Effect of uniaxial stress on bursting energy absorption of paper

The overall usefulness of the bursting energy absorption (BEA) was studied for a better analysis of paper strength properties. Additionally, the changes of the BEA during more complex deformations of paper products, e.g., preliminary or simultaneous tensile and burst, were determined. For the purpose of the research, an experimental setup was designed. The results showed that the correlation between BEA and bursting strength was linear, but the proportionality strongly depended on paper grade. Thus, a more accurate method to characterize the bursting resistance (BR) of paper was proposed. The BR parameter is described by the three following parameters: average bursting strength, average bursting energy absorption, and the slope of the fitted linear regression curve (relationship between the bursting energy absorption and the bursting strength). This method revealed new mechanical behaviors of papers related to their preloading.

Proposal for a Methodology Based on XRD and SEM-EDS to Monitor Effects of Lime-Treatment on Clayey Soils

The aim of this paper is to present the results of X-ray diffraction (XRD) tests and scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) analyses on a natural and lime-treated clay, in order to determine the percentage of lime able to stabilize soil. For this reason, XRD test analyses have been conducted on natural soil (TQ0) and on two different mixtures (TQ3 and TQ5): The former with 3% and the latter with 5% by mass of quicklime. These mixtures have been analyzed at different curing times: At the addition of lime (0 d), and after a mellowing period of 7 and 28 d. The obtained results show that 3% of CaO is the percentage of quicklime able to modify the material (initial consumption of lime (ICL)) and 5% of CaO is the percentage able to stabilize it (lime stabilization optimum (LSO)). Finally, SEM images allowed for the monitoring of the process of reactions between the soil and lime during the mellowing period, while EDS analyses validated the XRD results in terms of chemical composition of the examined soil. For the examined natural clay, statistical analysis of the obtained EDS results identified a linear regression curve between the added quicklime and the after-treatment Ca content. The proposed approach could be adopted to calculate the content of calcium after the treatment and verify the in situ-added CaO during roadworks or at the end of them.

Constraint-Aware Electricity Consumption Estimation for Prevention of Overload by Electric Vehicle Charging Station

An increase in the number of electrical vehicles has resulted in an increase in the number of electrical vehicle charging stations. As a result, the electricity load consumed by charging stations has become large enough to de-stabilize the electricity supply system. Therefore, real-time monitoring of how much electricity each charging station is consuming has become very much important. However, only limited information such as charging time is available from the operators of electric vehicle charging stations. The actual electricity consumption data is not provided in real time. Conventional methods estimate the accumulated electricity consumption of charging stations using a linear regression curve. However, an estimate of the electricity consumption for each charge is needed. In this paper, we propose an advanced electricity estimation system which predicts the energy consumption for each charge. The proposed method uses a constraint-aware non-linear regression curve, and performs additional data selection processes. The experimental results show that the proposed system achieves about 73% regression accuracy. In addition, the proposed system can display the energy consumption per hour and visualize this information on a map. This makes it possible to monitor the electricity consumption of the charging stations in real-time and by location, which helps to select appropriate locations where new vehicle charging stations need to be installed.

ANN based Short-Term Load Curve Forecasting

A software tool developed in Matlab for short-term load forecasting (STLF) is presented. Different forecasting methods such as artificial neural networks, multiple linear regression, curve fitting have been integrated into a stand-alone application with a graphical user interface. Real power consumption data have been used. They have been provided by the branches of the distribution system operator from the Southern-Western part of the Romanian Power System. This paper is an extended variant of [4].

Study of anatomical parameters of leaf and brix content of some promising commercial Indian varieties of sugarcane

The structural and quantitative diversity of Kranz anatomy of nineteen Indian varieties of sugarcane was studied in relation to brix content or yield of sugar. The nature and distribution of Kranz tissue and types of vascular bundle in the leaf blade have also been described and discussed. In hand made transverse sections of leaf blade of sugarcane varieties, two different sizes (large and small) of vascular bundles were found. The large vascular bundles were characterized by the presence of metaxylem vessels on the either side of protoxylem. The small vascular bundles entirely consist of metaxylem but lack of protoxylem. Variation of Brix content of the basal, middle and top part of Culm of nineteen varieties was also observed. Statistically, average Brix content was positively correlated with the total area of the photosynthetic cells as well as bundle sheath cells and the linear regression curve followed the straight line.

Phytotoxicity Assessment of Certain Phytochemical Products Containing Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids

Introduction: Tussilago farfara (coltsfoot), Petasites hybridus (common butterbur), Senecio vernalis (eastern groundsel) and Symphytum officinale (comfrey) are species traditionally used in phytotherapy that besides the therapeutic compounds contain toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs). The aim of the paper is to determine the total PAs content and the phytotoxicity of the above species. Material and methods: The quantitative determination of pyrrolizidine alkaloids is based on the stoichiometric reaction of protonated alkaloids with methyl orange. In acidic conditions the dye is released from the complex and its color is assessed spectrophotometrically using a linear regression curve of senecionine as a standard. The phytotoxicity was assessed by Triticum bioassay that studies the effect of the extracts (0.001-5.00%, w/v) upon root elongation (inhibitory concentration - IC50) and on the karyokinetic film. Results: The highest amount of total PAs was found in Senecio vernalis (654.8 ± 35.96 μg/g dry plant) and the lowest in Petasites hybridus. The lowest IC50 was found for Tussilago farfara followed by Petasites hybridus, Senecio vernalis, and Symphytum officinale. The results were supported by microscopic examination. Conclusions: The results of the spectrophotometric assay are consistent with the ones found in the literature. All extracts inhibited the elongation of the main root of wheat caryopses, however, no correlation between phytotoxicity and the PAs concentration could be emphasized

Usefulness of a real-time PCR platform for G+C content and DNA–DNA hybridization estimations in vibrios

The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of a real-time PCR platform to estimate the DNA G+C content (mol%) and DNA–DNA hybridization (DDH) values in the genus Vibrio. In total, nine vibrio strains were used to determine the relationship between genomic DNA G+C content and T m (°C). The T m and HPLC datasets fit a linear regression curve with a significant correlation coefficient, corroborating that this methodology has a high correlation with the standard methodology based on HPLC (R2 = 0.94). Analysis of 31 pairs of vibrios provided a wide range of ΔT m values, varying between 0.72 and 12.5 °C. Pairs corresponding to strains of the same species or strains from sister species showed the lowest ΔT m values. For instance, the ΔT m of the sister species Vibrio harveyi LMG 4044T and Vibrio campbellii LMG 11216T was 5.2 °C, whereas the ΔT m of Vibrio coralliilyticus LMG 20984T and Vibrio neptunius LMG 20536T was 8.75 °C. The mean ΔT m values corresponding to pairs of strains with DDH values lower than 60 % or higher than 80 % were, respectively, 8.29 and 2.21 °C (significant difference, P<0.01). The high correlation between DDH values obtained in previous studies and the ΔT m values (R2 = 0.7344) indicates that the fluorimetric methodology is a reliable alternative for the estimation of both DNA G+C content and ΔT m in vibrios. We suggest that strains of the same Vibrio species will have less than 4 °C ΔT m. The use of a real-time PCR platform represents a valuable alternative for the development of the taxonomy of vibrios.