Dm) of convective precipitation in the rainband is about 1.41 mm, and the average logarithmic normalized intercept (Nw) is 4.67 log10 mm-1 m-3. To further investigate the dominant microphysical processes, the evolution of the vertical structures of polarimetric variables is examined. Results show that complex ice processes are involved above the freezing level, while it is most likely that the accretion and/or coalescence processes dominate below the freezing level throughout the rainband life cycle. A combined examination of the polarimetric measurements and profiles of estimated vertical liquid and ice water contents indicates that the conversion of cloud water into rainwater through cloud water accretion by raindrops plays a dominant role in producing heavy rainfall. The high estimated precipitation efficiency of 50% also suggests that cloud water accretion is the dominant mechanism for producing heavy rainfall. This study represents the first time that radar and 2DVD observations are used together to characterize the microphysical characteristics and precipitation efficiency for typhoon rainbands in China.

Thermodynamic Evaluation of Hydrogen Absorption by Niobium During SRF Fabrication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ricker, R. E.; Myneni, G. R.

2011-03-01

The properties and performance of the ultra high purity Nb used to fabricate superconducting radio frequency (SRF) particle accelerator cavities have been found to vary with processing conditions. One hypothesis for these variations is that hydrogen, absorbed during processing, is responsible for this behavior. The key assumption behind this hypothesis is that niobium can absorb hydrogen from one or more of the processing environments. This paper reviews work examining the validity of this assumption. It was determined that Nb will spontaneously react with water producing adsorbed atomic hydrogen that is readily absorbed into the metal. The passivating oxide film normally prevents this reaction, but this film is frequently removed during processing and it is attacked by the fluoride ion used in the polishing solutions for SRF cavities. However, during electropolishing that cathodic reduction of hydrogen is transferred to the auxiliary electrode and this should suppress hydrogen absorption.

Evaluation of Two Soil Water Redistribution Models (Finite Difference and Hourly Cascade Approach) Through The Comparison of Continuous field Sensor-Based Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferreyra, R.; Stockle, C. O.; Huggins, D. R.

2014-12-01

Soil water storage and dynamics are of critical importance for a variety of processes in terrestrial ecosystems, including agriculture. Many of those systems are under significant pressure in terms of water availability and use. Therefore, assessing alternative scenarios through hydrological models is an increasingly valuable exercise. Soil water holding capacity is defined by the concepts of soil field capacity and plant available water, which are directly related to soil physical properties. Both concepts define the energy status of water in the root system and closely interact with plant physiological processes. Furthermore, these concepts play a key role in the environmental transport of nutrients and pollutants. Soil physical parameters (e.g. saturated hydraulic conductivity, total porosity and water release curve) are required as input for field-scale soil water redistribution models. These parameters are normally not easy to measure or monitor, and estimation through pedotransfer functions is often inadequate. Our objectives are to improve field-scale hydrological modeling by: (1) assessing new undisturbed methodologies for determining important soil physical parameters necessary for model inputs; and (2) evaluating model outputs, making a detailed specification of soil parameters and the particular boundary condition that are driving water movement under two contrasting environments. Soil physical properties (saturated hydraulic conductivity and determination of water release curves) were quantified using undisturbed laboratory methodologies for two different soil textural classes (silt loam and sandy loam) and used to evaluate two soil water redistribution models (finite difference solution and hourly cascade approach). We will report on model corroboration results performed using in situ, continuous, field measurements with soil water content capacitance probes and digital tensiometers. Here, natural drainage and water redistribution were monitored following a controlled water application where the study areas were isolated from other water inputs and outputs. We will also report on the assessment of two soil water sensors (Decagon Devices 5TM capacitance probe and UMS T4 tensiometers) for the two soil textural classes in terms of consistency and replicability.

18 CFR 1309.6 - Is the normal operation or statutory objective of any program or activity an exception to the...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 2 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Is the normal operation... discrimination? 1309.6 Section 1309.6 Conservation of Power and Water Resources TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY... activity an exception to the rules against age discrimination? A recipient is permitted to take an action...

18 CFR 1309.6 - Is the normal operation or statutory objective of any program or activity an exception to the...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Is the normal operation... discrimination? 1309.6 Section 1309.6 Conservation of Power and Water Resources TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY... activity an exception to the rules against age discrimination? A recipient is permitted to take an action...

33 CFR 162.138 - Connecting waters from Lake Huron to Lake Erie; speed rules.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... vessels in normal displacement mode. (1) Except when required for the safety of the vessel or any other vessel, vessels of 20 meters or more in length operating in normal displacement mode shall proceed at a... than displacement of its weight in the water, to an extent such that the wake which would otherwise be...

33 CFR 162.138 - Connecting waters from Lake Huron to Lake Erie; speed rules.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... vessels in normal displacement mode. (1) Except when required for the safety of the vessel or any other vessel, vessels of 20 meters or more in length operating in normal displacement mode shall proceed at a... than displacement of its weight in the water, to an extent such that the wake which would otherwise be...

Computer simulations of postural change, water immersion and bedrest - An integrative approach for understanding the spaceflight response

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leonard, J. I.; Leach, C. S.; Rummel, J. A.

1982-01-01

Mathematical modeling techniques were used to simulate the fluid electrolyte (F-E) responses during gravity unloading. It is shown that the response to weightlessness can best be understood by separately examining the acute (hours to days) and chronic (days to weeks) phases, and assuming the presence of normal, although complex, feedback regulatory processes. Headward shifts of fluid are shown to be primarily responsible for acute body losses of extracellular F-E. Losses of body water are closely related to the volume of fluid shifts from the legs. A diuresis is predicted within the first several hours of hypogravity, and this may be obscured by a reduced F-E intake; on Skylab, early F-E losses occurred primarily by deficit intake.

Liquid water breakthrough location distances on a gas diffusion layer of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Junliang; Froning, Dieter; Reimer, Uwe; Lehnert, Werner

2018-06-01

The lattice Boltzmann method is adopted to simulate the three dimensional dynamic process of liquid water breaking through the gas diffusion layer (GDL) in the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell. 22 micro-structures of Toray GDL are built based on a stochastic geometry model. It is found that more than one breakthrough locations are formed randomly on the GDL surface. Breakthrough location distance (BLD) are analyzed statistically in two ways. The distribution is evaluated statistically by the Lilliefors test. It is concluded that the BLD can be described by the normal distribution with certain statistic characteristics. Information of the shortest neighbor breakthrough location distance can be the input modeling setups on the cell-scale simulations in the field of fuel cell simulation.

Ultrathin metasurface with high absorptance for waterborne sound

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mei, Jun; Zhang, Xiujuan; Wu, Ying

2018-03-01

We present a design for an acoustic metasurface which can efficiently absorb low-frequency sound energy in water. The metasurface has a simple structure and consists of only two common materials: i.e., water and silicone rubber. The optimized material and geometrical parameters of the designed metasurface are determined by an analytic formula in conjunction with an iterative process based on the retrieval method. Although the metasurface is as thin as 0.15 of the wavelength, it can absorb 99.7% of the normally incident sound wave energy. Furthermore, the metasurface maintains a substantially high absorptance over a relatively broad bandwidth, and also works well for oblique incidence with an incident angle of up to 50°. Potential applications in the field of underwater sound isolation are expected.

The lack of age-pigments and the alterations in intracellular monovalent electrolytes in spontaneously hypertensive, stroke-prone (SHRsp) rats as revealed by electron microscopy and X-ray microanalysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zs.-Nagy, I.; Zs.-Nagy, V.; Casoli, T.

1989-01-01

Male, spontaneously hypertensive, stroke-prone (SHRsp) rats established by Okamoto et al. were studied. About 80% of the males of this strain have a particularly short life span (33-41 weeks); they display a considerable hypertension (above 220 mmHg) and a tendency for plurifocal brain strokes. Hypertension and strokes can be provoked in an accelerated and synchronized fashion by supplementing 1% NaCl into their drinking water. Symptoms of the appearance of brain strokes can be judged from characteristic signs of motor disorders, and can be established also by pathohistology. Since hypertension and arteriosclerosis are frequently involved in aging, the question we intendedmore » to answer was whether these animals may represent a model of the normal aging process or not. Two approaches are described: (1) Accumulation of lipofuscin granules in their brain, liver and myocardium was followed by transmission electron microscopy before and after the appearance of strokes. It has been established that these tissues do not show any typical accumulation of lipofuscin granules, although submicroscopic signs of an enhanced damage of cell organelles (especially of mitochondria in liver and brain cells, but not in myocardium) were encountered. (2) The intracellular monovalent composition in the brain and liver was measured by using bulk-specimen X-ray microanalysis. The intracellular Na-content (mEq/kg water) was significantly higher (170-200%) in both the brain and liver cells, whereas the K-content increased only moderately (118-130%). The results suggest that although the SHRsp rats do not represent a direct model for the normal aging process from the point of view of lipofuscin accumulation, the shifts of the monovalent electrolyte contents in the brain and liver cells observed already in the youngest ages, are similar to those observed in aged normal rats.« less

Global Operational Remotely Sensed Evapotranspiration System for Water Resources Management: Case Study for the State of New Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Halverson, G. H.; Fisher, J.; Magnuson, M.; John, L.

2017-12-01

An operational system to produce and disseminate remotely sensed evapotranspiration using the PT-JPL model and support its analysis and use in water resources decision making is being integrated into the New Mexico state government. A partnership between the NASA Western Water Applications Office (WWAO), the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer (NMOSE) has enabled collaboration with a variety of state agencies to inform decision making processes for agriculture, rangeland, and forest management. This system improves drought understanding and mobilization, litigation support, and economic, municipal, and ground-water planning through interactive mapping of daily rates of evapotranspiration at 1 km spatial resolution with near real-time latency. This is facilitated by daily remote sensing acquisitions of land-surface temperature and near-surface air temperature and humidity from the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on the Terra satellite as well as the short-term composites of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and albedo provided by MODIS. Incorporating evapotranspiration data into agricultural water management better characterizes imbalances between water requirements and supplies. Monitoring evapotranspiration over rangeland areas improves remediation and prevention of aridification. Monitoring forest evapotranspiration improves wildlife management and response to wildfire risk. Continued implementation of this decision support system should enhance water and food security.

Maintenance Fluid Therapy: Isotonic Versus Hypotonic Solutions.

PubMed

Hansen, Bernie; Vigani, Alessio

2017-03-01

The goal of maintenance fluid therapy in small animals is to replace normal ongoing losses of water and salts when oral intake is withheld. Hospitalized dogs and cats may have multiple stimuli for antidiuretic hormone release that disrupt normal osmoregulation and predispose to water retention. Severe illness promotes retention of both sodium and water as edema. Commercially available fluids have electrolyte concentrations that are very different from dietary maintenance requirements, and potential consequences include development of hypoosmolality, edema, or both when excesses of water or sodium are administered. Suggestions for tailoring fluid administration toward specific goals are provided. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hydrologic conditions in New Hampshire and Vermont, water year 2011

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kiah, Richard G.; Jarvis, Jason D.; Hegemann, Robert F.; Hilgendorf, Gregory S.; Ward, Sanborn L.

2013-01-01

Record-high hydrologic conditions in New Hampshire and Vermont occurred during water year 2011, according to data from 125 streamgages and lake gaging stations, 27 creststage gages, and 41 groundwater wells. Annual runoff for the 2011 water year was the sixth highest on record for New Hampshire and the highest on record for Vermont on the basis of a 111-year reference period (water years 1901–2011). Groundwater levels for the 2011 water year were generally normal in New Hampshire and normal to above normal in Vermont. Record flooding occurred in April, May, and August of water year 2011. Peak-of-record streamflows were recorded at 38 streamgages, 25 of which had more than 10 years of record. Flooding in April 2011 was widespread in parts of northern New Hampshire and Vermont; peak-of-record streamflows were recorded at nine streamgages. Flash flooding in May 2011 was isolated to central and northeastern Vermont; peakof- record streamflows were recorded at five streamgages. Devastating flooding in August 2011 occurred throughout most of Vermont and in parts of New Hampshire as a result of the heavy rains associated with Tropical Storm Irene. Peak-ofrecord streamflows were recorded at 24 streamgages.

Effects of skylight polarization, cloudiness, and view angle on the detection of oil on water.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Millard, J. P.; Arvesen, J. C.

1971-01-01

Three passive radiometric techniques, which use the contrast of sunlight reflected and backscattered from oil and water in specific wavelength regions, have potential application for remote sensing of oil spills. These techniques consist of measuring (1) total radiance, (2) the polarization components (normal and parallel) of radiance, and (3) the difference between the normal and parallel components. In this paper, the best view directions for these techniques are evaluated, conclusions are drawn as to the most promising technique, and explanations are developed to describe why previous total-radiance measurements yielded highest contrast between oil and water under overcast skies. The technique based on measurement of only the normal polorization component appears to be the most promising. The differential technique should be further investigated because of its potential to reduce the component of backscattered light from below the surface of the water. Measurements should be made about 45 deg nadir view angle in the direction opposite the sun. Overcast sky conditions provide a higher intensity of skylight relative to clear sky conditions and a lower intensity of backscatter within the water relative to surface reflectance. These factors result in higher contrast between oil and water under overcast skies.

Engineering Infrastructures: Problems of Safety and Security in the Russian Federation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Makhutov, Nikolay A.; Reznikov, Dmitry O.; Petrov, Vitaly P.

Modern society cannot exist without stable and reliable engineering infrastructures (EI), whose operation is vital for any national economy. These infrastructures include energy, transportation, water and gas supply systems, telecommunication and cyber systems, etc. Their performance is commensurate with storing and processing huge amounts of information, energy and hazardous substances. Ageing infrastructures are deteriorating — with operating conditions declining from normal to emergency and catastrophic. The complexity of engineering infrastructures and their interdependence with other technical systems makes them vulnerable to emergency situations triggered by natural and manmade catastrophes or terrorist attacks.

South Fork Shenandoah River habitat-flow modeling to determine ecological and recreational characteristics during low-flow periods

USGS Publications Warehouse

Krstolic, Jennifer L.; Ramey, R. Clay

2012-01-01

The ecological habitat requirements of aquatic organisms and recreational streamflow requirements of the South Fork Shenandoah River were investigated by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Central Shenandoah Valley Planning District Commission, the Northern Shenandoah Valley Regional Commission, and Virginia Commonwealth University. Physical habitat simulation modeling was conducted to examine flow as a major determinant of physical habitat availability and recreation suitability using field-collected hydraulic habitat variables such as water depth, water velocity, and substrate characteristics. Fish habitat-suitability criteria specific to the South Fork Shenandoah River were developed for sub-adult and adult smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu), juvenile and sub-adult redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus), spotfin or satinfin shiner (Cyprinella spp), margined madtom (Noturus insignis),and river chub (Nocomis micropogon). Historic streamflow statistics for the summer low-flow period during July, August, and September were used as benchmark low-flow conditions and compared to habitat simulation results and water-withdrawal scenarios based on 2005 withdrawal data. To examine habitat and recreation characteristics during droughts, daily fish habitat or recreation suitability values were simulated for 2002 and other selected drought years. Recreation suitability during droughts was extremely low, because the modeling demonstrated that suitable conditions occur when the streamflows are greater than the 50th percentile flow for July, August, and September. Habitat availability for fish is generally at a maximum when streamflows are between the 75th and 25th percentile flows for July, August, and September. Time-series results for drought years, such as 2002, showed that extreme low-flow conditions less than the 5th percentile of flow for July, August, and September corresponded to below-normal habitat availability for both game and nongame fish in the upper section of the river. For the middle section near Luray, margined madtom and river chub habitat area were below normal, whereas adult and sub-adult smallmouth bass habitat area remained near the median expected available habitat. In the lower section near Front Royal, time-series results for adult smallmouth bass, sub-adult smallmouth bass, and margined madtom habitat were below normal when streamflows were below the 10th percentile flow for July, August, and September. All other species of fish had habitat availability within the normal range for July, August, and September. Water-conservation scenarios representing a 50 percent water-withdrawal reduction resulted in game fish habitat availability within the normal range for habitat in upper and middle river sections, instead of below normal conditions which were observed during the 2002 drought. The 50 percent water-withdrawal reduction had no measurable effect on recreation. For nongame fish such as river chub, a 20 percent withdrawal reduction resulted in habitat availability within the normal range for habitat in the upper and middle river sections. Increased water-use scenarios representing a 5 percent increase in water withdrawals resulted in a slight reduction in habitat availability; however, increased withdrawals of 20 and 50 percent resulted in habitat availability substantially less than the 25th habitat percentile, or below normal. Habitat reductions were more pronounced when flows were lower than the 10th percentile flow for July, August, and September. The results show that for normal or wet years, increased water withdrawals are not likely to correspond with extensive habitat loss for game fish or nongame fish. During drought years, however, a 20 to 50 percent increase in water withdrawals may result in below normal habitat availability for game fish throughout the river and nongame fish in the upper and middle sections of the river. These simulations of rare historic drought conditions, such as those observed in 2002, serve as a baseline for development of ecological flow thresholds for drought planning.

Strontium is required for statolith development and thus normal swimming behaviour of hatchling cephalopods.

PubMed

Hanlon, R T; Bidwell, J P; Tait, R

1989-01-01

When cephalopod eggs were incubated in artificial sea water it was found that they sometimes resulted in hatchlings with defects of the statocyst suprastructure, leading to the severe behavioural defect of uncontrolled swimming. Experiments in defined media (seven basic salts mixed in deionized water) with seven species of cephalopods demonstrated clearly that there is 100% normal development of the aragonite statoliths when strontium levels were 8 mg l-1. Conversely, statoliths did not develop when strontium was absent. In cuttlefish, the growth of the cuttlebone was also affected adversely when strontium was absent. In mariculture production tanks, supplementing commercial artificial sea water with strontium to normal levels of 8 mg l-1 almost eliminated the occurrence of abnormal hatchlings. Circumstantial evidence indicates that there is a critical window in development during which strontium is required for normal development. The role of strontium in biomineralization during embryogenesis is unknown, but it appears to be important in the Mollusca.

Sedimentation and chemical quality of surface water in the Heart River drainage basin, North Dakota

USGS Publications Warehouse

Maderak, Marion L.

1966-01-01

The Heart River drainage basin of southwestern North Dakota comprises an area of 3,365 square miles and lies within the Missouri Plateau of the Great Plains province. Streamflow of the Heart River and its tributaries during 1949-58 was directly proportional to .the drainage area. After the construction of Heart Butte Dam in 1949 and Dickinson Dam in 1950, the mean annual streamflow near Mandan was decreased an estimated 10 percent by irrigation, evaporation from the two reservoirs, and municipal use. Processes that contribute sediment to the Heart River are mass wasting, advancement of valley heads, and sheet, lateral stream, and gully erosion. In general, glacial deposits, terraces, and bars of Quaternary age are sources of sand and larger sediment, and the rocks of Tertiary age are sources of clay, silt. and sand. The average annual suspended-sediment discharges near Mandan were estimated to be 1,300,000 tons for 1945-49 and 710,000 tons for 1970-58. The percentage composition of ions in water of the Heart River, based on average concentrations in equivalents per million for selected ranges of streamflow, changes with flow and from station to station. During extremely low flows the water contains a large percentage of sodium and about equal percentages of bicarbonate and .sulfate, and during extremely high flows the water contains a large percentage of calcium plus magnesium and bicarbonate. The concentrations, in parts per million, of most of the ions vary inversely with flow. The water in the reservoirs--Edward Arthur Patterson Lake and Lake Tschida--during normal or above-normal runoff is of suitable quality for public use. Generally, because of medium or high salinity hazards, the successful long-term use of Heart River water for irrigation will depend on a moderate amount of leaching, adequate drainage, ,and the growing of crops that have moderate or good salt tolerance.

The beneficial effect of the sap of Acer mono in an animal with low-calcium diet-induced osteoporosis-like symptoms.

PubMed

Lee, Geun-Shik; Byun, Hyuk-Soo; Kim, Man-Hee; Lee, Bo-Mi; Ko, Sang-Hwan; Jung, Eui-Man; Gwak, Ki-Seob; Choi, In-Gyu; Kang, Ha-Young; Jo, Hyun-Jin; Lee, Hak-Ju; Jeung, Eui-Bae

2008-11-01

The sap of Acer mono has been called 'bone-benefit-water' in Korea because of its mineral and sugar content. In particular, the calcium concentration of the sap of A. mono is 37.5 times higher than commercial spring water. In the current study, we examined whether A. mono sap could improve or prevent osteoporosis-like symptoms in a mouse model. Male mice (3 weeks old) were fed a low-calcium diet supplemented with 25, 50 or 100 % A. mono sap, commercial spring water or a high calcium-containing solution as a beverage for 7 weeks. There were no differences in weekly weight gain and food intake among all the groups. Mice that were given a low-calcium diet supplemented with commercial spring water developed osteoporosis-like symptoms. To assess the effect of sap on osteoporosis-like symptoms, we examined serum calcium concentration, and femur density and length, and carried out a histological examination. Serum calcium levels were significantly lower in mice that received a low-calcium diet supplemented with commercial spring water (the negative control group), and in the 25 % sap group compared to mice fed a normal diet, but were normal in the 50 and 100 % sap and high-calcium solution groups. Femur density and length were significantly reduced in the negative control and 25 % sap groups. These results indicate that a 50 % sap solution can mitigate osteoporosis-like symptoms induced by a low-calcium diet. We also examined the regulation of expression of calcium-processing genes in the duodenum and kidney. Duodenal TRPV6 and renal calbindin-D9k were up-regulated dose-dependently by sap, and the levels of these factors were higher than those attained in the spring water-treated control. The results demonstrate that the sap of A. mono ameliorates the low bone density induced by a low-calcium diet, most likely by increasing calcium ion absorption.

Water and nitrogen availability co-control ecosystem CO2 exchange in a semiarid temperate steppe.

PubMed

Zhang, Xiaolin; Tan, Yulian; Li, Ang; Ren, Tingting; Chen, Shiping; Wang, Lixin; Huang, Jianhui

2015-10-23

Both water and nitrogen (N) availability have significant effects on ecosystem CO2 exchange (ECE), which includes net ecosystem productivity (NEP), ecosystem respiration (ER) and gross ecosystem photosynthesis (GEP). How water and N availability influence ECE in arid and semiarid grasslands is still uncertain. A manipulative experiment with additions of rainfall, snow and N was conducted to test their effects on ECE in a semiarid temperate steppe of northern China for three consecutive years with contrasting natural precipitation. ECE increased with annual precipitation but approached peak values at different precipitation amount. Water addition, especially summer water addition, had significantly positive effects on ECE in years when the natural precipitation was normal or below normal, but showed trivial effect on GEP when the natural precipitation was above normal as effects on ER and NEP offset one another. Nitrogen addition exerted non-significant or negative effects on ECE when precipitation was low but switched to a positive effect when precipitation was high, indicating N effect triggered by water availability. Our results indicate that both water and N availability control ECE and the effects of future precipitation changes and increasing N deposition will depend on how they can change collaboratively in this semiarid steppe ecosystem.

The effect of water regime and soil management on methane (CH4) emission of rice field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naharia, O.; Setyanto, P.; Arsyad, M.; Burhan, H.; Aswad, M.

2018-05-01

Mitigation of CH4 emission of rice field is becoming a serious issue. The Agricultural Environment Preservation Research Station in Central Java conducted a field study to investigate the effect of water regime and soil tillage on CH4 emission from paddy fields. Treatments consisted of two factors. The first factor was water regime, e.g., 1) continuously flooded 5 cm, 2) intermittent irrigation and 3) saturated water condition at 0-1 cm water level. The second factor was soil management, e.g., 1) normal tillage, 2) zero tillage + 3 sulfosate ha-1 and 3) zero tillage + 3 L paraquat ha-1. Most of treatments gave a significant reduction of total CH4 emission between 34 – 85% during the wet season crop as compared to normal rice cropping practice, while in the dry season the CH4 reduction ranged between 16 – 92%. No-tillage with non-selective herbicides combined with intermittent/saturated irrigation system significantly reduced methane emission without significantly affecting rice productivity as compared to normal tillage with continuous flooding (farmers practice)

Grading patterns of river flood deposits in a subaqueous delta environment varies with distance from the mouth: example from Lake Shinji, Japan, as a natural laboratory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saitoh, Y.; Masuda, F.

2012-12-01

Hyperpycnal flows have been recognized as an important sediment delivery process in marine environment. In order to clarify whether the momentum of river flows during floods propagates uniformly to offshore or not, we acquired three geo-slicer cores along a longitudinal profile on the subaqueous portion of the Hii River delta built since the 1630s in Lake Shinji, western Japan. Because the hydrologic energy of the lake is significantly low, deposits derived from the Hii River floods were well preserved on its delta front slope region capped by mud. Grading patterns of 26 individual sand beds in the cores vary with water depth. Triple stacks of inverse-to-normal grading is seen in beds of shallower horizons than 5 m below the water surface. Single inverse-to-normal grading mainly appears between 4 and 5 m depth, and normal grading dominates between 5 and 6 m depth. Assuming that flood hydrographs for the Hii River have not changed since the 17th century, this variation suggests the non-uniform propagation of the momentum of the river flow to its outflow. Inverse and normal grading is interpreted to reflect the waxing and waning of the parent flow, respectively. Thus, the hydrograph of the flood outflow is suggested to become simple with distance from the mouth. Triple stacks of inverse-to-normal grading in shallower horizons can be interpreted as consequences of movement of the plunge point of flood plumes during the course of flood events. Spatially decelerating sediment-laden river plumes steeply increase their velocity after they plunge beneath the water surface (Lamb et al., 2010). In depth-limited proximal areas of a subaqueous delta, back-and-forth translation of the plunge point over a fixed point due to the waxing and waning of river discharge leads to three cycles of waxing and waning of flow velocity. In the distal parts of the delta, where the plunge point does not reach, velocity of plunged hyperpycnal flow increases and then decreases reflecting directly the waxing and waning of river discharge, and would have formed single inverse-to-normal grading. There are two possible explanations for overall normal grading seen in further deeper horizons, 1) only a part of hyperpycnal flow generated around the flood peak could have reached the area as a surge-like flow because of the lateral spreading of the flow, or 2) the slower initial part of the hyperpycnal flow had been overtaken by the succeeding faster part to yield a monotonically waning flow at a fixed point.

Bed-Deformation Experiments Beneath a Temperate Glacier

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iverson, N. R.; Hooyer, T. S.; Fischer, U. H.; Cohen, D.; Jackson, M.; Moore, P. L.; Lappegard, G.; Kohler, J.

2002-12-01

Fast flow of glaciers and genesis of glacial landforms are commonly attributed to shear deformation of subglacial sediment. Although models of this process abound, data gathered subglacially on the kinematics and mechanics of such deformation are difficult to interpret. Major difficulties stem from the necessity of either measuring deformation near glacier margins, where conditions may be abnormal, or at the bottoms of boreholes, where the scope of instrumentation is limited, drilling disturbs sediment, and local boundary conditions are poorly known. A different approach is possible at the Svartisen Subglacial Laboratory, where tunnels melted in the ice provide temporary human access to the bed of Engabreen, a temperate outlet glacier of the Svartisen Ice Cap in Norway. A trough (2 m x 1.5 m x 0.5 m deep) was blasted in the rock bed, where the glacier is 220 m thick and sliding at 0.1-0.2 m/d. During two spring field seasons, this trough was filled with 2.5 tons of simulated till. Instruments in the till recorded shear (tiltmeters), volume change, total normal stress, and pore-water pressure as ice moved across the till surface. Pore pressure was brought to near the total normal stress by feeding water to the base of the till with a high-pressure pump, operated in a rock tunnel 4 m below the bed surface. Results illustrate some fundamental aspects of bed deformation. Permanent shear deformation requires low effective normal stress and hence high pore-water pressure, owing to the frictional nature of till. Shear strain generally increases upward in the bed toward the glacier sole, consistent with previous measurements beneath thinner ice at glacier margins. At low effective normal stresses, ice sometimes decouples from underlying till. Overall, bed deformation accounts for 10-35 % of basal motion, although this range excludes shear in the uppermost 0.05 m of till where shear was not measured. Pump tests with durations ranging from seconds to hours highlight the need to consider both elastic and permanent strain in evaluating tiltmeter records of bed kinematics.

Histology, composition, and quality traits of chicken Pectoralis major muscle affected by wooden breast abnormality.

