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The purpose of the study was to evaluate the nutritional value of fermented peanut meal (FPM) and its effect on the growth performance of weaned piglets. The experiment was divided into three parts. Experiment 1: Twelve 'Duroc× Landrace×Yorkshire' ternary castrated boars with initial weight of (10.0±2.0) kg were randomly divided into two groups, which were fed with basal diet and FPM diet respectively, with six replicates in each group and one pig in each replicate. The available energy values of two kinds of diets were measured by total fecal collection method, and the digestive energy and metabolizable energy of pigs were calculated by nested algorithm. Experiment 2: Twelve 'Duroc×Landrace× Yorkshire' ternary castrated boars with an initial weight of (15.0±2.0) kg with T-shaped fistula installed at the end of ileum were randomly divided into two groups, which were fed with nitrogen-free diet and semi-homozygous diet with 30% FPM as the only nitrogen source, with six replicates in each group and one pig in each replicate. The experiment lasted for seven days, The apparent ileal digestibility (AID) and standard ileal digestibility (SID) of FPM were measured by collecting terminal ileal chyme on the last two days. Experiment 3: 50 weaned piglets with an initial weight of (8.0±1.0) kg were randomly divided into five groups with 10 replicates in each group, half in male and half female, with one pig in each replicate. The control group was fed with corn-soybean meal basal diet, and the experimental group was fed with 2%, 4%, 6%, and 8% FPM experimental diets for 21 days. The results showed that the digestive energy and metabolizable energy of FPM were 15.17 and 13.83 MJ/kg, respectively, and the SID of lysine, methionine, threonine and tryptophan were 85.85%, 92.44%, 87.80%, and 84.09% respectively. Compared with the control group, the dietary FPM had no significant effect on the average daily feed intake and diarrhea rate of weaned piglets (P>0.05). Addition of 2%~8% FPM significantly increased average daily gain (P<0.05) and decreased feed-toweight ratio (P<0.05). The results show that the effective energy value and amino acid utilization rate of FPM are high. Adding 2%~8% FPM to the diet of weaned piglets can reduce the feed-to-weight ratio of piglets, and the feeding effect of 6% FPM is better. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the fair distribution of available energy (AE) in a massive multiple-input multiple-output (mMIMO) simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT) sensor network, where sensor nodes are equipped with low-resolution analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) and digital-to-analog converters (DACs). We define the system model and estimate the channel using linear minimum mean square error (LMMSE) estimation. To analyze system performance, we derive closed-form expressions for the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), and harvested energy. These expressions allow us to evaluate the impact of low-resolution ADCs/DACs on both the achievable rate and energy harvesting. Based on these expressions, we formulate an optimization problem fair AE distribution. To solve this non-convex problem, we propose an alternating optimization (AO) algorithm that optimizes the downlink/uplink (DL/UL) powers and the power splitting (PS) ratio. Monte Carlo simulations confirm that our closed-form analysis accurately represents the system performance and that the optimization algorithm distributes AE more fairly compared to the equal power and power splitting case.

