Computational Study of Correlated Domain Motions in the AcrB Efflux Transporter

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Robert Schulz

2015-01-01

Full Text Available As active part of the major efflux system in E. coli bacteria, AcrB is responsible for the uptake and pumping of toxic substrates from the periplasm toward the extracellular space. In combination with the channel protein TolC and membrane fusion protein AcrA, this efflux pump is able to help the bacterium to survive different kinds of noxious compounds. With the present study we intend to enhance the understanding of the interactions between the domains and monomers, for example, the transduction of mechanical energy from the transmembrane domain into the porter domain, correlated motions of different subdomains within monomers, and cooperative effects between monomers. To this end, targeted molecular dynamics simulations have been employed either steering the whole protein complex or specific parts thereof. By forcing only parts of the complex towards specific conformational states, the risk for transient artificial conformations during the simulations is reduced. Distinct cooperative effects between the monomers in AcrB have been observed. Possible allosteric couplings have been identified providing microscopic insights that might be exploited to design more efficient inhibitors of efflux systems.

Crystallisation and microstructure of low-silicon silumins with alloy additions

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S. Pietrowski

2011-07-01

Full Text Available The paper presents the results of the analysis of crystallisation and microstructure of non-alloy silumins that contain: 2,0÷6,0% of Si and alloy additions, approximately: 4,0% Ni, 4,0% of Cu and 0,5% of Mg, the knowledge of which is still very little. It has been proven that in non-alloy silumins, the increase of silicone concentration causes extending of crystallisation time of the eutectic mixture α+and refinement of α phase dendrites. It also causes the increase of the temperature of crystallisation of the eutectic mixture α+ . Alloy additions: Ni, Cu and Mg decrease by approximately 30 C the liquidus and solidus temperatures of silumins and extend the time of their crystallisation by around 100 sec. in comparison with non-alloy silumins. It is caused by crystallisation of additional phases Al3NiCu, Mg2Si and Al2Cu. Nickel, copper and magnesium refine the microstructure of castings.

Effect of Crystallisation Degree on Hardness of Basaltic Glass-Ceramics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Martin; Smedskjær, Morten Mattrup; Yue, Yuanzheng

The dependence of hardness of basaltic glass-ceramics on their crystallisation degree has been explored by means of differential scanning calorimetry, optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Vickers indentation. Different degrees of crystallisation in the basaltic glasses have been obtained...... by varying the temperature of heat treatment. The change of the relative degree of crystallisation with the heat treatment temperature can be described by an empirical model established in this work. The predominant crystalline phase in the glass has been identified as the pyroxene augite. The hardness...... principle calculations. It is found that the hardness of the glass phase decreases slightly with an increase in the degree of crystallisation, while that of the augite phase drastically decreases....

Flow induced crystallisation of penetrable particles

Science.gov (United States)

Scacchi, Alberto; Brader, Joseph M.

2018-03-01

For a system of Brownian particles interacting via a soft exponential potential we investigate the interaction between equilibrium crystallisation and spatially varying shear flow. For thermodynamic state points within the liquid part of the phase diagram, but close to the crystallisation phase boundary, we observe that imposing a Poiseuille flow can induce nonequilibrium crystalline ordering in regions of low shear gradient. The physical mechanism responsible for this phenomenon is shear-induced particle migration, which causes particles to drift preferentially towards the center of the flow channel, thus increasing the local density in the channel center. The method employed is classical dynamical density functional theory.

Repressive mutations restore function-loss caused by the disruption of trimerization in Escherichia coli multidrug transporter AcrB

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Zhaoshuai eWang

2015-01-01

Full Text Available AcrAB-TolC and their homologs are major multidrug efflux systems in Gram-negative bacteria. The inner membrane component AcrB functions as a trimer. Replacement of Pro223 by Gly in AcrB decreases the trimer stability and drastically reduces the drug efflux activity. The goal of this study is to identify suppressor mutations that restore function to mutant AcrBP223G and explore the mechanism of function recovery. Two methods were used to introduce random mutations into the plasmid of AcrBP223G. Mutants with elevated drug efflux activity were identified, purified, and characterized to examine their expression level, trimer stability, interaction with AcrA, and substrate binding. Nine single-site repressor mutations were identified, including T199M, D256N, A209V, G257V, M662I, Q737L, D788K, P800S, and E810K. Except for M662I, all other mutations located in the docking region of the periplasmic domain. While three mutations, T199M, A209V, and D256N, significantly increased the trimer stability, none of them restored the trimer affinity to the wild type level. M662, the only site of mutation that located in the porter domain, was involved in substrate binding. Our results suggest that the function loss resulted from compromised AcrB trimerization could be restored through various mechanisms involving the compensation of trimer stability and substrate binding.

Structure development during isothermal crystallisation of high-density polyethylene: Synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ślusarczyk, Czesław

2013-01-01

Isothermal melt crystallisation in high-density polyethylene (HDPE) was studied using the time-resolved SAXS method with synchrotron radiation over a wide range of crystallisation temperatures. The SAXS profile was analysed by an interface distribution function, g 1 (r), which is a superposition of three contributions associated with the size distributions of crystalline (L C ) and amorphous (L A ) layers and a distribution of long period (LP). The morphological parameters extracted from the g 1 (r) functions show that the lamellar thickness increases with time, obeying a logarithmic time dependence. The time evolution of L C observed for the sample crystallised at 122 °C leads to the conclusion that crystallisation proceeds according to the mechanism of thickening growth. For samples crystallised at lower temperatures (116 °C and 118 °C), the lamellar thickening mechanism has been observed. The rate of lamellar thickening in these cases is much lower than that at 122 °C. At 40 °C, thickening of the crystalline layer does not occur. The interface distribution functions were deconvoluted, and the relative standard deviation σ C /L C obtained in this way is an additional parameter that is varied during crystallisation and can be used for analysis of this process. Time-dependent changes in the σ C /L C at large supercooling (T C =40 °C) indicates that L C presents a broad distribution in which the relative standard deviation increases with time. At lower supercooling (T C =122 °C), L C shows a much sharper distribution. In this case, the relative standard deviation decreases with time. - Highlights: • Isothermal melt crystallisation of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) was studied by time-resolved synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) over a wide-range of supercoolings. • The SAXS profile was analysed by an interface distribution, g 1 (r), function. • At large supercooling (40 °C) the thickening of the crystalline layer does not occur. At

The Prevalence of acrA and acrB Genes Among Multiple-Drug Resistant Uropathogenic Escherichia coli Isolated From Patients With UTI in Milad Hospital, Tehran

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Maleki

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Background Urinary tract infection (UTI is one of the most common infectious diseases and nosocomial infections worldwide, and uropathogenic Escherichia coli is the primary cause of UTI. Due to increased antibiotic resistance and the emergence of multidrug resistant (MDR UPEC clones, the treatment of UTI is difficult. The occurrence of MDR in E. coli has been attributed to the AcrAB-TolC complex of efflux pumps. Objectives The aim of this study was to complete a frequency evaluation of acrA and acrB genes among UPEC MDR strains isolated from patients with UTI who were admitted to Milad hospital in Tehran. Methods For 123 UPEC strains that were isolated and diagnosed from the urine samples of patients using biochemical tests, antibiotic susceptibility was carried out using the disc diffusion method according to CLSI guidelines. Isolates that were resistant to at least one antimicrobial agent in three or more of the categories were considered to be MDR. The presence and frequency of acrA and acrB genes was determined using PCR. Results The rates of antibiotic resistance to ampicillin, cefalotin, tetracycline, cefazolin, ceftriaxone, ceftizoxime, ceftazidime, ciprofloxacin, and cotrimoxazole were 82.9%, 78.1%, 61.1%, 49.5%, 38.2%, 30.2%, 26.1%, 42.2%, and 60.1%, respectively. The isolates were most sensitive to nitrofurantoin (95.9%, gentamicin (77.2%, and amikacin (71.5%. A total of 78% of the isolates were MDR. The frequency of the acrA gene was 82.90%, the acrB gene was 95.90% and acrA + acrB was 95.90%. There was no significant difference between acrA and acrB frequency relating to bacterial antibiotic resistance. Conclusions Our results showed that ways to control the treatment of UTI for the prevention of MDR occurrence should be sought. For a better study of efflux pumps, a comprehensive and detailed study regarding the presence of efflux pumps gees is required.

Coupling of remote alternating-access transport mechanisms for protons and substrates in the multidrug efflux pump AcrB.

Science.gov (United States)

Eicher, Thomas; Seeger, Markus A; Anselmi, Claudio; Zhou, Wenchang; Brandstätter, Lorenz; Verrey, François; Diederichs, Kay; Faraldo-Gómez, José D; Pos, Klaas M

2014-09-19

Membrane transporters of the RND superfamily confer multidrug resistance to pathogenic bacteria, and are essential for cholesterol metabolism and embryonic development in humans. We use high-resolution X-ray crystallography and computational methods to delineate the mechanism of the homotrimeric RND-type proton/drug antiporter AcrB, the active component of the major efflux system AcrAB-TolC in Escherichia coli, and one most complex and intriguing membrane transporters known to date. Analysis of wildtype AcrB and four functionally-inactive variants reveals an unprecedented mechanism that involves two remote alternating-access conformational cycles within each protomer, namely one for protons in the transmembrane region and another for drugs in the periplasmic domain, 50 Å apart. Each of these cycles entails two distinct types of collective motions of two structural repeats, coupled by flanking α-helices that project from the membrane. Moreover, we rationalize how the cross-talk among protomers across the trimerization interface might lead to a more kinetically efficient efflux system.

Effects of emulsion droplet sizes on the crystallisation of milk fat.

Science.gov (United States)

Truong, Tuyen; Bansal, Nidhi; Sharma, Ranjan; Palmer, Martin; Bhandari, Bhesh

2014-02-15

The crystallisation properties of milk fat emulsions containing dairy-based ingredients as functions of emulsion droplet size, cooling rate, and emulsifier type were investigated using a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). Anhydrous milk fat and its fractions (stearin and olein) were emulsified with whey protein concentrate, sodium caseinate, and Tween80 by homogenisation to produce emulsions in various size ranges (0.13-3.10 μm). Particle size, cooling rate, and types of emulsifier all had an influence on the crystallisation properties of fat in the emulsions. In general, the crystallisation temperature of emulsified fats decreased with decreasing average droplet size and was of an exponent function of size, indicating that the influence of particle size on crystallisation temperature is more pronounced in the sub-micron range. This particle size effect was also verified by electron microscopy. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Calcium silicate hydrate: Crystallisation and alkali sorption

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hong, S.

2000-01-01

Homogeneous single C-S-H gels has been prepared for the investigation of alkali binding potential and crystallisation. A distribution coefficient, R d , was introduced to express the partition of alkali between solid and aqueous phases at 25 deg. C. R d is independent of alkali hydroxide concentration and depends only on Ca:Si ratio over wide ranges of alkali concentration. The trend of numerical values of R d indicates that alkali bonding into the solid improves as its Ca:Si ratio decreases. Reversibility is demonstrated, indicating a possibility of constant R d value of the material. Al has been introduced to form C-A-S-H gels and their alkali sorption properties also determined. Al substituted into C-S-H markedly increases R d , indicating enhancement of alkali binding. However, the dependence of R d on alkali concentration is non-ideal with composition. A two-site model for bonding is presented. Crystallisation both under saturated steam and 1 bar vapour pressure has been investigated. It has been shown that heat treatment by saturated steam causes crystallisation of gels. The principal minerals obtained were (i) C-S-H gel and Ca(OH) 2 at -55 deg. C, (ii) 1.1 nm tobermorite, jennite and afwillite at 85 -130 deg. C, and (iii) xonotlite, foshagite and hillebrandite at 150-180 deg. C. Properties of crystalline C-S-H were also reported for reversible phase transformation, pH conditioning ability, seeding effect and solubility. At 1 bar pressure, crystallisation is slower than in saturated steam due to lower water activity. Tobermorite-like nanodomains develop during reaction at low Ca/Si ratios. In some Ca-rich compositions, Ca(OH) 2 is exsolved and occurs as nano-sized crystallites. (author)

Model of the Alphinising Coating Crystallisation on Iron Alloys

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S. Pietrowski

2007-07-01

Full Text Available The study presents a hypothetical model of crystallisation of the alphinising coating produced on iron alloys by immersion in the bath of silumin. Basing on a wide-range of experiments and investigations, the effect of the type of inserted material (“armco” iron, C45 steel, grey cast iron and nodular graphite cast iron and of the technological regime of the alphinising process (chemical composition of silumin bath, its temperature, the time of holding an insert in the bath, and the insert surface roughness height “Rz” on the coating structure was determined. The type of the coating structure was established by metallographic examinations carried out by optical microscopy, electron transmission microsopy and scanning electron microscopy, using additionally an X-ray microanalyser and X-ray diffraction patterns. The results of these investigations were described in [1÷7]. Basing on the obtained results, a probable model of the crystallisation of an alphi-nising coating on iron alloys, produced by immersion in the alphinising bath, was developed. It has been stated that, most probably, the alphinising process begins when the insert reaches its contact temperature “ts”.. Since that moment, due to the wetting process and convec-tion movement of bath around the insert surface, an intense process of the dissolution starts. A reactive diffusion of the atoms of Fe and Si from the insert to the bath and of the atoms of Al and Si from the bath to the insert takes place. An intermetallic Al3Fe phase is crystallis-ing on the steel, while on the cast iron, a silicon carbide Fe4CSi is growing, probably due to carbon diffusion from graphite. Then, on the steel, as an effect of the peritectic reaction, are successively crystallising the phases of Al12Fe3Si2 and Al9Fe3Si2. The Al3Fe phase probably crystallises on the cast iron to be transformed later, due to peritectic reaction, into an Al12Fe3Si2 phase on which the Al9Fe3Si2 phase will be growing

Crucial role of Asp408 in the proton translocation pathway of multidrug transporter AcrB: evidence from site-directed mutagenesis and carbodiimide labeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Seeger, Markus A; von Ballmoos, Christoph; Verrey, François; Pos, Klaas M

2009-06-30

The three-component AcrA/AcrB/TolC efflux system of Escherichia coli catalyzes the proton motive force-driven extrusion of a variety of cytotoxic compounds. The inner membrane pump component AcrB belongs to the resistance nodulation and cell division (RND) superfamily and is responsible for drug specificity and energy transduction of the entire tripartite efflux system. Systematic mutational analysis of titratable and polar membrane-located amino acids revealed four residues, D407, D408, K940, and, R971, to be of prime importance for AcrB function. Using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry, D408 was shown to specifically react with dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCCD) in a pH-dependent manner. The apparent pK(a) of D408 of 7.4 would enable binding and release of protons under physiological conditions. In contrast to other secondary transporters, D408 was not protected from carbodiimide modification in the presence of drugs, which supports the notion of spatially separated transport pathways for drugs and protons. This study provides evidence for a substantial role of membrane-located carboxylates as a central element of the proton translocation pathway in AcrB and other members of the RND superfamily.

Solid state crystallisation of oligosaccharide ester derivatives

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wright, Elaine Ann

2002-07-01

An investigation of the solid state properties of oligosaccharide ester derivatives (OEDs) with potential applications in drug delivery has been carried out. The amorphous form of two OEDs, trehalose octa-acetate (TOAC) and 6:6'-di-({beta}-tetraacetyl glucuronyl)-hexaacetyl trehalose (TR153), was investigated as a matrix for the sustained release of active ingredients. The matrices showed a tendency to crystallise and so polymorph screens were performed to provide crystalline samples for structural analysis. The crystal structures of TOAC methanolate and TR153 acetonitrile solvate have been determined by single-crystal laboratory X-ray diffraction. TOAC methanolate crystallises in the orthorhombic space group P2{sub 1}2{sub 1}2{sub 1} with a = 15.429(18) A, b = 17.934(19) A and c = 13.518(4) A at 123 K. The structure is isomorphous with the previously reported structure of TOAC monohydrate form II. TR153 acetonitrile solvate crystallises in the monoclinic spacegroup C2 with a = 30:160(6) A, b = 11.878(3) A, c 20.6645(5) A and {beta} = 115.027 (10) deg at 123 K. The crystal structures of both TOAC methanolate and TR153 acetonitrile solvate are stabilised by complex networks of intermolecular C--H...O contacts. Two model compounds were selected for dissolution studies: diltiazem hydrochloride, as a water- soluble organic salt, and ketoprofen as a poorly water-soluble organic compound. Dissolution of both compounds from amorphous TOAC and TR153 matrices was investigated. The release of both drugs was more rapid and complete from TOAC matrices than from TR153 matrices, with both matrices showing a tendency to crystallise (devitrify) during the course of the dissolution experiments. This tendency was greater for the TOAC matrix, which transformed to the extent of ca. 100% within 48 hours. The available evidence suggests that devitrification of the matrix in contact with water produces a polycrystalline, non-monolithic structure rich in microscopic cracks and pores

Solid state crystallisation of oligosaccharide ester derivatives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wright, Elaine Ann

2002-01-01

An investigation of the solid state properties of oligosaccharide ester derivatives (OEDs) with potential applications in drug delivery has been carried out. The amorphous form of two OEDs, trehalose octa-acetate (TOAC) and 6:6'-di-(β-tetraacetyl glucuronyl)-hexaacetyl trehalose (TR153), was investigated as a matrix for the sustained release of active ingredients. The matrices showed a tendency to crystallise and so polymorph screens were performed to provide crystalline samples for structural analysis. The crystal structures of TOAC methanolate and TR153 acetonitrile solvate have been determined by single-crystal laboratory X-ray diffraction. TOAC methanolate crystallises in the orthorhombic space group P2 1 2 1 2 1 with a = 15.429(18) A, b = 17.934(19) A and c = 13.518(4) A at 123 K. The structure is isomorphous with the previously reported structure of TOAC monohydrate form II. TR153 acetonitrile solvate crystallises in the monoclinic spacegroup C2 with a = 30:160(6) A, b = 11.878(3) A, c 20.6645(5) A and β = 115.027 (10) deg at 123 K. The crystal structures of both TOAC methanolate and TR153 acetonitrile solvate are stabilised by complex networks of intermolecular C--H...O contacts. Two model compounds were selected for dissolution studies: diltiazem hydrochloride, as a water- soluble organic salt, and ketoprofen as a poorly water-soluble organic compound. Dissolution of both compounds from amorphous TOAC and TR153 matrices was investigated. The release of both drugs was more rapid and complete from TOAC matrices than from TR153 matrices, with both matrices showing a tendency to crystallise (devitrify) during the course of the dissolution experiments. This tendency was greater for the TOAC matrix, which transformed to the extent of ca. 100% within 48 hours. The available evidence suggests that devitrification of the matrix in contact with water produces a polycrystalline, non-monolithic structure rich in microscopic cracks and pores which allows diffusion of

A study of the structure and crystallisation of nanocrystalline zirconia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tucker, M.

1999-12-01

Nanocrystalline zirconia, prepared via, calcination of the hydroxide, has been studied using a variety of experimental techniques. Two chemical routes, a precipitation and a sol-gel route, were used to prepare the hydroxide. Neutron and X-ray diffraction, EXAFS, NMR and SANS have been used to study the structure and crystallisation, during in-situ and ambient condition measurements. The structural information from the diffraction data has been complimented by the other techniques to provide information on the short, medium and longer range structure of nanocrystalline zirconia. Pure and yttrium doped samples were studied, this enabled the affects of doping and preparation routes to be investigated. The amorphous hydroxide was found to have a, monoclinic-like structure for all samples, independent of preparation route or yttrium content. The crystallisation temperature was lowest for the pure precipitation sample and was increased by the addition of yttrium or by preparation via, the sol-gel route. For the precipitation samples, in addition to the crystallisation temperature being raised, doping with yttrium also had an effect on the size of the crystallites obtained at high temperatures. Due to the different incorporation method of the yttrium into the sol-gel samples the effect on crystallite size and crystallisation temperature, as seen for the precipitation samples, were not evident for the sol-gel samples. The neutron and NMR data clearly show hydrogen remains in the samples well after crystallisation has become evident. The structural picture of nanocrystalline zirconia consisting of small crystallites surrounded by material containing, or terminated by, hydroxyl groups, is supported by all the results and methods used in this thesis. The in-situ and ambient conditions data is combined into a coherent growth picture of the nanocrystalline material from the hydroxide until at high enough temperatures the bulk or polycrystalline material is formed. (author)

Elucidating the mechanisms of nanodiamond-promoted structural disruption of crystallised lipid.

Science.gov (United States)

Hughes, Zak E; Walsh, Tiffany R

2016-10-12

The removal or structural disruption of crystallised lipid is a pivotal but energy-intensive step in a wide range of industrial and biological processes. Strategies to disrupt the structure of crystallised lipid in aqueous solution at lower temperatures are much needed, where nanoparticle-based strategies show enormous promise. Using the aqueous tristearin bilayer as a model for crystallised lipid, we demonstrate that the synergistic use of surfactant and detonation nanodiamonds can depress the onset temperature at which disruption of the crystallised lipid structure occurs. Our simulations reveal the molecular-scale mechanisms by which this disruption takes place, indicating that the nanodiamonds serve a dual purpose. First, the nanodiamonds are predicted to facilitate delivery of surfactant to the lipid/water interface, and second, nanodiamond adsorption acts to roughen the lipid/water interface, enhancing ingress of surfactant into the bilayer. We find the balance of the hydrophobic surface area of the nanodiamond and the nanodiamond surface charge density to be a key determinant of the effectiveness of using nanodiamonds to facilitate lipid disruption. For the nanodiamond size considered here, we identify a moderate surface charge density, that ensures the nanodiamonds are neither too hydrophobic nor too hydrophilic, to be optimal.

Epitaxially grown polycrystalline silicon thin-film solar cells on solid-phase crystallised seed layers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Wei, E-mail: weili.unsw@gmail.com; Varlamov, Sergey; Xue, Chaowei

2014-09-30

Highlights: • Crystallisation kinetic is used to analyse seed layer surface cleanliness. • Simplified RCA cleaning for the seed layer can shorten the epitaxy annealing duration. • RTA for the seed layer can improve the quality for both seed layer and epi-layer. • Epitaxial poly-Si solar cell performance is improved by RTA treated seed layer. - Abstract: This paper presents the fabrication of poly-Si thin film solar cells on glass substrates using seed layer approach. The solid-phase crystallised P-doped seed layer is not only used as the crystalline template for the epitaxial growth but also as the emitter for the solar cell structure. This paper investigates two important factors, surface cleaning and intragrain defects elimination for the seed layer, which can greatly influence the epitaxial grown solar cell performance. Shorter incubation and crystallisation time is observed using a simplified RCA cleaning than the other two wet chemical cleaning methods, indicating a cleaner seed layer surface is achieved. Cross sectional transmission microscope images confirm a crystallographic transferal of information from the simplified RCA cleaned seed layer into the epi-layer. RTA for the SPC seed layer can effectively eliminate the intragrain defects in the seed layer and improve structural quality of both of the seed layer and the epi-layer. Consequently, epitaxial grown poly-Si solar cell on the RTA treated seed layer shows better solar cell efficiency, V{sub oc} and J{sub sc} than the one on the seed layer without RTA treatment.

Simulation of the reextraction-crystallisation of uranium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mehablia, M.A.

1990-01-01

This paper deals with computer simulation of the reextraction-crystallisation of A.U.C by ammonium carbonate from an organic solution using the extended NRTL model for an electrolytic system. The effect of temperature and extractant concentration was studied [fr

Influence of ZnO/MgO substitution on sintering, crystallisation, and bio-activity of alkali-free glass-ceramics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kapoor, Saurabh [Department of Materials and Ceramics Engineering, University of Aveiro, CICECO, 3810-193 Aveiro (Portugal); Goel, Ashutosh [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854-8065 (United States); Correia, Ana Filipa [Department of Materials and Ceramics Engineering, University of Aveiro, CICECO, 3810-193 Aveiro (Portugal); Pascual, Maria J. [Instituto de Cerámica y Vidrio (CSIC), Kelsen 5, Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid (Spain); Lee, Hye-Young; Kim, Hae-Won [Institute of Tissue Regeneration Engineering (ITREN) & College of Dentistry, Dankook University, Cheonan 330714 (Korea, Republic of); Department of Nanobiomedical Science & BK21 PLUS NBM Global Research Centre for Regenerative Medicine, Dankook University, Cheonan 330714 (Korea, Republic of); Ferreira, José M.F., E-mail: jmf@ua.pt [Department of Materials and Ceramics Engineering, University of Aveiro, CICECO, 3810-193 Aveiro (Portugal)

2015-08-01

The present study reports on the influence of partial replacement of MgO by ZnO on the structure, crystallisation behaviour and bioactivity of alkali-free bioactive glass-ceramics (GCs). A series of glass compositions (mol%): 36.07 CaO–(19.24 − x) MgO–x ZnO–5.61 P{sub 2}O{sub 5}–38.49 SiO{sub 2}–0.59 CaF{sub 2} (x = 2–10) have been synthesised by melt–quench technique. The structural changes were investigated by solid-state magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS-NMR), X-ray diffraction and differential thermal analysis. The sintering and crystallisation behaviours of glass powders were studied by hot-stage microscopy and differential thermal analysis, respectively. All the glass compositions exhibited good densification ability resulting in well sintered and mechanically strong GCs. The crystallisation and mechanical behaviour were studied under non-isothermal heating conditions at 850 °C for 1 h. Diopside was the primary crystalline phase in all the GCs followed by fluorapatite and rankinite as secondary phases. Another phase named petedunnite was identified in GCs with ZnO content > 4 mol. The proliferation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and their alkaline phosphatase activity (ALP) on GCs was revealed to be Zn-dose dependent with the highest performance being observed for 4 mol% ZnO. - Highlights: • The addition of zinc to glasses decreased T{sub g} and promoted crystallisation. • Zinc enhanced the sintering ability and increased mechanical strength by 36%. • The apatite formation ability decreased with increasing Zn contents. • Zinc stimulated mesenchymal stem cell proliferation in a dose dependent manner.

Influence of ZnO/MgO substitution on sintering, crystallisation, and bio-activity of alkali-free glass-ceramics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kapoor, Saurabh; Goel, Ashutosh; Correia, Ana Filipa; Pascual, Maria J.; Lee, Hye-Young; Kim, Hae-Won; Ferreira, José M.F.

2015-01-01

The present study reports on the influence of partial replacement of MgO by ZnO on the structure, crystallisation behaviour and bioactivity of alkali-free bioactive glass-ceramics (GCs). A series of glass compositions (mol%): 36.07 CaO–(19.24 − x) MgO–x ZnO–5.61 P 2 O 5 –38.49 SiO 2 –0.59 CaF 2 (x = 2–10) have been synthesised by melt–quench technique. The structural changes were investigated by solid-state magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS-NMR), X-ray diffraction and differential thermal analysis. The sintering and crystallisation behaviours of glass powders were studied by hot-stage microscopy and differential thermal analysis, respectively. All the glass compositions exhibited good densification ability resulting in well sintered and mechanically strong GCs. The crystallisation and mechanical behaviour were studied under non-isothermal heating conditions at 850 °C for 1 h. Diopside was the primary crystalline phase in all the GCs followed by fluorapatite and rankinite as secondary phases. Another phase named petedunnite was identified in GCs with ZnO content > 4 mol. The proliferation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and their alkaline phosphatase activity (ALP) on GCs was revealed to be Zn-dose dependent with the highest performance being observed for 4 mol% ZnO. - Highlights: • The addition of zinc to glasses decreased T g and promoted crystallisation. • Zinc enhanced the sintering ability and increased mechanical strength by 36%. • The apatite formation ability decreased with increasing Zn contents. • Zinc stimulated mesenchymal stem cell proliferation in a dose dependent manner

On-line and in-situ x-ray diffraction analysis of the crystallisation of important pharmaceutical materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hastings, S.

1999-01-01

Full text: The crystallisation process is an important unit operation for the separation and purification of many chemical products, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry. Variations in the conditions of crystallisation can lead to the formation of different polymorphic forms which are often meta-stable phases which results in phase conversion at different rates to the stable form. Our group, in collaboration with many industrial sponsors, have developed a number of online techniques which help to optimise the processing conditions of many of these specialty materials. In particular, on-line and in-situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) has been used to monitor the crystallisation of pharmaceutical materials. Several novel in-situ X-ray cells have been developed, in particular; a solution cell, which allows us to control and hence optimise crystallographic conditions such as temperature and pH whilst monitoring the crystal structure of the sample as it crystallises from solution. In conjunction with XRD data information on turbidity (% light transmittance) is taken to analyse solvent-mediated crystallisation. This technique gives information on the temperatures at which the system crystallises and dissolves. From this the meta-stable zone width (MSZW) can be calculated and then directly related to the crystal structure of the particles formed. The current system being studied is the crystallisation of stearic acid, a common pharmaceutical excipient, in various polar and non-polar solvents in order to ascertain the effect that the polarity of the solvent has on the polymorphic form crystallised. By combining such kinetic assessment with measurements of resulting particle structure the potential to optimise the process to produce optimal particle properties is obtainable. Copyright (1999) Australian X-ray Analytical Association Inc

Crystallisation of glassy phases in nitride ceramics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghaemi, S.; Swain, M.V.; Bell, T.J.

1992-01-01

The covalent nature of Si-N bond, as well as providing its chemical inertness, high hardness and strength, reduces its sinterability and inhibits production of fully dense Si 3 N 4 . Metal oxides are therefore added as sintering aids to achieve a fully dense body. They combine with the surface and present or added silica to form a low temperature liquid silicate. Liquid phase sintering occurs by a solution-precipitation mechanism, where the starting α-Si 3 N 4 powder dissolves in the liquid silicate and is precipitated as β-Si 3 N 4 . This liquid silicate solidifies, forming an amorphous grain boundary phase which degrades the high-temperature mechanical properties. Grain boundary sliding can be prevented and hence the high-temperature mechanical properties improved by increasing the softening point of the intergranular phase. This is done either by altering the glass composition to increase its softening point or by crystallizing the glass to a more refractory phase by post sinter heat treatment. In this study the latter technique is employed. The following results are reported. Addition of alumina increased the bulk density of samples in the Y-Si-O-N system. investigated. Increasing density was accompanied by improved mechanical properties. Crystallisation of amorphous phased improved the mechanical properties of various samples while hardness values increased with increasing annealing time. Microcracks caused by stresses induced as a result of glass crystallisation, can cause the failure of samples. Different specific volumes of crystallized materials can cause stresses that will eventually cause the material to fail. Complete crystallisation of glass in the materials investigated, resulted in increased density, hardness and toughness. 8 refs., 2 tabs., 5 figs

Oxidation influence on crystallisation in iron-based amorphous alloys

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gloriant, T.; Surinach, S.; Munoz, J.S.; Baro, M.D. [Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (Spain). Dept. de Fisica; Inoue, A. [Tohoku Univ., Sendai (Japan). Inst. for Materials Research

2001-07-01

The partially crystalline iron-based nanophase composites elaborated by rapid solidification techniques are very attractive for their excellent soft magnetic properties and their potential for industrial applications. In these nanocomposite materials a control of both the structure (size, shape and distribution of the nanoparticles in the amorphous matrix) and the kinetic behaviour (nucleation and growth mechanism) is essential in order to obtain the best properties and to be able to produce them at the industrial scale. Our group has been working in this research area for a long time and the investigation presented here is the result of an international collaboration. This study deals with the effect of cobalt addition in Fe-Nb-B melt-spun amorphous alloys on the devitrification/crystallisation processes induced by thermal treatments and characterised by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), thermomagnetic analysis (TMG) and transmission electron microscopy observations (TEM). The transformation sequences, from the initial amorphous phase to the fully crystallised final state, were carried out using different annealing experiments (under vacuum and in air) and have revealed a strong influence of the environmental atmosphere during devitrification. It is shown that oxidation can greatly affect the crystallisation behaviour as a result of the high metastable state of the initial amorphous phase. The results and observations of this phenomenon will be presented. (orig.)

Expression of the marA, soxS, acrB and ramA genes related to the AcrAB/TolC efflux pump in Salmonella entérica strains with and without quinolone resistance-determining regions gyrA gene mutations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rafaela Gomes Ferrari

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Several studies have been conducted in recent years to elucidate the structure, function and significance of AcrB, MarA, SoxS and RamA in Salmonella enterica. In this study, the relative quantification of acrB, soxS, marA and ramA genes expression was evaluated in 14 strains of S. enterica, with or without accompanying mutations in the quinolone resistance-determining regions of the gyrA gene, that were exposed to ciprofloxacin during the exponential growth phase. The presence of ciprofloxacin during the log phase of bacterial growth activated the genes marA, soxS, ramA and acrB in all S. enterica strains analyzed in this study. The highest expression levels for acrB were observed in strains with gyrA mutation, and marA showed the highest expression in the strains without mutation. Considering only the strains with ciprofloxacin minimum inhibitory concentration values 0.125 [1]g/mL (low susceptibility, with and without mutations in gyrA, the most expressed gene was marA. In this study, we observed that strains resistant to nalidixic acid may express genes associated with the efflux pump and the expression of the AcrAB-TolC pump genes seems to occur independently of mutations in gyrA.

Expression of the marA, soxS, acrB and ramA genes related to the AcrAB/TolC efflux pump in Salmonella entérica strains with and without quinolone resistance-determining regions gyrA gene mutations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rafaela Gomes Ferrari

Full Text Available Several studies have been conducted in recent years to elucidate the structure, function and significance of AcrB, MarA, SoxS and RamA in Salmonella enterica. In this study, the relative quantification of acrB, soxS, marA and ramA genes expression was evaluated in 14 strains of S. enterica, with or without accompanying mutations in the quinolone resistance-determining regions of the gyrA gene, that were exposed to ciprofloxacin during the exponential growth phase. The presence of ciprofloxacin during the log phase of bacterial growth activated the genes marA, soxS, ramA and acrB in all S. enterica strains analyzed in this study. The highest expression levels for acrB were observed in strains with gyrA mutation, and marA showed the highest expression in the strains without mutation. Considering only the strains with ciprofloxacin minimum inhibitory concentration values 0.125 [1]g/mL (low susceptibility, with and without mutations in gyrA, the most expressed gene was marA. In this study, we observed that strains resistant to nalidixic acid may express genes associated with the efflux pump and the expression of the AcrAB-TolC pump genes seems to occur independently of mutations in gyrA.

Timing of Crystallisation of the Lunar Magma Ocean Constrained by the Oldest Zircon

Science.gov (United States)

Nemchin, A.; Timms, N.; Pidgeon, R.; Geisler, T.; Reddy, S.; Meyer, C.

2009-01-01

The presently favoured concept for the early evolution of the Moon involves consolidation of debris from a giant impact of a Mars sized body with Earth forming a primitive Moon with a thick global layer of melt referred to as the Lunar Magma Ocean1 . It is widely accepted that many significant features observed on the Moon today are the result of crystallisation of this magma ocean. However, controversy exists over the precise timing and duration of the crystallisation process. Resolution of this problem depends on the establishment of precise and robust key crystallisation time points. We report a 4417 6 Myr old zircon in lunar breccia sample 72215,195, which provides a precisely determined younger limit for the solidification of the Lunar Magma Ocean. A model based on these data, together with the age of the Moon forming giant impact, defines an exponential time frame for crystallisation and suggests formation of anorthositic crust after about 80-85% of the magma ocean was solidified. In combination with other zircon ages the 4417 +/- 6 Myr age also suggests that the very small (less than a few per cent) residual portion of the magma ocean continued to solidify during the following 300-500 m.y.

Thermodynamic modelling of a membrane distillation crystallisation process for the treatment of mining wastewater.

Science.gov (United States)

Nathoo, Jeeten; Randall, Dyllon Garth

2016-01-01

Membrane distillation (MD) could be applicable in zero liquid discharge applications. This is due to the fact that MD is applicable at high salinity ranges which are generally outside the scope of reverse osmosis (RO) applications, although this requires proper management of precipitating salts to avoid membrane fouling. One way of managing these salts is with MD crystallisation (MDC). This paper focuses on the applicability of MDC for the treatment of mining wastewater by thermodynamically modelling the aqueous chemistry of the process at different temperatures. The paper is based on the typical brine generated from an RO process in the South African coal mining industry and investigates the effect water recovery and operating temperature have on the salts that are predicted to crystallise out, the sequence in which they will crystallise out and purities as a function of the water recovery. The study confirmed the efficacy of using thermodynamic modelling as a tool for investigating and predicting the crystallisation aspects of the MDC process. The key finding from this work was that, for an MDC process, a purer product can be obtained at higher operating temperatures and recoveries because of the inverse solubility of calcium sulphate.

The Effect of Ultrasound on the Crystallisation of Paracetamol in the Presence of Structurally Similar Impurities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thai T. H. Nguyen

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Sono-crystallisation has been used to enhance crystalline product quality particularly in terms of purity, particle size and size distribution. In this work, the effect of impurities and ultrasound on crystallisation processes (nucleation temperature, yield and crystal properties (crystal size distribution determined by Focused Beam Reflectance Measurement (FBRM, crystal habit, filtration rate and impurity content in the crystal product by Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy (LC-MS were investigated in bulk suspension crystallisation experiments with and without the use of ultrasound. The results demonstrate that ultrasonic intervention has a significant effect on both crystallisation and product crystal properties. It increases the nucleation rate resulting in smaller particles and a narrower Particle Size Distribution (PSD, the yield has been shown to be increase as has the product purity. The effect of ultrasound is to reduce the level acetanilide impurity incorporated during growth from a 2 mol% solution of the selected impurity from 0.85 mol% to 0.35 mol% and likewise ultrasound reduces the uptake of metacetamol from 1.88 mol% to 1.52 mol%.

The application of ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and multivariate data analysis to study drug crystallisation in the stratum corneum.

Science.gov (United States)

Goh, Choon Fu; Craig, Duncan Q M; Hadgraft, Jonathan; Lane, Majella E

2017-02-01

Drug permeation through the intercellular lipids, which pack around and between corneocytes, may be enhanced by increasing the thermodynamic activity of the active in a formulation. However, this may also result in unwanted drug crystallisation on and in the skin. In this work, we explore the combination of ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and multivariate data analysis to study drug crystallisation in the skin. Ex vivo permeation studies of saturated solutions of diclofenac sodium (DF Na) in two vehicles, propylene glycol (PG) and dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO), were carried out in porcine ear skin. Tape stripping and ATR-FTIR spectroscopy were conducted simultaneously to collect spectral data as a function of skin depth. Multivariate data analysis was applied to visualise and categorise the spectral data in the region of interest (1700-1500cm -1 ) containing the carboxylate (COO - ) asymmetric stretching vibrations of DF Na. Spectral data showed the redshifts of the COO - asymmetric stretching vibrations for DF Na in the solution compared with solid drug. Similar shifts were evident following application of saturated solutions of DF Na to porcine skin samples. Multivariate data analysis categorised the spectral data based on the spectral differences and drug crystallisation was found to be confined to the upper layers of the skin. This proof-of-concept study highlights the utility of ATR-FTIR spectroscopy in combination with multivariate data analysis as a simple and rapid approach in the investigation of drug deposition in the skin. The approach described here will be extended to the study of other actives for topical application to the skin. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Crystallisation of hydroxyapatite in phosphorylated poly(vinyl alcohol) as a synthetic route to tough mechanical hybrid materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kusakabe, Akane; Hirota, Ken; Mizutani, Tadashi

2017-01-01

Partially phosphorylated poly(vinyl alcohol) was prepared by treating poly(vinyl alcohol) with 100% phosphoric acid, and 5, 10 and 20% of the hydroxyl groups were converted to phosphoric acid ester. Addition of Ca 2+ to an aqueous solution of phosphorylated poly(vinyl alcohol) gave a transparent gel. Five cycles of alternate soaking of the gel in aqueous CaCl 2 and aqueous (NH 4 ) 2 HPO 4 were carried out to crystallise hydroxyapatite (HAP) in the phosphorylated poly(vinyl alcohol) matrix. The X-ray diffraction peaks of HAP formed in 5% phosphorylated PVA were sharp, while those of HAP formed in 20% phosphorylated PVA were broad. The contents of inorganic phase in the hybrid powder were increased from 58 to 76 wt% as the fraction of phosphate groups in the gel was decreased from 20% to 5%. The hybrid powder was first subjected to uniaxial pressing, followed by cold isostatic pressing (CIP) and warm isostatic pressing (WIP) at 120 °C at pressures of 300–980 MPa, to obtain the specimens for three-point bending test. These hybrid specimens showed bending strengths of 15–53 MPa. The hybrid compacts prepared from 10% phosphorylated poly(vinyl alcohol) showed the smallest Young's modulus, the largest displacement at break, and the largest fracture energy, showing that it has the highest toughness among the hybrid materials prepared from poly(vinyl alcohol) with varying degrees of phosphorylation. - Graphical abstract: Densification of hydroxyapatite crystallised in 10% phosphorylated poly(vinyl alcohol) gave the toughest compact. - Highlights: • Hydroxyapatite was crystallised in phosphorylated poly(vinyl alcohol) gels. • Crystallite size of hydroxyapatite decreased as phosphate density was increased. • The hybrid specimens prepared in 10% phosphorylated gel was the toughest. • Phosphate density in organic matrix regulated the mechanical properties of the hybrid.

Crystallisation of hydroxyapatite in phosphorylated poly(vinyl alcohol) as a synthetic route to tough mechanical hybrid materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kusakabe, Akane; Hirota, Ken; Mizutani, Tadashi, E-mail: tmizutan@mail.doshisha.ac.jp

2017-01-01

Partially phosphorylated poly(vinyl alcohol) was prepared by treating poly(vinyl alcohol) with 100% phosphoric acid, and 5, 10 and 20% of the hydroxyl groups were converted to phosphoric acid ester. Addition of Ca{sup 2+} to an aqueous solution of phosphorylated poly(vinyl alcohol) gave a transparent gel. Five cycles of alternate soaking of the gel in aqueous CaCl{sub 2} and aqueous (NH{sub 4}){sub 2}HPO{sub 4} were carried out to crystallise hydroxyapatite (HAP) in the phosphorylated poly(vinyl alcohol) matrix. The X-ray diffraction peaks of HAP formed in 5% phosphorylated PVA were sharp, while those of HAP formed in 20% phosphorylated PVA were broad. The contents of inorganic phase in the hybrid powder were increased from 58 to 76 wt% as the fraction of phosphate groups in the gel was decreased from 20% to 5%. The hybrid powder was first subjected to uniaxial pressing, followed by cold isostatic pressing (CIP) and warm isostatic pressing (WIP) at 120 °C at pressures of 300–980 MPa, to obtain the specimens for three-point bending test. These hybrid specimens showed bending strengths of 15–53 MPa. The hybrid compacts prepared from 10% phosphorylated poly(vinyl alcohol) showed the smallest Young's modulus, the largest displacement at break, and the largest fracture energy, showing that it has the highest toughness among the hybrid materials prepared from poly(vinyl alcohol) with varying degrees of phosphorylation. - Graphical abstract: Densification of hydroxyapatite crystallised in 10% phosphorylated poly(vinyl alcohol) gave the toughest compact. - Highlights: • Hydroxyapatite was crystallised in phosphorylated poly(vinyl alcohol) gels. • Crystallite size of hydroxyapatite decreased as phosphate density was increased. • The hybrid specimens prepared in 10% phosphorylated gel was the toughest. • Phosphate density in organic matrix regulated the mechanical properties of the hybrid.

Crystallisation of mixtures of ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulphate and soot

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dougle, P.G.; Veefkind, J.P.; Brink, H.M. ten

1998-01-01

Crystallisation of laboratory aerosols of ammonium nitrate and of internal mixtures of this salt with ammonium sulphate were investigated using humidity controlled nephelometry. The aerosol was produced via nebulizing of solutions and then dried to 25% RH, which is a realistic minimum value for

Switch loop flexibility affects substrate transport of the AcrB efflux pump

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muller, Reinke T.; Travers, Timothy; Cha, Hi-jea; Phillips, Joshua L.

2017-01-01

The functionally important switch-loop of the trimeric multidrug transporter AcrB separates the access and deep drug binding pockets in every protomer. This loop, comprising 11 amino acid residues, has been shown to be crucial for substrate transport, as drugs have to travel past the loop to reach the deep binding pocket and from there are transported outside the cell via the connected AcrA and TolC channels. It contains four symmetrically arranged glycine residues suggesting that flexibility is a key feature for pump activity. Upon combinatorial substitution of these glycine residues to proline, functional and structural asymmetry was observed. Proline substitutions on the PC1 proximal side completely abolished transport and reduced backbone flexibility of the switch loop, which adopted a conformation restricting the pathway towards the deep binding pocket. Here, two phenylalanine residues located adjacent to the substitution sensitive glycine residues play a role in blocking the pathway upon rigidification of the loop, since the removal of the phenyl rings from the rigid loop restores drug transport activity.

An Overview on Magnetic Field and Electric Field Interactions with Ice Crystallisation; Application in the Case of Frozen Food

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Piyush Kumar Jha

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Ice nucleation is a stochastic process and it is very difficult to be controlled. Freezing technologies and more specifically crystallisation assisted by magnetic, electric and electromagnetic fields have the capability to interact with nucleation. Static magnetic field (SMF may affect matter crystallisation; however, this is still under debate in the literature. Static electric field (SEF has a significant effect on crystallisation; this has been evidenced experimentally and confirmed by the theory. Oscillating magnetic field induces an oscillating electric field and is also expected to interact with water crystallisation. Oscillating electromagnetic fields interact with water, perturb and even disrupt hydrogen bonds, which in turn are thought to increase the degree of supercooling and to generate numerous fine ice crystals. Based on the literature, it seems that the frequency has an influence on the above-mentioned phenomena. This review article summarizes the fundamentals of freezing under magnetic, electric and electromagnetic fields, as well as their applicability and potentials within the food industry.

Coarse-grained modelling of triglyceride crystallisation: a molecular insight into tripalmitin tristearin binary mixtures by molecular dynamics simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Pizzirusso, Antonio; Brasiello, Antonio; De Nicola, Antonio; Marangoni, Alejandro G.; Milano, Giuseppe

2015-12-01

The first simulation study of the crystallisation of a binary mixture of triglycerides using molecular dynamics simulations is reported. Coarse-grained models of tristearin (SSS) and tripalmitin (PPP) molecules have been considered. The models have been preliminarily tested in the crystallisation of pure SSS and PPP systems. Two different quenching procedures have been tested and their performances have been analysed. The structures obtained from the crystallisation procedures show a high orientation order and a high content of molecules in the tuning fork conformation, comparable with the crystalline α phase. The behaviour of melting temperatures for the α phase of the mixture SSS/PPP obtained from the simulations is in qualitative agreement with the behaviour that was experimentally determined.

Coarse-grained modelling of triglyceride crystallisation: a molecular insight into tripalmitin tristearin binary mixtures by molecular dynamics simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pizzirusso, Antonio; De Nicola, Antonio; Milano, Giuseppe; Brasiello, Antonio; Marangoni, Alejandro G

2015-01-01

The first simulation study of the crystallisation of a binary mixture of triglycerides using molecular dynamics simulations is reported. Coarse-grained models of tristearin (SSS) and tripalmitin (PPP) molecules have been considered. The models have been preliminarily tested in the crystallisation of pure SSS and PPP systems. Two different quenching procedures have been tested and their performances have been analysed. The structures obtained from the crystallisation procedures show a high orientation order and a high content of molecules in the tuning fork conformation, comparable with the crystalline α phase. The behaviour of melting temperatures for the α phase of the mixture SSS/PPP obtained from the simulations is in qualitative agreement with the behaviour that was experimentally determined. (paper)

Optical system for the Protein Crystallisation Diagnostics Facility (PCDF) on board the ISS

Science.gov (United States)

Joannes, Luc; Dupont, Olivier; Dewandel, Jean-Luc; Ligot, Renaud; Algrain, Hervé

2004-06-01

The Protein Crystallisation Diagnostic Facility (PCDF) is a multi-user facility to study the protein crystallisation under the conditions of micro-gravity onboard the International Space Station (ISS) Columbus facility. Large size protein crystals will growth under reduced gravity in thermally controlled reactors. A combination of diagnostic tools like video system, microscope, interferometer, and light scattering device shall help to understand the growth phenomena. Common methods of protein crystallisation shall be performed in PCDF: Dialysis where the protein solution and the salt solution are separated by a semi-permeable membrane. Extended Length Dialysis Batch where the saturation to get crystals is achieved by changing the concentration of the protein in the sample liquid. The overall ESA project is leaded by EADS Space Transportation, Friedrichshafen, Germany. Lambda-X is responsible for the Optical System (OS), with Verhaert Design and Development as sub-contractor for the mechanical design. The OS includes different compact parts: Original illumination systems based on LEDs of difference colours; Quantitative Mach-Zehnder interferometers to measure the concentration distribution around crystals; Imaging assemblies to visualize the protein volume with different field of views. The paper concentrates on the description of each part, and in particular on the imaging assembly which allow switching from one field of view to another by passive elements only.

On the competition in phase formation during the crystallisation of Al-Ni-Y metallic glasses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Styles, M.J.; Sun, W.W.; East, D.R.; Kimpton, J.A.; Gibson, M.A.; Hutchinson, C.R.

2016-01-01

Glassy metals exhibit a range of interesting properties including high strength and corrosion resistance, but often have poor toughness and tensile ductility in the fully amorphous state. It has been shown that combinations of desirable properties can be achieved by the partial crystallisation of glass-forming alloys, either during controlled solidification or by annealing a fully amorphous glass. The aim of this investigation is to understand the competition in phase formation during the crystallisation of metallic glasses in the Al-Ni-Y system. High-resolution, in situ synchrotron powder diffraction has been used to quantitatively follow the evolution of phases in 5 different alloys between Al 87 Ni 9 Y 4 and Al 75 Ni 15 Y 10 , as they were continuously heated to melting and subsequently cooled back to ambient temperature. Upon heating, the first crystallisation product was found to vary from FCC Al to the intermetallic Al 9 Ni 2 phase with increasing Ni concentration. In addition, the crystallisation sequence also changed from a two-stage to a three-stage process. High number densities of crystallites (∼10 23  m −3 ) were observed initially for both FCC Al and Al 9 Ni 2 . Upon cooling, the partially disordered Al 9 Ni 3 Y phase was found to form preferentially over the intermetallic phases observed during heating. The difference in competition in phase formation during heating and cooling are discussed in terms of nucleation barriers calculated using a recent thermodynamic assessment of the Al-Ni-Y system. The role of compositional heterogeneities in the as-quenched glasses and long-range diffusion on the nucleation process is discussed. - Graphical abstract: High-resolution, in situ synchrotron powder diffraction has been used to quantitatively follow the evolution of phases in 5 different alloys between Al 87 Ni 9 Y 4 and Al 75 Ni 15 Y 10 , as they were continuously heated to melting and subsequently cooled back to ambient temperature. Upon heating, the

Solid phase crystallisation of HfO2 thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Modreanu, M.; Sancho-Parramon, J.; O'Connell, D.; Justice, J.; Durand, O.; Servet, B.

2005-01-01

In this paper, we report on the solid phase crystallisation of carbon-free HfO 2 thin films deposited by plasma ion assisted deposition (PIAD). After deposition, the HfO 2 films were annealed in N 2 ambient for 3 h at 350, 550 and 750 deg. C. Several characterisation techniques including X-ray reflectometry (XRR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used for the physical characterisation of as-deposited and annealed HfO 2 . XRD has revealed that the as-deposited HfO 2 film is in an amorphous-like state with only traces of crystalline phase and that the annealed films are in a highly crystalline state. These results are in good agreement with the SE results showing an increase of refractive index by increasing the annealing temperature. XRR results show a significant density gradient over the as-deposited film thickness, which is characteristic of the PIAD method. The AFM measurements show that the HfO 2 layers have a smooth surface even after annealing at 750 deg. C. The present study demonstrates that the solid phase crystallisation of HfO 2 PIAD thin films starts at a temperature as low as 550 deg. C

Polydispersity effects in the crystallisation of hard-sphere colloidal samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin, S.; Bryant, G.

2002-01-01

Full text: Colloidal particles mimicking hard-sphere behaviour have been shown to undergo the freezing and melting transition as predicted from computer simulations. Due to the large size and slow movement of the colloidal particles, it is possible to measure the time dependence of the growth of the main Bragg reflection using laser light scattering. The new data presented here was taken on a newly built crystallisation spectrometer which averages the Bragg reflections over the whole Debye-Scherrer cone, where previous work has mostly been done with the detector fixed in one plane. This new apparatus allows us to observe the crystallisation process at earlier times, on lower density samples than had previously been possible. Measurements have been made on samples made from colloidal particles with radii 320nm and 247 nm and polydispersities of ∼6.9% and >8% respectively. The results have been compared with other results from particles with >4% polydispersity. The results show that increasing the polydispersity in the particles increases the time lag before significant crystal growth occurs, but polydispersity doesn't appear to directly affect the rate of crystal growth

Influence of enzymatic and chemical interesterification on crystallisation properties of refined, bleached and deodourised (RBD) palm oil and RBD palm kernel oil blends.

Science.gov (United States)

Norizzah, Abd Rashid; Nur Azimah, Kamarulzaman; Zaliha, Omar

2018-04-01

Interesterification reaction involves rearrangement of the fatty acid radicals on the glycerol backbone, either randomly (chemical interesterification) or regioselectivity (enzymatic interesterification). Refined, bleached and deodourised palm oil (RBDPO) and palm kernel oil (RBDPKO) were blended in ratios from 25:75 to 75:25 (wt/wt). All blends were subjected to enzymatic (EI) and chemical interesterification (CI) using Lipozyme TL IM (4% w/w) and sodium methoxide (0.2% m/m) as the catalysts, respectively. The effect of EI and CI on the triacylglycerol (TAG) composition, thermal behaviour, polymorphism, crystal morphology and crystallisation kinetics were studied. The aim of this research is to characterise the nature of crystals in food product for certain desired structure. The crystallisation behaviour discussed in this study involves microstructure (PLM), polymorphism (XRD), thermal properties and crystallisation kinetics by DSC. The alteration in TAG composition was greater after CI as compared to EI with the reduction of LaLaLa (from 11.00% to 5.15%) and POO (from 14.28% to 4.87%). The DSC complete melting and crystallisation temperature of blend with 75% PO increased after CI, from 39.58 °C to 41.67 °C and from -30.84 °C to -28.33 °C, respectively. EI contributed to finer crystals than CI. However, the β' and β polymorph mixture and crystallisation kinetics (n = 2) of PO-PKO blends did not change after CI and EI. The knowledge on controlling crystallisation of RBDPO and RBDPKO blends is vital for proper processing condition like margarine production. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Switch-loop flexibility affects transport of large drugs by the promiscuous AcrB multidrug efflux transporter.

Science.gov (United States)

Cha, Hi-jea; Müller, Reinke T; Pos, Klaas M

2014-08-01

Multidrug efflux transporters recognize a variety of structurally unrelated compounds for which the molecular basis is poorly understood. For the resistance nodulation and cell division (RND) inner membrane component AcrB of the AcrAB-TolC multidrug efflux system from Escherichia coli, drug binding occurs at the access and deep binding pockets. These two binding areas are separated by an 11-amino-acid-residue-containing switch loop whose conformational flexibility is speculated to be essential for drug binding and transport. A G616N substitution in the switch loop has a distinct and local effect on the orientation of the loop and on the ability to transport larger drugs. Here, we report a distinct phenotypical pattern of drug recognition and transport for the G616N variant, indicating that drug substrates with minimal projection areas of >70 Å(2) are less well transported than other substrates. Copyright © 2014, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

The potential for the fabrication of wires embedded in the crystalline silicon substrate using the solid phase segregation of gold in crystallising amorphous volumes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, A.C.Y.; McCallum, J.C.