PubMed

Soglia, F; Mudalal, S; Babini, E; Di Nunzio, M; Mazzoni, M; Sirri, F; Cavani, C; Petracci, M

2016-03-01

Only a few years ago, the poultry industry began to face a recent abnormality in breast meat, known as wooden breast, which frequently overlaps with white striping. This study aimed to assess the impact of wooden breast abnormality on quality traits of meat. For this purpose, 32 normal (NRM), 32 wooden (WB), and 32 wooden and white-striped (WB/WS) Pectoralis major muscles were selected from the same flock of heavy broilers (males, Ross 708, weighing around 3.7 kg) in the deboning area of a commercial processing plant at 3 h postmortem and used to assess histology, proximate (moisture, protein, fat, ash, and collagen) and mineral composition (Mg, K, P, Na and Ca), sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar protein patterns, and technological traits of breast meat. Compared to the normal group, WB/WS fillets showed more severe histological lesions characterized by fiber degeneration, fibrosis, and lipidosis, coupled with a significantly harder texture. With regard to proximate and mineral composition, abnormal samples exhibited significantly (P < 0.001) higher moisture, fat, and collagen contents coupled with lower (P < 0.001) amounts of protein and ash. Furthermore, increased calcium (131 vs. 84 mg kg(-1); P < 0.05) and sodium (741 vs. 393 mg kg(-1); P < 0.001) levels were found in WB/WS meat samples. The SDS-PAGE analysis revealed a significantly lower amount of calcium-ATPase (SERCA, 114 kDa), responsible for the translocation of Ca ions across the membrane, in normal breasts compared to abnormal ones. As for meat quality traits, fillets affected by wooden abnormality exhibited significantly (P < 0.001) higher ultimate pH and lower water-holding/water-binding capacity. In particular, compared to normal, abnormal samples showed reduced marinade uptake coupled with increased drip loss and cooking losses as well. In conclusion, this study revealed that meat affected by wooden breast or both wooden breast and white striping abnormalities exhibit poorer nutritional value, harder texture, and impaired water-holding capacity. © 2015 Poultry Science Association Inc.

A Study of Drop-Microstructured Surface Interactions during Dropwise Condensation with Quartz Crystal Microbalance

PubMed Central

Su, Junwei; Charmchi, Majid; Sun, Hongwei

2016-01-01

Dropwise condensation (DWC) on hydrophobic surfaces is attracting attention for its great potential in many industrial applications, such as steam power plants, water desalination, and de-icing of aerodynamic surfaces, to list a few. The direct dynamic characterization of liquid/solid interaction can significantly accelerate the progress toward a full understanding of the thermal and mass transport mechanisms during DWC processes. This work reports a novel Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) based method that can quantitatively analyze the interaction between water droplets and micropillar surfaces during different condensation states such as filmwise, Wenzel, and partial Cassie states. A combined nanoimprinting lithography and chemical surface treatment approach was utilized to fabricate the micropillar based superhydrophobic and superhydrophilic surfaces on the QCM substrates. The normalized frequency shift of the QCM device together with the microscopic observation of the corresponding drop motion revealed the droplets growth and their coalescence processes and clearly demonstrated the differences between the three aforementioned condensation states. In addition, the transition between Cassie and Wenzel states was successfully captured by this method. The newly developed QCM system provides a valuable tool for the dynamic characterization of different condensation processes. PMID:27739452

Seismic and aseismic deformations and impact on reservoir permeability: The case of EGS stimulation at The Geysers, California, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeanne, Pierre; Rutqvist, Jonny; Rinaldi, Antonio Pio; Dobson, Patrick F.; Walters, Mark; Hartline, Craig; Garcia, Julio

2015-11-01

In this paper, we use the Seismicity-Based Reservoir Characterization approach to study the spatiotemporal dynamics of an injection-induced microseismic cloud, monitored during the stimulation of an enhanced geothermal system, and associated with the Northwest Geysers Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) Demonstration project (California). We identified the development of a seismically quiet domain around the injection well surrounded by a seismically active domain. Then we compare these observations with the results of 3-D Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical simulations of the EGS, which accounts for changes in permeability as a function of the effective normal stress and the plastic strain. The results of our modeling show that (1) the aseismic domain is caused by both the presence of the injected cold water and by thermal processes. These thermal processes cause a cooling-stress reduction, which prevent shear reactivation and favors fracture opening by reducing effective normal stress and locally increasing the permeability. This process is accompanied by aseismic plastic shear strain. (2) In the seismic domain, microseismicity is caused by the reactivation of the preexisting fractures, resulting from an increase in injection-induced pore pressure. Our modeling indicates that in this domain, permeability evolves according to the effective normal stress acting on the shear zones, whereas shearing of preexisting fractures may have a low impact on permeability. We attribute this lack of permeability gain to the fact that the initial permeabilities of these preexisting fractures are already high (up to 2 orders of magnitude higher than the host rock) and may already be fully dilated by past tectonic straining.

Sampling colloids and colloid-associated contaminants in ground water

USGS Publications Warehouse

Backhus, Debera A.; Ryan, Joseph N.; Groher, Daniel M.; MacFarlane, John K.; Gschwend, Philip M.

1993-01-01

It has recently been recognized that mobile colloids may affect the transport of contaminants in ground water. To determine the significance of this process, knowledge of both the total mobile load (dissolved + colloid-associated) and the dissolved concentration of a ground-water contaminant must be obtained. Additional information regarding mobile colloid characteristics and concentrations are required to predict accurately the fate and effects of contaminants at sites where significant quantities of colloids are found. To obtain this information, a sampling scheme has been designed and refined to collect mobile colloids while avoiding the inclusion of normally immobile subsurface and well-derived solids. The effectiveness of this sampling protocol was evaluated at a number of contaminated and pristine sites.The sampling results indicated that slow, prolonged pumping of ground water is much more effective at obtaining ground-water samples that represent in situ colloid populations than bailing. Bailed samples from a coal tar-contaminated site contained 10–100 times greater colloid concentrations and up to 750 times greater polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations as were detected in slowly pumped samples. The sampling results also indicated that ground-water colloid concentrations should be monitored in the field to determine the adequacy of purging if colloid and colloid-associated contaminants are of interest. To avoid changes in the natural ground-water colloid population through precipitation or coagulation, in situ ground-water chemistry conditions must be preserved during sampling and storage. Samples collected for determination of the total mobile load of colloids and low-solubility contaminants must not be filtered because some mobile colloids are removed by this process. Finally, suggestions that mobile colloids are present in ground water at any particular site should be corroborated with auxiliary data, such as colloid levels in “background” wells, colloid-size distributions, ground-water geochemistry, and colloid surface characteristics.

Brain tissue water content in patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus.

PubMed

Aygok, G; Marmarou, A; Fatouros, P; Young, H

2006-01-01

Relatively little is known regarding the water content of brain tissue in idiopathic normal-pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) patients. The objective of our study was to determine absolute water content non-invasively in hydrocephalic patients, particularly in the anterior and posterior ventricular horns and in the periventricular white matter. Ten patients who were diagnosed and treated for idiopathic NPH in our clinic were selected for study. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques were used to obtain anatomical image slices for quantitative brain water measurements. Apparent diffusion coefficient measures were also extracted from regions of interest. To our knowledge, this is the first study to confirm that periventricular lucency seen on MRI represents increased water content in the extracellular space that is markedly elevated prior to shunting.

Immediate and extended effects of sodium lauryl sulphate exposure on stratum corneum natural moisturizing factor.

PubMed

Hoffman, D R; Kroll, L M; Basehoar, A; Reece, B; Cunningham, C T; Koenig, D W

2014-02-01

Natural moisturizing factor (NMF) serves as the primary humectant of the stratum corneum (SC), principally comprised of hygroscopic amino acids and derivatives that absorb moisture. Barrier disruption has been shown to differentially affect the levels of specific NMF components, though the kinetics of NMF component restoration following disruption have not been examined. Here, we investigated the impact of barrier disruption caused by surfactant exposure on a subset of NMF components immediately following exposure and out to 10 days post-exposure. Volunteers wore patches containing either 1% w/v sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) or distilled water on their forearms for 24 h. Measurements of transepidermal water loss, erythema, SC water content and a subset of SC NMF and lipid components were obtained at both sites before treatment, the day of patch removal, and 1, 2, 3, 6, and 10 days following treatment. Most measured NMF components decreased in response to SLS exposure. Exceptions were increases in lactate, ornithine and urea, and no difference in proline levels. In the days following exposure, reduced levels of several NMF components continued at the SLS site; however, all measured NMF components demonstrated equivalence to the vehicle control within 10 days. Histidine pH 7, lactate, ornithine and urea were the first to achieve levels equivalent to the vehicle control site, normalizing within 1 day after patch removal. Results imply that NMF components derived from sweat and urea cycling are least impacted by SLS exposure whereas NMF components derived from degradation of filaggrin and/or other S-100 proteins are most impacted. This implies the restoration of the processes responsible for S-100 protein processing into free amino acids takes several days to return to normal. Further examination of the enzymes involved in S-100 protein processing following barrier disruption would provide insight into the pathway(s) for NMF restoration during SC recovery. © 2013 Society of Cosmetic Scientists and the Société Française de Cosmétologie.

9 CFR 3.30 - Watering.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... Pigs and Hamsters Animal Health and Husbandry Standards § 3.30 Watering. Unless food supplements consumed by guinea pigs or hamsters supply them with their normal water requirements, potable water shall... containers used for dispensing water to guinea pigs or hamsters shall be so placed in or attached to the...

9 CFR 3.30 - Watering.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... Pigs and Hamsters Animal Health and Husbandry Standards § 3.30 Watering. Unless food supplements consumed by guinea pigs or hamsters supply them with their normal water requirements, potable water shall... containers used for dispensing water to guinea pigs or hamsters shall be so placed in or attached to the...

9 CFR 3.30 - Watering.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... Pigs and Hamsters Animal Health and Husbandry Standards § 3.30 Watering. Unless food supplements consumed by guinea pigs or hamsters supply them with their normal water requirements, potable water shall... containers used for dispensing water to guinea pigs or hamsters shall be so placed in or attached to the...

9 CFR 3.30 - Watering.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... Pigs and Hamsters Animal Health and Husbandry Standards § 3.30 Watering. Unless food supplements consumed by guinea pigs or hamsters supply them with their normal water requirements, potable water shall... containers used for dispensing water to guinea pigs or hamsters shall be so placed in or attached to the...

Dicarboxylic acids, oxocarboxylic acids and α-dicarbonyls in fine aerosols over central Alaska: Implications for sources and atmospheric processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deshmukh, Dhananjay K.; Mozammel Haque, Md.; Kawamura, Kimitaka; Kim, Yongwon

2018-04-01

The presence of water-soluble dicarboxylic acids in atmospheric aerosols has a significant influence on the regional radiative forcing through direct aerosol effect and cloud formation process. Fine aerosol (PM2.5) samples collected in central Alaska (Fairbanks: 64.51°N and 147.51°W) during summer of 2009 were measured for water-soluble diacids (C2-C12), oxoacids (C2-C9) and α-dicarbonyls (C2-C3) as well as elemental carbon (EC), organic carbon (OC) and water-soluble OC (WSOC) to assess their sources and formation processes. We found the predominance of oxalic acid (C2) followed by malonic (C3) and succinic acid (C4) in Alaskan aerosols. Higher C3/C4 diacid ratios (ave. 1.2) in Alaskan aerosols than those reported for fresh aerosols emitted from fossil fuel combustion (ave. 0.35) and biomass burning (0.51-0.66) suggest that organic aerosols in central Alaska were photochemically processed. The relatively high correlations of major diacids and related compounds with levoglucosan (r = 0.80-0.99) than those with 2-methylglyceric acid (r = 0.59-0.98) suggest that they were significantly produced from biomass burning emission. Strong correlations of C2 with normal-chain saturated diacids (C3-C9: r = 0.80-0.98), glyoxylic acid (ωC2: r = 0.95) and methylglyoxal (MeGly: r = 0.88), together with strong correlations of solar radiation with ratio of C2 to C2-C12 diacids (r = 0.83), ωC2 (r = 0.80) and MeGly (r = 0.82) suggest that oxalic acid in PM2.5 aerosol was produced by the photooxidation of higher homologous diacids, glyoxylic acid and methylglyoxal in the atmosphere of central Alaska. These results reveal that photochemical processing of organic precursors mainly produced from biomass burning control the water-soluble organic chemical composition of fine aerosols in central Alaska.

Giardiasis (For Parents)

MedlinePlus

... their stool. The stool can then contaminate public water supplies, community swimming pools, and water sources like lakes ... normal amounts of chlorine used to purify community water supplies, and can live for more than 2 months ...

Impact of ozonation and biological activated carbon filtration on ceramic membrane fouling.

PubMed

Ibn Abdul Hamid, Khaled; Sanciolo, Peter; Gray, Stephen; Duke, Mikel; Muthukumaran, Shobha

2017-12-01

Ozone pre-treatment (ozonation, ozonisation) and biological activated carbon (BAC) filtration pre-treatment for the ceramic microfiltration (CMF) treatment of secondary effluent (SE) were studied. Ozone pre-treatment was found to result in higher overall removal of UV absorbance (UVA 254 ) and colour, and higher permeability than BAC pre-treatment or the combined use of ozone and BAC (O3+BAC) pre-treatment. The overall removal of colour and UVA 254 by ceramic filtration of the ozone pre-treated water was 97% and 63% respectively, compared to 86% and 48% respectively for BAC pre-treatment and 29% and 6% respectively for the untreated water. Ozone pre-treatment, however, was not effective in removal of dissolved organic carbon (DOC). The permeability of the ozone pre-treated water through the ceramic membrane was found to decrease to 50% of the original value after 200 min of operation, compared to approximately 10% of the original value for the BAC pre-treated, O3+BAC pre-treated water and the untreated water. The higher permeability of the ozone pre-treated water was attributed to the excellent removal of biopolymer particles (100%) and high removal of humic substances (84%). The inclusion of a BAC stage between ozone pre-treatment and ceramic filtration was detrimental. The O3+BAC+CMF process was found to yield higher biopolymer removal (96%), lower humic substance (HS) component removal (66%) and lower normalized permeability (0.1) after 200 min of operation than the O3+CMF process (86%, 84% and 0.5 respectively). This was tentatively attributed to the chemical oxidation effect of ozone on the BAC biofilm and adsorbed components, leading to the generation of foulants that are not generated in the O3+CMF process. This study demonstrated the potential of ozone pre-treatment for reducing organic fouling and thus improving flux for the CMF of SE compared to O3+BAC pre-treatment. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Distribution, sedimentation, and bioavailability of particulate phosphorus in the mainstream of the Three Gorges Reservoir.

PubMed

Tang, Xianqiang; Wu, Min; Li, Rui

2018-09-01

The transportation and sedimentation of particulate phosphorus (PP) in a huge reservoir such as the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) are closely related to the phosphorus distribution characteristics and nutritional status of the water body. In this study, the PP distribution, sedimentation, and bioavailability in the mainstream section of the TGR were investigated through a field survey, indoor simulated settlement experiment, and historical data analysis. The results indicated that PP was the major component of the total phosphorus (TP) and that the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) trapped nearly 76.25% of suspended sediment (SS) and 75.35% of PP in the TGR, even during the flood season. A decline in flow velocity promoted the deposition of PP; additionally, PP concentrations gradually dropped from 0.35 mg/L in Chongqing to 0.02 mg/L in Zigui. The static PP sedimentation process adequately fitted a pseudo-second-order kinetic equation with a maximum correlation coefficient of 0.97. Moreover, more than half of the PP sedimentation process was achieved in less than 60 min for samples collected from the upper river reaches within simulated sedimentation process. The median particle size of SS and absolute value of the water column's zeta potential were negatively and positively related to the t 12 values of PP sedimentation, respectively. Compared with the concentration and particle size of SS obtained in the pre-TGR period, the values in the mainstream section of the TGR were lower. However, the TP and Fe/Al-P contents in SS increased several times. Due to the combined effects of flow velocity reduction and SS trapping, the water transparency and bioavailability of water column phosphorus were enhanced. Thus, the risk of water bloom outburst significantly increased when the impounded water level of 175 m in the TGR became the normal state. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Groundwater level and specific conductance monitoring at Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune, Onslow County, North Carolina, 2007-2008

USGS Publications Warehouse

McSwain, Kristen Bukowski

2010-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune, monitored water-resources conditions in the surficial, Castle Hayne, Peedee, and Black Creek aquifers in Onslow County, North Carolina, from November 2007 through September 2008. To comply with North Carolina Central Coastal Plain Capacity Use Area regulations, large-volume water suppliers in Onslow County must reduce their dependency on the Black Creek aquifer as a water-supply source and have, instead, proposed using the Castle Hayne aquifer as an alternative water-supply source. The Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune, uses water obtained from the unregulated surficial and Castle Hayne aquifers for drinking-water supply. Water-level data were collected and field measurements of physical properties were made at 19 wells at 8 locations spanning the Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune. These wells were instrumented with near real-time monitoring equipment to collect hourly measurements of water level. Additionally, specific conductance and water temperature were measured hourly in 16 of the 19 wells. Graphs are presented relating altitude of groundwater level to water temperature and specific conductance measurements collected during the study, and the relative vertical gradients between aquifers are discussed. The period-of-record normal (25th to 75th percentile) monthly mean groundwater levels at two well clusters were compared to median monthly mean groundwater levels at these same well clusters for 2008 to determine groundwater-resources conditions. In 2008, water levels were below normal in the 3 wells at one of the well clusters and were normal in 4 wells at the other cluster.

10 CFR 36.63 - Pool water purity.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Pool water purity. 36.63 Section 36.63 Energy NUCLEAR... § 36.63 Pool water purity. (a) Pool water purification system must be run sufficiently to maintain the conductivity of the pool water below 20 microsiemens per centimeter under normal circumstances. If pool water...

10 CFR 36.63 - Pool water purity.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 10 Energy 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Pool water purity. 36.63 Section 36.63 Energy NUCLEAR... § 36.63 Pool water purity. (a) Pool water purification system must be run sufficiently to maintain the conductivity of the pool water below 20 microsiemens per centimeter under normal circumstances. If pool water...

10 CFR 36.63 - Pool water purity.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 10 Energy 1 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Pool water purity. 36.63 Section 36.63 Energy NUCLEAR... § 36.63 Pool water purity. (a) Pool water purification system must be run sufficiently to maintain the conductivity of the pool water below 20 microsiemens per centimeter under normal circumstances. If pool water...

10 CFR 36.63 - Pool water purity.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 10 Energy 1 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Pool water purity. 36.63 Section 36.63 Energy NUCLEAR... § 36.63 Pool water purity. (a) Pool water purification system must be run sufficiently to maintain the conductivity of the pool water below 20 microsiemens per centimeter under normal circumstances. If pool water...

10 CFR 36.63 - Pool water purity.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 10 Energy 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Pool water purity. 36.63 Section 36.63 Energy NUCLEAR... § 36.63 Pool water purity. (a) Pool water purification system must be run sufficiently to maintain the conductivity of the pool water below 20 microsiemens per centimeter under normal circumstances. If pool water...

Alternative Food Preservation Techniques, New Technology in Food Preparation and Appropriateness of Food Supply for the Permanently Manned Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whelan, R. H.

1985-01-01

Alternative food preservation techniques are defined as unique processes and combinations of currently used processes for food preservation. Food preservation is the extension of the useful shelf-life of normally perishable foods (from harvest to final consumption) by controlling micro-organisms, enzymes, chemical changes, changes in sensory characteristics and the prevention of subsequent recontamination. The resulting products must comply with all applicable food manufacturing practice regulations and be safe. Most of the foods currently used in both space and military feeding are stabilized either by dehydration or the use of a terminal sterilization process. Other available options would be formulation to reduce water activity, the refrigeration and freezing of perishable foods, chemical addition, and physical treatment (ionizing or nonionizing radiation or mechanical action). These alternatives are considered and proposals made.

[Environmental safety assessment on the new super absorbent polymers applied into a soil-Chinese cabbage system].

PubMed

Li, Xi; He, Ji-Zheng; Zheng, Yuan-Ming; Zheng, Ming-Lan

2014-02-01

Super absorbent polymers (SAPs), a new water retention material, have a potential for application in water-saving agricultural production. In this study, we investigated the effects of SAPs, synthesized from natural plant extracts, on Chinese cabbage fresh weight, soil water content, soil water stable aggregates, soil microbial biomass (carbon) and soil microbial respiration under three water conditions (excessive, normal and deficient) and two SAPs application strategies (bulk treatment and spraying treatment). The results showed that the SAPs significantly promoted the soil water content, water-stable aggregates (> 0.25 mm) and the soil microbial activities, especially under the water deficient conditions. Meanwhile, SAP application strategy was of great significance to the effects on Chinese cabbage and soil properties. Compared with the control treatment under normal water condition, spraying treatment of Jaguar C (S-JC) could reduce irrigation water amount by about 25% without reducing the crop production. Furthermore, compared with the control treatment under the same water condition with S-JC (deficient), it could increase Chinese cabbage production by 287%. Thus, SAPs is an environmental friendly water-saving technique in agricultural production.

Caution on the use of liquid nitrogen traps in stable hydrogen isotope-ratio mass spectrometry

USGS Publications Warehouse

Coplen, Tyler B.; Qi, Haiping

2010-01-01

An anomalous stable hydrogen isotopic fractionation of 4 ‰ in gaseous hydrogen has been correlated with the process of adding liquid nitrogen (LN2) to top off the dewar of a stainless-steel water trap on a gaseous hydrogen-water platinum equilibration system. Although the cause of this isotopic fractionation is unknown, its effect can be mitigated by (1) increasing the capacity of any dewars so that they do not need to be filled during a daily analytic run, (2) interspersing isotopic reference waters among unknowns, and (3) applying a linear drift correction and linear normalization to isotopic results with a program such as Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) for Light Stable Isotopes. With adoption of the above guidelines, measurement uncertainty can be substantially improved. For example, the long-term (months to years) δ2H reproducibility (1& sigma; standard deviation) of nine local isotopic reference waters analyzed daily improved substantially from about 1‰ to 0.58 ‰. This isotopically fractionating mechanism might affect other isotope-ratio mass spectrometers in which LN2 is used as a moisture trap for gaseous hydrogen

LIMS for Lasers 2015 for achieving long-term accuracy and precision of δ2H, δ17O, and δ18O of waters using laser absorption spectrometry

USGS Publications Warehouse

Coplen, Tyler B.; Wassenaar, Leonard I

2015-01-01

Although laser absorption spectrometry (LAS) instrumentation is easy to use, its incorporation into laboratory operations is not easy, owing to extensive offline manipulation of comma-separated-values files for outlier detection, between-sample memory correction, nonlinearity (δ-variation with water amount) correction, drift correction, normalization to VSMOW-SLAP scales, and difficulty in performing long-term QA/QC audits. METHODS: A Microsoft Access relational-database application, LIMS (Laboratory Information Management System) for Lasers 2015, was developed. It automates LAS data corrections and manages clients, projects, samples, instrument-sample lists, and triple-isotope (δ(17) O, δ(18) O, and δ(2) H values) instrumental data for liquid-water samples. It enables users to (1) graphically evaluate sample injections for variable water yields and high isotope-delta variance; (2) correct for between-sample carryover, instrumental drift, and δ nonlinearity; and (3) normalize final results to VSMOW-SLAP scales. RESULTS: Cost-free LIMS for Lasers 2015 enables users to obtain improved δ(17) O, δ(18) O, and δ(2) H values with liquid-water LAS instruments, even those with under-performing syringes. For example, LAS δ(2) HVSMOW measurements of USGS50 Lake Kyoga (Uganda) water using an under-performing syringe having ±10 % variation in water concentration gave +31.7 ± 1.6 ‰ (2-σ standard deviation), compared with the reference value of +32.8 ± 0.4 ‰, after correction for variation in δ value with water concentration, between-sample memory, and normalization to the VSMOW-SLAP scale. CONCLUSIONS: LIMS for Lasers 2015 enables users to create systematic, well-founded instrument templates, import δ(2) H, δ(17) O, and δ(18) O results, evaluate performance with automatic graphical plots, correct for δ nonlinearity due to variable water concentration, correct for between-sample memory, adjust for drift, perform VSMOW-SLAP normalization, and perform long-term QA/QC audits easily.

Characteristics of global organic matrix in normal and pimpled chicken eggshells.

PubMed

Liu, Z; Song, L; Zhang, F; He, W; Linhardt, R J

2017-10-01

The organic matrix from normal and pimpled calcified chicken eggshells were dissociated into acid-insoluble, water-insoluble, and facultative-soluble (both acid- and water-soluble) components, to understand the influence of shell matrix on eggshell qualities. A linear correlation was shown among these 3 matrix components in normal eggshells but was not observed in pimpled eggshells. In pimpled eggshells, the percentage contents of all 4 groups of matrix (the total matrix, acid-insoluble matrix, water-insoluble matrix, and facultative-soluble matrix) were significantly higher than that in normal eggshells. The amounts of both total matrix and acid-insoluble matrix in individual pimpled calcified shells were high, even though their weight was much lower than a normal eggshell. In both normal and pimpled eggshells, the calcified eggshell weight and shell thickness significantly and positively correlated with the amounts of all 4 groups of matrix in an individual calcified shell. In normal eggshells, the calcified shell thickness and shell breaking strength showed no significant correlations with the percentage contents of all 4 groups of matrix. In normal eggshells, only the shell membrane weight significantly correlated with the constituent ratios of both acid-insoluble matrix and facultative-soluble matrix in the whole matrix. In pimpled eggshells, 3 variables (calcified shell weight, shell thickness, and breaking strength) were significantly correlated with the constituent proportions of both acid-insoluble matrix and facultative-matrix. This study suggests that mechanical properties of normal eggshells may not linearly depend on the organic matrix content in the calcified eggshells and that pimpled eggshells might result by the disequilibrium enrichment of some proteins with negative effects. © 2017 Poultry Science Association Inc.

Prostate Cancer Detection Using Near Infrared Spectral Polarization Imaging

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-07-01

position. This indicates the polarization preservation nature of Cybesin. Time Resolved Fluorescence Intensity of Cybesin 60000 Perpendicular 3000 0...absorption than that of normal tissue at water absorption peaks indicating cancer tissue has less water content than that of normal tissue; (5) preliminary...rectum-and-membrane tissues.’ This indicates that our proposed approach of imaging a prostate gland through rectum using spectral polarization imaging

76 FR 69720 - Don Pedro Hydro, LLC; Moccasin Pumped Storage, LLC; Notice of Competing Preliminary Permit...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-09

... storage capacity of 25,000 acre-feet and a surface area of 241 acres at maximum normal water surface... penstocks; (4) a powerhouse with four 250 MW pump/turbines having an installed capacity of approximately... capacity of 25,000 acre-feet and a surface area of 240 acres at maximum normal water surface elevation of 1...

TOPEX/El Nino Watch - October 3, 1997

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

This image of the Pacific Ocean was produced using sea surface height measurements taken by the U.S./French TOPEX/Poseidon satellite. The image shows sea surface height relative to normal ocean conditions on Oct. 3, 1997 as the warm water associated with El Nino (in white) spreads northward along the entire coast of North America from the equator all the way to Alaska. The warm water pool in tropical Pacific resulting from El Nino seems to have stabilized. The white and red areas indicate unusual patterns of heat storage; in the white areas, the sea surface is between 14 and 32 centimeters (6 to 13 inches) above normal; in the red areas, it's about 10 centimeters (4 inches) above normal. The surface area covered by the warm water mass is about one and one-half times the size of the continental United States. The added amount of oceanic warm water near the Americas, with a temperature between 21 and 30 C (70 to 85 F), carries the amount of heat equal to 100 times the amount of fossil fuel energy consumed by the entire U.S. population during one year. The green areas indicate normal conditions, while purple (the western Pacific) means at least 18 centimeters (7 inches) below normal sea level.

The El Nino phenomenon is thought to be triggered when the steady westward blowing trade winds weaken and even reverse direction. This change in the winds allows a large mass of warm water (the red and white area) that is normally located near Australia to move eastward along the equator until it reaches the coast of South America. The displacement of so much warm water affects evaporation, where rain clouds form and, consequently, alters the typical atmospheric jet stream patterns around the world. Using these global data, limited regional measurements from buoys and ships, and a forecasting model of the ocean-atmosphere system, the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued an advisory indicating the presence of a strong El Nino condition throughout the coming winter.

