Homogeneous Process Research Articles

Food resource richness increases seed disperser visitations and seed rain richness.

Within the context of global change, seed dispersal research often focuses on changes in disperser communities (i.e., seed dispersers, such as birds, in an area) resulting from habitat fragmentation. This approach may not be completely illustrative due to certain seed disperser communities being more robust to fragmentation. Additionally, this top-down approach overlooks how changing food resources on landscapes impacts resource tracking and, subsequently, seed dispersal. We hypothesized resource tracking may promote diffuse plant-animal dispersal mutualisms if resource richness is positively linked to disperser and seed rain richness. We predicted increasing food resource richness attracts more visits and species of avian dispersers, resulting in higher counts and greater species richness of seeds deposited at sites (i.e., seed rain). We tested this mechanism in two replicated field experiments using a model system with bird feeders positioned above seed traps. In the first experiment, we demonstrated resource presence skews seed rain. In the second experiment, we explored how species richness of food resources (0, 4, 8, or 12 species) affected the species richness and visitation of avian seed dispersers at feeders and in subsequent seed rain. Collectively, we observed a positive relationship between available food resources and seed rain, likely mediated by resource tracking behavior of avian dispersers. Our findings underscore a potential key mechanism that may facilitate ecological diversity, whereby accumulating species richness in the plant community attracts a more diverse seed disperser community and indirectly promotes more species in seed rain. Importantly, the resource tracking mechanism driving this potential positive feedback loop may also result in negative ecosystem effects if global change diminishes resource availability through homogenization processes, such as invasive species colonization. Future research should explore the bottom-up effects of global change on food resources and seed disperser behavior to complement the literature on changing disperser communities.

High-resolution automated detection of headwater streambeds for large watersheds

Abstract. Headwater streams, which are small streams at the top of a watershed, account for the majority of the total length of streams, yet their exact locations are still not well known. For years, many algorithms were used to produce hydrographic networks that represent headwater streams with varying degrees of accuracy. Although digital elevation models derived from lidar have significantly improved headwater stream detection, the performance of the algorithms on landscapes with different geomorphologic characteristics remains unclear. Here, we address this issue by testing different combinations of algorithms using classification trees. Homogeneous hydrological processes were identified through Quaternary deposits. The results showed that in shallow soil that mainly consists of till deposits, the use of algorithms that simulate the surface runoff process provides the best explanation for the presence of a streambed. In contrast, streambeds in thick soil with high infiltration rates were primarily explained by a small-scale incision algorithm. Furthermore, the use of an iterative process that simulates water diffusion made it possible to detect streambeds more accurately than all other methods tested, regardless of the hydrological classification. The method developed in this paper shows the importance of considering hydrological processes when aiming to identify headwater streams.

Life cycle assessment of homogeneous Fenton process as pretreatment for refractory pharmaceutical wastewater

Life cycle assessment of homogeneous Fenton process as pretreatment for refractory pharmaceutical wastewater

Rapid high-throughput processing of tissue samples for microbiological diagnosis of periprosthetic joint infections using bead-beating homogenization.

Enrichment of periprosthetic tissue samples in blood culture bottles (BCBs) for microbiological diagnosis of periprosthetic joint infections (PJI) is more reliable than the use of an enrichment broth. Nevertheless, the extremely time-consuming homogenization of the samples for BCB processing has so far limited its use, especially in high-throughput settings. We aimed to establish a highly scalable homogenization process of tissue samples for long-term incubation in BCBs. A protocol for homogenization of tissue samples using bead beating was established and validated. In a second step, the use of the homogenate for enrichment in BCBs was compared to the use of thioglycolate broth (TB) in terms of diagnostic accuracy using clinical tissue samples from 150 patients with suspected PJI. Among 150 analyzed samples, 35 samples met the microbiological criteria for PJI. Using BCB, 32 of 35 (91.4%) PJI were detected compared to 30 of 35 (85.7%) by TB. The use of BCB had a lower secondary contamination rate (2/115; 1.7% vs 4/115; 3.5%) but the trend was not significant due to low numbers of samples (P = 0.39). The time to process a batch of 12 samples using the established homogenization method was 23 ± 5 min (n = 10 batches). We established and validated a homogenization workflow that achieves the highest sensitivity in the microbiological diagnostic of PJI. The enrichment of the tissue homogenate in BCBs showed equally good results as the use of enrichment broth and allows semi-automated high-throughput processing while demonstrating lower contamination rates in our study.

