Experiments and analysis of propagation front under gasification regimes in a packed bed

The paper analyses the results of experiments on the propagation rate in a fuel bed under gasification conditions in a co-current reactor configuration. Experiments using wood chips with different values of moisture content have been conducted under gasification conditions. The influence of air mass flux on the propagation rate, peak temperature and gas quality is investigated. It is observed from the experiments that the flame front propagation rate initially increases as the air mass flux increased, reaching a peak propagation rate, and further increase in the air mass flux results in a decrease in the propagation rate. However, the bed movement increases with the increase in air mass flux. The experimental results provide an understanding on influence of the fuel properties on propagation front. The surface area per unit volume of the particles in the packed bed plays an important role in the propagation rate. It has been argued that the flaming pyrolysis contributes towards the flame propagation as opposed to the overall combustion process in a packed bed. The calorific value of the producer gas generated is nearly the same over the entire range of air mass flux for bone-dry and 10% moist wood. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Stability of a circular tunnel in presence of pseudostatic seismic body forces

The stability of a long circular tunnel in a cohesive frictional soil medium has been determined in the presence of horizontal pseudo-static seismic body forces. The tunnel is supported by means of lining and anchorage system which is assumed to exert uniform internal compressive normal pressure on its periphery. The upper bound finite element limit analysis has been performed to compute the magnitude of the internal compressive pressure required to support the tunnel. The results have been presented in terms of normalized compressive normal stress, defined in terms of sigma(i)/c; where sigma(i) is the magnitude of the compressive normal pressure on the periphery of the tunnel and c refers to soil cohesion. The variation of sigma(i)/c with horizontal earthquake acceleration coefficient (alpha(h)) has been established for different combinations of H/D, gamma D/c and phi where (i) H and D refers to tunnel cover and diameter, respectively, and (ii) gamma and phi correspond to unit weight and internal friction angle of soil mass, respectively. Nodal velocity patterns have also been plotted for assessing the zones of significant plastic deformation. The analysis clearly reveals that an increase in the magnitude of the earthquake acceleration leads to a significant increment in the magnitude of internal compressive pressure. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Biodegradation of acrylamide by acrylamidase from Stenotrophomonas acidaminiphila MSU12 and analysis of degradation products by MALDI-TOF and HPLC

The present study examines an improved detoxification and rapid biological degradation of toxic pollutant acrylamide using a bacterium. The acrylamide degrading bacterium was isolated from the soil followed by its screening to know the acrylamide degrading capability. The minimal medium containing acrylamide (30 mM) served as a sole source of carbon and nitrogen for their active growth. The optimization of three different factors was analyzed by using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The bacteria actively degraded the acrylamide at a temperature of 32 degrees C, with a maximum growth at 30 mM substrate (acrylamide) concentration at a pH of 7.2. The acrylamidase activity and degradation of acrylamide was determined by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption and Ionization Time of Flight mass spectrometer (MALDI-TOF). Based on 168 rRNA analysis the selected strain was identified as Gram negative bacilli Stenotrophomonas acidaminiphila MSU12. The acrylamidase was isolated from bacterial extract and was purified by HPLC, whose mass spectrum showed a molecular mass of 38 kDa. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of Groundwater Seepage on Uplift Resistance of Buried Pipelines

The uplift resistance of pipelines buried in sands, in the presence of inclined groundwater flow, considering both upward and downward flow directions, has been determined by using the lower bound finite elements limit analysis in conjunction with nonlinear optimization. A correction factor (f (gamma) ), which needs to be multiplied with the uplift factor (F (gamma) ), has been computed to account for groundwater seepage. The variation of f (gamma) has been obtained as a function of i(gamma (w) /gamma (sub) ) for different horizontal inclinations (theta) of groundwater flow; where i = absolute magnitude of hydraulic gradient along the direction of flow, gamma (w) is the unit weight of water and gamma (sub) is the submerged unit weight of soil mass. For a given magnitude of i, there exists a certain critical value of theta for which the magnitude of f (gamma) becomes the minimum. An example has also been presented to illustrate the application of the results obtained for designing pipelines in presence of groundwater seepage.

