Humidification–Dehumidification (HDH) Desalination and Other Volume Reduction Techniques for Produced Water Treatment

Volume reduction has been suggested as a novel method to tackle the various challenges associated with produced water. The present solution offers an economical and environmentally friendly solution to treat a large bulk of produced water that may overwhelm conventional water treatment methods. The current study provides a review of the various volume reduction technologies including freeze concentration, reverse osmosis, and humidification and dehumidification desalination systems. Focus is concentrated on the general HDH technologies in addition to its integration with refrigeration cycles for conditioned air production, and the power cycles for power generation. The GOR, freshwater yield, and efficiencies of the integrated HDH systems were reviewed. Lastly, innovation in the HDH desalination technology is discussed with emphasis on its incorporation with the MVC process.

A level set-based approach for modeling cellular rearrangements in tissue morphogenesis

Among morphological phenomena, cellular patterns in developing sensory epithelia have gained attention in recent years. Although physical models for cellular rearrangements are well-established thanks to a large bulk of experimental work, their computational implementation lacks solid mathematical background and involves experimentally unreachable parameters. Here we introduce a level set-based computational framework as a tool to rigorously investigate evolving cellular patterns, and study its mathematical and computational properties. We illustrate that a significant feature of the method is its ability to correctly handle complex topology changes, including frequent cell intercalations. Combining this accurate numerical scheme with an established mathematical model, we show that the new framework features minimum possible number of parameters and is capable of reproducing a wide range of tissue morphological phenomena, such as cell sorting, engulfment or internalization. In particular, thanks to precise mathematical treatment of cellular intercalations, this method is the first to successfully simulate experimentally observed development of cellular mosaic patterns in sensory epithelia.

High Resolution Residual Strain/Stress Measurements on Three Axis Neutron Diffractometer

Focusing 3-axis diffractometer set-up equipped with bent perfect crystal (BPC) monochromator and analyzer offers the sensitivity in determination of strains Dd/d < 10-4 in polycrystalline materials which is about one order of magnitude higher with respect to that of conventional 2-axis neutron scanners. It also offers possibility of line profile analysis for reasonable sample volumes and counting times. In this paper, the feasibility of using the 3-axis set-up even for measurements of rather large bulk polycrystalline samples with an acceptable resolution is presented. As the 3-axis set-up exploits focusing in real and momentum space, by a proper adjustment of the curvature of the analyzer, a high-resolution determination of the lattice changes can also be achieved even on large irradiated gauge volumes, though with a slightly relaxed resolution. It can be successfully exploited namely, in the strain/stress measurements on samples exposed to an external load, e.g. in tension/compression rig, in aging machine etc. In addition to the original performance where the analysis is carried out by rocking the BPC analyzer and the neutron signal registered by a point detector, a new alternative is offered which uses a fixed rocking angle position of the analyzer and the detector signal is registered by a one-dimensional position sensitive detector (PSD). This trick makes possible in some cases the elastic strain/stress measurements considerably faster and thus reduces the drawback of the time consuming step-by-step analysis.

Effect of Lignite Properties on Its Suitability for the Implementation of Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) in Selected Deposits

Two experimental simulations of underground coal gasification (UCG) processes, using large bulk samples of lignites, were conducted in a surface laboratory setup. Two different lignite samples were used for the oxygen-blown experiments, i.e., “Velenje” meta-lignite (Slovenia) and “Oltenia” ortho-lignite (Romania). The average moisture content of the samples was 31.6wt.% and 45.6wt.% for the Velenje and Oltenia samples, respectively. The main aim of the study was to assess the suitability of the tested lignites for the underground coal gasification process. The gas composition and its production rates, as well as the temperatures in the artificial seams, were continuously monitored during the experiments. The average calorific value of gas produced during the Velenje lignite experiment (6.4 MJ/Nm3) was much higher compared to the result obtained for the experiment with Oltenia lignite (4.8 MJ/Nm3). The Velenje lignite test was also characterized by significantly higher energy efficiency, i.e., 44.6%, compared to the gasification of Oltenia lignite (33.4%). The gasification experiments carried out showed that the physicochemical properties of the lignite used considerably affect the in situ gasification process. Research also indicates that UCG can be considered as a viable option for the extraction of lignite deposits; however, lignites with a lower moisture content and higher energy density are preferred, due to their much higher process efficiency.