Reduced Chemical Kinetic Models of DME Based on Variance Filtering Method

Based on the variance value of each species concentration during the combustion process, a new chemical mechanism reduction method is proposed. The data sets which are the molar concentration of each species are generated based on numerical results of zero-dimensional homogeneous ignition process using detailed chemical kinetic mechanisms under various operating conditions. By calculating and analyzing the variance value of each species concentration during the combustion process to determine the contribution of each species to the combustion process, and by selecting a suitable threshold value to determine whether the species and elementary reactions are removed or not. The skeletal mechanisms of DME generated by using the present VFM method are compared to those generated by the path flux analysis (PFA) method and the detailed mechanism. The comparisons of the temperature and the concentration of important species showed that with either the same or significantly smaller number of species, the skeletal mechanisms generated by the present VFM method are more accurate than that of PFA in a broad range of initial pressures, temperatures and equivalence ratios. In addition, the reduction speed of VFM is one orders of magnitude faster than that of PFA.

Hybrid Single Lap Joints between 3D Printed Titanium Lattices and CFRP Composites: Experimental and Numerical Insights

In the contemporary emphasis on weight reduction, the utilization of advanced materials like Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRPs) and cutting-edge technologies such as 3D printing of metal is increasingly crucial. This study delves into the junction of CFRP and titanium, aiming to conduct Single Lap shear tests on specimens featuring a co-lamination of long fiber composite onto a metal lattice structure. Different specimens with different dimensions of the Simple Cubic (SC) unit cell were subjected to testing. A microscope investigation facilitated an exploration of junction failure and epoxy resin infiltration into the lattice substrate. Employing an efficient 2D Finite Element Model, the homogenization process yielded theoretical models underestimating the Young Modulus by approximately 10% compared to real specimens. Despite the challenges in bonding titanium and CFRP, the novel junction exhibited a shear stress of 17.25 MPa, which is nearly equivalent to those of a co-lamination between sandblasted steel and CFRP, that is 17.15 MPa.

Eukaryotes may play an important ecological role in the gut microbiome of Graves' disease.

The prevalence of autoimmune diseases worldwide has risen rapidly over the past few decades. Increasing evidence has linked gut dysbiosis to the onset of various autoimmune diseases. Thanks to the significant advancements in high-throughput sequencing technology, the number of gut microbiome studies has increased. However, they have primarily focused on bacteria, so our understanding of the role and significance of eukaryotic microbes in the human gut microbial ecosystem remains quite limited. Here, we selected Graves' disease (GD) as an autoimmune disease model and investigated the gut multi-kingdom (bacteria, fungi, and protists) microbial communities from the health control, diseased, and medication-treated recovered patients. The results showed that physiological changes in GD increased homogenizing dispersal processes for bacterial community assembly and increased homogeneous selection processes for eukaryotic community assembly. The recovered patients vs. healthy controls had similar bacterial and protistan, but not fungal, community assembly processes. Additionally, eukaryotes (fungi and protists) may play a more significant role in gut ecosystem functions than bacteria. Overall, this study gives brief insights into the potential contributions of eukaryotes to gut and immune homeostasis in humans and their potential influence in relation to therapeutic interventions.

