Remote sensing of atmospheric water content from Bhaskara SAMIR data. [using statistical linear regression analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gohil, B. S.; Hariharan, T. A.; Sharma, A. K.; Pandey, P. C.

1982-01-01

The 19.35 GHz and 22.235 GHz passive microwave radiometers (SAMIR) on board the Indian satellite Bhaskara have provided very useful data. From these data has been demonstrated the feasibility of deriving atmospheric and ocean surface parameters such as water vapor content, liquid water content, rainfall rate and ocean surface winds. Different approaches have been tried for deriving the atmospheric water content. The statistical and empirical methods have been used by others for the analysis of the Nimbus data. A simulation technique has been attempted for the first time for 19.35 GHz and 22.235 GHz radiometer data. The results obtained from three different methods are compared with radiosonde data. A case study of a tropical depression has been undertaken to demonstrate the capability of Bhaskara SAMIR data to show the variation of total water vapor and liquid water contents.

Estimating soil water content from ground penetrating radar coarse root reflections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, X.; Cui, X.; Chen, J.; Li, W.; Cao, X.

2016-12-01

Soil water content (SWC) is an indispensable variable for understanding the organization of natural ecosystems and biodiversity. Especially in semiarid and arid regions, soil moisture is the plants primary source of water and largely determine their strategies for growth and survival, such as root depth, distribution and competition between them. Ground penetrating radar (GPR), a kind of noninvasive geophysical technique, has been regarded as an accurate tool for measuring soil water content at intermediate scale in past decades. For soil water content estimation with surface GPR, fixed antenna offset reflection method has been considered to have potential to obtain average soil water content between land surface and reflectors, and provide high resolution and few measurement time. In this study, 900MHz surface GPR antenna was used to estimate SWC with fixed offset reflection method; plant coarse roots (with diameters greater than 5 mm) were regarded as reflectors; a kind of advanced GPR data interpretation method, HADA (hyperbola automatic detection algorithm), was introduced to automatically obtain average velocity by recognizing coarse root hyperbolic reflection signals on GPR radargrams during estimating SWC. In addition, a formula was deduced to determine interval average SWC between two roots at different depths as well. We examined the performance of proposed method on a dataset simulated under different scenarios. Results showed that HADA could provide a reasonable average velocity to estimate SWC without knowledge of root depth and interval average SWC also be determined. When the proposed method was applied to estimation of SWC on a real-field measurement dataset, a very small soil water content vertical variation gradient about 0.006 with depth was captured as well. Therefore, the proposed method could be used to estimate average soil water content from ground penetrating radar coarse root reflections and obtain interval average SWC between two roots at different depths. It is very promising for measuring root-zone-soil-moisture and mapping soil moisture distribution around a shrub or even in field plot scale.

Unsaturated flow characterization utilizing water content data collected within the capillary fringe

USGS Publications Warehouse

Baehr, Arthur; Reilly, Timothy J.

2014-01-01

An analysis is presented to determine unsaturated zone hydraulic parameters based on detailed water content profiles, which can be readily acquired during hydrological investigations. Core samples taken through the unsaturated zone allow for the acquisition of gravimetrically determined water content data as a function of elevation at 3 inch intervals. This dense spacing of data provides several measurements of the water content within the capillary fringe, which are utilized to determine capillary pressure function parameters via least-squares calibration. The water content data collected above the capillary fringe are used to calculate dimensionless flow as a function of elevation providing a snapshot characterization of flow through the unsaturated zone. The water content at a flow stagnation point provides an in situ estimate of specific yield. In situ determinations of capillary pressure function parameters utilizing this method, together with particle-size distributions, can provide a valuable supplement to data libraries of unsaturated zone hydraulic parameters. The method is illustrated using data collected from plots within an agricultural research facility in Wisconsin.

Effect of amylose content and nanoclay incorporation order in physicochemical properties of starch/montmorillonite composites.

PubMed

Romero-Bastida, C A; Tapia-Blácido, D R; Méndez-Montealvo, G; Bello-Pérez, L A; Velázquez, G; Alvarez-Ramirez, J

2016-11-05

The effects of the amylose content and the preparation sequence in physicochemical properties of starch/montmorillonite (MMT) composites were studied in this work. Native (30%) and high amylose Hylon VII (70%) starches were considered for assessing the effects of amylose content. Glycerol and MMT were used as additives to evaluate the effects of the former as plasticizer and the latter as reinforcer. The glycerol was incorporated before (Method M1) and after (Method M2) the addition of MMT. FTIR studies indicated that water bonding was affected by amylose content. Sorption isotherms indicated that method M2 favoured water adsorption and method M1 reduced water adsorption due to competition for active sites for interaction. TGA showed that method M1 induced a higher degradation rate than method M2. Wettability analysis by contact angle measurements showed that plasticizer promoted the hydrophilicity of the film, whereas MMT promoted a hydrophobic surface for both cases of amylose content. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

An automated method for mapping human tissue permittivities by MRI in hyperthermia treatment planning.

PubMed

Farace, P; Pontalti, R; Cristoforetti, L; Antolini, R; Scarpa, M

1997-11-01

This paper presents an automatic method to obtain tissue complex permittivity values to be used as input data in the computer modelling for hyperthermia treatment planning. Magnetic resonance (MR) images were acquired and the tissue water content was calculated from the signal intensity of the image pixels. The tissue water content was converted into complex permittivity values by monotonic functions based on mixture theory. To obtain a water content map by MR imaging a gradient-echo pulse sequence was used and an experimental procedure was set up to correct for relaxation and radiofrequency field inhomogeneity effects on signal intensity. Two approaches were followed to assign the permittivity values to fat-rich tissues: (i) fat-rich tissue localization by a segmentation procedure followed by assignment of tabulated permittivity values; (ii) water content evaluation by chemical shift imaging followed by permittivity calculation. Tests were performed on phantoms of known water content to establish the reliability of the proposed method. MRI data were acquired and processed pixel-by-pixel according to the outlined procedure. The signal intensity in the phantom images correlated well with water content. Experiments were performed on volunteers' healthy tissue. In particular two anatomical structures were chosen to calculate permittivity maps: the head and the thigh. The water content and electric permittivity values were obtained from the MRI data and compared to others in the literature. A good agreement was found for muscle, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and white and grey matter. The advantages of the reported method are discussed in the light of possible application in hyperthermia treatment planning.

Near-infrared imaging of water in human hair.

PubMed

Egawa, Mariko; Hagihara, Motofumi; Yanai, Motohiro

2013-02-01

The water content of hair can be evaluated by weighing, the Karl Fischer method, and from electrical properties. However, these methods cannot be used to study the distribution of water in the hair. Imaging techniques are required for this purpose. In this study, a highly sensitive near-infrared (NIR) imaging system was developed for evaluating water in human hair. The results obtained from NIR imaging and conventional methods were compared. An extended indium-gallium-arsenide NIR camera (detection range: 1100-2200 nm) and diffuse illumination unit developed in our laboratory were used to obtain a NIR image of hair. A water image was obtained using a 1950-nm interference filter and polarization filter. Changes in the hair water content with relative humidity (20-95% RH) and after immersion in a 7% (w/w) sorbitol solution were measured using the NIR camera and an insulation resistance tester. The changes in the water content after treatment with two types of commercially available shampoo were also measured using the NIR camera. As the water content increased with changes in the relative humidity, the brightness of the water image decreased and the insulation resistance decreased. The brightness in the NIR image of hair treated with sorbitol solution was lower than that in the image of hair treated with water. This shows the sorbitol-treated hair contains more water than water-treated hair. The sorbitol-treated hair had a lower resistance after treatment than before, which also shows that sorbitol treatment increases the water content. With this system, we could detect a difference in the moisturizing effect between two commercially available shampoos. The highly sensitive imaging system could be used to study water in human hair. Changes in the water content of hair depended on the relative humidity and treatment with moisturizer. The results obtained using the NIR imaging system were similar to those obtained using a conventional method. Our system could detect differences in the moisturizing effects of two commercially available shampoos. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

High-accuracy measurement of low-water-content in liquid using NIR spectral absorption method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Bao-Jin; Wan, Xu; Jin, Hong-Zhen; Zhao, Yong; Mao, He-Fa

2005-01-01

Water content measurement technologies are very important for quality inspection of food, medicine products, chemical products and many other industry fields. In recent years, requests for accurate low-water-content measurement in liquid are more and more exigent, and great interests have been shown from the research and experimental work. With the development and advancement of modern production and control technologies, more accurate water content technology is needed. In this paper, a novel experimental setup based on near-infrared (NIR) spectral technology and fiber-optic sensor (OFS) is presented. It has a good measurement accuracy about -/+ 0.01%, which is better, to our knowledge, than most other methods published until now. It has a high measurement resolution of 0.001% in the measurement range from zero to 0.05% for water-in-alcohol measurement, and the water-in-oil measurement is carried out as well. In addition, the advantages of this method also include pollution-free to the measured liquid, fast measurement and so on.

Estimating water content in an active landfill with the aid of GPR

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

Yochim, April, E-mail: ayochim@regionofwaterloo.ca; Zytner, Richard G., E-mail: rzytner@uoguelph.ca; McBean, Edward A., E-mail: emcbean@uoguelph.ca

Highlights: • Limited information in the literature on the use of GPR to measure in situ water content in a landfill. • Developed GPR method allows measurement of in situ water content in a landfill. • Developed GPR method is appealing to waste management professionals operating landfills. - Abstract: Landfill gas (LFG) receives a great deal of attention due to both negative and positive environmental impacts, global warming and a green energy source, respectively. However, predicting the quantity of LFG generated at a given landfill, whether active or closed is difficult due to the heterogeneities present in waste, and themore » lack of accurate in situ waste parameters like water content. Accordingly, ground penetrating radar (GPR) was evaluated as a tool for estimating in situ water content. Due to the large degree of subsurface heterogeneity and the electrically conductive clay cap covering landfills, both of which affect the transmission of the electromagnetic pulses, there is much scepticism concerning the use of GPR to quantify in situ water content within a municipal landfill. Two landfills were studied. The first landfill was used to develop the measurement protocols, while the second landfill provided a means of confirming these protocols. GPR measurements were initially completed using the surface GPR approach, but the lack of success led to the use of borehole (BH) GPR. Both zero offset profiling (ZOP) and multiple offset gathers (MOG) modes were tried, with the results indicating that BH GPR using the ZOP mode is the most simple and efficient method to measure in situ water content. The best results were obtained at a separation distance of 2 m, where higher the water content, smaller the effective separation distance. However, an increase in water content did appear to increase the accuracy of the GPR measurements. For the effective separation distance of 2 m at both landfills, the difference between GPR and lab measured water contents were reasonable at 33.9% for the drier landfill and 18.1% for the wetter landfill. Infiltration experiments also showed the potential to measure small increases in water content.« less

Ensemble kalman filtering to perform data assimilation with soil water content probes and pedotransfer functions in modeling water flow in variably saturated soils

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Data from modern soil water contents probes can be used for data assimilation in soil water flow modeling, i.e. continual correction of the flow model performance based on observations. The ensemble Kalman filter appears to be an appropriate method for that. The method requires estimates of the unce...

Validation of Soil Water Content Estimation Method on Agricultural Regions in South Korea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shin, Y.; Kim, M.

2016-12-01

The continuous water stress caused by decrease of soil water has a direct influence to the crop growth in a upland crop area. The agricultural drought is occured if water requirement is not supplied timely in crop growh process. It is more important to understand the soil characteristics for high accuracy soil moisture estimation because of the soil water contents largely depends on soil properties. The RDA(Rural Development Administration) has provided real-time soil moisture observations corrected for 71 points in the South Korea. In this study, we developed a soil water content estimation method that considered soil hydraulic parameters for the observation points of soil water content in agricultural regions operated by the RDA. SWAP(Soil-Water-Atmosphere-Plant) model was used in the estimation of soil water contents. The soil hydraulic parameters that is the input data of the SWAP model were estimated using the ROSETTA model developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture(USDA). Meteorological data observed from AWS(Automatic Weather Station) were used including daily maximum temperature(°), daily minimum temperature(°), relative humidity(%), solar radiation, wind speed and precipitation data. We choosed 56 stations there are no missing of meteorological data and have soil physical properties. For the verification of soil water content estimation method, we used Haenam KoFlux observation data that are observed long-term soil water contents over 2009-2015(2014 missing) years. In the case of 2015, there are good reproducibility between observation of soil water contents and results of SWAP model simulation with R2=0.72, RMSE=0.026 and TCC=0.849. In the case of precipitation event, the simulation results were slightly overestimated more than observation. However there are good reproducibility in the case of soil water reduction due to continuous non-precipitation periods. We have simulated the soil water contents of the 56 stations that being operated in the RDA from 4 January 2015 to 31 October 2015 using the SWAP model. The environmental setting of SWAP modle according to the station applied it equally. The results showed a significant difference to the reproducibility according to the observation station.

[Virtual water content of livestock products in China].

PubMed

Wang, Hong-rui; Wang, Jun-hong

2006-04-01

The paper expatiated the virtual water content concept of livestock products and the study meaning on developing virtual water trade of livestock products in China, then summarized the calculation methods on virtual water and virtual water trade of livestock products. Based on these, the paper analyzed and researched every province virtual water content of livestock products in details, then elicited various situation of every province virtual water content of livestock products in China by year. Moreover, it compared virtual water content of livestock products with local water resources. The study indicated the following results: (1) The virtual water content of livestock products is increasing rapidly in China recently, especially poultry eggs and pork. (2) The distribution of virtual water content of livestock products is not balanced, mainly lies in North China, East China and so on; (3) The increasing production of livestock in Beijing City, Tianjin City, Hebei, Nei Monggol, Liaononing, Jilin, Shandong, Henan and Ningxia province and autonom ous region will bring pressure to local water shortage.

Investigation of Analytical Techniques for the Rapid Determination of the Moisture Content of NOL 130 Primer Mix and Lead Azide

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-05-01

the presence of NOL 130 6 Determination of moisture content of dextrinated lead azide 14 containing known amounts of water, by the Karl Fisher method...maLhiod, extraction mode 8 Determinatiov) of moisture content of special purpose and 16 dextrinated lead atide, containing known amounts of water by the...water in special purpose and dextrinated lead azides were determined by the method described in the experimen- tal section of this report, data shown

Global statistics of liquid water content and effective number concentration of water clouds over ocean derived from combined CALIPSO and MODIS measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Y.; Vaughan, M.; McClain, C.; Behrenfeld, M.; Maring, H.; Anderson, D.; Sun-Mack, S.; Flittner, D.; Huang, J.; Wielicki, B.; Minnis, P.; Weimer, C.; Trepte, C.; Kuehn, R.

2007-06-01

This study presents an empirical relation that links the volume extinction coefficients of water clouds, the layer integrated depolarization ratios measured by lidar, and the effective radii of water clouds derived from collocated passive sensor observations. Based on Monte Carlo simulations of CALIPSO lidar observations, this method combines the cloud effective radius reported by MODIS with the lidar depolarization ratios measured by CALIPSO to estimate both the liquid water content and the effective number concentration of water clouds. The method is applied to collocated CALIPSO and MODIS measurements obtained during July and October of 2006, and January 2007. Global statistics of the cloud liquid water content and effective number concentration are presented.

Using a System Model for Irrigation Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Souza, Leonardo; de Miranda, Eu; Sánchez-Román, Rodrigo; Orellana-González, Alba

2014-05-01

When using Systems Thinking variables involved in any process have a dynamic behavior, according to nonstatic relationships with the environment. In this paper it is presented a system dynamics model developed to be used as an irrigation management tool. The model involves several parameters related to irrigation such as: soil characteristics, climate data and culture's physiological parameters. The water availability for plants in the soil is defined as a stock in the model, and this soil water content will define the right moment to irrigate and the water depth required to be applied. The crop water consumption will reduce soil water content; it is defined by the potential evapotranspiration (ET) that acts as an outflow from the stock (soil water content). ET can be estimated by three methods: a) FAO Penman-Monteith (ETPM), b) Hargreaves-Samani (ETHS) method, based on air temperature data and c) Class A pan (ETTCA) method. To validate the model were used data from the States of Ceará and Minas Gerais, Brazil, and the culture was bean. Keyword: System Dynamics, soil moisture content, agricultural water balance, irrigation scheduling.

Preliminary assestment of lint cotton water content in gin-drying temperature studies

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Prior studies to measure total water (free and bound) in lint cotton by Karl Fischer Titration showed the method is more accurate and precise than moisture content by standard oven drying. The objective of the current study was to compare the moisture and total water contents from five cultivars de...

Upper Washita River experimental watersheds: Multiyear stability of soil water content profiles

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Scaling in situ soil water content time series data to a large spatial domain is a key element of watershed environmental monitoring and modeling. The primary method of estimating and monitoring large-scale soil water content distributions is via in situ networks. It is critical to establish the s...

Soil water content assessment: critical issues concerning the operational application of the triangle method.

PubMed

Maltese, Antonino; Capodici, Fulvio; Ciraolo, Giuseppe; La Loggia, Goffredo

2015-03-19

Knowledge of soil water content plays a key role in water management efforts to improve irrigation efficiency. Among the indirect estimation methods of soil water content via Earth Observation data is the triangle method, used to analyze optical and thermal features because these are primarily controlled by water content within the near-surface evaporation layer and root zone in bare and vegetated soils. Although the soil-vegetation-atmosphere transfer theory describes the ongoing processes, theoretical models reveal limits for operational use. When applying simplified empirical formulations, meteorological forcing could be replaced with alternative variables when the above-canopy temperature is unknown, to mitigate the effects of calibration inaccuracies or to account for the temporal admittance of the soil. However, if applied over a limited area, a characterization of both dry and wet edges could not be properly achieved; thus, a multi-temporal analysis can be exploited to include outer extremes in soil water content. A diachronic empirical approach introduces the need to assume a constancy of other meteorological forcing variables that control thermal features. Airborne images were acquired on a Sicilian vineyard during most of an entire irrigation period (fruit-set to ripening stages, vintage 2008), during which in situ soil water content was measured to set up the triangle method. Within this framework, we tested the triangle method by employing alternative thermal forcing. The results were inaccurate when air temperature at airborne acquisition was employed. Sonic and aerodynamic air temperatures confirmed and partially explained the limits of simultaneous meteorological forcing, and the use of proxy variables improved model accuracy. The analysis indicates that high spatial resolution does not necessarily imply higher accuracies.

Soil Water Content Assessment: Critical Issues Concerning the Operational Application of the Triangle Method

PubMed Central

Maltese, Antonino; Capodici, Fulvio; Ciraolo, Giuseppe; La Loggia, Goffredo

2015-01-01

Knowledge of soil water content plays a key role in water management efforts to improve irrigation efficiency. Among the indirect estimation methods of soil water content via Earth Observation data is the triangle method, used to analyze optical and thermal features because these are primarily controlled by water content within the near-surface evaporation layer and root zone in bare and vegetated soils. Although the soil-vegetation-atmosphere transfer theory describes the ongoing processes, theoretical models reveal limits for operational use. When applying simplified empirical formulations, meteorological forcing could be replaced with alternative variables when the above-canopy temperature is unknown, to mitigate the effects of calibration inaccuracies or to account for the temporal admittance of the soil. However, if applied over a limited area, a characterization of both dry and wet edges could not be properly achieved; thus, a multi-temporal analysis can be exploited to include outer extremes in soil water content. A diachronic empirical approach introduces the need to assume a constancy of other meteorological forcing variables that control thermal features. Airborne images were acquired on a Sicilian vineyard during most of an entire irrigation period (fruit-set to ripening stages, vintage 2008), during which in situ soil water content was measured to set up the triangle method. Within this framework, we tested the triangle method by employing alternative thermal forcing. The results were inaccurate when air temperature at airborne acquisition was employed. Sonic and aerodynamic air temperatures confirmed and partially explained the limits of simultaneous meteorological forcing, and the use of proxy variables improved model accuracy. The analysis indicates that high spatial resolution does not necessarily imply higher accuracies. PMID:25808771

The determination of optimum condition in water hyacinth drying process by mixed adsorption drying method and modified fly ash as an adsorbent

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saputra, Asep Handaya; Putri, Rizky Anggreini

2017-05-01

Water hyacinth is an aquatic weed that has a very fast growth which makes it becomes a problem to the ecosystem. On the other hand, water hyacinth has a high fiber content (up to 20% by weight) which makes it potential to become raw material for composites and textile industries. As an aquatic plant, water hyacinth has a high initial moisture content that reaches more than 90%. Meanwhile the moisture content of fiber as a raw material for composite and textile industry should not be more than 10% to maintain the good quality of the products. Mixed adsorption drying method is one of the innovative method that can replace conventional drying process. Fluidization method which has been commonly used in agricultural and pharmaceutical products drying, can be enhanced by combining it with the adsorption method as performed in this study. In mixed fluidization-adsorption drying method, fly ash as adsorbent and water hyacinth fiber were put together into the fluidization column where the drying air evaporate the moisture content in water hyacinth fiber. In addition, the adsorbent adsorb the moisture content in the drying air to make the moisture content of the drying air remain low. The drying process is performed in various temperature and composition of water hyacinth and adsorbent in order to obtain the optimum drying condition. In addition, the effect of fly ash pellet and fly ash powder to the drying process was also performed. The result shows that the higher temperature and the more amount of adsorbent results in the faster drying rate. Fly ash pellet shows a better adsorption since it has a smaller pore diameter and wider surface area. The optimum temperature obtained from this study is 60°C and the optimum ratio of water hyacinth and fly ash is 50:50.

Robust spatialization of soil water content at the scale of an agricultural field using geophysical and geostatistical methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henine, Hocine; Tournebize, Julien; Laurent, Gourdol; Christophe, Hissler; Cournede, Paul-Henry; Clement, Remi

2017-04-01

Research on the Critical Zone (CZ) is a prerequisite for undertaking issues related to ecosystemic services that human societies rely on (nutrient cycles, water supply and quality). However, while the upper part of CZ (vegetation, soil, surface water) is readily accessible, knowledge of the subsurface remains limited, due to the point-scale character of conventional direct observations. While the potential for geophysical methods to overcome this limitation is recognized, the translation of the geophysical information into physical properties or states of interest remains a challenge (e.g. the translation of soil electrical resistivity into soil water content). In this study, we propose a geostatistical framework using the Bayesian Maximum Entropy (BME) approach to assimilate geophysical and point-scale data. We especially focus on the prediction of the spatial distribution of soil water content using (1) TDR point-scale measurements of soil water content, which are considered as accurate data, and (2) soil water content data derived from electrical resistivity measurements, which are uncertain data but spatially dense. We used a synthetic dataset obtained with a vertical 2D domain to evaluate the performance of this geostatistical approach. Spatio-temporal simulations of soil water content were carried out using Hydrus-software for different scenarios: homogeneous or heterogeneous hydraulic conductivity distribution, and continuous or punctual infiltration pattern. From the simulations of soil water content, conceptual soil resistivity models were built using a forward modeling approach and point sampling of water content values, vertically ranged, were done. These two datasets are similar to field measurements of soil electrical resistivity (using electrical resistivity tomography, ERT) and soil water content (using TDR probes) obtained at the Boissy-le-Chatel site, in Orgeval catchment (East of Paris, France). We then integrated them into a specialization framework to predict the soil water content distribution and the results were compared to initial simulations (Hydrus results). We obtained more reliable water content specialization models when using the BME method. The presented approach integrates ERT and TDR measurements, and results demonstrate that its use significantly improves the spatial distribution of water content estimations. The approach will be applied to the experimental dataset collected at the Boissy le Châtel site where ERT data were collected daily during one hydrological year, using Syscal pro 48 electrodes (with a financial support of Equipex-Critex) and 10 TDR probes were used to monitor water content variation. Hourly hydrological survey (tile drainage discharge, precipitation, evapotranspiration variables and water table depth) were conducted at the same site. Data analysis and the application of geostatistical framework on the experimental dataset of 2015-2016 show satisfactory results and are reliable with the hydrological behavior of the study site.

Characterization of Cloud Water-Content Distribution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Seungwon

2010-01-01

The development of realistic cloud parameterizations for climate models requires accurate characterizations of subgrid distributions of thermodynamic variables. To this end, a software tool was developed to characterize cloud water-content distributions in climate-model sub-grid scales. This software characterizes distributions of cloud water content with respect to cloud phase, cloud type, precipitation occurrence, and geo-location using CloudSat radar measurements. It uses a statistical method called maximum likelihood estimation to estimate the probability density function of the cloud water content.

Gravimetric water distribution assessment from geoelectrical methods (ERT and EMI) in municipal solid waste landfill.

PubMed

Dumont, Gaël; Pilawski, Tamara; Dzaomuho-Lenieregue, Phidias; Hiligsmann, Serge; Delvigne, Frank; Thonart, Philippe; Robert, Tanguy; Nguyen, Frédéric; Hermans, Thomas

2016-09-01

The gravimetric water content of the waste material is a key parameter in waste biodegradation. Previous studies suggest a correlation between changes in water content and modification of electrical resistivity. This study, based on field work in Mont-Saint-Guibert landfill (Belgium), aimed, on one hand, at characterizing the relationship between gravimetric water content and electrical resistivity and on the other hand, at assessing geoelectrical methods as tools to characterize the gravimetric water distribution in a landfill. Using excavated waste samples obtained after drilling, we investigated the influences of the temperature, the liquid phase conductivity, the compaction and the water content on the electrical resistivity. Our results demonstrate that Archie's law and Campbell's law accurately describe these relationships in municipal solid waste (MSW). Next, we conducted a geophysical survey in situ using two techniques: borehole electromagnetics (EM) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT). First, in order to validate the use of EM, EM values obtained in situ were compared to electrical resistivity of excavated waste samples from corresponding depths. The petrophysical laws were used to account for the change of environmental parameters (temperature and compaction). A rather good correlation was obtained between direct measurement on waste samples and borehole electromagnetic data. Second, ERT and EM were used to acquire a spatial distribution of the electrical resistivity. Then, using the petrophysical laws, this information was used to estimate the water content distribution. In summary, our results demonstrate that geoelectrical methods represent a pertinent approach to characterize spatial distribution of water content in municipal landfills when properly interpreted using ground truth data. These methods might therefore prove to be valuable tools in waste biodegradation optimization projects. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A new method to enhance rhizosheath formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmadi, katayoun; Zarebanadkouki, Mohsen; Kuzyakov, Yakov; Carminati, Andrea

2016-04-01

The rhizosheath is defined as the soil that adheres to the roots by help of root hairs and mucilage. Rhizosheath maintain the contact between roots and soil improving water and nutrient uptake. Here we introduce: (1) a technique to quantify the formation of rhizosheath around the roots, and (2) a method to enhance the formation of rhizosheath around the roots. Additionally, we measured the relation between rhizosheath thickness and the carbon content and enzyme activities in the rhizosphere. We grew lupine plants in aluminum containers (28×30×1 cm) filled with a sandy soil. When plants were two weeks-old and the soil had a water content of 30%, we stopped the irrigation and let the plants to uptake water to a soil water content of 4-5%. Thereafter, half of the plants (4 plants) were irrigated with water and the other half with water with an additive (international patent is pending). We repeated the drying and rewetting cycle three times. At the end of the third drying cycle, when plants were 40 days old and soil had a water content of 4-5%,the containers were opened and roots and their surrounding soils were gently collected. We used imaging to quantify the rhizosheath formation. The method consists of scanning the roots and the surrounding soil using the Winrhizo software. By image analysis we quantified the thickness of roots and their rhizosheath. The plants irrigated with the additive had 63% thicker rhizopsheath than plants irrigated with water. So, the additive enhanced gelation of mucilage exuded by the roots. Carbon content and enzyme activity in the collected rhizosheath showed that the rhizosheath of plants irrigated with the additive had higher carbon content and enzyme activity than the rhizopsheath of plants irrigated with water. The new method to increase rhizosheath has the great advantage that can be easily applied to the irrigation water to improve plant uptake of water and nutrients in semiarid and arid areas.

Triaxial- and uniaxial-compression testing methods developed for extraction of pore water from unsaturated tuff, Yucca Mountain, Nevada

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

Mower, T.E.; Higgins, J.D.; Yang, I.C.

1989-12-31

To support the study of hydrologic system in the unsaturated zone at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, two extraction methods were examined to obtain representative, uncontaminated pore-water samples from unsaturated tuff. Results indicate that triaxial compression, which uses a standard cell, can remove pore water from nonwelded tuff that has an initial moisture content greater than 11% by weight; uniaxial compression, which uses a specifically fabricated cell, can extract pore water from nonwelded tuff that has an initial moisture content greater than 8% and from welded tuff that has an initial moisture content greater than 6.5%. For the ambient moisture conditions ofmore » Yucca Mountain tuffs, uniaxial compression is the most efficient method of pore-water extraction. 12 refs., 7 figs., 2 tabs.« less

A scheme for parameterizing ice cloud water content in general circulation models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heymsfield, Andrew J.; Donner, Leo J.

1989-01-01

A method for specifying ice water content in GCMs is developed, based on theory and in-cloud measurements. A theoretical development of the conceptual precipitation model is given and the aircraft flights used to characterize the ice mass distribution in deep ice clouds is discussed. Ice water content values derived from the theoretical parameterization are compared with the measured values. The results demonstrate that a simple parameterization for atmospheric ice content can account for ice contents observed in several synoptic contexts.

Ice Particle Impact on Cloud Water Content Instrumentation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Emery, Edward F.; Miller, Dean R.; Plaskon, Stephen R.; Strapp, Walter; Lillie, Lyle

2004-01-01

Determining the total amount of water contained in an icing cloud necessitates the measurement of both the liquid droplets and ice particles. One commonly accepted method for measuring cloud water content utilizes a hot wire sensing element, which is maintained at a constant temperature. In this approach, the cloud water content is equated with the power required to keep the sense element at a constant temperature. This method inherently assumes that impinging cloud particles remain on the sensing element surface long enough to be evaporated. In the case of ice particles, this assumption requires that the particles do not bounce off the surface after impact. Recent tests aimed at characterizing ice particle impact on a thermally heated wing section, have raised questions about the validity of this assumption. Ice particles were observed to bounce off the heated wing section a very high percentage of the time. This result could have implications for Total Water Content sensors which are designed to capture ice particles, and thus do not account for bouncing or breakup of ice particles. Based on these results, a test was conducted to investigate ice particle impact on the sensing elements of the following hot-wire cloud water content probes: (1) Nevzorov Total Water Content (TWC)/Liquid Water Content (LWC) probe, (2) Science Engineering Associates TWC probe, and (3) Particle Measuring Systems King probe. Close-up video imaging was used to study ice particle impact on the sensing element of each probe. The measured water content from each probe was also determined for each cloud condition. This paper will present results from this investigation and attempt to evaluate the significance of ice particle impact on hot-wire cloud water content measurements.

Active THz inspection of water content in plants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Etayo, D.; Iriarte, J. C.; Palacios, I.; Teniente, J.; Ederra, I.; Gonzalo, R.

2010-04-01

The THz range offers the possibility of measuring water content. This can be useful in wine industry to control plants water levels and also to decrease irrigation costs. This paper presents a THz imaging system used to characterise water content in leaves using frequency and time domain methods from 0.14 to 0.22 THz. Our results show the possibility of getting useful information out of the preformed measurements.

Investigation of Polyhenolic Content of Rose Hip (Rosa canina L.) Tea Extracts: A Comparative Study

PubMed Central

İlbay, Zeynep; Şahin, Selin; Kırbaşlar, Ş. İsmail

2013-01-01

Three different brands of Rose hip (Rosa canina L.) tea were extracted with water, ethanol (EtOH), methanol (MeOH), and aqueous mixtures (50%, v/v) by ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) and Soxhlet methods. Total phenolic content was determined according to the Folin-Ciocalteu method. The results were presented by means of the extract yields and total phenolic contents, expressed in gallic acid equivalent (GAE) per g of dried matter (DM). The greatest amount of extract observed in tea samples was obtained by UAE through water with the value of 619.37 ± 0.58 mg/g DM. Regarding the phenolic content, the best result was achieved by the Soxhlet method through 50% MeOH mixture (59.69 ± 0.89 mg GAE/g DM), followed by the UAE method with water (48.59 ± 0.29 mg GAE/g DM). PMID:28239095

Systematized water content calculation in cartilage using T1-mapping MR estimations: design and validation of a mathematical model.

PubMed

Shiguetomi-Medina, J M; Ramirez-Gl, J L; Stødkilde-Jørgensen, H; Møller-Madsen, B

2017-09-01

Up to 80 % of cartilage is water; the rest is collagen fibers and proteoglycans. Magnetic resonance (MR) T1-weighted measurements can be employed to calculate the water content of a tissue using T1 mapping. In this study, a method that translates T1 values into water content data was tested statistically. To develop a predictive equation, T1 values were obtained for tissue-mimicking gelatin samples. 1.5 T MRI was performed using inverse angle phase and an inverse sequence at 37 (±0.5) °C. Regions of interest were manually delineated and the mean T1 value was estimated in arbitrary units. Data were collected and modeled using linear regression. To validate the method, articular cartilage from six healthy pigs was used. The experiment was conducted in accordance with the Danish Animal Experiment Committee. Double measurements were performed for each animal. Ex vivo, all water in the tissue was extracted by lyophilization, thus allowing the volume of water to be measured. This was then compared with the predicted water content via Lin's concordance correlation coefficient at the 95 % confidence level. The mathematical model was highly significant when compared to a null model (p < 0.0001). 97.3 % of the variation in water content can be explained by absolute T1 values. Percentage water content could be predicted as 0.476 + (T1 value) × 0.000193 × 100 %. We found that there was 98 % concordance between the actual and predicted water contents. The results of this study demonstrate that MR data can be used to predict percentage water contents of cartilage samples. 3 (case-control study).

Intercomparison of Lab-Based Soil Water Extraction Methods for Stable Water Isotope Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pratt, D.; Orlowski, N.; McDonnell, J.

2016-12-01

The effect of pore water extraction technique on resultant isotopic signature is poorly understood. Here we present results of an intercomparison of five common lab-based soil water extraction techniques: high pressure mechanical squeezing, centrifugation, direct vapor equilibration, microwave extraction, and cryogenic extraction. We applied five extraction methods to two physicochemically different standard soil types (silty sand and clayey loam) that were oven-dried and rewetted with water of known isotopic composition at three different gravimetric water contents (8, 20, and 30%). We tested the null hypothisis that all extraction techniques would provide the same isotopic result independent from soil type and water content. Our results showed that the extraction technique had a significant effect on the soil water isotopic composition. Each method exhibited deviations from spiked reference water, with soil type and water content showing a secondary effect. Cryogenic extraction showed the largest deviations from the reference water, whereas mechanical squeezing and centrifugation provided the closest match to the reference water for both soil types. We also compared results for each extraction technique that produced liquid water on both an OA-ICOS and IRMS; differences between them were negligible.

Measurements of volatile compound contents in resins using a moisture analyzer.

PubMed

Hashimoto, Masanori; Nagano, Futami; Endo, Kazuhiko; Ohno, Hiroki

2010-02-01

The contents of volatile adhesive compounds, such as water, solvents, and residual unpolymerized monomers, affect the integrity and durability of adhesive bonding. However, there is no method available that can be used to rapidly assess the residual solvent or water contents of adhesive resins. This study examined the effectiveness of a digital moisture analyzer to measure the volatile compound contents of resins. Five self-etching adhesives and seven experimental light-cured resins prepared with different contents (0, 10, and 20% by weight) of water or solvents (acetone and ethanol) were examined in this study. The resins were prepared using different methods (with and without air blast or light-curing) to simulate the clinical conditions of adhesive application. Resin weight changes (% of weight loss) were determined as the residual volatile compound contents, using the moisture analyzer. After the measurements, the resin films were examined using a scanning electron microscope. The weight changes of the resins were found to depend on the amount of water or solvents evaporating from the resin. Water and solvents were evaporated by air blast or light-curing, but some of the water and solvents remained in the cured resin. The moisture analyzer is easy to operate and is a useful instrument for using to measure the residual volatile compound contents of adhesive resin.

Near surface water content estimation using GPR data: investigations within California vineyards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hubbard, S.; Grote, K.; Lunt, I.; Rubin, Y.

2003-04-01

Detailed estimates of water content are necessary for variety of hydrogeological investigations. In viticulture applications, this information is particularly useful for assisting the design of both vineyard layout and efficient irrigation/agrochemical application. However, it is difficult to obtain sufficient information about the spatial variation of water content within the root zone using conventional point or wellbore measurements. We have investigated the applicability of ground penetrating radar (GPR) methods to estimate near surface water content within two California vineyard study sites: the Robert Mondavi Vineyard in Napa County and the Dehlinger Vineyard within Sonoma County. Our research at the winery study sites involves assessing the feasibility of obtaining accurate, non-invasive and dense estimates of water content and the changes in water content over space and time using both groundwave and reflected GPR events. We will present the spatial and temporal estimates of water content obtained from the GPR data at both sites. We will compare our estimates with conventional measurements of water content (obtained using gravimetric, TDR, and neutron probe techniques) as well as with soil texture and plant vigor measurements. Through these comparisons, we will illustrate the potential of GPR for providing reliable and spatially dense water content estimates and the linkages between water content, soil properties and ecosystem responses at the two study sites.

A TWO-PROBE METHOD FOR MEASURING WATER CONTENT OF THIN FOREST FLOOR LITTER LAYERS USING TIME DOMAIN REFLECTOMETRY

EPA Science Inventory

Few methods exist that allow non-destructive in situ measurement of the water content of forest floor litter layers (Oa,Oe, and Oi horizons). Continuous non-destructive measurement is needed in studies of ecosystem processes because of the relationship between physical structure ...

The revised EEMCO guidance for the in vivo measurement of water in the skin.

PubMed

Berardesca, Enzo; Loden, Marie; Serup, Jorgen; Masson, Philippe; Rodrigues, Luis Monteiro

2018-06-20

Noninvasive quantification of stratum corneum water content is widely used in skin research and topical product development. The original EEMCO guidelines on measurements of skin hydration by electrical methods and transepidermal water loss (TEWL) by evaporimeter published in 1997 and 2001 have been revisited and updated with the incorporation of recently available technologies. Electrical methods and open-chamber evaporimeters for measurement of TEWL are still the preferred techniques to measure the water balance in the stratum corneum. The background technology and biophysics of these instruments remain relevant and valid. However, new methods that can image surface hydration and measure depth profiles of dermal water content now available. Open-chamber measurement of TEWL has been supplemented with semiopen and closed chamber probes, which are more robust to environmental influence and therefore convenient to use and more applicable to field studies. However, closed chamber methods interfere with the evaporation of water, and the methods cannot be used for continuous monitoring. Validation of methods with respect to intra- and inter-instrument variation remains challenging. No validation standard or test phantom is available. The established methods for measurement of epidermal water content and TEWL have been supplemented with important new technologies including methods that allow imaging of epidermal water distribution and water depth profiles. A much more complete and sophisticated characterization of the various aspects of the dermal water barrier has been accomplished by means of today's noninvasive techniques; however, instrument standardization and validation remain a challenge. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Feasibility analysis of EDXRF method to detect heavy metal pollution in ecological environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hao, Zhixu; Qin, Xulei

2018-02-01

The change of heavy metal content in water environment, soil and plant can reflect the change of heavy metal pollution in ecological environment, and it is important to monitor the trend of heavy metal pollution in eco-environment by using water environment, soil and heavy metal content in plant. However, the content of heavy metals in nature is very low, the background elements of water environment, soil and plant samples are complex, and there are many interfering factors in the EDXRF system that will affect the spectral analysis results and reduce the detection accuracy. Through the contrastive analysis of several heavy metal elements detection methods, it is concluded that the EDXRF method is superior to other chemical methods in testing accuracy and method feasibility when the heavy metal pollution in soil is tested in ecological environment.

Certification of the reference material of water content in water saturated 1-octanol by Karl Fischer coulometry, Karl Fischer volumetry and quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance.

PubMed

Wang, Haifeng; Ma, Kang; Zhang, Wei; Li, Jia; Sun, Guohua; Li, Hongmei

2012-10-15

Certified reference materials (CRMs) of water content are widely used in the calibration and validation of Karl Fischer coulometry and volumetry. In this study, the water content of the water saturated 1-octanol (WSO) CRM was certified by Karl Fischer coulometry, volumetry and quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance (Q NMR). The water content recovery by coulometry was 99.76% with a diaphragm-less electrode and Coulomat AG anolyte. The relative bias between the coulometry and volumetry results was 0.06%. In Q NMR, the water content of WSO is traceable to the International System (SI) of units through the purity of internal standard. The relative bias of water content in WSO between Q NMR and volumetry was 0.50%. The consistency of results for these three independent methods improves the accuracy of the certification of the RM. The certified water content of the WSO CRM was 4.76% with an expanded uncertainty of 0.09%. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

SI-Traceable Water Content Measurements in Solids, Bulks, and Powders

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Østergaard, Peter; Nielsen, Jan

2018-01-01

Methods such as Karl Fischer titration and Loss-on-Drying, commonly used for estimating moisture content in samples, have been in existence for many years, but have difficulties obtaining a direct calibration chain toward water content. In recognition of this challenge, the joint research project, METefnet, was funded by the European Metrology Research Programme in 2012. The goal of METefnet is to establish a European metrology infrastructure for water content measurement and to develop primary standards for unambiguous determination of water mass fraction in materials. Here, we describe the primary standard developed by Danish Technological Institute in METefnet. This standard establishes traceability of the water content of a sample to dewpoint temperature. The standard only measures water, and the measurement result is not affected by other components.

Capability of crop water content for revealing variability of winter wheat grain yield and soil moisture under limited irrigation.

PubMed

Zhang, Chao; Liu, Jiangui; Shang, Jiali; Cai, Huanjie

2018-08-01

Winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a major crop in the Guanzhong Plain, China. Understanding its water status is important for irrigation planning. A few crop water indicators, such as the leaf equivalent water thickness (EWT: g cm -2 ), leaf water content (LWC: %) and canopy water content (CWC: kg m -2 ), have been estimated using remote sensing techniques for a wide range of crops, yet their suitability and utility for revealing winter wheat growth and soil moisture status have not been well studied. To bridge this knowledge gap, field-scale irrigation experiments were conducted over two consecutive years (2014 and 2015) to investigate relationships of crop water content with soil moisture and grain yield, and to assess the performance of four spectral process methods for retrieving these three crop water indicators. The result revealed that the water indicators were more sensitive to soil moisture variation before the jointing stage. All three water indicators were significantly correlated with soil moisture during the reviving stage, and the correlations were stronger for leaf water indicators than that of the canopy water indicator at the jointing stage. No correlation was observed after the heading stage. All three water indicators showed good capabilities of revealing grain yield variability in jointing stage, with R 2 up to 0.89. CWC had a consistent relationship with grain yield over different growing seasons, but the performances of EWT and LWC were growing-season specific. The partial least squares regression was the most accurate method for estimating LWC (R 2 =0.72; RMSE=3.6%) and comparable capability for EWT and CWC. Finally, the work highlights the usefulness of crop water indicators to assess crop growth, productivity, and soil water status and demonstrates the potential of various spectral processing methods for retrieving crop water contents from canopy reflectance spectrums. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Probing bias reduction to improve comparability of lint cotton water and moisture contents at moisture equilibrium

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The Karl Fischer Titration (KFT) reference method is specific for water in lint cotton and was designed for samples conditioned to moisture equilibrium, thus limiting its biases. There is a standard method for moisture content – weight loss – by oven drying (OD), just not for equilibrium moisture c...

Evaluation of Storage Effects on Commercial, Biodegradable, Synthetic or Bio-sourced Hydraulic Fluid

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-01-10

Water Content (ASTM D 6304) Coulometric Karl Fischer Titration for water content was conducted in accordance with ASTM D 6304, Standard Test Method ...Point7 (ASTM D 92) • Lubricity (4-Ball Wear)8 (ASTM D 4172) • Total Acid Number (TAN)9 (ASTM D 664) • Water Content by Karl Fischer Coulometric...2001 and the data from FLTT in 2005. However, FLTT procured a new Karl Fischer water titrator in 2003. But FLTT continued to use the same

A novel method for rapid determination of total solid content in viscous liquids by multiple headspace extraction gas chromatography.

PubMed

Xin, Li-Ping; Chai, Xin-Sheng; Hu, Hui-Chao; Barnes, Donald G

2014-09-05

This work demonstrates a novel method for rapid determination of total solid content in viscous liquid (polymer-enriched) samples. The method is based multiple headspace extraction gas chromatography (MHE-GC) on a headspace vial at a temperature above boiling point of water. Thus, the trend of water loss from the tested liquid due to evaporation can be followed. With the limited MHE-GC testing (e.g., 5 extractions) and a one-point calibration procedure (i.e., recording the weight difference before and after analysis), the total amount of water in the sample can be determined, from which the total solid contents in the liquid can be calculated. A number of black liquors were analyzed by the new method which yielded results that closely matched those of the reference method; i.e., the results of these two methods differed by no more than 2.3%. Compared with the reference method, the MHE-GC method is much simpler and more practical. Therefore, it is suitable for the rapid determination of the solid content in many polymer-containing liquid samples. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Soil moisture sensors for continuous monitoring

USGS Publications Warehouse

Amer, Saud A.; Keefer, T. O.; Weltz, M.A.; Goodrich, David C.; Bach, Leslie

1995-01-01

Certain physical and chemical properties of soil vary with soil water content. The relationship between these properties and water content is complex and involves both the pore structure and constituents of the soil solution. One of the most economical techniques to quantify soil water content involves the measurement of electrical resistance of a dielectric medium that is in equilibrium with the soil water content. The objective of this research was to test the reliability and accuracy of fiberglass soil-moisture electrical resistance sensors (ERS) as compared to gravimetric sampling and Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR). The response of the ERS was compared to gravimetric measurements at eight locations on the USDA-ABS Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed. The comparisons with TDR sensors were made at three additional locations on the same watershed. The high soil rock content (>45 percent) at seven locations resulted in consistent overestimation of soil water content by the ERS method. Where rock content was less than 10 percent, estimation of soil water was within 5 percent of the gravimetric soil water content. New methodology to calibrate the ERS sensors for rocky soils will need to be developed before soil water content values can be determined with these sensors. (KEY TERMS: soil moisture; soil water; infiltration; instrumentation; soil moisture sensors.)

TDR water content inverse profiling in layered soils during infiltration and evaporation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greco, R.; Guida, A.

2009-04-01

During the last three decades, time domain reflectometry (TDR) has become one of the most commonly used tools for soil water content measurements either in laboratory or in the field. Indeed, TDR provides easy and cheap water content estimations with relatively small disturbance to the investigated soil. TDR measurements of soil water content are based on the strong correlation between relative dielectric permittivity of wet soil and its volumetric water content. Several expressions of the relationship between relative dielectric permittivity and volumetric water content have been proposed, empirically stated (Topp et al., 1980) as well as based on semi-analytical approach to dielectric mixing models (Roth et al., 1990; Whalley, 1993). So far, TDR field applications suffered the limitation due to the capability of the technique of estimating only the mean water content in the volume investigated by the probe. Whereas the knowledge of non homogeneous vertical water content profiles was needed, it was necessary to install either several vertical probes of different length or several horizontal probes placed in the soil at different depths, in both cases strongly increasing soil disturbance as well as the complexity of the measurements. Several studies have been recently dedicated to the development of inversion methods aimed to extract more information from TDR waveforms, in order to estimate non homogeneous moisture profiles along the axis of the metallic probe used for TDR measurements. A common feature of all these methods is that electromagnetic transient through the wet soil along the probe is mathematically modelled, assuming that the unknown soil water content distribution corresponds to the best agreement between simulated and measured waveforms. In some cases the soil is modelled as a series of small layers with different dielectric properties, and the waveform is obtained as the result of the superposition of multiple reflections arising from impedance discontinuities between the layers (Nguyen et al., 1997; Todoroff et al., 1998; Heimovaara, 2001; Moret et al., 2006). Other methods consider the dielectric properties of the soil as smoothly variable along probe axis (Greco, 1999; Oswald et al., 2003; Greco, 2006). Aim of the study is testing the applicability to layered soils of the inverse method for the estimation of water content profiles along vertical TDR waveguides, originally applied in laboratory to homogeneous soil samples with monotonic moisture distributions (Greco, 2006), and recently extended to field measurements with more general water content profiles (Greco and Guida, 2008). Influence of soil electrical conductivity, uniqueness of solution, choices of parametrization, parameters identifiabilty, sensitivity of the method to chosen parameters variations are discussed. Finally, the results of the application of the inverse method to a series of infiltration and evaporation experiments carried out in a flume filled with three soil layers of different physical characteristics are presented. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The research was co-financed by the Italian Ministry of University, by means of the PRIN 2006 PRIN program, within the research project entitled ‘Definition of critical rainfall thresholds for destructive landslides for civil protection purposes'. REFERENCES Greco, R., 1999. Measurement of water content profiles by single TDR experiments. In: Feyen, J., Wiyo, K. (Eds.), Modelling of Transport Processes in Soils. Wageningen Pers, Wageningen, the Netherlands, pp. 276-283. Greco, R., 2006. Soil water content inverse profiling from single TDR waveforms. J. Hydrol. 317, 325-339. Greco R., Guida A., 2008. Field measurements of topsoil moisture profiles by vertical TDR probes. J. Hydrol. 348, 442- 451. Heimovaara, T.J., 2001. Frequency domain modelling of TDR waveforms in order to obtain frequency dependent dielectric properties of soil samples: a theoretical approach. In: TDR 2001 - Second International Symposium on Time Domain Reflectometry for Innovative Geotechnical Applications. Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, pp. 19-21. Moret, D., Arrue, J.L., Lopez, M.V., Gracia, R., 2006. A new TDR waveform analysis approach for soil moisture profiling using a single probe. J. Hydrol. 321, 163-172. Nguyen, B.L., Bruining, J., Slob, E.C., 1997. Saturation profiles from dielectric (frequency domain reflectometry) measurements in porous media. In: Proceedings of International Workshop on characterization and Measurements of the Hydraulic Properties of Unsaturated Porous Media, Riverside, California, pp. 363-375. Oswald, B., Benedickter, H.R., Ba¨chtold, W., Flu¨hler, H., 2003. Spatially resolved water content profiles from inverted time domain reflectometry signals. Water Resour. Res. 39 (12), 1357. Todoroff, P., Lorion, R., Lan Sun Luk, J.-D., 1998. L'utilisation des génétiques pour l'identification de profils hydriques de sol a` partir de courbes réflectométriques. CR Acad. Sci. Paris, Sciences de la terre et des plane`tes 327, 607-610. Topp, G.C., Davis, J.L., Annan, A.P., 1980. Electromagnetic determination of soil water content: measurement in coaxial transmission lines. Water Resour. Res. 16, 574-582. Roth, K., Schulin, R., Fluhler, H., Attinger, W., 1990. Calibration of time domain reflectometry for water content measurement using a composite dielectric approach. Water Resour. Res. 26, 2267-2273. Whalley, W.R., 1993. Considerations on the use of time domain reflectometry (TDR) for measuring soil water content. J. Soil Sci. 44, 1-9.

Rainwater content estimated using polarimetric radar parameters in the Heihe River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Guo; Chu, Rongzhong; Zhang, Tong; Jia, Wei

2013-02-01

The rainwater content of cold and arid regions has strong spatial and temporal heterogeneity. Representing rainwater content at high resolution can help us understand the characteristics of inland river basin water cycles and improve the prediction accuracy of hydrological models. Data were used from the Watershed Allied Telemetry Experimental Research (WATER) project of the Heihe River Basin, which is the second largest inland river basin in the arid regions of northwest China. We used raindrop size distributions to improve the rain water content estimation of meteorological radar and to obtain accurate rain water content data in this area. Subsequently, four estimation methods applied in the polarimetric radar were tested. The results of a non-linear regression method show that M(KDP, ZH, ZDR) has the highest accuracy for measuring rain water content. Finally, the formula for measuring the spatial rain water content was applied to a polarimetric radar with an X-band (714XDP). The influence of raindrop size distribution (DSD) on the formula M(KDP, ZH, ZDR) is lowest sensitivity, and it can be explained as follows. On the one hand, the horizontal and vertical front reflection cross sections of the radar are different, so KDP is proportional to the 3rd power of the raindrop diameter. On the other hand, the rear cross section of the radar is proportional to the sixth power of the raindrop diameter. The rainfall's spatial water content M is proportional to the 3rd power of the raindrop diameter, so the influence of the drop size distribution (DSD) on KDP is much smaller than that of ZH.

Metrologically Traceable Determination of the Water Content in Biopolymers: INRiM Activity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rolle, F.; Beltramino, G.; Fernicola, V.; Sega, M.; Verdoja, A.

2017-03-01

Water content in materials is a key factor affecting many chemical and physical properties. In polymers of biological origin, it influences their stability and mechanical properties as well as their biodegradability. The present work describes the activity carried out at INRiM on the determination of water content in samples of a commercial starch-derived biopolymer widely used in shopping bags (Mater-Bi^{circledR }). Its water content, together with temperature, is the most influencing parameter affecting its biodegradability, because of the considerable impact on the microbial activity which is responsible for the biopolymer degradation in the environment. The main scope of the work was the establishment of a metrologically traceable procedure for the determination of water content by using two electrochemical methods, namely coulometric Karl Fischer (cKF) titration and evolved water vapour (EWV) analysis. The obtained results are presented. The most significant operational parameters were considered, and a particular attention was devoted to the establishment of metrological traceability of the measurement results by using appropriate calibration procedures, calibrated standards and suitable certified reference materials. Sample homogeneity and oven-drying temperature were found to be the most important influence quantities in the whole water content measurement process. The results of the two methods were in agreement within the stated uncertainties. Further development is foreseen for the application of cKF and EWV to other polymers.

Determining the soil hydraulic conductivity by means of a field scale internal drainage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Severino, Gerardo; Santini, Alessandro; Sommella, Angelo

2003-03-01

Spatial variations of water content in large extents soils (vadose zone) are highly affected by the natural heterogeneity of the porous medium. This implies that the magnitude of the hydraulic properties, especially the conductivity, varies in an irregular manner with scale. Determining mean values of hydraulic properties will not suffice to accurately quantify water flow in the vadose zone. At field scale proper field measurements have to be carried out, similar to standard laboratory methods that also characterize the spatial variability of the hydraulic properties. Toward this aim an internal drainage test has been conducted at Ponticelli site near Naples (Italy) where water content and pressure head were monitored at 50 locations of a 2×50 m 2 plot. The present paper illustrates a method to quantify the mean value and the spatial variability of the hydraulic parameters needed to calibrate the soil conductivity curve at field scale (hereafter defined as field scale hydraulic conductivity). A stochastic model that regards the hydraulic parameters as random space functions (RSFs) is derived by adopting the stream tube approach of Dagan and Bresler (1979). Owing to the randomness of the hydraulic parameters, even the water content θ will be a RSF whose mean value (hereafter termed field scale water content) is obtained as an ensemble average over all the realizations of a local analytical solution of Richards' equation. It is shown that the most frequent data collection should be carried out in the initial stage of the internal drainage experiment, when the most significant changes in water content occur. The model parameters are obtained by a standard least square optimization procedure using water content data at a certain depth (z=30 cm) for several times ( t=5, 24, 48, 96, 144, 216, 312, 408, 576, 744, 912 h). The reliability of the proposed method is then evaluated by comparing the predicted water content with observations at different depths ( z=45, 60, 75, and 90 cm). The calibration procedure is further verified by comparing the cumulative distribution of measured water content at different times with corresponding distribution obtained from the calibrated model.

Experimental study on water content detection of traditional masonry based on infrared thermal image

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Baoqing; Lei, Zukang

2017-10-01

Based on infrared thermal imaging technology for seepage test of two kinds of brick masonry, find out the relationship between the distribution of one-dimensional two brick surface temperature distribution and one-dimensional surface moisture content were determined after seepage brick masonry minimum temperature zone and water content determination method of the highest point of the regression equation, the relationship between temperature and moisture content of the brick masonry reflected the quantitative and establish the initial wet masonry building disease analysis method, then the infrared technology is applied to the protection of historic buildings in.

Error Analysis of Clay-Rock Water Content Estimation with Broadband High-Frequency Electromagnetic Sensors—Air Gap Effect

PubMed Central

Bore, Thierry; Wagner, Norman; Delepine Lesoille, Sylvie; Taillade, Frederic; Six, Gonzague; Daout, Franck; Placko, Dominique

2016-01-01

Broadband electromagnetic frequency or time domain sensor techniques present high potential for quantitative water content monitoring in porous media. Prior to in situ application, the impact of the relationship between the broadband electromagnetic properties of the porous material (clay-rock) and the water content on the frequency or time domain sensor response is required. For this purpose, dielectric properties of intact clay rock samples experimental determined in the frequency range from 1 MHz to 10 GHz were used as input data in 3-D numerical frequency domain finite element field calculations to model the one port broadband frequency or time domain transfer function for a three rods based sensor embedded in the clay-rock. The sensor response in terms of the reflection factor was analyzed in time domain with classical travel time analysis in combination with an empirical model according to Topp equation, as well as the theoretical Lichtenecker and Rother model (LRM) to estimate the volumetric water content. The mixture equation considering the appropriate porosity of the investigated material provide a practical and efficient approach for water content estimation based on classical travel time analysis with the onset-method. The inflection method is not recommended for water content estimation in electrical dispersive and absorptive material. Moreover, the results clearly indicate that effects due to coupling of the sensor to the material cannot be neglected. Coupling problems caused by an air gap lead to dramatic effects on water content estimation, even for submillimeter gaps. Thus, the quantitative determination of the in situ water content requires careful sensor installation in order to reach a perfect probe clay rock coupling. PMID:27096865

Error Analysis of Clay-Rock Water Content Estimation with Broadband High-Frequency Electromagnetic Sensors--Air Gap Effect.

PubMed

Bore, Thierry; Wagner, Norman; Lesoille, Sylvie Delepine; Taillade, Frederic; Six, Gonzague; Daout, Franck; Placko, Dominique

2016-04-18

Broadband electromagnetic frequency or time domain sensor techniques present high potential for quantitative water content monitoring in porous media. Prior to in situ application, the impact of the relationship between the broadband electromagnetic properties of the porous material (clay-rock) and the water content on the frequency or time domain sensor response is required. For this purpose, dielectric properties of intact clay rock samples experimental determined in the frequency range from 1 MHz to 10 GHz were used as input data in 3-D numerical frequency domain finite element field calculations to model the one port broadband frequency or time domain transfer function for a three rods based sensor embedded in the clay-rock. The sensor response in terms of the reflection factor was analyzed in time domain with classical travel time analysis in combination with an empirical model according to Topp equation, as well as the theoretical Lichtenecker and Rother model (LRM) to estimate the volumetric water content. The mixture equation considering the appropriate porosity of the investigated material provide a practical and efficient approach for water content estimation based on classical travel time analysis with the onset-method. The inflection method is not recommended for water content estimation in electrical dispersive and absorptive material. Moreover, the results clearly indicate that effects due to coupling of the sensor to the material cannot be neglected. Coupling problems caused by an air gap lead to dramatic effects on water content estimation, even for submillimeter gaps. Thus, the quantitative determination of the in situ water content requires careful sensor installation in order to reach a perfect probe clay rock coupling.

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.

Measurement of hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils with thermocouple psychometers

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

Daniel, D.E.

1982-11-01

A method of measuring the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soil using the instantaneous profile method with psychometric probes to measure water potential is developed and described. Soil is compacted into cylindrical tubes, and the tubes are sealed and instrumented with thermocouple psychrometers. The soil is moistened or dried from one end of the tube. Psychrometers are read periodically. Hydraulic conductivity is computed from the psychrometer readings and the appropriate moisture characteristic curve for the soil and then plotted as a function of water potential, water content, or degree of saturation. Hydraulic conductivities of six soils were measured at water potentialsmore » as low as -80 bar. The measured hydraulic conductivities and moisture characteristic curves were used along with the known boundary flux in a computer program to calculate the final water content profiles. Computed and measured final water content profiles agreed tolerably well.« less

Determination of subsurface fluid contents at a crude-oil spill site

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hess, K.M.; Herkelrath, W.N.; Essaid, H.I.

1992-01-01

Measurement of the fluid-content distribution at sites contaminated by immiscible fluids, including crude oil, is needed to better understand the movement of these fluids in the subsurface and to provide data to calibrate and verify numerical models and geophysical methods. A laboratory method was used to quantify the fluid contents of 146 core sections retrieved from boreholes aligned along a 120-m longitudinal transect at a crude-oil spill site near Bemidji, Minnesota, U.S.A. The 47-mm-diameter, minimally disturbed cores spanned a 4-m vertical interval contaminated by oil. Cores were frozen on site in a dry ice-alcohol bath to prevent redistribution and loss of fluids while sectioning the cores. We gravimetrically determined oil and water contents using a two-step method: (1) samples were slurried and the oil was removed by absorption onto strips of hydrophobic porous polyethylene (PPE); and (2) the samples were oven-dried to remove the water. The resulting data show sharp vertical gradients in the water and oil contents and a clearly defined oil body. The subsurface distribution is complex and appears to be influenced by sediment heterogeneities and water-table fluctuations. The center of the oil body has depressed the water-saturated zone boundary, and the oil is migrating laterally within the capillary fringe. The oil contents are as high as 0.3 cm3 cm-3, which indicates that oil is probably still mobile 10 years after the spill occurred. The thickness of oil measured in wells suggests that accumulated thickness in wells is a poor indicator of the actual distribution of oil in the subsurface. Several possible sources of error are identified with the field and laboratory methods. An error analysis indicates that adsorption of water and sediment into the PPE adds as much as 4% to the measured oil masses and that uncertainties in the calculated sample volume and the assumed oil density introduce an additional ??3% error when the masses are converted to fluid contents.

Development and in house validation of a new thermogravimetric method for water content analysis in soft brown sugar.

PubMed

Ducat, Giseli; Felsner, Maria L; da Costa Neto, Pedro R; Quináia, Sueli P

2015-06-15

Recently the use of brown sugar has increased due to its nutritional characteristics, thus requiring a more rigid quality control. The development of a method for water content analysis in soft brown sugar is carried out for the first time by TG/DTA with application of different statistical tests. The results of the optimization study suggest that heating rates of 5°C min(-1) and an alumina sample holder improve the efficiency of the drying process. The validation study showed that thermo gravimetry presents good accuracy and precision for water content analysis in soft brown sugar samples. This technique offers advantages over other analytical methods as it does not use toxic and costly reagents or solvents, it does not need any sample preparation, and it allows the identification of the temperature at which water is completely eliminated in relation to other volatile degradation products. This is an important advantage over the official method (loss on drying). Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Measuring Plant Water Status: A Simple Method for Investigative Laboratories.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mansfield, Donald H.; Anderson, Jay E.

1980-01-01

Describes a method suitable for quantitative studies of plant water status conducted by high school or college students and the calculation of the relative water content (RWC) of a plant. Materials, methods, procedures, and results are discussed, with sample data figures provided. (CS)

Mapping variability of soil water content and flux across 1-1000 m scales using the Actively Heated Fiber Optic method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sayde, Chadi; Buelga, Javier Benitez; Rodriguez-Sinobas, Leonor; El Khoury, Laureine; English, Marshall; van de Giesen, Nick; Selker, John S.

2014-09-01

The Actively Heated Fiber Optic (AHFO) method is shown to be capable of measuring soil water content several times per hour at 0.25 m spacing along cables of multiple kilometers in length. AHFO is based on distributed temperature sensing (DTS) observation of the heating and cooling of a buried fiber-optic cable resulting from an electrical impulse of energy delivered from the steel cable jacket. The results presented were collected from 750 m of cable buried in three 240 m colocated transects at 30, 60, and 90 cm depths in an agricultural field under center pivot irrigation. The calibration curve relating soil water content to the thermal response of the soil to a heat pulse of 10 W m-1 for 1 min duration was developed in the lab. This calibration was found applicable to the 30 and 60 cm depth cables, while the 90 cm depth cable illustrated the challenges presented by soil heterogeneity for this technique. This method was used to map with high resolution the variability of soil water content and fluxes induced by the nonuniformity of water application at the surface.

A method to extract soil water for stable isotope analysis

USGS Publications Warehouse

Revesz, K.; Woods, P.H.

1990-01-01

A method has been developed to extract soil water for determination of deuterium (D) and 18O content. The principle of this method is based on the observation that water and toluene form an azeotropic mixture at 84.1??C, but are completely immiscible at ambient temperature. In a specially designed distillation apparatus, the soil water is distilled at 84.1??C with toluene and is separated quantitatively in the collecting funnel at ambient temperature. Traces of toluene are removed and the sample can be analyzed by mass spectrometry. Kerosene may be substituted for toluene. The accuracy of this technique is ?? 2 and ?? 0.2???, respectively, for ??D and ??18O. Reduced accuracy is obtained at low water contents. ?? 1990.

Depuration Study of Heavy Metal Lead (Pb) and Copper (Cu) in Green Mussels Perna viridis through Continues-discontinues and Acid Extraction Methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Budiawan; Bakri, Ridla; Cahaya Dani, Intan; Handayani, Sri; Ade Kurnia Putri, Rizki; Tamala, Riska

2018-01-01

Green mussel or Perna viridis is filter feeder, which is very susceptible to heavy metals. It takes an effort to release heavy metal contents on the green shell, one of method that can be used to release heavy metal from green shell is depuration proccess. In this research, the depuration process was conducted by continues method of depuration, discontinues method by using various kind of water and acid extraction. The optimum time of continues depuration method is 1.5 hours, with circulation speed 250 L/h and result of Pb metal content decreased is equal to 30.048% and 29.748% for Cu. In the discontinues method, the optimum result was reached at 100oC by using PAM water as the media at 3 h immersion period with decrease of Pb metal content 35.001% and Cu metal content 39.015%. In the acid extraction method, the optimum condition was achieved by 11% acetic acid solvent with decreasing of Pb and Cu levels are 88.224% and 76.298%. For the determination of protein content, the decrease of protein content obtained by treatment with 11% acetic acid extract showed decrease of protein content 36.656% with Kjeldahl method.

Local and profile soil water content monitoring: A comparison of methods in terms of apparent and actual spatial variation

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Although many soil water sensors are now available, questions about their accuracy, precision, and representativeness still abound. This study examined down-hole (access tube profiling type) and insertion or burial (local) type sensors for their ability to assess soil profile water content (depth of...

Aquifer Recharge Estimation In Unsaturated Porous Rock Using Darcian And Geophysical Methods.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nimmo, J. R.; De Carlo, L.; Masciale, R.; Turturro, A. C.; Perkins, K. S.; Caputo, M. C.

2016-12-01

Within the unsaturated zone a constant downward gravity-driven flux of water commonly exists at depths ranging from a few meters to tens of meters depending on climate, medium, and vegetation. In this case a steady-state application of Darcy's law can provide recharge rate estimates.We have applied an integrated approach that combines field geophysical measurements with laboratory hydraulic property measurements on core samples to produce accurate estimates of steady-state aquifer recharge, or, in cases where episodic recharge also occurs, the steady component of recharge. The method requires (1) measurement of the water content existing in the deep unsaturated zone at the location of a core sample retrieved for lab measurements, and (2) measurement of the core sample's unsaturated hydraulic conductivity over a range of water content that includes the value measured in situ. Both types of measurements must be done with high accuracy. Darcy's law applied with the measured unsaturated hydraulic conductivity and gravitational driving force provides recharge estimates.Aquifer recharge was estimated using Darcian and geophysical methods at a deep porous rock (calcarenite) experimental site in Canosa, southern Italy. Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) and Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) profiles were collected from the land surface to water table to provide data for Darcian recharge estimation. Volumetric water content was estimated from resistivity profiles using a laboratory-derived calibration function based on Archie's law for rock samples from the experimental site, where electrical conductivity of the rock was related to the porosity and water saturation. Multiple-depth core samples were evaluated using the Quasi-Steady Centrifuge (QSC) method to obtain hydraulic conductivity (K), matric potential (ψ), and water content (θ) estimates within this profile. Laboratory-determined unsaturated hydraulic conductivity ranged from 3.90 x 10-9 to 1.02 x 10-5 m/s over a volumetric water content range from 0.1938 to 0.4311 m3/m3. Using these measured properties, the water content estimated from geophysical measurements has been used to identify the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity indicative of the steady component of the aquifer recharge rate at Canosa.

Terahertz Measurement of the Water Content Distribution in Wood Materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bensalem, M.; Sommier, A.; Mindeguia, J. C.; Batsale, J. C.; Pradere, C.

2018-02-01

Recently, THz waves have been shown to be an effective technique for investigating the water diffusion within porous media, such as biomaterial or insulation materials. This applicability is due to the sufficient resolution for such applications and the safe levels of radiation. This study aims to achieve contactless absolute water content measurements at a steady state case in semi-transparent solids (wood) using a transmittance THz wave range setup. First, a calibration method is developed to validate an analytical model based on the Beer-Lambert law, linking the absorption coefficient, the density of the solid, and its water content. Then, an estimation of the water content on a local scale in a transient-state case (drying) is performed. This study shows that THz waves are an effective contactless, safe, and low-cost technique for the measurement of water content in a porous medium, such as wood.

Experimental study of the complex resistivity and dielectric constant of chrome-contaminated soil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Haorui; Yang, Heli; Yi, Fengyan

2016-08-01

Heavy metals such as arsenic and chromium often contaminate soils near industrialized areas. Soil samples, made with different water content and chromate pollutant concentrations, are often needed to test soil quality. Because complex resistivity and complex dielectric characteristics of these samples need to be measured, the relationship between these measurement results and chromium concentration as well as water content was studied. Based on soil sample observations, the amplitude of the sample complex resistivity decreased with an increase of contamination concentration and water content. The phase of complex resistivity takes on a tendency of initially decrease, and then increase with the increasing of contamination concentration and water content. For a soil sample with the same resistivity, the higher the amplitude of complex resistivity, the lower the water content and the higher the contamination concentration. The real and imaginary parts of the complex dielectric constant increase with an increase in contamination concentration and water content. Note that resistivity and complex resistivity methods are necessary to adequately evaluate pollution at various sites.

Gas occurrence property in shales of Tuha basin northwest china

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Jinlong; Huang, Zhilong

2017-04-01

Pore of rock under formation condition must be fulfilled by gas, oil, or water, so the volume of water and gas is equation to porous volume in shale gas. The occurrences states of gas are free gas, solution gas, and absorbed gas. Field analysis is used to obtain total gas content by improved lost gas recover method. Free gas content acquired by pore proportion of gas, which use measured pore volume minus water and oil saturation, convert gas content of standard condition by state equation. Water saturation obtain from core water content, oil saturation obtain from extract carbohydrate. Solution gas need gas solubility in oil and water to calculate solution gas content in standard condition. Absorbed gas, introduce Absorbed Gas Saturation ɛ, which acquire from isothermal adsorption volume vs field analysis gas content in many basins of published paper, need isothermal adsorption and Absorbed Gas Saturation to obtain absorbed gas content. All of the data build connect with logging value by regression equation. The gas content is 0.92-1.53 m3/t from field analysis, evaluate gas content is 1.33 m3/t average, free gas proportion is about 47%, absorbed gas counter for 49%, and solution gas is average 4%.

Briquettes of rice husk, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and dried leaves as implementation of wastes recycling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hariyanto, Sucipto; Usman, Mohammad Nurdianfajar; Citrasari, Nita

2017-06-01

This research aim is to determine the best briquettes as implementation of wastes recycle based on scoring method, main component composition, compressive strength, caloric value, water content, vollatile content, and ash content, also the suitability with SNI 01-6235-2000. Main component that used are rice husk, 2mm and 6 mm PET, and dried leaves. Composition variation in this research are marked as K1, K2, K3, K4, and K5 with 2 mm PET plastic and K1, K2, K3, K4, and K5 with 6 mm PET plastic. The total weight of the briquettes is 100 g and divided into 90% main components and 10% tapioca as binder. The compressive strength, caloric value, water content, vollatile content, and ash content were tested according to ASTM D 5865-04, ASTM D 3173-03, ASTM D 3175-02, ASTM D 3174-02. The tested results were used to determine the best briquette by scoring method, and the chosen briquettes is K2 with 6 mm PET plastic. The composition is 70% rice husk, 20% 6 mm PET plastic, and 10% dried leaves with the compressive strength, caloric value, water content, vollatile content, and ash content value is 51,55 kg/cm2; 5123 kal/g; 3,049%; 31,823%, dan 12,869%. The suitable value that meet the criteria according to SNI 01-6235-2000 is compressive strength, caloric value, water content, and ash content.

Fluoride content of tank water in Australia.

PubMed

Cochrane, N J; Hopcraft, M S; Tong, A C; Thean, H l; Thum, Y S; Tong, D E; Wen, J; Zhao, S C; Stanton, D P; Yuan, Y; Shen, P; Reynolds, E C

2014-06-01

The aims of this study were to: (1) analyse the fluoride content of tank water; (2) determine whether the method of water collection or storage influenced fluoride content; and (3) survey participant attitudes towards water fluoridation. Plastic tubes and a questionnaire were distributed through dentists to households with water tanks in Victoria. A midstream tank water sample was collected and fluoride analysed in triplicate using ion chromatography All samples (n = 123) contained negligible amounts of fluoride, with a mean fluoride concentration of <0.01 ppm (range: <0.01-0.18 ppm). No statistically significant association was found between fluoride content and variables investigated such as tank material, tank age, roof material and gutter material. Most people did not know whether their tank water contained fluoride and 40.8% preferred to have access to fluoridated water. The majority thought fluoride was safe and more than half of the respondents supported fluoridation. Fluoride content of tank water was well below the optimal levels for caries prevention. People who rely solely on tank water for drinking may require additional exposure to fluoride for optimal caries prevention. © 2014 Australian Dental Association.