2004-01-01

The refinement of gold in crystallising amorphous silicon volumes was tested as a means of creating a conducting element embedded in the crystalline matrix. Amorphous silicon volumes were created by self-ion-implantation through a mask. Five hundred kiloelectronvolt Au + was then implanted into the volumes. The amorphous volumes were crystallised on a hot stage in air, and the crystallisation was characterised using cross sectional transmission electron microscopy. It was found that the amorphous silicon volumes crystallised via solid phase epitaxy at all the lateral and vertical interfaces. The interplay of the effects of the gold and also the hydrogen that infilitrated from the surface oxide resulted in a plug of amorphous material at the surface. Further annealing at this temperature demonstrated that the gold, once it had reached a certain critical concentration nucleated poly-crystalline growth instead of solid phase epitaxy. Time resolved reflectivity and Rutherford backscattering and channeling measurements were performed on large area samples that had been subject to the same implantation regime to investigate this system further. It was discovered that the crystallisation dynamics and zone refinement of the gold were complicated functions of both gold concentration and temperature. These findings do not encourage the use of this method to obtain conducting elements embedded in the crystalline silicon substrate

Performance potential of low-defect density silicon thin-film solar cells obtained by electron beam evaporation and laser crystallisation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kim K. H.

2013-01-01

Full Text Available A few microns thick silicon films on glass coated with a dielectric intermediate layer can be crystallised by a single pass of a line-focused diode laser beam. Under favorable process conditions relatively large linear grains with low defect density are formed. Most grain boundaries are defect-free low-energy twin-boundaries. Boron-doped laser crystallised films are processed into solar cells by diffusing an emitter from a phosphorous spin-on-dopant source, measuring up to 539 mV open-circuit voltage prior to metallisation. After applying a point-contact metallisation the best cell achieves 7.8% energy conversion efficiency, open-circuit voltage of 526 mV and short-circuit current of 26 mA/cm2. The efficiency is significantly limited by a low fill-factor of 56% due to the simplified metallisation approach. The internal quantum efficiency of laser crystallised cells is consistent with low front surface recombination. By improving cell metallisation and enhancing light-trapping the efficiencies of above 13% can be achieved.

Inhibition of ice crystallisation in highly viscous aqueous organic acid droplets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. J. Murray

2008-09-01

Full Text Available Homogeneous nucleation of ice within aqueous solution droplets and their subsequent crystallisation is thought to play a significant role in upper tropospheric ice cloud formation. It is normally assumed that homogeneous nucleation will take place at a threshold supersaturation, irrespective of the identity of the solute, and that rapid growth of ice particles will follow immediately after nucleation. However, it is shown here through laboratory experiments that droplets may not readily freeze in the very cold tropical tropopause layer (TTL, typical temperatures of 186–200 K. In these experiments ice crystal growth in citric acid solution droplets did not occur when ice nucleated below 197±6 K. Citric acid, 2-hydroxypropane-1,2,3-tricarboxyllic acid, is a molecule with similar functionality to oxygenated organic compounds which are ubiquitous in atmospheric aerosol. It is therefore thought to be a sensible proxy for atmospheric organic material. Evidence is presented that suggests citric acid solution droplets become ultra-viscous and form glassy solids under atmospherically relevant conditions. Diffusion of liquid water molecules to ice nuclei is expected to be very slow in ultra-viscous solution droplets and nucleation is negligible in glassy droplets; this most likely provides an explanation for the experimentally observed inhibition of ice crystallisation. The implications of ultra-viscous and glassy solution droplets for ice cloud formation and supersaturations in the TTL are discussed.

Crystallisation and structural studies of monodisperse nylon oligomers and related polymers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sikorski, P.T.

2001-11-01

Using electron and X-ray diffraction data, together with computerised molecular modeling, the structures of monodisperse nylon oligomers and related polymers have been investigated. Structural changes on heating were also studied. The molecules were crystallised from solution and their morphologies examined using optical and transmission electron microscopy. Lath-like lamellar crystals of the polyester poly-β-propiolactone were crystallised isothermally. The interpretation of the diffraction data with the use of molecular modeling led to the discovery of the new crystalline structure, the γ-structure. In the γ-structure, the polyester chain is in an all-trans conformation and the structure consists of a two-chain, basal-faced, orthorhombic unit cell. The setting angles, with respect to the a axis, are ± 51.5 deg for the corner and centre chains, respectively. The lamellae are 5 nm in thickness and the chains run orthogonal to the lamellar surface. The general fold direction is along the a-axis (long axis of the crystal) and the chain folds successively in the [110] and [11-bar0] directions. Three different nylon 4 6 oligomers were crystallised from solution using a range of crystallisation methods. The 4- and 8-amide molecules were found to form three-dimensional crystals, in which the crystal thickness was much greater than the molecular length. The structure was found to be different from the nylon 4 6 polymer reported previously. It was found that the type of hydrogen-bonded sheet formed by these molecules can influence the way in which these sheets stack to form crystals. In addition, a study of the 9-amide molecule showed that a particular type of hydrogen-bonded sheet, a-sheet, is preferred for nylon 4 6. This discovery suggests that an amide unit is found in the fold in the chain-folded nylon 4 6 polymer crystals, to allow the a-sheets to be formed. It is not a consequence of a need to form a stress-free fold. In the regular adjacent re-entry chain

Influence of crystallised igneous intrusions on fault nucleation and reactivation during continental extension

Science.gov (United States)

Magee, Craig; McDermott, Kenneth G.; Stevenson, Carl T. E.; Jackson, Christopher A.-L.

2014-05-01

Continental rifting is commonly accommodated by the nucleation of normal faults, slip on pre-existing fault surfaces and/or magmatic intrusion. Because crystallised igneous intrusions are pervasive in many rift basins and are commonly more competent (i.e. higher shear strengths and Young's moduli) than the host rock, it is theoretically plausible that they locally intersect and modify the mechanical properties of pre-existing normal faults. We illustrate the influence that crystallised igneous intrusions may have on fault reactivation using a conceptual model and observations from field and subsurface datasets. Our results show that igneous rocks may initially resist failure, and promote the preferential reactivation of favourably-oriented, pre-existing faults that are not spatially-associated with solidified intrusions. Fault segments situated along strike from laterally restricted fault-intrusion intersections may similarly be reactivated. This spatial and temporal control on strain distribution may generate: (1) supra-intrusion folds in the hanging wall; (2) new dip-slip faults adjacent to the igneous body; or (3) sub-vertical, oblique-slip faults oriented parallel to the extension direction. Importantly, stress accumulation within igneous intrusions may eventually initiate failure and further localise strain. The results of our study have important implications for the structural of sedimentary basins and the subsurface migration of hydrocarbons and mineral-bearing fluids.

A zero density change phase change memory material: GeTe-O structural characteristics upon crystallisation.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Xilin; Dong, Weiling; Zhang, Hao; Simpson, Robert E

2015-06-11

Oxygen-doped germanium telluride phase change materials are proposed for high temperature applications. Up to 8 at.% oxygen is readily incorporated into GeTe, causing an increased crystallisation temperature and activation energy. The rhombohedral structure of the GeTe crystal is preserved in the oxygen doped films. For higher oxygen concentrations the material is found to phase separate into GeO2 and TeO2, which inhibits the technologically useful abrupt change in properties. Increasing the oxygen content in GeTe-O reduces the difference in film thickness and mass density between the amorphous and crystalline states. For oxygen concentrations between 5 and 6 at.%, the amorphous material and the crystalline material have the same density. Above 6 at.% O doping, crystallisation exhibits an anomalous density change, where the volume of the crystalline state is larger than that of the amorphous. The high thermal stability and zero-density change characteristic of Oxygen-incorporated GeTe, is recommended for efficient and low stress phase change memory devices that may operate at elevated temperatures.

Investigation of the hydrothermal crystallisation of the perovskite solid solution NaCe{sub 1−x}La{sub x}Ti{sub 2}O{sub 6} and its defect chemistry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Harunsani, Mohammad H. [Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL (United Kingdom); Woodward, David I. [Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7Al (United Kingdom); Peel, Martin D.; Ashbrook, Sharon E. [School of Chemistry, and EaStCHEM University of St. Andrews, North Haugh, St. Andrews, KY16 9ST (United Kingdom); Walton, Richard I., E-mail: r.i.walton@warwick.ac.uk [Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL (United Kingdom)

2013-11-15

Perovskites of nominal composition NaCe{sub 1−x}La{sub x}Ti{sub 2}O{sub 6} (0≤x≤1) crystallise directly under hydrothermal conditions at 240 °C. Raman spectroscopy shows distortion from the ideal cubic structure and Rietveld analysis of powder X-ray and neutron diffraction reveals that the materials represent a continuous series in rhombohedral space group R3-bar c. Ce L{sub III}-edge X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy shows that while the majority of cerium is present as Ce{sup 3+} there is evidence for Ce{sup 4+}. The paramagnetic Ce{sup 3+} affects the chemical shift and line width of {sup 23}Na MAS NMR spectra, which also show with no evidence for A-site ordering. {sup 2}H MAS NMR of samples prepared in D{sub 2}O shows the inclusion of deuterium, which IR spectroscopy shows is most likely to be as D{sub 2}O. The deuterium content is highest for the cerium-rich materials, consistent with oxidation of some cerium to Ce{sup 4+} to provide charge balance of A-site water. - Graphical abstract: A multi-element A-site perovskite crystallises directly from aqueous, basic solutions at 240 °C; while the paramagnetic effect of Ce{sup 3+} on the {sup 23}Na NMR shows a homogeneous solid-solution, the incorporation of A-site water is also found from {sup 2}H NMR and IR, with oxidation of some cerium to charge balance proved by XANES spectroscopy. Display Omitted - Highlights: • Direct hydrothermal synthesis allows crystallisation of a perovskite solid-solution. • XANES spectroscopy shows some oxidation of Ce{sup 3+} to Ce{sup 4+}. • The paramagnetism of Ce{sup 3+} shifts and broadens the {sup 23}Na solid-state NMR. • The perovskite materials incorporate water as an A-site defect.

Crystallisation and chain conformation of long chain n-alkanes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gorce, J.

2000-06-01

Hydrocarbon chains are a basic component in a number of systems as diverse as biological membranes, phospholipids and polymers. A better understanding of the physical properties of n-alkane chains should provide a better understanding of these more complex systems. With this aim, vibrational spectroscopy has been extensively used. This technique, sensitive to molecular details, is the only one able to both identify and quantify conformational disorder present in paraffinic systems. To achieve this, methyl deformations have been widely used as ''internal standards'' for the normalisation of peak areas. However, in the case of n-alkanes with short chain length, such as n-C 44 H 90 for example, the infrared spectra recorded at liquid nitrogen temperature and reported here show the sensitivity of these latter peaks to the various crystal structures formed. Indeed, the main frequencies of the symmetric methyl bending mode were found between 1384 cm -1 and 1368 cm -1 as a function of the crystal form. Changes in the frequency of the first order of the L.A.M. present in the Raman spectra were also observed. At higher temperatures, non all-trans conformers, inferred from different infrared bands present in the wagging mode region, were found to be essentially placed at the end of the n-alkane chains. At the monoclinic phase transition, the concentration of end-gauche conformers, proportional to the area of the infrared band at 1342 cm -1 , increases abruptly. On the contrary, in the spectra recorded at liquid nitrogen temperature no such band is observed. We also studied the degree of disorder in two purely monodisperse long chain n-alkanes, namely n-C 198 H 398 and n-C 246 H 494 . The chain conformation as well as the tilt angle of the chains from the crystal surfaces were determined by means of low frequency Raman spectroscopy and S.A.X.S. measurements on solution-crystallised samples. The increase in the number of end-gauche conformers which was expected to occur with

Crystallisation of a Lennard-Jones fluid by large scale molecular dynamics simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Snook, I.

1998-01-01

Full text: The evolution of the structure of a large system of atoms interacting via a Lennard-Jones pair potential was simulated by the use of the Molecular Dynamics computer simulation technique. The system was initially equilibrated in the one phase region of the phase diagram at a temperature above critical then a temperature quench was performed which placed the system in a region were the single fluid phase was unstable. Quenches to below the triple point temperature gave rise to crystallisation The mechanism and final morphology is shown to depend strongly on the starting conditions e.g. the starting density

Strain relaxation during solid-phase epitaxial crystallisation of Ge{sub x}Si{sub 1-x} alloy layers with depth dependent G{sub e} compositions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wong, Wahchung; Elliman, R.G.; Kringhoj, P. [Australian National Univ., Canberra, ACT (Australia). Research School of Physical Sciences

1993-12-31

The solid-phase epitaxial crystallisation of depth dependent Ge{sub x}Si{sub lx} alloy layers produced by implanting Ge into Si substrates was studied. In-situ monitoring was done using time-resolved reflectivity (TRR) whilst post-anneal defect structures were characterised by Rutherford backscattering and channeling spectrometry (RBS-C) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Particular attention was directed at Ge concentrations above the critical concentration for the growth of fully strained layers. Strain relief is shown to be correlated with a sudden reduction in crystallisation velocity caused by roughening of the crystalline/amorphous interface. 11 refs., 1 tab., 2 figs.

Strain relaxation during solid-phase epitaxial crystallisation of Ge{sub x}Si{sub 1-x} alloy layers with depth dependent G{sub e} compositions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wong, Wahchung; Elliman, R G; Kringhoj, P [Australian National Univ., Canberra, ACT (Australia). Research School of Physical Sciences

1994-12-31

The solid-phase epitaxial crystallisation of depth dependent Ge{sub x}Si{sub lx} alloy layers produced by implanting Ge into Si substrates was studied. In-situ monitoring was done using time-resolved reflectivity (TRR) whilst post-anneal defect structures were characterised by Rutherford backscattering and channeling spectrometry (RBS-C) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Particular attention was directed at Ge concentrations above the critical concentration for the growth of fully strained layers. Strain relief is shown to be correlated with a sudden reduction in crystallisation velocity caused by roughening of the crystalline/amorphous interface. 11 refs., 1 tab., 2 figs.

Influence of laser fluence in ArF-excimer laser assisted crystallisation of a-SiGe:H films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chiussi, S.; Lopez, E.; Serra, J.; Gonzalez, P.; Serra, C.; Leon, B.; Fabbri, F.; Fornarini, L.; Martelli, S.

2003-01-01

Polycrystalline silicon germanium (poly-SiGe) coatings are drawing increasing attention as active layers in solar cells, bolometers and various microelectronic devices. As a consequence, alternative low-cost production techniques, capable to produce such alloys with uniform and controlled grain size, become more and more attractive. Excimer laser assisted crystallisation, already assessed in thin film transistor production, has proved to be a valuable 'low-thermal budget' technique for the crystallisation of amorphous silicon. Main advantages are the high process quality and reproducibility as well as the possibility of tailoring the grain size in both, small selected regions and large areas. The feasibility of this technique for producing poly-SiGe films has been studied irradiating hydrogenated amorphous SiGe films with spatially uniform ArF-laser pulses of different fluences. Surface morphology, structure and chemical composition have been extensively characterised, demonstrating the need of using a 'step-by-step' process and a careful adjustment of both, total number of shots and laser fluence at each 'step' in order to diminish segregation effects and severe damages of the film surface and of segregation effects

Calcium carbonate crystallisation at the microscopic level

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dobson, Phillip Stephen

2001-01-01

The primary concern of this thesis is the investigation of crystal nucleation and growth processes, and the effect of foreign substrates on the rate, extent and mechanism of crystallisation, with particular emphasis on the calcium carbonate system. A methodology, based on the in-line mixing of two stable solutions, which permits the continuous delivery of a solution with a constant, known supersaturation, has been developed and characterised. This has been used to induce CaCO 3 crystallisation in experimental systems involving the channel flow and wall jet techniques. The channel flow method has been adapted to facilitate the study of crystal growth at a single calcite crystal. Ca 2+ ion selective electrodes have been employed as a means of monitoring depletion of the supersaturated solution, downstream of the crystal substrate. The data obtained suggested a growth rate constant of 3x10 -12 mol cm -2 s -1 (and a reaction order of 1.52 on supersaturation). The ex-situ techniques of optical microscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were employed to visualise changes in the calcite surface topography resulting from exposure to the growth solution. A technique based on an impinging jet of supersaturated solution was developed and characterised as a method for inducing crystal growth on foreign substrates under defined hydrodynamic control. When used in conjunction with the ex-situ techniques of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), optical microscopy and micro-Raman spectroscopy, the role of substrate and supersaturation on the morphology and polymorphology of the CaCOs microcrystals was determined. The technique also proved to be a powerful tool for the evaluation of scale inhibiting surface coatings. The combination of the impinging jet method with thin transparent substrates allowed in-situ observation, through optical microscopy, of the induction and growth of CaCO 3 microcrystals on foreign substrates. A number of substrates, displaying various surface energies

Estimation of the nucleation kinetics for the anti-solvent crystallisation of paracetamol in methanol/water solutions

Science.gov (United States)

Ó'Ciardhá, Clifford T.; Frawley, Patrick J.; Mitchell, Niall A.

2011-08-01

In this work the primary nucleation kinetics have been estimated for the anti-solvent crystallisation of paracetamol in methanol-water solutions from metastable zone widths (MSZW) and induction times at 25 °C. Laser back-scattering via a focused beam reflectance Measurement (FBRM ®) is utilised to detect the onset of nucleation. The theoretical approach of Kubota was employed to estimate the nucleation kinetics, which accounts for the sensitivity of the nucleation detection technique. This approach is expanded in this work to analyse the induction time for an anti-solvent crystallisation process. Solvent composition is known to have a significant impact on the measured induction times and MSZW. The induction time in this paper was measured from 40% to 70% mass water and the MSZW is measured from 40% to 60% mass water. The primary focus of the paper was to gauge the extent of how solvent composition affects nucleation kinetics so that this effect may be incorporated into a population balance model. Furthermore, the effects of solvent composition on the estimated nucleation rates are investigated. The primary nucleation rates were found to decrease with dynamic solvent composition, with the extent of their reduction linked to the gradient of the solubility curve. Finally, both MSZW and induction time methods have been found to produce similar estimates for the nucleation parameters.

Effect of Pressure on the Crystallisation of AlSi7Mg Alloy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pastirčák R.

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with influencing the crystallisation of Al alloys by a direct squeeze casting method. The effects of changed cooling rates of the casting is evaluated using a heat transfer coefficient at different casting conditions. The experimental results obtained by temperature measurement of the casting and the mould were used to predict the casting and mould surface temperatures using regression curves. The measured temperatures in the sub-surface layers were used to determine the amount of heat transferred from the casting to the mould. The amount of transferred heat increased 20-fold due to the effect of pressure. We also evaluated the effect of the acting pressure on the mechanical properties and microstructure of the alloy used. The process parameters were varied in the experiment.

The crystallisation of Cu2ZnSnS4 thin film solar cell absorbers from co-electroplated Cu-Zn-Sn precursors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schurr, R.; Hoelzing, A.; Jost, S.; Hock, R.; Voss, T.; Schulze, J.; Kirbs, A.; Ennaoui, A.; Lux-Steiner, M.; Weber, A.; Koetschau, I.; Schock, H.-W.

2009-01-01

The best CZTS solar cell so far was produced by co-sputtering continued with vapour phase sulfurization method. Efficiencies of up to 5.74% were reached by Katagiri et al. The one step electrochemical deposition of copper, zinc, tin and subsequent sulfurization is an alternative fabrication technique for the production of Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 based thin film solar cells. A kesterite based solar cell (size 0.5 cm 2 ) with a conversion efficiency of 3.4% (AM1.5) was produced by vapour phase sulfurization of co-electroplated Cu-Zn-Sn films. We report on results of in-situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) experiments during crystallisation of kesterite thin films from electrochemically co-deposited metal films. The kesterite crystallisation is completed by the solid state reaction of Cu 2 SnS 3 and ZnS. The measurements show two different reaction paths depending on the metal ratios in the as deposited films. In copper-rich metal films Cu 3 Sn and CuZn were found after electrodeposition. In copper-poor or near stoichiometric precursors additional Cu 6 Sn 5 and Sn phases were detected. The formation mechanism of Cu 2 SnS 3 involves the binary sulphides Cu 2-x S and SnS 2 in the absence of the binary precursor phase Cu 6 Sn 5 . The presence of Cu 6 Sn 5 leads to a preferred formation of Cu 2 SnS 3 via the reaction educts Cu 2-x S and SnS 2 in the presence of a SnS 2 (Cu 4 SnS 6 ) melt. The melt phase may be advantageous in crystallising the kesterite, leading to enhanced grain growth in the presence of a liquid phase

Structural and functional analysis of the S-layer protein crystallisation domain of Lactobacillus acidophilus ATCC 4356 : evidence for protein : protein interaction of two subdomains

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Smit, E.; Jager, D.; Martinez, B.; Tielen, F.J.; Pouwels, P.H.

2002-01-01

The structure of the crystallisation domain, SAN, of the S A-protein of Lactobacillus acidophilus ATCC 4356 was analysed by insertion and deletion mutagenesis, and by proteolytic treatment. Mutant S A-protein synthesised in Escherichia coli with 7-13 amino acid insertions near the N terminus or

Numerical Simulations of Melting-Crystallisation Processes at the Boundaries Between Magma Oceans and Solid Mantle

Science.gov (United States)

Bolrão, D. P.; Rozel, A.; Morison, A.; Labrosse, S.; Tackley, P. J.

2017-12-01

The idea that the Earth had a global magma ocean, mostly created by impacts, core formation, radiogenic and tidal heating, is well accepted nowadays. When this ocean starts to crystallise, if the melt is denser than the solid, a basal magma ocean is created below the solid part. These two magma oceans influence the dynamics and evolution of solid mantle. Near the boundaries, the vertical flow in the solid part creates a topography. If this topography is destroyed by melting/crystallisation processes in a time scale much shorter than the time needed to adjust the topography by viscous relaxation, then matter can cross the boundary. In this case, the boundary is said to be permeable. On the other hand, if this time is longer, matter cannot cross and the boundary is said impermeable. This permeability is defined by a non-dimensional phase change number, φ, introduced by Deguen, 2013. This φ is the ratio of the two timescales mentioned, and defines a permeable boundary when φ « 1, and an impermeable one when φ » 1. To understand the impact of magma oceans on the dynamics of the solid mantle, we use the convection code StagYY, with a 2D spherical annulus geometry, to compute the convection of the solid part. Our results show different convection behaviours depending on the type of boundary chosen. For the permeable case, we investigate the thermo-compositional evolution of the solid domain, explicitly taking into account the compositional evolution of the magma oceans. Reference: Deguen, R. Thermal convection in a spherical shell with melting/freezing at either or both of its boundaries. Journal of Earth Science, Vol. 24, No. 5, p. 669-682, 2013. doi: 10.1007/s12583-013-0364-8

The crystallisation of Cu{sub 2}ZnSnS{sub 4} thin film solar cell absorbers from co-electroplated Cu-Zn-Sn precursors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schurr, R. [Chair for Crystallography and Structural Physics, University of Erlangen-Nuernberg, Staudtstrasse 3, D-91058 Erlangen (Germany)], E-mail: schurr@krist.uni-erlangen.de; Hoelzing, A.; Jost, S.; Hock, R. [Chair for Crystallography and Structural Physics, University of Erlangen-Nuernberg, Staudtstrasse 3, D-91058 Erlangen (Germany); Voss, T.; Schulze, J.; Kirbs, A. [Atotech Deutschland GmbH, Erasmusstrasse 20, D-10553 Berlin (Germany); Ennaoui, A.; Lux-Steiner, M. [Heterogeneous Material Systems SE II, Hahn-Meitner-Institut, Glienickerstr.100, D-14109 Berlin (Germany); Weber, A.; Koetschau, I.; Schock, H.-W. [Technology SE III, Hahn-Meitner-Institut, Glienickerstr.100, D-14109 Berlin (Germany)

2009-02-02

The best CZTS solar cell so far was produced by co-sputtering continued with vapour phase sulfurization method. Efficiencies of up to 5.74% were reached by Katagiri et al. The one step electrochemical deposition of copper, zinc, tin and subsequent sulfurization is an alternative fabrication technique for the production of Cu{sub 2}ZnSnS{sub 4} based thin film solar cells. A kesterite based solar cell (size 0.5 cm{sup 2}) with a conversion efficiency of 3.4% (AM1.5) was produced by vapour phase sulfurization of co-electroplated Cu-Zn-Sn films. We report on results of in-situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) experiments during crystallisation of kesterite thin films from electrochemically co-deposited metal films. The kesterite crystallisation is completed by the solid state reaction of Cu{sub 2}SnS{sub 3} and ZnS. The measurements show two different reaction paths depending on the metal ratios in the as deposited films. In copper-rich metal films Cu{sub 3}Sn and CuZn were found after electrodeposition. In copper-poor or near stoichiometric precursors additional Cu{sub 6}Sn{sub 5} and Sn phases were detected. The formation mechanism of Cu{sub 2}SnS{sub 3} involves the binary sulphides Cu{sub 2-x}S and SnS{sub 2} in the absence of the binary precursor phase Cu{sub 6}Sn{sub 5}. The presence of Cu{sub 6}Sn{sub 5} leads to a preferred formation of Cu{sub 2}SnS{sub 3} via the reaction educts Cu{sub 2-x}S and SnS{sub 2} in the presence of a SnS{sub 2}(Cu{sub 4}SnS{sub 6}) melt. The melt phase may be advantageous in crystallising the kesterite, leading to enhanced grain growth in the presence of a liquid phase.

Crystal growth in EPDM by chemi-crystallisation as a function of the neutron irradiation dose and flux level

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lambri, O.A.; Salvatierra, L.M.; Sanchez, F.A.; Matteo, C.L.; Sorichetti, P.A.; Celauro, C.A.

2005-01-01

Neutron irradiation at room temperature were performed on EPDM (ethylene-propylene-diene monomer) in two different nuclear reactors at different fluxes. The effect of the irradiation on the chain arrangement in the polymer, as a function of the dose is discussed. Different crystal concentrations and crystal shapes, developed by chemi-crystallisation, are obtained depending on the neutron dose. In addition the radiation damage degree in the polymer depends both on the dose and the flux level. Dynamical mechanical analysis, swelling studies, X-ray diffraction, differential thermal analysis and infrared studies were employed as experimental techniques

Crystallisation of mela-aillikites of the Narsaq region, Gardar alkaline province, south Greenland and relationships to other aillikitic carbonatitic associations in the province

Science.gov (United States)

Upton, B. G. J.; Craven, J. A.; Kirstein, L. A.

2006-11-01

Aillikites (carbonated, melilite-free ultramafic lamprophyres grading to carbonatites) are minor components of the Gardar alkaline igneous province. They occur principally as minor intrusions and as clasts in diatremes, but more voluminous aillikitic intrusions crop out near the Ilímaussaq Complex, which they predate by a few million years. These larger intrusions were emplaced at 1160 ± 5 Ma. They are essentially carbonate-free and, consisting almost wholly of ferromagnesian silicate and oxide minerals, are mela-aillikites. Typically the mela-aillikites are fine-grained rocks composed largely of olivine, clinopyroxene, phlogopite and magnetite that crystallised in open systems, permitting loss of volatile-rich residues. The petrography is highly complex, involving at least 28 mineral species. Pyroxenitic veins were emplaced while the host-rocks were still at high temperatures and represent channels through which fluorinated silico-carbonatitic residual melts escaped, with exsolving CO 2 as propellant. Precipitation of Ca-rich minerals including monticellite, perovskite, vesuvianite, wollastonite and cuspidine was a result of dissociation of the calcium carbonate in the residual melts. Late-stage crystallisation was in a highly oxidising environment in which the 'common minerals' attain extreme compositions (almost pure forsterite, ferrian-diopside, highly magnesian ilmenite, Ba-Ti-rich phlogopite and Sr-rich kaersutite). Spatially associated diatremes may be vents through which CO 2-rich gases erupted. The whole-rock compositions are considered to be well removed from those of co-existing melts: compaction and expulsion of highly mobile residual melts is inferred to have left the mela-aillikites as aberrant cumulates. The mela-aillikites are a late-Gardar manifestation of the aillikitic magmatism that occurred intermittently in the province for over 120 Ma. Repetitive formation of metasomite vein systems in the deep lithospheric mantle is postulated. These

Crystallisation of Ba1-xSrxZn2Si2O7 from BaO/SrO/ZnO/SiO2 glass with different ZrO2 and TiO2 concentrations

Science.gov (United States)

Vladislavova, Liliya; Kracker, Michael; Zscheckel, Tilman; Thieme, Christian; Rüssel, Christian

2018-04-01

The effect of different nucleation agents such as ZrO2 and TiO2 was investigated for a first time with respect to their crystallisation behaviour in the glass system BaO-SrO-ZnO-SiO2. In all studied glasses, a Ba1-xSrxZn2Si2O7 (0.1 ≤ x ≤ 0.9) solid solution crystallized. This phase was first described in 2015 to possess a similar structure as the high temperature phase of BaZn2Si2O7 and a thermal expansion close to zero or even negative. It may find applications e.g. as cook panels, telescope mirrors, and furnace windows. Kinetic parameters of the crystallisation process were determined by supplying different heating rates in a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The results were evaluated using the equations of Ozawa and Kissinger with respect to the activation energies. Furthermore, the Ozawa method was used for the determination of Avrami parameters, which provides further information on the nucleation and crystallisation processes. Scanning electron microscopy including electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) was used to characterise the microstructure, to determine the crystallite size and the crystal orientation. For the characterisation of the occurring crystalline phases, X-ray diffraction was used.

The Metastable City and the Politics of Crystallisation: Protesting and Policing in Kampala

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joschka Philipps

2016-01-01

Full Text Available When protests break out in downtown Kampala they tend to transform a fluid urban environment into bounded political camps, and myriad ambiguous concerns into comparatively clear-cut political issues. This article traces this process and conceptualises Kampala’s urban politics as a politics of crystallisation: as attempts to structure highly fluid dynamics into something concrete. The article is based on ethnographic research amongst opposition activists and the police forces. Both seek to activate political boundaries and make people gravitate towards their respective side. But in line with the fluidity of urban everyday life, they also work and collaborate across these boundaries. The national regime and the opposition thus function not as permanent, stable structures, but as processes, as fields of gravity whose emergence is incited and inhibited, financed, and policed. Drawing on Gilbert Simondon’s theory of individuation and AbdouMaliq Simone’s work on urbanity, this analytical framework offers a dynamic reading of urban contentious politics in general, and a reinterpretation of the paradoxes of power in African politics in particular.

Improved conductivity in dye-sensitised solar cells through block-copolymer confined TiO 2 crystallisation

KAUST Repository

Guldin, Stefan

2011-01-01

Anatase TiO2 is typically a central component in high performance dye-sensitised solar cells (DSCs). This study demonstrates the benefits of high temperature synthesised mesoporous titania for the performance of solid-state DSCs. In contrast to earlier methods, the high temperature stability of mesoporous titania is enabled by the self-assembly of the amphiphilic block copolymer polyisoprene-block-polyethylene oxide (PI-b -PEO) which compartmentalises TiO2 crystallisation, preventing the collapse of porosity at temperatures up to 700 °C. The systematic study of the temperature dependence on DSC performance reveals a parameter trade-off: high temperature annealed anatase consisted of larger crystallites and had a higher conductivity, but this came at the expense of a reduced specific surface area. While the reduction in specific surface areas was found to be detrimental for liquid-electrolyte DSC performance, solid-state DSCs benefitted from the increased anatase conductivity and exhibited a performance increase by a factor of three. © 2011 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

Crystallisation kinetics of amorphous Fe72.5-xCu1Nb4.5Si10+x+yB12-y alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miglierini, M.; Lipka, J.; Sitek, J.

1994-01-01

Fe 73.5 Cu 1 Nb 3 Si 13.5 B 9 and Fe 72.5-x Cu 1 Nb 4.5 Si 10+x+y B 12-y alloys are compared from the point of view of crystallisation behaviour and changes in the short-range order in the amorphous reminder. The increase in Nb to 4.5 at.% in the latter system slows down the formation of nanocrystals to approximately 40% even after 16 hours of anneal at 550 C for x = 0.5, y = 3. Segregation-induced changes in the short-range order are manifested via hyperfine field distributions corresponding to the amorphous reminder. (orig.)

A 125Te and 23Na NMR investigation of the structure and crystallisation of sodium tellurite glasses.

Science.gov (United States)

Holland, D; Bailey, J; Ward, G; Turner, B; Tierney, P; Dupree, R

2005-01-01

125Te static nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and 23Na and 125Te magic angle spinning (MAS) NMR have been used, in conjunction with X-ray diffraction, to examine the structure and crystallisation behaviour of glasses of composition xNa2O.(1-x)TeO2 (0.075 x 0.4). The MAS NMR 23Na spectra from the glasses are broad and featureless but shift by approximately +5 ppm with increased x, i.e. as the system becomes more ionic. The static 125Te NMR spectra show an increase in axial symmetry with increasing x, indicating a shift from predominantly [TeO4] to [TeO3] structural units. The 23Na and 125Te spectra from the crystallised samples have been fitted to obtain information on the sites in the metastable crystal phases, which are the first to form on heating and which are therefore more closely related to the glass structure than thermodynamically stable crystal phases. New sodium tellurite phases are reported, including a sodium stabilised, face centred cubic phase related to delta-TeO2; a metastable form of Na2Te4O9 containing 3 sodium and 4 tellurium sites; and a metastable form of Na2Te2O5 containing 2 sodium sites. There is evidence of oxidation of TeIV to TeVI occurring in glasses with high values of x and, at x=0.40 and 0.50 (outside the glass forming range), some sodium metatellurate (Na2TeO4) is formed at the same time as sodium metatellurite (Na2TeO3). The 125Te shift is very sensitive to environment within the sodium tellurite system, covering more than 320 ppm, with anisotropies varying from 640 to 1540 ppm. The lack of features in the 125Te spectra of the glass phases, combined with the large shift range and high but variable anisotropy, means than it is not possible to obtain a unique fit to any presumed species present. Furthermore, the chemical shift anisotropy parameters for three of the four Te sites in the Na2Te4O9 phase are found to lie outside the range used for previous simulations of glass spectra.

Estimation of the growth kinetics for the cooling crystallisation of paracetamol and ethanol solutions

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Niall A.; Ó'Ciardhá, Clifford T.; Frawley, Patrick J.

2011-08-01

This work details the estimation of the growth kinetics of paracetamol in ethanol solutions for cooling crystallisation processes, by means of isothermal seeded batch experiments. The growth kinetics of paracetamol crystals were evaluated in isolation, with the growth rate assumed to be size independent. Prior knowledge of the Metastable Zone Width (MSZW) was required, so that supersaturation ratios of 1.7-1.1 could be induced in solution without the occurrence of nucleation. The technique involved the utilisation of two in-situ Process Analytical Techniques (PATs), with a Focused Beam Reflectance Measurement (FBRM ®) utilised to ensure that negligible nucleation occurred and an Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) probe employed for online monitoring of solute concentration. Initial Particle Size Distributions (PSDs) were used in conjunction with desupersaturation profiles to determine the growth rate as a function of temperature and supersaturation. Furthermore, the effects of seed loading and size on the crystal growth rate were investigated. A numerical model, incorporating the population balance equation and the method of moments, was utilised to describe the crystal growth process. Experimental parameters were compared to the model simulation, with the accuracy of the model validated by means of the final product PSDs and solute concentration.

Impact of crystallisation processes on depth profile formation in sol-gel PbZr.sub.0·52./sub.Ti.sub.0·48./sub.O.sub.3./sub. thin films

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Aulika, I.; Mergen, S.; Bencan, A.; Zhang, Q.; Dejneka, Alexandr; Kosec, M.; Kundzins, K.; Demarchi, D.; Civera, P.

2013-01-01

Roč. 112, č. 1 (2013), s. 53-58 ISSN 1743-6753 R&D Projects: GA TA ČR TA01010517; GA ČR GAP108/12/1941 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100522 Keywords : compositional and optical gradien * PZT * spectroscopic ellipsometry * crystallisation proces * sol-gel * XRD * thin films * depth profile * spectroscopic elipsometry Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 1.107, year: 2013

Crystallisation kinetics of amorphous Fe{sub 72.5-x}Cu{sub 1}Nb{sub 4.5}Si{sub 10+x+y}B{sub 12-y} alloy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miglierini, M. [Komenskeho Univ., Bratislava (Czechoslovakia). Dept. of Nuclear Physics and Technics; Lipka, J. [Komenskeho Univ., Bratislava (Czechoslovakia). Dept. of Nuclear Physics and Technics; Sitek, J. [Komenskeho Univ., Bratislava (Czechoslovakia). Dept. of Nuclear Physics and Technics

1994-11-01

Fe{sub 73.5}Cu{sub 1}Nb{sub 3}Si{sub 13.5}B{sub 9} and Fe{sub 72.5-x}Cu{sub 1}Nb{sub 4.5}Si{sub 10+x+y}B{sub 12-y} alloys are compared from the point of view of crystallisation behaviour and changes in the short-range order in the amorphous reminder. The increase in Nb to 4.5 at.% in the latter system slows down the formation of nanocrystals to approximately 40% even after 16 hours of anneal at 550 C for x = 0.5, y = 3. Segregation-induced changes in the short-range order are manifested via hyperfine field distributions corresponding to the amorphous reminder. (orig.)

Enhancing isoprenoid production through systematically assembling and modulating efflux pumps in Escherichia coli.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jian-Feng; Xiong, Zhi-Qiang; Li, Shi-Yuan; Wang, Yong

2013-09-01

Enhancement of the cellular exportation of heterologous compounds is an important aspect to improve the product yield in microbial cell factory. Efflux pumps can expel various intra- or extra-cellular substances out of microbial hosts and increase the cellular tolerance. Thus in this study, by using the hydrophobic sesquiterpene (amorphadiene) and diterpene (kaurene) as two model compounds, we attempted to improve isoprenoid production through systematically engineering the efflux pumps in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3). The pleiotropic resistant pumps, AcrAB-TolC, MdtEF-TolC from E. coli and heterologous MexAB-OprM pump from Pseudomonas aeruginosa, were overexpressed, assembled, and finely modulated. We found that overexpression of AcrB and TolC components can effectively enhance the specific yield of amorphadiene and kaurene, e.g., 31 and 37 % improvement for amorphadiene compared with control, respectively. The heterologous MexB component can enhance kaurene production with 70 % improvement which is more effective than TolC and AcrB. The results suggest that the three components of tripartite efflux pumps play varied effect to enhance isoprenoid production. Considering the highly organized structure of efflux pumps and importance of components interaction, various component combinations were constructed and the copy number of key components AcrB and TolC was finely modulated as well. The results exhibit that the combination TolC and TolC and AcrB improved the specific yield of amorphadiene with 118 %, and AcrA and TolC and AcrB improved that of kaurene with 104 %. This study indicates that assembling and finely modulating efflux pumps is an effective strategy to improve the production of heterologous compounds in E. coli.

A low viscosity, low boiling point, clean solvent system for the rapid crystallisation of highly specular perovskite films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Noel, Nakita K.; Habisreutinger, Severin N.; Wenger, Bernard; Klug, Matthew T.; Hörantner, Maximilian T.; Johnston, Michael B.; Nicholas, Robin J.; Moore, David T.; Snaith, Henry J.

2017-01-01

Perovskite-based photovoltaics have, in recent years, become poised to revolutionise the solar industry. While there have been many approaches taken to the deposition of this material, one-step spin-coating remains the simplest and most widely used method in research laboratories. Although spin-coating is not recognised as the ideal manufacturing methodology, it represents a starting point from which more scalable deposition methods, such as slot-dye coating or ink-jet printing can be developed. Here, we introduce a new, low-boiling point, low viscosity solvent system that enables rapid, room temperature crystallisation of methylammonium lead triiodide perovskite films, without the use of strongly coordinating aprotic solvents. Through the use of this solvent, we produce dense, pinhole free films with uniform coverage, high specularity, and enhanced optoelectronic properties. We fabricate devices and achieve stabilised power conversion efficiencies of over 18% for films which have been annealed at 100 degrees C, and over 17% for films which have been dried under vacuum and have undergone no thermal processing. This deposition technique allows uniform coating on substrate areas of up to 125 cm2, showing tremendous promise for the fabrication of large area, high efficiency, solution processed devices, and represents a critical step towards industrial upscaling and large area printing of perovskite solar cells.

Splice variants of perlucin from Haliotis laevigata modulate the crystallisation of CaCO3.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tanja Dodenhof

Full Text Available Perlucin is one of the proteins of the organic matrix of nacre (mother of pearl playing an important role in biomineralisation. This nacreous layer can be predominately found in the mollusc lineages and is most intensively studied as a compound of the shell of the marine Australian abalone Haliotis laevigata. A more detailed analysis of Perlucin will elucidate some of the still unknown processes in the complex interplay of the organic/inorganic compounds involved in the formation of nacre as a very interesting composite material not only from a life science-based point of view. Within this study we discovered three unknown Perlucin splice variants of the Australian abalone H. laevigata. The amplified cDNAs vary from 562 to 815 base pairs and the resulting translation products differ predominantly in the absence or presence of a varying number of a 10 mer peptide C-terminal repeat. The splice variants could further be confirmed by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-ToF MS analysis as endogenous Perlucin, purified from decalcified abalone shell. Interestingly, we observed that the different variants expressed as maltose-binding protein (MBP fusion proteins in E. coli showed strong differences in their influence on precipitating CaCO3 and that these differences might be due to a splice variant-specific formation of large protein aggregates influenced by the number of the 10 mer peptide repeats. Our results are evidence for a more complex situation with respect to Perlucin functional regulation by demonstrating that Perlucin splice variants modulate the crystallisation of calcium carbonate. The identification of differentially behaving Perlucin variants may open a completely new perspective for the field of nacre biomineralisation.

Using an Electronic Highlighter to Eliminate the Negative Effects of Pre-Existing, Inappropriate Highlighting

Science.gov (United States)

Gier, Vicki; Kreiner, David; Hudnell, Jason; Montoya, Jodi; Herring, Daniel

2011-01-01

The purpose of the present experiment was to determine whether using an active learning technique, electronic highlighting, can eliminate the negative effects of pre-existing, poor highlighting on reading comprehension. Participants read passages containing no highlighting, appropriate highlighting, or inappropriate highlighting. We hypothesized…

The significance of the amorphous potential energy landscape for dictating glassy dynamics and driving solid-state crystallisation.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruggiero, Michael T; Krynski, Marcin; Kissi, Eric Ofosu; Sibik, Juraj; Markl, Daniel; Tan, Nicholas Y; Arslanov, Denis; van der Zande, Wim; Redlich, Britta; Korter, Timothy M; Grohganz, Holger; Löbmann, Korbinian; Rades, Thomas; Elliott, Stephen R; Zeitler, J Axel

2017-11-15

The fundamental origins surrounding the dynamics of disordered solids near their characteristic glass transitions continue to be fiercely debated, even though a vast number of materials can form amorphous solids, including small-molecule organic, inorganic, covalent, metallic, and even large biological systems. The glass-transition temperature, T g , can be readily detected by a diverse set of techniques, but given that these measurement modalities probe vastly different processes, there has been significant debate regarding the question of why T g can be detected across all of them. Here we show clear experimental and computational evidence in support of a theory that proposes that the shape and structure of the potential-energy surface (PES) is the fundamental factor underlying the glass-transition processes, regardless of the frequency that experimental methods probe. Whilst this has been proposed previously, we demonstrate, using ab initio molecular-dynamics (AIMD) simulations, that it is of critical importance to carefully consider the complete PES - both the intra-molecular and inter-molecular features - in order to fully understand the entire range of atomic-dynamical processes in disordered solids. Finally, we show that it is possible to utilise this dependence to directly manipulate and harness amorphous dynamics in order to control the behaviour of such solids by using high-powered terahertz pulses to induce crystallisation and preferential crystal-polymorph growth in glasses. Combined, these findings provide compelling evidence that the PES landscape, and the corresponding energy barriers, are the ultimate controlling feature behind the atomic and molecular dynamics of disordered solids, regardless of the frequency at which they occur.

BBG Highlights

Data.gov (United States)

Broadcasting Board of Governors — BBG Highlights is a monthly summary of the BBG's accomplishments and news and developments affecting the Agency's work. Now, for the first time, this monthly update...

AEB highlights

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1975-01-01

AEB HIGHLIGHTS is a half-yearly report reflecting the most important recent achievements of the various Research and Technical Divisions of the Atomic Energy Board. It appears alternately in English and Afrikaans [af

AEB highlights

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1977-01-01

AEB HIGHLIGHTS is a half yearly report reflecting the most important recent achievements of the various Research and Technical Divisions of the Atomic Energy Board. It appears alternately in English and Afrikaans [af

Phenotypic and Genotypic Efflux Pumps in Resistance to Fluoroquinolones in E.coli Isolated from Inpatients in Kermanshah Hospitals in 2013

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maryam Doosti Mohajer

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background: Antibiotic resistance rates in E. coli are rapidly rising, especially with regard to fluoroquinolones. One of the mechanisms that lead to antibiotic resistance is efflux pumps. The aim of this study was phonotypic and genotypic analysis of efflux pump role in fluoroquinolones resistance of E. coli strains isolated from hospitalized patients in Kermanshah 2013. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 100 isolates of E. coli were collected from hospitalized patients from Kermanshah. All isolates were identified by standard biochemical tests. The antimicrobial susceptibility patterns were determined by disk diffusion method according to CLSI guidelines. The presence of Efflux pump genes was determined by a PCR method. Results: The rates of resistance to Ceftazidime, Nalidixic Acid, Ciprofloxacin, Norfloxacin, Ofloxacin, Gentamicin, and Tetracycline were 73%, 67%, 55%, 54%, 45%, 38%, and 24%, respectively. According to the results of PCR test, of 100 E. coli isolates, 99% of isolates were positive for acrA, 98% for acrB, 95% for acrE, 98% for acrF, 94% for mdfA, 96% for norE, and 96% for tolC. Conclusion: In Strains with positive gene acrA, acrB, acrA, acrB, tolC, mdfA, norE, the presence of efflux pump inhibitor reduced the amount of resistance to antibiotics. So, efflux pumps are important in antibiotic resistance.

Atmospheric Research 2011 Technical Highlights

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

The 2011 Technical Highlights describes the efforts of all members of Atmospheric Research. Their dedication to advancing Earth Science through conducting research, developing and running models, designing instruments, managing projects, running field campaigns, and numerous other activities, is highlighted in this report.

Brookhaven highlights

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rowe, M.S.; Belford, M.; Cohen, A.; Greenberg, D.; Seubert, L.

1993-01-01

This report highlights the research activities of Brookhaven National Laboratory during the period dating from October 1, 1992 through September 30, 1993. There are contributions to the report from different programs and departments within the laboratory. These include technology transfer, RHIC, Alternating Gradient Synchrotron, physics, biology, national synchrotron light source, applied science, medical science, advanced technology, chemistry, reactor physics, safety and environmental protection, instrumentation, and computing and communications

Influence of 1D and 2D Carbon Fillers and Their Functionalisation on Crystallisation and Thermomechanical Properties of Injection Moulded Nylon 6,6 Nanocomposites

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fabiola Navarro-Pardo

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Carbon nanotubes (CNTs and graphene were used as reinforcing fillers in nylon 6,6 in order to obtain nanocomposites by using an injection moulding process. The two differently structured nanofillers were used in their pristine or reduced form, after oxidation treatment and after amino functionalisation. Three low nanofiller contents were employed. Crystallisation behaviour and perfection of nylon 6,6 crystals were determined by differential scanning calorimetry and wide angle X-ray diffraction, respectively. Crystallinity was slightly enhanced in most samples as the content of the nanofillers was increased. The dimensionality of the materials was found to provide different interfaces and therefore different features in the nylon 6,6 crystal growth resulting in improved crystal perfection. Dynamical, mechanical analysis showed the maximum increases provided by the two nanostructures correspond to the addition of 0.1 wt.% amino functionalised CNTs, enhancing in 30% the storage modulus and the incorporation of 0.5 wt.% of graphene oxide caused an increase of 44% in this property. The latter also provided better thermal stability when compared to pure nylon 6,6 under inert conditions. The superior properties of graphene nanocomposites were attributed to the larger surface area of the two-dimensional graphene compared to the one-dimensional CNTs.

Symposium Highlights

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Owen-Whitred, K.

2015-01-01

Overview/Highlights: To begin, I'd like to take a moment to highlight some of the novel elements of this Symposium as compared to those that have been held in the past. For the first time ever, this Symposium was organized around five concurrent sessions, covering over 300 papers and presentations. These sessions were complemented by an active series of exhibits put on by vendors, universities, ESARDA, INMM, and Member State Support Programmes. We also had live demonstrations throughout the week on everything from software to destructive analysis to instrumentation, which provided the participants the opportunity to see recent developments that are ready for implementation. I'm sure you all had a chance to observe - and, more importantly, interact with - the electronic Poster, or ePoster format used this past week. This technology was used here for the first time ever by the IAEA, and I'm sure was a first for many of us as well. The ePoster format allowed participants to interact with the subject matter, and the subject matter experts, in a dynamic, engaging way. In addition to the novel technology used here, I have to say that having the posters strategically embedded in the sessions on the same topic, by having each poster author introduce his or her topic to the assembled group in order to lure us to the poster area during the breaks, was also a novel and highly effective technique. A final highlight I'd like to touch on in terms of the Symposium organization is the diversity of participation. This chart shows the breakdown by geographical distribution for the Symposium, in terms of participants. There are no labels, so don't try to read any, I simply wanted to demonstrate that we had great representation in terms of both the Symposium participants in general and the session chairs more specifically-and on that note, I would just mention here that 59 Member States participated in the Symposium. But what I find especially interesting and

Editorial highlighting and highly cited papers

Science.gov (United States)

Antonoyiannakis, Manolis

Editorial highlighting-the process whereby journal editors select, at the time of publication, a small subset of papers that are ostensibly of higher quality, importance or interest-is by now a widespread practice among major scientific journal publishers. Depending on the venue, and the extent to which editorial resources are invested in the process, highlighted papers appear as News & Views, Research Highlights, Perspectives, Editors' Choice, IOP Select, Editors' Summary, Spotlight on Optics, Editors' Picks, Viewpoints, Synopses, Editors' Suggestions, etc. Here, we look at the relation between highlighted papers and highly influential papers, which we define at two levels: having received enough citations to be among the (i) top few percent of their journal, and (ii) top 1% of all physics papers. Using multiple linear regression and multilevel regression modeling we examine the parameters associated with highly influential papers. We briefly comment on cause and effect relationships between citedness and highlighting of papers.

Using Highlighting to Train Attentional Expertise.

Science.gov (United States)

Roads, Brett; Mozer, Michael C; Busey, Thomas A

2016-01-01

Acquiring expertise in complex visual tasks is time consuming. To facilitate the efficient training of novices on where to look in these tasks, we propose an attentional highlighting paradigm. Highlighting involves dynamically modulating the saliency of a visual image to guide attention along the fixation path of a domain expert who had previously viewed the same image. In Experiment 1, we trained naive subjects via attentional highlighting on a fingerprint-matching task. Before and after training, we asked subjects to freely inspect images containing pairs of prints and determine whether the prints matched. Fixation sequences were automatically scored for the degree of expertise exhibited using a Bayesian discriminative model of novice and expert gaze behavior. Highlighted training causes gaze behavior to become more expert-like not only on the trained images but also on transfer images, indicating generalization of learning. In Experiment 2, to control for the possibility that the increase in expertise is due to mere exposure, we trained subjects via highlighting of fixation sequences from novices, not experts, and observed no transition toward expertise. In Experiment 3, to determine the specificity of the training effect, we trained subjects with expert fixation sequences from images other than the one being viewed, which preserves coarse-scale statistics of expert gaze but provides no information about fine-grain features. Observing at least a partial transition toward expertise, we obtain only weak evidence that the highlighting procedure facilitates the learning of critical local features. We discuss possible improvements to the highlighting procedure.

Using Highlighting to Train Attentional Expertise.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brett Roads

Full Text Available Acquiring expertise in complex visual tasks is time consuming. To facilitate the efficient training of novices on where to look in these tasks, we propose an attentional highlighting paradigm. Highlighting involves dynamically modulating the saliency of a visual image to guide attention along the fixation path of a domain expert who had previously viewed the same image. In Experiment 1, we trained naive subjects via attentional highlighting on a fingerprint-matching task. Before and after training, we asked subjects to freely inspect images containing pairs of prints and determine whether the prints matched. Fixation sequences were automatically scored for the degree of expertise exhibited using a Bayesian discriminative model of novice and expert gaze behavior. Highlighted training causes gaze behavior to become more expert-like not only on the trained images but also on transfer images, indicating generalization of learning. In Experiment 2, to control for the possibility that the increase in expertise is due to mere exposure, we trained subjects via highlighting of fixation sequences from novices, not experts, and observed no transition toward expertise. In Experiment 3, to determine the specificity of the training effect, we trained subjects with expert fixation sequences from images other than the one being viewed, which preserves coarse-scale statistics of expert gaze but provides no information about fine-grain features. Observing at least a partial transition toward expertise, we obtain only weak evidence that the highlighting procedure facilitates the learning of critical local features. We discuss possible improvements to the highlighting procedure.

Design of New Antibacterial Enhancers Based on AcrB’s Structure and the Evaluation of Their Antibacterial Enhancement Activity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yi Song

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Previously, artesunate (AS and dihydroartemisinine 7 (DHA7 were found to have antibacterial enhancement activity against Escherichia coli via inhibition of the efflux pump AcrB. However, they were only effective against E. coli standard strains. This study aimed to develop effective antibacterial enhancers based on the previous work. Our results demonstrate that 86 new antibacterial enhancers were designed via 3D-SAR and molecular docking. Among them, DHA27 had the best antibacterial enhancement activity. It could potentiate the antibacterial effects of ampicillin against not only E. coli standard strain but also clinical strains, and of β-lactam antibiotics, not non-β-lactamantibiotics. DHA27 could increase the accumulation of daunomycin and nile red within E. coli ATCC 35218, but did not increase the bacterial membrane permeability. DHA27 reduced acrB’s mRNA expression of E. coli ATCC 35218 in a dose-dependent manner, and its antibacterial enhancement activity is related to the degree of acrB mRNA expression in E. coli clinical strains. The polypeptides from AcrB were obtained via molecular docking assay; the pre-incubated polypeptides could inhibit the activity of DHA27. Importantly, DHA27 had no cytotoxicity on cell proliferation. In conclusion, among newly designed antibacterial enhancers, DHA27 had favorable physical and pharmacological properties with no significant cytotoxicity at effective concentrations, and might serve as a potential efflux pump inhibitor in the future.

Research and technology highlights, 1993

Science.gov (United States)

1994-01-01

This report contains highlights of the major accomplishments and applications that have been made by Langley researchers and by our university and industry colleagues during the past year. The highlights illustrate both the broad range of the research and technology activities supported by NASA Langley Research Center and the contributions of this work toward maintaining United States leadership in aeronautics and space research. This report also describes some of the Center's most important research and testing facilities.