For more information, please visit the TOPEX/Poseidon project web page at http://topex-www.jpl.nasa.gov/

Smectite Dehydration, Membrane Filtration, and Pore-Water Freshening in Deep Ultra-Low Permeability Formations: Deep Processes in the Nankai Accretionary Wedge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, K. M.; Sample, J. C.; Even, E.; Poeppe, D.; Henry, P.; Tobin, H. J.; Saffer, D. M.; Hirose, T.; Toczko, S.; Maeda, L.

2014-12-01

We address the fundamental questions surrounding the nature of water and chemical transport processes deep within sedimentary basin and accretionary-wedge environments. Consolidation and permeability studies conducted to 165 MPa (~10km depth) indicate that ultra-tight clay formations (10-18 m2 to10-21 m2) can substantially modify the fluids migrating through then. Pore-water extractions conducted on smectite/illite rich core samples obtained from 1-3 km depths at IODP (NanTroSEIZE, Chikyu) deep-riser drilling Site C0002, at the elevated loads required to squeeze waters from such deeply buried sediment (stresses up to 100 MPa),resulted in anomalous patterns of sequential freshening with progressive loading. More accurate laboratory investigations (both incremental loading and Constant Rate of Strain test) revealed that such freshening initiates above 20 MPa and progresses with consolidation to become greater than 20% by effective normal load of 165 MPa. Log-log plots of stress vs. hydraulic conductivity reveal that trends remain linear to elevated stresses and total porosities as low at 14%. The implications are that stress induced smectite dehydration and/or membrane filtration effects cause remarkable changes in pore water chemistry with fluid migration through deep, tight, clay-rich formations. These changes should occur in addition to any thermally induced diagenetic and clay-dehydration effects on pore water chemistry. Work is progressing to evaluate the impact of clay composition and temperature to ascertain if purely illitic compositions show similar trends and if the mass fractionation of water and other isotopes also occurs. Such studies will ascertain if the presence of smectite is a prerequisite for freshening or if membrane filtration is a major process in earth systems containing common clay minerals. The results have major implications for interpretations of mass chemical balances, pore water profiles, and the hydrologic, geochemical, and stress state controls on deep system behavior in all deep accretionary wedge and basin environments where clays are abundant. This research used samples provided by the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP).

Osmoregulatory processes and skeletal muscle metabolism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boschmann, Michael; Gottschalk, Simone; Adams, Frauke; Luft, Friedrich C.; Jordan, Jens

Prolonged microgravity during space flight is associated with a decrease in blood and extracellular volume. These changes in water and electrolyte balance might activate catabolic processes which contribute finally to the loss of muscle and bone mass and strength. Recently, we found a prompt increase that energy expenditure by about 30% in both normal and overweight men and women after drinking 500 ml water. This effect is mediated by an increased sympathetic nervous system activity, obviously secondary to stimulation of osmosensitive afferent neurons in the liver, and skeletal muscle is possibly one effector organ. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that this thermogenic response to water is accompanied by a stimulation of aerobic glucose metabolism in skeletal muscle. To this end, 16 young healthy volunteers (8 men) were studied. After an overnight fast (12h), a microdialysis probe was implanted into the right M. quadriceps femoris vastus lateralis and subsequently perfused with Ringer's solution (+50 mM ethanol). After 1h, volunteers were asked to drink 500 ml water (22° C) followed by continuing microdialysis for another 90 min. Dialysates (15 min fractions) were analyzed for [ethanol], [glucose], [lactate], [pyruvate], and [glycerol] in order to assess changes in muscle tissue perfusion (ethanol dilution technique), glycolysis and lipolysis. Blood samples were taken and heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) were monitored. Neither HR and systolic and diastolic BP, nor plasma [glucose], [lactate], [insulin], and [C peptide] changed significantly after water drinking. Also, tissue perfusion and dialysate [glucose] did not change significantly. However, dialysate [lactate] increased by about 10 and 20% and dialysate [pyruvate] by about 100 and 200% in men and women, respectively. In contrast, dialysate [glycerol] decreased by about 30 and 20% in men and women, respectively. Therefore, drinking of 500 ml water stimulates aerobic glucose metabolism and inhibits lipolysis in skeletal muscle and this to a greater extent in women than men. These insulin-like effects after water drinking originate possibly from regulatory cell volume swelling in osmosensitive organs such as muscle. Therefore, a well-balanced water homeostasis might be important for preventing catabolic processes during long-term space expeditions.

The effects of solvent on the conformation and the collective motions of protein: Normal mode analysis and molecular dynamics simulations of melittin in water and in vacuum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kitao, Akio; Hirata, Fumio; Gō, Nobuhiro

1991-12-01

The effects of solvent on the conformation and dynamics of protein is studied by computer simulation. The dynamics is studied by focusing mainly on collective motions of the protein molecule. Three types of simulation, normal mode analysis, molecular dynamics in vacuum, and molecular dynamics in water are applied to melittin, the major component of bee venom. To define collective motions principal, component analysis as well as normal mode analysis has been carried out. The principal components with large fluctuation amplitudes have a very good correspondence with the low-frequency normal modes. Trajectories of the molecular dynamics simulation are projected onto the principal axes. From the projected motions time correlation functions are calculated. The results indicate that the very-low-frequency modes, whose frequencies are less than ≈ 50 cm -1, are overdamping in water with relaxation times roushly twice as long as the period of the oscillatory motion. Effective Langevin mode analysis is carried out by using the friction coefficient matrix determined from the velocity correlation function calculated from the molecular dynamics trajectory in water. This analysis reproduces the results of the simulation in water reasonably well. The presence of the solvent water is found also to affect the shape of the potential energy surface in such a way that it produces many local minima with low-energy barriers in between, the envelope of which is given by the surface in vacuum. Inter-minimum transitions endow the conformational dynamics of proteins in water another diffusive character, which already exists in the intra-minimum collective motions.

Efficacy of 230Th normalization in sediments from the Juan de Fuca Ridge, northeast Pacific Ocean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Costa, Kassandra; McManus, Jerry

2017-01-01

230Th normalization is an indispensable method for reconstructing sedimentation rates and mass fluxes over time, but the validity of this approach has generated considerable debate in the paleoceanographic community. 230Th systematics have been challenged with regards to grain size bias, sediment composition (CaCO3), water column advection, and other processes. In this study, we investigate the consequences of these effects on 230Th normalization from a suite of six cores on the Juan de Fuca Ridge. The proximity of these cores (<30 km) suggests that they should receive the same particle rain rate of sediment, but the steep bathymetry of the ridge leads to substantial sediment redistribution and variable carbonate preservation, both of which may limit the usage of 230Th in this region. Despite anticipated complications, 230Th normalization effectively reconstructs nearly identical particle rain rates from all six cores, which are summarily unrelated to the total sedimentation rates as calculated from the age models. Instead the total sedimentation rates are controlled almost entirely by sediment focusing and winnowing, which are highly variable even over the short spatial scales investigated in this study. Furthermore, no feedbacks on 230Th systematics were detected as a consequence of sediment focusing, coarse fraction variability, or calcium carbonate content, supporting the robustness of the 230Th normalization technique.

Life on the outside: role of biofilms in environmental persistence of Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli

PubMed Central

Vogeleer, Philippe; Tremblay, Yannick D. N.; Mafu, Akier A.; Jacques, Mario; Harel, Josée

2014-01-01

Escherichia coli is a heterogeneous species that can be part of the normal flora of humans but also include strains of medical importance. Among pathogenic members, Shiga-toxin producing E. coli (STEC) are some of the more prominent pathogenic E. coli within the public sphere. STEC disease outbreaks are typically associated with contaminated beef, contaminated drinking water, and contaminated fresh produce. These water- and food-borne pathogens usually colonize cattle asymptomatically; cows will shed STEC in their feces and the subsequent fecal contamination of the environment and processing plants is a major concern for food and public safety. This is especially important because STEC can survive for prolonged periods of time outside its host in environments such as water, produce, and farm soil. Biofilms are hypothesized to be important for survival in the environment especially on produce, in rivers, and in processing plants. Several factors involved in biofilm formation such as curli, cellulose, poly-N-acetyl glucosamine, and colanic acid are involved in plant colonization and adherence to different surfaces often found in meat processing plants. In food processing plants, contamination of beef carcasses occurs at different stages of processing and this is often caused by the formation of STEC biofilms on the surface of several pieces of equipment associated with slaughtering and processing. Biofilms protect bacteria against several challenges, including biocides used in industrial processes. STEC biofilms are less sensitive than planktonic cells to several chemical sanitizers such as quaternary ammonium compounds, peroxyacetic acid, and chlorine compounds. Increased resistance to sanitizers by STEC growing in a biofilm is likely to be a source of contamination in the processing plant. This review focuses on the role of biofilm formation by STEC as a means of persistence outside their animal host and factors associated with biofilm formation. PMID:25071733

Lake Louise Water (USGS47): A new isotopic reference water for stable hydrogen and oxygen isotope measurements

USGS Publications Warehouse

Qi, Haiping; Lorenz, Jennifer M.; Coplen, Tyler B.; Tarbox, Lauren V.; Mayer, Bernhard; Taylor, Steve

2014-01-01

RESULTS: The δ2H and δ18O values of this reference water are –150.2 ± 0.5 ‰ and –19.80 ± 0.02 ‰, respectively, relative to VSMOW on scales normalized such that the δ2H and δ18O values of SLAP reference water are, respectively, –428 and –55.5 ‰. Each uncertainty is an estimated expanded uncertainty (U = 2uc) about the reference value that provides an interval that has about a 95-percent probability of encompassing the true value. CONCLUSION: This isotopic reference material, designated as USGS47, is intended as one of two isotopic reference waters for daily normalization of stable hydrogen and stable oxygen isotopic analysis of water with a mass spectrometer or a laser absorption spectrometer. "

14 CFR 23.521 - Water load conditions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Water load conditions. 23.521 Section 23... AIRWORTHINESS STANDARDS: NORMAL, UTILITY, ACROBATIC, AND COMMUTER CATEGORY AIRPLANES Structure Water Loads § 23.521 Water load conditions. (a) The structure of seaplanes and amphibians must be designed for water...

14 CFR 23.521 - Water load conditions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Water load conditions. 23.521 Section 23... AIRWORTHINESS STANDARDS: NORMAL, UTILITY, ACROBATIC, AND COMMUTER CATEGORY AIRPLANES Structure Water Loads § 23.521 Water load conditions. (a) The structure of seaplanes and amphibians must be designed for water...

14 CFR 23.521 - Water load conditions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Water load conditions. 23.521 Section 23... AIRWORTHINESS STANDARDS: NORMAL, UTILITY, ACROBATIC, AND COMMUTER CATEGORY AIRPLANES Structure Water Loads § 23.521 Water load conditions. (a) The structure of seaplanes and amphibians must be designed for water...

14 CFR 23.521 - Water load conditions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Water load conditions. 23.521 Section 23... AIRWORTHINESS STANDARDS: NORMAL, UTILITY, ACROBATIC, AND COMMUTER CATEGORY AIRPLANES Structure Water Loads § 23.521 Water load conditions. (a) The structure of seaplanes and amphibians must be designed for water...

TDDFT investigation of excitation of water tetramer under femtosecond laser pulse irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zhiping; Xu, Xuefen; Zhang, Fengshou; Qian, Chaoyi

2018-04-01

We study the static properties of water tetramer in ground state, the optical absorption spectra and ultrafast nonadiabatic dynamical response of water tetramer to short and intense laser pulses with different intensities by a real-space, real-time implementation of time-dependent density functional theory coupled to molecular dynamics (TDDFT-MD) nonadiabatically. The calculated results are in good agreement with available values in literature. Four typical irradiated scenarios of water tetramer in laser field, which are “normal vibration,” “break and reorganization,” “fragmentation and new formation” and “pure fragmentation”, are explored by discussing the ionization, the bond lengths of OH bonds and hydrogen bonds and the kinetic energy of ions. The dynamic simulation shows that the reaction channel of water tetramer can really be controlled by choosing appropriate laser parameters referring to the optical absorption spectra and hydrogen ions play an important role in the reaction channel. Furthermore, it is found that the laser intensity affects the kinetic energy of ejected protons more than that of the remaining fragments and all dynamic processes are somehow directly related to the velocity of departing protons.

Water Dynamics in Shewanella oneidensis at Ambient and High Pressure using Quasi-Elastic Neutron Scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foglia, Fabrizia; Hazael, Rachael; Simeoni, Giovanna G.; Appavou, Marie-Sousai; Moulin, Martine; Haertlein, Michael; Trevor Forsyth, V.; Seydel, Tilo; Daniel, Isabelle; Meersman, Filip; McMillan, Paul F.

2016-01-01

Quasielastic neutron scattering (QENS) is an ideal technique for studying water transport and relaxation dynamics at pico- to nanosecond timescales and at length scales relevant to cellular dimensions. Studies of high pressure dynamic effects in live organisms are needed to understand Earth’s deep biosphere and biotechnology applications. Here we applied QENS to study water transport in Shewanella oneidensis at ambient (0.1 MPa) and high (200 MPa) pressure using H/D isotopic contrast experiments for normal and perdeuterated bacteria and buffer solutions to distinguish intracellular and transmembrane processes. The results indicate that intracellular water dynamics are comparable with bulk diffusion rates in aqueous fluids at ambient conditions but a significant reduction occurs in high pressure mobility. We interpret this as due to enhanced interactions with macromolecules in the nanoconfined environment. Overall diffusion rates across the cell envelope also occur at similar rates but unexpected narrowing of the QENS signal appears between momentum transfer values Q = 0.7-1.1 Å-1 corresponding to real space dimensions of 6-9 Å. The relaxation time increase can be explained by correlated dynamics of molecules passing through Aquaporin water transport complexes located within the inner or outer membrane structures.

Water Dynamics in Shewanella oneidensis at Ambient and High Pressure using Quasi-Elastic Neutron Scattering.

PubMed

Foglia, Fabrizia; Hazael, Rachael; Simeoni, Giovanna G; Appavou, Marie-Sousai; Moulin, Martine; Haertlein, Michael; Trevor Forsyth, V; Seydel, Tilo; Daniel, Isabelle; Meersman, Filip; McMillan, Paul F

2016-01-07

Quasielastic neutron scattering (QENS) is an ideal technique for studying water transport and relaxation dynamics at pico- to nanosecond timescales and at length scales relevant to cellular dimensions. Studies of high pressure dynamic effects in live organisms are needed to understand Earth's deep biosphere and biotechnology applications. Here we applied QENS to study water transport in Shewanella oneidensis at ambient (0.1 MPa) and high (200 MPa) pressure using H/D isotopic contrast experiments for normal and perdeuterated bacteria and buffer solutions to distinguish intracellular and transmembrane processes. The results indicate that intracellular water dynamics are comparable with bulk diffusion rates in aqueous fluids at ambient conditions but a significant reduction occurs in high pressure mobility. We interpret this as due to enhanced interactions with macromolecules in the nanoconfined environment. Overall diffusion rates across the cell envelope also occur at similar rates but unexpected narrowing of the QENS signal appears between momentum transfer values Q = 0.7-1.1 Å(-1) corresponding to real space dimensions of 6-9 Å. The relaxation time increase can be explained by correlated dynamics of molecules passing through Aquaporin water transport complexes located within the inner or outer membrane structures.

Hydrocephalus: the role of cerebral aquaporin-4 channels and computational modeling considerations of cerebrospinal fluid.

PubMed

Desai, Bhargav; Hsu, Ying; Schneller, Benjamin; Hobbs, Jonathan G; Mehta, Ankit I; Linninger, Andreas

2016-09-01

Aquaporin-4 (AQP4) channels play an important role in brain water homeostasis. Water transport across plasma membranes has a critical role in brain water exchange of the normal and the diseased brain. AQP4 channels are implicated in the pathophysiology of hydrocephalus, a disease of water imbalance that leads to CSF accumulation in the ventricular system. Many molecular aspects of fluid exchange during hydrocephalus have yet to be firmly elucidated, but review of the literature suggests that modulation of AQP4 channel activity is a potentially attractive future pharmaceutical therapy. Drug therapy targeting AQP channels may enable control over water exchange to remove excess CSF through a molecular intervention instead of by mechanical shunting. This article is a review of a vast body of literature on the current understanding of AQP4 channels in relation to hydrocephalus, details regarding molecular aspects of AQP4 channels, possible drug development strategies, and limitations. Advances in medical imaging and computational modeling of CSF dynamics in the setting of hydrocephalus are summarized. Algorithmic developments in computational modeling continue to deepen the understanding of the hydrocephalus disease process and display promising potential benefit as a tool for physicians to evaluate patients with hydrocephalus.

Dynamical mechanism of antifreeze proteins to prevent ice growth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kutschan, B.; Morawetz, K.; Thoms, S.

2014-08-01

The fascinating ability of algae, insects, and fishes to survive at temperatures below normal freezing is realized by antifreeze proteins (AFPs). These are surface-active molecules and interact with the diffusive water-ice interface thus preventing complete solidification. We propose a dynamical mechanism on how these proteins inhibit the freezing of water. We apply a Ginzburg-Landau-type approach to describe the phase separation in the two-component system (ice, AFP). The free-energy density involves two fields: one for the ice phase with a low AFP concentration and one for liquid water with a high AFP concentration. The time evolution of the ice reveals microstructures resulting from phase separation in the presence of AFPs. We observed a faster clustering of pre-ice structure connected to a locking of grain size by the action of AFP, which is an essentially dynamical process. The adsorption of additional water molecules is inhibited and the further growth of ice grains stopped. The interfacial energy between ice and water is lowered allowing the AFPs to form smaller critical ice nuclei. Similar to a hysteresis in magnetic materials we observe a thermodynamic hysteresis leading to a nonlinear density dependence of the freezing point depression in agreement with the experiments.

Volcanic processes in the solar system

USGS Publications Warehouse

Carr, M.H.

1987-01-01

Eruptions of ammonia, water, and sulfur. These have become some of the concerns of planetary volcanologists as they try to understand volcanic processes on other planetary bodies. As exploration of the Solar System has continues, we have been confronted with more and more exotic forms of volcanism and have come to realize that the types of volcanic activity observed on Earth represent only a fraction of the array of volcanic phenomena that are possible. Some volcanic features of other planets have close terrestrial counterparts and appear to have been formed by similar mechanisms and from similar magmas to those on the Earth. but other features are totally different and appear to have been formed from materials that are not normally associated with volcanism on Earth.

Method for extracting lanthanides and actinides from acid solutions by modification of Purex solvent

DOEpatents

Horwitz, E.P.; Kalina, D.G.

1986-03-04

A process is described for the recovery of actinide and lanthanide values from aqueous solutions with an extraction solution containing an organic extractant having the formula as shown in a diagram where [phi] is phenyl, R[sup 1] is a straight or branched alkyl or alkoxyalkyl containing from 6 to 12 carbon atoms and R[sup 2] is an alkyl containing from 3 to 6 carbon atoms and phase modifiers in a water-immiscible hydrocarbon diluent. The addition of the extractant to the Purex process extractant, tri-n-butylphosphate in normal paraffin hydrocarbon diluent, will permit the extraction of multivalent lanthanide and actinide values from 0.1 to 12.0 molar acid solutions. 6 figs.

Leaf optical system modeled as a stochastic process. [solar radiation interaction with terrestrial vegetation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tucker, C. J.; Garratt, M. W.

1977-01-01

A stochastic leaf radiation model based upon physical and physiological properties of dicot leaves has been developed. The model accurately predicts the absorbed, reflected, and transmitted radiation of normal incidence as a function of wavelength resulting from the leaf-irradiance interaction over the spectral interval of 0.40-2.50 micron. The leaf optical system has been represented as Markov process with a unique transition matrix at each 0.01-micron increment between 0.40 micron and 2.50 micron. Probabilities are calculated at every wavelength interval from leaf thickness, structure, pigment composition, and water content. Simulation results indicate that this approach gives accurate estimations of actual measured values for dicot leaf absorption, reflection, and transmission as a function of wavelength.

TOPEX/El Nino Watch - Warm Water Pool is Thinning, Feb, 5, 1998

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

This image of the Pacific Ocean was produced using sea surface height measurements taken by the U.S.-French TOPEX/Poseidon satellite. The image shows sea surface height relative to normal ocean conditions on Feb. 5, 1998 and sea surface height is an indicator of the heat content of the ocean. The area and volume of the El Nino warm water pool that is affecting global weather patterns remains extremely large, but the pool has thinned along the equator and near the coast of South America. This 'thinning' means that the warm water is not as deep as it was a few months ago. Oceanographers indicate this is a classic pattern, typical of a mature El Nino condition that they would expect to see during the ocean's gradual transition back to normal sea level. In this image, the white and red areas indicate unusual patterns of heat storage; in the white areas, the sea surface is between 14 and 32 centimeters (6 to 13 inches) above normal; in the red areas, it's about 10 centimeters (4 inches) above normal. The green areas indicate normal conditions, while purple (the western Pacific) means at least 18 centimeters (7 inches) below normal sea level. The El Nino phenomenon is thought to be triggered when the steady westward blowing trade winds weaken and even reverse direction. This change in the winds allows a large mass of warm water (the red and white area) that is normally located near Australia to move eastward along the equator until it reaches the coast of South America. The displacement of so much warm water affects evaporation, where rain clouds form and, consequently, alters the typical atmospheric jet stream patterns around the world. Using satellite imagery, buoy and ship data, and a forecasting model of the ocean-atmosphere system, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, (NOAA), has continued to issue an advisory indicating the so-called El Nino weather conditions that have impacted much of the United States and the world are expected to remain through the spring.

For more information, please visit the TOPEX/Poseidon project web page at http://topex-www.jpl.nasa.gov

TOPEX/El Nino Watch - Warm Water Pool is Increasing, Nov. 10, 1997

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

This image of the Pacific Ocean was produced using sea surface height measurements taken by the U.S./French TOPEX/Poseidon satellite. The image shows sea surface height relative to normal ocean conditions on Nov. 10, 1997. The volume of extra warm surface water (shown in white) in the core of the El Nino continues to increase, especially in the area between 15 degrees south latitude and 15 degrees north latitude in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The area of low sea level (shown in purple) has decreased somewhat from late October. The white and red areas indicate unusual patterns of heat storage; in the white areas, the sea surface is between 14 centimeters and 32 cm (6 inches to 13 inches) above normal; in the red areas, it is about 10 centimeters (4 inches) above normal. The surface area covered by the warm water mass is about one-and-one-half times the size of the continental United States. The added amount of oceanic warm water near the Americas, with a temperature between 21 to 30 degrees Celsius (70 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit), is about 30 times the volume of water in all the U.S. Great Lakes combined. The green areas indicate normal conditions, while purple (the western Pacific) means at least 18 centimeters (7 inches) below normal sea level.

The El Nino phenomenon is thought to be triggered when the steady westward blowing trade winds weaken and even reverse direction. This change in the winds allows a large mass of warm water (the red and white areas) that is normally located near Australia to move eastward along the equator until it reaches the coast of South America. The displacement of so much warm water affects evaporation, where rain clouds form and, consequently, alters the typical atmospheric jet stream patterns around the world. Using these global data, limited regional measurements from buoys and ships, and a forecasting model of the ocean-atmospheric system, the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued an advisory indicating the presence of a strong El Nino condition throughout the winter.

For more information, please visit the TOPEX/Poseidon project web page at http://topex-www.jpl.nasa.gov/

Normalized Temperature Contrast Processing in Infrared Flash Thermography

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koshti, Ajay M.

2016-01-01

The paper presents further development in normalized contrast processing used in flash infrared thermography method. Method of computing normalized image or pixel intensity contrast, and normalized temperature contrast are provided. Methods of converting image contrast to temperature contrast and vice versa are provided. Normalized contrast processing in flash thermography is useful in quantitative analysis of flash thermography data including flaw characterization and comparison of experimental results with simulation. Computation of normalized temperature contrast involves use of flash thermography data acquisition set-up with high reflectivity foil and high emissivity tape such that the foil, tape and test object are imaged simultaneously. Methods of assessing other quantitative parameters such as emissivity of object, afterglow heat flux, reflection temperature change and surface temperature during flash thermography are also provided. Temperature imaging and normalized temperature contrast processing provide certain advantages over normalized image contrast processing by reducing effect of reflected energy in images and measurements, therefore providing better quantitative data. Examples of incorporating afterglow heat-flux and reflection temperature evolution in flash thermography simulation are also discussed.

A theory for modeling ground-water flow in heterogeneous media

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cooley, Richard L.

2004-01-01

Construction of a ground-water model for a field area is not a straightforward process. Data are virtually never complete or detailed enough to allow substitution into the model equations and direct computation of the results of interest. Formal model calibration through optimization, statistical, and geostatistical methods is being applied to an increasing extent to deal with this problem and provide for quantitative evaluation and uncertainty analysis of the model. However, these approaches are hampered by two pervasive problems: 1) nonlinearity of the solution of the model equations with respect to some of the model (or hydrogeologic) input variables (termed in this report system characteristics) and 2) detailed and generally unknown spatial variability (heterogeneity) of some of the system characteristics such as log hydraulic conductivity, specific storage, recharge and discharge, and boundary conditions. A theory is developed in this report to address these problems. The theory allows construction and analysis of a ground-water model of flow (and, by extension, transport) in heterogeneous media using a small number of lumped or smoothed system characteristics (termed parameters). The theory fully addresses both nonlinearity and heterogeneity in such a way that the parameters are not assumed to be effective values. The ground-water flow system is assumed to be adequately characterized by a set of spatially and temporally distributed discrete values, ?, of the system characteristics. This set contains both small-scale variability that cannot be described in a model and large-scale variability that can. The spatial and temporal variability in ? are accounted for by imagining ? to be generated by a stochastic process wherein ? is normally distributed, although normality is not essential. Because ? has too large a dimension to be estimated using the data normally available, for modeling purposes ? is replaced by a smoothed or lumped approximation y?. (where y is a spatial and temporal interpolation matrix). Set y?. has the same form as the expected value of ?, y 'line' ? , where 'line' ? is the set of drift parameters of the stochastic process; ?. is a best-fit vector to ?. A model function f(?), such as a computed hydraulic head or flux, is assumed to accurately represent an actual field quantity, but the same function written using y?., f(y?.), contains error from lumping or smoothing of ? using y?.. Thus, the replacement of ? by y?. yields nonzero mean model errors of the form E(f(?)-f(y?.)) throughout the model and covariances between model errors at points throughout the model. These nonzero means and covariances are evaluated through third and fifth-order accuracy, respectively, using Taylor series expansions. They can have a significant effect on construction and interpretation of a model that is calibrated by estimating ?.. Vector ?.. is estimated as 'hat' ? using weighted nonlinear least squares techniques to fit a set of model functions f(y'hat' ?) to a. corresponding set of observations of f(?), Y. These observations are assumed to be corrupted by zero-mean, normally distributed observation errors, although, as for ?, normality is not essential. An analytical approximation of the nonlinear least squares solution is obtained using Taylor series expansions and perturbation techniques that assume model and observation errors to be small. This solution is used to evaluate biases and other results to second-order accuracy in the errors. The correct weight matrix to use in the analysis is shown to be the inverse of the second-moment matrix E(Y-f(y?.))(Y-f(y?.))', but the weight matrix is assumed to be arbitrary in most developments. The best diagonal approximation is the inverse of the matrix of diagonal elements of E(Y-f(y?.))(Y-f(y?.))', and a method of estimating this diagonal matrix when it is unknown is developed using a special objective function to compute 'hat' ?. When considered to be an estimate of f

Detection of ultra-low levels of DNA changes by drinking water: epidemiologically important finding.

PubMed

Kumari, Parmila; Kamiseki, Meiko; Biyani, Manish; Suzuki, Miho; Nemoto, Naoto; Aita, Takuyo; Nishigaki, Koichi

2015-02-01

The safety of drinking water is essential to our health. In this context, the mutagenicity of water needs to be checked strictly. However, from the methodological limit, the lower concentration (less than parts per million) of mutagenicity could not be detected, though there have been of interest in the effect of less concentration mutagens. Here, we describe a highly sensitive mutation assay that detects mutagens at the ppb level, termed genome profiling-based mutation assay (GPMA). This consists of two steps; (i) Escherichia coli culture in the medium with/without mutagens and (ii) Genome profiling (GP) method (an integrated method of random PCR, temperature gradient gel electrophoresis and computer-aided normalization). Owing to high sensitivity of this method, very low concentration of mutagens in tap water could be directly detected without introducing burdensome concentration processes, enabling rapid measurement of low concentration samples. Less expectedly, all of the tap waters tested (22 samples) were shown to be significantly mutagenic while mineral waters were not. Resultantly, this article informs two facts that the GPMA method is competent to measure the mutagenicity of waters directly and the experimental results supported the former reports that the city tap waters contain very low level of mutagenicity reagent trihalomethanes. © The Authors 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Japanese Biochemical Society. All rights reserved.