Postnatal changes in skin water content in preterm infants.

PubMed

Ishiguro, Akio; Fujinuma, Sumie; Motojima, Yukiko; Oka, Shuntaro; Komaki, Takeshi; Saito, Aya; Kawasaki, Hidenori; Araki, Shunsuke; Kanai, Masayo; Sobajima, Hisanori; Tamura, Masanori

2015-09-01

Preterm infants have immature skin, which contributes to skin problems. Very little is known about postnatal changes in the skin, despite the clinical importance of this issue. To assess temporal changes in skin water content in preterm infants. A prospective observational study. Infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit were included in this study. Skin water content was measured at five different skin regions using dielectric methods at a depth of 1.5mm. Skin water content was measured on postnatal day 1 in 101 infants, and the correlation between skin water content and gestational week was analyzed. Measurements were also made on postnatal days 2, 3, and 7, and every 7days thereafter until the corrected age of 37weeks in 87 of the 101 infants. Temporal changes were statistically analyzed after dividing participants into seven groups by gestational age. On postnatal day 1, skin water content correlated inversely with gestational age at all skin regions. Skin water content decreased significantly over time, converging to the level of term infants by the corrected age of 32-35weeks. Skin water content at a depth of 1.5mm was related to corrected age and reached the level of term infants by the corrected age of approximately 32-35weeks. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Exfiltrometer apparatus and method for measuring unsaturated hydrologic properties in soil

DOEpatents

Hubbell, Joel M.; Sisson, James B.; Schafer, Annette L.

2006-01-17

Exfiltrometer apparatus includes a container for holding soil. A sample container for holding sample soil is positionable with respect to the container so that the sample soil contained in the sample container is in communication with soil contained in the container. A first tensiometer operatively associated with the sample container senses a surface water potential at about a surface of the sample soil contained in the sample container. A second tensiometer operatively associated with the sample container senses a first subsurface water potential below the surface of the sample soil. A water content sensor operatively associated with the sample container senses a water content in the sample soil. A water supply supplies water to the sample soil. A data logger operatively connected to the first and second tensiometers, and to the water content sensor receives and processes data provided by the first and second tensiometers and by the water content sensor.

A high-throughput headspace gas chromatographic technique for the determination of nitrite content in water samples.

PubMed

Zhang, Shu-Xin; Peng, Rong; Jiang, Ran; Chai, Xin-Sheng; Barnes, Donald G

2018-02-23

This paper reports on a high-throughput headspace gas chromatographic method (HS-GC) for the determination of nitrite content in water sample, based on GC measurement of cyclohexene produced from the reaction between nitrite and cyclamate in a closed vial. The method has a relative standard deviation of <3.5%; The differences between the results of the nitrite measurements obtained by this method and those of a reference method were less than 5.8% and the recoveries of the method were in the range of 94.8-102% (for a spiked nitrite content range from 0.002 to 0.03 mg/L). The limit of detection of the method was 0.46 μg L -1 . Due to an overlapping mode in the headspace auto-sampler system, the method can provide an automated and high-throughput nitrite analysis for the surface water samples. In short, the present HS-GC method is simple, accurate, and sensitive, and it is very suitable to be used in the batch sample testing. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Determining water content of fresh concrete by microwave reflection or transmission measurement.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1987-01-01

In search of a rapid and accurate method for determining the water content of fresh concrete mixes, the microwave reflection and transmission properties of fresh concrete mixes were studied to determine the extent of correlation between each of these...

Developing an A Priori Database for Passive Microwave Snow Water Retrievals Over Ocean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, Mengtao; Liu, Guosheng

2017-12-01

A physically optimized a priori database is developed for Global Precipitation Measurement Microwave Imager (GMI) snow water retrievals over ocean. The initial snow water content profiles are derived from CloudSat Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR) measurements. A radiative transfer model in which the single-scattering properties of nonspherical snowflakes are based on the discrete dipole approximate results is employed to simulate brightness temperatures and their gradients. Snow water content profiles are then optimized through a one-dimensional variational (1D-Var) method. The standard deviations of the difference between observed and simulated brightness temperatures are in a similar magnitude to the observation errors defined for observation error covariance matrix after the 1D-Var optimization, indicating that this variational method is successful. This optimized database is applied in a Bayesian retrieval snow water algorithm. The retrieval results indicated that the 1D-Var approach has a positive impact on the GMI retrieved snow water content profiles by improving the physical consistency between snow water content profiles and observed brightness temperatures. Global distribution of snow water contents retrieved from the a priori database is compared with CloudSat CPR estimates. Results showed that the two estimates have a similar pattern of global distribution, and the difference of their global means is small. In addition, we investigate the impact of using physical parameters to subset the database on snow water retrievals. It is shown that using total precipitable water to subset the database with 1D-Var optimization is beneficial for snow water retrievals.

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 New Method for Sensing Soil Water Content in Green Roofs Using Plant Microbial Fuel Cells

PubMed Central

Tapia, Natalia F.; Rojas, Claudia; Bonilla, Carlos A.

2017-01-01

Green roofs have many benefits, but in countries with semiarid climates the amount of water needed for irrigation is a limiting factor for their maintenance. The use of drought-tolerant plants such as Sedum species, reduces the water requirements in the dry season, but, even so, in semiarid environments these can reach up to 60 L m−2 per day. Continuous substrate/soil water content monitoring would facilitate the efficient use of this critical resource. In this context, the use of plant microbial fuel cells (PMFCs) emerges as a suitable and more sustainable alternative for monitoring water content in green roofs in semiarid climates. In this study, bench and pilot-scale experiments using seven Sedum species showed a positive relationship between current generation and water content in the substrate. PMFC reactors with higher water content (around 27% vs. 17.5% v/v) showed larger power density (114.6 and 82.3 μW m−2 vs. 32.5 μW m−2). Moreover, a correlation coefficient of 0.95 (±0.01) between current density and water content was observed. The results of this research represent the first effort of using PMFCs as low-cost water content biosensors for green roofs. PMID:29283378

A New Method for Sensing Soil Water Content in Green Roofs Using Plant Microbial Fuel Cells.

PubMed

Tapia, Natalia F; Rojas, Claudia; Bonilla, Carlos A; Vargas, Ignacio T

2017-12-28

Green roofs have many benefits, but in countries with semiarid climates the amount of water needed for irrigation is a limiting factor for their maintenance. The use of drought-tolerant plants such as Sedum species, reduces the water requirements in the dry season, but, even so, in semiarid environments these can reach up to 60 L m -2 per day. Continuous substrate/soil water content monitoring would facilitate the efficient use of this critical resource. In this context, the use of plant microbial fuel cells (PMFCs) emerges as a suitable and more sustainable alternative for monitoring water content in green roofs in semiarid climates. In this study, bench and pilot-scale experiments using seven Sedum species showed a positive relationship between current generation and water content in the substrate. PMFC reactors with higher water content (around 27% vs. 17.5% v / v ) showed larger power density (114.6 and 82.3 μW m -2 vs. 32.5 μW m -2 ). Moreover, a correlation coefficient of 0.95 (±0.01) between current density and water content was observed. The results of this research represent the first effort of using PMFCs as low-cost water content biosensors for green roofs.

Simplified, rapid, and inexpensive estimation of water primary productivity based on chlorophyll fluorescence parameter Fo.

PubMed

Chen, Hui; Zhou, Wei; Chen, Weixian; Xie, Wei; Jiang, Liping; Liang, Qinlang; Huang, Mingjun; Wu, Zongwen; Wang, Qiang

2017-04-01

Primary productivity in water environment relies on the photosynthetic production of microalgae. Chlorophyll fluorescence is widely used to detect the growth status and photosynthetic efficiency of microalgae. In this study, a method was established to determine the Chl a content, cell density of microalgae, and water primary productivity by measuring chlorophyll fluorescence parameter Fo. A significant linear relationship between chlorophyll fluorescence parameter Fo and Chl a content of microalgae, as well as between Fo and cell density, was observed under pure-culture conditions. Furthermore, water samples collected from natural aquaculture ponds were used to validate the correlation between Fo and water primary productivity, which is closely related to Chl a content in water. Thus, for a given pure culture of microalgae or phytoplankton (mainly microalgae) in aquaculture ponds or other natural ponds for which the relationship between the Fo value and Chl a content or cell density could be established, Chl a content or cell density could be determined by measuring the Fo value, thereby making it possible to calculate the water primary productivity. It is believed that this method can provide a convenient way of efficiently estimating the primary productivity in natural aquaculture ponds and bringing economic value in limnetic ecology assessment, as well as in algal bloom monitoring. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of tensile properties and water absortion of cassava starch film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walster, R. Justin; Rozyanty, A. R.; Kahar, A. W. M.; Musa, L.; Shahnaz, S. B. S.

2017-09-01

Casava Starch film was prepared by casting method with different percentage of glycerol (0%, 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, 2.0% and 2.5%) as plasticizer. The effect of glycerol content in starch film on mechanical and water absorption properties was studied. Results shows that the increase of glycerol content in cassava starch film had decrease the tensile strength, tensile modulus and increase the elongation of break properties. The result of water absorbency tended to increase for starch film with higher percentage of glycerol content. The incorporation of glycerol in cassava starch film had increase the water absorption ability due to increase of hydroxyl content contributed by glycerol.

The Effects of Iron Oxidation State on Clay Swelling,

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-03-07

swelling, montmorillonite , nontronite, smectite, water, DLVO theory, surface charge, dissolution, methods, aluminum, silicon, inert atmosphere. 2G...that many physical properties of bulk water are changed when it is adsorbed between layers of Na4- montmorillonite (e.g., Oster and Low, 1964; Kolaian...Na+- montmorillonite accounted for about 13% of the total water content in the free-swelling state. We can therefore express the total water content

Improvement of seawater salt quality by hydro-extraction and re-crystallization methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sumada, K.; Dewati, R.; Suprihatin

2018-01-01

Indonesia is one of the salt producing countries that use sea water as a source of raw materials, the quality of salt produced is influenced by the quality of sea water. The resulting average salt quality contains 85-90% NaCl. The Indonesian National Standard (SNI) for human salt’s consumption sodium chloride content is 94.7 % (dry base) and for industrial salt 98,5 %. In this study developed the re-crystallization without chemical and hydro-extraction method. The objective of this research to choose the best methods based on efficiency. The results showed that re-crystallization method can produce salt with NaCl content 99,21%, while hydro-extraction method content 99,34 % NaCl. The salt produced through both methods can be used as a consumption and industrial salt, Hydro-extraction method is more efficient than re-crystallization method because re-crystallization method requires heat energy.

[Analysis of spectral features based on water content of desert vegetation].

PubMed

Zhao, Zhao; Li, Xia; Yin, Ye-biao; Tang, Jin; Zhou, Sheng-bin

2010-09-01

By using HR-768 field-portable spectroradiometer made by the Spectra Vista Corporation (SVC) of America, the hyper-spectral data of nine types of desert plants were measured, and the water content of corresponding vegetation was determined by roasting in lab. The continuum of measured hyperspectral data was removed by using ENVI, and the relationship between the water content of vegetation and the reflectance spectrum was analyzed by using correlation coefficient method. The result shows that the correlation between the bands from 978 to 1030 nm and water content of vegetation is weak while it is better for the bands from 1133 to 1266 nm. The bands from 1374 to 1534 nm are the characteristic bands because of the correlation between them and water content is the best. By using cluster analysis and according to the water content, the vegetation could be marked off into three grades: high (>70%), medium (50%-70%) and low (<50%). The research reveals the relationship between water content of desert vegetation and hyperspectral data, and provides basis for the analysis of area in desert and the monitoring of desert vegetation by using remote sensing data.

Standard test method for water in lint cotton by oven evaporation combined with volumetric Karl Fischer Titration

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The referenced test method for total water content and water regain in lint cotton was developed by USDA scientists in New Orleans at the request of the cotton industry. The method covers the determination of the total water (free and bound) in raw and lint cotton at moisture equilibrium from con...

A Comparative Study of Some Properties of Cassava and Tree Cassava Starch Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belibi, P. C.; Daou, T. J.; Ndjaka, J. M. B.; Nsom, B.; Michelin, L.; Durand, B.

Cassava and tree cassava starch films plasticized with glycerol were produced by casting method. Different glycerol contents (30, 35, 40 and 45 wt. % on starch dry basis) were used and the resulting films were fully characterized. Their water barrier and mechanical properties were compared. While increasing glycerol concentration, moisture content, water solubility, water vapour permeability, tensile strength, percent elongation at break and Young's modulus decreased for both cassava and tree cassava films. Tree cassava films presented better values of water vapour permeability, water solubility and percent elongation at break compared to those of cassava films, regardless of the glycerol content.

Time-lapse monitoring of soil water content using electromagnetic conductivity imaging

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The volumetric soil water content (VWC) is fundamental to agriculture. Unfortunately, the universally accepted thermogravimetric method is labour intensive and time-consuming to use for field-scale monitoring. Electromagnetic (EM) induction instruments have proven to be useful in mapping the spatio-...

Influence of water content on the inactivation of P. digitatum spores using an air-water plasma jet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Youyi, HU; Weidong, ZHU; Kun, LIU; Leng, HAN; Zhenfeng, ZHENG; Huimin, HU

2018-04-01

In order to investigate whether an air-water plasma jet is beneficial to improve the efficiency of inactivation, a series of experiments were done using a ring-needle plasma jet. The water content in the working gas (air) was accurately measured based on the Karl Fischer method. The effects of water on the production of OH (A2Σ+-X2Πi) and O (3p5P-3s5S) were also studied by optical emission spectroscopy. The results show that the water content is in the range of 2.53-9.58 mg l-1, depending on the gas/water mixture ratio. The production of OH (A2Σ+-X2Πi) rises with the increase of water content, whereas the O (3p5P-3s5S) shows a declining tendency with higher water content. The sterilization experiments indicate that this air-water plasma jet inactivates the P. digitatum spores very effectively and its efficiency rises with the increase of the water content. It is possible that OH (A2Σ+-X2Πi) is a more effective species in inactivation than O (3p5P-3s5S) and the water content benefit the spore germination inhibition through rising the OH (A2Σ+-X2Πi) production. The maximum of the inactivation efficacy is up to 93% when the applied voltage is -6.75 kV and the water content is 9.58 mg l-1.

Pore-water extraction from unsaturated tuff by triaxial and one-dimensional compression methods, Nevada Test Site, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mower, Timothy E.; Higgins, Jerry D.; Yang, In C.; Peters, Charles A.

1994-01-01

Study of the hydrologic system at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, requires the extraction of pore-water samples from welded and nonwelded, unsaturated tuffs. Two compression methods (triaxial compression and one-dimensional compression) were examined to develop a repeatable extraction technique and to investigate the effects of the extraction method on the original pore-fluid composition. A commercially available triaxial cell was modified to collect pore water expelled from tuff cores. The triaxial cell applied a maximum axial stress of 193 MPa and a maximum confining stress of 68 MPa. Results obtained from triaxial compression testing indicated that pore-water samples could be obtained from nonwelded tuff cores that had initial moisture contents as small as 13 percent (by weight of dry soil). Injection of nitrogen gas while the test core was held at the maximum axial stress caused expulsion of additional pore water and reduced the required initial moisture content from 13 to 11 percent. Experimental calculations, together with experience gained from testing moderately welded tuff cores, indicated that the triaxial cell used in this study could not apply adequate axial or confining stress to expel pore water from cores of densely welded tuffs. This concern led to the design, fabrication, and testing of a one-dimensional compression cell. The one-dimensional compression cell used in this study was constructed from hardened 4340-alloy and nickel-alloy steels and could apply a maximum axial stress of 552 MPa. The major components of the device include a corpus ring and sample sleeve to confine the sample, a piston and base platen to apply axial load, and drainage plates to transmit expelled water from the test core out of the cell. One-dimensional compression extracted pore water from nonwelded tuff cores that had initial moisture contents as small as 7.6 percent; pore water was expelled from densely welded tuff cores that had initial moisture contents as small as 7.7 percent. Injection of nitrogen gas at the maximum axial stress did not produce additional pore water from nonwelded tuff cores, but was critical to recovery of pore water from densely welded tuff cores. Gas injection reduced the required initial moisture content in welded tuff cores from 7.7 to 6.5 percent. Based on the mechanical ability of a pore-water extraction method to remove water from welded and nonwelded tuff cores, one-dimensional compression is a more effective extraction method than triaxial compression. However, because the effects that one-dimensional compression has on pore-water chemistry are not completely understood, additional testing will be needed to verify that this method is suitable for pore-water extraction from Yucca Mountain tuffs.

Investigation of iodine concentration in salt, water and soil along the coast of Zhejiang, China*

PubMed Central

Lu, Ying-li; Wang, Ning-jian; Zhu, Lan; Wang, Guo-xing; Wu, Hui; Kuang, Lin; Zhu, Wen-ming

2005-01-01

Objective: We aim to describe the environment iodine concentration in salt, water and soil along Zhejiang Province coast in the China foreland. It will be helpful for us to judge whether this area is insufficient in iodine and universal iodized salt is necessary or not. Methods: We collected iodized salt samples, drinking water samples (tap water in the towns, and well water or spring water in the villages), water samples from different sources (ditches, lakes, rivers) and soil samples through random sampling in June, 2005. Salt, water and soil iodine was detected by arsenic-cerium redox method. Statistical analysis was expressed as mean±SEM by Windows SPSS 13.0. Results: (1) The iodine concentration in salt was 27.9±4.33 mg/kg (n=108). (2) Seventy-five water samples were collected. The water iodine value was 0.6~84.8 μg/L (mean of 11.66 μg/L). The watershed along the Qiantang River has significantly higher iodine content than the water in Lin’an in mountain area (P<0.01). The iodine content and mean iodine content of tap water, well or spring water and natural water sources were 4.30±2.43 μg/L (n=34), 23.59±27.74 μg/L (n=19) and 12.72±10.72 μg/L (n=22) respectively. This indicated that among environmental water sources, the ditch iodine content was the highest with river water iodine being the lowest (P<0.01). (3) Soil iodine value was 0.11~2.93 mg/kg (mean of 1.32 mg/kg). Though there was no statistical difference of soil iodine in different districts (P=0.131), soil iodine content correlated positively with water iodine content. Conclusion: Iodine concentration in salt accords with national policy of adding iodine in salt. Foreland has more iodine in water than mountain area. The data reflected that water and soil iodine in foreland area was not high, which suggests universal iodized salt should be necessary. Environment iodine has relatively close association with pollution. PMID:16358379

Water content determination of superdisintegrants by means of ATR-FTIR spectroscopy.

PubMed

Szakonyi, G; Zelkó, R

2012-04-07

Water contents of superdisintegrant pharmaceutical excipients were determined by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy using simple linear regression. Water contents of the investigated three common superdisintegrants (crospovidone, croscarmellose sodium, sodium starch glycolate) varied over a wide range (0-24%, w/w). In the case of crospovidone three different samples from two manufacturers were examined in order to study the effects of different grades on the calibration curves. Water content determinations were based on strong absorption of water between 3700 and 2800 cm⁻¹, other spectral changes associated with the different compaction of samples on the ATR crystal using the same pressure were followed by the infrared region between 1510 and 1050 cm⁻¹. The calibration curves were constructed using the ratio of absorbance intensities in the two investigated regions. Using appropriate baseline correction the linearity of the calibration curves was maintained over the entire investigated water content regions and the effect of particle size on the calibration was not significant in the case of crospovidones from the same manufacturer. The described method enables the water content determination of powdered hygroscopic materials containing homogeneously distributed water. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Investigating the Effect of Compaction Characteristics on the Erodibility of Cohesive Soils Using the JET Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asghari Tabrizi, A.; LaRocque, L. A.; Chaudhry, M.; Imran, J.

2013-12-01

Several flood disasters occur every year all over the world, mostly due to levee and dam failure which result in human fatalities as well as devastating economic damages. To model and predict earthen embankment failures for the preparation of emergency action plans and risk assessments, the soil erodibility by flowing water is an essential parameter. The determination of erodibility becomes even more complicated for cohesive soils because of the large number of parameters controlling their erosion behavior (e.g. clay content, plasticity, compaction effort, compaction water content) and the difficulty of estimating these parameters. In this study the effect of the compaction energy and compaction water content on the erodibility of a sandy loam soil was assessed. Soil samples were prepared in a standard diameter compaction mold, 101.6 mm, for three levels of compaction effort and water content (i.e. low, medium, and high) with two replications for each case (18 tests total) and examined using the jet erosion test (JET). Observations from qualitative and statistical analyses of the data are: 1) a wide range of erodibility, from very erodible to very resistant, was produced by changes in the compaction characteristics; 2) for a given compaction energy, the erosion resistance based on the detachment rate coefficient kd tends to become minimum near the optimum compaction water content. On the dry side of optimum compaction water content, kd decreases with steep gradients by increasing the water content, while it increases with a flatter gradient on the wet side; 3) At a given water content, the soil erosion resistance increases with compaction efforts; 4) compaction water content influences soil erosibility more than compaction energy, especially on the dry side of the optimum compaction water content; and 5) for a given compaction effort, the critical shear stress increases with water content up to an optimum water content and then it decreases which is in consistent with the kd trends.

Simple, fast, and low-cost camera-based water content measurement with colorimetric fluorescent indicator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Seok-Jeong; Kim, Tae-Il; Kim, Youngmi; Nam, Hyoungsik

2018-05-01

Recently, a simple, sensitive, and low-cost fluorescent indicator has been proposed to determine water contents in organic solvents, drugs, and foodstuffs. The change of water content leads to the change of the indicator's fluorescence color under the ultra-violet (UV) light. Whereas the water content values could be estimated from the spectrum obtained by a bulky and expensive spectrometer in the previous research, this paper demonstrates a simple and low-cost camera-based water content measurement scheme with the same fluorescent water indicator. Water content is calculated over the range of 0-30% by quadratic polynomial regression models with color information extracted from the captured images of samples. Especially, several color spaces such as RGB, xyY, L∗a∗b∗, u‧v‧, HSV, and YCBCR have been investigated to establish the optimal color information features over both linear and nonlinear RGB data given by a camera before and after gamma correction. In the end, a 2nd order polynomial regression model along with HSV in a linear domain achieves the minimum mean square error of 1.06% for a 3-fold cross validation method. Additionally, the resultant water content estimation model is implemented and evaluated in an off-the-shelf Android-based smartphone.

NMR study on mechanisms of ionic polymer-metal composites deformation with water content

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Zicai; Chen, Hualing; Wang, Yongquan; Luo, Bin; Chang, Longfei; Li, Bo; Chen, Luping

2011-10-01

Ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMCs) exhibit a large dynamic bending deformation under exterior electric field. The states and proportions of water within the IPMCs have great effect on the IPMCs deformation properties. This letter investigates the influence of the proportion changes of different types of water on the deformation, which may disclose the working mechanisms of the IPMCs. We give a deformation trend of IPMCs with the reduction of water content firstly. Then by the method of nuclear magnetic resonance, various water types (water bonded to sulfonates, loosely bound water and free water) of IPMCs and their proportions are investigated in the drying process which corresponds to their different deformation states. It is obtained that the deformation properties of IPMCs depend strongly on their water content and the excess free water is responsible for the relaxation deformation.

Wash or wipe? A comparative study of skin physiological changes between water washing and wiping after skin cleaning.

PubMed

Ogai, K; Matsumoto, M; Aoki, M; Ota, R; Hashimoto, K; Wada, R; Kobayashi, M; Sugama, J

2017-11-01

Presently, skin-cleaning agents that claim to be removed by water or wiping alone are commercially available and have been used for the purpose of bed baths. However, there is a lack of knowledge on how water washing and wiping differently affect skin physiological functions or ceramide content. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of water washing and wiping on skin physiological functions and ceramide content. Three kinds of the cleaning agents with different removal techniques (ie, water washing and wiping) were used in this study. Skin physiological functions (ie, transepidermal water loss, skin hydration, and skin pH) and skin ceramide content were measured before and after seven consecutive days of the application of each cleaning agent. No significant differences in skin physiological functions or ceramide content were observed between water washing and wiping. Cleaning agents that claim to be removed by water washing or wiping do not affect skin physiological functions or ceramide content by either removal method. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Studies and Application of Remote Sensing Retrieval Method of Soil Moisture Content in Land Parcel Units in Irrigation Area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, H.; Zhao, H. L.; Jiang, Y. Z.; Zang, W. B.

2018-05-01

Soil moisture is one of the important hydrological elements. Obtaining soil moisture accurately and effectively is of great significance for water resource management in irrigation area. During the process of soil moisture content retrieval with multiremote sensing data, multi- remote sensing data always brings multi-spatial scale problems which results in inconformity of soil moisture content retrieved by remote sensing in different spatial scale. In addition, agricultural water use management has suitable spatial scale of soil moisture information so as to satisfy the demands of dynamic management of water use and water demand in certain unit. We have proposed to use land parcel unit as the minimum unit to do soil moisture content research in agricultural water using area, according to soil characteristics, vegetation coverage characteristics in underlying layer, and hydrological characteristic into the basis of study unit division. We have proposed division method of land parcel units. Based on multi thermal infrared and near infrared remote sensing data, we calculate the ndvi and tvdi index and make a statistical model between the tvdi index and soil moisture of ground monitoring station. Then we move forward to study soil moisture remote sensing retrieval method on land parcel unit scale. And the method has been applied in Hetao irrigation area. Results show that compared with pixel scale the soil moisture content in land parcel unit scale has displayed stronger correlation with true value. Hence, remote sensing retrieval method of soil moisture content in land parcel unit scale has shown good applicability in Hetao irrigation area. We converted the research unit into the scale of land parcel unit. Using the land parcel units with unified crops and soil attributes as the research units more complies with the characteristics of agricultural water areas, avoids the problems such as decomposition of mixed pixels and excessive dependence on high-resolution data caused by the research units of pixels, and doesn't involve compromises in the spatial scale and simulating precision like the grid simulation. When the application needs are met, the production efficiency of products can also be improved at a certain degree.

[Distribution of virtual water of crops in Beijing].

PubMed

Wang, Hong-Rui; Dong, Yan-Yan; Wang, Jun-Hong; Wang, Yan; Han, Zhao-Xing

2007-11-01

Virtual water content of grains and vegetables in Beijing's districts is calculated and analyzed for many years by irrigating water quota method, which is compared with the distribution and exploitation of groundwater in Beijing. The results indicate the virtual water content of grains shows a downward trend in all the districts, but the grain production in Yanqing district brings great pressure to the local groundwater. Secondly, the virtual water content of vegetables shows an upward trend in Shunyi District, Daxing district and Pinggu District and is accounting for more and more gradually. Thirdly, the total virtual water volume of grains is decreasing, and the total virtual water volume of vegetables is increasing and the total virtual water volume of crops in Beijing is reducing in recent years, which corresponds with the structural adjustment of policies.

Reducing Exposure to High Fluoride Drinking Water in Estonia—A Countrywide Study

PubMed Central

Indermitte, Ene; Saava, Astrid; Karro, Enn

2014-01-01

Fluoride is a naturally occurring contaminant in groundwater in Estonia. There are several regions in Estonia with fluoride contents in public water supplies as high as 7 mg/L. Long-term exposure to high-fluoride drinking water may have several adverse health effects, primarily dental fluorosis. The opportunities for exposure reduction rely highly on water treatment technologies. Since 2004 public water suppliers in Estonia have made efforts to diminish fluoride content in drinking water systems. A follow-up study on a country level was carried out in 2004–2012 to analyze the changes in population exposure to excessive (over 1.5 mg/L) fluoride in drinking water and to get information about the reduction methods applied by public water supplies (PWS) to optimize the fluoride levels in public water system. The results showed that bigger PWS have been more effective in fluoride reduction measures than small PWS. The main methods used to lower the fluoride content were reverse osmosis technology and replacement of water sources with new ones (new drilled wells). As a result of all the measures taken the overall high-fluoride exposure has been reduced substantially (82%). PMID:24637908

Reducing exposure to high fluoride drinking water in Estonia-a countrywide study.

PubMed

Indermitte, Ene; Saava, Astrid; Karro, Enn

2014-03-14

Fluoride is a naturally occurring contaminant in groundwater in Estonia. There are several regions in Estonia with fluoride contents in public water supplies as high as 7 mg/L. Long-term exposure to high-fluoride drinking water may have several adverse health effects, primarily dental fluorosis. The opportunities for exposure reduction rely highly on water treatment technologies. Since 2004 public water suppliers in Estonia have made efforts to diminish fluoride content in drinking water systems. A follow-up study on a country level was carried out in 2004-2012 to analyze the changes in population exposure to excessive (over 1.5 mg/L) fluoride in drinking water and to get information about the reduction methods applied by public water supplies (PWS) to optimize the fluoride levels in public water system. The results showed that bigger PWS have been more effective in fluoride reduction measures than small PWS. The main methods used to lower the fluoride content were reverse osmosis technology and replacement of water sources with new ones (new drilled wells). As a result of all the measures taken the overall high-fluoride exposure has been reduced substantially (82%).

Microwave-Assisted Drying for the Conservation of Honeybee Pollen.

PubMed

Canale, Angelo; Benelli, Giovanni; Castagna, Antonella; Sgherri, Cristina; Poli, Piera; Serra, Andrea; Mele, Marcello; Ranieri, Annamaria; Signorini, Francesca; Bientinesi, Matteo; Nicolella, Cristiano

2016-05-12

Bee pollen is becoming an important product thanks to its nutritional properties, including a high content of bioactive compounds such as essential amino acids, antioxidants, and vitamins. Fresh bee pollen has a high water content (15%-30% wt %), thus it is a good substrate for microorganisms. Traditional conservation methods include drying in a hot air chamber and/or freezing. These techniques may significantly affect the pollen organoleptic properties and its content of bioactive compounds. Here, a new conservation method, microwave drying, is introduced and investigated. The method implies irradiating the fresh pollen with microwaves under vacuum, in order to reduce the water content without reaching temperatures capable of thermally deteriorating important bioactive compounds. The method was evaluated by taking into account the nutritional properties after the treatment. The analyzed parameters were phenols, flavonoids, with special reference to rutin content, and amino acids. Results showed that microwave drying offers important advantages for the conservation of bee pollen. Irrespective of microwave power and treatment time, phenol and flavonoid content did not vary over untreated fresh pollen. Similarly, rutin content was unaffected by the microwave drying, suggesting that the microwave-assisted drying could be a powerful technology to preserve bioprotective compounds in fresh pollen.

Use of the Priestley-Taylor evaporation equation for soil water limited conditions in a small forest clearcut

USGS Publications Warehouse

Flint, A.L.; Childs, S.W.

1991-01-01

The Priestley-Taylor equation, a simplification of the Penman equation, was used to allow calculations of evapotranspiration under conditions where soil water supply limits evapotranspiration. The Priestley-Taylor coefficient, ??, was calculated to incorporate an exponential decrease in evapotranspiration as soil water content decreases. The method is appropriate for use when detailed meteorological measurements are not available. The data required to determine the parameter for the ?? coefficient are net radiation, soil heat flux, average air temperature, and soil water content. These values can be obtained from measurements or models. The dataset used in this report pertains to a partially vegetated clearcut forest site in southwest Oregon with soil depths ranging from 0.48 to 0.70 m and weathered bedrock below that. Evapotranspiration was estimated using the Bowen ratio method, and the calculated Priestley-Taylor coefficient was fitted to these estimates by nonlinear regression. The calculated Priestley-Taylor coefficient (?????) was found to be approximately 0.9 when the soil was near field capacity (0.225 cm3 cm-3). It was not until soil water content was less than 0.14 cm3 cm-3 that soil water supply limited evapotranspiration. The soil reached a final residual water content near 0.05 cm3 cm-3 at the end of the growing season. ?? 1991.

Advanced Optical Diagnostics for Ice Crystal Cloud Measurements in the NASA Glenn Propulsion Systems Laboratory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bencic, Timothy J.; Fagan, Amy; Van Zante, Judith F.; Kirkegaard, Jonathan P.; Rohler, David P.; Maniyedath, Arjun; Izen, Steven H.

2013-01-01

A light extinction tomography technique has been developed to monitor ice water clouds upstream of a direct connected engine in the Propulsion Systems Laboratory (PSL) at NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC). The system consists of 60 laser diodes with sheet generating optics and 120 detectors mounted around a 36-inch diameter ring. The sources are pulsed sequentially while the detectors acquire line-of-sight extinction data for each laser pulse. Using computed tomography algorithms, the extinction data are analyzed to produce a plot of the relative water content in the measurement plane. To target the low-spatial-frequency nature of ice water clouds, unique tomography algorithms were developed using filtered back-projection methods and direct inversion methods that use Gaussian basis functions. With the availability of a priori knowledge of the mean droplet size and the total water content at some point in the measurement plane, the tomography system can provide near real-time in-situ quantitative full-field total water content data at a measurement plane approximately 5 feet upstream of the engine inlet. Results from ice crystal clouds in the PSL are presented. In addition to the optical tomography technique, laser sheet imaging has also been applied in the PSL to provide planar ice cloud uniformity and relative water content data during facility calibration before the tomography system was available and also as validation data for the tomography system. A comparison between the laser sheet system and light extinction tomography resulting data are also presented. Very good agreement of imaged intensity and water content is demonstrated for both techniques. Also, comparative studies between the two techniques show excellent agreement in calculation of bulk total water content averaged over the center of the pipe.

Response of some Thematic Mapper band ratios to variation in soil water content

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Musick, H. Brad; Pelletier, Ramona E.

1986-01-01

Bidirectional reflectance to nadir in the reflective TM bands and the 1.15-1.3-micron band was measured in the laboratory as moisture content was varied in ten soils. Stronger absorption by water in TM5 and TM7 was expected to cause ratios of other bands to TM5 and TM7 to increase with water content, but in most cases these ratios were constant or decreased at low to intermediate water content and increased only at high moisture levels. Because these ratios were found to decrease as illumination elevation angle decreased, it was suggested that increased roughness resulting from the methods of moistening and mixing the soil may have tended to counteract the expected ratio increases.

[Application of time domain reflectometry for determination of wate content in Xiangsha Yangwei pills].

PubMed

Long, Feng-Lai; Sun, Xiao-Mei; Peng, Xiu-Juan; Liu, Peng; He, Fang-Hui

2016-08-01

Xiangsha Yangwei pill was selected as a model drug in this research, and time domain reflectometry (TDR) was used to determine the water content in the pill. The effects of five factors including the number of pill layers, pill packing density, atmospheric moisture, ambient temperature and the ratio of pill formula were investigated on water content. The results showed that the number of pill layers and ambient temperature had significant effects on water content of pills, while the pill packing density, atmospheric moisture and pill formula ratio had little effect on the determination of water content in pills. The reflection value was stable when 6 layers of pills were used. Under the condition of 25 ℃ and 45% relative humidity, the water content of pills ranged from 4.01% to 22.38%, showing good linear relationship between water content and reflection value, and the model equation was as follows: Y=0.279X－21.670 (R²=0.997 0). Verification experiment was used to explain the feasibility of this prediction model. The precision of the method complied with the methodology standard. It is concluded that TDR can be used in determination of water content in Xiangsha Yangwei pills. Additionally, TDR, as a new way to quickly and efficiently determine the water content, has a prospect application in the processing of traditional Chinese medicine pharmacy, especially for concentrated pill. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

Mapping soil water content on golf course greens with GPR

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) can be an effective and efficient method for high-resolution mapping of volumetric water content in the sand layer directly beneath the ground surface at a golf course green. This information could potentially be very useful to golf course superintendents for determi...

Measurement and inference of profile soil-water dynamics at different hillslope positions in a semiarid agricultural watershed

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Green, Timothy R.; Erskine, Robert H.

2011-12-01

Dynamics of profile soil water vary with terrain, soil, and plant characteristics. The objectives addressed here are to quantify dynamic soil water content over a range of slope positions, infer soil profile water fluxes, and identify locations most likely influenced by multidimensional flow. The instrumented 56 ha watershed lies mostly within a dryland (rainfed) wheat field in semiarid eastern Colorado. Dielectric capacitance sensors were used to infer hourly soil water content for approximately 8 years (minus missing data) at 18 hillslope positions and four or more depths. Based on previous research and a new algorithm, sensor measurements (resonant frequency) were rescaled to estimate soil permittivity, then corrected for temperature effects on bulk electrical conductivity before inferring soil water content. Using a mass-conservation method, we analyzed multitemporal changes in soil water content at each sensor to infer the dynamics of water flux at different depths and landscape positions. At summit positions vertical processes appear to control profile soil water dynamics. At downslope positions infrequent overland flow and unsaturated subsurface lateral flow appear to influence soil water dynamics. Crop water use accounts for much of the variability in soil water between transects that are either cropped or fallow in alternating years, while soil hydraulic properties and near-surface hydrology affect soil water variability across landscape positions within each management zone. The observed spatiotemporal patterns exhibit the joint effects of short-term hydrology and long-term soil development. Quantitative methods of analyzing soil water patterns in space and time improve our understanding of dominant soil hydrological processes and provide alternative measures of model performance.

Laboratory measurements of electrical resistivity versus water content on small soil cores

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robain, H.; Camerlynck, C.; Bellier, G.; Tabbagh, A.

2003-04-01

The assessment of soil water content variations more and more leans on geophysical methods that are non invasive and that allow a high spatial sampling. Among the different methods, DC electrical imaging is moving forward. DC Electrical resistivity shows indeed strong seasonal variations that principally depend on soil water content variations. Nevertheless, the widely used Archie's empirical law [1], that links resistivity with voids saturation and water conductivity is not well suited to soil materials with high clay content. Furthermore, the shrinking and swelling properties of soil materials have to be considered. Hence, it is relevant to develop new laboratory experiments in order to establish a relation between electrical resistivity and water content taking into account the rheological and granulometrical specificities of soil materials. The experimental device developed in IRD laboratory allows to monitor simultaneously (i) the water content, (ii) the electrical resistivity and (iii) the volume of a small cylindrical soil core (100cm3) put in a temperature controlled incubator (30°C). It provides both the shrinkage curve of the soil core (voids volume versus water content) and the electrical resistivity versus water content curve The modelisation of the shrinkage curve gives for each moisture state the water respectively contained in macro and micro voids [2], and then allows to propose a generalized Archie's like law as following : 1/Rs = 1/Fma.Rma + 1/Fmi.Rmi and Fi = Ai/(Vi^Mi.Si^Ni) with Rs : the soil resistivity. Fma and Fmi : the so called "formation factor" for macro and micro voids, respectively. Rma and Rmi : the resistivity of the water contained in macro and micro voids, respectively. Vi : the volume of macro and micro voids, respectively. Si : the saturation of macro and micro voids, respectively. Ai, Mi and Ni : adjustment coefficients. The variations of Rmi are calculated, assuming that Rma is a constant. Indeed, the rise of ionic concentration in water may be neglected during the sewage of macro voids as it corresponds to a small quantity of water for the studied samples. Soil solid components are generally electrical insulators, the conduction of electrical current only lies on two phenomenon occurring in water : (i) volume conduction controlled by the electrolyte concentration in water and the geometrical characteristics of macro voids network ; (ii) surface conduction controlled by the double diffuse layer that depends on the solid-liquid interactions, the specific surface of clay minerals and the geometry of particles contacts. For the water contained in macro voids the preeminent phenomenon seems to be volume conduction while for the water contained in micro voids, it seems to be surface conduction. This hypothesis satisfyingly explains the shape of the electrical resistivity versus water content curves obtained for three different oxisols with clayey, clayey-sandy and sandy-clayey texture. [1] Archie G.E. 1942. The electrical resistivity log as an aid in determining some reservoirs characteristics. Trans. AIME, 146, 54-67. [2] Braudeau E. et al. 1999. New device and method for soil shrinkage curve measurement and characterization. S.S.S.A.J., 63(3), 525-535.

Determining particle size and water content by near-infrared spectroscopy in the granulation of naproxen sodium.

PubMed

Bär, David; Debus, Heiko; Brzenczek, Sina; Fischer, Wolfgang; Imming, Peter

2018-03-20

Near-infrared spectroscopy is frequently used by the pharmaceutical industry to monitor and optimize several production processes. In combination with chemometrics, a mathematical-statistical technique, the following advantages of near-infrared spectroscopy can be applied: It is a fast, non-destructive, non-invasive, and economical analytical method. One of the most advanced and popular chemometric technique is the partial least square algorithm with its best applicability in routine and its results. The required reference analytic enables the analysis of various parameters of interest, for example, moisture content, particle size, and many others. Parameters like the correlation coefficient, root mean square error of prediction, root mean square error of calibration, and root mean square error of validation have been used for evaluating the applicability and robustness of these analytical methods developed. This study deals with investigating a Naproxen Sodium granulation process using near-infrared spectroscopy and the development of water content and particle-size methods. For the water content method, one should consider a maximum water content of about 21% in the granulation process, which must be confirmed by the loss on drying. Further influences to be considered are the constantly changing product temperature, rising to about 54 °C, the creation of hydrated states of Naproxen Sodium when using a maximum of about 21% water content, and the large quantity of about 87% Naproxen Sodium in the formulation. It was considered to use a combination of these influences in developing the near-infrared spectroscopy method for the water content of Naproxen Sodium granules. The "Root Mean Square Error" was 0.25% for calibration dataset and 0.30% for the validation dataset, which was obtained after different stages of optimization by multiplicative scatter correction and the first derivative. Using laser diffraction, the granules have been analyzed for particle sizes and obtaining the summary sieve sizes of >63 μm and >100 μm. The following influences should be considered for application in routine production: constant changes in water content up to 21% and a product temperature up to 54 °C. The different stages of optimization result in a "Root Mean Square Error" of 2.54% for the calibration data set and 3.53% for the validation set by using the Kubelka-Munk conversion and first derivative for the near-infrared spectroscopy method for a particle size >63 μm. For the near-infrared spectroscopy method using a particle size >100 μm, the "Root Mean Square Error" was 3.47% for the calibration data set and 4.51% for the validation set, while using the same pre-treatments. - The robustness and suitability of this methodology has already been demonstrated by its recent successful implementation in a routine granulate production process. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Specific findings on ice crystal microphysical properties from in-situ observation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coutris, Pierre; Leroy, Delphine; Fontaine, Emmanuel; Schwarzenboeck, Alfons; Strapp, J. Walter

2017-04-01

This study focuses on microphysical properties of ice particles populating high ice water content areas in Mesoscale Convective Systems (MCS). These clouds have been extensively sampled during the High Altitude Ice Crystal - High Ice Water Content international projects (HAIC-HIWC, Dezitter et al. 2013, Strapp et al. 2015) with the objective of characterizing ice particle properties such as size distribution, radar reflectivity and ice water content. The in-situ data collected during these campaigns at different temperature levels and in different type of MCS (oceanic, continental) make the HAIC-HIWC data set a unique opportunity to study ice particle microphysical properties. Recently, a new approach to retrieve ice particle mass from in-situ measurements has been developed: a forward model that relates ice particles' mass to Particle Size Distribution (PSD) and Ice Water Content (IWC) is formulated as a linear system of equations and the retrieval process consists in solving the inverse problem with numerical optimization tools (Coutris et al. 2016). In this study, this new method is applied to HAIC-HIWC data set and main outcomes are discussed. First, the method is compared to a classical power-law based method using data from one single flight performed in Darwin area on February, 7th 2014. The observed differences in retrieved quantities such as ice particle mass, ice water content or median mass diameter, highlight the potential benefit of abandoning the power law simplistic assumption. The method is then applied to data measured at different cloud temperatures ranging from -40°C to -10°C during several flights of both Darwin 2014 and Cayenne 2015 campaigns. Specific findings about ice microphysical properties such as variations of effective density with particle size and the influence of cloud temperature on particle effective density are presented.

Rapid determination of moisture content in paper materials by multiple headspace extraction gas chromatography.

PubMed

Xie, Wei-Qi; Chai, Xin-Sheng

2016-04-22

This paper describes a new method for the rapid determination of the moisture content in paper materials. The method is based on multiple headspace extraction gas chromatography (MHE-GC) at a temperature above the boiling point of water, from which an integrated water loss from the tested sample due to evaporation can be measured and from which the moisture content in the sample can be determined. The results show that the new method has a good precision (with the relative standard deviation <0.96%), high sensitivity (the limit of quantitation=0.005%) and good accuracy (the relative differences <1.4%). Therefore, the method is quite suitable for many uses in research and industrial applications. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Alkaline anion exchange membrane water electrolysis: Effects of electrolyte feed method and electrode binder content

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cho, Min Kyung; Park, Hee-Young; Lee, Hye Jin; Kim, Hyoung-Juhn; Lim, Ahyoun; Henkensmeier, Dirk; Yoo, Sung Jong; Kim, Jin Young; Lee, So Young; Park, Hyun S.; Jang, Jong Hyun

2018-04-01

Herein, we investigate the effects of catholyte feed method and anode binder content on the characteristics of anion exchange membrane water electrolysis (AEMWE) to construct a high-performance electrolyzer, revealing that the initial AEMWE performance is significantly improved by pre-feeding 0.5 M aqueous KOH to the cathode. The highest long-term activity during repeated voltage cycling is observed for AEMWE operation in the dry cathode mode, for which the best long-term performance among membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) featuring polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) binder-impregnated (5-20 wt%) anodes is detected for a PTFE content of 20 wt%. MEAs with low PTFE content (5 and 9 wt%) demonstrate high initial performance, rapid performance decay, and significant catalyst loss from the electrode during long-term operation, whereas the MEA with 20 wt% PTFE allows stable water electrolysis for over 1600 voltage cycles. Optimization of cell operating conditions (i.e., operation in dry cathode mode at an optimum anode binder content following an initial solution feed) achieves an enhanced water splitting current density (1.07 A cm-2 at 1.8 V) and stable long-term AEMWE performance (0.01% current density reduction per voltage cycle).

Water content dependence of trapped air in two soils

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stonestrom, David A.; Rubin, Jacob

1989-01-01

An improved air pycnometer method was used to examine the water content dependence of trapped-air volumes in two repacked, nonswelling soils. Trapped-air volumes were determined at a series of hydrostatic equilibrium stages which were attained during water pressure-controlled wetting and drying cycles over a range of 0 to −10 kPa for a sand and 0 to −20 kPa for a loam. Small pressure perturbations, between 0.2 and 0.6 kPa, were used in the air pycnometer method. Volumes of trapped air obtained at each hydrostatic equilibrium stage were independent of perturbation level and remained relatively constant over the time required to make repeated determinations. In contrast with most of the results obtained in previous studies, which often showed irregular relations, in this study the volume fraction of trapped air was found to be a regular, monotonically increasing (though possibly hysteretic) function of water content. For the soils studied, the function definitely exceeded zero only at water contents greater than 70% of saturation. However, during the initial drying from complete water saturation, the volume fraction of trapped air was virtually zero. Air trapping influenced the water retention curves significantly only at water contents higher than about 60% of saturation. Except at zero water pressure, however, not all of the differences between the initial and the other drying retention curves were accounted for by observed differences in trapped-air volumes. Air trapping was not required for the onset of hysteresis in the water retention relation for the cases studied, i.e., when drying-to-wetting reversals were imposed at about 27% and 40% of saturation for the sand and loam soils, respectively.

An improved sensor for precision detection of in situ stem water content using a frequency domain fringing capacitor.

PubMed

Zhou, Haiyang; Sun, Yurui; Tyree, Melvin T; Sheng, Wenyi; Cheng, Qiang; Xue, Xuzhang; Schumann, Henrik; Schulze Lammers, Peter

2015-04-01

One role of stems is that of water storage. The water content of stems increases and decreases as xylem water potential increases and decreases, respectively. Hence, a nondestructive method to measure stem water content (StWC) = (volume of water) : (volume of stem), could be useful in monitoring the drought stress status of plants. We introduce a frequency domain inner fringing capacitor-sensor for measuring StWC which operates at 100 MHz frequency. The capacitor-sensor consists of two wave guides (5-mm-wide braided metal) that snugly fit around the surface of a stem with a spacing of 4-5 mm between guides. Laboratory measurements on analog stems reveals that the DC signal output responds linearly to the relative dielectric constant of the analog stem, is most sensitive to water content between the waveguides to a depth of c. 3 mm from the stem surface, and calibrations based on the gravimetric water loss of excised stems of plants revealed a resolution in StWC of < ± 0.001 v/ v. The sensor performed very well on whole plants with a 100-fold increased resolution compared with previous frequency domain and time domain reflectometry methods and, hence, may be very useful for future research requiring nondestructive measurements of whole plants. © European Union 2014. New Phytologist © 2014 New Phytologist Trust.

The method of neutron imaging as a tool for the study of the dynamics of water movement in wet aramid-based ballistic body armour panels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reifler, Felix A.; Lehmann, Eberhard H.; Frei, Gabriel; May, Hans; Rossi, René

2006-07-01

A new non-destructive method based on neutron imaging (neutron radiography) to determine the exact water content in aramid-based soft body armour panels is presented. While investigating the ballistic resistance of aramid-based body armour panels under a wet condition, it is important to precisely determine their water content and its chronological development. Using the presented method, the influence of water amount and location on impact testing as well as its time dependence was shown. In the ballistic panels used, spreading of water strongly depended on the kind of quilting. Very fast water migration could be observed when the panels were held vertically. Some first results regarding the water distribution in wet panels immediately after the impact are presented. On the basis of the presented results, requirements for a standard for testing the performance of ballistic panels in the wet state are deduced.

Effect of solvent on crystallization behavior of xylitol

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hao, Hongxun; Hou, Baohong; Wang, Jing-Kang; Lin, Guangyu

2006-04-01

Effect of organic solvents content on crystallization behavior of xylitol was studied. Solubility and crystallization kinetics of xylitol in methanol-water system were experimentally determined. It was found that the solubility of xylitol at various methanol content all increases with increase of temperature. But it decreases when increasing methanol content at constant temperature. Based on the theory of population balance, the nucleation and growth rates of xylitol in methanol-water mixed solvents were calculated by moments method. From a series of experimental population density data of xylitol gotten from a batch-operated crystallizer, parameters of crystal nucleation and growth rate equations at different methanol content were got by the method of nonlinear least-squares. By analyzing, it was found that the content of methanol had an apparent effect on nucleation and growth rate of xylitol. At constant temperature, the nucleation and growth rate of xylitol all decrease with increase of methanol content.

Effects of different sludge disintegration methods on sludge moisture distribution and dewatering performance.

PubMed

Jin, Lingyun; Zhang, Guangming; Zheng, Xiang

2015-02-01

A key step in sludge treatment is sludge dewatering. However, activated sludge is generally very difficult to be dewatered. Sludge dewatering performance is largely affected by the sludge moisture distribution. Sludge disintegration can destroy the sludge structure and cell wall, so as change the sludge floc structure and moisture distribution, thus affecting the dewatering performance of sludge. In this article, the disintegration methods were ultrasound treatment, K2FeO4 oxidation and KMnO4 oxidation. The degree of disintegration (DDCOD), sludge moisture distribution and the final water content of sludge cake after centrifuging were measured. Results showed that three disintegration methods were all effective, and K2FeO4 oxidation was more efficient than KMnO4 oxidation. The content of free water increased obviously with K2FeO4 and KMnO4 oxidations, while it decreased with ultrasound treatment. The changes of free water and interstitial water were in the opposite trend. The content of bounding water decreased with K2FeO4 oxidation, and increased slightly with KMnO4 oxidation, while it increased obviously with ultrasound treatment. The water content of sludge cake after centrifuging decreased with K2FeO4 oxidation, and did not changed with KMnO4 oxidation, but increased obviously with ultrasound treatment. In summary, ultrasound treatment deteriorated the sludge dewaterability, while K2FeO4 and KMnO4 oxidation improved the sludge dewaterability. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Symmetry based frequency domain processing to remove harmonic noise from surface nuclear magnetic resonance measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hein, Annette; Larsen, Jakob Juul; Parsekian, Andrew D.

2017-02-01

Surface nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is a unique geophysical method due to its direct sensitivity to water. A key limitation to overcome is the difficulty of making surface NMR measurements in environments with anthropogenic electromagnetic noise, particularly constant frequency sources such as powerlines. Here we present a method of removing harmonic noise by utilizing frequency domain symmetry of surface NMR signals to reconstruct portions of the spectrum corrupted by frequency-domain noise peaks. This method supplements the existing NMR processing workflow and is applicable after despiking, coherent noise cancellation, and stacking. The symmetry based correction is simple, grounded in mathematical theory describing NMR signals, does not introduce errors into the data set, and requires no prior knowledge about the harmonics. Modelling and field examples show that symmetry based noise removal reduces the effects of harmonics. In one modelling example, symmetry based noise removal improved signal-to-noise ratio in the data by 10 per cent. This improvement had noticeable effects on inversion parameters including water content and the decay constant T2*. Within water content profiles, aquifer boundaries and water content are more accurate after harmonics are removed. Fewer spurious water content spikes appear within aquifers, which is especially useful for resolving multilayered structures. Within T2* profiles, estimates are more accurate after harmonics are removed, especially in the lower half of profiles.

Water, moisture and ash content of mechanically cleaned greige cotton, naturally colored brown cotton, flax and rayon

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

This exploratory research evaluated the Karl Fischer Titration reference method (KFT, ASTM D7785) to accurately measure water content of mechanically cleaned greige cotton, a naturally colored brown cotton, flax and rayon at moisture equilibrium. Each sample was analyzed by KFT, standard oven dryin...

Total alkaloid content in various fractions of Tabernaemonata sphaerocarpa Bl. (Jembirit) leaves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salamah, N.; Ningsih, D. S.

2017-11-01

Tabernaemontana sphaerocarpa Bl. (Jembirit) is one of the Apocynaceae family plants containing alkaloid compound. Traditionally, it is used as an anti-inflammatory medicine. It is found to have a new bisindole alkaloid compound that shows a potent cytotoxic activity in human cancer. This study aimed to know the total alkaloid content in some fractions of ethanolic extract of T. sphaerocarpa Bl. leaf powder was extracted by maceration method in 70% ethanol solvent. Then, the extract was fractionated in a separatory funnel using water, ethyl acetate, and hexane. The total alkaloid content in each fraction was analyzed with visible spectrophotometric methods based on the reaction with Bromocresol Green (BCG). The total alkaloids in water fraction and ethyl acetate fraction were (0.0312±0.0009)% and (0.0281±0.0014)%, respectively. Meanwhile, the total alkaloid content in hexane was not detected. The statistical analysis, performed in SPSS, resulted in a significant difference between the total alkaloids in water fraction and ethyl acetate fraction. The total alkaloid in water fraction of T. sphaerocarpa Bl. was higher than the one in ethyl acetate fraction.

Soil Water Content Sensors as a Method of Measuring Ice Depth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whitaker, E.; Reed, D. E.; Desai, A. R.

2015-12-01

Lake ice depth provides important information about local and regional climate change, weather patterns, and recreational safety, as well as impacting in situ ecology and carbon cycling. However, it is challenging to measure ice depth continuously from a remote location, as existing methods are too large, expensive, and/or time-intensive. Therefore, we present a novel application that reduces the size and cost issues by using soil water content reflectometer sensors. Analysis of sensors deployed in an environmental chamber using a scale model of a lake demonstrated their value as accurate measures of the change in ice depth over any time period, through measurement of the liquid-to-solid phase change. A robust correlation exists between volumetric water content in time as a function of environmental temperature. This relationship allows us to convert volumetric water content into ice depth. An array of these sensors will be placed in Lake Mendota, Madison, Wisconsin in winter 2015-2016, to create a temporally high-resolution ice depth record, which will be used for ecological or climatological studies while also being transmitted to the public to increase recreational safety.

Application study of evolutionary operation methods in optimization of process parameters for mosquito coils industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ginting, E.; Tambunanand, M. M.; Syahputri, K.

2018-02-01

Evolutionary Operation Methods (EVOP) is a method that is designed used in the process of running or operating routinely in the company to enables high productivity. Quality is one of the critical factors for a company to win the competition. Because of these conditions, the research for products quality has been done by gathering the production data of the company and make a direct observation to the factory floor especially the drying department to identify the problem which is the high water content in the mosquito incense coil. PT.X which is producing mosquito coils attempted to reduce product defects caused by the inaccuracy of operating conditions. One of the parameters of good quality insect repellent that is water content, that if the moisture content is too high then the product easy to mold and broken, and vice versa if it is too low the products are easily broken and burn shorter hours. Three factors that affect the value of the optimal water content, the stirring time, drying temperature and drying time. To obtain the required conditions Evolutionary Operation (EVOP) methods is used. Evolutionary Operation (EVOP) is used as an efficient technique for optimization of two or three variable experimental parameters using two-level factorial designs with center point. Optimal operating conditions in the experiment are stirring time performed for 20 minutes, drying temperature at 65°C, and drying time for 130 minutes. The results of the analysis based on the method of Evolutionary Operation (EVOP) value is the optimum water content of 6.90%, which indicates the value has approached the optimal in a production plant that is 7%.

Measuring Water in Bioreactor Landfills

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, B.; Gallagher, V. N.; Imhoff, P. T.; Yazdani, R.; Chiu, P.

2004-12-01

Methane is an important greenhouse gas, and landfills are the largest anthropogenic source in many developed countries. Bioreactor landfills have been proposed as one means of abating greenhouse gas emissions from landfills. Here, the decomposition of organic wastes is enhanced by the controlled addition of water or leachate to maintain optimal conditions for waste decomposition. Greenhouse gas abatement is accomplished by sequestration of photosynthetically derived carbon in wastes, CO2 offsets from energy use of waste derived gas, and mitigation of methane emission from the wastes. Maintaining optimal moisture conditions for waste degradation is perhaps the most important operational parameter in bioreactor landfills. To determine how much water is needed and where to add it, methods are required to measure water within solid waste. However, there is no reliable method that can measure moisture content simply and accurately in the heterogeneous environment typical of landfills. While well drilling and analysis of solid waste samples is sometimes used to determine moisture content, this is an expensive, time-consuming, and destructive procedure. To overcome these problems, a new technology recently developed by hydrologists for measuring water in the vadose zone --- the partitioning tracer test (PTT) --- was evaluated for measuring water in solid waste in a full-scale bioreactor landfill in Yolo County, CA. Two field tests were conducted in different regions of an aerobic bioreactor landfill, with each test measuring water in ≈ 250 ft3 of solid waste. Tracers were injected through existing tubes inserted in the landfill, and tracer breakthrough curves were measured through time from the landfill's gas collection system. Gas samples were analyzed on site using a field-portable gas chromatograph and shipped offsite for more accurate laboratory analysis. In the center of the landfill, PTT measurements indicated that the fraction of the pore space filled with water was 29%, while the moisture content, the mass of water divided by total wet mass of solid waste, was 28%. Near the sloped sides of the landfill, PTT results indicated that only 7.1% of the pore space was filled with water, while the moisture content was estimated to be 6.9%. These measurements are in close agreement with gravimetric measurements made on solid waste samples collected after each PTT: moisture content of 27% in the center of the landfill and only 6% near the edge of the landfill. We discuss these measurements in detail, the limitations of the PTT method for landfills, and operational guidelines for achieving unbiased measurements of moisture content in landfills using the PTT method.

Effects of preparation methods on the structure and mechanical properties of wet conditioned starch/montmorillonite nanocomposite films.

PubMed

Müller, Péter; Kapin, Éva; Fekete, Erika

2014-11-26

TPS/Na-montmorillonite nanocomposite films were prepared by solution and melt blending. Clay content changed between 0 and 25 wt% based on the amount of dry starch. Structure, tensile properties, and water content of wet conditioned films were determined as a function of clay content. Intercalated structure and VH-type crystallinity of starch were found for all the nanocomposites independently of clay and plasticizer content or preparation method, but at larger than 10 wt% clay content nanocomposites prepared by melt intercalation contained aggregated particles as well. In spite of the incomplete exfoliation clay reinforces TPS considerably. Preparation method has a strong influence on mechanical properties of wet conditioned films. Mechanical properties of the conditioned samples prepared by solution homogenization are much better than those of nanocomposites prepared by melt blending. Water, which was either adsorbed or bonded in the composites in conditioning or solution mixing process, respectively, has different effect on mechanical properties. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analysis of factors controlling sediment phosphorus flux potential of wetlands in Hulun Buir grassland by principal component and path analysis method.

PubMed

He, Jing; Su, Derong; Lv, Shihai; Diao, Zhaoyan; Ye, Shengxing; Zheng, Zhirong

2017-11-08

Phosphorus (P) flux potential can predict the trend of phosphorus release from wetland sediments to water and provide scientific parameters for further monitoring and management for phosphorus flux from wetland sediments to overlying water. Many studies have focused on factors affecting sediment P flux potential in sediment-water interface, but rarely on the relationship among these factors. In the present study, experiment on sediment P flux potential in sediment-water interface was conducted in six wetlands in Hulun Buir grassland, China and the relationships among sediment P flux potential in sediment-water interface, sediment physical properties, and sediment chemical characteristics were examined. Principal component analysis and path analysis were used to discuss these data in correlation coefficient, direct, and indirect effects on sediment P flux potential in sediment-water interface. Results indicated that the major factors affecting sediment P flux potential in sediment-water interface were amount of organophosphate-degradation bacterium in sediment, Ca-P content, and total phosphorus concentrations. The factors of direct influence sediment P flux potential were sediment Ca-P content, Olsen-P content, SOC content, and sediment Al-P content. The indirect influence sediment P flux potential in sediment-water interface was sediment Olsen-P content, sediment SOC content, sediment Ca-P content, and sediment Al-P content. And the standard multiple regression describing the relationship between sediment P flux potential in sediment-water interface and its major effect factors was Y = 5.849 - 1.025X 1  - 1.995X 2  + 0.188X 3  - 0.282X 4 (r = 0.9298, p < 0.01, n = 96), where Y is sediment P flux potential in sediment-water interface, X 1 is sediment Ca-P content, X 2 is sediment Olsen-P content, X 3 is sediment SOC content, and X 4 is sediment Al-P content. Therefore, future research will focus on these sediment properties to analyze the interrelation among sediment properties factors, main vegetable factors, and environment factors which influence the sediment P flux potential in sediment-water interface.

Thermophysical properties of enzyme clarified Lime (Citrus aurantifolia L) juice at different moisture contents.

PubMed

Manjunatha, S S; Raju, P S; Bawa, A S

2014-11-01

Thermophysical properties of enzyme clarified lime (Citrus aurantifolia L.) juice were evaluated at different moisture contents ranging from 30.37 % to 89.30 % (wet basis) corresponding to a water activity range of 0.835 to 0.979. The thermophysical properties evaluated were density, Newtonian viscosity, thermal conductivity, specific heat and thermal diffusivity. The investigation showed that density and Newtonian viscosity of enzyme clarified lime juice decreased significantly (p < 0.05) with increase in moisture content and water activity, whereas thermal conductivity and specific heat increased significantly (p < 0.05) with increase in moisture content and water activity and the thermal diffusivity increased marginally. Empirical mathematical models were established relating to thermophysical properties of enzyme clarified lime juice with moisture content/water activity employing regression analysis by the method of least square approximation. Results indicated the existence of strong correlation between thermophysical properties and moisture content/water activity of enzyme clarified lime juice, a significant (p < 0.0001) negative correlation between physical and thermal properties was observed.

[Spatial variation characteristics of surface soil water content, bulk density and saturated hydraulic conductivity on Karst slopes].

PubMed

Zhang, Chuan; Chen, Hong-Song; Zhang, Wei; Nie, Yun-Peng; Ye, Ying-Ying; Wang, Ke-Lin

2014-06-01

Surface soil water-physical properties play a decisive role in the dynamics of deep soil water. Knowledge of their spatial variation is helpful in understanding the processes of rainfall infiltration and runoff generation, which will contribute to the reasonable utilization of soil water resources in mountainous areas. Based on a grid sampling scheme (10 m x 10 m) and geostatistical methods, this paper aimed to study the spatial variability of surface (0-10 cm) soil water content, soil bulk density and saturated hydraulic conductivity on a typical shrub slope (90 m x 120 m, projected length) in Karst area of northwest Guangxi, southwest China. The results showed that the surface soil water content, bulk density and saturated hydraulic conductivity had different spatial dependence and spatial structure. Sample variogram of the soil water content was fitted well by Gaussian models with the nugget effect, while soil bulk density and saturated hydraulic conductivity were fitted well by exponential models with the nugget effect. Variability of soil water content showed strong spatial dependence, while the soil bulk density and saturated hydraulic conductivity showed moderate spatial dependence. The spatial ranges of the soil water content and saturated hydraulic conductivity were small, while that of the soil bulk density was much bigger. In general, the soil water content increased with the increase of altitude while it was opposite for the soil bulk densi- ty. However, the soil saturated hydraulic conductivity had a random distribution of large amounts of small patches, showing high spatial heterogeneity. Soil water content negatively (P < 0.01) correlated with the bulk density and saturated hydraulic conductivity, while there was no significant correlation between the soil bulk density and saturated hydraulic conductivity.

Resistant starch: Variation among high amylose rice varieties and its relationship with apparent amylose content, pasting properties and cooking methods.

PubMed

Chen, Ming-Hsuan; Bergman, Christine J; McClung, Anna M; Everette, Jace D; Tabien, Rodante E

2017-11-01

Resistant starch (RS), which is not hydrolyzed in the small intestine, has proposed health benefits. We evaluated 40 high amylose rice varieties for RS content in cooked rice and a 1.9-fold difference was found. Some varieties had more than two-fold greater RS content than a US long-grain intermediate-amylose rice. The high amylose varieties were grouped into four classes according to paste viscosity and gelatinization temperature based on genetic variants of the Waxy and Starch Synthase IIa genes, respectively. RS content was not different between the four paste viscosity-gelatinization temperature classes. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that apparent amylose content and pasting temperature were strong predictors of RS within each class. Two cooking methods, fixed water-to-rice ratio/time and in excess-water/minimum-cook-time, were compared using six rice varieties that were extremes in RS in each of the genetic variant classes, no difference in RS content due to cooking method was observed. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

A High Resolution Capacitive Sensing System for the Measurement of Water Content in Crude Oil

PubMed Central

Aslam, Muhammad Zubair; Tang, Tong Boon

2014-01-01

This paper presents the design of a non-intrusive system to measure ultra-low water content in crude oil. The system is based on a capacitance to phase angle conversion method. Water content is measured with a capacitance sensor comprising two semi-cylindrical electrodes mounted on the outer side of a glass tube. The presence of water induces a capacitance change that in turn converts into a phase angle, with respect to a main oscillator. A differential sensing technique is adopted not only to ensure high immunity against temperature variation and background noise, but also to eliminate phase jitter and amplitude variation of the main oscillator that could destabilize the output. The complete capacitive sensing system was implemented in hardware and experiment results using crude oil samples demonstrated that a resolution of ±50 ppm of water content in crude oil was achieved by the proposed design. PMID:24967606

Effect of Soil Water Content on the Distribution of Diuron into Organomineral Aggregates of Highly Weathered Tropical Soils.

PubMed

Regitano, Jussara B; Rocha, Wadson S D; Bonfleur, Eloana J; Milori, Debora; Alleoni, Luís R F

2016-05-25

We evaluated the effects of soil water content on the retention of diuron and its residual distribution into organomineral aggregates in four Brazilian oxisols. (14)C-Diuron was incubated for days at 25, 50, and 75% of maximum water-holding capacity for each soil. After 42 days, the physical fractionation method was used to obtain >150, 53-150, 20-53, 2-20, and <2 μm aggregate sizes. Diuron retention increased with increasing soil water content for all soils. At lower soil water content, diuron's retention was higher in the sandier soil. It was mostly retained in the fine (<20 μm) aggregates of sandier soil, and for clayed soils, retention was higher in the coarse aggregates (>53 μm). The sorption coefficients (Kd and Koc) generated by batch studies should be carefully used because they do not provide information about aggregation and diffusion effects on pesticides soil sorption.

A high resolution capacitive sensing system for the measurement of water content in crude oil.

PubMed

Zubair, Muhammad; Tang, Tong Boon

2014-06-25

This paper presents the design of a non-intrusive system to measure ultra-low water content in crude oil. The system is based on a capacitance to phase angle conversion method. Water content is measured with a capacitance sensor comprising two semi-cylindrical electrodes mounted on the outer side of a glass tube. The presence of water induces a capacitance change that in turn converts into a phase angle, with respect to a main oscillator. A differential sensing technique is adopted not only to ensure high immunity against temperature variation and background noise, but also to eliminate phase jitter and amplitude variation of the main oscillator that could destabilize the output. The complete capacitive sensing system was implemented in hardware and experiment results using crude oil samples demonstrated that a resolution of ± 50 ppm of water content in crude oil was achieved by the proposed design.

Investigating Temporal and Spatial Variations in Near Surface Water Content using GPR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hubbard, S. S.; Grote, K.; Kowalsky, M. B.; Rubin, Y.

2001-12-01

Using only conventional point or well logging measurements, it is difficult to obtain information about water content with sufficient spatial resolution and coverage to be useful for near surface applications such as for input to vadose zone predictive models or for assisting with precision crop management. Prompted by successful results of a controlled ground penetrating radar (GPR) pilot study, we are investigating the applicability of GPR methods to estimate near surface water content at a study site within the Robert Mondavi vineyards in Napa County, California. Detailed information about soil variability and water content within vineyards could assist in estimation of plantable acreage, in the design of vineyard layout and in the design of an efficient irrigation/agrochemical application procedure. Our research at the winery study site involves investigation of optimal GPR acquisition and processing techniques, modeling of GPR attributes, and inversion of the attributes for water content information over space and time. A secondary goal of our project is to compare water content information obtained from the GPR data with information available from other types of measurements that are being used to assist in precision crop management. This talk will focus on point and spatial correlation estimation of water content obtained using GPR groundwave information only, and comparison of those estimates with information obtained from analysis of soils, TDR, neutron probe and remote sensing data sets. This comparison will enable us to 1) understand the potential of GPR for providing water content information in the very shallow subsurface, and to 2) investigate the interrelationships between the different types of measurements (and associated measurement scales) that are being utilized to characterize the shallow subsurface water content over space and time.

Influence of Clay Content, Mineralogy and Fabric On Radar Frequency Response of Aquifer Materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

West, L. J.; Handley, K.

High frequency electromagnetic methods such as ground penetrating radar (GPR) and time domain reflectometry (TDR) are widely employed to measure water saturation in the vadose zone and water filled porosity in the saturated zone. However, previous work has shown that radar frequency dielectric properties are strongly influenced by clay as well as by water content. They have also shown that that the dielectric response of clay minerals is strongly frequency dependent, and that even a small proportion of clay such as that present in many sandstone aquifers can have a large effect at typi- cal GPR frequencies (around 100MHz). Hence accurate water content/porosity deter- mination requires clay type and content to be taken into account. Reported here are dielectric measurements on clay-sand mixtures, aimed at investigating the influence of clay mineralogy, particle shape, and the geometrical arrangement of the mixture constituents on GPR and TDR response. Dielectric permittivity (at 50-1000MHz) was measured for mixtures of Ottawa Sand and various clay minerals or clay size quartz rock flour, using a specially constructed dielectric cell. Both homogeneous and layered mixtures were tested. The influence of pore water salinity, clay type, and particle arrangement on the dielectric response is interpreted in terms of dielectric dispersion mechanisms. The appropriateness of var- ious dielectric mixing rules such as the Complex Refractive Index Method (CRIM) for determination of water content or porosity from field GPR and TDR data are dis- cussed.

Possibility of wax control techniques in Indonesian oil fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdurrahman, M.; Ferizal, F. H.; Husna, U. Z.; Pangaribuan, L.

2018-03-01

Wax is one of the common problem which can reduce the oil production, especially for the reservoir with high paraffin content case. When the temperature of crude oil is lower than pour point, wax molecules can begin rapidly precipitated. The impacts of this problem are the clogging of production equipment, sealing off the pores in the reservoir, and decreasing production flow rate. In order to solve the wax problem, several methods have been applied in some oil fields in the world. For example, chemical methods in Jiangsu field (China) and Mumbai High field (India), hot water in Mangala field (India), magnetic method in Daqing field (China), water-dispersible in Bakken basin (US), and microbial in Jidong field (China). In general, the various crude oils present in the Indonesia contain wax content between 10%-39% and pour point of 22°C-49°C. Hot water and chemical method are commonly used to solve wax problems in Indonesian oil fields. However, the primary solution is magnetic method, and the secondary solution is water dispersible.

Wettability, soil organic matter and structure-properties of typical chernozems under the forest and under the arable land

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bykova, Galina; Umarova, Aminat; Tyugai, Zemfira; Milanovskiy, Evgeny; Shein, Evgeny

2017-04-01

Intensive tillage affects the properties of soil: decrease in content of soil organic matter and in hydrophobicity of the soil's solid phase, the reduction of amount of water stable aggregates - all this leads to deterioration of the structure of the soil and affects the process of movement of moisture in the soil profile. One of the hypotheses of soil's structure formation ascribes the formation of water stable aggregates with the presence of hydrophobic organic substances on the surface of the soil's solid phase. The aim of this work is to study the effect of tillage on properties of typical chernozems (pachic Voronic Chernozems, Haplic Chernozems) (Russia, Kursk region), located under the forest and under the arable land. The determination of soil-water contact angle was performed by a Drop Shape Analyzer DSA100 (Krüss GmbH, Germany) by the static sessile drop method. For all samples the content of total and organic carbon by dry combustion in oxygen flow and the particle size distribution by the laser diffraction method on the device Analysette 22 comfort, FRITCH, Germany were determined. The estimation of aggregate composition was performed by dry sieving (AS 200, Retsch, Germany), the content of water stable aggregates was estimated by the Savvinov method. There was a positive correlation between the content of organic matter and soil's wettability in studied soils, a growth of contact angle with the increasing the content of organic matter. Under the forest the content of soil organic matter was changed from 6,41% on the surface up to 1,9% at the depth of 100 cm. In the Chernozem under the arable land the organic carbon content in arable horizon is almost two times less. The maximum of hydrophobicity (78.1o) was observed at the depth of 5 cm under the forest. In the profile under the arable land the contact angle value at the same depth was 50o. The results of the structure analysis has shown a decrease in the content of agronomically valuable and water stable aggregates in the profile under arable land. These data indicate the correlation between the wettability of soils with the content of organic matter and their influence on the formation of water stable structure, as well as the negative impact of tillage on the analyzed characteristics.

