Enlarged Scale Research Articles

Removal of Cu from the nickel electrolysis anolyte using amorphous MnS

In this research, amorphous MnS was used to remove Cu from the nickel electrolysis anolyte. Through condition experiments, the effects of amorphous MnS dosage, reaction temperature, pH value and reaction time on copper removal were investigated. The experimental results showed that amorphous MnS had high reaction activity, and 99.2% of Cu in the nickel electrolyte was removed in 30min. Under the optimal operating conditions, 1.6–1.8 times the theoretical amount of amorphous MnS, mean particle size 1.6μm, reaction temperatures 60–80°C, pH values 3.5–4.5 and retention time of more than 45min, the concentration of Cu was reduced to less than 3mg/L in the nickel electrolysis anolyte and Cu/Ni mass ratio in the Cu removal precipitates exceeded 15. The nickel electrolyte after Cu removal directly met the production requirement of qualified electrodeposited nickel and the precipitate was eligible for Cu matte smelting. The enlarged scale experiment confirmed that amorphous MnS can be used as a high-efficiency reagent to remove copper from the nickel electrolysis anolyte in large-scale industrial production.

<strong>A new small karst-dwelling species of <em>Cyrtodactylus</em> (Reptilia: Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Java, Indonesia</strong>

A new small karst-dwelling species of the genus Cyrtodactylus is described from East Java and Special Province of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Cyrtodactylus semiadii sp. nov. is a small species (SVL to 47.1 mm in females, 42.1 mm in males) distinguished from all other congeners by unique characters combination: short, robust, cylindrical tail, indistinct ventrolateral folds, absence of precloacal groove, absence of enlarged femoral scales, absence of precloacal and femoral pores and lack of enlarged median subcaudal scales. It is the third member of the genus recorded from Java.

A new species of spiny-tailed iguanid lizard (Iguania: Stenocercus) from northwestern Peru.

We describe a new species of Stenocercus from the interandean valley of Río Chotano on the Amazonian slope of the northern portion of the Cordillera Occidental of Peru (Cajamarca Region), at elevations of between 1997 and 2318 m. Stenocercus arndti sp. nov. differs from other Stenocercus, except from S. bolivarensis, S. carrioni, S. chlorostictus, S. crassicaudatus, S. empetrus, S. eunetopsis, S. simonsii, and S. torquatus, in having granular scales on the posterior surface of the thighs, two caudal whorls per autotomic segment, mucronate caudal scales, and distinct longitudinal row of enlarged vertebral scales. However, Stenocercus arndti sp. nov. is easily distinguished from these species in having a bold black transversal band at midbody that extends ventrolaterally in adult males.

Phylogeny of the Cyrtodactylus irregularis species complex (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Vietnam with the description of two new species.

The number of described species of bent-toed geckos of the Cyrtodactylus irregularis species complex in Vietnam has increased from one to eight in the last six years. We combined morphological and molecular analyses to explore phylogenetic relationships among all described species in the group. The phylogeny required the description of two new species, Cyrtodactylus phuocbinhensis sp. nov. and Cyrtodactylus taynguyenensis sp. nov. Further, the tree resolved two additional undescribed clades that may also be new species. The species C. bugiamapensis and C. ziegleri were found to require redefinition. Cyrtodactylus phuocbinhensis sp. nov. is characterized by a series of enlarged femoral scales separated from preanal scales while Cyrtodactylus taynguyenensis sp. nov. does not possess enlarged femoral scales. Both new species are distinguished from other congeners by a combination of the following characters: small subcaudal scales, not transversely enlarged; presence (C. phuocbinhensis sp. nov.) or absence (C. taynguyenensis sp. nov.) of enlarged femoral scales; number of preanal pores; and dorsal pattern. Genetic distances between described species and new species were 16.5% and 2.0% in COI and RPL35, respectively, for C. phuocbinhensis sp. nov., and these distances were 18.8% and 2.2% for C. taynguyenensis sp. nov., respectively.