ATLAS Outreach Highlights

CERN Document Server

Cheatham, Susan; The ATLAS collaboration

2016-01-01

The ATLAS outreach team is very active, promoting particle physics to a broad range of audiences including physicists, general public, policy makers, students and teachers, and media. A selection of current outreach activities and new projects will be presented. Recent highlights include the new ATLAS public website and ATLAS Open Data, the very recent public release of 1 fb-1 of ATLAS data.

Difference between highlight and object colors enhances glossiness.

Science.gov (United States)

Hanada, Mitsuhiko

2012-06-01

The effect of highlight and object colors on perception of glossiness was examined. Ten participants rated glossiness of object images. The color coordinates of objects and highlights were varied while luminance of each pixel was unchanged. Four colors were used for objects and highlights. Objects were perceived as glossier when the highlight color was different from the object color than when they were the same. Objects with some unnatural combinations of highlight and object colors were perceived to be as glossy as those with natural color combinations. The results suggested that differences between highlight and object colors enhance perceived glossiness and that perceived glossiness does not depend on naturalness of color combination for highlights and objects.

Modelling of Batch Process Operations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Abdul Samad, Noor Asma Fazli; Cameron, Ian; Gani, Rafiqul

2011-01-01

Here a batch cooling crystalliser is modelled and simulated as is a batch distillation system. In the batch crystalliser four operational modes of the crystalliser are considered, namely: initial cooling, nucleation, crystal growth and product removal. A model generation procedure is shown that s...

Engineering bacterial efflux pumps for solar-powered bioremediation of surface waters.

Science.gov (United States)

Kapoor, Vikram; Wendell, David

2013-05-08

Antibiotics are difficult to selectively remove from surface waters by present treatment methods. Bacterial efflux pumps have evolved the ability to discriminately expel antibiotics and other noxious agents via proton and ATP driven pathways. Here, we describe light-dependent removal of antibiotics by engineering the bacterial efflux pump AcrB into a proteovesicle system. We have created a chimeric protein with the requisite proton motive force by coupling AcrB to the light-driven proton pump Delta-rhodopsin (dR) via a glycophorin A transmembrane domain. This creates a solar powered protein material capable of selectively capturing antibiotics from bulk solutions. Using environmental water and direct sunlight, our AcrB-dR vesicles removed almost twice as much antibiotic as the treatment standard, activated carbon. Altogether, the AcrB-dR system provides an effective means of extracting antibiotics from surface waters as well as potential antibiotic recovery through vesicle solubilization.

Brookhaven highlights, 1986-1987

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rowe, M.S.

1988-01-01

The highlights of research conducted between October 1985 and September 1987 at Brookhaven National Laboratory are reviewed in this publication. Also covered are the administrative and financial status of the laboratory and a brief mention of meetings held and honors received. (FI)

Studies Highlight Biodiesel's Benefits

Science.gov (United States)

, Colo., July 6, 1998 — Two new studies highlight the benefits of biodiesel in reducing overall air Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) conducted both studies: An Overview of Biodiesel and Petroleum Diesel Life Cycles and Biodiesel Research Progress, 1992-1997. Biodiesel is a renewable diesel

Contribution of AcrAB-ToIC to multidrug resistance in an Escherichia coli sequence type 131 isolate

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schuster, Sabine; Vavra, Martina; Schweigger, Tobias M.; Rossen, John W. A.; Matsumura, Yasufumi; Kern, Winfried V.

Drug efflux by resistance-nodulation-cell division (RND)-type transporters, such as AcrAB-ToIC of Escherichia can, is an important resistance mechanism in Gram-negative bacteria; however, its contribution to multidrug resistance (MDR) in clinical isolates is poorly defined. We inactivated acrB of a

BARC highlights '88

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1989-01-01

Highlights of research and development activities of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Bombay during 1988 are presented in chapters entitled: Physical Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Materials and Materials Sciences, Radioisotopes, Reactors, Fuel Cycle, Radiological Safety and Protection, Electronics and Instrumentation, Engineering Services, and Life Sciences. Main thrust of the R and D activities of BARC is on nuclear power reactor technology and all stages of nuclear fuel cycle. Some activities are also in the frontier areas such as high temperature superconductivity and inertial confinement fusion. (M.G.B.). figs., tabs., coloured ills

Water-mediated interactions enable smooth substrate transport in a bacterial efflux pump.

Science.gov (United States)

Vargiu, Attilio Vittorio; Ramaswamy, Venkata Krishnan; Malvacio, Ivana; Malloci, Giuliano; Kleinekathöfer, Ulrich; Ruggerone, Paolo

2018-04-01

Efflux pumps of the Resistance-Nodulation-cell Division superfamily confer multi-drug resistance to Gram-negative bacteria. The most-studied polyspecific transporter belonging to this class is the inner-membrane trimeric antiporter AcrB of Escherichia coli. In previous studies, a functional rotation mechanism was proposed for its functioning, according to which the three monomers undergo concerted conformational changes facilitating the extrusion of substrates. However, the molecular determinants and the energetics of this mechanism still remain unknown, so its feasibility must be proven mechanistically. A computational protocol able to mimic the functional rotation mechanism in AcrB was developed. By using multi-bias molecular dynamics simulations we characterized the translocation of the substrate doxorubicin driven by conformational changes of the protein. In addition, we estimated for the first time the free energy profile associated to this process. We provided a molecular view of the process in agreement with experimental data. Moreover, we showed that the conformational changes occurring in AcrB enable the formation of a layer of structured waters on the internal surface of the transport channel. This water layer, in turn, allows for a fairly constant hydration of the substrate, facilitating its diffusion over a smooth free energy profile. Our findings reveal a new molecular mechanism of polyspecific transport whereby water contributes by screening potentially strong substrate-protein interactions. We provided a mechanistic understanding of a fundamental process related to multi-drug transport. Our results can help rationalizing the behavior of other polyspecific transporters and designing compounds avoiding extrusion or inhibitors of efflux pumps. Copyright © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

AEB-highlights. January - June 1977

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1977-01-01

AEB Highlights is a half-yearly report reflecting the most important recent achievements of the various Research and Technical divisions of the Atomic Energy Board. It appears alternatively in English and Afrikaans [af

IGC highlights 1988

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1989-01-01

The major thrust of the research and development (R and D) activities of the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam is oriented towards mastering fast breeder reactor (FBR) technology. Towards this end, its current R and D activities are carried out in a wide variety of disciplines. Highlights of its R and D activities during 1988 are summarised under the headings: Reactor Engineering and Design, Reactor Physics and Safety, Materials Science and Technology, Sodium Chemistry and Technology, Fuel Reprocessing and Electronics and Instrumentation. The text is illustrated with a number of figures, graphs and coloured pictures. (M.G.B.). figs., tabs

Energy Policy. Highlights. 2013 Edition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2013-07-01

Energy Policy Highlights showcases recent developments in energy policies among all 28 IEA member countries. Each contribution underscores the changing nature of both global and domestic energy challenges, as well as the commonality of energy concerns among member countries. The policies highlighted in this publication identify an urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as a clear policy objective. Electricity, enhancing energy efficiency and increasing the share of renewables in the energy mix in a cost effective manner are likewise areas of common focus. On the end-user side, increasing public awareness of domestic energy policies through improved transparency and engagement is an important facet of policy support among IEA member countries. The successful implementation of policies and other initiatives benefitted from efforts to inform the public.

Fishing intensity around the BBL pipeline

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hintzen, Niels

2016-01-01

Wageningen Marine Research was requested by ACRB B.V. to investigate the fishing activities around the BBL pipeline. This gas pipeline crosses the southern North Sea from Balgzand (near Den Helder) in the Netherlands to Bacton in the UK (230km). This pipeline is abbreviated as the BBL pipeline. Part

Highlights of nuclear chemistry 1995

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-07-01

In this report 9 topics of the work of the Nuclear Chemistry Group in 1995 are highlighted. A list of publications and an overview of the international cooperation is given. (orig.). 19 refs., 19 figs., 2 tabs., 2 app

Highlights of nuclear chemistry 1995

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-07-01

In this report 9 topics of the work of the Nuclear Chemistry Group in 1995 are highlighted. A list of publications and an overview of the international cooperation is given. (orig.). 19 refs., 19 figs., 2 tabs., 2 app.

LAMA Preconference and Program Highlights.

Science.gov (United States)

Library Administration & Management, 1988

1988-01-01

Highlights events of the Library Administration and Management Association 1988 conference, including presentation of awards and programs on: (1) transfer of training; (2) hiring; (3) mentoring; (4) acquisitions automation; (5) library building consultation; and (6) managing shared systems. (MES)

Corelation between the crystallisation process and change in thermoelectromotive force for the amorphous alloy Fe89.8Ni1.5Si5.2B3C0.5

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maričić Aleksa M.

2003-01-01

Full Text Available Thermal and kinetic analyses of the structural changes for the amorphous alloy Fe89.8Ni1.5Si5.2B3C0.5, during the processes of non-isothermal heating and isothermal annealing, have been performed. The crystallisation process has been investigated using the method of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC. It is determined that this alloy crystalizes through three different stages. Changes in the electronic structure of the amorphous tape, for the temperature range 20 to 700ºC have been studied. This was achieved by measuring the thermoelectromotive force (TEMS, of the thermo pair made of two tapes with same chemical structure of the alloy FeNiSiBC, but different atomic structure: one is in the crystal state (CL and the other is in the amorphous state (AM. Analysis of the temperature dependence of the electromotive force has shown the following: the investigated alloy is thermically stable up to 450ºC and changes in the atomic structure as well as equalising of the free electron density in both parts of the thermo pair AM-CL, take place in the temperature range from 450 to 550ºC. Kinetic parameters of the process were determined by measuring time dependence of the TEMS in isothermic conditions at the temperatures 450, 480 and 510ºC.

Co-creation, Prevailing Streams and a Future Design Trajectory

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Degnegaard, Rex

2014-01-01

of the literature on co-creation to explore what the existing literature relates to and indeed to pinpoint if any patterns or streams can be identified. The paper illustrates how the use of the concept of co-creation suggests a necessity for focusing further on specific co-creation-related issues and challenges...... of significance to business and society. The paper highlights new co-creation-related issues and challenges. Further, the paper crystallises an emerging design trajectory in theory and practice....

FY 2016 Research Highlights

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2017-03-23

This fact sheet summarizes the research highlights for the Clean Energy Manufacturing Analysis Center (CEMAC) for Fiscal Year 2106. Topics covered include additive manufacturing for the wind industry, biomass-based chemicals substitutions, carbon fiber manufacturing facility siting, geothermal power plant turbines, hydrogen refueling stations, hydropower turbines, LEDs and lighting, light-duty automotive lithium-ion cells, magnetocaloric refrigeration, silicon carbide power electronics for variable frequency motor drives, solar photovoltaics, and wide bandgap semiconductor opportunities in power electronics.

Small Drinking Water Systems Communication and Outreach Highlights

Science.gov (United States)

As part of our small drinking water systems efforts, this poster highlights several communications and outreach highlights that EPA's Office of Research and Development and Office of Water have been undertaking in collaboration with states and the Association of State Drinking Wa...

Inhibition of surface crystallisation of amorphous indomethacin particles in physical drug-polymer mixtures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Priemel, Petra A; Laitinen, Riikka; Barthold, Sarah

2013-01-01

stability than pure IMC whereas IMC Soluplus(®) mixtures did not. Water uptake was higher for mixtures containing Soluplus(®) than for amorphous IMC or IMC Eudragit(®) mixtures. However, the Tg of amorphous IMC was unaffected by the presence (and nature) of polymer. SEM revealed that Eudragit(®) particles...... through reduced IMC surface molecular mobility. Polymer particles may also mechanically hinder crystal growth outwards from the surface. This work highlights the importance of microparticulate surface coverage of amorphous drug particles on their stability....

Clinical highlights from Amsterdam

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jouke T. Annema

2016-07-01

Full Text Available This article contains highlights and a selection of the scientific advances from the Clinical Assembly that were presented at the 2015 European Respiratory Society International Congress in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The most relevant topics for clinicians will be discussed, covering a wide range of areas including interventional pulmonology, rehabilitation and chronic care, thoracic imaging, diffuse and parenchymal lung diseases, and general practice and primary care. In this comprehensive review, exciting novel data will be discussed and put into perspective.

Highlights from CMS

CERN Document Server

Autermann, Christian

2018-01-01

This article summarizes the latest highlights from the CMS experiment as presented at the Lepton Photon conference 2017 in Guangzhou, China. A selection of the latest physics results, the latest detector upgrades, and the current detector status are discussed. CMS has analyzed the full dataset of proton-proton collision data delivered by the LHC in 2016 at a center-of-mass energy of $13$\\,TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $40$\\,fb$^{-1}$. The leap in center-of-mass energy and in luminosity with respect to the $7$ and $8$\\,TeV runs enabled interesting and relevant new physics results. A new silicon pixel tracking detector was installed during the LHC shutdown 2016/17 and has successfully started operation.

Electric transport in the Netherlands. Highlights 2012; Elektrisch vervoer in Nederland. Highlights 2012

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2013-03-15

Businesses, social and educational institutions and governmental institutes work together to accelerate electric transport and to discover and exploit economic opportunities. In 2012, many activities were carried out and results achieved, of which the highlights are presented in this brochure [Dutch] Bedrijfsleven, maatschappelijke- en kennisinstellingen en overheden werken samen aan versnelling van elektrisch vervoer en het ontdekken en benutten van economische kansen. In 2012 werden veel activiteiten uitgevoerd en resultaten geboekt, waarvan in deze brochure verslag wordt gedaan.

Melting and thermal history of poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate) using step-scan DSC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gunaratne, L.M.W.K.; Shanks, R.A.

2005-01-01

Melting behaviour and crystal morphology of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and its copolymer of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) with various hydroxyvalerate (HV) contents [5 wt.% (PHB5HV), 8 wt.% (PHB8HV) and 12 wt.% (PHB12HV)] have been investigated by conventional DSC, step-scan differential scanning calorimetry (SDSC) and hot-stage polarised optical microscopy (HSPOM). Crystallisation behaviour of PHB and its copolymers were investigated by SDSC. Thermal properties were investigated after different crystallisation treatments, fast, medium and slow cooling. Multiple melting peak behaviour was observed for all polymers. SDSC data revealed that PHB and its copolymers undergo melting-recrystallisation-remelting during heating, as evidenced by exothermic peaks in the IsoK baseline (non-reversing signal). An increase in degree of crystallinity due to significant melt-recrystallisation was observed for slow-cooled copolymers. PHB5HV showed different crystal morphologies for various crystallisation conditions. SDSC proved a convenient and precise method for measurement of the apparent thermodynamic specific heat (reversing signal) HSPOM results showed that the crystallisation rates and sizes of spherulites were significantly reduced as crystallisation rate increased

Automatic Online Lecture Highlighting Based on Multimedia Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Che, Xiaoyin; Yang, Haojin; Meinel, Christoph

2018-01-01

Textbook highlighting is widely considered to be beneficial for students. In this paper, we propose a comprehensive solution to highlight the online lecture videos in both sentence- and segment-level, just as is done with paper books. The solution is based on automatic analysis of multimedia lecture materials, such as speeches, transcripts, and…

Palliativedrugs.com therapeutic highlights: gabapentin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Twycross Robert

2003-01-01

Full Text Available This is the second in a series of highlights drawn from the www.palliativedrugs.com website. The website provides free access to the Palliative Care Formulary, a monthly newsletter and a bulletin board for advice to be given and received. With almost 10,000 professional members it is the largest palliative care resource of its kind.

Highlights in emergency medicine medical education research: 2008.

Science.gov (United States)

Farrell, Susan E; Coates, Wendy C; Khun, Gloria J; Fisher, Jonathan; Shayne, Philip; Lin, Michelle

2009-12-01

The purpose of this article is to highlight medical education research studies published in 2008 that were methodologically superior and whose outcomes were pertinent to teaching and education in emergency medicine. Through a PubMed search of the English language literature in 2008, 30 medical education research studies were independently identified as hypothesis-testing investigations and measurements of educational interventions. Six reviewers independently rated and scored all articles based on eight anchors, four of which related to methodologic criteria. Articles were ranked according to their total rating score. A ranking agreement among the reviewers of 83% was established a priori as a minimum for highlighting articles in this review. Five medical education research studies met the a priori criteria for inclusion and are reviewed and summarized here. Four of these employed experimental or quasi-experimental methodology. Although technology was not a component of the structured literature search employed to identify the candidate articles for this review, 14 of the articles identified, including four of the five highlighted articles, employed or studied technology as a focus of the educational research. Overall, 36% of the reviewed studies were supported by funding; three of the highlighted articles were funded studies. This review highlights quality medical education research studies published in 2008, with outcomes of relevance to teaching and education in emergency medicine. It focuses on research methodology, notes current trends in the use of technology for learning in emergency medicine, and suggests future avenues for continued rigorous study in education.

Tourette syndrome research highlights 2015

Science.gov (United States)

Richards, Cheryl A.; Black, Kevin J.

2016-01-01

We present selected highlights from research that appeared during 2015 on Tourette syndrome and other tic disorders. Topics include phenomenology, comorbidities, developmental course, genetics, animal models, neuroimaging, electrophysiology, pharmacology, and treatment. We briefly summarize articles whose results we believe may lead to new treatments, additional research or modifications in current models of TS. PMID:27429744

Is Domain Highlighting Actually Helpful in Identifying Phishing Web Pages?

Science.gov (United States)

Xiong, Aiping; Proctor, Robert W; Yang, Weining; Li, Ninghui

2017-06-01

To evaluate the effectiveness of domain highlighting in helping users identify whether Web pages are legitimate or spurious. As a component of the URL, a domain name can be overlooked. Consequently, browsers highlight the domain name to help users identify which Web site they are visiting. Nevertheless, few studies have assessed the effectiveness of domain highlighting, and the only formal study confounded highlighting with instructions to look at the address bar. We conducted two phishing detection experiments. Experiment 1 was run online: Participants judged the legitimacy of Web pages in two phases. In Phase 1, participants were to judge the legitimacy based on any information on the Web page, whereas in Phase 2, they were to focus on the address bar. Whether the domain was highlighted was also varied. Experiment 2 was conducted similarly but with participants in a laboratory setting, which allowed tracking of fixations. Participants differentiated the legitimate and fraudulent Web pages better than chance. There was some benefit of attending to the address bar, but domain highlighting did not provide effective protection against phishing attacks. Analysis of eye-gaze fixation measures was in agreement with the task performance, but heat-map results revealed that participants' visual attention was attracted by the highlighted domains. Failure to detect many fraudulent Web pages even when the domain was highlighted implies that users lacked knowledge of Web page security cues or how to use those cues. Potential applications include development of phishing prevention training incorporating domain highlighting with other methods to help users identify phishing Web pages.

Hardness of basaltic glass-ceramics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Martin; Smedskjær, Morten Mattrup; Estrup, Maja

2009-01-01

The dependence of the hardness of basaltic glass-ceramics on their degree of crystallisation has been explored by means of differential scanning calorimetry, optical microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and Vickers indentation. Different degrees of crystallisation in the basaltic glasses were achieved...... by varying the temperature of heat treatment. The predominant crystalline phase in the glass was identified as augite. It was found that the hardness of the glass phase decreased slightly with an increase in the degree of crystallisation, while that of the augite phase drastically decreased....

Brookhaven highlights, October 1979-September 1980

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-01-01

Highlights are given for the research areas of the Brookhaven National Laboratory. These areas include high energy physics, physics and chemistry, life sciences, applied energy science (energy and environment, and nuclear energy), and support activities (including mathematics, instrumentation, reactors, and safety)

Modelling the stochastic behaviour of primary nucleation.

Science.gov (United States)

Maggioni, Giovanni Maria; Mazzotti, Marco

2015-01-01

We study the stochastic nature of primary nucleation and how it manifests itself in a crystallisation process at different scales and under different operating conditions. Such characteristics of nucleation are evident in many experiments where detection times of crystals are not identical, despite identical experimental conditions, but instead are distributed around an average value. While abundant experimental evidence has been reported in the literature, a clear theoretical understanding and an appropriate modelling of this feature is still missing. In this contribution, we present two models describing a batch cooling crystallisation, where the interplay between stochastic nucleation and deterministic crystal growth is described differently in each. The nucleation and growth rates of the two models are estimated by a comprehensive set of measurements of paracetamol crystallisation from aqueous solution in a 1 mL vessel [Kadam et al., Chemical Engineering Science, 2012, 72, 10-19]. Both models are applied to the cooling crystallisation process above under different operating conditions, i.e. different volumes, initial concentrations, cooling rates. The advantages and disadvantages of the two approaches are illustrated and discussed, with particular reference to their use across scales of nucleation rate measured in very small crystallisers.

University of Maryland MRSEC - Research: Highlights

Science.gov (United States)

-Engineering Program: Project Lead the Way Thinking Small: Nanoscale Informal Science Education (NISE Education Outreach Highlights NanoFabulous Greatest Show on Earth: Big Top Physics, USA Science and Perspective at UMD MRSEC Nanoscience Camp Annual Middle School Student Science Conference (SSC) Pre

Brookhaven highlights, October 1979-September 1980

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1980-01-01

Highlights are given for the research areas of the Brookhaven National Laboratory. These areas include high energy physics, physics and chemistry, life sciences, applied energy science (energy and environment, and nuclear energy), and support activities (including mathematics, instrumentation, reactors, and safety). (GHT)

Brookhaven highlights - Brookhaven National Laboratory 1995

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-09-01

This report highlights research conducted at Brookhaven National Laboratory in the following areas: alternating gradient synchrotron; physics; biology; national synchrotron light source; department of applied science; medical; chemistry; department of advanced technology; reactor; safety and environmental protection; instrumentation; and computing and communications.

Highlights of nuclear chemistry 1994

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-12-01

Highlights were: 1. Fission product release: benchmark calculations for severe nuclear accidents; 2. Thermochemical data for reactor materials and fission products; 3. thermochemical calculations on fuel of the high-temperature gas-cooled reactor; 4. Formation of organic tellurides during nuclear accidents?; 5. Reaction of tellurium with Zircaloy-4; 6. Transmutation of fission products; 7. The thermal conductivity of high-burnup UO 2 fuel; 8. Tritium retention in graphite. (orig./HP)

Digestion Fractional Crystallisation (DFC)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pilbeam, Llewellyn Howard; Nielsen, T.F.D.; Waight, Tod Earle

2013-01-01

High-precision electron microprobe data for major and trace elements (nickel, calcium and manganese) in the margins and rims of groundmass olivine grains from the Majuagaa kimberlite (sensu stricto) in southern West Greenland are presented. Despite a range of olivine core compositions defining...

Photon science 2012. Highlights and annual report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Appel, Karen; Gehrke, Rainer; Gutt, Christian; Incoccia-Hermes, Lucia; Laarmann, Tim; Morgenroth, Wolfgang; Roehlsberger, Ralf; Schulte-Schrepping, Horst; Vainio, Ulla; Zimmermann, Martin von

2012-12-01

The synchrotron-radiation research at DESY is reviewed. The following topics are dealt with: Research highlights, research platforms and outstations, light sources, new technologies and developments. (HSI)

LHC Results Highlights (CLASHEP 2013)

CERN Document Server

Gonzalez, O.

2015-05-22

The good performance of the LHC provided enough data at 7 TeV and 8 TeV to allow the experiments to perform very competitive measurements and to expand the knowledge about the fundamental interaction far beyond that from previous colliders. This report summarizes the highlights of the results obtained with these data samples by the four large experiments, covering all the topics of the physics program and focusing on those exploiting the possibilities of the LHC.

Palm-based diacylglycerol fat dry fractionation: effect of crystallisation temperature, cooling rate and agitation speed on physical and chemical properties of fractions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Razam Ab Latip

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Fractionation which separates the olein (liquid and stearin (solid fractions of oil is used to modify the physicochemical properties of fats in order to extend its applications. Studies showed that the properties of fractionated end products can be affected by fractionation processing conditions. In the present study, dry fractionation of palm-based diacylglycerol (PDAG was performed at different: cooling rates (0.05, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0°C/min, end-crystallisation temperatures (30, 35, 40, 45 and 50°C and agitation speeds (30, 50, 70, 90 and 110 rpm to determine the effect of these parameters on the properties and yield of the solid and liquid portions. To determine the physicochemical properties of olein and stearin fraction: Iodine value (IV, fatty acid composition (FAC, acylglycerol composition, slip melting point (SMP, solid fat content (SFC, thermal behaviour tests were carried out. Fractionation of PDAG fat changes the chemical composition of liquid and solid fractions. In terms of FAC, the major fatty acid in olein and stearin fractions were oleic (C18:1 and palmitic (C16:0 respectively. Acylglycerol composition showed that olein and stearin fractions is concentrated with TAG and DAG respectively. Crystallization temperature, cooling rate and agitation speed does not affect the IV, SFC, melting and cooling properties of the stearin fraction. The stearin fraction was only affected by cooling rate which changes its SMP. On the other hand, olein fraction was affected by crystallization temperature and cooling rate but not agitation speed which caused changes in IV, SMP, SFC, melting and crystallization behavior. Increase in both the crystallization temperature and cooling rate caused a reduction of IV, increment of the SFC, SMP, melting and crystallization behaviour of olein fraction and vice versa. The fractionated stearin part melted above 65°C while the olein melted at 40°C. SMP in olein fraction also reduced to a range of

Transcriptional Modulation of Penicillin-Binding Protein 1b, Outer Membrane Protein P2 and Efflux Pump (AcrAB-TolC during Heat Stress Is Correlated to Enhanced Bactericidal Action of Imipenem on Non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdessalam Cherkaoui

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the penicillin binding proteins (PBPs, drug influx and efflux modulations during heat stress and their effects on the bactericidal action of imipenem on non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi.Methods: The two NTHi clinical isolates (GE47 and GE88, imipenem MICs by E-test > 32 μg/mL examined in this study were collected at Geneva University Hospitals. The imipenem killing activity was assessed after incubation of the NTHi strains at either 37 or 42°C for 3 h with increasing concentrations of imipenem. The detection of PBPs was carried out by Bocillin-FL. Global transcriptional changes were monitored by RNA-seq after pre-incubation of bacterial cells at either 37 or 42°C, and the expression levels of relevant target genes were confirmed by qRT-PCR.Results: Quantitation of NTHi viable cells after incubation with 0.25 μg/mL of imipenem for 3 h revealed more than a twofold decrease in GE47 and GE88 viable cells at 42°C as compared to 37°C. Transcriptome analysis showed that under heat stress conditions, there were 141 differentially expressed genes with a | log2(fold change| > 1, including 67 up-regulated and 74 down-regulated genes. The expression levels of ponB (encoding PBP1b and acrR (regulator of AcrAB-TolC efflux pump were significantly increased at 42°C. In contrast, the transcript levels of ompP2 (encoding the outer membrane protein P2 and acrB gene (encoding AcrB were significantly lower under heat stress condition.Conclusion: This study shows that the transcriptional modulation of ponB, ompP2, acrR, and acrB in the heat stress response is correlated to enhanced antimicrobial effects of imipenem on non-typeable H. influenzae.

Late-orogenic mantle garnet pyroxenites evidence mantle refertilization during exhumation of orogenic belt

Science.gov (United States)

Chazot, G.; France, L.; Kornprobst, J.; Dallai, L.; Vannucci, R.

2008-12-01

The petrological and geochemical study of garnet bearing pyroxenites from four localities (FMC, Morocco, Jordan, Cameroon) demonstrates that these rocks are cumulates crystallised in the lithospheric mantle domain. Metamorphic reactions, exsolutions and trace elements WR analysis demonstrate that their crystallisation pressure ranges between 1 and 2GPa (30 to 60km). The elaboration of the PTt paths for the studied samples attests of important movements in the respective lithospheres. Replaced in the geodynamical contexts, the samples are interpreted to represent the crystallisation of melts formed during exhumation of orogenic domains. Radiogenic isotopes (Sr-Nd) show that in a very same region, the samples are isotopicaly heterogeneous but are similar to the respective regional lithosphere. Initial isotopic ratios lead to propose that the FMC samples have crystallised at the end of the Hercynian orogen and that the samples from the other localities (Morocco, Jordan and Cameroon) have crystallised at the end of the Pan-African orogen. After recalculation at the crystallisation time, the isotopic compositions are in good agreement with the respective regional lithosphere ones and so samples of this study could represent the product of the melting of these lithospheres. The analyses of oxygen stable isotopes allow to precise the model; they show that twelve of the samples come from the melting of a lherzolitic mantle and that the four others come from the melting of a heterogeneous mantle formed of lherzolites and eclogites. The presence of some hydrous minerals such as amphiboles and micas and the trace elements WR analyses show that some of the samples were affected by a late metasomatic event. Results of our study show that thermal relaxation following orogenic events lead to the crystallisation of pyroxenites in the lithosphere. The presence of lage amounts of mantle pyroxenites in old orogenic regions confers physical and chemical particularities to these

PSI scientific highlights 2011

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Piwnicki, P.

2012-04-01

This comprehensive report for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) presents the major highlights of the work done at the Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland, in 2011. According to the institute's director, work was concerned with the design and analysis of advanced materials with new functionalities, for application in fields as diverse as communications and energy technology, transportation, construction and medicine. Of particular topical interest are research projects on materials for application in the field of energy, for example for improving batteries for future electrically powered vehicles. Another example is in the field of catalysts. Environmentally harmful compounds, such as nitrogen oxide and sulphur dioxide produced in an engine, are transformed into nontoxic gases through catalytic conversion. Work progress on the SwissFEL installation is noted, including a breakthrough for SwissFEL main Linac C-band accelerating systems. Further topics in relation to the SwissFEL system are noted. Planning of the initial set of experimental stations at the SwissFEL is discussed and close collaboration with growing number of user communities is noted. Cross-Correlation Scattering, and a theoretical framework for this method is being developed and experimentally verified, using artificial nanostructures and synchrotron radiation. Highlights of further research work are discussed, including topics such as Synchrotron light, work done on neutrons and muons, particle physics, micro and nanotechnology as well as on biomolecular research and radiopharmacy. Large research facilities are discussed as is the PSI proton therapy installation. General energy topics are looked at, as are nuclear energy and safety aspects and environmental and energy systems analysis. Various further work includes factors causing glacier retreat and aerosols. User facilities are listed, including accelerators, the SLS light source, the SINQ neutron source, the UCN ultra-cold neutron source

Highlighting material structure with transmission electron diffraction correlation coefficient maps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kiss, Ákos K.; Rauch, Edgar F.; Lábár, János L.

2016-01-01

Correlation coefficient maps are constructed by computing the differences between neighboring diffraction patterns collected in a transmission electron microscope in scanning mode. The maps are shown to highlight material structural features like grain boundaries, second phase particles or dislocations. The inclination of the inner crystal interfaces are directly deduced from the resulting contrast. - Highlights: • We propose a novel technique to image the structure of polycrystalline TEM-samples. • Correlation coefficients maps highlights the evolution of the diffracting signal. • 3D views of grain boundaries are provided for nano-particles or polycrystals.

PSI scientific highlights 2012

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Piwnicki, P.; Dury, T.

2013-05-01

This comprehensive report issued by the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) reviews research in various areas carried out by the institute in 2012. Also, the various facilities to be found at the institute are described. Research focus and highlights are discussed. These include work done using synchrotron light, neutrons and muons as well as work done in the particle physics, microtechnology and nanotechnology areas. Further areas of research include biomolecular research, radiopharmacy, radiochemistry and environmental chemistry. Other areas covered include general energy research and work done at the Competence Center for Energy and Mobility CCEM, work done on nuclear energy safety as well as systems analysis in the environmental and energy areas. The report is concluded with facts and figures on the PSI, its Advisory Board and its organisational structures

Syndicate of renewable energies - Highlights 2015

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2016-01-01

This publication first proposes a presentation of the SER (Syndicat des Energies Renouvelables, Syndicate of Renewable Energies), a professional body: missions, scope of action, members. It outlines its commitment in the French policy for energy transition as a major actor of the sector of renewable energies. It addresses the legal and regulatory framework by indicating evolutions introduced by the French law for energy transition and for a green growth for the different renewable energies (hydroelectricity, wind energy, solar photovoltaic, geothermal, biofuels and bio-energies, biogas), by the new regimes of authorisations for onshore wind energy, methanization and hydroelectricity, and by the law for growth, activity and equality of economic opportunities. It proposes brief presentations of transverse actions (agreements, meetings, partnership in exhibitions, commitment in the COP21), and of actions regarding power grids, overseas territories, or the building sector. Some highlights related bio-energy sectors, geothermal energy, onshore wind energy, renewable marine energies and offshore wind energy, solar photovoltaic energy, hydroelectricity, or solar thermodynamic energy are mentioned. These highlights may concern legal, organisational, political or financial frameworks. Actions in the field of communication are indicated, and projects for 2016 are briefly indicated

Modeling sports highlights using a time-series clustering framework and model interpretation

Science.gov (United States)

Radhakrishnan, Regunathan; Otsuka, Isao; Xiong, Ziyou; Divakaran, Ajay

2005-01-01

In our past work on sports highlights extraction, we have shown the utility of detecting audience reaction using an audio classification framework. The audio classes in the framework were chosen based on intuition. In this paper, we present a systematic way of identifying the key audio classes for sports highlights extraction using a time series clustering framework. We treat the low-level audio features as a time series and model the highlight segments as "unusual" events in a background of an "usual" process. The set of audio classes to characterize the sports domain is then identified by analyzing the consistent patterns in each of the clusters output from the time series clustering framework. The distribution of features from the training data so obtained for each of the key audio classes, is parameterized by a Minimum Description Length Gaussian Mixture Model (MDL-GMM). We also interpret the meaning of each of the mixture components of the MDL-GMM for the key audio class (the "highlight" class) that is correlated with highlight moments. Our results show that the "highlight" class is a mixture of audience cheering and commentator's excited speech. Furthermore, we show that the precision-recall performance for highlights extraction based on this "highlight" class is better than that of our previous approach which uses only audience cheering as the key highlight class.

Highlighting relatedness promotes prosocial motives and behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Pavey, Louisa; Greitemeyer, Tobias; Sparks, Paul

2011-07-01

According to self-determination theory, people have three basic psychological needs: relatedness, competence, and autonomy. Of these, the authors reasoned that relatedness need satisfaction is particularly important for promoting prosocial behavior because of the increased sense of connectedness to others that this engenders. In Experiment 1, the authors manipulated relatedness, autonomy, competence, or gave participants a neutral task, and found that highlighting relatedness led to higher interest in volunteering and intentions to volunteer relative to the other conditions. Experiment 2 found that writing about relatedness experiences promoted feelings of connectedness to others, which in turn predicted greater prosocial intentions. Experiment 3 found that relatedness manipulation participants donated significantly more money to charity than did participants given a neutral task. The results suggest that highlighting relatedness increases engagement in prosocial activities and are discussed in relation to the conflict and compatibility between individual and social outcomes. © 2011 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc

Brookhaven highlights, October 1, 1989--September 30, 1990

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rowe, M.S.; Cohen, A.; Greenberg, D.; Seubert, L.; Kuper, J.B.H. (eds.)

1990-01-01

This report discusses research being conducted at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Highlights from all the department are illustrated. The main topics are on accelerator development and applications. (LSP)

Trends and highlights of VCI 2004

CERN Document Server

Fabjan, Christian Wolfgang

2004-01-01

This report attempts to summarize the presentations given at this conference. Topics related to R&D of gaseous and solid state detectors clearly point to several trends in particle physics instrumentation. More established techniques are represented by reports on recent experiments and facilities which can be considered the highlights in this research field. The extension of these techniques to space, arctic ice and deep sea are opening new frontiers of particle physics.

Structural analysis of heat-treated birch (Betule papyrifera) surface during artificial weathering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang Xianai; Kocaefe, Duygu; Kocaefe, Yasar; Boluk, Yaman; Krause, Cornélia

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Investigate detailed structural changes of heat-treated wood due to weathering. ► Identify connection between physical structural changes and chemical degradation. ► Study effect of heat treatment conditions on weathering degradation process. - Abstract: Effect of artificial weathering on the surface structural changes of birch (Betule papyrifera) wood, heat-treated to different temperatures, was studied using the fluorescence microscopy and the scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Changes in the chemical structure of wood components were analyzed by FTIR in order to understand the mechanism of degradation taking place due to heat treatment and artificial weathering. The results are compared with those of the untreated (kiln-dried) birch. The SEM analysis results show that the effect of weathering on the cell wall of the untreated birch surface is more than that of heat-treated samples. The FTIR spectroscopy results indicate that lignin is the most sensitive component of heat-treated birch to the weathering degradation process. Elimination of the amorphous and highly crystallised cellulose is observed for both heat-treated and untreated wood during weathering. It is also observed that heat treatment increases the lignin and crystallised cellulose contents, which to some extent protects heat-treated birch against degradation due to weathering.

Chlorophyll b degradation by chlorophyll b reductase under high-light conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Sato, Rei; Ito, Hisashi; Tanaka, Ayumi

2015-12-01

The light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b binding protein complex of photosystem II (LHCII) is the main antenna complex of photosystem II (PSII). Plants change their LHCII content depending on the light environment. Under high-light conditions, the content of LHCII should decrease because over-excitation damages the photosystem. Chlorophyll b is indispensable for accumulating LHCII, and chlorophyll b degradation induces LHCII degradation. Chlorophyll b degradation is initiated by chlorophyll b reductase (CBR). In land plants, NON-YELLOW COLORING 1 (NYC1) and NYC1-Like (NOL) are isozymes of CBR. We analyzed these mutants to determine their functions under high-light conditions. During high-light treatment, the chlorophyll a/b ratio was stable in the wild-type (WT) and nol plants, and the LHCII content decreased in WT plants. The chlorophyll a/b ratio decreased in the nyc1 and nyc1/nol plants, and a substantial degree of LHCII was retained in nyc1/nol plants after the high-light treatment. These results demonstrate that NYC1 degrades the chlorophyll b on LHCII under high-light conditions, thus decreasing the LHCII content. After the high-light treatment, the maximum quantum efficiency of the PSII photochemistry was lower in nyc1 and nyc1/nol plants than in WT and nol plants. A larger light-harvesting system would damage PSII in nyc1 and nyc1/nol plants. The fluorescence spectroscopy of the leaves indicated that photosystem I was also damaged by the excess LHCII in nyc1/nol plants. These observations suggest that chlorophyll b degradation by NYC1 is the initial reaction for the optimization of the light-harvesting capacity under high-light conditions.

Colorimetry analysis of polypropylene-polyethylene base copoliners

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sunol, J. J.; Saurina, J.; Carrasco, F.; Pages, P.

1998-01-01

In this paper, crystallisation process study has been performed, from the molten material, in polypropylene-polyethylene (PP-PE) copolymers rich in PP (∼ 95 wgh.%), using different additives. Some samples have been artificially aged. Calorimetric analysis has been performed by different scanning calorimetry (DSC), from which crystallisation kinetics has been studied under dynamic conditions. (Author) 22 refs

The formation of CuInSe{sub 2}-based thin-film solar cell absorbers from alternative low-cost precursors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jost, S.

2008-01-18

This work deals with real-time investigations concerning the crystallisation process of CuInSe{sub 2}-based thin-film solar cell absorbers while annealing differently produced and composed ''low-cost'' precursors. Various types of precursors have been investigated concerning their crystallisation behaviour. Three groups of experiments have been performed: (i) Investigations concerning the crystallisation process of the quaternary chalcopyrite Cu(In,Al)Se{sub 2} and Cu(In,Al)S{sub 2}, (ii) investigations concerning the formation process of the compound semiconductor CuInSe{sub 2} from electroplated precursors, and (iii) investigations concerning the crystallisation of Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} using precursors with thermally evaporated indium. A specific sample surrounding has been constructed, which enables to perform time-resolved angle-dispersive X-ray powder diffraction experiments during the annealing process of precursor samples. A thorough analysis of subsequently recorded diffraction patterns using the Rietveld method provides a detailed knowledge about the semiconductor crystallisation process while annealing. Based on these fundamental investigations, conclusions have been drawn concerning an adaptation of the precursor deposition process in order to optimise the final solar cell results. The investigations have shown, that one class of electroplated precursors shows a crystallisation behaviour identical to the one known for vacuum-deposited precursors. The investigations concerning the crystallisation process of the quaternary chalcopyrite Cu(In,Al)Se{sub 2} revealed, that the chalcopyrite forms from the ternary selenide (Al,In){sub 2}Se{sub 3} and Cu{sub 2}Se at elevated process temperatures. This result is used to explain the separation of the absorber layer into an aluminum-rich and an indium-rich chalcopyrite phase, which has been observed at processed Cu(In,Al)Se{sub 2} absorbers from several research groups. In addition, differences

Highlight shapes and perception of gloss for real and photographed objects.

Science.gov (United States)

van Assen, Jan Jaap R; Wijntjes, Maarten W A; Pont, Sylvia C

2016-01-01

Gloss perception strongly depends on the three-dimensional shape and the illumination of the object under consideration. In this study we investigated the influence of the spatial structure of the illumination on gloss perception. A diffuse light box in combination with differently shaped masks was used to produce a set of six simple and complex highlight shapes. The geometry of the simple highlight shapes was inspired by conventional artistic practice (e.g., ring flash for photography, window shape for painting and disk or square for cartoons). In the box we placed spherical stimuli that were painted in six degrees of glossiness. This resulted in a stimulus set of six highlight shapes and six gloss levels, a total of 36 stimuli. We performed three experiments of which two took place using digital photographs on a computer monitor and one with the real spheres in the light box. The observers had to perform a comparison task in which they chose which of two stimuli was glossiest and a rating task in which they rated the glossiness. The results show that, perhaps surprisingly, more complex highlight shapes were perceived to produce a less glossy appearance than simple highlight shapes such as a disk or square. These findings were confirmed for both viewing conditions, on a computer display and in a real setting. The results show that variations in the spatial structure of "rather simple" illumination of the "extended source" type highlight influences perceived glossiness.

Special journal issue highlights IDRC-supported findings on ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

2018-03-08

Mar 8, 2018 ... Special journal issue highlights IDRC-supported findings on women's paid work ... An important aspect of women's economic empowerment is their participation in the labour ... Maternal health research concerns men too.

A Resistance-Nodulation-Cell Division Family Xenobiotic Efflux Pump in an Obligate Anaerobe, Porphyromonas gingivalis

OpenAIRE

Ikeda, Takeshi; Yoshimura, Fuminobu

2002-01-01

Porphyromonas gingivalis, a gram-negative obligate anaerobe, contains two homologs of an Escherichia coli resistance-nodulation-cell division-type multidrug exporter gene, acrB, in putative operons, together with homologs of membrane fusion protein gene acrA and outer membrane channel gene tolC. MIC determination and accumulation assays with mutants with disruptions of one or more genes showed that one cluster, named xepCAB, pumped out multiple agents including rifampin, puromycin, and ethidi...

Astonishing the wild pigs highlights of technology

CERN Document Server

Trueb, Lucien F; Stuber, Fred A

2015-01-01

A hydraulic machine for astonishing wild pigs was one of the many technological highlights the author encountered in the course of his career as a research scientist and science writer. Writing a book about them, never taking more (or less) than two printed pages for each of 146 subjects was a very special challenge. The book covers fundamentally important achievements of technology that directly impacted mankind or even profoundly changed it. Many of those highlights are quite new, at least one of them (power generation by nuclear fusion) is not available yet. But particularly ingenious things dating way back were also included, as they are the base of our technical civilization Good examples are ceramics as well as copper, bronze and iron; whole periods of history have been named for the latter three. The analog computer of Antikythera used for stellar navigation was made some 2100 years ago, gunpowder was used in China as early as 1044 A.D., the astronomical clock in the Strasburg cathedral was built in th...

Highlight: Youth (Un)Employment: Global problems meet local ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

2016-07-07

Jul 7, 2016 ... ... because there is a huge knowledge gap between what we consider formal ... economic development programming, especially for women and youth. ... Highlight: Ankara workshop puts minimum wage on the G-20 radar.

Physical and Life Sciences 2008 Science & Technology Highlights

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Correll, D L; Hazi, A U

2009-05-06

This document highlights the outstanding research and development activities in the Physical and Life Sciences Directorate that made news in 2008. It also summarizes the awards and recognition received by members of the Directorate in 2008.

Highlights of DAMA/LIBRA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bernabei R.

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The DAMA project develops and uses new/improved low background scintillation detectors to investigate the Dark Matter (DM particle component(s in the galactic halo and rare processes deep underground at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS of the I.N.F.N.. Here some highlights of DAMA/LIBRA (Large sodium Iodide Bulk for Rare processes as a unique apparatus in direct DM investigation for its full sensitive mass, target material, intrinsic radio-purity, methodological approach and all the controls performed on the experimental parameters are outlined. The DAMA/LIBRA–phase1 and the former DAMA/NaI data (cumulative exposure 1.33 ton × yr, corresponding to 14 annual cycles have reached a model-independent evidence at 9.3 σ C.L. for the presence of DM particles in the galactic halo exploiting the DM annual modulation signature with highly radio-pure NaI(Tl target. Some of the perspectives of the presently running DAMA/LIBRA–phase2 are summarised and the powerful tools offered by a model independent strategy of DM investigation are pointed out.

Highlights of LHC experiments – Part I

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(INSPIRE)INSPIRE-00072301; The ATLAS collaboration

2017-01-01

The superb performance of the LHC accelerator in 2016, in both live time and peak luminosity, has provided a large data sample of collisions at 13 TeV. Excellent performances of the ATLAS and LHCb detectors, together with highly performant offline and analysis systems, mean that a wealth of results are already available from 13 TeV data. Selected highlights are reported here.

NCI intramural research highlighted at 2014 AACR meeting

Science.gov (United States)

This year’s American Association for Cancer Research meeting featured plenary talks by two NCI scientists, Steven Rosenberg, M.D., and Louis Staudt, M.D., Ph.D., that highlighted the challenges in developing varied and potentially synergistic treatments f

Atmospheric Research 2012 Technical Highlights

Science.gov (United States)

Lau, William K -M.

2013-01-01

This annual report, as before, is intended for a broad audience. Our readers include colleagues within NASA, scientists outside the Agency, science graduate students, and members of the general public. Inside are descriptions of atmospheric research science highlights and summaries of our education and outreach accomplishments for calendar year 2012.The report covers research activities from the Mesoscale Atmospheric Processes Laboratory, the Climate and Radiation Laboratory, the Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Laboratory, and the Wallops Field Support Office under the Office of Deputy Director for Atmospheres, Earth Sciences Division in the Sciences and Exploration Directorate of NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center. The overall mission of the office is advancing knowledge and understanding of the Earths atmosphere. Satellite missions, field campaigns, peer-reviewed publications, and successful proposals are essential to our continuing research.

Luminescence spectroscopy with synchrotron radiation: History, highlights, future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zimmerer, Georg

2006-01-01

Luminescence spectroscopy and the investigation of dynamical processes with synchrotron radiation (SR) started about 35 years ago in nearly all SR laboratories existing at that time. In the present paper, the pioneering experiments are particularly emphasized. The exciting development is illustrated presenting highlights for the whole period from the beginning to the present day. The highlights are taken from fields like exciton self-trapping, inelastic electron-electron scattering, optically stimulated desorption, cross luminescence, or probing of cluster properties with luminescence spectroscopic methods. More technological aspects play a role in present day's experiments, like quantum cutting in rare-earth-doped insulators. Promising two-photon excitation and light amplification experiments with SR will be included, as well as the first results obtained in a luminescence experiment with selective Vaccum ultraviolet-free electron laser excitation. Finally, a few ideas concerning the future development of luminescence spectroscopy with SR will be sketched

From glass to crystal - Nucleation, growth and de-mixing, from research to applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neuville, Daniel R.; Cormier, Laurent; Caurant, Daniel; Montagne, Lionel; Charpentier, Thibault; Chevalier, Jerome; Comte, Monique; Dargaud, Olivier; Ligny, Dominique de; Deniard, Philippe; Dussardier, Bernard; Dussauze, Marc; Fargin, Evelyne; Gremillard, Laurent; Gredin, Patrick; Jousseaume, Cecile; Lafait, Jacques; Lancry, Mathieu; Lefebvre, Leila; Levelut, Claire; Magallanes-Pedromo, Marlin; Massiot, Dominique; Mear, Francois O.; Meille, Sylvain; Meng, Nicolas; Mortier, Michel; Papin, Sophie; Papon, Gautier; Pastouret, Main; Petit, Yannick; Poumellec, Bertrand; Pradel, Annie; Reillon, Vincent; Rodriguez, Vincent; Rogez, Jacques; Roussel, Pascal; Royon, Arnaud; Schuller, Sophie; Tricot, Gregory; Vigouroux, Helene

2013-01-01

This book first presents the conventional nucleation theory: vitrification, homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation, induction time, crystal growth, Oswald law. The second part addresses the evolutions beyond this theory: cluster dynamics, validity of the Stokes-Einstein relationship, non conventional germ system, Gibbs generalized approach, two-stage model. The third part addresses the thermodynamic stability and the global kinetics of transformation: thermodynamic stability and instability of a vitreous system, phenomenological approach to transformation kinetics. The fourth part addresses the de-mixing process on glasses: thermodynamic description of phase separation, de-mixing kinetics, influence of glass structure on de-mixing trend, de-mixing characterisation. The next parts describe the crystal-chemical approach to the main crystalline phases noticed in glass-ceramics (silicate phases and phosphates), the elaboration and control of glass-ceramic microstructure (controllable parameters, elaboration processes, characterization methods, microstructure types, design of glass-ceramics with desired properties by control of crystallisation mechanisms), X ray diffraction in the case of glass-ceramics, calorimetry and differential thermal analysis for the study of glass ceramics, the application of electronic microscopy to the study of nucleation and crystallisation in glasses, small-angle scattering of X rays and neutrons, the use of nuclear magnetic resonance to understand the disorder and crystallisation in vitreous materials, the use of Raman spectrometry to study mechanisms of nucleation and crystal growth, large instruments aimed at an in situ approaches to crystallisation, commercial applications of glass-ceramics, applications of biomaterials in glass and glass-ceramics, the coloration of metal nanoparticles, transparent glass-ceramics, the formation and applications of nanoparticles in silica-based optic fibres, the both-way relationship between non linear

Physics highlights at ILC and CLIC

CERN Document Server

Lukić, Strahinja

2015-01-01

In this lecture, the physics potential for the e+e- linear collider experiments ILC and CLIC is reviewed. The experimental conditions are compared to those at hadron colliders and their intrinsic value for precision experiments, complementary to the hadron colliders, is discussed. The detector concepts for ILC and CLIC are outlined in their most important aspects related to the precision physics. Highlights from the physics program and from the benchmark studies are given. It is shown that linear colliders are a promising tool, complementing the LHC in essential ways to test the Standard Model and to search for new physics.

ENC 2010 European nuclear congress - Conference highlights

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bonin, B. [European Nuclear Society (ENS), Bern (Switzerland)

2010-11-15

This synthetical paper presents the main progress, trends or achievements that have appeared through the 450 communications of this conference. The highlights are reported according to 11 issues: 1) general nuclear situation and policy, 2) life extension, 3) standardisation, 4) safety, 5) fuel cycle, 6) dismantling techniques and waste management, 7) research reactors, 8) fusion, 9) nuclear applications in life sciences, 10) education and training, 11) networks and research structures

Geothermal Today: 2003 Geothermal Technologies Program Highlights (Revised)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2004-05-01

This outreach publication highlights milestones and accomplishments of the DOE Geothermal Technologies Program for 2003. Included in this publication are discussions of geothermal fundamentals, enhanced geothermal systems, direct-use applications, geothermal potential in Idaho, coating technology, energy conversion R&D, and the GeoPowering the West initiative.

Tobacco Use. Adolescent Health Highlight. Publication #2012-33

Science.gov (United States)

Murphey, David; Barry, Megan; Vaughn, Brigitte; Terzian, Mary

2012-01-01

Cigarette smoking has steadily declined among adolescents during the last fifteen years, although use of some tobacco products, like cigars, has seen recent increases. However, large numbers of teens continue to use tobacco products. This "Adolescent Health Highlight" presents key research findings; describes prevalence and trends; illustrates…

Highlights from NuFact05

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva; Landua, Rolf

2005-01-01

The 7th International Workshop on Neutrino Factories and Superbeams was held in Frascati in June 2005 with nearly 200 participants. The most recent progress in the design of future neutrino facilities was described, including novel ideas in detectors, and many issues were raised. The International Scoping Study (ISS) for a future Neutrino Facility which would incorporate a Neutrino Factory and/or a high intensity Neutrino Superbeam was launched at that occasion. Built upon previous studies in the USA, Europe and Japan, it will aim to i) define the physics case and a baseline design for such a facility including the related neutrino detection systems, ii) identify the required research and development programme and iii) perform comparisons with other options such as beta beams. The highlights of the meeting and the upcoming studies will be presented.

EMSL Quarterly Highlights Report: FY 2008, 3rd Quarter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Showalter, Mary Ann

2008-09-16

The EMSL Quarterly Highlights Report covers the science, staff and user recognition, and publication activities that occurred during the 1st quarter (October 2007 - December 2007) of Fiscal Year 2008.

EMSL Quarterly Highlights Report: 1st Quarter, FY08

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Showalter, Mary Ann

2008-01-28

The EMSL Quarterly Highlights Report covers the science, staff and user recognition, and publication activities that occurred during the 1st quarter (October 2007 - December 2007) of Fiscal Year 2008.

Synthesis optimisation and characterisation of the organic-inorganic layered materials ZnS(m-xylylenediamine){sub 1/2} and ZnS(p-xylylenediamine){sub 1/2}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Luberda-Durnaś, K. [Institute of Geological Sciences PAS, Research Centre in Krakow, Senacka 1, Krakow 31-002 (Poland); Guillén, A. González [Faculty of Chemistry, Jagiellonian University, Ingardena 3, Krakow 30-060 (Poland); Łasocha, W., E-mail: lasocha@chemia.uj.edu.pl [Jerzy Haber Institute of Catalysis and Surface Chemistry PAS, Niezapominajek 8, Krakow 30-239 (Poland); Faculty of Chemistry, Jagiellonian University, Ingardena 3, Krakow 30-060 (Poland)

2016-06-15

Hybrid organic-inorganic layered materials of the type ZnS(amine){sub 1/2}, where amine=m-xylylenediamine (MXDA) or p-xylylenediamine (PXDA), were synthesised using a simple solvothermal method. Since the samples crystallised in the form of very fine powder, X-ray powder diffraction techniques were used for structural characterisation. The crystal structure studies, involving direct methods, show that both compounds crystallised in the orthorhombic crystal system, but in different space groups: ZnS(MXDA){sub 1/2} in non-centrosymmetric Ccm2{sub 1}, ZnS(PXDA){sub 1/2} in centrosymmetric Pcab. The obtained materials are built according to similar orders: semiconducting monolayers with the formula ZnS, parallel to the (010) plane, are separated by diamines. The organic and inorganic fragments are connected by covalent bonds between metal atoms of the layers and nitrogen atoms of the amino groups. The optical properties of the hybrid materials differ from those of their bulk counterpart. In both compounds a blue-shift of about 0.8 or 0.9 eV was observed with reference to the bulk phase of ZnS. - Highlights: • New hybrid compounds: ZnS(MXDA){sub 1/2} and ZnS(PXDA){sub 1/2} were obtained. • Hybrids were studied using XRD, TG/DSC, XRK, SEM, UV–vis spectroscopy. • Structures of both materials were solved by powder diffraction methods.