Rare earth element content of cryptocrystalline magnesites of Konya, Turkey

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

Zedef, Veysel, E-mail: vzedef@selcuk.edu.tr; Russell, Michael

We examined the rare earth element content of several cryptocrystalline magnesites as well as hydromagnesite, host rock serpentinites, lake water and hot spring water from Turkey. Southwestern Turkey hosts cryptocrystalline magnesites, sedimentary magnesites with presently forming, biologically mediated hydromagnesites and travertines. Our results show the REE content of the minerals, rocks and waters are well below detection limits. One hydromagnesite sample from Lake Salda has slightly high La (2.38ppb), Ce (3.91 ppb) and Nd (1.68 ppb) when compared to other samples, but these are also still below detection limits of the method we followed.

Comparative study on occurrence characteristics of matrix water in static and gas double-dynamic solid-state fermentations using low-field NMR and MRI.

PubMed

He, Qin; Chen, Hong-zhang

2015-12-01

The water in a solid substrate is generally divided into three forms: hygroscopic, capillary, and free. However, there are few methods available for detecting the contents of different states of water in substrates. In this paper, low-field NMR and MRI were used to analyze the water occurrence characteristics of steam-exploded corn straw in solid-state fermentation (SSF). A significant linear relationship was found between the total NMR peak areas and the total water contents with a correlation coefficient of 0.993. It was further proved to be successful in comparing the contents and distributions of different states of water in static SSF and gas double-dynamic SSF (GDD-SSF). The results showed that among the three states of water, capillary water was the main form of water present and lost in substrates during fermentation. Total water and capillary water contents did not significantly differ as a result of different sample treatments, but hygroscopic water and free water contents in static SSF were respectively 0.38 and 2.98 times that in GDD-SSF with a packing height of 3 cm after fermentation. A relatively uniform water distribution and deep-depth region for microbial growth were found in GDD-SSF, suggesting that GDD-SSF was more suitable for industrialization. This technology has great potential for achieving efficient on-line water supply through water loss detection in SSF.

Required Accuracy of Structural Constraints in the Inversion of Electrical Resistivity Data for Improved Water Content Estimation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heinze, T.; Budler, J.; Weigand, M.; Kemna, A.

2017-12-01

Water content distribution in the ground is essential for hazard analysis during monitoring of landslide prone hills. Geophysical methods like electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) can be utilized to determine the spatial distribution of water content using established soil physical relationships between bulk electrical resistivity and water content. However, often more dominant electrical contrasts due to lithological structures outplay these hydraulic signatures and blur the results in the inversion process. Additionally, the inversion of ERT data requires further constraints. In the standard Occam inversion method, a smoothness constraint is used, assuming that soil properties change softly in space. While this applies in many scenarios, sharp lithological layers with strongly divergent hydrological parameters, as often found in landslide prone hillslopes, are typically badly resolved by standard ERT. We use a structurally constrained ERT inversion approach for improving water content estimation in landslide prone hills by including a-priori information about lithological layers. The smoothness constraint is reduced along layer boundaries identified using seismic data. This approach significantly improves water content estimations, because in landslide prone hills often a layer of rather high hydraulic conductivity is followed by a hydraulic barrier like clay-rich soil, causing higher pore pressures. One saturated layer and one almost drained layer typically result also in a sharp contrast in electrical resistivity, assuming that surface conductivity of the soil does not change in similar order. Using synthetic data, we study the influence of uncertainties in the a-priori information on the inverted resistivity and estimated water content distribution. We find a similar behavior over a broad range of models and depths. Based on our simulation results, we provide best-practice recommendations for field applications and suggest important tests to obtain reliable, reproducible and trustworthy results. We finally apply our findings to field data, compare conventional and improved analysis results, and discuss limitations of the structurally-constrained inversion approach.

Non-invasive absolute measurement of leaf water content using terahertz quantum cascade lasers.

PubMed

Baldacci, Lorenzo; Pagano, Mario; Masini, Luca; Toncelli, Alessandra; Carelli, Giorgio; Storchi, Paolo; Tredicucci, Alessandro

2017-01-01

Plant water resource management is one of the main future challenges to fight recent climatic changes. The knowledge of the plant water content could be indispensable for water saving strategies. Terahertz spectroscopic techniques are particularly promising as a non-invasive tool for measuring leaf water content, thanks to the high predominance of the water contribution to the total leaf absorption. Terahertz quantum cascade lasers (THz QCL) are one of the most successful sources of THz radiation. Here we present a new method which improves the precision of THz techniques by combining a transmission measurement performed using a THz QCL source, with simple pictures of leaves taken by an optical camera. As a proof of principle, we performed transmission measurements on six plants of Vitis vinifera L. (cv "Colorino"). We found a linear law which relates the leaf water mass to the product between the leaf optical depth in the THz and the projected area. Results are in optimal agreement with the proposed law, which reproduces the experimental data with 95% accuracy. This method may overcome the issues related to intra-variety heterogeneities and retrieve the leaf water mass in a fast, simple, and non-invasive way. In the future this technique could highlight different behaviours in preserving the water status during drought stress.

Improving the Efficiency of Natural Raw Water Pretreatment at Thermal Power Stations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dremicheva, E. S.

2018-02-01

In the treatment of make-up water for thermal power stations (TPS) and heat networks, raw water from surface water bodies is used. It contains organic and mineral pollutants in the form of particulates or colloids. Coagulation and flocculation are reagent methods for removing these pollutants from water. Chemicals are used to assist in the formation of large structured flakes that are removed easily from water. The Kuibyshev water reservoir was selected as the object of investigation. Basic physical and chemical properties of the raw water are presented. The application of various coagulating agents, their mixtures in different proportions, and flocculating agents for clarifying the Volga water was examined. The required dose of a coagulant or flocculant was determined based on test coagulation of the treated water. Aluminum sulfate and iron (III) chloride were used a coagulant, and Praestol 2500 (nonionic) as a flocculant. A method of enhancement of coagulation and flocculation by injecting air into the treated water is examined. The results of experimental investigation of the effect of water treatment method on water quality indices, such as alkalinity, pH, iron content, suspended material content, and permanganate value, are presented. It is demonstrated that joint use of ironand aluminum containing coagulation agents brings the coagulation conditions closer to the optimum ones. Aeration does not affect the coagulation process. The methods for supplying air to a clarifier are proposed for practical implementation.

The modelling influence of water content to mechanical parameter of soil in analysis of slope stability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gusman, M.; Nazki, A.; Putra, R. R.

2018-04-01

One of the parameters in slope stability analysis is the shear strength of the soil. Changes in soil shear strength characteristics lead to a decrease in safety factors on the slopes. This study aims to see the effect of increased moisture content on soil mechanical parameters. The case study study was conducted on the slopes of Sitinjau Lauik Kota Padang. The research method was done by laboratory analysis and simple liniear regression analysis and multiple. Based on the test soil results show that the increase in soil water content causes a decrease in cohesion values and internal shear angle. The relationship of moisture content to cohesion is described in equation Y = 55.713-0,6X with R2 = 0.842. While the relationship of water content to shear angle in soil is described in the equation Y = 38.878-0.258X with R2 = 0.915. From several simulations of soil water level improvement, calculation of safety factor (SF) of slope. The calculation results show that the increase of groundwater content is very significant affect the safety factor (SF) slope. SF slope values are in safe condition when moisture content is 50% and when it reaches maximum water content 73.74% slope safety factor value potentially for landslide.

Nondestructive and Real-time Measurement of Moisture in Plant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ogawa, Yuichi; Kawase, Kodo; Mizuno, Maya; Yamashita, Masatsugu; Otani, Chiko

We constructed a THz transillumination system for water content monitoring, and we succeeded in measuring the moisture level in plants. Our measurement system uses a widely tunable coherent THz parametric oscillator source. As target we chose for this experiment a leaf of Japanese basil. The time variation of the water content in the leaf was monitored in two situations: a leaf freshly cut which is left to dry out, and the leaf of a water stressed plant. We found by real-time measurements that the water content of a cut leaf does not decrease uniformly in time. Also, the response to water stress is delayed by about 5-10 minutes. Furthermore, we demonstrated a moisture measurement using a transillumination THz imaging system. As target we chose for this experiment a leaf of Hedera helix held between two thin plastic sheets. The change of the moisture distribution is clearly visible. These results show that the method described here can be applied to nondestructive and real-time monitoring of water content in plants.

[Near infrared spectroscopy study on water content in turbine oil].

PubMed

Chen, Bin; Liu, Ge; Zhang, Xian-Ming

2013-11-01

Near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy combined with successive projections algorithm (SPA) was investigated for determination of water content in turbine oil. Through the 57 samples of different water content in turbine oil scanned applying near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, with the water content in the turbine oil of 0-0.156%, different pretreatment methods such as the original spectra, first derivative spectra and differential polynomial least squares fitting algorithm Savitzky-Golay (SG), and successive projections algorithm (SPA) were applied for the extraction of effective wavelengths, the correlation coefficient (R) and root mean square error (RMSE) were used as the model evaluation indices, accordingly water content in turbine oil was investigated. The results indicated that the original spectra with different water content in turbine oil were pretreated by the performance of first derivative + SG pretreatments, then the selected effective wavelengths were used as the inputs of least square support vector machine (LS-SVM). A total of 16 variables selected by SPA were employed to construct the model of SPA and least square support vector machine (SPA-LS-SVM). There is 9 as The correlation coefficient was 0.975 9 and the root of mean square error of validation set was 2.655 8 x 10(-3) using the model, and it is feasible to determine the water content in oil using near infrared spectroscopy and SPA-LS-SVM, and an excellent prediction precision was obtained. This study supplied a new and alternative approach to the further application of near infrared spectroscopy in on-line monitoring of contamination such as water content in oil.

Resolution capacity of geophysical monitoring regarding permafrost degradation induced by hydrological processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mewes, Benjamin; Hilbich, Christin; Delaloye, Reynald; Hauck, Christian

2017-12-01

Geophysical methods are often used to characterize and monitor the subsurface composition of permafrost. The resolution capacity of standard methods, i.e. electrical resistivity tomography and refraction seismic tomography, depends not only on static parameters such as measurement geometry, but also on the temporal variability in the contrast of the geophysical target variables (electrical resistivity and P-wave velocity). Our study analyses the resolution capacity of electrical resistivity tomography and refraction seismic tomography for typical processes in the context of permafrost degradation using synthetic and field data sets of mountain permafrost terrain. In addition, we tested the resolution capacity of a petrophysically based quantitative combination of both methods, the so-called 4-phase model, and through this analysed the expected changes in water and ice content upon permafrost thaw. The results from the synthetic data experiments suggest a higher sensitivity regarding an increase in water content compared to a decrease in ice content. A potentially larger uncertainty originates from the individual geophysical methods than from the combined evaluation with the 4-phase model. In the latter, a loss of ground ice can be detected quite reliably, whereas artefacts occur in the case of increased horizontal or vertical water flow. Analysis of field data from a well-investigated rock glacier in the Swiss Alps successfully visualized the seasonal ice loss in summer and the complex spatially variable ice, water and air content changes in an interannual comparison.

METAL SPECIATION IN SOIL, SEDIMENT, AND WATER SYSTEMS VIA SYNCHROTRON RADIATION RESEARCH

EPA Science Inventory

Metal contaminated environmental systems (soils, sediments, and water) have challenged researchers for many years. Traditional methods of analysis have employed extraction methods to determine total metal content and define risk based on the premise that as metal concentration in...

Physical retrieval of precipitation water contents from Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) data. Part 2: Retrieval method and applications (report version)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Olson, William S.

1990-01-01

A physical retrieval method for estimating precipitating water distributions and other geophysical parameters based upon measurements from the DMSP-F8 SSM/I is developed. Three unique features of the retrieval method are (1) sensor antenna patterns are explicitly included to accommodate varying channel resolution; (2) precipitation-brightness temperature relationships are quantified using the cloud ensemble/radiative parameterization; and (3) spatial constraints are imposed for certain background parameters, such as humidity, which vary more slowly in the horizontal than the cloud and precipitation water contents. The general framework of the method will facilitate the incorporation of measurements from the SSMJT, SSM/T-2 and geostationary infrared measurements, as well as information from conventional sources (e.g., radiosondes) or numerical forecast model fields.

Modeling the soil water retention curves of soil-gravel mixtures with regression method on the Loess Plateau of China.

PubMed

Wang, Huifang; Xiao, Bo; Wang, Mingyu; Shao, Ming'an

2013-01-01

Soil water retention parameters are critical to quantify flow and solute transport in vadose zone, while the presence of rock fragments remarkably increases their variability. Therefore a novel method for determining water retention parameters of soil-gravel mixtures is required. The procedure to generate such a model is based firstly on the determination of the quantitative relationship between the content of rock fragments and the effective saturation of soil-gravel mixtures, and then on the integration of this relationship with former analytical equations of water retention curves (WRCs). In order to find such relationships, laboratory experiments were conducted to determine WRCs of soil-gravel mixtures obtained with a clay loam soil mixed with shale clasts or pebbles in three size groups with various gravel contents. Data showed that the effective saturation of the soil-gravel mixtures with the same kind of gravels within one size group had a linear relation with gravel contents, and had a power relation with the bulk density of samples at any pressure head. Revised formulas for water retention properties of the soil-gravel mixtures are proposed to establish the water retention curved surface models of the power-linear functions and power functions. The analysis of the parameters obtained by regression and validation of the empirical models showed that they were acceptable by using either the measured data of separate gravel size group or those of all the three gravel size groups having a large size range. Furthermore, the regression parameters of the curved surfaces for the soil-gravel mixtures with a large range of gravel content could be determined from the water retention data of the soil-gravel mixtures with two representative gravel contents or bulk densities. Such revised water retention models are potentially applicable in regional or large scale field investigations of significantly heterogeneous media, where various gravel sizes and different gravel contents are present.

Modeling the Soil Water Retention Curves of Soil-Gravel Mixtures with Regression Method on the Loess Plateau of China

PubMed Central

Wang, Huifang; Xiao, Bo; Wang, Mingyu; Shao, Ming'an

2013-01-01

Soil water retention parameters are critical to quantify flow and solute transport in vadose zone, while the presence of rock fragments remarkably increases their variability. Therefore a novel method for determining water retention parameters of soil-gravel mixtures is required. The procedure to generate such a model is based firstly on the determination of the quantitative relationship between the content of rock fragments and the effective saturation of soil-gravel mixtures, and then on the integration of this relationship with former analytical equations of water retention curves (WRCs). In order to find such relationships, laboratory experiments were conducted to determine WRCs of soil-gravel mixtures obtained with a clay loam soil mixed with shale clasts or pebbles in three size groups with various gravel contents. Data showed that the effective saturation of the soil-gravel mixtures with the same kind of gravels within one size group had a linear relation with gravel contents, and had a power relation with the bulk density of samples at any pressure head. Revised formulas for water retention properties of the soil-gravel mixtures are proposed to establish the water retention curved surface models of the power-linear functions and power functions. The analysis of the parameters obtained by regression and validation of the empirical models showed that they were acceptable by using either the measured data of separate gravel size group or those of all the three gravel size groups having a large size range. Furthermore, the regression parameters of the curved surfaces for the soil-gravel mixtures with a large range of gravel content could be determined from the water retention data of the soil-gravel mixtures with two representative gravel contents or bulk densities. Such revised water retention models are potentially applicable in regional or large scale field investigations of significantly heterogeneous media, where various gravel sizes and different gravel contents are present. PMID:23555040

Improved COD Measurements for Organic Content in Flowback Water with High Chloride Concentrations.

PubMed

Cardona, Isabel; Park, Ho Il; Lin, Lian-Shin

2016-03-01

An improved method was used to determine chemical oxygen demand (COD) as a measure of organic content in water samples containing high chloride content. A contour plot of COD percent error in the Cl(-)-Cl(-):COD domain showed that COD errors increased with Cl(-):COD. Substantial errors (>10%) could occur in low Cl(-):COD regions (<300) for samples with low (<10 g/L) and high chloride concentrations (>25 g/L). Applying the method to flowback water samples resulted in COD concentrations ranging in 130 to 1060 mg/L, which were substantially lower than the previously reported values for flowback water samples from Marcellus Shale (228 to 21 900 mg/L). It is likely that overestimations of COD in the previous studies occurred as result of chloride interferences. Pretreatment with mercuric sulfate, and use of a low-strength digestion solution, and the contour plot to correct COD measurements are feasible steps to significantly improve the accuracy of COD measurements.

Investigating Arsenic Contents in Surface and Drinking Water by Voltammetry and the Method of Standard Additions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cheng, Anran; Tyne, Rebecca; Kwok, Yu Ting; Rees, Louis; Craig, Lorraine; Lapinee, Chaipat; D'Arcy, Mitch; Weiss, Dominik J.; Salau¨n, Pascal

2016-01-01

Testing water samples for arsenic contamination has become an important water quality issue worldwide. Arsenic usually occurs in very small concentrations, and a sensitive analytical method is needed. We present here a 1-day laboratory module developed to introduce Earth Sciences and/or Chemistry student undergraduates to key aspects of this…

HydroCrowd: a citizen science snapshot to assess the spatial control of nitrogen solutes in surface waters

PubMed Central

Breuer, Lutz; Hiery, Noreen; Kraft, Philipp; Bach, Martin; Aubert, Alice H.; Frede, Hans-Georg

2015-01-01

We organized a crowdsourcing experiment in the form of a snapshot sampling campaign to assess the spatial distribution of nitrogen solutes, namely, nitrate, ammonium and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), in German surface waters. In particular, we investigated (i) whether crowdsourcing is a reasonable sampling method in hydrology and (ii) what the effects of population density, soil humus content and arable land were on actual nitrogen solute concentrations and surface water quality. The statistical analyses revealed a significant correlation between nitrate and arable land (0.46), as well as soil humus content (0.37) but a weak correlation with population density (0.12). DON correlations were weak but significant with humus content (0.14) and arable land (0.13). The mean contribution of DON to total dissolved nitrogen was 22%. Samples were classified as water quality class II or above, following the European Water Framework Directive for nitrate and ammonium (53% and 82%, respectively). Crowdsourcing turned out to be a useful method to assess the spatial distribution of stream solutes, as considerable amounts of samples were collected with comparatively little effort. PMID:26561200

Starch hydrogels: The influence of the amylose content and gelatinization method.

PubMed

Biduski, Bárbara; Silva, Wyller Max Ferreria da; Colussi, Rosana; Halal, Shanise Lisie de Mello El; Lim, Loong-Tak; Dias, Álvaro Renato Guerra; Zavareze, Elessandra da Rosa

2018-07-01

Gelatinization and retrogradation, influenced by amylose and amylopectin ratio, are important characteristics for starch hydrogels elaboration. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of amylose content and the gelatinization method on the physicochemical characteristics of native and cross-linked rice starch hydrogels. The native and cross-linked starches were gelatinized with heating or alkaline solution, added polyvinyl alcohol, frozen and then freeze-dried. The cross-linked starch had a low final viscosity (101.38 RVU), which made the heat-induced gelatinized hydrogel readily disintegrated in water. However, modified starch hydrogels obtained by alkaline-induced gelatinization resulted in a more rigid structure than the native starch hydrogels. In addition, the starch sample with high amylose content had lower water absorption (322.2%) due to the greater stiffness of the hydrogel structure that resisted swelling. The alkaline-gelatinization resulted in stiffer hydrogels with lower water absorption (322.2 to 534.8%), while the heat-gelatinized behaved as a superabsorbent (658.7 to 1068.5%). The variability of the hydrogels properties of this study can enable a range of applications due to different amylose contents and gelatinization methods. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Flowmeter and Ground Penetrating Radar: comparison between hydrogeological and geophysical methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Villa, A.; Basirico', S.; Arato, A.; Crosta, G. B.; Frattini, P.; Godio, A.

2012-04-01

A comparison between saturated hydraulic conductivity calculated with Electromagnetic Borehole Flowmeter (EBF) and water content obtained by Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) Zero Offset Profile (ZOP) is presented. EBF technique permits to obtain permeability profiles along one borehole in the saturated zone by using the Moltz (1993) method. The analysis of ZOP data provides information about the water content (Topp, 1980) in the section between two adjacent boreholes. Water content profiles in the saturated zone can be related to the porosity of the medium which, together with the permeability from EBF measurements, is fundamental for any hydrogeological characterization. These two methods have been applied to three different test-sites located in the Northern Italy. A first site regards a complex aquifer, characterized by a chaotic sequence of gypsum-marls. The other two sites are characterized by an alternation of sandy and silty-sandy layers. For each site, we adopted the EBF along screened boreholes with 0.25 m spacing, under ambient and stressed conditions. The cross-hole georadar survey was performed within the saturated zone by using 100 Hz borehole antennas with 0.25 m spacing. The results from the analysis of EBF and ZOP profiles show a general positive correlation between permeability and water content and porosity. This is reasonable for granular soils where the permeability is controlled by the pore space available for water flow, i.e., the effective porosity. For this soils, where EBF permeability and ZOP water-content profiles are in good agreement, the volume between the boreholes can be supposed to be homogeneous. On the other hand, a poor correlation suggests the presence of heterogeneity between the boreholes, which can be observed because the two techniques involve different volumes of soil: the EBF permeability refers to a portion of volume just around the borehole while the ZOP investigates the entire volume between the two boreholes. The poor correlation could be enhanced when enlarging the borehole separation, because the difference in the involved volume between the two techniques increases. Finally, the degree of correlation between the EBF permeability profile and the ZOP water content profile can indicate how much the volume investigated by EBF is effectively representative of the entire volume between the boreholes. Molz, F.J. and S.C. Young, 1993. Development and Application of Borehole Flowmeters for Environmental Assessment, The Log Analyst, 13-23. Topp G.C., J.L. Davis and A.P. Annan, 1980. Electromagnetic determination of soil water content: measurements in coaxial transmission lines, Water Resources Research, 16, 574-582.

Accuracy of the cosmic-ray soil water content probe in humid forest ecosystems: The worst case scenario

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bogena, H. R.; Huisman, J. A.; Baatz, R.; Hendricks Franssen, H.-J.; Vereecken, H.

2013-09-01

Soil water content is one of the key state variables in the soil-vegetation-atmosphere continuum due to its important role in the exchange of water and energy at the soil surface. A new promising method to measure integral soil water content at the field or small catchment scale is the cosmic-ray probe (CRP). Recent studies of CRP measurements have mainly presented results from test sites located in very dry areas and from agricultural fields with sandy soils. In this study, distributed continuous soil water content measurements from a wireless sensor network (SoilNet) were used to investigate the accuracy of CRP measurements for soil water content determination in a humid forest ecosystem. Such ecosystems are less favorable for CRP applications due to the presence of a litter layer. In addition, lattice water and carbohydrates of soil organic matter and belowground biomass reduce the effective sensor depth and thus were accounted for in the calibration of the CRP. The hydrogen located in the biomass decreased the level of neutron count rates and thus also decreased the sensitivity of the cosmic-ray probe, which in turn resulted in an increase of the measurement uncertainty. This uncertainty was compensated by using longer integration times (e.g., 24 h). For the Wüstebach forest site, the cosmic-ray probe enabled the assessment of integral daily soil water content dynamics with a RMSE of about 0.03 cm3/cm3 without explicitly considering the litter layer. By including simulated water contents of the litter layer in the calibration, a better accuracy could be achieved.

Upscaled soil-water retention using van Genuchten's function

USGS Publications Warehouse

Green, T.R.; Constantz, J.E.; Freyberg, D.L.

1996-01-01

Soils are often layered at scales smaller than the block size used in numerical and conceptual models of variably saturated flow. Consequently, the small-scale variability in water content within each block must be homogenized (upscaled). Laboratory results have shown that a linear volume average (LVA) of water content at a uniform suction is a good approximation to measured water contents in heterogeneous cores. Here, we upscale water contents using van Genuchten's function for both the local and upscaled soil-water-retention characteristics. The van Genuchten (vG) function compares favorably with LVA results, laboratory experiments under hydrostatic conditions in 3-cm cores, and numerical simulations of large-scale gravity drainage. Our method yields upscaled vG parameter values by fitting the vG curve to the LVA of water contents at various suction values. In practice, it is more efficient to compute direct averages of the local vG parameter values. Nonlinear power averages quantify a feasible range of values for each upscaled vG shape parameter; upscaled values of N are consistently less than the harmonic means, reflecting broad pore-size distributions of the upscaled soils. The vG function is useful for modeling soil-water retention at large scales, and these results provide guidance for its application.

A method of measuring airborne acidity: its application for the determination of acid content on long-distance transported particles and in drainage water from spruces

Treesearch

Cyrill Brosset

1976-01-01

The acid properties of particles have been investigated by means of measuring the content of mainly strong acid in leaching solutions of particle samples and in drain water from trees. The measurements are based on Gran's plot and on a study of its curvature.

[Study on the amount of daily iodine intake of inhabitants living in drinking water with excessive iodine content areas after termination of iodized salt supply].

PubMed

Zhang, Gen-hong; Li, Su-mei; Zheng, He-ming; Wang, Chuan-gang; Liu, Lie-jun; Li, Xiu-wei; Zhang, Hao-feng; Ke, Geng-yin; Ma, Jian-guo; Yang, Jin; Ma, Ying; Liu, Jin-wen

2007-03-01

To investigate the amount of daily iodine intake in the diet of the target population in drinking water with areas of excessive iodine after stopping supply of iodized salt, to provide evidence for developing strategies on control and prevention of excessive iodine. 335 objectives were selected by a two-stage sampling method in 4 administrative villages with different iodine contents in drinking water. The amount of drinking water intake and dietary survey for 335 people were done by a door-to-door survey,while the iodine contents in the drinking water of each selected family, local staple food and vegetable were measured. The median level of iodine in drinking water was 431.5 microg/L while the daily amount of iodine intake among the three groups of waters with different iodine contents were all greater than RNI. The daily iodine intake of local people was all greater than UL in the areas where the water iodine contents were more than 300 microg/L. It was of statistical sense that the iodine mean intake per capita per day of the three groups differed at different water iodine levels (P < 0.01). The iodine mean intake per capita per day of the three groups of different water iodine levels increased along with water iodine and showed a uptrend (P < 0.01). 83.2%-98.7% of the daily iodine intake of the three groups was from drinking water and 1.3%-16.8% came from food. The iodine intake had high-positive correlation relation with the content of water iodine (P < 0.01). It was concluded that drinking water was the main source of iodine intake in areas with iodine excessive water by the percentage of over 80%. It was necessary to adopt measures to improve the quality of water to decrease the iodine content other than just stopping supplies of iodized salt in the areas where the water iodine contents were greater than 300 microg/L, in order to prevent and control excessive intake of iodine.

Investigation of the relationship between drinking water quality based on content of inorganic components and landform classes using fuzzy AHP (case study: south of Firozabad, west of Fars province, Iran)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mokarram, Marzieh; Sathyamoorthy, Dinesh

2016-10-01

In this study, the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is used to study the relationship between drinking water quality based on content of inorganic components and landform classes in the south of Firozabad, west of Fars province, Iran. For determination of drinking water quality based on content of inorganic components, parameters of calcium (Ca), chlorine (Cl), magnesium (Mg), thorium (TH), sodium (Na), electrical conductivity (EC), sulfate (SO4), and total dissolved solids (TDS) were used. It was found that 8.29 % of the study area has low water quality; 64.01 %, moderate; 23.33 %, high; and 4.38 %, very high. Areas with suitable drinking water quality based on content of inorganic components are located in parts of the south-eastern and south-western parts of the study area. The relationship between landform class and drinking water quality based on content of inorganic components shows that drinking water quality based on content of inorganic components is high in the stream, valleys, upland drainages, and local ridge classes, and low in the plain small and midslope classes. In fact we can predict water quality using extraction of landform classes from a digital elevation model (DEM) by the Topographic Position Index (TPI) method, so that streams, valleys, upland drainages, and local ridge classes have more water quality than the other classes. In the study we determined that without measurement of water sample characteristics, we can determine water quality by landform classes.

Estimation of Soil Moisture Content from the Spectral Reflectance of Bare Soils in the 0.4–2.5 μm Domain

PubMed Central

Fabre, Sophie; Briottet, Xavier; Lesaignoux, Audrey

2015-01-01

This work aims to compare the performance of new methods to estimate the Soil Moisture Content (SMC) of bare soils from their spectral signatures in the reflective domain (0.4–2.5 μm) in comparison with widely used spectral indices like Normalized Soil Moisture Index (NSMI) and Water Index SOIL (WISOIL). Indeed, these reference spectral indices use wavelengths located in the water vapour absorption bands and their performance are thus very sensitive to the quality of the atmospheric compensation. To reduce these limitations, two new spectral indices are proposed which wavelengths are defined using the determination matrix tool by taking into account the atmospheric transmission: Normalized Index of Nswir domain for Smc estimatiOn from Linear correlation (NINSOL) and Normalized Index of Nswir domain for Smc estimatiOn from Non linear correlation (NINSON). These spectral indices are completed by two new methods based on the global shape of the soil spectral signatures. These methods are the Inverse Soil semi-Empirical Reflectance model (ISER), using the inversion of an existing empirical soil model simulating the soil spectral reflectance according to soil moisture content for a given soil class, and the convex envelope model, linking the area between the envelope and the spectral signature to the SMC. All these methods are compared using a reference database built with 32 soil samples and composed of 190 spectral signatures with five or six soil moisture contents. Half of the database is used for the calibration stage and the remaining to evaluate the performance of the SMC estimation methods. The results show that the four new methods lead to similar or better performance than the one obtained by the reference indices. The RMSE is ranging from 3.8% to 6.2% and the coefficient of determination R2 varies between 0.74 and 0.91 with the best performance obtained with the ISER model. In a second step, simulated spectral radiances at the sensor level are used to analyse the sensitivity of these methods to the sensor spectral resolution and the water vapour content knowledge. The spectral signatures of the database are then used to simulate the signal at the top of atmosphere with a radiative transfer model and to compute the integrated incident signal representing the spectral radiance measurements of the HYMAP airborne hyperspectral instrument. The sensor radiances are then corrected from the atmosphere by an atmospheric compensation tool to retrieve the surface reflectances. The SMC estimation methods are then applied on the retrieve spectral reflectances. The adaptation of the spectral index wavelengths to the HyMap sensor spectral bands and the application of the convex envelope and ISER models to boarder spectral bands lead to an error on the SMC estimation. The best performance is then obtained with the ISER model (RMSE of 2.9% and R2 of 0.96) while the four other methods lead to quite similar RMSE (from 6.4% to 7.8%) and R2 (between 0.79 and 0.83) values. In the atmosphere compensation processing, an error on the water vapour content is introduced. The most robust methods to water vapour content variations are WISOIL, NINSON, NINSOL and ISER model. The convex envelope model and NSMI index require an accurate estimation of the water vapour content in the atmosphere. PMID:25648710

Understanding water uptake in bioaerosols using laboratory measurements, field tests, and modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chaudhry, Zahra; Ratnesar-Shumate, Shanna A.; Buckley, Thomas J.; Kalter, Jeffrey M.; Gilberry, Jerome U.; Eshbaugh, Jonathan P.; Corson, Elizabeth C.; Santarpia, Joshua L.; Carter, Christopher C.

2013-05-01

Uptake of water by biological aerosols can impact their physical and chemical characteristics. The water content in a bioaerosol can affect the backscatter cross-section as measured by LIDAR systems. Better understanding of the water content in controlled-release clouds of bioaerosols can aid in the development of improved standoff detection systems. This study includes three methods to improve understanding of how bioaerosols take up water. The laboratory method measures hygroscopic growth of biological material after it is aerosolized and dried. Hygroscopicity curves are created as the humidity is increased in small increments to observe the deliquescence point, then the humidity is decreased to observe the efflorescence point. The field component of the study measures particle size distributions of biological material disseminated into a large humidified chamber. Measurements are made with a Twin-Aerodynamic Particle Sizer (APS, TSI, Inc), -Relative Humidity apparatus where two APS units measure the same aerosol cloud side-by-side. The first operated under dry conditions by sampling downstream of desiccant dryers, the second operated under ambient conditions. Relative humidity was measured within the sampling systems to determine the difference in the aerosol water content between the two sampling trains. The water content of the bioaerosols was calculated from the twin APS units following Khlystov et al. 2005 [1]. Biological material is measured dried and wet and compared to laboratory curves of the same material. Lastly, theoretical curves are constructed from literature values for components of the bioaerosol material.

Combination of different methods to assess the fate of lignin in decomposing needle and leave litter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klotzbücher, Thimo; Filley, Timothy; Kaiser, Klaus; Kalbitz, Karsten

2010-05-01

Lignin is a major component of plant litter. However, its fate during litter decay is still poorly understood. One reason is the difficult analysis. Commonly used methods utilize different methodological approaches and focus on different aspects, e.g., content of lignin and/or of lignin-derived phenols and the degree of oxidation. The comparability and feasibility of the methods has not been tested so far. Our aims were: (1) to compare different methods with respect to track lignin degradation during plant litter decay and (2) to evaluate possible advantages of combining the different results. We assessed lignin degradation in decaying litter by 13C-TMAH thermochemolysis and CuO oxidation (each combined with GC/MS) and by determination of acid-detergent lignin (ADL) combined with near infrared spectroscopy. Furthermore, water-extractable organic matter produced during litter decay was examined for indicators of lignin-derived compounds by UV absorbance at 280 nm, fluorescence spectroscopy, and 13C-TMAH GC/MS. The study included litter samples from 5 different tree species (acer, ash, beech, pine, spruce), exposed in litterbags to degradation in a spruce stand for 27 months. First results suggested stronger lignin degradation in coniferous than in deciduous litter. This was indicated by complementary results from various methods: Conifer litter showed a more pronounced decrease in ADL content and a stronger increase in oxidation degree of side chains (Ac/Al ratios of CuO oxidation and 13C-TMAH products). Furthermore water extracted organic matter from needles showed a higher aromaticity and molecule complexity. Thus properties of water extractable organic matter seemed to reflect the extents of lignin degradation in solid litter samples. Contents of lignin-derived phenols determined with the CuO method (VSC content) hardly changed during decay of needles and leaves. These results thus not matched the trends found with the ADL method. Our results suggested that water-soluble phenolic acids that are included in the CuO oxidation products, accumulated during decay of litter with less stable lignin and then contributed to VSC contents and to the pool of water- extractable organic matter. By combining results from different methods we gained a better understanding about the differences in lignin degradation between the litter species.

Initialization of soil-water content in regional-scale atmospheric prediction models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Christopher B.; Lakhtakia, Mercedes; Capehart, William J.; Carlson, Toby N.

1994-01-01

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the feasibility of determining the soil-water content fields required as initial conditions for land surface components within atmospheric prediction models. This is done using a model of the hydrologic balance and conventional meteorological observations, land cover, and soils information. A discussion is presented of the subgrid-scale effects, the integration time, and the choice of vegetation type on the soil-water content patterns. Finally, comparisons are made between two The Pennsylvania State University/National Center for Atmospheric Research mesoscale model simulations, one using climatological fields and the other one using the soil-moisture fields produced by this new method.

NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING OF WATER CONTENT IN THE SUBSURFACE

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

Hendrickx, Jan M.H.

1999-12-31

This report contains the experimental, theoretical and numerical studies performed under Department of Energy (DOE) Agreement Number DE-FG07-96ER14732 entitled ''Surface Nuclear Magnetic Resonance for Imaging Subsurface Water.'' DOE and Department of Defense (DOD) complexes and test ranges are situated in widely varying climatic conditions from the desert southwest to the humid east. The mission of the Office of Environmental Restoration and Waste Management (EM) is to clean up the inventory of inactive DOE sites and facilities, and the goal of the EM Office of Technology Development (OTD) is to deliver technologies to make environmental restoration more efficient and cost effective.more » In the western United States, where a number of DOE facilities are located, the water table can occur several hundred feet below the surface. The zone between surface and water table is called the vadose zone or unsaturated zone. A characteristic of that zone is that mobility of water and contaminants is greatly reduced compared to rate of movement in the saturated zone. A thick vadose zone lowers the risk and, at least, increases the time before contaminants enter drinking water supplies. The assessment of risk is often performed by modeling of ground water flow and contaminant migration by analytical methods or unsaturated flow models (e.g. Hendrickx et al 1991). Necessary inputs for these models are the hydraulic properties of the different geological formations (e.g. Hendrickx 1990) and the water content distribution in the vadose zone (Freeze and Cherry 1979). Accurate risk assessments for ground water contamination cannot be conducted without actual measurements of the water content distribution in the vadose zone. To date, very few techniques have been developed to provide such information at an acceptable speed and cost. Because soil water contents exhibit a large spatial and temporal variability, the costs of conventional measurement techniques, such as gravimetric sampling, gypsum blocks, and neutron probes, are high. Only non-intrusive tests with a cost factor much lower than that of an intrusive test will offer acceptable alternatives. Therefore, a definite need exists for a non-intrusive water content measurement method. The surface nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technique applied to imaging of ground water was first developed by Russian scientists from the Institute of Chemical and Combustion in Novosibirsk, Russia. Over the last two decades they have published a series of papers and reports describing the theory of the method, along with experimental measurements from the surface to a depth of about 100 m. Preliminary evaluation of the concepts and results merited further investigations, particularly because of the critical technical need for cost-effective water content measurements in environmental restoration.« less

Improving water content estimation on landslide-prone hillslopes using structurally-constrained inversion of electrical resistivity data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heinze, Thomas; Möhring, Simon; Budler, Jasmin; Weigand, Maximilian; Kemna, Andreas

2017-04-01

Rainfall-triggered landslides are a latent danger in almost any place of the world. Due to climate change heavy rainfalls might occur more often, increasing the risk of landslides. With pore pressure as mechanical trigger, knowledge of water content distribution in the ground is essential for hazard analysis during monitoring of potentially dangerous rainfall events. Geophysical methods like electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) can be utilized to determine the spatial distribution of water content using established soil physical relationships between bulk electrical resistivity and water content. However, often more dominant electrical contrasts due to lithological structures outplay these hydraulic signatures and blur the results in the inversion process. Additionally, the inversion of ERT data requires further constraints. In the standard Occam inversion method, a smoothness constraint is used, assuming that soil properties change softly in space. This applies in many scenarios, as for example during infiltration of water without a clear saturation front. Sharp lithological layers with strongly divergent hydrological parameters, as often found in landslide prone hillslopes, on the other hand, are typically badly resolved by standard ERT. We use a structurally constrained ERT inversion approach for improving water content estimation in landslide prone hills by including a-priori information about lithological layers. Here the standard smoothness constraint is reduced along layer boundaries identified using seismic data or other additional sources. This approach significantly improves water content estimations, because in landslide prone hills often a layer of rather high hydraulic conductivity is followed by a hydraulic barrier like clay-rich soil, causing higher pore pressures. One saturated layer and one almost drained layer typically result also in a sharp contrast in electrical resistivity, assuming that surface conductivity of the soil does not change in similar order. Using synthetic data, we study the influence of uncertainties in the a-priori information on the inverted resistivity and estimated water content distribution. Based on our simulation results, we provide best-practice recommendations for field applications and suggest important tests to obtain reliable, reproducible and trustworthy results. We finally apply our findings to field data, compare conventional and improved analysis results, and discuss limitations of the structurally-constrained inversion approach.

Geohydrologic data from test hole USW UZ-7, Yucca Mountain area, Nye County, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kume, Jack; Hammermeister, D.P.

1990-01-01

This report contains a description of the methods used in drilling and coring of the test-hole USW UZ-7, a description of the methods used in collecting, handling, and testing of test-hole samples; Lithologic information from the test hole; and water-content, water-potential, bulk-density, grain-density, porosity, and tritium data for the test hole. Test-hole USW UZ-7 was drilled and cored to a total depth of 62.94 m. The drilling was done using air as a drilling fluid to minimize disturbance to the water content of cores, drill-bit cuttings, and borehole wall-rock. Beginning at the land surface, the unsaturated-zone rock that was penetrated consisted of alluvium; welded and partially to nonwelded ash-flow tuff; bedded and reworked ash-fall tuff; nonwelded ash-flow tuff; and welded ash-flow tuff. Values of gravimetric water content and water potential of alluvium were intermediate between the extreme values in welded and nonwelded units of tuff. Gravimetric water content was largest in bedded and nonwelded ash-fall tuffs and was smallest in welded ash-flow tuff. Values of water potential were more negative in densely welded ash-flow tuffs and were less negative in bedded and nonwelded ash-fall tuffs. Bulk density was largest in densely welded ash-flow tuffs and smallest in nonwelded and bedded ash-fall tuffs. Grain density was uniform but was slightly larger in nonwelded and bedded ash-fall tuffs than in welded ash-flow tuffs. Porosity trends were opposite to bulk-density trends. Tritium content in alluvium was smallest near the alluvium-bedrock contact, markedly increased in the middle of the deposit, and decreased in the near-surface zone of the deposit. (Author 's abstract)

Water-Searchers: A Reconfigurable and Self Sustaining Army of Subsurface Exploration Robots Searching for Water/Ice Using Multiple Sensors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Youk, G. U.; Whittaker, W. (Red); Volpe, R.

2000-01-01

Perhaps the most promising site for extant life on Mars today is where subsurface water has been maintained. Therefore, searching for underground water will provide a good chance to find evidence of life on Mars. The following are scientific/engineering questions that we want to answer using our approach: (1) Is there subsurface water/ice? How deep is it? How much is there? Is it frozen? (2) What kinds of underground layers exist in the Martian crust? (3) What is the density of Martian soil or regolith? Can we dig into it? Should we drill into it? (4) Can a sudden release of underground water occur if a big asteroid hits Mars? Our approach provides essential information to answer these questions. Moreover, dependence on the water content and depth in soil, not only resultant scientific conclusions but also proper digging/drilling methods, are suggested. 'How much water is in the Martian soil?' There can be several possibilities: (1) high water content that is enough to form permafrost; (2) low water content that is not enough to form permafrost; or (3) different layers with different moisture contents. 'How deep should a rover dig into soil to find water/ice?' The exact size-frequency distribution has not been measured for the soil particles. On-board sensors can provide not only the water content but also the density (or porosity) of Martian soil as a function of depth.

Estimating net rainfall, evaporation and water storage of a bare soil from sequential L-band emissivities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stroosnijder, L.; Lascano, R. J.; Newton, R. W.; Vanbavel, C. H. M.

1984-01-01

A general method to use a time series of L-band emissivities as an input to a hydrological model for continuously monitoring the net rainfall and evaporation as well as the water content over the entire soil profile is proposed. The model requires a sufficiently accurate and general relation between soil emissivity and surface moisture content. A model which requires the soil hydraulic properties as an additional input, but does not need any weather data was developed. The method is shown to be numerically consistent.

Methods of analysis by the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Laboratory; determination of inorganic and organic constituents in water and fluvial sediments

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fishman, M. J.

1993-01-01

Methods to be used to analyze samples of water, suspended sediment and bottom material for their content of inorganic and organic constituents are presented. Technology continually changes, and so this laboratory manual includes new and revised methods for determining the concentration of dissolved constituents in water, whole water recoverable constituents in water-suspended sediment samples, and recoverable concentration of constit- uents in bottom material. For each method, the general topics covered are the application, the principle of the method, interferences, the apparatus and reagents required, a detailed description of the analytical procedure, reporting results, units and significant figures, and analytical precision data. Included in this manual are 30 methods.

Estimating plant available water content from remotely sensed evapotranspiration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Dijk, A. I. J. M.; Warren, G.; Doody, T.

2012-04-01

Plant available water content (PAWC) is an emergent soil property that is a critical variable in hydrological modelling. PAWC determines the active soil water storage and, in water-limited environments, is the main cause of different ecohydrological behaviour between (deep-rooted) perennial vegetation and (shallow-rooted) seasonal vegetation. Conventionally, PAWC is estimated for a combination of soil and vegetation from three variables: maximum rooting depth and the volumetric water content at field capacity and permanent wilting point, respectively. Without elaborate local field observation, large uncertainties in PAWC occur due to the assumptions associated with each of the three variables. We developed an alternative, observation-based method to estimate PAWC from precipitation observations and CSIRO MODIS Reflectance-based Evapotranspiration (CMRSET) estimates. Processing steps include (1) removing residual systematic bias in the CMRSET estimates, (2) making spatially appropriate assumptions about local water inputs and surface runoff losses, (3) using mean seasonal patterns in precipitation and CMRSET to estimate the seasonal pattern in soil water storage changes, (4) from these, calculating the mean seasonal storage range, which can be treated as an estimate of PAWC. We evaluate the resulting PAWC estimates against those determined in field experiments for 180 sites across Australia. We show that the method produces better estimates of PAWC than conventional techniques. In addition, the method provides detailed information with full continental coverage at moderate resolution (250 m) scale. The resulting maps can be used to identify likely groundwater dependent ecosystems and to derive PAWC distributions for each combination of soil and vegetation type.

Does flowpath alteration by centrifugal force cause deviation from Darcy's law?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nimmo, J. R.; Turturro, A. C.; MA, B.; Caputo, M. C.; Perkins, K. S.

2016-12-01

Though driving force much larger than gravity is unnatural, centrifugal force has proven useful for investigating flow in soil and rock. It affords practical measurement techniques, as well as a means of perturbation that can provide insights into the fundamentals of flow. Many centrifugally-driven flow experiments have been carried out in the USGS Menlo Park facility since 1980. Notable developments include the Steady-State Centrifuge (SSC) method and the Quasi-Steady Centrifuge (QSC) method for accurate measurements of unsaturated hydraulic properties over a wide range of water content. Centrifugal force can affect flowpaths in at least two ways: (1) deformation of pores by compression, and (2) distortion of air-water interfaces. Compression reduces the hydraulic conductivity K. We have measured this effect on saturated K of several core samples from several m depth. For forces over a 50X (factor-of-50) range, saturated K varied by as much as 10X. In unsaturated soil, the effect is less because much of the pore size reduction occurs in large pores and in air-filled space. A complication is that some portion of the compressional strain is elastic, and its rebound after centrifugation prevents easy determination of how much strain occurred at the time of measurement. Experiments with a linear displacement transducer inside a centrifuge bucket showed for a silty soil of massive structure that about one-third of the strain is elastic. Centrifugal force affords rigorous tests of Darcy's law. If flux measured at a single water content varies in direct proportion to driving force, Darcy's law is confirmed for the conditions tested. The SSC and QSC methods are ideally suited to this purpose as they allow great force variation with minimal effect on water content. Our tests at forces up to 1000 or more times normal gravity in a sandy soil at low water content, and in a porous sandstone (calcarenite) at intermediate water content, show strong agreement with Darcy's law. Further tests are needed because deviation would be more likely in cases such as higher water contents or greater heterogeneity. The observed good agreement, perhaps surprisingly, indicates that any force-caused alterations of the shape of air-water interfaces do not significantly affect unsaturated K.

Prevalence of dental fluorosis in relation with different fluoride levels in drinking water among school going children in Sarada tehsil of Udaipur district, Rajasthan.

PubMed

Sarvaiya, B U; Bhayya, D; Arora, R; Mehta, D N

2012-01-01

To estimate the prevalence of dental fluorosis in relation with different fluoride levels in drinking water among school going children of 6-12 years age group. Dental fluorosis was recorded using Dean's index in school children of selected villages. The drinking water samples of all the selected villages were collected in polyethylene bottles and the fluoride content of these samples was determined by fluoride ion selective method using Orion microprocessor analyser. The overall prevalence of dental fluorosis was found to be 69.84%. An increase in the community fluorosis index (CFI) with corresponding increase in water fluoride content was found. There was an increase in prevalence of dental fluorosis with a corresponding increase in water fluoride content from 0.8 ppm to 4.1 ppm. A significantly strong positive correlation was found between CFI and fluoride concentration in drinking water.

Radiochemical determination of strontium-90 and cesium-137 in waters of the Pacific Ocean and its neighboring seas

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

Borisenko, G.S.; Kandinskii, P.A.; Gedeonov, L.I.

1987-03-01

Depending on the salinity of the water, two versions of strontium-90 and cesium-137 concentration from water samples are presented. Cesium-137 was concentrated by precipitating sparingly soluble mixed hexacyanoferrates (II), and strontium-90 by precipitating carbonates together with calcium. A scheme has been given for radiochemical analysis of the concentrates. Strontium-90 and cesium-137 contents in the waters of the Pacific Ocean and its neighboring seas have been determined by the radiochemical method described. The levels of radionuclide content in the water and atmospheric precipitations have been shown to be inter-related. Strontium-90 and cesium-137 contents in the surface water of the northwestern Pacificmore » were found to be much lower in 1980 than in the early seventies. The area of technogenic radioactive pollution was found to persist in the region of the Columbia mouth into the Pacific Ocean.« less

Gravimetric method for in vitro calibration of skin hydration measurements.

PubMed

Martinsen, Ørjan G; Grimnes, Sverre; Nilsen, Jon K; Tronstad, Christian; Jang, Wooyoung; Kim, Hongsig; Shin, Kunsoo; Naderi, Majid; Thielmann, Frank

2008-02-01

A novel method for in vitro calibration of skin hydration measurements is presented. The method combines gravimetric and electrical measurements and reveals an exponential dependency of measured electrical susceptance to absolute water content in the epidermal stratum corneum. The results also show that absorption of water into the stratum corneum exhibits three different phases with significant differences in absorption time constant. These phases probably correspond to bound, loosely bound, and bulk water.

Direct quantification of fatty acids in wet microalgal and yeast biomass via a rapid in situ fatty acid methyl ester derivatization approach.

PubMed

Dong, Tao; Yu, Liang; Gao, Difeng; Yu, Xiaochen; Miao, Chao; Zheng, Yubin; Lian, Jieni; Li, Tingting; Chen, Shulin

2015-12-01

Accurate determination of fatty acid contents is routinely required in microalgal and yeast biofuel studies. A method of rapid in situ fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) derivatization directly from wet fresh microalgal and yeast biomass was developed in this study. This method does not require prior solvent extraction or dehydration. FAMEs were prepared with a sequential alkaline hydrolysis (15 min at 85 °C) and acidic esterification (15 min at 85 °C) process. The resulting FAMEs were extracted into n-hexane and analyzed using gas chromatography. The effects of each processing parameter (temperature, reaction time, and water content) upon the lipids quantification in the alkaline hydrolysis step were evaluated with a full factorial design. This method could tolerate water content up to 20% (v/v) in total reaction volume, which equaled up to 1.2 mL of water in biomass slurry (with 0.05-25 mg of fatty acid). There were no significant differences in FAME quantification (p>0.05) between the standard AOAC 991.39 method and the proposed wet in situ FAME preparation method. This fatty acid quantification method is applicable to fresh wet biomass of a wide range of microalgae and yeast species.

Equilibrium water exchange between the intra- and extracellular spaces of mammalian brain.

PubMed

Quirk, James D; Bretthorst, G Larry; Duong, Timothy Q; Snyder, Avi Z; Springer, Charles S; Ackerman, Joseph J H; Neil, Jeffrey J

2003-09-01

This report describes the measurement of water preexchange lifetimes and intra/extracellular content in intact, functioning mammalian brain. Intra- and extracellular water magnetic resonance (MR) signals from rat brain in vivo were quantitatively resolved in the longitudinal relaxation domain following administration of an MR relaxation agent into the extracellular space. The estimated intracellular water content fraction was 81% +/- 8%, and the intra- to extracellular exchange rate constant was 1.81 +/- 0.89 s(-1) (mean +/- SD, N = 9), corresponding to an intracellular water preexchange lifetime of approximately 550 ms. These results provide a temporal framework for anticipating the water exchange regime (fast, intermediate, or slow) underlying a variety of compartment-sensitive measurements. The method also supplies a means by which to evaluate membrane water permeability and intra/extracellular water content serially in intact tissue. The data are obtained in an imaging mode that permits detection of regional variations in these parameters. Copyright 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Effect of water content on the water repellency for hydrophobized sands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Subedi, S.; Kawamoto, K.; Kuroda, T.; Moldrup, P.; Komatsu, T.

2011-12-01

Alternative earthen covers such as capillary barriers (CBs) and evapotranspirative covers are recognized as useful technical and low-cost solutions for limiting water infiltration and controlling seepage flow at solid waste landfills in semi-arid and arid regions. However, their application to the landfills at wet regions seems to be matter of concern due to loss of their impending capability under high precipitation. One of the possible techniques to enhance the impermeable properties of CBs is to alter soil grain surfaces to be water-repellent by mixing/coating hydrophobic agents (HAs). In order to examine a potential use of model sands hydrophobized with locally available and environmental-friendly HAs such as oleic acid (OA) and stearic acid (SA) for hydrophobic CBs. In the present study, we first characterized the effect of water content on the degree of water repellency (WR) for hydrophobized sands and volcanic ash soil at different depth. Secondly, the time dependency of the contact angle in hydrophobized sands and volcanic ash soils at different water content was evaluated. Further, the effects of hydrophobic organic matter contents on the WR of hydrophobized sands were investigated by horizontal infiltration test. We investigated the degree of WR as functions of volumetric water content (θ) of a volcanic ash soil samples from different depth and water adjusted hydrophobized sand samples with different ratio of HAs by using sessile drop method (SDM). The initial contact angle (αi) measured from SDM decreased gradually with increasing water content in OA and SA coated samples. Measured αi values for volcanic ash soils increased with increasing water content and reached a peak values of 111.7o at θ= 0.325 cm3 cm-3, where-after αi gradually decreased. Each test sample exhibited sharp decrease in contact angle with time at higher water content. Sorptivity values for oleic acid coated samples decreased with increasing HA content and reached the minimum value of 0.068 cm s-1/2 at 1 g HA kg-1 sand, and then gradually increased.

ACCELERATED SOLVENT EXTRACTION COMBINED WITH ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

A research project was initiated to address a recurring problem of elevated detection limits above required risk-based concentrations for the determination of semivolatile organic compounds in high moisture content solid samples. This project was initiated, in cooperation with the EPA Region 1 Laboratory, under the Regional Methods Program administered through the ORD Office of Science Policy. The aim of the project was to develop an approach for the rapid removal of water in high moisture content solids (e.g., wetland sediments) in preparation for analysis via Method 8270. Alternative methods for water removal have been investigated to enhance compound solid concentrations and improve extraction efficiency, with the use of pressure filtration providing a high-throughput alternative for removal of the majority of free water in sediments and sludges. In order to eliminate problems with phase separation during extraction of solids using Accelerated Solvent Extraction, a variation of a water-isopropanol extraction method developed at the USGS National Water Quality Laboratory in Denver, CO is being employed. The concentrations of target compounds in water-isopropanol extraction fluids are subsequently analyzed using an automated Solid Phase Extraction (SPE)-GC/MS method developed in our laboratory. The coupled approaches for dewatering, extraction, and target compound identification-quantitation provide a useful alternative to enhance sample throughput for Me

Research on the Optimum Water Content of Detecting Soil Nitrogen Using Near Infrared Sensor

PubMed Central

He, Yong; Nie, Pengcheng; Dong, Tao; Qu, Fangfang; Lin, Lei

2017-01-01

Nitrogen is one of the important indexes to evaluate the physiological and biochemical properties of soil. The level of soil nitrogen content influences the nutrient levels of crops directly. The near infrared sensor can be used to detect the soil nitrogen content rapidly, nondestructively, and conveniently. In order to investigate the effect of the different soil water content on soil nitrogen detection by near infrared sensor, the soil samples were dealt with different drying times and the corresponding water content was measured. The drying time was set from 1 h to 8 h, and every 1 h 90 samples (each nitrogen concentration of 10 samples) were detected. The spectral information of samples was obtained by near infrared sensor, meanwhile, the soil water content was calculated every 1 h. The prediction model of soil nitrogen content was established by two linear modeling methods, including partial least squares (PLS) and uninformative variable elimination (UVE). The experiment shows that the soil has the highest detection accuracy when the drying time is 3 h and the corresponding soil water content is 1.03%. The correlation coefficients of the calibration set are 0.9721 and 0.9656, and the correlation coefficients of the prediction set are 0.9712 and 0.9682, respectively. The prediction accuracy of both models is high, while the prediction effect of PLS model is better and more stable. The results indicate that the soil water content at 1.03% has the minimum influence on the detection of soil nitrogen content using a near infrared sensor while the detection accuracy is the highest and the time cost is the lowest, which is of great significance to develop a portable apparatus detecting nitrogen in the field accurately and rapidly. PMID:28880202

Research on the Optimum Water Content of Detecting Soil Nitrogen Using Near Infrared Sensor.

PubMed

He, Yong; Xiao, Shupei; Nie, Pengcheng; Dong, Tao; Qu, Fangfang; Lin, Lei

2017-09-07

Nitrogen is one of the important indexes to evaluate the physiological and biochemical properties of soil. The level of soil nitrogen content influences the nutrient levels of crops directly. The near infrared sensor can be used to detect the soil nitrogen content rapidly, nondestructively, and conveniently. In order to investigate the effect of the different soil water content on soil nitrogen detection by near infrared sensor, the soil samples were dealt with different drying times and the corresponding water content was measured. The drying time was set from 1 h to 8 h, and every 1 h 90 samples (each nitrogen concentration of 10 samples) were detected. The spectral information of samples was obtained by near infrared sensor, meanwhile, the soil water content was calculated every 1 h. The prediction model of soil nitrogen content was established by two linear modeling methods, including partial least squares (PLS) and uninformative variable elimination (UVE). The experiment shows that the soil has the highest detection accuracy when the drying time is 3 h and the corresponding soil water content is 1.03%. The correlation coefficients of the calibration set are 0.9721 and 0.9656, and the correlation coefficients of the prediction set are 0.9712 and 0.9682, respectively. The prediction accuracy of both models is high, while the prediction effect of PLS model is better and more stable. The results indicate that the soil water content at 1.03% has the minimum influence on the detection of soil nitrogen content using a near infrared sensor while the detection accuracy is the highest and the time cost is the lowest, which is of great significance to develop a portable apparatus detecting nitrogen in the field accurately and rapidly.

COSMOS soil water sensing affected by crop biomass and water status

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Soil water sensing methods are widely used to characterize water content in the root zone and below, but only a few are capable of sensing soil volumes larger than a few hundred liters. Scientists with the USDA-ARS Conservation & Production Research Laboratory, Bushland, Texas, evaluated: a) the Cos...

Changing the characteristics and properties of zeolite Y and nano-anatase in the formation of a nano-anatase/Y composite with improved photocatalytic and adsorption properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Domoroshchina, E. N.; Chernyshev, V. V.; Kuz'micheva, G. M.; Dorokhov, A. V.; Pirutko, L. V.; Kravchenko, G. V.; Chumakov, R. B.

2018-02-01

Zeolite Y and the NTD/Y nanocomposite, which were synthesized in situ (the addition of zeolite Y to the reaction mixture in the course of the synthesis of NTD by the sulfate method), were studied by a variety of methods. The decrease in the particle size (scanning electron microscopy) and the water content in pores (X-ray powder diffraction study, the full-profile Rietveld method, IR spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry), the increase in OH groups content and the decrease in the water content on the surface of zeolite (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) in the composition of NTD/Y compared to the initial zeolite Y were all established. A larger specific surface area of NTD/Y (Brunauer-Emmet-Teller method) compared to the initial zeolite Y is due to the fact that zeolite Y in the nanocomposite contains a smaller amount of water because of the synthesis conditions and the presence of nanocrystalline NTD on the surface of zeolite particles. It was found that NTD/Y nanocomposite exhibits a higher photocatalytic activity in the model decomposition reaction of methyl orange under UV and adsorption capacity for the extraction of P(V) and As(V) ions from aqueous media compared to the initial zeolite and pure NTD obtained under the same conditions, which differs from NTD/Y by the larger particle size, the smaller specific surface and the smaller content of OH groups and water on the surface. The role of Bronsted and Lewis centers in the realization of properties is discussed.

Aquatic insects dealing with dehydration: do desiccation resistance traits differ in species with contrasting habitat preferences?

PubMed Central

Velasco, Josefa; Millán, Andrés; Bilton, David T.; Arribas, Paula

2016-01-01

Background Desiccation resistance shapes the distribution of terrestrial insects at multiple spatial scales. However, responses to drying stress have been poorly studied in aquatic groups, despite their potential role in constraining their distribution and diversification, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. Methods We examined desiccation resistance in adults of four congeneric water beetle species (Enochrus, family Hydrophilidae) with contrasting habitat specificity (lentic vs. lotic systems and different salinity optima from fresh- to hypersaline waters). We measured survival, recovery capacity and key traits related to desiccation resistance (fresh mass, % water content, % cuticle content and water loss rate) under controlled exposure to desiccation, and explored their variability within and between species. Results Meso- and hypersaline species were more resistant to desiccation than freshwater and hyposaline ones, showing significantly lower water loss rates and higher water content. No clear patterns in desiccation resistance traits were observed between lotic and lentic species. Intraspecifically, water loss rate was positively related to specimens’ initial % water content, but not to fresh mass or % cuticle content, suggesting that the dynamic mechanism controlling water loss is mainly regulated by the amount of body water available. Discussion Our results support previous hypotheses suggesting that the evolution of desiccation resistance is associated with the colonization of saline habitats by aquatic beetles. The interespecific patterns observed in Enochrus also suggest that freshwater species may be more vulnerable than saline ones to drought intensification expected under climate change in semi-arid regions such as the Mediterranean Basin. PMID:27635346

Content of strontium-90 and cesium-137 in a number of regions of the Baltic Sea in 1982

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

Lazarev, L.N.; Flegontov, V.M.; Gedenov, L.I.

1985-07-01

The authors present the data gathered from the samples of water and bed deposits taken at various sites in the Baltic Sea, the Gulf of Riga, and the Gulf of Finland. By means of the radiochemical method using ferrocyanide-carbonate concentration, they determine strotium-90 and cesium-137 content. The authors conclude by noting an increase in the cesium-137 content in the deep waters of the Baltic Sea and in bed deposits, and by cautioning that this development commands close attention.

Research advances in reflectance spectra of plant leafs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Taotao; Yang, Ting; Guo, Yanxin; Xu, Jingqi; Chang, Wandong; Fang, Siyi; Zhu, Kangkang; Xu, Tingyan

2018-02-01

Leaves are an important factor when we study plants because their water content, pigment content and nutrient content of leaves can reflect the current growth status of the whole plant. The methods of spectral diagnosis technology or image technology mainly are the pre-detection technique which can be used to invert the color, texture and spectral reflectance of the leaves. From this we can obtain the changes of the internal components and the external morphological characteristics of the plant leaves in different states changes. In this paper, the reflection spectral response mechanism of plant water content, pigment and nutrient elements at domestic and overseas are reviewed and compared.

Liquid water content and droplet size calibration of the NASA Lewis Icing Research Tunnel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ide, Robert F.

1989-01-01

The icing research tunnel at the NASA Lewis Research Center underwent a major rehabilitation in 1986 to 1987, necessitating recalibration of the icing cloud. The methods used in the recalibration, including the procedure used to establish a uniform icing cloud and the use of a standard icing blade technique for measurement of liquid water content are described. PMS Forward Scattering Spectrometer and Optical Array probes were used for measurement of droplet size. Examples of droplet size distributions are shown for several median volumetric diameters. Finally, the liquid water content/droplet size operating envelopes of the icing tunnel are shown for a range of airspeeds and are compared to the FAA icing certification criteria.

Simple Modification of Karl-Fischer Titration Method for Determination of Water Content in Colored Samples

PubMed Central

Tavčar, Eva; Turk, Erika; Kreft, Samo

2012-01-01

The most commonly used technique for water content determination is Karl-Fischer titration with electrometric detection, requiring specialized equipment. When appropriate equipment is not available, the method can be performed through visual detection of a titration endpoint, which does not enable an analysis of colored samples. Here, we developed a method with spectrophotometric detection of a titration endpoint, appropriate for moisture determination of colored samples. The reaction takes place in a sealed 4 ml cuvette. Detection is performed at 520 nm. Titration endpoint is determined from the graph of absorbance plotted against titration volume. The method has appropriate reproducibility (RSD = 4.3%), accuracy, and linearity (R 2 = 0.997). PMID:22567558

Measuring fuel moisture content in Alaska: standard methods and procedures.

Treesearch

Rodney A. Norum; Melanie Miller

1984-01-01

Methods and procedures are given for collecting and processing living and dead plant materials for the purpose of determining their water content. Wild-land fuels in Alaska are emphasized, but the methodology is applicable elsewhere. Guides are given for determining the number of samples needed to attain a chosen precision. Detailed procedures are presented for...

The influence of calcium and magnesium in drinking water and diet on cardiovascular risk factors in individuals living in hard and soft water areas with differences in cardiovascular mortality

PubMed Central

Nerbrand, Christina; Agréus, Lars; Lenner, Ragnhild Arvidsson; Nyberg, Per; Svärdsudd, Kurt

2003-01-01

Background The role of water hardness as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease has been widely investigated and evaluated as regards regional differences in cardiovascular disease. This study was performed to evaluate the relation between calcium and magnesium in drinking water and diet and risk factors for cardiovascular disease in individuals living in hard and soft water areas with considerable differences in cardiovascular mortality. Methods A random sample of 207 individuals living in two municipalities characterised by differences in cardiovascular mortality and water hardness was invited for an examination including a questionnaire about health, social and living conditions and diet. Intake of magnesium and calcium was calculated from the diet questionnaire with special consideration to the use of local water. Household water samples were delivered by each individual and were analysed for magnesium and calcium. Results In the total sample, there were positive correlations between the calcium content in household water and systolic blood pressure (SBP) and negative correlations with s-cholesterol and s-LDL-cholesterol. No correlation was seen with magnesium content in household water to any of the risk factors. Calcium content in diet showed no correlation to cardiovascular risk factors. Magnesium in diet was positively correlated to diastolic blood pressure (DBP). In regression analyses controlled for age and sex 18.5% of the variation in SBP was explained by the variation in BMI, HbA1c and calcium content in water. Some 27.9% of the variation in s-cholesterol could be explained by the variation in s-triglycerides (TG), and calcium content in water. Conclusions This study of individuals living in soft and hard water areas showed significant correlations between the content of calcium in water and major cardiovascular risk factors. This was not found for magnesium in water or calcium or magnesium in diet. Regression analyses indicated that calcium content in water could be a factor in the complexity of relationships and importance of cardiovascular risk factors. From these results it is not possible to conclude any definite causal relation and further research is needed. PMID:12814520

46 CFR 162.050-39 - Measurement of oil content.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 46 Shipping 6 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Measurement of oil content. 162.050-39 Section 162.050... Measurement of oil content. The collection and testing of all samples of oil in water from the required test... oil index-Part 2: Method Using solvent extraction and Gas Chromatography (incorporated by reference...

46 CFR 162.050-39 - Measurement of oil content.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 46 Shipping 6 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Measurement of oil content. 162.050-39 Section 162.050... Measurement of oil content. The collection and testing of all samples of oil in water from the required test... oil index-Part 2: Method Using solvent extraction and Gas Chromatography (incorporated by reference...

46 CFR 162.050-39 - Measurement of oil content.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 46 Shipping 6 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Measurement of oil content. 162.050-39 Section 162.050... Measurement of oil content. The collection and testing of all samples of oil in water from the required test... oil index-Part 2: Method Using solvent extraction and Gas Chromatography (incorporated by reference...

Effects of Water on Structure and Dynamics of Trehalose Glasses at Low Water Contents and its Relationship to Preservation Outcomes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weng, Lindong; Ziaei, Shima; Elliott, Gloria D.

2016-07-01

Dry preservation of biologics in sugar glasses is regarded as a promising alternative to conventional cryopreservation. Evidence from various studies has suggested that there is a critical range of water content beyond which the viability of preserved biologics can be greatly compromised. In this study the viability of T-cells was determined as a function of end water content after microwave-assisted drying in trehalose solutions. Hydrogen-bonding and clustering phenomena in trehalose solutions of the same moisture content were also evaluated using molecular dynamics simulation. Post-rehydration viability decreased dramatically within the range of 0.1-1 gH2O/gdw. Molecular modeling revealed that as the water content approached 0.1 gH2O/gdw the matrix formed a large interconnected trehalose skeleton with a minimal number of bound water molecules scattered in the bulk. The diffusion coefficients of trehalose oxygen atoms most distant from the glycosidic linkage fluctuated around 7.5 × 10-14 m2/s within the range of 0.02-0.1 gH2O/gdw and increased again to ~1.13 × 10-13 m2/s at 0.01 gH2O/gdw and below due to the loss of water in the free volume between trehalose molecules. These insights can guide the optimal selection of final moisture contents to advance dry preservation methods.

Effects of Water on Structure and Dynamics of Trehalose Glasses at Low Water Contents and its Relationship to Preservation Outcomes.

PubMed

Weng, Lindong; Ziaei, Shima; Elliott, Gloria D

2016-07-08

Dry preservation of biologics in sugar glasses is regarded as a promising alternative to conventional cryopreservation. Evidence from various studies has suggested that there is a critical range of water content beyond which the viability of preserved biologics can be greatly compromised. In this study the viability of T-cells was determined as a function of end water content after microwave-assisted drying in trehalose solutions. Hydrogen-bonding and clustering phenomena in trehalose solutions of the same moisture content were also evaluated using molecular dynamics simulation. Post-rehydration viability decreased dramatically within the range of 0.1-1 gH2O/gdw. Molecular modeling revealed that as the water content approached 0.1 gH2O/gdw the matrix formed a large interconnected trehalose skeleton with a minimal number of bound water molecules scattered in the bulk. The diffusion coefficients of trehalose oxygen atoms most distant from the glycosidic linkage fluctuated around 7.5 × 10(-14) m(2)/s within the range of 0.02-0.1 gH2O/gdw and increased again to ~1.13 × 10(-13) m(2)/s at 0.01 gH2O/gdw and below due to the loss of water in the free volume between trehalose molecules. These insights can guide the optimal selection of final moisture contents to advance dry preservation methods.

Electrical resistivity characteristics of diesel oil-contaminated kaolin clay and a resistivity-based detection method.

PubMed

Liu, Zhibin; Liu, Songyu; Cai, Yi; Fang, Wei

2015-06-01

As the dielectric constant and conductivity of petroleum products are different from those of the pore water in soil, the electrical resistivity characteristics of oil-contaminated soil will be changed by the corresponding oil type and content. The contaminated soil specimens were manually prepared by static compaction method in the laboratory with commercial kaolin clay and diesel oil. The water content and dry density of the first group of soil specimens were controlled at 10 % and 1.58 g/cm(3). Corresponding electrical resistivities of the contaminated specimens were measured at the curing periods of 7, 14, and 28 and 90, 120, and 210 days on a modified oedometer cell with an LCR meter. Then, the electrical resistivity characteristics of diesel oil-contaminated kaolin clay were discussed. In order to realize a resistivity-based oil detection method, the other group of oil-contaminated kaolin clay specimens was also made and tested, but the initial water content, oil content, and dry density were controlled at 0~18 %, 0~18 %, 1.30~1.95 g/cm(3), respectively. Based on the test data, a resistivity-based artificial neural network (ANN) was developed. It was found that the electrical resistivity of kaolin clay decreased with the increase of oil content. Moreover, there was a good nonlinear relationship between electrical resistivity and corresponding oil content when the water content and dry density were kept constant. The decreasing velocity of the electrical resistivity of oil-contaminated kaolin clay was higher before the oil content of 12 % than after 12 %, which indicated a transition of the soil from pore water-controlled into oil-controlled electrical resistivity characteristics. Through microstructural analysis, the decrease of electrical resistivity could be explained by the increase of saturation degree together with the collapse of the electrical double layer. Environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) photos indicated that the diesel oil in kaolin clay normally had three kinds of effects including oil filling, coating, and bridging. Finally, a resistivity-based ANN model was established based on the database collected from the experiment data. The performance of the model was proved to be reasonably accepted, which puts forward a possible simple, economic, and effective tool to detect the oil content in contaminated clayey soils just with four basic parameters: wet density, dry density, measured moisture content, and electrical resistivity.

Microwave remote sensing of soil water content

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cihlar, J.; Ulaby, F. T.

1975-01-01

Microwave remote sensing of soils to determine water content was considered. A layered water balance model was developed for determining soil water content in the upper zone (top 30 cm), while soil moisture at greater depths and near the surface during the diurnal cycle was studied using experimental measurements. Soil temperature was investigated by means of a simulation model. Based on both models, moisture and temperature profiles of a hypothetical soil were generated and used to compute microwave soil parameters for a clear summer day. The results suggest that, (1) soil moisture in the upper zone can be predicted on a daily basis for 1 cm depth increments, (2) soil temperature presents no problem if surface temperature can be measured with infrared radiometers, and (3) the microwave response of a bare soil is determined primarily by the moisture at and near the surface. An algorithm is proposed for monitoring large areas which combines the water balance and microwave methods.

