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Search results for: finite-difference
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Comprehensive evaluation of the carbon footprint components of wastewater treatment plants located in the Baltic Sea region
PublicationFinland and Poland share similar environmental interests with regard to their wastewater effluents eventually being discharged to the Baltic Sea. However, differences in the influent wastewater characteristics, treatment processes, operational conditions, and carbon intensities of energy mixes in both countries make these two countries interesting for carbon footprint (CF) comparison. This study aimed at proposing a functional...
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Determinants of Business Growth Aspirations among Polish Students: An Empirical Analysis
PublicationThis paper aims to discuss the concept of growth aspirations and growth intentions, as well as to identify factors that influence growth aspirations expressed by students with regard to their future businesses. On the basis of a literature review potential determinants of growth aspirations have been identified and tested empirically using data obtained from 223 students from the Pomeranian region in Poland. The authors...
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Investigating the Impact of Curing System on Structure-Property Relationship of Natural Rubber Modified with Brewery By-Product and Ground Tire Rubber
PublicationThe application of wastes as a filler/reinforcement phase in polymers is a new strategy to modify the performance properties and reduce the price of biocomposites. The use of these fillers, coming from agricultural waste (cellulose/lignocellulose-based fillers) and waste rubbers, constitutes a method for the management of post-consumer waste. In this paper, highly-filled biocomposites based on natural rubber (NR) and ground tire...
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Series-Slot-Fed Circularly Polarized Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output Antenna Array Enabling Circular Polarization Diversity for 5G 28-GHz Indoor Applications
PublicationIn this paper, a four-element circularly polarized series-slot-fed multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) antenna array with circular polarization diversity is presented. The proposed design utilizes a combination of 45-degree inclined slots and a straight microstrip line feeding technique. The two antennas are designed to operate with the opposite sense of circular polarization (CP). CP is achieved by placing a patch of just about...
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Modelling AOB-NOB competition in shortcut nitrification compared with conventional nitrification-denitrification process
PublicationIn particular, mainstream deammonification and/or shortened nitrificationdenitrification via nitrite (so-called “nitrite shunt”) is a promising new treatment concept that has the potential to revolutionise how nitrogen removal is achieved at WWTPs. Understanding the role of the AOB/NOB competition in the nitrogen cycle in wastewater treatment systems will change operational strategies of the novel nitrogen removal processes. The...
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City scan as a tool to assess resilience challenges and vulnerabilities at the community level
PublicationThe majority of the world’s population lives in cities and cities are the key to achieving resilience. Local governments own only part of the land and can only partially decide about measures that should be taken ‘on the ground’. Local governments are therefore highly dependent on individuals, communities, and businesses to adapt and transform and take action in their own backyards or neighbourhoods. Since, for many people, climate...
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Properties of Oxygen Vacancy and Hydrogen Interstitial Defects in Strontium Titanate: DFT + Ud,p Calculations
PublicationThis work presents extensive theoretical studies focused on the mixed ion-electron transport in cubic strontium titanate (STO). A new approach to the description of this difficult system was developed within the framework of linear-scaling Kohn–Sham density functional theory, as realized in the ONETEP program. The description we present is free of any empirical parameters and relies on the Hubbard U and Hund’s J corrections applied...
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Analysis of Transformation Methods of Hydroacoustic and Optoelectronic Data Based on the Tombolo Measurement Campaign in Sopot
PublicationMeasurements in the coastal zone are carried out using various methods, including Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), hydroacoustic and optoelectronic methods. Therefore, it is necessary to develop coordinate transformation models that will enable the conversion of data from the land and marine parts to one coordinate system. The article presents selected issues related to the integration of geodetic and hydrographic data....
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Influence of a Lighting Column in the Working Width of a W-Beam Barrier on TB51 Crash Test
PublicationRoad equipment, such as, e.g., road safety barriers and lighting columns, are subject to certification according to the EN1317 standard to be allowed for use on European roads. In engineering practice, due to the terrain conditions, there are cases where other road equipment is installed within the working width of road safety barriers. Such situations are not considered during the certification process. Hence, the aim of this...
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The Application of Satellite Image Analysis in Oil Spill Detection
PublicationIn recent years, there has been an increasing use of satellite sensors to detect and track oil spills. The satellite bands, namely visible, short, medium infrared, and microwave radar bands, are used for this purpose. The use of satellite images is extremely valuable for oil spill analysis. With satellite images, we can identify the source of leakage and assess the extent of potential damage. However, it is not yet clear how to...