Study of copper doping effects on structural, optical and electrical properties of sprayed ZnO thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mhamdi, A.; Mimouni, R.; Amlouk, A.; Amlouk, M.; Belgacem, S.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • The sprayed Cu-doped ZnO thin layers films were well crystallised in hexagonal wurtzite phase. • Nanoncrystallites on clusters were observed whose density decreases especially at 2% Cu content. • This parallel circuit R–C represents the contribution of the grain boundaries delineating the oriented columnar microcrystallites along c-axis. - Abstract: Copper-doped zinc oxide thin films (ZnO:Cu) at different percentages (1–3%) were deposited on glass substrates using a chemical spray technique. The effect of Cu concentration on the structural, morphology and optical properties of the ZnO:Cu thin films were investigated. XRD analysis revealed that all films consist of single phase ZnO and were well crystallised in würtzite phase with the crystallites preferentially oriented towards (0 0 2) direction parallel to c-axis. The Film surface was analyzed by contact atomic force microscopy (AFM) in order to understand the effect of the doping on the surface structure. Doping by copper resulted in a slight decrease in the optical band gap energy of the films and a noticeably change in optical constants. From the spectroscopy impedance analysis we investigated the frequency relaxation phenomenon and the circuit equivalent circuit of such thin layers. Finally, all results have been discussed in terms of the copper doping concentration

Institutional supporting research highlights in physics and mathematics, fiscal year 1983

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vigil, J.C.

1984-03-01

Highlights of FY 1983 Institutional Supporting Research and Development activities within the six Physics and Mathematics divisions and the Center for Nonlinear Studies are presented. The highlights are but a fraction of the ISRD activities in the Directorate and are intended to be a representative sample of progress in the various research areas. FY 1983 ISRD activities within the Physics and Mathematics divisions included both basic and applied research and were divided into 11 research areas: mathematics and numerical methods, low-energy nuclear physics, medium- and high-energy nuclear physics, atomic and molecular physics, solid-state physics and materials science, fluid dynamics, plasma physics and intense particle beam theory, astrophysics and space physics, particle transport methods, accelerator and fusion technology, and biophysics. Highlights from each of these areas are presented

Medicaid Highlights: Mental-Behavioral Health Data: 2001 NHIS

OpenAIRE

Lied, Terry R.

2004-01-01

These data highlights are based on analysis of the 2001 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) public use data (http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis.htm). NHIS is a multi-purpose survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. NHIS has been conducted continuously since 1957.

2016 Highlights of Ferry Operations in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

2017-10-01

This publication highlights data collected by the 2016 NCFO. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) conducted the NCFO from April through November 2016, collecting the operational characteristics of the 2015 calendar year ferry operations.

Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory FY2003 Annual Highlights

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Editors: Carol A. Phillips; Anthony R. DeMeo

2004-08-23

The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory FY2003 Annual Highlights report provides a summary of the activities at the Laboratory for the fiscal year--1 October 2002 through 30 September 2003. The report includes the Laboratory's Mission and Vision Statements, a message ''From the Director,'' summaries of the research and engineering activities by project, and sections on Technology Transfer, the Graduate and Science Education Programs, Awards and Honors garnered by the Laboratory and the employees, and the Year in Pictures. There is also a listing of the Laboratory's publications for the year and a section of the abbreviations, acronyms, and symbols used throughout the report. In the PDF document, links have been created from the Table of Contents to each section. You can also return to the Table of Contents from the beginning page of each section. The PPPL Highlights for fiscal year 2003 is also available in hardcopy format. To obtain a copy e-mail Publications and Reports at: pub-reports@pppl.gov. Be sure to include your complete mailing address

Behaviour of lactose with the presence of lactic acid and Ca as affected by pH.

Science.gov (United States)

Chandrapala, Jayani; Gauthier, Claire; Vasiljevic, Todor

2017-11-01

Contradictory statements about the effects of pH change on crystallisation behaviour of lactose exist in the literature. Considering the importance of addressing the processability issue of acid whey, a systematic study is required to establish lactose crystallisation behaviour in the presence of LA and Ca at concentrations present in real acid whey waste streams emphasising impact of pH. Structural modifications of lactose were evident at elevated, more neutral pH in the presence of 1% w/w LA and 0·12% w/w Ca. These structural changes led to changes in the anomeric equilibrium of lactose, which manipulated the water-lactose behaviour and increased the crystallinity. Therefore, altering pH to 6·5 may be the solution to proper industrial processing of acid whey, enhancing the ability of lactose to crystallise properly.

Highlights and Perspectives from the CMS Experiment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Butler, Joel Nathan [Fermilab

2017-09-09

In 2016, the Large Hadron Collider provided proton-proton collisions at 13 TeV center-of-mass energy and achieved very high luminosity and reliability. The performance of the CMS Experiment in this running period and a selection of recent physics results are presented. These include precision measurements and searches for new particles. The status and prospects for data-taking in 2017 and a brief summary of the highlights of the High Luminosity (HL-LHC) upgrade of the CMS detector are also presented.

Fermi GBM: Highlights from the First Year

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson-Hodge, Colleen A.

2009-01-01

The Fermi Gamma ray Burst Monitor is an all-sky instrument sensitive to photons from about 8 keV to 40 MeV. I will summarize highlights from the first year, including triggered observations of gamma ray bursts, soft gamma ray repeaters, and terrestrial gamma flashes, and observations in the continuous data of X-ray binaries and accreting X-ray pulsars. GBM provides complementary observations to Swift/BAT, observing many of the same sources, but over a wider energy range.

Spring Research Festival Highlighted on WHAG-TV | Poster

Science.gov (United States)

WHAG-TV (Hagerstown, Md.) visited Fort Detrick to highlight the 2015 Spring Research Festival (SRF), sponsored by the National Interagency Confederation for Biological Research (NICBR). Visit the WHAG-TV website to see the video broadcast, which aired May 6. The video was produced by WHAG Reporter Mallory Sofastaii. The video featured Linganore High School senior Rebecca

Highlights from the ATLAS experiment at CERN LHC

CERN Document Server

Tsukerman, Ilya; The ATLAS collaboration

2018-01-01

Highlights from the ATLAS Experiment at the LHC are presented. Results shown are mostly based on the analysis of 2015-2016 year dataset which corresponds to the luminosity 36 inverse fb. Mainly recent measurements of Higgs boson production and decay are discussed while only summary of summaries is given for the SM processes, top production, SUSY and Exotics.

Some physics highlights from the EUROBALL spectrometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Korten, W.

2004-01-01

The latest generation of large γ-ray spectrometers, such as EUROBALL, has boosted the explorations of nuclei under extreme conditions especially at the limits of angular momentum and at finite temperatures. But the coupling of this instrument to very selective ''ancillary'' devices allows for more and more refined investigations of the third important degree of freedom in contemporary nuclear-structure studies, the isospin. This contribution summarises some of the recent highlights from the physics at EUROBALL obtained in some of the different areas of nuclear-structure research

The Shortcomings of Medical Education Highlighted through Film

Science.gov (United States)

Mahajan, Pranav

2012-01-01

The aims of this report are to highlight the shortcomings in medical education. To use a student made short film as an example of how issues that cause medical student distress can be displayed. To show that the process of film-making is a useful tool in reflection. To display that film is an effective device in raising awareness. (Contains 3…

Zircon and monazite petrochronologic record of prolonged amphibolite to granulite facies metamorphism in the Ivrea-Verbano and Strona-Ceneri Zones, NW Italy

Science.gov (United States)

Guergouz, Celia; Martin, Laure; Vanderhaeghe, Olivier; Thébaud, Nicolas; Fiorentini, Marco

2018-05-01

In order to improve the understanding of thermal-tectonic evolution of high-grade terranes, we conducted a systematic study of textures, REE content and U-Pb ages of zircon and monazite grains extracted from migmatitic metapelites across the amphibolite to granulite facies metamorphic gradient exposed in the Ivrea-Verbano and Strona-Ceneri Zones (Italy). This study documents the behaviour of these accessory minerals in the presence of melt. The absence of relict monazite grains in the metasediments and the gradual decrease in the size of inherited zircon grains from amphibolite to granulite facies cores indicate partial to total dissolution of accessory minerals during the prograde path and partial melting. The retrograde path is marked by (i) growth of new zircon rims (R1 and R2) around inherited cores in the mesosome, (ii) crystallisation of stubby zircon grains in the leucosome, especially at granulite facies, and (iii) crystallisation of new monazite in the mesosome. Stubby zircon grains have a distinctive fir-tree zoning and a constant Th/U ratio of 0.20. Together, these features reflect growth in the melt; conversely, the new zircon grains with R1 rims have dark prismatic habits and Th/U ratios ages obtained on both types are similar, indicating contemporaneous growth of stubby zircon and rims around unresorbed zircon grains, reflecting the heterogeneous distribution of the melt at the grain scale. In the Ivrea-Verbano Zone the interquartile range (IQR) of U-Pb ages on zircon and monazite are interpreted to represent the length of zircon and monazite crystallisation in the presence of melt. Accordingly, they provide an indication on the minimum duration for high-temperature metamorphism and partial melting of the lower crust: 20 Ma and 30 Ma in amphibolite and granulite facies, respectively. In amphibolite facies, zircon crystallisation between 310 and 294 Ma (IQR) is interpreted to reflect metamorphic peak condition and earlier retrograde history; conversely

Biotransformation and bioactivation reactions - 2015 literature highlights.

Science.gov (United States)

Baillie, Thomas A; Dalvie, Deepak; Rietjens, Ivonne M C M; Cyrus Khojasteh, S

2016-05-01

Since 1972, Drug Metabolism Reviews has been recognized as one of the principal resources for researchers in pharmacological, pharmaceutical and toxicological fields to keep abreast of advances in drug metabolism science in academia and the pharmaceutical industry. With a distinguished list of authors and editors, the journal covers topics ranging from relatively mature fields, such as cytochrome P450 enzymes, to a variety of emerging fields. We hope to continue this tradition with the current compendium of mini-reviews that highlight novel biotransformation processes that were published during the past year. Each review begins with a summary of the article followed by our comments on novel aspects of the research and their biological implications. This collection of highlights is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather to be illustrative of recent research that provides new insights or approaches that advance the field of drug metabolism. Abbreviations NAPQI N-acetyl-p-benzoquinoneimine ALDH aldehyde dehydrogenase AO aldehyde oxidase AKR aldo-keto reductase CES carboxylesterase CSB cystathionine β-synthase CSE cystathionine γ-lyase P450 cytochrome P450 DHPO 2,3-dihydropyridin-4-one ESI electrospray FMO flavin monooxygenase GSH glutathione GSSG glutathione disulfide ICPMS inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry i.p. intraperitoneal MDR multidrug-resistant NNAL 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol NNK 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone oaTOF orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight PBK physiologically based kinetic PCP pentachlorophenol SDR short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase SULT sulfotransferase TB tuberculosis.

2006 highlights according to the IEA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lafon, M.

2007-01-01

The 2007 natural gas market review of the International energy agency (IEA) is this year subtitled: 'security in a globalizing market to 2015'. The review thus stresses on the 2006 highlights but reinforces the idea already expressed in the 2006 issue that energy security is now an inevitable topic. It offers also a prospective analysis of the natural gas market up to 2015 and devotes a full chapter to LNG development. As a matter of fact, the IEA considers that, from now to 2015, two thirds of the additional gas supplies will be in the form of LNG. The review supplies also some complements about some national markets. The present article reviews the most important points of this analysis. (J.S.)

Highlights of the SSC Site Development Plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanford, J.R.

1991-10-01

This paper summarizes highlights of the Site Development Plan for the Superconducting Super Collider Laboratory. The Plan, sometimes called a Master Plan, was prepared by the architectural and engineering firm for the Laboratory: Parsons Brinckerhoff/Morrison Knudsen (PB/MK) working in association with CRSS. Their task was to interpret the SSC project needs in the context of the Ellis County, Texas site. The team effort was under the direction of Lewis May from CRSS, guided by Robert Sims from the SSC Laboratory. Conceptual drawings are presented in this report

Highlights Eurosites insights; highlights on image, implementation, interpretation and integration of Natura 2000 in European perspective; United Kingdom, Sweden, Spain, France and Hungary

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Neven, M.G.G.; Kistenkas, F.H.

2005-01-01

Highlighting the main report Eurosites Insights this comparative study analyses Natura 2000 nature conservation (EU Birds- and Habitats Directives) alongside the key issues of image, implementation, interpretation and integration. Having quick scanned the EU25, five member states have been selected

Ranking Highlights in Personal Videos by Analyzing Edited Videos.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Min; Farhadi, Ali; Chen, Tseng-Hung; Seitz, Steve

2016-11-01

We present a fully automatic system for ranking domain-specific highlights in unconstrained personal videos by analyzing online edited videos. A novel latent linear ranking model is proposed to handle noisy training data harvested online. Specifically, given a targeted domain such as "surfing," our system mines the YouTube database to find pairs of raw and their corresponding edited videos. Leveraging the assumption that an edited video is more likely to contain highlights than the trimmed parts of the raw video, we obtain pair-wise ranking constraints to train our model. The learning task is challenging due to the amount of noise and variation in the mined data. Hence, a latent loss function is incorporated to mitigate the issues caused by the noise. We efficiently learn the latent model on a large number of videos (about 870 min in total) using a novel EM-like procedure. Our latent ranking model outperforms its classification counterpart and is fairly competitive compared with a fully supervised ranking system that requires labels from Amazon Mechanical Turk. We further show that a state-of-the-art audio feature mel-frequency cepstral coefficients is inferior to a state-of-the-art visual feature. By combining both audio-visual features, we obtain the best performance in dog activity, surfing, skating, and viral video domains. Finally, we show that impressive highlights can be detected without additional human supervision for seven domains (i.e., skating, surfing, skiing, gymnastics, parkour, dog activity, and viral video) in unconstrained personal videos.

Highlights of articles published in annals of nuclear medicine 2016

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jadvar, Hossein

2017-01-01

This article is the first installment of highlights of selected articles published during 2016 in the Annals of Nuclear Medicine, an official peer-reviewed journal of the Japanese Society of Nuclear Medicine. A companion article highlighting selected articles published during 2016 in the European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, which is the official peer-reviewed journal of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine, will also appear in the Annals Nuclear Medicine. This new initiative by the respective journals will continue as an annual endeavor and is anticipated to not only enhance the scientific collaboration between Europe and Japan but also facilitate global partnership in the field of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging. (orig.)

Highlights of articles published in annals of nuclear medicine 2016

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jadvar, Hossein [University of Southern California, Division of Nuclear Medicine, Department of Radiology, Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA (United States)

2017-10-15

This article is the first installment of highlights of selected articles published during 2016 in the Annals of Nuclear Medicine, an official peer-reviewed journal of the Japanese Society of Nuclear Medicine. A companion article highlighting selected articles published during 2016 in the European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, which is the official peer-reviewed journal of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine, will also appear in the Annals Nuclear Medicine. This new initiative by the respective journals will continue as an annual endeavor and is anticipated to not only enhance the scientific collaboration between Europe and Japan but also facilitate global partnership in the field of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging. (orig.)

Using Publication Metrics to Highlight Academic Productivity and Research Impact

Science.gov (United States)

Carpenter, Christopher R.; Cone, David C.; Sarli, Cathy C.

2016-01-01

This article provides a broad overview of widely available measures of academic productivity and impact using publication data and highlights uses of these metrics for various purposes. Metrics based on publication data include measures such as number of publications, number of citations, the journal impact factor score, and the h-index, as well as emerging metrics based on document-level metrics. Publication metrics can be used for a variety of purposes for tenure and promotion, grant applications and renewal reports, benchmarking, recruiting efforts, and administrative purposes for departmental or university performance reports. The authors also highlight practical applications of measuring and reporting academic productivity and impact to emphasize and promote individual investigators, grant applications, or department output. PMID:25308141

Highlights of the 8th International Veterinary Immunology Symposium

Science.gov (United States)

Veterinary immunologists have expanded understanding of the immune systems for our companion animals and developed new vaccines and therapeutics. This manuscript summarizes the highlights of the 8th International Veterinary Immunology Symposium (8 th IVIS) held August 15th-19th, 2007, in Ouro Preto,...

FY17 Transportation and Hydrogen Systems Center Journal Publication Highlights

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2017-12-08

NREL's Transportation and Hydrogen Systems Center published 39 journal articles in fiscal year 2017 highlighting recent research in advanced vehicle technology, alternative fuels, and hydrogen systems.

OSART mission highlights related to on-the-job training

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mazour, T.; Hide, K.

1996-01-01

This paper summarizes the highlights, related to the topic of on-the-job training (OJT), for Agency OSART missions conducted since 1990 (a total of 27 missions). Recommendations and suggestions for improvements related to on-the-job training and qualification programmes are discussed, as well as Good Practices and Good Performances. For Good Practices and Good Performances, the plant is identified to aid in follow-up by meeting participants. For recommendations and suggestions, the number of plants that had recommendations/findings in this area are identified by a number in parentheses after the item. The paper takes a broad approach toward highlights that are related to OJT. For example, there have been a number of OSART recommendations and suggestions concerning responsibilities, authorities and interfaces for NPP activities. These recommendations and suggestions relate not only to responsibilities and interfaces for on-the-job training and qualification programmes, but also to other areas as well

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS IN IAS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marko Kreft

2017-03-01

Full Text Available We are reviewing and commenting highlights of the research published in Image Analysis and Stereology journal (IAS, volume 35, where 16 original research papers on image analysis, computer vision, modelling, and other approaches were published. We have reported on the precision of curve length estimation in the plane. Further, a focus was on a robust estimation technique for 3D point cloud registration. Next contribution in computer vision was on the accuracy of stereo matching algorithm based on illumination control. An attempt was also made to automatically diagnose prenatal cleft lip with representative key points and identify the type of defect in three-dimensional ultrasonography. Similarly, a new report is presenting estimation of torsion of digital curves in 3D images and next, the nuchal translucency by ultrasound is being analyzed. Also in ophthalmology, image analysis may help physicians to establish a correct diagnosis, which is supported by a new approach to measure tortuosity of retinal vessel. Another report of medical significance analyzed correlation of the shape parameters for characterization of images of corneal endothelium cells. Shape analysis is also an important topic in material science, e.g. in analyzing fine aggregates in concrete. As in concrete, in fiber reinforced composites image analysis may aid in improved quality, where the direction of fibers have decisive impact on properties. Automatic defect detection using a computer vision system improves productivity quality in industrial production, hence we report of a new Haar wavelet-based approach.

Physical Sciences 2007 Science & Technology Highlights

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hazi, A U

2008-04-07

The Physical Sciences Directorate applies frontier physics and technology to grand challenges in national security. Our highly integrated and multidisciplinary research program involves collaborations throughout Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the National Nuclear Security Administration, the Department of Energy, and with academic and industrial partners. The Directorate has a budget of approximately $150 million, and a staff of approximately 350 employees. Our scientists provide expertise in condensed matter and high-pressure physics, plasma physics, high-energy-density science, fusion energy science and technology, nuclear and particle physics, accelerator physics, radiation detection, optical science, biotechnology, and astrophysics. This document highlights the outstanding research and development activities in the Physical Sciences Directorate that made news in 2007. It also summarizes the awards and recognition received by members of the Directorate in 2007.

Correlation between microstructure and internal friction in a Zr41.2-Ti13.8-Cu12.5-Ni8- Be22.5-Fe2 bulk metallic glass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Q.; Pelletier, J.M.; Da Dong, Y.; Ji, Y.F.; Xiu, H.

2004-01-01

The microstructural evolution in a Zr-Ti-Cu-Ni-Be-Fe bulk metallic glass (BMG) has been investigated by measurements of dynamical shear modulus and internal friction combined with other analytical methods such as differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM). When heated from room temperature up to 873 K, the as-received BMG exhibits an exponential increase in internal friction accompanying the strong decrease of storage modulus and the presence of the first loss modulus peak during the dynamic glass transition, which can be well described using quasi-point defect model. The correlative changes of the mechanical response at higher temperature are associated with the crystallisation process of the supercooled liquid phase, which occurs in four different stages. It is shown that the main crystallisation process is completed in the first two stages. With further increasing temperature, the remaining amorphous phases crystallise and/or the metastable crystalline phases are transformed into the stable ones. Isothermal annealing were also performed at temperatures in the supercooled liquid region far below the onset temperature of the crystallisation process (T x ). Their influence on microstucture and internal friction behaviour of the BMG is also presented in this paper. The most striking result is that the internal friction is very sensitive to the local atomic short range ordering induced by the preheating treatment

EMSL Quarterly Highlights Report: 1st Quarter, Fiscal Year 2009

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Showalter, Mary Ann; Kathmann, Loel E.; Manke, Kristin L.

2009-02-02

The EMSL Quarterly Highlights Report covers the science, staff and user recognition, and publication activities that occurred during the 1st quarter (October 2008 - December 2008) of Fiscal Year 2009.

Advanced Education and Technology Business Plan, 2010-13. Highlights

Science.gov (United States)

Alberta Advanced Education and Technology, 2010

2010-01-01

The Ministry of Advanced Education and Technology envisions Alberta's prosperity through innovation and lifelong learning. Advanced Education and Technology's mission is to lead the development of a knowledge-driven future through a dynamic and integrated advanced learning and innovation system. This paper presents the highlights of the business…

Highlight: IDRC at the World Congress on Public Health 2015 ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

2016-04-14

Apr 14, 2016 ... ... and communication tools such as radio jingles and internet messages. ... They highlighted best practices in Thailand, which has an effective ... for Health Sciences, Kunming Medical University, Yunnan Province, China.

Advanced Education and Technology Business Plan, 2009-12. Highlights

Science.gov (United States)

Alberta Advanced Education and Technology, 2009

2009-01-01

Advanced Education and Technology provides strategic leadership for the development of the next generation economy in Alberta through the provision of accessible, affordable and quality learning opportunities for all Albertans and support for a dynamic and integrated innovation system. This paper provides the highlights of the business plan of the…

The controlled vitrification/crystallisation process applied

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Romero, M.

2000-02-01

Full Text Available The glass-ceramic process, as well as the usual processing of ceramic and vitreous materials, is being investigated as a promising way for isolation and recycling of both mineral wastes (debris and mineral residues, clearings in public works and inorganic industrial wastes (muds, slags, fly ashes. Synthetic materials with useful properties to be used as building materials have been prepared from inorganic wastes of different type (red muds from zinc hydrometalurgy, fly ashes from power thermal stations, slags and fly ashes from domiciliary incinerators as well as from mixtures of such wastes with other raw materials. The obtained results allow us to conclude that the ceramic and glass-ceramic processes are outlined as an useful alternative to solve the social and environmental problems associated to wastes production.

El proceso vitrocerámico, así como el procesado habitual de materiales cerámicos y vítreos, está siendo actualmente investigado como una prometedora vía para el aislamiento, inertización e incluso el reciclado de residuos minerales (escombreras y estériles de minas, desmontes de Obras Públicas, etc... e industriales (lodos, fangos, escorias, cenizas, etc.... A partir de residuos inorgánicos de diferente naturaleza (lodos de la hidrometalurgia del zinc, cenizas de centrales térmicas, escorias y cenizas de plantas incineradoras así como de mezclas de los mismos con otras materias primas, se están obteniendo materiales sintéticos con amplias aplicaciones en la Construcción y en Obras Públicas. Los resultados que se están consiguiendo permiten concluir que los procesos cerámico y vitrocerámico se perfilan como una alternativa real y útil para resolver, al menos parcialmente, los problemas sociales y medioambientales asociados a la producción de dichos residuos.

AcrA suppressor alterations reverse the drug hypersensitivity phenotype of a TolC mutant by inducing TolC aperture opening

Science.gov (United States)

Weeks, Jon W.; Celaya-Kolb, Teresa; Pecora, Sara; Misra, Rajeev

2010-01-01

Summary In Escherichia coli, the TolC–AcrAB complex forms a major antibiotic efflux system with broad substrate specificity. During the complex assembly, the periplasmic helices and bottom turns of TolC are thought to interact with a hairpin helix of AcrA and hairpin loops of AcrB respectively. In the present study we show that a four-residue substitution in TolC’s turn 1, which connects outer helices 3 and 4 proximal to TolC’s periplasmic aperture, confers antibiotic hypersensitivity without affecting TolC-mediated phage or colicin infection. However, despite the null-like drug sensitivity phenotype, chemical cross-linking analysis revealed no apparent defects in the ability of the mutant TolC protein to physically interact with AcrA and AcrB. A role for TolC turn 1 residues in the functional assembly of the tripartite efflux pump complex was uncovered through isolating suppressor mutations of the mutant TolC protein that mapped within acrA and by utilizing a labile AcrA protein. The data showed that AcrA-mediated suppression of antibiotic sensitivity was achieved by dilating the TolC aperture/channel in an AcrB-dependent manner. The results underscore the importance of the periplasmic turn 1 of TolC in the functional assembly of the tripartite efflux complex and AcrA in transitioning TolC from its closed to open state. PMID:20132445

Syndicate of renewable energies - Highlights 2016

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2017-01-01

This publication first proposes a presentation of the SER (Syndicat des Energies Renouvelables, Syndicate of Renewable Energies), a professional body: missions, scope of action, members. It outlines its commitment in the French policy for energy transition as a major actor of the sector of renewable energies. It addresses the legal and regulatory framework as well as the economic framework and markets. It proposes brief presentations of transverse actions regarding power grids, overseas territories, the building sector and the international export. Some highlights related to ground-based wind power, renewable marine energies and offshore wind energy, solar photovoltaic energy, bio-energies (wood-fueled power plants for collective, tertiary and industrial sectors, biogas, biofuels and municipal wastes), domestic wood space heating, geothermal energy and hydroelectricity are mentioned. Actions in the field of communication are summarized, and projects for 2017 are briefly indicated

ATOMLLL: atoms with shading and highlights

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Max, N.L.; y.

1979-01-01

The ATOMS program, written at Bell Telephone Laboratory, is capable of determining the visible portions of a scene consisting of interpenetrating spheres and cylinders, put together to represent space-filling or ball-and-stick molecular models. The Lawrence Livermore Laboratory version contains enhancements to add shading and highlights, and to render the spheres on film as ellipses, so they will appear round when projected in various wide-screen formats. The visible parts of each sphere or cylinder are shaded by a minicomputer controlling the film recorder, thus releasing the main computer from transferring the millions of intensity values for each frame. The minicomputer is microprogrammed with an efficient algorithm for the intensities, which uses the color look-up tables in the film recorder to store the reflectance as a function of angle of incidence. 8 references

Brookhaven highlights, October 1978-September 1979

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1979-01-01

These highlights present an overview of the major research and development achievements at Brookhaven National Laboratory from October 1978 to September 1979. Specific areas covered include: accelerator and high energy physics programs; high energy physics research; the AGS and improvements to the AGS; neutral beam development; heavy ion fusion; superconducting power cables; ISABELLE storage rings; the BNL Tandem accelerator; heavy ion experiments at the Tandem; the High Flux Beam Reactor; medium energy physics; nuclear theory; atomic and applied physics; solid state physics; neutron scattering studies; x-ray scattering studies; solid state theory; defects and disorder in solids; surface physics; the National Synchrotron Light Source ; Chemistry Department; Biology Department; Medical Department; energy sciences; environmental sciences; energy technology programs; National Center for Analysis of Energy Systems; advanced reactor systems; nuclear safety; National Nuclear Data Center; nuclear materials safeguards; Applied Mathematics Department; and support activities

Mental Health Disorders. Adolescent Health Highlight. Publication #2013-1

Science.gov (United States)

Murphey, David; Barry, Megan; Vaughn, Brigitte

2013-01-01

Mental disorders are diagnosable conditions characterized by changes in thinking, mood, or behavior (or some combination of these) that can cause a person to feel stressed out and impair his or her ability to function. These disorders are common in adolescence. This "Adolescent Health Highlight" presents the warning signs of mental disorders;…

Moving beyond Text Highlights: Inferring Users' Interests to Improve the Relevance of Retrieval

Science.gov (United States)

Balakrishnan, Vimala; Mehmood, Yasir; Nagappan, Yoganathan

2016-01-01

Introduction: Studies have indicated that users' text highlighting behaviour can be further manipulated to improve the relevance of retrieved results. This article reports on a study that examined users' text highlight frequency, length and users' copy-paste actions. Method: A binary voting mechanism was employed to determine the weights for the…

Effect of riboflavin on the photo-oxidative stability of vegetable oil in salad dressing.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Yoon-Hee; Lee, Jaesung; Min, David B; Pascall, Melvin A

2014-01-01

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), headspace oxygen and solid phase microextraction gas chromatography and peroxide value were used to evaluate the effect of riboflavin on the photo-oxidation of vegetable oil in salad dressing. Salad dressings with 0, 5, 20, 50 and 100 ppm added riboflavin were stored under light (2500 lux) at 25 °C for 5 days. Crystallisation peaks in the DSC thermograms of the oil samples shifted to lower temperatures and enthalpies decreased as the storage time increased. As the riboflavin concentrations increased from 0 to 100 ppm, the crystallisation enthalpies increased from 27 to 31 J/g and the maximum crystallisation temperature increased from -64 to -62 °C during the 5 day storage. Headspace oxygen depletion rates, the formation of volatile compounds and peroxide values of the salad dressing samples simultaneously decreased with the addition of riboflavin, showing that riboflavin protected the oil in salad dressing from photo-oxidation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Design of multi materials combining crystalline and amorphous metallic alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Volland, A.; Ragani, J.; Liu, Y.; Gravier, S.; Suéry, M.; Blandin, J.J.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Elaboration of multi materials associating metallic glasses and conventional crystalline alloys by co-deformation performed at temperatures close to the glass transition temperature of the metallic glasses. ► Elaboration of filamentary metal matrix composites with a core in metallic glass by co extrusion. ► Sandwich structures produced by co-pressing. ► Detection of atomic diffusion from the glass to the crystalline alloys during the processes. ► Good interfaces between the metallic glasses and the crystalline alloys, as confirmed by mechanical characterisation. - Abstract: Multi materials, associating zirconium based bulk metallic glasses and crystalline metallic alloys like magnesium alloys or copper are elaborated by co-deformation processing performed in the supercooled liquid regions (SLR) of the bulk metallic glasses. Two processes are investigated: co-extrusion and co-pressing. In the first case, filamentary composites with various designs can be produced whereas in the second case sandwich structures are obtained. The experimental window (temperature, time) in which processing can be carried out is directly related to the crystallisation resistance of the glass which requires getting information about the crystallisation conditions in the selected metallic glasses. Thermoforming windows are identified for the studied BMGs by thermal analysis and compression tests in their SLR. The mechanical properties of the produced multi materials are investigated thanks to specifically developed mechanical devices and the interfaces between the amorphous and the crystalline alloys are characterised.

Preparation and characterisation of polyamide 11/montmorillonite (MMT) nanocomposites for use in angioplasty balloon applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Halim, Khairul Anwar A.; Farrell, Joseph B.; Kennedy, James E.

2013-01-01

With increased demands on catheter balloon functionality, there is an emphasis to blend new materials which can improve mechanical performance. Polymer nanocomposites were prepared by melt blending polyamide 11 (PA 11) with organically modified montmorillonite nanoclay. The effects of incorporating the nanoclay on the short-term mechanical properties of PA 11 were assessed using a design of experiments (DoEs) approach. X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis techniques (DMA) were used to characterise the morphology of the nanocomposites. Design of experiments studies revealed that the optimum nanocomposites properties can be achieved by carefully controlling the melt compounding parameters. XRD and TEM data proved that exfoliated clay morphologies existed within the matrix at low clay loading (2%). Whereas the interaction between the polymer matrix and nanoclay was quantified in the DMA spectra, showed a significant increase in storage modulus (up to 80%). The reinforcing effect of nanoclay within the PA 11 was further investigated using mechanical testing, where significant increases in the ultimate tensile strength and strain at break of reinforced tri-layer balloon tubing were observed. - Highlights: • TEM reveals the coexistence of exfoliated and intercalated nanostructures. • Isothermal crystallisation studies found that the nano-clays reduced the crystallisation time. • Significant increase in the storage modulus was due to the reinforcing effect of the nano-clay platelets. • It was observed that the activation energy values decreased due to the presence of nanoclay

Preparation and characterisation of polyamide 11/montmorillonite (MMT) nanocomposites for use in angioplasty balloon applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Halim, Khairul Anwar A. [Department of Polymer Engineering, Athlone Institute of Technology, Athlone (Ireland); School of Materials Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Perlis (Malaysia); Farrell, Joseph B. [Department of Polymer Engineering, Athlone Institute of Technology, Athlone (Ireland); Kennedy, James E., E-mail: jkennedy@ait.ie [Department of Polymer Engineering, Athlone Institute of Technology, Athlone (Ireland)

2013-12-16

With increased demands on catheter balloon functionality, there is an emphasis to blend new materials which can improve mechanical performance. Polymer nanocomposites were prepared by melt blending polyamide 11 (PA 11) with organically modified montmorillonite nanoclay. The effects of incorporating the nanoclay on the short-term mechanical properties of PA 11 were assessed using a design of experiments (DoEs) approach. X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis techniques (DMA) were used to characterise the morphology of the nanocomposites. Design of experiments studies revealed that the optimum nanocomposites properties can be achieved by carefully controlling the melt compounding parameters. XRD and TEM data proved that exfoliated clay morphologies existed within the matrix at low clay loading (2%). Whereas the interaction between the polymer matrix and nanoclay was quantified in the DMA spectra, showed a significant increase in storage modulus (up to 80%). The reinforcing effect of nanoclay within the PA 11 was further investigated using mechanical testing, where significant increases in the ultimate tensile strength and strain at break of reinforced tri-layer balloon tubing were observed. - Highlights: • TEM reveals the coexistence of exfoliated and intercalated nanostructures. • Isothermal crystallisation studies found that the nano-clays reduced the crystallisation time. • Significant increase in the storage modulus was due to the reinforcing effect of the nano-clay platelets. • It was observed that the activation energy values decreased due to the presence of nanoclay.

Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory for FY2003. Annual Highlights

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Phillips, Carol A.; DeMeo, Anthony R.

2004-01-01

The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory FY2003 Annual Highlights report provides a summary of the activities at the Laboratory for the fiscal year--1 October 2002 through 30 September 2003. The report includes the Laboratory's Mission and Vision Statements, a message ''From the Director,'' summaries of the research and engineering activities by project, and sections on Technology Transfer, the Graduate and Science Education Programs, Awards and Honors garnered by the Laboratory and the employees, and the Year in Pictures. There is also a listing of the Laboratory's publications for the year and a section of the abbreviations, acronyms, and symbols used throughout the report. In the PDF document, links have been created from the Table of Contents to each section. You can also return to the Table of Contents from the beginning page of each section. The PPPL Highlights for fiscal year 2003 is also available in hardcopy format. To obtain a copy e-mail Publications and Reports at: pub-reports at pppl.gov. Be sure to include your complete mailing address

Nuclear fuel waste management - biosphere program highlights - 1978 to 1996

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zach, R

1997-07-01

The biosphere program in support of the development of the disposal concept for Canadian nuclear fuel waste since 1978 is scheduled for close-out. AECL`s Environmental Science Branch (ESB) was mainly responsible for work in this program. In order to preserve as much information as possible, this report highlights many of the key achievements of the program, particularly those related to the development of the BIOTRAC biosphere model and its supporting research. This model was used for the assessment and review of the disposal concept in an environmental impact statement (EIS). The report also treats highlights related to alternative models, external scientific/technical reviews, EIS feedback, and the international BIOMOVS model validation program. Furthermore, it highlights basic aspects of future modelling and research needs in relation to siting a disposal facility. In this, feedback from the various reviews and the EIS is taken into account. Appendices of the report include listings of key ESB staff involved in the program, all the scientific/technical reports and papers produced under the program, contracts let to outside agencies, and issues raised by various participants or intervenors during the EIS review. Although the report is concerned with close-out of the biosphere program, it also provides valuable information for a continuing program concerned with siting a disposal facility. One of the conclusions of the report is that such a program is essential for successfully siting such a facility. (author) Refs.

Nuclear fuel waste management - biosphere program highlights - 1978 to 1996

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zach, R.

1997-07-01

The biosphere program in support of the development of the disposal concept for Canadian nuclear fuel waste since 1978 is scheduled for close-out. AECL's Environmental Science Branch (ESB) was mainly responsible for work in this program. In order to preserve as much information as possible, this report highlights many of the key achievements of the program, particularly those related to the development of the BIOTRAC biosphere model and its supporting research. This model was used for the assessment and review of the disposal concept in an environmental impact statement (EIS). The report also treats highlights related to alternative models, external scientific/technical reviews, EIS feedback, and the international BIOMOVS model validation program. Furthermore, it highlights basic aspects of future modelling and research needs in relation to siting a disposal facility. In this, feedback from the various reviews and the EIS is taken into account. Appendices of the report include listings of key ESB staff involved in the program, all the scientific/technical reports and papers produced under the program, contracts let to outside agencies, and issues raised by various participants or intervenors during the EIS review. Although the report is concerned with close-out of the biosphere program, it also provides valuable information for a continuing program concerned with siting a disposal facility. One of the conclusions of the report is that such a program is essential for successfully siting such a facility. (author)

Research highlights: microfluidics meets big data.

Science.gov (United States)

Tseng, Peter; Weaver, Westbrook M; Masaeli, Mahdokht; Owsley, Keegan; Di Carlo, Dino

2014-03-07

In this issue we highlight a collection of recent work in which microfluidic parallelization and automation have been employed to address the increasing need for large amounts of quantitative data concerning cellular function--from correlating microRNA levels to protein expression, increasing the throughput and reducing the noise when studying protein dynamics in single-cells, and understanding how signal dynamics encodes information. The painstaking dissection of cellular pathways one protein at a time appears to be coming to an end, leading to more rapid discoveries which will inevitably translate to better cellular control--in producing useful gene products and treating disease at the individual cell level. From these studies it is also clear that development of large scale mutant or fusion libraries, automation of microscopy, image analysis, and data extraction will be key components as microfluidics contributes its strengths to aid systems biology moving forward.

North-American Conference Highlights the Treatment of Trauma Utilizing Guided Imagery and Music

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Scott-Montcrieff, Suzannah; Beck, Bolette Daniels; Montgomery, Erin

2015-01-01

A report on the 2015 Association for Music and Imagery conference highlights papers that address clinical practice and research using Guided Imagery and Music for the treatment of trauma.......A report on the 2015 Association for Music and Imagery conference highlights papers that address clinical practice and research using Guided Imagery and Music for the treatment of trauma....

Highlights of the SM Physics at the LHC

CERN Document Server

Yang, Haijun; The ATLAS collaboration

2015-01-01

This talk shows the recent highlights of the SM physics from the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the LHC. It includes the precision measurements of diboson, triboson, vector boson scattering, and indirect search for new physics via anomalous triple/quartic gauge boson couplings etc. Some latest results from LHC Run2 @ 13 TeV will also be presented. The talk was invited to present at the 5th KIAS Workshop on Particle Physics and Cosmology in Seoul on November 9-13, 2015.

Risk calculations in the manufacturing technology selection process

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Farooq, S.; O'Brien, C.

2010-01-01

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to present result obtained from a developed technology selection framework and provide a detailed insight into the risk calculations and their implications in manufacturing technology selection process. Design/methodology/approach - The results illustrated...... in the paper are the outcome of an action research study that was conducted in an aerospace company. Findings - The paper highlights the role of risk calculations in manufacturing technology selection process by elaborating the contribution of risk associated with manufacturing technology alternatives...... in the shape of opportunities and threats in different decision-making environments. Practical implications - The research quantifies the risk associated with different available manufacturing technology alternatives. This quantification of risk crystallises the process of technology selection decision making...

Highlights from the 7th European Meeting on Molecular Diagnostics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dr. A.J.C. van den Brule, van den; Drs A.J.M. Loonen; Dr. R. Schuurman

2012-01-01

This report presents the highlights of the 7th European Meeting on Molecular Diagnostics held in Scheveningen, The Hague, The Netherlands, 12-14 October 2011. The areas covered included molecular diagnostics applications in medical microbiology, virology, pathology, hemato-oncology,clinical genetics

Temperature evolution during magma ascent in basaltic effusive eruptions: A numerical application to Stromboli volcano

Science.gov (United States)

La Spina, G.; Burton, M.; de'Michieli Vitturi, M.

2015-09-01

The dynamics of magma ascent are controlled by the complex, interdependent processes of crystallisation, rheological evolution, gas exsolution, outgassing, non-ideal gas expansion and temperature evolution. Temperature changes within the conduit, in particular, play a key role on ascent dynamics, since temperature strongly controls the crystallisation process, which in turn has an impact on viscosity and thus on magma ascent rate. The cooling produced by gas expansion is opposed by the heat produced by crystallisation, and therefore the temperature profile within the conduit is quite complex. This complexity means that unravelling the dynamics controlling magma ascent requires a numerical model. Unfortunately, comprehensive, integrated models with full thermodynamic treatment of multiple phases and rheological evolution are challenging to produce, due to the numerical challenges involved. Until now, models have tended to focus on aspects of the problem, without a holistic approach in which petrological, thermodynamic, rheological and degassing processes, and their interactions, were all explicitly addressed and quantified. Here, we present a new, multiphase steady-state model for magma ascent in which the main physical and chemical processes, such as crystallisation, degassing, outgassing, rheological evolution and temperature variations, are quantitatively calculated. Basaltic magma's crystallisation and flow are sensitive to initial temperature and volatile content, and therefore we investigate temperature variations during magma ascent in a basaltic system with a range of volatile contents. As a test case, we use one of the most well-studied recent basaltic effusive eruptions: the 2007 eruption of Stromboli, Italy. Assuming equilibrium crystallisation and exsolution, we compare the solutions obtained both with and without an isothermal constraint, finding that temperature variations within the conduit have a significant influence on the ascent dynamics and

Transport Task Force workshop: basic experiments highlights

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Linford, R.K. (Los Alamos National Lab., NM (USA)); Luckhardt, S. (Massachusetts Inst. of Tech., Cambridge, MA (USA)); Lyon, J.F. (Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)); Navratil, G.A. (Columbia Univ., New York, NY (USA)); Schoenberg, K.F. (Los Alamos National Lab., NM (USA))

1990-01-01

Selected topics are summarized from the Basic Experiments session of the Transport Task Force Workshop held August 21-24, 1989, in San Diego, California. This session included presentations on paradigm experiments, stellarators, reversed-field pinches, and advanced tokamaks. Recent advances in all of these areas illustrate the importance of these experiments in advancing our understanding of toroidal transport. Progress has been made in measuring the details of particle diffusion, isolating specific modes, measuring fluctuation variations with field geometry and beta, and comparing all these with theoretical predictions. The development of experimental tools for determining which fluctuations dominate transport are also reported. Continued significant advances are anticipated in a number of areas highlighted. (author).

Transport Task Force workshop: basic experiments highlights

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Linford, R.K.; Luckhardt, S.; Lyon, J.F.; Navratil, G.A.; Schoenberg, K.F.

1990-01-01

Selected topics are summarized from the Basic Experiments session of the Transport Task Force Workshop held August 21-24, 1989, in San Diego, California. This session included presentations on paradigm experiments, stellarators, reversed-field pinches, and advanced tokamaks. Recent advances in all of these areas illustrate the importance of these experiments in advancing our understanding of toroidal transport. Progress has been made in measuring the details of particle diffusion, isolating specific modes, measuring fluctuation variations with field geometry and beta, and comparing all these with theoretical predictions. The development of experimental tools for determining which fluctuations dominate transport are also reported. Continued significant advances are anticipated in a number of areas highlighted. (author)

Highlights of the new U.S. Energy Policy Plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rusche, B.C.

1982-01-01

This paper gives the highlights of the New U.S. Energy Policy Plan, a reformulation of policies affecting energy, as part of President Reagan's comprehensive Program for Economic Recovery. A survey is given of the different energy sources and their importances now and in the future along with a definition of the government's and the private sector's roles in energy production. (orig.)

Characteristic of DTA curves for cast ferrous alloys

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Pietrowski

2008-04-01

Full Text Available The study presents DTA curves for selected grades of cast iron and cast steel. The thermal effects observed on derivative curves, caused by crystallisation of single phases and eutectic were discussed. The thermal effects having their origin in crystallisation of secondary carbides were determined. It has been indicated that the range of temperatures of their crystallisation can be determined from the cooling curve t = f(τ, from the solidification curve dt/dτ = f′(τ, and from the second derivative d2t/dτ2 = f″(τ. The crystallisation rate of single phases or of their mixture is indicated by the duration of thermal effect and by the slope angle of the curve responsible for a specific thermal effect before and after its maximum. A very high sensitivity of the derivative curve to temperature changes in liquid and solid alloy and to the phase (phases growth rate enables control of alloy before pouring of moulds. The control of alloy may consist in identification of phases the presence of which is indispensable in alloy microstructure and in determination of some important properties, e.g. Rp0,2, Rm, A5 and HB. In the latter case, the statistical relationships between the above mentioned characteristic parameters of DTA curves and the selected mechanical properties have been determined. The said relationships form a basis for construction of algorithms used in development of computer programs for control of individual alloys.

50 years of Dutch immunology--founders, institutions, highlights.

Science.gov (United States)

Gmelig-Meyling, Frits H J; Meyaard, Linde; Mebius, Reina E

2014-12-01

At the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Dutch Society for Immunology (DSI, de Nederlandse Vereniging voor Immunologie), this contribution deals with some highlights of 50 years of Immunology in the Netherlands. It narrates about the founders and first board members of the DSI, their institutes, progeny and patrimony, describes major centers of immunological activities, mentions key persons in the field, and touches upon some events dear to the Society and its members. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

LHC Highlights, from dream to reality

CERN Multimedia

CERN Bulletin

2010-01-01

The idea of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) was born in the early 1980s. Although LEP (CERN’s previous large accelerator) was still under construction at that time, scientists were already starting to think about re-using the 27-kilometre ring for an even more powerful machine. Turning this ambitious scientific plan into reality proved to be an immensely complex task. Civil engineering work, state-of-the-art technologies, a new approach to data storage and analysis: many people worked hard for many years to accomplish all this.   Here are some of the highlights: 1984. A symposium organized in Lausanne, Switzerland, is the official starting point for the LHC. LHC prototype of the two beam pipes (1992). 1989. The first embryonic collaborations begin. 1992. A meeting in Evian, France, marks the beginning of the LHC experiments. 1994. The CERN Council approves the construction of the LHC accelerator. 1995. Japan becomes an Observer of CERN and announces a financial contribution to ...

Highlights from past and future physics

CERN Multimedia

Daisy Yuhas

2009-01-01

A two-day symposium was held at CERN on 3 and 4 December in celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Proton Synchrotron and the twentieth anniversary of LEP. The symposium, entitled “From the Proton Synchrotron to the Large Hadron Collider- 50 Years of Nobel Memories in High-Energy Physics”, included a series of seminars reflecting on the past fifty years in particle physics and an exhibition highlighting CERN’s research over this period.   Lyn Evans, LHC project leader, addressing the audience gathered in the Main Auditorium during the symposium that celebrated the 50 years of the PS and the 20 years of LEP.  The events were well attended on both days. Thursday’s reception, to which the Director-General invited everyone working at CERN, attracted over 1200 people. The seminars drew about 500 people to the Main Auditorium and the Council Chamber each day, with at least as many on-line attendees. The symposium speakers, including thirteen No...

Focus on the Outer Membrane Factor OprM, the Forgotten Player from Efflux Pumps Assemblies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gilles Phan

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Antibiotics have been used extensively during several decades and we are now facing the emergence of multidrug resistant strains. It has become a major public concern, urging the need to discover new strategies to combat them. Among the different ways used by bacteria to resist antibiotics, the active efflux is one of the main mechanisms. In Gram-negative bacteria the efflux pumps are comprised of three components forming a long edifice crossing the complete cell wall from the inside to the outside of the cell. Blocking these pumps would permit the restoration of the effectiveness of the current antibiotherapy which is why it is important to increase our knowledge on the different proteins involved in these complexes. A tremendous number of experiments have been performed on the inner membrane protein AcrB from Escherichia coli and, to a lesser extent, the protein partners forming the AcrAB-TolC pump, but less information is available concerning the efflux pumps from other virulent Gram-negative bacteria. The present review will focus on the OprM outer membrane protein from the MexAB-OprM pump of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, highlighting similarities and differences compare to the archetypal AcrAB-TolC in terms of structure, function, and assembly properties.

The kinetics of solid phase epitaxy in As-doped buried amorphous silicon layers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McCallum, J.C.

1999-01-01

Ion implantation is the principal method used to introduce dopants into silicon for fabrication of semiconductor devices. During ion implantation, damage accumulates in the crystalline silicon lattice and amorphisation may occur over the depth range of the ions if the implant dose is sufficiently high. As device dimensions shrink, the need to produce shallower and shallower highly-doped layers increases and the probability of amorphisation also increases. To achieve dopant-activation, the amorphous or damaged material must be returned to the crystalline state by thermal annealing. Amorphous silicon layers can be crystallised by the solid-state process of solid phase epitaxy (SPE) in which the amorphous layer transforms to crystalline silicon (c-Si) layer by layer using the underlying c-Si as a seed. The atomic mechanism that is responsible for the crystallisation is thought to involve highly-localised bond-breaking and rearrangement processes at the amorphous/crystalline (a/c) interface but the defect responsible for these bond rearrangements has not yet been identified. Since the bond breaking process necessarily generates dangling bonds, it has been suggested that the crystallisation process may solely involve the formation and migration of dangling bonds at the interface. One of the key factors which may shed further light on the nature of the SPE defect is the observed dopant-dependence of the rate of crystallisation. It has been found that moderate concentrations of dopants enhance the SPE crystallisation rate while the presence of equal concentrations of an n-type and a p-type dopant (impurity compensation) returns the SPE rate to the intrinsic value. This provides crucial evidence that the SPE mechanism is sensitive to the position of the Fermi level in the bandgap of the crystalline and/or the amorphous silicon phases and may lead to identification of an energy level within the bandgap that can be associated with the defect. This paper gives details of SPE

Highlights from the 9th Cachexia Conference.

Science.gov (United States)

Ebner, Nicole; von Haehling, Stephan

2017-06-01

This article highlights updates of pathways as well as pre-clinical and clinical studies into the field of wasting disorders that were presented at the 9th Cachexia Conference held in Berlin, Germany, December 2016. This year, some interesting results from clinical trials and different new therapeutic targets were shown. This article presents the biological and clinical significance of different markers and new diagnostic tools and cut-offs of detecting skeletal muscle wasting. Effective treatments of cachexia and wasting disorders are urgently needed in order to improve the patients' quality of life and their survival. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of the Society on Sarcopenia, Cachexia and Wasting Disorders.

Highlights from the early (and pre-) history of reliability engineering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saleh, J.H.; Marais, K.

2006-01-01

Reliability is a popular concept that has been celebrated for years as a commendable attribute of a person or an artifact. From its modest beginning in 1816-the word reliability was first coined by Samuel T. Coleridge-reliability grew into an omnipresent attribute with qualitative and quantitative connotations that pervades every aspect of our present day technologically intensive world. In this short communication, we highlight key events and the history of ideas that led to the birth of Reliability Engineering, and its development in the subsequent decades. We first argue that statistics and mass production were the enablers in the rise of this new discipline, and the catalyst that accelerated the coming of this new discipline was the (unreliability of the) vacuum tube. We highlight the foundational role of AGREE report in 1957 in the birth of reliability engineering, and discuss the consolidation of numerous efforts in the 1950s into a coherent new technical discipline. We show that an evolution took place in the discipline in the following two decades along two directions: first, there was an increased specialization in the discipline (increased sophistication of statistical techniques, and the rise of a new branch focused on the actual physics of failure of components, Reliability Physics); second, there occurred a shift in the emphasis of the discipline from a component-centric to an emphasis on system-level attributes (system reliability, availability, safety). Finally, in selecting the particular events and highlights in the history of ideas that led to the birth and subsequent development of reliability engineering, we acknowledge a subjective component in this work and make no claims to exhaustiveness

The MeteoMet2 project—highlights and results

Science.gov (United States)

Merlone, A.; Sanna, F.; Beges, G.; Bell, S.; Beltramino, G.; Bojkovski, J.; Brunet, M.; del Campo, D.; Castrillo, A.; Chiodo, N.; Colli, M.; Coppa, G.; Cuccaro, R.; Dobre, M.; Drnovsek, J.; Ebert, V.; Fernicola, V.; Garcia-Benadí, A.; Garcia-Izquierdo, C.; Gardiner, T.; Georgin, E.; Gonzalez, A.; Groselj, D.; Heinonen, M.; Hernandez, S.; Högström, R.; Hudoklin, D.; Kalemci, M.; Kowal, A.; Lanza, L.; Miao, P.; Musacchio, C.; Nielsen, J.; Nogueras-Cervera, M.; Oguz Aytekin, S.; Pavlasek, P.; de Podesta, M.; Rasmussen, M. K.; del-Río-Fernández, J.; Rosso, L.; Sairanen, H.; Salminen, J.; Sestan, D.; Šindelářová, L.; Smorgon, D.; Sparasci, F.; Strnad, R.; Underwood, R.; Uytun, A.; Voldan, M.

2018-02-01

Launched in 2011 within the European Metrology Research Programme (EMRP) of EURAMET, the joint research project ‘MeteoMet’—Metrology for Meteorology—is the largest EMRP consortium; national metrology institutes, universities, meteorological and climate agencies, research institutes, collaborators and manufacturers are working together, developing new metrological techniques, as well as improving existing ones, for use in meteorological observations and climate records. The project focuses on humidity in the upper and surface atmosphere, air temperature, surface and deep-sea temperatures, soil moisture, salinity, permafrost temperature, precipitation, and the snow albedo effect on air temperature. All tasks are performed using a rigorous metrological approach and include the design and study of new sensors, new calibration facilities, the investigation of sensor characteristics, improved techniques for measurements of essential climate variables with uncertainty evaluation, traceability, laboratory proficiency and the inclusion of field influencing parameters, long-lasting measurements, and campaigns in remote and extreme areas. The vision for MeteoMet is to take a step further towards establishing full data comparability, coherency, consistency, and long-term continuity, through a comprehensive evaluation of the measurement uncertainties for the quantities involved in the global climate observing systems and the derived observations. The improvement in quality of essential climate variables records, through the inclusion of measurement uncertainty budgets, will also highlight possible strategies for the reduction of the uncertainty. This contribution presents selected highlights of the MeteoMet project and reviews the main ongoing activities, tasks and deliverables, with a view to its possible future evolution and extended impact.

Fabricating graphene supercapacitors: highlighting the impact of surfactants and moieties.

Science.gov (United States)

Brownson, Dale A C; Banks, Craig E

2012-02-01

We highlight the impact of surfactants, routinely used in the fabrication of graphene, which can significantly influence the performance of supercapacitors. Through the utilisation of various graphitic forms we offer insight into the design and fabrication of graphene based supercapacitors. This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2012

CO2 Emissions From Fuel Combustion. Highlights. 2013 Edition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2013-07-01

In the lead-up to the UN climate negotiations in Warsaw, the latest information on the level and growth of CO2 emissions, their source and geographic distribution will be essential to lay the foundation for a global agreement. To provide input to and support for the UN process, the IEA is making available for free download the ''Highlights'' version of CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion now for sale on IEA Bookshop. This annual publication contains, for more than 140 countries and regions: estimates of CO2 emissions from 1971 to 2011; selected indicators such as CO2/GDP, CO2/capita, CO2/TPES and CO2/kWh; a decomposition of CO2 emissions into driving factors; and CO2emissions from international marine and aviation bunkers, key sources, and other relevant information. The nineteenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the Climate Change Convention (COP-19), in conjunction with the ninth meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 9), met in Warsaw, Poland from 11 to 22 November 2013. This volume of ''Highlights'', drawn from the full-scale study, was specially designed for delegations and observers of the meeting in Warsaw.

