Constant Energy Source Research Articles

The Application of a Surface Response Methodology in the Solar/UV-Induced Degradation of Dairy Wastewater Using Immobilized ZnO as a Semiconductor

An Advanced Oxidation Process (AOPs) was carried out in this study with the use of immobilized ZnO and solar/UV as an energy source to degrade dairy wastewater. The semibatch reactor system consisted of metal plate of 800 × 250 mm and a glass tank. The reaction time was of 3 h for 3 L of dairy wastewater. Experiments were performed based on a surface response methodology in order to optimize the photocatalytic process. Degradation was measured in percentage terms by total organic carbon (TOC). The entry variables were ZnO coating thickness and pH, using three levels of each variable. The optimized results showed a TOC degradation of 31.7%. Optimal parameters were metal-plate coating of 100 μm of ZnO and pH of 8.0. Since solar/UV is a constant and free energy source in most tropical countries, this process tends to suggest an interesting contribution in dairy wastewater treatment, especially as a pretreatment and the optimal conditions to guarantee a better efficiency of the process.

Metabolism of soluble rapeseed meal (Brassica rapa L.) protein during incubations with buffered bovine rumen contents in vitro

Accurate quantitative information on the fate of dietary protein in the rumen is central to modern metabolizable protein systems developed to improve the efficiency of nitrogen utilization in ruminants. An in vitro method was developed to estimate the rate of soluble rapeseed meal (Brassica rapa L.) protein (SRMP) degradation. Unlabeled and 15N-labeled solvent-extracted rapeseed meal were incubated alone or as an equal mixture (125mg of N/L) with buffered rumen contents and a mixture of carbohydrates formulated to provide a constant source of fermentable energy during the course of all incubations. Incubations were made over 0.33, 0.67, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 4.0, 6.0, 8.0, and 10.0h. Enrichment of 14N and 15N isotopes in total N of ammonia (AN), soluble nonammonia (SNAN), and insoluble (ISN) fractions liberated during incubations with test proteins was determined. A model with 4 pools that accounted for both intracellular and extracellular N transformations was used to estimate the rate of SRMP degradation. Parameter values used in the model were adjusted based on the size of A14N, A15N, SNA14N, SNA15N, IS14N, and IS15N pools, measured at different time points during incubations with buffered rumen fluid. The mean rate of N degradation for SRMP was estimated at 0.126 (SD 0.0499) h−1. No substantive difference in the rate of protein degradation or microbial protein synthesis was observed during incubations of labeled and unlabeled substrates with rumen fluid. In conclusion, combined use of data from incubations of unlabeled and 15N-labeled rapeseed protein with buffered rumen inoculum provided sufficient information to allow for estimation of parameter values in a complex dynamic model of soluble protein degradation. Results indicate the potential of the technique to evaluate the degradability of SNAN of other dietary protein sources and implicate ruminal escape of soluble rapeseed protein as an important source of amino acids in ruminants.

X-RAY, FUV, AND UV OBSERVATIONS OF α CENTAURI B: DETERMINATION OF LONG-TERM MAGNETIC ACTIVITY CYCLE AND ROTATION PERIOD

We have been carrying out a study of stellar magnetic activity, dynamos, atmospheric physics, and spectral irradiances from a sample of solar-type G0-5 V stars with different ages. One of the major goals of this program is to study the evolution of the Sun's X-ray through NUV spectral irradiances with age. Of particular interest is the determination of the young Sun's elevated levels of high-energy fluxes because of the critical roles that X-ray through FUV emissions play on the photochemical and photoionization evolution of early, young planetary atmospheres and ionospheres. Motivated by the current exoplanetary search missions that are hunting for earth-size planets in the habitable zones of nearby main-sequence G-M stars, we are expanding our program to cooler, less luminous, but much more numerous main-sequence K-type stars, such as alpha Centauri B. The long life (2-3x longer than our Sun) and slow evolution of K stars provide nearly constant energy sources for possible hosted planets. Presented here are X-ray, UV, and recently acquired FUV observations of the K1 V star alpha Cen B. These combined high-energy measures provide a more complete look into the nature of alpha Cen B's magnetic activity and X-UV radiances. We find that alpha Cen B has exhibited significant long-term variability in X-ray through NUV emission fluxes, indicating a solar-like long-term activity cycle of P_cycle = 8.84 years. In addition, analysis of the short-term rotational modulation of mean light due to the effects of magnetically active regions has yielded a well-determined rotation period of P_rotation = 36.2 days. alpha Cen B is the only old main-sequence K star with a reliably determined age and rotation period, and for early K-stars, is an important calibrator for stellar age/rotation/activity relations.