Variation in the Apparent Biosynthetic Fractionation for N-alkane δD Among Terrestrial Plants: Patterns, Mechanisms, and Implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, J. E.; Tipple, B. J.; Betancourt, J. L.; Ehleringer, J. R.; Leavitt, S. W.; Monson, R. K.

2016-12-01

Long-chain normal alkanes (n-alkanes) are a component of the leaf cuticle of all terrestrial plants. Since the hydrogen in the n-alkanes is derived from the hydrogen in plants' water sources and is non-exchangeable, the stable hydrogen isotopic composition (δD) of the n-alkanes provides information about the δD of environmental waters. While this relationship creates opportunities for using n-alkane δD for process-based reconstructions of δD of environmental waters, progress in this direction is currently constrained by the observation that terrestrial plants exhibit a startlingly wide range of apparent biosynthetic fractionations. To understand the mechanisms responsible for variation in the apparent biosynthetic fractionations, we compared measurements and models of δD for n-C29 in a water-limited ecosystem where the timing of primary and secondary cuticle deposition is closely coupled to water availability (Tumamoc Hill, Tucson, Arizona, USA). During the 2014-2015 hydrologic year, the most widespread and abundant plant species at this site exhibited δD for n-C29 varying over a total range of 102‰. Discrete samples of leaf water collected at the same time as the n-C29 samples exhibited δD varying over a total range of only 53‰, but a continuous model of leaf water through the annual cycle predicted δD varying over a total range of 190‰. These results indicate that the observed variation in the apparent biosynthetic fractionation for n-C29 δD could be primarily attributable to leaf water dynamics that are temporally uncoupled from primary and secondary cuticle deposition. If a single biosynthetic fractionation does describe the relationship between the δD of n-alkanes and leaf water during intervals of cuticle deposition, it will facilitate process-based interpretations of n-alkane δD values in ecological, hydrological, and climatological studies of modern and ancient terrestrial environments.

Accretion growth of water-ice grains in astrophysically-relevant dusty plasma experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chai, Kil-Byoung; Marshall, Ryan; Bellan, Paul

2016-10-01

The grain growth process in the Caltech water-ice dusty plasma experiment has been studied using a high-speed camera equipped with a long-distance microscope lens. It is found that (i) the ice grain number density decreases four-fold as the average grain length increases from 20 to 80 um, (ii) the ice grain length has a log-normal distribution rather than a power-law dependence, and (iii) no collisions between ice grains are apparent. The grains have a large negative charge so the agglomeration growth is prevented by their strong mutual repulsion. It is concluded that direct accretion of water molecules is in good agreement with the observed ice grain growth. The volumetric packing factor of the ice grains must be less than 0.25 in order for the grain kinetic energy to be sufficiently small to prevent collisions between ice grains; this conclusion is consistent with ice grain images showing a fractal character.

Phosphate absorption by air-stressed root systems.

PubMed

Dove, L D

1969-03-01

Root systems from plants grown in nutrient solution were exposed to air and either transferred to fresh nutrient solution containing (32)P-labeled phosphate or placed in a psychrometer to determine their water potential. The amount of (32)P absorbed by maize and soybean roots in the hour following their exposure to air was proportional to their water potential at the time they were transferred. Some cells, probably located in the stele, were more resistant to moisture stress than others. Absorption of (32)P by all cells was severely inhibited by water potentials below-12 to-15 bars. Nearly normal amounts of the radioisotope and total phosphate were absorbed within 72 hr following root exposure of 4 of 5 species of detopped plants; some phosphorus was lost to the nutrient solution. Uptake of (32)P by passive processes was increased slightly by exposure of roots of intact maize plants to air, but the increase did not compensate for the substantial reduction in actively-absorbed (32)P.

Streamflow of 2016—Water year summary

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jian, Xiaodong; Wolock, David M.; Lins, Harry F.; Brady, Steven J.

2017-09-26

The maps and graphs in this summary describe national streamflow conditions for water year 2016 (October 1, 2015, to September 30, 2016) in the context of streamflow ranks relative to the 87-year period of 1930–2016, unless otherwise noted. The illustrations are based on observed data from the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) National Streamflow Network. The period of 1930–2016 was used because the number of streamgages before 1930 was too small to provide representative data for computing statistics for most regions of the country.In the summary, reference is made to the term “runoff,” which is the depth to which a river basin, State, or other geographic area would be covered with water if all the streamflow within the area during a specified period was uniformly distributed on it. Runoff quantifies the magnitude of water flowing through the Nation’s rivers and streams in measurement units that can be compared from one area to another.In all the graphics, a rank of 1 indicates the highest flow of all years analyzed and 87 indicates the lowest flow of all years. Rankings of streamflow are grouped into much below normal, below normal, normal, above normal, and much above normal based on percentiles of flow (less than 10 percent, 10–24 percent, 25–75 percent, 76–90 percent, and greater than 90 percent, respectively). Some of the data used to produce the maps and graphs are provisional and subject to change.

Normalized rare earth elements in water, sediments, and wine: identifying sources and environmental redox conditions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Piper, David Z.; Bau, Michael

2013-01-01

The concentrations of the rare earth elements (REE) in surface waters and sediments, when normalized on an element-by-element basis to one of several rock standards and plotted versus atomic number, yield curves that reveal their partitioning between different sediment fractions and the sources of those fractions, for example, between terrestrial-derived lithogenous debris and seawater-derived biogenous detritus and hydrogenous metal oxides. The REE of ancient sediments support their partitioning into these same fractions and further contribute to the identification of the redox geochemistry of the sea water in which the sediments accumulated. The normalized curves of the REE that have been examined in several South American wine varietals can be interpreted to reflect the lithology of the bedrock on which the vines may have been grown, suggesting limited fractionation during soil development.

One-step fabrication of multifunctional micromotors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Wenlong; Liu, Mei; Liu, Limei; Zhang, Hui; Dong, Bin; Li, Christopher Y.

2015-08-01

Although artificial micromotors have undergone tremendous progress in recent years, their fabrication normally requires complex steps or expensive equipment. In this paper, we report a facile one-step method based on an emulsion solvent evaporation process to fabricate multifunctional micromotors. By simultaneously incorporating various components into an oil-in-water droplet, upon emulsification and solidification, a sphere-shaped, asymmetric, and multifunctional micromotor is formed. Some of the attractive functions of this model micromotor include autonomous movement in high ionic strength solution, remote control, enzymatic disassembly and sustained release. This one-step, versatile fabrication method can be easily scaled up and therefore may have great potential in mass production of multifunctional micromotors for a wide range of practical applications.Although artificial micromotors have undergone tremendous progress in recent years, their fabrication normally requires complex steps or expensive equipment. In this paper, we report a facile one-step method based on an emulsion solvent evaporation process to fabricate multifunctional micromotors. By simultaneously incorporating various components into an oil-in-water droplet, upon emulsification and solidification, a sphere-shaped, asymmetric, and multifunctional micromotor is formed. Some of the attractive functions of this model micromotor include autonomous movement in high ionic strength solution, remote control, enzymatic disassembly and sustained release. This one-step, versatile fabrication method can be easily scaled up and therefore may have great potential in mass production of multifunctional micromotors for a wide range of practical applications. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Videos S1-S4 and Fig. S1-S3. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr03574k

Cerebral blood flow measured by arterial spin labeling MRI at resting state in normal aging and Alzheimer's disease.

PubMed

Zhang, Nan; Gordon, Marc L; Goldberg, Terry E

2017-01-01

Arterial spin labeling (ASL) magnetic resonance imaging uses arterial blood water as an endogenous tracer to measure cerebral blood flow (CBF). In this review, based on ASL studies in the resting state, we discuss state-of-the-art technical and data processing improvements in ASL, and ASL CBF changes in normal aging, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), Alzheimer's disease (AD), and other types of dementia. We propose that vascular and AD risk factors should be considered when evaluating CBF changes in aging, and that other validated biomarkers should be used as inclusion criteria or covariates when evaluating CBF changes in MCI and AD. With improvements in hardware and experimental design, ASL is proving to be an increasingly promising tool for exploring pathogenetic mechanisms, early detection, monitoring disease progression and pharmacological response, and differential diagnosis of AD. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Cutaneous blood flow in psoriasis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Klemp, P.; Staberg, B.

1983-12-01

The disappearance rate of /sup 133/Xe was studied in 20 patients with psoriasis vulgaris, using an epicutaneous labeling technique in involved skin lesions or normal-appearing skin of the proximal extensor site of the forearm. Control experiments were performed in 10 normal subjects. Calculations of the cutaneous blood flow (CBF) in psoriatic skin lesions were performed using a tissue-to-blood partition coefficient for /sup 133/Xe, lambda c,pso, of 1.2 ml/100 g/min. lambda c,pso was estimated after the relative content of water, lipids, and proteins had been analyzed in psoriatic skin biopsies of 6 patients with untreated psoriasis. The mean relative content ofmore » water was markedly reduced to 23.5 +/- 1.5% (SEM), and lipids and proteins were markedly increased to 2.5 +/- 0.7% and 74.0 +/- 2.2, respectively, compared to previously published data for normal skin (water 72.5%, lipids 1%, proteins 26.5%). Mean CBF in untreated psoriatic skin was 63.5 +/- 9.0 ml/100 g/min. This was significantly higher than the mean CBF in 10 normal subjects, 6.3 +/- 0.5 ml/100 g/min (p much less than 0.0001). Mean CBF in normal-appearing skin in patients with psoriasis was 11.0 +/- 1.3 ml/100 g/min. This was significantly higher than CBF in normal subjects (p less than 0.0002).« less

Economic valuation of environmental benefits of removing pharmaceutical and personal care products from WWTP effluents by ozonation.

PubMed

Molinos-Senante, M; Reif, R; Garrido-Baserba, M; Hernández-Sancho, F; Omil, F; Poch, M; Sala-Garrido, R

2013-09-01

Continuous release of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) present in effluents from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is nowadays leading to the adoption of specific measures within the framework of the Directive 2000/60/EC (Water Framework Directive). The ozonation process, normally employed for drinking water production, has also proven its potential to eliminate PPCPs from secondary effluents in spite of their low concentrations. However, there is a significant drawback related with the costs associated with its implementation. This lack of studies is especially pronounced regarding the economic valuation of the environmental benefits associated to avoid the discharge of these pollutants into water bodies. For the first time the shadow prices of 5 PPCPs which are ethynilestradiol, sulfamethoxazole, diclofenac, tonalide and galaxolide from treated effluent using a pilot-scale ozonation reactor have been estimated. From non-sensitive areas their values are -73.73; -34.95; -42.20; -10.98; and -8.67 respectively and expressed in €/kg. They represent a proxy to the economic value of the environmental benefits arisen from undischarged pollutants. This paper contributes to value the environmental benefits of implementing post-treatment processes aimed to achieve the quality standards required by the Priority Substances Directive. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Coastal Water Quality Modeling in Tidal Lake: Revisited with Groundwater Intrusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, C.

2016-12-01

A new method for predicting the temporal and spatial variation of water quality, with accounting for a groundwater effect, has been proposed and applied to a water body partially connected to macro-tidal coastal waters in Korea. The method consists of direct measurement of environmental parameters, and it indirectly incorporates a nutrients budget analysis to estimate the submarine groundwater fluxes. Three-dimensional numerical modeling of water quality has been used with the directly collected data and the indirectly estimated groundwater fluxes. The applied area is Saemangeum tidal lake that is enclosed by 33km-long sea dyke with tidal openings at two water gates. Many investigations of groundwater impact reveal that 10 50% of nutrient loading in coastal waters comes from submarine groundwater, particularly in the macro-tidal flat, as in the west coast of Korea. Long-term monitoring of coastal water quality signals the possibility of groundwater influence on salinity reversal and on the excess mass outbalancing the normal budget in Saemangeum tidal lake. In the present study, we analyze the observed data to examine the influence of submarine groundwater, and then a box model is demonstrated for quantifying the influx and efflux. A three-dimensional numerical model has been applied to reproduce the process of groundwater dispersal and its effect on the water quality of Saemangeum tidal lake. The results show that groundwater influx during the summer monsoon then contributes significantly, 20% more than during dry season, to water quality in the tidal lake.

[Criticism and recommendations for improvements of the drinking water regulation and of the European Community guideline 80/778/EWG].

PubMed

Müller, H E

1990-10-01

The prevention of possible outbreaks as they occurred hundred years ago is still the object of the control of drinking water by the EC-guideline and the Drinking Water Regulations, respectively. At that time, the principle of faecal indicator bacteria was developed and it proved very useful. Now, however, drinking water is no longer supplied by wells but by plants. In comparison with the situation during the last century the relative risks of infectious diseases by faecal organisms are now drastically lower. An intelligent strategy of prevention of drinking water epidemics has to take into consideration that enteropathogens have become too rare so that it is hardly possible to detect them by the frequently occurring faecal markers E. coli and total coliforms. The alternative is the control of the "good manufacturing practices" (GMP) during the processing of drinking water. The colony counts seem to be better markers than the coliforms. Today, more than 90 per cent of infections by drinking water are due to legionellas and ubiquitous mycobacteria occurring in warm water. Therefore, warm water has to be included in the normal control. Furthermore, legionellae and ubiquitous mycobacteria should be tested regularly. Against that, the investigation of total coliforms and/or faecal streptococci seems superfluous. Finally, the future safety of drinking water demands the investigation of at least two additional chemical contaminants, i.e. asbestos and radon, whereas the cyanide test does not appear necessary.

Dynamic Rupture Simulations of 11 March 2011 Tohoku Earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kozdon, J. E.; Dunham, E. M.

2012-12-01

There is strong observational evidence that the 11 March 2011 Tohoku earthquake rupture reached the seafloor. This was unexpected because the shallow portion of the plate interface is believed to be frictionally stable and thus not capable of sustaining coseismic rupture. In order to explore this seeming inconsistency we have developed a two-dimensional dynamic rupture model of the Tohoku earthquake. The model uses a complex fault, seafloor, and material interface structure as derived from seismic surveys. We use a rate-and-state friction model with steady state shear strength depending logarithmically on slip velocity, i.e., there is no dynamic weakening in the model. The frictional parameters are depth dependent with the shallowest portions of the fault beneath the accretionary prism being velocity strengthening. The total normal stress on the fault is taken to be lithostatic and the pore pressure is hydrostatic until a maximum effective normal stress is reached (40 MPa in our preferred model) after which point the pore pressure follows the lithostatic gradient. We also account for poroelastic buffering of effective normal stress changes on the fault. The off-fault response is linear elastic. Using this model we find that large stress changes are dynamically transmitted to the shallowest portions of the fault by waves released by deep slip that are reflected off the seafloor. These stress changes are significant enough to drive the rupture through a velocity strengthening region that is tens of kilometers long. Rupture to the trench is therefore consistent with standard assumptions about depth-dependence of subduction zone properties, and does not require extreme dynamic weakening, shallow high stress drop asperities, or other exceptional processes. We also make direct comparisons with measured seafloor deformation and onshore 1-Hz GPS data from the Tohoku earthquake. Through these comparisons we are able to determine the sensitivity of these data to several dynamic source parameters (prestress, seismogenic depth, and the extent and frictional properties of the shallow plate interface). We find that there is a trade-off between the near-trench frictional properties and effective normal stress, particularly for onshore measurements. That is, the data can be equally well fit by either a velocity strengthening or velocity weakening near-trench fault segment, provided that compensating adjustments are also made to the maximum effective normal stress on the fault. On the other hand, the seismogenic depth is fairly well constrained from the static displacement field, independent of effective normal stress and near-trench properties. Finally, we show that a water layer (modeled as an isotropic linear acoustic material) has a negligible effect on the rupture process. That said, the inclusion of a water layer allows us to make important predictions concerning hydroacoustic signals that were observed by ocean bottom pressure sensors.

Damage to cellular DNA from particulate radiations, the efficacy of its processing and the radiosensitivity of mammalian cells. Emphasis on DNA double strand breaks and chromatin breaks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lett, J. T.

1992-01-01

For several years, it has been evident that cellular radiation biology is in a necessary period of consolidation and transition (Lett 1987, 1990; Lett et al. 1986, 1987). Both changes are moving apace, and have been stimulated by studies with heavy charged particles. From the standpoint of radiation chemistry, there is now a consensus of opinion that the DNA hydration shell must be distinguished from bulk water in the cell nucleus and treated as an integral part of DNA (chromatin) (Lett 1987). Concomitantly, sentiment is strengthening for the abandonment of the classical notions of "direct" and "indirect" action (Fielden and O'Neill 1991; O'Neill 1991; O'Neill et al. 1991; Schulte-Frohlinde and Bothe 1991 and references therein). A layer of water molecules outside, or in the outer edge of, the DNA (chromatin) hydration shell influences cellular radiosensitivity in ways not fully understood. Charge and energy transfer processes facilitated by, or involving, DNA hydration must be considered in rigorous theories of radiation action on cells. The induction and processing of double stand breaks (DSBs) in DNA (chromatin) seem to be the predominant determinants of the radiotoxicity of normally radioresistant mammalian cells, the survival curves of which reflect the patterns of damage induced and the damage present after processing ceases, and can be modelled in formal terms by the use of reaction (enzyme) kinetics. Incongruities such as sublethal damage are neither scientifically sound nor relevant to cellular radiation biology (Calkins 1991; Lett 1990; Lett et al. 1987a). Increases in linear energy transfer (LET infinity) up to 100-200 keV micron-1 cause increases in the extents of neighboring chemical and physical damage in DNA denoted by the general term DSB. Those changes are accompanied by decreasing abilities of cells normally radioresistant to sparsely ionizing radiations to process DSBs in DNA and chromatin and to recover from radiation exposure, so they make significant contributions to the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of a given radiation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS).

9 CFR 3.30 - Watering.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... consumed by guinea pigs or hamsters supply them with their normal water requirements, potable water shall... containers used for dispensing water to guinea pigs or hamsters shall be so placed in or attached to the... WELFARE STANDARDS Specifications for the Humane Handling, Care, Treatment, and Transportation of Guinea...

Water-saving analysis on an effective water reuse system in biodiesel feedstock production based on Chlorella zofingiensis fed-batch cultivation.

PubMed

Yang, Kang; Qin, Lei; Wang, Zhongming; Feng, Wei; Feng, Pingzhong; Zhu, Shunni; Xu, Jingliang; Yuan, Zhenhong

2015-01-01

The micralgae-based biofuel obtained from dairy wastewater (DWW) is considered a promising source of energy. However, this process consumes water due to the concentration of wastewater being normally too high for some micoralgae cultivation, and dilution is always needed. In this work, the cultivation of microalgae has been examined in non-recirculated water (NR) and recirculated water systems (R). The growth of Chlorella zofingiensis and the nutrient removal of DWW have been recorded. The comparison indicates the R had a little more advantage in biomass and lipid output (1.55, 0.22 g, respectively) than the NR (1.51, 0.20 g, respectively). However, the total chemical oxygen demand (COD), total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), and total phosphorus (TP) removals of the R were lower than those of the NR system during the culture. The highest removal of total COD, TKN, and TP were 85.05%, 93.64%, and 98.45%, respectively. Furthermore, no significant difference has been observed in the higher heating value and lipid content of the biomass of the R and NR. The results show the R can save 30% of the total water input during the culture. All above results indicate the R system has great potential in industry.

Ecohydrologic Dynamics in Areas of Complex Topography in Semiarid Ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ivanov, V. Y.; Bras, R. L.; Vivoni, E. R.

2008-12-01

Topography strongly affects the state and distribution of vegetation and this control is normally considered to operate through the regulation of the incoming solar radiation and lateral redistribution of water and elements. One of the areas of active research is how plants adjust to terrain effects relative to their location in a landscape and what the implications are for the spatial distribution of the water balance. This study emphasizes the coupled nature of interactions among vegetation-water-energy dynamics and their corresponding controls in complex topography of a semiarid ecosystem. These dynamics are investigated by constructing a coupled modeling system, tRIBS+VEGGIE, based on physical, biochemical, or mechanistic representation of individual processes. In a set of numerical experiments, linkages between terrain attributes, patterns of grass and shrub productivity, and water balance components are examined. For different imposed regimes of lateral water transfer, regions of relative vegetation "favorability" are identified. Their principal controlling mechanisms, as mediated by topographic features of the landscape, are investigated. It is argued that the long-term effects of site-specific and non-local terrain characteristics are superimposed and the key features of the superposition appear to be of the same form, irrespective of the soil hydraulic type or the actual water transport mechanism involved.

MODIS imagery as a tool for synoptic water quality assessments in the southern California coastal ocean

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nezlin, N.P.; DiGiacomo, P.M.; Jones, B.H.; Reifel, K.M.; Warrick, J.A.; Johnson, S.C.; Mengel, M.J.

2007-01-01

The dynamics of rainstorm plumes in the coastal waters of southern California was studied during the Bight'03 Regional Water Quality Program surveys. Measurements of surface salinity and bacterial counts collected from research vessels were compared to MODIS-Aqua satellite imagery. The spectra of normalized water-leaving radiation (nLw) were different in plumes and ambient ocean waters, enabling plumes discrimination and plume area size assessments from remotely-sensed data. The plume/ocean nLw differences (i.e., plume optical signatures) were most evident during first days after the rainstorm over the San Pedro shelf and in the San Diego region and less evident in Santa Monica Bay, where suspended sediments concentration in discharged water was lower than in other regions. In the Ventura area, plumes contained more suspended sediments than in other regions, but the grid of ship-based stations covered only a small part of the freshwater plume and was insufficient to reveal the differences between the plume and ocean optical signatures. The accuracy of plume area assessments from satellite imagery was not high (77% on average), seemingly because of inexactitude in satellite data processing. Nevertheless, satellite imagery is a useful tool for the estimation of the extent of polluted plumes, which is hardly achievable by contact methods.

SIMBIOS Normalized Water-Leaving Radiance Calibration and Validation: Sensor Response, Atmospheric Corrections, Stray Light and Sun Glint. Chapter 14

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mueller, James L.

2001-01-01

This Sensor Intercomparison and Merger for Biological and Interdisciplinary Oceanic Studies (SIMBIOS) contract supports acquisition of match up radiometric and bio-optical data for validation of Sea-Viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) and other ocean color satellites, and evaluation of uncertainty budgets and protocols for in situ measurements of normalized water leaving radiances.

Versatile Oxide Films Protect FeCrAl Alloys Under Normal Operation and Accident Conditions in Light Water Power Reactors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rebak, Raul B.

2018-02-01

The US has currently a fleet of 99 nuclear power light water reactors which generate approximately 20% of the electricity consumed in the country. Near 90% of the reactors are at least 30 years old. There are incentives to make the existing reactors safer by using accident tolerant fuels (ATF). Compared to the standard UO2-zirconium-based system, ATF need to tolerate loss of active cooling in the core for a considerably longer time while maintaining or improving the fuel performance during normal operation conditions. Ferritic iron-chromium-aluminum (FeCrAl) alloys have been identified as an alternative to replace current zirconium alloys. They contain Fe (base) + 10-22 Cr + 4-6 Al and may contain smaller amounts of other elements such as molybdenum and traces of others. FeCrAl alloys offer outstanding resistance to attack by superheated steam by developing an alumina oxide on the surface in case of a loss of coolant accident like at Fukushima. FeCrAl alloys also perform well under normal operation conditions both in boiling water reactors and pressurized water reactors because they are protected by a thin oxide rich in chromium. Under normal operation condition, the key element is Cr and under accident conditions it is Al.

Pacific Dictates Droughts and Drenchings

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-01-30

The latest remote sensing data from NASA's Jason satellite show that the equatorial Pacific sea surface levels are higher, indicating warmer sea surface temperatures in the central and west Pacific Ocean. This pattern has the appearance of La Niña rather than El Niño. This contrasts with the Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska and U.S. West Coast where lower-than-normal sea surface levels and cool ocean temperatures continue (indicated by blue and purple areas). The image above is a global map of sea surface height, accurate to within 30 millimeters. The image represents data collected and composited over a 10-day period, ending on Jan 23, 2004. The height of the water relates to the temperature of the water. As the ocean warms, its level rises; and as it cools, its level falls. Yellow and red areas indicate where the waters are relatively warmer and have expanded above sea level, green indicates near normal sea level, and blue and purple areas show where the waters are relatively colder and the surface is lower than sea level. The blue areas are between 5 and 13 centimeters (2 and 5 inches) below normal, whereas the purple areas range from 14 to 18 centimeters (6 to 7 inches) below normal. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA05071

Summary and statistical analysis of precipitation and groundwater data for Brunswick County, North Carolina, Water Year 2008

USGS Publications Warehouse

McSwain, Kristen Bukowski; Strickland, A.G.

2010-01-01

Groundwater conditions in Brunswick County, North Carolina, have been monitored continuously since 2000 through the operation and maintenance of groundwater-level observation wells in the surficial, Castle Hayne, and Peedee aquifers of the North Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system. Groundwater-resource conditions for the Brunswick County area were evaluated by relating the normal range (25th to 75th percentile) monthly mean groundwater-level and precipitation data for water years 2001 to 2008 to median monthly mean groundwater levels and monthly sum of daily precipitation for water year 2008. Summaries of precipitation and groundwater conditions for the Brunswick County area and hydrographs and statistics of continuous groundwater levels collected during the 2008 water year are presented in this report. Groundwater levels varied by aquifer and geographic location within Brunswick County, but were influenced by drought conditions and groundwater withdrawals. Water levels were normal in two of the eight observation wells and below normal in the remaining six wells. Seasonal Kendall trend analysis performed on more than 9 years of monthly mean groundwater-level data collected in an observation well located within the Brunswick County well field indicated there is a strong downward trend, with water levels declining at a rate of about 2.2 feet per year.

The impact of fluid topology on residual saturations - A pore-network model study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doster, F.; Kallel, W.; van Dijke, R.

2014-12-01

In two-phase flow in porous media only fractions of the resident fluid are mobilised during a displacement process and, in general, a significant amount of the resident fluid remains permanently trapped. Depending on the application, entrapment is desirable (geological carbon storage), or it should be obviated (enhanced oil recovery, contaminant remediation). Despite its utmost importance for these applications, predictions of trapped fluid saturations for macroscopic systems, in particular under changing displacement conditions, remain challenging. The models that aim to represent trapping phenomena are typically empirical and require tracking of the history of the state variables. This exacerbates the experimental verification and the design of sophisticated displacement technologies that enhance or impede trapping. Recently, experiments [1] have suggested that a macroscopic normalized Euler number, quantifying the topology of fluid distributions, could serve as a parameter to predict residual saturations based on state variables. In these experiments the entrapment of fluids was visualised through 3D micro CT imaging. However, the experiments are notoriously time consuming and therefore only allow for a sparse sampling of the parameter space. Pore-network models represent porous media through an equivalent network structure of pores and throats. Under quasi-static capillary dominated conditions displacement processes can be modeled through simple invasion percolation rules. Hence, in contrast to experiments, pore-network models are fast and therefore allow full sampling of the parameter space. Here, we use pore-network modeling [2] to critically investigate the knowledge gained through observing and tracking the normalized Euler number. More specifically, we identify conditions under which (a) systems with the same saturations but different normalized Euler numbers lead to different residual saturations and (b) systems with the same saturations and the same normalized Euler numbers but different process histories yield the same residual saturations. Special attention is given to contact angle and process histories with varying drainage and imbibition periods. [1] Herring et al., Adv. Water. Resour., 62, 47-58 (2013) [2] Ryazanov et al., Transp. Porous Media, 80, 79-99 (2009).

Can a canopy temperature-based stress index enhance water use efficiency in irrigated wine grape under arid conditions?

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Enhancement of irrigation water use efficiency and water productivity in arid wine grape production regions is hindered by a lack of automated, real-time methods for monitoring and interpreting vine water status. A normalized, water stress index calculated from real-time vine canopy temperature meas...