Passivity criteria for controlled affine resistive (CAR) components are presented. First, the definitions of passive component and non‐dynamic component are recalled, as formulated in the frame of the behavioral approach (i.e., based on the concept of forwards concatenation set of an admissible process at a given time). Then, three lemmas, one theorem, and four corollaries on quadratic functions are stated and proven, which provide the mathematical tools needed. On this basis, passivity criteria for CAR components are derived, under both the standard (i.e., homogeneous, hybrid, and transmission) matrix representations and the general matrix representation. Finally, by resorting to a kind of canonic representation, two general results on the passivity of CAR components are obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three experiments were conducted to compare the digestible (DE), metabolizable energy (ME), and standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of amino acids (AA) in fermented corn germ meal (FCGM) and soybean meal (SBM), and evaluate the effects of FCGM replacing SBM in growing pig diets. In Exp. 1, 18 barrows with initial body weight (BW) of 60.2 ± 3.40 kg were randomly allotted to 3 treatments with 6 replicates per treatment. The control diet used corn as the only energy ingredient, and 2 test diets were made by replacing 25.8% of corn with FCGM or SBM. The DE and ME of FCGM were less (P

In the article, the prediction of global warming based on modern satellite data is defined by years. Climate models take into account the influence of changes in solar activity, as well as the influence of volcanic activity. If we take into account the total area of the planet, the change in the angle of the surface to the sun's rays, and the fact that half of the Earth is in shadow, the actual energy received on average per year outside the atmosphere decreases. Despite the fact that there are many characteristics of the weather (wind, precipitation, etc.), it is more appropriate to conduct research on the temperature change of the air in the first approximation of the climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accuracy of Peukert's battery capacity equation may decrease under the conditions of variable current and variable temperatures. Some researchers have previously tried to overcome the lack of C-rate change. However, the dependence of battery capacity on temperature is still not included. In this paper, we mainly studied the capacity reduction effect of batteries under variable temperatures. The proposed method can calculate the battery's available capacity according to the specific discharge conditions. The experimental method proposed in this paper provides a reasonable test method to generate the required coefficients in order to establish a state of charge prediction model with high accuracy. After establishing the method, we can make a real-time prediction of the available energy of battery including the remaining energy of battery. From the result, we can see that the result is of great precision and the method is valuable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Flammulina velutipes stem waste (FVS) is the by-product of mushroom industry. The objectives of this study were to determine the available energy and amino acid digestibility of FVS fed to pigs, and to evaluate the effects of dietary FVS inclusion on growth performance, biochemical profile of serum, fecal short chain fatty acid (SCFA) concentration, carcass traits, meat quality, intestinal morphology and microflora of pigs. In Exp. 1, twelve crossbred barrows with initial body weight (IBW) of 37.48 ± 4.31 kg were randomly allotted to 2 dietary treatments, including a corn basal diet and an experimental diet containing 24.35% FVS. In Exp. 2, twelve barrows fitted with an ileal T-cannula (IBW: 32.56 ± 1.67 kg) were randomly allotted to 2 dietary treatments, which included a N-free diet and an experimental diet containing 40.0% FVS. In Exp. 3, ninety growing pigs (IBW: 63.98 ± 6.89 kg) were allotted to 1 of 3 treatment diets for 63 d, including a basal diet and 2 experimental diets with 2.5% and 5% FVS, respectively. Results The digestible energy (DE) and metabolizable energy (ME) of FVS were 4.58 and 4.06 MJ/kg on dry matter basis, respectively, and the standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of indispensable AAs ranged from 17.50% to 59.47%. Pigs fed diets with 2.5% FVS showed no difference on average daily gain (ADG) and gain to feed ratio (G/F). Although dietary 5% FVS inclusion impaired apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of organic matter and gross energy, it elevated the SCFA concentration (P ≤ 0.04) in gut and antioxidant capacity in serum. In addition, dietary FVS inclusion depressed the backfat thickness (P = 0.03) in pigs. The longissimus dorsi muscle of pigs fed FVS revealed higher n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid concentration and optimized fatty acid composition. Dietary 2.5% FVS inclusion also improved the intestinal development and health by increasing the villius height to crypt depth ratio (V/C) in jejunum (P