Effect of calcination conditions of pork bone sludge on behaviour of hydroxyapatite in simulated body fluid

The paper presents in vitro (in SBF) behaviour of hydroxyapatite (HAp) obtained from pork bone sludge from meat plant via two essentially different calcination methods using a stationary, electrically heated chamber oven and enlarged laboratory scale rotary kiln designed by the authors, heated by gas combustion methods enabling application of different set of physical parameters such as temperature, holding time-differing according to type of the kiln. HAp ceramic discs, after 62-days of incubation in SBF at 37 °C, characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), FTIR, SEM and EDS methods, underwent changes recorded by: (i) a reduction in Ca/P molar ratio in all the investigated materials resulting from modification in phase composition and (ii) weight increase in the investigated disc-samples, resulting from a precipitation of newly formed phase as an admixture of primary HPO $_{{4}}^{{2-}}$ -free HAp. They were: secondary (with HPO $_{{4}}^{{2-}}$ incorporated) HAp and chlorapatite in all the samples, while in addition to the listed above, β -tricalcium phosphate was formed on the discs made of HAp from stationary chamber oven, but not from rotary kiln. The new phases were formed in agglomerates on the surface of the investigated ceramic discs and in their pores. The results obtained proved that calcination conditions of pork bone sludge (temperature 750–950 °C, time and type of the applied kiln) under which hydroxyapatite (HAp) powders were obtained had an impact on its different behaviour in SBF, nevertheless, indicating a potential ability of the material to form a new biologically relevant interface with hard tissue and suitability for further investigations intended for medical grafting.

Description of new andean species of the genus Phymaturus (Iguania: Liolaemidae) from Northwestern Argentina.

As a result of several field trips and studies of collections of Phymaturus samples from Andean areas of central western Argentina (San Juan province), we discovered two populations that exhibit a particular character combination not seen in other species formally recognized in the literature. Based on a detailed analysis of an extended list of morphological characters (93), including scalation, color pattern, gular and nuchal folds, precloacal pores, and morphometric data, we conclude that these populations represent independent lineages that deserve to be considered as new species. According to the most recent revision of the genus and considering the descriptions made in another recent contribution, the taxonomic composition of the genus was increased to 38 species. In this study we provide the formal description of two additional new taxa, including their diagnosis and detailed comparisons with other members of their species group. The two new species belong to the palluma group, and can be assigned to the Puna subclade because they present the typical dorsal "spray" pattern. Other characters described in this study suggest their close phylogenetic relationship with other species of this subclade inhabiting the southern Puna region of Argentina, such as Phymaturus punae. Within the Puna subclade, Phymaturus aguanegra sp. nov. differs from all other members (P. antofagastensis, P. denotatus, P. laurenti, P punae, P extrilidus, P mallimaccii and P paihuanense) exhibiting the following combination of diagnostic characters: a complete melanism over the dorsum of neck, the presence of enlarged scales at the base of tail in males, having strongly keeled tarsal scales, lacking enlarged scales on the anterior margin of the antehumeral fold and centre of chest, females without flank coloration, a vertebral dark gray stripe usually present on the dorsum, females exhibiting a tricolor dorsal pattern, with two types of brown and scattered ferriferous oxide spots, and the absence of a scapular spot. Phymaturus williamsi sp. nov. differs from all other members of the Puna clade because: exhibits an "aggregate" dorsal pattern, unlike the homogeneous spray of most Puna species, lacks enlarged scales on the anterior margin of the antehumeral fold and in the centre of chest, flank coloration in females is absent, females of Phymaturus williamsi sp. nov. lack white transversal stripes on the dorsal pattern, preocular scale in contact with canthal scale in Phymaturus williamsi sp. nov., rostral scale can be divided in Phymaturus williamsi sp. nov. and shows the largest number of scales counted around midbody within the Puna subclade (x= 213.4; 186-235).

