The optimization of the antibiotics extraction from wastewaters and manure using Box–Behnken experimental design

The aim of this study was to optimize the solid-phase extraction method of several antibiotics in order to determine their concentration in wastewater (influent and effluent) and manure samples. The selected antibiotics for the present study were ampicillin, ceftazidime, cefepime, imipenem, piperacillin/tazobactam, tetracycline, erythromycin, ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, vancomycin, gentamicin, sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim. The optimum extraction conditions were established using a three- and four-factor Box–Behnken design under response surface methodology. The extraction of the antibiotics from liquid matrices was performed on several types of cartridges (Oasis HLB, Strata-X and HyperSep Retain PEP). With Oasis HLB cartridges were obtained the best recovery degrees (74.81 and 105.39% with the exception of tazobactam 58.70% and gentamicin 51.57%). This type of cartridges was further used for all of the samples collected for this study. In the case of the manure samples were tested two different extraction techniques: ultrasounds- and microwave-assisted solvent extraction, the first one being the most efficient. All the extractions obtained during the present study were evaluated by high-performance liquid chromatography with two detectors, diode array and mass spectrometer in positive ionization mode.     

Amplitude Preserving Kirchhoff Migration: A Traveltime Based Strategy

Amplitude versus offset information is a key feature to seismic reservoir characterization. Therefore amplitude preserving migration was developed to obtain this information from seismic reflection data. For complex 3-D media, however, this process is computationally expensive. In this paper we present an efficient traveltime based strategy for amplitude preserving migration of the Kirchhoff type. Its foundations are the generation of traveltime tables using a wavefront-oriented ray-tracing technique, and a generalized moveout relation for 3-D heterogeneous media. All required quantities for the amplitude preserving migration are computed from coarsely gridded traveltime tables. The migration includes the interpolation from the coarsely gridded input traveltimes onto the fine migration grid, the computation of amplitude preserving weight functions, and, optionally, the evaluation of an optimized migration aperture. Since ray tracing is employed for the traveltime computation the input velocity model needs to be smooth, i.e. velocity variations of spatial dimensions below the wavelength of the considered reflection signals are removed. Numerical examples on simple generic models validate the technique and an application to the Marmousi model demonstrates its potential to complex media. The major advantage of the traveltime based strategy consists of its computational efficiency by maintaining sufficient accuracy. Considerable savings in storage space (10⁵ and more for 3-D data with respect to no interpolation at all) can be achieved. The computational time for the stack can be substantially reduced (up to 90% in 3-D) with the optimized migration aperture since only those traces are stacked which really contribute to the image point under consideration.     

CRS strategies for solving severe static and imaging issues in seismic data from Saudi Arabia

Static shifts from near‐surface inhomogeneities very often represent the key problem in the processing of seismic data from arid regions. In this case study, the deep bottom fill of a wadi strongly degrades the image quality of a 2D seismic data set. The resulting static and dynamic problems are solved by both conventional and common‐reflection‐surface (CRS) processing. A straightforward approach derives conventional refraction statics from picked first breaks and then goes through several iterations of manual velocity picking and residual statics calculation. The surface‐induced static and dynamic inhomogeneities, however, are not completely solved by these conventional methods. In CRS processing, the local adaptation of the CRS stacking parameters results in very detailed dynamic corrections. They resolve the local inhomogeneities that were not detected by manual picking of stacking velocities and largely compensate for the surface‐induced deterioration in the stack. The subsequent CRS residual statics calculations benefit greatly from the large CRS stacking fold which increases the numbers of estimates for single static shifts. This improves the surface‐consistent averaging of static shifts and the convergence of the static solution which removes the remaining static shifts in the 2D seismic data. The large CRS stacking fold also increases the signal‐to‐noise ratio in the final CRS stack.     

Global variations in regolith properties on asteroid Vesta from Dawn's low‐altitude mapping orbit

We investigate the depth, variability, and history of regolith on asteroid Vesta using data from the Dawn spacecraft. High‐resolution (15–20 m pixel^?1) Framing Camera images are used to assess the presence of morphologic indicators of a shallow regolith, including the presence of blocks in crater ejecta, spur‐and‐gully–type features in crater walls, and the retention of small (<300 m) impact craters. Such features reveal that the broad, regional heterogeneities observed on Vesta in terms of albedo and surface composition extend to the physical properties of the upper ~1 km of the surface. Regions of thin regolith are found within the Rheasilvia basin and at equatorial latitudes from ~0–90°E and ~260–360°E. Craters in these areas that appear to excavate material from beneath the regolith have more diogenitic (Rheasilvia, 0–90°E) and cumulate eucrite (260–360°E) compositions. A region of especially thick regolith, where depths generally exceed 1 km, is found from ~100–240°E and corresponds to heavily cratered, low‐albedo surface with a basaltic eucrite composition enriched in carbonaceous chondrite material. The presence of a thick regolith in this area supports the idea that this is an ancient terrain that has accumulated a larger component of exogenic debris. We find evidence for the gardening of crater ejecta toward more howarditic compositions, consistent with regolith mixing being the dominant form of “weathering” on Vesta.     

Traveltime computation by wavefront-orientated ray tracing

For multivalued traveltime computation on dense grids, we propose a wavefront‐orientated ray‐tracing (WRT) technique. At the source, we start with a few rays which are propagated stepwise through a smooth two‐dimensional (2D) velocity model. The ray field is examined at wavefronts and a new ray might be inserted between two adjacent rays if one of the following criteria is satisfied: (1) the distance between the two rays is larger than a predefined threshold; (2) the difference in wavefront curvature between the rays is larger than a predefined threshold; (3) the adjacent rays intersect. The last two criteria may lead to oversampling by rays in caustic regions. To avoid this oversampling, we do not insert a ray if the distance between adjacent rays is smaller than a predefined threshold. We insert the new ray by tracing it from the source. This approach leads to an improved accuracy compared with the insertion of a new ray by interpolation, which is the method usually applied in wavefront construction. The traveltimes computed along the rays are used for the estimation of traveltimes on a rectangular grid. This estimation is carried out within a region bounded by adjacent wavefronts and rays. As for the insertion criterion, we consider the wavefront curvature and extrapolate the traveltimes, up to the second order, from the intersection points between rays and wavefronts to a gridpoint. The extrapolated values are weighted with respect to the distances to wavefronts and rays. Because dynamic ray tracing is not applied, we approximate the wavefront curvature at a given point using the slowness vector at this point and an adjacent point on the same wavefront. The efficiency of the WRT technique is strongly dependent on the input parameters which control the wavefront and ray densities. On the basis of traveltimes computed in a smoothed Marmousi model, we analyse these dependences and suggest some rules for a correct choice of input parameters. With suitable input parameters, the WRT technique allows an accurate traveltime computation using a small number of rays and wavefronts.