Porous media matric potential and water content measurements during parabolic flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Norikane, Joey H.; Jones, Scott B.; Steinberg, Susan L.; Levine, Howard G.; Or, Dani

2005-01-01

Control of water and air in the root zone of plants remains a challenge in the microgravity environment of space. Due to limited flight opportunities, research aimed at resolving microgravity porous media fluid dynamics must often be conducted on Earth. The NASA KC-135 reduced gravity flight program offers an opportunity for Earth-based researchers to study physical processes in a variable gravity environment. The objectives of this study were to obtain measurements of water content and matric potential during the parabolic profile flown by the KC-135 aircraft. The flight profile provided 20-25 s of microgravity at the top of the parabola, while pulling 1.8 g at the bottom. The soil moisture sensors (Temperature and Moisture Acquisition System: Orbital Technologies, Madison, WI) used a heat-pulse method to indirectly estimate water content from heat dissipation. Tensiometers were constructed using a stainless steel porous cup with a pressure transducer and were used to measure the matric potential of the medium. The two types of sensors were placed at different depths in a substrate compartment filled with 1-2 mm Turface (calcined clay). The ability of the heat-pulse sensors to monitor overall changes in water content in the substrate compartment decreased with water content. Differences in measured water content data recorded at 0, 1, and 1.8 g were not significant. Tensiometer readings tracked pressure differences due to the hydrostatic force changes with variable gravity. The readings may have been affected by changes in cabin air pressure that occurred during each parabola. Tensiometer porous membrane conductivity (function of pore size) and fluid volume both influence response time. Porous media sample height and water content influence time-to-equilibrium, where shorter samples and higher water content achieve faster equilibrium. Further testing is needed to develop these sensors for space flight applications.

Proximate composition of several fish from Jatigede Reservoir in Sumedang district, West Java

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herawati, T.; Yustiati, A.; Nurhayati, A.; Mustikawati, R.

2018-04-01

The aim of research is to determine the nutritional contents of fishes in the Jatigede Reservoir, the research uses survey method from November 2016 to October 2017. Sample collecting is done in the Wado district and Jatigede district. Samples are identified by its species and the nutritional contents are determined. The analyzed parameter includes water content, ash content, crude fiber content, protein content, fat content and carbohydrate content. Research shows that the nutritional contents of 13 species of fish vary. The water contents ranges between 67.50 % to 77.75 %, the highest percentage found in Chana striata. Ash contents ranges between 1.25 % to 4.87 %, the highest percentage found in Rasbora argyrotaenia, Crude fiber percentage cannot be found. Protein ranges between 14.43% to 21.93 %, the highest percentage found in Chanos chanos, Fat ranges 0.72 % to 6.86 %, the highest percentage found in Hampala macrolepidota. Carbohydrate ranges between 0.12 % to 2.64 %, the highest percentage found in Osteochillus vittatus.

[Cold hardiness of Pinus ponderosa, P. banksian and P. tabulaeformis].

PubMed

Gong, Yuehua; Zhou, Yongxue; Fan, Junfeng; Liu, Yingzhou; Pang, Kejia

2006-08-01

By the method of artificial freezing, this paper made a comparative study on the cold hardiness of Pinus ponderosa, P. banksiana and P. tabulaeformis, with their inherent mechanisms approached. The results showed that the cold hardiness of these three species was in the sequence of P. banksiana > P. tabulaeformis > P. ponderosa. P. banksiana had high bound water/free water ratio (7.0) and ABA content (164.3 microg x g(-1) FW) but low K+ (2450 microg x g(-1) DW) and soluble sugar (12.0%) , P. tabulaeformis had higher contents of ABA (95.8 microg x g(-1) FW), K+ (4538 microg x g(-1) DW) and soluble sugar (18.68%) but low bound water/free water ratio (2.58), while P. ponderosa had high soluble sugar content (18.05%) but low bound water/free water ratio (2.18) and K+ (2275 microg x g(-1) DW) and ABA (63.3 microg x g(-1) FW) contents. These differences might be the reasons resulting in the different cold hardiness of these three species. Low chlorophyll content and high carotenoid/chlorophyll ratio might also contribute to the cold hardiness of P. banksiana. Therefore, though the test species are all of cold hardiness, their inherent mechanisms may be different.

Integral Quantification of Soil Water Content at the Intermediate Catchment Scale by Ground Albedo Neutron Sensing (GANS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rivera Villarreyes, C. A.; Baroni, G.; Oswald, S. E.

2012-04-01

Soil water content at the plot or hill-slope scale is an important link between local vadose zone hydrology and catchment hydrology. However, so far only few methods are on the way to close this gap between point measurements and remote sensing. One new measurement methodology for integral quantifications of mean areal soil water content at the intermediate catchment scale is the aboveground sensing of cosmic-ray neutrons, more precisely ground albedo neutron sensing (GANS). Ground albedo natural neutrons, are generated by collisions of secondary cosmic rays with land surface materials (soil, water, biomass, snow, etc). Neutrons measured at the air/ground interface correlate with soil moisture contained in a footprint of ca. 600 m diameter and a depth ranging down to a few decimeters. This correlation is based on the crucial role of hydrogen as neutron moderator compared to others landscape materials. The present study performed ground albedo neutron sensing in different locations in Germany under different vegetative situations (cropped and bare field) and different seasonal conditions (summer, autumn and winter). Ground albedo neutrons were measured at (i) a farmland close to Potsdam (Brandenburg, Germany) cropped with corn in 2010 and sunflowers in 2011, and (ii) a mountainous farmland catchment (Schaefertal, Harz Mountains, Germany) in 2011. In order to test this method, classical soil moisture devices and meteorological data were used for comparison. Moreover, calibration approach, and transferability of calibration parameters to different times and locations are also evaluated. Our observations suggest that GANS can overcome the lack of data for hydrological processes at the intermediate scale. Soil water content from GANS compared quantitatively with mean water content values derived from a network of classical devices (RMSE = 0.02 m3/m3 and r2 = 0.98) in three calibration periods with cropped-field conditions. Then, same calibration parameters corresponded well under different field conditions. Moreover, GANS approach responded well to precipitation events in both experimental sites through summer and autumn, and soil water content estimations were affected by water stored in snow.

A comparison of soil moisture sensors for space flight applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Norikane, J. H.; Prenger, J. J.; Rouzan-Wheeldon, D. T.; Levine, H. G.

2005-01-01

Plants will be an important part of future long-term space missions. Automated plant growth systems require accurate and reliable methods of monitoring soil moisture levels. There are a number of different methods to accomplish this task. This study evaluated sensors using the capacitance method (ECH2O), the heat-pulse method (TMAS), and tensiometers, compared to soil water loss measured gravimetrically in a side-by-side test. The experiment monitored evaporative losses from substrate compartments filled with 1- to 2-mm baked calcinated clay media. The ECH2O data correlated well with the gravimetric measurements, but over a limited range of soil moisture. The averaged TMAS sensor data overstated soil moisture content levels. The tensiometer data appeared to track evaporative losses in the 0.5- to 2.5-kPa range of matric potential that corresponds to the water content needed to grow plants. This small range is characteristic of large particle media, and thus high-resolution tensiometers are required to distinguish changing moisture contents in this range.

COSMOS soil water sensor compared with EM sensor network & weighing lysimeter

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Soil water sensing methods are widely used to characterize the root zone and below, but only a few are capable of delivering water content data with accuracy for the entire soil profile such that evapotranspiration (ET) can be determined by soil water balance and irrigations can be scheduled with mi...

Magnetic susceptibility and magnetic resonance measurements of the moisture content and hydration condition of a magnetic mixture material

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

Tsukada, K., E-mail: tsukada@cc.okayama-u.ac.jp; Kusaka, T.; Saari, M. M.

2014-05-07

We developed a magnetic measurement method to measure the moisture content and hydration condition of mortar as a magnetic mixture material. Mortar is a mixture of Portland cement, sand, and water, and these materials exhibit different magnetic properties. The magnetization–magnetic field curves of these components and of mortars with different moisture contents were measured, using a specially developed high-temperature-superconductor superconducting quantum interference device. Using the differences in magnetic characteristics, the moisture content of mortar was measured at the ferromagnetic saturation region over 250 mT. A correlation between magnetic susceptibility and moisture content was successfully established. After Portland cement and water aremore » mixed, hydration begins. At the early stage of the hydration/gel, magnetization strength increased over time. To investigate the magnetization change, we measured the distribution between bound and free water in the mortar in the early stage by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The MRI results suggest that the amount of free water in mortar correlates with the change in magnetic susceptibility.« less

Method for detecting moisture in soils using secondary cosmic radiation

DOEpatents

Condreva, Kenneth

2003-12-16

Water content in a soil is determined by measuring the attenuation of secondary background cosmic radiation as this radiation propagates through a layer of soil and water. By measuring the attenuation of secondary cosmic radiation in the range of 5 MeV-15 MeV it is possible to obtain a relative measure of the water content in a soil layer above a suitable radiation detector and thus establish when and how much irrigation is needed. The electronic circuitry is designed so that a battery pack can be used to supply power.

A Concept for the Development of Spatially Resolved Measurements for Soil Moisture with TEM Waveguides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lapteva, Yulia; Schmidt, Felix; Bumberger, Jan

2014-05-01

Soil water content plays a leading role in delimitating water and energy fluxes at the land surface and controlling groundwater recharging. The information about water content in the soil would be very useful in overcoming the challenge of managing water resources under conditions of increasing scarcity in Southern Europe and the Mediterranean region.For collecting data about the water content in soil, it is possible to use remote sensing and groundwater monitoring, built wireless sensor networks for water monitoring. Remote sensing provides a unique capability to get the information of soil moisture at global and regional scales. Wireless environmental sensor networks enable to connect local and regional-scale soil water content observations. There exist different ground based soil moisture measurement methods such as TDR, FDR, electromagnetic waves (EW), electrical and acoustic methods. Among these methods, the time domain reflectometry (TDR) is considered to be the most important and widely used electromagnetic approach. The special techniques for the reconstruction of the layered soil with TDR are based on differential equations in the time domain and numerical optimization algorithms. However, these techniques are time- consuming and suffering from some problems, like multiple reflections at the boundary surfaces. To overcome these limitations, frequency domain measurement (FDM) techniques could be used. With devices like vector network analyzers (VNA) the accuracy of the measurement itself and of the calibration can be improved. For field applicable methods the reflection coefficient is mathematically transformed in the time domain, which can be treated like TDR-data and the same information can be obtained. There are already existed some experiments using the frequency domain data directly as an input for inversion algorithms to find the spatial distribution of the soil parameters. The model that is used represents an exact solution of the Maxwell's equations. It describes the one-dimensional wave propagation in a multi-layered medium, assuming the wave to be transverse electromagnetic (TEM). In the particular case of transmission lines with perpendicularly arranged layer transitions this assumption is very close to reality. Such waveguides and their frequency domain measurements in layered media are promising concerning a development ways working with soil moisture detection.

Review: Some low-frequency electrical methods for subsurface characterization and monitoring in hydrogeology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Revil, A.; Karaoulis, M.; Johnson, T.; Kemna, A.

2012-06-01

Low-frequency geoelectrical methods include mainly self-potential, resistivity, and induced polarization techniques, which have potential in many environmental and hydrogeological applications. They provide complementary information to each other and to in-situ measurements. The self-potential method is a passive measurement of the electrical response associated with the in-situ generation of electrical current due to the flow of pore water in porous media, a salinity gradient, and/or the concentration of redox-active species. Under some conditions, this method can be used to visualize groundwater flow, to determine permeability, and to detect preferential flow paths. Electrical resistivity is dependent on the water content, the temperature, the salinity of the pore water, and the clay content and mineralogy. Time-lapse resistivity can be used to assess the permeability and dispersivity distributions and to monitor contaminant plumes. Induced polarization characterizes the ability of rocks to reversibly store electrical energy. It can be used to image permeability and to monitor chemistry of the pore water-minerals interface. These geophysical methods, reviewed in this paper, should always be used in concert with additional in-situ measurements (e.g. in-situ pumping tests, chemical measurements of the pore water), for instance through joint inversion schemes, which is an area of fertile on-going research.

The utilisation of two detectors for the determination of water in honey using headspace gas chromatography.

PubMed

Frink, Lillian A; Armstrong, Daniel W

2016-08-15

A headspace gas chromatography (HSGC) method was developed for the determination of water content in honey. This method was shown to work with five different honey varieties which had a range of water from 14-16%. It also utilised two different detectors, the thermal conductivity detector (TCD) and the barrier discharge ionisation detector (BID). This method needs no heating pretreatment step as in the current leading method, (i.e. the measurement of refractive index). The solvent-free procedure negates the possibility of solvent-compound interactions as well as solubility limitations, as is common with Karl Fischer titrations. It was also apparent that the classic loss on drying method consistently and substantially produced results that were lower than the correct values. This approach is shown to be rapid, with an analysis time of 4 min when using the TCD detector and under 3 min when utilising the BID detector. HSGC is feasible for the determination of water due to the new PEG-linked geminal dicationic ionic-liquid-coated GC capillary column. In addition it provides accurate and precise determinations of the water content in honey. When using the sensitive BID detector, other trace volatile compounds are observed as well. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Uncertainty in Multimodel Water Flow Simulation Associated with Pedotransfer Functions and Weighing Methods

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Multimodeling (MM) has been developed during the last decade to improve prediction capability of hydrological models. The MM combined with the pedotransfer functions (PTFs) was successfully applied to soil water flow simulations. This study examined the uncertainty in water content simulations assoc...

Variation characteristics of water vapor distribution during 2000-2008 over Hefei (31.9°N, 117.2°E) observed by L625 lidar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Min; Fang, Xin; Hu, Shunxing; Hu, Huanling; Li, Tao; Dou, Xiankang

2015-10-01

Observations of monthly and seasonal nightly water vapor variations over Hefei utilizing L625 lidar water vapor data observed from 2000 to 2008 is the focus of this study. The experimental setup and main parameters of the L625 lidar for water vapor measurement are first presented, then the measurement principle of water vapor and data processing methods are introduced. The water vapor measurement precision of the lidar system was analyzed by comparison with radiosonde. Monthly and seasonal water vapor profiles were built by analyzing 2000-2008 lidar data. In the vertical direction, results show that water vapor content decreases gradually with height. The more the water vapor content in the low atmosphere, the faster the decay rate with altitude. As far as monthly variation, the water vapor content first increases and then decreases with month. The maximum content of water vapor appears in July, at mixing ratio of 15.6 g/kg at 1 km. The seasonal variability of water vapor content is rather obvious. In summer the water vapor mixing ratio reaches up to 15.0 g/kg at 1 km, and in winter it is only 3.9 g/kg at the same altitude. Interannual variation of water vapor content differs between seasons (as revealed in the standard deviation of data) where summer is least stable and autumn is the most stable. Precipitable water vapor is calculated from water vapor mean profiles at 1-4 km and the relationship between precipitable water vapor and precipitation is also investigated. A clear positive correlation is found with Pearson correlation coefficients (R) 0.933 between monthly precipitation and mean precipitable water vapor, as well a clear positive correlation between seasonal precipitation and seasonal mean precipitable water vapor (R = 0.988). Precipitation conversion efficiency (PCE) is calculated from precipitation and precipitable water vapor. The monthly PCE reaches its maximum in October at 25.8%, and drops to its minimum in January at 11.5%. Seasonal PCE's minimum is 15.2% in autumn and 23.7% in winter, at maximum.

Relationships between Xanthohumol and Polyphenol Content in Hop Leaves and Hop Cones with Regard to Water Supply and Cultivar

PubMed Central

Čeh, Barbara; Kač, Milica; Košir, Iztok J.; Abram, Veronika

2007-01-01

The effect of water supply – especially of drought stress – on the content of some secondary metabolites in hops (Humulus lupulus L.) was studied. The experiment took place in 2006. Some relevant data from 2005 were included for comparison. Leaves and cones of nine hop cultivars grown under field conditions as well as in a pot experiment under three water regimes were analyzed. The cultivars ranged from those most grown in Slovenia to promising crossbreed being tested. Leaves were sampled from July 18, 2006 to August 18, 2006, while cones were picked in the time of technological maturity. Standard analytical methods were applied to determine the contents of xanthohumol, polyphenols and α-acids in hop leaves and hop cones. The contents of the secondary metabolites in question depended more on the cultivar under investigation than on the water supply, at least as far the growing conditions for a relatively normal development of the plant were met.

Detecting surface runoff location in a small catchment using distributed and simple observation method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dehotin, Judicaël; Breil, Pascal; Braud, Isabelle; de Lavenne, Alban; Lagouy, Mickaël; Sarrazin, Benoît

2015-06-01

Surface runoff is one of the hydrological processes involved in floods, pollution transfer, soil erosion and mudslide. Many models allow the simulation and the mapping of surface runoff and erosion hazards. Field observations of this hydrological process are not common although they are crucial to evaluate surface runoff models and to investigate or assess different kinds of hazards linked to this process. In this study, a simple field monitoring network is implemented to assess the relevance of a surface runoff susceptibility mapping method. The network is based on spatially distributed observations (nine different locations in the catchment) of soil water content and rainfall events. These data are analyzed to determine if surface runoff occurs. Two surface runoff mechanisms are considered: surface runoff by saturation of the soil surface horizon and surface runoff by infiltration excess (also called hortonian runoff). The monitoring strategy includes continuous records of soil surface water content and rainfall with a 5 min time step. Soil infiltration capacity time series are calculated using field soil water content and in situ measurements of soil hydraulic conductivity. Comparison of soil infiltration capacity and rainfall intensity time series allows detecting the occurrence of surface runoff by infiltration-excess. Comparison of surface soil water content with saturated water content values allows detecting the occurrence of surface runoff by saturation of the soil surface horizon. Automatic records were complemented with direct field observations of surface runoff in the experimental catchment after each significant rainfall event. The presented observation method allows the identification of fast and short-lived surface runoff processes at a small spatial and temporal resolution in natural conditions. The results also highlight the relationship between surface runoff and factors usually integrated in surface runoff mapping such as topography, rainfall parameters, soil or land cover. This study opens interesting prospects for the use of spatially distributed measurement for surface runoff detection, spatially distributed hydrological models implementation and validation at a reasonable cost.

Apoplastic water fraction and rehydration techniques introduce significant errors in measurements of relative water content and osmotic potential in plant leaves.

PubMed

Arndt, Stefan K; Irawan, Andi; Sanders, Gregor J

2015-12-01

Relative water content (RWC) and the osmotic potential (π) of plant leaves are important plant traits that can be used to assess drought tolerance or adaptation of plants. We estimated the magnitude of errors that are introduced by dilution of π from apoplastic water in osmometry methods and the errors that occur during rehydration of leaves for RWC and π in 14 different plant species from trees, grasses and herbs. Our data indicate that rehydration technique and length of rehydration can introduce significant errors in both RWC and π. Leaves from all species were fully turgid after 1-3 h of rehydration and increasing the rehydration time resulted in a significant underprediction of RWC. Standing rehydration via the petiole introduced the least errors while rehydration via floating disks and submerging leaves for rehydration led to a greater underprediction of RWC. The same effect was also observed for π. The π values following standing rehydration could be corrected by applying a dilution factor from apoplastic water dilution using an osmometric method but not by using apoplastic water fraction (AWF) from pressure volume (PV) curves. The apoplastic water dilution error was between 5 and 18%, while the two other rehydration methods introduced much greater errors. We recommend the use of the standing rehydration method because (1) the correct rehydration time can be evaluated by measuring water potential, (2) overhydration effects were smallest, and (3) π can be accurately corrected by using osmometric methods to estimate apoplastic water dilution. © 2015 Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society.

Coupled Hydromechanical and Electromagnetic Responses in Unsaturated Porous Media: Theory, Observation, and Numerical Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahardika, Harry

Hydromechanical energy can be partially converted into electromagnetic energy due to electrokinetic effect, where mechanical energy causes the relative displacement of the charged pore water with respect to the solid skeleton of the porous material and generated electrical current density. An application of this phenomenon is seismoelectric method, a geophysical method in which electromagnetic signals are recorded and associated with the propagation of seismic waves. Due to its coupling nature, seismoelectric method promises advantages in characterizing the subsurface properties and geometry compared to independent employments of seismic or electromagnetic acquisition alone. Since the recorded seismoelectric signal are sensitive to water content changes this method have been applied for groundwater studies to delineates vadoze zone-aquifer boundary since the last twenty years. The problem, however, the existing governing equations of coupled seismic and electromagnetic are not accounted for unsaturated conditions and its petrophysical sensitivity to water content. In this thesis we extend the applications of seismoelectric method for unsaturated porous medium for several geophysical problems. (1) We begin our study with numerical study to localize and characterize a seismic event induced by hydraulic fracturing operation sedimentary rocks. In this problem, we use the fully-saturated case of seismoelectric method and we propose a new joint inversion scheme (seismic and seismoelectric) to determine the position and moment tensor that event. (2) We expand the seismoelectric theory for unsaturated condition and show that the generation of electrical current density are depend on several important petrophysical properties that are sensitive to water content. This new expansion of governing equation provide us theory for developing a new approach for seismoelectric method to image the oil water encroachment front during water flooding of an oil reservoir or an aquifer contaminated with DNAPL. (3) Next, we present a test case which is the first-attempt analysis of seismoelectric sounding measurements done on glacial environment of Glacier de Tsanfleuron through numerical forward modeling. Here we treat the snow-glacial environment similar as with vadoze zone-aquifer zone in unsaturated porous medium. (4) The modified governing equations also provides us foundations to do another case study, which is characterization of seismoelectrical events generated from water content changes in the vadoze zone measured using seismoelectric sounding from NE England. (5) We finalize the thesis with an interpretation of electrical signal generated from water injection experiment done on the top two meter of the soil surface (vadoze zone) using inverse calculation presented on the first topic of the thesis. The fundamental research presented on this thesis hopefully provides a basis for further advancement on seismoelectric or joint seismic-electrical methods for applications ranging from hydrogeology, volcanology and geothermal energy, and oil and gas cases.

Synthesis, characterization and hydrolytic degradation study of polyetheresteramide copolymers based on epsilon-caprolactone, 6-aminocaproic acid, and poly(ethylene glycol).

PubMed

Liu, CaiBing; Qian, ZhiYong; Jia, WenJuan; Huang, MeiJuan; Chao, GuoTao; Gong, ChangYang; Deng, HongXin; Wen, YanJun; Yang, JinLiang; Gou, MaLing; Tu, MingJing

2007-10-01

In this paper, a new kind of biodegradable aliphatic polyetheresteramide copolymers (PEEA) based on epsilon-caprolactone, 6-aminocaproic acid, and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) were synthesized by melt polymerization method. The obtained copolymers were characterized by 1H-NMR. The thermal properties of PEEA copolymers were studied by DSC and TGA/DTA under nitrogen atmosphere. The water absorption and hydrolytic degradation behavior was also studied in detail. With the increase in PEG content or the decrease in caprolactone content, the water absorption of the copolymers increased accordingly. For the hydrolytic degradation behavior, with the increase in PEG content or caprolactone content, the degradation rate increased then.

[Quality comparison of Hirudo before and after processed by French chalk].

PubMed

Zhang, Yong-Tai

2008-04-01

To evaluate the effects of processing methods of Hirudo. Both water and alcohol extracts of Hirudo were studied according to Chinese Pharmacopeia (Edition 2005). The content of hypoxanthine in Hirudo was measured by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and Hirudin was determined by thrombin. The contents of water, water soluble extraction, ethanol soluble extraction and hirudin in crude Hirudo are higher than those in processed Hirudo. But the contents of hypoxanthine in processed Hirudo is higher than in crude Hirudo. Hirudo fried by French chalk can decrease the active components with high intensive drug property, accordingly the toxicity of Hirudo was decreased. As a result, the effects of Hirudo as invigorate the circulation of blood and stimulate the menstrual flow were abated.

Time-lapse electrical resistivity tomography: a powerful tool for landslide monitoring?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perrone, A.

2011-12-01

The extreme rainfall events and the quick snowmelt occurrences play an important role in the triggering of the landslides. The occurrence of one of these factors can determine the variation of water content in the first layers of the subsoil and as a consequence a quick soil saturation inducing both an increase in pore-water pressures and the overloaded of the slopes progressively collapsing. The electrical resistivity, self-potential, electromagnetic induction and GPR methods can be considered as the most appropriate for assessing the presence of water in the underground. Such methods allow us to study the behavior of water content over much wider and deeper areas than those offered by traditional methods (thermo-gravimetric, tensiometric, TDR, etc) based on spot measures and concerning small volumes. In particular, the Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT), which has already proved to be a powerful tool both for the geometrical reconstruction of a landslide body (location of sliding surface, estimation of the thickness of the slide material) and the individuation of high water content areas, can be considered as an alternative tool to be employed for a qualitative and quantitative water content monitoring in the first layers of the subsoil. Indeed, time-lapse 2D ERT can be tested in order to gather information on the temporal and spatial patterns of water infiltration processes and water content variation. This work reports the preliminary results from a new prototype system planned to obtain time-lapse 2D ERTs, TDR and precipitation measurements in two landslide areas located in the Southern Apennine chain (Italy). The system was planned with the aim to estimate the variation of the resistivity parameter on a long period considering the water content variation, the rain water infiltration and the seasonal changes. The prototype system, linked to a pc used for storing data and managing the time interval acquisition, consists of: a resistivimeter connected to a multichannel cable, 48 steel electrodes buried in the soil at a depth of about 0.5 m at a distance of 1 or 5 m; a TDR system linked to 4 probes 20 cm length, buried at different depths along the same profile of the geoelectrical one; while a weather station consists of a rain gauge to quantify the amount of rain falling on that area, one sensor to measure the temperature and another to determine the speed and direction of the wind. At the beginning the time-lapse ERT were analysed to verify the functionality and stability of the system and to decide the measurement time intervals. After that, the statistical analysis of the results obtained was performed with the aim to define the water content variation in the first layers of the subsoil, in particular in the vadose zone. The results were compared with the TDR ones and the piezometric measurements were performed in the area thanks to the presence of equipped boreholes. The correlation between the variation of the parameters measured (electrical resistivity, water content and piezometric level) and the rain-gauge measurements was also considered. The preliminary results seem to be encouraged also if the analysis of the data acquired on a longer period could better highlight the capability of the system.

[Analysis on the exposure level and geographic distribution trend of toxicological indicators in rural drinking water, Shandong Province, in 2015].

PubMed

Shi, F; Lyu, S P; Kong, F L; Yang, X T; Zhou, J Y

2017-09-06

Objective: To analyze the exposure level and the geographical distribution trend of toxicological indicators of rural drinking water in Shandong Province. Methods: The drawing method was used to randomly select no less than 60% villages and towns from 137 counties (cities, districts) of 17 cities in Shandong Province in 2015, and then 1-3 rural centralized water supply units were selected according to the circumstance of rural centralized water supply units in each village and town. In total, 735 villages and towns, 1 473 rural centralized water supply units were selected, and 1 473 water samples were collected. The water treatment process, water supply population and other circumstances of the rural centralized water supply units were investigated, the water quality was monitored, the content of toxicological indicators of drinking water in different areas was compared, and the trend surface isogram of excessive toxicological indicators was drawn. Results: The qualified rate of toxicological indicators in 1 473 water samples was 83.64% ( n =1 232). The main toxicological indicators that affected the qualified rate of toxicological indicators of drinking water in rural areas in Shandong Province were nitrate and fluoride. The excessive rate of fluoride was 5.70% ( n =84) and the exposed population was 1 736 709 (4.22%). The excessive rate of nitrate (as nitrogen) was 12.29% ( n =181) and the exposed population was 1 393 612 (3.39%). The P (5)0 content of fluoride in the eastern, middle and western regions was 0.24, 0.29 and 0.59 mg/L, respective;which was higher in the western region than in the east and the middle regions ( P< 0.05). There was no significant difference between the eastern and the middle regions ( P> 0.05). The P (50) content of nitrate (as nitrogen) in the eastern, middle and western regions was 8.00, 7.48, and 2.00 mg/L, which was higher in the eastern and middle regions than in the west region ( P< 0.05), there was no significant difference between the eastern and the middle regions ( P> 0.05). The trend surface isogram of nitrate and fluoride content showed that the content of nitrate (as nitrogen) in rural drinking water in the eastern region was significantly higher than that in the western region, especially there was a high peak area in the northeastern region, and this high content distribution extended diagonally to the central region, while the other regions were in a relatively low range. The content of fluoride in rural drinking water in the western region was significantly higher than that in the eastern region, and there were high peaks in the southwest and northwest regions, and the other regions were in a relatively low range. Conclusion: The high exposed toxicological indicators in rural drinking water in Shandong Province were nitrate (as nitrogen) and fluoride, and their distribution showed obvious geographical distribution trend.

Application of synthetic fire-resistant oils in oil systems of turbine equipment for NPPs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galimova, L. A.

2017-10-01

Results of the investigation of the synthetic fire-resistant turbine oil Fyrquel-L state in oil systems of turbosets under their operation in the equipment and oil supply facilities of nuclear power plants (NPPs) are presented. On the basis of the analysis of the operating experience, it is established that, for reliable and safe operation of the turbine equipment, at which oil systems synthetic fire-resistant oils on the phosphoric acid esters basis are used, special attention should be paid to two main factors, namely, both the guarantee of the normalized oil water content under the operation and storage and temperature regime of the operation. Methods of the acid number maintenance and reduction are shown. Results of the analysis and investigation of influence of temperature and of the variation of the qualitative state of the synthetic fair-resistant oil on its water content are reported. It is shown that the fire-resistant turbine oils are characterized by high hydrophilicity, and, in distinction to the mineral turbine oils, are capable to contain a significant amount of dissolved water, which is not extracted under the use of separation technologies. It is shown that the more degradation products are contained in oil and higher acid number, the more amount of dissolved water it is capable to retain. It is demonstrated that the organization of chemical control of the total water content of fireresistant oils with the use of the coulometric method is an important element to support the reliable operation of oil systems. It is recommended to use automatic controls of water content for organization of daily monitoring of oil state in the oil system. Recommendations and measures for improvement of oil operation on the NPP, the water content control, the use of oil cleaning plants, and the oil transfer for storage during repair works are developed.

Effect of Sub- and Super-critical Water Treatment on Physicochemical Properties of Porcine Skin

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Super- and sub-critical water treatments have been of interest as novel methods for protein hydrolysis. In the present study, we studied the effect of sub-critical water (Sub-H2O, 300℃, 80 bar) treatment as well as super-critical water (Super-H2O, 400℃, 280 bar) treatment on the physicochemical properties of porcine skin (PS), which has abundant collagen. Porcine skin was subjected to pre-thermal treatment by immersion in water at 70℃, and then treated with sub- or super-critical water. Physicochemical properties of the hydrolysates, such as molecular weight distribution, free amino acid content, amino acid profile, pH, color, and water content were determined. For the molecular weight distribution analysis, 1 kDa hydrolyzed porcine skin (H-PS) was produced by Super-H2O or Sub-H2O treatment. The free amino acid content was 57.18 mM and 30.13 mM after Sub-H2O and Super-H2O treatment, respectively. Determination of amino acid profile revealed that the content of Glu (22.5%) and Pro (30%) was higher after Super-H2O treatment than after Sub-H2O treatment, whereas the content of Gly (28%) and Ala (13.1%) was higher after Sub-H2O treatment. Super-H2O or Sub-H2O treatment affected the pH of PS, which changed from 7.29 (Raw) to 9.22 (after Sub-H2O treatment) and 9.49 (after Super-H2O treatment). Taken together, these results showed that Sub-H2O treatment was slightly more effective for hydrolysis than Super-H2O was. However, both Sub-H2O and Super-H2O treatments were effective processing methods for hydrolysis of PS collagen in a short time and can be regarded as a green chemistry technology. PMID:26761798

Effect of Sub- and Super-critical Water Treatment on Physicochemical Properties of Porcine Skin.

PubMed

Jo, Yeon-Ji; Kim, Jae-Hyeong; Jung, Kyung-Hun; Min, Sang-Gi; Chun, Ji-Yeon

2015-01-01

Super- and sub-critical water treatments have been of interest as novel methods for protein hydrolysis. In the present study, we studied the effect of sub-critical water (Sub-H2O, 300℃, 80 bar) treatment as well as super-critical water (Super-H2O, 400℃, 280 bar) treatment on the physicochemical properties of porcine skin (PS), which has abundant collagen. Porcine skin was subjected to pre-thermal treatment by immersion in water at 70℃, and then treated with sub- or super-critical water. Physicochemical properties of the hydrolysates, such as molecular weight distribution, free amino acid content, amino acid profile, pH, color, and water content were determined. For the molecular weight distribution analysis, 1 kDa hydrolyzed porcine skin (H-PS) was produced by Super-H2O or Sub-H2O treatment. The free amino acid content was 57.18 mM and 30.13 mM after Sub-H2O and Super-H2O treatment, respectively. Determination of amino acid profile revealed that the content of Glu (22.5%) and Pro (30%) was higher after Super-H2O treatment than after Sub-H2O treatment, whereas the content of Gly (28%) and Ala (13.1%) was higher after Sub-H2O treatment. Super-H2O or Sub-H2O treatment affected the pH of PS, which changed from 7.29 (Raw) to 9.22 (after Sub-H2O treatment) and 9.49 (after Super-H2O treatment). Taken together, these results showed that Sub-H2O treatment was slightly more effective for hydrolysis than Super-H2O was. However, both Sub-H2O and Super-H2O treatments were effective processing methods for hydrolysis of PS collagen in a short time and can be regarded as a green chemistry technology.

Evaluation of an operational real-time irrigation scheduling scheme for drip irrigated citrus fields in Picassent, Spain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Dazhi; Hendricks-Franssen, Harrie-Jan; Han, Xujun; Jiménez Bello, Miguel Angel; Martínez Alzamora, Fernando; Vereecken, Harry

2017-04-01

Irrigated agriculture accounts worldwide for 40% of food production and 70% of fresh water withdrawals. Irrigation scheduling aims to minimize water use while maintaining the agricultural production. In this study we were concerned with the real-time automatic control of irrigation, which calculates daily water allocation by combining information from soil moisture sensors and a land surface model. The combination of soil moisture measurements and predictions by the Community Land Model (CLM) using sequential data assimilation (DA) is a promising alternative to improve the estimate of soil and plant water status. The LETKF (Local Ensemble Transform Kalman Filter) was chosen to assimilate soil water content measured by FDR (Frequency Domain Reflectometry) into CLM and improve the initial (soil moisture) conditions for the next model run. In addition, predictions by the GFS (Global Forecast System) atmospheric simulation model were used as atmospheric input data for CLM to predict an ensemble of possible soil moisture evolutions for the next days. The difference between predicted and target soil water content is defined as the water deficit, and the irrigation amount was calculated by the integrated water deficit over the root zone. The corresponding irrigation time to apply the required water was introduced in SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition system) for each citrus field. In total 6 fields were irrigated according our optimization approach including data assimilation (CLM-DA) and there were also 2 fields following the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) water balance method and 4 fields controlled by farmers as reference. During the real-time irrigation campaign in Valencia from July to October in 2015 and June to October in 2016, the applied irrigation amount, stem water potential and soil moisture content were recorded. The data indicated that 5% 20% less irrigation water was needed for the CLM-DA scheduled fields than for the other fields following the FAO or farmers' method. Stem water potential data indicated that the CLM-DA fields were not suffering from water stress during most of the irrigation period. Even though the CLM-DA fields received the least irrigation water, the orange production was not suppressed either. Our results show the water saving potential of the CLM-DA method compared to other traditional irrigation methods.

Evaluating the accuracy of soil water sensors for irrigation scheduling to conserve freshwater

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ganjegunte, Girisha K.; Sheng, Zhuping; Clark, John A.

2012-06-01

In the Trans-Pecos area, pecan [ Carya illinoinensis (Wangenh) C. Koch] is a major irrigated cash crop. Pecan trees require large amounts of water for their growth and flood (border) irrigation is the most common method of irrigation. Pecan crop is often over irrigated using traditional method of irrigation scheduling by counting number of calendar days since the previous irrigation. Studies in other pecan growing areas have shown that the water use efficiency can be improved significantly and precious freshwater can be saved by scheduling irrigation based on soil moisture conditions. This study evaluated the accuracy of three recent low cost soil water sensors (ECH2O-5TE, Watermark 200SS and Tensiometer model R) to monitor volumetric soil water content (θv) to develop improved irrigation scheduling in a mature pecan orchard in El Paso, Texas. Results indicated that while all three sensors were successful in following the general trends of soil moisture conditions during the growing season, actual measurements differed significantly. Statistical analyses of results indicated that Tensiometer provided relatively accurate soil moisture data than ECH2O-5TE and Watermark without site-specific calibration. While ECH2O-5TE overestimated the soil water content, Watermark and Tensiometer underestimated. Results of this study suggested poor accuracy of all three sensors if factory calibration and reported soil water retention curve for study site soil texture were used. This indicated that sensors needed site-specific calibration to improve their accuracy in estimating soil water content data.

Wort free amino nitrogen analysis adapted to a microplate format

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The standard method for determining wort free amino nitrogen content calls for the use of test tubes and glass marbles, as well as boiling and 20°C water baths. In this paper we describe how the standard method can be updated and streamlined by replacing water baths, test tubes and marbles with a th...

Reference test methods for total water in lint cotton by Karl Fischer Titration and low temperature distillation

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In a study of comparability of total water contents (%) of conditioned cottons by Karl Fischer Titration (KFT) and Low Temperature Distillation (LTD) reference methods, we demonstrated a match of averaged results based on a large number of replications and weighing the test specimens at the same tim...

Control of final moisture content of food products baked in continuous tunnel ovens

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McFarlane, Ian

2006-02-01

There are well-known difficulties in making measurements of the moisture content of baked goods (such as bread, buns, biscuits, crackers and cake) during baking or at the oven exit; in this paper several sensing methods are discussed, but none of them are able to provide direct measurement with sufficient precision. An alternative is to use indirect inferential methods. Some of these methods involve dynamic modelling, with incorporation of thermal properties and using techniques familiar in computational fluid dynamics (CFD); a method of this class that has been used for the modelling of heat and mass transfer in one direction during baking is summarized, which may be extended to model transport of moisture within the product and also within the surrounding atmosphere. The concept of injecting heat during the baking process proportional to the calculated heat load on the oven has been implemented in a control scheme based on heat balance zone by zone through a continuous baking oven, taking advantage of the high latent heat of evaporation of water. Tests on biscuit production ovens are reported, with results that support a claim that the scheme gives more reproducible water distribution in the final product than conventional closed loop control of zone ambient temperatures, thus enabling water content to be held more closely within tolerance.

Determining the slag fraction, water/binder ratio and degree of hydration in hardened cement pastes

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

Yio, M.H.N., E-mail: marcus.yio11@imperial.ac.uk; Phelan, J.C.; Wong, H.S.

2014-02-15

A method for determining the original mix composition of hardened slag-blended cement-based materials based on analysis of backscattered electron images combined with loss on ignition measurements is presented. The method does not require comparison to reference standards or prior knowledge of the composition of the binders used. Therefore, it is well-suited for application to real structures. The method is also able to calculate the degrees of reaction of slag and cement. Results obtained from an experimental study involving sixty samples with a wide range of water/binder (w/b) ratios (0.30 to 0.50), slag/binder ratios (0 to 0.6) and curing ages (3more » days to 1 year) show that the method is very promising. The mean absolute errors for the estimated slag, water and cement contents (kg/m{sup 3}), w/b and s/b ratios were 9.1%, 1.5%, 2.5%, 4.7% and 8.7%, respectively. 91% of the estimated w/b ratios were within 0.036 of the actual values. -- Highlights: •A new method for estimating w/b ratio and slag content in cement pastes is proposed. •The method is also able to calculate the degrees of reaction of slag and cement. •Reference standards or prior knowledge of the binder composition are not required. •The method was tested on samples with varying w/b ratios and slag content.« less

Dewatering treatments to increase dry matter content of the brown seaweed, kelp (Laminaria digitata ((Hudson) JV Lamouroux)).

PubMed

Gallagher, Joe A; Turner, Lesley B; Adams, Jessica M M; Dyer, Philip W; Theodorou, Michael K

2017-01-01

Macroalgal water content is an on-going problem for the use of readily accessible seaweeds in sustainable biorefining, including fuel production. Silage is a reduced-water, compactable, easily stored, transportable material. Ensiling could establish a non-seasonal supply of preserved algal biomass, but requires high initial dry matter content to mitigate environmental pollution risks from effluent. This study investigated potential dewatering methods for kelp harvested throughout the year. Treatments included air-drying, osmotic media and acids. Significant interactions between treatment and harvest-time were observed for traits of interest. Fresh weight loss during treatment was composed of changes in water and dry matter content. Air-drying gave reliable increase in final dry matter content; in summer and autumn 30% dry matter content was reached after 24h. Dilute hydrochloric acid reduced stickiness and rendered material suitable for dewatering by screw-pressing; it may be possible to use the consequent pH reduction to promote efficient preservation. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Nitrate and Phosphate Contents on Sediments Related to The Density Levels of Mangrove Rhizophora Sp. in Mangrove Park Waters of Pekalongan, Central Java

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Supriyantini, E.; Santoso, A.; Soenardjo, N.

2018-02-01

Mangrove Park waters area of Pekalongan City, Central Java, used to be an aquaculture field, now turning the function into a restoration-based mangrove area, and now it has undergone rehabilitation. The conditions may affect the distribution of nitrate and phosphate content. The objective of this study was to determine the content of nitrates and phosphates in sediments related to the density levels of mangrove Rhizophora sp. The method used in this research was a descriptive method, and sampling was done by purposive sampling method. Water and sediment sampling were conducted at three stations respectively, representing: no mangrove area but used as a residential and tourist area (station 1); less dense mangrove (station 2); and, the previously aquaculture field - or medium dense mangrove (station 3). The results showed that the content of nitrate and phosphate in the whole sediment showed a low fertility rate. Average nitrate content for station 1, station 2 and station 3 were 0.86 mg/100 g, 0.94 mg/100 g and 0.81 mg/100 g, respectively. The average phosphate content at each station were 1.14 mg/100 g, 0.04 mg/100 g and 0.05 mg/100 g, respectively. Except to the station 1 that was no vegetation anymore, the mangrove density levels at two other stations at study sites were relatively low to medium; at station 2 was 0.8 ind/10 m2 and at station 3 was 1.2 ind/10 m2. The role of nitrate and phosphate were for mangrove growth at the site.

Water Calibration Measurements for Neutron Radiography: Application to Water Content Quantification in Porous Media

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

Kang, Misun; Bilheux, Hassina Z; Voisin, Sophie

2013-04-01

Using neutron radiography, the measurement of water thickness was performed using aluminum (Al) water calibration cells at the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) Cold-Guide (CG) 1D neutron imaging facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA. Calibration of water thickness is an important step to accurately measure water contents in samples of interest. Neutron attenuation by water does not vary linearly with thickness mainly due to beam hardening and scattering effects. Transmission measurements for known water thicknesses in water calibration cells allow proper correction of the underestimation of water content due to these effects. As anticipated, strong scatteringmore » effects were observed for water thicknesses greater than 2 mm when the water calibration cells were positioned close to the face of the detector / scintillator (0 and 2.4 cm away, respectively). The water calibration cells were also positioned 24 cm away from the detector face. These measurements resulted in less scattering and this position (designated as the sample position) was used for the subsequent experimental determination of the neutron attenuation coefficient for water. Neutron radiographic images of moist Flint sand in rectangular and cylindrical containers acquired at the sample position were used to demonstrate the applicability of the water calibration. Cumulative changes in the water volumes within the sand columns during monotonic drainage determined by neutron radiography were compared with those recorded by direct reading from a burette connected to a hanging water column. In general, the neutron radiography data showed very good agreement with those obtained volumetrically using the hanging water-column method. These results allow extension of the calibration equation to the quantification of unknown water contents within other samples of porous media.« less

Hydration behavior of casein micelles in thin film geometry: a GISANS study?

PubMed

Metwalli, E; Moulin, J F; Gebhardt, R; Cubitt, R; Tolkach, A; Kulozik, U; Müller-Buschbaum, P

2009-04-07

The water content of casein micelle films in water vapor atmosphere is investigated using time-resolved grazing incidence small-angle neutron scattering (GISANS). Initial dry casein films are prepared with a spin-coating method. At 30 degrees C, the formation of a water-equilibrated casein protein film is reached after 11 min with a total content of 0.36 g of water/g of protein. With increasing water vapor temperature up to 70 degrees C, an increase in the water content is found. With GISANS, lateral structures on the nanometer scale are resolved during the swelling experiment at different temperatures and modeled using two types of spheres: micelles and mini-micelles. Upon water uptake, molecular assemblies in the size range of 15 nm (mini-micelles) are attributed to the formation of a high-contrast D2O outer shell on the small objects that already exist in the protein film. For large objects (>100 nm), the mean size increases at high D2O vapor temperature because of possible aggregation between hydrated micelles. These results are discussed and compared with various proposed models for casein micelle structures.

Retrieval of ice crystals' mass from ice water content and particle distribution measurements: a numerical optimization approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coutris, Pierre; Leroy, Delphine; Fontaine, Emmanuel; Schwarzenboeck, Alfons; Strapp, J. Walter

2016-04-01

A new method to retrieve cloud water content from in-situ measured 2D particle images from optical array probes (OAP) is presented. With the overall objective to build a statistical model of crystals' mass as a function of their size, environmental temperature and crystal microphysical history, this study presents the methodology to retrieve the mass of crystals sorted by size from 2D images using a numerical optimization approach. The methodology is validated using two datasets of in-situ measurements gathered during two airborne field campaigns held in Darwin, Australia (2014), and Cayenne, France (2015), in the frame of the High Altitude Ice Crystals (HAIC) / High Ice Water Content (HIWC) projects. During these campaigns, a Falcon F-20 research aircraft equipped with state-of-the art microphysical instrumentation sampled numerous mesoscale convective systems (MCS) in order to study dynamical and microphysical properties and processes of high ice water content areas. Experimentally, an isokinetic evaporator probe, referred to as IKP-2, provides a reference measurement of the total water content (TWC) which equals ice water content, (IWC) when (supercooled) liquid water is absent. Two optical array probes, namely 2D-S and PIP, produce 2D images of individual crystals ranging from 50 μm to 12840 μm from which particle size distributions (PSD) are derived. Mathematically, the problem is formulated as an inverse problem in which the crystals' mass is assumed constant over a size class and is computed for each size class from IWC and PSD data: PSD.m = IW C This problem is solved using numerical optimization technique in which an objective function is minimized. The objective function is defined as follows: 2 J(m)=∥P SD.m - IW C ∥ + λ.R (m) where the regularization parameter λ and the regularization function R(m) are tuned based on data characteristics. The method is implemented in two steps. First, the method is developed on synthetic crystal populations in order to evaluate the behavior of the iterative algorithm, the influence of data noise on the quality of the results, and to set up a regularization strategy. Therefore, 3D synthetic crystals have been generated and numerically processed to recreate the noise caused by 2D projections of randomly oriented 3D crystals and by the discretization of the PSD into size classes of predefined width. Subsequently, the method is applied to the experimental datasets and the comparison between the retrieved TWC (this methodology) and the measured ones (IKP-2 data) will enable the evaluation of the consistency and accuracy of the mass solution retrieved by the numerical optimization approach as well as preliminary assessment of the influence of temperature and dynamical parameters on crystals' masses.

The role of water content in triboelectric charging of wind-blown sand.

PubMed

Gu, Zhaolin; Wei, Wei; Su, Junwei; Yu, Chuck Wah

2013-01-01

Triboelectric charging is common in desert sandstorms and dust devils on Earth; however, it remains poorly understood. Here we show a charging mechanism of sands with the adsorbed water on micro-porous surface in wind-blown sand based on the fact that water content is universal but usually a minor component in most particle systems. The triboelectric charging could be resulted due to the different mobility of H(+)/OH(-) between the contacting sands with a temperature difference. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and discrete element method (DEM) were used to demonstrate the dynamics of the sand charging. The numerically simulated charge-to-mass ratios of sands and electric field strength established in wind tunnel agreed well with the experimental data. The charging mechanism could provide an explanation for the charging process of all identical granular systems with water content, including Martian dust devils, wind-blown snow, even powder electrification in industrial processes.

The role of water content in triboelectric charging of wind-blown sand

PubMed Central

Gu, Zhaolin; Wei, Wei; Su, Junwei; Yu, Chuck Wah

2013-01-01

Triboelectric charging is common in desert sandstorms and dust devils on Earth; however, it remains poorly understood. Here we show a charging mechanism of sands with the adsorbed water on micro-porous surface in wind-blown sand based on the fact that water content is universal but usually a minor component in most particle systems. The triboelectric charging could be resulted due to the different mobility of H+/OH− between the contacting sands with a temperature difference. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and discrete element method (DEM) were used to demonstrate the dynamics of the sand charging. The numerically simulated charge-to-mass ratios of sands and electric field strength established in wind tunnel agreed well with the experimental data. The charging mechanism could provide an explanation for the charging process of all identical granular systems with water content, including Martian dust devils, wind-blown snow, even powder electrification in industrial processes. PMID:23434920

Best Technical Approach for the Petroleum Quality Analysis (PQA) System

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-08-01

two test methods for determination of water content in a fuel. The Karl Fischer titration method (ASTM D 1744) measures for total water, both...difficult to automate. ASTM D 664, "Standard Test Method for Acid Number of Petroleum Products by Potentiometric Titration," is simple to automate...release. distribution unlimnied 13. ABSTRACT (Maximum 2C3 words) Recent U.S. militar-y operations have identified a need for improved methods of fuel and

Is a Water Content of 60% Maximum Water Holding Capacity Suitable for Folsomia candida Reproduction Tests? A Study with Silver Nanoparticles and AgNO3

PubMed Central

McKee, Moira S.; Megía Guerrero, Amelia; Filser, Juliane

2018-01-01

Silver nanoparticles (AgNP) are increasingly emitted to the environment due to a rise in application in various products; therefore, assessment of their potential risks for biota is important. In this study the effects of AgNP at environmentally relevant concentrations (0.6–375 µg kg−1 soil) on the soil invertebrate Folsomia candida in OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) soil was examined at different soil water contents. Animals were retrieved by heat extraction, which had an efficiency of about 90% compared with the floatation method. The tested water content range is set by OECD Guideline 232 (40–60% of the maximum water holding capacity, WHC), and we detected significant differences in toxicity due to these. With AgNO3, used as an ionic control, the number of juveniles significantly decreased only at 40% WHC, which might be due to dilution of the toxicant at higher soil water content. In turn, at 60% WHC, the reproduction of F. candida significantly increased in the presence of AgNP compared with in the control. However, at this water content, the required number of juveniles in the control treatment was not reached in three independent tests. The fact that the OECD validity criterion is not met indicates that the soil conditions are not suitable for reproduction at 60% WHC. PMID:29614765

Defect Analysis Of Quality Palm Kernel Meal Using Statistical Quality Control In Kernels Factory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sembiring, M. T.; Marbun, N. J.

2018-04-01

The production quality has an important impact retain the totality of characteristics of a product or service to pay attention to its capabilities to meet the needs that have been established. Quality criteria Palm Kernel Meal (PKM) set Factory kernel is as follows: oil content: max 8.50%, water content: max 12,00% and impurity content: max 4.00% While the average quality of the oil content of 8.94%, the water content of 5.51%, and 8.45% impurity content. To identify the defective product quality PKM produced, then used a method of analysis using Statistical Quality Control (SQC). PKM Plant Quality Kernel shows the oil content was 0.44% excess of a predetermined maximum value, and 4.50% impurity content. With excessive PKM content of oil and dirt cause disability content of production for oil, amounted to 854.6078 kg PKM and 8643.193 kg impurity content of PKM. Analysis of the results of cause and effect diagram and SQC, the factors that lead to poor quality of PKM is Ampere second press oil expeller and hours second press oil expeller.

Modelingevapotranspirationina sub-tropical climate

USGS Publications Warehouse

Savabi, M.R.; Cochrane, T.A.; German, E.; Ikiz, C.; Cockshutt, N.

2007-01-01

Evapotranspiration (ET) loss is estimated at about 80-85% of annual precipitation in South Florida. Accurate prediction of ET is important during and beyond the implementation of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). In the USDA's Everglades Agro-Hydrology Model (EAHM) the soil water intake is linked with the soil water redistribution, soil evaporation, plant transpiration, subsurface lateral flow and subsurface drainage to calculate daily root zone soil water content. Hydrometeorological data from three sites with different soil moisture content and vegetal cover were used to evaluate the EAHM ET routine. In general, the EAHM water balance sub-model simulated the daily ET with acceptable accuracy in the area with standing water (Everglades) while using the Penman method. However, in the area with grass cover, there was a discrepancy between the model simulated and measured ET using either the Penman or the Priestley-Taylor method. The results indicated that in the region with two distinct climate patterns: dry (low humidity, more wind, and less precipitation) and wet (high humidity, less wind and more rainfall) such as South Florida, a combination method like Penman should be used for prediction of daily ET. However, in order to improve the predictability of the ET methods, information about surface albedo is needed for land surfaces with grass vegetation during the growing season.

Monitoring leaf water content with THz and sub-THz waves.

PubMed

Gente, Ralf; Koch, Martin

2015-01-01

Terahertz technology is still an evolving research field that attracts scientists with very different backgrounds working on a wide range of subjects. In the past two decades, it has been demonstrated that terahertz technology can provide a non-invasive tool for measuring and monitoring the water content of leaves and plants. In this paper we intend to review the different possibilities to perform in-vivo water status measurements on plants with the help of THz and sub-THz waves. The common basis of the different methods is the strong absorption of THz and sub-THz waves by liquid water. In contrast to simpler, yet destructive, methods THz and sub-THz waves allow for the continuous monitoring of plant water status over several days on the same sample. The technologies, which we take into focus, are THz time domain spectroscopy, THz continuous wave setups, THz quasi time domain spectroscopy and sub-THz continuous wave setups. These methods differ with respect to the generation and detection schemes, the covered frequency range, the processing and evaluation of the experimental data, and the mechanical handling of the measurements. Consequently, we explain which method fits best in which situation. Finally, we discuss recent and future technological developments towards more compact and budget-priced measurement systems for use in the field.

Bactericidal activity and silver release of porous ceramic candle filter prepared by sintering silica with silver nanoparticles/zeolite for water disinfection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trinh Nguyen, Thuy Ai; Phu Dang, Van; Duy Nguyen, Ngoc; Le, Anh Quoc; Thanh Nguyen, Duc; Hien Nguyen, Quoc

2014-09-01

Porous ceramic candle filters (PCCF) were prepared by sintering silica from rice husk with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs)/zeolite A at about 1050 °C to create bactericidal PCCF/AgNPs for water disinfection. The silver content in PCCF/AgNPs was of 300-350 mg kg-1 determined by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) and the average pore size of PCCF/AgNPs was of 50-70 Å measured by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method. The bactericidal activity and silver release of PCCF/AgNPs have been investigated by flow test with water flow rate of 5 L h-1 and initial inoculation of E. coli in inlet water of 106 CFU/100 mL. The volume of filtrated water was collected up to 500 L. Results showed that the contamination of E. coli in filtrated water was <1 CFU/100 mL and the content of silver released from PCCF/AgNPs into filtrated water was <1 μg L-1, it is low, far under the WHO guideline of 100 μg L-1 at maximum for drinking water. Based on the content of silver in PCCF/AgNPs and in filtrated water, it was estimated that one PCCF/AgNPs could be used to filtrate of ˜100 m3 water. Thus, as-prepared PCCF/AgNPs releases low content of silver into water and shows effectively bactericidal activity that is promising to apply as point-of-use water treatment technology for drinking water disinfection.

40 CFR 258.41 - Project XL Bioreactor Landfill Projects.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... footprint of the landfill cell. (B) Water collected on the leak detection liner shall be monitored at least... this section is leachate or gas condensate derived from the MSWLF, which may be supplemented with water... determined by the Standard Test Method for Laboratory Determination of Water (Moisture) Content of Soil and...

Water vapor retrieval from near-IR measurements of polarized scanning atmospheric corrector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qie, Lili; Ning, Yuanming; Zhang, Yang; Chen, Xingfeng; Ma, Yan; Li, Zhengqiang; Cui, Wenyu

2018-02-01

Water vapor and aerosol are two key atmospheric factors effecting the remote sensing image quality. As water vapor is responsible for most of the solar radiation absorption occurring in the cloudless atmosphere, accurate measurement of water content is important to not only atmospheric correction of remote sensing images, but also many other applications such as the study of energy balance and global climate change, land surface temperature retrieval in thermal remote sensing. A multi-spectral, single-angular, polarized radiometer called Polarized Scanning Atmospheric Corrector (PSAC) were developed in China, which are designed to mount on the same satellite platform with the principle payload and provide essential parameters for principle payload image atmospheric correction. PSAC detect water vapor content via measuring atmosphere reflectance at water vapor absorbing channels (i.e. 0.91 μm) and nearby atmospheric window channel (i.e. 0.865μm). A near-IR channel ratio method was implemented to retrieve column water vapor (CWV) amount from PSAC measurements. Field experiments were performed at Yantai, in Shandong province of China, PSAC aircraft observations were acquired. The comparison between PSAC retrievals and ground-based Sun-sky radiometer measurements of CWV during the experimental flights illustrates that this method retrieves CWV with relative deviations ranging from 4% 13%. This method retrieve CWV more accurate over land than over ocean, as the water reflectance is low.

Effect of water content on partial ternary phase diagram water-in-diesel microemulsion fuel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mukayat, Hastinatun; Badri, Khairiah Haji; Raman, Ismail Ab.; Ramli, Suria

2014-09-01

Introduction of water in the fuel gave a significant effect to the reduction of pollutant such as NOx emission. In this work, water/diesel microemulsion fuels were prepared using compositional method by mixing water and diesel in the presence of non-ionic surfactant and co-surfactant. The effects of water composition on the partial ternary phase diagram were studied at 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% (w/w). The physical stability of the microemulsion was investigated at 45°C over a period of one month. The optimum formulae obtained were diesel/T80/1-penthanol/water 60:20:15:5 wt% (System 1), 55:20:15:10 wt% (System 2), 50:20:15:15 wt% (System 3) and 45:20:15:20 wt% (System 4). Physicochemical characterizations of optimum formulae were studied. The results showed that water content has a significant effect to the formation of microemulsion, its stability, droplet size and viscosity.

[Polyphenolic compounds analysis and antioxidant activity in fruits of Prunus spinosa L.

PubMed

Varga, E; Domokos, E; Fogarasi, E; Steanesu, R; Fülöp, I; Croitoru, M D; Laczkó-Zöld, E

2017-01-01

Prunus spinosa L. (blackthorn, sloe) is a com- mon species in the wild flora of Europe. Marmalade, syrup, and alcoholic beverages have been prepared from fruits. In folk medicine they'are used due to the astringent effect. However there are few studies on these indigenous fruits. According to the literature they contain tannins, anthocyanins, sugars, vitamin C etc. Our objective is to determine the antioxidant activity as related to their phenolic composition. For this purpose we prepared extracts using methanol, methanol-water (1: 1) and water. The antioxidant activity was determined by DPPH method and by photochemiluminescens (PCL) method. The total polyphenols, total anthocyanins and flavonoids were determined by colorimetric methods. Individual polyphenols were identified by a RP-HPLC-UVIVIS method. The antioxidant activity decreased in the extracts as follows: methanol > methanol-water > water (IC₅₀= 1.33 mg/ml for DPPH; 11.94 μmol AAEIml for PCL > IC₅₀ = 1.87 mg/ml for DPPH; 10.35 μmol AAElml for PCL > IC₅₀ = 15.29 mg/ml for DPPH, 1.89 μmol AAElml for PCL) which is cor- related with the total polyphenol content (369 mg/100g > 244 mg1100g > 101 mg1100g) and total anthocyanin content (37.11 mg/100 g > 16.33 mg/100g > 7.76 mg/100g). The fla- vonoid content is similar in the three extracts (between 35.82 - 37.32 mg1100 g). The HPLC analysis shows high chloro- genic and neochlorogenic acid levels, followed by glycosides of quercetin. Our results demonstrated that blackthorn fruits are a rich source of phenolic compounds, with anti- oxidant activity, which are best extracted with methanol or methanol-water.

[Soil moisture dynamics of artificial Caragana microphylla shrubs at different topographical sites in Horqin sandy land].

PubMed

Huang, Gang; Zhao, Xue-yong; Huang, Ying-xin; Su, Yan-gui

2009-03-01

Based on the investigation data of vegetation and soil moisture regime of Caragana microphylla shrubs widely distributed in Horqin sandy land, the spatiotemporal variations of soil moisture regime and soil water storage of artificial sand-fixing C. microphylla shrubs at different topographical sites in the sandy land were studied, and the evapotranspiration was measured by water balance method. The results showed that the soil moisture content of the shrubs was the highest in the lowland of dunes, followed by in the middle, and in the crest of the dunes, and increased with increasing depth. No water stress occurred during the growth season of the shrubs. Soil moisture content of the shrubs was highly related to precipitation event, and the relationship of soil moisture content with precipitation was higher in deep soil layer (50-180 cm) than in shallow soil layer (0-50 cm). The variation coefficient of soil moisture content was also higher in deep layer than in shallow layer. Soil water storage was increasing in the whole growth season of the shrubs, which meant that the accumulation of soil water occurred in this area. The evapotranspiriation of the shrubs occupied above 64% of the precipitation.

Monitoring hillslope moisture dynamics with surface ERT for enhancing spatial significance of hydrometric point measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hübner, R.; Heller, K.; Günther, T.; Kleber, A.

2015-01-01

Besides floodplains, hillslopes are basic units that mainly control water movement and flow pathways within catchments of subdued mountain ranges. The structure of their shallow subsurface affects water balance, e.g. infiltration, retention, and runoff. Nevertheless, there is still a gap in the knowledge of the hydrological dynamics on hillslopes, notably due to the lack of generalization and transferability. This study presents a robust multi-method framework of electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) in addition to hydrometric point measurements, transferring hydrometric data into higher spatial scales to obtain additional patterns of distribution and dynamics of soil moisture on a hillslope. A geoelectrical monitoring in a small catchment in the eastern Ore Mountains was carried out at weekly intervals from May to December 2008 to image seasonal moisture dynamics on the hillslope scale. To link water content and electrical resistivity, the parameters of Archie's law were determined using different core samples. To optimize inversion parameters and methods, the derived spatial and temporal water content distribution was compared to tensiometer data. The results from ERT measurements show a strong correlation with the hydrometric data. The response is congruent to the soil tension data. Water content calculated from the ERT profile shows similar variations as that of water content from soil moisture sensors. Consequently, soil moisture dynamics on the hillslope scale may be determined not only by expensive invasive punctual hydrometric measurements, but also by minimally invasive time-lapse ERT, provided that pedo-/petrophysical relationships are known. Since ERT integrates larger spatial scales, a combination with hydrometric point measurements improves the understanding of the ongoing hydrological processes and better suits identification of heterogeneities.

Formulation, Characterization and Physicochemical Evaluation of Ranitidine Effervescent Tablets

PubMed Central

Aslani, Abolfazl; Jahangiri, Hajar

2013-01-01

Purpose: The aim of this study was to design, formulate and physicochemically evaluate effervescent ranitidine hydrochloride (HCl) tablets since they are easily administered while the elderly and children sometimes have difficulties in swallowing oral dosage forms. Methods: Effervescent ranitidine HCl tablets were prepared in a dosage of 300 mg by fusion and direct compression methods. The powder blend and granule mixture were evaluated for various pre-compression characteristics, such as angle of repose, compressibility index, mean particle size and Hausner's ratio. The tablets were evaluated for post-compression features including weight variation, hardness, friability, drug content, dissolution time, carbon dioxide content, effervescence time, pH, content uniformity and water content. Effervescent systems with appropriate pre and post-compression qualities dissolved rapidly in water were selected as the best formulations. Results: The results showed that the flowability of fusion method is more than that of direct compression and the F5 and F6 formulations of 300 mg tablets were selected as the best formulations because of their physicochemical characteristics. Conclusion: In this study, citric acid, sodium bicarbonate and sweeteners (including mannitol, sucrose and aspartame) were selected. Aspartame, mint and orange flavors were more effective for masking the bitter taste of ranitidine. The fusion method is the best alternative in terms of physicochemical and physical properties. PMID:24312854

SPRUCE Whole Ecosystem Warming (WEW) Peat Water Content and Temperature Profiles for Experimental Plot Cores Beginning June 2016

DOE Data Explorer

Gutknecht, J. [Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.A.; Kluber, L. A. [Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.A.; Hanson, P. J. [Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.A.; Schadt, C. W. [Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.A.

2016-06-01

This data set provides the peat water content and peat temperature at time of sampling for peat cores collected before and during the SPRUCE Whole Ecosystem Warming (WEW) study. Cores for the current data set were collected during the following bulk peat sampling events: 13 June 2016 and 23 August 2016. Over time, this dataset will be updated with each new major bulk peat sampling event, and dates/methods will be updated accordingly.

Rate of dehydration of corn (Zea mays L.) pollen in the air.

PubMed

Aylor, Donald E

2003-10-01

The water content of corn (Zea mays L.) pollen directly affects its dispersal in the atmosphere through its effect on settling speed and viability. Therefore, the rate of water loss from pollen after being shed from the anther is an important component of a model to predict effective pollen transport distances in the atmosphere. The rate of water loss from corn pollen in air was determined using two methods: (1) by direct weighing of samples containing approximately 5 x 10(4) grains, and (2) by microscopic measurement of the change in size of individual grains. The conductance of the pollen wall to water loss was derived from the time rate of change of pollen mass or pollen grain size. The two methods gave average conductance values of 0.026 and 0.027 cm s-1, respectively. In other experiments, the water potential, psi, of corn pollen was determined at various values of relative water content (dry weight basis), either by using a thermocouple psychrometer or by allowing samples of pollen to come to vapour equilibrium with various saturated salt solutions. Non-linear regression analysis of the data yielded psi (MPa) = -3.218 theta(-1.35) (r2 = 0.94; for -298 < or = psi < or = -1 MPa). This result was incorporated into a model differential equation for the rate of water loss from pollen. The model agreed well (r2 approximately 0.98) with the observed time-course of the decrease of water content of pollen grains exposed to a range of temperature and humidity conditions.

Water adsorption isotherms of carboxymethyl cellulose, guar, locust bean, tragacanth and xanthan gums.

PubMed

Torres, María D; Moreira, Ramón; Chenlo, Francisco; Vázquez, María J

2012-06-20

Water adsorption isotherms of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), guar gum (GG), locust bean gum (LBG), tragacanth gum (TG) and xanthan gum (XG) were determined at different temperatures (20, 35, 50, and 65°C) using a gravimetric method. Several saturated salt solutions were selected to obtain different water activities in the range from 0.09 to 0.91. Water adsorption isotherms of tested hydrocolloids were classified like type II isotherms. In all cases, equilibrium moisture content decreased with increasing temperature at each water activity value. Three-parameter Guggenheim-Anderson-de Boer (GAB) model was employed to fit the experimental data in the water activity range and statistical analysis indicated that this model gave satisfactory results. CMC and GG were the most and the least hygroscopic gums, respectively. Sorption heats decreased with increasing moisture content. Monolayer moisture content evaluated with GAB model was consistent with equilibrium conditions of maximum stability calculated from thermodynamic analysis of net integral entropy. Values of equilibrium relative humidity at 20°C are proposed to storage adequately the tested gums. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Runoff simulation sensitivity to remotely sensed initial soil water content

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goodrich, D. C.; Schmugge, T. J.; Jackson, T. J.; Unkrich, C. L.; Keefer, T. O.; Parry, R.; Bach, L. B.; Amer, S. A.

1994-05-01

A variety of aircraft remotely sensed and conventional ground-based measurements of volumetric soil water content (SW) were made over two subwatersheds (4.4 and 631 ha) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service Walnut Gulch experimental watershed during the 1990 monsoon season. Spatially distributed soil water contents estimated remotely from the NASA push broom microwave radiometer (PBMR), an Institute of Radioengineering and Electronics (IRE) multifrequency radiometer, and three ground-based point methods were used to define prestorm initial SW for a distributed rainfall-runoff model (KINEROS; Woolhiser et al., 1990) at a small catchment scale (4.4 ha). At a medium catchment scale (631 ha or 6.31 km2) spatially distributed PBMR SW data were aggregated via stream order reduction. The impacts of the various spatial averages of SW on runoff simulations are discussed and are compared to runoff simulations using SW estimates derived from a simple daily water balance model. It was found that at the small catchment scale the SW data obtained from any of the measurement methods could be used to obtain reasonable runoff predictions. At the medium catchment scale, a basin-wide remotely sensed average of initial water content was sufficient for runoff simulations. This has important implications for the possible use of satellite-based microwave soil moisture data to define prestorm SW because the low spatial resolutions of such sensors may not seriously impact runoff simulations under the conditions examined. However, at both the small and medium basin scale, adequate resources must be devoted to proper definition of the input rainfall to achieve reasonable runoff simulations.

Isokinetic TWC Evaporator Probe: Development of the IKP2 and Performance Testing for the HAIC-HIWC Darwin 2014 and Cayenne-2015 Field Campaigns

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strapp, John W.; Lilie, Lyle E.; Ratvasky, Thomas P.; Davison, Craig R.; Dumont, Christopher J.

2016-01-01

A new Isokinetic Total Water Content Evaporator (IKP2) was downsized from a prototype instrument, specifically to make airborne measurements of hydrometeor total water content (TWC) in deep tropical convective clouds to assess the new ice crystal Appendix D icing envelope. The probe underwent numerous laboratory and wind tunnel investigations to ensure reliable operation under the difficult high altitude/speed/TWC conditions under which other TWC instruments have been known to either fail, or have unknown performance characteristics. The article tracks the testing and modifications of the IKP2 probe to ensure its readiness for three flight campaigns in 2014 and 2015. Comparisons are made between the IKP2 and the NASA Icing Research Tunnel reference values in liquid conditions, and to an exploratory technique estimating ice water content from a bulk ice capture cylinder method in glaciated conditions. These comparisons suggest that the initial target of 20 percent accuracy in TWC has been achieved and likely exceeded for tested TWC values in excess of about 0.5 gm (exp -3). Uncertainties in the ice water content reference method have been identified. Complications are introduced in the necessary subtraction of an independently measured background water vapour concentration, errors of which are small at the colder flight temperatures, but increase rapidly with increasing temperature, and ultimately limit the practical use of the instrument in a tropical convective atmosphere to conditions colder than about 0 degrees C. A companion article in this conference traces the accuracy of the components of the IKP2 to derive estimated system accuracy.

Isokinetic TWC Evaporator Probe: Development of the IKP2 and Performance Testing for the HAIC-HIWC Darwin 2014 and Cayenne 2015 Field Campaigns

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strapp, J. Walter; Lilie, Lyle E.; Ratvasky, Thomas P.; Davison, Craig; Dumont, Chris

2016-01-01

A new Isokinetic Total Water Content Evaporator (IKP2) was downsized from a prototype instrument, specifically to make airborne measurements of hydrometeor total water content (TWC) in deep tropical convective clouds to assess the new ice crystal Appendix D icing envelope. The probe underwent numerous laboratory and wind tunnel investigations to ensure reliable operation under the difficult high altitude/speed/TWC conditions under which other TWC instruments have been known to either fail, or have unknown performance characteristics. The article tracks the testing and modifications of the IKP2 probe to ensure its readiness for three flight campaigns in 2014 and 2015. Comparisons are made between the IKP2 and the NASA Icing Research Tunnel reference values in liquid conditions, and to an exploratory technique estimating ice water content from a bulk ice capture cylinder method in glaciated conditions. These comparisons suggest that the initial target of 20% accuracy in TWC has been achieved and likely exceeded for tested TWC values in excess of about 0.5/cu gm. Uncertainties in the ice water content reference method have been identified. Complications are introduced in the necessary subtraction of an independently measured background water vapor concentration, errors of which are small at the colder flight temperatures, but increase rapidly with increasing temperature, and ultimately limit the practical use of the instrument in a tropical convective atmosphere to conditions colder than about 0 C. A companion article in this conference traces the accuracy of the components of the IKP2 to derive estimated system accuracy.

Extraction of GBH Film Medicine and Influence on Quality Evaluation of The Film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ji, Y. B.; Lu, L.; Ru, X.; Guo, S. Z.; Qiao, A. N.; Wang, S. W.

2017-12-01

To know the extraction effects of GBH film medicine and the influence on film quality evaluation. Ultrasonic extraction and reflux extraction were used to extract the two methods with the traditional water decocting method to contrast. They were used to determining the content of total flavonoids. The same method was used to separate the root of the main medicinal herbs and the decoction of the water decoction of the other drug powder. They were used to determine the content of total flavonoids. The effect of extraction method on the preparation of membrane was investigated. The membrane preparation, evaluation and flexibility, respectively, film-forming property, smoothness and disintegration time are used to evaluating separately the effect of extraction method. The results showed that the extraction effect of 70% ethanol concentration of total flavonoids. The best extraction method had no effect on the film quality initial evaluation. This experiment provides a method for membrane extraction agent, has a certain practical significance.

Laboratory test investigations on soil water characteristic curve and air permeability of municipal solid waste.