Biotransformation and bioactivation reactions - 2016 literature highlights.

Science.gov (United States)

Khojasteh, S Cyrus; Rietjens, Ivonne M C M; Dalvie, Deepak; Miller, Grover

2017-08-01

We are pleased to present a second annual issue highlighting a previous year's literature on biotransformation and bioactivation. Each contributor to this issue worked independently to review the articles published in 2016 and proposed three to four articles, which he or she believed would be of interest to the broader research community. In each synopsis, the contributing author summarized the procedures, analyses and conclusions as described in the original manuscripts. In the commentary sections, our authors offer feedback and highlight aspects of the work that may not be apparent from an initial reading of the article. To be fair, one should still read the original article to gain a more complete understanding of the work conducted. Most of the articles included in this review were published in Drug Metabolism and Disposition or Chemical Research in Toxicology, but attempts were made to seek articles in 25 other journals. Importantly, these articles are not intended to represent a consensus of the best papers of the year, as we did not want to make any arbitrary standards for this purpose, but rather they were chosen by each author for their notable findings and descriptions of novel metabolic pathways or biotransformations. I am pleased that Drs. Rietjens and Dalvie have again contributed to this annual review. We would like to welcome Grover P Miller as an author for this year's issue, and we thank Tom Baillie for his contributions to last year's edition. We have intentionally maintained a balance of authors such that two come from an academic setting and two come from industry. Finally, please drop us a note if you find this review helpful. We would be pleased to hear your opinions of our commentary, and we extend an invitation to anyone who would like to contribute to a future edition of this review. This article is dedicated to Professor Thomas Baillie for his exceptional contributions to the field of drug metabolism.

Tourette syndrome research highlights from 2016 [version 2; referees: 4 approved

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kevin J. Black

2017-11-01

Full Text Available This article presents highlights chosen from research that appeared during 2016 on Tourette syndrome and other tic disorders. Selected articles felt to represent meaningful advances in the field are briefly summarized.

An experimental screen for quinoline/fumaric acid salts and co-crystals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Beko, S. L.; Schmidt, M. U.; Bond, A. D.

2012-01-01

. Characterised products include the previously published 1 : 1 salt, C9H8N+center dot C4H3O4-, and a new 2 : 1 quinoline/fumaric acid co-crystal, (C9H7N)(2)center dot C4H4O4. Attempts to influence the crystallisation outcome by addition of 6-methylquinoline yielded a second co-crystal, also with an inherent 2......An experimental screen has been carried out for salts and co-crystals of quinoline (C9H7N) and fumaric acid (C4H4O4), including solution-based co-crystallisation from a variety of solvents, solvent-assisted and solvent-free co-grinding, and direct co-crystallisation of the starting materials...... : 1 quinoline/fumaric acid ratio, as a solid solution containing ca. 75% 6-methylquinoline and 25% quinoline. The corresponding co-crystal with pure 6-methylquinoline, (C10H9N)(2)center dot C4H4O4, was prepared, but the analogous structure with pure quinoline could not be obtained. Energy minimisation...

Heavy Vehicle Propulsion Materials Program: Progress and Highlights

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

D. Ray Johnson; Sidney Diamond

2000-01-01

The Heavy Vehicle Propulsion Materials Program was begun in 1997 to support the enabling materials needs of the DOE Office of Heavy Vehicle Technologies (OHVT). The technical agenda for the program grew out of the technology roadmap for the OHVT and includes efforts in materials for: fuel systems, exhaust aftertreatment, valve train, air handling, structural components, electrochemical propulsion, natural gas storage, and thermal management. A five-year program plan was written in early 2000, following a stakeholders workshop. The technical issues and planned and ongoing projects are discussed. Brief summaries of several technical highlights are given

AGILE Data Center and AGILE science highlights

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pittori, C.

2013-01-01

AGILE is a scientific mission of the Italian Space Agency (ASI) with INFN, INAF e CIFS participation, devoted to gamma-ray astrophysics. The satellite is in orbit since April 23rd, 2007. Gamma-ray astrophysics above 100 MeV is an exciting field of astronomical sciences that has received a strong impulse in recent years. Despite the small size and budget, AGILE produced several important scientific results, among which the unexpected discovery of strong and rapid gamma-ray flares from the Crab Nebula. This discovery won to the AGILE PI and the AGILE Team the prestigious Bruno Rossi Prize for 2012, an international recognition in the field of high energy astrophysics. We present here the AGILE data center main activities, and we give an overview of the AGILE scientific highlights after 5 years of operations

Physical Sciences 2007 Science and Technology Highlights

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hazi, A.U.

2008-01-01

The Physical Sciences Directorate applies frontier physics and technology to grand challenges in national security. Our highly integrated and multidisciplinary research program involves collaborations throughout Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the National Nuclear Security Administration, the Department of Energy, and with academic and industrial partners. The Directorate has a budget of approximately $150 million, and a staff of approximately 350 employees. Our scientists provide expertise in condensed matter and high-pressure physics, plasma physics, high-energy-density science, fusion energy science and technology, nuclear and particle physics, accelerator physics, radiation detection, optical science, biotechnology, and astrophysics. This document highlights the outstanding research and development activities in the Physical Sciences Directorate that made news in 2007. It also summarizes the awards and recognition received by members of the Directorate in 2007

NRC safety research in support of regulation. Selected highlights

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-05-01

The report presents selected highlights of how research has contributed to the regulatory effort. It explains the research role of the NRC and nuclear safety research contributions in the areas of: pressure vessel integrity, piping, small- and large-break loss-of-coolant accidents, hydrogen and containment, source term analysis, seismic hazards and high-level waste management. The report also provides a summary of current and future research directions in support of regulation

New highlights on stroma–epithelial interactions in breast cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barcellos-Hoff, Mary Helen; Medina, Daniel

2005-01-01

Although the stroma in which carcinomas arise has been previously regarded as a bystander to the clonal expansion and acquisition of malignant characteristics of tumor cells, it is now generally acknowledged that stromal changes are required for the establishment of cancer. In the present article, we discuss three recent publications that highlight the complex role the stroma has during the development of cancer and the potential for targeting the stroma by therapeutic approaches

Structural and magnetic properties of nanocrystalline Nd{sub 4.5}Fe{sub 72}Co{sub 2}Cr{sub 3}Al{sub 1}B{sub 17.5} ribbons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pampillo, L.G. [Laboratorio de Solidos Amorfos, Departamento de Fisica, Facultad de Ingenieria, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Av. Paseo Colon 850 (C1063ACV), Ciudad de, Buenos Aires (Argentina)]. E-mail: lpampillo@fi.uba.ar; Saccone, F.D. [Laboratorio de Solidos Amorfos, Departamento de Fisica, Facultad de Ingenieria, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Av. Paseo Colon 850 (C1063ACV), Ciudad de, Buenos Aires (Argentina); Sirkin, H.R.M. [Laboratorio de Solidos Amorfos, Departamento de Fisica, Facultad de Ingenieria, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Av. Paseo Colon 850 (C1063ACV), Ciudad de, Buenos Aires (Argentina)

2007-02-01

In this work, it was made a study on structural and magnetic properties of nanocrystalline Nd{sub 4.5}Fe{sub 72}Co{sub 2}Cr{sub 3}Al{sub 1}B{sub 17.5} ribbons obtained from crystallisation of amorphous precursors. A complex two-step crystallisation process, was found by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC): a first crystallisation peak at around T=570 deg. C exhibiting the precipitation of {alpha}-Fe and t-Fe{sub 3}B phases and a diffusive stage ending in a second exothermic peak. Also, isothermal annealings of 10 min duration were performed at 605, 635, 650 and 685 deg. C . Hysteresis curves of isothermally annealed samples showed magnetic hardening, with coercive fields above 2 kOe and an optimised M {sub R}/M {sub S} ratio of around 0.6. Except for the highest treatment temperature used in this work, the demagnetizing curves of annealed ribbons exhibited a step near zero field. This fact suggests a low exchange coupling between hard and soft phases, which can be attributed to the grain border phases. Otherwise, Moessbauer effect spectroscopy allowed us to determine that the absence of step in the demagnetizing curve of ribbons annealed at 685 deg. C , may be attributed to the formation of a {alpha}-(Fe, Co) solid solution (with hyperfine parameters B {sub HF}=35.5 T and {delta}=-0.11 mm/s). The formation of this solid solution also explains the diffusive process in the second crystallisation stage observed by DSC experiment.

Highlight: Private sector could play a major role in feeding Africa ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

2014-09-08

Sep 8, 2014 ... Highlight: Private sector could play a major role in feeding Africa ... scale, we will need to involve the private sector," said IDRC President Jean Lebel. ... There is ample evidence that addressing gender inequalities and ...

HIV and Cancer Interaction Highlights Need to Address Disease Stigma

Science.gov (United States)

The global landscape of disease highlights disparities that exist between nations. An estimated 36 million people worldwide live with HIV and AIDS, of which only 1 million are located within the United States. While the diagnosis of a life-threatening disease can be devastating, individuals with HIV and AIDS frequently bear an additional burden of stigma and discrimination.

The Third International Congress on Child Abuse and Neglect: Conference Highlights.

Science.gov (United States)

Besharov, Douglas J.

1981-01-01

Presents highlights from the Third International Congress on Child Abuse and Neglect. The topic of child sexual abuse dominated the Congress; other topics included malnutrition, research problems, and concerns of Third World countries. Recommendations of the Congress are summarized.

Mobile learning and high-lighting language education

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vinther, Jane

Mobile learning and high-profiling language education. The number of students learning a second or foreign language and participating in instruction in languages other than English has been in decline for some time. There seems to be such a general tendency across nations albeit for a variety...... of reasons idiosyncratic to the particular national conditions. This paper gives an account of a diversified national project designed to infuse foreign language learning classes in upper secondary schools in Denmark with renewed enthusiasm through systematically experimenting with the new media by taking...... advantage of the social side in their application. The aim has been to make language classes attractive and relevant and to highlight the attractiveness and fun in learning through web 2.0 and mobile units. The overall project was supported by the Danish ministry of education as well as the individual...

Intermolecular interactions between B. mori silk fibroin and poly(L-lactic acid) in electrospun composite nanofibrous scaffolds

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Taddei, Paola, E-mail: paola.taddei@unibo.it [Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche e Neuromotorie, Università di Bologna, Via Belmeloro 8/2, 40126 Bologna (Italy); Tozzi, Silvia [Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche e Neuromotorie, Università di Bologna, Via Belmeloro 8/2, 40126 Bologna (Italy); Zuccheri, Giampaolo [Dipartimento di Farmacia e Biotecnologie e Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerca Industriale Scienze della Vita e Tecnologie per la Salute, Università di Bologna, Via Irnerio 48, 40126 Bologna (Italy); Centro S3, Istituto Nanoscienze, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Consorzio Interuniversitario Nazionale per la Scienza e Tecnologia dei Materiali (Italy); Martinotti, Simona; Ranzato, Elia [Dipartimento di Scienze e Innovazione Tecnologica, DiSIT, Università del Piemonte Orientale, viale Teresa Michel 11, 15121 Alessandria (Italy); Chiono, Valeria; Carmagnola, Irene [Dipartimento di Ingegneria Meccanica e Aerospaziale, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino (Italy); Tsukada, Masuhiro [Division of Applied Biology, Faculty of Textile Science and Technology, Shinshu University, 3-15-1, Tokida, Ueda, Nagano 386-8567 (Japan)

2017-01-01

In this study, composite nanofibrous scaffolds were obtained by electrospinning a trifluoroacetic acid solution containing B. mori silk fibroin (SF) and poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) in a 1:1 weight ratio. SF, PLLA and SF/PLLA nanofibres were prepared with average diameter sizes of 360 ± 90 nm, 470 ± 240 nm and 580 ± 220 nm, respectively, as assessed by SEM analysis. Vibrational and thermal analyses showed that upon blending in the SF/PLLA nanofibres, the crystallisation of PLLA was hindered by the presence of SF, which crystallized preferentially and underwent conformational changes that did not significantly change its prevailing β-sheet structure. The two components were thermodynamically compatible and the intermolecular interactions between them were revealed for the first time. Human keratinocytes were cultured on nanofibres and their viability and proliferation were determined. Preliminary in vitro tests showed that the incorporation of SF into the PLLA component enhanced cell adhesion and proliferation with respect to the unfunctionalised material. SF has been successfully used to modify the biomaterial properties and confirmed to be an efficient bioactive protein to mediate cell-biomaterial interaction. - Highlights: • Composite silk fibroin-poly(L-lactic acid) scaffolds were obtained by electrospinning. • Intermolecular interactions between SF and PLLA were revealed for the first time. • Upon blending, the crystallisation of PLLA was hindered by the presence of SF. • SF crystallized preferentially and maintained its prevailing β-sheet structure. • The incorporation of SF into PLLA enhanced human keratinocytes adhesion and proliferation.

Syntheses and catalytic oxotransfer activities of oxo molybdenum(vi) complexes of a new aminoalcohol phenolate ligand.

Science.gov (United States)

Hossain, M K; Haukka, M; Sillanpää, R; Hrovat, D A; Richmond, M G; Nordlander, E; Lehtonen, A

2017-05-30

The new aminoalcohol phenol 2,4-di-tert-butyl-6-(((2-hydroxy-2-phenylethyl)amino)methyl)phenol (H2L) was prepared by a facile solvent-free synthesis and used as a tridentate ligand for new cis-dioxomolybdenum(vi)(L) complexes. In the presence of a coordinating solvent (DMSO, MeOH, pyridine), the complexes crystallise as monomeric solvent adducts while in the absence of such molecules, a trimer with asymmetric Mo[double bond, length as m-dash]O→Mo bridges crystallises. The complexes can catalyse epoxidation of cis-cyclooctene and sulfoxidation of methyl-p-tolylsulfide, using tert-butyl hydroperoxide as oxidant.

Aeroacoustics research in Europe : the CEAS-ASC report on 1997 highlights

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rienstra, S.W.

1998-01-01

This paper is a report on the highlights of aeroacoustics research and development in Europe in 1997, compiled from information provided in the CEAS Aeroacoustics Specialists Committee (ASC). The Confederation of European Aerospace Societies (CEAS) comprises the national Aerospace Societies of

Argonne National Laboratory Research Highlights 1988

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1988-01-01

The research and development highlights are summarized. The world's brightest source of X-rays could revolutionize materials research. Test of a prototype insertion device, a key in achieving brilliant X-ray beams, have given the first glimpse of the machine's power. Superconductivity research focuses on the new materials' structure, economics and applications. Other physical science programs advance knowledge of material structures and properties, nuclear physics, molecular structure, and the chemistry and structure of coal. New programming approaches make advanced computers more useful. Innovative approaches to fighting cancer are being developed. More experiments confirm the passive safety of Argonne's Integral Fast Reactor concept. Device simplifies nuclear-waste processing. Advanced fuel cell could provide better mileage, more power than internal combustion engine. New instruments find leaks in underground pipe, measure sodium impurities in molten liquids, detect flaws in ceramics. New antibody findings may explain ability to fight many diseases. Cadmium in cigarettes linked to bone loss in women. Programs fight deforestation in Nepal. New technology could reduce acid rain, mitigate greenhouse effect, enhance oil recovery. Innovative approaches transfer Argonne-developed technology to private industry. Each year Argonne educational programs reach some 1200 students

Tourette syndrome research highlights 2015 [version 1; referees: 3 approved

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cheryl A. Richards

2016-06-01

Full Text Available We present selected highlights from research that appeared during 2015 on Tourette syndrome and other tic disorders. Topics include phenomenology, comorbidities, developmental course, genetics, animal models, neuroimaging, electrophysiology, pharmacology, and treatment. We briefly summarize articles whose results we believe may lead to new treatments, additional research or modifications in current models of TS.

Highlighting material structure with transmission electron diffraction correlation coefficient maps.

Science.gov (United States)

Kiss, Ákos K; Rauch, Edgar F; Lábár, János L

2016-04-01

Correlation coefficient maps are constructed by computing the differences between neighboring diffraction patterns collected in a transmission electron microscope in scanning mode. The maps are shown to highlight material structural features like grain boundaries, second phase particles or dislocations. The inclination of the inner crystal interfaces are directly deduced from the resulting contrast. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Adaptive highlights stencils for modeling of multi-axial BRDF anisotropy

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Filip, Jiří; Havlíček, Michal; Vávra, Radomír

2017-01-01

Roč. 33, č. 1 (2017), s. 5-15 ISSN 0178-2789 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA14-02652S Institutional support: RVO:67985556 Keywords : anisotropic * Highlight * stencils * BRDF * model Subject RIV: BD - Theory of Information OBOR OECD: Applied mathematics Impact factor: 1.468, year: 2016 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2016/RO/filip-0452917.pdf

ESO PR Highlights in 2000

Science.gov (United States)

2001-01-01

At the beginning of the new millennium, ESO and its staff are facing the future with confidence. The four 8.2-m Unit Telescopes of the Very Large Telescope (VLT) are in great shape and the VLT Interferometer (VLTI) will soon have "first fringes". The intercontinental ALMA project is progressing well and concepts for extremely large optical/infrared telescopes are being studied. They can also look back at a fruitful and rewarding past year. Perhaps the most important, single development has been the rapid transition of the Very Large Telescope (VLT). From being a "high-tech project under construction" it has now become a highly proficient, world-class astronomical observatory. This trend is clearly reflected in ESO's Press Releases , as more and more front-line scientific results emerge from rich data obtained at this very efficient facility. There were also exciting news from several of the instruments at La Silla. At the same time, the ESO community may soon grow, as steps towards membership are being taken by various European countries. Throughout 2000, a total of 54 PR communications were made, with a large number of Press Photos and Video Clips, cf. the 2000 PR Index. Some of the ESO PR highlights may be accessed directly via the clickable image on the present page. ESO PR Photo 01/01 is also available in a larger (non-clickable) version [ JPEG: 566 x 566 pix - 112k]. It may be reproduced, if credit is given to the European Southern Observatory.

Research highlights: impacts of microplastics on plankton.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Vivian S

2016-02-01

Each year, millions of metric tons of the plastic produced for food packaging, personal care products, fishing gear, and other human activities end up in lakes, rivers, and the ocean. The breakdown of these primary plastics in the environment results in microplastics, small fragments of plastic typically less than 1-5 mm in size. These synthetic particles have been detected in all of the world's oceans and also in many freshwater systems, accumulating in sediment, on shorelines, suspended in surface waters, and being ingested by plankton, fish, birds, and marine mammals. While the occurrence of plastics in surface waters has been surveyed in a number of studies, the impacts of microplastics on marine organisms are still being elucidated. This highlight features three recent publications that explore the interactions of microplastics with planktonic organisms to clarify the effects of these pollutants on some of the ocean's smallest and most important inhabitants.

FY 1996 Congressional budget request: Budget highlights

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1995-02-01

The FY 1996 budget presentation is organized by the Department`s major business lines. An accompanying chart displays the request for new budget authority. The report compares the budget request for FY 1996 with the appropriated FY 1995 funding levels displayed on a comparable basis. The FY 1996 budget represents the first year of a five year plan in which the Department will reduce its spending by $15.8 billion in budget authority and by $14.1 billion in outlays. FY 1996 is a transition year as the Department embarks on its multiyear effort to do more with less. The Budget Highlights are presented by business line; however, the fifth business line, Economic Productivity, which is described in the Policy Overview section, cuts across multiple organizational missions, funding levels and activities and is therefore included in the discussion of the other four business lines.

Coated Particle and Deep Burn Fuels Monthly Highlights December 2010

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Snead, Lance Lewis; Bell, Gary L.; Besmann, Theodore M.

2011-01-01

During FY 2011 the CP and DB Program will report Highlights on a monthly basis, but will no longer produce Quarterly Progress Reports. Technical details that were previously included in the quarterly reports will be included in the appropriate Milestone Reports that are submitted to FCRD Program Management. These reports will also be uploaded to the Deep Burn website. The Monthly Highlights report for November 2010, ORNL/TM-2010/323, was distributed to program participants on December 9, 2010. The final Quarterly for FY 2010, Deep Burn Program Quarterly Report for July - September 2010, ORNL/TM-2010/301, was announced to program participants and posted to the website on December 28, 2010. This report discusses the following: (1) Thermochemical Data and Model Development - (a) Thermochemical Modeling, (b) Core Design Optimization in the HTR (high temperature helium-cooled reactor) Pebble Bed Design (INL), (c) Radiation Damage and Properties; (2) TRISO (tri-structural isotropic) Development - (a) TRU (transuranic elements) Kernel Development, (b) Coating Development; (3) LWR Fully Ceramic Fuel - (a) FCM Fabrication Development, (b) FCM Irradiation Testing (ORNL); (4) Fuel Performance and Analytical Analysis - Fuel Performance Modeling (ORNL).

Highlighted requests of neutron nuclear data measurements for fission reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1977-01-01

Highlighted requests were selected from lists of requests for neutron nuclear Data measurements. This work was made by WRENDA Working Group of Japanese Nuclear Data Committee in response to an action of the NEANDC. This will be submitted to a NEA meeting on request lists. Compiled requests in this note correspond finally to the parts of the WRENDA 76/77 with some modifications and additional comments. (auth.)

Nerve-Highlighting Fluorescent Contrast Agents for Image-Guided Surgery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Summer L. Gibbs-Strauss

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Nerve damage is the major morbidity of many surgeries, resulting in chronic pain, loss of function, or both. The sparing of nerves during surgical procedures is a vexing problem because surrounding tissue often obscures them. To date, systemically administered nerve-highlighting contrast agents that can be used for nerve-sparing image-guided surgery have not been reported. In the current study, physicochemical and optical properties of 4,4‘-[(2-methoxy-1,4-phenylenedi-(1E-2,1-ethenediyl]bis-benzenamine (BMB and a newly synthesized, red-shifted derivative 4-[(1E-2-[4-[(1E-2-[4-aminophenyl]ethenyl]-3-methoxyphenyl]ethenyl]-benzonitrile (GE3082 were characterized in vitro and in vivo. Both agents crossed the blood-nerve barrier and blood-brain barrier and rendered myelinated nerves fluorescent after a single systemic injection. Although both BMB and GE3082 also exhibited significant uptake in white adipose tissue, GE3082 underwent a hypsochromic shift in adipose tissue that provided a means to eliminate the unwanted signal using hyperspectral deconvolution. Dose and kinetic studies were performed in mice to determine the optimal dose and drug-imaging interval. The results were confirmed in rat and pig, with the latter used to demonstrate, for the first time, simultaneous fluorescence imaging of blood vessels and nerves during surgery using the FLARE™ (Fluorescence-Assisted Resection and Exploration imaging system. These results lay the foundation for the development of ideal nerve-highlighting fluorophores for image-guided surgery.

Highlights of SPring-8 BL23SU in 2001

CERN Document Server

Agui, A; Nakatani, T; Yokoya, A; Yoshigoe, A

2002-01-01

BL23SU in SPring-8 is a soft x-ray beamline for the material science project in JAERI. The insertion device, monochromator and other beamline equipments have been installed or developed. The beamline maintenance has also been continued. We report highlights of these activities for the BL23SU in 2001. Specially, it has proceeded with the countermeasure against the rise in the maximum radiant power, toward the low-energy operation realization. And, improvement in that precision proceeds through the COD correlation to the ID drive as well.

LHC INAUGURATION, LHC Fest highlights: exhibition time!

CERN Multimedia

2008-01-01

David Gross, one of the twenty-one Nobel Laureates who have participated in the project.Tuesday 21 October 2008 Accelerating Nobels Colliding Charm, Atomic Cuisine, The Good Anomaly, A Quark Somewhere on the White Paper, Wire Proliferation, A Tale of Two Liquids … these are just some of the titles given to artworks by Physics Nobel Laureates who agreed to make drawings of their prize-winning discoveries (more or less reluctantly) during a special photo session. Science photographer Volker Steger made portraits of Physics Nobel Laureates and before the photo sessions he asked them to make a drawing of their most important discovery. The result is "Accelerating Nobels", an exhibition that combines unusual portraits of and original drawings by twenty-one Nobel laureates in physics whose work is closely related to CERN and the LHC. This exhibition will be one of the highlights of the LHC celebrations on 21 October in the SM18 hall b...

Symmetric configurations highlighted by collective quantum coherence

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Obster, Dennis [Radboud University, Institute for Mathematics, Astrophysics and Particle Physics, Nijmegen (Netherlands); Kyoto University, Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kyoto (Japan); Sasakura, Naoki [Kyoto University, Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kyoto (Japan)

2017-11-15

Recent developments in quantum gravity have shown the Lorentzian treatment to be a fruitful approach towards the emergence of macroscopic space-times. In this paper, we discuss another related aspect of the Lorentzian treatment: we argue that collective quantum coherence may provide a simple mechanism for highlighting symmetric configurations over generic non-symmetric ones. After presenting the general framework of the mechanism, we show the phenomenon in some concrete simple examples in the randomly connected tensor network, which is tightly related to a certain model of quantum gravity, i.e., the canonical tensor model. We find large peaks at configurations invariant under Lie-group symmetries as well as a preference for charge quantization, even in the Abelian case. In future study, this simple mechanism may provide a way to analyze the emergence of macroscopic space-times with global symmetries as well as various other symmetries existing in nature, which are usually postulated. (orig.)

X-ray diffraction studies on single and mixed confectionery fats using synchrotron radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

MacMillan, S.C.; Roberts, K.J.; Wells, M.; Polgreen, M.; Smith, I.

1999-01-01

Full text: Understanding and refining the molecular-scale processes involved in the manufacture of structured materials such as long-chain hydrocarbon compounds is important in many commercial areas such as the petrochemical, biochemical, food, pharmaceutical and soap industries. In such processes crystallisation is an important separation, purification and preparation technique. Despite this our knowledge of the crystallisation process itself is surprisingly limited. In order to improve the crystallisation of confectionery fats, the crystallisation of it's main component, cocoa butter fat, must be properly understood. Cocoa butter fat can exhibit up to 6 polymorphic forms of different crystallographic structures with melting points varying from 17.3 deg C to 36.3 deg C. During the production of chocolate it is essential to control the polymorphic form of fats present, in order to produce a final product with the correct physical and rheological properties. Both shear rate and temperature are thought to play a crucial role in this process. The most widely used method for studying polymorphism is X-ray diffraction. Typical X-ray diffraction patterns of fats exhibit two groups of diffraction lines corresponding to the long and short spacings. The long spacings correspond to the planes formed by the methyl end groups and are dependent on the chain length and the angle of tilt of the component fatty acids of the glyceride molecules. The short spacings refer to the cross sectional packing of the hydrocarbon chain and are independent of the chain length. The relationship between crystallisation rate, polymorphic form, shear and the fat composition has for the first time been quantified, which will enable more accurate control of the polymorhic form in chocolate production. This has been achieved by developing an improved in-situ cell for X-ray studies. The X-ray studies are necessary for the examination of on-line studies under well controlled conditions of temperature

X-ray diffraction studies on single and mixed confectionery fats using synchrotron radiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

MacMillan, S.C.; Roberts, K.J.; Wells, M.; Polgreen, M.; Smith, I. [Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, (United Kingdom). Department of Mechanical and Chemical Engineering, Centre for Molecular and Interface Engineering

1999-12-01

Full text: Understanding and refining the molecular-scale processes involved in the manufacture of structured materials such as long-chain hydrocarbon compounds is important in many commercial areas such as the petrochemical, biochemical, food, pharmaceutical and soap industries. In such processes crystallisation is an important separation, purification and preparation technique. Despite this our knowledge of the crystallisation process itself is surprisingly limited. In order to improve the crystallisation of confectionery fats, the crystallisation of it`s main component, cocoa butter fat, must be properly understood. Cocoa butter fat can exhibit up to 6 polymorphic forms of different crystallographic structures with melting points varying from 17.3 deg C to 36.3 deg C. During the production of chocolate it is essential to control the polymorphic form of fats present, in order to produce a final product with the correct physical and rheological properties. Both shear rate and temperature are thought to play a crucial role in this process. The most widely used method for studying polymorphism is X-ray diffraction. Typical X-ray diffraction patterns of fats exhibit two groups of diffraction lines corresponding to the long and short spacings. The long spacings correspond to the planes formed by the methyl end groups and are dependent on the chain length and the angle of tilt of the component fatty acids of the glyceride molecules. The short spacings refer to the cross sectional packing of the hydrocarbon chain and are independent of the chain length. The relationship between crystallisation rate, polymorphic form, shear and the fat composition has for the first time been quantified, which will enable more accurate control of the polymorhic form in chocolate production. This has been achieved by developing an improved in-situ cell for X-ray studies. The X-ray studies are necessary for the examination of on-line studies under well controlled conditions of temperature

Minimisation of liquid radioactive operational wastes from light water reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krumpholz, Udo

2014-01-01

A system for decontaminating evaporator concentrates has been developed during R and D work at the Gundremmingen (KGG) nuclear power plant, by means of which accumulation of radioactive wastes can be effectively reduced. A cooling crystallization system is involved in this case, which extracts the high percentage of non-radioactive salt components from the brines through these salts being crystallised with a high level of purity and thereby being withdrawn from the nuclear disposal procedure. A method is also available in modified form for decontaminating concentrates containing boron from PWR plants. Use of cooling crystallisation renders superfluous the otherwise usual stages of waste treatment such as for example disposal scheduling, provision of repository casks (e.g. MOSAIK registered ), their transport, packing, compilation of waste package documentation, intermediate storage and final disposal. Disposal of evaporator concentrates has no longer been necessary in KGG since 1998. It has been possible to avoid more than 500 MOSAIK registered type II casks in KGG since the procedure has been employed. Owing to the current price basis, a saving on the order of >30 million Euro has been achieved merely for cask acquisition since the procedure has been used. In addition to these advantages, operation of the cooling crystallisation system (KKA) is also reflected in a considerable dose re-duction for the personnel performing the operations, thereby fulfilling the objective derived from the German radiation protection ordinance (StrlSchV) of dose minimisation (avoidance of unnecessary exposure to radiation and dose reduction, paragraph 6 StrlSchV). Internatonal trade mark rights exist for the cooling crystallisation and boric acid decontamination procedure.

CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion - 2012 Highlights

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-07-01

How much CO2 are countries emitting? Where is it coming from? In the lead-up to the UN climate negotiations in Doha, the latest information on the level and growth of CO2 emissions, their source and geographic distribution will be essential to lay the foundation for a global agreement. To provide input to and support for the UN process the IEA is making available for free download the 'Highlights' version of CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion. This annual publication contains: estimates of CO2 emissions by country from 1971 to 2010; selected indicators such as CO2/GDP, CO2/capita, CO2/TPES and CO2/kWh; and CO2 emissions from international marine and aviation bunkers, and other relevant information.

Symposium on Highlights from 14 years of LEAR Physics : R. Landua (chairman)

CERN Multimedia

1998-01-01

Symposium on Highlights from 14 years of LEAR Physics hold at CERN, commemorating the closure of LEAR and giving a topical review of the impact of experiments with low energy antiprotons in their respective fields

Highlighted scientific findings of the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas M. Quigley; Heidi. Bigler Cole

1997-01-01

Decisions regarding 72 million acres of Forest Service- and Bureau of Land Management- administered lands will be based on scientific findings brought forth in the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project. Some highlights of the scientific findings are presented here. Project scientists drew three general conclusions: (1) Conditions and trends differ widely...

Two interesting cases highlighting an oblivious specialty of psychoneuroendocrinology.

Science.gov (United States)

Hari Kumar, K V S; Dhull, Pawan; Somasekharan, Manoj; Seshadri, K

2012-01-01

Psychoneuroendocrinology deals with the overlap disorders pertaining to three different specialties. Awareness about the somatic manifestations of psychiatric diseases and vice versa is a must for all the clinicians. The knowledge of this interlinked specialty is essential because of the obscure presentation of certain disorders. Our first case was treated as depressive disorder, whereas the diagnosis was hypogonadism with empty sella. Our second patient was managed as schizophrenia and the evaluation revealed bilateral basal ganglia calcification and a diagnosis of Fahr's disease. We report these cases for their unusual presentation and to highlight the importance of this emerging specialty.

Over expression of AdeABC and AcrAB-TolC efflux systems confers tigecycline resistance in clinical isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumoniae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yin Yuhan

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract: INTRODUCTION: Due to the wide use of tigecycline in the treatment of severe infections caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR bacteria, clinical resistance to tigecycline has increased in recent years. Here, we investigated the relationship between tigecycline resistance and the expression of efflux pumps. METHODS: Clinical isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumoniae were consecutively collected from hospitalized patients in three hospitals. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC of tigecycline was determined using the broth microdilution method. Expression levels of efflux pump genes and regulators were examined by quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The correlations between tigecycline MICs and gene expression levels were analyzed. RESULTS: Overall, 1,026 A. baumannii and 725 K. pneumoniae strains were collected. Most strains were isolated from sputum. The tigecycline resistance rate was 13.4% in A. baumannii isolates and 6.5% in K. pneumoniae isolates. Overexpression of AdeABC and AcrAB-TolC efflux systems was observed found in clinical tigecycline-resistant isolates. The tigecycline MIC had a linear relationship with the adeB expression level in A. baumannii isolates, but not with the acrB expression level in K. pneumoniae isolates. There were significant linear trends in the overexpression of ramA as the tigecycline MIC increased in K. pneumoniae isolates. CONCLUSIONS: Tigecycline resistance in A. baumannii and K. pneumoniae was strongly associated with the overexpression of efflux systems. More studies are needed to elucidate whether there are other regulators that affect the expression of adeB in A. baumannii and how ramA affects the expression of acrB in K. pneumoniae.

Coated Particle Fuel and Deep Burn Program Monthly Highlights May 2011

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Snead, Lance Lewis; Bell, Gary L.; Besmann, Theodore M.

2011-01-01

During FY 2011 the CP and DB Program will report Highlights on a monthly basis, but will no longer produce Quarterly Progress Reports. Technical details that were previously included in the quarterly reports will be included in the appropriate Milestone Reports that are submitted to FCRD Program Management. These reports will also be uploaded to the Deep Burn website. The Monthly Highlights report for April 2011, ORNL/TM-2011/125, was distributed to program participants on May 10, 2011. As reported previously, the final Quarterly for FY 2010, Deep Burn Program Quarterly Report for July - September 2010, ORNL/TM-2010/301, was announced to program participants and posted to the website on December 28, 2010. This report discusses the following: (1) Fuel Performance Modeling - Fuel Performance Analysis; (2) Thermochemical Data and Model Development - (a) Thermochemical Modeling, (b) Thermomechanical Modeling, (c) Actinide and Fission Product Transport; (3) TRU (transuranic elements) TRISO (tri-structural isotropic) Development - (a) TRU Kernel Development, (b) Coating Development; and (4) LWR Fully Ceramic Fuel - (a) FCM Fabrication Development, (b) FCM Irradiation Testing.

Coated Particle Fuel and Deep Burn Program Monthly Highlights June 2011

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Snead, Lance Lewis; Bell, Gary L.; Besmann, Theodore M.

2011-01-01

During FY 2011 the CP and DB Program will report Highlights on a monthly basis, but will no longer produce Quarterly Progress Reports. Technical details that were previously included in the quarterly reports will be included in the appropriate Milestone Reports that are submitted to FCRD Program Management. These reports will also be uploaded to the Deep Burn website. The Monthly Highlights report for May 2011, ORNL/TM-2011/126, was distributed to program participants on June 9, 2011. As reported previously, the final Quarterly for FY 2010, Deep Burn Program Quarterly Report for July - September 2010, ORNL/TM-2010/301, was announced to program participants and posted to the website on December 28, 2010. This report discusses the following: (1) Fuel Performance Modeling - Fuel Performance Analysis; (2) Thermochemical Data and Model Development - (a) Thermochemical Behavior, (b) Thermomechanical Modeling, (c) Actinide and Fission Product Transport; (3) TRU (transuranic elements) TRISO (tri-structural isotropic) Development - (a) TRU Kernel Development, (b) Coating Development; and (4) LWR Fully Ceramic Fuel - (a) FCM Fabrication Development, (b) FCM Irradiation Testing.

CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion - 2012 Highlights

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-07-01

How much CO2 are countries emitting? Where is it coming from? In the lead-up to the UN climate negotiations in Doha, the latest information on the level and growth of CO2 emissions, their source and geographic distribution will be essential to lay the foundation for a global agreement. To provide input to and support for the UN process the IEA is making available for free download the 'Highlights' version of CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion. This annual publication contains: estimates of CO2 emissions by country from 1971 to 2010; selected indicators such as CO2/GDP, CO2/capita, CO2/TPES and CO2/kWh; and CO2 emissions from international marine and aviation bunkers, and other relevant information.

Highlights on the IAEA project QUATRO

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Milano, F.

2012-01-01

The success of radiotherapy in term of prob- ability of local control of the tumor and the limiting factor in treatments in term of probability of complications are strictly depending on the accuracy and precision of the pa- tient treatment. An overall Quality Assurance programme (QAP) has been recognized as an essential tool to assure that the goals of radiotherapy are achieved. As part of a comprehensive approach to QAP an independent external audit is considered a very effective method of checking that the quality of activities in an Institution permits to achieve the required objectives. Since many years the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has audited Member States for radiotherapy dosimetry, for educating and training radio- therapy professionals and for reviewing the radiotherapy process. Recently a new approach has been developed and named ''Quality Assurance Team for Radiation Oncology (QUATRO)''. The principal aim of QUATRO is to review all the radiotherapy process, including organization, infra- structure, clinical and medical physics aspects of the radio- therapy services. It also includes a review of the hospital's professional competence with a view to quality improve- ment. The aim of this paper is to introduce and to highlight the QUATRO methodology describing its effectiveness on improving either the quality of the radiotherapy treatments and in general the management of the patient.

Highlights of papers presented at the workshop on cold fusion phenomena

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1989-09-01

This report contains highlights of formal oral papers presented at the Workshop on Cold Fusion Phenomena, hosted by Los Alamos National Laboratory and held May 23--25, 1989, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. General topics covered are: physics of fusion reactions; neutron and gamma-ray spectroscopy; colorimetry; and applicable condensed-matter physics, electrochemistry, and analytical chemistry

AGILE Highlights after Six Years in Orbit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlotta Pittori

2014-12-01

Full Text Available AGILE is an ASI space mission in collaboration with INAF, INFN and CIFS, dedicated to the observation of the gamma-ray Universe in the 30 MeV - 50 GeV energy range, with simultaneous X-ray imaging capability in the 18-60 keV band. The AGILE satellite was launched on April 23rd, 2007, and produced several important scientic results, among which the unexpected discovery of strong ares from the Crab Nebula. This discovery won to the AGILE PI and the AGILE Team the Bruno Rossi Prize for 2012 by the High Energy Astrophysics division of the American Astronomical Society. Thanks to its sky monitoring capability and fast ground segment alert system, AGILE detected many Galactic and extragalactic sources: among other results AGILE discovered gamma-ray emission from the microquasar Cygnus X-3, detected many bright blazars, discovered several new gamma-ray pulsars, and discovered emission up to 100 MeV from Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes. We present an overview of the main AGILE Data Center activities and the AGILE scientic highlights after 6 years of operations.

A deep learning approach for detecting and correcting highlights in endoscopic images

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rodriguez-Sanchez, Antonio; Chea, Daly; Azzopardi, George; Stabinger, Sebastian

2017-01-01

The image of an object changes dramatically depending on the lightning conditions surrounding that object. Shadows, reflections and highlights can make the object very difficult to be recognized for an automatic system. Additionally, images used in medical applications, such as endoscopic images and

Highlights of X-Stack ExM Deliverable: MosaStore

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ripeanu, Matei [Univ. of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC (Canada)

2016-07-20

This brief report highlights the experience gained with MosaStore, an exploratory part of the X-Stack project “ExM: System support for extreme-scale, many-task applications”. The ExM project proposed to use concurrent workflows supported by the Swift language and runtime as an innovative programming model to exploit parallelism in exascale computers. MosaStore aims to support this endeavor by improving storage support for workflow-based applications, more precisely by exploring the gains that can be obtained from co-designing the storage system and the workflow runtime engine. MosaStore has been developed primarily at the University of British Columbia.

Hot subluminous stars: Highlights from the MUCHFUSS and Kepler missions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Geier S.

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Research into hot subdwarf stars is progressing rapidly. We present recent important discoveries. First we review the knowledge about magnetic fields in hot subdwarfs and highlight the first detection of a highly-magnetic, helium-rich sdO star. We briefly summarize recent discoveries based on Kepler light curves and finally introduce the closest known sdB+WD binary discovered by the MUCHFUSS project and discuss its relevance as a progenitor of a double-detonation type Ia supernova.

Some highlights of research and development at AECL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Langford, W.J.; Rae, H.K.

1980-06-01

The research and development programs of AECL have as their goal the strengthening of the knowledge and ability necessary to achieve national objectives in the field of nuclear energy. These objectives include a nuclear reactor system appropriate to Canada's industrial capabilities, now realized, and the extension of that system, through scientific and technological development, to serve the nation's needs for the forseeable future. The Company's programs are carefully integrated and focused to use the available funding to maximum advantage. The research facilities on which the program depends are among the best in the world, and support a full spectrum of research from fundamental nuclear physics to full-scale power reactor component irradiation and testing. In this report it has only been possible to high-light some important facets of the programs in each of the principal areas currently employing our energies. (auth)

A gene pathway analysis highlights the role of cellular adhesion molecules in multiple sclerosis susceptibility

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Damotte, V; Guillot-Noel, L; Patsopoulos, N A

2014-01-01

adhesion molecule (CAMs) biological pathway using Cytoscape software. This network is a strong candidate, as it is involved in the crossing of the blood-brain barrier by the T cells, an early event in MS pathophysiology, and is used as an efficient therapeutic target. We drew up a list of 76 genes...... in interaction with other genes as a group. Pathway analysis is an alternative way to highlight such group of genes. Using SNP association P-values from eight multiple sclerosis (MS) GWAS data sets, we performed a candidate pathway analysis for MS susceptibility by considering genes interacting in the cell...... belonging to the CAM network. We highlighted 64 networks enriched with CAM genes with low P-values. Filtering by a percentage of CAM genes up to 50% and rejecting enriched signals mainly driven by transcription factors, we highlighted five networks associated with MS susceptibility. One of them, constituted...

Status, performance and scientific highlights from the MAGIC telescope system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Doert, Marlene [Technische Universitaet Dortmund (Germany); Ruhr-Universitaet Bochum (Germany); Collaboration: MAGIC-Collaboration

2015-07-01

The MAGIC telescopes are a system of two 17 m Imaging Air Cherenkov Telescopes, which are located at 2200 m above sea level at the Roque de Los Muchachos Observatory on the Canary Island of La Palma. In this presentation, we report on recent scientific highlights gained from MAGIC observations in the galactic and the extragalactic regime. We also present the current status and performance of the MAGIC system after major hardware upgrades in the years 2011 to 2014 and give an overview of future plans.

PNNL Highlights for the Office of Basic Energy Sciences (July 2013-July 2014)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anderson, Benjamin; Warren, Pamela M.; Manke, Kristin L.

2014-08-13

This report includes research highlights of work funded in part or whole by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences as well as selected leadership accomplishments.

Cassini's Grand Finale Science Highlights

Science.gov (United States)

Spilker, Linda

2017-10-01

After 13 years in orbit, the Cassini-Huygens Mission to Saturn ended in a science-rich blaze of glory. Cassini returned its final bits of unique science data on September 15, 2017, as it plunged into Saturn's atmosphere satisfying planetary protection requirements. Cassini's Grand Finale covered a period of roughly five months and ended with the first time exploration of the region between the rings and planet.The final close flyby of Titan in late April 2017 propelled Cassini across Saturn’s main rings and into its Grand Finale orbits; 22 orbits that repeatedly dove between Saturn’s innermost rings and upper atmosphere making Cassini the first spacecraft to explore this region. The last orbit turned the spacecraft into the first Saturn upper atmospheric probe.The Grand Finale orbits provided highest resolution observations of both the rings and Saturn, and in-situ sampling of the ring particle composition, Saturn's atmosphere, plasma, and innermost radiation belts. The gravitational field was measured to unprecedented accuracy, providing information on the interior structure of the planet, winds in the deeper atmosphere, and mass of the rings. The magnetic field provided insight into the physical nature of the magnetic dynamo and structure of the internal magnetic field. The ion and neutral mass spectrometer sampled the upper atmosphere for molecules that escape the atmosphere in addition to molecules originating from the rings. The cosmic dust analyzer directly sampled the composition from different parts of the main rings for the first time. Fields and particles instruments directly measured the plasma environment between the rings and planet.Science highlights and new mysteries gleaned to date from the Grand Finale orbits will be discussed.The research described in this paper was carried out in part at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Copyright 2017

Water Reuse Highlights: A Summary Volume of Wastewater Reclamation and Reuse Information.

Science.gov (United States)

American Water Works Association, Denver, CO. Research Foundation.

This document reports the efforts of the AWWA Research Foundation to gather, prepare, and distribute current technical information in the wastewater reclamation and reuse field. The information reported has been abstracted from other Foundation publications and only attempts here to highlight the field. Categories discussed include research,…

Crustal thermal state and origin of silicic magma in Iceland: the case of Torfajökull, Ljósufjöll and Snæfellsjökull volcanoes

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, E.; Sigmarsson, O.

2007-05-01

Pleistocene and Holocene peralkaline rhyolites from Torfajökull (South Iceland Volcanic Zone) and Ljósufjöll central volcanoes and trachytes from Snæfellsjökull (Snæfellsnes Volcanic Zone) allow the assessment of the mechanism for silicic magma genesis as a function of geographical location and crustal geothermal gradient. The low δ18O (2.4‰) and low Sr concentration (12.2 ppm) measured in Torfajökull rhyolites are best explained by partial melting of hydrated metabasaltic crust followed by major fractionation of feldspar. In contrast, very high 87Sr/86Sr (0.70473) and low Ba (8.7 ppm) and Sr (1.2 ppm) concentrations measured in Ljósufjöll silicic lavas are best explained by fractional crystallisation and subsequent 87Rb decay. Snæfellsjökull trachytes are also generated by fractional crystallisation, with less than 10% crustal assimilation, as inferred from their δ18O. The fact that silicic magmas within, or close to, the rift zone are principally generated by crustal melting whereas those from off-rift zones are better explained by fractional crystallisation clearly illustrates the controlling influence of the thermal state of the crust on silicic magma genesis in Iceland.

Synthesis of leucite, sanidine and a melt of sanidine at 930-10300C and 2 Kb: partition coefficients of Rb, Ca, Sr and Ba between these phases and hydrothermal solution of KCl. Geological utilizations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moreira, A.H.P.

1988-01-01

This work shows the results of hydrothermal experiments to determine the distribution coefficients of alcali and alcaline earth elements in trace concentrations between sanidine and liquids of same composition and between leucite and liquid. At 2 Kb pressure and 930 0 C for sanidine, 930 0 and 1030 0 C for leucite and 1030 0 C for a melt of sanidine composition the concentration of trace elements (TE) in the coexisting potassium bearing aqueous fluid phase was varied between 10 -1 to 10 -6 mole to one mol of K + . By use of radioactive tracers (Rb 86 , Ca 45 , Sr 85 , Ba 133 ) the concentrations in TE of the aqueous phase, the solids and melts has been determined. This indirect method will give a good aproximation of the behaviour of TE between a melt and crystallising solids. These aprotimations lead to following conclusions: a) during the crystallisation of leucite, this phase incorporates large quantities of Ba and Rb, depleting the residual melt in those elements. Sr and Ca, on the other hand are enriched in the residual melt. b) the crystallisation of sanidine depletes even more the residual melt in Ba, Sr shows similias behaviour, Rb and Ca, however, are enriched in the residual melt phase. (author) [pt

Memory and comprehension for health information among older adults: distinguishing the effects of domain-general and domain-specific knowledge.

Science.gov (United States)

Chin, Jessie; Payne, Brennan; Gao, Xuefei; Conner-Garcia, Thembi; Graumlich, James F; Murray, Michael D; Morrow, Daniel G; Stine-Morrow, Elizabeth A L

2015-01-01

While there is evidence that knowledge influences understanding of health information, less is known about the processing mechanisms underlying this effect and its impact on memory. We used the moving window paradigm to examine how older adults varying in domain-general crystallised ability (verbal ability) and health knowledge allocate attention to understand health and domain-general texts. Participants (n = 107, age: 60-88 years) read and recalled single sentences about hypertension and about non-health topics. Mixed-effects modelling of word-by-word reading times suggested that domain-general crystallised ability increased conceptual integration regardless of text domain, while health knowledge selectively increased resource allocation to conceptual integration at clause boundaries in health texts. These patterns of attentional allocation were related to subsequent recall performance. Although older adults with lower levels of crystallised ability were less likely to engage in integrative processing, when they did, this strategy had a compensatory effect in improving recall. These findings suggest that semantic integration during reading is an important comprehension process that supports the construction of the memory representation and is engendered by knowledge. Implications of the findings for theories of text processing and memory as well as for designing patient education materials are discussed.

Highlights of proposed changes to ANSI/ASME N509-80

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ornberg, S.C.

1987-01-01

The ASME Committee on Nuclear Air and Gas Treatment (CONAGT) are at the time of this writing considering performing maintenance revisions of ANSI N509 and N510 based on the results of a required 5-year review and comments received from users of the standards at workshops and through inquiries. This paper discusses the highlights of the significant revisions to ANSI/ASME N509 and explains the reasons for the changes. It should be emphasized that these revisions are not yet approved by ASME CONAGT, the board of Nuclear Codes and Standards, or ANSI

Brookhaven highlights. Report on research, October 1, 1992--September 30, 1993

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rowe, M.S.; Belford, M.; Cohen, A.; Greenberg, D.; Seubert, L. [eds.

1993-12-31

This report highlights the research activities of Brookhaven National Laboratory during the period dating from October 1, 1992 through September 30, 1993. There are contributions to the report from different programs and departments within the laboratory. These include technology transfer, RHIC, Alternating Gradient Synchrotron, physics, biology, national synchrotron light source, applied science, medical science, advanced technology, chemistry, reactor physics, safety and environmental protection, instrumentation, and computing and communications.

Cumulate xenoliths from St. Vincent, Lesser Antilles Island Arc: a window into upper crustal differentiation of mantle-derived basalts

Science.gov (United States)

Tollan, P. M. E.; Bindeman, I.; Blundy, J. D.

2012-02-01

In order to shed light on upper crustal differentiation of mantle-derived basaltic magmas in a subduction zone setting, we have determined the mineral chemistry and oxygen and hydrogen isotope composition of individual cumulus minerals in plutonic blocks from St. Vincent, Lesser Antilles. Plutonic rock types display great variation in mineralogy, from olivine-gabbros to troctolites and hornblendites, with a corresponding variety of cumulate textures. Mineral compositions differ from those in erupted basaltic lavas from St. Vincent and in published high-pressure (4-10 kb) experimental run products of a St. Vincent high-Mg basalt in having higher An plagioclase coexisting with lower Fo olivine. The oxygen isotope compositions (δ18O) of cumulus olivine (4.89-5.18‰), plagioclase (5.84-6.28‰), clinopyroxene (5.17-5.47‰) and hornblende (5.48-5.61‰) and hydrogen isotope composition of hornblende (δD = -35.5 to -49.9‰) are all consistent with closed system magmatic differentiation of a mantle-derived basaltic melt. We employed a number of modelling exercises to constrain the origin of the chemical and isotopic compositions reported. δ18OOlivine is up to 0.2‰ higher than modelled values for closed system fractional crystallisation of a primary melt. We attribute this to isotopic disequilibria between cumulus minerals crystallising at different temperatures, with equilibration retarded by slow oxygen diffusion in olivine during prolonged crustal storage. We used melt inclusion and plagioclase compositions to determine parental magmatic water contents (water saturated, 4.6 ± 0.5 wt% H2O) and crystallisation pressures (173 ± 50 MPa). Applying these values to previously reported basaltic and basaltic andesite lava compositions, we can reproduce the cumulus plagioclase and olivine compositions and their associated trend. We conclude that differentiation of primitive hydrous basalts on St. Vincent involves crystallisation of olivine and Cr-rich spinel at depth

Frontiers: Research highlights 1946-1996 [50th Anniversary Edition. Argonne National Laboratory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-12-31

This special edition of 'Frontiers' commemorates Argonne National Laboratory's 50th anniversary of service to science and society. America's first national laboratory, Argonne has been in the forefront of U.S. scientific and technological research from its beginning. Past accomplishments, current research, and future plans are highlighted.

CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion 2011: Highlights

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2011-07-01

How much CO2 are countries emitting? Where is it coming from? In the lead-up to the UN climate negotiations in Durban, the latest information on the level and growth of CO2 emissions, their source and geographic distribution will be essential to lay the foundation for a global agreement. To provide input to and support for the UN process the IEA is making available for free download the 'Highlights' version of CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion. This annual publication contains: - estimates of CO2 emissions by country from 1971 to 2009; - selected indicators such as CO2/GDP, CO2/capita, CO2/TPES and CO2/kWh; - CO2 emissions from international marine and aviation bunkers, and other relevant information. These estimates have been calculated using the IEA energy databases and the default methods and emission factors from the Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories.

CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion 2011: Highlights

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2011-07-01

How much CO2 are countries emitting? Where is it coming from? In the lead-up to the UN climate negotiations in Durban, the latest information on the level and growth of CO2 emissions, their source and geographic distribution will be essential to lay the foundation for a global agreement. To provide input to and support for the UN process the IEA is making available for free download the 'Highlights' version of CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion. This annual publication contains: - estimates of CO2 emissions by country from 1971 to 2009; - selected indicators such as CO2/GDP, CO2/capita, CO2/TPES and CO2/kWh; - CO2 emissions from international marine and aviation bunkers, and other relevant information. These estimates have been calculated using the IEA energy databases and the default methods and emission factors from the Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories.

Highlights from the SOAP project survey. What Scientists Think about Open Access Publishing

CERN Document Server

Dallmeier-Tiessen, Suenje; Goerner, Bettina; Hyppoelae, Jenni; Igo-Kemenes, Peter; Kahn, Deborah; Lambert, Simon; Lengenfelder, Anja; Leonard, Chris; Mele, Salvatore; Nowicka, Malgorzata; Polydoratou, Panayiota; Ross, David; Ruiz-Perez, Sergio; Schimmer, Ralf; Swaisland, Mark; van der Stelt, Wim

2011-01-01

The SOAP (Study of Open Access Publishing) project has run a large-scale survey of the attitudes of researchers on, and the experiences with, open access publishing. Around forty thousands answers were collected across disciplines and around the world, showing an overwhelming support for the idea of open access, while highlighting funding and (perceived) quality as the main barriers to publishing in open access journals. This article serves as an introduction to the survey and presents this and other highlights from a preliminary analysis of the survey responses. To allow a maximal re-use of the information collected by this survey, the data are hereby released under a CC0 waiver, so to allow libraries, publishers, funding agencies and academics to further analyse risks and opportunities, drivers and barriers, in the transition to open access publishing.