On potential development strategies for Digital Humanities

The Humanities are marginalised in today’s ranking of scholarly disciplines. This is partially due to their poorly monetisable subject matter, as well as the fact that their methodology is firmly rooted in the industrial era. The digital revolution provided the humanities with new technologies. However, the same newly available statistical methods that enable generalisation of a large bulk of materials and management of accurate data are fraught with serious limitations. Despite their ostensible novelty, the new methods cannot solve the epistemological problems of humanist learning; instead, they merely help its further adaptation to the inductive logic of scientific positivism, typical of the industrial era. This means that, given their digital nature (i. e., association with the digital era), they fail to generate a new ontology for the humanities. The value of new technologies is mainly determined by our ability to use them in an unconventional way. In order to preserve the subject matter of the humanities in its entirety, one should learn about the potential as well as limitations of digital methods and devise a positive strategy of their application.

A level set-based approach for modeling cellular rearrangements in tissue morphogenesis

Among morphological phenomena, cellular patterns in developing sensory epithelia have gained attention in recent years. Although physical models for cellular rearrangements are well-established thanks to a large bulk of experimental work, their computational implementation lacks solid mathematical background and involves experimentally unreachable parameters. Here we introduce a level set-based computational framework as a tool to rigorously investigate evolving cellular patterns. We investigate its mathematical and computational properties, showing that it significantly surpasses existing schemes in its ability to correctly handle complex topology changes, including frequent cell intercalations. Combining this accurate numerical scheme with an established mathematical model, we show that the new framework features minimum possible number of parameters and is capable of reproducing a wide range of tissue morphological phenomena, such as cell sorting, engulfment or internalization. In particular, thanks to precise mathematical treatment of cellular intercalations, this method is the first to successfully simulate experimentally observed development of cellular mosaic patterns in sensory epithelia.

Conceptual study of salt-meter with 252Cf neutron source for on-site inspection of bridge structure

We studied the feasibility of a portable salt-meter incorporating a prompt gamma neutron activation analysis with a californium-252 neutron source to meet urgent demands for non-destructive methods without pre-processing in large bulk materials such as concrete structures. This technique is aiming at the chloride ion concentration in concrete structures with a depth profile from the surface to steel bar. From the portability point of view, a californium-252 neutron source is adopted and we have performed a preliminary experiment and simulations with a simple geometry. In this paper, we describe the performances of salt detection sensitivities by applying the prompt gamma neutron activation analysis.

Chinese Reaction and Interpretation of 1991 Events in the Soviet Union

The article is timed to coincide with two anniversaries: centenary of the Communist Party of China, and thirty years since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. According to the author’s idea, these two anniversaries correlate: analysis of the reasons and consequences of the USSR dissolution became one of the factors of current policy of Chinese communists. The article brings light to this coherence. A wide range of Chinese sources and literature regarding 1991 events in the USSR was used for the article. Another feature is the attention to historical context of the late 1980s – early 1990s, analysis of which helps to understand domination of conservative view to the USSR dissolution. The article shows how the Chinese state and party interest in the Soviet experience led to creation of a large bulk of works regarding historical, sociological and culturological aspects of the USSR dissolution. The analysis of the most impactful of these works shows a wide range of views regarding certain aspects (fi rst of all, the role of reforms in the fi nal dissolution of the state) and consensus regarding other aspects (negative role of Mikhail Gorbachev, labelling the dissolution of the USSR and the Communist Party as a ‘catastrophe’). Further analysis of the Soviet experience led to such measures by the Chinese leadership like strengthening of partocracy regime, conducting of media-covered anti-smuggling campaigns, establishing of harsh administrative and security control in areas with ethnic minorities, active counterpropaganda and struggling with foreign information infl uence. Appellation to the negative experience of the USSR and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union is using by the Chinese leadership in its propaganda as an argument for unacceptability of any political reforms regarding weakening of the party role.