From empire to nation: Management of religious pluralism in the Ottoman Empire and Turkey

The transition from empire to nation-state poses challenges in managing religious and ethnic pluralism. Empires, characterized by hierarchical structures and diversity, contrast with nation-states, which aim for uniformity and unity. As empires modernize administratively, they grapple with different approaches to pluralism. While Habsburgs were more in favor of a federal plurality, the Romanovs pushed for centralization and assimilation. Throughout the nineteenth century, the Ottomans vacillated between these two alternative paths. This vacillation is most evident in their approach to millet system which simultaneously followed the contradictory policies of undermining millet boundaries in order to promote a sense of unity across the multi-faith society and policies of promoting and safeguarding the privileges and group-specific rights of non-Muslim communities. Ottoman nationalism eventually shifted towards a homogenizing model, akin to the Romanov approach, leading to the exclusion of religious minorities. This process of homogenization continued in the nationalist policies of modern Turkey and resulted in the secular Turkish Republic being less tolerant towards non-Muslims than the Islamic Ottoman Empire.

The Influence of Selected Fillers on the Functional Properties of Polycarbonate Dedicated to 3D Printing Applications.

Additive manufacturing is still the fastest-developing technology in the modern world. Three-dimensional printing has become popular due to the method's numerous advantages, such as its short time and low cost, compared to conventional methods such as injection molding. Therefore, the demand for new materials and material systems that will be characterized by the desired functional properties is clearly growing. As part of this work, work was carried out on the development and preparation of new polymer composites dedicated to 3D printing applications, especially in FDM/FFF/MEM technologies. The influence of the content and amount of fillers, such as silica modified with alumina (S) and bentonite modified with a quaternary ammonium salt (B), on the functional properties of a commercially available fiber made of traditional plastic, such as polycarbonate, obtained in the form of a filament (PCF), was determined. It was found that the addition of B significantly increased the fluidity of the polymer, the introduction of a filler in the amount of 1.5% allowed to obtain a result that was 6% higher compared to PCF (16.8 g/10 min), while the amount of 3% was 20% higher. The obtained mass melt flow rate (MFR) results were confirmed by determining the viscosity of the produced polymer composites. Satisfactory results of mechanical properties were obtained, including the following: it was found that the introduced modified fillers increased the elasticity of the material. The introduction of modified silica resulted in a reduction in Young's modulus by 10.02% at the content of 0.5% S and at 1% S by 8.64% compared to the polymer. The introduced modified filler S significantly increased the thermostability of polycarbonate (T5% equal to 449 °C) by 23 °C for PCF/0.5% S and 14 °C for PCF/1% S, respectively. The SEM and WAXS results confirmed the appropriate dispersion of the fillers in the polymer matrix, which indicates well-selected conditions for the homogenization process of the components and the subsequent production of samples. Detailed characterization of the influence of selected fillers on the functional properties of the polymer matrix-polycarbonate allowed for an increase in the range of polymer composites and their use in rapid prototyping technologies, as well as supplementing the literature on databases regarding the characteristics of the obtained materials.

Response surface methodology for low-energy consumption electro-Fenton process for xanthene dye electrochemical degradation

Erythrosine B (EB) is a dye widely used in the food and textile industries. Despite many studies that have been proposed in the literature about the electrochemical oxidation of dyes, few studies considered such recalcitrant xanthene compound, although it has been recognized as a threat to health and the environment. Then, this study investigates the oxidation of EB by a homogeneous electro-Fenton process using iron (II) sulfate heptahydrate as a catalyst, carbon felt cathode, and Ti/RuO2 anode. The treated synthetic wastewater contains 100 mg L−1 of EB and has a pH = 3. The effects of three independent variables have been considered for process optimization, such as applied current intensity (0.1–0.5 A), iron concentration (1–10 mM), and stirring rate (100–1000 rpm). Their interactions were investigated considering response surface methodology (RSM) based on Doehlert design as optimization method. EB removal efficiency and energy consumption were considered as model responses after 30 min of electrolysis. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that the quadratic model was adequately fitted to the experimental data with R2 (0.9819), adj-R2 (0.9276), and low Fisher probability (< 0.0181) for the EB removal model, and R2 (0.9968), adj-R2 (0.9872) and low Fisher probability (< 0.0014) relative to the energy consumption model, suggesting a robust statistical significance. The energy consumption model significantly depends on current density, as expected. The foregoing results obtained by RSM led to the following optimal conditions for EB degradation: current intensity of 0.2 A, iron concentration of 9.397 mM, and stirring rate of 500 rpm, which gave a maximum decolorization rate of 98.15% with a minimum energy consumption of 0.74 kWh m−3 after 30 min of electrolysis. The competitiveness of the electro-Fenton process has been confirmed by the literature analysis proposed as well as by the preliminary economic analysis proposed in the second section of the study.Graphical abstract