LHC highlights from ATLAS - FRAPWS2016 conference - Claudio Luci

CERN Document Server

Luci, Claudio; The ATLAS collaboration

2016-01-01

I am going to give a talk about highlight from ATLAS. The conference is FRAP2016, it is a conference of astrophysics. My talk is the third one oon the first day, after a general talk and one about dark matter search at colliders (given by someone does not working in atlas or cms). There is not a talk given by a colleague from cms, so mine is the only one about lhc. I have prepared my slides thinking about a "general" public and not for a specialized audience like the one we use to give talks. I have 30 minutes, maybe I have too many slides but I can easily keep the ones about dark matter if I am going to run late.

First emergence of acrAB and oqxAB mediated tigecycline resistance in clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae pre-dating the use of tigecycline in a Chinese hospital.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xue Zhong

Full Text Available Tigecycline is one of the few therapeutic options for treating infections caused by some multi-drug resistant pathogens, such as Klebsiella pneumoniae. However, tigecycline-resistant K. pneumoniae has been discovered recently in China. From 2009 to 2013, nine tigecycline-resistant K. pneumoniae isolates were identified in our hospital. Six of nine strains were identified before using tigecycline. To investigate the efflux-mediated resistance mechanisms of K. pneumoniae, the expression of efflux pump genes (acrA, acrB, tolC, oqxA and oqxB and pump regulators (acrR, marA, soxS, rarA, rob and ramA were examined by real-time RT-PCR. Molecular typing of the tigecycline resistant strains was performed. ST11 was the predominant clone of K. pneumoniae strains, while ST1414 and ST1415 were novel STs. Efflux pump inhibitor (EPI-carbonyl cyanide chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP was able to reverse the resistance patterns of 5 resistant K. pneumoniae strains. In comparison with strain A111, a tigecycline-susceptible strain (negative control, we found that the expression levels of efflux pump genes and pump regulators were higher in a majority of resistant strains. Higher expression levels of regulators rarA (2.41-fold, 9.55-fold, 28.44-fold and 18.31-fold, respectively and pump gene oqxB (3.87-fold, 31.96-fold, 50.61-fold and 29.45-fold, respectively were observed in four tigecycline resistant strains (A363, A361, A368, A373, respectively. Increased expression of acrB was associated with ramA and marA expression. To our knowledge, studies on tigecycline resistance mechanism in K. pneumoniae are limited especially in China. In our study, we found that both efflux pump AcrAB-TolC and OqxAB contributed to tigecycline resistance in K. pneumoniae isolates.

Enhanced resistance to fluoroquinolones in laboratory-grown mutants & clinical isolates of Shigella due to synergism between efflux pump expression & mutations in quinolone resistance determining region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Neelam Taneja

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background & objectives: There is a worldwide emergence of fluoroquinolone resistance in Shigella species. To understand the molecular mechanisms associated with fluoroquinolone resistance, naturally occurring fluoroquinolone-resistant strains and laboratory-induced spontaneous mutants of Shigella spp. were used and the relative contributions of acrAB-tolC efflux pumps, gyrase and topoisomerase target gene mutations towards fluoroquinolone resistance were determined. Methods: Eight Shigella flexneri and six S. dysenteriae clinical isolates were studied. Three consecutive mutants resistant to ciprofloxacin for S. flexneri SFM1 (≥0.25 µg/ml, SFM2 (≥4 µg/ml and SFM3 (≥32 µg/ml were selected in 15 steps from susceptible isolates by serial exposure to increasing concentrations of nalidixic acid and ciprofloxacin. Similarly, two mutants for S. dysenteriae SDM1 (≥0.25 µg/ml and SDM2 (≥4 µg/ml were selected in eight steps. After PCR amplification sequence analyses of gyrase and topoisomerase target genes were performed. Expression of efflux genes acrA, acrB, acrR and tolC was measured using real-time PCR. Results: Mutations were observed in gyrA Ser [83]→Leu, Asp [87]→Asn/Gly, Val [196]→Ala and in parC Phe [93]→Val, Ser [80]→Ile, Asp [101]→Glu and Asp [110]→Glu. Overall, acrA and acrB overexpression was associated with fluoroquinolone resistance ( p0 <0.05; while tolC and acrR expression levels did not. Interpretation & conclusions: Fluoroquinolone resistance in Shigella spp. is the end product of either a single or a combination of mutations in QRDRs and/ or efflux activity. Novel polymorphisms were observed at Val [196]→Ala in gyrA in clinical isolates and Phe [93]→Val, Asp [101]→Glu, Asp [110]→Glu and in parC in majority of laboratory-grown mutants.

Highlighting the gap between critical outcomes requirements and built environment education in South Africa

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Ampofo-Anti, NL

2007-06-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to highlight the discrepancies between current built environment education and Critical Outcomes requirements of the South African National Qualifications Framework (NQF)...

Clinical highlights from the 2016 European Respiratory Society International Congress

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicolas Kahn

2017-04-01

Full Text Available This article contains highlights and a selection of the scientific advances from the European Respiratory Society (ERS Clinical Assembly (Assembly 1 and its six respective groups (Groups 1.1–1.6 that were presented at the 2016 ERS International Congress in London, UK. The most relevant topics for clinicians will be discussed, covering a wide range of areas including clinical problems, rehabilitation and chronic care, thoracic imaging, interventional pulmonology, diffuse and parenchymal lung diseases, and general practice and primary care. In this comprehensive review, the newest research and actual data will be discussed and put into perspective.

Realizing a Clean Energy Future: Highlights of NREL Analysis (Brochure)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2013-12-01

Profound energy system transformation is underway. In Hawaiian mythology, Maui set out to lasso the sun in order to capture its energy. He succeeded. That may have been the most dramatic leap forward in clean energy systems that the world has known. Until now. Today, another profound transformation is underway. A combination of forces is taking us from a carbon-centric, inefficient energy system to one that draws from diverse energy sources - including the sun. NREL analysis is helping guide energy systems policy and investment decisions through this transformation. This brochure highlights NREL analysis accomplishments in the context of four thematic storylines.

Highlighting the Transfer, Honors, and Excellence Workshop. CSCC Bulletin, Issue 7, 1983.

Science.gov (United States)

Center for the Study of Community Colleges, Los Angeles, CA.

Summaries are provided for the major presentations given at a workshop on honors, transfer, and excellence, held in Los Angeles in October 1982. Following a brief overview of the main topics covered, highlights are presented from the talks of: (1) Robert McCabe, president of Miami-Dade Community College (MDCC), who urged participants to set high…

Highlighting Energy Policies and Strategies for the Residential Sector in Malaysia

OpenAIRE

Bekhet, Hussain Ali; Ivy-Yap, Lee Lian

2014-01-01

Energy is an important catalyst for development. Malaysia is very fortunate to be endowed with oil reserves. However, these reserves are finite and not renewable. Being cognizant of this, the Malaysian government had implemented various energy policies and strategies to manage and safeguard its oil reserves for better energy security as well as to promote prudent use of energy. This paper aims to highlight the electricity sector in Malaysia and the various policies and strategies implemented ...

Polymorphism of a polymer precursor: metastable glycolide polymorph recovered via large scale high-pressure experiments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hutchison, Ian B.; Delori, Amit; Wang, Xiao

2015-01-01

Using a large volume high-pressure press a new polymorph of an important precursor for biomedical polymers was isolated in gram quantities and used to seed crystallisation experiments at ambient pressure....

The Probability Evaluation Game: An Instrument to Highlight the Skill of Reflexive Listening

Science.gov (United States)

Butler, Clare

2016-01-01

This paper describes the development of the Probability Evaluation Game (PEG): an innovative teaching instrument that emphasises the sophistication of listening and highlights listening as a key skill for accounting practitioners. Whilst in a roundtable format, playing PEG involves participants individually evaluating a series of probability terms…

Radio Astronomy at TIFR, some highlights and reminiscences

Science.gov (United States)

Swarup, G.

Radio astronomy research was initiated at TIFR fifty years ago. In this historical article, I firstly trace my initiation in the field of radio astronomy during 1953-55 in the Radio Physics Laboratory of CSIRO in Australia and later during 1956-63 in USA. In September 1961, four radio astronomers working abroad wrote to a number of scientific organizations in India with their desire to start radio astronomy research in India. Soon thereafter Dr. Homi Bhabha, the founder Director of TIFR, approved the formation of a radio astronomy group therein. I joined TIFR in April 1963. During the last 50 years, TIFR has built two of the world's largest radio telescopes, namely the 530m long and 30 m wide parabolic cylinder equatorially mounted on a hill at Ooty in South India during 1960s and the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope near Pune, consisting of 30 nos. of fully steerable parabolic dishes of 45 m diameters during 1990s. Fifty years of radio astronomy research at TIFR is briefly highlighted here.

Macro Photography for Reflectance Transformation Imaging: A Practical Guide to the Highlights Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonino Cosentino

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI is increasingly being used for art documentation and analysis and it can be successful also for the examination of features on the order of hundreds of microns. This paper evaluates some macro scale photography methods specifically for RTI employing the Highlights method for documenting sub-millimeter details. This RTI technique consists in including one reflective sphere in the scene photographed so that the processing software can calculate for each photo the direction of the light source from its reflection on the sphere. RTI documentation can be performed also with an RTI dome, but the Highlights method is preferred because is more mobile and more affordable. This technique is demonstrated in the documentation of some prints ranging from the XV to the XX century from to the Ingels collection in Sweden. The images are here examined and discussed, showing the application of macro RTI for identifying features of prints.

Symposium on Highlights from 14 years of LEAR Physics : "Atomic Physics" by E. Uggerhoj

CERN Multimedia

1998-01-01

Symposium on Highlights from 14 years Physics hold at CERN, commemorating the closure of LEAR and giving a topical review of the impact of experiments with low energy antiprotons in their respective fields

Symposium on Highlights from 14 years of LEAR Physics : "Antiproton Mass" by G. Gabrielse

CERN Multimedia

1998-01-01

Symposium on Highlights from 14 years Physics hold at CERN, commemorating the closure of LEAR and giving a topical review of the impact of experiments with low energy antiprotons in their respective fields

Symposium on Highlights from 14 years of LEAR Physics : "CP Violation" by P. Pavlopoulos

CERN Multimedia

1998-01-01

Symposium on Highlights from 14 years Physics hold at CERN, commemorating the closure of LEAR and giving a topical review of the impact of experiments with low energy antiprotons in their respective fields

Engineering sciences research highlights. Fiscal year 1983

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tucker, E.F.; Dobratz, B.

1984-05-01

The Laboratory's overall mission is sixfold. We are charged with developing nuclear warheads for defense, technology for arms control, and new concepts for defense against nuclear attack; with supporting programs for both nonnuclear defense and energy research and development; and with advancing our knowledge of science and technology so that we can respond to other national needs. Major programs in support of this mission involve nuclear weapons, energy, environmental science, and basic research. Specific areas of investigation include the design, development, and testing of nuclear weapons; nuclear safeguards and security; inertial and magnetic fusion and nuclear, solar, fossil, and geothermal energy; and basic research in physics, chemistry, mathematics, engineering, and the computer and life sciences. With the staff and facilities maintained for these and other programs, the Laboratory can respond to specific national needs in virtually all areas of the physical and life sciences. Within the Laboratory's organization, most technical research activities are carried out in three directorates: Engineering Sciences; Physics and Mathematics; and Chemistry, Earth and Life Sciences. The activities highlighted here are examples of unclassified work carried out in the seven divisions that made up the Engineering Sciences Directorate at the end of fiscal year 1983. Brief descriptions of these divisions' goals and capabilities and summaries of selected projects illustrate the diversity of talent, expertise, and facilities maintained within the Engineering Sciences Directorate

Highlights of top quark cross-section measurements at ATLAS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Berta Peter

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The highlights of the measurements of top quark production in proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider with the ATLAS detector are presented. The inclusive measurements of the top-pair production cross section have reached high precision and are compared to the best available theoretical calculations. The differential cross section measurements, including results using boosted top quarks, probe our understanding of top-pair production in the TeV regime. The results are compared to Monte Carlo generators implementing LO and NLO matrix elements matched with parton showers. Measurements of the single top quark production cross section are presented in the t-channel and s-channel, and with associated production with a W boson. For the t-channel production, results on the ratio between top quark and antitop quark production cross sections and differential measurements are also included.

Formation of co-crystals: Kinetic and thermodynamic aspects

Science.gov (United States)

Gagnière, E.; Mangin, D.; Puel, F.; Rivoire, A.; Monnier, O.; Garcia, E.; Klein, J. P.

2009-04-01

Co-crystallisation is a recent method of great interest for the pharmaceutical industry, since pharmaceutical co-crystals represent useful materials for drug products. In this study, an active pharmaceutical ingredient (carbamazepine (CBZ)) co-crystallized with a vitamin (nicotinamide (NCT)) was chosen as a model substance. This work was focused on the construction of a phase diagram for the system CBZ/NCT, split in six domains for kinetic reasons (the different solid phases which might appear during the crystallisation) and in four domains according to thermodynamic aspects (the stable final phase obtained). Although co-crystals are not ionic compounds, the supersaturation of co-crystals can be evaluated by considering the solubility product. Batch crystallisation operations were carried out in a stirred vessel equipped with an in situ video probe. This latter device was a powerful analysis tool to monitor the CBZ/NCT co-crystals and single CBZ crystals since these two crystalline phases grown in ethanol exhibited needle and platelet habits. As concerns kinetics, the different solid phases which might appear during the experiments were observed and competed against each others. In accordance with thermodynamics, the stable solid form was obtained at the end of the operation. Finally some preliminary results indicate that the nucleation of co-crystals may be favoured by the presence of CBZ crystals. Epitaxial relationships between CBZ/NCT co-crystals and CBZ crystals were suspected.

Symposium on Highlights from 14 years of LEAR Physics : "Meson spectroscopy" by H. Koch

CERN Multimedia

1998-01-01

Symposium on Highlights from 14 years of LEAR Physics hold at CERN, commemorating the closure of LEAR and giving a topical review of the impact of experiments with low energy antiprotons in their respective fields

History highlights and future trends of infrared sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Corsi, Carlo

2010-10-01

Infrared (IR) technologies (materials, devices and systems) represent an area of excellence in science and technology and, even if they have been generally confined to a selected scientific community, they have achieved technological and scientific highlights constituting 'innovation drivers' for neighbouring disciplines, especially in the sensors field. The development of IR sensors, initially linked to astronomical observations, since World War II and for many years has been fostered essentially by defence applications, particularly thermo-vision and, later on, smart vision and detection, for surveillance and warning. Only in the last few decades, the impact of silicon technology has changed the development of IR detectors dramatically, with the advent of integrated signal read-outs and the opening of civilian markets (EO communications, biomedical, environmental, transport and energy applications). The history of infrared sensors contains examples of real breakthroughs, particularly true in the case of focal plane arrays that first appeared in the late 1970s, when the superiority of bi-dimensional arrays for most applications pushed the development of technologies providing the highest number of pixels. An impressive impulse was given to the development of FPA arrays by integration with charge coupled devices (CCD), with strong competition from different technologies (high-efficiency photon sensors, Schottky diodes, multi-quantum wells and, later on, room temperature microbolometers/cantilevers). This breakthrough allowed the development of high performance IR systems of small size, light weight and low cost - and therefore suitable for civil applications - thanks to the elimination of the mechanical scanning system and the progressive reduction of cooling requirements (up to the advent of microbolometers, capable of working at room temperature). In particular, the elimination of cryogenic cooling allowed the development and commercialisation of IR Smart Sensors

B-physics and quarkonium highlights and recent results from ATLAS

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2015-01-01

Studies of heavy flavour quark-antiquark bound states provide unique insights into the picture of strong interactions near the boundary between the perturbative and non-perturbative regimes. Despite the 40-year history since the discovery of the J/psi, quarkonia still challenge both theory and experiment. Data collected in Run 1 has now produced a comprehensive suite of measurements for a range of energies, states and decay modes. The open beauty sector tests a variety of theoretical models and provides sensitivity to beyond-standard-model processes through precision measurements, such as studies of CP violation. Highlights and most recent measurements from the B-physics and quarkonium programmes of the ATLAS experiment will be presented.

Highlights of contractor initiatives in quality enhancement and productivity improvement

Science.gov (United States)

1986-01-01

The NASA/Contractor Team efforts are presented as part of NASA's continuing effort to facilitate the sharing of quality and productivity improvement ideas among its contractors. This complilation is not meant to be a comprehensive review of contractor initiative nor does it necessarily express NASA's views. The submissions represent samples from a general survey, and were not edited by NASA. The efforts are examples of quality and productivity programs in private industry, and as such, highlight company efforts in individual areas. Topics range from modernization of equipment, hardware, and technology to management of human resources. Of particular interest are contractor initiatives which deal with measurement and evaluation data pertaining to quality and productivity performance.

Women's expectations and experiences of maternity care in NSW--what women highlight as most important.

Science.gov (United States)

Jenkins, Mary G; Ford, Jane B; Morris, Jonathan M; Roberts, Christine L

2014-09-01

Although surveys have identified that women are generally highly satisfied with maternity care provision, those aspects of care that women highlight as most important for achieving satisfaction and a satisfactory maternity care experience have not been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate how women understand and experience their maternity care and to report which aspects of care women highlight as most important. This large qualitative study explored women's expectations and experiences of maternity care provision. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 53 women experiencing maternity care in a range of tertiary, regional, rural, remote hospitals and midwife-led practices in the state of New South Wales, Australia during 2011-2012. Included in the interview schedule was the question 'What 3 aspects would you see as most important for delivery of maternity care?' Descriptive analyses of entire transcripts and responses to the question on most important aspects of care were undertaken. Descriptive analyses of women's responses identified 5 important aspects of care: woman-focused care, staff qualities, systems and facilities, family-focused care and continuity of care/information. First-time mothers were more likely to identify woman-focused care, staff qualities and continuity of care/information as important aspects than multiparous mothers. Urban and regional mothers highlighted staff qualities as having greater importance for satisfaction with their care while rural and particularly remote women nominated systems and facilities as important. Our study showed that women from a range of settings are more concerned with staff and relational issues than facilities. Differences in perceptions among primiparous versus multiparous women, at different stages of pregnancy and among women from rural and remote compared to urban settings highlight the need to include women with a diversity of experience when trying to understand the aspects

Nano-biocomposites based on synthetic aliphatic polyesters and nanoclay

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Ojijo, Vincent O

2014-05-01

Full Text Available This article gives an overview of the recent developments in the preparation, characterisation, properties, crystallisation behaviour, and melt rheology of clay-containing composites of biodegradable synthetic aliphatic polyesters such as poly...

FY 1995 research highlights: PNL accomplishments in OER programs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-10-01

Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) conducts fundamental and applied research in support of the US Department of Energy`s (DOE) core missions in science and technology, environmental quality, energy resources, and national security. Much of this research is funded by the program offices of DOE`s Office of Energy Research (DOE-ER), primarily the Office of Basic Energy Sciences (BES) and the Office of Health and Environmental Research (OHER), and by PNL`s Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program. This document is a collection of research highlights that describe PNL`s accomplishments in DOE-ER funded programs during Fiscal Year 1995. Included are accomplishments in research funded by OHER`s Analytical Technologies, Environmental Research, Health Effects, General Life Sciences, and Carbon Dioxide Research programs; BES`s Materials Science, Chemical Sciences, Engineering and Geoscience, and Applied Mathematical Sciences programs; and PNL`s LDRD Program. Summaries are given for 70 projects.

Symposium on Highlights from 14 years of LEAR Physics : "LEAR Performance" by M. Chanel

CERN Multimedia

1998-01-01

Symposium on Highlights from 14 years of LEAR Physics hold at CERN, commemorating the closure of LEAR and giving a topical review of the impact of experiments with low energy antiprotons in their respective fields: M. Chanel "LEAR Performance"

Symposium on Highlights from 14 years of LEAR Physics : "AD Project" by S. Maury

CERN Multimedia

1998-01-01

Symposium on Highlights from 14 years of LEAR Physics hold at CERN, commemorating the closure of LEAR and giving a topical review of the impact of experiments with low energy antiprotons in their respective fields: S. Maury "AD Project"

State Digital Learning Exemplars: Highlights from States Leading Change through Policies and Funding

Science.gov (United States)

Acree, Lauren; Fox, Christine

2015-01-01

States are striving to support the expansion of technology tools and resources in K-12 education through state policies, programs, and funding in order to provide digital learning opportunities for all students. This paper highlights examples of states with policies in support of five key areas: (1) innovative funding streams and policy; (2)…

Influence of pressure on the solid state phase transformation of Cu–Al–Bi alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gong, Li; Jian-Hua, Liu; Wen-Kui, Wang; Ri-Ping, Liu

2010-01-01

The solid state phase transformation of Cu-Al-Bi alloy under high pressure was investigated by x-ray diffraction, energy dispersive spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Experimental results show that the initial crystalline phase in the Cu-Al-Bi alloy annealed at 750 °C under the pressures in the range of 0–6 GPa is α-Cu solid solution (named as α-Cu phase below), and high pressure has a great influence on the crystallisation process of the Cu-Al-Bi alloy. The grain size of the α-Cu phase decreases with increasing pressure as the pressure is below about 3 GPa, and then increases (P > 3 GPa). The mechanism for the effects of high pressure on the crystallisation process of the alloy has been discussed. (condensed matter: structure, thermal and mechanical properties)

Brookhaven highlights for fiscal year 1991, October 1, 1990--September 30, 1991

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rowe, M.S.; Cohen, A.; Greenberg, D.; Seubert, L.; Kuper, J.B.H.

1991-01-01

This report highlights Brookhaven National Laboratory's activities for fiscal year 1991. Topics from the four research divisions: Computing and Communications, Instrumentation, Reactors, and Safety and Environmental Protection are presented. The research programs at Brookhaven are diverse, as is reflected by the nine different scientific departments: Accelerator Development, Alternating Gradient Synchrotron, Applied Science, Biology, Chemistry, Medical, National Synchrotron Light Source, Nuclear Energy, and Physics. Administrative and managerial information about Brookhaven are also disclosed. (GHH)

Brookhaven highlights for fiscal year 1991, October 1, 1990--September 30, 1991

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rowe, M.S.; Cohen, A.; Greenberg, D.; Seubert, L.; Kuper, J.B.H.

1991-12-31

This report highlights Brookhaven National Laboratory`s activities for fiscal year 1991. Topics from the four research divisions: Computing and Communications, Instrumentation, Reactors, and Safety and Environmental Protection are presented. The research programs at Brookhaven are diverse, as is reflected by the nine different scientific departments: Accelerator Development, Alternating Gradient Synchrotron, Applied Science, Biology, Chemistry, Medical, National Synchrotron Light Source, Nuclear Energy, and Physics. Administrative and managerial information about Brookhaven are also disclosed. (GHH)

Brookhaven highlights for fiscal year 1991, October 1, 1990--September 30, 1991

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rowe, M.S.; Cohen, A.; Greenberg, D.; Seubert, L.; Kuper, J.B.H.

1991-01-01

This report highlights Brookhaven National Laboratory's activities for fiscal year 1991. Topics from the four research divisions: Computing and Communications, Instrumentation, Reactors, and Safety and Environmental Protection are presented. The research programs at Brookhaven are diverse, as is reflected by the nine different scientific departments: Accelerator Development, Alternating Gradient Synchrotron, Applied Science, Biology, Chemistry, Medical, National Synchrotron Light Source, Nuclear Energy, and Physics. Administrative and managerial information about Brookhaven are also disclosed

Novel class III phosphoribosyl diphosphate synthase: structure and properties of the tetrameric, phosphate-activated, non-allosterically inhibited enzyme from Methanocaldococcus jannaschii

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kadziola, Anders; Jepsen, Clemens H; Johansson, Eva

2005-01-01

The prs gene encoding phosphoribosyl diphosphate (PRPP) synthase of the hyperthermophilic autotrophic methanogenic archaeon Methanocaldococcus jannaschii has been cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. Subsequently, M.jannaschii PRPP synthase has been purified, characterised, crystallised, and...

Highlighting the History of Astronomy in the Asia-Pacific Region

CERN Document Server

Nakamura, Tsuko; Strom, Richard G; ICOA-6 Conference

2011-01-01

This book provides readers with the results of recent research from some of the world's leading historians of astronomy on aspects of Arabic, Australian, Chinese, Japanese, and North and South American astronomy and astrophysics. It contains peer-reviewed papers gathered from the International Conferences on Oriental Astronomy 6 (ICO-6) with the chosen theme of "Highlighting the History of Astronomy in the Asia-Pacific Region." Of particular note are the sections on Arabic astronomy, Asian applied astronomy and the history of Australian radio astronomy, and the chapter on Peruvian astronomy. This title is a valuable complement for those with research interests in applied historical astronomy; archaeoastronomy; calendars, manuscripts, and star charts; historical instruments and observatories, and the history of radio astronomy.

Surface oxidation in glassy arsenic trisulphide induced by high-energy γ-irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shpotyuk, M.; Shpotyuk, O.; Serkiz, R.; Demchenko, P.; Kozhyukhin, S.

2014-01-01

Influence of high-energy γ-irradiation with ∼3 MGy dose on glassy g-As 2 S 3 was investigated by a complex of scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction methods. A white layer composed of separate 1–2 μm rhombohedral arsenolite As 2 O 3 crystallites was observed at the surface of γ-irradiated samples. These As 2 O 3 extractions along with crystallised S allotropes are responsible for expansion of the first sharp diffraction peaks in the XRD patterns of g-As 2 S 3 . - Highlights: • As 2 O 3 crystallites are observed at the surface of γ-irradiated As 2 S 3 samples. • Observed crystallites can be removed from the surface after washing and polishing. • γ-Irradiation broadens the FSDP due to satellite lines located on its both sides. • As 2 O 3 and S phases extracted at the surface are responsible for satellite lines

Fluids and the evolution of rock mechanical properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reuschle, Thierry

1989-01-01

This research thesis reports the study of the various phenomena of fluid-solid interaction (mechanical or chemical interaction with fracturing by fluid overpressure, slow crack propagation, and pore deformation by transfer in solution) which may occur in the interaction of fluids with rocks. The author first presents the formalism of slow crack propagation based on the generalisation of the Griffith criterion. The model results are compared with experimental results obtained on four materials (glass, quartz, sandstone, and micrite) by using the double-torsion test. In the second part, the author addresses the issue of pore deformation by transfer in solution: dissolution and crystallisation under stress. The Gibbs chemical potential equation is firstly generalised to the case of a circular pore, and a formalism combining mechanics and thermodynamics is then proposed. A set of simulations highlights important parameters. In the third part, the author addresses the problem of fluid-rock mechanical interaction by studying the mechanical role of fluid pressure in crack initiation and propagation [fr

Green material composites from renewable resources: Polymorphic transitions and phase diagram of beeswax/rosin resin

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gaillard, Yves [Mines-ParisTech., CEMEF, UMR CNRS 7635, 1 rue Claude Daunesse 06904 Sophia Antipolis cedex (France); Mija, Alice [University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis, Thermokinetic Group, Laboratory of Chemistry of Organic and Metallic Materials C.M.O.M., 06108 Nice Cedex 2 (France); Burr, Alain; Darque-Ceretti, Evelyne; Felder, Eric [Mines-ParisTech., CEMEF, UMR CNRS 7635, 1 rue Claude Daunesse 06904 Sophia Antipolis cedex (France); Sbirrazzuoli, Nicolas, E-mail: sbirrazz@unice.fr [University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis, Thermokinetic Group, Laboratory of Chemistry of Organic and Metallic Materials C.M.O.M., 06108 Nice Cedex 2 (France)

2011-07-10

Highlights: {yields} Blends of Rosin and beeswax are studied by DSC, XRD, and optical microscopy. {yields} The first phase diagram beeswax/rosin is established. {yields} Polymorphic transitions are identified and appear to be highly related to rosin content. - Abstract: Rosin and beeswax are two complex natural materials presenting numerous applications in paints, adhesives, varnishes or inks. Melted, they are particularly interesting for their adhesion properties. This paper establishes the first phase diagram beeswax/rosin blends. A systematic approach using X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarised optical microscopy (POM) has been performed in order to describe the crystallographic structure and the thermal properties of two materials, beeswax and rosin, and their blends. Indeed, melting, softening and crystallisation temperatures, polymorphic transitions but also crystalline index has been investigated. The resulting phase diagram reveals a complex behaviour in terms of phase transformation and time-dependent phenomenon mainly representative of the complex composition of beeswax.

Wildlife studies on the Hanford Site: 1993 Highlights report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cadwell, L.L. [ed.

1994-04-01

The Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) Wildlife Resources Monitoring Project was initiated by DOE to track the status of wildlife populations to determine whether Hanford operations affected them. The project continues to conduct a census of wildlife populations that are highly visible, economically or aesthetically important, and rare or otherwise considered sensitive. Examples of long-term data collected and maintained through the Wildlife Resources Monitoring Project include annual goose nesting surveys conducted on islands in the Hanford Reach, wintering bald eagle surveys, and fall Chinook salmon redd (nest) surveys. The report highlights activities related to salmon and mollusks on the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River; describes efforts to map vegetation on the Site and efforts to survey species of concern; provides descriptions of shrub-steppe bird surveys, including bald eagles, Canada geese, and hawks; outlines efforts to monitor mule deer and elk populations on the Site; and describes development of a biological database management system.

The highlighting of an internal combustion engine piston ring radial oscillations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Djallel ZEBBAR

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with the definition of the lube-oil film thickness in the piston ring cylinder liner junction of an internal combustion engine. At first, a mathematical model for the estimation of the film thickness is established. It is used to point out the oscillating motion of the piston ring normal to the cylinder wall. For the first time, has been highlighted and analytically evaluated the oscillating behavior of the piston ring in its housing in the radial direction. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the radial oscillations frequency is a function of piston ring stiffness, material and geometry.

Comparative assessment of poly (D,L-lactide-co-glycolide ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

5International Institute of Halal Research & Training (INHART), Kulliyyah of Engineering, IIUM, PO Box 10, 50728, ... In F2, CTAB was located mainly in PLGA matrix, resulting in negative charge with ..... partial coverage and crystallises after.

Blue hypertext is a good design decision: no perceptual disadvantage in reading and successful highlighting of relevant information.

Science.gov (United States)

Gagl, Benjamin

2016-01-01

Highlighted text in the Internet (i.e., hypertext) is predominantly blue and underlined. The perceptibility of these hypertext characteristics was heavily questioned by applied research and empirical tests resulted in inconclusive results. The ability to recognize blue text in foveal and parafoveal vision was identified as potentially constrained by the low number of foveally centered blue light sensitive retinal cells. The present study investigates if foveal and parafoveal perceptibility of blue hypertext is reduced in comparison to normal black text during reading. A silent-sentence reading study with simultaneous eye movement recordings and the invisible boundary paradigm, which allows the investigation of foveal and parafoveal perceptibility, separately, was realized (comparing fixation times after degraded vs. un-degraded parafoveal previews). Target words in sentences were presented in either black or blue and either underlined or normal. No effect of color and underlining, but a preview benefit could be detected for first pass reading measures. Fixation time measures that included re-reading, e.g., total viewing times, showed, in addition to a preview effect, a reduced fixation time for not highlighted (black not underlined) in contrast to highlighted target words (either blue or underlined or both). The present pattern reflects no detectable perceptual disadvantage of hyperlink stimuli but increased attraction of attention resources, after first pass reading, through highlighting. Blue or underlined text allows readers to easily perceive hypertext and at the same time readers re-visited highlighted words longer. On the basis of the present evidence, blue hypertext can be safely recommended to web designers for future use.

Can Chimpanzee Biology Highlight Human Origin and Evolution?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Itai Roffman

2010-07-01

Full Text Available The closest living relatives of humans are their chimpanzee/bonobo (Pan sister species, members of the same subfamily “Homininae”. This classification is supported by over 50 years of research in the fields of chimpanzee cultural diversity, language competency, genomics, anatomy, high cognition, psychology, society, self-consciousness and relation to others, tool use/production, as well as Homo level emotions, symbolic competency, memory recollection, complex multifaceted problem-solving capabilities, and interspecies communication. Language competence and symbolism can be continuously bridged from chimpanzee to man. Emotions, intercommunity aggression, body language, gestures, facial expressions, and vocalization of intonations seem to parallel between the sister taxa Homo and Pan. The shared suite of traits between Pan and Homo genus demonstrated in this article integrates old and new information on human–chimpanzee evolution, bilateral informational and cross-cultural exchange, promoting the urgent need for Pan cultures in the wild to be protected, as they are part of the cultural heritage of mankind. Also, we suggest that bonobos, Pan paniscus, based on shared traits with Australopithecus, need to be included in Australopithecine’s subgenus, and may even represent living-fossil Australopithecines. Unfolding bonobo and chimpanzee biology highlights our common genetic and cultural evolutionary origins.

Highlights from PHENIX transverse spin program at RHIC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, M.

2013-01-01

In recent years, there has been exciting development in both experimental and theoretical studies of transverse spin phenomena in high energy polarized p+p and polarized DIS collisions. In the p+p frontier, the polarized p+p collider at RHIC provides a unique opportunity to investigate the novel physics that causes the large spin effects seen in the transversely polarized p+p collisions over the past 30 years, particularly in the forward rapidity. Since the beginning, PHENIX has been conducting a very active transverse spin physics program to study Sivers, Collins and other novel spin effects at RHIC, including measurements of transverse single spin asymmetry (TSSA) in light and heavy quark productions, leading neutron TSSA in the very forward rapidity, and di-hadron (and 'jet') spin correlations in a wide kinematics range, just to name a few. In 2012, PHENIX collected transversely polarized 200 GeV p+p data with a record high luminosity of 9.24 pb −1 , with an average beam polarization of 58%. In this talk, I highlight the recent results from the PHENIX experiment, and also briefly discuss the near-term prospects of new transverse spin measurements only possible with the latest (forward) silicon vertex detectors, (F)VTX, and the upcoming forward MPC-EX upgrade detectors.

Atomic Auger spectroscopy: Historical perspective and recent highlights

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mehlhorn, W.

2000-01-01

The non-radiating decay of an inner-shell ionized atom by the emission of an electron was discovered by Pierre Auger in cloud-chamber experiments in the years 1923 to 1926. The first spectroscopic investigation of Auger electrons was performed by Robinson and Cassie in 1926, marking the birth date of Auger spectroscopy. The following seven decades of Auger spectroscopy will be divided into three periods. In the first period (1926-1960) Auger spectroscopy was mainly connected with β-ray spectroscopy where inner-shell ionization of atoms in the solid state was caused either by γ-conversion or by electron capture. The second period (beginning in 1960) is characterized by the external excitation of gas-phase or free metallic atoms, opening Auger spectroscopy to electron energies in the range of few eV to few keV. The third period (beginning in 1977/78) is characterized by the use of synchrotron radiation with its outstanding properties of tunability, polarization and narrow-band high intensity for the excitation and ionization of inner-shell electrons. Finally, two recent highlights of Auger spectroscopy, the interference between photo- and Auger electron with equal energies and an 'almost' complete experiment for Auger decay, will be presented

Tourette syndrome research highlights from 2016 [version 1; referees: 2 approved, 1 approved with reservations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kevin J. Black

2017-08-01

Full Text Available This article presents highlights chosen from research that appeared during 2016 on Tourette syndrome and other tic disorders. Selected articles felt to represent meaningful advances in the field are briefly summarized.

Interactive Highlighting for Just-in-Time Formative Assessment during Whole-Class Instruction: Effects on Vocabulary Learning and Reading Comprehension

Science.gov (United States)

Ponce, Héctor R.; Mayer, Richard E.; Figueroa, Verónica A.; López, Mario J.

2018-01-01

This article examines the effectiveness of a software that supports formative assessment in real-time of learners' vocabulary knowledge through an interactive highlighting method. Students in a classroom are given a passage on their computer screen and asked to highlight the words they do not understand. This information is summarized on the…

Bioanalysis-related highlights from the 2011 AAPS National Biotechnology Conference.

Science.gov (United States)

Crisino, Rebecca M; Dulanto, Beatriz

2011-08-01

The American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists is a dynamic international forum for the exchange of knowledge among scientists to enhance their contributions to drug development. The annual National Biotechnology Conference, conducted and organized by the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, is a forum dedicated to advancements in science and technology related to discovery, development and manufacture of medical biotechnology products. The 2011 National Biotechnology Conference meeting convened in San Francisco, CA, USA on 16-18 May. Over 300 abstracts were submitted and approximately 50 sessions examined topics pertaining to advances in drug development, emerging analytical technologies, bioanalysis-related issues, biosimilar therapies, updates on global regulatory documents and expectations, and other topics. The focus of this article is to highlight key developments relevant to immunogenicity and pharmacokinetic drug concentration bioanalysis.

Symposium on Highlights from 14 years of LEAR Physics: "Light Antiprotonic Atoms" by R. Hayano

CERN Multimedia

1998-01-01

Symposium on Highlights from 14 years of LEAR Physics hold at CERN, commemorating the closure of LEAR and giving a topical review of the impact of experiments with low energy antiprotons in their respective fields

Symposium on Highlights from 14 years of LEAR Physics : "Nuclear Physics" by T. von Egidy

CERN Multimedia

1998-01-01

Symposium on Highlights from 145 years of LEAR Physics hold at CERN, commemorating the closure of LEAR and giving a topical review of the impact of experiments with low energy antiprotons in their respective fields

Symposium on Highlights from 14 years of LEAR Physics : "Annihilation at Rest" by U. Gastaldi

CERN Multimedia

1998-01-01

Symposium on Highlights from 14 years of LEAR Physics hold at CERN, commemorating the closure of LEAR and giving a topical review of the impact of experiments with low energy antiprotons in their respective fields

Symposium on Highlights from 14 years of LEAR Physics : "Annihilation in Flight" by D. Hertzog

CERN Multimedia

1998-01-01

Symposium on Highlights from 14 years of LEAR Physics hold at CERN, commemorating the closure of LEAR and giving a topical review of the impact of experiments with low energy antiprotons in their respective fields

Modification of the solid-state nature of sulfathiazole and sulfathiazole sodium by spray drying.

Science.gov (United States)

Bianco, Stefano; Caron, Vincent; Tajber, Lidia; Corrigan, Owen I; Nolan, Lorraine; Hu, Yun; Healy, Anne Marie

2012-06-01

Solid-state characterisation of a drug following pharmaceutical processing and upon storage is fundamental to successful dosage form development. The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of using different solvents, feed concentrations and spray drier configuration on the solid-state nature of the highly polymorphic model drug, sulfathiazole (ST) and its sodium salt (STNa). The drugs were spray-dried from ethanol, acetone and mixtures of these organic solvents with water. Additionally, STNa was spray-dried from pure water. The physicochemical properties including the physical stability of the spray-dried powders were compared to the unprocessed materials. Spray drying of ST from either acetonic or ethanolic solutions with the spray drier operating in a closed cycle mode yielded crystalline powders. In contrast, the powders obtained from ethanolic solutions with the spray drier operating in an open cycle mode were amorphous. Amorphous ST crystallised to pure form I at ≤35 % relative humidity (RH) or to polymorphic mixtures at higher RH values. The usual crystal habit of form I is needle-like, but spherical particles of this polymorph were generated by spray drying. STNa solutions resulted in an amorphous material upon processing, regardless of the solvent and the spray drier configuration employed. Moisture induced crystallisation of amorphous STNa to a sesquihydrate, whilst crystallisation upon heating gave rise to a new anhydrous polymorph. This study indicated that control of processing and storage parameters can be exploited to produce drugs with a specific/desired solid-state nature.

Evidence for the presence of carbonate melt during the formation of cumulates in the Colli Albani Volcanic District, Italy

Science.gov (United States)

Shaw, Cliff S. J.

2018-06-01

Fergusite and syenite xenoliths and mafic lapilli from two locations in the Villa Senni ignimbrite of the Colli Albani Volcanic District show evidence for fractionation of a silicate magma that led to exsolution of an immiscible carbonate melt. The fergusite xenoliths are divided into two groups on the basis of their clinopyroxene compositions. Group 1 clinopyroxene records the crystallisation of a silicate melt and enrichment of the melt in Al, Ti and Mn and depletion in Si as well as enrichment in incompatible trace elements. The second group of clinopyroxene compositions (group 2) comes mainly from Ba-F-phlogopite- and Ti-andradite-bearing fergusites. They have significantly higher Si and lower Al and Ti and, like the coexisting phlogopite and garnet are strongly enriched in Mn. The minerals in the fergusites containing group 2 clinopyroxene are enriched in Ba, Sr, Cs, V and Li all of which are expected to partition strongly into a carbonate melt phase relative to the coexisting silicate melt. The compositional data suggest that the group 1 fergusites record sidewall crystallisation of CO2-rich silicate melt and that once the melt reached a critical degree of fractionation, carbonate melt exsolved. The group 2 fergusites record continued crystallisation in this heterogeneous silicate - carbonate melt system. Composite xenoliths of fergusite and thermometamorphic skarn record contact times of hundreds to a few thousand years indicating that fractionation and assimilation was relatively rapid.

Environmental programs of the Department of Energy and Environment annual highlights

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manowitz, B.

1978-12-01

Environmental Sciences is one of the four areas comprising the Department of Energy and Environment at Brookhaven National Laboratory. It carries out a wide range of activities in atmospheric sciences, environmental chemistry, oceanographic sciences, and land and freshwater environmental sciences. In general, these programs are concerned with identification and measurement of pollutants introduced into the environment by energy-related activities and the evaluation and prediction of the effects or potential effects of these pollutants on the environment. This highlights report for Environmental Programs covers the year 1978 and describes the objectives and funding levels of each of the programs, major accomplishments during the year, planned future activities, and current publications

Environmental programs of the Department of Energy and Environment annual highlights

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Manowitz, B

1978-12-01

Environmental Sciences is one of the four areas comprising the Department of Energy and Environment at Brookhaven National Laboratory. It carries out a wide range of activities in atmospheric sciences, environmental chemistry, oceanographic sciences, and land and freshwater environmental sciences. In general, these programs are concerned with identification and measurement of pollutants introduced into the environment by energy-related activities and the evaluation and prediction of the effects or potential effects of these pollutants on the environment. This highlights report for Environmental Programs covers the year 1978 and describes the objectives and funding levels of each of the programs, major accomplishments during the year, planned future activities, and current publications.

Highlights from the CERN/ESO/NordForsk ''Gender in Physics Day''

Science.gov (United States)

Primas, F.; Guinot, G.; Strandberg, L.

2017-03-01

In their role as observers on the EU Gender Equality Network in the European Research Area (GENERA) project, funded under the Horizon 2020 framework, CERN, ESO and NordForsk joined forces and organised a Gender in Physics Day at the CERN Globe of Science and Innovation. The one-day conference aimed to examine innovative activities promoting gender equality, and to discuss gender-oriented policies and best practice in the European Research Area (with special emphasis on intergovernmental organisations), as well as the importance of building solid networks. The event was very well attended and was declared a success. The main highlights of the meeting are reported.

Blue hypertext is a good design decision: no perceptual disadvantage in reading and successful highlighting of relevant information

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Benjamin Gagl

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Background Highlighted text in the Internet (i.e., hypertext is predominantly blue and underlined. The perceptibility of these hypertext characteristics was heavily questioned by applied research and empirical tests resulted in inconclusive results. The ability to recognize blue text in foveal and parafoveal vision was identified as potentially constrained by the low number of foveally centered blue light sensitive retinal cells. The present study investigates if foveal and parafoveal perceptibility of blue hypertext is reduced in comparison to normal black text during reading. Methods A silent-sentence reading study with simultaneous eye movement recordings and the invisible boundary paradigm, which allows the investigation of foveal and parafoveal perceptibility, separately, was realized (comparing fixation times after degraded vs. un-degraded parafoveal previews. Target words in sentences were presented in either black or blue and either underlined or normal. Results No effect of color and underlining, but a preview benefit could be detected for first pass reading measures. Fixation time measures that included re-reading, e.g., total viewing times, showed, in addition to a preview effect, a reduced fixation time for not highlighted (black not underlined in contrast to highlighted target words (either blue or underlined or both. Discussion The present pattern reflects no detectable perceptual disadvantage of hyperlink stimuli but increased attraction of attention resources, after first pass reading, through highlighting. Blue or underlined text allows readers to easily perceive hypertext and at the same time readers re-visited highlighted words longer. On the basis of the present evidence, blue hypertext can be safely recommended to web designers for future use.

Three decades of Cognition & Emotion : A brief review of past highlights and future prospects

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rothermund, Klaus; Koole, Sander L.

Over the past three decades, Cognition & Emotion has been one of the world’s leading outlets for emotion research. In this article, we review past highlights of and future prospects for the journal. Our tour of history covers three periods: The first period, from 1987 to 1999, was a pioneering era

Melt compositions and processes in the kimberlite provience of southern West Greenland

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pilbeam, Llewellyn; Nielsen, Troels; Waight, Tod Earle

2011-01-01

] whilst the silica content and H2O/CO2 ratio of the bulk rocks increases towards Sisimuit [2, 3]. A common carbonatite rich end-member is implicated [2]. This is in contrast to the prevailing dogma of a continuum from carbonatite though aillikite to kimberlite with increasing melting degree [4......]. The authors have demonstrated that a process of DFC (digestion fractional crystallisation) whereby the cognate olivine crystallisation is coupled to entrained xenocrystic orthopyroxene assimilation is a key process during the formation of the Majugaa occurrence of the Manitsoq region [5]. Mass balance...... considerations are here applied to the Majuagaa bulk rock in term of the DFC mechanism obtaining an estimate of parental melt and magma composition for the Majuagaa kimberlite. We use bulk rock major and trace element geochemistry together with mineral chemistry to investigate the range of melt compositions...

The effect on phase separation of the oxidation state of molybdenum in a Na2O-B2O3-SiO2 glass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawamoto, Y.; Clemens, K.; Tomozawa, M.; Warden, J.T.

1981-01-01

The effect of oxidation state on phase separation was studied for 13Na 2 O, 49B 2 O 3 , 38SiO 2 (mol%) glasses containing 1 mol% Mo oxide. The glasses were melted under various conditions to vary the oxidation states of Mo ions. The oxidation states of Mo ions were determined by chemical analysis and ESR. The crystallisation tendency, the immiscibility temperature, and the phase separation morphology of the glasses were examined by DTA, x-ray diffraction, opalescence method, and replica electron microscopy. Glasses containing Mo 4+ ions have a great tendency to precipitate MoO 2 crystals. The immiscibility temperature of glass goes through a minimum when the oxidation states of Mo ions are changed. It was suggested that there is an optimum oxidation state to prevent crystallisation and to suppress the phase separation tendency of this system. (author)

Spectral editing at ultra-fast magic-angle-spinning in solid-state NMR: facilitating protein sequential signal assignment by HIGHLIGHT approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Songlin; Matsuda, Isamu; Long, Fei; Ishii, Yoshitaka, E-mail: yishii@uic.edu [University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Chemistry (United States)

2016-02-15

This study demonstrates a novel spectral editing technique for protein solid-state NMR (SSNMR) to simplify the spectrum drastically and to reduce the ambiguity for protein main-chain signal assignments in fast magic-angle-spinning (MAS) conditions at a wide frequency range of 40–80 kHz. The approach termed HIGHLIGHT (Wang et al., in Chem Comm 51:15055–15058, 2015) combines the reverse {sup 13}C, {sup 15}N-isotope labeling strategy and selective signal quenching using the frequency-selective REDOR pulse sequence under fast MAS. The scheme allows one to selectively observe the signals of “highlighted” labeled amino-acid residues that precede or follow unlabeled residues through selectively quenching {sup 13}CO or {sup 15}N signals for a pair of consecutively labeled residues by recoupling {sup 13}CO–{sup 15}N dipolar couplings. Our numerical simulation results showed that the scheme yielded only ∼15 % loss of signals for the highlighted residues while quenching as much as ∼90 % of signals for non-highlighted residues. For lysine-reverse-labeled micro-crystalline GB1 protein, the 2D {sup 15}N/{sup 13}C{sub α} correlation and 2D {sup 13}C{sub α}/{sup 13}CO correlation SSNMR spectra by the HIGHLIGHT approach yielded signals only for six residues following and preceding the unlabeled lysine residues, respectively. The experimental dephasing curves agreed reasonably well with the corresponding simulation results for highlighted and quenched residues at spinning speeds of 40 and 60 kHz. The compatibility of the HIGHLIGHT approach with fast MAS allows for sensitivity enhancement by paramagnetic assisted data collection (PACC) and {sup 1}H detection. We also discuss how the HIGHLIGHT approach facilitates signal assignments using {sup 13}C-detected 3D SSNMR by demonstrating full sequential assignments of lysine-reverse-labeled micro-crystalline GB1 protein (∼300 nmol), for which data collection required only 11 h. The HIGHLIGHT approach offers valuable

Institut de Physique Nucleaire d'Orsay. Highlights and achievements 2008-2013

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2013-01-01

Activities of the Institute through the 2008-2013 period, have been considerable and a detailed description of all of them would have resulted in a relatively large document. The choice was then made to only describe a selection of highlights from the activities of the different groups during the last 5 years. This concerns the five main scientific topics of the institute that are: 1- Nuclear Structure and Dynamics: The highlights described in this section concern the activities of two different research groups 'NESTER' and 'NIM'; 2 - Hadrons and Hadronic Matter: This section concerns the three teams involved in the CLASS collaboration at JLab, the HADES collaboration at GSI and the ALICE collaboration at LHC. All three are part of the group 'PHEN'; 3- Physics and Chemistry of Nuclear Energy: This section covers, on one hand, activities related to Nuclear Data and Simulations of novel option for nuclear energy production within the group 'PACS' and, on the other hand, all the activities that are performed within the 'RC (Radio-chemistry group)'; 4- Astrophysics: This section concerns nuclear astrophysics research activity at the group 'NESTER', the astro-chemistry activity at the 'NIM' group and the astro-particle activity within the 'AUGER' collaboration in the group 'PHEN'; 5 - Theory: This activity concerns mainly the 'Theory' group. Beside these five scientific topics a multidisciplinary activity based mainly on the use of accelerated nanoparticles with the TANDEM accelerator at ALTO is also described. Two additional sections are devoted in the document to summarize the activities related to: 1 -Accelerator physics and technology; 2 - Detector technology, instrumentation and data acquisition and processing. A separate paragraph gives a status report and highlights from the main facilities in the Institute such as ALTO, SUPRATECH and CACAO. The activities on 'Dosimetry' in one hand and on 'Safety and Radiation Protection' on the other hand as well as an overview

Ethical Challenges in a Complex World: Highlights of the 2005 ACA Code of Ethics

Science.gov (United States)

Kocet, Michael M.

2006-01-01

Being an effective counselor includes having knowledge of and the ability to integrate a code of ethics into one's professional practice. This article addresses some of the highlights of the changes in the 2005 ACA [American Counseling Association] Code of Ethics such as end-of-life issues, boundaries and relationships, and multicultural and…

The Contribution of Text-Highlighting to Comprehension: A Comparison of Print and Digital Reading

Science.gov (United States)

Ben-Yehudah, Gal; Eshet-Alkalai, Yoram

2018-01-01

The use of digital materials in educational settings is common, despite evidence indicating that comprehension of digital text is inferior to comprehension of printed text. A potential solution to this problem is to use learning strategies for deeper text processing. Text-highlighting is a strategy known to improve comprehension of printed text;…

Technology meets research 60 years of CERN technology : selected highlights

CERN Document Server

Taylor, Thomas; Treille, Daniel; Wenninger, Horst

2017-01-01

"Big" science and advanced technology are known to cross-fertilize. This book emphasizes the interplay between particle physics and technology at CERN that has led to breakthroughs in both research and technology over the laboratory's first 60 years. The innovations, often the work of individuals or by small teams, are illustrated with highlights describing selected technologies from the domains of accelerators and detectors. The book also presents the framework and conditions prevailing at CERN that enabled spectacular advances in technology and contributed to propel the European organization into the league of leading research laboratories in the world. While the book is specifically aimed at providing information for the technically interested general public, more expert readers may also appreciate the broad variety of subjects presented. Ample references are given for those who wish to further explore a given topic.

Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment in the U.S. Military: Highlights from the 2014 RAND Military Workplace Study

Science.gov (United States)

2015-01-01

assault, sexual harassment , and gender discrimination in the military. The resulting study, the RAND Military Workplace Study (RMWS), invited close to...members are highlighted in this brief. Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment in the U.S. Military HigHligHts from tHe 2014 rAND militAry WorkplAce stuDy...significantly higher rates than men : 22 percent of women and 7 percent of men experienced sexual harassment in the past year. In addition, we estimate

AGILE DATA CENTER AT ASDC AND AGILE HIGHLIGHTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlotta Pittori

2013-12-01

Full Text Available We present an overview of the main AGILE Data Center activities and the AGILE scientific highlights during the first 5 years of operations. AGILE is an ASI space mission in joint collaboration with INAF, INFN and CIFS, dedicated to the observation of the gamma-ray Universe. The AGILE satellite was launched on April 23rd, 2007, and is devoted to gamma-ray astrophysics in the 30MeV ÷ 50 GeV energy range, with simultaneous X-ray imaging capability in the 18 ÷ 60 keV band. Despite the small size and budget, AGILE has produced several important scientific results, including the unexpected discovery of strong and rapid gamma-ray flares from the Crab Nebula over daily timescales. This discovery won AGILE PI and the AGILE Team the prestigious Bruno Rossi Prize for 2012, an international award in the field of high energy astrophysics. Thanks to its sky monitoring capability and fast ground segment alert system, AGILE is substantially improving our knowledge of the gamma-ray sky, also making a crucial contribution to the study of the terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs detected in the Earth atmosphere. The AGILE Data Center, part of the ASI Science Data Center (ASDC located in Frascati, Italy, is in charge of all the science oriented activities related to the analysis, archiving and distribution of AGILE data.

The Effects of Highlight Color on Immediate Recall on Subjects of Different Cognitive Styles.

Science.gov (United States)

Worley, Gary M.; Moore, David M.

2001-01-01

Discussion of the use of color for enhancing recognition memory focuses on a study of undergraduates that evaluated images as black and white, full color, or highlight color and the effect these characteristics had on recognition memory and recall for learners classified as field-dependent and field-independent in terms of cognitive style. (LRW)

Main: PPD301 [AT Atlas

Lifescience Database Archive (English)

Full Text Available PPD301 PPD3 Antibody production for Membrane Protein Crystallization Antibody produ...al analyses of some membrane proteins in complex with their antibody fragments confirmed the high-resolution nature of the antibody co-crystallisation approach. PPD301.csml ...

CO2 permeation properties of poly(ethylene oxide)-based segmented block copolymers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Husken, D.; Visser, Tymen; Wessling, Matthias; Gaymans, R.J.

2010-01-01

This paper discusses the gas permeation properties of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)-based segmented block copolymers containing monodisperse amide segments. These monodisperse segments give rise to a well phase-separated morphology, comprising a continuous PEO phase with dispersed crystallised amide

The synthesis and characterization of mixed Y2O3-doped ZrO2 and ¿-Fe2O3 nanosized powders

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Raming, T.P.; Winnubst, Aloysius J.A.; Verweij, H.