Seismic Bearing Capacity of Shallow Embedded Foundations on a Sloping Ground Surface

By using the lower-bound theorem of the limit analysis in conjunction with finite elements and nonlinear optimization, bearing-capacity factors, N-c and N-gamma q, with an inclusion of pseudostatic horizontal seismic body forces, have been determined for a shallow embedded horizontal strip footing placed on sloping ground surface. The variation of N-c and N-gamma q with changes in slope angle (beta) for different values of seismic acceleration coefficient (k(h)) has been obtained. The analysis reveals that irrespective of ground inclination and the embedment depth of the footing, the factors N-c and N-gamma q decrease quite considerably with an increase in k(h). As compared with N-c, the factor N-gamma q is affected more extensively with changes in k(h) and beta. Unlike most of the results reported in literature for the seismic case, the present computational results take into account the shear resistance of soil mass above the footing level. An increase in the depth of the embedment leads to an increase in the magnitudes of both N-c and N-gamma q. (C) 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.

DEEP WASHINGTON PHOTOMETRY OF INCONSPICUOUS STAR CLUSTER CANDIDATES IN THE LARGE MAGELLANIC CLOUD

We present deep Washington photometry of 45 poorly populated star cluster candidates in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). We have performed a systematic study to estimate the parameters of the cluster candidates by matching theoretical isochrones to the cleaned and dereddened cluster color-magnitude diagrams. We were able to estimate the basic parameters for 33 clusters, out of which 23 are identified as single clusters and 10 are found to be members of double clusters. The other 12 cluster candidates have been classified as possible clusters/asterisms. About 50% of the true clusters are in the 100-300 Myr age range, whereas some are older or younger. We have discussed the distribution of age, location, and reddening with respect to field, as well as the size of true clusters. The sizes and masses of the studied sample are found to be similar to that of open clusters in the Milky Way. Our study adds to the lower end of cluster mass distribution in the LMC, suggesting that the LMC, apart from hosting rich clusters, also has formed small, less massive open clusters in the 100-300 Myr age range.

Sources of black carbon aerosols in South Asia and surrounding regions during the Integrated Campaign for Aerosols, Gases and Radiation Budget (ICARB)

This study examines differences in the surface black carbon (BC) aerosol loading between the Bay of Bengal (BoB) and the Arabian Sea (AS) and identifies dominant sources of BC in South Asia and surrounding regions during March-May 2006 (Integrated Campaign for Aerosols, Gases and Radiation Budget, ICARB) period. A total of 13 BC tracers are introduced in the Weather Research and Forecasting Model coupled with Chemistry to address these objectives. The model reproduced the temporal and spatial variability of BC distribution observed over the AS and the BoB during the ICARB ship cruise and captured spatial variability at the inland sites. In general, the model underestimates the observed BC mass concentrations. However, the model-observation discrepancy in this study is smaller compared to previous studies. Model results show that ICARB measurements were fairly well representative of the AS and the BoB during the pre-monsoon season. Elevated BC mass concentrations in the BoB are due to 5 times stronger influence of anthropogenic emissions on the BoB compared to the AS. Biomass burning in Burma also affects the BoB much more strongly than the AS. Results show that anthropogenic and biomass burning emissions, respectively, accounted for 60 and 37% of the average +/- standard deviation (representing spatial and temporal variability) BC mass concentration (1341 +/- 2353 ng m(-3)) in South Asia. BC emissions from residential (61 %) and industrial (23 %) sectors are the major anthropogenic sources, except in the Himalayas where vehicular emissions dominate. We find that regional-scale transport of anthropogenic emissions contributes up to 25% of BC mass concentrations in western and eastern India, suggesting that surface BC mass concentrations cannot be linked directly to the local emissions in different regions of South Asia.