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Youth attitude to entrepreneurship in Eastern and Central European countries: Gender aspect
PublicationCurrent business conditions pose new challenges to youth entrepreneurship, which is a significant component of countries’ economic growth. In addition, Generation Z differs from previous generations and requires new approaches. In this context, a comprehensive study of the peculiarities and various aspects of youth entrepreneurship development is highly-demanded and relevant. Furthermore, the lower representation of women among...
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Hydration of aprotic donor solvents studied by means of FTIR spectroscopy
PublicationThe paper attempts to explain the mutual influence of nonpolar and electron-donor groups on solute hydration,the problem of big importance for biological aqueous systems. Aprotic organic solvents have been used asmodel solutes, differing in electron-donating power. Hydration of acetonitrile, acetone, 2-butanone, andtriethylamine has been studied by HDO and (partially) H2O spectra. The quantitative version of...
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Glucose metabolism disorders in patients with non-functioning adrenal adenomas — single-centre experience
PublicationIntroduction: The presence of glucose metabolism disorders and their possible correlation with degree of cortisol secretion were evaluated in patients with non-functioning adrenal incidentalomas (NFAIs). Material and methods: The study group consisted of 131 patients with hormonally inactive adrenal incidentalomas....
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Free trade with the former COMECON Countries as Unequal Exchange
PublicationTwo authors of this chapter were born to the East of what was once The Iron Curtain and two to the West. From both angles, the two systems – capitalism and communism – seemed to be as contrary to each other as possible. Few people are aware that in terms of industrial and trade policy, both classical capitalism and communism had a common root in the theories of German economist Friedrich List (1789-1846) (List, 1841). In fact,...
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Removal of diphenols using pine biochar. Kinetics, equilibrium, thermodynamics, and mechanism of uptake
PublicationThermal pyrolysis synthesized activated biochar from the Pinus elliottii sawdust (PS) at 600° C. The obtained activated biochar (PB600) was used for the removal of three diphenols, catechol (CAT), resorcinol (RES), and hydroquinone (HYD), which are utilized mainly in different industries. The PB600 was characterized by several analytical techniques. The BET surface area of 1473 m2.g−1 and a total pore volume of 0.707 cm3 g−1 was...
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Successive cytotoxicity control by evolutionary surface decorated electronic push-pull green ZnCr-LDH nanostructures: Drug delivery enlargement for targeted breast cancer chemotherapy
PublicationThe reason for the increasing bioavailability and biocompatibility of the porous nanomaterials in the presence of different (bio)molecules is still unknown. The role of difference functional groups and their interactions with the potential bioavailability and biocompatibility is of great importance. To investigate the potential contribution of the electronic effects (especially on the surface of the porous nanomaterials) on their...
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Low temperature growth of diamond films on optical fibers using Linear Antenna CVD system
PublicationIt is not trivial to achieve a good quality diamond-coated fibre interface due to a large difference in the properties and composition of the diamond films (or use coating even) and the optical fibre material, i.e. fused silica. One of the biggest problems is the high temperature during the deposition which influences the optical fibre or optical fibre sensor structure (e.g. long-period gratings (LPG)). The greatest advantage of...
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On the Possibility of the Amphotericin B-Sterol Complex Formation in Cholesterol- and Ergosterol-Containing Lipid Bilayers: A Molecular Dynamics Study
PublicationAmphotericin B (AmB) is a well-known membrane-active antibiotic that has been used to treat systemicfungal infections for more than 45 years. Therapeutic application of AmB is based on the fact that it is moreactive against ergosterol-containing membranes of fungal cells than against mammalian membranes withcholesterol. In this paper, we examine the hypothesis according to which the selectivity of the AmB's membraneaction originates...
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Load effect impact on the exploitation of concrete machine foundations used in the gas and oil industry
PublicationMachine foundations is a critical topic in the gas and oil industry, which design and exploitation require extensive technical knowledge. Machine foundations are the constructions which are intended for mounting on it a specific type of machine. The foundation has to transfer dynamic and static load from machine to the ground. The primary difference between machine foundations and building foundations is that the machine foundations...
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The Effect of Steaming Beech, Birch and Maple Woods on Qualitative Indicators of the Surface
PublicationThis work presents the effect of steaming beech, birch and maple woods on the resulting quality of the milled wood surface. The steaming process of the studied woods results in a targeted change in the color of the wood, which changes from the original light white-gray color to fine reddishbrown to dark brown color shades that are more or less saturated depending on the temperature of the saturated water steam. The color changes...