In natural communities, microbes exchange a variety of metabolites (public goods) with each other, which drives the evolution of auxotroph and shapes interdependent patterns at community-level. However, factors that determine the strategy of public goods synthesis for a given community member still remains to be elucidated. In anaerobic methanogenic communities, energy availability of different community members is largely varied. We hypothesized that this uneven energy availability contributed to the heterogeneity of public goods synthesis ability among the members in these communities. We tested this hypothesis by analyzing the synthetic strategy of amino acids of the bacterial and archaeal members involved in four previously enriched anaerobic methanogenic communities residing in thermophilic chemostats. Our analyses indicate that most of the members in the communities did not possess ability to synthesize all the essential amino acids, suggesting they exchanged these essential public goods to establish interdependent patterns for survival. Importantly, we found that the amino acid synthesis ability of a functional group was largely determined by how much energy it could obtain from its metabolism in the given environmental condition. Moreover, members within a functional group also possessed different amino acid synthesis abilities, which are related to their features of energy metabolism. Our study reveals that energy availability is a key driver of microbial evolution in presence of metabolic specialization at community level and suggests the feasibility of managing anaerobic methanogenic communities for better performance through controlling the metabolic interactions involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In natural communities, microbes exchange a variety of metabolites (public goods) with each other, which drives the evolution of auxotroph and shapes interdependent patterns at community-level. However, factors that determine the strategy of public goods synthesis for a given community member still remains to be elucidated. In anaerobic methanogenic communities, energy availability of different community members is largely varied. We hypothesized that this uneven energy availability contributed to the heterogeneity of public goods synthesis ability among the members in these communities. We tested this hypothesis by analyzing the synthetic strategy of amino acids of the bacterial and archaeal members involved in four previously enriched anaerobic methanogenic communities residing in thermophilic chemostats. Our analyses indicate that most of the members in the communities did not possess ability to synthesize all the essential amino acids, suggesting they exchanged these essential public goods to establish interdependent patterns for survival. Importantly, we found that the amino acid synthesis ability of a functional group was largely determined by how much energy it could obtain from its metabolism in the given environmental condition. Moreover, members within a functional group also possessed different amino acid synthesis abilities, which are related to their features of energy metabolism. Our study reveals that energy availability is a key driver of microbial evolution in presence of metabolic specialization at community level and suggests the feasibility of managing anaerobic methanogenic communities for better performance through controlling the metabolic interactions involved.

The accuracy of Peukert’s battery capacity equation may decrease under the conditions of variable current and variable temperatures. Some researchers have previously tried to overcome the lack of C-rate change. However, the dependence of battery capacity on temperature is still not included. In this paper, we mainly studied the capacity reduction effect of batteries under variable temperatures. The proposed method can calculate the battery’s available capacity according to the specific discharge conditions. The experimental method proposed in this paper provides a reasonable test method to generate the required coefficients in order to establish a state of charge prediction model with high accuracy. After establishing the method, we can make a real-time prediction of the available energy of battery including the remaining energy of battery. From the result, we can see that the result is of great precision and the method is valuable.

Cyclic nigerosylnigerose (CNN) is a cyclic tetrasaccharide with properties distinct from those of other conventional cyclodextrins. We investigated the relative available energy of CNN in healthy humans. CNN digestibility was determined using brush border membrane vesicles from the small intestines of rats. CNN was not hydrolyzed by rat intestinal enzymes. To investigate breath hydrogen excretion, 13 human subjects were included in a double-blind cross-over, randomized, placebo-controlled study. The effects of CNN on hydrogen excretion were compared with those of a typical nondigestible, fermentable fructooligosaccharide (FOS). In the study participants, hydrogen excretion hardly increased upon CNN and was remarkably lower than for FOS. The available energy value was determined using the fermentability based on breath hydrogen excretion and was evaluated as 0 kcal/g for CNN. CNN was hardly metabolized and hence may be used as a low-energy dietary fiber. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Variance in the quality of food sites exploited by group-living animals should allow dominant individuals to gain feeding advantages. In some cases of eating in large patches, however, the amount of agonism can be puzzlingly low. We studied this problem in wild adult chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes , eating ripe fruits in large tree crowns, a context in which little aggression has previously been recorded. Observations were conducted from within the same tree crown as feeding chimpanzees, which allowed us to obtain high-quality data on food distribution, feeding behaviour and aggression. We assessed energy availability and chimpanzee behaviour in relation to their feeding depth. Deeper food sites were associated with less metabolizable food energy (kcal/m3) and lower energy intake rates (kcal/min). Energy availability also varied by tree type (higher in drupe trees than in fig trees) and fruit ripeness (higher in riper fruits). Males were dominant to females, and within both sexes aggressive interactions conformed to a linear hierarchy. Overall higher-ranking individuals used aggression and dominance to access superior feeding sites and achieve higher rates of energy intake, but the effects of dominance varied according to tree type, sex and party composition. Our study shows that covert contest competition over feeding sites gave dominant individuals an important advantage even in very large patches. • Within fruit trees, higher food sites produced more metabolizable energy. • Higher food sites were controlled by higher-ranking males and females. • In single-sex parties, females competed for food sites, but males did not. • In mixed-sex parties, female and male feeding success varied with social rank. • Between-female variation in feeding success was reduced in the presence of males. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective The research was conducted to determine the digestible (DE) and metabolizable energy (ME) contents as well as the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of nutrients in corn, waxy corn and steam-flaked corn fed to growing pigs. Methods Eighteen growing pigs with initial body weight of 15.42±1.41 kg were randomly allotted to three diets including a corn diet, a waxy corn diet and a steam-flaked corn diet in a completely randomized design. Each treatment contained six replicates. The experiment lasted for 12 days, which comprised 7-d adaptation to diets followed by a 5-d total collection of feces and urine. The energy contents and the nutrient digestibility in three ingredients were calculated using direct method. Results Compared to normal corn, both the amylose and dietary fiber contents in waxy corn were numerically lower, but the starch gelatinization degree was numerically greater. Moreover, the DE and ME contents as well as the ATTD of neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber (ADF) in waxy corn were significantly greater (p

Background: Flammulina velutipes stem waste (FVS) is the by-product of mushroom industry. The objectives of this study were to determine the available energy and amino acid digestibility of FVS fed to pigs, and to evaluate the effects of dietary FVS inclusion on growth performance, biochemical profile of serum, fecal short chain fatty acid (SCFA) concentration, carcass traits, meat quality, intestinal morphology and microflora of pigs. In Exp. 1, twelve crossbred barrows with initial body weight (IBW) of 37.48 ± 4.31 kg were randomly allotted to 2 dietary treatments, including a corn basal diet and an experimental diet containing 24.35% FVS. In Exp. 2, twelve barrows fitted with an ileal T-cannula (IBW: 32.56 ± 1.67 kg) were randomly allotted to 2 dietary treatments, which included a N-free diet and an experimental diet containing 40.0% FVS. In Exp. 3, ninety growing pigs (IBW: 63.98 ± 6.89 kg) were allotted to 1 of 3 treatment diets for 63 d, including a basal diet and 2 experimental diets with 2.5% and 5% FVS, respectively. Results: The digestible energy (DE) and metabolizable energy (ME) of FVS were 4.58 and 4.06 MJ/kg on dry matter basis, respectively, and the standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of indispensable AAs ranged from 17.50% to 59.47%. Pigs fed diets with 2.5% FVS showed no difference on average daily gain (ADG) and gain to feed ratio (G/F). Although dietary 5% FVS inclusion impaired apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of organic matter and gross energy, it elevated the SCFA concentration (P ≤ 0.04) in gut and antioxidant capacity in serum. In addition, dietary FVS inclusion depressed the backfat thickness (P = 0.03) in pigs. The longissimus dorsi muscle of pigs fed FVS revealed higher n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid concentration and optimized fatty acid composition. Dietary 2.5% FVS inclusion also improved the intestinal development and health by increasing the villius height to crypt depth ratio (V/C) in jejunum (P < 0.01), and promoting microbial diversity and beneficial microbiota proliferation. Conclusions: It is feasible to include moderate content of FVS as an unconventional fiber ingredient in diet of growing-finishing pigs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Yanqi basin is the main irrigated and active agroecosystem in semi-arid Xinjiang, northwestern China, which further seeks responses to the profound local water-related drawbacks in relation to the unceasing landscape desiccation and scant precipitation. Yet, it comes as an astonishment that a few reported near-surface items and water vapor fluxes as so far required for water resources decision support, particularly in a scarce observation data region. As a contributive effort, here we adjusted the sensible heat flux (H) calibration mechanism of Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL) to high-resolution satellite dataset coupled with in-situ observation, through a wise guided “anchor” pixel assortment from surface reflectance-α, Leaf area index-LAI, vegetation index-NDVI, and surface temperature (Pcold, Phot) to model the robustness of energy fluxes and Evapotranspiration-ETa over the basin. Results reasonably reflected ETa which returned low RMSE (0.6 mm d−1), MAE (0.48 mm d−1) compared to in-situ recordings, indicating the competence of SEBAL to predict vapor fluxes in this region. The adjustment unveiled the estimates of the land-use contribution to evapotranspiration with an average ranging from 3 to 4.69 mm d−1, reaching a maximum of 5.5 mm d−1. Furthermore, findings showed a high striking energy dissipation (LE/Rn) across grasslands and wetlands. The vegetated surfaces with a great evaporative fraction were associated with the highest LE/Rn (70–90%), and water bodies varying between 20% and 60%, while the desert ecosystem dissipated the least energy with a low evaporative fraction. Still, besides high portrayed evaporation in water, grasslands and wetlands varied interchangeably in accounting for the highest ETa followed by cropland. Finally, a substantial nexus between available energy (Rn-G) and ETa informed the available energy, influenced by NDVI to be the primary driver of these oases’ transpiration. This study provides essentials of near-surface energy fluxes and the likelihood of ETa with considerable baseline inferences for Yanqi that may be beneficial for long-term investigations that will attend in agrometeorological services and sustainable management of water resources in semi-arid regions.