PubMed

Shi, Jianyong; Wu, Xun; Ai, Yingbo; Zhang, Zhen

2018-05-01

The air permeability coefficient has a high correlation with the water content of municipal solid waste. In this study, continuous drying methodology using a tension meter was employed to construct the soil water characteristic curve of municipal solid waste (M-SWCC). The municipal solid waste air permeability test was conducted by a newly designed apparatus. The measured M-SWCC was well reproduced by the van Genuchten (V-G) model and was used to predict the parameters of typical points in M-SWCC, including saturated water content, field capacity, residual water content and water content at the inflection point. It was found that the M-SWCC was significantly influenced by void ratio. The final evaporation and test period of M-SWCC increase with the increase in void ratio of municipal solid waste. The evolution of air permeability coefficient with water content of municipal solid waste depicted three distinct characteristic stages. It was observed that the water contents that corresponded to the two cut-off points of the three stages were residual water content and water content at the inflection point, respectively. The air permeability coefficient of municipal solid waste decreased with the increase of the water content from zero to the residual water content. The air permeability coefficient was almost invariable when the water content increased from residual water content to the water content at the inflection point. When the water content of municipal solid waste exceeded the water content at the inflection point, the air permeability coefficient sharply decreased with the increase of water content.

Combined enzymatic and colorimetric method for determining the uronic acid and methylester content of pectin: Application to tomato products.

PubMed

Anthon, Gordon E; Barrett, Diane M

2008-09-01

A simple procedure for determining the galacturonic acid and methanol contents of soluble and insoluble pectins, relying on enzymatic pectin hydrolysis and colorimetric quantification, is described. Pectin samples are incubated with a commercial pectinase preparation, Viscozyme, then the galacturonic acid content of the hydrolyzed pectin is quantified colorimetrically using a modification of the Cu reduction procedure originally described by Avigad and Milner. This modification, substituting the commonly used Folin-Ciocalteau reagent for the arsenic containing Nelson reagent, gives a response that is linear, sensitive, and selective for uronic acids over neutral sugars. This method also avoids the use of concentrated acids needed for the commonly used m-phenylphenol method. Methanol, released by the action of the pectin methylesterase found in the Viscozyme, is quantified using alcohol oxidase and Purpald. This combined enzymatic and colorimetric procedure correctly determined the galacturonic acid and methanol content of purified, soluble citrus pectin. Application of the procedure to water insoluble pectins was evaluated with water insoluble material from apples and oranges. In both cases good agreement was obtained between this method and commonly used methods based on chemical pectin hydrolysis. Good agreement between these procedures was also found in the analysis of both soluble and insoluble pectins from several tomato products. Copyright © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Icing Cloud Calibration of the NASA Glenn Icing Research Tunnel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ide, Robert F.; Oldenburg, John R.

2001-01-01

The icing research tunnel at the NASA Glenn Research Center underwent a major rehabilitation in 1999, necessitating recalibration of the icing clouds. This report describes the methods used in the recalibration, including the procedure used to establish a uniform icing cloud and the use of a standard icing blade technique for measurement of liquid water content. The instruments and methods used to perform the droplet size calibration are also described. The liquid water content/droplet size operating envelopes of the icing tunnel are shown for a range of airspeeds and compared to the FAA icing certification criteria. The capabilities of the IRT to produce large droplet icing clouds is also detailed.

Electrical and magnetic properties of rock and soil

USGS Publications Warehouse

Scott, J.H.

1983-01-01

Field and laboratory measurements have been made to determine the electrical conductivity, dielectric constant, and magnetic permeability of rock and soil in areas of interest in studies of electromagnetic pulse propagation. Conductivity is determined by making field measurements of apparent resisitivity at very low frequencies (0-20 cps), and interpreting the true resistivity of layers at various depths by curve-matching methods. Interpreted resistivity values are converted to corresponding conductivity values which are assumed to be applicable at 10^2 cps, an assumption which is considered valid because the conductivity of rock and soil is nearly constant at frequencies below 10^2 cps. Conductivity is estimated at higher frequencies (up to 10^6 cps) by using statistical correlations of three parameters obtained from laboratory measurements of rock and soil samples: conductivity at 10^2 cps, frequency and conductivity measured over the range 10^2 to 10^6 cps. Conductivity may also be estimated in this frequency range by using field measurements of water content and correlations of laboratory sample measurements of the three parameters: water content, frequency, and conductivity measured over the range 10^2 to 10^6 cps. This method is less accurate because nonrandom variation of ion concentration in natural pore water introduces error. Dielectric constant is estimated in a similar manner from field-derived conductivity values applicable at 10^2 cps and statistical correlations of three parameters obtained from laboratory measurements of samples: conductivity measured at 10^2 cps, frequency, and dielectric constant measured over the frequency range 10^2 to 10^6 cps. Dielectric constant may also be estimated from field measurements of water content and correlations of laboratory sample measurements of the three parameters: water content, frequency, and dielectric constant measured from 10^2 to 10^6 cps, but again, this method is less accurate because of variation of ion concentration of pore water. Special laboratory procedures are used to measure conductivity and dielectric constant of rock and soil samples. Electrode polarization errors are minimized by using an electrode system that is electrochemically reversible-with ions in pore water.

Spray formation of biodiesel-water in air-assisted atomizer using Schlieren photography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amirnordin, S. H.; Khalid, A.; Sapit, A.; Salleh, H.; Razali, A.; Fawzi, M.

2016-11-01

Biodiesels are attractive renewable energy sources, particularly for industrial boiler and burner operators. However, biodiesels produce higher nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions compared with diesel. Although water-emulsified fuels can lower NOx emissions by reducing flame temperature, its influence on atomization needs to be investigated further. This study investigates the effects of water on spray formation in air-assisted atomizers. The Schlieren method was used to capture the spray images in terms of tip penetration, spray angle, and spray area. The experiment used palm oil biodiesel at different blending ratios (B5, B10, and B15) and water contents (0vol%-15vol%). Results show that water content in the fuel increases the spray penetration and area but reduces the spray angle because of the changes in fuel properties. Therefore, biodiesel-water application is applicable to burner systems.

Multi-offset GPR methods for hyporheic zone investigations

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brosten, T.R.; Bradford, J.H.; McNamara, J.P.; Gooseff, M.N.; Zarnetske, J.P.; Bowden, W.B.; Johnston, M.E.

2009-01-01

Porosity of stream sediments has a direct effect on hyporheic exchange patterns and rates. Improved estimates of porosity heterogeneity will yield enhanced simulation of hyporheic exchange processes. Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) velocity measurements are strongly controlled by water content thus accurate measures of GPR velocity in saturated sediments provides estimates of porosity beneath stream channels using petrophysical relationships. Imaging the substream system using surface based reflection measurements is particularly challenging due to large velocity gradients that occur at the transition from open water to saturated sediments. The continuous multi-offset method improves the quality of subsurface images through stacking and provides measurements of vertical and lateral velocity distributions. We applied the continuous multi-offset method to stream sites on the North Slope, Alaska and the Sawtooth Mountains near Boise, Idaho, USA. From the continuous multi-offset data, we measure velocity using reflection tomography then estimate water content and porosity using the Topp equation. These values provide detailed measurements for improved stream channel hydraulic and thermal modelling. ?? 2009 European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers.

MODIS-derived atmospheric water vapor (AWV) content and its correlation to land use and land cover in Northeast China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Kaishan; Wu, Junjie; Li, Lin; Wang, Zongming; Lu, Dongmei; Du, Jia; Zhang, Bai

2010-08-01

Atmospheric water vapor (AWV) content is closely related to precipitation that in turn has effects on the productivity of agricultural, forestry and range land. MODIS images have been used for AWV retrieval, and the method uses either two (0.841-0.876 μm and 0.915-0.965 μm) or three (0.841-0.876, 0.915-0.965 and 1.230-0-1.250 μm) MODIS channel ratios. We applied both methods to the MODIS data over Northeast China acquired from June to August, 2008 to retrieve AWV content, and the results were validated on ground observed data from 10 radio sonde stations characterized by various land cover. The bulk results indicate that the two-channel ratio outperformed the three-channel ratio based on the coefficient of determination R2 = 0.81 vs. 0.78. The validation results for individual land cover types also support this observation with R2 = 0.92 vs. 0.84 for woodland, 0.82 vs. 0.79 for cropland, 0.90 vs. 0.86 for grassland and 0.673 vs. 0.669 for urban areas. The spatial distribution of AWV derived using the two-channel ratio method was correlated to land-use classification data, and a high correlation was evident when other conditions were similar. With the exception of dry cropland, the amount of average water vapor content over different land use types demonstrates a consistent order: water-body > paddy-field > woodland > grassland > barren for the analyzed multi-temporal MODIS data. This order partially matches the evapotranspiration pattern of underlying surface, and future work is required for analyzing the association of the landscape pattern with AWV in the region.

The content of secondary phenol metabolites in pruned leaves of Aloe arborescens, a comparison between two methods: leaf exudates and leaf water extract.

PubMed

Gutterman, Yitzchak; Chauser-Volfson, Elena

2008-10-01

Aloe arborescens plants, originating from the deserts of South Africa, are grown in the Introduction Garden at Sede Boker in the Negev Desert of Israel. In previous studies, we developed agro-technical methods to raise the content of secondary phenol metabolites (SPhMs) in the Aloe leaves. Plants that are subjected to repeated leaf pruning respond by increasing the content of their SPhMs. The SPhMs found in Aloe arborescens include barbaloin, aloenin and derivatives of aloeresin. Such compounds are used for many purposes, including human skin protection from sun and fire burns and high radiation, as products of the pharmaceutics and cosmetics industries, and as food supplements for treating stomach ulcers and diabetes. In the current study, the SPhMs were separated from pruned leaves of the same A. arborescens plants at the same time by two methods: (1) exudation by squeezing the tissues of the leaves, (2) immersion of the leaves' pruned cut bottom in water and collection of the extract. The exudates and extract were frozen, freeze-dried to a powder and the SPhMs were then separated by chromatography. The yield of powder from water extraction from pruned leaves was much lower than the yield from the exudates. However, higher percentages of the powder from the water extraction contained SPhMs (between 80 and 92.7%). The content of powder in leaf exudates from pruned leaves was much higher because the SPhMs were squeezed out from the cells and tissues. However, the percentages of SPhMs in this powder were much lower (between 39 and 62%).

Water content determination of soil surface in an intensive apple orchard

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riczu, Péter; Nagy, Gábor; Tamás, János

2015-04-01

Currently in Hungary, less than 100,000 hectares of orchards can be found, from which cultivation of apple is one of the most dominant ones. Production of marketable horticulture products can be difficult without employing advanced and high quality horticulture practices, which, in turn, depends on appropriate management and irrigation systems, basically. The got out water amount depend on climatic, edafic factors and the water demand of plants as well. The soil water content can be determined by traditional and modern methods. In order to define soil moisture content, gravimetry measurement is one of the most accurate methods, but it is time consuming and sometimes soil sampling and given results are in different times. Today, IT provides the farmers such tools, like global positioning system (GPS), geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing (RS). These tools develop in a great integration rapidly. RS methods are ideal to survey larger area quick and accurate. Laser scanning is a novel technique which analyses a real-world or object environment to collect structural and spectral data. In order to obtain soil moisture information, the Leica ScanStation C10 terrestrial 3D laser scanner was used on an intensive apple orchard on the Study and Regional Research Farm of the University of Debrecen, near Pallag. Previously, soil samples from the study area with different moisture content were used as reference points. Based on the return intensity values of the laser scanner can be distinguished the different moisture content areas of soil surface. Nevertheless, the error of laser distance echo were examined and statistically evaluated. This research was realized in the frames of TÁMOP 4.2.4. A/2-11-1-2012-0001 "National Excellence Program - Elaborating and operating an inland student and researcher personal support system". The project was subsidized by the European Union and co-financed by the European Social Fund.

Effect of some variable in cellulase production by Aspergillus niger ITBCC L74 using solid state fermentation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdullah, B.; Maftukhah, S.; Listyaningrum, E.; Faradhiba, F.

2018-03-01

Cellulase is a very important enzyme for ethanol production, food, papper, etc, from lignocellulose and others. Rice straw and corn cob are the largest agricultural waste in Indonesia, while the water hyacinth weed is a plant that has not been used optimally. The content of cellulose is high enough on rice straw, water hyacinth and corn corb so it can be used as a substrate in the production of cellulase to increase the economic value of the rice straw, hyacinth, and corncob. As for the purpose of this study is to use the rice straw, water hyacinth, and corn cob as substrates of cellulase enzyme, determine the effect type of substrates, moisture content and fermentation time in production of cellulase enzyme and also determining the optimum conditions for production of cellulase enzymes. The method is solid fermentation system and using fungi Aspergillus niger ITBCC L74 as inoculum. The variable used were fermentation time is 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 days, moisture content is 50, 60, 70, and 80%, as well as the type of substrate is rice straw, water hyacinth, and corn cob. The results showed that the highest protein content in the crude enzyme of the rice straw, water hyacinth and corncobs @ is 0.0153 mg/ml, 0.0194 mg/ml and 0. 0146 mg/ml, respectively. The optimum enzyme activity were for the rice straw, water hyacinth and corn cobs @ 2.569 U/ml, 1.606 U/ml and 1.302 U/ml, respectively. The optimum moisture content were obtain for rice straw, water hyacinth and corn cob respectively 80%, 70% and 60%. And the optimum fermentation time for rice straw, corn cob, and water hyacinth is on the sixth day. In this study showed the highest enzyme activity on the type of rice straw substrate with a water content of 80% and fermentation time 6 day.

Comparison of Predicted and Measured Soil Retention Curve in Lombardy Region Northern of Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wassar, Fatma; Rienzner, Michele; Chiaradia, Enrico Antonio; Gandolfi, Claudio

2013-04-01

Water retention characteristics are crucial input parameters in any modeling study on water flow and solute transport. These properties are difficult to measure and therefore the use of both direct and indirect methods is required in order to adequately describe them with sufficient accuracy. Several field methods, laboratory methods and theoretical models for such determinations exist, each having their own limitations and advantages (Stephens, 1994). Therefore, extensive comparisons between estimated, field and laboratory results to determine it still requires their validity for a range of different soils and specific cases. This study attempts to make a contribution specifically in this connection. The soil water retention characteristics were determined in two representative sites (PMI-1 and PMI-5) located in Landriano field, in Lombardy region, northern Italy. In the laboratory, values of both volumetric water content (θ) and soil water matric potential (h) are measured in the same sample using the tensiometric box and pressure plate apparatus. Field determination of soil water retention involved measurements of soil water content with SENTEK probes, and matric potential with tensiometers. The retention curve characteristics were also determined using some of the most commonly cited and some recently developed PTFs that use soil properties such as particle-size distribution (sand, silt, and clay content), organic matter or organic Carbon content, and dry bulk density. Field methods are considered to be more representative than laboratory and estimation methods for determining water retention characteristics (Marion et al., 1996). Therefore, field retention curves were compared against retention curves obtained from laboratory measurements and PTFs estimations. The performances of laboratory and PTFs in predicting field measured data were evaluated using root mean square error (RMSE) and bias. The comparison showed that laboratory measurements were the most accurate. They had the highest ranking for the validation indices (RMSE ranging between 2.4 and 7.7% and bias between 0.1 and 6.4%). The second best technique was the PTF Rosetta (Schaap et al. 2001). They perform only slightly poorer than the laboratory measurements (RMSE ranging between 2.7 and 10% and bias between 0.3 and 7.7%). The lowest prediction accuracy is observed for the Rawls and Brakensiek (1985) PTF (RMSE ranging between 6.3 and 17% and bias between 5 and 10%) which is in contradiction with previous finding (Calzolari et al., 2001), showing that this function is well representing the retention characteristics of the area. We conclude that the Rosetta PTF developed by Schaap et al (2001) appears to be well suited to predict the soil moisture retention curve from easily available soil properties in the Lombardy area and further field investigations would be useful to reinforce this finding. Keywords: water retention curve; laboratory measurements; field measurements; pedotransfert functions; comparison.

Hydrogen concentration analysis in clinopyroxene using proton-proton scattering analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weis, Franz A.; Ros, Linus; Reichart, Patrick; Skogby, Henrik; Kristiansson, Per; Dollinger, Günther

2018-02-01

Traditional methods to measure water in nominally anhydrous minerals (NAMs) are, for example, Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy or secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). Both well-established methods provide a low detection limit as well as high spatial resolution yet may require elaborate sample orientation or destructive sample preparation. Here we analyze the water content in erupted volcanic clinopyroxene phenocrysts by proton-proton scattering and reproduce water contents measured by FTIR spectroscopy. We show that this technique provides significant advantages over other methods as it can provide a three-dimensional distribution of hydrogen within a crystal, making the identification of potential inclusions possible as well as elimination of surface contamination. The sample analysis is also independent of crystal structure and orientation and independent of matrix effects other than sample density. The results are used to validate the accuracy of wavenumber-dependent vs. mineral-specific molar absorption coefficients in FTIR spectroscopy. In addition, we present a new method for the sample preparation of very thin crystals suitable for proton-proton scattering analysis using relatively low accelerator potentials.

Laboratory Performance of Five Selected Soil Moisture Sensors Applying Factory and Own Calibration Equations for Two Soil Media of Different Bulk Density and Salinity Levels.

PubMed

Matula, Svatopluk; Báťková, Kamila; Legese, Wossenu Lemma

2016-11-15

Non-destructive soil water content determination is a fundamental component for many agricultural and environmental applications. The accuracy and costs of the sensors define the measurement scheme and the ability to fit the natural heterogeneous conditions. The aim of this study was to evaluate five commercially available and relatively cheap sensors usually grouped with impedance and FDR sensors. ThetaProbe ML2x (impedance) and ECH₂O EC-10, ECH₂O EC-20, ECH₂O EC-5, and ECH₂O TE (all FDR) were tested on silica sand and loess of defined characteristics under controlled laboratory conditions. The calibrations were carried out in nine consecutive soil water contents from dry to saturated conditions (pure water and saline water). The gravimetric method was used as a reference method for the statistical evaluation (ANOVA with significance level 0.05). Generally, the results showed that our own calibrations led to more accurate soil moisture estimates. Variance component analysis arranged the factors contributing to the total variation as follows: calibration (contributed 42%), sensor type (contributed 29%), material (contributed 18%), and dry bulk density (contributed 11%). All the tested sensors performed very well within the whole range of water content, especially the sensors ECH₂O EC-5 and ECH₂O TE, which also performed surprisingly well in saline conditions.

Uranium in mining water of kaolin open pit in Zarów (Lower Silesia); methodology of determination and genetic remarks.

PubMed

Chau, N D; Wyszomirski, P; Chruściel, E; Ochoński, A

1999-11-01

In this paper, a method of determination of uranium 238 and 234 in mining waters of Andrzej kaolin open pit in Zarów (Lower Silesia) is presented. The method is based on independent measurements of alpha and beta radiation intensities by means of a liquid scintillation spectrometer alpha/beta. The initial volume of water sample was 3 dm3, then it was diminished by chemical preparation to 6 cm3, and then 12 cm3 of scintillator was added. The lower limit of detection (for the measurement time of 8 h) for both 234U and 238U amounted to 0.02 Bq/dm3. For determination of the uranium content in ferruginous sediments precipitating from mining waters of the above-mentioned open pit, gamma ray spectrometry was used. The obtained results may be viewed as a contribution to studies on anomalous uranium concentration within this kaolin deposit. The elevated uranium content, in comparison with its average concentration in the Earth crust, is characteristic for parent rocks of Andrzej kaolin deposit, which are granitoids of Strzegom-Sobótka massif. In connection with it, the high uranium content can be observed not only in kaolin and weakly kaolinised granitoids from the deposit in question, but also in mining waters genetically related with them.

Laboratory Performance of Five Selected Soil Moisture Sensors Applying Factory and Own Calibration Equations for Two Soil Media of Different Bulk Density and Salinity Levels

PubMed Central

Matula, Svatopluk; Báťková, Kamila; Legese, Wossenu Lemma

2016-01-01

Non-destructive soil water content determination is a fundamental component for many agricultural and environmental applications. The accuracy and costs of the sensors define the measurement scheme and the ability to fit the natural heterogeneous conditions. The aim of this study was to evaluate five commercially available and relatively cheap sensors usually grouped with impedance and FDR sensors. ThetaProbe ML2x (impedance) and ECH2O EC-10, ECH2O EC-20, ECH2O EC-5, and ECH2O TE (all FDR) were tested on silica sand and loess of defined characteristics under controlled laboratory conditions. The calibrations were carried out in nine consecutive soil water contents from dry to saturated conditions (pure water and saline water). The gravimetric method was used as a reference method for the statistical evaluation (ANOVA with significance level 0.05). Generally, the results showed that our own calibrations led to more accurate soil moisture estimates. Variance component analysis arranged the factors contributing to the total variation as follows: calibration (contributed 42%), sensor type (contributed 29%), material (contributed 18%), and dry bulk density (contributed 11%). All the tested sensors performed very well within the whole range of water content, especially the sensors ECH2O EC-5 and ECH2O TE, which also performed surprisingly well in saline conditions. PMID:27854263

How yield relates to ash content, Δ13C and Δ18O in maize grown under different water regimes

PubMed Central

Cabrera-Bosquet, Llorenç; Sánchez, Ciro; Araus, José Luis

2009-01-01

Background and Aims Stable isotopes have proved a valuable phenotyping tool when breeding for yield potential and drought adaptation; however, the cost and technical skills involved in isotope analysis limit its large-scale application in breeding programmes. This is particularly so for Δ18O despite the potential relevance of this trait in C4 crops. The accumulation of minerals (measured as ash content) has been proposed as an inexpensive way to evaluate drought adaptation and yield in C3 cereals, but little is known of the usefulness of this measure in C4 cereals such as maize (Zea mays). The present study investigates how yield relates to ash content, Δ13C and Δ18O, and evaluates the use of ash content as an alternative or complementary criterion to stable isotopes in assessing yield potential and drought resistance in maize. Methods A set of tropical maize hybrids developed by CIMMYT were subjected to different water availabilities, in order to induce water stress during the reproductive stages under field conditions. Ash content and Δ13C were determined in leaves and kernels. In addition, Δ18O was measured in kernels. Key Results Water regime significantly affected yield, ash content and stable isotopes. The results revealed a close relationship between ash content in leaves and the traits informing about plant water status. Ash content in kernels appeared to reflect differences in sink–source balance. Genotypic variation in grain yield was mainly explained by the combination of ash content and Δ18O, whilst Δ13C did not explain a significant percentage of such variation. Conclusions Ash content in leaves and kernels proved a useful alternative or complementary criterion to Δ18O in kernels for assessing yield performance in maize grown under drought conditions. PMID:19773272

Influence of additives on the increase of the heating value of Bayah’s coal with upgrading brown coal (UBC) method

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

Heriyanto, Heri; Widya Ernayati, K.; Umam, Chairul

UBC (upgrading brown coal) is a method of improving the quality of coal by using oil as an additive. Through processing in the oil media, not just the calories that increase, but there is also water repellent properties and a decrease in the tendency of spontaneous combustion of coal products produced. The results showed a decrease in the water levels of natural coal bayah reached 69%, increase in calorific value reached 21.2%. Increased caloric value and reduced water content caused by the water molecules on replacing seal the pores of coal by oil and atoms C on the oil thatmore » is bound to increase the percentage of coal carbon. As a result of this experiment is, the produced coal has better calorific value, the increasing of this new calorific value up to 23.8% with the additive waste lubricant, and the moisture content reduced up to 69.45%.« less

[Methods of eliminating alkaloids from the seeds of Lupinus mutabilis Sweet].

PubMed

Torres Tello, F; Nagata, A; Dreifuss Spiegel, W

1980-06-01

The basic purpose of this work was to find a simple and economic method to control and eliminate the presence of alkaloids, as detected by organoleptic or toxicity tests, in Lupinus mutabilis, S. (tarhui) seeds. Taking advantage of the physical and chemical properties of the seeds, they were subjected to four methods of extraction; b) chemical treatment; c) extraction with two solvents, and d) treatment with a modified water-heat process. The results indicated that the most adequate method was the water-heat modified treatment, which showed a yield of 85% and a debittering efficiency of 98.6%, figures which were above those obtained with any of the other treatments studied. The final product had a bland taste without traces of bitterness and a 32% concentration of protein in the kayra line. Amino acid content showed this product to have an unusual high lysine content.

Survey of in-situ and remote sensing methods for soil moisture determination

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schmugge, T. J.; Jackson, T. J.; Mckim, H. L.

1981-01-01

General methods for determining the moisture content in the surface layers of the soil based on in situ or point measurements, soil water models and remote sensing observations are surveyed. In situ methods described include gravimetric techniques, nuclear techniques based on neutron scattering or gamma-ray attenuation, electromagnetic techniques, tensiometric techniques and hygrometric techniques. Soil water models based on column mass balance treat soil moisture contents as a result of meteorological inputs (precipitation, runoff, subsurface flow) and demands (evaporation, transpiration, percolation). The remote sensing approaches are based on measurements of the diurnal range of surface temperature and the crop canopy temperature in the thermal infrared, measurements of the radar backscattering coefficient in the microwave region, and measurements of microwave emission or brightness temperature. Advantages and disadvantages of the various methods are pointed out, and it is concluded that a successful monitoring system must incorporate all of the approaches considered.

Influence of drying methods over in vitro antitumoral effects of exopolysaccharides produced by Agaricus blazei LPB 03 on submerged fermentation.

PubMed

Fernandes, M B A; Habu, S; de Lima, M A; Thomaz-Soccol, V; Soccol, C R

2011-03-01

Agaricus blazei is a mushroom that belongs to the Brazilian biodiversity and is considered as an important producer of bioactive compounds beneficial to human health. Studies have demonstrated that these compounds present immuno-modulatory, antioxidant and antitumor properties. In order to compare the most used method for fungal polysaccharide drying, lyophilization with other industrial-scale methods, the aim of this work was to submit A. blazei LPB 03 polysaccharide extracts to vaucum, spray and freeze drying, and evaluate the maintenance of its antitumoral effects in vitro. Exopolysaccharides produced by A. blazei LPB 03 on submerged fermentation were extracted with ethanol and submitted to drying processes. The efficiency represents the water content that was removed during the drying process. The resultant dried products showed water content around 3% and water activity less than 0.380, preventing therefore the growth of microorganisms and reactions of chemical degradation. Exopolysaccharide extracts dried by vacuum and spray dryer did not showed any significant cytotoxic effect on cell viability of Wistar mice macrophages. Content of total sugars and protein decrease after drying, nevertheless, 20 mg/ml of exopolysaccharides dried by spray dryer reached 33% of inhibition rate over Ehrlich tumor cells in vitro.

The Fluoride Content of Yerba Mate Depending on the Country of Origin and the Conditions of the Infusion.

PubMed

Łukomska, A; Jakubczyk, K; Maciejewska, D; Baranowska-Bosiacka, I; Janda, K; Goschorska, M; Chlubek, D; Bosiacka, B; Gutowska, I

2015-10-01

There are many reports of the positive effect of yerba mate on the human body. Elemental composition analysis of yerba mate revealed the presence of many microelements and macroelements, but there is no literature data referencing the content and the effect of the method of preparing the yerba mate infusion on the amount of released fluoride and thus the amount of this element supplied to the human body. Therefore, in the traditional way (cold and hot), we prepared infusions of yerba mate from different countries and determined in samples content of fluoride using potentiometric method. Hot infusions resulted in statistically significant (p = 0.03) increases in the amount of fluoride released from the dried material to the water, compared to brewing with water at room temperature. The successive refills of hot water also resulted in a release of the same amount of fluoride, although smaller than the infusion with water at room temperature (at the third refill, it was statistically significantly smaller at p = 0.003). With an increase in the number of hot water refills, the amount of fluoride released from the sample portion significantly decreased. Similar results were recorded when analyzing samples depending on the country of origin. The amount of fluoride released into the water differed statistically significantly depending on the country of origin. The most fluoride was determined in the infusions of yerba mate from Argentina and the least in infusions from Paraguay.

Detection of changes in leaf water content using near- and middle-infrared reflectances

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hunt, E. Raymond, Jr.; Rock, Barrett N.

1989-01-01

A method to detect plant water stress by remote sensing is proposed using indices of near-IR and mid-IR wavelengths. The ability of the Leaf Water Content Index (LWCI) to determine leaf relative water content (RWC) is tested on species with different leaf morphologies. The way in which the Misture Stress Index (MSI) varies with RWC is studied. On test with several species, it is found that LWCI is equal to RWC, although the reflectances at 1.6 microns for two different RWC must be known to accurately predict unknown RWC. A linear correlation is found between MSI and RWC with each species having a different regression equation. Also, MSI is correlated with log sub 10 Equivalent Water Thickness (EWT) with data for all species falling on the same regression line. It is found that the minimum significant change of RWC that could be detected by appying the linear regression equation of MSI to EWT is 52 percent. Because the natural RWC variation from water stress is about 20 percent for most species, it is concluded that the near-IR and mid-IR reflectances cannot be used to remotely sense water stress.

Investigation of the role of the micro-porous layer in polymer electrolyte fuel cells with hydrogen deuterium contrast neutron radiography.

PubMed

Cho, Kyu Taek; Mench, Matthew M

2012-03-28

In this study, the high resolution hydrogen-deuterium contrast radiography method was applied to elucidate the impact of the micro-porous layer (MPL) on water distribution in the porous fuel cell media. At the steady state, deuterium replaced hydrogen in the anode stream, and the large difference in neutron attenuation of the D(2)O produced at the cathode was used to track the produced water. It was found that the water content peaked in the cathode-side diffusion media (DM) for the cell without MPL, but with an MPL on the anode and cathode DM, the peak water amount was pushed toward the anode, resulting in a relatively flattened water profile through components and demonstrating a liquid barrier effect. Additionally, the dynamic water behavior in diffusion media was analyzed to understand the effect of a MPL and operating conditions. The water content in the DM changed with applied current, although there is a significant amount of residual liquid content that does not appear to be part of capillary channels. The effect of the MPL on irreducible saturation in DM and cell performance was also investigated.

Effect of humidity on solid-state isomerization of various kinds of lactose during grinding.

PubMed

Otsuka, M; Ohtani, H; Otsuka, K; Kaneniwa, N

1993-01-01

The effect of humidity on isomerization during grinding of alpha-monohydrate, alpha-anhydrate and beta-anhydrate of lactose was investigated. Samples were ground in an agate centrifugal ball mill at 270 rev min-1 at room temperature (21 degrees C) and at 5 and 60% relative humidity. Crystallinity of the ground lactose was measured by Hermans' method from the powder X-ray diffraction profiles. The alpha- and beta-lactose content of the ground lactose was measured by using angular rotation spectrophotometry. The crystalline lactose samples were transformed into noncrystalline solids by mechanical stress during grinding. After grinding, the adsorbed water content of all ground lactose samples increased, and the isomerized amount increased with increase of the water content during grinding at 5 and 60% relative humidity. The results suggest that the isomerization rate of alpha-monohydrate during grinding may depend on the crystallinity, but those of alpha- and beta-anhydrate depend on the content of adsorbed water.

In-situ measurement of electroosmotic drag coefficient in Nafion membrane for the PEMFC.

PubMed

Peng, Zhe; Morin, Arnaud; Huguet, Patrice; Schott, Pascal; Pauchet, Joël

2011-11-10

A new method based on hydrogen pump has been developed to measure the electroosmotic drag coefficient in representative PEMFC operating conditions. It allows eliminating the back-flow of water which leads to some errors in the calculation of this coefficient with previously reported electrochemical methods. Measurements have been performed on 50 μm thick Nafion membranes both extruded and recast. Contrary to what has been described in most of previous published works, the electroosmotic drag coefficient decreases as the membrane water content increases. The same trend is observed for temperatures between 25 and 80 °C. For the same membrane water content, the electroosmotic drag coefficient increases with temperature. In the same condition, there is no difference in drag coefficient for extruded Nafion N112 and recast Nafion NRE212. These results are discussed on the basis of the two commonly accepted proton transport mechanisms, namely, Grotthus and vehicular.

Making the practically impossible "Merely difficult"--Cryogenic FIB lift-out for "Damage free" soft matter imaging.

PubMed

Parmenter, Christopher D J; Fay, Michael W; Hartfield, Cheryl; Eltaher, Hoda M

2016-04-01

The preparation of thinned lamellae from bulk samples for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis has been possible in the focussed ion beam scanning electron microscope (FIB-SEM) for over 20 years via the in situ lift-out method. Lift-out offers a fast and site specific preparation method for TEM analysis, typically in the field of materials science. More recently it has been applied to a low-water content biological sample (Rubino 2012). This work presents the successful lift-out of high-water content lamellae, under cryogenic conditions (cryo-FIB lift-out) and using a nanomanipulator retaining its full range of motion, which are advances on the work previously done by Rubino (2012). Strategies are explored for maintaining cryogenic conditions, grid attachment using cryo-condensation of water and protection of the lamella when transferring to the TEM. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

DNA binding and biological studies of some novel water-soluble polymer-copper(II)-phenanthroline complexes.

PubMed

Kumar, Rajendran Senthil; Arunachalam, Sankaralingam; Periasamy, Vaiyapuri Subbarayan; Preethy, Christo Paul; Riyasdeen, Anvarbatcha; Akbarsha, Mohammad Abdulkader

2008-10-01

Some novel water-soluble polymer-copper(II)-phenanthroline complex samples, [Cu(phen)2(BPEI)]Cl(2).4H2O (phen=1,10-phenanthroline, BPEI=branched polyethyleneimine), with different degrees of copper complex content in the polymer chain have been prepared by ligand substitution method in water-ethanol medium and characterized by infrared, UV-visible, EPR spectral and elemental analysis methods. The binding of these complex samples with DNA has been investigated by electronic absorption spectroscopy, emission spectroscopy and gel retardation assay. Electrostatic interactions between DNA molecule and polymer-copper(II) complex molecule containing many high positive charges have been observed. Besides these ionic interactions, van der Waals interactions, hydrogen bonding and other partial intercalation binding modes may also exist in this system. The polymer-copper(II) complex with higher degree of copper complex content was screened for its antimicrobial activity and antitumor activity.

Evaluation of elastic properties and study on water absorption behavior of alumina filled jute-epoxy composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santosh, D. N.; Ravikumar, B. N.; Mahesh, B.; Vijayalaxmi, S. P.; Srinivas, Y. V.

2018-04-01

In this paper, the effect of filler content is studied on elastic properties and water absorption behavior for jute epoxy composite. For reinforcement the plain woven jute fabric is used. The bonding system consists of resin-epoxy and Hardener in the ratio 10:1 by weight. Alumina (average grain size of 30 µm) is used as filler. The effect of filler content on elastic properties and water absorption behavior studied by varying the filler content from 5%, 10%, 15% with respect to weight of epoxy. The open mould method used to fabricate the alumina filled jute-epoxy composite laminates. Tests were conducted according to ASTM standards. The evaluation assesment of elastic properties of alumina filled jute-epoxy composite materials have been analyzed by theoretically and experimentally. The speculated values are analyzed with those obtained from experimental to validate the calculated theoretically with rule of mixture procedure. Young's modulus and shear modulus were found to increase with the increase in the filler content upto 10 wt%, beyond which the modulii showed decreasing trend. Poisson's ratio was found to be continuously decreasing with the increase in the alumina filler content of jute-eposy composite. It was clearly observed that unfilled specimen has the highest saturated moisture content and 15% filled specimen has lowest value. As alumina filler content increases resistance to moisture absorption also increases. The water diffusion coefficient of composite was calculated using the diffusion coefficient equation. As filler content increases diffusion co-efficient decreases for alumina filled jute-epoxy composite.

[Soil infiltration of snowmelt water in the southern Gurbantunggut Desert, Xinjiang, China].

PubMed

Hu, Shun-jun; Chen, Yong-bao; Zhu, Hai

2015-04-01

Soil infiltration of snow-melt water is an important income item of water balance in arid desert. The soil water content in west slope, east slope and interdune of sand dune in the southern Gurbantunggut Desert was monitored before snowfall and after snow melting during the winters of 2012-2013 and 2013-2014. According to the principle of water balance, soil infiltration of snow-melt in the west slope, east slope, interdune and landscape scale was calculated, and compared with the results measured by cylinder method. The results showed that the soil moisture recharge from unfrozen layer of unsaturated soil to surface frozen soil was negligible because the soil moisture content before snowfall was lower, soil infiltration of snow-melt water was the main source of soil water of shallow soil, phreatic water did not evaporate during freezing period, and did not get recharge after the snow melting. Snowmelt water in the west slope, east slope, interdune and landscape scale were 20-43, 27-43, 32-45, 26-45 mm, respectively.

Oil recovery method using high water content oil-external micellar dispersions

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

Jones, S.C.; Roszelle, W.O.; Svaldi, M.A.

1971-10-19

A high water content oil-external micellar dispersion (containing 55 percent to about 90 percent water) was developed for enhanced oil recovery. The micellar slug contained petroleum sulfonate (molecular weight averaged at about 350 to about 525), hydrocarbon, water and cosurfactant. The micellar slug was driven by a mobility buffer slug, which consisted of No. 530 Pusher, fusel oil and the residue Palestine water (420 ppm TDS) from the Palestine water reservoir in Palestine, Illinois. Fired Berea sandstone cores (porosity near 20 percent) were saturated with water (18,000 ppm sodium chloride), flooded with sweet black crude oil from Henry lease inmore » Illinois (7 cp at 72/sup 0/F), and waterflooded with water from Henry lease (18,000 ppm TDS). A maximum recovery of 11.5 percent of oil in place was recovered by 2 percent pore volume of a micellar dispersion containing petroleum sulfonate (MW 406), 70 percent by volume distilled water, and p-hexanol.« less

Water treatment by the AC gliding arc air plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gharagozalian, Mehrnaz; Dorranian, Davoud; Ghoranneviss, Mahmood

2017-09-01

In this study, the effects of gliding arc (G Arc) plasma system on the treatment of water have been investigated experimentally. An AC power supply of 15 kV potential difference at 50 Hz frequency was employed to generate plasma. Plasma density and temperature were measured using spectroscopic method. The water was contaminated with staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive) and salmonella bacteria (Gram-negative), and Penicillium (mold fungus) individually. pH, hydrogen peroxide, and nitride contents of treated water were measured after plasma treatment. Decontamination of treated water was determined using colony counting method. Results indicate that G Arc plasma is a powerful and green tool to decontaminate water without producing any byproducts.

Freeze concentration of proteins in Antarctic krill wash water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qi, Xiangming; Xu, Jing; Zhao, Kuo; Guo, Hui; Ma, Lei

2017-12-01

Water-washing removes fluoride from Antarctic krill but produces large volumes of wash water containing water- soluble proteins and fluoride. The freeze concentration method was tested to determine if it could be used to recover water-soluble proteins while leaving the fluoride in solution. After freezing and thawing the wash water, protein and fluoride contents of the thawed fractions were determined to explore the melting regularity of components in the wash water. The highest concentration factors of protein and fluoride were obtained after 80 min of thawing, such as 1.48 ± 0.06 and 1.35 ± 0.04 times, respectively. The free amino-nitrogen (FAN) content and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis pattern results revealed that the highest concentrations of all ingredients were obtained after 80 min of the process. The degree of hydrolysis of all fractions from the thawing process fluctuated in a narrow range around 12% during the entire process, indicating that the thawing order did not change with various proteins or time during the entire thawing course. These results demonstrate that the freeze concentration method can be used to concentrate protein solutions, even those with fluoride. It was concluded that condensation was achieved and no ingredient could be separated, regardless of fluoride, amino acids, or different proteins in the water.

Seasonal Effects on the Relationships Between Soil Water Content, Pore Water Pressure and Shear Strength and Their Implications for Slope Stability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hughes, P. N.

2015-12-01

A soil's shear resistance is mainly dependent upon the magnitude of effective stress. For small to medium height slopes (up to 10m) in clay soils the total stress acting along potential failure planes will be low, therefore the magnitude of effective stress (and hence soil shear strength) will be dominated by the pore-water pressure. The stability of slopes on this scale through periods of increased precipitation is improved by the generation of negative pore pressures (soil suctions) during preceding, warmer, drier periods. These negative pore water pressures increase the effective stress within the soil and cause a corresponding increase in shearing resistance. The relationships between soil water content and pore water pressure (soil water retention curves) are known to be hysteretic, but for the purposes of the majority of slope stability assessments in partially saturated clay soils, these are assumed to be consistent with time. Similarly, the relationship between shear strength and water content is assumed to be consistent over time. This research presents a laboratory study in which specimens of compacted Glacial Till (typical of engineered slopes within the UK) were subjected to repeated cycles of wetting and drying to simulate seasonal cycles. At predetermined water contents, measurements of soil suction were made using tensiometer and dewpoint potentiometer methods. The undrained shear strength of the specimens was then measured using triaxial strength testing equipment. Results indicate that repeated wetting and drying cycles caused a change in the soil water retention behaviour. A reduction in undrained shear strength at corresponding water contents along the wetting and drying paths was also observed. The mechanism for the change in the relationship is believed to be a deterioration in the soil physical structure due to shrink/swell induced micro-cracking. The non-stationarity of these relationships has implications for slope stability assessment.

Methods for Scaling Icing Test Conditions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, David N.

1995-01-01

This report presents the results of tests at NASA Lewis to evaluate several methods to establish suitable alternative test conditions when the test facility limits the model size or operating conditions. The first method was proposed by Olsen. It can be applied when full-size models are tested and all the desired test conditions except liquid-water content can be obtained in the facility. The other two methods discussed are: a modification of the French scaling law and the AEDC scaling method. Icing tests were made with cylinders at both reference and scaled conditions representing mixed and glaze ice in the NASA Lewis Icing Research Tunnel. Reference and scale ice shapes were compared to evaluate each method. The Olsen method was tested with liquid-water content varying from 1.3 to .8 g/m(exp3). Over this range, ice shapes produced using the Olsen method were unchanged. The modified French and AEDC methods produced scaled ice shapes which approximated the reference shapes when model size was reduced to half the reference size for the glaze-ice cases tested.

40 CFR 61.251 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... following specific meanings: (a) Area means the vertical projection of the pile upon the earth's surface. (b...) Dewatered means to remove the water from recently produced tailings by mechanical or evaporative methods such that the water content of the tailings does not exceed 30 percent by weight. (d) Existing...

40 CFR 61.251 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... following specific meanings: (a) Area means the vertical projection of the pile upon the earth's surface. (b...) Dewatered means to remove the water from recently produced tailings by mechanical or evaporative methods such that the water content of the tailings does not exceed 30 percent by weight. (d) Existing...

40 CFR 61.251 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... following specific meanings: (a) Area means the vertical projection of the pile upon the earth's surface. (b...) Dewatered means to remove the water from recently produced tailings by mechanical or evaporative methods such that the water content of the tailings does not exceed 30 percent by weight. (d) Existing...

40 CFR 61.251 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... following specific meanings: (a) Area means the vertical projection of the pile upon the earth's surface. (b...) Dewatered means to remove the water from recently produced tailings by mechanical or evaporative methods such that the water content of the tailings does not exceed 30 percent by weight. (d) Existing...

40 CFR 61.251 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... following specific meanings: (a) Area means the vertical projection of the pile upon the earth's surface. (b...) Dewatered means to remove the water from recently produced tailings by mechanical or evaporative methods such that the water content of the tailings does not exceed 30 percent by weight. (d) Existing...

New approach to the fast screening of plant oil samples for F-, Cl-, Br- and S-organic compounds on the trace level.

PubMed

Chivarzin, M E; Revelsky, I A; Nikoshina, A V; Buldyzkova, A N; Chepeliansky, D A; Revelsky, A I; Buriak, A K

2016-04-01

The fast method of the simultaneous determination of F(-), Cl(-), Br(-) and SO4(2-) anions in the deionized water on the trace level by ion chromatography using thorough cleaning of respective water containers, 10 μM NaHCO3 water solution as eluent, short Metrohm (50 × 4 mm) separation column and a large water volume injection is proposed. Calculated detection limits are 10(-9)-10(-8)% depending on the element. The method for the fast screening of plant oil samples for the total fluorine-, chlorine-, bromine- and sulfur-organic compounds content (calculated for the respective elements) on the trace level is developed. It is based on the high temperature combustion of oil sample in oxygen flow, absorption of the conversion products in deionized water and whole absorbate volume analysis for F(-), Cl(-), Br(-) and SO4(2-) anions, corresponding to the respective elements, using the developed method of these anions analysis by ion chromatography. The samples of soya, olive, sunflower and cotton seed oil were analyzed. The method detection limits (for 1mg sample) were 2 × 10(-6)%, 2 × 10(-6)%, 5 × 10(-6)% and 5 × 10(-6)% for fluorine, chlorine, bromine and sulfur, respectively. The relative standard deviation was ≤ 15%. The method gives the compressed information about the total content of all target and nontarget fluorine-, chlorine-, bromine- and sulfur-organic compounds in plant oils. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Supercritical water pyrolysis of sewage sludge.

PubMed

Ma, Wenchao; Du, Guiyue; Li, Jian; Fang, Yuanhao; Hou, Li'an; Chen, Guanyi; Ma, Degang

2017-01-01

Municipal sewage sludge (SS) from wastewater treatment plant containing high water content (>85wt.%), lead to the difficulty of co-combustion with MSW or coal due to the high cost of drying. This study explores an alternative method by supercritical water (SCW) pyrolysis of sewage sludge (SS) in a high pressure reaction vessel. The effects of temperature and moisture content of SS on yield and composition of the products (bio-oil, bio char and non-condensable gas) were studied. A temperature of 385°C and moisture content of 85wt.% were found to be the optimum conditions for the maximum bio-oil production of 37.23wt.%, with a higher heating value of 31.08MJ/kg. In the optimum condition, the yields of aliphatic hydrocarbon and phenols were about 29.23wt.% and 12.51wt.%, respectively. The physical and chemical properties of bio-char were analyzed by using XRF and BET. Results of GC analyses of NCG showed that it has the maximum HHV of 13.39MJ/m 3 at 445°C and moisture content of 85wt.%. The reaction path from SS to bio-oil through SCW pyrolysis was given. Moreover, carbon balance was calculated for the optimal condition, and finding out that 64.27wt.% of the carbon content was transferred from SS to bio-oil. Finally, this work demonstrates that the SCW pyrolysis is a promising disposal method for SS. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Multivariate analysis of heavy metal contents in soils, sediments and water in the region of Meknes (central Morocco).

PubMed

Tahri, M; Benyaïch, F; Bounakhla, M; Bilal, E; Gruffat, J J; Moutte, J; Garcia, D

2005-03-01

Concentrations of Al, Fe, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn in soils, sediments and water samples collected along the Oued Boufekrane river (Meknes, central Morocco) were determined. In soils, a homogeneous distribution of metal concentrations was observed throughout the study area except for Pb, which presents high enrichment at sites located at the vicinity of a main highway. In sediments, high enrichment, with respect to upstream sites, were observed downstream of the city of Meknes for Al, Cr, Fe and Ni and inside the city for Cu, Zn and Pb. In water samples, the metal contents showed to correlate with their homologues in sediments suggesting that the metal contents in water and sediments have identical origins. Descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis (principal factor method, PFM) were used to assist the interpretation of elemental data. This allowed the determination of the correlations between the metals and the identification of three main factor loadings controlling the metal variability in soils and sediments.

Feasibility of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in obtaining nucleus pulposus (NP) water content with changing postures.

PubMed

Nazari, Jalil; Pope, Malcolm H; Graveling, Richard A

2015-05-01

Opportunities to evaluate spinal loading in vivo are limited and a large majority of studies on the mechanical functions of the spine have been in vitro cadaveric studies and/or models based on many assumptions that are difficult to validate. The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in obtaining nucleus pulposus (NP) water content measurements with changing postures. MRI studies were conducted on 25 healthy males with no history of low back pain (age 20-38). The L1 to S1 intradiscal levels were imaged in supine, sitting and standing postures using an upright 0.6 Tesla magnet, where a set of H2O: D2O7 phantoms were mounted on the back of the subjects. A calibration curve, provided from these phantoms, was applied to the absolute proton density image, yielding a pixel-by-pixel map of the water content of the NP. The NP at all levels showed a highly significant water loss (p<0.001) in sitting and standing postures compared with the supine posture. A trend towards higher levels of water was observed at all levels in the standing posture relative to sitting postures, however statistically significant differences were found only at L4-L5 and L5-S1 levels. This study demonstrates that variations in water content of the NP in different postures are in agreement with those determined from published invasive disc pressure measurements. The result of study demonstrates the feasibility of using MRI to determine the water content of the NP with changing postures and to use these data to evaluate spinal loading in these postures. This measurement method of water content by quantitative MR imaging could become a powerful tool for both clinical and ergonomic applications. The proposed methodology does not require invasive pressure measurement techniques. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Antioxidant Activity and Total Phenolic and Flavonoid Contents of Hieracium pilosella L. Extracts

PubMed Central

Stanojević, Ljiljana; Stanković, Mihajlo; Nikolić, Vesna; Nikolić, Ljubiša; Ristić, Dušica; Čanadanovic-Brunet, Jasna; Tumbas, Vesna

2009-01-01

The antioxidant activity of water, ethanol and methanol Hieracium pilosella L. extracts is reported. The antioxidative activity was tested by spectrophotometrically measuring their ability to scavenge a stable DPPH• free radical and a reactive hydroxyl radical trapped by DMPO during the Fenton reaction, using the ESR spectroscopy. Total phenolic content and total flavonoid content were evaluated according to the Folin-Ciocalteu procedure, and a colorimetric method, respectively. A HPLC method was used for identification of some phenolic compounds (chlorogenic acid, apigenin-7-O-glucoside and umbelliferone). The antioxidant activity of the investigated extracts slightly differs depending on the solvent used. The concentration of 0.30 mg/mL of water, ethanol and methanol extract is less effective in scavenging hydroxyl radicals (56.35, 58.73 and 54.35%, respectively) in comparison with the DPPH• radical scavenging activity (around 95% for all extracts). The high contents of total phenolic compounds (239.59–244.16 mg GAE/g of dry extract) and total flavonoids (79.13–82.18 mg RE/g of dry extract) indicated that these compounds contribute to the antioxidative activity. PMID:22346723

Estimating snowpack density from Albedo measurement

Treesearch

James L. Smith; Howard G. Halverson

1979-01-01

Snow is a major source of water in Western United States. Data on snow depth and average snowpack density are used in mathematical models to predict water supply. In California, about 75 percent of the snow survey sites above 2750-meter elevation now used to collect data are in statutory wilderness areas. There is need for a method of estimating the water content of a...

Method for producing a compressed body of mix-powder for ceramic

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Okawa, K.

1983-01-01

Under the invented method, a compressed body of mix powder for ceramic is produced by mixing and stirring several raw powder materials with mixing liquid such as water, and, in the process of sending the resulted viscous material pressurized at 5 kg/cm to 7 kg/cm, using 1.5 to 2 times the pressure to filter and dehydrate, adjusting the water content to 10 to 20%.

a Comparison of Morphological Taxonomy and Next Generation DNA Sequencing for the Assessment of Zooplankton Diversity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harvey, J.; Fisher, J. L.; Johnson, S.; Morgan, S.; Peterson, W. T.; Satterthwaite, E. V.; Vrijenhoek, R. C.

2016-02-01

Our ability to accurately characterize the diversity of planktonic organisms is affected by both the methods we use to collect water samples and our approaches to assessing sample contents. Plankton nets collect organisms from high volumes of water, but integrate sample contents along the net's path. In contrast, plankton pumps collect water from discrete depths. Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) can collect water samples with pinpoint accuracy from physical features such as upwelling fronts or biological features such as phytoplankton blooms, but sample volumes are necessarily much smaller than those possible with nets. Characterization of plankton diversity and abundances in water samples may also vary with the assessment method we apply. Morphological taxonomy provides visual identification and enumeration of organisms via microscopy, but is labor intensive. Next generation DNA sequencing (NGS) shows great promise for assessing plankton diversity in water samples but accurate assessment of relative abundances may not be possible in all cases. Comparison of morphological taxonomy to molecular approaches is necessary to identify areas of overlap and also areas of disagreement between these methods. We have compared morphological taxonomic assessments to mitochondrial COI and nuclear 28S ribosomal RNA NGS results for plankton net samples collected in Monterey bay, California. We have made a similar comparison for plankton pump samples, and have also applied our NGS methods to targeted, small volume water samples collected by an AUV. Our goal is to communicate current results and lessons learned regarding application of traditional taxonomy and novel molecular approaches to the study of plankton diversity in spatially and temporally variable, coastal marine environments.

Water in melt inclusions from phenocrysts of dacite pumice of the Vetrovoy Isthmus (Iturup Island, Southern Kuriles)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kotov, A. A.; Smirnov, S. Z.; Maksimovich, I. A.; Plechov, P. Yu; Chertkova, N. V.; Befus, A. I.

2017-12-01

This work is devoted to the study of one of the largest caldera eruptions of the Kurile-Kamchatka island-arc system that occurred on the island of Iturup. The object of investigation of this work are phenocrysts of quartz and plagioclase from dacite pumice of the Isthmus of the Isthmus, which is located on the island of Iturup. The purpose of this work is to determine the water content in the melts that participated in the caldera eruption of the Vetrovoy Isthmus and the patterns of their changes during the crystallization of magma. In the course of the work, the following were carried out: 1) adaptation and calibration of the Raman spectroscopy method for determining water in rhyolite melt’s inclusions glasses in quartz and plagioclase from pumice stone; 2) determination of composition and estimation of water content in melt inclusions in quartz and plagioclase according to x-ray spectral analysis; 3) establishment of the regularities of the change in the water content during the evolution of the magmatic melt; 4) evaluation of fluid pressure by comparison with experimental data

A novel, simple, economic and effective method for retarding maize tortilla staling.

PubMed

Alvarez-Ramirez, Jose; Garcia-Diaz, Samuel; Vernon-Carter, Eduardo Jaime; Bello-Perez, Luis Arturo

2018-02-13

Staling of maize tortillas is a major drawback affecting their manufacture, commercialization and consumption. The development of methods that may help retard staling of maize tortillas is an ongoing research topic. In this work, a novel, simple, economic and effective method is proposed, based on adding completely gelatinized nixtamalized maize flour (GMF) dispersion to the basic masa formulation recipe (water, 600 g kg -1 ; nixtamalized maize flour, 400 g kg -1 ) in substitution of 50, 100 and 150 g kg -1 of water. Masa added with GMF showed increased water retention capacity, reduced freezable water content and improved flow and dynamic rheological properties and produced tortillas with decreased firmness. The infrared 1047/1022 cm -1 spectral ratio indicated that a more disordered starch granule arrangement was formed, while enthalpy peaks associated with starch retrogradation decreased. All the above indicators were more pronounced the higher was the GMF content. This work showed that GMF can play the role of a self-hydrocolloid anti-staling agent by retarding the retrogradation of maize starch and deterring the loss of water and rheological properties of masa and the increase in undesirable sensory characteristics of tortilla such as increased firmness. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

Effects of inorganic substances on water splitting in ion-exchange membranes; II. Optimal contents of inorganic substances in preparing bipolar membranes.

PubMed

Kang, Moon-Sung; Choi, Yong-Jin; Moon, Seung-Hyeon

2004-05-15

An approach to enhancing the water-splitting performance of bipolar membranes (BPMs) is introducing an inorganic substance at the bipolar (BP) junction. In this study, the immobilization of inorganic matters (i.e., iron hydroxides and silicon compounds) at the BP junction and the optimum concentration have been investigated. To immobilize these inorganic matters, novel methods (i.e., electrodeposition of the iron hydroxide and processing of the sol-gel to introduce silicon groups at the BP junction) were suggested. At optimal concentrations, the immobilized inorganic matters significantly enhanced the water-splitting fluxes, indicating that they provide alternative paths for water dissociation, but on the other hand possibly reduce the polarization of water molecules between the sulfonic acid and quaternary ammonium groups at high contents. Consequently, the amount of inorganic substances introduced should be optimized to obtain the maximum water splitting in the BPM.

Development of an automated method for determining oil in water by direct aqueous supercritical fluid extraction coupled on-line with infrared spectroscopy.

PubMed

Minty, B; Ramsey, E D; Davies, I

2000-12-01

A direct aqueous supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) system was developed which can be directly interfaced to an infrared spectrometer for the determination of oil in water. The technique is designed to provide an environmentally clean, automated alternative to established IR methods for oil in water analysis which require the use of restricted organic solvents. The SFE-FTIR method involves minimum sample handling stages, with on-line analysis of a 500 ml water sample being complete within 15 min. Method accuracy for determining water samples spiked with gasoline, white spirit, kerosene, diesel or engine oil was 81-100% with precision (RSD) ranging from 3 to 17%. An independent evaluation determined a 2 ppm limit of quantification for diesel in industrial effluents. The results of a comparative study involving an established IR method and the SFE-FTIR method indicate that oil levels calculated using an accepted equation which includes coefficients derived from reference hydrocarbon standards may result in significant errors. A new approach permitted the derivation of quantification coefficients for the SFE-FTIR analyses which provided improved results. In situations where the identity of the oil to be analysed is known, a rapid off-line SFE-FTIR system calibration procedure was developed and successfully applied to various oils. An optional in-line silica gel clean-up procedure incorporated within the SFE-FTIR system enables the same water sample to be analysed for total oil content including vegetable oils and selectively for petroleum oil content within a total of 20 min. At the end of an analysis the SFE system is cleaned using an in situ 3 min clean cycle.

Method of removing nitrogen monoxide from a nitrogen monoxide-containing gas using a water-soluble iron ion-dithiocarbamate, xanthate or thioxanthate

DOEpatents

Liu, D. Kwok-Keung; Chang, Shih-Ger

1987-08-25

The present invention relates to a method of removing of nitrogen monoxide from a nitrogen monoxide-containing gas which method comprises contacting a nitrogen oxide-containing gas with an aqueous solution of water soluble organic compound-iron ion chelate complex. The NO absorption efficiency of ferrous urea-dithiocarbamate and ferrous diethanolamine-xanthate as a function of time, oxygen content and solution ph is presented. 3 figs., 1 tab.

Oil content Monitor/Control system and method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmitt, R. F.; Gavin, J. A.; Kempel, F. D.; Waltrick, C. N.

1985-07-01

This patent application discloses an oil content monitor/control unit system which is configured to automatically monitor and control processed effluent from an associated oil/water separator so that if the processed effluent exceeds predetermined in-port or at-sea oil concentration limits, it is either recirculated to an associated oil/water separator via a ship's bilge for additional processing, or diverted to a holding tank for storage. On the other hand, if the oil concentration of the processed effluent is less than determined in-port or at-sea limits, it is discharged overboard.

[Surveillance on drinking-water-born endemic fluorosis in China, 2013].

PubMed

Zhao, L J; Pei, J R; Zhang, W; Wang, W; Yu, G Q; Sun, D J; Gao, Y H

2016-06-01

To investigate the prevalence of fluorosis and related control measures on drinking water type of endemic fluorosis in China. According to the national program- "Surveillance Scheme of Drinking-Water-Borne Endemic Fluorosis" , 136 counties were selected in 29 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. Three epidemic villages were randomly selected as fixed monitoring sites in each county. Dental fluorosis of all the children aged 8-12 living in the villages under the monitoring program, was identified under the ariteria from "Diagnosis of dental fluorosis" (WS/T 208-2011). Operating conditions and contents of fluoride in all the'water-improved projects' were investigated. Contents of fluoride in drinking water were tested in villages without the 'water-improved projects'. "Standard Test Method for Drinking Water" (GB/T 5750.5-2006) was used to detect the water fluoride. The overall prevalence of dental fluorosis among children aged 8-12 in all the villages under monitor program, was 28.58% (7 950/27 817), with the dental fluorosis index (DFI) as 0.58. Among them, the prevalence was 22.28% (3 917/17 583) and DFI was 0.44 in the'water-improved projects' villages that under normal operation and with qualified fluoride contents. The prevalence appeared as 38.74% (1 926/4 971) with DFI as 0.84 in those villages with 'water-improved projects' but mal-operated or with excessive fluoride. The prevalence was 40.03% (2 107/5 263), and DFI was 0.81 in those villages without 'water-improved projects'. The prevalence rates of dental fluorosis in children from the three types of endemic areas were significantly different. For 'water-improved projects', the normal opration rate was 93.77% (286/305) and the qualification rate of fluoride content was 76.77% (228/297). Dental fluorosis in children living in the drinking-water-born endemic fluorosis areas was on the edge of epidemics in China. Effective improvement on the quality of drinking water can significantly reduce the severity of dental fluorosis in children. The rate of proper operation on 'water-improved projects' was near to 95% in the endemic area. However, rate that met the criteria on qualified fluoride contents of these projects was still below 80%.

On the way to identify microorganisms in drinking water distribution networks via DNA analysis of the gut content of freshwater isopods.

PubMed

Mayer, Michael; Keller, Adrian; Szewzyk, Ulrich; Warnecke, Hans-Joachim

2015-05-10

Pure drinking water is the basis for a healthy society. In Germany the drinking water regulations demand for analysis of water via detection of certain microbiological parameters by cultivation only. However, not all prokaryotes can be detected by these standard methods. How to gain more and better information about the bacteria present in drinking water and its distribution systems? The biofilms in drinking water distribution systems are built by bacteria and therefore represent a valuable source of information about the species present. Unfortunately, these biofilms are badly accessible. We thus exploited the circumstance that a lot of metazoans graze the biofilms, so that the content of their guts partly reflects the respective biofilm biocenosis. Therefore, we collected omnivorous isopods, prepared their guts and examined and characterized their contents based on 16S und 18S rDNA analysis. These molecularbiological investigations provide a profound basis for the characterization of the biocenosis and thereby biologically assess the drinking water ecosystems. Combined with a thorough identification of the species and the knowledge of their habitats, this approach can provide useful indications for the assessment of drinking-water quality and the early detection of problems in the distribution system. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Bound states of water in gelatin discriminated by near-infrared spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Otsuka, Yukiko; Shirakashi, Ryo; Hirakawa, Kazuhiko

2017-11-01

By near-infrared spectroscopy, we classified water molecules in hydrated gelatin membranes in a drying process. Absorbance spectra in the frequency range of 4500-5500 cm-1 were resolved into three peaks, S0, S1, and S2, that correspond to water molecules with different hydrogen bond states. From the areas of the absorbance peaks as a function of the water content of gelatin, together with the information on the freezing properties of water measured by differential scanning calorimetry, we found that, when the water content is less than 20%, free water disappears and only weakly and strongly bound waters remain. We also found that the weakly bound water consists of S0, S1, and S2 water molecules with a simple composition of \\text{S}0:\\text{S}1:\\text{S}2 ≈ 1:2:0. Using this information, most of the freezable water was determined to be free water. Our classification provides a simple method of estimating the retention and freezing properties of processed foods or drugs by infrared spectroscopy.

Assessing Method to Identifying Water Resilience Against Natural and Climate Change Hazards.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amril, Rofi; Maryono

2018-02-01

A geographic region may become vulnerable toward water resources in a variety of ways. Common issues arise when man-made infrastructure such as housing, industrial, agriculture and other spatial land use policy implementation exceeds more than desired level. Vulnerability of a region due to water resources could be interpreted as the inability of the region to sustaining economic and social activity associated to socio-economic water availability. This study assess four aspects of water resilience: water quantity, water distribution, water quality, and water requirements. Literature review then followed by interview with academic expert used as method of study. This study found that four aspect of water vulnerability mostly have been applied to asses water resource vulnerability. Each aspect have a specific characteristic and could be define more specific and detail indicator according to the local content.

Public Information for Water Pollution Control.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Water Pollution Control Federation, Washington, DC.

This publication is a handbook for water pollution control personnel to guide them towards a successful public relations program. This handbook was written to incorporate the latest methods of teaching basic public information techniques to the non-professional in this area. Contents include: (1) a rationale for a public information program; (2)…

Quality Evaluation of Pork with Various Freezing and Thawing Methods

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

In this study, the physicochemical and sensory quality characteristics due to the influence of various thawing methods on electro-magnetic and air blast frozen pork were examined. The packaged pork samples, which were frozen by air blast freezing at −45℃ or electro-magnetic freezing at −55℃, were thawed using 4 different methods: refrigeration (4±1℃), room temperature (RT, 25℃), cold water (15℃), and microwave (2450 MHz). Analyses were carried out to determine the drip and cooking loss, water holding capacity (WHC), moisture content and sensory evaluation. Frozen pork thawed in a microwave indicated relatively less thawing loss (0.63-1.24%) than the other thawing methods (0.68-1.38%). The cooking loss after electro-magnetic freezing indicated 37.4% by microwave thawing, compared with 32.9% by refrigeration, 36.5% by RT, and 37.2% by cold water in ham. The thawing of samples frozen by electro-magnetic freezing showed no significant differences between the methods used, while the moisture content was higher in belly thawed by microwave (62.0%) after electro-magnetic freezing than refrigeration (54.8%), RT (61.3%), and cold water (61.1%). The highest overall acceptability was shown for microwave thawing after electro-magnetic freezing but there were no significant differences compared to that of the other samples. PMID:26761493

Assessment of soil water use by grassland by frequency domain reflectometry in the humid area of Spain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mestas Valero, R. M.; Báez Bernal, D.; García Pomar, M. I.; Paz González, A.

2009-04-01

Frequency domain reflectometry (FDR) is becoming increasingly used for indirect water content determination in soils. In Galica, located in NW Spain, the humid region of this country, annual precipitation exceeds evapotranspiration. However, the yearly distribution of rainfall is irregular, so that supplementary irrigation during the dry warm summer is required often. This study aims to evaluate soil water use by grasslands and soil water regime patterns during the warm season from soil moisture measured at successive depths using FDR. The study sity is located at the experimental field of the Centre for Agricultural Research (CIAM) in Mabegondo, latitude 43°14' N and longitude 08°15' W. Soil moisture was monitored at six experimental plots from July to October 2008 two times per week using a portable FDR sensor. Measurements were made from 10 to 160 cm depth at 10 cm intervals. Moreover one of the plots was equipped with a continuous recording FDR-EnviroSCAN probe. Crop potential evapotranspiration (ETc) was estimated according to the of FAO version of the Penman-Monteith equation and the meteorological information required to apply this method was provided by a station located in the place experimental field. Cumulative rainfall along the study period was 195 mm, which is above the long-term mean and cumulative potential evapotranspiration was 264.7 mm. Using the water balance method the total value of actual evapotranspiration was estimated at 205.2 mm. Analysis of soil moisture content profiles allowed a description of soil water regime and main soil water withdrawal patterns under grassland. In general, grassland roots extracted most soil water from the 0-40 cm depth. In contrast, moisture content at the bottom of the profile was close to saturation, even the driest weeks of the study period. Continuous monitoring of soil water content allowed a more detailed characterization of dry and wet periods during the study season. The study data set may be useful for assessing draught risks and supplementary irrigation needs.

Linear modeling of the soil-water partition coefficient normalized to organic carbon content by reversed-phase thin-layer chromatography.

PubMed

Andrić, Filip; Šegan, Sandra; Dramićanin, Aleksandra; Majstorović, Helena; Milojković-Opsenica, Dušanka

2016-08-05

Soil-water partition coefficient normalized to the organic carbon content (KOC) is one of the crucial properties influencing the fate of organic compounds in the environment. Chromatographic methods are well established alternative for direct sorption techniques used for KOC determination. The present work proposes reversed-phase thin-layer chromatography (RP-TLC) as a simpler, yet equally accurate method as officially recommended HPLC technique. Several TLC systems were studied including octadecyl-(RP18) and cyano-(CN) modified silica layers in combination with methanol-water and acetonitrile-water mixtures as mobile phases. In total 50 compounds of different molecular shape, size, and various ability to establish specific interactions were selected (phenols, beznodiazepines, triazine herbicides, and polyaromatic hydrocarbons). Calibration set of 29 compounds with known logKOC values determined by sorption experiments was used to build simple univariate calibrations, Principal Component Regression (PCR) and Partial Least Squares (PLS) models between logKOC and TLC retention parameters. Models exhibit good statistical performance, indicating that CN-layers contribute better to logKOC modeling than RP18-silica. The most promising TLC methods, officially recommended HPLC method, and four in silico estimation approaches have been compared by non-parametric Sum of Ranking Differences approach (SRD). The best estimations of logKOC values were achieved by simple univariate calibration of TLC retention data involving CN-silica layers and moderate content of methanol (40-50%v/v). They were ranked far well compared to the officially recommended HPLC method which was ranked in the middle. The worst estimates have been obtained from in silico computations based on octanol-water partition coefficient. Linear Solvation Energy Relationship study revealed that increased polarity of CN-layers over RP18 in combination with methanol-water mixtures is the key to better modeling of logKOC through significant diminishing of dipolar and proton accepting influence of the mobile phase as well as enhancing molar refractivity in excess of the chromatographic systems. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hydrologic monitoring of a landslide-prone hillslope in the Elliott State Forest, Southern Coast Range, Oregon, 2009-2012

USGS Publications Warehouse

Smith, Joel B.; Godt, Jonathan W.; Baum, Rex L.; Coe, Jeffrey A.; Burns, William J.; Morse, Michael M.; Sener-Kaya, Basak; Kaya, Murat

2014-01-01

The Oregon Coast Range is dissected by numerous unchanneled headwater basins, which can generate shallow landslides and debris flows during heavy or prolonged rainfall. An automated monitoring system was installed in an unchanneled headwater basin to measure rainfall, volumetric water content, groundwater temperature, and pore pressures at 15-minute intervals. The purpose of this report is to describe and present the methods used for the monitoring as well as the preliminary data collected during the period from 2009 to 2012. Observations show a pronounced seasonal variation in volumetric water content and pore pressures. Increases in pore pressures and volumetric water content from dry-season values begin with the onset of the rainy season in the fall (typically early to mid October). High water contents and pore pressures tend to persist throughout the rainy season, which typically ends in May. Heavy or prolonged rainfall during the wet season that falls on already moist soils often generates positive pore pressures that are observed in the deeper instruments. These data provide a record of the basin’s hydrologic response to rainfall and provide a foundation for understanding the conditions that lead to landslide and debris-flow occurrence.

Hydrological Effects of Recent Wildfires in the Southern Appalachian Mountains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, J.; Stewart, R. D.

2017-12-01

In 2016, intense wildfires occurred throughout the southern Appalachian Mountains region due to severe drought conditions and high fuel loads. Most previous work on the effects of forest wildfire has concentrated on the western United States, and has shown that wildfires can induce a number of physical, chemical and biological changes in soils, including creating water repellency (hydrophobicity), altering color, decreasing structural stability, and altering nutrient availability. Drought intensity and wildfire activity are both predicted to increase in the southeastern United States, making it important to understand hydrological effects of wildfire in the forests of this region. In this study, we evaluated the effect of wildfire on soil hydrophobicity and soil water storage in two locations: Mount Pleasant Wildlife Refuge, Virginia, and Chimney Rock State Park, North Carolina. In each location unburned, moderately burned, and heavily burned sites were selected. Soil hydrophobicity was measured both in the field using water drop penetration time method at 0 cm, 2 cm, and 5 cm depth, and in the lab using WDPT method and water-solid contact angle method. Soil water content and unsaturated infiltration processes were also measured in the field using mini-disk infiltrometers. The results showed that hydrophobicity was detected after wildfires in both southeastern forests: the Mount Pleasant site had the highest hydrophobic layer in surface layer, while the Chimney Rock site had highest hydrophobicity at the 2 cm depth. Lab results were in accordance with the field results, and in both cases hysteresis between hydrophobicity and soil water content was observed. Burned soils had consistently lower soil water contents than unburned soils. The burned soils in the Mount Pleasant site had lower infiltration rates than the unburned sites, whereas in the Chimney Rock site the burned soils had higher infiltration rates. We hypothesize that the differences between the two sites may be related to the positions of hydrophobic layers in each (i.e., surface versus subsurface). Altogether, these results highlight the hydrological impacts of unprecedented wildfire activity in the southern Appalachians.

Investigation of water imbibition in porous stone by thermal neutron radiography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hassanein, R.; Meyer, H. O.; Carminati, A.; Estermann, M.; Lehmann, E.; Vontobel, P.

2006-10-01

The understanding and modelling of the process of water imbibition is important for various applications of physics (e.g. building or soil physics). To measure the spatial distribution of the water content at arbitrary times is not trivial. Neutron radiography provides an appropriate tool for such investigations with excellent time and spatial resolution. Because of the high sensitivity to hydrogen, even small amounts of water in a porous structure can be detected in samples with dimensions up to 40 cm. Three different porous stones found in Indiana, USA, have been investigated (Mansfield sandstone, Salem limestone and Hindustan whetstone). The imbibition of deionized water and a NaCl solution in up- and downwards directions has been tracked during several hours and radiographed at regular intervals. A correction method to reduce the disturbing effects due to neutron scattering is applied. This allows a quantitative evaluation of the water content in addition to the visualization of the water distribution. The results agree well with theoretical models describing water infiltration and reproduce the water content with a pixel resolution of 272 µm in time steps of 1 min. The comparison with the radiographed structure of the dry stone explains variations in the conduction or retention of the water, respectively. The experimental and correction procedures described here can be applied to other porous media and their uptake and loss of fluids.