Descriptions of Two New Species of the Genus Cyrtodactylus Gray, 1827 (Squamata: Sauria: Gekkonidae) from Southern Vietnam

Two new species of the gekkonid lizards genus Cyrtodactylus are described from South Vietnam. C. nigroocularis sp. nov. is distinguished from other species of the Indochina by the combination of characters: depressed head with wide and depressed snout; body moderately slender, elongate with developed ventrolateral folds; limbs moderately long, digits long; tail longer than snount-vent length, with large undivided subcaudals; 13 – 14 upper labials, 13 – 15 lower labials, 17 – 21 narrow subdigital lamellaes fourth toe, around the midbody is 119 – 145 row of scales; femoral large scales absent. C. badenensis sp. nov. is distinguished from other species of the Indochina by the combination of characters: enlarged femoral scales and femoral pores absent; 8 – 10 lower labials, 10 – 13 upper labials, 2 internasal scales; 25 – 28 row of the scales across the belly in the middle of body; 18 – 22 subdigital lamellae on the fouth toe of the hind limb.

A New Andean Species of Leaf-toed Gecko (Phyllodactylidae:Phyllodactylus) from Ecuador

We describe a new species of Phyllodactylus from a xerophytic forest in the Andes of southern Ecuador. The new species differs from other mainland species of Phyllodactylus from South America by the combination of the following characters: preanal scales similar in size to other ventral scales, well-defined longitudinal rows of tubercles dorsally, a medial longitudinal row of enlarged caudal scales ventrally, tubercles on dorsal surface of tibia present, enlarged postanal scale absent, tubercles on dorsal surface of forearm absent, interorbital scales homogeneous in size, enlarged scales on proximal one-fourth of tail absent, gular scales granular, and maximum snout–vent length of 55 mm. Even though morphological similarity suggests a close relationship between the new species and Phyllodactylus reissii, phylogenetic analyses of 10 nuclear and mitochondrial genes contradict this hypothesis. We also report the first records of Phyllodactylus kofordi for Ecuador.

유해산출물을 고려한 국내 컨테이너 터미널 효율성 분석

Recently according to increase of enlarged scale ports in conformity with increase in over size vessels and container handling service, pollutants generated from ports are increasing. In advanced countries, reduction in carbon dioxide emission assigned to them has been implemented according to the Climate Change Convention and Kyoto Protocol from 2008 to 2012 in order to lessen carbon dioxide emission. Henceforth increase in discussion on the measure of constructing Green Port and low-carbon port is expected in our nation`s field of port as well, it is considered that the effort in reduction with regard to undesirable output which causes environmental problem of analysis target during measuring effectiveness. Therefore, in this study, effectiveness was estimated through directional technology distance function considering undesirable output differently from effectiveness analysis of existing container terminal, and then performed comparative analysis with the result analyzed with BCC output-oriented model. As the result of analysis, in 2007 DMU3 and DMU5, and in 2010 DMU2 and DMU4 appeared to be efficient terminals in BCC output oriented model, and in directional technology distance function model, DMU1, DMU3 in 2007, DMU3, DMU5 in 2008, DMU7 in 2009, and DMU2, DMU5 in 2010 appeared to be efficient terminals.

Cyrtodactylus hikidai sp. nov. (Squamata: Gekkonidae): a new bent toed gecko from Mount Ranai, Bunguran island, Indonesia

Cyrtodactylus hikidai sp. nov. is a new gekkonid species described on the basis of 13 specimens collected from MountRanai, Bunguran Island, Indonesia. This large Cyrtodactylus (female SVL up to 102.2 mm, male SVL up to 100.6 mm)differs from all other Sunda Shelf species of Cyrtodactylus by the combination of a reticulated color pattern on the dorsumof the head, body banded, enlarged precloacal scales, six pore-bearing precloacal scales in a deep groove in both malesand females, tubercles on forelimbs, hind limbs and occiput, absence of enlarged femoral scales, and absence of femoral pores.

