Tribochemical Interactions between Graphene and ZDDP in Friction Tests for Uncoated and W-DLC-Coated HS6-5-2C Steel.

If a lubricant contains structures capable of conducting energy, reactions involving zinc dialkyldithiophosphate (ZDDP) may take place both very close to and away from the solid surfaces, with this indicating that ZDDP can be a highly effective anti-wear (AW) additive. The central thesis of this article is that the tribocatalytic effect is observed only when the energy emitted by the solids is transmitted by ordered molecular structures present in the lubricant, e.g.

Assessment of the Suitability of for Phytoremediation of Soil Contaminated with Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH and PAH), Zn, Pb and Cd Based on Toxicological Tests.

The article presents issues related to the possibility of using toxicological tests as a tool to monitor the progress of soil treatment contaminated with petroleum substances (TPH, PAH), Zn, Pb and Cd in bio-phytoremediation processes. In order to reduce the high content of petroleum pollutants (TPH = 56,371 mg kg dry mass, PAH = 139.3 mg kg dry mass), the technology of stepwise soil treatment was applied, including basic bioremediation and inoculation with biopreparations based of indigenous non-pathogenic species of bacteria, fungi and yeasts.

Evaluation of acidogenesis products' effect on biogas production performed with metagenomics and isotopic approaches.

Background: During the acetogenic step of anaerobic digestion, the products of acidogenesis are oxidized to substrates for methanogenesis: hydrogen, carbon dioxide and acetate. Acetogenesis and methanogenesis are highly interconnected processes due to the syntrophic associations between acetogenic bacteria and hydrogenotrophic methanogens, allowing the whole process to become thermodynamically favorable. The aim of this study is to determine the influence of the dominant acidic products on the metabolic pathways of methane formation and to find a core microbiome and substrate-specific species in a mixed biogas-producing system.

Research on Optimal Blocking Limits and Injection Parameter Optimization of Polymer Microsphere Conformance Control.

Polymer microsphere (PM) profile control has been attributed to improving sweep efficiency during the oil development process. The critical factors for PM conformance control are the plugging properties controlled by matching the relationship between the throat diameter and particle size and the injection parameters. A new matching relationship between the reservoir and PM based on the function of blocking rate and the ratio of throat diameter to microsphere diameter ( ) is established to choose the most appropriate PM size.

Transference Number Determination in Poor-Dissociated Low Dielectric Constant Lithium and Protonic Electrolytes.

Whereas the major potential of the development of lithium-based cells is commonly attributed to the use of solid polymer electrolytes (SPE) to replace liquid ones, the possibilities of the improvement of the applicability of the fuel cell is often attributed to the novel electrolytic materials belonging to various structural families. In both cases, the transport properties of the electrolytes significantly affect the operational parameters of the galvanic and fuel cells incorporating them. Amongst them, the transference number (TN) of the electrochemically active species (usually cations) is, on the one hand, one of the most significant descriptors of the resulting cell operational efficiency while on the other, despite many years of investigation, it remains the worst definable and determinable material parameter.

Ionic Transport Properties of PO-SiO Glassy Protonic Composites Doped with Polymer and Inorganic Titanium-based Fillers.

This paper is focused on the determination of the physicochemical properties of a composite inorganic-organic modified membrane. The electrical conductivity of a family of glassy protonic electrolytes defined by the general formula (PO)(SiO), where x/y is 3/7 are studied by Alternating Current electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (AC EIS) method. The reference glass was doped with polymeric additives-poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), and additionally with a titanium-oxide-based filler.

Novel Approach to Automated Flow Titration for the Determination of Fe(III).

A novel approach to automated flow titration with spectrophotometric detection for the determination of Fe(III) is presented. The approach is based on the possibility of strict and simultaneous control of the flow rates of sample and titrant streams over time. It consists of creating different but precisely defined concentration gradients of titrant and analyte in each successively formed monosegments, and is based on using the calculated titrant dilution factor.