A sleep-inducing peptide from the venom of the Indian cone snail Conus araneosus

The marine snail Conus araneosus has unusual significance due to its confined distribution to coastal regions of southeast India and Sri Lanka. Due to its relative scarceness, this species has been poorly studied. In this work, we characterized the venom of C. araneosus to identify new venom peptides. We identified 14 novel compounds. We determined amino acid sequences from chemically-modified and unmodified crude venom using liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and matrix assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Ten sequences showed six Cys residues arranged in a pattern that is most commonly associated with the M-superfamily of conotoxins. Four other sequences had four Cys residues in a pattern that is most commonly associated with the T-superfamily of conotoxins. The post-translationally modified residue (pyroglutamate) was determined at the N-terminus of two sequences, ar3h and ar3i respectively. In addition, two sequences, ar3g and ar3h were C-terminally amidated. At a dose of 2 nmol, peptide ar3j elicited sleep when injected intraperitoneally into mice. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a peptide from a molluscivorous cone snail with sleep-inducing effects in mice. The novel peptides characterized herein extend the repertoire of unique peptides derived from cone snails and may add value to the therapeutic promise of conotoxins. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Simulations of impinging droplets with surfactant-dependent dynamic contact angle

An arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) finite element scheme for computations of soluble surfactant droplet impingement on a horizontal surface is presented. The numerical scheme solves the time-dependent Navier-Stokes equations for the fluid flow, scalar convection-diffusion equation for the surfactant transport in the bulk phase, and simultaneously, surface evolution equations for the surfactants on the free surface and on the liquid-solid interface. The effects of surfactants on the flow dynamics are included into the model through the surface tension and surfactant-dependent dynamic contact angle. In particular, the dynamic contact angle (theta(d)) of the droplet is defined as a function of the surfactant concentration at the contact line and the equilibrium contact angle (theta(0)(e)) of the clean surface using the nonlinear equation of state for surface tension. Further, the surface forces are included into the model as surface divergence of the surface stress tensor that allows to incorporate the Marangoni effects without calculating the surface gradient of the surfactant concentration on the free surface. In addition to a mesh convergence study and validation of the numerical results with experiments, the effects of adsorption and desorption surfactant coefficients on the flow dynamics in wetting, partially wetting and non-wetting droplets are studied in detail. It is observed that the effects of surfactants are more in wetting droplets than in the non-wetting droplets. Further, the presence of surfactants at the contact line reduces the equilibrium contact angle further when theta(0)(e) is less than 90 degrees, and increases it further when theta(0)(e) is greater than 90 degrees. Nevertheless, the presence of surfactants has no effect on the contact angle when theta(0)(e) = 90 degrees. The numerical study clearly demonstrates that the surfactant-dependent contact angle has to be considered, in addition to the Marangoni effect, in order to study the flow dynamics and the equilibrium states of surfactant droplet impingement accurately. The proposed numerical scheme guarantees the conservation of fluid mass and of the surfactant mass accurately. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Dynamical generation of flavour

We propose the generation of Standard Model fermion hierarchy by the extension of renormalizable SO(10) GUT with O(N (g) ) family gauge symmetry. In this scenario, Higgs representations of SO(10) also carry family indices and are called Yukawons. Vacuum expectation values of these Yukawon fields break GUT and family symmetry and generate MSSM Yukawa couplings dynamically. We have demonstrated this idea using Higgs irrep, ignoring the contribution of 1 2 0-plet which is, however, required for complete fitting of fermion mass-mixing data. The effective MSSM matter fermion couplings to the light Higgs pair are determined by the null eigenvectors of the MSSM-type Higgs doublet superfield mass matrix . A consistency condition on the doublet (1,2,+/- 1]) mass matrix ( 0) is required to keep one pair of Higgs doublets light in the effective MSSM. We show that the Yukawa structure generated by null eigenvectors of are of generic kind required by the MSSM. A hidden sector with a pair of (S (a b) ; I center dot (a b) ) fields breaks supersymmetry and facilitates 0. SUSY breaking is communicated via supergravity. In this scenario, matter fermion Yukawa couplings are reduced from 15 to just 3 parameters in MSGUT with three generations.