A New Species of Small Bent-Toed Gecko (Cyrtodactylus: Gekkonidae) from the Huon Peninsula, Papua New Guinea

A new species of Cyrtodactylus is described from foothill forest on the northern edge of the Finisterre Range, northeastern Papua New Guinea. The new species can be distinguished readily from all other Melanesian Cyrtodactylus by the combination of small size (adult SVL <72 mm), males with small number of pores in independent precloacal (11 pores) and femoral series (seven pores on each leg), possession of a patch of enlarged precloacal scales, absence of transversely enlarged subcaudal scales, and light-brown dorsal coloration with indistinct to distinct thin darker-brown transverse bands. The new species is the second-smallest Cyrtodactylus known from New Guinea. We propose that it may be a relic of a formerly insular fauna originating on the Finisterre Terrane but now accreted onto mainland New Guinea.

A new forest-dwelling gecko from Phuket Island, Southern Thailand, related to Cyrtodactylus macrotuberculatus (Squamata: Gekkonidae)

We describe a new sylvicolous Cyrtodactylus Gray from Phuket Island, southwestern peninsular Thailand, having a band-ed pattern, precloacal groove, continuous series of enlarged pore-bearing femoro-precloacal scales, and strongly devel-oped tuberculation—characters that distinguish it from all congeneric taxa except C. macrotuberculatus Grismer &amp;Ahmad, 2008 from Peninsular Malaysia, from which it can be separated mainly by having three instead of four dark bands between the limb insertions and a precloacal groove in females.

Simultaneous saccharification and microbial lipid fermentation of corn stover by oleaginous yeast Trichosporon cutaneum

Simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) is the most commonly practiced operation in lignocellulose bioconversion to avoid the sugar product inhibition to cellulase enzymes. In this study, for the first time SSF was tested on microbial lipid fermentation using the diluted acid pretreated and biodetoxified corn stover. The results show that SSF was effective than the separate hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF) on lipid accumulation of Trichosporon cutaneum CX1 cells in both the small scale (5L) and the enlarged scale (50L) bioreactors. The solutions for the oxygen transfer and the lipid extraction in SSF practically worked well. The process parameters were optimized and the lipid yield obtained were 3.03g/L in the 5L, and 3.23g/L in the 50L, respectively. The result also shows that the cellulase enzyme could be partially recycled in the SSF. The study provided a practical and efficient way for microbial lipid production from lignocellulose material.

A New Phymaturus (Iguania: Liolaemidae) from the Southern Extreme of the Argentine Puna

We describe a new species of Phymaturus from the Sierra La Invernada of San Juan Province, Argentina. The new species shares the apomorphies of the P. palluma group including a fragmented subocular, square nonimbricate superciliaries, rugose and strongly mucronate dorsal caudals, and a midvertebral band of enlarged scales. Within the P. palluma group, the new species can be assigned to the Puna clade, with which it shares a dorsal pattern of small, dispersed brown spots and lack of black reticulations. The new species differs from other members of the Puna clade in several aspects of squamation and body pattern and color. Most notably, the new Phymaturus has a conspicuous yellow scapular spot, lacks a vertebral stripe, and has incomplete dark pigmentation over the dorsal neck. The new species is known only from the region of the type locality, the southernmost (and geographically isolated) extent of the Puna phytogeographic province, where it occurs at high elevations (>3100 m). We provide information on aspects of the natural history, diet, thermal biology, and apparent parental care exhibited by females of the new species.Describimos una nueva especie de Phymaturus de la Sierra La Invernada de la provincia de San Juan, Argentina. La nueva especie comparte las apomorfías del grupo P. palluma incluyendo una subocular fragmentada, superciliares cuadrangulares no imbricadas, escamas caudales dorsales rugosas y muy mucronadas y una banda mediovertebral de escamas agrandadas. Dentro del grupo P. palluma, la nueva especie se asigna al clado Puna, con el que comparte un patrón dorsal de pequeñas y dispersas manchas marrones y la falta de reticulaciones en negro. La nueva especie se diferencia de otros miembros del clado Puna en varios aspectos de la escamación y el patrón de cuerpo y color. Lo más notable en el nuevo Phymaturus es una mancha escapular amarilla, carece de una franja vertebral, y tiene pigmentación oscura incompleta sobre el dorso del cuello. La nueva especie es conocida sólo de la región de la localidad tipo, la más meridional (y geográficamente aislada) extensión de la provincia fitogeográfica de la Puna, donde se encuentra a gran elevación (>3100 m). Proveemos de información sobre aspectos de la historia natural, la dieta, la biología térmica, y el aparente cuidado parental exhibido por hembras de la nueva especie.