Application of Festuca arundinacea in phytoremediation of soils contaminated with Pb, Ni, Cd and petroleum hydrocarbons.

Phytoremediation is a promising "green technique" used to purify contaminated soils. The performed phytoremediation experiments assisted by the fertilization process involving pots of F.arundinacea grown on soils with diverse concentrations and types of contaminations produced the following decreased percentages after 6 months: Pb (25.

Assessment of Biodegradation Efficiency of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) and Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH) in Soil Using Three Individual Bacterial Strains and Their Mixed Culture.

Biodegradation is one of the most effective and profitable methods for the elimination of toxic polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) from the environment. In this study, aerobic degradation of the mentioned pollutants by bacterial strains IN53, IN129, and sp. IN306 and mixed culture M1 developed based on those strains at 1:1:1 ratio was analyzed.

Hydrocarbon Removal by Two Differently Developed Microbial Inoculants and Comparing Their Actions with Biostimulation Treatment.

Bioremediation of soils polluted with petroleum compounds is a widely accepted environmental technology. We compared the effects of biostimulation and bioaugmentation of soil historically contaminated with aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The studied bioaugmentation treatments comprised of the introduction of differently developed microbial inoculants, namely: an isolated hydrocarbon-degrading community C1 (undefined-consisting of randomly chosen degraders) and a mixed culture C2 (consisting of seven strains with well-characterized enhanced hydrocarbon-degrading capabilities).

Examination of Statistical Instability of Electroencephalograms.

The study examined stochastic stability of EEG samples recorded in succession from the same healthy volunteer at unchanged state. The absence of statistical repetitions not only for EEG samples, but also for the corresponding spectral densities was proven. A method to calculate the pairwise comparison matrices of ECG samples and quasi-attractors was proposed.

Impact of Nitrogen Foamed Stimulation Fluids Stabilized by Nanoadditives on Reservoir Rocks of Hydrocarbon Deposits.

The first objective of this experiment was to improve the stabilization of N based foam with nanoparticles as an alternative to typical fracturing fluid, which consists of a gelling agent (HPG - hydroxypropyl guar). The second objective of the project was to investigate the damage caused by nanoparticle-based nitrogen foamed fracturing fluids (F.F) on a reference sandstone, using permeability and porosity tests, optical microscope with a Profilometer, and a scanning electron microscope (SEM).

The collagen scaffold supports hiPSC-derived NSC growth and restricts hiPSC.

The human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) are one of the promising candidates as patient specific cell source for autologous transplantation or modeling of diseases. The collagen (Col) scaffolds have been shown suitable to create biomimetic microenvironment for human neural stem cells, but their ability to accommodate stem cells at different stages of neural differentiation has not been verified yet. In this paper we compare lineage related hiPSC during neural differentiation for their ability to colonize Col scaffold.

Experimental Analysis of the Chaotic Dynamics of Muscle Biopotentials under Various Static Loads.

Arbitrary and involuntary movements were studied from the position of the new chaos-self-organization theory. Analysis of organization of tappingrams and tremorograms within the framework of N. A.

Aerobic bacteria degrading both n-alkanes and aromatic hydrocarbons: an undervalued strategy for metabolic diversity and flexibility.

Environmental pollution with petroleum toxic products has afflicted various ecosystems, causing devastating damage to natural habitats with serious economic implications. Some crude oil components may serve as growth substrates for microorganisms. A number of bacterial strains reveal metabolic capacities to biotransform various organic compounds.

Subfossil markers of climate change during the Roman Warm Period of the late Holocene.

Abundant bog oak trunks occur in alluvial deposits of the Raba River in the village of Targowisko (southern Poland). Several of them contain galleries of the great capricorn beetle (Cerambyx cerdo L.).

Novel approach to two-component speciation analysis. Spectrophotometric flow-based determinations of Fe(II)/Fe(III) and Cr(III)/Cr(VI).

The proposed approach to two-component speciation analysis relies on simultaneous application of two calibration methods to determination of two different forms of an analyte. One form is determined in extrapolative way, whereas the second form is determined in interpolative way, with the use of the same calibration graph, after appropriate chemical treatment, e.g.