2002-01-01

Several wet chemical precipitation methods used to synthesise nanocrystalline composite powders containing zirconium oxide, yttrium oxide and iron(III) oxide are described. The crystallisation and phase composition of the precipitates were studied as a function of temperature. A co-precipitation

The Water Quality in Rio Highlights the Global Public Health Concern Over Untreated Sewage Disposal

Science.gov (United States)

Water quality issues in Rio have been widely publicized because of the 2016 Olympics. Recent concerns about polluted waters that athletes may be exposed to highlights the conditions that more than a billion people globally are exposed to daily. Despite these unhealthy conditions,...

Thermal Evolution and Crystallisation Regimes of the Martian Core

Science.gov (United States)

Davies, C. J.; Pommier, A.

2015-12-01

Though it is accepted that Mars has a sulfur-rich metallic core, its chemical and physical state as well as its time-evolution are still unconstrained and debated. Several lines of evidence indicate that an internal magnetic field was once generated on Mars and that this field decayed around 3.7-4.0 Gyrs ago. The standard model assumes that this field was produced by a thermal (and perhaps chemical) dynamo operating in the Martian core. We use this information to construct parameterized models of the Martian dynamo in order to place constraints on the thermochemical evolution of the Martian core, with particular focus on its crystallization regime. Considered compositions are in the FeS system, with S content ranging from ~10 and 16 wt%. Core radius, density and CMB pressure are varied within the errors provided by recent internal structure models that satisfy the available geodetic constraints (planetary mass, moment of inertia and tidal Love number). We also vary the melting curve and adiabat, CMB heat flow and thermal conductivity. Successful models are those that match the dynamo cessation time and fall within the bounds on present-day CMB temperature. The resulting suite of over 500 models suggest three possible crystallization regimes: growth of a solid inner core starting at the center of the planet; freezing and precipitation of solid iron (Fe- snow) from the core-mantle boundary (CMB); and freezing that begins midway through the core. Our analysis focuses on the effects of core properties that are expected to be constrained during the forthcoming Insight mission.

Modelling the crystallisation of alkaline earth boroaluminosilicate glass ceramics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svenson, Mouritz Nolsøe; Agersted, Karsten; Holm, Paul Martin

2014-01-01

To investigate the potential use of a thermochemical software package (FactSage 6.2), in the design of alkaline earth boroaluminosilicate glass ceramics, experimental and modelled results on four glass ceramics were compared. Initially large discrepancies were found. These are described and related...

Hugoniot curve of vitreous silica and crystallisation under shock

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Viard, Jean

1959-01-01

The Hugoniot curve of vitreous silica shows a discontinuity of slope towards 135 kb, a sign of the passage, from the vitreous state to a crystalline structure in the shock wave. Reprint of a paper published in Comptes rendus des seances de l'Academie des Sciences, t. 249, p. 820-822, sitting of 10 August 1959 [fr

January 1978 monthly highlights for Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research Programs at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mynatt, F.R.

1978-01-01

Highlights of technical progress during January 1978 are presented for sixteen separate program activities which comprise the ORNL research program for the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research's Division of Reactor Safety Research

Monthly highlights for Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research Programs at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, March 1977

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fee, G.G.

1977-01-01

Highlights of technical progress during March 1977 are presented for thirteen separate program activities which comprise the ORNL research program for the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research's Division of Reactor Safety Research

The physical behaviour of gabbroic crystal mush

Science.gov (United States)

Humphreys, M.; Namur, O.; Holness, M. B.

2012-12-01

Crystal mushes form at the boundary layers of all magma bodies, from lava flows to volcanic conduits to batholiths. The physical behaviour of a crystal mush is important in controlling a number of physical processes, from the origin of crystal-poor rhyolites, and the migration and ascent of granitic magmas, to compaction and differentiation processes in large mafic bodies. As well as strain-rate, the grain-scale microstructure of the mush is an important factor in controlling its physical behaviour, with porosity (amount of residual liquid) being particularly important. One might therefore expect to see a range of different behaviours during the crystallisation of a magma body, depending on the porosity and strain rate at any given point in the crystallisation history. We describe evidence for three different mechanical regimes affecting a gabbroic crystal mush at different scales and residual liquid contents. We focus on the Marginal Border Series of the Skaergaard Intrusion, east Greenland, which crystallised on the steeply dipping sidewalls of the intrusion. It has the advantage that, unlike in most mushes that developed on the chamber floor, thermal gradients and the effects of gravity act in orthogonal directions, allowing shear-related features to be identified and distinguished from thermal effects. The largest-scale effects are evident at the contact between the Marginal Border Series (MBS) and the Layered Series, which crystallised on the floor of the intrusion. The contact is characterised by slumping and faulting of semi-consolidated crystal mush, resulting in slippage and rotation of large packets of relatively coherent igneous 'sediment' down-slope. This process may be analogous to the formation of slumps or rotational landslides in sedimentary systems. At a smaller scale, gravitational instability of the sidewalls caused localised sagging of the crystal mush and resulted in small ductile cracks or tears that filled with interstitial liquid. Finally

Identification of natural compound inhibitors for multidrug efflux pumps of Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa using in silico high-throughput virtual screening and in vitro validation.

Science.gov (United States)

Aparna, Vasudevan; Dineshkumar, Kesavan; Mohanalakshmi, Narasumani; Velmurugan, Devadasan; Hopper, Waheeta

2014-01-01

Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli are resistant to wide range of antibiotics rendering the treatment of infections very difficult. A main mechanism attributed to the resistance is the function of efflux pumps. MexAB-OprM and AcrAB-TolC are the tripartite efflux pump assemblies, responsible for multidrug resistance in P. aeruginosa and E. coli respectively. Substrates that are more susceptible for efflux are predicted to have a common pharmacophore feature map. In this study, a new criterion of excluding compounds with efflux substrate-like features was used, thereby refining the selection process and enriching the inhibitor identification process. An in-house database of phytochemicals was created and screened using high-throughput virtual screening against AcrB and MexB proteins and filtered by matching with the common pharmacophore models (AADHR, ADHNR, AAHNR, AADHN, AADNR, AAADN, AAADR, AAANR, AAAHN, AAADD and AAADH) generated using known efflux substrates. Phytochemical hits that matched with any one or more of the efflux substrate models were excluded from the study. Hits that do not have features similar to the efflux substrate models were docked using XP docking against the AcrB and MexB proteins. The best hits of the XP docking were validated by checkerboard synergy assay and ethidium bromide accumulation assay for their efflux inhibition potency. Lanatoside C and diadzein were filtered based on the synergistic potential and validated for their efflux inhibition potency using ethidium bromide accumulation study. These compounds exhibited the ability to increase the accumulation of ethidium bromide inside the bacterial cell as evidenced by these increase in fluorescence in the presence of the compounds. With this good correlation between in silico screening and positive efflux inhibitory activity in vitro, the two compounds, lanatoside C and diadzein could be promising efflux pump inhibitors and effective to use in combination therapy against drug

Identification of natural compound inhibitors for multidrug efflux pumps of Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa using in silico high-throughput virtual screening and in vitro validation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vasudevan Aparna

Full Text Available Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli are resistant to wide range of antibiotics rendering the treatment of infections very difficult. A main mechanism attributed to the resistance is the function of efflux pumps. MexAB-OprM and AcrAB-TolC are the tripartite efflux pump assemblies, responsible for multidrug resistance in P. aeruginosa and E. coli respectively. Substrates that are more susceptible for efflux are predicted to have a common pharmacophore feature map. In this study, a new criterion of excluding compounds with efflux substrate-like features was used, thereby refining the selection process and enriching the inhibitor identification process. An in-house database of phytochemicals was created and screened using high-throughput virtual screening against AcrB and MexB proteins and filtered by matching with the common pharmacophore models (AADHR, ADHNR, AAHNR, AADHN, AADNR, AAADN, AAADR, AAANR, AAAHN, AAADD and AAADH generated using known efflux substrates. Phytochemical hits that matched with any one or more of the efflux substrate models were excluded from the study. Hits that do not have features similar to the efflux substrate models were docked using XP docking against the AcrB and MexB proteins. The best hits of the XP docking were validated by checkerboard synergy assay and ethidium bromide accumulation assay for their efflux inhibition potency. Lanatoside C and diadzein were filtered based on the synergistic potential and validated for their efflux inhibition potency using ethidium bromide accumulation study. These compounds exhibited the ability to increase the accumulation of ethidium bromide inside the bacterial cell as evidenced by these increase in fluorescence in the presence of the compounds. With this good correlation between in silico screening and positive efflux inhibitory activity in vitro, the two compounds, lanatoside C and diadzein could be promising efflux pump inhibitors and effective to use in combination

Poincare and the Theory of Automorphic Functions

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

tions; see Box 1) set off the process of crystallisation of the theory of automorphic ... tions became popular and many new examples, automorphic functions, were ... The Mobius transformations on H are nothing but the action of the group 5L(2, ...

Current state of the art of HNF based composite propellants

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ciucci, A.; Frota, O.; Welland, W.H.M.; Heijden, A.E.D.M. van der; Leeming, B.; Bellerby, J.M.; Brotzu, A.

2004-01-01

The main activities currently performed for the development of HNF-based propellants are presented. The objectives and approach adopted are described. The results obtained on the HNF decomposition mechanism and on the re- and co-crystallisation of HNF with potential propellant ingredients are

Treatment of Molybdate Containing Waste Streams

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Witkamp, G.J.; Van Spronsen, J.; Hasselaar, M.

2008-01-01

The invention is directed to a process for the treatment of an aqueous solution comprising sodium carbonate and/or sodium bicarbonate and sodium molybdate, said process comprising freeze crystallising the solution at the eutectic freezing point thereof and recovering substantially pure ice crystals,

Thermal hydraulics of sodium-cooled fast reactors - key issues and highlights

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ninokata, H.; Kamide, H.

2011-01-01

In this paper key issues and highlighted topics in thermal hydraulics are discussed in connection to the current Japan's sodium-cooled fast reactor development efforts. In particular, design study and related researches of the Japan Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (JSFR) are focused. Several innovative technologies, e.g., compact reactor vessel, two-loop system, fully natural circulation decay heat removal, and recriticality free core, have been investigated in order to reduce construction cost and to achieve higher level of reactor safety. Preliminary evaluations of innovative technologies to be applied to JSFR are on-going. Here, progress of design study is introduced. Then, research and development activities on the thermal hydraulics related to the innovative technologies are briefly reviewed. (author)

Multi-modal highlight generation for sports videos using an information-theoretic excitability measure

Science.gov (United States)

Hasan, Taufiq; Bořil, Hynek; Sangwan, Abhijeet; L Hansen, John H.

2013-12-01

The ability to detect and organize `hot spots' representing areas of excitement within video streams is a challenging research problem when techniques rely exclusively on video content. A generic method for sports video highlight selection is presented in this study which leverages both video/image structure as well as audio/speech properties. Processing begins where the video is partitioned into small segments and several multi-modal features are extracted from each segment. Excitability is computed based on the likelihood of the segmental features residing in certain regions of their joint probability density function space which are considered both exciting and rare. The proposed measure is used to rank order the partitioned segments to compress the overall video sequence and produce a contiguous set of highlights. Experiments are performed on baseball videos based on signal processing advancements for excitement assessment in the commentators' speech, audio energy, slow motion replay, scene cut density, and motion activity as features. Detailed analysis on correlation between user excitability and various speech production parameters is conducted and an effective scheme is designed to estimate the excitement level of commentator's speech from the sports videos. Subjective evaluation of excitability and ranking of video segments demonstrate a higher correlation with the proposed measure compared to well-established techniques indicating the effectiveness of the overall approach.

Research Integrity and Peer Review-past highlights and future directions.

Science.gov (United States)

Boughton, Stephanie L; Kowalczuk, Maria K; Meerpohl, Joerg J; Wager, Elizabeth; Moylan, Elizabeth C

2018-01-01

In May 2016, we launched Research Integrity and Peer Review , an international, open access journal with fully open peer review (reviewers are identified on their reports and named reports are published alongside the article) to provide a home for research on research and publication ethics, research reporting, and research on peer review. As the journal enters its third year, we reflect on recent events and highlights for the journal and explore how the journal is faring in terms of gender and diversity in peer review. We also share the particular interests of our Editors-in-Chief regarding models of peer review, reporting quality, common research integrity issues that arise during the publishing process, and how people interact with the published literature. We continue to encourage further research into peer review, research and publication ethics and research reporting, as we believe that all new initiatives should be evidence-based. We also remain open to constructive discussions of the developments in the field that offer new solutions.

SUPPORTING LEARNING THROUGH EPISTEMIC SCAFFOLDS EMBEDDED IN A HIGHLIGHTER TOOL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jan Erik Dahl

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This article explores the use of epistemic scaffolds embedded in a digital highlighter tool that was used to support students’ readings and discussions of research articles. The use of annotation technologies in education is increasing, and annotations can play a wide variety of epistemic roles; e.g., they can facilitate a deeper level of engagement, support critical thinking, develop cognitive and metacognitive skills and introduce practices that can support knowledge building and independent learning. However, research has shown that the actual tool use often deviates from the underlying knowledge model in the tools. Hence, the situated and mediated nature of these tools is still poorly understood. Research also tends to study the tools as a passed on resource rather than being co-constructed between students and teachers. The researcher argues that approaching these resources as co-constructed can be more productive and can create new spaces for teacher–student dialogues, students’ agency and self-scaffolding.

Expression QTL analysis of top loci from GWAS meta-analysis highlights additional schizophrenia candidate genes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

de Jong, Simone; van Eijk, Kristel R; Zeegers, Dave W L H

2012-01-01

of the Psychiatric GWAS consortium (PGC) yielded five novel loci for schizophrenia. In this study, we aim to highlight additional schizophrenia susceptibility loci from the PGC study by combining the top association findings from the discovery stage (9394 schizophrenia cases and 12 462 controls) with expression QTLs...

Study of the Transformations of Micro/Nano-crystalline Acetaminophen Polymorphs in Drug-Polymer Binary Mixtures.

Science.gov (United States)

Maniruzzaman, Mohammed; Lam, Matthew; Molina, Carlos; Nokhodchi, Ali

2017-07-01

This study elucidates the physical properties of sono-crystallised micro/nano-sized acetaminophen/paracetamol (PMOL) and monitors its possible transformation from polymorphic form I (monoclinic) to form II (orthorhombic). Hydrophilic Plasdone® S630 copovidone (S630), N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone and vinyl acetate copolymer, and methacrylate-based cationic copolymer, Eudragit® EPO (EPO), were used as polymeric carriers to prepare drug/polymer binary mixtures. Commercially available PMOL was crystallised under ultra sound sonication to produce micro/nano-sized (0.2-10 microns) crystals in monoclinic form. Homogeneous binary blends of drug-polymer mixtures at various drug concentrations were obtained via a thorough mixing. The analysis conducted via the single X-ray crystallography determined the detailed structure of the crystallised PMOL in its monoclinic form. The solid state and the morphology analyses of the PMOL in the binary blends evaluated via differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), modulated temperature DSC (MTDSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and hot stage microscopy (HSM) revealed the crystalline existence of the drug within the amorphous polymeric matrices. The application of temperature controlled X-ray diffraction (VTXRPD) to study the polymorphism of PMOL showed that the most stable form I (monoclinic) was altered to its less stable form II (orthorhombic) at high temperature (>112°C) in the binary blends regardless of the drug amount. Thus, VTXRD was used as a useful tool to monitor polymorphic transformations of crystalline drug (e.g. PMOL) to assess their thermal stability in terms of pharmaceutical product development and research.

A thermodynamic approach to model the caloric properties of semicrystalline polymers

Science.gov (United States)

Lion, Alexander; Johlitz, Michael

2016-05-01

It is well known that the crystallisation and melting behaviour of semicrystalline polymers depends in a pronounced manner on the temperature history. If the polymer is in the liquid state above the melting point, and the temperature is reduced to a level below the glass transition, the final degree of crystallinity, the amount of the rigid amorphous phase and the configurational state of the mobile amorphous phase strongly depend on the cooling rate. If the temperature is increased afterwards, the extents of cold crystallisation and melting are functions of the heating rate. Since crystalline and amorphous phases exhibit different densities, the specific volume depends also on the temperature history. In this article, a thermodynamically based phenomenological approach is developed which allows for the constitutive representation of these phenomena in the time domain. The degree of crystallinity and the configuration of the amorphous phase are represented by two internal state variables whose evolution equations are formulated under consideration of the second law of thermodynamics. The model for the specific Gibbs free energy takes the chemical potentials of the different phases and the mixture entropy into account. For simplification, it is assumed that the amount of the rigid amorphous phase is proportional to the degree of crystallinity. An essential outcome of the model is an equation in closed form for the equilibrium degree of crystallinity in dependence on pressure and temperature. Numerical simulations demonstrate that the process dependences of crystallisation and melting under consideration of the glass transition are represented.

Low-pressure differentiation of tholeiitic lavas as recorded in segregation veins from Reykjanes (Iceland), Lanzarote (Canary Islands) and Masaya (Nicaragua)

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, E.; Sigmarsson, O.

2007-11-01

Segregation veins are common in lava sheets and result from internal differentiation during lava emplacement and degassing. They consist of evolved liquid, most likely replaced by gas-filter pressing from a ˜50% crystallised host lava. Pairs of samples, host lavas and associated segregation veins from the Reykjanes Peninsula (Iceland), Lanzarote (Canary Islands) and the Masaya volcano (Nicaragua) show extreme mineralogical and compositional variations (MgO in host lava, segregation veins and interstitial glass ranges from 8-10 wt%, 3-6 wt%, and to less than 0.01 wt%, respectively). These samples allow the assessment of the internal lava flow differentiation mechanism, since both the parental and derived liquid are known in addition to the last magma drops in the form of late interstitial glasses. The mineralogical variation, mass-balance calculated from major- and trace element composition, and transitional metal partition between crystals and melts are all consistent with fractional crystallisation as the dominant differentiation mechanism. The interstitial glasses are highly silicic (SiO2 = 70-80 wt%) and represent a final product of high-degree (75-97%) fractional crystallisation of olivine tholeiite at a pressure close to one atmosphere. The tholeiitic liquid-line-of-decent and the composition of the residual melts are governed by the K2O/Na2O of the initial basaltic magma. The granitic minimum is reached if the initial liquid has a high K2O/Na2O whereas trondhjemitic composition is the final product of magma with low initial K2O/Na2O.

Magneto-optical properties of yttrium iron garnet (YIG) thin films elaborated by radio frequency sputtering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boudiar, T.; Payet-Gervy, B.; Blanc-Mignon, M.-F.; Rousseau, J.-J.; Le Berre, M.; Joisten, H.

2004-01-01

Thin films of yttrium iron garnet (YIG) are grown by radio frequency magnetron non reactive sputtering system. Thin films are crystallised by heat-treatment to obtain magneto-optical properties. On quartz substrate, the network of cracks observed on the annealed samples can be explained by the difference between the thermal expansion coefficient of substrate and YIG. Physico-chemical analysis shown that the obtained material has a correct stoichiometry and is crystallised as FCC. The Faraday rotation of thin films is measured with a classical ellipsometric system based on transmission which allows us to obtained an accuracy of 0.01 deg. The variation of Faraday rotation is studied on the one hand versus radio frequency power applied to the cathode during the deposition and on the other hand versus the applied magnetic field. The results are compared with those obtained by vibrating sample magnetometer analysis in perpendicular configuration. A maximum Faraday rotation is observed to be 1900 deg./cm at the wavelength of 594nm for a YIG thin film formed on quartz substrate and annealed at 740 deg. C. The values of the Faraday rotation coefficients obtained in the study versus the wavelength are comparable to those of the literature for the bulk material. In order to eliminate the stress due to the heat-treatment, we made some films on single crystals of gadolinium gallium garnet (111) substrates for which thermal expansion coefficient is near than the YIG one. The material crystallises with no crackles and the Faraday effect is equivalent

Monthly highlights for Office of Nuclear Regulatory research programs at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fee, G.G.

1975-04-01

Summaries are given of the following programs: heavy section steel technology, fission product beta and gamma energy release, LOCA release from LWR fuel, multirod burst tests, Nuclear Safety Information Center, PWR blowdown heat transfer--separate effects, Zircaloy fuel cladding collapse studies, Zr metal--water oxidation kinetics, transient vaporization of LMFBR fuel, and HTGR safety analysis and research. Technical highlights and cost/budget reports are included. (U.S.)

Monthly highlights for Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research Programs at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fee, G.G.

1976-02-01

Brief highlights are presented for the following activities: heavy section steel technology program, fission product β and γ energy release, LOCA release from LWR fuel, multirod burst tests, Nuclear Safety Information Center, PWR blowdown heat transfer-separate effects, zircaloy fuel cladding collapse studies, zirconium metal-water oxidation kinetics, aerosol release and transport from LMFBR fuel, HTGR safety analysis and research, and design criteria for piping and nozzles

Atmospheric Research 2014 Technical Highlights

Science.gov (United States)

Platnick, Steven

2015-01-01

Earth Sciences Division in atmospheric science research. Figure 1.1 shows the 20-year record of peer-reviewed publications and proposals among the various Laboratories. This data shows that the scientific work being conducted in the Laboratories is competitive with the work being done elsewhere in universities and other government agencies. The office of Deputy Director for Atmospheric Research will strive to maintain this record by rigorously monitoring and promoting quality while emphasizing coordination and integration among atmospheric disciplines. Also, an appropriate balance will be maintained between the scientists' responsibility for large collaborative projects and missions and their need to carry out active science research as a principal investigator. This balance allows members of the Laboratories to improve their scientific credentials, and develop leadership potentials. Interdisciplinary research is carried out in collaboration with other laboratories and research groups within the Earth Sciences Division, across the Sciences and Exploration Directorate, and with partners in universities and other government agencies. Members of the Laboratories interact with the general public to support a wide range of interests in the atmospheric sciences. Among other activities, the Laboratories raise the public's awareness of atmospheric science by presenting public lectures and demonstrations, by making scientific data available to wide audiences, by teaching, and by mentoring students and teachers. The Atmosphere Laboratories make substantial efforts to attract and recruit new scientists to the various areas of atmospheric research. We strongly encourage the establishment of partnerships with Federal and state agencies that have operational responsibilities to promote the societal application of our science products. This report describes our role in NASA's mission, provides highlights of our research scope and activities, and summarizes our scientists' major

Scale effect challenges in urban hydrology highlighted with a distributed hydrological model

Science.gov (United States)

Ichiba, Abdellah; Gires, Auguste; Tchiguirinskaia, Ioulia; Schertzer, Daniel; Bompard, Philippe; Ten Veldhuis, Marie-Claire

2018-01-01

Hydrological models are extensively used in urban water management, development and evaluation of future scenarios and research activities. There is a growing interest in the development of fully distributed and grid-based models. However, some complex questions related to scale effects are not yet fully understood and still remain open issues in urban hydrology. In this paper we propose a two-step investigation framework to illustrate the extent of scale effects in urban hydrology. First, fractal tools are used to highlight the scale dependence observed within distributed data input into urban hydrological models. Then an intensive multi-scale modelling work is carried out to understand scale effects on hydrological model performance. Investigations are conducted using a fully distributed and physically based model, Multi-Hydro, developed at Ecole des Ponts ParisTech. The model is implemented at 17 spatial resolutions ranging from 100 to 5 m. Results clearly exhibit scale effect challenges in urban hydrology modelling. The applicability of fractal concepts highlights the scale dependence observed within distributed data. Patterns of geophysical data change when the size of the observation pixel changes. The multi-scale modelling investigation confirms scale effects on hydrological model performance. Results are analysed over three ranges of scales identified in the fractal analysis and confirmed through modelling. This work also discusses some remaining issues in urban hydrology modelling related to the availability of high-quality data at high resolutions, and model numerical instabilities as well as the computation time requirements. The main findings of this paper enable a replacement of traditional methods of model calibration by innovative methods of model resolution alteration based on the spatial data variability and scaling of flows in urban hydrology.

3d/4f Metal Complexes of Phenolic Oximes New Binding Sites on Anderson Polyoxometalates Metal Complexes of the New THAME Ligand

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sethi, Waqas

to be coordinatedto SMMs as well as onto other transition metal complexes, via different synthetic strategies. These synthetic routes did not result in the crystallisation of any new compounds. A new hexadentate ligand tris(((2-hydroxyethyl)-amino)methyl)ethane (THAME) was synthesised and characterised. THAME...

Productkwaliteit zuivel: verschil tussen biologisch en gangbaar = Diary product quality : difference between organic and regular

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Slaghuis, B.A.; Wit, de J.

2007-01-01

In each season of 2006 six samples organic and six samples regular milk and cheese were investigated for fatty acid composition, biophotones and crystallisation degree. Significant differences were found between organic and regular milk and cheese for polyunsaturated acids, omega-3-fatty acids and

Bis(morpholine) hydrogen bond pincer - a novel series of heteroleptic Cu(II) coordination compounds as receptors for electron rich guests

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stilinovic, Vladimir; Uzarevic, Krunoslav; Cvrtila, Ivica; Kaitner, Branko

2012-01-01

Crystallisation from morpholine (morph) solutions of copper(II) salts with monovalent anions (A) and 1,3-diketones (Hdkt) yielded nine heteroleptic coordination compounds [Cu(dkt)(morph)(2)A]. The coordination polyhedron of the copper ion in these compounds is a square pyramid with a monovalent

Particles, fields, and now strings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weinberg, S.

1986-01-01

The author traces the history of the struggle between two views of the world: a world of particles or a world of fields. These positions were crystallised as quantum field theory and S-matrix theory and now by the reintroduction of string theories. (Auth.)

Indonesia's road to universal health coverage: A political journey

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pisani, E. (Elizabeth); Kok, M.O. (Maarten Olivier); Nugroho, K. (Kharisma)

2017-01-01

textabstractIn 2013 Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country, declared that it would provide affordable health care for all its citizens within seven years. This crystallised an ambition first enshrined in law over five decades earlier, but never previously realised. This paper explores

Highlights on searches for supersymmetry and exotic models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clerbaux, B.

2015-01-01

In this review, we present highlight results of the first three years of the LHC running on searches for new physics beyond the Standard Model (BSM). The excellent performance of the LHC machine and detectors has provided a large, high-quality dataset, mainly proton-proton interactions at a centre of mass energy of 7 TeV (collected in 2010 and 2011) and 8 TeV (collected in 2012). This allowed the experiments to test the Standard Model (SM) at the highest available energy and to search for new phenomena in a considerably enlarged phase space compared to previous colliders. The present review is organised as follows. Section 2 gives motivations to search for new physics beyond the SM, and a brief description of the main classes of BSM theory candidates is reported in Section 3. Section 4 summarises the characteristics of the 3-year LHC dataset, called in the following the Run 1 dataset. Precise tests of the SM are reported in Section 5. The following next sections are the core of the review and present a selection of results from the ATLAS and CMS experiments on BSM searches, gathered in four parts: the search for new physics in the scalar sector in Section 6, the search for supersymmetric particles in Section 7, the search for dark matter candidates in Section 8, and a non-exhaustive list of other exotics BSM (heavy resonances, excited fermions, leptoquarks and vector-like quarks) searches in Section 9. Future plans of the LHC running are reported in Section 10

Dissection of protein interactomics highlights microRNA synergy.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Wenliang; Zhao, Yilei; Xu, Yingqi; Sun, Yong; Wang, Zhe; Yuan, Wei; Du, Zhimin

2013-01-01

Despite a large amount of microRNAs (miRNAs) have been validated to play crucial roles in human biology and disease, there is little systematic insight into the nature and scale of the potential synergistic interactions executed by miRNAs themselves. Here we established an integrated parameter synergy score to determine miRNA synergy, by combining the two mechanisms for miRNA-miRNA interactions, miRNA-mediated gene co-regulation and functional association between target gene products, into one single parameter. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis indicated that synergy score accurately identified the gene ontology-defined miRNA synergy (AUC = 0.9415, psynergy, implying poor expectancy of widespread synergy. However, targeting more key genes made two miRNAs more likely to act synergistically. Compared to other miRNAs, miR-21 was a highly exceptional case due to frequent appearance in the top synergistic miRNA pairs. This result highlighted its essential role in coordinating or strengthening physiological and pathological functions of other miRNAs. The synergistic effect of miR-21 and miR-1 were functionally validated for their significant influences on myocardial apoptosis, cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis. The novel approach established in this study enables easy and effective identification of condition-restricted potent miRNA synergy simply by concentrating the available protein interactomics and miRNA-target interaction data into a single parameter synergy score. Our results may be important for understanding synergistic gene regulation by miRNAs and may have significant implications for miRNA combination therapy of cardiovascular disease.

Monthly highlights for Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research Programs at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fee, G.G.

1976-08-01

Brief highlights are presented for the following programs: heavy section steel technology, fission product beta and gamma energy release, LOCA release from LWR fuel, multirod burst tests, Nuclear Safety Information Center, PWR blowdown heat transfer-separate effects, zircaloy fuel cladding collapse studies, zirconium metal-water oxidation kinetics, aerosol release and transport from LMFBR fuel, HTGR safety analysis, design criteria for piping and nozzles, and dose conversion factors for inhalation of radionuclides

Automatic summarization of soccer highlights using audio-visual descriptors.

Science.gov (United States)

Raventós, A; Quijada, R; Torres, Luis; Tarrés, Francesc

2015-01-01

Automatic summarization generation of sports video content has been object of great interest for many years. Although semantic descriptions techniques have been proposed, many of the approaches still rely on low-level video descriptors that render quite limited results due to the complexity of the problem and to the low capability of the descriptors to represent semantic content. In this paper, a new approach for automatic highlights summarization generation of soccer videos using audio-visual descriptors is presented. The approach is based on the segmentation of the video sequence into shots that will be further analyzed to determine its relevance and interest. Of special interest in the approach is the use of the audio information that provides additional robustness to the overall performance of the summarization system. For every video shot a set of low and mid level audio-visual descriptors are computed and lately adequately combined in order to obtain different relevance measures based on empirical knowledge rules. The final summary is generated by selecting those shots with highest interest according to the specifications of the user and the results of relevance measures. A variety of results are presented with real soccer video sequences that prove the validity of the approach.

Highlights lecture EANM 2014: ''Gimme gimme gimme those nuclear Super Troupers''

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jong, Marion de [Erasmus MC Rotterdam, Departments of Nuclear Medicine and Radiology, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Laere, Koen van [University Hospital and KU Leuven, Division of Nuclear Medicine, Department of Imaging and Pathology, Leuven (Belgium)

2015-04-01

The EANM Congress 2014 took place in Gothenburg, Sweden, from 18 to 22 October under the presidency of Prof. Wim Oyen, chair of the EANM Scientific Committee. Prof. Peter Gjertsson chaired the Local Organizing Committee, according to the standardized EANM congress structure. The meeting was a highlight for the multidisciplinary community that forms the heart and soul of nuclear medicine; attendance was exceptionally high. In total almost 5,300 participants came to Gothenburg, and 1,397 colleagues participated via the EANM LIVE sessions (http://eanmlive.eanm.org/index.php). Participants from all continents were presented with an excellent programme consisting of symposia, scientific and featured sessions, CME sessions, and plenary lectures. These lectures were devoted to nuclear medicine therapy, hybrid imaging and molecular life sciences. Two tracks were included in the main programme, clustering multi-committee involvement: the 5th International Symposium on Targeted Radionuclide-therapy and Dosimetry (ISTARD) and the first Molecules to Man (M2M) track, an initiative of the EANM Committees for Translational Molecular Imaging, Radiopharmacy and Drug Development. The industry made a substantial contribution to the success of the congress demonstrating the latest technology and innovations in the field. During the closing Highlights Lecture, a selection of the best-rated abstracts was presented including diverse areas of nuclear medicine: physics and instrumentation, radiopharmacy, preclinical imaging, oncology (with a focus on the clinical application of newly developed tracers) and radionuclide therapy, cardiology and neurosciences. This Highlights Lecture could only be a brief summary of the large amount of data presented and discussed during the meeting, which can be found in much greater detail in the congress proceedings book, published as Volume 41, Supplement 2 of the European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging in October 2014. (orig.)

Highlights lecture EANM 2014: ''Gimme gimme gimme those nuclear Super Troupers''

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jong, Marion de; Laere, Koen van

2015-01-01

The EANM Congress 2014 took place in Gothenburg, Sweden, from 18 to 22 October under the presidency of Prof. Wim Oyen, chair of the EANM Scientific Committee. Prof. Peter Gjertsson chaired the Local Organizing Committee, according to the standardized EANM congress structure. The meeting was a highlight for the multidisciplinary community that forms the heart and soul of nuclear medicine; attendance was exceptionally high. In total almost 5,300 participants came to Gothenburg, and 1,397 colleagues participated via the EANM LIVE sessions (http://eanmlive.eanm.org/index.php). Participants from all continents were presented with an excellent programme consisting of symposia, scientific and featured sessions, CME sessions, and plenary lectures. These lectures were devoted to nuclear medicine therapy, hybrid imaging and molecular life sciences. Two tracks were included in the main programme, clustering multi-committee involvement: the 5th International Symposium on Targeted Radionuclide-therapy and Dosimetry (ISTARD) and the first Molecules to Man (M2M) track, an initiative of the EANM Committees for Translational Molecular Imaging, Radiopharmacy and Drug Development. The industry made a substantial contribution to the success of the congress demonstrating the latest technology and innovations in the field. During the closing Highlights Lecture, a selection of the best-rated abstracts was presented including diverse areas of nuclear medicine: physics and instrumentation, radiopharmacy, preclinical imaging, oncology (with a focus on the clinical application of newly developed tracers) and radionuclide therapy, cardiology and neurosciences. This Highlights Lecture could only be a brief summary of the large amount of data presented and discussed during the meeting, which can be found in much greater detail in the congress proceedings book, published as Volume 41, Supplement 2 of the European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging in October 2014. (orig.)

Struggling readers learning with graphic-rich digital science text: Effects of a Highlight & Animate Feature and Manipulable Graphics

Science.gov (United States)

Defrance, Nancy L.

Technology offers promise of 'leveling the playing field' for struggling readers. That is, instructional support features within digital texts may enable all readers to learn. This quasi-experimental study examined the effects on learning of two support features, which offered unique opportunities to interact with text. The Highlight & Animate Feature highlighted an important idea in prose, while simultaneously animating its representation in an adjacent graphic. It invited readers to integrate ideas depicted in graphics and prose, using each one to interpret the other. The Manipulable Graphics had parts that the reader could operate to discover relationships among phenomena. It invited readers to test or refine the ideas that they brought to, or gleaned from, the text. Use of these support features was compulsory. Twenty fifth grade struggling readers read a graphic-rich digital science text in a clinical interview setting, under one of two conditions: using either the Highlight & Animate Feature or the Manipulable Graphics. Participants in both conditions made statistically significant gains on a multiple choice measure of knowledge of the topic of the text. While there were no significant differences by condition in the amount of knowledge gained; there were significant differences in the quality of knowledge expressed. Transcripts revealed that understandings about light and vision, expressed by those who used the Highlight & Animate Feature, were more often conceptually and linguistically 'complete.' That is, their understandings included both a description of phenomena as well as an explanation of underlying scientific principles, which participants articulated using the vocabulary of the text. This finding may be attributed to the multiple opportunities to integrate graphics (depicting the behavior of phenomena) and prose (providing the scientific explanation of that phenomena), which characterized the Highlight & Animate Condition. Those who used the

Brookhaven highlights, October 1978-September 1979. [October 1978 to September 1979

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1979-01-01

These highlights present an overview of the major research and development achievements at Brookhaven National Laboratory from October 1978 to September 1979. Specific areas covered include: accelerator and high energy physics programs; high energy physics research; the AGS and improvements to the AGS; neutral beam development; heavy ion fusion; superconducting power cables; ISABELLE storage rings; the BNL Tandem accelerator; heavy ion experiments at the Tandem; the High Flux Beam Reactor; medium energy physics; nuclear theory; atomic and applied physics; solid state physics; neutron scattering studies; x-ray scattering studies; solid state theory; defects and disorder in solids; surface physics; the National Synchrotron Light Source ; Chemistry Department; Biology Department; Medical Department; energy sciences; environmental sciences; energy technology programs; National Center for Analysis of Energy Systems; advanced reactor systems; nuclear safety; National Nuclear Data Center; nuclear materials safeguards; Applied Mathematics Department; and support activities. (GHT)

Structure of Bacillus halmapalus alpha-amylase crystallized with and without the substrate analogue acarbose and maltose

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lyhne-Iversen, Louise; Hobley, Timothy John; Kaasgaard, Svend G.

2006-01-01

Recombinant Bacillus halmapalus alpha-amylase (BHA) was studied in two different crystal forms. The first crystal form was obtained by crystallisation of BHA at room temperature in the presence of acarbose and maltose - data was collected at cryogenic temperatures to a resolution of 1.9 Å...

Oil Analysis by Fast DSC

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wetten, I.A.; Herwaarden, A.W.; Splinter, R.; Ruth, van S.M.

2014-01-01

Thermal analysis of Olive and Sunflower Oil is done by Fast DSC to evaluate its potential to replace DSC for adulteration detection. DSC measurements take hours, Fast DSC minutes. Peak temperatures of the crystallisation peak in cooling for different Olive and Sunflower Oils are both comparable to

Controlled formation of anatase and rutile TiO2 thin films by reactive magnetron sputtering

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rafieian Boroujeni, Damon; Ogieglo, Wojciech; Savenije, Tom; Lammertink, Rob G.H.

2015-01-01

We discuss the formation of TiO2 thin films via DC reactive magnetron sputtering. The oxygen concentration during sputtering proved to be a crucial parameter with respect to the final film structure and properties. The initial deposition provided amorphous films that crystallise upon annealing to

Controlled formation of anatase and rutile TiO

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rafieian, Damon; Ogieglo, Wojciech; Savenije, T.J.; Lammertink, Rob G H

2015-01-01

We discuss the formation of TiO₂ thin films via DC reactive magnetron sputtering. The oxygen concentration during sputtering proved to be a crucial parameter with respect to the final film structure and properties. The initial deposition provided amorphous films that crystallise upon

Crystal structure of an Anti-meningococcal subtype P1.4 PorA antibody provides basis for peptide-vaccine design

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oomen, Clasien J.; Hoogerhout, Peter; Kuipers, Betsy; Vidarsson, Gestur; van Alphen, Loek; Gros, Piet

2005-01-01

In various western countries, subtype P1.4 of Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B causes the greatest incidence of meningococcal disease. To investigate the molecular recognition of this subtype, we crystallised a peptide (P1HVVVNNKVATH(P11)), corresponding to the subtype P1.4 epitope sequence of

Synthesis and properties of new CdSe-AgI-As2Se3 chalcogenide glasses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kassem, M.; Le Coq, D.; Fourmentin, M.; Hindle, F.; Bokova, M.; Cuisset, A.; Masselin, P.; Bychkov, E.

2011-01-01

Research highlights: → Determination of the glass-forming region in the pseudo-ternary CdSe-AgI-As 2 Se 3 system. → Characterization of macroscopic properties of the new CdSe-AgI-As 2 Se 3 glasses. → Far infrared transmission of chalcogenide glasses. → Characterization of the total conductivity of CdSe-AgI-As 2 Se 3 glasses. -- Abstract: The glass-forming region in the pseudo-ternary CdSe-AgI-As 2 Se 3 system was determined. Measurements including differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), density, and X-ray diffraction were performed. The effect resulting from the addition of CdSe or AgI has been highlighted by examining three series of different base glasses. The characteristic temperatures of the glass samples, including glass transition (T g ), crystallisation (T x ), and melting (T m ) temperatures are reported and used to calculate their ΔT = T x - T g and their Hruby, H r = (T x - T g )/(T m - T x ), criteria. Evolution of the total electrical conductivity σ and the room temperature conductivity σ 298 was also studied. The terahertz transparency domain in the 50-600 cm -1 region was pointed for different chalcogenide glasses (ChGs) and the potential of the THz spectroscopy was suggested to obtain structural information on ChGs.

Highlighting Entanglement of Cultures via Ranking of Multilingual Wikipedia Articles

Science.gov (United States)

Eom, Young-Ho; Shepelyansky, Dima L.

2013-01-01

How different cultures evaluate a person? Is an important person in one culture is also important in the other culture? We address these questions via ranking of multilingual Wikipedia articles. With three ranking algorithms based on network structure of Wikipedia, we assign ranking to all articles in 9 multilingual editions of Wikipedia and investigate general ranking structure of PageRank, CheiRank and 2DRank. In particular, we focus on articles related to persons, identify top 30 persons for each rank among different editions and analyze distinctions of their distributions over activity fields such as politics, art, science, religion, sport for each edition. We find that local heroes are dominant but also global heroes exist and create an effective network representing entanglement of cultures. The Google matrix analysis of network of cultures shows signs of the Zipf law distribution. This approach allows to examine diversity and shared characteristics of knowledge organization between cultures. The developed computational, data driven approach highlights cultural interconnections in a new perspective. Dated: June 26, 2013 PMID:24098338

Highlighting entanglement of cultures via ranking of multilingual Wikipedia articles.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Young-Ho Eom

Full Text Available How different cultures evaluate a person? Is an important person in one culture is also important in the other culture? We address these questions via ranking of multilingual Wikipedia articles. With three ranking algorithms based on network structure of Wikipedia, we assign ranking to all articles in 9 multilingual editions of Wikipedia and investigate general ranking structure of PageRank, CheiRank and 2DRank. In particular, we focus on articles related to persons, identify top 30 persons for each rank among different editions and analyze distinctions of their distributions over activity fields such as politics, art, science, religion, sport for each edition. We find that local heroes are dominant but also global heroes exist and create an effective network representing entanglement of cultures. The Google matrix analysis of network of cultures shows signs of the Zipf law distribution. This approach allows to examine diversity and shared characteristics of knowledge organization between cultures. The developed computational, data driven approach highlights cultural interconnections in a new perspective. Dated: June 26, 2013.

Genetic Evidence Highlights Potential Impacts of By-Catch to Cetaceans

Science.gov (United States)

Mendez, Martin; Rosenbaum, Howard C.; Wells, Randall S.; Stamper, Andrew; Bordino, Pablo

2010-01-01

Incidental entanglement in fishing gear is arguably the most serious threat to many populations of small cetaceans, judging by the alarming number of captured animals. However, other aspects of this threat, such as the potential capture of mother-offspring pairs or reproductive pairs, could be equally or even more significant but have rarely been evaluated. Using a combination of demographic and genetic data we provide evidence that i) Franciscana dolphin pairs that are potentially reproductive and mother-offspring pairs form temporal bonds, and ii) are entangled simultaneously. Our results highlight potential demographic and genetic impacts of by-catch to cetacean populations: the joint entanglement of mother-offspring or reproductive pairs, compared to random individuals, might exacerbate the demographic consequences of by-catch, and the loss of groups of relatives means that significant components of genetic diversity could be lost together. Given the social nature of many odontocetes (toothed cetaceans), we suggest that these potential impacts could be rather general to the group and therefore by-catch could be more detrimental than previously considered. PMID:21179542

U-Th-Pb zircon geochronology on igneous rocks in the Toija and Salittu Formations, Orijärvi area, southwestern Finland: constraints on the age of volcanism and metamorphism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christopher L. Kirkland

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Zircons from a felsic volcanic rock in the Toija Formation and a synvolcanic gabbro intrusion in the Salittu Formation within the Orijärvi area were dated by U-Th-Pb SIMS in order to provide depositional constraints on these formations. Zircon crystals from the felsic rock preserve a two-stage crystallisation history with zoned core domains and homogeneous rim domains. Inner domains yield a 1878±4 Ma concordia age, interpreted to determine the crystallisation of this rock. Rims yield a 1815±3 Ma concordia age interpretedto determine the regional metamorphism. Small rounded zircon grains from the Salittu gabbro, located within the Jyly shear zone, yield a concordia age of 1792±5 Ma. We interpret the grain textures to suggest that they recrystallised from inherited zircon seeds during the heat and fluid flow into the shear zone. Although no direct ages for the Salittu Formation have been recovered, field relationships imply that it was deposited between 1878−1875 Ma.

Radiation grafting of various water-soluble monomers on ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene powder. Part II: Thermal, FTIR and morphological characterisation

Science.gov (United States)

Aydınlı, Bahattin; Tin c̡er, Teoman

2001-10-01

Radiation induced grafted polyacrylic acid (PAA), polymethacrylic acid (PMAA), polyacrylamide (PAAm), poly N,N-dimethyl acrylamide (PNDAAm) and poly 1-vinyl-2 pyrrolidone (PVP) on ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) were characterised by DSC, FTIR and SEM analysis. While the effect of irradiation on pure UHMWPE was found to increase crystallinity and cause higher enthalpy of crystallisation, grafted UHMWPE powders showed lower crystallinity and enthalpy of crystallisation. In all grafted UHMWPE there existed secondary transitions corresponding to grafting polymers in the first run of DSC above 60°C and they became clearer at a higher grafting level. In the second run of DSC some Tg values appeared to shift to higher temperatures while some were not detected. FTIR analysis indicated the presence of water-soluble polymers in the grafted UHMWPE. The characteristic peaks of water-soluble polymers became sharper in the grafted UHMWPE. SEM analysis revealed that the grafting occurs both on fiber and microparticles of UHMWPE while flowing characteristic of powder is retained.

Sintered glass ceramic composites from vitrified municipal solid waste bottom ashes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aloisi, Mirko; Karamanov, Alexander; Taglieri, Giuliana; Ferrante, Fabiola; Pelino, Mario

2006-01-01

A glass ceramic composite was obtained by sinter-crystallisation of vitrified municipal solid waste bottom ashes with the addition of various percentages of alumina waste. The sintering was investigated by differential dilatometry and the crystallisation of the glass particles by differential thermal analysis. The crystalline phases produced by the thermal treatment were identified by X-ray diffraction analysis. The sintering process was found to be affected by the alumina addition and inhibited by the beginning of the crystal-phase precipitation. Scanning electron microscopy was performed on the fractured sintered samples to observe the effect of the sintering. Young's modulus and the mechanical strength of the sintered glass ceramic and composites were determined at different heating rates. The application of high heating rate and the addition of alumina powder improved the mechanical properties. Compared to the sintered glass ceramic without additives, the bending strength and the Young's modulus obtained at 20 deg. C/min, increased by about 20% and 30%, respectively

Kidney Stones and Ceftriaxone

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Murat Dursun

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Metabolic causes such as hypercalciuria, urinary tract infection, and obstruction are the most common aetiologies of urolithiasis, and drugs, although important in this regard, are rarely the cause of urolithiasis. Administration of one of these drugs, ceftriaxone (CTX, has been associated with biliary pseudolithiasis in adult and paediatric patients, and rarely may cause urolithiasis. Several factors, including drug concentration and incubation time, are very important for determining the degree of CTX/calcium (Ca crystallisation in the urine. According to this data, CTX crystallisation was a dose and time-dependent reaction. It is particularly important to monitor patients on high-dose long-term CTX treatment with the urinary Ca to creatinine ratios, ultrasound sonography, and renal function testing, as these individuals may be at greater risk of large stones and renal damage. This type of screening may help prevent permanent complications in the future. This underlying review will help to educate readers on the pathophysiology and interaction between CTX and urolithiasis.

MoO3 incorporation in magnesium aluminosilicate glasses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tan, Shengheng; Ojovan, Michael I.; Hyatt, Neil C.; Hand, Russell J.

2015-01-01

Molybdate has a very low solubility in silicate and borosilicate glass systems and its excess presence in nuclear waste glass can cause the formation of a readily soluble “yellow phase”. In this study, the incorporation of molybdenum oxide (MoO 3 ) in a magnesium aluminosilicate glass system has been investigated. The prepared glasses show a higher than 90% molybdenum retention rate and up to 5.34 mol% (12.28 wt%) MoO 3 can be incorporated into these glasses without causing visible phase separation. The incorporation of MoO 3 increases glass density, decreases glass transition and crystallisation temperatures and intensifies Raman bands assigned to vibrations of MoO 4 2− units. When excess molybdate is added liquid–liquid phase separation and crystallisation occurs. The separated phase is spherical, 200–400 nm in diameter and randomly dispersed. Based on powder X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy, the separated phase is identified as MgMoO 4

Passivation behaviour of stainless steel (UNS N-08028) in industrial or simplified phosphoric acid solutions at different temperatures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ben Salah, M.; Sabot, R.; Refait, Ph.; Liascukiene, I.; Méthivier, C.; Landoulsi, J.; Dhouibi, L.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Industrial phosphoric acid is less aggressive than simulated industrial acid. • Polyphosphate film in Industrial acid is reinforced by calcium and sulfate. • Passive film thickness is obtained by the power law model from EIS measurements. • Passive film of Sanicro28 becomes more resistive towards corrosion with exposure time in industrial acid. • XPS measurements coupled to Raman spectroscopy reveal the corrosion products formed in simulated acid. - Abstract: The corrosion behaviour of Sanicro28, in industrial phosphoric acid and simplified solution of pure H_3PO_4 containing sulphates and chlorides, is investigated during 48 h between 20 and 80 °C. Results show higher corrosion resistance in the industrial medium. Film thickness evaluated by EIS remains constant in industrial acid due to polyphosphate that promotes crystallisation of the Cr_2O_3 inner layer. Conversely, the passive film is partially destroyed at 80 °C in simplified acid. XPS and Raman analysis show that phosphate and molybdenum are both present in the passive film and in corrosion products. The role of Ca present in the industrial acid is discussed.

Highlighting landslides and other geomorphological features using sediment connectivity maps

Science.gov (United States)

Bossi, Giulia; Crema, Stefano; Cavalli, Marco; Marcato, Gianluca; Pasuto, Alessandro

2016-04-01

Landslide identification is usually made through interpreting geomorphological features in the field or with remote sensing imagery. In recent years, airborne laser scanning (LiDAR) has enhanced the potentiality of geomorphological investigations by providing a detailed and diffuse representation of the land surface. The development of algorithms for geomorphological analysis based on LiDAR derived high-resolution Digital Terrain Models (DTMs) is increasing. Among them, the sediment connectivity index (IC) has been used to quantify sediment dynamics in alpine catchments. In this work, maps of the sediment connectivity index are used for detecting geomorphological features and processes not exclusively related to water-laden processes or debris flows. The test area is located in the upper Passer Valley in South Tyrol (Italy). Here a 4 km2 Deep-seated Gravitational Slope Deformation (DGSD) with several secondary phenomena has been studied for years. The connectivity index was applied to a well-known study area in order to evaluate its effectiveness as an interpretative layer to assist geomorphological analysis. Results were cross checked with evidence previously identified by means of in situ investigations, photointerpretation and monitoring data. IC was applied to a 2.5 m LiDAR derived DTM using two different scenarios in order to test their effectiveness: i) IC derived on the hydrologically correct DTM; ii) IC derived on the original DTM. In the resulting maps a cluster of low-connectivity areas appears as the deformation of the DGSD induce a convexity in the central part of the phenomenon. The double crests, product of the sagging of the landslide, are extremely evident since in those areas the flow directions diverge from the general drainage pattern, which is directed towards the valley river. In the crown area a rock-slab that shows clear evidence of incumbent detachment is clearly highlighted since the maps emphasize the presence of traction trenches and

Binary Paths to Type Ia Supernovae Explosions: the Highlights

Science.gov (United States)

Ferrario, Lilia

2013-01-01

This symposium was focused on the hunt for the progenitors of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). Is there a main channel for the production of SNe Ia? If so, are these elusive progenitors single degenerate or double degenerate systems? Although most participants seemed to favor the single degenerate channel, there was no general agreement on the type of binary system at play. An observational puzzle that was highlighted was the apparent paucity of supersoft sources in our Galaxy and also in external galaxies. The single degenerate channel (and as it was pointed out, quite possibly also the double degenerate channel) requires the binary system to pass through a phase of steady nuclear burning. However, the observed number of supersoft sources falls short by a factor of up to 100 in explaining the estimated birth rates of SNe Ia. Thus, are these supersoft sources somehow hidden away and radiating at different wavelengths, or are we missing some important pieces of this puzzle that may lead to the elimination of a certain class of progenitor? Another unanswered question concerns the dependence of SNe Ia luminosities on the age of their host galaxy. Several hypotheses were put forward, but none was singled out as the most likely explanation. It is fair to say that at the end of the symposium the definitive answer to the vexed progenitor question remained well and truly wide open.

Pre-accidental situations highlighted by RECUPERARE method and data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matahri, N. [Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire (IRSN), 92 - Fontenay-aux-Roses (France)

2006-07-01

RECUPERARE method has been developed for operating feedback analysis and built on the French Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) principles. It is used to study the causes of human errors or technical failures occurred in French PWRs and the recovery process of events. Based on an event classification (6 categories) model according to the nature of the link between failure and recovery, the identified and recorded data are: the causes of the defects (technical, human, organizational) and the context in which they appear; the factors of the recovery performance (depending on technical and organizational aspects); a chronological analysis, designed to collect delays between failures and their detection/recovery for each event. About 3600 events reported in French PWRs (1997-2003) had been reviewed through this model. Initially, the weight of factors and the most important factors, which influenced the detection and recovery delay, are defined. For this purpose, the regression Partial Least Square (PLS) is used. Then, to link RECUPERARE results with pre-accidental data, conditional probabilities of events linked between them by a cause and effect relationship are calculated. For this, the Bayesian method with the Bayesian network is built with the PLS obtained results and applied. This constitutes a first approach to take into account in HRA the human and organizational factors highlighted by operating feedback. (author)

Pre-accidental situations highlighted by RECUPERARE method and data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matahri, N.

2006-01-01

RECUPERARE method has been developed for operating feedback analysis and built on the French Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) principles. It is used to study the causes of human errors or technical failures occurred in French PWRs and the recovery process of events. Based on an event classification (6 categories) model according to the nature of the link between failure and recovery, the identified and recorded data are: the causes of the defects (technical, human, organizational) and the context in which they appear; the factors of the recovery performance (depending on technical and organizational aspects); a chronological analysis, designed to collect delays between failures and their detection/recovery for each event. About 3600 events reported in French PWRs (1997-2003) had been reviewed through this model. Initially, the weight of factors and the most important factors, which influenced the detection and recovery delay, are defined. For this purpose, the regression Partial Least Square (PLS) is used. Then, to link RECUPERARE results with pre-accidental data, conditional probabilities of events linked between them by a cause and effect relationship are calculated. For this, the Bayesian method with the Bayesian network is built with the PLS obtained results and applied. This constitutes a first approach to take into account in HRA the human and organizational factors highlighted by operating feedback. (author)

Highlights of the SLD Physics Program at the SLAC Linear Collider

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Willocq, Stephane

2001-01-01

Starting in 1989, and continuing through the 1990s, high-energy physics witnessed a flowering of precision measurements in general and tests of the standard model in particular, led by e + e - collider experiments operating at the Z 0 resonance. Key contributions to this work came from the SLD collaboration at the SLAC Linear Collider. By exploiting the unique capabilities of this pioneering accelerator and the SLD detector, including a polarized electron beam, exceptionally small beam dimensions, and a CCD pixel vertex detector, SLD produced a broad array of electroweak, heavy-flavor, and QCD measurements. Many of these results are one of a kind or represent the world's standard in precision. This article reviews the highlights of the SLD physics program, with an eye toward associated advances in experimental technique, and the contribution of these measurements to our dramatically improved present understanding of the standard model and its possible extensions

Highlights lecture EANM 2016: "Embracing molecular imaging and multi-modal imaging: a smart move for nuclear medicine towards personalized medicine".