Core-Shell Adsorbent Granules Fabricated from Sand/Graphene Oxide Nano-Composite for Adsorptive Removal of Pb (II)

Core-shell absorbent granules are produced by coating commercial sand gravels with graphite oxide (few-layer oxidized graphene sheets). Graphite oxide (GO) is synthesized chemically from vein graphite, a rare form of high purity natural graphite. Repeated coatings of graphite oxide on sand followed by low temperature (1200 C) thermal pyrolysis produce core-shell granules with a hierarchical structure in which sand gravels are covered by graphite oxide layers. The intention of this study is to assessment of feasibility of the mitigation of Pb (II) form the water by sand/graphene oxide nano-composite and study the dynamic behavior of the adsorption mechanism using the mathematical modeling. Individual materials and the resulting nanocomposite are characterized using a range of spectroscopic (FTIR, XRD, XPS) and microscopic (SEM/EDXA) techniques to elucidate the process of transforming individual materials into nanocomposite and to assess its suitability for removing Pb (II) from water. Stable sand/graphite oxide nanocomposites were obtained upon five times coating of GO on the sand surface and characterization shows that functionalized and a porous coating developed on the sand. The Pb (II) removal efficiency increases from high-acidic to neutral pH and decreases after basic (pH-8). The adsorption process takes 150 minutes to reach the equilibrium. After 150 minutes, the Pb (II) ion adsorption rate was constant. The maximum dosage of the nanocomposite needed to reach the equilibrium was 0.06g. Under the optimum conditions, 96.3% of Pb (II) removal efficiency was recorded from simulated Pb (II) containing water. According to the mathematical modeling, adsorption follows the Langmuir isotherm and fits well with the pseudo 2nd order kinetics model, indicating a homogeneous adsorption process via a monolayer process and Pb adsorbed onto the surface of the sand/GO nanocomposite by chemisorption. Sand/GO nanocomposite is an excellent candidate for removing Pb (II) from contaminated water.&#x0D; Keywords: Adsorption, Graphene oxide, Sand, Water treatment

The effect of an educational program on sports activities in the development of some physical and skill variables among primary school students at the age of 6 years

The aim of the research was to select some sports activities to develop some physical and skill variables for the students at the age of 6 years, as well as to know the effect of these activities. This research was conducted in the period from / until the first sample of primary school pupils of Meqdad Primary School ) For the academic year (2019-2020), where the number of sample (24 students) was divided into two equal groups, one of which was experimental worked sports activities and the other was an officer working in the method used in the lesson of physical education, each group consisted of (12 students), after the process of homogeneity and equivalence , Mullah tests were also selected (10 students) from outside the basic research sample, using the tools and means to assist in the research. The tribal tests were conducted on the two groups and then some sports activities were applied. (8 units) within eight weeks and the time of each unit (45 minutes), after which the tests were conducted after the dimension, and then the treatment of the results of the research using the appropriate statistical means, has been reached several results, the most important is that the educational program included some activities Irrigation The differences between the tribal and remote tests among the control group students were significantly noticeable and were subject to the educational program. In the light of the conclusions, the researcher recommended the necessity of using The educational program includes some sports activities because of its effect on the development of some basic motor skills for students aged 6 years.