An efficient soil water balance model based on hybrid numerical and statistical methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mao, Wei; Yang, Jinzhong; Zhu, Yan; Ye, Ming; Liu, Zhao; Wu, Jingwei

2018-04-01

Most soil water balance models only consider downward soil water movement driven by gravitational potential, and thus cannot simulate upward soil water movement driven by evapotranspiration especially in agricultural areas. In addition, the models cannot be used for simulating soil water movement in heterogeneous soils, and usually require many empirical parameters. To resolve these problems, this study derives a new one-dimensional water balance model for simulating both downward and upward soil water movement in heterogeneous unsaturated zones. The new model is based on a hybrid of numerical and statistical methods, and only requires four physical parameters. The model uses three governing equations to consider three terms that impact soil water movement, including the advective term driven by gravitational potential, the source/sink term driven by external forces (e.g., evapotranspiration), and the diffusive term driven by matric potential. The three governing equations are solved separately by using the hybrid numerical and statistical methods (e.g., linear regression method) that consider soil heterogeneity. The four soil hydraulic parameters required by the new models are as follows: saturated hydraulic conductivity, saturated water content, field capacity, and residual water content. The strength and weakness of the new model are evaluated by using two published studies, three hypothetical examples and a real-world application. The evaluation is performed by comparing the simulation results of the new model with corresponding results presented in the published studies, obtained using HYDRUS-1D and observation data. The evaluation indicates that the new model is accurate and efficient for simulating upward soil water flow in heterogeneous soils with complex boundary conditions. The new model is used for evaluating different drainage functions, and the square drainage function and the power drainage function are recommended. Computational efficiency of the new model makes it particularly suitable for large-scale simulation of soil water movement, because the new model can be used with coarse discretization in space and time.

Evaluation of solvent effect on the extraction of phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacities from the berries: application of principal component analysis.

PubMed

Boeing, Joana Schuelter; Barizão, Erica Oliveira; E Silva, Beatriz Costa; Montanher, Paula Fernandes; de Cinque Almeida, Vitor; Visentainer, Jesuí Vergilio

2014-01-01

This study evaluated the effect of the solvent on the extraction of antioxidant compounds from black mulberry (Morus nigra), blackberry (Rubus ulmifolius) and strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa). Different extracts of each berry were evaluated from the determination of total phenolic content, anthocyanin content and antioxidant capacity, and data were applied to the principal component analysis (PCA) to gain an overview of the effect of the solvent in extraction method. For all the berries analyzed, acetone/water (70/30, v/v) solvent mixture was more efficient solvent in the extracting of phenolic compounds, and methanol/water/acetic acid (70/29.5/0.5, v/v/v) showed the best values for anthocyanin content. Mixtures of ethanol/water (50/50, v/v), acetone water/acetic acid (70/29.5/0.5, v/v/v) and acetone/water (50/50, v/v) presented the highest antioxidant capacities for black mulberries, blackberries and strawberries, respectively. Antioxidants extractions are extremely affected by the solvent combination used. In addition, the obtained extracts with the organic solvent-water mixtures were distinguished from the extracts obtained with pure organic solvents, through the PCA analysis.

Soil specific re-calibration of water content sensors for a field-scale sensor network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gasch, Caley K.; Brown, David J.; Anderson, Todd; Brooks, Erin S.; Yourek, Matt A.

2015-04-01

Obtaining accurate soil moisture data from a sensor network requires sensor calibration. Soil moisture sensors are factory calibrated, but multiple site specific factors may contribute to sensor inaccuracies. Thus, sensors should be calibrated for the specific soil type and conditions in which they will be installed. Lab calibration of a large number of sensors prior to installation in a heterogeneous setting may not be feasible, and it may not reflect the actual performance of the installed sensor. We investigated a multi-step approach to retroactively re-calibrate sensor water content data from the dielectric permittivity readings obtained by sensors in the field. We used water content data collected since 2009 from a sensor network installed at 42 locations and 5 depths (210 sensors total) within the 37-ha Cook Agronomy Farm with highly variable soils located in the Palouse region of the Northwest United States. First, volumetric water content was calculated from sensor dielectric readings using three equations: (1) a factory calibration using the Topp equation; (2) a custom calibration obtained empirically from an instrumented soil in the field; and (3) a hybrid equation that combines the Topp and custom equations. Second, we used soil physical properties (particle size and bulk density) and pedotransfer functions to estimate water content at saturation, field capacity, and wilting point for each installation location and depth. We also extracted the same reference points from the sensor readings, when available. Using these reference points, we re-scaled the sensor readings, such that water content was restricted to the range of values that we would expect given the physical properties of the soil. The re-calibration accuracy was assessed with volumetric water content measurements obtained from field-sampled cores taken on multiple dates. In general, the re-calibration was most accurate when all three reference points (saturation, field capacity, and wilting point) were represented in the sensor readings. We anticipate that obtaining water retention curves for field soils will improve the re-calibration accuracy by providing more precise estimates of saturation, field capacity, and wilting point. This approach may serve as an alternative method for sensor calibration in lieu of or to complement pre-installation calibration.

A method for the routine determination of aluminium in serum and water by flameless atomic absorption spectrometry.

PubMed

Parkinson, I S; Ward, M K; Kerr, D N

1982-10-27

A simple but reliable method for the routine determination of aluminium in serum and water by flameless atomic absorption spectrometry is described. No preparatory procedures are required for water samples, although serum is mixed with a wetting agent (Triton X-100) to allow complete combustion of the samples and to improve analytical precision. Precautions to prevent contamination during sample handling are discussed and instrumental parameters are defined. The method has a sensitivity of 35.5 pg and detection limits of 2.3 micrograms Al/l for serum and 1.3 micrograms Al/l for water. The method was used to determine the aluminium concentration in serum of 46 normal subjects. The mean aluminium content was 7.3 micrograms/l (range 2--15 micrograms/l.

The integration of nutrients, cyanobacterial biomass and ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This presentation is an integrated evaluation of cyanobacterial growth and toxin production, from a reservoir through drinking water treatment - where biomass and toxin removal are achieved. Data is generated by a variety of methods: online instrumentation for chlorophyll, dissolved oxygen, temperature and pH; enzyme linked immune substrate (ELISA) and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometric (LC/MS) methods for toxin analysis; microscopic methods for species identification; quantitative PCR methods for species identification; and bench-scale engineering studies for removal of toxins and biomass through drinking water treatment. This presentation is an integrated evaluation of cyanobacterial growth and toxin production, from a reservoir through drinking water treatment. The content will be useful for EPA regional office staff, state primacy personnel, state and local health personnel, drinking water treatment managers and consulting engineers.

Temperature and volumetric water content petrophysical relationships in municipal solid waste for the interpretation of bulk electrical resistivity data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pilawski, Tamara; Dumont, Gaël; Nguyen, Frédéric

2015-04-01

Landfills pose major environmental issues including long-term methane emissions, and local pollution of soil and aquifers but can also be seen as potential energy resources and mining opportunities. Water content in landfills determine whether solid fractions can be separated and recycled, and controls the existence and efficiency of natural or enhanced biodegradation. Geophysical techniques, such as electrical and electromagnetic methods have proven successful in the detection and qualitative investigation of sanitary landfills. However, their interpretation in terms of quantitative water content estimates makes it more challenging due to the influence of parameters such as temperature, compaction, waste composition or pore fluid. To improve the confidence given to bulk electrical resistivity data and to their interpretation, we established temperature and volumetric water content petrophysical relationships that we tested on field and laboratory electrical resistivity measurements. We carried out two laboratory experiments on leachates and waste samples from a landfill located in Mont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium. We determined a first relationship between temperature and electrical resistivity with pure and diluted leachates by progressively increasing the temperature from 5°C to 65°C, and then cooling down to 5°C. The second relationship was obtained by measuring electrical resistivity on waste samples of different volumetric water contents. First, we used the correlations obtained from the experiments to compare electrical resistivity measurements performed in a landfill borehole and on reworked waste samples excavated at different depths. Electrical resistivities were measured every 20cm with an electromagnetic logging device (EM39) while a temperature profile was acquired with optic fibres. Waste samples were excavated every 2m in the same borehole. We filled experimental columns with these samples and measured electrical resistivities at laboratory temperature. We made corrections according to the temperature profile and to volumetric water contents obtained previously on undisturbed samples. Corrected values tended to be superimposed on those obtained in the field. Then, we calculated the water content of the different reworked waste samples using the correlation between volumetric water content correlation and electrical resistivity and we compared this value to the one measured at the laboratory. Both values were correlated satisfactorily. In conclusion, we show that bulk electrical resistivity measurements are very promising to quantify water content in landfills if temperature can be estimated independently. In future applications, electrical resistivity tomography coupled with distributed temperature sensing could give important estimates of water content of the waste and thus helping in dealing with problematics such as boosting biodegradation and stabilization of the waste, reducing risks of soil and aquifers pollution, landfill mining, and controlled production of methane.

Young Daughter Cladodes Affect CO2 Uptake by Mother Cladodes of Opuntia ficus-indica

PubMed Central

PIMIENTA-BARRIOS, EULOGIO; ZAÑUDO-HERNANDEZ, JULIA; ROSAS-ESPINOZA, VERONICA C.; VALENZUELA-TAPIA, AMARANTA; NOBEL, PARK S.

2004-01-01

• Background and Aims Drought damages cultivated C3, C4 and CAM plants in the semi-arid lands of central Mexico. Drought damage to Opuntia is common when mother cladodes, planted during the dry spring season, develop young daughter cladodes that behave like C3 plants, with daytime stomatal opening and water loss. In contrast, wild Opuntia are less affected because daughter cladodes do not develop on them under extreme drought conditions. The main objective of this work is to evaluate the effects of the number of daughter cladodes on gas exchange parameters of mother cladodes of Opuntia ficus-indica exposed to varying soil water contents. • Methods Rates of net CO2 uptake, stomatal conductance, intercellular CO2 concentration, chlorophyll content and relative water content were measured in mature mother cladodes with a variable number of daughter cladodes growing in spring under dry and wet conditions. • Key Results Daily carbon gain by mother cladodes was reduced as the number of daughter cladodes increased to eight, especially during drought. This was accompanied by decreased mother cladode relative water content, suggesting movement of water from mother to daughter cladodes. CO2 assimilation was most affected in phase IV of CAM (late afternoon net CO2 uptake) by the combined effects of daughter cladodes and drought. Rainfall raised the soil water content, decreasing the effects of daughter cladodes on net CO2 uptake by mother cladodes. • Conclusions Daughter cladodes significantly hasten the effects of drought on mother cladodes by competition for the water supply and thus decrease daily carbon gain by mother cladodes, mainly by inhibiting phase IV of CAM. PMID:15567805

Soil Moisture Content Estimation using GPR Reflection Travel Time

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lunt, I. A.; Hubbard, S. S.; Rubin, Y.

2003-12-01

Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) reflection travel time data were used to estimate changes in soil water content under a range of soil saturation conditions throughout the growing season at a California winery. Data were collected during four data acquisition campaigns over an 80 by 180 m area using 100 MHz surface GPR antennae. GPR reflections were associated with a thin, low permeability clay layer located between 0.8 to 1.3 m below the ground surface that was calibrated with borehole information and mapped across the study area. Field infiltration tests and neutron probe logs suggest that the thin clay layer inhibited vertical water flow, and was coincident with high volumetric water content (VWC) values. The GPR reflection two-way travel time and the depth of the reflector at borehole locations were used to calculate an average dielectric constant for soils above the reflector. A site-specific relationship between the dielectric constant and VWC was then used to estimate the depth-averaged VWC of the soils above the reflector. Compared to average VWC measurements from calibrated neutron probe logs over the same depth interval, the average VWC estimates obtained from GPR reflections had an RMS error of 2 percent. We also investigated the estimation of VWC using reflections associated with an advancing water front, and found that estimates of average VWC to the water front could be obtained with similar accuracy. These results suggested that the two-way travel time to a GPR reflection associated with a geological surface or wetting front can be used under natural conditions to obtain estimates of average water content when borehole control is available. The GPR reflection method therefore has potential for monitoring soil water content over large areas and under variable hydrological conditions.

The influence of conservation tillage methods on soil water regimes in semi-arid southern Zimbabwe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mupangwa, W.; Twomlow, S.; Walker, S.

Planting basins and ripper tillage practices are major components of the recently introduced conservation agriculture package that is being extensively promoted for smallholder farming in Zimbabwe. Besides preparing land for crop planting, these two technologies also help in collecting and using rainwater more efficiently in semi-arid areas. The basin tillage is being targeted for households with limited or no access to draught animals while ripping is meant for smallholder farmers with some draught animal power. Trials were established at four farms in Gwanda and Insiza in southern Zimbabwe to determine soil water contributions and runoff water losses from plots under four different tillage treatments. The tillage treatments were hand-dug planting basins, ripping, conventional spring and double ploughing using animal-drawn implements. The initial intention was to measure soil water changes and runoff losses from cropped plots under the four tillage practices. However, due to total crop failure, only soil water and runoff were measured from bare plots between December 2006 and April 2007. Runoff losses were highest under conventional ploughing. Planting basins retained most of the rainwater that fell during each rainfall event. The amount of rainfall received at each farm significantly influenced the volume of runoff water measured. Runoff water volume increased with increase in the amount of rainfall received at each farm. Soil water content was consistently higher under basin tillage than the other three tillage treatments. Significant differences in soil water content were observed across the farms according to soil types from sand to loamy sand. The basin tillage method gives a better control of water losses from the farmers’ fields. The planting basin tillage method has a greater potential for providing soil water to crops than ripper, double and single conventional ploughing practices.

Total body water and lean body mass estimated by ethanol dilution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Loeppky, J. A.; Myhre, L. G.; Venters, M. D.; Luft, U. C.

1977-01-01

A method for estimating total body water (TBW) using breath analyses of blood ethanol content is described. Regression analysis of ethanol concentration curves permits determination of a theoretical concentration that would have existed if complete equilibration had taken place immediately upon ingestion of the ethanol; the water fraction of normal blood may then be used to calculate TBW. The ethanol dilution method is applied to 35 subjects, and comparison with a tritium dilution method of determining TBW indicates that the correlation between the two procedures is highly significant. Lean body mass and fat fraction were determined by hydrostatic weighing, and these data also prove compatible with results obtained from the ethanol dilution method. In contrast to the radioactive tritium dilution method, the ethanol dilution method can be repeated daily with its applicability ranging from diseased individuals to individuals subjected to thermal stress, strenuous exercise, water immersion, or the weightless conditions of space flights.

Effects of Hull Scratching, Soaking, and Boiling on Antinutrients in Japanese Red Sword Bean (Canavalia gladiata).

PubMed

Une, Satsuki; Nonaka, Koji; Akiyama, Junich

2016-10-01

The effects of hull processing, soaking, and boiling on the content or activity of antinutrients in the red sword bean (RSB; Canavalia gladiata) were investigated. RSB seeds were compared with kidney bean (KB; Phaseolus vulgaris) seeds that are starch based and often used as processed products in Japan. RSB seeds had higher weight, thicker hull, and higher protein content, but lower moisture content compared with KB seeds. Because of the strong and thick hull, the relative water absorption of untreated RSB seeds was very low after soaking. Seeds were soaked after dehulling, scratching, and roasting. The results showed that hull scratching was the optimal method for increasing water absorption during soaking compared with dehulling and roasting. After soaking, the water used for soaking was discarded, since it had a high content of polyphenols and bitter taste, and RSB seeds were boiled in fresh water for 20, 40, and 60 min. The results showed that polyphenol and tannin contents, antioxidant activity, and hemagglutinating activity, as well as maltase, sucrase, and trypsin inhibitor activities in scratched RSB seeds decreased significantly after boiling compared with those in raw seeds, whereas amylase inhibitor activity showed no significant change. Overall, it was concluded that the combination of hull scratching, soaking, and boiling in fresh water can reduce thermal-stable or sensitive antinutrients in RSB and thus, significantly improve its nutritional value. © 2016 Institute of Food Technologists®.

Unravelling textural heterogeneity in obsidian: Shear-induced outgassing in the Rocche Rosse flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shields, J. K.; Mader, H. M.; Caricchi, L.; Tuffen, H.; Mueller, S.; Pistone, M.; Baumgartner, L.

2016-01-01

Obsidian flow emplacement is a complex and understudied aspect of silicic volcanism. Of particular importance is the question of how highly viscous magma can lose sufficient gas in order to erupt effusively as a lava flow. Using an array of methods we study the extreme textural heterogeneity of the Rocche Rosse obsidian flow in Lipari, a 2 km long, 100 m thick, ~ 800 year old lava flow, with respect to outgassing and emplacement mechanisms. 2D and 3D vesicle analyses and density measurements are used to classify the lava into four textural types: 'glassy' obsidian (< 15% vesicles), 'pumiceous' lava (> 40% vesicles), high aspect ratio, 'shear banded' lava (20-40% vesicles) and low aspect ratio, 'frothy' obsidian with 30-60% vesicles. Textural heterogeneity is observed on all scales (m to μm) and occurs as the result of strongly localised strain. Magnetic fabric, described by oblate and prolate susceptibility ellipsoids, records high and variable degrees of shearing throughout the flow. Total water contents are derived using both thermogravimetry and infrared spectroscopy to quantify primary (magmatic) and secondary (meteoric) water. Glass water contents are between 0.08-0.25 wt.%. Water analysis also reveals an increase in water content from glassy obsidian bands towards 'frothy' bands of 0.06-0.08 wt.%, reflecting preferential vesiculation of higher water bands and an extreme sensitivity of obsidian degassing to water content. We present an outgassing model that reconciles textural, volatile and magnetic data to indicate that obsidian is generated from multiple shear-induced outgassing cycles, whereby vesicular magma outgasses and densifies through bubble collapse and fracture healing to form obsidian, which then re-vesiculates to produce 'dry' vesicular magma. Repetition of this cycle throughout magma ascent results in the low water contents of the Rocche Rosse lavas and the final stage in the degassing cycle determines final lava porosity. Heterogeneities in lava rheology (vesicularity, water content, microlite content, viscosity) play a vital role in the structural evolution of an obsidian flow and overprint flow-scale morphology. Post-emplacement hydration also depends heavily on local strain, whereby connectivity of vesicles as a result of shear deformation governs sample rehydration by meteoric water, a process previously correlated to lava vesicularity alone.

Delignification of sugarcane bagasse using glycerol-water mixtures to produce pulps for saccharification.

PubMed

Novo, Lísias Pereira; Gurgel, Leandro Vinícius Alves; Marabezi, Karen; Curvelo, Antonio Aprigio da Silva

2011-11-01

This paper describes the organosolv delignification of depithed bagasse using glycerol-water mixtures without a catalyst. The experiments were performed using two separate experimental designs. In the first experiment, two temperatures (150 and 190°C), two time periods (60 and 240 min) and two glycerol contents (20% and 80%, v/v) were used. In the second experiment, which was a central composite design, the glycerol content was maintained at 80%, and a range of temperatures (141.7-198.3°C) and time (23-277 min) was used. The best result, obtained with a glycerol content of 80%, a reaction time of 150 min and a temperature of 198.3°C, produced pulps with 54.4% pulp yield, 7.75% residual lignin, 81.4% delignification and 13.7% polyose content. The results showed that high contents of glycerol tend to produce pulps with higher delignification and higher polyoses content in relation to the pulps obtained from low glycerol content reactions. In addition, the proposed method shows potential as a pretreatment for cellulose saccharification. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Estimation of fluoride concentration in drinking water and common beverages in United Arab Emirates (UAE).

PubMed

Walia, Tarun; Abu Fanas, Salem; Akbar, Madiha; Eddin, Jamal; Adnan, Mohamad

2017-07-01

To assess fluoride concentration in drinking water which include tap water of 4 emirates - Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman plus bottled water, commonly available soft drinks & juices in United Arab Emirates. Five different samples of tap water collected from each of the four emirates of UAE: Ajman, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Dubai; twenty-two brands of bottled water and fifteen brands of popular cold beverages, purchased from different supermarkets in U.A.E were tested using ion selective electrode method and the fluoride concentration was determined. The mean fluoride content of tap water samples was 0.14 mg F/L with a range of 0.04-0.3 mg F/L; with Ajman tap water samples showing the highest mean fluoride content of 0.3 mg F/L. The mean fluoride content for both bottled drinking water and beverages was 0.07 mg F/L with a range of 0.02-0.50 mg F/L and 0.04-0.1 mg F/L respectively. Majority (68.2%) of the bottled water are produced locally within U.A.E while a few (31.8%) are imported. The tap water, bottled water and beverages available in U.A.E show varying concentrations of fluoride, however none showed the optimal level necessary to prevent dental caries. Dental professionals in U.A.E should be aware of the fluoride concentrations before prescribing fluoride supplements to children.

Seasonal Variation in Fluoride Content in Groundwaters of Langtang Area, Northcentral Nigeria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dibal, H. U.; Dajilak, W. N.; Lekmang, I. C.; Nimze, L. W.; Yenne, E. Y.

2017-06-01

Thirty groundwater samples were collected at the peak of the rainy season and analysed for fluoride and other cations and anions in drinking water sources of Langtang area. For comparative purposes, thirty seven groundwater samples were collected in the dry season. The aim of the study was to determine variation in fluoride content with respect to the seasons. Fluoride in water was determined by the Ion Selective Electrode (ISE) and the cations by the Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP-AES). The anion (sulphate) was determined by Multi - Ion Colorimeter, bicarbonate and chloride by titration method. In addition fluorine content in aquifer materials from a borehole section were determined by Fusion method. The two seasons show variation in content of fluoride in groundwater. Fluoride content in groundwater is higher in the dry season ranging from 0.13 - 10.3 mg/l compared to the 0.06 - 4.60 mg/l values in the rainy season. Content of fluorine (0.01 wt %) in the aquifer materials (sands) is low from depth of 0 to 7.95 m. However, fluorine content increases with depth, from 7.95 to 10.60 m with concentration of 0.04 wt %, 0.05 wt % from 10.60 to 13.25m, and 0.07 wt % from 13.25 to 15.70 m, the content of fluorine however, decreased at depth 15.70 to18.55m with concentration of 0.02 wt % even with fluorite mineral in the aquifer material at this depth. Dilution of fluoride ion as a result of rain input which recharges the aquifer may be the main reason for lower values recorded in the rainy season. Over fifty and sixty percent of waters in both dry and rainy season have fluoride concentration above the WHO upper limit of 1.5 mg/l. Consumption of these elevated values of fluoride in groundwater of the study area, clearly manifests as symptoms of dental fluorosis.

Optical transparency of paper as a function of moisture content with applications to moisture measurement.

PubMed

Forughi, A F; Green, S I; Stoeber, B

2016-02-01

Accurate measurement of the moisture content of paper is essential in papermaking and is also important in some paper-based microfluidic devices. Traditional measurement techniques provide very limited spatiotemporal resolution and working range. This article presents a novel method for moisture content measurement whose operating principle is the strong correlation between the optical transparency of paper and its moisture content. Spectrographic and microscopic measurement techniques were employed to characterize the relation of moisture content and relative transparency of four types of paper: hardwood chemi-thermomechanical pulp paper, Northern bleached softwood kraft paper, unbleached softwood kraft paper, and General Electric(®) Whatman™ grade 1 chromatography paper. It was found that for all paper types, the paper transparency increased monotonically with the moisture content (as the ratio of the mass-of-water to the mass-of-dry-paper increased from 0% to 120%). This significant increase in relative transparency occurred due to the refractive index matching role of water in wet paper. It is further shown that mechanical loading of the paper has little impact on the relative transparency, for loadings that would be typical on a paper machine. The results of two transient water absorption experiments are presented that show the utility and accuracy of the technique.

Confocal Raman microspectroscopy of stratum corneum: a pre-clinical validation study.

PubMed

Wu, J; Polefka, T G

2008-02-01

Skin moisturization is not only important for maintaining skin functional properties but also has great impact on the skin's aesthetic properties. The top layer of the skin, the stratum corneum (SC), plays a key role in protecting and preventing against external aggressions as well as in regulating water flux in and out. Confocal Raman microspectroscopy is the first commercially available technique that provides a non-invasive, in vivo method to determine depth profiles of water concentration in the skin, however, in this case it was applied in an in vitro setting. As the first phase of validating the usefulness of confocal Raman microspectroscopy, we used porcine skin as a surrogate for human skin. Water concentration profiles were obtained using confocal Raman microspectroscopy from isolated pigskin SC and compared with that using the Karl Fischer titration method. The two methods correlated very well with a regression coefficient of 1.07 as well as a correlation coefficient, R(2) = 0.989, which demonstrated the consistency and accuracy of confocal Raman microspectroscopy for water concentration determination. To evaluate the instrument's response to different skin care/cleansing products, a wide range of products were tested to compare their skin moisturization ability. Among those tested were a lotion, commercial soap bar, syndet bar, traditional non-emollient shower gel (water, Sodium Laureth Ether Sulfate (SLES), cocamidopropyl betaine system) and emollient containing shower gel (water, sunflower oil, SLES, cocamidopropyl betaine, glycerin, petrolatum). The results were consistent with what was expected. The water content on skin treated with (A) lotion was significantly higher than the non-treated control; (B) syndet bar-treated skin had a significantly higher water content than soap-based bar-treated sites; (C) non-emollient shower gel washed sites were more moisturized than soap-based bar-treated samples; and (D) emollient shower gel-treated skin was significantly more hydrated than non-emollient shower gel washed skin. The unique and direct quantitative water content information provided by confocal Raman microspectroscopy offers a whole new perspective for fundamental skin moisturization studies and will play an important role in evaluating moisturizing profiles and the hydration potential of products designed for personal care in the cosmetic industry.

Using Multivariate Geostatistics to Assess Patterns of Spatial Dependence of Apparent Soil Electrical Conductivity and Selected Soil Properties

PubMed Central

Siqueira, Glécio Machado; Dafonte, Jorge Dafonte; Valcárcel Armesto, Montserrat; Silva, Ênio Farias França e

2014-01-01

The apparent soil electrical conductivity (ECa) was continuously recorded in three successive dates using electromagnetic induction in horizontal (ECa-H) and vertical (ECa-V) dipole modes at a 6 ha plot located in Northwestern Spain. One of the ECa data sets was used to devise an optimized sampling scheme consisting of 40 points. Soil was sampled at the 0.0–0.3 m depth, in these 40 points, and analyzed for sand, silt, and clay content; gravimetric water content; and electrical conductivity of saturated soil paste. Coefficients of correlation between ECa and gravimetric soil water content (0.685 for ECa-V and 0.649 for ECa-H) were higher than those between ECa and clay content (ranging from 0.197 to 0.495, when different ECa recording dates were taken into account). Ordinary and universal kriging have been used to assess the patterns of spatial variability of the ECa data sets recorded at successive dates and the analyzed soil properties. Ordinary and universal cokriging methods have improved the estimation of gravimetric soil water content using the data of ECa as secondary variable with respect to the use of ordinary kriging. PMID:25614893

Using multivariate geostatistics to assess patterns of spatial dependence of apparent soil electrical conductivity and selected soil properties.

PubMed

Siqueira, Glécio Machado; Dafonte, Jorge Dafonte; Valcárcel Armesto, Montserrat; França e Silva, Ênio Farias

2014-01-01

The apparent soil electrical conductivity (ECa) was continuously recorded in three successive dates using electromagnetic induction in horizontal (ECa-H) and vertical (ECa-V) dipole modes at a 6 ha plot located in Northwestern Spain. One of the ECa data sets was used to devise an optimized sampling scheme consisting of 40 points. Soil was sampled at the 0.0-0.3 m depth, in these 40 points, and analyzed for sand, silt, and clay content; gravimetric water content; and electrical conductivity of saturated soil paste. Coefficients of correlation between ECa and gravimetric soil water content (0.685 for ECa-V and 0.649 for ECa-H) were higher than those between ECa and clay content (ranging from 0.197 to 0.495, when different ECa recording dates were taken into account). Ordinary and universal kriging have been used to assess the patterns of spatial variability of the ECa data sets recorded at successive dates and the analyzed soil properties. Ordinary and universal cokriging methods have improved the estimation of gravimetric soil water content using the data of ECa as secondary variable with respect to the use of ordinary kriging.

Effects of High Hydrostatic Pressure on Water Absorption of Adzuki Beans

PubMed Central

Ueno, Shigeaki; Shigematsu, Toru; Karo, Mineko; Hayashi, Mayumi; Fujii, Tomoyuki

2015-01-01

The effect of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) treatment on dried soybean, adzuki bean, and kintoki kidney bean, which are low-moisture-content cellular biological materials, was investigated from the viewpoint of water absorption. The samples were vacuum-packed with distilled water and pressurized at 200 MPa and 25 °C for 10 min. After the HHP treatment, time courses of the moisture contents of the samples were measured, and the dimensionless moisture contents were estimated. Water absorption in the case of soybean could be fitted well by a simple water diffusion model. High pressures were found to have negligible effects on water absorption into the cotyledon of soybean and kintoki kidney bean. A non-linear least square method based on the Weibull equation was applied for the adzuki beans, and the effective water diffusion coefficient was found to increase significantly from 8.6 × 10−13 to 6.7 × 10−10 m2/s after HHP treatment. Approximately 30% of the testa of the adzuki bean was damaged upon HHP treatment, which was comparable to the surface area of the testa in the partially peeled adzuki bean sample. Thus, HHP was confirmed to promote mass transfer to the cotyledon of legumes with a tight testa. PMID:28231195

Feasibility study of determination of high-fructose syrup content of Acacia honey by terahertz technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Wen; Zhang, Yuying; Han, Donghai

2016-11-01

The authenticity problem of honey with difficult identification and great economic value highlights the certain limitations of the existing examination methods to distinguish the inauthentic honey. Terahertz technique is sensitive to water and has abundant information about saccharides' intermolecular interactions . This paper is tried to determine high-fructose-syrup content of Acacia honey by terahertz technique combined with chemometric methods. RMSEC and RMSEP of PLS model was 0.0967 and 0.108, respectively, confirming the reliability of the technique. This work shows that it was possible to determine high-fructose-syrup content of Acacia honey by terahertz technique.

Monitoring methods and predictive models for water status in Jonathan apples.

PubMed

Trincă, Lucia Carmen; Căpraru, Adina-Mirela; Arotăriţei, Dragoş; Volf, Irina; Chiruţă, Ciprian

2014-02-01

Evaluation of water status in Jonathan apples was performed for 20 days. Loss moisture content (LMC) was carried out through slow drying of wholes apples and the moisture content (MC) was carried out through oven drying and lyophilisation for apple samples (chunks, crushed and juice). We approached a non-destructive method to evaluate LMC and MC of apples using image processing and multilayer neural networks (NN) predictor. We proposed a new simple algorithm that selects the texture descriptors based on initial set heuristically chosen. Both structure and weights of NN are optimised by a genetic algorithm with variable length genotype that led to a high precision of the predictive model (R(2)=0.9534). In our opinion, the developing of this non-destructive method for the assessment of LMC and MC (and of other chemical parameters) seems to be very promising in online inspection of food quality. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

In vitro digestibility study of some plant protein sources as aquafeed for carps Labeo rohita and Cyprinus carpio using pH-Stat method.

PubMed

Sharma, Jai Gopal; Kumar, Ashok; Saini, Deepak; Targay, Nawang Lendup; Khangembam, Bronson Kumar; Chakrabarti, Rina

2016-09-01

Aquaculture, as a promising food industry, is expected to meet the demand for quality food from the increasing human population. As the diet is critical for feeding farm fish, such a faster growth in the industry is destined to create stress in the fishmeal market to supply diets to the tune. In this context, here, we studied the protein content of 20 plant ingredients, including aquatic weeds, cereals, pulses and oil-cakes using micro-Kjeldahl method and evaluated in vitro digestibility of these ingredients for rohu Labeo rohita and common carp Cyprinus carpio using pH-Stat method. The protein contents of water fern, duckweed, almond oil-cake and soybean product were 20.81, 39.75, 47.78 and 57.48%, respectively. Species-specific digestibility was found for the same plant ingredient. The degree of hydrolysis for water fern, duck weed, almond oil-cake and soybean product were 14.17, 4.80, 17.30 and 3.57%, respectively for rohu and 4.58, 6.03, 12.17 and 3.35%, respectively for common carp. This study showed that incorporation of water fern and almond oil-cake in the diet of rohu, and duck weed and almond oil-cake in the diet of common carp are beneficial considering their protein content and digestibility. These are cost-effective, protein-rich feed ingredients for aquafeed.

Two dimensional distribution measurement of electric current generated in a polymer electrolyte fuel cell using 49 NMR surface coils.

PubMed

Ogawa, Kuniyasu; Sasaki, Tatsuyoshi; Yoneda, Shigeki; Tsujinaka, Kumiko; Asai, Ritsuko

2018-05-17

In order to increase the current density generated in a PEFC (polymer electrolyte fuel cell), a method for measuring the spatial distribution of both the current and the water content of the MEA (membrane electrode assembly) is necessary. Based on the frequency shifts of NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) signals acquired from the water contained in the MEA using 49 NMR coils in a 7 × 7 arrangement inserted in the PEFC, a method for measuring the two-dimensional spatial distribution of electric current generated in a unit cell with a power generation area of 140 mm × 160 mm was devised. We also developed an inverse analysis method to determine the two-dimensional electric current distribution that can be applied to actual PEFC connections. Two analytical techniques, namely coarse graining of segments and stepwise search, were used to shorten the calculation time required for inverse analysis of the electric current map. Using this method and techniques, spatial distributions of electric current and water content in the MEA were obtained when the PEFC generated electric power at 100 A. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Study on the optimal moisture adding rate of brown rice during germination by using segmented moisture conditioning method.

PubMed

Cao, Yinping; Jia, Fuguo; Han, Yanlong; Liu, Yang; Zhang, Qiang

2015-10-01

The aim of this study was to find out the optimal moisture adding rate of brown rice during the process of germination. The process of water addition in brown rice could be divided into three stages according to different water absorption speeds in soaking process. Water was added with three different speeds in three stages to get the optimal water adding rate in the whole process of germination. Thus, the technology of segmented moisture conditioning which is a method of adding water gradually was put forward. Germinated brown rice was produced by using segmented moisture conditioning method to reduce the loss of water-soluble nutrients and was beneficial to the accumulation of gamma aminobutyric acid. The effects of once moisture adding amount in three stages on the gamma aminobutyric acid content in germinated brown rice and germination rate of brown rice were investigated by using response surface methodology. The optimum process parameters were obtained as follows: once moisture adding amount of stage I with 1.06 %/h, once moisture adding amount of stage II with 1.42 %/h and once moisture adding amount of stage III with 1.31 %/h. The germination rate under the optimum parameters was 91.33 %, which was 7.45 % higher than that of germinated brown rice produced by soaking method (84.97 %). The content of gamma aminobutyric acid in germinated brown rice under the optimum parameters was 29.03 mg/100 g, which was more than two times higher than that of germinated brown rice produced by soaking method (12.81 mg/100 g). The technology of segmented moisture conditioning has potential applications for studying many other cereals.

An evaluation of a bioelectrical impedance analyser for the estimation of body fat content.

PubMed Central

Maughan, R J

1993-01-01

Measurement of body composition is an important part of any assessment of health or fitness. Hydrostatic weighing is generally accepted as the most reliable method for the measurement of body fat content, but is inconvenient. Electrical impedance analysers have recently been proposed as an alternative to the measurement of skinfold thickness. Both these latter methods are convenient, but give values based on estimates obtained from population studies. This study compared values of body fat content obtained by hydrostatic weighing, skinfold thickness measurement and electrical impedance on 50 (28 women, 22 men) healthy volunteers. Mean(s.e.m.) values obtained by the three methods were: hydrostatic weighing, 20.5(1.2)%; skinfold thickness, 21.8(1.0)%; impedance, 20.8(0.9)%. The results indicate that the correlation between the skinfold method and hydrostatic weighing (0.931) is somewhat higher than that between the impedance method and hydrostatic weighing (0.830). This is, perhaps, not surprising given the fact that the impedance method is based on an estimate of total body water which is then used to calculate body fat content. The skinfold method gives an estimate of body density, and the assumptions involved in the conversion from body density to body fat content are the same for both methods. PMID:8457817

Electrical resistivity imaging study of near-surface infiltration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lampousis, Angelos

High resolution electrical resistivity images (ERI method) were obtained during vadose zone infiltration experiments on agricultural soils in cooperation with Cornell University's Agricultural Stewardship Program, Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County, Extension Education Center, Riverhead, New York [ as well as Cornell University's Long Island Horticultural Research & Extension Center (LIHREC) in Riverhead, New York]. One natural soil was also studied. Infiltration was monitored by means of image analysis of two-dimensional array resistivity generated by a Syscal Kid Switch resistivity system (Griffiths et al., 1990). The data was inverted with the computer program RES2DINV (Loke, 2004). The agricultural soils considered were Riverhead sandy loam (RdA), Haven loam (HaA), and Bridgehampton silt loam (BgA). The natural site was located in the Catskill Mountains of New York State. The soils there are classified as Schoharie silty clay loam. The electrical images of the three sites were compared against established soil properties, including particle size distribution, available water capacity, and soluble salts (from the literature), as well as against site-specific soil samples and penetrometer data, which were collected along with the geophysical measurements. This research evaluates the potential of acquiring high resolution, non-destructive measurements of infiltration in the uppermost 1.5 meter of the vadose zone. The results demonstrate that resistivity differences can detect infiltration in soils typical of the north-eastern United States. Temporal and spatial variations of soil water content in the upper 1.5 meters (relevant to agriculture) of the subsurface can be monitored successfully and non-destructively with ERI. The sensitivity of the method is higher in subsurface environments that demonstrate high overall apparent resistivity values (e.g. high sand content). Under conditions of increased soil heterogeneity, instead of the formation of a continuous water plume as occurred in the homogeneous agricultural soils, the location of the infiltrated water seems to be highly influenced by the soil heterogeneity, and the water front is scattered into discontinuous layers and travels in additional directions. The geophysical results during infiltration correlate well with soil compaction data. It follows that the ERI method can be used as a proxy for soil compaction and water content variations in agricultural applications. In a natural environment, ERI successfully maps the tree root zone of mature trees. Applications include continuous water content monitoring in high value cash crops, such as viticulture (precision agriculture).

Assessing Radium Activity in Shale Gas Produced Brine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fan, W.; Hayes, K. F.; Ellis, B. R.

2015-12-01

The high volumes and salinity associated with shale gas produced water can make finding suitable storage or disposal options a challenge, especially when deep well brine disposal or recycling for additional well completions is not an option. In such cases, recovery of commodity salts from the high total dissolved solids (TDS) of the brine wastewater may be desirable, yet the elevated concentrations of the naturally occurring radionuclides such as Ra-226 and Ra-228 in produced waters (sometimes substantially greater than the EPA limit of 5 pCi/L) may concentrate during these steps and limit salt recovery options. Therefore, assessing the potential presence of these Ra radionuclides in produced water from shale gas reservoir properties is desirable. In this study, we seek to link U and Th content within a given shale reservoir to the expected Ra content of produced brine by accounting for secular equilibrium within the rock and subsequent release to Ra to native brines. Produced brine from a series of Antrim shale wells and flowback from a single Utica-Collingwood shale well in Michigan were sampled and analyzed via ICP-MS to measure Ra content. Gamma spectroscopy was used to verify the robustness of this new Ra analytical method. Ra concentrations were observed to be up to an order of magnitude higher in the Antrim flowback water samples compared to those collected from the Utica-Collingwood well. The higher Ra content in Antrim produced brines correlates well with higher U content in the Antrim (19 ppm) relative to the Utica-Collingwood (3.5 ppm). We also observed an increase in Ra activity with increasing TDS in the Antrim samples. This Ra-TDS relationship demonstrates the influence of competing divalent cations in controlling Ra mobility in these clay-rich reservoirs. In addition, we will present a survey of geochemical data from other shale gas plays in the U.S. correlating shale U, Th content with produced brine Ra content. A goal of this study is to develop a method to predict the expected Ra activity in shale gas produced brines on a regional or play-specific basis in an effort to guide wastewater management practices or optimize regional treatment strategies.

Use of the Budyko Framework to Estimate the Virtual Water Content in Shijiazhuang Plain, North China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, E.; Yin, X.

2017-12-01

One of the most challenging steps in implementing analysis of virtual water content (VWC) of agricultural crops is how to properly assess the volume of consumptive water use (CWU) for crop production. In practice, CWU is considered equivalent to the crop evapotranspiration (ETc). Following the crop coefficient method, ETc can be calculated under standard or non-standard conditions by multiplying the reference evapotranspiration (ET0) by one or a few coefficients. However, when current crop growing conditions deviate from standard conditions, accurately determining the coefficients under non-standard conditions remains to be a complicated process and requires lots of field experimental data. Based on regional surface water-energy balance, this research integrates the Budyko framework into the traditional crop coefficient approach to simplify the coefficients determination. This new method enables us to assess the volume of agricultural VWC only based on some hydrometeorological data and agricultural statistic data in regional scale. To demonstrate the new method, we apply it to the Shijiazhuang Plain, which is an agricultural irrigation area in the North China Plain. The VWC of winter wheat and summer maize is calculated and we further subdivide VWC into blue and green water components. Compared with previous studies in this study area, VWC calculated by the Budyko-based crop coefficient approach uses less data and agrees well with some of the previous research. It shows that this new method may serve as a more convenient tool for assessing VWC.

A Bachelor of Engineering Technology Curriculum in Water Quality Management: Course Guides.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cole, Charles A.; And Others

Contained are course guides for a Bachelor of Engineering Technology (BET) Curriculum in Water Quality Management. Detailed course content, as well as instructional resources, are included in this volume. Each guide is written in behavioral terms using the instructional objective format. A suggested curriculum is shown with methods of…

Component-based control of oil-gas-water mixture composition in pipelines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voytyuk, I. N.

2018-03-01

The article theoretically proves the method for measuring the changes in content of oil, gas and water in pipelines; also the measurement system design for implementation thereof is discussed. An assessment is presented in connection with random and systemic errors for the future system, and recommendations for optimization thereof are presented.

Phenols and the antioxidant capacity of Mediterranean vegetables prepared with extra virgin olive oil using different domestic cooking techniques.

PubMed

Ramírez-Anaya, Jessica Del Pilar; Samaniego-Sánchez, Cristina; Castañeda-Saucedo, Ma Claudia; Villalón-Mir, Marina; de la Serrana, Herminia López-García

2015-12-01

Potato, tomato, eggplant and pumpkin were deep fried, sautéed and boiled in Mediterranean extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), water, and a water/oil mixture (W/O). We determined the contents of fat, moisture, total phenols (TPC) and eighteen phenolic compounds, as well as antioxidant capacity in the raw vegetables and compared these with contents measured after cooking. Deep frying and sautéing led to increased fat contents and TPC, whereas both types of boiling (in water and W/O) reduced the same. The presence of EVOO in cooking increased the phenolics identified in the raw foods as oleuropein, pinoresinol, hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol, and the contents of vegetable phenolics such as chlorogenic acid and rutin. All the cooking methods conserved or increased the antioxidant capacity measured by DPPH, FRAP and ABTS. Multivariate analyses showed that each cooked vegetable developed specific phenolic and antioxidant activity profiles resulting from the characteristics of the raw vegetables and the cooking techniques. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Inorganic-polymer-derived dielectric films

DOEpatents

Brinker, C.J.; Keefer, K.D.; Lenahan, P.M.

1985-02-25

A method is disclosed for coating a substrate with a thin film of a predetermined porosity. The method comprises: depositing the thin film on the substrate from a non-gelled solution comprising at least one metal alkoxide of a polymeric network forming cation, water, an alcohol compatible with the hydrolysis and the polymerization of the metal alkoxide, and an acid or a base; prior to said depositing step, controlling the porosity and structure of said coating for a given composition of said solution exclusive of the acid or base component and the water component, by adjusting each of the water content, the pH, the temperature and the time of standing of said solution, increasing/descreasing the water content or the pH to increase/decrease the pore size of said coating, and increasing/decreasing the temperature or time of standing of said solution to increase/decrease the pore size of said coating; and curing said deposited film at a temperature effective for curing whereby there is obtained a thin film coating of a predetermined porosity on the substrate.

Highly sensitive image-derived indices of water-stressed plants using hyperspectral imaging in SWIR and histogram analysis

PubMed Central

Kim, David M.; Zhang, Hairong; Zhou, Haiying; Du, Tommy; Wu, Qian; Mockler, Todd C.; Berezin, Mikhail Y.

2015-01-01

The optical signature of leaves is an important monitoring and predictive parameter for a variety of biotic and abiotic stresses, including drought. Such signatures derived from spectroscopic measurements provide vegetation indices – a quantitative method for assessing plant health. However, the commonly used metrics suffer from low sensitivity. Relatively small changes in water content in moderately stressed plants demand high-contrast imaging to distinguish affected plants. We present a new approach in deriving sensitive indices using hyperspectral imaging in a short-wave infrared range from 800 nm to 1600 nm. Our method, based on high spectral resolution (1.56 nm) instrumentation and image processing algorithms (quantitative histogram analysis), enables us to distinguish a moderate water stress equivalent of 20% relative water content (RWC). The identified image-derived indices 15XX nm/14XX nm (i.e. 1529 nm/1416 nm) were superior to common vegetation indices, such as WBI, MSI, and NDWI, with significantly better sensitivity, enabling early diagnostics of plant health. PMID:26531782

Water-quality parameters and benthic algal communities at selected streams in Minnesota, August 2000 - Study design, methods and data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lee, K.E.

2002-01-01

This report describes the study design, sampling methods, and summarizes the physical, chemical, and benthic algal data for a component of the multiagency study that was designed to document diurnal water-quality measurements (specific conductance, pH, water temperature, and dissolved oxygen), benthic algal community composition and chlorophyll-a content, and primary productivity at 12 stream sites on 6 streams in Minnesota during August 2000. Specific conductance, pH, water temperature, dissolved oxygen concentrations and percent dissolved oxygen saturation measurements were made with submersible data recorders at 30 minute intervals for a period of 3-6 days during August 2000. Benthic algae collected from wood and rock substrate were identified and enumerated. Biovolume (volume of algal cells per unit area), density (number of cells per unit area), and chlorophyll-a content from benthic algae were determined. These data can be used as part of the multiagency study to develop an understanding of the relations among nutrient concentrations, algal abundance, algal community composition, and primary production and respiration processes in rivers of differing ecoregions in Minnesota.

[Spectrum Variance Analysis of Tree Leaves Under the Condition of Different Leaf water Content].

PubMed

Wu, Jian; Chen, Tai-sheng; Pan, Li-xin

2015-07-01

Leaf water content is an important factor affecting tree spectral characteristics. So Exploring the leaf spectral characteristics change rule of the same tree under the condition of different leaf water content and the spectral differences of different tree leaves under the condition of the same leaf water content are not only the keys of hyperspectral vegetation remote sensing information identification but also the theoretical support of research on vegetation spectrum change as the differences in leaf water content. The spectrometer was used to observe six species of tree leaves, and the reflectivity and first order differential spectrum of different leaf water content were obtained. Then, the spectral characteristics of each tree species leaves under the condition of different leaf water content were analyzed, and the spectral differences of different tree species leaves under the condition of the same leaf water content were compared to explore possible bands of the leaf water content identification by hyperspectral remote sensing. Results show that the spectra of each tree leaf have changed a lot with the change of the leaf water content, but the change laws are different. Leaf spectral of different tree species has lager differences in some wavelength range under the condition of same leaf water content, and it provides some possibility for high precision identification of tree species.

Content Heavy Metal Pb, Cd In Perna viridis And Sediments In Semarang Bay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suprapto, D.; Suryanti, S.; Latifah, N.

2018-02-01

Waste disposal from human activities, generally contain heavy metals such as Pb and Cd which derived from industrial activities. The aims of the study were to know the concentration of Pb and Cd heavy metals contained in Perna viridis tissue, sediment and water at Semarang Bay. This study was conducted in May 2017 at Semarang Bay. - Samples were collected using purposive sampling method. The heavy metal content in the water and clam was observed using- APHA method and was analyzed using AAS (Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer). The results showed that concentration of heavy metal of Pb in the water was 0.00-50.5mg/L and the Cd content was of 26.9-51.7 mg/L, whereas the concentration of Pb in the sediment is 445.5-2.053.0mg/L and Cd 963.3-2,150.0 mg/L. Pb content in soft tissue of Perna viridis - is 67.1-1.933.9 mg/L and the concentration of Cd was 203.5-5.787.3 mg/L. The analysis of Pb and Cd in seawater, sediment and soft tissue of Perna viridis according to Enviroment Ministerial decree (KepMenLH ) number 51 of 2004 and applied by NOAA 1999 does not exceed the quality standard, that meant that the Perna viridis has been contaminated by metal Pb it is controversial with the above sentence and Cd. It concluded that the metal content of Pb and Cd in Perna viridis tissue exceeds the quality standard, so it is not suitable to be consumed, especially in high quantity

Gastric residual volume (GRV) and gastric contents measurement by refractometry.

PubMed

Chang, Wei-Kuo; McClave, Stephen A; Hsieh, Chung-Bao; Chao, You-Chen

2007-01-01

Traditional use of gastric residual volumes (GRVs), obtained by aspiration from a nasogastric tube, is inaccurate and cannot differentiate components of the gastric contents (gastric secretion vs delivered formula). The use of refractometry and 3 mathematical equations has been proposed as a method to calculate the formula concentration, GRV, and formula volume. In this paper, we have validated these mathematical equations so that they can be implemented in clinical practice. Each of 16 patients receiving a nasogastric tube had 50 mL of water followed by 100 mL of dietary formula (Osmolite HN, Abbott Laboratories, Columbus, OH) infused into the stomach. After mixing, gastric content was aspirated for the first Brix value (BV) measurement by refractometry. Then, 50 mL of water was infused into the stomach and a second BV was measured. The procedure of infusion of dietary formula (100 mL) and then water (50 mL) was repeated and followed by subsequent BV measurement. The same procedure was performed in an in vitro experiment. Formula concentration, GRV, and formula volume were calculated from the derived mathematical equations. The formula concentrations, GRVs, and formula volumes calculated by using refractometry and the mathematical equations were close to the true values obtained from both in vivo and in vitro validation experiments. Using this method, measurement of the BV of gastric contents is simple, reproducible, and inexpensive. Refractometry and the derived mathematical equations may be used to measure formula concentration, GRV, and formula volume, and also to serve as a tool for monitoring the gastric contents of patients receiving nasogastric feeding.

Data on fluoride concentration level in villages of Asara (Alborz, Iran) and daily fluoride intake based on drinking water consumption.

PubMed

Akhavan, Giti; Dobaradaran, Sina; Borazjani, Jaleh Mohajeri

2016-12-01

In the present data article, fluoride concentration levels of drinking water (with spring or groundwater sources) in 10 villages of Asara area located in Alborz province were determined by the standard SPADNS method using a spectrophotometer (DR/2000 Spectrophotometer, USA). Daily fluoride intakes were also calculated based on daily drinking water consumption. The fluoride content were compared with EPA and WHO guidelines for drinking water.

Approaches and challenges of soil water monitoring in an irrigated vineyard

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nolz, Reinhard; Loiskandl, Willibald

2016-04-01

Monitoring of water content is an approved method to quantify certain components of the soil water balance, for example as basis for hydrological studies and soil water management. Temporal soil water data also allow controlling water status by means of demand-oriented irrigation. Regarding spatial variability of water content due to soil characteristics, plant water uptake and other non-uniformities, it is a great challenge to select a location that is most likely representing soil water status of a larger area (e.g. an irrigated field). Although such an approach might not satisfy the requirements of precision farming - which becomes more and more related to industrial agriculture - it can help improving water use efficiency of small-scale farming. In this regard, specific conditions can be found in typical vineyards in the eastern part of Austria, where grapes are grown for high quality wine production. Generally, the local dry-subhumid climate supports grape development. However, irrigation is temporarily essential in order to guarantee stable yields and high quality. As the local winegrowers traditionally control irrigation based on their experience, there is a potential to improve irrigation management by means of soil water data. In order to gain experience with regard to irrigation management, soil water status was determined in a small vineyard in Austria (47°48'16'' N, 17°01'57'' E, 118 m elevation). The vineyard was equipped with a subsurface drip irrigation system and access tubes for measuring water content in soil profiles. The latter was measured using a portable device as well as permanently installed multi-sensor capacitance probes. Soil samples were taken at chosen dates and gravimetrically analyzed in the laboratory. Water content data were analyzed using simple statistical procedures and the temporal stability concept. Soil water content was interpreted considering different environmental conditions, including rainfall and irrigation periods, and influences from tillage operations. Variability of sensor readings was substantial across the study plot. However, locations could be identified that were most likely representative for soil water monitoring. Tillage operations and weed growth in the inter-rows had a recognizable impact on soil water distribution, which also has to be considered when installing probes. Furthermore, the distance of sensors to drip emitters was of great importance for correctly interpreting data for irrigation management.

Physics of direct-contact ultrasonic cloth drying process

DOE PAGES

Peng, Chang; Ravi, Saitej; Patel, Viral K.; ...

2017-02-27

Existing methods of drying fabrics involve energy-intensive thermal evaporation of moisture from clothes. Drying fabrics using high-frequency vibrations of piezoelectric transducers can substantially reduce drying time and energy consumption. In this method, vibrational energy generates instability on the liquid-air interface and mechanically ejects water from a wet fabric. For the first time, the physics of the ultrasonic fabric drying process in direct-contact mode is studied. The kinematic and thermal responses of water droplets and fabrics on piezoelectric crystal transducers and metal mesh–based transducers are studied. The results suggest that on piezoelectric crystal transducers, the response of a droplet subjected tomore » ultrasonic excitation is dictated by the relative magnitude of the surface tension and the ultrasonic excitation forces. The drying process for a fabric on the studied transducers consists of two regimes—vibrational and thermal. When the water content is high, the vibrational forces can eject bulk water rapidly. But the more strongly bound water within the smaller fabric pores evaporates by the thermal energy generated as a result of the viscous losses. Our study finds that a metal mesh–based transducer is more suitable for dewatering fabrics, as it facilitates the ejection of water from the fabric–transducer interface to the opposite side of the mesh. A demonstration unit developed consumes 10–20% of the water latent heat energy at water contents greater than 20%.« less

Physics of direct-contact ultrasonic cloth drying process

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

Peng, Chang; Ravi, Saitej; Patel, Viral K.

Existing methods of drying fabrics involve energy-intensive thermal evaporation of moisture from clothes. Drying fabrics using high-frequency vibrations of piezoelectric transducers can substantially reduce drying time and energy consumption. In this method, vibrational energy generates instability on the liquid-air interface and mechanically ejects water from a wet fabric. For the first time, the physics of the ultrasonic fabric drying process in direct-contact mode is studied. The kinematic and thermal responses of water droplets and fabrics on piezoelectric crystal transducers and metal mesh–based transducers are studied. The results suggest that on piezoelectric crystal transducers, the response of a droplet subjected tomore » ultrasonic excitation is dictated by the relative magnitude of the surface tension and the ultrasonic excitation forces. The drying process for a fabric on the studied transducers consists of two regimes—vibrational and thermal. When the water content is high, the vibrational forces can eject bulk water rapidly. But the more strongly bound water within the smaller fabric pores evaporates by the thermal energy generated as a result of the viscous losses. Our study finds that a metal mesh–based transducer is more suitable for dewatering fabrics, as it facilitates the ejection of water from the fabric–transducer interface to the opposite side of the mesh. A demonstration unit developed consumes 10–20% of the water latent heat energy at water contents greater than 20%.« less

27 CFR 21.127 - Shellac (refined).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... Gutzeit Method (AOAC method 25.020; for incorporation by reference, see § 21.6(c)). (b) Color. White or orange. (c) Rosin content. None when tested by the following method: Add 20 ml of absolute alcohol or... petroleum ether and mix thoroughly. Add approximately 2 liters of water and separate a portion of the ether...

Clinical methods for the assessment of the effects of environmental stress on fish health

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wedemeyer, Gary A.; Yasutake, William T.

1977-01-01

Clinical methods are presented for biological monitoring of hatchery and native fish populations to assess the effects of environmental stress on fish health. The choice of methods is based on the experience of the authors and the judgment of colleagues at fishery laboratories of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Detailed analysis methods, together with guidelines for sample collection and for the interpretation of results, are given for tests on blood (cell counts, chloride, cholesterol, clotting time, cortisol, glucose, hematocrit, hemoglobin, lactic acid, methemoglobin, osmolality, and total protein); water (ammonia and nitrite content); and liver and muscle (glycogen content).

The Impact of Potassium Manganate (VII) on the Effectiveness of Coagulation in the Removal of Iron and Manganese from Groundwater with an Increased Content of Organic Substances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krupińska, Izabela

2017-12-01

The article presents the results of studies concerning the impact of the method of Fe(II) ion oxidisation (dissolved oxygen and potassium manganate (VII)) on the effectiveness of coagulation in the removal of iron and manganese from groundwater with an increased content of organic substances. The efficiencies of two coagulants were compared: aluminium sulphate (VI) and polyaluminium chloride (Flokor 1.2A). Among the used methods of iron (II) oxidisation, the best effects have been achieved by potassium manganate (VII) because one of the oxidation products was manganese oxide (IV) precipitating from water. Better results in purifying the water were obtained with the use of a prehydrolysed coagulant Flokor 1.2 A than aluminium sulphate (VI).

Fast monitoring of dissolved organic and suspended matter using data of beam attenuation coefficient in Black Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mankovskaya, E. V.; Korchemkina, E. N.; Latushkin, A. A.

2017-11-01

A method allowing to obtain estimates of dissolved organic and suspended matter content in Black Sea waters using beam attenuation coefficient (BAC) measurements in two spectral channels is proposed. It makes possible to assess the composition, bio-productivity and ecological state of waters in real time, and to validate the data of satellite scanners. The method is based on retrieval the spectral distribution of BAC by orthogonal functions. Full spectral distribution in range 416 - 677 nm allows to select spectral sites with a dominant contribution of certain substance in BAC and to obtain the content of yellow substance and suspended matter using specially designed optimization technique. Calculated values are in good agreement with the satellite data obtained from MODIS scanner.

Water Vapor Remote Sensing Techniques: Radiometry and Solar Spectrometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Somieski, A.; Buerki, B.; Cocard, M.; Geiger, A.; Kahle, H.-G.

The high variability of atmospheric water vapor content plays an important role in space geodesy, climatology and meteorology. Water vapor has a strong influence on transatmospheric satellite signals, the Earth's climate and thus the weather forecasting. Several remote sensing techniques have been developed for the determination of inte- grated precipitable water vapor (IPWV). The Geodesy and Geodynamics Lab (GGL) utilizes the methods of Water Vapor Radiometry and Solar Spectrometry to quantify the amount of tropospheric water vapor and its temporal variations. The Water Vapor Radiometer (WVR) measures the radiation intensity of the atmosphere in a frequency band ranging from 20 to 32 GHz. The Solar Atmospheric MOnitoring Spectrome- ter (SAMOS) of GGL is designed for high-resolution measurements of water vapor absorption lines using solar radiation. In the framework of the ESCOMPTE (ExpÊrience sur Site pour COntraindre les Mod- Éles de Pollution atmosphÊrique et de Transport d'Emissions) field campaign these instruments have been operated near Marseille in 2001. They have aquired a long time series of integrated precipitable water vapor content (IPWV). The accuracy of IPWV measured by WVR and SAMOS is 1 kg/m2. Furthermore meteorological data from radiosondes were used to calculate the IPWV in order to provide comparisons with the results of WVR and SAMOS. The methods of Water Vapor Radiometry and So- lar Spectrometry will be discussed and first preliminary results retrieved from WVR, SAMOS and radiosondes during the ESCOMPTE field campaign will be presented.

A method to improve tree water use estimates by distinguishing sapwood from heartwood using Electrical Resistivity Tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guyot, A.; Ostergaard, K.; Lenkopane, M.; Fan, J.; Lockington, D. A.

2011-12-01

Estimating whole-plant water use in trees requires reliable and accurate methods. Measuring sap velocity and extrapolating to tree water use is seen as the most commonly used. However, deducing the tree water use from sap velocity requires an estimate of the sapwood area. This estimate is the highest cause of uncertainty, and can reach more than 50 % of the uncertainty in the estimate of water use per day. Here, we investigate the possibility of using Electrical Resistivity Tomography to evaluate the sapwood area distribution in a plantation of Pinus elliottii. Electric resistivity tomographs of Pinus elliottii show a very typical pattern of electrical resistivity, which is highly correlated to sapwood and heartwood distribution. To identify the key factors controlling the variation of electrical resistivity, cross sections at breast height for ten trees have been monitored with electrical resistivity tomography. Trees have been cut down after the experiment to identify the heartwood/sapwood boundaries and to extract wood and sap samples. pH, electrolyte concentration and wood moisture content have then been analysed for these samples. Results show that the heartwood/sapwood patterns are highly correlated with electrical resistivity, and that the wood moisture content is the most influencing factor controlling the variability of the patterns. These results show that electric resistivity tomography could be used as a powerful tool to identify the sapwood area, and thus be used in combination with sapflow sensors to map tree water use at stand scale. However, if Pinus elliottii shows typical patterns, further work is needed to identify to see if there are species - specific characterictics as shown in previous works (, electrolyte gradients from the bark to the heartwood). Also, patterns of high resistivity in between needles positions, which are not correlated with either wood moisture content or sapwood, appear to be artifacts. Thus, inversion methods have also to be improved to take into account these measurements issues.

Determination of dew point conditions for CO2 with impurities using microfluidics.

PubMed

Song, Wen; Fadaei, Hossein; Sinton, David

2014-03-18

Impurities can greatly modify the phase behavior of carbon dioxide (CO2), with significant implications on the safety and cost of transport in pipelines. In this paper we demonstrate a microfluidic approach to measure the dew point of such mixtures, specifically the point at which water in supercritical CO2 mixtures condenses to a liquid state. The method enables direct visualization of dew formation (∼ 1-2 μm diameter droplets) at industrially relevant concentrations, pressures, and temperatures. Dew point measurements for the well-studied case of pure CO2-water agreed well with previous theoretical and experimental data over the range of pressure (up to 13.17 MPa), temperature (up to 50 °C), and water content (down to 0.00229 mol fraction) studied. The microfluidic approach showed a nearly 3-fold reduction in error as compared to previous methods. When applied to a mixture with nitrogen (2.5%) and oxygen (5.8%) impurities--typical of flue gas from natural gas oxy-fuel combustion processes--the measured dew point pressure increased on average 17.55 ± 5.4%, indicating a more stringent minimum pressure for pipeline transport. In addition to increased precision, the microfluidic method offers a direct measurement of dew formation, requires very small volumes (∼ 10 μL), and is applicable to ultralow water contents (<0.005 mol fractions), circumventing the limits of previous methods.

Heterogeneous water content in the lunar interior: insights from orbital detection of water in lunar pyroclastic deposits and silicic rich domes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, S.; Milliken, R.

2015-12-01

Constraining the distribution and abundance of water (H2O and/or OH) in the lunar interior is crucial for assessing the formation and evolution of the Moon. Deriving such information from returned lunar samples is the most direct approach, but only a few regions have been sampled. Reflectance spectra for the 3μm region, remotely sensed by the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3), provide an alternative way to characterize lunar water at a global scale. Though such methods only probe the optical surface, hydration in some materials may result from internal processes instead of interaction with the solar wind. Constraining the volatile content of pyroclastic deposits and silicic rich domes, for example, can provide insight into volatile distribution and evolution related to magmatic processes. Thermally-corrected M3 data, constrained by Diviner temperatures and laboratory data, enable us to estimate the amount of water in these deposits. We find evidence for increased hydration signatures at nearly all large pyroclastic deposits relative to background values for surrounding terrains, suggestive of H2O-bearing magmas. Water contents for these deposits exhibit a linear correlation with the deposit range, largely consistent with lunar magma eruption models. In addition, the water content at inferred high-Ti deposits is higher than that of low-Ti pyroclastics for the same deposit range, which may reflect inherent differences in the water content or degassing history of the associated magmas. Our results also suggest that over half of the examined silicic-rich domes are very dry (no detectable water signature), which suggests either a volatile-poor source or a very different degassing history compared to pyroclastic deposits. Potential silicic-rich domes are inferred to have formed due to ascension of immiscible silicic melts in which volatiles may have been concentrated. Those silicic melts might cool slowly and allow extensive diffusion of water, whereas quenched glasses in pyroclastics may favor volatile retention. Current work is focused on the morphologic and compositional characteristics of these deposits as well as improved quantitative estimates of their water content. Latest results will be presented in the context of how these orbital observations may inform us of lunar interior processes.

Exploring the potential of the cosmic-ray neutron method to measure interception storage dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jakobi, Jannis; Bogena, Heye; Huisman, Johan Alexander; Diekkrüger, Bernd; Vereecken, Harry

2017-04-01

Cosmic-ray neutron soil moisture probes are an emerging technology that relies on the negative correlation between near-surface fast neutron counts and soil moisture content. Hydrogen atoms in the soil, which are mainly present as water, moderate the secondary neutrons on the way back to the surface. Any application of this method needs to consider the sensitivity of the neutron counts to additional sources of hydrogen (e.g. above- and below-ground biomass, humidity of the lower atmosphere, lattice water of the soil minerals, organic matter and water in the litter layer, intercepted water in the canopy, and soil organic matter). In this study, we analyzed the effects of canopy-intercepted water on the cosmic-ray neutron counts. For this, an arable field cropped with sugar beet was instrumented with several cosmic-ray neutron probes and a wireless sensor network with more than 140 in-situ soil moisture sensors. Additionally rainfall interception was estimated using a new approach coupling throughfall measurements and leaf wetness sensors. The derived interception storage was used to correct for interception effects on cosmic ray neutrons to enhance soil water content prediction. Furthermore, the potential for a simultaneous prediction of above- and below-ground biomass, soil moisture and interception was tested.

A statistical examination of Nimbus 7 SMMR data and remote sensing of sea surface temperature, liquid water content in the atmosphere and surfaces wind speed

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Prabhakara, C.; Wang, I.; Chang, A. T. C.; Gloersen, P.

1982-01-01

Nimbus 7 Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) brightness temperature measurements over the global oceans have been examined with the help of statistical and empirical techniques. Such analyses show that zonal averages of brightness temperature measured by SMMR, over the oceans, on a large scale are primarily influenced by the water vapor in the atmosphere. Liquid water in the clouds and rain, which has a much smaller spatial and temporal scale, contributes substantially to the variability of the SMMR measurements within the latitudinal zones. The surface wind not only increases the surface emissivity but through its interactions with the atmosphere produces correlations, in the SMMR brightness temperature data, that have significant meteorological implications. It is found that a simple meteorological model can explain the general characteristics of the SMMR data. With the help of this model methods to infer over the global oceans, the surface temperature, liquid water content in the atmosphere, and surface wind speed are developed. Monthly mean estimates of the sea surface temperature and surface winds are compared with the ship measurements. Estimates of liquid water content in the atmosphere are consistent with earlier satellite measurements.

On-line moisture determination of ore concentrates 'a review of traditional methods and introduction of a novel solution'.

PubMed

Cancilla, P A; Barrette, P; Rosenblum, F

2002-12-01

The manual gravimetric drying moisture determination methods currently employed by most mineral processing plants fail to provide timely and accurate information required for automatic control. The costs associated with transporting and handling concentrates still represent a major portion of the overall treatment price. When considering the cash flow of a mining operation that is governed by both the smelter contract, with moisture penalties and the quantity and quality of the concentrates shipped, an efficient method of on-line moisture content would be a welcome tool. A novel on-line determination system for ore concentrate moisture content would replace the tedious manual procedure. Since the introduction of microelectronic-based control systems, operators have strived to reduce the treatment costs to the minimum. Therefore, a representative and timely determination of on-line moisture content becomes vital for control set points and timely feedback. Reliable sensors have long been on the 'wish list' of mineral processors since the problem has always been that you can only control what you can measure. Today, the task of moisture determination is still done by the classical technique of loss in weight utilizing uncontrolled procedures. These same methods were introduced in the earliest base metal concentrators. Generally, it is acceptable to have ore concentrate moisture content vary within a range of 7-9%, but controlling the moisture content below 8% is a difficult task with a manually controlled system. Many times, delays in manually achieving reliable feedback of the moisture content results in the moisture varying from 5-12% before corrective actions can be made. This paper first reviews the traditional and widely available methods for determining moisture content in granular materials by applying physical principles and properties to measure moisture content. All methods are in some form affected when employed on mineral ore concentrates. This paper introduces and describes a novel on-line moisture sensor employed for mineral processing de-watering applications, which not only automates the tedious tasks but also results in reliable moisture feedback that can be used in the optimization of the de-watering process equipment such as pressure or vacuum filters and fuel-fired driers. Finally, two measurement applications will be presented which indicate the usefulness and summarizes the measurement requirements for the proposed method of employing drag force and mechanical properties of the material itself to determine the moisture content. Copyright 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd.

A review of satellite-based methods of estimating live fuel moisture content for fire danger assessment: moving towards operational products

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

One of the primary variables affecting ignition and spread of wildfire is fuel moisture content (FMC), which is the ratio of water mass to dry mass in living and dead plant material. Because dead FMC may be estimated from available weather data, remote sensing is needed to monitor the spatial distr...

[Study on trace elements of lake sediments by ICP-AES and XRF core scanning].

PubMed

Cheng, Ai-Ying; Yu, Jun-Qing; Gao, Chun-Liang; Zhang, Li-Sha; He, Xian-Hu

2013-07-01

It is the first time to study sediment of Toson lake in Qaidam Basin. Trace elements including Cd, Cr, Cu, Zn and Pb in lake sediment were measured by ICP-AES method, studied and optimized from different resolution methods respectively, and finally determined a optimum pretreatment system for sediment of Toson lake, namely, HCl-HNO3-HF-HClO4-H2O2 system in the proportions of 5 : 5 : 5 : 1 : 1 was determined. At the same time, the data measured by XRF core scanning were compared, the use of moisture content correction method was analyzed, and the influence of the moisture content on the scanning method was discussed. The results showed that, compared to the background value, the contents of Cd and Zn were a little higher, the content of Cr, Cu and Pb was within the background value limits. XRF core scanning was controlled by sediment elements as well as water content in sediment to some extent. The results by the two methods showed a significant positive correlation, with the correlation coefficient up to 0.673-0.925, and they have a great comparability.

Does water content or flow rate control colloid transport in unsaturated porous media?

PubMed

Knappenberger, Thorsten; Flury, Markus; Mattson, Earl D; Harsh, James B

2014-04-01

Mobile colloids can play an important role in contaminant transport in soils: many contaminants exist in colloidal form, and colloids can facilitate transport of otherwise immobile contaminants. In unsaturated soils, colloid transport is, among other factors, affected by water content and flow rate. Our objective was to determine whether water content or flow rate is more important for colloid transport. We passed negatively charged polystyrene colloids (220 nm diameter) through unsaturated sand-filled columns under steady-state flow at different water contents (effective water saturations Se ranging from 0.1 to 1.0, with Se = (θ - θr)/(θs - θr)) and flow rates (pore water velocities v of 5 and 10 cm/min). Water content was the dominant factor in our experiments. Colloid transport decreased with decreasing water content, and below a critical water content (Se < 0.1), colloid transport was inhibited, and colloids were strained in water films. Pendular ring and water film thickness calculations indicated that colloids can move only when pendular rings are interconnected. The flow rate affected retention of colloids in the secondary energy minimum, with less colloids being trapped when the flow rate increased. These results confirm the importance of both water content and flow rate for colloid transport in unsaturated porous media and highlight the dominant role of water content.

[Estimation of vegetation canopy water content using Hyperion hyperspectral data].

PubMed

Song, Xiao-Ning; Ma, Jian-Wei; Li, Xiao-Tao; Leng, Pei; Zhou, Fang-Cheng; Li, Shuang

2013-10-01

Vegetation canopy water content (VCWC) has widespread utility in agriculture, ecology and hydrology. Based on the PROSAIL model, a novel model for quantitative inversion of vegetation canopy water content using Hyperion hyperspectral data was explored. Firstly, characteristics of vegetation canopy reflection were investigated with the PROSAIL radiative transfer model, and it was showed that the first derivative at the right slope (980 - 1 070 nm) of the 970 nm water absorption feature (D98-1 070) was closely related to VCWC, and determination coefficient reached to 0.96. Then, bands 983, 993, 1 003, 1 013, 1 023, 1 033, 1 043, 1 053 and 1 063 nm of Hyperion data were selected to calculate D980-1 070, and VCWC was estimated using the proposed method. Finally, the retrieval result was verified using field measured data in Yingke oasis of the Heihe basin. It indicated that the mean relative error was 12.5%, RMSE was within 0.1 kg x m(-2) and the proposed model was practical and reliable. This study provides a more efficient way for obtaining VCWC of large area.

A novel method of recognizing liquefied honey.

PubMed

Płowaś-Korus, Iwona; Masewicz, Łukasz; Szwengiel, Artur; Rachocki, Adam; Baranowska, Hanna Maria; Medycki, Wojciech

2018-04-15

The content of glucose, fructose, sucrose, maltose and water were determined for multiflorous honey of Great Poland. The measurements were carried out for different fractions of honey and also for the liquefied honey at 40 °C. Water activity and pH were both determined for all samples. A new method of recognizing liquefied honey is proposed based on the water influence on pH and the monosaccharides and disaccharides contents. The simple function of quadratic polynomial enabled to reveal the different character of the liquefied honey. The electrical conductivity behavior of different dry matter samples of honey are presented in the wide range of temperature. The proton spin-lattice relaxation measurements were recorded for the crystalline fraction in the magnetic field range covering the proton Larmor frequencies from 0.01 to 25 MHz and in the wide range of temperature. Heating the honey at 30 °C results in the irreversible molecular structure changes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Upscaling with data assimilation in soil hydrology

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Most of measurements in soil hydrology are point-based, and methods are needed to use the point-based data for estimating soil water contents at larger societally-important scales, such as field, hillslope or watershed. One group of appropriate methods involves data assimilation which is a methodolo...

Correlation Between Subacute Sensorimotor Deficits and Brain Edema in Rats after Surgical Brain Injury.