Science.gov (United States)

Aboagye, Eric O; Kraeber-Bodéré, Françoise

2017-08-01

The 2016 EANM Congress took place in Barcelona, Spain, from 15 to 19 October under the leadership of Prof. Wim Oyen, chair of the EANM Scientific Committee. With more than 6,000 participants, this congress was the most important European event in nuclear medicine, bringing together a multidisciplinary community involved in the different fields of nuclear medicine. There were over 600 oral and 1,200 poster or e-Poster presentations with an overwhelming focus on development and application of imaging for personalized care, which is timely for the community. Beyond FDG PET, major highlights included progress in the use of PSMA and SSTR receptor-targeted radiopharmaceuticals and associated theranostics in oncology. Innovations in radiopharmaceuticals for imaging pathologies of the brain and cardiovascular system, as well as infection and inflammation, were also highlighted. In the areas of physics and instrumentation, multimodality imaging and radiomics were highlighted as promising areas of research.

Synthesis of first row transition metal carboxylate complexes by ring ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

tion of pyromellitic dianhydride with methanol and ring opening of pyromellitic dianhydride takes place. The corresponding carboxylate complex formed dur- ing the process can be crystallised by adding biden- tate nitrogen donor ligands such as 1,10-phenanthroline or 2,2 - bipyridine.20 From the reaction with 1,10-.

Optical and structural characterization of KBr crystals doped cadmium bromide (CdBr2)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bensouici, A.; Plaza, J.L.; Dieguez, E.; Halimi, O.; Guerbous, L.; Sebais, M.

2010-01-01

In this paper we demonstrate the presence of CdBr 2 and cadmium aggregates in KBr matrix during Czochralski growth of KBr crystals. The chemical decomposition of CdBr 2 due to high temperature of crystallisation and reformation of cadmium bromide seems to be responsible for this effect.

Prograde and retrograde growth of monazite in migmatites: An example from the Nagercoil Block, southern India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tim E. Johnson

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Data from a migmatised metapelite raft enclosed within charnockite provide quantitative constraints on the pressure–temperature–time (P–T–t evolution of the Nagercoil Block at the southernmost tip of peninsular India. An inferred peak metamorphic assemblage of garnet, K-feldspar, sillimanite, plagioclase, magnetite, ilmenite, spinel and melt is consistent with peak metamorphic pressures of 6–8 kbar and temperatures in excess of 900 °C. Subsequent growth of cordierite and biotite record high-temperature retrograde decompression to around 5 kbar and 800 °C. SHRIMP U–Pb dating of magmatic zircon cores suggests that the sedimentary protoliths were in part derived from felsic igneous rocks with Palaeoproterozoic crystallisation ages. New growth of metamorphic zircon on the rims of detrital grains constrains the onset of melt crystallisation, and the minimum age of the metamorphic peak, to around 560 Ma. The data suggest two stages of monazite growth. The first generation of REE-enriched monazite grew during partial melting along the prograde path at around 570 Ma via the incongruent breakdown of apatite. Relatively REE-depleted rims, which have a pronounced negative europium anomaly, grew during melt crystallisation along the retrograde path at around 535 Ma. Our data show the rocks remained at suprasolidus temperatures for at least 35 million years and probably much longer, supporting a long-lived high-grade metamorphic history. The metamorphic conditions, timing and duration of the implied clockwise P–T–t path are similar to that previously established for other regions in peninsular India during the Ediacaran to Cambrian assembly of that part of the Gondwanan supercontinent.

Highlighting Interleukin-36 Signalling in Plaque Psoriasis and Pustular Psoriasis.

Science.gov (United States)

Furue, Kazuhisa; Yamamura, Kazuhiko; Tsuji, Gaku; Mitoma, Chikage; Uchi, Hiroshi; Nakahara, Takeshi; Kido-Nakahara, Makiko; Kadono, Takafumi; Furue, Masutaka

2018-01-12

Plaque psoriasis and pustular psoriasis are overlapping, but distinct, disorders. The therapeutic response to biologics supports the pivotal role of the tumour necrosis alpha (TNF-?)/ interleukin (IL)-23/IL-17/IL-22 axis in the pathogenesis of these disorders. Recently, functional activation of the IL-36 receptor (IL-36R) was discovered to be another driving force in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. This was first highlighted by the discovery that a loss-of-function mutation of the IL-36R antagonist (IL-36Ra) causes pustular psoriasis. Although the TNF-?/IL-23/IL-17/IL-22 axis and the functional activation of IL-36R are fundamentally involved in plaque psoriasis and pustular psoriasis, respectively, the 2 pathways are closely related and mutually reinforced, resulting in full-blown clinical manifestations. This review summarizes current topics on how IL-36 agonists (IL-36?, IL-36?, IL-36?) signal IL-36R, the pathological expression of IL-36 agonists and IL-36Ra in plaque and pustular psoriatic lesions, and the cross-talk between the TNF-?/IL-23/IL-17/IL-22 axis and the functional activation of IL-36R in the epidermal milieu.

Satellite tracking of manta rays highlights challenges to their conservation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rachel T Graham

Full Text Available We describe the real-time movements of the last of the marine mega-vertebrate taxa to be satellite tracked - the giant manta ray (or devil fish, Manta birostris, the world's largest ray at over 6 m disc width. Almost nothing is known about manta ray movements and their environmental preferences, making them one of the least understood of the marine mega-vertebrates. Red listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as 'Vulnerable' to extinction, manta rays are known to be subject to direct and incidental capture and some populations are declining. Satellite-tracked manta rays associated with seasonal upwelling events and thermal fronts off the Yucatan peninsula, Mexico, and made short-range shuttling movements, foraging along and between them. The majority of locations were received from waters shallower than 50 m deep, representing thermally dynamic and productive waters. Manta rays remained in the Mexican Exclusive Economic Zone for the duration of tracking but only 12% of tracking locations were received from within Marine Protected Areas (MPAs. Our results on the spatio-temporal distribution of these enigmatic rays highlight opportunities and challenges to management efforts.

Satellite tracking of manta rays highlights challenges to their conservation.

Science.gov (United States)

Graham, Rachel T; Witt, Matthew J; Castellanos, Dan W; Remolina, Francisco; Maxwell, Sara; Godley, Brendan J; Hawkes, Lucy A

2012-01-01

We describe the real-time movements of the last of the marine mega-vertebrate taxa to be satellite tracked - the giant manta ray (or devil fish, Manta birostris), the world's largest ray at over 6 m disc width. Almost nothing is known about manta ray movements and their environmental preferences, making them one of the least understood of the marine mega-vertebrates. Red listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as 'Vulnerable' to extinction, manta rays are known to be subject to direct and incidental capture and some populations are declining. Satellite-tracked manta rays associated with seasonal upwelling events and thermal fronts off the Yucatan peninsula, Mexico, and made short-range shuttling movements, foraging along and between them. The majority of locations were received from waters shallower than 50 m deep, representing thermally dynamic and productive waters. Manta rays remained in the Mexican Exclusive Economic Zone for the duration of tracking but only 12% of tracking locations were received from within Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Our results on the spatio-temporal distribution of these enigmatic rays highlight opportunities and challenges to management efforts.

Research highlights under Contract DE-AC02-76ER03072, February 1, 1981-July 31, 1981

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shoemaker, F.C.

1981-01-01

Research projects are highlighted including: a study of rare muon induced reactions; a search for eta/sub c/ mesons; hadronic production of charmed particles; production of high-mass dimuons by pions; forward production of massive particles; the crystal ball project at SPEAR; parallel plate avalanche chamber development; and tests of quantum mechanics

Diagnosis and Management of Rhinosinusitis: Highlights from the 2015 Practice Parameter.

Science.gov (United States)

Dass, Kathleen; Peters, Anju Tripathi

2016-04-01

Rhinosinusitis is a commonly diagnosed disease in the USA. Rhinosinusitis is classified as acute, recurrent, or chronic (with or without nasal polyps). While acute rhinosinusitis is diagnosed by history and physical examination, chronic rhinosinusitis and recurrent acute rhinosinusitis are diagnosed based on symptoms and the presence of disease on either a sinus CT scan and/or endoscopy. Management of uncomplicated acute rhinosinusitis includes analgesics, saline irrigation, and/or intranasal steroids. Antibiotics and intranasal steroids are recommended for acute bacterial rhinosinusitis. Intranasal and oral steroids with antibiotics are recommended to treat chronic rhinosinusitis although the evidence for antibiotics is weak. Biologics such as omalizumab and mepolizumab are being investigated for the treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps. Surgery may be indicated in management of refractory chronic rhinosinusitis and rarely for acute bacterial rhinosinusitis. This review discusses highlights of the updated 2014 practice parameter and up-to-date evidence from other literature sources.

Highlights of the SLD Physics Program at the SLAC Linear Collider

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Willocq, Stephane

2001-09-07

Starting in 1989, and continuing through the 1990s, high-energy physics witnessed a flowering of precision measurements in general and tests of the standard model in particular, led by e{sup +}e{sup -} collider experiments operating at the Z{sup 0} resonance. Key contributions to this work came from the SLD collaboration at the SLAC Linear Collider. By exploiting the unique capabilities of this pioneering accelerator and the SLD detector, including a polarized electron beam, exceptionally small beam dimensions, and a CCD pixel vertex detector, SLD produced a broad array of electroweak, heavy-flavor, and QCD measurements. Many of these results are one of a kind or represent the world's standard in precision. This article reviews the highlights of the SLD physics program, with an eye toward associated advances in experimental technique, and the contribution of these measurements to our dramatically improved present understanding of the standard model and its possible extensions.

Factors affecting the solubility of Bacillus halmapalus alpha-amylase

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Faber, Cornelius; Hobley, Timothy John; Mollerup, Jørgen

2008-01-01

A detailed study of the solubility of recombinant Bacillus halmapalus alpha-amylase has been conducted. A semi-purified preparation from a bulk crystallisation was chos en that contained six isoforms with pI-values of between 5.5 and 6.1. The solubility was strongly affected by pH and could...

JCSC_128_11_1703_1707_SI_a.docx

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

dell

Finally, the reaction was neutralized by triethyl ammine and the solution passed through a small basic alumina column. The reaction mixture was concentrated and 8 was separated by silica gel column chromatography using DCM/Hexane as eluent. 8 was crystallised with DCM/Hexane system. [8]2+ was generated by ...

Untitled

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

286 Salimuzzaman Siddiqui and others acetic acid, yielded a treacly product which failed to crystallise out a presumably impure dicyano-iso-conimine. Heating or the substitution of chiroform or ethyl acetate for eth solvent for this reaction lowered the yield of cyano-iso-nor-conessi: produced undefinable, reddish, neutral ...

Optical and structural characterization of KBr crystals doped cadmium bromide (CdBr{sub 2})

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bensouici, A., E-mail: bensouicia@yahoo.f [Laboratory of Crystallography (Saint Lucia), Department of Physics, Mentouri-Constantine University, Constantine (Algeria); Plaza, J.L., E-mail: joseluis.plaza@uam.e [Crystal Growth Laboratory (CGL), Departamento de Fisica de Materiales, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Madrid (Spain); Dieguez, E. [Crystal Growth Laboratory (CGL), Departamento de Fisica de Materiales, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Madrid (Spain); Halimi, O. [Laboratory of Crystallography (Saint Lucia), Department of Physics, Mentouri-Constantine University, Constantine (Algeria); Guerbous, L. [Centre de recherche nucleaire d' Alger (CRNA), Alger 16000 (Algeria); Sebais, M. [Laboratory of Crystallography (Saint Lucia), Department of Physics, Mentouri-Constantine University, Constantine (Algeria)

2010-04-15

In this paper we demonstrate the presence of CdBr{sub 2} and cadmium aggregates in KBr matrix during Czochralski growth of KBr crystals. The chemical decomposition of CdBr{sub 2} due to high temperature of crystallisation and reformation of cadmium bromide seems to be responsible for this effect.

Alberta Energy and Utilities Board, regulatory highlights for 1998

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1999-01-01

This new publication informs readers about what the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) did in the past year, including important regulatory issues, trends and initiatives. The EUB is an agency of the provincial government, established to regulate Alberta's energy resource and utility sectors. It is part of the Alberta Ministry of Energy. The four main functions of the Board are regulatory initiatives, license applications, enforcement and information. This publication summarized the EUB's position regarding flaring (both solution gas flaring and well test flaring), and Board activities in the areas of animal health concerns, the gas over bitumen controversy, the deregulation of the electric industry and what it means to the EUB, improvements in data quality as a result of improved industry compliance in reporting, and a variety of issues related to the oil sands and the negotiated settlement process. Also, the Board has been proactive in the area of oilfield waste management guidelines, proliferation policies for gas processing facilities, sulphur recovery guidelines, and the expansion of the orphan well program to include facilities and pipelines. As a measure of the success of the EUB, a recent survey of 19 randomly selected focus groups praised EUB for its impartiality, fair and equitable enforcement and independence. It was also praised for its technically competent and experienced staff, its access to quality information and the clarity of its mandate, regulatory requirements and processes. The Board's efforts in the area of timely stakeholder consultation was highlighted. tabs., figs

Langley Research Highlights 1999: Advanced Aerospace Technology Clouds That Help Create the Ozone Hole Capturing Comet Dust

Science.gov (United States)

2000-01-01

This report contains highlights of some of the major accomplishments and applications made by NASA Langley Research Center and its university partners and industry colleagues during 1999. The highlights illustrate the broad range of research and technology activities carried out by NASA Langley and the contributions of this work toward maintaining United States' leadership in aeronautics and space research. The Center's historic national role since 1917 continues in Aerospace Technology research with an additional major role in Earth Science research. Langley also partners closely with other NASA Centers and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Space Science and the Human Exploration and Development of Space. A color version is available at http://larcpubs.larc.nasa.gov/randt/1999/. For further information, contact Dennis Bushnell, Senior Scientist, Mail Stop 110, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia 23681-2199, (757)-864-8987, e-mail address: d.m.bushnell@larc.nasa.gov.

Integration of fermentation and cooling crystallisation to produce organic acids

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Roa Engel, C.A.

2010-01-01

Fermentation products are gaining more attention in the last years due to the fact that the metabolic and genetic engineering field has been developing techniques to enhance fermentation yields and make biochemical processes competitive compared to traditional chemical production. However, as

Investigation of growth rate dispersion in lactose crystallisation by AFM

Science.gov (United States)

Dincer, T. D.; Ogden, M. I.; Parkinson, G. M.

2014-09-01

α-Lactose monohydrate crystals have been reported to exhibit growth rate dispersion (GRD). Variation in surface dislocations has been suggested as the cause of GRD, but this has not been further investigated to date. In this study, growth rate dispersion and the change in morphology were investigated in situ and via bottle roller experiments. The surfaces of the (0 1 0) faces of crystals were examined with Atomic Force Microscopy. Smaller, slow growing crystals tend to have smaller (0 1 0) faces with narrow bases and displayed a single double spiral in the centre of the crystal with 2 nm high steps. Additional double spirals in other crystals resulted in faster growth rates. Large, fast growing crystals were observed to have larger (0 1 0) faces with fast growth in both the a and b directions (giving a broader crystal base) with macro steps parallel to the (c direction). The number and location of spirals or existence of macro steps appears to influence the crystal morphology, growth rates and growth rate dispersion in lactose crystals.

Crystallisation behavior and electronic conductivity of vanadium tellurite glass-ceramics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjeldsen, Jonas; Yue, Yuanzheng; Rodrigues, A.C.M.

2012-01-01

is synthesized via the melt quenching technique, and crystalline 2TeO2-V2O5 is obtained by further heat-treatment of the quenched glass. Both states are confirmed by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. The redox state of vanadium is controlled via the melting...... and the ability to intercalate lithium-ions, it is a candidate for usage as cathode material. In the present work, we optimize the electronic conductivity of the congruent 2TeO2-V2O5 composition by tuning both the redox state of the vanadium and the overall degree of crystallinity. Amorphous 2TeO2-V2O5...

Topographic attributes as a guide for automated detection or highlighting of geological features

Science.gov (United States)

Viseur, Sophie; Le Men, Thibaud; Guglielmi, Yves

2015-04-01

Photogrammetry or LIDAR technology combined with photography allow geoscientists to obtain 3D high-resolution numerical representations of outcrops, generally termed as Digital Outcrop Models (DOM). For over a decade, these 3D numerical outcrops serve as support for precise and accurate interpretations of geological features such as fracture traces or plans, strata, facies mapping, etc. These interpretations have the benefit to be directly georeferenced and embedded into the 3D space. They are then easily integrated into GIS or geomodeler softwares for modelling in 3D the subsurface geological structures. However, numerical outcrops generally represent huge data sets that are heavy to manipulate and hence to interpret. This may be particularly tedious as soon as several scales of geological features must be investigated or as geological features are very dense and imbricated. Automated tools for interpreting geological features from DOMs would be then a significant help to process these kinds of data. Such technologies are commonly used for interpreting seismic or medical data. However, it may be noticed that even if many efforts have been devoted to easily and accurately acquire 3D topographic point clouds and photos and to visualize accurate 3D textured DOMs, few attentions have been paid to the development of algorithms for automated detection of the geological structures from DOMs. The automatic detection of objects on numerical data generally assumes that signals or attributes computed from this data allows the recognition of the targeted object boundaries. The first step consists then in defining attributes that highlight the objects or their boundaries. For DOM interpretations, some authors proposed to use differential operators computed on the surface such as normal or curvatures. These methods generally extract polylines corresponding to fracture traces or bed limits. Other approaches rely on the PCA technology to segregate different topographic plans

Event displays highlighting the main properties of heavy flavour jets in the CMS Experiment

CERN Multimedia

Skovpen, Kirill

2017-01-01

A broad range of physics analyses at CMS rely on the efficient identification of heavy flavour jets. Identification of these objects is a challenging task, especially in the presence of a large number of multiple interactions per bunch crossing. The presented summary contains a set of graphical displays of reconstructed events in data collected by CMS in proton-proton collisions at 13 TeV in 2016. The displays highlight the main properties of heavy flavour jets in several event topologies, including QCD multijet, top quark pair, W+c and boosted H→bb.

Chemical and structural characterization of natural phosphate of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Powder X-ray diffraction fitting results confirm that compound belongs to the apatite family crystallising in the hexagonal system, space group P63/m. The cell parameters are: a = 9.3547(5) Å; c = 6.8929(4) Å. KEY WORDS: Natural phosphate, Fluoroapatite, Infrared, X-Ray diffraction, Rietveld structure refinement. Bull. Chem ...

CHEMICAL EXAMINATION OF JACK TREE LATEX AND

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

and on Saponification yielded fatty acids, Volatile as well as non-volatile. The unsaponifiable portion on repeated crystallisation provided a crystal- line, sharp melting compound which was identified as artostenone? from a. Latex (200 c.c.). ത്ത min- pe. Coagulum (A) Aqueous alcoholic solution (B). Acetone or ethyl acetate ...

Untitled

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Alcohol was distilled off under reduced pressure and the solution extracted with ether. The ether solution was washed with aqueous sodium hydrogen carbonate and the solvent distilled. The residue (0.4 g) crystallised from methanol as colourless micacious rectangular plates, m.p. 89–90°. Mixed m.p. with an authentic ...

Re-refinement of 4xan: hen egg-white lysozyme with carboplatin in sodium bromide solution

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tanley, Simon W. M.; Schreurs, Antoine M. M.; Kroon - Batenburg, Louise; Helliwell, John R.

2016-01-01

A re-refinement of 4xan, hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL) with carboplatin crystallised in NaBr solution, has been made (Tanley et al 2016). This follows our Response article (Tanley et al 2015) to the Critique article of Shabalin et al 2015, suggesting the need for corrections to some solute molecule

Formation and evolution of a lunar core from ilmenite-rich magma ocean cumulates

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Vries, J.; van den Berg, A.P.; van Westrenen, W.

2010-01-01

In the absence of comprehensive seismic data coverage, the size, composition and physical state of the lunar core are still debated. It has been suggested that a dense ilmenite-rich layer, which originally crystallised near the top of the lunar magma ocean, may have sunk to the centre of the Moon to

Effects of Different Temperatures for Drying Cervical Mucus Smear ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The effects of different room temperatures for drying cervical mucus on crystallisation of fern-tree patterns was determined using cervical mucus smears from 60 women undergoing investigation for infertility at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital. Cervical mucus smears were dried in the oven at 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35C ...

Wildlife studies on the Hanford site: 1994 Highlights report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cadwell, L.L. [ed.

1995-04-01

The purposes of the project are to monitor and report trends in wildlife populations; conduct surveys to identify, record, and map populations of threatened, endangered, and sensitive plant and animal species; and cooperate with Washington State and federal and private agencies to help ensure the protection afforded by law to native species and their habitats. Census data and results of surveys and special study topics are shared freely among cooperating agencies. Special studies are also conducted as needed to provide additional information that may be required to assess, protect, or manage wildlife resources at Hanford. This report describes highlights of wildlife studies on the Site in 1994. Redd counts of fall chinook salmon in the Hanford Reach suggest that harvest restrictions directed at protecting Snake River salmon may have helped Columbia River stocks as well. The 1994 count (5619) was nearly double that of 1993 and about 63% of the 1989 high of approximately 9000. A habitat map showing major vegetation and land use cover types for the Hanford Site was completed in 1993. During 1994, stochastic simulation was used to estimate shrub characteristics (height, density, and canopy cover) across the previously mapped Hanford landscape. The information provided will be available for use in determining habitat quality for sensitive wildlife species. Mapping Site locations of plant species of concern continued during 1994. Additional sensitive plant species data from surveys conducted by TNC were archived. The 10 nesting pairs of ferruginous hawks that used the Hanford Site in 1993 represented approximately 25% of the Washington State population.

Alberta Energy and Utilities Board, regulatory highlights for 1998

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1999-08-01

This new publication informs readers about what the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) did in the past year, including important regulatory issues, trends and initiatives. The EUB is an agency of the provincial government, established to regulate Alberta`s energy resource and utility sectors. It is part of the Alberta Ministry of Energy. The four main functions of the Board are regulatory initiatives, license applications, enforcement and information. This publication summarized the EUB`s position regarding flaring (both solution gas flaring and well test flaring), and Board activities in the areas of animal health concerns, the gas over bitumen controversy, the deregulation of the electric industry and what it means to the EUB, improvements in data quality as a result of improved industry compliance in reporting, and a variety of issues related to the oil sands and the negotiated settlement process. Also, the Board has been proactive in the area of oilfield waste management guidelines, proliferation policies for gas processing facilities, sulphur recovery guidelines, and the expansion of the orphan well program to include facilities and pipelines. As a measure of the success of the EUB, a recent survey of 19 randomly selected focus groups praised EUB for its impartiality, fair and equitable enforcement and independence. It was also praised for its technically competent and experienced staff, its access to quality information and the clarity of its mandate, regulatory requirements and processes. The Board`s efforts in the area of timely stakeholder consultation was highlighted. tabs., figs.

Wildlife studies on the Hanford site: 1994 Highlights report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cadwell, L.L.

1995-04-01

The purposes of the project are to monitor and report trends in wildlife populations; conduct surveys to identify, record, and map populations of threatened, endangered, and sensitive plant and animal species; and cooperate with Washington State and federal and private agencies to help ensure the protection afforded by law to native species and their habitats. Census data and results of surveys and special study topics are shared freely among cooperating agencies. Special studies are also conducted as needed to provide additional information that may be required to assess, protect, or manage wildlife resources at Hanford. This report describes highlights of wildlife studies on the Site in 1994. Redd counts of fall chinook salmon in the Hanford Reach suggest that harvest restrictions directed at protecting Snake River salmon may have helped Columbia River stocks as well. The 1994 count (5619) was nearly double that of 1993 and about 63% of the 1989 high of approximately 9000. A habitat map showing major vegetation and land use cover types for the Hanford Site was completed in 1993. During 1994, stochastic simulation was used to estimate shrub characteristics (height, density, and canopy cover) across the previously mapped Hanford landscape. The information provided will be available for use in determining habitat quality for sensitive wildlife species. Mapping Site locations of plant species of concern continued during 1994. Additional sensitive plant species data from surveys conducted by TNC were archived. The 10 nesting pairs of ferruginous hawks that used the Hanford Site in 1993 represented approximately 25% of the Washington State population

Highlights of the 16th annual scientific sessions of the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance.

Science.gov (United States)

Carpenter, John-Paul; Patel, Amit R; Fernandes, Juliano Lara

2013-07-19

The 16th Annual Scientific Sessions of the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (SCMR) took place in San Francisco, USA at the end of January 2013. With a faculty of experts from across the world, this congress provided a wealth of insight into cutting-edge research and technological development. This review article intends to provide a highlight of what represented the most significant advances in the field of cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) during this year's meeting.

Highlights from the Electricity Sector Council's powerline technician project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2009-05-15

The Electricity Sector Council completed a situational analysis of the powerline technician trade in Canada in April 2008. The purpose of the study was to provide industry partners with the opportunity to provide input into the development of the powerline trade; to assess the current workforce; to examine training and working conditions based on in-depth focus group interviews; and to demonstrate regional and provincial differences in apprenticeship development. This report presented highlights from the Electricity Sector Council's powerline technician project. Specifically, the report discussed the number of powerline apprentices entering the trade; regional differences in the powerline trade; and emerging practices for recruitment, retention, and training. Recommendations were also offered in order to address the challenges faced by the powerline trade. It was concluded that the best ways to recruit candidates in the powerline technician trade are to invest in a word-of mouth campaign, such as a coaching program; encourage early introduction to the trades through job sampling; offer financial incentives; and invest in outreach programs. 4 figs.

Syntheses, spectroscopic characterization, crystal structure and natural rubber vulcanization activity of new disulfides derived from sulfonyldithiocarbimates

Science.gov (United States)

Alves, Leandro de Carvalho; Rubinger, Mayura Marques Magalhães; Tavares, Eder do Couto; Janczak, Jan; Pacheco, Elen Beatriz Acordi Vasques; Visconte, Leila Lea Yuan; Oliveira, Marcelo Ribeiro Leite

2013-09-01

The compounds (Bu4N)2[(4-RC6H4SO2NCS2)2] [Bu4N = tetrabutylammonium cation; R = H (1), F (2), Cl (3) and Br (4)] and (Ph4P)2[(4-RC6H4SO2NCS2)2]ṡH2O [Ph4P = tetraphenylphosphonium cation and R = I (5)] were synthesized by the reaction of the potassium dithiocarbimates (4-RC6H4SO2NCS2K2ṡ2H2O) with I2 and Bu4NBr or Ph4PCl. The IR data were consistent with the formation of the dithiocarbimatodisulfides anions. The NMR spectra showed the expected signals for the cations and anions in a 2:1 proportion. The structures of compounds 1-5 were determined by the single crystal X-ray diffraction. The compounds 2, 3 and 4 are isostructural and crystallise in the centrosymmetric space group C2/c of the monoclinic system. Compound 1 crystallises in the monoclinic system in the space group of P21/n and the compound 5 crystallises in the centrosymmetric space group P-1 of the triclinic system. The complex anions of compounds 2, 3 and 4 exhibit similar conformations having twofold symmetry, while in 1 and 5 the anions exhibit C1 symmetry. The activity of the new compounds in the vulcanization of the natural rubber was evaluated and compared to the commercial accelerators ZDMC, TBBS and TMTD. These studies confirm that the sulfonyldithiocarbimato disulfides anions are new vulcanization accelerators, being slower than the commercial accelerators, but producing a greater degree of crosslinking, and scorch time values compatible with good processing safety for industrial applications. The mechanical properties, stress and tear resistances were determined and compared to those obtained with the commercial accelerators.

Ar-Ar dating and petrogenesis of the Early Miocene Taşkapı-Mecitli (Erciş-Van) granitoid, Eastern Anatolia Collisional Zone, Turkey

Science.gov (United States)

Oyan, Vural

2018-06-01

The Early Miocene Taşkapı-Mecitli granitoid that is located in the northern section of the Eastern Anatolia Collision Zone has typical I-type, metaluminous and calk-alkaline characteristics. It also contains mafic microgranular / magmatic enclaves (MMEs). New Ar-Ar dating results show that the age of the Taşkapı-Mecitli granitoid is ∼23 Ma and it crystallised in the Early Miocene, in contrast to its previously known Cretaceous age. Identical crystallisation ages (∼23 Ma), similar mineral assemblages and geochemical compositions, and indistinguishable isotopic compositions of MMEs and host rocks imply that the MMEs are most consistent with a cumulate origin formed at earlier stages of the same magmatic system that produced the Taşkapı-Mecitli granitoid. MELTS modelling suggests that magma of the Taşkapı-Mecitli granitoid was the result of fractionation under a crustal pressure of 4 kbar, with a H2O content of 1.5%. EC-AFC model calculation reveals that the Taşkapı-Mecitli granitoid includes from 0.5% to 2% crustal assimilation rates. These rates indicate that crustal contamination can be negligible when compared to fractional crystallisation in the evolution of the magma beneath the Taşkapı-Mecitli granitoid. The partial melting model calculations and MORB-normalised trace element concentrations of the least evolved samples of the Taşkapı-Mecitli granitoid are consistent with those of mafic melts obtained from partial melting of interacting mantle- lower crust with a melting degree of 18%. The age (23 Ma) of the post- or syn-collisional Taşkapı-Mecitli granitoid suggests that the collision between Arabian and Eurasian plates could be before/around ∼23 Ma (Late Oligocene to Early Miocene).

Neuroanatomical correlates of intelligence in healthy young adults: the role of basal ganglia volume.

Science.gov (United States)

Rhein, Cosima; Mühle, Christiane; Richter-Schmidinger, Tanja; Alexopoulos, Panagiotis; Doerfler, Arnd; Kornhuber, Johannes

2014-01-01

In neuropsychiatric diseases with basal ganglia involvement, higher cognitive functions are often impaired. In this exploratory study, we examined healthy young adults to gain detailed insight into the relationship between basal ganglia volume and cognitive abilities under non-pathological conditions. We investigated 137 healthy adults that were between the ages of 21 and 35 years with similar educational backgrounds. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed, and volumes of basal ganglia nuclei in both hemispheres were calculated using FreeSurfer software. The cognitive assessment consisted of verbal, numeric and figural aspects of intelligence for either the fluid or the crystallised intelligence factor using the intelligence test Intelligenz-Struktur-Test (I-S-T 2000 R). Our data revealed significant correlations of the caudate nucleus and pallidum volumes with figural and numeric aspects of intelligence, but not with verbal intelligence. Interestingly, figural intelligence associations were dependent on sex and intelligence factor; in females, the pallidum volumes were correlated with crystallised figural intelligence (r = 0.372, p = 0.01), whereas in males, the caudate volumes were correlated with fluid figural intelligence (r = 0.507, p = 0.01). Numeric intelligence was correlated with right-lateralised caudate nucleus volumes for both females and males, but only for crystallised intelligence (r = 0.306, p = 0.04 and r = 0.459, p = 0.04, respectively). The associations were not mediated by prefrontal cortical subfield volumes when controlling with partial correlation analyses. The findings of our exploratory analysis indicate that figural and numeric intelligence aspects, but not verbal aspects, are strongly associated with basal ganglia volumes. Unlike numeric intelligence, the type of figural intelligence appears to be related to distinct basal ganglia nuclei in a sex-specific manner. Subcortical brain structures thus may contribute substantially to

Porous calcium carbonate as a carrier material to increase the dissolution rate of poorly soluble flavouring compounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Lundin Johnson, Maria; Noreland, David; Gane, Patrick; Schoelkopf, Joachim; Ridgway, Cathy; Millqvist Fureby, Anna

2017-04-19

Two different food grade functionalised porous calcium carbonates (FCC), with different pore size and pore size distributions, were characterised and used as carrier materials to increase the dissolution rate of poorly soluble flavouring compounds in aqueous solution. The loading level was varied between 1.3% by weight (wt%) and 35 wt%, where the upper limit of 35 wt% was the total maximum loading capacity of flavouring compound in FCC based on the fraction of the total weight of FCC plus flavouring compound. Flavouring compounds (l-carvone, vanillin, and curcumin) were selected based on their difference in hydrophilicity and capacity to crystallise. Release kinetic studies revealed that all flavouring compounds showed an accelerated release when loaded in FCC compared to dissolution of the flavouring compound itself in aqueous medium. The amorphous state and/or surface enlargement of the flavouring compound inside or on FCC explains the faster release. The flavouring compounds capable of crystallising (vanillin and curcumin) were almost exclusively amorphous within the porous FCC material as determined by X-ray powder diffraction one week after loading and after storing the loaded FCC material for up to 9 months at room temperature. A small amount of crystalline vanillin and curcumin was detected in the FCC material with large pores and high flavouring compound loading (≥30 wt%). Additionally, two different loading strategies were evaluated, loading by dissolving the flavouring compound in acetone or loading by a hot melt method. Porosimetry data showed that the melt method was more efficient in filling the smallest pores (<100 nm). The main factor influencing the release rate appears to be the amorphous state of the flavouring compound and the increase in exposed surface area. The confinement in small pores prevents crystallisation of the flavouring compounds during storage, providing a stable amorphous form retaining high release rate also after storage.

Anglo-American ‘Traditional Islam’ and Its Discourse of Orthodoxy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mathiesen, Kasper

2013-01-01

Since the late 1980’s a current or denomination that is often referred to as Traditional Islam has crystallised within the broader landscape of Sunni Islam in the English-speaking world. This analysis sheds light on Traditional Islam’s discourses of orthodoxy and orthopraxis, its historical narra...... associated within salafism, revivalism and reformism....

Investigation of the Influence of PLA Molecular Structure on the Crystalline Forms (α’ and α and Mechanical Properties of Wet Spinning Fibres

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michał Puchalski

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, the influence of the molecular structure of polylactide (PLA—characterised by its molar mass and content of d-lactide isomer—on the molecular ordering and α’–α form transition during fibre manufacturing by the wet spinning method is described. Fibres were studied by wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC. Additionally, the physical and mechanical properties of the fibres were determined. This study also examines the preliminary molecular ordering and crystallisation of PLA fibres at various draw ratios. The performed experiments clearly show the dependence of the molecular ordering of PLA on the molar mass and d-lactide content during the wet spinning process. The fibres manufactured from PLA with the lowest content of d-lactide and the lowest molar mass were characterised by a higher tendency for crystallisation and a higher possibility to undergo the disorder-to-order phase transition (α’ to α form. The structural changes in PLA explain the observed changes in the physical and mechanical properties of the obtained fibres.

Dielectric behavior and ac electrical conductivity of nanocrystalline nickel aluminate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kurien, Siby; Mathew, Jose; Sebastian, Shajo; Potty, S.N.; George, K.C.

2006-01-01

Nanocrystalline nickel aluminate was prepared by chemical co-precipitation, and nanoparticles having different particle size were obtained by annealing the precursor at different temperatures. The TG/DTA measurements showed thermal decomposition was a three-step process with crystallisation of the spinel phase started at a temperature 420 deg. C. The X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed that the specimen began to crystallise on annealing above 420 deg. C and became almost crystalline at about 900 deg. C. The particle sizes were calculated from XRD. Dielectric properties of nickel aluminate were studied as a function of the frequency of the applied ac signal at different temperatures. It was seen the real dielectric constant ε', and dielectric loss tan δ decreased with frequency of applied field while the ac conductivity increased as the frequency of the applied field increased. The dielectric relaxation mechanism is explained by considering nanostructured NiAl 2 O 4 as a carrier-dominated dielectric with high density of hopping charge carriers. The variation of ε' with different particle size depends on several interfacial region parameters, which change with the average particle size

Pyrite-pyrrhotite intergrowths in calcite marble from Bistriški Vintgar, Slovenia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zavašnik, J

2016-01-01

Roman marble quarry in Bistrica gorge in southern Pohorje Mt. (north-eastern Slovenia) is situated in a 20 m thick lens of layered marble, at the contact zone between granodiorite and metamorphites. Grey and yellowish non-homogenous calcite marble is heavily included by mica, quartz, feldspars, zoisite, pyrite and amphiboles. In the present research, we have studied numerous pyrite (FeS 2 ) crystals associated with yellowish-bronze non-stoichiometric pyrrhotite (Fe 1−x S), not previously reported from this locality. SEM investigation revealed unusual sequence of crystallisation: primary skeletal pyrrhotite matrix is sparsely overgrown by well-crystalline pyrite, both being overgrown by smaller, well-developed hexagonal pyrrhotite crystals of the second generation. With TEM we identify the pyrrhotite as 5T-Fe 1-x S phase, where x is about 0.1 and is equivalent to Fe 9 S 10 . The pyrite-pyrrhotite coexistence allows us a construction of fO 2 -pH diagram of stability fields, which reflects geochemical conditions at the time of marble re-crystallisation. (paper)

Radiation grafting of various water-soluble monomers on ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene powder. Part II: Thermal, FTIR and morphological characterisation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aydinli, Bahattin; Tincer, Teoman E-mail: teotin@metu.edu.tr

2001-10-01

Radiation induced grafted polyacrylic acid (PAA), polymethacrylic acid (PMAA), polyacrylamide (PAAm), poly N,N-dimethyl acrylamide (PNDAAm) and poly 1-vinyl-2 pyrrolidone (PVP) on ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) were characterised by DSC, FTIR and SEM analysis. While the effect of irradiation on pure UHMWPE was found to increase crystallinity and cause higher enthalpy of crystallisation, grafted UHMWPE powders showed lower crystallinity and enthalpy of crystallisation. In all grafted UHMWPE there existed secondary transitions corresponding to grafting polymers in the first run of DSC above 60 deg. C and they became clearer at a higher grafting level. In the second run of DSC some T{sub g} values appeared to shift to higher temperatures while some were not detected. FTIR analysis indicated the presence of water-soluble polymers in the grafted UHMWPE. The characteristic peaks of water-soluble polymers became sharper in the grafted UHMWPE. SEM analysis revealed that the grafting occurs both on fiber and microparticles of UHMWPE while flowing characteristic of powder is retained.

Carotid disease at age 73 and cognitive change from age 70 to 76 years: A longitudinal cohort study

Science.gov (United States)

Allerhand, Michael; Eadie, Elizabeth; Thomas, Avril; Corley, Janey; Pattie, Alison; Taylor, Adele; Shenkin, Susan D; Cox, Simon; Gow, Alan; Starr, John M; Deary, Ian J

2016-01-01

Cognitive decline and carotid artery atheroma are common at older ages. In community-dwelling subjects, we assessed cognition at ages 70, 73 and 76 and carotid Doppler ultrasound at age 73, to determine whether carotid stenosis was related to cognitive decline. We used latent growth curve models to examine associations between four carotid measures (internal carotid artery stenosis, velocity, pulsatility and resistivity indices) and four cognitive ability domains (memory, visuospatial function, crystallised intelligence, processing speed) adjusted for cognitive ability at age 11, current age, gender and vascular risk factors. Amongst 866 participants, carotid stenosis (median 12.96%) was not associated with cognitive abilities at age 70 or cognitive decline from age 70 to 76. Increased ICA pulsatility and resistivity indices were associated with slower processing speed (both P function (P = 0.036, 0.031, respectively) at age 70, and declining crystallised intelligence from ages 70 to 76 (P = 0.008, 0.006, respectively). The findings suggest that vascular stiffening, rather than carotid luminal narrowing, adversely influences cognitive ageing and provides a potential target for ameliorating age-related cognitive decline. PMID:28155579

Poly hydroxybutyrate/ethylcellulose blends for biomedical applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garvey, Chris J.; Russell, Robert A.; Holden, Peter; Chan, Rodney; Foster, John L.R.; Garamus, Vasil M.; Boue, Francois

2009-01-01

Full text: We are investigating blends of a biopolyester, polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), with a chemical deri of another biologically important polymer (cellulose), ethyl cellulose (EC). PHB has many pr properties which are typical of an engineering thermoplastic as well as being biodegradabl biocompatible. PHB and EC are both suitable for use in bioresorbable structures for biomedical applications. Unfavourable properties of PHB are that it is prone to crystallisation during processing and in environmental conditions, becoming brittle, and is quite expensive to produce. EC has added in blends because it inhibits PHB crystallisation but it is also much cheaper than PHI examine the interaction and interface between the two polymers in the solid phase by small neutron scattering. A more favourable scattering contrast between the two phases is obtain using biodeuterated PHB. Deviations of the interfacial behaviour from the Porod law are an, using the model of Koberstein et al of a diffuse interface [1]. The composition of the blends I physiological degradation has been examined with FTIR spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction.

MoO{sub 3} incorporation in magnesium aluminosilicate glasses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tan, Shengheng; Ojovan, Michael I.; Hyatt, Neil C.; Hand, Russell J.

2015-03-15

Molybdate has a very low solubility in silicate and borosilicate glass systems and its excess presence in nuclear waste glass can cause the formation of a readily soluble “yellow phase”. In this study, the incorporation of molybdenum oxide (MoO{sub 3}) in a magnesium aluminosilicate glass system has been investigated. The prepared glasses show a higher than 90% molybdenum retention rate and up to 5.34 mol% (12.28 wt%) MoO{sub 3} can be incorporated into these glasses without causing visible phase separation. The incorporation of MoO{sub 3} increases glass density, decreases glass transition and crystallisation temperatures and intensifies Raman bands assigned to vibrations of MoO{sub 4}{sup 2−} units. When excess molybdate is added liquid–liquid phase separation and crystallisation occurs. The separated phase is spherical, 200–400 nm in diameter and randomly dispersed. Based on powder X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy, the separated phase is identified as MgMoO{sub 4}.

ITALIAN LOCAL PUBLIC SERVICES: SOME GOVERNANCE HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE LARGER CITIES’ EXPERIENCE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

DE MATTEIS Fabio

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Entrusting most local public services to local government entities has led to proliferation of public groups and, consistently, to greater complexity of the governance dynamics of local authorities. Differently from Anglo-Saxon countries, the Italian local public services provision has been characterized by a hybrid externalization process where local entities are legally autonomous but owned by the local government. This leads to a peculiar governance complexity source represented by the dual role (stakeholder and customer assumed by the local authority. Considering these elements (hybrid externalization and governance structure, this work tries to investigate some governance issues of public groups, basing on the two most populous Italian municipalities. The empirical findings highlight a gap between the presence of the conditions for defining a group governance structure and the adoption of a group approach by the parent local government. The authors try to suggest how to bridge this gap.

Highlights of the 12th International Conference on Nuclear Cardiology and Cardiac CT.

Science.gov (United States)

Kitsiou, Anastasia; Dorbala, Sharmila; Scholte, Arthur J H A

2015-09-01

The 12th International Conference on Nuclear Cardiology and Cardiac CT was held from 3 to 5 May 2015 in Madrid, Spain. In this article, the three Congress Program Committee Chairs summarize selected highlights of the presented abstracts. Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author 2015. For permissions please email: journals.permissions@oup.com. This article is being published concurrently in the Journal of Nuclear Cardiology (10.1007/s12350-015-0260-y) and European Heart Journal – Cardiovascular Imaging (10.1093/ehjci/jev179). The articles are identical except for minor stylistic and spelling differences in keeping with each journal’s style. Either citation can be used when citing this article.

Highlights from panel discussion on key issues for future developments in microwave processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gac, F.D.; Iskander, M.F.

1992-01-01

This paper reports on highlights from a panel discussion on Key Issues for Future Development in Microwave Processing. Although the panelists represented a mix of individuals from government, academia, and industry, only one aspect of industry was represented, namely microwave system manufacturers. For further panel discussions, it is recommended that the materials manufacturing (i.e., microwave user) sector also be represented. Three important points emerged from the panel discussion. The first deals with the credibility and usability of information, be it dielectric property measurements, experimental procedures, or microwave processing results. Second, a considerable communication and education gap continues to exist between the materials community and microwave engineers. Finally, a more realistic approach should be taken in identifying where microwave processing makes sense

Synthesis and properties of new CdSe-AgI-As{sub 2}Se{sub 3} chalcogenide glasses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kassem, M. [Univ Lille Nord de France, F-59000 Lille (France); ULCO, LPCA, EAC CNRS 4493 F-59140 Dunkerque (France); Le Coq, D., E-mail: david.lecoq@univ-littoral.fr [Univ Lille Nord de France, F-59000 Lille (France); ULCO, LPCA, EAC CNRS 4493 F-59140 Dunkerque (France); Fourmentin, M.; Hindle, F.; Bokova, M.; Cuisset, A.; Masselin, P.; Bychkov, E. [Univ Lille Nord de France, F-59000 Lille (France); ULCO, LPCA, EAC CNRS 4493 F-59140 Dunkerque (France)

2011-02-15

Research highlights: {yields} Determination of the glass-forming region in the pseudo-ternary CdSe-AgI-As{sub 2}Se{sub 3} system. {yields} Characterization of macroscopic properties of the new CdSe-AgI-As{sub 2}Se{sub 3} glasses. {yields} Far infrared transmission of chalcogenide glasses. {yields} Characterization of the total conductivity of CdSe-AgI-As{sub 2}Se{sub 3} glasses. -- Abstract: The glass-forming region in the pseudo-ternary CdSe-AgI-As{sub 2}Se{sub 3} system was determined. Measurements including differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), density, and X-ray diffraction were performed. The effect resulting from the addition of CdSe or AgI has been highlighted by examining three series of different base glasses. The characteristic temperatures of the glass samples, including glass transition (T{sub g}), crystallisation (T{sub x}), and melting (T{sub m}) temperatures are reported and used to calculate their {Delta}T = T{sub x} - T{sub g} and their Hruby, H{sub r} = (T{sub x} - T{sub g})/(T{sub m} - T{sub x}), criteria. Evolution of the total electrical conductivity {sigma} and the room temperature conductivity {sigma}{sub 298} was also studied. The terahertz transparency domain in the 50-600 cm{sup -1} region was pointed for different chalcogenide glasses (ChGs) and the potential of the THz spectroscopy was suggested to obtain structural information on ChGs.

Highlights of LHCb Measurement in Rare Decays and Discovery of First Pentaquark States with Run 1 Data

CERN Document Server

Ukleja, Artur

2016-01-01

In pp collisions at the LHC, the LHCb experiment has collected the world’s largest sample of beauty and charmed hadrons. Very precise mea- surements obtained from these data provide tests of the Standard Model, which are indirect searches for new physics. The highlights obtained using data of an integrated luminosity of 3.0 fb

Highlights 2005

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2006-02-15

This document summarizes a year of activities for the ESRF (European synchrotron radiation facilities), this facility serves 31 beamlines that represent 34 end stations that can be run independently. This document is organized into 9 parts. Part 1: 'high resolution and resonance scattering' deals with surface science and magnetism at high pressure, in particular results are presented for samarium and europium chalcogenides. A cross-section of a variety of applications are presented, they range from glass physics to the understanding of thermoelectric materials. Part 2: 'materials sciences' deals with material behaviour under extreme conditions (metallic sulfur above 100 GPa,...) general applications of X-ray diffraction : stress and strain studies, assessment of excess free volume in metallic glasses, or grain nucleation and growth kinetics during solidification. Part 3: 'soft condensed matter'. Part 4: 'structural biology'. Part 5: 'surface and interface science' (at ESRF surfaces and interfaces are studied at about 50% of all beamlines). A study shows the existence of ordered SiGe domains in the interior of the small Ge islands in Si, whereas bulk SiGe alloy is disordered. Other studies shed light on the surprisingly different magnetic behaviour of ultra-thin cobalt and nickel films on a platinum surface. Part 6 : 'X-ray absorption and magnetic scattering'. Many of the studies push the limits of methods using high pressure, high magnetic fields, high and low temperature with absorption and scattering techniques. There are also examples of measurements on the femtosecond time scale using the core-hole clock method and on femto-meter length scale in magnetostriction measurements. Part 7: 'X-ray imaging and optics'. Part 8: 'the X-ray source'. Part 9: 'facts and figures'. (A.C.)

Brookhaven highlights

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rowe, M.S.; Cohen, A.; Greenberg, D.; Seubert, L.

1992-01-01

This publication provides a broad overview of the research programs and efforts being conducted, built, designed, and planned at Brookhaven National Laboratory. This work covers a broad range of scientific disciplines. Major facilities include the Alternating Gradient Synchrotron (AGS), with its newly completed booster, the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS), the High Flux Beam Reactor (HFBR), and the RHIC, which is under construction. Departments within the laboratory include the AGS department, accelerator development, physics, chemistry, biology, NSLS, medical, nuclear energy, and interdepartmental research efforts. Research ranges from the pure sciences, in nuclear physics and high energy physics as one example, to environmental work in applied science to study climatic effects, from efforts in biology which are a component of the human genome project to the study, production, and characterization of new materials. The paper provides an overview of the laboratory operations during 1992, including staffing, research, honors, funding, and general laboratory plans for the future

Brookhaven highlights

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rowe, M.S.; Cohen, A.; Greenberg, D.; Seubert, L. (eds.)

1992-01-01

This publication provides a broad overview of the research programs and efforts being conducted, built, designed, and planned at Brookhaven National Laboratory. This work covers a broad range of scientific disciplines. Major facilities include the Alternating Gradient Synchrotron (AGS), with its newly completed booster, the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS), the High Flux Beam Reactor (HFBR), and the RHIC, which is under construction. Departments within the laboratory include the AGS department, accelerator development, physics, chemistry, biology, NSLS, medical, nuclear energy, and interdepartmental research efforts. Research ranges from the pure sciences, in nuclear physics and high energy physics as one example, to environmental work in applied science to study climatic effects, from efforts in biology which are a component of the human genome project to the study, production, and characterization of new materials. The paper provides an overview of the laboratory operations during 1992, including staffing, research, honors, funding, and general laboratory plans for the future.

1982 Highlights

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1983-01-01

A short report of the activities of the Brazilian Energy and Mines Ministery - MME -, is presented, emphasizing the most important facts that happened in its several areas of actuation during 1982. Through a simple and objective communication, those facts are shown. (E.G.) [pt

2013 Highlights

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2014-01-01

The annual report gives a summary overview of key research and development activities at the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre SCK-CEN in 2013. The report discusses progress and main achievements in the following areas: reactor safety, radioactive waste and decommissioing, radiation protection, the BR2 reactor, nuclear fuel research, raduioactivity and the environment and medical applications with emphasis on dosimetry.

2014 Highlights

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2015-01-01

The annual report gives a summary overview of key research and development activities at the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre SCK-CEN in 2014. The report discusses progress and main achievements in the following areas: reactor safety, radioactive waste and decommissioning, radiation protection, the BR2 reactor, nuclear fuel research, radioactivity and the environment and medical applications with emphasis on dosimetry.

Austrian highlights

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, Simon

2001-01-01

An overview of recent development in the Austrian hydroelectric industry is presented, and details of the installed capacity, the Austrian government's power market reform package, and the promotion of small-scale hydroelectric power plants are given. The operation of Verbund - Austria's largest power generator and distributor - and the restructuring of the Verbund's main Austrian Hydro Power (AHP) generating group are discussed. The export of power, the joint venture of Verbund with CIR Energia in Italy to market power to commercial and industrial users, and the controversy surrounding the Freudenau run-of-the river plant which successfully tested a matrix turbine are reported

Highlights 2005

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-02-01

This document summarizes a year of activities for the ESRF (European synchrotron radiation facilities), this facility serves 31 beamlines that represent 34 end stations that can be run independently. This document is organized into 9 parts. Part 1: 'high resolution and resonance scattering' deals with surface science and magnetism at high pressure, in particular results are presented for samarium and europium chalcogenides. A cross-section of a variety of applications are presented, they range from glass physics to the understanding of thermoelectric materials. Part 2: 'materials sciences' deals with material behaviour under extreme conditions (metallic sulfur above 100 GPa,...) general applications of X-ray diffraction : stress and strain studies, assessment of excess free volume in metallic glasses, or grain nucleation and growth kinetics during solidification. Part 3: 'soft condensed matter'. Part 4: 'structural biology'. Part 5: 'surface and interface science' (at ESRF surfaces and interfaces are studied at about 50% of all beamlines). A study shows the existence of ordered SiGe domains in the interior of the small Ge islands in Si, whereas bulk SiGe alloy is disordered. Other studies shed light on the surprisingly different magnetic behaviour of ultra-thin cobalt and nickel films on a platinum surface. Part 6 : 'X-ray absorption and magnetic scattering'. Many of the studies push the limits of methods using high pressure, high magnetic fields, high and low temperature with absorption and scattering techniques. There are also examples of measurements on the femtosecond time scale using the core-hole clock method and on femto-meter length scale in magnetostriction measurements. Part 7: 'X-ray imaging and optics'. Part 8: 'the X-ray source'. Part 9: 'facts and figures'. (A.C.)

Highlights 2005

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2006-02-15

This document summarizes a year of activities for the ESRF (European synchrotron radiation facilities), this facility serves 31 beamlines that represent 34 end stations that can be run independently. This document is organized into 9 parts. Part 1: 'high resolution and resonance scattering' deals with surface science and magnetism at high pressure, in particular results are presented for samarium and europium chalcogenides. A cross-section of a variety of applications are presented, they range from glass physics to the understanding of thermoelectric materials. Part 2: 'materials sciences' deals with material behaviour under extreme conditions (metallic sulfur above 100 GPa,...) general applications of X-ray diffraction : stress and strain studies, assessment of excess free volume in metallic glasses, or grain nucleation and growth kinetics during solidification. Part 3: 'soft condensed matter'. Part 4: 'structural biology'. Part 5: 'surface and interface science' (at ESRF surfaces and interfaces are studied at about 50% of all beamlines). A study shows the existence of ordered SiGe domains in the interior of the small Ge islands in Si, whereas bulk SiGe alloy is disordered. Other studies shed light on the surprisingly different magnetic behaviour of ultra-thin cobalt and nickel films on a platinum surface. Part 6 : 'X-ray absorption and magnetic scattering'. Many of the studies push the limits of methods using high pressure, high magnetic fields, high and low temperature with absorption and scattering techniques. There are also examples of measurements on the femtosecond time scale using the core-hole clock method and on femto-meter length scale in magnetostriction measurements. Part 7: 'X-ray imaging and optics'. Part 8: 'the X-ray source'. Part 9: 'facts and figures'. (A.C.)

HAWC highlights

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jardin-Blicq, Armelle [Max Planck Institut fuer Kernphysik (Germany); Collaboration: HAWC-Collaboration

2016-07-01

The High-Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory was completed and began full operation on March 20, 2015. The detector consists of an array of 300 water tanks, each containing 200 tons of purified water and instrumented with 4 PMTs. Located at an elevation of 4100m a.s.l. near the Sierra Negra volcano in central Mexico, HAWC observes gamma rays in the 0.1-100 TeV range and has a sensitivity to TeV-scale gamma-ray sources an order of magnitude better than previous air-shower arrays. It has 2 sr field-of-view and >90% duty cycle make HAWC an ideal instrument for surveying the high-energy sky. We describe the HAWC detector and its performance characteristics and report initial results from the first months of operation.

MAGIC highlights

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

López-Coto Rubén

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The present generation of Imaging Air Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs has greatly improved our knowledge on the Very High Energy (VHE side of our Universe. The MAGIC IACTs operate since 2004 with one telescope and since 2009 as a two telescope stereoscopic system. I will outline a few of our latest and most relevant results: the discovery of pulsed emission from the Crab pulsar at VHE, recently found to extend up to 400 GeV and along the “bridge” of the light curve, the measurement of the Crab nebula spectrum over three decades of energy, the discovery of VHE γ-ray emission from the PWN 3C 58, the very rapid emission of IC 310, in addition to dark matter studies. The results that will be described here and the planned deep observations in the next years will pave the path for the future generation of IACTs.