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Contr-rotating eccentric-mass rotors used as exciters of sinusoidal forces applied to elastically supported bodies
PublicationThe work focuses on aspects of multibody dynamics. Investigated object is a mass driven by rotations of an inertial shaker. Resulting vibrational set consists of two counter-rotating identically-unbalanced rotors. Since the mass centres of the rotors do not coincide with the axes of their rotations, significant centrifugal forces arise during rotations. As both rotors are identically unbalanced, the inter-axial force components...
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Identification and characterization of single-stranded DNA-binding protein from the facultative psychrophilic bacteria Pseudoalteromonas haloplanktis
PublicationSingle-stranded DNA-binding protein (SSB) plays an important role in DNA metabolism such as DNAreplication, repair, and recombination, and is essential for cell survival. This study reports on the ssb-likegene cloning, gene expression and characterization of a single-stranded DNA-binding protein of Pseudoal-teromonas haloplanktis (PhaSSB) and is the first report of such a protein from psychrophilic microorganism.PhaSSB possesses...
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Damage-involved response of two colliding buildings under non-uniform earthquake loading
PublicationPounding between insufficiently separated buildings, which may result in considerable damage or may even lead to the total collapse of colliding structures, has been repeatedly observed during earthquakes. Earthquake-induced collisions of buildings has been intensively studied applying various structural models. It was assumed in the analyses, however, that the seismic excitation is identical for all structural supports; whereas,...
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Air-cooled photovoltaic roof tile as an example of the BIPVT system – An experimental study on the energy and exergy performance
PublicationThe air-cooled photovoltaic tile is a subject of presented investigations, which focused on improving the overall system efficiency of PV tiles with heat recovery. The operational efficiency of a PV roof tile, together with the construction optimising the air cooling efficiency, were the main points of plans realized at this research stage. The article describes the experimental research consisting of the assessment of electrical,...
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Molecular level interpretation of excess infrared spectroscopy
PublicationInfrared (IR) spectroscopy is an invaluable tool in studying intermolecular interactions in solvent mixtures. The deviation of the IR spectrum of a mixture from the spectra of its pure components is a sensitive measure of the non-ideality of solutions and the modulation of intermolecular interactions introduced by mutual influence of the components. Excess IR spectroscopy, based on the established notion of excess thermodynamic...
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No Evidence for Sex-specificity in Vitamin C, E and Fatty Acid Content of Human Milk from Healthy Polish Mothers
PublicationHuman milk (HM) is a complex fluid that meets the nutritional needs of infants. Its composition idrfs associated with environmental, maternal, and foetal variables. It provides nutrients and bioactive substances, including cytokines, immunoglobulins, and constituents with antioxidative properties. Boys are reportedly more susceptible to oxidative stress. This study aimed to determine the relationship between infant sex and the...
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Model-based identification of the dominant N2O emission pathway in a full-scale activated sludge system
PublicationActivated sludge models (ASMs), extended with an N2O emission module, are powerful tools to describe the operation of full-scale wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Specifically, such models can investigate the most contributive N2O production pathways and guide towards N2O and carbon footprint (CF) mitigation measures. A common practice is to develop and validate models using data from a single WWTP. In this study, a successfully...
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Using differential pressure sensor to measure nitrous oxide level in a tank
PublicationA method for measuring the level of liquid nitrous oxide oxidizer in a hybrid rocket motor oxidizer tank is proposed. Presented approach is more accurate than the most commonly used method of this measurement, which employs weighting of the whole sounding rocket or an oxidizer tank. In our solution we use a differential pressure sensor to measure the change of pressure at the bottom of an oxidizer tank in comparison to the pressure...
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Exploring the cocrystallization potential of urea and benzamide
PublicationThe cocrystallization landscape of benzamide and urea interacting with aliphatic and aromatic carboxylic acids was studied both experimentally and theoretically. Ten new cocrystals of benzamide were synthesized using an oriented samples approach via a fast dropped evaporation technique. Information about types of known bi-component cocrystals augmented with knowledge of simple binary eutectic mixtures was used for the analysis...
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A Comprehensive Framework for Measuring Governments’ Digital Initiatives Including Open Data
PublicationDigital innovation and digital initiatives are generally recognized and considered to be the driving forces behind firm survival and success in the market. This is not the case in the public sector, where digital initiatives have suffered not only from a lack of research trying to explain them but also from a major lack of recognition of their importance. The government’s eagerness to introduce more digital initiatives for better...