A new endemic species of Cyrtodactylus Gray (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Tho Chu Island, southwestern Vietnam

A new endemic species, Cyrtodactylus thochuensis sp. nov. from Tho Chu Island in Kien Giang Biosphere Reserve off the southern coast of Vietnam, is differentiated from all other species of Cyrtodactylus by the following combination of characters: maximum SVL 86.3 mm (n=6); no precloacal groove; 3-5 precloacal pores arranged in an angular series; a series of enlarged femoral scales contacting a wide patch of enlarged precloacal scales; 3-6 intersuparanasals in contact with rostral; 20-26 strongly keeled, longitudinal rows of tubercles at midbody; and 30-40 transverse rows of ventral scales between the ventrolateral folds. This species most closely resembles C. condorensis Smith and C. paradoxus (Darevsky &amp; Szczerbak).

Optimization of ethanol production from thick juice: A response surface methodology approach

The course of fermentation of thick juice as intermediate product of sugar beet processing by yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae was studied in the paper. The feasibility of ethanol production from thick juice was experimentally confirmed in batch fermentation in a bioreactor of 1.5L working volume. Important parameters for modelling of the process using response surface methodology were defined by analyzing the results of the course of fermentation. For description of the response function of the number of yeast cell number, ethanol volume fraction and total sugar mass fraction during fermentation, the effects of initial sugar content in the range 5–25% w/v and duration of fermentation in the range 0–48h, were examined. Obtained models have contributed to a better understanding of the impact of different initial sugar mass fractions, fermentation time and interactions of these factors on the selected responses. Optimization of multiple responses was also simultaneously performed i.e. maximization of both yeast cell number and ethanol volume fraction while residual total sugar mass fraction was minimized. Results of optimization suggest that the optimal conditions are fermentation time of 46h and initial sugar mass fraction of 20.67%. Further research was performed to validate the obtained results and confirm their applicability in the enlarged scale. The results obtained during the fermentation in bioreactor of 10L working volume under optimal conditions defined for fermentation in the bioreactor of 1.5L working volume were in good correlation.

Two new species of Cnemidophorus (Squamata: Teiidae) of the C. ocellifer group, from Bahia, Brazil

Two new species of Cnemidophorus are described from the right bank of the São Francisco river, in the northwestern part of state of Bahia, Brazil. Both species are assigned to the Cnemidophorus ocellifer group and are distinguished from all other congeners on the basis of lepidosis and color pattern. One of them, Cnemidophorus cyanurus, shares with the species of the subgroup of C. littoralis (C. abaetensis, C. littoralis and C. venetacaudus), a bluish green tail, spurs on the heels of males, 6–7 supraciliaries, a high number of femoral pores (27–45), a row of enlarged scales in the dorsal part of the humerus, and 8 to 10 rows of ventral scales. The second species, Cnemidophorus nigrigula, shares with the C. ocellifer subgroup (composed of C. ocellifer, C. mumbuca, C. jalapensis and C. confusionibus) a low number of femoral pores (14– 21), enlarged scales in the temporal region posterior to the third subocular, 5 supraciliaries, 6 to 8 rows of ventral scales, and a brown tail color. It is also characterized by males being conspicuously larger than females and by females retaining the juvenile color pattern, which is lost in adult males. The latter characteristic has not been reported in any species of the C. ocellifer group before now. The two new species occur sympatrically at Santo Inácio.