Research on calibrating rock mechanical parameters with a statistical method.

Research on the modeling of rock mechanics parameters is of great significance to the exploration of oil and gas. The use of logging data with the Kriging interpolation to study rock mechanics parameters has been proven to be effective in reservoir prediction and other oilfield applications and can provide additional data. However, there will sometimes be a great deviation due to the limited samples and the strong heterogeneity of a layer.

Spatiotemporal characterization of hydration process of asymmetric polymeric wound dressings for decubitus ulcers.

Pressure ulcers belong to the most chalenging clinical problems. As hydration level of such wounds is important for optimal healing, preparation of new wound dressing (WD) materials for pressure ulcers requires thorough in vitro evaluation as prerequisite to final in vivo testing. The aims of the study were to: (a) develop a simple method of preparation of asymmetric polymeric membrane, (b) to propose a set of in vitro methods for membrane characterization during hydration.

Solid phase extraction of tritiated contaminants from tritium-containing waste oils.

A solid phase extraction method for removing polar tritiated contaminants from tritium-containing waste oils has been developed. The composition of the degradation products present in the waste oil was determined. The results indicated that upon exposure to tritium gas, fragment methyl ketones, carboxylic acids, and lactones were the main polar products of the mineral-based oil oxidation.

Multimodal approach to characterization of hydrophilic matrices manufactured by wet and dry granulation or direct compression methods.

Purpose Of The Research: The purpose of the research was to investigate the effect of the manufacturing process of the controlled release hydrophilic matrix tablets on their hydration behavior, internal structure and drug release. Direct compression (DC) quetiapine hemifumarate matrices and matrices made of powders obtained by dry granulation (DG) and high shear wet granulation (HS) were prepared. They had the same quantitative composition and they were evaluated using X-ray microtomography, magnetic resonance imaging and biorelevant stress test dissolution.

Single peak parameters technique for simultaneous measurements: Spectrophotometric sequential injection determination of Fe(II) and Fe(III).

Spectrophotometric sequential injection system (SI) is proposed to automate the method of simultaneous determination of Fe(II) and Fe(III) on the basis of parameters of a single peak. In the developed SI system, sample and mixture of reagents (1,10-phenanthroline and sulfosalicylic acid) are introduced into a vessel, where in an acid environment (pH≅3) appropriate compounds of Fe(II) and Fe(III) with 1,10-phenanthroline and sulfosalicylic acid are formed, respectively. Then, in turn, air, sample, EDTA and sample again, are introduced into a holding coil.

Application of microcomputed tomography for quantitative analysis of dental root canal obturations.

Introduction: The aim of the study was to apply microcomputed tomography to quantitative evaluation of voids and to test any specific location of voids in tooth's root canal obturations.

Materials And Methods: Twenty root canals were prepared and obturated with gutta-percha and Tubli-Seal sealer using the thermoplastic compaction method (System B+Obtura II). Roots were scanned and three-dimensional visualization was obtained.

Changes in toxicity during in situ bioremediation of weathered drill wastes contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons.

Bioremediation of weathered drill wastes severely contaminated with total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) (90,000-170,000 mg kg(-1)) and BTEX (51.2-95.5 mg kg(-1)) to soil standards was achieved over a 3-year period in three phases: initial remediation, basic bioremediation and inoculation with a biopreparation.

Optimisation research of petroleum hydrocarbon biodegradation in weathered drilling wastes from waste pits.

The aim of this article is to discuss the problem of drilling waste remediation. Analyses and research showed that material stored in waste pits could be classified as soil with a high level of petroleum impurities (total petroleum hydrocarbons [TPH] = 102,417-132,472 mg kg(-1) dry mass). While preparing the complex technology of soil decontamination (which included primary reclamation, basic bioremediation and inoculation with biopreparations based on indigenous bacteria and fungi), laboratory tests indicated the use of an ex-situ method was fundamental.