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Eco-friendly Route for Thermoplastic Polyurethane Elastomers with Bio-based Hard Segments Composed of Bio-glycol and Mixtures of Aromatic–Aliphatic and Aliphatic–Aliphatic Diisocyanate
PublicationApplication of bio-based diisocyanates with low volatility instead petrochemical diisocyanates has positive impact on environment by reduction of hazardous effects on living organisms and lead to bio-based polyurethanes (bio-PUs) with good usage properties. This work was focused on the synthesis and chosen properties examination of partially bio-based thermoplastic polyurethane elastomers (bio-PUs) obtained using diisocyanate mixtures,...
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Assessment of River Water Quality and Pollution Status Using Physicochemical and Biometrics, Awetu River, Ethiopia
PublicationThe surface water is contaminated by a variety of synthetic organic and inorganic compounds, chemicals, and nutrients; due to this reason, the quality of the water resources of Ethiopia is declining at an alarming rate, resulting in severe environmental degradation. The main objective of the study was to recognize the pollution status river for the study area by physicochemical parameters and the extent of microbial environmental...
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Influence of separation gap on the structural response of colliding structures under earthquake excitation
PublicationThe high level of urbanization in the XXIst century forces the designers to design closely-separated structures and to take into account many factors influencing their response during seismic excitation, which are the most unpredictable loads which can affect civil engineering structures. Interactions between insufficiently adjacent buildings, known as the earthquake-induced structural pounding, may cause serious damage to the structures,...
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US not bright but right method of thyroid volume estimation even in large and substernal extended goitres. Comparison of US and three methods of CT thyroid evaluation - prospective study.ON LINE
PublicationBackground Ultrasound is nowadays a method of choice for thyroid volume assessment. However, its disadvantage is some inaccuracy, which is said to be higher in huge, especially substernally extended goitres. Aims The aim of the study was to compare the US and CT thyroid volumetric measurements: multi-observers (CT MO) and one-observer (CT OO) to CT planimetry results (CT Pl) in patients with large goitres. Materials & Methods The...
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Perfusion computed tomography: 4 cmversus8 cm coverage size in subjects with chronic carotid artery stenosis
PublicationOBJECTIVE: The impact of coverage size on global cerebral blood flow (CBF), cerebral blood volume (CBV), mean transit time (MTT) and time to peak (TTP) parameters has not been investigated in patients with chronic carotid artery stenosis. METHODS: 63 patients with stenosis of >70% within a single internal carotid artery and neurological symptoms were randomly assigned to two well-matched groups. Differences in CT perfusion scan...
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Structural studies of a cold-adapted dimeric Beta-D-galactosidase from Paracoccus sp. 32d
PublicationThe crystal structure of a novel dimeric [beta]-D-galactosidase from Paracoccus sp. 32d (Par[beta]DG) was solved in space group P212121 at a resolution of 2.4 Å by molecular replacement with multiple models using the BALBES software. This enzyme belongs to glycoside hydrolase family 2 (GH2), similar to the tetrameric and hexameric [beta]-D-galactosidases from Escherichia coli and Arthrobacter sp. C2-2, respectively. It is the second...
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Fabrication and characterization of boron-doped nanocrystalline diamond-coated MEMS probes
PublicationFabrication processes of thin boron-doped nanocrystalline diamond (B-NCD) films on silicon-based micro- and nano-electromechanical structures have been investigated. Nanocrystalline boron doped -diamond (B-NCD) films were deposited using Microwave Plasma Assisted Chemical Vapour Deposition (MW PA CVD) method. The variation of B-NCD morphology, structure and optical parameters were particularly investigated. The use of truncated...
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Natural convection in symmetrically heated vertical channels
PublicationThe study describes natural convection through a vertical channel, open on four sides and bound by two isothermal walls. Both balancing and infrared experimental investigations were performed in air (Pr = 0.71) to estimate the impact of channel width s and wall-to-ambient temperature difference (tw - t∞) on natural convective heat transfer, the formation of air flow patterns and the rate of flow pattern formation. The study was...
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Analysis of cyclone separator solutions depending on spray ejector condenser conditions
PublicationThe core design strategy for minimizing CO2 emissions in gas power plant entails combining a spray ejector condenser (SEC) and separator to accomplish steam condensation and CO2 purification. This innovative process involves direct-contact condensation of steam with CO2, facilitated by interaction with a subcooled water spray, along with a cyclone separator mechanism intended for generating pure CO2. The investigation of the SEC...
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The influence of the geographic positioning system error on the quality of ship magnetic signature reproduction based on measurements in sea conditions
PublicationIn previous studies, the authors performed the magnetic signature reconstruction of the marine ship Zodiak as part of the measurement campaign focused on recording magnetic data and the relative position of a ship during its passage over a magnetometer immersed on the testing ground. A high degree of representation of the magnetic signature was obtained. However, the recorded measurement data revealed new patterns of the multidipole model...