PubMed

McBride, Devin W; Wang, Yuechun; Adam, Loic; Oudin, Guillaume; Louis, Jean-Sébastien; Tang, Jiping; Zhang, John H

2016-01-01

No matter how carefully a neurosurgical procedure is performed, it is intrinsically linked to postoperative deficits resulting in delayed healing caused by direct trauma, hemorrhage, and brain edema, termed surgical brain injury (SBI). Cerebral edema occurs several hours after SBI and is a major contributor to patient morbidity, resulting in increased postoperative care. Currently, the correlation between functional recovery and brain edema after SBI remains unknown. Here we examine the correlation between neurological function and brain water content in rats 42 h after SBI. SBI was induced in male Sprague-Dawley rats via frontal lobectomy. Twenty-four hours post-ictus animals were subjected to four neurobehavior tests: composite Garcia neuroscore, beam walking test, corner turn test, and beam balance test. Animals were then sacrificed for right-frontal brain water content measurement via the wet-dry method. Right-frontal lobe brain water content was found to significantly correlate with neurobehavioral deficits in the corner turn and beam balance tests: the number of left turns (percentage of total turns) for the corner turn test and distance traveled for the beam balance test were both inversely proportional with brain water content. No correlation was observed for the composite Garcia neuroscore or the beam walking test.

Rapid detection of soils contaminated with heavy metals and oils by laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS).

PubMed

Kim, Gibaek; Kwak, Jihyun; Kim, Ki-Rak; Lee, Heesung; Kim, Kyoung-Woong; Yang, Hyeon; Park, Kihong

2013-12-15

A laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) coupled with the chemometric method was applied to rapidly discriminate between soils contaminated with heavy metals or oils and clean soils. The effects of the water contents and grain sizes of soil samples on LIBS emissions were also investigated. The LIBS emission lines decreased by 59-75% when the water content increased from 1.2% to 7.8%, and soil samples with a grain size of 75 μm displayed higher LIBS emission lines with lower relative standard deviations than those with a 2mm grain size. The water content was found to have a more pronounced effect on the LIBS emission lines than the grain size. Pelletizing and sieving were conducted for all samples collected from abandoned mining areas and military camp to have similar water contents and grain sizes before being analyzed by the LIBS with the chemometric analysis. The data show that three types of soil samples were clearly discerned by using the first three principal components from the spectral data of soil samples. A blind test was conducted with a 100% correction rate for soil samples contaminated with heavy metals and oil residues. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Characteristics of epidemiology of dental caries in children from regions with high and optimum fluorine content in drinking water.

PubMed

Trufanova, Valentina; Sheshukova, Olha; Davydenko, Vadym; Polishchuk, Tetiana; Bauman, Sofia; Dobroskok, Vitalina

2018-01-01

Introduction: Prevention of dental diseases in children is the priority item on the modern dentistry agenda. Among the undeniable factors known as contributing into caries incidence, there is fluoride content in the external environment, especially in drinking water, which is the main source of fluoride intake. The aim: This study is aimed at evaluating dental caries indices in children and adolescents inhabiting in areas with optimal and high-level fluoride concentration in drinking water and assessing their level of oral hygiene. Materials and methods: To explore the caries epidemiology in the regions with optimal and high fluoride content, we examined 315 children aged 6, 12 and 15 who live in the city of Poltava (fluoride content in drinking water is 0.9-1.2 mg / l) and 91 children of the same age residing in the village of a town type Mashivka (fluoride content in drinking water ranges from 1.7 to 2.9 mg / l). Results: More than half of the 6-year-old children of both groups have decayed teeth. The comparative analysis of the prevalence and intensity of caries in the children aged 12 and 15 years demonstrated a significant increase in the number of individuals diagnosed to have caries with increasing age in both groups. Conclusions: Our research suggests that, along with the number of other cariogenic factors, fluorosis contributes to a more intense course of caries progression. This situation demands wider health policy measures to support primary and secondary caries prevention and management among the children.

Soil moisture content estimation using ground-penetrating radar reflection data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lunt, I. A.; Hubbard, S. S.; Rubin, Y.

2005-06-01

Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) reflection travel time data were used to estimate changes in soil water content under a range of soil saturation conditions throughout the growing season at a California winery. Data were collected during three data acquisition campaigns over an 80 by 180 m area using 100 MHz surface GPR antennas. GPR reflections were associated with a thin, low permeability clay layer located 0.8-1.3 m below the ground surface that was identified from borehole information and mapped across the study area. Field infiltration tests and neutron probe logs suggest that the thin clay layer inhibited vertical water flow, and was coincident with high volumetric water content (VWC) values. The GPR reflection two-way travel time and the depth of the reflector at the borehole locations were used to calculate an average dielectric constant for soils above the reflector. A site-specific relationship between the dielectric constant and VWC was then used to estimate the depth-averaged VWC of the soils above the reflector. Compared to average VWC measurements from calibrated neutron probe logs over the same depth interval, the average VWC estimates obtained from GPR reflections had an RMS error of 0.018 m 3 m -3. These results suggested that the two-way travel time to a GPR reflection associated with a geological surface could be used under natural conditions to obtain estimates of average water content when borehole control is available and the reflection strength is sufficient. The GPR reflection method therefore, has potential for monitoring soil water content over large areas and under variable hydrological conditions.

Infiltration and solute transport experiments in unsaturated sand and gravel, Cape Cod, Massachusetts: Experimental design and overview of results

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rudolph, David L.; Kachanoski , R. Gary; Celia, Michael A.; LeBlanc, Denis R.; Stevens, Jonathon H.

1996-01-01

A series of infiltration and tracer experiments was conducted in unsaturated sand and gravel deposits on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. A network of 112 porous cup lysimeters and 168 time domain reflectometry (TDR) probes was deployed at depths from 0.25 to 2.0 m below ground surface along the centerline of a 2-m by 10-m test plot. The test plot was irrigated at rates ranging from 7.9 to 37.0 cm h−1 through a sprinkler system. Transient and steady state water content distributions were monitored with the TDR probes and spatial properties of water content distributions were determined from the TDR data. The spatial variance of the water content tended to increase as the average water content increased. In addition, estimated horizontal correlation length scales for water content were significantly smaller than those estimated by previous investigators for saturated hydraulic conductivity. Under steady state flow conditions at each irrigation rate, a sodium chloride solution was released as a tracer at ground surface and tracked with both the lysimeter and TDR networks. Transect-averaged breakthrough curves at each monitoring depth were constructed both from solute concentrations measured in the water samples and flux concentrations inferred from the TDR measurements. Transport properties, including apparent solute velocities, dispersion coefficients, and total mass balances, were determined independently from both sets of breakthrough curves. The dispersion coefficients tended to increase with depth, reaching a constant value with the lysimeter data and appearing to increase continually with the TDR data. The variations with depth of the solute transport parameters, along with observations of water and solute mass balance and spatial distributions of water content, provide evidence of significant three-dimensional flow during the irrigation experiments. The TDR methods are shown to efficiently provide dense spatial and temporal data sets for both flow and solute transport in unsaturated sediments with minimal sediment and flow field disturbance. Combined implementation of lysimeters and TDR probes can enhance data interpretation particularly when three-dimensional flow conditions are anticipated.

In situ DMSO hydration measurements of HTS compound libraries.

PubMed

Ellson, R; Stearns, R; Mutz, M; Brown, C; Browning, B; Harris, D; Qureshi, S; Shieh, J; Wold, D

2005-09-01

Compounds used in high throughput screening (HTS) are typically dissolved in DMSO. These solutions are stored automation-friendly racks of wells or tubes. DMSO is hygroscopic and quickly absorbs water from the atmosphere. When present in DMSO compound solutions, water can accelerate degradation and precipitation. Understanding DMSO hydration in an HTS compound library can improve storage and screening methods by managing the impact of water on compound stability. A non-destructive, acoustic method compatible with HTS has been developed to measure water content in DMSO solutions. Performance of this acoustic method was compared with an optical technique and found to be in good agreement. The accuracy and precision of acoustic measurements was shown to be under 3% over the tested range of DMSO solutions (0% to 35% water by volume) and insensitive to the presence of HTS compounds at typical storage concentrations. Time course studies of hydration for wells in 384-well and 1536-well microplates were performed. Well geometry, fluid volume, well position and atmospheric conditions were all factors in hydration rate. High rates of hydration were seen in lower-volume fills, higher-density multi-well plates and when there was a large differential between the humidity of the lab and the water content of the DMSO. For example, a 1536-well microplate filled with 2microL of 100% DMSO exposed for one hour to a laboratory environment with approximately 40% relative humidity will absorb over 6% water by volume. Understanding DMSO hydration rates as well as the ability to reverse library hydration are important steps towards managing stability and availability of compound libraries.

[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.

The effect of filler content and processing variables on dimensional accuracy of experimental composite inlay material.

PubMed

Razak, A A; Harrison, A

1997-04-01

Dimensional accuracy of a composite inlay restoration is important to ensure an accurate fit and to minimize cementation stresses. A method was developed to measure dimensional accuracy and stability of a composite inlay. A standard Class II (MOD) inlay cavity stainless steel mold was made with six circular indentations placed on the occlusal floor of the cavity and four indentations on each gingival floor to act as datum points in the measurement of linear polymerization shrinkage. The inlay restorations were prepared from an inlay-onlay composite material of different filler contents (50%, 65%, and 79% by weight). For each filler content group, three curing methods were used: light curing only, light curing and heat curing at 100 degrees C for 5 minutes, and light curing and heat curing at 100 degrees C for 5 minutes and then storage in distilled water for 7 days. The accuracy of the MOD inlays was determined by measuring the shrinkage of the restoration on the occlusal floor areas and the gingival seats. The results demonstrated an inverse linear relationship between filler content and polymerization shrinkage. There was a tendency for the light-curing and heat-curing method to show an increase in polymerization shrinkage. An expansion was recorded between the mesial and distal boxes when the specimens were soaked in water for 7 days. This study suggested that the inlay mold limits the physical shrinkage that can occur between the mesial and distal axial walls of the inlay restoration because the inlay cannot shrink to a smaller dimension than the mold. Water sorption then causes hygroscopic expansion, which enlarges the distance between the mesial and distal walls.

Protein dynamics in organic media at varying water activity studied by molecular dynamics simulation.

PubMed

Wedberg, Rasmus; Abildskov, Jens; Peters, Günther H

2012-03-01

In nonaqueous enzymology, control of enzyme hydration is commonly approached by fixing the thermodynamic water activity of the medium. In this work, we present a strategy for evaluating the water activity in molecular dynamics simulations of proteins in water/organic solvent mixtures. The method relies on determining the water content of the bulk phase and uses a combination of Kirkwood-Buff theory and free energy calculations to determine corresponding activity coefficients. We apply the method in a molecular dynamics study of Candida antarctica lipase B in pure water and the organic solvents methanol, tert-butyl alcohol, methyl tert-butyl ether, and hexane, each mixture at five different water activities. It is shown that similar water activity yields similar enzyme hydration in the different solvents. However, both solvent and water activity are shown to have profound effects on enzyme structure and flexibility.

Contact angles of wetting and water stability of soil structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kholodov, V. A.; Yaroslavtseva, N. V.; Yashin, M. A.; Frid, A. S.; Lazarev, V. I.; Tyugai, Z. N.; Milanovskiy, E. Yu.

2015-06-01

From the soddy-podzolic soils and typical chernozems of different texture and land use, dry 3-1 mm aggregates were isolated and sieved in water. As a result, water-stable aggregates and water-unstable particles composing dry 3-1 mm aggregates were obtained. These preparations were ground, and contact angles of wetting were determined by the static sessile drop method. The angles varied from 11° to 85°. In most cases, the values of the angles for the water-stable aggregates significantly exceeded those for the water-unstable components. In terms of carbon content in structural units, there was no correlation between these parameters. When analyzing the soil varieties separately, the significant positive correlation between the carbon content and contact angle of aggregates was revealed only for the loamy-clayey typical chernozem. Based on the multivariate analysis of variance, the value of contact wetting angle was shown to be determined by the structural units belonging to water-stable or water-unstable components of macroaggregates and by the land use type. In addition, along with these parameters, the texture has an indirect effect.

Hydrophilicity, pore structure and mechanical performance of CNT/PVDF materials affected by carboxyl contents in multi-walled carbon nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yanxia; Jiang, Ce; Tian, Run; Li, Guangfen

2018-01-01

Poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) membranes have been prepared by loading different type of MWCNTs-COOH as the dispersed phase via phase inversion method. The chemically functionalized MWCNTs with increasing carboxyl content were chosen for achieving a better dispersion in PVDF and altering the membrane hydrophilicity. The effect of the carboxyl content in MWCNTs on crystal structure, thermal behavior, membrane morphology, hydrophilicity, and water flux of blended membranes were investigated. Due to the addition of carbon nanotubes, various performances of the hybrid membrane had obvious changes. The most prominent was that thermal stability could be enhanced and the pore morphology was more preferable, also that the hydrophilicity were improved, further that water flux could be increased to some extent.

A new method to determine the water activity and the net isosteric heats of sorption for low moisture foods at elevated temperatures.

PubMed

Tadapaneni, Ravi Kiran; Yang, Ren; Carter, Brady; Tang, Juming

2017-12-01

In recent years, research studies have shown that the thermal resistance of foodborne pathogens in the low moisture foods is greatly influenced by the water activity (a w ) at temperatures relevant to thermal treatments for pathogen control. Yet, there has been a lack of an effective method for accurate measurement of a w at those temperatures. Thus, the main aim of this study was to evaluate a new method for measuring a w of food samples at elevated temperatures. An improved thermal cell with a relative humidity and temperature sensor was used to measure the a w of the three different food samples, namely, organic wheat flour, almond flour, and non-fat milk powder, over the temperature range between 20 and 80°C. For a constant moisture content, the a w data was used to estimate the net isosteric heat of sorption (q st ). The q st values were then used in the Clausius Clapeyron equation (CCE) equation to estimate the moisture sorption isotherm for all test food samples at different temperatures. For all the tested samples of any fixed moisture content, a w value generally increased with the temperature. The energy for sorption decreased with increasing moisture content. With the experimentally determined q st value, CCE describes well about the changes in a w of the food samples between 20 and 80°C. This study presents a method to obtain a w of a food sample for a specific moisture content at different temperatures which could be extended to obtain q st values for different moisture contents and hence, the moisture sorption isotherm of a food sample at different temperatures. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of different drying methods on chlorophyll, ascorbic acid and antioxidant compounds retention of leaves of Hibiscus sabdariffa L.

PubMed

Kumar, Sandopu Sravan; Manoj, Prabhakaran; Shetty, Nandini P; Giridhar, Parvatam

2015-07-01

Use of the indigenous, easily accessible leafy vegetable roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) for value addition is gaining impetus as its nutritive and nutraceutical compounds are exposed by investigations. Being a perishable, storage is challenging, hence different methods of drying have been an attractive alternative for its postharvest usage in foods without much compromising its quality and antioxidant potential. Room- and freeze-dried samples were found to have best quality in terms of colour, total flavonoid content (18.53 ± 2.39 and 18.66 ± 1.06 g kg(-1) respectively), total phenolic content (17.76 ± 1.93 and 18.91 ± 0.48 g kg(-1)), chlorophyll content (1.59 ± 0.001 and 1.55 ± 0.001 g kg(-1)) and ascorbic acid content (11.11 ± 1.04 and 8.92 ± 0.94 g kg(-1)) compared with those subjected to infrared, crossflow, microwave, oven or sun drying. Samples treated by room and freeze drying retained maximum antioxidant potential as shown by the phosphomolybdate method and the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free radical-scavenging activity and ferric-reducing antioxidant power assays. Cold water and hot water extracts showed significantly higher total phenolic content and total antioxidant activity owing to the greater solubility of phenolics and destruction of cellular components in polar solvents than in organic solvents. The data obtained show the potential for retaining quality parameters of roselle leaf under suitable drying methods. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.

Combining Neutron and Magnetic Resonance Imaging to Study the Interaction of Plant Roots and Soil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oswald, Sascha E.; Tötzke, Christian; Haber-Pohlmeier, Sabina; Pohlmeier, Andreas; Kaestner, Anders P.; Lehmann, Eberhard

The soil in direct vicinity of the roots, the root-soil interface or so called rhizosphere, is heavily modified by the activity of roots, compared to bulk soil, e.g. in respect to microbiology and soil chemistry. It has turned out that the root-soil interface, though small in size, also plays a decisive role in the hydraulics controlling the water flow from bulk soil into the roots. A promising approach for the non-invasive investigation of water dynamics, water flow and solute transport is the combination of the two imaging techniques magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and neutron imaging (NI). Both methods are complementary, because NI maps the total proton density, possibly amplified by NI tracers, which usually corresponds to total water content, and is able to detect changes and spatial patterns with high resolution. On the other side, nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation times reflect the interaction between fluid and matrix, while also a mapping of proton spin density and thus water content is possible. Therefore MRI is able to classify different water pools via their relaxation times additionally to the water distribution inside soil as a porous medium. We have started such combined measurements with the approach to use the same samples and perform tomography with each imaging method at different location and short-term sample transfer.

Test – Retest Reliability and Concurrent Validity of in vivo Myelin Content Indices: Myelin Water Fraction and Calibrated T1w/T2w Image Ratio

PubMed Central

Arshad, Muzamil; Stanley, Jeffrey A.; Raz, Naftali

2016-01-01

In an age-heterogeneous sample of healthy adults, we examined test-retest reliability (with and without participant re-positioning) of two popular MRI methods of estimating myelin content: modeling the short spin-spin (T2) relaxation component of multi-echo imaging data and computing the ratio of T1-weighted and T2-weighted images (T1w/T2w). Taking the myelin water fraction (MWF) index of myelin content derived from the multi-component T2 relaxation data as a standard, we evaluate the concurrent and differential validity of T1w/T2w ratio images. The results revealed high reliability of MWF and T1w/T2w ratio. However, we found significant correlations of low to moderate magnitude between MWF and the T1w/T2w ratio in only two of six examined regions of the cerebral white matter. Notably, significant correlations of the same or greater magnitude were observed for T1w/T2w ratio and the intermediate T2 relaxation time constant, which is believed to reflect differences in the mobility of water between the intracellular and extracellular compartments. We conclude that although both methods are highly reliable and thus well-suited for longitudinal studies, T1w/T2w ratio has low criterion validity and may be not an optimal index of subcortical myelin content. PMID:28009069

Geophysical imaging of root-zone, trunk, and moisture heterogeneity.

PubMed

Attia Al Hagrey, Said

2007-01-01

The most significant biotic and abiotic stress agents of water extremity, salinity, and infection lead to wood decay and modifications of moisture and ion content, and density. This strongly influences the (di-)electrical and mechanical properties and justifies the application of geophysical imaging techniques. These are less invasive and have high resolution in contrast to classical methods of destructive, single-point measurements for inspecting stresses in trees and soils. This review presents some in situ and in vivo applications of electric, radar, and seismic methods for studying water status and movement in soils, roots, and tree trunks. The electrical properties of a root-zone are a consequence of their moisture content. Electrical imaging discriminates resistive, woody roots from conductive, soft roots. Both types are recognized by low radar velocities and high attenuation. Single roots can generate diffraction hyperbolas in radargrams. Pedophysical relationships of water content to electrical resistivity and radar velocity are established by diverse infiltration experiments in the field, laboratory, and in the full-scale 'GeoModel' at Kiel University. Subsurface moisture distributions are derived from geophysical attribute models. The ring electrode technique around trunks images the growth ring structure of concentric resistivity, which is inversely proportional to the fluid content. Healthy trees show a central high resistivity within the dry heartwood that strongly decreases towards the peripheral wet sapwood. Observed structural deviations are caused by infection, decay, shooting, or predominant light and/or wind directions. Seismic trunk tomography also differentiates between decayed and healthy woods.

Universal calibration of Raman spectroscopy for the analysis of volatiles in glasses of variable composition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schiavi, Federica; Bolfan-Casanova, Nathalie

2017-04-01

The amount and distribution of volatiles (water, carbon dioxide …) in magmas represent key parameters for the understanding of magma processes and dynamics within volcanic plumbing systems. Micro-Raman spectroscopy is an excellent technique for accurate determination of volatile contents in magmas, as it combines several advantages. The technique is non-destructive and requires minimal sample preparation before the analysis. Its high lateral and in-depth spatial resolution is crucial for the study of small objects and samples that are chemically and texturally heterogeneous at the small scale (microns). Moreover, the high confocality allows analysis of sample regions not exposed to the surface and 3D mapping. We present a universal calibration of Raman spectroscopy for quantification of volatiles in silicate glasses. The proposed method is based on internal calibration, i.e., on the correlation between the glass water content and the ratio between the areas of the water and silicate Raman bands. Synthetic glasses with variable major element compositions (basaltic, andesitic, rhyolitic, dacitic ..) bearing different H2O (up to 7 wt%) and CO2 contents are used as standard glasses. Natural silicate glasses, mainly in the form of melt inclusions, are used to test the goodness of the proposed method. In addition to quantification of volatiles in glass, in bubble-bearing melt inclusions we perform micro-Raman spectroscopy investigation of gas-bearing bubbles for accurate determination of total volatile contents in melt inclusions.

Running-induced patellofemoral pain fluctuates with changes in patella water content.

PubMed

Ho, Kai-Yu; Hu, Houchun H; Colletti, Patrick M; Powers, Christopher M

2014-01-01

Although increased bone water content resulting from repetitive patellofemoral joint loading has been suggested to be a possible mechanism underlying patellofemoral pain (PFP), there is little data to support this mechanism. The purpose of the current study was to determine whether running results in increases in patella water content and pain and whether 48 hours of rest reduces patella water content and pain to pre-running levels. Ten female runners with a diagnosis of PFP (mean age 25.1 years) participated. Patella water content was quantified using a chemical-shift-encoded water-fat magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocol. The visual analog scale (VAS) was used to quantify subjects' pain levels. MRI and pain data were obtained prior to running, immediately following a 40-minute running session, and 48 hours post-running. Pain and patella water content were compared among the 3 time points using one-way ANOVA's with repeated measures. Immediately post-running, persons with PFP reported significant increases in pain and exhibited elevated patella water content. Pain and patella water content decreased to pre-running levels following 48 hours of rest. Our findings suggest that transient changes in patella water content associated with running may, in part, contribute to patellofemoral symptoms.

Determination of small quantities of fluoride in water: A modified zirconium-alizarin method

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lamar, W.L.; Seegmiller, C.G.

1941-01-01

The zirconium-alizarin method has been modified to facilitate the convenient and accurate determination of small amounts of fluoride in a large number of water samples. Sulfuric acid is used to acidify the samples to reduce the interference of sulfate. The pH is accurately controlled to give the most sensitive comparisons. Most natural waters can be analyzed by the modified procedure without resorting to correction curves. The fluoride content of waters containing less than 500 parts per million of sulfate, 500 parts per million of bicarbonate, and 1000 parts per million of chloride may be determined within a limit of about 0.1 part per million when a 100-ml. sample is used.

Autoclaving as a mean of modifying the soil wettability characteristics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Urbanek, Emilia; Bodi, Merche; Shakesby, Rick; Doerr, Stefan

2010-05-01

Studies of soil water repellency have often attempted to isolate its hydrological impact by comparing responses of wettable and water repellent soils. It is, however, almost impossible to identify natural wettable and water repellent soils that are otherwise fully comparable. Furthermore no established methodology exists that allows changing a soil from wettable to water repellent (or vice versa) without affecting its chemical composition. Approaches used for rendering wettable soil (or sands) water repellent involve coating particles with hydrophobic or commercial water repellent spray. Heating soil to temperatures >300 °C has been used to eliminate existing water repellency from samples, but this can permanently alter the composition of organic matter. Here we report on a new technique for rendering wettable soil water repellent involving autoclaving. Autoclaving is commonly applied in medicine and biology for sterilization. It uses moist heat and pressure to destroy the bacteria, viruses and fungi. The same method has also been used in soil ecology studies for selective removal of certain micro-organisms. In our study, soils at various moisture contents were autoclaved in sealed bags for 1hr at 121°C. The soils became water repellent and the degree of water repellency was found to be dependent on the original soil moisture content and the soil wettability remained unchanged even with further drying of the soil up to 105°C. No changes in soil wettability were found after autoclaving very dry or wet soils. Only at certain intermediate water contents was the soil able to switch to a hydrophobic state. We suspect that the changes occurring during the autoclaving involve molecular orientation of hydrophobic and hydrophilic groups of soil organic matter, and moist heat and pressure cause the hydrophobic groups to be directed towards the outside of the soil particles which consequently repels water. Treatment of soil in this way presents a simple, inexpensive method of making a soil hydrophobic without changing its chemical composition. This has considerable potential for controlled experiments requiring both soils that differ only in terms of their degree of hydrophobicity.

Soil water content spatial pattern estimated by thermal inertia from air-borne sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coppola, Antonio; Basile, Angelo; Esposito, Marco; Menenti, Massimo; Buonanno, Maurizio

2010-05-01

Remote sensing of soil water content from air- or space-borne platforms offer the possibility to provide large spatial coverage and temporal continuity. The water content can be actually monitored in a thin soil layer, usually up to a depth of 0.05m below the soil surface. To the contrary, difficulties arise in the estimation of the water content storage along the soil profile and its spatial (horizontal) distribution, which are closely connected to soil hydraulic properties and their spatial distribution. A promising approach for estimating soil water contents profiles is the integration of remote sensing of surface water content and hydrological modeling. A major goal of the scientific group is to develop a practical and robust procedure for estimating water contents throughout the soil profile from surface water content. As a first step, in this work, we will show some preliminary results from aircraft images analysis and their validation by field campaigns data. The data extracted from the airborne sensors provided the opportunity of retrieving land surface temperatures with a very high spatial resolution. The surface water content pattern, as deduced by the thermal inertia estimations, was compared to the surface water contents maps measured in situ by time domain reflectometry-based probes.

Water clusters in amorphous pharmaceuticals.

PubMed

Authelin, Jean-Rene; MacKenzie, Alan P; Rasmussen, Don H; Shalaev, Evgenyi Y

2014-09-01

Amorphous materials, although lacking the long-range translational and rotational order of crystalline and liquid crystalline materials, possess certain local (short-range) structure. This paper reviews the distribution of one particular component present in all amorphous pharmaceuticals, that is, water. Based on the current understanding of the structure of water, water molecules can exist in either unclustered form or as aggregates (clusters) of different sizes and geometries. Water clusters are reported in a range of amorphous systems including carbohydrates and their aqueous solutions, synthetic polymers, and proteins. Evidence of water clustering is obtained by various methods that include neutron and X-ray scattering, molecular dynamics simulation, water sorption isotherm, concentration dependence of the calorimetric Tg , dielectric relaxation, and nuclear magnetic resonance. A review of the published data suggests that clustering depends on water concentration, with unclustered water molecules existing at low water contents, whereas clusters form at intermediate water contents. The transition from water clusters to unclustered water molecules can be expected to change water dependence of pharmaceutical properties, such as rates of degradation. We conclude that a mechanistic understanding of the impact of water on the stability of amorphous pharmaceuticals would require systematic studies of water distribution and clustering, while such investigations are lacking. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association.

FLUORIDE CONTENT OF COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE BOTTLED DRINKING WATER IN BANGKOK, THAILAND.

PubMed

Rirattanapong, Praphasri; Rirattanapong, Opas

2016-09-01

The use of bottled drinking water may be a source of fluoride and could be a risk factor for fluorosis among infants and young children. The aim of this study was to evaluate the fluoride content of commercially available bottled drinking water in Bangkok, Thailand. Forty-five water samples (15 samples of plain water and 30 samples of mineral water) were purchased from several supermarkets in Bangkok, Thailand. Three bottles of each water sample were purchased, and the fluoride content of each sample was measured twice using a combination fluoride-ion selective electrode. The average reading for each sample was then calculated. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics. Differences between mineral and plain water samples were determined by Student’s t-test. The mean (±SD) fluoride content for all the water samples was 0.17 (±0.17) mg F/l (range: 0.01-0.89 mg F/l). Six brands (13%) tested stated the fluoride content on the label. The actual fluoride content in each of their brands varied little from the label. Eight samples (18%) had a fluoride content >0.3 mg F/l and two samples (4%) had a fluoride content >0.6 mg F/l. The mean mineral water fluoride concentration was significantly higher than the mean fluoride concentration of plain water (p=0.001). We found commercially sold bottled drinking water in Bangkok, Thailand contained varying concentrations of fluoride; some with high concentrations of fluoride. Health professions need to be aware this varying fluoride content of bottled drinking water and educate the parents of infants and small children about this when prescribing fluoride supplements. Consideration should be made to have fluoride content put on the label of bottled water especially among brands with a content >0.3 mg F/l.

Increases in soil water content after the mortality of non-native trees in oceanic island forest ecosystems are due to reduced water loss during dry periods.

PubMed

Hata, Kenji; Kawakami, Kazuto; Kachi, Naoki

2016-03-01

The control of dominant, non-native trees can alter the water balance of soils in forest ecosystems via hydrological processes, which results in changes in soil water environments. To test this idea, we evaluated the effects of the mortality of an invasive tree, Casuarina equisetifolia Forst., on the water content of surface soils on the Ogasawara Islands, subtropical islands in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, using a manipulative herbicide experiment. Temporal changes in volumetric water content of surface soils at 6 cm depth at sites where all trees of C. equisetifolia were killed by herbicide were compared with those of adjacent control sites before and after their mortality with consideration of the amount of precipitation. In addition, the rate of decrease in the soil water content during dry periods and the rate of increase in the soil water content during rainfall periods were compared between herbicide and control sites. Soil water content at sites treated with herbicide was significantly higher after treatment than soil water content at control sites during the same period. Differences between initial and minimum values of soil water content at the herbicide sites during the drying events were significantly lower than the corresponding differences in the control quadrats. During rainfall periods, both initial and maximum values of soil water contents in the herbicided quadrats were higher, and differences between the maximum and initial values did not differ between the herbicided and control quadrats. Our results indicated that the mortality of non-native trees from forest ecosystems increased water content of surface soils, due primarily to a slower rate of decrease in soil water content during dry periods. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of aquaporin 4 and inward rectifier potassium channel 4.1 on medullospinal edema after methylprednisolone treatment to suppress acute spinal cord injury in rats.

PubMed

Li, Ye; Hu, Haifeng; Liu, Jingchen; Zhu, Qingsan; Gu, Rui

2018-02-01

To investigate the effects of aquaporin 4 (AQP4) and inward rectifier potassium channel 4.1 (Kir4.1) on medullospinal edema after treatment with methylprednisolone (MP) to suppress acute spinal cord injury (ASCI) in rats. Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into control, sham, ASCI, and MP-treated ASCI groups. After the induction of ASCI, we injected 30 mg/kg MP via the tail vein at various time points. The Tarlov scoring method was applied to evaluate neurological symptoms, and the wet-dry weights method was applied to measure the water content of the spinal cord. The motor function score of the ASCI group was significantly lower than that of the sham group, and the spinal water content was significantly increased. In addition, the levels of AQP4 and Kir4.1 were significantly increased, as was their degree of coexpression. Compared with that in the ASCI group, the motor function score and the water content were significantly increased in the MP group; in addition, the expression and coexpression of AQP4 and Kir4.1 were significantly reduced. Methylprednisolone inhibited medullospinal edema in rats with acute spinal cord injury, possibly by reducing the coexpression of aquaporin 4 and Kir4.1 in medullospinal tissues.

Ternary Blends of High Aluminate Cement, Fly ash and Blast-furnace slag for Sewerage Lining Mortar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chao, L. C.; Kuo, C. P.

2018-01-01

High aluminate cement (HAC), fly ash (FA) and blast-furnace slag (BFS) have been treated sustainable materials for the use of cement products for wastewater infrastructure due to their capabilities of corrosion resistance. The purpose of this study is to optimize a ternary blend of above mentioned materials for a special type of mortar for sewerage lining. By the using of Taguchi method, four control parameters including water/cementitious material ratio, mix water content, fly ash content and blast-furnace slag content were considered in nine trial mix designs in this study. By evaluating target properties including (1) maximization of compressive strength, (2) maximization of electricity resistance and (3) minimization of water absorption rate, the best possible levels for each control parameter were determined and the optimal mix proportions were verified. Through the implementation of the study, a practical and completed idea for designing corrosion resistive mortar comprising HAC, FA and BSF is provided.

40 CFR 258.41 - Project XL Bioreactor Landfill Projects.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... using the Standard Test Method for Measuring Mass per Unit Area of Geotextiles, ASTM D-5261-92... determined by the Standard Test Method for Laboratory Determination of Water (Moisture) Content of Soil and... with the provisions of the FESOP, during the entire period of leachate recirculation and the post...

40 CFR 258.41 - Project XL Bioreactor Landfill Projects.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... using the Standard Test Method for Measuring Mass per Unit Area of Geotextiles, ASTM D-5261-92... determined by the Standard Test Method for Laboratory Determination of Water (Moisture) Content of Soil and... with the provisions of the FESOP, during the entire period of leachate recirculation and the post...

40 CFR 258.41 - Project XL Bioreactor Landfill Projects.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... using the Standard Test Method for Measuring Mass per Unit Area of Geotextiles, ASTM D-5261-92... determined by the Standard Test Method for Laboratory Determination of Water (Moisture) Content of Soil and... with the provisions of the FESOP, during the entire period of leachate recirculation and the post...

Characterization of Bio-Oil from Fast Pyrolysis of Palm Frond and Empty Fruit Bunch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Solikhah, M. D.; Pratiwi, F. T.; Heryana, Y.; Wimada, A. R.; Karuana, F.; Raksodewanto, AA; Kismanto, A.

2018-04-01

As the world’s biggest producer of palm oil, 109 million tons of palm frond and 46 million tons of empty fruit bunch (EFB) were produced annually in Indonesia. These two kinds of palm biomass were still in low-application and could be potentially used as future energy resources such as biofuel. One of the promising methods to convert palm frond and EFB into biofuel, as a dense and easy to transport material, is fast pyrolysis. Before pyrolysis, biomass feedstock was characterized their component and elemental compositions, moisture content and higher heating value (HHV). Fast pyrolysis processes were conducted at a temperature of 350˚C using thermal oil heater as a heat carrier. The gas phase from pyrolysis was condensed and produced a dark color and water soluble liquid called bio-oil. As GC-MS data shows, the bio-oil from both feed stocks was dominated by acetic acid, furans, phenols, aldehydes, and ketones. The HHV was reported 12.19 and 26.49 MJ/kg, while water content was 41.91 and 11.54 wt% for bio-oil from palm frond and EFB, respectively. The high content of lignin in EFB effects to the low content of water, high content of phenolic compound, and high calorific value in the bio-oil from EFB.

A Raman Microspectroscopy Study of Water and Trehalose in Spin-Dried Cells

PubMed Central

Abazari, Alireza; Chakraborty, Nilay; Hand, Steven; Aksan, Alptekin; Toner, Mehmet

2014-01-01

Long-term storage of desiccated nucleated mammalian cells at ambient temperature may be accomplished in a stable glassy state, which can be achieved by removal of water from the biological sample in the presence of glass-forming agents including trehalose. The stability of the glass may be compromised due to a nonuniform distribution of residual water and trehalose within and around the desiccated cells. Thus, quantification of water and trehalose contents at the single-cell level is critical for predicting the glass formation and stability for dry storage. Using Raman microspectroscopy, we estimated the trehalose and residual water contents in the microenvironment of spin-dried cells. Individual cells with or without intracellular trehalose were embedded in a solid thin layer of extracellular trehalose after spin-drying. We found strong evidence suggesting that the residual water was bound at a 2:1 water/trehalose molar ratio in both the extracellular and intracellular milieus. Other than the water associated with trehalose, we did not find any more residual water in the spin-dried sample, intra- or extracellularly. The extracellular trehalose film exhibited characteristics of an amorphous state with a glass transition temperature of ∼22°C. The intracellular milieu also dried to levels suitable for glass formation at room temperature. These findings demonstrate a method for quantification of water and trehalose in desiccated specimens using confocal Raman microspectroscopy. This approach has broad use in desiccation studies to carefully investigate the relationship of water and trehalose content and distribution with the tolerance to drying in mammalian cells. PMID:25418294

Determination of molybdenum in sea and estuarine water with BETA-naphthoin oxime and neutron activation

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

Kuathilake, A.I.; Chatt, A.

1980-05-01

An analytical method has been developed for the determination of submicrogram quantities of molybdenum in sea and esturaine water. The method consists of preconcentration of molybdenum with BETA-naphthoin oxime followed by the determination of the element employing neutron activation analysis. Various factors that can influence yield and selectivity of the preconcentration process have been investigated in detail. A comparison study between ..cap alpha..-benzoin oxime and BETA-naphthoin oxime in preconcentrating molybdenum has been carried out using a standard steel sample. The method has been applied to determine molybdenum content of sea and estuarine water. A detection limit of 0.32 ..mu..g Momore » L/sup -1/ seawater has been acheived. The precision and accuracy of the method have been evaluated using an intercomparison fresh water and a biological standard reference material. 1 figure, 9 tables.« less

Unfrozen water migration in fully saturated sandstone during short-term freezing and thawing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, Hailiang; Yang, Gengshe; Tang, Liyun; Shen, Yanjun; Ye, Wanjun

2017-04-01

Researchers have gradually reached a consensus that ice segregation mechanism plays a dominant role in damaging rock in the case of long-term freezing, while volumetric expansion mechanism could lead to fatigue failure of rock after repeated frost action (usually short-term). In the latter regime, the outmost pore water is assumed to freeze in situ at early stage of freezing, consequently an inward water migration is driven by volumetric expansion, raising pore water pressure. In this study we test the above tenet through a real time monitoring of water migration in fully saturated sandstone via nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) method under a short term freeze-thaw regime. Water migration is delineated by measuring water content change in different layers of the sample. The whole test lasts for 12 hours, in the first 6 hours temperature changes from 10°C down to -30°C; then rises back to 10°C in the following 6 hours. NMR scanning is undertaken half-hourly. Our results indicate that: (1) in early stage of freezing, water content at the outmost zone does not reduce significantly, however water content at the core does, this unexpected change demonstrates an outward water migration; (2) water migration proceeds primarily within temperature range of -1°C— -4°C; (3) around 20% water keeps unfrozen at even -30°C, where no measurable water migration is observed; (4) in the thawing period, slightly reversed migration appears. Accordingly we come to the initial conclusion that the extensive assumption that volumetric expansion upon in situ freezing could drive inward water migration may be not authentic.

Recreational runners with patellofemoral pain exhibit elevated patella water content.

PubMed

Ho, Kai-Yu; Hu, Houchun H; Colletti, Patrick M; Powers, Christopher M

2014-09-01

Increased bone water content resulting from repetitive patellofemoral joint overloading has been suggested to be a possible mechanism underlying patellofemoral pain (PFP). To date, it remains unknown whether persons with PFP exhibit elevated bone water content. The purpose of this study was to determine whether recreational runners with PFP exhibit elevated patella water content when compared to pain-free controls. Ten female recreational runners with a diagnosis of PFP (22 to 39years of age) and 10 gender, age, weight, height, and activity matched controls underwent chemical-shift-encoded water-fat magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to quantify patella water content (i.e., water-signal fraction). Differences in bone water content of the total patella, lateral aspect of the patella, and medial aspect of the patella were compared between groups using independent t tests. Compared with the control group, the PFP group demonstrated significantly greater total patella bone water content (15.4±3.5% vs. 10.3±2.1%; P=0.001), lateral patella water content (17.2±4.2% vs. 11.5±2.5%; P=0.002), and medial patella water content (13.2±2.7% vs. 8.4±2.3%; P<0.001). The higher patella water content observed in female runners with PFP is suggestive of venous engorgement and elevated extracellular fluid. In turn, this may lead to an increase in intraosseous pressure and pain. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Ventilation and Perfusion in the Lung

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Prisk, Gordon Kim (Inventor); Hopkins, Susan Roberta (Inventor); Pereira De Sa, Rui Carlos (Inventor); Theilmann, Rebecca Jean (Inventor); Buxton, Richard Bruce (Inventor); Cronin, Matthew Vincent (Inventor)

2017-01-01

Methods, devices, and systems are disclosed for implementing a fully quantitative non-injectable contrast proton MRI technique to measure spatial ventilation-perfusion (VA/Q) matching and spatial distribution of ventilation and perfusion. In one aspect, a method using MRI to characterize ventilation and perfusion in a lung includes acquiring an MR image of the lung having MR data in a voxel and obtaining a breathing frequency parameter, determining a water density value, a specific ventilation value, and a perfusion value in at least one voxel of the MR image based on the MR data and using the water density value to determine an air content value, and determining a ventilation-perfusion ratio value that is the product of the specific ventilation value, the air content value, the inverse of the perfusion value, and the breathing frequency.

Green technology approach towards herbal extraction method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mutalib, Tengku Nur Atiqah Tengku Ab; Hamzah, Zainab; Hashim, Othman; Mat, Hishamudin Che

2015-05-01

The aim of present study was to compare maceration method of selected herbs using green and non-green solvents. Water and d-limonene are a type of green solvents while non-green solvents are chloroform and ethanol. The selected herbs were Clinacanthus nutans leaf and stem, Orthosiphon stamineus leaf and stem, Sesbania grandiflora leaf, Pluchea indica leaf, Morinda citrifolia leaf and Citrus hystrix leaf. The extracts were compared with the determination of total phenolic content. Total phenols were analyzed using a spectrophotometric technique, based on Follin-ciocalteau reagent. Gallic acid was used as standard compound and the total phenols were expressed as mg/g gallic acid equivalent (GAE). The most suitable and effective solvent is water which produced highest total phenol contents compared to other solvents. Among the selected herbs, Orthosiphon stamineus leaves contain high total phenols at 9.087mg/g.

Methods for determination of inorganic substances in water and fluvial sediments

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fishman, Marvin J.; Friedman, Linda C.

1989-01-01

Chapter Al of the laboratory manual contains methods used by the U.S. Geological Survey to analyze samples of water, suspended sediments, and bottom material for their content of inorganic constituents. Included are methods for determining the concentration of dissolved constituents in water, the total recoverable and total of constituents in water-suspended sediment samples, and the recoverable and total concentrations of constituents in samples of bottom material. The introduction to the manual includes essential definitions and a brief discussion of the use of significant figures in calculating and reporting analytical results. Quality control in the water-analysis laboratory is discussed, including the accuracy and precision of analyses, the use of standard-reference water samples, and the operation of an effective quality-assurance program. Methods for sample preparation and pretreatment are given also. A brief discussion of the principles of the analytical techniques involved and their particular application to water and sediment analysis is presented. The analytical methods of these techniques are arranged alphabetically by constituent. For each method, the general topics covered are the application, the principle of the method, the interferences, the apparatus and reagents required, a detailed description of the analytical procedure, reporting results, units and significant figures, and analytical precision data, when available. More than 126 methods are given for the determination of 70 inorganic constituents and physical properties of water, suspended sediment, and bottom material.

Methods for determination of inorganic substances in water and fluvial sediments

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fishman, Marvin J.; Friedman, Linda C.

1985-01-01

Chapter Al of the laboratory manual contains methods used by the Geological Survey to analyze samples of water, suspended sediments, and bottom material for their content of inorganic constituents. Included are methods for determining the concentration of dissolved constituents in water, total recoverable and total of constituents in water-suspended sediment samples, and recoverable and total concentrations of constituents in samples of bottom material. Essential definitions are included in the introduction to the manual, along with a brief discussion of the use of significant figures in calculating and reporting analytical results. Quality control in the water-analysis laboratory is discussed, including accuracy and precision of analyses, the use of standard reference water samples, and the operation of an effective quality assurance program. Methods for sample preparation and pretreatment are given also.A brief discussion of the principles of the analytical techniques involved and their particular application to water and sediment analysis is presented. The analytical methods involving these techniques are arranged alphabetically according to constituent. For each method given, the general topics covered are application, principle of the method, interferences, apparatus and reagents required, a detailed description of the analytical procedure, reporting results, units and significant figures, and analytical precision data, when available. More than 125 methods are given for the determination of 70 different inorganic constituents and physical properties of water, suspended sediment, and bottom material.

[Characteristics of soil water infiltration in sub-alpine dark coniferous ecosystem of upper reaches of Yangtze River].

PubMed

Yu, Xinxiao; Zhao, Yutao; Zhang, Zhiqiang; Cheng, Genwei

2003-01-01

Dark coniferous forest is the predominant type of vegetation in the upper reaches of Yangtze River. Difference among different types of soil exists. The sand content of soil is higher and the soil texture is coarser in the early stage of forest succession. The sand content of soil decreases with the advancement of the forest succession while that of soil in Abies fabri over-mature forest is the lowest. In slope wash soil, the sand content of soil decreases with the increasing soil depth. The soil porosity and soil water-holding capacity increases and soil bulk density decreases with the advancement of forest succession and decrease of soil depth. The deeper soil depth or the smaller soil water content are, the smaller the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of soil measured by CGA method. Moreover, the correlation of soil water content with unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of soil can be simulated by an exponential function. The saturated hydraulic conductivity of soil decreases exponentially with the increasing soil depth. The time to attain the stable infiltration rate is different among different soil depth, while the deeper the soil depth is, the longer the time needs. The variation in soil texture, soil physical properties and the high infiltration rate of soil there implicated that there are scarce surface runoff, but abundant in subsurface flow, return flow and seepage, which is the result of regulation by dark coniferous forest on hydrological processes.

Hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography in analysis of granisetron HCl and its related substances. Retention mechanisms and method development.

PubMed

Maksić, Jelena; Tumpa, Anja; Stajić, Ana; Jovanović, Marko; Rakić, Tijana; Jančić-Stojanović, Biljana

2016-05-10

In this paper separation of granisetron and its two related substances in HILIC mode is presented. Separation was done on silica column derivatized with sulfoalkylbetaine groups (ZIC-HILIC). Firstly, retention mechanisms were assessed whereby retention factors of substances were followed in wide range of acetonitrile content (80-97%), at constant concentration of aqueous buffer (10mM) as well as at constant pH value of 3.0. Further, in order to developed optimal HILIC method, Design of Experiments (DoE) methodology was applied. For optimization full factorial design 3(2) was employed. Influence of acetonitrile content and ammonium acetate concentration were investigated while pH of the water phase was kept at 3.3. Adequacy of obtained mathematical models was confirmed by ANOVA. Optimization goals (α>1.15 and minimal run time) were accomplished with 94.7% of acetonitrile in mobile phase and 70 mM of ammonium acetate in water phase. Optimal point was in the middle of defined Design Space. In the next phase, robustness was experimetally tested by Rechtschaffen design. The investigated factors and their levels were: acetonitrile content (±1%), ammonium acetate molarity in water phase (±2 mM), pH value of water phase (±0.2) and column temperature (±4 °C). The validation scope included selectivity, linearity, accuracy and precision as well as determination of limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) for the related substances. Additionally, the validation acceptance criteria were met in all cases. Finally, the proposed method could be successfully utilized for estimation of granisetron HCl and its related substances in tablets and parenteral dosage forms, as well as for monitoring degradation under various stress conditions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Impact of Human Activities on Microbial Quality of Rivers in the Vhembe District, South Africa

PubMed Central

Traoré, Afsatou N.; Mulaudzi, Khodani; Chari, Gamuchirai J.E.; Foord, Stefan H.; Mudau, Lutendo S.; Barnard, Tobias G.; Potgieter, Natasha

2016-01-01

Background: Water quality testing is dictated by microbial agents found at the time of sampling in reference to their acceptable risk levels. Human activities might contaminate valuable water resources and add to the microbial load present in water bodies. Therefore, the effects of human activities on the microbial quality of rivers collected from twelve catchments in the Vhembe District in South Africa were investigated, with samples analyzed for total coliform (TC) and Eschericha coli (E. coli) contents. Methods: Physical parameters and various human activities were recorded for each sampling site. The Quanti-Tray® method was adopted for the assessment of TC and E. coli contents in the rivers over a two-year period. A multiplex polymerase chain (PCR) method was used to characterize the strains of E. coli found. Results: The microbial quality of the rivers was poor with both TC and E. coli contents found to be over acceptable limits set by the South African Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS). No significant difference (p > 0.05) was detected between TC and E. coli risks in dry and wet seasons. All six pathogenic E. coli strains were identified and Enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC), atypical Enteropathogenic E. coli (a-EPEC) and Enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) were the most prevalent E. coli strains detected (respectively, 87%, 86% and 83%). Conclusions: The study indicated that contamination in the majority of sampling sites, due to human activities such as car wash, animal grazing and farming, poses health risks to communities using the rivers for various domestic chores. It is therefore recommended that more education by the respective departments is done to avert pollution of rivers and prevent health risks to the communities in the Vhembe District. PMID:27529265

Potential biofouling of spacecraft propellant systems due to contaminated deionized water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hogue, Patrick

2006-08-01

Deionized (DI) water, with a density close to hydrazine, is used to fill spacecraft propellant tanks for mechanical testing during ground operations, after which is it removed and the tanks dried for use with anhydrous hydrazine. Pure nitrogen is used as a pressurant during storage and during water fill and drain operations. Since DI water systems are notorious for contamination by slime-forming bacteria, DI water intended for use in New Horizons and STEREO hydrazine tanks at APL was assessed for microorganism content using the heterotrophic plate count (HPC) method. Results show that some growth occurred during storage of DI water in propellant tanks, however not at the logarithmic rate associated with well-nourished bacteria. Ralstonia and Burkholderia were present in DI water on-loaded however only Ralstonia was present in off-loaded water. One possible source of nutrients during water storage in propellant tanks is organic material originating from the EPDM (EPR per AF-E-332) expulsion diaphragm. This paper will demonstrate potential for bio-fouling of spacecraft propulsion systems due to growth of slime-forming bacteria and will suggest that specifications controlling microorganism content should be imposed on water used for spacecraft ground testing.

a Novel Catalyst for Reductive Dechlorination of Chlorobenzene in Subcritical Water:. Bifunctional Fe/ZrO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Guang-Tao; Wei, Chao-Hai; He, Feng-Mei; Wu, Chao-Fei

Bifunctional Fe/ZrO2 was prepared by mechanical mixing method, and its bifunctional effect on reductive dechlorination of chlorobenzene in subcritical water was studied. Dechlorination efficiency increased with increasing iron content in catalyst and catalyst amount. Dechlorination efficiency slowed when the iron content in catalyst reached 30%; bifunctional catalyst of Fe/ZrO2 was more efficient in dechlorination of chlorobenzene than Fe alone. Catalyst of Fe (30%)/ZrO2 was characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), H2 temperature programmed desorption (H2-TPD), and N2 adsorption. The possible mechanism of dechlorination in subcritical water by this bifunctional catalyst was proposed. H+ produced in the water dissociation formed the highly reactive spillover hydrogen on the surface of catalyst, and then reacted with chlorobenzene adsorbed on the catalyst surface by ZrO2 to form benzene and chloride ions.

Titanium Dioxide Volatility in High Temperature Water Vapor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nguyen, QynhGiao N.

2008-01-01

Titanium (Ti) containing materials are of high interest to the aerospace industry due to its high temperature capability, strength, and light weight. As with most metals an exterior oxide layer naturally exists in environments that contain oxygen (i.e. air). At high temperatures, water vapor plays a key role in the volatility of materials including oxide surfaces. This study will evaluate cold pressed titanium dioxide (TiO2) powder pellets at a temperature range of 1400 C - 1200 C in water containing environments to determine the volatile hydroxyl species using the transpiration method. The water content ranged from 0-76 mole% and the oxygen content range was 0-100 mole % during the 20-250 hour exposure times. Preliminary results indicate that oxygen is not a key contributor at these temperatures and the following reaction is the primary volatile equation for all three temperatures: TiO2 (s) + H2O (g) = TiO(OH)2 (g).

Spatio-temporal variability of soil water content on the local scale in a Mediterranean mountain area (Vallcebre, North Eastern Spain). How different spatio-temporal scales reflect mean soil water content

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Molina, Antonio J.; Latron, Jérôme; Rubio, Carles M.; Gallart, Francesc; Llorens, Pilar

2014-08-01

As a result of complex human-land interactions and topographic variability, many Mediterranean mountain catchments are covered by agricultural terraces that have locally modified the soil water content dynamic. Understanding these local-scale dynamics helps us grasp better how hydrology behaves on the catchment scale. Thus, this study examined soil water content variability in the upper 30 cm of the soil on a Mediterranean abandoned terrace in north-east Spain. Using a dataset of high spatial (regular grid of 128 automatic TDR probes at 2.5 m intervals) and temporal (20-min time step) resolution, gathered throughout a 84-day period, the spatio-temporal variability of soil water content at the local scale and the way that different spatio-temporal scales reflect the mean soil water content were investigated. Soil water content spatial variability and its relation to wetness conditions were examined, along with the spatial structuring of the soil water content within the terrace. Then, the ability of single probes and of different combinations of spatial measurements (transects and grids) to provide a good estimate of mean soil water content on the terrace scale was explored by means of temporal stability analyses. Finally, the effect of monitoring frequency on the magnitude of detectable daily soil water content variations was studied. Results showed that soil water content spatial variability followed a bimodal pattern of increasing absolute variability with increasing soil water content. In addition, a linear trend of decreasing soil water content as the distance from the inner part of the terrace increased was identified. Once this trend was subtracted, resulting semi-variograms suggested that the spatial resolution examined was too high to appreciate spatial structuring in the data. Thus, the spatial pattern should be considered as random. Of all the spatial designs tested, the 10 × 10 m mesh grid (9 probes) was considered the most suitable option for a good, time-stable estimate of mean soil water content, as no improvement was obtained with the 5 × 5 m mesh grid (30 probes). Finally, the results of temporal aggregation showed that decreasing the monitoring frequency down to 8 h during wetting-up periods and to 1 day during drying-down ones did not result in a loss of information on daily soil water content variations.

Non-Invasive Methods to Characterize Soil-Plant Interactions at Different Scales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Javaux, M.; Kemna, A.; Muench, M.; Oberdoerster, C.; Pohlmeier, A.; Vanderborght, J.; Vereecken, H.

2006-05-01

Root water uptake is a dynamic and non-linear process, which interacts with the soil natural variability and boundary conditions to generate heterogeneous spatial distributions of soil water. Soil-root fluxes are spatially variable due to heterogeneous gradients and hydraulic connections between soil and roots. While 1-D effective representation of the root water uptake has been successfully applied to predict transpiration and average water content profiles, finer spatial characterization of the water distribution may be needed when dealing with solute transport. Indeed, root water uptake affects the water velocity field, which has an effect on solute velocity and dispersion. Although this variability originates from small-scale processes, these may still play an important role at larger scales. Therefore, in addition to investigate the variability of the soil hydraulic properties, experimental and numerical tools for characterizing root water uptake (and its effects on soil water distribution) from the pore to the field scales are needed to predict in a proper way the solute transport. Obviously, non-invasive and modeling techniques which are helpful to achieve this objective will evolve with the scale of interest. At the pore scale, soil structure and root-soil interface phenomena have to be investigated to understand the interactions between soil and roots. Magnetic resonance imaging may help to monitor water gradients and water content changes around roots while spectral induced polarization techniques may be used to characterize the structure of the pore space. At the column scale, complete root architecture of small plants and water content depletion around roots can be imaged by magnetic resonance. At that scale, models should explicitly take into account the three-dimensional gradient dependency of the root water uptake, to be able to predict solute transport. At larger scales however, simplified models, which implicitly take into account the heterogeneous root water uptake along roots, should be preferred given the complexity of the system. At such scales, electrical resistance tomography or ground-penetrating radar can be used to map the water content changes and derive effective parameters for predicting solute transport.

Occurrence and treatment of arsenic in groundwater and soil in northern Mexico and southwestern USA.

PubMed

Camacho, Lucy Mar; Gutiérrez, Mélida; Alarcón-Herrera, Maria Teresa; Villalba, Maria de Lourdes; Deng, Shuguang

2011-04-01

This review focuses on the occurrence and treatment of arsenic (As) in the arid region of northern Mexico (states of Chihuahua and Coahuila) and bordering states of the southwestern US (New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas), an area known for having high As concentrations. Information assembled and assessed includes the content and probable source of As in water, soil, and sediments and treatment methods that have been applied in the area. High As concentrations were found mainly in groundwater, their source being mostly from natural origin related to volcanic processes with significant anthropogenic contributions near mining and smelting of ores containing arsenic. The affinity of As for solid phases in alkaline conditions common to arid areas precludes it from being present in surface waters, accumulating instead in sediments and shifting its threat to its potential remobilization in reservoir sediments and irrigation waterways. Factors such as oxidation and pH that affect the mobility of As in the subsurface environment are mentioned. Independent of socio-demographic variables, nutritional status, and levels of blood lead, cognitive development in children is being affected when exposed to As. Treatments known to effectively reduce As content to safe drinking water levels as well as those that are capable of reducing As content in soils are discussed. Besides conventional methods, emergent technologies, such as phytoremediation, offer a viable solution to As contamination in drinking water. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of drying methods (microwave vacuum, freeze, hot air and sun drying) on physical, chemical and nutritional attributes of five pepper (Capsicum annuum var. annuum) cultivars.

PubMed

Maurya, Vaibhav Kumar; Gothandam, Kodiveri Muthukaliannan; Ranjan, Vijay; Shakya, Amita; Pareek, Sunil

2018-07-01

A randomized block design experiment was performed to investigate the influence of drying on the physical, chemical and nutritional quality attributes of five prominent cultivars of India under sun drying (SD) (mean temperature 35.5 °C, average daily radiation 5.26 kW h m -2 and mean relative humidity 73.66% RH), hot air drying (HD) at 65 °C, microwave vacuum drying (MVD) (800 W, 5 kPa) and freeze drying (FD) (-50 °C, 5 kPa). Water activity, pH, total phenolic content (TPC), ascorbic acid (AA), capsaicin, β-carotene, color and Scoville heat unit were studied. TPC, AA, capsaicin content, β-carotene, color and water activity were significantly affected by the drying method. FD was observed to be most efficient in minimizing the loss of color, capsaicin and β-carotene. The hotness of analyzed samples decreased in the order 'Bird's Eye' > 'Sannam S4' > 'CO-4' > 'PLR-1' > 'PKM-1' among the studied cultivars, and FD > MVD > HD > SD among the drying methods. The FD method was observed to be the most efficient drying method for retaining capsaicin content over other drying methods (SD, HD, MVD), whereas MVD was found to be most efficient in minimizing the loss to nutritional attributes for all five pepper cultivars. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

[Effects of post-harvest processing and extraction methods on polysaccharides content of Dendrobium officinale].

PubMed

Li, Cong; Ning, Li-Dan; Si, Jin-Ping; Wu, Ling-Shang; Liu, Jing-Jing; Song, Xian-Shui; Yu, Qiao-Xian

2013-02-01

To reveal the quality variation of polysaccharide in Dendrobium officinale by post-harvest processing and extraction methods, and provide a basis for post-harvest processing and clinical and hygienical applications of Tiepifengdou (Dendrobii Officinalis Caulis). The content of polysaccharides were studied by 4 post-harvest processing methods, i. e. drying by drying closet, drying after scalding by boiling water, drying while twisting, and drying while twisting after scalding by boiling water. And a series of temperatures were set in each processing procedure. An orthogonal test L9 (3(4)) with crushed degrees, solid-liquid ratio, extraction time and extraction times as factors were designed to analyze the dissolution rate of polysaccharides in Tiepifengdou processed by drying while twisting at 80 degrees C. The content of polysaccharides was ranged from 26.59% to 32.70% in different samples processed by different processing methods, among which drying while twisting at 80 degrees C and 100 degrees C respectively were the best. Crushed degree was the most important influence on the dissolution rate of polysaccharides. The dissolution rate of polysaccharides was extremely low when the sample was boiled directly without crushing and sieving. Drying while twisting at 80 degrees C was the best post-harvest processing method, which can help to dry the fresh herbs and improve the accumulation of polysaccharides. Boiling the uncrushed Tiepifengdou for a long time as traditional method could not fully extract polysaccharides, while boiling the crushed Tiepifengdou can efficiently extract polysaccharides.

Fluoride content and distribution pattern in groundwater of eastern Yunnan and western Guizhou, China.

PubMed

Luo, Kunli; Liu, Yonglin; Li, Huijie

2012-02-01

For study, the fluoride (F) content and distribution pattern in groundwater of eastern Yunnan and western Guizhou fluorosis area in southwestern China, the F content of 93 water samples [groundwater (fissure water, cool spring, and hot springs), rivers water] and 60 rock samples were measured. The result shows the F content of the fissure water and cold spring water is 0.027-0.47 mg/L, and river water is 0.048-0.224 mg/L. The F content of hot spring water is 1.02-6.907 mg/L. The drinking water supplied for local resident is mainly from fissure water, cool spring, and river water. And the F content in all of them is much lower than the Chinese National Standard (1.0 mg/L), which is the safe intake of F in drinking water. The infected people in eastern Yunnan and western Guizhou fluorosis area have very little F intake from the drinking water. The hot spring water in fluorosis area of eastern Yunnan and western Guizhou, southwest China has high F content, which is not suitable for drinking. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011

Identification and characterization of hydrocolloid from Cordia myxa leaf.

PubMed

Samavati, Vahid; Lorestani, Mohammad; Joolazadeh, Sajjad

2014-04-01

Hot water extraction technique was employed to extract the hydrocolloid from Cordia myxa leaf (PCM). The optimal conditions for extraction of PCM were determined using response surface methodology. A Box-Behnken design (BBD) was applied to evaluate the effects of three independent variables (extraction time (X1: 1-4 h), extraction temperature (X2: 55-95 °C), and water to raw material ratio (X3: 5-30 ml/g) on the extraction yield of PCM. The content of moisture, water-soluble and water-insoluble ash, crude protein and total phenol were determined in the extracted hydrocolloid by standard methods. The maximum hydrocolloid extraction yield (9.501±0.15%) was achieved by using extraction time of 4.94 h, extraction temperature of 94.91 °C and water to raw material ratio of 21.74 ml/g. The contents of moisture, crude protein, water-soluble and water-insoluble ash and total phenol were 21.63±0.94%, 14.27±0.55%, 3.07±0.16% and 2.61±0.19 mg galic acid/g, respectively. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Water vapor content in the polar atmosphere measured by Lyman-alpha/OH fluorescence method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Iwasaka, Y.; Saitoh, S.; Ono, A.

1985-01-01

The water vapor of the polar stratosphere possibly plays an important role in various aeronomical processes; for example, OH radical formation through photodissociation of H2O, formation of water cluster ions, radiative energy transfer in the lower stratosphere, condensation onto particulate matter, and so on. In addition to these, it has been speculated, from the viewpoint of global transport and/or budget of water vapor, that the polar stratosphere functions as an active sink. STANFORD (1973) emphasized the existence of the stratospheric Cist cloud in the polar stratosphere which brought a large loss rate of stratospheric water vapor through a so-called freeze-out of cloud particles from the stratosphere into the troposphere. However, these geophysically interesting problems unfortunately remain to be solved, owing to the lack of measurements on water vapor distribution and its temporal variation in the polar stratosphere. The water vapor content measured at Syowa Station (69.00 deg S, 39.35 deg E), Antarctica using a balloon-borne hygrometer (Lyman - alpha/OH fluorescence type) is discussed.

Strategies for multivariate modeling of moisture content in freeze-dried mannitol-containing products by near-infrared spectroscopy.

PubMed

Yip, Wai Lam; Gausemel, Ingvil; Sande, Sverre Arne; Dyrstad, Knut

2012-11-01

Accurate determination of residual moisture content of a freeze-dried (FD) pharmaceutical product is critical for prediction of its quality. Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is a fast and non-invasive method routinely used for quantification of moisture. However, several physicochemical properties of the FD product may interfere with absorption bands related to the water content. A commonly used stabilizer and bulking agent in FD known for variation in physicochemical properties, is mannitol. To minimize this physicochemical interference, different approaches for multivariate correlation between NIR spectra of a FD product containing mannitol and the corresponding moisture content measured by Karl Fischer (KF) titration have been investigated. A novel method, MIPCR (Main and Interactions of Individual Principal Components Regression), was found to have significantly increased predictive ability of moisture content compared to a traditional PLS approach. The philosophy behind the MIPCR is that the interference from a variety of particle and morphology attributes has interactive effects on the water related absorption bands. The transformation of original wavelength variables to orthogonal scores gives a new set of variables (scores) without covariance structure, and the possibility of inclusion of interaction terms in the further modeling. The residual moisture content of the FD product investigated is in the range from 0.7% to 2.6%. The mean errors of cross validated prediction of models developed in the investigated NIR regions were reduced from a range of 24.1-27.6% for traditional PLS method to 15.7-20.5% for the MIPCR method. Improved model quality by application of MIPCR, without the need for inclusion of a large number of calibration samples, might increase the use of NIR in early phase product development, where availability of calibration samples is often limited. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Reflective terahertz (THz) imaging: system calibration using hydration phantoms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bajwa, Neha; Garritano, James; Lee, Yoon Kyung; Tewari, Priyamvada; Sung, Shijun; Maccabi, Ashkan; Nowroozi, Bryan; Babakhanian, Meghedi; Sanghvi, Sajan; Singh, Rahul; Grundfest, Warren; Taylor, Zachary

2013-02-01

Terahertz (THz) hydration sensing continues to gain traction in the medical imaging community due to its unparalleled sensitivity to tissue water content. Rapid and accurate detection of fluid shifts following induction of thermal skin burns as well as remote corneal hydration sensing have been previously demonstrated in vivo using reflective, pulsed THz imaging. The hydration contrast sensing capabilities of this technology were recently confirmed in a parallel 7 Tesla Magnetic Resonance (MR) imaging study, in which burn areas are associated with increases in local mobile water content. Successful clinical translation of THz sensing, however, still requires quantitative assessments of system performance measurements, specifically hydration concentration sensitivity, with tissue substitutes. This research aims to calibrate the sensitivity of a novel, reflective THz system to tissue water content through the use of hydration phantoms for quantitative comparisons of THz hydration imagery.Gelatin phantoms were identified as an appropriate tissue-mimicking model for reflective THz applications, and gel composition, comprising mixtures of water and protein, was varied between 83% to 95% hydration, a physiologically relevant range. A comparison of four series of gelatin phantom studies demonstrated a positive linear relationship between THz reflectivity and water concentration, with statistically significant hydration sensitivities (p < .01) ranging between 0.0209 - 0.038% (reflectivity: %hydration). The THz-phantom interaction is simulated with a three-layer model using the Transfer Matrix Method with agreement in hydration trends. Having demonstrated the ability to accurately and noninvasively measure water content in tissue equivalent targets with high sensitivity, reflective THz imaging is explored as a potential tool for early detection and intervention of corneal pathologies.

[Development and succession of artificial biological soil crusts and water holding characteristics of topsoil].

PubMed

Wu, Li; Chen, Xiao-Guo; Zhang, Gao-Ke; Lan, Shu-Bin; Zhang, De-Lu; Hu, Chun-Xiang

2014-03-01

In order to understand the improving effects of cyanobacterial inoculation on water retention of topsoil in desert regions, this work focused on the development and succession of biological soil crusts and water holding characteristics of topsoil after cyanobacterial inoculation in Qubqi Desert. The results showed that after the artificial inoculation of desert cyanobacteria, algal crusts were quickly formed, and in some microenvironments direct succession of the algal crusts to moss crusts occurred after 2-3 years. With the development and succession of biological soil crusts, the topsoil biomass, polysaccharides content, crust thickness and porosity increased, while the soil bulk density decreased. At the same time, with crust development and succession, the topsoil texture became finer and the percents of fine soil particles including silt and clay contents increased, while the percents of coarse soil particles (sand content) decreased proportionately. In addition, it was found that with crust development and succession, the water holding capacity and water content of topsoil showed an increasing trend, namely: moss crust > algal crusts > shifting sand. The water content (or water holding capacity) in algal and moss crusts were 1.1-1.3 and 1.8-2.2 times of those in shifting sand, respectively. Correlation analysis showed that the water holding capacity and water content of topsoil were positively correlated with the crust biomass, polysaccharides content, thickness, bulk density, silt and clay content; while negatively correlated with the porosity and sand content. Furthermore, stepwise regression analysis showed that the main factor affecting water content was the clay content, while that affecting water holding capacity was the porosity.

Quantification of soil water retention parameters using multi-section TDR-waveform analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baviskar, S. M.; Heimovaara, T. J.

2017-06-01

Soil water retention parameters are important for describing flow in variably saturated soils. TDR is one of the standard methods used for determining water content in soil samples. In this study, we present an approach to estimate water retention parameters of a sample which is initially saturated and subjected to an incremental decrease in boundary head causing it to drain in a multi-step fashion. TDR waveforms are measured along the height of the sample at assumed different hydrostatic conditions at daily interval. The cumulative discharge outflow drained from the sample is also recorded. The saturated water content is obtained using volumetric analysis after the final step involved in multi-step drainage. The equation obtained by coupling the unsaturated parametric function and the apparent dielectric permittivity is fitted to a TDR wave propagation forward model. The unsaturated parametric function is used to spatially interpolate the water contents along TDR probe. The cumulative discharge outflow data is fitted with cumulative discharge estimated using the unsaturated parametric function. The weight of water inside the sample estimated at the first and final boundary head in multi-step drainage is fitted with the corresponding weights calculated using unsaturated parametric function. A Bayesian optimization scheme is used to obtain optimized water retention parameters for these different objective functions. This approach can be used for samples with long heights and is especially suitable for characterizing sands with a uniform particle size distribution at low capillary heads.

Analysis of absorption and spreading of moisturizer on the microscopic region of the skin surface with near-infrared imaging.

PubMed

Arimoto, H; Yanai, M; Egawa, M

2016-11-01

Near-infrared (NIR) light with high water absorption enables us to visualize the water content distribution appeared in the superficial skin layer. The light penetration depth with the wavelength of 1920 nm is almost 100 μm from the skin surface. Thus, the water distribution in the stratum corneum can be effectively imaged by detecting the wavelength band around 1920 nm. The aim of this article was to measure the time-lapse behavior of the tiny droplet of the moisturizer spreading on the skin surface by imaging in 1920 nm wavelength band for investigating the correlation with the traditional index of the skin condition such as the water content and transepidermal water loss (TEWL). Experiment is performed with three moisturizer products and seven volunteer subjects. The NIR image is acquired by an originally designed imaging scope equipped with the white light of the strong brightness [super continuum (SC) light], the bandpass filter with the center wavelength of 1920 nm, and the NIR image sensor. A tiny droplet of the moisturizer is put on the surface of the skin and the time-lapse images are saved. Each acquired image is analyzed from a view point of the droplet area and elapsed time for absorption into the skin. The water content and TEWL of all subjects are measured by the conventional electrical method for investigating the relationship with the measured droplet dynamics parameters. Elapsed time for moisturizer droplet to be absorbed into the skin, the droplet area just before absorption for three moisturizer products, skin water contents, and TEWL for seven subjects were measured and correlation coefficients for each parameters were calculated. It was found that the skin with higher water contents or lower TEWL absorbed the moisturizer faster and spreads moisturizer wider. Also absorption and spreading speed depend on moisturizer property (moisturizing or fresh) which is originated from the moisturizer constituents. The correlation values between the moisturizer dynamics on the skin surface and the traditional index of the skin property were clarified. It was found that the skin with the high water content or low TEWL absorbs the moisturizer droplet fast. The spreading area depends not only on the skin property but on the constituents of the moisturizers. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

QSAR analysis for nano-sized layered manganese-calcium oxide in water oxidation: An application of chemometric methods in artificial photosynthesis.

PubMed

Shahbazy, Mohammad; Kompany-Zareh, Mohsen; Najafpour, Mohammad Mahdi

2015-11-01

Water oxidation is among the most important reactions in artificial photosynthesis, and nano-sized layered manganese-calcium oxides are efficient catalysts toward this reaction. Herein, a quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) model was constructed to predict the catalytic activities of twenty manganese-calcium oxides toward water oxidation using multiple linear regression (MLR) and genetic algorithm (GA) for multivariate calibration and feature selection, respectively. Although there are eight controlled parameters during synthesizing of the desired catalysts including ripening time, temperature, manganese content, calcium content, potassium content, the ratio of calcium:manganese, the average manganese oxidation state and the surface of catalyst, by using GA only three of them (potassium content, the ratio of calcium:manganese and the average manganese oxidation state) were selected as the most effective parameters on catalytic activities of these compounds. The model's accuracy criteria such as R(2)test and Q(2)test in order to predict catalytic rate for external test set experiments; were equal to 0.941 and 0.906, respectively. Therefore, model reveals acceptable capability to anticipate the catalytic activity. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Feasibility study of sucrose and fat replacement using inulin and rebaudioside A in cake formulations.