Meals, carbohydrate intake and school performance

The brain relies almost exclusively on glucose as its source of energy and if breakfast is missed, reports have shown that memory and mood are poorer. Children require a constant source of energy and should eat little and often but some foods are more beneficial than others.

Detection and Elimination of Time Synchronization Problems for the GERESS Array by Correlating Microseismic Noise

The German Experimental Seismic System, known as the GERESS array, is identified in Annex 1 of the Protocol to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) as a primary seismic station (PS 19). Since its construction and commissioning in 1991, the performance of this array has been hampered by incidental occurrences of timing problems involving the loss of time synchronization for as many as a few array elements. During GSETT-3 (Conference of Disarmament Group of Scientific Experts Technical Test-3) and since the establishment of the Vienna International Data Centre (IDC), the array has contributed data to the CTBT monitoring system. Beginning in 1997, the German National Data Center (NDC) at the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) started to archive these data on CD-ROM and makes them available via Auto-DRM, notwithstanding the fact that the data may be time-corrupted. Instances have been found when up to five array elements were unsynchronized, which may lead to inconsistent array processing results. Up to now the detection and elimination of such timing errors was considered an unsolvable problem. This would certainly be true if the GERESS array were a single- (or three-) component station. However, an array provides the chance to use waveform correlation of coherent signals, as is usually provided by teleseismic events of significant magnitude, where timing differences are easily identified and measured. These large teleseismic events, unfortunately, are not frequent enough to be used on a regular and continuous basis. The only continuously available signal observed at a seismic station is microseismic noise, which, thus, is usually considered an obstacle to seismological investigations. In this study, however, we present results that this ocean-generated seismic signal can be favorably used in waveform correlation as a constant source of sufficient seismic energy. Scanning several years of GERESS waveform data allowed us …

In This Issue/On Translation

At this cultural moment, as we ricochet between diasporic diffusions and intense national affiliations, issues of translation take on special urgency. In the ongoing press of mass immigration, refugeeism, and displacement, the complexities of translation and its concomitant misunderstandings are a constant source of both energy and confusion.

The Pilodyn: An Instrument for Assessing the Condition of Waterlogged Wooden Objects

The Pilodyn is an instrument (supplied by Kai R. Spangenberg, 26 Hovedgaden DK 2970 Horsholm, Denmark) for measuring the resistance of wood originally developed to detect the extent of soft rot decay in telegraph poles. It operates by firing a blunt pin of known diameter into the wood by means of a spring of known energy. The fracture surface area created by a constant energy source is determined. The result is an interaction of the various wood properties involved in its strength characteristics. The instrument provides a simple and rapid means of assessing waterlogged wood giving an overall indication of the extent of deterioration and it can be used in environments where other test procedures are impracticable. Summary of article originally published in Studies in Conservation (See * 2AATA 23-750 ). -- AATA

INTERRELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PROTEIN SOLUBILITY AND ENERGY SOURCES FOR CATTLE

Reduction in the solubility of dietary crude protein with constant energy sources was most effective in increasing milk protein production per kilogram of protein consumed. Added dietary fat or soluble carbohydrates increased milk protein production only when solubility of dietary crude protein was unchanged or increased. Key words: Cattle, protein, solubility, fat, carbohydrates