The circulation of the Northern Hemisphere extratropical troposphere has changed over recent decades, with marked decreases in extratropical cyclone activity and eddy kinetic energy (EKE) in summer and increases in the fraction of precipitation that is convective in all seasons. Decreasing EKE in summer is partly explained by a weakening meridional temperature gradient, but changes in vertical temperature gradients and increasing moisture also affect the mean available potential energy (MAPE), which is the energetic reservoir from which extratropical cyclones draw. Furthermore, the relation of changes in mean thermal structure and moisture to changes in convection associated with extratropical cyclones is poorly understood. Here we calculate trends in MAPE for the Northern extratropics in summer over the years 1979-2017, and we decompose MAPE into both convective and nonconvective components. Nonconvective MAPE decreased over this period, consistent with decreases in EKE and extratropical cyclone activity, but convective MAPE increased, implying an increase in the energy available to convection. Calculations with idealized atmospheres indicate that nonconvective and convective MAPE both increase with increasing mean surface temperature and decrease with decreasing meridional surface temperature gradient, but convective MAPE is relatively more sensitive to the increase in mean surface temperature. These results connect changes in the atmospheric mean state with changes in both large-scale and convective circulations, and they suggest that extratropical cyclones can weaken even as their associated convection becomes more energetic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The surface energy balance closure (EBC) and energy partitioning were analyzed. • Soil and canopy heat storage, vegetation and surface heterogeneity, and advection were identified as the main reasons behind the imbalance. • The latent heat flux (LE) was dominating during growing period because there was large water availability and vegetation. • The sensible heat flux (H) was dominating during the non-growing periods due to the water scarcity. Abstract The processes of surface energy and water exchange are significantly necessary to the forming and evolution of regional climate. The most critical issues and challenges are 1) dynamics of surface energy balance components, 2) the surface energy imbalance problem, which is still unsolved and 3) energy partitioning in an ecosystem. This study assessed the seasonal and annual variations of the surface energy fluxes, the surface energy balance closure (EBC), the reasons behind the surface energy imbalance, and energy partitioning based on the two years (2014–2015) flux observation datasets over a semi-arid agricultural region in north China. The estimation of surface fluxes was also examined using satellite data. The EBC analysis was carried out using the ordinary least square (OLS) regression model of the dependent turbulent fluxes against the independently available energy and the energy balance ratio (EBR). The results revealed that the EBC ranged from 0.63 to 0.78 at all respects with an overall EBC of 0.74, and the daily EBC was better than 30-min averages. The identified main reasons behind this imbalance were 1) the ignorance of the heat storage terms (soil and canopy), which improved the EBC by approximately 7%; 2) the vegetation and surface heterogeneity negatively affected the EBR; and 3) the occurrence of advection broke the energy balance by decreasing EBC. The energy partitioning was investigated using the residual method and two ratios (sensible heat flux/net radiation and latent heat flux/net radiation). The results showed that the sensible heat flux was dominating during dry periods and the latent heat flux was dominating during the wet periods, and the rate of dominance was controlled by the availability of water, vegetation dynamics and weather conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the feasibility of partitioning the available energy between sensible (H) and latent (LE) heat fluxes via variational assimilation of reference-level air temperature and specific humidity. For this purpose, sequences of reference-level air temperature and specific humidity were assimilated into an atmospheric boundary layer model (ABL) within a variational data assimilation (VDA) framework to estimate H and LE. The VDA approach was tested