Comparing the benthic nitrogenase activity and diazotrophic community assembly of three large river-connected freshwater lakes in eastern China

Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) is a crucial process that provides bioavailable nitrogen and supports primary production in freshwater lake ecosystems. However, the characteristics of diazotrophic community and nitrogenase activity in freshwater lake sediments remain poorly understood. Here, we investigated the diazotrophic communities and nitrogenase activities in the sediments of three large river-connected freshwater lakes in eastern China using 15N-isotope tracing and nifH sequencing. The sediments in these lakes contained diverse nitrogenase genes that were phylogenetically grouped into Clusters I and III. The diazotrophic communities in the sediments were dominated by stochastic processes in Hongze Lake and Taihu Lake, which had heterogeneous habitats and shallower water depths, while in Poyang Lake, which had deeper water and a shorter hydraulic retention time, the assembly of the diazotrophic community in the sediments was dominated by homogeneous selection processes. Temperature and water depth were also found the key environmental factors affecting the sediment diazotrophic communities. Sediment nitrogenase activities varied in the three lakes and within distinct regions of an individual lake, ranging from 0 to 14.58 nmol/(kg·hr). Nitrogenase activity was significantly correlated with ferric iron, total phosphorus, and organic matter contents. Our results suggested that freshwater lake sediment contain high diversity of nitrogen-fixing microorganisms with potential metabolic diversity, and the community assembly patterns and nitrogenase activities varied with the lake habitat.

Effect of cobalt addition on thermal cycling behaviour of Ti50Ni(50−x)cox shape memory alloys

The effect of adding Co on the temperature cycling behaviour of ternary Ti50Ni(50−x)Cox (x = 1, 2, 3) alloys was experimentally studied in this work. The alloys were prepared using a vacuum induction furnace, followed by subjecting them to homogenization, hot-rolling and annealing processes. The alloys were subjected to thermal cycling experiments in a nitrogen atmosphere by differential scanning calorimetry under stress-free conditions between their transformation temperatures. The results indicate that adding Co to NiTi alloys decreases their transition temperatures, improves the thermal cycling stability apart from suppressing the R-phase formation on cooling during cycling. The changes are due to the addition of Co introducing solid solution strengthening and generation of dislocations during cyclic phase transformations, as confirmed by the hardness test results and TEM micrographs, respectively.

Depolarized by the Media? The Role of Heterogeneous and Homogeneous Traditional and Digital Media Diets in Issue Polarization Around COVID-19 in the United States

ABSTRACT Research suggests that a heterogeneous media diet can foster more objective information evaluations, reducing issue polarization as a result. These findings beg the question: Can increased news heterogeneity reduce issue polarization around COVID-19? Using data from a cross-sectional survey in the United States (N = 1,262), this study found that – in line with theoretical expectations – at high levels of homogeneity of traditional and digital news consumption, the difference in support for COVID-19 prevention between Biden and Trump supporters was significantly large. Conversely, this attitude gap narrowed at high news heterogeneity levels. Our results continue to advance research on the role of homogeneous and heterogeneous media diets and biased cognitive processing in issue polarization, a crucial endeavor as polarization poses a challenge to effective public health policy implementation and pandemic management. At the outset, the implications of our findings for pandemic communication (and health communication more generally) are discussed.

Homogeneous Catalytic Process of a Heterogeneous Ru Catalyst in Li-O2 via X-ray Nanodiffraction Observation.

In recent years, lithium oxygen batteries (Li-O2) have received considerable research attention due to their extremely high energy density. However, the poor conductivity and ion conductivity of the discharge product lithium peroxide (Li2O2) result in a high charging overpotential, poor cycling stability, and low charging rate. Therefore, studying and improving catalysts is a top priority. This study focuses on the commonly used heterogeneous catalyst ruthenium (Ru). The local distribution of this catalyst is controlled by using sputtering technology. Moreover, X-ray nanodiffraction is applied to observe the relationship between the decomposition of Li2O2 and the local distribution of Ru. Results show that Li2O2 decomposes homogeneously in liquid systems and heterogeneously in solid-state systems. This study finds that the catalytic effect of Ru is related to electrolyte decomposition and that its soluble byproducts act as electron acceptors or redox mediators, effectively reducing charging overpotential but also shortening the cycle life.