Energy Transfer in Insects

Living organisms maintain a thermodynamic steady state that is far from equilibrium and thus they require a constant source of free energy. A part of this energy may be transformed or stored for short or long periods of time, but most is degraded to heat through the performance of the internal work necessary for life. The direct connection between life and the produc­ tion of heat was first convincingly demonstrated in the late eighteenth century by Lavoisier & Laplace using a simple ice calorimeter [see discus­ sion in Lusk (61), p. 33ff.]. Since then, the study of energetics (molecular, cellular, and organismal) has interested generations of biochemists and physiologists. Energetics tells us much about the conditions and mecha­ nisms responsible for vital processes and transformations within organisms. Energy considerations also have an important effect on the behavior and interaction ofindividuals and populations. But not until well into the twen­ tieth century, following the development of ecology as a rigorous discipline, was this common knowledge subjected to scientific scrutiny. The relative ignorance that exists concerning the energetics of insects is surprising, especially if one considers their numerical dominance and diver­ sity. This lack of attention at the physiological level persisted until well into the twentieth century. Researchers were more concerned with investigating human energy needs and those of domesticated animals which, with a few notable exceptions, e.g. the honey bee, are all mammals. Then too, mam­ mals, like all homoiotherms, degrade a much larger proportion of as­ similated energy to heat than do poikilotherms, so measurements of respiratory heat loss dominated the early energetics scene. .

The optimization of methane gas recovery from waste material and possibilities for its utilization

Sewer gas (biogas) can be generated from anaerobic decomposition of different waste substances, e.g. from sludge obtained in sewage works, from household refuse and from agricultural waste. In order to run a sewage works economically the managers of the plants are now obliged to show more interest in the maximum usage of this gas. Even though in most of the municipal waste water treatment plants in the Federal Republic of Germany the digesters are available, one quarter of the annual gas production remains unused. In view of the so-called ‘energy crisis’, it seems foolish to burn off sewer gas, a valuable source of energy and one, moreover, produced at high cost. Even in former times sewer gas was used in various ways, for instance as fuel gas for motor vehicles or in agriculture. The cheap oil of the 1960s precluded the utilization of methane gas or prevented its development. Increased oil prices now make sewer gas utilization more and more economical. Further, sewer gas is a constant source of energy, whereas coal and oil, which are used almost exclusively for the production of energy, are not inexhaustible.

The air gun impulsive underwater transducer

We are reporting our experience with the use of high-pressure guns at many depths to generate impulsive underwater sound in the fundamental frequency range from 10 to 200 Hz. Air guns are not often used outside of seismic exploration, but they have potential as cheap, energetic, impulsive sources of low-frequency sound. A simple analysis shows that the fundamental frequency of waveforms increases faster with increasing depth than predicted by the Rayleigh–Willis equation. In addition, the acoustical efficiency of air gun sources is found to decrease with increasing depth, falling sharply as the ambient pressure becomes a significant fraction of the initial gun pressure. Experimental waveform and energy source level data verify these analytical results. Finally, data obtained from arrays of air guns are presented. These data demonstrate that air guns may be successfully arrayed and that the internal impedance of the air gun source is high enough that each air gun resembles a constant source strength (volume velocity) source, resulting in more radiated energy than expected from constant energy sources for some spacings.

Thermal evolution of the Earth's core

The persistence of the magnetic field of the Earth demands a constant energy source for the last three thousand million years, and this provides a constraint on the thermal evolution of the core. The equations of global energy and entropy balance are used to estimate the power source required for a specific magnetic field. The amount of power required depends on the exact nature of the source. Three possibilities are considered here: radioactive heating in the core itself, loss of internal energy due to cooling and freezing of the outer core to form the inner core, and cooling of the whole core with consequent differentiation to form the inner core with release of gravitational energy. The last of these includes all the sources except for radioactive heating, but the introduction of some radioactivity into this calculation would be a simple matter. For radioactive heating alone, 1013W is required for the dynamo. This is just within the limits set by the observed surface heat flux (4 × 1013W) and what some geochemists believe to be the heating due to K40. Cooling itself cannot release enough heat to power the dynamo because the required cooling rate is so high that the inner core would be a very recent feature of the Earth. The release of gravitational energy can produce a magnetic field of 100–200 gauss, with the inner core growing slowly to its present size over 4Ga, and a heat release of 2.5 × 1012W. A lower heat flux is required because of the greater efficiency of conversion of gravitational energy into magnetic fields than heat. When pursuing the calculations backwards in time, the rate of energy release is found to be proportional to the mass of the inner core. A surprising feature of this model, which assumes a constant rate of cooling at the top of the core, is that the useful power available for the dynamo increases with time, so that the field should be stronger now than it was in the past, although only by about 30 per cent.