Continual in situ monitoring of pore water stable isotopes in the subsurface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Volkmann, T. H. M.; Weiler, M.

2014-05-01

Stable isotope signatures provide an integral fingerprint of origin, flow paths, transport processes, and residence times of water in the environment. However, the full potential of stable isotopes to quantitatively characterize subsurface water dynamics is yet unfolded due to the difficulty in obtaining extensive, detailed, and repeated measurements of pore water in the unsaturated and saturated zone. This paper presents a functional and cost-efficient system for non-destructive continual in situ monitoring of pore water stable isotope signatures with high resolution. Automatic controllable valve arrays are used to continuously extract diluted water vapor in soil air via a branching network of small microporous probes into a commercial laser-based isotope analyzer. Normalized liquid-phase isotope signatures are then obtained based on a specific on-site calibration approach along with basic corrections for instrument bias and temperature dependent isotopic fractionation. The system was applied to sample depth profiles on three experimental plots with varied vegetation cover in southwest Germany. Two methods (i.e., based on advective versus diffusive vapor extraction) and two modes of sampling (i.e., using multiple permanently installed probes versus a single repeatedly inserted probe) were tested and compared. The results show that the isotope distribution along natural profiles could be resolved with sufficiently high accuracy and precision at sampling intervals of less than four minutes. The presented in situ approaches may thereby be used interchangeably with each other and with concurrent laboratory-based direct equilibration measurements of destructively collected samples. It is thus found that the introduced sampling techniques provide powerful tools towards a detailed quantitative understanding of dynamic and heterogeneous shallow subsurface and vadose zone processes.

Measurements of water molecule density by tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy in dielectric barrier discharges with gas-water interface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tachibana, Kunihide; Nakamura, Toshihiro; Kawasaki, Mitsuo; Morita, Tatsuo; Umekawa, Toyofumi; Kawasaki, Masahiro

2018-01-01

We measured water molecule (H2O) density by tunable diode-laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) for applications in dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs) with a gas-water interface. First, the effects of water temperature and presence of gas flow were tested using a Petri dish filled with water and a gas injection nozzle. Second, the TDLAS system was applied to the measurements of H2O density in two types of DBDs; one was a normal (non-inverted) type with a dielectric-covered electrode above a water-filled counter electrode and the other was an inverted type with a water-suspending mesh electrode above a dielectric-covered counter electrode. The H2O density in the normal DBD was close to the density estimated from the saturated vapor pressure, whereas the density in the inverted DBD was about half of that in the former type. The difference is attributed to the upward gas flow in the latter type, that pushes the water molecules up towards the gas-water interface.

The NACA Impact Basin and Water Landing Tests of a Float Model at Various Velocities and Weights

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Batterson, Sidney A

1944-01-01

The first data obtained in the United States under the controlled testing conditions necessary for establishing relationships among the numerous parameters involved when a float having both horizontal and vertical velocity contacts a water surface are presented. The data were obtained at the NACA impact basin. The report is confined to a presentation of the relationship between resultant velocity and impact normal acceleration for various float weights when all other parameters are constant. Analysis of the experimental results indicated that the maximum impact normal acceleration was proportional to the square of the resultant velocity, that increases in float weight resulted in decreases in the maximum impact normal acceleration, and that an increase in the flight-path angle caused increased impact normal acceleration.

Some Aspects of PDC Electrolysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poláčik, Ján; Pospíšil, Jiří

2016-10-01

In this paper, aspects of pulsed direct current (PDC) water splitting are described. Electrolysis is a simple and well-known method to produce hydrogen. The efficiency is relatively low in normal conditions using conventional DC. PDC in electrolysis brings about many advantages. It increases efficiency of hydrogen production, and performance of the electrolyser may be smoothly controlled without compromising efficiency of the process. In our approach, ultra-short pulses are applied. This method enhances efficiency of electrical energy in the process of decomposition of water into hydrogen and oxygen. Efficiency depends on frequency, shape and width of the electrical pulses. Experiments proved that efficiency was increased by 2 to 8 per cent. One of the prospects of PDC electrolysis producing hydrogen is in increase of efficiency of energy storage efficiency in the hydrogen. There are strong efforts to make the electrical grid more efficient and balanced in terms of production by installing electricity storage units. Using hydrogen as a fuel decreases air pollution and amount of carbon dioxide emissions in the air. In addition to energy storage, hydrogen is also important in transportation and chemical industry.

Effect of Multipath Laser Shock Processing on Microhardness, Surface Roughness, and Wear Resistance of 2024-T3 Al Alloy

PubMed Central

Kadhim, Abdulhadi; Salim, Evan T.; Fayadh, Saeed M.; Al-Amiery, Ahmed A.; Kadhum, Abdul Amir H.; Mohamad, Abu Bakar

2014-01-01

Laser shock processing (LSP) is an innovative surface treatment technique with high peak power, short pulse, and cold hardening for strengthening metal materials. LSP is based on the application of a high intensity pulsed laser beam (I > 1 GW/cm2; t < 50 ns) at the interface between the metallic target and the surrounding medium (a transparent confining material, normally water) forcing a sudden vaporization of the metallic surface into a high temperature and density plasma that immediately develops inducing a shock wave propagating into the material. The shock wave induces plastic deformation and a residual stress distribution in the target material. In this paper we study the increase of microhardness and surface roughness with the increase of laser pulse energy in 2024-T3 Al alloy. The influence of the thickness of the confining layer (water) on microhardness and surface roughness is also studied. In addition, the effect of LSP treatment with best conditions on wear behaviors of the alloy was investigated. PMID:24737973

A Four-parameter Budyko Equation for Mean Annual Water Balance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Y.; Wang, D.

2016-12-01

In this study, a four-parameter Budyko equation for long-term water balance at watershed scale is derived based on the proportionality relationships of the two-stage partitioning of precipitation. The four-parameter Budyko equation provides a practical solution to balance model simplicity and representation of dominated hydrologic processes. Under the four-parameter Budyko framework, the key hydrologic processes related to the lower bound of Budyko curve are determined, that is, the lower bound is corresponding to the situation when surface runoff and initial evaporation not competing with base flow generation are zero. The derived model is applied to 166 MOPEX watersheds in United States, and the dominant controlling factors on each parameter are determined. Then, four statistical models are proposed to predict the four model parameters based on the dominant controlling factors, e.g., saturated hydraulic conductivity, fraction of sand, time period between two storms, watershed slope, and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index. This study shows a potential application of the four-parameter Budyko equation to constrain land-surface parameterizations in ungauged watersheds or general circulation models.

Applications of chemiluminescence to bacterial analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Searle, N. D.

1975-01-01

Luminol chemiluminescence method for detecting bacteria was based on microbial activation of the oxidation of the luminol monoanion by hydrogen peroxide. Elimination of the prior lysing step, previously used in the chemiluminescence technique, was shown to improve considerably the reproducibility and accuracy of the method in addition to simplifying it. An inexpensive, portable photomultiplier detector was used to measure the maximum light intensity produced when the sample is added to the reagent. Studies of cooling tower water show that the luminol chemiluminescence technique can be used to monitor changes in viable cell population both under normal conditions and during chlorine treatment. Good correlation between chemiluminescence and plate counts was also obtained in the analysis of process water used in paper mills. This method showed good potential for monitoring the viable bacteria populations in activated sludge used in waste treatment plants to digest organic matter.

CONCEPTUAL MODEL FOR ORIGIN OF ABNORMALLY PRESSURED GAS ACCUMULATIONS IN LOW-PERMEABILITY RESERVOIRS.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Law, B.E.; Dickinson, W.W.

1985-01-01

The paper suggests that overpressured and underpressured gas accumulations of this type have a common origin. In basins containing overpressured gas accumulations, rates of thermogenic gas accumulation exceed gas loss, causing fluid (gas) pressure to rise above the regional hydrostatic pressure. Free water in the larger pores is forced out of the gas generation zone into overlying and updip, normally pressured, water-bearing rocks. While other diagenetic processes continue, a pore network with very low permeability develops. As a result, gas accumulates in these low-permeability reservoirs at rates higher than it is lost. In basins containing underpressured gas accumulations, rates of gas generation and accumulation are less than gas loss. The basin-center gas accumulation persists, but because of changes in the basin dynamics, the overpressured accumulation evolves into an underpressured system.

Energy shadowing correction of ultrasonic pulse-echo records by digital signal processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kishonio, D.; Heyman, J. S.

1985-01-01

A numerical algorithm is described that enables the correction of energy shadowing during the ultrasonic testing of bulk materials. In the conventional method, an ultrasonic transducer transmits sound waves into a material that is immersed in water so that discontinuities such as defects can be revealed when the waves are reflected and then detected and displayed graphically. Since a defect that lies behind another defect is shadowed in that it receives less energy, the conventional method has a major drawback. The algorithm normalizes the energy of the incoming wave by measuring the energy of the waves reflected off the water/air interface. The algorithm is fast and simple enough to be adopted for real time applications in industry. Images of material defects with the shadowing corrections permit more quantitative interpretation of the material state.

Fluid and electrolyte needs for training, competition, and recovery.

PubMed

Shirreffs, Susan M; Sawka, Michael N

2011-01-01

Fluids and electrolytes (sodium) are consumed by athletes, or recommended to athletes, for a number of reasons, before, during, and after exercise. These reasons are generally to sustain total body water, as deficits (hypohydration) will increase cardiovascular and thermal strain and degrade aerobic performance. Vigorous exercise and warm/hot weather induce sweat production, which contains both water and electrolytes. Daily water (4-10 L) and sodium (3500-7000 mg) losses in active athletes during hot weather exposure can induce water and electrolyte deficits. Both water and sodium need to be replaced to re-establish "normal" total body water (euhydration). This replacement can be by normal eating and drinking practices if there is no urgency for recovery. But if rapid recovery (<24 h) is desired or severe hypohydration (>5% body mass) is encountered, aggressive drinking of fluids and consuming electrolytes should be encouraged to facilitate recovery for subsequent competition.

Water Raman normalization of airborne laser fluorosensor measurements - A computer model study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Poole, L. R.; Esaias, W. E.

1982-01-01

The technique for normalizing airborne lidar measurements of chlorophyll fluoresence by the water Raman scattering signal is investigated for laser-excitation wavelengths of 480 and 532 nm using a semianalytic Monte Carlo methodology (SALMON). The signal-integration depth for chlorophyll fluorescence Z(90,F), is found to be insensitive to excitation wavelength and ranges from a maximum of 4.5 m in clearest waters to less than 1 m at a chlorophyll concentration of 20 microgram/liter. For excitation at 532 nm, the signal-integration depth for Raman scattering, Z(90,R), is comparable to Z(90,F). For excitation at 480 nm, Z(90,R) is four times as large as Z(90,F) in clearest waters but nearly equivalent at chlorophyll concentrations greater than 2-3 microgram/liter. Absolute signal levels are stronger with excitation at 480 nm than with excitation at 532 nm, but this advantage must be weighed against potential ambiguities resulting from different integration depths for the fluorescence and Raman scattering signals in clearer waters. To the precision of the simulations, Raman normalization produces effectively linear response to chlorophyll concentration for both excitation wavelengths.

The northeast water supply crisis of the 1960's

USGS Publications Warehouse

Barksdale, Henry C.

1968-01-01

The water supply drought in the Northeast began in the autumn of 1961 and marked the beginning of a severe water shortage that continued with little relief through the summer of 1966. During this time, throughout much of the Northeast, water supplies remained below normal.

Advancing reservoir operation description in physically based hydrological models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anghileri, Daniela; Giudici, Federico; Castelletti, Andrea; Burlando, Paolo

2016-04-01

Last decades have seen significant advances in our capacity of characterizing and reproducing hydrological processes within physically based models. Yet, when the human component is considered (e.g. reservoirs, water distribution systems), the associated decisions are generally modeled with very simplistic rules, which might underperform in reproducing the actual operators' behaviour on a daily or sub-daily basis. For example, reservoir operations are usually described by a target-level rule curve, which represents the level that the reservoir should track during normal operating conditions. The associated release decision is determined by the current state of the reservoir relative to the rule curve. This modeling approach can reasonably reproduce the seasonal water volume shift due to reservoir operation. Still, it cannot capture more complex decision making processes in response, e.g., to the fluctuations of energy prices and demands, the temporal unavailability of power plants or varying amount of snow accumulated in the basin. In this work, we link a physically explicit hydrological model with detailed hydropower behavioural models describing the decision making process by the dam operator. In particular, we consider two categories of behavioural models: explicit or rule-based behavioural models, where reservoir operating rules are empirically inferred from observational data, and implicit or optimization based behavioural models, where, following a normative economic approach, the decision maker is represented as a rational agent maximising a utility function. We compare these two alternate modelling approaches on the real-world water system of Lake Como catchment in the Italian Alps. The water system is characterized by the presence of 18 artificial hydropower reservoirs generating almost 13% of the Italian hydropower production. Results show to which extent the hydrological regime in the catchment is affected by different behavioural models and reservoir operating strategies.

The interactive effect of dietary water-soluble vitamin levels on the depression of gonadal development in growing male rats kept under disturbed daily rhythm.

PubMed

Hanai, Miho; Esashi, Takatoshi

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to clarify the effects of nutrients on the gonadal development of male rats kept under constant darkness as a model of disturbed daily rhythm. In the present study we examined the effects of nine water-soluble vitamins. We selected 7 water-soluble vitamins (choline, nicotinic acid (NA), pantothenic acid (PA), vitamin B6 (VB6), vitamin B1 (VB1), vitamin B2 (VB2) and folic acid (FA)) as experimental factors for the first experiment (Ex. 1) and biotin and vitamin B12 (VB12) as experimental factors for the second experiment (Ex. 2). The dietary content of these vitamins was normal or six times the normal content. Lighting condition (L.C.) was also added as a factor. Four-week-old male rats (Fischer 344 strain) were kept under constant darkness or normal lighting (12-h light/dark cycle) for 4 wk. The depression of gonadal development in the constant darkness groups (D-groups) was shown. The L.C., PA, VB6 and VB1 influenced testes development, and these three vitamins had interactions with L.C. Among the normal lighting groups (N-groups), the highest value for testes weight was observed under the normal-PA, high-VB6 and high-B1 diet; on the other hand, among the D-groups, it was observed under the high-PA, normal-VB6 and normal-VB1 diet. The results showed that the depression of gonadal development in rats kept under disturbed daily rhythm was improved by getting a high amount of PA and normal amount of VB6 and VB1.

Direct measurement of asperity contact growth in quartz at hydrothermal conditions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Beeler, Nicholas M.; Hickman, Stephen H.

2015-01-01

Earthquake recurrence requires interseismic fault restrengthening which results from solid state deformation in room-temperature friction and indentation experiments. In contrast exhumed fault zones show solution-transport processes such as pressure solution and contact overgrowths influence fault zone properties . In the absence of fluid flow, overgrowths are driven by gradients in surface curvature where material is dissolved, diffuses, and precipitates at the contact without convergence normal to the contact. To determine the rate of overgrowth for quartz, we conducted single contact experiments in an externally heated pressure vessel. Convergence was continuously monitored using reflected-light interferometry through a long-working-distance microscope. Contact normal force was constant with an initial effective normal stress of 1.7 MPa, temperature was between 350 and 530{degree sign}C, and water pressure was constant at 150 MPa. Two control experiments were conducted: one dry at 425{degree sign}C and one bi-material (sapphire) at 425{degree sign}C and 150 MPa water pressure. No contact growth or convergence was observed in the controls. For wet single-phase contacts, growth was initially rapid and then decreased with time. No convergence was observed. Fluid inclusions indicate that the contact is not uniformly wetted. The contact is bounded by small regions of high aperture, reflecting local free-face dissolution as the source for the overgrowth. The apparent activation energy is ~125 kJ/mol. Extrapolation predicts rates of contact area increase orders of magnitude faster than in dry, room-temperature and hydrothermal friction experiments, suggesting that natural strength recovery near the base of the seismogenic zone could be dominated by contact overgrowth.

Aromatic Side Chain Water-to-Lipid Transfer Free Energies Show a Depth Dependence across the Membrane Normal.

PubMed

McDonald, Sarah K; Fleming, Karen G

2016-06-29

Quantitating and understanding the physical forces responsible for the interactions of biomolecules are fundamental to the biological sciences. This is especially challenging for membrane proteins because they are embedded within cellular bilayers that provide a unique medium in which hydrophobic sequences must fold. Knowledge of the energetics of protein-lipid interactions is thus vital to understand cellular processes involving membrane proteins. Here we used a host-guest mutational strategy to calculate the Gibbs free energy changes of water-to-lipid transfer for the aromatic side chains Trp, Tyr, and Phe as a function of depth in the membrane. This work reveals an energetic gradient in the transfer free energies for Trp and Tyr, where transfer was most favorable to the membrane interfacial region and comparatively less favorable into the bilayer center. The transfer energetics follows the concentration gradient of polar atoms across the bilayer normal that naturally occurs in biological membranes. Additional measurements revealed nearest-neighbor coupling in the data set are influenced by a network of aromatic side chains in the host protein. Taken together, these results show that aromatic side chains contribute significantly to membrane protein stability through either aromatic-aromatic interactions or placement at the membrane interface.

Disorders of erythrocyte hydration.

PubMed

Gallagher, Patrick G

2017-12-21

The erythrocyte contains a network of pathways that regulate salt and water content in the face of extracellular and intracellular osmotic perturbations. This allows the erythrocyte to maintain a narrow range of cell hemoglobin concentration, a process critical for normal red blood cell function and survival. Primary disorders that perturb volume homeostasis jeopardize the erythrocyte and may lead to its premature destruction. These disorders are marked by clinical, laboratory, and physiologic heterogeneity. Recent studies have revealed that these disorders are also marked by genetic heterogeneity. They have implicated roles for several proteins, PIEZO1, a mammalian mechanosensory protein; GLUT1, the glucose transporter; SLC4A1, the anion transporter; RhAG, the Rh-associated glycoprotein; KCNN4, the Gardos channel; and ABCB6, an adenosine triphosphate-binding cassette family member, in the maintenance of erythrocyte volume homeostasis. Secondary disorders of erythrocyte hydration include sickle cell disease, thalassemia, hemoglobin CC, and hereditary spherocytosis, where cellular dehydration may be a significant contributor to disease pathology and clinical complications. Understanding the pathways regulating erythrocyte water and solute content may reveal innovative strategies to maintain normal volume in disorders associated with primary or secondary cellular dehydration. These mechanisms will serve as a paradigm for other cells and may reveal new therapeutic targets for disease prevention and treatment beyond the erythrocyte. © 2017 by The American Society of Hematology.

Biophysical Model of Ion Transport across Human Respiratory Epithelia Allows Quantification of Ion Permeabilities

PubMed Central

Garcia, Guilherme J.M.; Boucher, Richard C.; Elston, Timothy C.

2013-01-01

Lung health and normal mucus clearance depend on adequate hydration of airway surfaces. Because transepithelial osmotic gradients drive water flows, sufficient hydration of the airway surface liquid depends on a balance between ion secretion and absorption by respiratory epithelia. In vitro experiments using cultures of primary human nasal epithelia and human bronchial epithelia have established many of the biophysical processes involved in airway surface liquid homeostasis. Most experimental studies, however, have focused on the apical membrane, despite the fact that ion transport across respiratory epithelia involves both cellular and paracellular pathways. In fact, the ion permeabilities of the basolateral membrane and paracellular pathway remain largely unknown. Here we use a biophysical model for water and ion transport to quantify ion permeabilities of all pathways (apical, basolateral, paracellular) in human nasal epithelia cultures using experimental (Ussing Chamber and microelectrode) data reported in the literature. We derive analytical formulas for the steady-state short-circuit current and membrane potential, which are for polarized epithelia the equivalent of the Goldman-Hodgkin-Katz equation for single isolated cells. These relations allow parameter estimation to be performed efficiently. By providing a method to quantify all the ion permeabilities of respiratory epithelia, the model may aid us in understanding the physiology that regulates normal airway surface hydration. PMID:23442922

Temporal and Spatial Variation of Chemical Water Quality in a Contour Canal.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swanson, L. A.; Lunn, R. J.

2004-12-01

Chemical water quality is a highly variable aspect of any water body. Historically numerous researchers have investigated the chemical variability of rivers, streams and wetlands, artificial water bodies such as canals have been largely neglected. Canals are typically hydraulically characterised by low flows and a lack of mixing processes. This can potentially lead to significant spatial variability in water chemistry, and as a result many canals in the UK regularly fail water quality targets at specific locations. Recent changes to UK legislation, following the European Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC), have resulted in canals being subject to achieving `good ecological status'. In the case of canals, what constitutes `good ecological status' is largely unknown and little expertise is available since historically canal management has not been driven by chemical and ecological quality targets. Consequently, there is an urgent need for new research to determine the main factors influencing canal water quality and their ecological status. This research presents results from a study based on a UK contour canal, the Union Canal in central Scotland. The Union Canal typically demonstrates spatially and temporally variable levels of dissolved oxygen (DO) and orthophosphate (PO4-P): simultaneously, seasonal and diel fluctuations of DO and PO4-P are pronounced at a small number of locations. During 1995, minimum levels of DO along the canal length ranged from 9mgl-1 in Edinburgh to as low as 2mgl-1 approximately 20kms away, this then rose again to 8mgl-1 after a further distance of 2km. These acutely low levels of DO are coupled with events of excessive PO4-P up to 0.235mgl-1:10 times greater than those normally found in rivers, causing localised eutrophication and extensive fish kills. To determine the cause of the `hot spots' of poor water quality found on the Union Canal, simultaneous investigations of the hydraulic regime, spatial and temporal water quality variation and the canal's biological status were carried out. Velocity metering in the canal identified extremely low flow rates ~0.15m3s-1. A tracer testing procedure for the canal's low flow conditions was designed and implemented which identified a lack of rapid dispersion processes with D~0.133m3s-1. Water quality sampling consisted of a year-long programme of high frequency temporal and spatial sampling along the canal length. Observations demonstrate significant variability, with widely differing measurements of DO as little as 5m apart. In addition, spot samples of water quality taken from individual incoming field drains showed PO4-P concentrations up to 2mgl-1, with a predominance of nutrient bound clay and silt sediments that ultimately settle on the canal bed. Due to low dispersion rates, residence times for pollutants are long and field drains, in combination with navigational activity, may well be one of the primary causes of raised nutrient levels at some locations. This research has shown that canal water quality is highly spatially and temporally variable; far in excess of the variability normally found in river systems. This is mainly determined by a lack of hydraulic mixing and the presence of small quantities of incoming runoff water of very low quality. Whilst low in volume, incoming sediment from the drains appears to strongly influence the nearby canal water quality. These results have important consequences both for future monitoring strategies of canals and management of their gradual ecological improvement.

Sugar-water hemolysis test

MedlinePlus

... These proteins work with the immune system. Normal Results A normal test result is called a negative ... meaning of your specific test results. What Abnormal Results Mean A positive test result means the results ...

Use of geophysical logs to estimate the quality of ground water and the permeability of aquifers

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hudson, J.D.

1996-01-01

The relation of formation factor to resistivity of formation water and intergranular permeability has often been investigated, and the general consensus is that this relation is closest when established in a clean-sand aquifer in which water quality does not vary substantially. When these restrictions are applied, the following standard equation is a useful tool in estimating the resistance of the formation water: F = Ro/Rw, where F is the formation factor, which is a function of the effective porosity; Ro is the resistivity of a formation that is 100 percent saturated with interstitial water; and Rw is the resistivity of the water in the saturated zone. However, arenaceous aquifers can have electrical resistivities that are not directly related to resistivity of water or porosity. Surface conductivity and ion exchange are significant factors when the sediments are clay bearing. The solid constituents are a major component of the parameters needed to solve the equation for formation-water resistivity and estimates of aquifer permeability. A correction process needs to be applied to adjust the variables, Ro and F, to the equivalent of clean sand. This report presents an empirical method of using the neutron log and the electrical-resistivity values from long- and short-normal resistivity logs to correct for fine-grained material and the subsequent effects of low impedance to electrical flow that are not related to the resistance of formation water.

Korean Waste Management Law, Presidential Decree Number 13480, and Prime Minister Order Number 397

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-06-01

radioactive waste or substances that are contaminated by radioactivity and medical waste (which is regulated by Medical Law), wastewater (which is regulated...be exceeded when the domestic waste is disposed a. In case where water polutant , pursuant to Table 1 of toe Enforcement Regulaton in the Water...combustion burner and extra burner * Normal operation of safety facilities • Normal operation of preventive facilities * Density of polutant out of

40 CFR 230.11 - Factual determinations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... the physical, chemical, and biological components of the aquatic environment in light of subparts C... including downstream flows, and normal water fluctuation. Consideration shall be given to water chemistry... characteristics and elevation, water or substrate chemistry, nutrients, currents, circulation, fluctuation, and...

40 CFR 230.11 - Factual determinations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... the physical, chemical, and biological components of the aquatic environment in light of subparts C... including downstream flows, and normal water fluctuation. Consideration shall be given to water chemistry... characteristics and elevation, water or substrate chemistry, nutrients, currents, circulation, fluctuation, and...

40 CFR 230.11 - Factual determinations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... the physical, chemical, and biological components of the aquatic environment in light of subparts C... including downstream flows, and normal water fluctuation. Consideration shall be given to water chemistry... characteristics and elevation, water or substrate chemistry, nutrients, currents, circulation, fluctuation, and...

14 CFR 23.237 - Operation on water.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Operation on water. 23.237 Section 23.237... STANDARDS: NORMAL, UTILITY, ACROBATIC, AND COMMUTER CATEGORY AIRPLANES Flight Ground and Water Handling Characteristics § 23.237 Operation on water. A wave height, demonstrated to be safe for operation, and any...

10 CFR 36.33 - Irradiator pools.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... purification system designed to be capable of maintaining the water during normal operation at a conductivity..., irradiator pools must either: (1) Have a water-tight stainless steel liner or a liner metallurgically... water level that could allow water to drain out of the pool. Pipes that have intakes more than 0.5 meter...

10 CFR 36.33 - Irradiator pools.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... purification system designed to be capable of maintaining the water during normal operation at a conductivity..., irradiator pools must either: (1) Have a water-tight stainless steel liner or a liner metallurgically... water level that could allow water to drain out of the pool. Pipes that have intakes more than 0.5 meter...

10 CFR 36.33 - Irradiator pools.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... purification system designed to be capable of maintaining the water during normal operation at a conductivity..., irradiator pools must either: (1) Have a water-tight stainless steel liner or a liner metallurgically... water level that could allow water to drain out of the pool. Pipes that have intakes more than 0.5 meter...

10 CFR 36.33 - Irradiator pools.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... purification system designed to be capable of maintaining the water during normal operation at a conductivity..., irradiator pools must either: (1) Have a water-tight stainless steel liner or a liner metallurgically... water level that could allow water to drain out of the pool. Pipes that have intakes more than 0.5 meter...

10 CFR 36.33 - Irradiator pools.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... purification system designed to be capable of maintaining the water during normal operation at a conductivity..., irradiator pools must either: (1) Have a water-tight stainless steel liner or a liner metallurgically... water level that could allow water to drain out of the pool. Pipes that have intakes more than 0.5 meter...

14 CFR 23.237 - Operation on water.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Operation on water. 23.237 Section 23.237... STANDARDS: NORMAL, UTILITY, ACROBATIC, AND COMMUTER CATEGORY AIRPLANES Flight Ground and Water Handling Characteristics § 23.237 Operation on water. A wave height, demonstrated to be safe for operation, and any...

14 CFR 23.237 - Operation on water.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Operation on water. 23.237 Section 23.237... STANDARDS: NORMAL, UTILITY, ACROBATIC, AND COMMUTER CATEGORY AIRPLANES Flight Ground and Water Handling Characteristics § 23.237 Operation on water. A wave height, demonstrated to be safe for operation, and any...

14 CFR 23.237 - Operation on water.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Operation on water. 23.237 Section 23.237... STANDARDS: NORMAL, UTILITY, ACROBATIC, AND COMMUTER CATEGORY AIRPLANES Flight Ground and Water Handling Characteristics § 23.237 Operation on water. A wave height, demonstrated to be safe for operation, and any...

Studies of cavitation and ice nucleation in 'doubly-metastable' water: time-lapse photography and neutron diffraction.