Homogenization of a reaction-diffusion problem with large nonlinear drift and Robin boundary data

We study the periodic homogenization of a reaction-diffusion problem with large nonlinear drift and Robin boundary condition posed in an unbounded perforated domain. The nonlinear problem is associated with the hydrodynamic limit of a totally asymmetric simple exclusion process (TASEP) governing a population of interacting particles crossing a domain with obstacle. We are interested in deriving rigorously the upscaled model equations and the corresponding effective coefficients for the case when the microscopic dynamics are linked to a particular choice of characteristic length and time scales that lead to an exploding nonlinear drift. The main mathematical difficulty lies in proving the two-scale compactness and strong convergence results needed for the passage to the homogenization limit. To cope with the situation, we use the concept of two-scale compactness with drift, which is similar to the more classical two-scale compactness result but it is defined now in moving coordinates. We provide as well a strong convergence result for the corrector function, starting this way the search for the order of the convergence rate of the homogenization process for our target nonlinear drift problem.

DIVERSITY OF EXOTIC SPECIES IN TWO URBAN FOREST PATCHES IN CURITIBA, PARANÁ

Urban forest patches (UFP) face challenges related to climate change and anthropic impacts on natural ecosystems and their biodiversity, mainly due to the presence of invasive exotic species. The objective of this research was to characterize the invasive flora of two urban forest patches located in Curitiba, Paraná. The research was conducted in the Papa João Paulo II and Gutierrez woods, located in Curitiba, Paraná. Ten sample plots of 20x30 m (600 m²) were installed, all individuals with DBH &gt;15 cm were sampled, six in Papa João Paulo II, and four in Gutierrez. A floristic characterization was carried out in each plot, separating native and exotic species. The ecological indices of Shannon-Weaver Diversity, Pielou, Simpson and Jaccard Equability were calculated to quantify vegetation diversity. Floristic analyzes were carried out in an R ambient. Altogether, 546 tree individuals were measured, belonging to 61 species of 31 families. The mean values of the Shannon-Weaver and Pielou indices were higher in Bosque Gutierrez. There was low similarity in floristic composition between sample plots. There were statistically significant differences between the categories of variables, in relation to native and exotic species, and between UFP. The presence of native species still exceeds that of exotic and invasive alien species in both UFP. The exotic invasive species Ligustrum lucidum already has a worrying influence on the ecological sustainability of UFP. The evaluated UFP are going through the process of biotic homogenization in their floristic composition.

Quantum homogenization in non-Markovian collisional model

Collisional models are a category of microscopic framework designed to study open quantum systems. The framework involves a system sequentially interacting with a bath comprised of identically prepared units. In this regard, quantum homogenization is a process where the system state approaches the identically prepared state of bath unit in the asymptotic limit. Here, we study the homogenization process for a single qubit in the non-Markovian collisional model framework generated via additional bath-bath interaction. With partial swap operation as both system-bath and bath-bath unitary, we numerically demonstrate that homogenization is achieved irrespective of the initial states of the system or bath units. This is reminiscent of the Markovian scenario, where partial swap is the unique operation for a universal quantum homogenizer. On the other hand, we observe that the rate of homogenization is slower than its Markovian counter part. Interestingly, a different choice of bath-bath unitary speeds up the homogenization process but loses the universality, being dependent on the initial states of the bath units.

Revolutionizing corrugated board production and optimization with artificial intelligence

In the field of corrugated board production and packaging optimization, the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has initiated a paradigm shift. This paper presents a brief analysis of AI’s role in revolutionizing both the production of corrugated board and the design of corrugated packaging. It explores the integration of AI in the homogenization process of complex corrugated board structures into single-layer, shallow shell-based computational models, aiming to improve and accelerate load-bearing calculations. This work presents also how AI’s predictive and analytical capabilities are pivotal in achieving efficiency, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness in the corrugated board industry.