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Quality of limes juices based on the aroma and antioxidant properties
PublicationKaffir (Citrus hystrix) and Key (Citrus aurantifolia) limes juices were investigated and compared. Two dimensional gas chromatography coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC×GC-TOF-MS) was applied to assess the botanical origin of Kaffir and Key limes juices, based on volatile substances. The biggest differences in the contents of selected terpenes in Kaffir and Key limes occur in chemical compounds such as Limonene,...
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Seismic gap between buildings founded on different soil types experiencing pounding during earthquakes
PublicationSeveral formulas have been suggested in the literature to evaluate the minimum seismic gap that would prevent collisions between adjacent buildings during earthquakes, including those based on the absolute sum of the peak displacements (ABS), square root of the sum of the squares (SRSS), the double difference method (DDC), Australian code, and approach proposed by Naderpour et al. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the...
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The reliability of tree and star networks.
PublicationOne of the important parameters characterizing the quality of computer networks is the network's reliability with respect to failures of the communication links and nodes. This chapter investigated the reliability of tree and star networks. The tree and star topology is used in centralized computer networks. In centralized computer networks all communication must take place through some central computer. Following measures of network...
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I love to write and create. Can I earn money doing it? Entrepreneurial process of bloggers
PublicationNew technologies and a new way of looking at the life of future generations, open up new perspectives of entrepreneurial activities. One of them is to run a blog. Although the first blogs appeared many years ago and earning money from running them is also known to bloggers, little research is devoted to this form of entrepreneurship. The analysis of this phenomenon was carried out using the netnography method, which is not common...
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The effect of impacted third molars on second molar external root resorption, a cross-sectional cone beam computed tomography study
PublicationBackground: Third molars have the highest prevalence of impaction in teeth and can cause pathological damage on the adjacent second molars. This study aims to evaluate the effects of factors related to impacted third molars on external root resorption (ERR) in adjacent second molars using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Material and Methods: In CBCTs, the effect of impacted third molars on the root surface of adjacent second...
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A novel approach in wood waste utilization for manufacturing of catalyst-free polyurethane-wood composites (PU-WC)
PublicationIn recent decades, due to the increase in environmental awareness and noticeable environmental degradation, the area of wood waste management has attracted increasing attention. The purpose of this study is to develop a new type of highly filled polyurethane wood-composite (PU-WC) by the utilization of large amount of wood wastes without addition of a catalyst. Although wood-plastic composites (WPCs) are widely known, there is...
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Modeling external carbon addition in combined N-P activated sludge systems with an extension of the IWA Activated Sludge Models
PublicationThe aim of this study was to expand the IWA Activated Sludge Model No. 2d (ASM2d) to account for a newly defined readily biodegradable substrate that can be consumed by polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs) under anoxic and aerobic conditions, but not under anaerobic conditions. The model change was to add a new substrate component and process terms for its use by PAOs and other heterotrophic bacteria under anoxic and aerobic...
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Modeling external carbon addition in combined N-P activated sludge systems with an extension of the IWA Activated Sludge Models
PublicationThe aim of this study was to expand the IWA Activated Sludge Model No. 2d (ASM2d) to account for a newly defined readily biodegradable substrate that can be consumed by polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs) under anoxic and aerobic conditions, but not under anaerobic conditions. The model change was to add a new substrate component and process terms for its use by PAOs and other heterotrophic bacteria under anoxic and aerobic...
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Analysis of Lombard speech using parameterization and the objective quality indicators in noise conditions
PublicationThe aim of the work is to analyze Lombard speech effect in recordings and then modify the speech signal in order to obtain an increase in the improvement of objective speech quality indicators after mixing the useful signal with noise or with an interfering signal. The modifications made to the signal are based on the characteristics of the Lombard speech, and in particular on the effect of increasing the fundamental frequency...
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Density functional theory-based simulations of sum frequency generation spectra involving methyl stretching vibrations: effect of the molecular model on the deduced molecular orientation and comparison with an analytical approach
PublicationThe knowledge of the first hyperpolarizability tensor elements of molecular groups is crucial for a quantitative interpretation of the sum frequency generation (SFG) activity of thin organic films at interfaces. Here, the SFG response of the terminal methyl group of a dodecanethiol (DDT) monolayer has been interpreted on the basis of calculations performed at the density functional theory (DFT) level of approximation. In particular,...