PubMed

Barrow, Matthew S; Williams, P Rhodri; Chan, Hoi-Houng; Dore, John C; Bellissent-Funel, Marie-Claire

2012-10-14

High-speed photographic studies and neutron diffraction measurements have been made of water under tension in a Berthelot tube. Liquid water was cooled below the normal ice-nucleation temperature and was in a doubly-metastable state prior to a collapse of the liquid state. This transition was accompanied by an exothermic heat release corresponding with the rapid production of a solid phase nucleated by cavitation. Photographic techniques have been used to observe the phase transition over short time scales in which a solidification front is observed to propagate through the sample. Significantly, other images at a shorter time interval reveal the prior formation of cavitation bubbles at the beginning of the process. The ice-nucleation process is explained in terms of a mechanism involving hydrodynamically-induced changes in tension in supercooled water in the near vicinity of an expanding cavitation bubble. Previous explanations have attributed the nucleation of the solid phase to the production of high positive pressures. Corresponding results are presented which show the initial neutron diffraction pattern after ice-nucleation. The observed pattern does not exhibit the usual crystalline pattern of hexagonal ice [I(h)] that is formed under ambient conditions, but indicates the presence of other ice forms. The composite features can be attributed to a mixture of amorphous ice, ice-I(h)/I(c) and the high-pressure form, ice-III, and the diffraction pattern continues to evolve over a time period of about an hour.

Effects of ingestion of cold and hot water on the course of thermal changes in the stomach and intestine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Batinkov, Y. L.

1979-01-01

With the use of a thermocouple and mirror galvanometer, calibrated before the experiment and after each test, it was found that the normal temperature in the esophagus is 0.1-0.4 C higher than in the oral cavity, the temperature in the duodenum is somewhat less than in the stomach, but higher with cholecystitis, duodenitis or gastritis, the temperature in the normal stomach equals or is somewhat higher than in the esophagus, and that the temperature of distended stomachs frequently is lower than in the esophagus. It was found that hot water is retained in the stomach longer than cold water, and that both hot and cold water are allowed to pass into the duodenum when the water temperature becomes approximately equal to that of the surrounding organs.

Contrasting seasonality in optical-biogeochemical properties of the Baltic Sea

PubMed Central

Ylöstalo, Pasi; Kallio, Kari Y.; Spilling, Kristian; Kutser, Tiit

2017-01-01

Optical-biogeochemical relationships of particulate and dissolved organic matter are presented in support of remote sensing of the Baltic Sea pelagic. This system exhibits strong seasonality in phytoplankton community composition and wide gradients of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM), properties which are poorly handled by existing remote sensing algorithms. Absorption and scattering properties of particulate matter reflected the seasonality in biological (phytoplankton succession) and physical (thermal stratification) processes. Inherent optical properties showed much wider variability when normalized to the chlorophyll-a concentration compared to normalization to either total suspended matter dry weight or particulate organic carbon. The particle population had the largest optical variability in summer and was dominated by organic matter in both seasons. The geographic variability of CDOM and relationships with dissolved organic carbon (DOC) are also presented. CDOM dominated light absorption at blue wavelengths, contributing 81% (median) of the absorption by all water constituents at 400 nm and 63% at 442 nm. Consequentially, 90% of water-leaving radiance at 412 nm originated from a layer (z90) no deeper than approximately 1.0 m. With water increasingly attenuating light at longer wavelengths, a green peak in light penetration and reflectance is always present in these waters, with z90 up to 3.0–3.5 m depth, whereas z90 only exceeds 5 m at biomass < 5 mg Chla m-3. High absorption combined with a weakly scattering particle population (despite median phytoplankton biomass of 14.1 and 4.3 mg Chla m-3 in spring and summer samples, respectively), characterize this sea as a dark water body for which dedicated or exceptionally robust remote sensing techniques are required. Seasonal and regional optical-biogeochemical models, data distributions, and an extensive set of simulated remote-sensing reflectance spectra for testing of remote sensing algorithms are provided as supplementary data. PMID:28384157

Reduction of Sodium Arsenite-Mediated Adverse Effects in Mice using Dietary Supplementation of Water Hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes) Root Powder.

PubMed

Sarker, Rim Sabrina Jahan; Ahsan, Nazmul; Hossain, Khaled; Ghosh, Paritosh Kumar; Ahsan, Chowdhury Rafiqul; Akhand, Anwarul Azim

2012-07-01

In this study, we evaluated the protective effects of water Hyacinth Root Powder (HRP) on arsenic-mediated toxic effects in mice. Swiss albino mice, used in this study, were divided into four different groups (for each group n=5). The control group was supplied with normal feed and water, Arsenic group (As-group) was supplied with normal feed plus arsenic (sodium arsenite)-containing water, and arsenic+hyacinth group (As+Hy group) was supplied with feed supplemented with HRP plus arsenic water. The remaining Hy-group was supplied with feed supplemented with HRP plus normal water. Oral administration of arsenic reduced the normal growth of the mice as evidenced by weight loss. Interestingly, tip of the tails of these mice developed wound that caused gradual reduction of the tail length. Supplementation of HRP in feed significantly prevented mice growth retardation and tail wounding in As+Hy group mice. However, the growth pattern in Hy-group mice was observed to be almost similar to that of the control group indicating that HRP itself has no toxic or negative effect in mice. Ingested arsenic also distorted the shape of the blood cells and elevated the serum enzymes such as lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT). Importantly, elevation of these enzymes and distortion of blood cell shape were partially reduced in mice belong to As+Hy group, indicating HRP-mediated reduction of arsenic toxicity. Therefore, the preventive effect of hyacinth root on arsenic-poisoned mice suggested the future application of hyacinth to reduce arsenic toxicity in animal and human.

Reduction of Sodium Arsenite-Mediated Adverse Effects in Mice using Dietary Supplementation of Water Hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes) Root Powder

PubMed Central

Sarker, Rim Sabrina Jahan; Ahsan, Nazmul; Hossain, Khaled; Ghosh, Paritosh Kumar; Ahsan, Chowdhury Rafiqul; Akhand, Anwarul Azim

2012-01-01

Background In this study, we evaluated the protective effects of water Hyacinth Root Powder (HRP) on arsenic-mediated toxic effects in mice. Methods Swiss albino mice, used in this study, were divided into four different groups (for each group n=5). The control group was supplied with normal feed and water, Arsenic group (As-group) was supplied with normal feed plus arsenic (sodium arsenite)-containing water, and arsenic+hyacinth group (As+Hy group) was supplied with feed supplemented with HRP plus arsenic water. The remaining Hy-group was supplied with feed supplemented with HRP plus normal water. Results Oral administration of arsenic reduced the normal growth of the mice as evidenced by weight loss. Interestingly, tip of the tails of these mice developed wound that caused gradual reduction of the tail length. Supplementation of HRP in feed significantly prevented mice growth retardation and tail wounding in As+Hy group mice. However, the growth pattern in Hy-group mice was observed to be almost similar to that of the control group indicating that HRP itself has no toxic or negative effect in mice. Ingested arsenic also distorted the shape of the blood cells and elevated the serum enzymes such as lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT). Importantly, elevation of these enzymes and distortion of blood cell shape were partially reduced in mice belong to As+Hy group, indicating HRP-mediated reduction of arsenic toxicity. Conclusion Therefore, the preventive effect of hyacinth root on arsenic-poisoned mice suggested the future application of hyacinth to reduce arsenic toxicity in animal and human. PMID:23407303

A cross-sectional study to assess the intelligence quotient (IQ) of school going children aged 10-12 years in villages of Mysore district, India with different fluoride levels.

PubMed

Sebastian, Shibu Thomas; Sunitha, S

2015-01-01

Besides dental and skeletal fluorosis, excessive fluoride intake can also affect the central nervous system without first causing the physical deformities associated with skeletal fluorosis. With the existence of widespread endemic fluorosis in India, the possible adverse effect of elevated fluoride in drinking water on the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) level of children is a potentially serious public health problem. This study assessed the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) of school going children aged 10-12 years in villages of Mysore district with different fluoride levels. In this cross-sectional study, 405 school children aged 10-12 years were selected from three villages in Mysore district with normal fluoride (1.20 mg F/l), low fluoride (0.40 mg F/l) and high fluoride (2.20 mg F/l) in their water supplies. A pre designed questionnaire was used to collect the required data for the survey which included socio demographic details, oral hygiene practices, diet history, body mass index and dental fluorosis. Intelligence Quotient was assessed using Raven's colored Progressive Matrices Test. In bivariate analysis, significant relationships were found between water fluoride levels and Intelligence Quotient of school children (P < 0.05). In the high fluoride village, the proportion of children with IQ below 90, i.e. below average IQ was larger compared to normal and low fluoride village. Age, gender, parent education level and family income had no significant association with IQ. School children residing in area with higher than normal water fluoride level demonstrated more impaired development of intelligence when compared to school children residing in areas with normal and low water fluoride levels. Thus, children's intelligence can be affected by high water fluoride levels.

A child with chronic manganese exposure from drinking water.

PubMed Central

Woolf, Alan; Wright, Robert; Amarasiriwardena, Chitra; Bellinger, David

2002-01-01

The patient's family bought a home in a suburb, but the proximity of the house to wetlands and its distance from the town water main prohibited connecting the house to town water. The family had a well drilled and they drank the well water for 5 years, despite the fact that the water was turbid, had a metallic taste, and left an orange-brown residue on clothes, dishes, and appliances. When the water was tested after 5 years of residential use, the manganese concentration was elevated (1.21 ppm; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reference, < 0.05 ppm). The family's 10-year-old son had elevated manganese concentrations in whole blood, urine, and hair. The blood manganese level of his brother was normal, but his hair manganese level was elevated. The patient, the 10-year-old, was in the fifth grade and had no history of learning problems; however, teachers had noticed his inattentiveness and lack of focus in the classroom. Our results of cognitive testing were normal, but tests of memory revealed a markedly below-average performance: the patient's general memory index was at the 13th percentile, his verbal memory at the 19th percentile, his visual memory at the 14th percentile, and his learning index at the 19th percentile. The patient's free recall and cued recall tests were all 0.5-1.5 standard deviations (1 SD = 16th percentile) below normal. Psychometric testing scores showed normal IQ but unexpectedly poor verbal and visual memory. These findings are consistent with the known toxic effects of manganese, although a causal relationship cannot necessarily be inferred. PMID:12055054

Seismic and aseismic deformations and impact on reservoir permeability: The case of EGS stimulation at The Geysers, California, USA

DOE PAGES

Jeanne, Pierre; Rutqvist, Jonny; Rinaldi, Antonio Pio; ...

2015-10-27

In this paper, we use the Seismicity-Based Reservoir Characterization approach to study the spatiotemporal dynamics of an injection-induced microseismic cloud, monitored during the stimulation of an enhanced geothermal system, and associated with the Northwest Geysers Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) Demonstration project (California). We identified the development of a seismically quiet domain around the injection well surrounded by a seismically active domain. Then we compare these observations with the results of 3-D Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical simulations of the EGS, which accounts for changes in permeability as a function of the effective normal stress and the plastic strain. The results of our modeling showmore » that the aseismic domain is caused by both the presence of the injected cold water and by thermal processes. These thermal processes cause a cooling-stress reduction, which prevent shear reactivation and favors fracture opening by reducing effective normal stress and locally increasing the permeability. This process is accompanied by aseismic plastic shear strain. In the seismic domain, microseismicity is caused by the reactivation of the preexisting fractures, resulting from an increase in injection-induced pore pressure. Our modeling indicates that in this domain, permeability evolves according to the effective normal stress acting on the shear zones, whereas shearing of preexisting fractures may have a low impact on permeability. We attribute this lack of permeability gain to the fact that the initial permeabilities of these preexisting fractures are already high (up to 2 orders of magnitude higher than the host rock) and may already be fully dilated by past tectonic straining.« less

Seismic and aseismic deformations and impact on reservoir permeability: The case of EGS stimulation at The Geysers, California, USA

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jeanne, Pierre; Rutqvist, Jonny; Rinaldi, Antonio Pio

In this paper, we use the Seismicity-Based Reservoir Characterization approach to study the spatiotemporal dynamics of an injection-induced microseismic cloud, monitored during the stimulation of an enhanced geothermal system, and associated with the Northwest Geysers Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) Demonstration project (California). We identified the development of a seismically quiet domain around the injection well surrounded by a seismically active domain. Then we compare these observations with the results of 3-D Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical simulations of the EGS, which accounts for changes in permeability as a function of the effective normal stress and the plastic strain. The results of our modeling showmore » that the aseismic domain is caused by both the presence of the injected cold water and by thermal processes. These thermal processes cause a cooling-stress reduction, which prevent shear reactivation and favors fracture opening by reducing effective normal stress and locally increasing the permeability. This process is accompanied by aseismic plastic shear strain. In the seismic domain, microseismicity is caused by the reactivation of the preexisting fractures, resulting from an increase in injection-induced pore pressure. Our modeling indicates that in this domain, permeability evolves according to the effective normal stress acting on the shear zones, whereas shearing of preexisting fractures may have a low impact on permeability. We attribute this lack of permeability gain to the fact that the initial permeabilities of these preexisting fractures are already high (up to 2 orders of magnitude higher than the host rock) and may already be fully dilated by past tectonic straining.« less

Size resolved fog water chemistry and its atmospheric implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chakraborty, Abhishek; Gupta, Tarun; Tripathi, Sachchida; Ervens, Barbara; Bhattu, Deepika

2015-04-01

Fog is a natural meteorological phenomenon that occurs throughout the world. It usually contains substantial quantity of liquid water and results in severe visibility reduction leading to disruption of normal life. Fog is generally seen as a natural cleansing agent but it also has the potential to form Secondary Organic Aerosol (SOA) via aqueous processing of ambient aerosols. Size- resolved fog water chemistry for inorganics were reported in previous studies but processing of organics inside the fog water and quantification of aqSOA remained a challenge. To assess the organics processing via fog aqueous processing, size resolved fog water samples were collected in two consecutive winter seasons (2012-13, 2013-14) at Kanpur, a heavily polluted urban area of India. Caltech 3 stage fog collector was used to collect the fog droplets in 3 size fraction; coarse (droplet diameter > 22 µm), medium (22> droplet diameter >16 µm) and fine (16> droplet diameter >4 µm). Collected samples were atomized into various instruments such as Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS), Cloud Condensation Nucleus Counter (CCNc), Total Organic Carbon (TOC) and a thermo denuder (TD) for the physico-chemical characterization of soluble constituents. Fine droplets are found to be more enriched with different aerosol species and interestingly contain more aged and less volatile organics compared to other coarser sizes. Organics inside fine droplets have an average O/C = 0.87 compared to O/C of 0.67 and 0.74 of coarse and medium droplets. Metal chemistry and higher residence time of fine droplets are seemed to be the two most likely reasons for this outcome from as the results of a comprehensive modeling carried out on the observed data indicate. CCN activities of the aerosols from fine droplets are also much higher than that of coarse or medium droplets. Fine droplets also contain light absorbing material as was obvious from their 'yellowish' solution. Source apportionment of fog water organics via PMF (Positive matrix factorization) revealed presence of some very highly oxidized OA inside fog water samples. From PMF results a method for aqSOA estimation is developed and aqSOA was found to be substantially contributing to total SOA. These findings indicate that light fog with large number of fine droplets can process the ambient aerosols more efficiently than very dense fog with larger droplets where scavenging becomes more important. These findings also highlight the need of incorporating fog size resolved chemistry along with metal chemistry into global models for accurately predicting aqSOA formation and contribution to total organic aerosol loading.

Fuel processing device

DOEpatents

Ahluwalia, Rajesh K [Burr Ridge, IL; Ahmed, Shabbir [Naperville, IL; Lee, Sheldon H. D. [Willowbrook, IL

2011-08-02

An improved fuel processor for fuel cells is provided whereby the startup time of the processor is less than sixty seconds and can be as low as 30 seconds, if not less. A rapid startup time is achieved by either igniting or allowing a small mixture of air and fuel to react over and warm up the catalyst of an autothermal reformer (ATR). The ATR then produces combustible gases to be subsequently oxidized on and simultaneously warm up water-gas shift zone catalysts. After normal operating temperature has been achieved, the proportion of air included with the fuel is greatly diminished.

Analysis of dynamic thresholds for the normalized difference water index

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ji, Lei; Zhang, Li; Wylie, Bruce K.

2009-01-01

The normalized difference water index (NDWI) has been successfully used to delineate surface water features. However, two major problems have been often encountered: (a) NDWIs calculated from different band combinations [visible, nearinfrared, or shortwave-infrared (SWIR)] can generate different results, and (b) NDWI thresholds vary depending on the proportions of subpixel water/non-water components. We need to evaluate all the NDWIS for determining the best performing index and to establish appropriate thresholds for clearly identifying water features. We used the spectral data obtained from a spectral library to simulate the satellite sensors Landsat ETM+, SPOT-5, ASTER, and MODIS, and calculated the simulated NDWI in different forms. We found that the NDWI calculated from (green - swm)/(green + SWIR), where SWIR is the shorter wavelength region (1.2 to 1.8 ??m), has the most stable threshold. We recommend this NDWI be employed for mapping water, but adjustment of the threshold based on actual situations is necessary. ?? 2009 American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing.

Chloride - urine test

MedlinePlus

... of a condition that affects body fluids or acid-base balance. Normal Results The normal range is 110 ... in the clinical evaluation of electrolyte, water, and acid-base disorders. In: Alpern RJ, Moe OW, Caplan M, ...

Hydrogeologic processes in saline systems: Playas, sabkhas, and saline lakes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Yechieli, Y.; Wood, W.W.

2002-01-01

Pans, playas, sabkhas, salinas, saline lakes, and salt flats are hydrologically similar, varying only in their boundary conditions. Thus, in evaluating geochemical processes in these systems, a generic water and solute mass-balance approach can be utilized. A conceptual model of a coastal sabkha near the Arabian Gulf is used as an example to illustrate the various water and solute fluxes. Analysis of this model suggests that upward flux of ground water from underlying formations could be a major source of solutes in the sabkha, but contribute only a small volume of the water. Local rainfall is the main source of water in the modeled sabkha system with a surprisingly large recharge-to-rainfall ratio of more than 50%. The contribution of seawater to the solute budget depends on the ratio of the width of the supratidal zone to the total width and is generally confined to a narrow zone near the shoreline of a typical coastal sabkha. Because of a short residence time of water, steady-state flow is expected within a short time (50,000 years). The solute composition of the brine in a closed saline system depends largely on the original composition of the input water. The high total ion content in the brine limits the efficiency of water-rock interaction and absorption. Because most natural systems are hydrologically open, the chemistry of the brines and the associated evaporite deposits may be significantly different than that predicted for hydrologically closed systems. Seasonal changes in temperature of the unsaturated zone cause precipitation of minerals in saline systems undergoing evaporation. Thus, during the hot dry season months, minerals exhibit retrograde solubility so that gypsum, anhydrite and calcite precipitate. Evaporation near the surface is also a major process that causes mineral precipitation in the upper portion of the unsaturated zone (e.g. halite and carnallite), provided that the relative humidity of the atmosphere is less than the activity of water. The slope of the fresh/brine-water interface in saline lake systems is shallower than in fresh/seawater interface because of the greater density difference between the fresh/brine-water bodies. The interface between sabkha brines and seawater slopes seaward, unlike normal marine-fresh water systems that slope landward. Moreover, the brine/seawater interface does not achieve steady state because it is pushed toward the sea by the sabkha's brine. ?? 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

A Mostly Quiet Pacific

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-11-18

Some climate forecast models indicate there is an above average chance that there could be a weak to borderline El Niño by the end of November 2003. However, the trade winds, blowing from east to west across the equatorial Pacific Ocean, remain strong. Thus, there remains some uncertainty among climate scientists as to whether the warm temperature anomaly will form again this year. The latest remote sensing data from NASA's Jason satellite show near normal conditions across the equatorial Pacific. There are currently no visible signs in sea surface height of an impending El Niño. This equatorial quiet contrasts with the Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska and U.S. West Coast where lower-than-normal sea surface levels and cool ocean temperatures continue (indicated by blue and purple areas). The image above is a global map of sea surface height, accurate to within 30 millimeters. The image represents data collected and composited over a 10-day period, ending on Nov. 3, 2003. The height of the water relates to the temperature of the water. As the ocean warms, its level rises; and as it cools, its level falls. Yellow and red areas indicate where the waters are relatively warmer and have expanded above sea level, green indicates near normal sea level, and blue and purple areas show where the waters are relatively colder and the surface is lower than sea level. The blue areas are between 5 and 13 centimeters (2 and 5 inches) below normal, whereas the purple areas range from 14 to 18 centimeters (6 to 7 inches) below normal. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA04878

Effect of Thermal History on Microstructures and Mechanical Properties of AZ31 Magnesium Alloy Prepared by Friction Stir Processing

PubMed Central

Chai, Fang; Zhang, Datong; Li, Yuanyuan

2014-01-01

Hot-rolled AZ31 (Mg-2.57Al-0.84Zn-0.32Mn, in mass percentage) magnesium alloy is subjected to friction stir processing in air (normal friction stir processing, NFSP) and under water (submerged friction stir processing, SFSP). Thermal history of the two FSP procedures is measured, and its effect on microstructures and mechanical properties of the experimental materials is investigated. Compared with NFSP, the peak temperature during SFSP is lower and the duration time at a high temperature is shorter due to the enhanced cooling effect of water. Consequently, SFSP results in further grain refinement, and the average grain size of the NFSP and SFSP specimens in the stir zone (SZ) are 2.9 μm and 1.3 μm, respectively. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) examinations confirm that grain refinement is attributed to continuous dynamic recrystallization both for NFSP and SFSP. The average Vickers hardness in the SZ of the NFSP and SFSP AZ31 magnesium alloy are 76 HV and 87 HV. Furthermore, the ultimate tensile strength and the elongation of the SFSP specimen increase from 191 MPa and 31.3% in the NFSP specimen to 210 MPa and 50.5%, respectively. Both the NFSP and SFSP alloys fail through ductile fracture, but the dimples are much more obvious in the SFSP alloy. PMID:28788532

Urinary stone risk and cola consumption.

PubMed

Herrel, Lindsey; Pattaras, John; Solomon, Tania; Ogan, Kenneth

2012-11-01

To evaluate the effect of cola consumption on urinary stone risk factors in a controlled metabolic environment with a prospective cross-over study. Thirteen participants (10 normal and 3 calcium oxalate stone-formers) underwent 2 6-day phases on a controlled metabolic diet. During phase 1, subjects ingested 1 liter of cola daily, followed by a 3-week washout period. During phase 2, subjects ingested 1 liter of deionized water daily. Twenty-four-hour urine collections and serum metabolic panels were obtained for stone risk factors at the end of each phase. Urine and serum results of the cola phase were compared with those of the water phase. Normal subjects and stone-formers were combined for analysis after determining no significant difference between the 2 groups. No significant differences were found among cola and water treatment groups for normal subjects, stone-formers, or the pooled group. Cola exerts no detectable change in urinary risk factors associated with calcium oxalate stone formation. Cola consumption may not increase stone risk and may be an acceptable alternative source of daily fluid for patients unwilling to increase water consumption. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Uncertainty of water type-specific hazardous copper concentrations derived with biotic ligand models.

PubMed

Vijver, Martina G; De Koning, Arjan; Peijnenburg, Willie J G M

2008-11-01

One of the aims of the Water Framework Directive is to derive Europe-wide environmental quality standards that are scientifically based and protective of surface waters. Accounting for water type-specific bioavailability corrections presents challenges and opportunities for metals research. In this study, we present generally applicable approaches for tiered risk assessment of chemicals for prospective use. The objective of the present study was to derive water type-specific dissolved copper criteria for Dutch surface waters. The intent was to show the utility of accounting for bioavailability by using biotic ligand models (BLMs) and two different ways of extrapolating these BLMs in order to obtain reliable bioavailability-corrected species sensitivity distributions. Water type-specific criteria estimations were generated for six different water quality conditions. Average hazard concentrations as calculated using the BLMs and the two alternate normalization scenarios varied significantly among the different water types, from 5.6 to 73.6 microg/L. Water types defined as large rivers, sandy springs, and acid ponds were most sensitive for Cu. Streams and brooks had the highest hazard concentrations. The two different options examined for toxicity data normalization did impact the calculated hazard concentrations for each water type.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cheng, Chu-Lin; Perfect, Edmund; Kang, Misun

Water retention curves are essential for understanding the hydrologic behavior of partially-saturated porous media and modeling flow transport processes within the vadose zone. In this paper we report direct measurements of the main drying and wetting branches of the average water retention function obtained using 2-dimensional neutron radiography. Flint sand columns were saturated with water and then drained under quasi-equilibrium conditions using a hanging water column setup. Digital images (2048 x 2048 pixels) of the transmitted flux of neutrons were acquired at each imposed matric potential (~10-15 matric potential values per experiment) at the NCNR BT-2 neutron imaging beam line.more » Volumetric water contents were calculated on a pixel by pixel basis using Beer-Lambert s law after taking into account beam hardening and geometric corrections. To remove scattering effects at high water contents the volumetric water contents were normalized (to give relative saturations) by dividing the drying and wetting sequences of images by the images obtained at saturation and satiation, respectively. The resulting pixel values were then averaged and combined with information on the imposed basal matric potentials to give average water retention curves. The average relative saturations obtained by neutron radiography showed an approximate one-to-one relationship with the average values measured volumetrically using the hanging water column setup. There were no significant differences (at p < 0.05) between the parameters of the van Genuchten equation fitted to the average neutron radiography data and those estimated from replicated hanging water column data. Our results indicate that neutron imaging is a very effective tool for quantifying the average water retention curve.« less

CORROSION FILM REMOVAL AS AN INDICATION OF DECONTAMINATION EFFECTIVENESS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Weed, R.D.

1958-11-10

The decontamination of high-temperature, highpressure recirculation loops and components is being investigated. The Turco-4501 process and certain promising modificatibns of this process are being evaluated according to their film-removing qualities. Two of the processes exhibited more promise than others. These were the Turco-4501 process, substituting either oxalic acid or a chromic acid solution lor the nitric acid. Other variations were also tested and results are reported. (W.L.H.) l8636 The dissipation of effluent into sea water by initial dilution eddy diffusion and residual currents was originally assessed by Seligman and Scott in 1948. Further experimental work is described which has enabledmore » a new urement of the initial dilution of fresh water from the pipe line, and a study of the movement of water as indicated by driff bottles. It is now envisaged that initial dilution by a factor of 10/sup 4/, will be followed by eddy diffusion with the coefficients as measured by Seligman and bulk movement primarily due to the force of the wind Exceptions will occur when defined calm conditions exist. The discharged effluent will then tend to float on the surface with an initial dilution factor of only a few diffussing remains of the previous activity there being no incations of residual currents. No work has been done a see if this more concentrated effluent can come ashore without further dilution. It is recommended that, a avoid floating effluent, water should not be discharged July. Thc p1imhry ob!ect of this inveBtigation was 10 gtudy during very calm weather. Maximum storage space can he assured by normaally pumping effluent to sea at the rffi hQh tide affer treatment. (auth) during very calm weather. Maximum storage space can be assured by normally pumping effluent to sea at the« less

Decision Support System for an efficient irrigation water management in semi arid environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khan, M. A.; Islam, M.; Hafeez, M. M.; Flugel, W. A.

2009-12-01

A significant increase in agricultural productivity over the last few decades has protected the world from episodes of hunger and food shortages. Water management in irrigated agriculture was instrumental in achieving those gains. Water resources are under high pressure due to rapid population growth and increased competition among various sectors. Access to reliable data on water availability, quantity and quality can provide the necessary foundation for sound management of water resources. There are many traditional methods for matching water demand and supply, however imbalances between demand and supply remain inevitable. It is possible to reduce the imbalances considerably through development of appropriate irrigation water management tool that take into account various factors such as soil type, irrigation water supply, and crop water demand. All components of water balance need to be understood and quantified for efficient and sustainable management of water resources. Application of an intelligent Decision Support System (DSS) is becoming significant. A DSS incorporates knowledge and expertise within the decision support framework. It is an integrated set of data, functions, models and other relevant information that efficiently processes input data, simulates models and displays the results in a user friendly format. It helps in decision-making process, to analyse the problem and explore various scenarios to make the most appropriate decision for water management. This paper deals with the Coleambally Irrigation Area (CIA) located in Murrumbidgee catchment, NSW, Australia. An Integrated River Information System called Coleambally IRIS has been developed to improve the irrigation water management ranging from farm to sub-system and system level. It is a web-based information management system with a focus on time series and geospatial hydrological, climatic and remote sensing data including land cover class, surface temperature, soil moisture, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Evapotranspiration (ET). Coleambally IRIS provides user friendly environment for data input and output, and an adaptable set of functions for data analysis, management and decision making to develops strategies for sustainable irrigation water management. Coleambally IRIS is used to assist the managers of irrigation service provider and the farmers in their decision making by providing relevant information over the web. The developed DSS has been practically used in managing irrigation water under the current drought conditions. The DSS will be further extended for forecasting irrigation water demand in the future.