Studies of Separation Distances in a Magnetically Driven Shock Tube with Parallel-Plate Electrodes

The separation distances between the pressure, the luminous, the ionization and the current front in a magnetically driven shock tube were investigated under discharge conditions of constant voltage and variable pressures. In order to achieve a steady-state, one-dimensional flow- parallelplate electrodes and a constant voltage energy source were chosen, onventional magnetic probe and piezo-electric probes were used as diagnostic tools. These were suplemented by Schlieren and holographic interferograms. Experimental results show that the observed lack of separation at low discharge pressures can be attributed to the diffusive nature of the driving current. Due to the presence of anomalous diffusion, its cause cannot be entirely explained by present theories.

Problems in the selection and testing of nickel-cadmium batteries for satellites

The electric system of a satellite is usually designed around a storage battery. Operating in a low-temperature environment, the battery is maintained by a constant low-level energy source, yet it must deliver intermittent high loads, its life must be long and trouble-free, and its bulk and weight must be at a minimum. Current literature offers little quantitative information on which the selection of such a battery can be based. Consequently, when a battery was to be applied to a certain satellite in 1958, a special study was carried out to determine what electrical capacity would be needed, and how battery efficiency and life would be affected by a low-voltage nuclear-thermal-electric generator stepped up to about 30 volts by a d-c to d-c converter. At the time, the efficiency at very low charge currents was estimated as anywhere from zero to, at the best, 10%. This paper reports on the investigation which sought answers to these questions.

Simultaneous scintillation observation on 1300-MC and 3000-MC signals received during the solar eclipse of October 2, 1959

During the total solar eclipse of October 2, 1959, and during a 10-day control period bracketing this date, measurements were made of radio signals received at frequencies of 224 Mc, 1300 Mc, and 3000 Mc. These measurements indicated that point sources on the sun, rather than the total disk, were the constant-energy sources responsible for the scintillations of the received signals. This conclusion is in agreement with the work of Kazes and Steinberg. The fact that, during the period of totality, scintillations were observed at the two higher frequencies indicated that limb sources produced the scintillations. Interferometric maps of the sun taken during this period showed plage areas at frequencies of 1420 Mc and 3300 Mc; however, at a frequency of 169 Mc, these maps showed only a relatively uniformly bright sun. In line with these findings, the recorded radio data did not show scintillations at the 224-Mc frequency but did show scintillations at the 1300-Mc and 3000-Mc frequencies. During the control period, the scintillations at 1300 Mc were well correlated in detail with those at 3000 Mc. For this frequency range, it therefore appears that the scintillation oscillations are not frequency dependent. The two sets of data were taken at different antenna apertures. The 1300-Mc data were taken on an 84-foot parabolic antenna, whereas the 3000-Mc readings were made on an 8-foot parabolic antenna, 80 feet distant from the larger unit. Thus, it appears that, for this frequency range, the mechanism is not only independent of frequency but, within the experimental limits, is also not greatly affected by the size of the antenna. The periods of the scintillations (30 seconds to 2 minutes) show that the shadow pattern is large in extent. Almost all scintillations took place when the sun was below 4\deg of altitude. A hypothesis is advanced that the blob structure of the troposphere, possibly at the height of the tropopause, is formed into a curved lens. The focusing of the energy through this concave lens produces the scintillations observed.