The relationship between cortical network structure and the corresponding state space dynamics

Most studies on the dynamics of recurrent cortical networks are either based on purely random wiring or neighborhood couplings [1-3]. Neuronal wiring in the cortex, however, shows a complex spatial pattern composed of local and long-range patchy connections, i.e., spatially clustered synapses [4,5]. We ask to what extent such geometric traits influence the 'idle' dynamics of cortical network models. Assuming an enlarged spatial scale we consider distinct network architectures, ranging from purely random or purely locally coupled neurons to distance dependent connectivities that also include patchy projections. Approximately 50000 neurons are spatially embedded in a 2D sheet of cortex with a side length of five millimeters in order to account for remotely established synapses. Neurons are implemented as conductance based integrate-and-fire neurons with distance-dependent synaptic delays. Network dynamics are simulated with NEST/PyNN [6]. Analyzing the characteristic measures describing spiking neuronal networks (e.g. the correlation coefficient or the coefficient of variation), we explore and compare the phase spaces and activity patterns of our simulation results. As expected from random networks, different dynamical states (e.g. synchronous regular 'SR' or asynchronous irregular 'AI' firing) occur in dependence of the input rate and the relation between exc. and inh. synaptic strengths [1-3]. Non-random networks, however, exhibit higher firing rates, sharper transitions, as well as various types of complex network activities. For example, the amount of local connections clearly influences the boundaries at which the network switches from high (SR) to low (AI) activity. Distance-dependent connectivity structures induce 'new' raster plots, e.g., oblique stripes or spiral structures representing planar and spherical wave propagation. To better describe such activity patterns we computed a delay-dependent correlation coefficient. Such spike patterns indicate a spatio-temporal spread of activity that random networks cannot account for. Furthermore, to determine stability and signal propagation properties, we applied spatially restricted activity injections. Depending on the network architecture, the dynamics may change from AI to SR or wave-like activity, and then switch back or not. We conclude that (the amount of) local distance-dependent connections is an important structural feature of cortical networks since it induces rather complex activity patterns compared to random connectivities. However, we found no clear differences in the dynamics of networks with randomly distributed compared to spatially clustered long-range projections. Further analysis is needed to explore the functional aspects of patchy projection patterns.

Two new species of Cnemidophorus (Squamata: Teiidae) from the Caatinga, Northwest Brazil

Two syntopic species of Cnemidophorus are described from the Caatingas of the Parque Nacional da Serra das Confusões (PNSC), located in the Southwestern region of the state of Piauí in Brazil. Both species are assigned to the ocellifer group, differing from all other members of the group by their distinct color pattern and lepidosis. Besides these differences, both new species share a number of particular features with other members of the group. One of them, C. venetacaudus, shares with C. abaetensis and C. littoralis the presence of spurs in the heels of males, six supraciliar scales, a high number of femoral pores (from 21–45), a row of enlarged scales in the dorsal region of the arm, 8–10 rows of ventral scales, and a bright bluish-green tail, while the other species, C. confusionibus, shares with C. ocellifer, C. mumbuca, and C. jalapensis a low number of femoral pores, enlarged scales in the temporal region (posterior to third subocular), 5 supraciliar scales, and 6–8 rows of ventral scales. Based on these comparisons, we suggest that the ocellifer group is more complex than previously admitted, being composed by at least two morphologically recognizable species subgroups.

A new species of Cyrtodactylus Gray, 1827 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) in Phu Quoc National Park, Kien Giang Biosphere Reserve, Southwestern Vietnam

A new crevice dwelling species, Cyrtodactylus phuquocensis sp. nov. from Phu Quoc National Park on Phu Quoc Island in Kien Giang Biosphere Reserve in southwestern Vietnam is differentiated from all other species by the following combination of characteristics: SVL 62.2–85.8 mm; no precloacal groove; 7–9 precloacal pores arranged in an angular series; a series of enlarged femoral scales contacting a wide patch of enlarged precloacal scales; 2–5 intersuparanasals in contact with rostrum; 16–18 weakly keeled, longitudinal rows of tubercles on body; 38–43 transverse rows of ventral scales between ventrolateral folds; and dorsal caudal tubercles extending 57.8–75% down length of tail. This species most closely resembles C. intermedius Smith, 1917 to which it was previously referred. The description of this species has elevated the number of endemic species of gekkonids of this region to eight within the last three years.