Determining the Uncertainty of X-Ray Absorption Measurements

PubMed Central

Wojcik, Gary S.

2004-01-01

X-ray absorption (or more properly, x-ray attenuation) techniques have been applied to study the moisture movement in and moisture content of materials like cement paste, mortar, and wood. An increase in the number of x-ray counts with time at a location in a specimen may indicate a decrease in moisture content. The uncertainty of measurements from an x-ray absorption system, which must be known to properly interpret the data, is often assumed to be the square root of the number of counts, as in a Poisson process. No detailed studies have heretofore been conducted to determine the uncertainty of x-ray absorption measurements or the effect of averaging data on the uncertainty. In this study, the Poisson estimate was found to adequately approximate normalized root mean square errors (a measure of uncertainty) of counts for point measurements and profile measurements of water specimens. The Poisson estimate, however, was not reliable in approximating the magnitude of the uncertainty when averaging data from paste and mortar specimens. Changes in uncertainty from differing averaging procedures were well-approximated by a Poisson process. The normalized root mean square errors decreased when the x-ray source intensity, integration time, collimator size, and number of scanning repetitions increased. Uncertainties in mean paste and mortar count profiles were kept below 2 % by averaging vertical profiles at horizontal spacings of 1 mm or larger with counts per point above 4000. Maximum normalized root mean square errors did not exceed 10 % in any of the tests conducted. PMID:27366627

Solution of basic operational problems of water-development works at the Votkinsk hydroproject

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Deev, A. P.; Borisevich, L. A.; Fisenko, V. F.

2012-11-15

Basic operational problems of water-development works at the Votkinsk HPP are examined. Measures for restoration of normal safety conditions for the water-development works at the HPP, which had been taken during service, are presented.

7 CFR 1794.25 - Proposals normally requiring an EIS.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... (nameplate rating) other than fuel cell, combustion turbine, combined cycle, or diesel generators. All new... water and waste programs. No groups or sets of proposed actions normally require the preparation of an...

7 CFR 1794.25 - Proposals normally requiring an EIS.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... (nameplate rating) other than fuel cell, combustion turbine, combined cycle, or diesel generators. All new... water and waste programs. No groups or sets of proposed actions normally require the preparation of an...

The impact of depuration on mussel hepatopancreas bacteriome composition and predicted metagenome.

PubMed

Rubiolo, J A; Lozano-Leon, A; Rodriguez-Souto, R; Fol Rodríguez, N; Vieytes, M R; Botana, L M

2018-07-01

Due to the rapid elimination of bacteria through normal behaviour of filter feeding and excretion, the decontamination of hazardous contaminating bacteria from shellfish is performed by depuration. This process, under conditions that maximize shellfish filtering activity, is a useful method to eliminate microorganisms from bivalves. The microbiota composition in bivalves reflects that of the environment of harvesting waters, so quite different bacteriomes would be expected in shellfish collected in different locations. Bacterial accumulation within molluscan shellfish occurs primarily in the hepatopancreas. In order to assess the effect of the depuration process on these different bacteriomes, in this work we used 16S RNA pyrosequencing and metagenome prediction to assess the impact of 15 h of depuration on the whole hepatopancreas bacteriome of mussels collected in three different locations.

The Study of the Impacts of The agriculture practices on ET by In-situ Measurement and Numeric Modeling in Southern China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Jinhui Jeanne; Chan, Han

2017-04-01

ABSTRACT Evapotranspiration (ET) has long been regarded as a very important component in energy and mass exchange between hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere. It is estimated that about 70% annual precipitation goes back to atmosphere through the process of ET, ET thus plays a significant role in modeling regional and global climate and assessing stresses on natural and agricultural ecosystems. The variation of ET is affected by many processes including hydrological, metrological as well as biological processes. Water used in Agriculture Sector is normally accounted for about 70% of total water consumption. ET may also be enhanced by agriculture practices as it is the key component of water consumption in agriculture practices. A two-year continuous in-situ ET measurement (in half minute time scale) by eddy covariance method (using EC-QCL analyzer and three-dimensional ultrasonic anemometer) was conducted in a large vegetable farmland in the suburb of Yueyang City, Hunan Province. EddyPro software was employed to calculate the actual evapotranspiration, water vapor flux, latent heat flux (LE) and analysis the trend of actual evapotranspiration in different time scales. A RZWQM2 (Root Zone Water Quality Model) model was also developed based on the local metrological data and agriculture practices including planting, harvesting, irrigation practices and fertilization etc., The field observations including in-situ ET measurement are used to calibrate the RZWQM2 model. The calibrated model was further used to study the effects of various agriculture activates on ET. The study shows that the crop density has the greatest effects on the variation of plant transpiration following by irrigation and fertilization. This study provides some scientific basis for the optimization and improvement of agricultural activities in the future. Key words: ET; Agricultural Practices; Eddy Covariance Method; RZWQM2 model

Water-enhanced solvation of organics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lee, Jane H.

1993-07-01

Water-enhanced solvation (WES) was explored for Lewis acid solutes in Lewis base organic solvents, to develop cheap extract regeneration processes. WES for solid solutes was determined from ratios of solubilities of solutes in water-sat. and low-water solvent; both were determined from solid-liquid equilibrium. Vapor-headspace analysis was used to determine solute activity coefficients as function of organic phase water concentration. WES magnitudes of volatile solutes were normalized, set equal to slope of log γ s vs x w/x s curve. From graph shape Δ(log γ s) represents relative change in solute activity coefficient. Solutes investigated by vapor-headspace analysis were acetic acid,more » propionic acid, ethanol, 1,2-propylene glycol, 2,3-butylene glycol. Monocarboxylic acids had largest decrease in activity coefficient with water addition followed by glycols and alcohols. Propionic acid in cyclohexanone showed greatest water-enhancement Δ(log γ acid)/Δ(x w/x acid) = -0.25. In methylcyclohexanone, the decrease of the activity coefficient of propionic acid was -0.19. Activity coefficient of propionic acid in methylcyclohexanone stopped decreasing once the water reached a 2:1 water to acid mole ratio, implying a stoichiometric relation between water, ketone, and acid. Except for 2,3-butanediol, activity coefficients of the solutes studied decreased monotonically with water content. Activity coefficient curves of ethanol, 1,2-propanediol and 2,3-butanediol did not level off at large water/solute mole ratio. Solutes investigated by solid-liquid equilibrium were citric acid, gallic acid, phenol, xylenols, 2-naphthol. Saturation concentration of citric acid in anhydrous butyl acetate increased from 0.0009 to 0.087 mol/L after 1.3 % (g/g) water co-dissolved into organic phase. Effect of water-enhanced solvation for citric acid is very large but very small for phenol and its derivatives.« less

Optimization of an oil leaching process to reduce the level of dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs in fishmeal.

PubMed

Oterhals, Åge; Kvamme, Bjørn

2013-05-01

Fishmeal produced from fish caught in polluted fishing areas might contain dioxins and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) above maximum permitted levels (MPL) for use in feed. Decontamination of the fishmeal can be achieved by hexane extraction. The principal objective of this study was to optimize a more environmentally friendly alternative based on oil leaching of the moist presscake intermediate product during fishmeal manufacturing. A central composite design and response surface methodology was used to study the influence of the process variables temperature (T), presscake moisture content (MC) and leaching time (LT) on the decontamination process. A significant squared MC effect was observed, resulting in an optimum leaching rate at 27% MC. This corresponds to 5% improved dibenzo-p-dioxin/dibenzo furan (PCDD/F)-PCB toxic equivalent (TEQ) reduction compared to normal presscake (55% MC). The initial leaching rate was fast, with a TEQ reduction of 69% after only 2 min at 87 °C and 55% MC. Under the best experimental conditions (87 °C, 38% MC, 12 min LT) a TEQ reduction of 82% was achieved. Excess oil in the presscake after the leaching operation could be removed by use of a water washing step. No reduction in protein quality measured by mink digestibility could be observed. The results confirm that the oil leaching process is robust and offers easily achievable TEQ levels well below present MPLs based on process conditions normally used by the industry. Comparative effects on non-dioxin-like PCBs are expected. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry.

LIMS for Lasers 2015 for achieving long-term accuracy and precision of δ2H, δ17O, and δ18O of waters using laser absorption spectrometry

USGS Publications Warehouse

Coplen, Tyler B.; Wassenaar, Leonard I

2015-01-01

RationaleAlthough laser absorption spectrometry (LAS) instrumentation is easy to use, its incorporation into laboratory operations is not easy, owing to extensive offline manipulation of comma-separated-values files for outlier detection, between-sample memory correction, nonlinearity (δ-variation with water amount) correction, drift correction, normalization to VSMOW-SLAP scales, and difficulty in performing long-term QA/QC audits.MethodsA Microsoft Access relational-database application, LIMS (Laboratory Information Management System) for Lasers 2015, was developed. It automates LAS data corrections and manages clients, projects, samples, instrument-sample lists, and triple-isotope (δ17O, δ18O, and δ2H values) instrumental data for liquid-water samples. It enables users to (1) graphically evaluate sample injections for variable water yields and high isotope-delta variance; (2) correct for between-sample carryover, instrumental drift, and δ nonlinearity; and (3) normalize final results to VSMOW-SLAP scales.ResultsCost-free LIMS for Lasers 2015 enables users to obtain improved δ17O, δ18O, and δ2H values with liquid-water LAS instruments, even those with under-performing syringes. For example, LAS δ2HVSMOW measurements of USGS50 Lake Kyoga (Uganda) water using an under-performing syringe having ±10 % variation in water concentration gave +31.7 ± 1.6 ‰ (2-σ standard deviation), compared with the reference value of +32.8 ± 0.4 ‰, after correction for variation in δ value with water concentration, between-sample memory, and normalization to the VSMOW-SLAP scale.ConclusionsLIMS for Lasers 2015 enables users to create systematic, well-founded instrument templates, import δ2H, δ17O, and δ18O results, evaluate performance with automatic graphical plots, correct for δ nonlinearity due to variable water concentration, correct for between-sample memory, adjust for drift, perform VSMOW-SLAP normalization, and perform long-term QA/QC audits easily. Published in 2015. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

An Assessment of Normalized Difference Skin Index Robustness in Aquatic Environments

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-03-27

Index NDSI Normalized Difference Skin Index NDVI Normalized Difference Vegetation Index NIR Near-Infrared SAR Search and Rescue SERG Sensors... Vegetation and water-bearing objects with high scatter tend to have NDSI values similar to human skin , potentially causing false positives in certain...AN ASSESSMENT OF NORMALIZED DIFFERENCE SKIN INDEX ROBUSTNESS IN AQUATIC ENVIRONMENTS THESIS Alice W. Chan, First Lieutenant, USAF AFIT-ENG-14-M-17

Disgust evoked by strong wormwood bitterness influences the processing of visual food cues in women: An ERP study.

PubMed

Schwab, Daniela; Giraldo, Matteo; Spiegl, Benjamin; Schienle, Anne

2017-01-01

The perception of intense bitterness is associated with disgust and food rejection. The present cross-modal event-related potential (ERP) study investigated whether a bitter aftertaste is able to influence affective ratings and the neuronal processing of visual food cues. We presented 39 healthy normal-weight women (mean age: 22.5 years) with images depicting high-caloric meat dishes, high-caloric sweets, and low-caloric vegetables after they had either rinsed their mouth with wormwood tea (bitter group; n = 20) or water (control group; n = 19) for 30s. The bitter aftertaste of wormwood enhanced fronto-central early potentials (N100, N200) and reduced P300 amplitudes for all food types (meat, sweets, vegetables). Moreover, meat and sweets elicited higher fronto-central LPPs than vegetables in the water group. This differentiation was absent in the bitter group, which gave lower arousal ratings for the high-caloric food. We found that a minor intervention ('bitter rinse') was sufficient to induce changes in the neuronal processing of food images reflecting increased early attention (N100, N200) as well as reduced affective value (P300, LPP). Future studies should investigate whether this intervention is able to influence eating behavior. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessment of the potential suitability of selected commercially available enzymes for cleaning-in-place (CIP) in the dairy industry.

PubMed

Boyce, Angela; Piterina, Anna V; Walsh, Gary

2010-10-01

The potential suitability of 10 commercial protease and lipase products for cleaning-in-place (CIP) application in the dairy industry was investigated on a laboratory scale. Assessment was based primarily on the ability of the enzymes to remove an experimentally generated milk fouling deposit from stainless steel (SS) panels. Three protease products were identified as being most suitable for this application on the basis of their cleaning performance at 40 °C, which was comparable to that of the commonly used cleaning agent, 1% NaOH at 60 °C. This was judged by quantification of residual organic matter and protein on the SS surface after cleaning and analysis by laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM). Enzyme activity was removed/inactivated under conditions simulating those normally undertaken after cleaning (rinsing with water, acid circulation, sanitation). Preliminary process-scale studies strongly suggest that enzyme-based CIP achieves satisfactory cleaning at an industrial scale. Cost analysis indicates that replacing caustic-based cleaning procedures with biodegradable enzymes operating at lower temperatures would be economically viable. Additional potential benefits include decreased energy and water consumption, improved safety, reduced waste generation, greater compatibility with wastewater treatment processes and a reduction in the environmental impact of the cleaning process.

Cost Allocation of Multiagency Water Resource Projects: Game Theoretic Approaches and Case Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lejano, Raul P.; Davos, Climis A.

1995-05-01

Water resource projects are often jointly carried out by a number of communities and agencies. Participation in a joint project depends on how costs are allocated among the participants and how cost shares compare with the cost of independent projects. Cooperative N-person game theory offers approaches which yield cost allocations that satisfy rationality conditions favoring participation. A new solution concept, the normalized nucleolus, is discussed and applied to a water reuse project in southern California. Results obtained with the normalized nucleolus are compared with those derived with more traditional solution concepts, namely, the nucleolus and the Shapley value.

Effects of normal saline and selenium-enriched hot spring water on experimentally induced rhinosinusitis in rats.

PubMed

Kim, Dong-Hyun; Yeo, Sang Won

2013-01-01

This prospective, randomized, and controlled study examined the effects of normal saline and selenium-enriched hot spring water on experimentally induced rhinosinusitis in rats. The study comprised two control groups (untreated and saline-treated) and three experimental groups of Sprague Dawley rats. The experimental groups received an instillation of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) only, LPS+normal saline (LPS/saline), or LPS+selenium-enriched hot spring water (LPS/selenium). Histopathological changes were identified using hematoxylin-eosin staining. Leakage of exudate was identified using fluorescence microscopy. Microvascular permeability was measured using the Evans blue dye technique. Expression of the Muc5ac gene was measured using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Mucosal edema and expression of the Muc5ac gene were significantly lower in the LPS/saline group than in the LPS group. Microvascular permeability, mucosal edema, and expression of the Muc5ac gene were significantly lower in the LPS/selenium group than in the LPS group. Mucosal edema was similar in the LPS/selenium group and LPS/saline group, but capillary permeability and Muc5ac expression were lower in the LPS/selenium group. This study shows that normal saline and selenium-enriched hot spring water reduce inflammatory activity and mucus hypersecretion in LPS-induced rhinosinusitis in rats. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Normalized Temperature Contrast Processing in Flash Infrared Thermography

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koshti, Ajay M.

2016-01-01

The paper presents further development in normalized contrast processing of flash infrared thermography method by the author given in US 8,577,120 B1. The method of computing normalized image or pixel intensity contrast, and normalized temperature contrast are provided, including converting one from the other. Methods of assessing emissivity of the object, afterglow heat flux, reflection temperature change and temperature video imaging during flash thermography are provided. Temperature imaging and normalized temperature contrast imaging provide certain advantages over pixel intensity normalized contrast processing by reducing effect of reflected energy in images and measurements, providing better quantitative data. The subject matter for this paper mostly comes from US 9,066,028 B1 by the author. Examples of normalized image processing video images and normalized temperature processing video images are provided. Examples of surface temperature video images, surface temperature rise video images and simple contrast video images area also provided. Temperature video imaging in flash infrared thermography allows better comparison with flash thermography simulation using commercial software which provides temperature video as the output. Temperature imaging also allows easy comparison of surface temperature change to camera temperature sensitivity or noise equivalent temperature difference (NETD) to assess probability of detecting (POD) anomalies.

Two and three-dimensional quantitative neutron imaging of the water distribution during ponded infiltration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sacha, Jan; Snehota, Michal; Jelinkova, Vladimira

2016-04-01

Information on spatial and temporal water and air distribution in a soil sample during hydrological processes is important for evaluating current and developing new water transport models. Modern imaging techniques such as neutron imaging (NI) allow relatively short acquisition times and high resolution of images. At the same time, the appropriate data processing has to be applied to obtain results free of bias and artifacts. In this study a ponded infiltration experiments were conducted on two soil samples packed into the quartz glass columns of inner diameter of 29 and 34 mm, respectively. First sample was prepared by packing of fine and coarse fractions of sand and the second sample was packed using coarse sand and disks of fine porous ceramic. Ponded infiltration experiments conducted on both samples were monitored by neutron radiography to produce two dimensional (2D) projection images during the transient phase of infiltration. During the steady state flow stage of experiments neutron tomography was utilized to obtain three-dimensional (3D) information on gradual water redistribution. The acquired radiographic images were normalized for background noise and spatial inhomogeneity of the detector, fluctuations of the neutron flux in time and for spatial inhomogeneity of the neutron beam. The radiograms of dry sample were subtracted from all subsequent radiograms to determine water thickness in the 2D projection images. All projections were corrected for beam hardening and neutron scattering by empirical method of Kang et al. (2013). Parameters of the correction method uses were identified by two different approaches. The first approach was based on fitting the NI derived water thickness representing the water filled region in the layer of water above the sample surface to actual water thickness. In the second approach the NI derived volume of water in the entire sample in given time was fitted to corresponding gravimetrically determined amount of water in the sample. Tomography images were reconstructed from the both corrected and uncorrected water thickness maps to obtain the 3D spatial distribution of water content within the sample. Without the correction the beam hardening and scattering effects overestimated the water content values close to the sample perimeter and underestimated the values close to the center of the sample, however the total water content of whole sample was the same in both cases.

Acute vascular effects of carbonated warm water lower leg immersion in healthy young adults.

PubMed

Ogoh, Shigehiko; Nagaoka, Ryohei; Mizuno, Takamasa; Kimura, Shohei; Shidahara, Yasuhiro; Ishii, Tomomi; Kudoh, Michinari; Iwamoto, Erika

2016-12-01

Endothelial dysfunction is associated with increased cardiovascular mortality and morbidity; however, this dysfunction may be ameliorated by several therapies. For example, it has been reported that heat-induced increases in blood flow and shear stress enhance endothelium-mediated vasodilator function. Under these backgrounds, we expect that carbon dioxide (CO 2 )-rich water-induced increase in skin blood flow improves endothelium-mediated vasodilation with less heat stress. To test our hypothesis, we measured flow-mediated dilation (FMD) before and after acute immersion of the lower legs and feet in mild warm (38°C) normal or CO 2 -rich tap water (1000 ppm) for 20 min in 12 subjects. Acute immersion of the lower legs and feet in mild warm CO 2 -rich water increased FMD (P < 0.01) despite the lack of change in this parameter upon mild warm normal water immersion. In addition, FMD was positively correlated with change in skin blood flow regardless of conditions (P < 0.01), indicating that an increase in skin blood flow improves endothelial-mediated vasodilator function. Importantly, the temperature of normal tap water must reach approximately 43°C to achieve the same skin blood flow level as that obtained during mild warm CO 2 -rich water immersion (38°C). These findings suggest that CO 2 -rich water-induced large increases in skin blood flow may improve endothelial-mediated vasodilator function while causing less heat stress. © 2016 The Authors. Physiological Reports published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Physiological Society and the American Physiological Society.

Effect of dissolved oxygen in alcoholic beverages and drinking water on alcohol elimination in humans.

PubMed

Rhee, Su-jin; Chae, Jung-woo; Song, Byung-jeong; Lee, Eun-sil; Kwon, Kwang-il

2013-02-01

Oxygen plays an important role in the metabolism of alcohol. An increased dissolved oxygen level in alcoholic beverages reportedly accelerates the elimination of alcohol. Therefore, we evaluated the effect of dissolved oxygen in alcohol and the supportive effect of oxygenated water on alcohol pharmacokinetics after the excessive consumption of alcohol, i.e., 540 ml of 19.5% alcohol (v/v). Fifteen healthy males were included in this randomized, 3 × 3 crossover study. Three combinations were tested: X, normal alcoholic beverage and normal water; Y, oxygenated alcoholic beverage and normal water; Z, oxygenated alcoholic beverage and oxygenated water. Blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) were determined by conversion of breath alcohol concentrations. Four pharmacokinetic parameters (C(max), T(max), K(el), and AUCall) were obtained using non-compartmental analysis and the times to reach 0.05% and 0.03% BAC (T(0.05%) and T(0.03%)) were compared using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Duncan's post hoc test. With combination Z, the BAC decreased to 0.05% significantly faster (p < 0.05) than with combination X. Analyzing the pharmacokinetic parameters, the mean K(el) was significantly higher for combination Z than for combinations X and Y (p < 0.05), whereas the mean values of C(max), T(max) and AUCall did not differ significantly among the combinations. Dissolved oxygen in drinks accelerates the decrease in BAC after consuming a large amount of alcohol. However, the oxygen dissolved in the alcoholic beverage alone did not have a sufficient effect in this case. We postulate that highly oxygenated water augments the effect of oxygen in the alcoholic beverage in alcohol elimination. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the supportive effect of ingesting additional oxygenated water after heavy drinking of normal alcoholic beverages. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Prevalence of dental fluorosis & dental caries in association with high levels of drinking water fluoride content in a district of Gujarat, India.

PubMed

Kotecha, P V; Patel, S V; Bhalani, K D; Shah, D; Shah, V S; Mehta, K G

2012-06-01

Endemic fluorosis resulting from high fluoride concentration in groundwater is a major public health problem in India. This study was carried out to measure and compare the prevalence of dental fluorosis and dental caries in the population residing in high and normal level of fluoride in their drinking water in Vadodara district, Gujarat, India. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Vadodara district, six of the 261 villages with high fluoride level and five of 1490 with normal fluoride level in drinking water were selected. The data collection was made by house-to-house visits twice during the study period. The dental fluorosis prevalence in high fluoride area was 59.31 per cent while in normal fluoride area it was 39.21 per cent. The prevalence of dental caries in high fluoride area was 39.53 per cent and in normal fluoride area was 48.21 per cent with CI 6.16 to 11.18. Dental fluorosis prevalence was more among males as compared to females. Highest prevalence of dental fluorosis was seen in 12-24 yr age group. The risk of dental fluorosis was higher in the areas showing more fluoride content in drinking water and to a lesser degree of dental caries in the same area. High fluoride content is a risk factor for dental fluorosis and problem of dental fluorosis increased with passage of time suggesting that the fluoride content in the water has perhaps increased over time. Longitudinal studies should be conducted to confirm the findings.

Drinking water and sanitation: progress in 73 countries in relation to socioeconomic indicators

PubMed Central

Bartram, Jamie

2016-01-01

Abstract Objective To assess progress in the provision of drinking water and sanitation in relation to national socioeconomic indicators. Methods We used household survey data for 73 countries – collected between 2000 and 2012 – to calculate linear rates of change in population access to improved drinking water (n = 67) and/or sanitation (n = 61). To enable comparison of progress between countries with different initial levels of access, the calculated rates of change were normalized to fall between –1 and 1. In regression analyses, we investigated associations between the normalized rates of change in population access and national socioeconomic indicators: gross national income per capita, government effectiveness, official development assistance, freshwater resources, education, poverty, Gini coefficient, child mortality and the human development index. Findings The normalized rates of change indicated that most of the investigated countries were making progress towards achieving universal access to improved drinking water and sanitation. However, only about a third showed a level of progress that was at least half the maximum achievable level. The normalized rates of change did not appear to be correlated with any of the national indicators that we investigated. Conclusion In many countries, the progress being made towards universal access to improved drinking water and sanitation is falling well short of the maximum achievable level. Progress does not appear to be correlated with a country’s social and economic characteristics. The between-country variations observed in such progress may be linked to variations in government policies and in the institutional commitment and capacity needed to execute such policies effectively. PMID:26957676

Drinking water and sanitation: progress in 73 countries in relation to socioeconomic indicators.

PubMed

Luh, Jeanne; Bartram, Jamie

2016-02-01

To assess progress in the provision of drinking water and sanitation in relation to national socioeconomic indicators. We used household survey data for 73 countries - collected between 2000 and 2012 - to calculate linear rates of change in population access to improved drinking water (n = 67) and/or sanitation (n = 61). To enable comparison of progress between countries with different initial levels of access, the calculated rates of change were normalized to fall between -1 and 1. In regression analyses, we investigated associations between the normalized rates of change in population access and national socioeconomic indicators: gross national income per capita, government effectiveness, official development assistance, freshwater resources, education, poverty, Gini coefficient, child mortality and the human development index. The normalized rates of change indicated that most of the investigated countries were making progress towards achieving universal access to improved drinking water and sanitation. However, only about a third showed a level of progress that was at least half the maximum achievable level. The normalized rates of change did not appear to be correlated with any of the national indicators that we investigated. In many countries, the progress being made towards universal access to improved drinking water and sanitation is falling well short of the maximum achievable level. Progress does not appear to be correlated with a country's social and economic characteristics. The between-country variations observed in such progress may be linked to variations in government policies and in the institutional commitment and capacity needed to execute such policies effectively.

Laboratory investigation on effects of flood intermittency on river delta dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miller, K. L.; Kim, W.

2015-12-01

In order to simplify the complex hydrological variability of flow conditions, experiments modeling delta evolution are often conducted using a representative "channel-forming" flood flow and then relate results to field settings using an intermittency factor, defined as the fraction of total time at flood conditions. Although this intermittency factor makes it easier to investigate how variables, such as relative base level and/or sediment supply, affect delta dynamics, little is known about how this generalization to a single flow condition affects delta processes. We conducted a set of laboratory experiments with periodic flow conditions to determine the effects of intermittent discharges on delta evolution. During the experiment, flood with a set water discharge and sediment supply, cycles between periods of normal flow where the water flux is halved and the sediment discharge is turned off. For each run, the magnitude of the flood is held constant, but the duration is assigned differently, thus varying the intermittency between 1 and 0.2. We find that as the intermittency factor decreases (duration of each flood period decreases), the delta topset has a larger, more elongated area with a shallower slope as a result of reworking on the delta topset during normal flow conditions. During periods of normal flow, the system adjusts towards a new equilibrium state that then in turn acts as the initial condition for the subsequent flood period. Furthermore, the natural delta avulsion cycle becomes obscured by the flood cycles as the flood duration becomes shorter than the autogenic behavior. These results suggest that the adjustment timescale for differing flow conditions is a factor in determining the overall shape of the delta and behavior of the fluviodeltaic channels. We conclude, periods of normal flow when topset sediment is reworked, may be just as important to delta dynamics as periods of flood when sediment is supplied to the system.

The tug-of-war between the West Philippine Sea and South China Sea Tropical Waters and Intermediate Waters in the Okinawa Trough

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, C. T. A.