at six sites (namely, Arou, Audubon, Bondville, Brookings, Desert, and Willow Creek) with contrasting climatic and vegetative conditions. The unknowns of the VDA system were the neutral bulk heat transfer coefficient (CHN) and evaporative fraction (EF). EF estimates were found to agree well with observations in terms of magnitude and day-to-day fluctuations in wet/densely vegetated sites but degraded in dry/sparsely vegetated sites. Similarly, in wet/densely vegetated sites, the variations in the CHN estimates were found to be consistent with those of the leaf area index (LAI) while this consistency deteriorated in dry/sparely vegetated sites. The root mean square errors (RMSEs) of daily H and LE estimates at the Arou site (wet) were 25.43 (Wm−2) and 55.81 (Wm−2), which are respectively 57.6% and 45.4% smaller than those of 60.00 (Wm−2) and 102.21 (Wm−2) at the Desert site (dry). Overall, the results show that the VDA system performs well at wet/densely vegetated sites (e.g., Arou and Willow Creek), but its performance degrades at dry/slightly vegetated sites (e.g., Desert and Audubon). These outcomes show that the sequences of reference-level air temperature and specific humidity have more information on the partitioning of available energy between the sensible and latent heat fluxes in wet/densely vegetated sites than dry/slightly vegetated sites.

pH influences the occurrence and distribution of microorganisms. Microbes typically live over a range of 3–4 pH units and are described as acidophiles, neutrophiles, and alkaliphiles, depending on the optimal pH for growth. Their growth rates vary with pH along bell- or triangle-shaped curves, which reflect pH limits of cell structural integrity and the interference of pH with cell metabolism. We propose that pH can also affect the thermodynamics and kinetics of microbial respiration, which then help shape the composition and function of microbial communities. Here we use geochemical reaction modeling to examine how environmental pH controls the energy yields of common redox reactions in anoxic environments, including syntrophic oxidation, iron reduction, sulfate reduction, and methanogenesis. The results reveal that environmental pH changes energy yields both directly and indirectly. The direct change applies to reactions that consume or produce protons whereas the indirect effect, which applies to all redox reactions, comes from the regulation of chemical speciation by pH. The results also show that energy yields respond strongly to pH variation, which may modulate microbial interactions and help give rise to the pH limits of microbial metabolisms. These results underscore the importance of pH as a control on microbial metabolisms and provide insight into potential impacts of pH variation on the composition and activity of microbial communities. In a companion paper, we continue to explore how the kinetics of microbial metabolisms responds to pH variations, and how these responses control the outcome of microbial interactions, including the activity and membership of microbial consortia.

The literature reports the proofs that entropy is an inherent property of any system in any state and governs thermal energy, which depends on temperature and is transferred by heat interactions. A first novelty proposed in the present study is that mechanical energy, determined by pressure and transferred by work interactions, is also characterized by the entropy property. The second novelty is that a generalized definition of entropy relating to temperature, chemical potential and pressure of many-particle systems, is established to calculate the thermal, chemical and mechanical entropy contribution due to heat, mass and work interactions. The expression of generalized entropy is derived from generalized exergy, which in turn depends on temperature, chemical potential and pressure of the system, and by the entropy-exergy relationship constituting the basis of the method adopted to analyze the available energy and its transfer interactions with a reference system which may be external or constitute a subsystem. This method is underpinned by the Second Law statement enunciated in terms of existence and uniqueness of stable equilibrium for each value of energy content of the system. The equality of chemical potential and equality of pressure are assumed, in addition to equality of temperature, to be necessary conditions for stable equilibrium.