PubMed

Majzoobi, Mahsa; Mohammadi, Mahshid; Mesbahi, Gholamreza; Farahnaky, Asgar

2018-02-20

Cake is a popular food around the world, however, it is considered as unhealthy due to its high fat and sucrose content. To satisfy customers' demand for a low fat and sucrose cake, in this research both sucrose and fat content of the cake were reduced by using rebaudioside A (Reb A; as a natural sucrose replacer) and inulin (as a natural fat replacer) at 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%. The water content of different formulation was adjusted to obtain a constant batter viscosity similar to the control (3,757 cP). By reducing sucrose and fat content up to 50%, water activity increased and the cakes became more asymmetrical. However, other physical properties including baking weight loss, height, volume, crust color, and texture were similar to those of the control. Higher levels of replacement (75% and 100%) resulted in remarkable loss of different quality attributes. These samples showed higher water activity and baking loss, lower volume, harder texture, darker color, and highly asymmetrical shape. Thus, successful reduction of both fat and sucrose in cakes is possible by using inulin and Reb A at replacement levels no more than 50%. Customers' demand for healthy and yet tasty and high-quality foods is increasing around the world. Therefore, finding applicable and safe methods to produce such products is of great interest in the food manufacturing to satisfy customers. Health conscious customers avoid consumption of cakes because it contains high sucrose and fat content. Many studies have been performed to reduce either fat or sucrose content, while a few studies are available to show the reduction of both fat and sucrose in the same product. This study indicates the results of an applicable method to reduce fat and sucrose content of cakes simultaneously. Using rebaudioside A (as a natural sucrose replacer) and inulin (as a natural fat replacer) up to 50% of sucrose and fat content of cakes were reduced and the resulting cake had very similar physical properties to the control. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Water retention curves and thermal insulating properties of Thermosand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leibniz, Otto; Winkler, Gerfried; Birk, Steffen

2010-05-01

The heat loss and the efficiency of isolating material surrounding heat supply pipes are essential issues for the energy budget of heat supply pipe lines. Until now heat loss from the pipe is minimized by enlarging the polyurethane (PU) - insulation thickness around the pipe. As a new approach to minimize the heat loss a thermally insulating bedding material was developed and investigated. Conventional bedding sands cover all necessary soil mechanical properties, but have a high thermal conductivity from λ =1,5 to 1,7 W/(m K). A newly developed embedding material 'Thermosand' shows thermal properties from λ=0,18 W/(m K) (dry) up to 0,88 W/(m K) (wet). The raw material originates from the waste rock stockpiles of a coal mine near Fohnsdorf, Austria. With high temperatures up to nearly 1000 ° C and a special mineral mixture, a natural burned reddish material resembling clinker arises. The soilmechanical properties of Thermosand has been thoroughly investigated with laboratory testing and in situ investigations to determine compaction-, permeability- and shear-behaviour, stiffness and corresponding physical parameters. Test trenches along operational heat pipes with temperature-measurement along several cross-sections were constructed to compare conventional embedding materials with 'Thermosand'. To investigate the influence of varying moisture content on thermal conductivity a 1:1 large scale model test in the laboratory to simulate real insitu-conditions was established. Based on this model it is planned to develop numerical simulations concerning varying moisture contents and unsaturated soil mechanics with heat propagation, including the drying out of the soil during heat input. These simulations require the knowledge about the water retention properties of the material. Thus, water retention curves were measured using both steady-state tension and pressure techniques and the simplified evaporation method. The steady-state method employs a tension table (sand box) at tensions below 100 hPa and a pressure extractor at tensions between 300 hPa and 15,000 hPa; the water content is measured by weighing after the sample has equilibrated at the tension value set on the table or plate. In the transient evaporation method two tensiometers with a measurement range between 0 and 850 hPa are installed at a depth of 1.25 cm and 3.75 cm in a sample of 5 cm in height; the mean values of the two tensiometers and the water contents measured by weighting are used to obtain the water retention curve. First results of both methods show that the Thermosand samples release water over the entire tension range measured above 10 hPa. Because of the limited measurement range of the tensiometers used for the evaporation method, the measured curve must be extrapolated between 850 hPa and 15,000 hPa, to allow comparison with the steady-state method. To this end, it was attempted to match the Van-Genuchten and a bimodal Van-Genuchten retention function to the data from the evaporation experiments. This involves a simultaneous fit of both the water-retention and the hydraulic-conductivity function. As one first result only the Van-Genuchten model was found to be able to produce satisfactorily fits to the data. The extrapolated water retention curves (above 850 hPa) however do not match the data from the steady-state method. This suggests that alternative soil hydraulic functions are needed to provide an adequate representation of the water retention characteristics of the Thermosand. It has to be considered that especially for the heat flow simulation water retention and hydraulic conductivity functions above 15,000 hPa have to be determined.

Antioxidant and antibacterial activity of Thai medicinal plant (Capparis micracantha)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laoprom, Nonglak; Sangprom, Araya; Chaisri, Patcharaporn

2018-04-01

This work aims to study the antioxidants capacity, Total phenolic content and antibacterial activity of Thai medicinal plant for the treatment of dermatitis-related inflammations, Capparis micracantha. Crude extract from stem of Thai medicinal plant was extracted with hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol and water. The antioxidant activities (IC50) was evaluated with 1,1-diphenyl-1-princylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay. Total phenolic content (TPC) was determined by using Folin-Ciocalteu method. Bacterial activities was tested with four human pathogenic bacteria; Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus and Stapylococcus epidermidis by using agar diffusion assay. Minimum Inhibition Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) were also determined by broth dilution method. For antioxidant activity, the methanol fraction from stem extract showed the highest activity with an IC50 of 2.4 mg/ml. Water extraction was the high TPC with 10,136.9 mg GAE/g dry weight. Methanol and water extraction showed the remarkable inhibition of bacterial growth was shown against L. monocytogenes and S. aureus. In addition, ethyl acetate, methanol and water fraction from stem extract against S. epidermidis. The present finding suggests that the extract of C. micracantha could be used to discover bioactive natural products that may serve as pharmaceutical products.

Synthesis of Nanometric-Sized Barium Titanate Powders Using Acetylacetone as the Chelating Agent in a Sol-Precipitation Process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hung, Kun Ming; Hsieh, Ching Shieh; Yang, Wein Duo; Tsai, Hui Ju

2007-03-01

Nanometric-sized barium titanate powders were prepared by using titanium isopropoxid as the raw material and acetylacetone as a chelating agent, in a strong alkaline solution (pH > 13) through the sol-precipitation method. The preparatory variables affect the extent of cross-linking in the structure, change the mode of condensation of the gels, and even control the particle size of the powder. The reaction rate of forming powder, at a higher temperature such as 100°C and more water content (the molar ratio of water to titanium isopropoxide is 25) or fewer acetylacetone (the molar ratio of acetylacetone to titanium isopropoxide is 1), is rapid and the particle size formed is finer at 60 80 nm. On the contrary, that of forming powder, at lower temperature (40°C) and less water content (molar ratio of water/titanium isopropoxide = 5) or higher acetylacetone (acetylacetone/titanium isopropoxide = 7), is slow and the particle size of the powder is larger. The optimal preparatory conditions were obtained by using the experimental statistical method; as a result, nanometric-sized BaTiO3 powder with an average particle size of about 50 nm was prepared.

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.

40 CFR 418.31 - Specialized definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... and methods of analysis set forth in 40 CFR part 401 shall apply to this subpart. (b) The term product shall mean the 100 percent urea content of the material manufactured. (Sec. 306(b), Federal Water...

Simultaneous determination of heavy metal ions in water using near-infrared spectroscopy with preconcentration by nano-hydroxyapatite.

PubMed

Ning, Yu; Li, Jihui; Cai, Wensheng; Shao, Xueguang

2012-10-01

A method for simultaneous determination of metal ions in river water was developed by using preconcentration and near-infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (NIRDRS). An inorganic biomaterial, nano-hydroxyapatite (HAP) was used as a high-efficient adsorbent for gathering the ions from water samples. After adsorbing the analytes onto the adsorbent, NIRDRS was measured and partial least squares (PLS) models were established for fast and simultaneous quantitative prediction. With the samples prepared by river water, determination of Pb(2+), Zn(2+), Cu(2+), Cd(2+) and Cr(3+) was investigated. The calibration models of Cu(2+), Cr(3+) and total content were proven to be efficient enough for precise prediction. The determination coefficients (R(2)) of the independent validation were found as high as 0.9924, 0.9869 and 0.9273 for Cu(2+), Cr(3+) and total content, respectively. Therefore, the feasibility of NIRDRS for microanalysis of heavy metal ions in waste water was demonstrated. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Selective reduction of condensed N-heterocycles using water as a solvent and a hydrogen source.

PubMed

Cho, Hyejin; Török, Fanni; Török, Béla

2013-02-21

The reduction of unprotected indoles and quinolines is described using water as a hydrogen source. The method is based on the application of a RANEY® type Ni-Al alloy in an aqueous medium. During the reaction the Al content of the alloy, used as reductants, reacts with water in situ providing hydrogen and a RANEY® Ni catalyst, thus the alloy serves as a hydrogen generator as well as a hydrogenation catalyst. The simplicity and efficacy of the method are illustrated by the selective reduction of a variety of substituted indoles and quinolines to indolines and tetrahydroquinolines, respectively.

Effects of extraction methods on the antioxidant activities of polysaccharides from Agaricus blazei Murrill.

PubMed

Jia, Shaoyi; Li, Feng; Liu, Yong; Ren, Haitao; Gong, Guili; Wang, Yanyan; Wu, Songhai

2013-11-01

Five polysaccharides were obtained from Agaricus blazei Murrill (ABM) through different extraction methods including hot water extraction, single enzyme extraction (pectinase, cellulase or papain) and compound enzymes extraction (cellulase:pectinase:papain). Their characteristics such as the polysaccharide yield, polysaccharide content, protein content, infrared spectra were determined, and antioxidant activities were investigated on the basis of hydroxyl radical, DPPH free radical, ABTS free radical and reducing power. The results showed that five extracts exhibited antioxidant activities in a concentration-dependent manner. Compared with other methods, the compound enzymes extraction method was found to present the highest polysaccharides yield (17.44%). Moreover, compound enzymes extracts exhibited the strongest reducing power and highest scavenging rates on hydroxyl radicals, DPPH radicals and ABTS radicals. On the contrary, hot water extraction method had the lowest polysaccharides yield of 11.95%, whose extracts also exhibited the lowest antioxidant activities. Overall, the available data obtained in vitro models suggested that ABM extracts were natural antioxidants and compound enzymes extraction was an appropriate, mild and effective extracting method for obtaining the polysaccharide extracts from Agaricus blazei Murrill (ABM). Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Application of a Dense Gas Technique for Sterilizing Soft Biomaterials

PubMed Central

Karajanagi, Sandeep S.; Yoganathan, Roshan; Mammucari, Raffaella; Park, Hyoungshin; Cox, Julian; Zeitels, Steven M.; Langer, Robert; Foster, Neil R.

2017-01-01

Sterilization of soft biomaterials such as hydrogels is challenging because existing methods such as gamma irradiation, steam sterilization, or ethylene oxide sterilization, while effective at achieving high sterility assurance levels (SAL), may compromise their physicochemical properties and biocompatibility. New methods that effectively sterilize soft biomaterials without compromising their properties are therefore required. In this report, a dense-carbon dioxide (CO2)-based technique was used to sterilize soft polyethylene glycol (PEG)-based hydrogels while retaining their structure and physicochemical properties. Conventional sterilization methods such as gamma irradiation and steam sterilization severely compromised the structure of the hydrogels. PEG hydrogels with high water content and low elastic shear modulus (a measure of stiffness) were deliberately inoculated with bacteria and spores and then subjected to dense CO2. The dense CO2-based methods effectively sterilized the hydrogels achieving a SAL of 10−7 without compromising the viscoelastic properties, pH, water-content, and structure of the gels. Furthermore, dense CO2-treated gels were biocompatible and non-toxic when implanted subcutaneously in ferrets. The application of novel dense CO2-based methods to sterilize soft biomaterials has implications in developing safe sterilization methods for soft biomedical implants such as dermal fillers and viscosupplements. PMID:21337339

Imaging Water in Deformed Quartzites: Examples from Caledonian and Himalayan Shear Zones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kronenberg, Andreas; Ashley, Kyle; Hasnan, Hasnor; Holyoke, Caleb; Jezek, Lynna; Law, Richard; Thomas, Jay

2016-04-01

Infrared IR measurements of OH absorption bands due to water in deformed quartz grains have been collected from major shear zones of the Caledonian and Himalayan orogens. Mean intragranular water contents were determined from the magnitude of the broad OH absorption at 3400 cm-1 as a function of structural position, averaging over multiple grains, using an IR microscope coupled to a conventional FTIR spectrometer with apertures of 50-100 μm. Images of water content were generated by scanning areas of up to 4 mm2 of individual specimens with a 10 μm synchrotron-generated IR beam and contouring OH absorptions. Water contents vary with structural level relative to the central cores of shear zones and they vary at the grain scale corresponding to deformation and recrystallization microstructures. Gradients in quartz water content expressed over structural distances of 10 to 400 m from the centers of the Moine Thrust (Stack of Glencoul, NW Scotland), the Main Central Thrust (Sutlej valley of NW India), and the South Tibetan Detachment System (Rongbuk valley north of Mount Everest) indicate that these shear zones functioned as fluid conduits. However, the gradients differ substantially: in some cases, enhanced fluid fluxes appear to have increased quartz water contents, while in others, they served to decrease water contents. Water contents of Moine thrust quartzites appear to have been reduced during shear at greenschist facies by processes of regime II BLG/SGR dislocation creep. Intragranular water contents of the protolith 70 m below the central fault core are large (4078 ± 247 ppm, H/106 Si) while mylonites within 5 mm of the Moine hanging wall rocks have water contents of only 1570 (± 229) ppm. Water contents between these extremes vary systematically with structural level and correlate inversely with the extent of dynamic recrystallization (20 to 100%). Quartz intragranular water contents of Himalayan thrust and low-angle detachment zones sheared at upper amphibolite conditions by regime III GBM creep show varying trends with structural level. Water contents increase toward the Lhotse detachment of the Rongbuk valley, reaching 11,350 (± 1095) ppm, whereas they decrease toward the Main Central Thrust exposed in the western part of the Sutlej valley to values as low as 170 (± 25) ppm. Maps of intragranular water content correspond to populations of fluid inclusions, which depend on the history of deformation and dynamic recrystallization. Increases in water content require the introduction of secondary fluid inclusions, generally by brittle microcracking followed by crack healing and processes of inclusion redistribution documented in milky quartz experiments. Decreases in water content result from dynamic recrystallization, as mobile grain boundaries sweep through wet porphyroclasts, leaving behind dry recrystallized grains. Intragranular water contents throughout greenschist mylonites of the Moine thrust are comparable to those of quartz weakened by water in laboratory experiments. However, water contents of upper amphibolite mylonites of the Main Central Thrust are far below those required for water weakening at experimental strain rates and offer challenges to our understanding of quartz rheology.

Studies on geological background and source of fluorine in drinking water in the North China Plate fluorosis areas

USGS Publications Warehouse

Luo, K.; Feng, F.; Li, H.; Chou, C.-L.; Feng, Z.; Yunshe, D.

2008-01-01

Endemic fluorosis in northern China is usually produced by high fluorine (F) content in drinking water. Thirty-one samples of drinking waters, mainly well waters and nearly 200 samples of rocks, loess, and coal were analyzed for F content using the combustion hydrolysis-fluoride-ion selective electrode (ISE) method. The geologic cross sections of two well-known fluorosis basins were studied. The solubility of F in different rock types collected from fluorosis areas was determined. Results showed that areas of endemic fluorosis in northern China are located in coal-bearing basins which are comprised of three stratagraphic portions. The lowest portion is Precambrian granitic rocks or Cambrian-Ordovician carbonates. The middle portion consists of Permo-Carboniferous or Jurassic coal-bearing sequences. The upper portion is 0-400 m Pleistocene loess. Flourine content in the Precambrian granite-gneiss contained (a) 1090-1460 ppm, in the Cambrian-Ordovician limestone and dolomite, (b) 52-133 ppm, in black shales and coal gob of Permo-Carboniferous coal-bearing strata, (c) 200-700 ppm, and (d) Pleistocene loess 454-542 ppm. The solubility of F in black shales of coal-bearing sequences was higher than in Precambrian granitic rocks, and both were more soluble than loess. F solubility from Precambrian granitic rocks was moderate, but Precambrian granitic rocks have high F content and thus contribute an appreciable amount of ion to the shallow groundwater (well water). Varying F content in shallow groundwater is controlled by geological conditions. The sources of F in the shallow groundwater from fluorosis areas in northern China are mainly derived from black shales of coal-bearing sequences and Precambrian granitic basement in the basins of northern China. ?? 2008 Taylor & Francis.

Bulk Moisture and Salinity Sensor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nurge, Mark; Monje, Oscar; Prenger, Jessica; Catechis, John

2013-01-01

Measurement and feedback control of nutrient solutions in plant root zones is critical to the development of healthy plants in both terrestrial and reduced-gravity environments. In addition to the water content, the amount of fertilizer in the nutrient solution is important to plant health. This typically requires a separate set of sensors to accomplish. A combination bulk moisture and salinity sensor has been designed, built, and tested with different nutrient solutions in several substrates. The substrates include glass beads, a clay-like substrate, and a nutrient-enriched substrate with the presence of plant roots. By measuring two key parameters, the sensor is able to monitor both the volumetric water content and salinity of the nutrient solution in bulk media. Many commercially available moisture sensors are point sensors, making localized measurements over a small volume at the point of insertion. Consequently, they are more prone to suffer from interferences with air bubbles, contact area of media, and root growth. This makes it difficult to get an accurate representation of true moisture content and distribution in the bulk media. Additionally, a network of point sensors is required, increasing the cabling, data acquisition, and calibration requirements. measure the dielectric properties of a material in the annular space of the vessel. Because the pore water in the media often has high salinity, a method to measure the media moisture content and salinity simultaneously was devised. Characterization of the frequency response for capacitance and conductance across the electrodes was completed for 2-mm glass bead media, 1- to 2-mm Turface (a clay like media), and 1- to 2-mm fertilized Turface with the presence of root mass. These measurements were then used to find empirical relationships among capacitance (C), the dissipation factor (D), the volumetric water content, and the pore water salinity.

Dissolved oxygen content prediction in crab culture using a hybrid intelligent method

PubMed Central

Yu, Huihui; Chen, Yingyi; Hassan, ShahbazGul; Li, Daoliang

2016-01-01

A precise predictive model is needed to obtain a clear understanding of the changing dissolved oxygen content in outdoor crab ponds, to assess how to reduce risk and to optimize water quality management. The uncertainties in the data from multiple sensors are a significant factor when building a dissolved oxygen content prediction model. To increase prediction accuracy, a new hybrid dissolved oxygen content forecasting model based on the radial basis function neural networks (RBFNN) data fusion method and a least squares support vector machine (LSSVM) with an optimal improved particle swarm optimization(IPSO) is developed. In the modelling process, the RBFNN data fusion method is used to improve information accuracy and provide more trustworthy training samples for the IPSO-LSSVM prediction model. The LSSVM is a powerful tool for achieving nonlinear dissolved oxygen content forecasting. In addition, an improved particle swarm optimization algorithm is developed to determine the optimal parameters for the LSSVM with high accuracy and generalizability. In this study, the comparison of the prediction results of different traditional models validates the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed hybrid RBFNN-IPSO-LSSVM model for dissolved oxygen content prediction in outdoor crab ponds. PMID:27270206

Dissolved oxygen content prediction in crab culture using a hybrid intelligent method.

PubMed

Yu, Huihui; Chen, Yingyi; Hassan, ShahbazGul; Li, Daoliang

2016-06-08

A precise predictive model is needed to obtain a clear understanding of the changing dissolved oxygen content in outdoor crab ponds, to assess how to reduce risk and to optimize water quality management. The uncertainties in the data from multiple sensors are a significant factor when building a dissolved oxygen content prediction model. To increase prediction accuracy, a new hybrid dissolved oxygen content forecasting model based on the radial basis function neural networks (RBFNN) data fusion method and a least squares support vector machine (LSSVM) with an optimal improved particle swarm optimization(IPSO) is developed. In the modelling process, the RBFNN data fusion method is used to improve information accuracy and provide more trustworthy training samples for the IPSO-LSSVM prediction model. The LSSVM is a powerful tool for achieving nonlinear dissolved oxygen content forecasting. In addition, an improved particle swarm optimization algorithm is developed to determine the optimal parameters for the LSSVM with high accuracy and generalizability. In this study, the comparison of the prediction results of different traditional models validates the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed hybrid RBFNN-IPSO-LSSVM model for dissolved oxygen content prediction in outdoor crab ponds.

A comparison of in situ methods for measuring net nitrogen mineralization rates of organic soil amendments.

PubMed

Hanselman, Travis A; Graetz, Donald A; Obreza, Thomas A

2004-01-01

In situ incubation methods may help provide site-specific estimates of N mineralization from land-applied wastes. However, there are concerns about the reliability of the data generated by the various methods due to containment artifacts. We amended a sandy soil with either poultry manure, biosolids, or yard-waste compost and incubated the mixtures using four in situ methods (buried bags, covered cylinders, standard resin traps, and "new" soil-resin traps) and a conventional laboratory technique in plastic bags. Each incubation device was destructively sampled at 45-d intervals for 180 d and net N mineralization was determined by measuring the amount of inorganic N that accumulated in the soil or soil plus resin traps. Containment effects were evaluated by comparing water content of the containerized soil to a field-reference soil column. In situ incubation methods provided reasonable estimates of short-term (< 45 d) N mineralization, but long-term (> 45 d) mineralization data were not accurate due to a variety of problems specific to each technique. Buried bags and covered cylinders did not retain mineralized N due to water movement into and out of the containers. Neither resin method captured all of the mineralized N that leached through the soil columns, but the new soil-resin trap method tracked field soil water content better than all other in situ methods evaluated. With further refinement and validation, the new soil-resin trap method may be a useful in situ incubation technique for measuring net N mineralization rates of organic soil amendments.

Theoretical model of the Bergeron-Findeisen mechanism of ice crystal growth in clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castellano, N. E.; Avila, E. E.; Saunders, C. P. R.

A numerical study of growth rate of ice particles in an array of water droplets (Bergeron-Findeisen mechanism) has used the method of electrostatic image charges to determine the vapour field in which a particle grows. Analysis of growth rate in various conditions of relevance to clouds has shown that it is proportional to liquid water content and to ice particle size, while it is inversely proportional to cloud droplet size. The results show that growth rate is enhanced by several percent relative to the usual treatment in which vapour is assumed to diffuse from infinity towards a growing ice particle. The study was performed for ice particles between 25 and 150 μm radii, water droplet sizes between 6 and 20 μm diameter and a wide range of liquid water contents. A study was also made to determine the effect of reducing the vapour source at infinity so that the droplets alone provided the vapour for particle growth. A parameterisation of ice particle growth rate is given as a function of liquid water content and ice particle and droplet sizes. These studies are of importance to considerations in thunderstorm electrification processes, where the mechanism of charge transfer between ice particles and graupel could take place.

Quality assessment of butter cookies applying multispectral imaging

PubMed Central

Andresen, Mette S; Dissing, Bjørn S; Løje, Hanne

2013-01-01

A method for characterization of butter cookie quality by assessing the surface browning and water content using multispectral images is presented. Based on evaluations of the browning of butter cookies, cookies were manually divided into groups. From this categorization, reference values were calculated for a statistical prediction model correlating multispectral images with a browning score. The browning score is calculated as a function of oven temperature and baking time. It is presented as a quadratic response surface. The investigated process window was the intervals 4–16 min and 160–200°C in a forced convection electrically heated oven. In addition to the browning score, a model for predicting the average water content based on the same images is presented. This shows how multispectral images of butter cookies may be used for the assessment of different quality parameters. Statistical analysis showed that the most significant wavelengths for browning predictions were in the interval 400–700 nm and the wavelengths significant for water prediction were primarily located in the near-infrared spectrum. The water prediction model was found to correctly estimate the average water content with an absolute error of 0.22%. From the images it was also possible to follow the browning and drying propagation from the cookie edge toward the center. PMID:24804036

Study of copper (Cu) contents in blood cockles (Anadara sp.) at Surabaya coastal waters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alfionita, S.; Pursetyo, K. T.; Sahidu, A. M.

2018-04-01

Heavy metal pollution categorized as harmful effect on the environment. This study aims to determine the content and the rate of accumulation of heavy metals copper (Cu) in the mussel of cockles (Anadara sp.) This study uses observation method with descriptive analysis. The test results Cu in sea water was <0.0223 mg/L. The results have exceeded the water quality standard according to state environmental ministerial decree number 51 2004 on marine water quality standards for marine biota maximum limit of Cu in sea water is 0.008 mg/L. Copper concentration in the sediment of 6.16 mg/kg at the Wonokromo station and at the Dadapan station is 4.03 mg/kg. According to the US-EPA in 2004 on the instructions of sediment pollution classification 49.98 mg Cu/kg. The results of shells fur Cu on Wonokromo was 1.833 mg/kg and Dadapan was 1.352 mg/kg. According to the MOH Decree No.0375/B/SK/1989 about Quality Standard Biota Consumption of Metals to the maximum limit of the existing Cu concentrations in marine biota was 20 ppm or 20 mg / kg so that the content of Cu in shellfish feathers still below the limit of existing quality standards.

Metasomatic Control of Water in Garnet and Pyroxene from Kaapvaal Craton Mantle Xenoliths

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peslier, Anne H.; Woodland, Alan B.; Bell, David R.; Lazarov, Marina; Lapen, Thomas J.

2012-01-01

Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) were used to determine water, rare earth (REE), lithophile (LILE), and high field strength (HFSE) element contents in garnet and pyroxene from mantle xenoliths, Kaapvaal craton, southern Africa. Water enters these nominally anhydrous minerals as protons bonded to structural oxygen in lattice defects. Pyroxene water contents (150-400 ppm in clinopyroxene; 40-250 ppm in orthopyroxene) correlate with their Al, Fe, Ca and Na and are homogeneous within a mineral grains and a xenolith. Garnets from Jagersfontein are chemically zoned for Cr, Ca, Ti and water contents. Garnets contain 0 to 20 ppm H2 Despite the fast diffusion rate of H in mantle m inerals, the observations above indicate that the water contents of mantle xenolith minerals were not disturbed during kimberlite entrainment and that the measured water data represent mantle values. Trace elements in all minerals show various degrees of light REE and LILE enrichments indicative of minimal to strong metasomatism. Water contents of peridotite minerals from the Kaapvaal lithosphere are not related to the degree of depletion of the peridotites. Instead, metasomatism exerts a clear control on the amount of water of mantle minerals. Xenoliths from each location record specific types of metasomatism with different outcomes for the water contents of mantle minerals. At pressures . 5.5 GPa, highly alkaline melts metasomatized Liqhobong and Kimberley peridotites, and increased the water contents of their olivine, pyroxenes and garnet. At higher pressures, the circulation of ultramafic melts reacting with peridotite resulted in co-variation of Ca, Ti and water at the edge of garnets at Jagersfontein, overall decreasing their water content, and lowered the water content of olivines at Finsch Mine. The calculated water content of these melts varies depending on whether the water content of the peridotite (2 wt% HO. 2O) or individual m inerals (<0.5-13 wt% H2O) are used, and also depend on the mineral-melt water partition coefficients. These metasomatic events are thought to have occurred during the Archean and Proterozoic, meaning that the water contents measured here have been preserved since that time and can be used to investigate viscocity and longevity of cratonic mantle roots.

Water Contents of the Mantle Beneath the Rio Grande Rift: FTIR Analysis of Kilbourne Hole Peridotite Xenoliths

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schaffer, Lillian A.; Peslier, Anne; Brandon, Alan

2013-01-01

Although nominally anhydrous mantle minerals contain only trace amounts of water, they are the main reservoir of water in the mantle. Added up at the scale of the Earth's mantle, these trace amounts of water represent oceans worth in mass]. Mantle xenoliths from Kilbourne Hole in southern New Mexico are ideal to study mantle water distribution in a rift tectonic setting as they come from a recently-erupted maar in the middle of the Rio Grande Rift. Eleven lherzolites, one harzburgite, and one dunite are being analyzed for water contents by FTIR. The xenoliths will also be analyzed for major and trace element composition, Fe3+/Summation (Fe) ratios, and characterized petrologically. Olivines exhibit variable water contents with less water at the rims compared to the cores. This is probably due to H loss during decompression and xenolith transport by the host magma. Mantle water contents appear to have been primarily preserved in the core of the olivines, based on diffusion modeling of the typically plateau-shaped water content profiles across these grains. Water concentrations are in equilibrium between clino- and orthopyroxene, but olivine concentrations are typically not in equilibrium with those of either pyroxene. Lherzolites analyzed so far have water contents of 2-12 ppm H2O in olivines, 125-165 ppm H2O in orthopyroxenes, and 328-447 ppm H2O in clinopyroxenes. These water contents are similar to, but with a narrower range, than those for the respective minerals in other continental peridotite xenoliths. The lherzolites have bulk-rock (BR) Al2O3 contents that range between 3.17 and 3.78 wt%, indicating similar degrees of partial melting, which could explain the narrow range of their pyroxene water contents. Primitive mantle normalized rare earth element (REE) profiles of the bulk lherzolites vary from light REE depleted to flat, with no significant differences between, nor relation to, their mineral water contents. Consequently, the metasomatic agents that enriched LREEs in these lherzolites were most likely water-poor. The harzburgite and the dunite have lower weight percent Al2O3 compared to the lherzolites (2.11% and 0.34% respectively) indicating higher degrees of melting. Their olivine water contents, however, are similar to those of the lherzolites. Moreover, no correlations are observed between pyroxene water contents and indices of melting or metasomatism between the lherzolite group, the harzburgite, and the dunite, although the latter has the lowest pyroxene water contents. More samples will be analyzed to determine if the water contents are controlled by melting, metasomatism, or a combination of the two in the Kilbourne Hole mantle.

Vegetation water content of crops and woodlands for improving soil moisture retrievals from Coriolis WindSat

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Estimation of vegetation water content (VWC) by shortwave infrared remote sensing improves soil moisture retrievals. The largest unknown for predicting VWC is stem water content; for woodlands, stem water content is expected to be proportional to stem height. Airborne imagery were acquired and photo...

Vegetation water content of crops and woodlands for improving soil moisture retrievals from Coriolis WindSat

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Estimation of vegetation water content (VWC) by shortwave infrared remote sensing improves soil moisture retrievals. The largest unknown for predicting VWC is stem water content, which is assumed to be allometrically related to canopy water content. From forest science, stem volume is linearly relat...

[Determination of protopine in Corydalis racemose by HPLC].

PubMed

Jiang, Xiazhi; Ye, Jinxia; Zeng, Jianwei; Zou, Xiuhong; Wu, Jinzhong

2010-09-01

To develop a HPLC method for determining the content of protopine in Corydalis racemose. Analysis was performed on a Gemini C18 column (4.6 mm x 250 mm, 5 microm) eluted with acetonitrile-water containing 0.8% triethylamine and 3% acetic acid acetum (20:80) as the mobile phase. The flow rate was 1.0 mL x min(-1). The detection wavelength was 289 nm. The average content of protopine in Herb of Racemose Corydalis was 0.905%. The calibration curve of protopine was linear between 0.124-1.36 microg (r = 0.9999). The average recovery was 98.49% with RSD 1.9%. This method is simple, reproducible and can be used to determine the content of protopine in C. racemose.

Remote measurement of soil moisture over vegetation using infrared temperature measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carlson, Toby N.

1991-01-01

Better methods for remote sensing of surface evapotranspiration, soil moisture, and fractional vegetation cover were developed. The objectives were to: (1) further develop a model of water movement through the soil/plant/atmosphere system; (2) use this model, in conjunction with measurements of infrared surface temperature and vegetation fraction; (3) determine the magnitude of radiometric temperature response to water stress in vegetation; (4) show at what point one can detect that sensitivity to water stress; and (5) determine the practical limits of the methods. A hydrological model that can be used to calculate soil water content versus depth given conventional meteorological records and observations of vegetation cover was developed. An outline of the results of these initiatives is presented.

The Feasibility and Functional Performance of Ternary Borate-Filled Hydrophilic Bone Cements: Targeting Therapeutic Release Thresholds for Strontium

PubMed Central

MacDonald, Kathleen; Price, Richard B.; Boyd, Daniel

2017-01-01

We examine the feasibility and functionality of hydrophilic modifications to a borate glass reinforced resin composite; with the objective of meeting and maintaining therapeutic thresholds for Sr release over time, as a potential method of incorporating antiosteoporotic therapy into a vertebroplasty material. Fifteen composites were formulated with the hydrophilic agent hydroxyl ethyl methacrylate (HEMA, 15, 22.5, 30, 37.5 or 45 wt% of resin phase) and filled with a borate glass (55, 60 or 65 wt% of total cement) with known Sr release characteristics. Cements were examined with respect to degree of cure, water sorption, Sr release, and biaxial flexural strength over 60 days of incubation in phosphate buffered saline. While water sorption and glass degradation increased with increasing HEMA content, Sr release peaked with the 30% HEMA compositions, scanning electron microscope (SEM) imaging confirmed the surface precipitation of a Sr phosphate compound. Biaxial flexural strengths ranged between 16 and 44 MPa, decreasing with increased HEMA content. Degree of cure increased with HEMA content (42 to 81%), while no significant effect was seen on setting times (209 to 263 s). High HEMA content may provide a method of increasing monomer conversion without effect on setting reaction, providing sustained mechanical strength over 60 days. PMID:28708123

The Feasibility and Functional Performance of Ternary Borate-Filled Hydrophilic Bone Cements: Targeting Therapeutic Release Thresholds for Strontium.

PubMed

MacDonald, Kathleen; Price, Richard B; Boyd, Daniel

2017-07-14

We examine the feasibility and functionality of hydrophilic modifications to a borate glass reinforced resin composite; with the objective of meeting and maintaining therapeutic thresholds for Sr release over time, as a potential method of incorporating antiosteoporotic therapy into a vertebroplasty material. Fifteen composites were formulated with the hydrophilic agent hydroxyl ethyl methacrylate (HEMA, 15, 22.5, 30, 37.5 or 45 wt% of resin phase) and filled with a borate glass (55, 60 or 65 wt% of total cement) with known Sr release characteristics. Cements were examined with respect to degree of cure, water sorption, Sr release, and biaxial flexural strength over 60 days of incubation in phosphate buffered saline. While water sorption and glass degradation increased with increasing HEMA content, Sr release peaked with the 30% HEMA compositions, scanning electron microscope (SEM) imaging confirmed the surface precipitation of a Sr phosphate compound. Biaxial flexural strengths ranged between 16 and 44 MPa, decreasing with increased HEMA content. Degree of cure increased with HEMA content (42 to 81%), while no significant effect was seen on setting times (209 to 263 s). High HEMA content may provide a method of increasing monomer conversion without effect on setting reaction, providing sustained mechanical strength over 60 days.

Desalination of Walls and Façades

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wedekind, W.; Jáuregui Arreola, K.; Siegesmund, S.

2012-04-01

For large monumental objects like walls and façades, the common technique of applying poultices for desalination often are not effective. This practice is neither cost effective nor does it lead to the desired result of desalination. To manage the conservation and desalination of these kinds of objects, several sprinkling techniques are known and have been applied on historical objects. For example, in the wooden warship Vasa, which was excavated from the sea bottom in Stockholm/Sweden, a sprinkling method was applied in 1961 for conservation and desalination. A sprinkling method to desalinate porous mineral materials will be presented using three different case studies: the rock cut monument no. 825 in Petra/Jordan, the medieval monastary church of the former Franziscan convent in Zeitz/Germany and the baroque monastary church Santa Monica in Guadalajara/Mexico. Before to start with practical conservation, the material- and petropysical properties, focoussed on water transport properties, like porosity, pore size distribution, water uptake and drying rate were investigadet. Diagnostic investigations on the objects included the mapping of deterioration, moister content measurements and salt accumulation determined by borehole cuts samples at depth. In the sprinkling method water is sprayed onto the wall surface through nozzels arranged in a modular grid. Depending on the sprinkling duration, a small or a large amount of water seeps into the porous materials, whereby the depth penetration can be adjusted accordingly. The water not absorbed by the stone runs off the facade and can be collected in liter amounts and tested by electrical conductivity with respect to the dissolved substances. After the drying of the wall's surface and the accumulation of salt at the material's surface, the procedure is repeated. For each subsequent washing a lower content of salt should be brought to the surface. Step by step the salt concentration will eventually decrease to almost zero. By application of the sprinkling method several thousand grams of soluble salts can be extracted. A significant reduction of the salt content within the stone can be detected by drilling dust analyses. The specific situation of salt-accumulation and weathering will be illustrated in each case, along with a presentation of the results and the difficulties and experiences of practical desalination.

Cooking Characteristics and Antioxidant Activity of Rice-Barley Mix at Different Cooking Method and Mixing Ratio.

PubMed

Woo, Koan Sik; Kim, Hyun-Joo; Lee, Ji Hae; Ko, Jee Yeon; Lee, Byong Won; Lee, Byoung Kyu

2018-03-01

This study aimed to compare the phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity of barley at different proportion (0, 5, 10, 15, and 20%), and using different cooking methods. The grains used in this experiment are barley ( Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Huinchalssal) and Samkwang rice. The rice-barley mixture was cooked using general and high pressure cooking methods with and without fermented alcohol. The quality characteristics such as water binding capacity, pasting characteristic, water solubility, and swelling power of different proportions of barley were evaluated. The antioxidant characteristics evaluated are total polyphenol, flavonoid contents, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), and 2,2-azinobis(3-ethylbenothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) diammonium salt radical scavenging activities. Results showed that peak [195.0~184.0 rapid visco units (RVU)], trough (130.0~116.2 RVU), final (252.0~221.8 RVU), and setback viscosity (57.0~37.5 RVU) decreased correspondingly with the increase in the amount of barley. Water binding capacity (187.31~136.01%) and swelling power (162.37~127.58%) decreased as amounts of barley increases, however the water solubility (5.35~6.89%) increased. Moreover, the total polyphenol and flavonoid, and the DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities contents increased as the amounts of barley in the mixture increases. This study generally aims to provide useful information for the manufacturing of processed products.

Chemical composition and some anti-nutrient content of raw and processed bitter vetch (Vicia ervilia) seed for use as feeding stuff in poultry diet.

PubMed

Sadeghi, Gh; Pourreza, J; Samei, A; Rahmani, H

2009-01-01

An experiment was conducted to determine chemical composition of raw and treated bitter vetch seed for use in poultry diets. Processing methods were: soaked in water for 12 h, then autoclaved and dried (SA); coarsely ground, soaked in water for 24 h, autoclaved and dried (GSA); coarsely ground, soaked in water for 47 h with exchange of water every 12 h, cooked and dried (GSC); coarsely ground, soaked in solution of 1% acetic acid for 24 h at 60 degrees C and dried (GAA). Raw bitter vetch seed was contained 94.52, 26.56, 0.4, 58.86, 3.38, 5.32, 12.28 and 14.20 percent DM, CP, EE, NFE, Ash, CF, ADF and NDF, respectively. Its GE, AME, AMEn, TME and TMEn values were 18.10, 13.15, 14.38, 14.10 and 14.69 MJ/kg, respectively. Results indicated that bitter vetch is a good source of Fe (340 ppm) and Cu (46.7 ppm). It s amino acid profile was suitable and methionine was the first limiting amino acid when compared with broiler and layer chicks requirements. Its canavanine and tannin content were 0.78 and 6.7 mg/kgDM, respectively. Processing methods improved CP and in some cases AMEn. All processing methods especially GSC resulted in a significant (P < 0.05) reduction in canavanine and tannin.

COSMOS: COsmic-ray Soil Moisture Observing System planned for the United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zweck, C.; Zreda, M.; Shuttleworth, J.; Zeng, X.

2008-12-01

Because soil water exerts a critical control on weather, climate, ecosystem, and water cycle, understanding soil moisture changes in time and space is crucial for many fields within natural sciences. A serious handicap in soil moisture measurements is the mismatch between limited point measurements using contact methods and remote sensing estimates over large areas. We present a novel method to measure soil moisture non- invasively at an intermediate spatial scale that will alleviate this problem. The method takes advantage of the dependence of cosmic-ray neutron intensity on the hydrogen content of soils (Zreda et al., Geophysical Research Letters, accepted). Low-energy cosmic-ray neutrons are produced and moderated in the soil, transported from the soil into the atmosphere where they are measured with a cosmic-ray neutron probe to provide integrated soil moisture content over a footprint of several hundred meters and a depth of a few decimeters. The method and the instrument are intended for deployment in the continental-scale COSMOS network that is designed to cover the contiguous region of the USA. Fully deployed, the COSMOS network will consist of up to 500 probes, and will provide continuous soil moisture content (together with atmospheric pressure, temperature and relative humidity) measured and reported hourly. These data will be used for initialization and assimilation of soil moisture conditions in weather and short-term (seasonal) climate forecasting, and for other land-surface applications.

Calculation of Physicochemical Properties for Short- and Medium-Chain Chlorinated Paraffins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glüge, Juliane; Bogdal, Christian; Scheringer, Martin; Buser, Andreas M.; Hungerbühler, Konrad

2013-06-01

Short- and medium-chain chlorinated paraffins are potential PBT chemicals (persistent, bioaccumulative, toxic) and short-chain chlorinated paraffins are under review for inclusion in the UNEP Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. Despite their high production volume of more than one million metric tonnes per year, only few data on their physicochemical properties are available. We calculated subcooled-liquid vapor pressure, subcooled-liquid solubility in water and octanol, Henry's law constant for water and octanol, as well as the octanol-water partition coefficient with the property calculation methods COSMOtherm, SPARC, and EPI Suite™, and compared the results to experimental data from the literature. For all properties, good or very good agreement between calculated and measured data was obtained for COSMOtherm; results from SPARC were in good agreement with the measured data except for subcooled-liquid water solubility, whereas EPI Suite™ showed the largest discrepancies for all properties. After critical evaluation of the three property calculation methods, a final set of recommended property data for short- and medium-chain chlorinated paraffins was derived. The calculated property data show interesting relationships with chlorine content and carbon chain length. Increasing chlorine content does not cause pronounced changes in water solubility and octanol-water partition coefficient (KOW) as long as it is below 55%. Increasing carbon chain length leads to strong increases in KOW and corresponding decreases in subcooled-liquid water solubility. The present data set can be used in further studies to assess the environmental fate and human exposure of this relevant compound class.

Seasonal differences in the content of phenols and pigments in thalli of freshwater Cladophora glomerata and its habitat.

PubMed

Fabrowska, Joanna; Messyasz, Beata; Pankiewicz, Radosław; Wilińska, Patrycja; Łęska, Bogusława

2018-05-15

Polyphenols are chemicals that primarily inhibit the growth of various autotrophic organisms. The presence of these metabolites greatly boosts the ecological dominance of eg. Cladophora, which creates large surface mats. The main goal of our work was to quantify the phenol and polyphenols (allelopathic substances) secreted by the macroalgae as a result of exposure to biotic stress caused by competition. The research was carried out on the Cladophora glomerata biomass collected from two freshwater ecosystems located in Wielkopolska Region (Poland, Fig. 1): Oporzynskie Lake (N52° 55', E 17° 9') and Nielba River (N52˚48', E 17° 12'). Seasonal variability (May-October 2015) in the properties of C. glomerata mats in the river and lake ecosystem was also analyzed in relation to the physicochemical parameters of water. In addition, the content of pigments in the analyzed biomass was determined during the appearance of algae mats in water reservoirs. Biomass extraction was performed to determine the phenolic and carotenoid contents (chlorophyll and carotenoids) by using two extraction methods: microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE). After isolation of the phenols from the thalli (mats) and the habitat, they were analyzed using the Folin-Ciocalteu method with some modifications, while the pigment content (chlorophyll and carotenoids) was evaluated by the spectrophotometric method Liechtenthaler (1987) with some variations. Analysis of the content of these components in algae extracts indicates that the tendency of changes in their contents was similar or the same. Growth and decrease of phenolic content (Cladophora T MAE and Cladophora T SFE) and pigments (MAE chlorophyll, SFE and MAE carotenoids) at the same time were independent of the insulation method used. The mats formed by C. glomerata on the surface of Lake Oporzyńskie were more stable and larger surface area than those on the Nielba River, which could explain differences in polyphenol concentrations in these two aquatic ecosystems. The results suggest a reduction in the secretion of phenolic compounds with an aging population of algae. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Spectral reflectance characteristics and modeling of typical Takyr Solonetzs water content].

PubMed

Zhang, Jun-hua; Jia, Ke-li

2015-03-01

Based on the analysis of the spectral reflectance of the typical Takyr Solonetzs soil in Ningxia, the relationship of soil water content and spectral reflectance was determined, and a quantitative model for the prediction of soil water content was constructed. The results showed that soil spectral reflectance decreased with the increasing soil water content when it was below the water holding capacity but increased with the increasing soil water content when it was higher than the water holding capacity. Soil water content presented significantly negative correlation with original reflectance (r), smooth reflectance (R), logarithm of reflectance (IgR), and positive correlation with the reciprocal of R and logarithm of reciprocal [lg (1/R)]. The correlation coefficient of soil water content and R in the whole wavelength was 0.0013, 0.0397 higher than r and lgR, respectively. Average correlation coefficient of soil water content with 1/R and [lg (1/R)] at the wavelength of 950-1000 nm was 0.2350 higher than that of 400-950 nm. The relationships of soil water content with the first derivate differential (R') , the first derivate differential of logarithm (lgR)' and the first derivate differential of logarithm of reciprocal [lg(1/R)]' were unstable. Base on the coefficients of r, lg(1/R), R' and (lgR)', different regression models were established to predict soil water content, and the coefficients of determination were 0.7610, 0.8184, 0.8524 and 0.8255, respectively. The determination coefficient for power function model of R'. reached 0.9447, while the fitting degree between the predicted value based on this model and on-site measured value was 0.8279. The model of R' had the highest fitted accuracy, while that of r had the lowest one. The results could provide a scientific basis for soil water content prediction and field irrigation in the Takyr Solonetzs region.

Speciation of As(III) and As(V) in water and sediment using reverse-phase ion-pair high-performance liquid chromatography-neutron activation analysis (HPLC-NAA).

PubMed

Tulasi, Delali; Adotey, Dennis; Affum, Andrews; Carboo, Derick; Serfor-Armah, Yaw

2013-10-01

Total As content and the As species distribution in water and sediments from the Kwabrafo stream, a major water body draining the Obuasi gold mining community in southwestern Ghana, have been investigated. Total As content was determined by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). Ion-pair reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography-neutron activation analysis (HPLC-NAA) was used for speciation of As species. Solid phase extraction with phosphate buffer was used to extract soluble As species from lyophilized sediment. The mass balance after phosphate extraction of soluble As species in sediment varied from 89 to 96 %. Compositionally appropriate reference material International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)-Lake Sediment (SL)-1 was used to check the validity of INAA method for total As determination. The measured values are in good agreement with the IAEA recommended value and also within the 95 % confidence interval. The accuracy of the measurement in terms of relative deviation from the IAEA recommended value was ±0.83 %. "In-house" prepared As(III) and As(V) standards were used to validate the HPLC-INAA method used for the As species determination. Total As concentration in the water samples ranged from 1.15 to 9.20 mg/L. As(III) species in water varied from 0.13 to 0.7 mg/L, while As(V) species varied from 0.79 to 3.85 mg/L. Total As content in sediment ranged from 2,134 to 3,596 mg/kg dry mass. The levels of As(III) and As(V) species in the sediment ranges from 138 to 506 mg/kg dry mass and 156 to 385 mg/kg dry mass, respectively.

A quick and simple method, usable in the field, for collecting parasites in suitable condition for both morphological and molecular studies.

PubMed

Justine, Jean-Lou; Briand, Marine J; Bray, Rodney A

2012-07-01

Many methods have been proposed for collecting and fixing parasites, but most were written before the molecular age, and were intended to be practised by experienced parasitologists in well-equipped laboratories. We describe here a very simple method, illustrated by photographs, for collecting helminths from the digestive tract of vertebrates. It only requires a few plastic vials, some ethanol and a means to heat water. Basically, the method consists of: (a) the extraction of all organs from the abdominal cavity; (b) opening the digestive system longitudinally; (c) agitate gut and contents in a saline solution (i.e. ca. 9% NaCl or 1/4 sea water in tap water); (d) decant in saline as many times as needed to clean contents; (e) immediately fix parasites in near-boiling saline; (f) discard saline and keep specimens in 95% ethanol. Additional information is given for collecting parasites from fish gills with a similar process. The method will collect most helminths (digeneans, larval cestodes, nematodes, acanthocephalans) from the digestive tract, and monogeneans and isopod and copepod crustaceans from fish gills. The specimens will be suitable for both morphological study and DNA sequencing. The method is simple, fast, inexpensive and can be used by untrained personnel, even in the field without electricity and without a binocular microscope. It can also be used by trained parasitologists who need to expedite treatment of abundant samples.

Influence of water content on degradation rates for ethanol in biofiltration.

PubMed

Auria, R; Aycaguer, A C; Devinny, J S

1998-01-01

Treatment of ethanol vapor in a peat biofilter with various initial water contents (70%, 59%, 49%, and 35%) was studied. For water contents ranging from 49% to 70%, elimination capacity was about 30 g/m3/h. For a water content of 35%, elimination capacity decreased to 4 g/m3/h. A low mean CO2 yield coefficient (0.35 g CO2 produced per g ethanol consumed) was found for all of the initial water contents. The value was only 20% of the yield coefficient (1.91 g/g) predicted by stoichiometry. When the packing material was dried from 70% to 59% water content during the biofiltration process, elimination capacity dropped from 27 g/m3/h to 4 g/m3/h. After 24 hours of drying, the biofiltration experiment was restarted and run for two more weeks. During this period, the biofilter did not recover. At 59% water content, the rate of water evaporation was estimated at 59.6 g/m3/h. A simplified mass balance permitted calculation of the biological water production rate, approximately 22.1 g/m3/h.

The determination of water in crude oil and transformer oil reference materials.

PubMed

Margolis, Sam A; Hagwood, Charles

2003-05-01

The measurement of the amount of water in oils is of significant economic importance to the industrial community, particularly to the electric power and crude oil industries. The amount of water in transformer oils is critical to their normal function and the amount of water in crude oils affects the cost of the crude oil at the well head, the pipeline, and the refinery. Water in oil Certified Reference Materials (CRM) are essential for the accurate calibration of instruments that are used by these industries. Three NIST Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) have been prepared for this purpose. The water in these oils has been measured by both coulometric and volumetric Karl Fischer methods. The compounds (such as sulfur compounds) that interfere with the Karl Fischer reaction (interfering substances) and inflate the values for water by also reacting with iodine have been measured coulometrically. The measured water content of Reference Material (RM) 8506a Transformer Oil is 12.1+/-1.9 mg kg(-1) (plus an additional 6.2+/-0.9 mg kg(-1) of interfering substances). The measured water content of SRM 2722 Sweet Crude Oil, is 99+/-6 mg kg(-1) (plus an additional 5+/-2 mg kg(-1) of interfering substances). The measured water content of SRM 2721 Sour Crude Oil, is 134+/-18 mg kg(-1) plus an additional 807+/-43 mg kg(-1) of interfering substances. Interlaboratory studies conducted with these oil samples (using SRM 2890, water saturated 1-octanol, as a calibrant) are reported. Some of the possible sources of bias in these measurements were identified, These include: improperly calibrated instruments, inability to measure the calibrant accurately, Karl Fischer reagent selection, and volatilization of the interfering substances in SRM 2721.

Field Soil Water Retention of the Prototype Hanford Barrier and Its Variability with Space and Time

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

Zhang, Z. F.

Engineered surface barriers are used to isolate underlying contaminants from water, plants, animals, and humans. To understand the flow processes within a barrier and the barrier’s ability to store and release water, the field hydraulic properties of the barrier need to be known. In situ measurement of soil hydraulic properties and their variation over time is challenging because most measurement methods are destructive. A multiyear test of the Prototype Hanford Barrier (PHB) has yielded in situ soil water content and pressure data for a nine-year period. The upper 2 m layer of the PHB is a silt loam. Within thismore » layer, water content and water pressure were monitored at multiple depths at 12 water balance stations using a neutron probe and heat dissipation units. Valid monitoring data from 1995 to 2003 for 4 depths at 12 monitoring stations were used to determine the field water retention of the silt loam layer. The data covered a wide range of wetness, from near saturation to the permanent wilt point, and each retention curve contained 51 to 96 data points. The data were described well with the commonly used van Genuchten water retention model. It was found that the spatial variation of the saturated and residual water content and the pore size distribution parameter were relatively small, while that of the van Genuchten alpha was relatively large. The effects of spatial variability of the retention properties appeared to be larger than the combined effects of added 15% w/w pea gravel and plant roots on the properties. Neither of the primary hydrological processes nor time had a detectible effect on the water retention of the silt loam barrier.« less

Phytochemical screening and in-vitro evaluation of pharmacological activities of peels of Musa sapientum and Carica papaya fruit.

PubMed

Siddique, Sarmad; Nawaz, Shamsa; Muhammad, Faqir; Akhtar, Bushra; Aslam, Bilal

2018-06-01

Aqueous, absolute and 80% ethanolic extract of fruit peels of Musa sapientum and Carica papaya were investigated for their antibacterial activity, measured by disc diffusion method and antioxidant activity, measured by four different methods. Papaya and banana peels were found to contain terpenoids, tannins, alkaloids, saponins steroid, phenols, fixed oils and fats. 80% ethanolic extract of banana peel was found to contain highest total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC) and antioxidant activity but in papaya peel, highest TPC and reducing activity was shown by water extract while, TFC and radical scavenging activity was given by 80% ethanolic extract. In banana, water extract showed highest antibacterial activity against tested bacteria while in case of papaya, absolute ethanolic extract showed highest antibacterial activity. The present study revealed that peels of banana and papaya fruits are potentially good source of antioxidant and antibacterial agents.

Extraction process of palm kernel cake as a source of mannan for feed additive on poultry diet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tafsin, M.; Hanafi, N. D.; Yusraini, E.

2017-05-01

Palm Kernel Cake (PKC) is a by-product of palm kernel oil extraction and found in large quantity in Indonesia. The inclusion of PKC on poultry diet are limited due to some nutritional problems such as anti-nutritional properties (mannan). On the other hand, mannan containing polysaccharides play in various biological functions particularly in enhancing the immune response and to control pathogen in poultry. The research objective to find out the extraction process of PKC and conducted at animal nutrition and Feed Science Laboratory, Agricultural Faculty, University of Sumatera Utara. Various extraction methode were used in this experiment, including fraction analysis used 7 number sieves, and followed by water and acetic acid extraction. The result indicated that PKC had different particle size according to sieve size and dominated by particle size 850 um. The analysis of sugar content indicated that each particle size had different characteristic on treatment by hot water extraction. The particle size 180—850 um had higher sugar content than coarse PKC (2000—3000 um). The total sugar content were recovered vary between 0.9—3,2% from PKC were extracted. Treatment grinding method followed by hot water extraction (100—120 °C, 1 h) increased total sugar content than previous treatments and reach 8% from PKC were extracted. Utilisation acetic acid decreased the total amount of total sugar from PKC were extracted. It is concluded that treatment by hot temperature (110—120 °C) for 1 h show highest yield to extract sugar from PKC.

Test-retest reliability and concurrent validity of in vivo myelin content indices: Myelin water fraction and calibrated T1 w/T2 w image ratio.

PubMed

Arshad, Muzamil; Stanley, Jeffrey A; Raz, Naftali

2017-04-01

In an age-heterogeneous sample of healthy adults, we examined test-retest reliability (with and without participant repositioning) of two popular MRI methods of estimating myelin content: modeling the short spin-spin (T 2 ) relaxation component of multi-echo imaging data and computing the ratio of T 1 -weighted and T 2 -weighted images (T 1 w/T 2 w). Taking the myelin water fraction (MWF) index of myelin content derived from the multi-component T 2 relaxation data as a standard, we evaluate the concurrent and differential validity of T 1 w/T 2 w ratio images. The results revealed high reliability of MWF and T 1 w/T 2 w ratio. However, we found significant correlations of low to moderate magnitude between MWF and the T 1 w/T 2 w ratio in only two of six examined regions of the cerebral white matter. Notably, significant correlations of the same or greater magnitude were observed for T 1 w/T 2 w ratio and the intermediate T 2 relaxation time constant, which is believed to reflect differences in the mobility of water between the intracellular and extracellular compartments. We conclude that although both methods are highly reliable and thus well-suited for longitudinal studies, T 1 w/T 2 w ratio has low criterion validity and may be not an optimal index of subcortical myelin content. Hum Brain Mapp 38:1780-1790, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Exploratory multivariate modeling and prediction of the physico-chemical properties of surface water and groundwater

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ayoko, Godwin A.; Singh, Kirpal; Balerea, Steven; Kokot, Serge

2007-03-01

SummaryPhysico-chemical properties of surface water and groundwater samples from some developing countries have been subjected to multivariate analyses by the non-parametric multi-criteria decision-making methods, PROMETHEE and GAIA. Complete ranking information necessary to select one source of water in preference to all others was obtained, and this enabled relationships between the physico-chemical properties and water quality to be assessed. Thus, the ranking of the quality of the water bodies was found to be strongly dependent on the total dissolved solid, phosphate, sulfate, ammonia-nitrogen, calcium, iron, chloride, magnesium, zinc, nitrate and fluoride contents of the waters. However, potassium, manganese and zinc composition showed the least influence in differentiating the water bodies. To model and predict the water quality influencing parameters, partial least squares analyses were carried out on a matrix made up of the results of water quality assessment studies carried out in Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Egypt, Thailand and India/Pakistan. The results showed that the total dissolved solid, calcium, sulfate, sodium and chloride contents can be used to predict a wide range of physico-chemical characteristics of water. The potential implications of these observations on the financial and opportunity costs associated with elaborate water quality monitoring are discussed.

Evaluating the Effects of Gamma-Irradiation for Decontamination of Medicinal Cannabis.

PubMed

Hazekamp, Arno

2016-01-01

In several countries with a National medicinal cannabis program, pharmaceutical regulations specify that herbal cannabis products must adhere to strict safety standards regarding microbial contamination. Treatment by gamma irradiation currently seems the only method available to meet these requirements. We evaluated the effects of irradiation treatment of four different cannabis varieties covering different chemical compositions. Samples were compared before and after standard gamma-irradiation treatment by performing quantitative UPLC analysis of major cannabinoids, as well as qualitative GC analysis of full cannabinoid and terpene profiles. In addition, water content and microscopic appearance of the cannabis flowers was evaluated. This study found that treatment did not cause changes in the content of THC and CBD, generally considered as the most important therapeutically active components of medicinal cannabis. Likewise, the water content and the microscopic structure of the dried cannabis flowers were not altered by standard irradiation protocol in the cannabis varieties studied. The effect of gamma-irradiation was limited to a reduction of some terpenes present in the cannabis, but keeping the terpene profile qualitatively the same. Based on the results presented in this report, gamma irradiation of herbal cannabis remains the recommended method of decontamination, at least until other more generally accepted methods have been developed and validated.

Evaluating the Effects of Gamma-Irradiation for Decontamination of Medicinal Cannabis

PubMed Central

Hazekamp, Arno

2016-01-01

In several countries with a National medicinal cannabis program, pharmaceutical regulations specify that herbal cannabis products must adhere to strict safety standards regarding microbial contamination. Treatment by gamma irradiation currently seems the only method available to meet these requirements. We evaluated the effects of irradiation treatment of four different cannabis varieties covering different chemical compositions. Samples were compared before and after standard gamma-irradiation treatment by performing quantitative UPLC analysis of major cannabinoids, as well as qualitative GC analysis of full cannabinoid and terpene profiles. In addition, water content and microscopic appearance of the cannabis flowers was evaluated. This study found that treatment did not cause changes in the content of THC and CBD, generally considered as the most important therapeutically active components of medicinal cannabis. Likewise, the water content and the microscopic structure of the dried cannabis flowers were not altered by standard irradiation protocol in the cannabis varieties studied. The effect of gamma-irradiation was limited to a reduction of some terpenes present in the cannabis, but keeping the terpene profile qualitatively the same. Based on the results presented in this report, gamma irradiation of herbal cannabis remains the recommended method of decontamination, at least until other more generally accepted methods have been developed and validated. PMID:27199751

Modeling the Soil Water and Energy Balance of a Mixed Grass Rangeland and Evaluating a Soil Water Based Drought Index in Wyoming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Engda, T. A.; Kelleners, T. J.; Paige, G. B.

2013-12-01

Soil water content plays an important role in the complex interaction between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. Automated soil water content sensing is increasingly being used to assess agricultural drought conditions. A one-dimensional vertical model that calculates incoming solar radiation, canopy energy balance, surface energy balance, snow pack dynamics, soil water flow, snow-soil heat exchange is applied to calculate water flow and heat transport in a Rangeland soil located near Lingel, Wyoming. The model is calibrated and validated using three years of measured soil water content data. Long-term average soil water content dynamics are calculated using a 30 year historical data record. The difference between long-term average soil water content and observed soil water content is compared with plant biomass to evaluate the usefulness of soil water content as a drought indicator. Strong correlation between soil moisture surplus/deficit and plant biomass may prove our hypothesis that soil water content is a good indicator of drought conditions. Soil moisture based drought index is calculated using modeled and measured soil water data input and is compared with measured plant biomass data. A drought index that captures local drought conditions proves the importance of a soil water monitoring network for Wyoming Rangelands to fill the gap between large scale drought indices, which are not detailed enough to assess conditions at local level, and local drought conditions. Results from a combined soil moisture monitoring and computer modeling, and soil water based drought index soil are presented to quantify vertical soil water flow, heat transport, historical soil water variations and drought conditions in the study area.

Analytical procedures for water-soluble vitamins in foods and dietary supplements: a review.

PubMed

Blake, Christopher J

2007-09-01

Water-soluble vitamins include the B-group vitamins and vitamin C. In order to correctly monitor water-soluble vitamin content in fortified foods for compliance monitoring as well as to establish accurate data banks, an accurate and precise analytical method is a prerequisite. For many years microbiological assays have been used for analysis of B vitamins. However they are no longer considered to be the gold standard in vitamins analysis as many studies have shown up their deficiencies. This review describes the current status of analytical methods, including microbiological assays and spectrophotometric, biosensor and chromatographic techniques. In particular it describes the current status of the official methods and highlights some new developments in chromatographic procedures and detection methods. An overview is made of multivitamin extractions and analyses for foods and supplements.

Vadose Zone Hydrology and Eco-hydrology in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Wenke

2016-04-01

Vadose zone hydrology has long been a concern regarding groundwater recharge, evaporation, pollution, and the ecological effects induced by groundwater and water & salt contents in the unsaturated zone. The greater difference between day and night temperatures in arid and semi-arid areas influences water movement and heat transport in the vadose zone, and further influences the water and heat fluxes between the water table and the atmosphere as well as ecological environment. Unfortunately, these studies are lack in a systematic viewpoint in China. One of the main reasons is that the movement of water, vapor and heat from the surface to the water table is very complex in the arid and semi-arid areas. Another reason is lack of long term field observations for water content, vapor, heat, and soil matrix potential in the vadose zone. Three field observation sites, designed by the author, were set up to measure the changes in climate, water content , temperature and soil matrix potential of the unsaturated zone and groundwater level under the different conditions of climate and soil types over the period of 1-5 years. They are located at the Zhunngger Basin of Xinjing Uygur Autonomous Region in northwestern China, the Guanzhong Basin of Shaanxi Province in central China, and the Ordos Basin of the Inner Monggol Autonomous Region in north China, respectively. These three field observation sites have different climate and soil types in the vadose zone and the water table depth are also varied. Based on the observation data of climate, groundwater level, water content, temperature and soil matrix potential in the vadose zone from the three sites in associated with the field survey and numerical simulation method, the water movement and heat transport in the vadose zone, and the evaporation of phreatic water for different groundwater depths and soil types have been well explored. The differences in water movement of unsaturated zone between the bare surface soil and vegetation conditions were also compared. The concept of the ecological value of groundwater and unsaturated zone is presented in arid and semi-arid regions. This ecological value can be reflected in four aspects:(1) the maintenance of base flow in streams and areas of lakes and wetland;(2) the supply of physiological water demented by vegetation;(3) the regulation of soil moisture and salt content; and (4) the stability of the eco-environment. In addition, the threshold system between the ecological environment and multi-dimensional indices as variations in water and salt contents in the vadose zone, groundwater depth and quality as well as groundwater exploitation, are proposed in the arid and semi-arid areas. It is expected that this research could provide a scientific basis and technological support for better understanding on the movement of water, vapor and heat in the vadose zone in arid and semi-arid areas. It will also help to maintain sustainable development of the ecological environment and utilization of water resources.

Modification of stool's water content in constipated infants: management with an adapted infant formula

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Constipation is a common occurrence in formula-fed infants. The aim of this preliminary study was to evaluate the impact of a formula with high levels of lactose and magnesium, in compliance with the official regulations, on stool water content, as well as a parental assessment of constipation. Materials and methods Thirty healthy term-born, formula-fed infants, aged 4-10 weeks, with functional constipation were included. All infants were full-term and fed standard formula. Exclusion criteria were preterm and/or low birth weight, organic constipation, being breast fed or fed a formula specially designed to treat constipation. Stool composition was measured by near-infrared reflectance analysis (NIRA) and parents answered questions about crying associated with defecation and stool consistency at baseline and after two weeks of the adapted formula. Results After 2 weeks of the adapted formula, stool water content increased from 71 +/- 8.1% to 84 +/- 5.9%, (p < 0.02). There was no significant change in the stool's fat, protein or carbohydrate content. Parental impressions of constipation were improved with the decrease in stool hardness (100% with hard stools at baseline, 10% after 2 weeks), pain with defecation (90% at baseline, 10% after 2 weeks), and the requirement for rectal stimulation to achieve defecation (70% at baseline, 30% after 2 weeks, p < 0.001 for all three indicators). Conclusions This preliminary study suggests that an adapted formula with high levels of lactose and magnesium increases stool water content and improves symptoms of constipation in term-born, formula-fed infants. A larger randomized placebo-controlled trial is indicated. PMID:21595890

Moisture sorption isotherms and thermodynamic properties of mexican mennonite-style cheese.

PubMed

Martinez-Monteagudo, Sergio I; Salais-Fierro, Fabiola

2014-10-01

Moisture adsorption isotherms of fresh and ripened Mexican Mennonite-style cheese were investigated using the static gravimetric method at 4, 8, and 12 °C in a water activity range (aw) of 0.08-0.96. These isotherms were modeled using GAB, BET, Oswin and Halsey equations through weighed non-linear regression. All isotherms were sigmoid in shape, showing a type II BET isotherm, and the data were best described by GAB model. GAB model coefficients revealed that water adsorption by cheese matrix is a multilayer process characterized by molecules that are strongly bound in the monolayer and molecules that are slightly structured in a multilayer. Using the GAB model, it was possible to estimate thermodynamic functions (net isosteric heat, differential entropy, integral enthalpy and entropy, and enthalpy-entropy compensation) as function of moisture content. For both samples, the isosteric heat and differential entropy decreased with moisture content in exponential fashion. The integral enthalpy gradually decreased with increasing moisture content after reached a maximum value, while the integral entropy decreased with increasing moisture content after reached a minimum value. A linear compensation was found between integral enthalpy and entropy suggesting enthalpy controlled adsorption. Determination of moisture content and aw relationship yields to important information of controlling the ripening, drying and storage operations as well as understanding of the water state within a cheese matrix.

Correlation of concentration of modified cassava flour for banana fritter flour using simple linear regression

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herminiati, A.; Rahman, T.; Turmala, E.; Fitriany, C. G.

2017-12-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the correlation of different concentrations of modified cassava flour that was processed for banana fritter flour. The research method consists of two stages: (1) to determine the different types of flour: cassava flour, modified cassava flour-A (using the method of the lactid acid bacteria), and modified cassava flour-B (using the method of the autoclaving cooling cycle), then conducted on organoleptic test and physicochemical analysis; (2) to determine the correlation of concentration of modified cassava flour for banana fritter flour, by design was used simple linear regression. The factors were used different concentrations of modified cassava flour-B (y1) 40%, (y2) 50%, and (y3) 60%. The response in the study includes physical analysis (whiteness of flour, water holding capacity-WHC, oil holding capacity-OHC), chemical analysis (moisture content, ash content, crude fiber content, starch content), and organoleptic (color, aroma, taste, texture). The results showed that the type of flour selected from the organoleptic test was modified cassava flour-B. Analysis results of modified cassava flour-B component containing whiteness of flour 60.42%; WHC 41.17%; OHC 21.15%; moisture content 4.4%; ash content 1.75%; crude fiber content 1.86%; starch content 67.31%. The different concentrations of modified cassava flour-B with the results of the analysis provides correlation to the whiteness of flour, WHC, OHC, moisture content, ash content, crude fiber content, and starch content. The different concentrations of modified cassava flour-B does not affect the color, aroma, taste, and texture.

Quasielastic neutron scattering with in situ humidity control: Water dynamics in uranyl fluoride

DOE PAGES

Miskowiec, A.; Kirkegaard, M. C.; Herwig, K. W.; ...

2016-03-04

The authors confirm that water vapor pressure is the driving thermodynamic force for the conversion of the anhydrous structure to [(UO 2F 2)(H 2O)] 7 ∙ (H 2O) 4, and they demonstrate the feasibility of extending this approach to aqueous forms of UO 2F 2+ xH 2O. This method has general applicability to systems in which water content itself is a driving variable for structural or dynamical phase transitions.

A comparison of different radiative transfer model inversion methods for canopy water content retrieval

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boren, E. J.; Boschetti, L.; Johnson, D.

2016-12-01

With near-future droughts predicted to become both more frequent and more intense (Allen et al. 2015, Diffenbaugh et al. 2015), the estimation of satellite-derived vegetation water content would benefit a wide range of environmental applications including agricultural, vegetation, and fire risk monitoring. No vegetation water content thematic product is currently available (Yebra et al. 2013), but the successful launch of the Landsat 8 OLI and Sentinel 2A satellites, and the forthcoming Sentinel 2B, provide the opportunity for monitoring biophysical variables at a scale (10-30m) and temporal resolution (5 days) needed by most applications. Radiative transfer models (RTM) use a set of biophysical parameters to produce an estimated spectral response and - when used in inverse mode - provide a way to use satellite spectral data to estimate vegetation biophysical parameters, including water content (Zarco-Tejada et al. 2003). Using the coupled leaf and canopy level model PROSAIL5, and Landsat 8 OLI and Sentinel 2A MSI optical satellite data, the present research compares the results of three model inversion techniques: iterative optimization (OPT), look-up table (LUT), and artificial neural network (ANN) training. Ancillary biophysical data, needed for constraining the inversion process, were collected from various crop species grown in a controlled setting and under different water stress conditions. The measurements included fresh weight, dry weight, leaf area, and spectral leaf transmittance and reflectance in the 350-2500 nm range. Plot-level data, collected coincidently with satellite overpasses during three summer field campaigns in northern Idaho (2014 to 2016), are used to evaluate the results of the model inversion. Field measurements included fresh weight, dry weight, leaf area index, plant height, and top of canopy reflectance in the 350-2500 nm range. The results of the model inversion intercomparison exercised are used to characterize the uncertainties of vegetation water content estimation from Landsat 8 OLI and Sentinel 2A data.

The Effect of Five Different Wetting Treatments on the Nutrient Content and Microbial Concentration in Hay for Horses

PubMed Central

Moore-Colyer, Meriel Jean Scott; Lumbis, Kimberly; Longland, Annette; Harris, Patricia

2014-01-01

Five different hays were used to determine the effect of 5 different soaking and steaming treatments on the water soluble carbohydrate and microbial (bacteria and mould) contents of UK hay. Hays were subjected to the following 5 treatments: 1. Dry; 2. Steamed for 50 minutes in the Haygain- 600 steamer; 3. Soaked in water at 16°C for 9 hours; 4. Steamed then soaked and 5. Soaked then steamed. Post treatment hays were tested for water soluble carbohydrates, bacteria and mould contents. Differences between means were determined using ANOVA and least significant difference with hay (5), bale (3) and treatment (5) as fixed factors, thus n = 75. Protein and ash proportions were unaltered in any of the treatments. Soaked, steamed then soaked and soaked then steamed treatments were all equally effective at reducing water soluble carbohydrates, with significantly (P<0.05) lower mean contents (79–83 g/kg DM) compared with 126 and 122 g/kg dry matter (DM) for dry and steamed respectively. Steamed and soaked then steamed had significantly (P<0.05) less bacteria (1.04×103 and 4.9×102 CFU/g DM) compared with soaked which increased CFU/g DM from 6.0×104 in dry hay up to 3.5×105. Mould contents CFU/g DM were significantly (P<0.05) reduced by steaming (2) and soaking then steaming (1.9) but no difference was seen between dry (1148), soaked (692) or steamed then soaked (501). Soaking for 9 hours followed by steaming for 50 minutes in the Haygain steamer was the most effective method for reducing water soluble carbohydrates and microbial contamination in hay. Soaking or steaming+soaking lowered water soluble carbohydrates but significantly reduced the hygienic quality of the hay which could potentially compromise the health of the horse. PMID:25426729

Solid-Phase Extraction Coupled to a Paper-Based Technique for Trace Copper Detection in Drinking Water.

PubMed

Quinn, Casey W; Cate, David M; Miller-Lionberg, Daniel D; Reilly, Thomas; Volckens, John; Henry, Charles S

2018-03-20

Metal contamination of natural and drinking water systems poses hazards to public and environmental health. Quantifying metal concentrations in water typically requires sample collection in the field followed by expensive laboratory analysis that can take days to weeks to obtain results. The objective of this work was to develop a low-cost, field-deployable method to quantify trace levels of copper in drinking water by coupling solid-phase extraction/preconcentration with a microfluidic paper-based analytical device. This method has the advantages of being hand-powered (instrument-free) and using a simple "read by eye" quantification motif (based on color distance). Tap water samples collected across Fort Collins, CO, were tested with this method and validated against ICP-MS. We demonstrate the ability to quantify the copper content of tap water within 30% of a reference technique at levels ranging from 20 to 500 000 ppb. The application of this technology, which should be sufficient as a rapid screening tool, can lead to faster, more cost-effective detection of soluble metals in water systems.