2015-12-01

It has been known that Kuroshio subsurface waters are the major source of nutrients to the East China Sea continental shelf, a major fishing ground. It has also been known that subsurface waters that upwell onto the shelf are heavily affected by the South China Sea (SCS) Tropical Water and the SCS Intermediate Water which contain more nutrients than the tropical (Smax) and intermediate (Smin) waters from the West Philippine Sea (WPS). A front has been found to separate the tropical and intermediate waters from the SCS and WPS. The reported front in the Okinawa Trough, however, was identified based only on one-time data from a single cross-section in the central Okinawa Trough. Here historical hydrographic data between Mar. 1950 and Dec. 2011 in the Okinawa Trough and its neighborhood are analyzed. A vertical front tilted toward the west is found in all seasons in all years across the World Ocean Circulation Repeated Lines PR 18 and 19 as well as at the PN cross-section in the central Okinawa Trough. The front at the Smax level (sigma theta=24.6-24.9) shows large seasonal and interannual variations. In winter during normal and La Niña periods the presence of the SCS Tropical Water is the most prominent. It is the weakest in autumn during normal periods and in spring during La Nina periods. Yet during El Niño periods the SCS Tropical Water is the most prominent in spring and it becomes the weakest in winter. As for intermediate waters (Smin at sigma theta= 26.7-26.9) the WPS Intermediate Water and SCS Intermediate Water show much weaker seasonality compared with tropical waters although during normal periods in winter the WPS Intermediate Water contribution is slightly larger than during other times. During El Niño periods the WPS Intermediate Water contribution is the smallest but in spring it is much strengthened. On the other hand, the WPS Intermediate Water contribution is the smallest in spring, and the largest in winter during La Niña periods.

Cost, energy, global warming, eutrophication and local human health impacts of community water and sanitation service options.

PubMed

Schoen, Mary E; Xue, Xiaobo; Wood, Alison; Hawkins, Troy R; Garland, Jay; Ashbolt, Nicholas J

2017-02-01

We compared water and sanitation system options for a coastal community across selected sustainability metrics, including environmental impact (i.e., life cycle eutrophication potential, energy consumption, and global warming potential), equivalent annual cost, and local human health impact. We computed normalized metric scores, which we used to discuss the options' strengths and weaknesses, and conducted sensitivity analysis of the scores to changes in variable and uncertain input parameters. The alternative systems, which combined centralized drinking water with sanitation services based on the concepts of energy and nutrient recovery as well as on-site water reuse, had reduced environmental and local human health impacts and costs than the conventional, centralized option. Of the selected sustainability metrics, the greatest advantages of the alternative community water systems (compared to the conventional system) were in terms of local human health impact and eutrophication potential, despite large, outstanding uncertainties. Of the alternative options, the systems with on-site water reuse and energy recovery technologies had the least local human health impact; however, the cost of these options was highly variable and the energy consumption was comparable to on-site alternatives without water reuse or energy recovery, due to on-site reuse treatment. Future work should aim to reduce the uncertainty in the energy recovery process and explore the health risks associated with less costly, on-site water treatment options. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Prokaryotic dynamics and heterotrophic metabolism in a deep convection site of Eastern Mediterranean Sea (the Southern Adriatic Pit)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Azzaro, M.; La Ferla, R.; Maimone, G.; Monticelli, L. S.; Zaccone, R.; Civitarese, G.

2012-08-01

We report on investigations of prokaryotic abundance, biomass, extracellular enzymatic activity, prokaryotic heterotrophic production and respiration in the full water column (˜1200 m) of a deep convection site (the Southern Adriatic Pit), carried out on six cruises in 2006-2008. Prokaryotic abundance (PA) varied vertically and temporally and ranged from 1.2 to 20.4×105 cell ml-1. Cell volumes, generally increased with depth; the lowest mean cell volume was observed in a period with no active convective process (Feb-07) and the highest in a period of stratification (Jun-08) following the convection process occurred in Feb-08. Prokaryotic biomass decreased with the depth and was related with both seasonal cycles of organic matter and hydrological processes. The picophytoplankton ranged in the upper layer (UL) from 0.089 to 10.71×104 cell ml-1. Cells were also recorded till 500 m depth in Feb-08 and this finding could be linked to water convection occurred in the Southern Adriatic Pit in that month. In UL the variations of enzymatic activities as well as leucine-aminopeptidase/ß-glucosidase ratio showed a seasonal trend probably linked to the productive processes of the photic layer. An inverse relation between alkaline phosphatase activity (APA) and phosphate concentrations was found (APA=0.0003PO4-1.7714, R2=0.333, P<0.05). Generally cell-specific enzymatic activities increased with depth as did cell-specific carbon dioxide production rates, while cell-specific prokaryotic heterotrophic production had an opposite trend. High values of prokaryotic growth efficiency registered in the deep layers in Nov-06 reflected a supply of preformed C transported within the deep water masses. Overall, in 2007 when no convective phenomenon was observed, the variability of prokaryotic metabolism was governed by the seasonal cycle of the organic matter, while in Nov-06 and Jun-08 the dynamics of deep water ventilation influenced the trend along the water column of many microbial parameters. The yearly trophic balance of the study site appeared to move towards autotrophy only in UL, whilst in the whole water column, the prokaryotic carbon demand exceeded POC availability rained down from euphotic zone. This mismatch was balanced by the DOC entrapped in the "younger waters" of new formation that alters the normal flux of the biological pump and fuels the deep marine biota in this area of deep water convection.

Moisturizers: Options for Softer Skin

MedlinePlus

... you have specific conditions, such as acne. For general guidelines, consider the following Normal skin. Normal skin is neither too dry nor too oily. To maintain this natural moisture balance, use a water-based moisturizer that has a ...

Effect of water saturation in soil organic matter on the partition of organic compounds

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rutherford, D.W.; Chlou, G.T.

1992-01-01

The sorption of benzene, trichloroethylene, and carbon tetrachloride at room temperature from water solution and from vapor on two high-organic-content soils (peat and muck) was determined in order to evaluate the effect of water saturation on the solute partition in soil organic matter (SOM). The uptake of water vapor was similarly determined to define the amounts of water in the saturated soil samples. In such high-organic-content soils the organic vapor sorption and the respective solute sorption from water exhibit linear isotherms over a wide range of relative concentrations. This observation, along with the low BET surface areas of the samples, suggests that partition in the SOM of the samples is the dominant process in the uptake of these liquids. A comparison of the sorption from water solution and from vapor phase shows that water saturation reduces the sorption (partition) efficiency of SOM by ?? 42%; the saturated water content is ??38% by weight of dry SOM. This reduction is relatively small when compared with the almost complete suppression by water of organic compound adsorption on soil minerals. While the effect of water saturation on solute uptake by SOM is much expected in terms of solute partition in SOM, the influence of water on the solubility behavior of polar SOM can be explained only qualitatively by regular solution theory. The results suggest that the major effect of water in a drying-wetting cycle on the organic compound uptake by normal low-organic-content soils (and the associated compound's activity) is the suppression of adsorption by minerals rather than the mitigation of the partition effect in SOM.

Interactions of Polychlorinated Biphenyls and Organochlorine Pesticides with Sedimentary Organic Matter of Retrogressive Thaw Slump-Affected Lakes in the Tundra Uplands Adjacent to the Mackenzie Delta, NT, Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eickmeyer, D.; Kimpe, L.; Kokelj, S.; Pisaric, M. F.; Smol, J. P.; Sanei, H.; Thienpont, J. R.; Blais, J. M.

2016-12-01

Increased incidences and severity of thermokarst activity, such as retrogressive thaw slumping, in the permafrost-rich western Canadian Arctic have been previously shown to influence basic water chemistry and sedimentation rates of affected lakes. Using a comparative spatial analysis of sediment cores from 8 lakes in tundra uplands adjacent to the Mackenzie Delta, NT, we examined how the presence of retrogressive thaw slumps on lake shores affected persistent organic pollutant (POPs, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), hexa- and pentachlorobenzenes (CBz)and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and metabolites (DDT)) accumulation in lake sediments. Sediments of slump-affected lakes contained higher total organic carbon (TOC)-normalized POP concentrations than nearby reference lakes that were unaffected by thaw slumps. PCB and DDT deposition rates to the sediment were not significantly different between reference and affected lakes; however, CBz flux to sediment was found to be higher in slump-affected lakes. Mean focus-corrected inorganic sedimentation rates were positively related to TOC-normalized contaminant concentrations, explaining 58 - 94% of the variation in POP concentrations in sediment, suggesting that reduced organic carbon in slump-affected lake water results in higher concentrations of POPs on sedimentary organic matter. This explanation was corroborated by an inverse relationship between sedimentary POP concentrations and TOC content of the lake water. Higher POP concentrations observed in sediment of slump-affected lakes are best explained by simple solvent switching processes of hydrophobic organic contaminants onto a smaller pool of available organic carbon when compared to neighboring lakes unaffected by thaw slump development.

Comparison of characteristics of aerosol during rainy weather and cold air-dust weather in Guangzhou in late March 2012

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Huizhong; Wu, Dui; Yu, Jianzhen

2016-04-01

Using the data on aerosol observed hourly by Marga ADI 2080 and Grimm 180, we compared the characteristics of aerosol during rainy weather and cold air-dust weather in Guangzhou in late March 2012. The mass concentration of aerosol appeared distinct between the two weather processes. During rainy weather, the mass concentration of PM and total water-soluble components decreased obviously. During cold air-dust weather, the cleaning effect of cold air occurred much more suddenly and about a half day earlier than the dust effect. As a result, the mass concentration of PM and total water-soluble components first dropped dramatically to a below-normal level and then rose gradually to an above-normal level. The ratio of PM2.5/PM10 and PM1/PM10 decreased, suggesting that dust-storm weather mainly brought in coarse particles. The proportion of Ca2+ in the total water-soluble components significantly increased to as high as 50 % because of the effect of dust weather. We further analysed the ionic equilibrium during rainy and cold air-dust weather, and compared it with that during hazy weather during the same period. The aerosol during rainy weather was slightly acidic, whereas that during hazy weather and cold air-dust weather was obviously alkaline, with that during cold air-dust weather being significantly more alkaline. Most of the anions, including SO4 2- and NO3 -, were neutralised by NH4 + during rainy and hazy weather, and by Ca2+ during cold air-dust weather.

Economic viability and critical influencing factors assessment of black water and grey water source-separation sanitation system.

PubMed

Thibodeau, C; Monette, F; Glaus, M; Laflamme, C B

2011-01-01

The black water and grey water source-separation sanitation system aims at efficient use of energy (biogas), water and nutrients but currently lacks evidence of economic viability to be considered a credible alternative to the conventional system. This study intends to demonstrate economic viability, identify main cost contributors and assess critical influencing factors. A technico-economic model was built based on a new neighbourhood in a Canadian context. Three implementation scales of source-separation system are defined: 500, 5,000 and 50,000 inhabitants. The results show that the source-separation system is 33% to 118% more costly than the conventional system, with the larger cost differential obtained by lower source-separation system implementation scales. A sensitivity analysis demonstrates that vacuum toilet flow reduction from 1.0 to 0.25 L/flush decreases source-separation system cost between 23 and 27%. It also shows that high resource costs can be beneficial or unfavourable to the source-separation system depending on whether the vacuum toilet flow is low or normal. Therefore, the future of this configuration of the source-separation system lies mainly in vacuum toilet flow reduction or the introduction of new efficient effluent volume reduction processes (e.g. reverse osmosis).

Bacterial Exchange in Household Washing Machines

PubMed Central

Callewaert, Chris; Van Nevel, Sam; Kerckhof, Frederiek-Maarten; Granitsiotis, Michael S.; Boon, Nico

2015-01-01

Household washing machines (WMs) launder soiled clothes and textiles, but do not sterilize them. We investigated the microbial exchange occurring in five household WMs. Samples from a new cotton T-shirt were laundered together with a normal laundry load. Analyses were performed on the influent water and the ingoing cotton samples, as well as the greywater and the washed cotton samples. The number of living bacteria was generally not lower in the WM effluent water as compared to the influent water. The laundering process caused a microbial exchange of influent water bacteria, skin-, and clothes-related bacteria and biofilm-related bacteria in the WM. A variety of biofilm-producing bacteria were enriched in the effluent after laundering, although their presence in the cotton sample was low. Nearly all bacterial genera detected on the initial cotton sample were still present in the washed cotton samples. A selection for typical skin- and clothes-related microbial species occurred in the cotton samples after laundering. Accordingly, malodour-causing microbial species might be further distributed to other clothes. The bacteria on the ingoing textiles contributed for a large part to the microbiome found in the textiles after laundering. PMID:26696989

Caution on the use of liquid nitrogen traps in stable hydrogen isotope-ratio mass spectrometry

USGS Publications Warehouse

Coplen, T.B.; Qi, H.

2010-01-01

An anomalous stable hydrogen isotopic fractionation of 4 ??? in gaseous hydrogen has been correlated with the process of adding liquid nitrogen (LN2) to top off the dewar of a stainless-steel water trap on a gaseous hydrogen-water platinum equilibration system. Although the cause of this isotopic fractionation is unknown, its effect can be mitigated by (1) increasing the capacity of any dewars so that they do not need to be filled during a daily analytic run, (2) interspersing isotopic reference waters among unknowns, and (3) applying a linear drift correction and linear normalization to isotopic results with a program such as Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) for Light Stable Isotopes. With adoption of the above guidelines, measurement uncertainty can be substantially improved. For example, the long-term (months to years) ??2H reproducibility (1?? standard deviation) of nine local isotopic reference waters analyzed daily improved substantially from about 1 ??? to 0.58 ???. This isotopically fractionating mechanism might affect other isotope-ratio mass spectrometers in which LN2 is used as a moisture trap for gaseous hydrogen. ?? This article not subject to U.S. Copyright. Published 2010 by the American Chemical Society.

Bacterial Exchange in Household Washing Machines.

PubMed

Callewaert, Chris; Van Nevel, Sam; Kerckhof, Frederiek-Maarten; Granitsiotis, Michael S; Boon, Nico

2015-01-01

Household washing machines (WMs) launder soiled clothes and textiles, but do not sterilize them. We investigated the microbial exchange occurring in five household WMs. Samples from a new cotton T-shirt were laundered together with a normal laundry load. Analyses were performed on the influent water and the ingoing cotton samples, as well as the greywater and the washed cotton samples. The number of living bacteria was generally not lower in the WM effluent water as compared to the influent water. The laundering process caused a microbial exchange of influent water bacteria, skin-, and clothes-related bacteria and biofilm-related bacteria in the WM. A variety of biofilm-producing bacteria were enriched in the effluent after laundering, although their presence in the cotton sample was low. Nearly all bacterial genera detected on the initial cotton sample were still present in the washed cotton samples. A selection for typical skin- and clothes-related microbial species occurred in the cotton samples after laundering. Accordingly, malodour-causing microbial species might be further distributed to other clothes. The bacteria on the ingoing textiles contributed for a large part to the microbiome found in the textiles after laundering.

Drought stress leads to systemic induced susceptibility to a nectrotrophic fungus associated with mountain pine beetle in Pinus banksiana seedlings.

PubMed

Klutsch, Jennifer G; Shamoun, Simon Francis; Erbilgin, Nadir

2017-01-01

Conifers have complex defense responses to initial attacks by insects and pathogens that can have cascading effects on success of subsequent colonizers. However, drought can affect a plant's ability to respond to biotic agents by potentially altering the resources needed for the energetically costly production of induced defense chemicals. We investigated the impact of reduced water on induced chemical defenses of jack pine (Pinus banksiana) seedlings from initial attack by biotic agents and resistance to subsequent challenge inoculation with a pathogenic fungal associate of mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae), Grosmannia clavigera. Applications of phytohormones (methyl salicylate and methyl jasmonate) and G. clavigera were used for initial induction of defenses. Monoterpene concentrations varied with initial induction from fungal and phytohormone application while watering treatment had no effect. Seedlings treated with G. clavigera and methyl jasmonate had the greatest monoterpene concentrations compared to the control and methyl salicylate-treated seedlings. However, the monoterpene response to the challenge inoculation varied with watering treatments, not with prior induction treatments, with lower monoterpene concentrations in fungal lesions on seedlings in the low to moderate watering treatments compared to normal watering treatment. Furthermore, prior induction from phytohormones resulted in systemic cross-induction of resistance to G. clavigera under normal watering treatment but susceptibility under low watering treatment. Seedlings stressed by low water conditions, which also had lower stomatal conductance than seedlings in the normal watering treatment, likely allocated resources to initial defense response but were left unable to acquire further resources for subsequent responses. Our results demonstrate that drought can affect interactions among tree-infesting organisms through systemic cross-induction of susceptibility.

Drought stress leads to systemic induced susceptibility to a nectrotrophic fungus associated with mountain pine beetle in Pinus banksiana seedlings

PubMed Central

Shamoun, Simon Francis; Erbilgin, Nadir

2017-01-01

Conifers have complex defense responses to initial attacks by insects and pathogens that can have cascading effects on success of subsequent colonizers. However, drought can affect a plant’s ability to respond to biotic agents by potentially altering the resources needed for the energetically costly production of induced defense chemicals. We investigated the impact of reduced water on induced chemical defenses of jack pine (Pinus banksiana) seedlings from initial attack by biotic agents and resistance to subsequent challenge inoculation with a pathogenic fungal associate of mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae), Grosmannia clavigera. Applications of phytohormones (methyl salicylate and methyl jasmonate) and G. clavigera were used for initial induction of defenses. Monoterpene concentrations varied with initial induction from fungal and phytohormone application while watering treatment had no effect. Seedlings treated with G. clavigera and methyl jasmonate had the greatest monoterpene concentrations compared to the control and methyl salicylate-treated seedlings. However, the monoterpene response to the challenge inoculation varied with watering treatments, not with prior induction treatments, with lower monoterpene concentrations in fungal lesions on seedlings in the low to moderate watering treatments compared to normal watering treatment. Furthermore, prior induction from phytohormones resulted in systemic cross-induction of resistance to G. clavigera under normal watering treatment but susceptibility under low watering treatment. Seedlings stressed by low water conditions, which also had lower stomatal conductance than seedlings in the normal watering treatment, likely allocated resources to initial defense response but were left unable to acquire further resources for subsequent responses. Our results demonstrate that drought can affect interactions among tree-infesting organisms through systemic cross-induction of susceptibility. PMID:29216258

Comparision of Incidental Reflection From Containerized Maintenance/Housekeeping Solutions and One Inch of Water

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chapman, Bryan Scott; MacQuigg, Michael Robert; Wysong, Andrew Russell

This document addresses the incidental reflector reactivity worth of containerized maintenance/housekeeping fluids for use in PF-4 at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The intent of the document is to analyze containerized maintenance/housekeeping fluids which will be analyzed as water that may be present under normal conditions of an operation. The reactivity worth is compared to the reactivity worth due to I-inch of close-fitting 4n water reflection and I-inch of close-fitting radial water reflection. Both have been used to bound incidental reflection by 2-liter bottles in criticality safety evaluations. The conclusion is that, when the maintenance/housekeeping fluids are containerized the reactivitymore » increase from a configuration which is bounding of normal conditions (up to eight bottles modeled with 2-liters of solution at varying diameter) is bound by I-inch of close fitting 4n water relection.« less

Terahertz spectroscopy of liver cirrhosis: investigating the origin of contrast

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sy, Stanley; Huang, Shengyang; Wang, Yi-Xiang J.; Yu, Jun; Ahuja, Anil T.; Zhang, Yuan-ting; Pickwell-MacPherson, Emma

2010-12-01

We have previously demonstrated that terahertz pulsed imaging is able to distinguish between rat tissues from different healthy organs. In this paper we report our measurements of healthy and cirrhotic liver tissues using terahertz reflection spectroscopy. The water content of the fresh tissue samples was also measured in order to investigate the correlations between the terahertz properties, water content, structural changes and cirrhosis. Finally, the samples were fixed in formalin to determine whether water was the sole source of image contrast in this study. We found that the cirrhotic tissue had a higher water content and absorption coefficient than the normal tissue and that even after formalin fixing there were significant differences between the normal and cirrhotic tissues' terahertz properties. Our results show that terahertz pulsed imaging can distinguish between healthy and diseased tissue due to differences in absorption originating from both water content and tissue structure.

Is Snow a sufficient Source of Water for Horses kept Outdoors in Winter? A Case Report

PubMed Central

Mejdell, CM; Simensen, E; Bøe, KE

2005-01-01

Due to extreme weather conditions, a flock of outwintered Icelandic horses had to manage for several days on snow as the source of free water. They were fed grass silage ad lib, and any change in feed consumption was not observed. After nine days, blood samples were taken and analysed for plasma osmolality, they were subjected to a simple clinical examination, and offered drinking water. Osmolality levels were within normal limits and mean value did not differ significantly from samples which previously were taken of the same individuals. The general condition of the horses was normal, with no signs of clinical dehydration or disease. The horses showed very little interest for the offered drinking water. This suggests that in cold winter weather, horses being fed grass silage and adjusted to eat snow, can manage for several days with snow substituting liquid water without their physiology and welfare being challenged. PMID:16108209

Statistical summaries of ground-water level data collected in the Suwannee River Water Management District, 1948 to 1994

USGS Publications Warehouse

Collins, J.J.; Freeman, L.D.

1996-01-01

Since 1948, ground-water level data have beensystematically collected from selected wells in theSuwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD) by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS),the SRWMD, and other agencies. Records of waterlevels in the SRWMD (fig. 1), collected by the USGS and SRWMD through 1990, and by the SRWMD from 1990 to 1994, have been published for many years in the USGS annual report series "Water Resources Data for Florida." However, no systematic statistical summaries of water levels in the SRWMD have been previously published. The need for such statistical summary data forevaluations of drought severity, ground-water supplyavailability, and minimum water levels for regulatory purposes increases daily as demands for ground-water usage increase. Also, much of the base flow of the Suwannee River is dependent upon ground water. As the population and demand for ground water for drinking water and irrigation purposes increase, the ability to quickly and easily predict trends in ground-water availability will become paramount. In response to this need, the USGS, in cooperation with the SRWMD, compiled this report. Ground-water sta tistics for 136 sites are presented as well as figures showing water levels that were measured in wells from 1948 through September 1994. In 1994, the SRWMD and the USGS began a long- term program of cooperative studies designed tobetter understand minimum and maximum streamflows and ground-water levels in the SRWMD. Minimum and maximum flows and levels are needed by the district to manage the surface- and ground-water resources of the SRWMD and to maintain or improve the various ecosystems. Data evaluation was a necessary first step in the long- term SRWMD ground-water investigations program, because basic statistics for ground-water levels are not included in the USGS annual data reports such as "Water Resources Data for Florida, Water Year 1994" (Fran klin and others, 1995). Statistics included in this report were generated using the USGS computer pro gram ADAPS (Automatic Data Processing System) to characterize normal ground-water levels and depar tures from normal. The report has been organized so that the statisti cal analyses of water levels in the wells are presentedfollowing this introductory material, a description ofthe hydrogeology in the study area, and a description of the statistics used to present the water-level data. Specifically, the report presents statistical analyses for each well, as appropriate, in the following manner: Description of the well.Hydrographs of ground-water levels for the period of record, for the last 10 years of record, and for the last 5 years of record. Graphs of maximum, minimum, and mean of monthly mean ground-water levels for wells with 5 or more years of record.Frequency hydrographs (25, 50, and 75 percent) of monthly mean ground-water levels for wells with 5 or more years of record. Water-level data and statistical plots are grouped by county and sorted within the county by ascendingsite identification number. Well locations are plottedon county maps preceding the well descriptions andhydrographs.

Pervaporative dehydration characteristics of an ethanol/water azeotrope through various chitosan membranes.

PubMed

Uragami, Tadashi; Saito, Tomoyuki; Miyata, Takashi

2015-04-20

The permeation and separation characteristics of an ethanol/water azeotrope through chitosan membranes of different molecular weights and degrees of deacetylation during pervaporation were investigated. The normalized permeation rate decreased with increasing molecular weight up to 90 kDa, but at over 90 kDa, the rate increased. On the other hand, the water/ethanol selectivity increased with increasing molecular weight up to 90 kDa but decreased at over 90 kDa. With increasing degree of deacetylation, the water/ethanol permselectivity increased significantly, but the normalized permeation rate decreased. The characteristics of chitosan membranes are discussed based on their chemical and physical structures such as the contact angle, density, degree of swelling, and glass transition temperature. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Liquid-core photonic crystal fiber platform for raman scattering measurements of microliter analyte solutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Yun; Oo, Maung Khaing; Zhu, Yinian; Sukhishvili, Svetlana; Xiao, Limin; Demokan, M. Süleyman; Jin, Wei; Du, Henry

2007-09-01

We have explored the use of index-guiding liquid-core photonic crystal fiber (LC-PCF) as a platform for sensing and measurements of analyte solutions of minute volume by normal and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). The index-guiding LC-PCF was fabricated by selectively sealing via fusion splicing the cladding air channels of a hollow-core PCF (HC-PCF) while leaving the center core open at both ends of the fiber. The center core of the resultant fiber was subsequently filled with water-ethanol solution mixtures at various ethanol concentrations for normal Raman scattering measurements and with water-thiocynate solutions containing Ag nanoparticle aggregates for SERS detection of thiocynate at trace concentrations. The light-guiding nature in the solution phase inside the LC-PCF allows direct and strong light-field overlap with the solution phase over the entire length of the PCF (~30 cm). This detection scheme also dramatically reduces the contribution of silica to Raman spectral background, compared with the solid-core counterpart, thus its potential interference in spectral analysis. These features attribute to ready normal Raman measurements of water, ethanol, and water (99 vol.%)-ethanol (1 vol.%) solutions as well as sensitive and reproducible SERS detection of ~10 ppb thiocynate in water, all at a volume of ~0.1 μL.

Imaging of normal and pathologic joint synovium using nonlinear optical microscopy as a potential diagnostic tool

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tiwari, Nivedan; Chabra, Sanjay; Mehdi, Sheherbano; Sweet, Paula; Krasieva, Tatiana B.; Pool, Roy; Andrews, Brian; Peavy, George M.

2010-09-01

An estimated 1.3 million people in the United States suffer from rheumatoid arthritis (RA). RA causes profound changes in the synovial membrane of joints, and without early diagnosis and intervention, progresses to permanent alterations in joint structure and function. The purpose of this study is to determine if nonlinear optical microscopy (NLOM) can utilize the natural intrinsic fluorescence properties of tissue to generate images that would allow visualization of the structural and cellular composition of fresh, unfixed normal and pathologic synovial tissue. NLOM is performed on rabbit knee joint synovial samples using 730- and 800-nm excitation wavelengths. Less than 30 mW of excitation power delivered with a 40×, 0.8-NA water immersion objective is sufficient for the visualization of synovial structures to a maximum depth of 70 μm without tissue damage. NLOM imaging of normal and pathologic synovial tissue reveals the cellular structure, synoviocytes, adipocytes, collagen, vascular structures, and differential characteristics of inflammatory infiltrates without requiring tissue processing or staining. Further study to evaluate the ability of NLOM to assess the characteristics of pathologic synovial tissue and its potential role for the management of disease is warranted.

Role of water balance in the enhanced potassium excretion and hypokalaemia of rats with diabetes insipidus.

PubMed Central

Fernández-Repollet, E; Martínez-Maldonado, M; Opava-Stitzer, S

1980-01-01

1. The role of water balance in the hypokalaemia of rats with diabetes insipidus (DI rats) was studied. 2. After a 3-day balance study DI rats had a lower muscle potassium content, and plasma [K+], and the urinary excretion of potassium in response to oral KCl loading was reduced when compared to normal rats. The hypokalaemia was found to be associated with elevated concentrations of potassium in renal medulla and papilla when compared to values in normal Long-Evans rats. 3. During a 9-day balance study urinary potassium excretion was higher than that of normal rats on days 1-3, but not different on days 4-9; this transient elevation was observed in DI rats on normal, high and low potassium diets. On a low potassium diet the urinary potassium excretion of DI rats fell to minimal levels, making unlikely the existence of a renal defect in potassium handling. 4. Muscle potassium content and plasma [K+] were normal after 9 days in metabolism cages. This spontaneous reversal of the hypokalaemia of DI rats was associated with increased water content of renal medulla and papilla, and decreased potassium concentration in these zones. 5. The effect of acute mild dehydration on potassium handling of DI rats was evaluated. Water deprivation for 1-8 hr was sufficient to raise the urinary potassium excretion of DI rats above that of DI rats drinking ad lib. Renal tissue [K+] was significantly increased after 8 hr of dehydration. Water deprivation also enhanced the response of DI rats to an oral KCl load. Two days of chronic dehydration in the form of water rationing also significantly enhanced the urinary potassium excretion of DI rats. 6. These data suggest that chronic mild dehydration may be responsible for the modest potassium deficiency observed in DI rats via alterations in renal tissue [K+] and consequently in urinary potassium excretion. Correction of dehydration during prolonged periods in metabolism cages may account for the spontaneous reversal of the hypokelaemic condition. PMID:7441565