Generally, the 2nd Law is stated in negative, passive terms, in a way that says what cannot happen, or what the best possible outcome could be, or what is an inevitable (e.g., inopportune) consequence. Granted, there has been productive usage of the exergy concept, to do ‘2nd Law Analysis ’. Granted, there are statements saying that a consequence of every process is the generation of entropy. And there have been many efforts aiming to use an entropy statement to do ‘2nd Law Modeling ’ – to predict the path of processes. While there have been specific successes, there are issues. For example, in some instances a success depends upon an extremization that maximizes the entropy generation (or the rate thereof), while in other instances, minimization. Though there may be criteria for determining whether maximization or minimization is appropriate in a particular application, the need for such a criterion points out a weakness. Proposed here is this: Every process is a consequence of a cause , and to assertively predict the path of a process is to determine consequences of a cause . Entropy production is not a cause but only a consequence. The 2nd Law statement to be proposed herein employs a common measure of cause, namely Gibbs' available energy, and how the expenditure of that cause ensues in a process. Therein lies an underlying principle for modeling the process path (whether macro, nano, bio or micro). Three rudimentary examples of the application of this ‘2nd Law principle’ for modeling processes are presented in this paper; one for a transient ‘heat transfer’ process, one for a ‘mechanical’ process, and a third for a combined thermal and pneumatic process. It is shown how available energy provides a key to modeling processes of different ‘types’ – heat transfer, mechanics, pneumatics. Heretofore each type required distinct ‘principles’ (and courses of study). To show the authenticity of the results obtained with this ‘2nd Law modeling’, they are compared with results obtained with the ‘traditional’ models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study was conducted to evaluate effects of inclusion level and supplementary amino acids (AAs) on digestible energy (DE) and metabolizable energy (ME) values of soybean meal (SBM) fed to growing pigs, determined by difference and regression methods. Sixty pigs were fed 10 diets according to a 5 × 2 factorial arrangement. Two control diets contained 97.34% corn without supplementary AAs or 95.61% corn with supplementary AAs. Eight diets were formulated by replacing corn and AAs in control diets with 8%, 15%, 25% and 31% SBM. There was no difference in DE and ME values of SBM determined by difference method as inclusion level of SBM increased or crystalline AAs were added. No difference was observed in DE and ME values of SBM determined by the two methods in diets without supplementary AAs, but the values determined by the difference method were greater (P < 0.05) than those determined by regression method when crystalline AAs were added in diets. In conclusion, inclusion level and supplementary AAs did not affect DE and ME values of SBM calculated by difference or regression methods. There were differences in DE and ME values of SBM determined by the difference method and the regression method when crystalline AAs were added in diets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the potential of biogas and second-generation biomethane (BM) obtainable from Mediterranean feedstock through a process of anaerobic digestion (AD), within the territorial context of Sicily. An estimation of the amount of biomass that is suitable for AD produced in Sicily has been calculated using a methodology that has already been employed for other territorial contexts, and which takes into account the loss of biomass during harvesting and of that used for livestock feed. Therefore, the estimate was made for the net availability of biomass after losses and alternative uses, in order to avoid conflicts between food and feed. The assessment of the biogas potential has enabled the examination of Sicily's potential in the field of bioenergetics that, today, is little exploited. In fact, Sicily is lagging behind compared to the rest of Italy, both in terms of the number of biogas plants and electrical installed capacity. The study has allowed us to estimate a figure of slightly more than 3.9 million tons per year of feedstock (from whey, pomace, stalks and dregs, olive residue, slaughter waste, pulp, cattle slurry, pig slurry, straw from cereal crops, fruit and vegetable scraps, crops in rotation, crops in the spring-summer cycle, long-term weed crops/shrub biomass) that is capable of producing 255 million Nm 3 of biogas a year that, net of losses and self-consumption, is enough to produce 408072.1 MWh el /year of electrical energy and 305672.0 MWh ter /year of thermal energy. Another alternative could be that of the production of 145 million Nm 3 of second-generation BM to be used, according to recent Italian legislation, for the transport sector or for feeding into the national methane grid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper is a review of several papers from the Proceedings of the Joint European Thermodynamics Conference, held in Brescia, Italy, 1–5 July 2013, namely papers introduced by their authors at Panel I of the conference. Panel I was devoted to applications of the Second Law of Thermodynamics to social issues—economics, ecology, sustainability, and energy policy. The concept called Available Energy which goes back to mid-nineteenth century work of Kelvin, Rankine, Maxwell and Gibbs, is relevant to all of the papers. Various names have been applied to the concept when interactions between the system of interest and an environment are involved. Today, the name exergy is generally accepted. The scope of the papers being reviewed is wide and they complement one another well.